Chapter 10 Chilling Separation
Author's note: good news everyone! We're out of recycled Disney territory! Which means I can write actual dialogue in the worlds again without it being a boring retread! I'm sorry to any chains of memories fans out there, but you know it's true! So, you can expect chapters from this point to proceed at a pace relatively similar to that of the traverse town chapters. I also want to apologize for a bit of false advertising on my part. In the last chapter I said I'd be bringing in Vexen earlier. This is technically true, but it's also so close to when he appeared in the game that it doesn't really change anything. Just trying to manage expectations. However, for what I have planned from this point onwards there will be some pretty big alterations stemming from a certain event that I've been hinting at. Now, on with the story.
Our heroes were just exiting the world of Hollow Bastion. As they entered the castle it dawned on them how far they had come since they first arrived. They would soon be arriving at the tenth floor. "WOW! The tenth floor... We've gotten up pretty high." Donald remarked. "And that must mean we've lost ten whole floors' worth of our memories." said Jiminy who was now standing on Sora's shoulder. "Sora, it's still not too late. Don't you think we should turn back?" Jiminy asked. "I can't. If I did, it would break an old promise I made." Sora said. "An old promise? What would that be?" Kirito asked. "On the islands, I promised Naminé that I'd keep her safe, no matter what. But I forgot it... I didn't remember until I started forgetting everything else! A promise between the two of us... That's why I can't leave. Now that I remember, I have to keep it." Sora said. A look of concern could be seen on everyone's faces. All of this was starting to sound a little too convenient. However, after coming so far could they really afford to turn back? And regardless of the sunk cost fallacy, there was still the matter of Riku. Even if Naminé turned out to be a hoax, Abandoning Riku would defeat the purpose of coming here altogether. Whether we liked it or not, the trap had sprung. Our only hope was to move forward.
When we arrived at the tenth floor a dark portal appeared and from it, another black coat wearing stranger appeared. "Who are you!?" Sora asked. "I am Vexen. I came to discuss a matter of debts to be paid. From you to me." he pointed at Sora. "And I to you." He then pointed at Kirito. "Huh?" was the collective response. "Let us begin with the former. You owe me for reuniting you with your former friend." Vexen said. "You don't mean-" Sora responded before Vexen interrupted. "Indeed, I do. I'm the one who brought Riku to you." Vexen answered. Anger welled up in Sora as his words sank in. "Then... You're the one... You're the one who's been controlling him! What have you done with him?" Sora demanded. "I see no reason to give you information about where Riku is. After all-" ice magic began to cluster in Vexen's hand. It escalated up his arm up his arm and in a bright flash a blue kite shield had formed. There were dark blue spikes jutting out from the upper curve and the edges around the shield's body looked very sharp. "Why trouble you in your final hour?"
Not wasting any time Vexen conjured a large icicle and hurled above him that homed in on Sora. Sora dodged the icy missile and went in for an attack, but Vexen blocked it with his shield and counter attacked by spinning his shield and hitting sora with the pointed edge at the bottom and followed up by using his ice magic to create an ice stalagmite that burst from the ground. The attack knocked Sora back a bit and Vexen strangely enough chose to hover around Sora moving in circles waiting to see what he'd do next. His eyebrow rising in anticipation giving him a very creepy expression. Sora fired off a fire spell hoping the fireball would be able to bypass Vexen's defense, but Vexen formed a barrier of icy spikes around him and blocked it. "Imbecile! Have a taste of my Ice needles!" a trail of icy spikes erupted from the ground towards Sora. The spikes chased Sora around the arena, but he was able to glide through the air and safely avoid them. With defenses this solid Sora would need to distract him to get a hit in. He grabbed a friend card and immediately used it hoping it would by him enough time to get into a good position.
The card summoned Kirito who lunged at Vexen however before the attack could connect Vexen froze Kirito in a block of ice and vanished. If it weren't for the fact that his comrades summoned by the friend cards disappeared after being used and were usually fine, Sora would have been very alarmed. But he did know better and now that he was in position, he was ready to strike. Sora hurled his keyblade at Vexen hitting him in the back of the head momentarily stunning him. Quickly readying another sleight, Sora conjured up a fireball and knocked into the air with his keyblade. The fireball stopped and expanded directly above Vexen and dozens of firaga spells burst from it and rained down on Vexen. The sheer volume of fire balls peppering Vexen was beginning to overwhelm him. Having collected enough data, he saw no need to prolong this encounter and decided to end the fight here before things got too heated.
He took them back to the castle hall and dismissed his shield. "As I expected, you weren't one to die very easily." Vexen stated. "As if I'd ever lose to you!" Sora exclaimed. However, at this point Kirito stepped in knowing that this fight ended much sooner than it should have. "What are you playing at? This was way too easy." Kirito said. "Oho, you noticed." Vexen grinned. "Yes, I was delving deep into your memories as we fought." Vexen declared. "And here... Look what I found." he pulled out a pair of world cards. "From sora, a card crafted from all the memories that are locked in the other side of his heart." He then tossed it towards sora and the same manner the others of his group did. "And from You Kirito, a card made from the memories of the one that resides in you. It should be more than adequate for helping you parse through them. Although to use this card you'll need to be in a different part of the castle. As part of my debt to you, I'll gladly take you to your destination. But it's a one-way trip. And I only have room for one passenger."
As Vexen finished his sentence an intense blizzard suddenly stormed through the hall. It blew with such intensity that it took everything we had just to stay in place. The door behind us was sealed off in by a thick wall of ice. Darkness swirled around Vexen as he teleported behind Kirito, grabbed him, and pulled him through the portal against his will. "KIRITO!" Asuna screamed. She desperately tried to reach out to him, but the force of the blizzard threw her off balance and she fell to the floor. Her arm still stretched out toward him. "ASUNA!" Kirito shouted, reaching out his own arm as he was being pulled through. The two were inches away from each other, but it wasn't enough. Kirito had vanished along with Vexen and with their departure, the blizzard ceased as soon as it began. They all stood dumbfounded as Kirito, the man Asuna loved and one of their dearest friends was suddenly taken from them. And with the door they entrance they came from sealed off, no way to reach him.