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Linking the Chain

By Pata Hikari

Based off Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories by Disney and SquareEnix.

Chapter 3: Climbing the Shadows

"Sora!" Leon shouted.

He, Yuffie, Cid, and Aerith had rushed into the Third District. They all had weapons out. Cid was waving a huge spear around wildly, while even Aerith had out a staff.

"..." Leon looked around, "Cid... you said there was a huge Heartless here." He narrowed his eyes.

"There- there was!" Cid looked around in shock.

"Yup. There was." Goofy said, grinning.

"We took care of it." Sora held his hands behind his head.

"Well, I'll be a Moogle's aunt!" Yuffie exclaimed, "You took out that big Heartless?"

"Got it." Sora grinned broadly, "We're no pushovers."

Leon walked up to Sora, "I guess I underestimated you." He pulled out two cards, one blue and one red. "Here, I think you could use these better then me."

The red card had a picture of the lion that was on Leon's pendant. While the blue card had a picture of a real lion with a deep red mane.

"Thank you." Sora took the cards.

"Hey! Sora!" Donald called out, "Hurry up!"

"We need to up to the next part of the castle." Goofy added.

"Castle?" Yuffie asked.

"Nothing..." Sora shook his head.

"Heh. Like this whole town is in a castle." Cid chuckled.

"Uh, yeah..." Sora turned around, starting to walk towards the exit to the Third District.

"Sora..." Aerith whispered.

"Huh?" He turned around; she was standing in front of him, alone. Her face darkened with sorrow.

"Sora... this town, it's created from your memories." Aerith said calmly, "Am I right?"

"Um... yeah." Sora nodded. How did she figure that out?

"I see..." Aerith closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Then, that means that everything here, even me, is just an illusion."

Sora stumbled back, that hadn't occurred to him. "But... you're a human being! Not a rock or a barrel. I can't just..."

"But you can." Aerith looked at the starry sky. "I can feel it. I'm no different then those cards Leon gave you."

"D- don't say that!" Sora clenched his fist, "It depresses me..."

"But it's true!" Aerith leaned close to Sora. "Beware the shadows of Memory Sora. They'll try to change you. Do /not/ forget who you are! If you do... then what's the point of it all?"

"I- I won't forget." Sora whispered.

"Promise me Sora!" There were tears falling down Aerith's cheeks. "Promise me you'll never forget those close to your Heart."

"I promise." Sora nodded, "So don't worry." He smiled.

"Hey, Sora! Whatcha standing around for?" Goofy called.

"Huh?" Sora turned to face Donald and Goofy, "I'm talking to Aerith!"

"Aerith left with the others." Donald folded his arms.

"What do you mean? She's right-" Sora turned around.

Aerith was gone.

Huh? Sora blinked, "Oh... coming!"

~-------------------------------------~

"Well, let's get out of here." Donald pushed open the doors leading out of the Third District, the ones that lead back to the First District.

There was a flash of brilliant white light.

"What the!?" Sora looked around.

Behind them was an ornate door. The three were standing on a stair case made from a white translucent material.

There was nothing else.

"Gawarsh... wouldn't want to fall down here..." Goofy took a step away from the edge, looking nervously down into the black void.

"It's probably an illusion." Donald said calmly, "There's an easy way to find out." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a single Munny piece. "Watch."

He dropped the Munny over the edge. They all watched as it grew smaller and smaller. It fell further down, until it was just a small speck in their vision. Then it vanished.

"OK..." Donald muttered, "I think it just /might/ be real."

Sora stood up, standing in the middle of the path. "We should stay in the middle..."

"Good idea." Jiminy said, "I know I wouldn't want to fall into... that."

"Right." Sora nodded, and they started walking.

~-------------------------------------~

"You know." Goofy said conversationally as they walked up the curving stairs, "This reminds me of that other castle we went through."

BRRZCTT!

"What?" Sora asked, "What other castle?"

"You know..." Goofy scrunched his forehead, "Ha- Ho- Haldo... Something..."

"You sure you're not remembering our home?" Donald asked dryly.

"No!" Goofy shook his head rapidly, his hat barely staying on his head. "In that place Sora almost lost the ke-"

BERRZERT!

"-yb... something." Goofy closed his eyes, "He nearly lost something!"

"You sure you're not making this up?" Sora asked.

Goofy sighed, "I don't know... I do know we visited another castle. It was strange like this one."

"Well, there's a way to sort this out." Jiminy said, pulling out a large thick book. (Sora had sometimes wondered how the small cricket could hold such a large book. When asked, Jiminy hadn't been able to explain it to Sora's satisfaction. But that's beside the point. In fact, considering the company he traveled with, Jiminy was the normal one.)

"OK." Jiminy opened the book, "All I'll do is search for any castle where Sora lost something."

SKRIZIT!

"Wha- what's this!?" Jiminy cried out in shock.

"What!?" Sora reflexively called out for the Keyblade, forgetting for a second that it didn't work in Castle Oblivion.

"My notes... my journal! It's blank!" Jiminy rapidly flipped through the pages. "Every entry, every note, every picture, gone!"

"Err... do you have any other copies?" Sora asked.

"No!" Jiminy choked out, "I only had this book..."

Sora folded his arms, trying to think, "This... it's all too weird."

"Look." Donald said suddenly, "A door appeared..."

It had happened so suddenly, an ornate door had appeared in front of them. It stood out in the void. Yet the stairs continued on beyond it.

"I don't get this place." Jiminy muttered.

Sora shook his head, "That doesn't matter. We entered this castle. So we need to reach the top." He pushed open the door, welcoming another flash of whiteness.

~-------------------------------------~

They were in a room identical to the entrance. The sole thing that set it apart was the words "Second Floor" engraved on the left wall. With a sound like a rushing wind, the hooded person appeared.

"You again." Sora narrowed his eyes.

"Greetings Sora." The hooded person said, "Did you enjoy seeing your memories?"

Sora sighed, "It was nice seeing everyone again... but, why show me a fake town? Why go to all this trouble...?"

"Sora, Sora, Sora..." The hooded person said, "I am only interested in you. You'll have to discover the meaning of your memories on your own."

"What do you mean, the 'meaning of his memories?'?" Donald quacked, "Tell us what this is all about!"

"That's also something you'll have to learn on your own." The hooded person chuckled.

Another rushing sound occurred.

"Hey, jerk, quit hogging the hero!"

Another man had appeared. He was also wearing the large black coat. Yet his hood was down, allowing Sora to see his face. He had spiky red hair that resembled a hedgehog. His face was sharp and angular, two tattoos shaped like upside down triangles were under his eyes.

The hooded person glanced at him, /"You/ want to test him?"

"Yup. Can't let you have all the fun." He said.

"Humph. Very well." The hooded person tossed a set of white cards at him before vanishing.

"Well, that solves some problems." He said, walking up to Sora, "Hey there."

"What's... what's this?" Sora asked.

"Huh?" He stopped, "Didn't he tell you anything?" He sighed, "OK... this is Castle Oblivion blah blah blah you can gain something blah blah blah but it'll cost ya blah blah blah."

"We knew that." Goofy said.

"Huh?" He blinked, "Then why'd you ask me?"

"Because we still don't know what's going on!" Donald shouted.

"Whoa... easy there poultry." He waved his hands in a defensive way, "Everything will be answered eventually. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself." He grinned, "The name's Axel." He leaned in close to Sora, a dark glint in his eyes, "Got it memorized?"

"Um... OK..." Sora stepped back.

"Good!" Axel laughed, "You know what, Sora, I hope we can be friends." He folded his arms, his laughter changing into a deep chuckle, "Because my enemies have a tendency to commit suicide. It's rather strange really..."

"Uh... sure." Sora blinked, what's with this guy?

"Good to hear." Axel reached into his coat, pulling out a card. It was red, with orange streaks dancing all over it. "Well, Sora, now that we're buddies, I have a favor to ask of ya." The card suddenly burst into flame. The fire split into two streams. The fires spiraled around his hands. Two solid red, orange and white circles formed. These circles had multiple long spikes sticking out of them like spokes on an inverted bicycle wheel. A weapon Sora recognized as chakrams. "Try to survive!" He rushed at them.

~-------------------------------------~

Sora ducked under the rapid swipe. "What the!?" He rolled under Axel extended arms, he pulled out his Keyblade card, activating it.

"Ah yes, the Keyblade." Axel commented, "Let's see if it's all it's cut out to be." He charged at Sora, thrusting out his right arm.

"What's wrong with you?" Goofy jumped in front of Axel, his shield ringing as the blades collided with the flat metal.

"Do I need to explain myself?" Axel chuckled, jumping back.

/"Thunder!"/ Donald threw a bolt of lightning at Axel.

Axel spun around, deflecting the blast with a chakram. "Now, is this very fair?" He looked around him; Sora Donald and Goofy were moving in a slow circle, each of them keeping their eyes on him. "Being cautious, eh?" Axel taunted.

Without a word, Goofy charged. Axel spun towards Goofy, raising his right chakram to block it. But Goofy turned his shield to the side, jamming it in-between the chakram's blades, twisting it to lock it into place. Then Axel heard an incomprehensible scream. Turning his head, he noticed that Donald was now charging at him. For a second Axel didn't worry, after all, being hit with a stick by a three foot tall duck wasn't something to worry much about. Then he thought that Donald had likely charged his staff with some kind of magic, meaning it would hurt. He twisted his left arm around, barely blocking the strike. But then Donald twisted his staff around in-between the chakram's blades. Axel pulled, trying to get loose, but they just pushed in, keeping his weapons useless. He winced as he felt his own blades start digging into his back.

Then he noticed Sora. He was running towards him, like the other two, the Keyblade in one hand and a blue card in the other. /"Aero!"/ he shouted, throwing the card onto the ground. A gust of wind propelled Sora into the air, right above Axel. He fell down Keyblade first, both hands clutching it.

That's probably going to hurt. A lot. Axel thought, Guess I have no choice. He let go of his weapons, jumping to the side.

Sora landed in front of him, a few more inches and the Keyblade would have sliced off Axel's left arm. His chakrams had fallen to the ground.

Axel whistled, "Dang that was some impressive stuff!" He shrugged, "Pity it didn't work."

"You're unarmed now though." Sora grinned, leaping at Axel.

Axel curved his body, barely avoiding the Keyblade, "I'm never unarmed." He held up his left hand, there was a flash of fire and his chakram reappeared, blocking the Keyblade. Both chakrams had vanished off the floor. The air rang with the sounds of Sora and Axel clashing. Sora, apparently having enough, kicked Axel hard in the stomach. He doubled over and dropped his chakrams. Axel responded by punching Sora in the face.

"Ow..." Sora rubbed his cheek.

"You know how to fight dirty, I see." Axel muttered. He picked up his chakrams. "I guess it's time to get serious!" Cards flew out of Axel's coat. They span around him, three linked together. They burst into a colorless light. Axel clasped his hands together, before thrusting them out. A huge fireball flew at them.

"Whoa!" Sora rolled away. "That's a little tricky..."

A card flew in front of Axel's hands. Another fireball launched out of it. Then another card moved and another fireball was shot.

"I... suggest you run." Axel grinned, before proceeding to shoot out fireballs like a machine gun.

Sora jumped back, rolled, and all around dodged every fireball. Yet he couldn't get any closer to Axel. "Don't worry!" Goofy called out, and ran towards Axel.

Axel growled, turning his shots to Goofy. But the fireballs burned away harmlessly against the shield.

Sora breathed a sigh of relief. I need to turn the tide... He pulled out the cards he had so far. He looked at the Solider Heartless Card... Maybe this one...

"Ow!" Goofy dropped his shield, "That smarts!" The metal was now glowing from the heat.

Axel chuckled, turning back to Sora. Just as he activated the card.

For Sora, everything seemed to slow down. He stared at Axel, as he moved to shoot a fireball. The flames moved at a much slower speed. Sora didn't have to do much to dodge it.

To everyone else, Sora suddenly became a blur. He danced around the fireballs at speeds that defied human limits. Axel growled, increasing the speed of his shots. Yet Sora continued to inch closer!

/"Blizzard!"/ Donald cast a spell, the ice smashing into the fire.

"Gah!" Axel suddenly couldn't see as a massive plume of steam formed. He felt a presence at his side.

It was Sora.

Axel was suddenly blasted with thousands of blows. The Keyblade raked across his body. Each blow seemed to tear through him. Finally the attacks slowed down as the card Sora used wore off.

"Erk!" Before Axel could recover two arms grabbed him. Goofy had pulled Axel into a tight grip.

Sora took a few gasping breaths, "It's over Axel..."

"Clever!" Axel smiled, "You have, once again, put me in a situation where I'm in trouble." He turned to look at Goofy, "The three of you are good, you know that?"

"Do you surrender?" Donald asked.

"Oh, no. No I don't." Axel laughed, then vanished.

"What the!?" Goofy looked around, "Where'd he go?"

"Up here!" Axel called.

The three looked at the ceiling. Axel was hovering in the air, his cards spiraling around him. Linking together in sets of three, then those sets linking together. Until all the cards were combined in a single pattern. "Boo." Axel touched the mass of cards. A huge spiral of flame shot out of it.

"Whaahhhaa!" Donald screamed, shooting a Blizzard spell at it. It didn't even slow the torrent down.

"Not good not good not good!" Sora's mind raced for options... "The cards!" Maybe if he broke the link between the cards the attack would vanish! Please let this work... He thought as he recalled the Keyblade. He recalled what Leon had taught him... he took the Keyblade card. With it he made a two more. He then linked them. A moment later the Keyblade reappeared, glowing with a powerful light.

"Sora! What do we do!?" Donald shouted, the flames were almost there. Sora could feel the heat.

"Come on..." Sora drew back the Keyblade.

Goofy ducked, "Wake me up when it's over!"

The Keyblade's glow grew brighter as Sora pulled it back further.

"Five seconds till impact!" Axel shouted from behind the flames, "What will you do? Five..."

Sora began thrusting the Keyblade up.

"Four!"

/"Strike Raid!"/ Sora shouted.

"Three!"

The Keyblade flew out of Sora's hands, spinning like a propeller.

"Two!"

The spinning Keyblade flew through the flames, making a small hole in the spiral.

"One!"

~-------------------------------------~

/Authors Note: OK, I really like this chapter, which is rare. Axel is awesome, and I like this fight scene. Oh, and I keep on accidentally capitalizing "link." Heh, that comes from writing so much Zelda fanfiction./