Author's Notes: Well, folks… its finally time to begin the thrilling sequel to Chains of Destiny – The Keyblade's Chosen Ones! Welcome to the first chapter of Castle of Memories! Oh, boy… I am so excited to write the sequel. As I stated in the prologue, I have many ideas in mind for what I'm about to do in this story… especially with Sora and Maka. *evil laugh*
Well, enough of keeping you all waiting… let's get on with the writing! I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Soul Eater or Fairy Tail: they belong to T etsuya Nomura, Atsushi Okubo and Hiro Mashina.
Chapter 1 – Into Oblivion Itself!
The fire was continuing to burn – it showed no signs of giving up or extinguishing itself. 'Its not even giving up… impressive.' 14-year old Maka Albarn thought to herself as she continued to stare at the fire for about half an hour since she had woken up… not by her choice of course.
It felt like forever since Sora, Maka and their friends had defeated Ansem – The Seeker of Darkness and closed the Final Door along with restoring the worlds back to normal. Unfortunately, it was a pyrrhic victory…
Kairi, who turned out to be her long-lost sister and her weapon partner Soul had both returned to the Destiny Island to wait for their loved ones to come back. Yet, that would have to wait…
Sora and Maka's best friends Tsubaki Nakatsukasa and Riku were both trapped in the Realm of Darkness alongside King Mickey and Master Makarov. The Heroes needed to find them before returning home and resuming their peaceful lives.
As Maka continued to stare at the fire, she couldn't help but wonder how Soul and Kairi were doing back on Destiny Islands… they were no doubt alright, that much was certain. But would she and Sora see them again one day?
"Hey, babe. Having trouble sleeping?" A familiar to Maka voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Looking up she saw a grinning Sora with his arms behind his head.
Maka nodded. "Yeah… You as well?" She asked as her boyfriend nodded back and sat down next to her.
The loved birds started to stare at the fire as the night breeze flew by them – they started to shiver. "Ugh… so cold…" Maka spoke up.
"H-here… let me warm you up." Sora suggested before wrapping himself and Maka in a hug.
Maka smiled gently and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Sora… my lovely sky prince." Sora smiled back and replied. "Anything for my princess."
In response to hearing the word 'princess', Maka giggled as she and Sora continued to stare at the fire without no care in the world. Everything was calm and peaceful…
Maka gave a happy sigh. "It's a peaceful night…" Her boyfriend agreed with a nod. "Yep. Although, you should see how the night sky and stars are over at Destiny Islands. When I was little, Riku and I used to sit and watch them all the time."
Upon hearing Riku's name, Maka frowned a little bit much to Sora's concern. "Hey, are you okay…?"
Maka nodded but her frown didn't disappear. "Yeah… I'm just wondering how my best friend is doing along with Riku in the dark realm."
"Oh…" She brought up a good point – Riku and Tsubaki were stuck in the dark realm along with the king and the master.
"Yeah… do you miss Riku, by the way?" Maka asked with Sora immediately nodding. "Yea… I just hope nothing serious has happened to him or Tsubaki. Don't worry, babe… we'll save and bring them home very soon."
Maka gave her boyfriend a small smile. "Yep. We will… plus, I have a long-lost sister to catch up and a weapon partner to smuggle in hugs."
"You sure do, Maka. I'm still surprised that you and Kairi are related though… then again, she did appear one day on our islands with no memory whatsoever." Sora told his girlfriend.
"She didn't remember anything from her old life or me at all?" Maka asked with the spiky-haired boy nodding. "Nothing. No memories of who she really was, where she came from or if her family was still around."
"Hmmm… guess whatever spell my parents casted on both me and Kairi really made us forget about our old lives. Damn…" Maka cursed as Sora petted her hands gently. "Don't feel too bad, babe. Your parents didn't have any choice in the matter… especially concerning Xehanort."
Upon hearing his name, Maka gritted her teeth in anger – Xehanort… the man who ruined Sora and Maka's lives, made Lucy and Lisanna's friends Wendy and Levy embrace the darkness… the old bastard who unleashed the Heartless to many worlds using another servant known as Ansem… the man who turned out to be Maka and Kairi's long lost grandfather.
After everything that had happened, Maka still didn't know what Xehanort wanted in the end… power, knowledge, his plans being completed? She had no idea. But one thing was certain – the old guy was a cunning person with plans that were awaiting completion. Along with that mysterious 'Organization' which the younger version of Maka's grandfather revealed before the heroes closed the Final Door.
Who was the 'Organization'? What exactly did they want? Was Xehanort leading them? These were the questions that were on Maka's mind… unfortunately no answers were revealed yet. Maybe very soon… in the near future.
Maka sighed heavily. "Look, Sora… maybe I can forgive my parents because mine and Kairi's lives were in danger due to my grandfather. Yet, I can freely say that I'm angry with them due to having another life that I knew next to nothing about. Sora, when I find them… they'll have many answers to offer." She told him.
"You definitely deserve some answers, Maka. Just… don't go overboard, kay?" Sora pleaded with her as Maka looked at him and then sighed. "I'll try my best… but no promises."
"That's all I ask. Although, I must admit… when you get angry, you become very cute." Upon hearing that Maka blushed heavily. "N-no! That's not true! Shut up!" Maka turned away to avoid being seen by Sora who was grinning.
"Cutie!" Sora began before Maka responded. "S-shut up! Stop it, Sora!" But Sora didn't pay attention to her. "You get a lot cuter whenever you get mad." Maka's blushed increased as she pulled out a book from out of nowhere and began to whisper quietly to herself. "Maka…"
Without even sensing it or trying to get away, Sora immediately felt the book being slammed into his head as Maka finished her ultimate punishment technique with the following word. "CHOP!"
Sora laid on the ground with a blood fountain coming from his head as Maka put away the book in her large cloak and then giggled at the sight of Sora's knocked-out form due to the Maka-Chop. Serves him right for teasing her!
Maka sighed happily as she leaned down and kisses Sora's head. "Don't tease me next time, my spiky-haired idiot."
Sora laid unconscious on the ground for more than a couple of seconds before regaining his sense and rubbing his bleeding head. "Ouch… Maka, why'd you do that?" He asked while looking at her.
"You deserve it cause I'm not someone you should be teasing, Sora. I am your girlfriend after all." Maka explained as Sora continued rubbing his head. "Is this how Soul feels whenever he does something bad?"
Maka shrugged with an innocent look on her face. "Hmmm… maybe."
"Maka, come on…" Sora got up but continued to rub the bloody part of his head as Maka giggled.
"Wow… so you two are the ones who defeated the Seeker of Darkness. Impressive." A new voice spoke up catching Sora and Maka's attention.
Turning around, they both were taken aback at what they saw – a mysterious person wearing a black coat of some kind with the hood raised to make sure his/her face wasn't visible.
Sora and Maka got up and took a defensive stance. "You! You wear a cloak just like the mysterious figure that attacked me and Kairi back in Hollow Bastion!" Maka told the mystery figure as Sora looked at her with a confused look. "Maka, you know this person?" The spiky-haired boy asked but Maka shook her head.
"Not this person in general… but the cloak… I recognize it. Way back I told you guys about a mystery man wearing a black coat and attacking me and my sister, remember?" Sora now knew what Maka was talking about – back in Hollow Bastion, she and Kairi told the story of how a mysterious being in a black cloak attacked both her and her sister with strange abilities like creating energy blades, orbs, shields, etc.
"Hmmm… so what the Superior told us was true: you and your sister did indeed battle him back in Hollow Bastion. Impressive." The mysterious figure complimented.
"The… Superior? Who's that?" Sora asked with the mystery figure chuckling. "Why, dear boy… it's the leader of the 'Organization'."
Upon hearing 'the Organization', Sora and Maka immediately went on high alert – was this person a part of the 'Organization'?
"Are you a member of this 'Organization'? If you are… then who are you exactly?" Maka asked as the mystery figure crossed its arms. "Hmph. You both think you are so clever to ask me questions like that… but you aren't wise enough to know about us. Not yet anyways…"
That answer didn't satisfy the couple at all – especially Maka. "Listen, wise-ass… we're in no mood for fun and games right now. Tell us everything we want to know or else."
"Or else what?" The mystery figure asked with small chuckles.
"Or else we'll beat the info out of you." Sora declared with a glare as he and Maka took out their Keyblades and prepared for a fight – surprisingly, the mystery figure didn't flinch. "So… you two really are the chosen wielders of the Keyblade."
"What of it?" Maka asked suspiciously without dismissing her weapon.
"Well, for one thing… I'm not here to fight. But I'm not going to answer any of your questions." The mysterious figure's reply didn't satisfy Sora or Maka at all.
"And why the hell not?" Maka asked as the mysterious figure turned around. "Well… if we fight right, I'll beat you two in an instant and I know you don't want that."
Sora and Maka wondered what the figure meant by that exactly. "What do you mean?" Sora asked with a glare on his face.
"Hmph… you both desire the need to find your missing friends, correct?" Sora and Maka were taken aback – how did this guy know what their goals were?
"How do you know what we want?" Maka asked as the figure chuckled yet again. "I can tell you… or… I'd rather let you find out all by yourselves."
Maka got mad. "Listen, asshole! I'm getting tired of these constant riddles of yours… you either tell us what we want or things will get serious. Believe you me!" She threatened as her grip on the Keyblade tightened.
"Yeah!" Sora agreed as he prepared for a fight alongside his girlfriend.
Meanwhile, the mystery figure just laughed and clapped its hands. "You two are truly a riot! I almost regret what I'm about to do to you both… but if you both wish to extract the answers from me… so be it!" Then the figure snapped its fingers as a large corridor of darkness appeared behind both Sora and Maka much to their shock.
The couple didn't have the time to get away as a huge gust of wind blew them straight inside the portal. "SORA!" Maka screamed as she grabbed her boyfriend very quickly. "I'VE GOT YOU!" Sora replied as the couple held on inside the portal.
As soon as Sora and Maka were inside the portal, it closed immediately with the cloaked figure chuckling. "Phase 1 of the plan is completed. Number XI should be pleased… with Sora and Maka inside Castle Oblivion, our dear memory witch and her companion can begin the manipulations. So… that just leaves a couple of things here." The cloaked figure stopped speaking as it looked at the campsite where Sora and Maka's companions were.
And thus… the grand plan had begun!
(Meanwhile…)
Sketching – it was something that she was quite familiar with it. She didn't consider it a hobby though… more like a means to pass the time since the castle wasn't exactly a place she would call a safe haven. To her, it was a prison.
The young girl was currently sketching something that resembled a white-colored hallway with two teenagers standing in it – a boy with spiky brown-hair and a girl with ash-blonde hair that was tied in pigtails. Eventually, the young individual who was sketching got up and walked over to a cage where a small doll with blonde hair was residing in it.
The little girl sighed to herself – she felt just like that doll. A prisoner of this castle… no way to escape. Nothing except follow the orders of your captors who promise you freedom in the end.
There was no way in or out…
Once you've stepped into Castle Oblivion, nothing but total Oblivion awaited you and your fate.
Author's Notes: WHAM, gotcha you all! Last night, I finished the first chapter of the story, but I decided to put the Author's Notes today since I was too tired and too sleepy to handle that… Sorry, guys and gals. My bad… ^^"
Anyways, sorry this chapter took so long to write. My brain was constantly refusing to cooperate with writing and finishing the chapter… sometimes I truly hate it whenever it does that. In the end, I finished the chapter and I can finally post it… thank god for that!
I truly hope you all enjoy what I've written… believe me when I say that it's a taste of things to come for our heroes. Also, can anyone guess who the mysterious black cloaked figure is? I'll give you a hint… its not one of the six members that were sent to Castle Oblivion to instigate the revolt. More like… someone who came from Death City. Oops, spoilers! XD
So, yeah… I think that's everything I have to say for now. Time to post this bad boy on the site and get to writing the other stuff I have planned. I seriously have so much crap to write… its not even funny anymore.
Well… that's it for me. I'm off to start writing another story chapter for another fanfiction. Provided my brain agrees to cooperate with me… LOL.
See you all next time! Bye and later!