The four walked down the white hallway and Sora stopped walking. He pulled out a charm that was a blue color and shaped as a six point star.

"Who was it? Who's most important to me?" Sora asked. He stared at the charm and tried to recall who but he couldn't think of anyone. He sighed and a tear fell down his cheek. "Nothing..."

Noel noticed this and sighed, "You don't remember, do you?"

He shook his head, "No, I only remember Naminé, C'mon, do you guys remember anything at all?"

Donald sighed, "No. Sorry, 'Sora. It's important, but I just can't remember... I don't want to be but I'm getting scared."

"Then, let's make a promise!"

"Huh?" The other three looked at Goofy.

"What Sora said back there had my brain a-thinkin'. Whenever you make a promise that's super-duper big, maybe it gives you the courage to face the scary stuff!"

"Courage..." Sora repeated and nodded with a face of determination.

"Alright then, let's do it!" Noel said.

"Yeah!" Donald put a hand in, "Even if we get scared, or in trouble- or even if we get separated-"

"Or even if we sorta forget each other-" Goofy added and put his hand on top of Donald's.

"Whatever happens, we're friends!" Sora added his hand to the pile.

"Yeah and we'll watch each other's backs and protect each other!" Noel added his in.

"All for one, and one for all!" Goofy said.

~

They walked in and saw Axel and Marluxia, who was using Naminé as a shield.

"Is that your shield? Won't do you any good, I'm afraid." Axel said and Sora silently growled while Noel clenched his fist. Marluxia saw them and smirked.

"I wonder..." He said. "Are you listening, Sora and Noel?"

"Oh?" Axel heard the door close behind him and sensed them.

"Axel says he's willing to hurt to harm Naminé to get to me. You wouldn't let that happen, will you?" Marluxia asked smugly and Sora summoned the keyblade that was made from a bracelet... sadly he didn't remember whose.

Axel chuckled softly as they got in their fighting stances. "Oh, come now. You're Marluxia's puppet already?"

"After we finish you, he's next." Sora answered.

"Hmph... Now Sora. We've got more in common than you might think." He turned around. He saw the keyblade and that six point star charm at the end of it. He had a sudden flash of memory.

"Big brother, can you buy that star for me?" Beady bright green eyes stared up at a boy with spikey red hair. He rustled her hair.

"Anything for my little sis!" She pouted at this.

"Lea! Stop missing up my hair! And I'm not little!"

He sighed and sensed some of his Somebody's sister inside it. He looked down as the memory faded, "That keyblade... is something special. I know that charm when I see it."

Sora gasped, "What do you mean?"

"I'd really rather not fight you..." He smirked and looked back up, getting into his stance, "But I can't dishonor the organization, now, can I?"

Sora's friends turned into cards and Sora fought with Axel while Marluxia got away. Axel executed fast moves but thanks to Sora's keyblade he was quicker. Axel stepped back and put a hand to the place were his heart was.

"You're better than I thought you'd be... but I suppose it's not just you or the keyblade, it's also her." Sora raised an eyebrow at this. "It was worth saving you after all."

"What do you mean? Saving me? And who's 'her'?"

"Sorry..." He started to disappear, "I would hate to kill the suspense."

Sora's heart felt like it was squeezing and he reached out for him. "Axel!" He sighed as the redhead disappeared. He looked around and didn't see Marluxia anywhere. All there was an opened door. He growled and ran through it.

~

The four ran after Marluxia and found him with the blonde girl.

"You've defeated Axel." He darkly chuckled, "That keyblade is something special... Different from the others. How I've longed to make it my own."

"Let Naminé go!" Sora shouted.

"Or else we'll take you down!" Noel drew his sword.

"There's no chance of you winning. Naminé... Erase Sora's memory." Everyone gasped at that.

"But if I do that..." Naminé protested.

"That's right. Sora's heart will be destroyed and that keyblade will be mine."

"His heart destroyed?" Goofy worried and Noel growled.

"And that Keyblade will be yours?" He glared at him.

"You can do that?" Donald asked.

"I'd rather prefer you just to hand over that keyblade, that way I can have the power." He said, "Naminé, do it."

"No." She said and The pinkette looked at her. "Sora forgave me even when I deceived him. So how could I destroy his heart? There's no way! I don't care what happens to me. I won't hurt Sora! I won't do it!"

Rage built inside the pink haired Nobody, "Then you will-"

"Do it, Naminé!" She gasped at this and they all looked at him. "I don't care! You can erase my memory!"

"What?!" Noel was in complete shock.

"Sora, why'd you say that?!" Goofy said.

"Because who will I look after if I don't have Naminé?" The keyblade appeared in his hand but he ignored it. "So just do it! Erase my memory. Destroy my heart. I promised! I'll always protect you! You have to believe me!"

"Sora..." Naminé's eyes brimmed with tears.

"I don't need any memories to take on someone like Marluxia!" He said.

"You bet!" Donald said, "Even if Sora forgets it all, Noel, Goofy, and I won't forget!"

Noel smirked, "We can tell him everything we remember about him!"

"They're right! We can remember everything for Sora!" Goofy added.

"See. I'll all my friends' memories, so I piece my own together again!"

"You ignorant fool." Marluxia said, "If Naminé uses her powers to erase your memory, you'll be nothing more than an empty shell. Your heart will no longer able to feel or to care. Just like Vexen's pathetic imitation of your Riku."

"Take another guess!" Riku showed up in a dark corridor and slashed at Marly. Naminé screamed and jumped back, away from the fray.

"It can't be!" Marly clenched his teeth.

"Riku!" Noel and Sora said in unison.

"No, just an imitation." He said.

"You're a shell- a shell who has had everything taken! Everything!" Marly growled at the Rikupelica.

"What can you possibly think I ever had? Both my body and heart are fake." He glared, "But... There is one memory I'll keep, even if it is a lie! Whether it was a phantom promise or not... I will protect Naminé!"

"Imbeciles!" Marluxia growled and summoned his pink Scythe, "You would knowing shackle your heart with a chain of memories born of lies? You would be the one with a heart, yet cast aside your heart's freedom? You will never defeat me!"

Everyone got ready and battled with Marly. Soon, he disappeared.

"Is he gone?" Donald asked and Sora put a thumbs up.

"No, it can't be..." Noel said and everyone else looked at him. "That was too easy."

"You could say that." Marly said and everyone was on guard. He appeared in front of them. "However, what you destroyed was merely an illusion of me."

"So what!" Riku charged forward and slashed at the illusion of him. "Another imitation!"

"Calm down, Riku. Don't let him get to you." Noel said. They looked at the door to the next room.

"He's really... In there?" Sora asked.

"Yes." Naminé said.

"I knew it. I can feel his power. It's trying to destroy my heart."

"Gwarsh, we'll just care of him together!" Goofy said.

"Come on!" Donald said and Sora turned to the Rikupelica.

"Riku... Protect Naminé." He gasped and turned to him.

"I'll even help." Noel said.

"You don't mind?" He asked and Sora chuckled.

"Should we?" Riku smiled at this.

"Alright!"

~

Noel crossed his arms and waited for something to happen while Riku stayed vigilant and sharp. Naminé tapped on Noel's shoulder.

"Yeah, what?" She blushed at him.

"Well, you know how you forgot your light as well as Sora did his?" He nodded. "Well, I was meaning to tell you... That girl with the long blue hair isn't real."

He gasped, "You mean Yeul?"

"Yes. She was never real. Just a replica, made by Vexen. When Riku destroyed her in front of you, you wanted to hurt him, right?"

"Yeah, but why would they make her if they didn't need her?"

"To get Sora to turn on you." He gasped at this. "If you destroyed Riku, Sora would to..." She trailed off.

"Okay, then why did they want me out of the picture?"

"You were in the way. You and him got separated from Donald and Goofy and you- being the Protector of Light- had to follow him. Before you defeated the illusion of that Riku, you figured it out it was an illusion and it disappeared."

"Yeah and I broke down because I thought Yeul was gone forever."

"But she isn't your light. Your light is Kairi." He looked at her face.

"Who's that?"

Just as he asked that Sora, Donald, and Goofy came through the door and the dog and duck closed the door. Sora used the the keyblade with the emeralds and rubies to lock it. They heard a familiar voice that made Sora smile and close his eyes to see that one girl's face.

'By the power of the balanced heart, this door will forever be locked.'

He sighed as a tear escaped from his eye. He wiped it and turned to Riku, Naminé, and Noel. "You all okay?" Noel and Naminé nodded but the Rikupelica hadn't responded. "Riku?"

"Not Riku. I'm a fake." He said. "I can't remember why I was created or where or when... All that's inside of me is the time I had of you and Naminé. But I know those memories are not real."

"Wait, can't Naminé help you with your memories and get them back to normal?" Noel asked.

"Well, I..."

"It's alright. I'll deal." He started to walk away until Sora stopped him.

"Who cares if someone created you? You're you and nobody else. You have your own heart inside you. Those feelings and memories are yours and yours alone. They're special!"

"Sora, you're a good guy." He said without turning around. "I don't have to be real to see how real your feelings are. That's good enough."

"Riku!" Sora called after him.

Donald sighed and turned to Naminé, "Can you put our memories back?" Donald asked.

"Yes." She said, "Not remembering something doesn't really mean that it's gone."

"What d'ya mean?" Goofy asked.

"When you remember one thing, that leads to remembering another- and then another and then another. Our memories are connected."

Noel thought back to what Marly said, "Like they're in a chain, right?"

She nodded, "Many pieces are linked together in a chain- a chain that makes up each of us. I don't actually erase any memories- I just take apart the links and change them. You still have all your memories."

Jiminy popped out of Sora's hood, "So you can put 'em back together?"

"Yes, but first, I have to undo the chains of the memories I made on my own. After I've done that, I have to gather up the memories scattered across each of your hearts and reconnect them. It might take some time but I think it might work. No, it will work. I'm sure. It's my turn to watch over you guys."

"All right. We all really trust you." Sora said.

"Oh... Wait a second!" Jiminy said. "You said you'd have to undo the links of the memories you made. But that would mean..."

Noel looked woefully at her. "We would forget this castle... and we would forget you." Naminé nodded at this and Sora gasped.

"What?!"

"I'm sorry. It's the only way I'm afraid." She turned around. "But you do have a choice. You can lose your memories of this castle and reclaim your old ones... or keep your memories here and give up the memories that you've lost."

"Do I have to... to choose?"

"Yes."

Sora sighed and heard that girl's voice again- possibly from a memory because he could see it.

"Please... Don't forget me!" She hugged him and laid her head down on his chest. "Even after I'm gone, I'll live forever... inside your heart, right?"

He sadly smiled and looked up, feeling happy to have a little bit of memory of the redhead he loved dearly but also guilty he was about to say.

"Make me like I was."

She turned around with the biggest of smiles. "Nobody needs to keep a bunch of memories that aren't real anyway! You'd want to remember all of the people who are really important to you."

Noel felt his heart crack a little to see her sad, though she was trying to hide it. He could sense that she was sad. He had a brief second of remembrance.

He looked over to his right and saw a little girl with auburn hair. She was looking to the ground. "Hey what's wrong, K-?"

"Those mean boys said mean things about you!" She frowned, "I stood up for you, though!"

He smiled, "Thanks for being a great friend to me. One day, I hope we can be more..."

She tilted her head, "What do you mean?"

He chuckled and handed her an ice cream, "You find out one day."

Noel opened his eyes to see that fourteen year old girl standing in Naminé's place.

"Noel?" Sora snapped him out of it.

"Oh, sorry... lost in thought I guess. I'm ready to visit my old memories, too."

Sora's keyblade appeared in his hand and illuminated the whole room even brighter than before. They were all in a room with a huge pod-like structure.

"Whoa, what is that?" Noel asked.

~

"To remember again, we have to sleep in that?" Donald said after Naminé got done explaining.

"Yes. It's going to take some time but I'll take care of you." She responded.

"Gwarsh, when we wake up, we won't remember who you are anymore..." Goofy said.

"But how are we gonna thank you?" Donald asked.

"Don't worry about that!" Jiminy said, taking out his journal. "I'll just make a big note in my journal and it will saw, 'Thank Naminé'."

"Oh, good! That makes me feel better." Donald said.

"Well, good night, Naminé!" Goofy said.

"Good night, Goofy." She politely said and him and Donald walked off. Noel suddenly remembered something.

"Okay, other than me and that one girl, there was another one. She had red hair and green eyes." Sora gasped and looked at his keyblade.

"Green eyes like the emeralds and red like the rubies..." He closed his eyes and saw the redhead transform into the keyblade he had. "This... This keyblade is her." Naminé nodded and he smiled, "Alright then, can you hold on to it for me?"

"Well, in Jiminy's journal... there was a note. It said to gather all her forgotten memories too. I'll do my best to restore her." He gave her the keyblade.

Noel smiled, "Thanks, and Naminé... good night."

"Good night, Noel." He walked off and Naminé turned to Sora. "You, too, Sora."

"Okay."

She smiled as he was just about to enter the pod. "All of this may have started with a lie... but I really am glad I got to met you, Sora."

"Yeah, me too. When I finally found you, and even when I remembered your name, I was happy." He turned around, "the way I felt then wasn't a lie."

"Goodbye." She sweetly smiled.

"No, not goodbye! When I wake up, I'll find you. And then there will be no lies. We're going to be friends for real. Promise me, Naminé."

"You're going to forget making that promise."

"If the chain of memories comes apart, the links will still be there, right? So the memory of our promise will always be inside of me somewhere. I'm sure of it."

She smiled and chuckled, "Okay, it's a promise."

"Good. Until later." He waved and hopped into the pod. Naminé looked at the keyblade in her hand.

"A promise... huh... Sora, some of your memories' links are deep in the shadows of your heart and I won't be able to find them." The pod was slowly closing, "But don't worry... You made another promise to someone who you could never replace. She is your light. The light within darkness. Remember her and all the memories lost in the shadows of your heart will come into the light."

"Another promise..."

"Look at the good luck charm. I changed its shape when I changed your memory. But when you thought of her just once, it went back to the way it was."

He dug into his pocket and pulled out the six point star charm. He looked up at her and then down back at the charm. He took a deep breath and closed his blue eyes. Naminé smiled as the pod closed and she turned to the other side of the room. She walked up to a pod that was shaped like a coffin. The blonde placed the keyblade in it and it closed. It flashed and transformed into that redhead of Sora's memories, but she was pale as a ghost and no pulse could be found.

"I'll do the best I can... Mai..." She said and began working.

~

Sora was surrounded by darkness and he tried his best to remember everyone of his friends, but only saw cloudy outlines of them. He saw outlines of Riku and Kairi, two of his best friends. He smiled as he was get close. He then saw a cloudy figure of that girl. He blushed at her and began to feel shy. 'Geez, Mai seems prettier than I remember...' he gasped at what he just thought, "Mai!" Her figure turned perfectly clear and she floated up to him. He giggled and wrapped his arms around her. She gave him a kiss on her lips and he kissed back with just as much passion. She pulled back and smiled, nodding. She motioned her arm behind her and slightly turned to the side. He looked passed her and saw the rest of his friends clearly. He smiled and pulled Mai into him again, "I'm never going to let you go, Flower! Never again!"