Chapter 12--Cats and Rabbits and Cards, Oh My! 3
Wonderland was in a state of chaos. Siria let out a small grunt as she found herself being pushed against Kelia's back, her keyblade in hand.
"Why won't they die already?!" Kelia growled as she raised her own keyblade, striking down a Heartless. It dissapeared instantly, but was immediatly replaced by two more heartless. Siria let out a small whimper as her eyes darted from one pair of Black Claws to the next, her brow creased in worry. She could feel her heart beating against the inside of her chest, already sore from the incedent with Liadain.
"Newbie!" The Brunette glanced over her shoulder at Kelia, shifting uneasily where she stood. The warrior sized up each of her opponents, gripping her Keyblade with pure adreniline. "M-my name's Siria!" Siria barked as she whacked another Heartless away with her blade. Kelia simply rolled her eyes at this- when it came to fighting, she was practically a master compared to Siria's wobbly legs and unsure approach. "These things obviousley aren't gonna let off anytime soon, so what do you say we run for it?"
"Run?!" Siria coulden't help but to stare at the back of Kelia's head. Since when was running a battle plan? "You got a better idea?!" Kelia met Siria's eyes, an aggravated look painted on her face. The two glared at eachother for quite some time before the voice rang out.
"Running? What a plan. Then again, you can never expect much from a child." In the blink of an eye, every last one of the Heartless dissapeared. Kelia straightened out of her fighting stance, a confused look replacing the glare. Siria, however, held tightly onto her Keyblade, not in the mood to be ambushed again. "Not the most creative, are you? I've seen one too many think of running, and yet, not a one of them ever got away. With their hearts still in tact, that is." The voice chuckled, echoing around the forest. Siria, finally letting down her guard, stood up straight, peering around the forest. She let out a shout as two eyes and a wide, almost scary smile appeared out of thin air. "Well, everyone but the Boy I saw in here a bit earlier, but then again, he was certaintly a fast one. I wonder, is it speed that counts when you're running away? Or is it the speed of the one chasing you that matters?" The Face mused, his smile growing even wider. "But, I suppose that's off topic. If it's running away you wish to do, you have to complete the task ahead of you first." The two girls watched, awed, as the face slowley became surronded by fur, and then a neck, and finally a body and feet. It appeared to be a purple-striped Cat. Kelia's nose twitched slightly at this- being who and what she was, she wasn't exactly the biggest fans of cats. Siria, being Siria, didn't really care that it was a cat- the Talking part was what got her.
"What task?" Kelia asked, frowning.
"What task, you ask? What task is a task, indeed? A task indeed is a Task in need, in need of completion, that is. It's really not you're task as much as it the Skittish Girl's task, you see?" Two pairs of eyes turned on the Brunette, who jumped slightly at the sudden attention. "Skittish?"
"Siria?" The two girls asked at the same time. The Cheshire Cat smiled even wider, showing all of the teeth a normal cat should have and a couple more. "Yes, it's what I've been told. She's got the key, now all you need to do is to find out what you have to do to get out of here." His smile turned into a smirk as he slowley began to dissapear, body part by body part. The forest was silent for quite some time, and just before Kelia was about to open her mouth to comment on how weird the cat was, the Animal in Question re-appeared, lounging lazily on her head.
"Hey!" Siria held in a chuckle, extremly amused by the look on her companion's face. The Cat's ears twitched slightly as his smile dissapeared, a grim look on his face. "I woulden't listen to him if I were you." Kelia and Siria jumped, surprised, as a voice rang out in a sing-song tone. "Something wicked this way comes! Remember this: The Darkness is deep, but Nothingness is Endless!" The Cheshire Cat cackled, his mood suddenly that of a maniac. With that, the Cat dissapeared, all of his weight lifting from Kelia's head.
Seconds later, a diffrent figure appeared, it's arms crossed over it's chest. A black cloak- the same kind as Liadain wore- covered the person's skinny yet tall figure. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Little girls really shoulden't be left all by themselves in a place like this.
"Little!" Siria shouted, not beliving her ears. "You're barely taller then us!"
"Oh. It seems like we have a feisty one on our hands." Though neither of the two could see it, the man smiled beneath the hood that covered his face. In once quick move, he reached up, took the hood and lifted it from his face. Kelia was quick to size up their opponent- he was skinny, so that was a plus for them. His green eyes lit up with something that Siria had never seen before as he looked at her, smiling. "Wanna fight?" Swirls of fire surronded his hands, and soon after, two red and white circular objects replaced the inferno. Axel gripped his Chakrams as he got into his usual fighting pose, enjoying the looks on the girl's faces.
"There's no use in saying no, 'cause I'm afraid I've been ordered to not give you a choice." Kelia's eyes grew wide as she gripped her keyblade. "You were sent by that Creepy Lady, weren't you?!" Axel raised an eyebrow as he looked over at her.
"That's for me to know, and you to forget about. Now!" With that, he raced towards her, twirling his Chakram menacingly as he did so. Kelia raised her keyblade just in time, blocking his attack as she slid backwards a little. He's strong..stronger then he looks, she thought uneasily. Axel pushed away from her, turning his attention to a horrified Siria. "Now, let's see what you're little friend can do!" Once again, Number 8 ran at break-neck speed, raising one of his Chakram. Siria's eyes grew huge as she attempted to guard- only to receive a quick swipe to the cheek. She only had seconds to reach up to where she was hit and touch something wet running down her cheek- blood.
"Hey!" The sound of metal hitting metal rang throughout the forest as Kelia's attack was guarded. The three stood there, in an odd pose- one of Axel's Chakram holding back Kelia's Keyblade, the other still aimed towards Siria, a small drop of blood staining the silver.
"...That's IT!" The Brunette suddenly growled as she summoned her keyblade. She swung her keyblade in Axel's direction, but was immediatly blocked. "I'm getting so tired of you being the Hero!" Blinded with Fury, Siria began to attack Axel, not thinking about what she was doing. Kelia watched, baffled. "I can protect myself!" The Wolf-girl frowned, deciding to join in the fight. "Well, maybe you should do it a bit more!" Axel raised an eyebrow as he blocked each and every attack.
"I try, but you hog every Heartless that comes at us!" This was insane. "I do not!" "You do, too!" "I do NOT!"
This went on for about another 10 minutes, before Axel decided to give up. He dodged yet another of the girl's attacks, retreating as far as away as he could get."What a joke. No wonder liadain told me to go easy on you." He shrugged his shoulders as he pulled a card out of thin air. "Man, is she gonna be dissapointed when she finds out that her princess can't hold a weapon to save her life." Siria glared at him, her anger meeting boiling point. She let out an angry growl as she lifted up her keyblade, pointing it in Axel's direction.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but just wait! I'm gonna get stronger! I'm gonna learn how to use this keyblade! And the next time we meet, you're gonna be sorry!" Kelia stared at her companion, wide-eyed. She could practically feel the determination radiating off of Siria. Axel, however, simply smirked. "Is that so? Well, looks like we have a deal. Can't wait to kick you're butt again." With that, he dissapeared, the card he had been holding dropping to the ground. Kelia, frowning, glanced at Siria, who's galre had fallen.
"I have to get stronger..I have to get strong enough so that...so that I can see Hiro again..." Siria said, obviousley talking to herself. She smiled widely, and Kelia knew that she'd already set a goal for herself. The changeling smiled as she made her way over to the card.
"What do you say we work on that goal of your's while we visit whever this is?"