Realm Hearts
chpt.7: Down the Rabbit Hole
"So, you ready for your first adventure?" asked Axel as he and Roxas made their way down the hall.
"I'm a little nervous, to be honest. But yeah, I think so" says Roxas as the reach a large room where several of the other members were already waiting.
Saix then starts handing out papers to everyone, saying "Here's today's assignment sheets." He then looks at Roxas and says "You'll be accompanying Xigbar to an unclassified world today."
"Unclassified?" asked Roxas, wonder what that meant.
"Wait, why is it Xigbar? I thought I would be acting as Roxas guide starting out" says Axel aloud, not happy with this unexpected choice.
Saix looks at Axel and says "Lord Xemnas's orders. Can't be helped." He then looks at Roxas and says "An unclassified world is a term we use to describe a world we've never explored before. Because of this, we have no way of knowing what to expect in it apart from what we've seen at the portal entrance."
Xigbar walks up and gives Roxas a hard pat to his back. "Looks like me and you will be getting in some quality time together, huh?"
Roxas chuckles nervously, saying "Yeah...I guess so..."
The others begin to head out, passing into the various portals that had been opened. "By the way, what kind of missions do you guys usually do anyways?" asked Roxas.
"World exploration, mostly" says Saix.
"You know, assessing the Heartless threat level if any. Searching for possible Keybearer's. Trying to locate the world's keyhole. You know, the usual stuff" says Axel.
"Or sometimes just having a bit of fun while we're there too" throws in Xigbar.
"Yeah, that's what you and Demyx do anyways" says Axel before walking up to his portal. "Hey, Roxas. Good luck out there..." And with that, Axel enters the portal.
"Well, kid. Let's head out ourselves" says Xigbar as he steps forward.
"Wait a moment" says Saix, getting them to stop. He then turns back and grabs the spare black coat that was laying on a couch in the room and toss's it to Roxas. "Put it on. Wearing this will protect you from any possible side effects that can be caused from repeated usage of the Twilight Gates. After all, they weren't meant to be used by anyone other than Nobodies."
"Right" says Roxas, slipping it on.
"Also, it helps make it easier for people to not give us much attention, believe it, or not as most who see us in this will simply be compelled to not care about us in any great detail" adds Xigbar.
"If you say so" says Roxas as he zips it up. "But that's hard to believe is it does kind of stands out."
"Also, take this as well" says Saix, tossing a communicator to Roxas. "With this, you can keep in contact with your partner while on missions should you split up or get separated from one another. There's also a function to to create an emergency portal should you need to evacuate quickly."
"Understood" says Roxas, sliding the communicator into his pocket.
"Well kid, we better be off then" says Xigbar as he throws on his hood and enters the portal. Roxas does the same and follows him in as well.
After several moments within the twilight corridor, the two emerge near the edge of a forest with a good view of a castle off in the distance. "Wow, this is completely different from Twilight Town" says Roxas.
"Yeah, no kid...I mean, I would assume so" says Xigbar, quickly changing his words as he didn't want Roxas to know he had been to Twilight Town before. "Just wait though. There are worlds out there you can't possibly imagine."
"So, where do we start looking first?" asked Roxas.
"For today, you stick around here and look around the forest to see if you can find anything with that Keyblade of yours. I'll head over to that castle there and see if there's anything special about it" says Xigbar.
"Wait, you mean we're splitting up already?" asked Roxas.
"Well, duh. We can cover more ground that way. Also, I have a better chance of snooping around populated areas than you do which is why I'm leaving you to explore here. We'll meet back here in four hours so be sure to set the alarm on your communicator accordingly. Also, if you see anyone wandering about, it would be best to stay hidden. After all, having to explain things to the locals will be such a pain."
"I guess" says Roxas.
"Well, good luck and don't do anything stupid now" says Xigbar before taking off.
"Why do I have the feeling I should have been the one to say that?" says Roxas in a deadpan tone. He then turns around and looks into the forest. "Well, I might as well get started then."
As he heads into the sea of trees, he pulls out the communicator and goes into the options menu. After a few moments, he finds the alarm setting and sets it for four hours, as instructed. He then takes a chance to see what else it could do. "Alright, this thing has an auto map maker that can even direct back in the direction I came from. That'll be handy if I find myself becoming lost..."
A sudden rustling sound catches his attention, making him go on alert. Looking around, he finds the bush that was shaking and he prepares to summon his Keyblade out in case he needs it.
But it wasn't a Heartless or even a woodland creature...sort of. "Oh me, oh my. What ever shall I do? The queen will surely have my head for this. I'm late, I'm late, I'm late..." cries a white rabbit, wearing a fancy shirt and top with a monocle over one eye as he comes jumping out from the bush, then runs in another direction.
"Huh?" says Roxas, not expecting that. "Was that rabbit...talking? And dressed like an upper class gentlemen to boot?" This had been the first time he had seen either; proof that the worlds truly were different and strange compared to the world he had come from.
"Hey, wait a moment" he shouts, giving chase; having forgotten about the need for secrecy. In his thoughts, perhaps this strange oddity would know something about the Keyhole? "Hey, can you slow down for just a second?" he yells again.
The White Rabbit, having heard Roxas's voice, looks back and says "I wish I could but I can't. I'm already late for the dance." He then returns his focus to his fast approaching destination, a hole upon the hill side which the rabbit is quick to dive into.
"But, this is...important..." says Roxas, coming to a stop before the hole. "Well, I guess that's that then" he sighs out in defeat, preparing to move on till he notices something. The hole...it might just be big enough for him to crawl through. Maybe he could follow after that white rabbit and still ask the question.
Getting down on his hands and knees, Roxas crawls into the hole and proceeds into the darkness a ways before a thought cross's his mind. "Just what the heck am I doing? I should and ask Xigbar about this before Iiiiiieeeehhhhhhh" the last word ends in a yell as Roxas, who hadn't stopped moving forward, falls into another hole that sends him falling down down down into the depths of the earth.
But within moments of his fall, Roxas noticed something odd. He was so much falling down as he was floating downwards now. While the knowing did calm him a bit, it was still nerve racking as his hands and arms where flying out every which way, trying to find something to stop his descent.
And then, his wrist hits something which makes him say "ow" before grabbing back a hold of the object and finding it to be a lamp of some sort based on the shape. A few moments later, he finds a little chain hanging from it and he gives it a pull, turning the lamp on and illuminating the passageway he was falling down in.
"Well, that helps a little" he says looking at the checkered colored walls. He saw all sorts of strange objects scattered about...well, strange do to their positions and the fact they seemed to be floating in mid air. He then sees something even stranger, an owl.
"What's an owl doing underground?" he wonders aloud as he moves the lamp closer to see if it may be stuffed or a doll or something.
The owl's eyes shoot open and it says "Do you mind NOT wasting my lamp oil, pepper."
The sight, and sound, of the owl talking takes Roxas by surprise; enough so that he lets go of the lamp which the owl is quick swoosh up with one of its wings. As he continues his descent, Roxas cross's his hands over his chest and says "If I saw a rabbit talking before, then why did hearing an owl talk just now surprise me?"
Roxas then finds himself sliding through a rather narrow passageway and he suddenly flips upside down after doing so. But he didn't feel like he was upside down now. Instead, he felt like he was falling upwards now. Weird, huh?
Not that he had much time to think about it as he suddenly comes landing head first onto the ground. He groans as he picks himself up, rubbing the pump his sudden and rough landing had left on him. He then looks around and sees the only way forward being the path directly ahead.
"I better contact Xigbar..." says Roxas as he reach's into his pockets and pulls his communicator out. Unfortunately, he wasn't getting a signal on the thing. Worse, the auto map feature, which could help him find his way back to the arrival point, was displaying nothing but static on the screen now.
"Great, I certainty got myself into a fine pickle, huh?" says Roxas. What a way to start his first mission with the Organization? Falling down a hole with no knowing where he was now or how he could get back. He looks to the sole path, saying "I guess I have not other choice but to move forward."
And he does, walking down the wild, twisting hallway, feeling like he was doing a loop-d-loop as he walked, which when he looked back, realized that he actually had. Really weird. But soon, he came upon a door which he opened, revealing another door that was slightly smaller. More doors he opened and more doors he found behind, smaller than the ones before till finally, he found a door that actually opened into another room, though it would be a tight fit to pass through, forcing him to remove the black coat till he was on the other side.
He now found himself within a large, square room that seemed to be completely empty with another small door at the far end. As Roxas puts the black coat back on, he hears the sound of snoring coming from some where. Was there another person...or animal, here in the room with him? He looks high and he looks low, seeing no sign of the noises source. And then sees a little snot bubble coming from out of the door's nob.
"You can't be serious?" thinks Roxas before stepping forward and kneeling down. "Um...excuse me?" he says as he reach's out and touch's the door, making eyes appear on it.
"GGGAAAHHH" cries the door as Roxas hand had grabbed a rather firm hold on its nob nose. He then gives the boy an annoyed look, saying "What is it? Don't you know its rude to awaken someone when they're sleeping? And even RUDER when you wake them up by grabbing their nose."
"Oh...um...sorry about that" says Roxas, blushing a little from embarrassment as he rubs the back of his head. "I didn't mean any offense. I...well, I've never seen a talking door before."
"Yeah, and I've never met a rude nob grabber before either" says the door in a huff, but it then sighs and says "Oh well, no more worries then. What can I do for you?"
"Well, can you tell me where I am?" asked Roxas.
"Where you are? I would think that rather obvious, I'd say. Why, your here, of course. How could you be anywhere else if you're here?" inquired the door.
"That's not what I...never mind" says Roxas as he looks around again. "And to think, I got myself into this mess by chasing after that fancily dressed white rabbit."
"Huh? Oh yeah, that one" says the door. "He was rather rude too, waking me from my nap then badgering me about needing to open up because he was late. I mean, how rude as that?"
"Wait..." says Roxas looking back at the door. "So you mean he came this way?"
"Yeah, he came and passed. Probably heading to that party being held at the palace. The queen, I hear, sure loves her parties and if you get an invite, then you should feel honored. But don't be late or else...you know what will happen."
Roxas had a feeling he didn't want to know what would happen, seeing as so far, he had experienced nothing but craziness since falling down the hole. "So, can you let me through as well? I...well, I'm kind of stuck here and I need to find a way back up."
"You need to find a way back up, huh? Sure you haven't finished falling down yet?" laughs the door before saying "I'd like to open for you, but there's just one problem."
"And what's that?" asked Roxas.
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, you're a tad on the big side. To big to fit through my tight spaces."
"Yeah, I guess you have a point there" says Roxas, noting the door wasn't very big; more like rabbit sized. "So what should I do? I can't exactly shrink myself down now, can I?"
"No, I suppose not. But luckily for you, I have an idea that will help you overcome the impassable.'
"Don't you mean impossible?" asked Roxas.
"No, I meant impassable. Kid, you need to learn that nothing is impossible. Like this little matter" says the door before winking at Roxas. A second later, Roxas hears a sound of sitting hitting the floor, making him look back and see a table had appeared in the room. And on this table was a bottle, a bowl of snacks, and a card.
Curious, Roxas gets up and walks over to the table and picks up the card, reading "Eat me, drink me?" He then looks back at the door and ask "I don't get it?"
"Don't have much of an imagination either, huh? Oh well, I guess I can be a little more generous seeing as there's something about you I like" says the door, allowing a second to pass before continuing.
"OK, drink a bit of the drink and you'll find yourself shrinking down to a size more capable of passing through my space."
"OK, got it" says Roxas as he takes hold of the drink and pops the top off, hoping it wasn't alcoholic.
"Wait, stuff a piece of that food inside your pockets first" warns the door.
"What for?" asked Roxas.
"Well, if drinking makes you shrink, then what will eating do for you?" asked the door.
It only takes a moment for Roxas to get it. "Oh, it can help me return to normal size. Thanks for the tip" he says before stuffing a cookie into his pocket. He then takes a quick drink, then immediately finds himself falling as he had shrunk with his head being the sole thing that didn't move.
After another rough landing, he walks up to the door, saying "I'm ready."
"So you are" it replied before opening up, allowing Roxas to pass through. "Just be careful though. This Wonderland isn't for the tame or unimaginative."
"Wonderland, huh?" says Roxas, looking around and seeing himself within a wide open area with the outline of a forest not to far off. "Sounds right for a name to a place like this one." He then recalls the cookie he had taken from the plate and eats it, returning to his normal size. "Well, let's see what I can find.
Over the next several hours, he search through the forest. In that time, he had seen some serious oddities about. Flamingo's with umbrella's for bodies, owls who's necks where accordions, and some sort of bird like creature which had trumpet shaped beaks. He had even seen a rocking horse fly.
During his search, he had come upon a house built in a clearing, but found the owner was out though a lizard chimney sweep had informed that the house in question was owned by the white rabbit who, along with his friend, the dodo, he left to attend the Queen's party.
After more wandering still, Roxas was feeling tried and decides to take a rest on a tree stump, hoping that it wouldn't start talking to him too. He pulls out the communicator and checks the time. "Well, Xigbar must know something has happened to me. It's past our meeting time and we obviously can't communicate with one another."
As he tries to consider his options, a cold unease comes over him. He looks back and see the the forest beyond where he was, where the path he had been following refused to enter, was darker and more foreboding in its appearance and feel.
"That sure looks inviting" he says as he gets up. He was about to be on his way when movement catch's his attention. Looking back, he sees something for just a blink speed second. "Was that...a Heartless?"
Were the Heartless here? He needed to find out, though it would mean going into the foreboding forest which he wasn't keen on. Taking in a deep breath, he proceeds to enter darkened wood.
"I wouldn't do that, if I were you" comes a voice which makes Roxas stop in his tracks.
"Huh? Who said that?" he shouts, looking around.
"But then again, I'm not you and you're not me. So proceed if you don't mind not coming back" comes the voice again.
"Hey, who are you? Show yourself..." says Roxas before spotting a pair of eyes that seemed to be floating in mid air just above a tree branch.
A large grin forms beneath the eyes as the creature begins humming a tune to itself. The rest of it finally appears, revealing itself to be a plump purple and pink striped cat. "Greetings outsider, is this better for your needs?"
"You...your a cat" says Roxas.
"Correction, I'm a Cheshire Cat, here to guide you along the way. Heed my words and ye shall never stray" says the cat.
"Cheshire...um, is it OK if I call you CC then?" asked Roxas.
"If you must then I don't mind a the double C's will save us time" says the cat before disappearing, only to reappear on top of Roxas's head. The sudden weight sends Roxas stumbling around for a moment before finding his balance.
"So what did you mean before about not going into that darker section of the forest?" asked Roxas, his eyes looking up at the cat, who brings his head down to have a face to face.
"You don't know? Well let me say you'll find the Jabberwock within this darkened glade."
"The what?" asked Roxas.
The Cheshire Cat hops up onto its tippy toes and does a little twirl before leaping down onto the ground, dancing around Roxas while reciting the poem.
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"The Jabberwock? I wonder if it could be some sort of Heartless?" wonders Roxas as he thinks on it.
"A child of shadows it is not, the Jabberwock a creature wrought in guarding the deepest grove where only the most worthy may go" says the Cheshire Cat.
"You mean it guards the Keyhole?" asked Roxas.
"And what you would know of keys and holes?" asked the cat, grinning fiercely at him.
"More than you might think" says Roxas as he holds out his right hand, summoning forth the Kingdom Key. Seeing make the Cheshire Cat laugh aloud as its head pops off from its body, which then jumps atop the head, balancing upon it and rolling it around.
"Twas a long time since last I saw nigh of your kind here. I assume your coming is concerning the beast that live beyond the shadows of the world?" asked the cat.
Roxas nods, saying "Yeah, I'm on a mission to find worlds that have had their barriers weakened enough to allow the Heartless to appear within them. Have you seen any Heartless and do you know where the Keyhole is? Does this Jabberwock creature guard it by chance?"
"The shadows, no, I haven't seen? The barrier still serves its need. As for the Keyhole itself. Again, no, the Jabberwock doesn't guard it but something of equal importance" says the cat.
"Oh, I see. Well, that's good to know anyways. Anyways, do you know where the Keyhole is by any chance? I'll check back here every so often to make sure things are still stable and if it isn't, I can seal the Keyhole then" asked Roxas.
"The location..." says the Cheshire Cat, it's body jumping off its head, then picking it up and spinning it around atop a finger before plopping it back onto its shoulders. "One would assume a keyhole would be upon a door. Find the door and you'll find the keyhole. Does that help?"
"Not really" admits Roxas. "But something tells me this is a test on your part, huh?"
"And something tells you you're right" joked the cat.
"By the way, do you have any idea how I get out of here...Wonderland, I mean. I fell down a rabbit hole in coming here and I need to find my way back so I can return home" asked Roxas.
"Well, you can go this way. Or that way, or this or that; here or there" says the cat as multiple arms shoot from its body, pointing in all directions. "No matter which way you go, you'll eventually reach an exit...and a beginning to follow it."
"Gee, thanks..." says Roxas, not having any idea on what to do. He sighs, deciding to retrace his steps and see if he could climb out the way he came in.
"Anytime, Keybearer" says the cat as it swings it tail around, making its body disappear.
"Hey, one last question" says Roxas suddenly making the cat stop and look at him. "The Vorpal Blade mentioned in that poem. Is there any chance that it may have been some sort of Keyblade?"
"Perhaps you'll find your answer next time" chimes the cat before humming to itself and fading from sight. Alone again, Roxas recalls the path he had walked and heads off to return to the bottom of the rabbit hole, failing to notice another pair of eyes watching him from deep within the darkened forest.
A while later, he emerges from the forest, seeing the small door that could talk against the far wall, and he then remembers he was to big to pass through. "Great, now what?"
He gets is answer when a hard slap lands against his back. "Hey, there you are Roxas. I was worried I may have lost you for a bit. I can't imagine the trouble I'd be in if I lost our sole Keybearer on his first mission."
"Huh, Xigbar? How did you find me here?" asked Roxas, feeling relieved to see him.
"Duh, I used the auto tracker to find you. Glad you decided to show up here when you did. After having to deal with that obstinate door, I wasn't looking forward to seeing what else this world within a world had to offer us" says Xigbar.
"Then you got off lucky then" says Roxas. "You're not going to believe the stuff I've seen here over the last few hours."
"I'll bet" says Xigbar. "But save the explanations till we give our official report back home." Xigbar then aims his communicator at some empty space, making a portal for them to use. "So, find any Heartless or the Keyhole?"
"Nope, you?"
"Double nope."
And with that, they enter the portal, returning to Never Was.
(later that night)
"Well, it looks like you had quite in interesting first mission" says Axel as he and Roxas step off the glowing path and walking into the cityscape.
"Tell me about it. And the thing of it is, I doubt I even saw half of the oddities that world had to offer" says Roxas, getting a laugh out of Axel. "I hope the other worlds aren't like that one."
"I wouldn't worry about that. Most worlds have some level of sanity to them. And also, we won't have to worry about this Wonderland world again for a while so there's no worries about return trips happening anytime soon" says Axel.
"But shouldn't we at least locate the Keyhole though?" asked Roxas as they enter the large plaza.
"We can send some Dusk in for that little detail. It'll probably take them a while, but I'm sure they'll find it eventually. I mean, they did find Twilight Towns keyhole after all. Oh good, we're here" says Axel coming to a stop.
Roxas stops as well, realizing they had stopped in front on the massive skyscraper that was built into the city. "Why did you bring me here to...what is this place anyways?"
"Memory Skyscraper" says Axel as he walks forward. "Follow me and you'll see why we're here."
Roxas does as told, following Axel up the steps and into the tower. After walking through the lobby, they enter an elevator and Axel press's a button marked F-13 on it. As they ride up to the floor, Axel says "Each floor from F-2 up is given to each of us members of the Organization to use as we see fit."
"You mean we have an entire floor to ourselves?" asked Roxas.
"That's right. The floor, though anyone can enter it, belongs solely to one of the members and as such, only one of the members can make changes to it. And F-13 belongs to you, Roxas" says Axel as a ping rings out and the door opens.
"What?" says Roxas, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. He steps out and finds himself standing upon the clock tower within Twilight Town. "How...am I back home?"
Axel places his hand on Roxas shoulder, saying "Not exactly. All you see here is an illusion. A very realistic illusion but an illusion all the same. I know you left this place behind but I felt maybe having this here would make you feel more at ease and counter any future feelings of home sickness."
"Besides..." adds Axel as he takes a seat upon the edge. "...the view of the sunset here is unbeatable."
Roxas joins him in sitting on the edge. "Yeah, it really is. Thanks for this, Axel."
"Sure thing, partner" says Axel. "Oh, and here's another treat from home." Axel the reveals two bars of sea salt ice cream and offers one to Roxas. "I brought a couple back and Vexen, though he complained it was a waste of his talents, was able to make a machine that can easily recreate it. Now, we can come here after an assignment every day and watch the sunset while eating this salty yet sweet treat."
"Yeah..." says Roxas before taking a bite. This had been a weird transition for him. But now, he had a feeling he would be just fine here now.
The next morning, Roxas is roused from his sleep by a rather rough, if not outright violent, shaking. Opening his eyes, he sees Larxene giving him a hard stare. "About time you woke up."
Roxas groans as he sits up, rubbing his eyes. "What's up?" he asked.
"Get dressed. The boss has summoned all us of for an emergency meeting" says Larxene.
Thirty minutes later, everyone had gathered and where sitting in their chairs, awaiting Xemnas's announcement.
"My friends, our fortunes have been most bountiful as of late. Just a few days before, we were graced with the addition of a Keybearer into our ranks. And now, fortune has blessed us again with the appearance of another" comes Xemnas. As his words end, everyone hears the sound of foot steps approaching the chamber.
"Now, allow me to introduce another of the Keyblade's chosen ones" says Xemnas as a figure walks into the room, already dressed in the black coat of the Organization. The person was small in form, likely a few inch's smaller in size than Roxas. "Behold, our 14th member..."
to be continued
Secret Report 6:
Xigbar had left Roxas back at the forest to start exploring while he headed off to the town to see if he could find the Keyhole anywhere within. Or, at least, that's what he had told Roxas he was doing anyways. And while there was some truth in those words, Xigbar actually had another, more important mission to do besides.
Pulling out the communicator and switching it to the one mode Roxas's communicator didn't have, he finds his signal and begins to follow it, soon finding himself being led to a large, beautiful garden built into the back yard of a large, spacious mansion.
Within the yard was a girl with golden blonde hair, playing with a small kitten. She was wearing a blue and white dress and a blue ribbon tied into her hair. There was no questioning it. She was the one for this world.
"Alice, it's time for your piano lessons" comes the voice of an older woman from within the house.
"Coming, sister" returns Alice. "Come on, Dinah. We can play some more later" she adds as she picks up the cat and runs into the house.
Xigbar grins before looking at the device, making sure he had captured her image perfectly. "Enjoy your freedom while you can, Princess of Heart. When the time comes, we will be back for you..."
AN: As it was, sort of, requested of me, I want to give a shout out to superstoyboi124, or Thomas, as requested via PM. He's a writer here on FF and has his own stories on this site as well. If you have the time and are a KH fan, go take a look at them.