(Battle Music Cue: Struggle Away – Re:COM)
Nixe and Riku stood ready with their weapons summoned as the Phantom Blot and the Unknown stood ready to fight. The Phantom suddenly launched two large tendrils at them but Riku summoned a Dark Shield, repelling the one meant for him while Nixe quickly blasted the incoming tendril with a Blizzara, causing the tendril to freeze over and shatter. The Phantom roared angrily as the Unknown raised its Keyblade and leapt at Nixe, casting a Firaga at the Keyblade Apprentice. She quickly leapt clear, the Firaga harmlessly impacting against the ground as she landed behind Riku. Riku quickly turned his attention towards the Unknown, leaping in front of Nixe and masterfully blocking a sudden flurry of strikes from the comparatively diminutive Unknown. Riku's skill with the sword was formidable and he quickly began to turn the attacker onto the defensive. At the same time, the Phantom launched a sudden burst of tendrils at Nixe, intent on capturing her but she quickly threw up a Reflera, the tendrils bouncing off upon impact. She quickly retaliated with a Stopara, freezing the Phantom in time.
"I've been preparing for a fight with you ever since you took my mother from me, so come at me you overgrown glob of grease!" Nixe yelled at the Blot. Nearby, Riku was driving the Unknown away from the two of them when suddenly the Unknown leapt up and created a bright flash of light with its hand, effectively blinding Riku for a brief period, causing him to stagger backwards. He blindly cast a Dark Shield spell just in time for the Unknown to collide with the shield and bounce off, landing on its feet. The Unknown glared at Riku from beneath its hood before it started to serpentine towards him. Riku raised his sword and swung but was surprised when his attack missed its mark, the Unknown flying past him, headed straight towards Nixe who saw him coming. The Unknown attempted to stab her in the chest but she blocked just in time, throwing him away. She then heard the Phantom Blot let out a gurgle of frustration as it morphed into a towering muscular figure with demonic horns, the form Nixe remembered about it the most, causing her to back away in visible fear.
"Stopara!" she yelled but the Phantom sacrificed part of itself by quickly throwing part of it into the air, the severed part getting caught in the spell while the rest of the Blot was free to move, quickly burrowing into the ground and charging towards her, sending large chunks of earth flying in all directions as it tunneled towards her. Nixe quickly turned and ran while Riku dropped down and plunged his sword into the earth, sending a powerful Dark Firaga into the ground, causing the Phantom Blot to burst from the ground with a roar of fury, glaring at Riku angrily. It then managed to grab Riku by the wrists, pinning him in place.
"RIKU!" Nixe exclaimed, attempting to run to him and help but was intercepted by the Unknown and was forced to block its attacks. The Phantom opened its maw and lashed out its blackened tongue at Riku which splattered against his chest. Riku snarled at the beast which was smiling evilly at him. Suddenly the Phantom's smile vanished, replaced with a look of confusion and surprise.
"Wha-?!" it gurgled as Riku's snarl was replaced by a grin. He then let out a battle cry as his entire body ignited in Dark flames, scorching the Phantom Blot and burning off the tendrils and tongue but leaving Riku unharmed, the flames quickly dying down. The Blot roared and squealed in pain, parts of it bubbling from the heat. Nixe was ducking and dodging the Unknown's attacks, attempting to repel it but was having little success. She quickly leapt back and raised her Keyblade towards the sky.
"En-Thunder!" She exclaimed, her Keyblade suddenly being struck by a lightning bolt, giving it a blue electrical charge. She then blocked another attack from the Unknown, but when the unknown attacked, her Keyblade let out a loud clap of thunder and sent out a powerful bolt of lightning, knocking the Unknown away. Nixe grinned challengingly at the Unknown.
"It's going to take more than that to defeat-NGH!" She yelped in pain, her eyes widened and body standing straight up. (End Battle Music) Riku spun towards her to see, much to his horror, that Nixe had been struck from behind by the previously severed half of the Phantom Blot which had one of its tendrils driven into her back.
"NOOOOO!" Riku yelled as he attempted to help her but suddenly was grabbed by the throat from behind and yanked backwards into the air, getting slammed down onto the ground by the other half of the Phantom Blot which was letting out a dark and grotesque laugh.
"NIXE!" Riku cried out as he struggled to get free but could only watch helplessly as the tendril in her back retracted, revealing a glowing pink heart in its clutches. Nixe proceeded to fall forward onto her face, a darkness beginning to form around her body.
"Let's get this heart back to the Sisterhood. First will be pleased with our success." The Unknown said as it approached the Blot holding her heart.
"What about him?" the Blot asked, looking at Riku.
"Do what you will with him. No one will miss him." The Unknown replied before a bright white light appeared in the sky overhead.
"I MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THAT!" a voice echoed as a comet of white light came flying down and landed right next to the part of the Phantom that held Nixe's Heart. When it hit, there was a blinding white light, coupled with a roar of pain from the Phantom. When the light faded, Riku looked to see a figure about the same size as the Unknown but in a black coat like his own with Nixe's heart in one hand and a gold and silver Keyblade in the other. The Blot previously holding Nixe's heart was whimpering away in pain as part of it had been burned away by the light, this now smaller part rejoining the other Blot as it continued holding down Riku.
"Who-?!" the Unknown asked as the figure turned towards it and pulled back the hood, revealing a familiar face.
"Didn't expect to see me again, did ya?" Mickey Mouse asked with a determined glare. The Unknown staggered back in shock.
"You?! You seem familiar but…who are you?! GAH!" the Unknown yelped as Mickey raised his Keyblade, causing a blinding flash of light.
"Be gone with both of you! Go! Leave this place now!" Mickey ordered, repeatedly creating the flash of light from his Keyblade and driving both the Unknown and the Phantom away. The two quickly disappeared in Corridors of Darkness, leaving Riku, Mickey, and the slowly fading Nixe behind. As soon as the two had left, Mickey spun towards Nixe and rolled her over onto her back, flipping his Keyblade around into a reversed grip and driving it into Nixe's chest, causing a bright glow of light to appear from her chest. Riku watched in awe as her heart started glowing with the same light and was drawn back into her body until heart and body had been reunited. Immediately, her body stopped fading into darkness and was fully restored. The light soon faded as Nixe started to breathe again, unconscious from the ordeal. Riku climbed slowly to his feet and started to approach as Mickey stood over her unconscious form.
"She'll need to recover her strength but she'll be alright. A few seconds more and I wouldn't have been able to save her." Mickey said as Riku dropped to one knee next to him, looking over Nixe with concern. Mickey then turned towards him with a curious expression.
"So what are ya doin' here, pal? Aren't you supposed to be in Twilight Town with the rest of the gang?" Mickey asked as Riku glanced at Mickey then at Nixe.
"Mickey…there's something you should know, a message that you need to hear." Riku said as Mickey looked at him curiously.
…
Nixe groaned as she began to open her eyes. As she did she found Baloo standing over her.
"Hey! Look who's awake." Baloo said as Nixe sat up with a tired groan.
"What happened?" she asked, putting her hand to her head as she looked around. She was back in the jungle, away from the plains where they had been battling earlier.
"You nearly lost your heart, that's what happened." She heard Riku say from nearby. She turned to see Riku and Mickey approaching from the plains.
"What?" Nixe asked, confused.
"If it wasn't for Mickey intervening, you'd have lost your heart and the Sisterhood would've won." Riku explained.
"Mickey? Wait, that's the name of one of my Master's former classmates isn't it? Mickey Mouse?" Nixe asked as Mickey gave a nod with a smile.
"That's me. I remember Si'Lea when she was just a kid. But it was a good thing I was in the area, otherwise you might not have been so lucky." Mickey explained as Nixe put a hand to her chest. She could feel that something had happened to her heart and it wasn't good.
"Oh. I guess I owe you my thanks then, Master Mickey." Nixe said but Mickey gave a dismissive wave.
"Aw think nothing of it. I'm just happy I could help. But you need to go home. You're not ready to travel the worlds on your own." Mickey said as Nixe looked at her chest.
"Maybe you're right. I guess everything my Master said about the worlds was true…well, almost everything." She said, looking at Baloo and Bagheera nearby as they talked with one another.
"I wouldn't say she was completely right. Most worlds are ignorant of the Keyblades because of a rule of noninterference. As a Keyblade wielder, you're not allowed to meddle in a world's affairs. This rule has kept the existence of the Keyblade a secret." Riku explained.
"Well…I can at least say I got to see another world." Nixe said as she stood up.
"I'll make sure you get home alright." Riku said as Nixe smiled at him.
"Thanks, Riku." Nixe said as Mickey cleared his throat.
"Wish I could stay but I need to keep up the pursuit. That guy in the coat that attacked you is someone I'm trying to find and I can't let him get away. I hope you get home safely." Mickey said before turning and running into the jungle, a bright flash of light appearing shortly afterwards as bright star started rising above the jungle, bouncing erratically into the air before disappearing.
"Come on, Nixe. Let's get you home." Riku said as Nixe summoned her Keyblade Glider and activated her armor.
"Yeah. Hey, Baloo! Bagheera! Thanks for the fun time, I had a blast!" She called, the two turning towards her.
"Take care little britches! Don't forget to write!" Baloo called as Bagheera smiled and nodded while Nixe climbed onto her Glider, Riku climbing on with her while pulling the hood up over his head.
"Ready when you are." He said, putting his arm around her waist for support.
"Just don't get any funny ideas." Nixe replied to him with a smirk before her helmet appeared on her head.
"Never even crossed my mind." He said with a smile as they raced off into the sky.
Meanwhile in the Palace of Eternity…
"WHAAAAAAAAAT?!" First roared angrily as the Unknown cowered before her, the Phantom Blot also cowering in her presence.
"We almost had her, then this…this…Mouse appeared and saved her! She also had this other guy, this goon with white hair, with her! He was a formidable swordsman and had access to dark magic!" the Unknown whimpered. First was audibly growling and snarling before throwing her head back with a roar of pure rage.
"We were this close! THIS CLOSE to finally achieving revenge against Si'Lea and to finally gaining the independence we've been striving for all these ten years! And you two imbeciles let it slip through your grasp!" First shrieked at them, her hands aglow with black flames which she suddenly started throwing at them, causing the two to flee and hide behind the furniture. At this, all of the Sisters except Namine burst into the room, having heard the violence from their eldest sister.
"Sister, what is it?! What's the matter?!" Second asked.
"These idiots allowed the daughter to slip through their grasp when they had her heart in hand only to lose it to some interloper!" First roared grabbing a vase of flowers and throwing it into the air before throwing a black fireball and destroying the vase in a spectacular explosion, causing all of those present to flinch.
"Well her emotion is wrath." Fourth mumbled in response to First's actions. First whirled towards them with a snarl.
"Find the girl and get her heart! FIND HER! FIND HER!" First shrieked at them, the other sisters, the Blot, and the Unknown, except Third quickly fleeing out the doors. Third calmly and cautiously approached First who stood breathing heavily with anger.
"Sister, one defeat will not end the war. We will have our independence." Third said as First glared at her.
"Yes, that we will." She said as she turned to a table in the middle of the room and waved her hand across in front of her, summoning a magic orb that allowed her to see what Nixe was up to. The orb projected an image of Nixe, the hooded Riku riding on the glider with her. First looked at the boy carefully.
"Hmm. A boy…I wonder…" she thought to herself.
"Wonder about what?" Third asked.
"Wonder if perhaps that boy might be exactly what we need." First said with a dark grin aimed towards Riku.
Back in Twilight Town…
"Ngh, What did I miss?" Riku groaned as he sat up. He was in Yen Sid's tower with Terra, Ven, Kairi, Axel, and Yen Sid all standing around him.
"You passed out unexpectedly. We brought you here for the Master to check you out." Terra explained.
"Riku, what happened?" Kairi asked.
"I…I'm not sure. What were we doing when I passed out?" Riku asked, scratching his head.
"You were talking about a dream you'd had last night. A dream about a girl." Axel replied as Riku seemed confused.
"Girl? What girl?" he asked.
"The girl from your dream." Ven replied.
"Dream?" Riku asked, confused.
"You don't remember?" Kairi asked, concerned, but Riku shook his head.
"No." he replied, Yen Sid with a suspicious look on his face.
"Recalling a memory and suddenly passing out. Hmm." He muttered to himself, running a hand through his beard.
"Master, something wrong?" Terra asked.
"I'm not sure. Riku, what's the last thing you remember doing before passing out?" Yen Sid asked as Riku shrugged.
"I remember that we were helping Terra by recalling his memories of Si'Lea. That's where my mind goes blank and I woke up here." Riku explained as Yen Sid approached the bookshelves near his desk and scanned the books before pulling one off the shelf. He immediately flipped open the book and started flipping quickly through the pages while the others watched quietly.
"Hmm…Did you dream at all while you were unconscious?" Yen Sid asked as Riku thought for a moment then nodded.
"Yeah, I did. I dreamt of when Sora and I were kids on the Islands, just the two of us." Riku explained as Yen Sid slammed the book shut, putting it back on the shelf and turning towards him.
"There, that's it." Yen Sid said, confusing them all.
"What's it?" Ven asked.
"Riku, your memories have been tampered with." Yen Sid said, startling all five of them.
"Tampered with? By who? What for?" Riku asked, confused.
"The who and the why is unknown to me but your symptoms are clearly the result of memory manipulation. Someone is trying to keep you from remembering something." Yen Sid explained.
"I hate to suggest this, but do you think Namine could've been responsible for it?" Ven asked, earning a hurt look from Kairi.
"What? Why would Namine even do such a thing?" Kairi asked, defensive of her Nobody.
"It could've been during that whole incident in Castle Oblivion. It was probably done against her will." Axel suggested.
"No. The symptoms implicate a different culprit in this." Yen Sid explained.
"What do you mean?" Terra asked.
"Riku was trying to think of a specific person and as he looked deeper and deeper into his memories, he inexplicably passed out and dreamt of something else. When he woke up, all thought and memory of this person vanished back into the deep recesses of his memories. Those are the clear signs that his memories have been manipulated using an ancient spell known only to a scarce few, myself included." Yen Sid explained.
"A memory spell?" Kairi asked as Yen Sid nodded.
"What purpose would that spell serve?" Terra asked.
"To conceal information from someone or to make someone forget something important. Typically the spell is meant to make someone forget another person when said person was never supposed to have been encountered in the first place. The spell has only ever been taught to a specific group of individuals but it is rarely used even amongst them." Yen Sid explained as he walked towards his desk and opened one of the drawers.
"What is this group? Where can we find them?" Terra asked, summoning his Keyblade. The others seemed ready to act on this to try and find out why Riku's memories had been manipulated.
"It's not so simple, I'm afraid. It is because you are members of this group." Yen Sid said as he held up a Mark of Mastery badge, causing all of their eyes to widen.
"Wait, you mean a Keyblade wielder did this to me?" Riku asked, alarmed by the revelation.
"Yes, a Keyblade wielder with knowledge of this spell and its workings could have done it to you. But when and why is a mystery." Yen Sid explained.
"Is there a way to lift the spell?" Kairi asked as Yen Sid pondered.
"I can think of one solution but it will be very difficult if not impossible. The spell would have to be lifted by the person who cast it in the first place. Only the caster knows where the Chain of Memories has been severed and how to reconnect it. The memories are still there within you, Riku but beyond your reach and should you make any progress in remembering them, you will only have the same thing happen to you again." Yen Sid said as Riku groaned in frustration.
"There has to be some way of breaking the spell without the original spell caster." Riku said as Axel snapped his fingers.
"What about Namine? If Sora finds her and brings her back, maybe she can break the spell with her powers or at least see what Riku's not supposed to remember!" Axel said as Kairi smiled and nodded excitedly.
"Yeah! Her powers should be more than enough to break the spell!" Kairi exclaimed.
"I would have to agree. The scope of Namine's powers is virtually limitless. I believe she might be the key to breaking this spell. I'm also finding it more than a coincidence that Riku begins experiencing the effects of a memory manipulation spell shortly after her abduction." Yen Sid said.
"Yeah. I smell a rat." Axel commented.
"Well there's not much to go on though at the moment. Until I can remember who it was I forgot and why, we'll just have to wait and rely on Sora and Aqua to find Namine and bring her home." Riku said as Kairi nodded.
"I know they'll succeed. We just have to be patient." Kairi said, looking at the lucky charm Sora had made her after he became a Master.
"Can anything be done for Riku in the meantime?" Terra asked.
"The memory spell is actually three spells rolled into one. A memory suppressant, a memory insertion, and a sleep spell. I can lift the memory insertion and sleep spells but the suppressant spell cannot be lifted except by the person who cast it as only they know what to look for. Memory insertion spells are relatively easy to find if you look hard enough." Yen Sid said as his hat glowed blue for a moment before the glow faded.
"What're you doing?" Axel asked.
"I've made it so Riku won't pass out and forget what he dreamt of. If you can remember more of what it was you dreamt of, the simple act of remembering will, over time, weaken and eventually break the spell." Yen Sid explained as Riku gave a thankful nod.
"Thank you Master. I'll try my best to remember." Riku said.
"We'll be leaving then." Ven said as they headed for the door, leaving Yen Sid to peer out the windows in deep thought.
"So more questions arise from this mystery. What could have happened to Riku eleven years ago to make someone want him to forget something…or is the someone which he is meant to forget?" Yen Sid said as he thought for a moment then his eyes widened in realization. He quickly turned towards his desk and opened one of the drawers. Inside was a strange package wrapped in brown paper with twine tied around it. He quickly tore off the wrapping and the twine, revealing a blue hard, leather covered book with a stylized letter L in gold emblazoned on the cover and a gold lock keeping the front and back covers of the book together. The moment he touched the book, the lock popped open.
"I wonder, did your visions ever see these events unfolding, my old apprentice? Did you know what secrets are being kept? Is the future you saw finally unfolding before us?" Yen Sid asked as he opened the book, sitting down at his desk and beginning to read from the Master's Tome of a Keyblade Master long forgotten.
End Chapter 22