Chapter 10: Friends Old and New

Xion's face was wet. Her first thought was that it must have been tears, and so she rubbed at her cheeks accordingly. But instead she found that it was a more sticky wetness, more like humidity than anything else. But it wasn't really humid around her, not really. Only her face felt this way instead of the rest of her.

And what was that weight on her chest?

Xion's eyes struggled open and the very first thing she saw was a bright yellow dog, his mouth open wide in a smile and his tongue hanging out happily. His paws were propped up against her chest and he leaned in close to her with wide, intelligent eyes. Slobber dangled from his bright pink tongue; so, he had been licking her. Xion recognized this dog, though she also knew she had never met him. But Sora had, and now the memories of her entire life – her real life – were coming back, including Sora's memories inside of her.

"Pluto?" Xion asked. The dog in question barked happily and backed off of Xion, wagging his thin little black tail. Pluto ran over to a set of large brown doors at the other end of the room and barked once more, directing his calls to whoever was on the other side. Then he ran back to Xion and sat down beside her, his tongue still hanging from his mouth.

Multiple sets of footsteps were hurrying over to the room from the other side of the brown doors, called by Pluto's bark. As Xion climbed up to her feet – using Pluto for support – the doors flung open. Sora stood in the center of the crowd with wide eyes and an even wider smile, and before Xion had a chance to recognize anyone else he ran over to her and embraced her in a tight hug, his momentum knocking the back of her head against the wall.

"Ow…" Xion muttered, rubbing the back of her head and looking behind her. She felt her jaw fall open ever so slightly at the sight: it wasn't a wall behind her, but a massive bookcase that took up nearly the entirety of the wall. In the space between the bookcase and the ceiling, fancy golden designs were weaved into the otherwise beautifully clean white walls. Having begun an examination of the room, Xion couldn't help but glance around at everything else. The reflective tile floor was a checkerboard pattern of grey and white. Portraits of all sorts hung on the walls of the room, and a golden fireplace was against the wall to her left while the wall to her right had windows that looked out over an impressive courtyard. A well-carved wooden desk sat near the windows, with a strange device sitting atop it. The machine was yellow, with a large blue screen and four smaller screens attached to the side. A funnel of some sort was attached to the top, and the keyboard had multiple brightly colored buttons on it.

"That's the machine that let me go to the other Twilight Town," Sora explained, having followed Xion's line of sight. "Chip and Dale made it." Xion turned back to the boy, whose smile had been replaced with a look of concern. "How are you feeling?"

"…Dizzy," Xion admitted. "I feel like…like I'm waking up from a dream." Already the memories of Twilight Town were starting to become a blur. She wasn't forgetting them – she knew full well what forgetting something felt like – but it was, as she said, like a dream. The memories were slipping into her subconscious and the details weren't quite clear anymore. Frankly, Xion felt awful about it. The people there were still her friends, no matter the circumstances that had brought her to them.

"Gosh, at least you're safe." The squeaky voice behind Sora lifted Xion's spirits considerably. Sora stepped aside to allow Xion to see the others who had come into the room with him. First and foremost was the little mouse dressed in red and yellow, who was grinning from giant ear to giant ear. Next to King Mickey was Donald and Goofy; the former was evidently trying to stay stoic while the latter made no attempts to hide how happy he was.

And while Xion was extremely happy to see them again, the last visitor caught her completely by surprise. At first it was like looking into a mirror, the face before her was so much like her own. But Xion realized it wasn't a mirror when she noticed the differences in hair—red as opposed to black, parted ever so slightly different, and longer. With her hands behind her back, Kairi gave a gentle smile. "It's good to see you back," she said. "We were worried about you."

"Where are we?"

Xion's answer was a good-natured chuckle from Goofy. "Gawrsh, this is mine, Donald's, and the King's world! Welcome to Disney Castle, Xion!"

Xion glanced around at the room again. Yes, she could see it now; frankly, she wondered how it hadn't been obvious to her before. The portraits hanging on the wall all looked a lot like Mickey, she figured they must have been his ancestors, and some of the flashing lights on the big yellow machine were in the shape of his seal as well. Well that was one question answered, but she still had about a hundred more.

"What happened to me, exactly?" Xion asked. She had remembered her fight with Braig, but who could say if it was actual memories or just a dream? "How long was I gone? I mean, was it four months out here like it was in that-" She paused, hesitating to call it 'that fake town.' "…in there?"

Donald crossed his arms. "Hey, don't you think you should rest a bit before asking questions?"

Xion pursed her lips while absent-mindedly scratching Pluto behind the ears. Maybe? She felt a lot better than she had in days, but as she had told Sora already she was still kind of light-headed. And besides, she had just lived another life with the memories to accompany it. It was bad enough that she had Sora's and her own memories to deal with, but now those as well? Maybe some time to think would be best before she plunged into everything.

Mickey spoke up, holding his hand out with a smile. "We'll have plenty of time to explain after ya get some time to clear your head. You're all honored guests at the castle, so feel free to explore wherever ya want!" The little king turned around then, walking off down the carpeted corridor that Xion could see past the wooden doors. He probably had to go do some important royal work, Xion figured. He had been gone from the castle for a long time. Donald and Goofy lingered for a moment longer but they eventually turned out as well.

"We'll be right back, Xion!" Goofy said, turning around as they walked away. "Maxie wanted to see me 'bout somethin'."

So, it was just her, Sora, and Kairi now. Well, them and Pluto; Xion continued to scratch his head, and he was panting happily. "So," she began slowly, "how did you guys get here? I mean, there aren't any Gummi ships on the islands."

"With this." Kairi walked over to the desk – Mickey's desk, most likely – and picked up a folded piece of paper marked with the King's seal. Xion walked over and Kairi unfolded it before handing it to her, revealing a letter written in Sora's messy handwriting.

Your Majesty, something is wrong. Xion never came home last night and the beach where I saw her last is all messed up, like there was a fight. We're both really worried. Can you guys come here quick?

And underneath that, in nicer handwriting:

After I went home last night, I felt something. There was darkness on the islands, but it was for such a short time I thought I must have been imagining things. It wasn't until I learned Xion was missing this morning that I put two and two together. I don't think she ran away. I think something happened to her.

Please hurry. We already lost Riku, we can't lose another friend.

-Sora and Kairi.

"Wait a second." Xion set the letter back down and turned to Sora. "Isn't this that magic paper the King gave you? I thought you were planning to use it to ask about Riku?"

Riku rubbed the back of his head and looked down at the floor. "That was the original plan, and we still want to find him! But well, you were kinda more immediate."

There was a prolonged silence as Xion took that in. She looked down at the desk, examining the documents and letters that King Mickey had left scattered across it. Nothing about what was running through her mind.

"…Has there been any sign of him?"

Sora and Kairi glanced at each other nervously before either spoke. "…Not yet," Kairi said at last, her voice soft. "Four months of searching and nothing. Whenever we weren't worrying about you we were off on other worlds looking for him."

Xion recalled with a chill the last time they had seen Riku, that day that he and Axel had fought in front of the old mansion in Twilight Town. After everything was over Kairi had voiced concern that maybe Axel had finished Riku off then. Xion didn't want to even consider it, but if he still hadn't been found after all this time then maybe…

Xion decided to change the topic. This discussion wasn't helping any of them. "So, what have I missed while I was gone?" She forced a smile, hoping it seemed genuine. "Learn anything new?"

Kairi tried to hide her relief at the shift in discussion, but it showed on her face nonetheless. "Yeah. Donald's been teaching me a lot, and I've gotten better at magic. Look at this!" She held her right hand out, palm up, and narrowed her lips in concentration. A blue spark flared to life in the air above her open palm and quickly expanded outwards, coalescing into a floating orb of water. "I'm best at water spells; I just learned Watera last week. No Waterga yet though." The water dispersed, becoming water droplets that faded away before they reached the tile floor. Kairi's smile faltered ever so slightly. "And…I've been speaking to Naminé, too."

Sora's head perked up and he looked at Kairi attentively. This seemed to be news to him as well. "Naminé is still in there?"

Kairi bit her lip. "…Sometimes. Not always. Mostly I just see her in dreams where I'm standing on a stained glass floor." The smile came back. "We talk about stupid stuff, like ice cream or drawing. I think she really enjoys it. She never had much of a life before, you know?"

Mention of the blonde girl who had helped them so much brought another image to Xion's mind up from the depths of her heart. "Next time you see Naminé," she said with a sad smile, "can you tell her that her brother wishes they had met?"

Sora looked down guiltily at the floor at that comment, though Xion didn't think he had any reason to. Kairi brushed a bit of hair back behind her ear. "Naminé wishes she had gotten to meet Roxas, too. Maybe they will some day."

x-x-x

Some time later, Xion had decided to leave the library and get some air. King Mickey had said they had free rein of Disney Castle, and she intended to take him up on that offer. Pluto was trotting along happily at her side as she made her way through the confusing halls; she didn't mind, she loved dogs. Sometimes while on missions back in the Organization she had seen people playing with their pets, and she had always wanted one of her own.

Xigbar – or Braig, rather – had known and teased her about it. Maybe…Maybe that was why he had given her Dodger in the other Twilight Town.

Right now the two of them were in an open-air hallway which overlooked a courtyard; over on the other end of the courtyard Xion could see the tall set of doors near the library, which meant that she had nearly gone in a circle during her wanderings. As she leaned against the railing, one of Xion's hands crawled up to her chest and she absent-mindedly gripped at her necklace. What her fingers wrapped around wasn't the polished bumps of her thalassa shell, however. Xion backed away from the rail and looked down at the necklace in her grip, her fingers unfurling carefully to reveal it. It was silver, with a blue gemstone and a ukulele charm painted on the front. …Right, she remembered now. Stitch's summon charm, the one she had bought just before the Battle of Hollow Bastion. How was Stitch, Xion wondered? Safe, hopefully. Still in Traverse Town with Lilo, no doubt.

The sound of laughter from the courtyard caught Xion's attention, and Pluto's as well judging by the way he turned his head from her to the carefully shaped hedges. Two unfamiliar, accented voices spoke in high spirits while a third, scratchy one grumbled. Xion didn't want to listen in on anyone's private conversations, but she recognized that third voice distinctly: Donald. Her curiosity piqued, Xion made her way to a marble staircase around the corner and walked down into the courtyard, Pluto following her the whole way.

"Haha, Donald my friend, you should have seen the look on your face!"

There was a good natured-chuckle from Donald's second friend as Donald grumbled again. "It was an accident, but it was certainly funny, no?" Now that she could hear the two of them more clearly, she could tell that their accents were distinct from one another; similar to be sure, but distinct.

Xion rounded the corner of a large hedge to finally see Donald and his two companions. The first was a green parrot, holding a cigar and leaning on a closed black umbrella like it was a cane. Next to him was a red rooster with a sombrero, who was trying to muffle his laughter while Donald rubbed the top of his head. There was a suspiciously cigar-shaped burn front and center on the duck's forehead, and when he noticed Xion he hurriedly shoved his blue hat back on and began whistling innocently as if nothing had happened.

"Xion! What are you doing here?" Donald's question turned the heads of the other two over to her, and they broke into wide smiles.

"Ah, so this is the famous Xion, eh?" The parrot asked. He leaned over on his umbrella some more and moved his cigar away from his beak, prompting Donald to back away from the smoking object. "Como vai você? Como vai essa força? Por onde tem andado? Há quanto tempo que eu não o vejo! Que há de novo? Or as you off-worlders say: what's cooking?"

As opposed to the parrot, the rooster ran up to her immediately began shaking her hand with gusto. "Son of a gun, it's a pleasure to meet you at last, Señorita Xion!"

"Uh… You, too." Xion said, taking a step backwards. They didn't frighten her, but she was a bit overwhelmed by the red one.

The green one seemed to catch on. "Ah, we are being impolite! We have not yet introduced ourselves."

"Ahem," Donald cleared his throat, evidently trying to pull Xion's attention over to him. "This is-"

"I," the parrot said, cutting Donald off, "am José Carioca. My friends, they call me Zé. Joe works too, if it is easier."

The rooster began shaking her hand again before Xion could respond to José. "And my name is Panchito Romero Miguel Junípero Francisco Quintero González III!"

"Um…" Wow, that was a mouthful. Xion didn't really know where to begin.

"Okay, okay, that's enough!" Donald said, shoving Panchito and José aside. "Xion, what are you doing here? Weren't you with Sora and Kairi?"

"I'm just out on a walk. Clearing my head, like you and King Mickey said." Donald narrowed his eyes and tapped his foot. Xion sighed, but she knew it was out of concern for her. "I'm fine, Donald."

"I don't know…"

"Oh let it go, primo!" José slung his arm over Donald's shoulders and tapped the end of his umbrella against the duck's beak. "If Xion says she is fine then she is fine, no?"

"Sí, Donald; that is how it work, my friend." Panchito was on the other side of Donald and he took slung an arm over the duck's shoulders. Xion couldn't help but giggle as Donald ranted at them under his breath, struggling out of their grip. Panchito and José joined in the laughter.

Once the humor at Donald's expense had ended, Xion turned to the other two. "So, how did you guys meet?"

"We are three caballeros, three gay caballeros," Panchito said as if it explained everything. "They say we are birds of a feather."

"Oh, it goes back anos and anos," José added. "I met Donald long ago, when he took a trip out of the castle to my hometown to learn to dance. And then some time later, Donald and I, we went on a tour of the world for his birthday. That is where we met Panchito."

"Friends for life, huh?"

"Sí, señorita. We have the stars to guide us." Panchito picked up one of three wooden guitars that was sitting on a nearby hedge and improvised a merry little tune. "Guitars here beside us, to play as we go." Donald reached for a guitar of his own only for José to subtly stick his umbrella out at Donald's feet, tripping the duck up. Donald slammed face-first into the grass.

"Perhaps we are a bit too hard on him, eh?" José asked with a chuckle as he helped Donald up.

"Never say such things, amigo! Through fair and stormy weather we stand close together, isn't that right?"

"Sure, sure…" Donald muttered, climbing to his feet and brushing grass off of his clothes. "Why are you two even here anyway?"

José puffed on his cigar and once again tapped his umbrella on Donald's beak. "Well, funny you should ask! Have you been to Bahia, Donald?"

"No."

Xion left Donald to discuss what were evidently vacation plans with his friends. It wasn't until she had climbed the marble stairs and returned to the open-air hall that she noticed Pluto had wandered off somewhere during her discussion with the caballeros. That wasn't too surprising, honestly. She remembered the first time Sora had met Pluto, in Traverse Town. He had run off then without any warning, too.

As Xion continued on her walk of Disney Castle, she passed near a window that gave her a glimpse of the rest of the world outside. Buildings of all sorts of shapes and painted vibrant colors were built along yellow brick roads. It was certainly a lighthearted world; it reminded her of Wasteland, after the Blot had been defeated. Hm, Mickey had said that he and Oswald based it on their own home, hadn't they?

"Dad, do you really have to go?"

The adolescent voice that came from around the next corner made Xion stop. Someone was having a family moment, and she wasn't about to interrupt that. She was just about to turn around and go back the way she came when the boy's father spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Maxie, but you know Sora's pal is still out there somewhere. Not to mention all them Heartless and Nobodies."

Was that Goofy? Goofy had a son? … Oh, that's right. Goofy had said he was a father before, hadn't he? When he had been talking to Nani in Traverse Town. Xion's curiosity got the better of her and she looked around the corner. There was Goofy, sure enough, talking to the teenager who must have been his son: a dog dressed in a red hoodie and blue jeans. The family resemblance was certainly there.

"I guess so." The boy crossed his arms. "But it just feels like you only got home recently."

Goofy smiled. "Gawrsh Max, I thought you didn't want your ol' bumbling dad hangin' around you and your friends?"

Max – Maxie must have been a nickname, then – frowned and looked down at the floor. "Well yeah, but I still miss you when you're gone, you know?"

Goofy kneeled down and put one hand on Max's shoulder. "Max, remember that time we went on a trip together?" Max nodded slowly. "So long as you keep that time with ya, I'm never gone. Not really."

Max shrugged Goofy's hand off his shoulder, muttering something about embarrassing dads with a smile. "…It'd be nice if I could come with you, though," he said more loudly.

Goofy frowned. "Max, you know it's too dangerous for that." Seeing Goofy giving off the 'stern father' look was so weird, but strangely…it fit him. Xion found herself smiling along with Max.

"I know; it was just a hope. Just…" His smile faltered. "Can you promise me one thing while you're gone?"

"Anything, Maxie."

"Promise me you won't hurt Peej's dad." Goofy grew silent and Max rubbed his arm nervously. "He's heard the rumors, dad. He's worried."

"That's…" Goofy sighed. "That's up to Pete, Maxie. But I'll try my best."

Pete was a father, too? That certainly didn't make things any easier. While Max and Goofy continued their talk, Xion turned away as she had with Donald and his friends. This was a personal, family matter. She shouldn't have even listened as much as she already had.

It wasn't much later that Xion ran into one more new face. As she dodged the magic brooms that marched down the halls, familiar black ears approached her from down the stairs. "Is that you, Your Maje-" Xion stopped; it wasn't Mickey, it was another mouse dressed in a pink dress and wearing a tiara.

The mouse gasped in surprise at seeing Xion, but composed herself quickly. "Oh my, are you the Xion I heard so much about? You really do look just like Kairi, I thought it was her at first."

"Yeah, that's me."

The mouse must have mistaken her short sentence for offense, because she bowed lightly. "I'm sorry, dear. That must have sounded awfully cold; Mickey told me all about you." To call him Mickey without a title, she must have been someone important. "My name is Minnie; I'm the queen of Disney Castle."

Xion's eyes widened and she dropped down to one knee, a hand over her chest. "Your Majesty! I'm sorry, I didn't know-"

The Queen walked over to Xion and took her arm in her hands, insisting she stand up. Xion did climb to her feet, but not without a bit of hesitation. "No, no! It's perfectly fine, really! Any friend of Mickey's is a friend of mine."

"I-If you say so, Your Majesty."

The Queen smiled. "Now there won't be any of that here," she said with a playful tone. "Call me Minnie, I insist."

"I- Okay, Minnie."

"There, that's better. Now then, Xion, the truth is I've been looking for you."

Xion tilted her head in confusion. "You…have?"

"Yes. Mickey asked for everyone to meet him in the audience chamber, through the large doors near the library where you awoke."

"Do you know why?"

Minnie frowned. "I don't know the details, but I'm sure it has something to do with those Heartless monsters that have been harming the worlds. Them, and your friend Riku."

Xion started. "Riku?!"

"Yes. Mickey brought him here once, you know, about a year ago. He was such a sweet boy, but he seemed to have trouble making friends." Minnie shook her head. "Anyway, please follow me. I can take you to the audience chamber."

Xion bowed her head. "Thank you, You Maje- I mean, Minnie."

Oh, it feels good to get back into the Disney groove again! I'm sorry, this chapter had been planned to be out sooner. I started writing it two days ago, but by the time I got to José and Panchito's appearances I ended up wasting my time listening to Three Caballeros songs on YouTube instead of writing. And then A Goofy Movie was playing in the background and distracting me during Goofy and Max's scene.