Chapter 1 – Lost
Sora’s feet smack against cobblestone as he eagerly runs through the First District of Traverse Town. The air is warm, and there is ambient chatter from people enjoying their meals at the restaurant nearby. He can hear Donald’s exasperated sigh over the cacophony, however, as he and Goofy are made to keep up with his antics.
‘Sora!’ Donald complains as he watches the teen bound up the stairs two steps at a time. ‘Be careful with them!’
‘Heh, I know!’ Sora calls back, unbothered. Though he does heed the warning and slows down as he rounds the tight corner of the Accessory Shop. All the while, he keeps one mindful eye on the straw basket in his arms, and the squealing bundles of joy that lay within.
Several dalmatian puppies look up at Sora with large, doe eyes as he goes up the second set of stairs. He, Donald, and Goofy had found the little pups wandering around aimlessly in the various worlds that they had just visited, and Sora was ecstatic to finally bring them home.
He grins, watching their little tails wag to and fro as he comes to a stop near the entrance to Second District. Their little eyes shine in the soft darkness of the night, appearing mesmerized by the glowing amber lights twinkling overhead.
‘Aw, you go have fun. We’ll check in at the hotel and we’ll meet cha’ there later, okay?’ Goofy says when he and Donald eventually catch up.
‘Okay, got it!’ Sora says his goodbyes before parting ways with his friends for now and turning towards the Second District.
The rest of their journey to the Dalmatian House is quiet, leaving Sora feeling thankful that this world has been very peaceful ever since they had defeated Opposite Armor some time ago.
He knocks three times at the glass door with practiced ease, and the flurry of tiny barks and howls that can be heard from within never cease to bring a smile to his face. He carefully balances the straw basket with one hand and pushes the door open to find a barrage of small puppies jumping all over his yellow sneakers.
‘Hey everyone!’ He lets out a joyful laugh and carefully slips inside the apartment, where Pongo and Perdita are already there waiting to greet him.
The two parents are beyond excited as Sora puts down the basket and 9 puppies whine and clamber over each other to reach them.
Sora crosses his arms behind his head and watches the tender scene unfold with a smile as the small pups lick their mother’s face and climb all over their father.
Eventually, their touching reunion tapers off, and Pongo and Perdita present Sora with a gift for his efforts. The boy takes the offered Gummi Block without a fuss, though he is pretty sure by now that they both know he would help them recover their lost children even without a reward.
The teen pauses to pat both of them on the head in thanks, before taking a few moments to count all of the puppies and erase the number listed on a hanging chalkboard nearby. He writes a new number, 33, onto the board, and pets all of the dalmatians congregating around his ankles before heading further into the house. As he opens the door to the Dining Room, his heart flutters with excitement as he catches sight of a tiny puppy waiting for him underneath one of the wooden table chairs.
‘Hi Jewel!’ Sora greets ecstatically, causing the pup to yawn and look up. She yips at the sight of him and immediately gets up to run to his side. He kneels down and scoops her up, causing her little tail to start swinging back and forth with joy as Sora holds her up to eye level. ‘Did you miss me?’
Jewel only licks Sora’s nose in response, causing him to laugh.
‘Hey, you know that tickles!’ He complains, though his happy tone sounds anything but bothered.
He casually walks backwards and sits down onto the soft, orange carpet. The wall at his back is solid as he leans against it, and Jewel burrows her small face into his chest to playfully bite at the crown dangling from his neck.
Sora lets her play with his necklace as an easy, relaxed expression comes over his face. His eyes slip closed after a few peaceful moments, his ears picking up the sound of the other puppies running around together in the next room over.
Having this place be so full of life reminds him of how lonely it had been here only just a few months prior…
Sora had been wandering the streets of Traverse Town after he had been forcibly separated from the Destiny Islands. Without his home, family, or friends, he had wandered the town looking for answers, and had eventually found a blue stained-glass door in the Second District.
Behind it lay nothing but an empty apartment, and two very sullen looking dogs. He had attempted to interact with them, even going to far as to give one of them a small pet, but they had both paid no heed to Sora at all. As if he simply wasn’t even there.
It wasn’t until sometime later, after he had finally met Donald and Goofy, that he learned about their tragic situation.
‘Their names are Pongo and Perdita.’ Leon had explained as he, Yuffie, Aerith and Cid had been treating the newfound trio to dinner at the restaurant in the First District. ‘When their world disappeared, their puppies were lost and scattered across the worlds, or so the story goes.’
‘Poor things. They’ve been like that ever since.’ Aerith had said with a melancholic expression as she looked down at her iced tea. ‘I hope they can be reunited one day.’
‘Say Sora, you should see if you can find some of the puppies!’ Yuffie piped up in between bites.
‘Sure, I bet you’ll run into a whole lot of em’ on your journey to other worlds.’ Cid concurred while chewing on his signature toothpick.
Sora had blinked at the prospect. Find the puppies? Of course! That would definitely cheer Pongo and Perdita up!
‘Hey! Yea, that’s a great idea!’ He said as he nodded with enthusiasm.
‘Gawrsh, then yea you can count on us!’ Goofy had agreed with Sora without waiting for Donald’s input.
It was just as well, as for all the ruffled feathers that Donald could get, there was no way he would refuse to help poor, defenseless puppies in need.
‘Well… okay. But we have to remember our mission first!’ Donald had agreed, though his expression looked a bit disgruntled from their rambunctious antics.
‘Right, to find Riku and Kairi!’ Sora had said.
‘And the King too!’ Donald reminded him.
‘A-yup! We’ll find them all, just wait and see!’ Goofy grinned.
The three new friends had shaken hands on it, making their first of many promises to come, before leaving shortly afterwards to embark on their adventure to other worlds.
Present day Sora opens his blue eyes as he feels the weight of tiny paws crawling on his legs. Numerous puppies run along the floor as they wrestle and chase each other around the dining room. Others seem to be more interested in Sora, though, and they curiously paw at him, as if looking for attention.
He gives each one a gentle pat on the head and watches them play for a little while longer, before he nuzzles Jewel securely into his arms and stands up. He heads back to Pongo and Perdita and asks them as best he can if he can take Jewel out for a walk.
The two parents show no outward objection to this notion, same as always, and Sora takes Jewel to the alleyway situated behind the hotel for some fresh air. The cool, night atmosphere is refreshing compared to the stuffy atmosphere of the apartment, and Sora puts Jewel down onto the ground as he takes a deep breath and stretches his arms out above his head.
‘Gee, it’s kinda starting to get crowded in there, huh?’ Sora says, referring to the ever-growing multitude of puppies that he had been rescuing over the course of his journey. ‘But I bet you’ll be really glad to have all of your brothers and sisters back when we’re done.’ Sora scratches Jewel behind one of her soft black ears as she barks up at him in response.
Sora then stands up straight and waits out of courtesy for Jewel to start exploring her surroundings, fully knowing that any of the other puppies would be running around in circles by now without a care in the world.
Jewel, though, only pounces on one of his yellow sneakers and wags her little tail as she looks up at him with a joyful puppy grin. Sora chuckles at her familiar antics and shakes his head.
‘You never change, do you Jewel?’ He asks with a gentle fondness to his voice, remembering that she had done the very same thing back when the two of them had found each other.
As it turns out, Sora, Donald, and Goofy did not have to wait very long into their journey to find their first group of dalmatian puppies.
‘Hey fellers!’ Goofy had called out suddenly, as he came across some evidence of the Heartless in the Lotus Forest. ‘Come looky here! Footprints!’
Sora and Donald had rushed over and followed Goofy’s gaze. They were equally relieved and amazed at the sight of small tracks in the soft dirt.
‘Hey, you found some!’ Sora said and looked around in curiosity. They had been searching for evidence for what felt like hours at that point. ‘You think there’s any more around here? We gotta clear Alice’s name quick so that the Queen will let her go.’
‘I know, how bout we split up and look?’ Donald had suggested.
‘Gawrsh, that’s a good idea Donald.’ Goofy had agreed. ‘Let’s get lookin’ then!’
The trio had then spread out in their search. Donald headed a bit further onwards towards some talking flowers that they had run into earlier, while Goofy split off to investigate the overgrown mushrooms nearby.
Sora had chosen to stick with the tracks and followed them deeper into the high foliage of the forest. The thick, tall grass was itchy and rough as he swept them away, all the while keeping his eyes peeled for any Heartless.
Much to his surprise, his tactics had yielded results only a few minutes later when he felt something small pounce onto one of his shoes.
‘Ah!’ Sora had stumbled backwards in surprise. He summoned his keyblade and quickly looked down at his feet, only to find nothing there.
He raised an eyebrow and looked around in the grass, quickly growing confused.
‘Huh? Maybe… I imagined it?’ He had asked himself and scratched the back of his head before dismissing his keyblade and continuing to look around.
A few moments later, however, it happened again, and Sora frantically scoured the deep brush for any sign of his enemy.
‘It can’t be a Heartless, can it?’ He had whispered to himself while putting a hand to his chin in thought. ‘No, it can’t be. They’d have attacked me by now.’
At that moment, as he had stood there pondering, the sensation of something hitting his foot was felt once more. Only this time, Sora was ready for it, and he quickly plunged his hands under the thick layer of grass and grabbed onto his assailant.
The creature yelped in fear and squirmed as he pulled it out of the foliage, and Sora blinked as he had come face to face with a tiny dalmatian puppy.
Sora gaped at the pup, having not expected to find one like this. The small canine seemed to get over the shock a lot faster than he did, however, and it licked his nose sweetly as it wiggled in his grip.
Sora blinked in response, before a wide smile had come over his face.
‘Well, hey there.’ He chuckled. ‘What are you doing all the way out here?’
‘Sora?’ Goofy’s voice had broken the two from their spell as he approached them in the grass. ‘Aw, you found a puppy.’
‘Yea, I guess I did.’ Sora said with a sheepish grin.
Goofy carefully looked the puppy over for any injuries, before curiously looking at the blue collar around its neck. There was a golden dog tag hanging from it, and Goofy turned it over to read the inscription.
‘Gee, it must be a girl.’ He had said and directed Sora’s gaze. ‘Look.’
Sora tilted his head and looked at the blue collar. The name ‘Jewel’ was engraved onto the tag.
‘Jewel.’ He tested it out. ‘So that’s your name, huh?’ Sora had asked, while looking her over curiously.
Underneath the collar, she had a multitude of black dots encircling her neck, with one large spot in the middle that resembled the shape of a gemstone. The pattern made it seem like she had a jeweled necklace of her own, and Sora couldn’t help but think that her name was very fitting.
Jewel had only licked his nose again in response to his inquisitive stares, causing both him and Goofy to laugh.
Once they had settled down, the duo decided to catch up with Donald, who apparently had been doing some puppy finding of his own.
‘Shhh. Look.’ Donald had said and pointed to a small nook underneath some oversized lillies, where two adorable dalmatian puppies were sleeping.
‘Oh boy, I bet Pongo and Perdita sure will be surprised.’ Goofy had said as he and Donald carefully picked up the sleeping pups. Neither of them had collars, which the trio found to be a bit odd.
‘You think they must have fallen off somewhere?’ Sora had asked curiously while looking back at Jewel’s dog tag with a puzzled look on his face.
‘Who knows.’ Donald had replied and waved off his concerns. ‘Let’s just get them back to the ship.’
The two slumbering pups thankfully didn’t budge an inch as they were carried out of the forest. But Jewel, though, was wide awake and she squirmed excitedly in Sora’s grip until he had eventually put her down onto the floor of the Gummi Ship.
‘You guys’ll be safe here.’ Sora had said and gave her a wave in farewell. ‘We have to go help our friend, but we’ll be back.’
Even with Sora’s explanation, however, Jewel stubbornly followed him towards the door and whined as he made to leave her behind.
‘Aw, I think she really likes you Sora.’ Goofy had said as he and Donald watched the puppy gently paw at Sora’s ankle.
‘Aw phooey. She’ll be fine.’ Donald had said, eager to get back on task. ‘We’ve gotta go.’
‘Right.’ Sora had said and looked down at the small puppy with apprehension, before sadly having to leave her behind for a while to go help their friend.
It was sometime later, after defeating the Trick Master and locking the keyhole to the world of Wonderland, that the trio of friends returned to their ship. They quickly found, to their dismay, that all of the puppies were wide awake and had already caused a great deal of havoc.
In the attached kitchenette of the ship, one of the puppies had gotten into the cabinets and knocked over a few bottles of potions and elixirs, while another had gone into the bathroom and pulled all of the toilet paper off the roll. Jewel in particular had been found in their shared bedroom, and had been chewing on one of Donald’s precious spell books.
‘Hey, leave that alone!’ Donald had yelled in outrage, and he had chased after her while angrily shaking his fist in the air.
Jewel had been startled and she yipped in fear as she ran away. Her little nails pattered against the tile floor as she had instinctively gone to Sora and hid behind his ankles.
‘Aw, they’re just playing, Donald.’ Goofy had said with a laugh and a shrug. ‘All puppies ever do is sleep and play all the time.’
‘Well, they can go play with something else.’ Donald had said with a huff as he grumbled to himself and placed his book on a higher shelf.
Sora, meanwhile, had crouched down and moved to comfort Jewel, but she dodged out of the way and ran around him.
‘Hey, come back.’ Sora had said, and they played a bit of cat and mouse, before Jewel eventually barked up at him and pounced on one of his sneakers. He looked at her with a puzzled expression, before it had suddenly clicked in his head that this is what she had been doing back in the forest. ‘Huh…?’
He watched her once again playfully jump and slam her tiny paws down onto his shoe.
‘You like my shoes?’ He had asked her curiously and quickly picked her up before she could squirm away again. He held her close to his chest as she had wiggled around in his grip, feeling afraid that he would somehow drop her before she had thankfully been distracted by his necklace.
Jewel playfully bit and pawed at the crown pendant dangling around his neck for a little while. She inevitably grew bored of it soon after, though, and let out the smallest yawn Sora had ever heard as she snuggled deep into his arms.
‘Aw Sora, looks like you made a life-long buddy.’ Goofy had commented with a chuckle as he had been watching them from his seat in the ship’s control room.
‘But how?’ Sora had asked in confusion. ‘Well, I didn’t do anything.’
‘Puppies are really special.’ Goofy had only said in explanation as he looked at the two of them with a knowing smile. ‘They can tell right away what buddy they wanna have for life.’
‘Yea, like the King and Pluto.’ Donald had absentmindedly agreed as he had come out of their bedroom. He made a show of firmly shutting the door so that there would be no more incidents.
‘Heh, really? You think so?’ Sora had asked while looking down at the small puppy that was snuggled up against his chest. Jewel’s little face was hidden inside the crook of his elbow, and he reached out and gently pet her back, causing her to shift and cuddle deeper into his safe embrace.
He was so taken with her, that Sora didn’t even notice as Donald and Goofy had rounded up the rest of the puppies and steered their ship away from Wonderland and back towards Traverse Town.
A grin comes over Sora’s face as he recalls Goofy’s words, knowing firsthand of their truth by now. Ever since then, he and Jewel had been practically joined at the hip whenever the trio were visiting Traverse Town, and he would always find her there waiting for him underneath that same chair in the dining room.
He could feel a strong bond between him and Jewel; one that Sora couldn’t say he shared with anyone else. He’d never had a pet before, either, and the feeling of having a small friend to call his own brought a great joy to his heart. So much so, that before he could even think to stop himself, Sora had grown so dangerously attached to Jewel.
He wasn’t the only one, either, as when Sora turns and runs a few paces into the back alley behind the Dalmatian House, Jewel is right at his heels, ready to follow him wherever he goes. The puppy excitedly runs after him with her short stubby legs, and Sora hunches over and places his hands on his knees.
‘Come on, Jewel! I’m right here.’ He calls encouragingly as he watches her stubbornly chase after him.
The two of them play tag for a few minutes, before he finally relents and allows her to catch him. In hindsight, his timing could have been better, as Jewel comically runs face first into his ankle as a result of her excitement.
‘Ah-!’ Sora gasps and moves to fuss over her, but Jewel seems unbothered as she shakes her head and yips up at him, as if expecting a reward.
‘Good job.’ Sora lets out a small sigh of relief and grins as he pets her head. ‘Hey, look what I found.’ He says, hoping to distract her from any possible pain that stunt had caused as he pulls out a red rubber ball from his pocket. He holds it down to Jewel, who sniffs at the mysterious object with curiosity. ‘My friends Tigger and Roo were playing with one. They said they like the way it bounces.’
He lightly throws the ball at the ground, causing Jewel to startle a bit and bark when it bounces. As he repeats the action, she tries to bite it out of thin air with very little success to say the least.
‘Here, you wanna play fetch?’ Sora asks before gently tossing the ball further down the alleyway.
Jewel chases after the bouncing ball immediately in response, and Sora can’t help but laugh as she can’t quite get a grip on it.
Eventually, after many failed attempts, Jewel is able to bite the ball, and she triumphantly carries it back to him with her tail proudly held up high in the air. Sora praises her and reaches out for the ball, but she stubbornly holds onto it with a playful growl as he makes to pull it out of her mouth.
‘Hey,’ He complains with a laugh and gently tugs on the ball, only causing her to playfully growl and bite down harder. ‘I can’t throw it again if you don’t give it back.’
The two play a bit of light tug of war before Sora relents, and Jewel excitedly hops away with her prize. Sora is the one to chase after her this time, and the two of them are lost in each other as they play together under the starry night sky of Traverse Town.
Sometime later, Sora and Jewel lay together on the roof of the Gizmo Shop. The two of them are tuckered out, and Jewel is cuddled up on Sora’s chest as he lounges on the floor, staring up at the stars above. Traverse Town has long since grown quiet around them, with only the sound of the ticking gears in the shop below keeping them company in the calm gloom of the Second District.
His hands unconsciously pet the puppy in his arms as he allows his mind to drift. In these moments, he thinks about his family and friends back home, but Riku and Kairi most of all. Sora hopes that they’re safe, and wonders where they could be right about now.
Actually… when he really thought about it, he might have some idea where one of them was, at least.
Just yesterday, Sora, Donald and Goofy had encountered Riku in the belly of Monstro the whale. The other boy had regarded the three of them as nuisances, and purposefully taunted Sora in a way that had clearly meant to hurt.
‘You only seem interested in running around with that keyblade.’ Riku had said with a sneer. ‘Do you even WANT to save Kairi?’
Sora couldn’t understand it. Riku… wasn’t himself, or at least, he wasn’t the Riku that Sora remembered anymore.
What changed?
‘Maybe… it isn’t Riku that’s changed?’ Sora mumbles to himself.
Riku’s words ring in his ears over and over again as he lays there on the hard, cold stone. He frowns to himself and closes his eyes as he takes a tense breath in through his nose.
He had been trying to find Kairi. And Riku too. He had trying so hard to find them both ever since his journey began. But Kairi… he didn’t know where she was, or how to help her, and Riku’s malicious words had hurt him more than any Heartless ever could.
They are both his best friends, but Riku had made it very clear that Sora wasn’t there for them when they had needed him most.
Feelings of guilt run wild in his heart, causing Sora’s blue eyes to grow glassy from behind his eyelids. He reaches up and quickly wipes a small tear away before it can escape and slide down his cheek. More of them are ready to fall, however, and Sora is powerless to stop them as a deep ache forms in his chest and his throat painfully constricts in a small sob.
Suddenly, though, something warm and wet can be felt against his cheek and Sora opens his eyes to see Jewel. She is snuggled impossibly close to him as she gently licks all of his tears away.
A small, sad smile comes over Sora’s face as he slowly pets the tiny dalmatian puppy.
‘Thank you, Jewel…’ He whispers while wrapping his arms tightly around her, relishing in the feeling of having someone understand him so well without words. ‘Thank you.’
Sora’s journey with Donald and Goofy continues as they travel to several different worlds, including the underwater kingdom of Atlantica, the spooky domain of HalloweenTown, and the fantasy realm of Neverland.
Particularly while in Neverland, Sora had another brief encounter with Riku, and even saw Kairi as well. At first, Sora had been relieved to see the two of them, but that small comfort quickly melted away as he noticed Kairi was in some sort of comatose-like state. What’s worse, Riku was now fully in league with the Heartless, and had quickly left with Kairi before they even had a chance to reunite.
Those same feelings of guilt tried to eat away at Sora’s heart again as he watched his best friends fade into the darkness, but just knowing that Jewel would be there waiting to comfort him back in Traverse Town had given him the courage to keep pressing onwards.
Speaking of Jewel, the trips that Sora, Donald, and Goofy made to visit the Dalmatian Family slowly became less frequent over time, but nevertheless, the small pup was always happy to see her favorite human. The two of them would play together as always, and their time together ranged from taking walks, to playing fetch, visiting friends in town, or simply relaxing together underneath the stars.
Sora had even started teaching Jewel some tricks with Leon’s offered guidance.
‘My girlfriend has a dog too.’ Leon had said absentmindedly, as he had been helping the teen show Jewel some new commands. ‘His name is Angelo.’ He had a sort of faraway look in his eyes as he said this, even as his vision was focused solely on the small dalmatian pup in front of him.
‘Does he already know how to do all of this stuff?’ Sora had inquired, as Leon carefully taught him how to teach Jewel the simple concepts of Sit, Stay, and Come.
‘Yea, she taught him everything under the sun. He’s a really fast learner.’ Leon had said and gave Jewel a treat when she had finally sat down in response to Sora’s command. ‘Jewel seems to be the same way. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble with her.’
Sora couldn’t help but grin as he gave her some congratulatory pets, feeling incredibly proud of his precious little Jewel.
Encouraged by her progress, Sora had started a spontaneous habit of picking up presents for Jewel and the other puppies while in other worlds. It had started innocently enough, as the teen had wanted some pumpkin treats from HalloweenTown to help with her training. But all too soon those small treats quickly added up as he began bringing back even bigger gifts such as biscuits from Wonderland, frisbees from Olympus Coliseum, blankets from Agrabah, sticks from Deep Jungle, braided ropes from Neverland… The list went on and on.
Sora might have gotten a bit too carried away with it, too, as Donald had admonished him more than once for wasting too much of their time looking for puppy presents.
‘She can’t play with that!’ Donald had scolded Sora incredulously as the teen had come back from The 100 Acre Wood with a huge watermelon in tow.
‘It’s not for playing!’ Sora had defended himself while holding the watermelon just out of his shorter friend’s reach. ‘It’s for eating. Rabbit said watermelon is good for dogs!’
‘Gawrsh, you know, he’s right Donald.’ Goofy had said with a nod.
‘Oh yea, and what do you know ya big palooka?’
‘Well, Donald uh I’m also a-‘
‘Ah phooey.’ Donald cut him off and had turned his sights back onto the teen. ‘Sora, tone it down with the puppy stuff, will ya? We gotta keep training so we can find the King!’
‘Alright, alright.’ Sora had reluctantly agreed with a pout and furrowed eyebrows.
It was probably for the best, though, as Sora’s overeager antics had later led him into even more trouble with Perdita and Pongo.
‘Oh oops!’ Sora had called from the roof of the Gizmo Shop one day as he had heard worried barking coming from down below. ‘Ah, we’re up here! Be right down!’ He frantically said, feeling guilty that the two canine parents had to come looking for him and Jewel.
The barking had actually woken them up from a nap, as he and Jewel had been taking a break after playing for what felt like hours at that point. It probably had been hours, now that Sora had thought about it, as the clock at the very top of the Gizmo Shop had shown a very late time indeed.
‘Heh, sorry.’ The teen had a sheepish look on his face as he returned Jewel to her mother.
Thankfully, Perdita did not seem to be overly upset by their antics. She had only licked her daughter’s cheek and tried to coax her back towards the Dalmatian House, where Pongo had already been waiting by the open glass door.
Ever the stubborn little lady, though, Jewel had stuck right by Sora’s ankles, unwilling to go back into the apartment with her brothers and sisters just yet. She had dramatically plopped down onto the ground and whined in the cutest little puppy voice that broke Sora’s heart each and every time.
Pongo abandoned his post at the sound of his daughter’s cries and nuzzled her with his nose in an attempt to calm her down. But Jewel was unreceptive to his endeavors, as she only turned to Sora and hid behind his ankle, unwilling to be separated from him yet again.
Sora crouched down to be on Jewel’s level, knowing this pattern by heart at this point. Goofy had said something about some sort of anxiety puppies can get when separated from their chosen person, and suggested that having a small goodbye routine can help calm them down when it came time to part ways.
‘Hey.’ Sora gently said, getting Jewel’s attention. He touched a finger to his nose before playfully booping Jewel on hers. ‘I’ll be back before you know it.’
Sora had been trying this very small ritual with Jewel for some time now, and his efforts were definitely yielding results as Jewel very slowly stopped crying in response.
The small puppy had then licked Sora’s fingers and finally allowed herself to be herded back towards the Dalmatian House at a snail’s pace. Jewel still continued to softly whine every now and then, though, but the intensity had dwindled significantly when compared to their past goodbyes.
A gentle smile had come over Sora’s face as he had calmly shut the door when Jewel and her parents entered the apartment. The small pup had immediately turned around, though, and pawed at the stained-glass in an adorable attempt to wave goodbye.
Sora had waved back to her before he took his leave, knowing that they would always meet again soon.
Sora’s journey with Donald and Goofy carried on through many worlds and hardships, but as the trio marched deeper and grew stronger in their resolve, so too did the Heartless. The monsters started popping up in droves without warning, looking to cause harm to anyone who dared cross their path.
The dark beings were resolute in their endeavors to snuff out the forces of light, so much so that they even appeared in places that had otherwise been deemed safe for months. The trio of friends had unmistakably noticed their efforts during their trainings in other worlds, but even so, Sora was ill prepared for The Heartless’s eventual arrival in Traverse Town…
On one particular day, Sora, Donald, and Goofy had arrived back in town to check in with Leon and the others. There was a lot of debriefing of new information that Leon had wanted to go over with them, and the trio also had some synthesizing and shopping to do while Cid worked on upgrading their Gummi Ship.
As expected, though, Sora was just itching to visit the Dalmatian House, and he had all but ran there as soon as they were finished having dinner.
‘But Sora, you haven’t even finished your carrots!’ Donald had scolded the teen with a frown as the boy had just abandoned the dinner table at their favorite restaurant.
‘Ah, I’ll eat them later! I promise!’ Sora called back over his shoulder as he ran up the stairs and around the Jewelry Shop towards the Second District.
‘You’d better!’ Donald had yelled after him, only causing Goofy to chuckle as they both knew that promise would quickly be forgotten about in no time at all.
On the other side of town, completely unaware of Sora’s half-eaten dinner, Jewel was already there waiting in her usual spot when the teen walked into the Dalmatian House. The small pup was beyond happy to see her favorite human, and the two had quickly gone out for a walk, before stopping to play a game of hide and seek in the Second District.
It had taken Sora and Leon a long time to teach Jewel the concept of the game, but slowly the smart little puppy had gotten the hang of it. Now, it had become one of their favorite things to do, and Sora would never get tired of watching Jewel cutely wander around in her search of him, before they would both eventually explode into a flurry of joy whenever she found him.
‘Jewel, stay.’ Sora gives the eager little puppy the command near the butterfly fountain of the Second District, before leaving her behind to walk around the staircase and take a sharp turn to the right. He keeps going a few more steps and turns the next corner to stop in the alleyway leading towards the Third District.
Satisfied with his easy hiding place, Sora calls out to the puppy.
‘Jewel, come!’
He presses his back against the wall, listening intently with a grin. Jewel’s little feet scampering around can be heard not a second later, and Sora can’t help but chuckle.
‘Jeeewwweeeel, where are yyoouuuu?’ Sora calls again playfully after a few moments.
He listens as she changes direction to run towards the sound of his voice, before the small pup abruptly comes to a very sudden stop.
Sora raises an eyebrow in response.
‘Jewel?’ He calls out again, before an eerie quiet settles over the air and a dangerously familiar feeling comes over his heart.
Sora gasps and his hand twitches as he instinctively calls forth his keyblade. He quickly turns to run back towards the main area of the Second District, before the most horrible sound he’s ever heard reaches his ears.
Jewel lets out a high-pitched, trillingyelp, and Sora feels his heart drop deep into his stomach.
‘Jewel!!’ Sora screams as he sprints towards the noise, pushing his legs faster to round the final corner before coming to a dead stop.
An ominous-looking Heartless is there waiting for him in front of the butterfly fountain.
It resembles one of the Bouncywilds that he had encountered back in Deep Jungle, but it moves with a much deadlier aura as a blue search light shines from its eyes to it scans its surroundings.
Thankfully, it has not noticed Sora yet, and the teen uses this opportunity to frantically look around for any sign of Jewel. He quickly catches sight of a small lump of white and black spots cowering underneath one of the benches near the fountain.
Rage quickly runs through Sora’s veins, and he leaps into action without a second thought for his own safety.
In response to his approach, the creature abruptly turns to him, and its eyes grow a menacing red as it raises its weapon; a slingshot.
Sora quickly casts a Stop spell onto it, though, before running it through with his keyblade. He angrily makes sure to slash it a few times more than necessary for good measure.
Once the magic wears off, the heartless shakes in pain before thankfully fading into a heart and disappearing into the air.
Sora lets out a few tense breaths, his palms sweaty as he grips his keyblade. Once the danger has passed, he stands up straight, and turns around when the sound of approaching puppy feet can be heard from behind him.
‘Jewel.’ Sora calls softly with relief as worry now overcomes his features. ‘Are you okay?’ He dismisses his keyblade and moves to crouch down low to scoop her up into his arms.
His relieved smile, however, is gone in an instant as two more Heartless suddenly appear to replace the one that had fallen.
As if in slow motion, Sora watches as one of them locks their sights onto Jewel, and their vision turns into a dangerous red. It readies its slingshot, and Sora desperately runs in response.
He quickly dodge rolls onto the ground and manages to scoop Jewel into his arms in the process. As he lands back onto his feet, however, a dark shard is shot into his back, and he winces as the sharp points painfully poke through his jacket and into his skin.
Left with no other options, Sora sprints back down the alleyway that he had come from as more Heartless appear to pelt him with endless shards. He can feel blood running down his back as he hugs Jewel protectively against his chest and slams open the door to the Third District with his shoulder.
He’s doesn’t think that the SniperWilds can shoot through walls, but Sora does not stick around to find out as he keeps running past the vacant house, down the stairs and through the door to the First District.
Donald and Goofy, who had been enjoying their after-dinner dessert at the restaurant nearby, look up at the sudden commotion and immediately come running to Sora’s aid.
‘Sora!’ Goofy calls and quickly shuts the door from whatever had been chasing their friend.
‘What happened?’ Donald asks with worry.
Sora shakily tells his tale to his friends as Donald casts a healing spell onto his wounds. Thankfully, the cuts had not been too deep, but Sora is more worried about Jewel than anything else now.
‘Is… is she okay?’ Sora asks as Goofy comes up to inspect her.
The poor frightened puppy is burrowed so deep into Sora’s chest, that it takes a great deal of effort to separate the two of them.
Jewel yelps once more in that same high-pitched trill as Goofy gently pulls her away from Sora. The teen can feel his heart break in half once more in response to the sound, while Goofy quickly checks her over for injuries.
‘She’s not hurt. Just really spooked, poor little thing.’ He says and gives the puppy back, causing Sora to sigh in relief as he holds her close.
‘Really? That’s… that’s great. She’s okay.’ He says as a sudden wave of exhaustion washes over him and he nuzzles his face into Jewel’s soft fur. ‘You’re okay.’ He whispers and kisses the pup on her tiny forehead.
Sensing that Sora is not in any mental state to fight right now, Donald and Goofy waste no time in heading out to pursue the Heartless threat. But as they enter the Second District, there is no trace of it at all. The duo thoroughly searches the area for good measure, before ultimately returning to the First District empty handed.
‘It got away.’ Donald explains with a puzzled sigh as he scratches his head with his staff.
‘Yea, but it’ll probably be back.’ Goofy comments, looking a bit worried.
‘Sorry, I didn’t help.’ Sora says as he and Jewel are now sitting down in one of the empty seats his friends had left behind at the restaurant. ‘I just didn’t want her to get hurt.’ He sighs and looks down at the little dalmatian, who is stuck impossibly close to him like glue.
‘It’s okay.’ Donald says, though he is sporting a frown on his face.
‘Yea, you did the right thing for sure.’ Goofy says before his expression turns grim. ‘Aw but Sora, we know ya love Jewel, but it’s gettin’ too dangerous.’
‘You probably shouldn’t play together outside anymore.’ Donald agrees softly. ‘It isn’t safe for her.’
Sora blinks at this notion before turning his gaze down to Jewel. He pets her gently, and although she has finally stopped shaking, she has refused to remove her little face from the safe space in the crook of his arm.
‘Well, hey, that’s no big deal.’ Sora says, trying to stay positive and hoping that his light tone would help cheer her up. ‘That just means we’ll have to play inside from now on, right?’ He gently scratches behind one of her ears, causing Jewel to finally look up at him.
The small puppy gently licks Sora’s hand in response and he chuckles, but does not miss the worried glances that Donald and Goofy shoot each other.
The trinity trio’s adventure eventually leads them to a dangerous world called Hollow Bastion, and they spent many hours there exploring and uncovering lost secrets and dalmatian puppies.
The Dalmatian House is packed to the brim with little ones on one particular day, as Sora visits with what he assumes is just another batch of puppies. But as he sets the new arrivals down, and begins counting, his eyes slowly widen with realization.
Sora immediately turns to the small chalkboard hanging on the wall and frantically erases the previous number with his hand, before writing 99 in the biggest, broadest way that he possibly can onto the black surface.
A grin of pure elation comes over his face before he turns to Pongo and Perdita, who seem to have come to the same stunning realization. Without warning, the two parents proceed to clamor over the teen in gratitude and Sora can only laugh as he falls backwards on to the ground while they lick his face.
‘Hahaha! You’re welcome!’ He smiles, before his attention is caught by one particular bark hidden amongst the dozens of whines and howls of the other puppies.
With practiced ease, Sora is able to pick Jewel out of the crowd, and he lifts her up with an ecstatic flourish.
‘We did it, Jewel!’ He grins. ‘You have all of your brothers and sisters back!’
The small pup yips happily and licks his nose, causing Sora to laugh as she and her siblings attack him with kisses, playful jumps and love bites.
Pongo and Perdita watch over all of their children with relief, pride and happiness, before presenting Sora with their final gift. Pongo has what appears to be a piece of paper and Sora pulls it gently from his mouth to find a stray page. It looks old, and the writing is in an elegant font, as if it could have been torn straight out of one of Merlin’s books.
The paper has instructions for what seems to be an upgraded Aero spell, and Sora gladly accepts it, knowing that it will be quite useful on the dangerous road ahead.
Sora had actually been having many difficult conversations with Donald and Goofy about this very topic, and what exactly will happen to the three of them when their journey comes to a close.
His two friends had attempted to be very gentle with Sora when broaching the subject, but although he was young, Sora was not so naïve as to think that they were all guaranteed to survive this journey. He knew the risks, and he was ready and willing to take them. He had proved that fact to both them and also himself recently when he had intentionally sacrificed his own heart to save Kairi’s.
‘Thanks, guys. No matter what happens, I can do this.’ Sora says as he grips the page tightly in his hand. ‘We can do this. I know it.’
As it turns out, however, the hardest conversation of all had yet to come, as Goofy and Donald came to speak with Sora only a few nights later…
Sora, Donald and Goofy had been exploring the worlds and wrapping up loose ends to prepare for the final leg of their journey. By this point, they had saved the Seven Princesses of Heart, closed the keyhole to Hollow Bastion, and had explored most of this new place called The End of the World.
The trio had a hunch as they were going deeper into that strange dark abyss, that this is where Ansem would be making his final stand. So, when they reached a sort of safe haven among the chaos, they promptly decided to retreat for now and spend a few days in Traverse Town to recuperate and ready themselves for what was to be the end of their adventure.
The day after tomorrow, they were to set out to defeat Ansem once and for all.
For now, though, Sora was trying to push all of his worries to the back of his mind, as he spent some time reconnecting with Kairi, hanging out with his friends in town, and relaxing with Jewel in a quiet spot of the Dalmatian House.
An uneasy feeling had settled over his heart, though, and he just couldn’t shake this feeling, that something horrible was about to happen.
So, when Donald and Goofy came to find him later that day, Sora couldn’t say that he was surprised.
‘Hey guys.’ Sora greets them as he and Jewel were playing a game of peek-a-boo. ‘What’s up?’ He asks while Jewel squirms in his lap as he absentmindedly tickles her belly.
His two friends have noticeably somber expressions on their faces, only adding to that uneasy sensation in his chest.
Sora pauses and tilts his head in confusion.
‘What’s wrong?’
Goofy put his hands together and Sora notices right away that all of his attention is on Jewel in particular.
‘Sora, we were thinkin’.’ He starts out as he looks down at the small pup with sorrowful eyes. ‘About you and Jewel.’
‘…What do you mean?’ Sora responds, his brows furrowing with confusion. ‘Is something going on? Ah! Is there more Heartless in town?’
‘No, nothin’ like that.’ Goofy shakes his head before turning to Donald.
The royal magician nods and looks at Sora with a serious, somber expression.
‘We talked about what will happen when we defeat Ansem.’ Donald says with a melancholic tone. ‘Remember?’
‘Yea, you said the worlds will go back to normal.’ Sora nods and sits up a bit straighter. ‘Everything will go back to the way it was before the heartless came. My island too.’
‘Right.’ Donald hums in confirmation before looking down at Jewel in the same way that Goofy had previously.
Sora notices this and pauses once again, not liking where this conversation is headed.
Donald quietly walks over to Sora and pets the small puppy. Jewel yips and licks his hand, the two of them having long since reconciled from their earlier squabbles on the Gummi Ship.
‘Jewel’s world will go back to normal too.’ Donald says, before finally looking Sora in the eye. ‘And she and all of the other puppies will go back to where they came from.’
Sora’s jaw drops open as those words sink in to both his head and heart.
For all of the difficult conversations that he, Donald and Goofy have had, he has never truly considered this fact before. He knew that Traverse Town was a refuge for people that were separated from their home worlds, and that one day they all hoped to return back from once they came. But somehow, someway, some small part of Sora had truly hoped, that Jewel might be an exception…
How wrong he was.
‘I-I don’t know. I never, really thought about it.’ Sora says with a deflective tone as he looks down at Jewel’s joyful little face. She is nibbling on the hem of his jacket, and while he would usually scold her for that, right now he simply does not have the heart to do so. ‘Well wait, can’t she come with us?’ He suddenly asks, as hope grows in his voice. ‘If… if she comes with us, she won’t disappear, right?’ He looks up at his two friends with desperation in his blue eyes.
Jewel can’t go back home. No one in town even knew which world the dalmatian family came from!
So, if they left, if Jewel left, Sora… might not ever see her again.
‘Aw Sora, who knows what will happen to us? We also might never see…’ Goofy stops himself, the thought apparently being too much to bear as he looks between Sora and Donald. ‘And she’s just a baby, it’d be too dangerous. What if she gets hurt?’
‘Yea, and we can’t take her away from her family.’ Donald says, his shoulders drooping with defeat and sorrow. ‘She just got all of her brothers and sisters back.’
‘But…’ Sora starts, feeling like he is grasping at straws. His hands instinctively pull Jewel closer.
He isn’t ready to say goodbye.
‘We gotta head out the morning after tomorrow.’ Goofy says and puts a comforting hand onto Sora’s shoulder. ‘You stay here with Jewel as long as you need to.’
Sora can only nod, feeling numb and stunned into silence as his two good friends pull him in for a knowing, comforting embrace.
The next day and night pass by in a complete blur for Sora. Many tears are shed as he spends every last waking moment together with Jewel, wishing that things could somehow be different. That there was someway to delay the inevitable.
Jewel, for her part, eventually seems to catch on that something is wrong with Sora when he seems more interested in simply hugging her than anything else. Of course, the little pup is more than happy to kiss his tears away, but as the deadline grows ever closer, Jewel has grown to be visibly distressed alongside Sora as his mood plummets deeper and deeper and their time together grows shorter and shorter.
When Donald and Goofy come to pick Sora up the morning of their departure, it feels like a death sentence.
His friends look at him with the same knowing expressions, and Sora feels as if his heart is being ripped out of his chest as he reluctantly stands up and follows them to the front door of the apartment.
Pongo and Perdita are already awake and are enjoying some breakfast together, courtesy of Leon. The morning is new, and the rest of their puppies are still sleeping in little bundles together in different rooms of the apartment.
The sound of the trinity trio entering the front room causes both parents to look up, and a tense feeling comes over the air as if they, too, also know that something is terribly wrong. Sora supposes that he shouldn’t be surprised by their perceptiveness, seeing as he had been practically living in their apartment for the last two days and clinging to their daughter like a lifeline.
Jewel whines and places a paw onto Sora’s cheek, causing him to look at her. She’s worried, and doesn’t know why he’s upset.
How can he possibly tell her that he’s going away? That this time, he won’t be coming back?
She won’t understand, she’ll think that he abandoned her…
The thought causes Sora’s face to scrunch up in agony as he cuddles her close to his chest and kisses her tiny forehead.
‘Are you… Are you sure?’ Sora tries one last time as he can feel a lump forming in his throat. He’s probably asked this question about a million times over the past two days.
Donald only puts a comforting hand onto Sora’s arm.
‘It’s for the best.’ Goofy says, feeling himself also tear up a little as Sora slowly concedes and crouches down onto the ground with Jewel still held tightly in his arms.
‘Okay, well… I um, I guess this is it.’ Sora pulls back a bit to look at Jewel as she paws at his necklace and licks his face, wanting to comfort him from something she didn’t know. ‘Jewel… I…’ Tears suddenly form in his eyes, and he sniffles and swipes at them with the back of his hand. ‘I have to go away now.’ He says, pushing the words out past the painful tightness in his throat. ‘I’m really… gonna miss you.’ His eyes are glassy as he buries his face into her fur. ‘I’m gonna miss you so much.’
Perdita moves a bit closer to the two of them, as if just now understanding what is happening. Her eyes are grim as she looks at her child and then to Donald and Goofy, who have similar expressions on their faces.
When Sora is finally ready to let go, he shakily puts the tiny puppy down onto the ground. Tears are running tracks along his cheeks now as he stands up and wipes them away.
‘Goodbye.’ He says and waves as Donald and Goofy hold the door open for him.
As Sora turns to leave, though, Jewel lets out a whine and runs after him. She stubbornly plops down by his ankle and paws at his leg, as if waiting for him to boop her on the nose and promise that he will be back soon.
Sora feels his heart break even further, as he is forced to shake his head. He crouches down again and pets her slowly, relishing the touch while he can.
‘Not this time, Jewel.’ Sora says, his voice rough and shaky as he tries to comfort her. ‘You have to stay here, with… with your family.’ He struggles to say the words as the tears drop from his chin and down onto the wooden floorboards. ‘It’s for the best, okay? I couldn’t… if you got hurt, I…’
When Sora moves to get up again, Jewel loudly whines as if suddenly realizing what is happening. Her howls grow more and more distraught and desperate, until she eventually wakes up her siblings, who all peek in from the living room with curious little eyes to see what the commotion is about.
‘Jewel, no.’ Sora holds his hand out, as if to tell her to stay but not having the strength to follow through with the command. She doesn’t listen either way, and repeatedly stomps her little paws onto his shoe, causing more tears to fall from his eyes. ‘I can’t… I have to go.’
Perdita moves closer to try and comfort her daughter, but Jewel is inconsolable as Sora is unable to resist pulling the small puppy back into his arms for one last hug.
‘Sora.’ Donald calls, his voice very gentle.
‘We gotta go.’ Goofy says, beckoning him to the door.
‘I know.’ Sora says and kisses Jewel one more time on the forehead. ‘I love you.’ He whispers into her fur. ‘I love you, Jewel.’ His voice is broken as he sobs uncontrollably. ‘Please, don’t forget that.’
In response to his words, Jewel grows quiet, as if truly taking them in, and Sora seizes the opportunity to gently put her down, before quickly standing up and leaving the apartment.
Jewel’s heartbroken whines and howls can be heard from behind him as Donald and Goofy quickly shut the door before the small puppy can follow after Sora. Her little paws claw at the glass door desperately, and her howls grow even more distressed as Donald and Goofy wave goodbye through the glass and also turn around to walk away.
Against his better judgement, Sora looks back over his shoulder and catches eyes with Jewel. He can see her saddened little face through the glass, and more tears fall from his eyes as he gives her a final wave of goodbye.
Jewel’s whines turn into soft cries, and she is only able to paw at the door in farewell as Sora turns to leave Traverse Town forever, and finally restore peace to the worlds…
“Goodbye may seem forever. Farewell, is like the end. But in my heart’s a memory, and there, you’ll always be.”
-The Fox and the Hound
This story is dedicated to my precious kitty, Pikachu, who passed away while we were separated in two different countries. I could not give her a proper goodbye, and still miss her immensely to this day. Unlike hers and mine, Sora and Jewel will have a happy ending. I promise.
Bonus Scene:
Everyone who had ever met Jewel knew in a heartbeat that Sora was her favorite human. She followed him around like he had all the stars in his eyes, or at least all of the tasty treats in his pockets.
Leon and the others had commented on this more than once, asking how the boy had gotten that little spotted pup to be so darn attached to him.
Sora never had an answer.
‘I don’t know.’ He would say. ‘We just sorta met one day, and have been really close ever since.’
Sora could never say that he didn’t enjoy having all of Jewel’s attention, though. In fact, he relished in it, and made doubly sure to give her just as much love in return as she gave to him.
But there was one thing that Jewel was more obsessed with than Sora, and it was beginning to get a bit on his nerves…
It had all started one day when Sora had come by with a batch of puppies as usual. Upon knocking three times at the Dalmatian House door, however, he was strangely met with silence. The apartment was empty and dark when he let himself in, too, and there were no puppy paws scrambling to jump all over his ankles.
‘Hello?’ Sora had called into the apartment, listening intently as both of his brown eyebrows raised with confusion. There were some sounds coming from deeper in the apartment, and he cautiously followed after the noise. It sounded like talking, and… music?
He noticed right away that Jewel was not there waiting for him underneath her favorite chair in the dining room, and a puzzled frown came over his lips and as he went into the next room over. Upon opening the door, the teen had blinked with surprise as he saw the whole dalmatian family lounging together in front of the television.
All of the puppies were attentively watching some German Shepard on the black and white screen chase after some generic-looking bad guy. Sora frowned, feeling bewildered, as he easily spotted Jewel among the crowd as well. She was happily snuggled up with her siblings upon an orange throw pillow laying on the floor, oblivious to everything but the screen.
‘Uh, hey everyone.’ Sora called out. His voice gathered all of the puppies’ attention for maybe half a second, before they simultaneously went back to watching their program.
Pongo and Perdita at least had the decency to get up and welcome Sora and the new puppies he had rescued from Deep Jungle. The little ones tumbled out of the basket to greet their parents, before eventually they too became distracted by the television and toddled off to join their siblings.
‘What are you guys watching anyway?’ Sora had asked while scratching the back of his head.
Pongo and Perdita weren’t able to give him an answer, though, as they also went off to join their children in front of the screen.
Left with nothing else to do in that moment, Sora shrugged and came over to the pillow that Jewel was sitting upon.
‘Hi Jewel.’ He called to get her attention, but all of her focus was on the German Shephard as he got into a rather nasty looking tussle with the bad guy.
The whole room suddenly erupted into puppy barking, as if to cheer on the canine hero. Jewel also yipped alongside with her brothers and sisters, and didn’t even seem to notice that Sora was there.
The teen couldn’t help but pout a little as he was ignored, and eventually after a while of this he left entirely to come back once the show was over.
He had made sure to ask Leon later, though, about what had happened. It turned out that the older boy had no qualms sharing that he and the rest of the Traverse Town gang were to blame for the television distraction.
‘I turned it on for them one day and they seemed to really like this one show.’ Leon had explained with a shrug. ‘It’s called Thunderbolt or something like that. Yuffie and Aerith usually turn it on for them whenever it’s their turn to help clean up after the puppies.’
Knowing the reason for the dalmatian family’s distraction didn’t make Sora feel any better, however, as that television slowly became one of his worst enemies.
Today was just turning out to be another one of those days, when Sora came by to visit after a rather disappointing tournament in the Olympus Coliseum. He had lost pretty badly during a solo cup, and had been hoping to spend some much-needed quality time with Jewel to ease his woes.
But as Sora entered the apartment, he couldn’t help but groan quietly as he followed the grating noise of the television into the living room. The dalmatian family were all cuddled up in front of the screen, with Jewel once again laying on the orange pillow with her siblings.
Not having the energy or the will to come back later, Sora pouted and tiredly flopped onto the floor with the puppies.
“Well, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em…’ He mumbled to himself as he laid on his stomach next to Jewel and rested his chin on his arms.
At first, the program was very boring, as the German Shepard quietly stalked the bad guy across some dangerous, rocky terrain. All the while, Jewel’s little tail was happily whipping back and forth against Sora’s elbow as all of her attention was focused on the screen.
Sora glanced at her, wondering why she liked this show so much, before the sound of gun shots rang in his ears. His blue eyes snapped back to the program, and watched intently as an action scene unfolded.
The canine hero and the dastardly bad guy got into a tussle, and the gun was knocked from the man’s hand as they both stumbled over a cliff. They fell into a raging river below, and wrestled each other in the water while growing ever closer to a dangerous waterfall.
From then on, Sora found himself utterly sucked into the show alongside the dalmatians; laughing at certain funny parts, getting upset alongside the puppies when the bad guy played dirty, or growing deadly silent when they all thought the hero was going to lose.
In the end, the program ended on a cliffhanger, and Sora was surprised to find himself a bit disappointed when the screen faded to black, and some commercial jingle for dog biscuits came on instead.
He barely noticed as Pongo got up silently and pressed his nose against a button on the TV to shut it off.
Now that her program was done and over with, however, Jewel turned her attention to Sora and actually startled him when she barked and pounced on his arm.
‘Ah! Hey, good to see you too, Jewel!’ Sora grinned, quickly getting over his woes as she licked at his face.
His voice seemed to catch the attention of the other puppies, though, and all too soon he was bombarded by little paws from all directions.
Sora laughed in response and rolled around with them on the floor as he held Jewel tight and kissed her forehead with a smile.
He supposed the television wasn’t the worst thing in the worlds after all…
Dream Eater Allyphant Creations 
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