CHAPTER 4

MONSTRO

WHEN THEY CAME THROUGH THE DOOR, IT WAS INTO another marble hall. Sora paused, standing still.

Goofy heard his footsteps stop and looked back at him. “Is somethin’ wrong?”

“I remember!” Sora blurted.

Donald turned, too. “Remember what?”

“There was another girl!”

“What? A girl? Where?” Goofy looked around for her.

“No, no, I mean on the islands, where I used to live.”

“Oh, you mean, uh… Des… Dusty…” Goofy cocked his head. “What was it again?”

“Destiny Islands!” Sora closed his eyes for a moment after he said it. The sea, the blue sky, the white sand.

It’s all there—I remember it just fine. I could never forget my islands.

And then…there was another thing he remembered. “Besides Kairi and Riku, there was one other girl I was friends with. The four of us played together all the time.”

The other girl back on the islands. It was that girl, I just know it. The girl I saw on the last floor here.

Jiminy Cricket hopped out from Sora’s pocket. “Another friend…? Seems to me that’s the first time you’ve mentioned her.”

“Yeah…I guess I forgot all about her.”

But why did I forget until now? Sora wondered. There was another girl we played with, I know there was.

“I think…she just suddenly went away when I was still little,” he remembered aloud.

Right. She left, and then I forgot.

I forgot about my friend just because she went away…?

“That’s funny,” said Donald, puzzled. “What do you think made you remember now?”

“I’m not sure. But it’s been coming back in pieces as we go through the castle.”

What he was sure of was that she really had been on the islands with them.

“Gawrsh, do ya remember her name?” Goofy asked.

Sora looked down. “…No, I can’t. I feel pretty dumb. We said we wouldn’t forget our friends, and now…I can’t even remember her name.”

He could remember what she looked like, but not her name. What could it have been…?

“Is there anything else ya remember about her?” said Goofy.

Anything else…

“Try telling us more!” Donald added.

“Talking about her might help you remember her name,” said Jiminy.

“Well, uhh… She was quiet, and she was always drawing.”

She was always sitting on the sandy beach, drawing in a sketchbook with crayons.

Riku and I were playing with wooden swords. One day we ran over to her. It was the beach on Destiny Island.

“……, you can play with us, too!”

“No. I’m drawing.” She shook her head, but then she looked at Riku. “I know! I’ll draw you two.”

“Draw us?!” Riku and I both said at once.

“Okay! Draw me!”

“No way! Draw me first!”

We were practically butting heads in front of her, we both wanted her to draw us so badly.

“No, I’m first!”

“No, me!”

She laughed at us a little.

“Then, let’s fight for it!” Riku held up his wooden sword.

“Yeah, well, I’m gonna win!”

So we had a sword fight on the beach. Clack, clack, clack! The sound of the wooden swords echoed down the beach.

And then, by the time somebody won, what she’d drawn in her sketchbook was a picture of the two of us laughing.

But…

“But one day, she was gone, just like that.”

She left the islands so suddenly.

“How come?” asked Goofy.

Sora’s fingers tightened on the Keyblade. “I don’t know. I think the grown-ups knew the reason. They might have even tried to explain some of it to me. But I was little. I probably didn’t understand.”

Why did she leave…?

“I remember crying after she was gone. But…that’s all. I still can’t remember her name.”

I used to cry at anything… But maybe Riku cried, too, when he was by himself. And after she was gone, we didn’t talk about her anymore. I guess we didn’t want to because it would make us sad.

“But, y’know, you just remembered a lot, and you forgot that until a little while ago,” said Goofy.

“I bet you’ll remember her name in no time, too!” Donald chimed in.

Sora nodded and smiled at them. “Yeah.”

“Hmm…” Jiminy frowned. “But I must say, it’s very odd.”

“What is?” said Goofy.

“We all thought that going farther into the castle would just make us lose our memories… But maybe forgetting things is the only way to reach the memories buried deeper down inside each of us.”

Goofy folded his arms. “So we should forget in order to remember?”

“It’s like those guys were saying… ‘Our most precious memories lie so deep in our hearts that they’re out of reach,’” said Sora. “All that stuff about finding being losing and losing being finding… I didn’t get it at first, but maybe this is what they meant.”

Like finding the entrance to a cave hidden in the bushes… Memories hidden beneath memories were coming back to him.

“Gee, Sora, I’m getting kinda jealous!” Donald said with a jump.

“How come? Is there stuff you wanna forget?” asked Goofy.

Donald stamped his foot. “No! I wanna remember important stuff that I forgot!”

“Gawrsh, I wonder if we have any memories like that…”

As Goofy stood there thinking, Donald ran ahead. “C’mon, Goofy! Let’s get going. We’ve got to forget things faster!”

“Wait up, Donald!” Goofy hurried after him.

Sora and Jiminy looked at each other and shared a tiny smile, then went after the other two.

And meanwhile, elsewhere in the castle…

Axel and Larxene peered into the great crystal ball.

“It looks like Sora’s memories have begun to awaken… Just as we intended.” With a sly laugh, Larxene turned to him.

“We’ll continue with our plan. Let’s see how far they’ll go.” Axel looked up at her and a faint smile came to his lips. “About time for the next step, wouldn’t you say?”

He walked away from the crystal ball, about to leave.

“Wait,” said Larxene with her arms folded. “You had your fun on the first floor. This time, it’s my turn.”

When he looked back, she was grinning. Axel gave in with a shrug.

“…Don’t break him,” he said in a low growl.

“Ohh, do I detect a soft spot?” Larxene teased.

“Sora is half one of us. He’s on our side.”

“You don’t trust me?” she said as she passed. “I know when to let up. I’m not stupid enough to break my toys.”

“Don’t forget. He’s the key. We need him if we’re going to take over the organization.”

At that, Larxene looked back, smiling so sweetly it was unsettling. “I know you’re in on it, too… But keep it under your hood, at least until the time is right, hmm?”

Then she vanished.

After she was gone, Axel smiled, his eyebrows lifting slightly. “You would have been wise to do the same, Larxene,” he murmured in the silence.

Running over the marble floor, Sora finally caught up to Donald. “Hey, c’mon! Slow down!”

“We’ve gotta get to the next world!” Donald hopped up and down in front of the door.

“Yeah, I know…”

I want to remember more about that girl…, Sora thought as he looked in his pocket for the card.

But then…

“Hello, Sora.”

Another someone in a black cloak was grinning at them—a woman with bright blond hair.

“I bet you work with Axel!” shouted Donald, dashing to Sora’s side.

“Aren’t you clever. The name’s Larxene.” She walked closer to them, unhurried. “Well? Are you enjoying your stay at the castle? I bet it’s nice to peel away all the worthless memories and awaken the true memories that lie deep in your heart.”

True memories… Did she mean his memories of that girl?

“But it seems that you’re still forgetting the most important thing here. When that poor girl hears that you’ve forgotten her name, why…it’ll just break her heart!” Larxene cried, her voice breaking for dramatic effect.

“Poor girl?” said Sora. “Do you know her?!”

Larxene shrugged and giggled.

“Is she…here?!”

Could she really be in the castle? Sora wondered. If she wasn’t, of course…there was no reason Larxene would know who she was.

“She sure is! You see, the bad guys are holding her captive somewhere deep inside the castle. And obviously, you’re the hero, so you’ll have to go save her. Although…”

Larxene didn’t so much run as glide in a blur right into Sora, sending him flying.

A star-shaped pendant fell out from his shirt and hit the floor.

“Sora!” Donald and Goofy dashed over to him.

Larxene winked at Sora. “Thing is, I’m a bad guy, so you have to go through me!”

Sora groaned. His line of sight landed on the pendant. “What’s that? Is that thing mine?” Still on the floor, he was staring at it.

A yellow star-shaped pendant. It was a good luck charm made out of a paopu fruit.

“What a shame! You’ve been wearing it all this time and forgot?” she said with an incredulous laugh.

I can’t remember…but I have to remember, Sora thought.

Hadn’t someone given it to him? Who?

“I’m making them so even if one of us gets lost, we’ll make it back here safe and sound. So the three of us will always be together.”

That girl had made the good luck charm for him…

“No, that’s not possible,” Larxene went on. “The memory must be engraved somewhere deep within your heart!”

But he couldn’t remember. He hadn’t even known he was carrying that thing around.

That girl’s name… Or anything about her…

“Think carefully, now. What, oh what, could it be? And who gave it to you?”

“Na… Na…mi……”

Sora felt as if his head was full of fog. He should remember—but he just couldn’t.

“See, Sora, you’re getting it now! Free your heart, free your memories!”

Sora!

He seemed to hear the girl’s voice from somewhere. Her name… Her name was…

“Nami… Naminé,” he murmured finally.

“Well, it’s about time! That’s right—Naminé. Yes, she’s the one who gave you that tacky little good luck charm. Not that you even bothered to remember!” Larxene chimed, not letting him get another word in edgewise. She stood over the fallen pendant, and her voice rose with theatrical indignation. “No surprise—seeing as you couldn’t even remember her name! Talk about heartless. I can’t believe you! It’d serve you right if I decided to smash this piece of junk!”

“Don’t touch it! Naminé gave me that! It’s important to me!” Sora stood up with the Keyblade ready.

I won’t let anyone break it. I made a promise to Naminé…

Well, he couldn’t remember yet exactly what he’d promised her, but…he’d promised.

“Oh, it’s important to you? Ten seconds ago you didn’t even know what it was!” Larxene leaped lightly into the air and attacked him.

“Augh!” Sora cried as she knocked him back again. Donald and Goofy ran to him.

“Hey! Don’t you pick on Sora! Fire!” Donald shouted.

Larxene easily dodged the spell. “Picking on him? Why, I would never! I’m just telling him the truth!”

In each hand, she held four little knives, and she slashed out at Sora with them.

“Ngh—” He barely managed to parry her last strike with the Keyblade.

“Sora!” Goofy ran up behind Larxene and knocked her off balance, giving Sora a chance to move in.

“What nice friends you have… But it’s time for you to go!” She hurled all eight knives at him.

Sora parried every one, sending them careening away. “I’m not going anywhere—I have to save Naminé!”

“There, that’s the spirit!”

“Nobody asked you!” He ran in under her guard and struck with the Keyblade, knocking her back hard.

“Hmph! You’re not as bad as I thought. You really are a hero. A heartless hero!”

“I’m not heartless!”

“Does it hurt because it’s the truth? You’re just a baby, after all. Well, if you’re gonna be a baby, here you go,” Larxene said offhandedly and tossed another card at him.

“Whoa! Hey—”

“I created another card from your memories, you know. Be a good boy and say ‘thanks.’ Ta-ta!” With that, she vanished.

“Wait! Larxene!” Sora ran to where she’d been standing, but she was gone without a trace. “Where are you?! Don’t you dare hide from me! Show yourself!”

“Sora, calm down. She’s not coming back,” said Jiminy, jumping out of his pocket. Finally Sora stopped shouting.

“Sora…” Goofy looked at him sadly.

“I hate this,” Sora muttered. “Why did it have to be someone like that…who made me remember Naminé…?”

Donald and Goofy looked at each other, at a loss for words.

“C’mon, Sora… Let’s go,” Goofy said tentatively.

“Yeah.” Sora climbed the stairs, then shouted back behind him, “But those guys are keeping Naminé prisoner! We have to help her!”

And he held the card up to the door.

Noticing that Larxene had returned, Axel looked up from the crystal ball.

“Whew… Throwing that battle wore me out,” she sighed.

“Really? It looked to me like you just plain lost.” Axel smirked.

Larxene raised her finely shaped eyebrows. “How dare you! You don’t appreciate the nuances of—”

“An ungainly effort,” a low voice nastily broke in. “Just as Axel says.”

“Vexen!” Larxene started.

The man she faced wore a black cloak, the same as them. His face was even more ashen than his dull blond hair, and his glance was viciously cold.

“How could you let yourself be humbled by someone of such meager significance? You shame the organization.”

Larxene sulked at his rant, biting her lip.

“How can we help you, Vexen? It’s not often we see you topside,” said Axel, trying to make the conversation productive, though he didn’t look away from the crystal ball.

“I came to lend you a hand. You obviously believe this Sora has much potential, but I remain unconvinced he is truly worth such coddling. An experiment, I think, would show if he is really of any value to us.” Vexen’s voice was devoid of emotion. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the crystal ball.

“Hmph. Well, here we go again,” said Larxene. “So it’s an excuse for you to carry out your little experiments. That’s all.”

“I’m a scientist. Experiments are what I do, yes,” Vexen replied with a hint of a smirk.

“Whatever. You can do what you want,” Axel said lightly. “But you know, I get the feeling that testing Sora is just a way for you to test your valet.”

“Valet? He’s the product of pure research.” Vexen’s self-satisfied retort showed the only feeling he was capable of having.

“He’s a toy. That’s what he is,” Larxene shot back.

Vexen gave her a sharp look. “Hmph. You could stand to keep your mouth shut about things you don’t understand.”

“Anyway… Since you came all the way up here, you’re gonna want this.” Axel gave him a cocky smile. “A humble gift for my elder! I hope you use it to put on a good show for us.”

“Oh, how very helpful of you. Well, then, I’ll be using that… Come along.” That last was directed at a boy with silver hair.

Through the door, Sora looked around at their new surroundings—parti-colored, strangely springy walls.

“What a weird place! Everything’s kinda soft, and…it smells funny…”

“It’s bouncy!” Donald said, jumping.

“Do you remember comin’ here before?” Goofy asked Sora.

The worlds they visited inside Castle Oblivion were made out of his memories—at least, so the people in the black cloaks had been telling them. But Sora couldn’t really remember this world.

“Not very well… But anyway, let’s go!” Sora ran ahead.

Whether he could remember things or not wasn’t the problem—he had to help Naminé!

“Gee…” Goofy only stood there with his arms folded.

“Goofy!” Sora shouted.

He cocked his head in concentration. “But…didn’t we meet somebody here?”

“Oh… Did we?” Donald paused to think, too.

“C’mon, who cares who we met here before!” Sora fumed at them.

“Oh… I guess it doesn’t matter… It’s nice and warm in here, after all. I’m startin’ to feel like a nap,” said Goofy.

A little boy’s high voice spoke from behind him. “I think you should be a little more worried.”

“Who’s there?!” Donald demanded.

“You’re inside the belly of Monstro the whale,” said the boy.

At that, Jiminy Cricket jumped out of Sora’s pocket. “Why, I know that voice… Pinocchio! Pinocch, it’s you! Come on out now!”

The boy laughed. “Is that you, Jiminy? Gosh, I thought I’d never see you again!”

Sora did have the feeling that he’d seen Pinocchio before.

They’d been on the Gummi Ship, and the whale had swallowed the whole ship—and they had met Pinocchio… But hadn’t there been someone else important…?

“Oh, Pinocch, there’s no way you wouldn’t find me again. I’m your conscience. And your conscience will always be your guide. Remember?” Jiminy said gently like a kind teacher.

“Sure, Jiminy. And I’ve been a good boy, promise. I didn’t tell a single lie.” As Pinocchio said that his nose grew longer. “Uh-oh!”

“Well, for Pete’s sake!” Jiminy sighed, sounding terribly disappointed.

“Oops… But how did you end up inside Monstro anyway?” Pinocchio asked Sora, trying to hide his elongated nose.

“We, uh, sort of used a special way…,” Sora started.

“It’s kinda hard to explain,” said Donald.

“Oh… I was hoping you could help me and Father get out of here.” Pinocchio sighed and let his hands fall. His nose was back to its normal size.

“Well, I’ll be! Geppetto’s here, too?” said Jiminy.

“He sure is. Follow me!” Pinocchio dashed away.

“Let’s go!” Sora said as Jiminy hopped back into his pocket, and they followed Pinocchio.

In a more spacious part of the whale sat a boat, and on the deck, a lone old man paced restlessly.

“Where have you gone… Oh, Pinocchio…”

“Geppetto!” Jiminy called out to him.

“Bless my soul, it’s Jiminy Cricket. How in the world did you get here?” For all that, the old man didn’t sound terribly shocked.

“Well, you tell me! How does a clockmaker wind up in the belly of a whale?” said Jiminy from atop Sora’s head as the latter climbed up on deck.

“I set out to sea in search of Pinocchio after he ran away, and wouldn’t you know, this great big whale swallowed up my little boat…,” Geppetto said disconsolately, then brightened again. “But lucky me—I found my son here inside the whale!”

“Now you can’t get out, though, can you?” Sora folded his arms. “You’re stuck in the belly of a whale…”

Being stuck…it’s just like being kept prisoner, he thought. It must be terrible. What if Naminé feels the same way right now…

He had to help her and soon.

“Oh, it’s not so bad, not if Pinocchio and I are together. There’s nothing better than being reunited with someone you care about.” Geppetto beamed.

Sora understood that very well.

“I don’t care if I’m trapped here, so long as I’ve got Pinocchio. He’s such a good boy.”

“Well, he still tells fibs,” said Jiminy. “But with a little help from me…”

Gepetto laughed. “Oh, Jiminy. You worry too much.”

“Speaking of Pinocchio… Where’d he go?” Donald glanced all around.

“Where’d he get to this time?” said Sora, also searching. He could see a number of shipwrecks scattered about, but no sign of Pinocchio.

“Hmm… I suppose he’s off exploring,” said Geppetto. “That boy has been poking around just about everywhere inside this monster. He won’t tell me why it’s so important. I tell him it’s dangerous, but he won’t listen.”

“That boy sure is a handful!” Jiminy complained, then looked up at Sora. “If you don’t mind…”

I want to go see Naminé, Sora thought, and save her… But finding Pinocchio will have to come first. I know how Geppetto feels. He just wants to see someone who’s special to him.

“I know, I know,” he told Jiminy. “You want us to help find him, right? C’mon, guys, let’s get going!”

They jumped down from the deck and went deeper into the whale.

Heartless appeared out of the floor and the walls, making Donald jump. “Wak! We’ve got trouble!”

“Take this!” Sora swung the Keyblade and mowed through them.

“Hey!” Goofy yelped.

Sora turned. “What’s the matter, Goofy?”

“I just saw Pinocchio over thatta way!”

“What, where?” said Donald, kicking a Heartless in what might be its face.

“Over there!” Goofy began to run in that direction, followed by Donald and Sora. But the Heartless followed them.

“Enough already! Fira!”

Donald’s magic had gotten a little stronger again apparently. A good medium-sized fireball dispatched the Heartless.

“There! That way!” Goofy dashed ahead at full speed, and it was all Sora could do to keep up.

“Whoa, you found him?” said Sora.

“Well… I dunno if I found him, but I remembered that he went that way.”

“Remembered?”

Goofy seemed to remember a lot more than Sora did.

“I mean, I get the feeling he went that way when we were here before, too. But…”

“But?” Sora asked, and Goofy stopped in his tracks.

Donald didn’t come to a halt quite as quickly. His beak mashed into Goofy’s back. “Wak! Don’t stop all of a sudden like that!”

“What’re you doing, Goofy?” Sora stamped his feet in place. “C’mon!”

“Er, but… Wasn’t there someone else with Pinocchio?” Goofy stood with his arms folded, thinking hard.

Sora looked down. He couldn’t remember if there had been anyone else.

There was so much he was forgetting. But the more he forgot, the more his memories of Naminé were coming back.

“Do you remember, Donald?” said Sora, without looking at him.

Donald only frowned. “Hmm…”

“Hey, Sora…”

“What, Goofy?”

“D’you remember why we went into this castle?” Goofy asked him earnestly.

“Well, yeah—we came to find Riku and the king,” Sora said without any hesitation.

“That’s good! You remember!”

“’Course I do!” Sora retorted a little angrily and hung his head.

He had forgotten that—well, not completely, but he’d forgotten what it really meant. It had left his heart as he got more and more intent on remembering Naminé. Was that how memories ended up disappearing, bit by bit?

“I think…maybe we met Riku in here before…,” Goofy said cautiously. “Am I makin’ it up?”

“Huh?!” Sora folded his arms again. Had they seen Riku here? He didn’t remember—the memory just wasn’t there.

“Riku took Pinocchio and… Gee, I don’t remember too well, either…”

“I don’t know… I’m sorry.” Sora’s shoulders slumped miserably.

“What about you, Donald?”

“Nope, can’t remember…” Donald hung his head, too.

“Gawrsh… I’m not quite sure, either. Maybe it’s just me, after all.”

They all stared at the springy floor.

Sora had the feeling they’d come here before, but he could hardly remember anything about what had happened inside Monstro. The one thing he could say for certain was that somewhere in here—in Castle Oblivion, not in Monstro—Naminé was being held captive, and he had to help her.

Then they heard a high scream from far off.

“Pinocchio!” They ran toward the sound.

The space they were in had been more or less open like a corridor, but now it looked different. They must have made it to Monstro’s stomach.

“Pinocchio!”

Up ahead of them, a single Heartless was poised to attack the wooden boy.

“Blizzara!” Donald hurried to wave his wand. A chunk of ice hit the Heartless and it disappeared.

“Pinocchio! What are you thinking?” cried Jiminy, jumping out of his usual pocket as Sora came near. “You know Geppetto worries when you wander off by yourself.”

“I’m sorry…,” said Pinocchio in a tiny voice, still sitting where he’d fallen on his behind.

“What’re you doing, anyway? It must be something important, right?” Sora took Pinocchio’s hand and helped him up.

“Um…yeah, I’m looking for treasure!” But as he said that, Pinocchio’s nose began to grow.

“Oh, here we go again!” Jiminy scolded, hopping around him.

“But…”

“Aw, don’t be so hard on the little fella, Jiminy.” Goofy scooped up the cricket and put him atop his own head and turned to Pinocchio. “We promise not to get mad, Pinocchio. Is that why you’re afraid to tell?”

Pinocchio only hung his head.

“Is that it?” Sora peered into Pinocchio’s face and received a tiny nod in return.

“No need to fret. You can tell us the truth—we’ll understand. C’mon, put your faith in us!” Goofy went on, but Pinocchio still looked worried.

“It’s okay, you can trust us,” said Sora.

Then Pinocchio looked up at them. “I was looking for a way out. Father says he’s happy, but it’s my fault we’re stuck here. I shouldn’t have run away from home. I want to help Father get back out of here. But he’ll worry if I tell him what I’m doing.”

Jiminy took off his top hat and clutched it. “So that’s why you thought you had to tell a lie.”

“You did it ’cos you love your dad!” Goofy grinned.

Donald jumped and spoke up, “Now all you need is courage!”

“What?” Pinocchio stared at him.

“Tell Geppetto the truth. With a little courage, you can do it!”

“But…” Still uncertain, Pinocchio looked down again.

“If you tell him how you really feel, I bet he’ll help you find a way out,” said Goofy. But Pinocchio didn’t move.

“We’ll give you a hand, too,” Sora added.

“Really? You’ll help us?”

Everyone else nodded.

“Okay, I’ll give it a try! Wish me luck, Jiminy!” Pinocchio looked up at the cricket finally.

“No more keeping secrets, then,” said Jiminy. “Have we got a deal?”

“Sure! I’ll be brave and tell Father how I really feel. No lies this time!” He grinned.

“Great! Then your nose won’t—”

Before Jiminy could finish the sentence, the floor beneath them shook.

“What’s happening?!” Sora looked around with his Keyblade ready.

“Whoa!”

A huge Heartless sprang up out of the ground, right in front of Pinocchio, and opened its wide mouth.

“Pinocchio! Run for it!” shouted Jiminy. But the big rotund Heartless—the Parasite Cage—reached out with its long tentacle arms to lift up Pinocchio and dump him in its mouth.

Shouting his name, Sora ran to him, but the creature’s mouth held Pinocchio in like cage bars.

“Help! I’m trapped!”

“Hold on!” Sora swung the Keyblade at the Parasite Cage’s mouth. The impact clanged as if it were really metal.

Donald hurled spells at it. “Fira!”

But nothing seemed to help. Pinocchio curled up in terror.

“Pinocchio! Don’t give up!” Sora shouted as he kept striking the Parasite Cage. Finally its right arm went limp.

“But…I’m scared!”

“C’mon, Pinocchio! Be brave! Fira!” Donald yelled.

“Huh?” Pinocchio looked up. “But…how…?”

With Donald’s magic attacks, the creature’s left arm stopped moving. But its hard metallic body seemed practically invulnerable.

“Just have a little courage! Try fighting your way out!” said Sora.

“Courage…” Pinocchio screwed his eyes shut and jumped as hard as he could.

The Parasite Cage made a terrible shriek and opened its mouth. Pinocchio jumped out, and then—

“Gotcha!” Sora hurled the Keyblade into the gaping mouth. It spun around, dealing a nasty blow from inside, and as it flew back into Sora’s waiting hand, the creature turned to light and disappeared.

“Whew…” Sora slumped over in relief.

Jiminy Cricket, who had been hiding in his pocket, jumped out and hopped to Pinocchio’s side. “Are you all right, Pinocch?”

“Don’t worry, I’m okay. Just a little sticky…” Pinocchio got to his feet and flashed them a smile.

“That was great, Pinocchio!” said Sora, grinning back.

“Aw, you guys helped. But, you know, I have a great idea! That thing spit me out when I started fighting back…”

Donald looked confused. “Wak?”

“So, maybe we could try the same thing with Monstro…?” said Pinocchio with a mischievous glint.

“Oh, right! If we’re lucky, Monstro might cough us up!” Sora replied. Pinocchio nodded.

“Great idea! Let’s go deeper inside and try it!” Donald exclaimed, waving his wand around as if he could hardly wait to get moving.

Pinocchio ran up to him. “I’m going, too!”

Jiminy wouldn’t hear of it. “No, it’s too dangerous.”

“Aw, c’mon…”

“You should be with Geppetto,” Jiminy told him. “No use escaping from Monstro if you two get separated again!”

Knowing he was right, Pinocchio sulked. “No fair…”

“It’s okay. Leave this to us,” said Sora, smiling.

“Oh… All right. Be careful, everybody!”

Sora and the others nodded to Pinocchio and headed deeper into the whale’s belly.

“Here goes…!”

They fought through Heartless farther into Monstro.

“Maybe we didn’t meet Riku in here after all…,” Goofy mumbled.

“But Riku and King Mickey might still be in this castle,” said Sora, looking back at Goofy as he ran.

“What makes you think so?” Donald asked.

“Just a feeling, I guess. Didn’t we all get that feeling when we first walked into the castle?”

Sora could still remember that clearly. We all felt that way at the entrance. I’m sure of it.

“Then we better hurry!” said Goofy.

“Up there! That’s as far as we can go!” Donald pointed at a dead end.

“But…how should we shake things up? Should we run into the walls?”

Donald hit the wall with his wand a few times, and the floor under them began to shake. “Quack!”

“All right, let’s hit the walls and floor as hard as we can!” said Sora.

“Got it!”

They kicked and stomped, and struck the walls with their weapons. The rippling tremors in their surroundings got stronger and stronger until a catastrophic wave went through the floor…

“It’s working!” Just as Sora said that, the wind hit them. “Whoa!”

“Wak!”

“Wah-hoooey!”

And they were blasted away.

“Ow, ow, ow…”

The trio woke up on a rocky shore. Sora got to his feet, rubbing his bruised hip. Donald and Goofy were sprawled out nearby, but they were awake, too.

“Now I know what getting shot out of a cannon feels like!” said Goofy as he stood.

Donald didn’t bother to get up yet, but looked around. “Where’re Pinocchio and his dad?”

Hearing that, Jiminy Cricket hopped out of Sora’s pocket and paced in circles. “Well, they’re not here. They must have gotten out safely,” he said, looking up at Sora.

“Without you, Jiminy?” Sora teased. “I thought there was no escaping your conscience!”

“I don’t mind being left behind, as long as they’re both safe. Maybe, just maybe…Pinocchio doesn’t need me that much after all.” Jiminy’s smile was wistful.

“What do you mean?” Donald wanted to know.

“That little puppet used to have trouble telling right from wrong. But he’s come a long way. Maybe he doesn’t need Jiminy Cricket anymore.” He looked into the distance. “Maybe he’s got a conscience of his own, and he’s got to think for himself.”

“Don’t you remember what Geppetto said? There’s nothing better than being reunited with someone you care about. I bet Pinocchio’s counting the days till he can see you again.”

Jiminy nodded and hopped up onto Sora’s head.

“Well, what do you know? You might be right.”

“Someone you care about, huh…?” said Goofy, looking at Sora.

“The person we care about is…the king!” Donald exclaimed.

“There’s a lot of other people we care about too…but I can’t remember ’em too well now…” Goofy looked terribly anxious about it.

“But we won’t forget the king,” said Donald. “It’ll be okay!”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Goofy nodded.

“The ones I care about are Riku…and Naminé,” said Sora.

“And Kairi, too!” Goofy added.

Sora stopped short.

Right. He’d promised Kairi…that he would come back.

…And he’d forgotten about it.

No, it wasn’t that he’d totally forgotten…he just hadn’t remembered. Even though he’d made such an important promise…

And if Goofy hadn’t said anything about her, Sora might have gone on not remembering. Just like he’d forgotten about Naminé because everyone had stopped talking about her.

He couldn’t let that happen. Kairi…and Riku. He had to go home with them, back to their islands.

“There’s the door!” Donald pointed at a door in a big boulder.

“Let’s go!”

“Right!”

The three ran to the door.