Author's Note: To all Americans, happy Fourth of July! waves madly Which
is why this chapter is also updated a bit earlier than usual. This is a
present to all Americans who read this! Cheers and thank you, faithful
reviewers. Here is the chapter you all must be waiting for earnestly, since
that evil cliffhanger and the chapter afterwards have you all bent on
murdering me. hides before continuing to speak By the way, if you would
like to see how Aozora looks like, you may do so by clicking on a link I
posted on my Bio page. If he somehow manages to look like you, do tell me.
Thanks and go read your hearts out! Just don't forget to review. (
Secrets of Memories
Chapter 19: A Most Noble Act
Aozora followed Friar Tuck, Donald, and Goofy for only a little while, before realizing that Sora wasn't with them. He froze up quickly, his senses all tense, on alert. Where did he go?
"What's up?" Goofy hiccupped.
"Sora," Aozora answered. "Where did he go?"
Friar Tuck stopped in his tracks. Donald, who was not paying attention, ran into him.
"Ow! What where you're going!" Donald squalled as soon as he was back on his feet.
"Its not that," Friar Tuck reprimanded quickly. "Aozora, where's Sora?"
"How'd you know my name?" Aozora demanded, then gave himself a mental slap. "Why do I ask; you're part of the Order..."
"Hey everybody, look!" Goofy pointed a little way behind them. "That there's Sora....but....er...what's he doing?"
Sora, for some odd, unexplainable reason, was kneeling in front of the lake, staring into its watery depths. It was very odd, because they had no idea why Sora would even think about doing that.
"Sora?" Aozora called out. "What are you doing?"
Sora didn't even seem to breathe; he was more like a carved stone statue of a boy looking into the lake.
"Oh no..." they heard Friar Tuck say. "Oh no."
"What? Is there something wrong?" a hard edge began to collect in Aozora's voice.
"Oh no...he looked into the lake," Friar Tuck began to rush his way over. " I didn't even warn you about the lake! Oh, I'm such a fool!"
"Why?" Donald demanded as the three with Friar Tuck rushed after him. "What's wrong about the lake?"
"The lake...holds the strangest powers," Friar Tuck answered." For hundreds of years, the innocent passerby would go to the lake and would never be heard from again. Then one of my fellow monks told me about the 'Curse of the Lake'."
"A curse?" Donald squabbled madly.
"Whoever looks into it sees strange things," the Friar explained as they rushed to Sora, who happened to be rather far away. "Things like the future, the present, and the past. But often, I'm told, they can wreck one's mind, or cause them to fall into the lake and drown...But for one with power like Sora, that's rather dangerous; I don't even want to know what the lake can do to someone like him..."
"What?" Aozora bolted past him. "Sora! Get away from that lake! Get away! Now!"
Sora fell into the lake.
He didn't know what was going to happen if he looked at the lake. It was so strange, the water tossing back and forth and swirling like a whirlpool. But he did not expect this. No, he did not want to see it.
A huge battlefield loomed before his eyes. Heartless and Nobodies, among other shadowy shapes and beings, were in the dark army before him. It was a barren wasteland of a battlefield...and he heard voices behind him, shouting soldiers to their posts...
Blood dripping from every blade, bodies strewn all over the soaking ground, the rain falling like tears from the angels above...somewhere, a man was crying...
And he saw what he believed was the present, was now...
Kairi was walking down a hazy path in a world of gray...with two people he could barely make out...they barely looked familiar...but there she was, Kairi, the one he promised he would return to...
Riku was in an unfamiliar gummi ship with five undistinguishable figures...why was it all so hazy? But he was there, and he looked...fine, just fine...
Sora shook as he stared into the water. Why? Why was the strange power of the water tormenting him with images of death, images of war, images of his friends?
It was a dark, windy night...the moon shone a faint hue of red in the stormy sky...two people stood in a clearing, wind throwing itself against them...one was holding two keys in its hands, the other had only one...both were human, facing off in the dark, dark world...
Then, two children, young, small, appeared as though out of thin air...they cried out, "Daddy, what are you doing?"...and the one with the two blades turned to them...
Two strange, canid creatures, one blazing white, the other a deep dark brown/black, fought tooth and nail in darkness...feathers and fire flew...the worlds rumbled and shook under their very feet....
Come...come, wielder of the Key...come into the waters...and see what you must see...hear what you must hear...take what you must know...
He heard someone cry out his name...faintly...
Come!
He fell.
"No!" Aozora cried out, his hand outstretched, wanting to stop Sora. But Sora fell, head first, into the dark waters.
"God, save us now," Friar Tuck prayed. "This night was not meant to go this way, it wasn't!"
"I'm gonna get him!" Aozora unzipped his long cloak, pulled it off and chucked it aside, then dove into the waters after Sora.
"He wears white?" Donald was puzzled.
"Oh God, now can you save us?" Friar Tuck prayed all the more fervently. " He shouldn't have gone after him! Doesn't he know what the waters can do to ones like them? They're both Keyblade wielders, who know what can happen to them! Maybe I should get Robin Hood."
With that, Friar Tuck rushed to their original destination with no knowledge of the fact that he would crash the very-lively party that was being hosted in honor of Robin Hood and Maid Marian.
It was strange. Sora knew he had fallen into water, he knew human beings cannot breathe in water, but why, after a several seconds of holding his breathe, was he able to breathe?
So...the Keyblade Master himself as come...
Sora blinked. Floating in the dark depths, he thought he saw a tall, darkly cloaked person before him, three strange orbs of power orbiting around it. The being raised its hooded head just a bit, then gave a half-bow, as though acknowledging a king.
You have come...though your destiny is not clear. You answer the higher call, the nobler cause, without knowing what fate may hold for you...
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora demanded, trying to yell in the water. But all that came out were bubbles.
You know what will happen if you fail? If you do not succeed...if you cannot return?
Sora felt his heart quiver. What was this being talking about?
Then, before his eyes, he saw an image that shook him to the core.
It was dark, dark like the night...a vast, endless sea, dark and murky...the sky was clouded over, nothing more to be seen...a restless wind blowing with nothing to brush up against but the cloud and sea...loneliness...the empty sea screamed of it...sadness...tragedy...it was a bitter place, an empty, never- ending realm of sadness...
"What-what is that place?" more bubbles floated out of Sora's mouth.
The Grandmother was to tell you, but she had failed. Now I am with the task of telling you. This is the Sea of Sorrows. If you fail, all the worlds will turn to the darkest sea...and both the dark and the light will have fallen into ruin. If you fail, this is where you will go...and this is what everything will become...
Sora stared as he took in those words. If he failed, is this what the end of everything would look like?
Is this answer you've been looking for? Always ask yourself as you go down the road to your destiny....always ask if this is the answer you seek...
Then, the image of the empty sea and the being itself vanished, as someone grabbed his arm and he was pulled upwards...
Aozora found himself breathing in the waters of the lake, which stunned him. Allowing his body to sink a little bit, he carefully opened his eyes, peering into the murkiness of the water, searching for any signs of Sora. But what he found was a bombardment of voices.
Protector of the seeker...wielder of two blades...child of the blue sky, protect him...protect him at all costs, protect him to the end...you must not fail...you know the consequences...you know what will happen...
Aozora desperately pushed aside the voices, as he saw Sora sinking lower into the waters below him. He propelled himself forward, using arm and leg to reach out for Sora as he sank.
My pupil...do not fail...remember my parting words...do not fail...
Mentor...Aozora froze, stunned with disbelief. It was his mentor, the one they called Eldest...
Do not lose hope in finding your friends...do not lose hope in your mission...do not lose hope in the cause...do not lose hope in remembering your past...
"Mentor!" Aozora cried out, bubbles floating from his mouth, as he grabbed Sora's arm and pulled him up.
"Should I go in?" Goofy looked hesitantly at the lake; everyone noted the bubbles coming from the lake.
"Friar Tuck says this lake is cursed," Robin Hood was musing; Friar Tuck did crash the party and caused a hullabaloo about Sora. "But why would anyone go in?"
"He just fell in," Friar Tuck was explaining, moving about frantically. " He was looking into the waters and he just fell in! It's my fault, all my fault! I should've told them about the lake's curse but I forgot! God forgive me!"
Aozora suddenly surfaced. Gasping for air, he pulled Sora along, who looked completely out of it.
"Oh, they're alright after all!" Friar Tuck breathed a sigh of relief, while Robin Hood reached out to pull in Aozora and Sora.
"My are you two a fright!" Maid Marian rushed up with two blankest she grabbed from one of the trees back at the camp.
Little John had the "more laundry, no..." look on his face.
"I'm sure glad to see both of you are okay!" Goofy yanked Sora out of the waters. "Um...Sora, are you okay?"
Everyone turned to the Keyblade Master. He had a fazed out look on his face. Friar Tuck immediately began to curse himself for not warning them about the curse of the lake.
"No...I'm fine...really," Sora whispered.
"The lake's curse," Aozora was musing as he accepted one of the blankets from Maid Marian. "What is the true nature of the lake's curse?"
"I-I really have no clue, no idea," Friar Tuck admitted. "All I know is that it has driven some mad and some never return form the journey to the lake. Why, what did you see?"
"Yes, tell us what you saw!" Skippy hopped up and down eagerly.
Aozora gave everyone a rather dark glare, then looked at Sora, whose face was oddly pale. "I don't know...I'm sorry, but I'd rather not."
Skippy, the young white rabbit, looked sullen, then looked to Sora," Well Mister, can you tell us what you saw?"
Everyone looked to Sora, who was starting to shiver. He shook his head slowly, then said, "I think I'm done for the night."
Mother Rabbit threw Skippy a "don't you dare, young man "look and herded him away. Toby and the others from the party followed. Robin Hood, Little John, Maid Marian, Lady Kluck, and Friar Tuck stayed and looked on as Sora and Aozora got up on their feet.
"Der...uh...Sora, you okay, right?" Goofy had a very worried look on his face.
Sora shook his head. "I don't want to talk right now, Goofy. Maybe later."
His voice came at a whisper. Quietly, Robin Hood, Little John, and Friar Tuck led the way to their camp, to settle down for the night.
"Der...excuse me," Goofy asked Little John, "you're name is Little John, right?"
"That's right," Little John, the huge bear, answered. "Yes?"
"Why are you called 'Little' John?" Goofy questioned curiously. "You don't look little to me."
Everyone grew silent for a moment.
"You know, that is a good question," Robin Hood admitted.
"I think it's because it makes him sound nicer," Donald growled; his temper had not fully simmered down.
"Good explanation," Robin Hood complimented. Aozora swore Robin Hood really wasn't listening and didn't want to start a conversation as absurd as this. "Truth is, it's a name that just stuck to him."
Aozora rolled his eyes. He didn't even know why Goofy started the conversation in the first place.
"War...there will be war," he heard Sora whisper under his breath. " Yes...there will be war..."
"What makes you say that?" Aozora asked quietly.
Sora looked to him and his pain-filled blue eyes stunned Aozora.
"Because..." Sora answered, "I saw it...in the waters of the lake."
Aozora knew Sora saw more but did not push it.
"Aww...you fellows didn't even hear my song!" Little John suddenly exclaimed.
"What song?" Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aozora were startled by the sudden statement.
"The one about Prince John!" Robin Hood exclaimed, suddenly filled with glee.
"How does it go?" Friar Tuck asked eagerly. Being the one crashing the party, he didn't get a chance to hear it.
Robin Hood and Little John looked to each other and winked. They grinned to Maid Marian and Lady Kluck, both who nodded in agreement
"Oh the world will sing
Of an English King
A thousand years from now,
And not because
He passed some laws
Or had that lofty brow.
While bonny good King Richard leads
The great Crusade he's on,
We'll all have to slave away
For that good-for-nothing John.
Incredible as he is inept,
Wherever the history books are kept,
They'll call him
The phony King of England."
Friar Tuck added with much energy, "A pox on the phony King of England!"
"He sits alone on a giant throne,
Pretending he's a king,
A little tyke who is rather like
A puppet on a string,
And he throws an angry tantrum
If he cannot have his way.
And then he calls for mum,
While he's sucking on his thumb.
You see, he doesn't want to play.
Too late to be known
As John the First
He's sure to be known
As John the Worst.
A pox on that phony King of England!
While he taxes ups to pieces
And he robs us of our bread,
King Richard's crown keeps slipping down,
Around that pointed head.
Ah, but while there is a merry man,
In Robin's wily pack,
We'll find a way
To make him pay
And steal our money back.
A minute before he knows we're there,
Old Rob'll snatch his underwear.
The breezy and uneasy
King of England.
The sniveling groveling
Measly, weasly
Blabberin', jabberin'
Gibberin', jabberin'
Plunderin', plottin'
Wheelin', dealin'
Prince John,
That phony King of England.
Yeah!"
"How long have we've been here?" Sora asked for the umpteenth time since they arrived, in a volatile fashion, to Sherwood Forest.
"Weeks," Little John replied absentmindedly as he handled the cooking; he never really trusted Robin Hood again after the burning episode the day before the phony archery contest.
"And what are you two planning to do again?" Aozora asked from his sitting position on the wooden table in the clearing.
"Get Friar Tuck and the others out of the prisons," Robin Hood answered as he continued to fletch new arrows. "We can't have Friar Tuck hanged and the others are completely innocent."
In the weeks since Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aozora arrived, the Sheriff and Sir Hiss were caught singing Robin Hood and Little John's song about Prince John, it was learnt the people of England were singing it, and Prince John taxed everyone viciously. Most, if not all, could not pay up continuously and were thrown in jail.
Then, Friar Tuck got thrown into jail for having a brawl with the Sheriff. The two mouse residents of Friar Tuck's church rushed to Robin Hood with the news, and he went sneaking off to Prince John's castle to figure it all out himself. He came rushing back with Little John with the news that Prince John planned to have Friar Tuck hanged the next day.
"We can't have that happen to him!" Little John was pacing earlier that day. "That's impossible; he's our friend! Rob, we've got to save him!"
"There will be more than guards there, John," Robin Hood replied as he was polishing his bow. "You guys know what I mean, right?"
He was referring to Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aozora.
"Nobodies," Aozora answered instantaneously.
"Again?" Donald complained.
"Cheer up, Donald!" Sora grinned. "At least we won't have to face both Nobodies and Heartless, right?"
"Huyuk!" Goofy nodded in enthusiastic agreement.
Donald grumbled something undistinguishable under his breath. Sora ignored that and instead turned to Aozora. "And what's on your mind?"
Aozora had been busy brooding silently. "Not much...except, how are we to seal this world off from the Nobodies?"
A long silence followed, later accompanied by, "What? What did I say wrong? Aren't I right?"
And now, they were all getting ready for a night raid of Prince John's castle. Robin Hood and Little John were whistling rather merrily as they created a crude map of the castle and planned their course of action. Sora added a bit here and there but let Robin Hood and Little John do most of the planning; after all, it was their home turf.
"Donald, we're almost out of Potions, Hi Potions, Ethers, and Mega- Ethers!" Goofy announced as he marched in, carrying shatter-proof bottles in his arms. "And we're almost out of Elixirs, too! We've only got one Mega-Elixir and three Elixirs!"
"I hope they have shops in Twilight Town," Sora said darkly while Donald hit himself on the head and let fly some undistinguishable curses.
"They do," Aozora had not told them about his own store of potions, ethers, and elixirs. "You guys use those amongst yourselves; I'll be fine."
"You sure?" Sora asked worriedly.
"He thinks he's Superman," Donald input. "Leave him alone."
"Yeah, what he said," Aozora played along.
Donald gave him a "what an idiot" look and began sorting through the pile of potions, ethers, and elixirs.
The Nobodies kept to themselves, well away from the weasel archers and rhino guards that patrolled Prince John's castle. They went about in their own little groups, trying to have as little to do as possible with Prince John's forces. And whenever they passed by the others, they gave them contemptuous looks, as though the others were far below them in the social ranking.
They only patrolled the walls. Prince John made it final that his soldiers patrol everywhere and the Nobodies be kept only to the walls. But should Robin Hood and his fellow outlaw friends attack, then the Nobodies can go all over the castle, to fulfill their mission, while Prince John's forces fulfill theirs.
Upon arriving and creeping deep into the castle, Robin Hood, Little John, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aozora analyzed the problem laid out before them. Aozora knew much about the Nobodies; after all, he was said to be a member of those hooded people before he broke away and left.
"They're restricted to the walls," Aozora noted. "They can't move elsewhere unless the instructions say so. So they will act like the archers and the guards; they have to see us in order to attack us."
"Great, it makes things a whole lot easier," Robin Hood breathed a sigh of relief.
"Huyuk, that's-"
"Goofy, not too loud!"
"Uh? Oh...sorry," Goofy apologized as they hid in the shrubbery near the spot a vulture, interestingly named Nutsy, patrolled.
Nutsy approached their hiding spot, unaware of those who were hiding in the shrubbery. Little John signaled everyone to be quiet, then reached out to snatch Nutsy.
Nutsy turned his back to the spot and set his pike/axe on the ground, then trumpeted out, with Little John's hands a few inches from his head and the church bells beginning to toll, "One o' clock! And all's well!"
Robin Hood and Sora yanked Little John back and they all watched with wary eyes as the bells rang three times.
"Nutsy, set your brains ahead a couple of hours!" the Sheriff yelled out sleepily from his seat next to the prison gates.
"Yes sir," Nutsy answered dutifully. "Does that there mean adding or subtracting?"
Sora snorted at Nutsy's stupidity. Everyone threw him a warning glare.
"Oh, let's forget it!" the Sheriff answered in irritation.
"Yes, sir, Sheriff, sir," Nutsy said.
The Sheriff yelled back, "Nutsy, how can I sleep with you yelling "all's well "all the time?"
"Sheriff," another vulture guard, named Trigger, hissed. He patted his loaded crossbow as he continued, "everything ain't all's well. I got a feeling in my bones there's gonna be a jailbreak any minute."
Robin Hood, Little John, Sora, a very nervous Donald, Goofy, and Aozora looked at each other in surprise.
"Criminently, Trigger!" the Sheriff yelped as he found Trigger's crossbow pointing up at his face. "Point that peashooter the other way."
He pushed it aside. Trigger tried to reassure him, "Don't you worry not, Sheriff. The safety's on old Betsy."
He patted the crossbow and it fired. The Sheriff and Trigger both ducked as the arrow flew all over the place, hitting the ground, the wall, the gate, and then sailed over to where Robin Hood, Sora, and crew were.
"And I thought he was nuts," Aozora quipped and pointed in the direction of where Nutsy had vanished off to.
"What are you trying to do, you birdbrain?" the Sheriff railed at Trigger, who pulled back his head meekly.
"Just doing my duty, Sheriff," he replied with humility.
"Oh, you and that itchy trigger finger of yours," the Sheriff growled. Nutsy approached the hiding spot again. Robin Hood nodded to Little John, who reached out and was not interrupted in snagging the vulture guard.
Their only bad luck was, Nutsy made some noise while being yanked away.
"Hey, you hear that?" Trigger hissed immediately.
Oh damn! Aozora thought.
"Sure did I, Trigger," the Sheriff agreed in a whisper. "There's something funny going on here. Come on."
He gestured to Trigger to cover him, "You cover me. Wait a minute."
He froze and Trigger nearly bumped into him. The Sheriff whirled around on Trigger, "Is the safety on old Betsy?"
"You bet it, Sheriff," Trigger answered happily.
"That's what I'm afraid of. You go first, "and Trigger moved to the front as they approached where Little John mugged Nutsy. "All right you in there! Come on with your hands up!"
"Yeah," Trigger added with a threatening gesture of his 'old Betsy'. " Reach them up to the sky."
Sora looked to Robin Hood, who was finishing up putting on the disguise. "Just you watch this performance, boys," Robin Hood said with glee as he tied a crooked sock to his face.
"Be careful, Rob," Little John told him.
"Good luck," Aozora agreed.
"And I thought that guy was nuts," Donald muttered under his breath in the direction of the roped up bundle of feathers Goofy was guarding.
Robin Hood hopped out of the hiding place and went into his act.
"Many Nobodies have reported to Sherwood Forest, Princess Kida," she said softly, as the two-cloaked figures looked into the lake. "What must we wait for?"
"The only way for the Nobodies to stop coming here is if we seal it," the other said. He bent down to look deep into the waters. "What must be done?"
"A noble act must be performed," the princess of Atlantis answered quietly. "An act of great risk and sacrifice that tests the depth of one's soul will lock the world forevermore from Nobodies. This world has a heart no Heartless can touch; it is true for some worlds. But there are worlds with souls, and this one is one of them. You must wait for a noble act; Eldest has taught you two how to identify, yes?"
"Indeed, the mentor has," he agreed.
"And then we shall do what must be done," she said; she stood up and looked across the lake. "I sense something...someone is here. It feels...familiar."
"Time will tell," Princess Kida said, repressing a smile. "Now you must go. Time is also pressing."
Secrets of Memories
Chapter 19: A Most Noble Act
Aozora followed Friar Tuck, Donald, and Goofy for only a little while, before realizing that Sora wasn't with them. He froze up quickly, his senses all tense, on alert. Where did he go?
"What's up?" Goofy hiccupped.
"Sora," Aozora answered. "Where did he go?"
Friar Tuck stopped in his tracks. Donald, who was not paying attention, ran into him.
"Ow! What where you're going!" Donald squalled as soon as he was back on his feet.
"Its not that," Friar Tuck reprimanded quickly. "Aozora, where's Sora?"
"How'd you know my name?" Aozora demanded, then gave himself a mental slap. "Why do I ask; you're part of the Order..."
"Hey everybody, look!" Goofy pointed a little way behind them. "That there's Sora....but....er...what's he doing?"
Sora, for some odd, unexplainable reason, was kneeling in front of the lake, staring into its watery depths. It was very odd, because they had no idea why Sora would even think about doing that.
"Sora?" Aozora called out. "What are you doing?"
Sora didn't even seem to breathe; he was more like a carved stone statue of a boy looking into the lake.
"Oh no..." they heard Friar Tuck say. "Oh no."
"What? Is there something wrong?" a hard edge began to collect in Aozora's voice.
"Oh no...he looked into the lake," Friar Tuck began to rush his way over. " I didn't even warn you about the lake! Oh, I'm such a fool!"
"Why?" Donald demanded as the three with Friar Tuck rushed after him. "What's wrong about the lake?"
"The lake...holds the strangest powers," Friar Tuck answered." For hundreds of years, the innocent passerby would go to the lake and would never be heard from again. Then one of my fellow monks told me about the 'Curse of the Lake'."
"A curse?" Donald squabbled madly.
"Whoever looks into it sees strange things," the Friar explained as they rushed to Sora, who happened to be rather far away. "Things like the future, the present, and the past. But often, I'm told, they can wreck one's mind, or cause them to fall into the lake and drown...But for one with power like Sora, that's rather dangerous; I don't even want to know what the lake can do to someone like him..."
"What?" Aozora bolted past him. "Sora! Get away from that lake! Get away! Now!"
Sora fell into the lake.
He didn't know what was going to happen if he looked at the lake. It was so strange, the water tossing back and forth and swirling like a whirlpool. But he did not expect this. No, he did not want to see it.
A huge battlefield loomed before his eyes. Heartless and Nobodies, among other shadowy shapes and beings, were in the dark army before him. It was a barren wasteland of a battlefield...and he heard voices behind him, shouting soldiers to their posts...
Blood dripping from every blade, bodies strewn all over the soaking ground, the rain falling like tears from the angels above...somewhere, a man was crying...
And he saw what he believed was the present, was now...
Kairi was walking down a hazy path in a world of gray...with two people he could barely make out...they barely looked familiar...but there she was, Kairi, the one he promised he would return to...
Riku was in an unfamiliar gummi ship with five undistinguishable figures...why was it all so hazy? But he was there, and he looked...fine, just fine...
Sora shook as he stared into the water. Why? Why was the strange power of the water tormenting him with images of death, images of war, images of his friends?
It was a dark, windy night...the moon shone a faint hue of red in the stormy sky...two people stood in a clearing, wind throwing itself against them...one was holding two keys in its hands, the other had only one...both were human, facing off in the dark, dark world...
Then, two children, young, small, appeared as though out of thin air...they cried out, "Daddy, what are you doing?"...and the one with the two blades turned to them...
Two strange, canid creatures, one blazing white, the other a deep dark brown/black, fought tooth and nail in darkness...feathers and fire flew...the worlds rumbled and shook under their very feet....
Come...come, wielder of the Key...come into the waters...and see what you must see...hear what you must hear...take what you must know...
He heard someone cry out his name...faintly...
Come!
He fell.
"No!" Aozora cried out, his hand outstretched, wanting to stop Sora. But Sora fell, head first, into the dark waters.
"God, save us now," Friar Tuck prayed. "This night was not meant to go this way, it wasn't!"
"I'm gonna get him!" Aozora unzipped his long cloak, pulled it off and chucked it aside, then dove into the waters after Sora.
"He wears white?" Donald was puzzled.
"Oh God, now can you save us?" Friar Tuck prayed all the more fervently. " He shouldn't have gone after him! Doesn't he know what the waters can do to ones like them? They're both Keyblade wielders, who know what can happen to them! Maybe I should get Robin Hood."
With that, Friar Tuck rushed to their original destination with no knowledge of the fact that he would crash the very-lively party that was being hosted in honor of Robin Hood and Maid Marian.
It was strange. Sora knew he had fallen into water, he knew human beings cannot breathe in water, but why, after a several seconds of holding his breathe, was he able to breathe?
So...the Keyblade Master himself as come...
Sora blinked. Floating in the dark depths, he thought he saw a tall, darkly cloaked person before him, three strange orbs of power orbiting around it. The being raised its hooded head just a bit, then gave a half-bow, as though acknowledging a king.
You have come...though your destiny is not clear. You answer the higher call, the nobler cause, without knowing what fate may hold for you...
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora demanded, trying to yell in the water. But all that came out were bubbles.
You know what will happen if you fail? If you do not succeed...if you cannot return?
Sora felt his heart quiver. What was this being talking about?
Then, before his eyes, he saw an image that shook him to the core.
It was dark, dark like the night...a vast, endless sea, dark and murky...the sky was clouded over, nothing more to be seen...a restless wind blowing with nothing to brush up against but the cloud and sea...loneliness...the empty sea screamed of it...sadness...tragedy...it was a bitter place, an empty, never- ending realm of sadness...
"What-what is that place?" more bubbles floated out of Sora's mouth.
The Grandmother was to tell you, but she had failed. Now I am with the task of telling you. This is the Sea of Sorrows. If you fail, all the worlds will turn to the darkest sea...and both the dark and the light will have fallen into ruin. If you fail, this is where you will go...and this is what everything will become...
Sora stared as he took in those words. If he failed, is this what the end of everything would look like?
Is this answer you've been looking for? Always ask yourself as you go down the road to your destiny....always ask if this is the answer you seek...
Then, the image of the empty sea and the being itself vanished, as someone grabbed his arm and he was pulled upwards...
Aozora found himself breathing in the waters of the lake, which stunned him. Allowing his body to sink a little bit, he carefully opened his eyes, peering into the murkiness of the water, searching for any signs of Sora. But what he found was a bombardment of voices.
Protector of the seeker...wielder of two blades...child of the blue sky, protect him...protect him at all costs, protect him to the end...you must not fail...you know the consequences...you know what will happen...
Aozora desperately pushed aside the voices, as he saw Sora sinking lower into the waters below him. He propelled himself forward, using arm and leg to reach out for Sora as he sank.
My pupil...do not fail...remember my parting words...do not fail...
Mentor...Aozora froze, stunned with disbelief. It was his mentor, the one they called Eldest...
Do not lose hope in finding your friends...do not lose hope in your mission...do not lose hope in the cause...do not lose hope in remembering your past...
"Mentor!" Aozora cried out, bubbles floating from his mouth, as he grabbed Sora's arm and pulled him up.
"Should I go in?" Goofy looked hesitantly at the lake; everyone noted the bubbles coming from the lake.
"Friar Tuck says this lake is cursed," Robin Hood was musing; Friar Tuck did crash the party and caused a hullabaloo about Sora. "But why would anyone go in?"
"He just fell in," Friar Tuck was explaining, moving about frantically. " He was looking into the waters and he just fell in! It's my fault, all my fault! I should've told them about the lake's curse but I forgot! God forgive me!"
Aozora suddenly surfaced. Gasping for air, he pulled Sora along, who looked completely out of it.
"Oh, they're alright after all!" Friar Tuck breathed a sigh of relief, while Robin Hood reached out to pull in Aozora and Sora.
"My are you two a fright!" Maid Marian rushed up with two blankest she grabbed from one of the trees back at the camp.
Little John had the "more laundry, no..." look on his face.
"I'm sure glad to see both of you are okay!" Goofy yanked Sora out of the waters. "Um...Sora, are you okay?"
Everyone turned to the Keyblade Master. He had a fazed out look on his face. Friar Tuck immediately began to curse himself for not warning them about the curse of the lake.
"No...I'm fine...really," Sora whispered.
"The lake's curse," Aozora was musing as he accepted one of the blankets from Maid Marian. "What is the true nature of the lake's curse?"
"I-I really have no clue, no idea," Friar Tuck admitted. "All I know is that it has driven some mad and some never return form the journey to the lake. Why, what did you see?"
"Yes, tell us what you saw!" Skippy hopped up and down eagerly.
Aozora gave everyone a rather dark glare, then looked at Sora, whose face was oddly pale. "I don't know...I'm sorry, but I'd rather not."
Skippy, the young white rabbit, looked sullen, then looked to Sora," Well Mister, can you tell us what you saw?"
Everyone looked to Sora, who was starting to shiver. He shook his head slowly, then said, "I think I'm done for the night."
Mother Rabbit threw Skippy a "don't you dare, young man "look and herded him away. Toby and the others from the party followed. Robin Hood, Little John, Maid Marian, Lady Kluck, and Friar Tuck stayed and looked on as Sora and Aozora got up on their feet.
"Der...uh...Sora, you okay, right?" Goofy had a very worried look on his face.
Sora shook his head. "I don't want to talk right now, Goofy. Maybe later."
His voice came at a whisper. Quietly, Robin Hood, Little John, and Friar Tuck led the way to their camp, to settle down for the night.
"Der...excuse me," Goofy asked Little John, "you're name is Little John, right?"
"That's right," Little John, the huge bear, answered. "Yes?"
"Why are you called 'Little' John?" Goofy questioned curiously. "You don't look little to me."
Everyone grew silent for a moment.
"You know, that is a good question," Robin Hood admitted.
"I think it's because it makes him sound nicer," Donald growled; his temper had not fully simmered down.
"Good explanation," Robin Hood complimented. Aozora swore Robin Hood really wasn't listening and didn't want to start a conversation as absurd as this. "Truth is, it's a name that just stuck to him."
Aozora rolled his eyes. He didn't even know why Goofy started the conversation in the first place.
"War...there will be war," he heard Sora whisper under his breath. " Yes...there will be war..."
"What makes you say that?" Aozora asked quietly.
Sora looked to him and his pain-filled blue eyes stunned Aozora.
"Because..." Sora answered, "I saw it...in the waters of the lake."
Aozora knew Sora saw more but did not push it.
"Aww...you fellows didn't even hear my song!" Little John suddenly exclaimed.
"What song?" Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aozora were startled by the sudden statement.
"The one about Prince John!" Robin Hood exclaimed, suddenly filled with glee.
"How does it go?" Friar Tuck asked eagerly. Being the one crashing the party, he didn't get a chance to hear it.
Robin Hood and Little John looked to each other and winked. They grinned to Maid Marian and Lady Kluck, both who nodded in agreement
"Oh the world will sing
Of an English King
A thousand years from now,
And not because
He passed some laws
Or had that lofty brow.
While bonny good King Richard leads
The great Crusade he's on,
We'll all have to slave away
For that good-for-nothing John.
Incredible as he is inept,
Wherever the history books are kept,
They'll call him
The phony King of England."
Friar Tuck added with much energy, "A pox on the phony King of England!"
"He sits alone on a giant throne,
Pretending he's a king,
A little tyke who is rather like
A puppet on a string,
And he throws an angry tantrum
If he cannot have his way.
And then he calls for mum,
While he's sucking on his thumb.
You see, he doesn't want to play.
Too late to be known
As John the First
He's sure to be known
As John the Worst.
A pox on that phony King of England!
While he taxes ups to pieces
And he robs us of our bread,
King Richard's crown keeps slipping down,
Around that pointed head.
Ah, but while there is a merry man,
In Robin's wily pack,
We'll find a way
To make him pay
And steal our money back.
A minute before he knows we're there,
Old Rob'll snatch his underwear.
The breezy and uneasy
King of England.
The sniveling groveling
Measly, weasly
Blabberin', jabberin'
Gibberin', jabberin'
Plunderin', plottin'
Wheelin', dealin'
Prince John,
That phony King of England.
Yeah!"
"How long have we've been here?" Sora asked for the umpteenth time since they arrived, in a volatile fashion, to Sherwood Forest.
"Weeks," Little John replied absentmindedly as he handled the cooking; he never really trusted Robin Hood again after the burning episode the day before the phony archery contest.
"And what are you two planning to do again?" Aozora asked from his sitting position on the wooden table in the clearing.
"Get Friar Tuck and the others out of the prisons," Robin Hood answered as he continued to fletch new arrows. "We can't have Friar Tuck hanged and the others are completely innocent."
In the weeks since Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aozora arrived, the Sheriff and Sir Hiss were caught singing Robin Hood and Little John's song about Prince John, it was learnt the people of England were singing it, and Prince John taxed everyone viciously. Most, if not all, could not pay up continuously and were thrown in jail.
Then, Friar Tuck got thrown into jail for having a brawl with the Sheriff. The two mouse residents of Friar Tuck's church rushed to Robin Hood with the news, and he went sneaking off to Prince John's castle to figure it all out himself. He came rushing back with Little John with the news that Prince John planned to have Friar Tuck hanged the next day.
"We can't have that happen to him!" Little John was pacing earlier that day. "That's impossible; he's our friend! Rob, we've got to save him!"
"There will be more than guards there, John," Robin Hood replied as he was polishing his bow. "You guys know what I mean, right?"
He was referring to Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aozora.
"Nobodies," Aozora answered instantaneously.
"Again?" Donald complained.
"Cheer up, Donald!" Sora grinned. "At least we won't have to face both Nobodies and Heartless, right?"
"Huyuk!" Goofy nodded in enthusiastic agreement.
Donald grumbled something undistinguishable under his breath. Sora ignored that and instead turned to Aozora. "And what's on your mind?"
Aozora had been busy brooding silently. "Not much...except, how are we to seal this world off from the Nobodies?"
A long silence followed, later accompanied by, "What? What did I say wrong? Aren't I right?"
And now, they were all getting ready for a night raid of Prince John's castle. Robin Hood and Little John were whistling rather merrily as they created a crude map of the castle and planned their course of action. Sora added a bit here and there but let Robin Hood and Little John do most of the planning; after all, it was their home turf.
"Donald, we're almost out of Potions, Hi Potions, Ethers, and Mega- Ethers!" Goofy announced as he marched in, carrying shatter-proof bottles in his arms. "And we're almost out of Elixirs, too! We've only got one Mega-Elixir and three Elixirs!"
"I hope they have shops in Twilight Town," Sora said darkly while Donald hit himself on the head and let fly some undistinguishable curses.
"They do," Aozora had not told them about his own store of potions, ethers, and elixirs. "You guys use those amongst yourselves; I'll be fine."
"You sure?" Sora asked worriedly.
"He thinks he's Superman," Donald input. "Leave him alone."
"Yeah, what he said," Aozora played along.
Donald gave him a "what an idiot" look and began sorting through the pile of potions, ethers, and elixirs.
The Nobodies kept to themselves, well away from the weasel archers and rhino guards that patrolled Prince John's castle. They went about in their own little groups, trying to have as little to do as possible with Prince John's forces. And whenever they passed by the others, they gave them contemptuous looks, as though the others were far below them in the social ranking.
They only patrolled the walls. Prince John made it final that his soldiers patrol everywhere and the Nobodies be kept only to the walls. But should Robin Hood and his fellow outlaw friends attack, then the Nobodies can go all over the castle, to fulfill their mission, while Prince John's forces fulfill theirs.
Upon arriving and creeping deep into the castle, Robin Hood, Little John, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aozora analyzed the problem laid out before them. Aozora knew much about the Nobodies; after all, he was said to be a member of those hooded people before he broke away and left.
"They're restricted to the walls," Aozora noted. "They can't move elsewhere unless the instructions say so. So they will act like the archers and the guards; they have to see us in order to attack us."
"Great, it makes things a whole lot easier," Robin Hood breathed a sigh of relief.
"Huyuk, that's-"
"Goofy, not too loud!"
"Uh? Oh...sorry," Goofy apologized as they hid in the shrubbery near the spot a vulture, interestingly named Nutsy, patrolled.
Nutsy approached their hiding spot, unaware of those who were hiding in the shrubbery. Little John signaled everyone to be quiet, then reached out to snatch Nutsy.
Nutsy turned his back to the spot and set his pike/axe on the ground, then trumpeted out, with Little John's hands a few inches from his head and the church bells beginning to toll, "One o' clock! And all's well!"
Robin Hood and Sora yanked Little John back and they all watched with wary eyes as the bells rang three times.
"Nutsy, set your brains ahead a couple of hours!" the Sheriff yelled out sleepily from his seat next to the prison gates.
"Yes sir," Nutsy answered dutifully. "Does that there mean adding or subtracting?"
Sora snorted at Nutsy's stupidity. Everyone threw him a warning glare.
"Oh, let's forget it!" the Sheriff answered in irritation.
"Yes, sir, Sheriff, sir," Nutsy said.
The Sheriff yelled back, "Nutsy, how can I sleep with you yelling "all's well "all the time?"
"Sheriff," another vulture guard, named Trigger, hissed. He patted his loaded crossbow as he continued, "everything ain't all's well. I got a feeling in my bones there's gonna be a jailbreak any minute."
Robin Hood, Little John, Sora, a very nervous Donald, Goofy, and Aozora looked at each other in surprise.
"Criminently, Trigger!" the Sheriff yelped as he found Trigger's crossbow pointing up at his face. "Point that peashooter the other way."
He pushed it aside. Trigger tried to reassure him, "Don't you worry not, Sheriff. The safety's on old Betsy."
He patted the crossbow and it fired. The Sheriff and Trigger both ducked as the arrow flew all over the place, hitting the ground, the wall, the gate, and then sailed over to where Robin Hood, Sora, and crew were.
"And I thought he was nuts," Aozora quipped and pointed in the direction of where Nutsy had vanished off to.
"What are you trying to do, you birdbrain?" the Sheriff railed at Trigger, who pulled back his head meekly.
"Just doing my duty, Sheriff," he replied with humility.
"Oh, you and that itchy trigger finger of yours," the Sheriff growled. Nutsy approached the hiding spot again. Robin Hood nodded to Little John, who reached out and was not interrupted in snagging the vulture guard.
Their only bad luck was, Nutsy made some noise while being yanked away.
"Hey, you hear that?" Trigger hissed immediately.
Oh damn! Aozora thought.
"Sure did I, Trigger," the Sheriff agreed in a whisper. "There's something funny going on here. Come on."
He gestured to Trigger to cover him, "You cover me. Wait a minute."
He froze and Trigger nearly bumped into him. The Sheriff whirled around on Trigger, "Is the safety on old Betsy?"
"You bet it, Sheriff," Trigger answered happily.
"That's what I'm afraid of. You go first, "and Trigger moved to the front as they approached where Little John mugged Nutsy. "All right you in there! Come on with your hands up!"
"Yeah," Trigger added with a threatening gesture of his 'old Betsy'. " Reach them up to the sky."
Sora looked to Robin Hood, who was finishing up putting on the disguise. "Just you watch this performance, boys," Robin Hood said with glee as he tied a crooked sock to his face.
"Be careful, Rob," Little John told him.
"Good luck," Aozora agreed.
"And I thought that guy was nuts," Donald muttered under his breath in the direction of the roped up bundle of feathers Goofy was guarding.
Robin Hood hopped out of the hiding place and went into his act.
"Many Nobodies have reported to Sherwood Forest, Princess Kida," she said softly, as the two-cloaked figures looked into the lake. "What must we wait for?"
"The only way for the Nobodies to stop coming here is if we seal it," the other said. He bent down to look deep into the waters. "What must be done?"
"A noble act must be performed," the princess of Atlantis answered quietly. "An act of great risk and sacrifice that tests the depth of one's soul will lock the world forevermore from Nobodies. This world has a heart no Heartless can touch; it is true for some worlds. But there are worlds with souls, and this one is one of them. You must wait for a noble act; Eldest has taught you two how to identify, yes?"
"Indeed, the mentor has," he agreed.
"And then we shall do what must be done," she said; she stood up and looked across the lake. "I sense something...someone is here. It feels...familiar."
"Time will tell," Princess Kida said, repressing a smile. "Now you must go. Time is also pressing."