Chapter 8

100 Acre Wood

THE GUMMI SHIP TOOK OFF FROM MONSTROPOLIS.

Sora needed to decide their next destination, but his mind was occupied with what Vanitas had said. There was someone else in his heart—Ventus. Sora had no idea what would have become of him if Sulley hadn’t intervened back there.

He was also concerned about Organization XIII. They were apparently collecting the members they needed much faster than the guardians of light were, and they were even meddling in other worlds now.

Sora raised his head and looked straight forward, then hopped up from his seat and turned to his friends. “We should go to the realm of darkness!”

Donald wasn’t having it. “No way!”

“You can’t go there until you get the power of waking!” Goofy agreed.

Okay, sure, I don’t have the power of waking back, but still—

“But come on, we have to do something! If we don’t act, the Organization’s gonna win!”

Even if I’m not technically strong enough, there has to be something we can do, Sora thought. And we can’t just let the Organization run around wreaking havoc. If we don’t stop them, and fast, this could get really ugly.

Donald and Goofy shared an awkward look.

Just then, Jiminy hopped onto Sora’s shoulder. He had thoughts on the matter, too. “Sora, do you even know how to get to the realm of darkness?”

It was an extremely valid question. After a moment’s thought, Sora pulled the Gummiphone from his pocket. “Well, the king and Riku do,” he said confidently.

“They won’t tell you,” Donald pointed out.

“Nope,” said Goofy, “not until you complete your own mission.”

Sora plopped back down in his seat, deflated. What should I do? I just want to help, but everyone’s got a reason to say no. “Ugh…!” Sora groaned, then leaned back in his chair. He was out of ideas. I know I’m not strong enough; you don’t have to remind me.

That’s when the Gummiphone rang.

Maybe it’s the king! He did say he was about to call me when I called him last time.

And the one who appeared on the screen was…

“Is this a bad time?”

…Ienzo. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all heaved a sigh of disappointment. “Aww…”

Ienzo was apparently unbothered by the less-than-enthusiastic reply. “So, I have some news about Ansem’s Code and the Replica we need for Roxas’s heart,” he told them calmly.

“Oh!” Jiminy was the first to perk up at the news.

“And…?” Sora prompted.

“First, the Replica. Even is still missing, but we found some of his research. I’ll see what I can learn from it.”

“You’ve got our thanks,” Jiminy said to Ienzo with a bow of his head.

“As for Ansem the Wise’s data, we’ve discovered a very interesting passage. I’ll read you exactly what he wrote.”

Ienzo then began to read off a report:

I have discovered three unique hearts inside of Sora’s. One is Roxas. The second has been with Sora for nearly as long. And a third has resided in Sora’s heart for even longer—most of his life, in fact.

This is a truly astonishing discovery. While these hearts have now melded with Sora—grown silent and indistinct—Sora retains the memories of all three. The memories have been compartmentalized—each placed in its own “box,” so to speak.

I surmise the hearts can be awoken, provided that each of them is returned to the box that contains the correct memories. Unite the heart with its memories, and provide it a suitable body within which it may flourish, and I believe any or all three of these people can be made real again.

“Roxas and two more?” Sora murmured to himself.

“Who else?” Jiminy asked.

Vanitas had just mentioned Ventus’s heart earlier, and then there was Roxas. So who could the third heart belong to…?

Ienzo continued as Sora mulled over the question. “I also believe I may have found something that could be a backup plan in case we can’t find any Replicas, so I’ll keep looking for that as well.”

“Thank you.” Jiminy dipped his head again.

“Oh,” said Sora. “Thanks, Ienzo.”

“Certainly. Take care,” Ienzo replied, then immediately ended the call.

“Three different hearts…,” Donald mused behind Sora.

“One of them’s Roxas,” said Goofy. “The other one must be Ventus.”

“You’re gonna believe what Vanitas said?”

“Well, uh…it’s kinda all we got to go on. Sora, do you know who the third one might be?” Goofy asked. He and Donald couldn’t figure it out.

Sora shook his head. “Nope.” I can’t believe there’s one more, too. But who? I’ve got nothing.

“’Cause Sora can’t count,” Donald joked.

“Hey! That’s not related,” Sora snapped, and everyone shared a little laugh.

A third heart within mine… Who could it belong to? Kairi was a part of me once, and Roxas still is. Same with Ventus. I have no clue who this other one is. But if they can be awakened like Roxas and Ventus, then I’m sure they can come back, too. They’ve been inside me about as long as Roxas, huh—

Suddenly, the Gummiphone rang again.

“Could it be the king this time?!” Donald exclaimed, perking up in his seat, but the caller turned out to be—

“Hiya, Sora.”

…Dale, the chipmunk.

“Hey, Dale. What’s up?” Sora peered into the screen with concern, wondering if something happened.

“Chip just got a message from Merlin. Chip! I got him!”

Chip poked his head onscreen beside Dale. “Hi, Sora!”

“Hi, Chip. Does Merlin need us for something?”

“Yep, I think it’s got something to do with some kind of book. He said he’ll have a cup of tea while he waits for ya.”

“A cup of tea where?” Sora asked.

“Oh no!” Chip exclaimed. “He said tea, but he didn’t say where.” He looked to Dale for help.

“He left before I could find out!” Sadly, Dale didn’t know either.

“He’s a tough wizard to pin down.”

On the screen, the two chipmunks shared an exasperated look.

But they had said what needed to be said, so they ended the call there. “Anyway, message delivered. Bye!”

“Where could he be having tea?” Sora crossed his arms in his customary thinking pose. It didn’t help.

“Say, if you were gonna have a cup of tea, wouldn’t you wanna have it at the best restaurant that you could find?”

“Ohh… Of course!” Sora realized what Goofy was getting at.

If you wanted the best dinner and the best cake afterward, there was only one place to go—Little Chef’s bistro.

And now they knew where to go next. Onward to Twilight Town!

The tram was chugging along as usual through the Twilight Town plaza. As Sora and his friends approached the bistro, a wonderful scent reached their noses.

“Oh boy, am I getting hungry!”

“Shall we eat something while we’re here?”

“Let’s!”

The trio chattered away as they walked, until they found Merlin sipping tea at one of the tables in front of the restaurant.

“Merlin!”

The wizard wore the same blue robe and pointy hat as always, and his beard was still long and white. His round spectacles were the same as before, too. Though he looked a bit like Yen Sid, the two wizards had completely different personalities.

“Ah, greetings, gentlemen. What brings you all the way out here? Besides the finest tea this side of Big Ben, of course.”

“Huh? But…Merlin, I thought that you asked us to stop by.”

“Gracious, did I?” The wizard cocked his head to one side; he honestly didn’t remember.

“Didn’t ya leave a message for us with Chip and Dale?” Goofy reminded him.

“About a book?” Donald added.

Merlin clapped his hands. “Ah! Yes, the book. That’s right,” he said as it all came back to him. He reached into the large bag sitting nearby and removed a tome with magnificent binding. “Behold.”

The words 100 Acre Wood were written on the cover. This book contained a world Sora had visited before, the forest where Winnie the Pooh and his friends lived. Sora remembered how he had tracked down pages torn from the book to give to Merlin and open up new places to go.

But—

“Hey, this is…,” Sora said, noticing something troubling.

Donald was surprised, too, and pointed out the error. “Sora’s not on it.”

The second time Sora had visited, the Heartless had torn up the pages and made Pooh forget all his friends. He eventually remembered everyone, and Sora had appeared on the cover alongside him. But now, Pooh was all alone.

“Did somethin’ happen?” Goofy asked with concern.

“Well, that’s what you need to find out, lad.”

“Okay, got it,” said Sora, taking the book from Merlin.

“You’re the only one who can go inside, right?”

“Yeah, so you guys wait for me here,” Sora told Goofy. While Donald held the book for him, Sora pointed his Keyblade at its cover, where Pooh sat gazing at the stars all by himself. “Okay, I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Take care.”

“Yes, and good luck.”

After Merlin and Goofy said their farewells, light shot from the Keyblade and drew Sora into the book.

Inside the book—in Winnie the Pooh’s world—everything was as peaceful and calm as before. He walked through the beautiful forest, listening to the birds sing, and spotted the big tree that served as Pooh’s home nearby.

“Oh, bother. Think, think, think…” The bear was sitting out in front of his home, apparently trying his hardest to think of something.

Piglet was beside him; Sora remembered fondly how the little guy had been so frightened of him the first time they met.

“Pooh Bear! You okay?”

“Oh! Hello there, Sora.” Pooh looked up slowly, then hopped to his feet. “You’re home.”

“Uh…huh? Good to see you, Pooh. And you, too, Piglet,” Sora said, bending over a bit as he greeted the two. Pooh was a teddy bear, and Piglet was a plushie of…well, a piglet.

“You’re not in trouble? But I thought something odd must be going on.”

“Hmm, let me see… I don’t remember anything oddish, but perhaps I’ve forgotten. Think, think, think…” Pooh Bear fell back into thought.

“Oh, we’ve got trouble all right!” someone called from behind Sora. It was Rabbit.

“Would that be the Rabbit sort of trouble?” Piglet asked, and quickly received a glare for the interruption. “S-s-s-sorry, please continue,” he stammered in fear.

“Sora!”

Sora recognized the voice calling his name, but not the young elephant he saw walking toward him.

Huh? That’s funny, he thought, but then Roo the kangaroo hopped into view from the elephant’s back. “It’s okay. He’s my friend,” he said, turning back to the elephant.

“Hi, I’m Sora.”

“And I’m Lumpy! It’s nice to meet you,” the elephant said with a happy stomp of his feet.

Just then, Gopher popped his head out from his underground home. He looked a little angry. “Sufferin’ sassafras! Stomp around a little louder, why don’t ya?”

The stomps must have been pretty loud underground.

“I kind of like it when the ground gets bouncy.”

“Well, I suppose if something has to bounce…” Gopher started to say, but then he heard a very familiar sound. It was getting louder and louder, closer and closer—boing, boing, boing.

“Speaking of…”

Right as Gopher turned around, Tigger the toy tiger gave Sora a big hug.

The two of them toppled to the ground, and Tigger laughed cheerfully from where he sat on Sora’s belly. “Back for some more bouncin’, Sora? C’mon, let’s go!” Tigger bounced around happily on his springy tail, then hopped his way over to Roo and Lumpy. “You too, Roo!”

“Yippee!”

“Me, too! Me, too! I wanna bounce!”

Roo began to jump, while Lumpy stamped his feet.

“Say no more! All would-be bouncers are welcome.” Right as Tigger got everyone assembled, Pooh finally looked up from his long moment of contemplation.

“Oh, I remember now. Rabbit’s troubles are harvest related.”

“Well, thank you for remembering my plight, Pooh. Better late than never,” Rabbit said with a look at the bear, then turned toward the bouncing trio. “Excuse me! Would anyone else care to remember why we’re here?” he shouted.

Tigger, Roo, and Lumpy stopped and thought his question over.

“As I recall, we came here to help you with your garden, Rabbit,” Pooh answered in his calm, contented way. “After which, perhaps you’ll invite us in for a smackeral or two of honey?”

“Correct. No. No! I mean, we’ll see about that, Pooh. Now, the garden, if you please? You can help, too, Sora,” Rabbit instructed everyone, then started to leave.

“What? Me, too?” Sora asked.

“Now then, to the garden!”

Tigger bounced along after him. “I’m gonna help, too!”

Sora reluctantly followed Rabbit with the rest of the group, to the vegetable patch in front of Rabbit’s house.

“We’ll start with the carrots!”

“Okay…”

The whole group entered the garden and picked carrots, then garlic, and then the pumpkins lying on the ground, along with ripe tomatoes, eggplants, and zucchini.

It was the first time Sora had harvested things straight from the field like this.

“You help, too, Tigger,” Sora called.

“Sure thing!” Tigger stopped idly bouncing around and joined in the work. “You want me to pick ’em all?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Sora ran around the garden gathering produce, while Pooh and his friends sorted it into different baskets until they were all full.

“What a harvest!” Rabbit cried.

“Thanks to Sora’s help,” Piglet said. Sora brushed some sweat off his forehead.

Rabbit seemed quite pleased with his armload of carrots. “Yes, quite right. Thank you, Sora!”

Meanwhile, Tigger was boinging along beside them. “Well, how’s about a little more bouncin’?” he suggested, and Lumpy joined in.

Next Sora was asked to help with the fruit in the orchard, and then the flowers in the garden.

Once his work there was done, he plopped down on the ground feeling just the right amount of tired.

Everything was as lovely as ever here in this world. Everyone was getting along fine, it was a beautiful day, and he couldn’t see anything majorly unusual at work here.

“Well, looks like your problem’s solved. Guess I’ll be on my way,” Sora said as he got to his feet and brushed the dirt off his clothes.

Rabbit held out a big jar to Pooh. “Here, Pooh. A pot full of honey. It’s your reward for being such a big help. Eat all you want.”

“Oh, thank you, Rabbit!” Pooh accepted the honey and immediately dipped in a paw.

A sudden breeze carried flower petals dancing through the air, and Tigger bounced after them.

“Look at ’em all. They’re bouncin’ even higher than me!”

They all watched the colorful petals fluttering across the clear blue sky. The view was especially beautiful.

“Sora, I believe the one I should thank for all that yummy, delicious honey is you,” said Pooh.

Sora knelt down. “Don’t mention it, Pooh,” he replied. “Besides, we all helped.”

“Um, Sora?” the bear said, seeming to have remembered something. He put a hand to his chest and asked, “You used to be right here. Why is it that you went away?”

Sora was confused. “Away? Oh, that’s what you meant by ‘you’re home.’” Now he understood why Pooh had greeted him the way he did.

Pooh’s face fell a little. “Yes. You see, when I get a rumbly in my tumbly, it’s very hard to think of anything but honey. So I was worried that I might have forgotten you away.”

“Silly bear, I’d never.”

“Oh, good, because I want us to be together forever.”

“Pooh. We are together. There isn’t a second that we’re not.” Sora started to reassure him, but then a wave of unease came over him.

Maybe our connection is growing weaker. Why is that? My heart did almost become a vessel for Xehanort back when I was nearly trapped in the Sleeping Worlds. Could that have something to do with it?

And I think maybe everyone forgot about me when I went to sleep to recover my memory before that, too. Maybe it’s the same as back then…? Or could it be—

“What’s wrong, Sora?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. What matters is I’ll be here from now on. No going away,” Sora said, pointing a finger at Pooh’s chest. I won’t be disappearing from anyone’s heart again.

“Thank you, Sora.”

A strong gust of wind blew past them, sending more flower petals dancing up into the sky.

And with that…

The image of Sora reappeared on the cover of Pooh’s book, and shortly after, Sora himself returned to the table at the bistro in a flash of light.

“Splendid. All is as it should be,” Merlin told him.

“But how come Sora’s picture disappeared in the first place?” Donald asked, walking up.

Instead of answering, Sora just looked at the flagstones.

“Sora?” Goofy peered into his friend’s face with concern.

“Something’s happened to me that made me vanish from Pooh’s heart. Merlin, I don’t ever want to lose my friends.”

Somehow…I know it has to be Xehanort’s doing. I don’t want to fade from anyone else’s heart.

“Well, now,” Merlin said with a stroke of his beard.

Sora looked up. “Huh?”

“There’s no need to fret, lad. Whatever’s lost can be found again. There are always new paths between hearts for us to discover and traverse,” the wizard informed Sora gently. He showed him the cover of the book with Sora and Pooh together. “But you already know that.”

“Yeah!”

Sora’s grin returned, and Merlin smiled as well.

After saying good-bye to Sora, Donald, and Goofy as they resumed their travels, Merlin hefted his bag over his shoulder.

Oh, yes—I need to buy some more of that sea-salt ice cream.

His pupils’ training was strenuous but proceeding nicely. In fact, these were the first young trainees he had taken on since Sora.

The king and Riku had paid Merlin a visit at his home in Radiant Garden a short time ago, to deliver two bags from Yen Sid. They had even needed new Keyblades themselves.

Well, well. I wonder where they are now.

Perhaps they were working toward some great and noble purpose, but Merlin didn’t know anything about that. He merely aided those who came to him in need.

Training two youngsters to become full-fledged Keyblade wielders is hard work indeed. But I would never refuse a favor for my good friend Yen Sid, much less the king.

Merlin might have been getting on in years, but he wasn’t a hunched-over old man just yet. With a weary slap to his hip, he went on his way.

INTERMISSION

Letter II

Merlin brought us some new clothes the other day. He said Master Yen Sid made them for us. Did he give you a new outfit, too? Axel isn’t wearing his. I’m not sure why; he hasn’t told me. Maybe he just really likes that coat.

Training is going well. Axel and I can pretty much summon our Keyblades whenever we want now, and we spar every day. He’s stronger than me because he used to be a member of Organization XIII, but he gives me lots of pointers. He’s always asking me if I’ve “got it memorized,” but just because I know something in my head doesn’t mean it’s easy to make my body do it.

By the way, have you ever had sea-salt ice cream? Merlin buys it for us all the time. It tastes salty and sweet at the same time—and somehow familiar, too. Axel loves it, but he always looks a little wistful when he eats it.

How’s Riku doing? He’s gotten really tall, huh? I bet you’re taller now, too. I’m looking forward to seeing the two of you again. Oh yeah, Riku also cut his hair, didn’t he?

Next time you see him, tell him I like it better this way.

Well, I’ll write you more later.