LOST WORLDS
Chapter 11: Narnia
Written by: Lynx and Rebmakash and hosted through the generosity of Organization VI
Rating: G (K)
Summary: After the battle against the thousand Heartless at Hollow Bastion, a whole new ring of worlds appears for Sora, Donald and Goofy to explore.
Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts II or any of the Disney movies shown here; they are copyright to Disney and Square Enix. Please see the first chapter for the full disclaimer.
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"It's probably a good idea we're going to tell him," Sora began, "but..." He opened up the red pouch strapped to his thigh where he placed his Keychains. Morph appeared to be sleeping soundly as they walked towards Twilight Town Central Station.
"I know; we wanna find the King as much as you want to find Kairi and Riku." Donald folded his arms. "But Master Yen Sid should know what's going on."
"A whole buncha worlds suddenly appearin' on the maps, plus how Morph can affect the Keyblade. I think he'd be interested in all that since it's so peculiar," Goofy added.
"Oh, yeah, you're right, Goofy. Just..." He sighed, sad also because they had somehow managed to miss seeing Hayner's gang this trip around.
"So, ya name the Keyblade yet?" the knight asked.
"Oh, well, I thought I overheard something about where Morph had come from, so...what about 'Proteus?'"
Donald just rolled his eyes. "You're gonna name every one, aren't you?"
Sora feigned innocence and actually smiled. "Who, me?" He said, pointing to himself. He waved to the man at the ticket booth on his left, who seemed to have decided that they had bought a long-term pass and never needed to pay for more.
Sure enough, as they walked up, the blue train stopped in its usual place. All of the feelings of the first time he'd stepped onto this train rushed back to him in an instant. However, the hurt was not as intense as the last time. After all, Sora knew he'd see Hayner, Pence and Olette again. This was only a visit to check in with Yen Sid and to get some advice.
And yet the pain was still there because he remembered it. The mysterious nostalgia still remained, even though he knew everything was fine. He looked on as Donald and Goofy took a seat, and he stood by the door until it closed. Sora leaned against it, his eyes peering half-heartedly out the small window.
With a slight lurch the blue train moved forward, and Donald and Goofy turned to watch the scenery move by. Grasping at the air alongside his leg, Sora made the motion of holding the Keyblade, the companion that had aided him and cursed him with this journey. He knew his duty, and did not shun it. But even in the company of wonderful friends he could not help but worry over others.
He looked over to Donald and Goofy, who had managed to fall asleep, and he idly wondered how long he had been thinking to himself. Indeed, they had been fighting hard, and sleep was becoming harder to get. Even Sora found his eyes flickering.
He imagined Kairi and Riku on the train with him, sitting down opposite the magician and knight. Riku ran black-gloved fingers through his hair and showed off his typically sly smile to the two. Sora could even see Kairi wipe a little dust off the seat to avoid getting it on her white tank top.
The beach appeared around him as he recalled the sands glaringly white with the bright afternoon sun. He found himself racing Riku, and looking back to make sure the playful Kairi was still behind them.
The young man rested his head against the door as remembering summoned a lonely tear.
Sleep seemed liberating, and a sense of weightlessness was slowly coming over him. It was hard to keep his eyes open, and when they closed, he found himself surrounded not by white sands, but by a complete world of light. His running companions faded as Sora slipped away, falling through the door of the disappearing train. Whenever his eyes flickered open, he could see Donald and Goofy, still slumbering but dropping with him.
Below him shone the brightest light, as if he were traveling through a tunnel. Head first he approached it, and he half-registered a landscape below, coated beautifully by an equally white snow.
Snowflakes tickled his skin as struggling eyelids let him see the world approach. The image of massive paws drifted into his thoughts, and he could see their advancement. It was as if their kind and noble presence could melt away the harshest of winters. He could sense young footsteps, unsure of their tread along the changing, progressively warmer terrain.
And he could feel the salty breeze from the distant sea.
Indeed, the snow and ice was melting away, pulled off the land like a blanket, and revealing a paradise.
Sora dreamt more of paws that filled him with awe, half-watching as the landscape came to greet him.
"...Ground?"
His eyes opened wide.
The realization snapped him to attention with no time to react. Conifers held out their branches in attempts to catch him, but he inevitably hit the ground at the speed of the train, skidding and rolling over slick grass in-between the trees. He finally came to a stop at the edge of thicker forest, or what might have been a forest if his head wasn't spinning so badly.
Sora was still recovering from the fall when he heard a terrified squawking and WAA-HOO-HOOOEEE from above. Sora's eyes went wide, and he scrambled to get out of the way, but without success. Donald and Goofy crashed into him, knocking the wind out of him temporarily and leaving them sprawling.
"Hey, watch where you're falling!" he groaned, shoving the knight and magician off of him. He got to his feet on wobbly knees, surprised that all of his ribs were still in tact.
"That wasn't our fault!" Donald yelled, his face red with fury.
Well, it seems they're not hurt, either... Sora thought.
"Uhhh...so where are we?" Goofy finally asked.
The reality of this unexpected occurrence finally hit Sora. He found his balance again, and got a good look at their new surroundings.
They stood at the edge of a huge forest, and faced a vast and clear woodland country. The long grass rolled down into a valley spotted with large rocks and divided by a quiet stream. Sora could see snow-capped peaks in the distance, and thought he saw the blue shimmer of an ocean beyond. The air was cool and crisp, as if this land had just come out of a long and harsh winter.
"Gawrsh, do you suppose this is another world?" Goofy wondered aloud, tapping a finger against his nose.
"Of course it is! It's definitely not Twilight Town," Donald exclaimed. It seemed he was the most unnerved of the trio.
"But how did we suddenly end up here?" Sora asked no one in particular. "We've taken that train route before without anything weird happening. And how do we get back?"
Donald was about to quack back a standard 'How should we know' reply, when Goofy butted in with, "Maybe we can find a train in this world, and it'll zap us back to Twilight Town!"
Donald groaned and tapped his foot. "Does this look like the sort of world that has trains?"
At that moment, Sora finally spotted something aways from them, partially hidden in the valley. A congregation of tents lay nestled against a rock outcropping. Its tents and flags were decorated red and gold, And Sora could barely make out figures moving between the tents. "Hey, guys! There're people down there!"
Donald and Goofy looked up at his proclamation and followed his pointing finger to the distant compound. Donald furrowed his brow, looking worried. "They look like war tents."
"Maybe we're back in Mulan's world," Goofy mused.
"I don't think so," Sora responded, now almost as concerned as Donald. There was something strange about this world, something...almost heavy. After a moment, Sora stood up straight, feeling decisive. "Come on, let's go down there."
"Now hold on, we don't know if it's safe," Donald warned.
"Safe? Who cares! Every other place we've gone to hasn't been a problem," Sora said, eager for them to get moving and meet the locals.
"I mean safe for us!" Donald squawked. "We don't know what kind of people live here. What if they're overly superstitious? We need to meddle as little as possible!"
"I think the only superstitious one here is you," Sora muttered under his breath. Donald didn't seem to hear him, so Sora continued, "it doesn't change the fact that we still need to find out why we're here."
Donald grumbled something to himself, and Sora smiled, knowing that the duck was forced to agree. "Aw, phooey. Fine. But we'll go observe first. No busting in and trying to save the first female in trouble!"
Sora couldn't hide a small snicker. "We'll see."
The knight, magician and Keyblade Master started down into the valley slowly, soaking in the scenery as they went. Sora kept his senses tuned for signs of Heartless, but the valley and forest looked peaceful. Still, Donald was right about the campground: those were war tents, and that meant they'd been dropped into a serious conflict.
Finally, they were close enough to both observe and be observed by the campground's occupants. So they crouched behind a nearby boulder and peered out, hopefully unnoticed. Sora's eyes went wide, and he nearly had to clamp a hand over his mouth to keep from blurting out "woah!"
The "warriors" that milled around the camp were not at all like those in the Land of Dragons. Some looked like half-man, half-horses, and others had goat heads or goat feet. A few lean cheetahs paced in the grass, along with other animals such as beavers, badgers, hogs and foxes. There was even a huge creature that seemed to be half-eagle, half-lion. Nearly all of the creatures wore ornate red and gold armor, and carried curved, dangerous-looking weapons.
Sora started to stand up. "Come on, let's go meet them!"
Donald grabbed him by the belt and yanked him back down. "I said no shenanigans! We're going to disguise our forms first."
"Oh, I don't think that's necessary here," Sora huffed, getting impatient. "It's not like we're underwater."
"Tough. We're getting a disguise because I said so," Donald said in a voice Sora thought was all too motherly. He stood rigid and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for Donald to perform the spell. He could never quite get used to these form changes, although he understood the need for them.
He felt as if he were being enveloped in a thick, choking light, as Donald mumbled something that probably wouldn't have been comprehensible even in a normal voice. For a brief moment his senses fuzzed out and he felt nothing. Then the world came spinning back to him, and he nearly fell over at the shock. The first thing he noticed was that he felt much taller. He glanced down and noticed that his hands were still normal. But a little further down, he discovered that where his feet should have been were now horse's hooves.
"Wooah!" Sora twisted around, only to find himself moving on four legs instead of two. His entire lower half had been replaced with the body of a black horse, complete with a long white tail. He still wore his black jacket, shoulder guards and crown pendant, but the rest of his clothes were gone. Sora trotted in a neat circle, trying to get the hang of his new legs. "Check me out, I'm a horse!"
"You're a centaur," Donald corrected. "Honestly. Don't you ever read?"
Sora finally got a good look at his two companions. Goofy's legs were now brownish goat legs, and two stubby horns protruded from his forehead. He still wore his green vest and gloves. Goofy touched at the horns gingerly and laughed. "Ahyuck, aren't I also supposed to have four legs?"
"No, you're a faun," Donald sighed, clearly getting frustrated with his friends' ignorance. Donald himself now had clawed feet and white wings with blue tips. His lower half was the back end of a small lion. Donald tested out his new wings, although he had some trouble staying in the air. "And I'm a griffin," he added before Sora or Goofy could ask any more stupid questions.
"Okay, so now we're disguised. Can we go see what's going on?" Sora asked, stamping his hooves impatiently.
"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses," Donald quacked, not catching the pun. He flapped his wings and turned to head into the camp, with Sora and Goofy right behind him.
At first the army didn't seem to notice them. They got a few odd stares, and one cheetah in particular sniffed at them suspiciously, but otherwise the form change seemed to be working well enough.
"I wonder who's in charge around here?" Goofy asked his companions.
Sora was about to answer, when some movement to his left caught his eye. The centaurs, fauns and other creatures all seemed to be amassing; following someone to a large red tent that stood alone on a rise. "I think maybe something's going on over there," Sora said, pointing to the gathering crowd. "It could be the leader or something."
Donald and Goofy followed Sora as he trotted over to investigate. The warriors all stopped in a wide circle close to the entrance of the tent. Sora shoved his way through their ranks until he was finally able to get a glimpse of the crowd's interest...and was surprised with what he found.
There was a boy, looking to be about his age, with sandy-blond hair and sky-blue eyes. The boy wore the same red-and-gold armor as the other warriors, but he didn't seem nearly as comfortable in it. He bore a sword and shield emblazoned with a golden lion. Looking at him, Sora was immediately struck with the sense of a kindred spirit.
Beside him stood two girls: one perhaps around twelve, the other close to seven. Both had dark hair, and wore long dresses with simple belts. Maybe they're siblings?
Sora glanced back at Donald with an irritated look. "See? There are other humans here!"
Goofy scratched at one of the horns on his head. "I dunno...I get the feelin' they're not from around here, either."
"Well then, maybe they're from another world, too!" Sora reasoned. "And they might know a way to get out of here."
Sora shuffled through the crowd with the intent of asking them. Donald and Goofy exchanged panicked looks before quickly heading after him. He barely stumbled out of the crowd before the boy raised his sword and proclaimed, "We've come to see Aslan!"
For a brief instant, time seemed to slow down. Sora felt a warm wind whistle through his hair and tail as the entire army fell silent. Out of the red and gold tent stepped a majestic lion. If talking with Simba in the Pride Lands was like being in the presence of a king, then this lion was twice as kingly...and far older and wiser. His long, golden mane framed a stern face and eyes like the forest out of winter.
Those eyes caught Sora, and he felt like they were staring only at him. Sora suddenly got the sense that the lion was looking right through his mind...that his disguise, his powers, his whole purpose was laid bare. The other warriors all dropped to their knees and bowed their heads. Although he didn't know why, Sora felt compelled to bow as well. However, he still felt a little unsteady on his new horse legs, so his bow ended up as more of a stumbling forward.
If anybody noticed, they didn't bother to comment. The lion turned to the three kids and said, "Welcome, Son of Adam and Daughters of Eve."
The lion's deep voice made Sora's nerves tremble a little. The statement, however, caused him to raise an eyebrow, and he whispered to Donald and Goofy, "what does that mean?"
"Maybe he knows their parents," Goofy whispered back.
"But where is the fourth?" the lion continued, his deep voice full of concern.
"Aslan...we lost our brother Edmund," the boy said, dipping his head low. "That's why we're here. They said you were the only one who could get him back."
Sora's sympathy deepened. They're looking for someone, too...
The lion, Aslan, breathed a deep sigh. "The situation is far more grave, then. This betrayal is very serious."
"It's my fault, Aslan," the boy said. "I was too hard on him."
Aslan responded gently, "Peter, we shall discuss the matter in full privately. For now, you have had a long journey, and you need to rest for the days ahead."
The three children nodded, and stood. The other warriors began to disperse back into the camp. Just as Sora was about to trot back himself, a look from Aslan stopped him in his tracks.
"You three...I'd like a word with you, too."
Sora gulped down a hint of nervousness as the great lion approached. Donald and Goofy stood by his side, putting on their best "royal" faces. "Uh, yeah...um, Aslan?" Sora said, shifting from one hoof to another.
"You three are not from this world, I believe," Aslan said.
The trio exchanged glances. "How'd you know?" Donald asked, hovering a few feet off the ground.
Something like a smile formed on Aslan's face. "It's not a difficult thing to see."
"Do you know how we can get back to Twilight Town?" Goofy asked.
"No matter how you came here, you are here for a purpose," Aslan said carefully. "As are all that are here." He threw a long glance back at the three children. "Unlike you, the Pevensies are not skilled in fighting. They will need someone to protect them at times."
"We can do that!" Sora replied with confidence.
Aslan closed his eyes as if deep in concentration. "A Key-Bearer...one of the last in a long time."
Sora cocked an eyebrow at Aslan. "Huh?"
"Yes, there are many things you can do," Aslan said, opening his eyes again. "But you must remember...for all the power you have, you cannot change everything."
Sora felt something sorrowful in Aslan's words. He folded his arms behind his head and said, "Is there anything you don't know?"
"Your names, for one thing," Aslan said, the smile returning to his features. The three introduced themselves in turn. "Well Sora, Donald and Goofy...if you'll excuse me, I must speak with Peter."
"Wait," Sora said as Aslan turned to leave. "What exactly happened here? Where is Edmund?"
"He is with the White Witch...she who wrongfully calls herself the queen of Narnia," Aslan responded gravely. With that, he turned and padded back to where Peter was waiting.
Sora put his fingers on his chin, deep in thought. Donald didn't like the familiar look in his eyes. "What're you thinking, Sora?"
He motioned for his friends to lean in closer, and lowered his voice. "Guys, I think we should go and rescue Edmund."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Goofy asked.
"Think about it! If we bring Edmund back, all of the Pevensies will be together again. They won't have to worry about facing down the White Witch," Sora reasoned. "Besides, Aslan did say we were supposed to help protect them. I would say this counts."
"Gawrsh, I guess Peter would be happy to know his brother was okay..." Goofy mused.
Donald was not so eager. "How're we supposed to find this White Witch, anyway? We don't even know our way around here."
"I'm sure we can find a map around here. I just..." Sora halted, and glanced back toward Aslan's tent. The lion was talking with Peter, both of them seeming worried. He felt his heart swell with sympathy. "I just think we should help however we can."
The duck magician sighed and sank to the ground, giving his wings a rest. "At least it's not for a girl this time."