Chapter 10: The Other London

Before long, Lucy was flying through the sky alongside Sora, Donald, Goofy, Peter, and Tinker Bell. She looked back and saw that Captain Hook's ship had been reduced to a speck on the open sea. Lucy hadn't done much flying in her life, she hadn't even ridden on a plane back on Earth. She had once flown on the back of Aslan as well as fly on Eustace's back when he had been turned into a dragon but that was pretty much it. Flying on her own with nothing but the mixed powers of belief and fairy dust was certainly something new to experience. It felt like swimming through air, and, in a way, that's what flying really was to begin with. Air currents moved around her and her clothing fluttered as she flew. She looked back again. Hook's ship could no longer be made out at this point.

"It's cold up here!" said Donald as he shook.

"I think it's wonderful!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Me too!" Sora added. "I wonder if Kairi would enjoy flying."

Lucy smiled sadly.

"I'm sure that she would. Why don't we bring her back here, like Peter said, and let her try it herself?"

"We have to find her and stop the darkness of course."

"Of course! I didn't forget that!" Lucy looked forward and realized that they were all flying in the direction of one, particular star. As they flew closer and closer to the star, the sky began to shift and fade around them. Within moments, the night sky changed to an aerial view of a city: London, England. Lucy suddenly realized that they were gliding downwards now, as opposed to the fact that they were originally flying upwards. Lucy wanted to question Peter about this but felt that it was just Neverland logic that you just had to believe in. "So this is London in 1913."

Lucy looked down upon the London of the past. It wasn't that different from her London in most regards. However, there were a few differences. There appeared to be less electrical devices and the city still gave off a 19th century feel as opposed to an early 20th century feel that Lucy had expected. Lucy couldn't help but feel weird about the fact that she was flying over London a full nineteen years before her birth. The first Great War hadn't even started yet.

"It looks bigger in this London," Sora said suddenly.

"What does?" Lucy asked.

"The clock tower." Lucy looked and realized that Sora was right. The Palace of Westminister looked to be around the same size here but the clock tower looked much bigger. It stretched high into the sky and looked like it was much wider than normal. The clock looked like it was a small moon.

"There's Wendy!" said Peter as he pointed right above the clock. Wendy was sitting in what appeared to be an open walkway that was situated right above the clock. Lucy, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Peter landed right next to Wendy. "Hi Wendy!"

Wendy ran forward and hugged Peter.

"You're all right! All of you are!" she exclaimed. She then turned to Lucy and hugged her as well. "What happened to Hook?"

"We sent that codfish running with a crocodile on his tail!" Peter laughed. Wendy then turned to Sora.

"What about Kairi and...Riku?" Sora let out a loud sigh.

"Gone. Both of them," he replied.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I'll find them." Sora then looked over the edge. "So where's the keyhole?"

Tinker Bell let out a series of rings.

"Tink says that it's on the clock right beneath us," Peter said.

"Right." Sora summoned the Keyblade. "I'll seal it."

Lucy watched as Sora flew towards the face of the clock. Something began shining on the clock's face which Lucy identified as the keyhole. Sora aimed the Keyblade at the keyhole and a beam of light shot out of it. There was a quick flash of light and the keyhole closed with a soft click.

"Another keyhole closed!" announced Donald.

"I wonder how many more keyholes there are," said Goofy.

"I hope not too many." Lucy chuckled and turned to face Peter and Wendy. They were walking together; well, Wendy was walking and Peter was gliding. They were obviously talking about something important. Sora flew up and landed next to Donald and Goofy.

"Well, that's taken care of," said Sora.

"So where are we off to next?" Donald asked.

"Hook said that Riku had taken Kairi to a place called Hollow Bastion," said Lucy.

"Where Maleficent resides," Goofy added.

"Then that's where we go next," said Sora.

"Who's this Maleficent I keep hearing about?" Lucy asked.

"She's a witch!" replied Donald. Lucy couldn't help but think of the White Witch, Jadis, upon hearing the word witch.

"And apparently a mean and powerful one at that," said Goofy.

"We can handle her," said Lucy.

"You think so?"

"I know so. Let's just say I've had some experience with witches back in Narnia." Suddenly, Lucy thought of something. "Wait a minute...what about the Gummi Ship?!"

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"The Gummi Ship! What happened to it?! How are we to travel to this Hollow Bastion if we don't have the Gummi Ship?!" Donald pulled a weird-looking device out of his pocket and examined it.

"The Gummi Ship is waiting for us. All I have to do is press this button and we'll be beamed right up into it," he said.

"What?"

"We don't usually park the Gummi Ship in the worlds we visit. We usually park it right outside the world and beam ourselves down. The only reason we physically parked it in your world, Lucy, is because it parked itself down there for some reason," said Sora. Lucy smiled as she thought about how a certain lion may have had a hand, or claw, in that. She suddenly turned towards Donald.

"Wait a moment. So you could beam yourselves up into the Gummi Ship this whole time?"

"No. The beam only works in certain parts of the worlds we visit. The clock tower here in one of those parts," Donald replied as he presented the remote to Lucy. "This tells me when we're in one of those parts."

"I see. That's very...interesting." Lucy turned around to see that Peter and Wendy were approaching them again.

"So you're leaving?" Peter asked.

"Yeah. We've got some friends to save," said Sora.

"Make sure to visit Neverland again once you've done what you need to get done."

"I will."

"It was nice meeting you, Lucy Pevensie," said Wendy as she extended a hand. "I hope you have a wonderful life in 1946."

"Well, it was nice meeting you as well, Wendy Darling," said Lucy as she shook Wendy's hand. "I hope you have a good life here in 1913...oh."

Lucy fell silent. She suddenly thought about the war that was to come in the following year.

"What's wrong?" Wendy asked.

"Enjoy the time with your family, Wendy. Cherish every moment of it. I just want to warn you that...dark times are coming," Lucy replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Things are going to get difficult really quickly, but don't worry. Things will get better. They will. Trust me, I know." Wendy smiled and the two English girls hugged one last time. Wendy then stepped back and so did Lucy.

"You don't have to worry about Wendy," said Peter. "I'll always be here to make sure that she gets through the tough times."

"Promise?" Wendy asked.

"Promise." Lucy, Sora, Donald, and Goofy couldn't help but smile.

"Well, we better head off," said Donald.

"Take care!" said Wendy.

"You too!" said Goofy.

"See ya!" said Peter.

"See you later!" said Sora.

"Goodbye," said Lucy. Donald pressed a button on the remote and Lucy watched as Peter, Wendy, and the rest of 1913 London disappeared around her. The next thing she knew, she was standing in the middle of the Gummi Ship.

"Let's see. Hollow Bastion, was it?" Donald asked as he sat in his seat.

"Yeah. Full speed to Hollow Bastion!" said Sora. Lucy looked out the window and saw a circular object floating in what appeared to be blue-green space. It looked like a planet and yet it wasn't.

"Is that the world we were just in?" Lucy asked.

"Yep! That's what they look like from the Gummi Ship!" Goofy replied.

"It looks so odd and...small."

"They all do," said Sora as he began working with the controls. The Gummi Ship groaned a bit and then it was off. Lucy watched as the world of 1913 England/Neverland disappeared far behind them.

They flew in silence for at least a half-hour. Worlds and stars passed by in the blink of an eye. Lucy couldn't help but notice that Sora was looking much more depressed than he previously had.

"Sora?" she asked as she stepped forward.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Do...do you want to talk?"

"Not really at the moment. Right now, I just want to focus on finding Kairi...and Riku."

"You still think there's hope for Riku?"

"My friend's in there somewhere. Maleficent, the Heartless, and the darkness have corrupted him. I'll save him too, along with Kairi."

"Don't forget to keep smiling!" said Goofy.

"What?" Lucy asked.

"It's kind of a rule around here. No frowny faces. This ship runs on smiley faces!" said Donald.

"Really?"

"Maybe...possibly...the point is that there is no frowning on board the Gummi Ship!"

"Never forget being happy!" Goofy chimed.

"Happy?" Sora asked. Lucy, Donald, and Goofy fell silent. Suddenly, Sora gasped and slumped forward. He had lost consciousness. Lucy pulled Sora's head up and tried to wake him up. His eyes were closed shut and his breathing had become slow and heavy.

"Sora! Sora! Wake up! Sora!" she cried. Suddenly, a cold wave of electricity rolled through Lucy's body. Lucy found herself standing in the middle of a library. She could see Sora floating a few feet off the ground in front of her. He looked like a transparent ghost. Sora didn't seem to be aware of her presence. Lucy then realized that she and Sora weren't alone. Sitting in the corner of the library was an elderly woman who was talking to a little girl with dark purple hair. She looked to be around four years old, the girl. Lucy couldn't help but feel that she had seen the young girl somewhere before. The grandmother appeared to be talking but Lucy couldn't hear any words being spoken. It was as if she were watching a scene from a film on mute. When the grandmother had stopped talking, she disappeared into thin air like a spirit. Sora then reached towards the young girl and began calling something. Lucy could hear Sora's voice, but it was very faint.

"Kairi? Kairi!" he called. Lucy looked towards the young girl and realized that she looked an awful lot like Kairi as Lucy would have pictured her as a young girl.

"Kairi?" Lucy asked. Suddenly, the young girl disappeared and so did the transparent Sora.

"Don't worry, Lucy," said a powerful, familiar voice. Lucy turned to her left to see the warm and welcoming face of a great lion smiling at her. "It'll all make sense in due time."

"Aslan?!" Aslan and the library disappeared in a flash of white light and Lucy suddenly found herself back in the Gummi Ship. Goofy was standing next to her and was shaking her arm.

"Lucy?! Lucy! Lucy, wake up!" he called. "Oh...you're awake!"

Lucy looked and saw that Sora was waking up as well. Donald was still in his seat and was looking at her and Sora with concern.

"What happened?" Lucy asked.

That's what we'd like to know!" stated Donald. "Sora blacked out, you went to check up on him, and then you just suddenly froze in place!"

"I...froze?"

"Yeah. You fell quiet and began staring down at Sora with this blank, emotionless look on your face," said Goofy. Lucy rubbed her temple and took a few steps back. Sora stood up as well.

"Kairi? Did you call me?" he suddenly asked.

"What'd you say, Sora?" Donald asked.

"Nothing! Just thinking out loud!" Lucy knew this was a lie. She had seen what Sora had seen. But...what really had she seen? Did she and Sora share a vision of a younger Kairi? And then there was Aslan. She had seen him. He hadn't appeared to her as a faint voice in the back of her mind. He had appeared right in front of her and his voice had been as clear as day. What did he know that she didn't about what was to come? A lot of things, obviously. Suddenly, a random question popped into Lucy's mind.

"Sora...where's Kairi from?" she asked. Sora fell silent as he turned to face Lucy.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"I mean, is Kairi from your home? Is she from Destiny Islands?"

"Yeah. She, Riku, and I all came from the same world."

"I'm not talking about now. I'm talking about birth. Was Kairi born in your world?"

"Why the sudden interest in where Kairi comes from?"

"I don't know. The question just popped in my head."

"We're here!" Donald announced. Sora gave Lucy a look that pretty much stated something along the lines of we'll continue this conversation later. Lucy looked out the front window of the Gummi Ship. Another world was waiting for them. However, this world didn't look as welcoming as the one that held 1913 England and Neverland. This world looked dark, foreboding, and just...frightening.

"There it is," said Sora. "Hollow Bastion."