Crisis of Ivory
Chapter 36: Titanic Clash
Location: Angel Island
The black hedgehog walked through the undergrowth of the forest, the energies of Angel Island rising through all of the life on the island. His crimson eyes were full of uncertainty but his trademark drive was clear as he walked with purpose, a frown written upon his face. The ebony furred hedgehog suddenly shot forward like a bullet, tearing through all of the plat life in his way as the relics and ruins of the echidna civilization passed by him, blanketed by the clouds which the island was level with high in the sky.
I don't have a choice, Shadow told himself. His power is too great to be left alone. It's an official order from the higher ups.
Suddenly Shadow was skating along a rugged pathway that came from the echidna ruins and cut through the forest, leading straight in the direction of the powerful energies of the Master Emerald. Rouge and Omega would back him up soon after their mission, and he may need it based on what he would be going up against. The heroes had come here not a few days ago after Ragnarok burned their mansion to the ground, but GUN Ops had very good intelligence and so here he was, pursuing them even when no one else knew what happened to them.
It was probably due to the influence of the GUN Ops Commander, Cyrus Tech the Fox. While Shadow greatly respected the GUN Commander and the two had become almost friends, he had never had leadership as good as their. The fox was the smartest person he had ever met in his life, and though he seemed even colder than the ultimate life form at times, he knew what he was doing and nothing significant ever escaped him. So when he proposed that GUN should be even connected to the heroes that helped to keep the world stabilized, people listened.
I can feel his power ahead, even from here, Shadow stated, narrowing his eyes as the line of forest finally broke, revealing the bright jade glow of the Master Emerald. Has he really become that powerful?
The black hedgehog broke through the trees, walking towards the side of the shrine where some of the heroes were watching Sonic, Chrono, and Phase train. The three exchanged blows at a great pace, but Sonic stopped as Amy pointed towards the approaching black hedgehog, a light smile on her face. If only she knew what was going to happen. Sonic smirked and tapped his foot impatiently as the ultimate life form approached, his body relaxed but still having a tense edge to its movement. The glow of the Master Emerald shined over his face as it rotated in the shrine, keeping the very island afloat.
"Hey Shadow, what's up?" Sonic asked. "Why are you here all of a sudden? We could've used your help a long time before now, you know."
"Hey Sonic, sorry our meeting will be so short," Shadow apologized.
"Why will you be staying for a such a short time?" Amy wondered. "Does GUN have you on another big mission?"
"You could say that," Shadow stated, suddenly pulling his GUN Badge out from his quills. "By the order of the GUN Ops, I will be taking you, Sonic the Hedgehog into custody as a part of the new Hero Regulation Program."
"Didn't know Shadow had a sense of humor," Knuckles chuckled, crossing his arms while Chrono just stared on, a wavy look in his dark cerulean eyes. "That was actually pretty damn funny."
"Alright Shadow," Sonic said. "What are you really here for?"
"Didn't I say it already?" Shadow said, suddenly behind Sonic as the energies of the Chaos Control fizzled out around him. "I'm taking you in, Sonic. Chaos Nightmare!"
The black hedgehog threw his fist out as Sonic spun around, a high powered orb like field of chaos energy expelling from his fists. The force tossed the blue hedgehog high into the air, but Shadow was already above him, grabbing his legs and spinning around multiple times before tossing him straight into the ground. The burst of dust was large, but Shadow did not rest, his thirst for the blue hedgehog's destruction not quenched as he summoned a wave of Chaos Spears and shot them all down into the cloud of dust, causing flares of yellow to shoot up from the smoke. The black hedgehog landed, staring into the destruction for any signs of moment, as if he was a demon possessed.
"Come out," Shadow ordered. "I know you can take much more than that."
"Sonic Wind!" Sonic shouted.
"Stop guys!" Amy pleaded.
"What does GUN want with the last Chosen?" Chrono wondered, looking on in confusion.
The fruits of Sonic's training had been shown as he suddenly warped behind Shadow, large blue gusts of wind surrounding his hand which followed the trail of his arm as he unleashed the much more powerful Sonic Wind. The powerful attack slammed into Shadow's back, enveloping him in a burst of cyan wind that sent him flying through one of the pillars of the shrine. The black hedgehog quickly landed as Sonic charged towards him, reeling back a powerful fist. Shadow narrowed his eyes and blocked the fist with his forearm, only to get kicked across the face by Sonic. The blue hedgehog twisted around while in midair and attempted to land another fist but Shadow suddenly warped out of the way, leaving Sonic helpless in midair.
"Where did he go?" Sonic wondered, looking around as he began to descend.
"Here!" Shadow asked, suddenly shining into existence in the air next to his former ally and slamming him with a powerful kick to sent him hurling through the air, through multiple shrine pillars and then into the ground, kicking up a massive trail of destruction.
"I don't want to hurt you, Shadow!" Sonic warned, getting to his feet. "Stop while you're ahead."
"Then don't," Shadow retorted, suddenly shooting forward as his Air Shoes flared to life, "it makes my job easier!"
"Why does GUN want to take me in?" Sonic wondered, grabbing Shadow's fist and kicking him across the face before spinning around and delivering a high kick which sent him flying up into the air. "What do they want with me now that Ragnarok has declared war?"
"You're getting too powerful," Shadow stated as he stopped hovered in the air, staying afloat by his Air Shoes. "With Ragnarok starting their path of destruction, we cannot leave anything to chance. GUN has to stay connected to various heroes and regulate them in order to face this great threat to our very existence, and we can't have unauthorized heroes like you running around any longer."
"But Shadow, you know me!" Sonic argued, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You know that I always will stand for what's right!"
"There is no assurance of that," Shadow stated. "The world is changing, and there's no telling how heroes like you will react and change with it. Besides, GUN is well aware of your Dusk form, and how hard it is to control. We can't just leave you alone with that kind of power anymore."
"What would GUN even do with me?" Sonic wondered.
"That is not in my hands to control," Shadow said before his body suddenly flared a bright crimson. Ripples of red energy rolled off of him, repelling everything else besides the air he breathed. "Chaos Boost!"
The black hedgehog suddenly warped out of the way, leaving Sonic confused as to where he was. But he found out as the Chaos Lance slammed into his back from far above, the massive red projectile bursting apart in a red explosion. The blue hedgehog managed to warp out of the way before the full brunt of the attack hit him, but right before he could look up to find Shadow location the black hedgehog dived down towards him, unleashing a blood red force from his fist which knocked the blue hedgehog across the ground and into a few trees Knuckles allowed to grow around the shrine.
Sonic managed to get up from the Chaos Nightmare, lines of blood trickling down the side of his face from the impact of him hitting the ground. Shadow looked on coldly, crossing his arms as he allowed the massive aura of red around him to die down, though his quills still stood up on end from the massive amount of boosted power as his Air Shoes allowed him to hover slowly. The blue hedgehog looked in shock; Shadow was really in this with lethal force!
"I knew you wouldn't come with me willingly," Shadow said.
"Good, you shouldn't have bothered asking!" Sonic shouted before launching up at the air at the black hedgehog. "I'm going to knock you out of this!"
Shadow quickly blocked Sonic's punch before summoning a Chaos Nightmare in his other hand but Sonic quickly clashed with the attack by thrusting a Sonic Wind into the attack's path. Crimson and azure clashed as Shadow and Sonic were engulfed by their own attacks, the heroes diving to the ground as the force severed many of the pillars from the ground and reduced them to shreds. The two pushed away from each other as they saw they were getting nowhere, but as they flew away from each other in the air the black hedgehog suddenly warped away in a flash of blue.
Sonic skidded across the ground, looking around for signs of the Chaos Control, and he finally got it. Shadow reappeared in a flash of blue, his body alight with a crimson light that could only come from the deepest Hells. The black hedgehog raised his hands as a massive, roaring red projectile shot through the air, the Chaos Lance carving a destructive path through the air on its way to Sonic. The azure anthro managed to get a good footing which he used to kick off and flip over the attack and Shadow. Sonic and Shadow faced each other before shooting at each other at supersonic speeds, reeling back fists surging with their power.
The moment their knuckles touched a massive shock wave of purple launched out in all directions from the mingling of their abilities, ripping a crater into the ground as the two stood across from each other, the blue hedgehog panting while the formerly black hedgehog looked on with little emotion on his face, the Chaos Boost still causing the red energy to ripple out from his body while all of his quills stood on end. The heroes finally got back up, staring in anticipation of what would happen next.
"Please," Amy said, staring at both fighters with worry.
"You can't deter them now," Chrono stated. "Sonic cares too much about his ally Shadow to simply run while Shadow is like a demon possessed in terms of will, as he won't give up until he succeeds."
"You don't have to do this, Shadow," Sonic stated. "I don't want to have to hurt you."
"Ha! You say that as if you will be the victor," Shadow scoffed. "You are growing too dangerous and GUN needs to keep you on a leash. I will take you in!"
"Then you leave me no choice," Sonic said, suddenly lifting off of the ground and into the air, his hands curled into tight fists as his quills flying about as he began to harness and charge up energy much like he would if he was summoning upon his Super form. But then a burst of dark navy energy radiated out from him, blotting out Sonic's being like the night upon the world, his voice suddenly and slightly warped. "I'm gonna stop you here and now!"
The moment the dark cerulean wind cleared, a large, almost black aura surrounded the new form. Dusk Sonic lowered to the ground slowly, staring down the Chaos Boost enhanced Shadow with sharp violet eyes. The black hedgehog looked in shock, but he had no time to react. As the dark navy furred hedgehog's feet touched the ground he zipped forward in an instant, suddenly finding himself right before Shadow. The black hedgehog was launched up into the air by a powerful kick, though he quickly recovered and fired a massive barrage of Chaos Spears down at him from multiple angles.
Smoke rose up from the impact and Shadow hovered in the air, waiting for Sonic to rise, but in that instant the hedgehog was before Shadow, summoning massive black gales at his sides. The ultimate life form quickly reacted by smashing him with a powerful barrage of kicks full of red energy but as he flew back he suddenly warped behind Shadow with a Chaos Control of surprising speeds before unleashing a powerful new attack.
"Surrender!" Sonic demanded, his voice slightly demonic. "Sonic Tornado!"
The massive and formidable night cerulean colored gales of wind suddenly formed into a massive cyclone, shredding up everything and blotting out even the glow of the Master Emerald with Shadow being torn to bits in the center. Finally Shadow escaped the attack, ripping through the side with a few Chaos Spears before he warped behind Sonic and kicked him down towards the ground. Dusk Sonic quickly recovered and zipped in front of Shadow despite the fact he was in the middle of the air before he kicked Shadow up into the air, launched off of a few broken pieces of a pillar and instantly summoned a rotating cyan sphere and a navy sphere in each hand.
The black hedgehog looked down in shock and quickly unleashed a Chaos Blast with all of the energy he had in his body, but he used his new ability, directing a massive destructive wave of red energy through his hand with the concentrated force of a Chaos Blast. Silver quickly summoned a barrier to protect them as the Chaos Blast engulfed the entire area, a thin layer of teal energy protecting them from the force of destruction. Smoke covered the ruined shrine, only the Master Emerald being left standing on the main pillar as the ruined steps left up to it.
But then Sonic shot through the Chaos Blast, ignoring his wounds as he slammed the cyan Sonic Storm into Shadow's stomach, and then the second even before the first one could fully release. Cyan and navy whirled around each other, shredding everything and even the forest and meadows around the area as Sonic finally landed, looking at the destruction from below as his form finally powered down and his watchful violet eyes reverted back to a peaceful, calm jade.
"Hopefully that knocked him out," Sonic stated, panting heavily as his eyesight began to dim. "I haven't practiced enough with that form to make it as powerful and last long enough but at least we can keep him locked up until he sees the truth."
"You're a fool, Sonic!" Shadow stated, landing from the smoke, almost completely unharmed. "My Chaos Boost can absorb the damage for me and cancel out so I could still stay fine. Your exhaustion has finally caught up to you from using the Dusk form. Victory is mine, just as I said it would!"
And true to what he said the blue hedgehog suddenly collapsed from exhaustion, the black hedgehog walking over to his body only find Amy standing over it, tears in her eyes as Shadow stared without even a hint of concern in his eyes. One tear slipped down her face and fell on the blood staining a yellow lily, and that was the cue for her to launch forward, swinging her hammer wildly.
But without even saying a word the black hedgehog deflected her hammer with a Chaos Nightmare before he pressed his hand to her stomach, causing the Chaos Spears to shoot straight through her back before he unleashed a powerful kick which knocked her back into a pillar. Knuckles caught her before she hit the pillar, but by the time they all looked back towards Shadow, he had Sonic hoisted over his shoulder and the emerald Chaos Emerald in his left.
"Wait!" Amy screamed, but then the blue flash of light encompassed everything and by the time they recovered Shadow and Sonic were gone.
Location: GUN City
The new military metropolis that was GUN City was something to truly marvel at. The outer city was full of military bases, filled to the brim with troops, mechs, and weaponry of the highest caliber and technology from around the world. Eight arching metal structures curved over the city and met at a central point at the top, right over the flower-like tower that was the capital and GUN HQ of the metropolis. The GUN Fortress was spread out within the mountains that bordered the city on the side leading to the ocean and on the side leading to the valleys and the forest that was the field GUN training grounds.
Glass tunnels suspended above the outer city which was for GUN military housed the Magnetic Trains which led to the inner city, a which was where the people were housed. Hover Cars and Extreme Gear shot across the airborne street ways of the city while the Magnetic Trains slid along the rails, leading to the impressive skyscrapers and beautiful apartment complexes built for the prospering and wealthy of the United Federation.
The nighttime was beautiful for the GUN Colonel Reddin the Hawk as he stared out of the window, the starry sky glistening and complementing the glow of the skyscraper's lights. His place in Central City had been great, but his new apartment would be even more luxurious, made just for him. The red hawk rubbed the long scar running down his face and adjusted his GUN uniform as he snapped out of his daze, hoping that meal he ordered for his private train care would be here.
There were a few other commanders and colonels he had shared his car with, but he chose to not be preoccupied with them-he would have plenty of opportunities to talk to them as he spent the rest of his days doing peaceful assembly work. The tour of duty against the Dark Gaia forces in Station Square had done wonders for his ranking as he managed to hold those terrible creatures back, earning him many medals, and even though he would never be able to fight like that again the money was worth it. He could finally relax and get at least halfway normal job like he wanted way back in college.
"ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL TO THE HUNTER COMPLEXES: 10 MINUTES" the train's computer droned. Only ten minutes until real peace. Then his food arrived, the car door sliding open. He decided to not be rude and look up at the one serving him his sirloin steak. Maybe even give him a tip. Hell, the kid probably needed it.
Thank god he did. The hawk ducked as the plate was tossed at him like a disk of destruction, cracking the window as air seeped through, blowing everything about. As he looked up again he saw the one who tried to attack him, and got the shock of his life.
The figure had on light black armor, with a gray bullet proof vest. The armored being had blue lines going throughout its armor, and a high powered Assault Rifle, of what model Reddin could not tell strapped to its back along with a pouch full of Chaos Drives at its side and a blade strapped to its back as well, forming a cross. The figure wore a tight black helmet which had a dark blue visor to see through, and a small communicator hung by the side where there was a small opening to speak through. And to Reddin's surprise the vest had a small, but still legible GUN Emblem on it.
The colonels pulled their guns out, but it was useless. Before they moved the first colonel was stabbed in the neck by the figure who lunged forward, before he twisted the sword and snapped his head right off. A commander quickly fired a shot off but it was sliced in half before it even reached the armored figure. He then gasped in surprise as another one of the figures dropped through the lass roof, spraying glass everywhere as a distraction before it fired a shot into the back of the commander's head and then fired another shot into the chest of a colonel while his partner sliced the limb off of a colonel who tried to fire at him-Colonel Marcen the Bat, he thought?
"Don't move, and you don't die," the armored figure hissed, and Reddin did not dare ignore the order, his eyes wide in shock.
"That was more efficient than I thought it would be," another figure said, dropping through the roof though his being was more visible. He the very same gray fox with electrifying cyan eyes who was the GUN Ops Commander and Shadow's leader, Cyrus Tech the Fox. "Good job men. Lance, you will wipe the evidence here by the time the train heads in and Stalv will use his invisibility to take these two men in."
"Cyrus? Cyrus Tech?" Reddin questioned. "What are you doing?"
"What? Hard to believe a man such as myself could run the GUN Labs and a shadow GUN Ops organization too?" the fox chuckled. "You're a fool and a pig, Reddin. Just a slimy snake who got lucky and found that mother rodent to make himself bigger a little faster than everyone else."
"You won't get away with this," Reddin hissed, suddenly finding himself very weak.
"But I will. I see you feel the drug coming into effect. We like to be thorough," Cyrus smiled, almost eerily. "Besides, we will 'get away with this'. We have been doing so for longer than you were a colonel, Mr. Reddin."
And by the time he was done with the sentence both Reddin and Marcen were unconscious. As the train began to slow Stalv walked over and attached both men to himself, sheathed his katana, and fired a hook from his belt through the broken glass of the roof, pulling himself and the people strapped to him invisibly through the roof and up to a small helicopter that was barely visible in the midnight sky. And as Lance pulled out a bag, quickly disposing of the carnage in the luxury car, Cyrus merely looked on, his hands held together behind his back as his electric blue eyes showed deep thought.
"With the blue blue captured by Shadow, all of my plans are finally coming to fruition," Cyrus said. "I will finally install a true order, no matter what the cost."
And even with such a terrible plot unfolding in the dead of night, no one would know in the peaceful silence of what awaits within the city. At least until it would be too late.
To Be Continued...
A/N: With this being my tenth chapter above 4,000 words I can now say that my chapters are nowhere near short anymore. W00t! Anyhow, Shadow unexpectedly attacked Sonic in the middle of his training and has kidnapped him for Cyrus? Who is this mysterious fox? What does he want with Sonic? How will the heroes fight back? And what is the GUN Ops planning for their new "order"? All of these answers will come soon enough with the plot of the arc emerging, so please review, every one of them counters and means so much to me and for this story. Hang tight for the next update!