The long, arduous journey through Castle Oblivion's 13 floors has begun.
Thirteenth floor: Larxene heard Naminé stop scribbling on her pad. "Do you have a good reason to explain this?" She asked Kariri's shadow. "I—I don't want to do this…" Larxene turned to Naminé. "Last time I checked, you volunteered for this. And anyway, Marluxia isn't here, if that's what your worried about." Naminé went back to work. On her pad was a sketch of Larxene and Jason holding hands with Selene.
First floor, Traverse Town: Zexion felt the familiar weight of his card deck in his coat pocket as soon as he entered the world. A Keycard also descended into Zexion's outstretched hand. Lastly, he no longer felt the prescence of Selene and Serenna nearby. He wandered for a long while slaying heartless until he saw two green Friend cards float down in front of him. The two cards turned into Serenna and Selene. "Quick, disguise me!" Selene hissed at Zexion. He returned her order with a cool questioning glance. "If Larxene sees me in person, she'll recognize me in a heartbeat. You don't want that, do you?" Zexion changed Selene's appearance without another word. When he stepped back, this is what he saw: Selene now had gray hair, and steel blue eyes, like Zexion's. "Hey, is that girl seriously the daughter of the psycho that's holding Jason captive?" Serenna asked. Zexion ignored her and hoped she had a short attention span. But she beelined to Selene and said, "We're a team, and we're going to have to trust each other. Right? I'm Serenna." Selene looked at Serenna and said, "I'm Selene, and Jason is my father. To answer your question, yes, we may as well trust each other." Zexion walked away from the two girls, knowing that they would just become Friend Cards again.
Yuffie's house: the first Keycard had led the group here. "Hey!" said Yuffie, a plucky ninja. "Whatcha looking for?"
"This town's exit." Zexion said. Yuffie smiled. "I'd be glad to lead you there, but we need to pick up a couple of my friends first." As she left, the next Keycard popped up in Zexion's pocket.
En Route: Zexion had been curious about something for sometime, and he asked Selene: "Why are you in this time?" Selene looked away, sulking, then said, "When I lost my heart to a Heartless swarm, I wandered around for a while thinking about how I would never see my parents again. After a while, I wound up in Luxord's house. He knew what I was the minute he saw me, and asked me if I had any regrets. I said, 'I wish I could have see my parents when they were younger.' He asks me to flip a coin and call it. I call tails and that's what it lands. The jerk says, 'wish granted.' and he punches me. Next thing I know, I'm in Halloween Town, face to face with my eighteen year old father." Zexion absorbed all this, then was about to pass condolence when they arrived upon their destination.
Leon's house: Serenna and Selene almost swooned when they saw Leon. "Yuffie, who are these people?" "They need our help getting out of town. Can you spare some time? Please?" As Leon reluctantly agreed, the final Keycard formed in Zexion's hand.
En Route: They were attacked by a large group of Heartless on the way, and Selene used this as an opportunity to show off her weapons. When she summoned them, Zexion had to stare. On Selene's arms and legs were steel bands, and attached to these were very sharp serrated knives. It was obvious that Selene wanted to literally tear her opponents to bits. She noticed Zexion's glance. "Like them? They're called 'Flash' My mom was so proud of me when I choose these as my weapons." «Of course.» Zexion thought dryly. By now, Serenna had killed off most of the heartless with her Bo Staff.
Second District: Yuffie and Leon led the group to the empty plaza. "Is the exit close to here?" Serenna asked pleasantly. The bell tower started to toll, and the Guard Armor heartless fell into the plaza. "We're so tired of heartless and you cloaked figures trying to ruin our town." Leon said. Zexion noticed that Serenna was the only one not wearing an Organization cloak. Yuffie chimed in, "Hopefully you three and the Heartless can finish each other off. Well, see ya!" They left, leaving the group alone with the Guard Armor. Selene's face flushed with anger. "You deciteful little bi—!" "SELENE! Curse her out later, we need to get out of here alive." Zexion's rebuke silenced Selene, and Serenna took this chance to say, "She was only trying to protect what she loved, we can't be mad at her for that." Zexion gave this a nod of approval, then gave orders. "Selene! You take out the feet. Serenna! You take out the hands. I'll take care of the rest." The girls nodded, and attacked. In no time, they carried out thier orders. It was obvious that Selene had been taught Cos tapa from a young age. Serenna hadn't been bad herself, someone had trained her how to fight, and well. What was left of the Guard Armor came spinning to Zexion. He opened his Lexicon and threw it, which grew huge and swallowed up the Guard Armor in one gulp. "Impressive work, girls." Serenna smiled. "Eileen taught me and Jason basic fighting. My Bo Staff I got from my father." The world exit, as it turned out, wasn't very far, and the group reached it easily.
First floor, exit hall: The group pushed open the doors and saw Larxene waiting for them. The first thing she did was send a bolt of electricity to Zexion, bringing him to his knees. "I wonder, why you told me Jason had died that day at the Clock Tower?" Zexion kept silent. The plan, stick to the plan. Larxene turned away. "Whatever. Neither of you cared about me anyway." At that moment, Selene flickered, like she was some kind of projection. Larxene turned back to the group and focused on Selene. "You're pretty cute. What awful weapons, though. Who gave them to you?" Selene returned Larxene's dripping sarcasm with some of her own. "Someone way more important to me than you." Larxene flushed with anger, and reached down to slap Selene across the room. At the last second, though, she stopped. She tried again, and again, but no matter how hard she tried, Larxene couldn't seem to hit Selene. She gave up and dug in the pockets of her cloak. She took out some World Cards and handed them to her unrecognized daughter. "If you're a good girl, I might just return Jason to you. Ta ta!" with that, Larxene left. Selene turned to her group with a smile on her face. "Same old mom. She never could beat me in a sarcasm contest." She left to the second floor, and after a while, Zexion and Serenna followed.
Thirteenth floor: Larxene reappeared with a puzzled look on her face. "Who was that girl? Why couldn't I hit her?" she wondered out loud. Naminé tore her drawing out of the pad and started a new one. Even under the threat of death, she would never reveal to Larxene Selene's true identity. If Naminé did what she was told, hopefully, the happy family she had seen in Selene's memory could be reunited.
Thirteenth floor: Larxene heard Naminé stop scribbling on her pad. "Do you have a good reason to explain this?" She asked Kariri's shadow. "I—I don't want to do this…" Larxene turned to Naminé. "Last time I checked, you volunteered for this. And anyway, Marluxia isn't here, if that's what your worried about." Naminé went back to work. On her pad was a sketch of Larxene and Jason holding hands with Selene.
First floor, Traverse Town: Zexion felt the familiar weight of his card deck in his coat pocket as soon as he entered the world. A Keycard also descended into Zexion's outstretched hand. Lastly, he no longer felt the prescence of Selene and Serenna nearby. He wandered for a long while slaying heartless until he saw two green Friend cards float down in front of him. The two cards turned into Serenna and Selene. "Quick, disguise me!" Selene hissed at Zexion. He returned her order with a cool questioning glance. "If Larxene sees me in person, she'll recognize me in a heartbeat. You don't want that, do you?" Zexion changed Selene's appearance without another word. When he stepped back, this is what he saw: Selene now had gray hair, and steel blue eyes, like Zexion's. "Hey, is that girl seriously the daughter of the psycho that's holding Jason captive?" Serenna asked. Zexion ignored her and hoped she had a short attention span. But she beelined to Selene and said, "We're a team, and we're going to have to trust each other. Right? I'm Serenna." Selene looked at Serenna and said, "I'm Selene, and Jason is my father. To answer your question, yes, we may as well trust each other." Zexion walked away from the two girls, knowing that they would just become Friend Cards again.
Yuffie's house: the first Keycard had led the group here. "Hey!" said Yuffie, a plucky ninja. "Whatcha looking for?"
"This town's exit." Zexion said. Yuffie smiled. "I'd be glad to lead you there, but we need to pick up a couple of my friends first." As she left, the next Keycard popped up in Zexion's pocket.
En Route: Zexion had been curious about something for sometime, and he asked Selene: "Why are you in this time?" Selene looked away, sulking, then said, "When I lost my heart to a Heartless swarm, I wandered around for a while thinking about how I would never see my parents again. After a while, I wound up in Luxord's house. He knew what I was the minute he saw me, and asked me if I had any regrets. I said, 'I wish I could have see my parents when they were younger.' He asks me to flip a coin and call it. I call tails and that's what it lands. The jerk says, 'wish granted.' and he punches me. Next thing I know, I'm in Halloween Town, face to face with my eighteen year old father." Zexion absorbed all this, then was about to pass condolence when they arrived upon their destination.
Leon's house: Serenna and Selene almost swooned when they saw Leon. "Yuffie, who are these people?" "They need our help getting out of town. Can you spare some time? Please?" As Leon reluctantly agreed, the final Keycard formed in Zexion's hand.
En Route: They were attacked by a large group of Heartless on the way, and Selene used this as an opportunity to show off her weapons. When she summoned them, Zexion had to stare. On Selene's arms and legs were steel bands, and attached to these were very sharp serrated knives. It was obvious that Selene wanted to literally tear her opponents to bits. She noticed Zexion's glance. "Like them? They're called 'Flash' My mom was so proud of me when I choose these as my weapons." «Of course.» Zexion thought dryly. By now, Serenna had killed off most of the heartless with her Bo Staff.
Second District: Yuffie and Leon led the group to the empty plaza. "Is the exit close to here?" Serenna asked pleasantly. The bell tower started to toll, and the Guard Armor heartless fell into the plaza. "We're so tired of heartless and you cloaked figures trying to ruin our town." Leon said. Zexion noticed that Serenna was the only one not wearing an Organization cloak. Yuffie chimed in, "Hopefully you three and the Heartless can finish each other off. Well, see ya!" They left, leaving the group alone with the Guard Armor. Selene's face flushed with anger. "You deciteful little bi—!" "SELENE! Curse her out later, we need to get out of here alive." Zexion's rebuke silenced Selene, and Serenna took this chance to say, "She was only trying to protect what she loved, we can't be mad at her for that." Zexion gave this a nod of approval, then gave orders. "Selene! You take out the feet. Serenna! You take out the hands. I'll take care of the rest." The girls nodded, and attacked. In no time, they carried out thier orders. It was obvious that Selene had been taught Cos tapa from a young age. Serenna hadn't been bad herself, someone had trained her how to fight, and well. What was left of the Guard Armor came spinning to Zexion. He opened his Lexicon and threw it, which grew huge and swallowed up the Guard Armor in one gulp. "Impressive work, girls." Serenna smiled. "Eileen taught me and Jason basic fighting. My Bo Staff I got from my father." The world exit, as it turned out, wasn't very far, and the group reached it easily.
First floor, exit hall: The group pushed open the doors and saw Larxene waiting for them. The first thing she did was send a bolt of electricity to Zexion, bringing him to his knees. "I wonder, why you told me Jason had died that day at the Clock Tower?" Zexion kept silent. The plan, stick to the plan. Larxene turned away. "Whatever. Neither of you cared about me anyway." At that moment, Selene flickered, like she was some kind of projection. Larxene turned back to the group and focused on Selene. "You're pretty cute. What awful weapons, though. Who gave them to you?" Selene returned Larxene's dripping sarcasm with some of her own. "Someone way more important to me than you." Larxene flushed with anger, and reached down to slap Selene across the room. At the last second, though, she stopped. She tried again, and again, but no matter how hard she tried, Larxene couldn't seem to hit Selene. She gave up and dug in the pockets of her cloak. She took out some World Cards and handed them to her unrecognized daughter. "If you're a good girl, I might just return Jason to you. Ta ta!" with that, Larxene left. Selene turned to her group with a smile on her face. "Same old mom. She never could beat me in a sarcasm contest." She left to the second floor, and after a while, Zexion and Serenna followed.
Thirteenth floor: Larxene reappeared with a puzzled look on her face. "Who was that girl? Why couldn't I hit her?" she wondered out loud. Naminé tore her drawing out of the pad and started a new one. Even under the threat of death, she would never reveal to Larxene Selene's true identity. If Naminé did what she was told, hopefully, the happy family she had seen in Selene's memory could be reunited.