Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Alice in Wonderland. If I did, I would know the events in Kingdom Hearts 3D!
A/N: So who's excited for Dream Drop Distance? Three days away 'til its release in Japan! Hopefully it will be released soon in Europe and North America and other places! I'm so excited to see the ones Sora needs to save, especially Ven! And here's chapter 7 of this fic! I made it longer to make it even more special! I'm finally finished with my junior year in high school, so I have a lot of free time to write stories now! Yay! Now let's insert Vanitas and Riku in this fic, shall we? And more RokuNami-ness too. I hope you guys like this chapter! :D Oh, by the way, I write Roku as Roxas whenever he's in the scene. But whenever Naminé is alone and the POV is partly Naminé's, it changes to Roku. I hope this won't cause any confusion.
delphigirl689 - Thanks for the reviews and the cookies and birthday cake! :D I feel sorry for Demyx too. Sadly, he was cursed by the Lightning Queen because of... it's explained in this chapter. XD I hope you like this chapter! :)
victoria5624 - Thanks for the review! Haha, he's sort of happy, I guess. XD *returns hug* I'm sure you're feeling better now :D And I'll check out your story soon! I'll just finish a few chapters on my other fics. :D See you too!
Whimsical Symphony - Hello! Thank you for reviewing! And I'll double the thanks because of your constructive criticism! Thank you very much! You're actually my first critic on my fanfic writing, so I really appreciate it. :) I'll try to improve my writing with your suggestions. And maybe I really should tone down the unnecessary onomatopoeia. Sometimes I write certain elements or dialogue through how they sound instead of describing them. I hope you critique more! I really appreciate what you have done for me. :)
Random Reader - Thank you for the review and I'm glad you like the fic. Haha, I expected Demyx to be as much of a joker as Axel, but more lighthearted. Here's the continuation! :D
Xema088 - Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like this fic! :D Hahaha, she's totally obvious. XD Really? If I may ask, where can I see your drawing? :D And you'll find out who's the Mad Hatter in the next chapter or two. :D
Naminé in Wanderland
...
Chapter 7
Wary Wolf and Feisty Fox
...
The incident with Demyx hadn't wavered from Naminé's thoughts regardless of how hard she tried. It made her wonder whether the rivers and streams she could spot were safe or not. And Demyx looked awfully familiar too. He wasn't a resident from Radiant Garden, nor did she see Cloud with a friend that resembled him. Roxas obviously noticed Naminé's state of being in deep thought, judging by the way his blue eyes gazed at her with both impression and annoyance. He never could understand the girl. She was supposed to be the valuable being he swore to protect, yet she seemed so naïve and distant. Naminé was different from what Roxas imagined. Wasn't she supposed to be a socialite like all the other humans in the real world? Now he couldn't think of a possible way the girl could defeat the Lightning Queen. A lot of people in their land tried to dethrone her, only to end up cursed. Demyx was one of them. The poor guy simply requested for a nicer home with a cleaner river, but the Lightning Queen denied his want. Out of anger, Demyx made an unplanned attack. He was obviously unsuccessful.
"Uhm, Roku?"
The boy snapped out of his thoughts. He thanked the smaller girl. Remembering Demyx turning into a water spirit still pained him.
"Yes?"
"D-do you want to play something?"
Roxas chuckled. Her pink cheeks were too cute. "How could we play at a time like this? We're supposed to find your way out of here."
She looked at him with hopeful blue eyes, causing him to feel… embarrassed. Roxas cursed mentally. It was his first time to encounter someone like her! And he really disliked being called Roku despite not having much of a choice. Ventus would snipe at him because he could tell her his real name, but he had his inner motive and reason. "W-well… it's kind of awkward to walk together without talking. And you look really interesting. So can we play twenty questions?"
Roxas laughed once more. "Let me guess – we have to ask each other twenty questions?"
"So you do know it," she said with a smile. "Why are you here to protect me?"
Roxas didn't expect her to be so forward. Her attempt was adorable though. "Well… outsiders aren't really safe here. It's obvious that you are. I volunteered to be a protector because our queen – who isn't supposed to be the queen – is very sadistic. You wouldn't want to be tortured, now would you?"
"Nope. That's nineteen questions left for the both of us," she answered.
"What? I haven't asked anything yet," Roxas snapped. Naminé laughed. "Actually you did, with that torture part."
Roxas slapped his palm on his forehead. Not that he liked the game – he was just trying to be nice. "What? Oh goodness."
Naminé giggled. "Well, where's Ven?"
"I don't know," Roxas replied quickly. "We went on different routes, but I swear he was supposed to be here." He paused before using his next question. "Why do you want to know?"
They hopped over a large rock before Naminé gave her answer. "Aren't you curious on where your brother is?"
Roxas snickered. She used up another question. "That's seventeen questions left for you," he said with a smirk. Naminé rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Anyway, Ven's not my brother. But I am curious on where he is. Maybe he took the long road to the garden."
Naminé pursed her lips, wanting to ask her companion about his relationship with Ven. How couldn't they be brothers? They looked exactly alike in terms of physical appearances. Roxas noticed this and didn't take back what he said about her two questions. "It's my turn. What's it like in your world?"
He couldn't help but wonder. He was an illusion, after all. He wanted to know what it was like in the real world. Back when he was younger, he would be told anecdotes about how silly life was there. He heard that humans had no magic whatsoever to guide them. Oftentimes, a friend of his would haunt him with frightening stories about living in the real world. Now that Naminé was by his side, he could get the genuine answers he had been seeking for so long.
"Oh. Well, it depends on who you are. Life there can be simple or complicated. If you live in a city, you'd be living in the hustle-and-bustle part of the world, while living in a rural place would have you living in a quieter place. If you're famous, people would flock around you like birds. If they don't like you, they can do hurtful things to you. I think life's not that different compared to this place, except for the magic and the crazy people."
"My, my, my, I can't believe that she called the people in this place crazy."
Naminé gasped at the new voice she heard. It was deep, cold, and spine-chilling. She saw Roxas assume his battle stance and his two Keyblades sprang into his tight grip. "What do you want, Vanitas?" He went in front of Naminé to protect her from the new intruder.
A boy with spiky black hair and a wicked grin emerged from afar, his golden eyes glaring at the both of them. "Crazy, little girl? I must say the same for you. Only a crazy outsider would dare enter my territory!"
"For the record, this is not your territory, Vanitas!" Roxas yelled. "And don't call her crazy!"
Vanitas smirked and leaped towards them from a great distance. Naminé wondered if her eyes deceived her. "Look, she finds it weird that I was able to jump from a far place. What's your name?"
"Don't say your name," Roxas countered. Vanitas shook his head. "Oh Roxy, why can't you just butt out of our conversation? I'm trying to be civil for once. Doesn't that make you happy?"
"It's Roku! And I know what you're planning," Roxas snarled. He noticed the evil glint in Vanitas' yellow eyes. He knew Roxas was hiding something from the girl, and clearly he didn't think it through.
"Roku, huh?" He chuckled. "I thought you hated nicknames."
Roxas' glare intensified. "Okay, if that's how you want to play. Speaking of play, you won't mind if I play with your girlfriend, will you?"
"She's not my girlfriend! And I'd mind! So get lost! You might bite or scratch her or something! She doesn't need to get hurt!" he yelled. "Fire!"
But it was too late. As the blaze of fire shot towards Vanitas, the boy suddenly vanished. "Shoot. This isn't good," Roxas said. But before he knew it, he felt a thud behind him and heard Naminé shout in horror. He turned around and found a large, black wolf with Vanitas' yellow eyes tugging Naminé's knee length with its teeth. The blond immediately pulled the girl away and apologized countless times when Naminé's skirt was torn. "It's alright, but that thing!" she yelped. Roxas was way ahead of her as he shot countless spells at the wolf. "Vanitas, stop it! You can die as a wolf! I don't want to kill you!"
The wolf stopped for a moment and slowly transformed into Vanitas. Naminé gasped as she saw the scratch on his face. The dark-haired boy traced his fingers on his cheek and paused when he felt the scar. He removed his hand from his face and checked his fingers. "Blood. Good one, Roku. I never knew you had the guts to fight like that. Your girlfriend is a pretty good inspiration," he said with a smirk. Naminé felt uncomfortable as Vanitas eyed her down again. "Maybe she can inspire me to turn back to normal."
"Stop it! Demyx and Marluxia had tried and failed. Don't aim for the same failure they made!" Roxas shouted.
"Hmm… you know, I won't. I'll aim for the success instead," Vanitas countered. He stretched his arm and summoned… a Keyblade as well. His Keyblade had swirling colors of red, gray, and black, with an azure eye on the handle. With an evil smirk, Vanitas pounced on Roxas and swung his Keyblade forcefully. Roxas managed to dodge the swing and threw one of his Keyblades at Vanitas. He was able to distract the latter and hit him on the shoulder. Vanitas countered his attack with a painful thunder blast he summoned. Soon enough, Naminé was watching them clash Keyblades.
"Pst. Pst. PST!"
Naminé faced left and right, wondering who was trying to get her attention. Suddenly, she felt something fuzzy wrap around her ankle. It dragged her down into a nearby hole she didn't notice a while ago. She screamed in horror until she felt something soft cushion her fall.
"Well, Rox better thank me for this."
She turned around the dimly lit hole and saw a boy with long, silver hair and striking aquamarine eyes fix himself up. "Who are you?" she asked.
"Riku. I'm the resident half-boy half-fox who makes sure Vanitas doesn't kill anyone," he replied nonchalantly, still fixing his hair. "And don't worry, I'm friends with Rox, so you can trust me."
"Rox? Do you mean Roku?"
Riku looked at her with a pale expression. "Roku? Really?"
"I thought you two were friends. How come you don't know his name?" she snapped. Riku chuckled. "Hmm, well, I never call him Roku. I like calling him Rox. Maybe it got to me."
Naminé looked at him suspiciously. The silver-haired boy noticed and chuckled once more. "Seriously, though. You can trust me more than you can trust Vanitas. I'm not here to send you to the Lightning Queen. I know someone who can lead you to where you need to go."
She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yeah! Roku is just your guide and "knight" but that doesn't mean he's the one who knows where you should go… wait… he is… oops. Anyway, just follow me. Roku will catch up, I promise. I managed to dig some tunnels here and I'll be happy to guide you to safety."
"But… Roku… I can't leave him!"
"He doesn't have a choice. And like you have one! Anyway, he knows about me. While you were busy skipping through that deadly flower field before Roku found you, we were talking to each other a few miles away. He told me to help you escape if he gets stuck in a rut. Now c'mon, follow me."
She didn't have much of a choice and Riku did look trustworthy enough. Besides, he stated some proof that he was acquainted with Roku, so he must not be that bad.
Although, she felt guilty for leaving Roku struggling in a fight against Vanitas. The dark-haired boy looked strong and ruthless, and Naminé prayed that Roku manages to escape or win the duel in one piece.
A/N: Yes, Vani and Riku are both cursed too. Vanitas was turned into a wolf and Riku a fox. And note - they can easily die in their animal forms, thus explaining Roxas' concern for Vanitas. Please R&R, no hardcore flames hopefully. And wait for the next update! :D
Character Parallels:
Alice - Naminé
White Rabbit role - Moogle (Kisa)
Tweedledee & Tweedledum - Roxas and Ven
Caterpillar - Zexion
Talking Flowers - Selphie, Olette, Aiko (request: OC of Victoria)