CHAIN OF MEMORIES: SONIC'S TALE

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Chapter Thirty-Six: Lord of Castle Oblivion, Part 4

Last time on Chain of Memories:

Sonic and his fiends caught up with Duskmon, who held Kumori captive. The Lord of Castle Oblivion commanded Kumori to wipe Sonic's memory, but she refused. And just when Duskmon was on the brink of physical violence, Tomo sudden revealed herself and rescued the memory witch. A brutal battle between Sonic, Tomo, and Duskmon commenced with the Keyblade Master emerging victorious. But Duskmon explained that what they defeated was merely an illusion and the real master was hiding beyond the gateway. Now Sonic must face his greatest challenge yet and he must do it alone.

The scene opens to the final floor within Castle Oblivion. But unlike the rest of the castle, the area Sonic had entered was entirely different from anything the Keyblade Master had seen. The entire corridor beyond the doorway was a dimension of pure white with no foundation, walls, ceiling, or even a floor. It was just a endless dominion of colorless space. The only thing that stood out was the doorway which Sonic had entered through. The cobalt hedgehog was afraid that if he let the door out of his sight, he would be lost in the domain forever.

"Whoa..." Sonic said amazingly; his voice echoed. "I'll bet this place could go on forever."

"This is the true essence of eternity." A familiar voice called.

"Duskmon!" Sonic exclaimed suddenly, searching left and right. "Where are you?!"

"I am everywhere and nowhere." Duskmon stated mystically, confusing the Keyblade Master. "And soon enough, the emptiness of the worlds between will shatter your heart. And it is here you will rest eternally – in the Realm of Nothingness!"

Without warning a black spot emerged from the endless passageway and steadily consumed the environment. Sonic swiftly summoned his Keyblade at the moment the darkness had spread through the eternal dimension. The cobalt hedgehog was thankful that the doorway remained unaffected in any case that he should try to find his way back. Sonic spotted something out of the corner of his eye and jumped at the moment something that resembled a tail landed. Once his eyes adapted to the darkness, Sonic could see the appearance of Duskmon's newest form. It resembled a fifteen-foot vulture with blood-red armor covering its body, ten-foot wings made from black feathers, and a set of three eyes.

"Yeesh, and I thought he was ugly before." Sonic grimaced.

"Make fun if you will." The beast growled lowly. "But as lightless oblivion devours you, drown in the ever-blooming darkness!"

Winged Obliterator: Velgemon

As the Keyblade Master raised his chosen weapon, the giant vulture opened its jaws and released an inhumane screech. Sonic's ears were very sensitive to the noise and force the hedgehog to grab his ears – his Keyblade clattered on the unseen ground. At the moment Sonic was distracted, Velgemon turned in place and swiped his tail across the hedgehog's chin. As the chosen hero was lifted off the ground, Velgemon spread his wings and took off to the shadowed sky. Sonic managed to recover from his daze long enough to realize that the Winged Obliterator was looming directly above. The cobalt hedgehog waited momentarily and twisted around in midair as Velgemon made a direct dive. The Keyblade Master glided with the draft created the passing and safely landed on the unseen ground – a few feet away from his weapon. Looking around the endless corridor, Sonic lost sight of his enemy.

"Where'd he go?" Sonic asked aloud. "I can't see a thing in this darkness."

"Remember what Kumori said." Dark Sonic stated. "Duskmon controls the universe in this domain. He intentionally devoured the realm in darkness to provide enough of an advantage over you. He cloaks himself in the shadows and waits for the moment you are unguarded to strike."

"Seeing as he took the Keyblade away, he's off to a good start." Sonic thought. "I can't even see where I dropped it or where the door is. In fact, I can barely see my own hand in front of my face."

"I don't think that's your hand!" Dark Sonic yelled.

The moment Sonic reached out and touched the object in front of him, he realized his Heartless half was right – his hand was never scaly. All of a sudden, three pierce-red eyes emerged from the darkness, all glowering at the hedgehog. Velgemon's enlarged beak came into view with a collective ray of crimson energy in its beak. Sonic jumped upon realizing the opposition and made a sharp turn, running away from the Winged Obliterator at full speed. By the time the dark vulture had released the attack, Sonic had dived to the side with the soles of his shoes barely singed. The Keyblade Master forced himself to his knees, panting heavily upon realizing how close he was to death. Then all of a sudden, Sonic's ears caught the sound of something that resembled nails on a chalkboard. In the midst of the darkness, Velgemon had lowered his wing to the ground while circling the Keyblade Master from the air.

"What are you up to this time?" Sonic questioned.

"All things begin in darkness and also end." Velgemon cawed; Sonic felt a sense of familiarity. "But for those unfortunate few, darkness I not an option. Beings such as myself are doomed to an eternity in the void of emptiness."

"Void of emptiness?" Sonic repeated confused.

"But I will not allow that to happen!" Velgemon screeched. "I will ascend to a power greater than any before me or after! Once I have you within my power, the Order will fall at my command!"

"Like I'm going to let you!" Sonic said bravely, but his thoughts betrayed him. "Where's the Keyblade when I need."

"Have you forgotten already?" Velgemon growled. "In this dominion, I control everything. I am the beginning and the end." He raised his wing off the ground once the circle was completed. "Not even you have the power to defy the universe! Dark Obliteration!"

At the command of the shadowed vulture, the enlarged circle inherited a menacing-red glow. And before the Keyblade Master could react, the circle expanded towards the unseen sky in the form of a rising red wall. Sonic was apparent to the danger and tried to escape the growing prison, but the walls were already too high for him to jump over. This forced the cobalt hedgehog to fall back on magic and removed the Magic Card from his gauntlet to form a massive fireball. Unfortunately, the crimson energy absorbed the attack and continued slowly towards its peak.

"Ok, this is not turning out so well." Sonic commented hesitantly. He looked to the top of the red dome as the red wall began to curve around, steadily closing the gap above. "That looks like our only chance out. If we don't make it, we're roasted."

"But how can you be so certain that we will make it?" Dark Sonic questioned.

"I'm not." Sonic responded, reaching for his gauntlet. "But I'm not gonna roll over and die like some dog!"

Sonic swiped three attack cards from his gauntlet, activating one of his many sleights. The cobalt warrior curled himself into a sphere and bounced off the ground directly for the closing gap above. Velgemon noticed that Sonic was moving at an explosive speed and would narrowly make it through the Dark Obliterator. He would not allow that. The armored vulture drifted above the closing dome and released a pulse of energy from his mouth with amazing accuracy. The pulse beam stabbed through Sonic's right shoulder and forced the release of his Spin Dash, allowing the hedgehog to fall back into the dome. Trying to ignore his bleeding shoulder, Sonic painfully reached for his gauntlet. But the effort was in vain as the scarlet dome was completed. Velgemon watched pleasing as the bright dome glimmered momentarily before eroding from existence.

"How sad." Velgemon growled lowly as he landed. "But now that the Keyblade Master has been erased from the Realm of Existence, I can continue with Temwow's original project. The Keyblade will be mine yet."

"Who are you talking to?"

Velgemon hisses shockingly when he realized the voice had emerged from his right shoulder. Sonic emerging from the jaws of certain death was nothing short of a miracle. And in addition, the Keyblade had recovered his chosen weapon from the depths of the darkness. But if one were to look closer, they would notice that the hedgehog's left hand was severely burned with his gloves incinerated.

"How did you...." Velgemon said slowly.

"That was a close call." Dark Sonic sighed in relief. "Uniting the Keychain Card and the Lightning Card allowed you to move at the speed of light, but it had its unfortunate side effects."

"Using both cards without training destroyed the nerves in my arm." Sonic thought, watching his unmoving limb. "At this rate, I'll destroy myself before I beat this guy."

"Your body will recover in time." Dark Sonic said shortly. "Now end this battle before it's too late."

Sonic knew this was possibly the last chance he would ever get this close to Velgemon and was not about to waste this opportunity. Using his single arm, Sonic turned the Keyblade and aimed the teeth for Velgemon's neck before thrusting downwards. That's when it all went wrong. Just as the Keyblade was ready to make contact, a blur of crimson jumped in his sight and stopped the weapon in its tracks. It took several moments for Sonic to recognize that Duskmon's original sword had emerged from the vulture's armor with the skull heads still attached. But the situation only became worse when the second sword jumped from Velgemon's spine and stabbed Sonic's right shoulder. While the cobalt hedgehog cringed from the intense pain, a lump from the Winged Obliterator's back began to rise and develop into a shape. And soon enough, the upper body of Duskmon had appeared.

"You..." Sonic groaned.

"You are certainly becoming an annoyance." Duskmon said coldly. "But I would expect nothing less from the Keyblade's chosen." He looked at the hedgehog up and down. "Not only have you inherited his appearance, but you also gained your fathers will of survival."

"There's one thing that has been bugging me." Sonic hissed. "The Seekers, the Room of Awakening, and my father. How can someone like you know more than even the King?"

"Knowledge is power." Duskmon stated. "And I like power. The Seekers have been longtime rivals of the Order since the beginning, so that answer is obvious. The Room of Awakening was more difficult to uncover, but I began to notice that the Superior has been disappearing from the castle periodically. After calculating his next leave, I followed him to a place called the Room of Sleep. And I realized that if there was a Room of Sleep, there must be a Room of Awakening. That's the true reason why we were stationed in Castle Oblivion."

"Room of Awakening..." Sonic repeated seriously. "Room of Sleep..."

"And as for how I know your father, that's a simple answer." Duskmon said tauntingly. "He and I used to fight alongside each other during the Keyblade War."

"What?!" Sonic exclaimed.

"That's right." Duskmon cackled. "Zoan and I were temporary partners. He was desperate to find Master Ix that he was even willing to surrender his heart to the darkness."

"Your lying!" Sonic yelled angrily. "I don't believe you!"

"Believe me or not, it won't change your fate." Duskmon proclaimed. "In the end, you just aren't ready to carry the legacy of your father. But don't fret; you'll be serving me shortly."

Velgemon screeched shrilling and bended his spine, pushing Duskmon's blade deeper into Sonic's shoulder. But at the moment, that was the least of his worries. All of a sudden, the dark vultures armor slipped away to reveal it fleshy skin, which contained over thirty eyes along its back. Having experience fighting Duskmon, Sonic already knew what to expect. The cobalt hedgehog tugged brutally in hopes of forcing the sword out of his shoulder, but by that time, it was already too late. The multitude of eyes expelled a wide field of scarlet beams, attacking the Keyblade Master from every angle. Sonic resisted every attempt to scream, not wanting to give Duskmon the pleasure, and was lifted into the air before falling back on the ground. The cobalt hero remained unmoving on the unseen floor – his body had failed him.

"What a joke." Duskmon scoffed. "Even your own father could have put u a better fight than that."

"I...can't...give..." Sonic moaned.

"Can't what?" Duskmon taunted sadistically. "Give up? It is futile to continue. You have lost all available resources, your body has been broken to the point of death, and you're all alone in a world that I control. What could you possibly have left?"

The more he thought about it, the closer he began to realize Duskmon's point. His friends were out of his reach, the Keyblade was out of his range, and he couldn't even move a finger. With those thoughts running through his head, Sonic was actually considering to surrender under Duskmon's power. But before he could make a final decision, he felt a sudden weight in both hands. Looking between them, he discovered that the Oblivion Keychain was in his left hand and the Oathkeeper was in his right. And then, he could hear the voices of the friends he once forgotten.

"Don't ever forget, wherever you go, I'll always be with you."

"Giving up already? Come on, Sonic! I know you're stronger than that!"

"Take care of Kumori."

"You're wrong, Duskmon." Sonic said weakly.

"What?" Duskmon questioned.

"This may be your world, but I am never alone." Sonic said certainly. The Shadowed Wraith was shocking beyond belief as the Keyblade Master forced himself to stand. "Even if they aren't physically here, my friends are always with me in my heart. Silver, Storm, Angel, Marine, Kumori, Tomo, Terro, Espio, and...." He remained unknown to the last name. "So it doesn't matter if you destroy my body because my heart will continue to live on. You can't beat me, Duskmon!"

"How ridiculous." Duskmon stated, commanding the dark vulture to take aim. "In the end, trash is still trash!"

With the order given by his master, Velgemon opened his beak and released a quick pulse of energy. With no strength left to run, Duskmon's victory seemed assure. But that was before a golden card jumped from Sonic's gauntlet. The unknown card glided in front of the Keyblade Master and deflected Duskmon's shot, leaving the Shadowed Wraith stupefied. The golden card radiated over it master and projected the images of every card Sonic had collected from his time within Castle Oblivion.

"What?!" Duskmon exclaimed.

"Drawing the power from all my friends, I activate my final card: Unity Limit!!" Sonic yelled.

The golden card exploded into a shower of light particles, filling the Keyblade Master with warm relief. Sonic's wounds were miraculously healed and his lost energy was restored. But the true achievement was the transformation of the hedgehog himself. Sonic's cobalt fur transformed to a glimmering gold with his quills standing on end and the twin Keyblades, Oblivion and Oathkeeper, appeared in each hand. Just as the battle against Mephiles, Sonic had ascended to the next level.

"That's impossible." Duskmon gasped. "The Chaos Emeralds are nowhere to be seen."

"Haven't you been listening." Sonic said unusually serious. "This power was gifted to me by the friends I have come to know in the past. My mind may forget them, but my heart will always remember."

"You filthy bastard!!" Duskmon roared insanely. "I've had enough of your tricks!"

Duskmon stabbed his hand forward and commanded Velgemon to dive ahead. While the armored vulture charged ahead at blinding speed, Sonic closed his eyes n concentration and crossed the Keyblades with intense focus. The gap between them was swiftly closing. Twenty feet...ten feet...five feet. And by the time they were close enough to touch each other, the golden warrior struck. While Velgemon was preparing to attack, Sonic zipped past the dark vulture faster than anyone could see. The Keyblade Master landed behind his enemy, dispelling the Keyblades and his golden form. Sonic turned to the Shadowed Wraith and said...

"You're finished."

And just like that, a cross of light erupted on the Winged Obliterator's chest. Velgemon screeched for the final time before his body evaporated along with the darkness that surrounded them. After all the harsh trial and tribulations, the Lord of Castle Oblivion was finally defeated.

Velgemon: Defeated

The endless corridor resumed it usual appearance of eternal white walls and skies. To his left, Sonic rediscovered the doorway that marked the only entrance to the room. To his right, he found the battered and beaten Duskmon sprawled across the white floor – his armor chips and eyes bloodshot. Sonic shook his head in disappointment and made his way to the doorway when he heard a weak groan coming from the defeated member.

"W-wait." Duskmon called weakly. "This fight...isn't over."

"The battle is over for you, Duskmon." Sonic stated. "You can't even lift your head and I can still use the Keyblade. There's no point in continuing if the other person is unable to fight."

"But I'm still alive." Duskmon said. "And when I regain my strength, I will strike again."

"That's not going to happen." Sonic said, leaving the Shadowed Wraith confused. "Once I leave this realm, I intend to seal the gateway forever with you trapped inside, leaving you to exist without a purpose. It's a fate much worse than death – you deserve it."

"You...can't..." Duskmon moaned.

"Just try to stop me." Sonic challenged.

But in the end, the Shadowed Wraith could not stop him. And this left Sonic able to escape the eternal Realm of Nothingness and forever escape the sight of Duskmon.

The scene returns to the white-walled corridors of Castle Oblivion, where the heroes were awaiting the outcome of the battle. Angel and Storm were on either side of the doorway, waiting to close the door in any case that Sonic failed. But fortunately enough, it was the Keyblade Master who emerged victorious. Once Sonic had cleared the threshold, the strongest of the Sonic Team slammed the door shut behind them with a thunderous thud. Turning sharp on his heels, Sonic raised the Keyblade to the floral doorway. For the first time in a while, the Keyblade released a solid beam of light from its teeth and struck the door with an ominous glow. And with an echoing click, the doorway to the Realm of Nothingness vanished from existence with Duskmon tapped forever behind it.

"You did it, mate!" Sonic cheered.

"Way to go." Silver nodded approvingly.

"Thanks." Sonic grinned, turning to Tomo and Kumori. "Hey, how are you guys holding up?"

"I've definitely seen better days." Tomo grimaced. "My body may have healed, but that still doesn't make up for the pain in my heart. I've lost sight of my path and now I'm not even sure if I'll ever find it again. All my memories of this castle have been erased from my mind, including the time before I was controlled by Mewtwo."

"Kumori, can't you use your magic to turn Tomo's memories back to normal." Storm asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid that's not possible." Kumori said sadly. "In order to break the enchantment that was controlling Tomo, I had to shatter the chain where the spell originated from. In other words, the memories of the castle."

"It's all right." Tomo nodded, turning down the corridor. "I'll learn to deal with it."

"Wait!" Sonic called, stopping the kunoichi. "Even though we've never met outside the castle, the memories of us together are still real and that makes us friends. So even if you forget about us, your heart will find a way back."

"Sonic..." Tomo said; Sonic noticed a feint smirk. "You're an idiot."

And with that, the Kunochi Chameleon vanished down the dark corridor, ignoring the calls of her new friends. Sonic felt a twinge of regret for letting Tomo leave, but he knew she needed to find her own answers. Now there was only one mission left. The Sonic Team rounded to Kumori, who was staring anxiously at the floor.

"So, can you put our memories back?" Silver asked.

"With Duskmon gone, it is possible." Kumori said certainly. "Not being able to remember something doesn't mean the memory is gone."

"What...mean?" Angel strained; she grasped her throat.

"When you remember one thing, that leads to remembering another memory." Kumori explained simply. "All the memories are connected. Many pieces are linked together by the Chain of Memories that makes up each of us." He folded her hands anxiously. "I don't actually erase memories, just take apart the links and rearrange them. You still have all your memories."

"Then you can put them back together?" Marine asked excitedly.

"Yes." Kumori nodded; Marine cheered. "But first, I must undo the Chain of 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 then reconnect them." She seemed hesitant for a moment. "It might take some time, but I think it might work. No...It will work...I'll make it work."

"All right, we trust you." Sonic smiled.

"Wait a minute." Silver interjected. "You said you had to undo the Chain of Memories you created. Then that means..."

"Yes..." Kumori answered sadly. "You won't be able to remember about what happened in Castle Oblivion."

"Not even you?!" Sonic exclaimed horrified.

"I'm sorry, but it's the only way." Kumori stated, turning away from her new friends. "Sonic...you have a choice to make. You can use your memories of this castle and reclaim your old ones or keep your memories here and give up the memories you've lost."

"Do I...have to?" Sonic asked hesitantly.

The memory witch said nothing, which confirmed his fears. He was stuck between two impossible choices. He could remember all his old friends and forget the new ones or remain with Kumori in exchange for forgetting everything. Which would he choose? He mad a promise....a promise that he would keep. And promise that he swore he would never forget until the day he kept it. With that thought in mind, the Keyblade Master gave his answer.

"Make me like I was."

Kumori seemed sadden by the decision, but still smiled against the pain. It was better this way.

"All right." Kumori nodded. "No one needs to keep a bunch of memories that aren't real, right? You want to remember all the people who are really important to you." Her thoughts temporarily drifted to his oldest friend. "Anyone would choose that."

The scene alternates to the final room within the walls of Castle Oblivion. Kumori had guided the heroes to an unknown chamber that retained its spotless appearance, but with an electronic floor below their feet. And in the center of the room, an egg-shaped capsule stood open to accept whoever entered it. Sonic and the others watched the capsule suspiciously before turning their attention to Kumori.

"We have to sleep in there to remember everything?" Marine asked.

"That's right." Kumori answered. "It's going to take a little time, but I'll take care of you."

"But when we wake up, we won't remember who you are anymore." Storm said worried. "So how are we going to thank you?"

"Already taken care of." Silver smiled deviously, holding up his leather-bound journal. "I've taken the liberty of writing a note in my journal, reminding us to thank Kumori when we wake up. Now we can all sleep in peace."

"Good eye, mate." Marine smiled before turning to the memory witch. "Good night, Kumori. See ya when we wake up."

"Pleasant dreams, friends." Kumori smiled sincerely.

Silver, Storm, Marine, and Angel turned to the walls, where a row of smaller pod capsules were waiting for them. As each hero took their place, Sonic turned to his own capsule and made his way up. But before he entered the pod, Kumori's voice drifted to him.

"All of this may have started with a lie, but I really am glad that I got to meet you, Sonic."

"Yeah, me too." Sonic responded, looking over his shoulder. "When I finally found you, and even when I remembered your name, I was happy. The way I felt then wasn't a lie."

"Then...I suppose this is good bye." Kumori smiled sadly.

"No, this isn't good bye." Sonic said defiantly, turning to his friend. "When I wake up, I'll find you and then there will be no lies. And by that time, we'll be friends for real. That's a promise."

"You're going to forget making that promise." Kumori said pointedly.

"When the Chain of Memories comes apart, the links will still be there, right?" Sonic grinned confidently; Kumori was surprised at how easygoing he was. "So the memory of our promise will always be inside of me somewhere."

"You know...you might be right." Kumori said happily. "In that case, I'll make a promise, too. I promise that we'll become good friends once you wake up. And then we'll go find our other friends together."

"I'll hold you to that promise." Sonic laughed.

Kumori exchanged her own short giggle, which made Sonic feel on top of the world. With the promise made in his heart, the Keyblade Master jumped into the pod with lifted spirits. A short moment later, the capsule walls lifted and began to enclose themselves around the cobalt hedgehog. But even from within the container, Kumori's voice still reached him.

"Sonic, some of the links are a deep in the shadows of your heart and I won't be able to find them." Kumori explained. "But don't worry, you made another promise to someone who you could never replace. She is your light in the darkness. Remember her and all the memories lost in the shadows of your heart will come into the light."

"Another promise..." Sonic said thoughtfully.

"Look at the good luck charm." Kumori advised. "I changed its shape when I changed your memory. But when you thought of her for that one moment, it went back to the way it was."

Taking heed to the memory witch's advise, Sonic withdrew the Oathkeeper charm from his quills. The shells that formed the star smelled fresh from the seas of Destiny Island, alluring his senses. And one-by-one the thoughts of his friends drifted through his mind. Metal, Emerl, Cream, Tikal, Omega, Chaos, Rector, Howl, and Raine. But none of them were what he was looking for and concentrated harder on the charm. He saw visions of Espio and beyond him, the unknown girl from his mind. And the moment he focused on that one point, her name escaped his lips without thought.

"Amy!"

That one name illuminated the memories beyond the borders of his mind. He remembered everyone from Crash Bandicoot to Naruto Uzumaki and everyone in between. The stood together, smiling proudly at their friend.

"My friends..." Sonic said happily. But then he began to notice Kumori's presence drifting away. "Kumori?"

"Don't worry." Kumori said safely. "You might forget about me, but with out promise, I can come back."

"A promise is a promise." Sonic nodded.

"One day the light will bring us together again." Kumori said joyfully. "Until then, I will be in your heart."

"Right." Sonic smiled as sleep began to overtake him. "Forgotten, but not lost.

And with that, the Keyblade Master and his friends drifted into a deep sleep, where they remain there for an unknown period of time. But they trusted Kumori. And when they wake up, they would return to their quest and find the light that will connect them all. Memories can be easily forgotten in a person's mind, but the bond shared between friends will remain eternally within our hearts.

Bound by the Chain of Memories.

And another journey comes to a climactic close. But what other events have taken place during Sonic's time in Castle Oblivion? What will become of Tomo? And where will their next adventure take them? Stay tuned for the final chapter of Chain of Memories!

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