The highwind was still flying through Hyperspace towards Wonderland, Sora and his friends got to know Donald, Goofy and Max a bit more.
"Wait , your king is a mouse named Mickey?" asked Namine.
"Yep. were best buds, Mickey, Donald and i were musketeers and we were part of Princess Minnie's bodyguards although it was a setup by Pete so that he could become King." said Goofy.
"Yeah but in the end we defeated him and Mickey and Minnie were married and he became King. He appointed me as his court wizard and Goofy as his captain of the guard." said Donald.
"Mickey is a great king and he is loved by everyone in the kingdom. we couldn't ask for a better King than him" said Max.
"We can't wait to meet him when we find him." said Sora with his trademark smile. Just then Donald looked back to the front of the ship before he smiled. "We are here. our first world. Wonderland"
The guardians of Light took a look outside the cockpit's window and they saw the world before them. It seemed like a small planet, which was growing as they approached its surface to land. The Guardians could see an unusual looking castle and a heart shaped arch, hedges, possibly forming a labyrinth, spreading out all the way around one half of the world. As they looked on, it seemed like that part of the world was inaccessible. The other half (where they were landing) was simple grassland. Rolling green grassland and a dirt path that zigzagged across it, on top of which the Gummi ship landed.
"Alright everyone. do you all know the rules we just taught you?" Donald asked looking at the gang. They nodded to the duck as they unbuckled their seatbelts and followed him off the ship. "Happy Exploring everyone!" said Chip and Dale. Riku was about to exit the ship when Donald grabbed his hand with his wing. "Hold up a Second Riku. let's check the area in case theres something dangerous out there" said Donald. Riku nodded as both he and Donald opened the doorway slowly and poked their heads out, looking both ways before They stepped out. They then turned back to the others. "It's all clear guys" Riku said as the rest of the team came out of the gummi ship and onto a grassy plain. While walking they listened to the stories of Phillip.
He was set to marry princess Aurora before the darkness took their world and he became separated from her and he joined the resistance to get her back.
Beast whose real name was Adam. they caught up with them as they listened to Adam's story. Adam's story was that he was cursed by an enchantress to take the form of a Beast because he was cruel and spoiled. and his curse could only be broken by having someone love him and in turn he loves which happened to be Belle. At first she didn't like him because she had to take her father's place as his prisoner but slowly overtime they fell in love.
"But why are you still a beast Adam?" asked Goofy.
"before the curse could break, the Heartless attacked and i was separated from Belle and i will find her" said Adam with determination to find Belle. "The same with me. I won't rest until i know Aurora is safe" said Phillip.
"No worries, We'll help you find them." said Sora with his trademark smile. Adam and Phillip were taken back to Sora's kind nature and his offer to help them find their loved ones despite only meeting him. Sora's heart was truly one of a kind. Kairi smile was the biggest as she watched Sora walk with Donald and Goofy. "And thats why i love you Sora. she muttered.
. They came to a halt when they saw a brief glimpse of a short, stout figure running through the bushes.
The Guardians waited for a few moments more, haltingly moving in the direction that the creature seemed to be moving, until the creature finally popped out from the bushes and came into full view. Their 's eyes went wide in alarm at the sight of him.
"It's… It's a rabbit!" exclaimed Kairi
A rabbit indeed. A white rabbit, to be exact. He ran on his two hind legs and was wearing a bright red tuxedo jacket with a washed out yellow blouse underneath and gray trousers. He held an umbrella in one hand (or should that be a paw?) and a large golden pocket watch in the other. His eyes seemed bloodshot from lack of rest as they stared out through the small pair of horse spectacles that was perched on his red rabbit nose and the fur on the top of his head was ruffled and messy. He kept looking down at his watch, which seemed to cause him further distress, and then continue running.
Donald shrugged, turning away slightly as the others looked on. "Aw, it's just a rabbit in a waistcoat." His eyes suddenly widened and he took a double take. "And a watch!"
The white rabbit looked back down at his watch and his eyes widened further, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "Oh my fur and whiskers! I'm late I'm late I'm late!"
Goofy tilted his head curiously to one side. "What could a rabbit be late for?"
Sora shook his head from side to side, finally snapping out of his funk. "Hey, you! Wait!"
The rabbit didn't stop. In fact, he only quickened his pace. He turned back slightly to look at Sora and shook his head vigorously, pointing at the watch face in a panic.
"No no no no no no no, I'm overdue! I'm really in a stew! No time to say 'goodbye'! Hello! I'm late I'm late I'm late!"
Sweat drops appeared on their foreheads watching the rabbit before he ran off. "Come 'on, lets follow that rabbit" said Hiccup. The rest of the team followed until they saw the rabbit enter a rabbit hole in a hill. It seemed big enough for everyone to fit in.
"Ya think he's goin' to a party?" Goofy asked Donald curiously.
The duck merely sighed in annoyance and rolled his eyes. Sora got on his knees and then looked in the hole and then back to the team. "Do you think we should follow?"
"Might as well, We have to find the Keyhole to this World" said Riku. The others nodded before Sora took the lead crawling in first followed by Kairi. one by one did the guardians begin crawling though the hole."I can't see anything guys!" said Namine.
"theres nothing to be afriad of Nam, Theres nothing in here And how could we possibly end up getting in troub – bulllll!"
As the last syllable left his mouth, Sora , Sora shifted his weight onto nothing and began to fall headfirst into the dark abyss. Goofy fell through shortly after, releasing a round of his trademark howl. The rest of the team also fell down screaming as they fell down into the dark hole. "I guess from now on, falling down stairs isn't gonna be such a big deal, huh?" said Lea as the team was now glidling slowly down the hole.
Sora began to spin around so that his head was once again right side up. He had his arms folded across his chest as the guardian s began to drift slowly ever downwards. Dim colored lights had appeared farther down the hole that they had fallen through, mostly reds and blues, just enough to light the peculiar objects that decorated the interior. Kairi was next to him and Lucy was on her shoulder.
There were mirrors placed askew on the walls, and end tables with small lights perched on them with the entire set upside down. There seemed to be clocks, since they could hear them ticking, but they were nowhere to be seen. There were large, antique world maps and various other random paintings. Nothing made sense in this strange tunnel. Even the large mirror that they had come across was strange, for as Namine fell past it, the mirror showed her falling in the opposite direction. Actually, just the fact that the guardians was drifting downwards rather than falling was strange.
"What if we fall right through the middle of the planet?" Goofy wondered aloud as he let himself spin around like a pinwheel.
Donald narrowed his eyes at Goofy as he began to flip forward. "We'll end up on the other side, where people walk upside down," he replied mockingly.
Goofy looked over at Donald, his big eyes gleaming in surprise. "Really?"
"No, Dad," Max answered, deciding to interrupt before Donald could even think to continue making fun of him. "That kinda thing can't happen."
"Are ya sure?" Goofy challenged them.
Roxas and Xion laughed as they continued down until they can see the bottom. Eventually, Goofy lied down as though he were on a bed or a sofa, propping his head up with his arms and crossing one leg over the other while the others stayed like they were in case they touch ground. They floated downward slowly, and eventually, caught sight of a floor. The guardians landed on their feet, as for Goofy, Goofy plopped down onto the red tile floor with a loud thud. Donald chuckled to himself as the others winced slightly at the sound of impact.
As Goofy peeled his large dog eyes open, he saw the figure of the rabbit dart by, just a few inches away from his nose. The white rabbit seemed to have gotten even more stressed out since before they had entered the rabbit hole. He glanced down at his large golden pocket watch once again, leaping slightly into the air in alarm upon seeing the time written on its face.
"Oh dear, oh dear oh dear!" the rabbit exclaimed between pants and ragged breathing. "I'm here, I should be there!"
Goofy sat up on the floor and blinked in confusion. The others
watched in silent surprise as the white rabbit began to zigzag down the peculiar red hallway and as he finally disappeared around the corner, yelling frantically the whole time.
"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" came his voice as it echoed down the hallway. "Ooh, the queen, she'll have my head for sure!"
"The Queen?" asked Namine as everyone shrugged their shoulders.
"Come on, Let's find the Keyhole" said Roxas as the group then went after the rabbit when they came to a door. The doorway was at least as tall as Lea. Xion opened the door only to find a slightly smaller blue door. Confused and even more curious, Xion pulled open the blue door by its golden handle, only to see yet another, even smaller brown door. Getting somewhat disgruntled, Xion pulled open the brown door and smiled when she saw an entry at last. "Finally!"
The gang chuckled before they entered to a very peculiarly decorated room. Everything was in the brightest of colors, mostly in shades of pink and violet. There was very little furniture in the room; only a stout green bed with an old, plain white mattress lying on top of it, a small wooden corner table painted a beige-ish pink color with two stout red chairs lined up against the wall right next to it, and a large stone and brick stove that was on the other side of the room, opposite the bed and chairs.
The floor and walls were the decorations of the room, as they had various furniture painted on them, including several clocks, vases, and books. And painted out on the middle of the floor was a white table with two items that looked like bottles on its surface and a matching chair. They were painted in such a way that it made you feel like you were looking down at them from the ceiling.
"Who would want to live in this? too pinkish" said Tifa with a shrug.. the other girls agreed withthe older female. Adam and Phillip noticed the rabbit was running towards the door with the golden doornob. "Whoa that rabbit shrunk!" exclaimed Tuffnut.
Sora moved toward the door and crouched down in front of it. Donald and Goofy followed suit, squatting down on their knees on either side of Sora and peering down at the small wooden door and its large golden doorknob that had an image of a face carved into its surface. the others were besdie them looking at the door as Sora baffled.
How did he get so small?" Sora wondered aloud as he stared at the tiny doorway.
The eyes of the doorknob snapped open and looked up at Sora. "No, you're all simply too big."
Donald leapt back with a loud quack, his blue hat practically flying off his head in the most cartoon like fashion. "It talks!"
The others jumped back at the talking doorknob as Hiccup raised his eyebrows confused. The doorknob shut its eyes and yawned largely, the keyhole of the knob serving as its mouth. It opened its eyes again when it was finished and stared angrily up at the Guardians.
"Must you be so loud? You woke me up."
Goofy blinked a few times and then smiled, waving slightly in the air. "Good mornin'."
"Good night," the doorknob retorted, its eyes drooping sleepily. "I need a bit more sleep."
"Wait!" Sora yelled out, extending one hand slightly toward the doorknob. He leaned even more forward so that their faces were level. "What do we have to go to grow small?"
The doorknob rolled its eyes slowly. "Why don't you try the bottle? Over there?"
It used his mouth and doorknob nose to point behind Sora. Sora looked quickly over his shoulder and watched in amazement as the table and chair that was imprinted on the pink and red tile floor exploded out of the ground and became three dimensional. Sure enough, on the surface of the table were two bottles; one with a red label and the other with a blue one. everyone was confused as they looked at the bottles on the table. "is it safe to drink?" asked Kairi.
"Hey guys a found a hidden passage" said Lea pushing the bed into the wall to reveal a door. "I'll try it!" Max said as he took the bottle and chugged it. a white puff encased all of them as they all shrunk down to the same size as the rabbit and they were on the table. "Yum!, taste like one of Tifa's Cherry Tarts!" exclaimed Max. Roxas chuckled because his mom is a very good baker and cook.
"Hey, now we're the same size as the rabbit!" said Lea.
the guardians then jumped down the table and were in front of the door. They noticed the Doorknob was back asleep again when Heartless appeared Soldiers and a new one that had a smooth, conical, red body with a Heartless emblem emblazoned on its chest. The top of its body flares outward and forms a jagged "collar" below the Heartless's spherical, pitch black head. It also wears a conical, yellow hat that has a jagged brim and a thin, curled tip. glowing yellow eyes. Its seemingly useless feet sport three small, thin toes.
"Those are Red Nocturnes!, Cast a Blizzard spell or Water spell since they mainly use fireballs to attack" said Jiminy from Sora's shoulder. "Water!" shouted Kairi as she splashed a few Nocturnes with her spell destroying them. "Nice on Kai!" said Sora as he took down a soldier heartless with Phillip backing him up. Some of these soldiers had a lighter yellow body and claws. "Commanders and Sergeants" Jiminy wrote in his journal. Riku and Namine engaged the Commanders with Donald and Goofy.
Xion with her keyblade cut's a Red Nocturne in half before she was surrounded by a wave of Shadow Heartless. "Stand aside!" roared Adam as he tackled some of the shadows away from her. "Thanks Adam" she said before she casted a Holy spell. Pillars of light struck down the heartless and she takes on another group of heartless.
Lea was in the middle of engaging bigger versions of the shadows called Gigas Shadows. his chakrams on fire before he shouted. "Burn BABY!"
His attack took down half of the gigas' shadows before one tried to sneak up on him. "Go!" Kairi shouted, firing A pink orb of light at the one behind Lea taking it out. "Here i go!, Flower Sprial!" said Kairi spinning in the air taking down the Red Nocturnes.
Roxas with his keyblades cuts down another commander before blocking fireballs from another Red Nocturne. Namine doused them with a water spell and Sora and Riku finished them off. The last of the Heartless dealt with the group looking at each other. "Let's keep on going," said Sora.
The group nodded before they went through the dark tunnel. The first thing they heard as they approached the exit was the sounds of birds chirping.
The moment they exited the tunnel the world exploded with blues and greens, which was a relief to their eyes after being exposed to only shades of bright pink and violet. They had entered a large garden of sorts, with grass hedges that seemed to stretch toward the blue sky, which looked like it had been painted by a young artist. A large white castle could be seen looming over them in the distance. Sora recognized it as the same one that he had seen when they were approaching and about to land.
But the thing that really caught the attention of the guardians was the strange scene that was taking place in the middle of the garden. Standing directly in front of them were six soldiers lined up in formation, facing the trio as they entered. They weren't normal soldiers, however. They were, in fact, man-sized playing cards with limbs and a head. Their eyes were shielded by their colored hoods, and in their hands they each held a weapon, which varied according to the color and suit of each card.
There were two red guards standing in front of the soldiers, holding their red spears that had heart symbols at the tips as a way of preventing entry into the garden. The guards raised their spears to allow the white rabbit through, who had only appeared a few moments earlier than them. The two rows of card soldiers folded backwards, allowing the rabbit passage to the front of the garden. As the soldiers opened up, The guardians was able to see what exactly was going on.
There was a courtroom setup at the other end of the garden. It was incomplete, as all it consisted of was a jury box that stood off to one side, the Judge's bench with a large yellow cloth bearing a large black and red heart emblem draped over the edge, and a witness stand which was placed in front of the Judge's bench rather than beside it. Not to mention that the stand had no chair, which didn't seem to be very fair for the girl who was in the stand at that moment.
She was a young girl, probably not any older than them. with long, thick blonde hair that was only held out of her face with a thin black headband with a small ribbon. She wore a light blue dress with puffed sleeves and a large poofy skirt with several layers of white petticoats and long white stockings with a pair of shiny black Mary Jane shoes. She had a white apron on that tied at the back in a neat, almost perfect white ribbon. Kairi then felt something off about this girl. She felt nothing but pure light from her. "Strange, i can feel her light." she thought as Lucy was on her shoulder.
The Girl fidgeted, smoothing the hem of her dress and keeping it neat. The girl turned her head slightly as the white rabbit ran past her, opening her mouth slightly when she caught sight of him as though she has something to say to him. The white rabbit merely ran past her and up a spiral wooden staircase that led to the top of a large wooden tower that made the rabbit level with the Judge's bench. The rabbit paused, keeling over slightly as he attempted to catch his breath. After a moment he lifted a trumpet to his lips and played a brief interlude. He dropped the trumpet quickly and took a deep breath.
"Court is now in session!" he yelled, doing his best to make his voice sound commanding.
The blonde girl looked over at the rabbit, confused, blinking her blue eyes sadly.
"I'm on trial?" she asked, sounding almost horrified. "But why?"
The rabbit didn't even look down at the girl. He only made his voice louder as he straightened himself and took another deep breath. "Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding!" He then took a moment to make a deep bow in the direction of the Judge's bench.
Sora and company looked over to see who the Judge was and flinched in horror.
This "Queen of Hearts" was just about the most frightening looking woman they had ever seen in their life. She was a rather large woman, built something like a large mother grizzly. Her face was most certainly not pleasant to look at in any way. She was wearing a dress with large white collar that wrapped about and framed her head and face (though it really wasn't something that should be framed). She had jet black hair that was slicked back in a bun, with several tufts of hair sticking out haphazardly around her forehead. The queen had large, intimidating eyes that were currently glaring down at the blonde girl before her as she tapped her red heart-shaped fan on the wooden counter of her Judge's bench.
After a moment of tense silence, the Queen of Hearts narrowed her eyes at the young girl and leaned forward in her seat somewhat threateningly. "This girl is the culprit," she said, her voice calm with just a hint of anger. "There's no doubt about it."
Here the queen leaned back in her seat, fanning herself slightly. The blonde girl looked about her upon hearing the queen's words, her eyes wide in shock, as though looking for someone who would believe and defend her. Her mouth opened and shut as she contemplated shouting out.
"And the reason is…?" the queen continued, looking back down at the girl out of the corner of her eye. She suddenly leaned forward and slammed her fists angrily on the podium, screaming her reasoning straight into the girl's face. "Because I say so, that's why!"
The girl's face twisted slightly in annoyance as she leaned over the bench of the witness stand toward the queen. "That is so unfair!" she yelled back, extending one hand in plea.
The queen leaned back into her seat and began to fan herself. The girl placed her hands stubbornly on her hips, her eyes still wandering about as she searched for someone who might defend her. After another brief moment, the queen stomped the end of her fan gently on the wooden podium twice so as to make a thudding noise.
"Well, have you anything to say in your defense?" she asked with a gesture of her fan toward the girl, her voice lowered.
The girl looked straight into the queen's face without flinching at the sight. "Of course!" she said, folding her arms indignantly over her chest. "I've done absolutely nothing wrong."
The white rabbit looked first at the defendant and then back at the queen, the expression on his rabbit face growing increasingly more anxious as the girl continued to speak. The queen's gaze only hardened as she glared down at the girl, tapping her fan impatiently into the open palm of her other hand.
"You may be queen," the girl went on assertively, "but I'm afraid that doesn't give you the right to be so…" She paused here, searching for the word. "…so mean."
"SILENCE!" the queen screamed loudly. She had opened her mouth so wide that a gust of hot air blew into the girl's face, coming straight out of the queen's colossal windpipe. The girl's blonde hair began to billow behind her and the girl flinched in terror for the first time since she entered the courtroom.
"You dare defy me!" the queen shrieked, slamming her fists angrily on the wooden podium.
Having watched the entire scene so far in complete and utter silence, Sora turned slightly toward his companions without tearing his eyes away from the courtroom.
"Hey, guys, we should help her out."
Donald looked up at Sora, then at Goofy. "Yeah, but the..."
"We're outsiders," Goofy said, interrupting Donald. "So wouldn't that be muddling?"
Donald sighed, exasperated, and waved his right index finger high in the air to make a point, high enough for Goofy to see. "'Meddling'!" he corrected loudly.
"Oh, yeah!" Goofy chuckled to himself. "And that's against the rules."
"But still, There's something we have to do to help that girl out" Sora replied.
he queen adjusted herself in her seat as she decided on her verdict, rising slightly and lifting her fan high in the air in order to get everyone's attention.
"The court finds the defendant…" She narrowed her eyes maliciously at the girl before leaning forward again and pointing her fan straight at the girl's face accusingly. "…guilty as charged!"
The girl gasped in horror, putting one hand delicately over her mouth in shock. Her breath began to come in strangled, raspy gasps as she took a single step backwards. Her head reeled in horror and her blue eyes remained fixated on the queen, pleading innocence.
The queen's expression grew only more malevolent as she settled back in her chair, tapping the end of her fan into her open palm. "For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart…"
Sora's eyes went wide in alarm and he took a halting step forward. They had to help now! This wasn't just a domestic matter! This involved the Heartless! he looked over to his friends and they nodded. The Heartless were causing trouble here and they had to save that girl.
That's when the Queen of Hearts rose to her feet, her black and red dress swaying as the woman shifted her weight almost completely over the edge of her podium. She pointed one massive finger in the young girl's direction accusingly.
"OFF WITH HER HEAD!" she shrieked.
Sora's mouth went dry and his eyes grew as big and wide as saucers in shock and horror. They were going to execute an innocent girl! the rest of the team were stunned at the Queen of Hearts cruelty,
The card soldiers shifted their positions so that they were no longer standing in two straight lines facing each other and were facing the queen. They adjusted the spears and axes that they each held in their grip. They seemed to nod in unison, completely obedient to their Queen of Hearts.
The girl practically jumped onto the wooden bench of the witness stand in protest.
"No, no!" she pleaded. "Oh, please!"
"Hold it right there!" shouted Sora as he ran ahead. the rest of the team ran with him pushing though the cards.
The girl spun around on her heel to face Sora, smoothing her apron over her dress. The queen returned Sora's glare as he approached, narrowing her eyes maliciously at him.
"Who are you?" she demanded. "How dare you all interfere with my court!"
"Excuse us," Sora said apologetically, not wanting the queen to execute them for interrupting. He swallowed as he sucked up some courage. "But we know who the real culprit is!"
"Yeah it was the Heart" Began Goofy when he covered his mouth with his hand to not reveal anything.
A-Anyway," Sora continued, pointing at the blonde girl on the stand, "she's not the one you're looking for."
The queen leaned back into her seat, tapping her heart-shaped fan impatiently against her wooden armrest, leaning on one arm. She rolled her eyes before glaring back down at Sora and the Guardians
"That's nonsense," she snapped grumpily. "Have you any proof?"
A lump formed in Sora's throat. He withdrew his hand slightly, faltering.
Proof? That's right, this was a courtroom. This was a trial. Evidence was needed. Sora's gaze met with the girl's. Something in her face was almost hopeful. He clenched his teeth as Sora looked at her apologetically and then lowered his eyes. Her face fell almost instantly.
The queen folded her arms over her chest smugly and then gestured to one of the soldiers. One of the black cards grabbed the girl by the arm and threw her into a golden birdcage that was right next to the Judge's bench. He slammed the barred door in her face and locked it. The girl grabbed onto the bars, looking out from between them desperately. Sora clenched his fists as he could nothing more than watch.
"Very well," the queen said. Sora's attention snapped immediately back to the queen. He flinched slightly as he looked straight into her face. She was just so… scary looking…
"I shall humor your claim… Bring me evidence of Alice's innocence! Fail, and it's off with all of your heads!" Her voice began to increase in volume and in rage. "Until you conclude your investigations, the court is adjourned!"
With that, the queen slapped the end of her fan against the wooden podium, dismissing the court. The card soldiers relaxed, moving out of formation and heading to different positions around the garden. Even the white rabbit relaxed somewhat, slumping out of his straight posture slightly and pulling out a small handkerchief to wipe away the beads of sweat that had formed across his furry forehead. The queen settled back into her seat and relaxed.
"Half of us should stay here with that girl while the rest of us go and search for Evidence" Xion said. The guardians nodded as they moved over to the cage where the girl was being kept despite the two guards near it. Her eyes turned upward towards them. "Who are you?" she asked almost timidly.\
"Were the Guardians of Light. My name is Sora" said Sora before he gestured to his friends. "And my friends. "Kairi, Riku, Namine, Xion, Lea. My brother Roxas and my Mother Tifa. and Adam and Prince Phillip.
"My name is Alice," the girl said with a slight curtsy and a smile. "Pleased to meet you all, though I do wish it were under better circumstances." She lowered her eyes slightly to the ground. "I'm sorry you all got mixed up in this nonsense."
"Why are you on trial in the first place?" Sora wanted to know as did the team.
Alice's expression hardened as she looked back to them. "I should like to know the very same thing! Apparently I was guilty from the moment I took the stand!"
"That's crazy!" Sora replied sympathetically. He was only getting more confused with every moment they spent in Wonderland. what a confusing world. Alice sighed somewhat sadly, clutching the gold yellow bars of her prison. Sora then took a deep breath and decided to change the subject. "So, where are you from?"
Donald rolled his eyes as the words came out of Sora's mouth and groaned. Sora glanced back at Donald and shrugged slightly, as though to apologize for the question's randomness. The duck sighed and nodded, dismissing it for the moment. Alice, on the other hand, looked thoughtful for a moment before she answered, rolling the question over a few times in her head.
"Hmm, curious," she murmured. "I can't quite remember. You see, I found this mysterious rabbit hole. When I tried to peek inside, I tumbled head over heels… And I found myself here." Sora nodded. The very same thing had happened to them. Alice sighed remorsefully. "Oh, if only I hadn't peeked into that rabbit hole. I guess I'm a bit too curious for my own good."
That's when the ace of spades stomped one foot on the ground, making everyone turn to look at him. He glared at Sora, in particular. "Enough!" he yelled forcefully. "The defendant will be silent!"
The group backed away before Alice told them. "Look for the Cheshire Cat!, He might know what to look for! You may be able to find him in the Lotus Forest. That way!"
She pointed off into the distance directly behind them, biting down on her lip nervously. Sora looked in the direction she pointed to, committed it to memory, and then turned to Alice and nodded. He looked at his friends before they entered the forest.
To them, it truly was like a large forest, filled with dense foliage that stretched up to the sky. Everything was washed in neutral colors of browns and earthy greens. There were giant lotuses that loomed high over their heads, blocking out the sunlight and giving the forest its namesake. Yet the more Sora observed his surroundings, the more he realized what exactly this so-called forest was. Every large strip of thick foliage that reached for the sky was simply a long blade of forest grass. The lotuses were not what were gigantic;they were just too small.
"Why can't we just tell 'em that it was those Heartless" said Roxas.
"Because son," Tifa explained "Every world is defined by its particular boundaries, within which some understanding of reality emerges as truth. Two truths cannot coexist, and so from the introduction of foreign bodies is conflict and chaos spawned. That's why we limit our involvement in local affairs."
The group nodded to Tifa when they heard a new voice. "Indeed" spoke a voice as a floating head of a cat appeared and dancing on it was the body. "Whoa, that is freaky!" said Xion. he Cat who put it;s head back on. "That must be the Cheshire Cat." said Riku to the others who silently nodded.
the cat propped himself up into a human-like sitting position. "Poor Alice," he said with a slight shrug of his cat shoulders. "Soon to lose her head, and she's not guilty of a thing!"
"Hey!" Sora cried out, forcing the Cheshire Cat to turn his attention back on him. "If you know who the culprit is, tell us!"
"The Cheshire Cat has all the answers," the cat said, stepping off his head and placing it back on his shoulders. And then, turning to the trio and wagging one finger in the air, "but doesn't always tell. The answer, the culprit, the cat all lie in darkness."
Then, just as the Cheshire Cat had first appeared, his figure began to fade away. Sora's eyes went wide as did the others. "Wait!"
They've already left the forest," he was saying. "I won't tell which exit."
A small pink box then fell from overhead, bouncing off Donald's head and straight into Sora's hands. Sora managed to catch the box clumsily, and then stared at the box, one eyebrow raised in suspicion. He then looked upward, trying to catch a glimpse of where the Cheshire Cat had gone.
"What's this?"
"Within the box there lives perhaps the truth you seek," the Cheshire Cat explained. He then chuckled slightly. "Or perhaps there lives not?"
Donald rubbed the top of his head grumpily, muttering several incomprehensible words under his breath as he glared upward. Riku walked up to him before he asked. "Should we trust him?"
"Eh, Whats the worst thing that could happen" said Tuffnut taking the box from Sora and opening it to reveal a soldier heartless.
"It's a Heartless!"
The armored Heartless leapt from the box onto the ground just a few feet away from them. "Kill it!" shouted Xion as the Heartless then went back towards the Courtyard where the queen was. "It's after the Queen" said Goofy. The Guardians gave chase to the monster.
They had almost reached the entryway to the queen's court by the time They had almost caught up to the Heartless. Sora adjusted his grip on the Keyblade as he closed the gap between him and the Heartless, passing under a large, grass hedge archway as they entered the courtroom. Several rounds of terrified screams filled the room as the Heartless leapt onto the witness stand, spinning slightly so that it was facing the Queen of Hearts.
"What in the world is that!" the queen shrieked. "MANNERLESS!"
Sora jumps up on the podium and strikes down the Heartless with his keyblade. "There's your evidence your majesty," Sora said forcefully to the Queen. "Still think Alice's the one?"
The queen ground her teeth together angrily, clenching her hands into fists. She pounded her fists on the Judge's bench angrily.
"Silence!" she shrieked. "I'm the law here! Article 29: Anyone who defies the queen is guilty!"
Donald slammed one foot on the ground, equally enraged as the queen. "That's crazy!"
"Cards!" the queen screamed as she turned to her troops, pointing angrily at the Guardians. ""Seize them at once!"
The ace of spades ran to the cage and grabbed hold of a wheel that was hidden behind it. Then, getting a good grip on it, the card spun the wheel as quickly as he could. A red curtain fell over the cage, and the cage shot up on a rail to the top of some kind of tower that stood next to the Judge's bench. The queen looked up at the cage with a proud nod, and then turned back to ordering the other cards.
"If they touch the tower," she shrieked, pointing her fan at them, "you lose your heads!"
"Destroy that Tower!," said Riku as everyone summoned their weapons. "I'll handle that Tower!" shouted Adam as he began using his strength to attack the tower with Tifa who began to punch it while the rest of the team engaged the card their combined teamwork. they were able to destroy the Tower and knock out the card soldiers. The cage began to drop down to the ground as the Guardians approached it.
All the cards were looking at the cage now, as though frozen. Even the queen leaned over the edge of the Judge's bench, straining to see. Everyone's eyes went wide as the red curtain drew back to reveal… nothing.
"Oh no, She must have been kidnapped while we were fighting the cards?" said Max.
"You fools!" she shrieked, banging her fists on the bench and shaking her fan angrily at the card soldiers. "Find the one who's behind this! I don't care how!"
The cards saluted the queen before running about the courtroom in circles. After a moment of mass panic, the cards exited the courtroom. The queen then turned to look at the Guardians. "And that includes you all or off with your heads!"
They didn't need to be told twice as they ran away from the enrage queen. once they were back in the Lotus Forest did they catch their breaths. "That queen lady's totally lost it," Lea muttered.
"Your telling us Lea, i'm so glad my Dad isn't like that" said Kairi thinking of the mayor of Destiny Islands.
they began searching the forest for Alice when they spotted the Cheshire Cat hanging upside down from one of the branches with his hind legs crossed as though he were sitting cross legged on the floor.
"Loooose something?" he asked casually.
"Yeah, have you seen Alice?" asked Xion as everyone looked at the Cat.
The Cheshire Cat blinked slowly, his smile stretching. "Alice, no," he said. "Shadow, yes!"
"Where did they go?" asked Hiccup.
The cat shrugged, curling upward so that he could seat himself properly on the tree branch. "This way? That way? Does it matter? Left, right, up, down! All mixed up thanks to the shadows!" His grin grew. "And besides: all ways here are the queen's ways." The cat pulled at the fur on his head in order to make himself look just like the Queen of Hearts, an imitation of the tightly bound bun on the top of her head. "
Their spirits fell. "Just great," Roxas grumbled.
"Step deeper into the forest," the cat continued, "to the deserted garden. You might find shadows in the upside down room!"
With that, the Cheshire Cat once again vanished.
"'The upside down room'?" Sora echoed, turning to look at the guardians.
They shrugged since they were just as confused as he was. "Let's just keep going," Donald suggested. The Guardians set out deeper into the forest and ran into more Heartless with new ones called Flower Riders and Large Bodies. They proved to be a bit of a challenge but with their combined work. they took down the heartless before making their way to the deserted garden.
This new area most certainly surprising. Spread out before them was the layout of what looked like some sort of outdoor tea party. There was a long table with a bright pink table cloth standing in the middle of the area, in front of a large white and pink house with a roof made of hay. Chairs of all different kinds were lined up along the sides of the table. The table was filled from end to end with teacups, saucers, teapots, spoons, and cups of sugar. The tea party seemed to have been abandoned halfway through, as some of the cups still had tea in them.
Hung on one of the large hedges that surrounded the area at one end of the table was the most peculiar image of two very unusual looking characters; a man in a brightly colored suit with a large head and white hair with a green hat on his head with a price tag that read "10/6". Next to him was a brown hare in an equally bright suit with a crazy tuft of fur on the top of his head. They both seemed to be looking out from inside the picture with mournful, anxious expressions on their faces and tears streaming from their eyes, staring at the tea party spread. Or possibly, at the outside in general.
"looks like somebody was having a Tea Party" said Goofy as he, Donald and Fishlegs took a seat at the chairs. suddenly several money orbs fell down out of nowhere and the pictures were change from sadness to happiness. "okay theirs something wrong with this place. Let's move along now" said Kairi. The Guardians entered the pink and white house to find themselves back in the Bizarre Room. The Cheshire Cat appeared before them.
"Why do you keep on vanishing" Sora said firmly. "Where's this 'upside down room'?"
The Cheshire Cat smiled, amused. "Here." His smile grew slightly as he stood on his hind legs. "I shall show what shadows lurk in the heart of the world."
"Where?" asked Adam
The cat produced a flame from mid-air and raised it over his head as it began to grow. "Patience, patience," he forewarned. "Want to find the shadows? Turn on the light!"
Suddenly, one of two small lamps on the ceiling turned on, and then the other. The cat smiled as his flame extinguished itself and he lied back down on his side. "Have you heard? Where there is the brightest of flames, there is the darkest of shadows…" He tilted his head to one side. "You'll have a better view from higher up." He patted the surface of the table casually, as though inviting them to join him.
Sora looked over at his friends "Should we…?"
"Not like we have any other choice." said Hiccup as the guardians climbed the table and was near the cat.
"The shadows should be here soon," the cat said somewhat smugly.
Suddenly, the air began to waver. The atmosphere suddenly felt thick and heavy. An unseen force blew toward the bizarre room and began to build. Everything seemed to have dimmed slightly, as though a great shadow had been cast over the room. The room seemed to shake as the force began to build on itself. The Guardians prepared themselves for a fight.
"Are your hearts prepared for the worst?" the Cheshire Cat asked them. "If not, too bad!"
That was when whatever had been building up to that moment began to take form. A large, monster like creature had taken form and began to loom somewhat malevolently above them. It looked like it had been pieced together from several different kinds of children's toys; its main body and torso was a proper chest piece, as though it were a part of a set of armor, but the rest of the creature was almost random.
It had two legs that seemed like four at a glance. Each "thigh" was red in color, protruding from the pelvis in opposite directions on both sides. As it hit the "knee", the metal turned black and folded back until it reached the other side, coming together to form the feet which looked like large black axes. Its arms seemed to be made of long, twisted strips of paper that made a sort of zigzagged appearance. At the end of each strip of zigzagged paper was a small black paper hand, each holding a large club that had been set on fire, which the creature juggled in the air. Its head consisted of several smaller heads, each of which shared the same confused expression. The smaller heads alternated in color; one would be red while the next would be black.
"Behold, the Trickmaster!" said the Cheshire Cat before vanishing.
"Guardians of Light Assemble!" shouted Sora. The Gang summoned their weapons as the Trickmaster lunged towards them with it's Batons. They jumped out of it's way. "Take this!" shouted Donald firing fireballs at the Trickmaster only for it to raise it's batons. the Batons caught on fire as the Trickmaster juggled them with it's claws. "That's just great. now it's weapons are on fire!" shouted Lea before he dodged a baton. Riku did a somersault over the Trickmaster and smacked it's head with his keyblade stunning the monster. "Attack it now!" he shouted as everyone struck the Trickmaster while it was stunned only for it to recover and began flinging fireballs towards them. the Guardians quickly dodged the fireballs. "We need to put out those flames! Water!" shouted Xion. Her water spell manage to douse the batons but the Trickmaster went over to the stove and reignited the batons.
"Great. that worked" said Riku as he slashed at the reinforcement heartless that came to aid the Trickmaster which was Red Nocturnes. Phillip with his sheild and sword took down the ones he missed. "Water!" shouted Roxas and Namine dousing them with Water but more would just appear.
"Okay, we need something stronger than water to douse their flames!" shouted Sora before finishing off a Large Body. "let me try this, Blizzard!" shouted Donald casting his spell. An ice chunk came out of his staff and froze the batons on the Trickmaster. "Nice one Donald!"said Max from his skateboard as he did a kickflip on a Red Nocturne.
"There, that outta do it" said Donald when The Trickmaster shattered the ice on it's weapon and smacked Donald with it's baton. "I Gotcha Donald!" shouted Goofy catching his friend. The Trickmaster then set its gaze on Kairi. Being drawn to her the monster then raised its batons ready to strike her. "Look out Kairi!" said Sora.
"BLIZZAGA!" shouted Kairi firing a large chunk of ice from her keyblade at the Trickmaster. The monster barely even had time to react as the icy chunk struck it in the head. The ice spread like a virus around the Trickmaster's body, encompassing it in a thick layer of ice.
Everyone watched as the Trickmaster's frozen body hurtled toward the floor and shattered into thousands of icy shards, each of which glowed softly before dissipating into the air. A large purplish-blue heart appeared among the debris, hovering over the spot where the Heartless monster had been defeated before vanishing in thin air. Kairi collapsed on her knees as everyone looked at her worried. "You okay?" asked Sora concerned for his girlfriend.
"Yeah, just a bit exhausted." said Kairi before she was helped up by Sora. "well thats because you haven't gotten the hang of tier 2 magic yet,Kairi but don;t worry, with a little more training from me and you'll be there in no time" said Donald. The Keyblade Wielders nodded before they heard the Doorknob yawn. all eyes turn to the Doorknob as He opened his eyes sleepily, smacking his lips together.
"What a racket," he groaned drowsily. "How's a doorknob to get any sleep?"
The doorknob yawned again, his mouth opening widely. Suddenly, something glimmered from within the depths of the doorknob's mouth. The Keyhole to Wonderland appeared. "I got this" said Roxas, pointing Oblivion and the Oathkeeper. a beam of light left his keyblades as he sealed the Keyhole to Wonderland as the Doorknob closed it's mouth. The cheshire cat appeared on the table again with his smile. ""If you're looking for Alice, the Darkness has taken her off this world."
"Come on, lets get back to the Gummi-Ship!, We'll report with Master ansem " said Donald before pulling out a strange remote. He clicked a button and before they knew it. They were back on the Gummi Ship. The guardians buckled in as Donald turned on the engines. "Alright, Off to the stars!" shouted Donald. The gummi ship then left Wonderland and back into the Ocean Between to the next world.