Anime Hearts: Link of Memory
Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Kingdom Hearts, nor do I claim ownership to anything else you see here. So don't sue.
Notes: After some thought, I have decided to cast antagonists and various other characters from both Yu-Gi-Oh and Yu-Gi-Oh GX in the roles of the Organization (known here as the Order). As for who will in the part of Naminé and who will be Roxas… well, you'll just have to wait and see. And finally, the parts at the beginning and end were taken from the manga.
Enjoy!
Once upon a time, there were many, many worlds. Each world was separated, so they couldn't intermingle.
But three teenagers wanted to escape their own world and see others.
Then one day, a terrible darkness appeared and engulfed the worlds.
Many of them disappeared without a trace.
And so one person was chosen to save them.
The boy and his new friends fought the darkness and made sure they couldn't destroy more worlds.
Somewhere else, another of the boy's friends was about to be swallowed by darkness, but he too had the power to over come it.
He ended up loosing his body and his soul was left on the other side of the door, between light and darkness.
Eventually, the boy was able to lock the final door with the help of all of his friends.
The boy said goodbye to some of them and ended up in a strange world far from home.
Clues for finding his friends came and went. But the boy had his friends.
And he had hope.
Prologue: Welcome to Castle Infinity
When we last left our heroes, they were still looking for Tetsuo and Pharaoh Yami after locking the door to Anime Hearts. But right now, they were taking a break for the night.
The small group sat of four lay around a small fire, which crackled and hissed fitfully.
Edward Elric lay on his back, snoring a bit, while his brother, Alphonse, just sat still. To anyone who didn't know him, he looked like a suit of armor, but there was a lot more to him then met the eye.
Only one person was awake, staring up at the full moon.
Shotaro Kaneda, wielder of the Keyblade, sighed, than reached into his pocket and held up a small keychain that resembled a heart with wings. It was given to him by his friend Kei, and he had promised to return it to her.
"Can't sleep?"
Startled, they boy turned to see a much shorter boy looking at him curiously. This was Morty Oydama, the group's recorder of sorts.
"You should get some rest too, ya know." Kaneda told him.
"Nah. I'm alright." Morty replied. "I'm just writing down our adventures in my journal, you know, for the queen."
Kaneda said nothing, just stared at the fire for a while before speaking.
"You know what? Back home, on my world, my friends and I were planning to go traveling, maybe see a new world. Yeah, it's silly, I know, but we didn't want to live in the same place for the rest of our lives, Tetsuo, Kei and me. But never once did I imagine an adventure quite like this. Getting the Keyblade and fighting the Heartless, getting separated from my friends, being thrown into another world and traveling to others, meeting new people and making friends like Ed, Al, and you too, Morty."
He sighed and added, "Do you think I'll ever get back to my own world?"
The boy in question blinked. "O-of course you will! I mean, you did promise your girlfriend, right?"
"Well…" Kaneda just stared down at Kei's lucky charm.
Flashback
"Kei, remember when you said you'll always be with me? Well, I'll always be with you too! I'll come back, I promise!"
"I know you will…"
End Flashback
"I bet Ed and Al feel the same way," he said after a moment. "I bet they want to get back to their own world."
Morty nodded. "Yeah, come on, let's get some sleep." The shorter boy lay back on the grass, but Kaneda just looked up to the stars, remembering what his friend Tetsuo had told him.
"Take good care of Kei for me, okay?"
Kaneda smiled as he stretched out beside Morty.
I promise…I'll return with Tetsuo, and we'll see Kai again…
And with that thought on his mind, he fell fast asleep.
Some time later, Kaneda was awakened by a strange voice.
"Wielder of the Keyblade…"
Shocked, he sat up, only to face a strange figure in a black cloak, a figure that looked strangely familiar….
"Ahead of you is something that you need." The figure said, and it was probably a man, judging by its voice. "But in order to claim it…you must loose something you hold dear first." And with that, he faded away into nothing.
Kaneda blinked, and then rubbed his eyes. What the hell was that? Am I still asleep?
Then he blinked again, for looming in the distance was an enormous, foreboding castle. Towers and spires stuck out of its sides like huge arms. Overhead, lighting cut through the sky, followed by and echoing boom of thunder.
Wow. Nice touch. Shaking his head, Kaneda ran over to his friends and began to wake them up. "Hey guys! Wake up!"
"…Huh…wha…Kaneda? Do you even know what time it is?" Ed mumbled sleepily.
"Yeah, well, I think there's something you need to see."
The others sat up and stared at the castle that had appeared out of nowhere seemingly overnight.
"…That wasn't there before." Al commented.
"Come on! Let's go check it out!" Kaneda shouted, and then started running towards the castle.
"Hey! Wait up!" Ed shouted, and took off after the teen, the other two following.
As they got closer, the sheer size of the castle became apparent very quickly.
"Wow! This place is enormous!" Ed exclaimed.
"Yeah, I bet someone of your stature would say that." Kaneda muttered smugly.
"HEY! WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SHRIMP SO SMALL HE'D GET LOST IN A PLASTIC FISHBOWL?!" Ed roared.
"Please calm down, Ni-san!" Al pleaded, trying to restrain his brother.
Kaneda ignored them and just stared up at the castle.
So this is where I'll find "something I need..." maybe a clue to where Tetsuo is…?
"Hey, I just realized something!" Al said, and Ed stopped struggling.
"Huh, what is it?"
"Maybe the Pharaoh's there!"
The other boy brightened. "Really? Then let's check it out!"
They all stepped up to over to the huge marble doors that served as the entrance.
"Maybe we ought to knock first." His brother pointed out.
"Huh? Oh yeah!" Ed grabbed the brass ring knockers and knocked once, twice, three times.
As if in response, the doors opened with a creak, revealing opulent and winding torchlit hallways made from marble.
"Hello? Is anybody home?" Al's voice echoed through the empty chambers.
"Doesn't look like anyone's here." Ed muttered.
"A-are you sure we should just barge in like this?" Morty asked nervously.
But they all stepped through the threshold, and then Kaneda stopped suddenly, blinking rapidly.
"Huh? What's the matter with you?" Ed asked him.
"I…dunno. It feels like I just dropped something…"
"That was your memory." Said a voice.
Surprised, they all looked up to see a cloaked figure approaching them, and quickly readied their weapons.
"Who the hell is that?!" Kaneda exclaimed.
"I dunno, but I'll take care of him!" Ed yelled. Holding out his spear, he yelled, "ELECTRO BOLT!"…but nothing happened. "What the hell?! Why can't I…?"
"Isn't it obvious?" The cloaked figure said. "The moment you enter this place, you forget every spell you knew…but that's not the only thing you'll forget…Here, to find is to loose, and to loose is to find…that is how things are here in Castle Infinity."
Ed raised an eyebrow. "…Castle Infinity? What idiot came up with that name?"
If the figure was annoyed by this remark, he sure as heck didn't show it.
"Yes…" he said, "Here you will meet people you know…and people you miss."
Kaneda's eyes widened. "You mean Tetsuo's here?! Where is he?!"
"I cannot say." The figure replied. "But if you want to find him…"
Kaneda wasn't sure of what happened next, but the cloaked figure seemed to step through him like a ghost. He whirled around in shock, an uneasy feeling of Déjà vu creeping through him like ice water in his veins.
"W-What did you just do?!"
"I just sampled your memories, and from them, I made this, the key to reuniting with your friends." The figure told them calmly. He then threw to Kaneda a strange-looking card with a picture of the castle itself printed on it.
"What the heck is this for?" Kaneda asked.
"This is a promise…use this card and press on, and you will find your friend. Go, Kaneda. To loose and reclaim, or to reclaim only to loose…"
And with those cryptic words, he vanished into thin air.
After a moment, Kaneda turned to face his friends.
"So, do you think we should go?" He asked.
Ed shrugged. "Like we have a choice."
Kaneda nodded. "Alright, let's go find Tetsuo and the Pharaoh."
Somewhere else, a sleeper awakened groggily, blinking away the sleep from his eyes.
Where am I? It's not dark or light and I can't feel anything. What is this?
Flashback
He was in a dark void, a strange blade in one hand, watching as a crack of light slowly emerged in the darkness.
"The door's opening!" He shouted. "What are we gonna do?!"
Behind him, Pharaoh Yami, fighting off multiple Heartless, shouted, "Close it! Kaneda and the others should be on that side!"
"Get out of my way!" Tetsuo roared, slashing his way through them.
Then he heard a familiar voice yelling "Come on! We need to close the door!"
His eyes widened in recognition. That's Kaneda's voice! If I can just open this door…then maybe…
"I don't know if I can…" the voice came again, only now with a hint of despair in it.
"Don't give up!" He shouted, emerging from behind the doors. "Let's do this together!"
They began pushing and pulling, but with little success.
Fortunately, the Pharaoh came to their rescue, his own Keyblade drawn. "Hurry! Let's close this door permanently, so no Heartless can get in!"
Kaneda gulped. "But…"
"Don't worry, Kaneda." The Pharaoh's deep, warm voice reverberated around the area. "There will always be a door to the light."
"Hurry up! The Heartless are still coming!" Tetsuo shouted. He smiled, thinking, We'll see each other again, someday. I promise.
Opening his mouth, he said, "Take good care of Kei for me, okay?"
End Flashback
After that… damn, I can't remember! Slowly, the boy eased himself into a sitting position from where he was lying on the ground. Did I get away from the darkness?
Then his eyes widened with a sudden realization. The Pharaoh! Where did he—
At that moment, a voice interrupted his thoughts. "Sleep…"
The boy stiffened. "What!? Who's there?!"
"If you sleep, then the battle against the darkness will be left to him. So sleep here, between the light and the dark. The light of awakening will only bring pain to someone in your condition," the voice continued. "So turn from the light and close your eyes."
"What, you think I'm some kind of demon?"
"Do you want to face the truth? Blanketed by the darkness here, sleep is safety, it is eternal…"
The boy, Tetsuo, narrowed his eyes. You gotta be kidding! He took a step forward and then looked around. Wait! How do I get out of here?
Suddenly, a ball of dark energy like an evil will-o-the-wisp appeared and began floating around him. What the…
He reached up and grabbed it. The light vanished, leaving behind a card with a picture of a dark castle on it. Huh? What's this? A card?
"This is a door to the truth. If you take it, your sleep will end. Take it, and you will take your first steps towards the truth. But remember this: The truth will bring you suffering. Will you still go? If you do, you can not return to the safety of sleep…"
"Well," Tetsuo said, "This looks like a boring place to sleep anyway."
As he said this, a set of double doors materialized in front of him.
"A door to the truth, huh?"
Without hesitation, he took a step through them, into new journey, one of remembrance and pain, but ultimately, one of discovery.
And there you have it:
Two different people, each with their own story to be told
Let's follow them and see where their paths lead…
One heart fulfills all.
All hearts lead to the same place.
"Anime Hearts."
A place where the great heart lives
And where darkness sleeps…