Chapter XIIIVDarkness. That seemed to be the only thing Cheshire was aware of at the moment. Her mixed eyes were wide with fear as electric blue and inky black bangs fell in her face. She felt alone, fake, and worse of all, there was nothing she could do about it.
Wait…
No…
Someone is here.
Blinking, Cheshire glanced to her left and quickly remembered Bushroot, one of his vine arms wrapped around her now toon shoulders as they walked down the hall. His blue eyes made no contacts with hers or the heartless that blinked at them with glowing yellow eyes.
Hours, days, forever it seemed they walk. Forever, Cheshire stayed near Bushroot, their footsteps the only thing she could hear. The toon wished she could run away. Run away from this darkness.
Finally, there was light.
The large doors opened and both Cheshire and Bushroot blinked at the sudden light. Maleficent was there, a familiar frown on her face. She eyed Bushroot’s arm, causing the mutant to cough as he removed it.
“Lord Vladimir wishes for Cheshire to prove her abilities-“
“I already did that with his stupid pet!” hissed Cheshire.
Silence filled the air. Bushroot glanced between Cheshire and Maleficent, his eyes full of fear. Maleficent glared at Cheshire. Slowly, she blinked before saying in a dark voice, “I realize that…this test is more of “real life situation”.”
“What do you mean?” Cheshire blinked, straightening up.
“Simple: if you are somehow caught, no one will come after you. And I mean
no one.” Her gaze trailed over to Bushroot, causing him to gulp.
“Why is Reggie coming?” the new toon asked, her hands on her hips as the silver bells of her jester hat fell in her face, jingling.
“You cannot take down a whole Italian city by yourself…at least not in one hour.”
After she stopped talking, she raised her staff, mumbling a few unknown words before pointing it at Bushroot and Cheshire. Both Cheshire and Bushroot twitched as a green force jumped at them, knocking them to the ground.
Cheshire quickly opened her eyes, jumping up. She was ready to claw and destroy that gothic witch when she realized Maleficent was nowhere in sight. In fact, the castle was nowhere to be seen to be seen as well. Cheshire looked over at Bushroot, blinking as he stood up with a groan. His blue eyes glanced around before he said, “Alright…let’s get this over with.” Smiling, he looked at Cheshire, saying, “Ready to have some fun?”
Cheshire smiled. “I was born ready.”
How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb
Without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back home
Laughter filled the city known as Rome. A high pitched, insane laughter that made your skin crawl. Running on the close ranged rooftops was the one and only Cheshire, her smile clear on her face. Following close to her sides were two vines, never loosing speed. They seemed silver in the moonlight, but it was clear to see they were healthy and strong. Swiftly twisting into the air, the two vines seemed to be doing and exotic dance for snakes. Climbing on them with swift and quick moves, Cheshire found herself at the top before she kicked away with her legs, doing a quick back flip before she smirked and electrical sparks came to her arms. Soon, electricity hit the roof, blasting it into bits of small pieces, the two vines quickly getting out of the way.
Wake me up
(Wake me up inside)
I can't wake up
(Wake me up inside)
Save me
(Call my name and save me from the dark)
Cheshire landed on another roof, the bells of her hat jingling as she smirked. “Shelbi!?”
Wake me up
(Bid my blood to run)
I can't wake up
(Before I come undone)
Save me
(Save me from the nothing I've become)
The toon frowned, turning to see past the smoke at two beings. It was the girl and boy from when she first met Maleficent. “You again?!” she hissed, electricity covering her hands as they formed fists in her frustration. Her red eye twitched as she asked in a harsh voice, “What do you want?!”
Now that I know what I'm without
You can't just leave me
Breathe into me and make me real
Bring me to life
“I want Shelbi back!” the girl yelled, transforming into a black wolf. To Cheshire’s shock, the wolf jumped at her. Quickly thinking, she shocked the wolf. With a yelp it flew back, causing the human boy to scream, “Maria,” before transforming into a dingo, growling as he tried to attack Cheshire. Cheshire watched with happiness as a sudden vine shot out and punched him, causing him to hit the ground with a howl. Cheshire looked over and saw Bushroot not far away, his antennas in his face as he used a leafed hand to brush them away.
Wake me up
(Wake me up inside)
I can't wake up
(Wake me up inside)
Save me
(Call my name and save me from the dark)
“Reggie!” Cheshire yelled happily, electricity quickly jolting from her hands before disappearing. The mutant smiled at her before frowning. Glancing, Cheshire frowned as well when she noticed the two animal transforming humans were now up again, growling at Bushroot and Cheshire. Cheshire walked over to Bushroot, hissing at them. Both toons shared a smirk.
Wake me up
(Bid my blood to run)
I can't wake up
(Before I come undone)
Save me
(Save me from the nothing I've become)
Bushroot waved his arms, vines shooting out from the ground around him before they all striked at the two canines. Laughing, Cheshire shot some balls of electricity at them, watching as they tried to dodge. Pretty soon, the wolf transformed into the girl again, groaning with pain. Cheshire smirked as she did a front flip, quickly reaching the girl. But as the girl looked up, Cheshire froze.
I've been living a lie
There's nothing inside
Bring me to life
She realized this was the first time she actually saw the girls face. Brown eyes looked up at her, sadness and misery filling them as black bangs fell into her tan face. Glowing on the ground was a necklace. The electricity from her hands had faded away as her eyes continued to stare. She didn’t noticed Bushroot and the dingo had stopped fighting, staring at her and the girl. She didn’t notice the girl’s eyes now showed confusion.
Frozen inside without your touch
Without your love, darling
Only you are the life among the dead
Memories flashed before Cheshire’s eyes. A tan girl laughing, three hyenas blinking, a toon weasel crossing her arms, a gray tabby cat smiling, a robot beeping, and an alien smiling. All were so fast that Cheshire could only get a small glance at their face. As she blinked and looked at the girl, she realized that this girl was the girl from her memory…
All this time, I can't believe I couldn't see
Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me
I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems
Got to open my eyes to everything
This girl was Maria.
Without thought, without voice, without a soul
Don't let me die here
There must be something more
Bring me to life
“Ch-Cheshire…” she heard Bushroot murmur. “Shelbi!” Blinking, the toon looked up to see the alien staring at her, his wings flapping as a cat was in his hands.
Wake me up
(Wake me up inside)
I can't wake up
(Wake me up inside)
Save me
(Call my name and save me from the dark)
Martin and Tails.
Wake me up
(Bid my blood to run)
I can't wake up
(Before I come undone)
Save me
(Save me from the nothing I've become)
“Who’s Shelbi…” Cheshire muttered, her gaze not at Martin or Tails. As she looked down at Maria, she watched as the girl said, “You are.”
I've been living a lie
There's nothing inside
Bring me to life
Cheshire stared. Slowly, she moved back. She felt Bushroot’s hands on her, bringing her closer. Everything seemed to be a daze as she watched Bushroot’s vines quickly push all the others aside. Once they were far enough, he turned her so he could see her face. Mixed met blue as Cheshire blinked. She stared at Bushroot for a long time. After awhile of simply staring, Bushroot asked, “Are you okay?” the only thing Cheshire could say was, “I don’t know,” before she rested her head on his shoulders, not wanting to leave.
Well, after a long time, I finally got a chapter up. Oh and the song is "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence (I dont' know if I spelled that right...) I thougt it fit for that moment.