(A/N: Thanks to Sylanc and advanceshipping4ever for the follows! I hope it means my story isn't completely...crap. So here's a chapter 2, hope you like it!
On a side note, my story does follow the events in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, with occasional but little changes here and there. Things are a bit slow now, but they will speed up right after this.
Until then, I hope you enjoy!
WARNING: The amount of Riku in this chapter is TOO DAMN HIGH. Cover your eyes so they don't lie. :D)
Memories
Chapter 2
"Gosh, she doesn't look so well, Riku. You could have been less harsh."
"I might have triggered something. Who knows?"
"She doesn't seem bad, but she might know something we don't. I'm not quite sure what to do with her."
"It's strange indeed. Don't stress about it, Your Majesty. Perhaps I'll use this opportunity to ask some questions..."
I awoke hearing the rumbling steps that was increasing in volume every few seconds or so.
Though I felt engulfed by fluffiness and warmth, my neck ached. That meant I was probably sleeping in some sort of awkward position. The last thing I remembered was listening to Mickey and the other guy in the woods. Where exactly was I? I twisted and turned for a bit to make a more comfortable position for my neck, but gave up when I found that moving just made it hurt more.
"Was it necessary to bring a stranger here? She could be a member of the organization, for all we know," A deep, hoarse male voice came from my left.
"Yeah," this voice was of a younger man, "but it's better to keep an eye on her. We need to know why she wields a keyblade, DiZ."
"...You seem keen on keeping her," said the older man, who was presumably DiZ.
"King Mickey said her memories are jumbled. It's possible she was there when Sora's memories were taken apart. If she has some of the pieces...", the younger man replied.
There it was again. The name "Sora". Mickey and this other guy, Riku, kept talking about him. I didn't know who he was, or who anyone was for that matter, but Sora seemed to be a very important person who was in some dire crisis.
"Maybe he knows why I have the keyblade? It could have to do with my memories, too..." I thought.
"Very well. She shouldn't interfere with the plans too much," said DiZ. "Find out as much as you can. Likewise, I shall continue my work."
I heard a slam on the door, followed by a series of footsteps that faded away. At the same time, I tried to turn sideways and opened my eyes, and found barely enough energy to do so. But as I did, the sunlight blasted into my eyes and was a bit too much for me to handle. I groaned, shutting my eyes again.
"You're awake," said the younger man. "You heard all of that, didn't you?"
Slowly, I reopened my eyes, trying to adjust to the light as much as possible. Then I sat up and stretched. The young man I overheard earlier was sitting on a small, wooden chair right next to the door. He had long silver hair, a blindfold covering his face, and was wearing a heavy, black coat.
"Are you alright?"
...was that suppose to be a joke? I sighed.
"Mickey should have left me behind back there," I muttered.
"He could have, but he didn't. Be grateful for that. Who knew what the Organization would have done to you?" he explained.
That was another subject that I've yet to learn about. The Organization. I've heard about them so many times ever since I met Mickey. Were they some sort of scientists? From what Mickey and that guy said, they don't seem to be the most...welcoming. Though, for all I know, I could be lingering on the wrong side right now.
I groaned. Now that I've thought about it, I realized that I've been much too nosy, and now I have a whole new mess that I knew I would have to deal with, along with my amnesia. That's just great.
Nevertheless, I was still drawn to it by curiosity.
"Um..." I said awkwardly, "I'm Lynx, by the way."
He nodded quietly, "Riku."
"What is 'the Organization'? Why are they so important?" I inquired.
Riku held his head up, surprised, "You really don't know?"
I shook my head bewilderingly as an answer, "Am I suppose to?"
"I guess not," he stared at me, slightly perturbed. "You must be quite disoriented from the amnesia and, well, the head injury."
Head injury? I brought my fingers to my forehead, searching for the lump. The moment I touched it, it began to stung quite badly. My face contorted to the pain, and my head fell.
"King Mickey said you fell face-down quite a lot during your short journey," he said monotonously, but I could have sworn I detected a little snicker.
I frowned at him, "Hey! It's not like I knew what I was doing, okay? Give me a break!"
It was only up until now that I realized that I really didn't know a lot of things. I knew my memory was broken, but I hadn't seen it was that bad. I couldn't recall any close relatives or friends, and the little snapplets of memory I learned so far were so oddly put together. It was hard to figure out what it all meant.
Come to think of it, what was I doing, sleeping in that castle in the first place? Mickey told me there were bad guys lingering around in there, so surely I couldn't have been in there for long. Still, for what purpose did I enter there? Did something crucial happen that I can't remember? Maybe that's why my memory was wiped...
Riku must have saw me struggling with my mind, "Don't push yourself too hard. Did you remember why you have the keyblade? Or why you were in Castle Oblivion?"
Without realizing, I spoke, "I think I left something important behind, in Castle Oblivion. I'm not sure what, though."
My eyes glued to my lap. That probably didn't help much.
"I see," Riku nodded, nevertheless, "I don't think I can really help you with that. Castle Oblivion is a giant maze, and whatever lies in there will probably stay in there for a long time. And on top of it all, we don't even know what exactly you're looking for."
I smiled weakly, "I know. It's probably irrelevant, anyways."
Afterward, Riku threw out a lot of questions, none of which I was able to answer. Worlds engulfed in the darkness? Nobodies? Heartless? I didn't have a single clue what he was talking about, nor was I able to comprehend. Overall, he was looking pretty glum. He looked as if he had really been expecting me to give him a proper answer.
Finally, he asked, "Do you remember knowing a guy name Sora? You were hanging around the castle the same time he was, and, well..."
I shook my head, "I don't think so. I heard you and Mickey talking about him, and that was it. Is he some sort of important person?"
Riku fidgeted nervously. At first, he was reluctant to answer me. It was logical, knowing the fact that we had only met for a few hours. That didn't seem to be the only reason, however, as I saw his face constantly switching between frustration and guilt. It was as if his answer would risk something valuable and secretive, or he was having trouble remembering things himself. I couldn't tell.
Ironic, wasn't it? And here I sat with my amnesia...
Eventually, he sighed.
"Sora is...a friend of mine," he said. "He went into Castle Oblivion looking for me, but as he spent more time in the castle, his memories began to fell out of order. We're trying to piece them together, but they're all over the place. Even the Organization has their hands on some of his most precious memories, and we're trying to get them back."
"I don't understand," I said, "Memories are not solid things, so how can the Organization have them?"
"It's...complicated," he muttered, looking away from me.
A little later, Riku brought up some things about the abandoned mansion. I learned that there was a girl named Naminé, a man named DiZ, and Riku who all live here. I also found out that Mickey, the mouse that helped me out of Castle Oblivion, was surprisingly a king. He had brought me here, to a world called Twilight Town, which was the safest place to be as of now. Riku and I chatted a short while longer about irrelevant things, but it was evident that he had things to do. He said that DiZ was willing to let me stay here if I didn't cause too much ruckus, and only until I had regained most of my memories.
"We've talked long enough," Riku finally said. "You should get some rest."
"Right," I replied. "Thanks."
He gave me a little smile, and then left. I watched the window as the sun came down and the stars took over. My thoughts swirled around my head like a nonstop tornado from all the new, strange things I've heard about today. And then, there was the keyblade. What exact thing about this giant key makes it so special?
As more questions filled my mind, so did my exhaustion. Eventually, sleep took over.
When my eyes opened for the second time that day, I was no longer in the bed. All around me, there was nothing but darkness. Yet, I could hear so many things at the same time. I tried to listen more carefully to understand the noises.
"You little wretched witch, there is nothing you can do to stop my plans."
"Even if I can't prevent it from happening, I will delay it enough for someone to get rid of your existence!"
"NO!"
Before I was able to listen any further, a burst of light engulfed me, blinding my senses all together. I felt a lingering pain in my chest, its warmth fading away. At the same time, my mind started to shut down.
"Your friends are your power. Don't forget that."
"Don't talk like that, you idiot. You'll be fine. You promised. I promised, too."
"How pitiful. Shall I end that pain once in for all?"
"XEHANORT!" I screamed aggressively, pulling myself out of bed. I gasped for breath constantly, looking around. I took me a long while to realize that I was still in the mansion, and the sun was dawning outside. The warmth of the light emerged slowly from my window onto my room. I sensed comfort from it, but I couldn't bear to sleep any while longer. That dream, was that a memory, or a fantasy? Whatever it was, I really didn't need to see that.
I pulled myself out of bed hastily. I still felt a little fatigued, but no part of my mind wanted to fall asleep again. Instead, I opted to look around the interior of the mansion for a while. I stepped outside my room, into the hallway. There weren't many windows, so everything was a little darker. There wasn't much interior decoration either. And everything was so...empty. Nevertheless, I walked slowly and quietly across the hall towards the stairs.
It didn't take long for me to start thinking about the dream. I couldn't see anyone, I could only hear words. I didn't recognize any voices, but that was given due to my lost memories. Still, I wished I could understand these things...
My stomach growled loudly.
"Who's there?!" A rushed voice appeared behind me. Before I could even turn around, I was met with a blade in front of my face. In shock, I took a step back, only to step onto someone's feet. Caught unaware, I lost my footing, then my overall balance. I gasped and fell face-to-ground.
"Oh, it's just you," said Riku. "Good morning, Lynx."
I didn't reply, only groaning. Unfortunately for me, the cold ground also came in contact with my bruised forehead. Riku walked up to me and pulled me up.
"Could you...not sneak up to people like that?" I said softly.
"I didn't think you would be up this early, so I assumed it was someone else lurking around," he calmly replied. "How's that bruise?"
"Gee," I frowned, "You really have to ask?"
"Well," he lightly snickered, "It's not my fault you're so clumsy."
I sighed, "Of course... In any case, do you happen to have any food?"
My stomach was almost roaring for food. Perhaps that was why I felt fatigued. I haven't consume any food or drink at all over the last few days, so my energy has declined over the last few days. Maybe some gulps and munches will satisfy this stomach...
"Sorry," said Riku. "We're out of food. I was going to head to town to collect some, right about now."
I nodded, "Go ahead. I'll just stay here and take a look around..." We walked down the stairs together, and Riku opened a portal in front of him.
"Hey, Riku?" I called, and he stopped, turning back to face me. "Do you think you can teach me how to make swirly purple portals like that?"
Riku was thoroughly surprised at the random question. I guessed it wasn't so easy to conjure a swirly purple portal, and I barely knew how to use the keyblade at all. Well, what are the chances?
"We'll see," he answered, "It's, well... it's not as easy as you think."
"I think I can handle it," I smiled. "See ya later!"
He gave me a small wave and disappeared through the portal. After he was gone, I walked around the manor to explore the bits and pieces here and there, to familiarize myself with my temporary home. All the while, I felt a tiny bit happier on the inside. I saw the fact that even though I couldn't see my past, I could always look forward to the future.
After all, it was more fun to learn things rather than having to remember them.
(A/N: Yeah, the face-ground fall is going to happen quite frequently XD.
I know there isn't much plot in this chapter, but there are a lot of crucial parts. I figured I should put in a neutral ground before the action starts. Even in the original story, this is where shit hits the fan. So you can bet Lynx is going to be tangled up in it all! :D
Next time: Nobodies. DiZ. And the keyblade.
Please leave a review! It's much appreciated :3 )