Bonus Chapter 4: Friendships, Burdens, and Heroes Across Lifetimes
"I find it hard to bear the responsibilities on my shoulders. All this power I have to use yet it's useless… where it truly matters."
"What do you mean by that, Rosalina? Aren't you supposed to be some kind of… goddess?"
"The terms gods and goddesses are misleading. Those labels would lead you to believe that I am omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent in this omniverse. But none of those are true. I mealy sit back and watch reality… unfold. Real power is action, choices, decisions. The experience of life is real power. And there's so much of it. One sentient being themselves is a universe of possibilities, and there can be billions of them on one planet; a planet among quintillions of others in an infinite multiverse, so many of which are life bearing. Each of those sentient beings only experience an infinitesimal fraction of the whole picture in their brief, brief lives; and even though their breath of reality is so limited while I and other gods see the whole picture, I envy every one of them. Because their lives make a difference, even if it's so, so small."
"No offense, Rosalina, but even though the culture I'm supposedly an ancestor to is all but erased from existence, I hear they had predominantly a monotheistic religion. I keep hearing these terms gods and anti-gods thrown around willy nilly recently, and it's starting to sound made up. And now I hear you are demeaning your own… stature. Quite honestly this whole Order of the Uni… Omniverse sounds like a big load of bullshit, excuse my language."
"Non-taken, Samus Aran."
"Just call me Samus."
"Very well. I know... of your upbringing. The life you've had and the struggles you've endured. I've seen it all too often so many times and am powerless to stop it. I've seen it in so many timelines, so many goodhearted people… heroes in their own rights literally or figuratively to those they know, get dragged down by others who have had evil taint their hearts.. I've seen it in other timelines, you, and other like you fail and die trying to stand up to the unprecedented evil which has come to threaten existence. Alone each of you fall, and it all leads to the ultimate undoing when it's all said and done."
Samus took a deep breath before responding, a little peeved. "Rosalina. I've had… one hell of a long week. Several long weeks actually, all culminating in the worst week of my life. Look… I don't normally do what I just tried to do. I'm a bounty hunter: I chase scum down and bring them in for money for a Galactic Federation to lazy, incompetent, and incapable of doing so themselves. I drink, I cuss a too much, I don't trust anyone, and I am a poor excuse for a lady with respects to a world that was destroyed two centuries ago. But last month, I was dragged into some business I had no reason to be a part of. And maybe because somewhere underneath this Varia Suit I have some small fraction of a conscious left I agreed to help some desperate people. Maybe because there small, minute chance that I could redeem myself in the eyes of long dead foster parents or maybe even my real ones. Who knows, I certainly don't. Because it was a stupid, dumb decision. This universe, omniverse, whatever, has already gone to shit as you keep saying. It's too late to stop it. And that 'evil' you're talking about, it's not some mysterious entity, 'it' has a name: Ridly."
"Ridly's but one small part of a larger picture. Hidden from all mortal eyes is a deceptive anti-god pulling the strings so that he may end all prematurely."
"Sounds like that Satan figure I read about in a book I forgot the name to. You know… I have no idea where I am. Last thing I remember I was about to die fighting in a war that already was lost centuries ago. But here I am stranded in some fairytale land and no one wants to seem to tell me what the hell's going on, no matter what kids-book-looking-character I run into. I'd say this was all a dream or I'm actually dead, but 'this' can't be 'heaven' and there's no way I'd wind up there upon my end."
"You think too little of yourself."
"No I think just about myself the right amount, which is all the time. Enough with the cryptic talk. Enough foreshadowing, misdirection, and riddles. Someone in this 'Dreamland' or whatever the hell it's called better start telling me what's going on. You said you've seen me die before and yet you claim I'm alive right now. You say there's some 'grand evil' behind all the death and destruction I witness and try to ignore every day, and likeminded 'heroes' try and fail to deal with the same 'evil' I face here and in other timelines. Well… let me tell you something. I'm no heroine, I don't serve a higher cause, I serve my own. Because there's no justice in this world or any other. Eventually everyone finds out the cruel truth; those who figure it out fast enough tend to survive the longest."
"The virtues instilled within you by the Chozo have not faded in you Samus. What faith they had in you is still true, the horrors of this universe can't rob you of that, you're too strong to let that happen."
"Don't talk like you know me, you don't. I don't know how you know what you know but I assume it's the same reason why I'm standing on a cloud overlooking what appear to be stars and galaxies. It's the illusion of grandeur little kids dream up in their sleep. And you know what; I've seen weirder planets then this. I've also met telepaths who tried to read my mind. It didn't go well for them. So I'm going to ask you this one time. Where's my ship, so I can get out of this lunacy. And if I were you I'd get out of this place as well. I'm sure Ridly and his Metroid's aren't far behind. And if he does come here this planet and everyone here is doomed."
"A telepath, huh? Hmm… well, would it be fair of me to guess that the good deed you spoke of earlier which you regret accepting had something to do with stopping Ridly? Ending his terror, ultimately because not too long ago a young girl lost her family to him?"
"Killing Ridly won't stop anything" Samus said underplaying the soft spot Rosalina hit. "Ultimately that dragon's just a pirate and a mercenary. He may leave a wave of death in his path, but even he has a price. It's that dammed monkey you have to worry about: Andros from the Lylat System. The Galactic Federation may claim to have the same or better military capabilities as his empire and can protect their sovereign borders, but it's a lie to stop panic from ensuing in its territories. I know firsthand Andross can't be beat. His armies consist of the ever-growing murdered soldiers he's conquered over the decades. It's a process called roboticizaiton, and it's horrifying. I met victims first hand, countless species from so many planets, all under complete control in their metal husks. That victim I spoke of was sent to kill me, one of Andros' favorite eternal prisoners. He sent him after me personally because of who that fox is… or was."
"Fox McCloud. He tried to stop Andross once too… a long time ago. He succeeded once, him and his team: Team Star Fox. But it was all for not, for forces outside of his perception coalesced to ensure he would fail, as they've done with you now. Fox had a troubled youth like you, and yet he like you stood up for what was right and fought to his end trying to defend the innocent… even on another planet in a different solar system then the Lylat System. Your race's home system, on planet Earth. You knew this, right. Fox had to have told you after you liberated him. He fought but lost. I think that's why you didn't kill him upon him trying to assassinate you. You did your research. You found out his past, and helped him out of a fate worse than death because you empathize with him."
"He's been roboticized for over 200 years. He remembers all the death he's caused as Andros's assassin. He tried to convince me that victory was possible, that I shouldn't give up. That I alone was standing up to Andros in a way no one had ever done in a long time. That… together, maybe he and I and whoever else we could find could do something. I bet you know how well that turned out since you seem to know everything. The only condolence I guess Fox got was that he finally was able to die."
"He died… still believing there was hope. And yet you continued to live with your faith gone. That's what bothers you; tears at you. That no matter what you do, hope is lost. And everyone around you loses their lives as you survive. This pain is not unique to you. It is a burden a hero like your shoulders. I ask you Samus to endure. To continue to fight for good for no other reason than because you still believe in it… even if it's childish. Because I think… you're the only hope left."
"I wouldn't put your faith in me. It doesn't work out well for those who do."
"I agree. This universe, this timeline, is doomed. Too much has been lost and [undistinguishable] is too close to succeeding."
"Who? Was that even English?"
"A story for another time Samus. In the meantime, your ship is destroyed. You are stranded in Dreamland by my and others intervention, yes that is this place's name. And you still are my hope for victory. Alone you will fail in stopping the evil which is poisoning the omniverse, but together you may still prevail. Fox knew this, and I think in time you will as well. But it's not my place to tell you this. In time you will learn it for yourself. But for now, Dreamland could use your help. The motion may be futile, but if you still have the conviction in you not to stand ideally by while innocents die, then I'd like for you to meet someone."
To say whatever was behind Rosalina was a foot tall would have been a stretch. The blob had been walking in this direction, but Samus didn't notice him until now due to his size.
"Hi!"
"What… is that?"
"His… name is Kirby. Like you he's destined for great things. And like you and Fox he's an orphan. A star warrior to be exact; the newest generation of his kin. Unlike in the more material plane you grew up in and know as 'reality', in Dreamland Kirby was born with the purpose of defending and protect others who inhabit this spiritual plane. It's safe to say things haven't gone so well. Events in the physical world are mirrored and amplified here. Kibry found an adopted family, and lost them like you did. He fights an evil wicked and cruel, and that evil has taken people from him. You two are united in purpose simply because you fight the same evil but with different faces. And although you may find this a little weird, I think you two are the opposites you need. For you Samus a reminder of what innocence can look like when it hasn't been trampled out. And for Kirby, someone else to fight for, and even fight beside. I bid you a farewell Samus, we will speak again soon when the time is right."
"What? Wait. Hey, where are you going?" And like that she literally disappeared leaving Samus and Kirby alone.
"Poyo."
The story of Crash and Spyro's friendship was genuine, long, tragic, and abruptly cut short. They became best friends even across lifetimes, like the title suggests… and across timelines as well. Timelines… this is an important operative word, don't forget how important this was to this story and still is. There was the first timeline where Spyro never meets Crash and lived his whole life till its end while Crash was created one hundred thousand years later; events here did not turn out as happily as one would… expect or desire. And then a second new timeline came to exist because Crash was sent back in time; things turned out for the better there though ending bitter sweet.
Both continuities exist, the good and the bad, neither one was destroyed. For in an infinite omniverse there are many different courses of reality with either small or drastic differences to the one you call home. But as with any fictional media, only one timeline truly represents continuity as it's supposed to be: the alpha universe, the prime universe, or universe one. In this story and its sequels, forces of good and evil fight to control for their desired representation of continuity and thus control over the alpha timeline, these "forces" being both mortals and the "gods" above them. From the big bang to the end of everything, over and over on a cycle what is the alpha timeline and what happens in it constantly shifts for those outside of its effect. But for those who live in it, like our heroes scattered across space and time: Crash, Spyro, Sonic, Megaman, Link, Mario, Fox, Samus, Kirby, their friends, foes, and pedestrians alike, it's simply… reality. And the consequences of failure are real enough for them. Take for example the doomed timeline Rosalina mentioned to Samus. The fates of Spyro and Crash in the original timeline of their tale were quite grim. A new timeline came to be to replace the continuity of the previous, but this start from scratch cannot undo what continues to transpire in the timeline left behind. Tragedy still brews there, and that's where this section of this bonus chapter will take place.
The N Sanity Islands (original timeline)
Doctor Ivo along with dozens of agents of GUN were swarming a once isolated and uncharted island. The activities of the now presumed deceased Dr. Cortex drew Ivo specifically to this place considering the large machine that stood in front of a curious and impressed egg shaped man.
"He actually did it. That son of a bitch did it." Ivo said to himself. He knew Cortex had the potential to do something even if he was what Ivo considered as a screw up ever since he met him as a kid, but if the chronal and zeta particles radiating from this machine was any indication of its function, than he was staring at a fully functioning time machine.
"Dr. Ivo" a solider said from behind Ivo to get his attention. Ivo did not work for GUN. He was here unofficially… off the books so to speak due to his immeasurable wealth and pull with the United Federation's government. And even if the head of GUN wanted Ivo nowhere near this island, the secretary of defense for the UFA was hard to argue against. You see Cortex was in a "take over the world" state of mind, probably because of his messed up youth. Meanwhile Eggman, though seeking… totalitarianism; he's means of doing so were more… graceful, conniving, and thought out. Basically Eggman knew he would be the better man for the job. No offense but it was the truth, "Cort-ie."
"What is it soldier, speak up." Ivo said without turning.
"All of the surviving locals and surviving mutations have been rounded up and are contained slash quarantined. You have been cleared to interrogate any of them whenever you wish, though the conversations will be recorded for security and documentation's sake."
"As expected; take me to them." And with that Ivo followed the heavily armored soldier through the remnants of the Native Fortress and into a makeshift white building constructed by GUN. In the detainment center was a young girl in native clothing made from plants like the rest of the people here. But unlike most she could speak English fluently. That should make this process a whole lot easier. Dr. Ivo walked into the small prison cell and the soldier behind him closed the door which then locked automatically. The young girl was sitting down chained to her metal chair, while Ivo sat across from her in another metal chair. He then placed a tablet onto the table between them but did not activate it at first. Instead he took a moment to size up the young Budakan up before he began their conversation.
"My name is Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Unlike all these soldier goons, I actually have a vested interest in what exactly went on in this island for the past two years, not just the past two days. So despite the crude means you've endured to earn your cooperation, I'm going to ask nicely to… recount, your experiences to me, if you may?" The young girl muttered something in Budakan which included the word Doctor to Ivo's annoyance. They said she spoke English. "I'm sorry, but I don't speak… er… Budakan. I was told you speak English."
"I do." She said without passion.
"Ah, care to retell what you said previously in my native tongue?"
"I said I do not trust any foreigner who labels themselves as a 'doctor'."
"Ah, a very wise policy. Though the word doctor is very board you know. It's not just medicine, all facets of knowledge are covered by doctors."
"The only knowledge you doctors deal with is misery and indecency."
"I see. Coco, is it? I'm going to level with you. Your life is never going to be the same from this point forward. There won't be any returning to your village and living on normally after today. Right now you're considered property of GUN, which these guys can get away with because no other countries on Earth know of your existence and Budakan as a result has no sovereignty. So all human rights violations occurring here no one will ever know off or be able to do anything to stop. Most likely you're going to be shiped off this island and interrogated further than I will question you tonight. It's not going to be fun, I promise, and there isn't anything I can do about it except offer to be the only person in the world who will know you story. I may be a doctor and someone you prematurely yet justifiably despise, but if you don't talk to me now, who you are and what you've been through dies with you as you are essentially wiped from history by the people holding you captive. I am not one of this people, however, as indicative by my attire. I am an agent on this island of my own free will with a very important agenda. Coco, I'm not going to lie to you and say I'm a morally 'right-aligned doctor,' No, far from it actually. However I do have the world's interests at heart and do intend to use what I learn from you today towards that goal…"
"… Now, I already anticipated resistance towards my plea for cooperation from you, and as such have proactively had you injected with my latest proprietary blend of 'truth serum' if you will. Consider it as a magic potion, which will lower your inhibitions and leave you more open to suggestion and influence. There isn't really any use to resist it, the serum has been coursing through your circulatory system for ten minutes now and should be working its wonders as we speak. Now I could have instead opted to have you tortured right now to get the information I want out of you, so consider that as you decide for how much longer you wish to let the story of who you are die with you."
True to the doctors word, a soldier from earlier had stuck her with a needle without saying a word, and ever since then Coco had felt woozy and at a loss of focus. She was having a hard time keeping her head still. Whatever this doctor had done to her was working. "I've already lost my father and brother to people like you. All I have left is my dignity, and that you'll have to take from me."
"Oh come now Coco, I don't wish to take your dignity, just information. GUN will take your dignity whether you talk to me now or not. Today's your final chance to at least make a difference with what you've been through."
"GUN won't take me dignity; I think I lost that too. But worst of all, I lost Crash."
Going to his tablet, which contained all confiscated notes Ivo had of Cortex, there were detailed notes on every mutant he made, and the most on the one who seemed to escape and cause him the most grief. Subject C1. "Ah yes… hmm… 'Sonic's ass' as Cortex mockingly calls 'Crash' in his notes. Man can he hold a grudge. I failed to mention this, but I knew the man who made your mutant buddy a long time ago; when we were young adults to be specific. The mutants you and your tribe encountered, all products of the Evolve-O-Ray, were originally one of many ideas Cortex, I, and several other now influential scientists conceived together. I'd say he and N Brio got the procedure to work after all. What Cortex was trying to accomplish with it I still don't know. Maybe you could fill in the gaps."
"Crash wasn't a mutant. He was family."
"So you grew affections for the creature. You sound like my cousin, honestly. Anyway, you knew this Crash creature for two years, correct?"
"Yes, I met him shortly after the love of his life died. Tawna."
"Subject C2 I presume. Her issue was a form of cellular degeneration I believe. Her body just stopped producing functioning white blood cells. A terrible, incurable, fate indeed. I told Cortex forever ago that would be a problem. The mental and cellular homeostasis of rapid mutation is unreliable to get consistently. Guess it's not part of Gods "plan." Oh what am I even talking about? Probably a flashback to Church school. A load of crap that was. Hmm… But I guess 'Cort-ie' just had to get his method to work by trial and error. I'd say he got it considering how many mutants are in custody on the other side of the island. Anyway, let's move on. What about your brother? Niko? You have any idea what happened to him?"
"Cortex killed him and brought him back to life as a monster."
"Well, as a machine, but close enough. Now this was a direct rip-off from me. A security breach awhile ago to my own private servers had Cortex's name written all over it, which I think he wanted me to know about but not be able to do anything about it. I recently reverse engineered a procedure from… well a classified source…. To bind living tissue to synthetically created robotic structures that replace and function as living tissue, organs, and organ systems almost instantly. It's an incredible process, it can heal almost any injury or disease. And the best part is that the robotic android that comes out after 'roboticization' can either be an independent agent or manipulated like any other machine. The practical applications are limitless… when disregarding a few ethical concerns."
"I lost my younger brother to that witch craft. He doesn't even recognize me anymore, and tried to kill me and Crash while serving the man that made him that way. How can that be a good thing?"
"Well, you see your imagination is limited. You don't have any experience with the wider world my young tribeswoman. And lone and behold, there's a vast universe outside of this island. There's a lot that has and can go wrong, technology like the roboticiation protocol is crucial, imperative even, to have for our vulnerable blue little world. As is that that function time machine located in the center of your former home. Now I know what it does and soon will know how it works. But I have one simple question for you, Coco. Who was sent back into the past, and when?"
"My only family left: Crash. He and Cortex disappeared, to where or when I do not know."
Robotnik got up from his chair and promptly left when Coco finished her sentence. He knew all he needed to know. Next was his final prisoner to interrogate. Walking down two cells, he met his final source of information: N-Tropy. After sitting down, Eggman got straight to work, he was impatient.
"Well if it isn't the deranged outcast. What dribble do you have to say today? And I hope you do remember me. You were at one of my seminars once if I remember correctly. Rambling about time travel and Power Crystals slash Gems if I recall."
"It's already over Dr. Robotnik. Us scientists around the world thought we were ready, but ultimately it isn't our fight to win or even be in. Earth and this universe are doomed."
"You wouldn't happen to be talking about an existential crisis of massive proportions involving the literal fight between good and evil on a cosmic scale… would you? The whole Order of the Omniverse, the Orrery of Worlds, extraterrestrials, gods, anti-gods, and alternate timelines… perhaps?" Robotnik tired his hardest to sound condescending.
"SO YOU'VE SEEN IT TOO!"
"Oh I was shown as well my kooky, oriental, time traveler. By the way is that time suit getup keeping you in 'certainty' with regards to your possible probabilities? If I had to guess that's the only reason I could come up with on the spot to explain why you're wearing that, besides the theatrics."
"It keeps me synchronized with my alternate selves. I've seen the alternate reality, the one created by my time twister. That's where the real fight will be fought. This current reality is wrong… useless."
"Well that has to be confusing, having infinite versions of yourself sharing a brain, no wonder you're a little loose in the membrane."
"It means I'm aware of the larger PICTURE!" Question is how are you?! It's too complicated for a mere man to understand!"
"Oh it's all too simple. You just have to forget that you're the center of the universe, and instead know your roll in the larger picture. Earth is at the precipice of great change. We will begin to take our rightful place as the dominate species of the cosmos and become the type three civilization we were meant to be. But to do so our race's stagnation has to come to an end and have one man usurer in an era of rapid evolution. A utopia, if you will. I just need to burn this world down first. No big problem." Robotnik could get away with saying these things because though GUN thought this conversation and the one he had before were being recorded, they were sadly mistaken. A nifty program of his own design was literally feeding different audio to the recording devices, synthetically mimicking the voices of himself and the prisoners Eggman was interrogating by only need voice samples from them.
"No, [undistinguishable] did not choose you, that's impossible."
"He certainly didn't choose you, now did he? But to be clear, he didn't just choose me, and it's not just this timeline he's selecting candidates from. But if you think I'm blindly going to follow a guy who's name is 'taboo' to say, you've got another thing coming. You know he… 'He' wants to end existence? Not that fun. Someone has to stop him… and maybe replace him."
"We're powerless to stop him, you know that."
"Why do you think he's gathering awful people to his cause across the multiverse? For as powerful as Taboo is, mortals have the only power he doesn't, freedom of choice and consequences to our actions. So he needs some mortals to destroy everything for him while he takes the credit and deals with the "gods". Tell me you in your nightmares got that part down."
"I didn't…"
"Of course you didn't. You're a nobody who isn't going to see the light of day ever again. I've got your notes and Cortex's for you two's Time Twister, plus most of the theoretical astrophysics involved in it's function I already know. The only reason we're talking is because I wanted to say hi and goodbye. I didn't get the opportunity to tell Cortex off cause he's stuck in another timeline. Ah well. And since N Brio's dead I guess you're the next best thing. I've got plans blue man, big plans. It's not often I get to gloat with someone who is cable of understanding my true intentions, so for what it's worth I'll relish this conversation for as brief as it was. Goodbye N Tropy. I hardly knew you."
And with that, Robotnik got up and left. N Tropy tried to get up from his chair and was yelling something, but Eggman didn't pay attention. N Trophy's violent outburst drew the attention of GUN soldiers who went into his cell and 'settled him down.' By that time Robotnik was already back outside and beside the Time Twister again. Scattered on seven pedestals were seven gem cut 'emeralds' (his research cited the names of these artifacts as Chaos Emeralds. Cortex thought they were Power Gems. Honestly what's the difference?). The keys to harnessing cosmic energy's beyond comprehension; the power which shaped reality. Artifacts left over from the omniverse' creation and they were all in front of him. Story has it these emeralds were assembled on Earth around one hundred thousand years ago. The stories after that then get a little crazy. Apparently there were Dragons involved, a whole assortment of anthropomorphic animals, aliens, and a grumpy-hedgehog alien hybrid Robotnik met once while it was in stasis. The aliens Ivo has met recently as well. The Black Arms aren't all that nice. The Dragons found that out the hard way.
The Sky Realms, 100,000 years ago. Home of the Skylanders
The Sorceress, Malefor the Dark one, his father Spyro… the common thread between them was the Convexity. This godly power they used against one another. Kindle knew this, but using it was a different story. He in his lifetime never learned how to do so, and that probably cost his wife Jasmine and his sister Cynder their lives when things got really bad. His only daughter Jasper was close, though, real close. Mentoring her, even for as old and tiered as Kindle was, remained the only joy he got out of his rapidly ending life. Battle scared, sick, and elderly, there was only so much Kindle could do to prevent the end of Dragonkind and the world. Hopefully helping his daughter access to the Convexity would be enough. To stop the all death and destruction brought about by the "invaders".
"Dad, I'm trying, I really am. But… What's the point? The invaders, there's too many of them. And that black and red creature, I can't beat him."
"Jasper, you bear the purple mark of your grandfather. The power's in you already. The key to accessing that power is rage, anger at the death and loss of loved ones around you. It's harnessing an uncontrollable surge of murderous intent into a weapon you wield with defining, defying control."
"I know dad, I know. I really am trying. I just don't know if I have it in me. What you're asking of me may be too great."
"Maybe you're right. But we'll never truly know you couldn't as long as you're still alive. So every moment you're still breathing, I want you to remember the pain and guilt you felt upon losing your mother and aunt. I want you to remember the face of the devil that took them from you. I want you angry Jasper! Until you snap!"
The anger swelling in his daughter was always something she had to fabricate. It wasn't bubbling in her despite the atrocities happening around her. She was too gentle and kind hearted to have hate brew in her mind and soul. Her grandmother, Ember, when she was still around, said Jasper reminded her of Spyro before he lost Cynder, the love of his life and not my older sister (hence where she got her name from). So to hear and see Jasper try to get angry and access a power that Kindle felt was his daughter's birthright was hard. Hard because Kindle himself never found this power, and it went against his daughter's nature to become rageful and murderous, the mindset one needed to initiate the transformation.
Exhausted from her concentration and anger, the power came to her as it usually did, but the transformation just wouldn't happen. Jasper wasn't sure what to expect, how she was supposed to do this. She was indeed angry, the murder of her mother and aunt still pained her to this day, and she wanted to avenge them both but doing so as her father wanted was just so hard. Panting while disappointed, Jasper spoke to her father, "I'm… sorry dad. I'm trying but it's… just so hard."
"I know my little Jasper. But do not give up hope; you're the final hope of this world. When you do transform, become a legendary dragon, you'll send these invaders back to wherever they came from charred extra crispy, frozen, electrocuted, crushed under earth, any element you want or all of them at once."
"And… I want to dad. I'm tired of living like this, seeing the world die, people in fear every day of more attacks from the sky. But, why is all this pressure on me? I'm just one dragon. And I'm not my grandfather."
"No one ever expects you to be, I… don't expect you to be your grandfather. Jazz… I never told you this, but I didn't really… like my father growing up. He always seemed so cold, distant, and uncaring when I was young. I knew the whole world loved him for what he did in saving it from two would be tyrants, but I as his own son didn't feel 'loved by him'. I didn't find out why he was like the way he was until after he died."
"Cynder."
"Yes. Spyro's old friend: Flame, ended up telling me why the day after my father died. I then at my father's funeral truly got to understand him, and allowed myself to love him. Sigh… I guess I'm telling you this because I fear I'm doing the same thing to you my father did to me even being in your life. Pushing you so hard to find a power you shouldn't have to use, and in turn preventing you and me from being a real father and daughter. What Spyro did to make me dislike him was unintentional on his part for he was heartbroken his entire life, his marriage with your grandma not enough apparently to appease his heart after being tricked into murdering his first love. He saved the world in the process but lost so much, so much so he couldn't live a happy life afterwards. And now here we are two generations later in a whole lot worse of a situation, and even if we succeed, what are we left with? What will you have… when this is all over? The same life your grandfather had?"
"Dad, I love you. You know that right? And I know you push me because you and the whole world need me."
"It's unfair, what's happening. What I'm asking of you. To be the hero the world needs, only to leave you longing for a life those you've saved may not even get to have. It's an unfair burden. And it's being placed on you, my only daughter."
After a long paused, Jasper continued. "I know it's unfair, but if I can shoulder this burden so that others don't have to, then I'll do it for them and I'll do it for you. That's what Spyro did and that's what Skylanders do, if I'm one of them."
"You shouldn't have to; my little girl shouldn't have to."
"But I will."
That's the worst thing about this current situation. It feels like it's doomed without any possible means of a well-deserved resolution for the people of this world and timeline. It's always science fictions worst nightmare: an alien race more powerful, eons ahead of your own raining down from the skies and taking your home from you through genocide. Yet if you were so inclined to notice, alien races are not a part of Spyro lore. That is correct; they are however, a part of Sonic's. And as you now recall, this Earth Spyro once lived on is the same as the one Sonic will live on. And yet the evils beyond the atmosphere of what will be called Mobius in the future are responsible for the death of all life on Earth before the human race called it their own.
Oh… and that black and red hedgehog that was mentioned twice. Safe to say that's Shadow. Things are about to get ugly. Because he has been up to a lot of no good recently (well, the past), in particular: causing all this genocide.
She promised her father she'd shoulder this burden… She did. Turns out floating islands aren't that hard to find if you're invading from the sky, for the invaders found the home of the Skylanders quite easily. The other species of Avalar and the Forgotten Realms, all across Earth, had rallied together and formed a peace keeping team of talented individuals mastering one element of many each. That after centuries of oppressions normal living beings took it upon themselves to learn how to stand and fight. That was what the ideal of the Skylanders were. Heroes made from normal citizens, and in their numbers, no longer would they have to rely on one hero to fight and sacrifice for them. They all could share the burden instead of weighing it all on one dragon.
That ideal was not easy to maintain in a situation such as this. When the opposition was so powerful the burden would be so large to share it caused misery for everyone involved. It wasn't long now, judgement day was upon the Earth. Jasper if she was to stop it would have to do so today. With her father's life ended right in front of her, in his final breaths of life he uttered one last time the words she would need to hear.
"I love you, Jasper. I tried to do right by you, but in these… trying times I'm not sure I did. Now I need you to fight, for me and my wife, my sister and for your grandfather. This world needs you… more than… I still need you."
"No dad…"
"It's… it's okay Jaz. I wasn't long for this world anyway. But at least in the time I had I got to see you grow up int the young dragoness you were meant to be. Your mother would be proud of you. I am. If she were here… she'd…"
Kindle died after that. Shadow normally didn't pause in these assaults. The goal normally was not leave any survivors. He was always capable of doing so without much effort. These "Skylanders" usually weren't a threat on their own or in teams. Not to him at least. Shadow of course took no joy in this, he really couldn't since he wasn't capable. A voice in his head, my voice to be exact, warned him that this arrangement wouldn't last forever and he'd be free, and that translated to what Shadow referred to as his conscious telling him this wasn't right (and not yelling back at me like a certain blue hedgehog does). However Shadow ignored his conscious, as per his design. He just was the invader's instrument of destruction. The Black Arms wanted this planet clear of life. And their plan usually involved transforming one of the natives to accomplish that plan so that none of their own needed to fight in combat. The plan usually worked flawlessly on the multiple worlds they've visited already, though Earth proved to be a challenge. In particular Shadow was about to find out why. He was considered an "ultimate lifeform" because of his genetically imbued connection to the Chaos Force. However Jasper also had that ability, a birthright of hers as well. The Black Arms called it the Chaos Force. Spyro's granddaughter called it the Convexity.
The scream of rage from her and subsequent violent transformation accompanied by a golden glow and red eyes for the first time had Shadow face someone of equal status to him… the opposition. He has stood idly by and let this happen, too, after killing this young dragoness' father. She was the only creature to ever survive encounters with him multiple times. And now her full power was unleashed. It tested Shadows stance that he was the ultimate lifeform, which for the first time in his emotionless life had him… intrigued. He ought to transform as well. So he did as well, more controlled and not caused by rage. Shadow and Jasper then fought, the outcome of which will be revealed later on.
Yep, that is a story for another time. How Shadow's history on Earth shaped it 30,100,000 years later. What Eggman was doing in the present after Cortex disappeared, some of which did actually involve the Black Arms. It's all exiting stuff and it will be continued in Sonic and Megaman, Burden of Heroes. But in the meantime, I've got one more short little tale to tell, and it involves Sonic's ghost and Crash's.
Yeah, yeah, whatever. Fourth wall breaking Sonic here. Glad to hear that my story will actually continue since half a year of ignoring it. Sheesh. But before that can actually happen I have to guest appear in a story you actually loved and finished in three months. And I have to be there dead!
To be fair Crash died in his story as well.
And time traveling shenanigans retroactively corrected that. He wasn't even dead for more than two chapters! Well, a version of him…?
And what do you think will happen to you? The same stuff. Kind of an in story reason why the events of Crash and your canons parallel so well. He is your "ass" after all.
Oh ha ha! Real funny. I'm sure every Crash fan will get that joke. Anyway, where is Crash, so I can get this over with faster?
Oh you know how this whole aiúa stuff works, don't you. There's no real time and space to worry about, you just "feel" your way around this place.
Okay, all that aiúa stuff and explanations took place in in another story mutually exclusive to this one that you are also procrastinating on finishing! Just to let the potentially confuses reader know FYI.
Ugh… didn't you want to get this over with faster?
Yeah, no time for getting into character, I'll just wing it. And BTW I hope fans get pissed at you for what you've done to Shadow.
You'll eventually get him on track. It'll be ugly though, get ready for it in your actually story.
Yep sure. Sonic then floated his way towards a very rural N Sanity Island. To avoid any confusion with the other side story that occurred in this bonus chapter, Sonic thought very loudly for you the reader to understand that this meetup between a very dead Crash and dead Sonic takes place in the new timeline. Like the one where Crash dies in the past and his aiúa then is stuck in purgatory… so to speak. It's a metaphor, that's not what's actually happening.
Sonic also knew that he and Crash never met before… like ever. They have absolutely no reason to ever coexist ever. But it was happening because the fate of the omniverse depended on it. "Oh sure it does. The whole damn thing will die unless this crossover happens."
Yes, actually, messenger boy, it actually does. You have some very important news to deliver from the future that will alter the course of events and hopefully get a crossover of massive proportions underway. Aka the fourth story of the Gaming Omniverse: The Smash Brothers. Oh and you're thinking aloud at the moment, let me get angle brackets on that dialogue of yours.
˂Because it really matters. The fate of the omniverse rest's on your punctuation.˃
Yes! Now stop procrastinating and "talk" to Crash. I'm sure it won't kill you, considering you're already dead.
˂Okay, okay, sheesh. It's not like I have a choice. Hey Crash, where you at… ehem… buddy!˃
Oh you're so cute. You can't flip me off, it's just words on a screen.
Crash could only watch and observe. He had died in the past, one hundred thousand years ago after being stranded there. He assumed he'd never find a way back to the present… but he was wrong. In spirit he made it back home: literally. And that meant he couldn't talk to or touch anyone he cared about. He stood by and watched himself rescue Tawna from Cortex, only to see her again die a few weeks later. He saw himself uncover the Atlas from buried underground, his own plan of warning himself of his future actually worked. Niko's life was saved from becoming N Gin. A whole lot of other Budakan's lives were saved. And I got my family back. Or, I got to see myself get it back. I meanwhile was still a ghost, unseen and unheard, watching it all unfold. There was some comfort, at least, knowing that things worked out for the better, even if I didn't get to live through it.
˂Hey, Crash buddy! There you are! A very long ass time, no see!˃
What it "felt" like to be mentioned or thought of, that sensation, had left Crash in his tens of thousands of years of waiting to catch up to the present. So to "feel" someone referring to him, want to talk to him was a new process. Aku-Aku had done so very, very sparingly, his focus on the material world. But there was someone actually "calling out for him." Perplexed beyond comparison, Crash "turned" and "looked" for the source of that spirit reaching out to him. And in doing so, he came across someone he didn't know. Crash looked in confusion, he wasn't accustomed to speaking when he was alive and certainly not now.
˂Oh don't be shy, I know that's your stick, but here's the first actual contact with someone in what must have felt like eons brother. Come on! I know you have to be exited, too. A long lost friend is here!˃
˂I don't…˃
˂Oh I know you don't know me. When I was… err…. will be alive I of course never will know you. Quite unfortunate by the way. How I will die so long in the future. Oh, and hey, that spoilery plot point was told to you reader by me in this story's epilogue, remember?˃
˂Who?˃
˂Oh, not important. I, like you, except in the opposite direction, have come here from a long point in the future for a very important reason. You remember all them years ago when you saw Cortex and Malefor come out of nowhere after you died and Spyro saved the past? Cortex had that Time Twister he was forced to build by Ripto and he, Malefor, and fortunately Spyro accidently used that machine to travel to an unknown point in the future? Well if you don't remember that it's written in the first bonus chapter of this story. Aku-Aku then said to you that the fate of the Omniverse was at stake, and here you are so many, many, many years later waiting for Spyro to reappear? Well, Spyro doesn't actually reappear at any point currently. He does so a very, very, long time from now. 30,000,000 million years to be somewhat exact. Weird right, why would Cortex want to go so far into the future? Oh… it has something to do with the same reason the Dr. Eggman of right now would want to have a time twister in the alternate timeline which you hailed from. There's a lot of complicated interweaving plotlines happening here, and I just so happed to have come from a point in time where all those storylines converge. And it doesn't go all so well. But that's the benefit of time travel; you get to correct your fuck-ups. Now I know this is a lot of information to take in, and trust me, I was defiantly confused by it. But the world still needs us, and we both will be alive again. Now don't worry about not knowing me, we've got a whole lot of time to get to know each other. I'll be your substitute Spyro. Now at some point I'm going to need to merge you with your living self's subconscious after I thoroughly explain to you my plan. But let's not get off topic. [Inhales] My name's Sonic.˃
It was a lot indeed to process. But thanks to the fact that both Sonic and Crash were aiúas, it wasn't just physical communication they were relying to talk to one another. No, it was a thought to thought conversation, where Crash not only could hear Sonic's thoughts, but also feel his intentions. He knew so much about him all at once, kind of like with Elora when he first was killed. The process was instant and fortunately non-intrusive. You get to know people so deeply and quickly in the afterlife.
˂Hi˃
˂Oh you've got to work on that dictation. Hi? That's all you've got for me buddy. This is the first time we meet in this canon, I'm sure Sonic/Crash fans are going livid at this point. We've got so much to "metaphorically" talk about, share stories and what not before we get serious and enact my plan to save the omniverse and reunite with our friends in the process, mine being Megaman and yours being Spyro. Oh I'm about to tell you all about that android in a moment. But first, let's hear it from you Crash!˃
˂I didn't know I'd wind up with more friends at some point. I'm really grateful.˃
˂Well a mutant living on a remote island could suffer from that problem. But fortunately time travel's got you covered. Oh, and it's going to be just more than Spyro and Megaman you meet. Besides just traveling time, we're going to wind up in another dimension too. Chalk full of awesome characters we'll meet. We're going to be saving the omniverse in the process but at some point those Nintendo guys and girls will be our friends, too.˃
˂That does sound… exiting. I've been alone here adrift for so long, and I do miss Spyro. But at least I won't be for much longer. And that my future and yours… is brighter.˃
˂Yeah, we may have both died for that "brighter future", but we'll both get the last laugh. Now come on, don't let me dominate the whole conversation. Whatcha got for me? Lay it on me my Australian cousin from down under.˃
˂We're… not related, are we?˃
˂Only cause we're both platformers, but no. Well… There's this whole subplot with the fact that Robotnik and Cortex knew each other at some point in the past. But they're not related and therefore we don't have like hypothetical uncles. Nah, you're just my brother from another mother. Both spawned from zany animals people didn't talk about till we got famous.˃
˂We're famous?˃
˂Oh buddy, I know you can read my thoughts here, but do not try to look into the whole fourth wall side of my character. It's a Pandora's Box of confusion. Just let the nonsense that spills out of my mouth is just that: nonsense. That goes for you, too, reader. Don't worry, you and they will get the hang of it eventually.˃
˂Umm… okay.˃
˂See? Ignoring it already!˃ Sonic than put his arm over Crash's shoulder, causing the marsupial to blush. ˂Now come on, I may know it already, but you have got to share with me that life story of yours. A friendship forged across lifetimes with a Dragon, now that sounds interesting! And when you're done, we can get back to my story; it was a real Burden of Heroes.
True to Sonic's promise, at that moment a very dead Crash and Sonic became friends. They'd also become friends when they are alive… or will be again. As do so many heroes across the omniverse, although maybe not as fast as just now. There's a lot of story in the way of that, but it's a story anyone would be willing to share, in particular: me telling it to you in seven stories to be exact: the stories of the Gaming Omniverse Saga.
