Disclaimer: I do not own anything Disney or Square-Enix related. I do own all original characters and the plot.
Welcome: Here is the Prologue of The Forgotten Castle, second book of Kingdom Hearts: Memorandum, and sequal to Memories of Nobody. It's a prologue, hence, it's short. Chapters will be forthcoming. Tabun.
Edit: If you are reading this, then I have finished re-editing Memories of Nobody and The Forgotten Castle. Only superficial changes; mostly grammatical, spelling and word choice corrections have been made; character appearances, actions and plot remain as originally written. Also, for those reading this, a final chapter, a preview of sorts, has been left for your enjoyment and to think upon. As of this time, I will be taking a small break for planning and designing, after which actual work on Sin of Remembrance, the final book of Kingdom Hearts: Memorandum, will begin.
"Indeed, the world is still a very dangerous place.
We must find a way to do battle with these enemies.
Thus I will both make amends and have my revenge.
It is for this reason that I infiltrated Castle Oblivion.
It consists of 13 floors above and 12 floors below ground, with the contents of its "White Rooms" transforming in response to its visitors' memories. Organization XIII was conducting experiments on memory here.
The subject in these experiments, a girl named Naminé, appeared to possess extremely unusual abilities.
Were they attempting to derive something from these powers?"
- Secret Ansem Report 8
He sighed and pulled his jacket closer around himself. He had long since gotten rid of the black cloak that had marked him as a member of the Organization, a move he was beginning to regret in the chill night air. Shaking the feeling off, he continued down the beaten dirt path; the cold of night was a trifling matter in his quest.
Sensing something behind him, he turned and looked. He saw nothing but the soft night breeze brushing through the long, uncut grass. Scanning about under the moonlit sky, he finally shrugged and returned to journeying down the path.
After a while, he came to a crossroads, the path splitting in four directions, including the one from which he came. Looking around, he could see no visible landmarks that differentiated one way from another. After momentarily consulting his inner sense of direction, he picked up a forlorn looking stick and tossed it into the air. After twirling around a few times, the broken length of branch came down, pointing ahead. He started to walk in the indicated direction, when something strange happened.
The stick moved.
As he watched, it turned, making a full circle until it came back around, pointing to the right. As he paused to watch it further, nothing else happened.
Shrugging, he changed course and went down the path to the right, but not before taking one last look around the darkened horizons. Feeling something odd, Rann only uttered one questioning word before walking down the path.
"…Ansem?"
The sun was setting on the tropical horizon, painting the sky in reds and oranges that echoed across the undulating ocean waves and the golden sands. Three friends sat together on the bent trunk of the paupu tree as they watched the setting sun, the same as they did every day.
"It's good to be home," said Kir happily, smiling at his two best friends.
"You got that right," agreed Diant with a grin. There was a pause, and then the two boys looked over at their red-headed companion. "Kairi?"
"Hm? What?" she said, suddenly snapping out of her distant gaze. Diant frowned. "Um, yeah. Right."
"Sure," said the older boy, unconvinced. Kir probably hadn't noticed, but she'd been acting odd the past few days, ever since they got home. Was it because of that boy? That Nobody? Diant sighed and shrugged it off. The adventure was over now. No Heart was gone; the worlds were safe now. She'd get over it eventually. "Whatever. I need to be getting home now. Been falling a little behind in the schoolwork, you know?"
The other two nodded understandingly, both jumping down from their perches on the paupu tree's trunk as Diant got to his feet from leaning against it. Then something strange happened.
The world flashed hazy before his eyes, and Diant stumbled. Regaining his balance, he looked down at his hands and feet, trying to make out why he'd stumbled.
"What happened?" he asked weakly. Looking up, he saw both the young brunette Kir and the red-head Kairi had stunned expressions on their faces. "What?"
"Um," stammered Kir, "for a moment, you, um…"
"Flickered," finished Kairi for him. "Like you were starting to fade."
"What?" he said in a stunned voice. Then he grunted in pain at a sudden ache in his brain. Grabbing his head in one hand, he stared down at the other. He could see through it. "What's happening to me?"
As they watched, dark shadows formed on the ground beneath him, tendrils of darkness lashing up into the air around him.
"Diant!" yelled Kir, jumping back with his hand out as he summoned the keyblade. There was a flash of light, and then the young boy was looking down at his empty hand. "What? The keyblade is…"
"Grab my hand!" yelled Kairi desperately, leaning forwards as best she could without stepping into the gathering shadows. Diant leaned out towards her as Kir held onto her, pulling her back a little as the darkness expanded. Leaning out farther and farther, Diant reached out as far as he could; his feet were rooted to the spot. Their fingers were mere inches apart. Breaking free of Kir's hold, Kairi lunged forwards, swinging for his hand. "Diant!"
She passed right through him.
He stared in stunned confusion at his almost invisible hand, and then at Kairi. Then they were gone, and he was plunged into darkness.
Alone.
He was floating.
He was floating on nothing. He could feel nothing, see nothing, hear nothing. All around him, nothing. And yet, there he was.
Concentrating, he tried to remember. Remember anything, anything at all. All he could recall was a blinding flash of light, and the thought of a single person. A girl. Who was she?
He tried to remember her name, but every time he could feel it just within his reach, it would slip out of his grasp. What was her name? It was important. He was sure it was. But what was it?
Then a voice interrupted his thoughts, a shattering presence in his solitude of nothing.
"Awaken, Daxtin."