Sonic the Hedgehog: Solar Tides [IC/Accepting]

[Mr. Hyde]

 

OOC

 

 

It was a sweltering day across Mobius.  The sun was shining, and the birds were chirping.  On days like this, the Mobian youth would be running amok around the town and making their parents worried they would stay out too late.  It was peaceful now...it had been for the past 200 years or so.  No evil maniacs bent on world domination, no wars, no nothing.  Everything had been bliss.  

 

But as we all know...where there is bliss...there is ignorance.  

 

A faint glimmer crossed the sky.  Not many saw it...and no one payed it any mind at all.  Just a strange glint of the suns rays that got caught in their eye.  If they thought anything of it, they would think the glare was annoying or obnoxious.  

 

Away from the city, where few had traveled and even fewer lived, lie a mountain range.  These were the Ferris Mountains...the second largest mountain range in all of Mobius.  On the edge of a sturdy cliff that jutted out from the mountain's face, there was an unusually large log house, plopped onto the grassy terrain.  

 

As the sun rose, it peaked through a hole in a tattered curtain.  A white hedgehog slept in a bed...the suns ray on a crash course with his unaware eyes.  As the made there way up his eyelid, and pierced the flesh straight to the eyes, he sprang up automatically.  It was as if this had been a natural alarm clock his whole life.  It was only natural that he got up when the sun did as well.  In the bed across the room from him lay a lump of hedgehog, still laying under the covers.  He had the good side of the room...the side where the sun didn't reach you until some time in the afternoon.  

 

"Good morning you lazy star-gazing bum!"  His usual good morning salute.  He wondered if his brother ever heard it...and if he did, he probably just disregarded it and headed straight back to dreamworld.  It was strange...they were twins, but they weren't anything alike.  He guessed that was the dilemma with twins...you had to try your best and differentiate yourself from what was basically a clone.  Ken dyed his hair a while ago...but if your personalities were the same, what was even the point.  "They still look cool..." he said as he muttered to himself in a water splashed bathroom mirror.  He flicked his front quills out of his eyes and smiled.   

 

He headed down the creaky wooden stairs, making sure to be as quiet as possible, for some unbeknownst reason.  Peaking over a rail, he saw his mentor...mentor wasn't even the right word for it.  It was more like his own father.  Father...he couldn't remember the face of his real father...just the shriveled burning remai-.  Now wasn't the time for those thoughts.  

 

The old man of a hedgehog, with glistening fine grey hair, sat at a table with a steaming mug in his hand.  Ken tried ever so quietly to make his way behind the old man.  He was going to scare the daylight out of him today!  When he went to tap the hedgehog on the shoulder, he had disappeared instantly.  He was at the sink, behind Ken, now.  

 

"Aw c'mon Silver!  Using Chaos Control on me isn't fair!" Ken whined.  

 

"Scaring your master isn't relatively nice either, my dear Ken." The old man's voice was rickety.  It had only been fourteen years since he had met Silver...but somehow he felt he knew him longer.  Silver handed the boy a glass of white liquid.  Ken asked no questions, and gulped down the entire glass.  It turned out to be milk.  "Aren't you late for your morning training rou-"

 

"I almost forgot!" Ken interrupted hastily.  He ran out the door, and was greeted with a beautiful morning sky.  Up in the mountains, you'd think being closer to the sun would make it hotter, but that wasn't true in the slightest.  It was the perfect temperature.  Ken looked to the green field, where trees amassed themselves in a cluster to gather the suns bountiful light.  Some of the trees could be seen with slight divots in their trunks, desperately trying to repair their broken stems.  They would have no such luck!  Ken wouldn't let them rest!  

 

With a swift kick to the nearest trunk, a ripple was sent up it that shook the entire tree at it's roots.  

 

"Alright!  only nine-hundred and ninety-nine kicks more and I'll be done for the morning!"  And then it would be back to it in the afternoon, after a healthy breakfast and a light snack.  

 

 

And so it was time.  It was time for them to pay.  He had gone ignored for too long now.  It was time these...Mobians...learned a lesson in humility.  From the sun, emerged a single flicker of fire.  It's target: Mobius.  

[Super Chaos Sonic]

-BGM-

 

Metropolis...a city that was ever moving and always full of something new. Every day was a new adventure of sorts...and every day held a new surprise for its inhabitants. ...Well, that's how Zane the Arctic Wolf saw it. It was a much more welcomed change of pace than the Northern Tundra.

 

On this sunny day, Zane was walking about the city, enjoying a shaved cherry shaved ice. It was the simple things that got him happy, and well, the Metropolis shaved ice did remind him of home, but at least now he could enjoy it in a better way. As he shoveled another spoonful into his mouth, the Arctic Wolf noticed out of the corner of his vision something that caused him to stop. What he saw was a young rabbit boy, sitting on the ground, rubbing his eyes. With a small sigh, Zane made his way towards the young rabbit.

 

"Hey." he called out, seeing the rabbit looking up at him slightly. "What's wrong?"

 

The rabbit looked at Zane, sniffling slightly. "M-My mommy...I can't find here...I-I walked away to look at something and she...she..." he started, before tears began to well up in his eyes.

 

"Whoa, whoa! No need for the crying." Zane said quickly, rubbing the back of his neck. "This where you last were with her?" he watched the young rabbit nod his head. "Tell ya what. I'll stay with you until she comes back. Alright?"

 

The rabbit looked at the wolf before sniffling again, with a small nod.

 

Zane moved and sat down beside the rabbit, smiling. He moved a bit and offered some of his shaved ice to the kid. "Here kiddo...have some."

 

"B-But what about you...?"

 

"Heh" Zane chuckled, watching the rabbit take the shaved ice. "Don't worry about me...I've got ways of staying...'cool'!" he chuckled, seeing the rabbit smile slightly as he moved his hand a bit. As he did so, a small group of snowflakes seemed to be gathering in his hand before forming a small snowball. Zane glanced and saw the rabbit wide eyed at this point. "Heh, pretty awesome right?"

 

"Wooooow!!" the rabbit nodded.

 

Before too long, the sight of an older female rabbit was seen running towards the two of them. "Oh my baby!!" she said, moving up to the young boy, who sprang up to embrace her. "Oh are you hurt?"

 

"No mommy..." he said with a smile.

 

The mother rabbit smiled back before seeing Zane standing up with a smile. "Thank you very much, sir."

 

"Not a problem at all, miss." Zane smiled with a nod. He turned to the young boy and gave him a thumbs up. "Enjoy the shaved ice, kid!" he said, before walking off and making his separate ways from the rabbits. Good deed for the day accomplished... he thought with a smile, before throwing his hands behind his head. Still, he felt like he wanted something more to do right now...

 

That's when he stopped and noticed on a nearby shop wall a poster...a wanted poster. Zane grabbed and it and looked at it closely. "Flame-Blooded Thief...a one armed femme fetale...has stolen..." he paused and looked at the long list of items this thief has stolen, which only granted a whistle coming from the wolf. "Jeez...ya think they'd retire or something with how many items they stole..." he said, sighing before folding up the poster and putting it in his vest pocket. Still...would give me something to do.

[Wind Rider]

It was a bright, sunny day in Metropolis, today was business as usual for Alex. She had made a little hideout out of an abandoned building, somewhere the authorities would never think to look for her. It was a lazy morning for her, so Alex was just relaxing by practicing with her throwing knifes. "*Sigh* Bullseye... Bullseye... Bullseye..." her aim was on point, it was about time she found a new target, the one she was using was getting worn. The boredom was definite in her voice, "*sigh* what to do... hmmm..." she looked over to a little treasure pile she had made in the corner of the room, "treasure pile is getting small... maybe it's about time for a run," Alex got up from her seat and threw her cloak on over her shoulder, for someone with one arm, she lived a rather easy life, if you could call stealing and burglary easy. Alex took one last look at a burned photo before leaving her hideout, the photo was half burnt, only showing Alex and her brother Rick. "Heh... I'm getting along fine without you...good riddance..."

 

Alex made a few quick runs through some houses, carrying what she snatched in an old pack, it was coming to the point she was robbing in broad daylight, but she hasn't been caught yet. She was taking a break on a rooftop before she looked down and saw a wanted poster on a store window, "Heh, made quite a rep for myself... you'd think I'd have more to deal with, especially after stealing this ring..." Alex looked at the artifact she wore on her finger, a simple looking, silver ring with a tiny gem in it, strange how it made Alex what she is now. "Hmm... what's this?" She looked down to see that her wanted poster caught someone's attention. "An arctic wolf? Hmm... didn't expect to see someone like that in the city..." the wolf had taken a poster and folded it into his vest pocket. " Hmm... looks like the authorities have themselves some help... not like I'm worried, no one's catching me." Alex picked up her pack and got back to what she was doing, though she might've made her presence known for a moment, she would be gone by then.

[Hälō]

The flames were everywhere. Blindingly hot pillars of pure fire reaching upwards to the heavens, searing the clouds and causing the sky to become black with ash. Was this the same fate the befell his world all the those years ago? Axel studied the horrific scene from a top the smoldering remains what he could only assume had once been a building. "What would have happened if father hadn't appeared when he did..." The white hedgehog found himself gazing down at his palm, only to have his attention stollen by a woman's voice as it called from somewhere in the distance. 

 

 

"Gw-"

 

"What?" Axel glanced around for the owner of the voice, but was met with nothing but the barren wasteland of the fallen city. "Who are you?!" He called out into the sea of flames, taking a step towards the edge of the building. 

 

 

"Gwynn." The voice sounded again, though this time impossibly close. With his eyes now shifting around frantically, Axel formed a sphere of chaos energy in the palm of his hand and prepared to defend himself. Undeterred, the voice continued, now accompanied by a chorus of other voices both male and female.

 

"Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn." The voices began to chant in a booming monotone, causing the very air around Axel to vibrate from the pressure."Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn."

 

"Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn." The chorus of voices continued their chant, growing louder with every word. The fires around the city seemed to answer their call, and as the voices increased in power, so did the flames. Watching the scene with a panicked expression, Axel fell to his knees from the immeasurable heat and weight from the now deafening voices.

 

"Good morning you lazy star-gazing bum!"

 

And just like that, he was back in his room. Lazily opening one eye to watch Ken dart into the bathroom, Axel silently slid out of bed before closing his eyes again to tap in the Chaos Force. "What was that?"He mumbled to himself as the soothing sensation of Chaos eased his nerves and allowed him to think clearly. "Theres no way that was just dream..." Racking his brain for any memory or even mention of the name Gwynn in his studies, Axel drearily slid into the bathroom after his brother had left, smirking moments later upon sensing Silver's use of chaos control downstairs.

 

 

 

"I've never heard of such a person..." Silver finally spoke after what felt like an eternity of silence. 

 

"Could it be related to Iblis?" Axel pressed on as he jumped down from the kitchen counter and moved to join silver at the table. "Silver... this wasn't just a dream. It was th-"

 

"I understand, Axel." The elderly hedgehog placed a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder, causing his expression to lighten slightly. "You've grown powerful in the ways of chaos, my apprentice. There is no question about that... but I assure you, this Gwynn person is no threat to us."

 

"Bu-" Axel began but was silenced as a red velvet bag floated into view. Arching an eyebrow, the white hedgehog snatched the bag from the air before shifting his gaze back to his mentor.

 

"I think it is about time I gave you this." Silver said with smile as he took a sip from his mug. "Consider it a representation of the progress you've made, and how proud I am of you..." Axel could sense a small hint of sadness in his master's voice, though he chose not inquire about it, instead reaching for the string the held the bag closed. Though before he could open the strange gift, he found himself stopped by Silver's hand over his own. "No need to open it now. Why don't you aid your brother in his training?"

 

"Yes, master." Axel nodded obediently before attaching the bag to his belt whilst moving towards the door.

 

 

 

Whilst Ken continued to brutally strike at the tree in his training, his victim would suddenly slide into three parts as if sliced by an invisible blade. As the three massive chunks of wood fell to the ground with a crash, the brawling Hedgehog would be met with the sight of Axel as he casually sat at the top of the pile with a smug smirk painted across his face.

 

"Hello, brother." He addressed his twin in his usual lofty tone as he allowed the remnants of chaos energy to vanish from the tips of his finger. Settling his bright blue gaze on his brother in what had became a universal challenge between the two siblings, Axel waited for Ken to make the first move of their sparring match as he always did. "How about you try something that will hit you back?"

[King K. Azo]

Beginning start up sequence...

 

A hum was heard deep within the ruined amusement park that was Old Eggland. Hidden among the ruins was a single pod containing a white robot. It lit up as the pod opened and wires anchoring the unit inside began to loosen their grip.

Commence full defragmentation cycle Y/N?

 

Y.

 

Commence full cleanup cycle Y/N?

 

Y.

 

Full defragmentation and cleanup cycles commenced. Estimated time until completion: 10 minutes.

 

---

 

The robot took his first step outside of his pod, his audio functions coming online before his visual ones, and the first thing he noticed that it was so... quiet. The last time he was active, the city was... alive. Robots would be running around, preforming duties or any orders the Doctor had, Metal Sonic would probably be sulking in the corner with Tails Doll clinging at its leg. Orbot and Cubot would be doing something stupid with Mecha Knuckles egging them on or even joining in... It was only a few years after the Doctor's death, did the city fall apart that fast? There was only one thing to do...

Attempting to connect to the EggNet... 

...

...

Attempt failed. EggNet down...

 

The EggNet was down? How? Did Tails discover it and shut it down? No... there was no way... Sonic and his friends didn't even know it existed. Still, he wasn't getting information that way. He attempted to reach out to the communication network all Eggman robots had, something they nicknamed 'Harmony'.

 

An odd phenomenon that happened was that when two Eggman units were on the network at the same time, a thrum of logic and harmony begin to wash over it. It wasn't music, wasn't audible, but it felt that way in the rhythm and harmony. Like an orchestra for the mind. Something organics could never experience...

 

It was dead silent. The robot stayed on the network for a few minutes, letting his signal flow out, letting others know that MS-11 Chimera was online and functional. No one answered. Not even MS-02 Metal Sonic telling him to shut up. 

His visual systems had now begun to function. All he could see was ruins. The city... it was run down... almost ruins... what had happened to the city? He needed answers and he needed them now. He used his scanners, trying to find something, anything! He began to walk around the city, scanning things while lifting up rubble, hoping to find any robot, or even parts of the robots. He could rebuild them if he found parts...

He refused to believe he was alone. He had to believe it...

[Mr. Hyde]

"996....997...998..."  A rather large dent had been put into the trunk of that shivering tree.  Mother nature was strong though, and Ken knew that the tree would come back to life again, as it had done many times before.  He'd just go to the next tree the next day...that tree had had long enough of a time to recover from their last showdown!  In his mind, Ken thought the training was equal for both partners.  Ken's kicks would become stronger, and the trees trunk would become even thicker and much more resilient.  He smiled as he brought his leg up once again.  "999!  ONE THOU-"

 

"Hello, brother." 

 

The sudden voice, and collapsing tree made Ken miss his mark, and the hedgehog went spinning around like an insane ballerina.  He came to a skidding stop, almost making a hole in the ground as he tried to stop the dizziness.  On top of the stump was...THREE AXELS?!

 

"Whoah...when did you learn how to clone yourself?"  Now there were three of Axel...but that was one too many!  Soon enough, his brother came into clear view, and only one remained.  That must've been some momentum he had to make himself that dizzy.  "I figured it out Axel!  We get dizzy from horizontal spinning, not vertical!  How crazy is that!"  Although he was trying to be funny, he knew what this was about to turn into.  The daily spar.

 

"How about you try something that will hit you back?"

 

"Now you've gone and said it!  That tree's going to take years to grow back to it's original state!  You'll pay for that you know?"  Ken took his fighting stance.  His guard was raised, and one knee was raised up.  His brother stared at him...this is how it always started, and Ken always fell for the ploy.  "You're wide open!"  Using his superior speed, Ken rushed his brother.  A blur in front of him disappeared, and he reappeared in an instant behind him.  A swift roundhouse aimed for the side of his brothers head...but Ken slowed it down a tad and used less force.

 

 

Metropolis

 

The city had been buzzing as usual.  In the crowd, a dingo like Mobian stood against a brick wall, clad in a Metropolis police uniform.  As he scanned the busy city for any unusual activity, he spied upon a Snow wolf wandering around with a child that looked afraid.  

 

"Snow Wolf ay....strange one would be so far away from their icy home...and that kid ain't even a wolf.  Somethin' fishy's going on there.."  His suspicions were laid to rest once the kid seemed to be reunited with his mother.  "Tch...good Samaritan my ass....leave that stuff to the cops will ya?"  Across the way, he saw the outline of a familiar face.  It turned away quickly and moved out of view.  He looked to the wall he resided on and saw the wanted poster he had just put up the other day.  He looked back to the crowd where the outline had been...

 

back to the wall...

 

back to the crowd...

 

"I've got you now Alex!"  He howled as he bolted after her, nudging into the Snow Wolf and knocking him down as he sprinted past.  "Once I bring ya in, I'll get all that reward money!"

 

 

Old Eggland

 

Chimera would find that turning up the rubble would prove to be futile...that is until one overturned rock revealed the arm of an old rusted Egg Pawn.  The Egg Pawn still held its blaster in it's hand, and as soon as it was revealed, it would fire.  The Egg Pawn would rise from it's concrete prison and stare at the robot with a strange and obscure look.  Half of the pawn's head was missing, and rust and dirt covered it's entire body.  

 

"Intruder.....Aler......Intruder....Aler....."  A few sparks went off as the pawn fidgeted and squirmed.  "INTRUDER ALERT!"  It's mechanical voice screamed at it's top volume.  As if out of some sci-fi horror flick, a dozen other egg pawns made their way to the surface.  Most of them were terribly disfigured and rusted.  Not one was safe from the time that had passed during the time of Chimera's sleep.  

 

The pawns had long since lost their communication systems, and only had one thought on their mind.  

 

Protect Eggman Land from all intruders...Lethal means could be used.  The pawns all raised any capable arm.  Four were armed with Lances, and the other seven had blasters.  There would be no reasoning with them.  

 

 

Twilight Prison

 

The Cinder that fell to earth slowly made it's advance to an obscure Island in the middle of the Mobian Ocean.  A strong sense of kinship could be found within the black cave that resided on the island.  As it made it's descent towards the cave doors, it felt the presence of strong chaos force...perhaps the guardians of this place.  

 

Two Echidnas looked in bewilderment, as a small flame fell before them.  It didn't go out when it hit the ground...it just stayed lit.  

 

"Say...are you seeing this?"  

 

"It couldn't possibly be....that could it?"  

 

"No...Iblis has a monstrous form...but this seems so...serene."  

 

"Serene....that would be the word for it wouldn't it.  However..that praise won't be enough."

 

Inside the cave, a flash of light could be seen, and the cave doors moved open ever so slowly.  The flame moved further into the cave, as it left behind two smoking piles of ash.  The flame creeped across the cavern floor, and it came to a strange black orb.  

 

"So this is what has become of my creation...broken in two and sealed away?  Shameful...truly shameful."

 

The fire glew brighter, and the light encompassed the orb.  The orb flew into the center of the cave, and shattered apart.  Black sludge plummeted from where the orb had shattered, and hit the floor with a vile splat.  Rising from the sludge, was a familiar form.  It took the shape of a hedgehog, crystalline in appearance with no mouth or nose.  This was Mephiles the Dark.  As it's eyes met with the small flame, they became bigger.  

 

"Iblis...brother!  Is that you I have lain my eyes upon?"  The fire seemed to laugh, glowing brighter as it did so.  

 

"No No my young creation.  You can refer to me as...your father...Gwynn."

 

The hope in Mephiles' eyes turned to terror, and he fell onto his knees.  

 

"Forgive me...Forgive me....Forgive me..."  It looked like the poor fool had understood why his creator had graced him with his presence.  This repentance...it would be enough. 

 

"Rise young Mephiles!  In order to repay your sins...You have but only one thing to do...serve me.  My first order as your new master is..."

 

[spoiler=OOC]

 

Okay...some minor distractions for you guys.  Go ahead and take control of the threats i've given you and be sure to resolve them within the next round of posting!  We're getting to the good stuff now!

 

 

 

[Wind Rider]

Alex had only turned away for a second when she heard a very familiar voice. "I've got you now Alex! "Once I bring ya in, I'll get all that reward money!" Alex was all too familiar with that voice. "*Sigh* Great, that overgrown watchdog again... dream on buddy, your not catching me anytime soon." Alex had easily dealt with the whole of the Mobian Police Force, but this dingo was the most persistent of the bunch.

 

"Good luck catching me..." Alex jumped down into an alley way and proceeded to blend in with shadows, this dingo may be persistent, but just like the rest of the authorities, a little blending in was enough to escape. "Hmmm... I wonder if that wolf will get the idea to chase me too... heh, what am I thinking, not even he will find me... if a whole law enforcement can't catch me he certainly won't."

[King K. Azo]

Chimera's processors worked overtime when he saw the first barely functional Egg Pawn rise from the ground, like a zombie from its grave. He looked so damaged. How was he even standing? This Egg Pawn was more stubborn than Metal Sonic, that was for sure.

"E-5622c?"  Chimera asked, recognizing the bot. "How are you still functioning...?" He tried to reach out over Harmony, get a damage report... except it wasn't there on Harmony... E-5622c was effectively a zombie...

 

"Intruder.....Aler......Intruder....Aler....."  A few sparks went off as E-5622c fidgeted and squirmed.  "INTRUDER ALERT!" Chimera took a step back, clenching his metal fists. Called an intruder at his own home by what was pretty much his older cousin... Chimera's processors seemed to believe this was 'ironic'... Still, it was only E-5622c... a war hero among the pawns for actually hitting Sonic and living to tell the tale. He wouldn't be much trouble for Chimera, even with such a feat under his circuits. 

But then that's when the others began to rise, like an undead army. Chimera actually took a step back, unable to completely comprehend what was going on. How in just a few years did everything go to hell...? There... there was no way. They looked far too old for his original hypothesis to be correct... his pod must of malfunctioned... but how long was it? 

He was throw out of his thoughts as seven of the pawns raised their blasters and fired. Chimera quickly raised his Black Shield, the diamond shaped force field deflecting all the shots. He stood there, unable to move, as his memory banks played the memories he had with each pawn... Memories of creating this city, of being repaired, of repairing, listening to their stories... and now they were just shells of their former selves.

"Don't worry, cousins... I will set you free...," Disengaging his shields, he dashed at the Lance Pawns charging at him, spinning into a ball and plowing through them, each one exploding as soon as he made contact. Quickly unfurling, he turned and transformed his right arm into a cannon, and he quickly fired off shots, taking down more Pawns. To make sure they stayed down, he took a leap into the air and crashed into them, shutting down their functions. He stood up, panting. He still couldn't believe he was killing his family.

A shot hit him in the back of the head, causing him to turn. Behind him, E-5622c stood there, gun smoking. Chimera stood up, staring down at the war hero. Robots didn't get an afterlife... but maybe that was okay... the old solider could finally rest. With one final spin dash, he dashed through the Pawn, cutting it in half.

He had just massacred the closest thing he had to family. Chimera fell to the ground, his brain overloading with scenarios. What if it was Metal Sonic or Mecha Knuckles that was there instead of the Pawns...? Could he have steeled himself enough to kill them? He looked at his hand.

"Doctor... I sometimes wonder why you gave us such advanced processors...," He muttered before standing up again. He should get moving, in case there were more nearby.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Hmm...I could try and find this thief. But at the same time...trying to find her in a city like this would b-

 

Zane's thought train would be put to a halt as he was nudged...rather...forcefully bumped into by a Dingo dressed in a police uniform, which knocked him over. Dingoes...he was even surprised that one made it all the way out here from Downunda...still, people would probably think the same of him. He slowly got up and dusted himself off. He wanted to go after the cop to at least get an apology...but there was n-

 

"I've got you now Alex! Once I bring ya in, I'll get all that reward money!"

 

Oh you've got to be kidding me! Zane thought, shaking his head now. He figured out the reason that the dingo was running. Well...it was definitely obvious on what he was doing today.

 

-BGM-

 

He adjusted his vest, his gloves and shoes, before smirking. Then he took off at a full sprint after the two. Zane did his best to dodge the others who were walking, unlike the dingo. Regardless, he watched as the obvious running cat in question ran through an alley with the dingo hot on her tail. Zane did his best to keep up, watching the dingo round the corner into the alleyway as well.

 

The alleyway? Huh...odd choice for a thief... Zane thought, skidding to slow himself down, before running into the alleyway as well. At the moment, the reward wasn't on his mind. Actually...the only thing that was...was the simple fact of getting a work out from this.

[Hälō]

BMG

 

"Now you've gone and said it!  That tree's going to take years to grow back to it's original state!  You'll pay for that you know?" Ken called up to him as he got into his trademark fighting stance. Axel found himself rolling his eyes. The tree was fine. He could still sense it's life force flowing strongly through the roots... could Ken still not sense something so trivial? 

 

"You're wide open!" Is that what he thought? Axel watched his brother rush forward in a blur of raw speed, only to vanish from sight mere inches from his face. Though Axel never lost track of him. This was one of the gifts that chaos granted him; sight beyond sight, the ability to see through the winds that breath life into the universe.

 

Crackling blue energy began to dance at Axel's finger tips, as he shifted his glowing gaze to the right and swung his arm backwards to meet Ken's kick head on. The two forces collided, creating as small explosion of light that shook the pile of wood and kicked up a veil of dust that began spread through the forest floor.

 

Allowing himself to be carried forward by the force of the blast, Axel brought his body to a skidding halt a few feet from the base of the pile whilst gathering spheres of chaos energy in either hand. "Ken," He called out through the cloud of dust as he closed his eyes and locked on to his brother's energy signature. "Do me a favor and stay right where you are..." He taunted before pivoting his body and hurling the larger of the two spheres towards Ken, a slow moving orb of raw chaos energy that would sluggishly push through the dust. 

 

"It would be a pain if this detonated near me." Axel continued before suddenly spinning around once again, this time throwing the second projectile twice as fast as the first. The smaller, sharper projectile collided into the first sphere, causing it to suddenly erupt in a massive explosion of blue energy that began to expand at a frightening rate. 

[Mr. Hyde]

Twilight Prison

 

"Anything for you Gwynn...just give me the order and I will execute it swiftly."  

 

The groveling mass of darkness before him would be the only means he had of obtaining his true form.  He would make sure to stop any resistance to make that goal come to fruition.  He could sense it on this planet...the lifeforms here exceeded in potential.  Some had a stronger connection to the chaos force than others.  Those more adept would prove to be annoyances...it would be best to be rid of them right away.  Somewhere far off in the distance, he could feel a source of Chaos Force surging...its power levels spiked above all the others.  In his mind, he could see a white hedgehog...the strongest thing he could sense at that moment.  

 

"You feel that, do you not?  Even after all this time, you shouldn't be that rusty..."

 

The flame cackled.  

 

"I want you to find any Mobian with a hint of Chaos Force flowing through them...and I want them eliminated..."

 

Thoughts raced through Mephiles' mind...he was elated that his master had given him such a cruel and heinous task.  Surely, if Gwynn was at even one percent of his true potential, the task would be a piece of cake. 

 

"I shall be off then.."  Mephiles' sludge like form reappeared, and it sunk into the ground.  The shadows were now his mode of transport, and he copied his essence an unimaginable amount of times.  He was tracking any and all sources of Chaos...it would be a simple mission.  As the sludge slanked away, the ember was left alone in this cave of darkness...he was the only source of light.  

 

"Ahhh..I remember a time like this.  When I brought light to this world for the first time...how nostalgic."  

 

The flame dimmed as it traveled outside of the cave.  It bounced across the ocean, evaporating parts of the surface is bounced off of.  It was time for him to head for home.

 

 

Ferris Mountains

 

Inside the house, Silver trembled.  He had fallen out of the chair he was sitting in, and a porcelain bowl could be seen in shatters next to him.  

 

"This darkness....I've felt it before...Ken!  Axel!"  They were too busy to hear him...but by now it was already too late.  

 

Meanwhile, outside, Ken would be having a tough time dealing with his brother.  Axel had managed to knock away his kick with a back swing of the arm.  Maybe if he had held back just a little bit less, that defensive technique would've proven to be useless.  Of course now Axel was getting his distance.  He was way better at offensive range.  Ken had to get in close and close the gap if he wanted any sort of chance in this spar.  

 

 "Do me a favor and stay right where you are..."

 

"As if that'd ever happen!"  Axel had shot an orb of strong chaos energy that slowly flew through the air.  It wouldn't hit him, but Ken had seen this before.  Another swift bolt of chaos energy into the orb would cause an explosion!  Ken put his guard up as the blast of chaos consumed him entirely.  He wasn't fast enough to avoid it.  As the dust cleared, Ken brushed himself off.  "A little rough today don't you think?"  Ken smiled...it was always rough against the prodigy.  

 

Something caught his eye...something black and gooey looking was bubbling behind his brother.  Whatever it was, it felt ominous...killer intent was coming from a blob?!  The form of a hedgehog slowly molded behind his brother.  It's hand took a piercing position.  

 

"AXEL!  WATCH OUT!?"  Ken moved his body as fast as it could, throwing a punch that would stray past his brother's face straight behind him.  It landed straight onto the dark hedgehog's face, as it was pushed back against a tree.  

 

 

Metropolis

 

Harvey the Dingo made his way into an alleyway.  That cat must've been around here somewhere.  Behind him, he saw the snow wolf from earlier.  He was on the pursuit as well.  

 

"Tch...didn't they tell you civilians should stay out of this kinda thing?!  Or are ya just in it for tha money?"  Harvey shot his eyes forward into the shadows.  "Come out ya blasted alley-cat!  Before I have to take unnecessary precautions!"

 

However, out of the darkness, a strange hedgehog appeared with Alex held firmly in his grip.  He threw the cat at the dingo's feet.  Harvey placed a hand on his holster...this fella was surely out for blood.

 

"Well well...I have two targets here already...lucky me."  The words echoed throughout the alley, and screams could be heard across the city.  "Ahhh...it's like a symphony to my ears.  CHAOS!"  

 

Harvey's teeth gritted.  What was happening here must've become frequent throughout the city.  He drew the revolver from it's holster and pointed it at the black hedgehog.  

 

"I may be a shitty cop, but I still gotta protect my citizens...even if they're lowlife thieves..."  When the hedgehog moved forward, Harvey fired without hesitation.  A bullet hole could be seen in the alley wall behind the hedgehog, but no visible hole could be seen in him.  "Ah...so it's gonna be one of those days..."  Harvey sighed.  "Well...if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I could use some civilian assistance right about now."

 

 

Old Eggland

 

As Chimera made his way through the graveyard he had just created, he would find himself upon the old egg fortress.  The walls were cracked, and the doors were wide open.  Beyond the entrance, a faint, near death signal could be heard on the communications channel.  

 

"Brother....brother is that you?"  The faint whir of mechanisms could be heard from inside.  Something metallic stepped across the fortress entrance floor.  Upon entering the sunlight, it was made clear that the signal had been coming from a Metal Sonic.  

 

The light in it's eyes had faded, and he was missing an arm.  Patches of it's armor had been torn away, the circuitry sparking from within.  

 

"I..I thought I heard a familiar voice...I thought everyone was gone..."  The metal sonic made it's way towards the signal.  As it approached Chimera, it stuck it's one good arm out.  "Please...let me hear it again..."

[Wind Rider]

Alex had only been hiding for a minute when a crystalline hand grabbed her from the very shadows she was hiding in. "What the?!? Hands off... Gah!" Alex was thrown down from her hiding spot to the very feet of who she was hiding from. "Oh... hi Harvey..." Alex got to her feet almost immediately. "Now... who the hell do you think you are ruining my cover like that?" Alex looked behind her to see that the wolf from earlier was here too, so he did follow Harvey on his little pursuit.

 

"Well well...I have two targets here already...lucky me." This freak was something else, almost after his little talk, screams could be heard around the city, "Ahhh...it's like a symphony to my ears.  CHAOS!" Who was this guy?!? Harvey took a shot at him with his gun but the bullet seemed to go right through the dark thing in front of them and it hit the wall behind him. "Well...if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I could use some civilian assistance right about now." Yeah, civilian assistance... "You always need help with something, don't you Harvey?" Alex took a knife from her belt and thought how she could do this, a bullet went straight through him as if he wasn't there, how about a flaming knife.

 

Alex took the blade of the knife and gripped it hard in her hand until blood covered it, in seconds, the blood covered knife lit on fire as if it had been doused in oil. "Let's see how you like flaming knives you freak of nature."

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"Tch...didn't they tell you civilians should stay out of this kinda thing?!  Or are ya just in it for tha money?"

 

Zane rolled his eyes at the dingo's response to him as he moved slightly beside the officer. "Firstly, you bumped into me...sorta made this my thing. And secondly..." he said, waving his hand a bit in an uninterested fashion. "Honestly, the reward isn't my thing. I'm more on the lines of trying to find some challenge. It's been a while since I've fought someone."

 

However...things began to shift in the worse way possible for him and this officer.

 

-BGM-

 

A dark strange hedgehog emerged from the darkness, throwing the thief of a cat at Harvey's feet. Zane could feel the air around him in this alley shift...this guy meant trouble...with a capital 'T'.

 

"Well well...I have two targets here already...lucky me. Ahhh...it's like a symphony to my ears.  CHAOS!"

 

Once he said this, Zane heard the screams throughout the city. This creature...it was unlike any he ever saw before. His fists began to clench tightly, moving slightly as Harvey took out his revolver and shot at the hedgehog. He planned to move the cat out of the way, thinking she was knocked out...but she surprised him by standing back up. Zane shrugged it off for a moment, before seeing not a single bullet hole in the hedgehog.

 

"Damn..."

 

-BGM-

 

"Ah...so it's gonna be one of those days... Well...if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I could use some civilian assistance right about now."

 

"Let's see how you like flaming knives you freak of nature."

 

Zane heard Harvey sigh, before he cracked his knuckles and smirked. "Not at all officer. Just keep back, both of you...things might get a bit...'chilly' around here." he said, before ice began to form around his hands. "Alright...whatever you are...I think it's time for you to go the hell back from where you came from!" he shouted as he began to create from the air a type of icicle, to which he began to throw multiple at the dark hedgehog. Luckily, he kept his distance from the cat, lest to make his icy attacks water.

[Hälō]

Ferris Mountains

 

BMG

 

"A little rough today don't you think?" 

 

Axel couldn't help but smirk. Ken had become quite the opponent recently, and it seemed like the two were steadily nearing the point where Axel would be forced to pull out all the stops just to keep pace with his twin. 

 

As he gathered more energy in the palm of his hand in preparation for his next move, a dark presence took hold of his senses. Shivering at the sensation of pure malice, Axel's gaze shifted behind his brother, where a figure had begun to form itself from black ooze. All of his attention now focused on the new presence that threatened Ken, Axel was completely unaware that an identical black entity had begun to manifest behind himself.   "s***." 

 

"AXEL!  WATCH OUT!?" Ken suddenly broke the white hedgehog from his trance, closing the distance with his monstrous speed and throwing a punch that just narrowly missed Axel's face and collided with a solid object behind him. Now registering the presence of the entity that his brother had struck, Axel vanished from sight in a brief flash of light.

 

Reappearing behind the shadow creature that threatened his brother, now brandishing a glowing blue sword formed from chaos energy. "Worry about yourself first, Ken..." Axel called down to his brother as he ran the chaos blade through dark hedgehog's skull, using their momentum carry the two figures forward before landing next Ken with a crash.

 

"This could be bad." Axel continued whilst ripping his blade from the corps of the creature, watching as it's form broke down into particles of pure darkness with a scowl. As he spoke, the shadows in the forest seemed to darken before bubbling as if they were made from the same black ooze that the first two creatures had formed from. Within seconds several more Shades began to climb out from the shadows before moving to surround the brothers. "These things..." 

 

Placing his back against Ken's, Axel formed another chaos blade before raising his duel weapons in an offensive stance. The stories that Silver had past down to him came flooding back, and as he sized up his opponents, Axel found his tone darkening. "They're Mephiles the dark." 

 

                              

 

Metropolis

 

The Shade shifted it's lifeless gaze towards the cat, just in time to raise it's arm to block the knife that was hurled it's way. Growling in agony as the flames began to travel up it's body, the creature of darkness lunged forward in an attempt to grab Alex and force her to suffer the same agony that she had graced it with. Though it seemed the snow wolf had other plans...

 

Met with a razor sharp icicle at the hight of it's jump, the shade was sent reeling into a nearby wall. With the flames of the knife know engulfing the entirety of it's right arm, the shade was rendered defenseless as the remaining salvo of icicles pierced it's body and caused it to slowly fade in the shadows.  

 

There was a moment of eerie silence in the alley. The shadows began to darken, and before any of the unlikely trio could turn to walk away from the scene or even utter a word, the darkness of the alleyway began to froth and bubble before raising to form several more shades that swiftly moved to block off the exit before any of their victims could move to escape. "Welcome to your own personal hell!" The Shades bellowed in unison as they launched their offensive.

 

[spoiler= OOC]

 

There are currently 10 Shades in the alley. You have permission to take control of them and slay these buggers as you see fit, but try to be considerate of your fellow players. 

 

 

 

 

[King K. Azo]

Reunion
 
"B-Brother...?" If Chimera's face could show emotion, it would be contorted into an mixed expression of horror, shock, and sadness. To see Metal Sonic, one that was so prideful and aloof to look so broken, both physically and mentally... The robot couldn't even process it. He reached out, taking his older brother's hand into his own. "I'm here, Metal...," He said both verbally and over Harmony. He wanted Metal to know for sure he was there for him. 

 

He scanned his brother's body, hoping that the damages were not too bad, that he could be repaired. Alas... it was... impossible to repair... not with the supplies, or lack there of, around them. Metal's power was rapidly depleting... it was a miracle he was even standing, let alone talking or walking...

"What happened...?" He asked as he scanned the area. What could he do...? In the condition Metal was in... there was no way he could fix him. He would be... permanently gone. He was so low on power, that if he shut down, his intergrated circuit chip would not survive intact... that would erase Metal... his personality, his memories... everything would be erased. Even if he rebuilt his body exactly the same way as the blueprints, it wouldn't have the experiences that made Metal himself. It would be a Metal, not the Metal.

He felt so helpless! He could destroy Sonic and his friends(?), wipe a city off a map, destroy an entire island if he wanted to...  but he couldn't save his own family. Was he only good for destruction? Could he not save that which he cared for...? Save... save...

 

That was it. He was going to save Metal. He slung the broken robot over his shoulder, and used his rocket thrusters to dash into the fortress. "Bring me up to speed as we go. We're going to save you,"

[Mr. Hyde]

Ferris Mountains

 

It seemed the punch that Ken delivered was more than enough to deal with that shadowy threat behind his brother.  It returned to the shadows from whence it came, oozing and bubbling as it did so.  

 

"Worry about yourself first, Ken..." But as if his twin was mirroring him, something made of shadows was disintegrating behind him as well.  Whatever was going on, Ken didn't need to be linked to the chaos force to know that it wasn't good.  It wasn't good in the slightest.

 

"This could be bad." 

 

Ken looked to where his brother was, and the shadows of the forest bursted with...life?  More of those shadowy hedgehogs moved towards them...encircling them.  The brothers put their backs against each other's.  They hadn't gotten themselves into a real fight in quite some time...and certainly not one so life threatening.  

 

"These things...They're Mephiles the dark." 

 

At the sudden revelation, Ken's eyes widened.  

 

"What...you mean like that guy the old man fought way back in the day?!  There's no way...I thought that was just some fluff the geezer was making up to make himself sound tough!"  Sound tough...hell, that grey hedgehog had taught Ken everything he knew...he didn't need to sound tough.  The old man was the essence of tough.  If he had made it through fights with this joker, Mephiles, then the two brothers would beat him with their hands tied behind their back.  As a matter of fact, Ken placed one hand behind his back, and raised a flat hand to the horde of shadows that approached them.  "Well...let's show them the old razzle dazzle shall we?"  

 

Ken dashed off, and jumped into the air above two of the Mephiles shades.  Spindashing in mid-air, he shot back towards the ground with insane momentum.  As he reached the shades, he stuck both legs out, clobbering the top of their skulls with his heels.  He smiled as he could hear the insides turn to mush...or was it just some nasty black goop swooshing around in there?  

 

Back inside the cabin, Silver stood near a window, his knees shook.  It took every ounce of his will to not fall over from sheer shock.  

 

"No...it's not possible...I knew he would be back...but we were supposed to have more than just two hedgehogs...we were supposed to have an army!"  As he peered out the glass, he saw Axel and Ken both dispatch a Mephiles each.  "Still...even though you're both so strong....It's no use!"  Silver made his way to the door, he had to support his pupils...no...his sons.  As he bursted out the door, his eyes narrowed...they were all shades...clones of the real mephiles.  He was confident that his students would be able to take flimsy copies of the real deal.  "Mephiles...I'd hope to never lay these eyes upon you again!"  The old hedgehog managed to shout out.  

 

One of the Mephiles shades turned towards him...it's eyes wincing to look at the grey Mobian in the distance.  

 

"Ahhhh...Silver the Hedgehog...we meet again.  After all this time, I finally get to repay you for imprisoning me for all those years....I'll kill these two, and you can watch me do it!"  A raspy laugh kackled amongst the shades, even the ones that lay motionless on the ground after being sledgehammered in the head.  

 

 

Metropolis

 

"Unhand my daughter you freak!  I'll never let you take her away from me!"  An armadillo struggled to rise from his current position.  He looked all battered and bruised, and blood was seen pouring from his mouth, and down his lips.  Across what looked to be like a living room was a giant hole in the wall, where a shade stood against the sun that peered into the apartment building.  In his arms was a smaller armadillo Mobian, her eyes filled with tears, as every inch of her body shook with fright.  '

 

"Daddy...I'm scared..."

 

"Take her away from you?  Now what kind of cruel being would I be to separate a daughter from her father...."  The shade through it's hand out, shooting a harsh ray of light into the father's sternum.  It pierced through his body, and even more blood could be seen spewing from the wound.  The beam faded, and the armadillo fell lifeless onto the carpet.  A scream came from the small armadillo, a scream that sounded like other screams heard across the city.  "Oh no....I'm a being that would do something much...much worse..."

 

The screams in that single apartment building ceased.  

 

Meanwhile, in the alleyway, Harvey stood with his mouth agate.  He scratched his head as the two took out the thing that couldn't even be stopped by a bullet. 

 

"Crikey...I thought I had a chance of catchin' you there Alex...but I see now I never stood a chance."  The shadows broke out of the alleyway, and bubbled up as if something was melting the pavement.  More of those things appeared...a lot more of them.  "Well...I'm not a police officer for nothin!  You gotta be special to deal with other special types," he turned his head towards the arctic wolf, "Ain't that right snowball?"  The revolver in his hand began to accumulate static, and he fired three rounds at three different shades, aiming for the head.  The bullets headed towards the shades were coated in electricity.

 

 

Old Eggland

 

"I'm here, Metal...,"  He felt the reassuring touch of his old friend, Chimera.  

 

"Oh my...I haven't felt this in quite some time dear friend.  Could this be...happiness...it's been too long."  Metal could feel the scans on every part of his body, Chimera definitely knew now that he wasn't long for this world.  

 

"What happened...?"

 

"So much Chimera...I wish you were there...maybe you could've stopped it."  The damaged robot was picked up by his comrade, and they were rushed deeper into the fortress.  "I know this already Chimera...but it is far too late for me.  All the scrap that could've helped me...it's gone...I gave it to others...others that were in way worse shape than I was at the time.  They're long gone by now...but I know one day they'll return...maybe under your leadership..."

 

"Bring me up to speed as we go. We're going to save you,"  Those words could bring an oil drop to his eye.  How nostalgic this all was.  

 

"I'll tell you brother.  After you were deactivated and stored away, and the doctor passed, he decided that the Legacy of Eggland should live on.  We wholeheartedly agreed...it would be an empire filled with all of the doctors glorious creations!  It was to be a badnik Utopia!"  Sparks flew out of his head, he was getting too excited thinking about the past.  "When it came time to elect a leader...it was I who was given that responsibility.  I would be the one to get us back on our feet...spread the news of Eggland becoming a peaceful place through Mobius.   But there was one of us that didn't like the idea of us making peace...Mecha Sonic was the one who wanted to spread our might....our power.  He wanted the doctor's dreams to come to fruition once again."  A low hum could be heard on the frequency.  "Then it was war...I'm glad you didn't have to see it Chimera...our brothers...tearing each other apart...it was hell..."

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"Welcome to your own personal hell!"

 

"Well...I'm not a police officer for nothin! You gotta be special to deal with other special types. Ain't that right snowball?"

 

Zane gave off a chuckle at the nickname Harvey gave him, nodding only slightly. He then stared down at ten of these Shades that this hedgehog brought forth. "Ten of these...which means, splitting this three ways would be three for each of us...then take out the last one together. Or make it a race..." he cracked his knuckles before looking on three to his right. "The three on the right are mine...though you've already taken the ones in the middle, officer."

 

-BGM-

 

He was about to go straight in to attack them, but he paused to hear the resounding bloodcurdling screams of the citizens. Zane turned his head slightly, hearing this. His fists grew tighter and tighter, the sounds of men...women...and even the children. This was a chorus of sounds he truly never wanted to hear. And this hedgehog...no...this MONSTER...

 

Zane's head quickly whipped around as his eyes fixated on the dark hedgehog in a death glare. "You....you..." he began, his fists clenching tightly as his hands began to have ice forming around them. "Stop this...stop it now!!" he shouted, throwing another icicle it's direction, only to see a Shade jump up and protect it's master. "You damned terrorist...those are innocent lives!!" he yelled, throwing another icicle towards the hedgehog, a second Shade jumping as it was pierced through the head. "STOP IT!!!"

[Wind Rider]

"Welcome to your own personal hell!"

 

"Heh, you know nothing of hell you..." Alex's words were cut short by more screams ringing through the city, families, innocents, everyone, getting torn apart by this... thing. The wolf was obviously pissed at this and this city needed a bit of protection. "Hey Harvey... best chance you get... run back and get your police buddies... this city, as much as it pains me... needs you..." as Alex said this, she had already thrown flaming knives at her three shades, now there was one left.

 

"Hey Wolfie... if you could calm down a bit... we still got the big bad to deal with... worry about the threat in front of you rather than the threat out of your reach for the moment..." never has Alex given a sorta wise tip to someone, then again, the police were still trying to catch her. "Alright freak... get ready to get bloodied literally..."

[King K. Azo]

Chimera shook his head as he carried Metal Sonic through the fortress. Of course Mecha was the one that wanted to go to war with the world. He wanted a world only for robots... while Chimera couldn't help but admit it sounded wonderful, he knew there was no way such a thing could ever exist. It was a fool's dream. He supposed that's why a lot of the robots looked up to Mecha... he had the ability to dream that way...

Something Metal had said though struck a chord with him. The others returning...? They all could rebuilt this city... things could return to almost how it used to be. Sure, the Doctor wouldn't be there, and there would be no Sonic to kill, but... they would be together again. If he had a mouth, he'd smile at the thought. Still, it was hard to imagine him leading them.

"Metal... do you know who is still alive and who's... scrapped?" Chimera asked as he found the room he was looking for, the repair bay. All the supplies were taken or rusted beyond use, but he wasn't here for the metal. As he listened to Metal's answer, he pulled out a storage cube filled with USB looking devices. he dug through them, grumbling. Most were worn out, or broken, but in a cube like this, there had to be just one. That's all he needed... all it took.

After some digging, he found one. Quickly taking it to Metal's torn up body, he inserted the USB into the back of his neck, the USB beginning to download and copy Metal's intergrated circuit chip data. They had often done this in the past... they would store the data as their bodies were repaired, and redownloaded when the process was done. This had to work... it just had to.

[Hälō]

Metropolis

BMG

As the shades began to fall one by one, the darkness that had seemed to take hold of the alley began fall back, giving the three heros a small sense of victory over their twisted tormentors. With his brethren reduced to mere particles of shadow, the last of the shades began to slink backwards as it glared at it's opposition with soulless white eyes.

"Alright, I suppose that's enough to be considered stretching my legs..." A raspy voiced echoed from the very darkness that surrounded the trio, then continued to sound all throughout the city. Once again, there was a sickening silence as the shadows bubbled and throbbed with life. Though when they opened up to reveal their contents, the unlikely group of fighters would be met with a sea of piercing white eyes identical to the shade that stood with his back against the wall.

Without a mouth to grin with, the Shade settled for simply narrowing it's eyes triumphantly as it began to slowly march towards it's targets, and as it did, a hundreds of identical copies began pouring from the shadows and joining their brother as they soon filled the alley way; forcing Alex, Zane, and Harvey to retreat into the street.

Once outside, the trio would see that the city was in ruins. With a uncountable numbers of Shades running rapid and causing destruction wherever possible. Blood painted the streets a wicked crimson, and the cries of civilians could be heard from every direction...

"Tell me..." The voice of the shades bellowed from the very shadows that seemed to strangle the city. "DO I STILL KNOW NOTHING OF HELL?" Following the voice, every Shade in the immediate area abruptly stopped whatever they were doing and turned to the trio. In unison they joined the Shades from the alley in surrounding their prey, before slowly marching in to finish the job.

"I personally think I'm doing a marvelous rendition!"

Ferris Mountains

"Ken, they wont stop unless we kill the original..." Axel called to his brother as he skillfully beheaded another shade before rolling to the side to avoid a hand that reached out from the black liquid that had begun to stain the forest floor. Though it didn't seem to matter much. For every Shade the brothers had bested, two more seemed to form in it's place...

Panting, the white hedgehog glanced over to his brother before cocking back and throwing his chaos blade like a javelin; nailing a Shade that had intended to hit Ken from behind to a near by tree. "Dammit!" He growled in annoyance as he vanished in flash of blue light, reappearing atop the massive log cabin that toward over the battlefield. Scanning the area, Axel felt the something tighten in his stomach as he took in the scene.

The forest- no, his home was slowly falling apart. Black liquid now covered a large part of the forest, causing the trees to visibly decay, and from this nightmares substance marched what he could only assume was an infinite amount of these black creatures. With every step the took, the Shades spread their darkness closer to the cabin, and it would only be a matter of time before the entire building was surrounded in their living darkness.

"I won't let you taint this place!" Axel roared down to his opposition before teleporting into the center of a large group of shades that had managed to push dangerously close to the house. Driving his remaining chaos blade into the ground, the white hedgehog closed his eyes and began to focus draw power from the chaos force. Turning to face their prey. The group of Shades reared backwards before dashing towards Axel with intention of crushing him in the center of their massive numbers.

"Chaos..." Axel growled as he continued to gather energy. Only reopening his eyes moments before the ring of shades had closed in on him. "control!" Without warning the circle of black creatures stopped all movement. Though it wasn't just that one group. All the shades in the area, Ken, and even Silver had all stopped as time was brought to a grinding halt to everyone in the area but Axel.

Breathing heavily from the strain he was putting on his body, Axel shifted his glowing blue gaze around his targets for only a moment, before dashing forward and sweeping his blade across the closest group of Shades, intent on doing as much damage as possible to his foes whilst they were suspended in time. Though when he turned to assault the next group, his very being seemed to be consumed by searing pain.


"Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn." The chorus chant filled the air once more, causing Axel's vision to blur. "What? No! Not now..." The boy cried as he tried to maintain his focus.

"Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn."

"Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn."

"Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn. Gwynn."

The Chorus persisted with their booming monotone, forcing Axel to his knees with the sheer weight of their words and the immeasurable heat that had begun to burn every cell in his body. Just when Axel thought his body had reached it's limit, a knew voice broke through the chorus, causing his eyes to shoot open and widen in fear.

"Devorabit omnia!"

Suddenly, time returned to it's usual pace, leaving a fallen Axel in the center of the remaining Shades and the Shades he had been cut to suddenly dissipate. "Oh? So it appears this pup can use chaos control without an emerald..." The voice of Mephiles oozed from all the Shades as they shifted their gaze to Silver for a brief moment. "You've found yourself quite an interesting tool, Silver. Now watch as I destroy it!" Turning back to Axel, the group of Shades leaped high into the air, packing together to form a wave of shadow to crush Axel in a single motion.

[Wind Rider]

It seemed like the shades were all beaten, but the three fighters soon realized this to be the complete opposite. Multiple shades started showing up in the alley, forcing the three into the street. The sight of the attacked city was horrifying, as the streets were painted a bloody crimson. "This is... what kinda demon are you?!?" Alex who wasn't one for caring for others was being effected by all this bloodshed... wait, blood... it was crazy, but it just might work.

 

"Hey, Harvey! You might want to get some of these people to safety, you know how I get when there's blood around hint, hint." Alex could only hope that Harvey understood what she was meaning. "Wolfie, we can talk names later, but I need you to cut a path for Harvey to escape and get some of the people around here to safety, things are about to get messy." If this plan went accordingly, Alex would light all the blood in the streets, this would effectively wipe out the shades, but it could also mean that the city could need some major reconstruction afterwards.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

The Shades that Zane, Harvey, and Alex were up against were dealt with very quickly...but it wasn't the end of all this chaos.

 

"Alright, I suppose that's enough to be considered stretching my legs..."

 

That dark and skin crawling voice returned from the shadows, as well as throughout the entirety of the city. It was almost like this creature was a cancer to this city at the moment...with the city in its clutches. Zane quickly noticed the Shades returning and forming anew, before slowly approaching the trio. It was obvious they were pushing them out of the alley and into the city...but in the streets...there was much more...destruction.

 

"N-No..." Zane simply said, in shock as he saw the streets of Metropolis bathed and painted with the blood of the civilians. The screams and cries of the ones still living being heard echoing through the streets.

 

"Tell me... DO I STILL KNOW NOTHING OF HELL? I personally think I'm doing a marvelous rendition!"

 

"Y-You sick piece of..." Zane's brow furrowed, his fists clenching as he heard the voice coming from all directions, almost toying with them.

 

"Hey, Harvey! You might want to get some of these people to safety, you know how I get when there's blood around hint, hint. Wolfie, we can talk names later, but I need you to cut a path for Harvey to escape and get some of the people around here to safety, things are about to get messy."

 

The Arctic Wolf only looked at the cat, before nodding with a sigh. "It's Zane..." he simply said, before moving in front of Harvey and Alex. "Try and keep up, will ya?" he smirked, as icicles began to form in both of his hands.

 

-BGM-

 

"NOW!!" Zane yelled, rushing towards the group of Shades, moving in a quick and precise way. Upon further inspection, one could see the ground freezing and unfreezing as he moved his feet, hacking and slashing at these Shades with the icicles. He growled slightly as he even began to throw a few at the ones who were running towards him. "Get the lead out!" Zane shouted back at Harvey.

[Mr. Hyde]

Ferris Mountains

 

"Ken, they wont stop unless we kill the original..."

 

Ken looked around at the insurgence of shadows they were up against...but they all looked the same to him.  It was an impossible game of where's waldo the weasel!  Ken gritted his teeth, as he knocked the lights out of shade that got a little too close for comfort.  It bubbled and returned back to the encompassing shadow that formed around the brothers, and two more formed in it's place.  

 

"You know Axel, I couldn't find that needle in a haystack if I was a giant magnet!"  It was true...he might as well have been a horseshoe that was painted like a magnet.  They both looked like they'd be able to have the forces that the real deal would possess..but truly they were worthless.  However, a horseshoe still packs a punch when it's thrown at someone.  That's all he could do for his brother now, just fight back the forces as best he could!  They wouldn't get the best of them yet!  

 

"Chaos..."

 

"Axel wait!" Ken scrambled to his brother.  He was trying to finish this by himself.  "You can't do this alo-"

 

"control!"

 

The next thing Ken realized, was his brother, petrified in front of a giant wave of black sludge.  Without thinking about what had just happened, Ken's muscles ushered him forward, and he unlocked the first inhibitor.  In the blink of an eye, Ken had picked up his brother and rushed him away from the oncoming shadowy torrent.  Instinct told him to bring the two to SIlver, and he appeared right by the grey hedgehog's side.  Silver still looked star struck looking into the eyes of the black shades.  

 

"Silver....What do we do!  There's too many of them!  We need to get out of here!"  As Ken held Axel in his eyes, there was an unsettling amount of panic in his voice.  Silver looked to his star pupils...his sons.  He smiled.  

 

"Ken...Axel...It's time you completed your training."  Silver handed Axel a small leather pouch.  "You boys may open your gifts as soon as you arrive.  But don't worry...you won't be alone.  I can sense them...I'll send some reinforcements."  The shades charged the cabin.  A rush of wind could be felt behind the brothers.  As they turned around, they saw a green circle had formed...just like that one they saw fourteen years ago.  Silver used his telekinesis to push the boys into the strange formation in space and time.  As the boys fell into the portal, the last thing they saw was Silver's old and wrinkled face, still smiling as if it were just an ordinary day.  "I love you both...now go and save the world."  A tear fell down his cheeks, as a dark wave consumed him.  The brother's screamed simultaneously as they fell into the void.  

 

 

Metropolis

 

"Hey, Harvey! You might want to get some of these people to safety, you know how I get when there's blood around hint, hint. Wolfie, we can talk names later, but I need you to cut a path for Harvey to escape and get some of the people around here to safety, things are about to get messy."

 

Harvey smiled.  

 

"Well would ya look at this, a common thief caring about the denizens of the city.  If everybody's all messed up, it'd be easier for you to make a livin' now wouldn't it.  Maybe there's more to you than meets the eyes you bloody cat!"  Harvey shot an electrified round of ammunition into the skull of a Shade that crept up behind Alex.  "But I ain't leavin' you here! C'mon!"  Harvey grabbed Alex by the wrist.  "No matter how much you think lightin' the city on fire may do good, I don't think we could escape anymore collateral damage!"  Harvey ran fast behind the arctic wolf, and made sure not to slip and fall on any ice that Zane had created.  He was clearing quite the impressive path for them.  

 

Just ahead of Zane, a green portal opened up in front of him, and he ran straight into the void.  Harvey shook his head, the wolf just up and disappeared right in front of him.  Maybe there was a chance he could save some citizens by himself.  With Alex still in his grasp, he charged the portal with all his might.  He was stopped short though, as he looked forward to see five separate beams of light penetrating his body.  A stream of blood came from his mouth.  He looked to the side to see Alex, who had been spared by the same light that he was struck with.  

 

"Well...looks like its the end of the dusty trail for this dingo eh?"  He wheezed, and more blood spattered onto the pavement.  With Alex's wrist still in hand, he mustered all the strength he could to fling her in the portal along with the wolf.  He saluted the two as they fell deeper into the vortex.  "Don't worry Alex...their are plenty of other better policemen in Metropolis...I'm sure they'll wipe the rest of these guy's out no proble-" the light in his eyes faded, and he collapsed to the ground.  

 

 

Old Eggland

 

"Metal... do you know who is still alive and who's... scrapped?"

 

Metal looked deep into the reaches of his tattered RAM drive.  It sparked as he thought and thought.  Who got away...who got away all those years ago?  A random spark flickered into his RAM port and he finally saw their faces.  

 

"Metal Knuckles...Silver Sonic...Mecha...some Badniks....a couple of new faces you've never seen before.  We built them after you were stored away...but that's all I can remember.  I'm sorry Chimera."  As Chimera was seen shuffling through the old drawers of the fortress, he realized what that clever robot was up too.  "Ah...you think there's still hope for me Chimera...I am touched...honestly."  This robot had come back from the grave and he was already taking charge and thinking of preserving his comrades.  He was fit to be the leader for sure.  

 

A new frequency could be heard on the Harmony Channel now...and it was approaching at a rapid pace.  A crash through the ceiling of the Egg Fortress shook the building at it's core.  Now standing on top of the old egg throne was a terrifying amalgamation of a robot.  

 

"Ahhh...I thought I heard a familiar voice...." The robot made a terrifying laugh.  "I knew you'd be back...I've been preparing myself Chimera.  They hid you away so long ago, and didn't tell me your location.  But now that you're back..."  The robot stretched out it's mechanical limbs, and they whirred and steamed as if they hadn't been used in quite some time.  "You might as well knock Metal Knuckles and Silver Sonic off that list you damn fool...they're currently...indisposed!"

 

"YOU MONSTER!"  Metal shouted on the channel.  "They were just trying to escape your wrathful ways!  But you tracked them down and forced them to become one with the thing they hated most!"  

 

"They were weak...I don't pity the weak like you do or Shard did!"  He pointed at Chimera.  "No...in order to become the best creation, I had to rip them apart and take the only good parts that were left!  After all, I had to replace what got damaged in the war you know."  The core in the middle of his chest started to glow brightly.  "I AM MECHA SONIC!  I HAVE COME TO CLAIM THE EGG THRONE AS MY OWN!  ALL THAT STANDS IN MY WAY IS YOU CHIMER-"  

 

The shouting was interrupted as two green vortexes formed in the air above Mecha.  Four organic beings could be seen falling at a rapid pace and descended straight on top of Mecha Sonic.  Ken opened his eyes, realizing he had fallen onto an incredibly hard surface.  

 

"SILVER!"  He shouted as he came too.  He was then forced off of the pile along with the three others, as Mecha rose from his flattened position. 

 

"HOW DARE MEATBAGS INTERRUPT MY SPEECH!  I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"  The Robot charged them, and Ken made sure to take a fighting pose, but was swiftly kicked away.  His energy was drained after unlocking that chaos gate.  

 

[spoiler=OOC]

NICE!  We're finally together!  But we haven't fallen into the best situation...at least the shades aren't after you anymore.  Focus on your new enemy!

 

 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Zane was just in his own little world at this point, moving as quickly as he could. Shade upon Shade fell to him as he made the pathway clear for Harvey and Alex. However, while Zane was in his own world, destroying the Shades...he noticed a green portal suddenly opening up before him. "W-Whoa! What?!" Zane yelped, trying to skid to a stop, but with the ground being icy enough...he slid into it, falling into the portal.

 

Nothing...

 

Nothing was all Zane could see and feel at this point. He pondered if he was dead...but he wasn't, and he knew that. It wasn't long before he saw a faint movement above him. It looked like a body...and he was right. It was Alex's. She made it into this as well...but what of Harvey? Did he follow? Zane couldn't exactly figure that out as his eyes were pierced by a bright light as the portal opened up once more...

 

"I AM MECHA SONIC!  I HAVE COME TO CLAIM THE EGG THRONE AS MY OWN!  ALL THAT STANDS IN MY WAY IS YOU CHIMER-"

 

"SILVER!"

 

The Arctic Wolf could only groan, feeling the weight of a few others on top of him. He apparently landed first while Alex landed on him and two more dropped down. "O-Okay...not cool...can we...GET OFF!?!" Zane shouted, grumbling.

 

One by one the ones on top of him hopped off, before he finally got up. He surveyed the area...still no sign of the Dingo...but there were two Hedgehogs, odd to see Hedgehogs around here...but then he noticed three robots. The circuitry was impressive...he was about to wonder if they were made by Foxes or something...but the one robot seemed pissed.

 

"HOW DARE MEATBAGS INTERRUPT MY SPEECH!  I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

 

Zane noticed that the robot was going after the one hedgehog, who took a fighting stance. Given from the look, it was obvious he was tired. It was obvious too when he was kicked away with ease by the robot. He moved slightly, the ground beneath his feet turning icy as he began to skate around on it. "Alright...dunno what's going on here...but this on one hand versus those dark things...I think I prefer the latter!" he said, icicles beginning to slowly form in his hands as he threw them at the robot's arm and leg joints.

[Wind Rider]

It looked like the wolf, Zane, was willing to go along with Alex's plan, though Harvey had other ideas. "Well would ya look at this, a common thief caring about the denizens of the city. If everybody's all messed up, it'd be easier for you to make a livin' now wouldn't it. Maybe there's more to you than meets the eyes you bloody cat! But I ain't leavin' you here! C'mon!" Harvey had grabbed Alex's wrist before she could do her thing. "Hey! What are doing?".

 

"No matter how much you think lightin' the city on fire may do good, I don't think we could escape anymore collateral damage!" Admittedly the plan had its holes but how else are they going to stop these shades? "Harvey, let go! These shades aren't going to stop unless I..." Alex looked to see that Zane had vanished into a green portal in front of them. "Wha? Grrr... Harvey let g..." Before she could finish her sentence, five beams of light, impaled Harvey, his blood splattered Alex a bit. "Well...looks like its the end of the dusty trail for this dingo eh?" With the last bit of his strength, Harvey threw Alex into the portal that had previously taken Zane. Alex could only look back at the old officer that had chased her for years, sending her off with a salute.

 

Alex awoke to find herself on top of a few others, including Zane. "O-Okay...not cool...can we...GET OFF!?!" Alex hopped off the top of the pile and saw that the other two people she landed on were two hedgehogs and one of them had some strange gear on him. "HOW DARE MEATBAGS INTERRUPT MY SPEECH! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" Alex turned to see that everyone had landed on top of a robot, and he wasn't happy. In fact, Alex looked around and saw that she was in scrapped factory of sorts, she wondered if there was anything she could sell for a quick buck before turning to deal with the mad robot charging at the group. "Gah... out of knives... *sigh* ah well..." Alex lit her hand on fire and proceeded to form a large fireball. "I guess this calls for good old fashioned pyrokinesis." Zane had already shot some icicles at the robot's joints, so Alex took that opportunity to aim a shot straight for the robot's rusted head.