Chapter 7: Dwarven Woodlands
(A/N: Here we are! Chapter 7! Taking place in Snow White and the 7 Dwarves! Posted on November 7th! At exactly 7 am! This was the reason I decided to do the mini-chapter before this one. If you liked it and wanna see more, lemme know. Without further ado, you may begin.)
James and Aqua found themselves walking through a forest. James smiles, "Hah," He sighs peacefully, "This brings back memories. And good ones for once." He adds with a laugh.
Aqua giggles, "I take it you've been here before?"
James nods, "Yeah. It was my firs-!" He freezes in place, his expression darkening, "Something is very wrong here. I sense a massive amount of darkness! And it's shrouding a person! And it feels like it's where…"
He trailed off in his thoughts as Aqua looked around in concern, "What? What is it?" She asks.
Without another word, James sprints, "DOC!" He shouts, Aqua following closely behind him.
When they arrive at the Dwarves' cottage, he finds Doc and the other dwarves-whom he had met in additional visits after his initial one- all surrounding a glass coffin.
James rushed over to them, "Doc, Happy, everyone!" He calls out, getting their attention.
Doc is the first to respond, "Why it's dim-uh-Jim!" He says.
Grumpy scowls, "Well look who finally decides to visit! Where were ya when we needed ya's? When SHE needed ya's?!" He asks with more anger in his voice than usual.
Aqua walked up to the group, "Is something wrong? What has happened here?" She asks.
The dwarves all turn back to the glass coffin, as Doc hangs his head, "Poor Snow White…" he says sadly.
James' entire body flinched, "What?! What happened? Where is she!?" Doc shut his eyes and averted his head, giving James all the answer he needed, "No… No… Not this… Not again… Not again! NO!" He drops to his knees and begins to hyperventilate.
Aqua moves to support him, "Jim!? What's wrong?" He didn't give an answer, his blank eyes stared at the ground as his body began trembling violently.
Aqua embraced Jim, holding him tightly, "It's ok, Jim…" She says softly, "You're ok. You don't have to go through this alone. We have an unbreakable connection, remember?"
Her words managed to break through to James as he mumbles, "Un…breakable…connection…" His hand reaches for the Wayfinder around his neck, causing him to gasp violently before standing up.
"Are you alright?" Aqua asks with deep concern.
James nodded, "Yeah…" He pants, "Yeah just… gimme a second…" After a brief moment, James managed to fully compose himself, "Ok. So, what exactly happened to Snow White?" He asks, looking to Doc.
The dwarf clutches his hat, "She was just as sweet as could be." He said.
"She sang us purty songs…" Sleepy commented.
"And made us smile." Said a downhearted Happy.
Sneezy sniffled before adding, "At bedtime, she told wonderful stories…"
Bashful nodded, "About falling in love, an' the Prince she'd met."
Even Grumpy had a solemn expression, void of his usual anger, "An' when we went to work, she gave us all a kiss…" He told the duo.
Happy spoke up once more, "She was so full of kindness- why, she made better folk of all of us."
Aqua stared at Snow White's body, "From what you've said, she must have been very loved."
James nodded, "She was." He stated, lowering himself to one knee, "Snow White was beloved by everyone in the Kingdom. Nobody had ever seen her without a radiant smile gracing her lips. The only one who was immune to the Princess' charms, was her wicked stepmother." Aqua sends a knowing glance to James, who offered a nod in response, "Her envy of Snow's beauty was a beacon for all manner of Heartless once before." He stopped and looked to his friend, "Who did this to her?"
Doc shook his head violently, "The wicked Queen was horribly jealous, like you bed-uh-said! So, she used her evil magic to change into an old hag, and then she gave Snow White a poisoned apple."
Acting purely on impulse, James called Starlight to his hand, he raised it and cast the most powerful healing spell he knew, "Esuna!" A bright green light enveloped Starlight's tip, and showered over the glass coffin.
Sadly, 'twas all for naught. Snow White had not stirred from her position. James glared at Starlight, "You useless key!" He shouted, throwing it into a nearby tree, "What good are you, if you can't even let me save her life!"
Aqua gripped James' arm, "Jim! Enough! It's not your fault." She says, looking to Snow, "That poison is a type of magic. Normal spells won't be enough to break the curse she's been put under." She then looked to Doc, "Isn't there some way we can help her?"
Doc scoffed, "Well, not unless someone craves the bastle-uh, braves the castle."
Grumpy stood up, "All you fools can stay here doin' nothin'." He tells them, "But I'm not afeard a goin', not even to that witch's lair!"
All the dwarves stand to look at him, "You'll never make it." Doc tells him, "The castle's supposed to be guarded by magic, an' crawling with monsters.
Aqua's face became filled with determination, "All right. Then I'll go." She says confidently.
Starlight bursts through the tree and returns to James' hand, "Me too! Protecting Snow White is my priority as a Keyblade Wielder and I failed. Now it's time to make it right!"
Bashful looks up at them, "You will?" He asks.
Aqua offers them a smile, "We will. Leave it to us."
Doc nods, "Well, all right then. We'd be much obliged. Just please, be careful." He says, the last part specifically to James before adding, "I don't wanna lose any more friends this day."
James smiled, "Don't worry old friend. We'll save Snow White somehow."
After going through the denser parts of the forest, and dealing with Unversed along the way, Aqua and James found themselves at the castle Doc had mentioned. Upon their arrival, they noticed a finely dressed young man.
James was more focused on the layout of the Castle, so Aqua approached the man, "Is something wrong?" She asks.
The man turns to face her, "This castle-it's different somehow. And I can't find the princess or hear her beautiful voice." This caught James' attention and he walked up. "Was it all a dream?" The young man asked.
Aqua raised an eyebrow, "Wait. You mean you know Snow White?" She asks.
He nods with a smile, "Oh yes, we met once. It was a song that drew us together…" He says wistfully before looking at them with concern, "Has something happened to the Princess?"
Aqua looked down with a frown, "Yes, I'm afraid so… The wicked Queen tricked her into eating a poisoned apple."
James clenches his fist, "I did what I could, but nothing would stir her awake."
The young man looked immediately to the two, "I must go to her!" He demands, "Where is she?"
James points in the direction of where they came, "Follow the path to the forest, pass through the darkened woods, and you'll come upon a cottage. That is where she rests."
Aqua nodded, "She's being watched over by seven kind dwarves."
The man nodded, "I will find her. Perhaps there is a way I can help." He then rushed off. James sighed, "He better not get his hopes up. For his own sake." The two watch him leave, before returning their focus to the castle itself.
James looks to Aqua, "You check the throne room. If you fail to find any clues, look for a large mirror. I've spied on the Queen once, and saw her speak to it. Apparently, it's charmed to offer wisdom on those who ask it questions."
Aqua nodded, "Ok. What about you?" She asks.
"I'm gonna try the lower areas. She can't have conjured that Poison apple out of thin air, she must have a laboratory. I'll look for it, and hopefully find some way to reverse the spell." They nodded to each other and split up to go and find the answers.
As James walked, his mind raced, "This won't be like that day! I won't let the darkness take an innocent soul ever again! I can find a way to save Snow White! I have to!" As he searched, he discovered a hidden switch that, when activated, produced a stairway that lead down deeper. James smirked, "Yeah, that totally doesn't scream 'evil lair' or anything like that." He says sarcastically before continuing onward. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he found himself in the Queen's secret laboratory, where she concocted dark magics.
James narrowed his eyes on a book that revealed to be opened. He went over to it and read aloud, "'The victim of the Sleeping Death can be revived only by True Love's Kiss…'" He paused for a moment, "Why does that sound horribly cliché?" He wondered aloud before being hit with realization, "This must be the spell that Snow's under! And if that guy was the Prince Sleepy mentioned, then that means he might be the only one who can save her!" He ripped the page out from the book, "I gotta get to Aqua! Now!"
As he left, he was unaware that a pair of eyes were watching him with grave intent.
James rushed into the throne room and saw a very disoriented Aqua. "Find anything?" He asked.
Aqua shook her head, "No, but I think I just fought the phantom of the opera." James looked baffled at her. Aqua shook her head, "I'll explain later. What did you find?" James shows Aqua the page he stole from the book. She read it and her eyes widened, "Do you think-?"
"I'm positive!" He answers. They both immediately rush off to find the Prince.
The two entered the dark forest and saw the Prince facing against a mysterious being wearing a tattered and torn black cloak that hid their face. James and Aqua each summoned their Keyblades and moved in front of the Prince, "Who are you?" Aqua asks.
They gave her no response however, and extended their right hand. A cloud of darkness spread from their hand, and it took the shape of Starlight, but its color was as black as the darkest void.
James' eyes narrowed, "Aqua. Take the Prince and get moving." He says.
Aqua looks to him, "What? But I can't-."
"If you don't get him to the dwarves now, then Snow White may die! There's no time to debate this! Just go now!" Reluctantly, Aqua pressed on, leading the Prince through the woods. James entered his battle stance, "Now then, what the hell are you?" He asks.
They give no answer again, but they take up a battle stance that mirrors James'. He growls, "So it's gonna be like that, eh? Fine!" He then charges at the being.
James goes for the thrust, but the entity counters with an upward strike, knocking him into the sky. James quickly regains himself though, and moves to block the flurry of strikes the entity delivered to him before going into a spinning kick, that knocked the entity to the floor. Using incredible speed, James appeared behind the entity and struck their back, sending them flying forward, which James followed up with a Strike Raid.
After that, the entity quickly rose to their feet and charged again. They cast an Aeroga spell and crashed James through several thick trees and then froze him in place with Blizzara. James struggled to break free but to no avail. He was helpless as he watched the entity approach him.
Just as James accepted his fate, the entity withdrew their blade and uttered a single word, "home…" they said in a dry, death-sounding voice and then vanished into the shadows.
James finally managed to break himself out of the ice and rushed as fast as he could to catch up to Aqua, "Whatever the freaking hell that thing was, I gotta focus on Snow White right now!"
When he arrived, the dwarves stood by the coffin, same as before. This time, however, Aqua and the Prince were standing a few feet back. James caught up to them and looked to the Prince, "You're the only one that can wake her up." He tells him.
The prince looks back at James, "How? What must I do?"
James simply smiles, "Just follow your heart. It'll handle the rest for ya."
Without a moment's hesitation, the prince strode up to Snow, and placed a tender kiss upon her lips. At first, this produced no reaction, causing everyone to lose hope, when suddenly, Snow White's eyes fluttered open.
Aqua gaped at this, "Princess!"
"You're alright!" James says happily. Everyone rejoiced at this revelation.
Aqua had a soft smile on her face, "That's so sweet." She says to no one in particular. "It's just like a miracle…" Her thoughts went back to when Ventus first woke up after arriving at the Land of Departure. James could tell she was growing increasingly worried about Ventus, and offered her a confident smile, silently promising to find him.
After the Prince had taken Snow to his castle, James informed Aqua about what happened with the entity. She hummed, "What did they mean by 'home'?" She wondered aloud.
James shook his head, "I have no idea. But considering how it moved, I'd say they're a Heartless." An uncomfortable silence befell the two of them. James looked up to the sky, "Well whatever. We'll figure that out later. Let's get back to finding Ven!" He says. Aqua smiles and nods as they embark to the next world.
(That's it for this chapter! Hope you liked it! Who or what is this strange thing that defeated Jim? Where is this "home" they spoke of? To find out, make sure to Follow this story! And if you like it so far, be sure to favorite as well. Let me know what you think in a review. See ya next time!)
