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)
-Tinker Bell (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
-Thunder Raid
-Strike Raid
-Sliding Dash
-Stun Impact
-Blitz
-Zantetsuken
-Sonic Blade
-Lethal Frame
Philia:
-Gifted Miracle (Bambi + Blizzard + Item Card)
-Ice Breath (Blizzard + Dumbo + Magic Card)
-Blizzard Cross
-Reflect Accel
-Fire Cross
-Thunder Cross
-Armor Pierce
-Dagger Throw
-Cross Edge
-Round Accel
-Fad Edge
-Shadow Stitch
-Rising Sun (Aero + 2 Attack Card)
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)
-Teleport (Time + Aero + Item Card)
-Magnet Spiral (2 Gravity + Attack Card)
Abilities:
-High Jump
-Glide
(Philia Speaking) Do we mean the things we say? When we try to send one message, are we really meaning the opposite? You say you want people to be free, but do you really want them to be under your control? When you say we are friends, but do you really mean you only want to use me? When can what we say really match what's true in our hearts? Or are we asking them to truly see that what we say isn't what we mean? We must discriminate fact from fiction, to know what is right.
Last time, Sora and I ended up clashing blades and cards with one another, with Sora's messed up memory causing him to be hostile to me trying to help him out. It resulted in me finishing the fight by knocking him back, which I deeply regretted. I hated the fact that we even started that fight in the first place, and Sora did, too. The castle and its residents were creating irreparable damage to our relationship. Sora finally convinced me that we needed to keep going. So we did, going to Neverland on Hook's ship, where I had a nice reunion with Tinker Bell.
After we completed the world, we caught up to the Riku I knew was fake, and we faced him again, with Sora trying to hammer his blade into him to try and help him remember Riku's lost past. However, I knew he wouldn't remember, as he wasn't the real one. Riku wanted to protect Naminé, and Sora wanted to rescue her. Why they were in conflict, was the big question.
However, things ended up becoming worse, trying to catch up to Riku, and noticing more memories had also vanished from the boys; the memories of Kairi. Of all the memories that had to vanish, why did it have to be that one? The memories of the one close to Sora, and the one person I swore to protect Sora. Now, because I let him go this far, I ended up letting him forget Kairi. The agony within my heart... it's killing me... everything is going black... what is happening to me?
(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:
There was a flash of light, and Sora was all alone facing the corrupted Philia again on the circular battlefield.
"Philia, stop this!" Sora shouted, coming in with his Keyblade, only to get countered by Philia's gathered up a 0 card, and unleashing her Dagger Throw, ending dark daggers at Sora, causing him to be knocked back. Sora had a backup, creating a Thunder Raid Sleight, spinning his blade at her to deal electrified damage.
"I have the right to do this!" Philia argued, getting back up from Sora's attack, and coming in with an Armor Pierce Dagger Skill, her thrust reaching a further distance than the last time, "You had betrayed me long enough, Sora! First me, and now even the girl you forgotten! I'm just returning the favor!"
Sora evaded Philia's attack, coming in with a series of slashes as he called out, "I didn't mean to forget whoever it is that I forgotten! It's this castle's fault!"
Philia retaliated with another 0 card, unleashing a Round Accel with a wider dark energy range, causing Sora to get sent flying. "That's just an excuse! In truth, you don't care about anything other than Naminé, and she ended up being your only thoughts, now! Nothing else matters, not even the people closest to you! But if what Riku says is true, then you don't deserve to even meet her!"
She came in with another Dagger Throw, only to get countered by Sora, who used a combo of attacks, only to get countered again by Philia, who created a Sleight, leaping into the air, summoning multiple dark energy daggers, before throwing them one after the other at rapid speeds, forcing Sora to go on the defense and run away. However, one she threw all her daggers, she thrusted down at Sora, causing energy pillars to rise up in a circular area around her, catching Sora in the attack, and sending him flying. This was her Dart Storm Sleight.
Sora got back up, using a Cure card to heal himself, before getting angry at Philia for her aggressive attack, and went in on the offensive against her, unleashing a Firaga spell by combining three Fire spells, causing fiery damage to her. "You have been constantly trying to stop me from reaching Naminé, and before, I understood why." Sora noted, "But now, I don't even get you anymore! So I will stop you from stopping me! Let's go, Philia!"
"Bring it on!" Philia growled back, and they charged at one another again.
Philia was much more aggressive than she was before when her memories returned the first time around. Her attacks had longer range, and she added the Dart Storm Sleight to her series of attacks. Sora had to get around the attacks any way he could, either by evading or striking back at Philia, damaging her any way he could. Philia was definitely not holding anything back on Sora, and was set to kill him, but that left her vulnerable to his attacks by her aggressive attacks.
"You really aren't fighting like you use to!" Sora argued, repelling Philia's Sleight with a 0 Stop magic card, freezing her in place. He then unleashed several slashes that came together once she regained her time again.
"Shut it, Sora! I don't need you to notice me now after you ignoring my warnings all this time!" Philia barked back, unleashing another Armor Pierce Dagger Skill, which Sora was able to counter with a card with the same number. Philia then noticed she was out of cards, and had to reload. Fortunately for Sora, he had a number of cards to work with.
"Philia, I'm sorry, but this is for your own good!" Sora shouted, unleashing a Magnet Spiral Sleight, getting in close and unleashing a spiraling magnetic energy that knocked Philia into the air. Then as she fell, he unleashed the Lethal Frame Sleight right afterwards, freezing her and unleashing a slashing combo, that all came together on Philia, striking her and sending her flying in pain. She screamed in agony as the damage was enough to knock her out.
There was another flash of light, and Sora stood there, while Philia was on her hands and knees, with Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy surrounding all sides. Both fighters were panting from exhaustion.
"Just give it up, Philia!" Sora shouted to her, "I'm sorry that I forgot someone who was important, but that's no excuse for what you are doing to me, right now!"
Philia glared up at Sora, before growling, "You know what? Fine! Our friendship was over, anyway. I wouldn't want to stick around you when you are like this, and when my memories are back to normal."
Sora seemed startled at these words, before saying, "Hold on! I don't want our friendship to be-!" But before he could say anything more, Philia suddenly got consumed by a pillar of darkness, and just as suddenly, the darkness vanished, as did Philia. "Philia!" Sora cried out, looking about, but didn't see her anywhere. She was gone.
Sora looked down, depressed. All of a sudden, Philia now vanished, and he felt like he was to blame. Because he lost the memories of someone important. But who was it that made Philia so angry with Sora? Even if he wanted to answer, he couldn't, as the memories were already gone.
Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy arrived next to Sora, with Donald asking, "What do we do now?"
"Gee, I have no idea." Goofy answered, "Do ya think Philia left the castle?"
"I... don't know." Sora replied, "We ended up splitting up...and I was at fault for what happened."
"Now don't act that way, Sora." Jiminy told him, "I'm sure Philia doesn't truly hate you. After all, since we came to this castle, she has always been there to aid you when you were losing your memories."
Sora didn't look to his friends, but instead raised a hand, looking at it as he noted, "But... she was also dealing with her own problems. The Organization, and Riku. They have been forcing her to remember her past. And now that she has... I lost her. What do I do?"
"Sora, you know you don't let go of your friends that easily." Goofy argued, "Why, I know that when Riku took your Keyblade, we ended up followin' him for a bit, but we came back to your side because you're you."
"That's right! And Riku even came came back to his senses again, and closed the door to Kingdom Hearts with us." Donald added, "Your friends will always come back to you when it matters!"
"They're right." Jiminy agreed, hopping onto Sora's shoulder, "Despite her getting her memories back, I'm sure deep down, Philia is still your friend, and wants to be with you."
Sora looked to him, before looking at his friends, and smiling. "You're right. I will try to get Philia to remember how close we are! And the first thing I'm gonna do is introduce her to Naminé. So let's keep going forward." Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy nodded in agreement.
They turned to the door ahead, and walked towards it. He pulled out the two remaining cards, one containing Hollow Bastion, and the other featuring 100 Acre Woods. He looked between the pair, and decided to go with the former, raising it to the door. It opened up, and walked right in.
Next thing he knew, he was in a very eerie castle, with Donald and Goofy by his side. They walked past a gate, and suddenly stopped as they heard something.
"I'm hearing voices!" Goofy noticed, "I wonder who it is."
Jiminy hopped out of Sora's clothing, and hopped over to the corner, peering around as he said, "Shh! I think something's wrong!"
The group turned around and looked to see two characters standing there. One was a beautiful young lady with a golden yellow ball gown, complete with long-sleeved gloves and her brown hair tied into a bun. The other was a brown-furred monster of sorts, but it was bipedal, and wore a cape and pants. They were Belle and Beast, respectively.
"But Belle, I don't understand!" Beast pleaded to her, "I came here to rescue you!"
"Beast... I did not ask you to come." She answered, turning to him, "And it doesn't matter anyway. I'm not going back with you, so you're wasting your time."
"Belle? Do you know what you are saying?" Beast questioned in shock, "How can you stay here with that witch?"
Belle turned away from the Beast and said, "I've nothing more to say. Now leave, before she finds you." With these final words, she walked away from Beast, going to the front entrance of the castle, and went inside willingly.
Sora and his companions approached Beast as he asked, "Belle... why?"
Sora hesitated at first, but decided to bring his presence to the monster's attention as he asked, "I'm not sure what's going on, but... is everything okay?"
"Don't feel bad." Donald assured, "There must be a reason she said those things."
"Yeah. We can relate." Goofy added, pointing out Riku and Philia and their more recent words to them.
Beast turned and growled, "Keep your sympathy. No one could ever care for a beast like me." With this, he wandered away to the area the heroes were before.
"Poor guy." Goofy said, feeling bad for Beast, "Sure wish there was somethin' we could do for him." Sora looked to the direction of where Belle went. He thought about what Riku and Philia were currently like, and gave a determined glare. There had to be more to this than what she was saying. He had to learn from her personally why she said all those things. Was she corrupted? Or did her memories get wiped? Either way, he had to find out, and he led the team to her.
Going from room to room, Sora was able to discover that the level of the Heartless was much stronger than what he was use to, and that there was an abundant more than he was use to. Then it occurred to him; The only reason he wasn't dealing as much before was because Philia was taking on as many Heartless as he was. He realized how important she was in the illusion worlds. Despite the grievances of who he lost, he kept pursuing forward. He was able to acquire Divine Rose Attack cards, and get strong enough to learn the Tornado Sleight.
It took some time, but he was able to figure his way around, and find the room that led him further on deeper into the castle, which was the library. He entered in with Donald and Goofy at his side, approaching Belle as she stood among the bookshelves, and turned at the sense of their presence.
"Who are you? Were you kidnapped, too?" she asked.
"Uh... not exactly. It's a long story." Sora answered, before noticing something she said and asked, "Wait! So you've been kidnapped? You don't want to be here?"
"Yes..." Belle answered hesitantly, "...No, I don't really want to be here. That witch forced me to come here. I have no one to talk to. Books are all I have to ease my loneliness. And then there's him... Oh, I've missed him so much."
"You mean the Beast?" Goofy asked, "Then why were you so mean to him before?"
"Yeah. You really hurt his feelings." Sora noted.
"You don't understand." Belle retorted, now aware they heard that conversation, "I can't let him see how I really feel."
"Why not?" Sora asked.
"It's just that..." Belle started, but stopped as she suddenly sensed something, and in a hurried hushed voice, told them, "Oh no, she's coming! Hide, quickly!" The trio looked very confused as she continued, "There's no time to explain. Quick. hide!"
The boys rushed away to hide as the bookshelves shifted and opened up, revealing a hidden path in the back. From it came someone that was clearly the witch. Dressed completely head to toe in a black gown, with horns on her head, carrying a staff with a green sphere on top, emanating nothing but pure evil, was none other than Maleficent.
"Oh... Hello." Belle greeted, "To what do I owe this visit?"
"He was here, yes?" Maleficent asked, "He risked his life to come and save you. Why do you reject him?"
"I won't ask for his help." Belle answered.
"Oh, and why is that?"
"You know very well why." Belle answered strongly, "I'm not going to fall into your trap!"
"Then I have no choice but to make you BEG for his help!" Maleficent finished. With a wave of her staff, both she and Belle disappeared in a billow of green flames.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy rushed out as Sora growled, "No! She got away!"
"What should we do?" Goofy asked.
"Help her, of course! What else?" Sora answered, and they raced out of the room, pursuing Belle and the witch.
'Was she saying those things to protect Beast?' Sora asked, 'Saying things that you don't really mean... Philia, what about you?'
Meanwhile...
Back in the White Room again, during this time, Philia was plastered on the floor, in her normal clothes, momentarily unconscious. However, she was starting to come around, and groaned as she slowly got back up to her feet again. She got back up onto her knees, looking about.
"Sora?" she called out, "Donald? Goofy?! Jiminy!" There was no response. She was all alone.
Philia got to her feet, looking about. "Where are they?" she asked, placing a hand to her head, "I remember... Sora and the others forgot about Kairi. But..." Philia stopped as she thought about what happened. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy all forgot about Kairi. The thought of that made her feel she let Kairi down. She ended up causing Sora to forget about her, all because they didn't leave this castle.
"You ended up giving into your dark past again." spoke a voice out of nowhere, and Philia jumped, before looking about. She knew the voice. It was PHox. Not a second later passed than the said man appeared from a black portal, standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at Philia.
"PHox!" Philia growled, "What do you mean I gave into my dark past again?!"
"Oh, come on. You aren't that dense, are you?" PHox asked, "Those memories I awoken to you before. In your frustration and grief, you awoke to them again, and attacked your friends again."
"I... I did?" Philia asked, looking down at her hands, shaking in horror.
"I even heard you say some things that cannot be unsaid." PHox noted, before quoting, "I think it was 'Our friendship was over, anyway.' Can't really come back from that, can ya? Really hurt Sora by saying those words."
"Sh-Shut up!" Philia stammered, not wanting to believe she would say such a thing.
"Why don't you face the facts. With Sora's only focus being Naminé now, he is not needing you anymore. Heck, he is not even interested in Kairi, as that girl even left his mind. Let him go on his way."
"All because you guys and this castle are affecting him!" Philia argued, "You even created a duplicate of Riku to torment him and me even more!"
"Oh, you figured that out, huh?" PHox noted, "Sure, I can say that the Riku you were dealing with was a mere replica. Kind of a neat trick, thanks to one of our Organization members. Using a clone of someone close to damage their hearts even more."
"So he really WAS a duplicate!" Philia growled, "Then you-!"
"But he is not longer your concern." the black-coated man interrupted, pointing a finger to her, "Right now, you have no where else to turn to. Your connection with Sora has been severed. And honestly, I have no interest in what happens to him afterwards. What matters right now is what happens to you."
"What do you mean?" Philia asked, glaring at him.
PHox lowered his finger and begun pacing, answering, "Simple. There are two choices you can follow. You see, I'm the only one here who knows who you truly are. I can tell you everything you need to know about your past, and be a part of the winning team. Then you can stop fooling yourself, and stop the confusion in your mind. Or..."
He wave a hand to the door behind him, and finished, "You can go along your foolish journey, catch up with Sora, only to get turned down again, see him lose even more memories, or worse, attack and actually kill the kid and his friends when your memories resurface. Either way, your going to the same path. But one path involves you dealing with more pain than the other. So choose, Philia..."
The young lady felt like she was trapped between a rock and a hard place. She was scared of acknowledging that the past might be exactly what he said. But at the same time, if she just ignored it, and caught up with Sora and the others, there might be a chance she might attack him. And if she didn't attack him, seeing him lose more of his memories would torment her even more than before.
However, there was a fragment inside of her that spoke up. If she did torment for Sora, that meant she cared for him enough to even care about the damage that was dealt to his memories. She knew something else was going on here than just what she knew as fact. The Organization was intently trying to mess up Sora's heart, but why? She couldn't let him be alone with nothing but the Organization messing with him. And with PHox acknowledging that the Riku was a fake, that meant all the more reason to go.
Philia walked forward, marched up the stairs, and passed PHox, facing the door. "I want to know my past, don't get me wrong." she acknowledged, "But I am more concerned about someone who is losing his past. And if you guys are responsible for what is happening to him, then you will pay dearly."
"So you would rather choose to to risk killing Sora with your own hands than take the easy street to your past?" PHox asked, "I'm practically inviting you to the party without any issues."
"Even if he hates me, I have to keep going." Philia argued, "I'll apologize for what I said before if I have to, but I have to atone for allowing him to get hurt and hurting him all this time."
"Then you will have a lot of 'atoning', for you gotta apologize to all the people you don't even remember killing in the past." PHox noted, causing her to turn to him, "Face it, you're no different from Sora. You even forgot about all you killed off in your past, only pursuing Sora. Is that not different from forgetting about all the people you know in your past? Talk about a hypocrite."
"That's not my fault!" Philia shouted.
"Neither is it my fault that Sora's memories are vanishing, or that he is pursuing Naminé."
Philia growled, before turning away, opening the door, and entered in. She had enough with talking to him.
PHox looked where Philia left, massaging the edges of his mouth, saying, "Seems like she is still persistently going after that boy. I guess I'm now starting to take an interest in the boy, if she is obsessed about him this much. Still, I know my 'trick' will eventually cause her to give in. But I should at least watch out for that boy. He might be someone that is in my way, too." He opened up another portal, and vanished within.
Inside the room Philia entered, she blinked and looked about. It seems she wasn't on the floor she thought she was before, as she arrived not in a new world, but back in Atlantica again.
"I was sent all the way back down here again?!" she asked, "They are making sure I am given a great amount of distance from Sora. I have to go after him before anything worse happens!" She made a dash in the room, with Heartless appearing out of nowhere to intervene. She drew out her Keyblade, and readied to attack.
Hollow Bastion (Illusion World)
Back with Sora, he ran through from room in pursuit of where to find where Maleficent took Belle. He was able to defeat the assortment of Heartless that got in his way, and kept going. Finally, he reached the door that led him to the next part of the world, and he opened it up, getting further in.
When they arrived on the scene, they found themselves in the entryway of the castle, and saw, Maleficent backing Belle to the edge of one of the fountains in the center of the room, with a threatening glare in her face.
"What are you waiting for? Call to him!" Maleficent told Belle.
"No! I won't let you hurt him!" Belle responded, putting a brave face on.
"Then I shall make you scream!" Maleficent threatened, "The fool will come running the moment he hears your cries."
Sora had enough of this, and approached from behind, he and the others drawing out their weapons as he called out, "Enough! The Beast isn't the only one you have to deal with."
Maleficent turned to the heroes, saying, "Begone boy. You have no business here. Unless, of course, you wish to join in the screaming!" She chuckled as she stated, "This is perfect. When the brute hears your shrieks of terror, he'll come right to me!"
Suddenly, a growling voiced boomed from above, saying, "Don't trouble yourself." Beast suddenly appeared, leaping down from the upper floor, landing on his feet with a quake. The presence surprised all but Maleficent.
"You're here!" Belle gasped, "No! You mustn't! I told you to leave this place! Leave me alone! I never want to see your face again!" Belle's words hurt the Beast, since he once again came to rescue her, and she turned him down, again.
"What an awful thing to say!" Jiminy stated, feeling bad for the Beast.
"All right. If that's how you feel, I understand." Beast answered regretfully, "My hideousness is punishment for being selfish and unable to love. I was made into a monster, loved by no one... and I only became more selfish. That is... Until I met you, Belle." The beautiful young lady was wide-eyed at his words, as tears started to form in the ducts of her eyes.
"You're the only person who accepted me. Little by little, you warmed my cold, selfish heart." Beast admitted, "The memories of our days together are my most precious. I won't cast them aside. So I'm sorry, but I can't leave you here... even if you hate me for it. Consider it my final selfish act."
"Oh, Beast..." Belle muttered, realizing that what she was doing wasn't gonna change anything. She even felt guilty for it. And while she was touched by his words, someone else was also intrigued by what he said, but not for positive reason.
"Well, well." Maleficent stated, "I never dreamed such ugliness could hide so beautiful a heart. This calls for a change of plan. Beast, I shall claim your heart instead of Belle's!" She raised her staff high as she was surrounded in green flames, ready to cast magic onto the Beast.
"No! Please!" Belle pleaded, and she rushed ahead. Maleficent casted her spell, firing it at Beast. However, Belle stepped into the line of fire, and took the attack herself. The result? Belle vanished in a glittering of lights, leaving only a glowing heart behind, which floated into the air. Beast and the heroes all gasped in shock at the sacrifice she made, and what happened to her as a result.
"Well, so much for the change of plans." Maleficent stated, "Belle's heart it is, after all. It seems her cold words spoke little of her true feelings." She cackled in glee as she said, "She loves you, Beast! I can feel it shining in her heart!" Her words confirmed what Sora believed; Belle's dishonesty in her words was only to protect Beast from what could've happened to him.
"You fiend!" Beast roared, "Release Belle's heart at once!" Beast leapt at Maleficent, but she had disappeared in dark green flames, vanishing from the scene. "Where are you?!" Beast demanded, looking around with fanged teeth.
Sora noticed and pointed ahead, saying, "She went that way! That's the way the shadow fled."
"What are you doing here?" Beast asked, now noticing that they were even here.
"No time to talk! We gotta go after them right away!" Sora told the Beast.
"You'll help me?" he asked, surprised.
"You bet! After what you just said, we GOTTA help you!" Goofy replied.
"Let's go get Belle's heart back!" Sora declared.
"Right!" Beast replied, and they charged up the stairs after Maleficent.
Sora exited the scene, looking ahead in the room he was in, thinking. "Belle did so much to try and prevent the worst case scenario from happening to Beast. As a result, she ended up sacrificing herself to save him." Sora told himself. He looked down, thinking to himself, "I wonder... Riku's hatred towards me... Philia's words when she gave into that corruption... They didn't really mean it, did they? Philia, you said we were close, and I pushed you away when you were trying to stop me before... And you became like that as a result. I swear, I will make things right when I see you again." He ran forward to pursue Maleficent and save Belle.
Philia
The treasure huntress ran through the depths of Atlantica, running through the rooms of the illusion world, getting stronger as she did so. She was even able to gain a new Sleight in the form of Light Volley, which allowed her to summon up half-a-dozen balls of light, and one after another, struck them with her dagger to home in on the target. Fortunately, she was not given a repeat of that same story. However, she was given a card that she knew would lead her to the boss battle. She followed the path to the room where she and Sora were in before, only now, she was alone to face it.
"Sora... I am coming to find you. Just hold on!" Philia told herself, and she opened up the door, leading inside the room.
Once inside, she found herself back in Ursula's grotto, looking about. She got closer to the cauldron, wondering if the sea witch would come out. She had her dagger ready to fight, just in case. Suddenly, from a jet of ink, Ursula made her appearance once more.
"So you have returned to face me again, did you?" Ursula noticed, "But what's this? You are on your own, child."
"Yeah. Momentarily separated from my friends." Philia answered, "But I am hurrying back to them again. And you, Ursula, are in my way!"
"Am I really?" Ursula asked, "Or is there a bigger fish to fry other than 'mwa'?"
"What do you mean?" Philia asked.
"I can see in your eyes, my dear. You have the same desperation as that child, Ariel. You would do anything to get what you desire. But what is it that truly desire? Your past? Your dear friend? I can make a deal with you. If you want the suffering to end, then I can aid you."
Philia gripped her dagger tightly, before answering, "Right now, my issues are small compared to you, Miss 'Eats-Between Meals'."
"You retched child!" Ursula growled, "You dare mock me again?! I will make you suffer for that!" She raised her hand up high, and suddenly, dark energy suddenly formed high above her, which transformed into something that startled Philia; Triton's trident.
"How did you...?" Philia questioned.
"You didn't think I'd figure out how this world works, do you?" Ursula told Philia, "Thanks to you and that Keyblade brat, I am more aware of this world. As such, I can create the illusion of the magic trident. It shall be more powerful than Triton, and rule the seas with this incredible power!"
"It will be a fake power. Nothing more!" Philia argued, readying her dagger, "And you will go down with the fishes once again!"
There was a flash of light, and Philia found herself in the exact same place where she fought Ursula before. She saw the giant Ursula rise up from the depths below, holding the trident in hand. "You should've made the deal when you had a chance, child!"
"Please. I know you wouldn't hold your end of the bargain!" Philia answered, "I know my enemies well, and you are too predictable!" She charged in at Ursula, the two readying their attacks at one another.
Sora
Back with the wielder of the Keyblade, Sora managed to make his way through the rooms, and find the room that led him into where he could confront Maleficent. He gathered up the appropriate cards, held them high, and entered in, ready for a fight.
Next thing he knew, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and the Beast were running down a dark hallway lit by green flaming lamps to where Maleficent stood, the Heartless emblem embraided on the wall above her, and doors on the sides of the room that were shut.
"You've done well to make it this far, Beast. As your reward, I'll tell you why Belle rejected you." Maleficent told the monster of a man, spreading her arms wide, "My dark magic requires hearts of upmost beauty. Belle was perfect. Deep in her heart, her love shone for you with uncommon radiance. But she guessed my plans. By denying her love for you, she put her heart beyond my reach."
"But she saved me!" Beast noted, "She protected me!"
"She couldn't hide how she really felt..." Sora acknowledged. In a way, he hoped this was the same to his friends that were far away from him.
"I've heard enough!" Beast growled, "Release her heart! NOW! If you don't..." He looked ready to attack Maleficent, who merely chuckled at his threat. "Do not try my patience!" Beast roared.
"Don't you realize why I am telling you all this?" Maleficent asked, "Did you think it was out of kindness? I did it to erase your doubts. Now your heart is beginning to shine with love for Belle. I shall have your heart, too, monster!"
"Not if we stop you!" Sora barked back.
"You dare challenge me? Pitiful fools!" the witch huffed. She gathered up her magic, and suddenly became encased in a pillar of darkness and green flames, causing shockwaves to form from her power.
There was a flash of light, and Sora was on his own again, in a very wide room, with windowless holes that showed the sky right around him, rubble around the edges of the room. However, in the center of the room, Sora was now confronting Maleficent who took the form of a giant dragon, her menacing glare pointed at Sora, while her wings were furled. Sora looked startled at this, watching as she reeled back on her hind legs, before stomping the ground with her front feet.
"I will defeat you, and reclaim Belle's heart!" Sora shouted, racing to the Maleficent Dragon. She came at him with snapping jaws, but Sora broke the card attack with a higher number, leaping up and unleashing a couple of strikes with his Keyblade, before Maleficent unleashed a 0 card, creating shockwaves with a stomp of her feet, causing Sora to be damaged by the attack.
He regained himself, and gathered up a sleight as he combined cards together, creating a sleight that he held off till later, unleashing some attacks while trying to counter Maleficents fire-breathing attack. He found a 0 card to counter, before going in with his Strike Raid sleight, striking her head once while it was lowered, but she raised it to evade the second attack.
"There's a lot more where that came from!" Sora called out, combining three more cards together, and unleashed the Blizzard Raid sleight at Maleficent, who produced a 0 card, and exuded flames down at Sora to counter his attack and burn him.
Sora used a Cure card when she tried to attack again, and Sora ended up countering her card, and caused a Gimmick Card to be produced. Sora caught it and used it to counter Maleficent's attack. At the same time, he summoned up a floating pedestal from this card, which he climbed aboard, and got into the dragon's face with it. "Let's see you avoid my attacks like this!" Sora shouted, and started wailing on Maleficent, trying to deliver as much damage as he could, while Maleficent's shockwave attacks could not reach him. Eventually, however, the platform vanished, and Sora was on the ground again.
Sora continued the fight, realizing that this was more of a battle of stamina, as the dragon version of Maleficent had a lot of it. Her attacks mainly composed of breathing fire, snapping her jaws, creating stomping shockwaves, and summoning fireballs that homed in on Sora's position. Some of Maleficent's cards were rather easier to deal with than the bosses before her, but she was able to utilize 0 cards to counter Sora's attacks. Sora really had to think strategically when dealing with her, especially since he had to save up his cards for later on. Fortunately, the Gimmick cards that created the platforms gave him a leg up in the battle.
After about ten minutes, Sora could feel it. Maleficent was nearly down. He had a few Beast Friend cards ready, and placed three of them together to unleash Furious Volley, with Beast unleashing lunging thrusts, making Maleficent's head reel, only for Sora to come in and knock it down. They did this back and forth of strikes together until Maleficent utilized a 0 car to counter the attack, causing a shockwave to form. Sora was getting smarter since the beginning of this battle, and jumped and glided over the attack, landing down, and setting up another sleight. One he hoped would finish her off.
Maleficent suddenly spew flames that encompassed half the field. Sora managed to reach the outside of the area, and run around the edges to get away from the flames, before coming in close to Maleficent, who snapped her jaws at him. Sora managed to have a card that he used to counter it, and a Gimmick card appeared... right over the flames.
"I really don't have a choice!" Sora grimaced, leaping up and gliding over the flames, and snatched the card. He ended up falling into the flames, but rolled out of it, trying to get rid of the flames as best as he could. He was able to regain himself, but ended up getting hit by shockwaves from Maleficent's stomping.
"Enough of that!" Sora shouted, raising the Gimmick card, and countering Maleficent's attack, producing the floating platform. Once he got up to Maleficent's level, he unleashed the Sleight he saved up, combining Goofy, Donald, and an Attack card, he unleashed Wild Crush, summoning his friends, and using Goofy as a battering ram as the floating platform carried the three of them into Maleficent, slamming headlong into the dragon, defeated her once and for all.
The flames vanished, as did Maleficent. But in her place, a Maleficent Dragon card appeared. Sora reached down, and took the card, happy he got it. However, another pang of realization; This was the first time only one card appeared after beating a boss. All because Philia wasn't here to finish the fight with him. Sora took it sadly, and pocketed it.
There was a flash of light, and Sora was back in the room they confronted Maleficent in. He walked away from where Maleficent stood before, with Donald, Goofy and the Beast at his side. They stopped as they looked up, and saw Belle's heart float down from above, and in a bathing bright light, Belle had reappeared once again, all back to normal again. She examined herself, realizing she was all there again.
"Belle!" Beast called out to her. They slowly approached one another, with Beast placing one hand in Belle's, while the other held her from behind, almost like they were about to dance. "Thank goodness..." Beast sighed in relief.
"Please forgive me. I had to be cruel." Belle told the Beast, feeling guilty for what she had done, "But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't hide my true feelings..."
"I'm the one who should apologize...for doubting you." Beast replied, "I never want to remember feeling that way... so angry, so alone."
"Then don't." Belle replied, "Let's replace the sad memories with happier ones, starting now."
"Belle..." Beast muttered, holding her close. He didn't want to lose her again. Not ever.
"There they go with the mushy stuff, a-yuck!" Goofy chortled.
"Yeah, I think it's time we got on our way." Sora stated.
"Good idea! Let's keep going." Donald agreed. With that, the trio left the scene, leaving the lovebirds alone.
Philia
"You're finished!" the treasure huntress roared at Ursula as she got in close, and unleashed the Light Volley sleight, summoning up a half dozen balls of light, before sending one after another at Ursula, with the final one finishing her off once and for all. With that, Ursula vanished in an instant, leaving Philia alone, exhausted.
"As I said; You're too predictable." she said to the vanished Ursula. She was basically the same villain that she and Sora fought before, and while she was stronger than what she was back then, it was still difficult, what with not having Sora here to help her out. She closed her eyes, and thought about PHox's words before this. "I wonder... would my past self come back, and take over?" she asked, "Would that really get in the way of being with my friends? That darkness... I'm scared of it." She took a moment being afraid of it, before calming down, and turned away.
There was a bright light, and Philia was back out of the boss room. Once she did, she walked towards the direction to where the exit was, and left the illusion world behind.
When she opened up the doors, she was on the next floor, walking towards the stairs that led to the next floor. 'Philia...' spoke a voice that echoed about her, and she stopped and looked about. For a second, she thought she heard someone say her name. Not just anyone... but her own voice.
'Philia, why are you following him?' her own voice echoed.
"Who said that?!" Philia demanded, "Who are you?!"
'Don't you know? I am you.' the voice replied, 'The past you that is slowly reawakening inside of you. The former Laughing Coffin member. The murderer.'
"You're me?" Philia questioned, looking frightened, looking about fearfully. It felt like it was both coming from everywhere and inside her head.
'Correct. From the moment you were thrown from your world, when you awakened, you lost the memories of who you once were.' her other voice spoke up, 'You left behind the past of who you truly were, and started to live a lie.'
"A lie? What lie?!" Philia demanded.
'The lie that you were wanting to be friends with Sora and his friends.' the other voice answered, 'You wouldn't be friends with him if you were truly yourself. When you had a chance, you would've killed all of them, and taken the power of the Keyblade all for yourself.'
"I wouldn't do that!" Philia argued back at the voice, "Sora... I love him! Sora, Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, Kairi... they are all my dear friends!"
'But you still fought Sora when the memories of your old self, which is me, came back.' the other voice answered, 'And when Sora was forcefully disagreeing with you, you ended up fighting each other. The natural instinct to attack is still deep within your veins.'
"I... that wasn't..." Philia tried to make an argument against this, placing a hand over her heart.
'The moment he lost the memories of your time together, that was when you struggled to hold onto what you had gained. You have become a coward, too afraid to go back to who you once were. I almost feel sorry for you... almost.' Philia felt dizzy, and collapsed to her knees. Her head was a complete mess. 'But don't worry. Once you start accepting who you really were in the past, you can be the strong girl you were meant to be.' the voice assured her, 'Even with all that power, you don't have true strength that you had once before, as a killer. You were fearless, you didn't need friends. Just remember your past. Accept it. After all, you were looking for you past, after all. That was your life goal. Well, it is right here. Embrace it.'
Philia struggled, placing her hands over her head, swaying from side to side, struggling with all that was said to her. The voices of what Axel, Larxene, PHox, and Riku told her throughout their time in Castle Oblivion. The words of Sora, especially during their argument that resulted in their fight. Everything was echoing all about in her mind as she struggled to figure out what is truth, what is a lie. The more she was told, the harder it was to push away.
Finally, she let out a scream as she raised her head up high, her eyes bulging. The mental overload overcame her. She wanted to stay with Sora, but her past would catch up and she would kill him. She wanted to stay who she was, but her past would make her the murderer. Her conflict was so overwhelming.
When she stopped screaming, her hands limped down to the ground, still in the kneeling position, looking up to the ceiling in a glazed manner. She was barely conscious. Her struggle between who she was and who she is left her in a vegetative state. She was losing who she was. She couldn't move. She couldn't do anything.
Sora
Donald, Goofy, and Sora left the illusion of Hollow Bastion, and arrived in the next White Room. They thought they were going to encounter Riku like the last two times. However, this time, they were on their own. No one showed up.
"Where'd Riku go?" Donald asked.
"Guess he must've finally got tired of fightin' with ya." Goofy told Sora.
Sora smiled as he leaned back on his hands, answering, "I sure hope so." Sora's smile was suddenly cut short when he heard the sound of someone screaming down below. It made all three of them jump, and even made Jiminy hop out of Sora's clothing. "That scream... that was Philia!" Sora recognized.
"Gee, I wonder if she's okay?" Goofy asked, worried about her.
"Was she down below?" Donald asked, looking back at the door.
"I don't know..." Sora answered, looking at the same door, "I wasn't able to tell..."
Jiminy hopped out and asked, "Sora, do you want to find Philia again?"
Sora paused, placing a hand over his heart, thinking. He knew what Philia was capable of, but she was also dealing with her demons. Right now, if he went back to her, things would get complicated again. They had to have some time away from one another before they could come back together again. At least, that's how he felt. Finally, he answered, "No. I think she can do alright. We should keep going."
Donald and Goofy looked to one another, looking worried. Donald asked, "Are you sure about that?"
"Yeah. She sounded like she was in pain." Goofy answered.
Sora smiled as he replied, "Philia is gonna be okay. Besides, we only recently fought each other. I don't want that to happen again. So... I'll wait for her to come back. I know she will."
With these words, Donald and Goofy looked satisfied, nodding agreement. If they knew anything about their connection to Philia, it's that she would come back to them. With the blissful ignorance of what was truly happening, they raced up the stairs, heading to the next floor.
Elsewhere...
Philia's scream did not just reach Sora and his companions. Someone else down below had also heard it. The scream made him stop and look about. "Who was...?" he asked, before feeling like he should know the owner of the scream. "That voice... I think it was."
The person ended up being Riku, the real one, inside Castle Oblivion, as he was venturing upwards. "That was... Philia!" he finally recognized, "So, that means she's here. Does that mean... Sora is here, too? I have to hurry." He raced onwards, going to the next set of stairs that led upwards.
Finally, in the room where the Organization members gathered, Axel, Larxene, and PHox were together, staring at Vexen, who had joined them, looking irritated at this moment.
"So what's going on, Vexen?" Larxene asked, "Your Riku was supposed to counter Sora? What's he waiting for? Where is he?"
"He's hiding somewhere to lure Sora deeper into the castle, right?" Axel assumed, "I suppose we should leave it at that, you know."
"A-ha! Oh I see now!" Larxene replied in a mocking dramatic flare, "I would have never guessed that. So sorry, Vexen."
"Silence!" Vexen snapped at the pair.
Larxene frowned at him as she stated, "Predictable response. Forget it. Men without hearts are so boring."
"You're one to talk." Vexen responded, "As if you have such a heart to speak for yourself.
"Then I guess we're all in the same boat, aren't we?" PHox asked, "Though, I think both of you are being rather childish, right now. That's worse than men or women with no hearts."
"You should watch your tongue!" Vexen argued, "The other 'project' I gave you now has you has now left YOUR toy in such a state, leaving her heart on the verge of shattering apart."
"Yeah. What do you have to say about that?" Larxene asked, "After all that trouble, she isn't even a useful tool anymore." PHox glared at the two of them, not wanting to hear any of this from the two of them.
"That's enough." spoke up a voice, and all of them turned to see a black portal open up, and a hooded figure appeared. The very same one that Sora and Philia were first introduced to at the beginning of Castle Oblivion.
"Well, well, if it ain't the head of our little gang, Marluxia!" PHox greeted, as he unveiled his face, complete with glowing petals, as a young man with long pink hair curtaining down in damp spikes, and blue eyes.
"Vexen, the simple fact is that your project was a failure." Marluxia told the scientist as he approached him, "You'd best not disappoint us again."
"Disappoint YOU?! You go too far!" Vexen barked at him, "In this Organization, you're No. 11! I'm No. 4 and I will not have you-!" He was interrupted by his speech when Marluxia summoned out his weapon, a scythe, pointing its' 'horn' at him.
"I've been entrusted this castle and Naminé by our leader." the pink-haired man informed him, "Defying me will be seen as treason against the Organization. 'Traitors are eliminated.' I believe that's what the rules say."
Vexen looked about the scene, seeing he was clearly outmatched my all four that stood against him. PHox snickered as he summoned out his butcher knife, looking as if he was eager to see if he would betray, so that he could have the excuse to kill.
"Who needs a half-baked, good-for-nothing, anyway?" Larxene asked, much to Vexen's irritableness.
"Vexen, you cannot win against Sora." Marluxia told him.
"Now, now. His project for me has been useful." PHox noted, "And it's not like she is completely broken. I'm sure she will eventually reform her heart into the proper doll I can use... I'm sorry. WE can use."
"Already leaking out what your true intentions are, aren't ya?" Axel asked, "All because she is from the same world as you."
"I'm just trying to give credit to where credit is due." PHox argued.
"At least one of you can see my brilliance, even if it is trivial." Vexen stated. He then paused as he smirked at Marluxia, saying, "Pity to be so ignorant. As you're only able to see the surface of things, I should not expect you to appreciate my true might."
"Oh?" Marluxia asked, dismissing his weapon again, "Then let us watch you prove it."
"What?" Vexen looked confused.
Marluxia looked away as he stated, "None of us wish to be suspicious of a comrade."
"Your insincerity is comforting." Vexen replied, disappearing in a black portal.
"You give a challenge like that to Vexen and he'll seriously want to eliminate Sora.
"That would be an unfortunate denouement." Marluxia agreed, walking over to where Naminé sat in her lone chair. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she flinched at his touch. "What to do?" he asked, "Your hero is soon to be wiped from existence. But I believe there is a certain promise that he made you. Isn't that right, Naminé?"
"I don't see the problem with that." PHox noted, walking over to them, "In all honesty, I was hoping Philia and Sora could clash with each other one last time, last one standing. Despite her vegetative state, she is still close to Sora, as he is with her. So long as that tether is still there, they can't completely be in our hands. So let's see them finally break."
"Okay, now you're being less twisted, and more sick." Larxene told PHox, "Honestly, if I knew you didn't have a heart, I'd say you were enjoying this."
"Do you need a heart to be entertained?" PHox asked, looking to her, "Don't act like you know how a heart functions, either. Besides, apart from you and I, plus one other back at headquarters, wasn't Philia suppose to be part of our Organization when we were pulled here from our world? I am making the status quo legit."
"And you believe she will be just as important, if not more so, than Sora and his Keyblade?" Marluxia asked.
"I'm hoping it will be." PHox answered, walking away, "For now, I'll just watch how the preparations for the festivities take place." With that, he vanished in a black portal.
Namine looked to see him leave, before thinking to herself. 'Philia... I have caused you enough damage.' she told herself, 'When I can... I'll set things right.'
New Sleights:
-Tornado (Aero + Gravity + Summon Card) (Sora)
-Light Volley (Tinker Bell + Ether + Attack Card) (Philia)
Next time on Sword Art Kingdom: Path of Memories
Last Glint of Hope
