Kingdom Hearts: Re: chain of Days
Chapter 11: Castle Oblivion Part
By: Karma's Slave
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.
After returning from the fake Agrabah, the others had to stop again to think about our real memories that were lost among the castle, I didn't say anything as Goofy made it clear that he was trying to remember Hollow Bastion. I had chosen not to say anything, while we traveled in the hallways of Oblivion.
My reason why, because I knew our new foes would be keeping their eyes on us. When I had created Oblivion ten years ago, I remember using the orbs that were on the upper levels of the castle, using them so I could see my home for the last time before I headed off to find Terra.
I was playing dumb for so many people, I couldn't let the others in on my plan especially Sora; the mere fact that I retain the truth is dangerous enough. But as the others conversed, I thought about Ven and the chamber I had left him in. as the years went by I knew he was safe and he still is but the one thing I couldn't understand was how had his heart become a part of Sora's?
And there was something else I hadn't really noticed before, until now. My two hands touching over the blue and orange charms, that lay around my neck, as my thoughts of Ven are shifting to Terra. It occurred to me that, Axel and the unknown man had been wearing the same coat as Terra, when I encountered him at Hollow Bastion.
"Could they be affiliated?" my thoughts filled with worry.
"What is it, Goofy?" asked Donald.
"It's that castle I mentioned earlier. I'm sure I didn't make it up. That was the castle where Sora used the Keyblade to free Kairi's heart. Then he disappeared for a while, remember? I'll never forget how worried we all were." Reminded Goofy
"Oh yeah" When I turned into a Heartless!" as the memory began to come back to Sora until, "Wait... That happened in...a castle?" Sora spoke unsurely; the boy began to rub the back of his head.
"You forgot? Well, I remember it perfectly." Said Donald as he crossed his feathered arms over his chest with complete faith in his memory.
"What was the castle called then?" Sora bated Donald.
"Easy! It was..." Donald, who once had the name in his mind but then like all the memories prior, it was gone.
"Hey, Jiminy." Aqua intervened on Donald's behalf. "You wrote down everything that happened in your journal, right?" Aqua asked the top hat wearing cricket.
"Every letter! I finished off the first volume right before we got to this castle." Jiminy pulling out the book from where it was kept. "Let's see if I can find the old book..." opening it, and looking through the journal that had kept all of their information. "Ah, here it is! Let's have a look... Th-This isn't possible! All the entries have vanished! Every page, blank!" was showing the blank pages to everyone. As Jiminy looking desperately through the journal.
The foursome shared a collective, "What?"
"How can't that be? The man said only memories are affected by the castle. Not the objects" Aqua continuing with her act. The journal had confirmed the one thing Aqua was right about.
"How could this happen? I take such good care of my journals! All that hard work, gone..." Jiminy as he was still overcome with surprise and shock but then again so was the foursome.
"What kind of castle is this...?" Sora then asked.
"This confirms everything, there is an outside force causing us this trouble" Concluded Aqua. "And once I find that force, they are going to fix this mess. They've made or so help me" Aqua thought darkly.
Aqua surprised herself with that kind of thought; she knew it wasn't like her to be so...angry, not like this. But who could really blame the keyblade master, after losing the people she loved to Xehanort. And then when he returned but this time for Terra's chosen pupil, Riku. And these new foes were hurting her newfound friends and her apprentice, Sora.
Aqua couldn't just simply take it anymore and there was a deep part of inside of her that knew she wanted to make these foes, pay for what they've done. Every single one of them.
While in another a part of castle oblivion,
A young blonde haired girl sat by what looked to be a window with light shining into it.
Sketch pad lay on her lap as she was drawing a picture of a boy with spiky hair; standing with the boy was a red haired girl, a silver haired boy and a blonde girl being watched over by a blue haired adult.
"Something funny's going on..." Began Donald.
"Donald, we've already established that since entered this castle" Aqua cutting him off.
"But, How could everything Jiminy wrote vanish like that?" he asked, Aqua didn't answer him out of her own choice. She didn't want to be keeping secrets however she had a poker face to uphold.
"Maybe it's not just stuff we write down. Goofy said we've been to some other castle. But I don't remember it at all. None of us really do. Maybe...Maybe we don't remember because those memories are gone." Spoke Sora. Aqua, no matter how much she wanted too, she was going to have Sora figure out this one on his own. She wasn't going to give him the answers anymore.
"Gone? Don't be ridiculous!" Donald said in his usual manner.
"Wait! Remember what that guy in the black hood said? "In this place, to find is to lose and to lose is to find." He was talking about memories!" Jiminy spoke up,
"That's right, the stranger did say to us before we headed off" Aqua, now playing along with 'amnesia'
"So if we keep going, we'll lose our memories... No wonder they call it Castle Oblivion." Sora said as worry was being written all over his face as the usual cheerful boy was looking down to the white floor. "So...the higher we go, the more we forget? What if we forget everything and can't get it back? Donald suddenly asked.
"I'd forget Riku and Kairi, too..." Sora said with a light fear full tone in his voice.
"Maybe we should turn back." Donald suggested, Aqua had no problem with them leaving but Aqua would have to stay behind for Ven. since he could be vulnerable now that she had returned to the castle. However that would give her an advantage over their unnamed foe and his cohort, Axel. Since she knew Castle Oblivion and Land of Departure like the back of her hands.
"Don't worry! We might forget where we've been or what we saw, but we won't forget our friends." Goofy tried to bring up the team's morale, it wasn't exactly working but it was the thought that counted, "What makes you so sure?" Donald asked cynically.
"Sora, when you turned into a Heartless, did you forget about us?" Goofy asked out of the blue. Aqua was curious to see where Knight of Mickey's guard was taking this. "Of course not! I'd never forget you!" declared Sora.
"Well, see, there ya go! No matter what happens, you won't forget your friends." Goofy, said cheerfully. Aqua raised an eyebrow at the knight; she couldn't help but wonder if Goofy was actually on something, she never recalled meeting anyone so, optimistic.
"Yeah... You're right. Thanks, Goofy." said a slightly less worried Sora. "But whatever helps, right?" thought Aqua as she glanced at Sora.
Donald speaking up, "I guess there's nothing to be scared of after all. So let's go!" Donald begins to walk away.
"Hey, Donald... Back when I was a Heartless, who was the one who clobbered me, hmm?"
"THAT's what you should be forgetting!" Donald jumps up and down and babbles angrily. Sora and Goofy laugh. Aqua shook her head to them making them. If when in a time of peril, they remain unfathomed by it. Sora holds up the Olympus Coliseum card to the door. It opens, and the group enters into Olympus.
"Look, an announcement" pointed out Donald as Sora and Goofy joined him while Aqua stays put. Jiminy jumps out and jumps up and down while he reads the board "Hmmm... It's for some sort of contest. They're calling it the "Olympus Coliseum Survival Cup." Contenders have to run an obstacle course, battling each other along the way. And listen to this: "The great hero Hercules will also compete for the Cup." It says here he's never been beaten." As Jiminy reading out loud to the groUp.
"Sounds like fun. Why don't we enter, too?" suggested Sora "I thought you'd say that. Whenever there's a contest, you're raring' to join up." Goofy said cheerily.
"You're going to compete even if we don't, right?" asked Donald
"Uh-huh." replied the island boy. Aqua watched the trio interact with one another, why were they acting like their previous conversation hadn't happened. Is it possible that once inside these rooms, you even forget oblivion? "No, that can't be right" thought Aqua, as they recalled still being in the castle back in the fake traverse town. So she rejected that theory.
"Guess we'd better tag along then." said Donald.
Jiminy jumping up and down trying to get everyone's attention "Hold it, you guys. There's more"... Jiminy still jumping "Only contenders who finish the preliminary course may enter the main competition. It says the preliminary course is just ahead."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Sora said as he started jogging off towards the building to enter tournament.
"Sora! What have I said about running off" Aqua called out to him as she followed the trio into the coliseum.
Hades appears and reads the announcement board "Hercules is a model of true strength and gallantry, the perfect hero"?Hades turns red, overcome with anger "Oh, he's perfect, all right. PERFECTLY INFURIATING! Just thinking about that little sunspot makes me boil! HOO, I'd like to drag him into the Underworld!"
"Which is why you hired me" as Cloud appears by the side of Hades.
"That's right. You're my man... Cloud, is it? Your job is to beat Hercules in the games. And once you've got him cornered... ...finish the job. Do that for me, and..."
"You restore my lost memories. As we agreed." Cloud finishes for the god of the underworld.
"You have my word." Replied Hades. Cloud then leaves.
Aqua, Sora, Donald, and Goofy, enter the Coliseum lobby and meet Phil "Huh? Where did you come from? Don't tell me you guys finished the prelims!" said Phil
"We sure did. And now we want to go for the Cup!" Sora speaking with clears confidence. "Well, you came to the right place. Not that you stand a chance against Herc." retorted Phil.
"And here we go again" as Aqua recalled the real encounter with Phil. "and why not?" Donald in his usual complain tone of voice as his hands went one his sides.
"Two words. You ain't heroes!" Phil shouted. Aqua inwardly groaned with a hand on her forehead unsure if she was so annoyed that she couldn't have a headache from it, and just like last time, Aqua was ready to hit the satyr on the head with her keyblade.
"You're wrong!" Sora defending their hero status, not like it would have mattered in Castle Oblivion.
"Yeah, he said three words." Pointed out Goofy, Aqua turned to look at Goofy with a look of disbelief. As kind hearted as the captain of guard is and yet has a child like naïve to him.
"Exactly" Sora said rather loudly before he too realized what Goofy said "...but that's not the point! How can we prove we're heroes unless you give us a chance?"
Hercules walks into the lobby, "He's right, Phil. They cleared the prelims. I think they deserve a shot."
"Hmm...You got a point there, Herc. But still" Phil trying to reason with his student.
"Of course, we could always cancel the games." Hercules countered with.
"Cancel them? What for?" Sora said with a small panic as Donald and Goofy looked a bit disappointed as well.
"Best idea, I've heard all day" Aqua thought, as she knew, their newfound enemies were distracted them with these pointless mind tricks, Aqua knew she could have left or finished this at anytime as for being able to see the truth paths in Castle Oblivion and as antsy as the female master was getting she couldn't abandoned Sora, since Donald and Goofy could be turned back into cards at any given time.
"Old Phil's prelim course was so hard; no one else could finish it." said Hercules.
"Is that right? Well, if you let us compete, you won't have to cancel the games! How about it, Phil?" Sora asked the satyr "Okay, you got me over a barrel, so fine. Here's how it works, kid"
"It's Sora; not 'kid'."
"Sure, sure, kid. Since your team and Hercules are the only contenders" Phil started off but was cut off, "No, they're not" enters a new voice. Cloud walking in through the double doors "The games have a new challenger. Name's Cloud." As the male blonde made his presence known.
"And here comes trouble" Aqua muttered under her breathe, "he could be working with Hades, like last time" Aqua speaking to herself in hushed whispers.
"The more the merrier! Now the games will really be something to see!" Phil getting more excited at this opponent then he did with Sora.
"I'm looking forward to this. Don't expect me to pull any punches"
"Hey, as long as you don't expect me to take them!" Sora said to Hercules before turning his attention to Cloud "Let's give it our best"
"Hmph," Cloud making a noise. Aqua sighed, yup; she was going to have to enter the field now, since Aqua had a pretty good idea that Hades was going to be more or less involved.
"Okay, let's get this show going! But first I gotta explain a few rules;
Rule #1! First one through the obstacle course wins!
Rule #2! In the event of a tie, a battle will determine the winner!
Rule #3! You can interfere with your opponents on the course!
And finally... Rule #4! All challengers have to give it everything they got!"
Phil finally finished explaining. All the challengers lined up, ready to run out of the room "All right, enough with the spiel. On your marks... Get set... GO!" they all leave.
Somewhere in the Coliseum, Aqua, Sora, Donald, and Goofy meet Cloud as he holding his sword.
"Gawrsh, that was nice of him to wait for us to catch up!" Aqua wasn't the only one having a pause moment at Goofy's comment.
"He's not waiting! Remember Rule #3? "You can interfere with your opponents on the course"!" quoted the duck.
They ready their weapons "He's looking to narrow the field"! Donald and Goofy prepare for battle
"You can put that away. I'm not looking for a fight with you, so keep moving." Spoke Cloud. There was a collective confusion among the foursome, as Cloud's action turned into a 'Huh?' moment.
"See? He was waiting' for us to catch up" Goofy said again.
"Well, we've caught up. Let's take him up on his offer and keep going!" said Donald.
Aqua just wanted to get this game over with and focus on the real enemies they should be facing. "I don't see a downside..." Sora started off, they walk past Cloud, but Sora turns around "Listen, are you sure?" Sora asked Cloud, turning back to look at him.
"I'm not here for the Cup. Just Hercules. Today he loses more than the competition."
The trio are surprised as Aqua sighs, "figures" she then said
"You don't mean... But why?" Sora demanded to know
Cloud faced another direction, not looking at the foursome "This is business. Stay out of it. Go win your Cup." Sora summons his Keyblade. Cloud turns around
"Do you realize what you're doing?" Cloud said to the island boy. "Rule #3! You can interfere with your opponents. Right? You're not the only one who wants to fight Hercules." Sora countered with, Aqua stood by watching her pupil. "Hey, Donald, Goofy; Let Sora do it on his own" she said to them.
"But Aqua, what are you doing?" asked Goofy
"Teaching" was her only reply to the captain of the guard.
As Cloud and Sora prepared for battle
"Big mistake" said Cloud. "Yeah, we'll see about that!"
Sora fights Cloud. He wins. After the fight, Cloud is gone. "Cloud! Where'd you go?" Sora shouted out, as the others looked around.
Jiminy jumps out, "He headed for the finish line! We'd better go after him!"
"Right!" heading off to find Cloud.
Aqua, Sora, Donald, and Goofy reach the arena of the Coliseum and encounter Hercules and Cloud, Cloud being on his knees
"You lost! Give it up, Cloud!" Said Hercules
Cloud gets up "We're not done yet..."
"I can't guarantee your safety if we keep going like this!" shouted Hercules
"Better worry about yourself. Looks to me like you're slowing down a bit." Taunted Cloud
"Ungh..." groaned the demi-god; Sora runs to Hercules and readies his Keyblade
"Don't worry! I'll back you up!" declared Sora
"Sora?" the demi-god, looked to see the island boy, by his side in the arena.
"Get all the backup you want. I'm going to finish you and get back my memories!" Cloud shouted to them.
"Your memories?" question Aqua from where she stood, on the sidelines. Hades appears and walks to the center of the ring, "Now, now, Cloud, we don't want to spill the beans." Spoke the god of the underworld.
"Of course" Aqua mumbled under her breathe. Now summoning her own weapon.
"Hades! You're behind this!" yelled Hercules with what power he had left. Hades turns to Cloud; "Looks like you oversold yourself. All you did was wear him down. This doesn't look good for your performance rating... Let me put it this way: You, my spiky-haired friend, are fired."
"My memories! We had a deal!" Cloud yelled at the god of the underworld.
"Did you really think you could get back your lost memories just like that? Get a grip!" Hades said to the blonde swordsman.
"Why, you!" Cloud trying to make an attack on Hades but no, as Cloud was sent to the ground, knocked out cold.
"Out of the way! I'll take care of Irk-ules myself! The arena turns red, and the sky becomes dark. Hades charges himself with fire, and unleashes it, knocking everyone besides Hercules away, and bringing Hercules to his knees.
"Hey!" Shouted Sora.
"Rule #5! It's never too late to enter the games." Hades taunted, "Cloud may have failed to take you out, but he did break you down. Time for Plan B. Pack your pita, Herc, 'cause you've just won a free trip to the Underworld paid by me!
As Sora was already by Hercules side, Aqua Donald, and Goofy run to Hercules's side, their weapons ready "Hold it!" Sora said to the half-god human.
"Sora, no!"
"Come on, Herc, how can we go one-on-one if you're in the Underworld?"
"Good point, kid. I guess you'll just have to go with him! Rule #6! There are no rules! Ha-ha!" Hades told the group of Heroes.
They fight and defeat Hades, Aqua reminding the others just how to fight him. Later at the arena, Sora's group and Hercules meet up with Phil
"What? The games are cancelled? How come?" Sora whining to Phil as his chance to fight one on one with Hercules was now gone.
"Two words! Everyone is pooped!" Phil told Sora.
"Wait that was more than two..."
"Don't bother with it Goofy" Aqua cutting him off.
" You gotta be kidding! What about my match with Hercules?" Sora still whining to Phil.
"I'm sorry, Sora. But you wouldn't want me to compete in this condition. Let's have a match when I've rested up a bit. Can you wait?"
"Okay. I'll hold you to that."
"Then it's settled!"
"Aqua, Sora over here!" Jiminy notifying the foursome, as the cricket notary had kept a watch over cloud during the battle with Hades. "He's coming around"
Cloud is lying on the ground on one knee outside of the ring, with Jiminy watching him. Sora and the gang walk over to them
"You okay?" Aqua asked him.
"Yeah" He gets up "Sorry I messed up your games. He starts to walk away from the group. He stops when Sora starts to speaking to him
"Hey! Hope you get your memories back! Forget about what Hades said. Sometimes the tiniest thing can make you remember stuff you forgot years ago." Sora nodding his head at his own notion. "If it's an important memory, there's no way it could ever be gone forever. That's what I think, anyway." The island boy finished.
Aqua slightly smiled at Sora, for how he was handling the situation.
Cloud creates a card of himself in his hand and tosses it to Sora, who puts it in his pocket; "That card is for you for helping me out."
"Sure you don't want to just come with us instead?"
Cloud looks back and flips one of his hairs "Not interested." Spoke the blond swordsman. Cloud takes this opportunity to leave without as much as a good-bye.
Aqua, Sora, Donald, and Goofy also take their leave of Olympus Coliseum.
End Chapter.