Disclaimer: Anything Kingdom Hearts-y isn't mine. It belongs to Square/Disney or whoever owns it. For example, Wonderland. In true-truth, belongs to Lewis Carrol, right? Riiight, or at least, copyrighted. Whatever. It's all the same. Okay, basically, anything that isn't mine isn't mine. Okay? Okay…
I'm moving the thanks to the bottom. Either way, as this is one hell of a long chapter, I think you'll all be too damn tired to read them.
This is going to be darker than the previous chapters, considering there's going to be some mind-delving here. And such. It's fun. *evil grin* Actually now that I think of it, this might be the darkest chapter in this story. Well, we'll see how the Halloween Town one is. But this one… It's… I don't know, you all tell me what you think of it. But just one thing…I LOVED writing this chap. LOVED it. This is what I'm meant to write as, in all truth. This is how I really want to write, and it shows. I think this is going to be the longest chapter in the story. I had so much fun. Muahahahaaaaa! I'm evil, its true.
And I've finished my second chapter in an original fiction, extremely dark, depressing, and I guess angst-ful, which means that *does quick calculations* in about two years, you should be looking for Zoshi the Confused on your local bookstores shelves. Hopefully. Yes, yes, I'm shameless. This is the last shameless promo, I promise. Until, of course, I finish the book. Then I'll promo. And promo and promo and… You all hate me now, don't you? You're all going: Get on with the damn story all ready! ARRRGHHHH!!!! , aren't you? Okays, on with the story:
Chapter 8
Time had passed once more. Taking advantage of Sephiroth's sudden appearance of sanity, Sasha spent most of her time taking it easy and asking him questions. Of course, just because Sephiroth was 'sane', didn't mean he was any less irritable. Which meant, sooner than later, he was sending her off again.
"But… but you said, you said I could take off as long as I wanted!" Sasha exclaimed, just as Sephiroth was explaining where she was going.
"Yes, but you have overused that privilege. Now listen, you are going to go to a world called Wonderland," Sephiroth began explaining.
"Oh, I wonder-wonder-wonder-wonder-" Sasha began singing, stopped when Sephiroth's glare reached her. She smiled at him, waved. He rolled his eyes and continued.
"Once you're there, you will search for three people. They had been captured and hidden by the Heartless-" Sephiroth was interrupted by the impatient and a little pissed off Sasha, waving her arm in the air as if she were in grade school.
"Um, Teacher? I still don't understand the whole 'We want to help the heartless so we fight them' thing? Why are we doing that, again?" Sasha asked. Sephiroth, as usual when faced with questions like these, ignored her and looked away.
"You are looking for the three persons known as The Mad Hatter, The March Hare, and The Dormouse." Sephiroth looked back, and sighed, as Sasha was once again raising her hand. "Yes?"
"Are those last two animals?" Sasha asked carefully.
"Yes."
"And I HAVE to find these three and un-capture them?"
"Yes, you do."
Sephiroth looked at her, and his voice took on a pitying tone.
"Is that all right with you? I mean, if those instruction are a little too difficult for your miniscule brain to comprehend," he pulled a piece of paper and a pen out of Limbo's air, "I can write it down for you."
Sasha growled at him, her wings bristling. Sephiroth snickered and continued, tossing the paper and pen away.
"Now, be careful when you find them. From what I've heard, the Heartless have them holed up in different sections of a parallel-universe Wonderland." Sephiroth said, getting serious and looking Sasha in the eyes. "You must be extremely careful. This place that the Heartless have created, it is very dangerous. You must keep your wits, because if you don't, you might end up lost there yourself."
"So basically I'm going kamikaze." Sasha sighed, "And for what reason, again?"
"These three have the three pieces to a talisman. This talisman is very important to me, and it might end up being important to you too." Sephiroth crossed his arms, and although his eyes were on Sasha, they seemed slightly out of focus, as if he were looking at something else at the same time.
"Important? What kind of important?" Sasha asked.
"Get the pieces and I'll tell you." Sephiroth bargained. Sasha looked at him for a second, but nodded, curiosity getting the better of her.
"Fine." Sasha secured her axe and looked at him. "Anything I should know about the locals?"
"Let's see, if you need help, talk to a flower. Except for the snapdragons and tiger lilies. Watch out for those, they bite. Now, if you run into any animals, only listen to the Chesire Cat. Even so, be careful because what he says isn't always what it seems. And watch out for the cards, they serve the queen and attack intruders." Sephiroth thought some more, then shrugged. "That's about it, I think."
"Gee, I just can't wait for this field trip to start! I'll get to be attacked by cards and flowers and everything!" Sasha said sarcastically, grabbing the stone around her neck.
"Oh, and if you get lost, look for the caterpillar. Or is he a butterfly now?" Sephiroth mused, looking off. Sasha gave him a half-questioning, half-skeptical look. He looked back at her, sighed.
"I guess it won't matter much, once you get to that other side. It's probably all different there." Sephiroth waved her on. "Now go. The sooner you get there the sooner you'll get back."
"Hmph. Maybe I'll just stay there extra-long and prove you wrong." Sasha said crossly. Without a last look she thought Wonderland to the stone and was whisked off.
Sephiroth glared at the empty spot where she had been standing.
"I didn't get to say bye." He muttered irritably. All of a sudden his eyes narrowed and he glared to the side, as if someone had just laughed at him. He growled angrily and went to sit by a wall.
In Wonderland, Sasha found herself being force fed something out of a bottle.
"What the?! Hey! Get that away from me!" She tried to shake off what seemed to be a multitude of green, leafy worms.
"Relax, honey, we're just trying to help," A voice spoke from her right.
"That's right. Without this, you wouldn't be able to stay here for long. You'd be too big." Another voice spoke, this time from her left.
Sasha calmed down and the 'worms' released her. She sat down and looked around, hoping to see just who had spoken. All she saw was grass, a few rocks, and two daisies.
"Um…" Sasha blinked, not quite sure just what was happening. The two daisies were normal size, she was sure. But then why were they at eye-level?
"Now here honey, finish this and you'll be good to go." The daisy to her right said, holding out a bottle to her on one leaf.
"You…you just… talked." Sasha stared at the daisy in disbelief. Sephiroth told her to ask flowers for help, but she never thought that it was true.
"Of course she talked. All of us can talk." The other daisy spoke up, waving a leaf towards the farther regions where more flowers gathered.
"Oh." Sasha took the bottle from the first daisy, but didn't drink from it. "Why… why are you helping me?"
"We heard you've come to free The Three." The daisy on her left said.
"Are they important?" Sasha asked.
"Oh, very important. At least, they were when the stars started falling. The Queen made them her advisers!" The daisy nodded.
"Yes she did! And now that the heartless have been here, and might come back, she needs them! But since they're hidden away, there's no one to advise her." The daisy on her right said.
"M-hm. And the White Rabbit, he's a nice little fellow, but he's not at all made for advising." The second daisy added.
"True. He's a little too jumpy, I think." The first daisy said.
"Wait, you heard that I was going to come here?" Sasha gripped the bottle tightly. "Who… who told you?"
"Why, the Cheshire Cat." The second daisy answered.
"He said a girl was going to come who'd free 'The Three'?" Sasha asked skeptically.
"Well, honey, now that you mention it, he didn't say it quite like that. But what he did say did mean it. I'm sure." The first daisy nodded.
"What happens if I don't get them back?" Sasha asked.
"Well, the Queen would probably have all our heads for it!" The second daisy exclaimed.
"And yours too, most likely." The first daisy added.
"Okay, that serves as motivation." Sasha, not wanting to lose her head, tipped the bottle and drank what was in it. In seconds she was smaller than the daisies.
"Um, is it supposed to work like this?" Sasha stood up, now face to face with the daisies.
"Yes, honey. You're good to go now." The daisy seemed happy.
"Good luck. And steer clear of those Heartless. Nasty little buggers, they are." The second daisy waved her leaf in warning.
"I will. Well, thanks for your help." Sasha said, "Um, do you know where I might start?"
"Look for the Tea Party Garden. I think that'll be a good place to start." The daisy nodded, and Sasha started off.
She found her way to the garden pretty soon, running into a few groups of heartless along the way. Her training sessions with Sephiroth were paying off, though, and she found it much easier to fight them off this time around. In fact, it seemed, almost, tedious, to some extent.
In the garden, she stood around the table for a while, looking around. Then she noticed it.
A painting hung over the table, with a sad looking man in a hat and a sad looking rabbit in it.
"That's weird." Sasha got closer to it, looking hard at the painting. She leaned over the table at it, wondering at the awesome detail and thinking that it really didn't look like paint at all.
Suddenly, something behind her shook. She turned around quickly but saw nothing. Puzzled, she looked back—and found the frame empty. Not only that, it was open. She reached out a hand to check for glass, but instead it went straight through what should have been the picture.
She pulled it out quickly, looked at the picture intently. Now that she really looked, the background wasn't the same as what had been behind the two figures before. She took a breath, reached her hand out again, and reached past the frame. Just as she was about to pull her arm out again, something grabbed her and pulled her in.
Darkness surrounded her for a second, and although she tried to roll to her feet and stand up, she discovered that she couldn't. What she had thought was up wasn't, but it wasn't down either. She felt the floor, or the wall, or whatever it was, hard beneath her touch, but she couldn't push away from it. Abruptly, everything lurched. Gravity worked again and she felt herself collapse on what must have been the floor. Somewhere in the background the sound of something being wound up, like a toy, or maybe a music box, came.
Sasha pushed herself up, the darkness fading to a dim light.
Whatever was being wound up grew silent. A whirring took its place, filling the air.
She opened her eyes, coughed on the dust that drifted up from the ground. Looking around, she cautiously got to her feet. She checked her pack, then her axe. Lastly she checked her wings. She started to stretch them, then found they caught on something. Not liking this place, not liking the fact that she couldn't move her wings, she struggled to look over her shoulder to see just what was keeping them tied up. As she did she noticed a dusty mirror standing not far from her. She walked up to it, slowly and cautiously, in case it was anything like the picture had been.
Standing in front of it, her breath caught. The reflection, it was her, but… it was… it was so long ago…
Something flashed, and she pulled back. Her breath came back, but she had to gasp to breath. There were two figures in the mirror now. The one she recognized… It was her, young, but her; that she knew. And she remembered, remembered that day. Her eyes focused on her eyes.
She was seven, the girl in the mirror reminded her, seven and waiting for someone to love. And no one came.
Sasha shuddered. She didn't want to look anymore, didn't want to hear her voice come from those silent lips.
Seven, the girl went on, and made to wrap her wings. She kept tripping on them, remember? They were too big and she was too little.
Sasha reached an arm over her shoulder, felt the soft velvet that was holding her wings.
Wrapped, and there were bells, the girl showed her, so they always knew it was her.
So everybody would know.
From somewhere behind her music began playing. She vaguely recognized it, taking a few seconds to register it. The Stone Roses ~ I Wanna Be Adored. The lyrics drifted listlessly through the air, hanging themselves like wreaths round her head.
I don't have to sell my soul…. He's already in me…
"But…" Sasha frowned at the words, "What does that have to do with me?"
Her eyes drifting from the little girl's eyes to the taller figure behind her.
I don't have to sell my soul…. He's already in me…
As her eyes moved, she realized the black in the mirror came not from the background but from the figure itself. Small irregular patches were seen where the black stopped short of the mirrors edges, and even though Sasha's gaze traveled to them, her eyes were still pulled up, up. Past the black edges, past the long hair that fluttered lightly, darkly. Her eyes met those of the figure's; her breath escaped and didn't return.
The yellow almonds pierced through the darkness, through her, shining fiercely like two suns.
She took a faltering step back.
The figure smiled, the lips twisting cruelly.
She couldn't move, not anymore, not again.
The figure reached out, held out a hand, silky black in the darkness.
No, she mouthed. Still, she couldn't tear her gaze away from that shining light, from the darkly glowing orbs. Although her mind told her otherwise, she had the fearful feeling that the hand that was reaching to her would reach through the mirror, reach out and pull her in.
But, it had nothing to do with her! Nothing at all… She cried desperately, silently.
The figure smiled, the cruel lips twisting all the more, the hand still reaching out.
No, she thought, her hands moving to her face, no, she wouldn't lose it. Not here. Not now. Something came to her, she didn't know what. Some force came back to her, some force she had lost in her fall through the frame.
The figure paused, the lips untwisted into a sudden frown.
"No." With what grace was left her, Sasha swung her axe out from its holder and slashed at the mirror. The figure's eyes widened for a second, then it entirely faded. The young girl looked at her solemnly, as the blade cracked the glass. Looked at her with nothing, nothing in her eyes.
Nothing but pity.
It took a few seconds for Sasha to realize that the mirror was broken. It took her a few more to realize that there had been light in that mirror, light that was now shattered. She looked up at the remaining pieces of glass that stuck in the mirror. Something dripped from them, fell to the ground silently, staining it dark, darker than it already was.
She stepped forward, reached out a hand to touch, to feel what it was. The glass was surprisingly dull. And the liquid, that dripped steadily and fell slowly, surprisingly warm.
She brought the hand to her eyes, looking closely in the dim light at what it was stained with. She couldn't be quite sure, though, and brought a finger to her tongue.
Blood?
Her eyes widened, her back stiffened, and all went black.
When she came to she found herself wandering around a dark garden. A half-moon hung in the sky above her, blocked and unblocked as the tall grass swayed. There didn't seem to be a wind, and the only sound was the tinkling of the bells on her wings. She shivered, from what, she didn't know.
Out of the grass another noise came. Soft, so soft she almost missed it. She turned towards it, listened closely, heard it again. Walking forward, coming closer, she heard it grow louder, recognized it as a sleepy sort of weeping.
"Um, hello, anyone there?" She called, and the noise stopped with an abrupt hiss.
She stepped closer, pushed aside the tall grass to find a fuzzy creature, struggling to stick its head into a teakettle.
"Um, hello, are… are you okay?" Sasha said, walking closer. "Do you need some help?"
All the creature did was sob, hiccup, and sob again. She stepped closer, and realized that it wasn't trying to stick its head into the teakettle, but was trying to get it out. Every time it pulled against the teakettle, the kettle shrank tighter around its head.
"Um, okay, hold on there…" Sasha glanced around, made her way through the grass to the creature. "You might not want to do that, it'll only make it worse."
"help me…" the creature squeaked, dropping its paws to the ground and swinging its head blindly in her direction.
"I will, I just need to figure out what to do." Sasha said, dropping to her knees and looking closer at the teakettle. "Do you know where we could find some butter?"
"BUTTER?!" Squeaked the creature, and dropped to the ground, sobbing. As it did, its tears filled the kettle and dripped out the spout, drying as soon as they did. "There's noooo butterrrrr…!"
Sasha stared at it for a second, then thought some more.
"Is there anything that's slippery? Even water or something?" Even as she spoke, the ground around them dried to dust, the grass faded to yellow and fell heavily to the ground.
"nononononononooo…" the creature sobbed.
"Can you break it?" Sasha asked.
"It…it's magicked. Can only pull it off, but it won't work!" The creature collapsed entirely onto the ground.
Sasha thought hard on it, but there seemed to be only one choice. She told the creature to calm down and stay still, then took out her axe. There was only one thing that she had that was slippery enough to get the kettle off.
"Okay, buddy, this is going to be a little weird, but, here goes nothing." She steadied the blade, braced herself, and pulled the blade lightly over the length of her arm. Without pause she held her arm over the creatures neck, where the kettle met fur, letting the blood coat the creatures neck.
She quickly cast a cure and went to smear the blood around the edge of the kettle.
"Wh-what did you do?" The creature asked quietly.
"Nothing, don't worry about it…" Sasha said, feeling the kettle start to slip. "Okay, brace yourself, its coming off."
The creature dug its paws into the ground, and Sasha pulled. With a loud pop, the kettle flew off and the creature was shaking its head.
"Thank you!" It said, and Sasha could now see it was some sort of mouse. It hiccupped and handed her something. "For saving me from… from those, those things… you may have this!"
Sasha grabbed what it was waving towards her, and the mouse faded away, and hopefully out of this forsaken land. She looked down at what was in her hand and saw it was a piece of something.
"The talisman…" She murmured, then put the piece in her pack carefully. Stretching her arm, which still ached from the now-healed cut, she took off through the garden once more, as the scenery around her faded and morphed.
She found herself in a type of funhouse, she guessed, as the walls were crooked, and made of mirrors. There was little light, and it seemed to come from holes in the floor.
"Mirrors…" She whispered worriedly, but on turning round she found only herself reflected back, with no shadows to be seen.
"What are you doing here?" A familiar voice reached her, and she turned to see Riku standing in one of the corridors.
"I could ask you the same," She answered facing him. He looked at her for a long moment.
"I asked first." He said, giving her a look.
"Fine." She sighed. "I'm supposed to be finding people. And setting them free and whatnot."
Riku looked at her intently, staying silent. She gave him a look.
"Well? And you?" She asked finally.
"I'm…I'm supposed to stop you." He said.
"Oh." Sasha responded. They stood there for a little while, looking at each other.
"Um, you sure its me? I mean, maybe there's different people trapped here, and someone else is supposed to come… or something…" Sasha fidgeted.
"No, I'm pretty sure its you." Riku sighed. Sasha looked at him, intently for the first time.
"You… you're different…" She said, still looking at him. He raised a hand to his hair.
"What? I got the purple out…" He said, but she shook her head.
"No, it's not that. You're… there's something about you. You're different." She said, trying to figure it out. "Oh well. It doesn't matter."
Riku looked at her, dropping his hand and wondering at her words. Different? He didn't feel any different. He was sure he wasn't acting any different.
"Oh," Sasha said, deciding that now would be as good a time as ever, "Before we have to fight and knock each other silly, I just wanted to tell you I saw this kid named Sora, he said he was your friend and he's looking for you."
Riku looked at her, his eyes widened. Sora, looking for him? Why would he be doing that? He had new friends, he had a new job, why would he want to look for him?
He narrowed his eyes and Sasha was surprised by the sudden anger in them.
"Um… did I say something wrong?" She asked cautiously.
"No." Riku crossed his arms, looked at some other part of the corridor.
"Er…" Sasha began, not really knowing what to say.
"I saw him already. He's got other friends. He's busy." Riku said shortly. "He doesn't need me."
"But…" Sasha stopped, seeing she'd get nowhere. How much time had passed since she last saw Sora? What had happened? She took a step towards Riku, when suddenly he stiffened, looked around.
That's right… he's got new friends… He doesn't need you anymore…
Riku glanced around at the corners of the corridors.
"Riku? What is it?" Sasha said, looking around but not seeing anything.
And she'll be just the same, just like the rest of them…
Riku looked at Sasha out of the corner of his eye. The girl was looking intently into one of the mirrors, wondering what it was they were looking for.
Just like the rest of them… just when you think you'd all do something for each other… they'll let you drop… Leave you and never look back…
Riku didn't want to believe it, he didn't want to think it true, but it was, wasn't it? Didn't everyone forget about him? Didn't Sora find new friends? Wasn't he alone, again… all alone?
That's right… alone… that's what you'll be… you can't let them get to you… don't let her fool you too…
The hissing, whispering voice was right, he thought, it was very right. If he let her get close like everyone else did, she'd end up hurting him too. She'd end up leaving him the second she got a chance. He'd have to fix that. He'd have to make sure that she'd never do that to him, not like Sora did… not like they all did…
That's right… do it… now… take care of her… before… she takes care… of you…
"You know what…" Sasha said, staring at the mirror and thinking, "I think I'm starting to understand this place. All it does… is get inside your head. What do you think, Riku?"
She turned to him, stopped short of asking her next question as her breath caught.
Riku stood facing her, his eyes glistening coldly in the shifting light. Sasha took a step back as he took one forward, his hand pulling out the demon-winged blade and aiming it at her.
"R-Riku… what's going on?" Sasha said, backing away as he advanced on her. There was a strange look in his eyes, and the feeling that she had felt so lightly before was overwhelming her. This wasn't Riku, she thought, this can't be! She took out her axe, holding it in a defensive position, although she didn't want to use it. She took another step back, and ran into something.
It wasn't a mirror, she was sure, and she couldn't quite figure out what it was. The corridor had been empty, she was sure of it. Not wanting to turn her back on Riku, she instead put her back to a wall, now being able to see in both directions.
She wasn't quite sure if she should've been happy… or scared.
Another Riku stood, gazing at the first one with a look of mild contempt. The first Riku stopped, glancing from the new one to Sasha and back. He seemed to be contemplating what to do in this situation. Finally he decided that the newcomer was none of his business and moved towards Sasha again.
"Um…" Sasha shrank back against the mirror. As soon as she did, something reached out and pulled her in.
The first Riku growled at that, stood up straight, put the sword away, then suddenly collapsed onto the floor, holding his head.
"What… what the hell… what was I doing?" He whispered, more to himself, as he had forgotten that the other Riku was there.
"Hmph. Weak." The other Riku said, although it didn't seem like his lips had moved.
Riku's head shot up, and he stared at his double, then got up and glared at him defiantly.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"I'm you, or at least you when you still had a backbone." The double said arrogantly.
"What do you mean?" Riku said angrily. "I still have a backbone."
"Sure you do." The double walked forward, and Riku found he couldn't move. "That's why you almost attacked the girl, right? Even though you didn't want to, even though you told yourself no, you still went for it, all because you have a backbone, right?"
Riku still glared at the double, but he knew it was right. He hadn't wanted to attack her, but he'd almost done it anyway, all because of a stupid voice in his head. The double was smiling at him, but it wasn't a smile he liked. Its eyes held no warmth, and as it drew closer he wondered if this was how he looked when Sasha told him he looked different.
"You almost attacked her. You would've won, you know. She didn't want to hurt you and she'd do her best not to. You would've won so easily. But that's alright," the double was getting quite close now, and Riku found himself getting scared. "Its alright, because soon you'll be doing much more horrible things, much greater, horrible things. And this will be nothing compared to them."
"But… but I won't… I can't." Riku tried to pull back, even though he knew it was useless. "I can't… I get it now, you're the part of a person that makes them do things they don't want to do…"
"Yes. And?" The double stopped in front of him.
"Where… where's my voice of reason, then?" Riku asked, unnerved by the look in his double's eyes.
"I'll let you in on a little secret…" The double whispered, leaning until his face was only an inch away from Riku's. "You don't have one."
Sasha found herself in a small room, surrounded on all sides by mirrors. The room itself seemed to be one that revolved, and the mirrors were split in three horizontally.
"Oh, are you okay?"
Sasha turned to see the head of a man in a large top hat looking at her worriedly. The two bottom mirrors were empty.
"Yeah, um, where am I?" She asked, looking around the room. There were eight sides to the room, but only three pieces of the mirror were filled. One top one with the man's head, one middle one with his body and hands, and one bottom one with his feet. The floor held a multitude of levers, just as many as there were mirror pieces.
"This room is made up of mirrors, just like the rest of this house." The man said. "I can move through the mirrors, but I can't leave them, at least not with all of myself."
"So you're the one who pulled me through the mirror." Sasha said, turning to him. "So, how do I get you out?"
"Well, you stand in the middle of the levers. The mirror you face will capture an image of you and hold it. When you push or pull a lever, the room will rotate." The man said, his hands wringing themselves.
"Okay, that sounds easy. I just have to put you back together.
"Yes. Now see, the lever in the middle resets the entire thing and messes everything up, so only pull that if you're really stumped. But…" The man continued, his tone growing slightly sad. " There is a catch. Once you complete me, you yourself will be split among the mirrors, and you'll end up caught in here like I am now."
"What?" Sasha exclaimed, then calmed down a bit. "But, I have to try, at least. I can't leave you here."
And plus, she added silently, I have to find a way out, so I could find Riku and figure out what this place had done with him.
So Sasha made her way to the middle of the room and stood on a giant 'x'. The mirrors she faced copied her image, and she was shocked to see that, unlike in any ordinary mirror, the image didn't move but remained still.
It took her a good quarter of the hour to figure out what lever did what, and soon she was spinning them with efficiency. Each lever took thirty seconds to start up, so that the mirrors didn't move for that time. In another twenty minutes she had the man set up, and herself spread across the room.
"Now, how does this work?" She asked, standing in the middle of the room.
"As soon as you pull me out, a hole will appear that leads us out of here. But, as soon as I'm out of here, you'll get pulled into the mirrors and will stay trapped." The man said.
"Hmph. I doubt that." Sasha said, feeling very sure of herself. She flipped a lever and raced forward.
"But… But that's the reset lever!" The man cried. The seconds were ticking by.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!" Sasha said, and reached out a hand. She grabbed the man and pulled him out, his last foot leaving the mirror just as the room started to spin.
"But, you'll be trapped, and…" The man's voice faded as he watched the room come to a stop.
"But I pulled the lever while you were still in the mirror. Which made the room think that all it had to do was to go back to how it was in the beginning." Sasha said, and the room came to a stop.
"So… it returns to the beginning…" The man said, watching in wonder. "And makes you… whole."
Sasha looked at her completed mirror puzzle with pride.
"That's right! No mirror trap for me." She grabbed the man and pulled him into the hole in the floor. Once out, he thanked her gratefully and, like the dormouse before him, left her with a piece of the talisman.
"I'll see you on the outside!" He said, and faded away.
"Next piece." Sasha said, putting it away. "Now, we look for the March Hare… and Riku…"
She took off into the darkness.
It took her quite some time find the hare, although all the way she looked for signs of Riku, but she didn't find any. What she did find, however, was a giant dirt racing track, and at the very end, gleaming softly, was the frame.
"Wow. Am I almost at the end?" Sasha wondered out loud.
"Sure are. All you have to do is beat the tortoise, and you're out." A voice spoke from the track next to her. "Shouldn't be a problem for you."
She turned to see a hare, bouncing from foot to foot, looking at her jealously.
"What do you mean? Can't you beat the tortoise too?" She asked him.
"Sure… if I didn't have magic on me. If I take more than five steps at once, I fall asleep. And If I fall asleep too long, the tortoise gets to the frame, and I get sent back to the beginning." The hare said sadly, stopping his bouncing and sitting on the ground.
"Wait, its if you, yourself, take the steps, right?" Sasha asked.
"Yes," The hare muttered.
"Well, what if I pull you?" Sasha said.
"Why… that might work!" He stood up, and then looked at her. He was face to face with her, and seemed to be heavier than the girl too. "Um, do you think you can do it?"
"I can… try…" Sasha said. She fastened her axe tightly and got ready. "Now, what do I pull you by?"
"My shoulders?" The hare said. "Just not my ears. Or my tail."
"You got it. I'll try." Sasha grabbed hold of his shoulders, and pulled. He moved a few inches.
"Well, that isn't bad. You're pretty strong for a little girl like you." The hare said, patting her on the back gratefully.
"Yeah, lets hope I move fast enough." Sasha said.
After about an hour of pulling, they only seemed to be half the way to the frame, and Sasha was very tired.
"Okay, we gotta think of something else." Sasha wheezed.
"You're right. We're not really moving that fast, are we? And the tortoise is coming." The hare looked towards the beginning of the track.
Sasha sat and thought for a while, leaning back against the hare's back.
"I got an idea." She said, getting up suddenly. The hare, with no cushion for his back, fell backwards, looked up at her crossly.
"What?" He asked, standing up.
"The magic only works if you touch the ground, right?" Sasha asked, turning to him.
"Yes." He said, looking at her closely. "Why?"
"Well, I have a magic spell, called Aero. It creates a shield of wind that throws off anything that hits it. If you can hop just right, and I can run just right, then you can bounce off that all the way to the end!" Sasha said, excitedly.
"Why, that's a grand idea!" The hare bounced in place happily.
So Sasha cast aero on herself and started to run, the hare bouncing gleefully off the air shield. At one point aero disappeared, and the hare almost crashed into Sasha, but she managed to cast it once more. And they took off for the frame, with the tortoise close behind. At least, the hare said he was close behind.
They made it to the frame, and a loud gong sounded. The track crumbled into the ground it was drawn in, and created a low, deep hole.
"Well, I guess all that's left is to get out the frame. Oh, before I leave, I want you to have this." The hare said, handing Sasha the last piece of the talisman. "I hope it comes in handy for you."
"Thanks." Sasha took the piece and put it away with her other pieces. The hare turned to the frame and gasped.
"It's closing!" He exclaimed, and dashed to it.
"Oh no! We have to get out now!" Sasha raced to the frame, then stopped, whispered. "Riku…"
"Sasha! Wait!"
She turned to see Riku struggling to get to them, a sea of writhing mechanical tentacles holding him back. She turned to the frame, saw the dormouse and Mad Hatter on the other side.
"Hold it open!" She called, and they, along with the hare, gave her looks that bordered on 'what-are-you-insane?'
"Hurry up!" The hatter said, as all three struggled to keep the frame from disappearing.
Sasha turned around and dashed to where Riku was struggling, being pulled down by the tentacles. She pulled out her axe and started swinging it through the tentacles, cutting them away until Riku could get free.
"Take my hand! Quick!" She said, reaching out to him. He grabbed her arm and she pulled him out. They raced to where the frame was, the hare still on inside.
"Go!" Sasha pushed both the hare and Riku at the frame, and they fell out. She squeezed through the swiftly shrinking hole after them as the world behind her imploded, and landed on a heap on the table.
They were out.
It was night in the garden. Sasha was sitting on top of a boulder, staring up at the sky. Riku sat on the ground, leaning back against the boulder and staring broodingly at the ground.
"Sasha…" He started, stopped. She looked down at him, waiting. "I'm… I'm sorry, for what happened… I…"
He stopped, not knowing how to explain what had happened. It wasn't often that he apologized to people. But then again, it wasn't often that he turned homicidal and tried to kill people, either.
"Its… I know, the place gets inside your head. It messes it all up." Sasha said softly, watching him.
"Still…" He tried to say something, say it wasn't all right. He found he couldn't say anything.
Sasha slid down off the boulder and sat down, her back to him.
"Riku, can you help me get this off? Damn thing's making my wings itch." She said, looking at him over her shoulder.
He grinned slightly, unhooked the clasps that held the velvet wrapped around her wings and pulled it off. He held it for a second, unsure of what to do with it. Sasha turned to him.
"I'll take it." She said, taking it out of his hands.
"You sure you want to keep that?" Riku asked, not sure why anyone would want to keep a reminder of that place.
"Yeah…" Sasha said, holding it. She put it in her pack and looked at him, smiled. "And as far as I know, I didn't see you or even know you were here."
"I must have come to late, the frame was closed and The Three were already back." Riku responded. "Maleficent should learn to get her timing right.
They both grinned at each other, and then leaned back against the boulder and looked up at the sky.
Until…
"Sasha?" Riku asked, his voice quiet.
"Yeah?" She continued to look at the stars.
"When… when you said I looked different… what did you mean?" He looked at her from the corner of his eye.
"Well…" Sasha paused to think. "It was just… You just seemed different. Like it wasn't you. Or, it was you, but it wasn't all you. It was… I don't know."
She looked at him. He seemed a little worried.
"You okay?" She asked.
"What? Yeah, I'm fine." He said, then stood up. "I better get going."
"Okay… I'll see you… probably… most likely in some deadly situation where one of us is about to die…" Sasha said, waving to him. He lifted an eyebrow, turned and left the garden.
"I wonder..." She thought aloud, looking up at the stars, thinking of the war being waged against them. "I wonder…Why do we do this? All of this? I mean, is life so great, is death so frighteningly horrible that we would rather fight and kill than die? Is it so wonderful that we'd work against what we know is right just to survive?"
She paused, shook her head. With a sigh, she touched the stone
And all was left to darkness.
Yes, joy of joys, Riku was here. What? Of course I needed him here! I had to do somwthing with him, especially when it meant I could show just a little of his thoughts. And once again, NO SASHA X RIKU, none! I'm trying to make this a no-relationship-er. They're just friends, bordering on good friends eventually, considering they have so much in common (the whole working-for-someone-I-don't-wanna-work-for thing). Sooo… Unless people really give me a reason to, there will be absolutely no relationships. Which I like. I like them as friends better. And, considering I know exactly how this is going to end, even though the end isn't written, I've already written the Epilogue. It'll be like a dream-thing. I like it. It sets up a sequel, if people want it to continue. If not, then its an interesting ending all by itself.
Now, does anyone here listen to AFI? Anyone hear "Death of Seasons" by them? Anyone else agree that it sounds like someone from Kingdom Hearts? Anyone? Or am I just too addicted? (to both AFI and Kingdom Hearts) What do you think? Check it out…
Thanks to:
Blue Fox4: Blame the damn Internet provider for my god-awful update times. Grrr… *grins* Thanks for reading my story. It makes me happy to know people like it.
Slinkster Sunshine: Thank you for your continued reading. *grins* I'm loved! wOOt! And the Sephy slash Sasha, I dunno. I wrote part of one of the last few chapters before I ever started this, and… well, we'll see if I put it in or not. But I'm trying to do the impossible: what's that? Have absolutely no relationships! Yay! *gets stoned by passerbys* Urg… yes, but once again, thank you for coming back. And good luck with Wilson. *grins*
Ari Powwel: Thank you for keeping pace with the story. All your reviews mean a lot. A real lot. Thank you so many times over. And you deserve more cookies. And popcorn. Lots of popcorn. And whack James on the head for good measure. No reason. Just whack him. And then give him a cookie.
Thank you everyone once again. So tell me, should I just skip Agrabah and Olympus and go straight to Neverland, or should I visit those two? And where to next? I have a vague idea, but a little help would be nice… and hey, if you want something to happen bad enough, tell me, I just might put it in.
And anyone who can spot the reference for the '"Oh, I wonder-wonder-wonder-wonder-" Sasha began singing' part wins ten points. And a cookie. And some cheese puffs. ^ - ^ I have way too much fun with these notes. Muaahahahahaaa! COCOA!! *runs off like the freak she is*