Author's Notes: in accordance with the feedback provided by the esteemed ST Hedgehog in the first chapter, a change in setting will now be denoted by the following mark:
Chapter 2- The Organization
Jade eyes squinted tightly, as a low humming sound filled the air. An unnatural wind tore through the hillside, whipping around blades of grass and making the trees groan with pain. A golden crackle; like an electrical conduit that is connected for only a moment and then dies flashed and was gone the next second.
The normally cerulean hero lifted off the ground, his body colored a brightly shining yellow, and his eyes taking on the fiery hue of his departed comrade. Without the ground to support them, his feet hung limply in the air, their tips pointed towards the Earth.
A neutral frown creased his lips in place of his usual trademark smirk. Since the heroes' battle with Nova, Sonic had undertaken a level of training so strenuous and vigorous that even the excessively enthusiastic Tikal was beginning to worry from time to time.
He had sworn an oath to never let harm come to his friends again, and was pushing himself to the limit to achieve even greater power... Yet as hauntingly familiar as that sounded, the speed demon reasoned that he was not motivated by revenge, like his obsidian counterpart had been, but rather by concern for those he cared about.
Realizing his shattered emotional state, the others had more or less left him to himself, only occasionally scolding him when he pushed himself too far. But when they did, he would smile dryly and respond that he had not gone far enough, a remark that sent a shiver down the spines of those who remembered his use of the Dark Super Form.
Flashback
Sonic stepped closer to them, a dangerous, homicidal sneer on his face. The heroes knew that he was completely out of control, but that he had just defeated Sarx, so if they could cause him to see the situation, there would be no further danger.
"Calm down! Everything is okay!" Knuckles said, but Sonic made no indication he'd even heard. The heroes suddenly realized that Sonic had easily done what all of them together couldn't do... single handedly defeated Sarx. How much power did this new form possess?
As if to answer their wonderings, the obsidian hedgehog shot forward, fist drawn back to attack Knuckles. The echidna gasped in frustration at Sonic's incredible speed, he was impossible to track.
Sonic landed a kick in the back of Knuckles' head, throwing the echidna to the floor and sprawled on his face, the force of the kick sending ringing vibrations through his skull. Whatever dark intentions Sonic had were interrupted, as Blaze sent a ball of fire at him.
The infuriated hedgehog growled and easily dodged this projectile, but he had forgotten about Knuckles, which was Blaze's original intention. Knuckles used the opening to whip around and kick Sonic in the legs, knocking him on his back.
"We don't want to hurt you Sonic. Just settle down!" Blaze snarled, while covering her fists in fire. The battle was certainly a conundrum. On the one hand, if they simply did nothing, and allowed Sonic to attack them, he undoubtedly possessed the strength to kill them all.
But on the other hand, if they used their maximum strength, treating him as an enemy... they had no intention to seriously hurt or kill him... It posed quite a problem.
How do you fight someone who is your friend? Sonic faced the same dilemma when he fought Shadow at the lake of tears. But Sonic had to come to a terrible decision that if he didn't use all his strength, Shadow would kill him.
Knuckles, Blaze, and Chaos faced the same choice. Blaze was hesitant to attack Sonic, hoping instead to bring him within a hair's breadth of danger in order to shock him back to reality.
Knuckles was too busy worrying about staying alive to form a coherent thought about morality.
Chaos wasn't sure yet what should be done. Sonic stood up, glaring down at Knuckles as if he had been the one to injure Amy. His eyes were so cold and hateful... for a moment, Knuckles forgot that he was Sonic, became utterly convinced that some unspeakable demon was standing before him.
End Flashback
Of course, he had no memories or consciousness of what he'd done while in this state, and he hadn't used it since, but they were all beginning to wonder if the Chimera's perpetual anger was beginning to rub off on him.
Recently he'd been training with his Super Form and Hyper Form, trying to see how long he could maintain them before he blacked out from exhaustion, and exactly what he was capable of while using them.
At present, he was practicing aerial maneuvers, rushing around at unfathomable speeds and making tightly angled, split second turns. Massive trees within Angel Island's dense forest provided appropriate obstacles for the training, and they were thickly clumped enough that even running normally without colliding with one of them was no easy task.
Add this to the massive speed lent to him by the Super Form, and he had to think on his feet, making braking and turning a matter of discipline rather than skill. Huge trunks, dodged by a millisecond's span flashed past, some large enough to stop him dead in his path even at his current velocity.
Finally he burst free of the forest, showers of brightly colored Autumn leaves spraying into the air upon his exit, like confetti fluttering lazily in the wind. He slowed, gradually decreasing in speed until he touched down, and reverted back to his normal state.
No sooner had he landed and caught his breath than he heard his name being called. His grassy green eyes flicked about for the source of the noise, quickly locking onto a distant pink object. He took off in a burst of speed, zooming across the wide open field in seconds, and throwing powerful winds as he moved that threw the falling leaves about into wild, flailing descents.
Sonic stopped in front of Amy, a bit of his former smile returning. He eyed her intently, noting her somewhat surprised expression. "What's up Ames?"
She opened her mouth and then closed it, as if there was something she wanted badly to say, but she decided against it. "Everybody is in a meeting. Tikal asked me to come and get you."
One eyebrow quirked upwards, but the blue hero nodded, quickly accelerating away to join the others, and leaving Amy staring after him. She kicked the ground as she followed at a slow pace, her face downcast. "He always leaves me behind."
Everybody was quietly sitting and listening to the Echidna princess speak, and the atmosphere was solemn and depressive. The topic of conversation was a heavy one. Since the battle months before with the demon Nova, they'd been training in anticipation of a conflict with the next Titan Beast, especially since the mysterious organization Sarx had been a member of still held the goblets of legend.
Flashback
Writing the exact texts used to summon the three Titan Beasts; the god cast them down onto the planet, in hope that the blood of evil would corrupt the seven goblets and set his monsters free. The goblets were shaped into the physical catalyst to release the three beasts.
Due to the fact that they were crafted for peace and good, not for the awakening of monsters however, only one Titan Beast could be released at a time when all goblets were lit and corrupted by evil. When a beast was released, the seven goblets would extinguish their mystical flame, unable to be illuminated again for the rise and fall of a hundred suns and a hundred moons.
This was the power of the gods. They would make sure that the three beasts would never be released together again, for their might would prove too much for even the seven incarnations.
Flashback
The goblets were the tools that were used to summon one of the Titan Beasts, and undoubtedly, the organization would attempt to summon the next beast since they had defeated Nova.
She knew that it would not help Sonic's emotional state, but Tikal also knew they could not wait much longer. Now that all of them had trained with their abilities to the point where they had access to the Second Stage of their beasts, she had brought them together to consider their next course of action.
"As you all know, the time in which Hydra can be summoned is quickly approaching," she said quietly, her voice as soothing and warm as honey even amidst the most dire of topics. "We must be prepared to deal with this threat... we must prepare for the worst."
Nobody spoke or moved, their eyes simply followed her as she paced back and forth between the group. It was obvious she was nervous about something, but it was safe to assume public speaking wasn't it... after all she had delivered Shadow's eulogy. It was much more likely that was the thorn in her side... that she was worried Sonic wouldn't be reliable because of his slow recovery from that wound.
Rouge was certainly no better off, and had only recently been eating healthy amounts. After the obsidian hedgehog's disappearance, she'd been stricken with an illness that was likely more emotional in nature than physical. She'd been bedridden for a week, and she was behind the rest of them in her training... which worried the princess..
"I know that there has not been adequate time to recover from the losses we were dealt in our last encounter. But I'm worried that if we do not act now, we will be caught off guard."
Finally, Sonic piped up, the first to speak out of anyone else in the group. He had a strange look in his eye, the emerald within his iris was faded and dull, almost lifeless. "We're ready to fight. That's what Shadow would have wanted."
She nodded, although she wasn't sure if the hero was just trying to reassure her, or if he was genuinely ready to take up what she had in mind. "There is a mission of critical importance we must undertake. With the loss of the Cerberus in the last battle, I fear that we may not be able to stop Hydra when the time comes..."
"What the Princess is trying to say is that we need to find the new Cerberus... the guy who took Sunshine's job after he kicked the bucket," Chaos smirked, his confidence and bravado still intact, and his rivalry with Sonic as strong as ever.
A collective murmur spread throughout the group, as they discussed what this meant. After a moment, Silver stood, and faced the lavender echidna. "But how will we know who it is without the goblets!"
His feline companion huffed and yanked him down, her scoff ringing so clearly you would think she was ashamed that she associated with him. "If you'd be quiet, I'm sure she'd explain that."
Tikal seemed slightly surprised by this display of what she would consider hostility on the part of Blaze, but amazingly, Silver didn't seem offended; he was sitting there quietly and obeying the cat's orders like a well trained dog.
"...Thank you Blaze... One of the purposes of this meeting is to address questions that may arise. We may no longer have the goblets, but that does not mean we are without a means to tell when someone holds the hound within them," she explained. "Lord Chaos, if you would."
The god of destruction grinned and rose from his seat, his silvery coat fluttering a bit from the sudden movement. He held his hand aloft, as a dimly shining light began to gather in his palm. "I thought this up since we don't have the goblets. It should work out the same."
His brows furrowing, he got the energy to stop fluctuating, and remain motionless within his hand. Slowly, he approached Sonic with his index finger and thumb held out, preparing to grab hold. The blue hero didn't move or breathe as the mighty deity plucked a quill from him, knowing that to respond would encourage his antics.
Chaos smirked at his psychological victory, staring at Sonic with a look that dared him to protest. When he received nothing, he shrugged, and dropped the quill into the motionless light. The moment Sonic's flesh came into contact with the energy, it came alive, consuming the strand of hair in an instant.
However, the color of the energy diluted into a brilliant gold, the color of the Chimera. The implications of this new power were obvious: if a strand of the Cerberus bearer's hair were applied in place of Sonic's and the energy would change to an obsidian black.
Silver nodded at the non-vocal answer to his question, as Tikal continued. "Several of us will be leaving on the mission... but some of us will need to stay behind to protect the shrine, and the Master Emerald."
The crimson guardian stood to his feet, his amethyst orbs glittering with an uncanny light. "I'm the most qualified to protect it."
"That may be, but you'll need some help."
One of Knuckles' eyebrows raised at the feline's remark, as he crossed his arms. "I've never had trouble before."
"I suppose you didn't have trouble when Eclipse and Kakos arrived three years ago... or when they returned again with Sarx," Blaze commented, not even opening an eyelid to look at the now irritated guardian.
"You don't see the emerald missing do you?" he sneered, causing her to get up, and stare him straight in the eye.
"I don't see the goblets here either."
Tikal seemed disturbed by the rising conflict within the group, and held out her hands for silence. "Surely you will not refuse additional protection, guardian? I've never known you to be unreasonable."
Knuckles huffed and nodded, his way of saying he didn't like it, but that he'd endure if she willed it. Silver quickly commented that he'd stay as well and the three of them would be enough to protect the emerald, while the rest of them would have no trouble finding the Cerberus.
Tails, slightly matured from before, stood up and asked where they'd begin their investigation. The princess stared at him for awhile, a strange, quiet emotion dancing within her eyes. The sky blue echidna answered the question for her, patting the fox on the head.
"Rainbow Eyes said he had some info that might help us, so we're gonna report in to G.U.N. first."
Tails strangely didn't seem to resent the echidna's teasing, or perhaps his respect for the title of god inhibited his anger.
"Good. Now that everything has been settled, we'll leave in the morning. Everyone get a good night's sleep," the lavender princess drawled, her words seeming to come out as slow as molasses. Her eyes met Sonic's, and some communication seemed to occur that wasn't contained in the words she was speaking. "We'll need it."
Thirteen shadowy figures sat around the circular table, each one staring at the gold adorned phantom, who was standing and staring emotionlessly into the distance, despite the fact he was speaking to them. The brilliantly shining Chaos Emerald was once again clutched tightly within his hand, as if he hadn't let it go since he'd gotten it.
"Thanks to Sarx, we succeeded in unleashing Nova, as expected. However, if we are to release the second Titan Beast, it is necessary to reacquire the DNA of the Incarnations," the leader said in an icy voice, his body completely motionless as he spoke.
One of the seated figures waved his hand in the air, like he was grasping for something that wasn't there. "We know where they're keeping their base. Give the order and we'll attack."
There was silence, as the cowl of the leader's hood slowly turned to stare at the figure who'd spoken. "Surely you're not so foolish to believe we'll catch them off guard and capture all of their hair strands in a single attack."
"Not at all. But we'll get at least one. If we can only gradually light the flames, when the limitation expires, we can unleash Hydra unopposed," the challenged figure responded, the fist he'd thrust into the air clenching shut.
"Excellent. Razor, Leukos, this is your next mission. Travel to Angel Island, attack, and come back with as many Incarnation DNA samples as you can manage," the leader finally laid the Chaos Emerald on the table as he said this, its naturally imbalanced bottom allowing it to roll slightly.
"As you command, great leader," a deep voice replied, as two of the robed figures stood from the table, and began to leave.
"I believe that concludes today's business. You may all go."
The other ten of the mysterious, anonymous fiends slowly stood to their feet and went their separate ways, leaving the leader of the group alone with his crystal clear Chaos Emerald. He poked it with his index finger, toying with it idly, as if deep in thought.
After a moment of doing nothing other than this, he also stood to his feet, holding his hand open a good foot above the emerald. Obediently, the gem floated upwards into his palm, his fingers curving around it in a tight grip the moment it contacted his glove.
"It won't be long now."
