Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Kingdom Hearts Route B ❯ The Clock Tower ( Chapter 4 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, nor any of the Disney Characters in this story. The following is purely fan made. Please support the original work.

 

 

 

Chapter 4: The Clock Tower

 

 

 

The scent of rotten stew and some other things that Sora really didn't want to imagine mixed terribly with ocean breeze. The wharf felt like a moldy, moist laundry room with mildewed socks in every drier. Sora, Donald and Goofy walked beneath the pier behind Basil with their shirts pulled over their noses.

Tucked into the underbelly of the pier was a tiny door and to Basil's surprise, it was open.

"Curious," he said as he entered the room.

Sora had expected a room full of musty smoke, without an empty seat or table in the house. He had thought the room would have been full of tons of ruffians playing cards, throwing knives, and ordering "pints" from the bar. Instead, he saw an abandoned room with scratch marks all over the tables, floors, and overturned chairs.

Basil lit a lantern and surveyed the damage. Glass mugs and bottles had been thrown down and shattered, making the entire room sparkle under the light. Parts of the bar had been hacked off. The curtains on the stage ripped off and lying in heaps. A lone piano sat in the corner by the stage, and it had been squashed down the middle as though a giant had pounded it with his fist.

"Whoa," Donald clicked his beak, "what happened here?"

Basil rubbed some dust between his fingers. "Clearly this place has been attacked by the same fiends we are pursuing."

"I knew that! I meant why did they attack here?"

Basil walked deeper into the pub, searching for clues. "Indeed. I don't understand why these creatures are targeting London's mice. Where did the pub patrons go?"

"I can answer that question for you," someone said.

Sora, Donald and Goofy all summoned weapons, searching the corners of the room for the owner of that smooth voice.

There was a chuckle. "Hey, now calm down."

A rat appeared on the broken stage in the back of the pub. At first, Sora thought she were wearing the ripped curtains, but as she came closer, he realized that she wore a red coat with a large escutcheon over her chest and torso. He couldn't see her face, as it was covered by a red, winged hat.

"Halt," Basil commanded. "How is that you are the only one here when this place has been ransacked? Answer, rat!"

The rat stopped with her hands up. "I came for a drink. One moment this place is lively, the next, strange creatures are pouring out of the walls, gathering up every patron in sight. I tried to fight them off but one of the fiends caught me by surprise and knocked me out. I woke up to this mess."

"And why were you behind the curtain?"

"Same as you. I was looking for clues. Then you arrived."

Basil began pacing, muttering under his breath. As he went about his strange manner of investigation, the rat waved at Sora, Donald and Goofy.

"You three. You're not from around here, are you?"

"Uh," Goofy began.

"Well," Sora added.

"We're from out of town," Donald finished harshly, glaring at his two friends.

"I see."

With her finger, she lifted the brim of her hat, revealing her smile, green eyes and silver hair.

"Interesting weapon you have there."

She pointed to Sora's keyblade.

"Confound it!" Basil stomped around in a circle. "We're back to square one." He faced Sora, Donald and Goofy. "We're going back my lab, chaps. I've some deductions to do."

The rat woman got down on one knee. "If you're investigating those creatures, please let me come with you."

Basil stiffened. "Ah, that's quite all right, miss?"

"Freya. Freya Crescent."

"Ms. Crescent," Basil cleared his throat, "I assure you I have all the help I need to-"

"I'm sure my lance will be very helpful to you. There is strength in numbers after all, and I'm curious myself as to why these creatures are attacking mice."

Basil didn't look convinced.

"Come on," Sora said, "let her come."

Basil leaned in close to whisper in Sora's ear. "Don't be daft. Do you not see that she's a rat."

"What's wrong with that?" Sora whispered back.

"I have very fine hearing you know," Freya said. "And you shouldn't lump all rats together."

For the first time since meeting him, Sora saw a look of complete embarrassment cover Basil's cheeks. Before he could blink, Freya was walking out of the pub and into the wharf, and that's how Basil found himself back at his home with a new ally.

Freya and Olivia sat by the fire and the little girl delighted in wearing Freya's hat and trying to lift her heavy lance. Basil and Dr. Dawson worked on figuring out new clues. They're work went on until the sun set for the day, until Dawson fell asleep on the couch out of sheer exhaustion. Donald and Goofy curled up on the rug by the fireplace and were knocked out around midnight. Olivia fell asleep on the divan.

Only Sora and Freya remained awake, watching Basil obsess over the next course of action. Unable to stand the boredom, Sora asked Freya why she was so interested in the heartless.

She shrugged. "A good test of my fighting skills, I'd say. Curiosity mostly, something to do other then the usual."

Sora peeked at her. She was standing against the wall with her arms crossed, watching Basil with mild interest.

"What do you usually do?"

Freya leaned forward, her hat completely hiding her face. "I spent years looking for someone really important to me."

"Did you find him?"

"He found me, but he wasn't the same anymore."

Sora thought of Riku, and how they had reunited back at Traverse Town. He had been so relieved to finally find him after searching for him for so long. If only he had known what would have happened next, if only he had known about Riku's decent into darkness. He wouldn't have been so carefree back then.

He thought about the realm of darkness and hoped that Riku and King Mickey were all right in there. He thought about Kairi back on the islands. He remembered Mama Odie's strange warning, he thought about the one hundred Dalmatian back puppies in Traverse Town, and on and on, until his eyes couldn't stay open anymore.

Sora was only pulled out of his dreams when Basil exclaimed.

"DRAT!"

Donald, Goofy, Dawson and Olivia snapped awake. Freya, who had been silently keeping vigil all night, leaned away from the wall and neared Basil.

"Having some problems?"

"Yes. Without a single clue to go on, I have no way of narrowing down where those heartless will show up next in the city. We'd have better luck searching for them from the top of Big Ben at this point."

Surprise shot through Sora. He recognized that name. The image of flying around the night sky with Peter Pan and the giant clock face with the keyhole hidden inside, flashed through his mind. He looked to Donald and Goofy, and saw that they had recognized it too.

"Big Ben is in this city? How is that possible?"

Basil gave them a smirk. "One of London's greatest landmarks. You're in for a treat."

Olivia ran to the door. "We're going to go there? Let's go!"

Dawson, still groggy, tried to chase after her. "Now wait just a moment!"

But Olivia was already out the door. Seconds later, the sound of her scream shook everyone in the room.

Freya and Sora ran out and found Olivia kneeling down in the clearing. In front of her was a small shadow heartless, staring at Olivia with wide, yellow eyes. Freya was quick, reaching Olivia and pulling her away within seconds, leaving Sora with an opening to rush forward, raise his keyblade and-

"No!" Olivia screamed and kicked in Freya's arms. "Don't hurt it!"

The heartless looked at Olivia, tilting its head.

"What's gotten into you?" Sora said. "They're dangerous!"

"But it didn't hurt me. He gave me these!"

It was just then that Sora realized that she was holding a pair of spectacles in her hands. He looked at the heartless. It hasn't moved, hadn't tried to defend itself, it's only action had been when it had tilted its head and looked at Olivia with curiosity.

"These are my Daddy's glasses," Olivia said. "Can you please put me down?"

Carefully, Freya put Olivia back on her feet. Basil and the others came out of the house and their first instinct was to aim their weapons at the heartless.

"Stop! It's nice. Don't hurt it!" Olivia jumped in front of the heartless, stomped her foot, and gave each of them a commanding glare.

Sora walked around the heartless. "It's not attacking? This is weird. What's it doing here?"

"How fortuitous!" Basil reached into his coat, produced a pair of handcuffs and snapped them around the heartless' claws. He dragged the heartless inside, ignoring Sora, Donald, Goofy and Olivia's cries.

Inside the house, he walked around the heartless with a magnifying glass, poking its antennae, checking for a heartbeat with a stethoscope, measuring its height with tape and placing it on a scale to find out its weight. Olivia came inside and pushed Basil away. She knelt down in front of the heartless.

"Where's my Daddy? Did you take him?"

The heartless didn't answer, but it didn't look away from Olivia's face either, only tilting its head again.

At the door, Donald and Goofy gave Sora confused looks.

"Gosh, do ya think this heartless is like the ones at Halloween town? They were tame for a little while."

Sora remembered how Jack Skellington had tried to get the heartless to dance with him for his Halloween celebration back at Halloween town. It had been the first time on their journey where they had run into heartless that hadn't attacked them on sight.

"But those heartless started attacking after a while," Donald reminded them. "We'd better be careful."

Sora watched the docile heartless. Basil had turned it upside down and was inspecting the soles of its feet. Even then, the heartless still hadn't fought back. How was this possible? He had never seen a heartless that tame. Sora shook his head. That was lie. He did know of a heartless that didn't fight back after it was poked and prodded.

"Maybe this heartless is new."

"What do ya mean?"

"When I turned into a heartless, I started forgetting things. Maybe it takes a little while for their more dangerous instincts to kick in. I didn't attack you guys when I was a heartless did I?"

Donald shook his head.

"I have an idea. Maybe if we let this heartless go, it can lead us to all the lost mice."

Donald gave him a dubious roll of the eyes. "Come on, Sora. We don't know if that will work."

"Do you have another plan? Besides, if we can get it away from Basil, then he can't experiment on it."

"He's right, Donald."

"Okay." Donald crossed his arms. "Just be careful."

Basil wasn't too keen on letting his specimen go but was easily appeased when Sora mentioned that it could perhaps give them another lead.

"The heartless can help us. If we don't find anything we can always come back here."

Basil gave him a shrewd stare, one that he held for so long that Sora couldn't help but fidget. Finally, he said, "Very well."

He removed the handcuffs from the heartless. Then he bent down, and with his hand, moved the heartless head so that it stared at him in the eye.

"Lead us to the other mice."

The heartless turned its head back to stare at Olivia.

Basil scoffed and tried again. The results were the same.

"Oh please, Mr. Heartless," Olivia said, "can you take us to the other mice?"

To everyone's surprise the heartless began walking toward the door. Olivia chased after it, but Dawson grabbed her hand.

"It's too dangerous."

"Worry not," said Freya, picking Olivia up, "I'll protect her."

"Quickly friends! It's getting away!"

They ran out into the sunny day, chasing the heartless as it crossed the street, went through an alley, and into a long pipe that led into the sewers. Eventually they came out of a drainage pipe in the middle of a park. The heartless ran through the grass, ignoring the crowd of people that had come to picnic during the morning hours.

Basil and the others hesitated, but the heartlesss was getting away, easily evading the people's feet by flattening itself like a shadow on the ground. Carefully, they weaved through the giant shoes and were almost out of the crowd when suddenly someone's shriek burned into their ears. A woman reeled back, pointing.

"AH! MICE!"

The entire crowd panicked and soon they were dodging stomping shoes, umbrellas and rocks as the people attacked. Donald dodged one foot, only to be kicked by the next. He collapsed onto the ground and Goofy had to turn around to pick him up. Sora noticed his friends weren't on his heels and ran back after them, losing sight of Basil and the others. He was lost in a forest of legs and screams, and he didn't notice a giant boot coming down on him until the shadow of it blocked out the sun overhead.

Sora summoned his keyblade, but even he knew that it wouldn't be enough to block a giant shoe! Donald and Goofy's cries from behind him were suddenly muffled. Sora turned around, but couldn't spot his friends. Then the shoe stomped down on him.

Sora felt a sweeping sensation, and then everything was black. He was warm and nauseous, swaying from side to side. He wondered for a moment if he had fallen into the realm of darkness. Then, the black space surrounding him opened up and the light came into his eyes so quickly that he fell back on his tail, his eyes feeling as though they were ready to pop out of their sockets.

"My goodness, that was close."

Sora felt a jolt go down his spine. He knew that voice. It was loud, but very clear. With his eyes finally adjusting to the light, he looked down. He was sitting on a giant hand.

The other hand came to rest next to his, and Donald and Goofy were on it. Donald held onto Goofy, his eyes squeezed shut. Goofy patted him on the shoulder and Donald, realizing that they were no longer in danger, let go of Goofy quickly and began to pat down his clothes in a-little-too-late attempt at regaining some dignity.

Sora turned around, and saw the owner of the hands. A young, human girl smiled down at them, her blue eyes dancing with excitement.

"Sora, is that you? How curious! You've become a mouse! Is this Wonderland's magic?"

Donald pointed. "Wah? Alice? What are you doing here?"

"This is my home."

Goofy grinned. "So you picked us up from the crowd. Ah-yuck! Thanks for savin' us."

Sora looked back at the crowd of people. They were still searching the ground for mice.

"How did you know it was us?"

Alice carefully put them down on the grass at the base of tree. The overgrown roots blocked Sora, Donald and Goofy from sight.

"I felt a familiar light, so I grabbed you. And it seems as though I was just in time. It would have been dreadful if you had been squashed flat. What are you doing here? I thought the worlds were at peace."

There wasn't much time to explain, as Sora was anxious to reunite with Basil and the others, but seeing as Alice was a Princess of Light, one the seven maidens of the purest heart, and since she had saved them, he felt the need to give her an explanation.

"I've never heard of such a castle," Alice said when Sora had finished with his story. "Perhaps this door you speak of is a gateway that randomly throws you out into whichever world it chooses. Perhaps, by sheer luck, the door may open up into the realm of darkness. That must be what what hooded man meant when he said that, 'there is a doorway between light and dark.'"

"Then we're just going to have to keep trying the door until it takes us to the world we need."

"Do you think that's wise, Sora? Maybe you should think twice about going into the realm of darkness."

"Why?"

"Because the last man to open the door to darkness ended up destroying many worlds."

"But we need the king," Donald said. "And we still have to find a way to get rid of the heartless for good."

"We promise to be really careful, Alice," Goofy added.

"Oh, I hope you don't make any rash decisions. Nonsense invites the darkness, you know."

"But what do we do now?" Donald said. "We lost track of Basil and the others."

Alice lay her hands down on the grass, motioning for Sora and his friends to stand in them.

"Hmm, well, I don't know if it will help, but I do sense a faint darkness nearby. Perhaps your friends went there. Do you want me to take you?"

Sora, Donald and Goofy nodded. Alice tucked them into the pocket of her apron. Several minutes later, the booming chimes of a bell resonated in the air. Sora peeked out of Alice's pocket. Big Ben loomed high over London, looking much bigger from below then it did back when they were flying around it in the air with Peter Pan.

"Here you are," Alice said, "I sense a darkness coming from inside Big Ben."

Donald huffed. "So it was here after all."

Alice gently put the three friends back down on the ground. They thanked her before zipping across the street. They neared the building and slipped through the metal fence. At the base of the clock tower, there as a tiny hole in the dirt that the three of them were able to squeeze through.

They climbed up the brick and mortar innards of the tower, higher and higher until they were breathless. Just a few more platforms upward, Sora spotted a familiar, very round silhouette. It was Dr. Dawson.

They persevered through one more climb and collapsed at Dawson's feet.

"Good heavens! Are you all right?"

Finally catching his breathe, Sora said, "Where are Basil and the others?"

Dawson pointed to a rope that lead higher up the clock tower. "I was to wait for you three to arrive. I'm glad that you found your way here."

Standing, Sora, Donald and Goofy neared the rope. It was tied around a matchbox that rested between a pair of beams. The rope disappeared into the dark ceiling up above. Dawson herded Sora, Donald and Goofy into the matchbox. The cardboard bulged as the four of them were packed like sardines. Dawson pulled on the rope outside, before sliding the matchbox closed.

"All right then. Are you ready?"

"Ready for wha-aaaaaaah!"

The matchbox zoomed upward through the air. Donald gripped the walls with his teeth clenched. Goofy hollered.

"Ah ho ho ho hoy!"

Sora's toes curled in his shoes. He felt the matchbox swaying side to side as it shot through the air and had to cover his mouth in the hopes that he wouldn't puke. Just as he thought the ride would last forever, they jerked to a stop and tumbled out of the matchbox onto yet another beam.

"Ah, there you are," said Basil.

When his head no longer felt as though it were rolling like a bowling ball, Sora saw that the rope around the matchbox was connected to some strange wheeled contraption that was bolted to the wall. Olivia and Freya had been operating it by turning a handle.

Olivia waved a hand in front of Goofy's rolling eyes. "Are you okay?"

Goofy mumbled something silly, as though he were caught up in a lovely daydream.

"Come now. Up you get," Basil snapped. "It is not much farther. The heartless vanished through there."

He pointed upward. On the wall there was a crack that fanned out into a jagged hole. As the party climbed up and through the hole, they came out into a secret room on the other side. The walls looked as though they had been chewed inward. Cages decorated the room. They were full to bursting with mice. Young, old, male, female, crook or ordinary citizen, they were all lumped tight between chain linked metal.

Upon seeing Basil and the others, the mice, all cried out in one big, jumbled voice.

"Get us out of here!"

"Help!"

"Quickly, run before it comes back!"

"I don't want to be turned into a monster!"

Basil reached into his pocket and neared one of the caves. There was a lock placed on the metal door of the cage. He pulled out a long hair clip and busied himself with popping the lock open.

Sora went to the next cage, and with his keyblade, unlocked it. The mice poured out. Olivia ran forward, shouting for her father, but none of the mice reacted to her. They all ran toward the opening in the wall, but they never reached it.

Darkness oozed out of the walls, covering the exit. The mice screamed as the darkness amalgamated into a shape. Sora threw his key blade at the amorphous shadow, and it split down the middle, just enough for a few mice to get through.

"Quickly Dawson! Lead the civilians out!"

Dr. Dawson whistled, getting the attention of the mice. One by one, he pushed them through the doorway.

Sora shouted at his friends. "Donald, Goofy, keep it busy."

He heard the unmistakable clap of Goofy's shield striking something and felt the coldness of Donald's ice spells freezing the monster behind him, but he ignored it as he went to the next cage and unlocked it.

More mice poured out. Freya joined Donald and Goofy in engaging the giant blob of darkness, pushing it back just enough for Dawson to lead the kidnapped mice outside. Olivia chased after the crowd, calling for her father, but just then the dark shadow swelled to the ceiling. It sailed over the crowd of panicking mice below, and sharpened to a spear that was pointed straight at Olivia.

Basil and Sora rushed forward, but they weren't fast enough. The dark spear soared through the air. Basil shot at the darkness with his pistol but it did nothing to slow it down. and the spear pierced straight through Sora's ice spell.

Olivia threw her hands over her face. Then the docile heartless that had led them there jumped in front of her, taking the blow from the giant, shadowy mass and falling to the side of the room. It lay there pathetically, the only sign that it was still alive was the trembling of its limbs as it tried to stand.

Sora reached Olivia, and was able to deflect the giant shadow upward toward the ceiling. It crashed through the bricks overhead, disappearing into a cavernous room with massive gears just above them. The area shook, dust and rubble falling from the broken ceiling.

"Ms. Freya," Basil shouted, "get Ms. Flaversham out of here!"

With a nod, Freya tucked Olivia under her arm and dashed out of the room with Dawson and the rest of the mice. Donald and Goofy looked up into the hole in the ceiling.

Donald pulled his arm back and bellowed. "Blizzaga!"

A staircase of ice erupted out of his staff, leading up into the room above.

"Sora, we're going after the darkness!"

Basil ran to the bottom of the stairs. "Not without me you're not."

The four of them raced into the room, weapons up, looking between the gaps in the giant gears of Big Ben as they ground and ticked. One of the gears up near the orange, glass clock-face was pitch black. Slowly, the black color faded from the gear like paint being pulled out of a picture. The black color molded itself, taking on a shape much like the rat heartless Sora and his friends had fought when they had first met Basil. Except this time, the shape stood on two legs. A long flowing cape blew behind the creature's back, even though there was no wind. It stood taller, with a long, whip-like rat tail, and a muscular upper half.

Basil gasped. "It can't be."

Eyes appeared out the creature's head and it leered down at them, its claws digging into the gear. Invisible lips peeled back and its mouth opened, showing a row of yellow, pointed teeth. It fell toward them. Donald, Sora, Goofy and Basil all jumped away from the fiend.

Basil shot at it with his pistol, Goofy threw his shield and Donald sizzled it with a thunder spell. The creature withstood the attack, and then it reared back and roared.

The air thickened with the feeling of hatred and despair as more rat heartless appeared. As Donald and Goofy fought back the lesser enemies, the leader rat turned its eyes on Basil. It flashed toward him, pinning him against the floor, its jaws opening wide. Basil aimed his pistol into its mouth but missed, grazing the creature's cheek instead. The creature clamped its teeth together, its eyes wide.

It pulled back, only to raise its clawed hand and slice into Basil's shoulder.

Sora jumped onto its back and whacked it on top of the head with his keyblade, and the creature reached up, sunk its claws into Sora's leg and threw him across the room. Sora fell and didn't have enough time to shield himself from the smaller rat heartless as they converged on him. With all four of his friends busy, and his shooting arm trapped under the rat's heavy paw, Basil had no way to protect himself as the rat's teeth opened up in front of his eyes.

Something silver flew through the air, piercing the rat on the side of its head, knocking him off Basil. Now free, Basil rolled back onto his feet, grabbing his pistol off the floor. The room spun and his shoulder burned from the nasty scratch. Someone caught him by the arm and kept him from falling.

Basil turned and saw Freya at his side.

"This is no place to rest, Detective. We have enemies to dispatch!" She let him go and charged toward the giant rat, pulling her spear out of its temple. It was like ripping a splinter out of a finger. The rat wasn't affected, easily fighting back against Freya. She ducked and weaved out of reach from the rat's claws, nimble as an acrobat.

With the leader rat distracted, Basil turned his attention toward Sora. He was outnumbered five to one, and barely had time to defend himself let alone attack. Basil focused, breathing out, watching the heartless' movements. Then he fired four shots.

Bullseye.

Each heartless exploded, leaving the remaining one to be sliced through by Sora's keyblade. Donald and Goofy defeated the remaining heartless and then joined up with Sora and Freya. They converged onto the leader. They hit with spells, bashed it with a keyblade and shield, stabbed it with a spear, and riddled it with bullets, but each time, the giant rat treated the attack as mere annoyances.

Meanwhile the party's attacks were getting sloppier, their movements dulled by exhaustion. Sora couldn't duck fast enough, and got whipped by the rat's tail. His temple throbbed and he only had a second to jump back and keep the shadow rat's tail from slashing into his stomach.

"We're not doing any damage," Freya grunted, summersaulting out of the way of another attack. She didn't land as gracefully as she had before, stumbling to keep her balance.

Sora threw a thunder spell at the rat, and then had to lean forward to catch his breathe.

"What do we do?"

Donald, his magic almost spent, staggered where he stood. Sensing weakness, the rat lunged at him, but its claws were stopped by Goofy's shield.

Basil watched as Freya and Sora kept the heartless busy while Goofy tended to his friend. As Sora got close to the creature's teeth, rather then open its mouth and bite, the creature shut its jaws tight. Freya stabbed it in the chest with her spear, but the creature swiped her with its massive arm, throwing her off to the side and pulling out the spear as though it were nothing.

Basil's mind reeled. His eyes darted about the room. He had to do this quickly.

"Sora! Freya! At exactly the moment I tell you, run toward me and do exactly as I say."

Basil took in a deep breathe and then shouted.

"Hey you vile sewer rat!"

The creature turned its attention away from Freya and Sora, its wide eyes staring unblinkingly at Basil.

"You heard me, you common filth! Couldn't beat me then and now you're back for revenge eh? Well," Basil spread his arms wide, "now's you chance!"

The rat stalked toward Basil, ignoring Sora and Freya as they walked carefully behind it.

"Yes, that's right. It's you, isn't it, Professor Ratigan. What foul depths did you crawl out from?"

The rat had reached Basil and it lifted its claws but held them in the air, not breaking eye contact from the smug mouse below it, as though waiting, daring Basil to give him a reason to strike him down.

"But we know the truth, don't we? Eh? 'Professor?'"

The rat snarled.

"You're nothing more then a common-"

The rat opened it's mouth. Basil pointed at Freya and then pointed to the Rat's feet.

"Filthy-"

He gestured at Sora, pointing up above the rat's head.

"Sewer Rat! NOW!"

Freya swept her spear low, banging it against the rat's shins. It fell forward, just as Sora stomped down on its back, the surprise making it open its jaws wide, just in time for Basil to shove his pistol between its teeth.

He fired.

The rat swelled, getting bigger and bigger until it popped, releasing a blast of wind that threw everyone off their feet, but when the moment passed, the rat was gone.

Sora, Donald and Goofy whooped. Freya, chuckling, clapped her hands. Basil threw his fist into the air.

"How about that? Defeating my arch foe not once but twice. Marvelous!" Basil turned to face his comrades. "You three! Fantastic work!" The he cleared his throat and walked toward Freya.

"Ms. Crescent. I believe I owe you an apology. You are every bit the knight you say you are. I'm ever so sorry for doubting you."

He extended his hand, and Freya took it.

"Perhaps now, you know that not all rats are nefarious evildoers."

Basil laughed. "Well, now I certainly know to call you if I ever need a knight."

Their celebrating was interrupted by the sound of Olivia's cries. She was still calling for her Daddy down in the room below. Jumping back down, Basil looked around the room. All the captured mice had escaped. Olivia was overturning rubble, her eyes glimmering with tears.

"H-h-he's not here."

She sat down on the ground and blew her nose into her scarf, wailing.

Dr. Dawson came behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. Olivia pulled out her father's glasses from inside her coat. Her tears fell on the lenses. Just then the docile shadow heartless moved from across the room. It came to sit next to Olivia and put its claws on the spectacles in her hands.

Before anyone could say anything, Olivia reached forward and patted the heartless on the head.

"D-Daddy? Is that you?"

"Oh no," Goofy whispered.

"I get it now," Sora said sadly. "It's just like me. I was chasing after you guys and Kairi, people I knew. That's why it's not hurting her."

"You mean to say," Basil began, "that creature is Ms. Flaversham's father?"

"Makes sense," Donald said. "That's why it only listened to her."

"So, he can't change back?" Freya asked.

"I don't know," Sora admitted. "When I turned into a heartless, it was Kairi who-wait! Maybe we can change him back."

Goofy and Donald exchanged a look. "What'ya mean," they said.

"Alice. She's a princess of light. We have to find her."

 

 

 

Sora, Donald and Goofy left Basil, Dawson and Freya behind, believing they could move faster with only Olivia and the heartless. They raced back to the park where they had first found Alice. Luckily, she was having tea under one of the gazebos, next to an older woman. When they neared, Alice stopped mid sip of her drink and excused herself.

She went to sit in some flowers nearby, which gave Sora and the others the perfect cover to approach without being seen. When she spotted the heartless, she drew back a bit, but she did not flee, or speak, until Sora, Donald and Goofy were finished explaining.

"This is curious," Alice said, picking up Olivia and the heartless. "I believe your father's love for you is what is keeping his heartless so calm, but I don't think it will last long. I can feel the darkness getting stronger and if it completely takes over, your father will forget who he was, lose all his emotions, and become like the others."

"There has to be a way to change him back," Sora said. "Kairi was able to do it! Maybe her power as a princess of heart pushed the darkness away."

Alice shook her head. "I can try, Sora, but I don't think my power will be enough. I will need Olivia's help."

Donald and Goofy hung their heads, moaning sadly.

"Olivia," Alice continued, "remember your father. Share your light with him."

"O-okay."

Carefully, Olivia wrapped her arms around the heartless. "Please come back, Daddy. I miss you, I love you."

Alice's eyes drifted shut, her hands closing around Olivia and the heartless. She breathed in deep. Sora, Donald and Goofy held their breaths. There was a flash of light between Alice's fingers, and when she opened her hands again, Olivia's father was holding his daughter tight in his arms.

 

 

 

Sora, Donald and Goofy said goodbye to Olivia and Mr. Flaversham. They promised to tell Basil, Dawson and Freya the good news. By the time they reached Baker's street, it was already evening. Dr. Dawson had tea ready for them and while Donald, Goofy, and Freya exchanged stories over their warm brew, Sora and Basil theorized.

Basil, now wearing his evening robe and leisurely blowing smoke out of his pipe, leaned back in his big chair. "Darkness is a peculiar thing, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" asked Sora.

"Something so small as love for a daughter can keep it at bay it seems and something so vile as hatred can bring a defeated foe back to haunt us."

"You mean, Professor Ratigan?"

"Indeed. I believe Ratigan's lingering feelings of rage and resentment lured in the darkness, turning him into a heartless even after he was defeated. Kidnapping Olivia's father, turning him into a heartless, kidnapping all of London's mice as a conspiracy for me to investigate, all things that Ratigan would do."

"If darkness can make someone become a heartless even after they've already been defeated, would that mean that becoming a heartless is inevitable? Alice said that if Olivia's father had forgotten who he was, then he could never be changed back. Does that mean, I have no way of helping the heartless other then putting them out of their misery?"

"I'd say keep investigating."

"Huh?"

Basil poked Sora in the forehead with his pipe. "Young man, the more details you gather, the closer you will be to the truth. Go. Learn. And remember, if you're ever in need of a talented detective, make sure to find me on Baker's street."

Sora rubbed his forehead, but he was smiling from ear to ear. "Thanks."

 

 

 

Jiminy's Journal

Freya Crescent (First Appeared in Final Fantasy IX, 2000): A humble knight hailing from an unknown kingdom. Her skills with a spear are as sharp as her mind. Freya is honorable and kind, but seems as though she has experienced much hardship in her life. She is always willing to lend her spear to those in need.

Alice (First Appeared in Alice in Wonderland, 1951): One of the seven maidens with the purest of hearts. Alice is curious and logical at the same time. She helped Sora on his last journey to close the door to darkness, and warned Sora against being too reckless in his journey.

Professor Ratigan (First appeared in the Great Mouse Detective, 1986): Basil's arch enemy. He was a devious schemer that tried to take over all mousedom but was foiled by Basil and Dr. Dawson. His lingering hatred lured in the darkness, turning him into a heartless that wanted nothing but revenge.