All the Roads We Have to Walk: Chapter Twenty-One
Dear Everyone
I guess you can probably tell what I'm going to say. It's been coming for a while and you always seem to know what I'm thinking so I suppose this won't be much of a surprise for you all.
I'm sorry but I had to go. I just need to get away for a while. I need some time away from this place just to try and understand some things about myself and about what's been happening. I don't know when I'll be back but I know that when I return I'll finally feel like myself again. Don't worry, everything's going to be okay and I promise I won't be in any danger.
I hope you can understand. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way but I have to do something and I know that whatever I do will be for the best.
I'll come back and when I do my smiles won't be fake any more.
Kairi.
Rising from his dreams, Sora awoke in the darkness and quite alone. He was tempted to roll over and go back to sleep but his mouth tasted foul courtesy of a certain liquid and he could just about make out hushed voices coming from the next room.
Remembering the hot water bottle he was still clutching, Sora tossed it aside. Sitting up slowly, his head kindly refusing to spin, Sora was glad that his stomach was no longer churning. Putting his feet on the cold ground, he carefully stood up. Feeling a further flush of confidence, he walked forward to the door. Opening it, he winced as bright light flooded his vision.
"Sora!"
A short weight hit him in the legs and to keep his balance he quickly grabbed the doorframe. Looking down he found Yuna clinging to him.
Red's voice drew his attention. "How do you feel Sora?"
Sora shrugged, noncommittal, eyes searching for…aha, a sink. Pulling Yuna off with a smile, he went over to it, turned the tap on and opened his mouth under the cold stream of water, swishing it around before spitting it out. Once he was quite sure his mouth was no longer akin to a gorilla's armpit, he turned the tap off and turned back to Red and Yuna with a smile.
"Well?" Yuna asked, looking at him pointedly.
Sora blushed a little. "Um…" He didn't really know what to say, if he could even say anything.
"Oh, Sora, you're up!"
Looking over, Sora saw that Tifa stood by the lab's main door with a smile on her face. "How are you feeling? Can you say anything?"
"Uh…"
"Oh, hey, looks like your timing was spot on Tifa," Zidane stepped into the room, looking at the centre of attention with a grin. "You're looking a little less green Sora."
He smiled and blushed a little, scratching the back of his head. "Ah…"
"Say something, say something!" Yuna chanted.
"Yeah, before Red gives you another dose," Zidane added with a wicked smirk.
Sora shuffled his feet a little, not enjoying all the attention. Deciding it was best to get it over and done with, he picked the first thing that came to mind and tried to say it.
"Ah…um…" He frowned, the words cutting out as he formed them. Focusing everything, he said the singly most important word in the entire sentence. "S…Sh…Shoes?" To emphasis his point, he wiggled his cold, bare toes. The memory of running and the pain from his dream was still fresh.
A loud applause broke out, deepening the blush on Sora's cheeks.
"It worked!" Yuna giggled, dancing around.
"It certainly did. In a few days Sora's voice will be fine again," Red announced. "Until then Sora, just keep talking. Eventually your voice will stop cutting out and just be very rough until it's normal again."
"Th…Thanks."
"You ready to go to the bridge?" Tifa asked and earned a nod. "I'll show you our next destination."
"And then we'll go find you some winter woolies," Zidane continued as the group moved out. "It is seriously cold down there."
"Y-yeah?"
"Ha, it is good to hear you talk again."
"Answer…p-please."
"Oh, yeah, right. Um, this world has been locked in a state of unending winter for a long while now. Red reckons it's 'cause the Keyhole is in serious danger of being frozen, right Red?"
"Yes, exactly."
"Can we go have a snowball fight?" Yuna asked, jogging to keep up with her elders.
"Maybe when we've dealt with the Heartless," Tifa replied with a laugh. "It'd be fun."
"Yeah, and we can make snowmen too!"
Sora took a peek out the porthole while they waited for the lift to call by. The Highwind was in orbit but whatever world they were at, the snow cover was utterly complete and kept its identity a secret. He'd never really seen proper snow before. Destiny Islands wasn't exactly a beacon for winter snowfall and even though there had been snow-like piles at the End of the World, it had been relatively warm there. Excitement welled up in his heart at the prospect of a snowball fight and he hoped the Heartless would be easy to deal with so he could pelt everyone with tons of snow and make snowmen with Yuna, just like he'd read about in books as a child.
Once on the bridge, Barret waved them over to the tactical display, looking grim. "We might have a problem."
Tifa's expression became just as serious. "Hollow Bastion?"
"There are two ships heading toward us…well…to the world really but there's no way they won't spot us."
"Can we skip on to another world?" Zidane asked, eyes roaming the screen. It showed the world they orbited, their ship as a yellow dot and two red dots that were rapidly closing in.
"We have to seal the Keyhole," Red insisted. His eyes roamed over the readouts briefly before he continued. "How about three of us go down to the world while you take the ship and keep moving. We can stay in touch via the PHS - it's got enough range. Call us if things look grim and we'll call you when we're ready to move on."
"It's the best idea," Tifa said, only slightly hesitant as she considered the pros and cons.
"It's the only idea," Zidane shot back.
"Let's do it," Barret said. "Red, Zidane, you go with Sora. We'll do some random flying and shake them off and come back when they've left the world. You do your best to stay undercover."
"I don't like the cold any better than the heat you know," Red grumbled.
"Too bad," Zidane said. "Barret's needed here, Tifa can't fight and there's no way we could expect Yuna to come with us."
"It's true. I'm not very good at fighting yet," Yuna agreed, albeit with a pout. "Ooh! I guess I won't get to play in the snow after all."
"Come on Sora, let's go get some warm clothes on."
"I'll take a scarf at least," Red muttered, following the tailed thief.
"Um…um…" Sora struggled to form the question but he got it out in the end. "Where…uh…where…argh!" He gave a spectacular frown before trying again. "Where a-are we?"
"Wonderland," Zidane and Red provided simultaneously.
Kairi sat silently in the gummi ship, watching Destiny Islands fade away. She felt sadness but it was mingled in with a much more powerful sense of determination and even a dash of happiness. So far, she'd managed to keep the guilt at bay. She knew she was causing a lot of people back home a lot of pain but…but… She brushed a few tears away. What she was doing was for the best. She couldn't leave Sora out here alone, knowing that he was in some kind of trouble.
"You sure you're okay with this Kairi?" Donald said, preparing the ship to warp to Hollow Bastion.
"Yeah."
"C'mon then Donald. Let's get goin' already."
Kairi forced her distant eyes to the magician. "It's okay," she smiled faintly. "Let's get to Hollow Bastion."
"Okay then. We're off!" Donald punched a button and the ship jerked forward, space turning to streaming bands of colour.
Barely five minutes later and there they were, standing in Hollow Bastion's grand library, sunlight streaming through the windows. Shaking off her disorientation, Kairi stepped out of the green light. She could hear footsteps lightly running up the stairs and gulped quietly, not knowing what to expect.
"It's okay Cloud, I think it was just a…oh!" Aerith smiled brightly. "Kairi, Donald, Goofy! What are you doing here?"
Aerith was still dressed in pink but she also wore a simple white shirt over her dress. Behind her Cloud was coming up the stairs. The armour he had worn around his right thigh was gone, as was the long red robe and the clawed glove. However, his wing remained as a constant reminder of his use of the darkness. Kairi found herself in awe of the powerful blond man and maybe even a little afraid of him but she refused to show it.
"It's about Sora," Kairi finally said. "Something awful happened and we need your help."
"What is it?" Cloud asked, his blue eyes focusing on Kairi as he came to stand at Aerith's side.
Once again Donald and Goofy covered all the events since Brighthelmston. "The King reckons ya'll can help us out with all the books here," Goofy concluded.
"And stuff left by Ansem," Donald added.
"Do you have any theories about where Sora could be?" Aerith asked.
"Only the one King Mickey sent to the Queen: that Sora's been sealed within the Keyhole," Donald explained.
Kairi's eyes widened. "But…"
"There's no way to open a Keyhole without a Keyblade or the Heartless," Aerith finished for her.
"We can't leave him there!" Kairi cried out. "There has to be something we can do."
"The King's message also said that Sora would probably be in a sorta dream," Goofy added. "He wouldn't know he was really stuck in the Keyhole or dreaming but that's probably what's happening to 'im."
Kairi frowned. "What if that isn't what happened?
"It's the best idea we got Kairi," Goofy replied. "And it kinda makes sense - I did see 'im get pulled into it."
"Well, the King reckons that somewhere here Ansem must've done some research into opening Keyholes," Donald said, noticing Kairi's mounting concern. "So once we find somethin like that we'll be able to get him back."
"Let's go and meet the others first," Aerith said. "That way we can co-ordinate our efforts."
"There are still a lot of areas to Hollow Bastion to be properly searched," Cloud spoke up, surprising Kairi, Donald and Goofy for all of them expected him to remain a silent presence. "Ansem's labs seem to stretch out for miles in the basement. Maybe we'll find something down there."
"Well, no matter what we're going to need the others," Aerith determined. "I'm pretty sure I saw Yuffie in the Great Hall training. She's bound to know where Leon is and Cid'll probably be tinkering around with one of the ships."
"I'll go for Cid," Cloud said, returning to the top of the stairs. "We'll meet back here."
"Why don't you all rest here while Cloud and I get everyone?" Aerith suggested kindly. "You all look exhausted."
"But we can't waste any time," Kairi insisted. "I can't stand here and do nothing while…while…" She squeezed her eyes shut, her hands reaching for her chest. "Sora needs me!"
"And you'll get to him Kairi, you know you will," Aerith said, placing a hand on the girl's slim shoulder. "We'll find a way to help him."
Kairi offered a watery smile, Aerith's words bringing her barely under-control emotions to the fore. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Aerith smiled. "Now, you all sit tight and I'll get everyone here."
The woman in pink breezed away, leaving Kairi to plop down in a seat next to the study desk.
"You okay?" Goofy asked.
"It's…it's just a little odd being back here," she answered plainly, not wanting to say more.
Wonderland. Wonderland? More like freeze-your-butt-off land.
They had been dropped off in the forest and in the middle of a calm snowfall. Everything was quiet, the white blanket swallowing most sound. Nothing aside from the three new arrivals stirred. The Heartless remained unseen.
Sora huddled deeper into his dark red fleecy jacket, tugged his gloves up higher, shook snow off his baggy black trousers and jiggled up and down on the spot in an effort to warm his freezing body. He had decided within moments of being outside that he didn't much like snow. It was cold, it was wet and it wasn't much fun at all. Even Red looked warmer than he did, catching snowflakes on his long tongue with a grin the Cheshire Cat would probably approve of.
"C-c-c-can w-w-we m-m-move?" Sora stuttered quietly as he tugged his hood over his head, not sure if it was the cold or his still damaged voice making his words so garbled.
"Don't you like snow Sora?" Red asked, chasing down a few flakes only to cause flurries with each bound.
"No."
"I thought everyone loved snow." So, there was a big kid in Red after all.
"I-it's…" Sora's voice cracked, refusing to form the word 'cold'. Groaning, he began plodding through the quietly crackling snow, rubbing his arms as he went.
"Not used to it?" Zidane asked, rubbing his mitten-encased hands together as he followed Sora, grabbing Red by the ruff of the neck as he passed the four-legged creature. "Stop messing around Red, we don't have the time."
"Oh, it's alright when you want to be silly but can I cut loose? No!"
"Don't be such a brat."
"Hey!"
"What? I am older than you."
Red grunted. "That's debatable."
"I don't care how slow your species ages, you're still a kid."
"I'm more of an adult than you!"
"Yeah, because it was me who was chasing snowflakes."
"Sh-shut up!"
Red and Zidane fell silent, both turning to Sora, who was looking rather irked, in shock.
"Y-y-yo-you're…" Sora cleared his throat. "You're driving me c-cr-crazy!" he managed to croak.
"You mean to say the voices in your head haven't done that already?"
Confusion fell over Sora. Red and Zidane's mouths hadn't opened.
"Well Sora? Are you just going to keep me waiting?"
Plus Red and Zidane weren't girls.
"Who's there?" Zidane demanded.
Behind them the snow gave a quiet crunch. All three turned to see a little blond girl, probably not too much younger than Yuna, standing in front of them. Her arms were bare, her torso covered by merely a blue corset and her legs were mostly naked to the elements except for where they were measly covered by a short white skirt and little black shoes.
"A-Alice?"
"Isn't Wonderland simply beautiful under all this snow?" she giggled, bending down and tossing an arm full of the white stuff into the air. "It's got to be my favourite thing in the world!"
"Aren't you cold?" Zidane asked, taking a step forward.
Her playfulness disappeared. "Tell them Sora."
"I…"
"Tell them what you think I am because we both know you're quite right."
"Sh-she's a…a…"
"Come along now, it really isn't that hard to say."
"Heartless."
"What?" Zidane and Red spluttered.
Alice began walking away, the snow starting to fall a little harder from the steel sky. "Well, I'll be waiting."
"Wait!"
"Sora, Sora, Sora," she chuckled, still walking away. "I'm not going to listen to you. Didn't you learn that I don't listen to anyone but myself?"
Before Sora could move to stop her, other voices hit the air.
"This is Roam Team to Ship. We think we may have spotted the enemy. Are moving to engage."
"Oh, well, I really ought to be off. After all, I'm about to be late for a terribly important date."
"No, stop!"
"Sora we have to get out of here," Zidane hissed. "The Council's lackeys are here!"
"B-but we have t-to stop Alice!"
"She's just a little girl, what could she possibly do?" Zidane started jogging toward the trees, intent on loosing any trackers in their midst. "Make sure you walk in my footfalls. Red, cover our tracks with your tail. We need to mislead them."
"She's a Heart…a Hea…a Heartless!"
"He's right," Red said, the fiery tip of his tail acting like a duster. "She could freeze the Keyhole."
"Sir! I think I've found some tracks!"
"Damnit, we've gotta move!" Zidane picked up the pace. "Look, Heartless or not we've got another more pressing problem right now - making sure those goons don't find us. Sora, what's the fastest way to the Keyhole?"
He pointed in the direction Alice had taken. "Wh-where else would s-she be…be…" his voice cut out but he'd made his point.
"We'll have to take a pretty wild pathway there," Red replied. "We need to lose them."
"Split up?" Sora asked, deciding short sentences were the way to go for now.
Zidane hesitated as he thought about it, pushing a snowy branch out his way. "I dunno…we don't want to give them the chance of capturing one of us to use as bait for the others."
"But we do need to lose them," Red reiterated, treading carefully to keep his footsteps in line with Zidane's.
"We could meet up somewhere I guess," Zidane considered. "Where?"
"Keyhole?" Sora suggested, looking nervously over his shoulder. There were men standing where the trees began but they weren't plunging into them yet. "B-but be…be careful. W-Wonder…" He paused. Stick with short sentences, right. "Can be cr-crazy."
Wonderland seemed to decide it was high time to show off its craziness. Behind Sora, Red gave a cry that instantly began to grow increasingly distant. Turning together, Sora and Zidane managed to catch a glimpse of a hole closing back in on itself and when the snow was smooth again, Red couldn't be heard at all.
"Red!" Zidane hissed. "Where are you?"
"Sir! Back there, in the trees!"
"Check it out!"
"Run!" Sora pushed Zidane forwards.
"Where's Red gone?" Zidane demanded. "He was right behind us!"
"I-it's Wonderland! Kinda…crazy."
"I'd heard rumours but…"
But whatever Zidane had to say was lost as the snow shifted to eat him whole. Sora managed to grab his hand as he began to fall and hold him up but Wonderland wasn't going to give in so easily.
Zidane, looking up as he dangled over the precipice, saw the branch coming. "Sora look out!"
Summoning the Keyblade in his free hand, Sora managed to bat the hostile tree off but another and another took its place. He didn't stand a chance and while several branches hugged him tight, another slapped his hand until the pain forced him to release Zidane.
Zidane hollered a warning as the hole began to close in on him like it did with Red. "Don't let them catch you!"
With the hole closed, the trees released him and Sora fell face first into the snow.
"We know you're out there. Come out with your hands up and we won't shoot!"
His feet sliding but his hands clawing for purchase, Sora scrambled upright and began running. Gunshots were fired but went wide, kicking up more snow into the increasingly powerful storm. Sora knew he was leaving a blatant trail. His eyes looked up and an idea sparked in his mind. Grabbing the nearest tree, he climbed up it as fast as he could and climbed over into other trees so that his footsteps down below wouldn't give him away too soon. Up in the treetops he saw what appeared to be a familiar opening in one of the tree trunks. Perfect! Maybe something was finally going to go his way today.
"Up there!"
"I can't tell who it is!"
"Could be a Heartless."
"Shoot it you idiot!"
"This is Recon. Team One. We are in pursuit of an unknown target…could be one of the fugitives. We are moving in to investigate."
Feet skidding on the icy trees, Sora grabbed the trunk of the tree he had to leap off in order to reach the opening in the next tree. He tried to stand unaided but his feet gave a dangerous wobble and before he could save himself he was tipping forward. He stretched out as far as he could, gloved hands just about managing to gain fingertip holds on a stout branch. But they were slipping agonisingly free. Sora swung to the right, enabling his hand to gain a better grip but as he did so he released a cascade of snow, revealing his position.
"Over there!"
"Move!"
"Shoot it down!"
Time was running out and his goal was so close. Swinging recklessly, Sora managed to fling himself upwards. Flipping round, his aching fingers purchased the opening's edge. Gritting his teeth, Sora began pulling himself up, his muscles shaking with the painful exertion.
"Come on!" he growled, his feet kicking and sliding to find a grip to take some weight off his arms. He edged higher, inch by inch.
"There!"
"It's one of the fugitives!"
"Shoot him! Disable, don't kill."
Wrenching every muscle currently in use, Sora tore himself through the hole, tumbling down through the darkness. At first his fall was fast and out of control but it soon grew slower and slower until he was merely floating softly downwards. Looking up he could see the light of day far, far above but he could no longer reach it. He could glide but he certainly couldn't fly here so there was no going back.
Things were starting to look down.
Very, very down.