Flynn grunted as he was flung into a jail cell, turning around in time to watch the guards slam the door shut and lock it up with a key. "Hope you enjoyed the lantern festival, because it'll be the last time you'll ever see it."
Flynn ran up to the bars, poking his head through the wide enough gap as he watched both soldiers walking down the hall of the dungeon with the mysterious sack they saw him with. With no way of getting out, Flynn just sighed and slumped over to the uncomfortable cot in the corner of his cell. He probably only has a few hours to live, so he spent his last moment contemplating where he went in life, and who knocked him out and practically delivered him to the kingdom's royal guard.
The guards exited the dungeon and headed across the courtyard in the castle and to the barracks. "Wonder what poor creatures got shot down by that criminal," the guard carrying the sack said aloud. Just before they entered their quarters, they spotted one of their steeds wandering around the courtyard curiously. "Hey, is that Maximus?"
"I think it is. Lost track of him when he went after Flynn through the woods," the other guard said. "Hey, Maximus!" The stallion heard his name, glancing at the two soldiers before being ushered by the guard to come closer. He did so, wondering what they wanted from him. "Hey, boy. Thought you got lost in the woods hunting down Flynn Rider." He patted Maximus's snout, but while he was getting some attention, the stallion noticed the burlap sack. His eyes widened when he saw the eagle claw sticking out of the back, even catching a whiff of a very familiar scent that came from Gallus. He tried to inch his muzzle closer to the bag, but the guard petting him gently pushed his snout back. "Ah ah, that's not for you. Flynn was caught red-handed with some animals he must have hunted while on the run." Hearing the thief's name, Maximus snorted in bewilderment. "But don't you worry your exhausted tail, buddy. We caught him, and we got the crown back.
"Why don't you wander back to the stable and we'll get you some nice, juicy apples for all your hard work?" They entered the barracks, leaving a puzzled Maximus outside as he glanced at them, then toward the entrance to the dungeon. After locking the door, the sack-holding guard placed Flynn's spoils on the wooden table. "What a determined horse ol' Max is. He probably deserves a break."
"Yeah. Those twins we found who were with him during their little heist gave up all too easily, though," the other guard said. "Said something about monsters with yellow eyes chasing them after splitting up from Flynn and watching them pop in out of thin air."
"Must have finally lost it," the first guard chuckled. "Alright, let's see what we've-" Just as he was about to open the sack, the bag began to shift, along with a weak groan. Startled, both guards jumped back, whatever was allegedly killed was still alive inside. "Ohhhh...Ok. Let's...hope it doesn't attack us."
Carefully the first guard untied the knot, avoiding the twitching and clenching eagle talons if the creature inside decided to lash out at any sudden movements. Once it was undone, the claw moved back inside and they slowly opened it up. With the bag opening up more, it fell over, hearing a thud and another groan, this one a little more pained as it must have hit its head or face on the table.
"W-What hit me?" Both guards were spooked, looking at each other as they thought they heard whatever was inside that burlap sack spoke in a young teenage male's voice. They began to panic when the bag shifted more, and when the mysterious talking creature couldn't find the opening, he used his claws to tear the bag and create a new one. Ripping open the bag, he sat up and revealed himself to the guards, staring at what it was in astonishment. "Ugh. Where am I?"
"...W-W-What...is that???" the first guard stammered.
Flinching, Gallus froze when he heard a voice behind him. Slowly turning his head, he glanced at the guards, who were frozen in terror at the half lion, half eagle creature.
"...Uhhh...Hi?" Gallus greeted, giving the guards a small wave while laughing sheepishly.
After witnessing the griffon talk, they both screamed in terror and fled the barracks. "TALKING LION!!!!!!" they exclaimed.
Gallus's nervous grin quickly turned into an annoyed frown, pinching the bridge of his beak with a grumble. "I have a beak. I look more like a bird. I'm a griffon," he muttered to himself. "Why are Rapunzel and Flynn the only ones who got what I am right on the first guess?" From the entrance to the barracks, left open after the guards ran away like frightened cowards, Maximus poked his head inside, his suspicions correct when he saw the irritated griffon sitting in the torn open sack. He whinnied to get his attention, snapping Gallus out of his disgruntled misconception of his species. "Maximus?"
Stepping out of the bag, Gallus hopped off the table and headed out to the courtyard to join Maximus. He figured he was in the castle grounds while trying to figure out what happened to him. Maximus tried to question what happened to him, why Flynn was arrested despite that being his goal and keeping Rapunzel's promise not to arrest him yet, and where Rapunzel was. It was clear Gallus couldn't understand his whinnies and snorts, unable to communicate with anyone verbally, even with his facial features and gestures giving them any hints to his thoughts.
"Ok, I have no clue what you're trying to say," Gallus said. Maximus huffed, then swiftly lowered his head under Gallus's abdomen and flicked his neck up, lifting the griffon up and onto his back. "Whoa! Hey! What're you-!?" Gallus didn't get a chance to question when Maximus galloped off to the dungeon, double checking to make sure no other guards would see him or what he was about to do. Gallus clung onto the horse's back, letting the stallion lead him to where he wanted to take him. When it was the halls of a huge dungeon in the castle, Gallus sighed in annoyance. "Great. Are you arresting me for something? Breaking into a castle?"
"Gallus?" Flynn called out, hearing the griffon teen's complaints.
"...Flynn?" Gallus called back. Maximus trotted past the cells until they reached the one Flynn was held in. The man was rightfully surprised to see them here. Gallus hopped down from Maximus's back, looking at the horse and Flynn. "Did you actually arrest him?" he asked Maximus, but the horse shook his head with a snort, looking just as confused as he was.
"I'm actually kind of relieved to see you two, but I have no idea what happened," Flynn said. "I left Rapunzel for just a moment to return what I stole, but before I had a chance, something snuck up on me and knocked me out." He sighed as he pressed his forehead against the cold metal bars. "...What I stole was something important to the king and queen...It was a tiara with expensive jewels..."
"...Wow. No wonder Maximus wanted to take you in," Gallus uttered as Maximus nodded his head in agreement to Flynn's claim.
"I was just going to leave the tiara somewhere for the soldiers to find, but I barely got to the bridge before I was knocked out," Flynn continued. "Rapunzel must have thought I abandoned her, because she saw me on a boat heading back toward the docks, but I was tied up to make it look like I was trying to get away." He glanced up at Gallus, curious to see him when he last saw him with Sora, Donald, and Goofy in the town. "How'd you know where I was?"
"I didn't. I was knocked out, too. And thrown in a sack," Gallus said.
"...YOU were in that sack on the boat I was tied to?" Flynn asked. "Why???"
"I have no idea, but the guy who knocked you out said I'd be seen as your...accomplice?" Gallus questioned, wondering why he was stuffed in a bag after that remark from Marluxia. "I don't know who he is, but Sora does. There's this evil group who wears these black coats, and they're much worse than normal thugs."
"...I don't know whether to feel flattered or insulted if you're calling me out as a 'thug'," Flynn muttered bitterly. "Now, if you're done explaining how we got in this mess, mostly me, I'd like to get out of here." He then slowly glanced at Maximus, who had a look of deep thought while silently leering at Flynn. "...Unless...Maximus refuses. But, after everything I put you through, I supposed that's understandable..." Maximus scrunched his muzzle, contemplating risking his job as a loyal steed to the crown and apprehending criminals to free one such criminal, who actually wasn't all that bad and was going to return the tiara with no further trouble. Flynn did stay on his best behavior, and he truly believed he could turn a new leaf thanks to Rapunzel. With a shake of his head, Maximus gave Flynn a small grin with his response, fully trusting the man. "Y-You...You're actually going to help me?" Maximus nodded. "...Max...I-I don't know what to say. I mean, I really do feel bad for getting you caught up in all this, but...thank you. I swear, I'm going to turn my life around. I won't steal, I won't-"
"Ok, ok, you're grateful," Gallus interrupted. "We get it. How about we break you out of here and save Rapunzel? She's probably in huge trouble with that pink-haired weirdo."
"Right. Uhh, the guards had the key to my cell." Maximus's eyes widened, his eyes shifting to the lock, then back to Flynn. "...And...they are nowhere to be found?"
"More like I scared them off when I broke free from my own 'cell'," Gallus said. Flynn grumbled, thunking his head against the bars. Gallus was about to go out to chase after the guards and get the jail key, but he remember his Keyblade, and how it could unlock any lock in the universe. "Oh, duh. I have a key of my own."
Gallus summoned his Keyblade, confusing Flynn and Maximus. "I think that's too big to fit in the lock," Flynn commented. "But if you're planning to hack it down, I'm not sure how durable that is against steel bars." He slowly backed away in case the latter idea was Gallus's option from the get-go. "To which I will be staying as far back here if you fling shards of metal at me."
"I'm actually going to unlock it, but you'll be surprised how this works. If I can remember how it's done." Aqua had taught him and his friends that their Keyblades had the power to unlock any door, but without any physical examples. She wanted them to figure it out for themselves and hear their reaction when they did it for the first time. Gallus held the Keyblade out toward the lock on the cell door, letting his light do the unlocking for him. The tip of his blade began to build up with light, then launched a small beam into the keyhole in the door, shocking Flynn and Maximus. They then heard the lock clank, the door now open as it slightly swung ajar. Flynn and Maximus's jaws dropped at the blade's practically in its weird key-shaped design while Gallus felt giddy. "Hah! That's pretty cool!"
"...I need to figure out where to get one of those," Flynn uttered to himself, hoping Maximus didn't hear him. After snapping out of his shock, Flynn helped himself out of his cell. "I hope Rapunzel's still waiting. Let's hurry and get out of here."
"Wait, I need to find Master Sora," Gallus said. "More Nobodies appeared in town and he told me to protect you two."
"They can deal with those things. And I'm sure they'll catch up with us once they're done saving the town," Flynn said.
Taking the man's word for it, Gallus followed Flynn and Maximus out of the dungeon. They hurried off to get back to Rapunzel, hoping she was alright and didn't get hurt by Marluxia. Gallus was more concerned with what he accidentally leaked to the Nobody to Sora and Master Aqua.
Rapunzel holed herself in her bedroom back in the tower in the hidden glade. She had been crying her eyes out since she and her mother got back, her hair unbraided and strewn about her room. Her mother hated how it looked, but Rapunzel got rid of it regardless, reminding her too much about her time with Eugene, or, as he'd rather still be called after what she witnessed, Flynn. She should have listened to her mother and ignored her curiosity to those lanterns, and maybe gave Flynn another clonk on the head with her frying pan. Even though she didn't want anything to do with him, she held onto a purple kerchief Flynn bought for her during their day in the town before the lanterns were released against her chest. Pascal could only lay beside her on the bed, feeling sorry for her while doing his best to console her.
As she looked up at her ceiling, filled with painted murals she made herself through inspiration from her imagination about the world outside these walls. While staring at her art, she squinted curiously at them, finding something odd in them that almost seemed familiar to her. Lifting the cloth up, staring at the embroidered sun, the same sun that marked the royal family's sigil in Corona Kingdom. Looking between her ceiling and the cloth, she sat up to get a closer look, realizing that, through her paintings, she had subconsciously created suns similar to the royal family sigil that hid in her art. She could see those same suns in every section of her ceiling, no longer hidden to her in her eyes as. She got out of bed and spun around, finding all the sun symbols she hid, her mind slowly processing why she repeatedly made these after just noticing the symbol several hours ago.
She looked back to that mural she and Gallus saw in the town's plaza, of the infant princess that had been kidnapped, then imagined herself wearing the tiara Flynn stole. That baby looked so much like her, and the king and queen dedicated the festival to bring their daughter back, which was also the day of her birthday. It all dawned on her as she put the pieces together, from her upbringing in this tower while being raised by Gothel to the missing princess; Rapunzel WAS the lost princess. She stumbled back, knocking over her vanity, the clatter causing her mother - no, the woman who pretended to be her mother - to call her with concern over the noise.
Panting, she approached her bedroom door and slammed it open, startling Gothel as she was about to climb the stairs to check on her. "...I'm the lost princess," she uttered.
Unable to hear her, Gothel let out an annoyed scoff. "Please speak up, Rapunzel. You know I hate the mumbling."
"I'm the lost princess," she repeated, this time loud enough for Gothel to hear her clearly, but gave her a suspicious glare. "Aren't I?" Gothel's eyes widened, bewildered by Rapunzel's sudden boldness, and her look of shock confirmed Rapunzel's guess. "Did I mumble, mother? Or should I even call you that?"
Gothel composed herself, trying to dismiss Rapunzel's highly accurate assumptions. "Oh, Rapunzel. Do you even hear yourself? Why would you ask such a ridiculous question?"
Gothel laughed it off as she climbed up the stairs, spreading her arms to embrace Rapunzel to help ease her frazzled head, but Rapunzel pushed her arms away, refusing any comfort from this woman pretending to be her real mother. "It was you! It was ALL you!" Rapunzel exclaimed.
Gothel's shock from being pushed quickly turned into a glare. "Everything I did was to protect you," she said, but Rapunzel wasn't buying her lies anymore. Rapunzel brushed past Gothel harshly as she stomped down the stairway, startling the older woman before she began to chase after her. "Rapunzel..."
"I've spent my entire life hiding from people who would use me for my power," Rapunzel said. She quickly turned and interrupted Gothel before she could try to call her back to her. "But I should have been hiding from you!"
"You're going to run off again?" Gothel questioned, hoping to manipulate her into staying. "Where will you go? That man and his little griffon confidante won't be there for you."
Rapunzel froze, slowly turning to face Gothel with a confused look. "...How do you know about Gallus?" Rapunzel asked, knowing she never once mentioned Gallus, nor has she ever seen him or knew there was an actual griffon beyond the hidden glade. Gothel smirked, knowing more about Gallus than she thought, along with what him and Flynn had done to her. Or so she thought. "What did you do to them?"
"Those criminals are going to be hung for their crimes." Rapunzel gasped, glancing out the window worriedly. While she was partly relieved knowing Flynn and Gallus didn't truly abandon her and were tricked, Gothel began to slither around Rapunzel, trying to worm her head with her own deceit. "Now, now, it's all right. Listen to me. All of this is as it should be."
Gothel slowly reached her hand out to pat Rapunzel's golden hair, but she was no longer fooled by her lies. She quickly grasped Gothel's wrist, keeping her fingers from touching a single strand of her hair she's hoarded for herself after all these years.
"No! You were wrong about the world. And you were wrong about me." Gothel tried to wrench her hand out of Rapunzel's grip, perturbed by Rapunzel's defiance. "And I will NEVER let you use my hair again!"
The two struggled for a bit before Rapunzel finally lost her grip, sending Gothel stumbling back into a full body mirror. She knocked it over, shattering the reflective glass as it hit the ground, leaving some jagged pieces all over the floor while the few bits that remained were cracked. Gothel looked back at the mirror in shock, then back to Rapunzel with panicked breaths. Rapunzel turns and walks away from her so-called mother, deciding to finally make her own choices, and hopefully rescue Flynn and Gallus before they were given a death sentence.
Gothel's breathing slowed, an ominous dark aura slowly forming around her body as she glared spitefully at the retreating young woman. "You want me to be the bad guy? Fine. Now I'm the bad guy," she muttered to herself, prowling after Rapunzel menacingly, refusing to let the healing magic in the golden hair leave her for another second.
Luckily avoiding any other run-ins with the soldiers of Corona Kingdom, Flynn, Maximus, and Gallus hurried across the bridge. As Gallus flew on ahead and climbed higher to get a better view, he looked toward the shore where he last saw Rapunzel. There was no sign of her, but he did spot Sora, Donald, and Goofy, only to gasp when he noticed Sora was on the ground with Donald and Goofy crowding around him.
"Sora!" Gallus exclaimed worriedly. He flew on ahead, swooping down and skid across the sand as he touched down before running up to the trio. "Guys, what happened!? Is Master Sora dead!?" Donald and Goofy glanced at Gallus, relieved to see he was ok. They didn't get the chance to explain what happened when he pushed past them to see if Sora was alright, but Gallus's fear quickly turned into an annoyed scowl when he heard light snores coming from the sleep-cursed wielder. "...He's sleeping? Rapunzel was in danger and you guys were taking a nap!?"
"Marluxia put him under a sleeping spell, and we can't wake Sora up!" Donald said. Gallus's brow quirked at the odd name, but his confusion faltered when Donald approached him and poked his chest. "And where did YOU run off to!? Sora told you to protect Rapunzel and Flynn!"
"Well excuse me if I got kidnapped by other Nobodies and met someone from the Organization, who not only scared the hay out of me, but almost chopped my head off with a giant scythe!" Gallus argued.
Donald quacked in shock. "A giant scythe!? You ran into Marluxia!?"
"If that was the weird, pink-haired psychopath's name, then yeah!" Gallus said. "He kidnapped Flynn, knocked the both of us out, and sent us off to the castle! And I was stuffed in a sack! What excuse do you have!? You decided to conk out on the shore after fighting the other Nobodies and left Rapunzel alone to be kidnapped by that guy!?"
"Gallus, Marluxia put Sora under some sorta spell, and we've been trying to wake him up," Goofy stated, explaining much more calmly than Donald's accusation and reprimanding. "And we last saw Rapunzel heading back home with her mother, Gothel."
"But that woman's awful!" Donald added. "Marluxia even told us that she's using Rapunzel's magic hair and keeping it all for herself! And she's in much more danger because he's told us she's the light of this world; one of the new Princesses of Heart!"
"A Princess of Heart?" Gallus asked curiously.
"Aqua must not have taught you or the others about them, but they're extremely important to keeping a very important door to all the worlds sealed," Goofy said. "Seven princesses from different worlds have hearts of pure light, not a single ounce of darkness to be found. The first seven princesses we knew before had been rescued when an evil witch, Maleficent, kidnapped them to open something called Kingdom Hearts, which is the heart of all worlds and holds incredible power. Kairi's one of those princesses, and she must still be one of them with her power of light combined with her abilities with the Keyblade."
"Master Kairi's a princess?" Gallus mumbled in awe. "...Wow. So...if Rapunzel's the 'light' in this world, she's one of these special princesses to this Kingdom Hearts thing?"
"It's just a guess, but we won't know unless the Organization does plan to use the new Princesses of Heart for their schemes!" Donald said.
Flynn and Maximus finally arrived with the stallion skidding to a halt. "Guys, what's going on!?" Flynn asked, looking around for Rapunzel. "Where's Rapunzel?"
"It's a long, long story," Donald groaned, forced to recall the events to Flynn, but dumbed down to avoid leaking more information beyond their world to the man and steed.
While Donald and Goofy told Flynn where Rapunzel went, Gallus thought something was odd with what he knew of Rapunzel, her backstory, and what Donald and Goofy told him about the Princesses of Heart. The girls were princesses, which meant they were born of royal status, fitting with their titles with their pure hearts. And learning Kairi was one of them, even when she wasn't an alicorn in Equestria, she comes off as a young woman who lived a more casual life than a lavish lifestyle in a castle like Rapunzel. Then there was the mural of the royal family, where the infant girl had similar features to Rapunzel, the lantern festival dedicated to the princess as the lights will help guide the girl back home to her family, and how desperately Rapunzel wanted to see these lanterns up close.
"...Flynn?" Gallus called out after some deep thought. The man looked at him, puzzled by his silence before finally piping in after learning about Rapunzel's current whereabouts. "...The day of the festival...Is it hosted on some special day?"
Donald and Goofy glanced at each other quizzically, curious to know what Gallus's question had to do with Rapunzel. "Uhh...I think a few years ago, I overheard some guards when the festival was being set up that year that it was held on the lost princess's birthday," Flynn said.
"...And...Rapunzel's birthday was today," Gallus mumbled. His brain went into overdrive, putting all the pieces together until it slowly dawned on him. Eyes growing wide as his jaw hung open, it finally clicked: Rapunzel's birthday matching with the lost princess's, matching features between the young woman and baby, and Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Marluxia's theories of Rapunzel being the light of this world as the next generation of the Princesses of Heart. "...Rapunzel's the lost princess."
"What was that, Gallus?" Goofy asked.
The griffon looked at everyone, still reeling in shock from the discovery he uncovered. "Rapunzel is the missing princess of Corona Kingdom," he said much louder, baffling Flynn, Donald, Goofy, and even Maximus. "It makes so much sense. That baby on that mural looks so much like her...Which means..." Gallus looked toward the forest path, where Rapunzel and Gothel were probably already back at the tower if they didn't take any detours. His beak curled into a scowl. "The person who took her 'home' wasn't her real mother; she's probably the one who kidnapped Rapunzel from the king and queen, who are her REAL parents!"
"...Ok, that's a lot to take in, and I don't know how you came up with that conclusion, kid," Flynn said.
Gallus glanced over his shoulder to look at Sora, who was still unconscious, unsure if he was able to hear them talking over the spell keeping him asleep. He then looked down at his own claw, giving a grunt as he clenched it into a fist.
"Someone needs to save her...And it looks like I'm the only one who can." Gallus quickly shot up into the air, startling the group as they watched him flap his wings hard and dash over the forest canopy.
"Gallus! Get back here!" Donald squawked.
"It's too dangerous for you to be out there on your own!" Goofy called out, but their words fell on deaf ears. Donald and Goofy began to panic, neither of them wanting to leave Sora by himself or chase after a speedy griffon, who would likely reach Rapunzel's tower faster than any of them could on foot. "Oh no. Marluxia's still out there!"
Donald quickly ran over to Sora and tried shaking him awake again. "Sora, come on! Wake up! Gallus is gonna get himself killed! We gotta help him and Rapunzel, now!"
"Hang on, I might have an idea," Flynn said. He then pat Maximus's neck, getting the stallion's attention. "Max, why don't we give our slumbering friend a little wash?"
Maximus nodded, then approached Sora once Donald got off of him. Lowering his head, Maximus gave Sora a long lick against his face. That got a reaction from the Keyblade wielder as he stirred awake, grimacing in disgust as he was licked by something.
"Ugh. Winona, when did your tongue get thicker?" he mumbled. As he opened his eyes, he saw Maximus's muzzle hovering over his, waiting for another lick if the first one didn't work. Everyone was relieved to see Sora awake as he sat up. His mind finally began to wake up after the spell was broken, and after wiping his face of the horse slobber, he gasped and got back to his feet. "Marluxia! Where is he!?"
"Well, I guess a thanks to Max is too much for you, 'sidekick'," Flynn said.
"Flynn, we have no time for jokes! Rapunzel's being held prisoner!" Sora said.
"I know, but your friends are a little bit more concerned about Gallus," Flynn said.
"Huh? Where is he?" Sora asked.
"He thinks Rapunzel's the missing princess," Goofy said.
"And he just flew off to try to save her by himself!" Donald said, adding to the severity of the situation.
Sora blanched, then looked out to the woods. "We've wasted too much time. I'm going after him," Sora said.
"Then hop on!" Flynn said. "We'll get to that tower much faster on horseback than on our own two feet."
Sora glanced at Flynn, then to Donald and Goofy. "You two stay with Flynn. I'm going on ahead."
"Sora, maybe your brain's still trying to wake up, but I think you're misjudging the distance between here and-" Before Flynn could reason logic with Sora, the Keyblade wielder summoned the Keyblade of Loyalty in his hand and activated its Formchange. The lightning bolts striking the earth as Sora thrust his Keyblade into the ground startled Flynn and Maximus as a spear now appeared in his key-shaped sword's place, along with his clothing changing colors, now red with lightning bolts shooting around his jacket randomly. Grasping his rainbow spear tightly, Sora sped off as fast as a lightning bolt, leaving behind a streak of red and electric sparks as he ran, leaping up into the trees and jumping from branch to branch to catch up to Gallus. Dumbfounded, Maximus and Flynn watched with jaws dropped, neither of them paying attention to Donald and Goofy climbing up on Maximus's back. "...Ok, this might not be a good question to ask, but...where can I get one of those things?"
"No time for talking! We gotta hurry!" Donald reminded the man.
Quickly shaking his head, he nodded in agreement. "Right. Come on, Max! Let's rescue Rapunzel!"
Maximus snorted and shook his head to snap out of his own bewildered stupor, then let out a whinny as he reared up on his hind legs before galloping as fast as he could down the path.
Gallus hastily looked around the forest, trying to find landmarks he recalled passing by the last couple days. He finally found the broken dam after feeling like he had been zigzagging around the forest the other day, having no clue about where he was going last night when he ran off from Rapunzel and Flynn. In the distance, he could faintly see the pond Sora and Rapunzel played around in through the open space between the trees, and up ahead was the mountainous area where the hidden glade was.
"There it is. Hang on, Rapunzel. I'll save you, and make up for-" Above him, Gallus heard something appearing. Quickly looking up, he yelped as a Reaper dove down with his scythe ready to slash down at him. Rolling over, Gallus summoned his Keyblade and blocked the curved blade, the impact forcing the griffon to fall to the earth below. He quickly flipped back around, spreading his wings to slow his swift descent and swoop safely toward the ground, aiming for the pond for a safer crash landing. He tried to skim over the water, only to trip and splash into the shallow pond. He sat up, completely drenched and spat out water as he shook his head. "Great. Rotten timing."
As Gallus hurried out of the water, more Nobodies appeared in the field. Ignoring his drenched fur and feathers, Gallus quickly got into his stance. The Reaper that attacked him floated down with the many Dusks eyeing him, seeming ready to go for another swing at the griffon teen. Gallus was getting frustrated with the sudden ambush, but he kept his composure as much as he could and followed the advice his mentors gave him. He waited for them to make the first move, keeping a close eye on each one and gauging their reactions. After an intense minute of nothing happening, the Dusks all charged him at once. He was not going to let them tie him up again.
Gallus flapped back, hovering over the water, and launched a Fire spell at the Dusks. The small explosion struck all the Dusks at once, sending them spiraling away from the blast while burnt by the magical fireball. Spotting the closest one, Gallus yelled and dove down, slashing away until he killed it, then backed away before the others recovered. It was a smart idea to keep his distance when the Reaper flew toward him and spread a flurry of rose petals to injure him. The other Dusks slithered after him as he dodged the floating petals, backing up further while smacking each Dusk away.
He was getting a bit too confident, but he reigned in his ego and refrained from gloating over his skills, yet another lesson he learned. That confidence wavered immensely when he heard something appear behind him. His focus quickly turned to the ambush, but they weren't more Nobodies; the new foes joining in were Heartless. Several Puffballs and a Chief Puff approached Gallus and swung their leaf arms to attack him. Startled, Gallus leapt to the side, getting further away from both sides, eyeing them nervously.
"Heartless too? You've gotta be kidding me," he grumbled. He thought that the Heartless might go after the Nobodies and both sides can take each other out, but with their focus mostly on him, his hope was dashed when they didn't show even a sliver a resentment toward one another. "Ok. Heartless, I can handle. Nobodies, I can sorta handle. But both at once!? How am I supposed to deal with that!?"
The Chief Puff began launching its barrage of needles at Gallus while the rest of the group charged toward him. Gallus quickly blocked the needles, getting pushed back while wincing a little as a few stray needles got through and struck him. He braced himself for a dogpiled pummeling from darkness and nothingness, but as he clenched his eyes shut, a rainbow spear struck the ground in front of him, followed by a flurry of lightning strikes raining down within a wide radius in the field. The Heartless and Nobodies twitched and spasmed from the onslaught of lightning bolts shocking the area around the spear, stunning few while others were destroyed by the intense electrical storm. Before Gallus could wonder what was happening, Sora zipped in, snatched his spear, and in one blink, he thrust his spear through the remaining foes before they faded away or released a heart respectively.
Once the danger was gone, Sora turned to give Gallus a stern glare. "Finally caught up with you," he said.
"Y-You're awake!" Gallus exclaimed, laughing sheepishly in relief. "I mean, I could have taken them on, but you saved my tail in the nick of time!" He gave Sora an unconvincing grin, but the experienced wielder wasn't going to be assuaged by his nonchalant reaction. "...Uhh, nice digs? And...I didn't know you could use spears. Where'd you hide that?" Sticking his spear into the ground, Sora crossed his arms, still giving him the look of disappointment while tapping his foot. Gallus's grin turned into a frown and hung his head in shame. "I'm really in trouble now, aren't I?"
"You think?" Sora asked. "What were you thinking running off on your own like that!? That was FAR too reckless, and I should know! I made a lot of dumb decisions like that years ago!"
"W-Well, you were under a sleep curse," Gallus tried to reason. "Who else was going to save Rapunzel from her fake mom?"
"This is no longer a simple training expedition anymore. Not with the Organization running around," Sora scolded. "If Nobodies were after you, then Marluxia knows you're a Keyblade wielder."
"...I think...he already did when they kidnapped me after you told me to go protect Rapunzel and Flynn earlier," Gallus said, shocking Sora at the news. Gallus giggled sheepishly as he tapped his claws together. "Also...remember when that Luxord Nobody pony guy attacked us and Master Aqua a while back?"
"...Yes?" Sora answered, though he started to grow a bit concerned as Gallus mentioned the card-wielding gambler.
"Heheh...Well...The funny thing is, when he swore he wouldn't mention me or the others as Keyblade wielders to the other Organization guys...It turned out he was...true to his word," Gallus said, letting out a nervous chuckle as sweat beaded down his head. Sora's widened eyes and shocked expression gave the griffon a silent response he was expecting, and he knew he was going to regret the silent question as to why he decided to mention that. "I, uhh...might have kinda sorta mentioned a tiny bit of detail to a pink-haired guy in a black coat that there were...other Keyblade wielders besides me?"
"WHAT!?" Sora screeched, making Gallus flinch, knowing he was now in so much more trouble than he was before. He expected another harsh scolding and being immediately reported to Aqua, but Sora glanced around the woods frantically as he grasped his spear. "We need to get you to the Gummi ship and get you back to Equestria. Now."
Confused, Gallus looked at Sora like he had grown a second head. "What? But what about Rapunzel?"
"I'll take care of that. Right now, my main priority right now for you is to get you back home and away from Marluxia." Gallus was going to argue, claiming he could help fight when he was doing well for the first few minutes against a group of Nobodies on his own, but more Nobodies appeared and surrounded them. Sora growled, grasping his spear as he stuck close to Gallus to protect him. "Gallus, just get to the Gummi ship and stay in there until Donald and Goofy catch up and take you back to Equestria."
"H-How are you gonna get back!?" Gallus asked, nervously taking his stance while trying to glance at each Nobody in his line of sight.
"You and the others will eventually find out later in your training, but that's going to be quite a while now that the Organization's going to know about you and your other friends," Sora said, which only made Gallus's guilt worsen for being a blabbermouth. Not even Silverstream would be that chatty about something that important to remain secretive. As the Nobodies in front of him lunged forward, Gallus flinched and braced himself, but as the Dusks slithered up to him, they slipped around him and shoved him forward, attacking Sora from behind as the rest of the group charged after him. Sora immediately retaliated, swinging his spear while Thunder spells fell with each strike on each foe. Gallus was baffled by what the Dusks did after an earlier group went after him, though whether they were plotting something or they were going after Sora, a much bigger threat than he was. "Gallus, get to the ship!" Sora called out as he smacked away the Nobodies.
Gallus was about to insist on helping, but more Heartless appeared to join in the fight, much more than the few Puffballs and the Chief Puff that attacked him, and all their attention was thankfully on Sora. Gallus looked over his shoulder down the path to the hidden glade, then back to Sora as he heard lightning strike down on top of him, now watching him wielding two lightning bolt daggers after swiftly slashing away Heartless and Nobodies crowding him. Not wanting to argue with Sora while he was fighting for both their lives, Gallus ran down the path, following his mentor's instructions and wait in the Gummi ship. He didn't want to risk flying and getting hacked by another Reaper again.
Luckily, there were no other Nobodies or Heartless that chased after him, which was a bit odd to Gallus. He eventually reached the mountains concealing the glade where Rapunzel's tower resided. As he ran, he thought he caught a glimpse of Marluxia watching him from atop the surrounding mountain, but when he looked up, there was no sign of the scythe-wielding Nobody. His run slowed to a halt when he got to the curtain of leaves concealing the cavern entrance into the glade, his gaze lingering on it far longer than the path where the Gummi ship was parked. He knew that it was too dangerous for him to be out in the open, all alone, when Marluxia could be around at any moment and take him out himself or sic his Nobodies on him.
Gallus clenched his beak, letting his stubbornness take control of his actions. "Screw it. If I have to do a million laps around all of Equestria, I'll do it if it means I save Rapunzel from a heartless person." He approached the hidden cavern, glancing up at the sky briefly before looking back at the natural curtain. Gulping nervously, swallowing his fear, he focused on something else besides walking through an enclosed passageway inside a mountain. "T-There is an exit. Just...get to the other side...Focus on rescuing Rapunzel; a princess."
With a deep breath, Gallus ran through and continued running until he reached the other side. He could have flown up instead, but with Reapers and Marluxia roaming around, he wasn't going to risk getting his wings permanently clipped by sharp weapons that could be much better used as gardening tools. No Heartless or Nobodies stopped him, which seemed to be a good sign, and when he finally made it into the glade, he blew out the breath he held and gasped for air, his lungs burning for oxygen from the run and holding his breath. Once he was breathing normally, he kept to the ground and ran toward the tower, finally flying up once he reached the structure.
As he got to the window, Gallus grabbed the ledge, folding his wings to his sides while using his upper body strength to pull him up and peak inside. With the dim lighting of the moon, it was still dark to see inside, and he didn't dare call out to Rapunzel if Gothel was hiding, lying in wait for an intruder. Slowly, Gallus climbed into the room, glancing around warily for a surprise attack. Although, if it was against a woman who has no magic nor physical prowess compared to his, he shouldn't have that much difficulty dealing with Gothel.
"Rapunzel?" Gallus whispered. "Rapunzel, where are you?" He slowly crept into the center of the room, worried that Gothel may have forced Rapunzel to move somewhere else. He jumped when he heard something come from a room up the small flight of stairs in the room. "Rapunzel? Is that you?" Gallus cautiously climbed up the steps, summoning his Keyblade in case it was a trap. "Is your 'mom' here? I don't want her to freak out. I'm just a...friendly griffon..."
He didn't know if there were Heartless lurking around with how gloomy the tower home was, but the unnerving silence made Gallus far more wary than ever. He reached the door and brought his free hand to the handle, quietly turning the handle, then gently pushed open the door. He heard some shuffling coming from behind the bed, along with someone's muffled cries, and from the long length of hair he could see trailing around the room, Gallus could clearly tell that was Rapunzel, and she must have been bound up and hidden from any interlopers.
Too focused on where Rapunzel was hidden, he didn't see Gothel hiding in the corner near the bedroom door. With Rapunzel's frying pan in her hand, and a small amount of darkness billowing around her body, she swung the cooking utensil hard. Gallus barely blinked before he was smacked hard in the face by the metal pan and sent flying over the railing, across the room, and into the wall mere inches from the window. His Keyblade fell out of his claw as he was struck and disappeared in a flash of light. Knocked in a daze, Gallus hit the floor with a grunt, seeing stars as he struggled to avoid fading to unconsciousness.
Gothel slowly walked down the steps, eyeing the griffon as he shakily tried to sit up. "So that man was right after all," she mumbled to herself. Gothel approached Gallus, dropping the frying pan unceremoniously to the floor. Gallus managed to glance up upon hearing the metallic clang of the utensil hitting the floor, then felt the woman grab the scruff of his neck and lifted his head up while she knelt down to leer at him. "You and Flynn managed to escape from prison. What a miserable excuse for an army if they couldn't keep a couple of thieves behind bars."
"Y-You won't...get away with this," Gallus mumbled. "You're...not keeping...Rapunzel..."
"Oh, I plan to keep her for as long as she lives," Gothel promised with a small, sinister smirk. "That hair of hers is what helps me stay young and beautiful. But, I should blame her parents, their Royal Highnesses, for sending her guards and taking the magical plant that continued giving me my infinite youth to save the dying queen and her unborn child. Without that golden flower as my fountain of youth, I would have withered away from old age. And I don't want to die when I have so much to live for."
"F-Flower?" Gallus uttered.
"Why, yes. Did you all really think Rapunzel's hair was truly that magical from birth?" Gothel asked with an amused chuckle. "Well, in a way, yes, but only because the potion used to cure the queen seeped into her baby while she was pregnant, thus giving Rapunzel her beautiful golden hair. Natural golden curls, but with an unnatural source of magic within. Of course, I thought if I just took one small strand, I'd stay young forever, but one cut, and the magic in it disappears. Even though you're a beast, I think you can put the pieces together in that tiny, rattled brain of yours."
Gallus's eyes grew wide as he snapped out of his daze. His hunch was spot on; Gothel was the kidnapper and forced Rapunzel to stay hidden away, keeping her from her real family. Just seeing the confident smirk on Gothel's face and her outright admitting her crimes infuriated Gallus. His pupils shrank as he was about to claw this woman's body to pieces, but with an inhuman amount of strength with the aura around Gothel, she slammed him hard against the wall, then dropped him, and gave him a swift kick hard in the stomach, knocking all the air out of his lungs. The force of the kick immobilized Gallus as he coughed and struggled to breathe, confused by this sudden power that came from the average-looking woman.
"Y-Y-You...m-mon-ster," Gallus wheezed, clutching his stomach, thinking he felt a rib crack from the amount of force into his abdomen.
"Me? A monster? How rich," Gothel mocked. "The people out there, those are the real monsters." She began walking back up to Rapunzel's room, leaving Gallus to writhe in pain. "And seeing as you're here, Flynn Rider will most likely show his face, too. Better collect my 'daughter' and give him a...surprise."
Gallus grunted, trying to stand or move, but the pain in his chest made it too hard for him to breathe. He took small, swift breaths, trying his best to ignore the pain and reach into his pack to grab a Potion. From his curled position, he wasn't able to reach as he stretched, which only hurt more as he did. Just as he was going to give up, he heard a small pitter patter of webbed feet approach him. He squinted his eyes, relieved to see Pascal, who had been hiding ever since they returned to the tower.
"P-Pascal?" he uttered, then got an idea. "H-Hey...In my bag...grab...one of the green bottles...and put it in my claw," he instructed with small pauses to catch his breath. Pascal looked at him quizzically, silently asking him why. "J-Just do it."
Without any further delay, Pascal crawled around the griffon and opened up his bag. He stared at the potions curiously before grabbing one, barely able to heft the bottle of green healing liquid as he pulled it out. Before he could roll in front of Gallus, he paused when the bedroom door slammed open, Gothel dragging out Rapunzel with her mouth gagged and hands bound with shackles behind her back while they connected to length of metal chain. Rapunzel tried to fight her off, but Gothel shoved her to the floor, then tied her bindings around a pillar in full view of the opened window. Pascal stayed hidden behind Gallus, making sure Gothel didn't spot him or the Potion behind the griffon's back. While Rapunzel looked at Gallus, she mumbled apologies to him, not wanting him to suffer like this, and he subtly tried to reach one of his arms out over his head, making it look like he was trying to crawl over to some sort of support to help himself back up, but the kick to his body left him too hurt to move any further.
Gothel approached a dresser and opened one of the drawers, pulling out a long dagger she kept hidden. "Now to wait for that man to try and whisk you away from me again," she uttered.
Flynn, Donald, and Goofy held on tightly as Maximus sprinted through the woods at a fast pace. "Come on, Max! We gotta hurry!" Flynn called out. Maximus snorted in agreement and picked up the pace. After entering the open field where Rapunzel and Sora played around the water the other day, Flynn pulled back on the reigns quickly, causing Maximus to skid to a halt when they saw a large group of Nobodies and Heartless attacking Sora. He was dealing with them on his own pretty well, but he could have sworn that outfit of his changed his Keyblade into a spear, not a pair of colorful daggers. "Well, that's clearly not good news."
Donald and Goofy hopped off of Maximus and ran to join Sora. "Go on ahead, Flynn!" Donald said. "We'll help Sora!"
Flynn nodded and continued on ahead with Maximus, steering the two of them far away from the dangerous creatures to avoid being targeted. Donald and Goofy were about to help Sora out, but with one massive and powerful bolt of lightning shooting down from the sky, it struck Sora's daggers as he held them into the air. A shockwave of surging electricity sent the Heartless and Nobodies scattered around him as a pair of electric wings appeared on his back. He then shot up into the air several hundred feet, then dove back down in a spin with his arms held out. His diving speed and spinning increased, his daggers creating a blur of a rainbow ring around him, and once he struck the ground, he created a sonic rainboom that spread throughout the field. As the colorful ring passed each foe, they were all struck with hundreds upon hundreds of lightning bolts, each one exploding in rainbow sparks and shocking them all as they were killed by the deadly volts.
After each Heartless imploded into dark mist and released hearts and each Nobody disappeared into gray nothingness, Sora stood upright, his Formchange's power fading and his clothing and Keyblade returned to normal. "Sheesh! They just wouldn't stop!" Sora exclaimed. "I don't think there were one thousand of them, but there were plenty to keep me distracted."
Donald and Goofy ran up to Sora, looking around anxiously for Gallus. "Sora, where's Gallus?" Goofy asked. "Did ya catch up to him?"
"I told him to head for the Gummi ship and stay there," Sora said.
"And you stayed to fight all those Heartless and Nobodies instead of keep up with him?" Donald questioned.
"Marluxia could be watching us, so it seemed like a smart idea," Sora reasoned. "Besides, they were all after me. He managed to get away safely."
"You think he actually listened to you?" Donald asked.
Sora looked toward the path back to where they started their exploration of the world and where Rapunzel's tower lies. "...Probably not," Sora said. "I have a feeling he's gone with his gut and cast aside any instructions or rules he's supposed to follow. Just like I have."
"And still do today," Donald added with a sigh and a shake of his head.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Goofy asked. "Let's skedaddle and get Gallus before he gets into even more trouble."
"Right," Sora said with a nod.
With no time to waste, the trio hurried down the road. When they reached the hidden passage to the glade, they nearly got bowled over by Maximus as he ran out in a panic. Before they could try to calm the spooked stallion down, they heard a roar coming from the glade, followed by a scream from Gallus. They quickly bolted through the cave, hoping whatever made that monstrous sound didn't get the griffon teen yet.
A moment earlier...
Flynn and Maximus entered the hidden grove, the man slowing his new friend to a halt. Since it would be impossible for the stallion to reach the top of the tower, Flynn decided to go it alone, leaving Maximus near the entrance as he ran up to the tower.
"Rapunzel!? Rapunzel, let down your hair!" Flynn called out. He didn't get a response and instead decided to climb up the tower himself. Barely making it up a few feet, Rapunzel's long hair was flung out the window and hung down the tower. Grasping the several thick strands, Flynn climbed up the tower with much more ease, feeling relieved that Rapunzel knew he left on that boat against his will. He grasped the window sill once he finally reached the top, grunting and pulling himself inside. "Rapunzel, I thought I'd never see you again."
His smile immediately disappeared, in shock when he saw Rapunzel tied up, gagged, and trying to warn him to flee. "F-Flynn." Looking down to his left near the window, he was surprised to see Gallus lying on the ground, wincing in pain. Gallus tried to reach his hand out, pointing to Gothel slowly creeping up behind him. "B-Behind-"
Before Flynn could question what was happening, Gothel stabbed the man's side with her dagger. Flynn yelled out in pain, feeling the blade pierce through him, immediately collapsing to the floor once the blade was yanked out. Rapunzel screamed out Flynn's real name in horror while Gallus was shocked for a brief moment before he gave Gothel a grimacing leer. Flynn grunted as he clutched his wound, his blood pooling beneath him and onto the floor, the stab wound seemingly lethal with the amount he was quickly losing.
"You know, Rapunzel, this is all your fault," Gothel scolded Rapunzel, dropping the dagger and approached the bound younger woman. "But don't worry, dear. Our secret will die with them."
"S-Screw...you," Gallus grunted.
While the heartless murderer and child kidnapper began to loosen the chain keeping Rapunzel bound to the pillar, Gallus heard Pascal rumble something to him from behind his head. Twisting slightly to make it look like he was trying to get up, he sees the Potion being rolled on its side by the chameleon, slowly moving along his arm. Luckily, with Gothel busy with Rapunzel as she struggled to break free, she would be too distracted to see him recover from the blow she gave him, and he was going to give her some payback.
"Rapunzel! Stop...fighting me!" Gothel grunted as she tried to reign Rapunzel in.
Rapunzel yanked herself forward, her struggles getting the cloth gagging her away from her mouth as she hit the floor, glaring defiantly at the exhausted woman. "No! I won't stop!" she exclaimed. "For every minute of the rest of my life, I will fight! I will NEVER stop trying to get away from you!" Gothel just silently leered at Rapunzel, growing frustrated with her fighting back against her after discovering the truth. Rapunzel heard Flynn's grunts, looking over her shoulder, her resolve wavering as she watched him try to sit up while clutching his wound. She even saw Gallus in his immobile state, giving Gothel a look that could kill if he had the power to. Rapunzel blamed herself for getting her new friends into this, and they got badly hurt trying to save her. She looked back up at Gothel, this time with a pleading look. "But, if you let me save Eugene and heal Gallus...I will go with you."
"W-What!?" Gallus exclaimed, only to cough as the pain in his chest doubled and grimaced in agony.
"N-No. No, Rapunzel," Flynn begged, trying desperately to stand, but the pain kept him hunched over.
"I'll never run. I'll never try to escape," Rapunzel continued, ignoring her injured friends' pleas to stop. "Just let me heal them, and you and I will be together - forever, just like you want. Everything will be the way it was. I promise. Just like you want. Just...let me heal them..."
Gothel eyed Rapunzel, feeling skeptical if she would keep to her word. Gallus knew Rapunzel was the kind of girl who ensures to keep a promise she makes. She did give back Flynn's satchel, along with the crown that he took, and was going to give back. Eventually, Gothel gave in, unlocking the shackles around Rapunzel's hands, then took them as she approached Flynn, grabbed his arm, and painfully dragged him across the floor to a nearby post. While she got to work tying him up, Rapunzel quickly ran up to Gallus to heal him.
"Rapunzel, no," he said. "Don't let her control your life anymore."
"I don't want to see anyone else get hurt because of me," Rapunzel said as she knelt beside him. Gallus glanced away, feeling the guilt from last night come back to haunt him, but his thoughts were dragged from his poor actions of the past when she gently lifted his neck with both hands and placed her forehead against his. It was slightly awkward for Gallus, as if she was trying to ease the worries of a wild animal, but the light brush of her fingers against his fur didn't help when he knew she was going to be stuck as a prisoner for the rest of her life. "You got far too hurt because of me...You don't deserve it."
Gallus's beak quivered, exhaling in defeat, despite grimacing and trying to hold back tears. "...Save Flynn first," he said. "He needs your healing magic more. I'll live."
Rapunzel looked over her shoulder at Flynn, where Gothel was finished binding one of his hands up with the chain tied tightly around the post. "In case you get any ideas about following us," she warned the injured man.
Rapunzel looked back at Gallus, and to the griffon's shock, she gave him a small peck on his forehead. As she ran over to Flynn, Gallus was completely dumbfounded by the small kiss she gave him. Out of all the kind gestures he's ever been given since his enrollment in the School of Friendship, a friendly kiss from a girl felt so alien to him. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Gothel approached him with some rope in her hands, intending to tie him up to for the same reason as Flynn.
Luckily, she didn't notice Pascal or the Potion creeping ever so slowly to his hand. He overheard Rapunzel and Flynn talking, the latter trying to tell her not to go through with this deal with her fake mother like Gallus tried to, but the former refused to let either of them remain in the painful states they were in. Flynn got her to stop trying to heal him for a moment, reaching his shackled hand out to her. He began brushing her bangs away from her face, sharing one final moment between them before they parted again, whether if Flynn succumbs to his wound or if Rapunzel willingly leaves with Gothel. However, Gallus noticed Flynn's other hand as he clenched what looked like a sharp shard of glass. Before he could think what he was planning to do, the man's hand slowly moved toward the back of Rapunzel's head, but instead of pulling her into a kiss, he grasped her hair, and in one swift motion with the glass, sliced every single strand off in one swipe, leaving her with a shorter hairstyle.
Rapunzel, Gallus, and Gothel gasped in shock at what Flynn did as the blonde hair began to turn brown, even the hair that was left on Rapunzel's head. "E-Eugene..." Rapunzel uttered, running her hands through her short hair, horrified at his last bit of heroism.
Gothel began to panic, struggling to grasp the cut off hair and save whatever magic was fading away, but it was all too late. "No, no, no, no!" She stared at the now useless hair, anger, shock, and fear rolling through her as she watched her hands turn from young and supple to old, withered, and swiftly decaying. "What have you done!? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"
Gallus shifted his focus on Gothel, grimacing in disgust as he watched her body quickly aging from her paling skin to her graying hair. Gothel began hyperventilating as she stumbled over to a broken mirror on the floor, where the shard of glass Flynn grasped originally came from. The aging woman screamed and yelled as she stared at the fragmented reflection, pulling the hood of her cloak over her face to hide her old form as she seemed to be dying with the enchanted magic's power, having used it so much that its death was her demise as well.
As she staggered closer to Gallus, he felt the Potion roll right up to his claw. Quickly grasping it and tossing it, the bottle disappeared and sprinkled its healing energy around him. No longer in any pain, Gallus spotted the length of brown hair near him, grasping it in both talons and yanked it in Gothel's path. She blindly tripped into the heavy rope-like hair and fell right out the window, right to an even more gruesome, deserving death if she didn't turn to dust yet. Sitting up with a grunt, Gallus approached the window to watch the heartless woman's cloak plummet.
"That's what you get, you old-!" His taunting was immediately distracted when he saw no old woman falling to the ground; just an empty cloak with the ashes of her remains. He felt a bit sick to his stomach, but when he looked away, he spotted something standing on a hillside, watching the events unfold. His eagle-like eyesight spotted an all too familiar Nobody, letting out a gasp when he saw it was none other than Marluxia. "It's...that guy again. Has he been standing there all this time?"
Marluxia grunted in amusement. "Fallen to darkness," he uttered. "We can't allow her near our pure light now. Her presence would only cast a pall over it."
Gallus growled, summoning his Keyblade and flew out of the window to confront him as he held his hand out to the falling cloak. "Hey, you!" the griffon called out. "I've got a beef with you! Trying to get me thrown in jail with Flynn instead of fighting me!? What a wussy move!"
Marluxia chuckled, impressed by Gallus's bravado, but he didn't notice his rose petals stopping the cloak midair. "You have no power over me," he said. "And thanks to you, I'll be sure to inform Master Xehanort the presence of other future key bearers along with you."
"I'm not gonna give you a chance!" Gallus was about to swoop down and lunge at Marluxia, but froze when he heard something similar to Heartless appearing near the tower, but he was able to literally FEEL a powerful force surge from that spot.
Too afraid to look back, Gallus didn't see an orb of darkness form inside the cloak and practically burst into a massive size. From within, two pairs of branch-like arms shot out from the orb, followed by a tail before it crashes to the earth. He thought he heard the sound of a frightened horse whinnying, but Gallus continued looking at Marluxia, his gaze no longer confident or aggressive and replaced with fear. The sphere surrounding the head of the Heartless creature disappeared, revealing a tree trunk-like head with leafy, curled hair, the heart-shaped symbol of the Emblem Heartless sitting in the center of its forehead jagged teeth with a black void of a maw, and yellow eyes with thin black swirls. Sensing a Keyblade, it turned toward the hovering griffon and slowly approached him and Marluxia, the latter smirking at the terror on Gallus's face.
"Instead of worrying about me, you should be more concerned with 'Mother Gothel'," Marluxia said as he pointed to the Heartless behind Gallus. "Or, as it should be aptly named, 'Grim Guardianess'."
Marluxia took his leave through a portal of darkness, relishing the griffon teen's fearful expression. Gallus's wings instinctively folded up, making him plop to the ground. Daring to look with wide eyes, he shakily turned around and marveled at the size of the Grim Guardianess in the worst way possible. The Heartless let out a menacing roar, nearly knocking Gallus over just from the shockwave of its terrifying cry. In less than a second, Gallus went from a tough and prideful griffon to a cowardly chicken.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Gallus screamed, then quickly bolted, flapping his wings as fast as his body could. He immediately shot for the wide opening of the glade and flee into the sky, but as he looked back at the Grim Guardianess flying after him, he didn't notice an invisible barrier appearing and creating a dome around the glade. He slammed into the force field, letting out a panicked whimper as he tried to claw at the impenetrable barrier trap. "Oh come on! Why now!?"
Hearing the Heartless roar again, he quickly turned around, only to yelp as he dove down, avoiding a heavy punch from one of its four arms. Gallus quickly shot for the safety of Rapunzel's tower, only to slam into another barrier that appeared at the window's entrance. Knocked for a loop as he smacked his face into the barrier, he quickly shook his head, but failed to call Rapunzel for help when he was snatched tightly by the Grim Guardianess. Gallus grunted, trying to wriggle out of the Heartless's grip, the Grim Guardianess opened its maw and released a murder of Heartless crows from the dark void inside. They began diving down and pecking Gallus's defenseless face, even phasing through its hand and ramming into his body.
From the cavern, Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran into the glade, gasping in shock as they saw Gallus getting helplessly attacked by the large Heartless's swarm of dark avian nest. "Gallus! Hang on!" Sora called out.
Sensing another Keyblade, the Grim Guardianess shifted its eyes on Sora. It commanded the crows to attack the trio while it slithered its way around the tower, keeping a tight hold on Gallus. Sora, Donald, and Goofy swung their weapons and avoided the divebombing crows of darkness as they raced toward the tower. Gallus continued to struggle despite his pain, grasping the hilt of his Keyblade trapped in the Heartless's clenched fist along with him.
"This is probably gonna hurt. Fire!" he shouted.
The tip of his Keyblade unleashed a small fireball, immediately making contact with the Grim Guardianess's palm while Gallus also burnt himself in the enclosed blast. The Heartless screeched and let go of the griffon, giving Gallus the chance to escape while he winced at the burning pain he inflicted on himself. It was a dumb idea, but he managed to use his wits to get out despite injuring himself. He tried to group up with Sora, Donald, and Goofy, but the Grim Guardianess roared, its eyes glowing before releasing a blinding light. The warriors shut their eyes, but when they opened them, Sora, Donald, and Goofy found themselves back at the cave entrance while Gallus was by himself on the hill where he last saw Marluxia.
"W-What just happened!?" Donald exclaimed. Suddenly shooting up from the ground around the trio, thick roots popped up and formed a cage around them. "WAH! What!?"
The Grim Guardianess raised up its arms, and with a shake of its leafy dark green hair, unleashed a barrage of giant exploding strawberries through green, leafy portals down on them. "Heads up, fellahs!" Goofy called out as he held his shield over his head.
Gallus watched his mentors running around in the cage avoiding the enchanted berries, but quickly looked back at the Grim Guardianess as it charged toward him with a spin. Gallus tried to run, only to trip from his burn wounds and get swept into the Heartless's spiraling tackle. Gallus tried to fly away after hitting the ground, aiming his Keyblade and shooting Fire spells as he fled from the pursuing behemoth of a plant monster. Sadly, the distance he was eluding the Heartless kept dissipating before they hit or blew up in the Grim Guardianess's face, wasting weak magic spells for nothing.
"Come on, stupid tree monster! Go after them!" Gallus begged, pointing to Sora, Donald, and Goofy, who finally found a gap in the Heartless's cage and broke free. The strawberries still continued to rain down on them, and Gallus was in the explosive fruit storm along with them. He didn't notice until the berries began to hit him and blow up on contact, messing up his flight path and sending him crashing to the ground. He flinched and tried to roll away as more deadly fruit fell and rolled around him, failing to avoid the close-ranged explosives. "S-Should have just...gone back to the Gummi ship."
"Gallus, get up!" Sora called out, launching a Firaga spell to distract the Heartless. The stronger explosion of flames riled it up as it turned to Sora and roared angrily at him. "Just stay low and out of its sight!"
"W-Where can I even go!?" Gallus exclaimed, shakily getting back up on his feet. "There's nowhere for me to hide! And we're sealed in!" Feeling desperate, Gallus reached for his bag and pulled out a Potion. "Hope this stuff can heal stupid self-inflicted burns."
While the Grim Guardianess's back was turned to Gallus, as it summoned its crows to act as a defensive spike barrier, its tail flagged up before slamming down to the ground, right on top of the griffon. Gallus looked up too late, getting slammed down heavily by the powerful tail as he let out a loud grunt. The swift impact caused him to lose his grip on his Potion, even send his other Potions in his opened pack to fly out of it. Sora, Donald, and Goofy gasped as they saw Gallus get smacked down to the ground, and when the Heartless was about to charge at them, its flicking tail sent the griffon and his Potions flying across the glade.
"GALLUS!" they cried out in panic, but they couldn't focus on him for long as they had to dive away from the approaching Grim Guardianess as it slammed its head into the ground where they stood.
Gallus tumbled painfully across the ground, skipping over the small stream, and onto the hill until he came to a smacking halt into the mountainside, his Keyblade clattering beside his limp form. The Potions hit the ground after, shattering to pieces and spilling the green liquid into the grass.
"Gallus!" Sora rushed over to the gravely injured griffon. "Gallus, I'm coming! Just hang in the-!"
Barely crossing the distance halfway, the Grim Guardianess swooped down and threw several punches at Sora. Grunting, Sora quickly leapt back, smacking away any stray fists with his Keyblade as he was forced to go on the defensive. There was no way he was going to revive Gallus with a Cure spell with a Heartless that can teleport them to wherever in the glade and keep him away from the injured griffon. He had to kill it, and fast, otherwise they'll lose a future Keyblade Master.
Gallus grimaced, his body aching with tremendous pain. He squinted his eyes open, surprised to still be alive, let alone conscious. Shakily, he forced himself to sit up, his body screaming at him to lay back down, but he refused. He reached for another Potion, but as his trembling talon searched his empty bag, he wondered how he went through them all when he only started to use them moments ago. When he looked at the ground before him, his heart sank when he saw the remains of his Potions spread across the grass, the green healing liquid long since drained up by the earth. He collapsed on his stomach in defeat, causing more pain, but he didn't care.
"...T-They're...gone," he mumbled to himself. "I-I...can barely...move..." He could faintly hear the battle going on at the other end of the glade. He looked up, watching Sora leaping around and striking the Grim Guardianess with Donald and Goofy providing support with long ranged spells and throws, unable to keep up with the fast tree-like Heartless. Despite the tough threat, they kept fighting while avoiding dark crows, plummeting headbutts, root cages, and raining explosive strawberries. All he did was panic and run away, never expecting to face his first ever Heartless of this size or strength, especially when this Heartless came from Gothel's heart. "...I'm...so pathetic...H-How...How can I...face anything like that on my own...?"
As Gallus lay hopelessly in the grass, his mind raced with his accomplishments as a wielder outweighed by his other friends. They would have all advanced to much tougher stages in their training, and despite all his efforts, he was still left behind in the beginner's courses, forever humiliated by his peers and disowned by his own kind. Aqua would forever be disappointed in him, take his Keyblade away, and kick him out, shunning his credibility as a warrior of light. He had no idea how anyone could fight such monstrous Heartless, or even feel so insanely brave enough to face one head-on. Tears began to well in the griffon's eyes, his failures as a wielder, the loneliness of his past, and the cowardice toward the powerful Heartless that could threaten this very world's existence finally breaking him down. He didn't care anymore, just like his kind; no one would care about a useless griffon like him.
Blinking away the tears obscuring his vision, letting them roll down his cheeks, he continued watching a real Keyblade wielder fight the Grim Guardianess. He sniffled, unable to hide his face in shame as he cried like a hatchling with how much pain his body was in. His eyes followed the Heartless as it slithered its way up the tower, but his gaze lingered on the tower. The recent events within flashed through Gallus's eyes, more specifically replaying Flynn getting stabbed by Gothel and his sacrifice to have his severe wound be healed by Rapunzel's hair. Flynn was dying. Rapunzel has no way to save him. She needed help; anyone's help. His eyes widened as he remembered why he disobeyed Sora and came back to the hidden glade: to rescue Rapunzel. And now he needed to rescue Flynn. He needed to rescue someone who understood his upbringing and his struggles; his friend.
By some ounce of strength resting deep within the griffon, he forced himself to sit back upright. "H-He...needs...help," Gallus uttered. Looking around, he found his Keyblade sitting in the grass a few yards away from him. Lifting a shaky claw, he called Griffon's Pride back to him, fading away in a flash of light before reappearing in his talon. He still had no confidence in his ability to cast Cure, having no pure joy to fall on to help give a slim chance of a spark for the magic spell to work. He thought back to Silverstream's words, how helping others made her really happy, taking in a shaky breath as he held his Keyblade in his hands. "I don't know...why you chose me...But, you know, somehow, you belong to me...And you must know more about me than I do.
"I'm a screwup. I know that. I've messed up so many times, I keep thinking I know what I'm doing...but I don't." His hands trembled, swallowing the lump in his throat as he felt more tears trickle down his face. Gripping the hilt with both claws, he brought the flat side of the blade to his forehead and clenched his eyes shut. "I hate who I am as a griffon. I don't want to be like them; I want to be better. I'm starting to learn about friendship, teamwork, stuff that griffons think is meaningless if it isn't shiny or made of gold..." Gallus choked back a sob, hoping his words will reach out to his Keyblade if it had any sentience to it. He thought of the new friends he made at school, his teachers, Master Aqua, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Rapunzel, Flynn, even the little girls in the kingdom capital who took a huge liking to him. "...Please...give me strength. Not for me. Not for my own selfish goals. Give me strength to help others; to protect them, even if I'm not strong enough...Please!"
Clenching his beak, Gallus tuned everything around him out. He focused solely on the ones he wanted to keep safe; the ones who are more important to him in his life right now. He threw away his past and his former self's selfish desires and looked ahead to see a much friendlier Gallus. He would be willing to give up his own life in exchange for Flynn's so Rapunzel could be happy with him. He wanted to prove to his friends and teachers he did care and was willing to improve. He wanted to make sure Silverstream, the quirky, excitable, and highly lovable hippogriff his heart pined for, would be safe if she was unable to protect herself. With all these thoughts he prayed was pouring into his Keyblade, Gallus pushed through his pain and quickly thrust his Keyblade above his head.
"CURE!!!!!!!!!!!"
In an instant after casting the spell, a bellflower appeared over Gallus's head, but the petals of his magical healing flower weren't a mix of pink and white like the other times he's seen; his bellflower's petals were a bright, golden hue, similar to Rapunzel's formerly golden blonde hair. When he began to feel his injuries disappear, Gallus opened his eyes, beak agape in shock and awe as he watched his Cure spell sprinkle green energy over his weary body. He remained frozen in place, staring at his spell until it was done releasing its healing "pollen". Slowly gazing down at himself, Gallus ran one of his hands down his body, feeling no pain or fatigue from the pummeling he received, nor the burns from his earlier escape plan from the Grim Guardianess's grip.
Still struck with disbelief that HE was the one who managed to finally use Cure, he lowered Griffon's Pride and stared at the blade. Did it hear his admittance and feel his inner thoughts? Was he finally able to search for that true happiness he'd been searching for all his life? Gallus had no idea how to react: cheer and celebrate, cry more and feel relieved, be irate and upset while questioning how it worked now of all times, and many more mixed emotions as he blankly stared at his Keyblade. Part of him deep down was truly thrilled, finally feeling some modicum of success with his training.
His stupor was finally broken when he heard the Grim Guardianess roar, teleporting Sora, Donald, and Goofy away again and continued trapping them between caged roots with a small opening they had to scramble to be freed from while raining more of its deadly fruit on them. It perched on Rapunzel's tower again, keeping itself far away from the wielder and his cohorts. This Heartless was still Gothel, doing its absolute worst to keep her precious light inside the tower from being taken away, even when that "light" it wanted to keep was long gone. With his body fully rejuvenated by his healing spell, Gallus gripped his Keyblade tightly in his right claw, wiping his face of his tears with his arm, then glared at the Heartless.
"No more running," Gallus muttered, crouching low with his wings spread out, ready to pounce the unsuspecting Heartless. "Since I've gotten to this world, that's all I've been doing. This time, this thing will run away from me."
Letting out a low, lion-like growl, Gallus sprung off the ground, flapping his wings hard as he sped toward the Grim Guardianess. He let out a yell as he got closer, getting the Heartless's attention, and before it could blink its massive yellow eyes, Gallus thrust his Keyblade into its forehead, knocking it off its perch with a pained roar, and made sure he sent it plummeting to the ground below. Sora, Donald, and Goofy skid to a halt as they watched the Heartless get knocked down. And to their surprise, the thing that sent it crashing down was Gallus.
"W-Was that Gallus!?" Donald squawked.
"He shouldn't be moving in the state he's in!" Goofy said.
Sora rushed over to the tower and looked down at the hill, surprised to see Gallus's wounds had disappeared. "He's...healed? But how?"
Gallus pulled his Keyblade out of the writhing Heartless's thick skull, feeling a welling sense of satisfaction for knocking it down a peg. "How's that for pain, you old hag!?" he mocked. The Grim Guardianess roared and swung its arms to slam Gallus against its face. Gallus leapt swiftly with a flap of his wings, dodging the four arms while it only managed to punch itself, which only made it bellow in pain and frustration. The griffon landed next to Sora, feeling such an excited rush as he looked at the stunned wielder. "Sora, I did it! You won't believe it, but I used Cure!"
"...Y-You did?" Sora asked. "...Uhh...I-Impressive?"
"I was going to just give up and wait until it was all over! I don't know HOW, but I finally did it! Did you see me take that thing down!? I don't know if Cure has some weird side effect of feeling stronger, but I do, and I clocked it right between the-!" Sora quickly clamped Gallus's excited rambling beak with his left hand.
"Gallus, tone it down," he said, then pointed his Keyblade to the Grim Guardianess, who was still very much alive and much more agitated than before. "That Heartless is still alive. We kill it, then you can keep celebrating." Gallus nodded, quickly getting back into focus as Sora removed his hand. "I know you're feeling a bit overconfident right now, but...are you sure you want to fight this Heartless with us?"
"Yeah. Positive," Gallus said, showing no hesitation with his response and stance. "This Heartless was the monster who kidnapped Rapunzel, and I want to put her in her place."
"This Heartless...is Gothel?" Sora uttered. The Grim Guardianess's eyes flashed as it glared at them, teleporting all four of them together right back to the cave entrance. It climbed back up to the top of the tower, unleashing all of its power with a blood-curdling screech. Roots shot up all over the glade, creating an open-roofed maze, a massive swarm of dark crows flying out of its mouth and concealing its massive head, and a huge green portal appeared in the sky like a giant storm cloud and began releasing a flurry of berry bombs throughout the area. "Stay close and stay alert, guys!"
"Right!" Donald and Goofy agreed.
Gallus silently nodded, but he immediately changed up his stance. He placed the hilt of his Keyblade in his beak and crouched low to the ground, ready to sprint through the maze instead of fly over the roots. The Heartless wanted to goad them into leaping or flying over to reach it, only to knock them back down in the maze via explosive fruit or a murder of crows made of pure darkness. With Sora taking the lead, Donald, Goofy, and Gallus followed him through the winding root maze, dodging falling berries and small swarms of crows flying down from their orbit around the Grim Guardianess. Weaving around the random path, they had to stop as the roots altered their route several times. Gallus had no idea if his mana was fully replenished after using Cure yet, but he wished he could burn through the roots with Fire magic. Sadly, that idea was thrown out the window when his and Sora's Keyblades couldn't slice through the very thick roots, which meant fire wouldn't possibly destroy them either.
He then had another idea, keeping up with his mentors until his timing was perfect. As soon as the roots began to change up their maze, Gallus quickly bolted over a rising wall, leaving the maze in a sense and sprinted toward the water and ran along the maze's edge.
"Gallus! What are you doing!?" Sora called out while side-stepping away from some divebombing crows.
"I'm taking a shortcut!" he said. The Grim Guardianess spotted Gallus, sending all of its crows down to chase after the griffon. Gallus quickly took to the air, turning and twisting his body to avoid the falling strawberries while running from the crows. "That's right. Send them all after me." He glanced at the Heartless, finding its body slightly more exposed as some crows lingered in an orbit around its body for protection. Once he had enough of the crows hone in on him, Gallus changed his course and headed straight for the Heartless. "You can take all your little pets back, lady!"
The Grim Guardianess tried to grab him, but Gallus immediately swooped down into a ninety degree dive down the tower. The crows were to slow to angle themselves down and rammed into its creator instead. A majority of them struck the Heartless while the rest took out the last of the crows around it. With it stunned by its own attack, the roots faded away, giving Sora, Donald, and Goofy more free range to run, but they still had to avoid the storm of explosive magic fruit. Gallus tilted his wings, gliding across the grass as he swooped around to rejoin his instructors, all four of them making a beeline toward the tower.
"That was a crazy idea, Gallus!" Sora said. As much as he wanted to scold Gallus for splitting up like that, he couldn't deny that that was a brilliant idea to distract the Heartless. "Now, let's finish this thing off!"
"Yes, let's!" Gallus couldn't agree more.
Gallus ascended while Sora run up the side of the tower, keeping up with the griffon's pace. The two reached the top, and together, they rammed the dazed Heartless off its perch, making it fall to the pond as it let out a startled screech. Sora and Gallus landed on the roof after knocking the Grim Guardianess off, then jumped high into the air, slowly tangling their bodies at the peak of their jump to dive down toward the Heartless. As their speed increased, both wielders held out their Keyblades, aiming at the Heartless emblem on its forehead. With a yell, they both thrust their blades deep into the Heartless's skull.
The Grim Guardianess froze, barely moving or uttering a single sound. Seconds later, the Heartless screeched and flailed about, finally reacting to the double stabbing in its head. Sora and Gallus pulled their blades out and leapt off the Heartless, watching it continue to writhe about, waiting for it to counterattack. Thankfully, the fight was over when it let out a weak roar and finally collapsed, releasing a huge heart into the sky as its body evaporated into a dark mist. Once it the darkness finally faded away, Gallus released the breath he was holding, panting heavily in exertion, but with a small grin on his face.
"Nice work, Gallus," Sora praised the griffon, getting his attention. "But, next time there's a Heartless of that size, let the pros handle it. And...again, stop doing reckless stuff like that."
"I-I don't know what came over me," Gallus said. "I was so afraid of fighting that thing before, but when I started to think about everyone and healed myself, I-" His grin shifted into a worried frown, losing all adrenaline from his first tough battle against a powerful Heartless as he looked up at the tower. "...Oh no. Flynn!"
"What? What happened to Flynn!?" Sora asked.
"Gothel stabbed him! H-He's dying as we've been fighting the Grim Guardianess! We-We need to heal him!" Gallus exclaimed anxiously.
Before Sora could calm the griffon down and reason that Rapunzel could heal him instead, Gallus flew up to the top of the tower. Donald and Goofy looked at each other nervously while Sora gathered them to climb up the tower. At the window, Gallus panted heavily, watching Rapunzel trying desperately to think of something to stop Flynn from bleeding to death.
"No, Eugene, don't go. Stay with me," she begged the dying man. With wavering hope, she grasped Flynn's hand, bringing it up to her brown hair and tried the incantation while holding back her tears. "Flower, gleam and glow. Let your...power shine. Make the clock reverse-,"
"Rapunzel," Flynn weakly called out.
"-bring back what once was mine." Rapunzel felt Flynn's hand move down to cup her cheek, quickly grasping it as he got her attention.
"Hey, Rapunzel," he uttered, trying to give her a reassuring smile despite his life fading away.
"What?" she asked.
"...Rapunzel...You were my new dream," he said, making tears well in her eyes as she choked back a sob.
"And you were mine," she said back.
Gallus couldn't take watching anymore, climbing inside and rushing over to them. "Hey, hold on, Flynn!" he said, but the man was already going limp as he took one last breath. Panicking, Gallus held up his Keyblade, bringing the flat side of his sword to his forehead, silently pleading his mana had fully recharged before thrusting it over his head. "Heal!" His spell worked as his golden bellflowers sprinkled healing magic over the three of them. Despite her sorrow, Rapunzel was amazed by the magical healing spell, and she could see Flynn's wound closing up. Gallus laughed in joyous relief as he made it in time. "Yes! I can finally use Cure! Flynn, you're all better now! Right!?"
As they waited for a response, Sora, Donald, and Goofy finally made it to the window. They were shocked to see Rapunzel's hair had been cut and reverted to her true natural brown color and Flynn on the ground, seeing the blood on the floor from his severe wound and his body now seeming lifeless. Sora had heard Gallus use the Cure spell, even seeing the last remnants of healing pollen sprinkling down around them, but it was already too late to save Flynn. Sora could see Gallus's smile faltering, his efforts all in vain, even after all the trouble he went through.
"...I-It...didn't work..." Rapunzel mumbled sadly.
"I-I...I-I healed him. N-No. How?" In utter disbelief, Gallus tried to shake Flynn awake. "Flynn, come on. Wake up. You're all better. Don't do this to us!" Still no response. Growing frustrated, Gallus screamed as he backed away, trying to figure out what else he did wrong. "Why!? Why didn't it work!? That dagger couldn't have-!"
As he helplessly tried to understand what went wrong, Aqua's lecture on what the Cure spell is able to do and what it cannot came back to him.
It's a powerful spell, which is why it expends so much magical energy and the injuries you heal for yourself or your allies are repaired rapidly, hastening the healing process. It can revitalize lost stamina and energy and heal bruises and cuts, but it won't help with serious internal injuries or broken bones.
As an example of your bodies' structures, when you break a limb, it doesn't heal up on its own. It needs to be splinted and set so the bone can heal at a slow, natural pace. You try to fix a mending bone too quickly, that'll only make it worse, and could possibly shatter the entire bone.
All his anger ebbed into a shocked, highly depressed expression on the griffon's face. Gallus stared at the amount of blood Flynn lost, and gauged how deep the dagger Gothel used to stab into Flynn's side. She thrust the small blade right to the hilt, which in turn could have punctured or sliced through any of his vital organs. Even though the example he and his friends were given about the serious injuries was just about broken bones, the same could be said about internal organs within the body that required slow, careful, and natural healing to get better. In the end, whether he finally learned the spell before or after defeating the Grim Guardianess, Cure wouldn't have healed him, and he still would have bled to death.
"...I...I couldn't have...saved him...after all..." Gallus lost his grip on his Keyblade, hitting the ground with a clatter before disappearing in a flash of light. His claws shook as the realization struck him hard. He couldn't bear to look at Rapunzel, failing her again as a friend, letting her lover die in her arms. "...I-I'm...I'm sorry...Rapunzel..."
Sora, Donald, and Goofy lowered the heads, the latter two holding their hats to their chests as the mourned silently for Flynn. Gallus was overwhelmed with emotions, anger and guilt toward himself, pity for Rapunzel, sorrow for failing everyone once more. He buried his face in his shaking claws, his body heaving with quiet sobs and quivering breaths. He just lost a new friend and failed to save him, which was the worst feeling he never wanted to experience with the others back in Equestria.
Gallus's sadness only worsened when Rapunzel leaned her forehead to touch Flynn's, continuing the incantation of her song in a fruitless effort to bring him back. "Heal what has been hurt. Change the Fates' design. Save what has been lost...Bring back what once was mine..." Rapunzel began to choke up, which made Gallus wince. This was probably the reason why he was warned by Aqua not to meddle in the affairs of other worlds. He felt much more responsible being involved, continuing to blame himself for doing so little when he could have done so much more. "...What once was mine."
Rapunzel finally broke down and cried, holding Flynn tightly as she grieved over his loss. One of her tears dripped down her face and landed on his cheek, slowly rolling down his face before his skin seemed to absorb it, which briefly turned into a faint image of a glowing flower before it faded away. Gallus sniffled as he tried to rub his eyes, wishing there was more he could have done for Rapunzel. He looked over at her, taking a chance to maybe try to console her, but just as he was about to take a step toward her, something caught his eye.
Around Flynn, where the wound used to be, a light began to shine around the man's hip, which slowly began to bloom as strands of light seeped out and curled all around the room, almost like they were strands of hair. This wasn't missed by the others as the light caught their attention, their mouths hung open like Gallus's in awe at what was transpiring before them. The strands wisped around Rapunzel as the flower bloomed open to form a six-pointed flower, releasing a light that didn't blind everyone. Some even curled around Gallus as he stared at the strands, which began to subtly shape themselves into a bellflower in front of his face, much like the magical healing flower from a Cure spell. Confused, he tried to touch the light, but it gently fled from his approaching digit as it seeped into Flynn's body with the rest of the floating strands, fading away and leaving the room dimly lit by the light shining through the window.
Rapunzel reached her hand to touch Flynn's side where the light disappeared, nearly jumping when she felt Flynn move and heard him breathing. Gallus, Sora, Donald, and Goofy leaned closer where they stood or kneeled, thinking they heard Flynn breathing in the formerly gloomy silence. Flynn weakly squinted his eyes with a groan, staring back at a dumbfounded, but hopeful and relieved Rapunzel.
"Rapunzel..." The woman smiled, unable to believe what just happened, but she was so happy to hear his voice again. "...Did I ever tell you...I've got a thing for brunettes?"
"Eugene!" Rapunzel cried out, hugging Flynn tightly as she was overcome with joy.
While the couple held each other, Sora, Donald, and Goofy cheered and celebrated the mysterious magical miracle. Gallus, however, was still in shock, his beak hung open as his brain processed the impossible phenomenon.
"H-How...? Her magic was gone, and mine didn't do anything..." Unable to come up with an answer, Gallus sighed, just glad to see Flynn back from the dead.
No longer needing to be in this tower anymore, everyone made their way down to the ground. Gallus helped Rapunzel by grasping her hands and hovered her safely down to the grass, no longer able to make a rope with her hair now that it had been cut short, then Flynn after that. They left out what happened to Gothel and her Heartless if they were able to hear the battle with the barrier blocking the window earlier, not wanting to scare them further with what she turned into. They exited the glade, even though Gallus was a bit hesitant to walk through the cave again, but Rapunzel gently rubbed the griffon's neck, keeping him close to her while keeping him calm, knowing how much he disliked enclosed spaces.
Once they were finally on the other side, Gallus finally breathing at ease after going through that cavern again. They found Maximus, who had been waiting anxiously after getting scared off by the Grim Guardianess. The stallion was happy to see them all ok, though he was taken aback with Rapunzel's new hairstyle.
"So, I guess this is where we part ways from here," Sora said.
"Are you sure you don't want to stick around a bit longer?" Rapunzel asked.
"We've got some things we need to do elsewhere," Sora said.
"And you're the missing princess of the kingdom," Goofy said. "I bet your parents would be happy to see you again after all these years."
"I really couldn't have gotten there without all your help," she said.
"Hey, don't worry, I'll make sure she gets back home safe and sound," Flynn promised. "...Uhh, provided the guards don't try to arrest me for breaking out of prison." He glanced at Max, giving the steed a little pat on the side. "You can vouch for me, right, Max?"
Maximus rolled his eyes and let out a sputtering sigh. "You two play nice," Donald warned Maximus and Flynn.
"We'll try, but no guarantees," Flynn said with a shrug.
Rapunzel giggled at Flynn's response. "Don't worry. I'll make sure Eugene and Max don't beat each other up on the way back to the kingdom."
"'Eugene'?" Sora questioned.
"That's my real name," Flynn admitted sheepishly. "Eugene Fitzherbert. I told Rapunzel and Gallus when we nearly drowned, but not you guys."
"Huh. Well, then, nice to re-meet you, Eugene," Sora greeted with a cheeky grin.
"A much better name than Flynn Rider," Goofy said.
"We'll let the guards decide that if they don't incarcerate me again," Flynn said nervously. "Maybe we'll catch you sidekicks later someday."
"As long as Marluxia doesn't come back, we'll come around the kingdom to see you guys again," Sora promised.
Rapunzel was glad to hear the wonderful news. Before she was helped up onto Maximus's back, she approached Gallus and kneeled down in front of him. Gallus stammered, trying to come up with a less depressing way to say goodbye while hoping he could come back to check in on her, but Rapunzel beat him first when she hugged the griffon, startling him.
"Promise you'll come back some time for a visit?" Rapunzel asked.
"...Uhh, I'll try," Gallus said, awkwardly wrapping his around Rapunzel to hug her back. "Can't break a promise with you always keeping yours."
Rapunzel let go of Gallus and nodded. "And when you come back, I'll make sure the town throws a festival in honor of my two saviors who rescued me and put an end to the kidnapper holding me hostage for almost eighteen years of my life."
"Can't I have my own day while he gets the day after!?" Flynn exclaimed, earning a nudge from Maximus for his smart-alec remark.
"Hey! What about us sidekicks!?" Donald questioned. "We did a lot of hard work, too!"
Sora and Goofy laughed at Donald's complaint. "Come on, Donald. We're used to doing a lot of stuff for free," Goofy said.
"And we're not sidekicks or junior heroes anymore," Sora added, flexing on of his biceps to mimic Hercules, even though his arms were as skinny as a twig. "We're on a whole other level of hero now. Saving the day is our reward."
Everyone else laughed while Donald pouted and grumbled to himself. Flynn and Rapunzel finally got up on Maximus's back, giving the group a fond farewell, including Pascal as he crawled out from the back of Rapunzel's dress. After they disappeared down the path back to the Kingdom of Corona, the visiting warriors trekked their way into the woods to where the Gummi ship was hidden. Settling inside the ship, Sora started the engines and set their course back home to Equestria. Gallus watched the world getting farther away, having gone through so much excitement and drama in only a couple exhausting days. Despite how early in the morning it was, he didn't feel like falling asleep, his mind too rattled with his inner thoughts and the rollercoaster of emotions he rolled through in the last few hours.
After the explorers returned to Equestria, Sora, Donald, and Goofy went on ahead to the castle to inform Aqua of the results of their journey while Gallus slowly made his way to the school to return to his dorm room. He hoped his tired look would convince everyone that he didn't spend several moments crying and feeling miserable for himself. When other students greeted him after his couple days being absent, he mumbled a greeting back with a small wave as he walked through the halls to the dorms. The familiar hallway where his and Sandbar's room was just a few paces away. He reached his claw to the door handle, but he heard the girls' room across the hall open up behind him and the familiar gasp of a certain hippogriff.
"Gallus!" Silverstream squealed, pouncing Gallus and hugged him like she hadn't seen him in years. Gallus welcomed the bone-crushing hug, too tired to care while his cheeks burned a bright red. "I didn't know how long you would be gone with Master Sora, Master Donald, and Master Goofy!...Oh, wait, Donald and Goofy don't have Keyblades. Should they be called Sir Goofy and Sage Donald? Or maybe just Mr. Goof and Mr. Duck."
The other girls came out of the room after hearing Silverstream mention Gallus. "Hey, welcome back," Smolder greeted.
"How was new world!?" Yona asked excitedly.
Sandbar came out to join their friendship circle as he opened the boys' room. Gallus sighed, knowing he wasn't going to be left alone for quite a while.
"It was...something, I guess," Gallus said.
"Did you get to fight a lot of Heartless?" Sandbar asked.
Gallus glanced around nervously, pondering if he should tell his friends he also ran into Nobodies, met a member of the Organization, and even fought a giant, powerful Heartless while omitting his frustrations, nervous breakdowns, and bawling like a little baby. It wouldn't feel right having to withhold something this important to them, and even if he remained quiet, Aqua would probably inform them in their next training session.
"...Yeah. Tough ones," Gallus said, swallowing the nervous lump in his throat before continuing. "...I...even fought some Nobodies." The excitement around the group completely disappeared, all five of his friends giving him a look of disbelief. "...I even ran into someone who was in the Organization group...and I told him there were...other Keyblade wielders like me."
"WHAT!?" everyone exclaimed, making the griffon wince.
"You TOLD one of those guys!?" Smolder questioned angrily. "I would have expected Silverstream to do something like that!"
Silverstream let out a loud gasp, letting go of Gallus, feeling offended by the accusation. "Me!? Why would I do something like that!?"
"Because you can't stop talking when you get excited!" Smolder said.
"I would never blab secrets like that! Keyblade wielders aren't supposed to marble in other worlds!" Silverstream quoted incorrectly.
"Umm, that's 'meddling', Silverstream," Ocellus corrected.
"Guys, I didn't mean to," Gallus tried to reassure, sighing heavily as they all looked at him. "You all remember that pony we met who was from the Organization back at that old castle?"
"The stallion with those cards, right?" Sandbar asked. "His name was...Luxord, I think."
"Well, it turned out he was actually true to his word keeping our identities as apprentices a secret," Gallus said. "I didn't mention any names. I was the only one this guy saw."
"And they'll be wanting to search for the rest of us, which means we'll probably never explore a new world like you have," Smolder grumbled. "Thanks for ruining everything for the rest of us, Gallus."
"Not fair! Yona want to see new worlds!" Yona whined.
"You all will still have a chance." Coming down the hall, the Young Six were surprised to see Aqua approach them. All but Gallus stood at attention at their master's presence, but Gallus felt like wanting to hide under a rock. "Sora told me what happened. While running into the Organization and Nobodies was unexpected, part of the field experience is all about expecting the unexpected and deciding whether to choose between fight or flight against your enemies." Aqua walked past the other students, her gaze fixated on Gallus. He lowered his head, waiting for a long overdue lecture, but instead, she went and hugged Gallus. "I'm so glad you're alright. When you got split up from Sora, Donald, and Goofy the other day, I thought we were going to lose you."
"...Can I please stop being hugged?" Gallus asked. "I feel like I've been given enough all week."
"You hugged Master Aqua with us when she wasn't herself, so you should get used to getting hugs," Sandbar teased, making the griffon grumble and give the pony the stink eye.
"Especially ones from Silverstream," Smolder added with a cheeky smirk.
Gallus grumbled, though he couldn't hide the embarrassed blush brightening his blue-furred cheeks. Aqua released Gallus, silently chiding the girls to stop teasing him, though Silverstream was oblivious to Smolder's comment, then turned her attention back to Gallus.
"Sora also mentioned there being a powerful Heartless you helped take down, and while you were injured, you managed to finally cast the Cure spell," Aqua said.
Everyone gasped, Silverstream's much louder as she expressed her glee while the others were astonished at the good news. "Gallus, you can cast Cure now!?" she asked.
"Y-Yeah," Gallus said.
"Let's see it! Let's see it!" Silverstream begged as she bounced up and down excitedly.
"Uhh...Alright." Gallus stepped back, getting a bit of room between him, his friends, and his master. He summoned his Keyblade, suddenly feeling nervous as he had an audience watching him perform the spell. This was even worse than learning about it because it was basically a lesson and everyone was learning how to cast Cure; he was able to now, but he didn't know if the two times he succeeded were flukes when he thought of his friends. "Ok. Here we go."
Pressing his forehead to the blunt side of his blade, the others watched curiously, wondering why he took a moment with this unnecessary step. When Gallus was ready, he held up his Keyblade, called out the spell, and to their surprise, it worked as the bellflower appeared over him. However, the golden petals Gallus's had left them all in awe as it rang and sprinkled enchanted healing pollen over the griffon. Aqua's jaw dropped at the flower's color, witnessing a differently colored Cure spell that has never been heard of.
"His flower's gold?" Ocellus asked. She then pulled out one of the books she borrowed from The Land of Departure to look up the Cure spell. "How is that possible? The healing bellflowers are supposed to be white and pink."
"Is that...not normal?" Gallus asked nervously.
"Did you feel any negative side effects from the healing powder?" Aqua asked. He responded with a shake of his head. "Ok. That's a good thing...As long as it doesn't cause any harm, the gold petals seem to be just a very, very rare cosmetic look. But that's never even been heard of."
"It look pretty like healing flower," Yona said.
"I guess it must mean Gallus is special to have his own version of a healing spell!" Silverstream said.
"I sure don't feel all that special," Gallus mumbled, quickly dismissing his Keyblade.
"I should look into this," Aqua mumbled to herself as she rubbed her chin with a hoof. Her research would have to wait, seeing the other members of the Young Six wondering whether or not they were going to have the opportunity to explore a new world and learn how to battle the darkness and the many forms Heartless can take on in those worlds. She was hoping battling Nobodies would be tackled much later, but now that the Organization finally knows, they would have to learn much sooner, if only to defend themselves should they split up with her or the other more experienced wielders. "I should postpone these 'field trips' as parts of your training, but seeing how much Gallus had managed to adapt to the situations he got involved in, I think the rest of you have the potential to learn just as quickly."
"So, we still get to explore a world?" Sandbar asked.
"When I find new worlds within the map," Aqua promised. The others cheered while Gallus was stunned, almost ruining the experience for his friends after he screwed up. Aqua quickly cleared her throat, silencing the preemptive celebrating. "However, due to the Organization discovering the fact that new wielders are being trained, if they're anywhere in the other worlds you're in, there's some rules you absolutely must follow. One: stay close to whoever is escorting you while your training and let them handle the harsher threats. Two: if you ever get split up, don't get involved in a confrontation with the Heartless or Nobodies. It may sound a bit cowardly, but since you're all not ready for Nobodies, flee from them. They're a lot more cunning and strategic than the Heartless. And three: if it gets really dangerous when someone from the Organization is in that world, you're going to be immediately escorted back to the Gummi ship and hide until they grow bored of harassing the inhabitants or your group. This might end your exploration a bit too soon, but it's better to be safe than sorry and avoid losing the next generation of wielders." She glanced at Gallus, who lowered his head in shame. "Is that understood?"
"Yes, Master Aqua," the rest of the Young Six answered.
Aqua nodded in satisfaction, then looked up as she heard the bell ring, signaling the start of the school day. "Alright. Time for you all to get to your classes. We'll meet up this weekend for some more training." Sandbar, Smolder, Ocellus, Yona, and Silverstream went to gather their saddlebags with their school supplies and hurried off to their classes. Gallus let out an exhausted sigh, almost forgetting about his friendship lessons. He was about to walk into his room to grab his things, but Aqua placed a hoof on the griffon's shoulder. "Not you, Gallus."
"...Why?" Gallus asked. "Am I going to be running a thousand laps around Ponyville for the horrible things I did?"
"Getting split up, facing creatures you've never learned of fighting against, running into Marluxia, and getting severely injured by a powerful Heartless sound more than enough for what happened to you," Aqua said. "Which was also out of your control, mind you." Gallus sighed heavily, being gently forced to turn and face the unicorn. "The girls know you were going to be gone with Sora for a while. And I can tell you had quite a journey, so I let them excuse you from your classes the last couple days, including today, to unwind."
"Good. I only got to sleep the night before," Gallus muttered. "And I didn't sleep comfortably, either."
"I can tell," Aqua agreed. Gallus was about to turn and head into his and Sandbar's room. "One more thing before I let you rest." Gallus flinched, clenching his beak before blowing out a puff of air, just wanting to be alone and sleep. "What you did with your Keyblade before you used Cure. It almost looked like you were begging, or praying, to your Keyblade before casting. All you had to do was just hold it above you, and with what I've instructed, you cast the spell."
"So what? I added that to help me concentrate," Gallus refuted.
"But that leaves you vulnerable if you spend a moment longer doing that, which can interrupt your spellcasting," Aqua warned. Gallus tiredly blinked at Aqua with an annoyed look, making the unicorn sigh and shake her head slightly. "Gallus, I'm trying to help understand your method and how you finally learned to use Cure. This might help you understand why you had this strange magical block for one simple spell."
"What do you want me to tell you?" Gallus questioned. "I tried following your advice: relaxing, being at one with nature, doing something fun, neither of those things worked. I thought about what Silverstream did when she cast that spell, and she said she felt happy helping others. Smolder's a dragon, who are pretty ruthless last I heard, and they usually don't help others, not even their own kind, yet SHE was able to pull it off with no problem! Even if I told you what I did, I can't explain how because I don't even know myself!" Gallus panted heavily as he felt overwhelmed, which concerned Aqua, never once seeing him ever get this flustered and aggravated. "I think right now, I'm just getting lucky! And I don't want that luck to run out if I don't ever stop thinking about protecting my friends and being strong for them so I can use this stupid healing spell!"
Aqua's ears perked up after hearing Gallus's last statement. "...Was that what was going in your head while you were concentrating?" she asked. Gallus tried to slow his breathing, rubbing at his beak while keeping himself from having a nervous breakdown. He finally nodded, his frustration ebbing away into worry and sadness. She wasn't able to tell how he felt before with his aloof expression, but after the last couple days and from what Sora, Donald, and Goofy told her about Gallus's behavior in the Kingdom of Corona, the griffon was slowly opening himself up, but still held that restraint to avoid looking weak. His face told her what he wanted her to believe, but his eyes told her a different story that he refused to let anyone know. Once he was calmed down, she sat down in front of him, pulling out her enchanted ornament. "Gallus...Can you show me what happened? In your eyes?"
Gallus looked at the sparkling ornament, confused as to why she held it out to him. "...How?"
"You remember the chandelier in the throne room?" she asked. "These plastic ornaments were infused with a memory spell, replaying moments through one's thoughts and displaying them from inside or enhanced on a visual screen for others to fully see. Whatever your mind recalls, from when you were little to just minutes ago, it can reveal whatever you witnessed."
"...Do I have to show you everything?" Gallus asked nervously.
"I've seen what happened through Sora's side, but I'd also like to see what you experienced if you're afraid to tell me." Gallus looked away, clearly afraid to show her everything he'd seen and see how disgraceful of a warrior of light he had been. "I won't judge you for what terrible things I've heard you did. You feel like you blame yourself and don't deserve any repentance for your actions, and after seeing just how terrible Griffonstone is and how the griffons in your home behave, I doubt you would be as heartless as them."
Gallus stared at the ornament for a brief moment. He didn't want Aqua to see him in the emotional states he was in during the time in Rapunzel's world. He had an image he wanted to keep to his friends, but even though being snarky, arrogant, and sometimes being a bit crude with his demeanor, it was a whole lot worse than expressing his true feelings and opening out and share his thoughts with others. Aqua's patience wore him down, letting out a sigh, wanting to get it over with.
"...How does it work?" he asked.
"Just touch it and think back to your time in that world," Aqua instructed. "Show me the points where you were separated from Sora, Donald, and Goofy, and we'll see if we can figure out what happened to your ability to use healing spells."
Gulping nervously, Gallus definitely did not want to show her how terrified he was of caves or enclosed spaces. It was already bad enough that a couple people he only just met and befriended already knew; his friends and teachers discovering his phobia would probably pity him more, which was far more embarrassing to live with. She did say she wouldn't judge him, and she was already seeming concerned with his behavior now. Hesitantly, Gallus reached one of his claws out to touch the enchanted decoration, giving Aqua an anxious gaze before replaying what he's experienced through his own eyes.
Aqua enhanced the image as the memories began playing, starting from the moment Gallus was told to escape with Flynn and Rapunzel from the Nobodies who attacked them in the forest. Her silence unnerved Gallus as he focused on showing her everything. From getting attacked and badly cut by a Reaper, getting caught in a cave and watching the griffon have a panic attack and scramble to find an exit, his frustration trying to use Cure after realizing he lost his sling bag, discovering Rapunzel's hair having healing powers, trying to take some for himself, then showing regret and running away from the man and woman after learning the magic dies when her hair gets cut. He left out what he saw when they reunited with Sora, Donald, and Goofy since she must have seen that part earlier from Sora's side. The memory shifted to him getting captured by Marluxia, waking up in the castle while freeing himself from the burlap sack he was stuffed in, escaping with Flynn and Maximus, running off to rescue Rapunzel on his own while Sora was unconscious, defending himself from a group of Heartless and Nobodies, ignoring Sora's orders to hide in the Gummi ship and continue his pursuit to save Rapunzel, the confrontation and moments in the tower with him, Rapunzel, Flynn, and Gothel, and finally, fighting the Grim Guardianess, though most from his perspective was flying away from the Heartless and getting badly injured.
Gallus's fingers twitched, wanting to just cut off what was about to happen next, but Aqua wanted to see everything. He was glad that this enchantment didn't reveal what he was thinking, but everything he said aloud could still be heard. When he stole a glance at Aqua, she looked at him as well, probably feeling his trembling talon from the ornament between his fingers and her hoof. They looked back when they heard Gallus muttering to himself, talking about how useless he was, which only made the griffon feel awful putting himself down, and Aqua was hearing him say these things about himself as well. He felt more ridiculous talking to his Keyblade, admitting to it that he screwed up a lot in that world, he hated who he was, and was begging for strength to help protect his friends, not gain it for himself. Aqua could hear how desperate Gallus was in that moment, how he wanted to break down and let out all of his sorrow and struggles of what his heritage had done to his own thoughts about who he was.
Aqua had seen enough, gently pulling the ornament away from Gallus's touch. She noticed how humiliated he felt, becoming a completely different griffon that made him look weak and ruin the image he made for himself. Aqua could see there was a lot more he seemed to be hiding within his heart, but she didn't want to pry any further. He's already been emotionally shaken up already, and he'll tell her or his friends whenever he's ready to.
"Gallus, why would you think so lowly of yourself like that?" Aqua asked.
"...Because griffons are petty and selfish," he mumbled. "I kept getting in over my head, got us in more trouble, and because of me, our enemies know about us apprentices. I even disobeyed Master Sora when he told me to hide when Rapunzel was in danger."
"I know...but, the goal of you exploring a new world was to help you get a feel for some real combat experience, given guidance by your superiors, and, if push really came to shove, you solve some problems on your own," Aqua said. "It was just unfortunate chance that Nobodies and Marluxia would be there. Always expect the unexpected, as they say."
"I didn't know I would actually have to fight Nobodies," Gallus said, one of his talons subconsciously running against his side where a Reaper managed to cut him badly.
"None of us did," Aqua assured. "And after seeing what you went through in your eyes...I think I know what caused your Cure spell to fail." Gallus quirked a brow, curious to hear his master's answer. The unicorn took one of Gallus's talons, then moved it and set it on his chest. "It was your heart."
Confused, Gallus looked down at his chest, then back up to Aqua. "...My heart?" he questioned, feeling highly skeptical of the reason for his lack of his healing spell succeeding. "You're telling me I kept myself from using Cure? How does that make any sense?"
"You've told me that griffons were horribly selfish and greedy, and the result of the selfishness and Griffonstone's loss of pride came from the lost Idol of Boreas, right?" Aqua asked. "If there was anything valuable to a griffon, they'd swindle their hardest to keep it for themselves, or even result to taking it. Maybe part of your poorly moral kingdom sought to use Cure was for those selfish ambitions that have been imprinted into your heart as a result of centuries of Griffonstone's decline."
"Greed and selfishness?" Gallus questioned, feeling upset that he somehow felt THAT selfish a few days ago that prevented him from casting Cure. "What about Smolder!? Dragons have an issue being selfish and greedy! She shouldn't have been able to use Cure that easily like me if that's the case!"
"Yes, dragons are greedy and selfish, but the big difference I believe stems from the selfishness between both species," Aqua explained. "Dragons may do things on their own, but they also have some social circles they share, like being roughhousing buddies and causing mischief together. Griffons, however, only care about themselves, barely giving any mind to the living conditions or the health of their neighbors." Gallus's eyes widened as he took in the shocking realization. He lowered his gaze, regretting talking back to Aqua when she was only trying to explain the reasons for his latent magical abilities. "I know it must not have been easy living in a terrible environment like Griffonstone nowadays. You grew up learning that was how griffons live their lives, but if you didn't decide to enroll yourself into the School of Friendship, you would have kept that horrible mindset for the rest of your life. And I know you don't want to be like that; you want to be Gallus, a griffon who's willing to change and prove you're someone who you want others to depend on.
"You disobeyed a direct order from Sora, but after spending so much time with those two people, getting to know them more wanted you to protect them more because YOU wanted to, not because you were forced to. THAT showed how selfless you were, risking your life to saving theirs and wanting to use the power you have for the sake of your friends, not for you." Gallus slowly lifted his gaze, staring back at Aqua as her words sunk in, feeling enlightened by her belief in him as a wielder - as himself - and praising him for breaking free from what held himself back all this time. She smiled at him, giving his head a light, affectionate rub. "That's why your heart has such a strong light inside; why you were chosen to be a Keyblade wielder. Whatever your past was like growing up, don't let the harshness of what you learned deter you from being who you truly are as Gallus. Ok?"
"...O-Ok," Gallus mumbled.
Aqua nodded with a small hum, removing her hoof from ruffling his feathery head as she stood up. "Despite the setbacks with the Organization, you did very well out there. Especially against the giant Heartless that appeared in that glade. Go ahead and get some rest. You've earned it."
Aqua walked down the hall, leaving Gallus by himself as he sat near the door to his and Sandbar's room. He finally went inside his room after several minutes contemplating his self-discovery and what Aqua sees in him. Gently shutting the door, his limbs slowly wandered over to his bed, climbing onto the mattress and sat on the soft surface. As he took off his sling bag, completely empty and useless for the time being, he wondered if he should have told Aqua a bit more about his life than what she guessed from only his neglected kingdom's status. He trusted her as much as she trusts him, but after rolling through so much emotional whiplash over his self worth and almost losing the new friends he made in the Kingdom of Corona, he had enough drama to last a lifetime. Sleep finally catching up to him, Gallus laid his head down against his pillow, almost forgetting what it was like to sleep in a bed. As his eyes slowly drooped, he quietly hummed the healing incantation Rapunzel sang to activate her formerly enchanted hair's healing powers, hoping she and Eugene would live happily ever after and Rapunzel reunites with her family.
In the Kingdom of Corona, Pete and Maleficent looked over the forest on a cliff, the minion letting out a frustrated sigh. "We've been searching all morning, and this world ain't got doodley-squat." Maleficent also shared her disappointment with a grunt. "You sure this box thingy's even real?"
"Yes," Maleficent answered.
"And how do you know that?" Pete questioned.
"It is etched." Maleficent turns to walk away, confusing Pete by what she meant with the box being etched, and how. Having enough with the world, the witch created a portal for the two of them. "Come with me."
"Where to? I doubt that twerp Sora's lookin' for the box as well," Pete said.
"Who said anything about following them?" Maleficent asked with a smirk before disappearing through the portal.
Pete followed her, unsure where she was taking them, the portal disappearing behind him once he phased through.
Strolling through the halls of the abandoned clock tower, Marluxia searched around the entire town for Luxord. Part of him thought this desolate world seemed familiar to him, but he brushed those thoughts aside, focusing on finding the gambler and calling him out on withholding very important information. In his haste, he spotted Xigbar on his way elsewhere, noticing his hurried gait with his good eye.
"Hey, Marluxia, what's your hurry?" he asked. "Figure out if you found a new Princess of Heart yet?"
Marluxia stopped and glanced over his shoulder to look at Xigbar. "Where is Luxord?"
Xigbar's brow quirked curiously, letting out a small grunt at mentioning the gambler. "No clue. Heard he went back to Equestria to practice his magic as a unicorn. It's pretty nifty with that world's magic and enhancing our own, even if we become colorful talking ponies." A portal of darkness suddenly appeared in the hall, and out came the man in question. "Ah. Right on time! Luxord, we were just talking about you!"
"Really?" Luxord questioned. "To what, may I ask, is the reason?"
Marluxia summoned his scythe, pointing it at Luxord with a deadly gaze. "I think you know exactly what it is you know compared to what we know," he accused.
Luxord didn't bat an eye while Xigbar shifted his gaze between the two Nobodies. "...Did I miss something here? What's got you going after Luxord?" he questioned Marluxia.
"Ever since the day before, I had discovered something that the Orgnaization needed to know," Marluxia began, keeping his scythe pointed to the calm Luxord. "While exploring in the world I was tasked with searching for a potential Princess of Heart, I encountered a griffon that did not belong in that world. A child who seemed to belong in Equestria, and yet I witnessed a Keyblade in his talons, fighting off my Reapers, Dusks, and even Heartless in the world."
"Wait, seriously? A griffon with a Keyblade?" Xigbar asked, astonished. "What's that gotta do with Luxord?"
"Because Luxord knew of his existence, along with several other new wielders who came from Equestria and are being trained by our enemies as we speak," Marluxia said. "He knew, yet he did not inform Master Xehanort, you, or even Saïx about this matter and kept it to himself to weaken the Organization."
Luxord kept his composure, giving the scythe-wielding assassin a sly grin, moving the curved blade of the deadly weapon away from him. "I had a very good reason as to why I did not speak of these new wielders," Luxord said.
"No denying the claim, eh?" Xigbar asked. "You're not afraid of getting terminated by the boss man indefinitely?"
"Explain this instant!" Marluxia demanded, swinging his scythe at Luxord.
The gambler quickly stepped backward to dodge the wide swing, Xigbar quickly summoning his dual arrowguns and pointed them at the irritated Marluxia. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey, now! No need to kill each other!" he warned. "Let's hear what the guy's gotta say before you're allowed to hack him off like a pesky weed."
Luxord slowly approached the two Nobodies, being cautious around Marluxia, even with Xigbar reigning him back. "It is true that I have learned of some new bearers of the Keyblade during my scouting in a place called the Everfree Forest. I felt a powerful magic force and was driven by curiosity to seek what it was and who was responsible for it. By sheer luck, I encountered Aqua, one of the wielders who were thought to be lost in Xehanort's skirmish over a decade ago, followed by six teenagers from Equestria who were with her at the time." Holding up one arm, six cards appeared in his hand. "I witnessed them performing a ritual to create these six chosen children to being the next generation of Keyblade wielders. I proposed a little wager with Aqua and her new students: if I win, I would take one of them to be converted to the Organization's final seed, and if I lost, I leave them be and never mention their existence to my allies. And as a man who upholds his end of the bargain, whether I win or lose in the games I create, my lips had been sealed. At least, until now."
Marluxia growled, lowering his scythe, but kept it in his grasp. "That is no excuse to keep something this vital to everyone else."
"Heh. I'd say a gambling man can be quite the cheapskate, but Luxord always abides by the rules he makes in his little games," Xigbar said as he lowered his arrowguns. "Besides, he said they were kids; beginners. What threat can they serve right now?"
"He could at least tell us who the other five are," Marluxia grumbled.
Luxord grabbed one of the cards in his hand with the other, revealing what was on it to the two Nobodies, which had a perfect visual image of Gallus holding Griffon's Pride while in his battle stance. "What you know now, as will the rest of our group, is one of them this young griffon male of blue fur and feathers." He flicked the card at Marluxia, who quickly caught it without flinching, giving it to Xigbar for him to get a better look at. Marluxia already knew what Gallus looked like, and when Luxord turned the rest of the cards in his hand over, they were all blank. "Until the other five are discovered, that is all I am allowed to reveal."
"You took a wager with a bunch of children and a woman whose sanity waned from the years of isolation and survival?" Marluxa questioned. "I find that highly unlikely."
"Oh, but I did lose at my own game," Luxord reassured. Bringing the five cards together, he crafted them into one. "I underestimated the latent power of one of the children who bested me, much like Sora had back in the old Organization. But whether that particular child was lucky or not, it was clear that fate was on their side that day."
Marluxia wasn't happy with the vague answer, but it was clear Luxord was being firm with his loss against six beginners and a master who had been on the verge of cracking mentally and emotionally and his bet he made with them. "And what if their training makes them stronger in the future? So far, their numbers in the upcoming war are going to outnumber us. And we are still missing two more suitable bodies for the thirteen seeds of darkness."
"Well, I wouldn't say they outnumber us just yet," Xigbar pointed out. "Sure, we got some new Keyblades running around, foiling evil plans and saving the day in many different worlds, but those kids, even Princess Twilight, are just backups. We're only up against eight of them: Sora's gang, the original trio, a mouse king, and a fiery traitor. We still have time before we wage war, so lighten up a little, Marluxia." Holding out Gallus's card, he gave the scythe-wielder a confident smirk. "As if we should be scared of a bunch of greenhorns getting in our way. If anything, they'll be set on the sidelines, being the next generation, as Luxord described them as." Xigbar then flicked the card back to Luxord, who swiftly caught it between his fingers without flinching. "As useful as that information could be, there's no need to worry about them. We can make this like a little game and figure out which other creatures can use Keyblades as well."
"You cannot be serious," Marluxia said. Xigbar just smirked as he continued on his way. Luxord glowered at the sniper as he passed him, dismissing his cards all the while. He glanced back at Marluxia, who was still a bit skeptical with Luxord keeping all this information for himself, bet or no bet. "You got off lucky, Luxord. You may have been ranked ahead of me by one in the old Organization, but that suspects you as a traitor."
"If I recall, you and a few others in the old Organization had planned to overthrow Xemnas and the group by using Sora for your own personal gains," Luxord jabbed back. "So I suggest you not accuse me of betrayal when you were lucky enough to return with Larxene and Vexen from your past transgressions."
Luxord took his leave, making Marluxia grunt in annoyance at the snarky comeback. He dismissed his scythe, letting the issue drop for the time being, but he was going to stay cautious with Gallus and whoever else were the new apprentices. They may be amateurs, but there was a possibility that they could progress with their training faster than any of them could expect. Just like with Sora, they could be pretty strong and could potentially put a much bigger dent in their schemes.