~Please, if you could, just take the time to read this. I know this is a lot but it would mean a lot to me if you could read this!~

Okay~ This picture features my character Memoria! ♥ I made her back in February. She's a Kingdom Hearts OC however she is not featured in my other KH OC's story.

Memoria has her own separate story, which features a friend of mine's OC Umbra, and Vanitas (A KH BBS character) as the trio of the story. I will, perhaps upload this story on dA but I'm still undecided.

Anyways, this picture has a storyline to go with it. You don't have to read this one-shot but it would be much appreciated. You'll understand the meaning behind this picture so much more if you do.

Also, this picture was Paintool SAI practice (I have the trial; and I'm hoping to get the full version soon!) that I did back in MARCH. This is a mock-up picture of Memoria. Her wings are much, much bigger than that. And her hair's a bit different. The picture itself wasn't supposed to be fantastic; just enough to show my character and to convey the meaning behind this one-shot idea I had.

Memoria is an Unversed, she was made by Vexen, she was an experiment, ect. The similarities of this one-shot and my actual story end there. What happens at the end of this one-shot does not happen in my actual story. Also, Umbra (my friend's character) is in my story, however he is not featured in this one-shot. Vanitas is OOC in the one-shot, however he won't be (at least in the beginning) of my story.

I put her species under unspecified because even though she has Arch Raven as half of her Unversed DNA, I still was unsure what to put it as.

Okay, I went through a series of writers blocks with this. Parts of this I love, while other parts I don't. There were some parts I could have worded better but overall I'm pleased with this.

Now~ Without much further ado, onto my one-shot! C:

ﾟ`★.｡･**･｡. ★`ﾟ

Memento Mori

It seems like an eternity since I first met her. The experiment; the Unversed girl. Memoria. Me-more-ee-ah. Her name rolls of the tongue like a lullaby. I can picture the bluenette perfectly. Her long sapphire-colored hair, her blood red eyes. That look of hope and determination fixed upon her face. She wanted to be free; to spread her wings and fly away. This was her story.

I met her months ago in a Godforsaken place they call Castle Oblivion. Vexen, her creator, had captured me and threw me in the cage she also resided in. She was hesitant at first, scared to open up to anybody. And who could blame her? If you were the result of an experiment and had to live your whole life in confinement you’d be the same way. But she warmed up to me quickly, and took me under her wing. She told me many things about herself. About her life, about her hopes and her dreams…

She and I sat in one of the rooms on a quiet, still evening. She told me her biggest dream. She said she craved to see the world. Her eyes lit up as she pictured the alluring bounty of the world. She was smart, extremely smart, however text-books proved nothing to her when it came to the outside world. She knew hardly anything about it. So, she asked me one night; asked me about the outside world. To tell her anything and everything that came to mind.

I pondered over what to say for a good minute or so. The world is such a diverse subject. What could I say? Where to begin?

I decided to start with something so vast; something so beautiful that we sometimes take for granted.

The sky. I told her about the vast, and breathtaking beautiful sky, and how everyone in the world, no matter where they reside, sees the same sky. I told her about the galaxies of stars that dot the sky at night. About no matter how close you get…you can never touch a star. I told her about nature, flowers, vast forests, the 4 seasons, and how everything adapts to the environment around them.

I continued on to tell about the people of this world. The everyday heroes, those that die for one another, and those that shape this world. I told her about the bond that two people could have, when two people fall in love, and then a new life is born.

Animals and creatures of this world. The millions upon millions of things that inhabit this world; I told her everything I could.

From the food we eat, to the languages we speak. I poured everything I could possibly think of.

I felt like I was talking for hours. I can’t really remember how long it lasted. Every day she’d wake up with more questions. Why do only some regions get snow? Why are there different languages? How can the world be made up of 70% water and still not drown?

I got a chuckle every now and then at the silly questions she’d come up with. I’d do my best to explain everything I could. I didn’t mind; I actually enjoyed it.

Gradually she stopped asking questions and I saw her less and less. The times that I did see her she seemed listless and lost in thought. She didn’t talk much and seemed tired and drained. Eventually she stopped coming all together. I thought perhaps Vexen was having her tested and she wasn’t allowed to see me until she was done. However when I asked Vexen himself he told me I couldn’t see her.

I demanded to know why but Vexen wouldn’t utter a word. Furious I barged in one day, sick of my own frivolous attempts at answers. What I saw shocked me. There Memoria lay naked under a white sheet. Wires and tubs stretched across her body, her skin was pale with a blue tint. Her eyes were listless and she had a hard time focusing on things.

She turned her head slowly to glance at me and her small face cracked a smile. Vexen had entered during this but did not make me leave. For that I was grateful to the idiot.

I pulled up a chair over near the right corner of the room and sat down beside her. She weakly grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “I’ve missed you, Vanitas.” Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible. I could tell she was having difficulty speaking. “I hope…that you weren’t worried about me.”

I nodded slightly as she took a deep breath only to be thrown in a spasm of coughs. Once she stopped, she weakly smiled. “Vanitas,” She began. “I have one question, and only one question for today.”

I ran my thumb along her hand in an effort to calm myself down. For crying out loud Vexen was a scientist! He should be able to help her! If something happens to her…

“Vanitas…”

It was Memoria. I was so absorbed with my own thoughts I had forgotten she asked me a question.

“Yes. What is it?”

She furrowed her brow in concentration trying to find the right words. She took a few small breaths and looked up at me. “What happens when a person dies? What do people do? Do they just leave them where they died?”

My blood went cold and my throat got a lump in it. What the heck’s wrong with me? I’m not a freaking baby! She just asked that question out of curiosity! She’s not gonna die! But the bad feeling wouldn’t go away… A sense of foreshadowing lingered in the air.

I tried to recover from my reaction but I was positively sure she saw. Ignoring the numb feeling I had I started talking. “Well…it depends on the person and what they have written in their will. Most people arrange a funeral and they get buried underground. Others choose to be cremated and then have a loved one keep their ashes stored somewhere safe. Or they choose to scatter their ashes around places they like.”

She thought for a moment and glanced up at me. “I think…when I die…I’d want to be cremated but…instead of ashes I’d want my feathers to be spread along places I’ve wanted to see. Like an ocean, a forest, a church, a playground, and a bunch of other places.”

She smiled and with a shakily hand reached up to cup my chin. “Thank you, Vanitas. For everything. I know I’ve probably been annoying asking all these questions. But it has been my dream to know about the outside world. And you were kind enough to tell me everything you could think of. Thank you. You’re a wonderful friend.”

ﾟ`★.｡･**･｡. ★`ﾟ

The next day I strode over to the room Memoria currently resided in. I expected to see her still in the bed with wires all around her but she was nowhere to be found.

I called out hoping Vexen was near but he didn’t answer. 10 attempts at finding him but to no avail. Frustrated I left the current corridor and traveled downstairs to the first floor of Castle Oblivion.

The stairwell was extremely dark despite it being morning. Thankfully I adjust quickly to dark places and made my way down to the first floor. The corridor was also just as equally dark and long at that. I knew I was soon nearing the end where the door would lead out of the Castle.

I gasped in horror at what I saw 20 feet ahead of me. There lay Memoria naked and curled up close to the exit. Her wings were wrapped around her and her she looked lifeless. Her eyes were hollow and lifeless. I ran towards her and reached for her neck. No pulse.

I stared into her eyes. Comatose, and void. Dead. D e a d.

I dropped to my knees like a dead weight in water. D e a d. D e a d. She’s dead. I inhaled deeply and screamed like there would be no tomorrow. I was sure the entire castle had heard me; Vexen would come running from wherever he was currently at. I wonder what his reaction would be. I would never find out because after screaming I met the floor and everything faded to black.

`★.｡･**･｡. ★`ﾟ

I clutched a few ebony feathers in my hand. Sleek and shimmery as if life still clung to them. How many more left? 2 more feathers. 2 more places to scattered them. I turned my boots in the directions of the shore. Destiny Islands. It’s always been her dream to see this place.

I took the feather and let it float gently off my hand. It fluttered for awhile along the shores of the Island. Finally it took flight; fluttering over sapphire color of the sea. Like her hair…

Now what was the other place? I had gone to multiple different places, but I couldn’t remember what the last one was. What was it? Frustrated I took a boat back to the main island and idled along for awhile. People gave me weird glances as they walked by but I payed them no mind.

I continued walking until I stopped. I held the feather in my hand, examinating it as if it was different from all the others. Then it hit me. The sky! That was her last place. She mentioned the sky.

I knew I couldn’t fly. Not like Memoria could. Still… I bounded up the tallest hill on the island and let the feather flutter out of my hand. I watched the feather float away until it became a small black speck.

As it floated away I whispered in a quiet tone, “Quiescas in pace, Memoria; semper memoraberis.”

ﾟ`★.｡･**･｡. ★`ﾟ

If I had known… Oh if only I had known. That she’d die to see the world. I would have never told her…how amazing our world is.

So next time when you say the world hates you, or that this world sucks. Remember, just remember, that there’s always someone who believes different. There might be someone out there who would die to see the world in which you live in. So be grateful for this amazing world we have.

ﾟ`★.｡･**･｡. ★`ﾟ

Memento Mori, which I chose for the title, is Latin. It literally means "Remember you will die." It can also mean "Remember you are moral." "Remember death." But the first one is the literal translation.

What Vanitas says is also Latin. It translates to "May you rest in peace, Memoria; you will always be remembered."

Why did I make him say that in Latin? Well, for starters my character, my friend's character, and Vanitas' name's are all Latin.

Memoria means Memory.
Umbra means Shadow.
Vanitas means Vanity.

Plus Latin is really pretty. ;u; ♥

The big symbolism featured in here in Memoria's death. She literally died to see the world. She almost made it but still died. Being kept captive had always made her crave to see the world, however hearing more about it rendered her weak 'causing her to die.

Sorry for rambling on and on~ I probably talked your ear off. ^///^

I really hope you all enjoyed this one-shot and picture. C:

Memoria, and Memento Mori one-shot © Me

Umbra (Not featured in this one-shot but I mentioned him a couple of times so I wanted to put this) © Rochelle (Friend irl)

Vanitas, Unversed, Vexen, and other Kingdom Hearts related things © Square-Enix