Dyingoffeels: Yep. Friendship. I am so glad that you are hyped for CO. I am too as there is going to be a lot that is going to happen over this part of the story. I can't wait for you to see what happens between Tenebrae and Shaylex and how their friendship develops because it will get interesting.
Shairo: Glad you enjoyed your vacation. I'm also hyped for CO. A lot is going to happen in his next part of Shaylex's story.
A/N: Hey everyone and welcome to my new followers. I hope you all had a great Christmas/holiday season. Sorry I have not posted for a while. I recently started my new job before Christmas so that has taken up most of my time so if chapters are a little slower than usual, I'm now working full time again so bear with me. On a brighter note. We are now at Castle Oblivion! I am excited for you guys to see how Shaylex fits in with this. So without further ado... Welcome, to Castle Oblivion.
Shaylex heard her alarm go off. She stopped it and lay in bed for a few minutes as she slowly began to wake up. She turned her head towards the window and looked up at Kingdom Hearts. How long would she have to be away from this place? Why was she chosen to go to Castle Oblivion? What awaited her there? She sat up slowly and began to get ready for the trip. At least she was going to be with Axel and Zexion which were bonuses. She showered, dressed and went to have a decent breakfast before setting off. Zexion and Vexen were in the kitchen chatting. They smiled at Shaylex when she entered, they had made breakfast already. Shaylex decided that as she had some time, she have some eggs and toast. She needed breakfast so that she was ready for the next few weeks. She made and ate her breakfast in silence and then made small talk with Zexion and Vexen as she washed up her dishes. She then returned to her room to grab her bag and made her way to the lounge area where everyone was setting off from. Marluxia and Larxene were already there, deep in conversation. Lexaeus followed in behind Shaylex and Zexion and Vexen joined a few minutes later. Axel then entered the room with Saïx following behind. He glared at the group, his eyes fixing on every one of them. "Good luck. Remember your mission. As Marluxia is in charge, please follow his orders. Or there will be consequences." He explained as everyone else nodded and agreed. Then Marluxia opened up a corridor and they all stepped through it toward Castle Oblivion. They emerged on the other side in a white room. There, sat in a chair, was a young girl. She was the same height as Kairi but she had long, blonde hair that fell over her right shoulder. She wore a white, lace dress with blue sandals. In her arms, was a white sketchbook and a pencil. Shaylex could see a small resemblance to Kairi but brushed it off. Marluxia smiled and turned to the group.
"As Saïx has put me in charge, I have taken the liberty of assigning the group areas of the castle for us to remain in. Myself, Larxene and Axel will remain solely up here and keep an eye on Namine. Zexion, Lexaeus. I want you two to remain in the basement levels. We've noticed a strange energy coming from there. Vexen and Shaylex, I need you guys to divide your time between both areas. Stay down in the basement level until further instructions." He explained. Everyone nodded and everyone but Larxene, Marluxia, Axel, and Shaylex disappeared down to the basement. Marluxia looked at Shaylex. "Something wrong Shaylex?" He asked her.
"Yeah. What is the real reason I'm here. There is something the organization hasn't told me. And it's not to keep an eye on Namine or find this Chamber of Waking. There's something else going on... right?" Shaylex asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Marluxia nodded.
"You are correct. Tell me, Shaylex, do you remember Sora?" Marluxia asked turning away from her.
"Sora? Of course, I do, he's my friend." Shaylex responded. Of course, she remembered Sora. Why would he ask her that question?
"He is on his way to Castle Oblivion as we speak. And, with the help of Namine, we are going to use his power with the keyblade to aid our mission in the organization." Marluxia explained, patting Namine on the shoulder.
"But, why? You already have myself and Roxas!" Shaylex asked confused. Sora was on his way to Castle Oblivion? But why?
"And it still isn't enough. Some of us have been without hearts for many years. We want to be whole again. Sora can help us reach that goal. And with you here, he might be more willing to do so. And we have Namine. She has a very special power here." Marluxia explained, gesturing to Namine's sketchbook.
"Special power?" Shaylex asked, looking at the sketchpad.
"She can manipulate Sora's memories. We can use that to our advantage. Turn him into a puppet for the organization." Marluxia explained as he walked back to Shaylex.
"What kind of person is she?" Shaylex asked, observing Namine as she began to sketch.
"A special kind of Nobody. Similar to Roxas." Marluxia said. Of course, he was going to remain cryptic about Namine.
"Meaning?" Shaylex asked. She needed to know why Namine was so special or important to this mission.
"You'll find out eventually. Now go, start looking for this Chamber of Waking. Xemnas wants it to be found." Marluxia ordered. Shaylex sighed.
"Yes Marluxia," Shaylex said as she teleported down to the basement levels. There, she placed her bag on the floor and sat in a nearby chair. Zexion was leaning against a wall, reading his Lexicon. Lexaeus was sitting in another chair while Vexen was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Vexen?" She asked
"He went to his little research lab/library. He'll be gone a while." Zexion responded. Shaylex decided to change the subject.
"Did you guys know that Sora was on his way here?" She asked. Zexion and Lexaeus nodded.
"Yes, you should be thrilled. You get to see your old friend again." Zexion explained as he continued reading without missing a beat.
"I guess. But why use him? The organization has myself and Roxas already?" Shaylex asked as she rested her elbows on her legs and placed her chin in her hands.
"We don't ask questions. We just follow orders." Lexaeus responded.
"Yeah." Shaylex agreed as she sat back in her chair and waited. So Sora was on his way here, to Castle Oblivion. That's why Saïx had wanted her here. Because Sora was on his way. She couldn't understand why Sora would be valuable. The organization already had herself and Roxas. Did they need another keyblade wielder? She took out her journal and began to write in it while they waited for further instructions. After a few hours, they felt three presences enter the Castle from the upper levels. Zexion sighed.
"The keyblade wielder is here." He said, closing his Lexicon. Sora, Donald, and Goofy had entered Castle Oblivion. The fun was about to begin. An orb in the corner of the room began to glow and an image of Sora, Donald and Goofy appeared on the screen. They were talking about how they come here.
"Hey, ya think it's ok to just barge in?" Goofy asked carefully.
"But we gotta do it, if we're gonna find the King," Donald explained. Goofy jumped and started looking around.
"The King?! King Mickey's here?" Goofy asked. He sounded exciting.
"Something just told me he'd be here, ok," Donald explained, crossing his arms.
"Really? Cause, now that ya mention it, I was kinda thinking the same thing." Goofy said, scratching his head.
"Seriously? Me too! One look at this castle and I just knew, our very best friends, Riku and Ashley, they're here." Sora said, placing a hand on his heart. Shaylex smiled. Did Sora feel that? Or was it just Namine's magic that made them think that. It didn't matter because she was there, in the castle.
"Guess great minds think alike," Goofy said laughing.
"Wait, hey, hold on," said a voice said as something jumped out of Sora's shirt. It looked like a cricket, who was wearing a smart outfit. "It can't just be a coincidence!" He added.
"Oh no, Jiminy. Ya don't mean?" Donald asked the cricket named Jiminy.
"Yep, I had it too, mm-hmm! I had the exact same feeling." Jiminy said. So, all four of them had the same feeling. This was definitely Namine's magic.
"Gawrsh, maybe it's contagious?" Goofy asked.
"No, no. Something's screwy. We gotta go take a look." Donald explained.
"All right," Sora said as he began to walk further into the room towards the door on the other side of the room. Donald then jumped.
"Where are you going?" Donald asked concerned to Sora. Sora pointed at the door.
"That way, to the door. Are ya scared?" Sora asked sarcastically, clearly making a joke. Donald brushed it off.
"Aw, don't be ridiculous! Come on, let's go Goofy!" Donald said as he began walking towards the door with Sora.
"Hey, fellas, shouldn't we shut the door behind us before we go..." Goofy said as he turned back towards the door. Shaylex watched as she saw Marluxia, who had his hood up, was standing by the door and closing it. Goofy jumped "Sora!" He exclaimed, pointing at Marluxia. Sora and Donald turned around. Sora's face became angry in an instant.
"That's it, who are you?" He asked as he summoned his keyblade. Marluxia stayed quiet as he took a step towards Sora and the others. Donald was the first to speak.
"Heartless? Oh yeah? I'll try some magic. THUNDER!" Donald said, waving his magic staff. But nothing came out of it. Probably Namine's magic again. Donald looked at his staff and began shaking it "Come on. THUNDER! THUNDER! Come on! BLIZZARD! FIRE!" Donald kept shouting. But nothing was working. "Why isn't it working?" He asked, dropping his staff. Shaylex chuckled lightly at how ridiculous Donald looked. Marluxia then spoke up.
"I should think it's obvious. The moment you set foot in this castle, you forget every spell and every ability you ever knew. In this place, to find is to lose and to lose is to find. That is the way in Castle Oblivion." He explained.
"Castle Oblivion?" Sora asked as Marluxia disappeared and reappeared by the second door.
"Here, you will meet people that you have known in the past. And you will meet people you miss." Marluxia continued to explain.
"I miss? Riku and Ashley! You mean they're here?" Sora asked. He sounded delighted that his friends could be here, in this castle.
"If what you want... is to find them..." Marluxia began to say as he held out his hand a gust of wind and flower petals flew at Sora which he tried to block with his keyblade. Marluxia then flew through Sora back to the front door. Sora turned Darius and tried to slash Marluxia with his keyblade but he disappeared and reappeared right by the second door. Sora and the others ran towards him.
"What did you do?" Sora asked.
"I merely sampled your memories and from them, I made this," Marluxia said as he held up a card. "To reunite with those you hold dear." He added as he tossed the card to Sora, who caught it.
"What's this? A card?" Sora asked. He asked so many questions. I'm pretty sure Shaylex would have gotten sick of the many questions but Marluxia kept a still head during all of this.
"It is a promise for the reunion you seek. Hold the card to open the door. And beyond it, a new world. Proceed Sora. To lose and claim anew, or to claim anew, only to lose." Marluxia explained as he disappeared. Sora looked at the card and then at the door.
"Come on. Let's go!" He said as they walked up to the door and Sora used the card to open it up. For the next few minutes, the organization members in the room watched as Marluxia explained to Sora how to fight and progress through the Castle. All the organization members had been trained in the new combat system the castle was rigged with. Eventually. Sora made his way through the world and exited the room, back into the main castle, where Marluxia was waiting for them.
"Well, Sora? Did you enjoy meeting your memories?" Marluxia asked. Sora nodded
"Yeah, it was good to see everyone. But what do you want from me?" Sora asked, still wondering why he was here.
"What do you have to give?" Marluxia asked back as he began to walk towards the group before another person appeared in the room with them. Axel.
"Hello!" Axel exclaimed happily. Shaylex shook her head. Of course, he would want to get involved so early on in the game.
"What do you want?" Marluxia asked, clearly annoyed at his sudden entrance.
"No hogging the hero!" Axel exclaimed. Marluxia held up a card and threw it at Axel, which he caught.
"Then perhaps, you'd like to test him," Marluxia said sarcastically.
"Perhaps I would," Axel responded as Marluxia disappeared. Axel looked at Sora and smiled. "My show now, keyblade master. Who am I? Oh, my name's Axel. Got it memorized?" Axel added, pointing at his temple. Shaylex had to roll her eyes at that. It was becoming his catchphrase. Sora looked a bit taken aback by Axel's sudden introduction.
"Uh, sure," Sora responded. Axel smiled.
"Good. You're a quick learner. So Sora, now that we're getting to know each other." Axel said as he summoned his chakrams to his hands and smiling maliciously at Sora. "Don't you go off and die on me now!" He added and the two of them began to fight. Shaylex was surprised at how well Sora held his own against Axel. It seemed that he got the card system down very well.
"Enjoying the show?" Marluxia's voice came from behind Shaylex. She turned around to see him standing there.
"He's gotten stronger since I last saw him," Shaylex responded.
"Would you like to say hi to him?" Marluxia asked. Shaylex thought about it. She wanted to see him again but at the same time, she wanted to mess with him.
"Did Namine make him believe that Riku and I are here in the castle?" She asked, staring up into Marluxia's blue eyes Maluxia nodded.
"Yes. That was Namine's doing." Marluxia explained. Shaylex dropped her head. She knew it was too good to be true. Sora would never have come to find her. He only cared about Riku and Kairi. She looked back up at Marluxia.
"Maybe it would be nice to say hi to my old friend." She responded, smiling. She had come up with a plan on how to interact with Sora. Marluxia smiled back and the two of them teleported back up to the topmost level where Namine and Larxene were waiting.
"What is she doing here?" Larxene asked.
"I'm here to mess with my old friend!" Shaylex snapped back before turning to Namine. "Now, make sure Sora doesn't forget about me. I want him to see how much I have changed since the islands. You got that?" She asked the blonde girl politely. Namine nodded. She smiled and continued watching the fight between Sora and Axel conclude. Sora finally won. Axel disappeared and in place, was another card. Sora picked it up.
"Another one? What's it do?" Goofy asked curiously.
"Hmmm, kinda looks like the card you used to make Traverse Town," Jiminy explained, taking a closer look at the card.
"Then I guess we're going to need it to keep going," Sora said as Axel's voice spoke from across the room.
"That's right." He said so confidently as if he hadn't just been beaten up by a kid who was ten years younger than him. He began to walk back towards the group.
"Axel!" Donald exclaimed. They all seemed surprised that Axel hadn't died.
"Did you really think after that introduction, I would give up oh so easily?" Axel asked sarcastically. SHaylex just rolled her eyes.
"You were testing us?" Sora asked, a hint of anger began to show in his voice.
"And you passed. Congratulations, Sora. You're ready now. Ready to take on a Castle Oblivion. You will need to follow your memories. Trust what you remember and seek what you forget. Then you will find someone very special." Axel explained.
"You mean, King Mickey, Riku, and Ashley?" Goofy asked.
"You will have to give some more thought to who it is that's... most important to you. Our most precious memories lie so deep within our hearts that they're out of reach. But I'm sure that you can find yours, Sora." Axel explained. Still being just as cryptic as Marluxia was earlier. But then again, it wouldn't be difficult for them if they were given the answers all the time.
"Why me?" Sora asked.
"You have lost sight of the light within the darkness and it seems that you've forgotten what you've forgot," Axel added, looking at his hands and shaking his head.
"The light within the darkness?" Sora asked. He must have been confused at Axel's words. I think anyone would have been if they didn't know Axel well. Axel smiled and held out a hand to Sora.
"Would you like me to give you a hint?" Axel asked. Sora seemed to be thinking about it before Goofy spoke up.
"Sora... Do you need it?" Goofy asked. Sora's face changed to one of determination as he held his keyblade, ready to fight again.
"I'm gonna figure it out for myself. If you're in my way..." Sora began to say before Donald jumped in front of him.
"Don't worry Sora. We'll protect you!" Donald proclaimed. Axel smirked.
"Good answer. Just what I'd expect from a keyblade master! But be forewarned... When your sleeping memories awaken, you may no longer be who you are now." Axel explained as he disappeared and reappeared next to Shaylex as she continued to watch Sora and the others continue making their way up the stairs. "Enjoy the show?" Axel asked Shaylex. Shaylex smiled.
"It was alright. Could have used more fire." She joked. Axel began to laugh.
"Next time then! Got it memorized?" He quipped back. Shaylex smiled as she put her hood up.
"Now it's my turn to put on a show." She said as she disappeared and reappeared on the second floor of the castle, Sora and the others hadn't finished climbing the staircase so she waited for a while until she saw them enter and waited for the right opportunity.
"Hmmm." Jiminy wondered as he sat on Sora's back. Everyone stopped to look at him.
"What's wrong Jiminy?" Sora asked
"Well, ya see, what Axel said back here worries me. What could he have meant by Your may no longer be who you are'?" Jiminy asked. t seems, everyone was confused by his little statement.
"I may no longer be me? How can I be anyone else?" Sora asked. Shaylex just smiled underneath her hood.
'You'd be surprised Sora.' She thought to herself as she continued to watch them discuss Axel's message.
"Of course. Still, you can't be too careful." Jiminy said. He seemed a bit calmer but you could still tell that he was thinking about this.
"Yep. Feels like just about anything can happen in here in Castle Oblivi... Oblivi... Oblivi..." Goofy tried to say Oblivion but the word wasn't coming to him.
"Oblivion!" Donald responded. Finishing Goofy's sentence.
"Oh, yeah! Now I remember." Goofy said, cheerfully.
"We'll be okay. Whatever it is they're cooking up, we'll be able to handle it together." Sora said energetically. Shaylex smiled. At least he hadn't lost his optimism.
"Course we will. Like at that creepy castle we explored together, the one with all those weird contraptions." Goofy explained. Shaylex knew immediately that he was talking about Hollow Bastion.
"Hmm... When was that?" Sora asked. So Namine's magic was beginning to work. He was beginning to forget stuff.
"Uhh, I can't remember. What was it called?" Donald asked, slightly confused.
"Gawrsh it was, uh... Holla, Holly, Holler... Sorry. I can't remember." Goofy tried to recall Hollow Bastion's name but Namine's magic had began to work its way into their minds.
"Stop goofing around!" Donald exclaimed. Sora just looked at him curiously.
"Goofy, sure you didn't make it up?" Sora asked. Shaylex smiled. Now was the perfect time to make her appearance.
"I don't think so..." Goofy said, scratching his head.
"No, you didn't make it up!" Shaylex said as she stepped out to reveal herself to the group, her hood still up so that it covered her face. She wanted to keep Sora in suspense a little while longer.
"What do you mean?" Sora asked, registering Shaylex as she walked down the stairs toward them.
"You didn't make up the creepy castle. All that stuff happened. Or are you really that much of a bird brain?" She quipped. Sora summoned his keyblade. Shaylex held her hands up. "Relax, keyblade master. I'm not here to fight... yet." She said as she walked around the group. "I came to see if the rumors were true about you Sora! And so must say, you did not disappoint. Well done with Axel by the way. He can get a bit too big-headed when it comes to fighting. He loves to win." Shaylex explained.
"Who are you?" Sora asked. Shaylex smiled under her hood. He didn't recognize her, not even her voice. She turned to face the group.
"You can call me, Shaylex!" She said, bowing politely.
"Shaylex? What kind of name is that?" Donald asked.
"Rude much!" Shaylex said walking back towards the door that she started at. "Besides. You want to find your friends. Well, I can tell you one thing. They are here!" Shaylex announced. Sora lowered his keyblade, a smile spread across his face.
"Ashley and Riku are here?" He asked. He sounded so excited, like a kid who had been given the cutest puppy as a Christmas present.
"If that is what your heart desires. But... are you sure that they want to see you, Sora?" Shaylex asked. Sora's face dropped.
"What do you mean?" Sora asked curiously
"You may have come here to look for them but maybe they don't want to see you again. Maybe... they don't want to see you." Shaylex said maliciously. That statement was partly true on her part. But she didn't know where Riku was, but she didn't where he was. All the more reason to mess with Sora.
"You don't know Riku and Ashley! Of course, they'll want to see me. And if you're holding them hostage..." Sora declared as he raised his keyblade again. Shaylex laughed.
"Oh, I'm not holding them hostage. You just have to work your way up the castle to find them. Or to seek out the answers. I wonder how long it will take you to figure it out?" Shaylex asked, pointing to her head. "Be a good boy now and don't lose sight of who you are." She then added before bowing again and disappearing in a purple mist and reappearing back in the room where Larxene, Marluxia, Axel, and Namine were watching. Shaylex let down her hood. "So? How did I do?"
"Very inspiring," Marluxia said, slowly clapping his hands.
"At least, he's got more of a reason to get to the top of the castle," Axel added, patting Shaylex on the back.
"Thanks to you, Shaylex. You may return to the basement until we need for you again." Marluxia responded. Shaylex nodded and teleported back down to where Zexion and Lexaeus were still relaxing. She walked up to the monitor and kept watching Sora. Then, she felt another presence, no, two presences appear... in the lower part of the basement.
A/N: And that concludes this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. Thank you for coming along on this journey and I cannot wait to go into the New Year with his story with the rest of the Light Protectors. I hope you all have a super awesome day, afternoon, morning, evening, night wherever you are in the world and I will see you in the next chapter!