Chapter VIII:
Search and Rescue
There was a loud thud as Paka landed a Gummi Ship in the Rabbit Hole of Wonderland. Yensid had been very generous and had given the three youths a small ship called Highwind. Rumor had it that it was the same one the Keyblade Master had used on one of his adventures. But the past was behind them and they had to focus on the now. More specifically, they needed to focus on finding Mei.
They had no reason to believe that their friend would be in Wonderland, but it had been the first world they'd come across. Even if she wasn't there, they could lock the Keyhole. Hiro was especially anxious to find Mei, so once the ship was shut off, he raced ahead of the others. He was about halfway down the hall when he stopped to wait for Suki and Paka and look around.
The hallway was filled with many odds and ends, but mostly clocks. They weren't all set to the exact same second, so there was a constant ticking sound. It echoed down the hall and mingled with the sound of Suki and Paka's footsteps as they approached.
"What's with all the clocks?" Hiro asked, falling into step with the others.
"Dunno," Suki replied, smiling softly. "Maybe whoever lives here wants to know what time it is." Hiro shrugged, then looked ahead again. They had reached a doorway, and the door -- or rather, doors -- was open. There were about five doors, each one smaller than the one before it.
Although none of them understood the meaning of the multiple doors, they passed through them. The room they entered seemed much too small for their own size. Paka managed to get to the other side of the room, almost knocking over a table in the middle of the room.
"This has to be the Bizarre Room," he concluded, then picked up a small blue container. "I remember the King telling me about it. He said this is where the Keyhole is. But we're too big. I think… I think one of these drinks will make us small. Then we can find the Keyhole, and hopefully Mei."
Although a bit hesitant, Hiro and Suki nodded their heads and joined Paka's side. The oldest boy was the first to take a swig of one of the bottles. Nothing happened at first, making him shrug. Suki took a drink followed by Hiro, and then they waited. The brunette opened his mouth to say that it'd done nothing, but he saw that Paka was shrinking. Suki was next and he himself was last. Once the magic had finished its work, he looked up. He had to be about an inch tall, because the once-small table was towering over them, like a skyscraper.
"Wow!" the young boy exclaimed, hopping up and down. "We're little! We're like little mice! We can--"
"What a racket!" a voice mumbled from behind them. They spun around, expecting to see a person, but found no one. Suki raised a brow and looked to Paka, who shrugged. Hiro, on the other hand, had spotted a little door that caught his attention. He walked over to it and tried to twist the doorknob.
"Ow! Do you mind!?" the same voice shouted. Hiro yelped and hopped back in alarm. He noticed then that the door had eyes and a mouth. The other two came running over, realized the same thing as the younger boy and stared at the inanimate object, which really wasn't inanimate at all.
"I'm sorry!" Hiro apologized. "I thought you were a doorknob!"
"I am Doorknob!" the thing exclaimed irritably. "It's a terrible fate. Everyone's always yanking on your nose, asking you to open wide so they can shove a key down your throat--"
Doorknob went on and on, but the children were no longer listening. What he'd said had given them an idea. They whispered amongst themselves for a moment, all agreeing with the others' idea. Once Doorknob had finished his lecture, the three approached him. He stared at them, annoyed and uncaring.
"What do you want?" he grumbled. "I suppose you want through? Well, that's too bad. I was taking a nap before you woke me, and now you'll have to wait until I'm finished if you--"
"Say 'ah'," Paka interrupted, and Fantasmic! flashed into his hand. Suki and Hiro also summoned their Keyblades.
"What? Why would I--" Doorknob began, but as he opened his mouth wide, a sealed Keyhole appeared inside. Paka nodded and they aimed their weapons at it. They expected for the same thing to happen that did at Twilight Town. However, they waited and nothing happened. Frustrated, Suki shook her blade, but it did nothing.
"Why isn't it working?" Suki asked. "Is it because it's already locked?"
"No," Paka answered, lowering his Keyblade. "Sora said that just locking it with one person doesn't keep it sealed. It can be unlocked. That's why all of us have to do it together."
"Is it because of Mei?" Hiro inquired. Suki looked down at him, about to answer, then must've rethought what he said.
"Maybe that's it, then," the violenette decided. "We need Mei to complete the lock. Without her, it's no good."
They were slightly discouraged by this. That meant they had to find their friend, and fast. If they didn't, then too many worlds would be lost and the Organization would have their way. So they quickly left Doorknob alone, taking a strange path through a hole in the wall. Doorknob yawned, then shut his eyes, drifting off to sleep again.
The three found themselves in a courtyard of sorts. The first thing they noticed was the large, heart-shaped hedge that opened like a gate into the courtyard. They were about to walk in when they heard voices. Paka shushed the other two and they hid behind the hedge. Cautiously, they peered around the side to see who the voices belonged to. To their bewilderment, they saw two card-people having a conversation with each other. They were of the suite of hearts, going along with the theme of the world. The Key-Bearers couldn't make out what they were saying, but they looked like guards. They were standing in front of two paths.
Suddenly, another card soldier appeared. He looked worried and told the other two something. They left their posts and immediately scurried off down the path straight ahead. The children carefully came out from behind the hedge and entered the courtyard. The paths to their left and right were wide open.
"We have to split up," Paka determined. "I'll take the left and you two go right. We can meet up back here in a couple of minutes." Suki and Hiro nodded and they went their separate ways.
Suki and Hiro's path led them into a large maze of hedges. Hiro thought it'd be full of more card people, but it was empty. He wondered if whatever had made the first three run off had emptied the maze of its guards, too. Suki and he started off by going to the right, randomly twisting and turning at any place they thought Mei might have turned. Several times they found themselves at a dead end and had to back-track. After a while, they attempted finding landmarks to figure out where they were. To them, everything looked the same. There were holes in some hedges, but they were all identical. More heart-shaped hedges were in the maze, too, but the two could never remember which was which. Finally, they realized the maze was leading them nowhere, just making them disoriented and hopeless.
"I sure hope Paka's having more luck than we are," Suki mumbled, folding her arms over her chest. "Come on, let's see if we can get back."
As Suki turned around, Hiro thought he heard a voice. It seemed like it belonged to a girl. He smiled wide and turned the opposite direction that Suki was going in hopes of finding Mei. He ran down the path, turning different corners, trying to reach the voice.
"Mei!" he cried, then stopped running to listen for a response. At first, there was nothing, but then he heard a muffled voice. He shouted the name again and continued down the path.
Roxas and Xion had been assigned Wonderland by Saïx. Of course, they were expected to unlock the Keyhole. Roxas said he knew where it was: The Bizarre Room, in Doorknob's mouth. Shortly after getting their mission, Roxas had opened up a Corridor of Darkness to get to their world. However, instead of appearing in the same place as the Keyhole, the two stepped out into one of the mazes. Xion looked up at him and raised a brow skeptically.
"Sorry!" Roxas apologized, smiling sheepishly. "You know I'm not good at corridors!" Xion laughed and shook her head at him. It didn't bother her. She'd rather spend extra time on a mission than go back to the castle. She knew how hated she was by Saïx and some of the other members. Roxas accepted her and she owed him her existence again, even if she hadn't wanted it. So she didn't pester him about making a mistake with the corridor. It wouldn't take too long to get through the maze anyway.
Roxas led the way, rounding several hedges, and Xion followed close behind. They talked about little things, like some of the missions they'd been on. Honestly, the ravenette wasn't too fond of this world, for it was one of the last that she'd seen before she'd disappeared. But now she was with Roxas, so that put her nerves more at ease, though walking through the familiar maze still sent chills down her back.
"I wonder what's going on…" Roxas thought aloud. "Usually this place is loaded with Card Soldiers…"
"Do you think it has something to do with that Heartless?" Xion asked hesitantly. The blonde stopped walking and stared at her for a moment. "You know, the one that killed Riku and--"
"I dunno," he interrupted. He started walking again and shrugged. "Maybe it's here, maybe it's not. But if it is, we need to hurry. I don't want to run--"
"Mei!"
Both Roxas and Xion froze up. A young, male voice had reached them, and he sounded close. Upon listening, they heard the crunch of the grass as the boy was making his way towards them.
"Mei!" he shouted again. There was no place to hide for long. If they ran through the maze, they would surely lose him, but they'd waste time and end up losing themselves too.
Xion wasn't really sure what she was thinking, but she spotted a hole in one of the hedges. It was larger than most of the similar holes she'd seen, probably large enough to fit a person through. Without a word, she pushed Roxas to it.
"What are you--" he began.
"Quiet!" she hissed, then shoved him through the hole. He landed on the other side of the hedge with a thud! and Xion peeked through to make sure he hadn't been hurt. She stifled a giggle when she saw the dazed Nobody laying on the ground. She started to pull herself through when she heard the boy's footsteps again, very close this time. She knew she could get through in time, but she didn't want to reveal Roxas to anyone.
"Go," she told him, backing out and pulling her hood over her head. He nodded, scrambled to his feet, and ran off as Xion turned to meet whoever it was that was trailing them.
Hiro quickly turned one last corner and almost ran right into a person wearing a dark, black cloak. Immediately, he stopped, backing away from the person warily. He knew that the cloak meant they were part of Organization XIII, but with their hood hiding their face, he couldn't tell who. The only members that he would want to run into were Axel, Roxas, and now Sora. This person wasn't tall enough to be Axel, but was thinner than both Roxas and Sora.
"S-Sorry," the little boy whimpered, still cowering away. The cloaked person laughed, and it sounded young and feminine.
"You don't need to be afraid," she told him. "I won't hurt you. Are you lost?" Hiro liked the tone of her voice. It wasn't threatening or condescending, more sincere and caring. Also, she reminded him of someone, and he guessed that if he kept talking to her, he would know who.
"Kinda," he answered brightly. "I'm looking for my friend. Have you seen her? She's got orange hair and she's tall and…" His voice trailed off as he thought of more descriptions.
"No, I haven't seen anyone like that," the hooded girl replied. It looked like she was thinking. "You're not here alone, are you?"
"No, Paka and Suki are here too."
"Where are they?"
"Oh… I… uh… I don't know, really."
"Well, why don't I help you get out of this maze?"
"You'd do that? Thanks, miss!"
Happily and without a worry in the worlds, Hiro began to follow the girl. He didn't know why he trusted her, he just did. Maybe he was just naïve enough to actually believe what people told him. So if she said that she would get him out of the maze, he believed her. He felt certain that she would take him to where he started; the possibility of a double-meaning to her words didn't even cross his mind. Luckily, the hooded girl didn't intend to do anything bad to the young boy. So the two just walked together through the maze.
"So," the girl began, "why are you here?" Hiro shrugged.
"Well, we're supposed to lock the Keyholes and save the universe, but really we're here to find Mei," the small brunette answered.
"Mei's your friend," she concluded, mostly to herself. "What happened to her?"
"Well, she got all mad 'cause Suki never told her that Sora's working with the Organization now. She took the Gummi Ship and now we have no idea where she is!"
"Oh, I see. That's too bad. I really hope you'll find her. Sora would feel really guilty if he heard about this."
"You think so?"
"Mmm-hmm."
The hooded girl nodded softly, and Hiro looked away from her to see where they were. He still thought everything looked the same, so he went to thinking about his guide. When he'd been at Disney Castle, he'd listened to the Queen and Daisy talk about the King and what he was up to. One thing they'd always talked about was Organization XIII. They'd always said how bad they were, and how everything they were doing was hurting the worlds. So the young boy didn't understand why this girl would help him. And how did she know Sora?Hiro guessed that since Sora was in the Organization, maybe she knew him from that. But she seemed to use his name like she had known him a long time, like she knew him very well. The young boy stopped in his tracks, staring at his hooded guide. Her voice was so familiar, like he had heard it before. It took a moment, but she soon realized he was no longer following, so she turned to him.
"What's wrong?" she inquired. Her voice… Hiro thought, then gasped.
"Kairi," he muttered. The girl shook her head as if she hadn't heard him.
"What did you say?" she asked.
"Nothing," he quickly replied. "Could you take off your hood?"
"You don't trust me?" Hiro hesitated, looking away. This made the girl giggle, but she nodded. Slowly, she reached up and grabbed her hood, then put it down. She had really blue eyes and black, short hair. Hiro's eyes widened in recognition. It was Kairi.
Back in Disney Castle, Hiro and the other Key-Bearers had been shown videos and pictures from Jiminy's journal of Sora's adventures. He recognized Kairi from those things, though the black hair didn't seem right. Still, it had to be her. Who else could it be?
"Come on," Kairi told him, turning back down the path. "We're almost out."
"Wait!" Kairi seemed startled by Hiro's sudden outburst. The youth ran to her side. "You're alive?"
"Yes. Well, now I am," she answered, a little surprised.
"But how?"
"Roxas brought me back."
"Really? Why are you in the Organization?"
"It's the only place I can kind of belong now. And… I can keep an eye on Sora this way."
"You mean, he doesn't know you're here?"
"No. But it's better this way. I'm afraid that if he knew, things would change, and it wouldn't be good."
Kairi looked away from Hiro and started back down the path. Hiro paused, watching the girl. He didn't understand why Sora's lifelong friend wouldn't want him to know she was alive. He frowned at this thought. Wouldn't Sora leave the Organization if he knew Kairi was around? That would be a good thing, he thought. But maybe it would put him in danger, and she didn't want that. He was saddened that things had to be this way.
Maybe he, Paka, and Suki could do something about it! After all, they were supposed to help the Keyblade Master. Maybe if they could help him fight off the Organization, Kairi would be able to tell him she was okay! Hiro's face brightened and a smile spread across his face. He quickly ran ahead to catch up with Kairi and continued to follow her out of the maze. He didn't tell her his plans, because he knew she would worry. But he was sure he and his friends could do anything, and would do anything to help Sora.
Roxas had quickly retreated into the maze when Xion told him to go. He didn't understand why she was willing to deal with whoever had been approaching, but he trusted her and believed she'd done the right thing. The voice they'd heard sounded young, so he probably wasn't a threat. And Xion was less recognizable as an Organization member than Roxas himself, so he had to take that into consideration as well.
One things till bothered him, however. He'd traveled through most of the maze and had yet to see a single Card Soldier. That had to mean they were off doing something else, most likely something important. He knew that the lethal Heartless -- the one that had been created by Organization XIII to consume the worlds, the Dark Colossus -- was still taking worlds for its own, and Wonderland could possibly be next on its list. He didn't like being separated from Xion for that exact reason. And even if they were together, he didn't want to run into the Dark Colossus. So he supposed the best thing he could do now was unlock the Keyhole so they could leave as soon as possible.
It didn't take long for Roxas to get out of the maze since he knew it so well. He'd been forced to take a different route, so he didn't run into Xion along the way. He quickly slipped into the Bizarre Room and turned to Doorknob. He wasn't surprised to see that he was snoring away. The blonde rolled his eyes, but aimed his Keyblade at the Keyhole nonetheless.
"Hey Doorknob!" he shouted loudly. The Doorknob snorted slightly, trying to stay asleep. "Hey!!" This caused the Doorknob to snap his eyes open to glare the blonde Nobody. He was going to chew him out, but a yawn escaped him before a word could pass his… could you really call them lips?
As the animated, inanimate object opened his mouth, a beam of light shot from the tip of Roxas's Keyblade. There was a click as the solid white Keyhole filled with black, becoming unlocked. However, he paused before putting more darkness inside.
"There's a better way…" he muttered. "there has to be. There's gotta be a better way to collect hearts…" He stared at the Keyhole. By consuming it with darkness, not only would the heart of the world go to Kingdom Hearts, but the hearts of all its inhabitants as well. All of those innocent people would be killed; even if Wonderland's creatures were different, that didn't make it right. Back in his original Organization days, he'd been important because he held the Keyblade and could release hearts from insignia Heartless. But now, practically any member could fill an open Keyhole with darkness. The only value the Keyblade held anymore was that it could unlock the Keyhole.
Roxas preferred the old way. It didn't hurt as many people. Heartless were always causing trouble, and by releasing so much darkness, they were thriving and more of them were appearing all over the universe. Wouldn't it be better if they just drew in a lot of Heartless and got rid of them? This gave the Nobody an idea. Sure, it would be harder, but saving a world was worth it.
Doorknob's mouth was still open, stuck from the light shining into it. Roxas still had his blade trained on the Keyhole. He took his free hand and some darkness flowed from him into the heart of Wonderland, but not so much that the world would be consumed. After a moment, Roxas lowered both his hand and weapon. Please work, he thought. Nothing happened. Doorknob shut his mouth and glared at the blonde.
"Do you mind!?" he exclaimed. "How dare you point that thing at me!" Roxas just rolled his eyes as the object shouted at him. Over his cries, he picked up on another sound; a hiss.
He spun around to see several puddles of darkness appearing on the Bizarre Room's floor, as well as some dark portals opening in the air. He smirked, gripping his Keyblade tightly. His plan had worked. Both the Keyhole and the darkness had drawn the Heartless to him. Now all he had to do was get rid of them, and he'd have probably collected more hearts than the entire Organization combined. But these Heartless would have to be insignia Heartless, or else his plan would fail. He relaxed slightly when several Soldiers, Large Bodies, Air Soldiers, and Crimson Jazzes emerged from the darkness. No Shadows, no Neoshadows… no Pureblood Heartless. Perfect.
Roxas held his Keyblade with both hands and charged forward. There had to be fifty Heartless now, and they were determined to get to the Keyhole. The blonde Nobody ran his Keyblade through a Soldier as it charged, making it disappear in a puff of darkness. A pink heart floated up out of the deceased monster and faded away to Kingdom Hearts. One down, 49 to go. He continued to strike and parry the Heartless, at first only being attacked by the Soldiers and Air Soldiers. He got hit by a few swift kicks, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.
Then a Crimson Jazz decided to get in on the action. As Roxas was fighting off three Air Soldiers, the fire Heartless came up behind him. Three large orbs of fire appeared around it, and the increased heat caught his attention. He spun around, but it was too late. The fire bombs exploded, the fire burning him badly. The burns he'd received were the least of his problems, however, as the force had thrown him back into the stomach of a Large Body. It bumped him forward again, slamming him into the ground. The Heartless smacked its belly, preparing to charge forward and body slam him, but he managed to rollout of the way, narrowly missing the assault.
Roxas stumbled to his feet, blocking an aerial assault from an Air Soldier. He swung his Keyblade around in a wide circle around himself, taking out about four Soldiers. Still more came. He was growing tired, but he had to pull through. If the Heartless got to the heart of Wonderland, they would be enough to swallow the world in darkness. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to make it out in time, and even if he did, Xion would be in danger. But he was weaker than usual; having all three parts of him out and about -- himself, his Other, Sora, and his Replica, Xion -- really drained his power.
Number XIII retreated back to the Keyhole, changing his goal. Now he had to protect the Keyhole. If he just locked it again, the Heartless would go away, and the mission would be a failure. With his back to the Doorknob, he continued to attempt to push the dark creatures back. It seemed to be working for a while, as many hearts were being released and the number Heartless was lowering. But then the Large Bodies moved to the front of the line, and he couldn't break through their armor-like bellies, and the other Heartless were advancing.
"Whoa!" he heard a yell. It sounded familiar, and it belonged to a girl.
"Xion?" he called, then grunted as an Air Soldier caught him by surprise and hooked its foot into his chest. There was no hope now, he felt. The Heartless were breaking through, and not even with Xion's help could he get rid of all of them. They'd have to make a break for it…
Roxas looked past the Heartless in front of him to see many hearts being freed. In fact, it looked to be far too many for just one person fighting. But who else would be here that wielded a Keyblade? Whoever they were, the Heartless saw them as a threat and turned to them. Roxas regained focus and hacked at the now exposed backs of the Large Bodies. With the two unknown Key-Bearers in front and him in the back, the rest of the Heartless were defeated in no time.
By the time Roxas had reached his helpers, he was panting heavily. He found himself looking at a boy with dark blue hair and seemed to be his age, and the violenette that had helped him bring Xion back. So these were the Key-Bearers Sora was so intent on keeping alive. He flashed them a quick smile of gratitude and together they finished off the rest of the Heartless. A ton of hearts had been released to Kingdom Hearts, so he deemed the mission accomplished.
A few moments of silence passed between the three as they caught their breaths. Roxas looked up at the girl, trying to remember her.
"Suki, right?" he asked. She stared at him for a moment, then smiled and nodded. He looked at the boy pointedly, who was staring back at him.
"Who's that?" the boy asked.
"That's Roxas," she explained. "I… ran into him in Twilight Town when we got separated." The blonde raised a brow at her for a moment. Had she not told her friends about himself and Xion yet? Maybe that had been what Xion had told her to do before she left. It sounded like something she would say. "Roxas, this is Paka."
Paka extended his hand for Roxas to shake, but the Nobody only stared at him for a moment. Slowly and awkwardly, the blue-haired boy retracted his hand.
"N…Nice to meet you…" Paka said uncomfortably. Roxas shrugged.
"Pleasure," he muttered, looking away. He couldn't grow attached to these Key-Bearers. If he did, the Organization would make him kill them, and he didn't want to do that. Surely Sora had already been given that job, but there was no doubt that the Keyblade Master had refused. Sora could probably escape Organization XIII, live, and have somewhere to go. Roxas, on the other hand, could not. He'd been down that road before, and he didn't want to go down it again.
"Paka! Suki!" a young voice shouted. A small boy ran to the two, embracing them. Roxas let out a sigh, relieved the silence had been broken. He could slip away unnoticed now.
"Hiro, you had me worried!" Suki exclaimed. Roxas started walking away, but still paid attention to what the three were saying.
"Sorry, but I thought I heard Mei," Hiro explained. "I looked everywhere, but I didn't find her. But I found you!"
"We haven't had any luck, either," Paka admitted. "We can't seal the Keyhole completely without her. So we should go someplace else…"
"Hurry up, Roxas!" a voice hissed. He jumped a little, surprised to hear a voice behind him. He turned to see Xion standing there impatiently. It struck him as odd that she had her hood up, but before he could question her, she snatched his wrist and led him away.
The two didn't speak until they were back in the maze where they'd been separated. Xion pulled her hood off and turned to Roxas.
"Did you take care of the Keyhole?" she asked quickly. Roxas was confused as to why she seemed to be in a hurry, but replied anyway.
"Kind of," he answered. "I found out that it's actually better to--"
"Great," she interrupted. "Please hurry and open a Corridor of Darkness and get out of here." The blonde Nobody stared at her snappish request, but complied. He opened a corridor and Xion practically pushed him inside.
"What's the big idea?" he demanded as they traveled through the darkness. She sighed, not seeming to be as rushed now.
"That's not import--" she began, but Roxas cut her off.
"And why did you have your hood up?"
"I didn't want those Key-Bearers to know who I was. I got lucky when the little boy thought I was ------."
"Wait, who?"
"------."
"You didn't say… Never mind…"
Roxas was a little frustrated with whatever trick Xion was trying to pull, so he just walked ahead. The ravenette quickly caught up to him and grabbed his arm.
"I'm sorry," she told him quietly. "I'm just worried about them."
"Who? The Key-Bearers? Why?"
"I told them to hurry. I just hope they listen. Roxas, it was in Wonderland." Roxas froze.
"You mean the Heartless? The Dark Colossus?"
"Yes."
Roxas swallowed hard. "Remind me to not tell Sora."
