DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT THE PLOT AND MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!
A/N: HI THERE! WELCOME TO THE FIRST CHAPTER OF 2018! PLUS, IT IS THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE NEXT DISNEY-BASED WORLD IN THIS STORY!
Before I allow you to read on ahead and find out what world is awaiting us, I would like to go over a few things.
First of all, I have been considering making some changes to the "'THE TOP 12 DISNEY PROPERTIES THAT WILL NEVER APPEAR IN ANY OF MY KINGDOM HEARTS STORIES!'" on my profile page. How this shall affect these stories is TBA!
I would state something in regards to "Kingdom Hearts 3" here, yet I honestly have nothing really to say. After all, the latest information about the upcoming game is a series of rumors rather than confirmed facts.
Now, for some sad news. The actor, Jerry Van Dyke, the younger brother of Disney Legend, Dick Van Dyke, passed away on Friday, January 5TH, 2018. He was 86 years old. Out of all the roles he had, one that stood out to me was how he played Stacey Petrie, the brother of Robert Petrie (Played By Dick Van Dyke Himself) on "The Dick Van Dyke Show".
So then, if you are all ready and able, the time has come.
YOU CAN NOW READ TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT! PLEASE REMEMBER TO REVIEW, TOO!
PLUS, DO NOT FORGET THE FAITH, TRUST, AND PIXIE DUST!
CHAPTER 47
…"Sparkling Wings"?!
The lights in the Gummi Ship had dimmed and a soft, instrumental song was drifting through the cockpit. Having stayed up nearly all night trying and worrying about Stitch's safety, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Amemi, and Indigo had all agreed they had earned a little shut-eye.
After all, who knew when they would reach their next destination? They would probably be rushing around in the woods somewhere, smacking Heartless around and behind trees. They could be travelling to a city where they would be forced to battle the Heartless from atop a speeding bus. They might even have to fly away in an airplane at lightning speeds while Heartless airplanes charged at them from every-which-way.
All this made Sora have a hard time relaxing. Back home it was easy to relax. All he had to do was lie down on the sand and close his eyes. The sounds of the ocean's waves washing up onto the beach was plenty a lullaby to soothe him into a deep slumber. The only time he had heard that sound on this quest was back by that lighthouse in Coastal Town.
Sora gave a yawn and stretched. He rubbed his eyes and sat up a bit more. The cockpit was still dark. In the middle front seat, Indigo had wrapped herself up in her wings, almost like they were a blanket. The spikey-headed youth had to grin at this. He remembered how, not two weeks before, his Mom had sent him upstairs to let Violet know breakfast was ready. He had found the angel wrapped up in her wings — just like Indigo was now.
He gazed back. Donald was against the window, his head half-sunk into a huge pillow. Goofy was in the middle, his hands folded in his lap and his head slouched against the seat. A long, bluish-white nightcap had replaced his golden hat with the tiny, red goggles. His armored shoes were lying on the floor, revealing his orange socks with the blue toes and heels. Every time he snored, the ends of his socks moved with his breathing.
Sora shook his head and then looked over at Amemi. His sister was all curled up on her seat, her head resting gently against her pillow. She was smiling as she slept, her hands lying partly on the pillow near her head and partly on the seat below.
Turning back, Sora felt his eyelids starting to close up. All around them, he could see the faint colorful display of outer space. Countless stars continued to shine down from all around. From this distance, there seemed to be a rainbow of un-twinkling lights gathered around.
And two of them with rather violet-blue colors laid before Herbie. That was when Sora jolted awake. He had the feeling he had seen this particular star pattern before. There were two stars here, one large and one small. The smaller star was a little higher and off to the right of the bigger one. It was as though it was a second star to the right.
'Second star to the right,' Sora thought to himself. 'Why is that so… familiar?'
Before he could ponder about it for long, Launchpad grabbed the controls and yanked them back. The suddenly halt nearly knocked everyone around inside the cockpit. Goofy's shoes went flying. One of them banged into Donald's head while the other clobbered Goofy in the back of the head. Amemi was shoved up towards the ceiling. Indigo swiftly unwrapped her wings and held on tight.
Launchpad chuckled nervously and pointed to the bright (smaller) star before them. "Looks like this is our next stop!" he called.
Donald scowled as he rubbed the side of his head. "What's the big idea?! You don't know that's the place!"
"Yeesh!" Launchpad pointed to a tiny dome-shaped object with a flashing green arrow on the dashboard. "You guys need to check out this gizmo Chip n' Dale installed last month. It uses special powers to determine our destination."
He scratched his head and frowned. "'Course, I'm not sure what's so 'special' about it. It just kinda kicks in whenever it wants to."
"Just like Master Yen Sid's star shard," Goofy realized.
Amemi shook her head. "None of that really matters. Why don't we just teleport down into this world?"
Sora gave a nod. "Yeah!"
Indigo's antennae appeared to be swinging with delight. "Yes, please. The last thing I need is to sleep in and miss all the exciting stuff."
Launchpad frowned and leaned against the dashboard with his elbow. "Aw, gee…. Another chance to crash gone."
His arm slipped and banged into one of the candy buttons. Without warning, red and white and blue and green Nerd candies began shooting out of the slot below. Sora and Indigo ducked as they were directly pelted by the flying frenzy. Launchpad and Goofy tried to catch as many as they could. Donald picked up his hat off the floor and used it to swat as many of the flying candies as he could.
Amemi caught several of them and popped them into her mouth. "These are tasty," she licked her lips, savoring the favors.
Sora shook his head. He watched as Goofy's hand appeared out of the frenzy with the black remote. One push of a bluish button labelled "DONW", and the group was teleported out of the Gummi Ship.
The candies kept coming….
And Herbie started to honk in annoyance….
Next thing he knew, Sora was standing a forest of tall grass blades that stretched to around four times his height. The ground was covered in dirt and a blue snail the size of Donald slithered across the path before him.
He blinked twice. He was not imagining this. He looked straight up and could see the great, blue sky high above.
"Sora?"
Sora spun around. "Huh?"
He stopped and stared. Although he knew he was looking at Donald, Goofy, Amemi, Launchpad, and Indigo, his mind was spinning. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were all draped in green, leaf-like clothing that matched the shapes of their standard battle gear. Launchpad even had a long leaf tied around his neck for a scarf. Amemi was dressed in a golden-yellow leaf-like dress with matching shoes.
While Indigo still had her antennae, wings, and indigo-colored dress, the designs had been slightly modified. Her antennae were automatically curving over as a butterfly's would, and her wings were more butterfly-shaped.
Sora took one quick double-take. Everyone else (aside from Indigo) was sporting a pair of transparent, pointed wings. He hastily checked his own outfit. He was decked out in a green, leaf-like shirt with matching shorts. A pair of pointed, transparent wings were also situated behind him.
At least he still had his silver, crown necklace….
Goofy pointed up. "Looks like we've shrunk."
"And our clothes have changed," Donald indicated.
Amemi grabbed the edges of her new dress and spun around. The skirt shifted up an inch before dropping back down. "I love this new dress," she beamed.
"Yet, I am the only one here who should have wings," Indigo mentioned.
"Maybe we're in a 'Honey, I Shrunk My Homework' remake film set!" Launchpad blurted.
Donald slapped himself in the face at hearing the pilot's statement.
Amemi turned to Sora. The brown, spikey-haired young man stood still, nonchalant. His eyes seemed huge and his hands were in front of him as though he had seen something that threw his mind for a loop. "Sora," she said. "This isn't the first time we've shrunk in a world," she gestured to the wings on her back. "But it's the first time we can get around in style!"
She hopped into the air and flapped her wings. She soared around the clearing, leaving a golden trail of dust behind.
"Hey!" Goofy's eyes lit up when he saw the golden dust. "This here dust looks awful familiar."
Donald nodded. "Yeah!"
Launchpad grabbed a handful of the dust and eyed it closely. "Looks like gold dust to me. How much do ya think it's worth?"
Donald frowned. "It's not 'gold dust'. It's… something else."
"Hmm," Goofy had his hand on his chin. "Gawrsh, this here dust reminds me of our friend, Peter Pan."
Sora snapped back to attention. Peter Pan? Of course! He wanted to slap himself in the face. No wonder he had felt a sense of nostalgia when he had seen those two stars. It was the same world when he had helped Peter Pan rescue Wendy and Kairi from Captain Hook's pirate ship. The fairy, Tinker Bell, had helped him learn how to fly.
His heart skipped several beats. Tinker Bell. Now he knew for sure why this place was so off the scale. They had not shrunk. They had only transformed to blend in with this world's environment. Just as Riku, Violet, and him had when they had ventured into specific worlds in the Realm OF Sleep.
Indigo tilted her head slightly. "Who is 'Peter Pan'?" she asked.
"A-Hyuck! He's our friend!" Goofy answered.
"He's not very nice," Donald added. "But he loves to fight Heartless."
Indigo looked around, sweeping her eyes up and down the path. "Is he close to this point?"
Donald and Goofy hesitated in their responses. Launchpad shrugged. "I never met the guy," the latter confessed. "But he sounds like the guy on the jar of peanut butter, the one who's saying, 'Peter Pan picked a patch of peanut pickles'."
Sora shook his head. "No. Guys, you got it all wrong."
All eyes turned to the Keyblader. Amemi slowed her flight and came in for a landing. "What do you mean, Sora?" she asked.
"Ya mean this ain't Neverland?" Goofy inquired.
"'Never Land'!" Donald stated, raising a fist to the knight's chest level.
Amemi rolled her eyes. "'Neverland', 'Never Land', I have heard it said both ways."
"Heh," Launchpad grinned. "Just like 'poe-tay-toe', 'pah-tah-toe'."
"No one says 'pah-tah-toe'!" Donald snapped. He pointed a lawyer's finger at the pilot. "Especially not you!"
Launchpad shrugged and gave a completely puzzled expression. "Something must be wrong," he gestured at Donald as he scratched his head. "He's startin' to make sense."
Indigo slammed her left foot onto the ground. The resulting shockwave nearly rippled the others off their feet. "Can we please let Sora finish what he was saying?"
Sora gave a nod to the angel and checked if he had everyone's attention. Seeing he did, he took a deep breath. "Okay, so we know we're in Never Land, but this isn't Peter Pan's world. We're in Tinker Bell's world."
"But Tinker Bell and Peter Pan live in that there hollow tree," Goofy indicated. "You know, thuh on with all them ropes."
"Yeah, I know," Sora said. "But this time, we're really small because Tinker Bell's small."
Indigo crossed her arms. "Sora, you sound like you have been here before."
Sora gave a nod. "I have. Riku, Violet, and I came here while exploring the Sleeping Worlds."
Amemi had to smile. "You expect us to believe this place was asleep?"
"It's a long story," Donald told the sandy-haired teenager.
"And even longer when we tell it, A-Hyuck!" Goofy chuckled.
"Yeah," Sora turned to the path ahead and signaled for the others to follow. "C'mon! I'll show you where we are!"
He raced down the path. Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, Amemi, and Indigo all followed him out of the clearing and down a steady hill to a large ditch. Due to their size, it seemed as though they had arrived in a canyon in the middle of a grassy forest. Structures resembling roundish, wooden houses with thick, leafy roofs lined either side of the canyon with a few located closer in than the others.
As the group strolled through the gap, Sora pointed out a long vine lined with flower cups that resembled a bucket-and-pulley system. Not far away was a sign that read,
WORKSHOP
Goofy seemed worried. He turned to Sora. "Are ya sure ya know where we are?"
Sora smiled and nodded in return. "Yes. I know this place."
Sora wanted to smile. As he and his teammates strolled through the area he knew was called "Tinker's Nook", he recognized several of the sights from the dreams. The flower-vine bucket-and-pulley system, the flower-sprayer, the elevated chute, even a large wagon that had been on its side was still on its side.
As everyone proceeded through the nook, several flying bodies grabbed their attention. Sora relaxed, knowing they were the various fairies who lived here. He recalled meeting several of them in the Realm OF Sleep. True, Tinker Bell had been there, alongside two guys named Bobble and Clank, four talented fairies named Silvermist, Rosetta, Fawn, and Iridessa, and that really mean fairy named Vidia.
Sora hoped he would not be seeing her again….
Now that world was wide-awake, he could not wait to reunite with everyone he, Riku, and Violet had met back then. He could see how Tinker Bell was doing, now that she was using all of those "Lost Things" to create various gizmos and gadgets and such to help others. How were her inventions coming along? He imagined she must be pretty busy, considering she had been called a "very rare talent" by her boss.
Maybe this time, she would actually remember him, too!
SPLASH!
Sora sat straight up and shook his head around. He waved his arms. Noticing the water dripping off his limbs, he realized he had fallen into a shallow brook.
"Sora? Are you okay?" Goofy asked.
Sora stood up and turned to face his friends. All five of them were standing on the bank of the brook. He sighed. "I'm fine, but… I don't remember this being here."
Amemi crossed her arms. "It sounds like you made that whole 'dream' thing up."
Sora shook his head. "But I didn't," he sighed. How could he possibly prove this was a world he had visited during his and Riku's Mark of Mastery Exam? Out of all the worlds they had awakened with Violet, this was the first one he had come across on this quest from back then. Only now, it was awake.
He started to wonder if his sister had a point. Of course, everything had been a dream. He had been in a Sleeping World. Now he was curious as to whether or not anyone in this world remembered him. If they had all been figments of the dream, did that mean their memories of what had taken place in it did not exist? He might have to make friends here all over again….
That was one thing he was both dreading and looking forward to doing all the same.
Sora started back up out of the brook. His shoe slipped and he tumbled back into the water. As he clambered back to his feet, Donald and Goofy jumped down and helped him. "A-Hyuck," Goofy eyed the water a little. "Muddy and clear."
Donald rolled his eyes and looked away from the knight.
As Donald and Goofy gave Sora a gentle push out of the brook, two boys came flying over. Sora took one glimpse of them, and his mind instantly leapt back to the dream version of this world.
One of the two was very large and had long, black hair and brown eyes. The other was very slender with red hair, blue eyes, and a pair of dewdrop-filled goggles. Both were decked out in green, leaf-like clothing, and each of them had a set of transparent wings on their backs.
Sora knew these two. They were the ones Riku, Violet, and him had saved from that pack of Nightmares in the meadow.
"Hey, Bobble, Clank!" he called out. "Can you help us out of here?"
Bobble and Clank exchanged looks of surprise and confusion. "How do you know our names?" Clank inquired.
"Maybe they've been here before," Bobble surmised.
"Oh."
Sora wanted to shake his head. Both Bobble and Clank flew down and grabbed Sora's arms. With a gentle tug, they lifted the young man out of the stream and back to the bank where Amemi and Launchpad were waiting.
Sora rapidly looked around. Where was Indigo? Had the angel flown off to get help for them? Knowing how she seldom talked about herself in detail, he the feeling he might never know what was going on in her mind.
"Thanks," he told Bobble and Clank after they had flown back down and retrieved Donald and Goofy.
"It's our duty to help fellow sparrow men," Bobble declared with a smile.
Sora's mind was sent whirling again. "Huh?"
"'Sparrow men'?" Amemi inquired. "You look like fairies to me."
"Oh, no," Bobble corrected. "You see, sparrow men are boy fairies."
"What about the ladies?" Launchpad questioned.
"Just call them 'fairies'," Clank answered, trying to stifle a laugh.
Sora felt like slapping himself in the face. Here he was, back in a world that he had visited while it was asleep. Only now was he learning more about its true self. Not only did he not know about the stream in Tinker's Nook, he also was unaware of the difference between fairies and sparrow men.
How much else was different now that this world was awake? Had so much happened between the timing of the dreams and now? Maybe those dreams had been based on memories, too. Just as Pinocchio's world had been, except this world's dreams had been complete.
Clearly, much time had passed since this world's dreams had unfolded. Recalling how everyone had been trying to prepare for Spring, he realized he might be able to know for sure by finding out just what they were up to now.
"Hey, guys," Sora started to say. "What season is it?"
"We're preparing for Winter," Bobble answered. He and Clank flew over to a nearby, green basket. The container was so large, it could have carried every member of Sora's team and still had plenty of room left over.
Clank looked excited. "Basket weaving is my favorite thing."
"Really?" Bobble sounded a bit surprised. "I'm partial to macramé."
"Whatcha makin' all them baskets for?" Goofy wondered.
"For the Winter fairies, of course!" Clank chuckled.
Sora smiled. He could tell Bobble and Clank were very similar to him and Riku. He was not exactly sure how to make the comparison any fairer than that.
He took a step closer, only to slip and slide back into the stream below. Once again, Bobble and Clank flew down and helped him back out. "Your wings are wet," Bobble observed.
"Let's get him to a Healing-Talent fairy," Clank suggested.
Bobble gave a nod. "Aye, Clanky."
"Guys," Sora said. "I'm fine."
Either his words went ignored or the pair of sparrow men never heard him. They lifted the brown, spikey-haired youth up into the air and carried him through the sky as quickly and carefully as they could. Goofy and Launchpad were directly behind them.
Amemi shook her head and hopped into the air. She watched as Donald followed them all. Down below, the sandy-haired teenager spotted Indigo cautiously making her way through the gigantic blades of grass. She had to wonder….
Why was the angel down there instead of flying alongside them? Something huge and white caught her attention. Amemi came to a halt and gazed out into the distance. Tall, snow-covered mountains could be seen. As she looked closely, she could just make out the snow falling from above to the ground below.
She pointed towards the mountains. "What's that?"
The others came to a stop and looked back. "Why, that's the Winter Woods," Bobble informed.
"That's where the Winter fairies live," Clank added.
"Looks like a White Christmas for them," Launchpad commented. "Let's go over there and have a snowball fight."
"Yeah!" Goofy confirmed. "Donald'll be a perfect snowman. A-Hyuck!"
Donald scowled. "What do you mean by that?!"
Bobble and Clank gasped. Sora took less than three seconds to note the fear written on their faces. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"None of us would last a day in that cold," Bobble stated.
"Besides," Clank said. "I'm afraid of glaciers."
"You're afraid of what?" Donald scratched his head.
"They're known for their stealth," Clank shivered at the very thought of a wall of ice slowly creeping across the landscape.
Bobble shook his head. "He's never actually seen one."
"You never do!" Clank countered.
The group pressed on. Amemi glanced back. She could make out some snow-like owls soaring through the treetops amongst the snowfall. The concept of exploring a Winter Wonderland made her smile. It was certainly a complete contrast to the tropical weather back home on the islands. "There's a whole new world out there," she remarked to herself.
As Clank continued to shudder at the thought of seeing a "glacier", Sora had to shake his head and smile. He had the feeling this was only the start of his, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, Amemi, and Indigo's quest here in the now-awakened Pixie Hollow — The Secret Heart OF Never Land.
The Clinic was a rather small place consisting of at least seven individual shelters constructed from leaves and in the form of tents. A gentle stream nearby turned a small gear that caused a hint of music to play from a tiny music box. The waiting room was a small area with mushrooms for chairs and a small window for the receptionist.
Bobble and Clank did not waste time dropping Sora off at one of the mushroom chairs. They waved goodbye and took flight soon after. Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi all gathered around the young man.
With a sigh, Sora strode up to the window. Instead of a bell to ring, a small, bluish bug was against the windowsill. Sora reached out and touched the insect. It buzzed as a bell would ring, only louder.
The leaf on the window opened. Sora released his grip on the insect. The receptionist had a green, leafy pad in hand. "May I help you?" she asked.
"Do you have something for 'wet wings'?" Sora inquired. He was still not sure what that meant, only that it did not sound good. Then again, maybe Violet had meant the same thing when she had claimed she was unable to fly when her wings were waterlogged.
The receptionist frowned. "Wet wings are not an emergency."
Sora sighed. It seemed it would be a while before he and his friends could do much in this world. As he strolled away from the window, he saw a large sparrow man approach the window. He could not help staring, for this guy was covered from head to toe in rainbow colors.
"How much longer?" the sparrow man asked.
The receptionist sighed. "I told you, a rainbow collision is not an emergency."
The sparrow man started to scratch his side. "But the purple's startin' to itch."
"Take a seat."
Sora had to shake his head. He had the feeling most incidents in this world were not emergencies. Still, how bad did something have to be to be considered one? Back home, things had to be a serious case to be considered an emergency.
He plopped down on a mushroom beside Amemi. The sandy-haired girl was leaning back in her seat, her eyes on the clouds high above. On the ground close by, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were playing a game of Go Fish using the cards Donald had with him.
Deep down, Sora still wondered why Donald had brought the cards with them on this quest.
As he waited, something caught the young man's attention. Three swiftly-moving fairies flew straight up to the window. Sora found himself staring in recognition. He knew these three from back when this world was fast asleep and dreaming.
One sported long black hair, brown eyes, and clear wings with a blue lily-resembling dress and blue shoes, Silvermist. Another had shoulder-length red hair, green eyes, and clear wings. Her rose-petal dress and red shoes revealed herself to be Rosetta. The third was wearing a sunflower-petal dress and yellow shoes. Unlike the others, she had dark skin, black hair, brown eyes, and clear wings. She was Iridessa.
Sora hopped off his mushroom and hurried over. Amemi watched in complete astonishment as her brother raced across the area to the three fairies. The instant he reached the three, the spikey-headed youth said, "Hey! How's it going?"
The fairies nearly jumped in surprise. Iridessa ducked down behind Rosetta. "I'm sorry," the latter said. "Have we met?"
Silvermist wanted to giggle. "I think you're mistaking us for someone else."
Sora could not believe what he was hearing. So, it was true. Everything from before had been a dream. A complete illusion. The real fairies had either not been in this world or they had been trapped in a deep sleep. He had been interacting with their illusion selves, not the real ones.
This was going to take some getting used to. After all, he was going to have to meet Tinker Bell's friends all over again. Now he was hoping this was the only world he would be revisiting on this quest, at least in regards to the Sleeping Worlds.
Sora shook his head and smiled. "It's nice to meet you," he said. "I'm Sora."
"I'm Rosetta," Rosetta said. She gestured to the other two. "Silvermist and Iridessa."
Silvermist shook the young man's hand with much haste. "Call me 'Sil'," she declared with a friendly smile.
Sora did not have to look back to know Amemi, Donald, and the others were flying over to them. He gestured back. "That's Amy, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad."
Silvermist flew around, shaking each of their hands. "It's great to meet you."
Sora placed his hands behind his head. "What're you guys doing here?"
"We're here to check on Tink," Rosetta said.
"The receptionist said she's in Room 2," Silvermist said. "Want to come with us?"
Sora gave a nod. "Yeah!" He had the feeling Tinker Bell might remember him. After all, he had met her aboard Captain Hook's pirate ship alongside Peter Pan. If anyone in this world would recall him, it had to be her.
True, it would be the opposite of what happened back in the Sleeping Worlds. In that realm, Tinker Bell had no memory of him since the world's dreams had taken place long before he had met her. In fact, those memories were from around the time Tinker Bell had first arrived in Never Land.
Silvermist, Iridessa, and Rosetta led the way into the Clinic. Since his wings were still wet, Donald and Goofy had to carry the young man by his arms. Amemi grabbed his torso and helped lift him into the air. Launchpad flew alongside as they proceeded through the Clinic. When they reached the second medical room, Silvermist pointed inside. "There she is!" she announced.
The group headed into the room. Donald and Goofy took one look in the space and stared in amazement. They were so startled, they lost their grip on Sora. The Keyblade wielder fell from their grasp and crashed onto the floor. Amemi was still clinging onto her brother and fell with him.
Sora rubbed the back of his head. He looked up where he saw someone else he knew. Seated on a wide mushroom was a slender fairy possessing blue eyes, blonde hair in a bun, and clear wings on her back. She was wearing a green, strapless dress with a mini skirt, and green shoes with white pom-poms.
He knew this had to be Tinker Bell. The fairy was partly covered by a blanket and a taller fairy draped in a white medical uniform was examining her wings.
Sora suddenly felt a weight leave his wings. He was not sure how he had felt it. It simply had taken place. It was as though his brain was accustomed to him having wings and could sense things through them. He looked up to see Silvermist soaking up the water from his wings and collecting it all in a sphere of water. "There you go," she said before gently pushing the water droplet out of the room and letting it splash onto the ground nearby.
"Tink, are you okay?" Rosetta asked.
"We came as soon as we could," Iridessa said.
"We did have to stop at reception," Silvermist added.
Sora rose to his feet. "And they found us here," he said, still a little dizzy from the fall.
Tinker Bell stared at Sora. Her mouth almost dropped open. "Sora?!" she was barely able to believe her eyes. "Is that you?!"
Sora gave a nod. "Yeah! Donald and Goofy are here, too."
He gestured to the mage and knight beside him. The two waved to Tinker Bell. The fairy nodded to both of them and then she saw Launchpad and Amemi. "Who are they?"
"The name's Launchpad McQuack," Launchpad blurted. "If it's got wings, I can crash it!"
"You have wings," Rosetta said.
"Yeah," approved another fairy Sora had not noticed before. She had been standing on the other side of the mushroom table. One look at her long, braided, light-brown hair, amber eyes, clear wings, orange and brown dress, and orange-yellow shoes on her feet indicated she was Tinker Bell's friend, Fawn.
Sora was ready to smile. He knew all these fairies. They had all been in the dreams back when this world was sleeping. Tinker Bell, Silvermist, Rosetta, Iridessa, and Fawn.
Amemi strode forward. "My name is Amemi," she grabbed Sora's arm. "Sora's my brother."
Tinker Bell had to smile. "I didn't know you had a sister, Sora. You're lucky."
Sora cocked his head. "What do you mean?"
"She means fairies never have sisters," Rosetta replied.
"Almost never," Silvermist corrected.
"Yeah," Fawn agreed. "It's a rare thing, but it has happened."
Sora had to smile. That was when his ears picked up some fast-moving wings. His heart started to sink, recognizing them from the dream-version of this world. He glanced back.
There she was, the tall fairy sporting long-black, ponytailed hair, gray eyes, and large, clear wings. She was decked out in a purple vest with pink feathers, matching pants, and ballet shoes.
He knew this was Vidia, the same fairy who had been controlling that hawk-like Nightmare back when this world was asleep. Before he could respond, his Keyblade suddenly appeared in his hand. All eyes turned to it.
"Sora!" Donald exclaimed.
"What is that shiny thingy?" Silvermist questioned.
"I don't know," Iridessa whimpered. "And I've seen a lot of shiny things."
Vidia eyed the weapon for a moment. She scratched her head. "You know, I think I've seen that thing before."
Goofy strode up to the nurse. "What's the matter?" he asked.
The nurse did not answer. She focused on the pair of fireflies hovering above the mushroom table. After a few moments, she somehow switched them off and turned to Tinker Bell. "Okay, you're all warmed up. Let's test your wings."
Tinker Bell shoved the blanket off her lap and sat up. "Oh. Sure."
The nurse started to give instructions. One step at a time, Tinker Bell opened and closed her wings. Then, she hovered for a few seconds and proceeded to try flittering around the room. "Okay," the nurse said at last. "Well, I don't see anything unusual. Your wings appear to be fine."
Rosetta, Silvermist, Iridessa, and Fawn all sighed with relief. Sora was confused. What had happened to Tinker Bell? Why had the nurse been focused on her wings? Having arrived in this world when he and his companions had, they had already missed quite a lot from the looks of it.
Tinker Bell turned to the nurse. "But what about the sparkling?"
Sora's ears perked up. "'Sparkling'?" Up until now, he had seen many creatures with wings. But this was the first time he had heard of their wings possibly sparkling.
The nurse smiled. "It must have been the light reflecting off the snow. You should have never crossed the border. Winter is too cold for our Warm Fairy wings," she handed the fairy a pair of seeds. "Now, to be safe, I want you to take two sunflower seeds and come back if there is any problem."
Tinker Bell led the way out of the room. Silvermist waved to the nurse. "Thank you."
The nurse gave a nod in return. "Mmm-hmm."
Outside, everyone slowly flew out of the clinic and toward a nearby group of sunflowers. Silvermist turned to Tinker Bell. "We were worried, Tink," she said.
"At least she's okay," Launchpad grinned. "My plane once had a twisty propeller after I flew her in the air show."
"A-Hyuck, yeah!" Goofy chuckled. "I remember yer pretzel propeller."
Amemi crossed her arms. "How'd you fix that thing?"
Launchpad's grin shifted into one of bashfulness. "I… I don't remember, but I always got a few extra planes in the hangar."
Silvermist flew close to the duck pilot. "What's a 'plane'? Is it a bird you fly on?"
Launchpad nearly blushed. "Somethin' like that."
Rosetta flew up to Tinker Bell and gave a sigh of relief. "You are so lucky nothing happened to your wings."
Tinker Bell stopped and turned around. "But something did happen. They sparkled!"
Sora came forward. "That nurse said it was just light reflecting off snow," he stated.
Tinker Bell shook her head. "No, it wasn't. They actually lit up," she spun around with delight. "It was brighter than a thousand fireflies."
She stopped spinning and turned to Fawn. "You saw it. Didn't you, Fawn?"
The animal-talent fairy froze. Sora thought she either had a bad case of stage-fright or she was unclear as to what had really happened. "No," she said at last.
Tinker Bell's delight faded. She swept her eyes across the whole group, including Sora's team. "You don't believe me?"
All the fairies hesitated in their replies. They either shook their head or said nothing. Only Sora spoke. "I think there's more to this than you're letting on."
Tinker Bell looked down. "Look, it happened. It felt like… like the Winter Woods was calling me."
"Gawrsh," Goofy muttered.
Silvermist came up to the golden-haired, Tinker-Talent fairy. "Tink, we've gotta get back to preparing for next Spring. We'll see you later today."
"Don't worry, sugar-pie," Rosetta assured. She left a moment later with Silvermist, Fawn, and Iridessa trailing behind.
Vidia shook her head. She took flight and soared away so fast, Amemi's hair blew around for a few seconds.
All the while, Sora's mind started to wander. It was clear something had indeed taken place shortly before he and his team had entered this world. From all accounts, it seemed as though Tinker Bell had attempted to cross a seasonal border. However, once she had entered the Winter region, her wings had apparently sparkled. It also sounded like Fawn had been there, only she had missed the entire thing.
Deep down, he was curious about whether or not Tinker Bell's wings had truly sparkled. If they had, perhaps it meant something miraculous had taken place. The next question would be… why and how had her wings sparkled?
He glanced around for a brief second. For that matter, where had Indigo gone? Every member of his team was present and accounted for — except for the angel. Where had she flown off? For some reason, he had the slight feeling she was somewhere close by. Yet, he had no indication as to why she had simply left the group like this.
It seemed his mind might be on the verge of an overload. He snapped back to attention in time to hear Tinker Bell say, "Let's go check the library. There has to be a wing book there with the answers."
The Library was smaller than Sora had expected. It was under the shade of a large, oak tree with shelves carved into the side of the trunk. A few mushroom tables were positioned close by. A young sparrow man sporting twig-like glasses and neat, black hair sat at one, his attention fully on the book in his hands. The tree's roots rising a little out of the ground indicated the perimeter of the area.
To Sora, the whole area was much, much smaller than the library at his school, let alone the town's public library. None of the shelves were labelled by a series of numbers or letters or a combination of the two. 'How can anyone find anything in this place?' the Keyblader thought to himself.
Upon arrival, Tinker Bell started to fly around the shelves. She flittered from one shelf to the next and so on. "'Animal Fairy Books', '101 Uses For Pixie Dust', 'Beauty And The Bees'," she groaned. "There's got to be a wing book here somewhere."
Goofy snatched a book from the shelf and held it up. "What about this one?" he asked.
Tinker Bell turned to see the tome in the knight's hand. She shook her head. "'Rules For Rainbow Riding'? No, not that."
Goofy shrugged and put the book back on the shelf. Sora decided not to let that bother him and started to search the shelves with his teammates. Donald was searching the lower shelves with Amemi. Goofy and Launchpad were at the higher ones. Tinker Bell continued to soar between both levels.
Sora kept his eyes peeled for a book's title that had something to do with fairy wings. "Butterflies And Their Pranks"… "The Legend of The Never Beast"… "Mermaid Songs And Bats"… "Myths of The Mainland"…. None of them matched what he and the others were looking for right now.
"Hey!" Donald shouted suddenly. He held up a book with several pages torn. The shape of the tears resembled bite marks.
Sora cocked his head. "Someone's eating the books?" The very concept of somebody eating pages from a book rattled his mind. Who could be desperate enough to eat books? Burning them as fuel for a fire made more sense than eating them.
Amemi sighed. "Look. These shelves are covered in worms."
Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all took a second look. Sure enough, scattered about the shelves, several greenish-colored worms were crawling about. One of them slurped up a piece of a page in its mouth.
"That's gross," Donald stated, his face starting to turn green.
Tinker Bell rolled her eyes. "Bookworms…. "
Launchpad rubbed his head. "I've heard of bookworms. I always thought they weren't people who read tons of books," he shrugged and grinned. "Looks like this place understands my way of thinking."
At the pilot's statement, Donald fell backwards and landed onto the ground. Amemi flew down and slapped his cheek to revive him. Up above, Goofy opened a golden book shaped like the Sun. The beam of bright light inside nearly blinded him, so he rapidly slammed it shut. "A-Hyuck! Light reading!"
"Heh, that sounds like a line from a movie I saw once," Launchpad chuckled. He frowned and scratched his head. "Come to think of it, this whole place looks like it came from that movie…. "
Sora shrugged, shook his head, and picked up a book on the shelf before him. The title written on the cover read, "Banished Fairies And Sparrow Men". He was not sure why, yet this book seemed to stand out to him. Maybe there was something special about it, other than its title?
He opened the book. Inside, he found illustrations depicting fairies and sparrow men on various shapes, sizes, and wearing a large variety of outfits. One depicted a fairy sporting long, light-brown hair, green eyes, and large, reddish wings with a wireframe design. She was shown wearing a white top with a red skirt, lime-green sash, and blue shoes. A red-white hairpiece was nestled in her hair. Below were the words, "Julie Bubblecloud".
On another page was an illustration of a fairy with long, black hair, dark eyes, very pale skin, and transparent bat-like wings. Her outfit consisted of a soot-grey dress with a dusty skirt, black shoes with dusty rings fastened around them, soot-covered gloves, and raincloud-colored cat-like ears on her head. Below was her name, "Isabelle Lightsky".
Sora felt a tad bored. He decided to look at one last page and then close the book and put it back on the shelf. The illustration on the next page made his wings nearly freeze on the spot. It depicted a fairy with long, indigo hair, indigo eyes, indigo-colored and butterfly-shaped wings. She was decked out in a long-sleeved, indigo dress and matching boots. A silver necklace was around her neck with a familiar-looking charm attached to it. Her hair was somewhat messy, and she had a familiar mystical wand in her left hand. A pair of antennae were sticking out the top of her head. When he saw the name below the image, he stared in disbelief, for it read, "Indigo Frostysky".
'No way!' he thought. 'This can't be the same Indigo! It can't! It just can't!'
Despite how much he did not want to believe what he was seeing, one thing kept the young man from complete denial. Not long after he and his team had discovered what world they had arrived in, Indigo had seemingly vanished. Was this the reason why? Had she really been banished from this world? Why?
He doubted asking the angel would get results. Indigo seldom talked about herself. Only when they had been caught up against Mortimer and Cruella had she admitted something troublesome from her past. This time, he needed to find her first.
"A-ha!" Tinker Bell declared from a high shelf. A sky-blue book shaped like the wings of a butterfly lay before her. "'Wingology'. That's got to have it."
She grabbed the tome and clicked the latch to open it. In the blink of an eye, the book started flapping its pages as an actual butterfly would. As the book flew away, it swooped by Goofy and Launchpad. The two dove at the tome, only to miss and fall to the floor. On the way down, they crashed onto Amemi and Donald. The four slammed into the floor with such force, a few books fell from the shelves and landed on them.
"At least I didn't make this crash by myself," Launchpad blurted. Underneath the pilot's huge legs, Donald was scowling and tapping his fingers against the ground.
Sora shook his head and quickly joined Tinker Bell in her pursuit of the flying book. Round and round, back and forth the book went. It zig-zagged, it zag-zigged. It flew to, it flew fro. It swooped into a loop-de-loop. It hovered for a second and then took off when Sora and Tinker Bell approached, causing the two to slam into one another.
After about a minute of flying around after the item, Sora felt tired. Tinker Bell refused to give up. She tucked her arms and legs in and dove after the tome. She grabbed the book and held it down before slamming it against the table below. "Got you!"
The sparrow man looked up from the nearby table. "I'd fly backwards if I could," Tinker Bell apologized. To Sora, that was the longest apology he had heard in years. He quickly joined the Tinker Fairy at the table. Moments later, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all did the same.
Tinker Bell opened the book. She was careful not to let the item fly away this time. As she flipped through the pages, some chapter titles flashed by. "'Wing care'," Tinker Bell read as she flipped along. "'Wing washing', 'Wing tips'…. "
Goofy read the words on that page. "'Don't get them wet'," he grinned. "A-Hyuck!"
Tinker Bell rolled her eyes. "Everyone knows that…. "
She pressed on. On the last page was the title, "Sparkling wings". She cheered with delight. "I knew it!"
In the process, the book managed to escape the fairy's hands and started to drift up into the air. In one swift movement, Sora, Amemi, Launchpad, Donald, Goofy, and Tinker Bell all grabbed the tome and pushed it back onto the table. The noise was so loud the sparrow man at the nearby table looked over.
"We'd fly backwards if we could," Tinker Bell apologized.
"Gawrsh," Goofy muttered. "Ain't that a bit dangerous?"
"It's how fairies and sparrow men say they're 'sorry'," Tinker Bell explained. She turned her focus back to the page. To her alarm, the page was full of holes. There were so many parts missing, it seemed to resemble Swiss Cheese.
Sora said nothing. He already knew the bookworms had gotten to this book some time ago. Despite the gaps in the page and its text, Tinker Bell attempted to read it. "Okay. Sparkling wings… 'When a most incredible… that the sparkle… there were two….'"
Everyone stared at the book in total shock and perplexity. "'Two' what?" Donald asked.
"Gawrsh," Goofy spoke up. "Maybe its two flowers. Maybe a bouquet — I still want one for Sylvia. A-Hyuck!"
Amemi pointed to the sparrow man. "Maybe he knows?"
Sora shrugged. "It's worth a try."
Tinker Bell led the way to the nearby mushroom table. When the sparrow man noticed the group gathered before him, he jumped up in his seat. "Yes?" he asked, a slight lisp in his voice.
"Do you know anything about 'sparkling wings'?" Tinker Bell questioned.
The sparrow man shook his head. "The bookworm ate that page."
Donald slapped himself in the face while everyone else groaned. "We know!" he stated.
"Yeah," Tinker Bell turned away, a saddening look showing on her face.
The sparrow man smiled. "But the Keeper does."
Tinker Bell turned back. "The 'Keeper'?"
"Who's the 'Keeper'?" Sora questioned.
The sparrow man chuckled. He pointed a small, stick-shaped pencil at the book's cover. The name "The Keeper" was clearly etched beneath the title. "He writes the books. He is the keeper of all fairy knowledge."
"Wow!" Donald and Goofy declared in equal amazement. Sora had to smile. He had not seen the pair react in this manner for a long time. Deep down inside, he was as amazed as they were. There was a sparrow man who knew everything about Pixie Hollow and (possibly) Never Land?
Maybe he also knew why Indigo was banished. If Sora could learn that information, he might be able to help her. Maybe he could resolve that problem so she would not have to hide while they were in this world. After all, this mission might take a while. They had not seen many Heartless while flying to the library — only the standard amount to be considered "local variety". Even so, that could only mean more were on the way.
"Is he here?" Amemi asked.
"Yeah," Tinker Bell gave a nod. "I have to talk to him."
The sparrow man chuckled again. "I would give anything to talk to him, but you can't."
"Aw gee," Launchpad groaned. "This is gettin' boring. While you're all reading books, I'm-a gonna tune up an airplane."
The duck-pilot wandered off before anyone realized he had left. Sora was face-to-face with the sparrow man. "Why not?" he demanded to know.
"He's a Winter Fairy," the sparrow man answered. "In order to talk to him, you would have to go to the Winter Woods, but that's impossible. Your wings will freeze and…. "
He broke his pencil in half. Sora nearly jumped back. Was that why Tinker Bell crossing the border had landed her in a room at the clinic? Maybe it was impossible….
His mind stopped there. Nothing was impossible for him to do. Here he had already saved many worlds from the Heartless, the Nobodies, and even Organization XIII. He had defended others, he had battled and defeated anyone he found manipulating the Heartless or vice-versa, and he had rescued his friends.
Regardless of what others claimed, he knew he could not simply back down from a challenge. It was just not the way of a Keyblade wielder, let alone a Keyblader Master-In-The-Making!
Tinker Bell was deep in thought. "The Winter Woods…. "
The group stepped outside of the Library's perimeter. Sora was deep in thought himself. "If only there was a way to cross over without anything bad happening," he said aloud.
Tinker Bell's face lit up. "I know! I can make us some coats and we can use them to keep our wings warm."
"That's a great idea!" Amemi approved.
Sora gave a nod. "Yeah!" he turned to Donald and Goofy. "What do you say?"
Donald shook his head. "No, thank you," he stubbornly stated.
"It'd be too freezing for us," Goofy covered his mouth.
Sora had to sigh. He knew his friends were just being careful, even though they had not always been so careful before. Every now and then, they had all gotten mixed up in some trap an evildoer had set. Other times, they had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Moreover, once, one of them had been knocked unconscious and they had presumed he was dead… for a while, anyways. "Then, what'll you do?"
Donald held out his wand. "We're gonna fight some Heartless!"
Goofy raised his shield. "Yeah! We saw some wanderin' around here, remember?"
Sora had to admit, the two had a point. If he was going with Tinker Bell and Amemi across the border, then someone had to stay over here to keep the Heartless from attacking anyone. The last thing they needed was a multiplying Heartless population….
"Alright," he said at last. "Just be careful," that was when he noticed Launchpad was absent. "And see if you can find Launchpad. He's gotta be somewhere around here."
Donald stared, his hand trembling a little. "Do we have to?!"
Goofy nodded. "Yup!"
Donald gave a deep sigh. The duo turned and flew away through the open meadow and into the direction of a field full of sunflowers. Sora turned to Tinker Bell. "Where to now?"
"Let's go to my house," Tinker Bell smiled. "I can make the coats there."
Sora gave a nod. He knew Tinker Bell's house. That small structure with the wooden design and a circular door he, Riku, and Violet had spent the night in while in this world previously. He recalled how he had kept everyone awake by his fascination of all the objects in the house. He had not seen such items before, which might be because they looked so different than anything did back at home. "Lead the way."
Tinker Bell took flight. Sora and his sister followed behind. They had not made it far down the road to Tinker Bell's Nook before several flying creatures appeared before them. They were a bunch of flying insects with bluish colors and creamy wings. The Heartless emblem was evident on their backs.
"Donald and Goofy were right," Sora sighed as he summoned his Keyblade. "Let's hope there aren't any Heartless on the other side of this world."
Amemi held out her slingshot. Tinker Bell held up a long, thin stick that was painted green. "What's that?" the sandy-haired girl asked.
"It's my wand," Tinker Bell replied. "Because I… actually, I don't know why I have one. I just do."
Amemi shrugged and joined her brother into the middle of the fray. Tinker Bell was directly behind them.
It took a little while to make it to Tinker's Nook. On the edge of the vast clearing was a quaint house crafted out of a teapot. Sora stared at the building in complete astonishment. Gone was the house he had seen in the dreams. In its place was something much nicer. He figured Tinker Bell must have built this house after finding the teapot as a Lost Thing somewhere around here.
Tinker Bell opened the front door. The door itself was the same as Sora remembered. The inside of the house, however, was not. It was a little larger than the old house, yet it lacked any windows. In the right corner was a gourd that had been crafted into a fireplace. Hanging on the left was a hammock with a pink pillow and matching blanket. Between the two was a pile of three alphabet blocks. The letters, "T", "B", and the number "2" stood out to Sora. He was not sure why.
Up above them, a small trunk could be seen. A few odds and ends were scattered around it. On the other side of the fireplace, a large mirror was leaning against the wall. Next to the doorway was a small, blue clock. As the hour struck, a cricket came sliding in and out. Each time it did, it gave a chirp.
"This is nice," Amemi smiled.
Sora had to admit, his sister might have a point. This house looked nicer. The floor itself was carpeted, not wooden. This was clearly one cozy place to live. He knew Tinker Bell had done a great job putting it together.
Tinker Bell did not waste time grabbing supplies from the trunk above. She then set to work hammering together boots, arranging cotton lining, and sewing leaves together. She was moving so swiftly, Sora had to lean back against the wall and close his eyes. It did not help that Amemi was helping her out. The Keyblade wielder started to doze as the other two worked away.
After several minutes, Tinker Bell and Amemi had created three sets of green coats, white mittens, and earmuffs. Tinker Bell grabbed the "Wingology" book from her bed-hammock and started to pack a small shoulder bag. Amemi tossed a coat, pair of mittens, and a set of earmuffs to Sora. The young man was startled awake by the items landing on him. He saw his sister standing above him, her arms crossed over her chest.
"What?" he asked.
"You did it again," Amemi shook her head. "Sora, you're always getting out of doing your chores just so you can lie around doing nothing."
Sora stood up. "What'd you expect?"
That was when he saw the sandy-haired girl was not smiling. In fact, she was frowning very deeply. "This is not funny," she stated. "You're getting lazier every day. If you don't start to shape up, you'll end up living by yourself in a leaky houseboat. And you know what that means? You won't have…. "
Sora tuned her out before she could go any further. He had heard this lecture time and time again from his Mom. She had scolded him for just about everything. His missing and unfinished homework assignments, his messy room, his laid-back lifestyle….
"Amy, you're not my Mom," he argued at last. Amemi was startled when she heard this. She looked down. A tear slid down her cheek. Before Sora could say anything else, his sister raced out the door and flew away. Sora gave a deep sigh.
"What's going on?" Tinker Bell inquired as she strode over.
Sora shook his head. "Maybe your saying is right. But if it is, I'd really have to fly backwards for this."
The sound of someone landing on the doorstep caught his attention. Sora looked up and stared in surprise. Standing in the open doorway was Indigo. "Sora, what took place?" she asked.
Sora strode forward. "Indigo? Where have you been?"
Indigo placed her hands in the space above her chest. "I have been around somewhere," she snapped back to attention. "Are you travelling into the Winter Woods?"
Tinker Bell gave a nod. "Yeah!" she paused and cocked her head. "Do I know you?"
Indigo swiftly shook her head. "You have to be thinking of someone else."
The golden-haired fairy shrugged and returned to gathering her things together. Sora gave a deep sigh and turned to Indigo. "Me and Amy had a fight."
Indigo put her hand in front of her face. "How many times do you two have to make the same mistakes before you learn from them?"
"Many, it seems."
The spikey-headed youth looked back inside. Amemi's coat, mittens, and earmuffs were lying on the floor where she had left them. "How did you know we're going to the Winter Woods?"
Indigo gestured to her antennae. They were shifting slightly. "I sense a strong Darkness might be over there. We shall have to check it out."
Sora gave a nod. "Yeah!" he reached down and grabbed Amemi's gear. He placed it all into Indigo's arms. "We'll need all this stuff."
Indigo shook her head. "This is all unnecessary for me. Yet, I shall put them on to be safe."
Sora wanted to laugh. However, the sight of Amemi flying away in tears replayed in his mind. He knew he would not be able to laugh as long as stuff like that was going on. He spotted his own coat, mittens, and earmuffs lying on the floor. He bent down to pick it all up while Indigo flew on inside.
By this point, Tinker Bell had just finished tucking her wings into her coat. Sora quickly put his coat on while Indigo carefully put the coat over her own wings. Once they were done, all three stood in front of the mirror. Tinker Bell eyed her boots and paused. She strode up to a drawer in a small stand. She opened it, revealing dozens of small, white pom-poms. She grabbed two and casually placed them on her boots.
With no glue or any other form of an adhesive, Sora wondered how the fairy kept her pom-poms on her boots. Maybe it was static electricity? Maybe it was Disney Magic?
…Whatever that was!
Tinker Bell gave a nod and hopped into the air. She tried to soar away, only to come crashing down onto the floor. Sora and Indigo rushed over and helped her back to her feet. Tinker Bell sighed, "Can't fly."
The three had to carefully exit the house and jump down to the ground below.
Tinker's Nook was more crowded than the cafeteria at the high school back on the Destiny Islands, at least during the lunch period. Fairies and sparrow men flittered about, their hands full of stuff as they flew. Sora saw one particular sparrow man with long, dark hair enter a house, a pepper-shaker in his hands. All over the place, many large, green baskets with fixed handles could be seen. In the middle of the area, a large, makeshift conveyor belt towered above the surrounding landscape. A hanging vine in an enormous cavern had been wrapped around two pulleys, forming something resembling a clothes-line that led up to the conveyor belt.
"Hurry, now, hurry!" called a large fairy Sora instantly recognized from the dreams. He recalled how Tinker Bell had called her "Fairy Mary" and had since presumed she was the leader of the Tinker-Talent fairies and sparrow men. "Stand by with the pulley. It's this season's final pickup, so let's make it our best."
Fairy Mary turned away from the nearby tree root where Sora, Indigo, and Tinker Bell were hiding. She frowned at a fairy lounging on a leafy hammock. "Lucinda, let's leave the loafing for the Baking Fairies."
Knowing they had a small window available, Sora and Indigo followed Tinker Bell inside the cavern. They could now see the several of the baskets dangling from the line above as though they were buckets on a refinery's bucket-and-pulley system. At one of the baskets, Bobble and Clank were inspecting a special switch.
"Okay, Clanky," Bobble said from inside the basket.
Clank pulled a long, thin vine attached to the basket's interior. "Right!"
The bottom of the basket opened up. Bobble fell out and landed hard upon the cavern floor. "Ouch!"
Sora and Indigo winced when they saw him land. "Snowflake release system working!" Clank proclaimed.
Bobble groaned and rubbed his back as he stood up. "Maybe you should be the test snowflake for a while…. "
"Psst!" Sora and Indigo turned around. Tinker Bell pointed to a basket above them. She reached into her bag and pulled out a grappling hook, one Sora noted had a fishhook attached to it. The hook grabbed the basket's side. Tinker Bell started up it. Sora was next, followed by Indigo. When Sora saw the angel clambering up the line really fast, he knew he needed to move faster or she might climb over him, too.
The three were almost to the basket when they heard a couple of gasps. "Tink?" said a deep voice.
"Sora?" said another familiar voice. "What are you doing?"
Indigo, Sora, and Tinker Bell all stopped climbing. The brown-haired young man gazed over his shoulder. Bobble and Clank were down below, looking up at them. "What is it?" Sora asked.
"We already checked that basket," Bobble informed.
Clank cocked his head, noticing their warm coats. "Why are you all dressed all cozy?"
With a sigh, Tinker Bell started sliding down the line. Sora hastily did the same. Indigo simply leapt off it and landed onto the ground with such grace, Sora felt he had to do a double-take.
Once on the ground, Tinker Bell glanced around. Seeing how no one else had spotted them, she turned back to the pair of sparrow men. "We're going to the Winter Woods."
Clank and Bobble gasped. Bobble's pupils became massive in his droplet-filled glasses. "The Winter Woods?!" he exclaimed a little too loudly.
Sora speedily put a finger to his mouth. "Shh!"
Bobble took a step back. "The Winter Woods?" he repeated in a hushed whisper.
Indigo gave a nod. "That is correct," she confirmed.
"You can't cross the border," Bobble stated, a hint of worry in his voice. "Your wings!"
Sora held up a hand. "Don't worry about it! They're tucked in our coats."
Clank's eyes lit up and he gasped. "Does this have to do with the, the sparkling?"
"Yes," Tinker Bell nodded in reply. "There's somebody in Winter who can tell me what it means."
"Who's that?" Bobble questioned.
"His name is 'The Keeper'," Indigo answered, much to Sora's surprise. After all, the angel had not been present at the library. How did she know about the author of all those books there? Indigo must have read his mind since she then turned her attention his way. "I sensed that information from your heart, Sora."
Sora rolled his eyes. He felt like slapping himself in the face. It was a good thing he did not do so, though, for the sake of his spiked hair poking clear through his hand. Now Indigo was talking the same way Violet and Riku did; only she did so more on his level of understanding.
A loud horn blew. All eyes turned to the entrance of the cavern. "The snowy owls," Tinker Bell said. "They're here!"
"Start the pulley!" Fairy Mary called from outside.
Tinker Bell waved to her friends. "Bye!"
She ran for the grappling line and started to climb up. Sora waved next. "See ya!"
Indigo gave a left-hand salute. "Toodaloo!"
The three hurried up the line and into the basket. Once all three of them were inside, Tinker Bell grabbed her hook and yanked the grappling hook and line into the container. She hastily rolled it up and stuffed it in her shoulder bag.
Sora looked ahead to see where they were headed. The clothes-line-like system above their heads released the basket onto the conveyor belt. Up it rose on the belt, along with several other identical baskets. At the very top, passing Snowy Owls swooped down from above to grab one of the baskets and carry it away.
The basket was lifted up and over to the top. Tinker Bell had everyone duck down inside the container as it reached the top. Sora watched as the next Snowy Owl approached. The animal seemed a tad unsteady to the Keyblader. "That's the new one," he overheard Fairy Mary announce.
"'New one'?" came the worried voices of Bobble and Clank speaking together.
The owl closed in and snatched the basket with its claws. Away it flew, only to suddenly descend rapidly. Sora, Indigo, and Tinker Bell all held on as tightly as they could as the animal struggled to regain control. They found themselves on a rough ride through the nook. When they saw a tall, wooden house was up ahead, the group ducked as low as they could. A loud CRASH could be heard alongside an enormous AH-CHOO as the basket toppled the house over. Sora glanced back to see the sparrow man with the long, dark hair seated at a toppled table. He looked around wildly before spotting the pepper shaker in his hand. In a state of shock, he tossed the item over his shoulder.
Sora had to shake his head and smile. This reminded him of what had happened the last time Goofy had sneezed in the Gummi Ship. He had applied so much pepper to his lunch, it was totally unavoidable. The sandwich in the knight's hands had exploded all over the place. Donald had been scowling for a long time, particularly since he had ended up with a tomato slice on his cheek. Sora could laugh about it now, even though he recalled how he had had a piece of lettuce ensnared in his hair.
Indigo turned to the brown-haired seventeen-year-old. "What is so silly?"
Sora shook his head. "It's nothing."
It did not take long for the owl to correct its course. Before they knew it, Sora, Tinker Bell, and Indigo were riding in the basket. They looked back to see Bobble and Clank watching them leave with concern still evident on their faces. Tinker Bell waved again, so Sora and Indigo did the same. They turned back to the front to see the owl soaring away through a forest of colorful leaves. On the other side, they could see a long tree root stretching across a wide river. On one side, the red, brown, and yellow leaves descended from the trees and landed in the water. On the other, snow fell and ice covered the ground below it. That side of the river was also frozen and fresh snow piled over the root-bridge.
Sora realized it must be the border. He knew the next stop would be somewhere inside the Winter Woods.
Amemi was slouched against a large boulder beside a long river. She looked at her reflection in the water. The leafy dress seemed to vibrate like a soundtrack's waves in the moving stream. She sighed deeply.
Never before had Sora ever compared her to their Mom. That was the worst thing he had told her that she could remember. True, he had said bad names to her before. Once, he had called her "Wordy-Girl" because of how much she watched her favorite show. Then, there was the time he had referred to her as "Maleficent" when she had accidentally broken his nose as her feet had hit him while on the school's swingset. That had been an accident, yet it still hurt her deeply.
Speaking of being called "Maleficent", she had heard that name used multiple times on this adventure. While she was not quite sure why, she had the feeling her brother had actually compared her to someone else. Knowing how "Maleficent" meant "causing or capable of causing harm or destruction, especially by supernatural means", she dreaded the very idea of meeting someone like that! At the same time, she was curious about how someone with that name would actually look.
She was picturing somebody dark and ferocious, maybe with horns on their back or head. Blood-red eyes, possibly. Sharp, jagged teeth and claws. Someone who was part-animal and part-sorceress and part-alien. Okay, maybe not exactly "alien"; this was not a "Star Wars" universe. At least, not that she knew….
As she continued to sulk, her mind went back to that look she had seen in Sora's eyes. For a brief second, they had become a shade of amber and then turned back to azure. Such a sight was very unnatural — talk about supernatural! And his body had been covered in a foul stench during that split moment, one worse than a coal miner who had not showered in 200 years.
She was not sure what it had been. Just that it was something spooky and, to a degree, frightening. Like she had been staring into the eyes of a hungry wolf. The memory of the Heartless wolf pinning her down in the snow back at that frozen lake haunted her mind for a few seconds. If Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad had not struck down those monsters in record time,… she refused to think about it more than that!
She kicked a small stone into the water. It skipped across the stream and bonked onto something in the ripples ahead. She looked up to see a young woman swimming to the bank beside her. The woman had long, wavy, golden hair and sea-blue eyes. She was draped completely from her shoulder to her ankles in a blue gown and had dark-blue slippers on her feet. A thin, bluish tiara was situated in her hair. As she came out of the water, she was frowning and rubbing the side of her head.
Amemi gulped. "Whoops! Sorry about that."
The woman saw her and smiled. "Only Clumsies say 'sorry'. Fairies like you and me say, 'I'd fly backwards if I could'."
The sandy-haired teenager gave a nod. "What is a 'Clumsy'?"
The woman took a seat on the bank beside her. "A human," she eyed Amemi closely. "I don't believe we've met," she offered her hand. "I'm Rani."
Amemi accepted the handshake. "I'm Amemi, but you can call me, 'Amy'. What are you?"
Rani threw her hands up in the air. "Can't you tell?"
Amemi paused. "Are you a Water Sprite?"
Rani laughed. "No, I'm a fairy."
"Really? Where's your wings?"
Rani gazed out at the stream. "It's a long story. Amy, how come you're here all alone?"
Amemi sighed and looked down. "It's my brother. He called me something not very nice."
Rani's smile faded. "Did he turn red?"
Amemi shook her head. The idea of Sora turning red in angry seemed too Donald Duck-ish. "No. It looked like… amber, I think?"
"You should let him cool down."
Amemi gave a nod. Maybe Rani had a point. One of the best ways to resolve a conflict enough to apologize was for each party involved to stay alone for a while and calm down. Later, they could come back together and apologize. "I think you're right. I'll try it."
Rani's smile returned. "While you're waiting for him to cool down, why don't you join me for a ride down Havendish Stream?"
Amemi shrugged. "Why not? But only if you tell me what happened to your wings."
"That's fair," Rani led the way two a nearby lily pad. "It started after Never Land was hit by a terrible hurricane…. "
Sora, Indigo, and Tinker Bell all braced as the Snowy Owl swooped across the border and into the steadily-falling snowflakes beyond. A gust of chilly air rushed through the basket. Their coats' hoods fell back in the wind. Sora and Tinker Bell found themselves shivering as the temperature dropped without warning. Indigo was not shivering, with the exception of her antennae.
The owl followed the other owls past some trees and through a pass in the mountains. They swooped under a gigantic ice arch and into a short tunnel in a mountainside. On the other side, they continued along a small valley and over a frozen river. The owls proceeded up an incline and over it.
Up here, Sora, Indigo, and Tinker Bell all looked down and around what they could see. An enormous valley stretched out below them. In the middle of it, the frozen river stopped at an icy lake. Some trees were visible down below, too. In the distance, icy peaks towered into the sky.
Tinker Bell smiled. "Wow. We made it."
Sora's eyes grew with marvel. He had not expected such a large place for one season's region. The Winter Woods appeared to be large enough to consume all the land taken by the other seasons and still have space left in it. "Whoa!"
Indigo looked down, her eyes taking in the scenery. "This place is huge for being one season of Pixie Hollow."
Sora's eyes rolled halfway. It was almost as though the angel had read his thoughts now. As he and the other two watched, a flicker of twinkling dust flew up to the first Snowy Owl. "Welcome back," said a somewhat deep voice.
Tinker Bell ducked down into the basket. Sora and Indigo immediately did the same. "It's a Winter Sparrow Man," the fairy told them. Sora and Indigo both gave nods of comprehension.
"The voice is too deep to belong to a fairy," Indigo elaborated. "It has to be a sparrow man."
"You ready for the drop-off?" The voice was directly outside their basket now. Wondering what this sparrow man looked like, Sora, Indigo, and Tinker Bell all peered through the gaps in the basket's weaving. Flying close to the basket was a young-looking sparrow man with blueish-black hair. He was wearing a cyan outfit consisting of a long shirt, pants, and shoes. A vine-like belt was around his waist.
The owl carrying the basket whimpered a little. "Come on," the sparrow man said. "You did it yesterday. You'll be fine."
The owl paused for a moment and gave a nod. "All right then," the sparrow man said. "Here we go."
One by one, the Snowy Owls descended and released their baskets on the river. The containers slid down the river and onto the lake. Several fairies seized the baskets and slid them to the edges of the lake. They lined the containers up in a circle.
Sora, Indigo, and Tinker Bell watched with anticipation as their Snowy Owl started its descent. It dropped too suddenly, causing Tinker Bell to lose her balance and bump into a latch in the back of the basket. The bottom of the container started to open like an airplane's landing gear being deployed. Tinker Bell grabbed her shoulder bag as it slipped through the gap and then hung onto the container as she fell through herself. Sora gasped and grabbed the fairy's arm. Indigo grabbed the other one. They heaved as much as they could. Slowly yet surely, Tinker Bell returned to the basket. Indigo hit the switch, closing the basket back up.
The incident had resulted in the owl losing control (again). Without warning, the basket fell from the animal's claws. It crashed onto the frozen river and slid along to the lake so fast, Sora, Indigo, and Tinker Bell had to hold onto the sides of the container. Sora was not sure why, but the river ride reminded him of a roller coaster, similar to the one from the amusement park in the dreams of Rascal's Dreamland.
The fairies on the lake looked up to see the basket zooming their way. "Look out!" several of them yelled in alarm before soaring out of the way.
The basket rushed across the lake and slammed into a few more baskets. Dozens of tiny snowflakes spilled out of the toppled containers. The impact also knocked the speeding basket over. Sora, Indigo, and Tinker Bell found themselves sliding across the ice beneath the upside-down basket. They came to a stop near the edge of the lake.
"Phew," Tinker Bell released a breath she had not known she was holding.
Sora shrugged as he sat up. "That was close…. "
"You have no idea," Indigo sighed as she rose from the ice. She grasped her right arm for a moment. "Ice burn," she groaned.
Sora's eyes grew wide. "Does it hurt?"
Indigo shook her head. "It shall die down in a little bit."
Tinker Bell gasped. "Oh, no," the other two turned to the fairy. She was staring into her shoulder bag. Her mittens and earmuffs were in the bag. The book was not.
Sora looked around. "It couldn't have gotten far."
The three took a few moments to search the icy surface around them. Indigo looked around the other side of the basket and pointed. "Look over there!" she called.
Sora and Tinker Bell quickly switched their attention to where the angel was pointing. A couple yards away lay the book, upright and on the ice. Sora was about to go out and retrieve it, but Tinker Bell grabbed his arm. She pointed to the fairies and sparrow men gathered around the toppled baskets and mess of snowflakes. Sora gave a nod, knowing they needed to be careful so they would not be seen.
He stepped out again. Just as he was a few feet away from the tome, a mountainous shadow loomed overhead. Sora rushed back and dove behind the basket with Tinker Bell and Indigo. They watched as a Snowy Owl landed beside the lake and a tall, older sparrow man climbed off.
Sora was amazed. This guy had silver hair and light-brown eyes. He sported a teal sleeveless suit, high leaf boots, and had a cape made from the feathers of a Snowy Owl. To the Keyblade wielder, he seemed to resemble Julius Ceaser.
"Lord Milori," the sparrow man from before said. Sora stared, now knowing this was most-likely the leader of the fairies and sparrow men in the Winter Woods.
The lord swept his eyes across the mess. "And what happened here?"
The sparrow man rubbed the back of his head, somewhat mirroring how Sora himself would respond when embarrassed. "A bit of a bumpy landing. It's only his second drop-off."
The Snowy Owl behind the sparrow man twittered, its cheeks starting to turn pink. The lord smiled at the animal. "As long as the basket made it, I'd say he did just fine."
As the lord proceeded to check on the snowflakes, Sora realized now might be their chance to retrieve the book. Just as he was about to go out and get it, Indigo clambered down onto the ice and crawled up to the tome. She reached for it, only to spot something in the air. Her arm slid suddenly and knocked into the book. She saw what was going on and hastily tried to grab the item. The book slid out of her reach and across the iced-over lake.
When it slid into the back of Lord Milori's boot, Sora, Indigo, and Tinker Bell all gasped. Indigo clambered back to the others and all three ducked behind the basket. They watched as the lord turned to see the book on the lake. He bent down and scooped it up into his hands. "Now that is odd," he eyed the object with a mystified look on his face. "It must have been left in the basket by accident," he turned to the sparrow man. "Sled, return this to the Keeper. He can send it back to the Warm Side with his next delivery."
Sora, Indigo, and Tinker Bell's ears all perked up. The Keeper. "We should follow that guy," he decided.
Indigo gave a nod. "He should be able to lead us straight to where the Keeper lives," she shivered. "Let's Hope it is somewhere warmer than this lake."
Tinker Bell gave a nod. "Yeah."
They all watched as Lord Milori climbed back aboard his Snowy Owl and took off. Sora cocked his head. Why was the Lord of the Winter Woods not using his wings like everyone else? He did not have time to question the matter further.
Sled was flying past with the book tucked under his arm. Sora, Indigo, and Tinker Bell watched him for a moment. They looked back and forth to make sure they would not be noticed. Then, they scurried after the sparrow man.
Away they went, deeper into the Mysterious Winter Woods….
A/N: "'THE MYSTERIOUS WINTER WOODS'"... Whether or not you know it, that was actually part of the initial title for the Disney movie this world's story is based upon. What Disney movie am a referring to?
It so happens, PIXIE HOLLOW is based upon the Disney Fairies movie series (with a touch of the books thrown in).
As for this particular storyline here, it is focused on Disney's "'SECRET OF THE WINGS (2012)'"! It is my favorite movie in that series.
And yes, it was initially going to be titled, "Tinker Bell And The Mysterious Winter Woods'"!
Nevertheless, I have some important stuff to state now.
(1.) To those of you who have NOT read through "Kingdom Hearts - World Unto Dreams" before starting This Story, I highly recommend you go back and read over it! For the rest of this world's story here, it shall contain Possible SPOILERS in regards to what took place before (in addition to Possible HINTS at what is to come).
(2.) In Late Summer OF 2013, I found myself conducting LOTS of research about Disney Fairies and delved deep into the "'SECRETS'" of the world of Never Land!
The concept of Fairies V.S. Sparrow Men was one of the things I came across. It technically is implemented in the later movies of the Disney Fairies franchise. In fact, "Secret OF The Wings (2012)" was the last one not to use the term "Sparrow Man/Sparrow Men" in its storyline.
(3.) You might want to take another look at the books Sora found on the shelves in the Library. There might be something, well, interesting about them.
As for the book about those "Banished" fairies and sparrow men,... Look up "FairyABC" if you wish to know more.
(4.) Rather than state anything regarding the fight between Sora and Amemi, I would like to point out that fairy Amemi met. Rani is actually one of the fairies featured in the Disney Fairies books and graphic novels. She was not in any of the movies. Yes, she lacks wings and can swim. In fact, Rani is the ONLY fairy who can swim!
Keep your eyes open as more characters from the books may show up in this world's story arc!
(5.) I have to admit, my Storyline Summary had a rather different approach to how to start this world's storyline. In the end, I improvised and what you see is what I ended up with when it was done.
That is how creativity can influence improvisation. After all, the original concept for introducing this world's storyline was very vague and I felt it needed to be expanded. Also, recent events on that "'FairyABC'" site led to modifications here, too.
(6.) I shall tell you more in the future.
For now, "'YOU HAVE ALL LEARNED FAST AND FASTER! ALL I CAN TEACH YOU, I HAVE TAUGHT YOU TODAY! YOU HAVE BECOME AS YOUR MASTER!'"!
(Yes, that was a reference to Season 3 of Mattel's "'EVER AFTER HIGH'"!
So Then, I'll See You Next Time!
In other words, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT REVIEWING! THE FATE OF THIS STORY DEPENDS ON IT!
REMEMBER THIS - A MINIMUM OF 214 IS REQUIRED FOR THE SEQUEL! IF 240 ARE POSTED, I WILL INCLUDE A "SNEAK PEEK" FOR THE SEQUEL ITSELF! HOWEVER, THAT/THOSE GOAL(S) MUST BE MET BY THE TIME THE-SECOND-TO-LAST-CHAPTER IS POSTED! THAT WAY, I WILL HAVE TIME TO ANNOUNCE WHETHER OR NOT EITHER GOAL WAS MET!
This Is SoraLego278 Saying, "See Ya Later, Keybladers!" Plus, "Have A ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH DAY!" In Addition, "I SHALL FLY WITH YOU LATER!"