Judgment chapter 11

Tails slowed down, orbiting the other fox. Darius hovered in midair, just looking around. A red aura surrounded his body, flowing from his feet to his head. His tails, fur, ears, and clothes were being whipped around by the wind, although the rest of his body was completely unaffected by it. Eventually, Tails landed the X-Tornado, looking up and wondering when Darius planned to come down, or if he could.

Darius looked down. The ground was so far down, at least 2,000 feet. He could just spot the X-Tornado's body against the soft, green grass and flowers. He leaned forward slowly, until his body was almost horizontal. He felt himself start to fall. But no fear materialized. He was comfortable, safe. After falling for a short time, he landed on the ground. Tails ran over to him.

"Are you ok?" asked the young fox. Darius looked over to him.

"Of course."

"What do you think happened?"

"Well," begin Darius, sounding unsure. "I think I fell through the plane, instead of falling out of it." Tails looked at the older fox, looking confused. Darius understood why. "Actually, I have no idea. I've got no memory of anything like that ever happening before. Though I do remember a little more now. Odd." Tails seemed unsure of what to say. As the red aura surrounding his body slowly disappeared, the ebony and crimson fox spoke once more. "Perhaps we should get back to your friends." Tails nodded, and got back into the cockpit of the X-Tornado. Darius followed, getting in the seat behind Tails.

They flew for around half an hour, before Tails broke the silence.

"Didn't you say you remembered some more about yourself?" Darius opened his eyes and looked up. "Oh, I'm sorry. Where you sleeping?" asked the young fox apologetically. Darius smiled.

"Not sleeping, thinking…about those memories, actually." Darius was starting to take a liking to the other fox. Besides the fact that he didn't meet many other foxes, Tails was unique. He was the only other fox that Darius could recall seeing with two tails. "I'm not sure what they are memories of, or what they mean, or what triggered them, though I'm assuming that falling through the plane might have something to do with it. It's just…I'm getting the idea that I used to be a solider of some kind." Tails cocked his head back, thinking.

"I don't remember there being any soldiers in several years. An army opposed to Eggman was never formed, at least to knowledge." Tails said the last sentence, putting one arm behind his head and smiling apologetically. "But then again, I don't know everything. I'm pretty busy trying to keep up with Sonic." Darius could see that Tails was no longer holding on to the controls, and wondered if it was safe. But the young fox didn't seem worried. Darius decided that if worst came to worst, he would live. "Anyway, is that all?"

"No. There's something else, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I've got no idea." Darius sighed. For the next few minutes, the two talked about some of Tails' inventions. The subject was brought upon by a question about the X-Tornado.

Some time later, they came into view of the small area where Vanilla's house was. Darius was a little saddened by the destruction that had came over it, as was Tails.

"Tails?"

"What's up?" asked the young fox, curious.

"Is it wrong to kill those you've sworn to protect from being killed… if those who you've sworn to protect are evil and insane? Like if they started a meaningless war against an innocent species that did nothing to them? Is it wrong to kill you king to protect others?" Tails seemed shocked by the question, though in a freaked-out manner. He was silent for a few minutes. He came in to land the X-Tornado in Vanilla's back yard, or what was left of it. As they touched the ground, he spoke. "I don't know." His voice made it seem that he was not only trying to decide if it was right or not, but he also seemed scarred by the question, as well as intrigued. "It's just that…Darius?" Tails turned around to see the other fox staring off in another direction. Tails followed his gaze."

"What the hell?" Darius asked slowly, turning his entire body in the direction he was facing. Tails stuttered. Vanilla's house was on fire.

Darius took off running, followed by Tails. As the got closer, they knew that the fire was not accidental. Espio and Amy were standing side by side. Darius couldn't tell what or who they were looking at. But considering that both of them were in their fighting stances, Darius was willing to bet that whatever it was, it wasn't friendly.

Several balls of fire flew past Espio and Amy. The two dogged them, but were hurt none the less. Darius walked up behind them. They both turned their heads, ready to strike. Upon seeing who it was, they returned their gaze to it's previous target. It was a hedgehog, the color of the fire that he had balled in his hand. Darius could feel anger brewing inside of him.

"Oh ho ho, what's this?" asked the hedgehog in a very cocky voice. He had on a black leather jacket and sunglasses, in addition to the gloves and shoes wore by most of the greater-animals. There was also a sword on his back. "A little fox. Aww…how cute." His voice was taunting now. Darius just looked him in the eyes. "Oh, what are you going to do? Cry at me?" Without saying a word, Darius slipped out of his trench coat, throwing it to Amy. Under it, he had on his typical black, sleeveless shirt. She caught it, looking confused. "Oh no! He took off his coat? Whatever shall I do?" Now, the hedgehog's voice was layered with sarcasm.

"Go ahead. Throw it at me." said Darius, smiling and holding his arms out in a taunting gesture. "But be warned," he continued, his voice going from friendly to threatening as he spoke. "I'm going to shove that fireball down you fucking throat." Near the end of the sentence, his voice became filled with hatred. The hedgehog was angry now.

"Your dead!" he yelled, throwing a massive fireball.

Amy and Espio hit the ground. It was by far the biggest one yet. The smaller ones had been enough to hurt them; one this big would kill.

Darius held his hand out in front of him. A large half-sphere formed around him, leaving his back unprotected. It was composed of several small, transparent, just barely visible light blue hexagons, with red in the rims. The fireball slammed into it.

The result was spectacular.

All of the fire was shot up into the air, completely deflected by the mysterious blue field. Darius put his hand down, the transparent blue field fading from view completely. The fiery hedgehog backed up, slowly. He was in disbelief. He started launching fireball after fireball at Darius. They all exploded, creating a large cloud of smoke. As the hedgehog waited for the smoke to clear, he put his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. No one had EVER survived anything like that.

Darius came out of the smoke, the blue barrier fading back into in visibility. He didn't look happy.

"What!?" yelled the fiery hedgehog. He backed up, the fear showing on his face. He drew his sword, preparing for a very hard fight. His confidence increased when he felt the handle of the sword in his hands. It was a simple, but effective, katana, augmented by the power of fire. He went completely pail when Darius laughed. It was an evil, deep, cruel laugh.

"Your just a pyrotechnic, not even a true magic user. Pathetic." Darius looked like he could kill anything that got in his way, but his rage was cold, and controlled.

Panicking, the hedgehog held out a small, white object, looking like he was drawing power from it.

Several yards away, Amy recognized it.

"It's a Chaos Emerald!' she said, getting up and backing up. Darius looked at it, also recognizing it. He looked the fiery hedgehog in the eyes. The hedgehog lunged, his sword above his head. He was going to try to cut Darius down. The hedgehog picked up speed. Darius lunged.

The two collided hard, with the very loud, sharp sound of metal hitting metal at a high speed. To everyone watching, the next move of the fight was a blur. To the hedgehog, it seemed to happen at a speed just above normal.

Darius had shot his left hand up, backhanding the incredibly sharp blade, the impact of which resulted in the loud twang. Faster than the hedgehogs eyes could track, Darius' right hand connected with the hedgehog's chin. The sword flew out of the hedgehogs' hand as he sailed straight up into the air.

The loud crack of Darius' fist connecting to the hedgehog's chin was misleading.

Tails watched as the fiery hedgehog flew at least seven feet into the air. As he came back down, Darius launched into a corkscrew kick, twisting his entire body upside down and doing a complete spin. His foot connected with the hedgehog's stomach as he fell. The impact send the hedgehog flying into a rock. Darius landed with his legs spread and one hand on the ground. The other one was behind his back.

The fiery hedgehog lay against the rock, slowly breathing. He was in a lot of pain.

"Damnit. That fox is strong." he said. He tried to get up, but found that he was too weak to do so. He sat there, waiting for the fox to deliver his deathblow. But as the fox got closer, he saw that it was holding his sword. The hedgehog gasped. To be killed by his own blade… He couldn't decide if it was an insult or an honor. However, the fox took the sword by it's blade, and shoved into the ground. He squatted down in front of the hedgehog.

Darius looked the hedgehog in the eyes. The expression on the hedgehog was one of pain and fear, but also that of respect. However, disgust was also apparent. Darius grabbed the hedgehog by the collar of his jacket, and hoisted him into a standing position, standing at the same time. He did it one handed.

The hedgehog's face was level with Darius' though that was because Darius was holding him up off the ground. After a few seconds of being almost nose to nose, Darius set the hedgehog on his feet.

"I don't think that there would be a point in killing you." said Darius, his voice very evil and heavy. "So, tell me, what where you thinking? Attacking those who had done nothing to you?" The hedgehog looked him in the eye.

"I…was doing…as I had…been paid." muttered the hedgehog. His very weak and quiet, due to the shortness of breath caused by the powerful kick to the stomach. Darius turned his head, and motioned for the others to come over to him. Sonic, who had been lying on his back, trying to catch his breath, came over, as well as Amy, who was still holding the coat, and Espio. The others were trying to put out the fire in the house. Darius looked at it. It would be easier just to let it burn its self out.

"What should I do with him?" Sonic, Amy, and Espio all seemed surprised by the question. "What should I do with him?" he asked again. "He's a mercenary, though for who I don't know." The hedgehog, who had now caught his breath spoke up.

"My name's Vann. I was paid by someone to eliminate Sonic the hedgehog, as well as Amy Rose, Knuckles the echidna, and Miles Prower. I didn't get a name. He paid cash." Darius turned his attention back to the hedgehog.

"What did he look like, and where did you meet him at?" Facing the fox, Vann responded.

"He was the size of the blue one over there, Sonic." he said, point to Sonic. "His quills were different. He was a light shade of blue, and looked like he was glowing slightly. He came to me as I was walking out of a bar, delivering a message to the owner. He asked me if I wanted the money. I told him I did, and he handed it to me right there. It was at least 50,000. He told me to assassinate Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, and Tails." Darius suddenly looked like he had figured something out.

"How did his spines set, how did he move, and what was he wearing?" Vann seemed a little surprised by the question.

"Umm…his spines…" said Vann, trying to remember. "I think they were point straight up. He moved and acted like he was an instructor of some kind, probably a complex martial arts teacher. All he had on were gloves, shoes, and a cape that used a golden chain to connect around the neck. I think he also had a bracelet on his left wrist." Darius' face was twisted in to disbelief, amazement, horror, and panic. He was obviously having bad realization. He faced the ground. Tails now came over, joining them. "He told that he wanted me to do it because it was what the planet wanted. He said that-"

"She was afraid for her children. They had become to dangerous and too powerful. She is tired of watching them suffer." Darius was breathing heavily now. He had interrupted the fiery hedgehog, and now was completely silent.

"Wow. How did you know that?" asked Vann. "It was word for word, I think." Darius looked up from the ground.

"I…I know him. Nazo." Everyone looked at him, confused. Everyone except Tails. The young fox asked a confused sounding question.

"I thought you said he was dead." Now, everyone's gaze turned to Tails. They were all confused, other than Darius.

"I thought he was. But there was something about that crazy fool…something that led me to believe that he was much older than he had told me."

"When did you meet him, anyway?" asked Vann. He was less scared of the fox than he had been. He was sure that he wouldn't be killed.

"I…I want to say it was 40 years ago." replied the somewhat stunned fox. Another wave of memories had came back to him. "But, I don't think I'm that old." He remained silent for a few seconds. Then he looked at Vann. "Do you want to live?"

"Ye…yes." stuttered the hedgehog. So much for friendly. The fox looked at him. His expression was unreadable.

"Good. You'll do as your told. If Nazo is as strong as he was then, then we'll need every ounce of strength that we can get."

Darius took his coat back from Amy, and put it on. He walked off, requesting not to be bothered. However, he did ask Tails, Sonic, and Vann to come along. Apparently, they were needed.

Amy watched as Sonic walked away. She had woken up from having a terrible nightmare that morning, only to then have to fight to keep anyone from getting hurt. She was tired.

But Sonic never seemed to get tired. His arm was keeping him from doing much fighting, and it was showing on his stress levels. It seemed that he needed to keep busy to stay relaxed. She was beginning to understand the feeling.

The problem was that Sonic's attitude towards her was starting to take it's toll. He wouldn't date her, hug her, tell her he loved her, kiss her, or even just stay with her and keep her company. She wanted him to acknowledge her, to love her. Or, at least she had used too. She still wanted his love, but she was also wanting more. Love wasn't enough for her anymore. She needed someone that she could always count on. Sonic…he was just too inconsistent. He was happy saving the world. He never seemed to have time for her, or anyone else that didn't want to compete with him in some way.

She had tried, and tried very hard to think of something that she could challenge him to. But nothing ever came to her. She knew that she would have to beat him to get him to really notice her. All of this led her to ask herself two questions. One was about Shadow. Just how alike were Sonic and Shadow? At first, she had thought that Shadow was Sonic. But now, as she got to know them both better, she could see that they were very different, but at the same time very alike. It was difficult to think about. The other question was much different.

Why did she miss Shadow?

"Hey!" called Darius, who was now returning with Sonic, Tails, and Vann following him. "Do you have any idea where I could get a hold of a super-weapon?"