Hundred Acre Wilderness (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories) in Gamer's Gaming

The Road So Far…

As Sora climbs higher and higher through the halls of Castle Oblivion, only one things seems clear: the Organization has something big planned for Sora. All four of the members present in the castle have made it clear that they want Sora for something and are using Namine, a girl who grew up on the Destiny Islands with Riku and Kairi, to entice Sora. All four of the members present on the upper floors have put in an appearance at this point, though Sora has met only three of them thusfar. The leader of the group, and the one who introduced Sora to the castle, is Marluxia, the Graceful Assassin, wielder of flower magic and a deadly scythe. Number 11 in The Organization, he was given control of Castle Oblivion and Namine to help the Organization achieve their goals involving Sora. Vexen, the Chilly Academic, wielder of ice magic and a stout shield. Vexen is Number 4 in the Organization and, while a senior ranking member, seems to be put into service of Marluxia by the mysterious leader of The Organization. Vexen has some role in the strange behavior that Riku has been exhibiting in his meetings with Sora, an experiment of sorts that Vexen has been conducting. Larxene, the Savage Nymph, wielder of thunder magic and blazing knives, is one of the junior members of the group. She is apparently involved in some sort of plan to overthrow the leadership of the Organization and plans to use Sora as a pawn to accomplish her goals. Number 12 in The Organization, Larxene seems to be aligned with Marluxia in this goal. Finally, there is Axel, the Flurry of Dancing Flame, wielder of fire magic and dual chakrams. Axel is Number 8 in The Organization and, while he plays at being part of the plans to overthrow the Organization’s leadership, he seems to have been chosen to root out traitors and destroy them. As Sora climbs higher in the castle, we have to question: why did The Organization bring Namine to Castle Oblivion and what is the significance of her drawings? What is The Organization’s plan for Sora? Who are the other members of this mysterious group? And what did Larxene and Vexen mean when they said that those in the group were without hearts? Sora proceeds into the Hundred Acre Wood in an attempt to find answers…

Now…

Sora wanders along the paths of the Hundred Acre Wood and spots Winnie the Pooh sitting on a log, looking sad. Sora walks up and asks the bear what is wrong. Pooh reveals that he is looking for his friends. Sora asks if they are somewhere around there, but realizes that nobody is nearby. Pooh says that perhaps he is looking for nobody. Sora seems confused that he is looking for nobody, but Pooh says he must be, but they didn’t seem to be anywhere and all of the searching was making his tummy rumble. Pooh wondered to himself if there was any honey about, but realized that if he stopped to eat, he would have to stop searching. Sora suggested that they look for his friends together. For nobody, Pooh reminded him. Sora plopped down on the log next to him and told him no, for his friends. They might be in the area, after all. Pooh asked if Sora was looking for Pooh’s friends too. Sora told him no, that he was looking for some friends of his own. Pooh asked if they were friends who knew his friends. Sora told Pooh that he wasn’t sure. Sora got back to his feet and told Pooh that he knew what it was like to miss one’s friends and that they should search together. Pooh said that he would like that and got up from the log to follow Sora. Sora walked back behind the nearby tree house and found a tiny little Piglet hiding amongst the bushes. The little guy, upon seeing Sora, became so frightened that he started to scurry around. Sora finally managed to catch up to the little guy, though. Piglet, still frightened, told Sora not to mind him. Sora asked Piglet if he was one of Pooh’s friends. Piglet said that he was not NOT Pooh’s friend. Finally, Pooh wandered over and said hello to Piglet. Piglet seemed relieved at the sight of his friend. Piglet said that he had gotten separated from the others and got so worried, he didn’t have a clue what to do. Sora figured that explained why he was so fidgety. Pooh suggested to Piglet that he come with them to find the rest of their friends. Piglet wasn’t sure if he should or shouldn’t. Sora figured the little guy didn’t want to come along and started to walk back towards the path with Pooh, but Piglet called out to them. Pooh asked if Piglet had decided to join them. Piglet said he was still thinking, but before they had gotten there, he had found something strange in the shrubs. He figured that it might help them find everybody else. The item taught Sora the Confuse sleight. Using Genie, Tink, and any other summon card, Sora could confuse enemies temporarily so that they would attack less often. While Piglet contemplated what to do, Sora explored and found some health, moogle points, and a Kingdom Key attack card in Pooh’s house. With Piglet still undecided, Sora and Pooh moved on and found themselves in front of Rabbit’s house.

Sora and Pooh made their way to the back of the house and were about to leave the area when, suddenly, a pumpkin came rolling out of nowhere. Sora told Pooh to watch out and leaped out of the way, but Pooh didn’t budge a bit and got rolled over by the pumpkin. Sora ran back inside the gate to make sure Pooh was okay. Pooh said that he seemed to be just fine. As Sora wondered where the pumpkin had come from, a voice rang out from the top of the hill. Rabbit climbed over the crest and made his way down towards his gate. Pooh greeted Rabbit. Rabbit told Sora and Pooh that he was glad to see them. He needed help sorting the vegetables in his garden. Sora was more than glad to help a friend of Pooh’s, even though that runaway pumpkin had almost run him over. Sora sorted the pumpkins and cabbages as they rolled down the hill, finally finishing up. Rabbit thanked Sora for his help by giving him the Cross-Slash+ sleight. Using a Cloud summon card, a stop magic card, and an attack card, Sora could summon Cloud to teleport behind an enemy and use Cross-slash on them. With Rabbit found and his problems sorted out, Sora and Pooh moved further into the forest. In the next area, Sora and Pooh came across a tall tree. Attached to a log by the tree was a set of balloons. Sora wondered what the balloons were for. Sora grabbed ahold of the balloons and floated upwards with Pooh holding on to his back. Near the top of the tree, Sora and Pooh found Owl, who seemed surprised that they had made it all the way up there. Back on the ground, Owl asked if Pooh was alright. Pooh said that he was find and that he had found floating rather fun. Sora suggested that he might be able to use a balloon to look for his friends. Owl told him that he might think so, but serious problems would arise once they reached their destination. Sora was confused until Owl asked him, once he had found their friends, how would they get back down to them? The balloon would only go where the wind blew, which was usually up! What if they were to see their friends, but the wind kept them just out of reach? Owl said that he would rather search for his friends than find them and not be able to reach them. Sora saw the sense in that. Owl said that if they wanted to find the rest of Pooh’s friends, they were better off doing it on foot. Besides, it could be quite exciting to stumble across a friend where one least expected them. Pooh said that he felt just like that when he stumbled across some honey. Owl commended Pooh for his spirit and told him to keep moving and keep looking. Pooh thanked Owl and said that his tummy was anxious to find some honey. Sora sighed and told Owl not to worry. He would help Pooh find his friends. Owl decided to give Sora something to speed him on his way. Owl gave Sora the Firage Burst sleight. Using two Fire magic cards and a Gravity magic card, Sora could shoot a large fireball into the air and rain down small fireballs over a large area.

In the next part of the Hundred Acre Wood, Sora and Pooh came across Tigger, bouncing between sets of stumps. Tigger asked if Sora and Pooh would want to bounce with him. Sora figured that it sounded fun, so he took Tigger up on the invitation. Sora managed to copy Tigger’s pattern of jumps an amazing 150 times! (I still can’t believe I pulled off that many.) Tigger congratulated Sora on a job well done. Pooh told Tigger that they were trying to bounce just like him. Tigger was surprised that they managed to keep up with him. Sora said he could bounce with the best of them, now. Tigger took Sora up on the challenge and asked if he could do this! Tigger bounced around on his tail over and over again, back and forth, across all the stumps in the area. Tigger asked Sora what he thought of that. Sora admitted that he could never mimic that. Tigger told him not to worry. He didn’t have to do it just like Tigger. Bouncing is best when it’s done your own way because he was Tigger and Sora was Sora. With that, Tigger bounced off again. Pooh noticed that Tigger had dropped something. Tigger told them that he had found it on top of a tree when he was bouncing and told Sora that he could have it. It weighed him down anyway. The item taught Sora the Idyll Romp sleight. By using Bambi and two attack cards, Sora could have Bambi zigzag across the battlefield, confusing the enemy. With Tigger found, Sora and Pooh moved on to another part of the forest.

Entering the area, Sora and Pooh found a set of footprints that led to a blustery hole. Sora jumped up over the hole and was shot into the air, along with Pooh. Sora and Pooh fell down into the middle of some brush and found little Roo. Pooh asked him what he was doing there. Roo told them that he was so busy looking for Tigger that he had gotten blown away by the wind and fell down in the bushes. Pooh asked if he had gotten stuck, but Roo said that he had just been waiting for Tigger so they could ride the blustery wind together. If Tigger rode the wind, Roo would be waiting right there for him. Sora wondered what Roo would do if Tigger didn’t fall into the same place as he had. Pooh agreed. If Tigger rode the wind, his bounces might bounce him even further away. Roo admitted he had been getting a little lonely and tired of waiting for Tigger anyway. Sora suggested going to find Tigger instead of waiting for him. Roo thought that was a great idea and took off to find Tigger right away. Before he left, though, he gave Sora something he had found in the bushes. It was a Mega-Ether item card. After Roo took off, Sora and Pooh hopped up to a nearby ledge and found Eeyore sitting around. Eeyore had lost his tail again. Sora asked him if he knew where he had lost it. Pooh declared that he had found it! But no, Pooh’s tummy had actually led him to a tree full of honey. Eeyore figured that taking the honey would upset the bees, though. Sora figured it was worth braving the bees though to help Pooh settle his tummy and, possibly, find Eeyore’s tail. So Sora took on the swarms of bees while Pooh scrambled and tried to get some honey. Eventually, Sora managed to fight off all of the bees. As Pooh ran around, he ran into a tree and, from one of the branches, Eeyore’s tail fell to the ground. Pooh moaned about hurting his head, but Eeyore thanked the bear for finding his tail. Eeyore thanked Sora for his help too. Pooh and Sora both admitted that it was purely an accident that they had found the tail, but Eeyore thanked them anyway and gave Sora an Elixer item card. With Roo and Eeyore found, Sora and Pooh moved on.

Sora and Pooh found themselves in a clearing with a single log sitting in the middle. Sora realized that there was nowhere else for them to go. He turned to Pooh and asked him if it had been more fun looking for his friends together. Pooh said that he’d had alot of fun searching with Sora and had a gift for him for helping find his friends. Pooh then plopped down and said that he needed a little rest after walking so far. If only he had a honey pot to keep him company. Sora told him that he ought to be going. Pooh asked where he was going to. Sora told the bear that he was going to look for his friends. Pooh told him that he would help Sora search for his friends, but Sora told Pooh that he should stay there. Pooh asked if this was goodbye, but Sora told him no because he would always know where to find Pooh… well, if he didn’t forget. Pooh told him not to worry. Sora could always count on Pooh. Even if Sora forgot Pooh, Pooh would never forget Sora. Sora thanked his fuzzy new friend and walked off, back into the halls of Castle Oblivion. Sora checked out Pooh’s parting gift, finding a Bambi summon magic card. Renewed and refreshed from his time with Pooh, Sora returned into the tenth floor hall of the castle.

As Sora, Donald, and Goofy approached the stairwell to the eleventh floor, a dark portal opened up in front of the trio and Vexen stepped out in front of them. Sora asked who this newcomer was. Vexen introduced himself and told them that he was there to collect his debt. Goofy seemed confused by the debt and asked if Sora owed this guy something. Sora told him that he didn’t. Vexen disagreed, however, telling Sora that he owed Vexen for reuniting him with his former friend. Sora didn’t want to believe what the Organization member was telling him, but Vexen confirmed that he was the one who had brought Riku to him. Sora turned on Vexen as being the one who was controlling Riku and asked what the robed man had done with him. Vexen saw no need to trouble Sora with Riku’s whereabouts. After all, why trouble Sora when he was about to be destroyed? Sora readied his Keyblade and jumped into battle with the Organization’s scientist. Vexen attacked with shield strikes and ice spear blasts. He even managed to freeze and stun Sora, on occasion. Vexen pressed the attack and broke Sora’s chains over and over again, but Sora’s cleverness finally won out. Sora used Firaga and the Sonic Blade sleights repeatedly, wearing the Chilly Academic down, finally finishing him off with one final might Firaga blast, leaving Vexen beaten. Vexen complemented Sora on being one not to die very easily. Sora shot back that he would never lose to someone like Vexen. Vexen told Sora not to be so sure. Vexen had delved deep into Sora’s memory as they had fought. Vexen produced a world card that he said was crafted from all of the memories that were locked on the other side of Sora’s heart. Vexen gave Sora the card and then disappeared into a dark portal once more. Sora wondered what Vexen had meant about the memories on the other side of his heart, but as he did so, realized that he had learned the Freeze sleight from Vexen. By using two Blizzard magic cards and a Stop magic card, Sora could freeze nearby enemies and attack, dealing greater damage than normal. Sora then checked the card he had received. The card said that it was the Twilight Town world card. Twilight Town? Sora had never been to Twilight Town in any of his previous journeys… had he? Perplexed by the card and the words of the Organization’s senior member, Sora moved on up the nearby stairs to the eleventh floor.

Meanwhile, the other three members of the Organization were meeting in their castle headquarters around the giant crystal ball. Axel told Marluxia that if Sora were to disappear, it would mess up the Organization’s plans. Marluxia said that he trusted that Axel knew what he needed to do. Axel, instead, played dumb and told Marluxia that perhaps he should spell it out for him. Marluxia said that Vexen had clearly committed a treasonous act against the Organization and it was Axel’s job to eliminate the traitor. As Axel disappeared into his own dark portal, he reminded Marluxia that he wouldn’t be able to take that command back later. Meanwhile, the trio arrived on the landing of the eleventh floor. Jiminy emerged from his hiding place and pondered what Vexen had meant about a card made from the memories on the other side of Sora’s heart. Jiminy wondered what the card did. Sora said that they would find out soon enough. After all, it was the only world card they had left, and thus their only way to move forward. Sora got his deck ready to proceed into this new world which came from the other side of his heart. After conversing with Donald and Goofy some more, Sora took a deep breath and stepped up to the door. He raised the Twilight Town card in his hand and, as the door opened, took his first steps into the completely unknown…