Treasured Memories
Chapter 1
A streak of silver gleamed through the dark green, an occasional flash of gold following it. Silent and deadly, the weapon twirled and thrust at the command of a blue-eyed, tousle-haired teen. Again and again, the blade flicked through complicated maneuvers and techniques, and the teen's face remained set and focused. As he spun, an intricate blue pendant flew out on its chain, falling back again to his chest.
"Do you think he's okay?"
Further up on a hill, two companions sat watching the flashes coming from the clearing in one of the many worlds they had seen, home to one of the many Keyholes they had sealed. Donald shook his head slowly in answer.
"No, he said he wanted to be alone."
The two exchanged worried looks, then turned their eyes back to the flashing lights.
Silver-grey eyes watched the teen as well, but these glittered with malice. The crimson figure turned from its orb, smiling evilly. At the snap of its fingers, a large black panther padded up, rubbing its head against an outstretched hand.
"How quaint, Rumor my pet." A cold voice soft as death filled the dark room, a trace of amusement flecking through.
"There stands the Keyblade Master, alone with heavy heart. The boy is alive through no fault of his own, only the idiocy of those robed nitwits in their run-down castle. The fools had no idea how to break a heart."
The pale white hand stroked the panther's head, lingering on the velvety ears.
"They played with his memories, twisted them around. How could they fail to see the strength he gained from the mere feelings, the pure emotions he held in his heart?"
The figure cackled softly, and watched again the teen moving fluidly in the misty depths of the orb.
"But we know better, don't we, Rumor? Come, let us pay a visit to the Keyblade Master."
The crimson figure waved its pale hand over the orb, and the flashing image vanished from its swirling smoke. A few steps towards the shadows, and the figure faded into the darkness, the panther following soon after.
In the forest clearing, the Keyblade continued to whirl around as Sora practiced alone. His mind spun even faster than his weapon, and memories chased one another in an endless cycle in his ears.
-Kairi, no matter what, I'll always be there for you!
Sora, take care of her.
-There will always be another door to the light.
-Sora, take this.
Sora thrust the Keyblade forward with more force than he meant, and it sliced through a sapling directly before him. His hands shook, and he dropped down on a fallen log, hands on his face. Sweat glistened on every part of his body, and his breaths came in ragged gasps. The Keyblade had fallen to the leaf-strewn floor, sparkling in the evening sun. Weary fingers traveled slowly down his shining neck to clasp on the frail blue pendant. Sora's fist trembled around it, and a pearly tear trailed slowly down his cheek.
"Kairi, I...I..."
He looked up to the sky, his eyes reflecting the vibrant colors of the deepening twilight. Sora sighed, and a sad smile played across his lips.
"At least you're safe."
His hands reached to the ground, grasping the handle of the Keyblade. A sudden movement caught his eye, and Sora stiffened, standing slowly, his senses alert. He stayed like that for a minute or two, then relaxed, believing the danger to be gone. His eyes flicked back to the pendant.
"You may be far away, but as long as I can stop and remember you, I'll always be alright."
"Too true, Keyblade Master."
Sora raised the Keyblade in an instant, but was still barely fast enough to block the sudden flash of claws and teeth. He somersaulted backwards, whipping around and striking out at the creature, sending it leaping gracefully back to the side of the shadowy form at the edge of the clearing.
"I don't think he appreciated that, Rumor."
From the gloom emerged a tall, lithe figure clothed in tattered robes of deepest crimson. Lifeless, ash-grey hair hung in a curtain around a face bearing somewhat elven features, the skin a pale, flawless white. It seemed as though all color had been sucked away, right down to the watery silver eyes that sparkled darkly with hidden secrets. The only color evident was her scarlet lips; for the figure was most definitely feminine.
"Who are you?" Sora's blue eyes narrowed as the woman approached, and he brought the Keyblade around to bear between them. Her pale hand reached down to stroke the panther between the eyes. The corners of her scarlet mouth twitched into a malevolent smile, her beautiful features radiating pure evil.
"I? I am the Crimson Sorceress. But you may call me Sashiro." Her voice held a hint of a cruel laugh, and she bowed mockingly.
"And I know who you are, Sora Keyblade Master."
Her own silver eyes, along with the glowing gold ones of her pet, fell on the magnificent weapon, though it now had grown, intricate gold and silver tracings weaving in and out along its length and breadth, the Ultima keychain swinging gently from its pommel, Sora's hand moving back to its grip.
"Impressive, Keyblade Master; but I'm afraid it will take more than that when the time comes."
Sashiro paused, seeming to look past Sora, and her smile turned into a devilish grin.
"I believe we are about to have some uninvited guests joining this private conversation. We wouldn't want them to be rude now, would we, Rumor?"
She flicked her hand, and the panther leapt off in a hurry. Sora took a swipe, but just as the Keyblade would have connected, the feline vanished into a shadowy mist. Sashiro laughed softly.
"Leave my friends alone, Sashiro," Sora said, turning back to glare at her. "I'm warning you."
"I wouldn't dream of it; your pathetic companions aren't worth the effort." She extended a pale hand menacingly towards him, her eyes flashing wickedly. "Besides, you gave much more important things to worry about, dear boy; like yourself."
Sora gasped and took a step backwards in spite of himself.
From their seats on the hills, Donald and Goofy watched as the flashes of gold and silver stopped. They stared at the clearing, their expressions growing even more worried.
"I have a bad feeling about this, Goofy," Donald said, his voice more gravelly than usual.
"Me, too. Let's go check on Sora."
"Right, let's go."
The two companions rose and headed down the hill. As they neared the edges of the woods, two golden pinpricks appeared from the gloom. Donald threw a hand out to stop Goofy. He stared back at the glowing dots, and suddenly whipped out his staff. A giant fireball flew through the dusk towards the gloom, and the lights disappeared.
"Ha! Got it–AUGH!"
The large black panther landed square on Donald's chest, knocking him to the ground and immediately leaping at Goofy. His stout shield blocked the claws, throwing the cat back to circle the two. It soon became clear this was to be a stalemate, Donald casting spells the feline easily dodged while Goofy held the shield before them protectively, the panther seemingly only interested in preventing their entrance into the clearing.
"I sure hope Sora's okay in there," Goofy said to his friend.
"Yeah, let's hope so."
A ball of dark magic formed in Sashiro's hand, and she blasted it towards Sora. He dodged, rolling to the side in the nick of time, only to find another blast directly before him. He was quickly surrounded by dark magic, the only escape blocked by the looming form of the Crimson Sorceress. She cackled, and her hand rose, one long, spidery finger pointing towards Sora.
"Do you know what makes you so strong, Keyblade Master? It is not your weapon, as so many think; it is your heart. Your heart is special, the only one to survive and return after you became a Heartless for your silly little girlfriend; your heart, which carried you through those idiots' castle. You see, they went about things the wrong way. The heart is affected by memories, yes, but even more so by emotion! The memories and emotions are linked; throw off their balance, disturb their frail structure within the heart and watch it shatter! I will show those fools the true way to conquer the heart; see for yourself, Keyblade Master, what happens when this balance is broken!"
Sora's eyes widened in shock and fear, and he whirled around to hack wildly at the dark magic around him, the Keyblade merely bouncing off. He flung himself, panicking, into the barrier and was thrown backwards forcefully. Sashiro grabbed his arm in one hand, spinning him around to face her, her cold silver eyes inches from his scared blue ones, and a sinister laugh emerged from her lips to echo in his ears. She glanced at the pendant on Sora's neck, and his gaze followed hers.
"No, ... please,..." he pleaded, begging with her. Sashiro bent forward to whisper in his ear,
"Say good-bye."
Her free hand glowed a poisonous blue, and she thrust Sora to his knees. The blue light enveloped him, and he cried out in pain. His hand flew to his chest, the Keyblade falling to the ground as he clutched in vain at the pulsing pain in his heart. Sora screamed again, low and guttural, the sound echoing of the primal ache coursing through his veins. He writhed in agony, twitching in the scattered leaves and clawing madly in an attempt to reach his heart.
The light faded after a while along with the dark magic barrier, and Sora's body slumped limply back against a tree trunk as he panted heavily. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
"What–what did you–did you do, Sashiro?" He could barely gasp out the words, and his usually bright eyes were glazed over as they stared at the Crimson Sorceress.
"Do? Oh, yes, I imagine you are in quite an amount of pain, aren't you? Do? Why, I simply took your memories of your silly little girlfriend, that's all!" Her face cracked again into that devilish grin. "With all memories of her gone, the emotions associated with them are throwing off the balance in your heart, and you will slowly lose whatever strength came from that extraordinary ticker of yours. Oh, and there's also the pain you're bound to feel at losing someone so close... pity..."
Her high, cold laugh sent the birds twittering form the trees, and a glittering, shining ball appeared in her hand. It was incredibly beautiful, almost impossibly beautiful.
"How precious these things called memories are, how beautiful they seem to us," she raised her hand to indicate the glowing light, "But if you want them back, they're right here, Keyblade Master."
Sashiro held her hands temptingly close to Sora, yet he was so weak, he could barely summon the energy to raise a finger, let alone snatch at the orb glowing before him. Sashiro smirked, her hands waving gracefully, and the orb vanished as the sun sank past the horizon in a blaze of glorious colors.
"Ha," she said softly in Sora's face, "Let's go, Rumor."
She snapped her fingers, and within seconds, the black panther appeared in the gloom at her side. Both headed into the shadows, and she whispered tauntingly as she faded into blackness,
"We shall meet again, Keyblade Master."
Sora opened his mouth to call after her, but his body gave out, the last of his energy drained. He eyes rolled back into his head and his mind slipped into unconciousness.
The panther continued in its careful circling of Donald and Goofy.
"I say we try to charge it," Donald whispered secretively.
"Gotcha!" Goofy said loudly. Donald smacked his head despairingly and sighed.
"On three, okay? One–two–"
Suddenly, the cat's ears flicked back towards the clearing, its head swivelling around on its shoulders. It growled once at the two companions and bounded off, fading into the shadows. Donald and Goofy stared at each other confusedly.
"Come on, let's go help Sora," Goofy said, and they ran headlong down the path, soon reaching the clearing. Sora lay unmoving, face-down in the dirt, the Keyblade still lay forgotten by his side.
"Sora!"
They ran over, Donald casting a healing spell as he went.
"Gawrsh, are you alright, Sora?"
Goofy sat him up, and Sora's eyes fluttered open. He moaned weakly and looked faintly around the clearing.
"Sashiro...come back..."
Donald and Goofy looked at each other, confused once more.
"Who's Sashiro?" they asked in unison.
"Took...memories,...memories of...of...of her..."
Sora clutched at his chest, grasping for the pendant and wincing in pain, his face contorted in an awful grimace.
"What! Not your memories of Kairi!"
"Kairi? Is that her name? I can't remember..."
The two looked on as Sora's eyes filled with tears once more, and he broke down and cried. Goofy patted him on the shoulder, and Donald stared sadly at them.
"Don't worry, Sora. We'll get them back, all of us."
"Yeah!" Goofy said. "Besides, you guys shared that fruit thing, that popo, or papa, or something, remember?"
Donald glared at Goofy through the ever-fading light.
"It's paupu, and no, he doesn't remember, stupid."
"Oh, yeah..."
Sora continued to cry silently, and the companions could only wait, unable to help their closest friend in his time of need.
Sashiro walked through her lair and flopped precariously onto the arm of her marble throne. The panther padded up to lay at her feet. She stared thoughtfully at his pitch-black fur.
"I suppose I could I have done that differently, but if Marluxia had one thing right, it was that even a shattered heart will mend with time."
She leaned back, the devilish grin spreading across her pale face.
"Sashiro, one; Keyblade Master, zero!"
She cackled evilly to the cobwebs on her high-arched ceilings.