Chapter 2 the world of cards

Asuna cradled Kirito's head in her lap. A look of worry etched on her face as she gazed at his unconscious form. Questions upon questions formed in her mind as she wondered what or who could've caused her fiancé to collapse. "Kirito… please wake up." Asuna said. "Gawrsh! You don't think that fellah in the black coat could've done something to him?" Goofy pondered. "Well if he did, he's gonna pay for it!" Sora angrily remarked. "Yeah, let's get him!" Donald said. "Did you forget what happened just now? Our abilities are gone! We can't fight anyone until we figure out how this cockamamie castle works." Asuna said. "But-" Sora said before being cut off by Asuna again. "No Buts! We're not going anywhere until Kirito wakes up." Asuna said firmly.

While Kirito slept, his dreams brought him to a familiar place. A round, gothic column with a stain glass floor depicting himself, his loved ones, and the floating castle Aincrad. From what he could gather, this place existed inside of his heart. Although the only times he had been to this place, was when his mysterious tenant, Master Eraqus, had called for him. He hadn't figured out why he chose him of all people, but Eraqus had been a source of guidance for Kirito in the past. Perhaps he could help explain their current predicament. "Eraqus! Master Eraqus!" Kirito called out. "I need some answers. What is Castle oblivion? Who is that guy in the black coat? And who was that kid I saw?" Kirito asked. A ball of light floated towards the station from the inky darkness surrounding it. Once it reached the station's center, the light intensified for a second before Eraqus resumed his human form.

"Apologies, Kirito. What you experienced was one of my memories. It seems this castle has caused our memories to mix with one another. Allow me to explain. Castle Oblivion as it is now known, was once my home. Light and darkness exist in equal balance here. The masters before me devised a certain… trick to keep people from abusing such neutral ground. Before it became what you see now, I lived here as its protector and was tasked with training keyblade wielders so that they would one day become masters. Before I passed, I taught one of my students how to turn this place into the castle you see today. The memories of all who enter this castle are lost to Oblivion. Hence the name." Eraqus said. "So that splitting pain in my head was one of your memories. What did you do?" Kirito asked. "Let's just say it's something I regret and leave it at that. Now, on to more important matters. Those strangers in the black coats are trespassers. They have to be dealt with." Eraqus said. "Okay, and the boy with the blonde hair?" Kirito asked. "One of my students. Now if that's all, I believe you have a more pressing matter to attend to." Eraqus said curtly. He then turned back into a ball of light and floated off to some other corner of this imaginary space. "Well he's as cryptic as ever." Kirito said.

Back in the castle foyer, Kirito groaned as he woke from his abrupt slumber and saw Asuna looking down at him with an expression of concern. "Hey Asuna." Kirito greeted. "Kirito… You dummy." Asuna scolded while tearing up. "Can you get up?" Strea asked. "I think so." Kirito responded. "Here, let me give you a hand." Sora offered while extending his arm toward Kirito. Kirito took the offered hand and with sora's help he was soon back on his feet. "Gawrsh. Are ya sure you're okay Kirito?" Goofy asked. "Yeah. It was just a head ache." Kirito said. "You passed out! That's more than just a head ache. You probably have a concussion." Yuuki said. "It's fine. I know what happened. Eraqus explained it to me." Kirito said. "Eraqus?" Donald parroted. "The knight from my dreams. Eraqus is his name. He said that this is place is going to mess with our memories. I guess it started with me. One of my memories was swapped with his. I don't know what it was, but it hurt. A lot." Kirito said. "To find is to lose, and to lose is to find. So we lose our old memories and find new ones?" Asuna said. "I think you just hit the nail on the head Asuna." Kirito said. "Well I know one thing. That guy in the coat is trouble. But maybe if we go to this card's world, we'll be able to beat him and get our memories back." Sora said. "That's the first thing I've heard that makes sense today. Let's go." Kirito said.

Sora held the card out towards the door. The card sparked with light and the door opened revealing a veil of light. When Sora passed through the light he found himself in a familiar place. The brick houses, cobblestone ground and dim orange lamp posts lighting the starry sky. "Wait, this can't be right. We're in Traverse Town!" Sora exclaimed. "What you see isn't real." a voice spoke. The man in the black coat stood directly behind Sora. Sora turned to face him, but yet again the stranger vanished through a dark portal and reappeared behind Sora again. "This town is an illusion created by your memories ingrained in that card." The stranger said. "My memories?" Sora said as he turned to face him. Then Jiminy Cricket hopped out of his place in Sora's hood and onto the ground. "Forget about that Sora. We lost everybody!" Jiminy exclaimed. Sora turned around yet again and surveyed the area for his comrades, but no one was in sight. "Donald? Goofy? Kirito? Asuna? Strea? Yuuki? Guys! Where are you?" Sora called. "What did you do with them!?" Sora asked. "They are at the mercy of the cards now. Master the cards, and their strength will be yours again." The stranger said. Suddenly Sora found that his pocket was full of an assortment of cards. And a green card with Donald's face appeared and was bouncing on the ground.

"The laws of the castle require that your friends be transformed into cards. I f you value your friends, you won't fail to pick them up. Cards you pick up will be added to the top of your stack. Use them, and your friends will come to your aid." As the stranger had instructed, Sora went to pick up the bouncing card. When he neared it, the card flew into his pocket with the rest of his cards. Sora fished the friend card from his pocket and looked at Donald's frozen visage. "Well, here goes. Donald!" Sora called. Light sparked from the green card and Donald was summoned in a flash of light. The wizard waved his staff and cast fire and blizzard magic at the stranger. However, the stranger merely dodged the offensive magic. "The cards you use vanish, but they will reappear to aid you time and again. Cards are the hearts of your friends. Everything in this castle is ruled by cards. Whether an enemy or a door confronts you, cards are the only way to proceed. But you mustn't forget your own strength. Now come at me." The stranger said. Sora didn't need to be told twice. He ran towards the stranger and swung his keyblade at him. The stranger merely blocked each of his swings as if the keyblade were nothing more than a child's toy. "Each action you take uses up one of the cards in your deck. Without any cards, you can't do anything. However if you merely concentrate, the cards you used will return." The stranger explained. Just as he said, Sora was unable to attack without using a card. Seeing no alternative, Sora heeded the stranger's advice and concentrated on his deck. The cards he had used previously had returned to his pant pocket. "Good. You understand the fundamentals of combat in the castle." The stranger said.

After imparting his lesson, everyone else ran to Sora's side. "What happened to you guys?" Sora asked? "You tell us! When you opened the door, we saw a strange light. The rest is kind of a blank." Donald said. "Gee, that doesn't help. Try to remember what happened. I have to keep my journal up to date." Jiminy said. "Hey, Donald, Where'd we get the new clothes?" Goofy asked. Donald was now wearing a blue tunic with pockets to his left and right and a third in the middle. He also had a hat with a lot of zippers on it. Goofy was wearing a green turtle neck sweater, black vest, yellow pants, brown loafers, and a yellow hat with a pair of goggles. "The cards again?" Sora asked. "That is for you to ponder. Master the cards and make your way through the castle. But from here, you walk alone." The stranger said. "Alone!? We can't let Sora go alone!" Goofy said. "Yeah, Sora can't do anything without our help." Donald said. "Way to egg him on Donald." Asuna said sarcastically. "You want me go alone, Fine. I can take care of myself." Sora said. "Hmph, the hero speaks boldly. Go, then. The rest of Castle Oblivion awaits. Walk avenues of latent memory, and you shall meet someone dear to you." the stranger said. He then opened up another dark portal and vanished. "I've got a bad feeling about this." Jiminy said. "Welcome to the club." Kirito said. "Relax, guys. I'm ready for any tricks he has up his sleeves. How hard can it be to figure out these cards?" Sora said.