Ch 2: An Old Threat Returns

Mobotropolis: a city that has seen much turmoil in its long life. It has seen peace and war during the last several years, as an evil force turned it into a dystopia and contaminated the world with darkness and pollution, almost succeeding in destroying it.

The keyword being ALMOST.

Fourteen year old Prince Manic the Hedgehog was a green hedgehog with punk like quills. He was also wearing a punk style outfit to boot. On his chest, he had a green pendent. Right now, he was looking over the balcony of Castle Oblivion looking over Mobotropolis. Normally, he was always hype and active. But today he felt bummed out.

'It was a year ago when that happened. We just got to know each other and the kid too. I still can't believe there both gone…'

"Manic?"

The green hedgehog turned around to meet his sixteen year old sister, Princess Sonia the Hedgehog. She was a magenta hedgehog with hair for quills. She was wearing a fashionable pink and purple outfit and purple pendent that seemed to match, "Yeah, Sonia? What's up?"

"You're thinking about those two again, aren't ya?" she asked in her English accent.

"Yeah…"

The pinkish hedgehog walked next to her brother and warped her arms around his shoulders, "Trust me on this, baby brother. I really miss them too."

"I still don't get it, why did they have to do something stupid?"

"You know how he is. Like the wind, he's unpredictable. Still, he wouldn't want you moping around like this."

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A brown teenaged squirrel walking through the halls of the castle when she spotted a dark red fox walking past. She smiled and greeted her, "Hey, Fiona!"

"Hey, Sally," she responded with a sad smirk, "Where you headed?"

"The Queen needed me to help her and Sir Charles with the scrolls again, nothing really… you're thinking of him again, aren't you?"

"You could say that," Fiona looked down at the pendent she was wearing, it was a sapphire lion head, "I still remember back in the old days. I was so mean to him; I gave him no respect at all. I always thought he was shallow and self-centered ya know?"

"Everyone knew about that," Sally said with a soft chuckle, "Man, talk about old times, huh?"

"Sally?" called an elegant female voice with a Transylvanian accent. The two girls turned around to see a tall purple female hedgehog walking up to them. She had soft curly quills that looked like hair and wore a white gown with a gold tiara on her head. This was Queen Aleena the Hedgehog… V.

"Good day, Sire. Don't worry; I'll be there in a second."

Just then, the castle began to shake uneasily. "Earthquake! And a big one!" Fiona yelled as she tried her best not to fall down. As the tremor settled, a yellow mongoose in his late teens ran up to them.

"You guys felt that?!"

"Yes, Ash. We did," Queen Aleena frowned, "Something about that Earthquake was not right. I sense something familiar something sinister. Ash, you and the girls round up the other Resistance and meet me in the courtyard."

"Yes, ma'm!" the nodded before spreading out.

Minutes later, more furriers joined the Manic, Sonia and the other four of them at the top of the castle. They were a yellow female mongoose that seemed to be related to Ash, a cyborg rabbit, a white polar bear, an armadillo and a yellow female cat.

"Is the something wrong, mother?" Sonia asked, "You did say you sense something sinister right?"

"Yes, Sonia. I have a bad feeling about this, but… do you remember the story of our ancestor, Aleena I?"

"I remember," Manic nodded, "She was a powerful witch who defeated an alien race called Metarex or something."

"So what the Metarex?" asked Ash's little sister, Mina, "Don't tell us their coming back."

"I hope not," Mighty the Armadillo said, "I'd hate to have something disturber the peace."

"Don't worry 'bout it, sugar," Bunnie Rabbot said reassuringly, "I'd like to see em try throw anything they got at us."

At those words, the sky grew darker and thunder and lighting started to flash all around them.

"You just had to open your big mouth," Bark the Polar Bear groaned.

"Th… this dark energy… no! It isn't possible!" Queen Aleena stammered.

Emerging from the dark clouds was a large metallic entity that looked rather monstrous, "Heh heh heh heh… it has been long time in this planet, but I am finally back."

"It is you, you're Dark Oak."

"Ah, so you're the descendant of Aleena I, are you not? I suppose a lot has changed in three hundred years, so I will just make this quick. Give me the Time Stones."

"Never! I will never submit to you!" Queen Aleena shouted as her hands glowed in green light, "My ancestor defeated you once; I shall finish what she started!"

"I don't fall for the same tricks twice!" Dark Oak shouted as he struck a bolt of dark lighting on her. She screamed in pain as the dark energy race all over her. She collapsed as the attack stopped.

"Mama!" Manic and Sonia cried as the raced for their fallen mother.

"That was to easy," Dark Oak sneered darkly as he disappeared into the clouds, "Now that I have stripped you of your powers, you can't do squat, and I will be victorious!"

"D… Dark Oak… I…"

"Save that breath of yours. You'll be needing it soon enough…"

"No… Dark Oak… you c-can't…" Queen Aleena chocked out before losing consciousness. The sky soon started to clear up.

"Mama! Mama! Wake up, please!" Sonia cried as she shook her. Honey the Cat went over to check the pulse.

"It's okay, she's just knocked out. She is getting weaker though."

"There has to be something we could do!" Manic explained, "Get Uncle Chuck, quick!"

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Sir Charles the Hedgehog and Bernie the Hedgehog walked from his lab to the anxious Freedom Fighters. "Well?" Sally asked.

"She will live," Sir Charles said, "I place her in a capsule to be kept in suspended animation for a while. Sister Aleena will have to remain there for the time being."

"Whew!" Sonia sighed in relief.

"We're not done yet," Bernie continued, "We've been tracking the whereabouts of the Metarex and found something very disturbing," she pulled out a mini computer a made a holographic image of several planets, "See all of these planets? The Metarex destroyed them already."

"My God…" Fiona gasped, "Their finishing what they started three hundred years ago."

"Then our first priority is to find the mother ship of the Metarex and stop them," Ash said, "We need to destroy them before more lives are lost!"

"Got it," Sonia nodded, "Everyone, prepare the Leaf Storm, we're going to outer space!" as everyone left to get ready for the space mission, "Sonia turned around to were her mother was sleeping, "Don't worry mother, we'll be back…"

An hour later, all of the Freedom Fighters used the Acorn Family spaceship, the Leaf Storm, to follow the Metarex. After a few hours, Mighty spotted some Metarex ships departing from a planet.

"Hey, guys! Heads up!"

"Not another one…" Sonia groaned.

"Let's get a closer look," Sally said, "There might be something there that may help us!"

They landed on the strange planet and everything was a mess. Flames and destroyed buildings were everywhere. Ash told everyone to spread out and search for anything. Manic looked around for anything possible. Then he found something moving under some ruble. Wanting to know what it was, he dug through the ruble to find a strange pale faced girl with emerald hair and budding flowers on it. She was wearing a green flower like dress with stockings and green shoes. She was unconscious.

"Hey kid!" Manic shouted as he shook her, "Wake up!"

The girl slowly moaned before opening a pair of beautiful sapphire eyes. She gasped and backed away, "Who are you?" she gasped in her English accent.

"Hey calm down. I'm not gonna hurt you."

"What happened? Where is my family?" she looked around only to see the destruction everywhere. As soon as she realized the truth, she slowly slumped down to her knees.

"Oh man," Manic frowned as he sat next to her, "You're the only one left, aren't you?"

"They're all… gone," the girl wept, "Who could have done this?"

"I don't really know," he said as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "But that's why we're here."

"You are going to help me?"

"I've never turned anyone down before and I ain't gonna start now."

"Manic? Manic!" his older sister called as she walked through, "There is nothing around here. The Metarex destroyed everything and… who is that?"

"A survivor."

"Oh poor little girl," Sonia cooed as she stroked her hair, "What's you name? And what are you?"

"C-Cosmo. I'm a Petaligan…"

"Well, Cosmo, we can't leave you here. Come on, Manic, let's bring her and get her introduced with the others."

"Got it."

Later on, everyone got back to the Left Storm. Cosmo introduced herself and told the Freedom Fighters about what happened when the Metarex invaded and how she got caught in a falling building.

"Well, it was a complete miracle that you survived," Sally said, "Though I'm sorry that you're the last of you kind."

"But I'd like to know why there are doing this?" Fiona stated.

"Uh, Fiona?" Honey said.

"I wanna know what the Metarex are looking for…"

"Fiona?"

"And what do they want?!"

"FIONA!"

"WHAT?"

"Your chest is glowing."

Fiona looked at the pendent she had on, as did everyone else. It was glowing in a bright blue color, "W… what?"

"That's not right!" Sonia said, "The only time the medallions would do that is if the true keepers are…. Chief! What's the next planet ahead of us?"

"It's a blue planet called Earth." Ash told her.

"That can't be right… is he still alive somehow?" Mina asked.

"There's only one way to find out!" Sally said indefinitely as she pointed forward, "Full speed ahead everyone! We're going to Earth!"

"Roger!"