Last updated : {6/10/2013}
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..Whoa! Today's (8/2/2013)... That's 14 days more before this fic's 1st Anniversary! :D
Still... Hello, everyone! I'm FINALLY back with another Chapter~! :D
A few days back, I was sick that I can't update, but now, I'm already getting better that I can update! :D ..As always, before I continue to the story, I would like to thank LovesAnimations1998, Pink Monday, ballandcup, Guest, RAWN89, IOnlyWriteBigStories, Mysterious Girl, ProwerPower85, glittering wolf, Halley Rose, InsertUnoriginalPenNameHere, CarnationPrincess, doomxdesire94, Sasha15, LunaTheDragonSlayer, The Sky Hedgehogian Maestro, Ashuradahedgehog, FlowerBlooms, and SecretFlowerChild (AND those who've fav and follow the story) for the reviews ya all gave me to this fic. It really made my day encourage me to do my best! :D
My special thanks goes to "RAWN89", my Beta here. She made Chapter 1-4 of this fic became more than amazing, and now she was working at Chapter 5. Thank you, dear buddy! Without you, this fic is nothing. :'D
Oh, right. Note that this story could've focused on other characters when it was updated. So I'm deeply sorry if I left you all confused...
Alright, enough for the chit-chat. On the story~! ^_^-
DISCLAIMER : I DON'T OWN SONIC, "SEGA" DOES. ^^- ..HOWEVER, I OWN THE PLOT OF THIS FANFIC~ x3
Adventure Through the Unknown
Chapter 35 : Stories and Intentions
- Mobius-Moebius City -
Somewhere in the ruined surroundings of Mobius-Moebius City, a dark alley was set between two devastated buildings. Deep within the alley, a small place— made as a hideout of some sort— was seen, stuffed with lots of computer screens and a keyboard that placed atop a table, two big shabby mattresses, a small refrigerator, and a door that may be leading to the bathroom. A worn-out curtain colored red was hanging right at the hideout's entrance— a possible exchange of the door that was absent from the view, and serves as the illumination of the hideout was a dim-lighted lamp.
At the moment, there are two Mobians within the small hideout— one boy and one female, both are mongoose. Sat on one of the shabby mattresses is the female mongoose, while the male one was sitting on a chair placed in front of the table that stuffed with many computer screens.
"So... Ash, right?" the female Mobian— Mina Mongoose— said, her green eyes focused to the male Mobian whose name mentioned by her— Ash Mongoose. "You might already heard this, but... I'm worried about Fiona and your friends."
Ash sighs at the statement, his fingers keep moving through the keyboard that controls all the computer screens there. "For the seventh time I told you, they will be fine. Stop worrying too much."
The male mongoose turned his chair around to face Mina, his blue eyes looked bored, but serious at the same time. "Anyway, I just searched your name through the web... So you're... a well-known idol from the kingdom Mobius-Oracle City, huh?" he said, crossing his arms. "I should say that I'm surprised to find you here, not to mention Mobius-Oracle City is way too far from this kingdom. So... How did you get here, Miss Mina Mongoose?"
The purple-haired mongoose tensed. "E-Eh? Why you call me 'miss'? And what's up with my full name?"
Ash arched one eyebrow up. "Hmm? Isn't a low-class person should be super polite to those who lived in high-class?"
Mina's eyes grew wide at the statement. "W-What? Don't say that! I just a mongoose who is lucky that I become a popular singer!" she said, almost loudly. "... Also, don't speak about those low-class and high-class thing— it really annoys me every time I heard it from people around!"
A light gasp escaped Ash's mouth once he heard Mina's statement, his mouth slightly opened, as if in surprise. His mouth then closed again, and a small smile formed across his muzzle. "So you're not the type of an idol who drowned to their riches, I see..." he chuckled lightly. "Glad to find you're not one of those popular idols who becomes arrogant thanks to their riches."
"Oh... So you know that kind of popular celebrities," Mina sighs, glancing to the black-haired mongoose. "So, Ash... What happened here? This kingdom is a total wreck... What's the cause of this?"
"Well..." Ash began, but was interrupted when a voice of a male was heard, coming from the hideout's entrance.
"We're back! Phew, what a run!"
The worn-out red curtain at the hideout's entrance was lifted slightly to the side as three Mobians— one male and two females— stepped into the room.
"Back already?" Ash gave a questioning look to one of the three Mobians— to the male hedgehog with green fur. "I presume you're... run away?"
"Yeah, Ash. We're retreating!" the female wolf-weasel hybrid named Nicolette the Weasel— nicknamed Nic— huffed, crossing her arms. "It's kinda unusual of you, Scourge. Why are we running away?"
The male hedgehog with green fur— Scourge the Hedgehog— groaned at this, rubbing his temples. "Nic, I told ya we have newcomers who should we take care of and explained about the situation here. Don't ya get it?"
Nic looked skeptically to the hedgehog. "Hmph, you sure one to talk, Scourge! I might not remember how old I am, but I bet I'm older and matured than both you and Ash— I must be above 17!"
Scourge— age revealed to be 17— sigh aloud at Nic's remark. "Gosh, Nic... Seriously, stop this nonsense argument. We gotta explain the newcomers about what happened here," he grumbled to the Mobian hybrid before he looked over his back— to the red fox who goes by the name Fiona Fox— or Fiona, for short.
"Okay, uh... Fiona, isn't it?" Scourge saw the red fox nodded to him. "Yeah, well, you might wanna have a seat before listening to our story."
"Oh... R-Right," At this, Fiona walk past Scourge, taking a seat next to Mina.
Mina tapped Fiona's shoulder, making the blue-eyed fox looked to her. "I'm glad you're okay, Fiona. I wouldn't know what to do without you here in this new place," the purple-haired mongoose told to the red fox, smiling.
Fiona smiled back to the green-eyed mongoose. "Me either. Let's try to stick together 'till we can find a way to go back home, Mina."
Mina nodded. "Agreed."
Once the short conversation took place, both female 'newcomers' were surprised by the sight of Scourge sighs aloud and threw himself onto the bed next to where Fiona sat with hands behind head and legs crossed, while Nic slumped next to Mina— sitting with her legs crossed.
"Okay, so..." from his current spot, Scourge glanced to everyone in the room, blue eyes scanning each Mobians on sight. "... Who wants to tell the story?"
"May I?" Ash— age revealed to be 17 by Nic— asked to start first. Seeing this, Scourge nodded while saying, "Go ahead, Ash. No one's goin' to forbid you for tellin' the tale."
"Alright, thanks," the black-haired mongoose slumped to the chair he took sat at. "Before I start the story, I would like to welcome you two newcomers— Fiona Fox and Mina Mongoose— to Mobius-Moebius City, one of many places that said to be a beautiful kingdom on Mobius. This kingdom is ruled by a man— a green-furred hedgehog known as King Anjules. I'll tell about him later. So long story short, he used to live happily and peacefully with his family and his people... until an unexpected accident occurs."
"A man— a white-furred echidna who call himself Dr. Finitevus, attacks the kingdom with his mysterious power... I think it's some kind of magic," Ash continued the story. "With this 'magic' power of his, Finitevus easily overpowered the kingdom's guards, even King Anjules. Defeating the King, he forced the weakened King to watch... his dear wife— who was pregnant with his second child at that moment... dead— right in front of him."
Those words made a loud gasp escaped Fiona and Mina's mouth— surprised by this whole new informations that is almost unbelievable, but real.
"Shortly after he did that horrible doing to the King," Ash began again after he saw Fiona and Mina had calmed down. "... Finitevus ruled the kingdom— transforming all the kingdom's beauty to be more like a wasteland. Not only that— he forcefully capture and transform all people in the kingdom to robots with his magic so they become his royal armies. But there's like, a lot of people here, so some are still hold in custody... including King Anjules. Ever since Dr. Finitevus do the 'horrible doing', the King was still in custody."
"Wait wait, hold it! Did you say 'all people in the kingdom' back then?" Mina cut in, looking shocked. "B-But you, Scourge, and Nic are all here... T-That means..."
"Yes," Nic decided to talk finally, continuing the tale. "We're the only ones who manage to ran away from being transformed to one of Finitevus' metal 'junks'," she added, crossing her arms. "I'm not from here, actually. I got transported here with my brother. Even though he's shorter than me, he's the oldest of the twins."
"You're twins?" Mina asked.
"Yes," Nic replied with a nod. "I couldn't remember clearly what happen... But me and big bro were brought away from home— which right now I hope to remember— and transported here by a big, dark portal," she said with a sigh, bringing a hand to her head. "I guess I banged my head really hard onto something when I got here, leaving me with no clue except the fact I have an older brother and a popgun in my belt's holster..."
Nic once again sighs before lowering her head. "T-Then... the robots came— the Mobian-height ones," Nic continued the story. "I-It surrounded us— It outnumbered us. I was suppose to be the one who get caught by them... But my big bro... He... He push me away just as the time the bots reached its arms to me... and let himself being taken by their strong grasp."
Nic brought her head up, showing her glinted eyes— maybe with tears that she tried to hold back. "Then I rescued by Ash and Scourge from the robots... And since that incident, I swear to myself that I'll save not just my big bro, but everyone in this kingdom as well."
"M-My... I-I'm sorry to hear that," Mina said with concern, placing a comforting hand atop Nic's right shoulder.
"S-So..." Fiona glanced to Scouge. "... If I'm not counting Nic, you and Ash are the only survivors here."
"Yup... Well, sort of," Scourge said while he glanced back to the red fox. "And we just happen to found this place. So we make this as our hideout."
"Say, Ash..." Mina began, glancing to the male mongoose. "Do you have a family?"
"No," Ash answered, looking down. "Ever since I'm a boy, I was already in an orphanage, and I truly had no clue about my family. On the other hand..." the male mongoose looked up, pointing his index finger to Scourge. "Scourge had a family."
"Really?" Fiona shifted her gaze to the green hedgehog, who still laid down beside her. "W-Where are they, Scourge?"
Scourge looked to Fiona right in the eye before he humphed, and looked away from the now-confused fox.
"That's the problem, actually," Ash said, sighing aloud. "You see... Scourge is not an ordinary resident of this kingdom. He's actually..." the male mongoose paused, and was silent for a moment before he spill the next words out :
"Scourge is... He's actually... a prince."
"Aah... A prince," Mina and Fiona said with a nod, not feeling anything. However, a few seconds later, Ash's words finally hit them, and both the purple-haired mongoose and the red fox couldn't help but let their eyes bulged open.
"Wait, WHAT?!" both female Mobians exclaimed loudly, looking to each other and back to Ash at pure shock.
Seeing this, Ash sighs aloud and face-palmed, letting his fingers slid down his face. "... Seriously? You both need at least 5 seconds to get my words into your heads?"
"W-We're sorry, Ash, but we just can't believe it!" Mina exclaimed, arms flailing around. "I-I mean, Scourge doesn't look like a prince at all, so it is a surprise to know that he's actually one!"
"Well, if I'm remembering it again, there's one boy at Mobius-Oracle City who dressed up as a gangster, but is actually a prince," Fiona pointed out, remembering that Sonia's twin-and-younger brother— Manic— is looked like a gangster from outside, but is actually a member of Mobius-Oracle City's royal family.
"I hate the 'old man', ya know?" Scourge stated angrily as he pushed himself up from the bed to a sitting position, and all eyes fixed on him. "Can't you all see? That 'old man' came to the kingdom out of nowhere, stole my Dad's throne, and being a total jerk by finish off my mother who is pregnant with my lil' bro! How can I forgive him for everything he had done to both this kingdom and my family?!"
"I... I know how you feel, Scourge— we all know." Fiona swallowed hard at the sudden change of the surroundings— which now felt tense due to Scourge's anger. "There's one thing about you that bothers me, though... How did you get... these?" Fiona placed her index finger to Scourge's two large scars on his chest.
The green hedgehog yelps in surprise at Fiona's touch, but quickly shrug it off and answering the fox's question.
"Ah... Right. You must be wondering about these," Scourge placed a hand over his scars. "You see... Back when that 'old man'— Finitevus— is capturing all the people of the kingdom so he can transform them to his royal armies, I also get captured. When I being held in the custody, that was the first time I meet Ash— who also got captured."
"Wait, you both ever get caught? W-What happen after that?" Mina asked, her voice is filled with curiosity.
"Well," Scourge began the story again. "... I and Ash were brought outside the custody after being held two weeks. Then, upon face to face with that 'old man', he put a spell on me that caused me had no control of my own body. I would end Ash's life and forever be the 'tool' of that jerk Finitevus if Locke didn't save me."
"Locke...?" Fiona asked, couldn't help but curious for the unfamiliar name she just heard.
"A mysterious man— a red echidna— who came out of nowhere and saves Scourge with a cost of his life. He break and absorbed the power of Finitevus' spell from Scourge's body, and was left dying— I think the spell's power was too great for him to bear," Ash explained, lowering his head. "Not only saving Scourge— that man Locke also gives us the opportunity to fled from the place while he held Finitevus down... Though, with his dying condition back then, I doubted he would survive."
"I assume... you get these scars from this Locke guy back when he tried save you from Finitevus' spell?" Fiona put her right palm to Scourge's scars, and the green hedgehog is once again surprised with the red fox's touch.
"Y-... Yeah." Scourge slowly push Fiona's right hand away from his scars, doing it gently so there would be no misunderstanding between him and the red fox.
"A-Anyway," the green hedgehog began again. "... since we're done with the story, I guess we gotta move with a plan to take that 'old man' down and bring back the peace this kingdom should have."
"You're right, Captain!" Nic said enthusiastically with a nod, hopping off the mattress she sat at. "Let's make a perfect plan to bust our way into the palace and save everyone!"
"Look at this, guys," Ash's attention was back to the computer screens, his fingers are typing on the keyboard again. One of the screens are showing something... interesting.
"It looks like Finitevus forgot to put his robot guards to standby at the back door of the palace," the male mongoose then grinned. "If I'm a fool, then I would suggest we get inside through there. But no, I'm not going to say that." The sarcasm in his voice is as clear as glass.
"Heck yeah, Ash! That must be a trap! That 'old man' is dense if he think we could be fooled by such act!" Scourge snickered, crossing his arms. "Lucky us that palace is my home, or else, I wouldn't know lots of secret passages we could use to get into the palace!"
"Uh... Can we tag along?" Fiona asked, while pointing her index finger to herself and Mina. "We might not really good in combat, but it's better than doing nothing."
"Not really good?" Mina rose an eyebrow to Fiona. "You said that while you do almost all of the attacking back when Sleet stole Queen Aleena's crown?"
"T-That's nothing big, Mina!" Fiona stuttered, feeling a rush of embarrassment all of the sudden.
Unbeknownst to both female Mobians, Scourge and his team stared in shock at both Mobians, especially with the name 'Queen Aleena'— the well-known Mobius-Oracle City's queen, and 'Sleet'— one of the well-known three top criminals of Mobius-Oracle City.
"... Wow. Cool." Scourge muttered suddenly, bringing everyone's attention to him. "It seems both of you are okay to go... According to the female mongoose, that is. But, oh well."
Scourge then raised one arm up. "Okay, team!" the green hedgehog exclaimed, grinning. "We got a kingdom to save! Let's go!"
Everyone stood up, gathering around Scourge. Mina looked around, finding everyone has a look of agreement over their faces, except one— which is Ash Mongoose, who stood beside her.
The female mongoose noticed Ash also have the look she believed she currently have— a look of uneasiness. Remembering the time Ash said he's not good in combat, Mina understood that he must have felt uneasy— just like her now.
She might not really good in fighting, but when it comes to comforting people, then Mina would say that she's good at it.
"It's alright, Ash," Mina said to the male mongoose, who gasped lightly and turned his head to her. "D-... Don't worry. Everything will be fine. Just... believe in yourself that you can do it. Sure, I too lack at combat, but hey, maybe I can lend a hand for everyone by any other ways."
The purple-haired mongoose gave Ash a warm smile. "So... Just trust yourself at this one, alright?"
A surprised expression crossed through Ash's face, which includes a slight opening of his mouth, before it closed again. A second later, his lips stretched to a small smile.
"Thank you." the male mongoose said to Mina. "... I really appreciate your words, Mina."
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[ Meanwhile, back to Mobius— 200 years later in the future... ]
- Crisis City, Mysterious Castle -
Metal Sonic, Tails Doll, Metal Knuckles, Blaze, and Tiara are now stood before a big, metallic door colored black. Not any single of them felt dread rushed within them, though Tiara and Tails Doll are an exception.
Back then, he and his team must battle their way through the guards of the palace— which consist of hundreds, bizarre-looking bots colored black— before they can finally arrive in front of the door they currently stared at. Save for Tiara, though— she mostly screams, but unconsciously attacks the black bots too with her punches and kicks, much to everyone's confusion.
"Looks like we finally found the place where that 'copycat' of mine resides," Metal Sonic spoke, breaking the silence between them.
"Are all madness here is going to end if we go into there?" Tiara asked, feeling uneasy.
"Not sure. But we need to keep moving, Tiara," Blaze told the orange manx. "At least... I hope there's sign of Silver here..." A pause. "A-And your father too, of course."
Tiara giggled at Blaze's clumsiness. "Right... If you say so, Blazey," the orange manx said, chuckling lightly at the sight of the lavender cat's losing composure.
Metal Sonic placed his hands to the big door before them. "Alright, then. This is it... Let's we all end this."
Everyone nodded in agreement at Metal Sonic's words, as the blue bot pushed the big door open— all of them ready to face whatever problem they'll had once they went through the big door...
Aaaaaaaaaand that's Chapter 35, everyone! :D ..Sorry for the LONG wait, once again... ^^''
Also, I'm afraid I've rushed the story a bit at this one... I think. X_x ..So I'm sorry for that.
Dunno how the new, mentioned characters looked like? Look up for 'Dr. Finitevus' and 'Locke' at your favorite Sonic wikis. ;)
Also, the name Anjules here was derived from Anti-Jules— the name of Scourge's father in Archie comics. xD
Anyway, I'll let you wonder for now. :D ..Next Chapter was in-progress, so stay tuned for more! ^_^-
By the way, thank you for the reviews and supports, everyone! That means a lot to me~ x3
Oh, and... I'm sorry, but NO replies for now! I was EXTREMELY busy until I can't make one. X_x ..But you know how THANKFUL I am when I got your feedbacks; it means a LOT to me! Thank you for the reviews, buddies! I'm glad you enjoyed this story, even though I always make you all annoyed by the late updates... X_x
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You know what they said; "Nobody's Perfect". So I beg your pardon if there's some errors and 'weird' sentences in this Chapter. Thank you to you all who've read, fav, follow, and review this story! :) ..Well, as always, next Chapter is in-progress. So stay tuned for more Chapters, everyone! Cheers~! ^^-
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Have a good day, buddies~! :3