God, this was a friggin' monster to write. groans It took FOR-EV-ER. Very time consuming. It was 1914 words! I'm afraid you guys will have to wait a little while for another chapter. I can't do another like this anytime soon. Olympus Coliseum will probably be all one chapter because it's so short.
Sonic 101: As you can see, he knew a little more than the rest. And heck no! Not after this chapter!
Jake: Glad you like it! It gets more different as you read on…
Chapter XII
"Here's your evidence," Sora said, arms crossed and glaring squarely at the Queen. He stood in the Witness stand, Sabrina standing behind him like a big, scary bodyguard. The Queen just yawned.
"Guards, present my evidence." A red card rushed forward, a pink box like theirs in his hand. He sat it down next to their own in front of the Witness stand before scurrying back to his place.
"It would take too long to look at both," the Queen said nonchalantly, inspecting her fingernails. She shot a bored look at Sora.
"Pick one."
Sora stepped off the Witness stand and glared at the boxes. As he had watched the Queen, he had noticed one of the Guards switching the boxes around, and he had no idea if what was in the Queen's evidence box would help at all. Taking a deep breath, he picked one and opened the lid. Out popped a soldier heartless. It reacted quickly, jumping at the Queen, but Sora was quicker. He sliced it in two with the Keyblade in midair.
"What was that!" The Queen exclaimed, looking around frantically.
"There's your proof," Sora said. "Alice is innocent."
"Anyone who defies the Queen is guilty! Guards!" The red and black cards surged forward, but Sabrina was quicker, landing in front of Sora and parrying flailing axes and spears.
"Sora! Go free Alice and the others!" Sora was quick to comply, taking the Keyblade and chopping through the cuffs binding Jeremy, Donald, and Goofy. He then ran to Alice's cage, throwing back the red iron curtain to reveal… Nothing.
"Alice! Where did she go!" He exclaimed. The Queen, all the cards, even Sabrina turned to look.
"Go find her, or it's off with ALL of your heads!" Everyone ran out quick, leaving the angry Queen. Sora and Co. once again found themselves in the Lotus Forest, only this time everyone was there.
"Wow…" Donald said, stunned by the sheer size of everything. Suddenly, a nearby pink flower burst open, sending a huge boulder shooting out. The group all backed up. A familiar laugh met Sora's ears.
"The Cheshire Cat!" Both Sora and Sabrina exclaimed at the same time. Sure enough, the familiar cat appeared.
"Poor, poor Alice," he said, grinning all the while. "Whisked away by the darkness."
"Who are you-" Jeremy began, but Sabrina cut him off.
"Where is she?"
"Left the forest, I'm afraid. I won't tell which way." His grin widened.
"How can we find her?"
"The darkness is in the upside down room. How do you find it? Try turning on the light." The cat slowly faded until nothing remained but his devious smile, which then blinked out of existence.
"Hey, look at this!" Everyone had been searching the entire forest when Jeremy shouted. They all rushed to his side.
"A doorway!" There was a black gap between the giant blades of grass, revealing a black tunnel. Jeremy walked through, and the rest followed. On the other side of the tunnel was a brown wooden fence with the gate hanging open. Intrigued, the group hurried on to find a small clearing.
Stairs led down to the grass floor. Right in front of them was a long table, upon which were a mottled array of teacups, all different colors and very few matching. In the very center was a teapot, inside which was a sleepy mouse.
At the far end was a painting of the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, both looking extremely unhappy. To one side of the painting was a small card that read, 'Have a very merry unbirthday!' Finally, to the other side of the table was a squatty little house with a thatched roof and a weird looking door. Sora couldn't understand it. Where were the real Mad Hatter and March Hare? Unless… He glanced back at the picture, and quickly looked away. The eyes were moving.
What could have happened? Sora wasn't sure. He felt a chill run down his spine.
"Why don't we go on through that door?" He asked impatiently, and rushed inside the small house. The others quickly followed. Sora gasped as he walked out. It looked like an upside down version of the Bizarre Room, but made to look different. There were ramps that you could jump from to reach tables with lamps… The Cheshire Cat's words came rushing back to him. Upside down room… Turn on the light… It fit!
Sora ran up one of the ramps as he heard the familiar sound of Heartless popping up.
"Cover me!" He shouted over his shoulder.
At the top, he took a running leap to the small table, barely making it as he threatened to topple over the side after landing. When he finally caught his balance, he looked at the lamp. How was he supposed to turn it on? A small red Heartless appeared through the glass of the lamp and could apparently float. Sora stared at it quizzically until the little red hat that it was wearing began to spin, creating a wheel of fire. Sora ducked as the fire was let loose. It went right through the lamp, lighting it, and over Sora's head, slightly burning his hair. Sora then ran to the other side of the lamp and dispatched the strange Heartless. Looking at the lamp, he thought, smiling, that was easy! He heard familiar laughter and turned to look at the other lamp, upon which the Cheshire cat was laying.
"Good, good," he said, "but not bright enough. Try one more." The cat disappeared, and Sora again jumped to the next one. The problem was, how would he light it?
As he stood next to it, wondering what to do, a blast of fire flashed just inches from his face, lighting the lamp. He looked down to see Donald pointing his wand at the lamp. Sora grinned as again the laughter returned.
"The darkness has shone itself in this room, but in another part. It might go after that doorknob, too," the Cheshire Cat said before again disappearing. Sora navigated his way back to the ground.
"What did the Cat say?" Donald asked.
"I guess we have to go to the Bizarre Room," he answered. They navigated their way back through the deserted tearoom, the Lotus Forest, the Queen's courtyard, and finally back to the familiar Bizarre Room.
"Now what, ahyuck?" Goofy asked. They heard the familiar laughter, yet again, and the Cheshire Cat appeared on the table.
"A better view up here!" He called. The group scrambled up to the tabletop, some flying, some having to jump from the chair to the table.
"Now what?" Sabrina asked. The Cheshire Cat grinned bigger than they had yet to see him smile.
"Are your hearts prepared for the worst? If not, too bad!" The Cheshire Cat's laughter rang in their ears as he blinked out of existence. The worst?
Then, with no warning at all, it appeared. A gigantic Heartless, taller than the table, stood before them. It's head looked to be made of strangely shaped Legos with two eyes and a mouth on each piece. They were variegated, one red, one black. It had long, floppy arms made of folded and cut paper, somehow bearing the weight of two flaming batons, juggling them all the while. Its legs were made of what might have been drinking straws, or, Sora thought with disgust, red and black bones. Each leg had two sides, one bent before the Heartless and the other sticking out behind. They were so perfectly aligned that you wouldn't notice this from the front. Its feet looked like someone had whacked off two axe heads and decided to use them as feet on this mottled creature.
"How do we beat that?" Jeremy breathed. Sabrina, on the other hand, jumped into the air- only to be smacked back down by a baton, slightly singed.
"Stupid Heartless," she muttered. She ran to the other side of the table and jumped into the air, gliding around the table to attack from behind. Jeremy followed.
"What do we do?" Donald asked. Sora, suddenly realizing he had the Keyblade, grasped it tighter, then ran to the edge of the table and leaped, aiming for the thing's chest. Before he got there, he was knocked away by a baton and sent spiraling into the air. His back hit the tiled floor, and he was amazed it wasn't broken. He did, however, hear a screech of "YOU IDIOT" coming from behind the monster.
Wincing as he stood up, Sora saw that it was suddenly right on top of him. He ran to the chair, trying to escape the very sharp feet, and jumped. He pulled himself up and leaped to the table just as a foot came crashing down on the chair. With a puff of smoke, it returned to the floor. Sora grabbed the edge and hauled himself up, forlornly thinking that he'd never have done that without a little incentive, like a giant monster trying to kill him. Back on the table, he shivered.
"Why don't you use the little trick I gave you?" Sora whirled around, seeing the Cat.
"What was that, anyway?" Sora asked back.
"Why, magic, of course!" The word stuck in Sora's throat. Magic? Magic isn't real. Magic is only in books and movies.
"Ah, but aren't you in a movie and a book now, Sora?" Sora blinked, not only from realization, but also from shock. Could the Cat read his mind?
"When I want to. Now, about that magic…"
"Blizzard!" Sora yelled, putting all the force he could muster into it and aiming at the Heartless. A shot of blue fire erupted from the end of his Keyblade. It hit the thing, ice erupting all over its surface. It was frozen solid. Grinning, Sabrina, in the air, whacked its head, tipping it over. It broke into hundreds of pieces on the floor. Finally, everyone turned to Sora. He just shrugged, with a grin that rivaled the Cheshire Cat's.
"Where is Alice?" Sora asked the Cheshire Cat. For once, the grin lessened.
"Gone from this world. Whisked away, into the darkness." Sora's heart sank. Why did this always happen?
"There is, however, one more thing left for you to do." As if on cue, the Doorknob behind them yawned. They turned and saw that inside his mouth was a keyhole. The Keyblade jerked upward of its own accord, the tip glowing white, as was the keyhole. The Keyblade jerked to the side, and the light vanished with a 'click'.
"What just happened?" They all turned to look for the Cheshire Cat, except Goofy, but he was gone.
"Hey, lookit this!" They all turned back around to see Goofy holding a block of some kind.
"A Gummi block!" Donald exclaimed. Everyone looked at him strangely.
"They're used to make Gummi ships," he explained.
"But this un's different," Goofy said. They all looked at it closely. This is starting to get interesting, Sora thought.
R&R!