Alrighty! Tomorrow is my Archaeology exam so I wanted to get this out before then. Wish me luck, dear readers of mine!

Thanks to:

mysteriousguy898 - Honestly, I forgot about the heartless ships lol...Anyway, I have green, blue, and white trinities here. I'm kind of disregarding the rules for when each trinity appeares since Freya is the one activating them.

Mic Mov - Hope you like her new outfit! She'll keep it until Sora gets the Jungle Key. It goes with Keyblades and not worlds so she'll have two in some chapters - like when he gets the one from Cloud and the one from Leon or something (I have to research when he gets them) but I've got the ideas all planned out.

Disclaimer: Refer to previous chapters.

Anyway, I hope you guys don't mind me jumping in with all the musy stuff. I kinda like the dramatic flare it adds to the otherwise 'innocent' Sora.


Chapter Six

Wonderland


One could never tell what time it was when he or she was stuck drifting in space. Freya knew that her body had experienced enough sleep when she blearily opened her eyes and she came face to face with a white tee shirt. Instead of screaming and instantly shoving the brunette's body away from her own, she simply smiled. She snuggled her face back into his chest once again as she gave a sigh of content. Freya was warm and content so perhaps that was the reason that the Guardian Angel was so calm.

The red headed girl sighed softly, wings flaring slightly in her comforted state. She closed her amber eyes when she felt soft fingers running through the feathers on her wings. The fingers were gentle and moved to her hair, running through the soft and silky tresses. Her amber eyes opened again and she started when she realized that the brunette's arm was around her waist. It was nice feeling the weight of his arm – it made her feel protected even though their roles were supposed to be reversed in reality. But what female didn't like to feel protected even in their sleep?

His eyes were still closed and that was the only indication that Sora was still sleeping. Or, he was from what Freya could tell by his body language. It was weird feeling him stroking her hair in his sleep. Perhaps he was dreaming about petting an animal?

Suddenly, the Gummi Ship rocked dangerously and the two of them tumbled from the bed. Sora was jerked awake just in time to catch the winged girl that tumbled out of the bed on top of him. The two of them landed in a very suggestive position – the brunette boy was sprawled on the floor on his back while Freya was kneeling over him with a knee on either side of his body. Her hands were next to his head and their chests were ever so close to one another…as were their lips. Freya's wings were twitching from her shock and embarrassment and her face.

The ship rocked again and the two of them went tumbling the other way. Fortunately for her and her fragile wings, Sora was able to keep her upright by grabbing her around the waist.

"GOOFY! Get up here and man the weapon system!" Donald exclaimed from the cockpit. When Sora asked the duck earlier if he was going to sleep, he nodded his head and said that he was going to put the ship on autopilot. As the Knight bounded past their room he told them to get dressed. He would take care of the Heartless Ships.

It took them a total of forty minutes – ten minutes for Sora and twenty for Freya, plus ten minutes of Sora helping Freya lacing up the corset on her dress and braiding her hair for her, to get ready. She replaced her ribbons and he got his jacket and necklace and they were ready to go.

"Are you ready for the first world?" Freya asked the brunette boy in a curious tone. Her amber eyes sparkled in the light sending a very faint blush across Sora's cheeks.

"Yeah! I'm so excited to be going to another world," he said, grinning at her, "And we need to look for Riku and Kairi. Then, when we find them, our adventure will…end." He continued, not noticing her eyes darkening again. He did it again. He was thinking of finding his old friends and not paying attention to what was in front of him. That was it. The winged girl decided then and there that she would act as his Guardian Angel and nothing more.

"Well, then…let's go." She replied in an emotionless voice. His eyes widened when he realized what he did but before he could apologize Freya walked out and went to the cockpit. Like he promised, Goofy had taken care of all of the Heartless ships. Wonderland stood in front of them in all its glory. With a push of a button the four of them were teleported to the surface of Wonderland.

Goofy fell asleep as they were floating down this time retarded tunnel. He stretched out as Donald and Sora carefully floated down in a standing position. Freya, however, was normal. She used her wings to angle her descent, making it faster than the others. She didn't want anyone to look up her skirt.

Freya landed first and sank to her knees as she waited for the others. A strange urge filled her again and she looked behind her, seeing a green trinity. Ignoring the others as they landed behind her, or fell in Goofy's case, she summoned her staff and slammed the dulled end into the center of the green trinity. A box fell from a painting to land in front of her. She let Sora open it and out popped an Elixir.

"Whoa, I'm pretty glad you have the ability to activate trinities, Freya." Sora said, trying to appease her hurt feelings from before.

"Well, I'm here to serve." She said in a quiet voice. She kept her staff in front of her as a white rabbit holding a large clock came barreling by.

"Oh, my fur and whiskers! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" the rabbit exclaimed in dismay, " Oh, dear, oh dear, oh dear!" he continued waling in his self pity. Freya looked at the rabbit with a strange expression on her face – he must have been a stickler for being on time.

"I'm here, I should be there. I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" he continued, waving his arms around, "The Queen, she'll have my head for sure!" the winged girl was concerned for the safety of the rabbit so Sora and the others followed her as she flew after the talking animal. They arrived in the next room and saw that the rabbit had shrunken in size. It disappeared through a door that promptly closed afterwards. The doorknob was particularly large…and it had a face.

Sora bent down to peer at the doorknob while Freya went about studying the room. She felt another one of those strange tugs, but she couldn't find a trinity mark anywhere. It was frustrating.

"How did he get so small?" the brunette boy questioned, cocking his head to the side. It was then that the doorknob, which was supposed to be an inanimate object, started to talk.

"No, you're simply too big." It said, shocking the group. Sora, Donald, and Goofy jumped, shocked, while Freya brought her staff up in a defensive position.

"It talks!" Donald exclaimed in shock. All four of them leaned in again to see what the doorknob would do, but he simply tried to go back to sleep. However, with Sora and his friends there, it was simply impossible.

"Must you be so loud?" the doorknob asked in an annoyed manner, "You woke me up." He complained. Freya giggled softly, sending a pang of regret through Sora's chest. He felt horrible about forgetting her – she was his friend just as much as the others were.

"Good morning." Goofy said as he waved, drawing another light giggle from Freya's lips. The brunette clinched his hand, wanting to be the one to draw that sound from her. He turned away, focusing on the doorknob in front of them.

"Good night! I need a bit more sleep." The unusual object dismissed them as he yawned. The brunette suddenly had an idea.

"Wait, what do we have to do to grow small?" he questioned. If they could get small, then they would be able to find the rabbit. The doorknob sighed and yawned once again.

"Why don't you try the bottle...over there?" he yawned, finally getting back to sleep. The group turned around, Freya jumping back with a squeak when the tale popped up from the ground. As she jumped back she stumbled, but Sora was quick to steady her.

"Whoa, careful." He said with a smile, hoping to see one from her as well. He was horrified to see her just nod with a carefully schooled expression.

"Of course, Master." She replied in a quiet voice. His heart hammered in his chest. What was she thinking? Why did she call him that? Freya was about to turn to the table and the bottle situated upon it, but Sora's hand on her arm caused her to hesitate.

"Why'd you call me 'Master'?" he said in an almost angry voice. They were friends, weren't they?

"Because you are. You are the Keyblade Master and I am essentially the Keyblade's spirit in a physical form. Therefore you are my Master." She said in a stoic voice.

"No I'm not!" he exclaimed angrily. He didn't know why but he was angry that she saw him as her Master. It was horrible.

"You're not what, Master?" she questioned in a quiet voice. Donald and Goofy had gone silent, intently watching the two of them argue. They knew better than to get in their way.

"Stop calling me your Master!" he exclaimed, "You're my friend!" he shouted, gripping both of her shoulders. She stared at him with her darkened amber eyes.

"Am I?" she questioned, "It is my duty to protect you. Nothing more." She said in a loud voice. He flinched, but he knew deep inside that they were friends. She was the one he wanted to share a Paopu with.

"Even if I wanted to be friends…and I do," she sighed much Sora's relief, "At the end of this journey you'll have Riku and Kairi again. My fate is uncertain." She revealed, looking into Sora's bright blue orbs.

"We'll cross that road when we come to it. Besides, friends don't get each other things like these, do they?" he said, reaching down to the end of Freya's braid and showing her the crown shaped clip. A smile spread across her face as a small flush was formed.

"No, I don't suppose so." She admitted and to the brunette's excitement her eyes lightened to their familiar amber coloring. She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek, letting him be the one to test out the contents of the bottle. Before he drank, however, the winged girl leaned up against the bed. She was going to enjoy this, but the bed simply disappeared into the wall. She squeaked again in an alarmed expression, but, fortunately, Sora grasped her hand at the last moment.

"Thanks, Sora." She said with a small smile. Sora nodded and gave her a smile, pointing at the opening she had inadvertently created behind her. She laughed and told him to drink his potion. He did so and an odd feeling brewed in the middle of their stomachs before all four of them began to shrink.

The four of them stood there with odd expressions on their face before the heartless began to attack. Sora hacked away with them with his Keyblade and Freya used her magic to decimate them. Goofy and Donald helped where they could and eventually they were cleared.

"Ice Shards!" Freya exclaimed, sending icy shards raining down through the remaining heartless creatures. So far there had only been a few weaklings. Suddenly, Freya was pulled towards the trinity that she had sensed earlier. Sora jogged after her as she quickly walked inside the now giant fireplace. She twirled her staff and jabbed the blunt end onto the middle of the green trinity and a box fell from the top of the fireplace. Sora opened the box and he was rewarded with a mythril shard, a shard of a pretty crystal.

"Oh, a mythril shard!" Freya exclaimed with a smile on her face. Sora smiled and handed it to her and she put it in a small pocket in her corset. It was almost unnoticeable, but it was quite handy.

"Mythril shards are used for synthesis. I'll explain that to you later." She said, "Alright, let's go!" she exclaimed, using her staff to point to the opening.

The four of them went through the opening and appeared in some sort of garden. Freya's wings flared in unease as she looked at the playing card people that held weapons. At a podium in front of them a girl with long blonde hair stood with her back to them. She wore a cute blue dress, a white apron, white pantyhose, and black Mary Jane shoes. Directly in front of the blonde haired girl was a much larger podium with a large woman sitting at it. She wore a black and red dress and a crown was situated on her head.

The white rabbit they had been chasing climbed the stairs on the last podium to her side, blowing a trumpet with the rest of his breath.

"Court is now in session!" he called, shocking the girl who was on trial.

"I'm on trial?" she exclaimed in shock, "But why?" she wondered, looking around.

"Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding!" the rabbit exclaimed. Freya's wings started to bristle. She didn't like it when royalty used their power unjustly.

"The girl is the culprit. There's no doubt about it." Freya's feathers continued to bristle until they were literally standing on end. Her eyes started to glow with her anger.

"And the reason is...because I say so, that's why!" the girl lunged forward as if to attack the Queen, but Sora's arms were around her waist and his hand on her mouth before she could do anything else.

"That is so unfair!" the girl exclaimed, angrily. The Queen of Hearts only leaned forward and smirked.

"Well, have you anything to say in your defense?" she scoffed, glaring down at the young innocent girl. Freya was struggling in Sora's grip, wanting to defend the girl, but he was putting pressure on her wings. Eventually the pain became too much and she let out a whimper. Sora's expression became one of shock as he realized he had hurt her. He instantly loosened his grip on her, but his arms were still wrapped around her waist.

"Of course!" the girl exclaimed, turning so that the four companions could see that she was wearing a black ribbon in her hair, "I've done absolutely nothing wrong! You may be Queen, but I'm afraid that doesn't give you the right to be so...so mean!"

Freya wanted to laugh, but she found that she couldn't. Sora's hand was still over her mouth.

"Silence! You dare defy me?" the Queen of Hearts shrieked, pounding her fists on the wood of her podium. The four companions watched the trial with heavy hearts until the brunette finally decided that the winged girl was right in wanting to interfere. It wasn't right for the Queen to act this way. He released the girl in his arms, but kept an arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"Hey, guys," he started, gaining their attention, "We should help her out." He said.

"Definitely. You guys just now realized this?" Freya questioned, raising a delicately shaped eyebrow. Sora only chuckled and turned to Goofy and Donald.

"Yeah, but the…" Donald was cut off by Goofy.

"We're outsiders, so wouldn't that be muddling?" he questioned, getting the term wrong.

"Meddling!" the magic using duck corrected.

"Oh, yeah. And that's against the rules." The Knight reminded both Sora and Freya. The Guardian Angel was going to say something, but was interrupted by the Queen of Hearts.

"The court finds the defendant...guilty as charged! For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart..." she trailed off for dramatic effect, "Off with her head!" she shouted. Freya gasped, eyes wide and feathers bristling. She flew forward, breaking Sora's grip on the winged girl, and descended in front of the girl. She twirled her staff defensively as the blonde girl begged the Queen to let her live.

"No! No! Oh, please!" she squealed as the cards rushed for the Guardian Angel. She was in their way of obtaining the blonde girl so they might as well chop off her head as well. This made Sora furious. There was no way she was going to get hurt on his watch. He rushed forward, ignoring the cries of both Donald and Goofy. They had no choice but to follow him into this mess.

"Hold it right there!" he exclaimed, coming to a stop next to Freya. She gave him a grateful smile – it was one that told him that he had been completely forgiven. He didn't know it, but it was small things like these that caused her to care for him as a friend – maybe something more – instead of just her Master. Truly, in the short amount of time she had been with him…she had found herself longing to be his friend instead of just his servant and Guardian Angel.

"Who are you? How dare you interfere with my court?" the harsh Queen demanded, pointing her little stick with a heart on the end at Sora, Freya, and their two friends.

"Excuse me. But we know who the real culprit is!" the brunette boy exclaimed.

"Uh-huh. It's the Heartle…" Goofy covered his mouth before he could finish his sentence. It was best not to let them know about the dangerous heartless.

"Nice going." Freya said with a deadpanned face. If this were an anime she would have sweatdropped.

"Anyway, she's not the one you're looking for." Sora said, jerking his head back to the blonde haired girl. The Queen just scoffed again, making Freya's feathers bristle. She growled and jerked her staff in front of her, little electric currents dancing down the metal and up her arm. Of course, it didn't hurt her.

"That's nonsense. Have you any proof?" the Queen questioned, ignoring the Guardian Angel with the staff. Before the four companions could say anything the card-people took the blonde girl and locked her in a cage. Freya was furious, but Sora only grabbed her free hand and shook his head. Her amber eyes became sad and glossy, making him feel like his heart was constricting within his chest, but he only tugged her closer to him.

"Bring me evidence of Alice's innocence!" Freya's lips twitched upward into a small smile. At least she could stop referring to Alice as 'the blonde haired girl'.

"Fail and it's off with all of your heads! Gather as much or little evidence as you please. Report back here once you're ready." The Queen said, promptly dismissing them. Freya ripped her hand from Sora's grasp and immediately headed for the exit.

"Hey! Wait, Freya! It could be dangerous!" she heard Sora exclaim, but she didn't care. She couldn't be in the presence of that woman any longer. With one last glance towards the cage that held Alice, the Guardian Angel headed through the exit into the area called Lotus Forest.

She stopped and sank to her knees, grasping her staff in front of her like a life support. Suddenly, her anger disappeared, leaving her extremely weary. It was like it was never there in the first place. She heard hear name being called and looked over her shoulder, seeing Sora.

"Hey, are you okay?" he questioned her, kneeling down in front of her. His eyes held nothing but concern for her wellbeing. It made a warm feeling spread inside her chest. Freya gave him a small smile and nodded.

"I'm fine…I just don't like anyone who abuse their power. I usually don't anger this easily, but when I do…it just drains me." she said, jumping when a striped purple cat appeared on the boulder next to them. Sora pulled her up and she leaned against her staff.

"Who are you?" Donald asked it, wary of the strange looking cat.

Who, indeed?" the striped purple cat replied, "Poor Alice. Soon to lose her head, and she's not guilty of a thing!" he said with a strange laugh. This caught both Sora and Freya's attention.

"Hey, if you know who the culprit is, tell us!" the brunette demanded, angry that the cat was playing games with them.

"The Cheshire Cat has all the answers—but doesn't always tell. The answer, the culprit, the cat all lie in darkness." He said, making Freya gasp. Her enemy was the darkness – it was the one thing she was afraid of. She was terrified of being consumed by the darkness, but even more…if she was consumed by the darkness her greatest fear would come into play. She would fail Sora.

"Wait!" the brunette boy exclaimed, not yet finished with the cat. It was in vain, however, as the Cheshire Cat disappeared despite Sora's demand.

"They've already left the forest. I won't tell which exit. There are four pieces of evidence in all. Three are a cinch to find. The fourth is tricky. Big reward if you find them all." He cackled as his voice echoed away.

"Should we trust him?" Donald questioned, tapping his foot. He was always the impatient one. Suddenly, the Cheshire Cat's voice echoed throughout the clearing.

"To trust, or not to trust? I trust you'll decide!" he cackled, leaving the four companions to find the pieces of evidence.

The four of them stood in silence as the last of the echoes faded away. It was slightly awkward, but Freya took the chance to tell them about the trinities she felt.

"There are three more trinities in this world…" she said, closing her eyes and trying to pinpoint where they were.

"Really? Cool!" Sora grinned, slinging an arm around her shoulder. He grinned at her while she just rolled her eyes and shoved him off with a laugh.

"This way!" she called. They took out the heartless as they followed her, standing in the second alcove as she bent down to activate the blue trinity with a wave of her hand. The blue mark glowed brightly for a split second before bursting into a slew of clear bubble-like objects that revitalized their magical energy. A potion, an ether, and a tent landed neatly in Sora's hands as Freya grinned, feeling much better now that her magical energy had been restored.

"Okay…the next one might be a little tricky to get to so I'll go alone, alright?" she queried, cocking her head to the side. Sora immediately didn't like the idea, but knew that it wasn't wise to argue with her. Before she went, however, she quietly casted the Anima Shield spell on him so that any damage that he sustained was directed to her.

She flew up and over the tall flowers that were blocking his view of her and landed neatly in the alcove across from where he was. She activated the blue trinity with a wave of her hand and more clear bubble-like objects sprang forth with a camping tent. She flew back towards him with the camping tent and they decided to split up once again to find the evidence. Sora knew that she could take care of herself and didn't like the fact that she felt like she had to cast that spell on him, but he would rather her to be happy then to be disappointed in herself.

Sora paired himself with Donald and Goofy – well, it was more like Freya insisted that they go with him – and the hunt for the evidence was on. She followed the pull of the trinity, feeling like she would find at least some sort of evidence if she followed it. Up through the opening behind the tree with the giant fruit, and after inspecting the painting with the strange energy, she found herself in the forest once again. A white trinity, the rarest kind, was in front of her.

"A white trinity…" she whispered as she kneeled down in front of it. With a deep breath, she clasped her hands in front of her chest, her staff pointing towards the sky. She closed her eyes and concentrated as the trinity disappeared, leaving behind a keychain for the Keyblade. Her heart pounded as she weakly stood up – white trinities sucked quite a bit of energy from her. Freya picked up the keychain and went back to where the trial was being held.

"Sora!" she exclaimed, holding the keychain up to him, "Look what I found!" she exclaimed, eyes dancing happily.

"What is it?" he questioned, looking at the keychain with interest.

"It's a keychain for the Keyblade. It makes it even more powerful than it already is." She said with a smile. Unfortunately, the smile quickly turned into a frown.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't find any evidence." She said in a sad voice. He only shrugged and clipped the keychain to the end of the Keyblade, replacing the Kingdom Key. As soon as it was replaced, however, Freya's clothing began to glow. The Keyblade changed shape, resembling something that one would find in a casino and the winged girl let out a surprised squeak as her clothing changed.

When the light cleared her attire had changed dramatically. No longer was she wearing her old dress and her face was one of both shock and surprise.

"What the?" she sputtered in surprise. She was now wearing a knee length black and red checkered dress. The actual skirt of the dress was about an inch shorter than the frilled underskirts so that the white of her underskirts were showing. Her bodice clung to her chest and the back was low cut for her wings, but the straps crisscrossed and intertwined through them. There was a large black bow on her bust. A large black diamond, red club, black spade, and red heart were embroidered into the skirt. Red knee high boots with short heels were on her feet and they had black ribbons. Small cards decorated the laces. Black fingerless lacy gloves reached her elbows and it was then that she noticed that her hair had been tied up in two high pigtailed braids. A small black top hat was pinned to one side of her head and the crown clip that Sora had given her was centered on the bow on her chest. Her ribbons were still in place, although the ones on her arms were hard to see because of the gloves.

Freya summoned her staff once again and nearly cried when she saw that little cards had been etched into its otherwise pristine surface.

All in all it fit perfectly with both the world they were in and the new look of Sora's Keyblade.

"Oh, please don't tell me that this is going to happen every time we find a new keychain!" the winged girl whined despite Donald's obvious laughter. She growled, glaring at him and pointing her staff at him. Almost instantly a wave of ice hit him full force and he was frozen to the spot. Sora, however, had other ideas. A dark blush was forming on her face at the way he was looking at her.

"Does it look bad?" she questioned as he stared at her. It was this question that shocked him from his stupor.

"No!" he exclaimed, shocking her. "I…uh…I mean…you look really pretty." He said. A warm smile appeared on her face as she flared her wings. She came over and pecked him on the cheek.

"Hey, I just noticed I'm taller than you now." She giggled. He grinned, relishing the sound of her laughter. They then turned to the red card who asked them if they were ready. Sora nodded his head and the red card told him to approach the pdium.

"Now, show me what you have found." The Queen demanded of the brunette boy and his companions. He complied, bringing forth the evidence that he had worked so hard gathering.

"Well, that's certainly a lot of evidence, but I'm still not impressed. Cards! Bring forth my evidence!" she shouted. Freya winced. She seemed to be doing a lot of shouting. The cards brought forth the Queen's evidence, but somehow it got all mixed up. Freya's feathers started to bristle once again, but she held her ground.

"Hmm, checking all five would only be a waste of time." the Queen idly said, "Alright, then. Choose the one you wish to present. I'll decide who's guilty based on that evidence."

"That's not fair!" Freya shouted, not bothering to show her anger. Electricity crackled up and down her staff once again. Sora was no doubt angry as well.

"What?" he complained, "After all the trouble of collecting it?" he questioned angrily.

"You dare object? Then you will lose your head! Now, choose! One box!" she said and it was final. The brunette sighed and chose a box. The Queen asked him if he was sure and he confirmed, opening the box and jumping back as a heartless popped out. It wiggled around and finally disappeared.

"What in the world was that?" the Queen gasped.

"There's your evidence. Alice is innocent." The brunette boy insisted, getting fed up with this.

"Alice is innocent, you heard him!" Freya growled, "Let her go!"

"Silence!" the Queen growled right back, "I'm the law here! Article 29: Anyone who defies the Queen is guilty!" she exclaimed, pounding her fist on the wood of her podium.

"That's crazy!" Donald protested, but the Queen would have none of it.

"Seize them at once!" the Queen demanded as the cage holding Alice rose above the rest. The Cards went after the four companions, but Freya told Sora just to go after the crank tower. She was glad that the Anima Shield spell was still in effect.

"Cards! If they touch the tower, you lose your heads!" she exclaimed, pounding away at the wooden podium once again.

"Sora, don't worry about us! Just get Alice!" Freya exclaimed, trying to get used to fighting in heeled boots for once. She twirled her staff and felt a new power emerge – one full of electricity.

"Gigas Eternal!" she shouted holding her staff horizontally above her head. She flew up into the sky and completed a summersault, coming down and slamming the dull end of the staff on the ground. The sky darkened as large swords made of pure electric energy came raining down upon the cards. They screamed in pain as Donald and Goofy hurried to help their friend destroy the Crank Tower. It didn't take long to destroy it, but when it was destroyed, however, they found that when the cage was lowered Alice was gone.

"She must've gotten kidnapped while we were fighting." Donald quietly mused when they saw the empty cage.

"You fools! Find the one who's behind this! I don't care how!" the Queen demanded, banging her hands on the wooden podium once again. She seemed to be doing that a lot. Sora and Freya, along with Donald and Goofy, proceeded into the forest once again. They were determined to find anything that had to do with Alice's disappearance.

"Have you seen Alice?" Donald asked the purple striped cat.

"Alice, no. Shadow, yes!" the Cheshire Cat responded back with its silly grin.

"Where did they go?" Goofy asked him, scratching his head.

"This way? That way? Does it matter? Left, right, up, down! All mixed up thanks to the shadows!" his grin stretched even wider, "Step deeper into the forest to the deserted garden. You might find shadows in the upside-down room!"

"What is he talking about?" Freya mumbled to herself. Sora, who was standing beside her, just shrugged and innocently took her hand as the cat disappeared. Together they fought their way towards the other side of the forest. This time, the boulder that had been blocking the way was missing. The four of them entered the next area to see a table and tea waiting for them along with an assorted amount of chairs. The winged girl had a weird feeling about it and told her friends about it. All in all they decided not to sit, instead deciding to venture inside the house.

"Ohmigod…we're on the ceiling…" she gasped, feeling some sort of odd vertigo. She looked up and definitely felt strange when she saw the table that was supposed to be on the floor. Sora just laughed at her weird expression and she punched him on the shoulder, a small grin spreading across her face. Now she was definitely feeling like one of his friends.

"They're hiding somewhere." The Cheshire Cat teased, "Want to find the shadows? Try turning on the light." He left the group as Freya looked to the lights. She pointed it out to the brunette boy and he nodded his head. He was about to go over to the ledge, where he could possibly fall and break his neck, but Freya just giggled and grabbed his arms from behind. She took off, giving him little notice, and he wiggled in the air as she carried him to the first light.

"Don't do that!" the brunette boy exclaimed, most likely still shocked by his experience, but Freya only laughed. He grinned at her and turned to the light, using his Keyblade to activate it. As it roared to life, the flower in the room above sprang to life. Then, the Cheshire Cat appeared once again.

"It's too dim. Make it brighter." He said, looking around with that same grin on his face.

"What next?" Donald questioned, impatiently tapping his foot.

"One more lamp that you need to light." The purple striped cat reminded them. Freya and Sora turned to the other light, but this time the brunette boy wanted to hop to it himself. He tried, almost slipping off the other side while Freya laughed at him, but he managed to light the second light on his own. When he succeeded he smirked at her, but it was quickly wiped away when the Cheshire Cat appeared again.

All the lights are on. You'll see the shadows soon. They'll arise in this room, but somewhere else. The shadows might go after that doorknob, too." He said, but the group had no idea what he was talking about. Suddenly, the winged girl was hit with an idea.

"The doorknob! They're going after the doorknob in the first room!" she exclaimed, gasping. She shook her head, really getting irritated with the little top hat, but no matter how hard she pulled on it, it was like it was welded to her head. The red headed girl sighed, not knowing that Sora thought she looked extremely cute. She was like his personal dress up doll. He mentally wondered if she would look this cute in all of her outfits.

Eventually, the group made it back to the first room they appeared in – the one with the doorknob. They looked around, but none of them found anything different than before…except for the flower that was now standing upright. Suddenly the Cheshire Cat appeared.

"You'll have a better view from higher up." Was all he said. This time, Freya gave the brunette boy a little warning when she grabbed his arms and flew him to the table. Unfortunately – or not so – Donald and Goofy were left to climb to the table themselves.

"The shadows should be here soon." The purple striped cat said, "Are you prepared for the worst? If not, too bad!" he exclaimed, fading away as a large heartless fell upon them. It was quite large and it was an alternating black and red. The alternating colors were outlined in yellow.

The giant heartless destroyed the table in one quick move, unfurling his arms to reveal giant torch-like objects. No matter how hard they tried to attack his feet, however, nothing would work. Sora had to resort to jumping up and hacking away at the heartless being's crotch while Freya attacked from above.

After the sixth time of being wacked away like a fly, the Guardian Angel became increasingly furious. Her eyes narrowed and her staff morphed into a long glaive. She flew as high as she could and flared her wings out, getting ready to kick some major ass.

"Flying Vision!" she exclaimed, swooping down at the enemy. With her glaive and now god-like enhanced speed, she sliced the heartless being several times on the body, head, and arms. Suddenly, she jerked to a stop and fell to the ground at the same time the enemy fell to its knees. Her energy was spent so it was now up to Sora to defeat it before it would stand again.

Time seemed to slow as the brunette delivered the finishing blow. He thrust the Keyblade into the heartless being's abdomen and it dissolved, heart floating up into the unknown. He looked around and saw Freya still on her knees. He rushed to her, absently remembering that her Anima Shield spell just wore off – which meant she acquired twice the amount of damage – and kneeled down in front of her.

"Freya, promise me you won't use Anima Shield again, okay?" he pleaded with her, not liking it when she was so injured. She looked up at him through her bangs as her glaive morphed back into her staff. She used it to rise to her feet before Sora slung one of her arms over his shoulders.

"But it's my job…" she was cut off by Sora.

"To protect me, I know. Friends protect each other, though, so we should share the injuries. How are you going to protect me if you're injured?" he questioned her, feeling a sense of déjà vu. She sighed, defeated for the time being, and denied the use of a Hi-Potion. Her defense was that he was going to need all of the healing items he could get for the future.

Suddenly, the Doorknob woke up from the racket their battle caused.

"What a racket. How's a doorknob to get any sleep?" he complained, yawning really wide. It was so wide that they could see some sort of keyhole in his mouth. Against his will, Sora's Keyblade emitted a beam of light that shot into the keyhole, making a sort of locking noise.

"What was that?" Donald asked, looking around.

"You hear that? Sounded like something closed." The brunette boy commented.

"I think you locked the world." The winged girl commented, remembering something from the Keyblade's past. She couldn't remember all of it, but locking the worlds seemed like it was really important.

A Gummi piece drops on the ground from the doorknob's mouth.

"This gummi ain't like the others. No, sir." Goofy said, picking it up. He handed it to Donald.

"Okay, I'll hold on to it." The magic using Duck said. Then the Cheshire Cat appeared once again, startling the group.

"Splendid. You're quite the heroes. If you're looking for Alice, she's not here. She's gone! Off with the shadows, into darkness." He said. A shiver ran down Freya's spine…she feared the darkness. The Cheshire Cat disappeared for the last time as the winged girl rubbed Sora's back. The four of them beamed back to their ship, deciding to get some sleep before they went off to the next new world. They would be safe while they activated the camouflage ability on the Gummy Ship.

An hour later, after both Sora and Freya showered and changed into their sleeping clothes, the two of them rested on their backs and started talking about nothing in particular.

"So, don't you have a home out there somewhere?" Sora asked her, turning so that he was lying on his side. Freya's previous smile faded away as her eyes took on a glassy appearance.

"I don't know. Perhaps." She said, as a tear inadvertently fell down her face. Sora reached up to wipe the tear away from her rounded cheek – it wasn't fat, but it wasn't gaunt like someone who had lost too much weight – and shocked himself while doing so. Why had he done that? Was it because he didn't like to see someone who was usually so strong crying?

"What do you mean?" he quietly asked, kind of dreading the answer.

"For as long as I remember…I've been tied to a place called Kingdom Hearts. It is a place filled with light…but also filled with darkness. We, the Guardian Angels, are not human. We exist solely to protect the ones who hold our Key and thus are sealed within them. Usually, we just lend the key holder our powers, but for some reason you set me free. I am here. I am physically able to protect you. I can feel and I have emotions." She said as more tears started to run down her face. It was weird. Freya was crying, but she was happy.

"I've been waiting for you for so long that I can't remember what my family is like. I can't remember where my home is, but all I know is that I don't care. I'm happy as long as I'm with you, Sora." She finished, eyes drooping.

"Well, when this is all over…you're free to live with me on Destiny Islands." He offered with a small smile. Freya smiled back, eyes soft.

"I'd like that." She said, eyes closing as she succumbed to slumber. Sora fell asleep soon after unaware that she truly did only exist as long as he needed her.

At the end of the journey…if he didn't admit to himself that he needed her…she would simply fade away to where all of the other Guardian Angels were…and it was unlikely that he would ever see again. Such was the power of words and such is the power of the bond that the two shared.

Strong as their bond was, it could also be easily broken.