Hello readers! Welcome to the next book of the Phoenix Chronicles and the sequel to Sonic Forces: Rise of the Phoenix! This book will be focusing a little bit more on our other characters besides Alexis, but there won't be much in the ways of fighting. So for those of you expecting a boss battle at the end of this chapter, sorry. No dice.
Wasn't able to fit the whole sypnosis on the cover, so here's the full part of it:
The war is over! And after six months of inprisonment and weeks of fighting, Sonic is finally going home to Knothole Village and going around the world to help others. But he isn't alone. Joining him is his new little sister, Alexis Rey Hedgehog, who is excited to see her new home, meet her new family, and meet all the rest of Sonic's friends, including some new friends that neither of them have met.
But something dark is stirring in the shadows, something that wishes for revenge against Sonic. It's up to the two hedgehogs to help defend their home from the evil that threatens to destroy the freedom that these two have worked so hard for.
A new world, and a new start- Alexis is going to prove that she was home, and she is where she belongs!
For those of you that are just joining us for this series, welcome! Highly reccomend that you go to Rise of the Phoenix if you want to get the whole gist of this!
Before we continue, disclaimer: I do not own Sonic. I only own my OC's minus Gadget. All other Sonic properties belong to SEGA!
Now let's roll!
[2 days after Phantom War]
Alexis Rey Hedgehog raised her blue and aqua hand, her dual-colored blue eyes squinting through the sunlight that filtered through the trees. The only sounds that were around her were the soft swish and cracking of sticks and grass underneath her blue and gray boots and the sound of Flicky's chirping in the trees.
As well as the sound of another pair of footsteps beside her. She lowered her hand and smiled at her older brother, 19 year-old Sonic the Hedgehog, who was walking beside her with his eyes closed, feeling the sun dancing across his face. "Enjoying being outside?" she asked.
Sonic opened his eyes and grinned at her. "After six months of being cooped up in a cell in the dark coldness of space? This is paradise! It sure is a pretty day too. There's not a cloud in the sky, only a light breeze, and I'm happy. What do you think?"
"Be a great day for a picnic," she replied, placing her arms behind her head. "So, how long until we get to Knothole?"
"Shouldn't be too long," he responded. He looked around the trees as he said, "The secret entrance should be pretty close as well. As a matter of fact..." His gaze stopped on one particularity thick oak tree with a vine hanging from one of the branches. He walked over to it and examined it. "We're here!" he told her as she joined him.
"So, this is the secret entrance?" asked Alexis, examining the tree.
"Yup." Sonic grabbed the vine and pulled downward. A large section of the trunk moved upwards, revealing a long slide. "I always loved this next part. Ladies first." He bowed slightly and motioned to the entrance.
Alexis giggled and bowed as well. She grabbed the handlebar at the top of the doorway and swung in, her cloak billowing behind her. "Yahoo!" she cheered as she slid down the slide. She could hear Sonic cheering as well as he hopped in behind her.
For a while, Alexis could only feel the bumps, corkscrews, and loops of the slide, seeing only darkness and hearing her own happy cheers. Finally, she saw daylight at the end of the tunnel, and she went sailing out, landing in the large pile of hay that was placed at the entrance. She stuck her head out of the pile and said, "Well, that was fun!"
"Look out beloooooowww!"
Alexis gave a yelp as a blue blur landed in the pile next to her, launching a few pieces into the air. Sonic stuck his head out and said, "It's good to be home! You enjoy the ride?"
"I loved it!" said Alexis, climbing out of the hay pile and picking a few pieces out of her clothes, "It was tons of fun!"
"Glad you liked it!" Sonic climbed out of the pile as well, brushing hay off of his fur. "Now then, let's go see... the village?" Hearing the worried note in his voice, Alexis turned, gasping at the sight.
Knothole was under attack! Dozens of Badniks swarmed through the village, causing many mobians to duck into their homes. Others were being rammed or thrown against the side of buildings. It deeply shocked the two new arrivals. "I though you said this was a secret village," said Alexis, turning to look at Sonic.
"Guess it isn't anymore," growled Sonic. "C'mon! We've got a home to save!" He darted into the town with Alexis hot on his heels.
As the Badniks turned towards them, Sonic boosted through, causing many of the robots to fall apart. As some more advanced on Alexis, she drew out the cylinder attatched to her belt, pressing the button. Long pieces of metal came out from the hilt, joining together and forming a thick triangular blade, which she proceeded to use to slice through the Badnik hordes.
A few nearby Mobians were running from another group of robots with a wolf holding a Hammer Wispon. "Get to cover!" he told his friends. He turned to face the oncoming horde, but a Badnik simply swatted away the Wispon and reached forward, ready to grab him.
A blue flash followed, smashing the Badnik to pieces and picking up the Wispon. "You okay, kid?" asked Sonic, helping the young wolf stand up.
"Y-your Sonic the Hedgehog!" finally exclaimed the wolf as he stood. "Y-your alive!"
"And kicking," grinned Sonic. He handed the Wispon back to the young wolf and said, "Try swinging it at the Badniks next time. I know a good friend that put one of these to good use."
"I-I- I will!" said the wolf, "You're- you're really alive! I can't believe it!"
"Believe it!" Sonic told him, patting him on the shoulder before speeding off, "Nice talking to you!"
In another part of the village, a few mobians were trying to open up a heavy-looking door as more Badniks approached. "Hurry!" exclaimed a young cat.
"I'm trying!" yelled her friend, a blue bird, who was tugging at the doors, "It's stuck!"
A flash of blue, aqua, and silver suddenly appeared, destroying the robots. When the two mobians turned, the saw Alexis pulling her sword out of a broken Badnik. She turned to the two friends and asked, "Are you two okay?"
"Y-yeah," said the cat, "Thank you!"
"You're welcome," said Alexis, "By the way, is there anyone else here that's helping to defend the town?"
"Yeah," said the bird, "Elias Acorn and a few other Freedom Fighters. Can't remember which ones, though."
"Where are they?"
"Probably at the Great Oak. That's where the main horde came in on the dropship. It's still there!" He pointed to the sky.
Alexis looked up to see an insect-like ship hovering in the sky, dropping Badniks. "Well, I guess that's where I'm going. You two stay safe now!" Alexis quickly darted off.
"Thank you!" they cheered.
()
Alexis and Sonic soon met up again a little ways away from the Great Oak where Alexis told her brother about what the two mobians said. "If we're going to stop this, we need to take out the source," said Alexis, pointing out the dropship.
"Then let's go help those Freedom Fighters," said Sonic, heading for the massive tree. "And I do recall that Sally mentioned that her brother was here in Knothole."
"Oh! Elias Acorn is Sally's brother?"
"Older, I think. He was missing for a while at the start of Eggman's threatenings. But then we found him and when he came back, King Max named him the heir to the throne. That made Sally happy, all she wanted to do was to lead the Freedom Fighters. It also kinda re-started our relationship. He also has a wife I think."
"When are you gonna get a move on?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know..." Alexis puckered her lips and gave a kissy sound. Then she started whistling the wedding theme.
Sonic screeched to a halt and playfully smacked his sister on her aqua-colored crest. "I'm nineteen!" he exclaimed as she laughed, "Sally might be my age, but we are still too young to get married! Her dad would kill me!"
"Can you not take a joke?" Alexis was laughing hard, leaning on her sword.
"Oh, ha ha. Very funny. When did you get my sense of humor?"
"Oh, so now you notice it."
The two of them finally arrived at the Great Oak, where Sonic grinned when he saw the Freedom Fighters. He recognized a lot of them, although one was unfamiliar to him.
A tall squirrel wearing a black jacket, black and white combat boots, and wielding a sword was standing back-to-back with a red armadillo wearing thick boots and heavy fighting gloves. A short distance away was a golden flying squirrel wearing flight goggles, a blue scarf, and blue and white gloves and shoes. Fighting next to him was a lemur waring a yellow-orange shirt, black and orange pants, and black, yellow, orange and white combat shoes and gloves. The lemur had a very flexible tail, which whipped around her, extending and shrinking easily. "You know them?" asked Alexis, whispering in his ear.
"Everyone except the lemur," he responded. "Tell you what, how about we take on the ship, give them a nice 'hello' present."
"Got it!" She sheathed her sword and grabbed him by the wrist. She quickly flew up into the air, pulling the blue hedgehog behind her. They flew straight into the ship, catching the next wave of Badniks off guard as they landed.
"Let 'er rip!" yelled Sonic.
Alexis' flames gathered in her hands, forming a massive ball as Sonic dealt with the Badniks that advanced towards her. "Get ready to jump!" she finally yelled at him. The sphere of fire launched into the air, destroying the ship as the two hedgehogs fell below. Alexis started to fly, but Sonic was quickly caught by the flying squirrel, who apparently noticed them.
"Thanks for the save, Ray!" he said.
"Eep! No problem!" said the squirrel, dodging a few pieces of falling debrie.
Alexis nearly faltered when a piece hit her arm, but as she started to fall, a pair of strong arms caught her. "Need some help, miss?" came a slightly deep-toned voice. She looked up into the silver-blue eyes of the armadillo. "Thanks," she said as he landed with a thump, "that piece came out of nowhere."
"So, why is it whenever we meet up," asked the armadillo, turning to the landing Sonic, "You're always in some kind of trouble?"
"Me?" exclaimed Sonic. He and the armadillo locked hands as the hedgehog continued, "You're the one who was in trouble this time!"
"Oh please! I had it-!"
"Ahem! Boys!" The two of them turned to Alexis as she said, "How about we not get started on the rivalry right now, eh? All the robots have been dealt with and I need some serious introductions."
"Before that," said the armadillo. He grabbed Sonic and started giving him a noogie, saying, "Where have you been?"
"Long story! Let me go!" As the armadillo let him go, Sonic said, "I was on the Death Egg after Egghead's new henchman decided to take me on. To be fair, I wasn't prepared, but you should've seen Alexis! She was awesome when fighting Infinite!"
"Oh, come on!" Alexis blushed at the praise, rubbing her arm, "I wasn't that cool!"
"You were!" Sonic turned to everyone else and said, "Every time Infinite pulled up an illusion, boom! She just brushed it away with a flick of a hand! This girl is an artist!"
"And I assume she was also the one who saved your life?" asked the squirrel, sheathing his sword.
"Yup. On more than one occasion." He chuckled sheepishly. He straightened and said, "Alright, guys. I'd like you to meet my adopted little sister, Alexis Rey Hedgehog. You know, the girl I was telling you about? Alexis, I'd like you to meet Elias Acorn, Mighty the Armadillo, and his friend Ray the Flying Squirrel. And..." He turned to the lemur and said, "I don't know who you are."
"No problem! I'm Tangle!" said the lemur, introducing herself. Her tail stretched forward and shook Sonics and Alexis' hand as she said, "I've just recently been helping out here. Nice to meet you two!"
"So, the Death Egg?" asked Elias, shaking Sonic's hand, "At least you were alive."
"Yeah." Sonic looked at the ground uncomfortable for a few seconds, remembering his coma. His downcast expression faded when Ray decided to tackle him in a hug.
"It's really good to see you Sonic," said Ray. A few tears came out of his eyes as Sonic returned the hug.
"Ray was crying for a while when we heard that you... died," said Mighty, "I wasn't much better myself."
"Wait- you guys didn't get the news?" asked Alexis as she shook hands with Elias, "We did go by the Acorn Kingdom. Uncle Chuck was there."
"We've been under siege for a while," explained Tangle, "Badniks surround the whole entire forest, including Super Badniks. It's a miracle if you can make it through."
Alexis and Sonic looked at each other. They had made it through rather easily.
"Plus," added Elias, "Our communications network is down. We've been working on it for a while, but not much luck. Your dad didn't have much luck either," he said to Sonic.
"Are my parents okay?" asked Sonic.
"They took the news pretty hard," said Mighty, "Your mom is still trying to get over it."
Sonic gave a sigh and said, "Well, I'm no tech-head, but maybe I can find something."
"Me too," added Alexis, "I had a grandpa back on Earth who was a scientist. I picked up a few things. Maybe I can figure it out too."
"Hopefully," said Mighty as Ray finally let go of the blue hedgehog, "We are apparently really behind on news."
"Yup," agreed Alexis.
()
As the group entered the communications building, a few of the tech-heads looked up in shock when they saw Sonic. "We are apparently really behind on news," explained Elias, "Any luck?"
"Nothing," said a dog mobian, shaking his head slightly.
Alexis looked up at the computer they were working on, noticing the static that covered the screen. "So, what's the status?" she asked.
"The system is sound," said another one of the tech-heads, "It looks like the system is being interfered with, but we haven't found anything yet."
Alexis walked up to the computer and started typing equations in. The tech-heads repectfully stood back. Finally she said, "I'm no Tails, but it looks like short-range interference. Like, really short range. The scrambler has to be somewhere in the room."
"Then let's find it," said Sonic.
Everyone started searching the room, looking underneath chairs, checking behind other computers, and even checking the refrigerator. Nothing was found. Alexis looked around when her eyes settled on the air vent. Up there, maybe? she thought to herself.
"Hey, Mighty? Can you give me a boost up to the vent?"
"Sure." Mighty cupped his hands and stood below the vent. Alexis steped into his hands and then onto his back. A few flames came out, unscrewing the screws that held the vent cover in place. As she lifted it back, she heard scuttling. "Oh no ya don't!" She reached in as more flames took the shape of a hand, reaching out until they grabbed something.
When she pulled it out, she gave a startled yelp and fell off Mighty. When everyone else looked, screams echoed around the room.
Now sitting on the floor where Alexis had dropped it, was a small doll that looked like Tails, a small red gem hanging from its forehead. Sonic instantly grabbed it, pulling off the gem and smashing it. "No creepy Godzilla monster for you!" he told it.
It struggled in its hands. "Uh... creepy Godzilla monster?" asked Alexis warily.
"Yup. This is Tails Doll. If you don't remove the big gem on its head, it goes all monster mode. Super hard to defeat. Mighty, if you would?"
The super-strong armadillo grabbed the doll and crushed it in his hands. When his hands moved away, a pile of cotton stuffing and robotic parts fell to the floor. "Why Eggman made something like that, I will never know," said Mighty, shuddering.
"Eggman has wierd tastes," said Alexis, eyeing the pile of parts warily.
One of the tech-heads gave a cheer as the static covering the screen faded. "We're back online! Whoa, we have a lot of missed calls."
"Well, that's finally over," said Tangle in relief, "Now I can call home and tell them I'm alright!"
"Speaking of home," said Elias. He turned to Sonic and said, "I think there's some people you need to see."
"Yeah," said Sonic. "C'mon Alexis. Let's go."
"Mind if we tag along?" asked Mighty.
"Not at all."
()
As everyone entered the house, Alexis looked around. The furnishings were simple- a few couches, a carpet, and a small table- and a few pictures dotted the walls of the room. Green curtains covered the round windows with small potted plants beneath them.
Elias nodded to Sonic before calling out, "Mr. and Mrs. Hedgehog? We're back! We brought a few people with us that you should probably meet!"
After a few moments, the sound of footsteps came from a hallway off to the left. As two hedgehogs rounded the corner, Alexis was left rather startled.
Sonic's mother looked rather normal. She had Sonic's dark blue fur and tan arms, and had bright blue eyes, although they appeared rather dim. A small lock of blonde hair covered the top part of her head, shading her eyes. She wore a short, dark purple dress with a matching belt. She also wore purple shoes and white gloves.
Sonic's father caught her off guard. Instead of a regualr mobian, she was facing a sliver and blue robot. A long piece of metal, much like hair, covered his red optics, which were visible on a black screen. His lower arms, lower legs, and chest were a dark blue, while his upper arms, upper legs, face and hands were silver. *Elias? What is it?* he asked.
"Jules, Bernadette," said Elias. He stepped to the side, "Your son is home."
Jules' red eyes went wide in shock and Bernadette's hands flew up to her face. "S-sonic?" asked his mother.
Sonic nodded, tears coming to his emerald green eyes. "Hi mom. Hey pop," he said, "I'm home."
Bernadette rushed forward at the same time as her son, hugging him tightly. "Oh Sonic," she cried, tears streaming down her face as her son returned he hug, "We missed you so much!"
"I missed you both too," said Sonic. Tears were coming down his face as well. As a gentle metal hand touched his shoulder. He looked up into his father's metal face. "Hey dad," he said.
Jules smiled, then put his arms around both his son and his wife. The three of them sank to the floor together, happy tears coming from Sonic and Bernadette's faces while lubricant came down Jules' face.
After a few moments, Sonic untangled himself and pulled his parents to their feet. "Mom, Dad," he said. He pulled Alexis forward and said, "I'd like you to meet your new daughter, Alexis Rey Hedgehog. She helped to save my life."
Alexis looked at Sonic, then to his parents. She felt worried. Would they accept her? "Hi," she said shyly.
Bernadette walked up to her, gently placing a hand on her new daughter's shoulder. "Welcome to the family, Alexis," she said to her.
Alexis looked up, rather startled, then a relieved and happy smile spread across her face. She hugged her new mother as her new father came up to them and hugged her as well, pulling Sonic into the group as well. *We're glad to have you with us, Alexis,* said the metal hedgehog.
"Thank you," she said, looking up at him, tears starting to come down her face. He wasn't like Mr. King at all. She finally had a new family.
She was finally home.
And here is the first chapter. I'm sorry if I disappointed you with no Tails Doll boss fight, but I'm trying to focus less on fighting in this story. And I hope you liked the reunion between Sonic and his parents. I imagine a lot of you are confused as to why Jules is still roboticized. I'm following a little bit of the Archie Comic story line, where he was gravely wounded and put into the roboticizer to survive. In that, if he ever goes back to normal, he may die.
That issue may be resolved, though. Remember Alexis's gifts? ;)
R&R.