(AN: thanks to my two reviewers Emerald31 and EmeraldInk223! Hehe Emerald and Emerald…do you see a pattern? Thank you for giving me faith in this fic:) hehe here's the next chapter…hopefully people will follow your footsteps and review this ficcy for me:) if not hehe I know I can count on you Expect some more descriptive fight scenes here and perhaps some lovey dovey cheese? NAH! Lol we'll see. As for Kairi and the island…umm i never really gave it any thought…lets say she has always been there for the sake of getting you a bit unconfused: P Read review and Enjoy! Blade)
"We've really done it now" Sakura said to Kairi as the cards prodded them in the back. Both girls groaned. Paine kept shooting them frustrated looks and the Queen was humming the funeral March song. All of these were not good signs.
"Well can't we just fight our way out?" Kairi said matter-of-factly. Sakura sighed. She had obviously, no concept of the sheer number of cards they'd be up against. A hundred Heartless is no problem. However, multiply that number 10 fold and you had their captors. There was no way in hell they could fight out.
"Kairi haven't you seen what we're up against? We'd need a miracle to get out of this alive, especially with Queen Insanity over there humming our death tune." Sakura said honestly. All three girls silently prayed for their miracle, all knowing it was probably useless.
"Welcome to my court girls! It will be the last thing you see!" The Queen laughed. She shoved them all in and tossed them into the witness stand. The jury consisted of the queen, the judge consisted of the queen, hell even the witnesses were the queen. All the girls felt themselves give up hope. With odds like this, how could they get out alive?
Sakura thought back to the ship and the orb she had taken, her plan b, her safety net. She placed the orb into her hand and smiled. If they were found guilty, that was the most probable thought; she'd use it and get them out of there. She only hoped it was something that could do that.
"Now you are all…'Blah, blah, blah, blah'" the Queen went on and on, Sakura not paying any attention. She was staring intently on a single figure in the crowd. He was slightly taller then the cards and was wearing a heavy black cloak. He took his hand and pushed the hood off, ever so slightly, revealing tiny flecks of whitish grey hair.
"Riku!" Sakura thought hastily. Had he come to help, or to make things worse? She was still contemplating this as she finally registered an elbow piercing her side. She glared at its owner. Paine stood glaring right back at her. Sakura registered the message and stopped looking at Riku, despite herself. She began to listen once more to the Queen's rambling.
"And so, I declare you all prisoners and you are all sentenced. The sentence is of course the most severe here in wonderland. Tomorrow morning, it will be OFF WITH YOUR HEADS! Court dismissed." The Queen dismissed the court sweetly. The girls were taken, in a most unkindly manner, up to a tower dungeon and left until it was time for their sentence to be carried out.
"Good work you two dolts!" Paine yelled as she began to punch the far wall heavily. Once her knuckles began to bleed she sat on the bed eventually falling asleep. Kairi eventually followed suit and Sakura was left alone.
"I'm sorry guys, I feel so responsible, for everything." Sakura mumbled to the others, despite knowing that in their states they could not hear her. She was snapped out of her self-pitying thoughts by a small rock hitting her square in the forehead. She snarled and looked out for the figure responsible. "Show yourself you coward!" she screamed. What she saw made her bite her tongue.
"If that's what I get when we see one another you can forget about me saving your ass." The cloaked figure mused. Sakura dashed over to the grated door. Riku stood dangling keys near the bars.
"Riku! I'm sorry I didn't know it was you! Please you need to let us out! She's mad! She's gonna kill us come dawn! Please Riku there's no more time for joking about!" She begged. Riku smiled a bit and put his hand holding the key to the bars. If he only pushed them a bit closer, she could have them.
"I want something in return, after all, I am risking my life, for yours." He said. Sakura sighed, there was always the catch.
"What do you want? Name your price!" She pleaded. This made his smirk grow.
"Give up your search for Sora, and give me Kairi. Then you can be freed." Sakura shook her head violently. Kairi was not going to be her bargaining chip.
"No deal. As much as I hate to say that. Anything else you want, you can have." Sakura stated with a hint of finality, sounding much like Yuna had when forbidding Rikku to join the adventure due to her illness.
He appeared to be thinking about his options. Soon he turned and smiled. "Whatever Sakura. How about we say that later on I can ask for anything I want, except the two initial things I asked for. Alright with you?" Sakura couldn't believe her luck! She smiled and reached for the key.
"Riku you have yourself a deal" Sakura said. He passed her the key and a small ring, his seal on the deal, and watched vigilantly down the hall as she unlocked the cell door. He shook her hand.
"The deal's been sealed. Anyway I should be heading off now." He said about to create a new portal in front of him. Sakura grabbed his arm this time stopping him.
"Why are you helping me if you want me to stop this entire mission of ours?" Sakura asked searching his bright turquoise eyes for some hint. He smirked his little smirk.
"Your tenacity never ceases to amaze me. As for your answer, I really can't tell you that, at least not till I trust you a bit more. I guess I could tell you soon. Bye Sakura, look after Kairi for me, and if I find Sora before you, know, he won't be alive for very long." Riku said smiling. He popped into his portal saying one last thing to Sakura. "Hurry, their coming." And with that all traces off him were gone, all except a tiny object he had left in Sakura's hand, a small ring; on the front of it was a small Celtic knot. Smiling she placed it onto her finger and dashed to wake up her friends.
Once they were up, they heard the sound of the deck cards running up the flights of stairs towards them. Hurrying forward out of the cell the girls made a dash towards the nearest stair well. It seemed like they ran down the stair well for hours on end, all the while they could hear the pants and grunts of their enemies. Sakura felt around in her waist pack for the orb she had taken from the ship.
"Sakura, hurry what ARE you doing!" Paine yelled. Sakura showed Paine the orb and she nearly ran right into a wall. "Why didn't I think of that!" she said as she pulled out one of her own. She tossed another to Kairi and smiled. "I hope you two know how to use these!" she yelled as she tossed hers in the air and said a magic phrase or something. The two other girls watched in wonder as Paine was engulfed in a rainbow light. As the light faded both girls looked in shock as Paine exited wearing different clothes. She was now dressed in all white robes with rainbow designs across the rims. Instead of her broad sword she now had a glistening black staff.
"WOW!!!" the other two girls gasped together. Kairi tossed hers and received the same thing save for her staff being a bright auburn colour. Sakura held hers tightly. She hadn't known what she had pulled. As she tossed hers she felt incredible sensations and waited to see what she had gotten.
Once the light faded she smiled seeing a huge sword in her hands. It had designs of dragons and warriors all engraved into the cold steel blade. The handle was golden with small flecks of random gems. Her outfit too had changed. Her jeans and tank top had been changed into warriors armour. Light and durable flame red in colour. Paine beamed with pride.
"Well that was different. Their here and we need to fight!" Sakura said raising her sword, awaiting her enemies' appearance. Within seconds, hundreds upon hundreds of cards had appeared in front of the 3 girls.
Sakura began to swing her blade about chopping most cards in half upon contact. Many screamed out in pain, the rest simply died quietly, as their thin paper bodies fell to the floor slowly. Paine was using her staff to disintegrate cards upon impact; Kairi was mimicking the older girl. If the three of them kept this up, then they might have a chance of making it. Maybe.
After about half an hour of fighting, the girls were beginning to exhaust themselves; however, the cards seemed to keep coming as if the deck would never end. Eventually they would be completely wiped out and then the girls would be defenceless, and then they would lose their heads, literally.
"We…can't keep this up!" Kairi said disintegrating the Ace of Clubs with much difficulty. The other two girls nodded their agreement.
"Kairi's right, our magic is waning and your running out of steam too Sakura, if you have anymore tricks up your sleeve, now is a very good time to take em out!" Paine said. As if hearing her words, the Cheshire cat appeared.
"Tricks? Why I have one I've been saving for just such an occasion!" he chirped. "Now come here girls, each of your touch one part of my body. Don't be shy. I'd rather help you three then let that nasty Queen have her way." They all followed instructions and all felt a sudden jerk to their bodies. Within seconds they were out side in front of their ship.
"How… It's not possible!" Kairi stuttered. Sakura looked around in utter confusion. Paine was the only staying levelheaded.
"Thank you Mr. Cat. We owe you a great debt of thanks. If ever we return to Wonderland, we shall repay it." Paine said as she shoved the other two into the ship. After one last wave they headed off.
"Where too now Kairi. I picked Wonderland, it's only fair that you get to pick the next world!" Sakura said shoving the map to her friend. Kairi closed her eyes and began to trace her finger along the map. After a few minutes she firmly set her finger down on a specific world. Opening her eyes both girls smiled happily.
"Shall we look now?" Kairi asked. Sakura's mismatched irises shimmered with glee. Both girls looked down and read which world they were to visit next.
"Paine, set in a course for… Halloween Town!" Sakura said. Paine did as she was told and then headed back to her bed. She had barely spoken to Sakura and Kairi since they had caused the entire Queen of Hearts incident.
"I think she's mad." Kairi said quietly. Paine looked over at them with an icy glare.
"You're damn straight I'm angry, you two could have been seriously hurt… Or worse yet killed. If either of you ever do something that reckless again…I swear I'll…. Uggh." Paine said angrily. Never had Sakura seen her like this. Paine, the emotionless ice queen she had thought she had known so well, was showing emotions. Not just for her either. She was plainly worried about them. Sakura jumped onto her own bed trying to clear her mind.
As she looked down at her index finger, she caught a glimpse of the tiny silver ring Riku had given her. She pressed her hand close to her chest and silently thanked him for saving her butt.
Kairi sat merely staring at the map. There were so many worlds. She was just one girl, how on earth would the three of them search them all for Sora? She was beginning to believe that maybe this entire Adventure was a complete waste of time. She had begun to despair. As she thought to herself, she drifted off into a deep slumber, her dreams filled with his final words to her before he left her, helpless and alone on Destiny Islands.
"Kairi, wait for me here. I swear I'll come back for you. I love you…." And then he was gone. It had been nearly 3 years since that day, and still, she had not given up on him. She only prayed he had not forgotten about her either.
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"Tell me, why do you saved these girls when they were threatened with Death?" he asked. Riku merely glanced at the floor. He could never understand.
"None of your business." Riku said flatly. He himself was not sure why he wanted to save them, or even why he didn't kill them the first time he had met them. It was only recently that he realized his feelings for Kairi had nearly completely disappeared. It was only recently he found a new target of his affection….
"O but I make it my business, Riku. If you do not start to follow orders I will consider you a vigilante and I will kill you personally. Understood?"
"Fine. But one carries a token form me, she is not to be harmed, we have, a deal of sorts." Riku said. He looked back at the other man.
"Where are they headed next to search for the key bearer?"
"Halloween town. I'm heading there myself…." Riku began, only to be cut off.
"Perhaps…yes…HE should go." The other man said. Riku glared with white-hot anger at the fiery red head the other man had been speaking of. The red head smiled deviously as he bowed in front of the other man.
"I live only to serve you, master." He said.
"Axel, you may stand. Head them off at Halloween town and make sure they get a lovely greeting."
"As you wish lord. And what of Riku?" Axel said glaring right back at Riku who was now fuming. "What of your little soft hearted pet?"
"He may do as he pleases. I have no more interest in you both. Leave now." With a wave of his hand, both men headed out the large oak doors.
"You scum, you bastard, you damn dirty jack ass. How DARE you call me soft hearted!" Riku yelled. He was still quite angry. Axel merely smirked.
"O please, a deal with her? Admit it, you got a thing for that blonde chick. I gotta admit, she's a very nice prize; in fact all three would make amazing prizes. Hmmm… not such a bad idea if I do say so myself. Seducing them should be pie. So Riku I take my leave, next time you see me, I should have three new toys to 'play' with." With that, Axel disappeared through a dark portal leaving Riku alone.
He paced about for a long while. Contemplating how he felt. She was easy on the eyes, and very courageous, if not thickheaded, but was she worth it?
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"Well, another world saved another shot of vodka." The spiky brown haired teen at the bar said. Donald and Goofy at his side he enjoyed a large vodka on the rocks.
"Sora, ya know, we really should get you back to Kairi, it's been so gorsh dorn long." Goofy said. Donald turned tail and laughed at Goofy.
"Yeah right. He can't go ANYWHERE we still have HUNDREDS of worlds to save! Once those are saved, then he can go back to see her!" Donald spat. Sora sighed as he downed his shot.
"So how long will that take Donald? It's already been 3 years." Sora said as he looked at his two comrades. Donald took out a piece of paper, a pencil, and an abacus.
"Carry the 3, hold the 2, remainder 5…" He continued on as Sora looked longingly at the doors out of the Traverse Town Tavern. He turned back to see Donald still calculating. He looked over at Goofy to see him stuffing his face with peanuts. He couldn't get Kairi off his mind lately. She was everywhere to him now. When he slept he saw her, when he killed Heartless he saw her. If he didn't see her in the flesh soon he might just…"It should take only another…. 100 years at our current pace!" Donald said. Goofy upon hearing this tumbled out of his chair, nuts and all.
Sora turned back to the bar. "Better make that a full round of vodka…" he said a defeated look on his face.