FicWad

Linking the Chain

By Pata Hikari

Based off the game Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories by Disney and SquareEnix

Chapter 4: It's a Wonderland Life

/KERSHOOOOMM!!/

The room shook with the force of the explosion. Sora was slammed into the floor, covering his head as heat and smoke rushed over him. The light formed in the blast nearly blinded him.

"Ugg..." Goofy coughed, "What was that?" He stood up. The room was no longer white, now it was covered with thousands of scorch marks. The floors were a burnt grey as well.

"Whoa..." Donald sat up, "That was nuts!"

"Unn..." Sora groaned, "Did we win?" He looked at the other two.

"I think so..." Goofy picked up his shield, now covered with ash. "Gawrsh, that guy was tough."

"I wonder what that was all about..." Sora shook his head, chunks of charcoal falling out of hair.

A soft sound was heard. It was the quiet noise of someone clapping their hands slowly.

"Well, well, that was some high class fighting there." Axel said, suddenly standing behind them. "You guys are good."

"Gah!" Sora pulled out the Keyblade, "You're-"

"-impressed," Axel continued, "For impressing me, you guys get the prize."

Sora stared, "You... you were just testing my strength." He let go of the Keyblade, sighing.

"Bingo!" Axel grinned, "Now, about that prize..." He pulled a stack of white cards. "Catch." He threw the cards at Sora, who reflexively caught them. "There's five more keys. Five more floors." Axel chuckled, "Five more memories."

Sora nodded, "So these will take me to more worlds created from my memory?"

"You're a sharp one." Axel nodded, "Travel through your deepest memories." He folded his arms, "Hidden inside them lies the answers to questions you might not even remember asking." He sighed, "Just one word of warning... once you find the meaning behind this..." He looked straight into Sora's eyes, "You may no longer be you." With that, he vanished.

"..." Donald shook his head, "What did he mean by that?"

"How can Sora be anybody but Sora?" Goofy added.

Sora looked down at the five cards, "Come on... let's just go." He stuck four of the white cards in a different pocket then the others. The one he kept out had the image of a massive forest filled with giant mushrooms. He quickly walked to the door.

"Well, you guys coming?" Sora asked, holding the card up to the door.

"Of course!" Goofy said as the door opened to a white light.

~-------------------------------------~

"Well, where are we?" Donald asked, "It's kind of dark in here..."

"Huh?" Sora looked down, "Ga-ga-ga..."

"What's wrong Sora?" Goofy looked down as well, "Not good!"

"You're both acting weird." Donald muttered, "What's so scary?" Donald joined the others in looking down.

They were floating in midair. The small dim circle that was the ground could be seen in the distance. "Oh... boy..." Donald muttered.

Gravity suddenly remembered them.

"Yahoohoohooie!!!"

~-------------------------------------~

I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die... Sora thought in panic as the ground grew closer and closer every passing second. "Ahhhh!"

The ground stopped. It was a warped checkerboard pattern. "What?"

Thud!

"Ow..." Sora pulled himself off the ground. "I think we're in Wonderland..."

"Great, Wonderland." Donald muttered.

"Ouch." Goofy rubbed his head, "Well, what do we do now?"

Sora shrugged, "How should I know?"

"Well, maybe we should look around..." Goofy suggested.

They began walking through the strange passageway. Stopping at a twisted looking door. It pulled itself open. Revealing another door, and another, and another. Finally a doorway appeared, "Weird..." Sora commented.

They walked through the door; on the other side was a massive forest. Huge trees grew in every direction, while giant mushrooms, flowers, and multicolored grass filled the rest of the space.

"Gawarsh... I forgot how strange Wonderland is..." Goofy looked around, "What's that?" He spotted a loaf of bread sitting on a leaf. "Hey, food!" He moved to pick up the loaf, but it suddenly burst out into flight. The "loaf" had been made from a dozen or so insects with wings that looked like slices of buttered bread.

"Butterflies?" Sora asked, a little surprised.

"Humph!" One of the insects landed on Sora's nose, "I'll have you know I'm a breadandbutterfly! Much less fattening. To be compared to one of those bricks of flying lard... arggh!" The offended bug kicked Sora's nose before flying away.

"..." Donald groaned, "I hate Wonderland."

~-------------------------------------~

"I'm late! I'm late! Oh dear, I'm so late!"

A white rabbit wearing a red suit dashed by Sora. Occasionally looking at a large pocket watch with increasing levels of panic. He suddenly tripped over a small rock, rolling forward before crashing into a tree.

"Erm..." Sora walked over to the rabbit. "You OK?"

"I don't have /time/ to be OK!" The White Rabbit jumped up, "I'm late enough as it is!" He looked at his watch, "Oh dear oh dear! The Queen will have my head for sure!" He dashed off at very high speeds, quickly becoming a dot in-between the mushrooms and the trees.

Sora folded his arms, "I've seen him before..." He shook his head, "Wait... this is just my memory of Wonderland... isn't it?"

"I... I think so." Goofy poked a large flower, "Though it still looks real." He blinked, "Though I bet it's all cards though."

"Speaking of cards," Donald pointed up, "We have company!"

"Huh?" Sora looked up; black cards were circling above them. "Oh man!"

Shadows and Soldiers popped out from the cards. As well as others. Huge Heartless with big round bellies and thick arms appeared, a small metal cap forming their heads, Large Bodies. Small hovering Heartless, identical to the Red Nocturnes except that they were blue, Blue Rhapsodies. Strange heartless with no legs, their light blue arms spun around wildly, with pointed hats of the same color, the Heartless symbol engraved onto their hats. BSKRT! Tornado Steps.

"Oh geez." Sora pulled out the red card Leon had given him. It was a Keyblade card of sorts. Sora activated the card, and with a flash of fire the Keyblade appeared, though it was changed. A long, silver handle, with the teeth of the Key shaped like the lion pendant's around Leon's neck. The Lionheart Key.

Sora grinned as he swiped through a Shadow, it fading in a flash of flames. The Keyblade had the power to change its shape to fit Sora's needs. All he needed was a Keychain... or in this case a card. Two Soldiers leapt at Sora, but he cut through them easily.

/"Gravity!/ Donald shouted, slamming his staff against a blue card. A purple and black sphere formed over three Large Bodies, collapsing down into a disc. The Large Bodies were crushed, exploding into black smoke.

Goofy smashed his shield into the Blue Rhapsodies, knocking them to the ground, where Sora sliced through them.

"These guys don't offer much of a challenge, do they?" Donald grinned, looking at the few Soldiers left. The Tornado Steps had stayed out of the fight so far.

Sora nodded, picking up the cards that remained of the Heartless they had beaten, "Was it this easy the last time we were here?"

"Obviously," Goofy nodded, "Otherwise Sora would remember it being hard and it would be hard!"

"Oh." Sora had forgotten that this was a memory for a while. "It's hard to remember that..."

A Tornado Step jumped at Sora, its arms spinning wildly as it moved. He held up Lionheart, the Tornado Steps arm struck the Keyblade. The other arm, however, spun around and hit Sora in the face.

"Gah!" Sora stumbled back, "My nose!" He could feel that his nose was bent at a strange angle, some blood leaking out of it. "The shupid Hearshless punshed me in the nose!" Sora swung Lionheart down, aiming for the Tornado Step's head. But the Heartless jumped out of the way.

Donald shot a couple dozen fireballs at the Heartless; they just kept on jumping and dancing around the flames. One of them jumped behind Donald, giving him a punch in the back of the head. "Wahggahhh!!" Donald screamed.

"Whoa!" Goofy thrust his shield at one; it just jumped over Goofy, punching him in the side, "Ouch!" Goofy turned to face the Tornado Step, attacking again. It dodged and countered, again.

Sora growled, "Stupid!" Swing. "Thing!" Swing. "Hold!" Swing. "Still!"

The Tornado Steps bounced around them, landing in front of them. The bounced for a moment, mocking the, before leaping away.

Sora sighed, collapsing to the ground, "I /hate/ Tornado Steps."

"They sure are frustrating." Goofy said.

Donald said something, but Sora couldn't understand him. The duck was so angry that all coherence had vanished. Sora wondered if he wanted to understand Donald at the moment.

~-------------------------------------~

Sora and Goofy managed to get Donald to calm down long enough in order for him to cast Cure. (Not only to heal the injuries caused by the Heartless, but also to fix the minor burns caused by Donald in his rage.) "Well, that was an annoyance..." Sora brushed the remaining traces of blood off his face, "What do we do now?" He rubbed his nose; Cure can only do so much, so it was still sore.

"Help! Help! Oh dear me, help!" A voice cried out. It was the White Rabbit; he was running back towards them, a very similar panicked look on his face. Only while before the panic was about the threat of death, this one was more of a look of panic about guarantee of death. There is a subtle difference.

There were these things following the White Rabbit, they looked like large bags, no arms or legs. They bounced behind the White Rabbit, their horn like mouths twitching with excitement. The Heartless symbol was emblazoned on their fronts. SKKICT! Crescendo Heartless.

"Help meeeeeeeeee!" The White Rabbit dashed behind Sora, "Monsters! They want to eat me!" There were three Crescendos; they bounced eagerly, stopping in front of Sora. The Heartless seemed to inflate themselves, before suddenly blowing out, making a little tune. They continued to make this song, only stopping to inflate after using their air. "Aren't they terrifying?" The White Rabbit asked.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy burst out laughing. "Oh boy... now /these/ are some pathetic Heartless!" Donald snorted.

"You think," Goofy said in-between laughter, "that they do parties?" This caused the three to fall onto the ground with laughter.

"Oh..." Sora stood back up, still shaking as he giggled, "Oh man, this is easy..." He called out Lionheart, flinging it over his shoulder, "I almost feel sorry for these guys." Sora began walking towards them, "Well, see ya." He held up the Keyblade, and the Crescendos began making a faster, higher pitched tune.

Then a Large Body fell on top of him.

The Large Body looked around, appearing slightly confused. It stood up; walking off the tiny thing it had landed on. It blinked, peering down at the flattened Keyblade Master. It then promptly met its end when it found said Keyblade shoved through its face.

"Oww..." Sora groaned, "My back..." He stood up, "OK, that was a fluke." The Crescendos changed their tune again. "You things are going down!"

A second Large Body sat on Sora, this one felt bigger.

"OK! Weird coincidence!"

A third Large Body. Sora could feel his spine slowly breaking.

"Pain..." Sora muttered, "OK! That's it!" He ran around the Crescendos leaping above them.

A fourth Large Body.

/"Arrrrgggg!/ Sora pulled out a blue card, slamming it into the air, forming three. /"Thundaga!"/ A massive storm of lightning bolts slammed down on the Crescendos, "I /hate/ those things!" He screamed.

"Oh dear..." He heard the White Rabbit say, "You took care of those fearsome creatures excellently!" He paused, "Can you deal with the others?"

"Others?" Sora asked, his eye twitching.

Tornado Steps leaped out of the trees.

"Those ones..." The White Rabbit ducked behind Goofy.

Sora said a few words he had learned from Donald, words that he was sure his mother wouldn't like.

~-------------------------------------~

"Hello?" A young girl called out, appearing to be roughly ten years old. She had long blond hair, held back by a black headband. She was wearing a long blue and white dress, with white stockings and simple black shoes. "Rabbit? Dina? Anybody?" She sighed, "Oh why did I have to be so curious?" She sat down on a large mushroom. "Let's see... I got here by chasing the White Rabbit... and before that... I... don't remember." The girl blinked, "Oh my! It appears I have lost my memory!" She looked under the mushroom she was sitting on, "Where could I have left it?"

"Oh thank you, thank you sirs! I will never forget this kindness!" She heard a voice say... the White Rabbit!

"Yeah, yeah... aren't you late for something?" Another voice, it sounded like a ducks quack for some reason, added.

"Oh no! I forgot!" She spotted the White Rabbit as dashed past her. Well, more accurately it dashed under her. She quickly pressed her dress down to preserve her modesty. "Wait!" She turned around, "What are you..." She started to chase him.

"Don't bother..." a boy's voice said, "He's more trouble then he's worth..."

"Huh?" She turned around, a boy followed by a dog and a duck (well, that explains the quacking voice) walked over to her. "Oh, good afternoon."

The boy's eyes brightened, "Alice?" He smiled weakly, "Nice to see you again."

"Do I know you?" The girl, named Alice, said, "I'm afraid I lost my memory, can you help me find it?"

The boy sighed, "Should have known... I'm Sora, this is Donald," He pointed to the duck, "and Goofy." He pointed to the dog.

"Hello." Alice did a polite curtsey. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sora. Then again, if you know me I suppose we already met."

"Likewise." Sora nodded, "It's good to see you not in any trouble." He grinned weakly, and Alice noticed that he was covered with bruises.

"Are you hurt?" She asked, her voice filled with worry.

"Huh?" Sora blinked, "Oh... no, I'm fine. Just some annoying Heartless..."

"Well, I hope you're alight." Alice said.

"We just want to get out of here..." Donald muttered, "This place is insane!"

"Oh..." Alice frowned, "Well, can I come with you? Traveling alone is so dreadful."

"Of course." Goofy said cheerfully, "This castle is dangerous, you know."

"Castle?"

"Never mind." Sora said quickly.

~-------------------------------------~

The forest never seemed to end, trees, massive grass, mushrooms, and Heartless.

It stretched on and on.

"This is getting rather boring..." Alice sighed, "Even those Heartless attacking us doesn't relieve the monotony." As she spoke Sora sliced a Shadow in half.

"We're not here to be entertained!" Donald shouted, "We're here to find the King!"

"A king?" Alice said, "You know a king? How interesting."

"Oh yes, interesting! A King who is gone, faded into the darkness!" A new voice said.

"Who's there!?" Sora looked behind him, "Come on out!"

"Ah but that would ruin the game, now wouldn't it?" The voice taunted, "The game of forgotten truths and remembered lies. Of memories and hearts!"

"Now listen here," Alice stepped foreword, "Stop being so rude and come out!"

"Why should I, shadow? You want to find me? Then first meet the Queen! Or at least her shadow..." And the voice spoke no more.

Goofy shivered, "There was something wrong there..."

/"...painting the roses red..."/

"Who's that?" Donald asked.

"It came from that way..." Alice pointed towards a dark path leading deeper into the forest.

"Of /course/ it comes from there..." Sora said dully.

~-------------------------------------~

"Painting the roses red! Painting the roses red! Because because because because we want to keep our head!"

"Have I ever said how much I /hate/ Wonderland?" Donald said dryly.

After wondering through the forest they had stumbled across what appeared to be a hedge maze. Inside (it was rather easy to navigate through... after Donald started blowing holes in the walls.) they found countless bushes covered with white roses. Franticly running around with paint buckets in one hand, brushes in the other, were living playing cards. They were painting the roses red.

"Um, excuse me?" Alice tapped one of the cards on the shoulder, "Could you tell us what you're doing?"

"Huh?" The card turned around, it was the Three of Diamonds, "What does it look like we're doing? We're painting the roses red!"

"We get that." Sora said, "But /why/ are you painting them?" He rubbed a little bit of red paint off a rose. "You'll kill the flowers doing this."

"It's them or us!" The Ace of Spades added in, "You see, the Queen's coming here, and she likes her roses red!"

"If she sees white roses..." The Ten of Clubs whispered...

"It's off with our heads!" The whole deck shouted at once.

"How horrible!" Alice clasped her hands to her mouth, "Sora! Donald! Goofy! We have to help them!"

"Huh?" Sora blinked, "OK... sure." He grinned, "Wouldn't want any heads chopped off..."

~-------------------------------------~

It took a bit of work, but they managed to get nearly every rose painted red.

"There we go." Sora put the finishing touches on a flower.

"It's the Queen!" The Five of Hearts ran over, "The Queen is coming! /And the roses aren't red!/

"What?" Sora looked around, "What ones aren't done!?"

"Sorry Sora..." He looked behind him to see Goofy standing behind him... his bucket of paint upturned over his head. "There was a wet spot on the grass and I slipped and-"

"Forget it! Run!" A card shouted, and instantly there was chaos as all the cards started flying around, desperately trying to get away.

But it was too late.

The White Rabbit ran past them, a trumpet in his hands, he dashed past the flowers, onto a small platform. He took a deep breath before blowing into the trumpet. A small, squeaky noise came out of the instrument, "Presenting the great and beautiful Queen of Hearts!"

A very fat woman walked into the garden. One side of her massive dress was red on one side, black on the other. Her wiry black hair was tied back in a bun, while a cheap looking golden crown hung crookedly on her head. Her face looked just as large, with at least three chins. Her beady eyes looked about the garden like a wolf eyeing its prey. Her face was set in a scowl.

A very small man peered out from behind the Queen of Hearts, "Ahem." He said in a squeaky voice.

The White Rabbit sighed, "And the King." He said dully.

"Oh goody!" The King of Hearts cheered, clapping his hands.

What a pair. Was Sora's sole thought.

"Hmm... what's this?" The Queen walked over to a rosebush... with both white and red roses. One of the roses was half red, half white. She ran a finger across the rose.

For a moment the silence was total. Then the Queen screamed, in a harsh and bitter voice.

"Who's been painting my roses red!?"

None of the cards said anything, so the Queen looked around. Her eyes settled on Goofy. "You!" She pointed to him, "Why are you covered in red paint!?"

"Erm..." Goofy paused, "It's the latest fashion?"

/"Liar!"/ The Queen of Hearts screamed, "You were painting my roses, weren't you!?"

"So what if he was?" Sora stepped in front of Goofy, "Didn't you want them red?"

"I don't remember wanting them red..." The Queen said.

"Well, what do you remember?" Donald snapped.

"..." The Queen closed her eyes, "N-nothing..." She opened them, "Ah hah! It makes sense now!" She pointed to Goofy, "You stole my memories so you could vandalize my roses without fear!"'

"That's mad!" Alice shouted, "How could someone steal your memories?"

"I imagine while she was asleep." The King said quietly.

"Oh yes."

"Sleeping's the prime time for memories thieves to strike."

"I remember when my memories were stolen!"

"Well..." The Queen of Hearts grinned, "I believe your evil plot has failed." She pointed to the four, "Cards! Capture them! Then..." She grinned broadly, /"Off with their heads!"/

Instantly the cards pulled out spears, pointing them at Sora and the others.

"H-hey!" Sora waved his hands around, "Can't we talk things through?"

"It's either you guys or us." The Ace of Spades said seriously. And with that, the assault began.