A/N: I've always thought Alice was an interesting choice for a Princess of Heart. Nomura has admitted that it was originally going to be Ariel, but ultimately chose not to go that route because it required Ariel to have legs. Alice is interesting because she doesn't really fit that 'mold' of the other Princesses. This chapter will clarify how I feel about her differences from the others, and why I think it's good that Alice was chosen over Ariel.
This chapter documents Kairi's adventure fighting Alice's nightmare, in the latter's heartscape modeled after Wonderland, as the latter has grown up and can't remember what made her special.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts in any way, shape or form.
The following scenario is based on the live-action "Alice in Wonderland" movie made in 2010.
!~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~D~O~N~T~~W~A~K~E~~M~E~~U~P~!
Don't Wake Me Up
Chapter 5: Metanoia
"The journey of changing your mind, heart, self, and way of life."
~Destiny Islands, 8 Years Ago~
It took a mere week for the entire cluster of islands to know about the developing intergenerational friendship between Kairi and Chinami. Those who really took notice were Kairi's (adoptive) mother, Sora, and Riku—the former due to her wish for her daughter to further integrate into the islands (so she saw it as a good thing), and the latter two due to their intrigue of learning more about Kairi's homeworld.
Chinami helped Kairi get through the lonely days, and she could be found at that shop even during the days when Sora wasn't sick and Riku didn't have chores to do.
At the time, Kairi had no idea who Chinami reminded her of. Now, at fifteen years old and currently deeply asleep in a nightmare, she knew exactly who she was unconsciously remembering. The memories got stronger the longer time she spent with the flower shop owner. Before she had shown Sora that story about the light, only Chinami knew of Kairi's grandmother.
Regardless, she helped Kairi feel so much more at home, but she wasn't the only one.
A week after that first meeting, Kairi was hanging out with Selphie—the first female friend she ever made—before school. The brunette had the redhead close her eyes and hold out her hands. Kairi obeyed, and while she saw only black, she felt something being placed in her hands.
"Okay, now," Selphie said. Kairi opened her eyes, as her friend exclaimed, "Tada~!"
It was a yellow wristband. It was simple, but it meant a lot to Kairi already.
The Destiny Islanders had a tendency to wear yellow, at least when in casual clothes (the school uniforms were blue), whether it was a full outfit like Selphie or Riku's classmate Wakka, a jacket like Tidus, or something small like Sora's shoes. Kairi didn't understand why, but it felt like a symbol of unity and she was the odd one out (like always).
"It's all yours," Selphie's smile was almost blinding.
This wristband mattered not because it was yellow, but because it was a present from a Destiny Islands resident—an invitation to belong.
Kairi's indigo eyes began welling up with tears for this very reason.
Selphie saw the tears and began freaking out, "Hold on! Did I do something wrong?!"
The redhead shook her head with a reassuring smile, "No, it's okay." She wiped the forming tears away with her free hand. "Thank you."
There was a suddenly gagging sound behind them, and Kairi's first instinct was to clutch her new wristband closer to her, protecting it. "Ugh, if you two were any sweeter, we'd all get sugar rushes." It was Nico. Yes, he was in her class too.
Selphie rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Nico, don't you have anything better to do? Like rushing to get your homework done because you forgot to do it last night?"
"Shut up!" he snapped, Selphie having hit a button of some kind. "It's not my fault my dad forgot to help me!"
Oh yeah. Nico's reception of Kairi was different from others most likely due to his parents being either too busy with their jobs or their constant arguing, and him taking out his resulting frustration on Kairi, because she was an easy target.
"Isn't there, like, study groups after school for that purpose?" Tidus spoke up from behind Nico. Sora was at his side, his blue eyes narrowed in a glare in Nico's direction, the two of them having come to Kairi and Selphie's defense.
Nico scoffed, "Clearly you guys don't have strict parents."
"My dad's a police officer," Sora sternly shot back. "Try again." Sora's dad was really only strict, though, in terms of his son's safety, so the brunette had a curfew (which only got worse following that son's return to the Islands in the present day).
"If you tell your parents that you're having trouble with homework," Kairi softly interjected, "I'm sure they'll understand." She was genuinely trying to be helpful.
Which just made it worse when Nico promptly snapped back, "Shut up! No one asked you!"
This was the wrong thing to do—Kairi shrunk like a dog that just got yelled at, making Sora immediately jump to her defense, "Don't you yell at her!"
Sora wasn't one to get angry, hence why Tidus and Selphie both backed up in surprise and slight fear. He was kind and open and warm; it was rare to see him so vexed like this. And if Sora ever gets mad at you, you somehow screwed up. At that point, you do whatever is necessary to not make it worse.
Unfortunately, Nico hadn't learned that lesson yet. Either that, or he was too incensed to notice or care. He and Sora locked eyes—brown to blazing blue—glaring at one another as if waiting for the other to make the next move.
The air was tense, and Kairi was carefully watching them both, afraid of a fight breaking out. She mentally pleaded with Sora not to throw any punches. They had gained an audience now, everyone too scared to interrupt but unwilling to stop watching.
Out of nowhere, the bell rang, interrupting the apprehension. Tidus and Selphie took this chance to get to their seats, grateful to have an excuse to get out of there. Kairi found herself unable to move, though, due to Sora and Nico still giving each other death glares.
The teacher saved her by tapping his ruler against the blackboard, "Alright, everyone to their seats."
Selphie gently grabbed Kairi's wrist and led her to her desk, but the redhead's concerned gaze was still locked onto Sora and Nico. She didn't want them to fight; she wasn't worth it, and she didn't want to be blamed for either of them getting into trouble.
Their teacher cleared his throat, "Boys, is there a problem?"
Nico was the first to fold, "Um, no, Sir." He quickly went to his desk and sat down.
Sora carefully watched him, his glare never once easing up as long as Nico was within sight. He silently took his seat next to Tidus.
At the time, Kairi was wishing desperately that this was the last run-in with Nico, that Sora had successfully driven him away with this exchange, but she was wrong.
It only added fuel to the fire, planting the seeds for something bigger down the line...
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~Present Day — London, England, 1865~
It had been seven years since Alice returned from her adventure in Wonderland. Actually, the place she visited was never named, so she named it herself.
Sorry, off topic. Where was she again? Oh, yeah.
Seven years.
The first person she told about her adventure to was her elder sister, who was almost a grown woman—wise and mature—so it was no surprise that she shrugged it off as a dream Alice had.
It was also no surprise that her parents didn't believe her either. They simply told her that was just 'a child's imagination'.
Looking back now, it made sense that adults wouldn't believe her. Her tale was just too fantastic, too whimsical, for it to be real. The only way for it to make any sense would be if Alice dreamed of it, and simply thought it was real when it actually wasn't.
I mean, how would you react to a child saying they just fell down a hole that transported them to a magical, yet weird land, and eventually was put on trial by that land's queen over a false accusation, only for a bad guy completely unrelated to the land to kidnap them for their 'pure heart' and 'ability to open the Keyhole'? Yeah, you'd be confused and concerned too.
The thing that pushed her over the edge, however, was that her fellow schoolmates didn't believe her either. They all called her crazy, because there was no way that her story could be real. Her schoolmates tattled to their parents, who voiced their concerns to the teachers, who then notified Alice's parents to tell them about all the concerns others had of their daughter being delusional.
Her father and mother both told her that it would be easier on everybody, especially herself, if she admitted that her tale about a 'land of wonder' was just a dream.
So that's exactly what Alice did.
It was just a dream. It was just something her mind made up. It was a dream that seemed a little too real, so she was just confused.
That's what Alice told everybody who asked after that conversation with her parents. Fortunately, most people accepted this and let it go, and as she grew up, Alice got many comments that she should be a writer.
And that's how it's been for the past seven years.
It was just a dream, but she could still remember it clearly.
A queen with an unstable temperament, cards that moved and fought, a rabbit in a waistcoat, a smiling cat, a talking doorknob...
And that was just the Wonderland segment.
Then there was a boy with spiky hair wielding a giant key, a dark castle with six other maidens just like her, a large keyhole with darkness surging out of it...
But again, it was just a dream.
Seven years later, she was seventeen years old and on her way to a garden party held by one of her father's friends. Since her father and older sister were already there, it was just her and her mother in the carriage at the moment as it was traveling to the mentioned estate.
Presently, she was tired as her mother fussed over her hair.
"Must we go?" Alice asked. "I doubt they'll notice if we never arrive."
"They will notice," her mother replied, as she re-tied her daughter's waist sash, feeling for her corset. "Where's your corset?" She pulled Alice's dress back to see bare legs. "And your stockings?!"
"I'm against them."
"But you're not properly dressed," her mother protested.
"Who's to say what is proper?" Alice asked. "What if it was agreed that 'proper' was wearing a codfish on your head? Would you wear it?"
The elder woman was not pleased, "Alice."
"To me, a corset is like a codfish," Alice continued.
"Please," her mother sounded exhausted, and looked it too. "Not today."
Though frustrated, Alice looked out of the carriage window and muttered, "I'm sorry. I'm tired. I didn't sleep well last night."
Her mother patted her head in a forgiving gesture. "Did you have any bad dreams last night?"
Alice shook her head, "No. I just didn't sleep well." It was actually because she wasn't happy with her life. Even if it was a dream, she wanted to go back to Wonderland, because at least that place was interesting.
Her mother finally finished her fussing, "There! You're beautiful. Now, dear, can you manage a smile?"
Alice wore a fixed unnatural smile when she entered that garden party. And if you were in her shoes, you'd understand why.
The lord of the estate was a stately, aristocratic man, while the lady, his wife, was a very unpleasant woman who only cared about her husband's money.
"At last!" the lady of the estate said as soon as she laid eyes on Alice. "We thought you'd never arrive! Hamish is waiting to dance with you! Go!" She pushed Alice away, before turning to Alice's mother and engaging in conversation with her.
Oh yeah, and the two families were also trying to set up an engagement between her and their snobby son Hamish.
She never liked Hamish. He took after his mother, refined and immaculate with aristocratic arrogance. He was also one of the first to call her 'delusional', but apparently, he had forgotten all about that.
But she sucked it up. This was her life now. Wonderland was just a dream.
As she did a line dance with Hamish, she asked him, "Hamish, do you ever tire of your life here?"
"On the contrary," he replied, "I find it invigorating." He suddenly strutted like a peacock would, and she couldn't help but laugh. "Do I amuse you?"
"No," Alice answered, half-honest, half-joking. "I had a sudden vision of all the ladies in waistcoats and the men wearing dresses."
He didn't even crack a smile, "It would be best to keep your visions to yourself. When in doubt, remain silent."
Alice's smile faded. She was different, yes, but what was the point if no one accepted her? In Wonderland, she fit in because everything stood out there, even if it was just a dream.
They danced on, until Alice saw a flock of geese overhead. Distracted, she bumped into the dancers in front of them.
"Pardon us!" Hamish apologized to them. "It seems Miss Alice is distracted today." He lowered his voice as he practically demanded, "Where is your head?"
"I was wondering what it would be like to fly..." To be free.
"Why would you waste your time thinking about such an impossible thing?" He asked.
"Why wouldn't I?" she returned. "To face the impossible, you simply have to believe that anything is possible." Wonderland taught her that.
Hamish looked to the side, where he saw his mother wave to him impatiently. He nodded at her, before turning to Alice, "Meet me under the gazebo in precisely ten minutes." He then walked away, leaving her alone.
He's going to ask you to marry him, she realized.
On one hand, she told herself, you don't like him, for numerous reasons. Your line dance just now kind of proves it. But on the other, your pretty face won't last forever, and you won't do better than a lord of such a marvelous estate like this. You also...don't want to burden Father or Mother.
But...if you marry him, you won't be happy. He'll rule over you with an iron fist and squash everything that makes you 'Alice'.
She was brought out of her reverie when she heard an odd jingling sound. She glanced up just in time to see something large and white dart past. Was that...?
If that was what she thought it was, then maybe this garden party was just a dream too. She could either pinch herself to wake up, or she could follow that thing and enjoy the resulting adventure.
She got up and followed it.
When she got to the shrub she saw the thing hide in and peered behind it, her breath caught in her throat. Yes, she was right.
It was the White Rabbit in his waistcoat and pocket watch, standing on his hind legs and staring directly at her. He darted behind a tree, before peering out.
But he didn't look scared, or appear to be in a hurry (this time). It was almost as if...he wanted her to follow him.
So she did, secretly grateful that he was leading her away from the gazebo.
She followed him for quite a while, for a distance so long that her feet were beginning to hurt by the time they had reached their destination. It was a rabbit hole that was very familiar.
He went inside the rabbit hole, giving her one last pointed look before doing so. He wanted her to follow him.
So she knelt in front of it, before turning around to see if anybody had followed her. Seeing the empty field behind her, she smiled before jumping in herself.
It was deeper than any rabbit hole should've been. She was still falling, until finally, after what seemed like hours, she landed on a wooden floor at the bottom.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
Kairi suddenly woke up, as if she just took a nap, at the same time a blonde girl in a blue dress crashed to the ground after seemingly falling.
The blonde gasped for air, seemingly having gotten the wind knocked out of her, before she sat up, rubbing the bump on her forehead. She only seemed to notice Kairi until after they both stood up.
"Kairi?"
"Alice?" the redhead responded in kind. "Are you okay? You look...bewildered."
The blonde looked just as she did when the two last parted—her ten-year-old self—but she also looked so lost. She seemed to not know where she was, or she did but she didn't know she got here.
"This is a dream..." Alice muttered, which surprised Kairi. The blonde started pinching herself. "Any minute now, I'll wake up in the drawing room."
Kairi gently grabbed the other's wrist to stop her pinching. Thankfully, Alice registered this and looked up at the redhead.
"Why do you think this is a dream?" Kairi asked, genuinely concerned.
Alice was quiet, debating on whether or not she really should tell Kairi. But if this was a dream, it wasn't real, so technically, she wouldn't actually have told anybody. So, she decided to go for it, "My story about Wonderland was too fantastical. Everyone kept telling me it was just my imagination, that I had a dream so realistic, I thought it was real. You were a part of that dream. Seeing you here, looking almost the same as when we parted, tells me that I'm dreaming again."
"Do you want to wake up?" Kairi asked, unable to stop herself. "If this is really a dream, do you want to return to reality? Or stay here?"
Alice didn't have an answer to this question. She was immediately knocked speechless.
Seeing this, Kairi continued, "This isn't a dream, Alice, and I know that because I'm here with you, and I know it's reality." Well, technically, yes, this was a dream, but there was real danger involved because Alice's life was currently on the line.
But the adventure with Xehanort's Heartless (or Ansem, Seeker of Darkness) was real. The seven Princesses of Heart really were captured and brought to Hollow Bastion, and forced to open the door to Kingdom Hearts.
"B-But..." Alice stuttered, "how can I know for sure?"
"Look inside yourself," Kairi replied, "and remember why the χ-blade fragment you have chose you."
Part of Kairi regretted it as soon as she said it, because despite it being an important step in Alice reclaiming her light, she also felt a fracture form in Alice's heart. But everything was okay. As long as the fracture didn't get worse, Alice could still be saved. Right?
Alice was quiet, as she remembered the garden party. If she woke up from this dream, then Hamish would propose to her, and she'd be forced by multiple sources to say 'yes', thus making her essentially a prisoner to her own husband, in her own house.
"No," she sternly said aloud. "I wish to stay." She'd have to wake up eventually, but she had decided to stay asleep for as long as possible. When she woke up, she would simply explain that she felt tired and wanted to take a nap. Wonderland was just a dream, but it was a pleasant one.
Kairi smiled, "Okay. Now, where are we?"
"The entrance to Wonderland," the blonde replied. "I remember it being behind a door."
The two glanced around the room they were in, only to find numerous doors stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Well, that certainly narrows it down," Kairi dryly quipped.
Alice sighed, before turning to the three-legged glass table in the center of the room, on which rested a key made of gold, "This key is what unlocks the door, as I recall, and the sooner we find the door, the sooner we can unlock it." Kairi nodded in affirmation.
The two then split up, starting from either side of the room. Kairi peered through the keyholes of all the doors on her side, while Alice tried the gold key she had in each of the locks on hers. But Kairi only saw a black abyss, while every lock was too small for the key.
Eventually, Kairi came upon a curtain and pulled it back to reveal a door that was about two feet high, much smaller than all of the other doors in the room. She knelt down and peered inside the keyhole. This time, instead of darkness, she saw a lively scene—a green lush garden with a fountain with crystal clear water.
She smiled, "Alice! I think I found it!"
The blonde rushed over and replaced Kairi in from of the door. She tried the key, but didn't unlock the door, and gasped in joy, "It fits!"
"But we don't," Kairi pointed out.
Alice frowned as she got to her feet. "Well, the last time I was here..." She turned back to the table, on which was now a bottle with a label 'DRINK ME'. "Yes! Here it is! This should shrink us down to the right size!"
Kairi looked around the room, confused, "Okay, but who put it there?" Seriously, it wasn't there when they last checked and neither of them heard any footsteps.
"I don't know," Alice shrugged, "I never checked. But that's the magic of this place. Always expect the unexpected."
It was the redhead's turn to shrug, as Alice replaced the key for the bottle. The blonde opened the bottle and sniffed the contents. She recoiled at the smell, shuddering, before taking a drink. She passed the now half-empty bottle to Kairi as the blonde gagged and coughed from the taste.
It tasted like the bad-tasting cough medicine parents made their sick child take.
But it was working. Just as Alice had said, Kairi's perspective was shrinking. The table was getting larger and higher, as was the room itself. In no time at all, the two were the right size to fit inside the door they needed to go through.
The other doors now looming above them, the duo shared a victorious smile before making their way to the small door. Alice tried to open the door, but it was still locked. She groaned upon realizing what she had done.
She never unlocked the door, just inserted the key to ensure it fit inside the lock, before placing it on the table—which was now much larger than them.
The two glanced back at the glass table, where they, sure enough, could see the gold key sitting on top.
Now what? They were stuck without that key, but they were too small.
Alice attempted to climb the table leg, only to slide down too quickly. She sighed in frustration, "I've been here before. You'd think I wouldn't make the same mistake twice."
It was here that Kairi remembered that she had a keyblade. She summoned it to hand as she prevented Alice from attempting a second climb, "Let me handle it."
Pointing Destiny's Embrace at the key, Kairi concentrated hard and willed an Aero spell inside existence. The key wobbled a bit, moving about an inch before plopping back onto the table like lead.
It was Kairi's turn to sigh in frustration. She had a feeling that magic would be the hardest part to learn, and she wasn't disappointed. She was right, but it was frustrating.
Breathe, she told herself. Being upset isn't going to help matters.
Kairi took a deep breath, clearing her mind, before trying again.
This time, the key did more than wobble. It was picked up by a small tornado of wind. Kairi's concentration was at its peak as she directed her spell to move from the table and towards them. Her arm muscles were aching by the time she released the key, making it drop right in Alice's hands.
"Wow!" the blonde was watching in awe the entire time. "I didn't know you could do that!"
"Well, I didn't have the ability to do that before," Kairi explained. "That was also my first attempt at magic too."
Alice gave her a reassuring smile, "Well, I'd say you did pretty well for your first time."
Kairi smiled back in gratitude, as she dismissed her keyblade.
The key retrieved successfully, the duo went back to the door. Alice unlocked the door and opened it, before giving Kairi the key. As the redhead placed the said key within the bag hooked to her belt, the two stepped through the doorway together...
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
The two entered a fantastical world. Kairi would personally describe it as bizarre, often dangerous, absurd, and strangely beautiful. There were tall flowers that had gaunt, human faces. Shabby, thin birds walked on stalk legs. Dragonflies, horseflies, and enormous gnats did fierce battle in the sky above.
But the keyhole showed a green garden and a flowing fountain.
Now that they were here in person, the garden was actually brown and tangled, its statues broken and overgrown, and the mossy fountain was silent.
"Curiouser and curiouser," Alice muttered. "What happened here? It was lovely and bright when I was here last."
Kairi was tense, "Something's wrong." The moment she entered that door, she could feel its presence—Alice's Nightmare. It had its claws all over this world, and Alice was no doubt in danger.
Past the dying garden, the two entered a forest of tall mushrooms surrounded by mist.
"Who enters here?" A sudden male voice caught them off-guard.
The two could see a dorm ahead where the mist was rising in a steady plume. It was coming from a hookah pipe, and a large blue caterpillar was smoking said pipe.
"The caterpillar?" Alice muttered in recognition.
"Absolem," it replied, "is my name."
"Absolem?" Kairi asked, still stuck on the fact that this thing could smoke. She was desensitized to talking animals—thanks to the King, Donald, and Goofy—but smoking was an entirely different thing.
"You're not Absolem," he shot back. "I'm Absolem. The question is... who are you two?" He blew smoke rings in their faces.
The two girls coughed, before Kairi answered, "Kairi."
"Alice," the blonde quickly followed.
The caterpillar—Absolem—hummed, "We shall see."
"What do you mean by that?" Alice huffed. "I ought to know who I am!"
"Yes, you ought," he replied. "Stupid girl."
"What are you talking about?" Kairi asked, confused. 'Expect the unexpected', Alice had told her. Well, this was certainly unexpected. "She is Alice." She could sense the blonde's light; there was no doubt that this was Alice within her own heart.
"Is she Alice?" the Caterpillar asked, making it sound rhetorical. "At what point does she stop being Alice? At what point do you stop being Kairi?" It was clear that he intended to make Kairi think, and it was working.
This caterpillar, Absolem, was wiser than he appeared to be.
Alice was an adventurer. She was curious. She was a daydreamer with a large imagination. She had a quick temper that often landed her in trouble here in Wonderland. She was kind-hearted. She was polite. She was honest.
She stopped being Alice once she stopped being all of those things.
But who was Kairi, beyond being a Princess of Heart? Her gentle sarcasm was, in reality, a way to shield others from how broken she really felt. Her bright and cheerful demeanor was just a way to keep herself and others from thinking about where she really came from and whatever had happened to her.
She genuinely loved living on the Islands, but a part of her would always feel out of place, and another would be constantly homesick for a place she couldn't remember—always carrying all of that pain with her. No matter how happy she was, that hurt would always be there.
Yet despite her mask, she would always be ready and willing to help others whenever and however she could. Despite having no experience in fighting, she would always throw herself at Sora to protect him, she would always light Riku's way through the darkness, she would always give Naminé a place to belong, and she would always answer her fellow Princesses' calls for help.
She stopped being Kairi once she lost that part of herself. Her pain wasn't the only thing that defined her; it was also her moral code, her personality, her experiences, and her actions.
"Regardless, I'm here to help Alice," the redhead answered. "Please, just answer me this one question: why do you doubt that she's Alice?"
"Oh, I don't doubt that she's Alice," Absolem indulged Kairi with the answer she sought. "She is, but at the same time, she is not."
That sort of made sense to Kairi. In the context of what he had just asked rhetorically, he meant that physically, yes, she was Alice, but mentally was a different story.
"Unroll the Oraculum," he told the redhead. When she tilted in her head in confusion, he nodded at a piece of ancient-looking parchment rolled up on a nearby toadstool.
Kairi walked over and unrolled the parchment. She read the title, "'The Oraculum: Being a Calendrical Compendium of Underland'?" It was a timeline depicting the major events of each day, past, present, and future. Every day had a title and an illustration.
Alice looked over the redhead's shoulder, "It's a calender."
"Compendium," the Caterpillar insisted. "It tells of each and every day since the beginning. Today is the Griblib day in the time of the Red Queen." The parchment showed it clearly; the illustration shown was Alice and Kairi peering at the Oraculum, at that exact moment.
"'Red Queen'?" Alice asked, confused.
"What the Queen of Hearts is referred as in the Oraculum," Absolem explained. "Go forth to the Frabjous day. Frabjous is the day Alice slays the Jabberwock."
Kairi turned the scroll further into the future, though it wasn't that much farther from the current day, as Alice blinked in surprise, "Sorry? Slay the what?"
The illustration shown was animated. The Jabberwock was tall as a dinosaur with reptilian wings, scales, long sharp claws, a prolonged tail, and a familiar emblem on its chest—the Nightmare emblem. It hissed as a knight with long blonde hair in chain mail over a blue dress fought him with a shining sword.
"It must be slain with the Vorpal sword," Absolem continued. "No other weapons can kill it."
As the knight swung the sword, they revealed their face to the onlookers of the Oraculum. It was a girl, who was unmistakably Alice, with bloodlust in her eye.
Alice, the real one, immediately backed away, "That's not me."
"The Oraculum details the Knight that slays the Jabberwock is a girl in a world all her own," the caterpillar told her.
This wasn't what Alice wanted to here. "No, no, no, no, no! This is nothing but a dream! All I must do is pinch myself and all of this will disappear!" She closed her eyes and pinched her arm. She then opened them again, and her shoulders sunk in disappointment and fear. "That's curious. I'm still here." She pinched her arm again. "Pinching usually does the trick."
She yelped when Kairi hit the small of her back with the flat of Destiny's Embrace. Bewildered and confused blue eyes met soft yet determined indigo.
"This is real, Alice," the redhead solemnly told her. "No matter how much you wish it wasn't. I would not be here if you weren't truly Alice. And it is really me here with you—close your mind and open your heart. Pure light cannot be corrupted."
Before Alice could respond to that, a loud explosion occurred from behind them, thus cutting off any thoughts before they could even start forming. Kairi and Alice both turned to see card soldiers and Nightmares charging towards them.
On instinct, Kairi willed Destiny's Embrace into existence, and in response, said keyblade in her hand flashed briefly—as if reminding its wielder that it was already summoned. She powered through the quick feeling of resulting embarrassment and met the card soldiers and Nightmares halfway.
She had gotten used to taking out the Nightmares with physical strikes, but she inwardly ordered herself to focus on magic now. So she did, and she was doing alright. It would've been nice if she had a teacher help her refine her spells, but if Sora and Riku could be self-taught, then she could too.
The card soldiers were easy to take out once she gained an understanding of how they tended to attack.
But all during this, Alice remained in place. Just a few Nightmares and card soldiers remained, so Kairi didn't feel particularly overwhelmed, but it was still an active battlefield as Kairi called out to her friend, "Alice! What are you doing?!"
The blonde's eyes were squeezed tightly shut. "It's only a dream. Nothing can hurt me," she was muttering.
But something was looming behind her, ready to strike. And it wasn't a Nightmare. Familiar smoke was billowing out, about to ensnare her.
Kairi used a Blizzard spell to take out the last few Nightmares before rushing towards Alice, "You idiot!" She got to the blonde in time, diving at her and pushing her out of the way. The smoke had no one to grab, so Alice was safe. For now.
Because the two girls glanced up at the source of the smoke, only to see the reluctant expression of Absolem the Caterpillar, of all beings.
"Apologies," he solemnly stated. "But the Queen is watching," he nodded at the few card soldiers that remained. "To her, Alice is a bug that she must squash."
Which meant that Alice was not safe around anyone except for Kairi. She promptly grabbed the former's hand, "Let's get out of here!" She shot a Fire spell at the incoming card soldiers, engulfing the area in an explosion of fire, thus allowing the two Princesses to escape thanks to their cover.
They were gone when the flames disappeared.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
Her keyblade still in hand, Kairi didn't stop running, with Alice in tow, until they reached a wooded area. Stopping in the center of a cluster of trees, the two took this chance to catch their breath.
"The Caterpillar tried to take me out..." Alice mumbled in disbelief. "Why?"
"For the Queen," Kairi explained, as she dismissed her keyblade. "You were probably lured here to Wonderland on the Queen's behalf, if only for everyone to gain more breathing room following your escape from Wonderland back then. He seemed reluctant..."
"My 'escape'?" Alice asked, incredulous, before remembering. "Oh, that's right. My capture by Ansem made the memories slip from my mind. I was on trial for 'stealing the Queen's heart', and I was supposedly convicted, but the punishment was never enacted."
Partly thanks to Sora for intervening, Kairi thought.
"Yeah," she said instead. "You were the one who got away."
A unfamiliar voice interrupted them, "Well, well, well, it looks like you two ran afoul of the caterpillar."
The two turned around, Kairi summoned her keyblade back to her hand on instinct, and saw the disembodied head of a purple-colored cat hovering in midair.
"And I'm still dreaming!" Alice exclaimed, frustrated and scared. "I must be!"
"Why do you say that?" The Cheshire Cat was all calm, casual sensuality with a seductive grin.
"This is too fantastical!" the blonde girl cried. "No one believed me when I got home! But they helped me understand that all of Wonderland was just in my head..."
This failed to faze the Cat, however. "Of course it is all in your head. But why should that mean that it is not real?"
Kairi's stomach clenched with uncertainty. How did the residents here in Wonderland know the truth—that all of this was actually a product of Alice's nightmare, yet she was in real danger if it went on for too long? First the caterpillar and now this cat?
Alice didn't have any answer to that, having been rendered speechless yet again.
Seeing this, the Cheshire Cat's body appeared, before stretching and bounding as it flew towards Kairi and behind her as it rounded to her other side. "Dream or reality, you two best be on your way. I'll lead you there."
The redhead's gaze narrowed into a suspicious glare, "How do we know we can trust you? The last person, er, being we talked to tried taking Alice out."
"Oh, Absolem would never pierce a target that has been branded specifically as the Queen's," the cat shot back. "He's Absolem, wise and absolute. He was trying to capture her, so the Queen could take Alice out herself."
Kairi sighed, "Answer the question, please." That seemed to be a trait for every resident here—dancing around the question. "How do we know you can be trusted not to lead us into another trap?"
The Cat scoffed, before taking his head off his body. "I can alter my own body at will." He began playing with his severed head as if he was playing a blitzball game. "The Queen has only tried to execute me once, because no matter how many times I am, I always live." At the last three words, the head had floated back down to where it should be.
Alice being kept behind her, apprehensive, Kairi sighed, "Fine."
Just as she dismissed her keyblade again, the cat got right up in her face, "I wouldn't drop my guard if I were you. You may be safe for now, but there's always more than meets the eye."
There it was again. He said it in an ominous manner, implying that he at least knew more than he was letting on. The Fairy Godmother—a being of magic and the real deal—had an excuse. What was the Cheshire Cat's?
It was Kairi's turn to be rendered speechless, as Alice spoke up, "Please, just take us to our next destination."
The cat disappeared suddenly, and the two girls looked around in confusion, only for him to reappear ahead.
"Coming?" he asked.
There was nothing else for either of them to do but follow.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
Their destination was a lopsided house with white walls, supported by brown wooden beams. It had a straw roof and two pieces of wood emerging from the chimney like rabbit ears. It was next to a garden, with the boundaries marked by bushes, and the entrance shaped like a heart. In the garden, there was a long table with a pink tablecloth, with every placement at the table having a cup and a teapot, and the entire place lit up by lanterns strung above, using the trees as supports.
The seat at the head of the table was occupied by a short man with grey hair, a large nose, and heavy eyebrows—the Mad Hatter. He wore an orange overcoat, a black buttoned-up shirt, green trousers, blue socks, black shoes, a blue bow tie, and his signature green hat. On the right side of the hat is a sheet of paper with "10/6". Joining him was a tan rabbit—the March Hare—with blond hair and heavy eyebrows (as well), wearing a red coat, a brown tunic, an orange bow tie, beige pants, and large shoes to accommodate his large feet.
"Here too..." Alice whispered. "This tea party was so lively when I was here last."
But now, it was clear (as they got closer) that this tea party had been going in for years. The tea set was an odd admixture of cracked pots and chipped cups. The tablecloth is stained and threadbare, and the chairs were as lopsided as the house nearby. The Mad Hatter was slumped over in his chair, staring into space, pale and morose. Even his clothes reflected his gloomy mood. Paranoid and anxious, the March Hare was constantly wringing his paws and long ears.
"Well, things have changed since then," the Cheshire Cat replied in a low voice, as the trio entered through the heart-shaped gateway. He then flew on ahead and tapped the March Hare on his head.
The Hare immediately jumped up, "What? Where? Who's there?"
The Cheshire Cat just nodded at the entrance to the garden, where Kairi and Alice where. At the sight of the blonde-haired girl, the Hatter bolted upright. He brightened, his clothes even perking up. Transfixed, he moved towards her, the shortest route being across the top of the table. He came close, studying her intently, and she leaned away slightly.
"It's you," he muttered. "You haven't aged a day!" He took Alice's hand and pulled her back over the top of the table. She tried not to step on any teacups. He plunked her down in the chair next to his. "Well, as you can see we're still having tea. It's all because I was obliged to kill Time waiting for your return. You're terrible late, you know... naughty. Well anyway, time became quite offended and stopped altogether. Not a tick ever since."
"Time can be funny in dreams," Alice commented.
"Yes, yes, of course," the Hatter replied. "But now you are back, you see, and now, it's high time for Time for forgive and forget. Or forget and forgive, whichever comes first. Or, is in any case, most convenient. I'm waiting."
The Hare tapped his pocket watch, listened to it, before dipping it into his tea cup and listening again. "It's ticking again!"
Kairi leaned closer to the Cheshire Cat and asked, "Have they always been like this?"
"Yes," the Cat replied. "But the Darkening only made their madness worse. When Alice left, the Queen of Hearts doubled her efforts to ensure that Wonderland was entirely under her rule, eventually coming to somehow control the powerful Jabberwock. You said it best, wielder of the strange flower sword: Alice was the one who got away. The Queen just said, 'Never again'."
It was likely unintentional, but Kairi could feel Alice's heart fracture more upon hearing this.
The atmosphere suddenly changed when the strange-looking group heard approaching footsteps, marching towards the area.
"The Knave!" The March Hare exclaimed. He turned to Alice and Kairi. "Both of you, hide!"
The Cheshire Cat grabbed Kairi's hand and pulled her into the tree line, and up above the normal eyeline. Meanwhile, the Hatter picked up a small bottle and made Alice drink it. Though reluctant, she obeyed, and once she was shrunk down to six inches high, the Hatter shoved her into the teapot before closing the lid, whispering, "Mind your head," as he did so.
It was dim inside the teapot, except for a stream of light from the spout, so Alice could only hear what was happening. But Kairi had a good bird's eye view from her hiding spot, thanks to the Cat.
The Hatter and the Hare both relaxed, acting casual with practice eased, as the Knave of Hearts—a man only slightly taller than Alice normally was, with white skin, short blonde hair that curled at end, with a red hat, and gold and red armor—entered, being flanked by two card soldiers. The Knave held a staff with a heart ornament, but he also had a sword sheathed at his side.
"Well," the Knave said. "if it isn't my favorite duo of lunatics."
"You're late for tea!" the Hare threw a teapot at the three newcomers, though it fell short of any sort of target.
The Knave got to the point, "We're looking for the girl called Alice."
"Speaking of the Queen," the Hatter interrupted, "here's a song we sang at her soiree."
He and the Hare started singing together, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat! How I wonder where you're at~!"
The Knave gave an unspoken order—a simple nod—and the first card soldier cracked the Hare with its weapon, while the second poured hot tea of the Hatter's head.
"If you're hiding her," the Knave growled, "you'll lose your heads."
"Already lost 'em," the Hatter cheerfully shot back.
The duo continued their singing, "Up above the world you fly, like a tea tray in the sky~!" They broke out into crazy-sounding laughter. Alice peeked out of the spout as the Hare and the Hatter sang on despite being hit and dunked. "Twinkle, Twinkle, Twinkle, Twinkle~!"
The Knave finally threw his hands up in the air. "Fine, you win! I give up! I can't ever get anywhere with the two of you." The two card soldiers left the garden, and the Knave followed, though he lingered suspiciously, "You're both mad."
But the Hare and the Hatter just laughed hysterically, obviously taking that as a compliment.
Once the Knave was no longer in hearing range, the Hare stopped laughing, but the Hatter's laughter went on... and on.
"Hatter!" the Hare cried out, sharply.
Fortunately, the Hatter jerked and dragged himself back from the edge of hysteria. "I'm fine. Really, I'm fine." He then opened the teapot lid and lifted Alice out of her hiding spot and back onto the table.
The Cat led Kairi back down and to the table, the coast now clear. As the five regrouped, Kairi found herself impressed at how well the Mad Hatter and March Hare had played their card (no pun intended). Must come naturally with actually being insane.
"That was close," the Hare muttered. "Now, the sword the Knave has—that's the Vorpal sword. To slay the Jabberwock, you must retrieve it from him."
"Leave that to me," Kairi said. She was the only one with a keyblade, after all. Did Alice even know how to fight?—Kairi highly doubted it.
"Will slaying the Jabberwock wake me up?" Alice asked.
For once, Kairi was honest, "Yes." Well, partly.
The Jabberwock was likely Alice's Nightmare, the one controlling this entire scenario. But if the Oraculum was correct, Alice would have to be the one to deliver the final blow. Kairi could do most of the leg work, but a lot of it rested on Alice to gather enough courage to enter the fray in time.
Once the Nightmare was defeated, Kairi could then wake Alice up.
"You'll have to go alone from now on," the Hare warned. "Cheshire can still help," because the Queen couldn't touch him, "but if the Hatter and I do, and you fail, then we're done for."
"Right," Kairi spoke up before Alice could think about that any deeper. "Let's go." She lowered her hand and let Alice climb onto it.
The redhead gave the trio one last wave, as the blonde quickly became lost in her own thoughts.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
Kairi's mind was filled with thoughts of the Jabberwock. Getting the Vorpal sword from the Knave would be a challenge—he was likely a skilled fighter. But it was the Jabberwock that troubled her. She remembered still what the Oraculum described the beast as...
"'The beast of war with eyes of flame'," Kairi recited, muttering under her breath, "'the jaws that bite, the claws that catch—beware the Jabberwock'."
"No way!" Alice spoke up, still tiny and in the redhead's hand. "I'm not slaying anything! I don't slay! So put it out of your mind!"
"Alice..."
But the blonde cut her off, "I don't care what that calender says! I couldn't even if I wanted to..."
Kairi was quiet as she digested that. "...People didn't believe you?"
Though confused, the tinier girl answered, "Not a single one. Every adult told me that I should be a writer, while all my agemates just made fun of me... I felt so isolated, even after I began going with the grain instead of maintaining my story..."
The redhead knew what that felt like. It was a pain she wouldn't wish on anyone, not even her enemies.
"That was why I've always wanted to return here," Alice continued, her voice soft. "Even if it was only a dream, at least I would fit in when everything stands out..." She glanced up at her fellow Princess. "Would you have believed me, Kairi?"
"Of course," a bright smile conveyed Kairi's honesty. "I'm from a different world than the other people on the Islands, so your story wouldn't sound so outlandish to me." She had also seen anthropomorphic talking animals and even been to the End of The World, for crying out loud.
"...You're just saying that to make me feel better."
"Maybe, but that doesn't mean I'm lying to you."
Alice was quiet as she digested that. "...Seven years is a long time."
"It is." Definitely longer than one year. "Those seven years have changed you. For better or for worse, I'm not so sure..."
Before Alice could respond to that, a storm of Nightmares appeared before them. "Those monsters again?!" the blonde asked, nervously.
Kairi put Alice in the bag connected to her belt, "I'll handle it!", before summoning Destiny's Embrace once more.
Peeking out from her hiding place, Alice had a clear view of her friend fighting the Nightmares. Kairi, meanwhile, continued to fight using primarily magic spells—which were all upgraded to the second tier in this fight (so she was getting better).
Unfortunately, the chiming of her keyblade was attracting unwanted attention. Alice peered out through the other side of the bag, and her eyes immediately went wide with fear. "Kairi! Behind you!"
After taking out the last Nightmare with a Magnera spell, Kairi turned around and was promptly met by what her friend was warning her about.
Card soldiers were approaching their location, obviously recognizing Kairi's appearance and having already associated her with the one aiding Alice the One Who Got Away. The redhead eyed the incoming group of enemies warily.
In a split second, Kairi made her choice. She chose to run.
She wasn't one to run away, but it wasn't herself that she was thinking of.
After dodging trees and leaping over stumps, she saw the edge of the woods ahead. As she neared the tree line, she pulled the still-tiny Alice out of her bag, and whispered, "You trust me?"
Alice nodded.
So Kairi, when she ran into an approaching tree (though not literally), she turned around and stopped. As the card soldiers surrounded her, she dismissed her keyblade in a conciliatory gesture and bowed. While bowing, her other hand was behind her back. While the card soldiers were distracted by Kairi surrendering herself, the small Alice climbed around to the other side of the tree and up to a branch within the leaves—out of sight, out of mind.
She could only watch in horror as her friend was knocked out, slung lifelessly over a card soldier's shoulder, and carried away.
And there was nothing she could do to stop it...
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
Alice ended up staying in that tree throughout the night. It was getting dark outside, and she was rather tired. So she had fallen asleep in the relative safety of the tree for the night.
But it was now morning, and she had woken up to the sound of large feet hopping against the ground below. She peered down and saw the White Rabbit—the one who had lured her here in the first place—looking at his pocket watch, down at the base of the tree she was hiding in.
He began freaking out. "Oh dear, oh dear, I'm going to be late!"
She was angry, still upset by Kairi's sacrifice. "It's what you deserve!" It came out of her mouth before she could stop it.
The Rabbit was startled by the sound of her voice and glanced around, "Who's there?" He then glanced up and saw a tiny spot of blonde and blue. "Oh! It's Alice! The Queen is searching for you!"
"I know!" she retorted, feeling hurt because he had led her here in the first place. "Thank you for that! I trusted you! You found me at the perfect time! You gave me an escape from my shambled life! And yet, you were only luring me into a trap!"
But the Rabbit began shaking his head, as his hands were held up in surrender, "No, no, no! I was bringing you here for what is written in the Oraculum! Once the Jabberwock is slain, then the Queen will have lost her trump card!"
But that information did little to lessen Alice's anger. She slid down, ready to give him another piece of her mind, "Could've fooled me!"
The Rabbit glanced around again, this time in concern, "Where is your friend? The one with the flower blade?"
"Kairi's been taken by the card soldiers!" Alice revealed, the thing she was most upset about. She got an idea, and her heart had already decided, "Where did they take her?!"
"The Queen's Castle," he answered her in a soft voice, "within the Rose Maze, beyond the Lotus Forest."
Alice's blue eyes lowered in determination, "Take me there. I'm going to rescue her."
The Rabbit began to panic, "But that is not foretold!"
"I don't care." Her mind was screaming at her of how bad an idea this was, but her heart could not be swayed. "She wouldn't be there if it weren't for me."
"The Frabjous Day is tomorrow," the Rabbit warned. "You must prepare yourself to meet the Jabberwock."
But she snapped, having had enough, "I have had quite enough! Since the moment I fell down that rabbit hole, I've been told what I must do and who I must be! I've been shrunk and stuffed into a teapot! I've been accused of being Alice and of not being Alice! But this is my dream! I'll decide how it goes from here!"
"If you diverge from the path," he informed her, "Time itself may come crashing down all around us..."
"I make the path!"
She was so commanding that the Rabbit finally saw that she wasn't going to budge. So he just shrugged before letting her climb onto his back. He then broke off into a run, hoping to make it on time...
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
The White Rabbit took most of the day getting to the Queen's Castle, because it was so far away and he was so small. But he made it, before the main doors locked for the night. Alice, still small, was hiding underneath his coat. She spent one more night being that tiny, before the next morning, when he gave her piece of cake to make her grow back to normal size, before the two went their separate ways.
Alice didn't eat that cake until she was safely in a broom cupboard down in the dungeon. She also refrained herself from eating the cake until after she had used some small pieces of cloth to help disguise herself—she changed her pinafore to an apron and a ruffled collar, she was wearing white gloves, and her black ribbon was replaced with a black top hat with a white ribbon in front that resembled rabbit ears.
On the way, she saw the Queen playing croquet, using a poor flamingo as a mallet. The Knave of Hearts approached her when she called for him. "Any luck with the prisoner?"
"She's stubborn," the Knave reported.
"You're too soft," the Queen muttered. "Give her an hour, and then try again."
Now fully grown, and still wearing her disguise (which she actually liked), Alice snuck her way through the dungeon, trying to find Kairi. It wasn't hard, but there were more levels than Alice was expecting. Kairi's pink dress stood out amongst the dark atmosphere.
"Kairi!" Alice whispered as she approached.
The redhead opened her eyes, revealing them to still be a bright and determined indigo. "Alice!" she whispered back, surprised yet glad. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving you." The blonde knelt in front of the cell, a set of bars between the two. "I am sorry for the trouble."
"Don't apologize," Kairi reassured her, with a soft smile. "I don't regret it. Now I noticed that the Knave always carries the Vorpal sword with him. All I have to do is somehow get it off him and give it to you. I also...saw the Jabberwock." And she was right. She took a deep breath, "Listen, Alice, this is a dream, but it's also very much real—it's a nightmare. I know it sounds crazy, but the real you has been put to sleep, and if this ordeal goes on for much longer, then your heart will shatter."
"It's a dream, but it's also...real?" Alice sounded like she couldn't believe it. Kairi couldn't blame her. But it was the truth; deep down, Alice knew that because she could also sense light and darkness, just like the other six Princesses.
"Yes. You are very much in danger, and to save you, the Jabberwock must be taken out." It was Alice's Nightmare—Kairi had seen the emblem on its chest for herself—the one controlling everything that was happening. "And to do that, you need to face your fears and accept yourself as you are."
"Easier said than done!" Alice cried, and Kairi let her vent. "I spent the last seven years dealing with everyone who thought I was crazy for even daring to forgo stockings or my corset! I tried my hardest to be 'normal'! But I hate being normal! Hamish tried to court me on our families' wishes, but I despise him! He's snobbish and the only thing interesting about him is his father's fortune! If being normal means acting like that, then I don't want to be normal!"
She was breathing heavily by the time she was done, but she was quiet for an entirely different reason.
"I stand out even against the others—you, Aurora, Snow White, Cinderella, Jasmine, and Belle. I'm younger and shorter, I don't have a prince in my life, and I'm not a royal by blood or by marriage... So why? Why is my heart filled with light when there are better choices? What makes me so special..?"
Kairi was quiet as she let this sink in. This was what Absolem the Caterpillar was preparing her for, wasn't it? Regardless, she knew the answer.
"Because you don't want to be normal, because of your curiosity and imagination," the redhead softly explained. "It's because all seven of us are different that makes us special. Being the same means that there is no balance. We need your abnormality to maintain order."
Unshed tears were filling Alice's eyes. "I think I understand that... but I'm afraid that all of who I was before has disappeared."
"It hasn't," Kairi answered. "It's just hiding, waiting to be rediscovered."
Alice smiled in response.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
The next few minutes were spent coming up with a plan. Today was the prophesied day in the Oraculum, so the two Princesses had to assume that the Jabberwock would somehow be released today. But foretold or not, Kairi's primary focus was protecting and saving Alice.
They were so wrapped up in discussing a plan that both failed to hear any approaching footsteps until they heard a familiar, yet unfriendly male voice speak up, "Alright, Flower Knight, it's time for furthering questioning."
It was the Knave of Hearts, the Vorpal sword at his side and being flanked by two soldiers. The two girls immediately froze up, staring at him wide-eyed like he had just caught their hands in the cookie jar.
"What is this?" he asked, sounding incredulous. "A stowaway conversing with the prisoner?"
Adrenaline began flowing through Kairi's veins, and she promptly summoned Destiny's Embrace and unlocked her cell with magic. She then grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her behind her. "Kairi?" the blonde asked.
"There's no time to wait!" the redhead exclaimed. "We need to act now! Now, hide!"
"But–!"
"Run, Alice!" It came out before Kairi could stop it; her emotions (mostly anxiety) were taking over and overtaking any logic she was just thinking about.
It was the Knave's turn to remain paralyzed, but it was out of sudden revelation, "Alice? As in, the one who got away?"
Kairi turned to said blonde and stressed once more, "Run!" This dungeon is a terrible place to fight! She needed more open ground here!
Alice moved to obey and all hell broke loose.
"Arrest them!" On the Knave's order, card soldiers immediately surrounded the two. To give herself more room, Kairi shot a Fira spell at the wall behind her, breaking it down in a explosion of bricks.
Everyone outside was caught off guard by the sudden eruption, including the Queen as her makeshift flamingo mallet took this chance to run away. While unexpected, it allowed Kairi enough room to fight the Knave on equal grounds. As Alice did her best to fight off the card soldiers with a simple hatpin she was holding in her hat, Kairi led the Knave to the Queen's Court.
There, she saluted, showing him respect and telling him that this wasn't personal. He unsheathed the Vorpal sword—made of shining silver with an ornate handle and runes engraved on the blade—and used it to salute back. Acknowledgement of her respect and returning the favor; this wasn't personal for him either.
The one-on-one fight ensued. He was a tough opponent, being pretty quick on his feet and expertly handling his blade in a way that let him deflect her critical hits with fair ease. Her only saving grace seemed to be his weakness to magic. Go figure, it was the same thing that she had been practicing since she arrived here, and thanks to this fight, her spells were all upgraded to the third tier.
(That being said, she still felt it necessary to get a teacher.)
In the midst of the commotion, the Queen of Hearts was seeing Kairi able to keep up with her trained Knave and Alice the One Who Got Away fight off her card soldiers with a mere hatpin. Feeling like she'd been backed into a corner, she pulled out her trump card.
"Release the Jabberwock!"
A dark dragon-shaped shadow immediately covered the entire area, spanning from the Court and out into the Maze all around it. Everyone—participants and spectators both—couldn't prevent themselves but stopping what they were doing and watching as the giant dragon, colored a sickly navy blue, descended from the sky and landed on the red carpet within the Court area. The illustration wasn't lying about it's appearance; its vast wingspan darkened the clearing and the Nightmare emblem was proudly displayed on its chest.
The Jabberwock's true name was the Wonder Land Nightmare, created specifically to play out Alice's own personal fears and insecurities.
Alice could barely contain her fear, "But this is impossible..." She was frozen in fear, and it was only making the fractures in her heart worsen.
"Only if you believe it is," Kairi tried to reassure her, and those words reminded Alice of something.
"'Expect the unexpected'..." she muttered in realization. "This is real..."
The sounds of the two girls' voices brought the Knave out of his reverie, and he charged at the redhead, only for her to sidestep him and disarm him using Starcracker. The Vorpal sword flew up into the air as a result.
"No!" the Queen cried out, helplessly standing there and unable to do anything.
The Knave reached for the sword, only to be kicked away by Kairi as she used him as a launchpad. She miraculously (in her mind) caught the sword in midair before throwing it to Alice.
The blonde wasted no time catching the Vorpal sword. Her demeanor very different from what it was previously, she stared the huge terrifying Nightmare down. The Jabberwock roar, as Alice whispered to herself, "Here, the impossible is possible. One: there's a potion that make you cry shrink. Two: there's a cake that can make you grow."
The Nightmare struck out suddenly with its spiked tongue. Alice lifted the sword to defend herself and the sword sliced off the creature's tongue. It fell to the ground, wriggling in the dirt, and the Nightmare could only make a burbling sound, before it whipped its pronged tail and knocked her to the ground.
Alice laid there for a moment, catching her breath and continuing her list of impossible things, "Three: animals can talk."
The Nightmare drove its spike tail down to stab her, but she barely rolled out of its way in time.
Kairi could only fight the remaining card soldiers, but she knew that Alice was also remembering the time when all seven Princesses were working together to hold back Ansem's darkness. The feeling of unity all of them had, because while they were all pretty powerful by themselves, they were all much stronger together.
"Four" Alice continued, "cats can disappear!"
"Watch your head!" Kairi warned.
Alice obeyed, ducking in time to avoid the Nightmare's snatching jaws. "Five: there is a place called Wonderland!" It swiped at her with its long, curved claws, but she deflected them. "Six: I am a pure light! And, seven!"
She stood still for a moment, before slowing lifting her head to glare at her Nightmare. All fear was gone; there was nothing but fierce determination in her eyes.
"I can slay the Jabberwock!"
She swung the sword and attacked with fury. The Nightmare was surprised by her fierceness, but met her halfway. While she dodged its strikes, she also began climbing up the stairs to the Queen's stand, and then onto the roof, in an attempt to gain the upper hand. Eventually, she managed to get on the Nightmare's back, but the creature jerked suddenly, causing the Vorpal sword to fly out of her grip.
The Knave was knocked out, so the Queen had to do it herself. She tried her best to calculate where the sword was going to land, but Kairi beat her to it—using a Aeroga spell to blow it back to Alice's hand.
Alice caught it once more. The Nightmare twisted and snapped, trying to shake her off, but she barely managed to hold on. One final slash was delivered across its back, and it roared out in pain. She leapt off and landed next to a kneeling Kairi.
The blonde said nothing as she held out the Vorpal sword to the redhead, and nodded. Knowing what she was trying to said, Kairi nodded back and placed her hand over Alice's, the one holding the sword. Using the sword as a conduit, Alice redirected Kairi's light through herself and combined her own with it, shooting a beam of light at the Nightmare.
In a last ditch effort to salvage her kingdom, the Queen jumped in front of it, but the light shot right through her as well. Both enemies were engulfed in that powerful light, and when the light faded, only the Queen's crown was sitting there on the ground.
There was silence all around as the two sisters-in-arms stood there, catching their breath. Then, there was cries of joy and relief.
"She's gone!"
"We're free!"
The crown then began floating—but Kairi wasn't doing anything—being lifted off the ground before flying slowly over to Alice's head, where it was placed. The Cheshire Cat then materialized into reality, and spoke, "The White Queen now reigns."
No one objected, instead erupting into a smattering applause and cheers.
Alice finally smiled a real smile.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
A few hours later, Alice was finally able to slip away from the festivities as everyone else were caught up in sharing stories over lunch. Kairi had been on the sidelines, waiting for her. Alice—now known as the White Queen—met the other outside on the balcony.
"I must wake up now, yes?" Alice asked.
"Yes," Kairi confirmed. "Things will probably be different, and you will be disoriented, but I have to. If you remain asleep any longer, then bad things could happen."
"Like my χ-blade fragment falling into the wrong hands?" the blonde guessed.
The redhead could only nod, solemnly.
But Alice softly smiled, "It's alright. Asleep or awake, I know who I am now. Others may tell me that Wonderland was only a dream, but that's alright. As long as I know that it was real, then I'll be content. Maybe I'll take their advice and become a writer, after all."
Kairi smiled back. "Whatever happens, I wish you nothing but the best of luck."
Alice nodded in gratitude before a bright light began to shine from her chest. The world suddenly went dark as she cupped the light that emerged from her. Like the other three before her, the light formulated into a green-colored, crystal-like flower petal—her χ-blade fragment.
As she handed it to Kairi, Alice uttered, "Make sure it finds someone just as curious and imaginative as I am."
"I will," Kairi vowed.
The White Queen smiled one last time before heading back inside. Kairi remained outside, however, as she accepted the fragment into her own heart, before summoning her keyblade and pointing it at the sky, where a bright lock appeared. A light shot out from the tip of her keyblade and straight at the lock, engulfing it in light.
The sky turned back into day, though the sunshine was not as bright as it was before. Darkness was beginning to enter Alice's heart, filling in the fractures that had appeared thanks to the Nightmare. The world was also fading due to her finally waking up.
Kairi made no move to stop it, knowing that this had to happen. Like before, she let the light from the keyhole envelop and take her back to the void between hearts.
This time, Jasmine's image appeared, flickering before it turned into her heart station. Kairi promptly dove right in, hoping desperately that all of this effort wouldn't be in vain...
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~Destiny Islands, 7 Years Ago~
It started out as a normal day, with Kairi spending time at Chinami's flower shop that morning before being picked up by Selphie, who took her to the play island. Throughout the day, the boys—Sora, Riku, Tidus, and Wakka—all joined them. After playing a few rounds of blitzball, and having a water fight in the ocean nearby, Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka had to go home. Sora and Riku joined Kairi in watching the sunset, before also departing.
The trio were sitting on the sideways trunk of the paopu fruit tree, having claimed that spot a while ago. It was their tree, and no one else was allowed to go there.
Sora decided to start the conversation, "So Kairi, we've noticed you spending a lot of time with Ms. Chinami lately."
"I like her," was Kairi's response.
"So do the rest of us," Riku replied. "But she doesn't really allow kids to hang out with her while she's working, only if they're helping her. But we've seen the two of you talk for hours without doing anything."
Really? Kairi didn't know that.
Her smile faded a bit due to a sudden twinge of homesickness, "She reminds of someone..."
Both of her boys leaned closer in curiosity, as Sora asked, "Who?"
"I don't know." She really didn't. If they had asked her that three and a half years later, however, then she'd be lying. "But I always associate them with flowers for some reason..."
The pain she was feeling must have been palpable, as she felt Sora hug her and Riku gently pat her shoulder, both in response. A silent ensued, none of them knowing what to say to follow up on that sort of thing.
Riku was the first to break the silence. "Hey, I got an idea. What if we went to Kairi's homeworld ourselves?"
Sora perked up in realization, "Yeah! We could find out what happened ourselves! And then Kairi wouldn't be sad anymore!"
"Exactly!" Riku exclaimed, before the two boys turned to the only girl. "What'd'ya say, Kairi?"
Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest, and she didn't know why. "Um...are you sure it's a good idea?"
"It's a great idea!" Sora argued.
But Riku's response was different. He shrugged, "We won't know unless we try it."
He was right. And even though part of her thought this was a terrible idea, she couldn't deny that the other part of her was too curious.
So she relented, "Okay. Let's do it." And her boys cheered.
It started out as a normal day, but it ended up being what set everything else into motion...
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
To Be Continued...
!~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~D~O~N~T~~W~A~K~E~~M~E~~U~P~!
A/N: Alice has also given up her role as a Princess of Heart.
Chapter Notes:
-I can't remember who it was, but someone on Tumblr pointed out the yellow design detail. It wasn't me; I'm just running with it for the sake of this story (aka: the origin of Kairi's KH1 yellow wristband).
-Like with the previous chapters, the first scene sets up Alice's nightmare. Alice has been forced to convince herself that her adventures in Wonderland (and by extension, KH1 as well) was just in her imagination. However, she doesn't change as she grows up, because she still yearns for adventure, is always curious, and thinks differently than anyone else around her. Granted, the differences shown are mainly between how Alice thinks naturally versus how women were meant to act in the late 1800s in England, but it still fits with the theme.
-The seven-year timeskip is a product of Alice's nightmare. It's a testament to how real these nightmares feel to the Princesses.
-The year (1865) the opening London scene takes place in is a reference to the year the original "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" book came out. Also, it's London because the author, Lewis Carroll, was from England.
-In this chapter, Kairi practices and upgrades her magic spells.
-The Knave of Hearts did appear in the animated Alice in Wonderland movie (1951). That's his appearance here.
-For Alice's disguise, think of her Mirrorverse counterpart.