Disclaimer:
All Sonic characters belong to their respective owners.
Oh, and Rikku belongs to RikkuMcClowFox on Fanfiction. (Or Slashin' Azriel Hacke on FictionPress.)
...And before anything else, this is the sequel to Fated Souls, Lost Darkness, which is the sequel to Avenge the Past, Embrace the Future. If you haven't read Avenge the Past, Embrace the Future, read it. Same with Fated Souls, Lost Darkness...in order. It's AtP+EtF, FS+LS, this one, and the one after this...Read them? Good. Haven't? Get started.
Now, on with the show!
Seven
"C'mon, Nodoka!" Sam looked behind to see Nodoka not too far from Sam; in fact, she was nearly catching up to the speeding hedgehog as they ran across a meadow in a nearby park.
"I'll catch you eventually!" Nodoka sped up, as did Sam, who merely chuckled as she gleefully ran after him.
"I know!" Sam was tackled to the ground by Nodoka, the duo rolling down a hill, only stopping in front of a lake, where they were laughing in sheer enjoyment.
They caught their breath slowly and looked at each other's eyes, none leaving the other's sight. "...You got me." Sam said, slightly out of breath.
"Yeah I did." Nodoka replied, also out of breath.
"Well, you two are enjoying yourselves." Sam's father came up to the duo, and crouched down to look at them, locked in the other's gaze.
Sam cleared his throat, and stood up slowly. "Father, nice to see you again." Sam said, his father nodding.
"Likewise…how are you, Nodoka?"
"I'm fine...couldn't be better, actually." Sam wrapped his arm around her shoulder and chuckled as she blushed.
"Good to hear. Training's going well?" The duo nodded, Sam's father nodding in response.
"What do you usually do, anyhow?"
"Nothing much…eat, train, eat some more…relax, train, eat and sleep. Occasionally we go out to eat, or get something…but that's pretty much it." Nodoka explained, Sam's father nodding.
"Alright…you need a load of training, considering the fact that...well, traditionally, the Chosen has seven people in his group, including himself…which you do now."
"…That isn't a problem." Sam said, shrugging.
"I know. But this is: the one of darkness eternal has seven to counter those seven of the Chosen." Sam's father's face turned serious, Sam nodding.
"Although, I have faith that you can beat those seven…you can do it." Sam's father lightened up, as did Sam, who nodded.
"…Oh, and one last thing before I go…Nodoka." She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"You wouldn't happen to be sleeping with my son, right? Because I found black, green, and regimental quills on one of the beds…" The duo blushed heavily, Sam raising a hand.
"Go on, son. This isn't school anymore…you're way past that." Sam's father chuckled as Sam placed his hand down, and he spoke.
"…Only reason being that Cosmos took Nodoka's bed. We wouldn't want to be rude and kick her out of a bed, so I thought up of the idea…me, and me alone. If I'm to be punished, alrig-"
"Relax…you aren't. Just checking up on if you were…" Sam's father cleared his throat, the duo blushing once more.
"Well, I'd better get going. Things to do." Sam nodded as his father sank into a puddle of darkness and disappeared from the duo's sight.
"He knows a lot about this, doesn't he?" Sam nodded, walking toward the treehouse complex, Nodoka following.
She was about to trip, but Sam rushed back, and caught her before she fell. "Thanks."
"No problem." The ebony hedgehog smirked as she blushed, the duo walking together now back to the treehouse complex.
"…Hey, Sonic, Blaze, everyone. We're back." Sam said, the group nodding.
"Let's get started…" Sam summoned Chiharu, and Nodoka summoning Juuchi as the group watched.
"Wind, Fire!" Sam rose into the air, being propelled by flames from his feet, and he shot out balls of fire, which Nodoka dodged gracefully.
She then leapt into the air and slashed at the hedgehog, who used a small burst of fire to propel himself backward. He stopped the flames from his feet, landing on the ground as Nodoka rushed forward, trying to take advantage of the situation. Sam swiped at Nodoka, but she faded away and appeared behind Sam. "Shadow!" She sunk incredibly quickly into a puddle of darkness, and then rose where Sam was, an uppercut landing on his jaw.
"Nice trick." Sam complemented, Nodoka nodding.
"Thanks." Sam nodded, fading away, fire burning away Sam slowly as he disappeared.
Once the hedgehog was all gone, Nodoka looked around her, only to find a Chaos Spear in front of her and Sam behind her, ready for a finishing blow. Nodoka simply sweep kicked Sam, the Chaos Spear disappearing from her sight, and pointed Juuchi to Sam's face, a foot on Sam's chest, another on his hand with Chiharu. "…Nice." Nodoka took that as surrender, and Sam nodded, Chiharu and Juuchi dematerializing.
"…So this is only what the Chosen can do? Pathetic!" A voice was heard, and a red dragon wearing a black tee and pants, along with red shoes appeared above the group, standing on top of a nearby wall.
"Who are you supposed to be?" Sam asked, the dragon flying to the group.
"Your death wish!" The dragon breathed fire on Sam, who merely backed away.
"Ice!" Nodoka shot a ball of ice at the dragon, who merely looked at her.
"You little b-"The dragon was about to breathe fire on Nodoka, but Sam appeared in front of the dragon, Chiharu summoned.
"Back off!" Sam slashed a wing with Chiharu, the dragon tending to it.
"Still didn't answer my question, kid. Who are you?" Sam said, the dragon scoffing.
"I'm older than you are, you realize that? The name's Xelo. X-e-l-o. Got it memorized?" Sam nodded, and smirked.
"Nice to meet you, Xelo. Now get out before you get injured more severely. We wouldn't want that, now would we?" Sam said tauntingly, Xelo getting angry.
"Stupid little…Burn to cinder, Desert Inferno!" The dragon suddenly gained twin pistols, red and black, both having two words engraved on the handle: Desert Inferno.
"Just go die!" The dragon shot a bullet out, which went visibly slow, and then exploded, the entire group being caught in the radius, Xelo flying away.
"Well, that takes care of that." Xelo walked away, smirking at the sight…
"…Hey…are you alright?" Cosmos shook Sam from behind, who nodded.
"I'm fine…don't worry…" Sam turned to face her, and she gasped; his front side was burnt.
"No you aren't…" Cosmos tapped Nodoka, whose injuries weren't that severe.
Sonic and the others had burns on them as well, aside from Blaze, who was unaffected by the blast. "Naoshimasu, Shitsuren!" Cosmos' hand glowed a blue aura, and she began to heal the others around her…by punching them.
"Oww! When you punch someone when you're trying to heal them, it's painful and soothing at the same time, y'know…" Sam said as he was being punched in various places.
"Just deal with it…at least you don't have to recover from it normally." She then began to punch Nodoka and the others in their burned areas, and they healed.
"It seems the First has sent one of the seven out…be on your guards at all times: they can appear any time." Insendius appeared in a burst of flame, and looked at the state of the place.
"…It seems he's powerful…We may have to train all of you in elemental abilities." The group nodded, and the other six minks appeared behind him.
"Most of you here are attributed to an element…aside from Sam and Nodoka. So…Sonic, go with Vent. Blaze, you'll be with me. Tails, go with Levitas. Rikku…I'm not sure what element you're attributed to, so for now, go with Toxicus. Cosmos, go with Decretus." Insendius ordered, the group going with their respective trainers.
"…What about us?" Nodoka asked.
"You both shall be trained by your masters who bestowed you your abilities…all of them. Which means Sam and Nodoka; you'll be with Decretus, Levitas, Vent, Caligus, Glacius, Toxicus and I. But of course, this training shall occur only thrice a week: we Masters have our needs and to dos as well as you do." Insendius jokingly said, Sam and Nodoka nodding.
"All right. We shall start now. Go to your respective rooms, and you shall train there." Decretus and Cosmos disappeared in a flash of white light, Insendius and Blaze fading away with fire, Levitas and Tails with a loud cracking sound, Rikku and Toxicus seemed to be quickly melting into a puddle, and Vent and Sonic in a gust of wind.
"…We may as well train ourselves…ready?" Nodoka nodded as they both got into a fighting stance…
"...Know this. The Decretus you knew back then is different from the Decretus you see now. You knew Uncle Dec, the happy, carefree, joking type. You now face Decretus, master of Order, and partial guide of the Chosen…the training you shall receive will be tough, and at times, possibly merciless…prepare yourself!" Decretus' room was then covered in a white light, and expanded greatly.
"...Now, to begin with…you know some Order abilities, like the Flash Jump. You shall need to know more than that…much more. To begin with, focus on manipulating Order into shapes, or forms which you can use as a sword or a shield." Cosmos nodded, the white energy gathering around her as she closed her eyes.
"…Hah!" The white energy turned into multiple spears, and Decretus clapped.
"You still haven't lost your touch with Order, it seems. Good. Let's see if you can manipulate it in battle!" The mink assumed a fighting stance, Cosmos nodding.
"I presume it isn't hot?"
"When your body is cursed with flames inhibiting it, it's rare for me to be so." Blaze said, Insendius nodding.
"Good…I was worried I'd have to freeze water bottles or something. Seeing as you can manipulate flame well…let's see how well. Show me some abilities." Blaze nodded, and shot large fireballs at Insendius, who flicked them away with great force and covered his room with fire.
He then expanded the room to around quintuple it's size, and shook his head. "Anything that isn't as basic?" She raised a wall of fire in front of her, and moved it forward, then turned into a miniature fiery tornado: the Axel Tornado.
Insendius stopped the wall of fire and moved out of the way of the Axel Tornado. "…Only reason I'm dodging is because I already know all of these techniques. That was a perfectly legit strategy, but the opponent could've ran to the side." A circle of fire appeared below Insendius, and he sidestepped as the circle shot fire upward.
"Too easy and predictable." Insendius was now in front of Blaze, and he uppercut her, fire coming from his hands.
He landed on the ground, and sighed. "You've got a lot to learn." Blaze was getting annoyed.
"…Start by manipulating fire. Then we'll see what you can do with it." Blaze nodded, and flames gathered around her, turning into blades.
"Interesting…Manipulate it in battle." Insendius said, Blaze nodding.
"With pleasure!" Blaze summoned more fire around her, and smirked.
"Well, young kit, you seem to be young to be a part of the Chosen…but alright. Can you manipulate lightning?" Levitas covered the room in lightning, and drastically increased the room's size.
"With my Soulbend, I can." Tails said.
"…We need to get you to do it without Sengen. It'll be more reliable."
"Reliable?" Tails inquired, Levitas nodding.
"Yes…people can disable Soulbends, if they know the weak spot of it…although I'll explain that later. For now…just concentrate. I shall lend you my power…although only enough for you to grasp the concept." Tails nodded as a yellow light engulfed him, lightning and thunder now circling him.
"…You learn quite quickly. Now…shape the lightning into forms." Tails formed the lightning and thunder into a large bolt, and grasped it in his hand.
"Good…separate, manipulate, and separate again." Tails broke the bolt into particles, and then turned the particles into a staff.
He then separated the staff into particles once more. "Great! Now, just keep doing that into as much forms as you can think of…while I attack you." The mink assumed a fighting stance.
"Wait, what?" Tails was kicked in the head and knocked back.
"You heard me…" Levitas waited for the kit to get back up, and once again, assumed a fighting stance…
"Well…you're new to this, so I guess I should have you take this." Toxicus handed Rikku a green tablet.
"What is it?"
"Poison." Rikku widened her eyes.
"Are you joking?!"
"No. If you can knock me to the ground within the time the poison take effect, you gain an ability, and will learn how to manipulate poison. You can use anything you want." Toxicus covered the room with a green poison, and expanded it's size.
"Botsuraku, Chiraikou!" Eight lightning infused daggers appeared, and Toxicus sighed.
"…You're supposed to be with Levitas…but fine. Mastery over two elements is great!" Rikku nodded, and stabbed Toxicus in the legs.
"…What? I can't move my legs!" Toxicus said, and Rikku kicked him in the chest, knocking him to the floor.
"Well, there ya go." Rikku said, her stomach starting to hurt a bit.
Toxicus twitched a finger, and the poison tablet was gone, the pain in Rikku's disappearing. "You've got the Poison Breath! When you will it to, you can now blow poisonous gas at enemies strongly…although let's start the training. I lend you my power…" Rikku was covered in a green light, and she nodded.
Green, poisonous energy surrounded and encircled Rikku as she smirked. "Try to form the poison into shapes…or anything." She formed the energy into twin daggers, chains wrapped around the handle.
"You prefer daggers as a weapon, don't you?"
"What of it?"
"Nothing…just curious. Try to form the poison into something else." She separated the energy into a gas, and then formed a multitude of balls floating around her.
"Alright…let's see how you can do in combat, without your Soulbend." The mink assumed a fighting stance along with Rikku, and they prepared for battle.
"Alright…let's get started, shall we?" The room was covered by a thick wall of wind, Sonic stretching.
"How am I supposed to manipulate wind?"
"…I lend you my power!" A blue light surrounded him, and when it faded, wind was encircling Sonic.
He shaped the wind into multiple forms, and smirked. "I see you've gotten the hang of that…let's see that skill put to work!" The mink assumed a fighting stance.
"Alright then, let's do this!" Sonic assumed a fighting stance, the two of them fiercely looking at each other, and Sonic rushed forward to attack…
"…That guy back there…do you think…?" Nodoka dodged an incoming slash, and sweep kicked Sam, who merely rolled backward.
"Yeah. He was one of the seven…" Sam grabbed Nodoka by her wrist, and threw her to a wall.
"…Think the others are any stronger?" Nodoka placed her feet on the wall, and dropped to the floor.
"Maybe. It's always possible, isn't it?" Sam pointed Chiharu to Nodoka, who chuckled.
"True." Sam helped Nodoka up slowly.
"…We can do this." Nodoka said confidently, Sam nodding.
"Right…" Sam said, walking to a bedroom and laying down on a bed.
"…Not bad." Decretus walked up to Cosmos, who was quite worn out.
"Not bad yourself. I've never actually seen you fight…" Cosmos got up clumsily, Decretus helping her.
"Not like that's an everyday occurrence." Decretus chuckled, and shrunk the room back to original size, the Order energy fading away.
"You've proven yourself a worthy opponent in Order…but you need some work, still. I'll let you go for now…we'll continue tomorrow, alright?" Cosmos nodded wearily, and walked out of the door.
"…Heh. Not bad…you seem a bit weary…and by a bit, you're sweating quite a bit." Blaze nodded, the fire disappearing, and the room reverting to its original size.
"We'll start another session of this tomorrow, alright?" Blaze nodded once more, and was about to leave when Insendius spoke.
"Wait…" He pulled out an ice cream bar from a mini fridge, and threw it to Blaze, who caught it.
"If you're ever hot, I'll give you one after a session, alright?" Blaze nodded, and before leaving, she spoke.
"…Thanks." Insendius nodded, and the door closed as Blaze unwrapped the ice cream bar, and began to chow down.
"You really do learn quickly…" Levitas smirked as Tails' lightning disappeared, and the room reverted to normal, the lightning energy disappearing.
"We'll continue tomorrow, alright?"
"Okay." Levitas threw a metal comb at Tails, who clumsily caught it.
"…You might want to brush your fur. It's puffy everywhere." Levitas said, holding in laughter.
"Gotcha." Tails said, walking out of the room.
"…Oh man, that's just too funny…" Levitas laughed loudly after the fox left the room, and tried to contain it.
"Great!" Toxicus returned the room to normal, and Rikku was about to leave, but Toxicus tossed something to Rikku: a small bar labeled 'Sync Bar'.
"That fox…Tails, is it? He's a bit shy when it comes to you…so just give this to him. You'll be good, open friends before anything else happens!" Toxicus smiled, and Rikku nodded.
"…Uh huh. I'm kinda in doubt…but thanks." Rikku said, Toxicus nodding as she closed the door.
"Good…very good indeed."
"Hey, I try." Sonic said proudly, and he smirked as the room reverted to normal.
"We'll do this again tomorrow, okay?" Sonic nodded, and he sped off.
"Well…it's been an hour. They should be getting back by no-"
"Too slow, man." Sonic's voice was heard, and Sam smirked.
"Define 'too slow'. It's all perspective, I tell you." Sam said, dismissing the topic as Sonic entered the room.
"That may be true…" Blaze said, nearly done with her ice cream.
"You? With ice cream? You'd probably melt the stock that they have in a parlor!" Sam said jokingly, Blaze laughing unconvincingly, and then slapped him in the face, a red palm imprint on his face.
"Oh not agai-AAAGGGHHH!" The palm imprint exploded, and a large hand shaped burn appeared on his face.
"That will never get old." Blaze said, genuinely chuckling as Sam rubbed the imprint.
"That will always hurt."
"Ice." Nodoka's hands were now icy to the touch, literally, and she placed her gloved hand on the burn.
"…Hey, are you alright?" Cosmos asked as she entered the room, Sam chuckling.
"I have an oversized hand shaped burn on my face. Nodoka's helping me out…I'll be fine with time…not like I already am." Sam looked endearingly at Nodoka, who blushed.
"I guess." Tails flew into the room, looking at what was happening.
"Yeah. As long as those two are together, a earthquake can happen and they'll be fine…" Rikku jokingly said, and a tremor of the ground was felt.
The group looked at Rikku with surprise, and she shrugged, slightly panicking. "I never really wanted it to happen! I was joking!" Rikku said, and a voice was heard.
"Heh. That's kinda funny…you really thought an earthquake was happening?" Caligus entered the room and chuckled.
"Just release some Order energy, kid." Sam did so, and the tremor indeed stopped.
"Ah...good. Didn't mean to cause a panic. Anyways, I came to tell you your training will begin in 3 hours. Prepare yourselves, and enter Decretus' room." Sam and Nodoka nodding, Caligus quickly sank into a puddle of darkness, and disappeared from sight.
"…I'm fine, Nodoka."
"No you aren't, Sam. Stop fooling yourself."
"It's just a burn…"
"That Blaze caused. It always can be more severe…" Nodoka said, Blaze sighing.
"Hey, don't pin this on me, he got what he deserved!" Blaze said, Nodoka and Sam suddenly becoming quiet.
Well…here's to a new story…and a new path. The Path to Dawn…and then to Darkness. The Seven leading to light and darkness…who and what shall triumph? That is the question that we all must ponder…Hope you enjoyed reading as I did typing, R&R, I'll see you next!
~ADarknessInHeaven
Aka: Sam