The Chaos Emeralds.
It is a thing of immeasurable power. It grants joy to the suffering, victory to those on the verge of defeat, life to the dead...shining like a star in the hands of it's wielder, it possesses the power to turn one's thoughts into reality. It makes the impossible possible. Men honor it and worship what it can do. People believe it to be a gift from God.
Yet what is required to make it...
Is the work of the Devil.
Episode Eleven:
There's A Whole Other World Underground!
が全体の他の世界が地下だ
"In all honesty...I'm impressed." Tikal told the two brothers as she looked out the window, hands on her hips, her cobalt eyes furrowed with her brow in thought. "You saw the Door and made it back alive...considering your age, that's incredible. Absolutely incredible."
"Yeah, we feel SO lucky."
"But you must still take responsibility for what you've done. I can't teach you any more. You're expelled. I am no longer your instructor." Tikal said firmly, folding her arms.
"WHAT? But...but teacher, pl-" Sonic began.
Tails held his hand out and stopped Sonic in place. "We understand. Th-thank you, teacher. For...everything." He said softly, bowing his head. "Come on, brother, let's...leave her alone."
"...alright." Sonic said quietly, biting his lip as they left the room. "Alright..."
...
...
...
... "Well...I suppose this is it. You've ceased being her students." Tikal's father told them as he handed Sonic his luggage. "...but feel free to stop by and say "Hi" when you get the chance." He added. "You're no longer teacher and pupil. You're as equals now."
"...equals?" Sonic asked, looking down at his luggage, then at the train that was pulling into the station.
"Wait, if we're equals then-"
"GAAAH!" Sonic slapped his head. "God, we're dumbasses! How could we not...come on, we gotta go back and talk to her! We could actually LEARN something!" He insisted, quickly running off, with Tails running right behind him.
"Don't go getting yourself killed!" Tikal's father called after them as they rounded a corner and ran off into the streets, the night sky spreading overhead.
Tikal was cutting up some parsley in her kitchen when Sonic kicked the door in. "Teach!"
TWHOOSH! A spoon knocked into Sonic's forehead and he groaned, dropping his luggage and moaning as he held his sore head. "I told you to not come back! What are you still doing here?" Tikal wanted to know.
"Quick, we have to do something before she does the "Nostril Flare of Total Rejection"." Tails whispered. They both got on their knees and placed their hands UPON their knees, bowing their heads. "We came here to find a lead about how to get our original forms back!"
"We're not leaving until you help us!" Sonic went on.
"...I'm too much of a pushover." Tikal sighed, putting the parsley down and folding her arms. "Alright...what do you like to know?"
SOON...
"So you didn't actually see "The Ultimate Truth"?" Tikal wanted to know, rubbing her chin as she and the boys sat in the living room. She looked intently at Tails, who shook his head.
"Uh-uh. I've no idea what that even means."
"You MIGHT have lost your memory of it out of shock." Tikal told him, looking concerned. "We should try getting your memory back. Do you realize how important it is?"
"...you're right...I lost use of PARTS of my body...so did YOU..." Sonic said, looking at Tikal. "But bro, you lost your ENTIRE form! You would have gotten right up to the nitty gritty! Better than ALL of us! You would have seen ALL of the Ultimate Truth!" He told Tails, who gasped.
"You're right, that DOES make sense. The more you pay, the more you know...and I kind of ended up paying the full price, so I SHOULD know...somewhere in my head..." Tails murmured. "We've got to go for it."
"...alright. Let me ask somebody I know about how to get your memory back. But first thing's first..." Tikal held up a small bowl from the table. "Have a hard candy, and then let me cook up a nice pasta dish for you."
"Oooooh!" Sonic licked his lips.
Outside the window, a small figure was clinging to the wall. It was a Chao with scaly greenish-tinged fur and intensely yellow eyes. He had a fairly long tail and was wearing a small toga/rag out of an old grey towel. "It's him, alright. He's the one that bound a soul to a doll. The Blue Blur himself!" The chao grinned and scuttled off into the night, smirking broadly and giggling to itself, it's figure vanishing into an alley a few moments later...
...
...
...
... "Hmmmmmm." A bunny with a thick tuft of orangish hair at the top of her creamy-furred head looked over a chessboard, her orange-tipped long ears hanging down as she adjusted the fine dress she wore. It was delicate-looking, shades of pink and maroon with a red tie, and she had a refined maroon pair of high-heel shoes on her feet. She looked up from her desk over at Shadow. "So, you'll be transferring directly to Central next week, will you?" Vanilla the Rabbit inquired.
"Yes, sir."
"I'm going to miss you. You are quite the card."
"Ah, not as much as you when you were younger, General Vanilla."
"You worked as hard as you could and allowed me to feel at ease. Thank you for that." Vanilla said, moving one bishop.
"And thanks to the work you allowed me to take on, I feel I learned many things. I've become quite insightful thanks to you." Shadow said as he positioned his rook in a new place on the board. "Check."
"Ahh, you win! Took you 3 years, but I'm not complaining." Vanilla said sweetly, holding up a small black notebook. "And I've got a parting gift for you." She added.
"Oh?"
SOON...
"Master Sergeant Bomb." Shadow announced, as the robot saluted. "Warrant Officers Vector and 2nd Lieutenant Heavy." The crocodile and the robot saluted along with Bomb. "2nd Lieutenant Ray!" The flying squirrel also snapped to attention. "1st Lieutenant Rouge! You are all transferring along with me to Central. I am not taking "no" for an answer either!"
"One problem sir...I've got this new girlfriend here in town." Ray spoke up nervously.
"Break up with her." Shadow said swiftly.
"Oooooh, it's getting COLD in here, somebody better pay the bill!" Vector remarked as Ray began to bawl.
Heavy began to strum on his guitar as Shadow gave them all a glare. YOU'RE AS COLD AS ICE! He sang out.
...
...
...
... "I can't believe you're trying to run diagnostics on yourself." A small, monkey-like robot frowned, it's red ears flopping down as he adjusted the cowboy hat atop his head, a very large, glittering multicolored ring atr the front. "Let US handle it." Coconuts insisted, holding up a wrench and waving it in the air at Omega as the bulky robot sat alone in a tent.
Omega lowered his clawed hand, as wires shot back in from his palm, removing themselves from his internal processor, which was currently exposed on his front chest.
"I simply believe in being efficient." Omega told Coconuts.
"Don't give me that line. After all, I TAUGHT you it." A voice spoke up. Omega blinked in surprise as a black, almost imp-like robot entered the tent. He had golden eyes and a pale green rucksack currently slung over his shoulder, which he took off. He was wearing a small white tunic, and had a "V" insignia tattooed on his forehead, with "horns" sweeping up from either side of his head.
"Master Bokkun." Omega gasped as Bokkun sat across from him. "I thought you were..."
"I had been worried about you too." Bokkun admitted, smiling broadly. "But I've been hearing rumors. You big idiot, you've been going around and killing state metallurgists!" He frowned. "I can GET how you feel so pissed." He waved a finger in the air. "But going around and killing them isn't going to help things. It's not logical. It's not smart. Responding to violence with more violence? That's like trying to put out a fire by getting a BIGGER fire."
"I KNOW...it's not logical. Yet...I cannot find myself wanting to deviate from this path." Omega insisted.
"You're simply going to have to tolerate them." Bokkun went on. "And believe me, I KNOW that gets hard." He rolled his eyes. "But still-"
"Well looky here!"
Bokkun and Omega looked up to see two wolves were parting the tent curtain to reveal Omega to a person who was slightly hiding behind a stack of bricks. "See? The robot with that tattoo on his shoulder, the one called 'mega."
"OMEGA." Nack the Weasel spoke up, pointing upwards.
"You dirty, sleazy snake!" One robot snapped, stomping on Nack's foot and making him howl in pain as he jumped up and down, holding his new injury. "We took you in when you had nowhere else to go!"
"Shut iiiit!" Nack hissed. "I'm going to rise again..." He cackled madly, rubbing his hands together as he licked his lips. "And get my revenge upon Sonic the Hedgehog!"
Omega calmly stood up and walked out of the tent as Bokkun nervously looked away. The first of the two wolves Nack had hired reach for Omega's arm.
...yeah, he wasn't going to be a "lefty" anymore.
"GUAAAAHHHHRRRRRGGGHHH!" The wolf howled, holding the stump that had been his arm as Omega's claws now grabbed ahold of the other wolf's head.
"You're completely INSANE!" The remaining one snarled.
"Insanity's an organic trait. I'm...EFFECTIVE."
CRA-SCHLUCKA.
Nack saw the body drop to the ground as the other robots looked to the side, clearly disgusted. Immediately HE dropped to the ground and began to kowtow, beginning and sobbing. "Please, I was wrong! Lemme live! I'll follow ya everywhere and do everythin' for you!"
"You're really just...going?" Bokkun spoke up sadly. "...what would your brother think?" He called out.
"..." Omega clenched his fists. "I cannot turn back now." He said softly.
Nack blinked, watching Omega walk off, and then looked back at the OTHER robots, who were giving him a hateful glare. Bokkun held up a small radio and turned it on.
"Daaaa-daaa-da-daaa...daaaa-daa-daaaa-daa-daaa-da-daaaa..." He sang along with the funeral march.
"WAIT FOR MEEEE!" Nack screeched, deciding to take his chances with ONE furious robot instead of a horde of them.
...
...
...
...Tails was trying to clean up the area around Tikal's house, sweeping off the front path that led to the door as he wore a big apron that read "Priests...DON'T Do It". He was humming "Ode to Joy" and absentmindedly bouncing his head back and forth when a crumpled-up piece of paper suddenly got thrown right in front of him.
He blinked, looking down at it, then looking around. No sign of anyone. Suuuussspiiiiicioooouuuus!
He picked it up and unrolled it, looking at the message. Which was, of course... Suuuussspiiiiicioooouuuus!
...
...
...
...a chao with dark grey fur and thick locks sniffed the air, then narrowed his dark green eyes. He had fairly long ears and a tail to match, and looked over at his friends as they laid in wait in a bar given the title "The Golden Calf". "He's here, alright." The dark-grey chao insisted, nodding his furry little head.
"Good!" Another chao spoke up. She had purplish fur and bright yellow eyes, with a horn atop her head and a curled-up tail. She wore a belt around her waist and a tattoo underneath one eye as she stood by the chao that had been spying on the brothers some time ago. "I can see him coming now."
Tails headed down the big alley towards the entrance to the bar where the three creatures were. They looked a lot like chao, but...not like any HE'D ever seen before.
"We've been a-waiting for you, stranger." The grey-furred one told Tails.
"I know your secret. Meet me at the Golden Calf." Tails said, reciting from memory the note he'd been given. "Suuuussspiiiiicioooouuuus!" He sang out. "Granted, you asked me to come in broad daylight, so it's a little LESS so, but still..."
"You see buddy, we know a lot about you. Why don'tcha come with us?"
"...my parents told me never to go with strangers."
"...okay, how old are you?" The grey-furred one inquired, going up to Tails and poking him in the chest.
"Uh...14. My brother's 15."
"Then you're old enough to make decisions for yourself, right?"
Tails put a finger to his lip, thinking about this, then nodded. "You're right."
"Good for you! You're making an important re-evaluation of your lifestyle." The purple, female chao told him.
"And I'm deciding, for myself, I don't wanna go with you." Tails told them with a cheery grin.
SFX: Waa-waa-waaa!
"Oh, great. We have to do this the hard way." The grey-furred chao sighed as he jumped up into the air. Tails quickly ducked a sudden swipe of tiny claws and slammed his fist into the thing, only to have one tail slice outward...
The tail's end was razor sharp like steel. Tails felt his chest be impaled and ripped open as the purplish chao smirked and jumped at him. It slithered inside his chest like a spider going through a crack in a wall, and was soon snuggled up tightly inside of Tails, arms and legs gripping onto Tails's inner stringy workings. "You oughta feel lucky. Age 14 and already somebody's inside you!
"EEWWWW! Get outta of me! You can't control me like this!" Tails snapped, growling as he began fighting back for control over his body. Despite the purple chao tugging on thick bonds of string that held his arms and legs up, he felt he COULD be able to get away...it took everything she had to-
"I don't need to control you. Just distract you." The purple chao said.
"So I can do this." A very muscular-looking chao with a thick lock of black hair atop it's head and a square jaw remarked, slamming Tails into the ground. "This is what happens when you make things hard."
"What ARE you?" Tails managed to gasp out.
"They're chao of a SPECIAL variety...and they work...for me." A voice said. Tails looked up from the ground to see an albino human approaching. His golden jacket glinted in the sun as he smirked down at Tails with perfect pearly whites, his pink eyes glinting in a slightly threatening manner.
...
...
...
... "Well-well-WELL!" The human said, examining the currently-trapped form of Tails as he looked at the insides of Tails, the rings now fully off and showing all of the boy's body. "Oh, careful of the seal." He informed the purple chao, who was a bit cramped for space as she stayed within Tails's chest. "That's how this was done, right?"
"Who are you?"
"The name's Michael White...but hey, call me White." He patted Tails on the cheek and grinned. "Let's you and I be friends."
"Wait...Michael White? The SINGER?" Tails asked, blinking stupidly a few times.
"Yes, to the public I'm a successful and WILDLY popular singer." White said, stepping back and pointing a thumb at himself. "Never staying long in one town, always on the move. But this is my "home away from home"...I keep it hidden beneath the Golden Calf away from all the rest of the world. This is my "crib" of sorts."
"And these chao all work for you?" Tails wanted to know, looking around the gold-painted room he'd been lead down to. "There's no way they can genuinely be chao. Chao can't say anything but their name, they can't talk. It's not possible."
"Oh-no-no-nooo." White knelt down by Tails and patted him on the head. "If you have power...ANYTHING is possible. And Magic is power, eh?" He laughed. "All of them were once people. Toni, the one inside you, was created with a Jackson's chameleon." He gestured at the others, first the grey one, then the muscular one, then the one with the intense yellow eyes. "Mark over there was created from a fox and pees standing on one leg."
"I DO NOOOOOT!" Mark yelled angrily, his tail lashing on the ground.
"Andy, you were made from a...steer, right?"
The muscular one frowned darkly. "No, a bull, I still have my-"
"Good man, good man!" White eagerly nodded. "And Dodger here was created from your ordinary garden variety lizard."
"Just an ol' salamander, really. Nothin' special." Dodger informed Tails with a shrug.
"But who would have ever made a successful combination? Why wasn't it reported? We would have heard about it...unless..." Tails's eyes widened. "...the military?"
"I KNEW you were a smart boy!" White said happily, still crouching in front of Tails. "You see, there's an entire world underground, boy. Secrets buried deep...deep..." He leaned in, nice and close to Tails's face, whispering. "Deeeeeep."
"He's taken very good care of us, even though he's Selfishness." Dodger spoke up happily, smiling at White.
"Well that's not very nice to say about your benefactor." Tails commented. "...wait, don't you mean "Sel-FISH", not "Selfish-NESS"?"
"No, no. You see..." White knelt down and calmly closed one eye, making the other one widen as he sat in front of Tails. It was then that Tails saw...strings of ones and zeroes combining to make an iris. "I'm a "Golem"."
Tails's eyes went wide in shock. "Wh-WHAT?"
"Why are you surprised? You've heard of them, right?" White told him, his pink eyes glittering like precious gems. "Golems are artificially created beings. Creations of those who were very holy and close to God. The story goes that when a very holy person strives to approach God, in that pursuit they gain some of God's wisdom and power...one of these powers being the creation of life."
"You're lying! Who could have possibly created anything like that?" Tails insisted, feeling a sense of fear running through him. It couldn't be. This wasn't POSSIBLE. Magic could do many things, but this was a matter of creating a flesh and blood person...complete with heart and soul! This wasn't healing wounds or bringing people back that had existed before, this was something much more...
What ordinary man could DO that?
"...I guess you're from the "Show Me" state. You won't believe until you get some proof with your eyes." The albino human snapped his fingers. "Andy!"
Andy jumped into the air, swinging an enormous hammer. SCHUDDA-CHULK!
The top half of White's head vanished, leaving only his jaw. Tails screamed in horror, but then his scream died halfway when he saw the body calmly lowered itself to show Tails the INSIDE...
It was all churning, violent pink energy swirling around, intermixed with sparks of golden dust that trickled out the open neck. No blood...no organs...just that strange, maelstrom of pink energy moving around. The pink energy dribbled onto the floor before, right on the spot, the head began to reform, first forming a skull made of pinkness, then white eyes...teeth...muscles...flesh...
White stood there, now fully returned to normal. "Okay, I died once. And OWWW." He rubbed his neck. "I'm gonna feel THAT in the mornin'."
"...it...can't...be..." Tails murmured.
"Like I said." White told him, pointing downwards. "You have power...and ANYTHING is possible. Look at yourself, kid. You're a soul bonded to a doll. And a cute doll at that." He added with a warm smile. "Now...let's get down to business. How does it feel having a body that will never die at all? The idea behind sealing a soul onto something...if you did it right...you'd unlock immortality." White rubbed his chin, a dark glint in his eyes.
"Your body seems immortal enough." Tails muttered.
"Ahhh, but see, the thing is...Golems aren't exactly..." White tilted his head to the side. "Put together out of things like sugar, spice and everything nice, or snips, snails and puppy dog tails. Any being created by anyone who's not God would be but a shadow of one made by the Big Guy himself. And I'm...that shadow."
"What are you MADE of?" Tails wanted to know.
"Selfishness. Chaos energy needs a spark of life to change form into a sentient being, and when you stick an emotion into a chunk of chaos, it acts as a spark of life and...ta-daaaa!" He spread his arms wide. "Selfishness is my reason for being! I want things done MY way, ALL the time. Be it money, power, wealth, I don't care! I want what I want, when I want!" White told him, throwing his head back and laughing. "Eh-heh-ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaa!"
"..." Tails nervously gulped.
"Now then...I've told you my secret. You tell me yours." White said, folding his arms and smiling in a fashion that wasn't exactly THREATENING, but it wasn't a NICE one either. "How are you even able to exist? How does the seal work?"
"It's no use. I don't have any memories from when I got this body. I'm not even the one that did the seal. My brother did."
"Oh? Really? How interesting..." White remarked, rubbing his chin. "Dodger...could you bring him here?" The albino human inquired of the lizard-esque chao.
"Ooh, you got it, sir!"
FIVE MINUTES LATER...
"He really got me, sir." Dodger moaned, nursing a black eye, a near-broken arm and a harsh bruise to his face as he staggered into the room, allowing Sonic entrance.
"You know, I don't MIND rescuing you from this sort of thing, but you need to promise me this won't become a habit." Sonic told his brother.
"It won't, I promise." Tails insisted. "Oh, and uh, this guy's a Golem."
"A WHAAAA?" Sonic's green eyes popped right open.
"Heeeey! I didn't go through the trouble of kidnapping you so you could go blabbing my secret ten seconds after somebody randomly pops in!" White muttered darkly, rolling his eyes.
"He might have some hints as to how to get our original bodies back." Tails added.
"If you're with those jerks from the Fifth Laboratory, you've got another thing coming." Sonic said firmly, frowning and clutching his hands into fists.
"Them? Oh, you mean Flippancy, Ignorance and Racism, right?" White remarked. "See, it's a long story, but to make it short, I can't do that. Still, how about a trade? I'm a nice guy. I'll teach you how to make a golem, you teach me how to seal a soul onto something? That's good and fair, right?" He commented. "See, I can be a gentleman when I want to." White told the hedgehog, placing his hand on his chest. "...though really..." He turned back to look at Tails. "WHY do you want to go back to your old form? That thing's great! Really handy, if you ask me!"
Sonic's fists clenched tightly.
"You don't get hungry, sleepy, tired...that's not a good thing?" White remarked, grinning broadly.
"Stop...talking..." Sonic's eyes glinted furiously.
"Here's where Sonic snaps like a "Twix" bar." Tails thought to himself.
"BULLSHIIIIIT!" Sonic roared out, stomping on the ground suddenly and taking a step forward as everybody in the room looked at each other, then at White, then at Tails, then at Sonic, who was now clenching both fists before him, burning fire rising up from his body as his eyes glinted darkly. His voice had become a snarling, furious howling roar as he commenced what was one of the finest verbal castigations of a villain he'd ever done.
"Hoo boy." White remarked, sweat-dropping.
"You think that body's HANDY? You think it's GREAT? I can't sit here and listen to you go off like that when you don't even know what it's like to live like that!" He pointed at White, grinding his teeth, hissing with anger. "Teach YOU how to seal a soul to something! I wouldn't tell you how to tie your own shoes, you disgusting prick! I don't negotiate with terrorists! I don't give one inch to the bad guys! I wouldn't trust you with taking out the GARBAGE, letting alone the secret of the seal!"
The others kind of couldn't do much BUT listen, since the entire room seemed to be shaking from the full brunt of Sonic's sheer pissed-off-ness. They just stared, blinking stupidly at the enfuriated 'hog.
"Villains...do not...get...DEALS!" Sonic roared out, finally finishing his rant as the room ceased shaking and the fire faded from Sonic's body.
"...wow. Just..." White clapped slowly, shaking his head. "Look, I get what you're trying to do. It's noble and heroic, and all that other Russle Crowe 'Gladiator' crap."
"Oh, you saw it?" Tails asked.
"It was alright." White remarked, shrugging. "Okay, fine then. You guys take the doll away so we can take him apart later. I'll handle short and squishy here."
"SHORT AND SQUISHY!" Sonic rushed forward as the chao grabbed ahold of Tails and carried him out of the room through a back entrance. Sonic slammed his fist at White, who calmly held his hand up, catching the blow. The hedgehog blinked at the sight of...his skin. His right and left hand were now covered in inky blackness that had spread like some kind of disease.
"You can't beat me, baby blue. I've got REAL jazz hands." White informed Sonic with a sneer, kicking him in the chest and knocking him backwards. Sonic flipped through the air, narrowly landing back on his feet and rushing forward again, trading blows with the albino human, punching and kicking over and over.
"Come on baby blue, that the best you got?" White laughed coldly, jumping backwards and sticking out his tongue, pulling one eyelid down.
"Oh yeah? Try THIS!" Sonic roared out, his entire body momentarily sparking with golden light, and suddenly he was right in White's face.
SCHUDDA-SLAAAAM! He grabbed ahold of White and knocked his head clear into the floor below, making huge chunks fly up and crash into the wall. The blue hedgehog dusted himself off, stepping back, looking satisfied at the enormous crater he'd made. "Ha! Whaddya think of THAT? You might be a bit stronger than me, but you're not faster!"
White muttered under his breath and stood up, holding his head as blood that was not truly blood dribbled down from the sides of his head onto the black straps on his jacket's shoulders. "Ow, that HURT." He mumbled.
"Ow that hurt"?" Sonic remarked, frowning. "You're not normal at all, are you?"
"No, no, not quite. I've got advanced regenerative powers, standard for all Golems, but each of us were given random abilities." White told him, spitting out a tooth and frowning. "No two Golems are exactly the same thanks to the chaos energy that makes up our bodies. Thanks to my "Super" form, which I can activate at will, you can't hurt me." He informed Sonic proudly just before he suddenly rushed forward, slamming his foot hard into Sonic's gut.
"UUUGHHLUUUHHHH!" Sonic gasped out in pain, some vomit dribbling out his mouth as he held his sides and White looked him over with interest.
"I get you, really. You don't mind getting your OWN ass kicked, but when a family member takes a bullet, it gets personal. Really, it IS heroic. You're so stupid though. You really wanna lose both your brother AND a chance at figuring out how to get your own bodies back?"
Sonic took a few deep breaths before he stood back up. "Once I've kicked YOUR ass, I'll get Tails back. I'll just keep poundin' away at what part of you HASN'T turned black and strong 'n stuff."
White shrugged his shoulders in a "Well, y'knoooow" fashion. "Yeah, funny thing about that. See...the trick doesn't just apply to my hands and feet." He told Sonic calmly. "I didn't wanna bring this out at FIRST, but now it kinda sounds like fun, so..."
He gave Sonic a diabolical grin as the dark blackness on his fingertips spread. Now it was clearly cascading down his face, covering his entire form. He took off his jacket, showing off a sleeveless white t-shirt underneath, to more fully blackened form. His eyes became the color of glittering emeralds, and he calmly held up one hand. "Like I told you, baby blue..."
He clenched the hand into a fist. "You won't be able to lay a SCRATCH on me."