"People saying nothing is impossible. But I do nothing all day." ~Winnie the Pooh (Christopher Robin)
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"Where should we go next?" I asked while Donald was reprogramming the Gummi Ship with Chip and Dale.
"We should head back to Traverse Town and see how's everyone doing," Sora suggested.
"Okay," I replied.
We flew to Traverse Town and landed by Cid's shop. We entered First District and Leon spotted us. "Sora! Sakura! Donald! Goofy! Just the people who I need!" He shouted as he ran up to us.
"Hey Leon," I greeted. "What's up? What do you need us for?"
"Well, Merlin says he's having trouble and needs help. He told me that if we see you guys stop by again to tell yu to head over to his place."
"Okay."
We left and went to Merlin's house. He greeted us. "Ah, I see Leon has told you what happened. Come."
He lead us over to a desk with a book was. "You see, it started glowing for some reason a couple days ago, but I couldn't get in to see why. I think you four might be able to do it." He explained to us his idea.
The book looked like those storybooks that had fairy tales in it. The front page of the book had no title or cover, but a lock to keep it closed. "Ready to go in?" Donald asked.
"Ready!" We said.
The lock on the book unlocked and it opened. Inside, it was full of color. A bright light appeared. Sora and I were sucked in. We were tiny on the book's pages. I approached a picture with a log and the area around me grew bigger until it became real. It looked like storybook drawings. On a log sat a yellow bear with a red shirt. He tapped his paw against his head, as if he was thinking deeply. "Think, think. Think, think," He said.
We walked up to him. "Hi there. What's wrong?" Sora greeted.
"Nothing. Just thinking," The bear replied.
"Oh."
"I was thinking of how to say goodbye to Pooh."
"Pooh?" I asked.
"Yes?" The bear said.
"Wait a second," I stopped. "You're Pooh?"
We sat in the log with Pooh. "Yes, I'm Winnie the Pooh. Pooh for short. Who are you two?" He introduced himself.
"I'm Sora," Sora said.
"Sakura," I added.
"Oh, hello Sora. Hello Sakura. Have you come to say goodbye to Pooh, too?" He asked.
"Well, no," I said.
"Why would we do that? We only just met," He added.
"Because everyone's gone away," Pooh sighed.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"Well, we all lived here, in the Hundred Acre Wood," He explained. "We'd take walks together, or play Pooh sticks. And every day, I eat some honey. Just one small smackeral would taste very good right now." He rubbed his tummy and sighed. "But now everyone's gone. All my friends, and my favorite Hunny tree too. Everyone must've gone away while o was napping, I think..." He jumped off the log. "So, who knows? Maybe I shall end up going away somewhere as well. But I wonder, how do I say goodbye to myself? Think, think, think."
I leaned over to Sora. "The book looked like it was in terrible condition, did you notice that?" I whispered to his ear.
"Yeah," He nodded.
"I think the terrible condition of the book has to do with what's going on right now. The book was looked like it was falling apart, which means everyone was going away cause the pages were messed up. When he repaired it, I guess Pooh was still here, wondering why his friends were gone. If we start from the beginning and follow where the story leads us, Pooh will be able to meet his friends again!"
"Oh, my tumbly is getting rather rumbly," Pooh sighed as he wandered away.
"So, you're saying if we restart the story and lead Pooh through the story, he'll see his friends again?" Sora asked, repeating what I said.
"Yes!" I screamed.
A bright light appeared in our eyes and we back on the book's pages. "We should start from left to right," I suggested. "You know, like how a book usually goes."
We went to the left where a picture of a tree house was. The picture grew real and we entered the house. The house had a small stove and it was faintly lit, as if he needed for fuel. For some reason, the stove's heat help give the lonely house a cozy vibe. Pooh was on a rug with a pot that said HONEY and was drinking from it. "Oh bother, there's no more honey left." He sighed. "If only the Hunny tree would visit...then I could eat my fill."
Pooh got up and waddled out the door. We followed him until we ended back onto the book's pages. "Let's continue to do that until we went through the whole book," I said.
We walked to another picture with a towering tree and a bunch of beehives on the branches. The picture did the same thing as the last. I heard birds chirping in the air and I knew we were in the next picture. "Pooh? Pooh? It's me, Piglet."
I looked down to see a tiny pig wandering around. "He must be one of Pooh's friends!" I cried.
Hearing me, Piglet turned, saw our shadows, looked up and gasped. He ran to the tree and hid there. We walked over. "Oh dear! I was j-just...never mind. I'm sorry!" He cried, quivering.
We squatted down so we can be at his eye level. "Don't be scared," I comforted. "We're friendly."
"You're looking for Pooh, right?" Sora asked.
"You know Pooh?" He asked, sighing with relief. "O-Oh! You see, I-I have something for him. I have to take it to Pooh right away! Oh, Pooh!"
I glanced up to see him walking up the hill to the tree. "I believe I smell a delicious something-a something like honey!" He sniffed the air.
"Pooh!" Piglet said, scrambling up to him.
Pooh's eyes lit up. See, I knew it! If we went through the story again, Pooh will meet his friends again and he won't be sad anymore! I thought.
"Hello Piglet," He greeted. "How have you been?"
"O-Oh, I-I'm so glad to see you. I thought you'd gone away," He sighed.
So, Pooh isn't the only one feeling that, I thought. As Piglet felt the same.
"I brought wh-what you asked for," Piglet said, giving Pooh and light blue, medium-sized balloon.
"Thank you, Piglet," He thanked. "Now I can finally have some honey."
"Really? B-But how?"
"I shall hold on to the balloon, and fly like a bee up to the Hunny tree, see."
"But, if you take their honey, won't the bees be angry?"
"Hm..." Pooh spotted us. "Sora! Sakura! Come here please?"
We walked up to him. "If you two can chase away the bees, I can get a small morsel of honey," He asked.
"Sure," Sora shrugged.
"Oh. Hello there, Owl," Pooh turned and faced one of the branches.
I looked up to see a brown owl with a white belly and yellow eyes perched on a branch. "Good day, Pooh. What are you doing?" He spotted the balloon. "Using a balloon to get some honey? Splendid idea! Why not start now and see how it goes?"
Sora climbed on one of the branches and I gave Pooh and small throw so he can float to get the honey. I turned to climb up the tree but I slid back down again. Sora reached out his hand and I grabbed onto it. "Thanks," I said.
"No problem," He smiled.
Pooh approached one of the holes and stuff one of his paws in. He pulled it out and it was covered in honey. He licked it and smiled. He stuck his paw in for some more. A flock of angry bees flew out and prepared to sting Pooh. We pulled out our Keyblades and with one smack, sent them flying somewhere else. Pooh flew up to another hole and got some more honey out of it. More flocks of angry bees flew over to him but Sora and I knocked all of them out. Again and again, Pooh flew up to the holes on the trees to get some honey. Again and again angry flocks of bees flew out to sting him. Again and again, we knocked the bees out of Pooh's way and followed him up the branches. Pooh was at the top, eating the honey at the very top hole. All the bees in the beehive were gone. The picture around us shrunk and we were back on the book's pages. We approached another tree house with a garden in the front and it came to life, like the others. The garden had assorted veggies growing in it. We walked behind the house to see a hole with a sign on top that said Rabbit's Howse. "Look! Rabbit's house c-came back!" Piglet noticed. "But it looks like Rabbit isn't home. Pooh's been calling and calling, but the house says no one's there."
We walked to the front of the house. "Wait a second-houses don't talk," I realized.
"That's means Rabbit is inside," Sora said. "But he doesn't want the others to know."
We entered the house in the front to see Pooh crawling through the hole and Rabbit slumping. Rabbit had a light yellow fur and a white underbelly. On his face were wrinkles that said that he was tired, and he also had small eye bags. "Hello, Rabbit!" He said cheerfully as Piglet walked through the hole.
"Why, P-Pooh. What a pleasant surprise..." He said with a hint of exhaustion in his voice. "Nice to see you, too, Piglet. And..." He turned around to see us. "Is this some new friends?" He side as he turned back to Pooh. "P-Pooh, I'm sorry but...I'm all out of honey for the moment." He glanced to the ceiling to see a pot of honey hidden in one of the planks. "Is that honey? How on Earth did it get there? Oh well, Pooh, would you like some honey? Don't feel like you have to eat it, though."
"I would like to have a small smackeral. I'm quite hungry," Pooh replied.
"B-But, Pooh just had a whole tree full of--" I sputtered.
"He has a big appetite," Piglet explained.
"Oh." I blinked. I'm a glutton, but I don't eat that much in just a short duration of time.
He turned to Pooh, who was sitting in the table with the pot of honey. "Um, Pooh bear...you aren't going to eat the whole pot, are you?" He asked as Pooh dumped the whole pot into his mouth. Rabbit sighed, "Once you start, there's no stopping you."
I tuned to Sora, "Let's move into the next picture."
We exited the house and before we could cross the bridge, I herd Piglet cry, "W-Wait! S-Stop! Help! It's Pooh!" We spun around to see him running towards us but tripping onto his face.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"He's stuck!" He pushed himself up from the ground.
I went to the back to of the house to see Pooh hallway out if the hole. "Oh, how I will eat honey if I'm stuck here?" He asked.
He must have a big appetite if he just ate a honey tree and a pot of honey if he wants some more now, I thought.
"Once it's lunch time, perhaps you two can bring me a honey jar?" He said.
"Don't worry, we'll get you out," I said. "You don't have to worry about eating lunch in that hole."
"But still, no more honey till you get out!" Rabbit cried as he ran over. "If Pooh doesn't slim down, my house will be plugged forever!"
"Uh, you have a front door..." I added.
"But still!" He yanked his ears in frustration.
Then I heard someone bouncing on something. "Oh no!" Rabbit groaned.
A tiger with orange fur, black trips, glittering black eyes, similar to the ones on a stuffed animal, and a pink nose was bouncing on his tail as he bounced over to us, while smashing the bridge that crossed the stream at Rabbit's house. He tackled us. "Hey there, you two! Name's Tigger! T-I-double guh-RR. That spells Tigger!" He greeted us. "Well, now! I don't know I've ever seen you two before!"
"Hello, Tigger," Pooh replied. "You've just bounced my two new friends Sora and Sakura Andrews."
"Hey Pooh!" Tigger yelled. "Say, you're lookin' mighty uncomfortable today. Is that some new exercise?" He did a little mini dance on us. "Why, bouncin' around is a lot more fun."
We started to get up. I brushed the dust off my skirt. "Wh-Why do you bounce around so much, Tigger?" Sora asked, stumbling. I grabbed his arm and helped him up. He brushed the dust off his shorts.
"Why?" Tigger laughed. "Cause bouncin' around is what Tiggers do best! Speaking of which, my bouncin' spot has gone and disappeared! So for now, this'll be my new bouncin' ground."
Tigger whooped and began bouncing around in the garden. "Tigger's bouncing will ruin my vegetables!" Rabbit cried. "Plus, I found out how to slim down Pooh; carrot top juice. But, if Tigger ruins my vegetables and I can't make the juice, Pooh will be stuck there forever. Please protect my carrots!"
We ran over to the carrots patch. Tigger jumped and prepare to land on one of them. I quickly caught him in my hand and threw him back into the air. Tigger landed and jumped again to land on another carrot. Sora dashed over to him, caught him in his hands and threw him into the air. "What's going on with me today? Nobody has ever caught up with a Tigger before!" Tigger asked. "Mmaybe there's something wrong with my tail." He picked up his tail and squinted his eyes, examining it.
Rabbit ran over, picked a couple of carrots and ran back into the house. A couple minutes later, he ran out with a cup full of carrot top juice. He had Pooh drink it. Before he went back into his house, he motioned is to come in. "The carrot top house should be taking effect soon," He explained. "A light push and Pooh will be free."
Sora and I walked over where Pooh's rear end was. We shoved him and he flew out of the hole. He crashed into a bunch of honey pots as if he was a bowling ball and the honey pots were bowling pins. Rabbit facepalmed himself. "First my garden, now this?!" He groaned.
"Where am I?" Pooh asked. His head was stuck in one of the honey pots. "Oh bother, it's quite dark in here, but there's lots of honey in here."
The area turned back into the picture. We approached another picture which was a stout tree with a swing. The picture came to life and we saw Pooh and Piglet looking over a bridge. I glanced down to see a indigo donkey swimming down there. "Sora, we should help him!" I said as I jumped off the bridge.
"Saki, wait!" He cried as I plunged in it the waters. I grabbed the donkey and swam to the grass area. "Thank you, the both of you," He said in a sad voice. "You know, floating along out there, it seemed like something was missing...and something's still missing."
"Why, Eeyore's tail is gone!" Piglet noticed. "Is that what's missing?"
"Let's see," Eeyore said as he glanced at his behind. "Yup, lost it again. Wonder where it went this time. It's not much of a tail, though I'm sort of attached to it. But I don't know why anybody would look for it. Probably won't find it anyway..."
Pooh faced us, "Sora, Sakura, why don't we all look for Eeyore's tail?"
"Lost something?" A voice asked.
I glanced up to see Owl flying above us. "Searching from a high place is the quickest way to find it!" He suggested.
"Owl?" I asked. "Can you fly up high and help us find Eeyore's tail?"
"Sorry, but my eyes aren't what's they used to be," He apologized. "Too much reading, you know? But, I know something that might work. See that stout tree up there with the swing in it?"
I looked up the hill to see the tree Owl was talking about. "You two are a bit big for it, but Pooh's the perfect size. I'll tell you more when you're up there," He continued and he flew off to the tree.
Pooh got up and began walking to the tree. We lead him towards there. I helped up him up the swing. "You see here, if you two swing Pooh on that, he might be able to find Eeyore's tail if he swings high enough," Owl explained. "Go ahead; try it!"
Sora gave Pooh the starting push. He flew up a little bit, but back down again. I gave him a push. He swung up higher this time. I gave him another push and he swung up so high, he flew right off the swing! "Oh no!" I cried as I ran after him. He flew in the air and plunged down onto a tent made of sticks where Rabbit and Eeyore were. He destroyed the tent and in the middle was a tail with a nail and its on its end was a nail.
I was downhill and I ran over to the three of them. Piglet and Sora came up right behind me. "Can you help put on his tail?" He asked
"Sure," I replied.
I took the tail and began to fasten it where a tail goes. "How does it look?" Pooh said.
"Finished!" I said as the tail went on.
Eeyore swing his tail around. "Not much of a tail, but it's mine. Thanks everyone." He gave a faint smile.
"I wish we could put the Hundred Acre Wood back the way it was, too!" Pooh wished.
The scene around us shrunk and it reverted back to a picture in a page. We walked over to a picture of a house with a door built its it it with a plank above it that said something and a bell. The picture grew bigger until it was life sized. I recognized the place. "Hey, it's the place where the story began!" I noticed.
Sora looked around. "You're right," he replied.
Pooh sat in a log in front of his house, shivering. A pile of sticks were in front if him. "Brr! I think I spent too much time on the swing!" He chattered.
Sora and I raised our Keyblades into the air, "Fire!" We yelled as two fireballs hit the pile of sticks and a fire grew.
Pooh held out his paw in first of the fire. "Thank you, Sora and Sakura," He said. "This is nice and warm. You two helped us out so much."
The scene around us once again, shrank back to a picture in a book. We came to another picture which was a clearing with trees surrounding it, except for one which had a tree house in it. The clearing was covered in stumps. The picture around us grew life-sized and Sora and I were in the forest clearing. We followed a path until the clearing appeared in front of us. Stumps of varying sizes covered the whole clearing with one stump that had a huge honey pot on it. I saw Pooh waving at us at the end of the clearing. Tigger and a small kangaroo with a blue shirt were bouncing in a seesaw. We walked over to them. "Hey Tigger, what is this place?" Sora asked.
"This here is my bouncin' spot!" He laughed. "We can bounce sound here all day!"
"Nothing's better than bouncing!" The small kangaroo giggled.
"You're right, Roo!" Tigger replied. "You wanna bounce too, Sora, Sakura? It's lotsa fun!"
"I guess," Sora said.
"I'll pass," I sighed.
"Says the girl who enjoyed flying through the air in Neverland," He teased.
"Hey!" I cried. "It was my childhood dream to fly!" Sora gave me a look. "Touche, Sora," I raised my hands in surrender as I rolled my eyes, "Sure, we would love to bounce with you guys."
"Alright!" Roo cheered. "To play this game, you must copy our bounces. Ready, began!"
Tigger and Roo bounced on certain stumps and landed on the hill above the clearing. "Your turn!" They called.
We hopped the left boundary line of stumps and landed in the hill next to them. "Alright! Here's another one!"
They hopped across the clearing and I it the hill again. We copied them. "One more time!"
Roo jumped onto the seesaw. Tigger got the other side and they bounced two times on the other side and Tigger flew into the trees. He whooped as he bounced through the middle section of the clearing and to the hill. I went first. I got on the side Tigger was in and Roo jumped. He sent me into the trees. While I was up there, I found a bunch of pink nuts that looked like walnuts. Sora flew into the trees. "Look what I found!" I said, showing him the nuts.
"We should give it to one of them," Sora suggested. "They might need it."
"Are you comin' or are you not?" Tigger asked.
"Coming!" We shouted as we jumped out of the tree and I it the first stump Tigger landed on. I stumbled but Sora caught me and helped me up. We jumped the rest of the way Tigger jumped. "Excellent!" Tigger complimented. "Now can you do this?"
He up the hill a bit until he was over the stump with the huge honey pot in it. He threw at us four nuts. Sora and I knocked them away and they hit the pot. Tigger threw five more nuts and we knocked them into the pot. He threw at us eleven nuts and when we knocked them into the pot, the pot shattered. "Hey Tigger, I found a bunch of nuts in the tree," I showed him the nuts I found.
"Oh, you want to give them to Owl," Tigger replied. "He loves those kinds of nuts."
We went over to where Owl was and I handed him the nuts. "Oh my, these are rare to find," He observed. "And they're my favorite too! Thank you." The whole scenery around us turned back into a storybook picture. We went to the last and final picture; a winding muddy path. The picture changed and it grew real.
We saw Pooh on a muddy path going around a bush, following some footprints. "What are you doing, Pooh?" Sora asked.
"Shh!" He shushed us. "Quiet, or they'll get away!"
"Who?" I asked.
"The people who took everyone away," He explained. "See their footprints? We were all sticking together to make sure no one gets lost again. But then, I saw some footprints that needed following. So I did. Suddenly, everyone was gone. Bad people must have taken them away!"
Those footprints looked almost like Pooh's feet, I thought. "Actually, Pooh, I think those footprints...um..." I started.
"Anyways, we'll help you look for your friends," Sora interrupted.
We went spring the bush until I saw a part if it chopped off. I walked inside to see Eeyore inside, "Eeyore?" I said.
"Hello," He greeted gloomily.
"What are you doing?" Sora asked, walking in.
"Lookin' for sticks to build my house...again," He replied.
"Sticks for your house?" I asked, looking around. "This already feels like a house."
"This is actually a great place to put our friends when we find them," Sora noticed. "Eeyore, do you mind if we fill up your house a little bit?"
"Sure," He said. "Use as much space as you want. There's plenty of space."
We walked around to see Roo up high on a tree root, "Roo! Roo! What are you doing up there?" I shouted.
He jumped down and I caught him. "I was trying to bounce like Tigger, but I guess I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings," He explained as we placed him in the bush with Eeyore.
We ran around bit more. Pooh grabbed in a string pulled up by butterflies to look above. There was a stone wall with holes in it. I saw a shadow past by. "Hello?" I called. I bent down to the bottom hole and looked to see if anyone was in inside.
Rabbit ran out of the hole, "I'm sorry for wandering away!" He apologized. "Owl was so intent on something, I had to follow him! But then, he flew off and here I was, alone."
We placed him in the bush with the others. Pooh motioned us to come up. We climbed up the dirt wall and there was Tigger, bouncing across a log. "I bounced my way to Pooh!" He explained. "Then I bounced a bit too high and I lost sight of ol' Pooh bear!"
Sora took him back to the bush where I followed Pooh to a hole in a tree. He went in and I saw Owl on a nearby bush. "I thought it would be best if me if I gave Roo a word on his bouncing," He explained. "But to my surprise, I got lost too!"
Pooh went out of the hole with Piglet and we took them all back to the bush. While we were there, I looked up at the sky. "Hey, Sora, the sun is setting!" I said.
He looked up, "It looks pretty, even though it's a picture."
I looked at the sky. Tears welled up on my eyes. I just remembered; the last time Sora, Riku, Kairi and I spent together not fighting was on the beach, watching the sun set. I quickly wiped my eyes. I hope that one day, when we are all back together again, we can live our days normal again. "Hey, if we hurry, we can watch the stars come out!" Tigger said. "Come on! To the stout tree hill!"
We all ran, except for Tigger, who bounced the whole way there, to the stout tree hill. We all sat down and looked up at the sky. Then, Roo cired, "I see a star!"
A single star twinkled in the sky. Then another, and another one. Soon, the while sky was covered on glittering stars. "Hey, Sakura, I just realized something," Sora whispered to me.
"What is it that you realized?" I replied.
"There are no Heartless here," He told me. "Why?"
I thought for a moment. "Well, since we're redoing Pooh's story to show him that his friends didn't disappear, so what was written down will happen. Well, nobody wrote about the Heartless appearing here, so there's no Heartless here," I concluded.
"That makes sense," He muttered. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"Cause you're an idiot," I teased, flicking his forehead.
"Hey! Ouch!" He laughed, socking me lightly in the arm.
"I'm so glad we're all together again," Piglet sighed. "I didn't know what to do when I was all alone."
"Aw, Piglet, you gotta be brave," Tigger encouraged.
"You weren't lonely at all?" Piglet asked.
"Lonely?" Tigger bounced. "Are you kiddin'? I'm a Tigger! The most wonderful thing about Tiggers is I'm the only one. But I do admit, friends are awfully fun, too!"
"Think, think. Think," Pooh pondered again.
"Hey, Pooh, what are you thinking about now?" Sora asked.
"Oh, well, I'm just thinking about what to think about," Pooh replied.
He laughed, "Well, Saki and I have to go."
"Sora? Sakura? Where are you going?" Piglet asked, sounding sad.
"Well, we helped you find your friends," I explained. "So, it's our turn to find ours. "
"Well, then, bounce on back again!" Tigger waved.
"I hope you two find your friends," Piglet said.
We slid down the hill and walked towards the bridge. We turned around to see Pooh and his friends wavering goodbye to us. "Sora, Sakura, don't forget...we shall always be here. If you two like to visit, that is," Pooh called as we disappeared into sparkles.
We reappeared in Merlin's house. "Sora! Sakura! The book!" Donald cried.
We turned to see the book floating in the air, the last page showing where we left Pooh and his friends, only with a shooting star in the sky. The book closed and it and a new cover. The cover had the title that says WINNIE THE POOH. The cover showed Sora holding Pooh's hand while I was holding Piglet's hand and Tigger bouncing next to us as we walked down a trail. The lock on the strap went over and locked up the book. It fell back into the table. "Hey, we weren't on the story originally, so how come were on the cover?" Sora asked.
"Hm," I thought. "Since we redid the story with Pooh so he can find his friends again, we tagged along on his adventures. The book was about Pooh and his adventures with his friends. I guess while we were with Pooh on his adventures, we messed with the book's story line and it included us in it. Flip through the book and see for yourself."
Sora picked up the book and flipped through a couple of pages. "Hey, we are in the stories, like you said!" Sora gasped. "And in the pictures too!"
"See?" I said. "Told you."
"Now that we are done here, we better get going," Goofy said.
"To where?" We asked together.
"To Hallow Bastion!" Donald said.