Time for a come back. You know what that means! Woot! New story time!
Takes place about a month or so after KH2. Spoilers for those of you who care about that kinda stuff.
Official Summary: This story recaps the stories of Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts 2 in a general sense. If you want to play either of these games and haven't, this is not the story for you, go read something else. It's bound to be mildly boring, as it's simply retelling what most of you readers will already know. It will, I hope, help clarify a few loosely-answered questions throughout the two games, however, so if you didn't understand some of what was happening in KH2 or CoM, this story may be just what you need to get a better handle on what happened.
Disclaimer: I do not own a single character in this storyline. All belong to Disney and/or Square Enix.
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Kingdom Hearts - The Secret Door
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The sand made that delightful crunching sound as the young brunette woman walked along the beach of her beloved home island. Just across the bay she could see the magnificent island on which she had played as a younger child with her friends. She hadn't been there in a while – she'd felt something had been missing for a little too long.
Kairi turned back to the village and pushed hair that had been invading her face back behind her right ear. She needed to have it cut, but now wasn't the time; Kairi was up for a little adventure and she was determined to make the best of it.
Better hurry before Sora gets back, Kairi thought to herself, turning on her heel and sending sand flying through the air as she ran as fast as she could for the dock. She longed to feel that familiar sand beneath her feet again, even if it wasn't for very long.
Ten minutes later, Kairi was climbing out of her little boat and tying it to the small dock on the little island. She made her way to the sandy beach that ran alongside the green groves of trees and up to the beach house that she knew Sora liked to use more than Riku in order to get up to the top of the island's plateau-like structure. She entered and made her way up the dusty steps and out to peer across the wooden bridge to the paupu tree growing on the side of the small rocky island that the bridge led to.
The bark of the paupu tree hadn't changed in a year and a half – it was still amazingly smooth, but very hard. She climbed atop the leaning trunk and kicked her legs like she used to, staring out over the wide expanse of the ocean. With a sigh, Kairi found herself looking up at the deepening sky, almost as if she were waiting for the stars to show themselves.
Such a wonderful place, Kairi thought, it's really too bad I stopped coming here when Sora and Riku disappeared.
When Sora and Riku disappeared. Talk about a recurring event. Kairi hopped down from the paupu trunk and made her way back to the main island, stopping in front of the beautiful waterfall that had supplied the kids with fresh water when they decided to play there. As Kairi dipped her cupped hands into the pooled water at the bottom, she had to grin – the water was frigid. It brought back a lot of memories of Wakka throwing Tidus in and laughing at him as he stood there, shivering. After that, Sora would jump in, regardless of the water's temperature, and swim around as if it were nothing. Not even Riku would go in after him while he laughed and splashed everyone else from inside the safety of the freezing cold pool.
Kairi stood up and looked to the side of the waterfall, to the "Secret Place." She didn't want to go in there. The Secret Place had been the start of a horrid adventure for Sora, Riku, and herself. She'd been a part of Sora for who knows how long, witnessing everything he did, mostly unable to speak with him when he called out to her as he looked throughout many different worlds for her.
A tear found its way down Kairi's cheek. She'd loved being a part of Sora, but she'd hated not being able to do anything to help him. Then, when they had finally found each other again, she had been helpless, defenseless. Kairi hated it.
Then the next time they'd seen each other, it was in the presence of a changed Riku, who had altered his appearance to take in the darkness inside him as a source of power. He'd handed her a Keyblade. Kairi couldn't remember being happier, to think that she'd be able to help her closest friends in their endeavors to stop Organization XIII. She hadn't been very skilled with the Keyblade, but she did her best, and in the end it had proven to be enough; the three of them, with the help of Donald, Goofy, and the King, had been able to stop the Organization.
That door – how Kairi hated it.
And yet, something was urging her to appear in front of it again. She wanted to see if it was still there. She wanted to see if it had vanished. The world's defenses were elsewhere; perhaps Kairi should check in on it.
Kairi slowly made her way to the opening of the cavernous tunnel that would lead to the door, the Heart of Destiny Island. Without event, Kairi made it to the enclosure out of which a large tree grew to shade half of the island. Soft, fading sunlight filtered in through the foliage and branches of the tree, lighting the cavern just enough to see the etchings and pictures drawn all about the cavern on the rocks. A chocobo, some duck, a house…
Kairi's eyes fell upon the image of her face smiling at the image of Sora's smiling face. Both she and Sora had added images to it recently: the sharing of Paupu fruit. Kairi knew that she'd always be a part of Sora's life, and that he would always be a part of hers, no matter how far apart they went. There was no doubt in her mind that she and Sora were stuck with each other for the rest of eternity.
Kairi's wandering eyes continued to scan the cavern until they rested on the plain wooden door that Riku had opened nearly two years ago. How he had done it still confused Kairi – there was no handle, no hinge, no visible way to open it. Maybe Sora could tell her if she asked him later.
Kairi cautiously made her way up to the door and reached out a shaking hand to touch it. She wasn't a Keybearer – she couldn't open it, right?
The door was cold to the touch, unlike the warm rock surrounding it. It was rough, unpolished. Kairi wondered if anyone had ever noticed it before to take care of it. It wasn't weathered, but looked like it could use some servicing.
Kairi stepped back, grateful that nothing had happened when she had touched it. She sighed in relief and leaned against the tree behind her.
I need to head back soon, Kairi realized. She leaned forward to leave, but found that her weight was still centered on her back half, preventing her lifting herself away from the tree.
Kairi raised an eyebrow. Okay…let's try this again. Kairi threw her arms forward to pry herself from the tree, but again she wouldn't move. It was as if she had been glued to the tree. Beginning to panic now, Kairi put her hands against the tree and pushed with all her strength to no avail. She tried to remove her hands, but they, too, were stuck on the tree. Kairi turned her head and let out a scream. Her hand was sunken into the tree trunk itself, as if it had been turned to absurdly thick water. Kairi struggled against the strange force, only to force herself to be pulled farther into the tree's clutch.
Eventually, the tree simply began to drain the girl into itself, ignoring her struggles. With the last breath she could manage, she screamed at the top of her lungs,
"SORA!"
And then Kairi had completely disappeared within the strange tree, growing deep within the Secret Place.
Kairi opened her eyes and lifted herself to her knees to look around. She was in a stark white room with a simple table and two chairs, a large, wall-sized window, and a single door. Kairi rose to her feet and stumbled to the door, but found it was completely locked. She looked behind her to the window, but it, too, was locked. Regardless of being completely closed, the curtains were swaying slightly, as if a minute wind were brushing them.
Kairi placed her back against the wall next to the single door and grabbed her arms as if she were cold. She felt her courage leaving her. She slunk down to the floor, her knees at her chin, her hands still clutching her own arms. The cold air of being alone began to converge, overtaking the girl's insides. She felt a chill and a shiver ran down her spine.
"Sora…" A tear fell down Kairi's cheek as she buried her face in her knees.
"Don't worry, Kairi."
Kairi's head snapped up. It hadn't been Sora's voice, but she had recognized it. The teen looked around and hastily stood to her feet, searching for the source of the voice. Kairi turned to the door to find a teenage girl with medium-length blonde hair and a simple white dress smiling at her.
"Naminé!" Kairi cried. She stepped forward to give the blonde a hug, but Naminé stepped away from Kairi.
"No, Kairi, we musn't touch," Naminé said with a warning tone of voice.
Kairi stopped, confused. "What? Why?" she asked.
Naminé was silent for a moment, then smiled again. "You wanted to know what happened to Sora and Riku while you were alone on the island, don't you?"
Kairi's heart leapt. She had been wondering. Neither of the boys had told her more than "I went searching for you and Organization XIII." "Yes," Kairi admitted, adrenaline beginning to pump through her system.
Naminé's smile increased. "Good. That's why we're here. If we touch, we will become one again and you will return home."
Kairi nodded, realizing that she could not touch Naminé at all during this little venture. "So you'll tell me everything that's happened?" she asked.
Naminé shook her head, her smile still evident. "I will do better. I will show you."
Kairi's eyes widened. How would Naminé do that?
Naminé's eyes danced at Kairi warmly. "I will show you their memories, Kairi. I will show you what they had been doing while you were worrying about them at home."
Kairi nodded slowly, not sure how Naminé would accomplish such a feat. The blonde did nothing, but Kairi suddenly fell somewhat dizzy. The white room began to spin and blur in and out, becoming less and less coherent to Kairi. Eventually, she and Naminé were standing in a vortex of spinning white and gray.
"Don't worry, Kairi, we'll be just fine," Kairi's counterpart said assuredly. "If you ever want to stop this, just take my hand and we'll end it."
Kairi recentered herself, making sure she had balance, and nodded. "I'm alright. Let's do this."
Naminé nodded and spun around. She held up a hand and the white and gray suddenly turned dark blue and green, coming to a halt at what seemed to be a crossroads. Sora, Donald, and Goofy stood in the center, looking at a black-cloaked man.
Kairi walked up to stand next to Naminé. "The Organization," Kairi whispered with hate dripping off of each word.
Naminé nodded. "Vexen had approached Sora only a few hours after you and Sora had been separated."
Kairi looked at Naminé, confused. "Vexen?"
"He was one of the Organization members that Sora and Riku were able to deal with before you were kidnapped from the island."
"There were thirteen of them, right?"
Naminé nodded. "Sora and Riku had killed five of the Organization members prior to you speaking with Roxas. Those five were Vexen, Marluxia, Larxene, Lexaeus, and Zexion." Naminé laughed. "Well, Vexen was killed by another Organization member, but he still counts."
With each name Naminé said, the scene changed to show a black-robed figure. The one that stood out to Kairi the most was Larxene, the only female Organization member.
Kairi watched with the utmost interest as scenes of Sora flashed in front of her. She watched him confront Axel on more than one occasion, as well as Larxene and Marluxia. Naminé herself appeared in several scenes, talking with Sora or one of the Organization members. Then DiZ, Ansem the Wise, appeared in a scene, speaking with Naminé.
"Ansem?" Kairi asked.
Naminé nodded. "He persuaded me to stop working with the Organization and start helping Sora. They'd held me captive for a long time, so naturally I wanted revenge. I started to repair the damage done to Sora's memories, and the memories of him that others had." She looked at her Other. "I'm so sorry, Kairi, but I'm the one who caused you to forget about Sora."
Kairi's face adapted a sad smile. "It's alright. You helped us all in the end." The scenes continued to flash before them, but now Sora had changed into Riku. One particular face caused Kairi to back up and growl at the scenes.
Naminé stopped the whirling scenes on one in particular where Riku was facing off against Ansem, or Xehanort's Heartless, in a stark-white hallway not unlike the room that Kairi had been in before these visions.
"Ansem," Kairi whispered, even more hate dripping off her single word.
"Xehanort's Heartless," Naminé corrected. "His spirit had still resided within Riku. Agreeing with the King, Riku fought off the darkness as long as he could as he searched for you."
The scene changed to show Riku talking to Kairi, but Kairi faded out and Naminé replaced her.
"What?" Kairi's eyes were wide.
"DiZ had me try to get Riku to continue to fight the darkness," Naminé explained. "You are his light, Kairi. Or, you were. Just seeing your face, even though he knew it wasn't really you, helped him to continue to overcome his darkness."
Kairi smiled. It was always nice to hear that you were that important to someone.
The scene changed again. Now it showed Riku fighting a darker version of himself. Naminé looked over at Kairi and noticed her confused look. "It was a twisted experiment of Vexen's and Zexion's. Not even I know the whole truth behind why they made a copy of Riku, but it couldn't have been good. Riku defeated it, of course, and it admitted to being a mere copy." Naminé nodded. "After that, there was only one thing left for Riku and the King to do: take on the shadow of Xehanort's Heartless that resided within Riku."
The scene changed to an action-packed battle between Riku and Ansem. The King was there, as well. Kairi watched on in eager interest as Riku and the King were able to defeat Ansem's shadow.
The scene switched then to Riku facing Naminé, who was standing next to a strange pod. Kairi looked closely and gasped as she saw Sora floating inside the pod, asleep.
"What did you do to Sora?" Kairi asked.
Naminé looked down at the ground. "In order to completely restore his memories of you, I had to put Sora to sleep. In exchange for his old memories, he would have to forget everything about me and Castle Oblivion, the place where the Organization was keeping me held hostage."
Kairi fought the urge to put a comforting hand on Naminé's shoulder. "He would lose all his memories of you? So when he met you in the Organization's stronghold, he didn't remember you at all?"
"He may have felt a slight 'I think I know this person' feeling, but as for remembering my name or anything about what happened involving me, no," Naminé replied sadly, "he didn't remember anything."
"That's terrible," Kairi said, holding back her own tears. She couldn't imagine what it would feel like to force someone to completely forget about you. After thinking about it, Kairi realized that no, she wouldn't have been able to do it.
"DiZ appeared to Riku," Naminé said, continuing the story. "He told him to make a decision between light and darkness. Riku chose the path to dawn. He chose to make his own destiny, not to leave it up to the likes of the Organization and DiZ."
"Does Riku remember you?" Kairi asked.
Naminé looked at Kairi. "I offered to destroy the shadow of Xehanort's Heartless inside of him, but the result would be his loss of the memories of the King and Castle Oblivion. He chose to fight the shadow himself, for he wasn't afraid of the darkness any longer." Naminé looked back at the image of Riku with admiration. "He declined to have his memory tampered with. Yes, Kairi, he remembers me."
Kairi smiled. So Naminé's help wasn't entirely lost on the dead and forgotten. That also explains why I remembered Riku, but not Sora, Kairi realized.
"Riku went off on his own," Naminé explained as the scene changed to a solo Riku, trudging along in search of something. "He was searching for a way to rid himself of the darkness within him without my help. That's when DiZ appeared to him again."
The scene showed Riku talking with the familiar figure of DiZ. Riku nodded and ran off, the Soul Eater brandished in his right hand.
"DiZ said that if Riku could find a boy named Roxas and bright him to DiZ, it would help Sora wake up from his slumber," Naminé explained. "Riku left without so much as a word. I, at this point, was under DiZ's constant care and was slowly but surely piecing Sora's memories back together."
The scene shifted to Riku fighting a member of Organization XIII. This member, however, was wielding two Keyblades, one a sinister black of many sharp points and the other a pristine white with what seemed to be…
"What is that?" Kairi called, stopping the images from moving. She dodged forward and pointed at the keychain hanging off of the white Keyblade. It was a necklace of thalassa shells.
"That's the lucky charm you gave Sora," Naminé replied. "Using it as a keychain, Sora could use that particular Keyblade, the Oathkeeper."
The images continued moving. Riku fought valiantly against the robed figure, utilizing the massive skyscraper behind him as Heartless poured out of the streets around them, but in the end, was defeated. The hooded figure put down its hood, revealing spiky brown hair and startling blue eyes.
"Roxas was Organization member XIII," Naminé explained, seeing Kairi's confusion. "He was created when Sora became a Heartless in Hollow Bastion."
"I remember talking about that," Kairi said with a nod. "Riku said that Sora was Roxas' 'Other'."
Naminé nodded. "Just like you are my Other, created when your heart was separated from you body and entered Sora."
Kairi nodded with a large smile. She was glad that her Nobody was a kind person, not wanting to hurt people like the other Organization members.
"Did Roxas really want to hurt Riku?" Kairi asked.
"I doubt it," Naminé replied with a shrug. "Roxas later betrayed the Organization. Something tells me he didn't really want to do anything to hurt Sora, Riku, or anyone else."
"Me, too," Kairi said with an affirming nod.
"Anyway," Naminé said, continuing, "it was then that Riku chose to utilize the darkness within him to become strong enough to bring Roxas to DiZ. That's when he started looking like Ansem. The next time DiZ saw Riku, Roxas was in his custody and Riku introduced himself as Ansem."
"How ironic," Kairi said with a single chuckle.
"With Roxas in DiZ's custody, DiZ made sure that the Organization wouldn't be able to find him easily. He sent Roxas into a digital Twilight Town, a world inside a computer that was fashioned after the real Twilight Town. The real one is where you met Hayner, Pence, and Olette."
"I remember," Kairi said.
The scene shifted to Kairi walking along the road with Selphie. "And I was responsible for this," Naminé said proudly.
"So you connected Roxas and me," Kairi said in realization.
Naminé nodded. "I didn't agree with DiZ keeping Roxas so far in the dark. Roxas was a person, after all. Even if he was a Nobody, with no heart, he still deserved to know who he really was. I tried my best to tell him, but DiZ interfered, sending Roxas to the real Twilight Town. In his anger, Roxas fought his way to the mansion where Sora was secretly sleeping. I had completed his memory restoration – the only thing missing was the part of him that Roxas held. DiZ joined the two together and Sora woke up just a few minutes later."
The scenes then began to whiz by. Hollow Bastion, Leon and the other, Disney Castle, the War of the Heartless, Maleficent, Pete, Organization members, and Riku, garbed in an Organization trench coat.
The scene finally stopped at a colorful hollow where what looked to be hundreds of Nobodies surrounded Sora, Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, and Axel, all back to back. Axel jumped forward and put an end to the monstrous number of enemies, but he was quickly fading away from the attack.
Tears welled up in Kairi's eyes. "Axel tried to kidnap me," she whispered. "Why was he helping Sora?"
Naminé shook her head. "Axel did things on his own. I don't think even he knew exactly why he did everything that he did. He and Roxas had been best friends in the Organization. When Roxas talked of leaving the Organization, Axel was initially against it, but later realized that Roxas had been right. He betrayed the Organization and set me free, allowing me to meet up with DiZ and restore Sora's memories. He tried to get Roxas back to the Organization while he was still separated from Sora, but Roxas was able to escape and rejoin with Sora." Naminé sighed. "He interfered with Sora at the War of the Heartless in order to try to get him to go search for you, but Sai'x interrupted and Axel left in a hurry. He gave his life so that Sora and the others could go to the World That Never Was to find and rescue you. Axel was truly an enigma."
Kairi felt the tears flowing as Axel's body continued to fade away as Sora leaned over him.
"Axel wanted to turn Sora into a Heartless," Naminé said in thought. "Maybe he wanted to do that because Sora's will was so strong that Roxas would be set created again, and Axel could have his friend back. In doing that, he would have also foiled Organization XIII's plans, just like Roxas wanted to do. Two birds with one stone."
Kairi shook her head. "For someone with no heart, he cared about Roxas a lot," she said quietly.
Naminé nodded. "He did."
"The rest is history," Kairi said as the images flashed by, finally ending in a spinning void of white and gray that returned to the stark-white room that the two of them had started in.
There was silence for a few moments before Naminé sounded once more, "Does that answer a few things?" she asked her Other.
Kairi nodded quietly. "Yes, it does. A lot, actually. Thank you, Naminé."
Naminé shook her head. "No, Kairi, thank you. If it weren't for your strength, I wouldn't exist. The Organization would still be around. There's no doubt in my mind that you were a major influence on the order of events that unfolded around Sora."
Naminé held out her hand, grasping something. Kairi held out her hand and Naminé dropped a necklace of thalassa shells into her Other's hand.
"Don't ever let Sora forget that promise," Naminé said sternly. "If he does, then your bond with him is completely useless. Be there for each other. Roxas and I are there for you, and we don't even technically exist."
Kairi stared at the necklace for what seemed like forever. So much feeling had been put into that necklace, and so much had happened since it had been passed to Sora. The Organization was gone now. Roxas and Naminé were free. Kairi, Sora, and Riku could live happy lives again.
"Is there any way that I can speak with you?" Kairi asked. "After we rejoin, I mean."
Naminé shook her head and tears visibly began to fill her eyes. "I don't exist if you do, Kairi. But if you want to see me again, just go to the tree in the Secret Place. Roxas and I will be waiting for you here, in this room."
Kairi nodded, tears freely flowing down her face. She was truly lucky to have a Nobody like Naminé. Naminé reached out and placed her hand on Kairi's and a blinding light filled the room. Kairi closed her eyes lightly, sniffling as she felt the hand of her Nobody vanishing from existence.
When Kairi opened her eyes again, she was back in the Secret Place, detached from the tree, facing the wooden door. The only evidence she had ever vanished was the necklace of thalassa shells in her hand and the tearstains on her face.
As Kairi turned to head out of the cavern, the wind picked up and made a melodious sound through the hollow of the cavern. It almost sounded like someone was singing. Kairi made her way to the entrance of the tunnel and she looked back at the door one last time before she turned to head through the small, narrow tunnel that would lead her to the real world.
As she left, the wind picked up again, and the singing mutated. No longer did it sound like a wondrous melody, but now it was a simple spoken message:
"Thank you, Kairi."
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The End
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