CHAIN OF MEMORIES: SONIC'S TALE
Chapter Twelve: Maze of Memories, Part 2
Last time on Chain of Memories:
As the Keyblade Master travels father into the halls of Castle Oblivion, fragmented memories begin to return. Sonic slowly recalls a girl from his earlier life that was once his friend. But while the hero was gaining memories, the rest of the team was losing these own, including Angel's loss of speech. Upon entering the next memory, she was reunited with her mate, Stitch, and their creator, Jumba. The Sonic Team learned that they had somehow entered a living meteor and were trapped until Stitch disappeared.
The scene returns to the cavernous maze of the meteor. Sonic the Hedgehog was given the unsavory mission of tracking down the blue experiment after Stitch had escape their sight again. If Silver had not accidentally left his journal behind, Sonic would have been lost forever. The Babylonian mage has taken the liberty of drawing a map around the maze ahead of time to avoid confusion, but there were some fragments missing. Twice, the Keyblade Master walked into an unmarked zone and nearly walked over the same crag. Currently, Sonic was pouring over the map while walking past, what looked to be, the meteor's lungs.
"God, how am I supposed to find my way around here?" Sonic muttered irritably, marking his place on the map. "I've already searched through half this place and found no signs of Stitch or the Heartless."
"Consider the latter fortunate." Dark Sonic commented.
"I just wish there was some sign that would give me a hint." Sonic thought. While his nose was caught in the journal, he failed to notice the trail of claw marks, piles of coconuts, and the sign with Stitch's face. "Man, I'm stumped. Don't you have anything to help with?"
"Well, I don't have much power without the Oblivion Keyblade." Dark Sonic stated. "But I can probably separate from you for a short term if you surrender the energy necessary."
"You can do that?!" Sonic mentally exclaimed. "Why didn't you say so before?!"
"You never asked." Dark Sonic said bluntly.
If he and Sonic weren't the same person, the Keyblade Master would have most likely killed him. Though he knew it was useless to change the Keyblade while in the castle, Sonic reached into his quills and pulled out the Oblivion Keychain. He hoped to use it as a focusing point while transferring the energy needed. Suddenly, he could feel a powerful tug at his spine and something ripping painfully from his back. After a few torturous minutes, the separation was completed, but Sonic suddenly lost all feeling in his legs. While falling backwards, Sonic craned his head upwards when noticing a shadowy figure hanging from above. It resembled much of him with the exception of the jet-black fur and blank eyes. Dark Sonic had emerged from his mental prison, but his figure was transparent – like a specter.
"Are you well?" Dark Sonic questioned.
"Yeah." Sonic nodded, but realized he couldn't move his legs. "Hey, why can't I stand up?"
"Unfortunately, you are rendered useless as long as we remain separated." Dark Sonic informed. "And if something were to happen to you, I would suffer from the same ailment."
"Well, get a move on." Sonic said impatiently. "I don't want to spend all day staring at the ceiling."
Dark Sonic looked willing to leave his counterpart for that comment, but decided against it. The Heartless spirit phased through the floor, leaving behind the motionless Keyblade Master. And for close to a quarter of an hour, the blue hedgehog lied on the stone floor, listening and watching for any signs of his darker half's return. While trapped in his comatose state, it gave Sonic time for thought. He thought of Espio and Amy at first, but then his mind wandered to the nameless girl in his memories. If they had been friends in a previous time, why couldn't he remember her? And why was it only in Castle Oblivion that his thoughts were surrounded her? Was this what Terro had warned him about on the second floor? But before he could recall the words of the Order member, the Keyblade Master had suddenly regain the use of his limbs – Dark Sonic had returned.
"Did you find anything?" Sonic asked, jumping to his feet.
"I've located the experiment two levels below." Dark Sonic informed. "Judging by the pools of acid, I would say he has been searching around the stomach. But what is he doing there?"
"I guess the only way to find out is to ask." Sonic suggested.
"And how do you intend to reach him in time?" Dark Sonic questioned.
"I have an idea." Sonic answered."But I don't think the big guy's going to like it."
Dark Sonic seemed fearful to ask and remained silent as his counterpart began shuffling through his gauntlet. The Keyblade Master selected three attack cards from his deck, which faded into fragments of light. A moment later, the blue hedgehog was forced into his ball form and began spinning around for his signature Spin Dash. The meteor bellowed painfully as the hedgehog's sharp spines began shredding through the stone floors until ripping through completely. The same experience when through the floor below until he ripped his way into the stomach region. As he uncurled, Sonic managed to land on one of the few platforms that surrounded a deep pool of acidic liquid. Just as Dark Sonic had said, Stitch was kneeling against one of the platforms, staring at the pool with a calculative expression.
"Booji-Bu!" Sonic nearly jumped into the acid by Angel's appearance, but was safely pulled back by Storm. Stitch's attention returned to them. "Booji-Bu, mekasa cellonese!"
"I don't know what she said, but I have a suspicion." Silver interpreted. "What are you doing here, Stitch? We found a few Heartless earlier and Jumba's worried that they might attack you."
"Angel's worried, too." Storm added; Angel nodded.
"Meega sorry..." Stitch said sheepishly, jumping to their platform.
"What are you doing down here, mate?" Marine asked curiously. "You looking for something?"
"Naga." Stitch shook. "Meega looking for a way to escape meteor. Jumba and meega been trapped in meteor for very long time with no way out. Wesa thought ohana destroy with home planet and never bothered to escape. But now meega know Angel ok, meega think other cousins escape, too."
"So, that's why you've been sneaking off." Sonic nodded. "But why were you searching in here?"
"Meega have theory." Stitch explained. "Meega have searched entire meteor and know all its major weak points. But even by attacking those weak points, it wouldn't be enough to breech the outer layer of the meteor. But then meega discovered this stomach region is ultra sensitive. If wesa could create a large enough ruckus, meteor should convulse under the pressure and expel wesa through corporal passage."
"Huh?" Storm asked confused.
"Create a big fight and the meteor throws up." Silver summarized.
"Oh..." Storm nodded.
"All we need is a big brawl, eh?" Sonic grinned deviously, summoning the Keyblade into his hand. "I've actually been itching to fight you ever since Jumba told me your powers. I want to see how they match up against the Keyblade Master."
"Yousa gonna regret it." Stitch said confidently, raising his fists.
Sonic sincerely doubted it and watched as his friends disappeared into the card. Since he had missed his chance to fight Goku, the Keyblade Master thought this would be the perfect opportunity to make up for it. The blue experiment curled himself into a ball similar to Sonic and bounced off the ground towards his opponent. The keyblade Master effortlessly dodged the blue furball and watched him bounce off against the wall – the meteor quivered in irritation. While in midair, Stitch released himself and slashed his lengthened claws at the blue hedgehog. Sonic raised his Keyblade in defense, but his legs buckled under the sheer strength – he remembered Stitch was three thousand times stronger. Thinking fast, Sonic curled inwards and dodged close to the wall as Stitch landed on the edge of the platform.
"It's working." Stitch smiled as the walls waded.
"It doesn't look like he's going to spew without a fight." Sonic smirked. "But I'm having all the same."
"Meega, too." Stitch nodded. "Shall wesa continue?"
Sonic happily complied with the experiment, but their rumble was cut short. Unexpectedly, a pair of thick black tentacles emerged from the pool of acid and grasped Stitch around the waist. The blue experiment was already tossed into the air by the time the Keyblade Master reacted. The twisted tentacles expelled an orange substance from within its holds, creating a concrete gel that bound Stitch to the ceiling – the meteor growled. Sonic was ready to perform Strike Raid to free him before the pool of acid exploded and an unknown creature jumped onto the platform. The creature closely resembled Stitch, but was taller and had pitch-black fur with the Heartless Emblem on his chest and four tentacle escaping from its spine.
"Uh...hello?" Sonic said feebly.
"Hello...." The beast hissed pleasurably.
"Sonic, watch out!" Stitch forewarned. "That 627! 627 evil experiment!"
"Aw, what a nice thing to say, cousin." 627 cackled madly. "But flattery will get you nowhere."
"Let him go!" Sonic demanded.
"Not going to happen, rodent." 627 said; a large vein appeared on Sonic's forehead. "You see, I have a bone to pick with my little cousin. He selfishly trapped me in a pod for three years. I'd say its payback time for him and his 'ohana' or whatever the hell it's called."
"If you want to get to him, you'll have to go through me." Sonic glared.
"With pleasure." 627 hissed.
Heartless Experiment: 627
The psychopathic monstrosity began the battle by lurching its manipulative tentacles forward. The Keyblade Master managed to ward of the tentacles with two swings, but quickly discovered that 627 was purposely draining him. As the tentacles made another attempt, Sonic flipped backwards onto the wall and kicked into the air. Unfortunately, one of the slimy limbs managed to gain a hold over the blue hedgehog's ankle and shot him directly at the acid pool. With time running short, Sonic concentrated on a particular card and called it from his gauntlet. A black card escaped from the deck and hovered an inch above the acid pit before exploding into a ray of light. A moment later, Sonic landed with an audible thud on Cynder's back, who was flapping her wings to keep herself from falling into the pool.
"You summon me again?!" Cynder snarled. "And this time, you managed to select a battle field worse than the last."
"I didn't really call you here to complain." Sonic said dully, pointing the Heartless Experiment. "That guy is causing some major trouble. He can withstand all this acid and is super strong."
"And you want me to get rid of him." Cynder grumbled.
"Actually, I want you to cause as much destruction as possible." Sonic commanded. The black dragon snapped her head backwards, wondering if she ears had failed her. "You heard right, Cynder. I am letting you off your lease to create as much chaos as possible."
"Finally, you've done something right." Cynder smiled menacingly.
Feeling relieved to be given free reign, Cynder expressed her joy by releasing a tsunami of black flames. Sonic took note that e fire was even more powerful than when he had fought the dragon previously in Traverse Town – he shivered slightly. Obviously sensing the danger, 627 coiled himself with his tentacles as the flames washed over him. The black fire not only managed engulf the Heartless Experiment, but was also powerful enough to incinerate the rock wall in the background. The meteor echoed its pain, causing Cynder and Sonic to swivel in midair, but ultimately managed to catch themselves. A spare spark of flame somehow separated from the main body and devoured the sticky substance that kept Stitch trapped. The blue experiment fell awkwardly onto Cynder's back behind Sonic.
"Hey, welcome aboard, buddy." Sonic said cheerfully.
"What happened?" Stitch sputtered quickly. "Where's 627? How are we going to escape? And where'd this ugly lizard come from?"
"Don't worry, Stitch." Sonic answered calmly, though sweating when Cynder exhaled flames from her nostrils. "Cynder is the greatest...uh...accomplice we could ask for. She create enough mayhem that the meteor won't be able to hold its lunch down for a week."
"And the meddlesome furball is indisposed." Cynder added.
"Oh, really..."
The heroes and dragon snapped their heads back to the platform – Sonic got a whiplash. Once the smoke left behind had died down, the four tentacles of 627 were reduced to dust, but the Heartless Experiment was uninjured. Irritated that such a swift death had been taken from her, the dark dragon stabbed forward, nearly unseating her passengers. Cynder extended her neck and stabbed her teeth into the rocks after missing 627, who had flipped forward into the air. The Heartless Experiment held his serrated claws forward with the intention of attacking his blue doppelganger, but was hindered by the Keyblade. Sonic used the weapon of light to throw 627 overbalance while Stitch curled into a ball and bludgeoned his evil twin in the face. 627 twisted backwards in mid-flight to catch himself on a platform, but was prevented as Cynder's tail came into view. The dark dragon used her blade to slash across his chest and sent the Heartless Experiment diving into the acid pool.
"That should take care of him." Cynder huffed confidently.
"Have you forgotten what I told you?!" Sonic exclaimed panicking. "That thing is resistant to acid!"
"And you would be right." 627 agreed as he emerged. The Heartless Experiment floated nonchalantly across the surface like it was a daily swim. "In this lace, I am in my element. And I haven't even shown you the best part."
"Meega have feeling meega not going to like this." Stitch groaned.
That pretty much summarized the way Sonic felt at the moment. Before either of them realized what 627 was planning, the Heartless Experiment released a jet of acid from his maw. Since the room was too cramped for Cynder to maneuver, the dark dragon took the burning liquid directly in the chest. Cynder hissed in pain and vanished in a flash of light, unwillingly surrendering her passengers to the pit below. The Blue duo dive-bombed for the deathly pool, but Stitch grabbed his friend by the wrist and tossed him to the side at the last minute. Sonic landed on the platform, but Stitch dropped into the pool with a thunderous splash.
"Stitch!!" Sonic screamed.
"Shouting won't bring him back!" 627 laughed insanely. "Finally, after three long years of waiting, the legendary 626 has fallen to his superior half! Today, I have proven myself as the most powerful creature in the universe!"
"Yo haven't won yet." Sonic said defiantly. "You still have to beat me."
"Is that all?" 627 chuckled mockingly. "Wow, this day is turning out to be better than I thought."
Sonic gripped the Keyblade to the point where he began to draw blood through his gloves. The black experiment opened his jaw and took in a large amount of acid into his cheeks. But before he could release it, a blue hand emerged from the corrosive liquid, clamping the demon's mouth shut. Much to the shock of bother Sonic and 627, Stitch emerged from the pool of acid and grappled the clone into a chokehold while keeping his hand over his opponent's mouth.
"Stitch, you're alive!" Sonic yelled happily.
"Sonic – finish it!" Stitch grunted while struggling with black beast. "Strike – 627 – in chest – over his symbol. That is – his weakness!"
The blue hedgehog understood and drew three attack cards from his gauntlet – the last three in his deck. After the three cards fragmented into light particles, Sonic gave a mighty swing and launched his weapon into the air. The Keyblade soared in a high arc, aimed for the struggling prisoner. At the last minute, 627 managed to throw off his captor, and spray a minor dosage of acid at the Keyblade, but the weapon remained unharmed. And before he knew it, the weapon of light had run him through. The Heartless Experiment hissed and sputtered from the exposure of light before dissolving into a pile of dust and was eaten by the acid. Once the last particle had dropped in, a black card emerged from the corrosive liquid and soared into Sonic's hand. It was the card of 627. The blue hedgehog hastily stuffed it into his gauntlet, hoping never to see him again.
627: Defeated
"Stitch, are you all right? Sonic asked as the experiment waded to shore.
"I'm ok." Stitch answered, shaking his fur free of acid; Sonic jumped backward. "I'm fluffy."
"So..." Sonic said slowly while staring around at the broken surrounding. "Do you think that battle managed to give the meteor a stomach ache? If having Cynder's fume isn't enough, I don't think anything is."
To answer this question, the meteor's entire frame began to quake and the acid pool bubbled endlessly.
"I think it's working!" Stitch exclaimed happily. "the meteor's going to toss us back up!"
"Uh...I'm not a genius or anything." Sonic stammered. "But should we really be in a pit of acid when the thing is ready to blow?"
Stitch opened his mouth to answer, but quickly snapped it shut with his eyes wide in terror. In all his calculations, he forgot to figure what would happen if they were still in the stomach at the time. And at the precise moment, the walls began to explode with rivers of corrosive liquids pouring from the holes. Stitch and Sonic made a run for it as the pool began to overflow and the substance followed them through the stone passage. Of course, Stitch was invulnerable, but Sonic wasn't so lucky. The blue hedgehog tried to summon his Keychain ability, but his mind was too frantic for him to concentrate on the card. And without warning, the blue duo was lurching to the air by an unknown force and the Keyblade Master blacked out.
"Are you sure he's alive?" A feminine voice asked
"Positive, I can feel his pulse." A male voice answered. "I'm using all the magic I can to revive him."
"Oh, come on, mate!" A younger voice screamed. "Don't go blowing out on me now."
"I wonder how he feels." A gruff voice questioned.
"Like I've been shot out of a cannon." Sonic groaned.
He heard four collective gasps – they were all present and accounted for. The Keyblade Master slowly opened his eyelids and gazed at the four faces of his teammates surrounding him overhead. Sonic had difficulty standing up, but mostly because Marine wouldn't let him go. He looked around his environment and found that they had been returned to the meteor's mouth, but Jumba's ship was missing. It wasn't just the ship, but the scientist and his experiment were missing, too.
"Where'd Stitch and Jumba go?" Sonic asked.
"They're gone." Silver answered. "They must have escaped when the meteor blew."
"But what about Angel?" Storm asked concerned, turning to his little friend. "I thought she and Stitch would go back home together."
"Meega no left gettal." Angel smiled, folding her hands over her chest. "Booji-Bu akcaka in meega heart."
"I guess she doesn't mind being left behind." Silver translated proudly. "I think she knows she will see Stitch again someday and that he will always be with her in her heart." He turned to the pink experiment. "Is that right?"
Angel nodded.
"It's just like the alien man said." Marine said happily. "It won't be long until all experiments are together again. I bet Stitch is counting the days until he sees you again."
"Mahalo, Marine." Angel said gratefully.
"Now I think our main problem is figuring a way out of here." Storm said bluntly.
At that very moment, a flash of light emerged at the teeth of the meteor, transforming into the blank door. It was quick and convenient, but it was kind of depressing for Angel. She had been reunited with her true love, but it was only temporary. But as marine had said, Stitch would wait for her. The Heatless would be defeated one and the worlds would be restored, allowing her to return home. With that thought in mind, Angel happily led the group into the tunnel of light beyond.
Meanwhile, the scene opens to white room, but not in Castle Oblivion. This room was hidden in a secret world that was beyond the reaches of light and darkness. Within this room, a man wearing the same black coat of the Order stared into the crystal ball that served as the only device within the lounge. As he gaze pierced the orb, he watched another member battling a group of Heartless alongside a man with spiky auburn hair in the middle of a desert. What made this member special was that he carried the weapon of legends: the Keyblade – the same one used by Sonic
"Enjoying the view?" A moment later, a member that only reached to his kneecaps dropped at his side. "How is our newest recruit doing?"
"He is exceeding all our expectation." The first member answered; his voice came in a hiss. "With this child, we can begin our final plans much sooner than we had hoped."
"And what about the other Keyblade wielder?" The short member asked.
"Terro has already sent a report." The tall member asked. "The Keyblade Master has appeared in Castle Oblivion, but the Superior's suspicions may prove to be true."
"I wasn't talking about Sonic." The short member said lowly.
The two Order members said nothing as the tallest one waved his hand across the crystal sphere. The image alternates to a sanctuary that resembled the halls of Hallow Bastion. Within the meeting chamber of Black Doom's former alliance, another member of the order was surrounded by a group of Heartless. Even when the appearance was covered by the black coat, one could tell it was female by her movements and grunts. But the Order members were drawn away from the battle as their eyes pierced the item she was wielding: a third Keyblade.
A time of separation is only preparation for a reunion. Will Angel return to her family and mate? Will Sonic discover the identity of the mysterious girl? And who are these people that carry the same Keyblade as Sonic? Find out on the next Chain of Memories!
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