EEhhhh...enjoy? I such at author notes...
Also, Sonadow. Be mindful, and no whining about it.
NOTE: Set during the end of Sonic X. No need to see the show really, just check out the ending on the wiki and you will be fine. Though the show is good, so I suggest you try it :D
Act 1: The End of Dark Oak.
Bright flashes of red and gold illuminated the darkness of space, a electrical crackle echoing in the vast void as spheres of light tore through space and slammed into a wall of ink. The barrier shuddered, waves of dark energy spilling from the points of impact and gathering beneath the luminous globes before sending them flying back in a shower of blue sparks. Ominous laughter echoed from beyond the obsidian shield, coming from a gigantic, writhing mass of grey energy that slowly pulsed, not unlike a beating heart.
The Chaos Orbs that were deflected by the barrier flew across space, nearly clipping their creators who hastily avoided their own attack. Sonic grit his teeth as he surveilled the battlefield, frustration and anger shinning in his amber eyes upon witnessing just how ineffective their attacks were. The golden hedgehog didn't need to glance at the silver immortal at his side to know that Shadow was glaring at Dark Oak with all of his might, as if a mere scowl could reduce the disgusting creature to ashes.
The Blue Blur wished it was that easy.
"We don't have much time." The elder's voice carried over to him, strangely even for the situation they were in. "He's gathering energy from his surroundings. It will be enough to destroy most of this galaxie."
"Great." Sonic winced, trying to keep dread from crawling up his spine. Despite being a pretty optimistic fellow, he could see that their situation was bad. Worse than any other battle he had been in -and this one had the highest stakes so far. "Any ideas?"
"If I did, I wouldn't be standing here doing nothing, Faker."
"Actually, we are floating." Sonic chirped, earning a seething glare from the Ultimate Lifeform. "See?" He flipped himself upside down and smiled at the unamused Ultimate Lifeform. "No gravity here, buddy." The sharp ruby eyes narrowed dangerously. Sonic could almost feel his rival's murderous intent, but he felt proud when his keen eyes spotted the slight upward twitch of the older male's tan lips.
Incredible. The only time he's smiling at my jokes, it's the end of the world. Sonic glanced at the their opponent. Quite literally, in fact.
Heh.
End of the world or not, his reaction's still priceless.
The young hero felt a smudge of anxiety at the thought. The end of the world was at his doorstep and he couldnt stop it. And he was in Super mode damn it. He was supposed to be able to do anything with the power of the Chaos Emeralds, but it seemed as if the one time he needed them, he was helpless. Hell, he had the Ultimate Lifeform at his side and they still couldn't do anything. It was distabilizing to think how helpless they were.
Amber eyes darkened and the young speedster righted himself, Chaos crackling around his fingertips as he drew onto the power of the mythical jewels. He'll kiss Shadow before he allowed Dark Oak to win, as traumatising the mental image was. The Blue Blur raised his arms, sensing Shadow doing the same as they both gathered Chaos, their movements a mirror of their counterpart. Gold and red gathered in front of them as a small sphere, threatening to explode with each gentle pulse. Sonic glanced at his rival, noting how Shadow's arms shook with effort. The gold hedgehog himself was tired, and he knew the Ultimate Lifeform was likely to be just as exhausted, but witnessing himself took him aback. Especially knowing that Dark Oak didn't seem fazed by their attacks.
Amber and ruby met, both pair of eyes shinning with determination.
"Chaos Blast!"
Pure heat exploded out if the two transformed heroes' hands, a wave of scarlet and yellow surging towards Dark Oak at blinding speeds. A loud explosion echoed across space as the very world around them shuddered as the unstoppable force that was the Chaos Blast collided with the immovable object that was the obsidian shield protecting the Metarex leader from harm. The Chaos fire licked at the black barrier, partially envelopping the side of the spherical shield; Sonic' heart leaped with both guilt and joy as he heart Dark Oak let out a agonized shriek from beyond the shield.
The two hedgehogs waited with bathed breath as the Chaos Blast slowly dissipating, impatiently waiting to see the shattered remains of the barrier -but dread rose in their minds as they witnessed a virtually untouched shield, only faint cracks that were quickly disspearing marring the surface of the orb as a result of their most powerful attack.
What the hell?! Sonic breathed heavily as he stared at the coal barrier separating them from the giant dark mass the last Metarex had become, disbelief clear in his expression as he took in the unblemished, undamaged state of the shield. Shadow snarled somewhere to his side, but he didn't pay attention to the elder's fury, too shocked by the aftermath of the Chaos technique. That was it?! That attack had devastated entire bases with ease, he'd seen Shadow do it enough times to know just how deadly it was. Now in Super form, done by two people in said transformed state and this was it?!
Sonic took a deep breath as he felt his body shudder unwillingly, exhausted by all the pressure he had put himself through. The speedster knew that their lives, present and future, as well as the fate of the entire universe were at stake, but damn he felt like sitting down and snoring until the end of time.
He had thrown everything he had at the monstrosity with no avail. The force field the lunatic creature had placed to keep them away as he prepared to end the universe took their strongest attacks without even flinching. Chaos Spear, Chaos Blast, Chaos Sphere, it seemed as if nothing would get past it.
The situation was getting more and more hopeless.
Super Sonic growled lowly as he hovered besides his rival, his fur shimmering like if each individual hair was a small sun. Their adversary stood in all of his disgusting glory, a round mass of black that pulsed softly, slowly gathering energy from every non-plant life in the universe. Since the two hedgehogs were in their enhanced states the drain was painful, but not as much as the mobians and humans on the combined Blue Typhoon were experiencing, as well as every organic in the universe.
"Doesn't seem like anything will get through to him!" Shadow glanced at him at the blue hedgehog's irritated snarl, taking in the faintly trembling form. Sonic's gold fur was flickering, edges of blue appearing at the tip of his limbs.
The Ultimate Lifeform didn't need to look at himself to know he was in a similar state. He could feel the Chaos Emeralds within himself and his rival churning and vibrating in their chest, trying to escape and separate once more. It wouldn't be long until the mythical stones managed to escape. No matter how mentally and physically strong their hosts were, the Emeralds would always win at the end. The two hedgehogs had very little time left until the jewels forcefully left them.
"This is useless." The silver male muttered darkly, his eyes shadowed and foreboding as he looked back at the Metarex, feeling the monumental energy gathering within the malformed creature, threatening to explode. We are running out of time. "We're just wasting energy by doing this."
They had tried everything, and nothing seemed to get past it.
...was this really how it would all end?
I haven't tried everything... Shadow looked down at his wrists. The golden cuffs glinted softly in the light of his pale silver fur, almost mocking their owner. He reached out, long fingers sliding over the thick, shimmering ring, edging to the side of the cuff where the opening mechanism was located- a hand suddenly clamped around his left wrist in a iron grip, and Shadow was suddenly staring into furious ambers orbs, so filled with rage and disbelief it took him off guard.
His younger rival's eyes were burning with righteous fury, his lips curled back in a uncharacteristically feral sneer that reminded him of his own. The sudden indignation in the smaller male's eyes was destabilising.
"Don't you dare." Sonic hissed menacingly, his grip on the other tightening as he pinned him in place with the anger in his eyes. If Shadow hadn't been in Super form, the strength within the other's hand could have crushed his limb. "You nearly died twice already, I don't want another added to the list. No matter what happens, don't you dare pull off those rings!"
"What else could we do?!" Shadow snapped at the smaller hedgehog, easily slapping the offending limb off him. "Nothing is getting pass it."
The honey orbs blinked, and Sonic visibly wilted at the elder's argument. "Well, we- I mean, we could..." The golden hedgehog hesitated, biting his lip as triangular ears lowered by a fraction. It was clear that the speedster had realized the truth behind the elder's words. The younger's stare faltered as he gave the other a small, unsure grin. "...could we at least try a combined Chaos Blast again?" The paler male glared, but his eyes softened at the prospect. He knew Sonic was not one who could bear the lost of a friend, even if the fate of the world was at stake.
It was simply who he was. The least he could do was honor that simple wish. After all, trying one last time wouldn't be much of a bother, would it?
"Fine."
I'll knock him out after this. He won't expect it. It was a good plan. Once Sonic was out of the way, he would draw the Chaos energy from the Emeralds out of the sapphire hedgehog and into himself, before getting rid of the rings tightened around his wrists and ankles. From his calculations, that should give him enough boost for a concentrated Chaos Blast to tear through the annoying barrier, and with enough luck, kill Dark Oak before he could do anything else to defend himself.
If not, he could use a Chaos Control to warp the creature somewhere it could not escape. Like a black hole, or a large sun, or even distort time and space around the beast and tear it apart with the technique. There was a high possibility Shadow would lose his enhanced state during the process, effectively falling to his death with the wretched being, but the Ultimate Lifeform did not care. The immortal saw it as his duty; he had promised Maria to protect the people of Earth, but that world was forever out of his grasp. Shadow knew that the blonde girl wouldn't have stood by this, so he would do his best to honor her request.
Besides, if he didn't interfere Sonic would recklessly sacrifice himself in a effort to stop Dark Oak. The last thing Shadow needed was the idiot dying. He wouldn't allow the younger one to sacrifice himself when he still had so much to live for. Sonic had plenty of people waiting for him. He had none.
Their hearts set -with Sonic blissfully unaware of his companion's plan- the two heroes turned to the black orb, eyes shinning with determination. Their golden auras grew stronger and thicker as they gathered Chaos Energy into their bodies once more, preparing for one last attempt at destroying the barrier.
Their hands rose, eyes narrowing as their bodies began glowing like newborn stars, getting ready to unleash their power upon their seemingly unstoppable opponent.
"Chaos Blast!"
Their world was bathed with gold and scarlet. Sonic whooped as the wave of light crashed against the black shield, which seemed to strain, bending inwards as cracks began spreading across it's surface -when suddenly, the shield burst forward, pulsing brightly and shredding through the Chaos Blast with ease, to the heroes' horror. To make matters worse, it sent a wave of energy at the two hedgehogs, a sea of black riddled with iridescent stars that was expelled with so much force pat of the barrier cracked.
"Oh fuck!" Sonic yelped, flying back as he watched the wave approach, terror coursing through him as he glanced back, spotting his friends on the spaceship behind them. this was bad. The golden hedgehog and his rival knew they could avoid the attack with ease, but the thousands of tons of metal housing the mobians and the humans behind them did not have the speed or were in the condition to move.
They needed to do something, fast, or their allies would be flattened before they could even realise what was happening.
The Blue Blur felt a surge of bravery as he surged forwards, understanding that he needed to cancel out the attack somehow, otherwise his friends would be reduced to ashes. He sensed Shadow flying somewhere to his side, the Ultimate Lifeform understanding what he wanted to do. Gold burst forth from their bodies, stretching into a large circular shape that dwarfed the spaceship the heroes were desperately trying to protect.
They didn't expect the blast of dark energy to suddenly narrow into a arrow shape, cutting through their shield with minimal effort and striking the transformed hedgehogs with monumental strength.
The two heroes cried out as they were sent flying back like ragdolls, the golden shade of their fur falling off them in a shower of gold dust. Deep black fur with red stripes were left behind on Shadow's fur, as blue and fawn replaced the bright sun shade on Sonic's pelt. The blast sent them crashing into the flying pad of the Blue Typhoon, tumbling until Shadow's back connected with the palm trees dotting the Typhoon and Sonic came to a halt on his side, further down the platform.
The Chaos Emeralds clattered to the ground around the two battered males, their colours dulling considerably as they lost the remainder of their power. The jewels turned dark and opaque, signalling their lifeless state.
Shadow groaned in pain as he pulled himself free of the remains of the fake tree, growling lowly as his back cried out in protest. The Ultimate Lifeform snarled at the pain that came with his newest injuries, hating how weak he was feeling. They would be problematic to his performance in battle, and nothing annoyed the immortal more than being vulnerable. He glanced at the Chaos Emeralds, reaching towards them only to pause when he noticed the dead coloration of the mythical stones.
The striped warrior nearly screamed out in frustration right then and there.
Without the jewels at his command, what could he do to defeat Dark Oak?
This was getting more and more hopeless. The weight of the situation was crushing Shadow, who glared at the gigantic sphere of dark energy looming overhead, silently mocking his weakened state. It took a great amount of self-control from the obsidian immortal to not spend the remainder of his Chaos in a ridiculous attempt to break the black shield.
What could they do now? Ruby eyes gazed down at the Emeralds once more, widening as they recalled something. Somewhere on this ship was the Master Emerald. Although it would be dangerous, as the stone's massive energy was unpredictable, he could use the Chaos of the giant jewel to pull off one final transformation. It would be unlikely, but it was worth a shot...but to get close to the Master Emerald, he would need to get pass that overprotective echidna, and while Dark Oak was draining every living being's lifeforce from miles around, Shadow didn't think he could take on the weakened Guardian in his injured state.
He would have to coerce his way through. The echidna however wasn't that dim.
Shadow knew he would need help from the annoying blue hedgehog on this one. If Sonic managed to talk down the echidna, or at least distract him, the Ultimate Lifeform would be able to reach the Master Emerald and attempt his desperate plan.
(Desperate yes, but it was the only plan they had.)
Breathing heavily through his nose, the immortal shakily rose to his feet, sneering as he felt his legs tremble under his own weight. He detested feeling weak. "Faker, get up, we need to move..." The irate male exclaimed lowly,
The beginning of his next sentence dying in his throat as he noticed the blue figure of his rival had not risen from the floor, but rather lay there, looking like a discarded doll.
Limp.
Lifeless.
Trying his best to stay calm, the black and red male began to hobble towards the lethargic cobalt form laying still a few feet away from him. "Hedgehog?" Shadow questioned , more urgently this time. His eyes narrowed at the lack of response from the normally hyperactive mobian, uncertainty and a smudge of dread slowly crawling up his spine the longer the silence stretched. He wasn't even getting a disgruntled growl in return from the blue hedgehog; the silence was eating at his nerves.
Ignoring his dignity for a moment, Shadow's slow walk turning into a quick limp as he neared his ally.
His suspicions were proven to be correct. The longer he stared down at the smaller form, the more he understood that Faker was most definitively not well. The younger hero was curled up on the ground, his form not unlike a corpse; the only sounds that left the limp figure -the only ones that signalled that the younger was still alive- was the occasional rasping breath as he struggled to suck in air due to a unknown cause. His bright green eyes were wide and glazed over, unfocused, unknowngly staring up into smouldering red that widened dramatically as their owner noticed how the jade orbs lacked focus.
His sharp, metal-bending quills were soft and spongy, spreading out around his head line a wave of blue, a sight that made Shadow realise just how bad the speedster's condition was. He knew from observation that Sonic's quills were always half-raised, a side-effect of constantly fighting for years -to have them in such a state, it meant that even the younger's natural instincts were unable to stay active. It was a miracle the other was still awake -at least, what seemed to be awake. The Faker almost looked like he was vividly hallucinating.
Realising the severity of the situation as he took in the sorry sight of his rival looking like a stringless puppet, twitching on the ground with dulling green eyes rolled over, the ebony male was quick to kneel down next to the fallen being and look over the smaller hero. Shadow leaned over the blue form his left hand carefully reaching out to his rival's small neck. He checked the other's vitals skillfully, his mouth feeling strangely dry as he struggled to stay calm as Sonic failed to respond to being handled.
Heart rate slow, breathing erratic. He shook the younger one violently, trying to get a rise from the normally so lively blue pest, but Sonic offered nothing. He's completely unresponsive. A concussion? He ran his hand between the twitching blue ears, frowning as he failed to feel any bruising patterns underneath the soft fur or get blood on his gloves. It made the Ultimate Lifeform snarl, panic rising as he continued his attempts to reanimate the other, going as far as to grab the small shoulders and shake the other violently, his anxiety rising higher as his rival's head lolled in his grasp, completely and utterly unresponsive to the rough handling.
Sonic's Chaos energy was growing erratic, the small amount the younger naturally generated flailing wildly within the lithe form, reacting to it's owner injured state. As a master in Chaos manipulation, Shadow would have tried to forcefully stabilise the energy, but a part of him worried that it would worsen the young hedgehog's condition. He didn't know what was happening; this was entirely new. His lack of knowledge he frustrated the dark warrior.
For a moment the ebony male thought he saw something, a black spot on Sonic's forehead, but the moment the black hedgehog blinked it was gone and when he leaned in to get a closer look, all he found was grime, probably from being thrown across the landing pad of the spaceship. The red streaked warrior frowned, slipping his hands beneath thin blue knees and a fawn shoulders before getting up, his rival's rasping breath echoing like nails against a blackboard in his ears. Sonic's head rested against his shoulder, the fake gravity of the ship making the blue eyelids slide down and cover the glassy green eyes.
It almost looked as if his rival was sleeping, but the Ultimate Lifeform knew better.
(Why was he even this scared?)
Glancing back towards his enemy, Shadow's frown deepened as he noticed the crackling colors bouncing against the black shield protecting the creature. The iridescent energy was running across the dark surface, leaving behind thin, long cracks as it spread through the wall, gleaming with a inner golden light. Even from here he could sense the cold that was emitted from the new energy. Shadow knew instinctively that touching it would be less than pleasant for himself.
The phenomenon confused him.
It almost seemed as if Dark Oak's attack was turning against its creator, but why? What was it, even? It certainly wasn't Chaos energy; it felt too different to be so...
A sound from behind him startled him out of his thoughts; looked at the source of the commotion just in time to see a familiar human boy clad in protective gear running towards him with a worried expression. Once the frantic child was close enough, he wordlessly gave the limp, unresponsive hedgehog in his arms to the boy before reluctantly turning away towards the cause of all their problems. His eyes narrowed on the massive black orb, a contemplative expression on his face. His ears remained folded back, catching the sound of the human's footsteps as he hurried back inside, the blue fool clasped protectively against his chest.
I wonder, did our opponent expect this reaction from him...?
xxxxxxxxxx
Sonic's vitals were sluggish, and his breaths were uneven. Chris' eyes narrowed as he looked away from the prone form on the metal table, his eyes narrowing as he looked over the data that rolled into the screen hovering next to the bed. Save his lungs, every other system was acting in slowly, as if frozen in time...and the azure hedgehog's skin was incredibly cold. Chris couldn't make heads or tails of this strange phenomenon.
He growled lowly from the back of his throat and looked back at the limp hero, almost as if everything that was happening was his fault. Knowing the idiot's luck, it probably was. The human was so going to tie the idiot to the bed and confine him there for the following month. That would force the fool to take care of himself.
(If he survived, that is.)
Chris felt like screaming out and dying at this point. He felt as if his rapidly beating heart was going to explode from stress.
"What the is was this!?" The human ended up snarling, glaring at the screens in front of him as if they were the cause of his misery.
Other times he would have apologised for his language, but right now that was the last thing on his mind. Besides, there wasn't anyone here -at least, anyone conscious- that could have reprimanded him for it...and if Sonic was still awake, the quirky blue hedgehog would have probably joined in.
The blond-red boy wanted to howl in frustration and rip his hair off. He spend years training in diverse subjects and while he wasn't a doctor, he knew more than enough to put one to shame. And yet this was the first he had to do tend to Sonic by himself and he had no idea what to do or where to start! Then again, I trained to take care of humans. A tiny blue hedgehog had a biology that was completely alien to him. Sighing, Chris closed his eyes and reached our for his friend, cradling his hand close, more to comfort himself than the unconscious speedster.
Only to feel something similar to glass slide against his skin.
What...? He opened his eyes, slowly blinking away the blinding light coming the medical bay's ceiling.
Chris wasn't ashamed to say that he stared.
Sonic's arm was transparent.
Lke glass or a clear-cut gem or a statue made of ice, the hedgehog's arm had suddenly transformed into something akin to glass. The soft fawn fur was gone; the only thing that remained was a limb that was seemingly made purely out of a pale, slightly foggy diamond. Chris could see veins made out of soft white light traveling beneath the hedgehog's morphed skin. Occasionally, the white material would bloat slightly in certain areas before bursting into a multitude of colors that quickly traveled across the strange network of crisscrossing veins.
Wide blue eyes traveled up the arm, noting how the fluffy peach pelt was gone, leaving a bare limb with no detail, smooth and cold like glass. At the shoulder joint the skin and fur was still there; iridescent flames danced over the skin, between the organic and the transparent material. A soft crackle brought his attention to Sonic's torso; he looked at the fawn chest just in time to see the fawn and blue fur begin smoking, skin darkening to a purplish black and twisting unnaturally in a way that should have sent the hero screaming in agony before it went up in multicolored fire. Beneath, the same translucent material greeted him.
This time however the veins were more present, crossing over each other in a strange network, and for a moment he thought he saw something in the inside, a large, pulsing glob of iridescent light, before he had to lean away as part of Sonic's quills, neck and left foot were covered in fire, leaving a similar clear, see-through mass behind. The flames felt cold, colder than winter, and Chris shivered, unable to stop himself from winching at the freezing temperature.
Something told him that bad things would happen if the process was completed.
"Tails!"
xxxxxxxx
It was cold.
It was cold and soothing and everything in between. Sonic felt the light against his chest, in his chest, jade eyes sliding shut at the empty feeling that washed over him, banishing his fears and worries into the shadows of his mind.
(Warm. Safe. Sanctuary.)
Despite the fact he had no idea where he was and what was happening, the Blue Blur felt strangely at ease. He tried shifting his weight so he could get up. His body stayed the way it was, stretched out in this unknown place, stubbornly refusing to pay heed to his command. Normally it would make him panic, because if there was one thing he feared above all -except for water- it was being unable to move, unable to do want he wanted, and most importantly of all, unable to run.
I can't... A slight sting coming from his forehead made him wince. It burned, a sharp burn, unpleasant and, surprisingly enough, only mildly painful. It felt as if someone was poking him with a white-hot metal needle while he was stuffed with anesthetics. He tried to cry out, to move away, anything, but he was limp like a boneless doll, unable to do anything but face the pain, heat and the cold that seemed to mix together head-on.
And then the ground gave in beneath him, and darkness took over.
IMPORTANT: Slash is present. Sonadow. The pairings are mostly undecided besides that, so if you want a certain pairing just post a review or send me a PM. Broken Stream also takes place in the Sonic X universe, though I won't dive too much in the more complex aspects of the anime.
NOTE: Small Easter eggs from Pokemon. Don't whine. I was in a Pokemon phase when I first started working out the kinks for this story. Not sorry at all, folks.
I would say bite me, but the only one that gets to do so is my foul-tempered dog.
