Apologies for the long wait. Late March and early April is crazy term paper and finals time. But, I worked on this chapter ALL DAY, so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog, only my characters and original plot. Thanks for all the faves, +alerts and reviews and I would appreciate if you guys pointed out any spelling or grammar errors that slipped past my eyes.

So, without further adieu, buckle down, grab some popcorn and prepare for the final climactic showdown of Hostile Encounters.


"Ah, the Occulus," Garnett whispered as he bent over the markings that were etched in the stone, gently brushing his talons against the symbols. "Here, our people made their last stand as they faced extinction. And it is here where we will make our glorious return and put those wretched surfacers in their place. Get into position, it is almost time." Garnett stepped into the Occulus circle, taking the smaller circle with a flame insignia right at the top.

"Do we really have to do this?" Azure whispered to Umber, who had his hands reassuringly gripped on her shoulders.

"Yes, you must," Garnett interjected, roughly grabbing her by the hair, which earned a frightened whimper from the little dragon. "Do not worry, sister. Once the surface is ours, you can have all the freedom you wish. I hope you said your goodbyes to whatever vermin you befriended on the surface, because soon enough they will be no more," he whispered close, emphasizing each word with every ounce of venom in his voice. When he finished, he roughly pushed Azure to the lightning inscribed circle next to his own as their other siblings took their places, a glaring Sapphire escorting a shaking and frantic Shamrock to her spot, whispering soft and reassuring words before taking her own place next to Umber.

Garnett shut his eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in the rich scent of the air and the feel of the wind through his feathers. He softly muttered an incantation, his words in a strange language that none of them could recognize. The inscription lines suddenly lit up and a translucent barrier surrounded each of the Mythos siblings.

"A barrier…" Umber lightly touched the barrier before drawing his hand back in pain as the barrier shocked him. "Why do we need a bar-AHHHH!" Umber suddenly cried out as pain surged through his body and swirls of darkness wisped from his body into the sky as energy pooled above the Occulus. His body reacted violently, trying to break free from the pain of his energy being ripped from his very being, though the barrier kept him in place, ensuring that his escape was impossible.

"Umber!" Azure called out to her brother before she and the rest of her siblings began experiencing the same pain, each of their elements pouring from their bodies into the sky.

"The pain is only temporary, brothers and sisters. Soon, you will feel nothing at all," Garnett muttered calmly, before the extraction soon reached him as well. However, he retained his demeanor, only twitching slightly and tightly gritting his jaw.

Shadow, Raphaella and Azreal emerged from the Catacomb gates, which sealed tightly behind them.

"Ancestors, help us," Azreal muttered when he saw the dark clouds forming over the island and the mass collection of energy siphoned from the nine siblings pooling above them, a coagulation of the nine elements of the Mythos bloodline.

"Umber!" Raphaella yelled, rushing towards the chaos to her beloved. Just as her hand reached for him, she instantly pushed back by a powerful force. Azreal managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

"A barrier…" Shadow muttered, examining the barriers, "And it doesn't look like they're aware of us."

"A little barrier isn't going to stop me!" Raphaella recomposed herself and aimed the tip of her staff at the barrier enclosed around Umber. She fired a beam of energy at it, but the barrier easily bounced it off into the sky. "My magic has no effect!"

"Perhaps mine will. Shadow, together?" Azreal turned to Shadow, who nodded in agreement. Azreal conjured two white fireballs in his hands while Shadow summoned a Chaos Spear in his. Together, they lunged at the barrier, pouring all their energy into breaking through it. For a split second, it looked like they were just about to make it through before the barrier flashed briefly and repelled them as well.

"No good, how can we stop the ritual?" Shadow asked.

"Let me look at the inscription circle," she replied, rushing to the center of the circle and quickly examining the markings. "Uh oh…"

"What?" Shadow asked.

"Th-this isn't a destruction spell circle like we thought," Raphaella replied.

"Then what is it?" asked Azreal.

"That's the crest of Bell… This is a summoning circle!"

"A summoning circle… Then what's it summoning?" asked Azreal.

"Let's not wait long enough to find out. How can we stop it?" Shadow asked.

"Breaking the circle will disrupt the flow of magic and stop the ritual," she answered.

"That's all I needed to hear." Shadow formed another Chaos Spear in his hands before driving the tip right into one of the inscription lines. The energy pool above their heads suddenly condensed and imploded on itself, exploding in a flash of brilliant white light as the barriers surrounding each of the Mythos siblings shattered and the light emitting from the circle faded. Released from their cages, the siblings fell to the ground, each utterly drained of energy and weak.

"Umber!" Raphaella whispered in concern, rushing to his side. Umber coughed and whispered her name, struggling to stand as he leaned into the ocelot, who helped support him, while his hands desperately clung to her as if she would slip away.

Meanwhile, Azreal rushed over to Azure, carefully cradling her in his arms, tenderly whispering, "It's ok, Azure. I'm here; we're all here. You're safe… it's over," as he lightly kissed her forehead.

"No… No! NO!" Garnett roared, standing tall in his rage as flames licked across his feathers. "YOU! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! I WAS SO CLOSE TO FINISHING WHAT I STARTED SO LONG AGO!" he shouted, pointing his finger at Shadow.

"Well now you're done," Shadow replied, cracking his knuckles.

"I don't know who you think you are, surfacer, but you will regret defying me. I am Garnett, descendant of Mythos and Chief of the Mythsetia Veil!" he bellowed out in declaration.

"I am Shadow, Shadow the Hedgehog and I am the Ultimate Life Form," Shadow replied, crossing his arms and sending a determined glare at the phoenix.

"We'll see how ultimate you really are." Garnett conjured two fireballs in hands, hurtling them towards Shadow. A faint blue light surrounded Shadow as he suddenly disappeared from sight as the fireballs struck the concrete of the Occulus. "What the?" Shadow suddenly reappeared behind Garnett and swiftly kicked him in the back, sending Garnett straight into the ground, landing roughly on his jaw. "Heh, a teleporter, eh? What cowardice…" Garnett spat, standing to face Shadow as he rubbed his beak with the back of his hand.

"You're not the first fire demon I've faced," Shadow rebuffed, crossing his arms.

"I am no demon; I am a God!" Garnett proudly declared, coating himself in flames. He unleashed a frenzy of fireballs onto Shadow, who easily dodged them all. However, each fireballs that missed struck the ground, setting the grass and surrounding plants ablaze.

"F-fire… FIRE!" Shamrock wailed, backing away from the fire as frantically as she could. "G-get it away! AWAY!"

"He's going to set the whole island on fire!" shouted Raphaella.

"Sapphire, get these fires out!" called Umber.

Sapphire, standing protectively between Shamrock and the growing flames that came off from the craze of Shadow and Garnett's battle – fireballs and Chaos Spears flying back and forth, flashes of orange flames and green energy emitting from the fray – waved her hands, bringing water from the ocean and dousing the flames. "It's ok, Shamrock. I won't let the fire hurt you ever again," Sapphire whispered, bringing the traumatized nymph into her arms.

Garnett finally made a hit on Shadow, sending him back a few feet, though he easily recovered and slid to a stop on his feet. He lifted his arm, ready to throw a Chaos Spear just forming within his hands when he felt a sting of cold surround his body. He looked down at his feet as ice quickly encased his legs and arms, trapping him in place. He turned to his right and saw the light blue behemoth – Pine, the second youngest if he remembered correctly – with his fist in the ground and a trail of ice connecting them. "Dammit!" Shadow cursed, trying to pull his arms free.

"Excellent work, Pine. You continue to serve your master well. This is where the Ultimate Life Form ends. Perhaps they should have called you something else," Garnett declared, stepping forward to Shadow while forming a blade of solid flames in his hands. He raised the blade over his head, ready to plunge it into Shadow's chest when a wave of water suddenly washed over him, dousing the fire blade. Garnett narrowed his eyes in a vicious glare, slowly turning his head, his purple eyes connecting to the deep red of his sister. "Sapphire…" he muttered.

"As much as I hate to admit it, but that wasn't me," Sapphire responded, tightening her protective grip around Shamrock.

Before anyone else could speak, they all directed their attention to the clouds above, moving ferociously across the sky. Bolts of lightning flashed across the sky, loud claps of thunder ringing through the sky.

"Oh no," Azreal whispered.

"Uncle, what's going on?" asked Umber.

"This has happened once before, when Azure lost control…" Azreal turned to them, his eyes wide in fear and awe. A bolt of blue lightning suddenly knocked Garnett away from Shadow and roughly into a tree trunk. They turned their heads to Azure, her eyes glowing and face expressionless, as if she were in a trance, as lightning sparked across her body and winds swirled around her. "Azure!" Azreal cried, rushing over to her. She lifted her palm to him, pushing him back with a small burst of wind.

"What's happening? What's wrong with her?" Umber asked frantically.

"Nothing is wrong with her… She is simply evolving beyond her capabilities. It is not just lightning she can control anymore," Azreal responded, worry and concern written across his face.

Azure, in her trance-like state, gently floated over to Garnett, who stood up in rage, preparing to call her something foul before another bolt of lightning from her fingers silenced him. Azure stopped abruptly when she was next to Shadow, placing her hand on the ice trapping him as a small surge of lightning burst through the ice, shattering it into pieces and freeing the hedgehog from his binds. Azure suddenly rose high up into the sky, wind and lightning enveloping around her. She waved her arms as tornadoes formed over the ocean, rain poured down from the sky and lightning struck the trees, each inching closer to Garnett, who jumped back and forth to avoid each bolt.

"You wretched little… I've had enough of you!" Garnett leapt into the air, propelling himself with fire. Azure turned to Garnett, unleashing a bright and intense bolt of blue lightning straight into his chest, sending him hurtling back into the ground, creating a small crater as he landed.

"What's happening?!" shouted Shadow over the crashing winds and thunderclaps.

"It's Azure's powers! This is what they're like at full power but she doesn't realize what she's doing! Seeing you in danger of Garnett must have triggered an outburst!" cried Azreal, holding his arm up to shield himself from the raging winds.

"How do we stop her? She's going to tear apart the whole island at this rate!" shouted Umber.

"I'm not sure! This is leagues worse than the first time she lost control! I'm not sure if we can stop her!"

"There must be something we can do! Bring her back to her senses!" cried Umber.

"But how can you even get close to her? That storm she's making won't let any of us get near her!" shouted Raphaella.

Umber quickly turned to Payne and Sepia. "Payne, cancel out her wind as much as you can so I can get close! Sepia, I'll need you to throw me at her as hard as you can then do everything in your power to keep the island together!"

"I-I'll try!" Payne yelped as a bolt of lightning struck the ground near him.

"Ready?" Sepia asked, taking Umber's arm in his hands.

"Yeah, make it count." Sepia nodded and spun, throwing Umber straight into the air at their sister. The wind broke apart briefly around her as he made contact and tightly gripped his arms around her, immediately greeted by a painful shock of electricity. "AAH, Azure, it's me! Your brother, Umber!" A powerful gust of wind suddenly brushed against him nearly making him lose his grip on her, but he refused to let go. "I know you're scared, but you don't have to be anymore! Shadow's fine, you saved him! AAHHH!" Umber cried out, another surge of lightning coursing through him. "Y-you're the bravest one of all of us! You don't have to be afraid anymore because I'll be there for you, like I should have been before. Just come back to us! A-and I promise I'll be the brother you deserve!"

The lightning suddenly stopped stinging him and he felt the winds slowly die down around him. Suddenly, they were plummeting towards the ground, when a gentler gust of wind swept under them and cradled them, softly setting them on the ground as Azure weakly sunk into Umber's arms. "Thanks, Payne," Umber said as the siblings and Azreal gathered around them.

Azure stirred as she slowly opened her eyes. "Wh-what happened?" she slurred, sitting up with Umber's help.

"Your powers got… a bit out of hand. To put it lightly, you nearly tore apart the island," said Azreal.

"I-I did? I-I'm so sorry!" she wailed.

"It's all right, kid. We're all fine," said Umber.

"I thought her gauntlets were supposed to prevent something like this from happening," said Shadow.

"They are, but these ones aren't designed by someone with magical experience. Our emotional state is tied with our powers and potential. For all of G.U.N.'s technological advances, they have little understanding of the complex working of magic. Anubis can make the necessary adjustments later," explained Azreal.

Shadow bent down to Azure and locked eyes with her. "You ok?" he asked.

"Yeah…" she breathed. "I will be."

"No. You won't!" Garnett stepped forward, supported by Pine with Ghost on his other side. His chest was severely burned from the lightning bolt Azure struck him with and was smoking lightly. "I've been working towards this for far too long to let a little mongrel like you stop me!" Garnett shouted, coating himself in a raging fire.

"You take another step closer to any of them and I'll end you," Umber said with a serious glare.

"Haha, you continue to entertainment me, brother. You and I both know that you won't dare stand against me," replied Garnett.

"Then you don't know me very well at all," Umber said as shadows swirled around him.

"You will regret this, brother," Garnett threatened with narrow and fiery eyes.

"Not as much as you will." Garnett shrieked and launched a fireball at Umber, who swiftly disappeared into his shadow, which danced around the area. Garnett's head snapped back and forth, trying to get a lock on the moving shadow, but each time he caught sight of it for a split second, it would disappear.

Umber suddenly emerged behind Garnett, pushing Pine and Ghost away with his darkness waves and swiftly delivering a kick right into Garnett's back and knocking him right into the ground a second time, the house seal he carried falling out of his grasp and bouncing a few feet away before falling to a stop. Garnett quickly turned over onto his back to hit Umber with a fireball, but just as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared back into his shadow.

"You know what your mistake was Garnett? You underestimate everything! You place yourself so high above others and you don't even consider anything beneath you a possible threat! I've seen the way you fight and I know your moves. But you don't know mine!" Garnett readied another pair of fireballs, but Umber countered by swiftly moving his arms, bringing out Garnett's shadow out of the ground to bind his arms, diminishing the fireballs. "NO! You're done." Umber manipulated the shadows to further bind Garnett and bring them face-to-face. "Get off my island," Umber whispered, throwing Garnett back before turning to Pine and Ghost. "Brothers, stay if you wish, but if your loyalty remains to him, then neither of you are welcome."

"Ghost, now!" Garnett growled. Ghost leapt forward, letting out an intense flash of light. Everyone lifted their arms to shield themselves from the light and when it finally died down, Garnett, Pine and Ghost were nowhere to be seen.

The others gathered around Umber as Azreal placed his hand reassuringly on Umber's shoulder. "You did well, Umber. You should be proud."

"Funny, I don't feel it…"

"Well, I'm proud of you," Raphaella said, kissing Umber on the cheek tenderly.

"What happens now? The Veil is without a leader," said Umber.

"Not quite," Azreal said, strolling over to the seal and picking it up in his hands. "According to the line of succession, the position of Chief falls to the one who is next in line."

"…Which would be you," Umber said, finishing Azreal's sentence.

"No, my generation's time has passed. By line of succession, leadership falls to you, Umber," Azreal said, holding out the seal to Umber.

"But what if Garnett comes back?"

"Irrelevant. By Mythsetian law, Garnett has abandoned his post with no resignation or named successor. He cannot nor will he ever be allowed to resume his position. You are the Chief, Umber, if that is what you wish."

Umber starred at the seal and looked at the faces around him, his brothers and sisters and his beloved. For so long, responsibility had been around the corner, but he would turn around to avoid facing it. It scared him, the idea of being in charge of his people, all the weight of his decisions on his shoulders and having to bare all the consequences – good and bad – of his actions. He had spent too long cowering and avoiding what awaited him. "Yes… I do," he said, accepting the seal from Azreal as his siblings and Raphaella cheered around them. With the seal clutched in his hands, Umber felt oddly at ease, like this was meant to be.

"Well now, Umber. Now that you are Chief, what is your first act?" asked Azreal.

"Well… as the Chief of the Mythsetia Veil, I hereby revoke the banishment of Azreal Mythos. You are welcome to come back home, Uncle. It is where you belong."

Azreal smiled warmly, "Thank you, Chief Umber," bowing respectfully.

"And for my second act as Chief, I declare that the Mythsetians will no longer live in the Catacombs and instead return to the surface."

"An excellent decision, Umber. You will make a fine Chief. Your mother would be so proud of you if she could see you now. Perhaps we should spread the good news? It is likely that with the thunder from Azure's storm that everyone believes us all to be dead. Best to dispel that thought, yes?" Azreal suggested.

"Agreed," Umber replied. "Azure, you coming?" he asked, when he noticed his sister hadn't moved.

"Yeah, just give me a minute?" Umber nodded as Azure walked over to Shadow, who had been standing with his arms crossed overlooking the ocean since Garnett fled. "Shadow?"

"Your family going to be ok?" he asked, keeping his eyes locked on the ocean.

"Yeah, I think we will be now. I just wanted to thank you, Shadow, for coming to help me. I know we haven't known each other that long, but it really meant a lot to me that you came to help," she said with a smile.

"You are my friend, Azure. I don't abandon my friends."

"So I guess you'll be heading back to G.U.N.?"

"Yes. I imagine you'd like some time to be with your family?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah after everything that's happened, I think it would be best if I stay home for a bit. I'll come back in a few days, I promise."

"Take as much time as you need. I'll inform Commander Towers of the situation and I'll be discreet with the details."

"I appreciate that, Shadow. Thank you. The world just might not be ready to accept my people yet," Azure said sadly.

"I understand."

"Do you need a ride back to the mainland? I could-"

"You need to be with your family. I would actually like to speak with Azreal if I could steal him for a moment?" Shadow asked.

"No problem. I'll go get him!"

"Take your time, Azure."


Well everyone, there's our happy ending. But, the story isn't over yet! There are still some loose ends to tie up!

Next Chapter - Reassurance: Shadow and Azreal discuss a private matter and later, Shadow initiates a private investigation of his own into something that simply cannot be left unanswered.