Author's Note: Wow! Three chapters in this month! And I kinda didn't notice that this story was quite dark(even to my standards), but years ago, I'll admit it, the cover of Sonic Unleashed scared me a little so I chose not to play it. But last year changed my mind. It still has a dark atsomsphere, but it is of Light and Darkness, right?
Anyway, here's chapter 15!
I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog. The franchise belongs to Sega. I only own Sun the Hedgehog and Kaiser the Myth Hunter, Keith and Master Koga.
Chapter 15: Phoenix and New Dark Power.
Sonic, Chip and Sun explored the huge building that looked all red and important. During their frantic search for the Elder and rescue him before Kaiser could kill him as well as the Phoenix despite the risk of getting the Werehog and the Pixie-dog caught in the cross-fire, the blue hedgehog and his companions fought against the ongoing horde of monsters with a series of Homing Attacks and kicks and punches, as well as lingering appearances of Eggman's robots, which told the group that the evil doctor was searching for this Temple as well.
'Sure hope he hasn't gotten to the other temples yet, or we're screwed.' Sonic thought to himself, after they dealt with another horde of both kinds. Still, the more monsters he and Sun defeated, the more the cobalt teenager felt uneasy and his stomach turn a little, and it began to slowly increase.
Destroying robots was one thing, and he didn't kill Chaos. Maybe it was like when he was in the book of the Arabian Nights, because even though these monsters were the pawns of Dark Gaia, the fifteen year old didn't like ending lives of living creatures. Okay, so the Black Arms were a different story, but still. He mentally shook his head to ignore the negative thoughts and focused on the task ahead.
Yet Sonic's mind wandered back to the horrific scene of five people, brutally beaten up and on the edge of death's doorstep, and how the invisible threat of the corrupted Phoenix's illusion power that made him and almost everyone else hallucinate, how his own nightmare had those people accuse him for not ensuring that Kaiser wouldn't hurt them, that he mainly focused on stopping Eggman. Sonic was no stranger in defeating other bad guys, but he thought that sort of thing were the military's job.
He was an adventurer, not a soldier. Yet...maybe being a hero meant you have to live the life of a solder, or a warrior, not go out seeking fun, excitement and freedom. The blue hedgehog thought he understood the responsibility of being a hero; just following his heart and doing the right thing, and he liked helping people.
Realizing he was feeling all depressed again, Sonic mentally shook his head while squeezing his eyes shut. 'Ugh. Stay focused! You can't let these thoughts get to you. Gotta save the Elder. Gotta save the world, and Chip and Sun and-'
"WAAAHH!" Chip's scream snapped Sonic out of his thoughts as he and Sun, who nearly missed a step after being nearly jumping out of his skin, looked up and saw a large Boar-Monster, taller than the Werehog and about the size of an Ogre, come charging towards them. It had huge tusks with horns on each side of it's snout, black horns on it's head, and long-claws.
"Look out!" Sonic exclaimed, grabbing the hysterical Pixie and leaped out of the way to the left while Sun dodged to the right and the monster came charging with a huge club in it's hands. Near a safe distance against the wall, the blue hedgehog asked his small friend in his arms. "You okay, Chip?"
"I-I think I-I had a half-heart attack!" Chip shakily replied.
The hero of Mobius just smiled a little before setting his friend to the side, telling him to wait, and then raced over to help out his other friend who, recovering from the shock, glared and growled at the Boar-Monster who turned around and grunted.
"I think I'll serve you as my meal, Pork-Chop." Sun grunted half-sarcastically, as the slightly nervous Sonic, who heard this comment, stood by his side ready to fight quickly so that they could continue on before it was too late.
"Got fire on ya', buddy?" Sonic asked, half-jokingly, half-sarcastic with a sweat drop.
The Boar-Monster didn't take kindly of the duo's taunts and instead charged once more, but Sonic smirked, hiding his fear of his companion's monstrous side, and leaped up before Spin Dashing into it's head while Sun grabbed it's club as the monster attempted to knock the blue hedgehog away. The Werehog snapped the club while the teenage speedster hit monster hard, causing it to stumble back in pain. Sun then stretched his arms out to punch the Boar-Monster, but it smacked them away, causing the Werehog to howl in agony as Sonic cried out his name. It then charged once more and gasped before pushing Sun out of the way and attempted to dodge, but as he did, to his horror, the blue hedgehog leaped so far that he was heading straight towards a large pond.
Sonic began to panic and was about to try and Spin his way back to the shore when the Boar-Monster decided to play dirty and surprisingly jumped before punching him into the gut. The blue hedgehog grunted in pain before screaming as he descended into the way with a big splash, as Chip and Sun, who was recovering and about to help, cried out his name. He resurfaced and tried to stay afloat, screaming and panicking as he flailed his arms since he couldn't swim, let alone float. It was much deeper than he thought and he knew for certain that if his friends didn't save him, he was going to drown.
"AHHHH! HELP ME! I CAN'T SWIM!" The blue hedgehog screamed, just as the Boar-Monster grinned wickedly while standing on the edge, ready to finish off the helpless teenager who was terrified and frightened of being in the water and about to drown.
"I'll save you, Sonic!" Chip declared, flying over while Sun, seeing how helpless Sonic really was, growled angrily at the monster before howling and stretched out his arms and grabbed it, squeezing the life out of it. Chip hurried over and grabbed one of Sonic's hands, trying to pull him to safety and keep his head above the water as much as possible.
Sun squeezed harder and harder as he growled, unconsciously absorbing the darkness and life out of the Boar-Monster while wishing to be bigger so that he could just squeeze it with one hand and be over with it. As done three times before, the monster was destroyed and he absorbed it's dark energy, which made him wince and clutch his chest, breathing heavily, feeling light-headed and his eyes shut tightly. His vision also darkened slightly and the beast inside him gave a haunting chuckle and roar.
"Um, Sun? A little help?" Chip called out, struggling to pull the panicky Sonic towards the shore as the latter was too heavy for him.
The Werehog, struggling to maintain control within himself, with his eyes flickering in and out of the red that belonged to the beast, and to his dismay the moment his eyes locked onto the hedgehog, his mouth began to water and he couldn't help but moan in delight, his stomach growling for the taste of the teenager's flesh and blood. Or just the whole of him in general. Half of him wanting to save Sonic's life, and the other half-the best half, wanting the hero as his meal, Sun reached over and just as Sonic submerging underwater while accidentally taking the pixie with him since Chip was quickly exhausted and panted, the Werehog's right hand dove into the water and for a split second grew really large in a black and purple mist.
"HUH!?" Sun gasped, feeling and seeing this event, his eyes widening as this caught his attention and somehow helped him to snap out of the daze, but at the same time focused on rescuing his companions and friends.
Within the pond, Sonic struggled to hold his breath as he struggled to reach for the surface, and Chip, fearing that he couldn't swim either since he lost his memories, struggled to pull him up while also holding his breath. They heard a splash and looked up, and for a split second saw Sun's hand enlarge itself into that of a giant's, reaching out for them. The blue hedgehog's eyes widened, almost gasping in horror as memories of his nightmare filled his mind. Fear struck hard into his heart which given the beast within his friend, it only grew and thus would make the monster stronger.
'SUN! NO!' Sonic pleaded in his mind, pulling the terrified Chip who unfortunately forgot he was underwater while gasping, and as the blue hedgehog held him to his chest while squeezing his eyes shut with the pixie hugging him in return with both of them bracing themselves, the hand then shrank to it's original size, and grabbed the teenager around the waist.
Trying not to scream while underwater, Sonic and Chip held onto each other as Sun pulled them both out of the water and the two gasped for air, spitting the water out of their mouths while the Werehog, shocked of what just happened, gently held the blue hedgehog with his other hand and gently set him on the path before letting go. Sonic gently dropped Chip who collapsed onto his stomach, while the former was on his hands and knees, both of them coughing, heaving, wheezing and gasping for air and getting water out of their lungs as much as possible.
Between nearly drowning, and what he saw when Sun's hand enlarged itself, Sonic felt traumatized, facing and experiencing both of his fears at the same time frightened him to the core. But he tried to calm down, to reassure himself that he was seeing things again, as it was quite possibly the effects of the corrupted Phoenix's power messing with his mind like back in the village. Though the fact that he'd been underwater, his anxiety only got worse.
"Are you guys alright?" Sun asked, actually sounding quite worried for once. He gently placed his left hand onto the blue hedgehog's back, which made shiver and whimper, but when the Werehog began carefully rubbing it, Sonic was surprised, and despite the hand being cold, plus being wet didn't help, it was comforting.
Sun in the meantime felt extremely uneasy. His right hand...it grew into that of a giant for a moment before it shrank back to normal. Was this another side-effect power of his Werehog form? If so, then...would it be possible he could grow into a giant? His eyes then mentally widened as he recalled both his nightmare as well as what Sonic told him back in Mazuri the night when the two agreed to start over, which was beginning of their friendship.
"Honestly...I had a nightmare last night. I saw myself like this and...my other stupid form as a thing of it's own, gigantic and...another attemping to devour me. Then I saw you...eaten alive by my Werehog form. I...I hate to admit it but...I didn't like it. I was horrified to see you die like that." Sun admitted.
Sonic's eyes widened in disbelief.
"The part of me being eaten by your Werehog self was in my nightmare too!" He exclaimed softly. "Except...the world was destroyed...and the other guy inside you even ate Eggman and then chased me. When I was about to be swallowed up, that's when I woke up."
'Could it be what will happen? Is my cursed form getting worse? Great, one more thing to worry about.' The Werehog thought, his heart sinking. If that was the case, then no one was safe. He then mentally shook his head to rid those thoughts and focused on comforting his blue hedgehog friend.
Feeling himself relax a little despite what was going on, Sonic finally got control of his breathing, and glanced up at his friend, and he could see that, while he felt terror that he hadn't been the only one noticing the hand-enlarge thing, the Werehog had felt fear and concern on his eyes.
"Y-yeah. Thanks, Sun. That's two I owe ya' now." The blue hedgehog replied, telling himself to calm down.
"I think we're pretty much even at this point." The Werehog pointed out, prompting the cobalt hero to chuckle lightly.
"Hey, Chip? You okay?" Sonic asked as he and Sun turned to their smallest companion, who pushed himself up, groaning and shivering, but still alive as he nodded. "Thanks for keeping me afloat as much as possible."
"Y-you're welcome...Achoo!" Chip replied before sneezing.
Standing up once he regained his strength back, the blue hedgehog shook himself dry while Sun had to shield himself from the water drops, but smirked as Sonic's fur poofed up, making him look like a fuzz ball. Chip on the other hand, while doing the same, couldn't help but laugh at the fifteen year old's slight problem. Grinning sheepishly with a shrug, Sonic shook himself again to get his fur back to normal, and despite that he was being laughed at, he joined in the laughter as he found it funny too.
"C'mon, buds. Let's get going." Sonic declared once they ceased their laughter, knowing that they didn't have much time left.
"But, how can we cross? I know that you can't swim, Sonic and I had trouble pulling you. I'm not so sure about Sun, either." Chip asked worriedly, hovering up.
"Guess we'll just have to hop our way. Me and Sun, I mean." The blue hedgehog muttered, after realizing this and saw the rocks floating, yet with moss covering them, it was going to be tricky if he and the Werehog weren't careful.
"I hope the next temple doesn't involve this sort of thing." Sun groaned, surprising both Sonic and Chip as they glanced at him. This made the Werehog flinch, before looking away grumpily. "Okay, fine. So I'm not looking forward in being submerged in water, and as the squirt just pointed out, I have no idea if I can swim either. It would've been fine if he hadn't mentioned it, though."
"Sorry, Sun." The aforementioned pixie shrugged apologetically.
"Whatever. Let's just go before the Myth Hunting creep kills the Elder and the Phoenix." Sonic sighed in exasperation, facepalming himself. Great, it was already bad enough that he couldn't swim, and now the possibility that two of his new friends couldn't either.
This trip really is a dreadful one.
After passing many obstacles of cliffs, more water, and monsters, which seemed like it took forever given Sonic's aqua-phobia, plus the increasing concern over either Sun's new ability or the curse of Dark Gaia on him was getting worse, the trio finally made it to the huge chamber that was circular and massive, enough to fit maybe three giants, having platforms with pools in the middle of almost all of them, sending down small waterfalls onto the floor through drains all around the room, when they heard a dark, unwanted familiar voice, along with another that they didn't know, and hid behind the corner of the entrance, Chip for once keeping silent.
As Sonic, Sun and a very nervous Chip peered around the corner, surely enough, Kaiser was standing in the middle, gripping at the Elder's collar with an impatient and dark growl, lifting him just above his head. From the looks of it, the old man had blood stains on his clothes and arms, and a cut on his forehead with blood still slowly trickling down his face, which made the Werehog fight off the Beast's instincts to just lunge at him.
"Where is the Phoenix!?" The Myth Hunter demanded, growling animalistically. "You told me it was right here!"
"I-I swear to you, the Phoenix is high above. For all we know, it will swooping down to attack you, as you are an intruder." The Elder gasped, grasping at the evil Cheetah's arm that held him.
"Then I will make sure you will be here to see the Phoenix die, because once I get it's feather and end it's life, you will be joining it." Kaiser hissed darkly, pulling out a big, thick, knife. He roughly dropped the man who landed onto the ground, and then gripped his right wrist and pressed the sharp blade onto it, grinning as the Elder froze in horror. "But first, let's start with a demonstration..."
"Oh, I can't look!" Chip whispered, terrified as he looked away while covering his eyes with his hands.
"That sick son of a Saber-Tooth!" Sun grunted in a whisper, furious and disgusted with Kaiser's cruelty.
Sonic's eyes widened in horror, before narrowing them in fury, beyond furious and disgusted with the evil hunter's monstrosity. Unable to take it any much longer and knowing that if he didn't save the Elder now, the guy would spend the rest of his life with just one hand.
"NOOOO!" Sonic shouted as he raced forward which caught the attention of the hunter and the elder, before the blue hedgehog Spin Dashed into Kaiser on the side, sending him proweling to the side after being forced to drop the Elder who slumped onto the ground. Kaiser in the meantime hit the wall hard with a grunt of pain, dropping his knife.
Sun raced forward and stretched out his arms to pin the cruel Cheetah to the wall, and flung himself to stand in front him him, snarling in anger, while Chip flew over quickly to Sonic who knelt down and carefully cradled the Elder in his arms. As Kaiser grunted by the unexpected ambush, feeling his dignity and pride sink for being attacked like that as he was usually the one to do that, he looked up and saw to his surprise, annoyance and then delight, was the trio he had been waiting for.
"Ah...My Werewolf and Pixie...along with that annoying Sonic the Hedgehog. You are early." Kaiser remarked, annoyed that he wouldn't be able to use Sonic's friends Knuckles and Shadow as bargaining chips after all, but pleased that his two prizes are here.
"How many times do I have to spell it out to you, you Myth-Hunting Moron? It's WereHOG! For crying out loud, get yourself some glasses and a new hobby that isn't sick!" Sun grunted, tightening his grip on his captive who grunted, hissing in pain at the crushing pressure.
Kaiser just chuckled, unfazed by the Werehog's words. "Seeking out Myths, turning them into facts, and selling their bodies is my pride, my passion, my destiny. As it is your destiny to have your fur and coat to be turned into a new throw rug."
That made Sun sweat drop, his eyes widening in fright over that thought. "Okay, you just gave me nightmares, feline. Really didn't want or need that."
While Sun was keeping Kaiser pinned to the wall, Sonic was carefully trying to tend to the Elder's wounds, asking him worriedly. "You alright?"
"I-I think so. You must be...Sonic the Hedgehog." The Elder responded, tired but thankfully still in some spirits.
The fifteen year old nodded. "Don't worry, we'll get you home, after we take care of this creep."
"Want some chocolate, Mr. Elder?" Chip offered, holding out another bar of the sweet to the man who stared at him and the chocolate candy, blinking in surprise.
Before anyone could respond, however, there was a monstrous screech that filled the air, causing Sonic, his friends, the Elder and Kaiser to look up and their eyes widened in shock, awe and some fear as something huge descended from the ceiling. It was a large bird made of fire, beautiful and frightening and covered in an aura of darkness, swooping down towards them. Sonic gasped, before scooping up the old man despite him being heavy and wounded and he and Chip raced out of the way and hid around a pillar. Sun was forced to leap away as well, but not before punching Kaiser in the stomach to stop him from causing any problems and hid around another pillar, glaring up as the bird, the Phoenix everyone correctly guessed, landed on the ground with a caw.
None the less, Kaiser grinned evilly, picking up his knife as he foolishly stepped forward, much to the horror of the young heroes and the Elder who, too exhausted to stay awake after the long trip and the torture from the hunter, passed out.
"Yes. At last, the Phoenix. You are magnificent. The stories foretold of your existence cannot bring you justice just how beautiful you truly are." Kaiser breathed in awe, before chuckling evilly, as he pulled out his whip and rifle, declaring. "But I'm afraid your days are over, because your Feathers of Fire, are now mine!"
The Phoenix was not amused or fazed by the evil Cheetah's words, as it let out another caw before hovered up into the air and swooped down towards him. But the Myth Hunter leaped and made to fire a shot at the mystical bird, drowning Sonic's pleas to not shoot, while Chip almost fainted and Sun gasped in horror. It shot the left wing as the Phoenix shrieked in pain. But to everyone's shock, it absorbed the gunshot, engulfing it in flames.
"What!?" Kaiser gasped in disbelief. He then growled and whipped at it's beak, catching it before grinning as he swung himself towards it's back to rear it, hopping onto it's back in a standing position. "Very clever, my flying friend. But I have other tricks up my sleeve! I am the Myth Hunter, and no one shall stop me!"
Unfortunately, he spoke too soon, because the bird's body heat was so intense as the Phoenix narrowed it's eyes while trying to shake the Cheetah off. It was so hot that not only the whip turned into ash, but Kaiser soon felt his feet burn up through his boots, causing him to shout and yell out in pain before being thrown off, screaming. Hitting the ground hard, Kaiser grunted before being picked up by the collar of his vest, and flung up into the air as it then flapped it's wings, forcing Sonic and his friends to hide further behind the pillars while the Myth Hunter was sent flying through the roof, gasping as the air was forced out of his lungs before crashing into the water pool nearby, unconscious and would most likely drown.
The Phoenix gazed at it with a might shriek, as Sonic and his friends stared on in horrified awe, with Sun muttering. "Well, that takes care of the Myth Hunter problem."
"Hope that teaches Kaiser that there's no free feathers or clothing material." Sonic stated, his hand behind his head with a nervous expression, terrified as he knew that with the evil Cheetah out cold, Kaiser will definitely drown.
"Uh...any ideas how we can beat this thing?" Chip asked, quivering like a leaf.
"If we could throw water from these pools at this bird, it would be a cinch." The blue hedgehog told him, glancing over the room carefully before ducking behind the pillar again, as did Sun who tried to come up with an idea and how to get to his friends.
"There's a bunch of pots next to these pools." The pixie, still shaking, pointed out as he saw the aforementioned pottery. When the hero of Mobius saw this just as Sun approached them without being seen and heard what Chip was talking about, the other two's eyes widened before realizing that they had a plan.
"Way to go, buddy. Those are perfect." Sonic remarked.
"So, what's the plan?" Sun asked, feeling some form of excitement to finally get into more real action.
"You and me will use my speed and your arms to weaken the flames, and figure out it's weak spots." Sonic instructed, adding to Chip after finally noticing the Elder was unconscious(at least he hoped the man was just unconscious). "Chip, you stay here with the Elder."
"Got it." Chip saluted.
Nodding, the blue hedgehog gazed at the Werehog who ondded, before the two raced out from their hiding place while Chip checked up on the unconscious Elder. Sonic and Sun then leaped and landed in front of the Phoenix who finally noticed them and glared down at the two heroes.
"Yo, bird-brain! You want a piece of me?" Sonic taunted, smirking.
"And me?" Sun challenged, cracking his knuckles. He mentally flinched before groaning while facepalming himself. "Ugh, I've been hanging out with you for too long."
"You get used to it." The blue hedgehog shrugged, before he and his companion turned their attention back to the Phoenix who cawed and then sent out a set of flames from it's beak, making both Sonic and Sun jump and leap out of the way as the ignited flames scouched the ground before going out. The teenager raced around and leaped from platform to platform as the Phoenix made to attack him, only for Sun, who had jumped onto another platform and scooped up water from into the pot, tossed it straight at it's body in a perfect hit, smashing the clay and spewing water onto it.
The Phoenix roared in pain, while Sonic found a platform with a pool in it and repeated what Sun had done with a direct hit, slightly weakening the Fire-Bird even more. The blue hedgehog then performed his Homing Attack a few times while avoiding in getting burnt, and the Werehog punched at it's body after leaping onto the ground, grabbing it's back and punching it's face. Sonic axe-kicked at it a few seconds later the moment his friend was done before the two leaped back. The Phoenix, although injured, reignited it's flames before taking off into the air, flapping it's wings which also burst out into flames, much to the duo's shock.
"Whuh-oh! Watch out!" Sonic exclaimed, pushing Sun out of the way, but was caught in the winds of fire, burnt and sent flying. He screamed in pain while the winds also blew the Werehog to the wall where hit it hard, grunting in pain. The blue hedgehog in the meantime landed onto another platform and landed into the pool which it's water doused the flames and saved his life from being burnt as well as pretending his fur from burning off.
Sonic gasped for air as he resurfaced from the thankfully waist-deep pool of water, and leaned onto the edge, coughing up water as he almost drowned for the umpteenth time today. He then glared up at the Phoenix with gritted teeth as the bird lifted itself up into the air once more, flying all around the room for a moment to strike at him, but the blue hedgehog got out of the pool and used his speed to jump and leap to escape from the flying monster's attacks. Sun in the meantime recovered and saw what was happening, sighing slightly in relief that his friend was okay.
The Werehog then grunted as he glared up at the Phoenix that seemed to once again be focused on Sonic, before Sun, hissing in pain as his back ached from hitting the wall, jumped and flung himself with his arms watching as sling-shots and gripping hooks, going from one platform to another to get behind the Phoenix as much as possible, while Sonic tossed another pottery of water at the flaming bird, dousing it's flames while it shrieked in agony again, losing it's altitude once more.
Sun then tossed another pot of water of his own, which caused the Fire-bird to drop to the ground, allowing both him and Sonic to repeat their last strategy. To their shock, as the Werehog gripped at it's beak while the hedgehog used a combination of Homing Attack and Spin Jump, the Phoenix reignited it's flames again, this time sending out sharp feathers at them, forcing the duo to try and avoid it's new attacks that were like knives on fire, hitting everywhere as it went. Chip screamed and hidden himself behind the pillar when he peered around it to see what was going on, thankfully he and the unconscious Elder unharmed.
"Man! This bird doesn't fight fair!" Sonic exclaimed as he raced around to avoid the fiery sharp feathers.
"Ugh! I wish it could just burn itself into a roast turkey already!" Sun grunted in aggravation, jumping onto another platform to try another water douse. It didn't help the fact that, unlike the battle with Rajah when the little monkey was corrupted and grown into a giant gorilla, the Phoenix was too big and was able to fly.
"Try grabbing it's beak after we doused it again!" The blue hedgehog suggested, jumping onto each platforms while the Phoenix tried to snap him with it's beak but missed.
"Right!" The Werehog nodded, as while it was a risky idea, he decided to go along with his rival-turned-friend's plan.
Sonic waited as he scooped up more water, glaring at the Phoenix while it focused on Sun who was getting it's attention. Not waiting another moment as he didn't want his friend to end up burnt to death, or at least shinged to the point of being naked, the blue hedgehog tossed the water onto the birds back, causing it to shriek and giving the Werehog a chance to grab it's beak, flinging himself onto it's head and punching it's face. Sonic in the meantime jumped and Homing Attacked it more before using his karate-kicks and punches while the Phoenix attempted to shake them both off.
Sun attempted to finish the battle by squeezing it's head and unwittingly absorb the darkness when the Fire-Bird shook violently, not reigniting itself straight away, but enough to force both the Werehog and Sonic to cling onto it's still warm but not yet burning feathers. It took flight and took the duo with it as they tried to hold on for dear life, screaming. Sonic looked down and softly gasped in fright when he saw how high they were, and gulped, terrified of falling from this height.
"Not sure if this is worse, or when Tails lost brief control of that plane of his was worse." Sun thought, sweat dropping as he too felt admittedly very nervous. If they let go now, he and his friend would both end up falling to their deaths with a splat.
"Why don't we worry about comparing the two later without turning outselves into pancakes?" Sonic suggested.
"...Good idea." The Werehog admitted, before suddenly he hissed in pain as the senstation he felt earlier when he absorbed the darkness of the Boar-Monster returned the second he wished he was bigger to at least finish off the bird without the beast gaining control of him. He would've clutched his chest if he and the blue hedgehog weren't clinging onto the Phoenix who swooped down towards the ground to crush them.
The hero of Mobius noticed, and asked what was wrong before gasping in shock, confusion and soon horror when Sun's body began to become covered in black and purple mists, and like when he saw the Werehog's hand earlier, it began to grow, far too quickly. Sonic's eyes widened, seeing what was about to happen as he knew in almost an instant that the power and the Beast's influence was getting worse.
"No...NO!" Sonic exclaimed, before screaming as he held on while Sun, briefly seeing what was happening and gasped in horror before roaring in fear and pain, let out a howl before being covered in a purple light, forcing the blue hedgehog and Chip, who was seeing this on the ground, to shield their eyes, as the Werehog's body grew rapidly, still holding onto the Phoenix who roared in pain and shock as it's head was soon engulfed within just one hand.
The force of it was too strong that Sonic lost his grip on the Phoenix's still not yet ignited feathers and he began falling as he screamed, just as Sun's body stopped at approximately 100 feet, the glow fading and landing on the ground which sent out shock-waves and dust falling from the ceiling. The Werehog, now a giant and his eyes somewhat red but also his normal Werehog colour, saw the blue hedgehog about to crash onto the ground when he reached out and the teenage hero landed onto his huge palm, clasping him and trapping the blue hedgehog within his hand.
When Sonic found that he was still alive and he landed on something soft, yet it was darker than usual, he opened his eyes and gasped in horror and fear when he realized that he was within the giant hand of Sun the Werehog, now a huge giant just like in his nightmare. Fear mounting onto fear, unable to hold it down along with the guilt he felt increase, the terrified cobalt hero began to panic, unable to escape and now doomed to be the beast's meal, believing that it had finally taken over his friend's soul.
"NOOOOOO!" Sonic screamed, trying to push the massive fingers away, while outside of his temporary prison, Sun lifted his captured prey while holding the Phoenix by the head in another hand as the Fire-bird struggled to break free as well.
"AHH! Sun! Y-You can't eat Sonic! He's our friend! No matter how big you are! Let him go, please!" Chip, horrified to see what his Werehog friend had turned into, saw what was happening and feared that Sonic was about to be eaten.
Sonic struggled to break free, his fear and guilt reaching to the maximum level, before screaming out pleadingly, tears forming before falling. "SUN! Sun, you can't let the beast win! Let me go! Don't eat me! It's me, Sonic! We're friends! I promised I'd cure you! I-I'm so sorry! I'm so s-sorry that-that this happened!"
Tears falling onto the palm of his now giant friend, the blue hedgehog felt that he was about to be gobbled up whole while continuing while squeezing his eyes shut. "IT'S ALL MY FAULT!"
Sun, with the beast in control, felt the tears of Sonic, hearing his pleads as deep within his mind in his normal-sized hedgehog form, found himself trapped within a world of darkness, as suddenly he saw a pillar of light form in front of him, as Sonic, feeling something within him warm up in a good way, felt as though he was being put into sleep, because the next thing he knew, light filled his vision and soon he found himself in the middle of darkness.
"Huh?" Sonic muttered, blinking as he looked around in confusion and shock. "What the? Where am I?"
Sun, confused as of how the blue hedgehog ended up in his dream, called out to him. "Sonic?"
Hearing his friend's voice, Sonic looked and saw Sun the Hedgehog stand there, looking just as confused and shocked, and somewhat relieved. Not sure what was happening, the blue hedgehog beamed a smile as tears of happiness formed to see his friend. Though just as he was about to race over, with Sun about to do the same, suddenly there was a huge roar which shook the area and made the two hedgehogs stumble, before black and purple mists formed around the dark-blue hedgehog's legs, keeping him from moving. He grunted and strained as he tried to move, with Sonic calling out to him in worry, just as a dark chuckle echoed all around them.
"...Lone..." A very deep and dark voice echoed, causing Sun and Sonic to softly gasp, looking around for the source as he thought there was someone around.
"Who's there?" Sun demanded.
"...Ark Gaia..." The deep voice murmured.
Sun's quills sharped as he stood in defense, looking for any signs of danger but found none. "Show yourself."
"Come on out, whoever you are! Let Sun go!" Sonic commanded as he tried to find the source of the voice, before he and his friend turned to the same direction to his right(and Sun's left) as in a small distance away, to their horror, was the towering figure of Sun's Werehog form. The two hedgehogs gasped in shock and horror as they saw the near-fully blackened beast, realizing who and what this was.
"You're...the Beast!?" Sun exclaimed in horror, as Sonic felt his heart beat in terror. Both hadn't expected the monster within the former to take the form of the Werehog, as both their nightmares were becoming to make more sense.
Sonic, realizing what was happening, made to reach his friend. "SUN!"
"S-Sonic, stay back! Save yourself!" Sun shouted, holding out a hand to stop his friend from being corrupted, fearing that the blue hedgehog, his rival and friend, was about to suffer the same terrible fate.
"Ha ha ha ha ha...Yes...can you smell his fear? His guilt?...Fear...Guilt...Anger...feed...ur...ower..." The beast chuckled evilly as the dark-blue hedgehog was starting to lose control no matter how much he tried.
"S-SHUT UP!" Sun shouted.
Despite wanting to run away from this as Sonic really didn't want to be eaten, seeing Sun suffer like this made him want to help him, queezing his eyes shut as he quickly struggled to fight down the fear rising inside his own chest, forced himself to race over to his friend, the giant corrupted Werehog reaching out towards him, but Sonic was determined to save his friend.
"I don't know what you're telling him, you stupid monster, but you're not gonna take over my friend's body!" Sonic shouted, running towards Sun as hard as he could. He then told his rival-turned-friend. "Sun, hang in there! Keep fighting! Hear my voice! I won't lose you! I won't let the monster take you over! I promise!"
"S-Sonic...!" Sun, struggling to hear the blue hedgehog's voice, and while he looked far away, he could tell that Sonic was getting closer. The dark-blue hedgehog, struggling harder, reached out to him as the fifteen year old hero reached out for him as well.
"Feast...On...The...HEDGEHOG!" The beast commanded, reaching out for them.
Sonic, feeling a wave of fear wash over him, forced himself to glare at the huge monster, attempting to ignore the memories of his nightmares and focused on saving his friend, his promise to cure him and save the world despite the increasing fear, guilt and anger growing. Then, having a desperate idea, he gave the Werehog a raspberry, which despite the situation, Sun couldn't help but snort in amusement at the childish taunt over the terrifying beast.
Then, as though by magic of Sonic's taunt and Sun's amusement, the Beast recoiled as it froze, hissing and growling in pain, their bodies shining in green light which confused them, as outside of their minds as Sun froze up in reality, Chip, noticing this, saw his necklace glow again, confusing him. Within their minds which somehow linked to one another, Sonic saw his chance and hurried faster, and with his arms reaching out, the blue hedgehog gave Sun an reassuring smile, while the dark-blue hedgehog unconsciously held out his arms as well.
"Sun, I'm here!" Sonic cried out, just as his friend called out his name, and the two friends met in an tightening embrace which Sun didn't mind for once. In fact, the grouchy hedgehog welcomed it as he now knew for certain, he definitely prefered to be in Sonic's company. "Don't worry, buddy. Everything's gonna be okay."
"Yeah..." Sun nodded. "You're...a cool guy after all. I'm sorry for being a negative-nancy towards you."
"I'm sorry too, Sun. You're a great guy, and I wanna get to know you more." The blue hedgehog replied.
As the two friends, now beginning to feel closer even though they may still have a few odds and ups and downs, the Werehog-Beast growled furiously just as light began to engulf them, roaring. "INSOLENT HEDGEHOGS! BOTH OF YOU...WILL BE MINE!"
Just as Sonic and Sun looked up at the Werehog, their visions blurred before they ended up returning to reality, as both Sun the Giant Werehog, and Sonic still trapped within his grasp gasped, while the glow on Chip's necklace stopped, yet Sun's eyes returned to their original Werehog state. Blinking and, seeing what has happened, hesitantly opened his palm where Sonic, panting, looked up and cringed in fear, whimpering before noticing something slightly different in his transformed friend's eyes; they were not glowing red. To his relief, he saw actual expression which held fear, shock, guilt and worry.
"S-Sun?" Sonic whispered, hesitantly.
"SONIC..." Sun whispered, before remembering that he still held the Phoenix in his other hand and, deciding to finish this as he knew what to do, gently set the blue hedgehog onto the ground, where Sonic hopped off and gazed up as the giant Werehog then used his now empty hand to grasp the Fire-Bird and made to finish the battle. Squeezing at it's body, Sun howled just as he finished absorbing the darkness from the Phoenix's body, causing it to shriek in agony and defeat one last time.
As Sonic and Chip watched in shock, the darkness on the Phoenix faded away before Sun dropped it onto the ground. The giant Werehog panted, grunting in pain, but not enough to lose control and then, just as he wished he was normal sized again, to everyone's confusion and surprise, he began to shrink in purple light and before the very eyes of Sonic and Chip, Sun was back to normal. As the Werehog's eyes widened while looking at himself all over, the blue hedgehog and the pixie, very worried about him, called out his name and hurried over.
The two stopped in front of the Werehog who, feeling guilty for not only almost eating Sonic again, but had also grown into a giant beast both of them had seen in their nightmares, looked away in shame.
"I'm a monster..." Sun muttered, tears beginning to form in his eyes.
But Sonic smiled softly, shaking his head in disagreement. "No, Sun. You're not a monster. You're a hedgehog who's scared and alone, but also very brave and caring in your own way. A real monster is someone who doesn't care about anybody but themselves, likes to hurt or kill or eat others, and have no regrets in doing so. The beast inside you, Dark Gaia and even Kaiser and Eggman are the real monsters."
When Sun actually shed a tear, Sonic gently wiped it away with a gloved finger, causing the Werehog to look at him in confusion as he continued sympathetically. "A monster wouldn't feel sad or afraid or even fight to do the right thing. I'm not sure if I had some dream or not, but I saw you, and I helped you. You told me to save myself, because you were worried about me, just as I was worried about you."
"...I saw the same thing and heard everything that you're describing." Sun realized, which surprised yet relieved Sonic, before the former smiled emotionally. "You saved me, Sonic. You stopped me from surrendering to that beast."
"You're my friend, buddy. 'Course I had to, because I wanted to." Sonic replied, winking at his rival-turned friend. "I told before, I never break my promises."
Sun nodded. "Thanks, Sonic."
"You're welcome." The blue hedgehog said, and threw himself into the Werehog's chest for a hug, and this time his friend didn't hesitate. Even as Chip, who was bawling his eyes out for such a beautiful scene, joined in as his necklace stopped glowing and the trio formed into a group hug. While they knew that they had to try and figure out the meaning of Sun's latest power and the increasing growth of the beast inside him, Sonic was determined to set things right, to cure his friend and help him and Chip to get their memories back.
Just then, they heard a shriek which caused them to look up and gasped in shock as the Phoenix recovered, reigniting it's body and towered over them.
"AAAHHH! He's alive!" Chip screamed hysterically, hiding behind Sonic and Sun who both stood their ground, but then the blue hedgehog saw something different in the giant bird.
It was lighter than when it first appeared, the darkness was gone and it seemed...more gentle than before. Having a deja vu with Chaos, the teenage hero relaxed his stance as he realized what happened.
"I don't think we need to worry now, guys. It looks like the Phoenix is back to normal." Sonic informed his friends, as Sun, realizing that he was right, relaxed as well, and Chip peered behind them before seeing this too and nervously hovered beside them.
"Just like with the monkey." Sun stated, just as the sound of a cocking filled the air and when he looked up as did Sonic, they both gasped in shock when they saw, emerging from one of the pools on the platforms, was the evil Cheetah who was alive and well, just soaking wet with his rifle aimed at him.
Quickly grabbing Sonic and Chip into his arms, Sun leaped out as Kaiser fired a shot but missed. The Werehog landed as he and his friends glared up, with Sonic shouting. "Kaiser!? That stinking cat!"
"He's alive too!?" Chip screamed.
"While I was unconscious, I learned to hold my breath and not drown. I've only been awake long enough to see the three of you have a hug, which disgusts me." Kaiser hissed darkly, turning his gaze to the blue hedgehog and commanded. "Give me the Werehog and the pixie and the Phoenix, Sonic, or I will end the life of the Elder once I find him within this Temple!"
"Forget it, Kaiser! I won't let you hurt or kill anymore lives, and I'm not gonna let you get to my friends!" Sonic snapped, glaring at the evil hunter angrily.
"Then you leave me no choice but to-" The Myth Hunter didn't get a chance to finish, as a looming shadow covered him, causing him to look up and saw the restored Phoenix leer at him in anger. He grinned while standing up from the pool. "Well, now. Come to surrender to me, my Phoenix? Excellent."
But the Fire-Bird wanted nothing with it, as it then flapped it's wings which caused a gust of wind that caught Kaiser off-guard. Trapped within the winds of fire as he screamed while being burnt, he was then sent flying through the roof, crashing through it and into the sky, screaming as he disappeared like a star blinking.
The Phoenix gazed at it with a mighty shriek, as Sonic and his friends stared on in awe, while the Elder, awakening and having missed out on most of the action and thus was fully unaware of Sun's growth, looked up and saw what has happened, that the young heroes had saved his life and has restored the Phoenix back to normal.
"Heh. Guess even the big guy couldn't stand Kaiser anymore either." Sonic chuckled, rubbing his nose.
"Serves that loser right." Sun smirked.
"Yeah, take that, you horrible Cheetah!" Chip cheered.
"Amazing..." The Elder spoke, getting the trio's attention as they were relieved that he was still alive. Injured but he will make it. "You have saved my life and restored our Guardian to it's original self. You and your friends will always have my deepest gratitude, Sonic. You three have also saved our village from the evil Kaiser."
"It was nothing." Sonic said simply, used to this sort of thing, while Sun shrugged and Chip rubbed the back of his head as he didn't do much at all this time. The group then gazed up at the Phoenix who stared down at the group before taking flight, leaving them behind to return to it's resting place.
"So long!" Chip waved a goodbye to the Fire-Bird.
"Well, now that's settled." The blue hedgehog said, turning to the Elder and asked. "Mind if ya stay here for a little bit longer? My friends and I gotta get over to the Gaia Temple and restore the Chaos Emerald and fix up the mess Eggman made before we can return to the village."
"Of course, Sonic. I am a tough old bird." The Elder replied with a hint of teasing, causing Sonic and Chip to chuckle while Sun to roll his eyes but still smiled in amusement none the less.
With that sorted out, Sonic and his friends waved at the Elder before taking their leave from the Chamber, following the man's direction and headed towards the Temple of Gaia.
When the trio reached it, Sonic pulled Sun and Chip towards the shrine within the temple before stopping. Like they had done with the two previous Temples, the pixie stands onto the pedestal with his necklace unlocking it, allowing Sonic step up and place the blackened Chaos Emerald onto the hole.
As expected, Chaos Emerald began to glow of it's red Lights, shooting up the light up towards the ceiling before the entire continent shook, the red Chaos Emerald was fully restored.
Deep in space, the continent of Chun-Nan was surrounded by the blue aura before slowly fitted back into it's original position, thus the third continent of Mobius was restored as well.
A few hours later after leaving the Temple, Sonic, Chip, Sun and the Elder, who was carried carefully by the Werehog, returned to Chun-Nan and at the old man's directions, headed towards the hospital where the other injured people were being treated. The group allowed the medical staff to take the Elder for treatment, before meeting up with Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, the Chaotix and Master Koga who invited the six young heroes into his home.
It had a nice Japanese setting as the group sat around the elderly Chameleon's table, having a late dinner of Chicken Noodle as Sonic, with hesitation, recounted what happened to Vector, Espio and Charmy, and also told them, Tails, Knuckles and Shadow, the latter two being suspicious, on what happened with the Phoenix and Kaiser.
"Y-You grew into a giant, Sun?" Tails asked, nervously.
"Yeah, and I'm not happy about it. If it wasn't for blue here, well...I don't want to talk about it." Sun sighed, shifting uncomfortably.
"Sun, it's not your fault. Eggman's the one who brought up the whole Dark Gaia thing." Sonic pointed out, before taking another slurp and bite of his noodles.
"So this Mnyambo guy saw what happened and pretty much confirmed that Sun wasn't with Eggman to begin with?" Knuckles asked, skeptical about it.
"Hmm...It does make sense. You're a hard hedgehog to predict, Sun." Shadow admitted, and while he still didn't trust the cursed hedgehog, he saw that Sonic was now more relaxed around him than when the whole thing started.
"I heard of stories of Werewolves and always knew they weren't real, but a Werehog takes the cake in being really mysterious." Vector thought, a little uncomfortable with the situation.
"I do sense a dark evil within you, Sun, but your soul remains on the side of good." Espio said.
"It's too bad he and this guy here have the same problem that Shadow did when Rouge found him." Charmy said, feeling sorry for the Werehog and the pixie who was happily downing down his bowl of Noodles.
Koga nodded in agreement. "And yet, a powerful connection between young Sonic and young Sun is a full mystery. However, I fear that the beast will only become stronger."
"Because of how I'm feeling, right?" Sonic asked, worriedly.
"Well, that, and perhaps unless cured by this little one's power, as Chip, as you call him, mentioned that when you two somehow mentally linked, also holds a connection with you, the beast within Sun the Hedgehog may either take over his body, or..." The elder Chameleon paused, closing his eyes.
"Or what?" Knuckles asked impatiently.
Rather than answering as everyone waited for Espio's old master to respond, to their shock and the younger Chameleon's sheer annoyance, softly snored which told them that Koga had fallen asleep. Groaning, the young ninja stood up and snapped his fingers in front of his old mentor's face.
"Wake up, Master!" Espio snapped, startling Koga awake.
"My apologies." Koga replied, a little embarrassed.
Both Vector and Charmy stared at him in surprise, before the youngest Mobian whispered to his oldest friend and boss. "Guess that explains why Espio meditates alot without snoring."
"Like master, like student." The older Mobian whispered in agreement, folding his arms to his chest.
"I can hear you two." Espio grumbled at his two best friends.
Sun blinked in bewilderment, before glancing at Sonic and asked skeptically. "Are those guys always like this?"
"They're sometimes worse, but they're great guys, and top detectives in all of Mobius." Sonic chuckled lightly.
"You were saying?" Shadow asked the oldest Mobian in the room.
"Ah, yes. If the beast becomes stronger, it may either take over Sun's body, or...it may escape and become it's own being, should anything such as a machine try to absorb all of the darkness the young man absorbed from the monsters including those he cured." Koga explained gravely.
"WHAAAAT!?" Sonic, Tails, Chip(who did a spit-take in shock), Knuckles, Charmy, Vector, Espio, and even Sun all exclaimed in horror, while Shadow's eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
"Oh no!" Tails exclaimed, horrified.
"You mean that thing's gonna come out of Sun like a slot machine?" The young Bee asked, earning looks from the other two Chaotix members.
"Just great. Things are already getting worse." Knuckles grumbled.
Sonic remained silent, horror mounting horror before lowering his gaze, unable to believe what was happening. If he didn't cure Sun soon, then either his friend was going to die and the beast was going to take over his body, or the monster within his friend would somehow escape to become a separate being...to be what he saw in his nightmare that night. All of his nightmares...they would all come true.
"What do we do? Is there a way to find a cure?" The blue hedgehog asked, desperately looking up at Koga pleadingly. "I don't want to lose Sun, and we can't let that thing take over his body or come out. Because either way, that thing would appear and then we're in bigger trouble!"
"I'm afraid I do not know the answer to that, child." Koga apologetically shook his head, dashing everyone's hopes as Sun, just as horrified, placed a hand to his chest. The elderly Chameleon then continued, "However, the beast may be defeated by Sun himself as long as you continue to be who you truly are, Sonic the Hedgehog."
"Huh?" Sonic muttered, as he and his friends looked confused, yet hopeful.
"If you continue to believe in the power of good, friendship, family and love, your compassion alone may give Sun the strength to destroy the beast once and for all, either inside himself, or in a heated battle in the real world. The fate in his life as well as the world rests not just within your friend Chip, but most certainly you, Sonic." Koga explained.
"That doesn't change the fact how much I screwed up. If I'd been more careful, none of this would've happened." Sonic sighed, lowering his gaze in guilt as the situation once again hanged heavily in his own chest.
Squeezing his eyes shut to then try and rid those feelings as he still has a chance, now that they only had four more Chaos Emeralds and Continents to restore, he glanced up with determination returning.
"But that doesn't mean I'm not willing to try. I won't give up! We're so close in saving the planet, so I'm gonna keep going no matter what!" He declared boldly.
"I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to hold back the monster inside me for long, but I'm going too. I've hang out with Sonic for too long already to call it quits. So I might as well keep going." Sun added.
"Me too! We'll save the planet and save Sun and get our memories back!" Chip added.
"You can count me in!" Tails declared.
"Well I'm still skeptical about this, I'll help in whatever way I can as well as looking for the Master Emerald shards." Knuckles shrugged.
"Count us in to help out too!" Vector declared.
"Yeah! We'll save the world and beat up those Dark Gaia thingys!" Charmy added excitedly.
"You have my full support, Sonic." Espio added.
"I will help too." Shadow nodded, and while his theory he told Knuckles earlier still hanged, seeing the more compassion within Sun made him begin to relax as well. Only days ago Sonic had been terrified of him. Now the blue hedgehog called the dark-blue hedgehog his friend.
Sonic smiled emotionally over his friends' support, feeling like he really was the luckiest hedgehog ever. "Thanks, guys. Say, while we're here, why don't we help out in finding the Master Emerald shard as well as help out in the city to fix up whatever damage Kaiser made?"
The group all muttered their agreements even though Sun wanted to get this over with, but decided that since it would probably be night time back in Spagonia when they got back, he might as well enjoy being a hedgehog again after a good night's sleep.
"In that case, you all must rest. Tomorrow is a big day for all of you. Then you can run to your heart's content." Koga advised.
"You sure know me well, don'tcha? Did Espio tell ya' about me?" Sonic chuckled.
"Well, that, and your uncle, Sir Charles, once told me years ago that you were a very compassionate boy, growing up into who you have become, just as he predicted." The elder Chameleon chuckled, which surprised the blue hedgehog.
"My uncle?" Sonic whispered, his eyes widening in disbelief. "You knew Uncle Chuck?"
"Indeed, child. You have inherited his compassion, and I am certain, given the mistakes and your desire to learn from them, but mosty of your courage and strength in saving the world, he would be very proud of you, Sonic." Koga nodded.
Even though Sonic felt sad and guilty for this mistake, he knew one thing about his late uncle; Sir Charles would always watch over him, and would always be very proud of his nephew. He smiled sadly and nodded, expressing his gratitude. While Sun and Chip looked confused as did Shadow, the rest of the group stared at the heroic hedgehog with sympathy as there was one thing Sonic rarely talked about to avoid the sadness he secretly held in his heart.
His late Uncle Sir Charles Hedgehog.
A/N: Already finished with the Chun-Nan chapter, yet we're not quite finished with the continent yet, as there's still a bit more before we return to Spagonia. I've been wanting to write the part of Sun turning into a giant Werehog for ages, and we're getting closer to the next stage of it, but it's still a long way to go.
See you later!