---Sora53: -is playing CoM-
Fans: Oh dear. Here come the Riku Fangirls.
Riku Fangirls: WE HEARD THERE WAS RIKU IN THIS CHAPTER!
Sora53: Uh...no...-runs far away-
Riku Fangirls: COME BACK HERE!!!
Sora53: Just as a notice...here's something I found out today! Never play CoM then try to do your art homework that involves a lot of erasing. It feels kinda weird if you've played the whole game...
Fans: -runs off to play CoM then do art homework-
Sora53: YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!---

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, but I own Corita. Yay for the third disclaimer!

"Urgh...Where...where am I...?" said a feeble voice. There was nothing surrounding the figure as he lay on the hard ground; nothing but darkness. The figure slowly stood up, trying to look through the darkness that covered him.
"Sleep."
"Who's there?!" The teenager cried out to the darkness.
"Sleep. Here, between light and dark."
"Between...what? The king! Where's the king?! Together we closed the door to darkness, and after that... Grr, why can't I remember?"
"Your king is far away. Sleep, and leave the war with darkness in his hands. The thorny light of awakening will bring only anguish to one in your state. Turn from the light. Shut your eyes."
"You talk like I'm some kind of demon of the dark." The teenager said, almost jokingly.
The voice was silent for a moment. "Can you face the truth?" Coming down from the darkness was a small orb. It floated downward until it reached level with the teenager's face. The small light emanating from it illuminated his bright, aqua eyes and silver hair.
"Here, blanketed by the darkness, sleep is safety. Sleep is eternal."
"Is this...a card?" he wondered, reaching out for it.
"It is a door to the truth. Take it, and your sleep ends. Take it, and take the first step toward the truth. But know this: The truth will bring you pain. Will you still go? There can be no returning to the sweet security of sleep."
"Yeah, well... Seems like a boring place to take a nap anyway." he said, taking the card from the orb. The light that emanated from it vanished as he held it.
"Well said, Riku..."
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Sora glared at the mysterious figure, then looked down at the card that was in his hand. It was a simple rectangle, with three spikes at the top. The image on the card looked oddly familiar.
"This is Traverse Town!" Sora cried, looking at the image on the card. The accessory shop was clearly visible, as well as the duckling's item shop. "But how do I use it?"
"Walk up to this door and hold it above your head. That will open the way." The figure said, then vanished.
Corita looked down at the card Sora was holding. "Should we trust him?"
"It's not like we have a choice." Sora said calmly as he walked towards the door. Once he'd moved up the steps leading to it, he held the card high over his head as his friends watched from behind.
"Like this?" Sora asked.
"Yes. Go, Sora. To lose and claim anew, or to claim anew only to lose..."
As he held the card over his head, a bright white light shot out from it. It surrounded the group, engulfing them in brightness. Sora shut his eyes for a moment to block out some of the light, and the light around him dimmed. When he opened his eyes, he could barely believe what he saw.

"Wait, this can't be right. We're in Traverse Town!"
So it would seem. The familiar lights of the town twinkled before him as he saw the Accessory Shop, the duckling's shop, and even the familiar pathways to the shops.
"It isn't reality that you see. This town is an illusion conceived by your memories ingrained in that card." echoed the voice of the hooded figure as he appeared before Sora.
"My memories?" Soraasked as Jiminy hopped out of his pocket.
"Forget about that, Sora! We're three heads short!" Jiminy cried. Sora turned around, expecting to see his friends, but all he saw was the emptiness of Traverse Town.
"Corita? Donald? Goofy!?" Sora yelled out as he ran towards the emptiness, but there was nothing there to comfort him. "Guys, where are you?!"
He could feel the hooded stranger's eyes piercing into his back as he stood away from him. Fearing the worst, he turned around to face him.

"What did you do with them?"
"They are at the mercy of the cards now." He explained calmly. "Master the cards, and their strength will be yours again. The laws of this castle require that your friends be transformed into cards. If you value your friends, you will pick them up without fail." The hooded figure tossed a card to Sora, and Sora grabbed them as they flew through the air. Looking at what he held in his hands, a gasp escaped him.
"Corita...?"
The card he held in his hands was identical to the one of Traverse Town, but instead of images of the city, a portrait of his sister was placed on it.
"When Heartless appear, your friends will become cards. The cards you use vanish, but they will reappear to aid you time and again. Cards are the hearts of your friends."
"Corita's...heart?" Sora said softly as he held the card.
"Yes." The figure said. "Cards rule in Castle Oblivion. You'll need them to attack, proceed through the castle...and find who you hold dear."

After he'd finished speaking, the card he'd been holding flew out of his hands and floated 4 feet away from him. It turned into a bolt of light, and after a few seconds, Corita appeared where the card had been moments before. Two cards the hooded stranger were holding did the same, and Donald and Goofy appeared in a similar fashion.
"Are you guys all right? Where have you been?" Sora said to the three, who were apparently very dizzy.
"You tell us!" Donald cried, rubbing his head. "When you opened the door, there was this weird light...and the rest is a big blank."
"Well, try to remember what happened. I need to keep my journal up to date." Jiminy said to them, happily leaping back onto Corita's head.
"Master the cards and make your way through the castle. From here on, you walk alone." The figure said to Sora, interrupting the moment.
"What, you're saying we can't go with him?" Corita cried. "He has to fight through the castle by himself?!"
"Corita, calm down!" Sora said.
"No! You've been speaking in nothing but riddles, telling us nothing directly..." Corita yelled, having reached her limit.
"Oh, this is fun. Corita yelling at someone else." Donald said merrily.
"I'd watch my temper if I were you, Princess." The hooded figure said to her.
"Don't call me that!" Corita found herself shouting.
"You want me to go alone? Fine. I can take care of myself." Sora interrupted before Corita wore herself out.
"Hmm, the hero speaks boldly. Go, then. The rest of Castle Oblivion awaits. Walk the avenues of latent memory, and you shall meet someone dear to you." With these final words, the figure tossed more cards to Sora, and vanished.
"I have a really bad feeling about this..." Jiminy muttered.
"Relax, Jiminy. I'm ready for any tricks he's got up his sleeve. How hard can it be to figure out these cards?" Sora said, holding up theones he'd just received.
"Yeah, well..." Corita muttered. "We'd just better not see him again for a while, or else."
"Are you okay?" Goofy asked her.
"I just can't stand him. I don't know why..." She said slowly.
"Don't worry about it. If he shows up again and you get into a shouting contest, I'll take him down with these cards!" Sora said to her, holding them up.

---Sora53: DUN DUN DUN!
Fans: Ooh, the 'hooded figure' must've touched a nerve.
Corita: Feel my power! -takes out staff-
Fans: NOOO!!! HELP ME!!! -runs away-
Corita: GET BACK HERE! -chases-
Sora53: By the way, if there are any non-punctuation marks, it's not my fault. The quickedit page keeps deleting some of them...but I do the best I can to restore them all.
Riku Fangirls: -are all dead from the Riku-ness-
Sora53: Oo---