Secrets of Memories Chapter 58: A Father's Devotion
Sora was strangely silent. Normally he'd at least declare that it was his turn to man the gummi ship but now he didn't even seem to think about it. He sat around or wandered about, lost in thought, while Goofy and Donald fought over who got to steer the gummi ship and what was eating the Keyblade Master.
Not literally of course. Tell that to the Captain of the Royal Knights of Disney.
" No, no, no!" Donald Duck hollered in his ear for the sixth time, taking care to stay just out of range of Sora's ear. " Nobody's eating him, Goofy! It's just an expression!"
" Gwarsh, what a funny one," Goofy commented, still not getting it. Donald sighed and contemplated knocking him upside the head with his Mage Staff.
He looked behind him to Sora, who was now sitting on the floor, stroking his right shoe and staring at the floor at the same time. He had a rather dazed look, distant and quiet. This worried Donald a lot; this is quite unusual behavior from someone who was usually as loud and upbeat as Sora.
Then again, Sora had been acting strangely ever since Aozora first appeared on the scene back at Twilight Town.
" Huyuk, look!" Goofy exclaimed, pointing at the window. " Another world!"
Donald saw only the world after it, a distant looming caste with train tracks leading towards it from the world Goofy was pointing at. And beyond that…
" Disney…" the white duck murmured.
''
Sora could not shake off the ominous feeling that settled heavily on his shoulders. It rested on his shoulders, weighing him down ever since they left Atlantis. It was a dark feeling and he couldn't pinpoint why.
He recalled the exhilaration, the pulses of power, the overwhelming strength of fusion. Goofy was probably a bit surprised, Sora had to admit, but it was either him or Donald and Sora didn't want to try out the magic side of things just yet; the laws of magic were still unsteady.
" But the power…" Sora whispered, clenching and releasing his right hand.
And the voice in his head had promised that he would learn more.
" Sora!" Goofy bounded to him cheerfully. " New world, it's the one Queen Kida was talking about. Australia, here we come!"
" Australia?" Sora was on his feet within moments and went to the controls with Goofy. Donald had apparently taken over.
" Look at the water!" Goofy exclaimed.
" Lots of it," Donald added. " We might need to change back to our forms from Atlantica in order to enter this world."
Sora was silent for a moment. Hadn't Queen Kida said something about this? " It's going to be dangerous. She said that an Order member is missing, one from this world."
" Well, you can't run from danger forever," Goofy spoke wisely. " Let's go!"
Donald grumbled as he punched in some commands. Then he pressed 'Autopilot'. " Don't rush things, Goofy. Magic for this is tough; fluctuating magic means we may not succeed in reaching our former forms."
" What if we can't breathe underwater?" Sora asked, suddenly concerned. He preferred any death but drowning.
" Well, that's the least the spell can do," Donald explained. " Its only a matter of what form you'll take because I don't think it's a good idea to go around as a full human."
" It depends on what's down that there world, y'know!" Goofy said. " Either its them mer-people again or its fish this time!"
Sora thought for a moment. " I have a feeling it's going to be…hm…fish."
Donald froze for a moment. " Then hope the spell works. Ready?"
""
" No eating here tonight! No eating here tonight!" Marlin sang, trying to do the boogie.
" No, no , no, eating here tonight, eating here tonight, you're on a diet!" Dory sang.
The male clownfish and the female regal blue tang danced for a few minutes, while a furious angler fish snapped at them. It was caught, quite conveniently, in a diver's goggles.
" So what did the mask say?" Marlin asked, being illiterate.
" P. Sherman. 42 Wallaby Way, Sidney!" Dory exclaimed cheerfully. She froze; a stunned expression came over her face. " I remembered what it said! I usually forget things but I remembered it that time! P. Sherman, 42-"
" Wait!" Marlin wailed out. " Now, where is that?"
" I don't know," Dory shrugged climbing for the lighter side of the ocean. " But who cares? I remembered!"
Marlin had no choice but to patiently wait for her to stop repeating whatever she had read as they swam out of the gloom of the dark side of the ocean.
" P. Sherman. 42 Wallaby Way, Sidney, woo hoo! Again! P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sidney!" Dory sang and repeated as she kept on swimming, sounding quite cheerful. Marlin, who knew what the more serious problem was, stayed silent, contemplating. Where was 42 Wallaby Way, Sidney?
" Is there anyone here we can ask?" he muttered to himself, looking around. Never had he been so far away from the reefs. The land here was vast, with scattered rock obstacles and the random kelp and seaweed here and there. It was an intimidating place, not for a coral-dwelling fish like Marlin. But Dory was used to open spaces and traveling around, and therefore made the best use of it.
" P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sidney! Again!" Dory yelled. " I remember!"
Marlin groaned. If he didn't do something, anything, she could go on like this forever. How long at it been since she deciphered the scribbles on the goggles? Three hours ago, perhaps?
" Isn't there anyone? Marlin asked himself, looking around. Then he spotted a huge school of silvery moonfish swimming nearby in a tightly-packed group. Maybe they knew.
" Um…excuse me?" Marlin asked timidly, swimming towards them. " Uh, hello? Hey!"
The school of fish swirled away from him abruptly, leaving him blinking at them in astonishment.
" Hey, hold it!" the clownfish yelled indignantly, swimming after them. " Wait a minute, I'm trying to talk to you! Hey!"
The moonfish evaded and avoided him entirely, leaving him gasping and in despair. Why won't they answer him?
" One quick question! Please?" Marlin cried out hopelessly, as they swam away. " And they're gone again!"
He sighed and turned back to look at Dory, who was swimming around and singing at the top of her lungs, " P. Sherman, Wallaby Way, Sydney! P. Sherman, Wallaby Way-"
" Okay," Marlin sighed, swimming up to her. " All right, here's the thing. I think it's best if I just carry on from here…"
Dory stared at him with a blank expression.
" By myself," he finished carefully, watching for her reaction.
" Huh?"
" I don't want to hurt your feelings," Marlin explained as gently as possible, knowing that the words would sink into her mind sooner or later.
" You want me to leave?" Dory asked, her eyes 'watering'.
" Well, I mean not…yes," Marlin stumbled over his words, caught unawares by her reaction. " It's just, you know…I can't afford any more delays, and you're one of those fish that cause delays."
He tried to sound as nice as possible but it didn't seem to work.
" You mean…you don't like me?" she sobbed, turning away.
" No!" Marlin exclaimed. " Of course I like you. Oh! Don't cry. I like you-"
" Hey you!"
Marlin froze, then turned around. He found himself staring at the school of moonfish that he tried to ask directions from. They were staring at him and Dory. And they did not look very happy.
" Lady, is this guy bothering you?"
" Um, I don't remember," Dory thought for a moment. She then looked at Marlin. " Were you?"
" Hey!" Marlin realized that they were now paying attention. " Do you guys know how I can get to P. Sherman-"
" Look, pal, we're talking to the lady, not you," the lead moonfish snapped at him, shutting him up immediately. " You like impression? Okay, just like in rehearsal, gentlemen…"
With Marlin staring in disbelief, the moonfish arranged themselves into a very convincing swordfish.
" So what are we? Take a guess," the lead moonfish told Dory.
" Okay," Dory, sniffing, stared at them. " I've seen one of those…"
Seeing that she couldn't recall the name, the moonfish offered a clue, " I'm a fish with a nose like a sword."
" Wait…" Dory thought hard, trying to remember. " Wait…um…"
Marlin was totally unimpressed by this waste of time. " It's a swordfish!"
" Hey, Clown Boy!" the lead moonfish yelled. " Let the lady guess!"
They rearranged themselves into a lobster. " I taste good with butter."
Dory blinked. " Oh, I know, I know-"
" It's a lobster," Marlin said depressingly.
" Hey, you're no fun!" the moonfish jeered at him as they turned into an octopus. " Okay, who am I now?"
" Um…" Dory couldn't recall the name again. Marlin sighed and was getting ready to let loose the right answer when a strange voice hollered, " Somebody explain to me what the heck that thing is!"
" Gwarsh, what a funny-looking octopus!"
" Hey, you!" the moonfish shouted. " Shut up, we're trying to be nice to a lady here!"
" Excuse me? What is going on here?"
" I said-"
Dory shrieked as three strange creatures materialized from behind some rocks. One was a turtle with the strangest head ever, with a bulbous black nose, long black ears, and a tipsy orange thing like a hat. Its shell was made with a round piece of metal. One was a white octopus with a flat yellow bill, a flattish blue thing with silver bits, and a long stick with a crooked brown thing in one of its tentacles. The other was…a dolphin. A strange one, with different hues of blue crisscrossing its body and with brilliant blue eyes but a dolphin nonetheless. And dolphins…eat fish.
" Swim away! Swim away!" the lead moonfish ordered and the school vanished within moments. Marlin tried to inch away but Dory was frozen in place, staring at them in astonishment.
" Dory!" Marlin cried out. " Get away from them!"
Dory looked at him. " They didn't do anything to us."
" That's the good thing," Marlin said hurriedly, watching the two monsters and the fish-eater cautiously. " Now quick, get away or else they'll…"
He remembered trying to get Coral away from the barracuda…and his failure to do so…
" Coral…" he whispered.
" Um…" the dolphin looked at the turtle and the octopus. " What did we do wrong?"
" I think my spell backfired," the octopus said flatly. " Goofy looks okay but…um…not us."
" Why? What did the spell do?" the dolphin demanded. He had a young voice, a young, righteous, and very angry voice.
" Well, der…um….Sora, you're a dolphin," the turtle, Goofy, pointed out.
" Well, yeah, just like last time," the dolphin, Sora, shot back. " What's your point?"
" Sora, you are a dolphin," the octopus explained. " As in…um…you a dolphin as in a whole dolphin. From head to toe – er, tail."
" What!" The dolphin looked at himself, then at his flippers. " Donald!"
" I told you the spell may fluctuate!" the octopus hollered back in defense. " Goofy's all normal, my spell went a little overboard, and yours….turned you into an animal."
" I'm not an animal , I'm a human!" Sora shouted. " And your spell was supposed to turn me half human and half dolphin! Look at me!"
" You look like a dolphin," Dory said pleasantly. " Hi, my name is Dory, what's yours?"
Marlin cringed as she swam up to them.
" Oh, uh, hi," the dolphin blinked in surprise. " My name's Sora. The white octopus is Donald and the green turtle's Goofy."
" Humph," Donald huffed.
" Huyuk, hiya!" Goofy laughed.
Marlin, relieved that they didn't seem to want fish for dinner, inched forward. " Uh…Dory?"
" Oh, and that's, uh….what's your name again?" Dory thought for a moment.
" My name is Marlin, and I'm a clownfish," Marlin introduced himself, expecting a crack about being humorous. When he didn't get any, he continued talking, but with some relief. " That's Dory, but you have to be careful; she's got short-term memory loss. Um…what are you….three doing here?"
" Tell you the truth, I don't know," Sora replied, looking around. Then he narrowed his eyes. " What are you doing here?"
Marlin wondered if he looked hungry or suspicious. " I'm…I'm looking for my son, Nemo. Tiny clownfish, one bad fin, but he's a good kid. I…I lost him to some divers and I'm trying to find him."
"Divers?" Goofy questioned. " As in people? They took your son?"
" P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney!" Dory hollered. " That's the address! I remember it!"
" Good job, Dory." Sora sounded very sincere in his praise.
" Well, we're trying to find a way to Sydney, and I was trying to ask that school of fish but they ignored me, kept talking to Dory, and then you guys came and scared them off," Marlin explained their situation. " Not that I'm blaming you for anything."
Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked at each other. " Sydney?"
" Oh, you were asking about Sydney?" the silver moonfish reappeared. It seemed to them that the coast was clear after all and they were safe from the strange, rather small dolphin. " We know where that is!"
" You do?" Marlin asked hopefully.
" Oh sure, just follow the E.A.C," the lead moonfish explained. " That's, uh, the East Australian Current."
They rearranged themselves into huge wavy lines – a current. " A big current. Can't miss it."
They flashed into an arrow. " It's in that direction. And then you're gonna follow that for, uh, three leagues, and that little baby's gonna float you right past Sydney."
" Oh, great, thanks a bunch!" Marlin exclaimed with happiness.
" Don't mention it," the moonfish replied. " Just…loosen up a bit. Need to be more cheerful."
Donald and Goofy looked at Sora. " What! What did I do now!"
" Thanks!" Marlin quickly swam off in the direction of the arrows. Donald and Goofy quickly followed but Sora stayed behind, waiting for Dory.
" Oh hey, ma'am? One more thing."
" Yes?" Dory asked, turning back to them.
Gee, they're so polite, Sora couldn't help but admire.
" When you come to this trench-" they formed the image of a trench" – swim through it, not over it."
A few of the fishes broke rank and swam through the gap.
" Trench," Dory repeated. " Through it, not over it. Thanks!"
" Don't mention it!" the moonfish replied. Then they spotted Sora.
As Dory swam off after Marlin, Donald ,and Goofy, the moonfish called out, " Hey dolphin, come here a sec!"
" Yeah? What do you want?" Sora demanded.
" You're the Keyblade Master, aren't you?" they asked, turning into a large key.
" How do you know?" Sora demanded.
" Don't ask," the lead moonfish shot back. " But if I were you, I'd be very careful around here. Sea Neons were spotted here; that's why I told the lady to swim through the trench. The Society's got a hold on our Order member and a diver very conveniently snatched up the Keyhole of this world. Yeah, it's another moving thing, like Mulan. Yes, we know the stuff, stop staring at us. Well anyways, try and at least get the Keyhole back in these waters before the Heartless overrun us, okay?"
" Uh…sure," Sora said carefully watching them.
" Oh, and about your friends…"
" What?"
" Well, actually, all we can say is that all of you guys are going to be in a world of a whole lotta hurt," the lead moonfish explained. " Yeah, that's right, we can see a bit into the future, too. You guys are gonna suffer. Good luck."
They swirled away. Sora stared at where they were for a few minutes, shook his head, then swam after the others.
''
" Suffer, my ass," he grumbled, keeping up with Marlin and Dory effortlessly as they headed for the E.A.C. " That's what they always say…"
Donald and Goofy looked at each other and shrugged. They had nothing to do say. But Marlin did.
" Whoa, bad trench!" he exclaimed, screeching to a stop.
" I have to agree, for once," Donald agreed.
It was gloomy place of steel and stone. Stunted seaweed and the skeletal remains of fish scattered through the long dark passageway. Beyond, though, they saw a long green thing, something that moved rapidly, like a –
" Hey, there's the E.A.C!" Sora exclaimed, rushing into the trench.
" Hold it!" Marlin grabbed his tail and yanked him back. " Bad trench, very bad trench. We're gonna have to swim over it."
" Whoa, partner, little red flag going up here!" Dory stated. " Not a good idea. My senses say we hafta go through the trench, not over it."
Marlin stared at her, aghast. " What, are you insane? Look at it; it's got 'Death' written all over it!"
" Still," Dory said patiently and tenaciously. " I really, really, really, really think we should swim through it. Come on, trust me on this."
Sora stayed silent, wanting Dory to resolve this. This was their mission after all, not his.
Marlin was worried. He couldn't quite trust Dory; with a memory or mind like hers, she could make up anything on the spot, then forget about it as soon as possible. He didn't feel ready to risk his, er, gills, on her word, truth be told.
" Trust you?" Marlin echoed, looking at her skeptically. Right there and then Sora knew that there was something wrong with Marlin's mentality.
" Yeah," Dory said cheerfully, thinking he did trust her. " That's what friends do."
" Uh…" he looked around worriedly, trying to figure out what to do. Sora watched him through narrowed eyes. " Look! Something shiny!"
" What?" Dory looked around wildly, while an astonished trio looked on. " Where, where?"
" Oh, it just swam over the trench!" Marlin exclaimed, swimming up. " Come on, we'll follow it!"
" Okay!" Dory said happily and followed him. Donald and Goofy looked at each other worriedly but decided to follow but Sora stayed back for a moment.
" What had he just done?" he wondered aloud, and followed after them.
''
"… you wanted to go through the trench," Marlin laughed as he swam for the fast-moving green current off in the distance. He couldn't believe how easy it was to persuade Dory to follow him over the trench, where the daylight shown and they could see.
" I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine," Dory said happily, cooing to a little jellyfish that was drifting about in the clear sea. " Come here, little Squishy, come here, you -"
She touched its tentacle and Goofy jumped back as a spark jumped onto her fin. " Ow!":
" Dory!" Marlin turned around. " That's a jellyfish!"
" Bad Squishy!" Dory scolded while nursing her fin. Marlin rushed over and slapped the tiny jellyfish away. Donald winced as sparks flew again but the clownfish seemed unaffected.
" Shoo, get away!" Marlin snapped, then turned to Dory's fin. " Come here. Let me see that."
She winced as he yanked her fin towards him and studied the slight burn. " Hey, how come they didn't sting you?"
They failed to notice that larger, purpler jellyfish were falling down all around them, though Donald and Goofy saw them.
" It did," Marlin replied, studying her fin. " It's just that I live in this anemone and I'm used to these kinds of stings. It doesn't look too bad. You're gonna be fine. But now we know, don't we, that we don't want to touch those things again. Let's be thankful this time it was just a little one."
" Uh…ah…you might want ter take that back," Goofy edged in his comment.
" Huh?"
Suddenly, Marlin became very aware of the great purple jellyfishes ballooning their way down upon them. " Don't move!"
Donald and Goofy froze. " Der…is this really bad?"
" This is bad, this is bad," Marlin muttered worriedly, blinded by the purple. " This is very bad – Dory!"
He yelled at the blue tang, who was now joyously bouncing on the top of a massive jellyfish. " This is so much fun! Boing, boing, boing, boing!"
" Dory, what are you doing!" Marlin hollered.
" Me, too!" Goofy shouted and started bouncing on another jellyfish. "Boing, boing, boing, boing…"
Donald shook his head – and his eight tentacles – as the two continued to bounce on the jellyfish. " This is no time to play around, Goofy!"
" Wait a minute!" Marlin exclaimed. " The tops of jellyfish don't sting, Donald! Of course, why didn't I think of it before? If we stay away from the tentacles, we could get out of here-" he saw a patch of blue and a hint of a long green current in the deep of the jellyfish forest "- in no time at all. But we have to play it safe. If we touch their tentacles, we're their din-"
" Donald, Goofy!" Sora burst onto the scene, scattering jellyfish. " Ow! Damn those stingers – guys, guys, we have to get out of here now!"
" Why?" Goofy demanded, bouncing on the top of another jellyfish.
" Screwdrivers!" Sora hollered. " And Sea Neons! We're under attack!"
A screwdriver shot past him, realized that it had gone right past its target, and got lost in the purple forest. Marlin and Donald stared at the hole it punched into their little corner. Then Marlin looked at Sora.
" What was that?" he demanded.
" No time to explain; we have to get out of here!" Sora shouted, pushing them forward towards the blue patch in the distance. " Make for the blue patches! We're all in danger!"
" But the tentacles!" Donald reminded Marlin. " Got any suggestions?"
" Uh…" he watched Dory in particular. " Dory, Dory, okay, let's play a game!"
" Game?" Dory demanded, bouncing on another jellyfish.
" Game!" Goofy cheered.
" What!" Donald screamed.
" Okay, whoever makes it to that blue patch over there-" he pointed at the empty space of freedom from the jellyfish forest and Heartless threat "- is the winner!"
" Okay!" Dory shouted. " On your mark, get ready-"
" Rules!" Sora yelled, interrupting her in hurried fashion. " Don't touch the tentacles! Believe me, they hurt!"
Donald stared at the burns all over the dolphin's back. " Sora, what did you-"
" Keep bouncing on the jellyfish tops!" Marlin added, cutting off Donald. " Whoever's fastest wins!"
" Okay!" Goofy yelled. " Ready Dory?"
" Set!" Dory primed herself. " Go!"
An Aquatank burst onto the scene, ready to discharge the electricity it had stored in its body. To its bewilderment, there was nobody to stun, nobody but the hundreds of jellyfish that rained on it and stung at its massive sides.
''
Marlin hurriedly bounded his way towards the blue patch. Skillfully he maneuvered around tentacles and bounced against the tops of the jellyfish, keeping a close eye on Dory. He didn't worry too much about Sora, Donald, and Goofy but Dory had a tendency to get herself in a whole lot of trouble and he hated to be at fault for not warning or helping her.
As he bounced about, though, he found his stress fading away in the face of this challenge. This was…fun.
" Dory, are you hungry?" he shouted challengingly to her as he tried to keep up with the fast-moving blue tang.
" Huh? Hungry?" she asked in bewilderment, slowing down a bit.
" Yeah, 'cause you're about to eat my bubbles!" he whooped and spurted onward, blazing through the forest of jellyfish and losing all sight of everyone.
Pop!
Marlin tumbled out into the open waters, spinning away from the great wall of purple jellyfish.
" And Marlin is the winner!" he crowed, his eye on the E.A.C. " Woo hoo!"
Sora appeared presently, a bit winded but grinning from eye to eye. Well, then again, dolphins always grinned. Right behind him came Donald, gasping and looking just plain furious. " What the hell did you pull off on us, you great buffoon!"
" Donald!" Sora shut him up. " Where's Goofy?"
" Goofy?" Donald looked around. His eyes grew big. " Oh my goodness, where's he?"
" Dory?" Marlin also realized the blue tang had not materialized. That was very bad news.
" I'm going in," Sora said grimly and, before Donald could stop him, he launched himself back into the wall of purple jellyfish.
" Donald, wait here," Marlin ordered and charged after him.
" Hey!" Donald screamed after them, waving his staff but they were both gone.
Marlin hurriedly dodged the tentacles, ignoring the ones that brushed against his body. He hurtled through the forest, sputtered as he got a faceful of tentacles, then spotted Goofy trying to tug Dory out of the grasp of a rather fearsome-looking jellyfish.
" Goofy!" Marlin exclaimed as he dove into the tentacles and dragged out Dory. A bit stunned, he still had his wits about him, enough to demand where Sora had gone.
" Sora? I didn't see him," Goofy replied, a bit puzzled. " I kinda got…der…distracted, then saw Dory…then you came…so I didn't see Sora…"
" Oh no…" Marlin groaned, then spotted a flash of dolphin blue.
" Sora!" Goofy shouted and shoved aside jellyfish, making his way to a badly burned and very stunned tiny dolphin caught between the tentacles of a huge jellyfish and a huge Sea Neon.
" Goofy, hurry and get him!" Marlin shouted, tugging at a mumbling Dory. " We've got to get out of here!"
Goofy spun at the Sea Neon and chased it away. He then wrestled with the huge jellyfish and yanked out Sora.
" Hurry!" Marlin shouted and began paddle his way back to Donald, the blue patch, the open sea, and the E.A.C. " Goofy!"
He lost sight of the strange sea turtle, then focused on trying to get Dory out of the jellyfish forest. " Stay awake, Dory! Come on, stay with me!"
" Uhhhhhhnnn….." was the only reply he got.
Marlin swam frantically, this time making no attempt to dodge the stinging tentacles but simply swimming right through them. With each sting, he slowed down but he kept on pulling her along. The blue patch got bigger, though he didn't see Donald anywhere and he put on one more bit spurt of energy to get them forward.
" Almost there…c'mon, stay awake, stay awake," he gritted his teeth and shot forward…into a huge jellyfish.
He popped out into the open seas, stunned. " Stay…awake…"
He lost his hold on Dory, felt only the open seas…darkness…
Chapter 59…
"There's no such thing as a white octopus, is there?"
What have I forgotten?
"How am I supposed to get out of here?"