Hey everyone,
So with this chapter we are going back to Destiny's Haven and our favorite foursome – or at least my favorite little family. I also plan to bring up a few other things in regards to the KH games and the Walt Disney franchise, but I am not entirely sure if I will bring those up now or in some of the later chapters. Expect it, at the latest, before the others arrive for the break. And if any of you want any kind of spoilers, I'll give one.
James Woods,

Venquine1990


Chapter 40
Weird Cats And Crazy Queens

30th of January 1996
Destiny's Haven
Jessica's POV

"Your mother has done some wondrous work in your stead. Umbridge has been foiled, students have been both warned in regards to the bad contracts, complimented over the better ones and offered a chance for sanctuary and your mother, aunt, elder female friend and mate have been notified that, the first half of your brother's adventure will end with a reunion."
This further helps me calm down after dad gave me his comforting words of reassurance and then Sora says: "Good to hear. And don't you worry, sis. The first world I traveled to was weird, bizarre and outright crazy, but there was nothing really dangerous. Well, nothing more than some new Heartless and another Boss."
And while I don't like the idea of watching my brother face another one of those huge Heartless and I feel like asking if we can't just read a chapter of my own story per world. Yet I know this will be way too crazy and complicated and that, if things get bad in the books, we won't be able to focus on the world shown in the movie.

And so I just sit back, glad that dad's here to reassure me, but at the same time longing for Lea's warm presence to be close and the first scene that starts after the movie restarts also makes me calm down a little more. Sora, Donald and Goofy are back in District One and standing in front of Aerith, Yuffie and Leon and the latter of the three stands in the middle as he says: "Make sure you're prepared for the journey ahead of you.
We don't know how far the Heartless have spread.""To all worlds and then some." My brother mutters, yet then Riku whispers: "Give your sister a chance to calm down, love." And my brother turns red and apologizes to me as the movie continues. "Check out the shops here. They've got some pretty neat stuff!"
Yuffie then tells Sora, which gets followed up by Aerith, who says: "This is from all of us." And the young woman hands Sora a small bag that he opens and my eyes widen as a whole lot of the golden and blue balls are inside. "They gave me 500 of that, just to make sure I could get all I could potentially need."

And the fact that these three are looking out for Sora makes me feel better and more relaxed. "Spend it as you see fit." Aerith tells Sora and Yuffie giggles: "Good luck." Before Aerith looks at Sora with a warm, loving look and says: "I hope you find your friends." And while Leon uncrosses his arms, does he then say:
"Look out for each other. Keep your spirits up." And Sora nods before he turns to Donald and Goofy. "The gummi ship is outside that gate." Donald tells him and they all look to the far end of the First District, where double oak doors, not unlike the ones of the Great Hall, are located with a large sign above them that says:
"See you again!" Yet Sora seems unable to understand this and asks: "The what?" And I too tilt my head as I have never heard of anything like a Gummi ship, even with my five years staying at the Wizarding World before I realize that must be what we saw when they ended up dropping out of the bottom end of their own world. "That's our ship." Donald explains Sora and Goofy excitedly exclaims: "Wait 'til you see it."

Yet then Donald says: "Hold on. Sora, this is for you." And obviously without meaning to, does Sora summon the Keyblade at the same time that Donald pulls out his magic staff. The two then touch head to head and a set of sparks fly between the two. Sora's eyes also light up and he takes the Keyblade in both hands as he says:
"Fire." And a small set of embers shoot from the red-glowing tip of his weapon. This shocks and amazes me and Sora smiles as he says: "Yeah, for some reason, I almost always needed others like Donald to learn the basics of the elemental powers of the Keyblade. Though they sure came in handy the more I learned them."
And the knowledge that Sora now has one more way to defend himself makes me feel a little better about the inevitable, the time he faces Hades and/or Jafar. Yet then I remember something and ask: "But didn't you say that magic drains you?" To which Sora says: "Not really, just that I need more help using it than regular wizards.
I need ethers or safe points to regain my ability to cast it. Either that or I need to cast a Cure and then let my magical power regain its former strength. I can't really explain it." To which dad says: "I can only imagine that the Keyblade depends on a certain part of your magical core, but not the entirety, so that part gets drained easier."

This seems to clear that confusion up for my brother and we watch the movie. "Now you can use magic, too. Goofy, give him that other thing." Donald tells his traveling partner, who asks: "What?" To which Donald snaps: "You know!" And this seems to spark Goofy's mind as he says: "Oh yeah." And he turns to Sora.
He walks over and comes to stand next to the boy and, with his eyes, tells Sora: "Follow my lead." And he crouches down before pushing forward, causing for him to make a perfect roll and end up on his feet just past where Donald is standing. Sora nods, yet seems to have some trouble. Yet after a few tries, he does it perfectly.
"So they taught you both magical abilities and special skills, huh?" Dad asks and my brother nods as he says: "Yeah, most of what I know today I learned on my journeys. Even if I did have to relearn it from time to time. On the other hand, my abilities did get better and looked more refined every time I relearned one of them."

This makes me smile and we go back to watching. Goofy and Sora goes back to stand where they were before and Goofy says: "Abilities allow you to do all sorts of things. Guess we should look for 'em along the way, huh?" Which confuses me, but then my brother says: "Certain new worlds helped me learn new abilities."
This makes sense and I watch as Sora asks: "Okay, is that it? Let's get going!" Yet to this Donald snaps: "Not 'til we're ready!" The camera then turns dark and when it turns back to normal, we are now looking at the group from behind Jiminy, who is standing to the left of Goofy and to the right of Donald, facing Sora.
"Well, I see big adventures coming their way!" The camera then turns to face the little bug himself as he says: "Looks like it's up to me to keep track of it all in my journal!" And the camera again turns dark before it focuses back on Sora, who crouches down and reaches out a hand for Jiminy to jump onto before stationing it on his shoulder.
Jiminy jumps onto the shoulder and from there into the hoodie part of my brother's jacket. He then opens his journal and as small as it is, are we actually able to see and read it all. Sora then seems to ask a few questions and Jiminy shows him several sections that all seem divided over several topics such as Heartless, story and characters.

This really intrigues me and after Jiminy has put his journal away and assured Sora that he was secure where he was, does Sora start to practice his new ability of dodge rolling. Yet suddenly he rolls over something that looks like three hearts put together in a triangle, one slightly bigger than the next and the left one being the largest, a mark that I noticed in both Cid's shop and the raised part of a platform in the Third District.
"Hey, look at this mark!" Goofy, who has run after Sora says and Sora turns around, the three of them now standing around the mark. "I wonder what it is." Goofy says and Jiminy hops down as he says: "This is a Trinity Mark. They appear in many places, but their power is based on the power of the trio that finds them.
Right now you three are only strong enough to activate the power of the blue ones. Though I have no doubt you will get stronger and manage to activate others soon enough. There are blue, red, green, yellow and white marks and they can be found all over the worlds. Now, you three focus on each other and you'll perform a Trinity Move."

The three nod and after Jiminy has jumped back into Sora's hoodie, do the three jump in perfect sync. The mark lights up and under the light and several stars showing up, does a whole flurry of yellow-blue Munny balls fall down. The three rush for all these balls and I can't help but ask: "How – how much was that?"
"Another 268 Munny. It really helped.""So these marks – make you rich?" Dad asks, but my brother shakes his head and says: "Some did, others gave us random items that had been lost and others helped us get hidden treasure chests. It made the journey a lot of fun." At which I think: "A journey that is also a treasure hunt."
And because I now feel calmed down, do I press down on the spark of jealousy that I feel for my brother and the luck he had to get a chance like that. Sora then seems to follow Leon's advice as he goes back to the shop owned and manned by Huey, Dewey and Louie, which leads to a happy reunion between an uncle and his nephews.
We all smile at this and Donald smiles in pride as Huey does a great job, selling Sora some of the potions he buys as well as a set of tents. This intrigues me and I ask: "To make sure you had a place to sleep?" And Sora intrigues me as he says: "That too, though Huey told me they also restore everything if I take a quick nap.
Both my health and my magical strength got restored, same for Donald and Goofy, even if I was the only one taking a power nap." And while part of me thinks: "Now that'd be something the twins could make for their stores – and make a fortune of it, especially if they sold it to Goblins or the Aurors at the Ministry." Do I watch as Donald says goodbye, his nephews hugging his bottom one last time and the three of them leave for the doors.

And as Sora passes through them, does the camera again turn dark. Yet what happens when it turns back to normal amazes me. Traverse Town, the world itself, is shown on the screen, alongside a path made of stars that leads to two different groups of clouds, one of them looking a little foggier than the other and thus looking slightly darker.
Then a high-pitched voice sounds and I realize this must be either Chip or Dale, the chipmunks shown when Donald and Goofy first boarded the Gummi Ship. "Greetings Sora. Happy to meet you. As you can see, the Gummi ship is now next to Traverse Town and pathways have opened to two new worlds for you to explore."
Then another speaks and says: "Please note, the darker the clouds, the stronger the power level of the Heartless in that world. We don't really know what worlds they are, but once you land, we will be able to show them to you if you decide to travel to another world." This confuses me and I turn to my brother, who says:
"This was actually a small board screen at the front of the cockpit. It was to help me know where I was going, even if sometimes the others didn't know either." At this I nod, even if it worries me and I notice the Gummi ship turning towards the group of clouds that is lighter, the engines starting and the ship blasting off.

Donald then gives Sora a quick course in how to drive the ship and while dad and I feel shocked that there are actually Heartless in space, do we take comfort from the fact that Donald points out a meter, on yet another small side screen, that shows how strong the defenses of the ship and its installed shield are at the time.
Sora then also learns how to shoot off the laser shots, which come from a gun at the bottom of the space ship and with this shoots at both small asteroids and approaching Heartless that are all shaped like all kinds of space ships themselves. And while some of them actually shoot back, do others seem to turn around and fly away and Sora, with help from Donald, manages to avoid most of the shots fired by learning to actually dodge roll with the whole ship.

Then Sora reaches the new world and already I know exactly what movie is based off this world. "Good grief, this outght to be fun." I mutter and Riku asks: "You know this world?" To which I nod and say: "It's tradition of my old Primary school for that movie to be the first shown to those in Third Grade and for a good reason."
At this my brother smirks, proving he knows why I say this and when Sora lands the Gummi ship near the world and the three jump out, do they end up exactly where I thought they would. In a huge tunnel going down that actually has a décor making it look like the inside of a tower, but then without a staircase or a floor. And several cards float in from both sides of the screen, turning on their axises and having the letters of the name "Wonderland" written on them.
At first the walls have a block pattern made of purple paint and as Sora, Donald and Goofy fall down, Sora going into freefall, Donald holding onto his hat and Goofy trying to swim back up into the air, does this change into pink and do all kinds of bits of furniture appear, looking as if they have been painted onto the walls. A garden fence, a grandfather clock and a tall cabinet. The camera then turns down and looks down onto the floor.

The three of them fall down and seem to be halted by magic before landing. Yet while Sora and Donald land on their feet, had Goofy fallen asleep with his hands behind his back and he only gets a small chance to turn around before he lands, flat on his stomach. He shakes his head and then I see it all really begin.
"Oh, my fur and whiskers! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" A white rabbit that is actually wearing grey pants, a yellow buttoned up shirt and a red jacket mutters as he runs past Goofy, a large clock in his paw. He pants as he runs and says: "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I'm here, I should be there!" And as he scurries around, does he go on:
"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! Oh, the queen, she'll have my head for sure!" And with that does he disappear around the corner, Donald, Sora and Goofy all looking strange as they watch him leave. The camera then focuses back on Sora and he follows after the rabbit, turning the corner and coming across a closed door.
Yet, just like I expected, when he opens this, he finds another one closed behind it. He opens this one, finds another closed door and opens that too. And behind that, he finds an open space. He passes through it and the camera turns dark before returning to normal in the next room. "That was just weird." Dad says as he looks befuddled.

At this I laugh and say: "Just wait, dad. You haven't seen anything yet." And my brother laughs too as he says: "Yeah, it's not called Wonderland without reason.""I can only imagine." Dad mutters and I think: "And that's the whole beauty of it. Wonderland is nothing but a madman's crazy and yet brilliant sense of imagination."
And I watch in amusement as Sora notices a much smaller rabbit running across a table that looks to be painted onto the floor with two bottles, one with a red label and the other with a blue label, on top of the table. The rabbit passes through a small door on the other side of the room that is actually build into a much bigger one.
"Reminds me of Disney Castle, that does." Dad says as Sora crosses the room, crouches down and asks: "How did he get so small?" And more hilarity that I was waiting for ensues as the doorknob shows to have a face that blinks and says: "No, you're simply too big." This startles both dad as well as Sora, Donald and Goofy.

"Wak, it talks!" Donald yelps and the Doorknob yawns as he reprimands the trio: "Must you be so loud? You woke me up." At which Goofy pleasantly says: "Good morning." Only for the Doorknob to retort: "Good night! I need a bit more sleep." And as he yawns, obviously ready to fall back asleep, does Sora quickly ask:
"Wait, what do we have to do to grow small?" To this the Doorknob retorts: "Why don't you try the bottle over there?" And with his nose, which is actually the knob itself, he motions over Sora's shoulder. Sora turns around and, like magic summoned it herself, the painted table springs up to life in the middle of the room.
Sora turns to it and picks up the one with the blue label that has a small twig in yellow shown on the label. He, Donald and Goofy all take a sip and, with a poof of smoke, they all shrink to the size of the door with the talking Doorknob. However, while I have been enjoying myself so far, does this ignite something less amusing.

A group of Soldier and Shadow Heartless spawn the minute Mini-Sora (as I now call him in my mind) lands on the floor, yet with Donald and Goofy's help does Sora have no problem knocking them all out and I even notice Goofy gaining enough experience to grow stronger – or as my brother calls it, gaining a level.
Only when they want to talk with the Doorknob, does it seem to have fallen so strongly asleep, it snores and nothing they do wakes it up. "Hey wait, that table was painted onto the floor, but sprung up. Maybe we can do the same with that bed over there if we grow big again? I do see another door behind it."
Mini-Sora says and while it does take him a few tries to jump onto the table, does it not take him much to drink from the bottle with the red label and the large tree in yellow on it or to push the bed into the wall. Another sip from the bottle with the blue label and Sora is back to being the same miniature size as his waiting friends.

They move through the door and the camera turns dark like it does every time they enter a new area. Yet the new area instantly starts with a scene I really wasn't expecting just yet. A garden court with a small green field at the front and a large field, filled with living play cards that all have spears in their respective colors.
Black Spades are shown on some of the cards and red hearts on other. They all step to the sides as the camera zooms in on the large stage at the back where a well-sized woman with a red and black dress, brown hair put up in a bun and small golden crown on top of her head is seated. Yet between this and the cards, is another stage.
Upon this, a young girl with a blue dress, golden blonde hair and a white apron is standing, looking directly at the queen above her. Then the camera focuses on the white rabbit that runs up to a stage to the left of the queen that has a large staircase leading up to it, but that is stationed slightly lower than the queen's seat.

The rabbit seems to have also replaced his signature clock for a large golden horn and holds this in his hand as he runs up the staircase. He regains his breath from all his running and blows the horn before he says: "Court is now in session!" To which the young girl looks at him and asks: "Huh, I'm on trial? But why?"
Yet the rabbit ignores her and says: "Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding!" At this, while I grow worried again as this was supposed to be at the end of the world – as it had been the climax of the movie – does the camera focus on the woman herself, who looks up, pulls up a small fan in her hand and starts to speak.

"This girl is the culprit. There's no doubt about it. And the reason is … because I say so, that's why!" Which makes me groan as I had already expected this, yet dad looks shocked and asks: "Is she for real?""Unfortunately." I mutter as the young girl exclaims: "That is so unfair!" To which the queen mockingly asks:
"Well, have you anything to say in your defense?" And the young girl proves to have great spunk and a good conscience as she says: "Of course! I've done absolutely nothing wrong." And while the camera focuses on the rabbit, who looks between the girl and the queen in growing concern, does the girl go on and say:
"You may be queen, but I'm afraid that doesn't give you the right to be so … so mean!" To which I think: "A lesson well-taught by Umbridge and Fudge – if it will ever stick with either of them – or this queen." I think as the queen herself shouts: "Silence! You dare defy me?""Wow, someone easily gets their feathers ruffled."

Dad mutters to which I ask: "Remember what the rabbit said when it first came into the picture? About the queen having his head for sure?" Dad nods and I nod back as I say: "Yeah, he meant –." And I cut a finger across my throat as a way to explain what the being meant. Dad looks at this shocked and I tell him:
"That's what most of the end of the movie is about. Everyone fearing the queen because, if something doesn't go her way, the person who makes this happen, whether by accident or not, gets that treatment." And while dad looks at this shocked and mutters: "Even Voldemort is more lenient with mistakes." Do we go back to the movie.

The movie focuses on Sora, Donald and Goofy, who are standing in the small front yard and Sora says: "Hey guys, we should help her out." To this Donald mutters: "Yeah, but the –." And Goofy explains by asking: "We're outsiders, so wouldn't that be muddling?" To which Donald loudly corrects him: "Meddling!"
Yet Sora doesn't seem to really hear them as he looks at the girl with his head tilted as Goofy says: "Oh yeah, ahyuck. And that's against the rules." Then the camera focuses back on the trial, just as the queen states: "The court finds the defendant … guilty as charged!" And a huge satisfied smirk is on her face as she shouts this bit.
She then calms down and says: "For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart …." At which the camera focuses on Sora temporarily, the boy seeming to instantly realize what is really going on before the camera goes back to the court as the queen's hand pointing at the girl and she shouts her signature phrase:
"Off with her head!" At this the guard cards turn to the girl, who starts to beg: "No! No! Oh, please!" Only for Sora's voice to come from behind all the cards, who turn around in confusion. And because they are cards, do they clear the path for Sora and his friends to come running through. To this the queen angrily asks:

"Who are you? How dare you interfere with my court?" To which dad mutters: "More like my little execution party. Damn that queen's a right witch. And not the good kind." And while we laugh at this, does Sora ignore the questions as he steps forward and says: "Excuse me. But we know who the real culprit is."
And Goofy adds to this and says: "Uh-huh. It's the Heartle –." Only to strangely enough try to silence himself by slapping his hands over his muzzle. Sora ignores this and turns back to the queen as he says: "Anyway, she's not the one you're looking for." Yet the queen seems unwilling to believe him as she rudely asks:
"That's nonsense. Have you any proof?" And Sora, as I expected, draws up a blank. At this a spade card grabs the girl and actually drags her to the right of the stage, where he locks her up in a huge, golden cage that looks like it should hold a bird instead of a girl. Dad looks hugely affronted at this, yet the movie goes on.

"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 once you're ready!" And because I remember watching a scene where this was implied to happen, do I feel grateful when my brother softly lies my hand on his neck, as if proving he's still there.
I smile at him and then watch as Sora, Donald and Goofy take a small entrance cut into the large green hedge on the left of the courtroom. And yet again the whole scenery changes, this time showing off a forest that really proves just how small Sora, Donald and Goofy are as everything towers over them, even the flowers and mushrooms.

Sora looks around in amazement before getting shocked as a huge purple cat head starts to dangle in mid air in front of him for a few seconds before disappearing. It does so two more times before appearing on the treestump on the right of Sora, which is slightly taller than him. The cat's body also appears – above the head.
One of its back feet is even balancing on top of the cat head. The cat switches feet before jumping off, grabbing the head and throwing it up. It jumps up and the head and body get attached to each other. And all the while the head has a huge and playful smirk that would really reminds me of Fred and George spread across it.
"Who are you?" Donald almost yelps, jumping up and down as he does. And just like I expected, does the cat answer in riddles. "Who, indeed? Poor Alice. Soon to lose her head and she's not guilty of a thing.""Well obviously. You don't need to be either sane or – like this thing – insane, to see that." Dad mutters, making me chortle.

"Hey, if you know who the culprit is, tell us!" And to this the cat answers: "The Cheshire Cat has all the answers – but doesn't always tell. The answer, the culprit, the cat all lie in darkness." To which dad mutters: "Okay, now he sounds like Albus." Which makes it even harder for me not to laugh as the cat disappears.
But to this Sora shouts: "Wait!" Only for a bodiless voice to say: "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." And when the voice is gone, does Donald ask: "Should we trust him?"
At which the Cheshire Cat actually returns and retorts: "To trust, or not to trust? I trust you'll decide!" And after he vanishes, does Sora move deeper into the forest – only to encounter trouble. Shadows and a few soldiers pop up everywhere Sora runs, even when he runs over what should be a small pond, but seems to be just painted water.

Yet as Sora destroys one of these, does a small red ball with golden detail fall from the form and my brother says: "That's a Lucid Shard. They came in handy later, after I learned how to use the Green Trinity." And while I wonder how long that will take, do I watch as Sora beats the last of the Soldiers and the last Shadow.
He moves moves over and past one of the large flowers, only for it to hiss at him. Sora turns to it and the flower whispers: "Give me an Ether." Yet Sora refuses and moves deeper into the forest, where he meets more Shadows and Soldiers. And as my brother beats these, do I notice him leveling up, making me know he'll endure more.
He then uses the yellow mushrooms to jump onto the Lily pads that are on top of small sticks and are elevated all over the forest. And on the first, which is in the far back of the forest, he finds a small pink present box with the Heartless symbol on the top. He opens it and an actual antenna pops out that he puts in his pocket.

"One down, three to go." Dad mutters before he shrugs and says: "I got to admit though, that cat was right. That one was easy." Sora then jumps other mushrooms and Lily pads and ends up on a small clump of leafs in the middle of the forest where he finds a treasure chest. He opens it and three puppies jump out and vanish.
"They're back home, right?" I ask, shocked that Sora actually noticed that their collars have the numbers 16, 17 and 18 on them before the pups vanished and my brother nods. Yet as Sora jumps over to a small set of new Lily pads, does a bunch of Shadows appear. And when Sora wants to evade them by jumping down, more appear.
Yet Sora also notices another blue Trinity mark and another box. However, when he tries to open it, it remains closed and Donald and Goofy call out to him. Sora destroys the Shadows and then returns to the box. The box opens and a paper that shows footprints on them is shown. Sora also puts this in his pocket and then turns to the mark.

"So, you can't open stuff if there are Heartless around? A bit annoying, but it is a sound strategy. Better wait with getting the item than accidentally have it fall in enemy hands." Yet to this my brother shrugs and says: "That only happened this journey. I guess my reflexes were just better in my other journeys, cause it never happened again."
Dad nods and Sora, Donald and Goofy join around the mark. And when they jump up at this one, do they get rewarded with three objects as well – to my confusion – a lot of bubbles, like the ones that are blown from small round sticks by young kids. "Those are MP bubbles, they help restore my magic when I cast spells."
Sora explains and the knowledge that there are multiple objects, including these fun bubbles, to help my brother keep strong relieves me. The trio then jump back up to the cluster of Lily pads and over to the tree in the center of the forest. Here I notice a small alcove, through which they all pass, the camera again turning dark.

And just like when they arrived in Wonderland, do the three of them fall from the ceiling, only to land on the unlit furnace that was part of the second room they entered, just before the queen's court. Here they find the third box and dad mutters: "Now all that's left is that last one, that tricky one." As Sora opens the box.
From this he gets a small empty bottle, yet as he opens it a little, he groans and instantly shuts it again. "A scent?" I ask and my brother nods, his face proving how relieved he is he no longer remembers how bad that smelled. Sora, Donald and Goofy jump down and head back into the queen's court and from there back to the forest.

Here Sora runs into another flower, this one yellow, that whispers: "Give me a potion and I'll make you bigger." Sora complies and the flowers sprays his pollen on him. This actually does indeed make Sora grow back to his original size, but also poses a problem. Now he can only move through half of the forest.
The tree in the middle prevents him from moving further and so, after smacking down a large acorn that was in his way when he was small and on top of the cluster of leafs, he slams the tree, making a few of the Lily pads be pushed to the other side. Yet he still can't get through and so Sora just huffs and turns around.
He then moves over to the treestump and jumps on it, obviously agitated, only for the stump to sink into the ground and for a new Lily pad to spring up in its stead. Then the acorn actually speaks from where Sora dropped it and hisses at him: "I'm ripe enough to be picked and eaten." And when Sora swallows it, he shrinks back.

He passes through the forest and uses the mushrooms in the back to get to the Lily pad that is now stationed behind the tree and from there onto a cluster of leafs that is above the Lily pad upon which he found the first hint. There is also an alcove in here and when he passes it, do he and his friends end up on a bookshelf.
This shelf, which is build against the wall is again in the second room, but is so high above the ground, I really worry for him and the others when they land. Yet because they can't see anything being there other than one brown book, do the three of them return to the forest. They jump back from pad to pad and cluster to cluster.
They reach the pad at the front of the forest that was pushed up when Sora jumped down on the treestump and in front of another alcove entrance. It again has them end up in the second room, but this time they are again falling and land perilously on top of a water tab that is build into the wall on the same height as the bookshelf.
To my relief do they jump over to the top of a painting where they find the last box. "Now I see why that blasted cat said the last one was harder to find. A water tab at the top of a wall? Really?" Dad asks in concern and when Sora opens the box, it reveals a picture showing claw marks. And then on the tab, the Cheshire Cat reappears.

"Well, look what you've found. Nice going." Yet while I'm unsure if he's being sincere or not, does Sora say: "Now we can save Alice." To which the cat retorts: "Don't be so sure! She may be innocent, but what about you?" To which Sora angrily asks: "What do you mean?" Yet I think: "He's messing with him, typical."
And the Cheshire cat says: "I won't tell. But I'll give you something." And the creature's tail vanishes from his body, reappearing at Sora's Keyblade and lighting up just like Donald's staff did before. Yet where Donald's staff turned red, does the tip of the tail turn pure white and this time Sora raises his weapon and mutters: "Deep freeze."
Causing ice crystals to shoot out of his Keyblade. And while I would have loved for them to hit the Cheshire Cat, do they vanish into thin air before they reach him. The cat vanishes too and Sora, actually jumps down. Yet just like when he arrived, does he seem to halt in mid air just above ground before he lands.

This makes me sigh in relief, yet when he wants to cross the room, do Shadows appear alongside strange little bodies that have black heads with large yellow eyes, red capes covering their bodies and golden hats with curled tips. And the tips light up with balls of fire that get shot at Sora, Donald and Goofy, some hitting, some missing.
"Red Nocturnes. They were the first Heartless that taught me that some spells are better left for some Heartless and that others really shouldn't be used on other Heartless. In their case, Fire. Use it and they recharge their energy levels. They're not tough, but dang were they annoying." My brother growls in the end.
Sora and the others prove this as Donald actually shoots a ball of fire at a Nocturne that Goofy almost kills, only for it to regain its health. Yet then Sora aims his Keyblade at the same Nocturne and shouts: "Deep freeze!" And this instantly destroys the Heartless, who drops yet another object, one that looks a lot like the other, but different.

They then move into the queen's court and take a quick break at the safe point to heal up before heading over to the heart guard on the left in front of the queen. The card acknowledges them and asks: "Are you ready to present your evidence before the Queen?" To which Sora answers positive, upon which the card says:
"Very well. Counsel, step up to the podium." And Sora takes the stand Alice was in before while a new stand appears on the right, in which Donald and Goofy go to sit. Instantly the Queen gets down to business and demands: "Now, show me what you have found." And Sora shows her the four boxes of evidence that he collected.
"Well, that's certainly a lot of evidence, but I'm still not impressed. Cards! Bring forth my evidence!" Yet when the fifth box appears, do all five actually merge together, only to reappear where they were placed. Instantly I know something's wrong and my brother grimaces as he says: "Somehow, they all got mixed. Didn't matter, though."

And as I wonder why it wouldn't matter, does the queen say: "Hmm, checking all five would only be a waste of time. Alright then. Choose the one you wish to present. I'll decide who's guilty based on that evidence." And instantly I get why my brother made his comment, making me sigh in relief even as Sora objects and asks:
"What? After all the trouble of collecting it?" Yet this angers the queen, who shouts: "You dare object? Then you will lose your head! Now choose! One box!" And while I am still glad to have my hand where it is, in my brother's neck, does Sora move over to the fourth box. At this the queen makes sure to warn him:
"Are you certain? No second chances!" And Sora says: "I'm sure." To which she gleefully replies: "Now we shall see who the real culprit is." Only for a soldier to jump out of the box Sora chose and to vanish right after. "What in the world was that?" The queen asks, the card guards also gasping in shock at the sight.

"There's your evidence. Alice is innocent." Sora strongly states. To this the queen growls and then actually yells: "Silence! I'm the law here! Article 29: Anyone who defies the queen is guilty!""What kind of crappy law is that? Even Fudge wouldn't get away with an article like that!" Dad shouts and Donald joins his sentiment.
"That's crazy!" The duck squawks only for the queen to order her guards: "Seize them at once!" And everything bar the queen's stage and Alice's cage vanishes into the ground. Yet a small tower with several levers also appears and one spade card pulls this lever a lot of times, causing for Alice's cage to rise up to the ceiling.
The queen then raises her hand and all of the cards try to jump Sora. The boy dodges and while Donald and Goofy keep the cards busy, does Sora attack the tower with the levers. One by one they break, Alice's cage, which is now covered with a red cloths, lowering a little more with every hit Sora gets on the levers and the tower.

The whole tower practically collapses and Sora runs over to the cage, ready to free Alice and obviously get out of there. But when the cloth has turned around, does it reveal an actually empty cage, which shocks me and makes dad asks: "Wait! Is Alice a witch? Does she know how to Apparate or something?"
But Sora shakes his head and says: "She was taken – to them." And instantly I remember what made me worry for my brother so much before. This makes me gasp and worry for the poor, precious little English girl, while in the movie the Donald defeatedly mutters: "She must have gotten kidnapped while we were fighting."
And the queen rants at her guards as she shouts: "You fools! Find the one who's behind this! I don't care how!" And all the cards salute her, only to start running around the courtyard in circles, embodying the court's confusion. "How can she get mad at them? She was the one who was closest to Alice's cage, so she should have been the first to hear something happen, right?" Dad asks, but I shrug and say: "It's her ego, dad, just leave it."

Sora, Donald and Goofy return to the restored safe point and regain the health they lost while fighting and distracting the guards away from the lever tower and then head into the forest. Here the flower that previously asked for an ether actually spits out a giant bolder. Upon this the Cheshire cat appears, again leaning on his head.
Sora, Donald and Goofy approach him and Donald asks: "Have you seen Alice?" At which the cat replies: "Alice, no. Shadows, yes!""Where did they go?" Goofy asks. "This way? That way? Does it matter? Left, right, up, down! All mixed up thanks to the shadows! Step deeper into the forest to the deserted garden."
And while I suddenly realize that the bolder he is on is the one that, previously, was in front of an entrance in the far back of the forest, does the cat finish his little spiel of advice as he says: "You might find shadows in the upside-down room!" And he vanishes again, only me to get a new reason to worry for my brother, a big one.

A huge body, made of nothing but black and red metal with golden lines here and there appears, towering over Sora and slamming his huge bulk. But other than that, does the huge Heartless not seem to do much more, that is until Sora, Donald and Goofy slam it a few times. This obviously makes it angry and it charges at them.
And the fact that all of their attacks get blocked and parried really worries me, yet then Sora jumps over the big guy as it tries to charge at him and turns around, slamming his Keyblade against the body again and this time hitting it. A few more hits and the Heartless dissolves into a heart just like the Soldiers did before.
"What was that?" Dad asks, concern strong in his tone and Sora answers: "Large Bodies. They are Heartless that are really strong on the front, but weak in the back. They were the first Heartless that proved me that just hitting them didn't always work. Just like I learned not to use Fire spells on the Nocturnes, remember?"

At this I nod and then Sora, Donald and Goofy manage to reach the back of the forest and enter the previously blocked passageway. On the other side he finds a garden with a long table – almost like a House Table back at Hogwarts – with a pink cloth over it in the middle and lots of mismatched chairs all around it.
There is a small, two story house build into the left wall, the front door and upper floor balcony sticking out, but that's not what draws my attention. Instead the camera focuses on my point of attention, showing a large portrait of a man with a green top hat and a brown rabbit in a red suit, both of them crying tears.

Yet Sora himself ignores all of this and actually heads for the door to the house. And when he passes it through, he actually comes into a room that looks strangely familiar. "It's the ceiling of the second room. Don't ask." My brother tells us and I sigh, shaking my head as I say: "Typical Wonderland." And we all watch on.
Sora, Donald and Goofy look around as the Cheshire Cat appears at one of the parts of the floor – or ceiling – that is angled up to the wall. "They're hiding somewhere. And the momeraths outgrabe. Want to find the shadows? Try turning on the lights." He vanishes and Sora climbs onto where he stands and then even higher up.
He looks around and I notice both the painting and water tab he was on earlier – both now upside down – as well as the bookcase that he was only temporarily at, but didn't find anything while there. He then uses his platform – the top part of the grate – to jump onto a table that has a glass bowl with a candle inside it.

Sora lights it by touching it with his Keyblade and on the ceiling/floor a vase with a white lily that was stuck to the ground pops up. The Cheshire cat then appears on the other table and says: "It's too dim. Make it brighter." To which Donald asks: "What next?" And the cat actually answers: "One more lamp that you need to light."
He vanishes, Sora jumps over and lights the other one the same way. This doesn't seem to do anything on the ceiling/floor, yet the cat still appears where Sora, Donald and Goofy were standing during their previous conversation. "All the lights are on. You'll see the shadows soon. They'll arise in this room, but somewhere else."
And as the cat gives his warning of: "The shadows might go after that doorknob, too." Does he vanish once again. At this dad huffs and says: "I swear, that cat just loves playing for both sides or something." At which I sigh and watch as Sora fights off more Heartless that appear on the floor/ceiling after he jumps off the table. He gets even stronger from this and leaves the ceiling room from the other side, ending up back in the queen's court.

Yet he ends up on top of one of the high hedges that make up the front little yard and on the right of him, he finds a treasure chest. He opens it and an actual rifle with three exits for lasers pops out of it. This scares dad and me, but my brother says: "Don't worry, items like that always instantly get transported to the ship."
And dad and I sigh relieved as we indeed see this happen before Sora jumps down and makes another stop at the safe point. He then moves into the second room where the Cheshire Cat is lounging next to the two bottles on the table and says: "You'll have a better view from higher up." Yet Sora astounds me as he does something unexpected.
He gets up, but only to drink from the blue bottle, making him and his friends grow back to their regular size. And before the Cheshire Cat can do anything, do the three of them leave back to the rabbit hole. They return to the Gummi ship and use it to go back to Traverse Town. And while they fly, do I turn to my brother.

"We were running low on potions and actually almost lost that fight against the Heartless in the upside-down room. We wanted to save Alice, but Donald insisted that, if we didn't have enough in stock, we wouldn't even be able to save ourselves." Which makes me sigh in relieved gratitude for the duck's astounding wisdom.
The trio flies back to Traverse town and buys a stockful of potions, hi-potions and ethers and then makes the quick journey back to Wonderland. And when they are back in the second room and have reduced their sizes again, does the Cat act normal as he says: "The shadow should be here soon. Are you prepared for the worst? If not, too bad!"

He points to the ceiling while saying this and from in between the two ceiling lights the craziest creature I have ever seen – which is saying something seeing the world Sora's in – appears. Looking like nothing more than a paper figure that has its arms and legs folded a dozen times over, but with a body made of a multicolored tin pipe.
The Heartless Boss looks like a conductor and actually has two sticks, one in each hand that look like the ends can be lit up or something. It lands next to the table and nimbly jumps to the other side, over Sora who looks at it in shock. It lands, rises up and starts folding and unfolding its arms as it moves quite wobbily where it stands.

Sora, Donald and Goofy jump off the table and try to attack it, but its legs are too long and they only get a few of their hits in on it, the other ones being blocked by either its arms or its folding legs. It also strikes at them with its long arms and makes it so that they are forced to retreat, which makes Sora and Donald attack it with fire.
This does damage it, but most of their embers miss their target. Then, as Goofy tries another attack, he gets blocked by the table and is left dangling on the side. He climbs up and shouts: "Hey guys! I have a much better reach at him from up here!" Only to need to use his shield to block an attack from the huge, wobbly Heartless.
Sora and Donald nod at each other and instantly jump up themselves, Sora reaching the table with one hand and Donald using the chair as an easier way to get up. The three of them then charge the being and when all three strike, does something happen. The Heartless folds and seems unconscious, but HP balls also fall from his form.

"We managed to get him to the halfway point. Now it was just a matter of getting the other half of his health down. Too bad Bosses always get that extra power or ability when they reach that point." My brother mumbles and I worry and wonder what he could mean. Yet Sora, Donald and Goofy do manage to hit the Boss a few more times.
It wakes and suddenly seems completely uncaring of the three. Instead it heads over to the furnace and actually lights it before sticking his stick weapons in. And just like I thought, do they light up like torches, only for the beast to show me what my brother was talking about. It aims for Donald and blows, launching a fireball from the stick.
And while I have noticed it from time to time during the fights with the other Heartless, do I feel horribly concerned when that one hit knocks Donald out, causing him to faint and sit down where he stood, his head bowed down and his eyes closed. Yet to great my relief does Goofy take this problem really seriously.
He goes to stand in front of Sora and blocks most of the attacks aimed at his friend, still yelping when a few of the fireballs or the swiping of the two sticks hits him, but not getting knocked out as fast as his feathered friend. He also takes out two of the potions that he bought and takes one himself and gives the other to Sora.

And after Sora actually takes an ether from the unconscious Donald, does he manage to shoot enough fire balls back at the Heartless Boss for it to faint again. At this Sora and Goofy both rush for the boss and one harsh strike from the Keyblade and bash from Goofy's shield sees the weird, wobbly, fire-breathing boss beaten.
The being falls down, his arms waving in an unseen wind before a crystalized heart – not unlike the one from the other Boss – gets ripped from his chest and vanishes in mid air. And in a burst of light, stars and sparkles, does the Boss also vanish. Sora quickly feeds Donald a potion to wake him and then gets distracted by Goofy.
"Here, Sora. The Heartless dropped this." The dog-like creature says, giving Sora a horn made of paper that actually has wobbly edges to it. "That really was a good item to get. I still wear it from time to time as it allows me to learn more abilities, raises my defenses a little and reduces any damage I get from fire-based attacks."

My brother happily tells us as, in the movie, the Doorknob makes a reappearance by yawning loudly, drawing Sora's attention. "What a racket. How's a doorknob to get any sleep?" He asks, yawning once more, making dad send him an incredulous look. Yet as he yawns do Sora, Donald, Goofy and the rest of us actually notice another Keyhole, made of light, appear in his mouth.
The Keyblade seems to respond to this and while it shocks and astounds Sora, do stars swirl around the blade and does a light connect it to the Keyhole within the yawning doorknob's mouth. The sound of a lock being turned is heard and the beam dissipates. "What was that?" Donald asks in shock and Sora answers him:
"You hear that? Sounded like something closed." The doorknob then closes his mouth, but before it's fully closed, does a strange object, that is blue colored with small yellow stripes and shaped like a pearl drop from his tongue. This object confuses me, but then Goofy says: "This Gummi ain't like the others. No, sir." And Donald replies:

"Okay, I'll hold onto it." And as he picks it up, does the camera pan out to the table, upon which the Cheshire Cat reappears. "Splendid. You're quite the hero. If you're looking for Alice, she's not here. She's gone! Off with the shadows, into darkness." And Sora mutters a defeated: "No." As the cat vanishes once again.
But Donald cheers him up as he says: "Let's go back to our gummi ship. We might find her in another world." And after they drink the red bottle, do they grow back to their original size, fight the Heartless in the rabbit hole and use the safe point there to return to their gummi ship, which they fly back to Traverse Town with.


Well done, Sora.
To be honest, it's a good thing that I am going through this story and trying to fix up a few mistakes. I'm not sure if any of you spotted it, but at the start of this chapter I actually called Traverse Town TWILIGHT Town. That's KH 2 not 1! I swear, I obviously wasn't paying ANY attention when I wrote that bit.
Anyway, next chapter: Jessica gets evidence that her brother really has some amazing friends as the movie she has always loved above all others – simply due to the songs of that movie – gets thrown into reality for her. Yet it doesn't happen the way she expects and gets introduced to more people she never even heard about. She also makes a realization when it comes to another difference between the world of these movies and the Disney ones.
Have fun, Jess,

Venquine1990