Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.
The corridor deposits me in a house I've never seen before. Luckily, it's in a bed. Unfortunately, I'm right in the middle of what seems to be a meeting. "What's up?" I ask sheepishly.
"Are you Sora's brother?" A black haired girl asks. She is dressed in all strange, green shirt and tan shorts. She is also wearing a yellow scarf and two orange, fingerless gloves. She is holding a very large, intimidating shurikan.
"Yeah, I am. Now who are you guys?" I ask.
"I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie!" The girl with the shurikan declares.
"Leon." A man with brown hair states bluntly. He is wearing a white shirt under a leather jacket and black pants. He is holding a weapon that looks like a gun and a sword combined.
The last person is a woman with light brown hair and kind, green eyes. She is wearing a pink dress. "And I am Aerith." She says.
"I'm Kaze, but you probably know that already. How do you guys know Sora?"
"When Sora came to Traverse Town about a week ago," Aerith begins, "he was looking for you, Riku, and Kairi. We helped him for the time he was here, and then, when he came back a few times."
"That reminds me," Leon says, "Merlin wanted to meet you."
"Who's Merlin?" I question.
"You'll see soon enough. Just go down the stairs right outside this house. He lives behind the door with the flame on it."
"Thanks, but do you know where Sora is now?"
"No. He went looking for you a two days ago. He's still out there in other worlds."
"You still have to find your group." Vanitas adds silently.
"Bye, thanks for the information." I say when I leave.
"Don't forget to come back often!" Yuffie shouts after me.
"I won't!" I walk outside and realize I'm in the Third District. Down the stairs is a stone door with a flame picture on it, just like Leon had said. I try to pull it open, but it doesn't budge.
"Try using a spell!" Vanitas sighs. "It's like I'm the only one using any brains here!" I do as Vanitas suggested and I shoot a blast of fire at the door. With a loud rumble, the door slides open.
"What a great idea! I'm glad I thought of it!" I joke.
"Your idea? That was mine!" Vanitas continues to rage while I try to tune him out. Inside of the door is a large lake with a small cottage on an island in the middle. For crossing the lake, four large stones float back and forth across the lake.
I jump across without a problem and eventually find a way in. Inside, the shack is dark, dank, and frankly, uninhabitable. How could anyone live here?
"Is that you Kaze? Asks a voice. An elderly man comes inside the cottage. He is wearing a blue robe and hat and has a long, gray beard.
"You must be Merlin!" I exclaim.
"That I am, boy! Now let me fix this place up!" He pulls a slender wand out from his sleeve and begins to wave it around. A trail of sparkles follows the wand until a bright flash envelops the room.
When I can see again, the room looks much better. The building has become brighter and a table now sits on a raised platform. It is still cluttered as books are stacked up all over. One book catches my eye, though.
"I'll be with you in a minute!" Merlin says, digging through his bag. I walk over to the book to get a closer look. Unlike almost every other book in the room, this book is on a special stand and seems to shine with a special light. The title reads: Winnie the Pooh.
The cover is suspiciously blank, but I ignore that little detail as I open the book. "Oh, and don't touch that book back there, Kaze!" Merlin calls out. That is the last thing I hear as a white light fills my vision.
"Are you okay, Somebody-That-I-Don't-Know?" Someone asks. I open my eyes and see a strange yellow, stuffed bear wearing a red shirt far too small for its big stomach.
"Woah!" I yell sitting up. Why is there so much weird stuff happening lately? "Who are you?"
"My name is Winnie-The-Pooh, but all of my friends call me Pooh."
"My name is Kaze. What is this place?"
"Why, it's the 100 acre wood of course!" It certainly is big.
"Nice to meet you Pooh, but I have to find a way back to my home."
"Can't you stay to play?" Pooh pleads. "You remind me so much of Sora."
I change my mind. "You know, I guess I can stay. I haven't had a break in forever." Pooh seems happy, so I get a look at our surroundings. A small hill with a large tree is nearby across a small river. On the tree is a small swing.
While I look, a stuffed, gray donkey floats down the river, looking depressed. "Eyore!" Pooh calls. "Whatever is the matter?"
"Everything." Eyore sighs. "Especially now that I've lost my tail."
"Again?" Says a new voice. With a fluttering sound, a brown owl flies down to stand nearby. "Oh, and who might you be?" The owl asks.
"Kaze." I state. "Who are you?"
"I am Owl, from the greatest line of owls evere seen in this forest. My family descends from the…" he continues to go on about himself while I haul Eyore out of the river. As a matter of fact, his tail was missing. How does that even happen?
Pooh interrupts Owl's oral biography. "I know! You can swing me on the swing and I'll be able to see where the tail is!"
"What a splendid idea, Pooh!" Owl exclaims.
"If it doesn't work, I won't blame ya." Eyore drones. What a pessimist!
In a few minutes, we are prepared to swing Pooh. "Ready?" I ask him.
"Ready as I'll ever be!" He answers. I begin to swing Pooh back and forth until he's incredibly high up. "I think I see it! Just one more push!"
I give Pooh one last push and he goes as high as I ever thought possible for a makeshift swing. To my surprise, Pooh actually flies off of the swing and into the sky.
"Pooh!" I cry out. Pooh lands behind some bushes with a loud cracking sound and I rush over to help.
To my relief, the crack was just a pile of sticks. "Are you okay?" I ask Pooh.
"Yes, I'm fine. I found Eyore's tail." Pooh holds up a felt tail with a pink ribbon and a nail in it. Almost like a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game I played as a kid. I guess that's what it's supposed to be.
"Look Eyore, Pooh found your tail!" I tell him as he and Owl draw close.
"And broke my house," he sighs.
"Do you mean the pile of sticks? Sorry about that, Eyore."
"It's okay. That house was going to collapse anyway." Eyore sighs. I pin Eyore's tail back on and he thanks me. (Pessimistically)
"Good-bye guys!" I say as I head away from the hill. "I'll see you again soon!" As I leave, the world goes white and I am suddenly back in Merlin's house, holding the book. He is staring at me angrily, though.
"Heh-heh, nice book" I say nervously, "Good plot line and characters."
"I told you not to open that book! You're just like you're brother! Neither of you ever listen!"
"In my defense, I opened it right before you told me not to."
"I guess you're right." He says, the anger leaving his expression. "Now, let's train!"
After a few hours of training, I had mastered every spell I could learn, except some of the most advanced ones, of course. "You are now ready to find your brother!" Merlin announces when we finish.
"But I can't leave here! I don't have a gummi ship." I counter.
"I can teleport you there! But first, talk to Fairy God Mother over by the door. She has something for you."
I talk to her and she explains some extra things about magic I never knew before. Mainly, summons. "Summons are a special kind of magic," she says, "I can unlock these for you."
"How do they work?" I ask.
"When a person is strong hearted but doesn't survive the destruction of their world, that are turned into summon gems." She explains. "I can restore they're spirits, allowing them to help you fight."
"Is this a summon gem?" I hold out the strange stone I had found in Agrabah and hand it to her.
"Yes, that's exactly right!" She pulls out a magic wand and waves it over the stone. The stone shines brightly and a name pops into my head: Wall-E.
"So that is who is trapped within the gem." Fairy godmother ponders. She gives the stone back to me along with two others: a blue and yellow one. "These are two ice unlocked already. They will help you greatly." With that, Fairy Godmother disappears into a small carriage.
"Are you ready to go, Kaze?" Merlin asks.
"Yes. Send me off!" With a wave of Merlin's wand, he sends me away in a puff of white smoke.