Chapter 34: A Confidant

-April 14, 2009-

Hazel's POV

None of my limbs could respond properly as I stared up at the starry night sky. It hurt to move, let alone breathe. I held my breath, turning my head to see Goofy lying upside down against a large flat tree stump in the middle of the bamboo forest surrounding us. I chuckled breathlessly, only to hiss, clutch my side. When I pulled my hand away, crimson dripped from my fingertips. Oh, that's not good…

As best as I could, I slowly took Freddy the Spork from my pocket, using it to dig into the dirt and drag myself closer to Goofy. I shook his shoulder, calling his name a few times before he regained consciousness.

He yawned of all things, "Is it morning already?"

"Actually… It's night alread- Ah…" I winced, dizziness making my vision swim. I heard my companion's muffled cry of my name.

I barely registered Goofy gently propping me up against the tree stump. I felt a cold glass rim touch my lips. I assumed it was just water until the taste of play-doh entered my taste buds. I resisted the urge to gag.

After a few moments, my vision cleared, and the pain disappeared. Goofy let out a sigh of relief, "I'm glad you're okay! When we find Donald, he can look at ya just in case!"

This worried me slightly as Donald was supposed to be with Goofy. And if they weren't together, where were he and Sora? And if they were missing? Where were the girls? I mumbled a thanks, looking around the area. Great luck indeed.

"We should build a fire. It'll be easier to look for the others in the morning." I shifted to get comfortable. Though I was fine, I still felt very sore.

My canine companion grabbed some stray bamboo and walked over to put the pieces in front of me, only to trip at the last second. The bamboo landed in a perfectly symmetrical pyramid like structure.

I summoned my spell book onto my lap, careful of my healing leg, and sent a small fireball towards the pile. This was one of the stupidest ideas I've had yet. With the combination of pain and fatigue, Goofy told me I had passed out for a few minutes.

When I came to, the fire was burning brightly, and Goofy was poking at it with a stick, "You're okay!"

I grinned sheepishly, "Of course! Can't keep this idiot down for long!"

The dog let out a hearty chuckle. After our laughter died down, he looked over at me with a look of curiosity, "So, uh, where are you girls from? You don't look like you were from Traverse Town."

I thought for a moment. The moment of truth. Do I agree to the unspoken request that things remain a secret? "Kassy, Sylvia, Elena, and I are from a world called Earth."

"Earth? I've never heard of that place." He scratched his head thoughtfully.

"Maybe it's on a different plane of existence! Or-" I stopped myself before I could turn into Kassy or Sylvia, "Sorry. Didn't want to rant about it, but it's an incredibly big world. Full of everything and… There's something else…"

"What's that?" He didn't look nervous, which made my own nerves calm.

"There's a reason that the girls are so... informative... and... 'random' at times..." I bit my lip. Sylvia was gonna kick my ass when she finds out... "There's a video game in my world called..." This was the moment of truth. I took a deep breath, "Kingdom Hearts."

Goofy's confused expression increased tenfold, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It's a very important video game. It is this journey. We know what has happened, is happening, and will happen or the next three to four years." I looked at the fire, hands shaking, voice cracking, and heart pounding.

"You... Know...? But that could change... Wait. So, what you're saying is that everything in that game is... Our journey?" I still couldn't bear to look up at his expression. I couldn't tell you if he was disgusted, excited, scared, or what.

"Just you, Donald, and Sora technically. The girls and Cloud aren't supposed to be on this journey. Cloud was supposed to stay on Olympus Coliseum, and we aren't even supposed to be here at all on this plane. But the heartless came and... Well... Something's happening. And we don't know what's gonna happen now. Anything could... And honestly... I'm scared, Goofy..." There it was. All out in the open.

"That's... incredible... But that means you're going to help us the most." He put a hand gently on my folded hands in my lap, "And we'll help you as well. We're in this together. All for one and one for all."

Tears collected at the corners of my eyes, despite my efforts to hold them back, "All for one and one for all..."

I smiled, shaking my head as if to rid the tears, "King Mickey is just fine. And everything is going to turn out for the best. I just know it. I… I have to believe it."

He nodded with a chuckle, "Of course! You gotta think positive! Ah-yuck!"

A yawn escaped my lips out of nowhere, "We better rest for the morning. Good night, Goofy."

He nodded, "Sweet dreams, Hazel." Rolling over, he immediately began snoring. I smiled at him enviously. I watched the fire dance and crackle under my gaze.

I couldn't fall asleep. A good amount of time later, Goofy and I were both all but violently shivering even in front of the fire and came to conclusion we needed to spoon in order to conserve body heat.

That had been just what I needed, another presence to finally be able to fall asleep.