At last! Can it be? Is it even possible? YES! IT IS! It's the ACTUAL LAST CHAPTER OF THE FIC!
(cheering, bells and whistles)
Disclaimer: I don't own Sega, Sonic, or anything else invented by anybody besides me Glorious ME!
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I could see it happening, as if it was happening in front of my very eyes. No, more like it was actually happening to ME...and for some reason I was a strange shape made up of a thousand arms, eyes, and teeth.
It had been an Exodus. With only primitive spacetravel, escape from their doomed world was more risky than staying behind. But still they left, spherical ships containing a dozen ((Shppaings)), each one barely forty rotations out of their ((Puuds)), and every ship soaring through space like scattered marbles.
Then the landing. There had been an accident, damage to the controls. Instead of the gentle sea landing which had been planned, a harsh crash into land. A cloud of black smoke leeched from their disintigrating ship rose, spreading all over the planet and poisoning the once-pristine land. Many native species had died, but within a few thousand rotations new ones had evolved to take their places.
Not so with the ship's passengers. The previous enviroment had been the better one. The tempature changed too much, was too extreme. Even the air had gone bad. Those that had survived the crash died, one by one, eaten or frozen or suffocated.
Until only this last one remained.
Seeking a ((Qool)) to hide in, it descended to the depths of natural caves and waterways. Then some of the newly evolved animals had discovered it. The first of these almost intelligent ((Skkrt)) had built strange stone objects and performed unusual behaviors, until another variety of ((Skkrt)) destroyed them all.
More recently, yet another sort of ((Skkrt)) had found this ((Qool)). More than one, until they ceased coming. The first one had been engulfed in an attempt at understanding, but it proved to be too much strain on the ((Skkrt)) unusual mind.
A different ((Skkrt)) had taken one of the precious ((Puuds)). Far away, something had happened to the ((Puud)), and now it was strange and wild.
And now, more of the odd new evolving ((Skkrt)) were here, along with one of their strange (Tsssh). But now something extremely remarkable had happened.
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[Fascinating. We never before realized that any of you ((Skkrt)) were actually intelligent.]
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The 'voice' I heard then, although it really wasn't an actual voice, somehow snapped me out of the weird trance-like state I had gone into. I wasn't one of, of...whatever this thing was, I was Shadow.
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Everything was distorted. Whatever this was, it was like it was me and I was it, and it was inside my head and I was inside its head, all at the same time...sort of like what had happened to me with Cross except that I still kept my seperate identity.
...Yes, I know it sounds bizarre, but thats the only way I can describe it. And it wasn't just me...I could faintly 'hear' someone else as well...Sonic.
Oh, man, I just landed in Weirdo City...
Hmm. I seem to recall being able to do this sort of thing before.
Sonic? I thought at him.
Whoa! he yelped. Huh? Shadow?
Just don't start screaming this time, Faker.
Wow, that's some way to great a concerned friend you got there. And don't call me Faker, that's my word for you.
I've been held prisoner inside my own body by a psychotic lizard for I don't even know how long, I think I'm allowed to be slightly grumpy. Speaking of which...
Yeah, Cross was bad enough, now we have TWO big tentacled things to fight, Sonic complained, Somebody want to explain what's going on here?!
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[Please pardon our sudden intrusion,] came the non-voice, [We are not here to fight you. You will be released unharmed when we finish speaking.]
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Speaking about what? I asked.
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[...It is strange to us, speaking to you. You are ((Skkrt)), but you have minds. We have dealt with many ((Skkrt)), but only when the ((Tsssh)) touched us did we understand.]
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...I'm hearing words I don't think I can say, Sonic said, sounding suddenly amazed.
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[First, we will remove our ((Puud)). We are sorry that it has been a danger to you, but another ((Skkrt)) removed it from us and altered it. Now that we can taste the alterations, we can remove it from you without difficulty.]
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Altered? What's he talking about? Sonic asked me.
I wasn't entirely certain...until I suddenly caught a glimpse of one of the alien's memories, showing me what a ((Puud)) actually looked like, and it was something I had seen once before.
It means Cross, I said, All this time...Cross was actually a modified piece of an alien...
Great. Just when I thought he couldn't get any more freakishly weird, Sonic grumbled.
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[We will take our ((Puud)) now,] said the alien's mind-voice.
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I am not going ANYWHERE, snarled a new voice. One I knew all too well.
Is that Cross?
Give it up, Cross, I growled, You're gone.
NO! he screamed, This body is MINE! The only thing going anywhere is YOU!
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I wasn't about to let him win that easily, though. I had a strong mental grip on my body, and nothing short of the end of the universe was going to make me let go. Cross caught on to that fact soon enough, and added 'angry psychic stabbing' to his attack.
. Cross wasn't even thinking in words anymore, his mental state fragmenting. As long as I had known him, Cross had always been a little on the crazy side, but now he was officially insane. And as far as our fight was concerned, his insanity gave him an insane amount of power.
I could faintly hear Sonic yelling something, but I couldn't concentrate well enough to understand him. I could also faintly 'hear' the mind of the alien creature, and also something else, like a strong light that you can see with your eyes closed...
The Chaos Emerald.
Everything that was going on was taking place inside the alien's currently semi-liquid body. The Emerald was just drifting by my hands when I spotted it. And it gave me an unusual idea how to get Cross out of my head once and for all.
I focused on my hands, and grabbed the Chaos Emerald. Then I focused on the Emerald.
Chaos....
'Please work...'
CONTROL!
There was a sudden flash of light.
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Now, in order to fully understand what I did, you really need to be experienced in using Chaos Control. And to have a really good understanding of what Chaos Control is and how it actually works.
Very basically, a low-level Chaos Control has the ability to freeze time around the user. A high-level Chaos Control allows the user to phase/warp from location to location. Otherwise known as teleportation.
The thing is, the phase/warp sends the user into another dimension, before yanking them back out into this one wherever they want.
In this case, I Chaos Controlled to the exact same spot I had just been in. And when I Chaos Controlled...my body and my conscious mind both phase/warped.
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. He let loose a howl as his consciousness was ejected from my body, but that was immediately cut off as the alien mind did whatever it had been planning to do with him. I had a funny feeling that Cross had just ceased to exist, but any other thoughts in that area would have to wait until I wasn't feeling utterly drained.
Shadow? Sonic's mind sounded practically timid in worry. Are you okay now?
...Ask me...whenever I can start...moving again, I sent back to him.
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[Thank you for returning our ((Puud)) to us,] said the alien.
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Thank YOU for getting rid of him, Sonic replied, So, who and what are you anyway?
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[Ourself does not have a designation that your ((Skkrt)) minds can comprehend, unfortunately. We believe the original ((Skkrt)) of this area perhaps had such a designation which they might have used, but it will be of no matter. As soon as you and your ((Tsssh)) are released from us, we will seek a new ((Qool)). You will not see us again.]
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Um...I guess...good luck on that?
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[Thank you. Goodbye.]
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And with that, it dropped us. Luckily we were only a couple of feet off the ground. I turned just enough to watch as the watery-looking mass of tentacles began pulling back into the hole. I spotted several dark lumps that could have been eyes, teeth, or even more ((Puuds)) before the whole mass vanished from sight.
"Chalk up another victory to the good guys!" Sonic cheered as he helped me up.
"Right now I would really love a pain-killer," I groaned, head still aching.
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Everyone else was there, perfectly whole and alive.
. "Too bad. They can't prove I stole it," I replied.
"You do understand the concept of a security camera?" she asked me.
"Of course I do," I said, "However, the hedgehog that took that tank had fangs and scales. As you can see, I don't have those."
As you can see, I was the first one to notice the extra bits on me from Cross were gone. It was a major relief as well: I don't look good in green.
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And they all walked off hand in hand into the sunset, swearing to be friends forever, etc., etc., THE END.
ANNNNNND WWWwEEEEE AAAAARRRREEEEE DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNEEE!
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Translations (for the alien-language impaired):
Alta-Balruk: Altecla name for this alien species
((Shppaing)): sub-adult Alta-Balruk
((Puud)): small pod-like sac that Alta-Balruk hatch from, located on the tentacles of adult Alta-Balruk
((Qool)): term for secure living area, like an underwater cave or other hidden water source
((Skkrt)): Alta-Balruk name for what they consider normally unintelligent animals, usually warm-blooded animals
((Tsssh)): self-generating power source resembling ones created by Alta-Balruk on their original home planet
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Hah! And that's all, folks!