There is a LOT of OCs in this story…you'll know who they are.
This chapter's relatively shorter than what I usually write, but main chapters will be much longer.
Infinite and other characters are owned by SEGA.
XO
Chapter 1: The Rules of the Game (Level 0)
She grinned.
After 100 years, it was time to play. Every century, she got a chance to cause mischief, a game she called The Mighty 35. All she had to call is call 35 "heroes" to beat her 30 "villains", most of whom had their own individual goals and she had leant them extra forces and powers to accomplish them. For every villain defeat, she got to take a hero's life for compensation. For her, collecting souls was more than a hobby. Call it an obsession. Her entire base was fitted out with millions of glowing balls, called Cores. 30 more would equal a round 2 million. Mind you, this was over many millenniums, so she was proud of herself.
"Mistress Aura…?"
She turned around, slightly startled but relaxed as she was met with the familiar form of a 14 year old hedgefox. He had cyan fur with grey streaks as well as a slightly tuffed muzzle. He wore a dark grey leather jacket, black jeans and metallic boots with a sapphire on the heel. One of his hands were gloved as the other was a silver steel; roboticized. He had a long bushy tail that was strangely still. His eyes shone a misted crimson red, pupils missing, like smoke had clouded his irises, instead of the dark brown they had been when they had briefly locked eyes for the first time a few days previous. She smirked at him.
"I was wondering where you were, Spike." Her voice was filled with sarcasm but Spike didn't even blink. Because of the mind-control, every action, thought and emotion was controlled. His eyes stayed fixed on the villainess.
"My apologies for taking so long." His voice, while sounding young, sounded emotionless and toneless.
"Doesn't matter. My plan's in motion. I've already selected 34 heroes. I'll let you choose the last one." He moved to the computer but didn't do anything. The girl tapped her head. "I've been typing names that mean something, like locations, abilities and nouns. Y'know, for a wide array of abilities and personalities. I want excitement, drama, pizazz! Try typing in a name meaning "never-ending". I haven't tried that yet."
Nodding, he began typing something into the computer, his thoughts slightly unlocked to allow a little bit of creativity.
INFINITE
One single picture came up. 20 year old. Black wolf. Only one eye. Flowing white dreadlocks.
"Oh, he looks interesting!" She pushed him aside, looking up everything about him. She got psyched up, jogging on the spot in hyper excitement. "Signing him up!" Clicking a single button highlighted the picture green. A grin crossed the villainess's face. "Now, let the game begin."
What she didn't know was that someone was watching through glittering magenta eyes before slinking back into the shadows. She couldn't let her sister, yes, her sister, get her way. She just felt bad for Spike, considering he was being used against his will. She entered a room where a giant crystal hung on a pedestal, white dust swirling around inside it. She placed a hand on it, feeling how cold the surface of the sphere was.
"You visit me a lot, don't you?" The voice came from within the crystal, a voice that sounded exactly like Spike's, which it kind of was. The girl sighed. She so wanted to break the crystal so his soul would return to his body…but that was impossible without attracting attention from her insane sister.
She nodded. "Of course. I promised I would free you…but I fear my sister's game is already prepared…"
"You can stall the game. It's not too late."
"Without my sister killing me? I'd rather keep living. I may be a goddess but I'm not exactly indestructible."
"If my sister was here, she'd beat the living daylights out of Aura. Just saying."
"You really want to see her, don't you? What was her name? River?"
"River von Roar. My last name's Foxtail because we're not blood-related. She adopted me when I was a child."
"And yet…you…"
"Don't." He sounded upset. "Just…don't bring it up…"
"OK, I won't. If I wanna stop Aura, I best fly. You hang on in there, OK?"
"OK…oh, just promise me something…please, protect River…I don't want anything to happen to her…all I want to see her again with my own eyes…so please, protect her."
She nodded. "I promise." Without another word, she flew out of the room, fists clenched. She was gonna stop this game, no matter the cost.
XO
"Sit still! Let me clean it!"
"You don't need to clean it, Eterna, it's fine."
"You reopened it and besides, it's on your EYE! You know that it can quickly infect!" Eterna, a 16 year old black female echidna, sighed as she dapped a cold wet cloth over her friend's right eye as he slightly winced in faint pain. Fortunately, this had happened millions of time before, so it didn't bother him in the slightest. "There. Just leave it for a few minutes." He held a cotton pad to his right eye, which was scarred over and left him relying on his left, but sometimes a small injury to that region could reopen the scars. That was what happened, but it hadn't bled that much. Just his luck Eterna was a trained nurse. Now he would have to obey someone else, the one thing he LOATHED.
"Yes, I know."
"Let me guess, did Arctik get rough with you again? How's her training?"
"She's improving. Her powers have gotten a lot stronger but she showing a lot more self-control on them." His tone was bland. Eterna rolled her purple eyes.
"Try and show some more emotion, Infi."
"How many times have I told you that it's Infi-nite? You know I hate nicknames."
"I know, Infi…" Infinite struggled not to growl at her. "…I'm only teasing!"
"Honestly, I don't get you."
"You're the one who doesn't get love, Infi."
"I do too."
"Well, show some back."
"Eterna, I do NOT love you, OK? You're my version of that freedom fighter, Amy-Rose. Strange, hyper, young and psycho with a hammer."
"Amy taught me how to use a hammer!" Eterna reminded, hands on hips, now angry. "I don't see you with weapons."
"I don't need any." His hands glitched red as an energy cube formed in his palm. "Do I need to demonstrate my power?"
"No, because you'll destroy the entire base!"
"True."
"HEY-YO!" Both jumped as a white-furred chameleon appeared in the room. He had two golden horns, amber eyes and black stripes, making his tail look like it belonged to a lemur. He had pink, yes pink, bands around his ankles and wrists and simple black sneakers with a white stripe. He had a small beech tuft of skin on his chest where the fur hadn't covered it.
"Blade, seriously! Don't do that." Eterna screeched, regaining her composure. Blade only laughed.
"Heh, sorry." He noticed the reopened wound on Infinite's unusable eye and tutted. "Been in the wars again, 'Finny?"
"Why do I have friends again?"
"To learn social interaction. I know you like being alone Infi but in life you need friends." Eternia answered.
Infinite only pulled a "like-I-care" face. Call it an annoyed pout. No-one commented.
"Hey, you three." It was a pink and black striped tiger, River von Roar. She was dressed in a black jumpsuit with a hot pink sleeveless jacket and magenta sandals. Golden rings hung on her long twisty tail. "Lookie what I got here." She pulled out six letters.
"One for each of us?"
"Yup, Blade. I'll go get Buddy and Arctik."
"Arctik will be in the training hall." Infinite enclosed. "Aurora knows where Buddy is."
"Messing around or preparing to play a prank as per usual." River shrugged as she left the room and returned a few minutes later with an amber-eyed red wolf dressed in military gear (Buddy) and a white-furred female fox with cyan eyes, streaks and clothing (Arctik). Buddy had a bruise around his eye.
"You didn't need to punch me!"
"Oh sorry, but SOMEONE didn't come when called."
"Oh my apologies, princess." He sarcastically muttered, but she heard him, getting another slap. "OW!"
"I hate being called Princess just as much as Infinite hates all nicknames!"
"Glad someone gets it."
"Let's read these letters, shall we?" Arctik suggested, getting 5 more nods. As soon as they opened the envelopes, a bright light engulfed them, leaving them blinded and dazed. Some screamed, some remained silent.
Then everything suddenly went black…
XO
"Hey…!"
…
"Hey!"
…
"INFI!"
He woke up with a start. Eterna was leaning over him, concern in her eyes. He batted her away.
"Infi's OK!"
"That's a relief." Came a new voice. Floating above them was a female moth. She had beige fur that hung low, at least to her knees and she had huge magenta coloured wings with black decoration. Her face was a dark colour and her eyes were a dazzling hot pink and seemed to shine like the stars. She wore a dark pink top that exposed her stomach and a matching mini skirt as well as a thin fabric flowing down from the hem of her top like a sari. She wore nothing on her feet. Antenna lay on her lop of blonde hair and she had black spots on her forehead where an amethyst lay embedded in her skin. A small smile crossed her face. "Nice to meet you. My name is Fleur."
"Infinite." He greeted, levitating to his feet. He still felt dizzy. He ignored the feeling.
"Oh, there you are!" River called. She came over with a young rabbit girl with a blue chao on her shoulder, still a little out of it.
"Hiya Mister!"
"Hello…er…?"
"Oh, I'm Cream."
"Infinite. That's Eterna."
"Well, Mr Infinite, Miss Eterna, it's a pleasure." She did a cute curtsey. Eterna giggled at this. Infinite rolled his eye. Cream grabbed their hands and led them to a huge hall-like space, filled with other people. Infinite started counting. Including them and Fleur, there were 36 people there. Wow.
"Oh, here they are!" Arctik called, waving and grinning. Infinite looked around. He recognized everyone there.
First were the Freedom Fighters, made up of Sonic, Sally, Amy-Rose, Tails, Bunnie, Antoine, Nicole, Rotor, Nicole, Cream, Big and Fiona, who had recently returned from Moebius and re-joined the team after breaking up with Sonic's anti-self, Scourge, but he knew they didn't trust her one bit.
Next were the Chaotix which was composed of Knuckles, Julie-Su, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Saffron, Mighty and Ray.
Silver, Blaze, Marine, Sticks, Gold made up Team Dimension.
Finally, Shadow led Team Dark, made out of himself, Rouge, E-123 Omega, Maria and Hope.
Including his team, the Eternals (named after Eterna, who was the leader) and Fleur, seemingly on her own, that made 36.
"Now that everyone has arrived…" A new voice came. A figure walked out of the shadows, tail whipping from side to side. His cold red eyes surveyed the scene. Horror struck River's face as her entire body went rigid with pure shock.
"S-Spike…?!" She yelled. "SPIKE!" She immediately ran over, wrapping her arms around the hedgefox, not noticing the change in iris colour. "Y-You're alive! Oh, thank Aurora!"
"Care to enlighten us?" Sonic asked Arctik. She sighed.
"Spike is River's adopted younger brother who went missing 5 years ago. No-one knows where he went. His disappearance, along with the fact he had real bad depression at the time, was dubbed a suicide, but no-one had definite proof." Sonic whistled as she finished, only to get jabbed in the arm by Sally.
"Insensitive much?" She got a resigned shrug. River grabbed Spike by the shoulders.
"Where were you!? What happened to you!?" She got a dark glance. She still didn't get it. With one swift wave of his arm, he flung River off him, snowflakes and white magical dust swirling around his hand.
"Oh, and he has arctickinesis." Arctik added quickly. River picked herself off the floor, looking at Spike with tears in her eyes.
"W-Why…?"
"I do not know you." Came an emotionless reply. "And I do not like people touching me."
"What…?" She sobbed, fists clenching. "Spike, it's me! River! Your sister!"
"…River…?"
"Yes, River! Come on, I know it's been 5 years and you were 9 when we last met but still! You can't have forgotten me!" For a brief moment, recognition filtered into Spike's eyes; a moment of shock, despair, confusion before all emotion drained again. He turned his head away.
"The name means nothing."
River snapped then, running forward again to shake Spike by the shoulders, only for a red aura to envelope her and it stopped her from moving, making her literally scream the house down.
"Put me down, Infinite!"
"And let him attack you again?" He pointed out. "He's under some sort of hypnosis, River. That's why he doesn't recognise you. If I put you down, will you calm it slightly?" River nodded. Infinite released her and she backed away from her brother, now noticing the pupil-less eyes. Horror wrote itself over her face again as she ran back to the group, sobbing. Arctik and Blade comforted her. Sonic took over the situation then.
"So, whattya want with us, huh? Or rather, what does your puppeteer want?"
"What does my mistress want?" He repeated, a slight grin crossing his face. "…She wants your souls."
Needless to say, everyone panicked. Everyone but Sonic, Shadow and Infinite.
"I doubt that's the case." Shadow refuted.
"Oh no, I am being truthful." Spike assured, still grinning, revealing small fangs. "I am only relaying orders from my mistress, Aura."
"Aura…? The goddess of war?" Silver asked, getting a nod.
"That is correct. She sent me to enter all of you into her little…" He paused, an evil shadow casting on his face. "…game." He then noticed Fleur. "Oh, and what are YOU doing here, Fleur?" Fleur only huffed, arms crossed. "Mistress informed me of your existence. Please do not get involved."
"Don't get involved!?" She screamed, wings flapping wildly. "It's not my fault my deranged sister wants to kill people AGAIN!" There was a collective gasp.
"Sister!?" Amy screamed. Silver thought a second.
"Come to think of it, the goddess of war and the goddess of peace in mythology are said to be near-identical twin sisters, with Aura being the slight eldest. The other, Fleur, is known for her nature powers and ability to quell any war. So, they are always at odds with each other."
"And how do you know all this, hon?" Rouge asked. Silver's shoulders sagged.
"Something not many people here do anymore. It's called school."
"She also told me you had a temper." Spike continued, ignoring the conversation off to his side. "No matter. She does not need you alive. You are nothing more than an obstacle." His hands built up magic. Mist formed below Fleur as she suddenly became encased in ice. Only her eyes moved now; side to side in a panicked scared manner. Spike only sighed as he depowered. "That was a warning to you all. Disobey my mistress's rule and you will end up suffering the same fate as your friend."
"This isn't you…" River sniffed, fists clenched. "She's using you!"
"I do not care if she uses me." Came the reply, making River cry again. "After all, I am but a tool to sow despair among you. Only 5 of you will face Aura in the Final Battle after her 30 commanders have been defeated. With every win, one of you must be Taken to the Limbo Frontier to await execution. A life for a life. Who that will be depends on your decision. Sometimes you get the choice, sometimes the decision lies with me. Call me your spectator." He walked forward. He then looked at Shadow. "If my information is up to date, you are Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Lifeform, correct?"
"…What is it to you?" Spike took that as a yes.
"Seeing as you're immortal and the strongest here…it seems more than likely that you will be one of the 5 that succeed in meeting my mistress. Therefore…" He whipped out a golden bracelet, swiftly grabbed Shadow's left arm and latched it on before Shadow had a chance to pull away. "…you are bypassed."
"Bypassed?"
"Call it a VIP ticket. And, because my mistress is in a good mood, she wants you to choose one other person to bypass."
The decision for Shadow wasn't particularly hard.
"Maria."
"W-What…?" A young golden hedgehog in a blue dress mumbled, grabbing onto Shadow's arm. "Shadow, what are you doing?"
"Saving your life. You've only just been revived. I lost you 50 years ago. I'm NOT losing you again." He turned back to Spike. "Bypass Maria."
"Very well." He was gentler with her, gesturing for her left arm and gently latching the band onto her skin, probably because she was younger. "To prevent injury to the bypassed party, you are not permitted to contribute to any fights with commanders. If you wish to partake in a fight, it will cost you your immunity. That is the cost of involvement."
"So, only 5 of us will survive?" Sally asked, hands on hips, not convinced. Spike nodded.
"That is right, Princess Sally. However…" He glanced at Charmy, Tails, Maria, Saffron, Cream, Marine and Ray. "…there are some children here…this game can get very gruesome…it would be a shame to rob them of their innocence…" He tapped his chin. "I shall just have to blindfold them when it comes to sacrifices…or they can choose to watch and have their purity robbed from them…"
"If they watch, we watch!" Tails shouted, getting bewildered looks. Spike only slightly chuckled at this.
"Very well, boy, we shall see how long that determination holds." He clicked his fingers. 30 portals opened up, each numbered accordingly, but one had a spirit lock on it. "These portals will take you to the commanders. You can tackle them in any order you choose."
"Why is one locked?" Espio asked, eyes narrowed into suspicious amber slits. Spike looked at the lock.
"After a certain player dies, the gate will be unlocked. If by some miracle that does not happen…well…I guess I shall have to fulfil the role as Boss. Let me elaborate: one of you will betray your team-mates and will fight for Mistress Aura. Have fun." He disappeared in a smoky teleport. River growled then.
"That Aura chick is SO dead! When I get my paws on her…!"
"I think he left something behind." Eterna noted, seeing a piece of paper on the ground where Spike was standing mere seconds ago. Infinite got to it first, reading it carefully.
"It seems to be some hints onto what lies behind each portal."
"Well, read it out then!" Antoine pushed.
"Better yet…Nicole, could you scan it and project it so we can all can read it?"
"Sure, Sally." She retrieved the note from Infinite and projected it onto a nearby wall, slowly scrolling it down as everyone followed the words:
Now's my chance to help.
I'm sorry to everyone involved in this. Aura can't control me during the night. This is a list of who you'll be facing.
Portal 1 – This portal will transport you to the pirate-invested island of Blanca Paradisus, where it has been taken over by pirate captain Pearl the Squid.
Portal 2 – Apparently, crystalkinesis is a thing. This dream landscape taken over by towering crystal structures is ruled by a child called Crystalliza Mongoose.
Portal 3 – Shadow Woods is NOT a place to go at night, especially with Assassi the Bat on the prowl. As his bad pun of a name suggests, he's a trained assassin with 12 years of experience under his belt..
Portal 4 – This is the locked one. It's something to do with hidden darkness in their heart, someone you would never expect to be on the verge of losing their mind.
Portal 5 – I hope you all can swim because Bubbles the Dolphin's home is Atlantis, the fabled city that sunk millennia ago.
Portal 6 – Did you know you can go into the internet? Yeah, for real! This is where you'll end up, in the little bits of code that makes up the entire internet world…just watch out for the boss here: Codex the Moth.
Portal 7 – Ghosts are real here at the Forty Hills Mansion: it's all engineered by Haunter the Lynx. He's a master at disguise and brilliant at scaring people to death!
Portal 8 – It's getting hot with Pyro the Griffin, who rules Fola Volcano! He'll be dangerous, with him being able to fly and all and his pyrokinesis. I'd be real careful not to get burned.
Portal 9 – Scarlet Butterfly is one of leading actresses on Mobius but did she know she hypnotizes men to get her way? This'll lead to her studio in Hollywood.
Portal 10 – If you fancy visiting an abandoned city, beware of Reaper. He's Aura's closest associate, and rumour has it that no-one sees his face and lives.
Portal 11 – Everyone loves sweets, but beware the duo serial killers Sugar and Spice. These two chicks are way over their heads. They'll cook you into cookies if you're not careful!
Portal 12 – Thunderstorms can be scary but they're caused by Storm the Hawk in the Thunder Palace. This portal will escort you right up there.
Portal 13 – Seeing the future and seeing dreams can be a magical gift but Mirage the Panther can use this power to inflict pain and suffering on her enemies!
Portal 14 – Downunda's outback is starting to become a warzone because Aro the Scorpion is starting to destroy the local Freedom Fighters!
Portal 15 – I'm not sure who the Boss is at the Royal Estate in Northamer. Someone within the staff I'm sure – but beware: the comfort is the trap!
Portal 16 – Yurasia is not safe with Slash the Chameleon on the loose. He's a lethal ninja who'll kill anyone who dares cross his path.
Portal 17 – Who doesn't love genies? Arabia the Monkey is a mean one though despite her beautiful appearance. Don't be fooled by her oasis palace.
Portal 18 – Living in the thickest of jungles is Forester the Gorilla and he's no pushover, especially with his Gorilla Army at his disposal.
Portal 19 – Zippie the Serpent is the fastest racer in the world; and now his mind has turned to more malevolent thoughts. A race around the world is all a game to him.
Portal 20 – Wisp the Dog is a shadow-shifter, being able to change her form to her liking. Befriend the wrong person and that might be the last mistake you ever make.
Portal 21 – In some ancient ruins, bohemian and schemer Magenta the Fennec Fox loves making people dance against their will. She's definitely one slick chick though.
Portal 22 – The secrets of the sun god Soleanna seem to lie in the mind of expert time-traveller and manipulator Mephiles the Dark who seems to be after the princess, Elise.
Portal 23 – Time is not something to be messed with, but corrupted Time Stone scientist Time the Horned Owl is determined to rewrite history…with force if needs be.
Portal 24 – Nocturnus Clan dropout Knightmare the Echidna is a very dangerous scientist, researching zone-hopping in hopes of wiping out all life everywhere in revenge for his exile from the clan.
Portal 25 – Illusions is the very thing Prism the Hedgehog is good at. Nothing may be as it seems, so have your wits about you all the time in order to best him.
Portal 26 – It may be cold in the Arctic but Blizzard the Polar Bear's Ice Circus isn't worth the visit unless you want to be trapped as a performer for the rest of your life!
Portal 27 – Danger comes from space as well as Astral the Seedrian is on the hunt for prisoners to interrogate so he can conquer our world for his kind.
Portal 28 – Dragonia the Dragon from Yurasia's Dragoon Island is obsessed with causing firestorms in her kind's name…something tells me she may be a bit of a pyromaniac.
Portal 29 – Dapple the Panda from Yurasia's Bamboo Forests may be a child, but her condition that prevents her from aging results in her kidnapping other children to play with.
Portal 30 – Finally, you'll be led to an underground base to face Ena the Wolf, a mercenary of the highest skill. She's also the most deadly, so good luck beating her!
I really hope this helps.
"That's all it says." Nicole stated, taking the projection down.
"Any idea on who to fight first?" Blaze asked, composed as ever.
"Get the hard ones out of the way first?" Gold asked. Everyone agreed.
"I say we choose Portal 6 first. Let's face Codex the Moth. He sounds pretty tough." Silver suggested.
"But we're tougher!"
"Yeah, Sonic, we know." Everyone said in unison. He only chuckled nervously. Without a second thought, all 35 players jumped into Portal 6. Fleur, while not being able to move, watched worriedly, thinking on how to get out of the ice that encased her body.
GAME ON
LEVEL 1 – CODEX THE MOTH
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