CHAIN OF MEMORIES: SONIC'S TALE

Chapter Seven: A Battle to Remember, Part 1

Last time on Chain of Memories:

When Sonic and his friends arrived in the memory of Hyrule, things only went from bad to worse. It was only made more difficult when the Twili King, Zant, took over. Through some cleaver planning on Link's part, the heroes managed to defeat Zant and save the day. But they soon discovered that the usurped king was merely a puppet to the real mastermind, Ganondorf. But the combined effort Sonic and Link was enough to defeat the Dark King. Link learned that is better to be yourself instead of someone else and gave Sonic the hope he was searching for.


The scene opens to the white corridors of Castle Oblivion. The blank door opened from the side of the room, releasing the Sonic Team from the previous memory. While most of the team members paced towards the stairway for the next floor, Storm stopped shortly in front of the door. He was stroking his beak, which gave the impression that he was thinking deeply over something troubling. It was only seconds before Marine.

"Storm, what's the matter there, mate?" Marine asked.

The heroes looked backwards, enthralled by Storm's sudden lack of corporation. Storm took a moment before answering.

"It's that creepy castle I was talking about earlier." Storm said confused. "I know I didn't just make it up." Sonic and Silver glanced at each other with worried expressions. "I know because that was the castle where Sonic had to use the Dark Keyblade to release Amy's heart. And then he just disappeared."

At the mention of the incident, a wave of memories flooded over the heroes. They could remember wintessing Sonic take the black Keyblade and stabbing it into his chest. No one, especially Marine, could forget how Sonic faded into the darkness and left his friends behind. The very though seemed to bring tears to the raccoon eyes. Sonic quickly kneeled to her side and pulled her into a secure embrace.

"I was so worried when it happened." Storm said sadly. "How could I ever forget that?"

"I remember now." Angel said in realization. "That's when Sonic turned into Dark Sonic. Wait...that happened...in a castle?"

"You forgot that, mate!" Marine jeered, miraculously happy again. "I remember it perfectly!"

"Then what was the name of the castle?" Sonic challenged.

"That's easy." Marine waved. "It was...um..." The heroes moved in closer, peering down at the scarred raccoon with a hint of superiority on their faces. Thinking fast, Marine pulled Silver in front. "But I wouldn't want to take the attention away from my good buddy, Silver."

"You don't remember." Silver smirked; Marine dropped her head. "Fortunately, I took the liberty of creating a journal of our adventures."

"You created a journal?" Angel asked surprised.

"I just finished the first volume before entering the castle." Silver informed, pulling out a black journal with the symbol of Babylon Garden on the cover. "Now let's have a look at that castle." He opened the journal and started flipping through the pages. But the more pages he passed, the greater his expression of terror. "No way! That's impossible!"

"What's wrong, Silver?" Storm asked worried.

"All my references are gone!" Silver exclaimed, showing the blank pages of the journal. "Every last detail his been completely wiped out!"

"What's going on around here?" Angel questioned.


The scene changes to the white room at the highest point of the castle. Once again, we find the hedgehog female being seated at the table, flipping the cards she had placed facedown. Terro leaned against the wall, watching the girl's hand movements closely, without worry of Duskmon, who was watching Sonic through the crystal ball. She flipped a card, revealing the portrait of two knights locked in battle.

"The great struggle." The hedgehog girl murmured. "Sonic will go through a great trail."

"Which is exactly what we're hoping for." Terro smirked.


The scene alters to the third floor, where Sonic and the others were steadily walking up the stairs. Silver was searching frantically over his journal from cover to cover in hopes of even finding a small sentence. The erased pages also seemed to fill the team's heads with multiple questions. What happened to the journal? Did Silver erase it?

"But if that was the case, he wouldn't look so worried." Dark Sonic stated.

"I know what you mean." Sonic replied, shifting his stare to his teacher. "I haven't seen Silver act like this since I accidentally created a tsunami during our training."

"Something very fishy is going on around here." Angel said aloud. "Journal pages just don't disappear."

"What if...it's more than that, mates?" Marine asked shakily; the others looked back with questionable looks. "Our big buddy Storm was talking about another castle we went to. But no one remembers a lick about it. Do you think that – because we don't remember – we might be losing our memories?"

"Losing our memories?" Sonic repeated interestingly.

"Wait..." Silver said softly. "Remember what Duskmon said on the first floor. "To gain is to lose and to lose is to gain." I'll bet you anything that it was our memories he was talking about."

"So if we keep going, we'll keep losing more memories." Sonic summarized. "I guess this place is called Castle Oblivion for a reason."

"So the higher we go, the more we'll forget?" Angel asked; Silver nodded. "Does that mean that mean everything and everyone will be forgotten?"

"Espio and Amy, too." Sonic moaned sadly.

"Aw, I wouldn't worry about that." Storm said, surprisingly happy. "We might forget where we've been or what things we've seen, but we won't forget who our friends are."

"I don't know." Angel said skeptically.

"Sonic, when you were turned into Dark Sonic, did you forget about us?" Storm questioned.

"Of course not." Sonic shook. "I would never forget about you guys."

"There you have it." Storm said proudly. "No matter what happens, you could never forget your friends."

Storm words struck hard in Sonic's chest as he suddenly was washed over by a torrent of memories. How could he ever forget the day Silver and Storm landed on him, beginning the formation of the team? Or the day they met Angel and found a new friend to join along for the ride? And the last thing Sonic would ever forget was the day he met Marine. They may have not known each other long, but Sonic still loved her like the sister he never had. These thoughts brought a visible smile on the Keyblade Master's face.

"Yeah, you're right." Sonic smiled. "Thanks, Storm."

"If we can never forget our friends, then we have nothing to be scared of." Marine said excitedly, marching towards the blank door. "Let's go, mates!"

"Refresh my memory, Marine." Sonic said playfully. "Who was the one that blew up my Gear and had to send me to the hospital? I never did pay them back."

"Um..." Marine hummed, freezing in mid-step; sweat beaded down her head. "I was hoping you forgot about that, mate."

The group laughed hard at Marine's expense. Finally settling down, Sonic and the other motioned over to the blank door. As a thank you to Storm, Sonic allowed him to select the next memory. Scanning at the cards closely, Storm selected one and raised it to the door. A moment later, the group disappeared into the light.


With the wall of light dying down, it came as no surprise that the heroes found themselves in a place they couldn't remember. There memories were fading faster than expected. Stepping into the desert sands, the Sonic Team found themselves faced towards a massive coliseum wall. There was a row of dragon heads on each side with a pair of giant stone dragons twisting over the entrance. While the majority of the team stared at the coliseum with interest, Angel appeared to be fascinated with a bulletin board on the wall.

"Hey, look at this!" Angel called. "It's an announcement!"

Interested, the group rushed over and crowded near the board.

"It looks like an advertisement for a contest." Silver stated. "It's called the Budokai Survival Cup. All contestants have to run through a series of obstacles, battling each other along the way."

"That doesn't sound too hard." Storm commented.

"Take another look." Silver said dully. "It says the great hero, Goku, will be competing for the cup, too. It also says that he has never lost a match before."

"Now it sounds hard." Storm whimpered.

"Sounds like fun to me." Sonic grinned; Marine looked equally excited. "What'd ya say we enter, too?"

"Yeah, we'll clobber that dizzy dingo!" Marine cheered.

"I just knew this was going to happen." Angel sighed amusingly. "Whenever there's a contest, you just have to join up."

"You two are going to join, even if we don't want to, right?" Silver asked rhetorically.

"That's pretty much the idea." Sonic said playfully.

"Then I guess the rest of us should tag along to make sure you don't screw anything up." Silver said expectantly, looking back to the board. "We better get moving. The competition is about to start in a few minutes and we don't have much time to sign up."

"Then what are ya waiting for, ya steckybeaks!" Marine exclaimed, marching towards the doors. "Follow your captain to victory!"

"You're not our captain!!" The group shouted simultaneously.

Knowing it was impossible to talk to Marine in this state, the Sonic Team reluctantly followed her inside the coliseum. But not moments after they depart did a new character come into play. He was a tall man – twice as tall as normal – with wild black hair that was tied in the back. He wore white baggy pant with a red robe tied around his waist and kept in place by a golden belt buckle. These effects were added with his standard boots and golden necklace. He also had a golden crown and gauntlets, each encrusted with a jade opal. He stared at the bulletin board for a moment; his face twitch spitefully.

"The legendary Goku." The man read from the board. "A model of true strength and gallantry – the perfect hero." His eyes were raging and his hair turned a deep shade of turquoise. "Perfectly infuriating is what he is! Just thinking of that pathetic sunspot makes my blood boil! Oh, how I would love to send him to the after life!"

"That is why you hired me." A cool voice said.

The man seemed to settle for a short while – his hair returning to its dark shade – and turned to his left. A short blue creature roughly a few inches taller than Sonic approached. His entire body seemed to be comprised of water, leaving his brain entirely visible. He had two curved horns on the side of his head, three claws on each hand, and a set of emerald green eyes.

"That's right." The man smirked darkly. "I hired you for a reason, Chaos. You're job is simple: corner Kakarot in the tournament. And once you do, finish the job. Do this and you will be handsomely rewarded."

"All I want is for you to restore my memories." Chaos said lowly. "Just as we had agreed."

"You have my solemn vow." The man said.

Chaos didn't seem at all trusting, but he had no choice. Without a glance, the unknown entity walked past his accomplice and entered through the coliseum doors.


---Budokai---

The Sonic Team was anxious over the upcoming survival match, but none more than Sonic or Marine. The two were so much alike that it was impossible to tell that they weren't related. They walked into the entrance hall, which was nothing more than a square stone room with lit torches. Storm pointed out a man on the other end of the room, whom they believed to be the tournament director. He was an impossibly old man with a thin white beard and was entirely bald. He wore an orange Hawaiian shirt, a pair of blue shorts, green-tinted sunglasses, and massively large turtle shell. Upon catching sight of the Sonic Team, the old man staggered back in surprise.

"Huh?" The old man questioned. "What in the world are you doing here? Don't tell me you've come to join the Survival Cup?"

"Yeah, we did." Sonic nodded. "We're some of the best fighters in the world. We were hoping we would get a chance to compete for the title."

"Well, you've come to the right place." The old man said, pushing his glasses back. "But it's not like you stand a chance against Goku."

"And why not?" Marine pouted; The old man thought it was cute.

"I've got two words for you." The old man said, holding up two fingers. "You – aren't – heroes!"

"You're wrong!" Sonic snapped.

"Yeah, he said three words." Storm said pointedly; Angel thwacked his head.

"He's right...but that's not the point." Silver interjected. "You can't just claim that we aren't heroes if you don't give us a chance. If you think you're right, then you shouldn't worry about the outcome of this tournament."

"He's got a point, Master Roshi." A new, cheerful, voice said.

The old man, now known as Master Roshi, moved his shell to the side to allow Sonic and his friends a better view at the new character. He was a strong and fit man with a bush of spiky black hair jumping from his skull. He wore a red fighter's gi with the symbol of turtle on the back, a set of heavy black boots, and a navy-blue belt with matching wristbands. It was only a simple guess that the Sonic Team knew this man was Goku.

"Come on, Master." Goku said encouragingly. "You might not think they're much, but I think they deserve a shot."

"I don't know..." Roshi said unsurely.

"Of course, we could just cancel the tournament." Goku suggested.

"Cancel it?" Angel repeated curiously. "What for?"

"Master Roshi made a HUGE mistake when making the notice." Goku said disappointingly. "Because I was competing, no one wanted to enter. I guess they thought they wouldn't stand a chance against me."

"Is that so?" Marine grinned victoriously. "I guess you have no choice but to let us compete now, mate. If ya don't you'll have no one left to enter and you'll have to cancel. Come on, old man."

"Hmm...." Roshi hummed thoughtfully for a moment before looking up. "Well, Since you and Goku are the only contenders..."

"No, they aren't." A cold voice interjected. The heroes jumped at the tone and curved around on their heels as Chaos walked nonchalantly through the door. "The Budokai Survival Cup has a new challenger. The name is Chaos."

"The more the merrier!" Roshi shouted happily. "Now the Survival Cup will really be something worth seeing!"

"I've been looking forward to this." Goku said excitedly. "Just don't expect me to pull any punches for you."

"Heh, as long as you don't expect me to take them." Sonic said confidently.

"This is a waste of my time." Chaos thought savagely. "Broly better be able to keep his end of the bargain."

"Ok, let's get this show on the road!" Roshi announced. "But first, I've got to explain a few rules. Rule #1: First one through the obstacle course wins. This is a race, so the winner will be determined by whoever's the fastest."

"That gives us a large advantage." Dark Sonic stated; Sonic remembered to place the Keychain Card on top of his deck.

"Rule #2: in the event of a tie, a winner will be determined by battling." Roshi continued.

"I hope I get a chance to fight these guys." Goku thought happily, looking between his opponents.

"Rule #3: You can interfere with your opponent on the course." Roshi explained.

"Perfect." Chaos thought.

"And rule #4: All challengers are expected to give it there all." Roshi finished, expecting to hear questions. But the contestants remained silent and formed a line towards the exit of the room. "I guess that's enough of the chatter. Let's get this tournament started. On your marks...get set...GO!!"

Just before go, the rest of the Sonic Team vanished into multiple flickers of light, alerting the Keyblade Master that his challenge had begun. Once the competition had begun, all three contenders raced out quick as a whip. The current left behind by them sent Roshi flying into the wall. Once under the intensity of the sun, Sonic found that the challenge was going to be much more difficult than he imagined. The entire coliseum had been converted into a wide labyrinth just for the occasion. Sonic was at a disadvantage – his speed would be useless if he didn't know where he was going. He looked pleadingly at his opponents, only to discover that they had already vanished into the labyrinth.

"Well, that was helpful." Sonic commented sarcastically.

"This IS a competition." Dark Sonic stated. "You couldn't really expect them to help."

"A guy can be hopeful, can't he?" Sonic responded.

"You better get a move on." Dark Sonic suggested. "You are already behind as it is. Who knows how far they've gotten."

Sonic nodded in agreement and took the path on the far left of entrance. The first thing Sonic realized about the labyrinth was the reason why no one showed up. Just a few steps into the contest, Sonic was nearly incinerated by hidden flame jets, which he was fortunate enough to avoid with a water spell he learned on the spot. Next, he was forced to avoid a row of guillotines, which he narrow dodged with the use of his Spin Dash technique. The last, and possibly worst, task came when Sonic had to cross a pool full of sharks, piranha, eels, and jellyfish.

"Where the hell do they get all these things?" Sonic questioned, slapping a piranha off his quills.

"I have seen a lot of strange thing – even if I don't remember them." Dark Sonic commented. "But this course is pure suicide. I guess the Budokai Survival Cup was named for a reason."

"Well, at least we can say that the worst is over." Sonic responded.

Just second after, a portal of darkness emerged from the ground at the end of the narrow path. Six Shadow Heartless appeared along with large purple/blue Heartless with massive forearms, rough shackles around her wrists, and a shining metal helmet. Sonic would later refer to the creature as a Large Body.

"It is a curse to be stuck with you." Dark Sonic commented.

"Not helpful!" Sonic yelled.

The Shadow Heartless charged ahead while the Large Body, stuck between the walls, remained in place. As the first of the dark creatures attacked, Sonic swiftly summoned his Keyblade and swung around to cleave the Heartless in half. The group of shadows hissed spitefully at the appearance of the weapon of evil's bane. The Keyblade Master slid forward on his feet, creating sparks of friction behind him, and tossed his Keyblade around in full circle. Unfortunately, the Shadow Heartless used their ability to crawl onto the surface of the ground, molding them into actual shadows. But while Sonic's strike may have missed the Shadows, Sonic had a clear shot of the Large Body. But against his expectations, the Keyblade bounced off the Large Body's bulging stomach and rebounded the blue hedgehog to the ground.

"What just happened?" Sonic asked shockingly.

"This Heartless is so fat that the Keyblade cannot harm it." Dark Sonic informed. "Wow, looks like Storm has some competition."

"I am so glad I'm the only one who can hear." Sonic shuddered. He vividly remembered the last time he called Storm fat. "Hey, Dark, you're the smart one. How am I supposed to beat this guy."

"I think you have a worse problem on your hands!" Dark Sonic exclaimed.

Sonic didn't move fast enough to realize what he meant before the Heartless jumped onto his back. Sonic tossed and turn to knock away the dark creatures, but ultimately failed. To prevent him from struggling, two of the Shadows grabbed Sonic by the back of his legs, forcing him to fall forward on his face. With the hedgehog pinned down and unable to lift his Keyblade, he was pretty much finished. That was before a blue claw shot through the Large Body's chest. In a unexpected twist, the claw swiped around the path, barely grazing against Sonic's quills. The Keyblade Master suddenly felt light and pushed himself onto his feet. He stared up and down the pathway without finding a trace of the Heartless left. And standing at the end of the narrow path was Chaos, who was retracting his arm.

"Chaos!" Sonic shouted happily. "Thanks for the save, man!"

"Whatever." Chaos said monotonously.

"That sure was nice of him to rescue you like that." Strom said.

Right on cue, Sonic threw himself into the wall the moment his team reappeared.

"You really need to work on that." Angel commented.

"I don't think he rescued Sonic without a good reason." Silver said suspiciously. "I'll bet he wants to finish Sonic off himself. Remember rule #3: you can interfere with your opponent on the course."

"He's looking to one-up us!" Marine stated firmly. She activated her powers, emitting a green aura around her hands. "Well, if ya want to get to my big mate, you'll have to go through me!"

"There is no reason for you to worry." Chaos said calmly. "My reason for saving you is my own. I am not looking of start a fight with you, so you can move along."

"Ya see?" Storm said pointedly. "He was just trying to save Sonic from the Heartless."

"Well, he's safe for now." Silver said. "Why don't we just take this advantage and keep moving? Who knows when he will change his mind?"

"I guess there isn't any downside to this." Sonic said unsurely.

Sonic evaporated the Keyblade into small traces of light and stepped ahead with his team following behind. As Sonic passed by, he noticed Chaos was heading in the opposite direction, away from the finish line. Something didn't seem right about this and the Keyblade Master turned to confront him.

"Hey, why did you save me?" Sonic questioned. "It would have made it a lot easier with one less opponent."

"I'm not here for the Cup." Chaos informed. "I'm here for Goku. After today, he will lose much more than the competition."

"You're going to kill him?!" Sonic exclaimed. "But why?!"

"This is nothing personal, just business." Chaos said menacingly. "Unless you wish to share the same fate as him, you better get moving. Go win your precious Cup." A shimmering sound was heard and the aquatic warrior looked over to Sonic, who had summoned his Keyblade. "Do you realize what you are doing?"

"Rule #3: You can interfere with you opponent on the course." Sonic recited arrogantly. "You're not the only one who wants to face Goku."

"Kid, you have just made your biggest mistake." Chaos proclaimed.

As Sonic held his Keyblade close in expected defense, the rest of his team once again disappeared into their card forms. He didn't know why, but Sonic couldn't help but feel nervous around this guy. Thinking back to what led to this moment, Sonic wanted to kick himself.


God of Destruction: Chaos

To kick off the battle, Sonic activated the Keychain Card he had saved from the beginning and raced across the narrow pathway. Sonic knew it was impossible for any normal fighter to escape, but he forgot one very important fact: Chaos is not ordinary. The aquatic warrior somehow reshaped his physical form and was reduced to a puddle on the floor, something Sonic had not anticipated. Before the blue hedgehog could stop himself, he slipped over Chaos' body and skidded towards the wall. Fortunately enough, Sonic was able to push himself up with his hand and kicked out his feet to push against the wall before landing. With barely a moment to catch his breath, Sonic was forced to fall backward to avoid Chaos' claw, which formed from the shapeless puddle. The Keyblade Master jumped back to his feet and raised his Keyblade to stab at the puddle, only to watch it bounce off the wall and smack him across the face. Sonic was forced to his knees momentarily as he watched Chaos resume his regular form again.

"Ok, I didn't see that coming." Sonic thought tiredly.

"He holds the advantage in this match." Dark Sonic stated. "Not only is he more experience in combat, but he also has the abilities to reshape his body structure. You're pretty much screwed."

"Thanks for the kind words of advice." Sonic replied.

"Are you ready to admit defeat?" Chaos questioned. "Or must I continue to destroy you until you concede?"

"I don't know the meaning of the word concede!" Sonic said boastfully.

"You certainly are a stubborn one." Chaos stated.

"No, I'm serious." Sonic said sheepishly. "I really don't know what concede means."

Chaos and Dark Sonic sweat-dropped. With a great sigh, Chaos thrusted his fist forward, sending it rocketing across the thin pathway. Exerting his energy into his legs, Sonic leapt over the elongated claw and swiftly brought down the Keyblade to sever the connection. Once landing back on his feet, Sonic pulled out three cards from his deck to activate a sleight. But instead of using the Strike Raid, Sonic was propelled forward with his Keyblade held out in front. Chaos, who was distracted by the loss of his arm, was pressured by an unparalleled pain inside his chest. The aquatic warrior cringed greatly as he stare down to where the Keyblade has pierced his body. Sonic seemed in shock himself, but quickly snapped out of it. Deciding to add his own personal touch, Sonic gripped the hand guard and twisted the blade around, sending Chaos spiraling off the teeth. The aquatic guardian whirled across the air and slammed into the wall with a solid thud.

"That was awesome!" Sonic cheered. "I think I'm gonna call that little trick the Sonic Blade!"

"How original." Dark Sonic said sarcastically.

"I don't see you coming up with any names, smart guy." Sonic retorted.

"Ugh...you certainly are annoying." Chaos said as he pushed himself back up. "But you are also very claver and resourceful, I'll give you that much. You might have proved a challenge to me if I allowed this matched to continued."

"What do you mean 'allowed'?" Sonic questioned, holding out his Keyblade.

"As I said before, I am not looking to start a fight with you." Chaos stated. Sonic gave him a smug look that clear said he was wrong. "Heh! You actually consider this a fight? This is more like a warm-up for the main event."

"Sorry to tell ya, pal." Sonic grinned deviously. "But if anyone's going to beat Goku, it's going to be me."

"I'm through playing these tiresome games." Chaos said; he sounded slightly disappointed. "But I have a deal to keep. It's time I brought an end to this."

Sonic seemed to shared the same thought and jumped ahead to finish off Chaos. But just a few seconds before the blue hedgehog could bring down his Keyblade, he felt something constrict his hands together. The actions prevented him from the use of his Keyblade and his gauntlet. Bringing his hands down into view, Sonic noticed a pair of blue shackles restrained around his wrist. It took some quick realization for Sonic to figure out that the shackles were actually Chaos' missing arm. Staring back at his enemy, the last thing Sonic saw was Chaos thrusting his fist at the hedgehog's face.

Chaos: Victorious


"Ugh...what happened?" Sonic moaned.

Everything was dark, which gave Sonic the impression that it was nighttime. But then he remembered that his eyes were closed and sharply opened them. The resonating sunlight nearly blinded him as he stared up at the glowing sphere in the sky. He was lying on the floor, critically weak, but certainly alive. With a loud groan, Sonic propped himself up by his elbows, rubbing the sore spot on his forehead before he was nearly bowled by a familiar raccoon.

"Oh, Sonic, mate!" Marine cried shrilly; the others stood around them. "I thought I lost ya again, mate!"

"I'm – perfectly – fine!" Sonic grunted while prying the girl off. He stared around the path, noticing that someone was missing. "Hey, where'd Chaos go?"

"He must have hightailed it out of here once you were out cold." Silver suggested. "He's probably headed off to the finish line to meet up with Goku."

"Then we better beat him to it." Sonic said dangerously outraged. "I've got a score to settle with him."

Despite the team's collective disapproval, Sonic bounced back to his feet and charged further into the labyrinth. Knowing there was no way to change his mind, the Sonic Team followed their leader. Without them realizing it, a familiar shape could faintly be seen sitting over the coliseum wall, watching down on his prey.

"Well, looks like things have become a bit more interesting." Broly cackled.


A new challenge has been set! Will the heroes be able to put an end Chaos' dark mission? Will Sonic be given a second chance against the God of Destruction? Or will Broly's mission become successful? Find out on the next Chain of Memories!

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