OOOOO
She Will Light The Way
Chapter Twenty-Three
Fight For Your Happily Ever After

It was funny, Mickey thought, that things somehow always went full circle back to the beginning. Maybe not to the very beginning in this case, to his misadventures throughout Disney or his apprenticeship under Yen-Sid, but to the beginning of... all of this. As he silently marched through the poorly lit hallways he discovered hidden beneath the dilapidated mansion, the young Mouse King couldn't help but flashback to those first days he met and befriended the lordly scientist of a forgotten world and then the day he met said scientist's apprentice.

Why did I not do anything when Ansem told me his name was "Xehanort"? It was just another thing of his past that haunted him and another testament that he had failed his friends. He should have done something about Xehanort, if only to appease the ghosts of Aqua, Terra, and Ven, wherever they were. He had Xehanort's eyes, hair, and skin tone with Terra's build, it was so blatantly obvious! But I guess I thought since he didn't have his memories, he would be of no harm. That he would live his new life and pass on and that would be the end. Me interfering would have just made things worse.

Ten years removed from that first meeting and with a decade of battling both his Heartless and Nobody, Mickey had now realized that Xehanort's malignancy and ambition transcended conscious memory or linear existence, that each and every iteration of the fallen Keyblade Master carried those traits with them, continuously inflicting harm long after the original had departed. This was all his fault; if he had stopped Xehanort then and there, Sora, Kairi, and Riku would never have gone through all these ordeals.

But, despite all the doom and gloom and his own history of failure, Mickey could still see a light at the end of the tunnel... as well as a light at the end of this hallway, brighter than the low glow given off by the lightning mounted along the dark, sterile and mechanical corridors of the basement was coming from the next room. As he approached ever closer, Mickey could see a humanoid silhouette, and hear the click-clacking of a keyboard.

"Ansem? Ansem is that you?" Second passed, with no reply coming to Mickey's inquiry. More seconds came and went, with Mickey wandering further down the hall and into the next chamber. "It's me, Mickey. I've come for your help." Then, Mickey paused, thinking of his approach. If he wanted to draw Ansem out of hiding, there was something he could say and do to attract his interest. "We need your help to battle the Organization."

The clacking sound of typing suddenly came to a stop, just as Mickey crossed the threshold, getting a good, clear look at Ansem, the elder scientist illuminated by the blaring sheen of the computer screens surrounding him. He looked... much the same as he did the last time they saw each other, Mickey thought, though the man once granted the epitaph "the Wise" certainly looked more haggard and exhausted than he ever did, but that wasn't too surprising.

Then, Ansem turned to look at Mickey and the royal Key Bearer could immediately see the stark difference between then and now. Ansem was always a serious and self-possessed man, but he had a warmth about him, brought along by his desire to use science and magic to better the lives of each and every individual soul of his world. He had dedicated his life to bringing peace of mind, peace of body, and peace of heart to those around him, but now... his face was held in slightly neutral, slightly angry scowl, all the warmth and life he once held having been drained from his expression and presence. The Mouse King expressed a subtle grimace at the change in his friend.

"I was expecting a visitor eventually. Though, I always envisioned the first to show up would be Riku, storming through here in a violent fit, to tie up a loose end." Ansem finally said, but only after staring at Mickey for a prolonged moment. He then turned back to his computer terminal and continued his work, strings of data and equations flickering across the screen at a rapid pace. The unnatural glow of the screen did nothing to help his appearance, the machine highlighting every line in his face, illuminating his age and fatigue. "I wish we could be reunited under more felicitous circumstances, but it is still good to see you again, old friend." He stated in a somewhat icy tone.

Regardless of tone, Mickey took it in stride, focusing on the words, instead. "And the same to you, Ansem. I would have liked to seen you sooner, but you're a hard man to find." Fortunately, Pete's information did prove fruitful, the big black cat claiming Ansem had sequestered himself away on Twilight Town. Of course, Pete didn't know where specifically Ansem's hideout was, so it took a few days of searching through the nooks and crannies of the town, but then Goofy off-handedly mentioned the suspicious basement he, Donald, and Sora awoke in months prior.

Ansem gave a dark chortle at Mickey's comment. "Not good enough it would seem, seeing as how you came across me, and even the Organization stumbled upon my plans. Though, since my last... associates departed, I have been left to myself and my work, hiding away in the shadows."

The infinite void of silence returned between the two friends, awkwardly and suddenly, only filled in by more typing from Ansem's end. Mickey fidgeted, bouncing from one foot to the other. This certainly wasn't the reception he had imagined. "I don't know why you've been content hiding away in the darkness for so long. We could really use your help out there, ya know."

"I don't care about helping others at this juncture. All that matters to me now is having my revenge against the Organization and Xehanort." Ansem said, bluntly. His eyes never left the computer, even as Mickey sucked in a sharp breath, shaking his head in denial

"I don't believe that. Not for a single second."

"Whether you believe it or not is irrelevant. The truth is objective and absolute. And the truth is..." A heavy sigh escaped the lips of the scientist, as he covered his face with his right hand, alternating between massaging his forehead and rubbing his eyes.

Before long, Ansem turned away from his computer and moved further into the room, motioning for Mickey to follow after him.

"When Xehanort instigated his coup against me, he sealed me within some void. I do not know if it was the Realm of Darkness or something else, but I do know that the void attempted to destroy me." There was a pair of rickety folding chairs set up in the corner of the room, along with a sparse cot. It was the only area of the room not clogged with computer equipment. Both Lord and King took their seats, conversing as if it were ten years ago. "And not just my body, but my everything. My sense of self and my sanity. Memories unraveled before my eyes and thoughts vanished into the ether. The only thing that could keep my being together was focusing on a strong emotion, and the strongest emotion that came to me was my anger, my hatred, my thirst for vengeance." Both of Ansem's hands balled into fists, as his gaze hardened considerably. "My desire to gain a measure of recompense against my unfaithful apprentice. And by the time I found my way out of that void..." A second sighed followed, coming in time with Ansem's hands uncurling. "I found there was nothing left within me. All other emotions and wants had been burned away, rendering my heart barren and empty. I cared not for pursuits of science and innovation, had no need of mortal desires of comfort and companionship. All that matters now is that I make every Nobody in existence suffer for their sins."

Mickey shivered at the venom in Ansem's voice, particularly when he mentioned the "sins of a Nobody". He had a feeling he knew exactly what the despairing scientist was referring to. "I still don't believe you, not for a second." Mickey said, after absorbing everything just explained to him. "You know the mysteries of a heart better than anyone else, so you know that what lies inside of it can't be so easily erased or lost. You were a good man, Ansem, and that man still exists, somewhere. I'm sure of it." The Mouse King felt his heart soar when he saw that Ansem was actually smiling slightly, craning his head back while staring at the ceiling.

"You're a good friend, Mickey. Too good for a fool like me. Your faith is commendable, but misplaced." Mickey's heart sank just as fast, hearing how quiet and sullen his friend was being now. "But your closeness to me blinds you to reality. My heart is a wasteland, poison and blighted. Nothing but hate can bloom within it, and everything only spurs more hate." Ansem leaned forward in his chair, shoulders sagging, as Mickey placed a comforting hand on the man's back. The scientist seemed to recoil from the gentle touch. "Even as I have learned the scope of the damage the Organization has inflicted – to myself, my home, and my family – I cannot muster anything else besides the flames of vengeance. Did you know that two of the Nobodies killed my nephew and his wife? Kairi's parents?"

Mickey audibly gasped at the revelation. "The King and the Queen?" The news sent him for a loop. He had only met King Kyros briefly, but he seemed like a good man. Not to mention was this meant for Kairi...

Ansem nodded, grimly. "Kyros and I rarely saw eye to eye, and even though we were not related by blood, he was still my family. And even then... nothing. I felt nothing when I learned about that. Not sorrow for my family or people, or sympathy for his daughter. Even though I still have my heart, I have become a Nobody in all but name, stripped of emotion and empathy. Those that fight monsters find themselves soon become like the monsters they hunted..."

Ansem shut his eyes, holding still and silent, basking in the unnatural light and heavy shadows of the room, the creases on his forehead drawn large and deep. From Mickey's perspective, Ansem seemed like a man carrying much pain and regret with him. Maybe there was an element of truth to what he claimed, but Mickey could still see his old friend within the vengeful, empty person he had become.

"Even if that is all true, even if you feel like a Nobody, there are still places you can go. Places you can be happy and hopefully find what you've lost." Mickey returned, standing up from the creaking chair for extra emphasis. "Your homeworld has been recovered and is being rebuilt. I'm sure everyone would be willing to accept you back with open arms!" The King finished his speech with a big flourish, arms spread wide, only to be greeted by a derisive snort from his friend.

"While I maybe less wicked than my apprentices, that does not make me innocent." Ansem retorted. "There was a reason why Xehanort and I got along so well at first, remember, and that is because we were two peas in a pod. Ambitious, curious, grasping, driven, and obsessive to a fault. I was the one to spur his curiosity into the nature of the heart, we even performed a few experiments together that could be charitably described as... unethical. The only difference is I had a moment of hesitation and stopped, but he didn't. But just because I didn't cross into the abyss where he did means I should be given praise and an offer of redemption." The scientist chortled again, dark and bitter. The entire time, his orange eyes had been fixed on Mickey, unblinking and unerring. "No. Even if I wanted it, I am beyond salvation by now. Even if I go back, what I did will come to light. Everyone will now the horrible things I have done and I will be shamed and reviled. But, again, it doesn't matter to me. I will gladly be remember in the history books as a monster so long as I drag Xehanort to hell with me." A booming laugh filled the small computer room, Ansem being quite amused in his own tragedy. Or maybe he was just trying to mask his pain and desperation, Mickey thought, while taking on a gloomy look.

"That... I don't believe that for a second, Ansem." Mickey said, again, trying to reach out to whatever spark of hope dwelt within the heart of the embittered man. "I know Leon and the others, they will see the best in you. They'll welcome you with open arms. They'll -"

"They'll rightfully cast me aside when they learn what I've done!" Ansem snapped, roaring at the top of his lungs and rising from his chair. The rickety piece of furniture skittered to the ground from the sudden movement, as Mickey hopped back in start from the outburst. But then, his anger abating, a look of curiosity took hold of the elderly noble. "Though, I suppose I have been beating around the bush, old friend. How much do you know about what I've done? About the the acts I committed in this very lab?"

Mickey could feel a lump form in his throats. He knew all too well what Ansem was referring too, but he also saw what Ansem was trying to do. Trying to to turn him and his friendship away so that he would have nothing left. So convinced that he had nothing else in his life was Ansem that he was trying to push away his last and final lifeline. This was a man who didn't want to be saved, who just wanted to burn and fade away.

When Mickey didn't answer, Ansem continued, finally moving back to the computer terminal and his work. "Roxas and Namine are, were... special. Not quite Somebodies, but possessing a semblance of a heart. Emotion and empathy, rationality and sentience. They were as alive as Nobodies possibly could be, and wholly innocent..." Ansem's voice then returned to the dark and venomous tone from earlier, "...save for the fact that they were Nobodies, and to be a Nobody is an egregious sin in of itself. They deserved to be erased. They had to be erased! I took the boy and I broke his body down, merged his very essence with that of Sora's, leaving no trace of him left, and I would have done the same with that witch, too! Even if she will eventually fade away from her own accord, a Nobody does not deserve a peaceful death. And, of course, Riku was complicit in all of this. Kidnapping Roxas and keeping him imprisoned in my digital world. All because I told him it would help his friends." An ugly sneer followed, Ansem's features contorting ghoulishly in the green-blue light coming off the monitor. "Gullible. Foolish. No matter what he claims, he's just another simpleton willing to risk everything to help those closest to him. He had no idea what we were doing would not help Sora revive any faster, mind, but he still found it acceptable to trade Roxas' life for Sora's. And it was. Only the softhearted and weak would say those two were 'good Nobodies' when there is no such thing! Nobodies are an abomination upon this world, and I will not rest until all fourteen of them are exterminated for good!"

Ansem's rant left Mickey stricken and stunned, while leaving the ranter himself short of breath and even more tired than he first seemed. Trying to search for words to answer the situation, Mickey came up empty in the face of Ansem's loathing and anger. He knew that Ansem had done some terrible things in pursuit of his vengeance, but to act with such malice and without any remorse... Had Mickey been wrong about his friend? Did he carry any regret in his heart for what had happened?

Seeing the conflict boil within the Mouse King, Ansem quickly asked, "Tell me then, Mickey: do you think there are people who will forgive once they've learned the depths of my depravity and hatred?"

The only answer Mickey could come up with was, "That's not really for me to say..." While simultaneously thinking, Can I even find it in my heart to fully forgive you, Ansem? No answer came, leaving the Key Bearer with a chilly, uncomfortable feeling settling about himself. Mickey cast his vision away from Ansem, head hung in solemn sadness.

More silence. More typing. And, once more, this period of pause was broken by Ansem.

"Enough about myself and what I've done, you came here for a reason, Mickey. I believe you need a passageway into the Organization's world, correct?" Mickey's head turned up at the offer, a look of surprise evident on his face given Ansem's chuckling response. "Why else would you come all this way to find a bitter old man hiding in the shadows? Certainly not these pleasant conversations we've been having..."

A few strokes of the keyboard later and one of the monitors surrounding Ansem changed, now showing King Mickey the unmistakable image of a star map of the Realm of Light, the various worlds of the galaxy rendered as coloured circles spread across the map, each clearly and concisely named. Two different types of markers were spread about the map, too, always located on a world. When Mickey took a closer look, he could see they represented the Blackheart Stones, one for intact Stones and the other for ones that had been destroyed. Only two of the former remained in the Realm.

"At the rate things are progressing, the girl will destroy the last Stone within a matter of weeks." Ansem surmised, without even looking at the map or Mickey. "The final battle looms closer and closer, do you think she'll be ready for it?"

"Of course!" Mickey exclaimed with all due confidence. "Kairi has been doing great work, she'll be more than enough to defeat the Organization." Having toured about Twilight Town, Mickey had seen Kairis handiwork firsthand. During all his time in the idyllic Town, he had not seen a single Heartless. In fact, Donald and Goofy were currently spending time with a trio of local teenagers who they (and Sora) had befriended on an earlier trip, the three young folk eager to regal the Disney duo in the tale of Kairi's battle on the clock tower. Kairi was the one who brought that peace back to this world.

"Very good." Was Ansem's curt reply. "This terminal has access to the machinery that creates the gateway. It's password protected, but you should have no issue deciphering it. I'll even give you a hint: can you remember my favourite flavour of ice cream?" In a moment that stood in stark contrast to everything else, Ansem actually cracked a wry smile over his own comment.

Then, just as quick, his mood soured and darkened. "However, I am not giving up access to the gateway freely. I will ask a favour of you, Mickey. I spent much time researching how to turn a heart into data, but my efforts have largely been fruitless. While I thought it might prove useful to create "back-ups" of people and worlds, as it were, the idea has proven to be nothing more than a wild fever dream. There is no way something as complex as a heart can be confined to data, and there is no way a being made of data can carry something as special as a heart.

"However, all this research and experimentation did provide one useful thing for my revenge. A heart cannot become data, but it can carry data and information with it. Such things can be engraved and encoded onto a heart, and there lies the secret to my final plan."

The once noble scientist turned away from his console, looking Mickey directly in the face, his stare piercing and unblinking as it was before. With the dignity and gravitas of a man who had been worn the mantle of leadership for most of his life, Ansem spoke in a low, and serious tone. Deadly serious, even for him.

"To that end, I have begun the process of encoding something on my heart. A 'virus' as it were. When the time comes, when all of us gather on the Nobody's home world, I ask that you strike me down with your Keyblade, release my heart, so that it may join with Xemnas' Kingdom Hearts. There, the virus will spread, corrupting and destroying the thing he has worked so hard to create these past ten years. With my final act, with one last spiteful breath, I will take everything from the man who took everything from me!"

"Ansem! There's no way I could do that!" Mickey felt his stomach roil, as he took a step or two away from his friend. Taking a life? That was against everything the Keyblade was suppose to stand for...

"Do not be afraid or worried, as I said before, there's nothing left for me in this life. Better for a man to go out on his own terms, don't you think?" Ansem then cocked his head to the side, smirking as he did. "And if you will not go through with it, that's fine. There are plenty of Key Bearers who will undoubtedly wish to do me harm. If not you, then Riku. He will most certainly be filled with murderous rage when he sees me next. If not him, then Sora or Kairi. I imagine once they learn what I did to their others, they will certainly seek a measure of retaliation. It would be best if it were you, though. Wouldn't you want your old friend to have a peaceful and merciful death?"

Mickey clutched at his heart. "Th-that's not fair..." First Aqua and Terra and Ven, now Ansem. Was being friends with the King a pathway to doom and demise? How many more people did he love would he have to lose?

"Life is not fair, Mickey. Nothing we have had to endure – you, me, those children – has been fair." Was Ansem's response, uncaring of the burden he was placing on the royal Key Bearer. "But we endure all the same for what we desire, until that final rest comes for us. I... ten years of nothing but hatred, with nothing else for me on the horizon. I am tired, Mickey. Even if I am to be punished for all of eternity in the next world, I care not. Let me have my revenge and my rest and that shall be the end of my story."

Mickey was practically moved to tears by all of this. He hadn't expected an easy time when he discovered Ansem's hideout, but to be asked to do this? Even if it gave them a definite advantage against the Organization, it was beyond him. Mickey may have been a failure, but he was not going to throw away a friend, even if it was a person beyond saving.

"I won't do it, Ansem!" Mickey buried his sadness and turmoil and presented a strong front, stepping forward with eyes narrowed and brow furrowed. "I refuse, and I'll make sure Riku and the others won't do it either. Even if you think you're a monster, and even if others will think you a monster, you're still my friend, and I won't let you take the easy way out. I will help you, Ansem!"

Much to the Mouse King's surprise, the wizened scientist did not express anger or frustration at his refusal, merely a forlorn acceptance, as if he knew this was a foolhardy task. "As you wish then. I know well enough when you heart is set like this, it's a fool's errand to dissuade you, Mickey." Ansem then strode over to the far end of the room, towards the yawning entrance of another dark hallway. "I will find my rest one way or another, but... the passageway is yours to use as you see fit. Until we meet on the stage of the final battle..."

With a nod, Ansem made his was to the darkened passage, moving swiftly away from his friend, from the one and only person who had shown him an ounce kindness and friendship in the past decade. However, right as he was about to vanish into the shadows, Ansem a few more final words of departure.

"It truly was good to see you again, Mickey. If only Xehanort had never come into our lives and ruined everything, oh I wonder how different things would be."

Transitioning from the darkness of the mansion's basement to the gleaming orange sunlight which flooded Twilight Town would have normally caused Mickey's head to spin. But, considering what he had just went through, there was no way it could spin harder or faster. It was a miracle his head didn't spin and fly off his body! Still, torment or not, ugly truths or not, the mission was accomplished. They had secured a way into the Organization's stronghold. Soon, they would be able to take the fight to them, free Sora, and put an end to all this madness.

Maybe, with the last trace of Xehanort gone, life in the Realm of Light could finally return to normal.

Fortunately, it didn't take too long for Mickey to find his companions; Donald and Goofy had clearly enjoyed their day off, as the King of Disney found the two of them at a small cafe, still accompanied by the three local teenagers. If Mickey recalled correctly, their names were Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

"Ah, Your Majesty!" Donald immediately jumped to his web feet and saluted when the King came into view. Goofy was a step behind, but snapped to attention all the same, leaving three youths to awkwardly stumble about, muttering if they should be doing the same.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. No need to make a fuss over little old me." Mickey said, waving the kids off, just as the trio were about to get in position to salute the King, too. All these years later and he still wasn't use to the pomp and circumstance brought on by his station.

"Are you okay, Your Majesty?" Came Olette, the green eyes of the girl sparkling with curiosity. "That is, if you don't mind me asking, Sir! It's just... you look a little pale." Even as Olette skittered away, both Pence and Hayne quickly agreed with her, though they were a little cautious and respectful about addressing him, too. Mickey had to smile. They were good kids. Sora and Kairi sure did know how to find and make friends.

"I'm okay, just... I spent a bit too much time thinking about the past is all."

"Well, did you find Ansem at least?" Asked Goofy.

Mickey smacked his lips together. His mouth was dry. "No." He lied, plainly, earning crestfallen responses from the five before him. "But... I did find his lab and a way into the Organization's homeworld."

"We have a way in?" Donald asked, hopefully. "That's great!" A cheer rose up from the small group.

"Gawrsh, it sure is!" Goofy said, beaming. "Now we can go and save Sora! Kairi's sure gonna be happy about that."

"We still have to wait for her to destroy the last of the Stones, but..." A plan began to formulate in the head of the crafty Mouse King. "Until then, there's still some work the three of us can do." The fortress of the Nobodies was an unknown factor in all of this – how large it was, the number of their forces, where they kept Sora captive – and a bit of preparation would go a long way for what was about to come.

The final battle was looming closer, Ansem had said. And how right he was. Soon, Mickey would be storming into battle, accompanied by three Key Bearers – two boys and a girl – who were longtime friends and names related the elements of air, water, and earth, to do battle with a Xehanort under the light of Kingdom Hearts.

It was all so eerily and painfully familiar that it left a bad feeling the back of Mickey's head.

-O-SWLTW-O-

Even if they were no longer two-inch tall fairies, breaking into the palace was not a difficult task for the Gullwings, heightened security or not. They were seasoned pros when it came to exploring temples, ruins, castle, or anything in between. No, the major challenge was not getting in, nor would it be getting out, but it was simply searching the absurdly Brobdingnagian grounds and interior of the palace!

"Lemme tell ya, ladies. We've been to some opulent places before. But there's opulent and then there's... whatever the hell this is!"

Immaculately clean, with everything coloured in soft pastels or rendered in perfectly flawless white stone. Brocade red carpet strewn about nearly every inch of the palace. Pillar and columns wider than a bear and too tall to the see the ends of, all holding up a vaulted and peaked ceiling that was probably considered to be within the cloud line, all things considered. Even the size of the hallways, antechambers, and rooms were so gargantuan it made traversing them a pain and a half. The castle was so spectacular and fantastical in it's design, it bordered on the impossible. As if it were pulled straight out of some young girl's fairy tale.

"It certainly is impressive, but we can take the time to admire it later." Yuna cautioned her cousin, as the trio scampered across a hallway, quickly darting from behind one pillar to another, eyes and ears open in case of a sudden intruder. "And keep your voice down, Rikku, please. The hall is so spacious, any noise is going to echo on forever and ever."

Yuna certainly had the right about it. Even the chitterings of a mouse would be magnified to audible levels in this sort of environment. However, as luck would have it, as the Gullwings edged closer and closer to the opposite side of the hall, that little fact played in their favour. Two voices began to bounce off the cavernous walls and ceilings of the palace halls, accompanied by footsteps that were sounding closer and closer with each passing moment.

"...I don't understand, my boy, why are you suddenly getting such cold feet over all of this?"

"I just... I don't know myself. Something doesn't feel right."

Descending down a needlessly long flight of stairs that end at the other side of the hall came two men. One was young and dashing, tall and handsome, with dark hair and a perfect smile. The other was portly and balding, about half the height of the younger man. Both were dressed in regal garb, complete with fancy golden epaulets. Undoubtedly, this was Prince Charming and his father, the king. King Charming? Rikku blinked quizzically. She would have to ask Cindy about that one later.

With their target in sight, the Gullwing careful slipped through the shadows, making their way where the father and son were, crouching behind pillars as they eavesdropped, waiting for an opening.

"We turned the entire kingdom upside down looking for the girl who fit the glass slipper – which I was entirely on board for – and now we found her. You found her! Your lady love." The king exclaimed. He appeared to be more excited about Prince Charming's upcoming nuptial than the Prince himself.

"But did I?" The Prince responded, quietly. If he were any sort of room possessing normal dimension, no one would have heard him. Looking down at his hand, Charming said, "The night of the ball, when we danced, I felt... well, it was indescribable! She radiated with warmth and life and I had never felt so special in my entire life. But, I just danced with Lady Audley again, and it was cold and empty. I felt... nothing." Despondency overtook the handsome features of the Prince, as he looked lost and confused.

The king took his son's hand and consoled him. "I understand. Love is... mysterious. Confusing. Difficult. It's always so daunting to reckon with these feelings. Even your mother and I faced these difficulties." The king spoke in a soft and loving tone, earning a smile from the Prince at the mention of his mother. "But, we worked through them and found our happiness, together. Whatever you might be feeling now, son, I am sure you and Lady Audley will see past all this in the near future."

From her vantage point, seeing the doubt flash in his eyes, Rikku wasn't quite sure that Prince Charming felt the same way as his father.

"Now, if you excuse me, the Duke and I have a meeting with the florists. I trust that I'll hear no more of this nonsense from you for the time being, eh, Charming? You'll marry her and it will be a glorious, wonderful thing, and the two of you will live happily every after! I am sure of it."

The king dismissed himself after that, making his way down the hallway, thankfully in the opposite direction from where the Gullwings were hiding. It took a full ten minutes before he vanished from sight, huffing and puffing by the time he did, leaving the Prince all alone, save for his glum and hesitant expression. This was probably going to be as good a chance they were going to get...

"Just what am I suppose to do..." Charming said to himself, while the Gullwings slipped just a little bit closer, still staying out of sight.

"Excuse me, Prince Charming? Sir? We have urgent business with you."

"Psst! Yo, Princey! Over here!"

It must have been an odd sight for the Prince to see the three heads of the Gullwings popping out from behind one pillar, all stacked on top of each other – Rikku on the bottom, Paine on top, and Yuna sandwiched in between – and all eagerly trying to draw his attention. Though, much to his credit, Charming did not react in fear or surprise at the sudden appearance of the strange women, simply quirking an eyebrow before approaching them.

"Is there something I can help you ladies with?"

"Actually, we're here to help you." Yuna said. Both her and Rikku quickly broke from cover and swarmed about the Prince, with Paine hanging back slightly. Diplomacy was never her strong suit. "We couldn't help but overhear your conversation with your father -"

"'Cause we were eavesdropping!"

"-that you're feeling doubts about your upcoming marriage to Lady Audley." Yuna finished, firmly placing a hand on the shoulder of Charming. Gently and sympathetically. Yuna knew just what he was going through; she had her own bad experiences with arranged marriages, after all.

"I... yes." Charming admitted with a small sigh. "I thought this would be it. I found the girl of my dreams, the one I danced with that night at the ball. I thought everything would be so perfect, but now... there's something missing. Something wrong with this."

"But you met with a serving girl earlier today and felt a spark between the two of you, didn't you?" The moment Yuna brought that moment up, Charming gasped and looked at her with wonder in his eyes.

"...Yes. How did you know that?"

"Well, we happen to be friends with your mystery lady." Rikku said, before verbally backspacing a step or two. "Okay, technically our friend is friends with her – or, more like, they're part of his super secret exclusive club and -"

"The 'how' isn't important." Came Paine's terse reply. She may have been bad at diplomacy, but the rough and course swordswoman was always could at cutting through the babble. "What matters is, she wants to meet with you. And I bet you want to meet her too, right?"

Charming couldn't have responded any faster, nodding in joyous affirmation.

"Okay. We'll be taking you to her, then." Came Yuna, furthering the Prince's joy and happiness.

"That's great!" He exclaimed, his voice bouncing off the high ceilings. The Gullwings all winced at the volume of the shout and the echo that followed. "I'll go speak with my father at once and then -"

Yuna quickly cut him off. "I'm afraid we can't do that, sir. We need to keep this a secret and sneak you out of the palace without anyone noticing." Charming's confusion on the matter forced Rikku to intervene.

"Imagine what your dad or that Lady Audley person would say or do if they found out you were sneaking out in the middle of the night to abscond with some mystery girl. Wouldn't be pretty, would it?" The blonde swiftly explained

"That's true..." The Prince took a moment to consider both the Gullwings and their offer. This was the tricky part. Of whether he would trust three complete strangers. And if not, well, things were about to get messy...

"Very well. I didn't tell anyone about that chance meeting with that girl earlier today. If the three of you will bring me to her, that's all I need to know." Charming motioned to himself, willfully surrendering to the Gullwings. "I'm yours, ladies."

"Oh, good, he's compliant." Paine said at Charming's offer. Then, she threw a big burlap sack at his feet. "Now get in the bag." After a beat, and some cajouling from Yuna, she then added, "Please."

"Is this really necessary?" Charming asked, but only after he had both feet within the boundary of the sack. "Can't you just escort me or sneak me out?"

"Even if we can get you out of the castle undetected, it would be too conspicuous to have you walk through the streets of town with the three of us." Yuna said in an apologetic tone, bowing slightly as she did. "I know this is awkward, but please, it's for the best."

"I suppose that make sense..." Charming quickly dispelled his hesitancy and gave consent for the Gullwings to do their thing. The Prince was soon swallowed by the folds of the sack. It was at least big enough to give him range of movement of his arms and legs, even with the drawstrings cinched tightly at the top.

"You know, I'm kinda amazed by how well this is going." Rikku blathered on during the process of securing the cargo.

"I know I'm going to come to regret saying this, but I'm amazed you haven't put the moves on him. Yet." Paine groused, quickly adding the final word after a brief pause.

"Eh, I dunno. He's not really my type I think." Rikku confessed, earning her a pair of blank stares. Well deserved stares, considering all the people Yuna and Paine had seen her come onto. "So, like, he and Cindy are going through some stuff, right? That's not fair, and I'm not a total sleazeball. But, overall, I dunno... Charming's okay, I guess."

"Ah, there's that regret. Arrived sooner than I expected."

"Just okay?" Yuna reiterated in a teasing manner.

"Yeah. He's handsome alright, but sort of a generic handsomeness. He's not as cute as Sora, not as buff as Herc. Not as dashing as Aladdin, or as smart as Hiro. I'm sure he's a good guy and all, but..."

"Uh, excuse me, but I can still hear everything that you're saying." Came Charming's muffled voice through the thick fabric of his prison.

"Captives don't get to speak." Paine informed the detained royal, smirking slightly. It might have been a bit sloppy to fool around like this while they were still in the palace, but nabbing Charming was the hard part. From this point forward, it should be smooth sailing for the Gullwings.

Then, just as the trio were about to depart with their willing hostage in tow, a voice rang down the hallway. One that caused the blood of the three women to freeze in their veins, so eerily familiar it was. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine all started and shivered. It couldn't be her... could it?

"Prince Charming? Are you there? I need to speak with you at once!"

Yuna blanched, her complexion turning several shades paler, as she broke out into a cold sweat. Paine gnashed her teeth and grumbled out a curse, her entire body wound tight; fists clenched and shoulders hunched up. Rikku, however, was quickly pushed to the edge of a full-blown panic attack, eyes open wild and wide, as her entire body trembled in terror.

"It's her, it's her! Maleficent, it's Maleficent! She's back from the dead and is gonna kill us all!"

"...Who's there? Come out and show yourselves at once!" Hurried footfalls followed the threat delivered by the dark fae's sound-alike.

"Great, good job." Paine gave the still panicking Rikku a harsh look. "There goes the stealthy approach." Yuna quickly came to her cousin's aid.

"Take it easy, Paine, she's frightened. We all are." Even Yuna had to take a moment to regain her composure and settle her nerves. "That... it did sound just like Maleficent. She has every reason to be spooked."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Rikku huffed, speaking at max volume, forgoing any element of subterfuge. "But... she can't be back, can she? Like.. she's dead. Super dead this time." Just like she used to during a thunderstorm, Rikku crouched down onto her haunches, tucking her chin to her chest and covering her face. "I don't wanna work for her anymore. I like being a good guy again, I like working with Red!"

"That voice, that's Lady Audley. My... fiance, I suppose." Prince Charming explained, still from within the confines of his sack. "If we're suppose to be sneaky about this, I suggest you run right now."

Paine was ready to go as suggested, heaving the burlap sack over her shoulder, but Rikku was still a fearful mess on the floor, Yuna going to console the blubbering blonde.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, Rikku." Yuna dropped down to be at eye level with her cousin, gently coaxing her out of the protective ball she had drawn herself in. This was not the first time she had experienced a Rikku panic attack. "It's not Maleficent, she's gone. And even if she does come back somehow... we'll send her packing right back to wherever she came from. The three of us and Kairi. We're free now and we're not going back." Yuna capped off her speech with a warm smile while placing a hand atop Rikku's head, lovingly mussing her hair up. The Al-Bhed girl sniffed slightly, but did seem to settle down, slowly coming out of the protective stance she placed herself in.

But Rikku did not return quick enough, as the sounds of heels on stone increased in volume and intensity, heralding a new arrival to the gigantic, stretching span of hall. Apparently the one and infamous Lady Audley, the dark-haired woman stared icy daggers at the triad of treasure hunters intruding upon the castle. While she was certainly a beautiful young woman – enough to match or even surpass Cinderella in terms of physical appearance – her very presence was austere and sharp, her aura so cold that – to the Gullwings – it felt as if the temperature in the room plummeted, and the expression on her face was so hateful it was the very opposite of the charming and gracious countenance of Cinderella.

"Who the devil might you be and what have you done to my betrothed?" Lady Audley seethed, eyes narrowing on the sack Paine was carrying.

"Wow, she does sound like Maleficent. That's creepy." Paine said through gritted teeth.

Holding up a hand full of spherical objects, Rikku gave the fearsome noblewoman a cheeky grin, fully over her fear now. "Lady, we're the Gullwings. Heroines by day, treasure hunters by night, and, most importantly..." Rikku hurled whatever she held down onto the ground, the spheres bursting apart. Just as earlier in the day in town, a smokescreen wafted out around the Gullwings, the three women from Spira obscured by the dark haze, using it to make their escape.

"We out! Buh-bye!"

"Guards, guard! Come quick, at once! The Prince has been kidnapped!"

-O-SWLTW-O-

They called it the "hero instinct". At least, that's what Kairi had heard it being called. That moment when someone was in danger and a person's body just acted, regardless of what was happening. Regardless of their fears and doubts or anything else. All conscious thought was overridden by the desire to save those in need.

Well, Kairi's hero's instinct must have been cultivated to a very high point through her journey, seeing as how she didn't remember diving into Cinderella after Marluxia unleashed a circular, buzzing blade of pink energy from his scythe, the saw arcing towards both Princesses. All Kairi remembered was that, in one moment, she felt her heart being weighed down by those awful truths – that her Light was destructive and awful and had hurt the people she held so dearly – and then in the next, both her and Cinderella were face-down in the grass, Marluxia's attack colliding with the front door of the decrepit manse, sending stone and wood flying everywhere.

Getting up to one knee, Kairi scooted forward to put her own body in between her fellow Princess and the wicked Nobody, telling herself that she couldn't allow anyone else to be hurt through her own actions or inaction. I can hate myself later. I can blame myself for everything later. Right now, Cinderella needs me. I need to get up and fight.

"Marluxia! I'm your opponent here." Kairi boldly brandished Destiny's Embrace, even as her voice wavered and cracked in the crisp night's air. "You said it yourself, Cinderella was just a means to an end, so leave her out of this."

Wheeling his scythe about, Marluxia returned Kairi's glare back to her. Just the way he looked at her gave the heartsick Princess the creeps. "If you're so dead set on playing the hero, than do what Sora never could: protect the Princess!"

The wicked scythe sliced through the air again, a sickle of crackling energy following it's wake and tracing it's deadly path towards Kairi and Cinderella. Kairi quickly threw up her Reflera spell in the form of a wall, the blade crashing against the barrier and dispersing into a flutter of flower petals. Marluxia did not give pause for a second, however, continuing to swing his deadly weapon about with both skill and speed, firing blade after blade, streaking through the air and shredding the lawn beneath it.

Every blade that impacted and crashed against her barrier made Kairi wince, her body trembling and her heart and mind flinching; she could feel her fillings shake in their sockets, as the wall of light flickered and faded under the constant barrage, and there was no end in sight to Marluxia's attacks. Doing everything she could to maintain Reflera with just her free left hand, Kairi slowly elevated Destiny's Embrace above her head, both the blade and her right arm shaking as it rose. Cracks began to form along the edge of the magical forcefield. Thin rivers of sweat ran down from her forehead. Kairi had never cast two simultaneously spells of different elements – of different and opposing school, really – but she couldn't just stand around and weather the attacks. Nor could she afford to dispel the shield when Marluxia was also targeting Cinderella. So, with just the one option remaining and the pressure building, Kairi did everything in her power to split her focus in to two: keep the shield erect and strong and then, with the other half, marshal the storm.

Magic burst from the Keyblade's teeth and tip – invisible and inaudible – as more and more chinks were shred away from the Reflera shield. One blade smashed into the barrier and the energy flared around it's shrinking edges and through it's expanding cracks, licking at Kairi's left arm and leaving a series of shallow cuts. Then, the air began to hum and buzz. The flowery Nobody wound up for another strike when a spark cut through the night and a bolt of lightning descended from the sky. The jagged Thundara bolt zipped towards the enemy of it's beckoner, only for Marluxia to twirl about in an unnaturally fluid manner, cloak flaring out around him as he dodged the spell.

Still, this had the desired effect of ceasing his assault, Kairi dropping her shield and putting all her effort into her offence. More and more lightning bolts rained from the sky, tracking Marluxia. Unfortunately for her though, the Graceful Assassin proved that his sobriquet was all too apt, as he effortlessly danced and dodged away from the barrage of Thundara spells. Still, much like her opponent just prior, the Key Bearer would not abate or cease or attack, even if all she accomplished was leaving several scorch marks along the grass.

"I'm actually quite surprised you continue you to fight, even as you realize everything you're fighting for is meaningless." Marluxia said, voice calm and even, despite weaving through a literal lightning storm at the time. "Even if you could obtain victory, the light will continue to shine and cast shadows, and those shadows will continue to spawn the hate, jealousy, and lust that corrupts and rots those around you." A showy, dramatic smirk followed, tilting his head backwards in condescension. Kairi growled under her breath. He wasn't even trying. "Peace and fulfillment are forever beyond your grasp. You'll never have that happily ever after!"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up! I'm sick of hearing all this from you damn Nobodies!" Still channeling Thunder magic, Kairi collected it towards the end of her Keyblade, an undulating orb of pure plasma forming. "My heart is my own and no one or nothing else's! Even this Light; I'll cast it out if I have to!"

Flashing his teeth, Marluxia smirked again at Kairi's sentiments. At her expression of anger towards her own power. The self-loathing Key Bearer could feel her blood boil. She had already gotten sick of the smug and self-satisfied preening her opponent was constantly displaying.

Still, Marluxia did not have much to smile at for long, as Kairi lobbed the plasma sphere at him, the voltic volleyball rushing forward. The pink-haired villain stood his ground, feet planted, and brought his scythe to bare, gripping the haft with both hands. In a flowery flourish, Marluxia spun his weapon about like a great rotary blade, a buzzing blur of green and pink. The plasma sphere collided with the spinning scythe, exploding in a torrent of electrical energy, but was quickly dispersed in all direction, leaving the Nobody unharmed.

"I said 'even if you could' obtain victory." Marluxia returned, his expression darkening, as his cold eyes darted between his two victims. Still clutching his scythe in both hands, Marluxia oriented it so that the spear-like spike capping it was pointing down. "The Organization shall not fall, not here, not when we're so close. So I shall ensure that tiny shred of possibility does not become one of probability."

Thrusting the spike downward, Marluxia flooded the earth with his twisted energy, causing tangles of vines to erupt from the earth. The corrupt creepers immediately shot forward, reaching for Kairi, who didn't bat at an eye at the lashing kudzu. A Strike Raid orbiting around herself cut most of them down to size, and even as more bloomed from the earth, a series of Fire spells torched the plants to cinders.

"I really never should listen to you creeps." Kairi taunted, as she continued to mow down Marluxia's summoned overgrowth. "Every last one of you are all bark and no bite. So say whatever you want, Marluxia, I'm still gonna come out on top." In response, Marluxia actually didn't say anything, instead just simply pointing behind her and towards the manse. It only took a sliver of a second for Kairi to realize what he was pointing to and how bad she had screwed up.

Vines had emerged not just around Kairi, but around the entire mansion grounds... including around Cinderella. As determined and resourceful as always, Cinderella had taken up a piece of lumber which had fallen from the old manor house to defend herself, clumsily clubbing away at the plants, but she could only old out for so long. A vine snagged her by the ankles, immobilizing her, and then another lashed out and seized her wrist, forcing her to drop the makeshift club. Finally, a whole series of creepers snaked around her torso, binding her tight and hoisting her into the air.

"Cinderella!" Kairi charged to try and rescue her fellow Princess, a wall of vines wriggling from the earth to bar her passage. It didn't take much effort to hack them to pieces, but more plants continued to sprout from the earth and assail at her. Eventually, a couple slipped passed her guard and wrapped themselves around her upper body, pinning her biceps to her sides. With her Keyblade and magic temporarily disabled, more and more of Marluxia's garden of evil rose up and bound her, a verdant green cocoon encasing everything beneath her neck and above her knees. Just as with Cinderella, Kairi found herself helpless pulled up, suspended in the air, as the creepers continued to contract and constrict.

"The worlds have no need of you or your powers." Marluxia clenched his fingers and hands together, bidding the vines to do the same, slowly choking the life out of the two young woman. Kairi struggled, trying her best to summon up some strength or magic, but the pain and pressure made such an act impossible. Every spark conjured within her was smothered and stamped out. "Like a beautiful flower bed being consumed by some foul blight, the only way to save it is to cut out the rot..."

Kairi screamed as the last bit of air was squeezed out of her lung, eventually degrading to a wheezing cough. Out of the corner of her darkening vision, she could see Cinderella's face contort with fear and agony, mouth open, but unable to make a noise without any breath. The vines tightened even further, as she could hear her bones and joints creak and pop. Only a little bit longer before the final snap and then...

Flying from out of the darkness behind Marluxia came three figures, rushing past the triumphant Nobody and towards the battlefield. Twin blades flew through the air, followed by a blazing stream of magical energy, Rikku and Yuna's attacks tearing through the vines strangling the two Princesses. Both Kairi and Cinderella fell to the ground in a heap, still in pain, but thankful to being able to breath again. The Gullwings slid into position, imposing themselves between the two young woman and the vicious Nobody.

"Are you two okay?" Yuna quickly gave the two a once over – earning silent affirmation from the two – followed up a Curaga spell to aid in their recovery.

"Jeez, Red, we can't leave you alone for a couple of hours without you finding trouble, can we?" Rikku chided gently, as her dagger boomeranged back to her hands.

Kairi let the slight barb slide off her, instead focusing on her breathing and making sure that both she and Cinderella were okay. "You guys... really have impeccable timing, you know that?" She said with a weary smile. Rikku returned the grin and winked at her.

"Comes with years of practice."

The only reaction Marluxia showed to the trio of interlopers was to sniff distastefully. "I see you too have your own band of imbeciles to come to your aid..." Paine shot a steely glare to the sinister scythe wielder at that comment.

"Did he just compare us to the duck and the dog? Ugh, whatever..." Turning to Cinderella, Paine struggled with the bulging burlap bag she was carrying with her. Whatever was inside of it was wriggling about rather animatedly. "Look, I know this isn't the ideal time or place for your reunion, but we don't have a lot of time, so..." Paine upturned the sack, spilling out it's contents, Prince Charming being unceremoniously dumped onto the manse lawn.

"Hmm... next time I get kidnapped I'm going to demand a horse and carriage..." The Prince groused and grumbled, flexing his back, before his eyes fell on Cinderella, the blonde slowly crawling towards him on her knees. The complaints stopped and the pain ceased, the world falling away, as Charming gaped at the Princess before him, something twinkling in his eyes. "It's you..."

"Yes, Charming. Do you remember me now?" Cinderella was smiling, ear to ear, bright and hopeful. Everyone could see it on Charming's face, as Cinderella took hold of her beloved's hand, that glimmer of recognition. More a memory than a feeling, but it was there all the same, just beyond his reach.

"I... I'm not sure. Even earlier today, you seemed so familiar to me, but there's a fog..."

The remainder of Charming's speech was drowned out by the thunder of hoofbeats and wooden wheels rumbling over the ground. Several horse-drawn carriages began to flood into the area, joining the intruding Gullwings, with palace guards pouring out and forming a semi-circle around the area and pointing crossbows at Key Bearer, Princess, Prince, Gullwing, and Nobody alike. Stepping out of the final carriage was the grim and severe presence of Lady Audley, who glared daggers when she caught sight of Cinderella.

"I take it things didn't go smoothly?" Kairi said in a low voice as the guards surrounded them.

"Oh they did... at first." Was Yuna's response, warily watching the guards as well as Marluxia and Lady Audley, seeing as how they were the source for all this commotion.

"All of you, drop your arms and step away from the Prince this instance!" The captain of the guards ordered, but quickly blanched when he saw that no one was obeying him. Before things could escalate, though, Charming about faced – still standing near to Cinderella – and addressed the captain.

"Now hold on, captain, don't do anything rash." The dashing royal held his hands out, begging for caution and peace. "This woman..." He motioned to Cinderella, quickly, "I don't really know how to describe it, but there's something about her. There's an explanation to all of this and I for one want to hear it."

That gave all the guards pause, as they mumbled and murmured among each other, lowering their crossbows slightly. The captain nodded towards his liege, giving Charming the benefit of the doubt, even as the duplicitous noblewoman beside him fumed and raged.

"Nonsense!" Lady Audley snapped, marching up to the guard captain. "These wretched woman kidnapped your Prince and you're not going to do anything? Arrest them or slay them, just be done with it!"

The captain flinched away from Audley's tirade, stammering out a response. "Apologies my lady, but... I can't exactly refuse orders from the Prince." Lady Audley's rage only deepened, refined features twisting with rage.

"I know it's you, stepmother!" Cinderella called out from the back of the group, eyes now locked on the disguised Lady Tremaine, love replaced with loathing. "I know you're behind all of this and I'm going to make it right!"

Lady Audley pushed passed the guard captain and towards Cinderella, passing by Marluxia. The pink-haired Nobody seemed content with letting the drama play out for now, oozing behind the noblewoman and almost acting as her shadow.

"Clever girl..." Audley assessed with a sneer. "You should be thanking me for my mercy, Cinderella. I decided to let you live in ignorant bliss instead of removing you entirely, but it seems I've grown soft in my age..." Confusion bubbled up amongst the guards, growing even more as Audley withdraw a fine ivory wand from her sleeve. "I don't know by what means you manage to resist my spell, but you've left me with no choice. I'll gladly tie up this loose end, even if I have to do it myself." Audley sharply flicked the wand about, intoning the magic words to use it.

"Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"

Fell green sparks blitzed out the end of the wand, flying into the air with a final flick and swish, before swarming around the guards. The tainted magic struck the men, who immediately began to cry out in agony, collapsing to the ground and writhing about helplessly. Soon thereafter, everything about the guards that could be described as human bubbled and melted away, flesh and hair and clothing shredded away as the demonic forms of Neo-Shadow Heartless rose up in their place.

Cinderella gasped in horror, as the newborn Heartless made an immediate rush towards the six humans. "I knew that you were a horrible person before, but... how could you do this?" Cinderella hollered at her wicked stepmother, just as Kairi and the Gullwings met the shadowy fiends, forming a protective line between the Heartless and Cinderella and Charming.

"You know why, Cinderella." Marluxia cackled from the shadows, as the din of battle grew ever louder. "I explained everything already. Your Light twisted the hearts of Lady Tremaine and her daughters. By flaunting all your gifts and your charms it created jealous and spite. Why, if you had never existed, I'm sure the three of them would have grown to be paragons of beauty and virtue." The only response Cinderella had for the former Lord of Castle Oblivion was dirty, disparaging look. Though his comments did bring up a question.

"And where are Anastasia and Drizella?" The Princesses demanded of her stepmother. "I can't imagine you would enact a plan like this without them being at your side." Sneering once more, Lady Audley inclined her head in superiority at her stepdaughter. At that point, at the perfect angle, the faint moonlight illuminated the crystalline earring the noblewoman was wearing. In that moment, both Kairi and Cinderella could see the faint image of two homely young woman within the crystals, fighting against the confines of the gemstones.

Cinderella gasped in horror, backing away from the monstrously evil sight. "You're... you're awful! They're your daughters!"

"They are a pair of incompetent nitwits!" Said Lady Audley, waving the wand to summon more Heartless. "At first I thought I would use them as a proxy, when I realized that – with this wand – I can do anything, have anything!" A delirious and crazed expression came over the features of the duplicitous woman, as she held the magic wand above her head. "I don't need my worthless daughters, why, I don't even need the Prince or the king! I can have anything in the world, all with a flick of my wrists!"

"Lady Audley, or whoever you might be, stop this madness at once!" Came Prince Charming, looking equal parts confused and horrified but the scenes playing out before him. During all of this, Kairi was desperately trying to break through the line of Heartless to get at either Lady Audley or Marluxia to try and bring an end to all of this. "I don't know what you're after, but I will not let you harm anyone here." Standing side-by-side with Cinderella, this time it was Charming who took hold of her hand. A faint smile began to form on his lips, slowly curling, as if he couldn't fully process whatever it was he was feeling. "I may be missing something here, but this woman... no, Cinderella. I feel something so wonderful within her heart. I think in a past life I loved her!"

Cinderella and Audley had perfectly opposite reactions to Charming's declaration, with Cinderella striking a gentle and content expression, basking in the love he showed her, while Lady Audley seethed, teeth bared and eyes narrowing. Her hands tightened around the wand as she held it upright, aimed at the source of her scorn.

"Disgusting! I should have known your love and your Light couldn't simply be swept under the rug. It seems I'll have to resort to more drastic measures to deal with you."

"No! Don't!" Kairi could barely see the wicked stepmother threaten Cinderella and Charming and tried her hardest to make her way to them, but found herself boxed in on all sides by Large Bodies. She didn't even have clean line of sight for a spell! She was entirely powerless...

"I cast you to hell, Cinderella! Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"

Another spark of sickly green light sputtered through the air, making a deadly beeline right for the Princess and her beau. Marluxia watched on with ghoulish glee, while the Gullwings were similarly tangled up with Heartless, unable to break away from the throng of fiends and intercept. Both Cinderella and Charming stood deathly still, full-on deer in the headlights look, as their very death raced towards them.

Then, when it seemed all hope was lost, Cinderella found the courage within her again, determination

alighting her features, as she took a step forward, placing herself bodily in between Charming and the fatal spell. Audley's curse streamed towards her, with the defiant Princess puffing out her chest and throwing her arms out, shielding her most cherished person. Her eyes went wide the moment the magic made contact, the deathly emerald shade spreading over her, but only for a brief instance, before the malicious magic was met with magic of a more gentle and benevolent sort.

Warmth and peace radiated from Cinderella, as an aura of light encircled the girl, shielding her from the baneful hatred her stepmother had fired. The spell then rebounded off of Cinderella, now coloured a rosy pink instead, and returned right towards it's caster, smashing right into the hand of Lady Audley, causing the Fairy Godmother's magic wand to fly out of her grasp and into the air.

The wand tumbled towards the sky in a perfect upward angle, Kairi seeing her opportunity, as she broke away from the last remaining Large Body and dashed beyond it's reach. If it stayed on it's current trajectory, the wand would just fall back into Audley's hands. Cinderella was moving forward, but she wouldn't be able to reach the wand in time. But Kairi was coming to intercept, having bolted in a wide arc along the lawn, coming from Lady Audley's blindside and looking straight at Cinderella. She had this, she had this! She could snag the wand herself with her Water Whip, or use a Strike Raid to knock it towards Cinderella. Fully sprinting as the wand reached it's apex, Kairi held Destiny's Embrace up and -

"I think not!"

Swinging his scythe again, Marluxia conjured a tornado of rose petals, the leafy whirlwind quickly scooping Kairi up and hurling her into the air, even as the razor sharp petals slashed into her. Spinning uncontrollably and moving up and away from the wand, Kairi could see the look of victory appear on Lady Audley's face, the wand slowly descending back into her grasp.

"I'm not giving up. I'm not going to let you steal their love and happiness." With a wild and ungainly motion, Kairi hurled her Keyblade towards the wand. The sacred blade wobbled in an awkward arc, turning end-over-end and completely off axis. Quite a pathetic and ungraceful scene, all and all, so bad that it couldn't be called a proper Strike Raid. But, the weapon completed it's path, if only barely and by the thinnest of margins. Just as the wand was slightly more than a fingertip away from Lady Audley's outstretched hands, Destiny's Embrace bobbled over, the pommel of the blade catching the wand dead center and sending it off course, right into the hands of...

"Cinderella! Do it!"

The blonde Princess held onto the ivory wand like it was her final lifeline, staring down her stepmother as she did.

"Relinquish that at once, you foolish girl!" Lady Audley glowered at her obstinate stepdaughter. "You don't have any idea as to what you're doing."

Cinderella's gaze only hardened. "I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm taking my life back." She swished the wand back and forth, glimmers of white light following in it's wake, as if in response to Cinderella's incantation. "Return what was lost and restore that which we won. Let this wicked spell be undone!

"Bibbidi.

"Bobbidi.

"Boo."

The magic of the wand and the magic of the heart resonated against each other, unleashing a torrent of light that cascaded through the mansion grounds. A towering pillar of light erupted, stretching far into the night's sky, followed by a rippling wave which washed over those in the area. The intense light consumed everything, but Kairi did not avert her eyes. She was not blinded or pained from looking at the brightness or it's source and, as always, felt at peace through the gentle warmth swirling about her body. This was a testament to the power of desire and hope, the proof of Cinderella's love and her Light. Her very soul.

So why can't I do something like this? What is wrong with me, my heart, and my feelings?

The flood rushed over everything, spreading out further and further until it grew thin and dissipated, leaving only a brief few motes still hanging in the air. The effects of the holy magic were immediately evident, as the Fairy Godmother was free of her stone prison, gathering her bearings in the corner where she had been frozen. The Heartless had all been banished and the guards that had been transformed into Heartless were alive and well, too, though looking quite confused and frightened. The spell had peeled away the disguise that was Lady Audley, revealing the older and frightening visage of Lady Tremaine, stewing in her own anger, while her two daughters scrabbled at her feet, also confused and frightened.

But, most importantly, Charming had scooped up Cinderella in his arms the moment the flood of light passed, tendering embracing her, looking as if he wanted to never let go.

"What on earth came over me?" He softly murmured into her shoulder, the two swaying slightly in the wake of the light storm. "How could I ever forget you, Cinderella?" Said Princess simply shut her eyes, cradling her body against hers. On her face was a smile bigger and brighter than Kairi had ever seen anyone smile before.

"That's okay, it's not important. All that matters is your safe and everything is back to normal."

Of course, not everyone was feeling as loving and joyful as the couple, with Lady Tremaine burning with wrathful ire, eyes wide and hateful, teeth clenched and bared. The very picture of derangement. "Marluxia!" She stormed over to the Silhouette Nobody, barking orders as she did. "Do something! Fix this at once!"

The Graceful Assassin seemed quite annoyed at being spoken too in such a manner, pupils narrowing as Lady Tremaine approached. "I beg your pardon?"

"You were the one who came up with this plan, and now it's gone off the rails!" Tremaine ranted and raved before pointing a finger at Cinderella and Charming. "Give me back that wand and finish off those wretched fools! This is your fault and I demand you fix it!" The two locked eyes, each villain giving the other a contemptuous look, before Marluxia gave a scornful shake of his head.

"You seem to be under a misconception regarding the nature of our agreement, so allow me to clarify." The Nobody brought up his right hand, a black blaze burning around his gloved hand. Marluxia's fingers flexed and twitched as her threateningly loomed over the wicked stepmother. "The only reason why I agreed to help you was to lure out the Key Bearer. You have done your part, so I have no reason to concern myself with your frivolities, nor do I have any further use for you..."

Then, to the horror of all watching, Marluxia plunged his flame-clad hand into Lady Tremaine's chest! The noblewoman let out a rattling screech, rearing back as to escape her assailant, even as Marluxia's hand dug deeper and deeper, his hand vanishing up to the wrist. Kairi felt her stomach roil from such a violent act, and she could even see the concern present on Cinderella's eyes; her stepmother may have been a monster, but even this was too much.

"However, all that glorious darkness bubbling within your heart... I can still make use of that."

As fast as it pierced her sternum, Marluxia quickly withdrew his hand, leading Lady Tremaine to stagger off in pain, clutching at the cavernous wound rent in her chest, even as a torrent of darkness poured out and began to envelop her. Both Anastasia and Drizella cried out as their mother was consumed by the darkness, her body very rapidly disintegrating, while Marluxia remained casual to it all, dismissively flicking his hand in an attempt to clean off the blood which stained his glove and cloak.

Eventually, all that once was Lady Tremaine was consumed by her own spite and hatred, a mass of shadows eating away at her physical being before taking shape itself. The shadow towered into the form of a humanoid being, near fifteen-feet tall, still retaining a feminine shape and dressed in a tattered, gaudy ball gown that was draped over the black matter that constituted a Heartless's body. The Scary Godmother Heartless lacked legs, as the only thing below it's waste was a bloated, half-rotten pumpkin, the sickly orange gourd bursting at the seems while four thorny vines flailed about it. A pair of great butterfly wings spread from the back of the Heartless, fluttering slightly and coloured in bright, psychedelic colours, while it also clutched a twisted and gnarled branch, flicking it about like a wand.

The Gullwings quickly girded themselves for battle, facing down the Heartless and Nobody tag-team. "Hey, I know we're use to the boss being a Guardian, but that's not the case here. Normal rules for Heartless apply; you have to strike it down otherwise it will just re-spawn later." Paine advised Kairi, just as the Key Bearer sprinted past the line her companions formed. The redhead made motion that she had heard Paine's advice, but she was busy currently rushing to Cinderella and Charming.

"You guys need to get out of her and take everyone to safety." Kairi told the two, looking back over her shoulder, grimly assessing the battle to come. "We can handle things from here."

Cinderella nodded, placing a hand on her fellow Princess' shoulder and saying, "Stay safe yourself, Kairi." The Key Bearer nodded and gave small, yet confident, smile.

"We need to get out of the area immediately!" Prince Charming called out to the contingent of guardsmen, who were still hopelessly lost as to what was happening. "Up and at it boys, let's go!" Meanwhile, as the guards slowly got to their feet at the behest of their liege, Cinderella was escorting her Fairy Godmother beyond the battlefield, even taking a moment to help her two stepsisters up and take them to safety as well.

True to his word, at the very least, Marluxia paid no attention to the evacuation, instead splitting his attention between his enemies and his latest creation. "Do you see now, Princess? Proof of the malignant shadows you and your kind create."

Kairi was hearing none of it, summoning her Keyblade and crouching into a fighting stance. "Keep on talking, Marluxia, we both know you're wrong. You were the one who pushed Lady Tremaine into this, not Cinderella or her Light. And despite all the harm you did and all the lies you spread, Cinderella and Charming found their way back to each other. They fought for their own peace and happiness."

All three of the Gullwings tuned into the banter between Key Bearer and Nobody, noting the intensity in Kairi's voice and words. Clearly they had missed something during their brief absence.

In response to Kairi's words, Marluxia gave another condescending smirk, analyzing her with his cold, emotionless eyes. "And you? Do you think your Light will ever bring you peace and happiness?"

Kairi went to speak, searching her an answer, but none came to mind. She stood there for a handful of seconds, eyes wide and staring, suddenly feeling very hollow and empty about herself and her best friend.

"...I'm going to smash your teeth down your throat." Kairi said, cold venom lacing her voice.

The Scary Godmother Heartless was first to act, the mindless demon not caring for banter or threats. It's tendril-like vines surged forward, snapping and lashing towards the four heroines, with all of them scattering about the witchy Heartless. The fiend followed up by firing bolts of magic from it's crooked wand, deep violet explosions forming where the bolts landed. Kairi quickly took to the offensive, working through some of her anger in the process, by blasting the Heartless with a quick succession of Fire and Blizzard spells. The Gullwings joined in too; even if they lacked Keyblades and couldn't permanently banish the Heartless, they could still do some damage. Yuna joined in with Kairi in hailing the Scary Godmother with rapid spellfire, while Rikku used a grapple-wire to ascend to the sky, hooking onto the head of the demon and slashing along it's back while she scaled it.

The Heartless, nearly immobile due to it's gargantuan gourd of a lower-body, thrashed about in response to the flurry of attacks, before using it's fell magic to conjure several pumpkins. The fruits hovered in the air for a moment, a wave of the Heartless' wand sending them flying through the air. Like meteorites, the pumpkins slammed into the earth, sending clouds of dirt and grass into the air, followed by devastating shockwaves rippling along the earth, before detonating into fiery explosions. Between the impact, the waves, and the flames, it was enough to shut-off the offence of the heroines, the bursts throwing Kairi and Yuna off their feet, while knocking Rikku out of the air. Fiery sprites flowed out of the wake of the blasts, little balls of fire which bounced about the area, threatening to scorch and burn Kairi and the others even further.

With the mansion grounds quickly reduced to a chaotic warzone, the four young women quickly gathered up, Kairi, Yuna, and Paine all throwing up their shields to weather the attacks, even as the boss Heartless continued to fire eldritch blasts at them. Fire and magic crashed against the barriers, rattling them but not breaking them, before the bouncing balls of flames subsided. However, another snaking vine shot out from the base of the Scary Godmother, spearing through all three magical walls – barely missing Kairi, even as the thorns raked against her cheek and shoulder – and scattering the girls again.

Kairi now found herself the sole target of the Heartless' attacks, thrusting all of it's vines at her in an attempt to skewer the wielder of the bane of all Heartless. Eschewing her Reflera shield, she duked and dived left and right, moving in a rhythm as she avoided the repetitive attack. Yuna and Rikku went back to attacking the main body to no avail, but Paine stood next to the Key Bearer and glared down the Heartless. One vine shot into the air, coming at Kairi from a high right angle, and another came straight at her. Paine intercepted the former, leaping high into the air and cleaving the thorny creeper in half. Destiny's Embrace took off next, Kairi making up for her shoddy throw earlier with a perfect toss, the flowery Keyblade sawing the vine straight down the center, splitting the entire tendril from tip to base, before furiously grinding into the black matter of the Heartless.

Breaking into a full sprint, Kairi followed the path of her weapon, stepping over the split vine, before jumping up to meet her Keyblade, descending like a shooting star while throwing her entire body into a slash, Destiny's Embrace biting into the Heartless and leaving a deep, ruinous gouge across it's body. The Scary Godmother squirmed about, finally reacting to the repeated strikes, before slumping over. With the boss now stunned, Kairi charged up for her next attack, aiming for a big Fire spell to push the Heartless to the edge of defeat.

She just barely saw the flash of pink dancing across her periphery.

Rolling across the lawn, Kairi barely avoided the whirling slash of Marluxia, the Nobody throwing himself across the sky while spinning with his scythe extended. She cursed herself for letting him out of her sight; he must have been stalking in the shadows while they dealt with the Heartless, waiting for the moment to strike.

Still possessing that patronizing grin, Marluxia waved his scythe in an arc around him, summoning a series of broad flower petals that floated in the space around him. The Graceful Assassin made to close the gap between him and Key Bearer, his flower petals surging forth like drones, pelting Kairi with a string of pink laser beams. The beams were easy enough for Kairi to deflect with her Keyblade and barrier, but came at such a rapid clip that she couldn't advance or retreat, forced to defend while rooted in place, while Marluxia came into reach, swinging that deadly scythe about with reckless abandon. The curved blades singed as it sliced through the air, forcing the Key Bearer onto the backfoot – now uprooted and moving – attempting to defend herself at all angles.

The petal drones broke off formation and began to swarm about Kairi, still firing their lasers while also zipping back and forth, attempting to stab her with their sharp tips, all while Marluxia pursued and continued to attack. Between the speed of his swings, the reach of the haft, and the awkwardness of his weapon, he had all the advantage, Kairi barely able to stay out of range and unable to counter or strike back. Another angled, dervish of a spinning blow nearly caught Kairi in the neck, the girl almost forced to limbo under the scythe, as a laser beam singed her in the ribs, another one of the petals slammed right into her leg, embedding itself in her left calf.

Taking her eyes of the Silhouette for one second, Kairi summoned a whirlwind around herself, the Aero spell scooping up three of the drones and sending them flying, shattering when the current smashed them against the trunk of a tree. But in that second, Marluxia brought his scythe up above his head, bringing the fatal blade straight down onto Kairi. The redhead turned back to face the reaper in black, going for a defensive position, but even she could tell it wouldn't be fast enough or strong enough to stop this attack...

"Hey! Don't forget she's not your only opponent." The horrid screech of metal on metal mixed in with Paine's voice, as the crooked point of the scythe's blade dragged down the face of her shield. Marluxia actually did look quite surprised to see the swordswoman intervening, dropping his guard as Paine pounced, the grey-haired woman stabbing the Nobody in the stomach with her broadsword. Marlxuia grunted as a spurt of black blood rushed out of the wound, before pushing off and away, quickly retreating from the new enemy.

Paine gave chase and Kairi, emboldened by the appearance of her ally, quickly dispatched the remaining drones before joining in as well. The dark and dour Gullwing kept Marluxia off-balance with a flurry of heavy slashes, forcing the Nobody to defend. He attempted to summon more drones, but Paine just swatted them out of the sky with ease. Keeping her shield up and pushing back, Paine continued to thrust and stab at the Nobody, not scoring anymore direct hits, but still getting shallow cuts and nicks in. The Nobody growled in frustration, before lashing out in blind rage with his scythe.

Kairi rejoined the conflict just in time for Marluxia to parry one of Paine's strikes, knocking her sword aside and opening her up. "Apologies, but I don't waste my time dealing with sidekicks." Marluxia said before delivering a powerful kick, square in Paine's chest. The swordswoman was sent flying back, leaving Marluxia to turn and wheel up on Kairi, a flowery whirlwind forming around him. "One of my status only crosses blades with the hero!"

Levitating in the air through the power of the funnel of flowers, Marluxia cackled gleefully before unleashing more curved blades of pernicious pink energy. The first strike caught Kairi completely by surprised, barely getting her weapon up in time before the sickle smashed into her, forcing her back while sizzling and searing her flesh, a blossom of pink leaflets exploding from the point of impact. From his vantage point, Marluxia continued to rain down blades upon his victim, sharp sickles whistling through the night air and putting the Key Bearer back on the defensive.

"You can see it now, can't you girl? How fragile and dangerous the light it." As Marluxia taunted and assailed, Kairi furiously avoiding each attack, the battle against the boss Heartless roared on in the background, Yuna and Rikku doing their best to contain the demon without outright destroying it. Paine had been thrown into the wall of the mansion and was struggling to get back into fighting form. "You're not using it, after all. You know, you know how no matter how many victories it earns you, it will eventually consume and destroy all you hold dear."

Kairi piroutted away from one blade, before quickly rolling underneath another. Destiny's Embrace had been in her grip this entire time, funnelling magic into itself. "Actually, I don't know. I don't know one way or the other what the light – my Light – is." Kairi returned. Marluxia was – just as the Cait Sidhe Heartless – just out of reach of her Water Whip. She would have to approach this at a different angle. "But you Organization creeps seem to think I'm nothing more than the light. I'm not the light. I'm strong!"

Narrowly avoiding another blistering energy scythe, Kairi held her Keyblade aloft, sending the mana it had gathered into the air. Rewinding back to the start of their clash, the air cracked and hummed, before the Thundara spell ignited, sending a twisting bolt of lightning down on Marluxia. The Nobody showed no distress in response to the spell, simply twirling his scythe above his head to block the blow and diffuse the electrical charge. Still, the impact of the lightning strike had the desired effect, pushing Marluxia back down to the ground, now facing Kairi on an even keel.

Without missing a beat, Marluxia leaped forward, heaving his body forward in a wide arc, swinging the entirety of himself and his scythe and unleashing another blade to zero in on Kairi. This would be the big gambit.

Psyching herself up, Kairi ran towards the blade – not away, but directly into it's path – picking up speed before she brought her Keyblade before her, held in both hands with the tip aimed at Marluxia, and used her mana to propel herself forward, accelerating to speeds beyond her normal limit. Kairi zipped along the ground – the toe of her boots dragging through the grass, nearly flying or floating – as she collided with the deadly blade. Her Sonic Blade won out, though, crashing through the attack as if it were nothing, more flower petals flowing about around her and the mach cone that had formed around her body. Marluxia's eyes widened in shock at the turn of events, before Kairi's blistering velocity brought her right to him. Unable to react, Marluxia feebly attempted to block the charging Princess, only for her to slip through his guard, the Keyblade's bouquet of teeth jamming themselves into the wound Paine and previously made, her momentum overtaking him soon thereafter, bowling Marluxia over as Kairi continued to rocket along her path.

Coming to a skidding stop, Kairi had to marvel at herself in her Keyblade in unbridled surprise for a moment. She had never been able to pull of a Sonic Blade – even if it was only one complete pass – so effortlessly before. But, hey, Marluxia had been overwhelmed and was struggling to get up, why fix what wasn't broken? Kairi repeated the motions of her art, rocketing off the lawn and towards her foe again, but this time she also charged herself and her Keyblade with lightning mana. Violet electricity coursed around the Keyblade wielding girl and Keyblade wielding girl coursed around the battlefield, zipping in sharp, erratic arcs and flashes that were near impossible to follow. Her Sonic Thunder Blade carried her along, dealing repeated damage to Marluxia and the Heartless, though Kairi did her best to control her wild path in order to target the Nobody. Just as with their first clash, the sheer speed and momentum of Kairi's attack made it impossible for Marluxia to dodge or withstand the attacks, the most he could manage was deflect the course of Destiny's Embrace's blitz. And if the Keyblade didn't bite into his flesh, then he was scorched and shocked by the aura of electricity surging around Kairi.

A series of six rushing strikes sent Kairi on repeated collision courses with the Nobody and the Heartless, finishing the combo with a final charge that saw her smash full-force into Marluxia, blowing him off of his feet with a thunderous impact, bolts of lightning arcing into the air! With all the magical lightning still coalescing about her, Kairi directed it everywhere around it, unleashing a flood of plasma that further scored against the flesh of her enemies.

The Scary Godmother sagged and sighed again, looking quite worn down and ragged despite Kairi not actively engaging it; the Gullwings had certainly put in work while she handled Marluxia. The flowery Nobody was in a similar stunned position, hunched over and clutching the bleeding wound in his chest, and Kairi – remembering Paine's advice – focused her attention on the wounded and weakened Heartless.

"Paine! Give me a boost!" Kairi called out while dashing towards her ally. Yuna and Rikku had gone to work containing the Heartless – Yuna firing a Slow spell to turn the movements of the fae Heartless sluggish and languid, while Rikku used her ice bombs to freeze it's roots in place and remove them from the equation – so this was the perfect opportunity to finish it off.

The swordswoman nodded at the command, kneeling on the ground and holding her shield above her head, serving as a launch pad for her team leader, Kairi springing off the shield to reach the height of the Heartless' head with a twisting leap. Slowly, fighting against it's own injuries and the baleful effects of the Slow spell, the Scary Godmother brought it's wand up, aiming it at Kairi and charging another eldritch blast. The gnarled branch was met with a blazing, whirling Keyblade, the Fire Raid Art ripping through the implement before shredding along the Heartless' arm and piercing through it's body with ease, boring a flaming hole in it's side. As quick as she threw it, Kairi recalled her still ablaze Keyblade into her hand, before diving at the Heartless, still rotating through the air. The blade of her magic sword buzzed in the circular arc, as the flames grew and spread into a burning funnel around the girl, as she descended upon Lady Tremaine's shadow like a spiraling, shooting star. With blade and blaze, Kairi easily cut through the black matter of the Heartless, leaving another gaping hole in the being of the Heartless.

As she safely came to a sliding stop, the physical mass of the Heartless began to breakdown, the dark matter that formed it's body beginning to dissipate into ephemeral shadow. Disintegrating into motes of darkness that soon vanished into the night's sky, Kairi could see the heart of Lady Tremaine leave the abyssal morass, likewise disappearing into the aether. The last shred of her cruelty had been purged from this world, leaving only one shadow to torment the Castle of Dreams...

"You... you!" Marluxia's composure had degraded rapidly after Kairi's furious assault. Black blood gushed from the hole in his chest and from the corner of his lips, while dark, burnished electrical burns dotted his flesh and the material of his cloak. His lower jaw jutted out, fangs bared, with demonic malice blooming in his cold, otherwise emotionless eyes. "I will not have you ruin my plans just like that worthless little witch! You and your other are a blight – a mistake never meant to exist! I will avenge my previous death and put an end to you here and now, Princess!"

Raising his hands into the sky, Marluxia conjured another whirlwind – black, stormy winds full of bright pink petals gleaming sharply against the dark cyclone – but this one centered on himself and much larger and much fiercer than his previous creations. The Gullwings formed up behind Kairi, ready to attack the Nobody before he could attack, but the de-facto leader of the trio held a hand up, silently holding them off. Kairi felt this urgency within her, telling her that she had to strike this Nobody down herself.

Focusing, Kairi almost tapped into her Light on instinct, but quickly shied away from that power and took hold of her mana instead. She didn't need it. She didn't need it.

She did not need it.

"You said that I have a hole in my heart. That I can feel it." Kairi shouted over the raging storm before her. Much as it pained her to admit it, Marluxia was right about that; for the longest time, Kairi felt as if there was a piece of her missing. She couldn't really describe it beyond that, but every time she reached into herself to find her Light or relive her memories, she could feel it. This great, yawning hole in the core of her heart that wouldn't fill in or repair no matter what. Maybe this hole was the result of this "witch", her Nobody. Maybe that was the reason why she had so much difficulty using her Light. Or maybe not. Kairi wanted to find out the truth of her broken heart, but it wasn't entirely relevant at this point in time.

Marluxia bellowed a baneful curse, direction his cyclone of petals to come down and consume the Princess, the howling winds and razor leaves looming onto her position with a menacing rumble.

Mana exploded into the air, followed by the crisp, salty scent of the sea, as Kairi conjured a roiling vortex of water overhead.

"But there's something else I felt tonight, some other phantom feeling that I'm not sure where it came from. The moment I laid eyes on you, I felt this impossible, burning hatred in my heart, more hate and venom than I ever felt for anyone before in my entire life. Whatever you did to my other... I'm going to end you."

Meeting Marluxia's bellow came Kairi's impassioned roar, as she used her Keyblade to direct the water forward. The torrent surged forth and met the funnel of wind and petals, quickly sweeping away Marluxia's attack before bubbling and cresting into a great tidal wave. The wall of water smashed into the surprised Nobody, crashing into him and washing him away, caught beneath the undercurrent.

Kairi didn't exactly know why, but at that moment, she thought that Marluxia being swept aside and washed out by a wave was an all too poetic and karmic end for him.

As the tide roils out, so does it come in, sure as the sun rises and sets. Kairi pulled her magic wave back to her, dragging the bedraggled and waterlogged Graceful Assassin with it, even as more water gathered about her. Water droplets swarmed about her in two patterns, forming a rushing sluice at her feet which effortlessly carried her forward, on another collision course with her foe. Similarly, the water gathered all around the blade of Destiny's Embrace, before blooming into the form of a massive sword blade, three-feet wide and six-feet long. Kairi held her empowered and enscorcelled Keylade in both hands, rearing back as the tide dragged the flowery Nobody right back to her.

[OCEANIC FINISH: Sea Queen's Wrath!]

Just as the wave brought Marluxia flailing into range, Kairi swung with all her might, the rippling water sword slicing through the Nobody without any resistance whatsoever. A gush of black blood joined the rush of water, the tide bringing it's master to a gentle stop while slamming the Nobody into the ground, before the magical water all dissipated into the air, droplets framed around Kairi and sparkling in the moonlight like a veil of sapphires.

Marluxia coughed and gasped, sucking in what was sure to be his last breath, as he reoriented himself to face Kairi one final time. "Victory may be yours today but it matters not..." Sinking to his knees, the body of the Graceful Assassin was already beginning to crumble and decay into miasma, just as the Heartless did. "But so long as you carry that accursed Light with you, you will never have peace or happiness in your life. You will always bring misery and ruin to those closest to you. Such is... your destiny..."

Just as with Zexion and Lexaues before him, Marluxia's form gave way to that of a damaged and twisted Dusk Nobody, the feeble creature soon expiring and vanishing, too.

The peace and safety of the night filled in the vicious clangour of battle, Kairi quickly dismissing her Keyblade and letting out a weary sigh. The Gullwings had themselves a subdued cheer for another job well done, another victory earned, and another enemy vanquished. Kairi put on a smiling and joined in with her friends, but did little otherwise to mask her emotions. It was the same as with Zexion; she had one the battle, but she had very little to celebrate about it, and now had even more questions dumped onto her plate.

At the very least, this time she didn't suffer a full and complete nervous breakdown and anxiety attack over Marluxia's taunts and threats. Kairi had to let out a very small, very bitter laugh at that realization.

-O-SWLTW-O-

Standing upon the high hilltop that overlooked the palace courtyard, Kairi watch Cinderella and Charming walk away to the front gates, hand in hand. The Gullwings had already beamed back to the ship, but Kairi kept vigil, kept her eyes on the happy couple, even as they grew smaller and smaller the further away they retreated. Goodbyes and well-wished had been exchanged, but the confused and heartsick warrior wanted to make sure nothing else went awry between the two. That Cinderella and Prince Charming could pen the final period on their happy ending.

"Oh, wonderful! You are still here. I was worried you had already departed, deary."

Kairi jumped in start by the sudden appearance of Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, the elderly fae beaming brightly as she approached the Key Bearer.

"Oh, uh... Fairy Godmother. Sorry, you surprised me. Here I thought you would want to be with Cinderella and Charming."

"Oh, I do, but there will be plenty of time for that later." The Godmother giggled slightly. "But I did want to personally thank you for all you did to help my precious Cinderella." Kairi blushed and awkwardly fiddled with her hair at the praise.

"Well... you're welcome, but I feel like I didn't do a whole lot." It was the same story over and over. People offering Kairi praise and thanks for just being in the right place at the right time. "Cinderella got the wand and reversed the spell. Not to mention keeping her spirit this strong after all the abuse she suffered... she's so strong, it's incredible. If it were me going through all of this, I would have broken down into a weeping mess long ago, crying out for someone to save me."

The Fairy Godmother gave Kairi a look that read "I don't believe that for an instant" but made no mention and instead said, "Cinderella's heart is a wonderful thing, strong and determined, focused on her dream. But you need more than just hope to realize your dream. You also need hard work," the Fairy Godmother than placed a supportive hand on Kairi's shoulder, "and a little bit of help from your friends. You did a lot to help her tonight, just as the other Key Bearers did. Ven, Terra, and Aqua helped her meet Charming in the first place, Sora brought her back home, and you stopped Lady Tremaine from stealing that dream away."

Kairi's eyes flickered at the mention of the other, mysterious Key Bearers. She had learned quite a lot tonight, and yet, felt as if she knew even less than when she first arrived to the Castle of Dreams.

Still, questions required answers, and Kairi did have the ear of a wise and magical being. What was the harming in asking? "Hey... um, while I have you for a moment, do you think I could ask some questions?" Kairi spoke in a hesitant and shaky tone, but the matronly fairy smiled and nodded graciously, letting Kairi continue. "Those three Key Bearers that came here ten years ago, who are they? Do you know?"

The Godmother sighed and shook her head. "I'm afraid not. They left our lives as fast and suddenly as they entered it. I have no clue where Aqua and the others came from or what happened to them, but, considering all that happened in the past ten years, I'm afraid something terrible must have befallen them."

That was all too true. Aqua was locked away in that dark place. And clearly if no one was around to oppose Maleficent or the Organization all these years ago, these Terra and Ven characters were dealt a similar hand. Maybe they were in the same abyss Aqua found herself in?

Just another thing to add to the to-do list. Kairi thought, sorting through all the things she still had to accomplish. I'm going to save Sora. Then we'll find Riku. Then we'll pull Aqua out of that darkness. Terra and Ven after that. We'll figure all of this out.

"The thing that's really been bothering me though... do you think Marluxia is right?" It felt dirty just saying it, but Kairi couldn't turn away from the awful possibility that the Nobody's slanderous claims carried some element of truth to them. "That our Light creates shadows, creates our own problems. That every that has happened has all been our fault."

After a moment of consideration, the Fairy Godmother replied with a simple, "Perhaps." Kairi flinched at the answer, but her guide wasn't finished answering. "Light creates shadows, that much is true. And maybe Cinderella's poise and grace caused Lady Tremaine no shortage of turmoil and anger. Maybe you created those inadequate and possessive feelings in the hearts of your friends." Kairi winced, not enjoying this further explanation of things. Each "maybe" was like a nail being driven into her heart. "But," the Fairy Godmother gave her a knowing, yet sympathetic look, "even if we can't control what emotions we feel, we still have the choice to act upon or disregard those emotions. We still have agency and control of our hearts, something a Nobody can't possibly understand. Cinderella might have created that jealousy, but Lady Tremaine and she alone chose to abuse her, work her half to death, treat her like a slave.

"As for Sora and Riku." The Fairy Godmother smiled again, but Kairi shied away, flushing slightly. Of course she was this perceptive as to hone in on what was really bothering her. "You might be indecisive and feel insecure, and those boys might act rashly, possessive, and inadequate, but remember... you're all still children. You have so much to learn, still and plenty of time to grow, mature, and learn from your mistakes. "

Blinking, Kairi actually felt those uneasy feelings in her heart settle, if only slightly. Sometimes she forgot that she and Sora were only fifteen, that Riku would only be sixteen. It had seemed like an eternity since their carefree adolescence, and they had experienced more things in the past year than people two, three times their age had in their lifetimes. Sora was flighty and fickle, spending so much time running away from her only to throw his life away at the drop of the time... for now. Who knew what the future held for him? For her? After all, she had once heard someone say you can't become a mature, complete person if you don't start out immature and empty.

Still, Kairi had plenty of questions left for the Fairy Godmother.

"What about... the Light. Our Light." Kairi's sudden bouncing between topics was almost enough to give both speaker and listener whiplash. "What exactly is it? Where did it come from and what is it for?" It might seem like a stretch, but so far no one had any answer as to this question, maybe the Fairy Godmother had some insight regarding this secret of the universe?

"That power -" The elderly fairy began but quickly stopped, furrowing her brow in deep concentration. "Surely you heard the tale of how the light preserved the world and it's people when they faced oblivion?" Kairi smiled, of course. It was her favourite story as a child. The one she begged her grandmother to recite, over and over. "Well then, let us go back to the beginning."

Drawing her wand, the Fairy Godmother quickly flicked it about, creating a small, inky black sphere. Not one of darkness, but one of, well, nothing. It was just an empty, vacant abyss.

"In the beginning, there was nothing. No worlds, no people, no hearts. Just blank, empty space. The first things ushered into existence – whether by fate or coincidence, something divine or something else – where these."

Another swish through the air and sparks of magic entered the void, creating thirteen objects: seven pinpoints of bright light and six swirling motes of darkness.

"Seven lights and six darkness, the first points of existence. In that void, they all came together and their energies collided, sparked, and burst. It all exploded outward, and in that crucible, everything was created."

The seven lights and six darknesses came together, just as the Fairy Godmother explained, following a great blast of energy. The thirteen sparks vanished, but were replaced with a universe expanding into the void, endless number of stars filling space. Kairi stared at this demonstration with wonder and bewilderment. The light and the dark worked together to create, well, everything? She always thought light and darkness were incompatible. Hell, she thought that the darkness could only destroy and corrupt, not create.

"Those sparks of light and darkness vanished following the birth of the universe, but they were not gone entirely. Fragments of those sparks lay dormant within the hearts of the people of this new universe, sleeping. Awaiting their moment of awakening, surfacing in the hearts of those who posses the most pure and strongest of virtues: curiosity, hope, courage, passion, empathy, and love."

Still waving about her wand, the matronly fae motioned to the castle behind Kairi – to wherever Cinderella found herself – then to the stars above – to Belle and Jasmine and the rest. And then, the wand pointed to the heart of Kairi herself. The girl, starstrucked, could only dumbly hold a hand over the place where that power dwelt.

"That which you carry, dear Kairi, is the power of creation itself." The Fairy Godmother pronounced, dismissing the starry sphere. "It is descended right from those sparks that created all things so many eons ago. But now it is your power. You may struggle at times and you may resent it, seeing it only as a burden and a flaw, but it is yours nonetheless. And it is entirely up to you on how to use it. To embrace it or reject it. To use it to protect those you love or fight those who would hurt others, it is entirely up to you, dear."

She had spent so much time buried beneath negativity – her own fears and frustrations, and the poisoned words of Zexion and Marluxia – that Kairi had never really given that possibility much of a thought. It was her choices and actions that mattered in all of this, more than anything else. The Godmother's words did little to quell the inadequacy she felt next to her fellow Princesses, but... this was something. This was a start. It felt liberating in a way. Kairi's eyes drifted to her heart, to where this power was nestled away.

I still struggle to use it, I still have issues wielding it, and I'm still think I'm a horrible person, but...

Kairi said her thanks and her goodbyes, retreating into the woods to find a good place to warp back to the ship. But, before crossing into the underbrush, she turned back, thankful to see the Fairy Godmother still there, one last question held on her lips.

"Um... I'm sorry for being so needy and bothersome, but just one last question... can a person who hates themselves ever be loved by someone else?"

The Fairy Godmother stared at her for a second, a quizzical look on her face, as if Kairi's question was the silliest she possibly could have asked. "Of course, dear. Even those that carry hate in their hearts can still find love. To love and be loved in return. After all, the love of another can cause someone to see themselves in an entirely new light."

Now fully satisfied and feeling better about... everything – most things – Kairi finally left the world, returning back to her unnamed Gummi Ship still in orbit. However, immediately upon leaving the teleporter room, she found an audience waiting for her: Yuna, Rikku, and Paine all gathered in the hallway outside the door. Concern was plainly written across the faces of the three women.

"Uh... hey guys. What's up?"

"We need to talk." Paine said, flat and urgent in tone.

"We don't know the entire picture, but judging from your exchanges with that Nobody tonight, something happened." Came Yuna, the very picture of saintly sympathy. The former Summoner took a hold of Kairi's hand, trying to coax the redhead into opening up. "You're in pain, aren't you, Kairi?"

Kairi only cleared her throat and shifted away slightly, but couldn't make an immediate mistake.

"C'mon, Red, talk to us." Rikku said, more casual in approach compared to Paine's bluntness and Yuna's worry, but still offering a warm, friendly smile. "You said it yourself, we're your friends. If something's eating at you, we wanna help. You're one of us."

If this had happened earlier in the day – even an hour or so ago – before Kairi had spoken with Cinderella's Godmother, she would have most likely resisted. Lied about it or underplayed the distress she had been suffering, anything to avoid this awkward confrontation. But things had changed, hopefully for the better. She still didn't have all the answers she would like, but Kairi at least had a new perspective on things.

And so, taking a deep breath, Kairi let it all tumble out in one rambling, run-on rant that overwhelmed her poor audience with a flood of information and feelings. She never raised her voice during all of this, never broke down into tears of sorrow; her voice remained steady and even the whole way through.

"When I fought Zexion, he read my mind or my memories or something and then disguised himself. Made up to look like my friends from the Islands, Leon and the others from Hollow Bastion, my mom, and Sora. He went on and on about the usual, how I'm weak and worthless, but... he also claimed that Sora never cared about me. Only cared about the Light and how it made him feel. That's why he went to such lengths to keep me safe and hidden away. That... that really messed me up. Being told our feelings are so empty and that my best friend only sees me as a trophy or something... ugh...

"Then, Marluxia made a similar claim, saying that the light creates shadows. That we Princesses were at fault for our own misery, that I was the one who pushed Sora and Riku away, even if subconsciously. That I would never be happy.

"And all this... look, I haven't even been trying when we've been training my Light. I've just been faking putting effort into it. Coming out of Agrabah, I hated it even more than ever. Thought it was wrong and rotten and just wanted to be done with it. Thinking that maybe if I ignored it hard enough it would just vanish entirely. I still... I still don't know how I feel about things – I had some questions for the Fairy Godmother – but like... it's complicated, it's complicated, okay?

"Also, apparently I have a Nobody! I know, it seems so weird and impossible, but I feel like there's a piece of myself missing and that whenever I say 'I have a Nobody' it feels... right. But, I don't know if she's good or bad, with the Organization or not. I know I said Roxas had to be good, but I'm kind of sucky, so my Nobody could be pretty rotten, right...?"

On and on it went, Kairi spilling her guts to an increasingly put-out trio of Gullwings, the Key Bearer overwhelming her companions with her emotion-vomit. But even though Kairi spent nearly a half-hour rambling about all the things pent up inside her, neither Yuna, Rikku, or Paine told her to stop or shirked away from their responsibilities. They were friends and companions, when one of them was in need of help, the others would be there for her.

At the end of it all, Kairi was out of breath, huffing and puffing while looking to her friends for reactions and feedback. Yuna was the most openly concerned, but of course, while Paine had her lips twisted up, looking quite aggravated, awkward even. Most strange was Rikku though, the normally manic blonde standing quite still and placid, with a neutral, thoughtful expression on her usually animated features.

Still, Paine was the first to address Kairi, blinking rapidly as she did. "Okay, so that, uh... sorry, that was a lot to take in. You have to give us a minute." Kairi had given them five already before Paine spoke, it was okay though. As she suppressed her own amused smile, Yuna was the one to step up to the plate.

"You should have told us this earlier." Yuna admonished, though only scolding the girl ever-so slightly. "We care about you and your well-being, Kairi. And you should never listen to those Nobodies. They're scum and they only care about hurting you and breaking you. As for... everything else." Yuna paused, eyes falling to the floor while she chewed on her lip. "I don't really know what to say. This is hard because we don't know much about the Princesses or their Light. And we don't know Sora much at all. You know him best of all. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to be the one to figure it out..."

Yuna seemed ashamed at the non-answer, but Kairi waved it off, smiling as she did. "No, no, it's okay guys. I didn't expect answers, I just needed to get that off my chest. Just saying it aloud and I already feel a million times better. So, please don't feel like you have to solve all my problems for me. I, uh... I think I'm just going to turn in for the night and we'll start fresh tomorrow, if that's okay with you guys?"

No one disagreed to Kairi's proposal – it had been a long time and all the girls were tired – so Yuna and Paine broke rank, letting Kairi pass and return to her bedroom down the hall. But, before she could vanish beyond the threshold, Rikku quickly sprinted after her.

"Yo, Red, before you go, I just wanna say one thing." Rikku still retained that oddly serious demeanour

as she addressed Kairi, speaking plainly and earnestly. It was more than a little off-putting to Kairi, to say the least. "With Sora, it doesn't matter if he loves you or how much he loves you. It doesn't matter if you love him as much as he loves you. If your feelings are as intense as his or if you're willing to go to such crazy and extreme lengths for his sake. None of that matters. The only thing that does is that you love him in your own way. Okay?"

Kairi blinked, shell-shocked from the statement. Not the contents of Rikku's words, but just own insightful, honest, and relevant her advice was. Never in a million years would she expect to hear such a thing from the Al-Bhed girl.

The words were dearly appreciated all the same. "Thank you, Rikku. That means a lot. I'll do my best to remember that."

The prospect of sleep and rest was irresistible to Kairi at this juncture. The moment she stripped herself of her battle garments and changed into her pajamas, her eyelids began to droop and a long, weary yawn came from her mouth. Even with everything that had happened, the buzzing in her brain ceased as she rolled under the covers and her head hit the pillow. All those thorny questions could be dealt with another time.

Though, as sleep began to take her, Kairi did remember some words her mom would always say regarding life and politics: "There is no such thing as an easy answer, only difficult decisions".

When you're right mom, you're right. Her Light, her love, her desires... it wasn't going to come easy. It was going to require plenty of soul-searching and hard work to find those answers. But that was okay. Kairi could wait, take her time. She had other, more important things to focus on and work towards in the meantime. Her own heart was a messy thing to try and divine, but these goals were clear and within reach. All she had to do was keep stepping forward, one after the other.

I'm going to keep helping people in need, easing their pain and help them fight for their happiness. Then... Sora, Riku, Aqua, Ven, and Terra, I'll save all of you. Even if I can't have a happily ever after, I'll do everything I can to make sure you guys do.

If there's one thing Square did, it's make thousands of people think Mickey Mouse was an utter badass and then, immediately following that, portraying him as highly incompetent and uncaring towards his friends. I know a lot of people give him flack for 0.2 and abandoning Aqua in the Realm of Darkness (pretty sure I've had a commenter or two ask about that one) but he also knew Xehanort. He was there for the final battle. And he did nothing about it when they met less than a year later. And all of this could be easily rectified if he just had a less prominent role in Birth By Sleep. Or, you know, if this franchise took a bit of time and foresight to plan things out just a little bit in advanced, but god forbid that ever happen!

Also, just to clearly state it: no, the events 0.2 is not considered to be in line with the events of this story. Mickey never met Aqua and she never had her close brush with Riku, either.

Of course, that does work with my characterization of Mickey of being a failure, knowing he's a failure, but he's still here and trying to do right (I should note for clarity, 0.2 is not considered to be in canon with this story). At this point, multiple characters – Sora, Kairi, Riku, Namine, and Mickey – have all said "this is all my fault" or something similar and that acceptance of burden and blame but choosing to continue on is an important marker of the character. Anyone can screw up and give up, or screw up and refuse to accept their faults and blame, it takes a bigger person to accept their shortcomings and keep pushing on for the better

Also, I feel like I made DiZ a touch too sympathetic in this opening scene, but I'm going to chalk that up to Mickey being the perspective character and about the only character who gives a damn about DiZ. 'Cause to hell with that guy. Abusers do not get happy endings under my watch.

Fun fact: not only do Maleficent and Lady Tremaine share the same modern voice actress, but they also shared the same original one (Eleanor Audley). Which is where the pseudonym comes from and why the Gullwings have their little freak-out.

But, otherwise, I think this mostly speaks for itself. I didn't want to do another chapter where Kairi has a total breakdown and is a weepy, morose mess again, but I also didn't want her to move past this at this point. So, I sort of compromised and had her earn a measure of peace but not gain all the answers. Leave it sort of ambiguous. Because, what if Sora is a bad friend who does hurtful things to his friends (spoilers: he is and he does)? What if Kairi is the source of all her own misery? Just because that's how it is now doesn't mean that's how it will always be...

At least in this story. The mainline KH franchise is stagnant and static as can be. Sora will eternally be a shitty person who does shitty things to his friends.

I also didn't want to go full lore dump, but I wanted to offer some manner of explanation to the Light of the Princesses and where it came from. What it explicitly is. Not to mention, one thing I did like about KH II was it started to present darkness as not all bad; that's an angle I really liked. But, of course, for every game post-II, it was dropped completely and darkness was always bad without exception. I obviously am not above black-and-white morality, but Kingdom Hearts' rigid and absolute adherence to it is insane. Light is always good, dark is always bad, no exception whatsoever.

I've already touched on it with Riku being a pure darkness user, and it will be explored a bit soon enough, but I wanted to state that darkness has an equivalent power to the Light of the Princesses. That they are less opposites and enemies and more complimenting elements.

But anyways, that's enough from me. I am curious what you guys think of the length of the some of the recent chapters. I think I could have rearranged things to make this arc three chapters instead of two huge blobs. So tell me, do you prefer fewer, longer chapters? Or do you want more sorta longish chapters to space things out. Please, don't be afraid to offer your input.

Until next time, let the light guide your path forward.