79Breezy: "Oh man, am I late. I'm really sorry about being so slow, guys. Perhaps a new chapter would make you direct those pitchforks away from me? As always, I own nothing, blah, blah, blah… Only the OCs and plot are mine, blah, blah, blah… Enjoy!"
My awakening was a loud one.
"LIZ!" Mary screamed my name during a peaceful dream I had. As a result of this surprise, I fell from my spot high up in the branches of that pine tree and threw my eyes open. I slowly fell to the ground with a little air resistance, and soon summoned my bow and arrows. Heartless surrounded us. It was hard to count how many, because now it was dark and the moon hadn't come up yet. I kicked one away and shot another that had jumped behind Sora. Mary sliced one that had climbed onto my leg.
"Where did they come from?" I asked, knocking down a rather large shadow.
"They just appeared outta nowhere, like always!" Sora shouted over the sound of the swirling vortexes that were opening all around. More and more heartless were appearing. Now they were creeping out of the trees and even from the water. Something seemed strange about this situation. I turned around.
"Mary, what's the name of the forest we're in?"
"What?" She glanced at me with a crazy look on her face. I furrowed my eyebrows and stood still, even though we were now surrounded by Neo-shadows as well. I stared directly into her eyes and asked again.
"The hell are you on about? Incase you haven't noticed, we're surrounded!" She screamed while knocking away a shadow. It fell back, hit but not injured. Sora and Goofy looked at us while also deflecting. I now ignored the heartless that came at me. They jumped, seizing the chance of prey. I did not move. Neither did Mary. She said nothing and stood there,s obviously thinking I was out of my mind. Sora ran to block them, but he was too far.
They all disappeared the second they came within an inch of me. Mary scowled.
"What the hell were you doing?" She said, motioning to the now empty ground around us. "And what did you do just now?" I grinned.
"I didn't do anything, Mary. I think you did…"I said, leveling my bow to the height of her face. She stared for a minute, and then grinned.
"Aw, I thought you'd forgotten how to tell, Liz." Demyx said, in a swirl of darkness. A second later, he looked like his regular self. Sora started to attack, before I held him back.
"Sora, easy. We don't even know why he's here." I glanced between the nobody and my friends. I was still a little sore about what had happened between us. "You never were the best actor, Demyx. Where's Mary, and why are you here?" I asked, letting go of Sora. The water user shrugged.
"She's probably back at your 'base camp' back there, enjoying a good nap. As for why I'm here… well…" He paused, looking up at the sky. Dem mumbled something. "Well, I guess that Axel needed some help." He scratched the back of his neck. Sora looked between us, crossing his arms. Donald huffed. Goofy scratched his nose. I stood and watched my old friend with curiosity.
"Look, I can't exactly stay for a while. I guess I just wanted to say I'm sorry. The Organization is falling apart. Everyone knows. That's one of the reasons Axel left, and I thought I might join him…" He broke off, looking around. "But for now, consider me a double. I want to help you guys, but I don't think I can yet." He turned, walking into a dark portal. "Liz, for what it's worth, I think you are working." He grinned and vanished. Sora still seemed lost.
"Um… what?"
Demyx left a few minutes later. We found Mary in the house, unharmed, and fast asleep. Because she had crashed in my room, I took the guest room bed we had never used. I hadn't even looked in the bedrooms that belonged to my family. Instead, I spent most of the night looking out at the pale moon through the top of my window, waiting for sleep to finally claim me.
The next morning, and the one after that, was uneventful and free of any visits from enemies. They were spent with laughs and many…interesting conversations between us (Sora found a drawing by Lindsey and asked what the 'giant-orange-and-green-blob-with-an-aloe vera-plant was) It was the fourth day we arrived in this empty world when we (and by 'we' I mean 'me') had decided Axel's time had run up and we needed to go on to the next world. The last morning we would spend on this barren world soon arrived, and Mary and I decided to once again explore home.
We rode bikes to town, the park, the grocery store, and every other public place around and met no one. Just as it had been since we got here. Mary and I walked the bikes back to the house, savoring the sound of the cicadas and birds.
"So where are we going next?" Mary asked as the sun shone from behind a cloud. She looked over at me and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"Don't know yet. Goofy and Donald say they want to drive this time, so…" I trailed off, spotting a hawk soar over our heads. A few seconds later, Haya perched on my shoulder, nudging my neck lovingly. I stroked him and stopped walking. We continued walking down the path in silence.
"Rock. I win." Sora grinned, shaking his fist in the air. Mary sighed, while I continued to count how many blotches were on the ceiling. We had been in the Gummi ship for hours, flying through the cosmos and waiting for Donald and Goofy to land. This was the tenth game of rock-paper-scissors that Sora had won, out of the numerous others we had played. It was starting to get boring.
Actually, the boredom started seven hours ago, when we had left home.
"Sora, hate to break it to ya, but winning ten games of rock-paper-scissors isn't really an accomplishment that's worthy of recognition."
"So?" He replied, putting his hands behind his head and smiling. "I just can't believe I beat you." Mary lifted her head from nodding it, and stared at him, silent until I shifted my weight to another foot.
"I'll have to take that as a compliment. After all, you don't usually give them…" Mary trailed off, walking away. I turned to Sora, shrugging. She shook his head and glanced out the window. We were coming up on a world that was shaped after a castle and a surrounding town. I gaped. The walls were as white as clouds, the roof as blue as the sky.
"Whoa." I whispered.
"We're here!" Donald shouted from the cockpit. Goofy soon followed from behind, rubbing his eyes and stifling a yawn. Donald turned around and yelled at Goofy to wake up, jumping up and down to emphasize. Goofy scratched the back of his head and looked at his feet.
"Sorry, Donald. A-hyuck!" He laughed and I giggled as Donald turned back around, a proud look on his face.
We stepped off the ship, walking into a room with lights almost everywhere, blinking and flashing. Buzzing sounds came from all around, echoing in the large area.
"This is your castle…must be nice to be home, huh?" Sora said, looking at Donald and Goofy.
"WHAT?!" Mary and I screeched. "This is your home? This is the place you guys lived in? This place is huge!" I picked Donald up, shaking him back and forth. "Why don't you tell me these things, Donald?"
"Ya know, something don't feel quite right…" Goofy said, looking around the room. I dropped Donald and followed Goofy's eyes around the room.
"Yeah." Donald muttered, glaring at me and rubbing his shoulders. I grinned.
"You're back!''
We looked around for the source of the sound, when something grabbed my pant leg.
"AH!" I stumbled, grabbing my leg. I caught something furry and small in my hand. Whatever it was, it was… wearing as apron? Another voice piped up from Donald's shoulder. A chipmunk almost identical to the one I was holding sat there, almost bouncing with eagerness.
"Move it! Let's go!" He said, pointing to a doorway down the path. The thing in my hand crawled onto my shoulder and jumped up and down.
"Queen Minnie needs to see you!"
"The castle's in danger! Hurry!"
The two little animals jumped down and raced off up a fight of stairs ahead of us, occasionally jumping and motioning us forward. I shrugged to Sora, and the five of us ran after them.
We ran up the stairs and came into a garden. I gasped. There were topiaries everywhere, shaped like animals playing instruments in a marching band. The flowers climbing the wall were bright and numerous. Mary glanced up behind us, and tugged my shirtsleeve. It seemed we were standing in a courtyard; around us, higher on the walls, were covered platforms attached to the castle.
"Come on!" Donald shouted, stamping his foot and pulling Mary to a door in the shade. I pulled it open, and steeped into the hallway. It was cool and the carpet was thick. The walls were decorated with occasional tapestries and sculptures. Sora ran ahead of us and turned a corner. After following him, we came to two big, big, doors.
"Wow." Mary and I said. Goofy laughed and knocked on the wood. A smaller door inside the door opened, and we walked inside. Donald walked into the room, hand to his head in a salute, Goofy soon following.
"Your Majesty Queen Minnie, we're back!" Donald stood at attention as Goofy bowed. A mouse in a small pink ball gown turned to us and smiled, her hands coming together.
"Thank goodness you're here." Her voice was very cute, and her eyes twinkled.
"Your Majesty," Goofy got up from his bow, "did ya happen to summon us?" I looked between the two. Sora and Mary crossed their arms.
"Yes."
"Where's the King?" I asked.
"Yeah, he's not here?" Sora walked up beside me. Donald pulled him down and glared at him. Then he turned to the Queen, trying to cover his anger with a fake smile.
"Excuse him. This is Sora." Sora swatted Donald's hand, trying to get his ear off. I rolled my eyes at the tiny duck.
"Oh yes! The king told me all about you in his letters. He says you're a very brave young man." The Queen said, while bringing her hands together.
"So, does that mean you know where he is?" I asked. Queen Minnie shook her head and sighed.
"I wish I could tell you. I would if I could, but… I'm afraid I don't know." Sora, Donald, and Goofy sighed.
"Your Majesty, did ya happen to summon us?" Goofy asked, tilting his head.
"Yes."
"So, did you summon us because of the Heartless?" Donald inquired. The Queen gasped.
"Oh my… so those are the heartless…" She trailed off, glancing at the large paintings of mice in various clothes above our heads on the walls above.
"Don't worry, Queen Minnie. We'll take care of any of these heartless!" I stated, stamping my foot for emphasis. The smile returned to her face as she looked us over.
"I know I can trust all of you. There's something I want all of you to see," she paused, striding across the room as if in a hurry, "would you please escort me to the audience chamber?"
Donald and Goofy nodded, hurrying into a salute. Mary and I nearly whacked our heads from trying to copy them so fast. Sora did whack his.
"Oh no! I forgot to warn all those in the castle about the danger!" The Queen half-shouted.
"It's okay," Sora broke in, "we'll go warn all of them for you!" He thumped his chest, while pulling out the Keyblade.
"No Sora! You'll just get lost! You stay here with the queen, while Goofy and I go warn the others! Liz, Mary, you watch him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid!"
"Uh, okay?" I said, waving slightly as Donald and Goofy ran out the door. Sora pouted as much as someone his age could over practically being called 'stupid'. The Queen stepped forward, and overlooked us. I grinned and curtsied slightly to her.
"Pleasure working for you, your majesty."
"It just never ends, does it?"
We were surrounded by heartless. After taking Queen Minnie to the Audience Chamber, we'd been ambushed. I grinned and fixed another arrow to my bow, cackling insanely after it blew up a rather large heartless. As I flew around and hit the weak points on heartless that towered over Mary and Sora, the other two were making good progress with the rest. Queen Minnie was also fighting, with a weapon that apparently had no form. Then again, it was wiping away a fair amount of shadows, so whatever.
Suddenly, the heartless disappeared in a flash of light. I glanced around, looking for the source of the sudden disappearance. Queen Minnie stood to the left of the throne in the back of the room, stepping back from it. When she stood aside, I could see a small chamber leading down. Steps downward led into, yet again, more dark.
"That works too…" I mumbled.
"Whoa…" Sora ogled at the steps, as if he saw it in a movie once.
"The room below is called 'The Hall of the Cornerstone.' Before, the Cornerstone of Light kept heartless from other worlds from entering the castle. But now…" She trailed off, starting to walk down the steps. Sora glanced at me and shrugged, then followed. So did I.
After a while, we stepped into a room that did not fit its title. Dark black thorns hung from every surface in the room, shrouding it in a darkened atmosphere. In the center of the room, there stood a bright, swirling circle of light encased inside a glass. Thorns also covered it, but not like the rest of the room. The thorns on the glass looked… dead.
"This is The Cornerstone, right ma'am?" I asked, stepping on any and all the vines I could.
"Yes. It's the cherished Cornerstone of the Castle. But look… the thorns… they must be the work of someone evil. I just don't know who…"
A burst of sickly, green flames shot up in front of the Cornerstone. Queen Minnie screamed, fearing the glass had burst into flames, but Sora clenched the Keyblade tightly.
"Maleficent!" Sora yelled. Maleficent cackled, as the flames around her grew higher.
"Well, well. What have we here? If it isn't the wretched Keyblade holder, and his pitiful lackeys!"
"What?!" Donald, who had just walked in a few seconds earlier along with Goofy, shook his staff and ran at the ghastly image of one of Sora's worst enemies. As he hit her with his staff, he flew right through her, landing in front of the Cornerstone.
"All in good time. I promise you will all be able to take part in my vengeance. Still, you must be patient."
"What are you doing here, Maleficent?" Queen Minnie asked, with visible fury in her eyes. Even for her being two feet tall, the Queen had one nasty death glare. I mentally applauded her.
"Ah, Queen Minnie," The witch mocked, bowing, "radiant, as always. I'm here on a property venture. I'd like this castle for my own. However, I'm afraid it's a bit too 'bright' for my taste, so I suppose I'll have to fill every room with my own personal touch of darkness." She reached for The Cornerstone, which rejected her hand.
"You'd best stop right now, if you know what's good for you!"
"Ohh…" Maleficent said, smirking, "how very frightening. Very well. I'll stop… just as soon as the Castle belongs to me!" She screamed, throwing up her arms as the flames surrounding her reached the ceiling, very well over twenty feet above our heads. The flames then burned themselves out, taking Maleficent with them.
"Jeebus. She's got major issues…" I said, putting my bow back up.
"I'm worried, Sora. Nothing like this has happened before; I checked all the castle records, but not a thing has come up. I couldn't find a single clue." The Queen said, crossing her hands again. Silence crossed the dark gray room.
"I know! We should go ask someone with a lotsa knowledge about the castle!" Goofy said. Donald tapped his foot.
"Merlin the Wizard!"
"Yeah, Merlin'll know what to do!" I said, getting pumped for another road trip. "Wait, where's Mary?" Donald and Goofy shook their heads. Sora shrugged.
Mary can handle herself, and we'll only be gone a while. Let's just go and get Merlin." Stated Sora, whisking away the Keyblade in a flash of light. I sighed, knowing he was right and following. We waved goodbye, for now, to Queen Minnie and were on our way.
Breezy: "Oh God, please point the pitchforks away! I'm really sorry you guys, again! But, since summer is coming soon, I'll have boatloads of free time for you all. Good night!