Title: Crossed Trails ( 6 / ? )
Author name: Ari Powwel
Author email: eight_muses@hotmail.com
Spoilers: Kingdom Hearts (duh! lol)
Summary: Could there be uncharted worlds up there? My curiosity never ceases to grow. Sora and company failed to mention all the different people they met on their quest . . .
Random quotes from this chapter:
     'What did you hit?'
     'He even wrapped them up for us in these little boxes!'
     'It's so strange . . . it's as if we're inside a box!'
     'Gawrsh, Sora, you're really good! That's three in a row!'
     'Blizzard! That darned cat was actually good for something!'
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by various publishers including but not limited to Disney Interactive and Square Co., Ltd. The characters Sara, Lara, Lia, and Simone are owned by their various creators: Ari, Sue, Kaylee, and Rocky. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: Chapter started: 7 July, 2003
Chapter finished: 10 July, 2003
I hate Wonderland. Simple as that. It's my second-least-favourite world.
Yes, I know I messed up on the locations of the evidence . . . **sigh** I was doing it without being able to play, because I didn't have a ps2 when I wrote this.
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Chapter 6: Trial

Sora felt a jar as the ship hit something. He cracked an eye open, 'What did you hit?'

'I didn't hit anything!' Donald protested. 'We're here.' Sora looked at the world below them, a swirl of pink and red. 'Welcome to Wonderland,' Donald checked the name of the place on a map.

'How are we going to get down there?' Sora asked him.

'Well, in theory, if we step into this, we'll appear at an entrance to the world,' Donald pointed to a white glowing circle near the back of the ship. 'But I don't know if I trust it.'

Sora scratched his head, 'Well, what else would we do? I say we try it.' He saw Donald shoot annoyed glance at Goofy, behind him, then Donald nodded.

'Alright, let's go,' Donald sighed, raising his wand. Sora turned and saw a sleeping Goofy rise into the air. He chuckled, then followed Donald into the circle.

All at once he was slowly falling towards the world's surface, to a pink and red-chequered floor below. Sora and Donald landed with ease, but Goofy, who was amazingly still asleep, hit the floor with a dull thud, waking him. He climbed up and was just about to say something, when—'Oh, my fur and whiskers! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!' a small white rabbit rushed past them, dressed in a red suit with purple pants. He held a large pocket watch, and a pair of glasses perched on his nose. 'Oh, dear, oh dear, oh dear! I'm here, I should be there. I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! The Queen, she'll have my head for sure!' he disappeared around the curve. Sora started after it, closely followed by Donald and Goofy.

They reached a door, that, when opened, revealed a second, smaller door. This door revealed a third, then a fourth, but the fourth revealed an entrance into another room. Sora saw the rabbit scamper through a tiny door on the other side. It was now miniscule, too, fitting through the door easily, and it slammed shut behind him. 'How did he get so small?' Sora wondered, examining the doorknob.

'No, you're simply too big,' it said, making Sora jump. Two small eyes above the knob opened, and the keyhole stretched to become a mouth.

'It talks!' exclaimed the three in amazement.

'Must you be so loud?' the Doorknob asked. 'You woke me up.'

'Good morning!' Goofy grinned, waving at it.

'Good night! I need a bit more sleep,' with that, the Doorknob closed its eyes again.

'Wait!' Sora said hurriedly, 'What do we have to do to grow small?'

'Why don't you try the bottle . . . over there?'

Sora turned, seeing a table rise up in the centre of the room. A chair appeared next to it, along with two bottles that sat near the edge of the table. Sora turned back to the doorknob, but it was already asleep again. He looked back at the room, really looking at it for the first time. The room held a stove and fireplace to their left, along with a faucet, a cabinet, and a chimney. To their right were a bed, a painting of a grandfather clock, two chairs, and a small shelf. Nothing of real importance . . .

'Hey, Sora! Look at this here!' Goofy called to him from next to the bed. Sora followed his gaze, almost immediately seeing what he was talking about. A purplish frame stood behind the bed, and Sora pulled the bed away from it, revealing a doorframe.

'Probably because that one's so lazy!" muttered Donald. 'Now, come on! The King could be anywhere!' he picked up the bottle from the table and handed it to Sora, who shrugged and drank it. The world around him shrank until he was shorter than the seat of the chair the Doorknob had shown them. He dashed underneath the table, not wanting to be crushed, until Goofy, and finally Donald, had shrank to their normal sizes beside him. 'Let's go!' Donald quacked again, heading for the door. Sora and Goofy quickly followed, not wanting to be left behind.

The rabbit they had seen before dashed through the archway in front of them, then up a flight of stairs to a wooden podium to the left. Quite out of breath, he blew a strangled tune through a trumpet and shouted, 'Court is now in session!'

'I'm on trial? But why?' the speaker was a young girl, about seven or eight, Sora guessed. She wore a light blue dress that came to about mid-calf, white stockings, and black shoes. Sora remembered hearing Kairi refer to them once as 'prim-and-proper Mary Janes'. She'd never worn them . . . not after she'd gotten water on them and ruined them the first time she'd had a pair. Sora shook his head, clearing it. The girl in front of him . . . she had blond hair about three or four inches past her shoulders, and a white bow was tied at the back of her dress.

'Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding!' called the rabbit, ignoring the girl.

A large woman sat in front of the girl, in a wooden box obviously meant to be a judge's booth. Her dress was one black sleeve and one red sleeve, both ending at the elbows; the bodice formed a heart with the opposite colours (if she had a black sleeve, the heart-half on that side was red). A stiff, white collar framed her face, she held a red heart on a wooden stick as a fan. Her dark hair was pulled up, a crown sat on top of it. Sora took her to be the Queen. 'The girl is the culprit,' she declared. 'There's no doubt about it. And the reason is . . . because I say so, that's why!'

'That is so unfair!' the girl protested.

'Well, have you anything to say in your defence?'

'Of course! I've done absolutely nothing wrong!' Sora thought the girl would stop there, but she continued on, 'You may be queen, but I'm afraid that doesn't give you the right to be so—' she paused, searching for the right word—'so mean!'

'Silence!' the Queen roared. 'You dare defy me?!'

Sora turned to Donald and Goofy beside him. 'Hey, guys, maybe we should help her out.'

'Yeah, but the—'

'We're outsiders,' interrupted Goofy. 'So wouldn't that be muddling?'

"Meddling!" corrected Donald.

'Oh, yeah.' Goofy agreed. 'And that's against the rules!'

Sora watched, slightly disheartened, as the Queen announced, 'The court finds the defendant . . . guilty as charged! For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart—'

'That wouldn't be meddling!' Sora hissed, taking off.

'—off with her head!'

'No! No! Oh, please!' the girl cried as a card began pulling her from behind the podium.

'Hold it right there!' Sora shouted, approaching the Queen.

'Who are you?' she asked them, a bit annoyed. 'How dare you interfere with my court?!'

'Excuse me,' Sora cut her off. 'But we know who the real culprit is!'

'Uh-huh!' nodded Goofy. 'It's the Hear—' he clapped a hand over his mouth, as if he was close to giving away a huge secret.

Which he was.

Sora spared a moment to shoot him a glance before turning back to the Queen. 'Anyway, she's not the one you're looking for.'

'That's nonsense!' the Queen decided. 'Have you any proof?'

Sora looked back at Donald and Goofy for any help, but they just gave him blank stares. The Queen's grin stretched amusedly at them, and she motioned to the cards, who locked the girl in a cage. 'Bring me evidence of Alice's innocence! Fail, and it's off with all of your heads! Gather as much or as little evidence as you please. Report back here when you're ready.' Sora nodded, and he, Donald, and Goofy left the Palace area, heading towards something the card beside the entrance told them was called the Lotus Forest.

When the castle was well behind them, Sora sighed. 'How are we going to find everything . . .'

Donald began to respond, but at that moment, a strange sight presented itself to them. A pink and purple striped cat was wearing the largest grin Sora had ever seen, perched on a tree trunk in front of them. 'Who are you?' Sora asked.

'Who, indeed?' the cat answered cryptically. It had that slick sound to it, as if everything were just a joke. 'Poor Alice. Soon to lose her head, but not guilty of a thing!'

'Hey! If you know who the culprit is, tell us!' Sora yelled at it.

'The Cheshire Cat has all the answers—but doesn't always tell. The answer, the culprit, the cat all lie in darkness.' it began to fade away; its bright grin the last thing to disappear.

'Wait!' Goofy called after it.

It was completely gone, but its voice echoed around them. 'They've already left the forest. I won't tell which exit. There are four pieces of evidence in all. Three are a cinch to find. The fourth is tricky. Big reward if you find them all.'

'Should we trust him?' Donald wondered out loud, quite obviously thinking the Cheshire Cat was gone.

'To trust or not to trust? I trust you'll decide!' the cat called at them.

'Let's go,' Sora said, moving off. He chose a direction at random, entering one of the enclosed areas. The 'walls' were formed by a sort of brown grass . . . Did this mean they were as small as ants or something? Sora glanced around, seeing several flowers that were a bit taller than he. So deep in thought was he that he didn't even notice the box on the ground until he was tripping over it. 'What in the . . .'

Goofy picked it up and opened it, revealing a Soldier's boot. 'Strange . . .'

'He even wrapped them up for us in these little boxes!' Donald grumbled. 'Why couldn't the darned cat tell us straight out where they were. Or better yet, just give them to us!'

'But he didn't,' said Sora. 'And we're going to find them.' Goofy nodded and pocketed the box, and Sora looked around. 'We should probably move up higher, get a better look.'

'And how are we going to do that?' Donald questioned him irritably.

'Those mushrooms look like they could hold our weight,' Sora pointed, then climbed up on one. 'It's fine!' he clambered up to the next, then to something he wasn't quite sure of. But it held his weight, and that was good enough for him.

'Look!' Goofy cried, pointing. 'There's a door!' Sora squinted, and sure enough, near the corner of the forest, was a darkened doorway in the wall.

Sora ran over the platforms towards it, barely managing to stop himself upon reaching the edge. 'D'you think we can jump that far?'

Goofy responded by bounding across the gap easily. Donald followed, then, with a moment's hesitation, Sora did too. They crossed through the door, falling to land on a faucet. 'No-one move!' Sora commanded, looking around. Any movements could send them flying off the faucet to the floor below. He slowly turned to his right, wincing as Goofy fell off the handle, landing on the tiles with a loud noise.

'I'll just go around!' he yelled up to them.

'No, wait!' Sora called back. 'We'll have to go your way anyways. We can't reach the door again.' he pointed to the door, several feet above his and Donald's heads. He heard Goofy agree as he threw himself at the cabinet, landing on his knees. He pulled the lid off the box as Donald jumped, pulling out a red-tipped glove. 'Another piece of evidence!' Sora put the lid back on it. 'Here, Goofy, catch!' he tossed the box to Goofy, then jumped off himself, closing his eyes as he hurtled downwards—

And landed on his feet, apparently. Sora stood, surprised, as Donald's webbed feet made a loud smacking sound as they hit the floor.

They walked back through the castle yard ('Giving up already, boy?') and into the forest, this time heading for the back. However, this time, several shadows and soldiers appeared in front of them. Sora drew his Keyblade, slashing through them quickly. Between himself, Donald, and Goofy, the Heartless were dispatched easily. They trekked further into the forest, but were stopped when they went through another opening, by a different type of Heartless.

These were called Red Nocturnes, Donald told them (apparently, the King had explained and named the different types of Heartless in his letter). They were about the size of the Keyblade's hilt, mostly red. They were of a red hourglass shape with the Heartless crest on the front. Golden hats sat on top, the point curling under with sharp turns. And they flew. 'Let's get 'em!' Sora cried, springing into the air to attack one. Donald hurled a fireball at one, but it just absorbed it. 'Well, that doesn't work . . .' Sora observed as the Nocturne proceeded to send a fireball back at Donald. They made quick work of the Nocturnes (though Sora ended up with a couple scorch marks), and continued through the opening, around a large tree trunk that was the centre of the forest.

In the back, Sora found another set of mushrooms, but these were a bit further apart, and he had to jump from one to the other. He climbed onto the tree, then sat down on the branch, gazing around the forest. 'Hey, look up there!' he pointed towards the doorway they'd gone through before. 'It's so strange . . . it's as if we're inside a box!' Donald and Goofy gave him a look. 'Umm, never mind.'

Goofy rotated around on the branch, taking in all of the forest. 'Hey, look there!' he said to Sora, pointing behind the boy. Sora turned, and saw immediately what the knight was talking about. Another box sat next to a doorway, but there wasn't a way to get over to it. Sora said so to Goofy, who just laughed. 'We could either throw you,' he began—

'Which doesn't sound like much fun.'

'—or I could just jump over and get it.'

'Can you jump that far?'

Goofy laughed. 'Can I jump that far . . . Can I jump that far . . .' he paused. 'Can I jump that far?' Sora laughed, and Goofy shrugged. 'Well, I guess it's time to find out, then!' he climbed as close to the door as he could, then leapt. Sora watched as he grew closer, closer—

Then fell to the forest floor. Sora winced. 'That must've hurt.' A moment later, Goofy had climbed up next to them again.

'Well, now I know I can't jump that far!' he said cheerily. Sora just sighed and shook his head, internally laughing.

'Where else can we go . . .' he wondered aloud.

Donald's magician's staff tapped him smartly on the head. 'If you two had been listening to me, you'd have known I've found another door,' he pointed towards a doorway in the tree trunk.

'Weird,' Sora muttered, but proceeded to follow through anyways. How would there be a door in a tree trunk?

They landed on the stove in the first room, a sign in the castle yard had told him it was called the Bizarre Room. 'I've had enough of this room,' Sora groaned, looking around. Another box sat at the edge of the stove, and was quickly opened. There was a metal helmet inside. 'These things aren't too careful about leaving stuff behind,' Sora mumbled, handing it to Goofy. 'Three down, one to go!' he grinned, jumping off the stove and running back into the palace.

Once they were inside the forest, he stopped, sitting down on the tree stump they'd first seen the Cheshire Cat on. 'He said there were four pieces of evidence to find, right?'

'Right,' Goofy answered him.

'And we've got three, right?'

'Right again.'

'So the last one must be the one we saw earlier!'

Goofy clapped his hands together. 'Gawrsh, Sora, you're really good! That's three in a row!'

Sora burst out laughing, then noticed Donald was standing next to one of the flowers. 'What're you doing, Donald?'

'This flower says it'll make us bigger if we give it a Potion,' Donald told him. 'It also said that the tree moves, and you can spin it 'round. Maybe if you move it, we'll be able to reach that last piece!'

'But how would we get small again?'

'It said that the acorn on the tree branch makes you tiny again . . . but I'm not sure.'

'Hmm . . .' Sora pondered this, then pulled a potion from his pack. 'Here!'

'Thanks,' the flower said, then Sora began to grow, leaving Donald and Goofy on the ground. Sora reached out and plucked the acorn from the branch, then struck the tree with his Keyblade, spinning it around. He debated whether to pick up the evidence from where he already was -- he was certainly big enough to pick it up—but decided against it. With his luck, he'd probably smash it between his fingers. Once the tree stopped spinning, and Sora had checked to see whether he'd be able to get to the evidence from the branch, he took a bite of the acorn, quickly joining his friends on the ground.

'We can get to it now!' he told them, and walked back to the mushrooms, climbing up onto the tree. They all climbed onto the branch that reached close to the evidence, then jumped to land on it. Donald opened the box, and pulled out something black. 'An antenna . . .' Sora realised, but was cut off in his musings by the Cheshire Cat again.

'Well, look what you've found!' he said, that eerie grin crossing his face again. 'Nice going.'

'Now we can save Alice!' Sora said happily. At least she wouldn't lose her head now!

'Don't be so sure! She may be innocent, but what about you?'

'What do you mean?' Sora said slowly.

The Cat just smiled merrily. 'I won't tell. But I'll give you something.' He showed Donald a complicated looking motion, then disappeared. Sora frowned in thought, wondering what he had just done.

Donald laughed. 'Blizzard! That darned cat was actually good for something!'

' . . . what?' Sora was confused.

'There's a set of spells,' Donald explained. 'Other sets can produce the same results, but it's a lot less hassle to learn this set. After you learn it once, you only have to say a word (a trigger word, it's called) and it produces the spell as if you'd just set it up. The other sets, you'd have to set it up over and over to work it. These spells were created a long time ago, when we had more magic in their blood, so even in their weakest forms, they're more powerful than the strongest spell made today. There are seven spells: Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Cure, Aero, Stop, and Gravity. After mastering the first forms, you can learn the second form: Fira, Blizzara, Thundara, Cura, Aerora, Stopra, and Gravira. Then, after mastering those, you learn the third form: Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, Curaga, Aeroga, Stopga, and Graviga.' he sighed. 'However, nowadays, no-one seems to know them. I've only been able to find someone who knew Fire, myself.' he brightened a little. 'But that cat just taught me Blizzard! Now there's only nineteen left . . .' he sighed again.

'Oh, come on, Donald!' Sora tried to cheer up the duck. 'I'll bet you're the only one who's even learned two of them! After all, you're the head mage, right? So no-one knows any spells that you don't!'

Donald nodded. 'You're right. But the magicians could be studying on their own, you know. There are a few spells that I've noticed I have no need to learn. Take Invisible, for instance. It's another spell like the Forms I mentioned, but it's not part of that certain group. I've never seen any need to learn it. Why would you need to be invisible?'

Sora shared a laughing glance with Goofy before leading the way back to the Castle, Donald talking about magic the entire way.

'Are you ready to present evidence before the Queen?' a red card asked Sora.

'Yes.'

'Very well,' the card said. 'Counsel, step up to the podium.'

Sora, Donald, and Goofy stepped behind the podium they'd first seen Alice on as the Queen spoke. 'Now, show me what you have found!' Sora nodded to Goofy, who pulled out the four boxes, setting them on the ground in front of them. 'Well, that's certainly a lot of evidence, but I'm still not impressed. Cards! Bring forth my evidence!' A black card walked forward, holding another box to its chest. It set it on the ground with the rest, and the boxes rearranged themselves, moving so quickly Sora couldn't see which was which. The Queen's box was just like the others, providing no clue as to where it hid. 'Hmmm,' the Queen mused, 'checking all five boxes would only be a waste of time. All right, then. Choose the one you wish to present. I'll decide who's guilty based on that evidence.'

'What?!' Sora was shocked, to say the least. 'After all the trouble of collecting it?!'

'You dare object?' the Queen roared. 'Then you will lose your head. Now, choose! One box!'

'There's no way to tell which box is which,' Sora told Donald and Goofy. 'We'll just have to choose one and hope for the best.' He strode up to the second from the left and motioned to the card nearby.

'Are you certain?' the Queen questioned. 'No second chances!'

'I'm sure,' Sora answered, but inside he was saying Of course! Why would I say that one if I wasn't certain?

'Now we shall see who the real culprit is.'

The red card near them popped the lid off the box . . .

'What in the world was that?!' the Queen was a bit alarmed, to say the least.

Sora gave her a boyish grin. 'There's your evidence. Alice is innocent.'

The Queen's face turned a reddish hue, and she spluttered incoherently before managing, 'Silence! I'm the law here! Article 29: Anyone who defies the Queen is guilty!'

'That's crazy!' protested Donald.

'Seize them at once!' the Queen shouted at the cards. Sora noticed two cards behind them were cranking a wheel at a tower, making the cage containing Alice rise. 'Cards! If they touch the tower, you lose your heads!'

The cards ran at Sora, who quickly whispered to Donald and Goofy, 'You guys take care of the cards, I'll get the tower?'

'Sounds like a plan to me!' Goofy agreed. Sora dashed to the tower and pulled at the gears, but there was no way he'd be able to pull Alice down. Sighing, he pulled out his Keyblade and began hacking at the gears. He may not have been able to get her down by turning the gears, but he was going to get her down!

One of the gears broke, falling off of the tower. Sora was running around to the other side when he saw one of Donald's fireballs go astray, heading towards the Queen. One of the red cards dived in front of it, and the rest went to be sure their precious Queen was okay. Sora exchanged a glance with Donald before turning back to the tower. Since Donald and Goofy had found the cards' weakness, it was much easier to destroy the second gear, then the tower itself. The cage containing Alice crashed to the ground, and everything stopped dead.

Sora ran over to the cage, pushing back the thick red curtain that covered it, and everyone stared. The cage . . .

Was empty.

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Next chapter ((teatricks)) goes up next Wednesday!!