Chapter 11 Memories

Exiting through another door, Sora, Corrin, Donald, and Goofy

"Glad to be out of that desert." Donald mumbled.

"Hmm…" Jiminy muttered on Sora's hood

"What's up Jiminy?" Corrin asked

"Well, I was just wondering what Axel said back there. That whole 'You may no longer be who you are' thing worries me. What could he have meant by that?" Jiminy asked

"I may no longer be me? How could I be anyone else?" Sora asked

"That's true, but it never hurts to be careful." Jiminy said

"That's right." Goofy said "Anything can happen here at Castle Obliv-Oblivi-Obliv-"

"Castle Oblivion." Donald said

"That's right. Now I remember"

"Hey, with the four of us together, we can handle anything." Sora said

"Yeah, just like we did at that creepy castle with all those weird contraptions." Goofy said

"And that was when?" Sora asked as he Donald and Corrin were lost in thought.

"I can't remember. What was it called?" Donald asked

"Gwarsh. It was, Holla…Holly…Holler…Sorry, I can't remember."

"Waak! Stop Goofing around!" Donald scolded

"Are you sure you didn't make it up?" Corrin asked.

"I don't think I'm making it up." Goofy said thinking for a moment. "No, I know I didn't! Don't you guys remember? That's where Sora turned the Keyblade on himself to save Kairi's heart. And then he just disappeared into thin air and Corrin turned into a Dragon for the first time and went crazy." Goofy said "I was really worried for you two. There is no way I'd forget it."

"Oh yeah. I turned into a Heartless." Sora said

"Wait, that was in a castle?" Corrin asked

"I think so?" Sora said not fully convinced himself.

"Of course you two would forget." Donald joked

"You remember?" Sora asked

"Of course. I remember perfectly." Donald said

"Oh really. What was it called then?" Corrin challenged

"That's easy. It was…" Donald was in complete silence with everyone else looking at him.

"Well?" Corrin asked with a smirk

"Jiminy, it's in your journal, right?" Donald asked

"Of course." Corrin muttered

"Of course. Every word. Just a second." Jiminy opened the journal before he gasped in horror. "IT'S GONE! EVERYTHING I WROTE IS GONE!" Jiminy showed the entire journal was blank.

"What? How?" Corrin asked

While Jiminy continued to cry over all his hard work being gone, Corrin turned to Sora.

"All of that writing gone, just like that. Is it the castle doing, or did Axel or that other guy steals it wen we weren't looking?" Corrin asked

"I'm not sure. Man, this is messed up." Sora said.

"Something's screwy. Journal pages don't just disappear like that." Donald said

"More importantly, that castle Goofy said before." Sora said getting everyone's attention. "We all know it happened, but for some reason, none of us remember it."

"Yeah. You turning into a Heartless and me becoming a Dragon for the first time. Not to mention the nightmare that came right after it." Corrin said as the others frowned in concern for Corrin. "That isn't something that one would just forget."

"Do you think we are starting to lose our memories?" Sora asked

"Along this road is something you need. However, in order to claim it, you must lose something that is dear to you." The man in the black coat's words echoed in Sora's mind.

"Is that what he meant?" Sora asked

"Is what who meant?" Corrin asked

"That guy in the black coat who lured us into the castle. He said that in order to claim something we need; we would have to lose something that is dear to us." Sora said

"And this something dear is our memories?" Corrin asked

"I don't know, maybe?" Sora asked

"So, we are losing our memories?" Donald asked

"Well, that man did keep saying 'To lose is to find, and to find is to lose.'" Jiminy said

"So, what we are losing is our memories." Corrin deduced. "And if we keep going, we'll likely lose even more."

"I guess it really is Castle Oblivion." Sora muttered

"Dose that mean, the higher up we go, the more memories we lose, and the more people and places we forget?" Donald asked concerned

"Riku…Kairi…" Sora muttered

"So, do we go back down?" Corrin asked

"Don't worry fellers. We might forget about what we've been and what we've seen, but there is no way we could ever forget who our friends are." Goofy said

"I don't know…" Donald said concerned

"Sora, when you turned into a Heartless, did you forget who we were?" Goofy asked

"Of course not." Sora said

"And Corrin. When you went crazy, did you truly forget who we are?" Goofy asked Corrin.

"No. I was lost in my anger, but I still remembered you guys. Maybe that's why your voices reached me." Corrin said

"Well, there you go! No matter what happens, you won't forget who your friends were." Goofy said

Sora and Corrin looked at a concerned Donald and Jiminy and then Goofy who gave them a reassured nod before Sora decided to speak up.

"You're right Goofy. We'll never forget who are friends are." Sora said

That got Donald's spirits up. "Well, if we won't forget our friends, then we have nothing to fear. Let's go!" Donald said as he turned around and marched forward.

"By the way, when I turned into a Heartless, who was it that took forever to notice me and kept clobbering me with his staff?" Sora asked with a grin as Donald halted in his tracks.

"Wait, what?" Corrin asked not being there when it happened

"Why couldn't you forget about that?" Donald asked annoyed

"Because it would bug you." Sora teased

Sora, Corrin, Jiminy and Goofy laughed as Donald got angry.

"Well, if you still remember silly stuff like that, then I guess we will be okay." Jiminy said as he returned to Sora's hood.

Sora then took out Kairi's charm. "See this?"

"Kairi's charm?" Corrin asked

"What about it?" Donald asked

"This is the promise that I made her. That me and Corrin would find Riku and come home to her." Sora said

"Right. And that's a promise there is no way even a goofball like you would forget." Corrin teased.

"HEY!" Sora shouted.

"Well come on. Riku isn't going to find himself." Corrin laughed as he Donald and Goofy continued forward.

Sora pocketed the charm. 'No way I would forget. Right Kairi?' Sora though with a smile as Kairi appeared in his mind smiling at him. Sora smiled back.

However, behind him, another girl appeared. Same size as Kairi, but with blond hair, a white dress and sandals. Sora turned to see her just as she vanished.

"Who…who was that?" Sora asked himself feeling that he should know her.

In another room in the castle, the same girl Sora saw was finishing her drawing of herself along with Sora, Kairi, and Riku.

Inside the basement, Vexen was locked inside his lab with a sign on the door that said "Do Not Disturb!"

"I am curious to what he's working on this time." Zexion said as he was watching the door.

"He seemed very excited after his fight with Riku and Silas." Lexeaus commented

Suddenly the door opened and Vexen walked out with a smug grin on his face.

"Gentlemen, allow me to present to you my latest masterpiece." Vexen said as he moved aside to reveal a figure stepping out of the shadows that was Vexen's lab.

Zexion and Lexeaus were quite surprised by what they saw.

As the four continued up the castle, Sora suddenly stopped to a sudden realization.

"I REMEMBER!" Sora shouted

"Remember what?" Corrin asked

"That girl…" Sora said

"Girl, I didn't see a girl." Donald said as he and Goofy looked around.

"No, back on the island. There was another girl I was good friends with." Sora said

"You mean Selphie?" Corrin asked

"No, another one. Along with Riku and Kairi, there was one other girl in our group." Sora said.

"Strange. That's the first time I believe you mentioned this girl." Jiminy said

"I only remember Kairi and Selphie from back home that we were close to." Corrin said

"What do you remember about her?" Goofy asked

"She was usually very quiet, and she liked to draw a lot. I remember that we were very close, but one day, she vanished." Sora said as he remembered the past.

Him and Riku were roughhousing like usual with Kairi watching them giggling and the other girl was sitting there drawing with crayons.

"Vanished?" Corrin asked confused

"I think she moved away. I remember that was very sad. Soon after that, my mom and I found you Corrin." Sora said

"Well, that would explain why I never met her, but if you guys were so close, why didn't I ever hear about her?" Corrin asked

"Maybe, the sorrow of her leaving blocked her from your memories?" Jiminy guessed. "But why is it now you remember?"

"Maybe it's this castle?" Goofy guessed

"I guess that makes sense." Corrin muttered "Do you remember her name?"

Sora shook his head. "No, I don't."

"Well, maybe it will come to you." Goofy offered

"After all that talk about not forgetting our friends, I go and do just that." Sora said upset.

"I'm sure you'll remember it all soon." Corrin said as Sora smiled

"You know, I think that this castle is making us lose memories, in exchange for getting memories buried deep down in our minds." Jiminy said

"To find is to lose and to lose is to find." Corrin said

"But how come me and Goofy aren't getting anything?" Donald asked

"Same here." Corrin added

"I'm not sure. Maybe it will come in time?" Jiminy guessed

The others looked unsure, but decided to move forward anyway.

Inside a higher room of the Castle, Larxene and Axel were looking at a monitor spying on Sora and co with a smirk on both their face.

"Looks like those memories have taken root." Axel said

"Yep, just as planned." Larxene said.

"And Marulxia is currently checking on 'it' right now?" Axel asked Larxene nodded

"Well then…I'm off to go play with Sora." Larxene said stretching and then picked up a card.

"I shouldn't have to say this but, don't break him Larxene." Axel said seriously.

"You don't trust me? I know when to let up. I'm not stupid enough to break my toys." Larxene said "By the way, am I detecting a soft spot there Axel?"

"Just remember, Sora is the key if we are going to take over the Organization." Axel said but was silenced by Larxene covering his mouth with an annoyed expression.

"I know you're in on it to, but for now, keep it under your hood until the time is right." Larxene warned as she left in a corridor of darkness.

Axel just smirked as he relaxed on the sofa. "You would have been wise to do the same, Larxene."

And that's a wrap!

No action this time, but next one will definitely be.

So Sora is now 'remembering' Namine and Vexen's project is ready to go.

On a side note, the Disney worlds still do happen, so our heroes can grow again, but I am not writing them. Don't worry though, I will tell what they regain when the time is right. No more new techniques though.