Sonic Rush: Next Generation
Kingdom Hearts © Square Enix
Chapter Three: Surprising Returns, Part 3
The scene opens in the sea of clouds twenty miles south of Soleanna's boarders. The sound of roaring engines scattered away the flying flocks of birds and the sun reflected off the polished surface. A silvery-white fighter jet soared through the sky with the name "X Tornado" flashing close to the nose of the ship. The pilot maintained an expert control over the vessel while shaking her head to the beat of the radio, humming along with the lyrics.
"And that was Cream the Rabbit with her latest hit single." The DJ announcer said. "Next, Stacy will be here to explain the recent events in Soleanna with stories of a slimy snake and a whacked out hedgehog."
"A whacked out hedgehog." The pilot, a female, chuckled as she shut off the radio. "That can only be Rush. I wonder what he did this time, Cherry.
In the backseat of the cockpit, the wild animal was bouncing on the interior leather with excitement. The creature was a full-grown Chao with an unusual cherry-red skin tone, a set of angel wings, and a sky-blue halo. Once being addressed by his master, the abnormal Chao floated overhead and hovered in front.
"Chao, chao, chao!" Cherry the Chao chirped.
"No, I don't think he knocked over and snow cone...this time." The pilot said jokingly. "From the sound of it, he went to fight that snake in Soleanna. And seeing as he was supposed to be home four hours ago, my guess is that he was capture. Mr. Sonic going to be mad, but Mrs. Amy is going to be furious. Remember what happened last time Rush ran off without permission?"
"Chao..." Cherry shivered fearfully.
"Yeah, so we better find out where he is before she goes on a rampage." The pilot said.
The pilot of the gifted aircraft tapped a sequence of buttons, opening a small cartridge to her left. She reached over to her right for a rack of test tubes, each containing a single hair, and retrieved the one labeled 'Rush the Hedgehog'. She placed the blue hair into the cartridge and a computer screen appeared on the windshield. It first showed Rush's picture before transforming into a map with a blinking dot.
"Subject: Rush the Hedgehog – detected." The computer announced. "Location: confirmed – 15 mile east of northeast."
"Hmm...He's somewhere in the mountains just outside of Soleanna." The pilot analyzed thoughtfully. "Well, it looks like we have to save his tail again, Cherry."
"Chao, chao!" Cherry shouted in salute.
With her destination in mind, the young pilot activated the jet thruster and blurred across the sky.
"Ugh...What hit me last night?"
The scene had alternated to a dark and isolated room in an unknown location, which was the last place Rush wanted to be. The twin-colored hedgehog had awakened from his forced state of sleep and found himself unable to move as freely as before. And upon further examination he sharply realized that he was lying on a slab of metal – his arms and legs were restrained to the surface. A normal individual would have realized they were captured, but that never stopped Rush from trying to break free. The young hero struggled for a period of ten minutes until loosing breath – he went back at it two minutes later.
"It is pointless to resist." The twin-colored hedgehog turned his head towards the direction of Kai, who had emerged from the shadows. "Those bonds are made from adamantium steel, the strongest metal on the planet – completely unbreakable."
"So you gonna tell me where I am?" Rush asked curiously.
"You are in Lord Naga's research facility." Kai answered.
And with a snap of the Nobody's fingers, the lights kicked on automatically in the room, partially blinding the new heroes. When Rush regained his sense of sight, he was given a visible display of the experimental room. The walls were painted white mixed with black thorns and the symbol of the Heartless and Nobodies on opposite walls. However, a third symbol was printed on the ceiling, which Rush didn't recognized. A sharp scraping noise drew the hedgehog's attention back to the long-haired Nobody as he retrieved a scalpel from the nearby table.
"Oh, I get it." Rush chuckled challengingly. "I'm supposed to be some kind of lab rat and test out some insane experiment, right?"
"No." Kai answered coldly, pressing the scalpel to the hedgehog's throat. "You're father was an unusual specimen when his blood accepted Shadow's DNA at birth. But you are an even more unusual specimen to study."
"Am I supposed to take that as an insult or a compliment." Rush said jokingly.
"Think of it this way." Kai scowled, threatening to draw blood. "Once we find out want makes you tick, we'll no longer have any use for you."
Rush could tell by the emotionless look in his eyes that he wouldn't hesitate to kill him on the spot. Fear trickled down his spine – this was a new sensation for Rush. With a menacing growl, the long-haired Nobody tuned his back to the young child and exited through the doors which were guarded by two Samurais. Though he was a creature with no heart, Kai could feel immense satisfaction knowing that they had captured the beast that had defeated him. The wounded warrior stepped lightly through the halls, passing his silver-skinned servants until he reached the room of his master. Naga the Snake hissed silently glaring at the data provided him with Rush visible on the monitors. The Heatless serpent turned in his seat, facing his seemingly faithful servant.
"What have you to report?" Naga questioned.
"We have already processed over ninety percent of the analysis." Kai explained. "His stamina is rated to be equal to Sonic at that age, his height and weight show no significant difference, and his body structure is average. His synapses are more accelerated than usual, but that's only due to his inherited speeds."
"So we have no explanation for his unexpected power?" Naga sneered.
"We still have one test left, my lord." Kai said, pointing to the monitor. On the screen, the two Samurais were scanning Rush with a small machine, calculating some process." We are processing his Chaos capacity with data. If there is anything unusual, we'll find it."
"You better be right." Naga stated threateningly. "For your sake, Kai."
The scene alternates to the outer edge of Naga's hidden base, which was discovered to be hidden within the mountains. Two Berserker guards hobbled back and forth on their claymores, not really taking observations of their surroundings. Hidden within the brush of the forest, the X Tornado rested in the shadows with the cockpit cameras watching the Nobody's every move. Cherry was hovering between the two screens on the windshield, which forced to his master to try and see past the crimson Chao. After taping a precise sequence of buttons, the onboard computer analyzed the level of their staggering opponents.
"Hmm...Sentient beings with no actually body mass or skeletal structures." The pilot said interestingly. "These must be the Nobodies that dad talked about. I always thought they'd be a lot bigger."
"Chao, chao." Cherry chirped.
"They really are bulky, but I'll wager my tool set that they can't move without those giant clubs." The pilot said thoughtfully. "All we have to do is knock them off their balance and we can make our way into the hideout."
"Chao, Chao?" Cherry asked.
"Nah, I think we'll go with the direct approach." The pilot said happily.
The Berserker Nobodies continued to lumber in front of the entrance, occasionally stopping to silently speak with one another. They never realized that those rare moments would be used against them. At the moment the Berserkers stopped next to one another and blur of crimson light flashed out of the tree cover and slapped against their claymores. As the enlarged weapons were tossed away, the Berserkers were thrown to the ground, flailing uselessly with their crutches gone.
"Chao, Chao." Cherry giggled.
"You're right, Cherry." The pilot laughed. "They do look funny down there."
The Berserkers stopped squirming around long enough to stare up to their conqueror. A small rabbit girl around the age of eight with soft-yellow fur complete with orange patches on her ears, eyes, and forehead. Her attire consisted of wears navy-blue shorts held up by a brown leather belt, a white sleeveless t-shirt with the words "Chao" on the back, blue/yellow workers boots with white yellow laces, plain white gloves with metal wristbands, and necklace made of string and lug-nuts. Her appearance also held a small oil stain on her left cheek that seemed to have made a permanent mark. As the Nobodies resumed their squirming, the little rabbit merrily skipped past them towards the steel doorway.
"Oh, don't bother yourselves." The rabbit said playfully. "We'll just show ourselves in." She turned to her beloved Chao. "Cherry, would you do the honors?"
The crimson-red Chao nodded happily, grabbing his master securely by the wrist offered. In an amazing display not seen by any Chao, Cherry's body turned hollow and transparent, which affected the closest creatures he was holding: his master. And with that, both fighters walked into the metallic door and phased through to the other side, unharmed by surface. The dynamic duo came out on the other side and resumed their task as if nothing happened. The technical rabbit reached into her pocket and pulled out a tracker that ran the same frequency as the X Tornado.
"According to this, Rush should be down the hall and on the left." The rabbit explained. "Just as long as we don't get caught, we should be able to get through this without any trouble."
"Chao!" Cherry saluted.
Unfortunately, the sudden movement triggered an invisible inferred beam that set off a blaring alarm across the base.
"Well, so much for that." The rabbit sighed.
Meanwhile, the alarm reached to Naga's chamber, who was distracted from Kai's recent reports on the hedgehog. The Heartless serpent directed his attention to the monitors and found the unwanted intruder. They watched interestingly as little hare curled the crimson Chao and tossed it down the hall, crushing their advancing soldiers into the wall.
"Who is this now?" Naga hissed lightly, eyeing the girl's movements. "Her battle style and tactical placement seem vaguely familiar. Even that grotesque pet of hers seems to stir distant memories."
"If I may, my lord." Kai stated shortly. "Her face resembles that of Vanilla's daughter: Cream the Rabbit."
"Oh yes, the little Jedi that defeated Grievous." Naga said, caressing his chin. The little rabbit on the screen stepped backwards a few feet away from the Nobodies, tossing golden rings from a distance. At the moments the rings made contact with the enemy, they exploded in a ray of golden light. "Still her tactical procedures varies from one you would expect to be the daughter of a Jedi."
"My lord, do you wish for me to dispose of her?" Kai questioned monotonously.
"There is no need, Kai." Naga hissed pleasingly. "If my guess is correct, she is searching for the hedgehog. And when she finds him, she'll be in for a big surprise."
The scene switches to the experimental chamber, where the Samurai Nobodies were concluding their final scan of the twin-colored hedgehog. Rush was whistling nonchalantly, apparently undisturbed by the sword wielding masses standing to his right. The Samurais had just finished distributing the data when Kai appeared on the screen – the loyal followers bowed respectfully to their master
"Is this all of it?" Kai questioned; the Samurais responded silently. "Then we have no further use for that remedial rodent. Eliminate him swiftly."
The Nobodies nodded as their master disappeared off the screen. The twin Samurais turned slowly to their prey, who was finally catching up to the situation. The silver-skinned warriors withdrew their sabers while Rush resumed his fruitless struggle to break free. The Samurai Nobodies raised their blades overhead and sharply – a knock at the door interrupted their sacrificial ritual. The sword-wielding warriors shrugged to one another leaving the closest one to answer it. This proved to be one of their greatest blunders. The moment the Samurai answered, a blur of crimson light lashed by its shoulders and literally knocked the warriors head off, returning it to oblivion. The second Samurai went on its guard as the unknown attacker was ricocheting against the walls, which the swordsmen missed scarcely. And on the last rebound, the blurred objected kicked off the floor and drilled thoroughly into the Nobody's chest, instantly obliterating it. With a satisfactory smirk on his face, Rush followed the weapon of destruction until it stopped and uncurled close to his legs. Cherry chirped happily.
"Hey, Cherry." Rush greeted smiling. "Is Mia around here?"
"You called." Rush and Cherry looked over as Mia the Rabbit walked into the Room. The crimson colored Chao chirped loudly as he floated into Mia's arms. "You did a great job, Cherry. I'm so proud of you."
"Hey, Mia." Rush laughed eagerly. "I was wondering if you were going to show up."
"You got yourself into trouble again and I'm the one that has to bail you out." Mia stated, walking over and attempting to pry the restraints off. "Ugh! How many times have I had to save you so far?"
"In big trouble, just this once." Rush answered thoughtfully. "Regular trouble....twenty-eight times."
"You...owe me...a lot of...Sea-Salt... ice cream...." Mia struggled, panting as she surrendered in her attempts. "Man, I need to workout more. What exactly are these cuffs made of?"
"That one guy said they were adamantium." Rush answer confused.
"Solidified adamantium is the hardest substance in the universe." Mia said intriguingly, inspecting the restraints in awe. "They had be liquefied and merged with other substances, but then can never be worn out or broken. I wonder if it's possible to collect a sample for testing."
"I'll buy you some when we get back home!" Rush exclaimed. "Now get me out of here!"
"Cherry, would you please help him?" Mia giggled.
The rave Chao saluted his master, drifting close to Rush's left side. Cherry grabbed the hedgehog's wrist and, just as before, turned both participants hollow and transparent as he gently tugged backwards. Like a phantasmal beast, Rush drifted free of his shackles and landed softly as his depth and mass retuned.
"Thanks for the help, guys." Rush said gratefully.
"We should get out of here before they send more soldiers." Mia suggested.
"Relax." Rush waved nonchalantly. "What's the worse they could throw at us?"
The twin-colored hedgehog had yet to learn his lesson. At the moment Rush's back was turned, a vortex of white and gray nothingness emerged from behind, distributing the five Wonderers from before. The one leading the group stabbed through the air and swiped its claw across the hedgehog's spine. But much to everyone's surprise of in the room, Rush suddenly curved around and thrusted his foot into the leader's face. The soldiers stopped in their tracks, apparently just as surprised as their leader, whom was picking itself up from the floor.
"Don't look so surprise." Rush smirked as Mia coward behind him. "I actually pay attention most of the time. You guys use your fancy speed and large numbers to outdo only one opponent. But when its two against five, we have you beat."
The Wanderers hissed in defiance and crafted another vortex of nothingness, disappearing beyond it boundaries.
"What's the plan?" Mia asked, hugging her Chaos as the two went back-to-back.
"Simple, really." Rush grinned deviously. "We just watch each others backs and take them out one at a time."
"Great plan?" Mia said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"Hey, you got a better idea?" Rush questioned expectantly.
"Yeah – duck!" Mia screamed.
Without taking time to ask why, the twin-colored hedgehog followed orders as a Wanderer slashed overhead. With he loyal pet curled, Mia tossed Cherry into the Nobody's face, which was shredded upon contact. Mia cheered proudly for her faithful partner, unaware of the attacking Wanderer striking from behind. Fortunately enough, Rush reacted to the danger and jumped over her head, delivering strong blow with his foot to the Nobody's chin. The Wanderer was tossed backwards, impacting with a comrade that was emerging from the Realm of Nothingness. Both creatures crashed into the nearby table, being stabbed with medical tools before fading from existence. Rush, Mia, and Cherry formed a circle while the remaining two Wanderers blurred in and out of the room via vortexes.
"I don't think these guys are gonna stop anytime soon." Rush stated; his eyes followed the Nobodies.
"They must be trying to stall us long enough to call in reinforcements." Mia suggested fearfully. "I don't think they're just gonna let us leave."
"Bring any inventions that might help out here?" Rush asked hopefully.
"I did bring some sonic amplifiers and electronic plugs." Mia informed, rummaging through her pockets. "The X Tornado is also parked outside, so we can make a quick escape."
"Mia, I could kiss you." Rush laughed.
Fortunately for the little rabbit, the twin-colored hedgehog was too distracted by the Nobodies to notice Mia's redden cheeks. As the technical hare continued to search through her pockets, the remaining Wanderers stopped their rapid movements and clawed against the wall over the doorway. At that very moment, a horde of mixed Nobodies piled through the narrow passage with their sights set on the two children. Even someone as arrogant as Rush knew they couldn't take on an army of nonexistent monsters – they could barely handle three. Cherry showed great bravery in attempting to charge at them, but the twin-colored hedgehog pulled him back before he could be maimed.
"Anytime now would be good!" Rush panicked.
"Chao, chao, chao!" Cherry screamed.
"Just give me a minute..." Mia said hurriedly; sweat trailed down her brow. After the Nobodies had advanced so far, the young hare finally retrieved two sets of electrical earplugs and a metal ball. "I suggest you put these on. It's not going to be pleasant."
"Oh, you guys are in trouble now." Rush smirked, placing the electrical plugs in his ears.
Once securing her own ears, Mia hugged her Chao securely and tossed the metal ball on the ground – the piece clicked echoingly. A Dusk reached down and retrieved the device off, staring at it with uncertainty as the metallic sphere began beeping at an accelerated rate. Then without warning, the metal ball exploded with an amplified screech of sounds, forcing the Nobodies to hold their heads in an attempt to block out the sound. The only difficulty was the fact that their true faces were hidden beneath their skin-like suits. And with the Nobodies twitching on the floor, Rush took the opportunity to grab his friends and made a run towards the exit. Given the hedgehog's inherited speed, the trio reached the outside and stopped in front X Tornado.
"Can you get this rust bucket in the air in time?" Rush asked.
"One, my dad made this plane, so it is anything from a rust bucket!" Mia yelled angrily as she climbed into the cockpit. "Two, it will only take a few seconds to get the engines running again for full flight."
"Well, that's good." Rush said, looking in the opposite direction. "Cause I think you only got six."
"With a hint of confusion, the technical rabbit stretched over the side and witnessed the charging Nobodies – they had broken Mia's invention. Cherry instantly jumped into the X Tornado, shortly followed by Rush after closing the windshield. The Dusks began clinging to the surface of the silver plane while Mia hurriedly tried to start up the engines. And just as the slither Nobodies prepared to stab through the glass, the X Tornado finally reached to full power and Mia wasted no time taking off. With a sharp pull on the controls, the engine ignited and burned the selected Nobodies that chose to stand behind while the silver aircraft took to the skies. Very few Dusks managed to stand on the X Tornado longer than five seconds, granting the children a perfect escape. Once knowing they were safe, Rush sighed peacefully and kicked his feet on top of Mia's headrest.
"Man, that was the greatest adventure ever." Rush chuckled eagerly. "I can't way to tell Alina when I get home. She's going over the moon when she hears this."
"You're lucky enough to get out of there alive." Mia chided. "I wouldn't be so quick to boast about your little expedition."
"Hey, we're in the clear." Rush said lightly. "Nothing can touch us now."
"Really?" Mia smiled deviously. "I wander what your mom will think when she finds out about this."
"Uh...is it too late to go back?" Rush asked timidly.
The final scene alternates back to Naga central chamber, watching the children escape on the monitors. The Heartless serpent hissed furiously. It was bad enough that Sonic had managed to escape all his attempts in the past, but now his own son was making a mockery of his legacy. That rabbit, Mia, the child of Miles Prower in addition to being Cream's daughter. The offspring of a Jedi and a half-demon – the combination interested him. At that moment, Kai walked into his master's chamber with caution, apparent to the serpent's fury.
"You better have a good reason for disturbing me." Naga growled. "Your minions have failed and I am not in the best of moods."
"Forgive me, my lord." Kai bowed respectfully. "But this is something you must hear." He reached into his vest and retrieved a set of documents with Rush's name on the face. "We have completed the data on the child's Chaos Capacity and it was far from what we would have expected. According to this, Rush the Hedgehog contains the same level of Chaos Energy as Zeenint when he was alive twenty years ago."
"What?!" Naga hissed shockingly, turning back to the warrior. "Are you saying this child has the power to rival a Sovereign?!"
"Yes, but I don't think he's learned this." Kai stated monotonously. "But if he ever did discover the large quantity of energy he possessed, he could become a problem in the future."
"Then we'll just have to dispose of him." Naga growled.
"I would advise against it, my lord." Kai suggested. "While searched through the data on his Chaos Energy, we discovered a trail."
"A trail to what?" Naga questioned interestingly.
"Something bigger than we could have ever imagined." Kai answered.
The first of the next generation unfolds. Will Rush and Mia make it to their homeland safely? What is the secret behind Rush's unusual power. And what trail has the Naga discovered? Find out on the next Sonic Rush!
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