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)
-Spellbinder (Sora)
-Stop
-Gravity
Summons:
-Simba (Sora)
-Cloud (Sora)
-Genie (Sora)
-Mushu (Sora)
-Dumbo (Philia)
-Tinker Bell (Philia)
-Bambi (Philia)
Sleights:
Sora:
-Terror (Simba + Mushu + Item Card)
-Shock Impact (Simba + 2 Attack Cards)
-Quake (Gravity + Simba + Magic Card)
-Cross-Slash+ (Cloud + Stop + Attack Card)
-Blizzard Raid
-Reflect Raid
-Fire Raid
-Thunder Raid
-Strike Raid
-Sliding Dash
-Stun Impact
-Blitz
-Zantetsuken
-Sonic Blade
-Lethal Frame
-Tornado (Aero + Gravity + Summon Card)
-Ars Arcanum
Philia:
-Gifted Miracle (Bambi + Blizzard + Item Card)
-Ice Breath (Blizzard + Dumbo + Magic Card)
-Idyll Romp (Bambi + 2 Attack Cards)
-Shadowbreaker (Gravity + Tinker Bell + 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)
-Light Volley (Tinker Bell + Ether + Attack Card)
-Accel Raid
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)
-Confuse (Genie + Tinker Bell + Summon Card) (?)
-Firaga Burst (2 Fire + Gravity)
-Freeze (2 Blizzard + Stop)
-Warpinator (Time + Gravity + Aero)
-Stardust Blitz (Donald + Fire)
Abilities:
-High Jump
-Glide
(Philia Speaking) Who are the most important people in your life? Are they ones that are so important, you'd abandon those you also gained a bond with? Are they people you want others to know how important they are? Would they understand how great they are? Would they just toss that importance aside, and say they aren't that special? Would you convince them otherwise, or would it be a waste of time? Everyone has someone special in their life, and will make sure they are protected, even if it becomes an obession.
Last time, Sora ended up going to a world called Twilight Town. It was a world Sora had never been to before. While they fully knew their memories were vanishing, Sora was persistent, as he still remembered the promise he made to Naminé, which was the driving force to him going forward. He ended up encountering Vexen, who made Sora question the memories he now currently held, including how his memories were linked to the world he didn't know. However, he was stubborn, and ended up fighting Vexen, defeating him. However, just before he could say anything more to Sora about what lied in store for him, Axel came along, and silenced him. This made Donald and Goofy questioned how his warning was similar to the warnings Philia made before, but Sora shut it down, saying it would not stop him from saving Naminé. Now even he was getting angry with his friends.
Meanwhile, I was dealing with my own literal demons. After saving Tinker Bell in the illusion Neverland, I ended up discovering the source of who was deceiving me and my friends; None other than a dark puppet version of me. In my rage of her deceiving me and my friends, we fought, and I bested her then. However, she continued to go after Sora and my friends, deciding to get rid of them so I had no one else to turn to in this castle. I pursued her, going through the illusion world of Hollow Bastion.
I ended up reaching the end, but encountered a familiar but unexpected character; Gilgamesh, the man we faced all the way back when in this very evil place. He ended up coming here using a stone he named 'Enkidu', and was gonna go after Sora. So naturally, I stopped him, and he ended up considering me his rival. He flew away back to where he came, so I ended up going on ahead. Sora, Donald, Goofy, I'm coming to save you!
(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, Organization XIII
Inside the room where the members of the Organization gathered, Larxene and Marluxia stood there, waiting as a portal opened up, and Axel reappeared, having dealt with Vexen.
"Nice work. I say good riddance to that blabbermouth." Larxene commended Axel's kill.
Axel dismissed her compliment as he turned to the leader, saying, "Marluxia, you used Vexen to test Sora's strength, didn't you?"
"Not just Sora's. It was yours, too." Larxene answered, "We weren't sure if you had it in your bones to take out a fellow member." She walked over to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder as she finished, "Well, I guess that you did. It's time to join up. Taking over the Organization will be like child's play with just the three of us."
Axel understood as he said, "So that's where Sora comes in."
"Of course." Larxene replied, "He just wants to see Naminé, so why don't we just give him what he wants?"
"And where does PHox come in?" Axel asked, "Does he know what's going on?"
Larxene scoffed as she replied, "Oh, yeah. He does, too."
"Despite our warnings, he still sends Vexen's puppet project after both Philia and Sora." Marluxia stated, "He has not made any moves himself, but I believe his obsession might oppose our plans. As such, we must keep an eye on him until he makes a move that would be considered traitorous." He then looked to Naminé, who remained stock-still finishing, "Rejoice, Naminé. The time is near for you to meet the hero that you've been longing for."
Larxene walked over to her as she looked regretful as she answered, "I'm... glad."
The blonde villainess knelt down as she warned her, "But I'm warning you. You'd better not do anything to betray Sora's feelings. Do you understand me, little one?"
"I understand." Naminé replied monotonously.
"All you need to do is layer Sora's memories, and bring his heart closer to you." Marluxia told her. With these final words, Marluxia and Larxene opened their portals, and vanished, leaving no one but Axel and Naminé alone.
There was a moment of silence before Axel heard Naminé speak quietly, "Sora... Even if you come for me, what then? Philia... Please, reach him..." Axel looked like he was ignoring her, but heard that last part, but now understood one thing; She was counting on Philia to save Sora.
Sora's Side
Sora opened up the door that led him out of the illusion of Twilight Town, stepping out, and saw none other than Riku standing there, already battle-ready.
"Riku!" he called out, running towards him.
"You'll hurt Naminé if you go further." Riku warned him.
Sora stopped as he questioned, "You still want to fight? But Vexen's gone, so now you're free!"
"It doesn't matter what happens to him." Riku rebutted, "I'm protecting Naminé from you. That's what's in my heart. Sora, I made a promise to Naminé. A promise to...keep her safe."
Sora looked perplexed, as he made the same promise to her. "You did?" Sora asked.
"There was a meteor shower...this one night when she and I were little..." Riku explained, causing Sora to gasp in surprise, "Naminé got scared and asked, 'What if a shooting star hits the islands?' So I told her: 'If a shooting star comes this way, I will protect you!'." He raised his sword high at this declaration.
Sora was shocked, knowing the story all too well as he stated, "You made a promise! With a toy sword!"
Riku was startled, and asked, "What... How do you know about that?"
"Because... That was the promise I made to her that night!" Sora argued, "I would protect her! I said it!"
"Don't lie!" Riku barked angrily, "You weren't the one there that night!"
"YOU're the one who wasn't there!" Sora snapped back, "That was when she gave her good luck charm to ME!"
"Her what?!" Riku asked, stunned. Sora dug into his pocket, and showed off Naminé's charm to Riku, who gasped in shock as he demanded, "Tell me... Where did you get that?!" Suddenly, something sparked off of his forehead, and he clutched it tightly, his brain in pain from what just happened. He stumbled back a bit, trying to regain himself. When he did, he growled, "Sora...good try."
"Huh?" Sora looked confused.
"That must be a fake!" Riku barked, digging into his back pocket, "I've got the real one right here!" He then pulled out what he was claiming; a charm that was the exact same as the one Sora had.
"Wha- TWO of them?!" Sora gasped, looking between Riku and his own. How was this possible? There couldn't be two of these in existence. What was going on.
"Fakes should be destroyed!" Riku roared, readying his sword to fight Sora, angered by the deception. Sora got his Keyblade ready, as the two prepared to duel.
Philia
Philia made it through the door into the illusion world. However, when she came out, she found herself in another white room, similar to the ones before. She stopped and looked about, asking, "Wait... What's going on? There was an illusion world there, right? So...why did I end up here?"
Philia crossed her arms, muttering, "Let's stop for a sec. I gotta think back..." She recalled the memory of all four cards Sora had after beating Larxene, remembering each world. "I know I saw Atlantica, Neverland, and Hollow Bastion. As for the fourth one... Oh, yeah! That was that storybook world!" She unfurled her arms as she looked back at the door she just went through, saying, "That means... that must've been that world, but I basically passed through it. Is it because I hold no connection or memory to the world?"
She paused to think about it, before answering, "Guess I should stop thinking about it and keep going." She charged on ahead, going up the stairs, where she found the next door. However, as she did so, she could've sworn she saw her own backside going through the open door. She recognized her, and shouted, "Get back here!" She ran to the door, and entered through it, arriving in the illusion world of Twilight Town.
She stopped and looked about, wondering, "What is this place? I know for certain I have never been here before. Is this part of my past memories?"
She paused for a moment, before answering, "No... this place was made from Sora's memories. So does that mean he has been here before? If that's the case, how come I'm here, instead of passing through like the last world?" She ruffled her hair, before growling, "Gah! None of this makes sense! I have to go through here and catch up with that clone of mine before she fools Sora and the others!" She an into the alleyway, going to tackle the rooms.
Sora
Meanwhile, Sora was still in the midst of his battle with Riku, the two trading blows with one another. Dark Riku had more tricks up his sleeve than before. He used the similar attacks from before, but his sword swing now added an energy disc that spun towards Sora before he thrusted towards him while he was vulnerable. He had another sleight under his belt, Dark Firaga, summoning fireballs that homed in on Sora, but couldn't make sharp turns quick enough that Sora couldn't evade. However, he ended up getting tricked one time or another by his attack. The bigger problem was in the second half of the battle.
Riku was unleashing his attacks, but he ended up having higher-number cards than before. 'How is he doing that?!' Sora questioned, 'Riku's cards are higher-number than before? He must have gotten a special ability! In that case...'
Riku went into a Helm Split, but Sora unleashed a 0 Attack card, countering him and phasing him. Sora took this opportunity to use a Blitz sleight, striking him several times to knock him back with major damage.
"You'll pay!" Riku roared, unleashing another slash with an energy discus, but Sora had a 9 card to counter, blocking and parrying his attack, before unleashing a Strike Raid sleight.
Riku got back up, and unleashed Dark Firaga, striking Sora with it this time around, burning him hard. "What's wrong?! Can't counter it?!" Riku shouted, before going in with a cross slash with his blade. However, Sora deceived Riku, using the Teleport sleight to appear behind him, freezing his time.
"Just stop this!" Sora shouted, gathering up three cards together while Riku was frozen, before unleashing Cross-Slash+, summoning Cloud and making him unleash his three-hit Cross-Slash attack, finishing him off for good.
"Your the fake!" Riku grimaced before he vanished from sight. In his place, a Mega Potion card appeared, which Sora added to his collection.
There was another flash of light, and Sora was still standing, while Riku held his footing, but looked incredibly wiped from his battle with Sora. "Riku..." Sora called to him, worried. However, Riku shook his body, refusing to believe anything that would come from Sora, before turning around and leaving. Sora reached out to him as he fled, but noticed that he had dropped the lucky charm he had from his person. Riku didn't notice, but continued up the stairs, leaving them all behind.
Sora approached the charm with Donald and Goofy at his side. "Isn't that Naminé's good luck charm?" Donald asked.
"It's just like mine." Sora compared, picking it up, looking at it, "How'd he get this?" Suddenly, the charmed shined brightly, blinding everyone in the room. When the light died down, Sora noticed that the charm had suddenly turned into a card for a new world. One he was very, very familiar with; the Destiny Islands.
"It turned into a card!" Goofy noted.
Sora looked at it, before looking up the stairs. "Well, let's use it to get to Naminé!" he declared, about to make his way up the stairs.
Donald and Goofy looked to one another, before thinking hard about everything that was added to their plate. "Aww...I don't understand what's going on..."
"Let's just keep moving, okay?" Sora retorted to his friends, "It doesn't matter."
"It DOES matter." Donald argued, "How can two of you have the same memory? You can't both be right."
"I'm wrong?" Sora questioned, "Fine, then don't believe me!"
"That's not what he meant." Goofy defended Donald, "We're just kinda worried."
"Then let's ask Naminé! That should clear it up." Sora decided, "Look, we don't have time to sit around. So let's GO."
His companions looked to each other, seeing the major change that took place in their dear friend, before asking, "Sora, what happened to ya?"
"What's THAT mean?" Sora asked.
"Well, ya always get real touchy when it comes to stuff about Naminé... But before we came to this castle, you didn't even remember what her name was."
"Now Naminé is the only thing you talk about." Donald finished.
"It doesn't make sense." Goofy noted, "Maybe Philia was right from before. This castle's causin' you to change a whole bunch."
Sora gritted his teeth as he barked, "Philia's right about this... Philia's right about that... I'm sick and tired of you guys taking her side! How about me?! Am I just in the wrong here?!"
"No, we're not saying that!" Goofy replied, looking scared at his attitude, "I just meant you should just slow down and think ahead about some of these things."
"Think ahead? What is the matter with you guys?!" Sora demanded, "You want me to abandon her, just like Philia wanted?! I'm not the one who ended up turning to the darkness when I remembered what was important to me!"
"Sora, you know she didn't mean-!" Donald started.
"If you want to go be with Philia, that's fine!" Sora snapped, "If she knows everything, then go stay with her, for all I care! I'm going to find Naminé!" With that, he turned around and ran up the stairs, leaving the pair behind.
"Sora!" Donald and Goofy shouted after him, but he had already left them behind.
Sora reached the top of the stairs, before looking at his new card. Jiminy hopped out of his card, saying, "Sora, that was no way to-!"
"Keep it to yourself!" Sora snapped, silencing the cricket, leaving him depressed. He moved to the door, and used the card to open it up, going inside.
Organization
Back in the room, Naminé sat in her chair, still looking somber and guilty about all that she did to Sora. She could feel that he was even distancing himself from his friends.
Axel approached her, witnessing what Sora just did, and said, "You're all that he's got left. So then, if you don't stop this, no one will."
Naminé gasped, before settling herself down as she answered, "But I... It's too late."
"You shouldn't give up just yet." Axel replied, walking away from her. He stopped before continuing, "Say, Naminé. Have you noticed? Marluxia doesn't seem to be around."
Naminé looked up, realizing he was right, before asking, "What are you...saying?"
"Just that there's no one here who would want to get in your way." Axel replied absentmindedly. Naminé understood what he meant, stood up, and ran towards the door. The opportunity was here. Now was the time to make things right. "Just make it count." Axel finished, as she ran through the door, and vanished.
Axel smirked as he stated, "Now THIS should be interesting. Try and make it enjoyable, Sora. It's the least you can do for me, you know." He gave a little chuckle at this, before stopping as he touched his heart, realizing something. "Hey, wait. I'm enjoying this." he noticed, looking up, "You guys ARE something else!"
Just then, a portal opened up, and PHox appeared, smirking as he noted, "Finally, someone gets it. Took you long enough."
Axel turned to him as he frowned and asked, "What brings you back here? Marluxia might be looking for you."
PHox dismissed this as he stated, "I already noticed you sent Naminé on her way. Marluxia and Larxene aren't gonna like that. They'll think you turned traitor."
"What, are you gonna tattle on me or something?" Axel asked, "Don't think I wouldn't take you out like I did with Vexen."
PHox cackled as he stated, "Oh, I don't doubt you would. After all, I already figured it out. You were the mole on the inside, watching all the actual traitors to the Organization gathered here." Axel looked rather surprised at this, as PHox continued, "Oh, I was already aware of your plans from the start. I am the special member of the Organization, after all. The one designed by the master to be the hitman to all the Organization members and anyone else that needed to be eliminated; Number 0 PHox. Not a true member of the Organization in most eyes, but still part of it, all the same."
"Yeah, so what do you have in mind?" Axel asked, getting into his fighter's stance, "Are you planning to eliminate me?"
"Nah. You are playing your part of the party, as I'll play mine." PHox replied, waving him off, "But I'll help you out, and get rid of one more party guest off the list. Just let me do what I want afterwards, as I still have some unfinished business on my end."
"You talking about Philia?" Axel asked, "Hate to break it to you, but Sora's cut all ties with her. I don't think he even want her to be with him. You're free to deal with her."
"Ah, but that's the thing. Ties work both ways." PHox replied, "The only true way to break all ties, as I have learned, is to make sure one is completely butchered from the other's existence. Fortunately, my puppet is about to take care of one problem. I'll take care of the other." With that, he summoned a portal, and vanished, with Axel standing there, realizing what he was planning, and he grew very concerned.
Donald & Goofy
The anthropomorphic pair looked up at the stairs Sora ran off towards. They looked at one another, before looking at the stairs again.
"What're we gonna do?" Goofy asked, "Should we go after him?"
"We gotta!" Donald answered, "He can't do a thing without us! He's already losing his mind because of Naminé."
"Maybe we should get Philia to help us out." Goofy suggested, "But would he even listen to her? He was pretty angry with her."
"Oh, was he now?" said a voice that made the pair jump. They spun around and saw Philia standing there, the door closing behind her.
"Philia!" Donald and Goofy said happily.
Philia approached them as she asked, "So, where did Sora go?"
"He went up without us." Donald explained, "He was angry with us all because we asked him to slow down and thing about what this castle was doing to him."
"Yeah, and he got really angry with you cause you were right about him being changed in this place." Goofy added.
Philia looked down, her eyes shadowed as she muttered, "I see... So he basically abandoned you, like he abandoned me."
"But now that you're here, I bet the three of us can convince him together." Donald declared, waving to all three of them.
"No... I don't think that will help him realize the errors of his ways." Philia retorted, getting their attention. She suddenly became encased in darkness, putting up her dark form attire again, startling the pair. She then drew out her dagger, as she finished, "If he sees the remains of the two of you, I bet that'll cause him to regret his feelings...before his life is finished!"
She swatted her dagger, sending a wave of darkness to the pair, causing them to fly and be knocked off their feet, slamming into the wall on either side of the stairs. They groaned from the damage they took, before looking up to see Philia ready herself to attack again.
"Philia, stop!" Donald cried.
"Why are you doing this?" Goofy pleaded.
Philia smirked as she answered, "I thought I told you before; My memories of my past reminded me I was a killer. So I'm just doing what my heart is telling me; destroying the lives of people I foolishly considered my friends. Sorry, but this is where we part ways. Goodbye!"
Suddenly, the doors opened, and someone shot through, with a war cry and a swipe of her own dagger. She struck the evil Philia away, causing her to be knocked into the stairs, tumbling up them a bit. Donald and Goofy looked and were surprised. A second Philia, the real one, had come out and saved the two of them.
"Philia?!" Donald questioned, getting to his feet, along with Goofy.
"Those are my beloved friends you are messing with." Philia growled, "I won't let you bring harm to any of them!"
Donald and Goofy saw that the Philia before them was the one they were familiar with. However, they looked back at the other Philia, who got up, growling at her counterpart. "Two Philias?" Goofy asked, looking from one to the other.
"What's going on here?" Donald asked.
"Sorry I'm late, Donald, Goofy..." Philia told the pair, and they turned to see her looked regretful for a moment, "A lot happened...but now I am understanding this place more and more, including the fact that I wasn't the one who was attacking you guys before. It was all her!" She pointed to Dark Philia, accusing her, "She always swapped out with me so that it looked like my past memories were taking over, when it was just a replication made from the Organization to look like me to attack you! The Riku you guys have been fighting is no different."
Donald and Goofy looked to each other, shocked by this, before they got serious and drew out their weapons. "So Sora and the rest of us have been tricked by them!" Goofy understood.
"You dirty cheats!" Donald squawked angrily, "We gotta let Sora know what's goin' on!"
"Don't blame me." Dark Philia stated, stepping back down the steps towards them, "You were the ones who got fooled. Don't throw your unawareness at me. But now that you are fully aware, I'm afraid I can't let any of you escape!" She got into her fighter's stance, ready to duel them.
There was a flash of light, and Philia was on her own, facing her dark counterpart once more. Dark Philia launched and unleashing a Round Accel that sent a wave in a wide range around him. She took the attack, sending her flying, before regaining herself, and unleashing a Sleight with Shadowbreaker, sending a cross-slash wave with her dagger, striking Dark Philia with it, causing her pain and to break her next card attack. This caused a Goofy card to appear, and she snatched it into her hand.
"I got Donald and Goofy beside me." she noted, "It feels good to have them back with me again!"
"You are so easily convinced!" Dark Philia snapped, setting up a Sleight, and unleashed a new Sleight, Dark Blizzaga, gathering up magic, before shooting a large ice chunk at Philia at high speeds, who blocked with a 0 Blizzard card, shooting back with a small chunk of ice that struck her back. This stunned her, giving Philia a chance to strike with all sorts of attack cards, but got countered when Dark Philia unleashed a counter in the form of an Armor Pierce Dagger Skill, causing Philia to be knocked back.
"This will not be the same as last time!" Dark Philia growled, before charging at Philia, who readied herself.
Dark Philia was delivering the same kinds of attacks as before, with the addition of Dark Blizzaga in her arsenal, which did a lot of damage when it hit, but was a straight shot move at high speeds. She tried to be more ruthless than her last battle, fighting Philia to kill her. However, she was not letting her dark duplicate get the better of her, especially now that she could gain Donald and Goofy's Friend cards. This gave her a wider arsenal, using sleights like the Goofy Smash and Wild Crush to deal damage to her.
"I will end you, just like your friends!" Dark Philia roared, unleashing Dart Storm sleight, sending daggers flying from above to Philia. She dodged as she shuffled through the cards, and found a random 0 Attack card, not doing anything to Dark Philia but break her attack. She ended up hitting the ground, dazed from the attack.
"Donald, time to go!" Philia shouted, summoning three Donald cards together for Donald Magic Lv. 3, getting him to unleash Thundaga and Blizzaga one after the other, damaging Dark Philia.
"Freeze, so I can shatter you!" Dark Philia growled, unleashing the Dark Blizzaga sleight at Philia, who just barely dodged out of the way, the cape on her back getting slightly ripped from it. However, she regained herself, and used a combo of a Hi-Potion and Ether to regain her deck of cards.
Dark Philia tried to go after her with an Armor Pierce Dagger Skill, the blade extended by darkness. However, Philia gathered the cards she had, and unleashed Rising Sun, swooping in a couple times, before her third attack tried to be countered by a Round Accel, but was overpowered, and finished the job.
"You're in the way!" Dark Philia growled before she vanished from sight. In her place, Philia gained a new sleight, Magic Badminton, combining Donald, Goofy, and a magic card together to unleash it.
There was a bright light, and Dark Philia was growling as she stood there, worn out from the battle, glaring at Philia, Donald, and Goofy. "Give up! I'm not gonna let you get to my friends anymore!" Philia shouted.
Dark Philia regained herself as she snickered, saying, "You just don't get it. The only way you're gonna stop me is if you give into your temptations to kill! Otherwise, I will keep coming back!"
Philia glared at her, before realizing something. She lowered her guard as she stated, "I know what you are trying to make me out as, but honestly, even if I kill you, why would it matter? You are just a clone of me, made from memories to make yourself convincing enough to be me, while the Organization fed you more memories to make you think yourself as a killer, when it's all just lies. In reality, you haven't even killed anyone."
"Shut up!" Dark Philia snapped, "I know I have killed! I have felt it! My memories allow me to see it!"
"And there lies the falsehood." Philia argued, "You were created to believe that, when you have never even killed one person in your life. Just empty memories with no truth. That's all you are. So even if I finish you, all I'll be doing is ending the lies and deception that create you."
Dark Philia grasped her head, her mind in agony as she tried to refuse all that Philia was telling her. She then regained herself, glaring at her as she said, "Fine. So what if the memories I have are false. I can still make them a reality. I will start by going after the one target that both PHox and I plan to end. Sora's the only one in the way to getting to you!" She turned and ran up the stairs.
The three looked horror-struck as Goofy gasped, "She's going after Sora?!"
"If she gets to him before us, Sora will just think it's me attacking him again!" Philia noted.
"Quick! After her!" Donald cried out, and they raced up the stairs.
When they got up top, they came to a halt, as they saw a figure there, standing between them and the door. It wasn't Dark Philia, though. It was a new face. A pink-haired Organization member.
They came to a halt as Philia readied her dagger again, shouting, "I don't know who you are, but you'd better get out of the way!"
"Apologies, but I cannot do that... At least, not for you." he replied, point to Philia, "Sora's other friends can move on past me, but you will stay."
Donald and Goofy looked to Philia, with Donald asking, "Philia?"
"Go. Protect Sora." she told them, "I'll catch up, so don't worry!" Donald and Goofy looked to one another, before getting serious, and nodding in understanding. They took off past the Organization member, making their way to the door, before vanishing.
"You have been quite a hinderance in our plans, Philia." the man noted.
"Since you know about me, how about telling me who you are." Philia requested.
"My name is Marluxia. I am what you would consider the ruler of this castle." he greeted, bowing slightly to her.
"So that means... You're basically the head of the Organization!" Philia understood.
"In a manner of speaking..." Marluxia replied.
"So, how am I a 'hinderance' in your plans, anyway?"
"For one, you have caused one of the Organization members to fall away from the plans we had set out for Sora." he started, "He has developed an obsession for you that is interfering with our true goals."
"You mean PHox." Philia understood, "Tell me, why is he so obsessed with me, then? Is it true that he and I are from the same world?"
Marluxia paused, before he answered, "Yes. You, he, and I'm sure you know Larxene. All three of you came from the same world."
'Even that woman, too?!' Philia realized, shocked to hear that.
"As for your question as to why he is obsessed with you, it's partly due to the second reason you are a hinderance." Marluxia continued, "You see, while the two others of your world had been brought here to the Organization as new members, you came here differently, and was created in a different way from us. You have no memory of your past, but your memories cannot be changed in this castle. This makes it difficult to use Sora when you are there, still able to remember everything for him."
"And why are you telling me all of this?" Philia asked, curious about all that he had said.
Marluxia slowly raised a hand, and with magic and rose petals, he summoned his scythe to his hand. "I just want to let you know what you are accused of before we eliminate your existence." he finished, readying himself to fight. Philia readied her dagger, prepared to fight the boss of the place with all she had.
Moment's ago, Sora...
Sora walked through the door, and opened his eyes as he noticed a familiar sight. A shoreline on a beach he stared at more times than he could count. It was a sight that died down the anger in his heart for his friends.
"I'm not going crazy, am I? I know exactly where this is..." Sora stated, looking out at the vast waters, before getting excited, "Yeah! This is our island! Where Naminé and I use to play together!"
Suddenly, he heard someone shout out, "Heeey!" He turned, and saw three characters run along the beach towards him. Sora vaguely remembered the three as other kids who were on the islands with him. One was a boy with short brown hair, an open vest, and black shorts. The second boy was the tallest, with auburn hair bound by a bandana, a pale yellow top and baggy pants. The third was a girl with medium-length brown hair that curled outward, and wore a simple yellow overall-like dress.
"Wassup, Sora!" the tall boy greeted.
"So, whatcha wanna do today?" the girl asked.
"Hey, guys!" Sora greeted, "I'm glad to see you, uh..." Sora paused, as while he somewhat recognized them, their names were eluding him.
"Uh, what?" the brown-haired boy asked.
"We got food on our faces?" the tall boy questioned.
"Please, Wakka. Only you can be dumb enough to not notice food stuck on your face." the girl sassed at him.
"Hey, whoa! That's a low blow, ya?" the boy named Wakka retorted.
"I dunno, Wakka. I think Selphie's on the mark." the young boy noted.
"Aw, not you too, Tidus!" Wakka whined.
Sora, now hearing all of them say each other's names, finally recalled, "Oh, yeah. You're Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus, that's who you are!"
The three looked confused as Wakka asked, "You hit your head?"
"No, uh... Just thinking aloud." Sora defended, trying to find an excuse.
Selphie pounded a fist into her hand as she realized, "I know... You're thinking about HER again!"
"Ohhh, I get it." Tidus understood, "Yeah, he's a total zombie when she's on his mind."
"That would explain why he's actin' all funny towards us." Wakka understood.
Selphie approached Sora as she said, "I bet you want us to take a hike so you two can be ALONE, huh?"
"Umm... I guess." Sora replied.
"All right, all right. We'll disappear for a while." Selphie understood, "Go find her, cowboy."
"We'll try to be quiet while we SPY on you!" Tidus bluntly added.
"Hey, Sora's serious." Wakka argued, "Give the guy some room."
"I'm only kidding!" Tidus argued, though his expression said he was only sort of telling the truth.
"See you later, Sora!" Selphie told Sora, and the trio ran off, leaving him alone.
"Better go find Naminé." he told himself, and he took off to go find her.
He found himself going from room to room, going to his destination. The Heartless that were in the rooms were tougher than the ones he had dealt with before, composed of Shadow, Soldier, Darkball, Creeper Plant, Crescendo, and Tornado Step. However, he powered through, getting stronger and stronger as he fought his way through. He ended up getting stronger so quickly, he gained a new sleight in the form of Holy, which required a card he did not have on hand... yet.
He also gained the bounty of the world, which was Judgement, a powerful attack which he sent his Keyblade spinning and looping around him like a whirlwind. He also gained the item card he needed to utilize his new sleight before; the Megaelixer. Unfortunately, he only had the one, so he had to save up that card for the right opportunity.
He finally found the room he needed to go through, and made his way into it. He found himself running along the wooden bridge that led to the tiny island off to the side of main island. There, he saw none other than Riku, dressed in his normal garments, and not in the Dark Form attire. However, as he approached, Sora started to realize something; he didn't remember the guy's name.
"Hey, Sora. What's the big rush?" Riku asked, seeing him come to a halt in front of him.
"I know you..." Sora muttered, thinking hard, before realizing, "You're Riku!" He couldn't believe he almost forgot him. Was his memories disappearing that strongly, that he almost forgot the guy moments after fighting him?
"Gee, thanks for remembering me." Riku sassed, "It's been, what, a couple of hours?"
"Er... Never mind." Sora dismissed that, "Are you okay? Are you still under his control?"
"What are you TALKING about?" Riku asked, confused.
Sora paused, wondering what he was going on about. Finally, he realized, "I get it... You must be the Riku from my memories."
"'The Riku from your memories'? Sounds like you're stuck in the land of make-believe." Riku scoffed.
"I guess I kind of am." Sora agreed. This technically wasn't the true Destiny Islands, after all. All of this was just an illusion.
"Haha, you're such a kid." Riku chuckled, "How are you gonna take care of HER if you act like that?"
"Hey, speaking of her-." Sora started, wanting to ask where Naminé was at. However, there was a sudden quake, shaking the island badly around them. It startled the two boys as Sora asked, "What's happening?!"
"How should I know?!" Riku demanded, "Whatever it is, it can't be good! I'm gonna go warn the others!"
"Then I should go-" Sora started, but Riku intervened, saying, "I know, I know! It's your job to look after her. Go, Sora!"
"Okay!" Sora replied, before following Riku back the way they came.
Next thing he knew, Sora was on his own, going through the rooms with the next Key card at hand. He had to figure out what was going on with his island. He went from room to room, until he finally found the room he needed to go to. He used the card, and opened it up, going inside.
When he went through, he found himself in a stormy scene. The clouds were purple and swirling. The land was almost all but gone, with nothing but the floating piece of land he was standing on, floating in the sky. Sora was shocked and confused, wondering what was going on.
"The island!" Sora cried out, looking about. He ran over to the edge of the piece of land, looking down, seeing that the ground below was so far, he couldn't see it. He wondered what he should do at this moment, when he felt a powerful presence right behind him. He spun around and looked up at the face of a massive Heartless. It was humanoid in appearance, but it was a monster with a heart-like hole in its body. The Darkside.
There was a bright light, and Sora stood ready as he faced the Darkside, the wide open field around them. The Darkside pulled back its fist, and struck the ground, creating a black pool on the ground. Sora evaded the point-blank hit, but saw Shadow Heartless pop out of the ground, coming at Sora. However, they were weak, and Sora was able to deal with them, before performing a Blitz sleight. However, the damage wasn't dealing as much as he had thought.
"What's going on?" Sora asked, before whacking with attack cards in play, which did normal damage, until the Darkside retracted its fist. It then knelt down, and started to charge up energy within its hole-like heart. Sora saw it fire off dark energy shots from it, which homed in on his position, blasting him hard. It was about to fire another volley, but Sora was prepared, and had a 0 card at the ready, stopping the attack. A Gimmick Card suddenly appeared, and Sora grabbed it.
"Let's see what this does!" Sora declared, raising the card high, countering the Heartless as it was about to pull back a fist. The card ended up causing small pieces of the land to rise up, one going higher than the other, with the highest reaching the head of the Darkside. "I see! Strike in the head!" Sora shouted, going to the platforms, going up from one after another. However, trying to reach the highest one, he had to leap over a gap, and failed, causing him to fall to the ground. He cursed himself for his bad luck, and went back up to try and reach the highest platform again, this time succeeding, and unleashing some strikes onto the Darkside before the gimmick vanished, and he was back on the ground again.
The Heartless activated its next move, slamming the ground with its fist, but instead of conjuring up a pool, it ended up causing a shockwave that Sora didn't predict, and got sent flying in pain from it. He recovered, and used a Cure card to heal himself, before getting back to fighting again.
The Darkside had mostly four sets of moves; punching the ground to summon Shadows, punching the ground to send a shockwave that covered the field, sending homing energy shots from its chest, or gathering up darkness from the ground, before sending it raining from the sky. There were no sleights in its arsenal, so Sora was able to find ways to strike back at the giant Heartless. However, he noticed that Sleights didn't do a lot of damage to the Heartless, except for the head, which he could only reach using the Gimmick card, and making sure his platforming was good.
"Come on! Just a little more!" Sora growled, evading the raining dark energy it summoned. It then reeled back a fist, which Sora countered with a 0 Cure card, healing himself while stopping the attack. A Gimmick card appeared, and Sora snatched it and used it after the Darkside tried to attack again. This time, he was directly in front of it, and rose up with the platform, getting in the face of the Heartless.
"Okay, buddy! Time for you to vanish!" Sora shouted, and he combined three cards together, unleashing Judgement on the Heartless's head, sending it striking multiple times with the whirlwind Keyblade, damaging it over and over until it finally got destroyed, causing the Darkside to fall over, crashing to the ground, before vanishing, leaving behind a card with its face on it. Sora grabbed and pocketed it.
Sora looked into the sky, seeing nothing had changed to his surroundings. He then looked determinately ahead, as he stated, "Okay... I have to keep he safe..." He then shouted, "Naminé! Can you hear me?!" He suddenly felt a presence, and turned around. The presence made him beam in joy. It was Naminé, standing right there, appearing out of nowhere. "Naminé..." Sora recognized, running over to her.
"Sora... You really came for me." She spoke up.
Sora nodded in response, taking one of her hands in both of his, saying, "It's you... It's really you. I've been through so much just to see you."
"Yes. I wanted to see you, too." Naminé agreed, before looking very regretful as she added, "But this isn't right. I messed up. I wanted to see you... But this isn't the right way."
"Naminé?" Sora asked, looking confused.
"I was lonely for so long. I just couldn't bear it anymore." the blonde-haired girl continued, "So I called out to your heart and had you come all the way out to this place. You came for me, and I am so...so happy, but...but to your heart I had to-."
"Don't worry." Sora dismissed her worries, "I here because I promised that I would protect you."
"Sora." Naminé looked to him with a guilty smile, "Thank you. And I'm sorry." She suddenly released her hand from Sora, and it was as if she distanced herself without even moving her feet. "I'm not supposed to be in this picture." she told Sora.
"That's true." Sora suddenly heard Naminé right behind him, and turned to see another her, this one more ghostly than the other one.
"Naminé?!" Sora gasped, wondering how there were two of them.
"That isn't me. I'm not there." the ghostly girl explained.
"I don't really exist inside your heart." the opaque version followed up.
"I don't exist in anyone's heart." said the ghost Naminé.
"I never have existed anywhere." the opaque finished.
Sora turned his head back and forth with each one speaking, more and more stunned at what they were saying. "What... What are you saying? What's gotten into you?" Sora asked, "Weren't we inseparable, always together? But then you had to go away... I came here so I'd never lose you again!"
"Was it really me you wanted to see?" the ghostly Naminé asked.
"Of course it was!" Sora answered angrily, "I know I'd forgotten a lot of things in this castle, but never anything about you!" He then dug into his pocket, pulling out her lucky charm, saying, "Look! You gave this to me, didn't you?!"
The opaque Naminé beamed as she said, "You have it! My good luck charm."
"No, Sora! You can't believe me!" the ghostly Naminé argued, as her other self turned her back to Sora, who was just as confused as can be.
"What am I supposed to do..." Sora asked, not sure what to believe.
"Think, Sora. Think just one more time." the ghostly Naminé pleaded to him, "About those most special to you. Call out to the one who had been with you, holding your true memories, and that piece of memory that glimmers faintly deep inside your heart. No matter how far away the light gets, even if you push it away, your heart's voice will always reach it."
Sora looked to the charm, saying, "Who is most special to me? That's an easy one. It's you Nami-." Suddenly, the star shined brightly, blinding Sora for a moment.
He was a bit dazed by what happened, and felt something deep in his heart tug at him. Two hearts that called out to him. When he looked, he noticed the charm had changed, made of seashells with a face on it. He looked to the opaque Naminé, who turned to him, shifting from the appearance of Naminé, to a girl around her age, with short, muddy red hair. She then split into two, as the image of Philia replaced one of them, smiling just as kindly as the other girl.
There was a bright light, and Sora found himself standing back on his islands, which had been restored to normal, staring down at the mysterious lucky charm, along with a new Attack card, which was called the Oathkeeper. "Who..." he muttered to himself, "Who was that? And why was Philia there? I can't remember that girl, but she feels so...familiar."
He looked up and about, realizing someone was missing. "Naminé? Naminé!" he called out. There was no reply. "Maybe...she's further ahead." Sora told himself, "I have to know who that was, and why Philia was there with her? Were those... the two people she spoke about?" He looked on ahead, and charged ahead to escape the illusion world.
Sora managed to escape his islands, finding himself in another White Room, where he saw Naminé there, her back turned to him. "Naminé!" he called out, racing towards her. He paused as he thought about the feelings he had, who he had witnessed, before saying, "It isn't you. The person...no, the PEOPLE most special to me... None of them were you, right?"
"No." Naminé answered, "The two girls you really care about... The ones who were always with you... Neither one of them was me. It was them."
"But then why... why did I push Philia away?" Sora asked, "And who was that other girl? Cuz I can't...think of her name. If both of them were so special to me, then why did I not believe in Philia when I did? Why don't I remember that girl's name?"
Namine looked regretful as she answered, "Because I went into your memories and-."
"Let ME explain this." spoke up a voice. Both of them turned to see none other than the dark-cladded Riku standing at the bottom of the stairs, glaring at Sora.
"Plain and simple." Riku continued, walking forward, getting between Naminé and Sora, "Your memories are a train wreck. You're not the one who's meant to protect Naminé. It's supposed to be me!" He whipped his sword to one side, blocking the path to the frightened Naminé. "But you and your messed-up memories are always in the way, Sora! You should've left when Philia told you to!"
Sora looked startled, even as a bright light shined, and he found himself on the circular platform, facing Riku, who had dark energy emanating from his free hand. He could already tell Riku was going to come at him a lot tougher than before, and he had to be ready to fight.
Riku immediately did a leaping slash that sent energy waves diagonally along the ground. Sora backed off from the attacks, before coming at Riku with a series of strikes, before he countered with a spinning slash, shaking him off. He then unleashed a Dark Firaga sleight, sending a black fireball at Sora, who got blasted hard by it.
"You are just a screwed-up mess!" Riku roared, going in with a swing tha sent a ring of energy at Sora, before thrust towards him. Sora used a higher-number card to counter it, using a Fire spell to blast him in the face.
Sora looked frustrated and confused, merely fighting periodically from his instincts, while wondering about all about what he had started to learn. His memories were completely messed up? A girl that was incredibly important, yet he had no clue who her name was? And Philia... Sora felt like he did something he regretted by not going to save her. 'Philia... I'm so sorry.' he apologized mentally, 'But...I wish you were here... so I can apologize to you.'
He was suddenly hit by a slash from Riku, knocking him back. "See? You're so messed up, you can't even focus on the battle!" Riku stated, pointing his sword at him, "You are not meant to even BE with Naminé! Take your disoriented self, and get the hell out of this castle, away from Naminé!" Sora growled as he looked up at him, angry at the torment he was bringing down on him. He had to fight back so he could figure things out.
Philia
Back at the room leading to the illusion of Destiny Islands, Philia was shaking on her feet, struggling badly against Marluxia, who held a fighter's stance with his scythe at the ready, slightly damaged, but far off better than her.
'He's... really strong. Far stronger than anyone here in Castle Oblivion.' Philia commended.
"By now, you realize it's pointless." Marluxia noted, getting her attention, "You are woefully outmatched by me. I have no intention to give you any mercy. As I have already told you, you are a hinderance in my plan. I won't let you interfere anymore in this castle." Philia gritted her teeth as she was frustrated at his words.
Both heroes were struggling against their opponents, and had to find a way to overcome them. With Donald and Goofy running towards Sora, and Naminé on the sidelines, watching Sora and Riku fight, the rest of the Organization members watching, and who knows where the real Riku was at in this castle, the climax was drawing near in Castle Oblivion. The only question was who would win.
New Sleight:
-Magic Badminton (Donald + Goofy + Magic Card)
-Judgement (Aero + 2 Attack Cards) (Sora)
-Holy (Mega-Ether + Megaelixir + Item Card) (Sora)
-Megaelixir
Next Time on Sword Art Kingdom: Path of Memories
Hearts Burst