Hollow Memories Of A Heart's Bastion (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories) in Gamer's Gaming

The Road So Far…

Sora, Donald, and Goofy continue to make their way deeper and deeper into the halls of Castle Oblivion, climbing floor after floor and reliving memory after memory. Confronted by the trials conducted by the twisted members of the Organization, the trio has stepped up and stepped forward, remembering some things and losing others. Sora has remembered a girl from his childhood, Namine, who has somehow become captive in the castle. He has found Riku, who appears almost possessed, as he was by Ansem not so long ago. Both want to save and protect Namine, but Riku believes that Sora should turn and go home to the Destiny Islands. Meanwhile, other memories have been lost. Not only has Jiminy’s journal been erased of all of their previous adventures, the crew has forgotten nearly everything that had happened. Donald and Goofy have even begun to forget Kairi, another friend of Sora and Riku and denizen of Destiny Islands. She has made it home and awaits the safe return of her two friends. As the trio make their way into the world of Hollow Bastion created from Sora’s memories, a few questions linger: who is Namine, really, and why has the Organization gone to such lengths to capture her and hold her captive? Who is the Organization and who is leading this group? What do they want? What are their goals? And why, while remembering Namine, is the group beginning to forget Kairi? Perhaps the halls of Hollow Bastion, which held the answers before, will yield more now. Or perhaps on the halls of Castle Oblivion itself hold the answers…if our heroes don’t forget the questions first…

Now…

Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrived at the gates to the castle proper. Goofy mentioned hearing voices and wondered who it could be. Jiminy leaped off of Sora’s shoulder and looked around the nearby corner, quieting the trio and telling them that something was wrong. Just around the corner, a beautiful Belle, dressed in a golden gown, had her back turned to a Beast in a cape. Beast was telling Belle that he didn’t understand. He had come to this place to rescue her. Belle said only that she had not asked him to come to her rescue and that he was wasting his time. She was not going to return to his castle with him. Beast, enraged, asked Belle if she knew what she was staying, asking how she could stay here with that witch. Belle simply turned away and told him that she had nothing more to say, telling Beast to leave before the witch found him. Belle began walking towards the massive front doors of the castle as Beast watched on, perplexed. Sora and company approached from their hiding spot and asked if everything was okay. Donald told Beast not to feel bad, that there must be some reason that Belle said those things to him. Beast spun around and told them to keep their sympathy. Nobody could ever care for a beast like him. As Beast walked away, Goofy simply felt pity for the poor guy, wishing there was something they could do for him. Knowing the best bet lay with finding Belle, the trio took off towards the front gates of the castle, receiving the Key of Beginnings card. Sora fought his way through the first room of Hollow Bastion and made his way to the room’s only exit, a door in the north. Using a Guarded Trove card, Sora made his way into the next room. After defeating the Heartless that guarded the room, Sora opened the chest and received the Reflect Raid sleight. Looking around, Sora noticed only one exit from the area, a door, once again, in the northern part of the room. Sora used a Bottomless Darkness card to make his way into the next room. Sora fought off what seemed like an endless wave of Shadows inside the pitch black room, but finally stood victorious. It was then that he noticed three doors leading out of the room: west, north, and east. The western door was marked with a crown and turned out to be the Key to Truth room. Moving on, Sora approached the northern door and, using a Moment’s Reprieve card, moved on into the next room. Sora collected himself before observing the room around him. Discovering only one door, a door to the north, exited from this room, Sora used another Guarded Trove card and proceeded north. Inside the room, Sora fought his way to the treasure, a basic Thunder card and discovered this room also had only one exit, the Key to Beginnings door in the west. Sacrificing the necessary cards, Sora entered the first room to discover what was going on with Belle.

The trio found themselves on the second floor of the castle’s library, where they found Belle standing next to a bookcase. She spotted them approaching and asked who they were and if they had been kidnapped too. Sora said that it was a long story, then realized that Belle said she had been kidnapped. Belle confirmed that she had been forced to come to the castle against her will by a witch. All she had to keep herself occupied were the books in the library. She also said how much she missed Beast. Goofy asked why she had been so mean to Beast before if she missed him so much. Belle told the trio that they didn’t understand. She couldn’t show Beast how she truly felt. Sora was perplexed and asked why. Belle was about to explain when, suddenly, a noise rang out from somewhere nearby. Belle told the trio that the witch was coming and that they needed to hide. As the trio ran off to hide, the bookshelves in the back of the library opened up a secret path from which emerged a tall woman dressed completely in black, the witch, Maleficent! Belle asked Maleficent why the witch had come to see her. Maleficent had noticed that Beast had come and asked Belle why she had rejected him, despite that he had risked his life to come and save her. Belle said that she would not ask for his help. Amused, Maleficent asked why. Belle yelled back that she knew very well why. She was not about to fall into Maleficent’s trap. Maleficent said that she had no choice but to make her beg for his help. Maleficent raised her arms and cast a spell, transporting herself and Belle to another place altogether. The trio ran out to try and stop the witch, but they were too late. Goofy asked what they should do. Sora said that they should help Belle, of course. Springing into action, the trio ran from the library, where Sora received the Key of Guidance card. Sora returned to the Guarded Trove room which he had just come from. Sora made his way back to the Bottomless Darkness room and made his way through the east door, using a Looming Darkness card to proceed. Sora discovered two exits from the room: one leading north and one leading south. Sora decided to proceed north first, using a Lasting Daze card to open the path. While Sora was not able to get a first strike on many of the Heartless, he did manage to fight his way through all of the Heartless in the room and find the one other exit, a door in the north. Using a Sleeping Darkness card, Sora moved on to the next room. After defeating the drowzing Heartless, Sora walked to the only other door in the room, the Key to Rewards door. Using the card he had saved, he moved on into the room to receive a new summon card, the Mushu summon magic card. Sora backtracked from the room all the way to the Looming Darkness room and finally opened the south door with an Alchemic Waking card. Sora used a Moogle Room card to open the only exit, a door to the south, after defeating the Heartless inhabiting the room. Finally, Sora approached the door in the eastern part of the room, the Key of Guidance door. Sora sacrificed the map cards he needed to and progressed into the next room.

In the castle entranceway, Maleficent had cornered Belle by a giant fountain and commanded her to call Beast. Belle refused, saying she would not let Maleficent hurt him. Maleficent decided to move on to Plan B… there’s always a Plan B… and decided that, since Belle wouldn’t call him, Maleficent would just torture the princess and make her scream, forcing Beast to come to her rescue. Sora and company arrived just in a nick of time, however, and Sora yelled for the evil witch to stop, preparing for battle. Sora told Maleficent that Beast wouldn’t be the only ones she would have to deal with. Maleficent told Sora to begone, lest he join in the screaming. Maleficent seemed to look forward to drawing those screams out of our heroes. She figured that if Beast heard all of their collective shrieks of terror, he would come right to her. Suddenly, Beast leaped from above and told Maleficent not to trouble herself. Belle smiled, happy to see Beast once more. Then she remembered what Maleficent was trying to accomplish and told Beast that he needed to stay back. She told Beast to go away and leave her alone, that she never wanted to see him again. Jiminy was amazed at the cold heartedness of Belle, even if he knew why she was doing it. Beast deflated and agreed to leave. He figured his hideousness was punishment for being selfish and unable to love. He had become a monster and became even more selfish… until he met Belle, at least. She was the only person who had accepted him, little by little warming his cold, selfish heart. He may be forced to leave, but the memories of their days together were his most precious and he would not cast them aside. Beast decided that, even if Belle were to hate him forever, he couldn’t just leave her with the witch. He told her to consider it his final selfish act. Belle softened, unable to hide how she truly felt, despite the consequences. Maleficent was suprised that such a hideous exterior could hide such a beautiful heart. Maleficent decided that instead of claiming Belle’s heart, she would just claim Beast’s instead. Maleficent cast the heart stealing spell and aimed it towards Beast, but at the last second, Belle stepped in the way and blocked the spell with her own body, losing her heart to the witch in the process. Maleficent decided that Plan A would work after all. Beast roared and told Maleficent to release Belle’s heart at once. Beast charged the witch, but she managed to escape before Beast could get his claws on her. As Beast searched for her, Sora noticed that the shadows had headed off in another direction. Beast asked the trio what they were doing there. Sora told him there was no time to talk. They needed to chase down Maleficent and get Belle’s heart back. Beast was surprised that they would help him. Goofy told him that after what Beast had said, they had to help him. The group, with Beast in the front, took off after Maleficent, receiving the Key to Truth card in the process. Sora, back in the Moogle Room, backtracked to the Bottomless Darkness room, where the Key to Truth door awaited in the west.

Inside, the group found themselves in the castle chapel. Maleficent awaited them and congratulated Beast for making it so far. She decided to reward him by telling him why Belle rejected him. Maleficent said that her dark magic required hearts of the utmost beauty. Belle was perfect for her plans as her love for Beast shone with uncommon radiance. However, Belle had guessed at her plans and denied her love for Beast, putting her heart out of Maleficent’s reach. Beast realized that by saving him, Belle had betrayed her true feelings, allowing Maleficent to capture her heart. Beast commanded Maleficent to release Belle’s heart immediately, but Maleficent stood confidently, amused by Beast’s wrath. Maleficent asked Beast why she thought he had told him about Belle. It wasn’t out of kindness, but to erase his doubts. His love for Belle was shining brightly and Maleficent planned to claim Beast’s heart as well. Sora stepped up and prepared to fight, telling Maleficent that she would have to go through them first. Maleficent couldn’t believe that they would dare to challenge her, casting a spell and turning into a gigantic black dragon! Maleficent’s green fire attacks, tail swipes, and stomps almost proved to be too much for the group, but a combination of help from Beast, Pluto, and a generous dosing of Cloud, proved to be Maleficent’s undoing. Sora was rewarded with the Dragon Maleficent enemy card for defeating the evil witch. After the battle, Belle’s heart was released and the princess stood in front of them once more. Beast was elated and ran to Belle, embracing her. Belle asked for forgiveness for treating him badly. Beast said that he should be the one to apologize, for ever doubting her true feelings for him. As Beast and Belle continued to talk, the trio stood in the background. Goofy laughed about them going on with all the mushy stuff. Sora figured that was their cue to take a hike. Donald agreed and the trio exited to room, leaving the lovebirds to themselves. Sora returned to yet another Conqeror’s Respite room, ready to leave the confines of yet another floor of Castle Oblivion.

Back in the ninth floor hallway, the trio looked around, awaiting an attack. Convinced that nobody was waiting to combat them, Donald and Goofy seemed to think Riku had finally gotten tired of fighting Sora. Sora certainly hoped that was the case. With nobody there to stop them, the group proceeded up the nearby stairs to the tenth floor, unhindered. Meanwhile, in another part of the castle, Axel, Larxene, and Vexen stood near the giant crystal ball in the Organization’s headquarters. Larxene asked Vexen what was going on. Wasn’t his Riku supposed to counter Sora? What was he waiting for? In fact, where was he? Vexen’s green eyes stared daggers at Larxene, but Axel posited that perhaps Riku was simply hiding to lure Sora deeper into the castle. Of course, the redhead was just mocking the scientist. Larxene, catching on to the joke, agreed with Axel and condescendingly apologized to Vexen. Vexen yelled at her to silence. Larxene seemed unsurprised by the outburst. She said to just forget it. Men without hearts were so boring. Vexen said that she was one to talk, as if she had a heart herself. Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind the group and told them to knock it off. A black portal appeared on the other side of the room and the robed man who welcomed Sora into Castle Oblivion appeared in the room. Vexen identified him as Marluxia. The man pulled back his hood to reveal his face and long, flowing pink hair. The flowery newcomer seemed to be in charge of things here. Marluxia approached and said that the simple fact was that Vexen’s project was a failure and that he better not disappoint them again. Vexen was taken aback, saying that claiming he was disappointing them was going much too far. In this Organization, Maruxia was Number 11. Vexen was Number 4 and he would not- Marluxia silenced Vexen by drawing his scythe and reminded the scientist that he had been entrusted the castle and Namine by their leader. Defying him would be seen as treason against the Organization. Axel chimed in saying that traitors were eliminated, according to the rules. Larxene added her two cents, wondering who needed a half-baked, good-for-nothing like Vexen anyway. Vexen grunted in anger, but Marluxia simply told him that he could not win against Sora. Vexen said that it was a pity that they were led by one who was so ignorant. Since Marluxia was only capable of seeing the surface of things, he could not appreciate Vexen’s true might. Marluxia seemed surprised and challenged Vexen to prove it. Vexen was shocked. Marluxia said that none of them wished to be suspicious of a comrade. As Vexen disappeared into his own black portal, he told Marluxia that his insincerity was comforting. Axel stepped forward and said that giving Vexen a challenge like that would make him want to seriously eliminate Sora. Marluxia simply said that such an outcome would be unfortunate before walking over to Namine, asking her what he should do. Sora was about to be wiped out of existence, but there was a certain promise that he had made her. Namine confirmed it and lowered her head. Back on the tenth floor landing, the trio had arrived and looked around. Donald commented that they had come pretty far in the castle, but Jiminy, ever the downer, simply reminded them that they must have lost ten floors’ worth of memories. Jiminy said it wasn’t too late and maybe they should turn back. Sora said that he couldn’t do it because it would mean breaking an old promise. Sora told them that, back on the islands, he had promised Namine to keep her safe, no matter what. But he had forgotten about it until he started forgetting everything else. That was why he couldn’t leave. Now that he remembered the promise, he had to keep it. Sora readied himself for the next challenge and checked his deck. Finally ready, he walked up to the door and used his last remaining world card to open a path into the Hundred Acre Wood....