Sora was shocked to see where he'd ended up. It was the familiar inside of Monstro the whale. He never thought he'd see this place again after being forced to wander it in Castle Oblivion and remember how awful he'd been on the first journey.
He waded through some ship remains before spotting a familiar face.
"Pinocchio! Son, where are you?" Gepetto called, looking around for his puppet son.
Sora felt guilt well up inside him seeing the man. In the real world, Sora was tricked into believing Pinnochio was someone with darkness in his heart and because of that, he'd taken the boy and tried to steal the heart. Thankfully, Kairi and her friends stopped him in time and returned the boy home to his worried father. Sora couldn't imagine the grief he'd put the man through.
"Oh my!" Sora nearly ducked under water when Gepetto saw him, as if the man somehow knew what he'd done. The old man rushed to the side of his boat, offering him help up. "Grab on, lad!"
Sora did so and was surprised how strong Gepetto was as he hoisted him up. "Thank you."
"Another little boy swallowed by Monstro, how terrible." Gepetto tutted to himself, making Sora sit down so he could check him for injuries.
"I'm sor- Sora." The boy had almost forgotten this Gepetto didn't know him or what he'd done and nearly let an apology slip out.
"It's nice to meet you, my boy. Though I wish it were under better circumstances." Gepetto chuckled slightly. "I'm Gepetto. I was swallowed by Monstro while I was searching the sea for my boy, Pinnochio. I found him in here, thank the stars, but now he's run off again…"
"I'll help you find him!" Sora blurted out. He didn't know why until he saw Gepetto's relieved face. This was a way to atone for what he'd done: he'd bring Pinocchio back home instead of stealing him away.
"Would you really? Oh, thank you!" Gepetto cried, giving Sora a big hug.
"Did you say you're looking for Pinnoc'?" A familiar voice asked.
"Oh, you must be Jiminy, Jiminy Cricket!" Sora grinned, seeing the cricket. He'd only seen Jiminy once but had been too preoccupied with his mission to bother getting to know him. He'd heard all about him from Kairi though. He seemed like a loyal friend, one Sora was sorry he'd scared by taking Pinocchio away.
"That's me! But…" Jiminy asked in surprise. "I can't seem to remember where we met…"
"Oh, it was a while ago." Sora brushed past it, trying not to divulge where he was from. "Anyway, I'm here to help you now. Do you have any idea where Pinnochio went?"
"Yes, I saw him wandering off with a stranger, saying they were going to play. I tried to stop them but they'd left me behind before I knew it!"
"Stranger?" Sora asked in surprise. He frowned, remembering the stranger he'd been meeting throughout the worlds. "Don't tell me he was wearing a black coat…"
"Why, yes, he was!" Jiminy gasped in amazement that he knew such a specific detail. He suddenly hopped onto Sora's shoulder. "I feel a lot better now that you know what we're up against!"
"Really? That's good." Sora chuckled to get through the feeling of dread at facing the black coat that Jiminy didn't seem to have. It could be that strange young man or worse, Ansem. "You better stick to my pocket, it's dangerous out here."
"If you insist!" Jiminy floated down with his little umbrella and into Sora's pocket.
Yakumo suddenly appeared before them, giving an eager bark before running off.
"Yaku! Wait for us!" Sora called, running after him. He'd never seen the Spirit run off this quickly unless it was to get to Sora himself.
"Slow down!" Sora called, watching Yakumo bounce across a pit of stomach acid. He hadn't even had to take out any Nightmares, Yakumo had done the work for him in her rush to find someone. He gingerly hopped from platform to platform, being careful to avoid the popping bubbles of acid.
"Look at her go!" Jiminy exclaimed, peeking out. "Maybe she's found Pinnochio!"
Sora hurriedly pushed Jiminy back in his pocket, not wanting him to get hurt. "Careful!"
But Jiminy was eager to go after her, jumping down the moment they were safe on land.
"What is this, a race?" Sora laughed, jogging after him.
"One you're losing!" Jiminy chuckled.
Their merriment was brought to an end when they saw Pinocchio and the black coat ahead of them.
"Pinocchio!" Jiminy beamed.
"Yakumo, Pinnchio, get away from that guy!" Sora cried, seeing his Spirit jumping to get a pet from the Organization member as if she knew them. Why was she being so friendly with this guy?
The black coat also looked confused, unsure what to do as they looked between the Spirit and dreamer. They slowly bent down and gave Yakumo a quick pet before shoving her back to Sora.
"Sorry, I know we puppets ought to stick together but… I gotta get back to my father." Pinocchio smiled when the member let them go. "Thanks!"
"Puppet?" Sora repeated and he couldn't help but think back to his friend, Xion. The puppet he'd been forced to end in self-defense. Could it be…?
The puppet ran to Jiminy. "I'm sorry, Jiminy. I messed up real bad. You and father must've been so worried!"
Jiminy smiled hearing the apology, tears of joy welling up in his eyes. "Well, Pinocchio, I think you just might finally be starting to learn!"
"W-Who are you?" Sora asked the dark figure.
They took off their hood with a flourish, revealing someone Sora couldn't believe.
"You're… me?!"
A Sora who looked to be 2 years younger than him smirked back with unsettling golden eyes, the same as Ansem and Xemnas. "That's right!"
"But how…?" How could any version of me ever join the Organization? Sora wondered to himself, understanding why Yakumo had been so eager to see him now. This feels like a bad dream…
Wait, that has to be it! The person before him couldn't possibly be real because this was the Realm of Sleep, he had to be something Sora's mind came up with. Just like Ansem must've been.
"Nice try, but you're not real." Sora announced, thinking he solved the mystery.
The younger Sora's eyes widened in anger, offended. "I am too! I-I'm just as real as you are!"
"Oh yeah? What's your proof?"
"My friends, they're proof I'm more than just a puppet like the Organization says." The other answered, getting Sora off guard. "I've been looking for them the same as you!"
"…" Sora stared in confusion. The boy sounded so sincere, like he'd been exploring the Realm of Sleep to find his friends as well. But wasn't it just an illusion?
"Here you are." A familiar voice suddenly said. "Looking for your friends is pointless, all you must do is wait."
"Ansem…" The boys chorused.
Ansem appeared out of a dark corridor before placing a hand on the younger Sora's shoulder who winced in slight pain. "Come, we're having a meeting."
"But-!" The younger was silenced by a glare from Ansem. "… Fine…"
He took one last look at Sora before trudging into the dark corridor.
All that talk of searching, waiting, and meeting… It felt real. But it couldn't be. It couldn't. Otherwise, that meant the Organization and Ansem really had returned, and Sora didn't want to believe it.
"Who were those two? That boy…" Jiminy whispered, looking shocked. "He looked just like you!"
Sora blinked out of his thoughts, he'd nearly forgotten the two were still there and had seen the whole thing. "They're not real." He said, trying to assure himself as much as Pinnochio and Jiminy. "They're just made up from my feelings of guilt from when I was a bad person…"
"It sounds like you need a Jiminy, Sora!" Pinnochio suggested. "He's my conscience. He's taught me lots of stuff, like what's good and bad!"
"Or a friend." Jiminy offered helpfully. "You can't shoulder all your problems alone, you gotta let others hear you out! Do you have someone like that?"
"… Yeah. Two, actually." Sora smiled weakly, thinking of Riku and Kairi. "They've taught me I don't have to feel everything alone, just like you said."
"Gee whiz, you got two?" Pinnochio asked, looking envious. "That's one more than I got!"
"Now, Pinnochio, you'll make plenty of new friends someday, I just know it." Jiminy assured him.
Suddenly, the world shook, causing them to lose their balance.
"Something's farther up ahead." Sora realized, looking at his friends. "You two better get going, I'll handle this!"
Pinnochio and Jiminy nodded before running away.
"Let's go, girl!" Sora called.
Yakumo gave an excited bark, running ahead. Sora followed after him to find a giant crab Nightmare.
Sora rolled out of the way as the crab scuttled towards him, missing a quick haircut by its giant claws. He turned to find he couldn't find the thing. "Where'd it go?"
He heard a sound from above him and looked up to see it on the ceiling. "Cool trick, but you're not the only one who can pull it off!"
Yakumo took this as her cue, fusing with Sora.
"Up and away!"
Sora jumped up to the ceiling, smacking the crab down. It landed on its shell, leaving its belly exposed. The boy kicked off the ceiling to plunge the keyblade into it. He stabbed it repeatedly until it managed to roll over and flung him off. He repeated this process until the beast was finally vanquished.
Sora returned to Monstro's mouth to find Pinnochio, Jiminy, and Gepetto were finally reunited. He looked upon the scene happily, feeling he'd finally redeemed himself. He made a note to find the real family after the exam and apologize.
Just then, the keyhole of the world appeared. If he unlocked the keyhole, he'd help them even more by restoring their world.
Another beam of light shot out at the same time one came out of Sora's keyblade. He unlocked the world, restoring it and opening the gateway to the next world.