Goofy and Pete are Fathers Too!?
Sora waited for some kind of response from Kairi after he shifted into his new Anti-Form. She just stared at him, her Keyblade on the ground after dropping it in shock, her mouth moving but unable to speak because of what she had just witnessed. Where she expected him to go berserk and out of control, even after being warned in advance to what he was going to do, Sora was in control, speaking normally with his voice altered slightly in this form, and now able to wield a new Keyblade, though it was made of pure darkness as it made her skin crawl, both from its power and how it reminded her of the Keyblade Riku-Ansem forged by using the hearts of her fellow Princesses of Heart.
Sora began to grow nervous, unable to tell what his girlfriend was thinking with the look of shock the only emotion she was expressing. "...Uhh, so, what do you think?" he asked. Still no response. "...You're either going to yell at me or hit me, aren't you?" Kairi finally moved, slowly walking up to him. Her gaze then turned from surprise to anger, followed by a hard smack on top of his head, making Sora grunt in pain while rubbing his free hoof over the bump she gave him. "Or maybe it's going to be both..."
"Don't you ever do that again, Sora!" Kairi scolded. "You scared me half to death when I saw that darkness swallow you, and you willingly let it happen!" Sora winced, waiting for another hard smack upside the head. "What made you think it would work after the last several times it happened by complete accident? What if I couldn't stop you in time before you tried to kill me?"
"...I thought I could control it now," Sora answered pathetically. "I was still myself when it happened, after I watched my dad turn into a Heartless...And it worked again."
"...Tell me you're not going to use this form in your battles from now on," Kairi begged. "What if it's possible that this form can corrupt you toward the darkness?"
"I won't use it often," he said. "Pinkie Promise."
Sora committed himself toward keeping that promise, crossing his heart with his clawed hoof, flapping his dark wings, and placing a hoof over his eye, being careful not to poke himself with the ethereal claws of darkness attached to his hoof. Knowing such a promise can't be broken, Kairi still felt uneasy seeing Sora like this. It was also eerie, staring at someone who was a Heartless who still kept their will.
"...Can you...please get out of that form?" Kairi pleaded. "I don't want to see you in this form anymore...Or...that." She pointed at his new Keyblade, his ears drooping as its appearance came after witnessing the loss of his father. Sighing, he reverted back to his old self, the dark Keyblade disappearing in a flash of darkness as he dismissed his controlled Anti-Form. "...Where did you get that Keyblade?"
"It came to me," Sora said, staring at his hoof where it once held. "...The sad thing is...it's not a strong Keyblade...It's just a hollow weapon, like an emptiness that came from my heart...when I failed to save my dad..."
"You know it also looked like that same Keyblade you used to sacrifice your heart, right?" she asked, Sora sadly nodding his head. "...Why does it look like that?"
"I don't really know," Sora said. "Promise me you won't tell the others about this...Please?"
"Sora, you know you can't hide this like last time," Kairi said. She eventually gave in when Sora lowered his head, whether he was trying to guilt trip her or he actually felt stupid asking her to hide this secret was beyond her, but she knew he wouldn't betray her trust. Not after the hell he's been through in the last few months. "...Alright. I won't tell the others."
"Thanks, Kairi," Sora said.
"But this time, when you're feeling better, you're going to tell everyone about this," Kairi said. "No more hiding your darkness, no more brooding over it. And you owe me big time for not only keeping this a secret, but for scaring the daylights out of me and made me worried sick about you. Got it?"
"Y-Yeah..." After a moment for Kairi to calm herself after such a shocking surprise, the couple continued their stroll through Ponyville.
Despite the peaceful town of ponies, each of them waving or saying hello to the couple, Kairi could tell Sora was still down in the dumps. It was a lot worse than when he watched Sombra disappear, though it was understandable since it was his father who had perished. She knew Kaito was a great father to Sora with how much she knew of him when she appeared in Destiny Islands after meeting Sora.
"Are you ok, Sora?" Kairi asked.
"...I guess I'm still feeling a bit down," he admitted. "It's not easy dealing with losing dad again...and I know the truth, now..." Sora sighed, running a hoof through his mane. "...I need a distraction big enough to pull me out of this rut."
"What do you want to do?" Sora thought for a moment, though anything with Kairi might not help, seeing she was still a bit sore with the scare he gave her earlier.
"...I think I'll take a visit to Disney Castle," he said after a moment of silence. "Maybe hanging out with Donald and Goofy might get my head and heart cleared. It feels like forever since we've done anything together."
"That's not an excuse to try to do anything stupid, is it?" Kairi teased. She expected Sora to give her a playful glare, pout, or tease her back, but he still kept his despondent gaze. She suddenly felt bad as her grin faltered. "...Sorry. I didn't mean it like that...I already yelled at you for doing something stupid earlier, and I'm still saying you are."
"Well, you know how reckless I can be," Sora said, giving her a grin as he showed a little of his old self. "I need you to keep me in line."
"You mean you and Riku?" Kairi corrected.
"No, just me. Twilight can take care of Riku, so you don't have to deal with our stupid rivalries by yourself." Kairi giggled, knowing that much is true, though Riku would have a much tougher time dealing with Twilight since she seems to have caused more trouble or makes things more complicated than Sora or Riku combined. Sora rubbed his neck, shifting his gaze away from Kairi nervously. "You...don't mind if I go off by myself again, do you?"
"Well, this time you at least told me you're going somewhere instead of running off without so much as leaving a note," Kairi said, reminding Sora how he left in the middle of the night to do his time traveling escapade. "So, if you need some time with your other best friends, take all the time you need."
"You sure?" Sora asked. Kairi simply nodded her head in response, then squeaked when she was given a light peck on the lips out of nowhere. "Thanks, Kairi. And I'll try to make it back this evening."
"...Ok," she uttered, always getting caught off guard with how fast her boyfriend moved when sneaking in a kiss.
Kairi watched Sora run back out of town, followed by a flash of light in the distance from the sky, to the earth, then soaring back up and out of Equestria as he donned his Keyblade armor and rode his glider off to Disney Castle.
A long trip later, Sora arrived at the world his two traveling companions and best friends lived, flying toward the castle and landing in the courtyard. Dismissing his glider and armor, Sora had a little wave of nostalgia when he first arrived in his friends' homeworld, although his first actual visit could have gone smoothly if Heartless didn't invade when the Cornerstone of Light was in trouble. Whoever designed the hedges was actually quite talented with the four band members playing instruments and the base leading to the Gummi ship dock closely resembling the castle it resides in. Hoping King Mickey didn't mind him making himself at home, Sora made his way in the castle, roaming around the halls to maybe run into Donald, Goofy, or His Majesty and his queen.
He walked past the enchanted broomsticks as they went about their cleaning duties, making Sora curious as to what kind of spell was able to make those simple brooms come to life and act as servants. Down the long hallway with an incredibly tall ceiling, he passed by the massive throne room doors, where the entrance is actually quite small in comparison as it blended with one of the big double doors. His destination was the study at the far end of the hall, where he would assume Mickey might be, or maybe Minnie if he was busy elsewhere. He knocked on the door, flinching a little when he heard Pluto barking on the other side.
"Come on in!" Mickey called out. Sora let himself in, finding the king at his desk sorting through some papers. He was then attacked by the cartoonish yellow canine companion, Pluto leaping up on Sora and licked his face. Mickey looked up, expecting Donald or Goofy, only to be surprised by the Keyblade wielder's visit as he pat his loyal companion on the head to get him to calm down. "Sora! Well, this is quite a surprise."
"Greetings, Your Majesty," Sora politely greeted with a bow.
"Sora, you don't have to be formal with me," Mickey said. "You and the rest of the gang are friends."
"I know. Force of habit," Sora said with a giggle.
"What brings you around the kingdom?" the mouse asked. "Wait, let me guess; Donald and Goofy?"
"That obvious?" Sora asked with a grin. His smile fell, then let out a sad sigh. "I've kind of had a rough...evening, so to speak."
"Hmm...I see...Well, I did call Donald and Goofy to my study, so they should be here in a minute," Mickey said, getting up from his chair as he picked up one of the papers on his desk. "I was looking over a few reports on the training for my castle's soldiers, and there were three of them I believe have the potential to leading their peers. Goofy is going to get a kick out of this when he finds out."
"Really? Who're the best runner-ups for your lieutenants?" Sora asked curiously. "Does Goofy know one of them?"
Before Mickey could respond, Donald and Goofy barged into the study, tripping over each other with a yelp and collapsing in a tangled pile. They both groaned, weakly saluting on the floor to their king.
"Captain Goofy and Royal Magician Donald reporting for duty, Your Highness," Goofy said.
"Why do I always end up on the bottom?" Donald questioned grumpily. After crawling out from under Goofy and his uncomfortably hard armor, he stood up and brushed off his cloak. While grumbling to himself, he looked up, then squawked in surprise after finally noticing Sora, the Keyblade wielder waving to him and Goofy. "Sora!"
"Sora?" Goofy asked, getting back up and saw their long-time friend in the study with their king. "Oh! It is Sora! How've ya been!?"
"I've had better days," Sora said. "It's kinda why I'm here right now...I just recently discovered something that had happened to someone important to me."
"Uh oh. Is Riku acting up again?" Donald asked.
"Did Kairi break up with you?" Goofy asked.
"No. It involved one of my parents," Sora said. "...Mostly, what happened to my dad..."
Sora then told his best friends and the king about his time traveling escapade several years in the past with his father. After many years traveling with Sora, Donald and Goofy didn't know much of his personal life, and hearing what had befell his father that day and their friend witnessing everything, they felt sorry for him, no amount of hilarious faces able to help his frown turn upside down. Even Mickey was a bit shocked, given a letter by Yen Sid on that date to check on the darkness he had sensed in Destiny Islands, only to send another moments later as he was preparing, saying it was a false alarm. After Sora gave his story, he hung his head sadly.
"...Gawrsh, Sora," Goofy said after a long moment of silence. Pluto approached the depressed wielder, letting out a whine as he nuzzled his head against his side to try to cheer him up. "I sure wish we knew about this back then. We could have maybe helped your dad."
"It wouldn't have mattered," Sora said, gently petting Pluto, appreciating the thoughtful gesture from the canine companion. "I thought I could change the past, but I couldn't...I don't think anything would have changed if I was there or not."
"You really can't catch a break, can you, Sora?" Donald asked. Sora shook his head, his friends not even knowing it was worse when they didn't know how horrible their futures would have been from all the times he had died in the alternate timelines. "Well, we're here for you. If you need us, we'll come running. All for one, and one for all, right?"
"Exactly!" Goofy agreed. "We haven't visited you much in Equestria what with our duties here in the castle, but we'll always try to spend some time with you and cheer you up when you're feeling down!"
"Thanks, guys," Sora said. "But...I think it's going to take a lot to get my mind off of things."
"Then we'll start right now!" Donald exclaimed.
"Actually, there's something important you two need to stick around for," Mickey said. Donald and Goofy slumped over with a sigh, yet another task from their king that keeps them away from hanging out with Sora. "It won't take that long, fellas. I just want to introduce you guys to a couple up and coming leaders who have just recently graduated from their training. And, Goofy, you'll be in for a surprise."
"A surprise?" Goofy asked, humming in thought as he brought a finger to her lips. "It's not my birthday today, is it?"
"It isn't," Donald said. "Who do you think keeps track of the important dates while you nap in the courtyard?"
"They should be here in a moment," Mickey said, and right on cue, the doors opened as his expected arrivals entered. "And right on time, too."
The trio of friends turned to see who the king was expecting, Goofy gasping as he was indeed surprised by who it was. Standing before them were three young warriors who were around Sora's age, maybe a little older. The middle one a dog like Goofy, bearing a few similarities like the buck teeth, black fur, and droopy ears, though the young soldier had hair unlike the captain's baldness, and wore a full-body suit of armor that didn't restrict much of his movement, the lower half a shade of dark blue while the upper half was red. The one on the right was an overweight black cat, wearing a magician's cloak and hat, his clothing a darker shade of blue than Donald's with patterns adorning them that made it look mystical, and carried a wand similar to Donald's in his hand. And the one on the left was a tannish-pink dog, his orange hair buzzed down, wearing a pair of purple tinted glasses that concealed his eyes, a quiver and bow strapped to his back, and had on lighter armor than the middle soldier while also wearing a camo shirt and a pair of purple pants, almost looking lackadaisical with his leaned back posture.
"Maxy?" Goofy said, the soldier in the middle subtly wincing at the name. "Maxy!"
"Ugh. Hey, d-UGH!" Goofy tackled the soldier, trapping him in a deathgrip of a hug. "Agh! Easy! My armor might fit me, but it's still made of steel!"
"Oops. Sorry," Goofy apologized, letting out an elated laugh as he let the young guard down.
"So, does Goofy know him?" Sora asked Donald.
The experienced mage snickered. "Oh, he definitely knows him."
"Has he trained them before?" Sora asked.
He looked at the heavy-set magician, raising a brow as he somehow looked oddly familiar to him. Noticing his curious gaze, the young mage looked away from him, lowering the rim of his hat over his face nervously. He didn't have the chance to ask who the other two were, taking a guess that the soldier Goofy hugged was named Maxy, as the captain of Disney Castle's guard approached Sora, dragging him over to meet the trio.
"Sora, I want you to meet my son, Maxy!" Goofy introduced.
"Just call me Max," Max corrected with a roll of his eyes. "Even after all these years, he still treats me like a little kid. And these are my best friends since childhood, and the best in the academy, P.J. and Bobby."
"Nice meeting you-" Sora paused as he processed who Goofy wanted him to meet. "Wait. Hold on. Back up a minute. Did Goofy call you his son?" Max nodded in response, shattering Sora's mind as he looked at Goofy and his son repeatedly. He had a feeling there was some resemblance between them, and after all these years knowing his defender comrade and best of many friends, he didn't know he was a dad or ever had any children. "WHAT!? I didn't know that!"
"Wow, that's ironic," Max said. "Usually, my dad never shuts up about me when he meets someone I know."
"Goofy, why didn't you tell me!?" Sora exclaimed, still reeling in surprise.
"You never asked," Goofy chuckled. Sora let out a heavy groan, slumping his shoulders over the reason why. "And Max, this is-"
"Sora, the Keyblade wielder you talked about in your letters to me for the last couple years," Max interrupted. "Letters you gave me every single day...and irritated my Drill Sergeant when I ended up on mail-sorting duty for the next three months from the hundreds of letters addressed to me from you."
"Didn't stop him from getting through basic while bored off his mind," the archer, Bobby, said. He casually walked up to Sora and held his fist up for the Keyblade wielder to pound. "Wassup, brah? Name's Bobby: expert marksman, and with some sneaky tactics for added flair."
"Uhh, what's up?" Sora said back, bumping his fist with the young marksman's, slightly confused by Bobby's lingo. He then looked at the mage, who he assumed was P.J. "And P.J.'s a skilled magician like Donald?"
"Skilled doesn't even cut it, man," Bobby said, lazily hanging against Sora's shoulder. "Peej is a pure genius when it comes to spells. He once blew up the cafeteria by mistake when some other peeps in our class tried to mess with him. Not sure what it was about, maybe his weight, but when he metaphorically exploded, no one messed with him again."
"We...also had to do cleanup," P.J. said, sounding apologetic. "I didn't mean to lose myself like that..."
"We were bound to get in trouble," Max assured. "I was a troublemaker as a kid, but no more. I'm a respected knight, ready to rise to the top and eventually lead as future captain of the guard."
"Following in his old man's footsteps," Goofy said, sniffling a little as a tear of joy rolled down his cheek. "So proud!"
"Ok, dad, no need to get mushy," Max said.
"You can catch up with each other while you give Max, P.J., and Bobby a tour of the castle, and maybe head out into town," Mickey said. "They'll need to learn the layout of the castle so they don't get lost when they're urgently needed somewhere."
"Yes, sir, Your Highness!" Goofy eagerly responded with a salute. "Come on, boys! Let's get a move on! Daylight's wasting!"
Goofy pushed Max out the door, the others following while Donald snickered in amusement, leaving Mickey to his royal duties. While Goofy showed Max, P.J., and Bobby every single room of the castle, Sora couldn't believe that one of his friends has a son who's around his age, or a little older. It made him wonder just how old his friend was, and if Goofy ever thought of retiring at some point. Then again, seeing how he was able to survive getting clonked on the head by a large boulder in Radiant Garden back when the Heartless invaded from Organization XIII's control, something that scared the daylights out of him and Donald after they thought he died from the devastating blow, he doubted Goofy was ever going to think about putting down his shield for at least a century.
They went all over the castle: the many halls, the audience room, the room located under the king's throne to the Cornerstone of Light, the courtyard, the Gummi ship dock, even the soldiers' barracks where the trio of young protectors would rest in when their shifts are done. Sora was surprised Goofy didn't try to drag them all to the roof of the castle to show them every single tile that was placed upon the tall, visually warped castle while it was being built. They were on their way out of the castle and into Disney Town, Goofy treating everyone to lunch as they headed toward the square with him getting the food while the rest of the group sat at a table.
"The castle's way bigger than it looked," Bobby said. "I'm gonna get lost in there like it's a hedgemaze...only without the hedges."
"I've been in castles that are a lot more confusing and filled with winding passages," Sora said. "The castle in Radiant Garden had so many convoluted methods of getting around, I wound up getting lost a couple times."
"And those ridiculous elevators that lead us in different parts of that castle, too," Donald added with a grunt.
Goofy came back with a couple large pizzas in his hands, setting them down along with several plates and napkins. "Dig in, fellas! But be careful; it's piping hot."
"Dad, we can be careful around hot food," Max said. "We're not ten, getting over-eager over-"
"Whoo hoo! Double cheese-a pizza!" Bobby whooped, swiftly grabbing a couple slices and messily stuffed half of one in his mouth. He ignored the burning heat, some of the still-melting cheese dripping from his stuffed mouth and onto his clothes. "Mmmmm. Scrumptious."
"Classy," Sora sarcastically said, shaking his head as he grabbed a slice. The others dug in as they picked their slices, the trio of young guards having more of an appetite than the older, more experienced protectors. It was different hanging out with other guys close to his age again after living in a world of pastel-colored ponies, but it was a good kind of different as he had more peers he could befriend. He looked at Max, curious about his skills as a soldier and what he excelled at in weapons combat. "So, Max, if Bobby's an archer, and P.J.'s a mage, what kind of role did you choose in the guard?"
"Same as my dad," Max said. "I fight with a shield, though mine's a lot more...modern than what dad's got."
"Modern?" Goofy asked curiously. "What's wrong with my shield?"
"I know you're old-fashioned, dad, but come on. Next generation of soldiers needs updated gear like this," Max stated, patting his hand against his armor. "You don't have much to protect you, especially around Heartless."
"We do quite well in our traveling clothes," Donald said. "Less protection, but we have the skills to defend ourselves."
"What does your shield look like?" Sora asked. Max grinned, grabbing something attached to his hip and held it out. Sora tilted his head as the future captain showed what looked like King Mickey's sigil, which looked a bit smaller than Goofy's shield. "...It's that small?"
"It's a new portable shield," Max explained. "Less clutter to carry when simply walking from Point A to Point B, and when I need to fight, I just extend it like so."
Clenching the "small" shield, a brace extended over Max's hand as he firmly gripped it. Sora's eyes widened in awe as he watched the rest of the shield grow, changing into a much bigger and more traditional-looking shield than Goofy's. It was more like a kite shield, long enough to protect Max if he crouched down, but it looked sturdy enough to smack through a horde of Large Body Heartless. And it was colored like the Disney Castle's walls and roof, the face white with the edges a royal blue, the mouse head sigil in the center of the shield as it showed who the owner serves to protect.
"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed. "That is awesome!"
"Isn't that just as heavy even with it...being small?" Goofy asked, feeling unsure how this new type of shield would be better for the present day.
"A little, but with all the training I've done, it feels like I'm holding a lighter shield," Max answered. He reverted his shield back to its portable size and sheathed it back on his hip. "May look good just for defense, but it can deal some damage."
"I'd like to test that with a friendly duel," Sora challenged. "But, right after we eat. I don't know how long it's been since I last had a pizza that didn't have flowers, hay, or oats on it, but I'm dying for something else."
"'Flowers, hay, or oats'?" P.J. questioned, making all three young soldiers stare at Sora like he grew a second head.
"Oh. Right. I've been living in Equestria for the last few years, when there aren't Heartless invading other worlds, and even though I got used to most of the food there, I would kill for something not vegetarian." Sora took a bite out of his pizza, but Max, P.J., and Bobby kept staring at him awkwardly. Swallowing his bite, he sighed and rolled his eyes, knowing what was coming after one last detail he left out. "It's a world of colorful talking ponies and mythical creatures." The trio looked at each other, then suddenly burst out laughing. Sora expected that response, knowing it would sound ridiculous and girly, but after traveling to many other worlds, whether in the cosmos or even in Pooh's storybook, he was used to being in locations where either gender wouldn't want to go near with a ten-foot pole. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want, but don't knock it 'til you try it. Donald and Goofy have been there, and they think it's a great place."
"Yeah, just as long as you don't turn into a tiny griffon like Donald," Goofy said teasingly, making the duck mage grumble.
As the group of warriors continued chatting, teasing, and eating their food, neither of them noticed someone watching them in an alleyway far from their table. Staying out of sight in the shadows, the figure eyed the group, though their eyes lingered on Sora the most. The overweight mage seemed to sense someone was watching them, but as he looked to where he felt a pair of eyes watching them from a distance, the figure disappeared in the shadows before they were noticed.
"Something wrong, P.J.?" Max asked, seeing the anxious, incredibly worried expression on his friend's face.
"N-No. It's nothing," P.J. assured, nibbling on his pizza.
Max raised a brow, knowing something was definitely wrong with his long-time friend, but he didn't press his magical friend further.
After eating, the group made their way to the spacious part of town overlooking the racing course Sora and his friends competed in during the Dream Festival a while back. There was enough room for a duel, and Sora and Max faced each other while spaced apart a few yards, both young men wielding their weapons as they prepared for a good fight, Donald, Goofy, P.J., and Bobby standing a fair distance away to watch.
"So, should we set up some rules?" Sora asked. "No hitting below the belt and all that?"
"Let's just try and not kill each other," Max said. "I actually want to see how great of a fighter you are from all the details in dad's letters."
"Don't want to make this a three-on-one?" Sora asked, trying to goad Max into getting P.J. and Bobby involved as he was curious to see how good they were in their respective fields. "You're going to get overwhelmed with what I'm capable of."
"I can manage. I'm ready when you are." Max bent his knees, getting into a proper stance with his shield held in front of him, protecting most of his body aside from his feet and head.
Sora crouched into his stance, and after a moment of silent staring, Sora made the first move and charged toward Max. Swinging hard, Sora tried to throw Max off balance as he blocked the attack, but with his proper footing, the son of Goofy barely budged an inch like a true defender. Following up with a quicker strike to any exposed spots, Max was just as quick, able to move his shield to block the next attack, and the many others Sora unleashed. For something as long as the type of shield Max used, he was really versatile with it as its length and weight barely weighed him down with his fighting.
Max soon began to retaliate, blocking another swing, then pushed Sora back with incredible force. He then charged toward the Keyblade wielder, slamming his shield into his Keyblade as he blocked it while being pushed back. Max gave another shove, throwing Sora off balance and swung his shield around like a battering ram. But Sora was able to recover faster than Max expected, ducking and flipping away as the young soldier continued stepping forward with each swing of his defensive weapon.
"Come on, Max!" Bobby cheered. "You got him on the ropes, bro!" Sora soon surprised Max, sliding underneath him as the Goof tried slamming his shield down on him. Grabbing his arm, Sora flung Max over his shoulder, who managed to roll back on his feet, quickly blocking Sora's foot as he kicked him back, sending him skidding back a few feet. "Uhh, never mind. He's really good."
"Far too good," P.J. muttered nervously, gripping his staff tightly.
Goofy noticed P.J.'s anxiety. He was happy to see his son and his friends again, but after seeing how nervous the young magician was, he almost forgot about something else Sora didn't know about. It had completely slipped his mind when his attention was more on Max, but he would have to wait until Sora and Max's duel was done, maybe break the surprising news gently so there was no animosity between the Keyblade wielder and one of his son's closest friends.
Max shook his hand after the impact, a little surprised by the move Sora pulled off. "Not bad, Sora," Max said as the Keyblade wielder gave him a cheeky grin. "But I'm not calling it quits just yet."
Squeezing the grip, Max changed the way his shield looked, parts of it shrinking back into the multi-collapsible weapon and shifting it into a circular shield. It was still a bit bigger than Goofy's shield, but it looked similar in design aside from the color. Sora was impressed by the transforming shield, almost getting distracted by it when Max flung it at him like a discus. He quickly ducked, easily avoiding it, but as he stood back up, he heard it clank off a light pole behind him, ricocheting back toward him. He couldn't move in time, the shield smacking the back of his head and sending him crashing to the ground, Max quickly catching his shield as it continued flying as it came back to him.
"Ow," Sora groaned, standing back up while rubbing the nasty bump on his head. "Learned that move from your dad?"
"Well, I guess I got some inspiration from what cool moves my dad was able to do, even though he annoys me most of the time," Max said.
"That's dads for you," Sora mumbled to himself. He could see Max loves Goofy, though he doesn't show it often. Even though he wanted to be away from thinking about his own father, meeting Max and his friends and fighting the young Goof was able to help distract him. He smirked as he looked down at his own Keyblade, not letting a bump in the back of the head beat him so easily. "Well, I've got my own version of that 'cool' move, too."
Sora flung his Keyblade using Strike Raid, watching as Max turned his shield bike into the wider kite shield he loved, and covered himself to block it. Expecting that, Sora charged forward, summoning his Keyblade back in his hand while the future captain waited for the impact.
"Huh? Where's the-?" Max peeked his head up, only to grunt in surprise when Sora was now right in front of him, smacking away his shield and caught him in a staggering combo. Sora didn't swing hard enough to actually hurt Max, but it was enough to do a number on him, the last strike sending his opponent flying back a few feet and on his back. "Ok. Didn't see that coming."
"Careful, son!" Goofy warned. "Sora's no pushover! It may have sounded like I exaggerated his skills in my letters, but he's the real deal! He's taken on Heartless that are taller than any of these buildings on his lonesome!"
"And he knows how to fight one-on-one all too well," Max grumbled, standing back up as he rubbed the sore spots he was struck at. "Should have taken that offer to fight with Bobby and Peej by my side."
"How was that, Maxy?" Sora teased, hefting his Keyblade over his shoulder while brushing finger under his nose, boasting his confidence with a cheeky grin.
"Great. Now he's calling me that nickname," Max groaned. "It's gonna take more than that to make me quit, Sora!"
"Then bring it on, Goof Boy!" Sora goaded, both young men charging forward again as they swung their weapons in a clash.
Unbeknownst to the dueling men and the audience watching, someone watched them from one of the many skyscrapers in the city-like section of Disney Town. "Well, ain't this a little coinkydink," Pete said with a sinister laugh. "Felt like forever since I've last been here, and there's the runt with the Keyblade with Goof Jr." Looking over to the group watching, he grumbled when he saw P.J. "And what's he doing in that ridiculous getup? Don't tell me he's actually a dumb wizard now...Not like Maleficent, though. Her magic is something to be feared, but if he's like the squawking magic duck down there, then we've got a serious problem." Pulling out several bombs, he chuckled darkly, lighting them up and tossed them down to the ground. "Bombs away!"
While Sora and Max struggled to push each other back for dominance, they stopped when they heard several clangs hit the ground around them. Seeing what fell and hearing the others exclamations of surprise, they yelped when they noticed they were suddenly surrounded by bombs, their fuses about to burn up into the explosives. Thinking quickly, Sora cast a Reflect spell around him and Max, protecting them from the blasts just in time as the street lit up with explosions and smoke.
"What the hell!?" Sora exclaimed. "Who's throwing bombs at us!?"
"Bobby, what are you doing trying to help me!?" Max scolded.
"Hey, don't look at me, bro!" Bobby called out. "You know I don't carry around explosives like that! I go for stealth and distance, man!"
"Then who's throwing them?" Max questioned, their answer coming from above as they heard mocking laughter. Looking up, they spotted Pete, P.J. wincing as he tried to hide from the right-hand man of the dreaded sorceress, Maleficent, ducking behind Bobby, Donald, and Goofy. "Pete!? What's he doing back here!? I thought he was supposed to be banished from our world!"
"You know him?" Sora asked, finding it odd how it sounded like Max knew him so well.
"Well, ain't this a happy little family reunion!" Pete mocked, leaping down to ground level, tossing a bomb up and down in his hand.
"Don't you ever give up?" Sora asked, practically pleading for Pete to stop trying to be a villain after all the times he's lost. "Just get lost, Pete!"
"I'm just gonna keep coming back, so get used to it, twerp," Pete said. "Even after that little discovery with that darkness of yours, it's not going to scare me into hiding away like a coward."
"You're right! You should be scared of the infant twins and the Cutie Mark Crusaders since they can handle you quite easily!" Sora said.
"Shut it, runt!" Pete growled. "As fun as it is to ruffle your jimmies, I actually came back from my 'banishment' to see someone again." He looked over at P.J., unable to hide himself behind the trio in the distance with his wide frame. "P.J." The young mage flinched, poking his head around as he looked nervously at the "dastardly" henchman. Pete gestured with his finger for the nervous cat to come over to him. "You're not even going to bother greeting your old man after not seeing him for all these years?"
"'Old man'?" Sora questioned as he looked back at P.J. Letting out a miserable sigh, P.J. slumped out of his "hiding spot" and stepped forward with his head held down. "What is he...?" As he looked back and forth at Pete and P.J., it began to dawn on Sora why P.J. looked so familiar to him. Though Pete was gruffer, he could shockingly see the resemblance between them, his mind yet again blown, but in the worst way possible. "...No...P.J....Pete's your dad???"
"...Y-Yeah. He is," P.J. admitted. "...I was hoping you didn't find out."
"Was that what you were worried about earlier?" Max asked his friend. "You saw your dad spying on us?"
"I thought it was him, but I felt...something else back when we had lunch," P.J. said. "I-I didn't think dad would come back here...He's supposed to be in exile from Disney Town."
"I find it as more of an over-extended vacation from this pathetic world," Pete said.
Ignoring Pete, Sora and Max looked at each other questioningly. "What did P.J. mean by that?" Sora asked.
"Since Peej's been training to be a wizard, he's been able to hone his senses to anything out of the ordinary," Max explained. "Even through thick mist or smoke, he can tell where someone's hiding from a distance. Bobby likes using smoke bombs for quick getaways, and his shades are enchanted by Peej so he could see through it and sneak up on enemies."
"Love the smokeage, brah," Bobby said. "That's where my stealthy-sneaky comes in for up close and personal fighting. Can't stay in the background forever if I get caught."
"So...someone was watching us earlier? And it wasn't Pete?" Sora questioned, now growing worried if that someone happened to be Xehanort or one of his other eleven vessels that are the thirteen seeds of darkness.
"Hey! Don't ignore me like I'm last week's garbage!" Pete shouted. "I come back to see my kid, and you're ruining such a heartfelt moment!"
"As if you were ever heartfelt when it came to being a father to Peej!" Max exclaimed. "I know my dad gave me too much love, but you barely seemed to give any to him with all the things you told him to do!"
"It's called tough love, Goof Jr.," Pete stated. "I'm surprised your old man didn't punish you for being a delinquent, and now look at you. A pathetic little soldier following the orders of a little mouse king, just like your father."
"I think you gave P.J. more than just tough love, Pete," Goofy said, stepping forward with his shield out, glaring angrily at Pete. "You've practically abused your own son, and I can't accept that. After hearing what happened with Sora, I think he does a better job than you ever had, and he's been gone for over a decade."
"Oh, boo hoo. The twerp's dad kicked the bucket when he was a kid," Pete mocked, angering Sora as he clenched his fists. "What he do? Fall into the ocean? Get eaten by a whale?"
"Heartless appeared on his boat and killed him and his crew," Sora said. "I know it because I traveled back in time, and I was there when it happened! Don't you dare disrespect my father, Pete!"
Goofy placed a hand on Sora's shoulder, keeping him held back from lunging toward Pete and slicing him up like a fat turkey. Max, P.J., and Bobby were shocked to hear what happened to Sora's father, feeling sympathetic for Sora. Standing in front of his son and best friend, Goofy stared Pete in the eye.
"You know something, Pete, maybe I'm a bit too nice when it came to disciplining Maxy," Goofy said. "I know he made some poor decisions as a kid, but he's learned from those mistakes, and I didn't have to so much as lift a finger and physically hurt him to teach him what's right and wrong. From the 'delinquent' he was, he turned out to be a responsible young adult, following my footsteps in becoming a royal guard captain, and I'm proud of being a good father to him.
"But you, Pete, you've done nothing but bully your son! You never gave him a single ounce of praise for something he did right, and you always scold him for doing it wrong when he did just fine! I don't know what kind of parenting books you've been reading, but you clearly weren't ready for children! Just look at your son!" Goofy pointed at P.J., keeping his eyes anywhere but on his father's constantly judging gaze. "He can't even look you in the eyes because he's terrified of what you'll say to him! You don't talk down to your kids like that, because it'll only make them lose their self-confidence as they get older! And when you grow old and look back, you're gonna regret it. And if he says those three words with all the resentment he has bottled up inside from you, it'll be worse than getting beaten by us. Tenfold."
"Bah! As if you know what you were doing either!" Pete argued. "The boy probably doesn't even know who his mother is! Ain't that the pot calling the kettle black?"
"Alright, that does it!" Max said. "Pete, you're under arrest for all the despicable acts you've committed, both in our world and in several others!"
"Well, then, how about a parting gift? If you can get me caught behind bars!" Pete pulled out another bomb in his other hand, already lit as he threw it straight for Max.
"Look out!" Goofy shouted, pushing his son far enough away as the bomb blew up upon contact with his body.
Goofy let out a pained yelp, sent tumbling across the ground, his body slightly covered in burn marks as he let out a groan. "Dad!" Max called out. He knew his father would be fine, so did Sora and Donald, but that aggravated Max as his dad protected him from someone who had no kindness in his heart toward anyone, only caring about himself. Getting back up, Max gripped his shield tightly, Donald and Bobby joining with Sora and Goofy's son as they stared Pete down, Donald wielding his wand while Bobby grabbed his bow strapped to his back, getting an arrow from his quiver and readied it to fire, aiming it at Pete. "That does it. Screw banishment! We're taking you in even if we have to drag you to King Mickey himself!"
"Not cool, brah," Bobby said.
"You think you've got me outnumbered?" Pete questioned. He brought his fingers to his lips and let out a whistle, summoning Heartless around him. Along with Soldiers, Rabid Dogs, and Hookbats, there were also Hammer Frames, Heartless with their torsos in the shape of a hammer head, and Hot Rods, which are basically cars with sharp teeth for the front grill and, to Sora's annoyance, had a knack for running into their victims over and over. "That Cornerstone of Light might still be here, but at least we're far enough away from it so that my Heartless don't disappear. Maybe slightly weaker as well with its light keeping the world safe, but that don't mean nothing if I can continue summoning them!"
"Big mistake showing your face around here, Pete!" Donald said. "When the king finds out you're here, you're going to be sent back to where you were supposed to be banished to!"
Pete commanded the Heartless to attack, his small army charging forward to surround them. Bobby pulled out several small pellets from his pockets, tossing them in front of them, which exploded on impact and created a giant plume of smoke.
"Just a little smokeage, and a bit of focusing, aaaaaaand..." Bobby aimed his arrow, and with one arrow, he managed to pierce through several Heartless in a row, hearts flying up from the smoke as one shot managed to kill them. "Bullseyes all around!"
"Wow. Nice shot," Sora complimented.
"Thanks to Peej for making my shades useful for more than looking good," Bobby said, lifting his glasses up to reveal his eyes, winking to Sora before placing them back in place. "Now, watch me get a monster kill!" Suddenly zooming out of the smoke, a Hot Rod drove through the smoke, its headlights flashing as it found its way out of the smoke and headed straight for the skilled archer. "Uh oh."
The group dove out of the way, the Hot Rod spinning out as it redirected its course, charging toward Bobby again. This time, Bobby wasn't fast enough, letting out a yell as he was run down, sent flying into the field of smoke he created, right in the middle of the army of Heartless Pete controlled.
"P.J., cover my dad!" Max called out as he, Sora, and Donald charged into the smoke to help Bobby.
"O-Ok," P.J. said nervously. The Hot Rod that struck Bobby turned toward the mage, leering at him for a moment before it drove into the smoke to hunt the others. "Huh?...Why didn't it try to attack me?"
Pete could hear the commotion going on in the smoke, chuckling in amusement as he looked at the bomb he held in his hand. "Let's see what we can do to spice things up in that there dust cloud."
Lighting up several more bombs, Pete threw them haphazardly into the smoke. He didn't care if they hit his Heartless minions as long as they blew up around his enemies. He laughed as he heard them screaming, trying to get away from the exploding bombs, only to end up getting hit by a Heartless or another bomb they didn't see fall near them.
"You know, maybe the smokeage wasn't a good idea after all!" Bobby said aloud, using a dagger at his hip hidden under his shirt, using it for defense at close range as he slashed away at a Soldier Heartless coming right toward him.
"I'll take care of it!" Donald said. "Aeroga!" The duck mage summoned a tornado, sucking up all the smoke and giving the others some vision back. When it cleared, the four fighters gulped when they saw three giant bombs that were set up around them, Pete somehow able to toss them in a triangular formation around them without feeling them land anywhere beside them along with the several Heartless still around. "Uhhh...Can you make some more 'smokeage', Bobby?"
"I could, but not with those massive bombs that look ready to blow." Pointing at the fuses, the sparks dwindled the thick line down until it was about to blow up. "Well, dudes, fighting with you has been an honor."
"Get around me, guys!" Sora called out as he readied himself to cast Reflect the moment the giant bombs were about to explode.
"Good luck trying to protect yourselves when these bombs are powerful enough to decimate all these buildings!" Pete warned, making the group worry, especially P.J. when he and Goofy would be caught in the blast, too.
As Pete got himself in his protective barrier to keep himself from getting harmed and the others braced for the upcoming explosions, there was a sudden rush of water that came from a nearby alley. It formed a tidal wave, snatching up the bombs and forcing them all into a massive sphere of water. While everyone, including the Heartless, stared in confusion and awe, Sora smelt something odd about this water; it was as if the water came from the ocean, smelling salty like how it would back home on Destiny Islands. The giant bombs exploded harmlessly in the water, the sphere of sea water evaporating while some of it sprinkled down on everyone.
"...What...What was that?" Sora asked.
"I think...P.J. saved us?" Max guessed, but when they all looked at the young mage, he was just as stunned as they were. "...It wasn't."
"What's going on!?" Pete yelled. "Who's the wise guy who stopped my bombs!?"
"That would be me." Everyone turned to the voice as its owner stepped out of the shadows and revealed themselves. To their surprise, it appeared to be a man dressed in a black coat, just like the attire Organization XIII wore, his face veiled by the hood over his head. Sora blinked, finding that voice oddly familiar as he stared at this mysterious figure, unsure if he was considered friendly or hostile. "It's not right trying to blow up half a city just to take out six enemies. Too much work with a lot of collateral."
"And just who in the heck are you?" Pete questioned with a sneer. The man didn't reply as he looked over at Sora. "Too cool to introduce yourself? Well, if you think you're all that by using water magic to trap my bombs, let's see how you do with my Heartless!"
Pete commanded his Rabid Dogs to attack the mysterious figure, the Heartless canines barking and charging him. He held up his hand, then thrust it up in the air, creating several spires of water to shoot out and, despite being a liquid, pierced through the Rabid Dogs' bodies, letting out pained whines before their bodies dissipated and released their hearts. Sora thought that this man was Demyx at first, if he was somehow still alive like Saïx, Ansem, and Xemnas were when they were brought back, but the man's voice was a bit deeper and he wasn't as cowardice as the water-bending, sitar-playing Nobody. Lowering his hand back down in front of him, the spires of water swirled around him and into his hand. As it formed a sphere in his palm, the liquid shifted and elongated into a sword, flashing for a second as the water turned into an actual sword. The blade was slightly curved like a saber, its color a mix of a grainy tan with a murky blue, making it look like the steel was forged from the wet sands of an ocean shore. The hilt was shaped like a heart, colored blue and white like a calm, cloudy sky.
"Whoa," Bobby commented. "...Is he on our side?"
"He shouldn't," Sora uttered. "Those black coats...They're the same ones Organization XIII wore...and Xehanort's new Organization he's created..."
Aggravated by the mysterious man's power, Pete commanded all the Heartless to attack him instead. As the Heartless charged him, the Hot Rods lowering down on their wheels to drive into him, Sora's eyes widened when he saw the man lower his stance, crouching slightly on bent legs while holding his large cutlass in both hands, just like he did. As the Hot Rods got closer, he jumped up, creating a bump of water beneath him that shot up as the vehicular Heartless drove under him, sending them toppling over on their backs with their wheels spinning as they struggled to get back up. Upon landing, he ran after the downed, animated cars, and upon slashing them, he sent waves of water crashing into them, the impact causing a tremendous amount of pain before his blade sliced them and finished them off.
Turning around, he raised his free hand up, launching a tidal wave into the remaining Heartless, trapping them as he then turned the wave into a deadly whirlpool. Slowly walking toward the trapped Soldiers, Hookbats, and Hammer Frames, his slowly clenching fist made the vortex of water rotate faster and faster. Raising his blade, it took on an aquatic form, and with a swift swing, the blade shot forward in a slashing shockwave, breaking the whirlpool in an explosion of water, destroying the rest of Pete's Heartless army.
"W-Why you-!" Pete grunted angrily, grabbing one of his trusty bombs, lighting it, and tossed it. The bomb didn't get far as the mysterious figure lunged forward, his cutlass's blade returning back to normal, and with one quick slash, the bomb was split in half, both halves falling to the ground with the fuse doused. "Gah! T-That was fast!"
"How about you take on your opponents face-to-face instead of hiding in the background like a coward?" the man asked Pete.
"I'm no coward!" Pete exclaimed.
He threw a punch at the man, but he ducked out of the way. Pete tried to pummel this mysterious new foe, but his fists kept missing as the agile figure avoided every swing. He then grabbed the henchman's fist after one more straight jab, clenching it tightly before slamming Pete down to the ground. After a second recovering from the slam, Pete growled and charged the man again. He swung his blade, Pete anticipating it as he tried to duck, but the man feinted and instead spun around, sweeping his leg under Pete's and tripping him. Sora gasped, recognizing that same trick his father pulled on him back in the past when he dueled him, where the man followed up on his momentum and slammed his sword down on the downed feline. Upon impact, water shot up from under Pete, trapping him in a sphere of water as he was flung up in the air.
Following after him by surfing on a trail of water he created underneath him, the mysterious figure flew around Pete, slashing wildly at the trapped evildoer. After several strikes, he soared into the air, then dove down, flipping around to kick Pete, creating a large ripple in the water sphere as he knocked Pete out and sent him tumbling to the ground hard, bursting the water like a balloon as it rained salt water on them. Pete coughed as he tasted the salty ocean water from nearly drowning in the sphere. He tried to crawl away, but the man grabbed him by the back of his suit, hoisting him up and turning him around to face him, then proceeded to grasp Pete's neck and choke him.
P.J. began to panic as he watched his father's flailing limbs trying to break free from the powerful cutlass-wielding man. As much as he hated Pete for how much he's made his life miserable in his youth, he didn't want his dad to die. Gripping his wand, he ran forward, then swung his wand as he silently cast a spell at the figure. A powerful lightning bolt shot down from the sky, striking the man as he let out a pained cry, dropping Pete as he was greatly injured by the magic spell.
"Leave my dad alone!" P.J. shouted, preparing to cast another spell if the figure tried to hurt Pete again.
Gasping for breath, Pete sat up, scooting away from the mysterious figure while rubbing his sore neck. "About time you helped your father, P.J."
"I'm not saving you because I care about you, dad!" P.J. shouted. "In fact, I hate you!" Pete's jaw dropped as his own son was standing up against him. "Mr. Goof and Max are right; you've done nothing but make me feel useless when I was a kid! I try to impress you, but I can never do enough to make you happy! I sometimes ask myself why I bothered to even try..."
"Then why are you saving him?" the man questioned. "You resent your father for what he's done, so why do you forgive him by saving his life from me?"
"...Because...he's my dad," P.J. answered. "...I don't want to lose any of my family...even if he's supposed to be my enemy now..." Rubbing his eyes as he felt tears welling up, he leered at the man, gripping his wand tightly as he aimed it at the man. "And if you keep hurting him, then I'll fight you!"
"...You have guts, kid," the man said calmly. He turned to look at the stunned Pete. "A lot more than your deadbeat dad ever will...You should be happy knowing your boy is pretty good at what he does. That jolt hurt."
Pete grunted, looking away from the man. "He doesn't have guts," Pete denied, standing back up with a groan. "If he hates me, then fine." A portal of darkness appeared behind Pete as he slowly walked backwards. "You were always a worthless failure to me, P.J. You're not like me at all."
"No you don't!" Max shouted as he ran after Pete, but the man created a wall of water in the young Goof's way, stopping him in his tracks.
"Let him lick his wounds," the man said as they watched Pete disappear through the portal, fading away as soon as he passed through. "That kind of wound won't ever heal with time. Such a disgraceful father..."
Goofy woke up with a groan, rubbing his head while ignorant of the slight burn marks he got from the explosion that almost caught Max. Max heard him and quickly rushed over to check on him along with Bobby and P.J. Sora stared at the mysterious figure, astonished by the sound of his voice, the ocean water used for his techniques and magic, the way his sword looked, and the way he fought. He sounded like his father, even fought like him, but there was no way this person could actually be Kaito. He was angry, upset, and greatly confused, and he needed answers from this man, whether or not he's one of Xehanort's thirteen seeds of darkness.
The man noticed Sora's expression, standing calmly as he hefted his cutlass over his shoulder. "...Who are you?" Sora asked, but the man gave no response. Getting more frustrated, Sora lowered himself into his stance, determined to beat the information out of the man if necessary. "Answer me! Why do you sound and fight like him!?"
"Like who?" the figure asked curiously.
"My dad!" Sora shouted, shocking Donald as he squawked in confusion.
"Your dad!?" Donald repeated. "Huh!?"
"He was fighting just like he did back on his boat when I went back in time!" Sora said. "I learned this kind of stance from him when I was little! He sounds just like him, too! And not only that, but the salt water in his techniques reminded me of home, back on Destiny Islands!"
"Is it...your dad's Nobody?" Donald questioned.
"I-I...I don't know," Sora uttered. "But...I killed my dad's Heartless...If there was, he wasn't in Organization XIII...Tell me who you are!"
The figure stared at Sora silently, tilting his head as something seemed to click in his head. A sharp pain made him wince as he remembered something, a distant memory from another life, where he saw flashes of Sora as a child, laughing and having fun on the sandy shores of an island town. There was even a brief flash of seeing Sora at the age he is now on a boat in the middle of a dreadful storm, looking despondent as he seemed to be telling him something. The pain faded and the memories disappeared, but his name stuck with him.
"...Sora," he said aloud. "...Your name is...Sora..."
"You know me, so tell me who you are!" Sora demanded.
"Yes...I do know you," the mysterious figure said to himself. "...Why...do you feel important to me?"
"Quit being cryptic and tell me, or else!" Sora said.
Getting no answer, Sora yelled and charged forward, resorting to plan B to getting anything from this strange man. "Sora, wait!" Donald called out.
The man quickly raised his hand, shoving Sora back far across the street with a tidal wave, too high for him to jump and too thick to dash through as he sputtered and got carried back. The figure summoned a portal of darkness, quickly running through it and making his escape. After Sora finally stopped, the wave of salt water disappearing once he gently hit the wall of a building, he watched the portal disappear in the distance. Heavily conflicted, Sora grit his teeth and slammed his fist into the ground, wanting to know just who that man was and why he fought and sounded just like his father, Kaito. He was hoping to get his mind off of this matter, but it only got worse with the appearance of this man, unknown if he's actually one of Xehanort's other unknown mysterious vessels or a third party who is completely neutral to their cause.
After arriving back at the castle, Sora sat in a corner to try to calm himself down as they settled in the study. They informed King Mickey about Pete's appearance in town when he was supposed to be in exile for his selfish and reckless actions in the past, while Goofy and Donald explained to Max, P.J., and Bobby about Sora's father and what he experienced in full detail.
"Of course," Mickey grumbled. "Pete would try to come back to do something sneaky again. He did it once before with the Cornerstone of Light in the past from what you, Sora, and Donald tried to prevent through that magic door. I bet his goal was to try to recruit P.J., his own son, to join him and Maleficent with their plans."
"But what about this guy?" Max asked. "Shouldn't we do something about him? Even if...he somehow is Sora's dad?"
"Hmm...Seeing how he didn't do any physical harm to any of you, it's unlikely he's a foe, but we can't be too sure," Mickey said. "In the dream realms, when Sora was caught in Xehanort's trap, there were eleven seeds of darkness he already had set, Sora supposedly being the last one he needed for the thirteenth. From what we know, Xigbar, Saïx, Ansem, and Xemnas were the only ones revealed to us."
"Which means there are six others, and we don't know who they are," Donald stated.
"If these 'seeds' are the bad guys, then why didn't the evil-looking dude who appeared out of nowhere with his water-bending epicness not know who Sora is?" Bobby asked. "I mean, they all should know him if he was meant to be one of them by force, right?"
"Hey, that's right!" Donald said. "He did say Sora's name, but he didn't have any idea who he was! Nobodies have memories of who they once were, so maybe it's possible that might have been Sora's father!"
"Gawrsh, Donald, you think that's really possible?" Goofy asked. Everyone then turned to Sora, who remained silent and didn't share much of his thoughts on this mysterious person who helped them. "Sora? What do you think?"
"...Honestly?...I don't know," he said. Sora brought his hands to his face, letting out a confused grunt as he rubbed his head. "I mean, maybe it is...? I did kill his Heartless, but I don't know if his heart was strong enough to make a Nobody that retained his original form." He let out a sigh, leaning back and hitting the back of his head against the wall. "...I wasn't hallucinating all that, was I? From mourning over losing my dad again with one side of my brain trying to accept it while the other denies the truth?"
"Some people deal with loss in different ways," Mickey said.
"But you were definitely not imagining things," Max said, confirming Sora's sanity. "That guy appeared out of nowhere and saved us."
"He was also the thing I sensed earlier," P.J. added. "It wasn't bad, but...it was a bit scary. He had a lot of power, and it showed."
"Then why were you so nervous when we first met?" Sora asked.
"...I was worried about how you thought if you knew who my dad was," P.J. admitted. "From Mr. Goof's letters about seeing my dad and how he keeps appearing to stop you from saving the worlds, you were apparently really tough. And...figuring out I was his son...well, you wouldn't like me all that much."
"...That's why?" Sora asked. He shook his head and stood up. "P.J., that's ridiculous. I mean, sure, finding out about who yours and Max's dad were was a huge surprise, but that doesn't mean I'd hate you because Pete's your dad."
"R-Really?" P.J. asked, surprised by Sora's response.
"You're nothing like your dad, P.J.," Sora said. "In fact, you're better off without him. And, even though I was in shock when that guy who sounded like my dad stepped in, I was a bit impressed with you for telling Pete how you felt about him. I doubt Pete will ever change, seeing how he's too far gone now that he's working for Maleficent, but he at least knows you don't like how he treated you and you didn't hide it from him any longer."
"Yeah...I actually do feel like there's a weight lifted off my shoulders, but it still didn't feel good," P.J. morosely said.
"I get it. You still love your dad, even though you hate him," Sora said. "The truth is out, but that doesn't change how I think about you, P.J. I think we can be great friends if you gave me a chance without overthinking how I would feel about your background."
"Sora's right," Goofy said. "In fact, he's the one who makes so many friends, he just can't help himself when we arrive in new worlds. The first person we see, he trusts them that much and immediately becomes friends with them!"
"What!? That's not true!" Sora argued. "I'm not that gullible to trust everyone we meet!" Donald and Goofy laughed as the captain teased him. Sora sighed and hung his head, unable to keep himself from grinning. He had hoped that today would be a good day to drop everything he had been through in the last twenty-four hours, but he was grateful to have Donald and Goofy try to cheer him up. "Well, today was a bit of a bust, but I've got myself some more friends to add to my incredibly long list."
"You'll eventually have a friendship list longer than Santa Claus's naughty and nice lists combined!" Donald said, adding to the teasing as he smirked.
"Yeah, sure, like that'll happen," Sora said.
"You three are adults, and yet you still believe in Santa Claus?" Max asked.
"Oh, he's all too real, Maxy," Goofy said. "And we all met him."
"Yeah, right," Max scoffed. "Last time I saw 'Santa', you dressed up like him and I found out the hard way when I was a kid. I mean, it's not like he lives in a world beyond ours and can travel from world to world faster than a regular Gummi ship could." Sora, Donald, and Goofy said nothing, giving Max a cheeky look as they grinned. "...That's...not true, is it? Santa's just a...fictional character?"
"I don't think they're lying to us," P.J. said. "So...Santa Claus really is real?"
"Whoa," Bobby said in awe. "Spooky."
"Dad, please tell me you're kidding," Max begged. Sora, Donald, and Goofy chuckled, keeping the future captain of the royal guard in the dark as his curiosity only kept growing. "Dad? Sora? Someone? Quit hiding it! Is he actually real!?"
Mickey chuckled and shook his head as the trio continued to tease the new young protectors of his kingdom, knowing that Santa Claus does exist as well as they did. His smile faded as he thought over this new discovery of Pete's return, along with the mysterious man in the black coat who might or might not be their enemy. He only hoped that this man who was like Sora's father wasn't one of Xehanort's followers, as it would cause more trouble if the tyrannical old man wanted to capture Sora again and complete his thirteen seeds once again.
The rest of the day passed relatively quickly as the new protectors of Disney Castle hung out with Sora, Donald, and Goofy some more before the sun set. It didn't do much to keep Sora's mind off his father, especially encountering the mysterious figure earlier, but he tried to make the best of it. As soon as it got late, Sora took his leave after saying goodbye to Donald, Goofy, and his three new friends. He promised to stop by and see Max, P.J., and Bobby again, and swore to have a rematch with Max again after their last duel was interrupted. With his Keyblade armor equipped and his Keyblade shifted into his glider, Sora flew up into the sky and made his way back to Equestria.
Upon his return, Sora walked from the empty fields to the Castle of Friendship, hoping the rest of the evening with Kairi will help lighten his mood. As soon as he walked in, he yelped when he saw Pinkie waiting for him, of all ponies, a sad look on her face as he figured her Pinkie Sense told her he was still feeling down.
"Pinkie, I really think we need to put a bell on you or something," Sora teased. "I swear, you pop up out of nowhere at strange times."
"Are you ok, Sora?" Pinkie asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured, suddenly caught off guard when the mare hugged him.
"Ok. I just want to be sure," she said. Pinkie released Sora from her hug and began to make her way out the door. "If you're looking for Kairi, she's in your room."
"What, does she have some sort of surprise for me?" Sora asked.
"Nope," Pinkie said, then bounced her way back to Sugarcube Corner.
Sora watched Pinkie leave, raising a brow in confusion at her response. He was a little disappointed that Kairi didn't plan anything for his return, but after today, all he wanted to do was relax with her. Shrugging his shoulders, Sora wandered through the halls and arrived at his room, where he found Kairi sitting on the bed in the middle of reading a book. She didn't hear him come in as he closed the bedroom door. He took off his clothing, then plopped down on the bed, snapping the unicorn out of her story as he got her attention.
"Sora! I didn't even hear you come in!" she said, marking where she stopped in the book and put it down. "So, how was your day?"
"Ok, I guess," Sora muttered, feeling tired after the stressful day along with the lack of sleep he had last night.
"You guess?" Kairi questioned.
"I'm just a little exhausted," Sora said. He rolled over onto his back and yawned. "Hey, did you know Goofy has a son?"
"Goofy's a dad?" Kairi asked, quite surprised as she shook her head. "Seriously?"
"Yeah. I met his son today," he said. "His name's Max. It blew my mind when I found out, and the resemblance definitely shows."
"Wow...How old is Goofy?" Kairi asked curiously.
"Old enough to be a dad, that's for sure," Sora said. His eyes began to grow heavy, wanting to stay awake some more, but his body fought against him, demanding sleep. "What a day..."
Kairi gave Sora a kiss on his forehead, rubbing his foreleg lovingly. "Why don't you get some sleep, Sora? You look like you could really use some, especially with how tired you looked this morning."
"Ok." Sora yawned again and rolled onto his side facing Kairi, his eyes closing as he settled into a hopefully dreamless slumber. "Night, Kairi."
"Good night, Sora," she said, laying down beside him as she levitated her book back in front of her, feeling his head nudge over to rest on her shoulder. Her nostrils flared as she smelt salt water on Sora again. "Wait, Sora, did you really go to-?" Looking down at him, Sora was already fast asleep. She shook her head, focusing on her book again. "Maybe there's a beach somewhere in King Mickey's world. That might explain that ocean scent...I hope."
As the sun set on Destiny Islands, the town's inhabitants were getting ready to end their days and relax, or for the younger crowd, go out and hang out with friends at the local bar. On the shore overlooking the island where most of the children decide to play, a dark portal appeared, and out came the mysterious figure. As the portal disappeared, he looked out at the ocean, finding it familiar to him, yet he couldn't quite figure out why it was.
"...This beach," he muttered to himself. "...That island...I've been here before...but, when?" Looking back at the town, he recognized the buildings, but had no idea where the memory came from. Down the shore, he spotted a house in the distance, that specific house drawing him closer to it as memories ran through his head. The exact spot he arrived in was where he saw the young boy, Sora, playing with two other children. The boy with silver-white hair was Sora's best friend, and the girl with the auburn-red hair was someone Sora liked, and their names popped into his mind. "Riku...and Kairi...Their names are familiar, but why?"
As he approached the house, more memories resurfaced as he stood at the front door, so many of them racing through his thoughts that they all became a blur and were immediately forgotten. One person stuck out among those memories, though, and it was of a woman who appeared to be Sora's mother. Bringing a gloved hand to his head as he tried to figure out who they were, he didn't notice the owner of the house walking down the street, carrying a few bags of groceries with her before the store closed for the day. Spotting the mysterious figure standing on her doorstep, she grew weary and approached him.
"Excuse me?" she called out. Turning around, the man gasped when he was confronted by the woman in these strange memories. Sora's mother gave him a suspicious leer, the woman told by her son about mysterious people who wore black coats like that as they were dangerous. And she wasn't going to take chances if it was one of Xehanort's men who want to try to hunt Sora down. "Can I help you?"
"...You are..." He paused as another minor headache struck him, getting flashbacks of the women before him, though they were of her as a teenager.
"I should be asking your name first," the woman demanded. "Some stranger shows up at my door while I'm out running errands, and you try to ask for my name? I don't think so, buddy. Now, you tell me who you are, or I'll give you such a kick where the sun doesn't shine. I know how to protect myself." She paused, biting her lower lip nervously. "...Ok, maybe I got kidnapped once, but I do know how to protect myself! I mean it!"
The man didn't answer as he continued experiencing these odd memories. Hearing her younger self giggling at something he did to make her laugh somehow brought a warmth in his chest, an odd feeling that was alien to him just like when he recalled Sora's name. After the memories finally stopped, a name popped in his mind, the name of the woman before him something he had long forgotten and regained upon seeing her.
"...Manami," he finally said, surprising the woman. "...That is your name...Manami..."
"...H-How...How do you know my name?" she questioned, getting anxious as this man was starting to scare her. "Who the hell are you? Are you some kind of stalker?"
"No...I know you," he said. "But...I don't think I've...ever met you before...Have I?"
"...Ok, I'm going to get the police, and I'll make sure they throw away the key to the cell you're put in, because that just screams stranger danger!" Manami exclaimed.
"No, wait!" the mysterious figure quickly said. "I-I don't mean it like that! It's just...I'm getting these memories, and...I can't help myself. I don't even know who I am."
"Like I'm going to believe something like that, you sick freak," Manami said.
"I swear, I don't know what's going on." The woman wasn't going to trust him, apparent by the angry, disgusted look on her face. He brought a finger to his cheek and scratched it in thought. He didn't know if he could show any proof, but he did have something he could show her, though he wasn't sure how this woman he knew would know him. "Mana-I mean, miss...Do you think you might recognize me if I show you my face?"
"...If you show me more than just your face, I'm going to kick you extremely hard," Manami warned. Understanding the warning, suddenly feeling terrified of the threat, the man unveiled his face he removed his hood. When she got a good look at him, Manami let out a startled gasp, her heart stopping in her chest at who she saw. She lost her hold on her groceries, dropping the bags as some fruit scattered on the ground around her as it spilled out. "...N-No way...I-It can't be..." Slowly, yet cautiously, Manami approached him. She reached her hands out, touching his face as she stared in disbelief, the man silently letting her observe him. "...Kaito???"
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Well... That new guy sure was a surprise. It was still nice to see Max and his friends at Disney Castle.
Is that new character in the Black Coat really Sora's father? Or a Nobody of him? Either way, I'd love to see more in the future.
Yay, Kaito's back! On another note, what did you think about the trailers for KH3?
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https://m.But it appears Ventus is in Union Cross.
Skip to 7:32.
OMG DEMYX IS KAITO! ALL OF MY YES!
Great chapter, so I gotta wonder if you plan to ever use any of the 'new' organization members in this story. The recent KH3 trailer revealed Larxene is back, and is still a sadistic bitch, and I think it would be awesome to see her show up at some point or some other villain.
Obviously this story can't really follow the events of the game but that doesn't stop you from doing your own thing.
I do hope that one day Max and his friends will find themselves in Equestria, maybe as part of wider training like learning to adapt to magic'ed or cursed forms.
Yes, the Organization has given the Black Coats a certain reputation, but we've seen a few non-Organization people wear the coat from time to time. Never assume, Sora.
This was kinda expected from my point of view, as it would have been obvious for Kaito to appear or rather his Nobody.
No way the father of Sora was weak willed, he become a greater Nobody.
Would should be be named now since he is a Nobody?
Xaktio? Perhaps.
SORA DID CHANGE THE FUTURE! I SOLVED THE MYSTERY!
By the way, the translation for the name of Sora's mother is Academics
This was a belated Father’s Day-themed chapter. Nice continuity on your part, Codex. Especially the scene where PJ and Max calls out Pete for his dismal “parenting”. I’m also guessing that Goofy’ looks old enough to retire from knighthood, but Sora’s comment about him living for an extra hundred years suggest that the inhabitants of the Disney Castle world have a longer lifespan than humans. Still, I’m glad that Max and his crew finally had an appearance and I’ve been waiting for this chapter for a very long time now.
I was also half-expecting to hear “Dance, water, dance!” when the mysterious man made an entrance. Oh, well.
Wait he's alive?!
Holy crap baskets!
Well damn, Sora is going to well and truly freak when he learns this one. Nice being in of Max and his crew. Say, maybe add Roxanne for a tease on Max?
....how did I not see this comming? good chapter my good sir.
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) made me want to find out what's going to happen next. January 29th next year. It's seven months away, and I can hold out until I explode. And the Pirates trailer definitely won me over with the expansive, over the ocean fights and ship battles, and they included underwater travel and fights along with land and air fights.
I can't wait for game anymore. The Frozen trailer I eventually ended up watching when someone spoiled something about a fan favorite character in the comments (It's clearly Goofy. Best partner. 10/10.
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...Uhh, no. Demyx is a lazy musician, who is also a coward. Kaito is clearly far better than Demyx, or who that lazy Nobody was in his past life.
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I actually do plan on bringing back some revealed returning characters that we've seen from the trailers. I may not continue on with the series' canon story after Dream Drop Distance, but I will use other characters that have returned to keep just a tiny hint of that continuity.
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Uhh, depending on what language you found the meaning of "Manami". Since I'm sticking with Japanese meanings for Sora's parents' names, "Manami", from when I was searching, meant "love of the sea", "mana" meaning "love, affection", and "mi" meaning "sea, ocean". I didn't find any meaning for that name to mean "academics" while searching.
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Potato, potato. My favorite Nobody is gonna be a thing in this, and that's all that matters. WAIT....This isn't a Nobody, is it? Sora killed the heartless...and... Demyx-OMG KAITO IS ALIVE. Are we gonna have Demyx in a Roxas-Type role for Kaito? Where if they were to Dive into his heart, they'd see him in all his lazy, Surfer Dude glory?
That reference to "The Goofy Movie" was quite the nostalgia trip, and thanks to that ending, I'm more eager than ever to see what happens next.
this is a really awesome chapter CodeX! and I like that Soras father is alive as a Nobody, but he is having a hard time remembering. I have a feeling that he will somehow play a part in helping Sora and the others.
After returning from Disney Castle and making new friends in Goofy's son & his friends, Our hero Sora takes a time to relax from his struggles of what happen to his father. But even while he tries to do so, Sora can't help thinking about the Nobody that reminds him of his father and said one visiting his mom to know his past.
Will Kaito's Nobody be able to recover his memories? How will the other Keybalde Wielders take knowing of Sora's Dad having a Nobody? Will Donald & Goofy pay Sora and the others more visits while Max & his team watch the castle? And how will Kaito's Nobody play a role in our heroes journey? Find out next time My Little Pony soras misadventures in Equestria!
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Demyx is not Kaito's other half. Even as a Nobody, Kaito's would be a hell of a lot more responsible than Demyx, and not back down from anything dangerous. And I picked water for the element since it suits him.
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i had a guess after all from what we learned he really loves his family it was stated so during sora and his heart to heart on his boat before he was turned into a heartless he would do anyyhing to make sure his family was taken care of so based on that i would have been surprised if he didn't get a strong nobody. now the question is: is he friend or foe is he working for the organization under orders to recruit sora with the promise of getting his memories back and if so what's his name anagram with the X going to be
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I'm not sure if I can even find an anagram for Kaito + "X", or even be bothered to try. I was actually planning to bring Larxene as her original self in the last chapter to at least give her some origin for her, but every name I tried to come up with for her actual self ended up with different or missing letters, or the name looked so awkward when spelled out. Just trying to find perfect names for Sora's parents was a brain puzzler, so trying that would lower my IQ with how many possible combinations there are, where most of the rearranged letters won't even make a proper word let alone an actual name in any language.
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Honestly I'm not sure it matters, the organization member's names were all given to them by Xemnas as a way to mark them as Xehanort's vessels so unless you have Kaito being recruited by Xemnas as part of his backstory he most likely wouldn't have a special name especially if he lost his memories. I admit I can't really thing of a good name following the rules and you know the writers must have cheated with some of these names since no way does Larxene not end being something weird. God knows Zexion into Ienzo is already pretty strange.
Love that someone remembered both Pete and Goofy are dads!
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I loved the Goofy Movies, and I also remember Goof Troop. Wished Max, P.J., and maybe Bobby were actually part of the game as maybe recruits in training, though with how many Disney characters from other movies there are, there are some that didn't quite make it as important characters to the story with some of the alterations to the scenes in their respective movies. Or some movies weren't as popular and were never implemented by Nomura in the storyline.
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Yeah I wish they part of the game too ... I also had a Fic that included them that i wrote myself.
I’m honestly quite disappointed with how you wrote Pete’s character here. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to add layers to Pete’s character, making him more than a one-dimensional villain.
It would have been far more interesting instead of calling his son worthless, he would have been proud that he finally stood up to him, saying something “Hah! Finally standing up to your old man ey? ‘Bout time too! I’m quite impressed P.J.”
Calling his own son worthless just doesn’t feel like Pete at all, it feels more like a misconception of Pete than anything. KH Pete is your average cowardly minion, but he isn’t purely evil and I don’t see why he would call his own son worthless. At best he would be disappointed that he won’t join his side, but really? Calling his son worthless and being ok with him hating him? It just doesn’t feel like Pete at all. Sure, he’s a bad father, but he isn’t scum.
Again, good chapter, love seeing these characters in he KH verse, but really sucks how you wrote Pete.