Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I do, however, own Mai, El, and Dayna.

HUGE thank you to Child of Entropy for inspiring me to post this :) Your reviews mean a lot, people. Enjoy!

Chapter 6:

"Huh. Impressive."

El surveyed how far up she and Dayna had come. After clambering up three mushrooms, the duo had made it up to a final platform that had a similar likeness to a lily pad. To her right was a doorway that yawned into darkness.

Beside her, Dayna was wiping off some sweat. I knew I should've sparred more with the islanders.

El turned to her partner, choosing not to say anything about her out-of-breath condition. "Ready to go?"

"Yep!" Dayna half-heartedly cheered.

El nodded and then ducked her head through the doorway. To her dismay, the ground disappeared from under her feet immediately after passing through and she found herself falling once more into a familiar room. El barely managed to balance herself once she landed on some sort of faucet and she let out a breath of relief as her trembling legs steadied.

"Okay, I'm coming!" Dayna called from the ceiling, her voice already increasing in volume as she came closer.

"Dayna, wait – " El tried to warn her, but it was too late. Dayna came tumbling down from the ceiling, missing the faucet by a few inches. El reached out quickly and somehow managed to grab the girl's hand. However, both of their palms were still slippery with sweat from their little workout, and Dayna ended up crash-landing into the floor.

"Are you okay?" El felt an unfamiliar sensation of panic rising up in her when she didn't hear an answer. "Dayna?"

"Yeah." Her dazed voice echoed up from the floor. "I'm fine. I think this world has some sort of messed-up gravity."

El closed her eyes and forced herself to relax. "Good…"

"Well, do you see any evidence up there?" Dayna asked, hoping her fall wasn't in vain.

Scanning the room, the older girl's eyes caught on to a pink box on a ledge across from the faucet she was balanced on. God, that's got to be at least five feet away. She readied her shoulders determinedly. But I have to do this.

"El?"

"Hold on a sec." She took a couple of shaky steps back and then launched herself at the ledge. Her fingers gripped onto the edge and she managed to haul herself up, despite her body's protests.

She deftly snatched up the box with an uncharacteristic smirk. "Gotcha, you stupid evidence."

"Well, look what you've found. Nice going."

Smirk immediately dropping from her face, El summoned Dreams Dusk and pointed it threateningly at the cat, not wasting another second. "Tell me where Lea is. Now."

"Flames can be put out." The Cheshire Cat flipped his head around cheekily. "Flames have been put out. And so have those of innocence."

Now she was enraged. "Tell me where Lea is, you, you idiotic pincushion!"

The cat ignored her. "Alice may still have her innocence, but where is yours?" His gigantic grin dropped momentarily, leaving a surprised expression behind. "Oh my goodness, your heart is just so empty."

El was caught off guard. "My heart? Do you know something about my condition?"

The teeth were back. "I'll give you a present. Perhaps it will help you regain what was lost years ago."

El opened her mouth to demand exactly what it was that she had lost, but her lips closed of their own accord when her body was doused with an icy feeling.

The cat, seemingly pleased with his work, disappeared again without any further ado and she found herself alone.

"… El, has he left yet?"

She mentally face-palmed herself. That's right – Dayna was below me the whole time. "How much did you hear, Dayna?"

"Er…" El could imagine the other girl biting her lip. "All of it."

The older girl massaged her temples tiredly. "Figures. Hold on a minute, I'm coming down."

Too fed-up to care, she jumped off the ledge and landed jarringly on the floor. Damn it, that hurt. "Let's go."

"But, El," Dayna stumbled to her feet. "don't you want to talk about – "

"Let's go." She enunciated through her teeth. "Don't make me drag you again."

"El, no." Dayna metaphorically put her foot down. "You've got to tell me what that was about."

El stiffened. "I can't."

"Can't or won't?" She asked reproachfully. "Having all those secrets inside you can't be good for your health, El."

She had a point. "Well, I've lasted this long, haven't I?"

"But you won't last much longer, the way you're going about things." Dayna countered. "Come on, just spill one tiny secret. It'll make you feel a lot better."

El shook her head again and began walking out of the Bizarre Room. "I fail to see how spilling my guts to an innocent little girl could help me in any way whatsoever."

The duo's conversation halted for a minute as they passed through the courtroom again; El giving the Queen a dirty look as they did so.

As soon as they entered the lotus forest, though, Dayna verbally pounced on her. "One thing, El. Just one. Think of it more as you easing my worries."

"But why would you be worried about me in the first place?" El wanted to wring her fingers through her hair. "Why do you even care?"

"Because you're my friend!" Dayna blurted out. "You, Mai, Sora, Donald, and Goofy."

Friends, huh? El snorted. "Yeah, well, I don't remember us discussing this friendship."

"Yeah, well, you don't exactly discuss friendship. It just happens." Dayna fired back. "So stop being so poopy and just talk to me."

El only heard one thing from the other girl's tirade. "Poopy? You think I'm being poopy?"

Dayna deflated, thinking that El was about to smite her or something equally as awful. "I'm sorry!"

To her relief, a tiny little smile tugged at the corner of El's mouth, which then led to an outbreak of laughter. Dayna could only watch, dumbfounded, as El let go completely for the first time since she had met her.

Finally, minutes later, El recovered and went back to her serious façade. Her laughing fit had helped her to make a decision. "Fine. One thing. That's all." Her eyes darted up to meet Dayna's and then quickly cast to the side. "Let's keep moving, though."

The duo walked towards the back of the room cautiously and El began her story. "A few years ago, when I first arrived in Traverse Town, Dreams Dusk appeared in my hand when a Heartless was trying to attack me. I accidentally killed it with my keyblade, and from then on, I became the gallant defender slash social recluse of Traverse Town." El let out a half-bitter, half-amused snicker. "But, as with all things, there were consequences. If I killed too many Heartless, I overexerted myself. I would be sick for days, sometimes even weeks. Since then, I've learned what I can and cannot do without damaging my health. That stupid cat is acting like he knows more about it than I do."

There was a lull in her spiel as she reflected on her past.

"It never used to be like this when I was younger, you know. The only reason I can think of why this is happening is a really faint memory I have. There's a girl there… I don't remember her name, but she was ill… terminally ill."

"And what happened?"

"Somehow, I helped her… At the cost of my expense, I'm guessing."

"So… That cat has been your only lead, huh? I can see how that could be frustrating for you." Dayna supplemented as they reached the end of the room. "I'm sorry, El."

"Don't be. I don't need your pity." El said abruptly, seeing a familiar head of spikes heading towards them. Instantly, the figurative door on her emotions swung shut and locked itself up once again. "Look; It's key boy and the motley crew."

I guess that's my cue to shut up. Nevertheless, Dayna was satisfied with the little tidbit she had coaxed out of El. Slowly, but surely, the stoic girl was starting to open up.

Sora, not knowing what the girls had just been discussing, arrived on the scene both exuberant and oblivious. "How much evidence did you guys get?" He demanded, Goofy and Donald coming up beside him.

"Two boxes." Dayna replied nonchalantly. "You?"

He wilted. "Two."

"Gawrsh, so that means nobody wins." Goofy scratched his head. "That's too bad."

"Correction - that means everybody wins. Dessert for all of you fortunate hoodlums."

"Free dessert and ice magic for all of us in one day? Oh, boy!" Donald rubbed their tie in her condescending face. "Thank you, El!"

El's eyes fixed on him coldly and she remedied her statement. "Dessert for all of you fortunate hoodlums, except duck boy."

"Hey!"

Dayna stepped in, always the peacemaker. "So, that cold feeling we got was ice magic? We all got it?"

Donald, still miffed, snapped back at her. "Yes."

"Uh, cool." She took her step back, not liking his tone. Sora, for once in his life, was aware of the tense situation.

"Literally!" He joked, to everyone's chagrin. "Get it?"

"Go home, Sora." El deadpanned and then immediately regretted it; it wasn't like he or Dayna actually had a home to go to, after all. "Never mind."

Donald snorted. "Smooth."

Silence fell upon the group. Evidently, they all needed some work on their social skills.

Goofy finally spoke up. "C'mon, let's go save Alice, fellas. Time's a wastin'!"

El nodded tersely and followed the dog out of the room. "I just can't wait to see my best buddy again!" She exclaimed sarcastically as they entered the courtroom. "Hello, toad!"

The queen looked down on them grumpily from her throne. "Have you collected the evidence?"

"Hold on a second, your Highness." Sora interceded politely. "May we talk to Alice first?"

Her face soured more than they had thought would be humanly possible. "Proceed."

The five scampered over to where a cage containing a small girl was suspended. Sora was the first to say something. "Er, hi."

"Hello." Alice replied courteously. "Who are you?"

"I'm Sora, this is Dayna – "

"I'm Goofy, that there's Donald, and – "

"You can call me El."

"Pleased to meet you, though I do wish it was under better circumstances." Alice peered at them through the bars. "I'm sorry you got mixed up in all this nonsense."

"Eh, it was our pleasure." El waved it off. "We'll get you out of there soon, blondie."

"Thank you ever so much." She said gratefully. "Perhaps we can have some tea afterwards with my friends."

"That sounds nice." Dayna smiled nervously, knowing that it was time to face the court. "Wish us luck!"

Alice nodded, a delicate, hopeful smile gracing her face. "You can do this!"

The five of them each gave her one last grin (with the exception of El, who gave her an acerbic salute) and turned to present their evidence to the queen.

"One of you step up to the podium." A card guard pointed his spear at the platform in the center of the room. "And make it snappy."

"Sora? How about you do the honors." El suggested. "I would probably tear the queen's head off if she gabbed any more at me."

The other four sweatdropped. "Good idea."

El and Dayna handed their evidence over to the boy, and, with an audible gulp, he proceeded up to the podium. The queen's lips curled up in a sly smile at the sight of the nervous boy.

"Now, show me what you have found." She barked out, snickering when Sora jumped in surprise. His eyes narrowed at her mirth and he tossed the boxes on the floor in retaliation.

The queen's smile dropped. "That's certainly a lot of evidence, but I'm still not impressed." She cleared her throat. "Cards! Bring forth my evidence!"

An eerily perfect replica of the pink boxes appeared, and with a wave of her staff, the queen shuffled the evidence. "Choose the one you would like to present; I'll decide who's guilty based off of that."

At the side, Dayna and Donald were fuming. "She can't just do that!" Donald screeched as Dayna fervently agreed. "That's not fair!"

"No, it's not." El concurred. "But we have to play the game."

Sora, however, seemed to be on the same side as Dayna and Donald. "But we went through so much trouble to collect all of this!" He shouted at the queen. "You can't just pick and choose!"

"Oh, you silly, silly, boy." El groaned, knowing what was coming next.

"You dare object? Then you will lose your head!"

"Argh, no, I'll pick one." Sora stomped off the platform and made his way to where the four were standing. "Any suggestions?"

"Maybe the one in the middle?" Dayna guessed.

He sighed. "Okay, wish me luck, then."

He traipsed over to the boxes and picked up the one in the middle. "I choose this one."

After a firm nod from the queen, Sora opened the evidence. To his surprise, out jumped Dayna and Donald.

"Guilty as charged! That girl and the duck!" The queen declared imperiously as the card guards marched over to Dayna and Donald.

"But that's crazy!" Sora protested. "Not to mention impossible!"

"SILENCE! I am the law here, and what I say goes." She was absolutely boiling now, but managed a small cackle when the two victims were tossed into cages. "Guards! Seize the rest at once!"

Immediately, El leaped out of the platform to defend Sora as the cards made a move to attack. Simultaneously, a tower with a mechanism inside arose from the ground, and as a guard cranked the gears, Alice skyrocketed to the top of the queen's throne. Dayna and Donald could do nothing but watch helplessly; both had already tried escaping with their respective weapons to no avail.

As El and Sora engaged with the enemies, Goofy snuck over to where the two were imprisoned. Luckily, their comrades' blows distracted the cards and the dog was able to swing his shield at the lock on Donald's cage. Within two strikes, the metal cracked and Donald stumbled out. A few hits later and Dayna was free as well.

"Okay, so here's the plan." Donald bit out quickly. "El and I will take on the cards. Goofy, you and Sora attack the gears on the tower. We need to get Alice down from there." He turned to Dayna. "Dayna, you go stand at a higher point and shoot fire or ice magic down at the guards; sometimes we may not be able to see if an opponent is coming at us. Got it?"

The two others nodded, and Donald ran off to tell the plan to El and Sora. Dayna, meanwhile, found that the only higher vantage point in the courtroom was the queen's throne. Somehow, in all the craziness, all the other platforms had disappeared.

"Well, here goes." Dayna gulped. She sprinted at the throne and pulled her way up, muscles screaming in protest as she did so. The queen let out a flabbergasted snort, but had no time to say anything more as Dayna cocked Dreams Equniox at her.

"Freeze." She stated softly, squinting one eye shut. A flurry of blue crystals shot out the end of her keyblade and encased the woman. Dayna lowered her weapon and stared at it in awe. "Wow… You sure have a knack for magic, huh?"

However, a loud yelp reminded her of what she was supposed to be doing and she focused her attentions back on the battlefield. So far, it looked as if Goofy and Sora had destroyed two of the three gears. Donald and El seemed to be doing decently as well, but… Dayna's eyes widened as El cringed and held her arms around her stomach, giving a soldier a chance to raise his axe at her.

"Oh no, you don't…" The younger girl expelled fire at the offending card as El recovered. The older girl continued as if nothing had happened, refusing to accept the fact that she had needed someone else's help. Dayna, meanwhile, felt a pang as her energy was lost.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the tower was struck down. Alice's cage rapidly descended to the floor, and Dayna reluctantly unfroze the queen before jumping down to her group. The queen, still a bit confused from her freezing state, only leaned over the edge to peer at the cage.

To everyone's immense surprise, no one was inside.

"She must have gotten kidnapped while we were fighting." Donald shook his head despondently. Dayna, who had been the closest to the cage, felt the need to apologize.

"I'm so sorry, I should have – "

"It's not your fault." Sora interrupted gently. "You were as focused on the battle as any of us were."

Dayna hesitated, then nodded.

"Fools! Find the one who's behind this! I don't care how!"

The guards instantly ran around helter-skelter. In the chaos, it seemed that their fight against the motley crew had been forgotten, or at least demoted.

"Gawrsh, where should we go?" Goofy asked, shaking the group out of their stunned reverie. "The lotus forest?"

Sora considered this. "Yeah, I guess so. That seems like the most likely place where the cat would be hiding. He'll probably know where Alice went; he seems to know a lot about what he shouldn't know."

"Heh, no kidding." El felt as if she had been pounded with a mallet. Heck, she wasn't even in pain; she just felt weak. Apparently, she couldn't even handle a few of those puny guards. Pathetic.

She was startled when Dayna handed a potion to her. "Good job, El." Her eyes glowed happily. "We worked well as a group out there."

El stared back at the girl with a neutral expression before snatching the potion peace offering out of her hand. "Don't patronize me." She gulped the substance down quickly and inwardly relaxed as she felt some of her strength returning. Perhaps the solution to her problem was to carry an arsenal of potions around with her. "Thanks, kid."

Dayna beamed, feeling as if she was beginning to understand El's dynamics more. Behind the fierce warrior was a feeling teenage girl, and it only took a bit of prodding to release that.

"You guys coming, or what?" Sora shouted from ahead of them. "Slowpokes!"

The girls quickly trotted over to the rest of the group and then made their way into the woods again.

However, as they entered, a boulder was expelled from a flower and landed almost on top of them. Then, the Cheshire Cat shimmered into existence on top of the boulder, to their further astonishment. He smiled down at them cheekily.

"Cat got your tongue?"

Oh, you're so punny, Cheshire Cat. I really do wish I had your wit.

Anyways, thoughts? You got to have more of a peek into El's past here :) I'm also trying to develop Dayna's character a bit more. Feel free to give me any suggestions about the plotline – I'll take everything into consideration.

I don't know when the next update will be, but thank you all for sticking with SH and SD. Have a nice weekend!

- SoraMaiDay