Vile Files Instalment 1: The Sceptre Of Darkness
(A/N: For my readers who thought I hadn't updated recently, there are two or three chapters I've been putting up over the last few weeks. This week I finish this story. The last three chapters will be put up this weekend if not today. Enjoy. Touching on awkward animalistic instincts again. So much fun.)
Battle Royale
They landed with the wounded ones and instantly began to tend to them. The extras began to snipe the clones from above, while Vanilla and Rosemary were left to deal with a rapidly fading Titus and Argus. Chuck was focused on his brother. No sooner had they started this process when Team Sonic came onto the scene! Sonic slid to a halt with a gasp, Tails and Knuckles stopping as well. Sonic's eyes widened on seeing Jules. "Dad!" he cried, racing to Jules. "Uncle Chuck, what happened to him! Where's mom!"
Tails, instantly worried, questioned Rosemary in the most childish voice they'd ever heard from him, "Mommy, you're back… Are you okay? W-where's daddy?" Rosemary swallowed, then ran to her son, hugging him tightly with a sob. Tails felt panic rising, and instantly went back to normal. "Mom, where's dad? Why are Fiona and Nic here!" he screamed, hugging her tightly, desperately back.
"Tails, we're on your side for now," Fiona said, ashamedly looking away from the fox.
Pulling away to tend to the wounded once more, Rosemary added, "Something happened, Miles." Vanilla looked over the hill.
Knuckles, seeing this, became worried. He ran by to peer at the sight and gasped. "Sonic, it's Mephiles, and Ix!"
"It's a war down there sonny, and we're losing," Charles stated to Sonic.
"Mephiles and Ix…" Sonic asked, stunned. "So that was Egghead's plan… Oh no! Mom!" Without waiting for a reaction, Sonic tore to the cliff's edge and looked down, calling, "Mephiles, Ix, now it's on!"
Shocked, everyone looked up, including Aleena. She spotted the boy and paled. Before she could call to him, Sonic tore down the cliff and charged through the crowds. Knuckles instantly leapt off too, heading right for Ix scowling hatefully. Tails leapt off the cliff. "Tails, no!" Rosemary shrieked, trying to race after her son who was looking so desperately for his father.
Vanilla pounced her, holding her back. "Rosemary, I need help," She quickly said. "Tails will be fine."
Tails flew over the crowds looking fearfully for his father. Spotting him, Tails cried, "Dad, hold on!"
Amadeus looked up with a gasp, pale. "Son, no! Don't come down here!" he shouted.
Mephiles spotted the kit and smirked cruelly. "Dark Chaos Lance!" he called, shooting it at Tails.
Tails gasped in fear and dropped, but the lance scratched him deeply. He cried out in pain and fell from the sky. "Tails, no!" Amadeus cried in terror. Sonic and Knuckles looked over with gasps of alarm.
"Tails!" they both cried, eyes wide. Instantly Amadeus leapt into the air. He flew at his son, catching him in his arms. Knuckles turned to Ix and spotted him about to shoot at the father and son!
Eyes wide, Knuckles yelled, "Ix, don't you dare!"
Ix looked at him then laughed, shooting. Amadeus saw it coming and gasped, putting himself between the attack and his child. It struck him, and he fell from the air with a cry of pain. He was blacking out! The ground was nearing. His child was unconscious. With all his strength he managed to put himself between the child and the earth. It was then that they hit, hard. It was then that Amadeus was shrouded in darkness.
"Tails!" Sonic cried in horror. He looked furiously at Mephiles. It was then he noted that Scourge was already at his throat. For once, Sonic was glad to see the green faker. Instantly he charged back through the crowds towards his surrogate brother. Right then, however, he felt himself attacked violently, claws slashing him deep. He cried out in pain as he flew to the side.
He forced himself up to look at the assailant. His mouth dropped in disbelief on seeing it. "Drago!" he exclaimed in shock. Drago blinked at him, surprised. What were the chances Sonic would run right into his claws? He grinned evilly, though, then ran off. Sonic blinked in disbelief. He had a Chaos Emerald! He was heading towards Mephiles and Ix! They were working together! "Knuckles, look out! Chaos Emerald heading your way!" Sonic cried.
Oh crap, too many things were going on at once. Tails was injured along with Amadeus, he himself was hurt, he had no clue where his mother was, and now Drago was heading towards Mephiles with a Chaos Emerald! If Mephiles got them all… What should he do? He didn't know! Instantly he tore through the clones, letting the wind guide him, as he had so often before. It guided him to Tails. He knew Knuckles could handle himself, and Scourge and Mephiles reminded him of he and Shadow. He could just feel that Aleena was fine.
Sonic, where was Sonic, Aleena wondered? She'd seen Amadeus fall, saving his son. She'd heard Sonic and Knuckles cry out for Tails. She'd heard her child scream in pain. After that, nothing. What if something had happened to him? She could hardly focus on the battle, looking everywhere for even a glimpse of her son. Aleena fearfully looked up towards Ix. Knuckles was almost on top of him!
"Ix, you son of a…" Knuckles had begun. He'd been cut off by Sonic's warning of a Chaos Emerald. He glanced back, scowled, then turned to Ix again. He attacked the other echidna viciously, tearing into him like nothing. He wouldn't even give the other a break. Ix only laughed maniacally, fighting right back. Soon enough Ix had blasted Knuckles off of him and leapt up, attacking again. This was bad. If Ix or Mephiles got the Chaos Emerald…
All at once Ix pounced him, viciously attacking. Knuckles cried out in pain, trying to throw the other. Suddenly, though, Ix was tackled from him. Knuckles looked up in shock. "Take that mate!" his saviour said to Ix.
"No way, Dingo!" Knuckles exclaimed. Dingo spared a glance back. Mistake. Ix threw him quickly. Knuckles moved from the drop zone, then pulled Dingo up, saying, "As long as you're on my side, let's make this work. Come on! We're taking him out!"
"Right on," Dingo agreed, nodding. Together the two ran at Ix.
Meanwhile, Bernadette had met up with Big, Max, and Alicia. The group stood back to back, gritting their teeth as Mephiles' clones converged on their local. Viciously they fought the swarm back. "There's too many of them!" Alicia exclaimed.
"Don't lose hope yet your majesty," Big stated. "Froggy and I are getting rid of all the baddies."
"No, she's right. They keep coming. Mephiles has an unlimited supply, and he won't stop until we're dead," Maximillion grimly stated.
"Come on, think of our injured friends. We have to win! For them!" Bernie insisted.
"We can't win!" Alicia stated.
"Then we can hold on a little longer until something happens," Bernie stated.
Fang desperately fought back against the clones, trying to get to the main threats. No dice. He heard Sonic call that someone had a Chaos Emerald. A thousand thoughts were going through his head right now. If Mephiles held all the emeralds… No way. Fang desperately scanned the crowds for the emerald. For anyone he knew, in fact. He'd lost sight of them all. He really hoped Sleet used that cloning device sooner than later. They may not be as efficient as Mephiles' clones, but they packed a punch, he knew. Maybe they were just as good.
Finally he wiped his brow and leapt onto his Marvellous Queen. No way could he keep this up. There were too many. He was a sniper, not a warrior. He'd do better from one of the ledges up the cliff out of sight. Besides, he'd just seen the little fox brat fall with his father. He might as well do a good deed while they were all on the same team. Nack tore through the air towards the place he'd seen them go down.
Teeth gritted, he looked. Sonic was there, trying to fight off the clones before they could reach the kit and the fox. Sonic was about to be attacked! Nack shot quickly, nailing the clone. Sonic looked up in disbelief. Nack grinned slyly, quickly drawing his fingers across his hat. He then dove down, grabbing Tails and Amadeus, pulling them onto the air bike. "Never thought I'd say it, but thank goodness you're here!" Sonic called to him, grinning.
"Less talk, more fight," Fang retorted, flying up and away towards a ledge. Sonic ran off towards Mephiles and Scourge. Why not make it a threesome?
Just as he thought he was home free, Fang felt something hit his bike. He gasped as it lurched. Tails pitched off! "No!" he exclaimed, trying to grab Tails' hand. All at once, from seemingly nowhere, Sleet leapt up, catching the fox's scruff in his teeth, both hands being taken by his sword in one, his gun in the other. Placing the kit down, Sleet called, "Keep going!" He then grabbed the kit up again. Fang wasn't going to argue. Quickly he sped up. Sleet followed, dancing through the crowds, using both gun and sword, cursing himself a million times for carrying the fox child in his mouth. He hated instinct with such a passion it wasn't even funny.
In seconds Nack had reached the ledge. Leaping off, he lowered Amadeus to the ground, then looked over to try and see Sleet. Where was the wolf? All at once, though, Sleet sprang from the crowd, hands free. However, now he had to use them for climbing. Fang gasped. If anyone saw the wolf, Sleet was dead meat. Just then Amadeus groaned. Quickly Nack looked over and scrambled to his side, saying, "Mr. Prower!"
Amadeus' eyes fluttered open as he slowly sat up, hand to his head, asking, "Miles… Where's my son?" That lucky fox man had survived. Fang supposed it wasn't a surprise, seeing as Amadeus had quite the shield. Nack looked towards the ledge. Amadeus blinked, then hurriedly scrambled there, ignoring the pain in his head. "Tails!" he called in terror, looking down.
Sleet looked sharply up, the kit still in his mouth, and Amadeus' mouth dropped in shock. The wolf was saving his son? Usually he was trying to kill him. Sleet's eyes narrowed icily on meeting the fox man's gaze. The expression seemed to warn Amadeus not to say a word. The wolf was almost there. Fang began shooting at clones that were starting to spot Sleet. The news couldn't reach Mephiles and Ix. Amadeus rubbed his finger's together tensely, waiting. Finally he grabbed the boy's scruff in his mouth, pulling him from Sleet and using his hands to pull the wolf the rest of the way up.
"Tails, Miles, son, look at me," Amadeus begged, as he placed the child down, holding the boy's face. "Please!"
"Just shut up and fly him out of here! The 'medical staff' is on top of the cliff!" Sleet barked impatiently.
Amadeus blinked at him. Sleet raised an eyebrow. "Thank you," the fox finally said. Sleet sat up, scowling.
"Don't let it get to your head," Sleet testily warned, and Amadeus sensed instantly that if he had suspected any good in the wolf, he'd been wrong. Whatever Sleet did here was for his own benefit. His benefit happened to be getting rid of the threat. The Heroes happened to be the temporary solution. Amadeus nodded, scooped up his child, then flew towards the top of the cliff. Recalling the stories of Mephiles, Amadeus wryly realized that this was probably the longest that hedgehog ever stayed in one fight. Usually he retreated. Perhaps Ix and Drago, though, were countering his cowardice now. At least for a time.
Sleet and Fang watched them leave, then Nack turned to Sleet, saying, "This is getting extreme."
"Don't panic yet. Look," Sleet said, pointing. There they saw Dark Oak taking out group after group of clones, steadily making his way towards Ix, Knuckles, and Dingo. Drago was tearing through the clones trying to reach Mephiles. By now, though, Mephiles was more focused on watching the white wolf coming with the emerald than on Scourge. It continued to be a mistake, for Scourge wouldn't let up, and soon Mephiles had to abandon protecting Drago from any threat that the white wolf himself couldn't handle.
"I'm gonna do a little sniping," Fang stated.
"Go ahead," Sleet replied, looking over the crowds. There was no way they'd win if Mephiles got that emerald. Unless, of course, he couldn't hold onto all seven of them long enough to use them. Scourge was there. Sleet spotted Sonic tearing towards him as well. Then there was Aleena, slicing her way through the crowds, towards the crystal hedgehog. Three or more emeralds gone within a second, once Mephiles transported them all there. Possibly more, actually. He'd spotted his target. "I have other plans," he added. With that, he leapt down from the ledge and booked it towards Mephiles as well.
Dark Oak cut through the crowds as if they were flies. He was getting highly annoyed now. They were wearing him down. He felt himself weakening. He sped up. He had Knuckles, Dingo, and Ix in his sights now. "Move!" he called to Knuckles and Dingo. The two looked back, shocked, then dove out of the way as Dark Oak fired!
Ix cried out in agony, writhing in pain. The blast ended, and Ix gasped. Dark Oak fired again, but this time Ix put up his shield, then forced it out, knocking the blast in all directions. "Whoa!" Knuckles and Dingo cried, hitting the ground. Dark Oak's armour simply absorbed it. Then he was there, pummelling the albino echidna along with Knuckles and Dingo. Ix, however, was managing to hold his own against them.
Sleet drew out the cloning device. This was getting ridiculous now. Instantly he pressed it, and hundreds of Sleet clones appeared, instantly barking, yipping, attacking the Mephiles ones. They sounded like a wolf pack. Mephiles, who had just thrown Scourge into a boulder, turned in shock. His eyes widened on seeing the wolf clones attacking the hedgehog ones! His eyes became murderous. Well played canine.
Drago froze in shock at the sudden appearance of more Sleet's than he could count! Oh, he didn't like this at all. A group ran at him. Desperately he fought back, forcing his way through them towards Mephiles.
Alicia, Max, Bernie, and Big gaped in awe at the multiple Sleet's, battling away their assailants. "Unbelievable…" Max said. "He helped us."
Snapping out of it, Bernie stated, "Then let's make the most of it. Come on! We need to get out of here! Can any of you keep fighting anymore?" She didn't need an answer, they all knew. No way could they keep on. They were too damaged now.
Dingo, Knuckles, and Dark Oak, at first startled, quickly shoved it to the back of their minds. Ix was shocked and unaware. Now or never. They attacked again. Sonic slid to a stop in disbelief. "Whoa, where did all you guys come from?" he asked aloud to no one in particular. The Sleet clones barely spared him a glance, just steadily cleared his path. He grinned. He wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. He darted towards Mephiles.
Scourge was all too relieved for the break. Now he could focus all his energy on Mephiles. He had no clue Drago was heading their way, though. Aleena froze in shock on seeing the sudden appearance of the wolf clones. She blinked, then bitterly shook her head. They were helping, yes, but then they were Sleet's. The bad kind of countered the good. Still, she wouldn't be bothered. She had a Chaos Emerald to prevent from reaching Mephiles, and a son to find.
It wasn't any good, for just then Drago burst onto the scene, right next to Mephiles and Scourge. His eyes widened, and he grinned, calling, "Mephiles!" Mephiles looked quickly over at the white wolf. "Catch!" he called, tossing it, then racing back into the crowd. Ix needed help. Scourge watched in horror as the Emerald, seemingly in slow motion, flew towards Mephiles' hand. Just as Mephiles reached for it, Sonic burst onto the scene with Aleena and Sleet. They could only gape in horror as it fell into the hedgehog's hand!