Hello, good readers and reviewers! I have overcome my writers' block and taken some time off from my rigorous school schedule to bring you a new chapter of One Destiny! It took way too long for my own tastes, but I guess it came out just fine.
I have read some of the reviews and molded my story as much as I would allow to make the story a bit more interesting as a whole. In truth, I didn't stray very far from what was originally planned at all, so this chapter is a win-win for me.
An OC of mine appears in this chapter. He isn't from the Sonic the Hedgehog universe, and as such, I have put a description of him on my profile for those who aren't savvy with the Wild ARMs 3 universe. Google the game up if you wish to learn more about the game itself, it's a truly great game and one of the best RPG's I have ever played, and I've played a lot of RPG's.
But enough gaming talk; I bring to you the third chapter of One Destiny.
One Destiny
Chapter 3
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Space and Time
The silver haired youth kicked aside a dusty rock in his way as he walked along the road to his hometown, about an hour's worth of travel away. The night was dark, the desert was dusty, and the winds were chilling.
Just how Frost Enduro liked it.
Frost continued his stride down the long road, his hands on his two trusty bayonets. Night was the worst time to be outside in the wastelands of Filgaia, with all the most dastardly of monsters roaming, looking to prey on travelers. This didn't bother Frost a bit, though. He had his guns, he had his mediums, and he had confidence in his skills.
The wasteland was a truly barren place, but it was slowly recovering, thanks to the actions of the 'Heroes of ARMs', Virginia Maxwell, Jet Enduro, Clive Winslett, and Gallows Caradine.
Or as Frost called them; Mom, Dad, Mr. Winslett, and Ol' man Gallows.
25 years ago, those four heroes adventured across the world with one goal; to seek out the source of Filgaia's decay. Find it they did; and with the help of the 12 Guardians, the protectors of the planet, they defeated demons unimaginable to save Filgaia from total decay. Ever since, the planet had recovered, slowly but surely. The Heroes of ARMs knew that their efforts would not show until long after they were gone, but save their world they did, and knowing that they would go down in history as some of, if not the, bravest individuals Filgaia would ever know.
Frost Enduro had been born 8 years after his parents and their companions saved the world. Living with the knowledge that you were the son of the world's saviors was a thought that gave one confidence, confidence that Frost needed on this dangerous night.
The silver haired lad stopped abruptly, and his ears twitched. He heard a slight rumble, and then it was gone. The drifter snapped out his dual bayonets, guns with blades attached to the barrels, and scanned the area for any signs of danger.
He waited for a few seconds, nearly motionless besides his heavy breathing, and he heard the rumble again. His feet shook, not from him moving them, but from the ground itself moving. Frost's eyes opened in surprise, and they gaped even wider as a gigantic raptor-like creature burst from the ground.
The creature landed with a loud thud, and stood up on its hind legs. The beast was nearly 20 feet tall, and the hole it left in the ground was no smaller. Its teeth were like knives, each at least 6 inches long, and its tail was tipped by a crude stinger. It was covered in gray scales, and it had red slits for eyes. Frost quickly examined the creature, and found it to be a beastly Tarrasque; one of the most feared burrowing monsters of Filgaia.
The tarrasque roared loudly, making Frost recoil, and charged at the young gunner. Frost quickly leapt out of the way, raising his right bayonet at the creatures' flank. 6 bullets fired rapidly, leaving a number of holes in the beasts' hide. The tarrasque hardly felt it, though, and turned to charge again. Raising his left gun, a loud bang sounded out, and a scattering shotgun shell flew at the creatures' body, hitting it squarely under the neck. The beast howled loudly, now angry and still hungry, and resumed its charge, its large claws stretched out.
Frost was too close to the creature to leap away, so he ran at the beast, his bayonets held behind him like wings. The beast clawed at him, and missed as Frost rolled under the deadly strike. Using momentum from his roll, he leapt up and slashed at his attacker's underside with a spin. He was nearly splashed by tarrasque blood, a known acidic substance to humans, as he rolled once again, out of the way.
The tarrasque crouched in pain from the strike. Most tarrasques would have fled at this point, but the hungry beast knew that if it didn't get a meal, it would soon starve to death. The beast took a slower approach, its fiendish tail curled at its side.
Frost quickly dug his weapons into the earth to clean them, and to save them from corroding from the acid. He was surprised that he had been unharmed thus far, having never fought an opponent so deadly in his life.
The tarrasque slashed out with a claw. Frost leapt out of the way, but received a second slash to the stomach soon afterwards, forcing him backwards. The pain was intense, and Frost knew a wound like that he just suffered would be fatal if left uncured. He sheathed his left bayonet and ran a few feet away, getting off a few rounds at the beast while retrieving a small stone tablet, inscribed with a drawing of a turtle.
"Schturdark! Help me out!" Frost gasped, under heavy pain from his wound. The tablet, or medium, glowed, and a light appeared at Frost's feet. The light quickly traveled to Frost's chest, making the skin close and making the pain cease. Frost stopped and turned, putting away the medium of the guardian Schturdark and drawing his left bayonet once again. The tarrasque closed in again, intent on the kill. And as it approached, Frost flung his left bayonet at the tarrasque.
The beast tried to turn away, but the gun's blade struck its flank deeply. The beast walked for a while longer, screamed once, and fell over near its hole in the earth, the bayonet still stuck firmly in the tarrasques' ribs.
Frost quickly rushed to the fallen beast to retrieve his bayonet before the acidic blood corroded his blade. He leapt upon the carcass and tugged the gun-blade out, and plunged it into the ground to clean it. When he retrieved it, he was relieved that the blade was relatively unharmed. Still atop the tarrasque, he peeked into the hole the burrower made, and was stunned by what he saw.
The hole didn't seem like an endless abyss; instead, it seemed to end with a purple, swirling liquid with multicolored lights within. Frost was amazed at the beautiful image the liquid cast, so amazed the he lost all awareness; he was unaware of the biting cold, unaware of the potential of another enemy…
Unaware of the tarrasque stinger slowly sliding into his leg.
Before Frost could act, the sleeping poison went to work in Frost's bloodstream. He quickly sheathed his bayonets so that he couldn't fall on them, and lost the feeling in his arms. The poison worked up through his arms, to his neck, and finally, his head.
Frost fell off the dying tarrasque and plunged unconsciously into the purple liquid.
Sonic stood atop the table, holding a glass of punch. "Attention, everybody!" He shouted. The party came to an abrupt stop from the hedgehog's call. "Now," he said, "we're all acquainted. Who wants to come up and say a little something-something about the guest of honor?" Everybody yelled for a chance, and Cosmo blushed in her chair near the table Sonic was standing upon.
Sonic motioned for Cream to come up. The bunny hopped happily toward the table with her chao, Cheese, and hopped upon a chair. "Cosmo! Cheese says welcome back!" She said to her friend. "Chao-chao chao!" Cheese added. "I missed you very much when you were gone, and I'm so glad you're back! You're one of the best friends this rabbit could ask for!" Cream finished with a hug to her friend and hopped away.
Amy came up next. "Cosmo, you've been gone for so long." She began. "We've all missed having you around, and the adventures we've had weren't the same without you telling us to be careful or any other advice you had to give. Cream and I haven't stopped thinking about you ever since you had to leave us, and I'm sure that holds true for everyone else in this room. We'll always be here for you, Cosmo, and I'm glad that it's the other way around, too." Amy hugged Cosmo as well, and stepped away.
Knuckles came up (or rather, was pushed up by a certain blue hedgehog) and rubbed the back of his head. "I realize that Cosmo and I had differences in preferences in the past and all… but Cosmo, you were a really valuable asset to our motley crüe of sorts back then. It was real tough to let you go, and I'm sorry me and Sonic made you upset when we fought and all of that… Thanks Cosmo." The echidna shook Cosmo's hand and walked back to the main group.
Everyone else who came up afterwards said similar things, apologies and praises, and things alike to that. Sonic, however, had a different plan in mind.
"When Cosmo sacrificed herself to weaken Dark Oak… I thought that if I failed at that one moment, we'd lose the galaxy, and she'd have left in vain. That may have been one of the first times I've ever been unnerved like that. I had so much on my shoulders, and even though I know he wouldn't admit it, Shadow probably felt the same way. I think all the time if the Metarex wouldn't have come, we wouldn't have lost Cosmo that day. But now, I counter-act that thought… IF they would've never come, we would have never met Cosmo, one of the best friends that we, that I, could ever hope for. And that is the single redeeming quality to the Metarex. I know in my heart that if I could go back and do it again, I'd take every chance I could to ensure Cosmo's survival. Three years was too long, Cosmo. Now is when we make up for lost time. Welcome to Mobius, Cosmo- your home as much as ours."
The group of friends cheered for the hedgehog's heartfelt speech. Sonic hushed them up and waited to speak. "Tails, you're up." He said to his friend.
Tails' ears shot up. His heart did a back flip. He knew that he would have to go up, he wanted to go up, and he had every word plotted. But when Sonic called his name, and he looked at Cosmo in the eyes, his entire speech went to the wind. The fox stood up weakly, and walked to the chair. Sonic patted him on the back, winked, and nodded. "Go ahead." He mouthed, as Tails stood upon the podium.
"Umm… Cosmo?" Tails said, unsure of what path to take. "Yes, Tails?" the plant girl replied in her soothing, almost melodic voice. "I- I- I missed you. We all did. Some more than… others. I… I had to push that button. I swear, if I could face a million Metarex instead of pushing that button again, I'd do it. I'd do it without remorse. I don't any other action could have brought… brought more pain to all of us… And since I was forced to do it, I dedicated myself to bringing you back. It took a long time… but it's done, right? You're back… we're all safe… I think that's all that matters, Cosmo. As long… as long as I- I mean, we, have you, Mobius will be a much better place with you here. Thanks, Cosmo. Thanks for staying with us. Thanks… for everything."
Tails thought he had messed up with every muttered syllable, but that's the general feeling with tough speeches like that. He stepped down from the platform, head hung a little low, as his friends began clapping one by one. He looked up at Cosmo; flawless, amazing Cosmo; and smiled. Cosmo smiled and wrapped her friend in a warm hug. As if I already wasn't nervous enough! Tails thought to himself as he returned the favor to Cosmo. They broke apart from the hug, and returned to their respective seats.
Soon, Sonic had music playing, stopping every once in a while to let Charmy or Vector attempt to do a stand-up comedy routine, each that induced groans instead of laughter. Knuckles and Espio were stuffing their faces as an amused Cream watched, giggling. Sonic and Tails were tending to everyone, as they always did at similar occasions. Amy and Cosmo were sitting and talking near the platform, letting time pass by.
"Cosmo?" Amy asked. Cosmo was caught a bit off guard at the vague question. "Y-Yes, Amy?" Amy looked at her with a confirmed look, but asked anyway. "Are you okay? You've been acting very… out of it, since Tails went up there." Cosmo look down, twiddling her fingers as she spoke shyly. "Yes-well, I just think his speech touched me deep down, sort of." Amy sighed and rolled her eyes, fighting a chuckle. "What?" Cosmo asked bluntly, her face reddening a bit. "Oh, nothing, Cosmo. You never will change, huh?" Cosmo frowned a bit. "Amy, I have the least idea of what you're talking about. What's so funny?" Amy looked at her friend and shrugged. "I'll tell you later." The pink hedgehog innocently said.
Amy spoke up again moments later. "Hey, speaking of you changing, Cosmo… I've just noticed something. Last time we saw you, your hair wasn't shoulder-length like it is now. And the buds on your head, they're blue and blooming! When did all that start happening?" Cosmo patted one of the flowers and smiled. "I'm just getting older, Amy. I guess the three years is catching up with me. I really don't know much about Tails' experiment, save for the fact that it brought me back again. As long as I'm here, I guess it doesn't really matter, right?" Amy nodded. "Right."
The party lasted little more than an hour, and when everyone departed ways, Knuckles was one of the first to leave. He hated being away from the Master Emerald for too long at one time, and he was quite relieved to be able to go back to his island in the sky. The Echidna took his usual route of climbing a small mountain and gliding the rest of the way. He touched down on the path that led to the altar, and was about to dash to it, when he sensed something out of the ordinary. His ears twitched, and his head began to hurt. Knuckles clenched his head and ran to the altar with speed, fearful that something had occurred.
And indeed, his hunch was correct. When Knuckles spotted the altar, the Master Emerald was in complete shambles. Knuckles stood dumbfounded, staring at his livelihood shattered into tiny pieces, and when he finally came to, he practically exploded. "Not again!!" The furious Echidna yelled, so loudly that the echo chased off a score of birds flying nearby. Knuckles fell to his knees and pounded the ground with his fist. "I'm never leaving this place again…" the Echidna said sadly. Knuckles sulked on his knees for a little longer, until he heard a moan from behind a rock.
Knuckles dashed to the rock, hoping to knock the sense out of whoever caused such devastation. Behind the rock leaned a silver haired boy, no older than seventeen, with two dangerous looking guns attached to his hips and scarves covering his mouth. He was unconscious, but alive. Knuckles walked to the lad and picked him up by the collar. The boy groggily opened his eyes, and when he gained a bit of awareness, he began kicking and flailing, desperate to escape the obviously hostile echidna's grasp. Knuckles threw the boy against the rock and crouched, his fists up and ready to go.
The boy drew his two guns, each with deadly-looking blades under each barrel, and shot a scattering bullet from the left gun, obviously a shotgun. Knuckles dove out of the way, and leapt, diving with a punch aimed at the boy's chest. The silver haired youth flipped one of the guns around and struck Knuckles hard across the forehead with the butt of his gun. Knuckles flew to the ground and rolled away, leaping up as soon as he could. When he turned, he was met by a bayonet blade less than and inch from his face.
The boy was the first to speak. "I could pull the trigger and send six bullets into your skull, or I could drive the blade through you for a similar effect, unless you tell me where I am and what role you played in bringing me here. Speak now or forever hold your peace." Knuckles began to sweat- he had been close to death several times, but this instance seemed to be a bit more unnerving than others. "I'm Kn-Knuckles. The Echidna. You're on... Angel Island, on Mobius. I didn't capture you or anything, so put the gun down, please."
The youth did not relent; instead he pressed the cold steel softly against Knuckle's forehead. "I've very little trust left after what I've seen here. If I'll be putting this gun down, it will be when my arm is tired and I raise my other. So, Knuckles, you say I'm on 'Mobius', correct? Some planet?" Knuckles raised his arms up in surrender, thinking it might help the situation. "Y-Yea, it's a planet. I have no idea what's going on, buddy. I really need to get moving, so…" The youth raised his second gun to Knuckle's face before the Echidna could finish. "You seem to miss my point, creature. Are you familiar with the foul purple liquid that apparently transported me here? Speak quickly, lest I dispose of you." Knuckles had a look of pure confusion on his face, and didn't say anything.
"…Very well." the boy said, lowering his guns. "I believe you. Forgive my hostility; I tend to prefer taking no chances. My name is Frost Enduro. I was attacked by a beast on my home realm, and the beast snuck sleeping poison into my leg. I fell into some mysterious purple liquid nearby before losing consciousness, and next thing I know, I'm here." Knuckles nodded. "I have something real important to do right now, Frost. I can't stay to chat long, I'm afraid; I could show you to my friends. They might be to help-"
Knuckles was cut off by a beeping noise coming from the bracelet he wore on his arm, that doubled as a watch and vision phone. He clicked a button on it, and Sonic's face appeared on the tiny screen of the vision phone.
"Knuckles! Haul yourself to Tails' place NOW! We've got trouble!" Sonic yelled. "Sonic! What is it?" Knuckles shouted back. "No time! Just come- HANG ON!" Sonic yelled back, and turned the vision phone off violently.
Frost looked at Knuckles. "A friend, I'd imagine?" Knuckles nodded his head. "Sonic never needs help with problems. If this is as bad as I think it is, we'll need some help. Frost, come with me, and I'll see if we can sort your problem out, if you can help with ours." Frost nodded, and reloaded his six-shooter, as six cobalt-colored bullet shells dropped to the ground. "Let's see what this is all about."
Frost kept up with the faster Knuckles by activating springs in his shoes, which made him travel in long, bounding leaps. The two eventually arrived at Tails' house- or rather, what was left of it. The entire house looked as if it had been burnt down, but also corroded. Frost readied his guns when he saw a few animals, whom he could only assume were Sonic and Knuckle's other friends, fighting some red creature that seemed to be made of liquid. The only exception to the beast's aquatic form were its emerald colored eyes, and a brain visible through its' liquid form. Its' arms flailed and stretched around, and Knuckle's friends made no attempt to attack; they were only dodging, as if they feared what the creature was made of. When one of the arms struck a nearby vehicle, Frost's fears were confirmed; the beast was composed completely of acid.
Knuckle's jaw nearly dropped when he saw the creature battling Sonic, Tails, Amy, Cream, and Cosmo, though she was keeping her distance. "Chaos! I thought we got rid of that thing years ago! I'll handle this thing!" the Echidna yelled as it charged the beast. Sonic hopped out of the way of one of the flailing arms and noticed Knuckle's charge. "Knuckles! Don't touch it!" he yelled, but Knuckles was a bit too late to heed the warning. The beast leapt out of the way from the Echidna's punch, but was scraped a bit. The punch did more damage to Knuckles, however; the acidic creature's body ate away part of the Echidna's glove and burnt the skin underneath. "What the?" Knuckles shouted as he dodged a strike from Chaos. Tails, nearby, shouted words of warning to Knuckles. "He's made completely of acid this time! Amy's hammer got eaten away, and I doubt anything the Chaotix can bring when they get here will help!"
The beast used its arms to flip a motorcycle over with a swipe. The vehicle flew towards Knuckles and hit him squarely in the chest, and as the acid ate away to the engine, the motorcycle exploded almost on contact with Knuckles. Knuckles screamed out of pain and flew away, scorched and winded from the strike. He tried to lift a fist as he laid flat on the ground, but his hand fell as he slipped into unconsciousness.
Frost ran a hand through his bullet satchel, looking for one of the specially manufactured rounds that he bought on Filgaia. After a minute of searching, he found a bullet that was made of a translucent metal. He grabbed his supply of six and loaded them into his right bayonet, the six-shooter. He ducked just in time to avoid a sweeping of one of the beast's amazingly long arms, and fired his six rounds at the creature.
Chaos didn't fear the bullets at first, thought himself invincible, but when the bullets struck him, he felt the bullets eating away at his body instead his body eating away at the bullets. The bullets were counter-acting the acid! Chaos suddenly felt a surge of panic, and decided to quickly finish the pesky attackers before the bullets finished him off. The acidic beast dug its arm through the ground, worked it to below the young gunner, and shoved the earth upwards.
Frost was struck in the face with a buried rock that was heaved up at him, and as vigorous as he was at the time, the sleeping poison was still inside him, albeit barely, and he fell cold to the ground, his vision blackening. Chaos retracted his arm and dug his other into the ground, this time his attack directed toward the blue hedgehog. The earth under Sonic burst upward abruptly, launching Sonic through a car window. Like his two fallen allies, Sonic was knocked out cold.
Tails knew it was time to abandon the house and get his two friends and the stranger to safety. "Amy! Grab Knuckles and get out of here! Cosmo! You and Cream get that guy and follow Amy! I'll take Sonic and meet you at Amy's house! Go now!" Each of the friends gathered up who they were told to, and sadly left Chaos to his own devices.
Chaos rushed into the house, set on the goal in mind. The acidic beast tossed and turned furniture left and right until he found an entrance to the laboratory, the room that contained two objects that he sought. Chaos acted fast; the bullets still working away at his body, slowly but surely.
Chaos melted a few tools until he found two gems, one red and one blue, sitting on two tables. He enveloped the Chaos Emeralds with his arms, and began to drain their energy, positive and negative, and transfer it to himself. A minute passed, and soon the Chaos Emeralds resembled their grey brother; a small blackened orb. Empowered by the energy, his existence no longer threatened by the bullets, Chaos began to increase in bulk, until he was ten feet tall with huge arms and legs, much bigger than they previously were. Chaos had become near destruction incarnate.
He had become Chaos 3.
As I said in the opening note, I kinda buffed the action factor in the story as advised by some of the reviewers. I hope this makes a difference and I hope it makes One Destiny as a whole more enjoyable to read. Just remember, I can't change much or listen to your suggestions if you don't review! So please, review, fave if you like it, and send it to a friend or two. Because being unknown sucks, right?
Thanks again,
Frost Enduro.
