Snodin presents
A SEGA/Archie Comics Crossover event
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SONIC WARRIORS
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Part 1: "The Quest Begins"
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"…Sonic. …Sonic, are you there?"
"Who is it?" he called out to the female voice.
"…Sonic, please. Help me."
"Wait! Who are you? Where are you?" He tried to reach out, but there was nothing in front of his eyes but darkness… and an occasional flash of fire.
"Help me…" The voice was fading away.
"Wait! Come back! Don't go!" He then suddenly felt utterly alone.
…
"Gah!"
He woke up in a cold sweat that early morning. Again, that strange dream where there was nothing but darkness, and that strangely familiar voice pleading for help. Sonic couldn't help but feel scared by this dream; he had it now for four nights straight, and each night those cries became more and more real.
He scratched his top quill sleepily before letting out a big yawn. This stirred his roommate, Tails, who was curled up on the bunk bed just over Sonic's. From the hedgehog's perspective, he could only see two little fox tails squirming.
"Sonic?" peeped the sleepy kit.
"Yeah, bro?"
"You okay? I thought I heard you scream."
"Oh… I was just having a weird dream." Sonic turned around to curl back to sleep, but his eyes wouldn't have it.
Then Tails lowered his head down to glance at his big brother in an upside-down angle. "…Did you marry Amy in the dream?"
"No! God, no! If I did, I really would have woken up in a scream."
Tails giggled. "Well, at least you're okay."
"Of course I'm okay. Why would you think I wasn't?"
"Well, you haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately. Maybe you should take it easy today."
Sonic sat up in his bed. "We were supposed to go to Carnival Night Zone later; it's Knuckles' birthday."
"Yeah, but you don't have to go if you're not feeling well."
"I'm going, dude. Knuckles would kill me if I didn't. Besides, I can't wait to show him the present I bought."
"Oo! What'd ya get?"
"Not telling," winked Sonic slyly.
"Aww! You can tell me, can't you?"
"No, it's gonna be a super-sweet surprise for everybody. Even you."
"Really? Oh man, I can't– Wah!" Tails got so excited by this new prospect, that he leaned too far out and fell out of bed. "Oof… I'm okay," he uttered weakly from the floor.
"Sure you are."
…
That next morning, on the small secluded island off of Green Hill Zone which Sonic and Tails called home, Tails was busy prepping his beloved red biplane, the Tornado, for takeoff. There were only two seats to the plane, and one was reserved for another one of Knuckles' birthday guests… a guest whom Sonic was glad not to have to sit next to durig the flight.
That guest, of course, was Amy Rose the Hedgehog. She was quite the character; youthful, uppity, and as sugar-coated as her bubblegum-pink fur. But that's not what Sonic disliked about her; what he disliked was-
"SONIKUU!"
…Her extreme obsession for him.
The blue boy's quills bristled and his ears pulled back at the sound of Amy's pet name for him upon her arrival. He then faked a big smile; "Amy! Glad you can make it."
That's when both Sonic and Tails realized that Amy was carrying a great big backpack full of treats and presents on her back. "Hey, guys! Thanks for letting me hitch a ride on the Tornado; all other flights to Angel Island were booked solid."
"Ohmigosh, Amy!" Tails palmed his face upon gazing at her luggage. "What is all that?"
"These are Knuckles' gifts," she replied sweetly. "I couldn't decide whether to give him the skateboard, or the boxing gloves, or the volley ball, or the suede suit I got with a discount, or the cufflinks, or the tickets to Splash Hill Zone, or the overalls- he'd look so cute in denim!- or a brand new cowboy hat I custom made myself…. So I got it all!"
Sonic tried so hard not to laugh at her silliness. "Wow… He's a lucky guy. One question though: How is all this gonna fit in the Tornado?"
Amy's sugary smile suddenly went sour. "….Oh… Oops, I totally did not factor that in."
"Don't worry Amy," assured Tails, "we can pack this stuff into the Cyclone and I'll hook it up behind the Tornado."
"Isn't that dangerous?" she blinked.
"Nah, I can pilot both planes through a radio transmitter."
"Wow, Tails, you really come up with everything!"
"Well, when you live with someone as scatterbrained as Sonic, you have to be!"
Sonic gave him a small scowl before anyone noticed. "…Aaanyway," he hummed, "I'll carry that stuff, Amy, and you have a seat right in the back."
"Thanks, Sonic, you're such a gentleman." She effortlessly unhooked her backpack and threw it over her would-be boyfriend's shoulder, and watched him fall like a rock under its weight.
For the life of him, Sonic would never know- or even want to know- how this small girl was so strong.
…
As promised, Tails had hooked his blue, self-piloted quad-plane the Cyclone behind the Tornado, which he himself was flying. Sonic stood proudly on the wings of the red biplane, letting the wind whip his quills to and fro on the way to the mystical floating island.
During the flight, Amy and Tails engaged in small chit-chat:
"So Tails, what did you get Knuckles for his birthday?"
"A radio watch, so whenever he needs to call us we're just one button away."
"Did you make it yourself?"
"Nah… Well I did customize it a little," blushed the fox. "But I bought it at a store in Metropolis Zone."
"You traded Rings for it? That sounds pricy."
"Nah, it was only worth forty Rings. Like I said, I got a weaker model and then I tweaked it a bit."
"Ah… Well, what did Sonic get him?"
"He's not telling, he wants it to be a surprise."
"Ah, that's just like him… Hey, Sonic! Are you okay up there?"
The blue hedgehog kept facing forward and smiled, "I'm fine, this wind is great! I almost feel like a bird up here!"
Suddenly, the wind picked up rather abruptly, causing the Tornado to slam head first into turbulence. Everyone gasped and shrieked, but only Sonic was in danger. Luckily for him, he managed to keep his balance on the wing by flapping his arms.
"Heh, now you really do look like a bird," joked Tails.
As much as Sonic wanted to join in on the joke, he had suddenly felt a spine-chilling feeling, as though the wind had dropped its temperature to freezing levels. "Brr," he shivered softly.
"…Sonic? Are you alright?" blinked Tails.
No, Sonic was not alright. In that one fleeting moment, he was overcome with that vision again; a vision of darkness, random fire flashes, and that haunting female voice:
"Sonic… Help me…"
"…Who are you?" he whispered, his eyes glazed.
"Sonic, who're you talking to?" called out a worried Tails. To his horror, his big brother had begun to reach out to an unknown source, threatening to fall off the plane.
"Sonic! Lookout!" cried out Amy.
But their horrors came true, as Sonic lost his balance and went freefalling through the cloudy air. Even then, as he was plummeting at top speed, his mind was still a blank and his eyes still glazed.
"She needs me…" he uttered while still in a dream state. "…Blaze… It's Blaze! She needs me!" There was a small pause, but then at last his eyes blinked him back to reality. "…ugh…wha… WAAAAAHHH!"
"Sonic!" howled Tails, as he forced the Tornado to make a dive bomb in order to catch him. And catch him he did, with a "THUD."
The blue hedgehog landed on his soft belly, knocking the wind out of him, but he at least had enough sense to grab ahold of the wings' edge for dear life.
"Sonikuu! What happened!" screamed Amy. "Are you alright?"
"Uugh…" he moaned. "…Tails… Thanks, buddy."
"Sonic," frowned Tails, "you were talking to somebody, and then you nearly jumped! What was that about?"
Feeling truly guilty for his bizarre behavior, Sonic looked back at his bewildered friends. "I'm so sorry, you guys. Something weird just came over me, and… I swear, I heard Blaze the Cat calling out to me."
"…Blaze?" Tails mused. He recognized that name as an ally from past adventures.
"She needs us, bro. I dunno how, but I can feel it."
While still shaken by his brother's near death, Tails gave him an encouraging nod. "Okay, we'll get to the bottom of this. But first, we need to get to Angel Island."
"Just try not to blank out again, okay Sonikuu?" pleaded Amy.
"I promise," nodded the still dazed Sonic.
...
Angel Island.
He still couldn't believe that he was now sixteen.
It was a beautiful afternoon on the shores of Angel Island, where Knuckles the Echidna sat alone and stared at the fluffy white clouds that floated just above his levitating homeland. For the first time in what felt like forever, life on the island was peaceful. It really didn't matter if this was his birthday or not; just being completely at peace was enough to make the red echidna smile. And smile he did.
"Ah," he sighed to himself. "I wish every day was like this. No Eggman, no Rogue, no god-like monster out to destroy the world… and no Sonic to bust my-"
"SURPRISE!" came three male voices from behind.
"YAAAH!" So stunned was Knuckles, that his dreadlock quills stood on end as he almost literally jumped out of his skin. Then he turned around, and saw that it was Team Chaotix standing right behind him. As he clutched his heart with one mitten he sighed, "…Oh, it's you guys."
"Happy birthday, Knux!" smiled Vector the Crocodile, holding out a yellow box with a pink ribbon.
"We figured we'd show up early," gleamed Charmy the Bee, holding up a small blue box with a green ribbon on it.
Knuckles smiled, "Aw, thanks you guys… Wait, where's Espio?"
"I'm right here," replied the invisible Espio the Chameleon. He then took off his ruse and handed Knuckles a medium-sized red box with a white ribbon on it. "I hope you like sweaters."
"Gee, thanks," Knuckles chuckled. "So guys, I was thinking we can spend the whole day at Carnival Night Zone. You in?"
"Can we check out Hydrocity Zone too?" asked Vector. "I just love sliding down those waterfall slopes!"
"Yeah, yeah. We can do that too."
"How about Mushroom Hill Zone?" pleaded Charmy. "I love those springy shrooms!"
"Fine, fine."
"How about we let the birthday boy decide what we do today?" suggested Espio to his teammates.
Knuckles blushed, "Aw, it's okay. We've got all day to celebrate. Come on, let's head to the Hidden Palace. I'm supposed to meet with the others there."
As the quartet exited the sandy beach, Knuckles walked up to Espio and whispered, "By the way, did you get in touch with Mighty?"
The purple chameleon whispered back with a frown, "He's still unavailable; probably still exploring the high mountains."
Knuckles frowned in disappointment; he really wanted to see Mighty the Armadillo again, especially now after nearly two years of absence.
…
Hidden Palace Zone.
Charmy fluttered around the Master Emerald, which stood straight up without any need of support in the center of a marble shrine. Surrounding it were pillars, and on each one stood a Chaos Emerald, seven in total. They were all glowing like Christmas lights, and as any insect would be, Charmy was taken by them.
"Careful, Charmy. You knock those over an' Knucklehead will have you for dinner," warned Vector.
The young bee giggled, but then Espio spoke up. "He's not kidding, Charmy."
"Aww, but they're so pretty!" mused the little bee, fluttering up to the blue Chaos Emerald. "…How much longer till Sonic and the others get here?"
"They'll be here soon enough," replied a patient Knuckles, who picked up the yellow present brought by Vector and proceeded to shake it. Then he piled it next to the other presents by the Master Emerald, which remained his pride and joy.
"Hey," grinned Vector slyly. "Did you happen to invite Rouge the Bat too, Knux?"
"Ha," huffed an unamused Knuckles; "she's likely to steal my presents instead of giving me one… But to tell you the truth, I didn't invite her."
"Aww, why not?" frowned the tall crocodile. "I thought you two had somethin' goin'."
"Nah," shrugged the echidna. "She's just a flirt who doesn't know when to quit. Besides, I think she's dating Shadow."
"Shadow the Hedgehog?" gasped the crocodile. "That guy wouldn't know what a relationship was if it bit him in the-"
"I think we can end that sentence right there," interrupted Espio. "…Say, is anybody keeping an eye on—CHARMY!"
As the chameleon cried out, Knuckles and Vector also turned around and saw their little bee friend picking up the blue Chaos Emerald.
"No, Charmy! Put that down!" roared Knuckles with sharp fangs perturbing from his mouth. But just as he hollered, the frightened little bee dropped the blue emerald.
It landed with a "Shing!" and let out a flash of blue that could have blinded everyone, had they not closed and shielded their eyes in time.
Knuckles furiously approached Charmy as the bewildered little bee made a soft landing. "These are not toys, Charmy, they're mystical stones with great power. Don't you understand?"
"Sure I do," nodded Charmy, "but I just got so bored with waiting that I-"
"Knuckles?" came a sudden, feminine voice from out of the blue.
"Huh!" gasped the red echidna in surprise. "…Tikal? Is that you?"
"Yes. It is I." From within the heart of the Master Emerald, the spirit of Tikal the Echidna began to take shape, though she would remain transparent.
"Uh-oh," gulped Vector. "We've disturbed the spirit of the M.E. Uhh… Maybe we should leave now."
"You guys can stay," assured Knuckles; "I'll just tell her it was an accident."
"No need for that, young Guardian," replied the ghostly Tikal. "There are far greater troubles at hand."
"What's wrong, Tikal?" asked Knuckles worriedly.
"I feel a great disturbance from within, it's as if someone or something is trying to contact us from worlds beyond."
"Worlds beyond? You mean like other planets?"
"More likely, from another reality."
Knuckles gasped in worry. "Another reality? How is that possible?"
"Every reality has a power source; the Chaos and Master Emeralds empower our world, but from another I feel a similar power."
"Wow… You mean, there are other power sources like the emeralds out there?"
"It's entirely possible."
Intrigued, Knuckles scratched his chin. "So… Is it a distress signal? Can you tap into it?"
"I'll try." Tikal's transparent figure faded to give way for the Master Emerald to glow bright green. There was a brief pause before a different female voice came out:
"Princess Blaze, can you hear me? It's Chief Lupe of the CanusKingdom. Can you hear me? We're under attack! We need reinforcements, now! …Blaze! Are you there, amiga!"
"Blaze," mused Knuckles. "I remember her; she's from… Wait! Now I remember: the Sol Emeralds! They must be the other worldly power source."
"Indeed," called out Tikal's spirit voice. "I have no doubt now that the frequency is coming from the power of a Sol Emerald."
Again, the other voice called out, "¿Qué? Whose voice is that? Sally? Sally, is that you chica? Come in, por favor! Come- …Augh! My pack!"
Knuckles moved closer to the Master Emerald to reply. "Whoever you are, we're friends from another world. What is going on over there? …Hello? Hello, Miss, can you hear me?"
The voice softly replied, "Mi Dio… It is too late… They've broken our defenses. ¡Apuro! I must hide the Emerald before…" And just like that, her voice died out, as well as the vibrations coming from the Master Emerald.
"…Knuckles," said Tikal's spirit grimly, "I've lost the connection. She's gone."
"No…" frowned the young guardian. He took a few steps backward to think over what had happened. "…Something's going down in Blaze's world. And if her world's in danger, then so's ours."
"Yes. Our worlds are closely connected, like branches of a tree. If one severs, it will effect the other."
"Then we have no choice, we must open a warp portal to get in there."
"Aw, but Knuckles… It's your birthday."
Knuckles smiled at where Tikal would stand. "It's alright. A guardian's work is never done. Besides, it was getting boring out here anyway."
"Shall I open the portal now?"
"No, wait for the others. They'll want in on this too."
"As you wish, young Guardian." Tikal's spirit then faded back into the Limbo set aside for her from within the Master Emerald.
All this time, the awestruck Team Chaotix stood back with wide jaws. But now that the room fell silent once more, Vector was keen to utter, "Man… Talk about perfect timing."
"What do you mean?" asked Espio beside him.
"Well, we were all just wondering when something exciting was gonna happen, right?"
"It's all fate," mused Knuckles, slightly to himself. Then he turned to his friends and frowned, "I'm sorry you guys, but we've gotta cut the party short."
"Aw that's okay," smiled Charmy. "We know you gotta go do your thing, Knux."
"And while you're gone," promised Espio, "we'll look after the Chaos Emeralds."
"Yeah," smiled Vector with a pumped fist. "I'd just like to see that little bat-girl try to get her grubby hands on these babies!"
Though he was thankful for their assistance, Knuckles couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "It's not just Rouge getting them I'm worried about…"
...
Upon their arrival via the Tornado, Sonic, Tails and Amy were greeted by Knuckles on the beach of Angel Island. They were expecting a warm welcome, but instead the first thing they noticed was the solemn look on the red echidna's face.
"…Geez," joked Sonic, "even on his birthday he's a sourpuss."
With arms crossed, Knuckles replied, "I'm sorry to have to cut the party short, you guys, but something's come up. Something serious."
Amy and Tails exchanged confused glances, while Knuckles' attention was drawn to the hefty luggage in the seat of the Cyclone quad-plane. "…What the hell is all that?"
"Your presents," blushed Amy.
"Oh… Well, I do appreciate it. But I was just conversing with the spirit of Tikal. She's picked up a distress signal coming from another world."
"Blaze's world," confirmed Sonic abruptly.
"You know about it then?"
"I've been having these weird dreams, and I now know that it's her calling to me."
"She's in danger," nodded Knuckles solemnly. "And apparently, her entire world is too. As Guardian of the Chaos Emeralds, I have to go to this other world and make sure that the balance of nature doesn't shift."
"Hold on there, big guy," said Sonic sharply. "You're not going this alone! Blaze is my friend, and if anybody messes with her then they're messing with me!"
Knuckles scowled. "Can't you leave anything well enough alone?"
"Uh, gee. Lemmie think about it…. Nope!"
Knuckles sighed.
Then Amy, the pink female hedgehog, stepped forward. "I never met Blaze the Cat, but if she's as nice as Sonic says she is, then I want to help too."
"Me too!" exclaimed young Tails.
"I guess four heads are better than one," mused Knuckles. "Okay then, follow me to the Master Emerald's chamber."
…
Hidden Palace Zone.
Sonic and company had the pleasure of meeting Team Chaotix, who also were in attendance for Knuckles' birthday party.
Sonic just had to ask, "…No word from Mighty, guys?"
Vector shook his head sadly, "Not one. He's off on his own adventures, I guess."
Charmy was standing guard of the growing pile of birthday presents, while the Master Emerald began to glow with a warm green light, thus opening a vortex to the other dimension.
"Knuckles," said the ghostly voice of Tikal, "the portal is ready."
"Ready, you guys?" asked the echidna.
"Ready!" replied his three fellow adventurers.
Then Knuckles looked back at the mischievous Charmy and warned, "Don't open those presents till I get back."
Charmy gave him a salute, though nearby Espio and Vector exchanged glares of suspicion.
"Alright, here we go. Altogether now…" Knuckles grabbed ahold of Amy's hand, Amy's Sonic's, and Sonic's Tails'. "…GO!"
Like a breath of wind, the four adventurers were sucked into the portal, and then it closed behind them just as quickly.
…
- NEW TEAMS! -
BROTHERS IN ARMS: Sonic (Speed Type) and Tails (Flight Type)
ROSE RED: Amy (Heal Type) and Knuckles (Power Type)
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TO BE CONTINUED...