Castle DonBroch
“What do you mean Luxord’s dead?” demanded Xemnas, staring down at Xaldin.
“Exactly what it sounds like,” replied Xaldin. “The keyblade wielder was too strong for him, and he was killed. However, his sacrifice was not in vain, as I did manage to capture that child.”
“Yes, the child will be of much use to us,” admitted Xemnas, looking at Spot floating in stasis. “But now our Organization is down two members. Luxord, and that kid…”
“Yeah, a real shame about that,” came a voice from behind the two of them. Xemnas and Xaldin turned around and found Axel entering from a dark portal.
“What is it, Axel?” asked Xemnas, squinting his eyes at the red-haired nobody. “Clearly you have something in mind, and I’m not sure it’s in the Organization’s best interests.”
“Xemnas, I’m hurt,” said Axel in a mocking tone. “I get the feeling you don’t trust me.”
“We know you helped the kid escape in the first place,” said Xaldin, stepping towards Axel threateningly.
“Really? And yet, you can’t provide a single bit of proof of this,” said Axel. “If you could, you would have killed me already. Or am I too valuable to the Organization to get rid of?”
“What do you want Axel?” sighed Xemnas, knowing he’d never get anywhere with Axel otherwise.
“Vexen sent me,” said Axel. “He’s identified another Fixed Point, and believes there’s another child there we can take. He’s also detected a power similar to that of a keyblade.”
“Oh really?” said Xemnas, stroking his chin. “Is it the silver haired one that fought against Luxord and Xaldin?”
“Hard to say,” said Axel. “Sir, if it’s alright by you, I volunteer to go and investigate.”
“Forget it,” snapped Xaldin. “We hardly trust you as it is. What makes you think we’d…”
“Xaldin,” cautioned Xemnas. “Axel, what is your interest in this mission?”
“You need my loyalty, right?” asked Axel. “What better way to show it than by capturing another child, and maybe a keyblade wielder.”
“You’re not seriously considering…” started Xaldin, but Xemnas silenced him.
“Very well Axel. You may go,” said Xemnas.
“Thank you, boss,” said Axel, bowing low. A dark portal appeared behind him, and Axel disappeared through it before it closed.
Xemnas turned to Xaldin. “Have someone follow him,” said Xemnas. “But tell them not to interfere. Just observe.”
“Got it,” said Xaldin, opening a dark portal of his own.
Meanwhile, in Radiant Gardens…
“Okay Sora, ready to go?” asked Lewis, getting into the time machine.
“WAIT!” yelled a black haired boy running out of the castle. “I’ve got something for Sora.”
“Ah, Sora, this is Hiro,” said Elsa, indicating the new arrival.
“Hey there Hiro,” said Sora, shaking the boy’s hand. “So, what you got for me?”
“It’s a new technique for you,” said Hiro, holding a glowing ball. “It’s called Scan. If you’re fighting a particularly tough enemy, this ability will show you how much strength they’ve got left.” The ball floated up across to Sora, disappearing into his chest.
“Hey, thanks man,” said Sora. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to use it. Well, I’d best be on my way.”
“See you soon Sora,” said Linguini. “Remember, we have plenty of basil, but the other stuff on that list we need.”
“Got it,” said Sora, stepping into the time machine. “See you guys soon.”
The doors to the time machine closed, and started lifting off. “Okay, our destination is a place called Castle DonBroch,” said Lewis. “We won’t be able to land in the castle itself, but I’ll get us close, then you can find someone who might have seen something suspicious.”
“Okay,” said Sora, right as the time machine started flying at an extreme speed. Sora hung on tight, but only a few seconds later they came out above a beautiful landscape. “There’s the castle,” said Sora, pointing to a nearby hill. “Hey, what’s that?” Just below them, there seemed to be a pile of stones in a circular pattern.
“I don’t know, but I’ll try and set us down close,” said Lewis, landing in the trees nearby. “Okay, see you soon Sora.”
“Thanks Lewis,” said Sora, running out of the thicket onto a path. Just as he emerged though, he was nearly knocked over by a horse. “Whoa,” cried Sora, falling over. “Hey, come back.” Sora ran after the rider, who was heading towards the circle of stones they’d seen from the air.
When Sora emerged into the ring, he saw the horse and its rider: a young girl with frizzy red haired going everywhere. Over her shoulder she had a bow with a quiver of arrows. “Sorreh ‘bout that,” she said in a thick accent. “Didn’ see yeh until I knocked yeh down.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” said Sora. “My name’s Sora. What’s yours?”
“Relleh? Yeh don’ know meh?” asked the girl, a little surprised. “I’m Merida. Yeh know, the princess?”
“You’re a princess?” asked Sora, surprised. “Shouldn’t you have, like, guards or something?”
“Not when yeh run out from the castle withou’ telling anyone,” said Merida.
“Oh, okay,” said Sora. “What happened?”
“It’s me mum,” said Merida. “She’s bin running mah life since I was born, and now she expects meh to get married, without even asking what I want.”
“That’s horrible,” said Sora. “So you ran away?”
“Aye,” said Merida. “That’s when I met a witch. She gave meh something tah change meh fate, so I’m heading back home tah try it.” Merida climbed onto her horse’s back and turned him in the direction of the castle, when suddenly the horse reared and threw her off. “ANGUS! What’s gotten into yeh?” demanded Merida, when she saw them: shadowy creatures shaped like bears.
“Heartless,” said Sora running forward and drawing his keyblade. “Stand back princess. I’ve got these.” As Sora said this, an arrow flew past his face and impaled three Heartless against a tree.
“Yeh were saying, laddie?” said Merida, already grabbing another arrow.
Sora began slashing down the Heartless, while Merida fired arrow after arrow, always keeping a good distance between herself and the Heartless. Soon, they were all gone, and behind them they heard someone clapping. “Very good,” came a voice dripping in sarcasm. Sora and Merida turned to see a man in a long black coat with spiky red hair.
“You’re with Organization XIII, aren’t you?” said Sora, gearing up for a fight.
“Cutting right to the chase, hey kid?” asked the man. “Name’s Axel. Got it memorised?”
“I take it ‘e ain’t a friend of yehs?” said Merida, grabbing another arrow.
“Hey, I might be,” said Axel. “The kid here just assumed I’m bad because a few of my friends attacked him.” Axel seemed to look behind them for a moment, then smiled. “Of course, he’s right, but still…” Two red chakrams appeared in his hands, and he got into a battle stance. Suddenly, Axel fell over, and behind him, a new figure appeared.
“Are you two okay?” asked an auburn haired girl, holding a very familiar looking weapon.
“Is that a…a…” started Sora.
“Keyblade? Yes,” said the girl, jumping over Axel. “I’m Kairi. Wait…do you have one too?”
“Guys, can we talk about this when he’s gone?” asked Merida, as Axel got back up.
“Great, another keyblade wielder,” said Axel. “Well, I’m outta here.” A small inferno sprouted up, covering the circle in smoke. When it cleared, Axel was nowhere to be seen.
“I wonder where he went?” asked Sora. “I guess we’ll have to deal with him later. Come on princess, we gotta get you to the castle.”
From within the trees, Axel watched this exchange. Without turning, he spoke. “Xaldin sent you, didn’t he Saix?”
“Good thing, too,” said Saix. “Seeing as I’ve just caught you leaving your job unfinished.”
“Really? You think they expect me to beat two keyblade wielders at the same time?” asked Axel. “Look at what happened last time. No, I think I’m gonna need some back up, and I’m guessing you’re not here to do that. Luckily, I did my research on this place before I came.” Axel opened a dark portal and made towards it.
“Axel, I don’t want to believe you would turn against the Organization,” said Saix. “But if you don’t give us a good reason to trust you, I will be the one to kill you.” Saix heard Axel chuckle, but he didn’t look back before he disappeared.
Meanwhile, back at the castle, Merida, Sora, and Kairi had snuck into the castle kitchen. Above them, they could hear someone singing about killing a bear.
“Okay, I need tah get this tah meh mum,” said Merida, opening a little bundle she’d been carrying to reveal a cake. “Once she eats this, she’ll change her mind about the marriage.”
“Are you sure?” asked Kairi. “It just seems like an odd thing for a witch to give you.”
“Shh, someone’s coming,” said Merida, pushing Sora and Kairi into a pantry and closing it.
“Hey, a friend of mine is looking for marjoram,” said Sora, pocketing it.
“Don’t steal their stuff,” snapped Kairi, but not stopping him. Just then they heard the door to the kitchen open.
“Merida, there yeh are,” said a brown haired woman coming into view. “We were gettin’ worried aboot yeh. We didn know where yeh’d gone. But, yeh’re back noo, and yer father’s pacified the lords for noo. Oh, what’s this?”
“Oh this?” said Merida. “It’s a peace offering. For…being difficult. Here, have it. And afterwards maybe yeh’ll feel different aboot the marriage?”
“I don’ think so young lady,” said the queen, but accepting the offering nonetheless. She picked up the fork and took a bite of the cake. Almost immediately, the queen gagged. “What…was in that cake?” she gasped, collapsing onto the floor.
“Mother?” cried Merida, kneeling beside her. Suddenly, the queen’s body started to convulse, and grew bigger, hairier, until…
“BEAR!” yelled Sora, drawing his keyblade.
“Sora, wait,” said Kairi, holding him back. “Look.” The bear/queen was standing up again as if nothing had happened. “I think the queen hasn’t realised what happened.”
The queen looked around for a moment, then down at Merida, who was cowering next to a table. The queen let out a roar, then covered her mouth, as if she didn’t mean it. That’s when she seemed to notice her hands, and fell backwards in shock, falling into a rack of pots and pans.
“I didn’t tell the witch tah do this,” said Merida. “I just wanted tah change meh fate, not change yeh into a bear.”
“Hmm…” pondered Kairi. “Did the witch say anything about a reversal spell? There should have been something like that, right?”
“She did,” said Merida. “But I ha’e no idea what it means. ’Fate be changed, look inside, mend the bond torn by pride.’” Merida thought for a moment, then her face brightened up. “I go’ it! There’s a tapestry upstairs that I accidentally ripped. Maybe if I fix that…”
“Got it,” said Kairi. “I’ll go…” Kairi stopped short when she saw the king in the doorway, staring in horror at the queen, and her torn dress in front of her.
“Elinor?” said King Fergus, drawing his sword. “ELINOR! The bear ate meh queen.” Behind him, the group saw several of the lords and their men grabbing their weapons
“Father, no!” cried Merida.
“Get her out of here,” said Kairi, summoning her keyblade. “I’ll hold them back as long as possible, then grab the tapestry.”
“Merida, come on,” said Sora, guiding the queen and princess out the kitchen door as the first clash of weapons was heard.
The three of them fled from the castle for about half an hour, when the sounds of barking dogs began to grow louder. “They’re coming noo,” said Merida, leading the way through the darkness. “Maybe if we can find the witch’s house, we can reverse the spell withoot the tapestry. Ah-HA!” The three had arrived in the circle of stones where they first met. “Perfect. Now, we just need tah…”
“I’m afraid that won’t be happening,” came a familiar cocky voice. The three of them turned to see Axel striding into the clearing. “Princess, my Organization has some big plans for you. You too, Keyblade wielder. As for the bear, I don’t really care.”
“Oh yeah? Make us,” said Sora, grabbing his keyblade. Merida aimed an arrow, and the queen simply stood on her hind legs with her front paws out. At seven feet tall, she was plenty intimidating.
“Ooh, tough crowd,” said Axel. “Good thing I brought a friend.” From behind Axel, a dark form approached, revealing itself to be a huge black bear, scars all over its body, and huge tufts of hair missing, and looking all the more terrifying because of it.
“Mor…Mor’du,” stammered Merida, changing her target as the bear charged. The arrow struck the bear in the face, but he didn’t seem to notice.
Sora focused on Mor’du, and saw a green bar above the bear’s head. ‘This must be that Scan ability Hiro gave me’, thought Sora. ‘Well, better help Merida’. Sora ran towards the princess, but Axel got in his way.
“Going somewhere?” asked the red haired Nobody. “Didn’t think so. You can come peacefully, or I can drag you to the Organization. The choice is…” Before Axel could continue, he was pushed over by Queen Elinor. The queen stood above Axel and roared into his face. “Sheesh, ever heard of a breath mint?” asked Axel.
“Your majesty, help your daughter,” said Sora, indicating Merida struggling to keep out of Mor’du’s path. “I’ll handle this guy.” The queen looked over to see her daughter trying to avoid the claws of the bear, and immediately ran at him.
“Brave ‘til the end, I see,” said Axel, a chakram in each hand. “Well, I offered a peaceful solution, and you refused. Too bad kid.” Flames shot up around the clearing, surrounding it in a ring of fire. Sora charged straight at the Nobody, who threw one of his chakrams at Sora. Sora jumped over it and knocked Axel aside.
“MERIDA!” came a yell, and King Fergus came into view. He jumped over some of the lower flames, and stared in shock as his wife fought against Mor’du. “YOU!” he growled, charging at the fearsome bear. Mor’du looked up just in time to get punched in the face by the king. “That’s for meh leg,” said the king, punching the bear again. “That’s for meh daughter.” Punch. “That’s for meh wife.” Punch. “And that’s because I felt like it.” Mor’du shook the last punch off, and swatted the king down.
“Your Majesty!” yelled Sora, blocking another attack from Axel. Sora focused on the redhead, and saw that he still had three quarters of his strength left.
“Need a hand?” someone asked, and suddenly Kairi was back flipping over the fire and knocking down Axel. On her back was the tapestry, which she threw on the ground nearby. “Come on Sora, let’s finish this.”
“Oh no, I know what happened to Luxord,” said Axel, summoning a dark portal. “Say what you want, but I’m not suicidal. I’ll be seeing you kids.” Axel walked into the portal, and disappeared.
“Yeah, you better run,” said Sora, before turning his attention to the royals. Mor’du was preparing to charge at Merida, who was backed up against a stone. The bear made his move, and almost as quickly Merida dived out of the way. Mor’du crashed into the stone, causing it to crumble, crushing the bear beneath it. Sora ran to check if any of them were hurt, then remembered what Rapunzel gave him. “Curaga.” A blue flash lit the group up, and soon everyone was back on their feet.
“Oh no, the tapestry,” gasped Merida, grabbing a needle and thread off Kairi. “So, who was that guy anyway?”
“He’s a part of an evil Organization,” said Sora. “We don’t know exactly what they’re planning, but it involves plunging the world into darkness. Somehow, that involves taking you, just like they took Spot.”
“That ain’t good,” said Merida, fixing the tapestry and throwing it over her mother. “But if they want meh, they’ll have to try harder than that.” The queen began to glow, and soon returned to normal. Except…
“Fergus, I’m naked. Naked as a wee baby,” said the queen, hugging the tapestry closer around her.
“Oh, well, err…” said Sora, blushing and looking away. “I…better be going then.” Sora turned and headed towards the spot where Lewis had left him.
“Wait Sora,” called Kairi. “Can I come with you? You seem to know a bit more about this whole keyblade deal.”
“Sure, come along,” said Sora, leading the way into the forest. “Just be careful of Judy. She might get a little…excited.”