Chapter Eighteen: Diplomacy at Disney Castle
Roxas awoke slowly, blinking in the bright light of the Gummi Ship. He had dozed off not long after they had eaten enough ice cream to use the sticks for fuel for their Gummi Ship. He had wound up eating twelve bars—Xion had eaten thirteen. After everything that had gone down in Olympus, he'd been too tired to concentrate on anything other than ice cream after a while, and then when the ship finally had enough fuel, he'd fallen asleep.
But he wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep. It didn't feel like a long time—he still felt exhausted and his neck ached. Their Gummi Ship was simpler than the Highwind; the seats were large, but firm. More like benches than couches. Roxas blinked again. He felt a weight on his shoulder. Turning his head slightly, Roxas smiled. It was Xion. Who had a really bad case of bed hair but looked like she was finally getting some decent sleep. She opened one eye and smiled. Faker. She hadn't been sleeping after all.
"You finally up, kiddo?" Axel asked. He was still wearing his Keyblade Armor. "Let's get moving, we don't want to keep King Mickey waiting."
"We've only just docked in the garage," Isa countered from the computer at the other end of the ship. "It's not as if the children could have hastened our return any further. They haven't inconvenienced anyone."
"Speak for yourself, you have any idea how hard it is to get a nap in with this armor?" Axel spread his arms wide. Roxas blinked. Why did Axel still have his armor on? Roxas had only worn his armor once, and once the fighting had been over, it had dissolved back into his Keyblades. Weird, when he thought about it—Terra and Aqua didn't have Armor that behaved liked that.
"I don't know what I'm doing wrong," Axel continued as he walked back and forth, pressing his hands together. "I was able to get the helmet off. Wasn't any harder than pushing back a hood, but the rest of it…" He gestured towards his arms and chest. Armor. Red and gold, kind of like Terra's, but more streamlined. And there was some black too, especially on his arms, almost like a gauntlet.
"I'm sure that King Mickey will be able to help you, Axel," Xion said. "Or maybe Master Yen Sid."
"Yeah yeah, let's get a move on," Axel tousled her hair. "We're burning daylight."
Isa pressed a button on the computer and the hatch to their Gummi Ship opened up slowly, clanking when it hit the ground. Through the gap, Roxas could see the blue steel floors of the garage of Disney Castle. The four of them walked in two groups, Axel and Isa ahead, while Roxas and Xion trailed behind them. Xion clutched her new necklace and smiled shyly at Roxas.
If anything, Roxas was fairly certain the garage was even more crowded than it had been when they had first arrived at Disney Castle. Two of the Gummis that had been mid-way through construction had been finished—one of them resembled the Highwind, but blue and white, the other was shaped almost like a wayfinder, with long bars of green blocks sticking out the sides of its cockpit. And all around, workers were rushing about—Roxas thought he recognized the horse at the foot of the stairwell.
"King Mickey's waitin' for youse up in his library," The horse said. Yep, this was him all right. "You can head on up…whoa, deja vu. Eh, never mind. You remember where the library is, tell him I say hi."
"Thank you, Horace," Xion said politely. Roxas nodded as well—he had forgotten the horse's name.
The walk to the castle's library was not particularly long, but at the same time, there seemed a certain tension in the air. Roxas wasn't quite sure what it was though. They passed by a goose in a knight's uniform, but he didn't say so much as hello in response to Xion's "Good morning." Had more things gone wrong here? Goofy had said before they had seen glimpse of people they cared about. People who had died. His chest tightened—it was awful, seeing the spectra of Sora and trying to get him to talk, only for it to fail over and over. If that was the reason why the goose hadn't responded, Roxas could hardly blame him.
Sora…where are you?
Or maybe people were just scared of Axel's Keyblade Armor, which wasn't unreasonable, all things considered. Axel's armor was intimidating, and its colors—red and gold and black—clashed hard with the paintings and potted plants and sculptures lining the hallways in the castle. And several residents were visibly intimidated.
"Really, if I could take it off, I would!" Axel said, in a tone of voice that seemed more annoyed than concerned. Roxas wondered whether it might be a more effective argument if Axel hadn't been having it with a walking broom.
"Perhaps we should have left you back on the ship," Isa mused. "It would have been considerably more polite."
"Ha ha, at least I didn't get air-sick," Axel countered. "You spent half the flight sick to your stomach."
"That is due in no small part to my having an actual digestive system that is designed to eat actual food. You, as I recall, ate twenty-two sea salt ice cream bars."
"Hey, I wanted to make sure we had extras! You know you really don't pull your fair share with those! You only ate three!"
Beside him, Roxas could hear Xion breaking into a fit of giggles, and he could barely suppress a grin himself. Isa seemed to be in a far better mood than even his usual self—Axel liked to call him a stick-in-the-mud. Maybe it was that Harmonia's antidote had been too powerful and he was overly cooperative, or maybe it was just relief at finally being able to think clearly. Either way, it was better than him being a jerk.
"Ah, I believe we've arrived at the library," Isa said. He was right—Roxas recognized the wooden doors, adorned with the King's emblem. Isa knocked once, and the door opened up.
It was a lot more crowded in the library today than it had been just a few days earlier. Besides the King and Master Yen Sid, and Donald and Goofy, there was a mouse wearing a pink dress and tiara and a duck wearing a purple gown.
And there was also two men…human men. One quite tall, with graying blond hair and beard, and the other had blue-gray hair and was not much older than Roxas. They wore long white coats and the elder man had a long, red scarf wrapped around his shoulders….
Ienzo. Ansem the Wise.
He helped you. He used the data to sculpt this Replica body for you to use. And he did the same thing for Naminé.
It was unfair, Roxas knew, to continue to hold onto hurt feelings. Ansem had sought to sacrifice Roxas in order to awaken Sora. Ansem had been brutal in his methods, calling Roxas "a tool" to be used and then discarded when no longer needed. And the way he had abused Naminé…but he had also wanted to make up for the bad stuff he'd done. If it weren't for Ansem, then Roxas wouldn't even be here right now.
His jaw clenched and Roxas grit his teeth. He couldn't lose his temper like this. Ansem hadn't even said so much as "Good morning." He could hold his tongue…for now at least.
oooo
"Master Yen Sid," Xion bowed as deeply as she could. "It is an honor to see you again. And you as well, your Majesties."
King Mickey smiled at her and Xion felt a rush of warmth in her belly. It was almost like having to give a mission report for Saix back in the Organization, only not scary. King Mickey and Master Yen Sid had high expectations but that was okay, since their mission was all about helping people. And this was her chance to prove that she could help others.
Ansem the Wise and Ienzo gave friendly nods, though she noted that Ienzo was holding his coat close to his chest. That seemed a little odd—it wasn't cold in Disney Castle. Why wear a coat in the first place?
"Hiya Xion, Roxas, Axel, Isa…" King Mickey took a breath and Xion was glad they were the last to arrive—they'd be here forever if the King had to say everybody's name. "Did everything work out in Olympus?"
"There was indeed a crisis there," Isa said, before Xion could open her mouth. "And Roxas and Xion, in particular, performed remarkably. I would not be standing here before you if it weren't for their courage and resolve."
"Is that so?" Master Yen Sid said quietly, scratching his beard. "And what of the cause of the conflict? The breaking of the barrier between life and death?"
"Er…it's indeterminate, sir," Xion said. She wondered how she should word this—she didn't want Isa to get into trouble. "Hades attempted to betray Zeus and usurp the throne. And he called forth undead souls from the Underworld as he made his assault. But I do not believe he is one of the chief…er…ringleaders in this crisis. I think whoever is in charge simply took advantage of Hades's spite for his brother."
"Some things never change," Donald muttered, folding his arms. Xion blinked—oh right, Donald had traveled with Sora. Of course they would have fought Hades together.
"We weren't able to see Maleficent, sir," Roxas added. "We're not sure if she's playing a part in this or not. But Hades did get help from somebody outside his world."
"And how, may I ask," Master Yen Sid said, "do you know this to be true? I doubt that Hades was forthcoming with such information."
"He wasn't sir, but he was using a strange weapon," Xion continued. "He said it was made of a metal called mordite."
Goofy and Donald looked at each other and shrugged. King Mickey put a gloved hand to his chin thoughtfully. Master Yen Sid began to tremble.
"Are…are you certain?"
"Yes Master," Xion said. "Hades attempted to use a sword made of mordite in order to kill Zeus and claim his throne. Judging from statements he made…I think Hades would have stolen Zeus's powers too."
That would have been very bad. Hades was supremely powerful to begin with, especially with Fire magic. Xion didn't want to think about how tough he would have been to fight with Thunder magic as well.
"Yes, that is most likely," Master Yen Sid said. He looked around at the gathered warriors and royals. "Children, I don't think you quite grasp the gravity of what you've prevented. Mordite is a cursed weapon, of the foulest darkness. Completely unnatural in the Realm of Light. It corrupts and kills magic itself. Not even Xehanort was so fool-hardy as to dare to obtain such a horrific weapon. No doubt Hades, and whomever he was allied with seek to destroy what fragile peace remains. And if they have mordite weapons, they will be dangerous foes indeed."
"Gosh…I've heard of mordite, on account of my training with ya, Master Yen Sid," King Mickey said, a quiver in his voice. "But I never thought I might have to face it in combat. It's an incredibly dangerous metal."
Xion's knees began to knock together. It made sense, in a way—mordite was supposed to be able to kill gods. And if it could break magic like that…then yeah, it could probably kill just about anyone. That was scary stuff.
"No kidding. And…um…we're sorry, about not getting more information on whoever it was helping Hades," Roxas said. "I mean, I'm pretty sure it was Maleficent, but we didn't even see if she was actually involved."
"It is unfortunate that you were unable to obtain additional information about the motivations of the interlopers who seek to take advantage of crisis. But a crisis was indeed averted, and that is certainly something dignified. From what you report, it appears that your actions prevented a catastrophe that would have cost many their lives."
"Gawrsh, it sounds like they did great!" Goofy spoke up, a grin wide on his face. "I mean, beatin' Hades is tough! And he had a super evil sword, too! And Axel, ya got your Keyblade Armor!"
Next to Goofy, Donald smiled at them and gave them a thumbs up. The mouse and duck wearing gowns gave approving nods.
"Yes," Axel said through a gritted smile. "I'm awesome. We all know it. And I would really like to get it removed, please. Nothing seems to be working."
"Oh? It's actually rather simple, Lea," Master Yen Sid gave a slight smile. "You merely press your right hand against your left shoulder, and dismiss it the same way you would dismiss your Keyblade."
"All the trouble I had summoning it in the first place and now I can't take it—" Axel's remark was cut off as his armor dissolved, leaving him in his sleeveless coat and trousers. "Huh, well, would you look at that?"
"That will do, Lea. That will do," Master Yen Sid said. "Now…Roxas, Xion—there is a pressing matter that must be addressed. Were you able to destroy Hades's sword of mordite?"
"Oh!" Xion gasped. "Yes, yes I was!"
"That is a relief the likes of which can scarcely be expressed," Master Yen Sid said. "Though I fear there may be more, the knowledge that one was able to be destroyed is something we may learn much from. How were you able to do it?"
"It was kind of an accident, actually," Xion said. "See, Hades was gonna kill Axel, but I grabbed the sword to stop after that, we got separated and Hades tried to kill Isa. Axel tried to intercept but I was faster and I was able to use my sword against Hades's sword, and they both wound up shattering."
"What have you done?" Master Yen Sid whispered. "You mean to tell me, you actually created one of those accursed swords?"
"I replicated it…but it's broken so it should be fine…right?" Xion held out her hand. She only had a little bit left with the hilt, so showing it to Master Yen Sid shouldn't hurt anything. She felt the fuzzy feeling of summoning a replicated weapon, and then a moment later, a long purple and black blade emerged. Whoa! She hadn't thought it'd be unbroken—weird.
"Oh my!"
"Whoa," Roxas said. "How did that happen? I saw it shatter!"
"I'm…I'm not sure. Er…Master?"
Master Yen Sid looked furious. He rose to his full height—he was so very tall, he had to be even taller than Aeleus. He could destroy her with a flick of his wrist if he were so inclined…and it looked like he was considering it. Xion glanced at the sword and then back at Master Yen Sid, who finally found his voice.
"Dismiss that weapon at once, foolish child!"
"What's she done wrong?"
Xion wasn't sure who yelled that—Isa or maybe Ansem the Wise. Her face felt very hot and a lump formed in her throat. She'd messed up. She'd messed up really badly. She felt tears burning at her eyes. She dropped the mordite blade to the floor and it clanked hard. Xion winced. That was stupid. She could have hurt someone. She glanced back up at Master Yen Sid. He still looked really, really angry. Xion flexed her fingers and dismissed the weapon. It vanished in a shimmer of light.
"Outside of the Power of Waking, that is perhaps the most dangerous thing any of my students has done!" Master Yen Sid snapped. "You are never to summon that blade again, ever!"
"I'm…I'm sorry," Xion whispered. It took all her concentration not to start crying. "I didn't know…I'm sorry."
Master Yen Sid opened his mouth and then closed it again. For a moment, he didn't speak. Nobody spoke. The only sound Xion could hear was her own ragged breathing. Tears trickled down her cheeks.
"Don't cry, Xion," King Mickey looked up at her. "You didn't know. You're not in trouble."
"At ease, child," Master Yen Sid said, his voice stern, but there was a flash of concern in his eyes.
He couldn't be angry with her, could he? Of course he was, why wouldn't he be? Xion swallowed hard. Her arm hurt and she began to rub it with her other hand. This was bad. Making Master Yen Sid angry…and what about the mordite sword? If it were bad…then did being able to replicate it mean that Xion was bad?
Of course, you're bad. You're an awful, evil person. Why else would Xehanort have chosen you to be his thirteenth vessel? You're evil, darkness incarnate. You helped kill Kairi. You helped kill Sora. Yen Sid should do the world a favor and kill you where you stand.
Xion fought the urge to throw up—to do that in King Mickey's library would be awful. Absolutely awful. She couldn't do that. Couldn't, couldn't, couldn't.
King Mickey was talking, but Xion couldn't hear what he was saying. And then Axel said something. And then Ansem the Wise…what were they talking about? She had to pay attention. She had a responsibility to do so…she had made mistakes and now she had to listen so she could make up for them. But her head ached…
Xion felt a hand, a little bit bigger than hers, squeeze her fingers gently. Through teary eyes, Xion glanced to her side. Her eyes met a pair the exact same shape and color as hers. Roxas.
"C'mon…we're dismissed…they're gonna discuss some more stuff but we can go."
Xion nodded and then turned back towards King Mickey and Master Yen Sid. She steeled herself as best she could and bowed in respect. She turned around and began to walk towards the library's exit. She was running halfway to the doors, and as they swung shut behind her, she could hear Isa begin to raise his voice.
oooo
Goofy, Cap'n of King Mickey's Royal Guard, stared at the two Keybearers. Just kids, smaller than Sora even. Roxas was fuming, makin' fists. And Xion was doin' the thing kids do when they're tryin' not to cry. Bobbin' her head up and down and bitin' her lip. And she was shakin' like Pluto did when he was out in the rain too long.
"Alright…you're dismissed, Roxas, Xion. You can go too, Axel," King Mickey said. "I need to discuss things with Master Yen Sid and then we can give you your next mission."
"I'm not going anywhere," Axel said, and ooh-boy, he was not happy. Not one wee little bit.
Goofy watched as Roxas led Xion outta the library. He was holdin' her hand and looked like he wanted to throw something. Little Xion looked like she was gonna be sick, especially with the way she started running. Isa glowered really spooky at Master Yen Sid but said he weren't movin' for nuthin. A minute later, Ansem the Wise's buddy Ienzo took a few steps forward.
"Master Ansem," Ienzo said, "I request leave so that I may accompany the other children."
"Very well, Ienzo," Ansem the Wise said. "You may leave…do take care."
Ienzo bowed to Ansem the Wise and then he turned around and walked outta the library. He gave a funny sort of half-nod to Axel and Isa. Oh yeah, they'd all been in the Organization together.
After he left, the only visitors were Axel and Isa and Ansem the Wise. Everyone else, apart from Master Yen Sid, was one of Goofy's oldest friends. Gawrsh, he couldn't even remember a time when King Mickey and Donald weren't his best buddies. And Queen Minnie and Daisy too.
"Well…that could have gone better, I suppose," King Mickey said, with a nervous little laugh in his voice.
"It's not funny."
"You were too hard on her," Axel growled. He stared real hard at Master Yen Sid, almost like he wanted to set him on fire. Sometimes Goofy forgot that Axel used to be a bad guy. Now, not so much. He and Isa looked more like wolves than people. Not that he really blamed 'em—they was just being papas. It was just one o' those things. Goofy remembered how angry he'd been once, years and years ago, when Maxie had come home with a black eye. Why, he'd been so angry, he coulda fought a million Heartless.
"Axel, I'm sorry about how things went down," King Mickey said, and this time he didn't laugh. "Really…Xion isn't in trouble, I want to make that clear."
"Not with you, maybe," Axel retorted, "But you can be sure she'll be taking this out on herself!"
Golly…when he put it that way…Goofy had to admit that Axel had a point. Xion had looked awful upset. Goofy suddenly felt like his helmet was on too tight and then it got itchy.
"However clear I wish acceptable boundaries to be made, I acknowledge that using a softer tone would have been more ideal," Master Yen Sid said. "It seems that even I am not immune to allowing panic overcome common sense."
"Is that your way of saying you screwed up?"
"That's enough, young man," Queen Minnie said. She walked primly up to Axel. "I understand that you are upset, but Master Yen Sid has everyone's best interests at heart. I'm sorry your friend was hurt, but I can't say I approve of her summoning such a weapon in our castle either. Had she not done so, Master Yen Sid would not have raised his voice as he had."
That didn't seem real fair to Goofy. It almost seemed like she was makin' it Xion's fault that Master Yen Sid had yelled. Which might be true on a techn-y-cal point, but it still weren't real fair. But then again, Queen Minnie was one of the nicest people Goofy had ever met. She'd never be mean on purpose, ever. But Queen Minnie didn't have kiddos of her own, and she hadn't spent much time at all with Maxie or Donald's nephews, so maybe she just didn't know how to talk to 'em very well.
"Ah, Queen Minnie, it's not like she did it on purpose," Donald said. Goofy smiled—good ol' Donald always lookin' out for little ones. He looked back at Axel and Isa. "You just need to make sure she never ever does it again."
"In all likelihood, that is not going to be a problem," Isa said. He didn't look happy at all. "After that, I fear that she may never use her replication powers again."
"That would be most unfortunate," Ansem the Wise said quietly. "They're a unique gift. In all my years, I've never seen anyone else with such magical power as that."
"Whether she does or doesn't is her business," Axel said. For a moment there, he looked almost like he wanted to cry. "Now, you mentioned that you had another mission for us? Can't say I'm surprised. So what do we have to do next?"
"Er…perhaps it would be best if we continued on then," King Mickey said. "Well, we've still had sightings, I guess you could call 'em. And we're gettin' more readings from other worlds. We need you to go to one of 'em and figure out what's goin' on."
"Sure. Whatever," Axel crossed his arms. "We'll take care of whatever it is. But ya got anything more to go on? Like, what world it is? And we're gonna need to get some more supplies."
"Rest assured, if you are in any need of additional resources," Ansem the Wise said. "I would be happy to assist."
"Um…if it's alright with you, King Mickey, could I leave now?" Goofy asked. "I think I forgot to feed my goldfishies."
He could hear Donald snickerin' and Axel and Isa looked mostly confused. But that was okay, since King Mickey gave him permission to go on out.
xxxx
Goofy walked out of the library as quietly as he could. Which weren't easy, with all his knight armor on. Ya think he'd gotten used to it by now, but then again, he hadn't worn it regular-like for a long time—it was far too bulky to wear on the adventures he'd have with Sora.
The excuse he'd given about needin' to feed his fishes was a lie. He wanted to check in on Xion. And Roxas too. It wasn't fair, the way that Master Yen Sid had snapped at her and then not said he was sorry. Sure, Xion shouldn't 'ave summoned the evil scary sword like that, but she didn't know it was wrong to do so. She said herself she thought it'd be busted. And she said she was sorry, she even started cryin' on account of how sorry she was. Even after King Mickey said it was okay and she weren't in trouble, she'd still been cryin'. And then after King Mickey dismissed them, Xion had practically run away like she was on fire.
Which was why Goofy was gonna check up on her. Just to see if she was okay. A good cry could help ya out of a lot of stuff, but to be honest, the more he thought about it, the worse it got. Goofy was worried. Real worried. The kind that he hadn't been in a long time. Cause Xion, she'd been scared. Scared of Master Yen Sid and King Mickey. It was no fun being scared of stuff, but to be scared of yer teacher and yer King? Nuh-uh, there weren't nuthin' good about that. It weren't like King Mickey was gonna hurt her. But…had Xion thought he was gonna?
It'd make sense, wouldn't it? Xion had been part of the ol' Organization and from what Goofy had seen, Xemnas had been a lousy boss. And then she'd been part of the second Organization and Master Xehanort was an even worse boss. A while back, when he had been explain' who she was, Axel had said that Xemnas was actually gonna kill Xion with one of his weird laser swords. If all she knew from the people givin' her jobs was getting hit and kicked and being told she'd get killed if she failed, why shouldn't she be ascared of the new people giving her new jobs now?
Xion reminded Goofy of someone he hadn't seen in a long, long time. His son, Maxie, had had a real good buddy PJ when they was kids. PJ was a good boy, always quiet and helpful with whatever Max wanted to do. They played together and did their homework together…well, if he was bein' honest, it was more listening to their music while they were supposed to be doin' their homework.
But one thing Goofy had noticed was that PJ was afraid of folk. Teachers and the principal and most of all, his father Pete. It was strange—Pete was always causin' all sorts of trouble, but PJ never hurt nobody. But it got to a point where PJ was afraid of just about everythin' there was. And people who were in charge were what he was most scared of!
PJ was a good boy, but he'd also been a scared boy. And he'd gotten hurt a bunch of times. Sometimes even by Pete.
It wasn't somethin' Goofy liked to talk about. But there had been times when PJ had been scared to even go home. He had slept over a whole bunch of times, so often that Goofy had gotten King Mickey to set up an extra bedroom just for PJ. It had all worked out for the best. PJ had gotten all grown up and now he weren't scared of much at all.
Goofy searched and searched and searched. He searched the hallways and the garden and the courtyard—he stopped to say howdy to the Sora Statue. But he couldn't find Roxas or Xion anywhere. He needed to find 'em and let them know it was okay.
Hmmm…where had Maxie gone to hide whenever he wanted to be alone? He'd mostly hold up in his room and listen to his music. But Roxas and Xion didn't have a room here in the castle. Hmm…they'd been stayin' on their Gummi Ship, but theirs wasn't that cozy. They liked to watch the sunset in Twilight Town from their tower though. Hmm….
Goofy walked and walked and walked up a whole bunch of stairs until he got to the top of the balcony of the tallest tower in the whole castle. You could see all sorts of places from this high up. And…there were the two he was lookin' for! Roxas and Xion were sitting, side-by-side. Their legs were danglin' off the edge. Ienzo was on Xion's other side, standing up and writing down somethin' with a pencil.
"It's not your fault," Roxas said. He patted Xion on the back, gentle like. "They don't know what they're talking about."
"Roxas…I'm sorry I got you in trouble."
"What are you talking about? You didn't."
"I did! Master Yen Sid is so angry!"
"I assure you, Roxas is correct. Even Master Yen Sid says that his reprimand may have been too overbearing."
"You didn't," Roxas repeated. "And even if you did, so what? You're my best friend, Xion. My best friend. Through all worlds and all time. That's never going to change."
"Awwwwww…"
Roxas and Xion both jumped and then turned their heads around real fast. Ienzo yelped, and he dropped a pencil and it fell all the way down to the ground below. Oops. Guess he had spooked 'em. Roxas looked a little grouchy.
"Er…Mister Goofy," Xion said. "Are we not allowed to be up here? We can leave if, what I mean to say is…"
"No, no, no—you're not in trouble. This here is the balcony. Being up here and looking real far is what it's for!"
"Oh…yeah," Xion went pink, all embarrassed. "Er…did Master Yen Sid want us back? Does King Mickey have a mission?"
"No, well, maybe. But I wanted to check in on ya," Goofy said. "I think you got yer feelings hurt and I wanted you to know it was alright."
"We're not in trouble?"
"Of course not," Goofy said. "Not with the King and not with Master Yen Sid, but I meant it was alright if you was upset."
"I'm…I'm alright," Xion whispered. Goofy looked at her eyes. They was red and puffy and she had shiny tear lines on her cheeks. "Really…"
"Okay, but there's something else you should know. Yer safe here, Xion. Nobody's gonna hurt ya if you make a mistake. Not now, not ever. Okay?"
Xion didn't say nothin' but Roxas seemed relieved. His grouchiness went away and he patted Xion's hand.
"C'mon, let's take a little walk," Goofy said. He held out his hand. It was much bigger than Roxas's hand or Xion's. Big enough for 'em both to take it and let him help 'em to their feet.
xxxx
The four of 'em—Ienzo had come along—were sitting at a picnic table. They had just finished their lunch. It was the first time Roxas and Xion had ever eaten hot dogs before. They had good table manners, better than Sora's anyway. As she tapped her napkin to her lips, Xion frowned.
"Do I look dumb to you?"
"Oh, Xion, you're not dumb," Goofy said. An idea tickled in his brain—but it weren't the kind of tickle that made you laugh. This was a lot like what happened with PJ as a kid. It was almost spooky. No, not really spooky, but Goofy didn't know what adjective fit. Oh well, if it worked before, then maybe it would work now.
"This here is dumb," Goofy held up a small, spiky ball, not much bigger than the perty gem in Xion's necklace.
"What's this?"
"I believe," Ienzo said, "This is a seed of Castanea dentata."
"Ah-hyuck!" Goofy chuckled. "I don't know if this belongs to a Castanee, but this here's a chestnut."
"Oh," Roxas said. "What's a chestnut?"
"It's a food," Goofy said. "Hyuck, I know it don't look like much now. All spiny and dull-looking."
"That doesn't sound very tasty…" Xion bit her lip. "But I guess looks can be deceiving."
"Well sure!" Goofy said. "See, come the right time, the shell will fall off and…walla!" The shell of the chestnut fell away, leavin' just the yummy part left. "See, it's chock-full of good stuff. And it's handsome too! Ah-hyuck, ya know what i mean?"
"I…I think so," Xion said and she smiled real bright. She had a very nice smile. Roxas had a nice smile too…for a moment, they both looked a lot like Sora. Goofy missed his buddy, a whole bunch. But it was nice to have some new friends too.
"Now that we've eaten," Ienzo said, "Perhaps it would be wise if we returned. It's been nearly two hours since we left the library."
"Sounds good to me!" Goofy said. "Let's go!"
He got up off the bench and started back towards the castle. It felt great to give some advice to Roxas and Xion. They seemed to be doin' much better now. But Goofy couldn't help but think that maybe he forgot somethin'. But what?
"Goofy!" Xion called. "You forgot your shield!"
Oopsy. Xion scooped up his shield and handed it to Goofy. He noticed she clung it tight for a moment before handing it back to him. Roxas grinned at him.
"Thank you," Roxas said. "It…means a lot."
"Aww, yer welcome," Goofy chuckled. "Now let's get on goin'."
Roxas and Xion took off ahead of him and even holdin' hands, they were faster than Ienzo. Goofy chuckled. He'd let them take the lead. Whatever adventure King Mickey had for 'em, he had a good feelin' they was gonna be okay.
"Yeah, they're gonna be okay," Goofy said to himself. "I got a good feelin' about it."
"You always had a way with children, Goofy."
Goofy turned around. Standing in front of him was someone he hadn't seen in…a long time. Someone who had a pink sweater and brown hair and long gold hoop earrings. Goofy could hardly believe his eyes…but then…she weren't the first he'd seen in the last two weeks.
"I don't know how long I'll be able to talk," Peg said. "But Goofy, I want to say thank you. For what you did for those kids. For what you did for my son. For being his parent when I couldn't be."
"Yer…yer welcome, Peg."
Peg Pete smiled and kissed Goofy's cheek. A minute later, she faded away.
A/N: Another week, another chapter done my friends.
I wanted to give Goofy some attention, as I felt that out of all the Disney characters, he would be the best suited to giving Roxas and Xion a pep talk. For the most part, I think it works out well—the chestnut scene is derived largely from the similar scene where Goofy encourages PJ in the Goof Troop episode "O, R-V, I N-V-U." It was a lot of fun to write as Goofy, even if my instincts as a English major were crying out in protest.
Thank you for reading! Leave a comment if you're so inclined, or comment on another's comment.
Where do you think the story will go? I know, but I'm not telling :D
Thank you for reading! We're up to over 100,000 words on the story itself now, can you believe it? I appreciate each and every one of you.
