Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.
Ch.9 Kidnapping
The four of us walked up to one of the card soldiers, and he asked "Are you ready to present evidence before the queen?" We nodded, and he said "Very well. Counsel, step up to the podium." Donald and Goofy were led to a side podium while Sora stood in the front, and I laid the four boxes of evidence on the ground before her. "Well, that's certainly a lot of evidence, but I'm still not impressed. Cards, bring forth my evidence!" she ordered. They walked forward too, when suddenly another box appeared at the end, and the five of them rose into the air, spinning around at blurring speed before falling back down to the ground.
The Queen frowned. "Hm, checking all for would be waste of time. Alright then. Choose the one you wish to present. I'll decide who's guilty based on that evidence," she said. I looked up, jaw unhinged in disbelief while Sora called "What? After all the trouble of collecting it?!" "You dare object? Then you will lose your head! Now, choose! One box!" she demanded. I glared at her and was about to argue further when Sora sighed. "Fine. Then I choose... the middle box!" he announced. Before the queen could stop me I picked up the box, opening it. A Soldier Heartless burst out of it, and was about to jump at the Queen when I grabbed it by the back and cast Fira, instantly incinerating it.
"What in the world was that?" she asked. "Now do you see?" I asked. "You have your evidence. Now let Alice go!" Sora called. The Queen looked frustrated, before slamming her fists down and calling "Silence! I am the law here! Article 29: Anyone who defies the Queen is guilty!" "What?!" I yelled; hardly able to believe such a foolish law. "Cards! Seize them at once!" she ordered, and they ran forward. The hedges around us vanished, while a tower with a wheel rose out of the ground in the center of the area. One of the cards spun the wheel and the cage holding Alice rose into the air. "Cards! If one of them touches the tower, you lose your heads!" the Queen said, and they ran at us.
More out of fear than sense of duty, a card that happened to a seven of diamonds jabbed its spear at me. I dodged the blow easily and thought of a way to keep them away while breaking down the tower. A three of aces swung its ax and Donald shouted as it caught him on the tail, shearing one of his tail feathers in half. Literally blast of steam issued from his ears, and he called "Oh yeah?! Take this!" He pointed his staff at the cards and began casting Fire and Blizzard in rapid succession, his anger lending him strength. I smiled; there you go. Sora swung his Keyblade at hit the tower hard enough to create a crack in the wood. He and I both smiled, and while he kept wailing away at it I made sure no cards came close.
"Get them you fools!" the queen called. The eight of clubs pushed Goofy out of the way to try and get me, but I pointed Stormfell into the air and called "Gather!" casting Magnega. A pair of orbs, one blue and one orange, spun in the air and created a current of magnetic energy that drew all nearby soldiers in. While they were tossed about in the air I also waited until enough were close, and then called "Stop!" Time froze around the cards and they hung in midair, providing the perfect targets for Goofy and I to attack. Donald cast Fire and set the word of the tower aflame, but one of the cards ran forward with, to my surprise, a bucket of water. "Hey!" I called, but by then it was too late. He had dumped the contents on the tower and doused the flames.
Glaring angrily at the card, he realized his mistake and said "Wait! I was just following orders! There was no other choice-" he began, before I cast Deep Freeze and froze him on the spot. "There is always a choice," I said, before tuning to the others. "Don't even think about it!" I called, seeing them about to charge. "Attack, and I will freeze you on the spot like I did this one," I threatened, jerking my thumb at the ice block behind me. I was bluffing of course; I once had the power to freeze all of them at once, but now I could only achieve such a feat if I unleashed the full scale of my power. Even more than I did in the fight against the Guard Armor. Still, the threat seemed to convince the cards, as they hesitated a second, shuffling around nervously.
"What are you waiting for?! Get them!" The Queen yelled at them. That got them over it, and as one the cards charged forward, calling for battle. I braced myself and prepared to bring about my full strength, Keyblade trembling as the chaotic storm in my being rose from the depths of my inner self. The air suddenly turned ice-cold, and I growled angrily as my nails lengthened and turned into claws. A black aura bloomed around the edges of my body and I called "Stop!" The new strength in my voice, sheer power that called for obedience, made them stop and even gave the queen pause. "I warn you, do not take another step forward. Do so, and you will forfeit yourselves to the endless darkness," I warned them.
They listened and no one tried to take a step forward, until the Queen said "These are my soldiers, you fool! They do as I command! And I command that they attack!" Slowly I turned to her, smiling so coldly the chill in the air was burning in comparison. "Foolish ruler, do you have any idea why the Heartless desired your heart so?" I asked. She opened her mouth, but realized that she had no idea and didn't say anything. I chuckled. "The Heartless desired your heart because of the darkness within it, the darkness that is always seen within those who are corrupted by power."
I pointed Stormfell at her and my smiled grew wider, turning from cold to almost feral. "Maybe I should just destroy you and solve the problem,: I said, stepping towards her. Her eyes widened and she tried to move back, only to realize in fear that she was already against the wall. The cards ran forward to try and defend their queen, but I waved my hand and quietly whispered "Tornado." A massive cyclone of air rose out of the ground in front of me, drawing all the cards that stood in my way before tossing them to the side. Slowly I walked forward, the dark power running through me giving me an amount of strength that was almost intoxicating. On some level I was aware that these actions weren't like me, but I was too focused on what was before me that I barely cared.
I could see the darkness inside this queen's heart, an amount that made my mouth water at the thought of consuming it. Wait, consume it? I frowned and stopped, shaking my head. Where had that notion come from? "Dexal! Stop!" Sora called, standing in front of me and distracting me enough that the Tornado spell dissipated. "The tower's almost broken, you don't have to do that!" he said, and I looked down at him. "She has ordered our deaths, as well as Alice's. If we are to survive, she cannot live," I said. "That's not true, we can rescue Alice and then get out of here! No one needs to get hurt!" he protested. An unexpected yearning rose within me, an almost overwhelming desire to shove him out of the way, and destroy the woman's heart regardless of his protests.
At that I gasped, realizing why I was acting this way. I had let the power within me rise too much. Taking a step back, I grabbed the power within my mind and forced it back down, feeling it struggle and thrash beneath my grip. But my will was as strong as steel, tempered by hardships from years ago and the decision I had made when I once again began to roam the worlds. That I would never fall to the darkness. Working my head from side-to-side, I raised my Keyblade and glared at the queen, before throwing Stormfell behind me. It stabbed into the tower and I sent a wave of pure power through it. There was a high-pitched keening and the tower literally disintegrated, turning into a pile of splinters and pebbles.
My voice back to normal, I said "You're right, Sora; we don't need to hurt people. Let's just get Alice and get out of here." He smiled and nodded his thanks, and Donald and Goofy lowered the cage. We looked inside as the curtain was pulled way, only for us to all gasp in shock. Alice had been put in the cage, unable to get out.
And yet she wasn't there.
"Where'd she go?" Donald asked. "She must have gotten kidnapped when we were fighting," Sora told him. "You fools! Find the one who's behind this! I don't care how!" the Queen called, trying to reestablish her authority. Taking the chance to get out of trouble, all four of us nodded and ran out into the forest. Once there though, we were stopped the appearance of our old friend, the Cheshire Cat. "Have you seen Alice?" Donald asked. "Alice, no. Shadows, yes!" he said happily. "Where did they go?" Goofy asked. "This way? That way? Does it matter? Left, right, up, down! All mixed up thanks to the shadows! Step deeper into the forest to the deserted garden. You might find shadows in the upside-down room!" he said happily, before disappearing.
"Upside-down room? What does that mean?" Donald asked. "Well, he said to head to an empty garden. So let's do that and maybe we'll find out!" Goofy suggested. It was a good plan, so we went with it and walked deeper into the forest. Indeed at the end was a doorway, and when we went through we emerged in a night-time garden, one with a large table that was covered in teacups. At the end was a picture of a rabbit, a mouse and a crazy man with a hat. They seemed panicked, and when I put my hand against the picture I heard two voices call "Help!"
"What the-?" I began, before those same voices said "In here!" I looked at the picture, realizing that it was them. "You guy are real? How did you get inside the picture?" I asked. "We don't know! We were just having our un-birthday party when these creatures showed up, lifted us into the air and threw us at this picture. We went straight through, and now we're trapped!" the rabbit said. "Well, how do we get you out?" Sora asked. "There are still monsters around. I think if you beat them we can make it out!" the Mad Hatter said. "Well, they're supposed to be in an upside-down room. Do you know where that might be?" Goofy questioned. "We do actually. Take that door!" hey said, pointing to out left. Indeed there was a door, and we thanked them before walking through.
The minute we walked through thought, we found out that the Bizarre Room truly did live up to its name. We were walking on the ceiling. "What in the name of Merlin?" Donald called, looking around. Just then the Cheshire Cat reappeared, wearing the same grin as usual. "They're hiding somewhere. And the momeraths outgrabe. Want to find the shadows? Trying turning on the light," he said, before vanishing again. We ran up to the light and Sora and I looked at each other, before raising our Keyblades and casting Fire, lighting the candles. "All the lights are on. You'll see the shadows soon. They'll arise in this room, but somewhere else. The shadows might go after that doorknob, too," he said.
Our eyes widened and I gasped. "The doorknob! Back down there!" I said, pointing at the floor above us. "Gawrsh, we gotta hurry!" Goofy said. Sora, Donald and I nodded, and we ran for the exit. Before we got far though, Heartless appeared. Grunting angrily, Sora and I drew our Keyblades and ran forward, Sora calling "Out of our way!"
xxx
Noo! Even despite their efforts Alice is gone! But there is still time to save the doorknobs, and do so by defeating the Trickmaster!