CHAPTER 15.5: Sora's Chain Of Memories Part 5

[Open to Sora's Dive to the Heart]

[Play Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX -Missing You- Extended]

Several minutes have passed since the group witnessed Sora's sacrifice. Finally, they all sat down, still comforting Luz after her reaction.

Luz: *sniff*

Naminé approaches the group with a worried look.

Naminé: I'm sorry you had to see that.

The group looked at Naminé.

Luz: I just can't believe it. He did it to save Kairi. Sora truly is selfless. Even though it was only a memory and that he's still around, it's still so heartbreaking.

Eda: I feel ya, kid.

Thanks to Sora's story, they were already aware of what would happen, but it still hurt to see it unfold before their eyes. So they think back to his story.

[Sora: Ansem wanted to open the door to the heart of worlds, but only six of the seven hearts were collected, so that he couldn't open the door. The seventh heart, being Kairi's, was in me.

Eda: Her heart... was inside you?

Sora: Yeah, because of that, Ansem tried to take it out by force with his keyblade. But, I managed to defeat him, and he fled. But...

Luz/Eda: ...

Sora: All the Princesses of Heart were still asleep, and Ansem's Keyblade had the power to unlock people's hearts. It was then I had an idea.

Luz and Eda just sat there, anticipating Sora's idea.

Sora: I took Ansem's Keyblade and pierced it into my heart to release Kairi's heart back to hers, along with restoring the Princesses.

Luz, Eda, and King gasped with widened eyes. They were indeed in shock with what they had just heard. Luz spoke while covering her mouth with her hands.]

The rest of the group express their thoughts on the previous memory.

Amity: I still can't believe it. I mean, the idea of sacrificing yourself to save another... It's... It's scary.

Gus: I honestly don't think I'd be strong enough to do that.

Willow: That must've been difficult for him.

Naminé: Yes. It was indeed a difficult decision for Sora to make. But, of course, at the time, he had no idea that it would've worked. But as you saw, when Kairi regained her heart and awakened, Sora smiled, knowing he managed to save her.

The group sat there in silence.

Naminé: But for now, we must not delay. Sora's memories must be repaired. But... Before you do, perhaps watching this memory will help you.

Motioning her hand, Naminé summons a memory frame that had not been affected by the fires. The group continued to sit as the memory started to play out.

Luz: What memory is this?

Naminé: Sora's return. Immediately after his sacrifice.

The group's eyes widen slightly, slowly growing with anticipation to watch the memory unfold.

Naminé: I assure you. It will put you at ease.

[End Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX -Missing You- Extended]

The memory frame shows Donald, Goofy, and Luz standing in another room with a heartless standing close to them. Donald tried to destroy the heartless by whacking it on its head with his staff but couldn't.

Donald: Confounded, Heartless! Get lost, will ya?

The group was confused seeing this.

Amity: Aren't those small ones easy to destroy?

Eda: Either that little Heartless is somehow stronger than others, or Mr. Ducky there just got weaker.

Back to the memory, the Heartless stood there for a bit until it turned to Luz and tilted its head.

luz(Kairi): Sora? Is that you?

The group became shocked.

Willow: Sora?!

Gus: He... he turned into a Heartless?!

Amity: But how? I thought you only turned into a Heartless when another consumes your heart!

Thanks to Sora's story, Luz and Eda knew the answer to that. However, before they could think back to it, Naminé explained how Sora came to be a Heartless.

Naminé: Ansem's Keyblade was comprised of darkness. So, when Sora sacrificed himself by piercing the Keyblade into his heart, he and his heart fell into darkness and spawned as a Heartless.

Willow, Gus, and Amity couldn't believe it. Apparently, to them, that meant there were other ways for people to become Heartless. The memory continued as more Heartless spawn surrounded Donald, Goofy, and Luz.

Goofy: Uh oh.

Immediately, Donald and Goofy went off to destroy the other Heartless. Sora's Heartless stood behind Luz as the other Heartless stepped closer.

Luz(Kairi): This time, I'll protect you.

As the Heartless approached even closer, they jumped to pile on Luz. She immediately turned and knelt to hug Sora's Heartless tightly.

Luz(Kairi): Sora!

The group gasped in shock.

As Donald and Goofy destroyed the Heartless on their end, they turned around and became shocked as the Heartless tried to consume Luz's heart.

Donald: Wah!

Goofy: Luz!

But, to everyone's surprise, a burst of light appeared and destroyed all the Heartless at once. Immediately as the light subsided, everyone saw Sora emitting sparkles of light, hugging Luz.

Sora: Luz. Thank you.

Luz looked up in awe at seeing Sora again.

Luz(Kairi): Sora!

Donald and Goofy became relieved and happy seeing Sora again.

Donald/Goofy: Sora!

After seeing this, the memory ends there as light-filled within the group's hearts.

All but Naminé: Sora!

[Play Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep -Ventus- Extended [Redux]]

Naminé could tell that the group became rejuvenated with positive emotions by seeing this memory.

Luz: Kairi brought him back!

Eda: But how, though?

Naminé approached the group with an explanation.

Naminé: Do you remember learning that Kairi is a Princess of Heart?

The group nods.

Naminé: Well, as you know, the Princesses of Heart are maidens with hearts of pure light, devoid of darkness. And it is that pure light that had connected to Sora's heart and restored his human form.

The group nods again in an understanding of Naminé's explanation. Luz and Eda once again think back to Sora's story.

[Luz: You... sacrificed yourself... for her...?

Eda: How did you survive?!

Sora: I turned into a Heartless and followed my friends. *chuckle* Donald whacked me in the head for a bit until he and the others figured out it was me.

Sora chuckles a bit more while rubbing the back of his head with his left hand.

Sora: Anyway, Kairi's pure light saved me by returning me to normal.]

Naminé: Although, sometimes, I like to think their connection played a role in Sora's restoration. The bond that Sora and Kairi share is genuinely something they cherish with their hearts. The bond gives them the strength to overcome any odds and find their way to each other.

The group was in awe at hearing that. In fact, the girls of the group seemed to be interested in learning more about the kind of relationship Sora and Kairi have with one another.

[End Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep -Ventus- Extended [Redux]]

Finally, however, Eda starts to grow impatient.

Eda: As much as I love to hear more of this mushy stuff, we gotta fix more memories.

Naminé: Of course. However, I must warn you all before you enter.

Naminé, with a waving arm motion, brings forth the last memory of the first set.

Naminé: This will be the last memory of the first set. After this, you will have three more sets to go.

Eda: Alright, let's do this. The sooner, the better.

Luz: Wait. What's the warning?

The group gathers in anticipation.

Naminé: Unlike the previous memories, this will be the most difficult to repair of this set.

Eda: Ok. How?

Naminé: ...To fix this memory, you must defeat Ansem.

[Play Kingdom Hearts 3 - Dive Into The Heart -Destati- Third Inception - Extended]

The group had looks of shock on their faces.

Group: Ansem?!

Naminé nods.

Naminé: Yes. Sora, Donald, and Goofy made their last stand against Ansem to end that journey.

Luz and Eda looked at each other.

Luz: Eda...

Eda: I know, kid. I'm getting chills as well. But... we gotta do this.

Naminé: Once you defeat Ansem, you shall see the memory and learn what happened after the battle. After which, we'll move on to the second set of memories. Are you ready?

The group all looked at each other with slight fear. This Ansem is said to be one of the strongest foes that Sora had ever faced. And now, they will do battle with the said foe. They don't know what they'll experience, but they realize one thing. Being filled with determination, they have to do this to save Sora. That, and this is gonna hurt. A lot. The group turned to Naminé and nodded.

Group: Let's do this.

Naminé: Of course, I will guide you on what to do. And... I wish you the best of luck.

[End Kingdom Hearts 3 - Dive Into The Heart -Destati- Third Inception - Extended]

[Play Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMix -End Of The World- Extended]

The group enters the memory frame, and they suddenly find themselves in awe and surprise at their location. They see a sea of darkness in the process of collapsing, along with the snowy fragments of the landscape. Everything looked so purple to them. And in the distance, they see a giant vortex.

Luz: Wooaahh... What... is this place?

Naminé: This is the End Of The World.

Group: *uneasy* Uhh... Repeat that again?

Naminé: This world is a by-product of all Heartless' destructive nature. Here, the Heartless are not very numerous compared to Hollow Bastion, but they are very powerful. In addition, upon taking a world's heart, a tiny fragment of what is left of that world is sent drifting through the void of space until it eventually meets and merges with the End of the World. It is, in essence, a "Heartless" of the destroyed worlds.

The group was in disbelief upon hearing this.

Luz: You're telling us that if our world was swallowed by the darkness, THIS is where it would end up?!

Naminé: Along with denizens who couldn't have been spared, yes.

That last statement had actually scared the group. They don't want to imagine that happening to them.

Eda: That must mean that Sora's world, and others, I'm guessing, were here.

Everyone looked at Eda.

Luz: That's right. Sora did say that he managed to beat Ansem and restore his world, along with others.

Willow/Gus/Amity: Really?!

Luz turns to them and nods.

Luz: I remember from his story.

[Sora: We also had to venture forth to a dark world known as the End of the World to defeat Ansem once and for all. It was during that battle that I learned what Ansem was really after.

Eda: What was he after?

Luz: ...]

Willow: Even though we're fixing and seeing his memories, I just find it so hard to believe that Sora had to go through ALL of this.

Willow extends her hand towards the scenery.

Amity: All because of some nut job of a dark wizard messing with other worlds. And for what reason?!

Gus: I have a feeling we'll find out soon enough.

Naminé: You will. After you defeat Ansem.

Eda: Wait. We're fighting him here, right? Where is he?

Naminé: Your battle will not take place here. I'm showing you this world to explain what really happens to worlds swallowed by darkness.

Eda: Ok. So, where do we go?

Naminé: One moment.

Suddenly, a bright white light engulfs everyone and everything.

[End Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMix -End Of The World- Extended]

The group suddenly found themselves floating in clouds of black and grey.

Eda: Now, where are we?

The group looked around and saw a small floating land with a giant white door at the edge in the distance. Behind the ground is something that truly astonishes the group. They see a giant heart-shaped structure.

Naminé: This is the Endless Abyss. This section of the End Of The World is where Sora, Donald, and Goofy made their last stand against Ansem.

Luz: Ok. So, where is he?

[Play Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX -Guardando Nel Buio- Extended [Redux]]

The group suddenly saw a gigantic creature below them and gasped in horror.

Gus: WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING?!

Naminé: What you are seeing is the World of Chaos. It is a warship Heartless that Ansem uses in hopes of destroying Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

Eda: You've gotta be kidding...

Upon closer look, they see that The World of Chaos almost, if not entirely, seems organic and made of twisted, discolored flesh. It is primarily colored pink that fades into a sickening mixture of cyan, brown, purple, and yellow in various places. Two leg-like protrusions are attached to the battleship's underside. Under the Heartless's face, the foremost one is long, thin, and triangular.

Under the main core, the rearmost one is a wide, thin arc. A long, rocky "tail" sprouts from the World of Chaos's back. Its body is very long and flat and has two rows of discolored teeth lining it, resembling the inside of a person's mouth). Scattered along the World of Chaos's sides are bulbous patches of flesh covered in green-purple growths. Its face is on the front tip of its body, and its main core is located on top of its body towards its rear.

The World of Chaos's face is demonic, sporting a long, pointed chin, a thick jaw, and a bulbous, dark pink forehead covered with pale pink veins. Its mouth is filled with large, white fangs that protrude out, and the inside of its mouth is filled with purple, green, and dark blue veins, with a twisted mass of purple cords fused together for a tongue. Its small eyes are entirely yellow and surrounded by black rings. A long, thick arm-like tendril is coming from either side of its jaw, colored pink with a blue flash. The World of Chaos's main core is covered by twisted, dark pink pillars and a transparent force field that form a protective cage.

A creature's head is more demonic, with red rings around its eyes, its long, crooked antenna becoming a protective helm of large, flat, jagged black horns, and a similar plating covering its jaw and back. The skin underneath this armor is blue-black, and its exposed mouth is filled with sharp, white fangs and blue gums. On the creature's shoulders are two bulbous blue orbs. It has two narrow yellow "eyes" on its chest and two yellow tubes that wrap around its back, connecting to two red reptilian heads underneath its arms. Its arms have loose, ragged flaps hanging from them like cloak sleeves. Its torso is opened up, exposing its vertebra and a hollow, broken ribcage to protect the World of Chaos and the creature. A mass of thick, black-and-red, organic cords (conceivably the creature's entrails) extends from its open stomach and connects to its back. Its tail is fused into an orange hollow that serves as a pilot's seat atop the cage. The main core of the World of Chaos is a bulbous, deformed, blue organ covered in violet growths of varying sizes. The most prominent of these growths have a faint silhouette of a skull on it, with the eye sockets, nasal socket, and gaps in the teeth being white. The World of Chaos's various Room Cores is circular and red with gray edges. They have small yellow spots placed randomly on them and a thin, blue-green, teardrop-shaped additive floating above their tip and bottom.

The smaller of the World of Chaos's two artillery organs are comprised of two jagged, blue tentacles with blue-white tips that clamp together. They are yellow on the inside and grown from purple bumps on the World of Chaos. The larger artillery organs are more ornate, being blue with turquoise additives and smoother edges. They are pink on the inside and grown from large, purple bumps with turquoise patterns.

On top of this cage, the group sees a humanoid man attached to the creature, titanic in size (though still small compared to the World of Chaos) monstrous in appearance. Ansem seems to not have any clothing other than an attire consisting of an organic-looking, skintight material that covers his legs and feet and appears to be made of black muscle tissue. This material has dark yellow cords that outline darker, glossier patches of the material and the soles of his feet and a long, hexagonal codpiece also outlined with these yellow cords. His eyes are entirely orange, and he wields a large, dual-bladed halberd.

The rest of the group took a closer look and noticed the said man.

Amity: There's a person there?

Naminé: That is Ansem.

The group widened their eyes, and they turned to glares.

Luz: Ansem!

Then the group noticed one odd thing about Ansem, besides him being attached to the giant creature.

Luz: ...Uhh... Shirtless Ansem?

Willow: ...Why?

Amity and Gus just looked with one eyebrow raised in total confusion. At the same time, Eda had mixed feelings about seeing Ansem shirtless.

Eda: Jeez. I know he's a bad guy, but... hot dang.~

The teens look at her in disbelief.

Luz: Really, Eda? Really?!

Eda: *shrugs* Hey, I can't deny it.

Luz: *sigh* Naminé! Strategy guides on Ansem, please!

Naminé: Ansem will use a variety of attacks, specializing from close range to all range. Get in too close. He will swing his halberd, his bladed weapon. At mid-range, The World of Chaos will swing both of its arms, generating a dry wind that will push you away. Next, he will generate violet spheres at all ranges, then fire lasers at you all as beams, which can be fired from any part of the battlefield. The lasers can track any of you, so move continuously to dodge them.

Luz: You're kidding!

Gus: That is SO unfair!

Naminé: But worst of all, once Ansem becomes desperate, he will use his Great Darkness attack. It creates a black hole to draw you all in and then detonates it.

That last one made the group go pale.

Naminé: I recommend keeping a close range while continuously being on the move to avoid his halberd and not face his other attacks. Also, it's best to increase your defense. Finally, Eda, I recommend creating a forcefield around yourself and the others to avoid injuries.

The teens gulp.

Eda: Good idea. I wouldn't want broken bones or worse. Kids, huddle up!

The teens do so, and Eda creates individual barriers for them and herself.

Luz: *phew* Ok. This will be the toughest one yet. Are you guys ready?

The rest of the group nods in agreement.

Luz: Alright, let's go!

The group rush toward Ansem.

Eda: I'll deal the first blow!

Ansem then summons his Dark Lasers and fires at the group. Eda swiftly dodges to the right by rolling, Luz swiftly dodges to the left by rolling, Willow dodges by inclining, Amity by declining, and Gus barely dodges by losing his flow. As soon as Eda gets in close, she traces two large spell circles and shoots light beams directly at Ansem, leaving some damage. Eda moves out of the way as Luz prepares two light glyphs spheres, and with a twirl, she launches them right at Ansem, leaving some damage. Ansem growls as he prepares his halberd for any incoming attack. Willow summons thorned vines and tries to whip Ansem but fails as Ansem uses his halberd to cut the vines down to size.

Willow: Shoot!

Amity: My turn!

Amity summons an abomination.

Amity: Abomination, attack!

The abomination flies directly towards Ansem. But, by using his lasers, he destroys the abomination instantly. Amity's eyes widen in shock and frustration.

Amity: What?!

Gus zooms past Willow and Amity.

Gus: Let me try!

Gus focuses on Ansem.

Gus: Hey, evil geezer!

Gus creates an illusion construct of a muscular humanoid, and it gets in close with Ansem. However, Gus keeps a good distance between himself and Ansem and performs punching motions.

Gus: Take this!

Whatever Gus did, his construct mimics as it gives Ansem a few left and right hooks to his face. Seeing this, the rest of the group was actually impressed.

Amity: Woah.

Willow: Go, Gus!

Luz: Whooo! MVP!

Eda: Keep it up, dweebus!

However, after a few more hooks, Ansem uses his halberd to slice the construct in half.

Gus: *widened eyes* Oh no.

Ansem then pushes Gus back with sheer force.

Gus: WOAH!

Girls: Gus!

As Gus was screaming while being launched back, Willow uses her vines, without thorns, to catch Gus before he goes away far out into the abyss. The vine wraps around Gus's leg, and she pulls him towards her.

Gus: *phew* Thanks, Willow.

Willow: You're welcome.

Eda and Luz then huddled up with them.

Luz: Gus! You ok?

Gus: Yup. All good.

Eda: Dang, dweebus. You actually did well out there.

Gus chuckles.

Naminé: Beware! The World of Chaos is attacking!

The group turned to it and saw it winding both of its arms. The group gasped.

Luz: It's gonna blow us away!

Eda: Kids! Behind me!

Eda flies in a circular motion while tracing a rather large spell circle in front of the teens.

Then, as Eda lands in front of the teens, she punches through the spell circle and opens her hand, creating a large barrier to shield them from the incoming attack.

Eda: Hang on!

The World of Chaos then swings both of its arms, generating a dry wind that tries to push the group away. Fortunately, the barrier held as the group stood in place. As the winds subsided, Eda was about to let the barrier down. Still, she immediately hears Naminé calling out to her.

Naminé: No! Keep the barrier up!

Eda: Why?

Naminé: Ansem is preparing his Great Darkness attack!

Eda then notices Ansem doing so.

Eda: Oh no! Kids, hang on!

The teens gasp.

The black hole appears and begins to draw the group in. The group screams as they inch closer and closer to the black hole.

Eda: Brace yourselves!

The group, inside the barrier, became trapped inside the black hole, and it was then that Ansem detonated it. A massive explosion went off, and the sheer force was so strong that Eda was struggling insanely to hold the barrier together.

Eda: Argh Don't...think...I...can...hold...it...much...longer!

Luz: Just a bit longer, Eda!

The force from the explosion has subsided, and Eda immediately lets down the barrier.

[End Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX -Guardando Nel Buio- Extended [Redux]]

Eda: Oh, jeez. That took a lot out of me.

[Play Death Battle: Hearts of Light (From the Rooster Teeth Series)]

Luz turns her head towards Ansem, who looked like he waiting for any incoming attacks. She closed her eyes for a bit and then glared at Ansem.

Luz: We gotta end this, now.

Luz then turns to the others.

Luz: Let's end this as we did with the past memories. We distract Ansem, charge up to one major attack, and give it everything we got.

The teens nod.

Luz: Ok. ... I'll go first!

Luz then rushes toward Ansem as the others shout at her to wait. However, Luz did not listen as she prepared four fire glyphs.

Luz: Prepare to get burned...

Luz activities them and spins around in place, catching each fireball with her right hand. As she spun, the fire shaped into a spiral all around Luz. She could definitely feel the heat getting to her as the spinning speed increased. As she gets close enough to get Ansem, she flies upward straight and twirls a bit more, and stops just in time to raise her right arm high, revealing herself holding a massive fireball. Ansem looks up at Luz with a somewhat surprised look. Before anything else, Luz twirls once more and launches the fireball with all her strength. As the fireball inches closer to Ansem, he tries to prepare a barrier of his own, but Eda foiled that.

Eda: Oh no, you don't!

Eda used a massive lightning bolt spell to shock Ansem, breaking his focus. The fireball then clashes with Ansem, causing insane damage. The rest of the group cheered as that attack worked.

Luz: Guys, Now!

The group nods and preform their own strong attacks one after another. Willow then summons her thorned vines once more and, with her strength, whips Ansem back to back, delivering body blows. Next, Gus creates a large illusion construct that resembles a certain giant flaming lion. That surprised everyone.

Amity: What is that creature?!

Eda/Luz/Willow: Simba?!

Amity was really surprised and confused.

Amity: Simba?

Gus: Big help from Sora!

Fire swirled around as the construct growled. Its mane, eyes, teeth, and the tip of his tail glowed white as the rest of its body glowed light blue. He lets out a mighty roar that unleashes its fire as it collides with Ansem. The collision results in a light blue and white explosion.

Gus: *fist-pumped* Booya!

The rest cheered.

Amity: My turn...

Amity then flies towards Ansem and creates two abominations.

Amity: Abominations, restrain!

The abominations successfully wrapped around Ansem before he could react. Ansem is seen struggling as the group huddles.

Eda: Alright, we got him!

Luz: Time to end this!

Naminé: Wait!

Luz: What is it?

Naminé: I have an idea to end this battle now.

Eda: Well? Let's hear it!

Naminé: Eda, you will be the center of this plan.

Eda: Alright! What are we doing?!

Naminé: Everyone! Assemble around Eda! Listen. This attack will require all of you to channel your magic energy towards Eda. Then, Eda, you must absorb that magic and combine it to unleash a devastating attack.

The group marveled at that idea and decided to do it. But then realize they must hurry as they see Ansem struggling to escape from Amity's abominations.

Luz: Let's hurry!

The teens gathered behind Eda and began channeling their magic energy to Eda. Gus's magic aura was light blue, Willow's was green, Amity was purple, and Eda's was yellow. However, Luz wasn't doing anything exactly.

Willow: Wait! How can Luz channel magic if she doesn't-

Luz: Not to worry.

Luz activates four seven light glyphs and directs the light spheres toward Eda.

Luz: Eda, take these!

Eda then absorbed the light spheres, and when Eda combined her magic with the others, she felt ready to unleash it all.

Eda: Thanks, kid! Let's end this!

Eda then flies around in circular motion in front of the teens and traces a large spell circle, larger than ever before. Eda then lands in front of them and then extended her arms outward and began glowing bright yellow. And it was then that the others began glowing with their respective colored auras and copied Eda's action. Finally, they all simultaneously yelled from the top of their lungs, thrust their right arms forward in the spell circle, and unleashed a massive beam of golden light. Unfortunately for Ansem, just as he broke free of the abominations, it was too late. The light beam had completely engulfed Ansem. As soon as their attack landed after a few seconds, a bright white light emitted and engulfed everyone and everything. The group returned to Sora's Dive to the heart as the light subsided. The group looked around for a bit and saw Naminé applauding them with a big smile.

[End Death Battle: Hearts of Light (From the Rooster Teeth Series)]

Naminé: Well done, all of you! The last memory of the first set has been repaired!

After a brief pause, the group cheered loudly.

Luz/Willow/Gus: That was totally wicked!

Amity: *phew* I gotta say. That was pretty intense.

The teens gathered around Eda and praised her for unleashing that light beam.

Luz: Eda! You were so cool!

Willow: The way we all glowed and you shooting out that beam was just-

Gus: Like Luz said, so cool!

Amity: You're pretty impressive.

Eda laughed boastfully while having her hands on her hips and looked away with her eyes closed.

Eda: *smug look* No, not at all!

The teens had a smirk on their faces.

Teens: *thinking* Could she look more smug?

Naminé approached the group.

Naminé: You have all done so well. Now, it is time to learn about the last event of Sora's first journey.

The group turned to Naminé with a serious yet anticipated look.

Naminé: Are you ready?

The group nods.

Naminé: Very well.

Naminé floats out of the way, and the last memory frame of the first set flows into place. The group gathers around and begins to watch it play out. The memory starts out at a familiar location.

[Play Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMix -End Of The World- Extended]

Luz: Wait. Destiny Islands?

Eda: Yeah. Except, it looks trashed again.

The Destiny Islands became filled with dark purple spikes all across. The trees, once green, now turned the same color, and the ground cracked and split apart as if it was going to break down. It was then they saw Sora, Donald, and Goofy standing in front of the secret entrance of the island and heard a voice.

?: This world has been connected.

Goofy: What was that?

?: Tied to the darkness... soon to be completely eclipsed. There is so very much to learn. You understand so little. A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing.

The group became shocked to see the waters were completely colored in dark purple. They then noticed Riku standing out on edge, his back turned to the others.

Luz: *gasp* *whispering* Riku?

The group stood in silence to watch the memory play out.

Riku: Take a look at this tiny place. To the heart seeking freedom, this island is a prison, surrounded by water. And so, this boy sought to escape from his prison. He sought a way to cross over into other worlds. And he opened his heart to darkness.

Upon hearing that, chills ran down Luz's spine. Aside from the heart opening to darkness part, the rest felt familiar to Luz. At that moment, Luz reminded herself of the day she ended up in the Isles. The moment when Luz's mom was going to send her to summer camp, it felt like a prison. She wanted to escape from such a fate. She then found a way to cross over into the Boiling Isles, albeit by accident. But the parrels were there in some way, shape, or form.

Riku turned around, engulfing himself with dark magic, transforming into a man the group recognized immediately.

Group: Ansem...

Sora: Riku!

This man, being Ansem, is seen with tan skin, yellow eyes, and long white hair, stylized by being smoothed back into three spikes on the top and sides of his head. Ansem wears a black, high-collared leather coat with a red interior and yellow lining. This coat is grey from the waist down. It has several buttons lining the hips, a belt around his waist, and a second one extending from the waist to the collar to connect to several smaller straps. The four shorter straps are buttoned to either side of the front of the collar, while the remaining ones are buttoned to the shoulders to form spaulders. A black leather pauldron is attached to each spaulder by three buttons and two straps that button the rim of the coat and two more that cross over his upper back. On his upper chest is the Heartless emblem in the form of a brooch that holds the outer coat together in place of a zipper or buttons. Underneath this coat, Ansem wears a white, thigh-length vest. This vest is also high-collared and exposes most of Ansem's chest, with three black buttons and two thin belts near his waist closing it up while the three remaining buttons below are undone. In addition, Ansem wears wide-brimmed, white gloves with three buttons lining the forearms and a grey band on either wrist. He also wears black pants and black tucked into knee-high boots with silver trimming and high concave indentations on the top.

Ansem: Don't bother. Your voice can no longer reach him where he is. His heart belongs again to darkness. All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, it grows, consumes it. Such as its nature.

Ansem suddenly appears floating behind Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

Ansem. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy spin around steps back.

Ansem: You see, darkness is the heart's true essence.

[End Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMix -End Of The World- Extended]

Sora: That's not true! The heart may be weak. And sometimes, it may even give in. But I've learned that deep down, there's a light that never goes out!

The group cheers for Sora's rebuttal.

Amity: *nods with a smirk* Hmph!

Willow/Gus: Yeah!

Luz: *fist-pumped* That's right! You tell him, Sora!

Eda: Fight him already!

Back to the memory, Ansem floats even higher and folds his arms.

Ansem: So, you have come this far, and still you understand nothing. Every light must fade, every heart return to darkness!

[Play Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMix -The Deep End- Extended]

Ansem then summons a dark creature behind him, and the opposing sides prepare for battle. The group then yells out one thing in excitement.

Group: Get him, Sora!

After Sora's battle with Ansem, Sora comes out victorious. It was then the mountains of the islands split open. Ansem escapes into the opening with Sora, Donald, and Goofy in hot pursuit. Still, only Sora is able to get past a preset barrier. After defeating a Darkside and Ansem, the latter uses his power to send himself and his foes to a dark void, the Endless Abyss. Then suddenly, the group hear a familiar voice echoing around them.

[End Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMix -The Deep End- Extended]

Ansem: Behold the Endless Abyss!

Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked around for a bit.

Ansem: Within it lies the heart of all worlds: Kingdom Hearts!

Sora, Donald, and Goofy see the same floating land with the door and giant heart behind it that the group saw.

At that moment, Willow, Gus, and Amity heard the name and wondered about it.

Willow: Kingdom...

Gus: Hearts?

Amity: What is that?

Slight pause.

Luz: Kingdom Hearts...

Willow, Gus, and Amity turned to Luz, who had a serious look on her face.

Luz: Kingdom Hearts is-

Eda: an ultimate source of power.

Willow, Gus, and Amity widened their eyes in shock.

Gus: S-say that again?

Luz: As Eda said, it is an ultimate source of power. Sora told us about it.

[Eda: What was he after?

Luz: ...

Sora paused for a bit.

Sora: Kingdom Hearts.

Eda and Luz paused for a bit as well.

Luz: *whispers* Kingdom Hearts...

Eda: And that is?

Sora: Kingdom Hearts. In the age of fairy tales, all of the worlds were once one. Kingdom Hearts is an embodiment of light, wisdom, and power. It's also the heart of all worlds and hearts—basically, a source of ultimate power.

Luz: ...Woah.]

Willow, Gus, and Amity widened their eyes in shock even more.

Willow/Gus/Amity: You're kidding?!

Amity: *pointing toward Kingdom Hearts* You mean to tell us that Sora and his friends had to fight an evil wizard over ultimate power?!

Eda: Eeyup.

Willow, Gus, and Amity shook their heads in disbelief.

Amity: A source of ultimate power...

Gus: The heart of ALL worlds...

Willow: And Sora was fighting to protect it, I'm guessing. But why would Ansem want it?

Eda: Kinda obvious, don'tcha think? Ultimate source of power, an evil wizard bent on getting it, my snails' on either ruling the worlds with darkness or DESTROYING the worlds with darkness.

The teens shuddered in fear and looked back at the memory.

Ansem: Look as hard as you are able. You'll not find even the smallest glimmer of light. From those dark depths are all hearts born. Even yours.

[Play Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX -Guardando Nel Buio- Extended [Redux]]

Then, the World of Chaos appears before Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

Ansem: Darkness conquers all worlds!

As Sora, Donald, and Goofy stared at the creature, Donald and Goofy were suddenly pulled towards it and Sora fell deep into the Abyss. Just as he kept falling, he and others heard Riku's voice echoing.

Riku: Giving up already? Come on, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that.

Sora fell even deeper out of sight. The group watched in silence then smiled as they saw Sora flying straight up in front of the creature and summoned his keyblade, ready to fight.

Luz: Ok. Last battle.

The group nods before suddenly cheering again.

Group: Beat him!

After a while, Sora managed to free Donald and Goofy and the three continued their fight against Ansem together. Sora then delivers the final blow.

[End Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX -Guardando Nel Buio- Extended [Redux]]

And after that, the group sees Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Ansem floating on opposite ends.

[Play Kingdom Hearts 1.5 OST Beyond The Door]

Ansem: it is futile. The Keyblade alone cannot seal the door to darkness.

Ansem turns to the door and reaches out his right arm towards it.

Ansem: Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness...

The group could only watch silently as the door opened and darkness seethed out.

Ansem: Supreme darkness...

Sora: You're wrong. I know now, without a doubt. Kingdom Hearts... is light!

Immediately after, the light of Kingdom Hearts shines out of the door and hits Ansem in full force.

Ansem: *groaning in pain* Light... But... Why?

The force of Kingdom Hearts' light increased even more as Ansem became completely engulfed by it, ultimately destroying him. As the light subsides, the group can clearly see Ansem, nowhere to be seen. And so, they cheered for his defeat, and Naminé smiled as they did. The memory continues with Sora, Donald, and Goofy running towards the door.

[End Kingdom Hearts 1.5 OST Beyond The Door]

Sora: Come on!

Goofy looked to the other side of the door and was surprised. Donald notices and yells.

Donald: Stop staring and keep pushing!

He then looked to see what Goofy was seeing and became surprised.

Donald: Huh?!

Surprise turned shocked when they saw several thousand Heartless lies waiting behind the door.

Donald/Goofy: The Heartless!

Donald: Hurry!

Sora: I can't...

Just as they struggled, a hand suddenly appeared from the other side.

?: Don't give up!

Sora looked up and was surprised to see who it was.

Riku: Come on, Sora! Together, we can do it!

Sora: Ok!

Luz and the others were surprised to see Riku again, seemingly back to normal.

Group: Riku!

Luz: He's back to normal!

Amity: Ansem's defeat must've freed Riku from his possession.

As Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Riku try to close the door, two Darksides appear and approach them. The group gasped.

Gus: Darksides!

Willow: Don't tell me they have to fight them off?

Donald: It's hopeless!

Just as the situation seemed to have gotten worse, the Darksides were suddenly destroyed. The group was surprised and wondered how they could have been destroyed. But, before they could speculate, a small figure backflips onto the scene, and a golden light starts emitting from the figure.

Donald/Goofy: Your majesty!

The group gasped in surprise.

Gus/Amity: Majesty?

Luz/Willow: King Mickey!

Eda: That's the king? Huh. Smaller than I thought.

Naminé: *giggles* Don't let his stature fool you. He may be small, but his power is incredible. Behold.

The group watches as King Mickey holds up a Keyblade of his own and calls out to Sora as his voice echoes.

[Play Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX OST - Always on My Mind]

King Mickey: Now, Sora! Let's close this door for good!

The group became even more surprised when they saw him having a keyblade of his own.

Donald: Close it, quick!

Sora: But...

King Mickey: Don't worry. There will always be a door to the light.

Goofy: Sora, you can trust King Mickey.

Riku: *turns around to King Mickey* Now, they're coming!

King Mickey turns his head towards the door with a smile.

King Mickey: Donald, Goofy, thank you.

As Sora, Donald and Goofy began closing the door, Riku turned to Sora with a sad smile.

Riku: Take care of her.

Sora looks back at Riku and nods.

The group noticed that and instantly knew Riku was talking about Kairi. The door was closed, and Sora jumped back and summoned his Keyblade. He and King Mickey simultaneously used their Keyblade's magic to lock the door, causing it to disappear in a grand flash of light. After that, Donald and Goofy stood there, sad to see King Mickey gone for the time being, while Sora stood there as well, as memories of him and Riku flashed through his mind. From the time they were young, sitting on the Paopu tree, to Riku playfully head locking Sora, giving him a noogie, to he, Riku, and Kairi running around on the shores of Destiny Islands. The group stood there, feeling sympathy for Sora. Not just for witnessing everything Sora had gone through on this journey, but the idea of having to be forced to separate from a friend would definitely be a hard thing to go through. Especially for two certain witchlings. Willow and Amity looked at each other with sadness. However, they both understood that their relationship was still strained. Even with Amity starting to make amends by fixing her memories with Luz, they both can't deny that their history is nothing compared to Sora and Riku's. Unlike them, Willow and Amity had never experienced being possessed by a dark wizard and forced to fight each other in an "almost to the death" scenario. As they both looked back at the memory, they quickly glanced at one another. Deep down, a small part of them both thought and hoped to be friends again soon. Luz and Eda took a step forward and felt like tearing up again. Seeing Sora, who they see as a great kid with a great heart, goes through all. And what's worse is that this is only the beginning. The group continues to watch the memory play out, and they see Sora turning around to see Luz (that being Kairi). Sora runs towards her as Donald wants to follow but is stopped by Goofy. Sora then met her there and noticed that Luz was standing on sand, meaning that she was on Destiny Islands.

Sora: Luz!

Luz(Kairi): Sora!

The ground suddenly rumbled and started to split apart. Sora and Luz held each other's hands.

Sora: Luz, Remember what you said before? I'm always with you, too. I'll come back to you, I promise!

Luz(Kairi): I know you will!

Sora and Luz separate as the ground split completely apart. The two still reached out to each other as they separated even further by the distance. The memory ends there, and the group just stood there in silence.

[End Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX OST - Always on My Mind]

(NOTE: *Phew* And that takes care of the Kindom Hearts 1 portion of this Memory Arc. The events of Kingdom Hearts 2 are next and I hope ya'll enjoyed this portion and are looking forward to the next one. That being said, I have an important announcement to make. Expect uploads to come out later than usual. circumstances in my life are getting complicated and it's gonna keep me busy a lot. Unfortunate, I know, but don't fret. I'm planning on seeing this fanfic through to the end and I ain't stopping till I'm dead. In any case, I'm gonna go write out the next chapter as much as I can. Until then, Byyyeeeeeee!)