Sooo, I was going to update last week, but I had my wisdom teeth removed, and I totally did not feel like doing anything. The good news is that I am feeling better! Hello new follower!


Somehow I had managed to fall into a fitful sleep. Images of Riku faded in and out of my vision. Everytime I would catch up to him he would turn his back and walk away from me, then darkness would consume him. There was something there in the dreams, a feeling of helplessness. I needed to save him.

Jerking awake, Sora met my gaze and I inhaled sharply. His warm hands were on my arms, his smile light. "Sorry to scare you, but we are here." He said, standing up and shifting away from me. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, and stretched my arms to the ceiling. Everything was still blurry, and I felt more dazed than before I had fallen asleep. It was safe to assume that I had not fully slept. I felt no rest at all.

My body ached in protest as I stood. The beating we had taken in Traverse Town lingered, and I took care to stretch my shoulder slowly. It was amazing what Aerith and her friends had done for it. The sutures they placed held tightly for the most part.

I followed Sora off the ship and my stomach dropped. We were falling. Sora, Donald, and Goofy yelled as they fell through what looked like a tunnel. I stifled my scream, attempting to right myself so that I would land properly. When we reached the bottom, the trio had landed in a pile on top of eachother, and I landed on all fours, my feet planted firmly in the ground..

"How about we make a trade." Sora said, rubbing his head. "I'll teach you how to swing a glaive, and you teach me how to land like a cat."

I laughed, standing and offering him help up. "Ok fine, but I can teach you more than landing on your feet," I said, punching him in the arm.

"Ow, like what?"

"Like, learning to avoid being punched in the arm."

We walked out of the strange room into another. My eyes wandered, trying to take in all the colors and strange objects, when I ran smack into the back of Sora and landed on my backside. It was his turn to laugh. "So much for being graceful," He said. I flushed. He offered me a hand but I stood on my own.

My eyes flicked to what had caused the back up. A tiny door stood in the way of our next room. If it had not been for all the other strange things that I had seen throughout the last couple days I probably would have fallen again..

"I don't think we are going to get through there." Goofy stated. Sora looked at his friends and walked up to the door.

"Um excuse me." He said. Talking Animals, Sleeping doors, what else could possibly happen?

"How did he get so small?" Sora asked.

"You are simply too big." It said in an aggravated voice.

"It talks!" Donald was surprised by this. I guess there were no talking doors where he came from.

"Must you be so loud? You woke me up!" the door said

Goofy interjected "Good morning!"

"Goodnight!" the door said, beginning to close his eyes.

"Wait!" Sora said

"Can't you just leave me be?" the door seemed angrier now. I found I could relate to this poor door. Being woken from sleep and forced to talk to people. One of the many nightmares for an introvert..

"Well if you tell us how to get smaller, we will leave you in peace." I said smoothly.

"If you must… The bottle, over there…" the door said as a table shot out of the ground.

"Thanks." I said and the door returned to his slumber.

I stared at the bottle. Unease settling in my chest. What if he was lying? What if the bottle of liquid was poison or something. How did they know they could trust the door? Before I could express my thoughts, Sora had already climbed the table and drank out of the bottle. "Sora! Why did you do that!?" I said, totally aghast. He just laughed as he shrank.

"Come on guys, it's not going to hurt you." He waved from the ground and Donald and Goofy took suite. I was the only one left. I sighed and drank from the bottle, shrinking down to their size. I was smaller than I had been. Being short sucks as it is. But this was adding insult to injury.

"How can you trust someone so easily? That could have killed you for all you knew. " I said to Sora. It baffled me, how someone could put so much faith in someone they did not know. Sora's unwavering faith in people was unnerving to say the least. Maybe it was the fact that I had grown up learning to protect people, and the dangers associated with that, that made me so uneasy.

"I don't know. I guess, I guess I just like to try and see the good in everyone. And what if Kairi is through that door?" Sora said. Emotion brimmed in his eyes. He missed her, and I could relate. I missed my friends, I missed the way my family had been, and I would do anything to protect the people I love. But a wave of guilt washed over me when I thought of my father, and the temptation in me to never go back home. Sora's heart was so pure, and mine… I didn't understand mine.

"I'm sorry, for being so uptight. I guess I'm just used to being cautious, it was practically drilled into me in training." I said. Sora laughed, my eyes narrowed. "Why are you laughing?" I interjected.

"Because I'm glad to have you as a friend." He smiled, bringing his arms behind his head in what I was now realizing was his signature pose. I couldn't help but smile back. I looked around the place. Everything was so big now. How would we get back to normal size? Would we be small forever? I shuddered

"Being small sucks." I snorted. Sora burst out laughing at me.

"It's not that bad." He said putting an arm around me playfully." I'm shorter than Riku. At first I hated it because he would always beat me in races and stuff, but they say dynamite comes in small packages." He grinned.

"All right shorty, let's get through that door." We moved forward into the next room. We were met by tall hedges that looked like they might form into something like a maze. Moving forward revealed what looked like a courtroom.

A little white rabbit was at a podium in front of a bunch of cards with limbs and heads and at the very top sat a very fat woman. The queen? I guessed right. A small girl with blonde hair in a blue dress stood in front of her highness looking nervous.

"I blame the girl. She is the culprit, the reason why… Is because I said so!" The Queen yelled.

"That's not fair!" The girl in the blue stammered in unison with me. Maybe she had committed a crime, but the grounds that the queen was accusing her on were perpostuous. Donald elbowed me in the ribs "Hey-that hurt-"

"Quiet!" he said. I stuck my tongue out and we continued to watch as the girl tried to defend herself. Not long after Sora piped in.

"Hey guys, why don't we try and help her?" he asked

"Yeah but that would be meddling." I said, crossing my arms and rolling my eyes

"Yeah, and that's against the rules." Goofy said.

"The court finds the defendant...guilty as charged! For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart..." She looked at the cards. "Off with her head!"

"Are you kidding me?" I was beyond angry at this point, I didn't even bother to keep my voice down.

"No please!" Alice panicked as the cards came towards her. I looked to Sora, and he nodded. I was glad I wasn't the only one that thought that something needed to be done.

It wasn't long before Alice was put in a cage and we were left wandering Wonderland, trying to find proof that the girl was innocent.

All the while, I couldn't stop thinking about how off track we were getting on this sidetrack adventure. I hated this place, and it's confusing purple cats and random talking flowers. It was hard enough to get around. And all these random rooms we ran into, they all looked the same, with slight variations. It was like a maze. Speaking of which, I looked up, my friends no longer insight and cursed to myself

I was lost. I had taken my eyes off my friends for literally a minute, and now they were gone, and I was left staring at a hedge, another dead end.

"You look distressed" a voice came from above me. I let out an exasperated sigh, turning my gaze towards the purple menace that had, so far, been no help at all.

"Clearly, I have lost my companions. Do you know where they are?" I asked

"This way or that, up or down. Who knows what you will find if you just turn around" The cheshire cat was giving no answers, and he faded away.

" I should have expected that. Stupid cat." I turned around and headed back the way I came, counting the pebbles on the ground as I did. I ran into something hard and I scrambled back, looking up.

"Wow, you are really good at that aren't you?" Riku. He was here, just as useless as that damn cat.

"At what?" I glared.

"Spacing out of course." He chuckled. Growling, I shoved past him and marched on. Rushing footsteps signaled his pursuit.

"What were you thinking about?" He asked, now walking backwards so he could see me face to face.

It was clear that he was not going to go away. 'Why would I tell you that?" I kept my eyes forward.

"Because, if I didn't know any better I would say you are lost." He smirked.

"Watch it." my voice was flat, un engaging.

"So I'm right!?" he laughed. The words left his mouth right as his foot caught on a root and he fell flat on his back.

"No, watch your step." He glared as I stepped over him.

"Okay, if you are not lost, then where is Sora." I stopped in my tracks at his words.

If my eyes could shoot daggers they would have pinned Riku to the ground "Fine, I am lost. What do you care?" I crossed my arms. Riku stood up and dusted off his pants.

"I can help you find him." He mimicked me by crossing his arms.

"And what do you want in return?"

"A fight." He said as plain as day. I burst out laughing.

"That wouldn't be fair. You know how much I struggle with my glaive, unless you are talking hand to hand, then I could mop the floor with you." Riku raised an eyebrow at that.

"As much as I would enjoy seeing you try, I want to see you use your weapon." He put his arms down and moved towards me, I snorted.

"Did I not just point out the fact that I suck, it won't be fair."

"You know," He stopped in front of me, "I'm not just some arrogant jerk that only thinks of myself." He looked down at me. I stared at him.

"Prove it."

"I'll help you . I can teach you how to fight." Riku stood his ground, close enough to me that I could feel his breath on my face. Rolling my eyes I summoned my glaive and held it out in front of me.

"Fighting with a weapon is a lot like fighting with hand to hand. If you are as great at hand to hand as you say you are then this should come to you easily," He started at me for a moment.

"See, that is your first mistake." he pointed out. You stand with your feet too far apart, It makes you slower in reacting, and you can't put force behind your swings, but you don't want to stand with your feet too close together, it will make you easy to knock over," He walked over to me. "You also need to pull your arms up more, you leave your upper body completely exposed." He was behind me. I felt his hands on my arms, raising them up so that my glaive was now protecting my head. I could feel my cheeks turning red. He used his feet to push mine closer. I stood up straighter as well. He came back around.

"There, now when you are not in the middle of a swing, you need to bring yourself back to that position. He summoned his sword. He jumped at me and brought his sword down. I immediately twisted my glaive sideways and blocked his attack. I stumbled back stunned.

"I can't believe I just did that." I breathed. Riku smiled. I grinned at him, ready for more.

"Now remember, when you are swinging that thing, you need to put some force behind it. try to swing it back and come forward as you place one foot in front of the other. You need to follow all the way through with the motion, or it won't do as much damage." He said, moving into a blocking position. "Try it."

I hesitated, but did as he said. my glaive came down on his blade and pushed him back a little ways.

'You have potential," he stated.

"Thanks?" I said. I knew I could do better. Just give me the proper weapons.

"Just keep practicing. Seeing as you insist on running around with Sora, he should be able to teach you a thing or two." Riku crossed his arms. I stood there appalled for a moment. Since when did Riku care who I spent my time with?

Riku reached out towards my arm, taking it gently in his hands. "Is it any better?" He asked, glancing up at me.

"Yes, it feels a lot better now." I smiled. Riku let go of my arm.

"You should come along with us." I said, heat rising in my cheeks. His aqua eyes caught mine. There was something there, buried deep inside of them. Jealousy? Sadness? Lonliness?

"I'm good, thanks. You can handle things from here." He said, turning and forming another dark portal.

"Riku wait!" I reached for him, but the portal closed behind him. I felt a sadness in my heart that I knew was not there before. Riku seemed distressed, and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

"Akari!" I whipped my head around to see Sora running up to me.

"You found me." relief washed over me

"That took forever." Donald said. "Akari, maybe you should try to stay with the team next time."

I rolled my eyes. "Do you think I enjoy getting lost?" I snapped back.

"Whoa there, I think what Donald was tryin to say is we were worried about ya." Goofy chimed in. I opened my mouth to say something but stopped at the look Sora gave me.

"Fine, well now that we are all back together, can we please just get out of this place?"

"Agreed." Sora said, and I let them lead me out of the maze.

As we were walking back to the courtyard Sora sighed. It was obvious what was on his mind. We had been looking around this world for hours and he still hadn't found any sign of his friends. Or at least he had not. I struggled with the idea of telling him about Riku. But how would that make him feel? His friend was walking the fine line between light and dark, and he was swaying dangerously towards the darkness. Banishing the thought, I walked beside Sora in perfect pace, trying to think of something that would make the Keyblade Master feel better.

"So Akari, what was it that you were trained for?" Goofy asked. I jumped out of my thoughts

"Protecting the prince." I said nonchalant.

"What? Really?" Sora stopped. I blushed. The look he gave me was pure amazement

"Yeah, no big deal. He is like a brother to me. So it comes easy." I continued forward.

"Wow! that is so cool." he said.

"Hey, we help a King." Donald said, crossing his arms and tapping his foot. I chuckled.

"And I'm sure you do an amazing job." I said, patting Donald on the head. He softened a little.

"That really isn't easy work if ya ask me." Goofy said, scratching his chin. I did not respond. Thinking of my friends left me with a heavy feeling in my chest. I set my jaw. I was going to do everything in my power to protect them. I couldn't lose them. We entered the courtyard

"We have all the evidence you need to set Alice free." Sora gave the queen the boxes with the evidence in them. A heartless appeared before them, and then all hell broke loose. A huge tower appeared out of nowhere and raised Alice's cage to the sky. I sighed, summoning my glaive. I was getting more comfortable using it, but I still was not confident in my ability, even after the pointers that Riku had given me.

I set my posture, ready for the coming fight. I swung my glaive and thrust it forward, and missed the heartless. It charged at me and I quickly put my glaive up to shield my face. The attack was deflected, and I backed up as a couple more reinforcements came towards me. I bumped into something and jumped. Spinning my head around I saw that it was Sora.

"It seems like you are getting better at using your weapon." he seemed to smile and cringe at the same time. "Why don't you try swinging it in a large circle in front of you, then twisting around and swinging it in the other direction, then, if anyone is coming from the front, you can swing it in a high arc and bring it down on the heartless." He said, swiping at a shadow. I nodded, even though we were still back to back and he couldn't see me.

"Yeah, sure." I replied glancing around at the heartless. I took Sora's advice, swinging to the left, and then the right, knocking back a couple heartless, but it didn't feel quite right. I needed to find my own style of fighting. I needed my knives back. My bow and arrow. I was tired of this stick and frustrated it was taking so long to get the hang of.

I gripped my glaive and took a deep breath. There was no point in wishful thinking right now. I looked around in the chaos, assessing everything that was going on around me. The cards were almost all knocked out, the heartless disappearing, the tower was about to come down, but Sora, Donald and Goofy were caught up in a group of heartless, and the cards were waking up.

I swore to myself, my legs carrying me towards the tower. I had to help my new friends. I let the moment take me in and I felt my glaive pulse with energy.

A heartless was bounding at me and I thrust my weapon forward, piercing it in the chest. It vanished into a puff of smoke, and so did the next one that came at me, and the next. Before I knew it I was running full speed at the tower, bound and determined to take it out before the cards could gain the upper hand again. I swiped out at the tower and it shattered, I heaved a few breaths and grinned in small victory. I had finally done something useful.

Sora was walking towards me laughing and carefree, his keyblade swung over his shoulder. My smile faded. Something felt cold at my feet, a numbing sensation shot through me. I looked down and gasped. Darkness was surrounding me, I could feel it slither up my body, like a snake taking its prey, it squeezed. "SORA!" I tried to yell, but it came out as more of a whisper. Sora raised his hand towards me. He had been running, he almost made it. He reached a little farther, I could see his hand grasp the dark wisps, but I was pulled under before he could reach me. The darkness had taken me.