Kingdom Hearts

Ch. 17

Wonderland

Goofy vs Ace

"Guards seize them," called the Queen but no one could hear her orders. All the card soldiers were too focused on Giant Jiminy who's tearing up the gardens. His massive foots steps could be heard throughout the castle.

Alice let go of Sora and turned around. Her eyes connected with Hal's who stared back intensely. He then began to grin again. His dimples stretched to the far sides of his face. Alice could hear a faint laugh coming from him. She turned to Sora in an act of fear. "We need to leave now."

"Of course. That's the whole idea," he replied smiling, assuring Alice everything will be okay.

"I command you. Off with all their heads," the Queen commanded her remaining subjects. The courtyard was empty except for two loyal soldiers who were strong enough to ward off the heartless. "HAL, ACE. Kill them! That's an order."

Ace smiled again but no one could tell because of his mask. "Yes my Queen." He lifted his axe while Hal brought out his playing cards. They both walked side by side towards the gang.

Sora summoned his keyblade and was ready to fight. Alice knowing of Hal's plan tugged Sora's sleeves to get his attention. "Sora don't, let's just leave."

Sora turned his head over to her, "What, we can take these guys." As he stared at Alice's face, he noticed she was beginning to cry.

"Please, Sora I don't want to stay her anymore. Take me to your ship and let's leave this world," she begged.

Sora not totally understanding the situation reluctantly agreed. "Donald, Goofy let's go," he said.

"But Sora," said Goofy.

"There's no time. Get Jiminy's attention. We have to get out of here," Sora said back.

"Donald, Goofy, Jiminy. Wait these are your friends that you were looking for?" asked Alice as they began running in the other direction.

"Yep, I'm Goofy. And that feather brain is Donald Duck," said Goofy while running away.

"It's so nice to meet you," said Alice politely.

"After them!" cried the Queen. Hal and Ace began to dash forward as they chased the gang out of the courtyard. As the courtyard became empty the Queen looked around to see she was alone. Her king was knocked out cold and her subjects have fled. She quickly threw another temper tantrum banging the walls with her hands. In her fit of rage, she knocked down a candelabra sitting on a table. The candles fell out of their place and rolled over to a curtain catching it on fire. The Queen too angry to notice her castle catching ablaze kept on screaming until darkness surrounded her again. Soon a shadow began to appear on the floor behind the Queen. It then rose up taking shape. Its dark figure caught fire while rising above the Queen.

Sora looked to see Jiminy dealing with the Queen's army. He was stepping on them and blew the cards away with his hands and breath. "Jiminy!" cried Sora while waving his hands. Jiminy didn't seem to notice.

"Sora, The Griffin and The Caterpillar. Where are they?" asked Donald frantically. Alice stayed close to Sora's side watching out for Hal's comrade. Everyone slowed down a bit only to look up searching for their flying allies.

"Sora," said Goofy loudly. He lunged and jumped in front of him. Goofy summoned his shield and deflected an axe that would have sliced Sora in half.

"Goofy," said Sora gratefully.

The Queen's executioner Ace and her royal consultant Hal has caught up with the gang. "Barrier," cried Donald. He summoned a magical barrier to protect them from a barrage of cards sent flying towards them.

"Sora take Alice. We'll finish this here," said Goofy. He raised his shield and pushed the axe away.

"Ha-ha, Dog man you wish to face me. It will only shorten your life span," declared Ace.

Hal landed on the ground and launched some more cards at Sora. With his keyblade Sora easily deflected the playing cards. "Stay away from them. You're fighting against me," yelled Donald. He stood in front of Hal raising his staff. Donald turned to Sora and said, "Sora go will meet up with you later." Sora nodded his head. He grabbed Alice's hand before running off.

Goofy faced Ace while Donald stood in front of Hal. "So the keyblade wielder is your friend, huh," said Hal with a soft voice.

"You bet. Together till the end," proclaimed Donald.

Hal then began to laugh again, "Well be prepared. I'm not like most fighters." He brought a whole deck of cards making them levitate. As if he could control them telepathically.

"Where did you learn that kind of magic?" Donald demanded an answer.

"That's a secret. Don't get so hot headed," said Hal resting the cards between his fingers.

Donald lost his cool, "I'll show you hot." He pointed his staff towards Hal and cried, "Fira." Then a blast of concentrated heat shot at Hal with blistering speeds. Hal kept smiling as the attack made contact. It hit hard bursting with fire and smoke cloaking Hal's body. But as the smoke cleared Donald looked over to see Hal has disappeared.

"What, he must have dodge it," Donald thought. He looked around quickly, hoping to not get ambushed. As he did, the Duck stared in the direction of Sora and Alice only to see Hal running after them. "What?" cried Donald? "He bailed. Hey get back here," Donald yelled before chasing after them.

"Sora, Donald," cried Goofy after seeing his friends dash off without him. He then ran in their direction only to slowly stop. Goofy lifted his shield and paused for a moment. He turned around to see his opponent still standing in front of him. "No, I'm not done here," he thought.

Goofy raised his shield towards his foe while as it seems a click occurred in his head. "I'm not going anywhere till I defeat you."

Ace still having his face covered with his mask soon began to laugh. "You think that you can beat meet. Not only am I the Queen's executioner but I'm also her strongest knight. No one is stronger than me as I am the Captain of the Royal Guard," proclaimed Ace.

Goofy then remarked back, "Really no kidding. Back in my kingdom I'm the Captain of the Royal Guard as well."

"What?" Ace yelled in shock. He struck his axe to the ground. "What kingdom is this? The Queen of Hearts is the only ruler in Wonderland."

"What about that Checkered Land there?" asked Goofy.

Ace stopped bruiting for a moment and calmed down to think. He placed his hand underneath his chin pondering, "Okay that's true, I guess. Wait are you from the Checkered Land?"

Goofy then preceded to laugh "GUH-HYUK, maybe."

Ace rested his axe on his shoulder while staring at his opponent. "Well, you valiant so called knight. Raise your weapon and fight with all your might. I'll make your death an honorable one." Both knights stood in their fighting stance. Goofy crouched with his shield stretched out while his other hand stayed back. Ace then held his axe with both hands while the spear like tip pointed upwards.

Ace lifted his axe over his head and then swung it down on Goofy with full force. The strike would have cut Goofy into two. But instead Goofy lifted his shield over his head blocking the attack. "It's not use. No weapon is strong enough to destroy my shield. It is indestructible," said Goofy. He then countered with all his strength forcing the axe to the side. Goofy dashed towards Ace with the intention to land a hit.

Ace did not know his enemy very well. He was not aware that Goofy's weapon is more than just defensive. At that moment, Goofy's shield took on a new form. The handle on the back of the shield began to move. The shield sprung forward with the handle resting at the edge of the shield. His weapon achieved more length and he jumped high up to strike his opponents belly. "Goofy Punch," sounded Goofy. His swung his shield like a fist and struck Ace hard in the gut.

"Hurg," moaned Ace after getting hit. He stepped back and tried to get himself together. He had his free hand touch the wound he was given. Ace then stared back at this so called knight.

Goofy stood silently while his shield returned to its original state. "Don't underestimate me," he said firmly.

Ace then turned to fierce anger. He launched his axe at Goofy this time from the side. "Off with Your Head," he sounded. Goofy quickly raised his shield again to block it. Goofy took his weapon and slammed the axe to force it out of his way. Goofy then lunged towards Ace and attacked his head. Ace recovered quicker than before.

He took his free hand and then bashed Goofy in the waist. Goofy still in the air from the attack could not dodge Ace's fist. He was hit hard enough for him to be launched a few feet away.

Ace screamed once again holding his axe to strike again. "Spike Barrage," he sounded off. Ace took his axe and lunged it at Goofy like a spear. There was a pointy piece of metal atop the axe that could work like one. Goofy dodged it until another came after and another. It wasn't called "Spike Barrage" for nothing. Goofy couldn't waste any time. He dodge the attack as best as he could. Goofy was so focused on the battle he didn't know his hat fell off while fighting. After several attempts Ace managed to prick Goofy on the chest.

Upon getting hurt he jumped back to recover from the attack. He checked his shirt and saw the wound. It was just a little prick. As he looked back up, he was greeted to a fist slamming his face.

Goofy fell back and landed on his side. His weapon rolled away from him as he hit the ground. "Ow," he cried in pain. He looked up to see Ace hasn't moved an inch. Only that his arm has grown in length. "Your arm?" said Goofy disturbed.

"Like it. It can come in handing when your enemy like's to keep his distance. Besides what are you going to do without your shield," snared Ace. Goofy looked over to see his weapon a far distance away. Goofy gulped subtly. Ace dashed over to Goofy while his opponent was still on the ground. He swung his axe again and sounded, "Off with Your Head."

Instead of cutting Goofy down Ace discovered that the shield has deflected his attack once again. Ace looked over to where the weapon laid before only to see it has disappeared. It is now in Goofy's hand once again. "How did you do that?" asked Ace flabbergasted.

"GUH-HYUK, why I called for it. This shield isn't something that is just made. This weapon is an embodiment of my heart and will. It's a part of me and as long as I'm alive it can never be destroyed. Nor can I lose it."

Ace reacted fiercely, "Shut up, do you think that means anything. As you said to destroy this thing, I have to kill you. Well alright I'll do it. I'll cut your head off and then I'll hunt down your friends and chop their heads off too. Then I'll deliver your severed heads to the Queen who will thank me most graciously. For killing is the only way to achieve happiness."

Goofy looked disturbed at the monster that stood before him. "What, you think killing is something good."

Ace then began to laugh again, "Of course, why do you think I volunteered myself to be the executioner. I love the art of killing. I love to watch heads roll. I love the sight of blood flowing off course and sinking into the ground. Back when I was promoted to Captain. I got to watch the Queen victims be murdered right in front of me. And I loved it. I did my best to attend every execution. But I wanted more. I wanted to be the one who slices the heads off. Back then the executions were done by trained professionals who were not involved with the guard. So I came to the Queen and tried to convince her to let me carry out the killings. But she wasn't too sure about it. So I had to show her that I could handle it. On the day of the executions. After all the prisoners were made headless. I ran onto the platform axe in hand and chopped the original executioner's heads off right in front of the Queen. After their heads rolled down off the platform. I knelt down to the Queen and proclaimed my loyalty to her and finally she agreed and let me be her executioner and captain. From then on, my life became all the more complete. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH."

Goofy stepped back in fear and disgust. "Your Mad!" said Goofy firm and rapidly.

"Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here," cried Ace before laughing once again.

Goofy's face turned grim and he began to feel a bit of anger in his heart. He wiped his lip and began to speak to the monstrosity that stood before him. "So, after you're done with me. You'll hurt – no kill my friends."

"That's the jest of it," said Ace with a bit of a sense of humor.

"I won't let you lay a finger on them," said Goofy with a raspy voice.

"Oh really, how are you going to stop me?" Ace demanded.

"How am I going to-to? I will stop you. I will. I—I Will TAKE You Down!" Goofy cried loudly.

He lifted his shield and aimed it towards Ace's head. He sounded off, "Goofy Pistol." Without a moment's hesitation his weapon launched off like a cannon ball and struck Ace straight in the face. "Shield Zig Zag," he sounded. The shield then preceded to respond to his command. While in the air it soon began to move in a strange formation. Blue light cascaded off the hard metal surface. It flew in several directions only to land on the ground slicing the dirt upon impact. The blue trails of light left behind from the shield displayed a "Z." Goofy then lifted his fingers and shouted, "Limit Break." Upon saying so the colossal card noticed the insignia "Z" appear on his body. A flash of light then struck him hard. The streak of light marked bruises on his body as it took the shape of a Z. Goofy huffed a bit upon performing the move. "Have to be careful. That's my strongest attack and I can only use it once," he thought to himself.

Ace managed to take the hit but only by a little. He moaned in pain as he tried to recover. He desperately tried to keep standing. He gripped his axe before remarking, "Is that the best you can do?" Ace laughed again only to pull his mask off reveling his true face. Upon the creatures fowl disposition his nose's tip was raised displaying his nostrils. His eyes were dark and do to the shadows Goofy could barely see his eyeballs. His face resembled that of the grim reaper with a skull for a head.

He lifted his arm again and was about to launch his fist at Goofy. He sounded off, "Death Punch." The hand launched again and flew towards Goofy. The guardian quickly summoned his weapon once again. The shield laying under Ace disappeared and then reappeared in Goofy's hand.

Goofy charged as fast as he could towards his enemy and deflected the fist off his shield again. He ran straight in front of Ace only to jump on the handle of the axe to give him a boost. Goofy launched himself into the air while Ace had no time to react. "Goofy Take Down," he sounded off. Goofy's shield shot off again with only what appears to be a thin piece of wire following along its path leading back to Goofy's arm.

The shield then spun around Ace's neck while the wire circled around each turn. "Huuk," said Ace desperately. The wire wrapped around his neck tightly. The shield returned to Goofy's wrist. He grasped it by the handle while still in the air. Goofy fell down Ace's back. The wire still wrapped up with Ace was pulled down with him. Ace began to choke as he was forced down with Goofy. Ace flopped over as Goofy landed on the ground. Upon a close enough counter. Ace's face reached the same height as Goofy's. Still flopping over, Ace briefly glanced at his enemies back only for Goofy to immediately turn around swinging his shield smacking Ace's face as hard as he could. Ace's teeth broke upon impact as his bruised head hit the ground. His flat body fell over. His blood stained face laid on the ground as the true knight was victorious. Goofy looked over his defeated foe seeing Ace's broken face. The victor padded away and knelt down to grab his hat. He picked it off the ground and headed off. The battle is over.