Kotsu's Rise - Chapter Three: Journey

Kotsu munched on a piece of buttered bread. He had now promised to keep an eye out for the ninety-nine puppies belonging to a set of Dalmatians on District 2 named Pongo and Perdita. The dogs had lost their pups somehow, and Kotsu knew the little spotted canines would be a hassle, but agreed to look out for them. He hated seeing the pair of dalmatians look so morose.
The boy gasped when he saw the Gummi ship. Kotsu had never seen one before, and the sight of it gave him a shock, but he was enthralled by the idea of handling a turret whilst Goku piloted the ship. Apparently Heartless had ships as well. Kotsu did not question how they were capable of piloting a ship, as he figured it wouldn't be worth the hassle of finding out.
Kotsu gasped with awe as they cruised by Heartless ships, hurtling gracefully through space. There were many ships, and he had a good first go at manning the turret, blasting the enemy ships with the craft of an experienced infantryman. He squinted upon seeing a mass in the distance, then grinned broadly when he realized it was their destination: Wonderland.
They disembarked, and immediately fell into a hole. Kotsu's heart leaped in his chest like a bounding jackrabbit as they fell, but the falling wasn't like the usual sort. They almost floated down gently, Kotsu was grinning gleefully at the prospect of adventure. Kotsu and Goten landed smoothly on their feet, whilst Goku landed on his back, causing the other boys to laugh merrily. A white rabbit ran by. He was clothed and holding a large pocket watch.
"Oh, my fur and whiskers! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" the rabbit cried. It panted before yelling some more.
"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I'm here, I should be there. I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! The queen, she'll have my head for sure!" the rabbit cried, dashing down a hallway. The boys looked at one another, perplexed.
Kotsu grinned at the other two.
"Let's go check it out!" he said, grinning. He didn't know where the rabbit had gone, exactly, but he was eager to find out.
"Strange..." Goten mumbled. "I guess we ought to have a look."
The boys trekked down the hallway, finding a door. The door opened, and several more opened behind it.
"Wow!' Goku cried. They headed in to a large room. There were chairs, a bookshelf, loads of other pieces of furniture...but the room itself seemed kind of small. The rabbit, now tiny, bounded through a tiny door. Kotsu approached the tiny door.
"How did he get so small?" Kotsu asked, examining the door, eyes wide. The doorknob had a sleeping face on it and it yawned, much to their shock. Kotsu recoiled, staring in awe.
"No, no, you're simply too big." the doorknob said. The boys recoiled even further backwards.
"It talks!" Goten cried, stunned.
"Must you be so loud? You woke me up." the doorknob said, irritated.
"Good morning." Goku said, smiling, looking the least fazed.
"Good night. I need more sleep." the doorknob said gruffly.
"Wait, how do we grow small?" Kotsu asked the doorknob.
"Try the bottle." the doorknob said, and it drifted off. A table had appeared behind them, and it carried two bottles on it.
"Which one?" Goku asked.
"Blue!" Kotsu cried.
"How do you know?" Goten asked.
"Well see, blue starts with a 'B'! And 'B' is for 'big', and we're big right now and we need to get small." Kotsu explained, grinning.
"Wouldn't 'B' also stand for 'bigger', Kotsu? Maybe blue will make us bigger." Goten said.
"Or maybe we need a white potion. 'W' for Wumbo!" Goku said, grinning.
"Nah. Watch." Kotsu said. Before they could stop him, he drank from the bottle and became a tiny Kotsu standing on the table. The others joined him in seconds, and they marveled at how huge everything was.
"Toldja." Kotsu said, grinning even more broadly. They leaped off the table and walked to the doorknob but found it fast asleep.
"Oh dammit." Kotsu growled.
"Look!" Goku cried. A bed blocked a hole big enough for them to travel through.
"All right! Lemme get big again! I'll take care of it!" Kotsu shouted, running back towards the table. He leaped up onto the table and drank, becoming normal sized once more. He lifted Goku and Goten up onto the table, and pushed the bed next. The bed sunk into the wall. He drank the blue potion again, and found himself tiny enough to pass through again.
They found themselves gazing into a magnificent hedge of a yard. Card soldiers lined up in the front of it as they peeked in. Kotsu gaped. A blond girl in a blue dress stood on a pedestal or podium of some kind before a large woman wearing a crown. The woman was in black and red. The rabbit they saw earlier ran up a platform with a trumpet in hand. Kotsu walked closer, followed by Goten and Goku. The rabbit caught its breath before playing a tune on the trumpet.
"Court is now in session!" the rabbit cried.
"I'm on trial? But why?" the girl asked.
"Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding!" the rabbit cried out.
"This girl is the culprit. There's no doubt about it." the large woman, the Queen of Hearts, cried angrily. "And the reason is...because I say so, that's why!"
"That is so unfair!" the girl cried.
"Well, have you anything to say in your defense?" the Queen of Hearts asked.
"Of course! I've done absolutely nothing wrong! You may be queen, but I'm afraid that doesn't give you the right to be so...so mean!" the girl cried.
"Silence!" the Queen of Hearts yelled. "You dare defy me?"
"Guys, we should help her." Kotsu whispers to Goten and Goku.
"We're outsiders." Goku said. "We can't muddle in their affairs."
"Meddle!" Goten chimed. "It's meddle!"
Goku shot Goten a look that clearly said "I really don't care."
"It's against the rules." Goten said, lowering his head.
"The court finds the defendant...guilty as charged!" the Queen of Hearts yelled. "For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart..."
Kotsu gaped and tensed his body.
"Off with her head!" the Queen of Hearts yelled.
"No, no! Oh please!" the blond girl cried.
"Hold it right there!" Kotsu yelled, running out in the thick of things. Goten and Goku followed him, too late to stop his interference. Both boys looked somewhat reluctant to be a part of the disturbance.
"Who are you? How dare you interfere with my court?" the Queen of Hearts yelled.
"We know who really did it!" Kotsu yelled, raising the Keyblade for added effect. The card soldiers seemed unsure of what to do.
"It's the Heartle-" Goku began. Goten covered Goku's mouth before he could finish.
"She's not the one you're looking for!" Kotsu cried.
"Nonsense! Have you any proof?" the Queen asked.
"Err..." Kotsu began, his argument suddenly shot.
"Bring me evidence of Alice's innocence." the Queen said.
After the court was put on halt, Kotsu went to the cage Alice was being held in. It looked like a large bird cage.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Kotsu." Kotsu replied, smiling. "And these are my friends Goku and Goten."
"No talking to the defendant!" a card snapped.
Kotsu found himself in a strange wood with Goku and Goten, searching for proof that may or may not exist. A strange cat had appeared before them, and provided no help other than informing them where the evidence might be (the general area, at least).
Goku had located footprints, which they had as their very first clue. Kotsu kept a keen eye on their surroundings. Goten had noted that the flowers often asked for items. When they gave one flower a Potion, it returned the favor with magic boosts and a Hi-Potion. 
In the Bizarre Room, Goten located Clue #2, which was the stench of the Heartless. There, they fought a new kind of Heartless, a small red creature wearing a hat of sorts, with thin and chickeny legs called a Red Nocturne. The small Heartless specialized in fire-based attacks. The third clue, an Antenna, was found soon after.
"What in the world was that?" the Queen cried after Kotsu selected his box of evidence, which provided a Heartless. 
"There's your evidence. Easy peasy lemon squeezy." Kotsu said to her, confident.
"Silence!" the Queen roared. "I'm the law here! Article 29 says anyone who defies the Queen is guilty!"
There was a row at once. Kotsu's trio preempted a shouting match, and the Queen and her cards shouted back quite rudely.
"That's crazy!" Goten yelled, outraged.
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Goku shouted back.
"That's monarchies for you." Kotsu sighed.
"Seize them at once." the Queen yelled. Kotsu raised his Keyblade.
"I don't think so!" Kotsu yelled, trying to do some fancy swordwork. He ended up dropping the Keyblade unceremoniously on the ground, and made a mental note to himself to practice this sort of thing before showing off.
The cards charged at the boys. Kotsu swung his Keyblade, bringing two cards down hard. Kotsu heard a cry, and saw that Goten had abandoned all notion of using careful and precise magic, and was beating one card over the head with his staff. Goku, meanwhile, dodged and weaved among the cards, tripping them and hitting them with his shield where necessary.
"Get the tower! I'll cover you!" Goten yelled. Goku nodded in agreement, so Kotsu swung at the tower, sending levers flying off. By the time he had broken the tower, seven guards lay defeated, and the cage slid down. He ran towards it but...no one was inside!
"Alice?" Kotsu asked, but she was gone.
"She must have been kidnapped while we were fighting!" Goten said, awed.
"You fools!" the Queen shouted. "Find out who's behind this! I don't care how!"
The boys trekked into Lotus Forest, searching for Alice. They found themselves in a strange garden, with a long table. The long table was lined with mismatched chairs, and they saw a picture of a man in a large hat with white hair and a rabbit. They both looked horrified.
"Wish we could help them." Goku said longingly. "They look so very upset."
"It's just a painting, Goku." Goten said, pointing at the frame. "See?"
"Look guys." Kotsu said, pointing towards a doorway. They followed him through it.
On the other side of the doorway, they ran into the Cheshire Cat, a strange pink and purple striped cat with vast knowledge, a bushy tail, and a broad grin.
"They're hiding somewhere. And the momeraths outgrabe." the Cheshire Cat said.
"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Goten asked.
"Want to find the shadows? Try turning on the light." the Cheshire Cat added. The cat then disappeared.
"Welp, let's give this a shot." Kotsu said.
"We're in an upside-down version of the room we first saw the talking doorknob in!" Goten cried. He pointed up, towards the floor.
"Wow!" Kotsu cried, beaming.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Goku groaned.
At that moment, several Shadows, Soldiers, and Red Nocturnes appeared, along with a Large Body. A large body was a huge rotund Heartless.
A fierce fight began, with Kotsu running around, swinging at all the Heartless he could reach with the Keyblade while Goten took down the Nocturnes and Goku handled the Large Body. It took several minutes and a lot of yelling, but they were soon alone.
Goku nodded to Kotsu and gave him a boost up a pedestal to the lights of the room. Kotsu instinctively reached out and touched the first light. A fire began burning in it, and the Cheshire Cat appeared.
"It's too dim. Make it brighter." the cat said.
"What?" Goten asked.
"One more lamp that you need to light." the Cat said. It disappeared. Kotsu leaped across a small gap to the second light and touched it also, creating more fire. The Cheshire Cat reappeared.
"All the lights are on. You'll see the shadows soon." the Cheshire Cat said. "They arise in this room, but somewhere else. The shadows might go after that doorknob, too."
The boys made their way back to the right-side up side of the room, where the Cheshire Cat now waited for them on the table with the potions.
"You'll have a better view from higher up." the cat said. The boys ran to the chair. Goku boosted Kotsu up onto the chair, and Kotsu pulled Goten up, boosting him onto the table from there before helping Goku up. In moments, the three boys stood on the table. They walked over to the cat. The Cheshire Cat stood up on its hind legs.
"The shadows should be here soon." the cat said, doing a little dance. "Are you prepared for the worst? If not, too bad!"
"Did that cat just try to do Gangnam Style?" Kotsu asked, awed.
"What do you mea-" Goten began, but the potions and Cheshire Cat disappeared and a tremendous Heartless appeared. It had a long cylindrical head with red and black faces stacked. It had long and nimble legs and strange arms. It fell from the roof, then leaped onto its feet. It began juggling things as well.
Kotsu leaped off the table, delivering a good many swings of the Keyblade in a jump attack. The Heartless crouched, allowing more swings in. Goten shot fire at the thing, wincing as he prepared to blast another at it, while Goku aided Kotsu in beating the thing down. A quick glancing blow knocked Goku and Kotsu into the air, Kotsu taking the chance to grasp the edge of the table and barely avoid a second attack as he pulled himself up onto the table. Kotsu blasted some fire of his own at the monster while Goten attacked with the staff, having spent his fire magic. Kotsu leaped off the table and made some more connecting blows.
"Up here, Kotsu!" Goku yelled. Kotsu quickly scrambled up onto the table. Goku grabbed Kotsu by the arm and swung him around and around in circles before releasing him towards the Heartless, Kotsu swinging as he ran into it. This did the trick, and defeated the Heartless. The Heartless crumpled before releasing a huge heart in an explosion of light.
"What a racket." the dooknob yawned. "How's a doorknob to get any sleep?" It yawned again, revealing a Keyhole. Kotsu gasped, the Keyblade forcibly raising his arm. It shot a beam at the Keyhole, which glowed before disappearing.
"What was that?" Goten asked.
"I...I dunno. Sounds like something closed." Kotsu said. Something dropped out of the doorknob.
"A rare gummi!" Goku cried, running forward to scoop it up gingerly in his hands.
"I'll hold onto it." Goten said. 
"Splendid," the Cheshire Cat said, appearing on the table behind them, "You're quite the hero."
"Huh?" Kotsu gasped.
"But there's something you're missing." the cat said.
"What's that?" Kotsu asked.
"I wont tell, but I'll give you something." the cat said. It granted them the abilities of ice.
"Wow!" Goten cried. He had already known ice, but it improved his ability to use the magic.
"If you're looking for Alice, she's not here." the Cheshire Cat said. "She's gone. Off with the shadows, into the darkness. With that boy."
"Boy?" Kotsu asked, but the cat disappeared. 
"Let's go back to the gummi ship. We might find her somewhere else." Goten explained.
"First I say we go restock items at Traverse Town." Goku said. This seemed to be the best choice, so they tiredly piled into the Gummi ship. As they hurtled through space, Kotsu gazed out the window.
"LT...Kami...I'll find you." he said.
Category:Fanfiction