Hi, it's me again. I promise, this one is longer! It's almost four pages long! Well, okay, not so long, but it felt like it! 0o
Sonic101: I am! Yay!
Jake: Wow, thanks!
Cookies for everyone because I can't think of something better!
Chapter XI
Sora felt the air rush past his face, eyes straining to see in the pitch-black tunnel. Slowly, it began to seem like he wasn't even falling anymore, until the light grew below him. He could see Donald and Goofy falling with him, slowly, but Sabrina and Jeremy were nowhere to be found. They finally touched down and watched as the rabbit sped past. Running after it, they rounded a corner, but found the other two in their party instead, investigating a door.
"It won't open," Jeremy said abruptly, Sabrina straining trying to open it.
"How did you get here so fast?" Jeremy grinned and pointed at his blue wings.
"Wings, mate. Fall faster, land easier." Sora shrugged.
"Lemme try the door." Sora found a keyhole in the front. The Keyblade was instantly in his hands. Somehow, just the very presence unlocked the door because it came right open. Two smaller doors were behind it, which also opened, and, although the first door was just big enough for Goofy, they all managed to fit without bending down. They found themselves in a room seemingly made of shades of pink and white. Sora wasn't very sure that he liked it already.
It didn't really have much to look at, other than a bed, a fireplace, a small corner table, and two low to the ground striped red and pink chairs. On the opposite side of the room was a large pink curved space on the wall that looked like it might have been a door, but with a smaller brown door to one side of the bottom. Be sides the main things that most people would notice immediately, there also seemed to be objects painted onto the floor and walls. Mostly, they were decorations, like candles on the wall, a flower, a pot. In the middle of the floor, however, was decorated with a white table and matching chair.
"How bizarre…" Sora muttered.
"You can say that again," Sabrina replied, nodding.
Just then, the white rabbit ran around their shoes, much smaller than he had been before. Just big enough to get through the smaller door. The group ran across the room after him as he disappeared. Sora crouched down to look at the door. There was definitely something about this that reminded him about something from the movie, although he couldn't put his finger on it. Of course, he hadn't seen the movie since he was ten.
"Now, how did he get so small?" Sora murmured to himself. To his surprise, someone answered, namely the doorknob. Yawning, it blinked and said, "Oh, do you have to be so loud? I was sleeping."
"Good mornin'," Goofy said good-naturedly, as if he could talk any other way.
"Good night," it replied, yawning again. "I need a little more sleep."
"Wait!" Sabrina exclaimed, pushing Sora out of the way. "How do we get small?"
"Try the bottle," it said, again yawning, and motioned towards the table on the floor with its nose. This time, it did go back to sleep, snoring softly. With a puff of white smoke, the table and chair rose from the floor, as did the bottles on top of it, and became three dimensional.
Sora walked over to it, picking up both bottles. One was orange, the other blue, and the blue one said 'Drink Me,' while the orange one said 'Eat Me'. Sora immediately put down the orange bottle for the more practical one, unsure of how to eat a liquid.
"Well," he said, "no hurt in trying." He was about to drink it when it was snatched out of his hand.
"Actually, there is," Sabrina said, shaking the bottle and making the liquid inside slosh around. "It could be poisoned. We can't have the Key Bearer dying, now can we?" Sora rolled his eyes.
"And you're a little paranoid."
"You're only paranoid if you're wrong," Sabrina said, "which is why I rather hope I am." She took a sip of the bottle. For a second, nothing happened, and then finally, she began to shrink. At first, she thought she really was dying, her bones seeming to move at odd angles while they shrunk, but it didn't hurt. Eventually, she was barely as big as the bottle she had drunk from. Being as strong as she was, she took hold of the bottle and flapped her wings furiously, trying to gain altitude where there were no breezes. Easier said than done. Eventually, she managed to land on Sora's hand, bottle and all.
"There ya go, Sora!" She shouted so that he could hear her. She jumped off his hand, gliding down to the door, only to find that it wouldn't open. By this time, Sora was halfway through shrinking and Jeremy was about to take a sip. She flew at his had, screeching for him to stop.
"We have to find another way! The doorknob is asleep!" Jeremy nodded in acknowledgement. Sora had finally shrunk all the way. Sabrina let herself drop, softening her fall with her wings, and ran to Sora.
"We have to find another way through, on this level." The two squinted around, looking for openings. There were a few on other parts of the wall, but Sora didn't want to risk them, since they were high up. Not everyone could fly. He began to look along the same wall as the small door, and found that there was a small door way hidden behind the bed. Sabrina, by now getting tired of flying back and forth, relayed the message. Goofy walked over to the bed.
"Ya mean this one?" He kicked it lightly, but with just enough force to send it forward into the wall, becoming a painting. Everyone, big or small, gaped at Goofy, then at the bed, and finally back at Goofy. He just shrugged and said, "Ahyuck."
At last, everyone shrunk them selves and walked through the dark doorway. They were almost immediately assaulted by bright light, squinting. They were surrounded by hedge walls, the way blocked by soldiers, or at least Sora thought they were soldiers, until his eyes widened and he remembered what the soldiers for the Queen of Hearts looked like. Cards.
Each card was either a Heart or a Spade, Hearts carrying spears, Spades axes. They're eyes covered, if they did have eyes, anyway, by hoods of the corresponding color of their suit. They didn't seem exactly friendly, either. They parted, revealing a courtroom of a kind that seemed to be lacking a jury box. Also, the witness stand not only lacked a chair but was also in front of the judge. The whole court lacked everyone, in fact, except for the judge, a large, scary looking woman that Sora vaguely recognized as the Queen of Hearts, and a girl with blonde hair wearing a baby blue dress, an apron, and many petticoats. Alice.
Suddenly, the white rabbit darted towards the courtroom from some where to their right, despite all the time it took them to find the opening. He ran up a curling flight of stairs, pulling out a small trumpet and blew a short tune.
"Court is now in session!" He rasped loudly, huffing and puffing. The Queen shot a short glare at him, then turned to Alice, who seemed as outraged as a polite European girl could be, which was shocked.
"I'm on trial! But why?"
"The Queen of Hearts, presiding," the rabbit said. The Queen looked intently at the girl, as if studying, then finally said, "There's no doubt about it. It was her. And why?" She snickered to her self, gazing evilly at the little girl. "Because I say so, that's why!"
"That's absolutely ridiculous!" Alice exclaimed, albeit politely. "Just because you're the queen doesn't give you the right to be so, so mean!" The cards gasped, as did the white rabbit. The Queen's face turned beet red.
"Don't you think we should help her?" Sora said.
"Yeah, this is a rather one sided court," Sabrina agreed.
"Yeah, but," Donald began.
"That would be muddling," Goofy finished.
"Meddling!"
"Right!"
"Even if it could mean the death of another person?" Sora said, knowing very well what Alice's punishment would be.
"Death?" The other four all said, staring.
"Don't be ridiculous," Jeremy said, half smiling. "They wouldn't-"
"So, the verdict." The queen looked around at her subjects present. "I find her guilty of assault and attempted theft of my heart." The group of five all gasped. Heartless!
"Off with her head!" Sora looked grimly smug at the faces of the others. Without another word, Sora shot out past the guards, Sabrina close behind. Jeremy, Donald, and Goofy, however, were stuck back, not moving as quickly.
"Stop!" Sora exclaimed, skidding to a stop, Sabrina an imposing figure next to him. "She didn't do it!"
"How dare you interrupt my court!" she exclaimed, face turning red again. She calmed down a little, then asked, "Well, who did do it?"
"The Heartless!" The Queen sniffed at them, obviously not believing him.
"Never heard of them. Have you any proof?"
"Well, no…" The Queen scowled. Alice was apprehended and shoved into a human sized birdcage, locked in without another word.
"Then find proof, or you and your friends over there will lose their heads as well!" Sora watched as Goofy, Donald, and Jeremy were brought up in chains. He bit his lip. What had he gotten them into?
"I don't even know what kind of proof to look for!" He and Sabrina had been wandering in the Locust Forest, rightly named for the giant, tree-like locusts surrounding them.
"Don't worry," Sabrina said, trying to be positive. "We'll find something." In fact, her mind was racing, trying to figure out a way to save Sora as well as Jeremy and the others, who could obviously not get themselves out, but was failing.
Suddenly, they were surrounded by strange laughter that Sora identified as the Cheshire Cat. Sure enough, a body-less grin floated around them, finally forming a head and then the body of a purple and red violet striped cat.
"Poor Alice," he said, relaxing on one of the many locusts. "Soon to lose her head. You and your friends, too. What a shame, such loss of young blood."
"Do you know where proof would be?" Sora asked hopefully. The Cheshire Cat mocked looking shocked.
"Why of course! The Cheshire Cat knows all, but does not always tell." He paused, seemingly for effect. "The way to the proof is tricky and goes part way through the forest, but is not here. Don't open it until you need to! A prize if you manage to find it." The Cat's grin widened, and then it disappeared.
"Well, that was strange," Sabrina said, frowning. "Should we trust him?"
"Do we have a choice?" With that, they began to explore. It wasn't long until Sora came upon a large yellow flower.
"Now, what's this…" He touched it gently, and it began to talk.
"Give me a potion, and I'll make you big." Sora blinked. He had enough potions, anyway, so he took one out of his pocket and gave it to the flower, pouring it over it's petals. The flower shook slightly, dust blowing off and covering Sora. He began to grow, until he almost hit the top of the forest, which seemed to have ceiling.
"Gah!" He exclaimed, and Sabrina came running. After the initial shock, she fluttered up and landed on his shoulder, looking like a fairy with red dragon wings and was much more muscular than any he had seen on T.V.
"What did you think you were doing?" She exclaimed, high pitched, in his ear.
"I thought it might help." Sora took a step forward, accidentally stepping on a tree stump. The stump went down into the ground, another locust popping up.
"That was weird…" Sora said. He looked to one side and saw a thick stalk. As he walked forward, the Keyblade appeared and the stalk said, "Hit me!" Stunned, Sora did so. The stalk spun, revealing a branch with a fruit. He picked it and took a bit, not exactly knowing why, and bit into it. He shrunk, the fruit disappearing. Sabrina jumped off his shoulder and flew over to the new locust, flittering to another one jumping distance away from it.
"Hey!" She said. "An opening!" Sora crawled up some mushrooms and jumped onto some locusts, realizing just how weird this was. He jumped over to where Sabrina was.
"Cool," he said, and jumped through. Sabrina rolled her eyes and followed.
Sora and Sabrina found themselves on a water spout in the Bizarre Room, as they had started to call it. A little ways away was a shelf with a small pink box on top.
"You think that's it?" Sora asked. It was just barely close enough for him to jump to.
"Maybe." Sabrina fluttered under the drop, motioning for him to jump.
"I'll catch you if you fall!" Sora nodded, stepped back, and took a running jump. For a second, he didn't think he'd make it, but he managed to grab the side and pull himself up. Panting as Sabrina landed next to him, he picked up the box and hugged it to his chest. Then, he heard clapping. Turning, he saw the Cheshire Cat.
"Good job, you two," he said. "As I promised." The Cat snapped his fingers, and Sora felt a very cool breeze rush over him.
"What did you do!" Sabrina exclaimed harshly.
"Just gave him a chance. Toodle-loo." The Cat disappeared, and Sora shivered. Looking down, he finally realized something.
"Uh, Sabrina, how are we supposed to get outta here?" Sabrina grinned.
"Make like birds and fly, I guess."
No endy thing because it took me so long to type this. 0o Sorry.