For Day 2 of the Kingdom Hearts 3 Countdown Challenge - Trinity Trio (Sora, Donald, and Goofy).
This wasn't Goofy's first time to be a parent, but it still hurt to see Sora sad. He was slumped in the pilot's chair, head bent over, refusing to speak, refusing to drive, refusing to do much of anything.
"C'mon, Sora, cheer up," Donald said, leaning forward in his seat, his legs dangling off the edge. "We'll just have to find another way to save Roxas."
Sora rested his face in his hands. "I promised him. I promised him I would help him. He's counting on me, and I let him down. Again."
Donald shot Goofy a worried glance.
"Now that's not true, Sora," Goofy said, staying in his chair because that was what Sora needed right now. "I'm sure Roxas knows that—"
Sora pounded his hand on the controls. "He never should have had to sacrifice himself for me. My life isn't worth any more than his."
"Or any less," Donald was quick to point out, giving Goofy another concerned look.
Sora whirled around, and his eyes were flashing. "What kind of life is it, if it's built off of his suffering? What right do I have to exist when he can't?"
The question hung in the air as he stared Donald and Goofy down. There was no good answer to it, either. How could Goofy explain to Sora that sometimes… life just wasn't fair? And as much as Goofy hated to admit it, yes, he was gonna put Sora over Roxas, every time. Sora was his pal, and he would help Roxas if that was what Sora wanted, but Sora still came first.
"Sora, the only reason he exists at all is because of you," Goofy said as he watched Sora pace back and forth along the cockpit.
Donald nodded. "You're the only reason he still exists, too. He could've joined completely with you like Axel did with Lea, but he's still separate from you, right? I mean, you talked to him in your dream, didn't you?"
"I did. It's how he showed me his memories. It's when I got full proof he has a heart of his own." Sora's fists clenched at his side, and his voice shook. "And that heart deserves to exist free from me."
"And it will, Sora," Goofy said. "We've just gotta find a way to free him that keeps you safe."
Sora was silent again, and Goofy fought the urge to sigh. "Sora, we're not gonna let you give in to the darkness, even if it is to help Roxas."
Whatever ideas Ansem and Xemnas had planted in Sora's head, Goofy wasn't about to let them stick.
"We'll be here to help you figure things out," Donald added. "But we also have to protect you."
Goofy didn't want to bring out his trump card… but… Sora still wasn't saying anything…
Time to bring out the trump card.
"Would you tell Kairi she doesn't deserve to exist just because Naminé's inside her heart now?"
Sora froze, his jaw clenching and a pained look flickering through his eyes.
"You wouldn't tell her to sacrifice herself to save Naminé, would you?" Goofy said, just to really drive the point home.
Sora pulled out her lucky charm and looked at it. "No."
"So treat yourself the way you'd treat her," Donald said.
Sora just stared at the charm. Maybe reminding him of Kairi hadn't been a good idea. The two of them had been apart for too long already, another promise he hadn't been able to keep on top of his unfulfilled promise to Roxas.
Time for a more direct approach. Goofy stood and put his hand on Sora's shoulder. How much he'd grown since they'd first met. That felt like a lifetime ago already when really, it was less than two years ago.
"We take your promise to Roxas seriously, Sora," he said, and Sora's eyes flickered upwards to meet his. "But we'll find a way for you to help him and Naminé in a way that doesn't hurt you or Kairi."
"And that's a promise," Donald added, likewise leaving his chair to join the two of them.
Sora returned the charm to his pocket and attempted a smile. "Thanks, guys. I know I can always count on you to have my back."
"Of course. You're our pal."
As Sora powered up the engine and they set off for the next world, Goofy hoped what he and Donald had said would really sink in.
Because at the end of the day, that was the most a parent could hope for, really.