LOST WORLDS

Chapter 12: Rescuing Edmund

Written by: Lynx and Rebmakash and hosted through the generosity of Organization VI

Rating: G (K)

Summary: After the battle against the thousand Heartless at Hollow Bastion, a whole new ring of worlds appears for Sora, Donald and Goofy to explore.

Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts II or any of the Disney movies shown here; they are copyright to Disney and Square Enix. Please see the first chapter for the full disclaimer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After scouring the campground and chatting with some of the other warriors milling around, the trio did indeed stumble across a map. It took a bit of deciphering, but it was finally determined the campground was north of Cair Paravel, very close to a place called the Stone Table.

"Which means if we head in this direction, we should find the White Witch's camp," Sora explained as they headed down the path. The campground was now just a cluster of red and gold splotches against the hillside. The woods stretched before them, thick and twisted...not nearly as inviting as Aslan's camp out in the sun. Beyond the woods stood two enormous hills, their edges still tipped with snow.

Donald looked back at the camp ruefully. As usual, Sora had dragged them on another rescue mission without any kind of backup. Even Goofy appeared to be unsure about this situation. "You sure we're goin' the right way?"

Sora paused. He felt a distinct coldness on the air that seeped beneath his skin, and his hooves pawed the grass with uneasy instinct. He knew the feeling all too well. There's Heartless around here.

"Yeah, we're going the right way," Sora replied, his face set. "Let's keep our guard up."

The trio did not get far into the thick of the forest before Heartless began appearing. Mostly it was Shadows, Driller Moles and Rabids slithering up from the ground and poking out from behind trees. Sora willed the Keyblade into his hands, ready for battle, but barely even needed to use it. He stomped his shorter opponents into the ground with his hooves. Donald and Goofy finished off the others with a fire spell and some well-placed knocks from the shield.

"Somebody would've heard that," Donald warned, sweeping his eyes across the trees.

"Then let's hurry!" Sora said, giving them an encouraging grin. His canter sped up to a gallop, leaving the knight and magician to chase after him. Sora could hear noises growing louder and more distinct around them, and his heart beat faster at the thrill of battle. All we gotta do is find a boy who looks like his brother and sisters, and we'll be home free!

However, the first creature they stumbled across was neither a human nor a Heartless. A huge, black-and-gray wolf barred his path, and leered up at him with cold amber eyes. "Intrud—"

Sora didn't waste a minute. He reared up on his hind legs and landed the wolf two swift kicks to the head. Donald swooped down and finished it off with a thunder spell, giving it no chance to so much as protest.

In a moment, the forest was thick with enemies. Mingling among the usual Heartless were the Witch's wolves, trolls, minotaurs and other nasty creatures. They stomped at the ground with cloven hooves and bared yellow, snaggly teeth. The three faced them down with their own weapons ready. "I'm gonna search for Edmund! You guys cover me!" Sora declared, and they nodded in compliance.

Sora charged through the trees, swinging the Keyblade at anything and everything that stood in his way. Those that didn't get slashed open or knocked out were trampled beneath his hooves. He soon found himself sparring with a shaggy mountain of a minotaur, but Goofy barged in and knocked it flat. Sora shot him a smile and leaped over the fallen minotaur. His eyes scanned the forest, searching for anything that looked like it wouldn't attack them...

There!

On his distant right, a boy in dark hair and torn clothes sat tied to a tree. A gag was tied around his mouth, preventing him from crying for help against his own attacker. A rather ugly dwarf in a heavy coat and red stocking cap was holding a knife to the boy's throat.

"Is the little prince happy with his royal treatment?" the dwarf sneered, failing to notice the black centaur that reared up behind him. He turned around just in time for one well-placed hoof to slam into his chest. The dwarf toppled over with a breathless wheeze.

Satisfied, Sora turned to the boy and drew the Keyblade, causing an even more terrified look to cross his face. Sora gave him a reassuring smile and pointed the Keyblade at the ropes. A spurt of fire from the Key dissolved the ropes with a tired snap. Finally realizing this was a rescue, the boy reached up and untied the gag in his mouth, sputtering gratefully for air.

"You're Edmund, right?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, but who're—"

"We're from Aslan's camp!" Sora interrupted, and got to his knees so that he was level with Edmund. "Climb on! We're getting out of here."

Edmund paused for one bewildered moment before finally clambering onto Sora's back. Sora nearly buckled under the new weight, but regained his equilibrium quickly and took off at a gallop. Edmund gripped at his sides for dear life, indicating he was just as unsure about this as Sora.

Sora spotted a faun and miniature griffin through the trees, beating back a gang of wolves and Armored Knights. "Donald! Goofy! We did it, let's head back!"

Following his signal, Donald and Goofy cut across the forest and rejoined them. The battered and beaten Heartless could in no way keep up with Sora's galloping, and he flashed them back a victory smirk before picking up to full speed.

"That showed 'em!" Donald exclaimed, now fully confident as he took the air.

The three heroes and their recovered rescuee failed to notice the thin, slow figure dressed from head to toe in white furs and crystal that appeared from behind the trees. She watched them retreat out of the woods with pursed lips and eyes of poisonous ice. When they had disappeared over the horizon, she turned back to the fallen dwarf.

"That young centaur...the one using a key for a weapon...has he been seen before?" Every word in her voice dripped with carefully-controlled malice, as if she were squeezing blood from a stone.

The dwarf, having the wind kicked out of him, was unable to answer. She gave him a murderous sneer. "Ready my sleigh. We need to pay a visit to Aslan's so-called 'army'."

------

"Edmund!"

Peter, Susan and Lucy beat the crowd out of the camp, running across the grass to where the rescuers approached. Sora halted ahead of his two friends, breathless but triumphant, and knelt down so that Edmund could dismount. Before the boy even got both feet on the ground, he was swarmed by his siblings.

"Edmund, we're so glad you're okay!" Susan cried, throwing her arms around him in a crushing hug. Edmund might have mumbled back a confirmation, but it was smothered in her dress fabric.

Peter marched up and faced him, looking like he was about to burst into either yelling or tears. "Listen! You...you can't...don't leave us like that again, you hear?"

Edmund bowed his head, hiding what might have been a resentful scowl. However, his voice spoke of true regret. "I'm sorry."

Peter's stern "oldest child" face fell away. "Oh, never mind that now," he said, and embraced his younger brother.

Sora stood just aways from the reunion as Donald and Goofy caught up, all feeling satisfied with a job well done. However, Sora found something else mingling with his triumph...something heavy on his heart. The ache was familiar by now, always appearing when he saw long-lost friends reunited.

Kairi and Riku were so close...but I still haven't found either of them yet.

A small figure standing before him interrupted his thoughts. Lucy Pevensie looked up at him with a huge, grateful smile. "Thank you for bringing our brother back."

A sudden blush spread across Sora's cheeks. He folded his hands behind his head and grinned wide. "It was no trouble!"

"Yeah, we're just glad you guys're together again," Goofy added.

"What're your names?" Lucy asked.

"We're Sora, Donald and Goofy," Sora replied, motioning to himself, the magician and knight in turn.

"You don't know what this means to me," she said, suddenly running up and hugging Goofy. The faun-knight just stood there, bewildered, while Sora snickered. His snickering stopped abruptly when Lucy ran over and hugged him as well.

As the other Pevensies stepped forward, Aslan appeared on the crest of the hill. His proud stance betrayed something else...some different feeling Sora couldn't quite put his finger on. Peter turned to see him as Aslan approached. "Edmund's back!"

"So I see," Aslan replied, staring intently at the dark-haired boy. Edmund couldn't hold the gaze, and turned his face away. The cheerful crowd suddenly became quiet, and Sora sensed there was more to this than he first thought.

"Edmund and I will speak alone, now," Aslan said in a tone both patient and warning. With that, the great lion tread towards the other end of the camp. Edmund shuffled after him, looking like a child about to be scolded by his parent. The other warriors took this as the signal to return to their posts, although the other Pevensies remained by Sora and his friends.

"I hope Edmund'll be alright," Lucy mumbled.

Sora cocked his head to one side. "Why wouldn't he be?"

"Edmund..." Peter paused, choosing his words carefully. "He betrayed us to the White Witch. If we hadn't got help from Aslan and everyone, she probably would've found us and..." he trailed off, letting the silence speak for itself.

"I don't get it. Why is the White Witch after you guys, anyway?" Sora asked.

Lucy looked confused. "Wait, I thought we were the only ones who didn't know about the prophecy."

"Well, uh...we've been away for awhile, and we only just got back in, so we're not up-to-date on the latest prophecies!" Sora joked, grinning nervously.

Peter gritted his teeth, looking like he was about to respond, but then walked away. Susan glanced between them before choosing to follow Peter. Lucy sighed, as if once again having an important task delegated to her.

"Mr. Beaver says it's because of the prophecy," she said, lowering her voice. "When two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve sit on the thrones at Cair Paravel, the White Witch's reign will end. So she wanted to kill us to stop the prophecy from coming true!"

All three looked shocked at the revelation. While Sora disliked the White Witch before, this information sealed the deal. "Well, don't worry!" Sora declared, pointing his thumb to his chest. "We'll make sure the White Witch doesn't get anywhere near you guys!"

Lucy gave the trio another grateful, almost humored smile. She hesitated, as if about to say more, and then turned to follow her two siblings back to the camp. As soon as she was out of sight, Sora folded his arms over his chest and turned to Donald with a cross glare.

It took Donald a second to catch the look. "What?"

"Two human boys and two human girls on the throne at Cair Paravel? I didn't need a form change after all!" Sora complained.

"Huh, I guess havin' another boy around like Sora would've put a dent in the Witch's plan." Goofy caught on to what Sora meant.

"Forget about that! You just wanted to be king again!" Donald sputtered, his feathers ruffled.

Sora laughed. "Just kidding!"

"Y'know, Edmund may've betrayed his brother an' sisters, but I think he's really sorry," Goofy said, returning to the subject. "I don't think Aslan'll hurt him or anythin'. He seems to know all kindsa things."

Sora nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right."

As the trio finally headed back into the camp, Sora found himself shuffling his hooves, slowed down by his thoughts. Riku...maybe he and Edmund are not so different. Sora's face set at the thought. And if Edmund can get away from the darkness and find his family, then I can find Riku, too!