Inverted Sky: KH Chain of Memories
Chapter 29: Castle Oblivion part XXIX
"That's unnecessary." a voice suddenly spoke up from the side.
As everyone immediately turned in this direction, many of them swiftly summoned their respectful weapons. The person who stood before them however, seemed to be unarmed as they held their hands behind their back. This individual appearing to be a dark skinned man, with one amber-orange eye visible through the red bandages covering his head. These wrapped entirely around his face, yet left gaps around his right eye and mouth. He had on a brown scarf, a long red cape, and a black shirt with a strange white design upon it. This man also wore a long black cloth around his lower half, which hand three brown pouches descending down his left hip.
"Who are you?" Riku demanded, his eyes narrowing heavily as he pointed his weapon at this man.
"Someone who has been observing the events transpiring here for quite some time." the strangely dressed man responded, not seeming concerned about the silver-haired teen at all.
"I had planned to show myself earlier. However, when I saw the lengths the Organization went through to keep Sora here...it was clear there would be no way to do so whilst even one of its members remained here." he continued, slowly shaking his head in what seemed to be disappointment.
"They were quite paranoid that Sora would learn to use a corridor of Darkness and simply escape, so they sealed off such travel for all, save for themselves." the man stated as a faint smirk curled his lips, there being a sense of competitiveness in this expression.
At the same time, nearly everyone was simply stared at him in mistrust. While they could tell he was likely an enemy of the Organization, there was no telling if he was actually one their side or not. Mickey however, had a somewhat conflicted gaze as he tilted his head to the side curiously. The mouse feeling as though he had heard this individual's voice before, but couldn't quite place where or when. Yet the man himself simply spoke on as he took a few steps forward; "And now that all members of the Organization have left this place, I was finally able to come and make my introduction."
Looking around slowly from one person to the next, the man merely nodded his head in greeting. "I am known as; DiZ, and I would like to offer my assistance." he stated, glancing down toward Sora briefly.
"In exchange for what?" Donald questioned in a huff, his tone sounding unconvinced the man had good intentions.
DiZ turned to the duck with an ever so slight smirk, seeming to be glad that Donald asked such an inquiry. "In exchange...you will assist me in my efforts to defeat the Organization, and all of its members." he answered simply, despite knowing that such a request was anything but simple.
After offering this ultimatum, the group looked to one another once more. Each of them clearly unsure if they should, or even could, agree to such a proposal. But Riku simply turned back to the man with a narrowed gaze, keeping his weapon up. "Before we accept or decline...tell us what is wrong with Sora." he demanded firmly.
Though DiZ stared at the boy in a knowing manner, he merely shrugged slowly and closed his visible eye. "Unfortunately...there isn't any one thing that's wrong. There are multiple factors that created this situation." he began, letting out a silent breath.
"And unfortunately, even I don't entirely know all the factors at play here. I can only offer my own deductions based on what I observed." the man continued while glancing around to everyone once more.
"First of all, it seems that Namine's alterations toward Sora's memories had left her mind in a vulnerable state. After all, having memories that don't link to one another can cause discord within someone." DiZ explained, his eye slowly reopening to gaze down at Sora's sleeping form.
"Even more than that though...the extreme emotions she experienced during the battle against Marluxia had brought her mind to its absolute limit. While she managed to push through it in the moment, once she had a chance to calm her mind...it finally just snapped from the strain. So to protect itself, Sora's heart went into a dormant state." he further in an analytical manner, lifting his visible eye to look specifically to Kairi.
Said teen, along with most of the others, each stared in utter shock as they slowly turned toward their unconscious friend. Mickey on the other hand, could tell there was something more that the man wasn't saying. Though, he could tell from DiZ's demeanor, that he did genuinely want to help Sora. Whether it was for her sake, or for some scheme however, he wasn't entirely sure. But the man simply continued on, appearing to have noticed the mouse's insightful gaze scanning him.
"I don't know how long it will take for her to wake up, but I do know that with my help...it'll take much less time." DiZ added while turning his gaze over to Riku for a quick few moments.
"Her heart needs to heal itself, which I can help with. But I will need assistance in keeping her safe. Being a Keyblade wielder means that there will be forces of Darkness that will come for her, and I am not strong enough to repel everything that could come searching." he claimed in a more firm tone, giving a glance around the room.
Which immediately fell silent, as after hearing his words, everyone was feeling far more willing to take DiZ's offer. Namine in particular though, nearly forgot to breathe as she just stared at the floor. Realizing how much harm she did to Sora, wracked her with guilt and shame. But she soon felt a hand grasp hers, leading the blond to turn to Kairi. Said teen just smiling softly with encouragement, which made Namine force a smile as best she could while nodding.
"I know...I can make things right by helping her now." she whispered silently to the auburn-haired girl, a more determined expression rising on her features.
"If you help her, then so will I." Namine continued while looking to DiZ.
Whom turned to her with what appeared to be an inquisitive stare, yet he merely shrugged his shoulders in response. "So be it." he muttered before looking around to the others, obviously waiting for their approval as well.
Riku appeared the most hesitant as he looked down at Sora, obviously still feeling somewhat responsible all of this. Even if she needed to be on the other side of the door to close it, he still should have tried to do something so she wouldn't have had be brave the Realm of Darkness alone. After a moment of dwelling on these thoughts, Riku eventually let out a sigh and nodded his head. "Alright fine. But I'm going to be watching over her the whole time." he declared while directing a stern glare at the man.
"So will we." Donald claimed as he took a few steps forward, puffing his chest out slightly.
"That's right!" Goofy added quickly, matching his feathered friend's gestures.
Mickey turned to the three with a soft smile, before his eyes turning back to DiZ. Him offering the man an agreeing nod of his head, to which he took a few steps forward and offered his hand. Despite it still bother him that DiZ's voice sounded so familiar, he knew that Sora needed help now. The only thing he could do was hope whomever this 'DiZ' was, he wasn't an enemy from the past. "We agree, just help her as best you can." Mickey asked, holding his hand up a bit higher to the man.
DiZ himself gave a nod in returned before taking the mouse's hand; "I shall." was all he answered.
After which, the group slowly made their way back to the castle's entrance. Riku carrying Sora the whole way, as he seemed determined to make sure she stayed close by. Though, flanking him on either side were both Kairi and Namine. The two looking at the brown-haired girl in concern, regardless of how cramped it made walking through each of the doors. At the same time, each of the teens couldn't help but feel as if Sora would wake up at any moment. The three even holding their breath as they stepped outside of Castle Oblivion, hoping that it would somehow make her better.
Once they were all gathered on the path that brought them to the castle, DiZ created a corridor of darkness directly ahead. "Follow me." he said with a gesture to the portal, before stepped through it himself.
With only a brief moment of hesitation, the others followed DiZ, one at a time. While none of them knew what world might lay beyond, they each believed that it had to be better than this place. Coming out on the other side, the group found themselves in a large white room. It having a dome ceiling, which appeared to stretch over a dozen meters up. Along the floor however, were strange green markings that pulsed with faint light every few seconds. In the center of the room, there was a white, egg-shaped pod that looked large enough to fit three or four people inside.
As DiZ stepped to the side of this structure, he placed a hand to its surface. Upon which, the front portion split open and lowered to the floor, revealing the rather large chamber inside. "Place her inside." the man stated silently as he gestured to the now open pod.
Riku stared at this in suspicion for a moment, sending a glance toward the others as though asking if he should. But after receiving a series of nods in response, the silver-haired teen reluctantly placed Sora in the center of this capsule. As he stepped away from it, the casing slowly moved back into place. The inside slowly filling with what appeared to be a thick mist, causing Sora's body to actually start floating. Her lifting up slow, until she was upright and facing the group. The brown-haired teen's features looking soft and almost content, as she merely drifted up and down ever so slightly.
"Hmph...figures that she could look so peaceful, despite making all of us worry." Riku commented in a huff, making everyone gain a small smile in response.
At the same time, Sora herself was laying on the stained glass within her Station of Awakening. The teen letting out a heavy sigh as both Maleficent and Teng looked down at her silently. As she glanced between the two, she couldn't help but smile sheepishly and shrug her shoulders. "Well...you heard the man...looks like I'm not going anywhere for a while." she muttered, yet her tone seemed to be one of clear regret.
"Hey..." Teng started while laying down beside the girl, placing both hands behind his head.
"...you might not be awake to see it, but you did help save Namine like you promised. Plus, everyone is safe and sound. So I think it's safe to call this a 'win'." he continued on as a small smirk curled his lips.
Sora glanced to him briefly, to which she nodded her head with a smile tugging the corners of her mouth once more. "Yeah...I guess you're right. I just hope they know what they're doing in agreeing to his terms." she said silently while closing both eyes.
"I mean, it's not like all the Organization members are bad people in the first place." Sora continued in a quick huff.
"And secondly..." the brown-haired girl started, yet paused for a few long moments as the air actually seemed to get slightly colder.
As this silence stretched, Teng just nodded briefly in understanding. "Yeah...'him'." he whispered out, knowing exactly whom it was Sora was thinking of, now that his heart was merged with hers.
"That man is most certainly dangerous, but not unbeatable. It will simply take time to gain the power and strength necessary to defeat him." Maleficent stated firmly, finally speaking up as she just stood over the teens.
"Maybe, but we're all going to be out of commission for who knows how long. And even when we do wake up, we'll have a lot of catching up to do." Sora uttered in a sigh, obviously not liking this fact.
"Hmph! Foolish girl...the only reason why you're still awake in this place, is because I hold power over dreams." the witch declared as the teens looked to her in surprise.
"We can still grow in strength through knowledge and technique, even in this dream realm." she continued in a confident tone, gaining a devious smirk.
Though it was clear that Maleficent's plan was to gain power for herself, it would be at the expense of Sora and Teng growing along with her. But since the witch was confident enough in her belief that she could manipulate the pair, she was more than willing to take that risk. As the brown-haired girl glanced to the silver-haired boy, the two simply shrugged and nodded in unifying agreement. "Alright...what should we do first?" the former questioned curiously with a small smirk.
And there you have it, continuity still intact. I'll have one more chapter for this part, which will lead right into the first remake chapter of 358/2 Days. Both of which will be coming out next week, so stay tuned for that. I hope all of you have enjoyed this remake for Chain of Memories. But if you never read the original...lets just say I had Sora being way more angsty. Plus, there were a few plot points that just didn't go anywhere...so you didn't miss out on much. Regardless, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought in a review. Until next time.