Ta-da!!! Chapter 1 is up! Man, I had fun with this one. Sorry about the beginning. This is where the real fun begins. I don't own Sonic Underground. Demon Slayer theory is mine though.

Let the show begin!!!!!!!

Chapter 1: Awaken

Manic Hedgehog flew across the sky, catching the last gusts of wind before the day ended. He was flying in no particular direction; just letting the winds take him wherever.

It was a good way to unwind, especially after the day he and his siblings, Sonic and Sonia, had had. For a few days now, there had been unexplainable attacks committed and, surprisingly, Dr. Robotnik wasn't behind them. In fact, he was just as confused as they were.

Unknown forces were attacking everyone. Messy and bloody killers. Citizens and SWATbots were no exception.

The Sonic Underground had decided to investigate, but so far nothing turned up. This angered Manic. He wanted to find them to make them pay for hurting innocent people. But who were they?

The green hedgehog was so into his thoughts that he didn't realize that his hoverboard had tilted downward. He snapped back to reality when he was a yard away from the ground. Surprised, he turned up sharply, too much, made a loop, and came to a stop level with the ground. Another second and he would have crashed.

"Whoa. Talk about cutting it close," he said. A quick glance around showed that he was in a barren land with nothing around. Except for the giant mountain range less than a mile ahead. Their peaks were jagged and rough and he could see a few patches of white up top even though it was the middle of spring. Opposite them, the sun was sinking slowly into the horizon, turning the sky orange and pink.

Manic figured it was time to head back to the van. He rose up a few feet in the air but glanced back at the mountains. In the back of his mind, something was telling him to explore further. The temptation was strong. Overpowering.

He gave in, figuring a few more minutes wouldn't hurt. He flew closer to the range, keeping close to the ground. A few moments later, he turned his hoverboard slightly to the left.

He still didn't know what he was doing here but he was sure where here was. The Scribner Mountains, several miles southeast of Robotropolice. Not much vegetation and they went really high up. No one wanted to hike here much.

Manic came to the base of the mountain range and continued to travel left, running his hand across the rock. He went around a particularly large piece and then his hand felt empty space. Sure enough, there was a big, gaping hole, a cave. About five feet high and three feet wide, opening up in the side of the mountain like the mouth of some vicious creature.

Something screamed inside of him to turn around, but the feeling that drawn him to this place was stronger. He jumped off of his hoverboard and placed it near the entrance of the cave. From his fanny pack, he took out a flashlight he nicked a few days ago. His siblings always disapproved of him stealing, but one never knew when something might come in handy.

The sun was fading fast so he knew he had to make this quick. Switching on the flashlight, he stepped into the darkness.

All of his senses went on high alert but Manic could not see any danger. But there was something, something that made his fur stand on end.

"Getting all freaked out over a little darkness," the hedgehog muttered to himself. "There's nothing to sweat over." But he knew it was a lie.

Yet, he continued, going deeper into the cave. He went on for what he thought was an hour when the space suddenly opened into a larger room. The ceiling rose about ten feet higher than before and. The walls were completely covered in symbols, most he didn't recognize. In the center was a large slab of stone resembling a sarcophagus jutting out of the ground, only one marking on its lid.

"Great. You stumbled across a dead guy and now you're probably cursed or whatever they do." Manic felt that he should turn around right now but that same pulling feeling drew him closer to the sarcophagus.

His light began flickering, casting eerie shadows on the walls. "Shoot." He tapped it lightly, but it kept getting worse. Soon he would be in total darkness.

He heard the noise a split second before it happened. Too late.

The flashlight clattered to the floor as an invisible force pushed into Manic, sending him crashing into the stone wall. He heard it moving and barely managed to get out of the way from another attack. A sharp pain came to his head and he fell to his knees behind the sarcophagus. For a moment there was silence and he wondered, foolishly, if it was his imagination. But the pain he felt was real, eliminating the idea.

Suddenly, he heard a movement above him. A grinding sort of noise. Little bits of stone hit him on the head, it felt more like needles in his skull, and he looked up. In the dim light, he could see the huge stone slab that had covered the sarcophagus was now floating in the air!

"Crap!" Manic shouted. He rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed by it. The rock broke into two pieces but one of the pieces was lifted up again.

The hedgehog stumbled backwards and his foot hit something. His flashlight. Without really thinking, he snatched it up and threw it as hard as he could near the floating rock. It must have hit its mark. When it seemed that it would hit empty space, it bounced off of something invisible. Something blackish started leaking and a loud shriek was heard. The rock fell and broke into smaller pieces.

Silence. Manic stepped forward cautiously. He was pretty sure he didn't kill it; he could still hear something scraping. Now, he was curious about what is inside the now open coffin. When the flashlight flew over it, he had seen something shine in it.

He knew he should be running now before it, whatever it was, attacked again. But the pulling feeling had returned with full force. Manic picked up the dim flashlight, noticing the black liquid on it. Whatever the thing was hadn't moved much as the dark drops kept dripping in place. Shining on it, he realized it was actually dark blood.

It sent a chill down his spine. But he ignored it, turned to the open sarcophagus, and shined the light in it. His eyes widened when he saw not bones, which he had been expecting, but only a sword. A sword that had a symbol near the hilt, the same one from the lid.

Amazed at what he had found, and what he hadn't, Manic had let down his guard for just a moment. But it was enough for the invisible force. It jumped over the sarcophagus, making drops of blood fall on the sword, and seized Manic, knocking him to the ground. He cried out in pain when his sore head hit the hard ground.

Then, something slashed across the hedgehog's face, leaving four cuts. Luckily it missed his eyes, two slashes were on his cheek, one on his chin, and his ear was badly torn. Manic tried to punch his attacker but hit only air. The attacker responded by digging its claws into his chest.

Manic screamed in pain. His wounds were beginning to burn and he noticed his vision beginning to flicker. Was he going to die? In some unknown place by an unknown attacker?

The attacker clawed deeper into his chest. Manic then saw a shape begin to appear in front of him. Black, blurry, and hovering above his body. But now that he could see it, he could see the advantage. The blood from it was dripping from what looked like the head. He made a fist and swung with all the strength he could muster at that spot.

The attacker was obliviously surprised, and even more surprised when the hedgehog punched him two more times. It hovered away from him, howling in pain. Manic slowly and painfully got to his feet. He gripped the sarcophagus for support and turned to the thing. He noticed that it was getting clearer. It was taller than him, slightly muscled, long claws, and blazing, angry red eyes.

"Heh, see how you like getting beaten for a change," Manic said to it. His hand snuck to the sword and just as the creature charged at him in fury, he swung as hard as he could. The blade cut into the side of the attacker and it screamed in pain. Awkwardly, Manic pulled the sword out and thrust into its chest. It screamed even louder before, finally, disintegrating into dust and blood.

Manic stood there, panting and holding the bloodstained sword. When it occurred to him what just happened, he dropped it and fell on all fours. His mind tried to process what had happened but it seemed too unbelievable. He was too exhausted to try to understand anyway.

His vision was becoming fuzzy and black as his blood leaked out of him. He also noticed the pain was going numb. Was he dying?

A sharp, searing pain came to his left hand, making him gasp. He tore off his bloodstained glove and stared at what was forming. The same symbol on the sword and the broken stone slab; a cross, an x, a leaf, and a circle inside a larger circle, was now burned into his hand.

At last, blackness overcame him and he fell to the floor, unconscious. The flashlight flickered and died, bringing the bloody cavern into darkness.

The Demon Slayer has returned.

---.

Well, how was that for a chapter, huh? Better than the prologue I'm sure. I wish I could show you guys the symbol but I have no idea how. If anyone knows, it will be appreciated. I simplified it in writing. Hope it was okay. Well, as they say, read and review!