The Chain of Memories
a Kingdom Hearts fanfiction
by: Dark Daisuke
"Naminé... what are you doing!?" Sora yelled as he entered the white room, expecting the rebel Marluxia to be waiting for him as he always did, only to find his being vaporizing from existence. Instead, he found the familiar blond-haired girl standing over Marluxia, wearing a familiar cloak that was, instead of the Organization's black, a pure-white color. In her hands was a chain with a hook-shaped blade attached to one end, a fragment of black cloth stuck to the blade that was also disappearing.
"Sora... I wish it hadn't come to this... but Marluxia was getting out of hand. My orders from the Superior were to spy on Marluxia and to dispose of him if necessary. As a Nobody, I can't feel regret for my actions..." Naminé's voice was weak, as usual, but filled with venom that surprised Sora. "You were supposed to have destroyed him, but you've been far too weak to carry out that task, so the Organization has deemed you inferior." She turned to him, spinning the blade with one arm while the other held the grip of the weapon. "Disappear into nothingness!"
Sora had little time to react as the blade launched forward at him, forcing him to roll out of its path. Calling on the Keyblade, he stood up and got ready to attack, but had to roll out of the way again as the chain whipped around to try and hit him. The first several minutes of the battle was this way; Sora had to dodge each attack as he formulated a counterattack, which he knew would not be easy. The way the chain almost seemed to home in on him barely allowed any time to guard, forcing him to either get hit or evade.
Naminé, for her part, smiled as she unleashed attack after attack. Come on, Sora; I know you're better than this... show me the strength of the Keyblade Master, though half of your ultimate strength remains beyond your reach...
Sora rolled backward, finally getting out of the reach of the chain, and paused to breathe. How is she so tough? Even Larxene was never this difficult... how is her chain homing in on me? It's almost as if...! As he realized what they were, he had to dodge again as the chain sailed in from the incoming witch.
"Have you figured it out, Sora? Do you now know why you can hardly dodge my weapon?" Naminé taunted. "Or is it you haven't been given enough time to think? If that's the case then here's some more time!" The chain launched forward even more quickly than it had in the previous attacks and wrapped around the Keyblade. One yank pulled the sword free from Sora's hands, sending it flying to the other side of the room. The chain then loosened and launched back toward the defenseless Sora. He tried to dodge, but the blade struck his leg, sending him sprawling onto the ground in pain and surprise.
(FLASHBACK)
"Come on, Pinocchio, this is no time for playing games!" Sora shouted after the wooden puppet as it ran through a doorway.
"You used to love playing games... or are you too cool to play them, now that you have the Keyblade?" a boy dressed in yellow said, the wooden puppet standing behind him as he came through the doorway to face Sora.
(FLASHBACK END)
"...! ... no..." Sora said as he stood up and reached out for the Keyblade. "That... that memory. That's my memory... but I can't remember the time or place I had it..."
"That's because I hold your memories now. As I'm sure you remember, Marluxia made me dismantle your memories in order to gain control of you. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that I can do more than simply manipulate you with a mixture of true memories mixed with false ones. This chain..." she said as she pulled it back and had it held taut between her hands, the blade spinning around to her side "... it's the physical manifestation of both your true memories and the false ones I created based on said memories. They seek to return to you, so I can launch it in any direction-" she send the chain flying straight up, and it surprised Sora by arcing downward toward him "-and it'll correct its flight path to go straight to you!"
Sora jumped back as the blade struck the ground where he'd been standing, leaving a small crater in the ground, and frowned. "Then that makes my job easy; I'll destroy the chain and reabsorb my memories, leaving you defenseless!"
He swung at the chain, but was surprised again as it disappeared when the Keyblade connected with it, reappearing in Naminé's waiting hands. She took a step forward and smirked, readying the chain for the next attack. "Sorry, Sora, but that isn't going to happen!" The chain launched at Sora again, forcing him to dodge out of its way.
Sora frowned as he stood up, bringing the Keyblade around behind him. "Strike Raid!" The Keyblade launched forward in a spinning arc, homing in on the witch, but she quickly recoiled the chain and deflected the Keyblade, then stepped forward and sent the chain flying toward the defenseless Sora. Again, he tried to dodge but was too slow and got hit again.
(FLASHBACK)
"You understand so little..." said the voice from a shrouded man, standing in a corner near the doorway.
"Oh yeah? I'm going to go and learn what's out there!" Sora retorted, not wanting to admit that the man was too creepy for his tastes.
"A meaningless effort... one who knows nothing, can understand nothing..." the hooded fellow spoke, his low voice haunting, to say the least, as he berated Sora's plans to explore.
(FLASHBACK END)
"Ugh... I know that voice... but from where?" Sora mumbled as he stood up, once again calling the Keyblade to him. Okay, long-range physical attacks is a no-go. Let's try magic... he thought as he focused his energy into the Keyblade, then raised it into the air. "Gravity!"
A sphere of darkness enveloped Naminé, who quickly teleported out of its area before she got crushed. The sphere disappeared, leaving a smouldering crater. "Nice try, Sora, but you know that Gravity doesn't work on all enemies!"
"Try this, then! Thundaga!" Sora shouted as bolts of lightning shot up from the Keyblade, arced over, and rained down on Naminé. She crumpled to the ground for a moment, but that moment was all that Sora needed as he quickly closed the distance and began his furious counterattack.
Naminé, despite now being on the defensive, was still smiling as she parried Sora's attacks. "You still don't get it... I know your every move!" Grabbing the blade, she made a quick slash at Sora, who jumped back and immediately realized his mistake as the bladed chain wrapped around the Keyblade, but instead of just this it wrapped around his arms and body, effectively trapping him. "Yes, I know I'm being cheap, but you can't rely on the skills you cultured during your past battles. Adapt!"
(FLASHBACK)
"They'll come for you from out of nowhere... and they'll keep coming after you, as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade," the swordsman spoke as he rounded the corner of the accessory shop that Sora had just stepped out from. "But... why? Why would it choose a kid like you?" He sighed at the thought.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Sora responded, offended by the remark.
"Never mind."
(FLASHBACK SKIP)
"This girl is guilty, I have no doubt." A gaudily-dressed woman of... stout build... spoke from her seat. "And why? Because I SAY SO, that's why!"
"That is so unfair!" the girl responded, shocked from the implications. "You may be queen, but that doesn't give you the right to be so... so mean!"
The large woman's face reddened in rage. "YOU'D DARE DEFY ME!? For the crime of attempted theft of my heart, I find the defendant guilty as charged! OFF WITH HER HEAD!!!"
"Wait! She's not the one you're looking for!" Sora said as he, along with Donald and Goofy jumped out of the shadows.
(FLASHBACK END)
A searing pain rippled through Sora's body as the chain unwrapped from around him, the blade making many cuts into his body and his mind assaulted by several memories, ranging from the time he first appeared in Traverse Town to the time he'd landed on Tarzan's world. He managed to back up enough, though, and channeled his magic into the Keyblade, enveloping himself in a green light. "Curaga-AAAAAUGH!!!" Sora yelled as the blade nailed him in the stomach, causing some of the health he'd recovered to be lost yet again as he backed up even more.
"I told you that your old tricks won't work!" Naminé shouted, growing more frustrated as Sora continued to fight as he used to. "You can't beat me with your old tactics." She ran forward toward him and launched the chain at him once again.
"Grr... there has to be a way..." Sora mumbled as he dodged the chain again, but this time he noticed something: Naminé was closer than she had been at the beginning of the battle, and he had been trying to stay out of the chain's range, so it was always extended as far as it would go. Wait... if what she says is true, would that mean that the memories I saw were links in the chain and because they appeared in my mind they disappeared from her weapon? However, his thoughts were cut short as he had to dodge again.
"I see your mind's wheel is turning again... good," Naminé said as she stepped forward again. "Show me your answer!"
"Gah... I was right, she is losing range. If I can absorb the hits... no, they hurt too much; I almost died in that last attack. If I can absorb them through the Keyblade, though... Take this!" Sora shouted as he brought the Keyblade down onto the blade of her weapon, pinning down the blade. I hope this works... he thought as he channeled his magic through the Keyblade and into Naminé's weapon, beginning the process of reabsorbing his memories. At first it worked, but shortly Sora was thrown back by an unknown force, forcing him to drop the Keyblade as he protected his head. Okay, that one was a false memory... how do I get rid of it?
"Smart, Sora... but can you keep it up? It looks like you took some decent damage from the blowback." The chain, shorter still, shot back to Naminé, only to launch forward to Sora once again.
Getting up, Sora dodged backward but staggered a bit, his head reeling from the absorbed memories. Recalling the Keyblade, he tried to cast Curaga again but found himself dodging some more; Naminé had used her portal to reappear near Sora and assumed her assault once more. His arms went to his side as he got out of her range again, tiring from the battle, when he felt a familiar shape in his pockets. "Oh yeah, I forgot about these..." he mumbled happily as he pulled out a Hi-Potion and drank its contents, feeling invigorated again as he began to dodge the chain a bit more easily now.
Growling, Naminé suddenly began glowing a familiar black color. "I know how much you like this skill, so see how you like it now: Gravity!" The familiar sphere appeared around Sora, attempting to flatten him. Thankfully he knew what to expect and rolled out of its influence, using the time to complete the cast to move in close on Naminé once again. This time, though, when he went to slash at Naminé, something odd happened: he noticed one of the links in the chain straining, so he aimed his slash at that spot. The link shattered, disrupting Naminé's weapon and leaving her stunned. Sora took the opportunity to heal himself completely with Curaga. Summoning his courage, he stabbed at the still-whole fragments of her weapon and began absorbing the rest of his memories.
Naminé shook herself out of her daze and smiled as Sora pulled the Keyblade from the shattered remnants of her weapon. "Nicely done, Sora... however, you still can't beat me." She stood back and pulled out her sketchbook from her cloak, opening up to a page she had completed some time ago.
"Wait, what do you mean? All I have to do is hit you with the Keyblade and you'll end up like Marluxia." Sora frowned as Naminé pulled out a pencil and began drawing, seemingly oblivious to his response. "Naminé... what are you drawing?"
Naminé looked up and smiled, this time a warm, familiar smile. "You." Suddenly an egg-like capsule formed around Sora, who frowned in surprise as all sound was cut off. He saw Naminé's lips moving, and he had only seconds to reflect on what she said as he suddenly felt his eyelids close. Sora, the Hero of the Keyblade, had been captured and put to sleep by the witch of memories. The only thing he was able to reflect on as all turned into mist was 'Goodnight... my love...'
***
Naminé giggled to herself as she dropped the cape. "That was a lot of fun... it's so much fun to play a villain. I wonder if Roxas would be willing to play with me again, once he figures out what he is..."
"Indeed, Naminé... but, for now, we must begin restoring Sora to normal." a being masked with a red cloth said as he appeared out of a dark portal. "No doubt the other Organization members are getting wind of what happened here. We must make haste; to Twilight Town. We'll continue there... along with our new ally." Another dark portal appeared around the capsule and it disappeared as the two used their own portals to escape, leaving no trace of their presence behind.
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AN: This fanfic was inspired by ZTKuko's picture 'Naminé versus Sora' (http://www(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Namine-versus-Sora-50354600). Definitely one of the fics I had the most fun working on... ^_^
To explain why Naminé says what she says, since she's Kairi's Nobody, she would know how she feels about Sora and no doubt echoes that feeling. Personally, I never bought the 'fact' that Nobodies couldn't feel emotions... and even if they did, Naminé being such a different Nobody it's possible being so close to Sora's heart affected her ability to feel emotions. Ah well... *shrug*
Hope you enjoy it; let me know what you think and what I can improve on! ^_^