SONIC UNLEASHED

All characters © respective creators

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Dark Siege

The scene returns to the desert grounds of Shamar. With the clouds of darkness no longer overshadowing the world, the Nightmares vanished and the people were free to return to the light. But instead of joining the festival with the other survivors, Prof. Pickle and Amy returned to the laboratory, which had surprisingly survived the invasion. As Amy dusted off the rows of books, Prof. Pickle seemed to be pouring his attention over the Gaia Manuscript. The rosy hedgehog could hear him faintly laughing.

"What's so funny, Professor?" Amy asked curiously.

"I am just simple amazed how much my knowledge could prove to be incorrect." Pickle chuckled lightly. "I have spent a majority of my life studying the Gaia Manuscripts and I only now understand them. Take a look for yourself."

Setting aside her chores, Amy moved close to the elder scientist to gain a better view of the fabled scroll. The Manuscript was opened to the final page, which was documented with a printed mural. The folded painting depicted two dragons, most likely Dark and Light Gaia, intertwined with one another and closed hands with each other.

"It seems that I missed a part of the prophecy." Pickle smiled. "The legend said that two warriors would live on to become the Gaia Warriors and restore balance to the world. Naturally, I thought that meant one of them would die."

"Then what does it mean?" Amy gasped fearfully.

"It means that Light and Dark would become one." Pickle stated happily. "Sonic and Nazo were not destined to die during this cataclysm. On the contrary, the Gaia Manuscripts believe that they would unite their powers and protect their world with their hearts and souls."

"I guess even Nazo has some good in him." Amy shrugged. "Somewhere."

"I think I finally understand the existence of Light and Dark Gaia." Pickle proclaimed, much to Amy's confusion. "We have foolishly believed that Dark Gaia was pure evil and that Light Gaia was the beacon of good. But in reality, light and darkness are neither good nor evil. They are simply a force of existence. They balance each other and create the necessities that create our world: day and night, life and death, sun and moon."

"Then what do you think will happen now?" Amy asked.

"I believe that Light and Dark Gaia have returned to sleep." Pickle nodded assuring. "And when the chosen day has come, they will awaken and begin the process of destruction and rebirth all over again. It is their proud duty to continue the cycle until the end of time. For that is the true balance of the universe."

"Maybe you should save the speech for later." Amy suggested. "Right now, we have to prepare for Sonic's coming home party."

"I don't think he'll be able to attend." The pair turned back to the entrance of the room, where they found Shade the Echidna leaning against the doorway. "I don't know where the blue wonder went, but he's not around here."

"Aw, now I have to chase him down again!" Amy whined, stamping her feet to the floor. "Ever since we started our relationship, you would think he would have stopped running away by now!"

"That is...expected." Pickle laughed honestly as he turned to Shade. "You mission here is finished. What will you do now, Shade?"

"I think I've seen enough of the world for one lifetime." Shade shrugged. "I have a job offer waiting for me back at Station Square that I plan to take."

"You will be missed." Pickle said earnestly, shaking the echidna's hand. "If you are every in the need of a job or if you just want to talk, my door is always open for you."

"Thank you." Shade nodded. She crossed the hallway to the door of the house, but stopped once grabbing the knob. "By the way, a person has gone missing lately. Do either of you know what happened to Oracle?"

Meanwhile, another event takes place in the sand dunes just outside then sandstone city. Situated on one of the higher dunes overlooking his home, Oracle the Jackal, king of the Underground, stared blankly into the cloudless sky. As his mind wandered into space, he held no fear of the twin shadows looming behind him. Though he did not turn to see their faces, he respectively greeted them with a calm and cool tone.

"I thank you for protecting my home." Oracle said sagely. "Your assistance will be honor, Terro, Kuanga."

"If you will, we wish to keep our existence unknown." Terro requested.

"Then it will be." Oracle nodded. "I know what the future brings for both of you. And I know of my own future as well. Your cause is just and I will not interfere with your or your master."

"Then maybe you can help a little." Kuanga grinned. "We're looking for..."

"You will find the mongoose girl in Silver Valley." Oracle answered.

"How did you...?" Kuanga stared strangely before catching on. "Oh yeah, I forgot. That eye of yours always did creep me out."

"I say see you in the late future." Oracle proclaimed.

"The leader will welcome you with open arms." Terro said coolly.

"I know..." Oracle whispered.

The scene alternates to the outer regions of space, several light-years away from Earth. Weakened by the force of Dark Gaia's rage, Black Doom was forced to float across the stars for all of eternity. And as the dark abyss seemed to slowly consume him, the alien overlord had succumbed to the fear of losing his life and power. Unfortunately, his paranoia was pushed back as a large mass of black rock levitated close to the purple squid. A purple tentacle phased through the Black Comet and retracted its master within the confines of its shell. Groaning lightly, Black Doom awakened his single eye to stare at the ceiling, which was blocked off by the faces of the Black Arms and the Nocturnus.

"My lord, are you well?" The Nocturnus captain asked fearfully.

"I have been...defeated." Black Doom moaned tiredly. "Terra has fallen to the power of your former comrade and Dark Gaia's powers have escaped me. And as for those accursed Gaia Warriors, I was powerless to destroy them."

"Shall we set course back to Earth?" The captain questioned.

"No." Black Doom stated pointedly. "We are no longer powerful enough to defeat them on our own." With a single glance to the captain, he commanded the echidna to carry his frail body. "We shall journey through the galaxy and grow in power. And when we are strong enough, we shall return for our revenge."

And the Black Comet disappeared into the dark abyss of the galaxy

Meanwhile, the scene shifts to shores on the Greek islands near Apotos. As the sun began to rise over the horizon, the shores lapped across the beach and the wind blew against the windmills at a gentle pace. It only turned out to be fortunate that no one was at the beach as a familiar object dropped from the sky and crashed into the ground...again. Sonic the Hedgehog laid buried in the dirt, wondering what God hated him, before pulling himself free.

"Whoa, take about your rough landings." Sonic sputtered dizzily.

"Enjoy your flight." The blue hedgehog snapped into position when he found Nazo, perfectly unharmed, leaning against one of the shore rocks. "You do seem to fall on your head very often. It must be hereditary."

"What happened?" Sonic asked, shaking his throbbing head. "Where are Light Gaia and Black Doom?"

"You must have been out cold when it happened." Nazo said irritably. "Dark Gaia launched Black Doom out of orbit. I wouldn't expect to see him any time soon. He and Light Gaia have gone back to sleep until the day they are supposed to awaken." Against his better judgment, He felt sorry for the blue hedgehog's sad expression. "But he did want me to give you something. He must have thought you wanted a souvenir."

Reaching into his quills, the Dark Ruler took a circular object and tossed it to his former companion. Sonic gave a sad smile at the jeweled necklace that Light Gaia had worn when assuming the identity of Chip. Even now, he could hear the voice of the tiny pup.

"I will never forget you, Sonic. I will always exist as the Earth you walk upon. Together, my brother and I will ensure a brighter future."

"And I'll make sure of it." Sonic whispered softly. He placed the jewel around his wrist before turning to the God of Darkness. "Well, Black Doom is gone and the world is safe. What are we going to do now?"

"The same thing we always do." Nazo shook. "I try to conquer the Earth and you try to stop me."

"Do you think we'll ever get along." Sonic laughed heartily.

"I seriously doubt that." Nazo snorted amusingly. "But who knows? There are...endless possibilities."

Sonic eyed his renewed enemy with a smirk of determination, who returned the glance with his own. For a moment, only the sound of the rushing wind could be heard between them. The Gaia Warriors jumped backwards nearly twenty feet apart before diving headlong into another battle. Sonic the Werehog and Nazo the Ice Guardian raised their weapons for battle.

---Apotos---

With the invasion of darkness successfully ended, the civilians of slowly began to repair the damage to their homes. But as everyone was fixated on their homes, no one dared to spare a glance at the sacred temple in the heart of the town. This left Gyrax alone to deal with it himself. Using his pole-arm as a walking staff, the guardian feline scurried through the rubble within his home to inspect the damage. Compared to the outside, the inside of the temple was perfectly preserved. There were occasional loose brick and a few cracks in the wall, but the majority of it was safe.

"(Well, at least there isn't too much to do.)" Gyrax claimed in his language. "(A little spackle, a bit of concrete finish, and this temple will look as good as new.)" His ears twitched when a loud clack was heard. "(What was that?)"

Hissing softly from his injuries, the guardian feline turned himself around by his pole-arm before his vision suddenly went black. Without realizing what had happened, Gyrax was trapped in a cocoon of paper formed by a flock of paper cranes. As he stumbled backwards, several papers formed together to form the head and shoulders of Konan of Akatsuki. Her expression was toneless as she watched Gyrax struggle within her entrapment.

"Shall I finish him?" Konan asked monotonously.

"That will not be required." A cold, yet weak, voice answered. "We do not need any unnecessary deaths."

Almost instantaneously, the soft lump that was Gyrax stopped struggling as he lost consciousness. Konan recalled the paper wrappings to complete her severed body and turned in the direction of the entrance. Pein, leader of Akatsuki had appeared followed by five separate characters. First of the new characters had a large ponytail with a large rod through the upper bridge of his nose and six piercings on his jaw. The second was a bulky man with sleek hair and had two spikes on each cheek with studs on his nose. The third was the tallest of all of them with long loose hair and a diagonal bar through his nose with two studs on his cheeks and chin. The fourth was a bald man with a very thin neck and a circle of spikes around his head with a large ring vertically pierced into his nose. And the last was a stocky man with a mop of hair and a row of studs lined along his cheeks. They all shared the same Akatsuki cloak, orange hair, and, amazingly, the Rinnegan.

"I want the perimeter clear for the ritual." Pein commanded. "Nothing must interfere with the transfer."

"I will be swift." Konan nodded. As her body dissolved into the folds of paper, her voice still carried. "Be careful, Nagato."

"You will not need to worry about me." Pein said coldly.

The six members of Akatsuki moved aside to allow a clear path to the center of the temple. Unknown to the rest of the world, the true mind behind Pein had finally made his appearance. A machine with six steel legs scurried into the temple while carrying its creator within the hold on its back. The man in question looked very sick and frail to the point where his bones could be seen through the thin layer of skin. His arms were strapped into the side of the machine, which were connected to the small arch behind it, and his back had been stabbed countless black rods. Beneath the curtain of scarlet-red hair the ever-present Rinnegan flashed with the usually flare of power.

"The ritual will continue undisturbed." Nagato murmured tiredly. "The time of darkness has come."

The Six Paths of Pain formed a circle around the frail man, clapping their hands together at simultaneous times. The black rods imbedded in Nagato's spine inherited a purple glow as the six humans began pouring their energy within his body. The Rinnegan master gasped painfully and snapped his head to the ceiling; the Rinnegan transformed into a demonic green eye.

---Mazuri---

Deep in the underground lair, several of the Nocturnus soldiers remained behind as the Black Comet left the planet. Currently, two of the Nocturnus scientists were gathered around the remains of the former General Grievous. But while their backs were turned to prepare for their next experiment, they failed to notice a green aura appearing around his broken body. The ashes contained within the canister enlarged and reformed into a beating hear. The general's golden eyes snapped open, taking in the surroundings, then glared at the armored echidnas beside him.

"I don't understand why the master left us behind." Scientist #1 complained. "Aren't' we useful enough for him?"

"The master sees us more useful here on Earth!" Scientist #2 snapped. "Now just shut up and – where'd he go?"

As they turned back to the examination table, they found the body of General Grievous was missing. And not only the body, but the cloak and four sword handles on the table. The first scientist jumped around the table, hoping to find some trail of the body, while his partner went to alert the base. But as he studied the floor, he heard his partner yelp in fear. Looking backwards, he was amazed to find General Grievous once again among the living with the second echidna squirming in his claw. The cybernetic warrior reached into his cloak to retrieve one of the sword handles, which ignited into a green blade of light.

"I see you are not Jedi, so it would be a waste to kill you." Grievous growled in his raspy voice. While he his prey seemed to relax in his hand, the cruel machine stabbed his lightsaber through the echidna's heart. "But that doesn't mean I shouldn't enjoy it."

---Chun-Nan---

Once being sure that the hatchlings were safe, Rioku glided over the forest of Du Weldenvarden in search of nourishment for the baby dragons. Unfortunately, it seemed like the Nightmares nearly burned down the woods and made it nearly impossible for him to hunt for prey. Even the smallest doe had fled the safety of the trees.

"The forest of my ancestors have been lost." Rioku growled softly. "I can only hope that I can..."

But before he could finish the sentence, a sphere of violet flames emerged from the clouds and struck Rioku's wing. The jade dragon twirled out of control through the broken pines and skidded across the ground by his underbelly. Rioku struggled to regain his footing before a pair of strong claws wrapped around his neck and slammed his face into the dirt. His eyes rolled over to spot his attack and gasped in horror. He could not believe his eyes as the traveled over the dark-purple dragon keeping him pinned to the ground. From his five-spiked crown, his ghostly dark rings, and malicious red eyes, this monster was not something to cross paths with.

"Malefor..." Rioku snarled.

"Count your blessings." Malefor cackled darkly. "My master has commanded me not to touch the purple dragon until the proper time." His grin grew wider. "But that doesn't me I can settle for you."

With a swipe of his claws, emerald blood splattered across the forest pines.

---Paris---

After the sun had returned to the city of lights, rumors began spreading about the group of heroes that protected them. They were only partly correct in assuming the police assisted in the defense, but no one was aware of the contributions made by Sly and his crew. Speaking of whom, the raccoon thief was dusting the case that contained Prof. Pickle's last purchase before moving his base to Shamar. He grinned slyly to the vixen that sat at on the table in the middle of the room.

"You know, I have to hand it to you, ringtail." Carmelita spoke soft, yet strict. "I never really thought of you as the hero type, considering your record. For one, I'm actually glad to be wrong."

"So does that mean you'll let me off?" Sly asked playfully.

"Not a chance." Carmelita grinned daringly. "I plan to put you behind bars for a long time. But...maybe some other day."

The raccoon thief set down the feather duster and suavely seated himself close to the stony vixen. But while the stern cop slowly fell for his trance, neither of them noticed a faint white aura appearing around the black coat. A deafening crack broke the silence. And before either of them knew what happened, the animals caught a flash of red before losing consciousness. Sly and Carmelita toppled at the feet of the black uniform and the man wearing it. He was a tall and emotionless human with shaggy silver hair and piercing gold eyes.

"The realm of existence." Xemnas murmured. "My return will not be marred."

---Holaska---

After assisting in the renovations for the village, Slifer traversed the harsh environment to the hidden temple. He stepped over the carcass of the fallen Bahrag, which remained unmoved, and leaned against the temple with a tired expression. After everything he had been through in the centuries, nothing could compare to the war he had only just survived.

"The end has finally come at last." Slifer sighed happily. "Now I can put this whole nightmare behind me."

"Oh, but the nightmare has only begun!" A cold voice echoed.

Without warning, a sharp pain stabbed at the Toa's head, creating a burning sensation within his mind. He tried desperately to push back the pain, but the strength behind it was too much for him to handle. In his last moments, Slifer believed he could seen his fallen brethren before the world went black. The silver Toa dropped to his knees as his mask fractured off his face, being replaced by a new shell. The mask was entirely made of black steel with red beetle-like eyes shining through.

"The shadows have arrived!" Teridax cackled.

---Shamar---

Out in the farthest reaches of the sandy dunes, the Professor's assistant had once again return to the former Arbiter's Grounds. When finishing his research within the wall of the prison, he decided to take one last look at statue of Ganondorf. While he took notes within his journal, he was oblivious to the small movement of its hands until one of them grabbed him by his neck. The cemented surface around the man's body slowly chipped away, his true appearance became more whole. The Gerudo's skin was darker than humanly possible with flaming orange hair nestled by a golden crown. In addition to his black armor and bloody cape, he holstered a pure white sword strapped to his side.

"An ugly creature, am I?" Ganondorf grinned menacingly.

"I-I mean that in the nicest way possible." The assistance excused feebly.

"You would have been a great slave." Ganondorf chuckled, pulling back his fist. "Unfortunately, your tongue is too loose."

Before the man could draw a scream, the dark king's fist stabbed through his throat.

---South Island

---

As the sick and injured warriors tended to their wounds, the inhabitants of the island rallied a party for their protectors. Despite the protests from the soldiers, no one wished to believe that Damien and Nightshade played the largest role in their salvation. But he did not expect anything less. If he was going to gain their recognition, he was could to do it the proper way: though hard work and determination. Even now, the golden hound nonchalantly took a stroll across the beach, staring at the cloud formations as they passed by.

"I still say they should be punished." Nightshade sneered within his prison.

"So I'm not the hero of the day, big deal." Damien shrugged. "One day, they'll be worshiping the ground I walk on."

"Or we could just enslave them." Nightshade suggested.

"That's good, too." Damien nodded; his ears twitched. "Did you hear...?"

Next thing he knew, the golden hound was sent flying by a sphere of dark energy. The amount of power behind the blast would have killed any normal person, but Nightshade's influence managed to reduce it into a mere tackle. As Damien slowly slipped from reality, he could faintly see the dark outline of his attack before Dark Samus moved on.

---Apotos---

Once the transfer was complete, Nagato allowed himself to fall over as far and the machine would allow him. The Six Paths of Pain suddenly lost all power and toppled over in random directions, unnoticed by their controller. As Nagato panted in exhaustion, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, a whirlwind of paper appeared before him. Konan resumed her identity and desperately held Nagato's arm as if he were about to die.

"Nagato, are you all right?" Konan asked worried.

"I am fine, Konan." Nagato grunted meekly. "The ritual is complete. All the chosen warriors have been successfully revived."

"You were careless with your new power!" Konan screamed shrilly. "You could have died! You could have..."

"Konan...I can finally see it." Nagato stated weakly; a smile crossed his face.

"See what?" Konan asked fearfully.

"I can see peace." Nagato answered.

THE END

This story will continue to Sonic Heroes: Series

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