Call Me Ishmael...Er, Sora (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories) in Gamer's Gaming

The Road So Far…

Sora, Donald, and Goofy continue to make their way through Castle Oblivion in search of Riku and King Mickey. Their journey through Sora’s memories has taken them through Traverse Town, Wonderland, Olympus Coliseum, and, most recently, Agrabah. Though small pieces of Sora’s memory seem to be disappearing, something big seems to be coming back into focus: a girl that lived on the Destiny Islands with Sora, Kairi, and Riku as children. Though Sora couldn’t remember the girl’s name, he was starting to remember the times they spent together as children before the girl mysteriously disappeared. Who is this girl? For that matter, who is the mysterious blonde girl who’s pictures seem to be influencing Sora’s memory? What does she have to do with Castle Oblivion and the Organization that controls it? The answers are still elusive, but perhaps the group will find more answers as they arrive on the fifth floor, where Sora uses one of his two remaining world cards to open a door to his memories of Monstro…

Now…

Sora and company arrived inside the belly of the beast, quite literally, as they arrived inside of the great whale, Monstro. Sora commented about how springy and soft everything is. Goofy said that it was nice and warm, too, and made him tells them that they should be a little more worried. Donald called out to the voice to show itself. From around a corner, Pinocchio sticks his head out and tells the trio that they are inside the belly of Monstro the Whale. Jiminy recognized the voice immediately and told Pinocchio to come on out of hiding. Pinocchio seemed surprised to find Jiminy here, of all places. Jiminy told the wooden boy that there was no way they would never be able to find each other. Jiminy was his conscience, after all. Pinocchio told Jiminy that he had been a good boy and hadn’t told a single lie. It seemed Pinocchio was lying just then, however, as his nose began to grow. Jiminy was flabbergasted, but Pinocchio dodged his looks and asked how the group had gotten into Monstro. Sora balked and told him that they had used a sort of special way. Goofy said it was so special, even they didn’t know how they had gotten there. Pinocchio’s head drooped slightly. He had been hoping that the group might be able to help him and Geppetto escape from Monstro. Jiminy seemed surprised that Geppetto was there, as well, and Pinocchio offered to bring the group to his father. As they exited the room, Sora obtained the Key to Beginnings card and was brought into another part of Monstro. In this first room, there were two doors. Sora took a look at the world map and noticed that the room he was looking for was to the east. Since one door led east and the other led north, Sora walked up to the eastern door and used a level 1 Sorcerous Waking card to progress into the next room. After clearing out groups of Heartless that included Air Soldiers, Search Ghosts, Fat Bodies, and Yellow Operas, Sora checked out the other two exits in the room. The door to the south was the Key of Guidance door that Sora would need to come back to later. The northern door led further into Monstro and required a level 2 or higher card. Sora used one of his level 2 Calm Bounty cards and proceeded forward. After opening the treasure chest and gaining the Fire Raid sleight, Sora took a look around the room and noted two more exits. One led west and one led east. After destroying some random flotsam in the area and obtaining a Wishing Star attack card, Sora opted to take the eastern door, since the room he was trying to get to was in that direction. Sora used his level 3 Teeming Darkness card to progress once more. After clearing out the many Heartless in the room, Sora noticed that both doors in the area required special cards. The one to the north was a treasure room. Sora still had not seen any of the special cards required for these rooms. The other door was the one he had been searching for: the Key to Beginnings door. Sora gave up the required cards and entered into the doorway.

On the other side, the group found themselves in Monstro’s mouth where a small ship appeared to be stranded. Jiminy called out to Geppetto. Geppetto greeted the group and asked how they had managed to get there. Jiminy said that he could ask the same question. How could a clock maker end up in the belly of a whale? Geppetto recounted the tale to the group as they sat on and listened intently. Geppetto had sailed out to look for Pinocchio and had been swallowed by Monstro but, as luck would have it, it was inside the whale that Geppetto and Pinocchio had been reunited. Sora felt bad that there seemed to be no way for them to get out, but Geppetto hushed him softly. As long as he and Pinocchio were together, everything would work out just fine. Donald, just then, happened to notice that Pinocchio was no longer with them. Geppetto figured that he was just off exploring, as he had been ever since they had ended up inside the whale. Pinocchio hadn’t told him why it was so important to go searching and, despite Geppetto cautioning him that it was dangerous, he kept to his search. Sora, with some prompting from Jiminy, told Geppetto that they would find Pinocchio and return him safely. As the group made their way back into Monstro, Sora was given the Key of Guidance card, along with the High Jump ability. Returning to Monstro’s insides, Sora found himself back in the room he had just left. Remembering the Key of Guidance door that he had found in the Sorcerous Waking room, Sora set off in that direction to see what lay behind door number two.

In the next room, Sora and company found Pinocchio in Monstro’s stomach, wandering around. Jiminy hopped out and told Pinocchio that Geppetto was worried about him. Pinocchio apologized for worrying Geppetto and Jiminy. Sora asked if the wooden boy was looking for something in particular. Pinocchio told them that he was looking for treasure, at which point Pinocchio’s nose grew even larger. After Goofy told Jiminy not to be too hard on Pinocchio and comforting the boy, Pinocchio admitted that he had been looking for a way out. All he had wanted was to help Geppetto get back to his workshop. When the group realized that Pinocchio was only lying to keep Geppetto from worrying, things eased up. Donald encouraged Pinocchio to tell Geppetto what he was doing. After all, father and son could work together to find a way out. Sora seconded that and said that the rest of the group would help them. Pinocchio, encouraged by the reaction from the rest of the group, said he would do just that and was about to run off to tell Geppetto the news when, suddenly, a violent tremor shook the room they were in. Sora wondered what was happening. I wondered if the whale had finally gotten explosive indigestion from people wandering around inside it’s stomach. Jiminy told Pinocchio to make a run for it, but as he did, a giant Heartless dropped from the roof of the stomach and swallowed Pinocchio up. Sora and crew drew their weapons and attacked the Heartless to try and free Pinocchio. The Heartless sat in a pool of acid with platforms that circled in front of it. Sora jumped from platform to platform, attacking as he could and using his summon magic cards when he was at a distance until, finally, the Heartless fell before Sora’s keyblade as had so many others before it. Sora was rewarded with the Parasite Cage enemy card for winning the battle. Pinocchio, however, was still trapped within the Heartless and could not escape. Sora told Pinocchio to be brave and fight his way out. Pinocchio jumped around inside his Heartless cage until, finally, the cage popped open and Pinocchio made his way out of the cage. Jiminy asked if Pinocchio was okay and Pinocchio told him not to worry, he was just a little sticky. Still, his escape had given him a great idea. Since fighting his way out of the cage had worked, why couldn’t they try the same thing on Monstro. Sora thought that was a brilliant idea. Donald suggested they make their way further into Monstro’s body and try it out. Pinocchio wanted to go along with them, but Jiminy put his tiny foot down and told Pinocchio to go back to Geppetto since it wouldn’t do any good to free them from Monstro just to be separated again. Pinocchio conceded the point and headed back to Geppetto while the rest of the group soldiered on. Sora received the Key to Truth card for the last door and headed out in search of the final room. Sora made his way north into the Calm Bounty room he had created and stood in front of the western door, the only one that hadn’t been opened yet. Sora used a Roulette Room card for the first time and proceeded into the room. Sora fought through the Heartless and took note of the two doors in the room. The one to the south led to the room he had entered Monstro in. The door to the north led further on into Monstro. Sora used one of his Premium Room cards and moved on into the next room. In Sora’s first battle, which involved a new Heartless called the Tornado Step, Sora received a Tornado Step enemy card. Sora fought through the groups of Heartless and used a Moment’s Reprieve card to make the room to the east. After taking a moment to check his deck, Sora used the Key to Truth card and progressed into the next room.

The trio found themselves in a room which had no other exits. Since there seemed to be no further that they could go, Sora decided it was time to shake things up. Donald said that it would be easier if they had some enemies to fight. Sora perked up as Heartless emerged from the floor and attacked the group. Sora fought back the Shadows and, after a hard fought battle that rattled the inside of Monstro, Sora received a Dumbo summon magic card. Suddenly, everything all around began to shake as Monstro prepared to sneeze. The trio was sucked up into a hole in the ceiling and everything went black. When Sora come back to consciousness, he found that they had ended up in Monstro’s mouth. Goofy, who had been looking around, wondered where Pinocchio and his dad had gotten to. Jiminy assumed that the plan had worked and they had made it out of Monstro safely. Sora, mockingly, asked how they could if Pinocchio was unable to escape his conscience. Jiminy chuckled and said that he didn’t mind as long as Pinocchio and Geppetto were safe. Jiminy figured that it didn’t seem like Pinocchio needed him anymore anyway. After all, it seemed as if Pinocchio had come a long way and didn’t need a guide to tell him right from wrong anymore. Sora told him that wasn’t the case. Remembering what Geppetto said, he told Jiminy that Pinocchio was probably just counting the days until he saw his guide again. Jiminy figured that Sora might just be right. Moving on, the group found themselves in the Conqueror’s Respite room again. After a brief check of his deck, Sora moved on out of Monstro and back into the fifth floor hallway of Castle Oblivion.

As the trio made their way into the hallway, Donald paused and asked if Sora was able to remember anything else about the girl from his memories. Sora admitted that he could only remember bits and pieces. Goofy suggested that Sora tell them about what he could remember. Sora closed his eyes and thought back to what he could remember about the girl. He remembered that she was quiet and always drawing. Whenever they would go to the beach, she would sit in the sand and draw instead of swimming. Sometimes, she would even draw him and Riku. Sora could remember that he and Riku would fight over who she would draw next. But then, one day, she was just gone. He thought the grown ups might have known why and they may have even tried to explain it to him. But Sora had been little and couldn’t understand what was happening. All he could remember was crying after she was gone. Even with all that, though, he still couldn’t remember her name. Donald assured him that he would remember it in no time. Sora seemed reassured, but something was bothering Jiminy. He pointed out that Sora seemed to be remembering things instead of forgetting them. However, it seemed to him that forgetting things seemed to be the only way to reach the memories that were buried down deep inside of themselves. Sora chimed in that the hooded figures had mentioned that their most precious memories lay so deep in their hearts that they were effectively out of reach. All that stuff they had said about finding being losing and losing being finding had something to do with those memories. Goofy admitted that he was a little jealous of Sora since he seemed to be remembering things while he and Donald only had forgotten things. Donald told them that they should get going. They needed to start forgetting things faster. The trio made their way up the staircase at the end of the hall to get to the sixth floor. The scene cut to the room with the giant crystal ball where Axel and Larxene stood, staring at the goings on. Larxene said that everything was going just as she had intended and Axel confirmed that they would continue with their plan. He was curious to see how far the group would go. Axel was about to leave, but Larxene stopped him and said that he had already had his fun on the first floor, so this time, it was her turn. Axel seemed reluctant, but spun around and tossed some cards to her. Larxene walked up to Axel and caressed his chin, saying that she wasn’t going to just give them to Sora. Axel told her not to break him as he looked away from the robed girl. Larxene mockingly asked if Axel had a soft spot for Sora. She laughed and walked away from Axel, saying that she wasn’t going to break the toy. She wasn’t dumb, after all. Axel told her not to forget that Sora was the key. They would need him if they were going to take over the Organization. Larxene pressed a finger to Axel’s lips and said that she knew that he was in on it too, but to keep it under his hood until the time was right. With that, she waved and disappeared into a dark portal. Axel stood, watching and chuckling as she disappeared. Axel said to himself that Larxene would have been wise to follow her own advice. Back on the sixth floor, the trio arrived, still talking about their earlier conversation. Goofy asked if any of it had helped Sora remember the girl’s name. Sora admitted that her name was the only thing that he couldn’t seem to remember. Donald told him that he had to hurry up and remember it, but Sora could only chuckle as they approached the sixth floor door. With only the Halloween Town world card remaining to use, Sora approached the world door and raised the card high above his head, opening yet another door of Castle Oblivion to be inhabited by his memories…