So emotions wise, this was even more emotional to write than the Kairi remembers Radiant Garden chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter 25: Forgotten Challenge:
Castle Oblivion - Second Floor
On the second floor, Sora witnessed Master Xehanort forcefully extract the darkness in Ventus' heart, creating a being of pure darkness called Vanitas. On the third floor, he witnessed his friend Riku duel a Keyblade-wielding girl in a black coat. On the fourth floor, he watched Ven be saved from the brink of death by his own newborn heart. On the fifth floor, he watched Riku and a girl named Xion discuss Sora's Namine-induced slumber. Each event he witnessed, he forgot as soon as he left the room. On the fifth floor, the hooded figure from earlier arrived to taunt him again.
"I can't remember anything at all, but you already knew that didn't you?" Sora said sarcastically as the figure appeared out of thin air.
"You seem pretty calm," the figure commented. "Guess you decided those things weren't worth stressing over. Out of sight, out of mind, right?"
"Wrong," Sora replied forcefully.
"What?" Now the figure was confused.
"It's like you said," the teenage Keyblade Wielder explained. "Everything I see, I can't remember, but I'm still frustrated I've forgotten all of it. I feel moments of loneliness. You said that there'd be no hurt feelings, but I am hurting. When the memories are gone, they leave a hole, and having that longing inside me hurts. But it'll help me somewhere down the road. It's the key I'll need to solve everything."
"Right on schedule," the figure remarked before vanishing again.
On the sixth floor, Sora watched Ven meet Terra and Aqua for the first time, only to fall into a coma after the amnesiac young man was badgered with questions by Terra about where he'd come from. On the seventh floor, he reacted with shock and anger to Xemnas' revelation that a girl called Xion was created as a Replica to copy his power for the Organization. The revelation shocked him, but his anger was directed at Xemnas, Xigbar, and Saix, for their callous disregard for others, even Replicas who deserved to be treated as more than just tools. He emerged into the seventh floor's exit hall to find the figure waiting for him yet again.
"The sadness of knowing you've forgotten someone or something that matters to you," they began. "Something like that will gnaw at you forever. But you somehow believe that by carrying around that kind of hurt, you'll be able to retrieve what you've lost, or what someone else has lost."
"Right" Sora replied, calmly and honestly. To his surprise, rather than criticize, the figure started laughing. "What's so funny?" the teen demanded.
"I can't believe you fell for it so easily," the cloaked figure answered. "In this place, to find is to lose, and to lose is to find. Well, you've lost memories and the only thing you've found in return is hurt, and by deciding that hurt was the key to remembering, you've given up all hope of ever being free from it. The hurt owns you now, Sora. Don't you see that? It's a wound that will never mend. That hole in your heart will grow bigger, until darkness finally claims it.
"Was this all just a trick to pull me in?" he asked, incredulous as to why illusions based on memories could be so malicious. Are the illusions drawing from my memories of my last visit here then? He asked himself as the figure replied.
"Afraid so," they answered. "And all it took was a handful of illusions. Your heart was just way too easy to break, Sora."
"That's not true!" Sora shouted angrily.
"It's not too late to turn back," the figure said before Sora could get angry enough to repeat his "The heart may be weak" speech from three years ago. "Why should you keep the hurt inside? Just tell yourself you need to forget about the people you met and the things you've seen in this place. There'll be nothing and no one to miss, no cause for loneliness. No hurt to keep eating away at your heart. It's your call, Sora. Cling to the memories you've lost, and the hurt they bring, till you're dragged into the darkness. Otherwise, let it all go, and you can be free and happy. The decision is yours." With that, the figure vanished, leaving the young man to continue to the eighth floor alone.
The eighth floor showed him a masked boy taunting Ventus by telling him that Terra was leaving him behind, and that he'd be a different person by the time Ven caught up. The ninth floor showed him a girl named Xion, as Namine explained to her that because she was a Replica made from Sora's memories, nobody would remember her once she had returned those memories. This revelation caused Sora to start crying, horrified that someone had to sacrifice their life for him to wake up and nobody could ever remember them. His sorrow only grew when Xion ran outside to confront Axel as he attacked the mansion. When he emerged into the ninth floor exit hall, Sora stopped to think of what was going on aloud.
"I'm all alone," he realized. "I hate feeling like this. I wonder… does this count as hurt? If I let it, will this pull me into the darkness?" He clenched his fist as he strengthened his resolve. "No. I can do this. There's no going back." And so he continued onward.
The tenth floor showed him images of Ven being taunted about his origins on Destiny Islands by a boy in a mask. On the eleventh floor, he wept alongside his Nobody as Roxas cradled a dying girl named Xion in his arms, barely able to remember who she was. The twelfth floor brought back the memory of the moment had had accept Ven's heart into his own. The young Keyblade Master had seen so much pain and suffering in the last twelve floors, and even though he had forgotten what exactly he'd witnessed, the hurt still remained. He emerged into the entrance hall of the Castle's top floor to find the same hooded figure waiting for him.
"I would ask if you enjoyed your little trip," the figure said sarcastically. "But we both know you've already forgotten it. Bet you're feeling pretty empty."
"No I'm not," Sora retorted. "I may not remember who I met, but I do remember that I met them. And knowing that I've forgotten them, I miss them."
"So you hurt," the figure remarked. "I warned you. Don't you remember what I said? That hurt will drag you down into the darkness. You have to get rid of all of it."
"No I don't," the young Keyblade Wielder fired back. "I can keep the hurt because it reminds me of something important. It lets me know that what I've forgotten is crucial. That's enough. I won't run from it. It'll stay inside of my heart until the day I remember.
"The darkness will take you first," his mysterious "guide" replied bluntly.
"If I put the hurt aside, I'll lose all my ties to the people who are connected to me," the young man answered. "My mind's made up. I may end up falling into the darkness, but I'll carry this with me. I'll only get rid of it when I remember everything, and not a day sooner than that. I'll keep the hurt with me for the time being. It's all that I have. It's what holds the pieces in place. I can accept that.
(Cue Vector to the Heavens)
"You say you accept it?" the girl in the back coat asked incredulously. "IT'S NOT A GAME!" With a stomp of her foot the girl in the black coat he'd been speaking to for the past twelve floors transformed the empty room into a battlefield. She and Sora stood on a large circular arena emblazoned with the insignia of Organization XIII. She leveled her Keyblade at Sora's shoulder, her voice broke, almost as if she was starting to cry. "IT'S PAST TIME THAT YOU LEARNED WHAT HURT REALLY FEELS LIKE!" With that, the two Keyblade Wielders clashed in a flurry of blades.
The two were almost evenly matched. The girl knew every move he would make before he made it. Every spell and technique in his repertoire she knew how to avoid and counter. And there was more than just a clash of blades at work. It was a clash of emotions as well. Tempered optimism versus jaded pessimism. Confusion and sadness against pent up anger and frustration. She rolled out of the way as he cast Firaga before firing off Ragnarok at him. Sora was able to cast Reflega in time to block all of the shots before retaliating with Thundaga. This managed to stun her long enough for him to get in a few good combos before she started blocking. After that she fired a Blizzaga spell in his direction. He jumped out of the way only for his foot to get caught in the blast.
As the girl ran toward him, dragging her Keyblade along the ground, Sora managed to muster the strength to swing the massive chunk of ice containing his frozen foot in the girls direction. The ice shattered as it connected with the barrier he knew she'd throw up at the last second, freeing up his feet as the fight continued. The longer the battle went on, the more it seemed like he was growing weaker and the girl was growing stronger, but eventually, after a few Thundaga spells and a few combos, he finally managed to defeat her. When he dealt his last blow, the circular arena vanished to be replaced the white walls of Castle Oblivion. He turned around to face the girl, who stood there holding a familiar Keyblade with his old Two Become One keychain. For a moment she just stood there, Keyblade at the ready as both of them panted heavily from exhaustion.
"Come on, Sora," the girl goaded. "Do It! Finish me off." When he refused to attack her any further, she grew confused. "Why won't you do it?" Slowly it dawned on her. "Now I get it. You've seen through my disguise. I'm just like everyone and everything else you've seen in this place – an illusion. I'm not even worth the effort. Is that what it is? Guess there's no point in destroying something if it never existed. Is that right?"
"No," Sora replied. "You say that you're an illusion but you really pack a punch. Sure it might have hurt while we were fighting, but the pain I felt was more than that. I sensed a different kind of pain from you. As if we'd been connected, like right then we shared the same hurt. If it somehow brings me closer to people in that kind of way, then carrying around a little hurt can't be all that bad."
"Can't be all that bad?" the girl asked incredulously. But after a moment, she let out a defeated sigh. "Alright, I give up. You passed. Congratulations Sora, you understand hurt."
"What do you mean?" Sora asked, confused by what she meant.
"My role was to make sure you were ready to take ownership of all the pain inside you," she explained. "And now that role is done. Nothing left for me to do except go away."
"Where are you going to go?" Sora asked. Even if the girl in front of him was an illusion, he continued to treat her as nothing less than a real person. "Don't you have some place to call home?"
"I don't know if I really do," the girl answered sadly. "But there's a place I'd like to be."
"Where?" Sora asked curiously, but instead of answering, the girl walked right through him as she vanished. As she did, all of the memories of the other two people in his heart besides Roxas flooded his mind. "What is this?" he gasped as he clutched his chest as a storm of emotions associated with those memories flooded his heart. Joy. Sadness. Fear. Anger. Envy. Confusion. Despair. As the memories finally stopped, he finally understood. "You can rest easy," he said. "I've got you now." Though the girl he'd fought may have been an illusion, the illusion still represented a girl who was closely connected to him. Don't worry, Xion, he thought as he made his way through the labyrinthine halls of the top floor like he knew where he was going, Ven's heart guiding him all the way. You haven't been forgotten.
Mysterious Tower – Guest Rooms
Lea gasped as he shot up in bed. Memories he had forgotten about years ago flashed through his mind at the speed of light. With those memories came the guilt and frustration over what he had done to his forgotten friend. When it was over, he stood up and slumped against the wall.
"Xion…" he whispered, relived to finally remember his other friend yet upset that he forgot her in the first place. "I'm so sorry I forgot."
Castle Oblivion – The Chamber of Waking
Sora opened the hidden door to find Aqua and the others already waiting for him next to a large white chair. That must be where Ven's been for the last thirteen years, he thought to himself as they turned towards the doors at the sound of his arrival.
"You're okay!" Kairi called out as she ran over and hugged him enthusiastically. Sora was able to hug her back for all of three seconds before Donald and Goofy joined in.
"We knew you could do it," Goofy said.
"I never doubted you for a second," Donald added, prompting a teasingly raised eyebrow from everyone else in the room.
"Congratulations, Sora," Aqua said when the group hug finally broke apart. "You've passed the trials of Castle Oblivion and formally proven yourself a true Keyblade Master. We can celebrate some more later, but right now I think it's time we finish what we came here for." Nodding solemly, Sora walked over to the other side of the chair until he stood directly in front of where Ventus lay. He really does look a lot like Roxas, the newly minted Keyblade Master thought as Aqua came over and stood directly between him and Ven. I guess having his heart inside mine influenced Roxas's appearance somehow, he surmised before putting those thoughts aside and returning to the matter at hand.
"Are you ready?" Aqua asked as she drew her black-bladed Keyblade. When the young man nodded, she unsteadily leveled the blade so that the tip of the weapon was inches from his chest. The blue-haired master was initially hesitant. After all, if anything went wrong it would just be Sora who'd suffer. However, when he grabbed the shaft of the Keyblade and looked at her solemnly, understanding dawned on her. She let go of the Master's Defender and stepped back. He has to do this alone, she realized. Just like facing the illusions.
"What's going on?" Donald asked as Aqua took a step back. Behind the duck, Kairi took a step forward.
"This is something he has to do himself," Aqua explained to the others what she had realized. "Sora was the one who accepted Ven into his heart. Only he can open the door and let him out." With a reassuring smile, Sora plunged the blade into his heart. There was no fanfare, no big speech, just a Keyblade to the chest. Fortunately, since the Keyblade was not literally reaching into his heart, there was no blood. Only a small glowing light where the blade pierced the new master's chest. After a few minutes of what appeared to be strained concentration, Sora finally withdrew Master's Defender from his chest, a glowing heart attached to the tip, emitting a soft but warm light. He carefully moved over to Ven's comatose body and gently used the Keyblade to guide the sleeping boy's heart into its original body. When he finally finished, Sora almost collapsed from the strain and exhaustion.
"Sora!" Kairi gasped as she ran over to catch him before he fell. Donald and Goofy quickly raced over to help while Aqua stood between her fellow master and the chair, her eyes darting back and forth between the two boys, waiting to see what would happen next. Did it work? She asked herself as a full minute passed and her friend still hadn't woken up. If he can't wake up, I don't know what I'll... a voice she hadn't heard in over a decade, cracked from years of disuse snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Aqua?" As soon as she heard her surrogate younger brother's voice for the first time in thirteen years, she turned around, pulled Ven out of the chair, and hugged him. Behind her, Kairi and Goofy helped Sora (who was feeling extremely weak and shaky from the strain of removing Ventus's heart) over so that he and Ven could be officially introduced. With a chuckle, Aqua released her friend from the bear hug long enough for her to summon the Master's Defender back to her hand and walk behind the chair in order to use the Keyhole to change the world back to its original form. Hang in there, Terra, she thought as she began crying tears of joy. We're coming for you.
Elsewhere in the Castle
Uh oh! Braig thought to himself as the Castle began to shake uncontrollably. I take it they've woken Ven up and are turning this place back into the Land of Departure. With that, the sniper bailed out through a dark corridor, knowing that his mission had failed at the expense of dredging up unpleasant memories.
I'm not going to make including when specific tracks start in a chapter a recurring thing, I just thought for the reveal of who was under the hood of the Castle Oblivion figure this time was worth making an exception.
Anyway, Ven's awake now. I thought it would be fitting for Sora to be the one to do it, as a bit of a book end. As for the voice thing, he may not have aged thanks to whatever magic was keeping him in stasis (Castle Oblivion was specifically formed in order to protect him, so it's logical to assume that there's some magic in the Chamber of Waking keeping him alive and the same age he was when he went into his coma), but I figured it would make sense for him to be a little disoriented after waking up in his own body after being out of it for so long.
I know Xion seems a bit uncharacteristically bitter but two things 1) this is an illusion of Xion meant to test the strength of Sora's heart. 2) As with Data-Roxas in Re:coded, when you look at everything Xion's been through she is entirely justified in acting so bitter. Honestly, you can interpret the situation two ways: either it's just an illusion and Castle Oblivion was basing her behavior on how bitter her circumstances could possibly make her , or Xion was able to manipulate the illusion from within Sora's heart and is using her bitterness towards Sora as a form of catharsis. She basically had to die in order for Sora to live, and nobody even remembered her, so now that Sora's in a place where what he sees is based on the memories in his heart, she's basically using it as an opportunity to stealthily release her pent up rage and frustration at what happened to her. Honestly, I choose to believe it's a little of both.
And I know Data-Namine showed Mickey a bundle of memories in Sora's heart that weren't his in re:coded, I chose to interpret that as "the memories aren't literally being stored inside the datascape, Namine just included a copy of them for her data self to show Mickey and Data-Sora what she's talking about, and the actual memories themselves are still inside Sora's heart."
Like many others, I believe that Two Become One is the ideal choice for Xion's personal Keyblade.
Sorry if it feels like Castle Oblivion went by too quickly. I just didn't feel like copying down the critical (or at least the ones that would tell Sora everything he needed to know about how Xion and Ventus ended up in their situaions) scenes from BBS and Days word for word, as that would have taken me almost a week just to write all of them.
The Re:coded dialogue comes from the HD remix cutscenes. No particular reason why, I just ended up going with it because it was the first version I came up with on YouTube when searching for videos to make sure I got the dialogue right.