Awash In A Sea Of Memories (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories) in Gamer's Gaming

The Road So Far…

Sora, Donald, and Goofy are making their way through the floors of Castle Oblivion. Though they are not sure what memories they are losing, Sora has finally had a revelation. He has remembered the name of the girl that had been on his island all that time ago. Her name is Namine and she had given him a golden star as a good luck charm. Not only that, but she was being held captive in this very castle, entrapped by the members of the Organization, who seem intent on testing Sora for some future purpose. Three of the members have revealed themselves thus far: Axel, the fiery redheaded wielder of the chakram who seems amused whether he is battling Sora, baiting the other members of the Organization, or watching them argue with each other; Larxene, the electric blonde who uses claw-like blades and lightning attacks to antagonize Sora, or her sharp tongue to take anyone she meets down a few pegs; and Vexen, the cold, calculating scientist who has stepped up to test Sora next along with another of his experiments. Could there be more members of the Organization laying in wait for Sora? Where is the Organization holding Namine? How many floors are in this castle anyway? Well, we know there are at least five more, judging by the set of world cards Sora had just received from Larxene after their battle. Using the card for Atlantica to open the door to the seventh floor’s world, the trio presses on in an effort to save Sora’s long lost friend…

Now…

Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive within a cave…one that appears to be on the bottom of the ocean? And they are walking? In their normal clothes. Weird. Even Sora noticed that it was odd that they could breathe. Goofy suggested that perhaps someone had cast a spell on them. Donald broke the group out of it’s revery when he noticed someone swimming right towards them. A mermaid with bright red hair swam up to the group carrying a golden trident. The mermaid told them that if anybody asks, they didn’t see her. Donald was confused as ever, but the mermaid didn’t have time to explain and asked them to promise not to tell anybody that they had seen her. Goofy noticed the trident and asked her what it was. The mermaid, still nervous, told them that it was nothing and to remember, they had never seen her. Finally, she swam off, leaving the trio completely puzzled as to what the hell was going on. Sora, bright as ever, figured that she was hiding something. Donald wondered what it was as the trio made their way into Atlantica proper and Sora received the Key of Beginnings. As Sora arrived in that ever popular First Room, he checked his card inventory once more. He noticed that he had received one other gift from his fight with Larxene: a Thunder magic card. As Sora began exploring the room, he encountered some familiar foes (well, familiar to us at least). He fought with groups of Heartless that included Sea Neons, Screwdivers, and Darkballs. He also received a new type of map card called the Guarded Trove card. These rooms held treasures guarded by groups of Heartless. In another battle, he received another new map card, the False Bounty card. This room contained multiple treasure chests, but only one of them was real. The others held battles with the Heartless. Then something amazing happened. After a battle with an Aquatank, Sora finally received his first Key to Rewards card, the treasure room card that would open up any of those rooms. Sora vowed to use his first one in this world to see what kind of rarities awaited inside and hoped he would find more so he could retreat to previous floors to open the doors he had missed. Finally, Sora managed to clear out the entire room and made his way west, to the only other door in the room. Sora had only one multiple map card, a level 1 Moogle Room card. Since it had been some time since visiting the sales-moogles, he decided it might be a good time to spend all of the points he had collected. Sora used up all his points, but gained some very useful cards in the process. He gained his first Crabclaw attack cards amongst the others, preparing him further for his battles under the sea and against the Organization in the future. After conducting his business, Sora found that there were three doors out of this room: north, west, and south. Sora decided to take a trek to the north first, using a level 2 Stagnant Space card. Sora fought off the significantly slower Heartless and approached the only door out of the room. Unfortunately, it was the Key of Guidance door. Sora took note of it’s location and made the trek back to the Moogle Room. Sora made his way to the southern door next and used a level 2 Sleeping Darkness card to open the door. After attacking the defenseless groups of Heartless as they slept, Sora walked up to the only other door out of this room, which just happened to be the Key of Beginnings room. Using the necessary cards to open the door, Sora made his way through into the next area.

Inside the room, Sora found a throne room and a crab, grasping it’s head with worry. Sora asked him if something was wrong. The crab told him that someone had stolen the king’s magic trident, leaving Atlantica defenseless. On top of that, Princess Ariel had disappeared. King Triton was worried sick about her and refused to leave his chambers as a result. The crab figured that Ariel’s friend, Flounder, would know where she had gone, but he had disappeared also. Sora, his brain kicking into high gear, turned around and wondered to Donald and Goofy if that mermaid they had just seen was Ariel. Goofy figured that was her, although she hadn’t seemed too happy to see them. Then Goofy remembered she had been carrying something when they had seen Ariel. Sora wondered if perhaps it was the trident. Jiminy figured that maybe it was. Donald said that if that was the case, then Ariel was the one who stole it! Jiminy figured there must be some explanation. Meanwhile, the crab continued to worry about Ariel and wondered where she had gone to. He worried that King Triton would blame him for Ariel’s disappearance since he was supposed to be keeping an eye on her. Sora figured the crab would pop his shell if they told him that Ariel had stolen the trident, and Goofy figured that they would just have to find out what was going on themselves. With that, the crew took their leave of the throne room and Sora received the Key of Guidance card. Sora found himself in a new room with three doors. The one in the west led back to the Moogle Room, where he would have to go to get back to the Key of Guidance door. But before leaving, Sora noticed a door to the north, as well. The door was marked with a crown and, when Sora approached the door, the door prompted him to sacrifice his Key to Rewards card. Inside the room, Sora found a treasure chest containing the Quake sleight. By using a Gravity magic card, a Simba summon magic card and any other magic card, Sora could create an earthquake that would damage all ground enemies. With this new, rare treasure in hand, Sora made his way back through the previous rooms to the Stagnant Space room where the Key of Guidance door stood. Sora sacrificed the necessary cards and proceeded through the doorway.

Sora and company found themselves in Ariel’s Grotto where Ariel herself floated, holding King Triton’s trident. Ariel, meanwhile, was blaming herself for everything going on and wished she had never taken the trident. Donald squawked about how she HAD taken the trident, but Goofy told him to quiet down. Somebody was coming. From another part of the chamber, a voice told Ariel not to worry, that she had done the right thing. Suddenly, the sea witch, Ursula, appeared out of nowhere. She said that she was sure that Ariel would do anything to help out her little friend. Poor Flounder had been swept away to the human world and that was no place for a little fish. If they didn’t hurry, Ariel may not even have a friend left to save. Ariel balled up, unable to bear the thought of something happening to Flounder. Ursula tried to comfort Ariel, telling her she wasn’t giving her the trident, just letting her borrow it for a bit. With it, she could save Flounder. Ariel knew what she wanted, but was still unsure. After all, her father would be unable to defend Atlantica without the trident. Ariel claimed that she needed time to think. Ursula told her that it didn’t matter to her, but Ariel ought to remember that Flounder was dodging fishhooks while she wasted time. Ursula disappeared back into the inky darkness that she came from, leaving Ariel to contemplate her decisions. Sora and company emerged just then and told Ariel not to trust Ursula. Ariel asked how long they had been listening. Sora told her that it was long enough to know she was in trouble. Donald agreed with Sora, telling Ariel not to trust the sea witch for any reason. Ariel had been thinking along the same lines: Ursula was up to no good and was using Ariel to get ahold of the trident. The problem was, Ariel had no idea where Flounder was and Ursula was the only one who could help. Sora asked if there was anything that they could do to help. He suggested that they all go talk to Ursula together. Ariel seemed surprised at the kindness from these three “strangers”, but Sora assured her that he knew what it felt like to have friends in trouble. Sora and company left the grotto and Sora received the Key to Truth map card. With the final special card in hand, Sora traveled back the the room leading to the Key to Rewards room and approached the only, as of yet, untouched door in the western part of the room. Sora used a level 1 Tranquil Darkness card and entered the next room. This room also held three exits: north, west, and south. In the next room, Sora won yet another Key to Rewards card. Guess we will have to find another floor to use that one on. Anyhow, Sora chose to go north first. He used a level 2 Feeble Darkness card and proceeded through the door. Sora defeated all of the Heartless inside, but found that there were no other exits from the room, so he retreated back to the Tranquil Darkness room. Sora decided to go west next and used a level 5 Moment’s Reprieve card to create the room. Inside, Sora found the door leading to the Key to Truth room. Instead of opening the door right away, Sora retreated back to the Tranquil Darkness room once more and walked up to the southern door. Using a level 2 Teeming Darkness card, Sora progressed into the next room. As with the room to the north, there was no exit from this room, so Sora used the room as an opportunity to power up before the anticipated fight with Ursula. After sweeping the entire room of Heartless, it was time for the fight with Ursula. Sora made his way back to the Moment’s Reprieve room, set up his deck for the fight ahead, and sacrificed the necessary cards to make his way into the Key to Truth room.

The group found themselves in Ursula’s Chamber where the sea witch kept house with her bubbling cauldron. Ursula emerged from a hole in the wall and asked Ariel if she had made up her mind. Ariel told her that she would do anything for Flounder, but she needed proof that she could trust Ursula. She needed proof that she could save Flounder with the trident. Ursula was happy to oblige and made Flounder appear out of mid-air…er, ocean. Donald said he knew something was fishy…ugh, terrible puns. Ursula told Ariel that if she wanted Flounder back, all she had to do was give her the trident. Ariel, with few other options, gave the trident to Ursula. Ursula laughed and declared herself the ruler of all the seas. Ariel demanded that she let Flounder go. Ursula said she was feeling generous and let Flounder swim away. Then, remembering that Ariel always had wanted to visit other worlds, she told her she would send her to one, but it was going to be a one-way trip! Ursula raised the trident and the weapon flashed with power, transporting Sora to another place altogether. Ursula appeared beside the platform that Sora was standing on, but she had grown to gigantic proportions! Sora drew the keyblade once more and launched into battle with the sea witch. He noticed that there was no way to attack Ursula directly, but he could attack her tentacles, which were fairly close to the platform. After doing some damage, a green card called a Gimmick Card appeared out of nowhere. Activating it, Ursula’s head was engulfed in a miniature whirlpool, which knocked the sea witch for a loop and caused her to lower her head close enough so that Sora could launch an attack. Ursula attacked Sora with her tentacles and with bolts and balls of energy, but the sea witch was no match for the power of the Keyblade and fell quickly before Sora’s might. Sora received the Ursula enemy card for winning the battle. Back in the witches’ grotto, Flounder begged for Ariel to forgive him, saying the witch had tricked him. Ariel told him that, as long as he was safe, nothing else mattered. All they had to do was return the trident and everything would be okay. Sora asked what would happen if Triton found out it was her that had stolen the trident. Ariel said she would be grounded forever. Suddenly, Sebastian, the crab, called out to Ariel from outside the grotto. Ariel was surprised that the crab had come all that way just to find her. Goofy said that if he found out she was the one that had taken the trident, she was sure to be in trouble. Sora suggested that she just tell him that the sea witch had taken the trident. Ariel was thinking practically the same thing, but she couldn’t lie. She would tell the truth and face the consequences of her actions. Jiminy wholeheartedly agreed with this sentiment. Honesty is the best policy, after all. Sora laughed it off and said he was just kidding about lying. With all well that ended well, Sora returned out to the Conqueror’s Respite room. Sora made his way to the top of the room and out the door, back into the seventh floor hallway.

As the door closed behind him, Sora spotted someone coming from the eighth floor stairway…is that…Riku!?! Where did Riku come from? Sora stuttered as he spotted his friend, but ran up to him, all the same. Sora asked Riku what he was doing there. Riku seemed to have taken a step backwards with his attitude. He accused Sora of not being happy to see him and said that Sora should tell him if he was getting in the way of something more important to him. Sora told him that he didn’t mean he wasn’t happy to see him. Riku snapped back at him and told him to spare the excuses. Riku figured Sora had forgotten all about him. Sora was befuddled. He told Riku that he had come all this way looking for him. Riku said that he wasn’t searching for him anymore. Now, all he cared about was finding Namine. Sora didn’t care about him, just like he had never cared about Namine’s feelings. Sora was confused, and Riku took it as a sign that Sora had never even thought about her feelings. Riku told him that just because he wanted to see Namine, it didn’t mean that she wanted to see him. In fact, Namine didn’t even want to look at his face. Sora asked why. Riku told him that he needed to search his memories and remember why Namine had left the islands. If he could remember that, he would know exactly why she didn’t want to see him. Sora wondered if he had done something to cause her to leave. Suddenly, Riku was engulfed in darkness and, as the darkness washed away, Riku was standing there, not in his normal clothes, but in the battle suit he wore when he fought Sora for the Keyblade way back in Hollow Bastion…not that Sora remembers that. Riku told Sora to go home, that he would care for Namine. Anyone who wanted to go near her would have to go through him. Suddenly, Riku’s winged Heartless blade appeared in his hands and he leaped at Sora. Sora blocked the attack with his keyblade. Sora asked what was wrong with Riku. They were supposed to be friends. Riku scoffed and asked when Sora had ever cared about him. Namine wasn’t the only one sick of looking at Sora. Riku was too. Riku flipped backwards and prepared to attack once more. Riku stuck strictly to standard attacks, but Sora’s deck had become quite powerful and Riku stood no chance. Sora received the Aero magic card. Riku, realizing he was no match for Sora at the moment, retreated back up the stairs towards the eighth floor. Donald and Goofy both were in shock, unable to comprehend what had gotten into Riku. Since there was nothing to do but to go forward, Sora and company made their way up the stairs to the eighth floor. The entryway to the eighth floor, however, was empty. The trio was left to wonder what had happened to Riku. Jiminy noted that it almost seemed like Ansem was back in control of Riku again. Sora said that they had gotten rid of Ansem for good. Goofy wondered aloud what could be wrong with Riku. Suddenly, Donald realized something else. If the king had been with Riku, maybe he was in danger now too. Jiminy hopped off of Sora’s shoulder and told him that, although it appeared Riku wasn’t his friend, that simply could not be true. Sora asked him if he was sure about that. Jiminy said that Riku may have said some awful things to him, but Sora needed to remember that they were in Castle Oblivion. People lost their memories here, little bits at a time. Riku had probably just forgotten that they were such close friends. Sora wanted to believe that was true. Jiminy figured it was and said that it would be up to them to help Riku get his memory back. If they worked together, they would get through this. Donald asked Sora if he remembered the very first promise they had made when they met. Always smile! They would just have to keep on smiling to get through whatever lay ahead of them. A grin came back to Sora’s face, remembering their first meeting, and he was finally ready to move on. With a renewed focus, Sora walked up to the eighth floor world door and raised another world card, the Neverland card, opening the door to yet another adventure and, hopefully, a few more answers…