Author's Note: This is the list of special cards, summons, and sleights the pair have:

Special Cards:

-Metal Chocobo (Sora)

-Lionheart (Sora)

-Alexander (Philia)

-Stop

-Gravity


Summons:

-Simba (Sora)

-Cloud (Sora)

-Genie (Sora)

-Mushu (Sora)

-Dumbo (Philia)


Sleights:

Sora:

-Terror (Simba + Mushu + Item Card)

-Shock Impact (Simba + 2 Attack Cards)

-Quake (Gravity + Simba + Magic Card)

-Blizzard Raid

-Reflect Raid

-Fire Raid

-Strike Raid

-Sliding Dash

-Stun Impact

-Blitz

-Zantetsuken

-Sonic Blade


Philia:

-Gifted Miracle (Bambi + Blizzard + Item Card)

-Ice Breath (Blizzard + Dumbo + Magic Card)

-Blizzard Cross

-Reflect Accel

-Fire Cross

-Armor Pierce

-Dagger Throw

-Cross Edge

-Round Accel

-Fad Edge

-Shadow Stitch


Both:

-Warp (Stop + 2 Aero)

-Bind (Gravity + Stop + Magic Card)

-Synchro (Cure + Gravity + Aero)

-Aqua Splash (Blizzard + Fire + Aero)

-Homing Blizzara (Aero + Blizzard + Magic Card)


(Philia speaking) What are the thoughts that keep you happy? Are these thoughts of the joy you can share with others, or are they ones of you taking that joy away? Is that joy true, or is it a false happiness? Will it give you hope for the future, or is it a past happiness you can never reclaim again? That happiness is something you cherish deeply within your heart, but can easily be corrupted if someone is able to change it.

Last time, Sora had been awakened learning about Naminé, and was in a rush to save her from the Organization. I had my doubts, not just because I was denying the belief that I was originally an evil murderer before meeting Sora, but I was starting to have my doubts about anything the Organization was saying. They were clearly toying with Sora and I, changing us, and caused me to get possessed and attack Sora, while he was growing abnormally obsessed about this new girl. What is going on with us?

We went through the world of Atlantica, where we learned about the deception of both villains and allies, and that it is better to be honest for the actions that you knew were bad, regardless of the good intentions, like Ariel was when she took the magic trident to try and save her friend Flounder from Ursula. When we left, we immediately encountered someone that surprised us; Riku, who was criticizing Sora for forgetting why Naminé left him, and wanting me away from all of my friends. We bested him, but he ran away. I knew that wasn't Riku, but Sora was different. I finally voiced my concerns about the Organization, the castle, and even Naminé. This caused more harm than good, as Sora now started to believe I was keeping him from his friend. But he ended up saying too much, as well, resulting in us getting into a physical fight with one another.

Sora was changing, and I was not liking it. I don't want to do this, but Sora has to wake up! Why is this happening to us?!


(Insert 'Resister' by ASCA, TV version.)

Pride that shines within strong, unwilling emotions

Resist destiny!

(Sora and Philia stand at the crossroads in the middle of a grassy plains at night, facing opposite directions, with Philia expression that of sadness. Then the wind draws their attention, and they shielded their faces, only to open their eyes to see Castle Oblivion before them, with Donald and Goofy by their sides. The scene blurs out as the title of the series appears.)

In a place your voice doesn't reach

Is a twisted rule that no one taught me

(On a clear surface in a black environment, Sora stood there, the silhouettes of Donald, Goofy and Jiminy, then switched out for Riku and Mickey, then Kairi with her back turned. She turns around, and her appearance changes to Naminé. He closes his eyes, and falls backwards.)

When you were young, you had dreams you wished for with all your heart

The journey to find where they are has only just begun

(Sora transforms into Philia as she splashes through the surface, her eyes half-closed as pictures of their previous adventure scatter the area about her, mostly those of her and Sora together. She becomes wide awake, and struggles to swim back up to the surface, only for her leg to be grabbed by a hand. She looked down to see PHox, his grin hidden in the hood as he looked at her.)

I no longer need the time I mourned.

So break the wall of limitation, right now!

(In a white room, Naminé sat there with a somber expression, drawing pictures in a book. She looked up, and the scene shifts to one of the large doors within Castle Oblivion opening to let Sora, Philia and their friends through.)

Pride that shines within strong, unwilling emotions

(The pair were working together as they took out Heartless that got in their way as they charged through the castle hallways with their weapon, before pulling out cards that shined, allowing them to perform magic and Dagger Skills.)

Recollections that never change, no matter what pain we experience.

(At a closed door, silhouettes of Axel unleashing his blazing chakrams, to Larxene throwing her electrified daggers, to Vexen and his shield in front of him as he unleashed a pillar of ice, to Marluxia as he swiped his scythe, unleashing a scattering of flower petals.)

Embracing the vow I found as I broadened my sight

(Sora ends up fighting against Dark Riku as they clashed with one another, both determined to save Naminé, before pushing off of one another, skidding to a halt.)

Because this road I chose with unclouded eyes will connect me to you

(Sora, covered in injuries, glares at Riku, before he heard something, and turned around to see PHox standing there, his blood red cutting knife raised, as a screaming Philia was consumed in a cocoon of darkness, before revealing herself once more, in a similar attire to Dark Riku's, only blue instead of purple, and her eyes flashed deadly at Sora.)

Let your voice echo, resist destiny!

(Sora was shocked at Philia's change, but saw Donald and Goofy come to his side, assuring him to save her, and they charged forward to Dark Philia, Sora's hand raised out to her, though the scene shifts to regular Philia falling backwards into darkness.)

Proud of Myself. Aaah~

(Scene warps about, from Sora standing on the beach with Kairi, who is swapped with Naminé, to Philia clutching her heart, while the logo of the Laughing Coffin was behind her, then crying out in desperation to know what is the truth, to Riku rising up to reach out to the light, to the light showing a silhouette of King Mickey, to the shadow of DiZ in a dark room, finishing Naminé closing the drawing book, placing it on a small white table before her, showing a crude picture of Philia and Sora standing together, their hands held as they stared up at Castle Oblivion. Naminé's shadow over the book moves aside as she walks away, ending the scene)


White Room

Sora and Philia clashed their blades against one another, glaring at each other as their cards ended up canceling each other. They pushed off against one another as Sora unleashed a Fire spell at Philia, who pulled out an attack card to counter it. Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy couldn't even interfere with this match.

"Sora, you are driving me crazy!" Philia shouted at him, drawing out a couple cards, and charging in, "I'm just trying to help you see reason, and you end up fighting back!" she used the two cards, shooting a Thunder spell down on Sora, before going in for an attack. Sora took the spell, but was able to counter Philia's next attack with a higher-numbered card, striking her away.

"No! You're just keeping me from Naminé!" Sora argued, "The Organization has her trapped here in this castle, and it my be my fault that she ended up in this predicament!" He combined three cards together, and created the Strike Raid Sleight, sending his Keyblade spinning at Philia.

"How do you know that?!" Philia demanded, combining three cards to create the Dagger Throw Dagger Skill, the combination amount the same as the Strike Raid, "You only heard them SPEAK about her! You never actually SAW them have her! All they have been doing was coaxing you into remember her! Don't you see how odd that is?!"

Philia was stopped as Sora unleashed a Blizzara spell at her, consuming her in freezing dust from the impact of the attack. "This castle is the reason why I remember her! Yes, I may be forgetting a lot of our past adventure. But in exchange, I am remembering her again. And if there is any chance she is here, then I have to take it!"

"If she was that important to you before, why - ngh! - did you forget her in the first place?" Philia asked, as the two engage in a clash of attack and magic cards, each one doing some damage to the other.

"I don't know, but I want to find out why!" Sora answered, going back and forth with Philia in their attacks, before he backed off from her, giving himself some distance, "But you don't want me to see if she is here or not, do you?!"

"Sora, I feel we are being drawn into the spiders web by the Organization! They are feeding us so much information, claiming themselves as our enemy, and even sending a clone of Riku to torment us even more!" Philia found the selection of three cards she wanted, and leapt at Sora, unleashing a Fire Cross Sleight, striking him hard and sending him flying.

Sora was able to regain himself, shuffling through his cards as he demanded, "Philia, you have probably been right about a lot of things, but this is different! And besides, it's like I said before, you are just afraid of what they are trying to make you out as! You're afraid of it being true!" He unleashed a Zantetsuken Sleight, slashing right through Philia, causing her to fall over.

She got back up as she grimaced, taking a good amount of damage from the attack, before saying, "You're darn right I'm afraid. I'm afraid of PHox, of Larxene, of Riku, and everything they said about me! I am afraid of attacking you guys again like I did before! Do you even see me as a villain? Am I a murderer to you?"

"Of course not!" Sora argued, racing at Philia, "But you are still interfering with helping me reach Naminé, just like they said you would!"

"It's not due to the reasons they fed you, Sora!" she replied, using a card to counter his attack, "And I wouldn't kill you to keep you away from her. I am preventing you from GETTING killed!"

"Why? You think I'm not strong enough to save her?!" Sora demanded, "You may think you know me, but you don't know me enough! I won't stop until I save Naminé, and I'll continue to get stronger as I go further!"

"Yeah, but you'll lose more and more memories in the process!" Philia argued.

"So what's the big deal?! They are not as important as the ones I am rediscovering!" Sora argued, "Why are you so hell-bent on stopping me, if you know what I am capable of?! Why don't you believe that they have Naminé?! Just tell me the truth!"

"BECAUSE I AM SO DAMN CONFUSED!" Philia yelled angrily, before charging at Sora, putting him on the defense after her yell threw her off guard, "I don't know why my memories of our adventure are in tact while your guys' are losing them! I don't know why the Organization is so focused on you knowing Naminé! I don't know about my past, and whether or not I was a murderer before I came to Traverse Town! I don't know whether PHox and the rest of the Organization is telling the truth about me or not! I don't know anything about what is going on!"

Sora was unable to fend off Philia's raging onslaught of attacks, backing off as best as he could, as Philia continued, "You don't know what it's like to see my friends loose the memories we had together! What it is like to see you change into the person that is different to the friendly boy I once knew! What it's like to know that you attacked your dearest friends, and not know about it! What it's like to question whether your enemy is right or wrong! If they are right about Naminé, then what does that say about me?! If they are wrong about me being a villain, then what does that say about you and Naminé?! So what..." she gathered up cards into a Sleight, and created the Armor Pierce Dagger Skill, "...am I suppose to do?!"

She thrusted her Armor Pierce into Sora, causing him to gag in pain, and get sent flying towards the stairs going to the door on the other end. Philia panted in exhaustion, looking up, seeing the damage she did to Sora, before her eyes shrunk, realizing what she had done.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy cried, running towards him, while Jiminy hopped over to the petrified Philia. Sora's face was showing the pain of the attack.

"Philia, that was too far!" Jiminy told her, getting in front of her.

Philia saw Sora get into a sitting position, aided by the two other boys, and collapsed to her knees. "What...what have I done?" she asked, her expression traumatized by what she did. She didn't remember the last time she ended up fighting Sora and his friends when PHox fed her her memories. But now, she was fully aware with what she was doing, and still went along with fighting Sora. All she wanted to do was try to help him see reason, but she...

"I... I didn't mean to... Oh my god. What have I done?" she fell on her hands, looking down at Jiminy, who looked up at her, seeing her face go from the trauma to regret, as she started to tear up. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Sora."

Sora looked up at Philia, seeing her state of being, hearing her sobs. He thought about what she was saying before, how she was behaving. What little memory he had of his time with Philia showed their friendship as strong. As strong as his friendship with Donald and Goofy, if not more so. She had supported him all the way to the point of stopping Ansem. Why would she stop now? All she was doing was to protect him, he knew that. Yet that nagging thought that Naminé was in this castle, trapped by the Organization, kept haunting him.

"Are you gonna be okay, Sora?" Donald asked.

"Yeah..." Sora replied, rising to his feet, "I don't know...why I even turned my Keyblade against you."

"Sora, ever since we came into this castle, we started to change." Philia muttered, looking up at him with a tear-strained face, "I miss the you that I remember! The bond you and I had before arriving here! But now, I am so in disarray, I even lash out at my own friends. And you lost memories of so many things, with your only focus being Naminé, causing you to even fight me when I am only trying to help. Sora... I don't want things to keep going like this! If nothing is done, our connection will..." She couldn't end that last sentence, as she feared it to be true.

"Philia, I..." Sora muttered, looking to her sadly as she sobbed heavily. Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy all looked to her with equal sadness. She was broken by what happened, and she was desperate to cling onto what she had left. No one, no matter how cruel they were made out to be, would be grieving like she was.

Sora took a moment to ponder on his actions, before he closed his eyes, opening them again, and said, "Philia, I'm sorry. I know you are worried about me. I know you are trying to figure yourself out, too. But... I just need to keep going forward. There is a chance this might be a trap, and there might be a chance I would lose more of myself. But if Naminé really is further ahead, then I would regret not going back to help her when I did." Philia stifled her weeps as she listened to Sora, knowing full well that what he was saying was falling in how she knew him as.

"But... I know you would help me if I went too far." Sora continued, "Maybe this place is changing us, and maybe what you are saying is right. So, as we keep going, look out for me, okay?" Philia looked to him, hearing the request he was making. He was still planning to keep going, despite the risk, but now, he wanted her to take care of him, if he didn't notice the changes in himself. He still relied on her.

Donald and Goofy looked to the pair, before Donald said, "Sora, Philia, do you remember our very first promise?" The two looked to him and Goofy, who simultaneously answered, "Always smile!"

"That was the promise we made to each other the first time we met!" Goofy recalled, "We promised to never forget to keep smiling!"

Sora and Philia looked from them to one another, before Sora looked down, and smiled. "You're right." he replied, looking to the treasure huntress, "Philia, we should still smile. C'mon!"

Philia looked up at Sora, before looking down again, trying hard to do just that. However, when she tried, she only could give a false one, and one she couldn't even hold for long. "Sorry... I'm having a really hard time smiling." Philia apologized, "With how I am, and with what is going on, how can I even form a grin?" The others looked even more upset that she couldn't even smile now. Things were really taking their toll on her.

"Say, maybe one of the next cards could help you find that smile." Jiminy suggested.

"Oh, yeah! One of the next illusion worlds!" Sora recalled, pulling out the three remaining cards. He and the others approached her side, with Sora showing off the three cards to the worlds. "If you still have all the memories of our past adventure, maybe one of these could help. Go ahead and pick one!"

Philia looked at the worlds in Sora's hands. Hollow Bastion was definitely not the place she would consider a place filled with happiness for her. 100 Acre Woods was a place she had no connection with, considering Sora went into Pooh's Storybook alone. That left Neverland, which Philia knew was the perfect place to find her happiness, and the ability to smile. It was how she remembered before when she was scared and unsure thanks to the previous world.

"This place." she answered, pointing to the card to Neverland, "It's the best shot I have."

"Okay, then this way we'll go!" Sora answered, putting the other two cards away. He reached to Philia, and helped her back up to her feet. They turned to the door ahead, and approached it. Sora then raised his card high, which shined brightly. The door opened up, and they entered in.


When they appeared, they found themselves surrounded in a wooden cabin, all made out of wooden planks. There were doors and open areas that led to other areas, and a caged floor on one end of the room, showing the floor below.

"Where are we now?" Sora asked, as everyone looked around the place.

"We're in a pirate ship." Philia answered, "Listen, you can feel the swaying of the ship and the ocean outside."

"Really?" Donald asked.

"Sounds about right." Goofy agreed.

"Then let's find a way out of here." Sora told the group, "But which way do we go?"

Just then, Philia's ear picked up as she a familiar voice say, "Oh, great! A bunch more kids stuck in Hook's ship! And what's more, there's a girl among them!" Philia looked about, and saw, sitting on a small hole above the door nearby, the familiar pixie that was a dear friend of hers back in their last adventure. "Well, they look lost." she sighed, "But they might just be the perfect bait to help Peter."

"Tinker Bell!" Philia greeted, waving at the pixie, who looked surprised.

"Who?" Sora asked, wondering who she was talking to.

The pixie stood up and flew over into the center of the group, startling the group. Tink looked to Philia, asking, "You can understand pixie language? How do you know my name?"

"Oh, right..." Philia understood, recalling she didn't remember her, "Well... it's complicated. But long story short, you and I are dear friends."

"We are?" Tinker Bell asked, "Sorry, but I don't remember being friends with another girl like you. How do I know you aren't lying?"

"Because I am not interested in Peter Pan, unlike you." Philia replied, placing a hand on her hip, "He is all yours."

Tink looked taken aback at this, before asking, "How do you... Wait, why does that feel familiar?" Philia watched her think, recalling back in the illusion of Traverse Town. Eventually, Leon, Cid, Yuffie, and Aerith were able to remember them after they pretty much fed the memories they had of them into them.

"That was pretty straight-forward, but I don't mind the answer." Tink stated with a satisfied expression, "In that case, I need you and your friends' help with something. Wanna come with?"

"Of course we can!" Philia replied, turning to her companions, who were not able to understand the conversation.

"So, what did she say?" Sora asked Philia.

"She wants us to follow her." she replied, "Looks like she needs our help with something."

"In exchange..." Tink answered, and she spun around the team, shining down glittering dust onto all of them, "A little bit of pixie dust for all of you. If you know me, then surely, you know what that does."

"Of course. The ability to fly." Philia replied, looking at the dust that was on her. Her expression then became depressed as she noted, "Though... I lack the happy thoughts to use it."

"Well, I do still feel lighter." Sora noted, hopping on the ground, "Let's go follow Tink."

"That's Tinker Bell to you!" she argued. With that, she led the heroes out of the cabin, going outside.


Going out, Philia and Sora started to go about the place, from the regular upper floors, to the lower, colder floors of the ship. They once again took on the swarms of Heartless individually, like they did before in the previous world. Philia felt that due to the fight they had with one another, their bond was not as strong as before. The two still did their best against the swarms of Heartless, which were composed of Shadows, Soldiers, Pirates, Air Pirates, Crescendos, Darkballs, Yellow Opera, and Barrel Spiders.

They were able to discover more treasure, which composed of the Teleport Sleight, which allowed them to teleport right by an opponent, temporarily stopping their time, leaving them vulnerable for a strike with their weapons. They also noticed that their flying ability was reduced to a glide, like they could outside of Tinker Bell's world. Just because this was Neverland didn't mean that this was the true world, so the ability to fly like they could before was not happening here.

Philia had the right cards to open up the door to the next part of the world's story, getting them through to the next part. When they went through, Tink led the heroes in a wide open part of the hull of the ship.

"Is it just me, or are all the rooms starting to look the same?" Sora asked.

"It's definitely a maze around here." Philia argued, looking to Tink, "You sure you know where we're going?"

"Positive... I think." Tink replied.

"Maybe we're going in circles." Goofy assumed.

"Some help SHE was." Donald scoffed.

Tinker Bell angrily looked at Donald. "Well maybe YOU should take the lead and see if THAT takes us anywhere!" she snapped, about to fly at him, only to get stopped by Philia grabbing her wings to stop her from coming at him.

"Donald, she's right. It's not like you know where we're going." Philia argued, "So don't get her hot under the collar."

"Tink, what are you doing?!" said a voice from above in the rafters, "You weren't supposed to bring the pirates WITH you!" Flying down to the heroes with glittering sparkles around him, was none other than Tink's 'master' and love interest, Peter Pan.

"Wait, you don't understand!" Philia argued, letting go of Tinker Bell as Sora stepped forth to Peter Pan, who drew his dagger out.

"Stay back, pirates!" Peter told Sora, "Or this will be the last fight you pick!"

"What's the big idea?!" Donald demanded, "We're not pirates! We're only here because..." He paused for a second, before asking the Keyblade wielder, "Um... why are we here, Sora?"

"Huh? How am I suppose to know, Donald?" he replied, "What do you think, Goofy?"

"Hmm. Beats me." Goofy replied, "Got a clue, Philia?"

"Because Tink led us here." Philia answered, "She guided us to you, Peter."

"It's true. Plus, this girl understands me, so I don't think they are bad." Tinker Bell assured him.

Peter looked to his companion, before touching the ground as he said, "Okay, okay. I understand. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Philia, right? I guess if you were real pirates, you wouldn't get lost on your own ship. Plus, your dressed funny."

"There you go again!" "What's wrong with how we dress?" Donald and Philia both argued angrily.

"So wait, if you thought we were pirates..." Sora started to put the pieces together, "This must be a pirate ship!"

"That's right." Peter answered, "You're trapped inside the Jolly Roger, ship of that ol' codfish, Captain Hook."

"Well, if we're trapped, that means you are, too!" Donald argued.

"Me? Don't be silly." Peter scoffed, looking away from them, "No one can capture Peter Pan! I'm just laying low until its time to spring my plan."

"Is that a fact?" Philia asked Tinker Bell in a whisper, rolling her eyes, "This must be why you called us over; to assist him in getting free."

"That's part of the reason." Tink answered, "The other part is..."

"The pirates kidnapped my friend Wendy. She's got to be somewhere on this ship." Peter continued, and Tinker Bell flew over to his side, "I didn't expect there to be so many pirates on watch, though. I sent Tink to look for a way around, but all she found was you."

"Ah, now it makes sense." Philia understood, walking forward, "So I guess we're here to be a distraction for Peter and Tink so they have free reign of the ship to investigate for Wendy, right?"

"Right! If we make a loud enough racket, the pirates will come after us!" Sora followed her train of thought.

"You hit it right on the nose!" Tinker Bell answered them, with Philia translating that they were right.

"So how 'bout it? Let's work together, at least until we get above deck." Sora asked Peter.

"Well, why not?" Peter asked, "Of course, I could save Wendy myself, if I wanted to. But you guys look like you'd be stuck without me." With that, he took to the sky again, and flew off.

"He can't just admit he'd be helpless without us, won't he?" Philia sighed, shaking her head.

"Don't you have ANY manners?" Donald questioned the flying boy.

"Just work with him, Philia." Tinker Bell answered, "He is very childish, but it is part of his charm. Kind of like how you feel with Sora."

"Yeah, I know..." Philia agreed, before looking surprised and asking, "Wait, you remember that?"

"Huh?" Tink looked confused, before placing a hand on her head, asking, "Wait, how DO I know that? I know I didn't before, but now..."

'I knew it. I am able to help her remember the past.' Philia understood, 'It's only a small bit, but overtime, she can remember fully.'


The group left the room, now with Peter Pan as a Friend Card like Donald and Goofy. They went deeper and deeper into the rooms of the ship, trying to find the path forward. They were able to reach the Room of Reward, with Sora opening it up with a card. There, they were able to discover a pair of new sleights, the Thunder Raid and Thunder Cross Dagger Skill for Sora and Philia, respectively.

Sora also gained a new Sleight from getting stronger, the Lethal Frame, which required his Stop card with two Attack cards, stopping the enemy's time, before unleashing several slashes that combined together into one strike that did serious damage. As for Philia, she gained the Rising Sun Dagger Skill, which utilized her Aero spell with two Attack cards, causing her to float in the air, and swoop down at her target three times in an under-arch, dagger-first.

They found the next room that lead them further into the story, and went in. They found themselves in a hallway, with Peter Pan and Tink ahead of them. They looked through an open door along the hallway, seeing inside. "There she is!" Peter stated, before flying in with Tinker Bell. The rest of the heroes looked in and saw the blue-dressed young lady, Wendy, in a sleeping cabin, with hammocks and dressers for storage inside.

"Peter?" Wendy noticed, as Tinker Bell came to her side, "Peter Pan!"

"Wendy, are you alright?" Peter asked, landing on the floor, "I've come to rescue you with my four new Lost Boys!"

"I'm a girl, thank you!" Philia argued.

"That would make you a Lost Girl." Goofy summed up.

"C'mon, lets get off this leaky ol' tub and do some exploring!" Peter stated with a smile, "Ha ha! We'll never grow up!"

"Listen, Peter." Wendy started, looking worried, "I've got something to tell you. I want to go home to London."

Peter looked surprised, and asked, "What are you talking about? Why would you want to do that? You'd have to turn into a grown-up. Besides, goin' on adventures is a lot more fun! If you go back to London, you'll have to leave the nursery. You'll grow up and we'll never see each other again!"

Wendy looked away, very sad as she answered, "I know, Peter. But... I still want to go home."

Peter was growing more angry as he stated, "I came to rescue you! And you don't care if you ever see me again!" He was clearly taking offense of this.

"No, you don't understand!" Wendy responded, turning back to him.

Peter was having none of this as he flew up again, snapping, "Suit yourself! And while you're at it, rescue yourself! I'm living." With that, he turned around and flew out the door past the team.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Sora shouted to him, but too late. He had left the scene.

"And there he goes." Donald sighed.

Philia exhaled softly, saying, "It's not like he has control over this girl's life. She has her own reasons for this." She and Tinker Bell looked to Wendy, who closed her eyes, muttering Peter's name.

"Not very thoughtful, is he?" Sora asked, "What do we do now?"

"Hey, I've got an idea!" Goofy spoke up, "Why don't we think of something once we get up on deck?"

"You mean, first we get up top, we then think of a plan?" Philia summed up, "That makes no sense..."

"Well, there's still trouble waiting outside." Sora noted, turning to the sad girl, "Wendy, you stay here. We'll try to create a distraction."

"All right." she answered, "Be careful."

"Who knows? If Peter actually takes the time to be a little more selfless, he might change his mind and return." Philia sassed.

"I know he is childish and selfish, but still..." Tink paused to think about what to say next.

"Listen, I know you are interested in Peter, so you want one less rival for you." Philia told Tink, "But put it this way; He needs to rescue Wendy in order to bring her home so that you can have Peter for yourself."

Tink paused on that thought, realizing the merit in such a deal. She looked to Wendy, before looking to Philia, before saying, "Oh...you are good. Mischievously good."

Philia smiled, before faltering slightly as she thought of herself compared to stopping Sora from reaching Naminé. 'Is there really a part of me who is jealous of whether or not I want Sora to stop being so obsessed over Naminé?' she wondered, 'I know I have a rivalry with Kairi, but we were fair and friendly in that. What about this other girl?'

"Philia?" Tink asked, looking curiously at her.

Philia looked to her, and shook her head, getting her mind in the game. Now was not the time to think about those things. Now wasn't the time to think of that. She joined the boys as they left the room, leaving Wendy behind.


They continued on through the rooms, leading deeper and deeper in, trying to find the path that led to the upper deck, dealing with the Heartless along the way. Philia and Sora continued to work separately as they continued going deeper and deeper into the place. Peter wasn't with their collection of Friend Cards, due to leaving them behind.

They eventually got to a room that was captain's cabin, which Philia recognized as they defeated another Heartless in the room.

"Okay, which way now?" Sora asked, looking about.

Philia wondered the same, looking about, before noticing something. A dark shadow of energy was in one part of the room. She looked to Sora, who didn't notice it. "I never saw something like that before..." she muttered, looking to the dark energy, approaching it cautiously. She got in close, and examined it closely. She then took out her dagger, and prodded it carefully. The moment her dagger touched the darkness, it suddenly yanked Philia into it, catching her off guard, and she saw nothing but darkness afterwards.


She was flung through the darkness for a couple seconds, before she popped back out into the captain's cabin again, falling to the floor. She got up to her feet again, looking about. Sora was no longer there, but a dark figure was there, turning to Philia. She looked shocked, as she recognized it as the dark Sora that she and the others fought in this very room. The one that Riku created.

"Sora? Sora!" Philia cried out, looking about. However, there was no reply. She was on her own. The AntiSora drew out its Keyblade, ready to fight Philia. She knew she had no choice but to fight, but it didn't stop her from being scared of fighting the shadow of the boy she knew and fought very recently. 'It's not Sora. It's not him!' she told herself, 'It's just a memory of that dark counterpart! That's all that is!' She found the nerve to get into a fighter's stance, ready to fight.

Philia charged at the AntiSora, who used a card to unleash a strike at Philia. She countered with a higher-number card, and slashed him back, followed by a series of strikes that ended with a counter of a stronger card by AntiSora. He flattened himself into the ground, going around and tried to strike from behind the young lady, only to counter with a Blizzard spell. She then performed a Stop spell on him, freezing him in place as she combined cards together, creating the Fad Edge Dagger Skill Sleight.

Philia continued this fight against AntiSora, who had single card attacks such as regular strikes and sneak attacks from behind. His only sleight had him create two more replicas of himself, and create a combo of slashes together on Philia, who experienced it the first time, and nearly got beaten by it. Fortunately, she cured herself of those wounds.

"You will not tarnish my dear friend's any more!" Philia shouted, creating the Teleport Sleight, warping behind the AntiSora, stopping his time, before unleashing a series of attacks, gathering up Attack Cards while she attacks, before unleashing the Shadow Stitch Dagger Skill on him, taking him out once and for all. He vanished into nothingness, but a card was in his place; an AntiSora Card. She took it, and looked at it, seeing the shadowy figure with the yellow eyes, before pocketing it.

"See how easy it was?" echoed a familiar voice all around her. It was PHox's voice, but he was no where in sight.

"PHox!" Philia shouted.

"You were able to destroy that version of Sora, no problem!" he told her, "You are really prepared to take on the real deal when the time is right."

"No... no, you are wrong!" Philia argued, looking scared at these words, "That was an illusion of the dark version of Sora. The puppet that Riku created back then. It's not the real Sora! I wouldn't want to harm him!"

"And yet, you did fight and hurt him before this illusion world." PHox noted, "That shows your capability to wound him. You are on your way to regaining who you once were in the past; a murderous Laughing Coffin member, like me!"

"SHUT UP!" Philia roared, trying to deny everything he was saying, before their was a bright light, blinding the scene.


When Philia came around, she heard Sora's voice cry out, "Philia! Philia!" She blinked, and looked about. She was back standing in the area where the darkness was before, only it was no longer there. Sora was standing right next to her, looking at her curiously. Everything was back to how it was.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked, "You just disappeared for a second, but you reappeared again."

Philia looked at her hands, which were shaking from the fear she had experienced. She noticed the Laughing Coffin emblem on her hand again, and hid it with her other hand. "It was PHox..." she muttered, "He made me fight a memory...of a dark version of you."

"A dark version of me?" Sora echoed, "You mean, like how you were when he fed you memories of your past, and you attacked us?"

Philia looked at Sora with a fearful expression, asking, "Did you really have to phrase it like that?"

"Oh... sorry." he apologized, looking that he brought it up like that.

Philia regained the grip on her mind before saying, "We... we need to keep moving. We gotta escape this place and get above deck."

"Sure..." Sora replied, seeing her walk over to a locked door, using a card to open it up. He was still dealing with a lot with himself, but he also knew Philia was dealing with her own demons. The Organization had both Naminé captive in the castle, and Philia trapped in her own fear. It was because of this, in his own mind, that Philia was acting irrationally, and why she was keeping him from Naminé before. But now wasn't the time to think about that. He had to focus on helping Wendy escape the ship.

They eventually found the door that led them to the final part, and they entered through. When they reappeared, they found themselves on the main deck of the ship. They looked about, seeing the mast of the ship right by them, along with all the cannons on the side, and the upper part of the deck where the helm was at.

"Whew! We finally made it out!" Donald sighed in relief.

"There you are, you rascals!" shouted a voice. They noticed as someone appeared right in front of them from around the mast. None other than the pirate captain of the ship, dressed in red, with his namesake replacing one of his hands. The one and only Captain Hook.

"I'll teach you to play stow away on my ship!" he accused the team, "Friends of Peter Pan, I wager!"

"Are we his friends?" Donald asked.

"That's up to debate." Philia argued, "However, I am a friend of Tinker Bell's, who is also in this situation."

"Yeah. The way Peter took off like that." Sora recalled, "He even ditched Wendy and Tink."

"I'm not finished talking yet!" Hook snapped, getting their attention again, "How dare you ignore me and plot behind my back?! Uncivilized brats! You are in cahoots with Peter Pan, no mistake!"

"If you say so." Sora replied, "Either way, you're gonna let us off this ship."

"And we'll take Wendy with us!" Philia added.

"Think again, ya scallywags!" Hook scoffed with a smirk forming on his face, "Hook's one step ahead of you!" He waved a hook over to one side, and saw, to their shock, Wendy, standing at the end of the plank over the water.

"Wendy!" the team gasped, seeing her in trouble. They raced over to try and save her, but Hook stood in their path.

"Any trouble, and Wendy takes a long walk off the plank!" he warned the team.

"You wouldn't!" Donald squawked.

Hook turned to them, saying, "Believe me, I'd rather not. After all, I need Wendy to bait that blasted Peter Pan!"

'For a villain, he does have a sense of code, after all.' Philia acknowledged mentally.

"Then I'll just have to take the bait, you old codfish!" said a familiar voice from above. Peter Pan and Tink arrived on the scene, floating between Hook and Wendy.

"Peter!" Wendy called out happily.

"Here I am, Hook! Miss me?" Peter asked.

"Insolent brat!" Hook shouted, waving his hook angrily at him, "Today is the day you pay for taking my hand!" He tried to go after Peter along the plank, but the boy in green instantly scooped up Wendy and pulled the both of them out of the way. Hook missed them, and almost fell off the plank. However, he spun his hands hard enough to regain his balance and prevent himself from falling over. He turned as he saw Peter place Wendy on the deck, glaring harshly as he roared, "You made a fool out of me for the last time, Pan! I'll cleave you to the brisket!"

There was a bright light, and both Philia and Sora were on their own as they faced Hook, with the battlefield being the main deck of the ship.

Sora launched at him first, ready to strike, but Hook used a 0 card to counter and toss present bombs in retaliation. Philia was ready, and set up a card to counter the 0 card, using a Thunder spell to counter him. Unfortunately, the attack did nothing to him, but it was still a good counter.

"No lightning can vanquish me!" Hook shouted, coming at Philia with a cross slash with his rapier, causing her to back off.

"Then how about Fire?!" Sora shouted, and he unleashed a Fira spell at Hook, burning him in the back, and making him falter.

"I will have your head!" he shouted, creating a sleight, and leaping up to the upper deck, tossing down barrels of gunpowder at team, causing them to run for their lives to evade the rolling barrels. Hook leapt down and pursued Philia, causing her to misstep, and get in the line of fire of a barrel, causing it to ignite and blow up in her face, making her cry in pain.

"Philia!" Sora shouted, coming in and unleash a Sliding Dash that knocked Hook off his feet, making him fall on his back. Sora got back up on his feet, but the back of his heels touched a rolling barrel, and he got blasted away by the exploding barrel. Soon after, the rest of the barrels exploded, vanishing from the battlefield.

The trio got to their feet again, with hook attempting a triple thrust on Sora, who countered with a Cure card, which Philia also used, the two of them curing themselves of their wounds.

They continued on the fight with Hook, who was swift with his blade as he was at using 0 cards to counter the heroes with attacks of his own, from x-slashes, repetitive thrusts, a flurry of slashes, explosive presents, and if possible, more barrels to throw down to explode at the pair should they make contact with them. Sora and Philia had to react quickly to counter not only his counters, but also save their 0 cards to counter his difficult Sleight. They also had Peter Pan as a Friend Card again, and utilized him to fight back at Hook.

"Blast you, scurvy brats!" Hook shouted after getting countered by the pair again. He then got even stronger as he did a wild series of slashes as he dashed at the pair. They got out of the way to avoid getting hit by the attack. He was getting more desperate with his attacks, but the two were able to handle it.

"Sora! We have to combine our attacks into one Sleight after another!" Philia shouted.

"Right! Let's go into it!" Sora responded, and the two charged at Hook.

"Whatever you bilge rats have planned, it's no use!" Hook shouted, creating another sleight, only this one had him coming at Sora, who rolled out of the way as he thrusted at him a couple times, before making one flying thrust that came with explosive presents. Sora barely scrambled out of the way, getting the back end of the explosives, before pivoting around with one hand, coming around and unleashing a Goofy Smash, knocking hook into the air with an uppercut, before slamming him back to the ground.

"We're not done with you yet!" Philia shouted, leaping in and unleashed the Fire Cross Sleight, creating a cross slash made of fire to damage Hook and make him falter.

"Now, to finish you off!" Sora shouted, combining three 0 cards together, and unleashed the Zantetsuken, slashing right through Hook, twirling his blade to one side, making him fall over.

"I am...not done yet!" Hook growled, getting back up, and was about to unleash a wild set of slashes at him.

"Not today!" Philia roared, unleashing an Ice Breath Sleight that she blew over Sora, directly at the pirate captain. He was frozen in place, before he fell down to the ground, unable to continue. Hook vanished, replaced with a couple cards with Hook's face on it. Sora picked them up, and handed one to Philia.

"Nice teamwork." Philia told him.

"Yeah. We beat him." Sora answered.


There was a bright light, and the heroes stood in front of Peter, Tink, and Wendy on the main deck of the ship.

"Thanks, Peter, we owe you one." Sora thanked him.

'Do we?' Philia asked mentally.

"Well, at first I thought I'd let you handle it, but it really looked like you needed help." Peter noted, "But hey, you four did pretty good, though." He then looked to Wendy and asked, "Wendy, about London... Are you sure you won't change your mind?"

"Peter, I'm sorry." she apologized, "But I really want to go home."

"Come on, Peter! Just let her go!" Tinker Bell told him, "She wants to go home and grow up!"

Peter turned away and sighed, "I was afraid of that... Everyone grows up, and grown-ups always forget. First you'll forget what it feels like to be young, and then you'll forget about me."

"How can you say such a thing, Peter?" Wendy asked, "I'll never, ever forget you."

"Sure, that's what you think now." Peter argued, "But when you try to remember me, the memories will be gone. You'll forget, little by little, one memory at a time. Once you're grown up, there won't be a single memory left."

"Don't say that!" Sora intervened, "Memories, even important ones, don't come back to us whenever we want them to. But that doesn't mean the memories are gone. It's more like... like they're sleeping. So when the right thing comes along and wakes the memory up, we can remember it."

"That's right..." Philia agreed half-heartedly, before giving a serious expression, "A lot of my memories of my past have vanished, and little by little, I am remembering my past. I know they are all still there, somewhere, asleep. But I can't find it by forcing it out. Others might try to force what my past is, but I know that the right trigger will come along and help me remember who I was."

"That's right!" Donald agreed.

"We know you'll find out." Goofy assured her.

"Peter, take it from someone who has forgotten her past." Philia finished, "They will eventually return. I believe that deep in my heart. And Wendy will, too. She will never truly forget you."

Wendy looked to Peter, saying, "They're right, Peter."

"Never, huh?" Peter echoed, thinking on it, "It's funny. I thought everybody who left Neverland forgot all about it. But I have a feeling you guys just might be different. Okay, Sora, Philia! If you say we'll meet again, then I believe you!"

"Oh, Peter!" Wendy said happily.

"Just as long as you don't focus too much on HER." Tink scoffed, looking away. Philia giggled at Tink's jealousy.

Peter walked over to Wendy, saying, "Let's go, Wendy. London is waiting." He picked up Wendy in a princess carry, floating upward, before looking to Sora and Philia, "Goodbye, Sora. Goodbye, Philia. I'll be waiting to see what you look like all grown up!" With that, Peter, Wendy, and Tinker Bell flew off into the night sky, disappearing from sight...for a moment.

Just then, Tink came flying back down, and flew right in front of Philia. "What is it, Tink?" Philia asked.

"I would like to give you this." she responded, "It's a gift from me and Peter. She spun around, and produced a Magic card with her own face on it. Philia took it and looked at it.

"Thank you, Tink." Philia thanked her.

"Now, I will always be with you, no matter how far away you are." Tink assured her, "So we don't have to part from each other again."

Philia looked amazed at first, before smiling gently. It seems like her memories had returned.

"Keep your happy thoughts in your mind, and keep close to Sora!" she finished, taking to the sky, and following after Peter, leaving the team.

"So she gave you her card?" Sora asked.

"Yep..." she replied, "It was a gift from her and Peter."

"Maybe he's not such a thoughtless guy after all." Donald stated. This was soon followed by something falling from the sky, landing on top of Donald, making him crash to the ground. The group looked and saw none other than a Moogle lying on top of the anthropomorphic duck.

"Another gift from Peter?" Goofy assumed.

"I think it's more of a prank." Philia stated, giggling at this.

The Moogle got up and flew off as Donald asked, "What's the big idea!" Everyone joined Philia as they laughed at what happened to Donald. For Philia, this was a relieving feeling to be able to laugh again.


The team was able to leave the ship, and left the illusion world. Sora and Philia left first, and found themselves in a white room again, with Riku, still in his dark mode attire, walking away from where they stood. Sora gasped and raced to him, while Philia looked on ahead, already knowing that it really wasn't Riku. However, she wasn't able to convince Sora otherwise, especially in his state of being. Donald and Goofy came to her side, watching the scene take place.

Riku stopped when Sora got closer. "Take a hint... I told you to go home." he told Sora.

"Not until I rescue you n' Naminé." Sora answered.

"I don't remember ever asking you to rescue me." Riku scoffed.

"Did you forget?" Sora asked, trying to put up a friendly smile, "Kairi's there, waiting for us both to come home."

"You're the one who forgot." Riku retaliated, "I told you at Kingdom Hearts when we closed the door; 'Take care of Kairi'." Sora looked taken aback, before looking depressed that he couldn't keep up his end of the bargain. "Give it up." Riku told him, "I'm not going back to the islands, for anything."

"It's not just for Kairi!" Sora argued, bouncing back from depression, "What about the rest?"

"You can have those losers. Already forgot 'em."

These words aggravated Sora, before he drew out his Keyblade, shouting, "That's enough!"

"What about you, Sora?" Riku asked pointing a finger at him, "Do you actually remember what they all look like?"

"Of course I remem-." Sora started, but stopped, and thought hard. From Philia's perspective, she can already see the truth in his expression; he had forgotten them. He was forgetting the people of his home. This was getting worse and worse as they were in this place.

Riku chuckled, before saying, "Don't feel bad. That's what this castle does to you, after a while."

He took a few steps away from Sora as Philia came to his side, glaring at him as she asked, "If you are so good at understanding what is happening in this castle, then why don't you explain why my memories haven't been vanishing when I have been here just as long?"

"How should I know? But how do we know they are vanishing?" Riku asked, "You sure you're not just deceiving Sora into believing you know all the answers?"

"I'm not!" Philia argued, "Since we came to this castle, I have-!"

"Since you came to this castle? How about even before that?" Riku asked, "You claim you are a friend, but I know the truth; You are a killer, and a liar. You would keep what you have a good hold on, and get rid of anything or anyone that is an inconvenience to you."

Philia gritted her teeth and tightened her fists, before growling, "Everyone in this castle... they are all saying the same thing about me. They say I am a murder, a killer, and I am fed up with it! How about I ask you something: If you do remember what you told Sora back at Kingdom Hearts, do you remember what you told me, then?!"

"Sorry, but I forgot." Riku replied, "It must've been too useless to remember. I only remember what really matters."

"I'm not convinced!" Philia argued, "You and I have been intertwined, with one conflict after another throughout our meetings. But in the end, before we closed the door... you apologized to me. I could feel that came from your heart. You had woken up, and you asked for forgiveness. That's something you cannot just forget so easily. So I'll ask this, despite Sora's thoughts on this; Who are you really?!"

Sora looked up and turned to Philia. She had stated before that she didn't believe this to be Riku, and she was still convinced of this, now. "This again?" he demanded.

"Yes." Philia replied, "I don't even think this is Riku, whatsoever."

"What are you talking about?" Riku asked, "Who else could I be? I'm the real deal, and I know what is truly important to me; Protecting Naminé. Nothing else matters. Not a thing. You especially, Philia. So get lost!" He summoned his sword, ready to fight her.

Philia summoned her own dagger, getting into a fighter's stance as she growled, "That's all the more reason to believe that you are not the Riku I know. I won't let you sully his name!"

Sora looked between his two friends, before looking down, thinking hard on what was right. Finally, he gripped his Keyblade tightly, finding the resolve, and said, "I don't know who to think, but I'll do what I think is right. I'll see if I can't jog your memory, Riku. Once I do, I'll prove to Philia you are the real Riku!" Philia looked at Sora, irritated he was still not convinced she was right about him. He was gonna find out, one way or the other, that she was right.

"Go ahead and try!" Riku shouted, and there was a bright light. They were back on the circular platform once again, this time the trio in a triangular formation, instead of Sora and Philia together. Their connection was getting further apart.

Riku charged at Sora first, as the two charged at Riku. Sora unleashed a couple strikes before Riku retaliated with a 0 card that sent a slash that created larger shockwaves than before, sending him flying. Philia came in with a Fad Edge Dagger Skill sleight, and knocked him about for a bit. She then followed up with a Blizzard spell, but got countered once more, spinning around with his sword out to knock Philia back, before using another card to slash and thrust right past Philia, damaging her more.

Philia was recovering as Sora saved her from another attack, utilizing a Fire Raid from a distance to knock Riku away from her. He was able to recover as Philia used a Cure card to heal herself, before going at Riku again, who readied a sleight for the both of them. He leapt up into the sky, coming down at Sora and Philia when they were close unleashing a shockwave. The two barely avoided the attack, before Riku jumped up and slammed down, aiming for Philia specifically. She saw him coming and leapt up to evade it once more. Riku went for his third leapt and slam, going for Sora again, and while Sora evaded the shockwave, Riku added geysers of dark energy with it, which Sora couldn't avoid, and got blasted hard by it.

"Sora!" Philia cried out.

"Stop pretending you worry about him!" Riku shouted at her, turning and unleashing a leaping slash to create more shockwaves.

Philia used a potion card to counter, reloading her attack cards, before saying, "I am not pretending!", unleashing a Dagger Throw at Riku, striking him hard. This gave time for Sora to recover, before coming at Riku with a Lethal Frame sleight, stopping Riku's time, and unleashing a series of slashes, which Riku took the full blast of it, being phased from the attack.

"You are gonna pay for that!" Riku shouted, and he went on the attack against the pair.

They continued to fight, with Philia and Sora piggy-backing off one another as they dealt with Riku, who was more difficult than before, as it almost felt like he was learning from Hook in the previous world, and added 0 cards to his set to counter Sora and Philia's cards and sleights. He was clearly making it difficult for the pair, but they were able to get around his attacks with all they had.

"Get ready!" Riku shouted, ready another Helm Split sleight at Sora.

"Oh, I'm ready!" Sora shouted, unleashing a 0 card to counter his attacks, striking him back. He then summoned Goofy as they performed a Goofy Smash sleight, knocking him into the air, before slamming him back down to the ground.

Riku rose to his feet, grimacing, before looking as Philia leapt in and unleashed a Stop spell to freeze him in place. "Here's the finisher!" Philia shouted, unleashing the Rising Sun sleight, swooping down at him like a hawk three times, finishing him off with her attacks.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Riku grimaced as he fell forwards before vanishing. After this, the two fighters were able to gain a new sleight, Magnet Spiral, which fused two Gravity spells with an Attack card.


When they returned to the room, Sora and Philia were catching their breath as Riku was collapsed to one knee, his sword flat on the ground, weakened from their fight. However, that changed when he used his sword to hoist himself back onto his feet again, stabbing it into the ground like a cane to pull himself up.

"Hmph. Too bad, Sora." he told the Keyblade wielder, getting into a fighter's stance, "You can fight me all you want, but I still won't remember a thing."

"Well, you tried, Sora." Philia told him, "But it doesn't prove to me he's the real deal."

"Would you stop that?!" Sora demanded to Philia, before looking to his childhood friend, "Come on, Riku. Let's quit fighting. Let's go help Naminé."

"Together... right." Riku scoffed, "So like you... Sora, you're always trying to worm your way into my heart!" He thrusted his blade forward, nearly hitting Sora, who backed off, startled.

"Hold on! When did I ever do that?" Sora demanded.

"Hmph. You forgot that, too?" Riku scoffed.

"Back off from him!" Philia shouted, stabbing her dagger into the end of Riku's blade, shoving it away from Sora.

Riku backed off from the pair, glaring at him before he snapped, "Don't act like you care, either. You're doing the same thing to Sora! It never mattered to either of you!" With that, he turn and ran up the stairs, leaving them behind.

"Wait!" Sora shouted, but he was too far away to come back. He paused for a second before saying, "You won't push me away."

Philia took a step to Sora, hurt by Riku's words. She paused for a second, before asking, "Sora... Please don't believe that I am worming my way into your heart, either. You accepted me in there, right?"

Sora looked to her for a second, before smiling as he replied, "Yeah. I know you did. But... I still wish you trusted me a bit more, Philia."

Philia looked hurt at these words, looking away from him, and muttered, "I wish you did, too."

Donald and Goofy joined them and Jiminy hopped out of Philia's clothing, all three of them looking worried at the two. Their trust in one another had really been damaged ever since Sora started to remember Naminé, and since PHox tried to convince Philia was a killer. They had sewn the seeds of distrust between the two, and it was hurting them.

Sora didn't say anything, but raced up the stairs, with everyone else running behind him, trying to pursue Riku.


Elsewhere...

Back up in the room where the Organization members gathered, The young, white-dress girl named Naminé was sitting at her chair, looking somber as she was able to tell what was going on with Sora, Philia, and Riku. It hurt her a lot to know that she was causing such a rift to be formed.

Suddenly, a black portal opened up, and Axel appeared, walking over to her. "Does it hurt, Naminé?" he asked, "Watching your two childhood friends and Philia fight all because of you?" She didn't make any motion to say yes or no, but the answer was clear.

"You have my sympathies. From the heart." Axel told her, only to get a glare from the girl, "But don't waste your time. We Nobodies can never hope to be somebodies." Naminé looked down again, knowing he was right.

Outside the closed door, listening in, PHox heard the conversation, and grinned mischievously. "Looks like things are going just as planned." he stated, "Now to move onto the next stage of the preparation for the party." He opened up a corridor of darkness, and disappeared.


Meanwhile...

Sora reached the next floor of the castle, seeing Riku had vanished once again from sight. Only the door ahead remained. With a heavy heart of not convincing his friend again, he marched forward, sighing in frustration, while the others were behind him.

"I don't get it." Sora admitted, "Riku and I… we both want the same thing. Both of us want to help Naminé out. How come we're fighting each other? I mean, Riku and I have argued about stuff in the past, but…"

Philia couldn't answer this, knowing where she stood in this argument, but Goofy had the answer. "Could be 'cause ya care what happens to each other." he responded.

Sora paused on this assumption, before answering, "I really thought so, too, but… maybe Riku doesn't…"

"You can't give up." Donald told him off, "You're friends, tied together. Sora, Riku, and…and…" Donald paused, as he suddenly realized something, and turned to Goofy, and utter words that stunned one of them, "What was her name?" Goofy looked puzzled at these words, too.

Philia was horrified, as Jiminy hopped out of her clothing. She looked to Sora, hoping beyond hope that he at least remembered. However, based on his expression, the truth was right there. 'No…' she spoke to herself, 'No, no, no! They… they even forgot about Kairi!'

Gritting her teeth, she roared with rage and fear, "How can you even forget Kairi?!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy all jumped in shock at her words. She tightened her fists as she continued, "You even forgotten the driving force of our last adventure now. One of the people you set out to find after you were carried away from the islands. The one person who's heart was inside you all the way up till you set her free?! How can you forget her?!"

"I…" Sora tried to respond, but couldn't find the words. As she had said, he had really forgotten Kairi, the only ones from the islands he did remember were Riku and Naminé.

"Philia, this castle is to blame for all of us losin' memories. Don't get angry with Sora because of that." Goofy told her.

"Though from what it sounds like, it seems Kairi was an important memory to Sora from your perspective." Jiminy told her.

"She was…" Philia replied, tears welling up in her eyes. She looked up at Sora, who looked startled at her expression, "Why… you swore you wouldn't lose your most precious memories. But you ended up losing one of the most important people in your life. How could you do that to her… and why did I let this happen to you…"

"Philia…" Sora muttered, "I… really forgot someone that important? But I don't know… All I remember is Riku… and Naminé. Was she really that important?"

Philia felt horrorstruck at this. She clenched her heart from the pain of seeing that his friend even forgot someone that was both a friend and a rival to her. One she knew was important to Sora. She gasped for air as the ground beneath her started to glow black and red, slowly smoking upwards. "I'm… I'm sorry, Kairi." She muttered to herself, "I… I didn't protect Sora like we promised. I… let him forget you."

She then wailed as the dark energy exploded upwards, consuming her body. Jiminy was flown off of Philia, landing at Sora's feet as he and the others backed away from her in shock at what was happening. "Philia!" Sora cried out, wondering if she was okay.

When the darkness vanished, Philia stood there, back to the same one-piece attire that she wore before, the one Riku also wore in his Dark Form. Her eyes were yellow, and she glared at Sora, who was terrified at this.

"You drove me to this state of being, Sora!" Philia growled, getting her dagger ready.

"Philia, what happened?!" Sora asked, "You…went back to this form again? Your memories returned again?"

"Shut up!" Philia snapped, placing a hand over her heart, "Your selfishness for trying to save Naminé drove me to rekindling my memories again. The memories buried in my heart. You awakened who I was before; the murderer I truly am!" She grinned mischievously as she finished, "And since you practically murdered the most important memories in your heart, I might as well kill off the rest of you, as a way for me to atone for letting you get this far! I hope Naminé will be glad to see you in pieces!"

Sora couldn't see any way around this. He had no choice but to fight back against Philia. He drew out his Keyblade as he readied himself to fight one of his dearest friends once again.


New Summons/Sleights:

-Tinker Bell (Philia)

-Thunder Raid (Sora)

-Thunder Cross (Philia)

-Teleport (Time + Aero + Item Card)

-Lethal Frame (Sora)

-Rising Sun (Aero + 2 Attack Cards) (Philia)

-Magnet Spiral (2 Gravity + Attack Card)

-Glide


Next Time on Sword Art Kingdom: Path of Memories

Separated Feelings