Author's Note: Nothing much to say, except that it's kind of a breather chapter before the next massive battle begins, so happy reading!
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 21: Emotions Unleashed.
Safely back in Professor Pickle's new lab an hour later, and hopefully that the newly freed Werehog-Beast wouldn't come invading Shamar which would only make things worse, the heroes informed the professor on what happened, from Kaiser's ambush attack, to Eggman kidnapping Sun, revealing the dark-blue hedgehog's origins for being Sonic's clone(the very word that made the blue hedgehog cringe), the machine that absorbed the darkness before it inadvertently unleashed the beast within him, that it grew into a giant monster, and the untimely, bloodly demise of the evil Myth Hunter.
Even just telling the tale put everyone on edge as they were still in horrified shock by the events that occurred. Everyone was in one of the guest rooms where Sun laid in bed, still exhausted but he and Sonic managing to recover from their injuries. The fifteen year old sat in a chair beside his brother's side, still in a horrified trance, and the guilt for everything that's happened steadily getting worse, even though he couldn't understand why he felt lighter than usual deep down.
Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Chip and Rouge had been shocked to hear that Sun really is Sonic's clone, while Shadow, admittedly shocked that he had been right, just stood there leaning against the wall with his arms folded, having expected as such.
"What a terrible thing to happen! Dr. Eggman has certainly unleashed the beast within the poor young fellow." Pickle muttered in shock, gazing at Sun. "And to think, he has been born from Sonic's quills and emotions along with the Chaos Emeralds all of this time."
"Tell me about it." Sun grumbled miserably. "Worst part is, I've been hearing that thing since Mazuri, but it only began to talk just as we left that jungle for the second time. To tell the truth, I...kinda knew that I was a clone, but Sonic didn't believe it and...I believed him, 'cause I...I didn't like that idea, either."
"I'm sorry, Sun. It's my fault. I wish I knew better." Sonic sighed, lowering his gaze. "It isn't fair. I don't regret in ever meeting you, but now this just makes things worse. How could I wish to stop myself from failing to stop Eggman if it would mean that you never existed?"
"It would've been for the best. Plus, it's not like I'm gonna be alive any much longer. One way or another, if the Werehog-thing doesn't kill me, than Dark Gaia will. A sacrifice has to be made, remember?" The dark-blue hedgehog sighed, biting his lip as he tried to force back his tears that began to develop. "I don't want to die, but what choice to do I have?"
Sonic felt his heart break even more, gently running his hand through Sun's quills, whispering in a bit of trembling. "Oh, Sun..."
"There's gotta a way to save him, isn't there?" Tails asked pleadingly. "I don't care if Sun came from Sonic. He's our friend, and since Sonic calls him his brother, that makes him my new brother too!"
"You're right, Tails! It's not fair that Sun has to go just because of Dark Gaia! He has so much to live for, and he's part of our family now! He's not a clone, if you ask me! He's a Mobian and our friend!" Amy agreed, tearfully.
Chip nodded in agreement, "Yeah, even my necklace must've thought so! Because when Kaiser shot him after he saved Sonic, when it made that shield, some of the light healed up Sun's wound like it wasn't there at all. Plus, it even felt familiar to me, and I can't remember why. Maybe it was...Light Gaia that lady in Holoska mentioned that saw it too."
Knuckles sighed, his arms folded as well. "If only it were that easy. Our biggest problems now are Eggman and that giant Werehog-Monster. Just need to figure out what it feeds on before it eats up it's victims."
"It feeds on negative emotions." Sonic answered almost softly, causing his friends to gaze at him, the blue hedgehog continuing. "Fear, hate, guilt, sorrow, power, darkness and greed. That thing's like a giant living Chaos Emerald, only it's part of Dark Gaia. I could take that thing out if I were Super Sonic, but I can't do that until all of the Chaos Emeralds and Mobius are restored. It's the case worse than Chaos."
"Which means, we need to focus on our positive emotions as best as we can, though it won't be easy." The red echidna surmised.
The hero of Mobius nodded slowly. "Especially since how much I screwed up. I've been a mess since this whole thing started, and Kaiser just made things worse. All of those people he killed through out most of his life, Korso's people...Uncle Chuck...and threatening you guys and wanting to kill both Sun and Chip...I unleashed my fury on that guy before Eggman attacked. That thing...he's coming for me. He wanted to eat me through Sun, probably because of the bad feelings I've felt from the start that I taste good."
Sonic placed a hand to his face, turning away to face the wall as he hoped that no one would see his tears that began to form. "I'm so sorry, guys. I've doomed Mobius."
"Sonic..." Tails whispered, worriedly.
"Sonic, please. Don't do this to yourself." Chip pleaded.
Not answering and unable to let his friends see him like this, Sonic quickly up and despite his friends calling out for him to wait, he stormed out of the room and ran off, though not far as he burst into another guest room, slamming the door behind him. He approached the empty bed and kicked it's side in frustration, guilt and sorrow before collapsing onto it, burying his face into his pillow and cried hard not to cry, but his tears refused to hold back any much longer.
"It's not fair...! IT'S JUST NOT FAIR!" Sonic half-shouted angrily, punching the pillow. "Why, Eggman!? WHY!? I don't understand!"
He continued to blame himself, which didn't help matters as he knew that the beast had been feeding on his dark emotions and while he had tried so hard to force it down, and had thought that he'd been doing so well while Sun just got the hang of controlling his Werehog form, Sonic knew that deep down he let his fear and guilt get to him, and while he managed to quell his anger towards the evil scientist, his anger towards Kaiser just made things worse and he didn't even see it until it was too late. He hated the evil cheetah, but he didn't want to kill him. He failed to save the Hunter who had killed so many, and now had been devoured to death himself.
'I'm next. He's gonna come after me. Then it'll put everybody else in danger, especially here in Shamar. What'm I gonna do? I've got to beat that thing, but I need to control my emotions, but right now I can't. How'm I gonna do that? I've gotta protect my friends...and they probably hate me now for hiding it for so long.' The blue hedgehog thought to himself, tearfully as he slightly lifted his head up at those thoughts.
Not only that, but the beast would be coming for Sun...for anybody with darkness within them anyway. It was free to do whatever it wanted. He remember what Koga said back in Chun-Nan, about a way on how to stop the giant monster.
"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.
"The power of good, friendship, family and love..." Sonic whispered. "My compassion being the strength to beat that thing?"
He did say that he wasn't going to give up, and the blue hedgehog was determined to keep on setting things right. But that thing...it feed on his negative emotions. Emotions that he kept mostly in check...until this journey began.
"Your love for your friends have strengthened your heart. You have carried the burden of being this world's guardian for a very long time. The darkness has began to break the inner barrier you have developed on your own, giving life to your greatest fears of losing all that you cherish." The shaman explained.
Sonic sighed, rolling to his back and stared at the ceiling. It had been such a bad day and it was only going to get worse if he didn't get his act up and go out there and defeat the giant monster. He didn't want to lose Sun, but the dark-blue hedgehog was their only hope along with the teenager's compassion. Plus they haven't even gotten to the Temple yet, no thanks to Kaiser. There's gotta be a way to beat that thing.
"Sonic?"
"Huh?" Blinking in surprise as he hadn't heard somebody knock or the door open, Sonic sat up and saw that Tails was standing in the doorway, looking very worried, which made the blue hedgehog feel even more guilty now, for running out like that. "Oh, hey li'l buddy. Sorry about rushing off."
"It's okay, I guess." The two-tailed fox muttered, gently closing the door behind him and slowly approached.
"What's wrong? Did I say something bad?" The fifteen year old asked, noticing how his little brother was hesitant.
"It's not that. It's just...Well...um...Y-you said th-that thing feeds on all of the negative emotions like the Chaos Emeralds, right?" The eight year old cub replied, and Sonic nodded. "Was that thing...feeding on your guilt and anger, too?"
Feeling like a knife stabbing through his heart several times, Sonic lowered his eyes, now hesitating himself. Not once did he tell Tails or anybody else aside from Sun and Chip just how scared he'd been. He hasn't even fully admitted how he really felt to Amy back in Spagonia. For years he tried not to show off his own weakness aside the fact that he had aquaphobia due to not being able to swim, since he had to be strong for them. The blue hedgehog tried not to let anybody know how much losing them scared him so much.
However, he then remembered the times that, when he had saved them, Sonic had needed to be saved himself, and they had been there for him.
"Always believe in your friends, just as they believe in you. Continue to do what you know is right, young Sonic. You are very brave to go on adventures and dangerous quests on your own, but there will be times when you will need your friends to help you. True friends always worry for each other, and while you may not be aware, your friends worry about you even when they know that you will be alright." Mnyambo wisely advised.
It was true. They did always worry about him, because they cared, just as much as he cared about them. But he just couldn't ask to cry on their shoulders. Sonic was the hero, and heroes never cried. Plus, crying and seeing others cry always made him feel so uncomfortable. He disliked tears, and always did his best to cheer others up. The only other people who he had ever allowed to see him cry were his parents and that had been years ago. Even Uncle Chuck when he was little, before the older hedgehog had been killed by Kaiser.
Sonic then realized, like he had done with Amy, he couldn't hide his feelings in fear anymore. As much as he felt nervous about it, the time has come for him to open up a little to his friends, if he wanted to believe in them, just as they believed in him.
"Actually, Tails...I...I have a confession to make." Sonic began, sitting on the edge of the bed, laching his fingers onto the sheets, especially when his adoptive little brother blinked in surprise and even more concern. "It's not just my anger or guilt that thing's been feeding on. The fact is that...I...I..."
He swallowed hard, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to force it out of him. "I'm...really scared of that thing. I'm scared...I'm scared of Sun's Werehog form. Like deathly scared. Ever since I saw him back up in Space, I never felt so scared in my whole life. And when we were falling after Eggman blew us out, Sun caught me and...he tried to bite my head off. It was because of Chip unknowingly using his necklace's power that it stopped him and saved my life."
"Sonic...!" Tails trailed off in horror.
"I didn't realize at the time that it was beast inside him, or even knew that Sun was...from my quills. We hated each other's guts that day when we first met Chip and learned that Sun turns into a hedgehog during the day. Quite a few times, as a Werehog he tried to eat me, and it was Mnyambo who told me about the beast inside him, and that it's linked to me and Sun, and if I distrusted Sun, he would've lost his heart and the monster would've taken over." Sonic continued, opening his eyes hesitantly.
"But that thing didn't, because you grew to care about Sun and stopped him from being taken over...Sonic...why didn't you say anything?" The young kit asked, which ached his big brother's heart even more.
Sighing, Sonic admitted. "Because I have to be strong for you, buddy, and everybody else. I know you can take care of yourselves, but if anything happened to either of you or just all of you in general...I'd never forgive myself. I just...I held back that nagging fear because I didn't want you guys to worry about me. I appreciate all the times you saved me, more than anything, but I'm supposed to be a hero. I can't afford in showing anybody just how scared I can be. I believe in the brighter future, but that's no excuse just how I felt."
Tails saw the hurt and guilt in the blue hedgehog's eyes, having finally admitted what he really felt, how much he deeply cared that losing them was one of his greatest fears. It was no secret that Sonic was scared of drowning, and Eggman winning was another fear, which was why the teenager fought so hard to prevent the evil scientist from accomplishing his goal, gathering up heaps of courage to fight. What hurt the two-tailed fox, however, was how much his adoptive older brother hid from them, his feelings and fears.
"Was it because you were scared that we...wouldn't care about you anymore?" Tails asked, hesitantly, taking a seat next to him.
"Y-yeah. It's stupid, I know that now. I've been wanting to have friends, real friends for a long time, and what happened on the day that Uncle Chuck died, and how much of a threat Eggman can be if I got attached too much, I felt it was better if I kept you guys safe as much as possible. But the little bit of darkness within me, and the monster inside of Sun, it broke me almost completely." The cobalt hero explained.
Sonic then sighed again, saying. "I'm truly deeply sorry for hiding what I really felt for so long, bro. I don't have any excuses as my loneliness is nothing compared to what you and everybody else have gone through. It wasn't fair for me to open up about how alone I felt when I already had Mom and Dad. Even after I beaten Eggman for the first time, I just...all I wanted was to have friends, and now I got you and everybody else, and to see the world."
"You still should've told us sooner."
"I know...! Oh, Tails...! I'm...I'm a terrible friend and big brother..." Sonic replied, wiping away his tears as the feeling of reject surged up again. "I do like my privacy every now and then, but...I just...I don't want to be alone."
"You're not terrible, Sonic. You never were!" Tails pointed out, tearing up and feeling guilty, which caused his older brother to glance at him. "I wanted to be like you, and I didn't want to be alone anymore either. You made everbody's lives a whole lot better and, well...I wanted to help you, and be there just like you were always there for me. But let's face it, I couldn't fight those monsters back at Apotos, because I was scared. I just don't get why, since they weren't robots, but they were monsters."
"It's because they were living beings and, well, I feel terrible for taking them out. But they were part of Dark Gaia, who destroys everything in it's path, so I didn't have a choice. You couldn't fight them, not because you're weak. You're anything but. You've always been brave and smart, and very kind. You have one of the purest hearts in the entire planet, bud. More of a heart of a true hero than me. Smashing robots is one thing, but I get why you were scared; not only those things are terrifying, but you didn't want to hurt them." The blue hedgehog said, with a soft, tearful smile.
"That...does make a lot of sense." The two-tailed fox said, sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "But you've always been braver than anybody else. Even heroes can get scared and make mistakes. You can always talk to me whenever you feel down. I want to make you feel better too. Don't brothers usually cheer each other up?"
"Yeah...you're right." Sonic replied, smiling warmly. "I'm so used to being the role model, being a hero and famous does have pros and cons."
"And family and friends trust each other with feelings, even if they do have their own secrets." Tails continued, smiling. "Everybody else just haven't got to know you better like the rest of us have, like you have gotten to us know better than anybody else."
Sonic chuckled, realizing that his little brother was right, and it was really making him feel heaps better despite the guilt and fear of the Werehog-Beast. All this time he feared that his friends were going to reject him just for opening up even a little bit, when they knew him better than his fans who, as much as they loved him because he was a hero, didn't know his real self. In the end, he was still the same as he always had been. He was Sonic the Hedgehog. He has friends who grew attached to him, not like the fans who were all strangers he liked to help, but couldn't get close to.
"Thanks, Tails. Having you and everybody else around makes me feel a whole lot more happier. I'd do anything to protect you and make you guys happy." The blue hedgehog said, wrapping his arm around his best friend's shoulder, bringing the young fox closer onto an one-arm brotherly hug, and the two close friends nuzzled each other's heads with heart-warming smiles.
"And having you around makes me happier than I ever was before we met." Tails replied, wrapping both arms around his brother's waist.
"Aw, bro...C'mere." Sonic hugged him with both arms, the two of them silently shedding tears, before the blue hedgehog gently kissed his little brother on the head, making Tails giggle. "I love you so much."
"I love you too, big bro." The two-tailed fox added.
Unaware of the two deeply bonded brothers who had been together for years, Amy, Knuckles, Rouge and Chip, who was sniffling at the beautiful scene, heard the entire conversation and the three who had known Sonic for a long time, though not as long as Tails had, all felt guilty for not realizing just scared the teenage cobalt hero can be. Not once did either of them realize that even the Happy-go-lucky hedgehog can feel fear towards other things and not just water, and felt responsible and needed to be strong for them. Knuckles was stubborn, but like Sonic, he kept his feelings to himself. Amy loved the blue hedgehog, but what she heard from him back at Spagonia was nothing compared to what he really felt.
"Well, isn't that sweet. Never thought Big Blue to be quite attached like I thought he was. Knew he cared, but he's probably one of the most compassionate guys I've ever met." The bat thief whispered with a smile. She then turned to Knuckles and said. "So, Knuckles. Got any secrets to share with your best buds?"
"Of course not." The red echidna replied, though he wasn't sounding quite convincing. He did care about Sonic and Tails, and everybody else, but unlike Sonic, who was now a bit more open, Knuckles had his duties and couldn't be emotional.
"Mm-hm...You boys can be quite stubborn, you know. Not opening up, but then again, it must be a guy thing." Rouge smirked knowingly.
"It is not!" Knuckles denied, blushing in embarrassment. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Amy attempted to ignore the argument and was left to her own thoughts. She knew that Sonic never gave up, but she wished she could figure out how to cheer him up, and while she felt annoyed that he always ignored her and their dates, the fact that he deeply cared and feared in losing her and Tails and everybody else, it warmed her heart to hear that just having them around in his life made him so happy.
Chip felt even more touched, as he remembered how Sonic said he loved him and Sun as brothers, more brothers added into his life. It was like the light in the blue hedgehog's heart was just as strong as Light Gaia's. His own.
'Huh? Wait, why did I think of that? And...why does it feel so...familiar?' The pixie-dog thought to himself in realization, though he didn't notice that the gem on his necklace glowed a bit, and unknowingly to everyone else, lights both inside of Sonic's and Sun's bodies and hearts gave off the same glow before it faded.
At the same time as Sonic stormed out the room...
"Sonic, wait!" Tails cried out, racing out of the room to try and find his older brother.
"Tails, Sonic!" Amy cried out, worriedly as she and everybody else watched the seemingly frustrated and guilt-ridden blue hedgehog storm out of the room.
"Wait, guys!" Chip cried out, about to give chase when Pickle told him to wait, causing the pixie-dog and the others glance up at him.
"The poor boy has been through so much. I think it's best to let him calm down before we come up with a plan to defeat that horrible monster." The professor informed them somberly.
"And me?" Sun spoke up, gazing low. "What can I do?"
"It's best you rest for now, Sun. It's been a long day." The old man advised.
"Wait." Shadow spoke up, causing everyone to turn their gaze to him. "I need to speak to Sun, alone for a little while. If Sonic asks, tell him it's just for a chat. Don't worry, I won't do anything to him."
Despite that Knuckles looked suspicious and Chip, Amy and Pickle looked worried, Rouge knew what he meant and gestured everybody else out of the room to give the two hedgehogs some privacy.
"Don't let him get too worked up, Shadow. In the meantime, I shall do more research on the terrible beast, with a plate of cucumber sandwiches to help me think." Pickle cautioned, as he walked out of the room, with the others following.
"What is it with this guy and cumcumber sandwiches?" Knuckles asked incredulously.
"Haven't that out yet either." The dark-blue hedgehog muttered, rolling his eyes. The red echidna and the black hedgehog, who scoffed a little, just simply shrugged and the Guardian headed out of the door, with Amy and Chip reluctant.
But not before Chip turned back to the injured hedgehog who lowered his gaze once more, and the pixie-dog felt even more worried, thinking to himself. 'Please be okay, Sun. I hope Dark Gaia won't destroy you.'
He then followed the others out, the door closing and leaving both Sun and Shadow alone. The latter than sighed and turned his attention back to the younger hedgehog, before asking. "How are you feeling?"
"Personally? Like a moving meat-rag doll who's been born by accident." The dark-blue hedgehog sighed, sitting up slowly. "I mean, what's the point of me living if I'm destined to die as soon as it happened? I'm Sonic's clone, but he treats me like his brother and a friend. Which feels true because he and Chip are my best friends. But it doesn't change the fact that...that I've been chasing something that never existed for me. Looking for a life of a past that I don't have. I'm a nobody. No past, and no future."
Sun began to tear up again, squeezing his eyes shut. "I'm the only hedgehog in the world that's been created. I have my own soul, but maybe it's best it found some other kid, who would have a better chance in life than me."
"No, you're not, and your soul choose you, because it would make you a Mobian, not Sonic or anyone else." Shadow pointed out.
"Huh?" The dark-blue hedgehog muttered, glancing up at the black hedgehog who, to his surprise, looked very remorseful and uncomfortable before approaching and sat on the chair that Sonic was sitting on earlier.
"Everybody has their own souls, even those who had been created through flesh and blood. Or in your case, the Chaos Emeralds." Shadow continued.
"What's that supposed to mean? How would you know?" Sun asked, glaring at him. "You're like everybody else, aren't you? You have no idea what I'm going through!"
The Ultimate Life-form shook his head. "I do know, because, unlike everybody else, I am not fully Mobian. I take that Sonic told you a little bit about me, but respected my privacy?"
"He told me and the squirt about what happened fifty years ago, and that you lost your memories after you and Sonic saved the world. But mainly because you lost your friend who happened to be Eggman's cousin." Sun replied. "And that you saved the world from nasty aliens led by this Black Doom guy."
"It's more than that. Black Doom was there fifty years ago, the day I was born...with Professor Gerald Robotnik's research, and that hideous monster's blood." Shadow admitted, looking away as he looked uncomfortable even more.
That sent shock-waves through Sun's entire body, made him softly gasp as he remembered what Sonic and Tails had said, what Shadow had told him in Chun-Nan and what Eggman said before Sonic came to rescue him.
"Close enough." The cobalt hero of Mobius chuckled. "Actually, it was Shadow who defeated Black Doom all by himself with the Chaos Emeralds since that's what the alien wanted. At first, the dude's been chosen to not just cure Maria, but also protect the planet from the evil alien before things got so bad. During that time he wanted to get his memories back, and he did. Right now he's living his own life."
Shadow paused, before turning away and walked off, muttering. "Because I wasn't born a Mobian, or a human. But I wasn't created by Dark Gaia, either."
"I wouldn't lie over something like this, Sun the Hedgehog. It's a pity, since you're the second hedgehog that has grown in a matter of days, already having a personality and soul, much like everybody else including me." Eggman responded darkly.
Connecting the dots together, Sun's eyes widened in disbelief. "You've gotta be kidding me! You mean to tell me that Dr. Fatso's grandfather created you by using some alien's blood? That you're...half-alien? You're the first hedgehog that he talked about!"
"That's correct. The professor worked on finding a cure of Maria's illness, the NIDS, which at the time had no cure. She couldn't stay on Mobius, so she had to spend most of her life in the Space Colony ARK. The goverment wanted to create a weapon, and began creating me, but he refused and focused on creating an Ultimate Lifeform. There was one before me, and much more hideous and mindless. At the time that the Black Comet appeared, Black Doom came and with a fake promise to cure Maria, I would be created and served to find the Chaos Emeralds for him to use." Shadow explained.
"But he didn't give him the Chaos Emeralds." Sun surmised.
The older hedgehog nodded. "Even using Black Doom's blood, the professor realized the error, and just after I was completed and began to think and act and learned how to speak, walk and eat, he designed the cannon that was meant to destroy the Black Comet, and during that time, I had no idea. It was around, perhaps about a week later I was introduced to Maria, who gave me my name. I was like a newborn child in a body of a teenage hedgehog."
'So Maria gave this guy his name, just like how Sonic gave me mine.' Sun thought to himself, unable to help but think just how similar Sonic and Maria were in personality.
"After that day, we grew very close to one another. She was...like a sister to me. And the professor, before losing her, was kind and never treated me as his creations. He...called me his son. I suppose in a strange sort of sense, he was always my own father. But the government saw me as a weapon at first, before seeing me as a monster and wanted me killed and all those who supported him. Maria and I tried to escape...but she was shot and...sent me here, making me promise I would give the people a chance, to make them happy, and protect them." Shadow continued.
"Stupid government." Sun whispered, disgusted on how that happened.
"The loss of Maria drove the professor insane, making him rearrange my memories before I was sealed away and he was executed, vowing revenge against humanity. It was Sonic's friend Amy who brought me back to the light, and I remembered my real promise. Of course, after Sonic and I saved the world, I fell and thought I was about to die. But I lived, at the cost of my memories up until Rouge found me, and, well, you know the rest. Just before Black Doom and his army attacked, I questioned my past, the only memory I had at the time was...was Maria's death." The black hedgehog explained.
That shook the dark-blue hedgehog to the core, lowering his gaze as he now felt guilty for being angry with the older hedgehog, who went through such horrors than what he himself had gone through. Unlike Sun, Shadow's true origins hadn't been fully revealed until Black Doom came back to finish what he started five decades ago.
"I'm sorry." Sun muttered, his ears drooping. "Shadow...how...how do you cope, being able to live while knowing that...that you're born differently to everybody else?"
"By trusting the people who did not treat me any differently." Shadow answered, making the younger hedgehog glance up at him again. "I will admit, I questioned my existence and why I was created. But Maria, and then Rouge and everybody else, especially Sonic, they treated me as one of them. Just like how they treat you the same way, Sun. Sometimes it's best not to question how you were born, but how you should live your own life."
"Yeah, well, unlike you, the legend says that I have to be sacrificed, so I'm a waste of space and time. I want to stay, and I don't care if I've been following Sonic around as his shadow-no offense-but how can I? It is better than following the giant mutant hair-ball, but what can we do, if nothing could save the other clones before me the last time this happened?" The dark-blue hedgehog said, despondent.
Shadow could see Sun's dilemma and identity crisis, especially since now he knew that they both had a lot in common despite that Sun was much closer to Sonic in friendship and bond, not that they were the same person, because like the blue hedgehog, the Ultimate Life-form saw a wounded soul who only just began living without even realizing it.
But if there was one thing Shadow knew, was that Sonic always managed to do the impossible.
"Sonic will find a way. He always does." The black hedgehog told him.
"But what if he can't?" Sun asked, tearfully. "I want-I want to believe him, but I-"
"Then you should believe in him." Shadow cut him off, sighing. "Sonic's not one to give up. He has better experience with performing miracles one way or another, with or without the Chaos Emeralds. It's in his nature, and he would do anything to save everyone, and he will find a way to save you. He's annoying, but one way or another, he is like the light that brightens the darkness. If anyone can do the impossible and even change things for the better, even in times like this, it's him."
The dark-blue hedgehog stared at him, stunned by the black hedgehog's words, the guy who was just as stotic and grumpy as he could be. It was then that Sun remembered how Sonic saved him mentally, and came to his rescue, refusing to change his views towards him even after learning the truth. As did everyone else. Even Shadow and Professor Pickle didn't treat him like a fake. Even with the knowledge of him being a clone, they didn't treat him as such. They treated him the way they did since they met him, and gotten to know him as he did towards them.
Heck, Sonic and Tails treat him as their new brother, and while Sun was still uncertain if his fate will change, one thing was for certain, he didn't feel anything like Sonic. His feelings, they were real. Because rather than being treated like a robot, Sun was like how Shadow was; real on the inside.
"Guess we'll...have to see what happens in the end." Sun finally decided, wiping away his tears. "You know, for an old guy, you're kinda cool."
Shadow scoffed, folding his arms. "I spent most of my life asleep in a capsule. It's only after the situation with the Black Army I'm living a life now."
"True. But still..." The dark-blue hedgehog sighed, smiling softly. "Thanks, Shadow. Not sure if I'll be around when the world's back to normal, but I'm glad that I'm not the only one who was created."
"You should be thanking Sonic." The black hedgehog pointed out, this time uncharacteristically smiling softly. "It was he who had given you a life, and experience the world at lot sooner than I ever did. He loves you as a friend, and a brother. I've seen it."
This made Sun remember the times when Sonic would comfort him, and having listened advices from him and Chip, their adventures together, their laughter, the fun, the emotional moments, all the rescues, and dangers, meeting new people, exploring the world and restoring it. Even before the Beast had fully formed, Sonic comforted him again as Sun had cried.
Sonic smiled tearfully, holding him closer. "Because I love you. I told you that. So what if you came from my quills? You're still you, and I'm still me. We both have our own souls. We're brothers."
"Oh, Sonic..." Sun trembled, before he began to sob onto his brother's shoulder.
"Shhh...Don't cry, bro. I'm here." Sonic whispered, rubbing his friend's back to comfort him.
"Yeah. You're right." Sun nodded, before frowning worriedly. "Just hope Sonic's okay."
"You want to go see him?" Shadow asked, feeling that if anybody can bring Sonic back to his senses, it would be Tails and the Ultimate Life-form had a feeling that the blue hedgehog was feeling better already. "We should wait for him in the lab."
"Sounds good." The dark-blue hedgehog replied, standing up as did the older hedgehog and the two walked out of the room.
Turns out the they were the last to arrive, but only by a few seconds, because Sonic and Tails had just greeted the others in the main lab, with Chip asking repeatedly if the blue hedgehog was alright, and Amy hugging him, much to Sonic's discomfort, before the six Mobians and the only human in the room turned to see the other two hedgehogs finally arrive, with Sun better than he had been earlier.
"Sun! You're okay!" Tails exclaimed happily, racing over to the dark-blue hedgehog and hugged him, with Chip joining in, much to Sun's surprise.
"Hey-whoa! Easy there, kids." Sun exclaimed, stumbling a bit.
"Hey, Sun. You're feeling any better?" Sonic greeted happily, gently pushing Amy off and approaching, doing his best to hug all four of his brothers.
"Yeah, still a bit grumpy with, well, you know. But...Thanks, Sonic. For everything." Sun replied, doing his best to shrug, but he managed to smile.
While Sonic was a bit surprised to hear his new brother say this, he then sensed that both the dark-blue hedgehog and Shadow had a conversation that, surprisingly, didn't harm anybody at all, but rather made Sun realize that, clone or not, the blue hedgehog was right and that even his life was precious.
"Always happy to help out my family." The hero of Mobius winked.
Sun blinked, before smiling again. "Right."
"So, you boys feeling okay?" Rouge asked.
"Maybe a little." Sun admitted.
Sonic on the other hand, sighing as he ran a hand through his quills. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just...this whole thing is a nightmare."
"I can imagine." Knuckles stated.
"But that doesn't mean we can't just give up now." The blue hedgehog continued, firmly. "We still have to figure out how to beat that thing and restore Shamar's continent. If we wait any longer, that monster's gonna terrorize Mobius, but we need to be really careful."
"He's right. That thing can stretch out it's arms and do some serious damage. I should know, because I've been a Werehog at night for so long, so that thing will have the same abilities as I would." The dark-blue hedgehog agreed.
"But, if he turned into a giant Werehog, wouldn't you still be one at night yourself?" Chip asked, worriedly.
A moment of silence.
"Good question." Sun admitted, realizing he hadn't thought of that.
"Hmmm..." Sonic murmured thoughtfully, placing his fingers under his chin. "That's a hard one. Eggman did absorb the darkness from Sun's body before some of it got out and the beast's soul came out of him too. Guess we'll have to wait and found out tonight."
"Well, if I do, which I'm not looking forward in finding out, maybe we can use that to our advantage." The dark-blue hedgehog suggested after thinking for a moment, causing his brothers and friends to glance at him as he continued with a shrug. "I'm still here, right? And even if the darkness was absorbed from me, if I can still turn into a Werehog and, in theory, still have the power to grow into a giant myself, I might be able to at least slow him down."
"You sure that's such a good idea?" The red echidna asked, skeptically.
"That thing's been trying to get me to do dark deeds and take over my mind. Now that I don't have it's voice in my head, I'm in control of my own decisions, and as he said, since I never listened to that monster, with Sonic's help in helping me reach out for the light, that thing doesn't need me anymore." Sun explained.
Sonic nodded in agreement, and while he was worried and scared of what could happen, he didn't feel the intense fear coming from his friend. "Sun's right. And if I can support him and keep on believing in the good of the world, it could be our last shot in taking Fuzzy out. That's not mean to say I won't join in the fight, because I have to and I'm going to. But if Sun does still have that kind of power, and with some of us by his side, we can beat 'im."
"Some of us?" Tails asked, curiously.
"I'm talkin' about me, Knux and Shads. The rest of you, are gonna stay here. It's gonna take Sun's power, Knucklehead's strength, Shadow's Chaos Spear and my speed as well as our courage, compassion, believing in the power of good, friendship, love and family to overcome that thing and it's darkness. Like the Chaos Emeralds having their power over our friendship which is much stronger than anger and hate." The blue hedgehog explained, and while he was still terrified of facing the giant Werehog-Beast, given what he has learned, he knew he couldn't give up, and both he and Sun would need all the help they could get.
"So you're saying that strength and speed alone won't stop the giant Werehog?" Amy asked.
"Well, Kaiser certainly couldn't beat him, and that's what got him killed." Rouge pointed out.
Chip gulped nervously. "Yeah, the giant monster gobbled him up, even if that horrible Cheetah was a monster too."
Tails thought about what was said, before snapping his fingers in realization. "Of course! It's because Kaiser didn't believe in anybody but himself and had always been so cruel, the giant Werehog must've been drawn to such negative greed in his heart."
"You're precisely right, Tails." Pickle said at his desk, causing the young group to gaze at him while he continued. "I have discovered in the Manuscript that the beast within the newly born thrives in negative emotions to become stronger. Especially from both Dark Gaia and the one that it also was born from."
Another moment of silence.
"Oh...I forgot about that. Since Sun came from me with his own heart, mind and soul, then Fuzzy came from me too, since I was feeling those negative emotions due to what Eggman did." Sonic realized, cringing.
"Just great. It almost like you've been seeing yourself as a monster." Knuckles facepalmed himself.
"Hey, things have been crazy in the last nearly two weeks. If Sun hadn't been born and I turned into a Werehog instead, the monster wouldn't have even existed." The blue hedgehog shrugged, quickly turning to the aforementioned hedgehog and said. "No offense."
"None taken." The dark-blue hedgehog replied, whispering to himself as he thought about the evil scientist that caused all of this. "Considering it was Ro-butt-nik's fault in the first place."
"Another thing of it is because the beast is based on the fear of the one who, having an ability unlike any other, does not wish to be a monster or hurt others, and the newly born heart-given one would either trust the one who would give them support and love, or trust the beast from within. If they trust their brother or sister they came from, then they have the power to ignore the monster." Pickle continued.
"And if they trusted the monster, they would become evil too?" Tails correctly guessed.
"Indeed."
"Guess it's a good thing Chip suggested we'd team up together, huh Sun?" Sonic muttered with a weak smile.
Sun nodded. "And that Mnyambo guy warning you about what would've happened to me anyway. I'm really glad for that."
"But, what about Sun?" The blue hedgehog asked the professor. "I don't want him to die. Dark Gaia could kill him and I don't care what the prophecy says. He's our family and there must be a way to keep him safe."
Professor Pickle sighed, "Well, while it has not been possible in the past as of yet, there is a small alternative. The Gaia Manuscript says here, cut away from the one from the earlier research, if the light of the pure one is strong enough to hold their brother or sister, the light from a 'opposite of Dark Gaia' would have some of their light seeped into that heart-given newborn, and with the power of the seven positive lights, the miracle, the new-born would, in theory, be spared if the pure one believes in a brighter future, and the newborn would no longer be a 'clone' but their own being, with a slight change in appearance, to go with the name they have been given."
While there was a hint of doubt in Pickle's voice and Sonic was scared that he may not be able to save Sun from Dark Gaia, it was still a glimmer of hope that filled his heart. He wasn't sure what the rest of it meant, but that renewed his hope and desire and determination to save his brother from both the giant Werehog-Beast and the imbodiment of darkness.
"Well then, I'm going to give it a try. Not sure how the rest of it will turn out, but I believe in a brighter future, one where everybody will be safe and free and the world will be in peace and restored. I always have and I won't give up on that future sight now." Sonic declared. "I'm not as pure hearted as Tails, Amy, Chip and Cream, but when it comes to the Chaos Emeralds, I'm an expert in performing miracles!"
Even though everyone else were still worried, most who had known Sonic for a long time knew that the blue hedgehog was right.
"And if anybody can make a brighter future come true, it's you, Sonic!" Tails added in agreement.
"Just like how you made our lives a lot better. I know we can do it." Amy added happily.
"Well, he's not wrong. He has more experience with the Emeralds than I do." Knuckles admitted.
"Yeah! I believe in Sonic too! And we're gonna save Sun and save the world and stop Beach-Ball-Man!" Chip agreed excitedly, which made Rouge giggled while she tried to cover it with her hand over her mouth.
"Now that's a new good name for him. I can just see Eggman being bounced around by a Seal." The bat thief giggled, which made Shadow actually see that image in his mind, the vivid image of the evil doctor being bounced around by a Seal in a Zoo while screaming and panicking.
Sun felt uneasy, but at the same time, there was some hope that began to fill up. Maybe Shadow was right. Maybe there was a chance that Sonic can do even this impossible as well, especially since now they learned of a loop hole. Whatever the slight change in appearance was, he didn't care if he would turn green or red or purple. The idea of no longer being Sonic's clone, but his own being while still being regarded as the blue hedgehog's brother, it sounded...like a dream about to come true.
"I hope you guys are right. But we'll have to worry about that later. Right now, we need to focus on stopping the Beast and I won't stop until that thing's finished. I've had it with it, anyway." Sun finally said.
"Don't worry, Sun. We'll beat this thing together. It won't be easy, but as long as we don't give up, we can do this!" Sonic reassured, placing a hand onto his brother's shoulder. "Last time we saw it was between Shamar and somewhere else in the desert, right?"
"According to the world map, Shamar has another region that didn't split part; that region is Empire City, a large city that has a lot of movie productions. Where the giant Werehog-Monster was, it was in between the two." Tails analyzed as he brought out his Miles Electric again. "Plus, he did say that he had to wait until nightfall, so I think he's stronger at night."
"That should give us enough time to get to the Temple while we wait, shouldn't it?" Chip asked, curiously.
"Then you should get going and restore the continent before going into battle and hopefully get some much needed rest." Pickle advised.
"Knuckles and I will keep that thing busy until you three get back, but make sure that little...whatever your small friend is stays out of the way." Shadow instructed.
"Right. We still need Chip to get to the Temple, though I'm not comfortable in taking him along with us in case that thing attacks." Sonic nodded, only to blink in surprise when Chip, realizing that despite that he wanted to help he can do that without being there, slipped his necklace off and over his head and held it out to the blue hedgehog.
"Here, Sonic. This should still work without me around." Chip offered.
"Chip...you sure about this?" The blue hedgehog asked, slowly.
The pixie-dog nodded. "I trust you to keep it safe. Plus, I might not be as helpful in the battle against the giant hair-ball monster even though I want to help."
"We wish we could help too, but...you wouldn't want that, right? You're only looking out for us." Amy added, surprising Sonic even more. "Just promise that you, Sun, Knuckles and Shadow make it back safely, okay?"
While Sonic was surprised how much his self-proclaimed girlfriend cared and knew that he didn't want her, Tails, Chip or anybody else to get into one of the most dangerous battles ever, he knew that she was right, and so was Chip. With Rouge nodding in agreement, the fifteen year old nodded and gently took the necklace from his smallest friend, slipping it onto his left wrist where it sat tightly and safely on his glove's cuff. It fitted perfectly like a bracelet.
"Thanks, Chip. I'll give it back to you when we get back, and we will come back. I promise." Sonic replied to both of them.
"Good luck, guys!" Tails cheered, before looking hesitant and then hugged the blue and dark-blue hedgehogs, whispering. "Please be careful."
Sonic smiled at his little brother, while Sun blinked, as the former rubbed the eight year old's back comfortingly, while Rouge wished Shadow and Knuckles luck as well. With a form of plan in mind, the four of them waved a goodbye to Tails, Amy, Chip, Rouge and Pickle before racing out the door, one team to head over to the Temple of Gaia, and the other to find the Werehog-Monster to behind the most challenging battle yet.
With Sonic holding onto Sun as the former ran with his speed, and Knuckles trying to keep up with them and Shadow who skated his way across the sand, they raced their way back to where they came from and over the fallen buildings that Kaiser had toppled earlier before they skid to a stop as they saw, from the distance from where they were, was the seemingly sleeping form of the giant Werehog-Beast. Even at the mere sight of the terrifying beast that sent some surge of fear into Sonic's heart, he found it strange that he still didn't feel as scared as he had been yet was still afraid of it.
The three hedgehogs and one echidna hidden themselves behind a large boulder as the sun was almost set, which would begin the ultimate battle against the huge monster.
"Okay, remember the plan. Try not to let that thing feel your negative emotions." Sonic whispered, trying to stay as brave as possible. "Knuckles, Shadow, you two guys distract it and try to stay alive 'til Sun and I get back from the Temple."
"I'm gonna beat that thing into next week." Knuckles grunted, which made Sonic facepalm himself in exasperation, Sun glaring at him and Shadow giving the red echidna an annoyed glance.
"I think he said the term try NOT to let that thing feel your negative emotions, and last time I've checked, being angry is one of them." Sun deadpanned.
"He's right. Don't let your anger get the best of you." Shadow said.
The Guardian of the master Emerald sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry. It's not easy since, well, it's a force of habit."
The blue hedgehog shook his head and decided against reminding him that he always had a shorter templer than the slightly younger teen did. "Just make sure you don't die, okay?"
"Right." Knuckles whispered, knowing that Sonic was right.
Wishing each other luck and to be safe, the four split into two groups, with Sonic and Sun carefully sneaking past slowly and hoping that they weren't seen, while Knuckles and Shadow hurried over towards the Werehog-Beast to get it's attention. Once the latter two were close enough but still in a safe distance, the huge monster was breathing evenly with it's eyes closed until it caught the scent of two Mobians, one naturally born, and the other created in a different way. It sniffed the air and moaned in delight that it became hungry again.
"HEY! YOU!" Knuckles shouted loudly, getting it's attention as the Werehog-Beast opened it's blood-red eyes and turned to gaze at him and Shadow who both glared at it. "Hope you're hungry, because we're about to give ya' a knuckle-sandwich!"
The Werehog-Beast just grinned evilly as it slowly stood up since nightfall was almost here. "MORE DELICIOUS FEAR AND HATE. AN ECHIDNA WITH SUCH ANGER, AND A HEDGEHOG, RESEMBLING TO SONIC AND SUN, WITH SUCH SORROW AND HATE. MORE DELICIOUS MEALS, BEFORE I WISH THE CITY BEYOND SHAMAR FOR MORE DELICACIES."
"It will not happen, you foul monster. Your days of being a living beast and free are about to be cut short. We will make sure of it." Shadow declared, taking a step forward.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA. QUITE AMUSING, LITTLE ONE. I AM INVINCIBLE, UNSTOPPABLE! THAT FOOL KAISER THE MYTH HUNTER COULD NOT STOP ME, YET HE COULD STOP YOU TWO! SURRENDER TO ME NOW, AND I WILL MAKE YOUR DEATHS NICE AND QUICK." The Werehog-Beast laughed.
"Yeah, no thanks, and thanks for the reminder. Besides, nobody liked Kaiser even though how you ate him was horrifying. But enough of that! You don't know us at all!" Knuckles declared as he and his companion stood ready to fight.
"The only one who will die today is you!" Shadow added, powering up his energy as he formed a yellow arrow of chaos power. "Chaos Spear!"
His attack hit home as the Werehog-Beast made to block it, but to it's surprise it winced as it felt that attack. But as the dust cleared, to the two Mobians' shock, it didn't do too much damage at all. The monster just simply brushed off the attack, grinning. "WELL, THAT TICKLED. BUT YOU THINK THAT LITTLE BEAM WILL STOP ME!?"
"Maybe not, but this will!" Knuckles shouted, charging as he gave a battle cry while Shadow sped forward, this time using his Homing Attack that hit the Werehog-Beast into the chest, and the red echidna punched it in the same area just above his ally. This time it did a bit more damage, but as the two of them leaped back, it stretched out it's arm to grab them.
"Look out!" Shadow shouted, grabbing Knuckles and sped back to avoid in getting caught. They jumped and leaped away and grunted as the Werehog-Beast laughed manically before charging towards them with a roar, sluggish at first as the sun hasn't fully set yet, but was already getting faster, but not in the same speed as Shadow or especially Sonic.
The two dodged it's attempts to grab them again and attempted to keep attacking it, while running around forcing to turn it's back to the direction where they and Sonic and Sun had came from, which, unknowingly to the giant monster, allowed the two other hedgehogs to speed away towards the Gaia Temple to quickly complete their task. All the while hoping that their two friends battling that thing would be alright.
'Guys, please be okay.' Sonic thought to himself as he looked back once, reluctantly leaving his echidna friend and black hedgehog rival to fight the monster. He just hoped that he and Sun will make it back in time.
As Sonic and Sun passed through more obstacles that stood in their way, the duo finally saw the promising sight of a path leading straight towards the Temple of Gaia. The two hedgehogs skid to a stop for a moment, before sharing a glance and nodded. But then they noticed the last of the sunlight disappear from the horizon, and the dark-blue hedgehog winced slightly in discomfort which in turn the darkness of night transformed him back into his Werehog form, but unlike the previous times, Sonic noticed a slight difference in his friend's transformation.
"Well, guess I'm still stuck in being a Werehog myself." Sun grumbled, gazing at his hands with a sigh, though this was a promising sign at the same time. "Just hope I'll be able to turn into a giant for the battle against the other me."
"Well, at least there's a promising sign of you being cured." Sonic stated, pointing at his face. "Your eyes aren't all black anymore. They're the same as when you're a hedgehog now."
"Huh?" The Werehog blinked, before looking for anything that could help him see his reflection, until the blue hedgehog, having an idea, held out his wrist where Chip's necklace rested, and as Sun gazed at it, he saw, although too tiny to see properly, that Sonic was right. No longer were his eyes black with purple pupils. But instead they were the same white eyeballs with the violet orbs.
"I think your Werehog eyes had something to do with Fuzzy being inside you 'till Egghead absorbed the darkness." Sonic theorized.
"Huh. That's surprising, but I prefer my hedgehog eyes anyway. But we can't waste anymore time. We've got to get inside the Temple and help out the others before it's too late." The Werehog replied and his brother nodded.
But as Sonic and Sun were passing through and fought off against the Dark Gaia monsters that stood in their way, which thankfully the Werehog saw that he still had the same abilities in this form which meant, hopefully, the only thing absent was the beast and the dark effects of what he absorbed earlier taken away from him, he and the cobalt hero had just arrived at the entrance of the Temple itself when they felt the earth move a bit. Looking up in alarm, the two saw a huge ugly beast appear out of nowhere come crushing down, and both Sonic and Sun leaped back as it landed.
To make things more complicating, it carried a huge hammer which was used to almost crush the duo. From the looks of things, they both guessed that, now that it was nighttime, this was the Dark Guardian the King of Shamar warned them about.
"Oh great! I forgot about the Dark Guardian!" Sonic complained in irritation.
"I wish I could say things couldn't get any worse, but I have a feeling it's about to." Sun groaned, already leading a punch directly at the Dark Guardian's face, while Sonic quickly followed up by using his Homing Attack at the foe's chest, sending it flying backwards. It hit the ground hard with a thud, but to the two's shock, it leaped back to it's feet and began charging towards them with it's hammer.
The two leaped back quickly as it thrust it's weapon onto the ground, but as Sonic attempted to Spin Dash into it from mid-air, the Dark Guardian used it's free hand to punch him, sending the blue hedgehog flying backwards while he screamed. Thankfully while Sun, who cried out his name in alarm which distracted him long enough for the Dark Guardian to hit him with it's Hammer and sending him crashing onto the ground, rolled away and stretched out his arm, grabbing Sonic around the waist and pulling him safely back. The Werehog then got up as quickly as he could and narrowly avoided the Dark Guardian attacking them with a pink bolt of lightning attempting to electrocute them.
"Thanks for the save, Sun!" Sonic said while still in the grasp of his brother in Werehog form, who once in a slightly safe distance, gently put him down and nodded.
Sun and Sonic both turned back to the Dark Guardian who came charging towards them with it's Hammer high up and attempting to crush them, but the two brothers shared a glance and had an idea. The blue hedgehog then sped and disappeared in a blue blur which caused their opponent to pause in slight surprise just how fast the the teenager was, allowing the Werehog to use it's distraction to smack it in the chest and face, grasping at the hammer with one hand and it's metal arm with the other, and Sonic then did a series of Homing Attacks on it's back, causing the monster to yell in pain due to this.
Once Sonic was done with his attack and leaped away to safety, Sun growled as he gave the Dark Guardian a shove and punched it hard, sending it to the ground again before the blue hedgehog quickly rejoined him. The two noticed that despite having injuries from their opponent's earlier attack, they both felt fine and healed up as though they weren't attacked at all. It was then that they noticed a slight green glow and gazed at the necklace around Sonic's wrist and gaped at it in awe before it stopped.
"Whoa..." Sonic murmured.
"Whoa..." Sun echoed, his eyes wide in disbelief.
Just then, they heard the Dark Guardian get up again and as the two of them looked, it did some sort of weird stance which confused them at first, but that confusion quickly turned to horror as multiple lighting bolts came ranning down, forcing Sonic to grab Sun's arm and sped away, repeatedly dodging the attacks all over the battle field even if a couple nearly hit them and came too close to home and almost hit Chip's necklace, much to their horror as Sonic yanked his left arm away, yelping.
"Ugh! It's like every time we attack that thing, it keeps on getting back up and is just as strong!" Sonic grunted. "There's gotta be a way to beat it!"
Sun looked around for anything that could help them when he noticed something near the Temple towards the side; a large altar with a crescent Moon that seemed to be corrupted with darkness and each time the Dark Guardian was attacked, it glowed as it looked like it was absorbing the energy from it. An idea formed in his mind.
"Sonic! I think that thing gets it's energy from that altar there!" The Werehog informed once he and the blue hedgehog were in the safe distance again, and when Sonic looked, he saw that he was right. "I'll distract it while you destroy that altar. Maybe it should work and lower it's energy."
Sonic smirked, liking the idea. "Roger that, bro! This will be a cinch!"
As the Dark Guardian swung it's Hammer again, smashing the ground to create a shock wave that made both of them stumble a bit before regaining their balance, Sonic taunted it by making silly faces with a raspberry, wriggling his fingers in front of his ears. It sent a surge of anger through the opponent as it charged towards him, only for Sun, who used this distraction to race to the side as fast as he could, to grab the hammer again and held it in place.
"I don't think so, Hammer-Boy." The Werehog smirked, grunting as he heaved the Dark Guardian over his head and thrust it onto the ground hard.
The blue hedgehog in the meantime sped straight towards the Altar and Spin Dashed right into it, smashing the pillar repeated which only took three easy hits, because with the last attack, it crumbled and collasped into pieces, the dark energy dying down which destroyed the Dark Guardian's chance to absorb it's power and heal itself.
"Whoo! Feelin' good!" Sonic cheered once he saw the success in Sun's plan.
Sun rolled his eyes, but said nothing and simply shook his head with an exasperated smile, before turning his attention back to the Dark Guardian as it got up before he smashed it in the face again, and Sonic, deciding to help in finishing up this battle, came charging in and performed several Axe-kicks and Karate-punches on it's back and ducked just as it swung it's hammer, his smirk in place. Now with the Altar destroyed despite being forced to leap back and avoid more lightning strikes, the two friends knew, despite getting slightly zapped and the blue hedgehog worried about Chip's necklace, they managed to protect it and it's mysterious power healing them, they had the advantage.
"Time to wrap this time!" The hero of Mobius declared. As the Werehog charged towards the Dark Guardian who did the same and punched and knocked the hammer away, he turned the opponent around for Sonic to his another Homing Attack on it's weak spot, repeatedly hitting it's back until it couldn't handle it anymore.
With a cry of defeat as Sun let the Dark Guardian go, it fell to the ground, vanishing, though unlike the times when he absorbed the darkness of the other monsters, it didn't go into his body but instead it simply disappeared.
'Huh. Now I know why I was able to absorb the darkness. It was the beast within me that was doing it...to make itself stronger.' The Werehog thought worriedly.
"You okay, pal?" Sonic asked, approaching his brother in slight concern.
"I didn't absorb the darkness this time, Sonic. And it wasn't me that was absorbing the other monsters before. It was the beast, to make itself more of it's own soul. Do you think it's absorbing it from here?" Sun wondered.
The blue hedgehog frowned in worry, before shrugging. "Well, if even it was, I don't think it could do it from here as long as we're careful."
Despite still being concerned, Sun knew that his brother was right and nodded.
"Heh. I know little girls who are better with a hammer than you." Sonic remarked to the defeated Dark Guardian with a chuckle, before shrugging as he corrected himself. "Well, one anyway."
"Don't you mean a million hammers? How can she not run out of them?" The Werehog raised an eyebrow.
"How'd you know?" The blue hedgehog asked, slightly surprised.
"I saw the air-battle you and the others were in before you came to rescue me. I'm still shocked that Amy can bring out as many as she wants." Sun replied, before smirking. "Then again, Ro-butt-nik and his robots never saw that either, since one of them mentioned something about her having more than a hardware store."
Sonic simply laughed. "Man, I wish I could see the look on Egghead's face when he saw that. It must've been priceless!"
The Werehog chuckled, before the two decided that they wasted enough time and quickly hurried inside the Temple to restore Shamar back into orbit and then get back into helping both Knuckles and Shadow to defeat the Werehog-Beast.
Racing their way towards the shrine where they knew they had to place the Chaos Emerald onto. Pausing in front of it, Sonic walked up the small steps and experimentally held out his left arm towards it. To his surprise as he wished it could work, the green gem glowed and as he and Sun watched in awe, the pedestal was unlocked. Sharing a glance with his brother who nodded, the blue hedgehog pulled out another Chaos Emerald and placed it on top.
Like the four previous times, the Chaos Emerald began to glow of it's yellow Lights, shooting up the light up towards the ceiling before the entire continent shook, the yellow Chaos Emerald was fully restored.
The continent piece of Shamar and it's neighboring region Empire City, unexplored, sank back into it's original place and was restored back into Mobius, five continents now back in place, with only two more to go.
Gazing up at the ceiling where the Emerald's power was hanging, Sonic and Sun both stared at it before the former sighed. They were so close in restoring Mobius now, with only two more continents to heal up, this meant that their and Chip's adventure was nearly over, but they knew that they couldn't just simply go back yet as much as they wanted to. They still had another thing to do.
Though Sonic lowered his gaze and unconsciously rubbed his right arm, softly whimpering at the thought of facing the giant Werehog-Beast.
"Sonic? What's wrong?" Sun asked, noticing his brother's slightly frightened expression.
"Nothing much. It's just...well...I'm scared, Sun. We're about to go and fight the beast that's been trying to control you and eat me and after seeing what it did to Kaiser...I'm really worried about Knuckles and Shadow. I know we have to fight it and stop it, but..." Sonic admitted and sighed. "I'm trying not to let it get to me."
The Werehog, feeling he understood where the blue hedgehog was coming from, gently placed a hand onto Sonic's left shoulder and said. "Would it bother you to say that I'm scared of that thing too?"
Sonic looked up, before softly smiling and shook his head. "Not at all. But we can't let fear and other negative emotions get to us now. We made it this far, and this time, no matter how hard the battle may seem, we're going to beat that thing once and for all!"
His brother smiled and the two shared a high, before Sonic declared. "Let's go! The others need us!"
"Right!" Sun nodded in agreement.
Knowing that they had a huge battle ahead of them, Sonic and Sun quickly then left the Temple and hurried back to the desert as fast as they could to help Knuckles and Shadow.
It was going to be one of the toughest battles they will ever face.
A/N: Shamar's continent is restored, but the next chapter will see the battle between Sonic's team against the Werehog-Beast! Will they be victorious? Find out next time!
See you later!