KHA: This chapter's a doozy. I tried to put all my effort into it but I'm not sure it paid off... O.o
Audience: It's over? YEAH!
KHA: It ish 1/3 over.
Audience: Aw...
Akyra: I'm in this chappie!
Roxas: Duh...
Akyra: O.O (steals ice cream)
Roxas: O.o Quit STEALING MY STUFF!
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or COM. But I own this copy of a Stevie Nicks album! (sings) Just like the whiiiitttteeeee wiiiiinnnngggeeeeddd dooooooovvveee... O.o I don't own Stevie Nicks.
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The darkness of the room was blinding. At first, Akyra didn't realize it so much since she had the door open but once she shut it tightly, she could have sworn she was completely blind. The room was pitch black and even if her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she still wouldn't be able to see. Great… just great. How is she supposed to help Sora if she can't see two inches from her nose?
Suddenly, she felt a soft rumbling beneath her feet. She stretched out her arms, hoping to keep her balance as the rumbling grew louder and shook the ground more violently. Erupting from underneath the floor was none other than the keeper of the castle, carefully positioned on a flower type contraption. You know, Marluxia was a guy, so why would he battle with flower shaped devices and pink weapons?
Gah! Snap out of it, Akyra… she thought to herself. This situation was way more important than her noticing how bizarre his weapons were. As she watched with horror as Marluxia's contraption rose, she couldn't help noticing that he wasn't looking in her direction at all. In fact he was gazing down aimlessly at one trembling figure surrounded by two rays of light. Of course! It was Sora, Donald and Goofy! Plus, her timing couldn't be more perfect; Marluxia had no idea she was in the room! She kept a close eye on him as she ran towards Sora, who was picking up his cards containing Donald and Goofy.
"Drown in the heart-torn world of nothingness!" Marluxia roared, "I shall scatter your heart to the empty winds!"
"That's what you think!"
Sora's head suddenly jolted upright as he scanned the area for the owner of the voice. It couldn't be Naminé. Then who could it be?
On the contrary, Marluxia gasped. Yes… he remembered that voice… It belonged to someone who was supposed to be rotting away in a fictional world!
"You!" he cried, "You're supposed to be gone! How could you have escaped?"
"I have my reasons," she hollered at him. You know, he was twenty feet higher than she was and it kind of made her fell very… small.
"But now is not the time to hear them! You've caused too much trouble around here, Marluxia. It's about time you ended up where you've always belonged!"
"Fools!" he boomed, "An added fighter won't increase your chances of defeating ME!"
The ground began to rumble again as Marluxia summoned all the power he was able to control. Akyra gulped. Okay then, maybe standing up to him wasn't such a good idea after all. She ran the distance that separated her from Sora and skidded to a halt when she reached him.
"Don't hold back!" she warned, "Together, we can beat him."
Sora nodded but wasn't able to take his eyes off her. He was positive he had seen her before, but where? It felt like not too long ago… It felt like he had seen her in a dream…
The ground suddenly shook, snapping Sora out of his trance. Apparently, Marluxia had just violently thrown something to the floor. Akyra looked down at her hands. Did they seem brighter than usual or was she going insane? No, she wasn't going insane… a bright light began engulfing her whole body. She was turning into a card again! Gosh, she never thought the day would come where she'd be relieved to transform into a card. She looked up at Sora and smiled.
"Wait!" Sora called before she was entirely covered in light, "Please! A name! Who are you?"
Akyra's face fell. A name? What name? It would be of no use anyway… She hung her head in shame and looked up at her friend until their eyes met.
"A memory…" was all she said. Sora gazed longingly at the card that had suddenly taken the mystery girl's place.
Hang on… Donald and Goofy had their names printed on their cards. Maybe hers did too! Sora jumped in the air and grabbed the floating card. He scrambled to read it quickly before his battle would begin. Maybe her name would give him a clue…
"Akyra?" he asked himself as he fixed his regard on her card. He sighed. Her name was of no help at all…
"Prepare to be vanquished, Keyblade Master!" Marluxia shrieked as his voice trailed off and echoed as it bounced off the walls. That was his cue! He whipped out his Keyblade and shuffled his cards, ready for battle.
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"Get me out! Get me out! Get me out!" Sora said to himself. He picked up the cards that held the hearts of his friends (which were strewn on the floor) and ran for the exit. After having finally defeated the real Marluxia, the ground began to rumble and Sora could have sworn that the room would cave in. He skidded to a halt outside the room and shut the door as fast as he could, hoping that whatever was brewing inside stays inside. He stepped away from the door and watched it intently. The faint yet visible outline of a keyhole appeared on the door, making Sora smile. He knew exactly what to do with it. He raised his Keyblade until it reached the door and, within the blink of an eye, a small beam of light shot out of the tip and entered the Keyhole, making a short clicking sound as it disappeared.
"Are you okay, Riku?" Sora asked after he went to rejoin him and Naminé.
"I'm not Riku. I'm fake," he answered sadly, "I can't remember when I was created, or why... All I've got left is you and Naminé. But those memories aren't real..."
"Naminé, can you put Riku's memory back to normal?" Jiminy asked sympathetically.
Naminé closed her eyes and uneasily shook her head. "It… It doesn't work that way…"
"It's all right," Riku said as he flicked his hand at Sora and began walking off, "Don't worry about me."
"Wait!" Sora called as he ran to catch up to him, "Who cares if someone made you? You have your own heart. Those feelings and memories are yours and yours alone. They're special!"
Riku stared at him for a long time and cracked a smile. It was the first smile he had ever made since his creation in the castle. Maybe he really did have feelings…
"Sora, you're a good person. I don't have to be real to see how real your feelings are. That's good enough for me."
Riku turned around and left the hallway. As he headed down the staircase, he vanished into thin air. With a heavy heart, Sora returned to Naminé, who looked entertained by something. As Sora gazed in her direction, he noticed his friends transforming back into their original selves from their card forms. Except this time, there were three rays of light rather than two. The third one must belong to Akyra. You know, Sora would have joined Donald, Goofy and Naminé's celebration on behalf of Marluxia's defeat but walked right past them and approached Akyra. He knew he had met her before and not being able to remember was driving him mad. Hopefully she could tell him some answers.
"Hey, erm… Thanks for helping out…" he said meekly.
"It was nothing," she replied quickly. Gosh, why were conversations always awkward between two people who had just met (in Sora's case).
"Remember what you said before?" Sora asked, "I asked you for your name and you said you were a memory. What did you mean?"
"I meant it straightforward. I really am a memory…" she answered rather unhappily.
"But that's impossible," Sora intervened, "I know I feel like I've never met you before, your name is unfamiliar to me and I have no idea who you are but… I've seen you before. Where? I don't know… But I have seen you… somewhere…"
Sora fixed his regard on her eyes. Someone had looked at him before with those same eyes. And, if his mind isn't playing tricks on him, he could swear he saw her reach her hand out to him. Then it hit him. He saw her stretch out her hand for him to take as he kneeled on the ground. He was alone… completely alone but she had come to help him. He asked her for her name. She just smiled and giggled…
"Of course!" he shouted instantly, causing the others gasp in surprise, "You're the girl from my dreams!"
"Girl from your dreams?" Akyra asked blankly.
"But Sora, I thought you said the girl in your dream was Naminé," Goofy intervened.
"I know, but that was before I knew what Naminé looked like. In my dream I would make friends and lose them instantly. I'd make more but they would just end up vanishing as well. I never had a real close friend…" he said sadly as he explained his dream. Then, he pointed his gloved finger to Akyra as he continued, "And then you'd come and tell me that everything would be all right. No matter how many friends I lose, I can always be sure that you'll always be there for me when I need you…"
Akyra gasped and looked up at him, her eyes wide. Always be there for him… She could just hear herself saying those words again, back in Halloween Town…
'Sora, nothing bad will ever happen to you again. Whether you need me or not, I will always be there for you. I promise…'
Akyra tore her gaze away from the group. This was so dumb of her. Sora couldn't have dreamt about her promise. It must be something else…
Wait… She put her finger to her eye and felt a tear on its side. Why was she crying? Was she crying without noticing?
"I broke it… I can't believe it… What was I thinking?" she said to herself as she wiped the only tear she had away from her eye.
"No… I didn't mean to make you cry…" Sora sighed.
"That's not the reason why! Look, I made a promise that I would always be there for you. And I promised myself I'd keep it. But then you were going insane over Naminé and I got mad at you for forgetting who your real friends were. You sent me away, probably when you needed me most. And do you know what I did? I left! I actually left! I wasn't there when you needed me… I broke my promise… And I know you don't understand a word I just said and it looks like I'm rambling…"
Sora, Donald and Goofy stared at her wide-eyed for a moment. Probably this was too much information to process at one time.
"That promise…" Sora said, "That's exactly what the girl from my dreams promised me…"
"But you dreamed something that already happened. How could you forget about it?" Goofy asked quizzically.
"That's my doing," said Naminé, "You eventually forgot about her when she left you."
"So you're a part of our lost memories!" Jiminy cheered, suddenly realizing the truth.
"Yes. I used to fight and travel to other worlds with you guys. And…" she said, sighing unhappily as she turned to face Sora, "I broke my promise… and I want you to know that… I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize," Sora answered.
"What? But how could you forgive me?" she argued.
"It just feels like I can."
Akyra smiled. You know, he was much nicer with her when he didn't remember who she was.
"So, Naminé, can you fix our memories?" Donald asked hopefully.
"Yes. Just because you can't remember something doesn't mean it's gone," she answered.
"What do you mean?" Goofy asked with a puzzled look.
"Remembering one thing leads to remembering another, and then another... Your memories are connected, like links in a chain. Those same chains are what anchor us all together. I don't destroy memories. I just take apart the links and rearrange them. You still have all your memories."
"So you can put them back together?" Jiminy asked hopefully.
"Yes, but first I have to undo the links I made," Naminé explained, "Then I have to gather up the memories scattered in your hearts and reconnect them. It will take time. But I think it will work. No, I'll MAKE it work. It's my turn to help you out."
"All right," Sora said as he nodded, "We're in your hands."
"Hey... Wait just a second!" Donald quacked, "You said you'd have to undo the links you made. But that means…"
"Yes, Donald. You won't be able to recall what happened in this castle."
"Not even you?" Sora asked.
"I'm sorry. It's the only way. You have to choose, Sora. You can lose your memories of this castle and reclaim your old memories... or keep your memories here and give up the memories that you've lost."
"I have to choose?" Sora asked meekly. Naminé nodded. Sora put a finger to his cheek and thought for a moment. The answer was probably obvious to him. But still, he didn't want to forget Naminé…
"Put me back the way I was," he said simply. Naminé's smile fell. She would have liked it if Sora wanted to remember her but she was still joyful with his decision.
"Okay, I understand! Who needs false memories, right? Especially when you have real memories of people who are really important to you. People like Akyra here," she said as she poked at Akyra, "Anyone would say the same."
She led them across the hallway to another room that looked no different from the others. The lights from the ceiling reflected off the white walls, creating such a brightness that the group was forced to squint their eyes while they waited for them to adjust to the light. Naminé led them inside the room and stopped next to a bright, glass contraption. It looked very delicate and the glass that sprouted from the sides gave it the look of an opened flower.
"So, we have to sleep in these to get our memories back?" Donald asked as he pointed to one of the contraptions.
"You'll be fine," Naminé said cheerfully, "It might take a little time, but I'll take care of you."
"But when we wake up, we won't remember you anymore..." Goofy sighed, "How are we going to thank you later?"
"No problem, Goofy! I'll make a note in my journal: 'Thank Naminé.'"
"Good night, Naminé," Donald said cheerfully as he headed towards two contraptions on the other side of the room.
"Good night, Akyra," said Goofy, "We'll remember you when we wake up."
Akyra and Naminé looked at each other for a moment and chuckled lightly before saying, "Good night."
As Goofy walked off towards Donald, Akyra and Naminé turned around to face Sora, who was standing in front of the largest contraption in the room.
"You too, Sora!" Naminé said playfully.
"Okay…" he sighed as he jumped into it. Holding on to one of the sides of the device, he stretched out his hand to Akyra and asked, "Aren't you coming in?"
Akyra shook her head. "Nope."
"Why not? Don't you want your old memories back?" Sora asked curiously.
"They never left me."
"There IS a little part I left out to the story…" Naminé intervened, "Akyra never gained the same memories as you did in this castle because I was hoping she could destroy Marluxia. All I did was make her forget some of her own. That's why she never remembered me the way you did. We could say she was part of my devious little plan," Naminé giggled, remembering Larxene's words.
"Oh… But didn't Marluxia order you to change all of our memories?"
"He did, but I lied to him and said I couldn't touch Akyra's memories because she wields the Staffblade…"
Akyra summoned her staff and, twirling it by the handle, held it high so Sora can have a clear view of it.
"Nice staff…" he said as he gazed at it.
Akyra laughed. "I guess you lost that piece of your memories too… This isn't any ordinary staff. It's a sign of loyalty in your friends and the bonds that that tie you together."
"It's friendship, basically…" Sora guessed.
"Right. Once the Keyblade chooses its master, this staff must choose one as well. It must choose the one person in the entire world who will stay loyal to the Keyblade master. His best friend… in a way…"
Sora remained silent. Maybe he was just trying to remember the night he obtained the Keyblade. The night everything changed…
"I doubt you remember this but there was a time when I asked myself what I did to deserve such a thing… why it chose me over Riku or Kairi… But something you told me set me straight…"
She knew Sora was now wondering who Kairi was, but she continued her speech anyway. Anything to help him remember.
"You said: 'It chose you because you are not like Riku and Kairi. It chose you because it knew that you were the only person in the world that will never betray me, never trade me in for your benefit and –"
"– never, ever leave my side…" Sora finished.
"Huh?" Akyra asked. He didn't remember anything about her. How could he have remembered those words?
"Those words…" he started, "I said them to someone who was important to me… I don't remember who or when but I remember that person's smile when I said it."
"See?" Naminé said happily, "He remembers nothing about you yet he still remembers those words. They made a print in your heart, Sora. Something I could never erase."
Sora looked down, deep in thought. He could have never guessed he said that to Akyra but… they were still special. He could never forget something like that.
"All right, I'm ready to get my memories back, Naminé," he said, lifting his head up boldly, "Good night, Akyra."
Akyra smiled. "Good night."
With that, she turned around and walked towards the exit, smiling brightly as she did. As she stepped past the doorway, she turned her head and smiled at the two teenagers again before turning the corner and disappearing. Naminé turned back to Sora.
"It may have started with a lie, but I'm really glad I met you, Sora."
"Yeah, me too," Sora agreed, "When I found you... Even when I remembered your name, I was so, so happy. The way I felt was no lie."
"Goodbye…" Naminé whispered.
"No, not goodbye! I'll find you again after I wake up. And we'll be friends for real. Promise me, Naminé."
"You'll only forget."
"I won't," Sora argued, "Even if you take apart the chain of memories in my heart, the links will stay there. This memory will always be inside me somewhere."
"I guess you're right. Let's promise, then."
"I'll see you again, Naminé," he said softly. They shook hands and Sora positioned himself inside the contraption.
"Sora..." Naminé muttered sadly, "The loose links will sink into the darkness in your heart. You won't be able to just reach in and pick the one you want. But there's another promise you made — a promise to people you could never replace. They're your light. The light within the darkness. If you can remember them... all the memories lost in the shadows of your heart will come into the light."
"Another promise…"
"Look at the good luck charm. I changed its shape when I changed your memory. But when you thought of that girl, it went back to the way it was. You're remembering..."
Sora dug through his pocket and pulled out the little flower charm that he'd kept with him for so long. It's surface glistened brilliantly as the room became lighter. Soon, Sora found himself covered in light, the charm in his hands and Naminé being the only things visible to his eyes. He picked up his head.
Could it be?
Naminé wasn't standing alone. So many other people Sora knew surrounded her. There was Leon, and Yuffie, and Aerith and Cid and Selphie and… Sora's mind was overflowing with memories of the people he once could have sworn he never knew. He smiled brightly as he scanned the entire area, meeting his eyes with every person standing before him and growing increasingly happy with every grin he saw. As his mind filled with more and more memories, more people came to join the crowd of familiar faces. In front of them all, Sora was able to see the pale figure of two friends of his… two very close friends…
Riku flicked his hair to one side and crossed his arms, gazing at Sora with that serious look he always wore. Sora laughed. Riku really needed to smile once in a while… He shifted his gaze to the other side and watched as the figure slowly came into view.
Crystal blue eyes and hair of the weirdest color he'd ever seen… Akyra joined Riku in front of the crowd, her arms crossed behind her back and her head hanging in sadness.
Wait… Akyra, sad?
Sora watched as she raised her head and gazed at him with saddened eyes. How could she be looking at him so sadly when he was actually beginning to remember things that were important to him?
Suddenly, his mind was flooded with more memories. The times he spent play battling with her, all the worlds they've visited together… even those mean bullies they fought off when they were kids. Everything… yet he never realized there was so much…
"Akyra!" he called to her, "I remember! I remember everything! The worlds we travelled through, all the adventures we had… and a promise. We made the same promise to each other. I promised that I'll always be there for you when you needed me… and I always will!"
The image of Akyra watched him carefully as he spoke. Her expression softened as she broke into a smile. That smile she had… now he remembered it. Gazing around the crowd of people he noticed one last figure that had suddenly appeared behind them all. She had short, red hair and her eyes looked like the night sky. Of course! She was the owner of that charm he's held with him this whole time.
"Kairi!" he yelled. The girl smiled brightly and nodded.
Sora's guilt began to grow as he watched the crowd of people he had forgotten. How could he have forgotten so many people who were so important to him? Friends that special… are never worth forgetting…
Hang on… something was missing in this picture…
"Naminé?" Sora yelled as he turned to his side to face her. Her figure was growing faint and looked as if it was slowly sinking into the light.
"Don't worry. You'll forget me...but we have our promise, so I can come back to you," she said softly. Sora noticed that her voice was softer as it echoed. She was slowly disappearing.
"A promise is a promise," he said boldly.
"One day it'll be our light, the light that brings us together. I'll be in your heart until that time comes."
"I know," Sora said, his voice drifting softly as he watched her fade into the light, "Forgotten, but not lost."
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KHA: Gah! I gasped, cried, sniffed, sobbed, whatever when I read that part in the gamescript. (bawls) It must have been twice as sad on the GBA...
Roxas: Yeah, you're right. (protects GBA)
KHA: (shifty eyes)
Naminé: Bravo! Encore!
KHA: O.o It's not done yet...
Naminé: Well, SORRY! I'm just trying to fit in... (sob)
Audience: You're trying to fit in? O.O What's this posse coming to? (sigh)