Chapter 25
"Sora ain't going anywhere." Goofy said.
"You'd betray your king?" asked Riku angrily. He was wearing a black armor suit.
"Not on your life. But I'm not going to betray Sora either. We've been best buddies after all we've been through together. See ya later Donald! Could you tell the king I'm sorry?" Goofy said.
"Hold on ya big palookah! We'll tell him together!" cried Donald. He ran towards Sora and Goofy, panting and angry looking as usual.
"You know, all for one and one for all." said Donald.
"Thanks a lot Donald. Goofy…" Sora said.
"Your an idiot Sora. How would you fight without a weapon!?" snarled Riku.
"I know now I don't need the Keyblade. I got a better weapon. My heart! It's made connections with so many people and found a home for all the friends we made. If we fight together, our hearts would be one. My friends are my power!" said Sora.
Sora awoke. He stood up from the bed Goofy made for him and he quickly changed clothes. He was wearing a new black and yellow hoodie with large blue pants. His red and white clothes were now dirty and he had no choice but to hand them over to Goofy, who said he was going to clean them.
As Sora left the extra room, he quickly made his way to Soren's garden. He was not there. Sora wanted to find him and tell him what he just saw. A brand new dream that actually gave him hope. Sora didn't know what a Keyblade looked like or what it was, but in the dream, he found another way to beat the ever growing darkness. His heart.
Sora stopped suddenly. His heart? Sora's heart was a weapon? For what? Was he going to burst into Oblivion High and face Xehanort and the other villains with nothing? Sora sat down on a bench and exhaled.
"What am I thinking?! A heart for a weapon? I'm crazy!" said Sora aloud.
"No. You are on the right path." said a grandfatherly voice with a gentle demeanor.
"Yikes! Who is that!?" cried Sora.
"I'm on the other bench." said the gentle wise voice. Sora looked around and sure enough he saw an old man sitting down. He had a warm smile on his face and he was wearing an old fashioned suit. His skin was dark brown, and his beard was white.
Sora recognized the old man.
"Your Uncle Remus." said Sora.
"You heard of me? Let me guess. You saw me in your visions?" said Uncle Remus.
"Y-yes! I have. You were running with Brer Rabbit. Something about escaping from people and…. I'm sorry. I realize how silly that sounds. You couldn't possibly be the same Uncle Remus from the dreams." said Sora.
Uncle Remus sat back against the tree, which was behind the bench he was sitting on and chuckled.
"Actually, I am one in the same. No matter what part of this wide universe we are from, we are still the same people." said Uncle Remus.
He then invited Sora to sit with him. "So, are you part of the resistance?" asked Sora.
"Resistance? Is that what people are calling this now? When it started, it was known as a team. Then it became a rebellion, then a strike team. This had many names." said Uncle Remus chuckling. "No, I'm not a fighter. I am simply a supporter to this cause. However, Prince Soren and everyone here believes that violence is the answer to everything." said Uncle Remus.
"But Xehanort is a villain. And the people he's with are very bad. Plus, Xehanort hurt my brother." said Sora.
"Please tell me everything…" said Uncle Remus.
…..
"And now, for what I'v heard, my brother is now empty. He's just another pawn for Xehanort." said Sora.
"Have you seen your brother in the flesh after all this?" asked Uncle Remus.
"No." replied Sora sadly.
"Sora my boy, I have dreamed as well. Like you, Soren and many others that perhaps have the same gift, I have seen dreams as well." said Uncle Remus.
Sora turned to him in surprise. "Yes child, I have seen dreams. I have seen the ones where I'm in. I'm a little confused as to why I would be a happy man working in a house, where I was clearly a slave and not a free man." said Uncle Remus.
"I saw that too." said Sora.
"And Splash Mountain. A place that was a sanctuary for some until everyone decided to be on the move. Brer Fox and Brer Bear were not going to give up easily in their search for Brer Rabbit." said Uncle Remus.
"Yeah. You thought of these guys?" asked Sora.
"Pardon?" asked Uncle Remus.
"I mean, did you imagine them to be?" asked Sora.
"No. They always existed. I was the one bragging that I made them up." chuckled Uncle Remus.
"You're a master storyteller." said Sora with a small smile.
"And I've seen the dreams about you." said Uncle Remus.
"You have? Then how do you see me? Everyone that has the dreams say I'm some chosen hero. I sure don't feel like one." said Sora.
"Do you know the full history about you, Sora?" asked Uncle Remus.
"I only know what I am in this world. What I've been through and the memories I made here. But I don't know anything about this life I might have had in some other world. It sounds so stupid when I say it out loud." said Sora.
"I see. Maybe you haven't had the opportunity yet to see what you represent to many people. Who you are and what your heart is made out of." said Uncle Remus.
"That's the thing Uncle Remus. My heart is just a heart. And I don't know why I'm scared. I feel so confused. The dreams tell me I'm a hero, but in this world, I'm not and some people are convinced that I am or not. Mickey, Donald and Goofy seem to think so. Well not Donald. But I feel like a phony. If anyone should face Xehanort, it should be Soren. Not me." said Sora.
Uncle Remus stroked his beard and nodded. "Perhaps child, there was too much burden placed on you. Would you like to hear my advice?" asked Uncle Remus.
"Advice sounds good right about now." said Sora.
"This may or may not happen. If you get a chance to see yourself, perhaps in a book that may appear in front of you, read it and learn about who you are. And perhaps you would find the key to end all this." said Uncle Remus.
"That would be nice." said Sora.
"Another thing. I'm not finished yet, child. Do not focus heavily on who you are supposed to be. In this world, you are only you. You can only do what you can control. Believe in your friends and family and believe only in the power of your heart. For you see child, the power of waking is what will aid you." said Uncle Remus.
"Power of waking? That's from my dreams. What was that? I never understood what it was." said Sora.
"The power of waking is love itself." said Uncle Remus.
Sora nodded. And Uncle Remus smiled. "I know it's so confusing. But you know something that helped me out when I am down? I sing a song. In the dreams, and even here, I sing a song known as Zip A Dee Doo Dah." said Uncle Remus.
"Yeah. You sang it in a field that was so beautiful and calming." said Sora.
"What song resonates with you?" asked Uncle Remus gently.
Sora closed his eyes and thought of a song. A song he heard many times as a kid on the radio. It actually helped him go through so much in his life….
"In you and I, there's a new world ahead….
Angels in flight…
My sanctuary. My sanctuary.
Where fears and lies melt away…"
…..
A couple of hours later, Sora was in a truck with Goofy and Donald and Kairi. They were heading back to Acme Acres for the time being.
"Rafiki just sent us a message telling us that we need to head back. We can't be out in the open like his." said Donald.
"Sora, how are you feeling?" asked Kairi.
"I'm feeling a little optimistic." said Sora.
"That's good." said Kairi with relief.
"Hey everyone, do you guys see that?" asked Goofy. A large dark volley was coming down from the sky and landing in front of the truck. Donald, who was driving, pressed hard on the pedal.
The figure then emerged and it was Vanitas, wearing his armor. And behind him were shadows. Heartless shadows.
"Gwarsh. We seem to have bumped into something." said Goofy innocently. Donald didn't like how Goofy was starting to say.
"Sora, Kairi, get out of the truck and run." said Donald.
"Vanitas!" cried Sora.
"Quiet! He's a Heartless now! Not a human!" cried Donald.
Goofy stepped out of the truck and opened the door for Kairi and Sora.
"You two make a run for it while Donald and I get this over with." said Goofy shaking.
"I'm not leaving you!" cried Sora.
"Sora, listen to Goofy!" cried Kairi.
Just then, a heartless shadow landed on Goofy's back. Goofy then started to freak out and jump around as if he had ants in his pants.
"You moron! Complete moron!" cried Donald. He then pulled out his lightsabers and cut the heartless in half.
"Gwarsh… thanks…" Goofy was saying.
"Fight moron! Fight!" demanded Donald.
The heartless were then surrounding the truck.
"You know, we could have just run these things over with the truck…" Goofy was saying.
"And pay for my truck to get cleaned?! You know how much Acme Wash costs?!" screamed Donald.
Kairi stood in front of Sora.
"They are here for you. They are looking straight at you. Sora, get in the car and lock yourself." said Kairi.
"What? No!" cried Sora.
"Do it! They are watching you!" cried Kairi. Sora did as he was told and Kairi stood her ground.
"You may need one of these," said Donald, handing her a long metallic stick. Kairi grabbed it and ignited the lightsaber. It was an elegant long pink blade.
"Goofy and I pulled out straws to see which of our weapons suited you best. Perhaps guns are not your kind of weapon." said Donald.
"Oh no. This is perfect." said Kairi. She then sliced away at the heartless, cutting them down to size. Donald jumped into the air, and walked on top of the Heartless's heads, cutting them down to size. Goofy on the other hand pulled out his two guns and started shooting with one knee on the ground. When a heartless tried to attack him, Goofy rolled on the ground and shot it in the face with no mercy.
Vanitas pulled out his key shaped sword and pointed it at the truck.
"Goofy! The truck!" cried Donald.
Sora watched and quickly got out. When he did, the truck exploded!
"What was that?!" cried Kairi.
"He shot something from that thing! What is that?!" cried Donald.
Sora saw the weapon Vanitas had, but he didn't care. He ran across the field of Heartless to meet up with his brother.
"Vanitas! Stop! It's me!" cried Sora.
"Sora!" cried Goofy. He fired bullets at Vanitas, shooting his stomach. But the bullets were blocked by his armor.
"NO! Don't do it!" cried Sora.
"He'll kill you!" cried Goofy, still firing at the shadows.
Kairi and Donald were still slicing them when the noticed Sora walking towards Vanitas. They screamed, but the shadows got closer to them and they had no choice but to keep on fighting.
Vanitas didn't feel the pain. He walked towards Sora, with his key shaped sword pointing at him. He was walking slowly, like some zombie in a horror movie.
"Vanitas. It's me. Sora. Your brother. Please, put down your sword." said Sora.
The shadows stopped attacking and froze. Literally. They froze as if a stop spell was put on them.
Goofy, Donald and Kairi stopped fighting and looked at Sora and Vanitas.
"Vanitas… it's me." said Sora softly.
Vanitas stopped. His yellow eyes were not turning color. They were turning blue. Sora walked up to him slowly. Eventually, the armor Vanitas was wearing vanished. He was now wearing his black hoodie with a red outline. His typical choice of clothes. Sora got closer and looked at Vanitas straight into his eyes.
"Brother. It's me. It's Sora." he said.
Vanitas's key shaped sword also vanished, and in it's place was a shining ball of light. It then flew into the air and landed on Vanitas's chest.
"S-Sora…" Vanitas said softly.
"It's me." said Sora.
"Oh Sora… Sora!" cried Vanitas. He then hugged his brother tightly.
"Sora! I'm so sorry! I was a freaking idiot to leave you alone!" cried Vanitas.
"It's okay. You're here now. That's all that matters." said Sora.
The boys were still hugging and everyone else was watching with their jaws dropped.
"Did he just go back to normal?" asked Donald.
"His heart was in his sword." said Goofy.
"Vanitas came back… thanks to Sora's light." said Kairi.
"Sora…. We need to rescue Roxas and everyone else in Oblivion! Xehanort is not alone! He's got more help! And I know where Ventus is! He's also at the school!" cried Vanitas.
"Come with us! We are going to Acme Acres! We have to regroup!" cried Sora.
"Without a truck, how the hell are we supposed to go back?" asked Donald.
"Geez Donald, language." said Goofy.
"More money for Mickey's swear jar I think." said Sora with a chuckle.
"That's not funny! Because of your emo brother, we are stranded in the middle of nowhere!" said Donald angrily.
"I was a heartless zombie. Take it easy." said Vanitas.
"Take it easy? Who the heck do you think you are?!" cried Donald.
"Relax! We can still go to Acme Acres on foot. It's going to take us a couple of hours, but we'll make it." said Goofy.
"I'm sorry everyone. Truly I am." said Vanitas.
"Hey don't worry kid. You're back to normal. And you are a friend now. Water under the bridge. Hakuna Matata." said Goofy cheerfully.
"Hakuna Matata my tail feathers!" said Donald.
"Want me to carry you?" asked Goofy, taunting Donald.
"I can walk on my own thank you very much!" said Donald.
"Let's not waste anymore time. Vanitas, please tell us everything you know. We need to be ready for what's coming." said Kairi.