PoC: The author doesn't own the characters or any copyrighted property of Sega herein. Now Metal…
Metal: I refuse.
Silver: Hey! It's only fair!
Metal: I didn't agree to play!
PoC: Well then you sure messed up when you demanded the "truth" out of Silver.
Metal: I WAS BEING FACETIOUS! I never actually participated!
PoC: Let me say it this way: If you don't, I will.
Metal: ! No! You wouldn't!
Silver: Oh yes he would. I can still 'dare' PoC into telling me your secret.
Metal: ALRIGHT I GET THE PICTURE! *Sigh* Yes…there is…someone I-ugh…care about.
PoC: *Claps Metal on the back* Good for you bro. So, what's she like?
Metal: DON'T PLAY DUMB! You of all people know what she's like!
Silver: Aw but come on! I don't! *Chuckles deviously*
Metal: Lying back-stabbers, the lot of you!
Silver: Come on, pleeeease? *watch beeps* Oh crumbs and cracker-dust, look at the time! Maybe we'll get into that next chapter. But before we begin, PoC sir! I believe it's your turn!
PoC: Uh…I ahh… Oh look! The chapter's starting early!
Metal and Silver: '-_-
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The Devil's Dance
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"I thought I hated you Tails, but now I realize Sonic is much more hate-worthy." Whined the pride-stricken chameleon, who was conspicuously kneeling reverently alongside the aforementioned fox. Both wore distinguished grimaces of ire towards 'his majesty', Sonic the hedgehog. The guidelines of their most recent race had been agreeable enough, until the sneaky blue champion decided that late entrants to their rivalry-race were subject to the same rewards/punishments as the rest. Flawed though his methods might've been, Sonic did provide the clashing pair with a topic they could easily agree on; that is, hating him. As his terms had been rather sudden and underhanded, the hero did sans the 'kissing the shoes' portion of the loss, citing that it tended to disgust more than satisfy the victor anyway.
Sore pride and bruised egos, while good for a quick laugh, didn't linger long in shadow of the sinister Ruins. Crumbling architecture and foul fumes weren't the only thing dreary and foreboding about this place. It held an intense atmosphere of hopelessness and despair, one that even superseded the expected sense of danger. Unnatural trepidation brewed in somewhere deep and hidden inside the bold-hearted hedgehog, while his eyes captured and memorized the structure's every dull grey stone.
"Let's go." His tone was rich with fearless encouragement, but the lifeless entrance seemed to sap his bravado out of the air, as if to mock any hope the trio might possess. Defiant and true to his nature, Sonic stepped into the ghostly darkness with no intention of turning back. Halfway through, the hero could barely see the way forward, for cracks in the catacomb's ceiling were the sole, and predictably feeble, sources of light. His lime green eyes could faintly describe various inner chambers to be gated storage sites or perhaps, at a second glance, prison cells. Assuming his 'cell theory' was correct, then that would explain the heavy locks and corpse-like objects lining the small rooms. If nothing else, they certainly smelt like a dead body or three, adding to the general filthiness of the contaminated surroundings. Sonic had never been a neat-freak or germ-phobic; however, even he felt he would need an extra long bath and decontamination shower after this little trip.
Five minutes in and not a thing had changed. Not the scenery, not the smell, nothing. Every new twist and turn revealed new displays of horror and unspeakable vileness, such that it was beginning to erode Sonic's cool composure. These factors and the increasingly poor lighting made the hedgehog lose a good handle on his bearings, causing his pointed shoe to catch on a dislodged stone fragment. Much to his relief, he hadn't landed face first in a pile of dust and God-knows-what-else, but was instead hoisted back to his standing position by a friendly hand.
Afterwards, Sonic craned his neck to see his two partners flanking his sides, just as they had been from the start. That little stumble had reminded him of their support, which remained in spite of the treacherous path ahead. Pushing onwards felt a surprisingly easier; now that he was sure someone had his back.
"Guys stop! Did you hear that…? Listen!" Tails whispered his very loudest. The team did exactly as he asked, and soon they heard it too: Footsteps, heavy ones at that. Whoever they belonged to must, by Tails' deduction, either be large in build or weighed down by something else. The former was possible considering they knew Knuckles was in league with Maasawd, therefore could be patrolling for intruders. The three waited long enough to discern where the steps had originated from, which indeed turned out to be Knuckles, before forming a plan.
"The careless oaf has given his position away." Espio snarled to express his disdain "No matter, it's quite advantageous for us. Now here me, I have a plan for ambushing our red-headed guest." Understanding his field of expertise, the hedgehog and the vulpine nodded in agreement, awaiting the ex-ninja's advice.
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*With Tactichaos' team*
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For having only two people on deck, Vector and his buzzing buddy could've made enough noise for a group of twenty. Their antics, though distressingly random, remarkably kept the vessel smoother and more stabilized than when their first part in the quest began. Given the team's record of relying on dumb luck, this success probably came about by accident.
One way or another, Vector celebrated the rare fortune of smooth sailing by locking in the various settings and controls he'd 'magically' figured out. The course ahead had been preset as well so no manual flying was needed at the moment. Happily, the roguish leader stretched his arms and legs and headed down for the passenger deck below, with his pesky sidekick slung over his shoulder.
"What say we check up on the Miss, Charm?" Vector stopped his running mouth once he heard soft snoring coming from the bee's nostrils. Casual viewers would expect the irritable reptile to clock the pest one for ignoring him, or at least yell his head off until the bee paid attention. Instead, Vector slid a sleeping Charmy into a semi-gentle hold. Downstairs he found no sign of the vixen, and good thing too. Vector would hate to have any witnesses of his next act.
Pressing a switch he kept hidden behind a 'bolted down' wall cabinet, revealed a secret kids room. Its uncharacteristic child-friendly design and size made the croc feel very foolish, as it didn't become the 'tough-guy' he thought himself to be. Vector felt even sillier when he set the kid very gently into his bed and tucked him. Why he bothered to show an ounce of kindness to the mischievous brat escaped him, especially since he didn't treat him very well most other times.
"That's really sweet of you Vector." No way, was that…? Wonderful, his secret was out! And of all the people to catch him, it had to be her! He smacked his flat head for being so stupid, wondering if he'd ever be able to live this down. Not wanting to give her the pleasure of seeing him humiliated, Vector left the room and stomped off stubbornly.
"Don't read nothing into that!" he growled hoping she'd not say anything else if he sounded mad enough "I'm just doing all that to keep him quiet. Don't you go telling nobody about this, you hear me?" after his small rage fest, the cold-blooded mobian slammed and locked the door to the deck.
The great lizard slumped in his pilot seat, still chastising his poor cover-up and rude behavior. He hated how whenever he got upset his personality regressed to the level of a spoiled two-year old; what with all his empty-threats and petty insults thrown to save face. Tails brought this side out as often as Espio, both of whom appeared to get a kick out of it, and thus sort of deserved his mean-spirited comments. On the other hand, Amethyst and Sonic seemed different. Even having seen what he did, he knew the vixen would never tell Tails about it. And Sonic, for all the differences he seemed to have, wasn't the type to mock someone for their softer side.
"Who am I kidding? I'm a bad friend and a shitty guardian." The croc sighed. Why couldn't he just grow-up and act like the adult he was? Things were starting to get really nasty in the world, and all he could do was worry about a bit of lost pride.
"Looks like I'm not the only one who's stressed out." Amethyst cut in, taking him by surprise yet again. First she sneaks up on him in a hidden room, and now she unlocks his door from the outside? This woman was as crafty as her breed suggested.
She took a seat nearby the green captain, making no attempt at grace when she threw herself in the chair. Her face and body language showed her to be emotionally drained and exhausted. It occurred to Vector that she hadn't been around or said a word since the two groups split up.
Scratching his scaly head, Vector figured he couldn't dismiss or flee from her twice. Choosing a new course of action, he asked "So uh…what's up? Looks like you've got um…a lot on your mind." For his first shot at being considerate, one could say he did pretty well. Unfortunately, the reaction she gave to his sentiment left the croc initially mortified, as the vixen giggled and waved him off.
"Don't force it Vector. We both have things we'd rather not talk about, and that's fine. You don't need to feel bad about getting all pissy on me either. It must be tough keeping your emotions all bottled up like that." She'd hit pretty close to the mark on that one. Still, hearing her say it felt really good. It was cool to know someone understood where he was coming from.
"Like right now, I have to keep my head on straight by just 'assuming' Tails is alright. I know I'm not supposed to show how worried I am, and it bothers me. Sure it's not the same thing with you and Charmy, but still. Don't you wish you could be yourself and do what's expected of you at the same time?" Exasperation was prevalent in her tone; however, she'd struck a nerve with the big croc.
Being yourself and doing what others expect at the same time? Not possible, at least not for most people. Unless you happen to be one of those 'born great' pricks with excellent genetics, you sort of have to lose 'who you are' to get through this life. When others look up to you, or fear you, they expect you to meet a certain criteria to fill that role. Vector lived knowing his gang expected him to be the muscle and leader against anything that might threaten them. Showing his weakness would only make his enemies eager to pounce, and cause his friends to consider deserting him.
Amidst his musing, the lizard didn't notice Amethyst rise out of her seat. His attention was momentarily regained when he heard her say "Nobody doubts how strong you are Vector, but if you think your friends have followed you this far because of that strength, you're wrong. Espio and Charmy both admire your good heart, and that's why they trust you over creeps like Knuckles." She then walked away before he had a chance to reply. Then again, he likely wouldn't have had anything to say if she had stayed.
His good heart? How did that count for anything? What could anyone change by having a good heart alone? Though it was true that his crew stayed loyal to him, wasn't that out of some sense of obligation, or did they just enjoy picking on him for being such a screw up? No, that couldn't be it, but then what was it?
What made others want to follow you, if not your strength and wisdom?
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*With Sonic's team*
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Espio had given the signal and the plan was enacted. Sonic and Tails leapt from the shadows on cue, hoping to get the echidna's attention. After a couple of tense seconds waiting for the crime expert to attack, it became obvious that he'd missed their diversion tactic altogether. Confused at how they had pincer-attacked Knuckles so easily, Sonic gave the hidden chameleon a 'What now?' stare. Espio in turn balled his hand into a fist and smacked it lightly into his open palm. The 'street-wise' hedgehog and the 'genius' vulpine both failed miserably in taking the hint when they dumbly imitated the same action as Espio, thinking it to be a way to alert their red-headed assailent.
Having heard the two noisemakers, Knuckles turned around and roared "Alright you punks, put 'em up-Argh!" his pained shout signified Espio's swift victory. Dragging the body into one of the more 'clean' cells, the ex-ninja scowled at his dull-witted allies.
"The next time you morons have such an obvious opportunity…" he raised his fist and struck his open hand repeatedly with each word he spoke "Hit…him…on…the…HEAD!" The best friends blinked and faceplamed, now realizing their clumsy error. The three put the hazardous encounter aside, knowing they would now have only one opponent to face.
The echidna had been kind enough to let them 'borrow' his, unbeknownst to them, newly acquired map of the prison. Following his crudely drawn landmarks, the three quickly found their way to the right cell. Unlike all the others it was sturdy and looked as though it had been made not too long ago. Lacking a key, or any known location of one for that matter, Sonic ordered his friends to get back as he charged up a mighty spin-dash. Strong as the door might've been, the hedgehog was startled by how easily it swung open, sending his twirling self inside with too much speed.
Tails and Espio dashed in after him, hoping he hadn't plowed Rouge over with that careless stunt. But as both stepped inside, they found chains, straps, and clasps for tying up prisoners…but no prisoner in sight. Sonic, after recovering from his dizziness, caught this fact too.
Forcing himself to not jump to conclusions, the hero searched near the back wall to find a small note…which seemed dominantly meant for him to find.
"Your friend is in my hands, and I assume the emeralds are in yours. I've made arrangements to have our trade near the great altar. That map you no doubt 'claimed' from my slave should contain directions for you to follow. I can assure the bat's safety as long as you arrive on time."
P.S. "Sonic, your presence takes precedence above the emeralds. For your friend's sake, I hope you are among those reading this…"
Silently, Sonic tore the note to pieces. It had to get more complicated, didn't it? Worse, it seemed that Rouge's life would be in more danger now that they had indeed left the emeralds behind. So much for a surprise attack, it was like that Maasawd had seen them coming from a mile away.
It was too late to regret coming here now. The group had to proceed as though nothing had changed, though indeed everything they were hoping for had fallen flat. Tails took this time to confess how stupid he felt for not coming up with a fool-proof plan earlier, whilst Espio snagged some of the blame by admitting his idea of a sneak attack to be a rash, and probably deadly, move.
Sonic on the flip side dismissed their self-depreciating and urged them by saying "Forget it. That was then, this is now. Nobody knew that Maasawd punk would trick us like this." Turning back to his friends he flashed a bittersweet grin of unfailing courage "Besides, it's my turn to try something stupid. I can't have you two hogging all the glory." His cryptic meaning spoken, Sonic pulled out the map and started leading them outside. Tails and Espio tagged along, but each had a sense of dread over Sonic's 'plan'.
The hero simply headed towards his final goal with these thoughts "My presence more important than the emeralds, huh? Well, if it's me he wants, then it's me he'll get!"
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*Altar of the Derelict Ruins*
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Waiting and watching, knowing they would come sooner or later. It was apparent that he had accurately judged the boldness of his foes. None of them would be reluctant to try anything less than a 'secret' raid on this crumbling hell-hole. Just the same, their drive to rescue a single friend was intriguing, even moving to some extent. Part of the dark figure wondered if he had made the right choice by going this far. True, it was the obscured one that had found and revived him from the brink of death, and supported him in his time of muddled amnesia. But the finality of it was that he was likely being used, just like this strange voice kept telling him. Whether this was the case or not, Maasawd had never been able to rebel, even when he was asked to do things he secretly didn't want to do. Why this was, he didn't know.
So he stood his ground, like the faithful hound he was. Even knowing there was some unbreakable leash around his neck, the figure would still go about the plan in the way he saw fit, regardless of what the shade wanted.
"Maasawd!" He heard his name called. They had come, they were here. Now was his moment of defiance and obedience. As they came up with hopeful stares mixed with blazing fury, he prepared to carry out, what he hoped would be his last request for his 'master'.
"Welcome all brave souls. You have that which I require, yes?" He wanted to hear it, he wanted hear the lies drip from their smug mouths. Maybe then he would better understand what the shade sounded like when he spouted his deceptions.
When his demand fell on the heroes' ears, the blue one moved forward to speak.
"We don't have them, but I bet you already knew that, didn't you?" Ha! How ironic. When you deal with villains you receive compounding deceit, but a hero speaks only the truth. Yes he knew they possessed no emeralds, for the voice had told him such. How the hedgehog presumed to know of Maasawd's advance knowledge, he wasn't sure. Regardless, that statement had certainly sped up the bargaining process.
"I see… You have brought yourself though. As for our trade, I will gladly accept your life in exchange for hers." The blue one's allies, Tails and a focused chameleon, seemed shocked by his words, but false Sonic grinned and nodded in understanding. Interesting, it was almost as if he had come to accept his fate. That in mind, Maasawd pressed the bat slightly towards them as if she was a betted prize of sorts. Holding what seemed to be a sort conversation with his comrades, Sonic stepped forward alone. In reply, Maasawd hoisted the bat up and moved to meet the hedgehog face to face.
"You won't come with me cuffed and bound, so I will make things easier." Gathering up his recently enhanced powers, Maasawd formed a coliseum-shaped field for the two to face off in. Milliseconds before the barrier closed, he tossed the girl outside so that she would go unharmed.
"I have not hurt the girl, thus have disobeyed my orders, but I will face and defeat this clown in combat. In doing so, I will have fulfilled my desire and that foul shade's." he thought this softly before that same kindly voice echoed frantically in his ears.
"Don't be ridiculous! You may not win in your horrible condition!"
The dark one coughed quietly as she said this, but mentally laughed it off "So be it. If I should fail, then am no longer shackled to anyone's chain. And if I should win, I will be given that which I've been promised." The last of these thoughts contained a high amount of bitterness, suggesting his true feelings towards victory were grim.
"You don't honestly believe that creature will keep his word, do you?"
...
And the answer was no…
No he didn't…
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*Sonic's POV*
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He knew it… Somehow from the day they first met, Sonic knew he'd end up facing this guy one-on-one. Through all the mental pain and angst he'd experienced so far, the hero was wondering when he'd get to fight this devil head-on. No more running in the shadows for this creep. He was going to pay for what he'd done to Rouge, and for what he tried to do to Tails and Amethyst.
Maasawd seemed to carry a different air from the last time they met. He was more…relaxed or maybe ambivalent was the word. Hmph! The pompous bastard probably thinks this will be an easy victory for him. Go figure though, for these bad-guys were all alike in that sense.
Seeing no action had been taken, Maasawd decided to proceed with the taunting "So, have you finally given up? Have you come so that I might release from your cursed existence?" Why did these 'Mwahaha' types always have to speak stereotypical villain lines before an epic battle? It sounded like something straight out of an amateur's writing project.
"You think I would want to die at the hands of a creep who kidnaps women for emeralds? If you had half a sack, you'd fetch the dang things yourself instead of getting innocent people involved." Sonic fired back, itching to break that ugly mask right off this freak's face.
"I may have told you this, but I cannot come in contact with the emeralds. In your limited brain-power, you must've forgotten that simple fact." Maasawd didn't hesitate to remind the spiny one of this detail. It didn't matter now what information he could obtain from it, considering their current position.
"Yeah and I bet you're pretty happy playing S&M with whatever sicko put you up to this. Tell me, does your 'master' remember to take you for walks and teach you tricks too?" The hero's degrading words stabbed into Maasawd with unfettered force. Never did he imagine being goaded into the fight by this arrogant hedgehog.
"As a matter of fact, he does. Here's a 'trick' he just taught me!" Placing massive energy into his hands, Maasawd discharged a wave of smoky, midnight-blue substance towards Sonic. Not expecting the sudden strike left the hero coated in…whatever it was. Feeling no immediate change, the hero assaulted from the sky with spinning dive. Maasawd expectedly dodged the impact, but was taken off guard when the hero reemerged from under the earth, a similar attack he'd used during their previous fight. Maasawd decisively chose to seal off that ability by setting the dead ruin grounds ablaze in an unnatural fire. Assuming his opponent might've gotten caught in the blast, the dark figure briefly scanned for his body. Just as he did, a whistling could be heard from above. His head raised in time to be smacked violently by a highly kinetic strike. Maasawd shrugged the blow off and saw his enemy…running along the surface of his barrier!
Sonic could only imagine the priceless face that twisted jerk must've been making right then. "How does it feel to have your own power used against you, Maasawd?" Sonic shouted, banking off the wall for a beautifully executed follow-up hit. Looking back from his attack, he soundly expected his nemesis to be blowing a head-gasket right about now.
What he didn't expect was the dark one to respond by saying "How does it feel…? It feels…" For his moment of pause Maasawd remembered something, a skill he hadn't recalled using since his awakening, a skill the hedgehog had almost literally 'knocked' back into him. Forgoing the use of his floating powers, Maasawd pressed himself against the energized boundary and kicked off. Barreling at intensely high speed, Maasawd unexpectedly curled his body into a ball…very much like Sonic had done not seconds ago.
"It feels magnificent!" he cried and made punishing contact with the flabbergasted hero's cheek. In taking the focus off his powers, Maasawd had inadvertently 'doused' his own inferno below, causing the impact to leave Sonic wounded but not char-broiled. The attack itself wasn't as effective in slowing the hedgehog down as the nature of the attack itself. Far back as he could recall, only one person had ever been able to copy his personalized 'homing attack' perfectly…
"No way. There's just no way…" Sonic gulped. His musing left himself open to another head-splitting blow, causing a streak of blood to spill across the burnt earth. A peripheral handicap came when the 'black substance', which Sonic had assumed to be a misfired attack, started to take effect. It gradually drained his strength away, leaving him increasingly vulnerable to subsequent damage.
When no further strikes came, Sonic forced his head up to see Maasawd slipping and struggling to stay standing. Something besides the hero had weakened his stricken foe. In the ease of no direct conflict, Sonic's hazy head began comprehending some interesting facts about this 'Maasawd'. First, he and the figure were very similar in height and body mass, assuming that armor made Maasawd an inch or so wider. Second, the red eye he had seen underneath the mask before was a very irregular hue of iris, as only one person he knew had it. Third, he mentioned something about memory loss, as if that shouldn't have been a dead giveaway right there. Most of this world was backwards, but it still reflected several elements of his world.
Limping up to the still-belligerent Maasawd, whose wild swings were now horribly low in accuracy, Sonic placed all his might into a single punch.
Sonic's battered knuckles cracked into the mask, which in turn bit at the flesh beneath his gloves. Though bleeding from the contact, he saw the mask now laid shattered on the ground next to 'Maasawd'.
Upon gazing into the figure's true face, Sonic swore he had never felt such a tide of confusion, fear, anger, and sadness; not since his discovery that he was lost in a foreign world. Complete chaos filled his mind as he peered over the unconscious figure, and uttered a single word.
"Shadow…"
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End of Chapter Twenty-nine
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This was the longest and hardest chapter to write yet. I have no doubt you guys will either find extreme fault with me on this or good satisfaction. I don't know if I wrapped up this half of the first climax well, but I most certainly hope it reaches beyond a passable standard. If you didn't like it, don't hold back for fear of offending me. I need to know for sure if this chapter was worth writing or not.
I know some of you look forward to seeing your name down here, but not this time. I want to get this submitted before I start second-guessing this whole chapter.
Until next time.
