Chapter 14: Magic and Dreams

Sora and Sakuzy returned to the camp after hiking back through the woods. The rest of the group seemed to be worried about them, Sakuzy guessed that it was due to the fact that they were covered in sweat and, in his case, a bit of blood. Sora noticed that two members of their group that had previously gone missing were back.

"Riku!"

"Joyex?"

It was indeed Riku and Joyex. Sora knew Joyex's ponytail anywhere as well as Riku's crystal hand.

"Tada!" Joyex, upon saying that, stood up and held out his arms in a manner to show that he was there. Sora and Sakuzy virtually fell face-flat to the ground in disbelief.

After Sora picked himself up, he went over to Joyex. "When'd YOU get here? I thought you were captured by the White Witch."

"Ya know, it's a funny story." Donald said, putting a finger up, "They just turned up while you and Sakuzy were gone, though they did look somewhat frostbitten. Nothing a heal spell couldn't cure!"

After a quick laugh, Joyex instantly noticed something about Sakuzy and Sora. "What happened to YOU guys?" The Nobody asked, "Looks like you've been attacked by a Crystalli."

Sakuzy rubbed the back of his head and Sora had the feeling that this guy had a sizeable bruise under his hair. "You know, it's funny you should say that..."

To some people, the name of the creatures was new to them. "Crystalli?" Kairi asked.

"Look, I'll explain later. Right now, we have a battle to..."

Sakuzy would have continued when Mr. Beaver ran over to them, looking very relieved to find them. "Guys!" The rodent called out.

Sora turned to meet him and scratched his spiky head. "Mr. Beaver? What's up?"

The wood-carving rodent stopped to catch his breath, then spoke with an urgent note in his voice. "The White Witch has called a meeting with Aslan!" THAT response earned worried faces from everyone. They increased even more when he added, "She's on her way here!"

THIS wasn't good, especially from what they heard about the witch. Within minutes, the White Witch walked into the midst of the camp on a chair suspended by a pair of large Heartless. The creatures around her booed and jeered at her, but she ignored it as her Heartless lowered her chair to the ground. She got off, then walked toward Aslan until she was a few feet in front of him. Sora and the others kept a wary eye on the White Witch, making sure she didn't try anything.

"You have traitors in your midst, Aslan." The White Witch eyed Riku and Joyex, causing both of them to either gulp or take a step back. Aslan, however, wasn't moved.

"Their offense wasn't against YOU." He said, sternly.

The White Witch's expression was surprisingly coy, even in the face of the mighty lion. "Have you forgotten about the law upon which the universe was built?" She asked.

Aslan's voice was stern and tense, even going as far to emit a slight snarl before talking. "Do NOT cite the universe's law to ME, witch! I was there when it was written!"

Silence filled the air, save a few mutters from the inhabitants of Narnia. After a few seconds of it, the witch responded to Aslan's statement. "Then you'll know that every traitor belongs to me. His life is my property and to every treachery, I have a right to a kill."

Mr. Beaver waddled forward, then pointed an accusing finger at the White Witch. "Oh, so THAT'S how you came to imagine yourself as queen!" He stated, "Because you were the emperor's hangman!"

Aslan turned to Mr. Beaver and, upon addressing him, the beaver backed down. "Peace, Beaver."

Sora and Kairi REALLY didn't like what the White Witch was claiming she had rights to. In an instant, the two had summoned their Keyblades and Sakuzy his. "You want Riku and Joyex?" Sora challenged, "Come and get 'em, then!"

One of the many Heartless around the White Witch reacted and made a threatening move toward Sora. The White Witch, however, simply looked like he had said a common joke. "Do you REALLY think mere force can rob me of my right, little Keyblader?" She asked, then seemed to address the whole Narnian army. "Aslan knows, unless I have blood, as the law demands…" The witch turned and spoke to the army to make it clear to everyone. "All of Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water!" She turned to point her finger at Riku and Joyex, as though accusing them of something. "The boy and the Nobody will DIE on the Stone Table. As is tradition..."

Sora's heart felt as though someone had jammed an icy spike in it. If what the witch said was true, they would never see Riku and Joyex again. And from what he saw from the mentioned two, they didn't enjoy the prospect of it either.

"Enough." Aslan said, breaking the sudden commotion, "I shall talk with you alone."

Aslan walked into his tent without a word, closely followed by the White Witch. A few hours later, Sakuzy was sitting and looking pensive. Sora and Kairi were scared beyond measure. What if the witch insisted on killing Riku and Joyex? The very thought of it chilled them to the core.

To their surprise, however, Aslan and the Witch came out of the tent and everyone from the Keybladers to the army stood up in anticipation of what was going to happen. The air was thick with tension as Aslan's stern face was deep in thought until he looked up. "She has renounced her claim on the fellow Keyblader and Nobody's blood!" He announced.

The army burst into cheer. Riku and Joyex WEREN'T going to die after all, but suddenly, the White Witch addressed Aslan with a curious look in her eye. "How do I know that this promise will be kept?" She asked.

Silence filled the air...for approximately one second after that question. It was broken when Aslan opened his mouth and unleashed a roar to make Simba's pale in comparison. It was so loud that some of the trees on the edge of the woods swayed like grass in the breeze and the very noise of it was enough to send the White Witch and her Heartless packing. THIS caused the army to cheer even more. Suddenly, Kairi caught a glance of Aslan and immediately noticed something different about him. He looked worried, scared even. The great lion noticed Kairi looking at her, curiosity on her face, then went back into the depths of his tent.

"Well, THAT was a nice way to send the Witch and her stupid Heartless running." Joyex admitted.

"You got that right, Joyex." Sakuzy said, clapping the Nobody on the back, "I can see the look on her face right now..."

Night fell with surprising quickness. Sora was sharing a tent with Riku to sort of keep an eye on him. Donald and Goofy were bunking in a tent not far from Sora's and Kairi had one all to herself.

Sakuzy laid down on a bunk under Joyex and shut his eyes. Time for another pitiful stab at sleep... He thought to himself.

(Remember, hum the song Dearly Beloved when we're having these flashbacks)

Enter flashback…

Sakuzy was sitting on a hill with three others, smiling. One was a boy who looked like Joyex. But this boy's hair was brown, not black, and wasn't tied back into a ponytail, but was still VERY long (it managed to touch his shoulders). There was a large, muscular guy a few years older than the guy with brown hair, who had a bald head and a hardened expression on his face. The last one was a girl around Sakuzy's age with silver hair and looked sort of like a female version of Riku.

"Uh…Sakuzy?" The brown-haired boy asked, "Don't ya think that our master'll blow his top if we're late?"

"Relax, Joey." Sakuzy assured, "The lessons won't be in session for another hour."

The bald man turned, then corrected Sakuzy. "They'll start in another half-hour. What does THAT tell you, slacker?"

The girl turned on the man, then said, "Don't call him a slacker!"

Sakuzy raised his hands to stop the argument there and then and said, "It's OK, Maya. Depth, just turn off your aggressive switch and LOOSEN UP."

Joey got up and nodded. "Yeah." He said, but upon seeing Depth's face, he shrugged and shakily suggested, "First time in three years?"

The bald guy, or Depth as he was called, turned his head to the side and huffed. "Don't count on it! I'm off!"

Depth had barely gotten up when Sakuzy stood to stop him. In an instant, Sakuzy drew his Eagle Feather Keyblade, Joey pulled out one that had a chain in the middle of the blade. The girl, Maya, got a Keyblade that looked like the One Winged Angel, only it had two wings on each side, both of which were white.

Depth cocked an eyebrow in mild interest at the sudden appearance of Keyblades. "Again?" He asked.

"Free for all?" Sakuzy asked.

Joey smirked, then replied, "Sure."

"You know it, Sakuzy!" Maya agreed.

Depth took a deep breath, then sighed in what could only be described as utter defeat. "Looks like I've been over ruled again. Oh well. At least I get to beat you senseless."

Depth held out his hand and summoned a Keyblade whose blade looked like the symbol of Omega. The four glanced at each other, then charged at each other with mock battle cries coming from three.

End Flashback...

Sakuzy woke up to a sharp pain on the side of his face, but just as the pain had turned into a soreness, the pain returned on the other side of his face. As his focus returned, he found Joyex standing over him and slapping across the face. "Ow, ow, OW! WHAT?!"

Joyex stopped slapping Sakuzy in a heartbeat. "It's about time you're up!" Joyex said, very relieved, then he added, "Kairi's GONE and you were smiling like you were with HER again!"

Sakuzy slowly let himself wake up as he scratched the back of his head. "Calm down, Joyex and…KAIRI'S GONE?!" He said, suddenly realizing what Joyex had just said. On studying the area around him, he found out that Sora was in his tent as well as Riku. "Yeah. One of those tree women woke us up and said that…"

If you're wondering who the people around Sakuzy were…you'll find out later. And yes, Joyex WAS this Joey's Other. Please review.