Kingdom Hearts 4: Fractured Memories
Chapter 2: Same Island, New Faces
"Sora?" Asked Kairi with concern. "Are you okay?"
Sora's eyes widen as he realizes he's worrying Kairi. "I'm okay, Kairi. You just startled me." He said with a smile.
Kairi giggles. "That's what you get for lazing around all day."
"Hey give me a break Kairi." Said Sora as he chuckled.
"I see you are just as lazy as he is." Said another familiar voice.
Sora sees Riku, the same age he saw him last as he catches the log Riku tosses to Sora.
"I see you noticed." Said Kairi with a giggle.
"You okay Sora?" Asked Riku.
"Yeah just... slept too long." Said Sora as he pushed the log aside. 'So Riku is still 16.'
"Are you still sick?" Asked Kairi.
"Sick?" Questioned Sora. "I feel fine."
"You may be fine now, but, you were asleep for four days with an illness." Replied Riku.
'I was sick?' Thought Sora. 'Could it be that myself here was unconscious when I was in The Vortex?'
"Please don't push yourself Sora." Said Kairi. "We can wait another day to continue working on the raft."
"No, it's okay." He said with a smile again. "I'm up for it."
"Okay, if you're up for it, then let's race!" Exclaimed Kairi.
"Seriously?" Asked Riku.
"I think it's a great idea." Said Sora.
"All right! At my mark. 3, 2." Said Kairi as she started running before saying 1.
"Hey!" Shouted Sora as he and Riku ran after her as she laughed.
X
"Sorry, this is taking so long your Majesty." Said Chip as he and Dale worked on the Gummi Ship.
"No problem, Chip." Said Mickey. "A safe ship is a great ship."
"Gwarsh, I wonder if I have time to see Max before we leave?" Questioned Goofy.
"I doubt it." Said Donald. "They're just installing an extra seat."
"Not just a seat." Said Dale. "We are adding more engine power"
"We are just waiting on Gadget." Said Chip.
"Who?" Asked Donald as he tilted his head in confusion.
"That would be me." Said a female voice. The voice belonged to a mouse the size of Chip and Dale. She had sandy blonde hair, cyan eyes, and wore the royal mechanic outfit, but, the symbol was on a blue-majenta jumpsuit which had a purple belt, and she wore cyan goggles. "My name is Gadget Hackwrench. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
"Nice to meet ya Gadget, I'm Goofy, and next to me is Donald." He said as he pointed to Donald.
"Your Majesty, I thought Chip and Dale were the only ones to work on the Gummi Ships?" Questioned Donald.
"They normally are, but, Chip and Dale asked if their friend Gadget could be a royal mechanic." Explained Mickey. "And her achievements were astounding so I said yes."
"And I appreciate it, your Majesty." Said Gadget as she bowed.
"Hey, where's Monty?" Asked Dale.
"Monty?" Asked Goofy.
"Another friend of theirs." Said Mickey. "I allowed him access to the grounds as long as he's accompanied by Gadget or a royal guard."
"Knowing Monty, he probably got distracted by cheese." Said Chip with a sigh.
"Not this time fellas!" Exclaimed Monty as he held a paper in his hands. Monty was dressed in a traveler's outfit consisting of goggles, a beige jacket, and a blue sweater.
"What's that you're holding, Monty?" Asked Donald.
"Well, I was following Gadget back to the castle when I saw this strange porcupine/opossum bloke selling some stuff in town. I took a look at his wares and saw this strange page with blood on it and bought it to bring to the king." Explained Monty.
Mickey's eyes widen as he pulls out the book he was given by the mysterious keyblade wielder. "Does it look anything like these pages?" He asked as showed the pages to Monty.
"Stripe me starkers! It's just like these pages!" Said Monty as opened the page he held.
'Personal Journal 34.
'I found out today that the students that I trained are experimenting with the heart by extracting its dying light from a person who is on their death bed. I don't condone what 'covered in blood' is doing even if he's my top student... though I can't say I'm curious as to what will happen during the experiment. From what I know, they plan to make an ally with the light to help defend against the darkness. It sounds like a great idea on paper, but something about this is bothering me. The look on 'covered in blood' gave seemed rather sinister, but, 'covered in blood' was always one to be excited with matters of the heart. I know they mean well, but, I can't stop thinking about 'covered in blood' stare... maybe I'll keep a close eye on them and especially her. She always goes overboard with her ideas and when dealing with the heart it's best to be safe. Just because a heart has light, doesn't mean there's darkness.'
"Gwarsh, this is much different from what's in the book." Said Goofy.
"Goofy, it said personal journal. I don't think this was meant to be seen." Said Donald.
"Monty, you said you found this with a vendor back in the town?" Asked Mickey.
"Indeed I did, your Majesty." Answered Monty. "I can even take you there!"
Mickey nods as he turns his gaze to Gadget. "We will be back. You, Chip, and Dale keep working on the Gummi Ship."
They salute Mickey as he, Monty, Goofy, and Donald go off to town to see this mysterious vendor.
X
"And that's the list for today." Said Kairi as Sora looked like he wasn't listening. "...Sora?"
"Oh yeah, two logs, a cloth, and some rope." Said Sora as he snapped out of his thoughts.
"Good. I wanted to make sure you were paying attention." She said with a smile.
Sora then walked to the beach shore searching for the first log. "If I remember correctly, it should be around here somewhere."
"Hey, Sora!" Exclaimed a man.
'Who could that...' Thought Sora as he turned to see. 'Wakka!?'
Wakka was much older when Sora last saw him. He had to be eighteen! Not to mention his clothes were different. Wakka still had the same blue headscarf and sandals, but, he was now wearing a yellow vest top cut away at the stomach, and blue and yellow baggy trousers gathered above his ankles. He also had a dolphin necklace and a silver stud earring on his left ear.
"Yo dude, are you good?" Asked Wakka.
"Yeah, yeah, it's just been a while." Replied Sora.
"Right, you were sick for a couple of days." Said Wakka as he scratched his chin. "You must still be getting your bearings."
"Yeah, I thought helping out with the raft would be a good idea to get the blood pumping." He said with a smile.
"Ah, you guys still working on that?" Asked Wakka. "Thought you forgot about that whole going to different worlds things ages ago?"
"Come on, are you telling me that you aren't curious at all?" Questioned Sora.
"Well... maybe a little, but not enough to build a raft to go searching for them." Replied Wakka with a chuckle.
"Hey, Sora!" Shouted a familiar voice.
'That has to be Tidus.' Thought Sora as he turned and saw him with Selphie. 'And they're older as well. Selphie has to be sixteen and Tidus has to be seventeen.'
Tidus' clothes still had the same color to them, but, bigger. He wore his yellowish-white vest and wore shoes instead of sandals. He also wore black gloves.
Selphie wore a school uniform which consisted of a short-sleeved white polo shirt, a plaid sky blue tie, a pleated skirt of the same color, navy blue knee-high socks, and black shoes. She also has a small brown strap around her left wrist and a moogle bag which Sora wondered where she got it.
"Hey Tidus, Selphie!" Exclaimed Sora.
"It's good to see you out of bed Sora." Said Selphie.
"Yeah, things were boring around here without you." Said Tidus.
"Hey guys, let's go easy on him." Said Wakka. "He's still recovering."
"Really?" Asked Selphie. "Then why are you here, Sora?"
"I didn't want to sit around all day, so I came to help Riku and Kairi with the raft." Explained Sora. "And don't worry, I'm fine."
"Okay." Said Selphie in an unsure tone.
"Hey, when you're feeling better, maybe we can spare again." Said Tidus.
"I'd like that." Said Sora with a smile.
Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie then went off to do their own thing as Sora collected the logs.
"Okay, now for the rope and cloth." Said Sora as he climbed the ladder to the porch and then as he reached the top he was blinded by a sudden flash of light. 'Oh crap!' Sora almost falls but someone grabs his hand and pulls him up.
"I'm so sorry!" "Said a girl. The girl had light brown hair up to her shoulders, brown eyes, and had what Sora assumed was an orange blouse and a white shirt with her shoulders exposed, black shorts, black high-knee socks with a pair of red socks, and black shoes.
"It's okay." Said Sora as he got off the porch floor. "It was an accident."
"You got to be more careful with that camera, Yuri!" Shouted Tidus as he practiced sword stances.
"Right." Said Yuri shyly.
"Anyways, I'm Sora." He said with a smile.
"...Um, I know your name, Sora." Said Yuri as she was confused about why he would introduce himself.
"Right, sorry about that. I'm still recovering a little." Said Sora.
"Then shouldn't you be in bed?" Asked Yuri.
"I'm not feeling that bad." Said Sora. "I can still walk around."
"If you say so." Said Yuri.
"Hey Yuri, you wouldn't happen to have seen a rope up here?" Questioned Sora.
"Oh yes, I have." She said as she pointed behind her. "I'm assuming you are referring to that rope there?"
"Yeah, that's the one." Said Sora as he picked it up. "Now I just need the cloth from the treehouse."
"Oh, you might want to wait on that." Said Yuri.
"How come?" Asked Sora.
"Lulu is up there and she's not exactly happy right now." She said nervously.
"Lulu?" Asked Sora.
"...Are you sure you are alright?" Questioned Yuri.
"Yeah, uh, I just forgot what she looks like." Said Sora sheepishly.
"Well, she's up there if you want a reminder, though, I don't recommend it." Said Yuri.
"I'm sure it will be fine." Said Sora as he went to the treehouse. As he reached it a rock was thrown making Sora dodge and almost lose his balance.
"I told you I wanted to be left alone Wakka!" Shouted Lulu.
"It's not Wakka, it's Sora." He said as he peeked in.
Lulu was wearing a black t-shirt with a black fur coat around her waist which semi-covered her black shorts, she wore black sneakers, and a red necklace with a blue orb necklace. She also had hairpins in her black hair holding it together, as her red eye not covered up by a bang stared at Sora as she touched the purple lipstick on her lips. "Oh, sorry Sora." She said as she looked back at the wall.
"It's okay. Can I have that cloth there?" Asked Sora.
"Yeah, go ahead." Said Lulu.
As Sora went to grab the cloth, he stopped and sat next to Lulu.
"What are you doing?" She asked in an annoyed tone.
"I just wanted to know why you're mad at Wakka." Replied Sora.
"It's known of your business." Said Lulu with an irritated sigh.
"Come on, we're friends, right?" Asked Sora with a smile.
Lulu rolled her eyes, but, answered. "We just had a fight that's all."
"About what?" He asked as he got more comfortable.
"It's just relationship stuff, Sora." Said Lulu. "Not something you'd be familiar with."
"Well, you like Wakka right?" Questioned Sora.
"Yes." Said Lulu with a small blush.
"Surely, what he did wasn't all that bad." Said Sora.
"He asked me to marry him." Said Lulu as she turned away.
"Married!" Exclaimed Sora.
"Not so loud!" She said as she covered his mouth. "He knows I wanted to wait until I finished college, but, then he goes and proposes to me in front of everyone."
"That's akward, but, if you love each with all your heart, then you'll overcome anything." Said Sora with a smile as Lulu giggled.
"When did you get philosophical?" Asked Lulu with a grin.
"Hey, I learned some stuff." He said with a chuckle.
"...Look, I'll talk to him. I'm not saying yes to his proposal yet, but, I'll patch things up with him." Said Lulu.
"That's great." Said Sora as he stood up and grabbed the cloth. "I don't like seeing you guys fight."
"Okay, run off now, you brat." She said with a smirk.
As Sora climbed down and made his way to Kairi he pondered on his encounters. 'So everyone is older and there are new people... I feel like I'm living a lie.' He thought as he reached Kairi.
"Oh wow, you got everything fast!" Exclaimed Kairi with a smile as she handed him a hi-potion. "For your hard work."
"Thanks, Kairi." Said Sora as he accepted it. "Hey Kairi..."
"Yeah, Sora?" She asked as she tilted her head.
"Do you remember anything from where you used to live?" Asked Sora.
"Hmm... well, I sort of remember my grandma." Replied Kairi.
"Was she kind?" He asked as Kairi giggled.
"Why are you so interested?" She said with a smile.
"Just asking." Said Sora as he rubbed his neck nervously.
"Well, she was. I don't remember what she looked like, but, I think her name began with an A." Said Kairi as she tapped her chin. "Other than that, it's a blank."
Before Sora could ask anything else a large boat appeared at the docks.
"Oh, that's our ride back home." Said Kairi as she and Sora walked to the boat. "Same time, tomorrow?"
"Of course Kairi." Said Sora.
"Come on you love birds! We got to get home before dark!" Exclaimed Lulu.
"Lulu!" Shouted Kairi with a blush as she ran up on deck.
'Is our feeling for each other that obvious?' Thought Sora to himself as he got on the boat.
X
"It's right over here your Majesty." Said Monty as he pointed to a booth.
"Right." Said Mickey. "Donald, Goofy, make sure he doesn't try to escape."
"You got it, your Majesty." Said Donald and Goofy.
As they reached the booth, they could see the porcupine/opossum individual. He had grey fur like an opossum with long black quills and wore a black shirt and blue pants with an orange jacket.
"Excuse me?" Asked Mickey.
"Yeah, I'll be with you in a minute pal." He said as he was counting money.
"Hey, you can't talk to the king like that!" Exclaimed Donald.
"The king?" Asked the porcupine/opossum. "Please I heard better lies from..." Was all he said as he saw Mickey. "Y, Your Majesty! H, how can I help you today?"
"Well..." Said Mickey as he looked at a name tag on the booth that said 'Argit.' "Argit, do you recognize this?" Mickey then showed Argit the page he sold Monty.
"Never seen it before." Said Argit as he gripped his collar.
"You lying devil!" Exclaimed Monty as he hopped onto the counter. "You sold that to me an hour ago!"
"Oh, that page!" Exclaimed Argit with a nervous chuckle. "Honestly, it was so old I didn't pay any attention to it."
"Then why did you charge me a thousand munny for it!?" Exclaimed Monty.
"A thousand munny!" Exclaimed Mickey.
"That's highway robbery!" Exclaime Donald.
"Not to mention a crime." Said Goofy with a scowl.
"N, now gentleman, surely we could work something out." Said Argit nervously.
"As a matter of fact, there is." Said Mickey as he held the page to Argit. "If you tell us who gave you this I won't send you to the prison."
"I don't know." Said Argit.
"You shouldn't try to lie given your position, Argit." Said Goofy.
"No really! I don't know who that guy was!" Exclaimed Argit as he waved his hands frantically. "All I remember is that he wore a pure white cloak!"
"A white cloak?" Asked Mickey as Argit nodded.
"Gwarsh, do you remember anything else?" Questioned Goofy.
"...Well, he said something about bugs and forgot something." Said Argit as he scratched his chin.
"Did he say what he forgot?" Asked Donald.
"No, just kept saying the word forgot... though he used it like it was a name." Replied Argit.
"He talked about the Forgottens!?" Exclaimed Mickey.
"Oh great, now that's twice I heard that from crazy people." Said Argit.
"No Argit, Forgottens are dangerous!" Exclaimed Donald.
"Wait, are you telling me I was dealing with some crimianl!?" Exclaimed Argit with a fake shock look.
"...You don't seem to care that much do you, Argit?" Asked Goofy.
"Look, I deal with the scum of the universe." He said as he packed his things. "Me and criminals go together like peanut butter and jelly."
"This is serious, Argit." Said Mickey as he scowled at him. "Where was the last place you saw this man?"
"I don't know." Said Argit. "That was planets ago."
"I bet you're just trying to lie your way out of this you black belly scoundrel!" Exclaimed Monty.
Argit just scoffed as he walked away from them.
"Shall I get the guards to arrest him, your Majesty?" Asked Goofy.
"No, we need to get back to the ship." Said Mickey. 'I just hope we are not too late to stop the Forgottens from damaging the timeline further.'
X
Destiny Islands, Cove.
"Okay, it's a brand new day!" Exclaimed Kairi.
"You are chipper this morning, Kairi." Said Sora with a grin.
"Sora, you're early for a change." Said Kairi in surprise.
"Is that so shocking?" He asked with a chuckle.
"Given how you don't usually arrive on the island until twelve, yes." Said Yuri as she took a picture of Sora.
Sora rubbed his eyes after the flash of the camera. "Why are you here, Yuri?"
"Oh, I asked her to take a picture of us with the raft." Said Kairi. "Well, once Riku gets here."
"Riku's late?" Asked Sora.
"Yeah, Yuri told me that his mother needed to talk to him about something." Said Kairi.
"How would Yuri know that?" Questioned Sora.
"Sora, I told you this already. I'm living with Riku's family while I'm here as an exchange student." Explained Yuri.
"Oh right, guess I forgot." Said Sora with a shy chuckle.
"Why am I not surprised?" Asked Riku as he came through the door.
"Oh good, you're here finally." Said Kairi with a smile. "I hope everything is going alright at home."
"Yeah, everything's fine." Said Riku with a sigh. "Mom just chewed me out for being out so late."
"Wait, were you here at night working on the raft?" Asked Kairi as Riku remained silent. "Riku, what if those wild boars attacked you?"
"Wild hogs?" Questioned Sora.
"Oh right, you don't know." Said Yuri. "The police have been noticing activity at night saying it's wild boars."
"They even think there's some on Destiny Island." Said Kairi.
"I didn't see any." Said Riku.
"Still..." Said Kairi with worry.
"Hey, let's get that picture." Said Sora trying to ease the situation.
"By the way, what's the ship's name?" Asked Yuri.
"The Highwind, The Excaliber!" Exclaimed both Sora and Riku.
"I see we are doing the usual again, i see." Said Kairi.
"The usual?" Asked Yuri.
"It's where they race to the tree on the hillside and back." Explained Kairi. "It's how they usually solve these kinds of things."
Sora and Riku get into a racing position.
"So if I win, the ship will be Excaliber." Said Sora.
"And if I win, I'll give Kairi a paopu fruit." Said Riku.
'I know that's a joke, but, still drives me crazy.' Thought Sora.
"On your marks, get set, go!" Shouted Kairi as Riku and Sora booked it.
Sora is in the lead and climbs the tower making Riku take the other path. Sora then uses the zipline to reach the other side of the beach and starts jumping to the cliffside with the tree they need to touch. As he leaps a coconut flies by his face, but, instead of a splat there was an explosion knocking Sora off the cliff.
"Sora!" Exclaimed Riku as he rushed to him.
"Ow." Said Sora.
"You okay? Asked Riku.
"Yeah, what was..." That was all Sora got out as another coconut flew in their direction making Sora push Riku out of the way as he dodged the explosion. As he looked up he saw the last thing he was expecting to see... a Forgotten.
In front of Sora was a Forgotten that was about his and Riku's size hopping from one foot to another. Its body was exactly like a coconut palm tree as it juggled coconuts with the Forgotten symbol on them and its palm leaves looked sharp like a blade and its red eyes stared at them.
"The hell is that thing!?" Exclaimed Riku as he was hit by what sounded like a boar.
Sora turned to see several Forgottens in the shape of boars, but, were covered in foliage. Its Forgotten symbol was on its snout as it glared at Riku and Sora.
"Riku!" Exclaimed Sora.
Riku held his side and spat blood. "I'm fine." He said as he pulled out a wooden sword. "Think our practice weapons will do something to these things?"
Sora whipped out his wooden sword and got into a fighting stance. "One way to find out!" Exclaimed Sora as he swung it at one of the boar Forgottens.
The boar flew back and it flinched in pain as another charged at Sora to only be stabbed by Riku causing it to turn to dust.
"I'd say that's a yes." Said Riku as he swung the wooden sword at another Forgotten.
As they dodged and fought the boar Forgottens, the coconut tree Forgotten kept throwing its explosive attacks at the two making them dodge suddenly and get hit by a boar.
"Okay, that one has to go." Said Riku as he glared at the Forgotten as it spun around in a taunting way.
"I think I know a way." Said Sora as the Forgotten threw another coconut. Sora then smacked it back and it blew up in the Forgotten's face causing it to be stunned for a bit.
"Nice!" Shouted Riku as he slayed another boar Forgotten.
They then managed to slay the rest of the boars as the coconut tree Forgotten got its bearings and glared at them.
"I don't think it likes us that much, Sora." Said Riku with a grin.
"Yeah." Said Sora as he grinned.
The two then charged at the Forgotten as it spun its leaves at them. They dodged its attack as it chopped a coconut tree down.
"Okay, we can't get near that thing." Said Riku as he noticed its explosives in the sand. "But we both know these can!" Riku then swung his sword like a golf club as the explosive smacked into the back of the Forgotten sending it flying to the ground.
As the Forgotten tried to get back up, Sora and Riku kept pelting it with its explosives causing it to get hurt and dazed. As it managed to see again, the next thing it knew was that Sora and Riku stabbed it in the eyes with their swords killing it as it started to turn into dust.
"Well... that was... a workout." Said Sora as he panted and Riku chuckled.
"What the hell happened over here!" Exclaimed Yuri as she and Kairi ran up to them.
"We heard explosions!" Exclaimed Kairi in a worried tone. "Oh, you're hurt!"
"You should see the other guys." Said Riku with a chuckle.
As Kairi and Yuri checked on them, another Forgotten spawned and it was a Wolfin from The Vortex. Riku, Kairi, and Yuri didn't notice it, but...
"Look out!" Shouted Sora as he charged at the attacking Forgotten. As he did a bright light shined blinding Riku, Kairi, and Yuri. After the light faded, the Forgotten was turning to dust after being defeated. "Now it's over." Said Sora as he turned to his friends to see their confused and stunned faces. "You guys okay? You look like you..." Asked Sora as he noticed the Kingdom Key in his hand. 'Oh, this could be a problem.'