Kingdom Hearts ~another side~ Ch. 4

[Hayate]

If I know you, I know what you do…
You’ll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream…

Kingdom Hearts ~another side~

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~ Report 4: Rustle in the Silence ~[/b][/u]

A magnificent castle with walls of white and royal blue rooftops stretches toward the sky. At its base lay a small town that borders a dense forest. A grayish-blue sky covers all from here to the forbidden mountain.

Were one to look closely, one could see a shimmering magical barrier coating the entirety of the castle, invisible to the eyes of most.

Just outside the castle, at the outer end of a grand stone bridge, a small armed force of humanoid creatures attempts to force its way past the barrier and into the castle. Their approach of ramming their heads and shoulders into it proves ineffective though.

To the creatures’ rear stands a tall green-skinned woman wearing a black-horned headdress and a black purple-trimmed robe. In her left hand, the woman holds a magic staff with a lustrous green orb at the tip. Tapping the orb impatiently with her fingertips, she briefly addresses her soldiers. “Bumbling buffoons!”, the woman bellows. “Is breaching a feeble barrier such as this so beyond you!? My patience nears its threshold!”

“Yes, Maleficent!”, the soldiers reply in unison. Despite their persistence, however, the barrier refuses to budge even an inch.

The sorceress Maleficent shakes her head in exasperation. “I grow weary of this charade… Move aside, fools! As usual, the situation requires a more…delicate touch.”

At her command, the soldiers make room for Maleficent to work her magic.

The mistress of evil steps forward and readies her staff. Within the green orb at its tip, energy starts to swirl. Grasping the staff with both hands and raising it up, she invokes, “Denizens of darkness, my will obey…! Defy this barrier and break it away…! Heed my command; do as I say!” As she strikes the ground with the base of her staff…

…various Heartless emerge from the shadows and appear before her. Maleficent directs the mass of Shadows to the barrier, and they promptly jump at its invisible wall. While the barrier proves resilient even now, the Heartless find they’re able to slip through ‘cracks’ in the shielding and emerge on the other side. The Shadows then hobble their way up the bridge and toward the castle entrance.

Upon accomplishing this, Maleficent falls to one knee, sweating and breathing heavily.

The soldiers crowd around their mistress with anxious cries of “Your Excellency!” and “Are you alright?”

Dismissing their concerns, Maleficent snaps, “Back! Back, you cretins!” As her labored breaths subside, the sorceress recovers (to a degree), propping herself up on her staff. “It would seem my power has yet to completely return, even after a year’s time…” She grits her teeth at the thought of those two Keyblade wielders she’d suffered defeat from a year past.

‘There’s no way Terra would hurt somebody like that!’

‘Try all you want, but you’ll never defeat a heart filled with light!’

“Keyblade…”, Maleficent growls. “A power both magnificent and loathsome… If I am to claim the princess’s heart as my own, I must…!” Suddenly, a distant droning sound turns Maleficent’s attention upward. Over the castle rise, a mysterious spacecraft flies overhead and descends upon the kingdom -- a sight that causes the evil sorceress to raise an eyebrow. “Curious…”, she says beneath her breath.

Several minutes after Maleficent’s sighting of it, the ship lands in a clearing in the forest where the trees and other delicate greenery would be least disturbed. A hatch underneath the hull hisses open, and Marin steps outside. She takes a moment to adjust to her new surroundings and sets out on foot. When she reaches a hillside that overlooks the kingdom, she gasps in awe. “Wow… Now that’s an impressive castle…”, Marin marvels. “…Too bad I’m not here to sightsee. Okay, Relena… Where are you hiding…?”

The young woman’s search for Relena leads her through the small town at the base of the castle. All of the houses were boarded up, and all establishments of commerce were closed. For an Aubade Town native like Marin, such a scene was most unsettling. “Hello…?”, Marin calls out, hoping for a reply. “Is anyone here…?” On three occasions, she would knock on the front door of a residence and receive no reply. “Talk about creepy times ten…” Just then, out of the corner of her eye, Marin notices a figure in motion. She looks over and sees an adult man scrambling to get off the street. “Hey! Excuse me, sir!”, she calls over, approaching with a light jog.

“Aah!” Frightened by the girl’s presence and desperate for a hiding place, the man ducks inside a barrel.

“Who are you hiding from?”, the redhead inquires.

“T-The evil witch Maleficent! Her and those awful soul-stealing monsters in her employ!”

“Dunno who this ‘Maleficent’ is, but ‘soul-stealing monsters’? Definitely Heartless…! Do you know where they are?”

“They’re attempting to wrest passage into her Highness Princess Aurora’s castle!”

“‘Aurora’ -- there’s another name that’s new to me. Thanks!” Turning north, Marin bolts out of the residential district and starts up the bridge.

“Ohhhh… Such terrible misfortune this day has brought to our kingdom… If not for that golden-haired seductress…!”

As she walks along the stone bridge leading to the castle, Marin finds the area just as noiseless as the town she’d left. She detected no trace of Heartless or this ‘Maleficent’. “No one here either? Feels like I’m being given the run-around…”

All of a sudden, in her state of defenselessness, an assortment of Heartless -- including Shadows, Neoshadows, Soldiers, and Large Bodies -- appears to confront her.

“Hmph! I stand corrected!”, says Marin, drawing the Deepest Blue into her hand. “Well, what are ya waiting for!? Bring it on!”

While Marin combats the Heartless, Maleficent bears witness to her strength from the shadows. “This girl…”, she starts in a sinister whisper. “She too possesses the might of the Keyblade… Hmm… She may be of use to me before long…”

With the last Neoshadow slain, Marin puts her weapon away turns back toward the castle. Just a handful of feet ahead, she happens upon the barrier that sealed out all external life. Bringing her hand up, Marin gently presses her fingertips to the shield, causing a ripple-like reaction. “Nice ‘Keep Out’ sign.”, she comments. “I wonder what it’s protecting, or who put it up in the first place…”

‘Perhaps the one you seek lies hidden behind it…’

“W-Who’s…!?”

‘On the other side of the barrier… She who caused your loved ones harm…’

“R…Relena…?”

‘She mocks you… Mocks your power… She erected the barrier before you as a means to ridicule you whilst just out of your reach…’

“…Yeah… That’d be…so like her…” As the voice in Marin’s mind beguiles her with its words, a pale green light appears in her eyes.

‘Educate her… Prove to her that yours is a power that’s not to be trifled with… Show her the dire consequences that come with toying with the lives of others…’

“Right… I’ll…show her…” At her side, Marin’s fingers twitch, and she once again takes a hold of the Keyblade. She slowly brings it up and prepares to do away with the castle’s barrier with its ‘all-purpose key’ properties.

‘Break the barrier… Break it, I say…!’

“Break…the barrier--”

‘No! Don’t do it!’

“!!!” The glint of green vanishes from Marin’s eyes, and she instantly comes to her senses. “W-What…? What was I…?”

“Blast it!”, gripes Maleficent. “Accursed good fairies! Does their meddling know no limits!? Denizens of darkness, destroy her!”

Marin spins around to the sight of an entire army of Heartless, much more than she was capable of challenging on her own. “Aw, jeez!”

Before the battle could ensue, however, a trio of lights -- one red, one green, and one blue -- descends upon the bridge and hover in a circle around Marin like fireflies. With a joint effort, the three lights release an immense amount of magical energy.

Marin shields her eyes from the intense brightness. “W-What’s going on!?”

As the light dies away, not a single Heartless remained. Only Marin and the three colorful lights floating around her were left standing. While the Keyblade wielder tries to piece together what she just witnessed, a group of voices addresses her.

‘Quickly, dear! Through the barrier!’

‘We’ve opened the way inside for you!’

‘Hurry! Before Maleficent returns!’

“Uh… O-Okay…!” Still unable to think straight, Marin simply does as she’s told for now and steps inside the barrier, passing through the magical wall with ease.

Maleficent fires upon the barrier with a stream of emerald flames, but its physical integrity was restored before she could penetrate it. As her anger comes to a boil, she screams to the sky while her bungling soldiers cower in terror.

…Through the castle entrance, Marin stumbles into the audience chamber, short of breath.

“You all right, little miss?”

Bringing her head up, Marin sees three kind-looking ladies, each wearing a particular color and grasping a magic wand, standing before her. The lady in red extends a warm hand to help Marin to her feet. “There you are, dearie. You’ll be alright now. You’re safe and amongst friends.”

“Uh, thanks. What happened back there?”

“It was that ol’ hoptoad Maleficent!”, says the lady in blue. “She used her magic on you to try and lower the barrier we’ve put into place around the castle.”

“But you broke her hold over me and got rid of the Heartless, right? Guess I should say ‘thank you’ for that too.”

“Right now…”, the lady in green starts. “…that barrier is the only thing keeping Maleficent from storming the castle and seizing our beloved Princess Aurora’s heart.”

Aurora. There was that name again, Marin thought. “Well, that’s good, isn’t it? As long as the barrier holds, Aurora’s safe, right?”

The three petite ladies lower their heads in unease. “It’s…not as simple as that, I’m afraid.”, the lady in red explains. “It may only hold for as long as we can maintain it with our magic. And our magic has very nearly run out.”

“We’re…so very tired…”, says the lady in green through her yawns.

“You poor things…”

At that moment, a voice calls out from the other end of the audience chamber. “Oh, Flora. Fauna. Merryweather.”

Looking ahead, Marin sees two more residents of this world approaching. The first was a fair-skinned maiden of 17 with long golden hair and red rosy lips. She wore a long-sleeved dress of royal blue and azure that reached down to her feet, a gold necklace, and a gold tiara. The second was a young man of 24 with wavy brown hair and black eyes. He wore a gray tunic over a black long-sleeved shirt, dark gray pants, black knee-high boots, and a long red cape.

Upon entrance, the man takes notice of Marin’s presence. “An escapee of Maleficent’s wicked reach, I presume?”

“You presume correctly, Prince Phillip.”, the lady in blue replies. “Had we not intervened, she’d have surely fallen victim to her evil ways.”

The blonde maiden steps up to convey her sympathies. “You’re not of this kingdom, are you? My sincerest apologies for the upsetting reception. I’m pleased to see you’re unharmed.”

“Uh…” Marin could feel her face becoming warm. Even from a woman’s point of view such as hers, the maiden’s beauty was breathtaking.

“Hahaha. At a loss for words, child?”, the little lady in blue teases.

“Oh!” The redhead blushes deeply and rubs the back of her head in embarrassment. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. I was just so overcome by how pretty you are. I have to admit, I’m a little jealous. Hehehe.”

The two other wand-wielding ladies have themselves a short laugh as well. “May I present…”, starts the lady in green again. “…the pride and joy of our kingdom -- Princess Aurora and her beloved husband Prince Phillip.”

“And we…”, continues the lady in red. “…are the good fairies. I am Flora, and this is Fauna and Merryweather.”

“Heh. It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I’m Marin.” The smile on Marin’s face is quickly replaced by a look of fright when the castle’s foundation is harshly shaken. “W-What was that!?”

“It’s Maleficent.”, says Phillip, as if there were any mystery. “It would seem that she’s doubled her efforts in gaining entry into the castle.”

“Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, how are you faring?”, Aurora asks, concerned about her parental figures’ health.

Fauna simply smiles tenderly at Aurora. “Oh, don’t you fret none, my dear. We’ll be just fine.”

“Yes, we’ll be perfectly fine.”, reassures Flora. “But with our magic reserves as low as they are, I fear Maleficent will breach the castle walls within the hour.”

“Why does she want Aurora’s heart so bad?”, Marin inquires. “What makes hers so special?”

“Aurora’s heart is one of seven hearts of pure light, utterly devoid of darkness…”, Merryweather explains. “When brought together, they open the door to the most powerful force in the universe. Maleficent seeks to use this power to rule over all worlds. And your power, child -- the power of the Keyblade -- is crucial to unlocking those hearts.”

“Which explains why I was almost made into her puppet. Perfect.”

“Maleficent must not… obtain Aurora’s heart… If she does… The kingdom… Everything…will fall…” Exhaustion getting the better of her, Flora collapses onto the chamber floor.

“Flora!”

Marin rushes to Flora’s side and picks her head up. “Miss Flora!”

The fairy in red speaks through her heavy breaths. “I’ll be…alright… I just…need a moment to rest…”

With Flora’s collapse, the barrier suffers a loss of integrity, and the tremors increase in strength and frequency.

“Oh, dear! What are we to do?” Fauna was so beside herself with worry, she was liable to faint.

“…Let me help.”

All eyes in the chamber turn to Marin.

After setting Flora down, she rises to her feet. “Maleficent seeks seven pure hearts. And the only way to get at them is with a Keyblade master. That makes her my enemy just as much as yours. Flora and the others helped me out back there. I wanna return the favor. …Leave Maleficent to me.”

“…”

…Meanwhile, at the other end of the bridge, Maleficent and her soldiers notice the red shimmer in the barrier vanish, leaving behind only shimmers of blue and green. As a result, ‘cracks’ in the barrier appear in greater quantity, allowing for more Heartless to slip through at a time. “Flora has fallen.”, Maleficent states. “The barrier’s grown weaker…and yet I’m still not strong enough to break through it completely…! Such a disgrace I’ve been forced to endure this past year…! I must recover all of my power again if I am to rule from on high…!”

“Let me guess… You need a little help on that front too…?”

“Who dares…!?” Maleficent looks around for the source of the voice, but sees nothing foreign in her immediate vicinity. “Show yourself to me!”

“Settle down there, ‘Miss Hocus-Pocus’, before you pop a blood vessel…”

The angry witch glances about for a few more seconds until her eyes happen upon an entity with short blonde hair standing just a couple of feet behind her. “!!!” Maleficent jumps away out of shock. “You! Have you naught else to do but hound me!?”

“You know…”, Relena starts, planting her palms on her hips. “For someone who wouldn’t have legions of Heartless at her disposal if not for me, you don’t sound very thrilled to see me. What happened to, ‘O great and powerful Relena, how may I serve thee today’?”

Maleficent strikes the ground with the base of her staff. “Were I in your shoes, I’d watch my tongue, wench!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Relena looks up at the barrier. “Looks like you’re having a bit of barrier trouble there.”, she says with a short chuckle. “And from the looks of it, you’re not doing too hot yourself. What’s the matter? Peeved ‘cuz a bunch of fairies are making you look bad?”

“How dare you condescend me! Have you any inkling of whom it is you stand in the presence of!?”

“Oh, I have an ‘inkling’. I know for a fact that a couple Keyblade-wielding tater tots showed you up last year, and now you’re scrambling to get back to 100% so you can go and rule the universe. Well, I got news for ya, ‘Dragon Breath’: Ain’t happening. Not as you are now.”

With a wave of her staff, Maleficent engulfs Relena in green fire. “What would you know of my quandary, harridan!? You’re but a vixen with a penchant for irritation!”

“…With vocabulary like that, it’s no wonder you’re still single…”

Looking back, Maleficent finds Relena at her rear once more. “H-How in blazes did you…!?”

“Since you’re obviously not my biggest fan, I’ll make this quick. You wanna be strong enough to break through this barrier and seize the princess’s heart? I can make that happen.”

“Is that so…? Just like you granted me control over the Heartless…?”

“Control over the Heartless was a freebie. The power I can give you -- that’s gonna cost you.”

“…Explain.”

“You know that cute little redhead you chased off before? She and I have some history together. Do not kill her. I could care less about everyone else in that castle, but the girl with the Keyblade is mine.”

“Hold! I require the Keyblade’s power to unlock the princess’s heart!”

“Not my problem. I told you my price; it’s up to you if you’re willing to pay it.”

“…”

“Better decide quick, ‘Horns’, ‘cuz this offer’s got a half-life of about five seconds.”

“…Charlatan…!”

“Save the sweet talk. Three seconds.”

“Tch! Very well! I shall abide by your terms!”

“…Good girl.” Raising up her hand, Relena snaps her fingers…

…causing a bolt of lightning to drop down from the sky and onto Maleficent. Electricity courses all through her, and she lets out another ear-piercing scream.

As the electric discharge of gold blends with Maleficent’s signature green fire, Relena watches in spiteful delight.

…Back in the audience chamber, Prince Phillip, ready to defend the castle by Marin’s side, arms himself with a silver shield and a sword that’s been blessed by Fauna and Merryweather’s magic. “You’re certain you wish to do this?”, asks the battle-ready prince. “Maleficent is the kingdom’s concern, not yours.”

“I’m not doing this because I have to.”, Marin answers. “Maleficent made this personal when she tried using my memories against me. She wants a Keyblade master, she’s gonna get one.”

Fauna smiles warmly at Marin’s sense of righteousness. “Such a pure heart you have, miss. You remind me so much of that boy…”

“Boy? What boy?”

“Hahaha. Never you mind. Just the ramblings of a fairy beyond her years.”

With yet another tremor -- the most violent one thus far -- the barrier around the castle gives way and shatters like intangible glass.

Fauna and Merryweather detect this almost instantly. “Oh, no! It’s gone! But…how!?”

“Look!”

Through the open castle entrance, the group sees a massive horde of Heartless charging over the bridge and toward them.

“Leave them to us!”, Marin says confidently. “Fauna, Merryweather, shut the doors behind us once we’re outside! And no matter what happens, don’t open them! C’mon, Prince!”

“After you!”

Without another moment’s hesitation, the two thrust themselves into battle, making their way up the bridge to confront the Heartless.

By way of the fairies’ magic, the drawbridge is then raised, shutting out all would-be invaders.

Aurora clasps her hands together, wishing Marin and her beloved Phillip success.

Marin ceases her running once the Heartless are just a kilometer away and readies the Deepest Blue. She holds it out horizontally in front of her and presses her free palm to the blade. Then, leaping a short distance off the ground, she points it upward and cries, “Magic Hour!”

A collection of pillars of light strike down from above, wiping out a sizable portion of the army in the blink of an eye.

Prince Phillip could only watch in amazement. “Extraordinary…”, he remarks.

“No time to be impressed, Prince! We’ve still got work to do!”

“Ah! Yes, of course!”

As Marin and Phillip’s battle rages outside, another battle -- albeit smaller in scale -- rages inside the castle. At the far end of the audience chamber, near the king and queen’s thrones, Fauna and Merryweather fend off small Heartless groups that have managed to slip inside while protecting Princess Aurora. Streams of blue and green glitter decorate the air, as with each wave of their wands, the swarm’s numbers diminish. “Come all you like, foul beasts!”, Merryweather shouts. “You’ll not touch one hair on our fair Aurora’s head!”

As if in direct defiance of the blue fairy’s conviction, a Neoshadow crawls along the chamber’s walls and ceiling until perfectly aligned with Aurora below. It pushes away from the ceiling and nose-dives at her.

“Aurora!!!”

Just then, a stream of red glitter strikes the Neoshadow with flawless precision and teleports it elsewhere. Glancing straight ahead of them, Fauna and Merryweather discover their red-garbed fairy sister on her feet again. “Flora!”

“Goodness gracious, you two look like you’re having fun. Might I partake?”

…The final Heartless falls to Marin’s blade, and the bridge is reclaimed in the name of Aurora’s kingdom. Refusing to rest for even a minute, the red-haired girl calls out, “MALEFICENT!”

A stillness befalls on the battlefield, and only the sound of heel against stone could be heard.

Marin and Phillip look to the one end of the bridge and see a figure draped entirely in black draw near.

The almighty sorceress grasps her staff with both hands and looks upon the two with contempt. “I must commend you, Key bearer.”, she starts. “Not a day since you’ve arrived, and already you’ve become quite the thorn in my side.”

“I might say the same about you, old hag. If you think I’m gonna let you control me again like before--”

“Oh, perish the thought, my child. As much as I would take delight in appropriating that glorious power of yours, I’m under strict orders not to.”

“Orders by who?”

“A sympathizer of sorts. A rather…ill-mannered sympathizer. Nonetheless, it was through this ‘advocate’ that my powers were returned to me -- and then some. Enough for me to dispose of that accursed barrier and command hundreds of Heartless as I see fit.”

“‘Ill-mannered’, huh? Sounds like someone I know…”

“And yet…it’s strange… Regardless of the explicit instructions I was told, I find myself feeling somewhat…rebellious.”

“What…?”

A fiery green aura begins to build around Maleficent’s body. “The nerve of that little shrew, telling me who I may or may not kill…! I am Maleficent…! The mistress of all evil! Any and all arrogance directed at me shall suffer the wrath of Hell!” As the flames consume her and grow to the stature of an entire wall, Maleficent assumes a new form. Through the furious blaze, the first thing to emerge is a large black claw that trembles the earth as it slams down. Next appears the snout of something monstrous in nature. It bares razor-sharp teeth and exhales puffs of smoke. A force from within the flames blows outward, extinguishing them completely.

Marin and Phillip go wide-eyed at the sight of a dragon with black and crimson-red scales, four wings, and two heads. “Oh, man…!”, mutters an otherwise speechless Marin.

[BGM: The Deep End]

The two-headed dragon starts out by breathing twin streams of green fire upon its enemies.

“Scatter!”, Marin shouts, signaling for her and Phillip to spread out. Marin bears right; Phillip heads left.

As the dragon’s breath of fire dies down, Marin leaps up to hammer into the left head’s side with the Deepest Blue. While this prompts no reaction from it initially, it soon turns to face Marin and snaps its jaws at her. Its teeth catch the tip of the Keyblade, and -- with Marin’s habit of holding on -- it hurls her back onto the bridge.

“Oof!” Marin falls back and skids a short distance along the ground before picking herself up to attack again.

To the dragon’s other side, Phillip wards off the second head’s teeth with his shield, occasionally swinging at it with his sword. Bringing up its front right leg, it swats Phillip with the back of its claw. As Phillip goes down, the dragon brings that same leg up again and prepares to crush the prince beneath the weight of its claw. At the last possible second, Phillip rolls out of the way of the attack, springs to his feet, and slices into the beast’s leg with the sword.

The dragon briefly recoils in pain and lets loose another breath of fire, which Phillip defends against with the shield.

As the black beast focuses on the prince, Marin sprints forward and slides between its legs to its underbelly, taking shots at its abdomen with a barrage of Fire. This yields a pained reaction out of the dragon as well, as it retaliates by swinging its massive tail at her. With a nimble evade, Marin clutches onto its tail, and -- during its upward arc -- jumps onto the dragon’s back. “Hah! Just try and get at me from here!”, the redhead boasts.

In response, the dragon flaps its two sets of wings and takes to the skies…

…forcing Marin to hang on for dear life. “Me and my big mouth!”

The flying beast performs a series of rapid spiraling maneuvers in an effort to shake the girl off, but her grip was too firm.

“Argh…!” As her left hand tightly clutches the dragon’s scales, Marin brandishes the Keyblade with her right and… “Take…this!” …severs one of its wings.

With the loss in balance this creates, the dragon plummets toward the ground, shrieking in agony all the while. It crashes harshly onto the bridge belly-up.

A winded Marin stands atop the felled monster. “I…hate…heights!”, she roars, poised to pierce the dragon’s heart with the Keyblade.

Not one to be finished off so easily, however, the dragon swipes at Marin’s weapon, knocking it out of her hand.

“Ah!”

Then, in a single fluid movement, it drives its palm into her body and rolls over onto its legs.

Marin now had her back to the ground with the beast’s claw pinning her down. “Agh!” The girl grasps at its talons to try and pry them off her, but with its claw positioned as it was, her oxygen pathway was being obstructed.

But from the looks of things, she wouldn’t be suffocating for much longer, as the monster on top of her was making ready to roast her. It brings its twin heads back, opens wide…

“!!!”

…and roars in agony yet again.

At the dragon’s left side, Phillip is seen, having thrust his sword into its flesh.

Likewise, Marin retrieves the Keyblade with a flash of light and jabs it into the claw that had her pinned.

As the dragon roars a third time, it leans back on its hind legs, freeing Marin.

Returning to her feet, Marin takes a moment to catch her breath, but not terribly long a moment, as her window of opportunity was short. Pointing the Keyblade forward, she gathers energy to its tip. The energy swirls with all seven colors of the rainbow and in a little sphere of light. Once a sufficient amount was collected… “Ragnarok!” …she unleashes it all at once in a burst of laser fire.

The beams of light bombard the dragon from all possible directions, hitting at its heads, torso, wings, and legs. They strike with such velocity and frequency that the beast is kept standing on its hind legs for a few seconds longer.

“Phillip! Your sword!”, she suddenly beckons.

“As you wish!”, Phillip calls back, flinging his sword to her.

Marin catches the weapon by its handle and turns back to the howling monstrosity. “It ends here, Maleficent!” With a bountiful leap, Marin drives her Keyblade and Phillip’s blessed sword into the dragon’s chest, coinciding with the wearing off of Ragnarok.

The beast reels back from the hit, stricken numb from the sudden influx of good magic. It cries in anguish once more, as green flames and black mist enshroud it. The veil of fire and vapor soon fades, leaving only a weakened Maleficent in her human form. Clenching her staff, she struggles to stay on her feet. “C-Curse you, Relena…! I should’ve…never listened to you…!” Before she could retreat, Maleficent finds herself staring down the wrong end of a Keyblade.

“You said ‘Relena’.”, the red-haired Keyblade master begins. “What did she tell you? Where is she now!?”

“Closer…than you imagine…”

Realizing what she meant, Marin spins to her rear and discovers Relena a couple yards away.

“How’s it goin’, ‘Red’?”, the blonde of darkness greets.

“Relena!”, Marin growls through her teeth.

“Wench!”, enters Maleficent. “You knew all along, didn’t you!? Even with my power returned to me in full, you knew the Keyblade girl would still emerge victorious, didn’t you!?”

“Guilty.”, Relena confesses. “You see, unlike you, ‘Horns’, ‘Red’ here’s got a good head on her shoulders. I know what she’s capable of. She plays the light like a harp. And it’s beautiful. You? You play the darkness like you’re tone-deaf.”

“H-How dare you…!”

“Oh, and Marin?”

“Huh?”

“…I’ll be sure to tell the munchkins you said ‘hello’.”

“!!!”

A Corridor of Darkness opens up behind Relena. “Well, wish I could stay, but it’s been time and a half. And don’t worry, kiddies. Plenty of more fun to be had before the game is over. Ta-ta!” Leaving the group with an echoing laugh, she steps into the portal and departs.

“No! Relena, you leave them out of this! …Argh!” Unable to do anything about the blonde sadist for the time being, Marin continues with Maleficent. “You were a fool to bargain with her. The only deals Relena makes are ones where she comes out on top.”

Still fairly weak from the battle, Maleficent stumbles through her words. “I…will be ruler…of all that exists…! And you… That golden-haired shrew… This entire abhorrent kingdom… You will all bow to me…!” Saying nothing else, the evil sorceress vanishes in a swirl of green fire.

Marin pays the defeated witch’s words no mind and heaves a sigh. “…You keep telling yourself that…”

…Marin and Phillip join Princess Aurora and the good fairies in the audience chamber. “…Must you leave right away, dearie?”, asks a saddened Fauna to Marin.

“Mm-hmm.”, the redhead replies. “Relena’s gone after my friend and little brother. I have to find them before she does. …I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no apologies necessary, child. In fact, we should be thanking you.”

“If not for you, our precious Aurora’s heart would’ve certainly been taken.”

With a shrug, Marin says, “I just did what came naturally. I should at least take responsibility for Relena though. It’s because of her that the Heartless are here to begin with.”

“No matter the circumstances…”, says Aurora. “…our meeting today was no coincidence. And it’s because of your selfless actions that my castle still stands. On behalf of the entire kingdom, Lady Marin… I thank you.”

Marin could feel her face becoming hot again. “Hehehe… Don’t mention it.”

With an exchange of goodbyes, Marin takes her leave. She finds herself deep in thought as she makes her way back to the Nautilus. ‘Phillip and Aurora… Hmm… I hope to find a prince of my own someday…’

~ Next Report: What Makes a Hero ~