Disclaimer: Not mine, yay!
Chapter 10- The First Keyhole Sealed
"My legs are tired!" moaned Sora after searching the Lotus Forest for half an hour. "Why couldn't we just have told that fat old lady about the Heartless?"
"Remember what I said about meddling, Sora…?" asked Donald with a sour look on his face.
"Er? Oh… yeah…" Sora sighed.
"Come on, Sora, you can do it!" Iji grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him towards a large mushroom.
Sora felt refreshed instantly as she cheered him on.
"Alas, so much to find in such little time." mused a purring voice from above them.
"Who's there?!" demanded Donald. He raised his staff to attack.
"Now, now, no need for that, o' fuzzy one! What ye are seeking, the Cheshire Cat knows all the truths!" A pair of yellow eyes appeared, followed by a pink and purple striped head and body. The head wobbled and rolled up and down the body's arms.
"Oooh! Can you help us, Mr. Cat?" asked Iji, glad that they finally found the feline.
The cat stared at her, looking content. "I suppose I can lend a paw." He waved a paw lazily and it popped off momentarily. Nobody laughed at the pun. The cat ignored them and continued. "The cat, the culprit and the answer all do in darkness lie. I can present to you the evidence you wish to obtain. If only you'll follow me…" The Cheshire Cat's body disappeared and the head started to bounce towards an exit.
"Oi! Wait for us!" Sora yelled.
They followed the head all the way into the strange room. It bounced to the top of the table and the Cheshire Cat's body reformed.
"What are we doing in here?" asked Goofy as he looked around.
"Yeah? Where's the evidence?!" Donald started to get steamed.
"Patience, patience," The cat merely put a paw up. A flame appeared at the top and the cat grinned widely. "They say where there is the brightest of flames; there are the darkest of shadows." The torches above on the roof suddenly burst into life and a dark shadow formed up from the ground. "You've prepared yourself for the worst? If not, too bad!" The cat disappeared and appeared up on a shelf.
"You lied to us!!" cried out Iji.
"You say I lied? Nay, I need not! The Cheshire Cat takes heart in aiding those in need!"
The towering Heartless clumsily bounded towards the group.
"Ahhh! Take this! FIRE!" Sora launched a fireball out of his Keyblade. It landed on the Heartless' batons and they caught on fire. The Heartless retaliated and spun its batons, sending flames everywhere.
"Aiiieeee!!!" screamed Donald, Goofy and Sora as they ran around with their backsides on fire.
"Ooh, burnie…" Iji inspected the fire on her pants curiously.
The Cheshire Cat chuckled. "It would seem you're in dire need of assistance. Rather a miracle you've made it this far. It is a pittance, but I shall grant to you what strength you lack." The cat clicked his fingers and a blue glow surrounded Sora.
"Huh? What's this?" Sora stopped and stared. Suddenly icicles shot out from the end, putting out his fire.
"You're the one they call 'The Bearer of the Key', do they not? It'd be a pity if you didn't know how to use magic, wouldn't it?" The pink and purple cat rolled over onto his back.
"You got Blizzard magic, Sora! Now… can you please put us out?!" yelled Donald, pointing at his fiery backside.
"Blizzard!" Sora shot an ice storm at Iji, Donald and Goofy.
When the mist dissolved, Sora saw that he had frozen all three of them in a giant iceblock. The towering Heartless swung a fiery baton at Sora. Sora ducked just in time and the baton continued and hit the iceblock. It shattered and Goofy and Donald burst out. Iji fell onto the floor, coughing some ice out of her mouth. Ice crystals clung onto her wings.
"Blizzard!!" shouted Sora again with more power.
The ice hit the Heartless and froze its batons. The Heartless paused to wonder what had happened to its fire.
"Now!" ordered Sora. "Iji, don't move!"
"But I can do it!" objected Iji.
She was ignored once more.
Sora and Goofy went in to attack directly whilst Donald started hitting it with blizzard attacks of his own. Soon enough the Heartless dropped down onto the floor and the Heart it had stolen flew away into the air.
"Sweet." said the Cheshire Cat, obviously impressed.
Sora panted and approached the table. "Now… can… we… have… the evidence?"
The feline grinned. "That was a show of innate talent, that display of yours. Your powers really do bloom true, if I do say! Keep it up and you'll be a florist someday!" The Cheshire Cat then pouted and looked aloof. "But I suppose so. Here, catch."
A box flew out from mid-air and hit Donald on the head. The duck screeched and yelled profanities at the cat. Sora picked up the box and opened it. A Solider Heartless popped out of it and ran for the hole in the wall. Sora yelled after it and gave chase. The Heartless sprinted into the court and leapt at the Queen. Sora vaulted to it and slashed it in two, just inches before it attacked the Queen.
"What-what was that?!" gasped the Queen, flabbergasted.
"That was your culprit!" said Sora. "Now let Alice go!"
The Queen recomposed herself. "Fine, the girl goes. Lower her down." The cage landed with a soft thud and the curtain unveiled, to reveal the blonde was missing. "Where has she gone?!" demanded the Queen of Hearts. "I want whoever did this to be found and have their head chopped off!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Her card soldiers trembled and ran out to search the area.
Sora looked at the others and nodded. They ran out to the strange room. "Where could she have gone?" asked Sora as he looked inside the fireplace.
Iji wandered around for a while before she came to the Doorknob. It snored softly.
"Is she behind that door?" Goofy suggested.
"Door…" Iji stared at it, as if hypnotised.
"Iji? You okay?" Sora walked up beside her. His eyes widened as they saw Iji's own pair cloud over and become a lifeless grey. He blinked. "I've… I've seen those eyes before. Ack, Iji!"
Iji stepped forward, ignoring Sora and focusing on the Doorknob. She raised a hand and lightly touched the Doorknob's nose. "Awaken and reveal." she said to it and stepped away.
The Doorknob twitched its nose. "What's with all this hullabaloo today?" It yawned and started to glow.
"A Keyhole!" gasped Sora as he saw the shape inside the doorknob's mouth.
Suddenly the Keyblade lurched forward and a beam of light shot out of it into the hole. A loud click sounded and a piece of something fell out. Goofy picked it up and gave it to Donald. The Doorknob closed his mouth and fell sleep again.
Sora turned to Iji. "Thanks, Iji."
Iji's smiled briefly and closed her eyes. When she opened them her eye colours had returned to normal. "Huh? Oh, sorry, Sora. I must have drifted off."
Sora looked at Donald and Goofy. They both shrugged at him.
"Superb performance, boy!" The Cheshire Cat clapped from up on the stove.
Sora yelled to it. "Have you seen Alice?!"
The cat vanished and popped up on the flower. "Negative!"
"Do you know where she's gone, Mr. Cat?" Iji approached him.
The cat paused before speaking. "Alice is neither her nor there, or available for any occasion. She has passed from this world, to where I cannot speak… Borne off by shadows, she has fallen to the darkness of obscurity…"
*****
"That wretched cat!"
"He's got a loose tongue he has."
"By the Kingdom I do swear… He should have been disposed of the very moment he refused our goodwill!"
"Bit too late for that, old man."
"We need not concern ourselves upon that trivial matter. Of greater concern are those infidel children. With the girl's help the boy was able to come across this Keyhole far earlier than previously projected."
"Who'd have thought she would have such powers?"
"Time is of the essence…"
"Worry not, friends…" Maleficent stepped up to the table. "It seems as though this girl has lost all sense of self, lest she would have pointed out the Keyhole the instant they reached the world. She could turn out to be of great assistance if we were to persuade her to help us. But, in the meanwhile…"
A spotlight turned on and Alice looked around nervously.
Maleficent continued as she smiled at Alice. "The pieces we seek have begun to assemble on the board…"