High atop a mountainous rock sat Sora's castle. The man himself was in his tower clutching Abby in his lap.
"What a nice little dog," he sneered.
Sora dropped Abby into a basket and closed the lid. He handed the basket to Flood, then turned to Jamie.
"And you my dear," he said. "What an unexpected pleasure. It's so kind of you to visit me in my loneliness."
"What are you going to do with my dog?" Jamie cried anxiously.
"What do you think I'm going to do?" said Sora menacingly.
"Give her back to me!"
"All in good time, my boy. All in good time."
"Please give me back my dog!"
"Certainly, certainly," said Sora. "When you give me those boots."
Jamie shook his head. Tooth and the three fairies told him not to give them up no matter what. "But the good fairies told me not to!"
"Very well!" cried Sora, who smiled an evil smile. "Throw that basket in the river and drown her!"
But Jamie had another idea; he took one of the boots off his left foot and called to Sora. "Here! You can have your old shoes, just give me back Abby!"
Sora was so pleased that he grabbed the shoe out of Jamie's hand and put it on himself. "Good boy," he cheered. "I knew you would see reason."
He curled his fingers and conjured up a magnetizing spell to get the other shoe off of Jamie's right foot more easily. Sora was expecting for the shoe to get on his own right foot, but nothing happened, it just stayed there on Jamie's foot as if it refused to leave his new owner. Sora tugged with the magnetizing spell again and again and again, but the shoe would not come off.
By now Sora was exhausted from all that tugging, and Jamie who had his feet firm to the ground tried to reason with him. "I'm sorry, I didn't do it," he apologized. "Can I still have my dog?"
Sora squinted at Jamie's beady little eyes, then shouted, "NO! Fool that I am! I should have remembered! That shoe will never come off as long as you're alive! But that's not what's worrying me, it's how to do it. These things must be done very delicately so as not to hurt the spell."
Just then Abby poked her head out of the basket. "Run, Abby, run!" shouted Jamie.
Sora spotted Abby, too and even called out to Flood, "Catch him, you fool!"
Flood took off after Abby, but the Greyhound was quick and agile. She streaked down the steps of the tower. When she got to the entrance of the castle, the drawbridge was just starting to rise. Abby raced to the edge of the drawbridge, jumped off it and over the moat, landing safely to the opposite shore.
Flood had summoned the guards of Sora's castle, red blue painted warriors called Atzec Guards, led by Sora's great aunt's bodyguard and henchman Kronk. The Aztec Guards chased after Abby, carrying long spears and hurled them at her on the ground below. Jamie watched the chase from the window high up in the tower.
"Run Abby, run!" he urged. "Run Abby, run!"
Abby dodged the Aztec Guard's spears and scrambled for cover behind the rocks of the mountain.
"She got away!" cried Jamie, relived. "She got away!" then he turned to Sora, who could not believe his eyes. "At least we'll get away from you!"
And Jamie was about to escape through the door, but Sora held him back by the collar of his shirt. "Which is more than you will!" he threatened. "Drat you and your stupid dog! You've more trouble to me than you are worth one way or another, but it will soon be over now!"
Sora grabbed up a tall hourglass, turned it over and set it back down on the table.
"Do you see that?" he said, as the sand in the hourglass began shifting to the bottom. "One hour. That is how much longer you've got to be alive while I am making a fresh batch of poison. And it isn't very long, my boy! It isn't very long at all! I can't wait forever to get the other shoe!"
As Sora stormed out of the room, Jamie asked to himself, "How can anyone be so mean and nasty?"
But Sora heard this and replied. "Practice! Lots and lots of practice! But it is fact of life, kid!" then he left the room, leaving Jamie alone, standing next to the hourglass.
As the sand ran through the hourglass, Abby scrambled down the rocks of the mountain. In the forest, she saw a clearing, and there were Sandy and Bunny who were re stuffing North's straw back into him. They were just about finished.
"There," said Sandy. "Now, that's the best we can do without any pins."
"Oh, don't worry about me," exclaimed North. "I'm all right. We must worry about Jamie."
"But how can we find him?" asked Sandy. "We don't even know where he is."
Then he heard a barking sound. "Look! There's Abby! Where did she come from?"
"Don't you see?" said North, scrambling to his feet. "She's come to take us to Jamie!"
Abby barked excitedly and led them to the trail. North, Sandy and Bunny followed as the Greyhound clambered up the steep, rocky mountain. Sandy lost his footing and he grabbed onto Bunny's puffy tail.
"I-I hope my strength holds out," Bunny said.
"I hope your tail holds out, ooh!" Sandy answered.
Back up in the tower, Jamie watched the sands of the hour glass falling down, he went to the door and struggled to open it, but it was locked. Tears soon fell out of his eyes and with his head down; he slowly walked over to Sora's magic eye and sat down next to it.
"I'm not going to cry," he whimpered. "I'm not going to.."
Someday I'll wake and rub my eyes
And in that land beyond the skies
You'll find me…
Eventually, Abby, North, Sandy and Bunny came to the top of the peak and saw the turreted castle that stood dark and menacing against the night sky.
"What's that? What's that?!" asked Bunny.
"That's castle of Sora, the Dark Keyblade Master!" said North. "Jamie's in that awful place!"
Sandy started to worry. "Oh I hate to think him in there. We've got to get him out!"
As North reassured Sandy, Bunny noticed something. "Who's them? Who's them?!"
He was pointing at the Aztec Guards marching into view, their red and blue war paint and sharp spears made look impossible for the trio to get past them and into the castle.
"I've got a plan how to get in there," said North.
"Fine," jeered Bunny. "He's got a plan."
"And you're going to lead us," added North.
"Me? I've got to get him out of there?" Bunny gulped, but then summed up every ounce of the strength he had. "All right, I'll go in there for Jamie. Sora or no Sora, guards or no guards, I'll tear 'em apart. I may not come out alive, but I'm going in there. There's only one thing I want you fellows to do."
"What's that?" North and Sandy said together.
"Talk me out of it," Bunny replied in a weaker voice.
The frightened rabbit tried to back away from the peak, but North and Sandy quickly grabbed him back up.
In the tower, Jamie didn't know what to do. As he was still near the magic eye, he curled up into a ball and silently sobbed.
Somewhere over the rainbow,
Blue birds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then,
Oh, why can I?
"Mom…" he whispered. "I'm frightened, Mommy. I'm scared and lost."
Just then, an image of Jamie's mother appeared in the magic eye. She was looking all around for her son.
"Jamie!" she called. "Jamie, where are you? It's me, it's Mom. We're trying to find you. Where are you?"
In a weakened state, Jamie called out to the image of his mother. "I'm here in the Worlds of Wonder, Mom. I'm locked up in Sora's castle, and I'm trying to get home to you, Mom!"
But it didn't look like his mom could see or hear him at all. The worried image of Mrs. Bennett's face faded from the magic eye.
"Oh, Mom, don't go away!" Jamie cried. "I'm frightened, scared and alone! Come back! Come back!"
As he gave a weak cry, Jamie saw another image: the face of Sora giving him a stare of horror.
"Oh, Mommy! Mommy, come back!" Sora whined, mimicking Jamie. Then in his normal voice, he said. "I'll give you your mommy, you big baby!"
Sora threw his head back and laughed a long and terrifying cackle that started slow and deep, then turned fast and squeaky. Jamie, horrified by the laughing image collapsed onto the floor, a hopeless tear streaming down his cheek as he saw the sand from the hourglass streaming down to the bottom. Time was running out.
Back on the cliff, North, Sandy and Bunny along with Abby gave a closer inspection upon the marching soldiers. As they did, Abby started barking which attracted three of the Aztec Guards who had seen the intruders and pounced on them. A scuffle ensued and just when it looked like that the friends were doomed, they came out alive wearing the guards' war paint, helmets and spears.
"Whew!" sighed North. "That wasn't my plan – but something happened, didn't it?"
"You put up a great fight, Bunny," agreed Sandy. "I don't know what we'd have done without you."
"Hah," laughed Bunny. "I must have bitten you a couple of times."
Noticing that the disguises were perfect for getting into Sora's castle, North said. "Come on, I've got another idea."
Bunny, however, was unsure. "Do you think it will be polite dropping in like this?"
But still, he and the others continued ahead and fell in line with the rest of the Aztec Guards over the drawbridge and into the castle. Once they were inside, Sandy ducked behind a wall and asked. "Where do we go now?"
Abby barked at the friends and bounded up the steps of the stairs.
"There!" cried North, realizing that Abby was trying to lead them Jamie.
The trio scrambled up the steps and led to Sora's tower.
At the top of the steps was a door, it led to the room where Jamie was, but the door was locked. Abby scratched and barked.
North stopped at the door. "Wait, we better make sure," he said to Sandy and Bunny, then called out. "Jamie, are you in there? It's us!"
Inside the room, Jamie woke up from his weakened state, and gathering all his strength, he ran to the door.
"Yes, it's me!" he cried. "He's locked me in!"
Bunny began to wipe off the war paint and hats, then tried opening the door, but it wouldn't budge. "We've gotta get him out, mates! Open the door! Open the door! Open the door! Push!"
"Hurry, please hurry!" cried Jamie, he saw that the sand in the hourglass was running low. "The hourglass is almost empty!"
Sandy made his sand axe and began chopping at the wood of the door with every bit of strength he had. "Stand back!"
As the last grains of sand fell through the hourglass, Sandy broke through the door. Jamie flew into the arms of his friends. He hugged Abby as soon as he saw her.
"Oh, Abby, I'd knew you'd come!"
"Hurry!" cried North. "We've got no time to lose!"
The four friends raced back down the long staircase that led to the entrance of the castle, the doors were open but they suddenly closed as soon as quartet reached them. A slow and fast laugh sounded the room; it was Sora standing at the top of the stairway, watching them.
"Going so soon?" he asked sarcastically. "I wouldn't hear of it. Why my little party's just beginning."
Sora held up the empty hourglass, Bunny knew their time was definitely up. "We're trapped like mice, er, rats!"
"Go ahead," suggested Sandy. "Do something! Roar! Roar!"
"What good will it do us?" Bunny asked.
As Sora laughed his "slow to fast" laugh, a large battalion of Aztec Guards led by Kronk raced into the hall, their spears were raised, surrounding the four friends and closing in on them step by step.
"That's right, don't hurt them right away," coached Sora. "We'll let them think about it a little, first!" He looked at Jamie. "How does it feel my little visitor? Can you imagine what I'm going to do to you?"
The Aztec guards closed in, but North thought hard and fast, and using Sandy's axe, cut loose a rope holding a chandelier. It crashed from the ceiling and fell on the Aztecs. In the confusion, the quartet broke through the line of guards.
"Seize them! Stop them, you fools!" cried Sora. "They've gotten away! Stop them! Stop them!"
The guards chased Jamie and his friends up the stairs.
"There they go!" shouted Sora. "Now we've got them! Half of you go that way, half of you go that way! Hurry! Hurry!"
When the four reached the top of the tower, they came to a narrow parapet that led to a second tower.
"Where do we go now?" asked Bunny.
"This way! Come on!" cried North.
But as they reached the second tower they were cut off by the guards. They ran back the way they came, but Sora and the Aztec Guards were coming at them from each direction…they were trapped.
"Well!" laughed Sora. "Ring around the rosy a pocket full of spears! Thought you'd be pretty foxy, didn't you? Well, I'm going to start in on you right here, one after the other! And the last to go will see the first three go before him! And his mangy little mutt, too!"
Jamie trembled as he knew that Sora was talking about him, he saw that the dark room was lit by torches that lined the walls. As the quartet watched, Sora lifted his Keyblade and torched a fire spell onto the tip. He poked it menacingly at North.
"How about a little fire, North?" Sora teased. "What's wrong? Don't you want to be my old flame?"
North jumped to escape the fire, but his arm started flaming when the Keyblade touched his straw.
"Help!" he cried. "I'm burning! I'm burning!"
Jamie couldn't stand to see his friend like this and he decided to fight back with the only weapon he had: A pail of water courtesy of Flood. Jamie tossed the water onto North's arm which doused the flames, but some of it splashed Sora in the face. Instantly, the wicked teen gave a loud cry of fear and then began to shrink.
"See what you have done!" he screamed. "In a minute, I shall, I shall…turn good again?"
And indeed he did, Sora looked at himself and saw that he had his old look and personality again, before Vanitas's transformation on him all those years ago. He was so happy that he cried tears of joy, which caused him to dissolve even further.
"I never would have thought a good little boy like you could destroy my beautiful evil," said Sora in a relieved voice. "Bye, everyone, I'm going…"
As the quartet looked on, Sora was turning into a big puddle of natural, clear water until there was nothing left of him except his helmet, cape, armor, the other shoe and the Keyblade.
"He's dead!" Kronk murmured. "You killed him!"
"I didn't mean to kill him," Jamie protested. "It's just that he was on fire and-"
Instead of attacking Jamie like he had expected, the Aztec Guards and Kronk dropped to their knees.
"Hail to Jamie! The Keyblade Master is dead!" They announced.
Jamie surprised. "You mean…you're all happy about it?"
"Very happy," said Kronk. "He won't be able to hit us with that big key anymore!"
For the second time, Jamie was a hero, then he asked. "The Keyblade, may we have it?"
"Here. And take it with you!" said Kronk, handing Jamie the Key.
"Oh, thank you so much!" cried Jamie as he reclaimed the other shoe. "Now we'll go back to the Man in the Moon and tell him Sora is dead!"
Hail! Hail! The Master's dead!
Which old master?
The Keyblade Master!
Hail! Hail! The Keyblade Master's dead!
Hail! Hail the Master's dead!
Which old master?
The Keyblade Master!
Soon enough, Jamie and his friends made a triumphant return to the Silver City led a marching band. People from all over congratulated them for their efforts.
Hail! Hail! The Keyblade Master's dead!
He's gone where the goblins go below
Below, below,
Yo, ho
Let's open up and sing
And ring the bells out
You're off to see the Man
The Man in the Moon.
Let him know the Keyblade Master's dead!
Hail, the Keyblade Master's dead!
After much applause and thanks from the citizens of the Silver City, Jamie, North, Sandy and Bunny entered through the palace gates.
