Prelude to Chaos

Third Person P.O.V.

Sonic's mind

The sunny blue skies world painted with vermilion. Dark clouds loomed over, thunderous lightning boomed in the sky. The wind was raging, daring to draw blood.

Some of Sonic's super forms knew of this predicament they're in. It had happened once. This world they're living in was representation of how his mind was. The fact that the world the way they are, means Sonic had lost himself or rather let himself lose control.

They couldn't really blame him because after all, all of them are a part of him. They knew first hand how he felt deep inside. The scorching burn on their chest wrenched endlessly. Beneath all that underlying the excruciating pain, only Dark could understand it. And he couldn't bear it the second time. One of the perks being the first form, he is that much closer to blue blur than Super ever was.

Sonic didn't really realise it as everything he had done was for his sake. Whether what he did was bad or not, he would always protect him. Always be there for him no matter how grim the situation. And now, he had to save him from the void that was slowly eating him inside. The void that had once engulfed the blue hero when he was overcome with despair. Now it had returned, it wanted to forever engulf him. Forever caged inside, unable to think properly. To become that thing. An embodiment of chaos.

He was glad he had stopped him in time than any later when it had happened the first time. Any longer, he won't even be who he is now.

On the edge of the cliff, the dark super form eyed the 'ocean' as his fists clenched tightly, threatening to draw blood as his quills turned upwards, blowing calmly. His sickly emerald eyes gleamed dangerously. The splitting image, Super walked up to him, touched his shoulder. His aura radiates warmth and sense of security, trying to calm the other.

Without giving a glance back, Dark said gravely, "You can't come with me, Super. You know what that 'ocean' will do to you. It'll consume anything, keeping its prisoners caged. You, being the light, it will instantly consume you. I know of it first hand. After all, I was almost consumed by it." His eyes stared under with contempt.

Super sadly smiled as his grip on Dark's shoulder tightened. "I know, Dark. But if all of us didn't help you back up right then, who knows how Sonic would have felt. Who knows what would have happened to him.To you."

Dark's expression turned grim. "I know. But I can't risk you going in this suicide mission. He can't lose you. I-" Dark was cut off before he could continue.

"Well then, now might be the time for me to atone for the misery I caused him." The psychotic swirled red eyes super form, Fleetway carefreely answered, maniacal grin craved in.

Dark turned around, making eye contact, frowning. Before he could say anything, Fleetway cut him off, "Let me at least do something for him, Dark. I can't always live my life tormenting him all day long. Being caged inside this body of his, changed you. He needs us. It's the least I could do."

His brow furrowed upon the crazed super form.

"You can't." His only reply before turning around and gazed into the ocean.

Fleetway sighed as he walked up to him, standing beside him, on the opposite side where Super was listening.

"You're really stubborn, you know that." He too gazed into the seemingly innocent ocean.

Dark snorted. "We all know where I got that trait from."

"That's why, I'm going with you. Whether you like it or not, it's not your decision to decide what I'll do. All of us at the end of the day, are stubborn hogs."

Dark let out a soft sigh. "Do what you like. But, no one else is coming. I'm not risking all of us. He would really break."

Fleetway nudged his arms, grinning. "Don't worry about little ol' me. After all, I am an accidental Super form. An outsider."

Dark quickly glanced to his side, frowning but made no comment to that.

"Let's go." Was Dark's only reply before jumped after the blue one.

Fleetway, before going, said, "Hey, Super."

Super looked at him, listening as Fleetway continued not sparing a glance back at him.

"If anything happens to me, it was nice knowing you all. And, please look after Dark, okay. No matter what the guy said, everyone could use a hand once in a while." Super looked at him grimly and smiled but nodded.

Then, he went after Dark, leaving Super to himself. The golden hedgehog frowned, looking upon the darkened sky.

"Oh Chaos, please do bring them back safely. Sonic couldn't take another loss. I don't want to see him break."

With Sonic

Sonic P.O.V.

Darkness. No light. No, nothing. Only an endless dark void staring into my soul. I am drowning, suffocating. Yet, I felt nothing. Anxiety, fear, none of them. I was oddly calm. Acceptance. My souls screamed at me. I heard them but I was numb. The chains binded me, sinking even deeper yet I didn't care.

Heavy. I can't...break free. I didn't...want to. At least.. not yet. He. Had. To. Pay. Because of him..

For what seems forever me staring into this endless black space, sinking, I could hear a voice. Two voices. Faint but loud enough for my ears to pick up despite the inky suffocating blackness surrounding me.

I was in daze, my eyes were fluttering. I was this close to letting it go of my consciousness before they came.

The blackness felt lighter. I could see the shadow figures above me. It's them. They came for me. But I don't know if I want to heed their calling. The misery he had caused to all of us, to me, I can't seem to turn a blind eye any longer.

Dark P.O.V.

The moment my skin made contact with it, the unsettling yet familiar sensations sent chills down my spine. I shook it off, quickly my eyes scanned the area, looking for him. I can't stay here longer than I have too. Or it'll consume me until all that is left is only a mass of energy.

A few seconds later, Fleetway appeared next to me. I gave him a look and he soon nodded knowingly.

I could feel his presence despite this ocean trying to conceal our connections, his energy. Another perk of being the first form, my connections with him won't ever sever from anything. I would always know. Wherever he is and whatever he is feeling.

The first time it happened he was still very young. Young minds were easier to persuade, mended. He is still young as of right now but this time won't be any easier. The conflicts in his heart, the troubles ached in his mind. The buried, blocked memories resurfaced. It won't be an easy task. But I had to bring him back. I had to. Or I fear I will lose him forever.

That time when he came close to slip through was more than enough for me to experience it ever again.

Reality, a few hours prior to meeting Mayhem

Third person P.O.V.

The ebony king, Circe eyed the far distance, arms rested to his sides deep in thoughts.

'After so long..his sense of irony..' his fists clenched upon knowing where they'll be headed to.

Their preparations were almost complete with the X-tornado. The place they'll be going was across the ocean from where they are. As much as the azure one wanted to just put his speed into high gear, without a direction to go wherever he was supposed to be headed, it would be pointless. Because, only they knew. Sonic was too little to remember the directions. All he could do now was to wait..patiently .

The purple hedgehog, Aleena squeezed his clenched fist, beside him, offering comfort, at least a little while sadly smiled. Circe reluctantly accepted her comfort, sighing softly.

"We can't just barge in there, Aleena. It's a trap. Who knows what that madman had in store.." His tone was low, eyes still gazed into the distance.

Aleena moved forward, standing in front of him. "I know. But there'll always be a way. A solution. We can't give up." She held up her hands, Circe's hand in hers, reassuringly.

The midnight hedgehog swallowed his saliva, eyes were staring into Aleena's, determined yet anxious.

"But, what? He rendered the emeralds useless, the master emerald was nowhere to be found. What option do we have left?"

Aleena sadly looked at her frantic partner. She had no answer to his question but at the very least, she wanted to support him. Even if it was as tiny as meaningless.

"We fight." Both of them turned around to see who it was. It was Jules.

Circe's gritted his teeth and sharply looked away. "Fight? You see his condition? He was too close to breaking apart. I can't let it play out just like that. Not again.. You know that's what he wants." Circe's trailed off, frustrated.

Jules, unable to let it sit by him, came to his view, forcing Circe to look him in the eyes.

"At this point, brother, we got not much of a choice. If it had to happen, it would happen either way. Believe me I know. This is the way."

Circe's anger rose. What he said wasn't music to his ear. Truth hurts. Always.

Circe's body tensed, his eyes gleamed dangerously. "You think after all these years I still don't know that? I know, brother. I know yet I still couldn't do anything. I couldn't do anything for you then, I know for sure I couldn't do anything for him, for both of them." He countered, eyes darkened.

Jules looked at him sympathetically, eyes softened. "Brother.."

But Circe didn't need his pity. He profusely shook his head, melancholic as his body shifted uncomfortably. "I just.. wish father was here. He would know what to do…" his melancholy quickly dissipated as soon as it came. "..No, he wouldn't." Circe murmured to himself, eyes avoided his brother and wife.

Jules heaved a soft sigh. "Brother, you can't be like this. We all have been through a lot. Thick and thin. You can't give up hope. Hope is one thing you can't give up on. That's what drives all of us to survive." Jules gripped both of his big brother's shoulders, hoping for him to listen.

Circe felt as if the long dried tears swelled up, pricking his eyes. Ah, frustration. Aside from sadness and happiness, frustration could also trigger the waterfall to stream down your cheeks. Pretty much anything could trigger it.

In anguish, his voice was firm yet fragile. His glossy eyes gleamed with vexation. "Hope? What could we hope for at this rate, brother? All hope is lost." He coldly stated. "Face it, we had nothing."

Out of the blue, a deafening sharp noise echoed in the air. A slap. From the indigo queen, Aleena. She was bewildered, disappointed in what her beloved had just said.

Circe's had somewhat expected that as his cheeks reddened, his head shifted from the slap. He didn't dare to shift his head back in place. He knew why she did what she did. It was a shame on his part. The former glorious King cowered, lost his hope, backing down from an enemy. An enemy that had long been the enemy he fought so hard to defeat yet he couldn't do so. His father, Chaos wisely said, 'It wasn't his Destiny to defeat him.' Then, he was gone. Sometimes, he wished he had rebelled against his dad much earlier. Then, all of this will never have to happen. Screw Destiny. He created his own way.

For most of Circe's life, his father had never been there. Not really. He couldn't see him, but he was always there, watching. Watching but didn't do anything. That is one thing he hated about him. There was only his mother, Harmony and soon his brother. As quick as time passed him by, his mother also went away too quickly for him to remember. But, he knew something had happened to her. He just didn't know what it was, didn't have an exact answer as much as he wanted to beat the answer out of his dear father.

The excruciating pain of a childhood without both of his parents. He knew he wasn't the best of himself the moment he pushed his brother away. It was a mistake he couldn't erase yet he had to live with it. Then, his family was taken away from him. Made him think he was cursed for isolation.

Nevertheless, he didn't give up. He tried so hard to search for his family. The day he was reunited with his dear Aleena after the ARK incident, his heart could have skipped even faster than a speeding bullet. He was over the moon. On top of that, knowing his sons are alive couldn't make him even happier. But of course, it wasn't a rainbow road. That is a story for another time.

This time, the feeling of hopelessness, helplessness was too much for Circe to handle, knowing there was pretty much no hope. A dark tunnel was waiting in this climax of a story made him feel hopeless than ever.

Circe let out a soft sigh, body stiffened, avoiding any eye contact. "..Sorry.." was the only word blurted out.

Aleena's gaze softened as her hand gently shifted his cheeks to look at her. At first, Circe was reluctant, eyes trailed off away from Aleena's sapphire eyes, gleaming with tenderness in contrast to Circe's fearful ruby eyes. In the end, Circe softly inhaled as he opened his eyes to gaze into her eyes.

A small smile formed when meeting her dearest eyes, her hand rested on his cheek, caressing. "Circe, we've all been through a lot like your brother had just said. Through thick and thin. When the going gets tough, as if no hope is left, we can't just give up. Not when a lot is at stake here."

Circe silently listened as his body slowly relaxed. In a fearful voice, he muttered, "What can we do, Aleena? This situation we're in, doesn't seem any hopeful than it already is. Now that he held those two poor souls hostage, it was even more hopeless the moment the emeralds were rendered useless.." He gently took down her hand from his cheek as he looked away.

Her gaze hardened yet the softness could still be seen. "Well, Dear, there is….one... thing."

With that Circe's head shifted back slowly, taken aback. "What...do you mean?"

Aleena let out a heavy sigh. "You see, my mother had once said to me about this..thing."

"What is it?" Jules joined as he eyed Aleena in disbelief, seeming the first time he had also heard about whatever it was.

Circe's gaze hardened as his body tensed once more, bracing for whatever she was about to say.

"There's this...gem." She shifted uncomfortably.

Circe's brow furrowed, disbelieving it would all be that easy. Just why did she decide to say about this sudden existence of a gem that he didn't know about now? The timing was odd. It rubbed him the wrong way as chills sent down his spines out of the blue.

"What is this 'gem' you are talking about?"Jules decided to put an end to Circe's spiralling train of thought.

The amethyst hedgehog took a deep breath, eyes gazed into both of the older male in front of her.

"My parents, as you know, were the masters of alchemy and magic. Right then, they were the right hand to the king and queen of Mobius, both of your parents." She paused as she continued with her explanation, her expression was grim. "You see, as much as I wanted to replicate this gem my parents made, the gem itself made from a material not of this world."

"What was it made out of?" This time, Circe decided to end his curiosity.

Aleena shook her head sadly. "I only know the material was not of our realm when I first held it. It emitted of pure energy and felt really.. odd. " She stopped abruptly, reminisced of the feels, brows furrowed before shook her head as she continued. "Nevertheless, I think this is our only option."

"But where is this 'gem'?" Jules questioned, Circe's eyes shifted back at her curiously.

Aleena swallowed her saliva rather nervously. "That's the thing, I don't know. My mother hid it somewhere deep within the castle soon after I knew of its existence." She confessed.

That's when a question dawned upon Circe as he stared at her with hardened expression. "Does he know about it?" He is implied to the dark one, Mayhem.

Aleena shook her head, shrugging her shoulder. "Supposedly, nobody was supposed to know about its existence."

The ebony king let out an exasperated sigh. "As much as I hate this slim of a chance, it was all we got." He said determinedly, washing away the hopelessness he felt earlier. He refused to be in that predicament he had been earlier.

Jules nodded unconsciously while in his thoughts, his index finger under his chin. It was all still too easy. It made him feel uncomfortable.

His mouth accidentally blurted out what was embedded within his heart. "What exactly does this gem do?" Circe looked at his brother with a knowing look as he shifted his gaze back at her.

The hardness hardened ever strongly. She let out a deep sigh before continuing, eyes gleamed dully. "My mother told this to me rather vaguely. Probably just to scare me." Her body tensed, shifting uncomfortably. "She made me promise her to never find it again and it was a dangerous jewel used for sealing something. I was little when it happened then but old enough to comprehend and remember it. So, I listened and that's the last time I saw it."

Circe, in deep thought, a deep frown over his head before saying, "How could it help us, Aleena? Who knows what was probably sealed in there. Your parents didn't send them or whatever it was to an eternal imprisonment without a reason. For all we know, sure we'll get rid of one problem but we'd risk unleashing another great evil. Probably even greater than Mayhem." He had held hope but it was fast vanishing.

Aleena bit her lower lip, shifted uncomfortably upon the subject. "You are right. I shouldn't have even brought up the subject. It's a useless cause." She winced, sharply looked away.

Circe huffed and sighed. Pretty much they're back to square one. Nevertheless, hope had sparked in his chest. Better than ever to fight this hopeless situation.

In his prime years before this whole ordeal, he was known for his headstrong fearless attitude and the strength he held. His aura radiates warmth and holds sway over those crossed his paths. He didn't back down then, he sure wasn't going to back down now.

Circe held Aleena in his arms, providing comfort despite the false hope. "It's okay, my love. It's okay." His tone was soft, comforting. "Earlier, you helped me remember to have hope. Now, you too must remember, it is not the end. This existence of such a gem, we had to keep it away from him."

Aleena stared into his eyes knowingly what was underlying under his every word. She grimaced but nodded as she felt guilt crawling, making her heart felt heavy. She shouldn't have even brought up the subject..

The amethyst queen breaks away from his hold. The lingering warmth slowly disappeared as her body tensed as cold air made contact to her skin. She took a breather before finally voiced her concern.

"I remember how it felt and I know we could find it. But," she stopped on her track, making eye contact with Jules and Circe, anxiety flashed in them. "We will need more time."

"Yes, that's why my brother will join in on your conquest." Jules answered as Circe eyed him. "Don't give me that look, brother. I know you wouldn't want her to go on her own." He sighed teasingly.

Circe's brow furrowed. "That's true but,"

"It's okay, I know as should you. If it meant to happen, it will happen eventually." Jules cut him off as he gave Circe's shoulder a pat.

Circe winced, scowling. "I know. I know yet still hurts. I can't help it." His voice turned low as sadness gleamed in his eyes.

Back with Sonic and his inner turmoil (Present)

Sonic P.O.V.

The used to be endless void staring at me morphed into the ever green strikingly familiar lush forest. The smell of burning wood travelled in the air. The smell was awfully familiar. So familiar… That the memories of him resurfaced. My heart beated fast. Faster and faster as my legs consciously brought me to that place. The place I once called home. Uncle Chuck's homely cottage.

At the front door, quite literally, the house supposedly cold, decayed, was alive. The wooden cottage looked safely kept. As if time hadn't passed since then. As if, he was never gone. That didn't happen. A lot of questions raced in my mind until all there was a puddle of mess. Heck, I was a mess. Everything didn't feel right to me anymore. It was all distorted.

All of it didn't make sense but I knew in my heart that I missed him dearly. He was always there for me. The moment he was gone, my world turned upside down as all I could feel was a spiralling despair as pain ache roughly deep in my heart. It's still ache but I have learned to cope since then. But, sometimes, these coping mechanisms didn't work well in my favor. All it ever did was worsen my condition further.

Every step I took, the heavier the ambience grew. I slowly twisted the door knob, needing not to knock. The step I finally took inside, the atmosphere changed. From the outside, it had looked like the inside of the cottage filled with warmth. And yet, the moment I stepped inside, the place felt cold as ice. The light I saw was nonexistent. The scents of blood reeked into my nose sharply. I knew what this all interpreted but I still couldn't hold myself back.

I walked into the cottage, fearful yet intrigued. And just like that, the scenery as if it had happened just yesterday, the cobalt one drenched in his cold blood, unmoved. All because of the power I was born with, my uncle fell victim. It was all my fault..Uncle deserved so much more..

I ran up to his side, holding his cold hand. Every sign of life was drained from him. He looked utterly lifeless. And all of it was my fault. I could feel tears streamed down my cheeks unconsciously. Now, I am forced to relive all of this moment. As much as I could think it was beyond my control, I couldn't really help it but knowing me living with him right then, cost him his life.

Third Person P.O.V.

The blue hero suddenly felt his world had shrunken. The cold winds softly blew as it carried the awful scents of blood from his decaying body. Sonic felt himself reliving that moment all over again as tears fell from his puffy eyes, swollen his cheeks.

His heart ached deeply upon remembering it. On top of that, seeing him in that state had shattered his heart to million pieces yet again. Plus, the nightmare he went through shortly after his death, was more than enough for him to experience all over again.

Sonic held dearly Chuck's lifeless hand in his. "Uncle, why? Why is this happening again??" He desperately asked as he gritted his teeth, tears streamed down.

His question met no answer as he silently sobbed knowingly and a remorseful smile carved onto his face. "Because of me, you…" he paused, choked in his words as his eyes closed shut.

"Why, Sonny my boy..?"

Sonic felt his heart drop. He couldn't believe his ears as the tears stopped abruptly, shocked could be seen as clear as day on his expression.

"U-Uncle Chuck..?" He stuttered in disbelief.

The former living one was alive yet he looked utterly lifeless like a dead corpse, eyes devoid of emotions. His tone was also emotionless. It shook Sonic to the core upon comparing this to his fond memory of his Uncle. Whoever this is wearing his late Uncle's skin, this is not him.

"Why. Tell me why. " His cold hand grabbed a whole of Sonic's hand, every second his hold was tightening. "Why did you kill me?"

0~0~0

Hey guys has been quite a while hasn't it? Sorry for the lack of update cuz you know school and life goes hard and all that jazz Hope you all are doing fine tho. Don't worry guys. I intend to wrap this story soon this year. Before that came, next chapter definitely gonna be fight scene yay XD Take care and I see you soon~