Secrets of Memories Chapter 66: Walt Phoenix
" Has Jiminy finished cataloging his reports?" Queen Minnie Disney asked as Lady Daisy Rhea approached with a tray of tea and light snacks. The queen's lady-in-waiting and best friend placed the tray carefully on the marble desk the queen sat behind and busied herself with dispersing the piping hot amber liquid into respective cups.
" He is nearly done, Minnie," Daisy remarked. In private quarters they threw aside all formal titles. Best friends are on equal footing. Period. " Are you alright?"
" Hm…yes, yes, I'm fine," the mouse queen smiled to her duck friend. " Just…thinking is all…I guess."
Daisy looked thoughtful for a second. " I'll go see what Chip and Dale are up to; last time, they nearly blew up half of the castle! Oh well, better dealing with me than with Donald' he'd roast them over a fire, I know that for certain…"
Minnie smiled as Daisy left the room. Then she sighed and pulled out a drawer. She reached in, felt a folded piece of paper, and pulled it. Unfolding it, she stared at the delicate handwriting, the dark ink staining the yellowed paper.
Dearest, it pains me to say that I still won't be coming home anytime soon. Manage the castle well; the time will come when all will be over and I will return home. I have faith that you will be strong for our people and for those of us who have gone through what most have not. Love – Mickey.
" Oh, when will you come home…" she whispered, sipping from the cooling tea. Then she got up and walked to the vast windows on the northwest side of the castle. They were expansive panes, from floor to ceiling, and gave her a stunning view of the world that surrounded the gleaming white walls of Disney Castle – Disney itself.
The rolling hills were still green and the far mountains were still blue and capped with powdery snow. Disney had yet to be touched; Heartless appeared so rarely they seemed non-existent in their world.
" I wonder…"
She saw a shooting star streak across the sunny skies. But it didn't burn out; as her eyes followed its trail, it seemed to be…turning.
" A gummi ship!" she realized. Headed for Disney Castle. Could it be?
Then, as the gummi ship neared the eastern gardens, she saw the battered body, the sputtering engines, and fading shield that protected it from atmosphere. No…she's seen that gummi ship before…
Minnie strode to her desk and pressed a white button next to a brass speaker. " Chip, Dale! This is Minnie speaking!"
" Your Majesty?"
" We've got a gummi ship headed this way-" CRASH! " – never mind, its landed. Go attend to the gummi ship immediately."
She pressed a red button next to the white one. " Daisy! Quickly, a gummi ship's landed in the eastern gardens!"
" What? Not the gardens!" she heard her exclaim from the other end of the speaker line. " I spent half a year redecorating the gardens!"
" Daisy, that shouldn't be your first concern. The gummi ship that's just landed here, it came from the mechanic's gummi garage. It's one of our own!"
She heard a sharp gasp, then a muttering. It sounded awfully like: I'm gonna roast Donald for this; he knows better than to crash a ship into castle grounds!
" I'll see you in a few minutes. See if anybody is in there," Minnie instructed, then strode for the doors. She stopped, thought for a second, then ran back and took a handful of small lemon cookies.
As she recalled, Donald and Gary both had an affinity for these springtime delicacies.
''
"…ugh…" Sora moaned, rolling off something hard and made of metal. " Goofy…I'm gonna melt your shield…"
" Huyuk…"
" Aw man…" Donald shook his head from side to side, trying to clear his mind. " What happened?"
" Like I'd know," Sora grumbled, as a headache blossomed in his mind. " Ow…"
Smoke filled the air; snipped cords gave off crackling noises and something seemed to be burning.
" Did Daisy burn something again…" Goofy slobbered; he was on the floor sprawled all over it like a throw rug.
" Daisy…Daisy!" Donald was suddenly up and screaming. " The autopilot mapped for…Disney!"
" What!" Sora and Goofy shouted and jumped up at the same time. Unfortunately the three were all too close to each other. The result? A head banging.
" Ow…" Sora staggered against the control panel, which crumpled under his mass. " Oh shit, I broke the control panel."
" The whole gummi ship's broken…" Donald grumbled, then stared at the window. " Sora, turn around."
" Why?" the Keyblade Master growled back but did as told. " What the – trees?"
" Donald," Goofy approached the two. " Ain't that…the eastern gardens?"
" We landed in the eastern gardens?" Something a lot like horror rushed through the poor duck's face. " Daisy's gonna kill me!"
The duck started screaming and running all over the place. Sora and Goofy watched him, unsure of whether or not to knock him upside the head and shut him up.
" Donald?"
Sora blinked. That was a girl's voice!
" Daisy?" Donald screeched to a stop, astonishment written all over his face.
" Donald, are you acting like a little child again? 'Cuz not only was that years ago, the queen's here, too."
" Waaahhhh!" Donald and Goofy were falling over each other trying to get to the rather bent and battered hatchway out of the gummi ship.
" Here…" Sora sighed and pushed against the door.
Nothing happened.
" Damn, the crash must've jammed the door. " Sora grumbled. " Well, here goes nothing!"
He pulled back, then shoved his shoulder into the door with all his might.
Bam!
Sora fell feet out of the gummi ship onto cool green grass. Donald and Goofy followed him and, lucky for them, landed on Sora. Sora, however, wasn't lucky at all.
" Geroff!" Sora yelled through a mouthful of grass.
The hem of a rose-colored dress entering his field of vision immediately shut him up. Surprised, Sora looked up…into the eyes of a mouse.
" You must be Sora," she said, with a gracious smile. " I've heard so much about you from Mickey. Welcome to Disney Castle. My name is Minnie Disney."
Donald and Goofy had quite squabbling with each other and Sora, poor child, could only stare at her, his mouth agape with utter shock.
" Kids these days," Daisy sighed, burying her head in her hands.
'''
" This is the realm of King Mickey Disney," Queen Minnie gestured to the view beyond the great glass windows. Sora kept staring; he couldn't quite believe that he was standing in the home of the King himself! Donald and Goofy had gone to change and freshen themselves up and two little chipmunks named Chip and Dale had their poor gummi ship towed. Sora had a feeling the faithful little thing was being scrapped. " We haven't felt the wrath of the Heartless for a while…but your arrival will certainly stir things up a bit. No matter; life has become much too dull here on Disney."
" Can anything ever become dull at Disney?" Sora asked. So far everything about Disney had been amazing him, including scattered suits of armors, talking statues, and moving paintings.
" Try living here for ten-plus years and you'll get bored," Daisy sniffed, walking in. " Minnie, Chip and Dale want to talk to you."
" Oh alright," Minnie said and walked to the very lovely marble desk that Sora couldn't help stop admiring, though papers were scattered all over it rather unceremoniously. Minnie pressed a button and said, " Chip, Dale, Minnie here."
" Your Majesty!" one of the voices squeaked out. " The gummi ship's scrapped; we can't even dissemble it!"
" And we don't think we can build another gummi ship in time!" another voice added.
" Aren't there any in the gummi garage?" Minnie asked worriedly, looking at Sora and Daisy. " I was so sure we had more."
" We do but they're not good enough," the first voice, the more dominant one, stated. " And it'll take a while to make major improvements on any of them. The gummi block shortage isn't helping us."
" We think we should lend them…the silver one," the other voice input quickly.
Sora heard someone being smacked in the background. " Dale, no way! That's the King's gummi ship!"
" But the King would understand, wouldn't he?"
" But the King's gummi ship?"
" Well, he's not here right now, is he-" Smack!
" The Queen's on the line! You buffoon, why'd you say something like that?"
" I dunno."
Sora stared. The expression on his face must've been comical, for the queen started to laugh.
" What else can we do?"
" I dunno, what about the train?"
" Nah, too slow. Besides, we want the Keyblade Master to travel in style."
" That's why I suggested the silver ship."
That was followed by another smack.
" Alright, you two," Daisy marched up and thundered into the speaker, " stop fooling around and come up with a solution, quick! The message says we have to get these guys to Traverse Town as soon as possible, so get cooking!"
Sora's stomach, in the most ceremonious way, grumbled.
" Which reminds me, we need to feed you three," Daisy added, looking at the embarrassed teenager. " Chip, Dale, try and figure out something-"
" Give them the silver gummi ship."
" Your Majesty?" Chip, Dale, and Daisy gasped.
Queen Minnie nodded to Daisy. " Mickey will understand. Harsh memories will always follow the gummi ship but we have no choice do we? Get the silver gummi ship ready. This trio will fly out in style."
" Yes, Majesty!" Chip and Dale hollered.
" Daisy, get the cook on and tell her to get lunch ready," Queen Minnie instructed, heading for the door. " Sora, come with me. We'll go find Donald and Goofy, and then you can tell me the whole story."
" The whole story?" Sora nearly fell over from the shock of having to tell the queen everything. " Every single detail?"
" Well, if you want," Queen Minnie grinned. " Of course I could order you around but – hey, now isn't that a good idea, eh?"
Sora really did fall over. This queen certainly knew how to abuse her powers.
''
"…so Belle and Beast refused your help," Queen Minnie mused as she drank from her glass of water. " Well, I wouldn't say they were foolhardy; they certainly knew what they were doing."
" Well I don't think so," Donald grumbled, glaring at his near-empty plate. He eyed Goofy, who was busy stuffing himself full of the lemon cookies Minnie mentioned earlier in the day.
" Belle's also not an ordinary Princess of Heart," Daisy commented. " Like Kairi, she's more powerful than others. Her power, however, is of a different sort. Her mere presence can cause Heartless…to go psycho, basically. More power to her but its also very dangerous; the Heartless can still strike her, in particular the ones that managed to resist the strength of her Light."
" That would explain some," Donald muttered.
" Mmf," was all Sora said; he was downing his fourth plate and didn't look like he was going to slow down any time soon.
" Minnie, has Pluto come back?" Goofy asked, wiping his mouth. He then reached for the crystal pitcher of water across the rectangular marble table; Sora took time from eating to hand it to him.
" Yes, and he's been bringing messages from Mickey ever since then," Minnie replied.
" Wait, I have a question," Sora blurted out, then quickly wiped his mouth. Donald opened his mouth to give Sora another blasting, this time for rude table manners, but Daisy, who was sitting across from him, stomped on his foot. " Why doesn't Goofy address you as 'Your Majesty'? And if he's the captain of the Knights here, why doesn't anyone call him Captain Goofy?"
" Well, that's a long story," Minnie smiled slyly. But Sora caught something else in her eyes. Time. Love. Loss.
" Something's happened long ago, hasn't it?" he asked quietly, suddenly solemn. Everyone, including a disgruntled Donald, turned to him. " I can see it."
" Indeed you are right," Daisy nodded. " Something happened long ago…"
She looked at Minnie, wondering whether or not she should go on.
" The name Disney comes from Mickey's last name," Minnie said, looking at Sora, who happened to be sitting next to Daisy and across from Goofy. " Mickey Disney. He gave this world that name…to erase the bloody past of Walt Phoenix. That was the original name of this world and it has seen through painful times."
" And you were involved in it," Sora concluded immediately. " You, Mickey, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, and others, right?"
" Yes…"
" Mickey's grandfather was overthrown long ago by a man named Crimson," Daisy decided to continue the story. " The strange thing was, this man was quite a good ruler. He promoted safety, education, advancement in technology, economy, trade, and all things good, admired, and loved in this Universe. But he had two flaws."
" He overthrew Mickey's grandfather," Donald griped under his breath.
" And he used the Heartless," Goofy hiccupped.
" What!" Sora hollered, half-rising in his seat.
" Yes, he was the first to control the Heartless," Queen Minnie affirmed. " But Ansem is credited as being the first because he was the one who wrote down everything. Crimson did everything secretly. The coup was rather public, however. He had to use the Heartless to stomp down revolts. It's a strange case, a very competent ruler overthrown by another just as competent."
" Mickey was very young, maybe two, when this happened," Daisy added. " His family fled to Celt Circle, a large, lush world famous for protecting refugees and fugitives."
" We fled with him," Donald added. " Our families were close to the king and they knew quite well that Crimson would stop at nothing to eradicate all who were loyal to the true royal family of Walt Phoenix."
" No way…"
" And we grew up with King Mickey!" Goofy smiled. " Boy was that great!"
" Pluto and I met him at Walt Phoenix," Minnie smiled. " I met him and the others when they first arrived; I was the daughter of the mayor of the town they decided to live in and it was in our custom for all the villagers to greet and aid the refugees in any way we see fit. Pluto, he later found in a ditch a few miles from the village where the families had come to settle."
Sora continued to blink.
" Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Daisy, Pluto, and I all grew up in the village," the queen continued. A mist of time began to veil her eyes. " Over time, I came to understand their plight. It is truly a tragic tale."
" But things got, der, weird, when an old man appeared out of nowhere!" Goofy added happily. " His name was Eldest and he wanted to talk ter Mickey about some things!"
" The next thing we knew, Mickey started having strange dreams about fighting a great shadow. He was wielding the Sword of Phoenix and fought furiously with the great shadow. But in the end, the darkness of the shadow would pull him down into endless night. And a voice would tell him that he would take back his rightful throne and marshal the last war."
" A great shadow…" A troubled look passed over Sora's face. " But that would mean…he was chosen. By a Keyblade."
Everyone at the table nodded.
" Yes, a few days later he woke up with a golden key in his hand. The Golden Key." Minnie sighed and took another sip of water.
"By this time the Dalton boys, Chip and Dale, perfected their mechanic techniques," Daisy spoke. " They overheard Mickey talking to us about his dreams, and they thought he wanted to go back and fight Crimson."
" It took three years," Donald offered some information. " Mickey lost his parents, and the rest of his family, in those three years to various diseases, accidents, 'accidents', and natural causes."
" Wait, you repeated 'accidents'," Sora noted.
" He means 'accidents and assassinations'," Daisy told him flatly. " Some deaths were suspicious but most weren't. His grandfather was approaching his hundred-twentieth birthday; his parents fell to a pandemic that spread to other worlds."
" Oh."
" Well, after Mickey recovered, he disappeared for a few days. We were all worried sick, and Pluto was apparently ready to go mad, when he returned with Chip, Dale, Eldest, and a great silver ship. Yes, Sora, the gummi ship Chip and Dale mentioned over the speaker is the gummi ship, It was the most powerful mode of transportation ever created and it still is. No other ship has ever come close to it since in power, speed, and defense. Not to mention looks."
They were all looking at each other, casting knowing glances and nodding.
" We all joined Mickey in returning to Walt Phoenix to get his throne back," Donald decided to continue the story, as Daisy would speak no more. " We had no idea how to do it, though; I mean, how would you do it, marching up to a very competent ruler and saying in front of his subjects: You stole my grandfather's throne and I'm here to take it back, so get off! But it got weird once we got there."
" Yup, people were starin' at us!" Goofy said, cookie crumbs flying out his mouth. " We were strangers to them! But we marched up there and Mickey told Crimson straight: the Throne is rightfully mine and I'm here to take it back! Well, of course Crimson didn't want to give up his power but he didn't want to use the Heartless against Mickey, Crimson was kinda nice but not really. He sent us to find and close Kingdom Hearts."
" Kingdom Hearts?" Sora demanded.
" Thing was, Heartless kept attacking us," Goofy said, thinking. " I guess they didn't want us to close the door to their home so…it took us a few good months to find and close that dang door!"
" And we came back, only to find Walt Phoenix in a state of chaos," Minnie continued for him. " Please chew before you talk, Goofy. Anyways, it seemed Crimson heard just how successful Mickey was and got really scared. So, he started massing Heartless to kill all of us once we came back. Luckily, Eldest, Chip, and Dale helped us along. Chip and Dale studied the whole of the world and figured out the best way to get in. Eldest had power, a lot of it, and all of us went blasting in. The Heartless didn't stand a chance."
" Things got bad once we got into the castle to find Crimson," Donald remarked. " Heartless were terrorizing the hell out of everyone in there. Me included."
" He nearly wet himself," Goofy added with cheer.
" No I didn't!"
" But you said you did."
" No, I never said I did!"
" But you said you-"
" Will you guys shut up?" Daisy hollered at them. " Geezes, what it takes to get enough peace and quiet to continue telling our story, argh…"
Sora blinked again.
" Mickey and Crimson fought like hell broke loose," Minnie continued, sounding more reluctant to tell the tale. " Nobody got away uninjured. At the last minute, Donald started a fire and…Crimson burned. I still remember, he was screaming as he fled the palace, burning like a bright, mobile beacon. It was horrible."
" Donald burned down the whole castle!" Goofy grinned.
Donald muttered something incoherent. Thankfully.
" It took us a whole year to get back on track," Daisy began the finale. " All the towns, villages, cities had to be rebuilt and renovated. We had to send for our families. The whole castle had to be rebuilt. And Mickey had to be crowned."
" And marry someone," Goofy interjected, winking a Sora.
" He chose to change the name of the world," Minnie said. It didn't seem that she saw that. " And he decided to use his last name, Disney. The people loved it. They, too, did not want to remember the bloodshed on a world called Walt Phoenix. They hoped Disney would bring a new era of peace and prosperity."
" Except the peace never lasted," Sora said quietly.
Nobody noticed the two small chipmunks and a yellow dog enter the small dining room. They were looking at each other, nodding and knowing at the same time.
" No, it didn't," Minnie confirmed. " Someone opened Kingdom Hearts. Someone with two keys. That was why you and Mickey were both needed to seal Kingdom Hearts."
" Who'd open Kingdom Hearts?"
" We think it's the other Keyblade Master, Ronsend Seiryu," Daisy explained. " He is the only other person who could've opened or closed the double doors."
" But something else happened," Sora suddenly spoke. He had been watching the queen as he spoke. " It's personal, isn't it? Something else tragic from the past?"
If mice could pale, Minnie proved it. If they don't, she broke the laws of nature.
" We had a child…her name was Evenstar," Minnie whispered. " Such a beautiful child…"
" Evenstar…"
" But Time took her away…" Minnie ended with a bitter note.
" She died!"
Donald walloped him on the head with his fork. " How dare you be so brunt about this-"
Daisy slapped him. " Honestly, Donald, what's gotten into you? Let Sora be; he is young and he does not know the protocols of royalty!"
Goofy decided to explain himself. " Time is a name we give to time itself. A warp hole appeared and sucked in Evenstar. Mickey and Minnie tried but they couldn't save her. Evenstar was lost."
Cold fingers traced a path through his veins. That was beyond horrible. " Oh my….I…I don't know what to say…"
" What's done is done," Minnie said firmly. " We wept, we mourned, but we moved on with life. That is something you should know, Sora. No matter how tragic the past, life goes on. The great flow of Time does not care for your personal needs; you must be content with molding yourself to shape your path so it will run parallel with Time and Fate."
" I see," Sora nodded.
" Then meteor storms appeared every other night…" Goofy said slowly, which was uncharacteristic of him. " And then King Mickey disappeared. He left behind a note, talking about war, darkness, and a key. We were to find that key."
" I authorized Jiminy Cricket to go with them on their search for the king and the key," Minnie smiled. " And that key…is you."
''
" Jiminy is still busy finishing up his reports," Daisy told Sora, as she, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Queen Minnie, Chip, Dale, and Pluto walked quickly down some stairs and a long hall towards the Dalton brother's legendary gummi garage. " However, he asked me to send you this."
She pulled out a folded piece of thick, cream-colored paper from the sleeve of her dress and handed it to a very surprised Sora.
" I wonder what it is…" he muttered as he unfolded the paper and looked at it.
In Jiminy's simple, clear handwriting were two words: Thank Naminé.
Thank Naminé?
" Who's Naminé?" Sora wondered aloud.
" Who?" Donald demanded.
" Der…that name sure does sound familiar," Goofy thought, then nearly tripped over his oversized loafers.
" Naminé?" Queen Minnie echoed. She looked at Chip and Dale and they nodded discreetly.
" Her name does sound familiar," Sora agreed with the captain. " But why thank her? What did she do to us? For us?"
A flash of red hair and fierce green eyes…
Short blonde hair, icy blue eyes, a cold smile…
Long dirty blond locks, a serious, ugly frown…
A mess of brunet hair, an evil smile, petals…
A flash of platinum, the symbol of the Heartless…
A shadow of a Light, someone who knew how to draw…
And a dream, a dream of you…
" Sora?"
" What?" Sora demanded, pulled back into reality. " What's wrong?"
" You were…der…spacing out right there," Goofy pointed out worriedly.
" Oh…" Sora blinked, then tried to recall what had just flashed through his mind.
Memories…loose links will sink into the darkness…you won't be able to just reach in and pick the one you want…but there's another promise you made…someone you could never replace. She is your light…all the memories lost in the shadows of your heart will come into light.
Kairi…
Somewhere, deep within, he heard her voice…" I just don't know if I love him…"
What was she saying?
"…very mysterious thing," Minnie was talking to the others. " The human heart is gifted with love, forgiveness, and forgetfulness. But more than that, it is change. Perhaps that was what the Society was after, change."
" What about the light?"
" Well….that, too, I suppose. But I wonder…what is the Society's real purpose? Is it to simply wield the Darkness? In past, they were the ones who sought balance; now for them it is war. But what will they gain? Paradise? Or the night?"
" Neither, we won't let them," Sora snapped and strode to the doors. " Come on, we have to get out of here. If the darkness wants a fight, I'll give them a fight!"
He stomped in, leaving the others blinking after him.
Donald and Goofy looked at each other, then at Minnie, Daisy, Chip, Dale, and faithful Pluto.
" What happened?" Donald asked.
""
Goofy looked to his left, to Sora who was steering the silver gummi ship like his very life depended on it. There was a look on his face that Goofy had never seen before, an angry, dark light.
" Sora? Are you o-"
" Yes dammit, I'm fine!" Sora snapped. " Stop asking me stupid questions, Goofy!"
The captain shied away. " I'm sorry!"
Donald narrowed his eyes at Sora. Something had gone wrong with him.
And why not? It had been over a year since he had heard Kairi's voice. And what does he hear?
I just don't know if I love him…
Why was she voicing her doubt? Their bond was there, closer than what the paupu fruit of legends could seal. But had happened while he was gone?
As they shot past a gummi ship, as Traverse Town appeared, Sora could only rethink on what had transpired so far in the past months.
With Aozora's appearance, everything he knew and loved had begun to crumble.