Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or its characters…only Bella.
The journey on the gummi ship was an interesting one to say the very least. The small ship was actually a lot bigger on the inside than it appeared and Bella and Sora were introduced to two new faces; two small furry faces. Two chipmunks to be completely exact. Chip and Dale were two little chipmunks that acted as the engineers of the gummi ship. Bella had fun learning about the different functions of the ship and how it was built from the different gummi blocks from them and she spent most of the three day voyage with them while Sora learned how to steer clear of meteors and how to gun down enemy ships. It was an educational experience for the both of them, and they barely had time to talk to one another as they learned everything they could about the ship.
"So if I twist this knob here," Bella asked, trying to understand the complex functions of everything around her, "then this lever will drop and I move it to the right and press the red button twice and the blue button once, do the hokey pokey, and the latch will open?"
"Well, I don't know anything about a hokey pokey, but the rest was right," Dale told her. "After you get that opened up, the keypad will come down and you can permanently record the locations of any worlds we find."
"Nifty," Bella commented. She leaned against the wall and sighed, closing her eyes. "Now if only we can find some worlds to explore. It's only been a few days, but I can only stay on this ship for so long before I go nuts."
The chipmunks shrugged and scampered off, performing their routine checks of the whirling machinery and flashing lights to be sure everything was in order. Bella watched them, trying to memorize their instructions that were shouted to her in high pitched voices and keep up with their fast movements. She soon felt a headache coming on.
A funky looking television screen with a circular lime green border and electric blue polka dots dropped down from the ceiling and Sora's face crackled into view. Bella sighed in relief. Finally, something to distract her from the craziness.
"Bella," Sora stated simply, calling her attention.
"What's up?"
"Land ho," Sora grinned.
"Nuh-uh!" Bella squealed."Oh thank God, I'm bored to pieces already. How soon before we get there? What does it look like? Are we going to land? C'mon, man, I need details!!"
"Come on up to the bridge and check it out for yourself," Sora told her. Bella didn't have to be told twice. She rushed through an explanation to the chipmunks and took off at top speed to the bridge to get her first look at the new world. This was so exciting!!
Just as fast as she had run to Sora's side, she froze. What the hell? The whole planet was pink and red and there were hedges EVERYWHERE. Bella thought she saw a large house too and looked at Sora. "That's it?"
"Yeah, it looks kinda strange," Sora commented. "But at least it's not the gummi ship."
Bella nodded her agreement. She was itching to get off. Donald had walked up to her at that point and was explaining how they were going to land the ship and where exactly they were going to start looking first. She tried to keep up, but his speech was difficult to understand at times and she had to keep asking him to repeat things, much to the duck's displeasure.
Sora was not allowed to land the ship this time, since he was still new to the many controls, but Goofy was able to handle the landing quite smoothly. Well, hot damn, the dog could fly! The ship settled gently on a field of grass and Bella pulled a golden rope that hung from the ceiling twice. Part of the ship's wall began to lower itself and a ramp extended out from underneath it, touching the grass below, allowing the passengers to step down onto solid ground. Chip and Dale had volunteered to stay behind and keep watch over everything while the rest of the group set off. Even though they were only chipmunks, Bella couldn't help but trust them. After all, they knew all the defense mechanisms of the ship backwards, forwards, sideways, and any other way you could think of.
"Where are we going again?" Sora asked, staring around. They had landed in a field where all there was to see were flowers and hills. Donald however, pointed to a large hole in one of the hills. A sign hung over the hole saying "Entrance to Wonderland" and a small wooden door was opened to the field.
"In a hole?" Bella asked. "That's ridiculous."
"Tough," Donald said, pushing her toward the hole anyways. She went in first and immediately hated the darkness and filth of the place. She could hear the others behind her, and she grumbled as the tunnel got narrower, forcing her to crouch down. She was about to shout some obscenity back at Donald, who had bumped into her, when she felt her foot catch nothing but air and she began to plummet forward. Instead, she let out a sharp yell, and heard the responding yells as the rest of her group fell as well.
After a moment, a heart pounding moment at that, Bella realized she was falling in a slow, rocking motion. Holy shit, she was practically defying gravity!
"Sora, Donald, Bella, are you ok?" Goofy asked.
"Yeah," Bella replied. "All clear on the home front."
"Me too," answered Sora.
"And me," Donald said.
"And don't forget about me!" Jiminy called out, clinging to Bella's hair.
There was nothing to do but continue the descent down the hole at this point, and it was boring so far. Goofy had already fallen asleep and Sora was playing some sort of 20 questions game with Donald to pass the time. Bella and Jiminy had started up a conversation about their own home worlds and she was currently listening to something about a green fairy or red fairy or---well, there was a fairy involved.
Just then, Donald made an awkward squawking noise and pointed below them. The floor was coming up to them really fast. He, Sora, and Bella positioned themselves up right, bracing for the impact. Bella bent her knees, unsure if the landing would hurt or not. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and was surprised when she felt her body make a light, smooth touchdown. She opened her eyes and watched Donald gently float to the floor.
Then she noticed Goofy, still sleeping.
"Oops," she stated, pointing to the oblivious dog. He fell to the ground with a loud crash, causing him to wake with a start. He sat in a daze and Donald doubled over with uncontrollable laughter. Bella and Sora immediately ran over to see if he was hurt at all, but Goofy simply stood up, brushing off his pants and yawning widely.
Bella felt something bump against her knees and she looked down, glimpsing a white blur. She turned her head quickly and saw a white rabbit running down a hall (in a rabbit hole??) in a waistcoat, clutching a large golden pocket watch.
"Oh, my fur and whiskers!" he cried out in a desperate voice. He ran faster and shouted out his fears. "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I'm here, I should be there. I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! The queen she'll have my head for sure!"
"The queen will do what?" Bella yelped as the rabbit's tail disappeared around the corner. "What kind of place is this where queens cut off their subjects' heads?"
"He sure ran off fast," Goofy commented. "I wonder what he's late for?"
"Let's find out," Sora suggested, his curious nature getting the better of him. He started running down the hall as well, the rest of the group following closely behind. The hall was large and Bella found herself questioning just who had made this place inside a rabbit hole. It was just too wild to imagine! When she ran into a small room, she was even more confused. What was this place??
"What a bizarre room, "she murmured. It was like a tiny bedroom. A bed was pushed up against the wall and a grandfather clock ticked softly. The center of the room was dominated by a glass table, opposite the fireplace, and a tiny door stood up to Sora's knees in the wall. "And where did the rabbit go?"
"Maybe he went through the door?" Sora said, looking around the strange room. "I don't see him in here."
"But how?" Bella questioned, looking dubiously at the tiny door. The rabbit she had seen was much larger than that. "How did he get so small?"
"No," said a small voice coming from the door. The knob opened its eyes, revealing a face that, until that point, had been slumbering quietly. Bella and Sora jumped back a bit, Bella's jump upsetting Jiminy in the process. Goofy leapt into Donald's arms comically and Donald had fallen on his tail, eyes wide open in shock. "You're simply too big."
"It talks!" Donald stated, flabbergasted. He had never met a talking doorknob before.
"Must you be so loud?" the Doorknob complained. "You woke me up."
"Sorry," Bella said weakly, holding onto Sora's arm for support. "I-I didn't mean to wake you."
"Good morning," Goofy offered, still clinging to a nearly squashed Donald.
"Good night! I need a bit more sleep!"
"Wait!" Sora shouted, making the Doorknob open one eye curiously. "What do we have to do to grow small?"
"Move the bed and drink the bottle over there on the table," the Doorknob suggested sleepily, slipping back into his dreamland with a soft snore. Bella just stared at it. What in earth did it mean by move the bed? Move the bed where? This was getting a little ridiculous. Besides, she saw the table when she came in the room and there was no bottle on it.
"Whoa," Sora exclaimed and Bella whipped around in time to see the bottle finish materialized on the table. Well, what do you know? The talking doorknob was right! So that meant---
Donald began to pull on the bed, tugging with all his might from every angle. Sora soon reached out to help him, and Goofy grabbed Donald's ankles, tugging the duck fiercely. Try as they might to move the bed, it just wouldn't budge! Exhausted, they slumped against it, falling backwards when the bed slid directly into the wall, revealing a hole in the wall where the headboard should have been.
Bella laughed then. This world was getting more and more confusing by the minute, but it was also funny.
"Well then, boys," she said, picking up the bottle and toasting them. She didn't hesitate to bring it to her lips; she was more trusting of the Doorknob's advice. "Bottoms up!"
She felt a curious sensation spreading throughout her body, warm and tingling. She felt her body shifting and she stared at her hands in wonder and amazement as they grew smaller before her very eyes. She was shrinking!! This must have been what he meant by them being too big. Sora, Donald and Goofy followed her lead and took a drink from the bottle, shrinking down to a smaller size. Jiminy was last, now taller than all of them. Once he was back to a proportional size to the group, he settled himself once more into Bella's sweatshirt hood, peering over her shoulder to watch what would happen next.
The group made their way toward the hole in the wall cautiously, unsure of what they were going to walk into. Sora went first, holding his key blade tightly, ready to defend himself and fight back if the situation called for it. Donald and Goofy followed after him and Bella took up the rear, listening to Jiminy scribbling quick notes down in his journal.
They walked straight into what appeared to be a room full of tall hedges. They could hear distance horns from up ahead and they moved forward slowly, hiding in the shadows of the bushes to avoid detection. Bella noticed a young girl in a pale blue dress standing on a podium looking nervous and unsure as to why she was even there. She looked around helplessly as the white rabbit Bella had encountered earlier ran up a platform and blew his horn again.
"Court is now in session!" he wheezed, unable to breath after having run the distance to make it to the trial on time. Bella and Sora exchanged quick glances. Was this little girl really a criminal?
"I'm on trial?" the girl asked, completely flabbergasted. "But why?"
"Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding!" said the rabbit, ignoring the girl on trial. A large woman in an elaborate red, white, and black dress leaned over, peering at the girl angrily.
"The girl is the culprit," she bellowed, announcing her decision to the entire court, which was comprised of what looked to be a life-sized deck of cards holding spears. "There's no doubt about it. And the reason is…because I say so, that's why!"
"That is so unfair," the girl complained, crossing her arms in defiance. What sort of a reason was that to think someone was guilty of some crime?
"Well, Alice," the Queen of Hearts demanded, calling the girl to attention. "Have you anything to say in your defense?"
"Of course!" Alice proclaimed. She raised her voice to a higher level to make herself heard over the murmurs of the court. "I've done absolutely nothing wrong! You may be queen, but I'm afraid that doesn't give you the right to be so….so mean!"
"SILENCE!" The queen roared, startling Alice. The poor girl leaned away from the queen as far as possible and raised her arms to guard herself against the harsh voice. "You dare defy me?"
As the queen continued to shout at Alice, Sora turned to Donald and said, "Hey guys, I think we should help her out."
"Yeah," Donald reply hesitantly."But the---"
"We're outsiders, so wouldn't that be 'muddling'?" Goofy interjected, cutting the duck off.
"Meddling!" corrected Bella and Donald simultaneously.
"Oh yeah," Goofy said. "And that's against the rules."
Bella opened her mouth to give her own opinion, but the voice of the Queen of Hearts rose above her own and she turned her head to get a better view of the large woman, gasping when she heard the following statement.
"The court finds the defendant… guilty as charged!" she declared, pointing an accusing finger at Alice with a malicious glare before announcing the sentence. "For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart…OFF WITH HER HEAD!"
a/n: I know it's been forever since I last updated anything on here, but I've almost been so busy with work and college that FF was put on the back burner for the longest time. I finally have some time to start updating again though, so be prepared for the onslaught of chapters in the coming weeks!!
