Sora, Donald, and Goofy enter another white hall. Goofy wonders if they may have gotten turned around and ended up at the beginning.
"You- They didn't, right?" Kairi asked, the question originally being posed to Sora before she remembered that he didn't have any memories of this time.
"No, there are… intermediates, between each floor," Axel replied. "They just happen to all look the same."
Sora says it looks a little different and Donald asks if he's sure.
Axel shook his head slightly. How Sora could tell the difference between the rooms, he didn't know. When he had been there, he had never been able to tell a single difference between each room besides the things inside them.
The cloaked man from before appears and asks if they enjoyed meeting the shadows of Sora's memories. Sora says yes and that it was nice to see everyone again.
Kairi and Riku both smiled a little at that. Of course, Sora still enjoyed seeing everyone, even if they were just his memories.
Sora asks what the man wants from him, and the cloaked man asks what he has to give. He walks forward and Sora summons his Keyblade, the two of them being interrupted when another person appears with a greeting.
Axel clicked his tongue, seeing his past self appear in a blaze of darkness. "Ah," he muttered quietly, leaning backwards on the couch and bracing his temple with one of his hands. Both Roxas's and Xion's eyes widened in surprise as their friend appeared. They knew he had been at Castle Oblivion, they had been away of his mission, but… it was different seeing it themselves.
"Axel?" Sora questioned, turning to give the man a look, not being the only one to do so, and Axel rolled his eyes slightly.
"What? You knew I was a part of the Organization," he answered, shrugging a single shoulder. "Is it so surprising that I would be there? And I had knowledge of the Castle."
"Still…" Sora murmured but didn't say anything. Aqua eyed the screen with distrust. She didn't distrust the Axel that was sitting on the couch across from her. Who's two kids clearly cared about him deeply and he had shown care and worry for the others in the room. She did distrust the version on him onscreen, who looked so… casual, though that was a bad term for it. She ran her tongue over her teeth as she thought. What had happened that turned him from the man onscreen to the one sitting near them, who was apparently dead in the outside world.
The cloaked man asks what Axel wants and Axel scolds him not to hog the hero.
Axel chuckled slightly. As much as he hated Castle Oblivion and everything that had happened in it the few times he had been there, he missed annoying Marluxia. He knew the other Nobody wouldn't truly do anything against him until he had firmly shown that he was not on the Lord of the Castle's side, and it was easy to just dismiss his needling as just a personality trait of his. Those repeated actions were so reminiscent of what he would do as a child that he could almost feel the echo of the emotion that it used to bring.
Sora questions if they're working together and the man tosses Axel a card, wondering if he would like to test him. Axel replies maybe he does.
"Axel, you aren't going to… hurt Sora, right?" Kairi asked, voice unsure. She didn't… She knew that Axel was going to. Axel had literally kidnapped her in order to draw Sora to his death to get Roxas back and he clearly had no qualms about it. So, this past version of him probably had those same beliefs and principles. Or lack of them.
But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a sense of… wrongness, when she thought about Axel hurting Sora. Like, it wasn't something that should have been conceivable. She had seen how caring he had been with Roxas and Xion, and there was a part of her that, as much as she wanted to stay away from him because he had kidnapped her, there was a small part of her that… trusted him. She rubbed her hands together slightly. She didn't know where that part of her came from. She was sure that it hadn't been there yesterday.
"I didn't intend to," Axel replied firmly, giving her a sincere look. "Even if it may seem so, especially with what you're going to see, I never wanted to hurt Sora. I was… worried about what it may do to Roxas. Take that as you will." Roxas turned to look at his friend in surprise. Axel was willing to go against the Organization's orders for him? But… he hadn't ever before. Where had this been when he had tracked down and captured Xion, when he had lied to him?
The other man disappeared in a shadow corridor and Axel says it's his show now, calling Sora a Keyblade Master.
Both Aqua and Terra winced slightly at the misuse of terminology but didn't say anything. It wasn't anyone's fault that they didn't know the in and outs of Keyblade Wielder Culture. There hadn't been many of them anyways and their traditions were kept within the group. Or at least, that's what the books said. They hadn't ever met another Keyblade Wielder before Sora and Riku now besides those they interacted with ten years prior. The records stated that there used to be hundreds of them, but they had been on a steady decline for decades. Perhaps now was a chance to build up those ranks again.
Axel had seen their winces. "Sorry," he apologized haltingly, as he really didn't know if they would want his apology, and Aqua waved it off with a hand.
"It's fine," she replied. "You couldn't have known."
Sora asks who he is, and Axel introduces himself, telling Sora to 'get it memorized'.
The familiar phrase drifted through Ven's mind, remembering the day in the plaza where he had met the two boys, just about a week ago now. Or it would have been a week ago to him. But to them, and he still didn't know what had happened to the other, it had been ten years. Ten years and now Lea was older than him, a fighter in his own right. Ven mulled over the thoughts in his head and against his will, his eyes drifted to Roxas. Had Lea… recognized Roxas? Had recognized Ven in a way? Or had it truly been a coincidence, that he would become friends with two boys with the same face.
Sora, visibly confused, says sure and Axel compliments him, calling him a quick learner. He says now that they're getting to know each other better, Sora shouldn't go and die on him, and summons his chakrams.
"Axel!" Xion yelped, twisting to stare at her friend. "What happened to, 'I'm not intending to hurt Sora'?" Axel winced slightly.
"I wasn't trying to hurt him, just test him," Axel explained with a hand wave, feeling Xion's glare on him along with a few others. "Plus, it's what Marluxia would have expected me to do, so I did."
"Testing through fighting?" Aqua questioned and Axel shrugged again.
"Again, wasn't trying to hurt him permanently." Kairi's hands tightened on Sora, worry building in her stomach. She knew that Axel wasn't trying to hurt Sora, but at that same time… She had seen him fight before. She had witnessed the confrontation between him and Saix and while it had ended with Axel's loss, she had seen his confidence in battle. He was a good fighter and Sora had lost most of his abilities. She swallowed slightly but tried to relax. She had to trust that Axel hadn't actually been trying to hurt her friend… as hard as that was.
Ven blinked at the chakrams. Sure, they were a lot more deadly now but… He couldn't help the small smile that snuck onto his face. Lea really hadn't let go of those frisbees of his, had he?
Axel summons flames to surround the trio and himself and the fight starts. Axel takes care of Donald and Goofy quickly, causing him and Sora to clash.
Several people grimaced as the fight started. They had gotten a little used to no real fights for the past couple of watchings, the only main one being the huge Heartless that Sora had already defeated three times, so it wasn't as nerve-wracking. And even with Axel's assurance that he hadn't meant to hurt Sora, it was still worrying to watch. Sora could feel both of his friends' hands on him.
Axel didn't allow his face to change, nor his posture, but he was extremely aware of Xion and Roxas on either side of him. How would they react to this? To what he did later, to Vexen, Zexion, or even Naminé? He didn't… He couldn't lose their friendship again.
The two of them fight for a while before Axel vanishes under one of Sora's strikes, causing the room to go back to normal.
Despite everything that he knew had to happen after this, and thus Axel still had to be around, Roxas felt his breath catch in his throat. He still remembered, before fading fully into Sora's heart, seeing out through his eyes. Seeing Axel fade beneath Sora's gaze, vanishing back into the darkness they came from.
"Roxas?" Axel questioned quietly as the boy leaned deeper into his side and Roxas simply shook his head once. Axel was alright, he had survived this. He ignored the way he had thought Axel hadn't for those few, terrible weeks.
Sora looks around for Axel but sees a set of cards hovering in the air before him. He reaches out and grabs them.
"More worlds?" Terra murmured.
Donald and Goofy recognize the worlds on the cards and Jiminy says that they look like the card Sora used to create Traverse Town. Sora guesses that they're supposed to use them to continue on and Axel says he's right, appearing next to the stairs to the next door.
Roxas blew out a slow breath in relief as his friend appeared again. On the other side of Axel, Xion did the same thing.
Axel asks if they really thought he'd give up so easily after an introduction like that and Sora realizes that he was testing them. Axel congratulates them and says they're now ready to take on Castle Oblivion.
Naminé looked down at her hands, curling them into fists. 'Take on Castle Oblivion', more like 'Take on Naminé'.
"You will need to follow your memories. Trust what you remember and seek what you forget. Then, you'll find someone very special."
"I would like to point out," Axel interjected. "That I'm lying here."
"You are?" Sora asked and Axel nodded.
"Mhm, part of Marluxia's plan and all that." He waved a single hand dismissively, but he kept a gentle eye on Naminé, seeing the way she had gone tense. He wasn't going to say anything else, not until Naminé did.
Sora pressed his lips together, looking back at his past self onscreen. Naminé said she had fixed his memories, and it was clear that he had forgotten things, but why? Aqua didn't seem to think that the Castle was stripping away his memories and Naminé had already admitted that it was her who drew them to the Castle and pocked away their abilities but… What else had she done? What had been so damaging that he had to sleep for a year?
Goofy asks if Axel is talking about the King and Riku and Axel says that they'll have to give it some thought about who's most important to them.
It doesn't matter, Naminé thought, Axel's speech not as strange to her as it was to the others. Even as I was pulling Riku and Kairi from Sora's memories, he still held onto them with such strength. I nearly erased Kairi completely and pulled all emphasis of Riku from True Memories and yet… He still reached for them. He loves them deeply and nothing I could do would truly change that.
Sora frowned, trying to think over Axel's words. He was clearly being purposely vague. Were they, and he meant his past self and Donald and Goofy, meant to believe that there was someone else they knew in the Castle? He looked over to the girl sitting in one of the chairs. Was Axel… referring to Naminé? She was the only other one here who had clearly been in the Castle and she had already pulled on his memories once but…
He bit one of his lips and leaned deeper into Riku's side, seeking comfort. He hated not having any memories of this, because that would no doubt make all this figuring out much easier.
"Our most precious memories lie so deep within our hearts that they're out of reach."
Naminé couldn't help herself. "That, Axel isn't lying about," she said softly. "Though they are technically called True Memories."
"'True Memories'?" Ven questioned, turning to look at the girl slightly. "What do you mean?"
"There are some memories… that are so special to a person, that they're locked deep in one's heart," Naminé said gently, trying to figure out how to say it in terms that the others would understand. Because while it made perfect sense to her, that was mostly because she had seen and felt and manipulated those memories before. She could see their impact on the heart. "They might be interactions with a person, a place or home, or even an event. They… shape us." She looked down at her hands. "And they're near impossible for me to manipulate because doing that is one, really hard, and two, if a True Memory is changed, so is that person. So… fundamentally. Even if they don't consciously remember that memory, as not a lot of people remember True Memories, they still shape a person."
She had seen it, over and over again. Marluxia, though his memories were gone, was still shaped by the echoes of his True Memories. She hadn't ever really tried to get into them, too scared that he would sense her somehow, but she had seen flickers. Of younger siblings, of a black-haired boy, and a place doused in the sun. There were more, but she hadn't gotten close. Larxene was also shaped by these memories, as terrible as she was. A young brunette girl in a white dress, pouring rain and lightning splitting the sky.
And she had seen it with Sora. Even with all the energy it had taken, the second she had managed to snap that True Memory into being between her and Sora instead of Riku and Sora, all the love and devotion that Sora'd had to Riku throughout their entire lives was devoted to her, even if Sora himself hadn't fully realized yet and it took a while for it to fully shift into place. That True Memory built their friendship and even if she had changed pieces of it, she hadn't been able to actually change the charm given between the two, she just couldn't do that much to Sora, that was enough to fully change him.
And with the… Riku Replica, she had manipulated his True Memory to also contain her and him and instead of him and Sora. And just like with Sora, all his devotion had gone to her. She flinched as she thought of him, digging her nails into her palms. She had no right, no right at all to still care for him, not after everything she had done to him, but… she couldn't help it.
"And everyone has True Memories?" Kairi asked and Naminé nodded.
Ven sat back with a thump, thoughts spinning through his mind. True Memories, that even if forgotten still remain. He bit the inside of his mouth. Do I… have those? The first twelve years of his life were still shrouded in mystery, in a fog he couldn't escape, and he assumed Vanitas was the same. Do I have True Memories from that time? Do they still shape me, even now?
Axel says he's sure Sora can find his though and Sora asks why him.
Because you're a Keyblade Wielder, Naminé thought. Because Marluxia wanted it.
"You've lost sight of the light within the darkness. And it seems that you've forgotten what you forgot."
Sora rubbed his temples slightly, trying to not let onscreen Axel's words bother him too much. Honestly, it was confusing enough hearing it right now and they had people telling them what was actually right and wrong. His past self didn't have any of that.
Naminé shot a glance towards Riku at Axel's words. Well, he hasn't lost sight of his light quite yet, she thought, biting down on her tongue. I'll take it in a second but… She shook herself slightly.
"Wow Axel, and here I thought you couldn't get more confusing," Roxas snarked, thinking back to his meeting with Axel in the Data Twilight Town. "Seems it's just a trait of yours." Axel huffed in feigned outrage.
When Sora thinks it over, Axel asks if he wants a hint. Goofy wonders if he needs one and Sora says that he can figure it out on his own.
Kairi gave Sora a smile, which the boy returned shakily. Was it possible for him to figure it out on his own? He had clearly failed, what with his year long sleep and all, but…
Axel tells him good answer and says it's just what he'd expect from a Keyblade master.
"Thinking of me?" Roxas asked, flashing his friend a grin and Axel laughed quietly.
"Of course," he responded. "You've never needed help for anything. Except in that first week, when you were a zombie."
Roxas elbowed him in the side.
"But be forewarned… when your sleeping memories awaken, you may no longer be who you are now." Sora asks what that means but Axel vanishes into darkness.
"True Memories?" Sora asked, for confirmation, and Naminé nodded.
Donald asks if Sora has any sleeping memories and Sora says he doesn't know but asks if Donald remembers everything since he was born. Donald says of course not and that no one remembers what happened when they were really little.
Some of us more than others, was the thought that went through Vanitas's, Ven's, and Kairi's heads. While Kairi's memories were balancing on the line between normal and not normal, both Ven and Vanitas's memories were pretty clearly missing, not just forgotten with time.
Jiminy says that Axel's words worry him and wonders what he means when he said that 'Sora would no longer be who he was'. Sora says he'll always be himself and asks how he could be anyone else.
Sora frowned at his past self. It was probably just the fact that he had more knowledge than his past self, but to him it was clear that Axel meant he would change as a person. Not actually changing into another thing.
Jiminy says they can't be too careful and Goofy says that it seems like anything can happen there, stumbling over Castle Oblivion's name. Donald says the name and Goofy agrees.
Naminé blew out a breath, squeezing her eyes together. Already, pulling away little things. Adding a gentle fog to Donald and Goofy's memories in order for them not to question too deeply what was going on with Sora.
Sora says that they'll be okay and whatever happens, they'll handle it together.
Naminé winced again.
As they started towards the next door, Goofy asks if they explored another creepy castle together, one with a bunch of contraptions. Sora asks when that was.
"Are they… talking about Hollow Bastion?" Kairi asked, eyes widening as it was clear that Sora didn't remember. Hollow Bastion had happened maybe a week earlier and a lot had happened in the place. And now, Sora couldn't remember it. Just like that.
"I think so," Sora replied, staring wide eyed at the screen. Watching himself forget something, something that should be abundantly clear in their minds, was scary. Not just scary, btu terrifying.
"You really are forgetting things," Vanitas muttered, giving the screen a side eye. And so soon as well.
Donald wonders what it was called and Goofy tries to remember but can't get the name. Sora asks if Goofy's sure he's not making it up.
"I'm sorry," Naminé whispered out, looking down at her hands, unable to bring her gaze up to look at anyone in the room.
"…It's okay, Naminé," Sora said after a second, giving her a soft look, trying to push away the panic that had swept through him as he watched himself forget. It hadn't been Naminé's fault, the others, the ones who had been there, had said that she had been forced into it. How could they blame her for that?
Goofy says he doesn't think so and Sora simply turns and looks at the next door, choosing another one of the cards and holding it up. The door glows and the three of them step through.
Roxas groaned slightly as he recognized Wonderland and Xion huffed. Sora rubbed one of his temples.
The three of them look around, seeing a forest full of giant lily pads, and Goofy recognizes this as the place where flowers can talk.
"Flowers talking is the least crazy thing about that place," Roxas muttered, dragging a hand down his face. Hopefully they don't run into that damned cat.
Goofy hears someone coming and the White Rabit runs past them, worrying about being late. Sora realizes they've seen him before.
"I wonder how much of this will be the same as when Sora actually went to Wonderland," Aqua mused, thinking. Traverse Town had been very similar, but a little different. Maybe this world would be the same.
The White Rabbit says that the Queen will roast him for dinner and if he's late for the trial, it'll be off with his head next.
"Another trial?" Xion questioned with a roll of her eyes.
"It'll probably be the same trial as before," Terra said, having heard Aqua's wonderings. "This is based off of Sora's memories and he only visited this place once."
Sora questions what he means by 'off with his head' but the Rabbit runs off. Sora wonders if something like that happened last time as well, saying that the White Rabbit felt familiar, like they had seen him before.
Sora shivered slightly as it was clear he was forgetting already. Wonderland had been the first world they had gone to, true, so it was the furthest back in his brain, but he shouldn't be questioning all of that, not really. Not unless he was already losing his memory. He leaned on Riku's side, seeking comfort. One of Riku's arms hesitantly wrapped around him in a half hug and Sora smiled softly. Riku gave him a concerned look.
Donald says they would sure find out if they followed him and Goofy muses that for such a peaceful looking place, it sure is dangerous. Several Heartless then appear, with Donald remarking that it doesn't really look that peaceful either, and the three of them fight the Heartless off.
Several of them, who were trying to figure out the rules of Castle Oblivion, saw that Donald and Goofy didn't disappear this fight. Was it just for important fights?
They head through the forest, ending up in well kept garden. They look around a corner, seeing a trial taking place.
Xion simply sighed slightly, realizing that she was right. Of course, Terra was right as well, as this was based off of Sora's memories and he had seen a trial the last time he was there.
The Queen of Hearts asks if Alice understands the charges, revealing Alice on trial. Donald recognizes her and Alice says she does not understand and says she's done nothing wrong.
Which seems to be a common theme when the Queen puts someone on trial, Mickey thought, watching the kids out of the corner of his eye. It was clear that watching the events of the past was putting some sort of strain on Sora but Riku was helping him. Still, they should keep a close eye on him, just to be safe. They hadn't done the same with Riku and look what had happened.
The Queen of Hearts says she's feigning ignorance and that she's been charged with aiding the creatures called Heartless which threaten the world.
"I don't think the Heartless even look for aid," Kairi hummed, rolling her eyes slightly at the Queen's outrageous conclusion. "They would much rather attack Alice."
"I wonder…" Ven rolled the question beneath his teeth. "We all agree that the Queen is insane, but I wonder if what happened, in the real world, was that Alice was caught in the same area of the Heartless. She's a Princess of Heart, so the Heartless wouldn't attack her like they do everyone else. Maybe the Queen saw that and immediately assume that she must be working with them." He shook his head. "Which, still insane, but perhaps there's a reason behind it?"
Several of the watchers blinked. Kairi nodded. "That would happen," she murmured, remembering her own interactions with the Heartless.
"Still insane though," Roxas said with a wave of his hand and Ven nodded.
"Of course," he replied. "But just… perhaps a reason."
Alice asks where the evidence is and the Queen says the evidence is that she forgot and that's evidence because Alice is the one who stole her memory.
"I take it back," Ven said drily. "There can't be a single, possible reason for that."
"Huh, the Queen lost her memory," Aqua thought aloud. "So, it's a little different from before and seems more…" Influenced by what is happening in the real world, she finished in her mind. She gave Sora, then Naminé, a look. They said that the worlds are created by Sora's memories but if he can't really remember, either the floors are creating these things or Sora unconsciously is. Perhaps his mind is trying to find an answer to what's happening to him through the worlds.
Donald says that it's crazy and asks how the Queen forgetting can be evidence. The White Rabbit says that they can't rid the Kingdom of Heartless until they get the Queen's memory back and says that it's a serious crime.
Under normal circumstances, it probably would be. Unfortunately, all of them were thoroughly past the point where they cared about the Queen of Hearts.
Alice says that it's unfair and just because she can't remember things isn't a reason to blame it on Alice. The Queen says she's speaking to the Queen of Hearts and had Alice simply returned the memory with an apology she would have just let her go.
Absolutely none of them believed her.
The Queen says that the court has reached a verdict and says off with Alice's head. Sora rushes forward.
"Sora," Kairi groaned out, placing a hand on the side of her head. "Really?"
"What? Do you think I would just stand there and do nothing?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Even if he didn't remember this, he had a feeling this was what his past self was going to do. He couldn't just stand there and let Alice die for something that clearly wasn't her fault. She was what, twelve? How could she have possible done anything wrong?
Sora says that the Queen should investigate before simply arresting innocent people and Queen asks how dare he suggest that Alice didn't steal her memory. She says he must know the true culprit then and Sora hesitates.
"Why are you hesitating?" Vanitas asked with a drawl, balancing his head on one of his hands, propped up on his elbow. "Shouldn't it be obvious? The Heartless?"
"The Heartless have never stolen memory before," Sora refuted, shrugging a shoulder. "Plus, I think my past self is dealing with enough already."
"Then maybe you shouldn't have run into the courtroom," Kairi muttered, rubbing one of her temples.
The Queen of Hearts says he should speak or it's off with all their heads and Sora says that he's the thief.
Kairi facepalmed.
"Sora." Riku's tone was reproachful, and Sora grimaced slightly, twisting to look at Riku.
"What? What my past self is doing makes sense," he responded. "I can fight off her card soldiers. Alice can't."
"Still not a great reason to throw yourself into the fire," Aqua said gently, gazing at the boy in slight concern. It seemed that even with his memory being messed with, he still held the same self-sacrificing nature that he'd had before all this.
"Plus, you're missing some abilities," Xion continued, worry for the boy going through her. Or what could be mistaken for worry. She didn't have a heart after all. "You might not be able to take them down."
"Hey, don't forget, Wonderland was the first world I went to in the real world as well," Sora said, sitting up slightly. "I defeated her card soldiers when I didn't have that much practice with the Keyblade then, so I'm probably around the same power level now as I was then. I'll bet I'll be fine."
The Queen is shocked and Goofy asks really. Sora tells Goofy of course not but what else is he supposed to say.
"The Heartless?" Ven offered, but Sora simply shook his head.
"If the Queen had a 'culprit' right in front of her, she may let Alice go," he countered. "This is better."
'This' is putting yourself in more unnecessary danger, Aqua thought, lacing her fingers together. A bad habit to have.
Sora tells Alice to run for it while the Queen orders her card soldiers to attack them. They face down the card soldiers as Alice escapes.
Sora relaxed slightly once Alice was out of danger. At least this time she wasn't trapped in a cage.
As they're fighting, Donald says that this is all because Sora had to go and say something screwy. Sora says that it was the only thing he could think of and Donald says that Sora shouldn't have lied.
"I think, in these circumstances, it can be ignored," Roxas said, and Mickey laughed slightly.
"Donald's parental side is coming out," he hummed, suppressing a smile. He had seen it, he had been there as Donald raised his three nephews. He could be a surprisingly tight mother hen when he needed to be. "His nephews often got into a lot of trouble when they were younger. Donald had to wrangle them often. You probably remind him of them." The last sentence was aimed at Sora, who smiled slightly.
Sora says if he hadn't lied, Alice would have lost her head and Goofy reminds them that this isn't a time to be fighting. Sora and Donald stop and instead focus on the card soldiers.
Sora couldn't help the small smile that painted itself on his lips when he saw himself, Donald, and Goofy. They really were some of his closest friends and they had certainly got past the phase of always actually fighting with each other. Even now, he could tell that wasn't a true fight, just a quick disagreement. And all friends were allowed to have those.
They defeat all the card soldiers and Donald wonders where Alice is. Sora says she must have escaped.
Sora nodded once. Good. She shouldn't be anywhere near the trial until they could convince the Queen of Hearts that it hadn't been Alice who stole her memory.
The Queen says that Alice might have escaped but they won't and summons more card soldiers. Sora and the others flee out of the garden.
Riku and Kairi both relaxed slightly once Sora was out of the courtroom. They knew he probably wouldn't get hurt that badly, but it was still better than him remaining there.
They end up back in the lily pad forest, looking around to see if any of the card soldiers followed them. Goofy says that this kind of thing happened before, with Sora being confused.
"Kinda?" Sora answered, shrugging a shoulder. "We didn't have to flee the courtroom and Alice got caught, but there was a trial." Riku froze slightly, remembering what had happened to Alice and Sora leaned deeper into his embrace, looking up at the older boy, guessing what was going through his mind. "Not your fault."
"I know," Riku replied softly, trying to will his blush away as Sora grasped onto one of his hands.
Donald says they didn't have to hide before, and Sora says they need to find Alice. Goofy says that Alice helped them at the castle and Sora asks what castle.
Naminé flinched and her nails bit into her palm.
Goofy pauses, mentioning the princesses, but Donald says that Alice isn't a princess. Goofy mentions that it was different, and he says that Jasmine and Belle were there as well.
Sora breathed deeply through his nose, tracing Riku's palm in a way to try and keep his breath even. Why was this bothering him so much? This had been fixed and it wasn't like it really hurt him. Or, didn't hurt him physically, he could guess.
Sora says that they won't forget any of them and Donald says that there were other princesses there as well. Sora lists them and says long with Kairi there were seven princess so Alice must have been a princess as well, though he sounds confused.
Both Axel and Riku shot Naminé concerned looks. They could see the way this was hurting her.
Goofy says there must have been a castle, but Sora disagrees with that. Goofy wonders if he might have made it up.
"No, you didn't," Sora muttered, eyes falling from the screen to the hand he was holding. Hollow Bastion was firmly ingrained in his mind, along with everything that had happened there. How could he forget it?
Sora says never mind and that they have to find Alice before the Heartless do. They run through the forest until they find Alice.
Kairi sighed in relief when she saw that Alice was okay. She knew it wasn't really Alice, just a memory of her, but she was still glad all the same. Alice had been nothing but nice to her during the few minutes they had been near each other, and she certainly didn't deserve constantly having the Queen of Hearts after her.
Sora says that things got a little crazy back there but he's glad she's safe. Alice says she doesn't mean to sound ungrateful but asks if he's actually the thief.
Kairi snickered. "Sora couldn't steal anything if his life depended on it," she giggled. "And he's a terrible liar."
"Hey!" Sora exclaimed, looking over at her, and she simply shrugged.
"What? I'm not wrong. Even then, in the courtroom, you were clearly just making that up." Sora rolled his eyes good-naturedly, wrinkling his nose at her.
Sora says he's not and asks why would he steal the Queen's memory. Goofy says he only said that to save Alice, but he's cut off by Donald who says that Sora wanted to show off. Sora protests.
Riku gave the screen, or specifically Donald, a look. Please, Sora almost never wanted to show off. The closest thing Riku could think of was when Sora would insist over and over to spar with Riku, saying every time that this was finally 'going to be the one where he beat Riku'. Other than that, he couldn't really think of anything. Besides perhaps the Olympus Coliseum.
Alice says he saved her all the same and thanks him, calling him by his name. Sora questions her knowledge of it, causing her confusion as she says that they've never met.
"Just like Leon and the others," Mickey mused, tapping one of his fingers against his cheeks.
Donald asks if she remembers his name and she does, along with Goofy's. Alice guesses that maybe it's because Wonderland is such a strange place.
"Well, they're in a strange place," Axel muttered. "Just not Wonderland specific."
A floating cat's head suddenly appears on a rock near them.
This time, none of them were really shocked by the cat's appearance. Most of them were expecting it. Still…
"Wonderful, the cat's here," Roxas grumbled with an eyeroll. He muttered something under his breath and Xion laughed quietly, pressing a hand to her mouth to stifle the sounds.
The Chesire Cat asks if they're feeling better after the mad dash and Alice recognizes him. The Chesire Cat says that they're having quite a time before stopping and wondering if instead they're out of time.
Roxas rubbed his temples, grumbling. Honestly, if he ever went back to Wonderland, it would be too soon.
The Chesire Cat says that the Queen is a stickler for justice and she won't forget until she remembers and won't stop hounding them until they get her memory back.
"Honestly, the Chesire Cat belongs in a place like the Castle," Ven said with a chuckle. "After all, he's talking a lot like you and the other man did." Axel huffed, slightly offended.
The Chesire Cat continues to spot riddles while Sora says that they should just stay away from her. Jiminy brings up that if the Queen catches Alice, she'll try to take her head and Sora says they have to do something about the Queen then.
"Did you forget that they're memories?" Vanitas asked, tipping his head to the side slightly and giving Sora what could generously be called a confused look. Though it really was more condescending. "You leave, and they just vanish. No muss, no fuss. You're the only reason the 'Queen' is still chasing 'Alice' around."
Sora bit his lip. "Even if they're just memories, I still have to do something, don't I?"
"No," Vanitas answered bluntly and Sora looked away.
The Chesire Cat says they should do something but they might not have to do anything and Sora is confused. "If you can't remember something, it's like it never happened."
Xion flinched, badly, and nearly fell into Axel's side. If you can't remember something, it's like it never happened. Like their friendship, like her existence. Those last minutes, before she vanished in Roxas's arms played out in front of her mind. She could see herself vanishing from Roxas's thoughts, until it was only him and Axel together, eating ice cream, fighting Heartless. It's like it never happened. She never happened, not in any meaningful way. Nothing that would be remembered.
"Xion?" Axel questioned, twisting to look down at her, and she screwed up her face slightly, trying to push away the tears that she could feel building up in the back of her eyes. Like it never happened.
"It's fine," she whispered out, pushing herself off of Axel's side and sitting back up straight. She didn't rub her arm across her face, as much as she wanted to. Why was this bothering her so much? It wasn't like she had a heart to feel remorse. "I'm fine." Axel gave her a concerned look, clearly doubting that very much, but he looked away after a second.
Can't push her too hard, Axel thought. After what you did, she's allowed to never confide in you again.
"Likewise, if something never happened, you can't remember it. Try too hard to remember and you memory might lie to you."
Naminé thought back to the final few floors of the Castle, where their storylines were almost completely made up from Sora's fracturing memories. Accurate, I suppose, she thought, remembering the changes she had made. Sora had filled some of the gaps on his own after she changed things, trying so hard to make sense of it.
The Chesire Cat says that's all he can say and that the rest is for Sora to figure out. He then vanishes.
"No that's all you want to say," Roxas muttered with another eyeroll. Honestly, the cat got on his nerves so bad. He shot another glance towards Xion. He had a feeling he knew why she had freaked out at the cat's line, but… He couldn't bring himself to say, to remember that horrible day where he had shoved a Keyblade through her heart and watched as his memories of her flaked off of him like snow. He remembered them now, ever since seeing her when he awoke, but he could also remember not remembering her. He shivered and bit the inside of his mouth. It was a feeling he never wanted to repeat. Living without her had been one of the worst things.
Goofy says that the Chesire Cat says such funny things. Alice says it made a little bit of sense though.
Roxas made a noise of derision.
Vanitas rolled his eyes. "Just because you can't understand him doesn't mean that everyone else is that dense." Roxas glared at him, and Vanitas simply responded in kind. Aqua tensed, ready to intervene if Vanitas took it too far.
Sora asks what she means, and Alice says they won't know until they try. She says that they ought to try and find whoever stole the Queen's memory.
"Is it even possible to find something like that?" Ven wondered, pushing back his own feelings about it. "Like memory can be stolen, but it doesn't turn into a tangible thing to be found again, right? Usually, it can only be recovered by the person, remembering the memories they forgot." He vividly remembered gaining his own memories back. There hadn't been anything he had found, unless they counted outside prodding. But, even then, it had only been words.
The four of them head deeper into the forest, eventually starting to climb the trees.
"Why are you going up there?" Kairi asked and Sora shrugged. He didn't remember.
"Perhaps we were just striking out, hoping to find something," he answered. "What do you do when you're looking for memory?"
Alice realizes they're high up and Goofy says that the Heartless don't come up here. Alice says that there were many Heartless, around even in the forest and Goofy asks if she got hurt, with Alice responding that they don't seem interested in coming after her.
"Princess of Heart," Terra said, remembering the different explanations, and Kairi nodded once. To them, the Heartless were nothing more than ordinary bugs. Until you started fighting them, at least.
Alice spots a passageway hidden behind some bushes, and they crawl through it, falling into a familiar kitchen room. Goofy notes that they might have come here before, and Sora agrees.
"Wonderland is so weird," Kairi muttered, shaking her head as they started examining the room. How had they gotten from a forest to there of all places?
Donald asks if there's anything in the room and the door behind them suddenly flies open, revealing the Queen of Hearts and many of her soldiers. She asks if they thought they had seen the last of her.
Several people sighed in resignation. "Again?" Ven muttered. "She's back?"
The Queen tells them to give up and for stealing her memory she sentences them to, but she trails off. When she tried to start again, a weird flash ricochets around the room.
"What was that?" Aqua asked, sitting up in worry, eyes moving between the screen and Sora. But she knew Sora wouldn't know and she simply bit the inside of her lip, twisting her hands together.
Goofy wonders what's wrong with her as the Queen looks around in confusion, asking what's going on and where she is. The four she was confronting are confused as she wonders what she was doing, saying she couldn't remember.
"Did she… lose her memory again?" Xion questioned, watching the Queen warily. "Was that what just happened?"
Sora wonders what happened with her and Goofy wonders if maybe something just swiped her memory again. Alice suddenly sees something about them and warns Sora about it just as a giant, familiar Heartless descends to the ground, sending them all staggering backwards.
"It's the same Heartless from before," Sora realized, finally sitting up from Riku's side and blinking at the screen. He hadn't let go of Riku's hand however. "Just like Traverse Town!"
"So, you're probably going to be fighting the same Heartless as you did when you visited the worlds for the first time," Roxsa concluded. "Given that you remember them from then."
"Then defeating them should be easy," Sora said with a wave of his hand. "I remember how to."
"But for how long?" Vanitas asked, a smirk crossing his face. "You're losing your memory. Will you really remember how to defeat them by the time you come across them?" Sora dimmed at that, abruptly remembering what was happening to him and both Kairi and Riku leveled a glare at the boy who shared Sora's face.
Sora realizes that the Heartless is the one that stole the Queen's memory.
Huh, last time it was the Heartless that stole the Queen's heart, Aqua thought, connecting her thoughts to the ones she had earlier. While this is mostly the same story beats, if I could call them that, smaller things are changed that kind of relate to what's going on now. I wonder if that's Sora or the room?
The Queen and the card soldiers run off and Donald and Goofy turn into cards.
"Of course, they do," Riku grumbled, shifting slightly. "Right when you need them."
"Maybe they only turn into cards during the bigger fights, like against the big Heartless of each world?" Xion offered and Naminé nodded quietly, not that anyone noticed. It made sense and kept with the pattern Naminé had seen while following Sora's journey.
Sora tells Alice to go hide while he faces down the Heartless. He fights with it until he manages to destroy it, landing back on the ground as Donald and Goofy appear from the cards.
"Good job," Kairi murmured, nudging Sora with her shoulder and the boy gave her a smile in return.
"Thanks."
Alice reappears and gives Sora a hug, saying he did it. The Queen reenters the room and asks what the meaning of this is and where the Heartless came from.
Several people rolled their eyes. Of course, she wouldn't change no matter what happened.
Sora realizes that's a good question and thinks it over, not being able to remember where it came from.
Sora flinched slightly, seeing himself stumped on where the Heartless had come from. That was something he just knew. Seeing himself not know it…
The Queen takes that as him hiding something and orders her cards to seize them under the impression that they were plotting against her. Alice moves forward between them and tells the Queen that it was her who commanded them to destroy the creature.
"Smart girl," Axel murmured while both Kairi and Sora shot smiles towards the screen. Even if she was just a memory, she was how Sora remembered her, so she must have been that clever in life as well.
While Sora is confused, Alice says that the Queen didn't trust them at first so she commanded them to defeat the creature to prove themselves. She nudges Sora, saying isn't that right, and Sora agrees with her after a second.
Mickey shook his head slightly, a small smile on his face. Donald must be losing so many feathers being around the boy.
The Queen is confused, and Alice asks if she remembers. The Queen says not to be ridiculous and that she never forgets anything.
Roxas felt like his eyes were going to roll out of his head by the amount of times he had been rolling them while watching this world. Wonderland…
The Queen says of course she gave the order and that they did splendidly. She then leaves with all her card soldiers and Alice says that it was close, with Sora complimenting her improvisation, saying that he never would have thought of that.
"And if you had, you would have stuttered over the words so badly, no one would have believed you," Kairi said teasingly, and Sora stuck his tongue out at her. Kairi giggled.
Alice says that the Chesire Cat inspired her, quoting his line about making up memories if you try to remember too hard. Alice says that the Queen of Hearts would never admit that she had forgotten so she ended up making the memory up and fooling herself.
Naminé's nails dug into her palms deep enough to draw blood and she drew her knees up to her chest. She had fooled herself, trying to believe hard enough that Sora was indeed her childhood best friend who had come to rescue her, that the Replica was indeed her friend trying to protect her. Sora had fooled himself in the later floors, so desperate to find her that he had ignored all the signs around him that she wasn't real. Marluxia, in a way, had fooled himself on the belief that if he managed to get the Keyblade Wielder under his control it would be enough to soothe the ache in his memory, in his heart.
It was very easy to fool oneself, if you wanted to believe it hard enough.
A troubled look goes over Sora's face and Alice asks what is wrong. Sora brushes her off and says she'll be safe now.
Sora frowned slightly, trying to figure out what had gone through his past self's mind. Was it due to Alice's words? Or was it something else?
Goofy says that the Queen won't give them anymore trouble after they destroyed the Heartless for her. Donald asks if he was fooled as well, much to Goofy's confusion, and Alice started laughing, followed by Sora and the others.
There were snickers from around the room as well and Sora smiled at his friends. Thankful that they were still around, even as they were going through Sora's memories.
Alice guesses that they have to go and Sora says yes, turning around and seeing a normal door carefully slotted into the walls. Alice thanks them for all their help and curtseys to them, with Donald remarking that it was just like a princess.
Sora smiled, relieved that even though they were going through some brain fog, there was still pieces of their memories remaining. And hopefully their memories would come back once they were out of the world and back in the Castle proper.
Goofy says she is a princess and Alice is confused. Sora tells her not to worry and the three of them leave Alice, leaving through the door and leaving Wonderland behind.
Naminé bit her lip so hard that she tasted blood. She wanted her sketchbook to hold. How long could she keep this up? How long before Sora realized what she had done?
Axel looked over to her, familiar memories of what had to be concern rising up in his chest. Naminé almost reminded him of 'Ri in a way and it was no doubt that those memories of the concern that he once held for her were the ones that were helping him feign concern for her now. He couldn't stand seeing her worried and scared. He curled his hand into a fist. If she started being scared again, especially if the others figured out what she had done and reacted negatively, he was going to intervene. That much he swore.
Perhaps he was still an older brother at heart.
