"If one was to traverse the Oceans Beyond, or Lanes in Between as others would call it, one would need either a ship that can travel to other world or have a strong heart, body, and mind to open up 'corridors'. The 'corridors' can be of either light or darkness and can be dangerous to travel. Similar to the Devil's Road of the Old World's Mysidia Village. Such wonders allowed the traveler to teleport from Mysidia to various locations around the Old World. The 'corridors' are the same in teleportation abilities, but instead of one spot, the user would have to imagine the world they would want to travel to and just start walking. I've used it many times during my life, but it can take a heavy toll."
-writings of X
Chapter 11: Tales of Wonderland
October 21, Merlin's Hut, Traverse Town…
"Wow…I didn't think it would do such a thing…" Archimedes said as Merlin used artes to move fallen furniture back to their proper places.
During the time Sora, Ventus, and the SOLDIERs, Cloud and Zack, were in the cave, Merlin continued to monitor Terra's condition. It worsened to the point where nearly the whole of the lad's body was covered in inky darkness. He started muttering things in his sleep and the darkness started to grow in power.
Merlin thought to make the capsule stronger with a few barrier artes, but the lad's body was completely enveloped in darkness and the wizard was sure that he had turned. Chains then shot out from his being, nearly skewering the old wizard and his owl Animus. Archimedes shouted various choice words and the capsule shattered. Darkness billowed out of it, shattering windows and darkening the whole area.
Alarms blared as the Old World systems thought Heartless were in the area. The darkness dissipated and Merlin saw that Terra was gone. His heart fell as the only thing he could think of was that Terra had turned into a Heartless and escaped as the darkness inside of him was far too vast and deep for normal methods of removing it.
Then he sensed something from the south. Powerful energy emanated from there and it was darkness, but surprisingly not malevolent. When he arrived, Sora and Ventus were unconscious while Cloud and Zack stumbled out of the cave with a terribly injured Terra. Merlin had to keep his emotions in check as Terra was missing limbs and was burned as if tossed into a fire. And the weapon he held…it was the key from the cave.
The only thing he could do was send the fledgling Keybearers to the Darling's household to recover and the SOLDIERs to Mysidia where they could get proper treatment. So, he did.
"Never do that again, Merlin," Archimedes said.
"Why are you scolding him? Two…nay, three Keybearers have awakened."
A dark portal appeared in the hut and Merlin sighed. His unexpected guest stepped out of the portal and the tan-skinned, bald man in mostly black leather clothes appeared. His Animus, a grey wolf, followed and said, "I didn't expect him out of all people to be one."
"Xehanort…" Merlin said, seeing the man.
The old man looked around, seeing the damage done by the darkness. He then said, "At least the darkness is gone from this place. No risks of anyone turning by simply stepping in here."
"What do you want?" Merlin asked.
"I wanted to see the newly awakened Keybearers. But since you've sent them on that fiasco of a mission, I'll just take my leave," Xehanort said.
Merlin knew that what he said wasn't the reason. He probably wanted to check up on Terra as he was the one that rescued him from the clutches of the Sanctum long ago. He tried to return him to his parents, but…
"He still doesn't remember them and I doubt that he will after what the Sanctum did to him," Archimedes said.
Xehanort's Animus, Sebastian, sniffed around and said, "It seems that our work was for naught."
"What do you mean?" Archimedes asked.
Xehanort, finding a chair, asked the old wizard, "Do you remember the prophecies of Yen Sid?"
"Y-Yes. Why? What does that have to do with anything that has happened?" Merlin asked, not wanting to get onto that subject.
"He prophesied long ago that when the Princesses begin to awaken, the darkness that destroyed the Old World would return to finish its work," Xehanort said.
Merlin's countenance fell. He remembered the rest, which matched the various prophecies in the Book of Prophecies. The darkness would "find and destroy everything it touches." Maybe Terra had been attacked by that very same darkness and it attempted to completely obliterate him after escaping?
"If the darkness did that to him, then I shudder to think what it would do if it found one of the Princesses," Sebastian said.
Merlin, suspect as Xehanort had always talked about controlling the darkness, especially something that powerful, asked, "What do you plan on doing?"
"What do you mean?" Xehanort asked.
"If what attacked Terra, Cloud, and the others is on the loose, what do you plan on doing?" Merlin asked.
"I plan on preventing the expected end," Xehanort said, getting up.
He opened a dark portal and Merlin said, "Xehanort, please don't do anything reckless. Urd wouldn't want this of you."
The bald old man said nothing and stepped into the darkness, his Animus following behind.
Nearly two weeks before…
"Riku? Riku? Riku, wake up!"
Riku, groggy, woke up and saw Kiba staring at him. He jumped up, realizing that he was no longer in Departure as he and Kiba were trapped in what looked like a large forest. The flowers were gigantic as well as the grasses and various rocks. Almost as if he had been shrunken.
"Where are we?" he asked.
"I dunno. But this place smells weird. Like we're in between reality and a dream," Kiba said.
"But which is the reality and which is the dream."
Riku got to his feet, looking up at an oversized rose. An odd, purple, and pink striped tail appeared out of the darkness and swooped around to reveal a striped cat with an odd, human-like grin. Getting suspicious of the creature, as Riku couldn't sense an Animus, the silver-haired teen asked, "What are you?"
"What? Who? When? Where? Why? So many questions you have in that little mind of yours," the cat said, which wasn't too surprising as there were some in the worlds with cat Animi.
But the oddity of the cat and how it seemed to have telepathy caused Riku to grow more suspicious. Kiba then asked, "Okay, then. Who are you and where are we?"
"Me? I am called the Cheshire Cat. And this is a place where the corrupted dreams of the world coalesce," the Cheshire Cat said, its grin widening.
Riku had never heard of such a place. But he had heard of a place called the World of Dreams. There, people known as "summoners" channeled powerful artes into summoning creatures called the "Dreams of the Fayth", or "Eidolons", "Eikons", "Astrals", "Aeons", etc. as the names varied from place to place. Maybe he was in that world. But what did the Cheshire Cat mean by "corrupted dreams"?
"Here in this 'Wonderland', dreams and reality coalesces. Two queens keep the dream going. Finding one will help you in finding what you're searching for. But which queen will help you, I wonder," the Cheshire Cat said.
Before Riku could ask anything else, the cat disappeared with a laugh.
"Okay…Well, that was creepy…" Riku muttered.
Looking up, he couldn't see the sky as the grasses created a large canopy. And at the ground level were dirt paths, but which one to pick?
"Which way? Which way? I trust that you pick the right one."
The Cheshire Cat reappeared behind him and Kiba asked, "We don't know our way around this…Wonderland. So, just tell us as riddles aren't really our…"
"Left, right, and center, left is right and right is left, but what about the center? Is it left-right? Or right-left?" the Cheshire Cat said.
Riku sighed, not liking riddles. Why couldn't it speak plainly?
"And there it goes again…" Kiba said, seeing the cat disappear a second time.
"I would hurry if I were you. The shadows here don't like those that are new."
Riku immediately got that it was talking about the Heartless. He had to pick the right path and shrugged. With a sigh, he said, "Forget it. This way."
He went down the center path and after leaving the area, the other two paths disappeared.
Wonderland, Lotus Forest…
"H-Hey! Wait! WAIT!" a blonde youth in blue and white said.
Behind her was a small white cat running after her and she yelled, "Alice! ALICE! Slow down!"
"But I need to know where that white rabbit is going!" the 12-year-old Alice said, chasing after a rabbit she saw.
It was an oddity as it wore a waistcoat and had a pocket watch. She had never seen such a thing while living in Fynn and thought to follow. But the girl became hopelessly lost. She ran into Heartless that tried to fireball and freeze her, sentient flowers that didn't like she was a better singer than they, and even found a small keychain in a treasure chest after meeting the twins, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.
"Alice! ALICE! Stop!" the cat Anima said, morphing into a dove and flying in the girl's face.
"But we're going to lose the rabbit, Dinah!" Alice said.
"Why are we chasing after a rabbit? And why did we leave the Tweedles behind like that…? There's nothing special about that rabbit! If we continue following it, then…!" her Anima said.
"Then you'll run into the Queen of Hearts."
The girl turned around and saw a little boy in a black hood. He stared at her with red eyes that held deep distrust in them and he was pale as a ghost. Alice looked, checking to see if he had an Animus, but…
"Who are you?" Dinah asked, hovering around.
"I…My name…" the boy said, looking confused.
He looked down, seemingly ashamed that he had forgotten his own name. Would Alice forget hers if she didn't find a way out of there? Dinah was wrong. If they followed the rabbit, he could tell them the way home back to Fynn. And then she would be safe and she would apologize to Governess Mountbatten.
"A-Alice…he doesn't have an Animus…" Dinah said, getting scared.
Alice looked around and saw no animal spirit near him. Which could only mean…
"Um…well, nice meeting you. I'll just continue looking for the rabbit," Alice said, turning to leave.
The boy reappeared in front of her and said, "If you do, you'll just wind up in the Queen of Hearts court. And she rips out the hearts of those that defy her, like a Heartless."
"Um, aren't you one?" Dinah asked.
The boy was taken aback at the question and started to ponder it. He didn't look like one as Heartless usually had beady, yellow eyes, and many were black in color, like a living shadow. Alice started walking and the boy said, "Don't leave. Please."
"Well, we don't really know you and you don't know us. So, we'll be going now," Dinah said, flying behind Alice.
"N-No…No! Don't go that way!" the boy said, chasing after her.
Alice took off running, wanting to get away from the odd boy and get out of Wonderland. He was most likely a Heartless and she couldn't let him catch up to her. The girl found a path and continued running with Dinah following closely behind. She turned to see if the boy was still chasing her and managed to trip over an uprooted tree root.
The girl fell face first, getting scrapes on her face and knees. Rustling came from the nearby bushes and Alice tried standing, only to get dizzy and fall again. Dinah landed, morphing into a small white puppy, growling to protect her. But Alice had no way to defend herself. Maybe, maybe her end would be in that place, Wonderland…
'Mother, Father, Governess Mountbatten…I'm so sorry. I should've stayed put and finished my literature lessons…' she thought.
To her relief, masked soldiers whose uniforms were red and white hearts appeared. They looked at Alice and one asked, "This her?"
"Yup. Her Majesty said that the shadow would try to chase her away," another said.
The "Red Heart" soldiers, four in number, helped Alice up and a third said, "You're to come with us to see the Queen."
"Um…" Alice said, unsure.
"Unless you wish to stay here and be Heartless fodder, then you should come with us," the last said.
Not wanting to be a meal for the Heartless, the youth agreed to go with them.
With Riku…
Angry and tired, Riku arrived at a beach and fell flat on his face. After meeting the Cheshire Cat, he took the central path and it led him to a dead end. That dead end was quickly revealed to be a sinkhole and he went tumbling down. To his surprise, he landed in a living room that was vertical instead of horizontal. Then, there was the door that led to an all-purpose room with a single small door.
He ran into a white rabbit in a waistcoat that was in a rush. The rabbit went into the small door and Riku tried to follow, but couldn't as he was too big. Then the door started talking, told him to drink something that appeared on a table out of nowhere, and then…
"What is this, Gaiabound's Magicant?" Kiba asked, confused about all the randomness they experience within the past hour.
"That door led to this seascape and…Seriously, what kind of place is this?" Riku said, turning on his back and seeing the sunny skies.
Something about it was off as it was in the middle of Fall in Departure. Did Wonderland follow its own rules with time and seasons or what? That and there were the humanoid birds, fish, and other creatures he saw before washing up on the shore. Wonderland was weird.
"This place can break you if you let it."
Riku sat up, heard a voice, and turned to see a hooded boy in black. He was very, very pale and looked completely out of place in that beach setting. Kiba started growling, seeing that the boy didn't have an Animus. And the scent of darkness, it was on him.
The boy looked at Kiba and said, "A wolf Animus? No one in Wonderland has one…Are you…?"
'Wolf Nomads haven't arrived here. Makes sense as this place is…insane,' Riku thought.
"Who're you, kid?" Riku asked.
Kiba was confused, wondering why Riku was cordial. He then figured it was because they had no weapons and if the boy was a Heartless, keeping him from ripping his heart out by being cordial was best. The boy looked down and said, "I…don't…"
"Get away from him!"
A blast of red light and the hooded boy was sent flying. The sound of hooves and Riku saw a cavalry of red soldiers riding towards him. Eagle Animi followed them and Riku was surrounded by the riders. The riders, dressed in red and black, pointed red diamond-tipped spears at him and he held up his hands in surrender. If he had a weapon, he'd try to fight his way to escape.
"Back off, darlings."
The riders in front of Riku parted the way and a woman dressed in all red was astride on a white horse. She was dressed regally and the blonde-haired woman looked down at the silver-haired teen. She then noticed his Animus and said, "A wolf Animus? Rare…Are you a nomad, child?"
Riku said nothing, but Kiba said, "What do you think?"
"Do not talk down to the Queen!" a rider yelled, hitting Riku in the back of the head.
The boy fell to his knees and the Queen came down from her horse. Her Anima, a yellow-furred cat, sniffed him and said, "The darkness didn't get him, but he's been close to it."
Riku looked up at her, seeing the blonde give him an inquisitive look. As if she really never seen a nomad before. She then said, "Get him up. We take him with us."
The boy was quickly bound by ropes and the Queen mounted her horse. She then rode ahead and the soldiers followed. Those that captured Riku and Kiba had pulled at the ropes and taken the silver-haired teen with them. Albeit with difficulty as he was being half-dragged.
Lotus Forest…
"Where…?" the hooded boy said.
He returned to the Lotus Forest, finding his hiding spot near the Mad Hatter's Tea Party Garden. He looked at the nearby lilies and they chimed in the wind. The yellow flowers watched over him carefully and the reds were on the lookout for Heartless. In that little alcove, the boy felt safe and he wanted to bring that girl Alice and that silver-haired guy.
The Red Queen, Anastasia, and Cora, the Queen of Hearts, were dangerous and they made the forest very, very dangerous for anyone that stumbled there. Wonderland wasn't like that until they came to power as he remembered the ones that helped him when he first arrived, Freya, the White Queen, and Giovanni, the Red King. They tried to help him remember his name, despite the fact that he didn't have an Animus as they did. And they even helped him control the darkness he had. And in return, he kept Heartless away from their realms and even kept the forest safe for travelers.
Then, there were the summoners that frequented the area. They avoided Wonderland due to the two queens and the last time a summoner arrived for training, the Queen of Hearts found them and they lost their hearts. When the summoners of Madain Sari and Lufenia tried to send a rescue party, they were captured by the Red Queen and were never seen again.
The boy wanted to restore Wonderland to the way it was. But how? His power waned drastically and the Heartless grew in number. And it also seemed that they were being controlled by the two queens. Or whoever was the more powerful of the two.
"So sullen, I see."
"What do you want, Cheshire?" the boy said, looking at a yellow flower.
The Cheshire Cat appeared and the boy had no time for games. He had to find a way to get Alice and that silver-haired guy from the two queens. And after he was shot by a bolt from the Red Queen, the boy knew his power was far too weak. He needed strength, more than what he had.
"Why?" Cheshire asked.
"Why what?" the boy asked.
"Why do you need more power? To make the lights in the Bizarre Room glow?" Cheshire asked.
"No," the boy said, continuing to look around.
"To find the momeraths outgrabe?" Cheshire asked.
"I don't even know what that is," the boy said.
Cheshire's grin widened and he asked, "Are you sure? Sure you're not forgetting?"
"Forgetting what?" the boy asked.
The cat disappeared and he said, "The girl Alice took your good luck charm. Whether or not she still has it, no one knows."
Why did she take…?
"Gah!" the boy said, a sudden headache gripping him.
He had to find that keychain. That was a good luck charm the Red King gave him before Anastasia took over. He told him that it would help him focus and keep his powers at bay. But with his powers waning and the Heartless growing in number, along with the two queens' power, how useful was it?
Pain and he doubled over, feeling as if he had just been run over by stampeding horses. The boy curled up into a ball, not knowing why he was in so much pain. Vision fuzzy, the boy meekly said, "Someone…help…"
From afar, a brown-skinned man dressed in foreign, black desert attire watched as the hooded boy passed out. Darkness poured from his body and morphed him into a horned shadow beast. It roared, shaking the foundations of the forest and causing nearby Heartless to flee. The winds started violently blowing, putting the man's curly black hair flying in his face and making it hard to see. He moved it and summoned a snakehead staff to his hands.
With a slam onto the tree branch he was on, the man created a barrier to stop the winds from hitting him. His Animus, a peregrine falcon, stared and asked, "So, are we going to report this or what?"
"Not yet. We need to know if he poses a threat to our plans," the man said.
"But Jafar, I'm sure Maleficent would've sensed all this darkness by now," the falcon Animus said.
Jafar rolled his eyes and said, "Stop worrying, Iago. All we must do is monitor this world and find the princess here. If that dark beast gets in the way, then we destroy him. Send him back to the darkness whence he came."
"Okay, whatever. But I think that thing's more dangerous than you realize," Iago said.
Jafar saw the beast destroy everything that caught its attention, flora, stones, tree roots, and nearby Heartless. Another loud roar and the darkness dissipated from the hooded child. He collapsed, curling up and shivering violently.
"All that power and it's wasted on a phantom such as you," Jafar said, disappearing in a plume of darkness.
So now we're at the Wonderland arc. Unlike the game, we're dealing with two Queens, the Red Queen and the Queen of Hearts. And for those that have seen Once Upon a Time, Anastasia and Cora will be the queens for this.
But how dangerous could they possibly be?
-miano53