Mystic Sonic—A SatAM Story
This is the next arc following Sonic Echoes (I,II and VITAL SIGNS), a project that took all of May to plan out and execute (still in the process of editing these with the help of my editor, who I've thanked below). This story will take the lessons learned from the previous adventure and go into some new territory. We're getting a little spiritual with this one!
Episode Recommendations: "Super Sonic" (Season 1), "Cry of the Wolf" (Season 2) and "The Void" (Season 2)
Special Thanks: To wingwolffly ("Wild Fox") for their continued diligence as Editor and to all who have supported me thus far!
–
ACT I
Prologue
"There you go, dear. How do like the braids? I've been feeling mighty inspired watching you in action, Nicki!"
Nicole appraised herself in the full length mirror, twirling and watching her own "twin tails" follow her movements in turn! The multi-colored beads holding them together was an especially nice touch.
Turning to her hairdresser with a glowing smile, she replied, "Bunnie, this is stunning work. If I could make an educated appraisal, I believe this was a passion of yours!"
The yellow-furred heart of the Freedom Fighters blushed and waved her hand in dismissal. "Aw shucks! It's just something I do in my spare time. A lady has to keep up with appearances after all!"
Sunlight broke through the window of the rabbot's hut, and glistened off of the brown lynx's still moist hair, despite its artificial nature. "Oh, and just call me Nicole, if you please." All of her friends were trying to help her feel more normal in her physical form, despite the AI's hesitation.
One major example was Sally,who took it upon herself to improve her image somewhat. Her spare purple threads were exchanged for a stunning violet and white top, with a black bodysuit underneath. She was conflicted about her look as something about it seemed ostentatious. The auburn-haired chipmunk insisted that it was a more complete look for the lynx that reflected all aspects of her personality.
As preparations for the village-wide festival was in full swing, Nicole began to feel there was another purpose to the event than simply celebrating Robotnik's defeat. It would be her introduction to the world of Mobius at large! "Nicole, I see ya shifting your feet around. You nervous about something?"
The artificial lynx corrected her posture and shot Bunnie a nervous glance. "Oh! It's nothing. I'm just...trying to take it all in!" The half-metal lady placed a soft hand on her shoulder and affixed her with a comforting smile.
The rabbot shook her head and pointed towards the exit into the outside world. "I can tell its getting a little stuffy in here for ya, sugar. Go out there and get some fresh air!" Nicole took her suggestion to heart and nodded politely, leaving the hut. Bright sunlight and a sharp, yet calming wind caught her new features. Looking upwards into the sky, she watched a hover unit begin to come into view. Her servos tensed immediately at the sight...
A hover unit...in Knothole!?
Chapter 1
"Okay, take her down nice...and easy!" Sally shouted, guiding the hover unit over to a cleared out area of the runway. The gusts from the incoming aircraft blew her auburn hair around, to say nothing for her blue vest, which was nearly ripped off her shoulders. Grimacing, the chipmunk moved quickly to adjust everything as the large vehicle came in for a landing. I said nice and easy, she thought as she briefly mourned her hairdo.
Sonic did little to help as he zipped up alongside her. "Thanks Sonic..." She looked over to see that the only thing that had his attention were the lupine figures now exiting the hover unit. A hand touched her shoulder suddenly, causing her to leap in the air...right into Sonic's arms!
"Oh, that happy to see me Sal?" He smugly replied as she glared at him. "No, no. You don't have to thank me for catching you! All in a day's work for this hedgehog!"
"What's going on here!?" A familiar voice rung out, belonging to a particular lynx who had just arrived on the scene. Sparks arced between her fingertips.
"Whoa! Cool it with the fireworks, Nicole!" Sonic set down his partner gently and ran to head off the perturbed AI. "It's just Lupe and the gang!"
At the mention of her name, a statuesque lady wolf with a stunning black and white mohawk stepped forward. She was clad in a blue bodysuit with gold trim, wearing matching bracelets and sandals. "Nice to see you all again. It's been awhile."
Sally quickly caught the stares from the rest of her pack pointed towards the lynx's direction and moved to intercept. "Oh yes, it's good to see you all again as well! Let me introduce..."
"The way past cool new addition to our little group!" Sonic proudly interrupted, leading the chipmunk to facepalm in embarrassment. "She can count up to infinity and back, has the best jokes and thanks to yours truly, can now cut a mean rug!"
"So, I take it they're are not a threat? They been acting rather suspicious..." The chipmunk could not believe the bluntness of her AI friend, as a horrified expression crept up her face. "Well...I'm Nicole. A pleasure to meet you all." Oh my gosh. Took you long enough...
"Apologies if we scared you, Nicole." Lupe shook her hand with an eyebrow raised. "However, there is reason for the strange looks..." Turning to Sally, she affixed her with a piercing stare that was slightly unnerving. "I wasn't aware you managed to find one of -them-. An interesting surprise."
Interesting? That's it? The auburn-haired breathed a sigh of relief. However, the calm was broken when a certain blue hedgehog decided to interject. "What's the problem, Lups? And whaddya mean by -them-?"
"Nothing to be alarmed of, Sonic. They are referring to my appearance, that's all!" Nicole seemed to be taking this in stride. She wished she could say the same for the fast one and the she-wolf, who continued to make a scene.
The leader of the Wolf-Pack bore her fangs ever so slightly at the hedgehog's interruption. Pointing at the purple clad automaton, she replied to his accusation. "That is clearly one of the ancient seers that survived Robotnik's rampage. We need to speak with her immediately. In private."
Sonic bristled at this, putting himself between the lynx and the wolves and shook his head. "She's one of us now. If you want her, you're getting all of us too!"
Sally put herself between the two feuding personalities, and Lupe turned to her pack to stand down and turned to the rest with a warm smile. "Let show our due respect to our allies. We do need their aid after after all."
–
The Great Hall had served as their staging ground since the events leading up to Operation Doomsday, and now served as a neutral meeting place for diplomatic relations. Nicole had found it a wonderful place to relax, which made its new function a bit perturbing. Especially at this very moment.
"A restless spirit, you say?" A giggle escaped her lips as Lupe finished her story. She brushed her hair out of her eyes to see that the Wolf-Pack was not as amused. "While I admit such circumstances don't have some precedent, there are mysteries in this world that have yet to have solved and...
"Hm... You're not much of a visionary, lynx." Rising from her position on the floor of the Great Hall, she turned to Sally who was shooting her friend a particularly scathing look. "Surely you believe us? The voices echoing throughout the mountains. Strange unknown shapes moving in the darkness? We have no reason to lie to our allies and little to gain by doing so."
The AI cleared her throat loudly and responded to the veiled insult, "While I may not be what you expected, that doesn't mean this matter does not interest me. At least in an academic sense." The she-wolf scrunched her snout and gave Nicole a withering stare. "No offense."
The chipmunk walked over to the AI and placed a hand on her shoulder. "What she means to say is that we're willing to help out in any way we can." Giving the lynx a knowing wink, she regarded the rest of the group with a charming smile. Sally, you don't have to apologize on my behalf. I can fight my own battles!
Sonic now entered the scene by vaulting over the wall in a front-flip and landing on the table dead center. "Oh, that was a perfect ten!"
Sally rushed over to him and silently motioned for him to get down. He shrugged and did another standing front-flip, this time landing beside the AI. "I was just trying to break the tension, Sal."
"How did the news go over with the rest of the Freedom Fighters?" The auburn-haired lady asked the hedgehog, as her boot tapped impatiently on the ground.
"Great. All things considered. Bunnie and Tails are still hard at work decorating the village and Antoine is well...doing nothing as usual." The hedgehog shrugged at this and shook his head dismissively.
"He's supervising, Sonic." Sally fired back with a frown.
"Yeah, doing nothing. You nailed it right on the head, Sal. Also, don't ignore the guests..." He gestured to the Wolf-Pack as their leader crossed her arms.
"Oh, right. Sorry Sonic..." She turned around to the lynx as well with concern, "Are you sure you still want to come along? It could be dangerous."
Nicole didn't need to consider, she had already made up her mind. If the Wolf-Pack wanted a seer they were getting one, like it or not! "I'm coming along Sally! Besides, if these rumors turn out to have some truth to them, then you two need all the help you can get."
"Well, aren't you the spirited lass? Maybe we were wrong about you after all..." Lupe opened her arms hospitably, much as she done once before when she first met Sonic and Sally in the mountain caves of the Great Unknown. "Welcome to the ghost hunt, Nicole!"
Chapter 2
"Whoa Nicole, nice one! You left this hog speechless!" Sonic had finally found his voice and gave the AI an approving nod. They were all packed in like sardines into the hover unit, with barely any room to move around. Sally was the last to arrive after giving Bunnie and Tails a farewell embrace.
The last thing he heard was Bunnie shouting, "...and if we see anyone getting too rowdy, this rabbot's giving them the boot, Sally-girl!" Tails mimicked the gesture and gave a distant thumbs up to the wedged in hedgehog.
As the chipmunk crawled in and found an empty space beside her companions, she gave the two fellow Freedom Fighters a disappointed look. Sonic shrugged and gestured back at the AI, who giggled mischievously. "You gotta appreciate the strides she's been makin' Sal! The sass coming from this one!"
"Oh yes, I appreciate that she inherited both -my- sarcasm and -your- impetuousness. Really. I do." Knitting her brow, her eyes drifted towards the back of head to make her point.
"It's nice to be appreciated Sally." Nicole smiled impishly, and both hedgehog and lynx shared a mutual fist bump.
Sally looked around to see if anyone was listening in and leaned in further. "I see you two are getting along great as usual. What do you think about all this?"
"I think it was great we didn't bring Ant. If I had to hear "curse" from him one more time..." They had brought the coyote with them when they first encountered the Wolf-Pack, and even the chipmunk had reached her limits with his cowardly behavior back then.
Sally pinched her muzzle as a terrible memory came and went. "I think we can both agree on that point. On that note, I don't necessarily disagree with Lupe's story either."
Sonic and Nicole exchanged incredulous looks, leading their gaze back to the auburn-haired one, and answered in unison. "What!?"
The hedgehog briefly shook his head and raised a judging eyebrow. "Oh nothin' Sal. I didn't think you believed in ghosts, that's all!"
"Yeah Sally. You are the most grounded out of all of us. Are you feeling well? I could prepare a compress-" The lynx was cut off by a brown hand by her lifelong friend.
"Come on, guys! Think about it. These people have lived in these lands since ancient times, seen a great many people pass through the mountains..." She paused to give an approving nod to Lupe, who was diligently piloting the craft. "Weird shapes and disembodied voices could be easily explained away, but..."
"Yeah, something stinks like Robuttnik here. Maybe there was somethin' that those pods left behind that we didn't catch! Whatever it is, we'll find it and get our answers soon enough, then be back in Knothole just in time to party up!" He hopped up suddenly and nearly banged his head on the roof of the hover unit. "This one still needs to show me her dance moves!", he said pointing at the AI, who had a smug look on her face.
"Consider the outcome already decided, Sonic. I have a vision of your imminent defeat on the eve of battle! Also...I've been practicing." Nicole began playing with three large bits of metal, using static electricity to rotate them in the air. Turning to the chipmunk, she saw that Sally's face was now buried in her hands.
Patting the floor where they were sitting, she stared up at the amused hog patiently. "Now sit down, this transport is a bit unstable." Seemingly on cue, the vehicle pitched violently as Sonic was flung into a brown wolf, who growled at him threateningly.
"Whoa, take it easy big fella... Okay, what was that?" The blue one was getting a little impatient and raced over to the front window as Lupe gave him more space. Ahead, a massive lightning storm covered a part of the mountains and churned violently. He swore for a second he saw a strange silhouette, almost circular in appearance, within the chaos. "Whoa! There! Didja see it?"
"What is it Sonic?" The she-wolf asked, "You always had a good eye when it came to taking down that pod. I remember using that lightning to fry it with little issue!"
"That's just it. There -is- something weird going on. Hopefully this hedgehog's sight isn't going out on him. So, where's the nearest place to land?"
Chapter 3
The sun began to dip down into the hills, painting them in a multitude of colors. There were many reasons to visit the Great Unknown, and this was definitely one to remember! It was quite the sight, but to the one blue hedgehog scouring the landscape, it would have to wait until their business with these ghosts was done.
Zipping around the canyon, Sonic found the apex of particularly large plateau to get his bearings. "Now for that voice." He knelt down and put an ear to ground. Nothing. "Come on! I'm waiting...!"
Lupe had said that the noise came from high up in the cliffs, which had caught his interest. Normally, you would need something capable of flight to get this far off the ground, but terrain was no big deal for the speed king!
Suddenly, a voice rang out that brought chills throughout his entire body. A low chuckle could be heard, but was barely perceptible. His hedgehog senses were sharp, however, and even with the high winds, knew it belonged to something living. "Looks like we got a prankster on our hands! Well, this hedgehog's a master of the craft! I'll find you out, no problem!" At least I hope so... That laugh sounds pretty familiar...
–
"Fascinating." Nicole ran her hands along the carved walls of the Wolf-Pack base, admiring the architecture. She knew plenty about them, having gained extensive logs of their history as well as knowledge of their writing. There was also the memory of a search on "Ancient Races of Mobius", that was the inspiration for her current form. For better or worse.
She felt something grip her arm firmly and spun around to see the brown wolf that Sonic bumped into earlier. "Oh!" He stared at the lynx with eyes that shown a deep hurt beneath the aggression. "Did...you need something?" Her words were cautious, but she met his gaze without fear.
"They told me that you're not a real Mobian. Artificial... Tell me, lynx. Why do take a form that mocks our shared history...?" As he released her arm, Nicole rubbed it tenderly. It wasn't painful, but the feeling was new and not entirely pleasant.
"A name first, if you will. I gave mine earlier." She continued to show she would not be pushed around, especially by those who needed their assistance.
"Apologies. Diego's the name. I guard the tunnels leading toward our base, to head of intruders if they get too close." The wolf scratched his head awkwardly, not meeting her gaze.
She approached him, holding his lowered hand gently. "I'm sorry I'm not what you all expected. The form was not of my choosing, but if its all the same, I'll take care to show more respect in the future."
"That's...not how I expected this to go. Thank you!" He shook Nicole's hand and proceeded down a nearby tunnel. "Well...back to business. It was nice meeting you, Nicole."
–
Sally was watching the scene unfold from a distance, tensed and ready to intercede if things got bad. Luckily, her companion managed to talk him down. Approaching the lynx, she shouted, "Are you all right, Nicole?"
"I'm fine Sally. Hopefully by clearing things up we can move forward with the hunt. This supernatural mission of ours has me intrigued..." She remarked pensively, hand firmly tucked under her chin. Giggling could be heard coming from the chipmunk next to her. "What's so funny?"
"Oh nothing, Nicole. Just reminds me of well...me! I guess." The cogs in her head began to turn to as she mirrored the lynx's posture. "So... You're coming around on this whole ghost thing too, hm...?"
"Oh! Not in the slightest. It's just...another puzzle to solve, and I do enjoy my puzzles." Oh stop it, that's the computer in you talking. Speaking of which...
"You know, magic is not exactly out the question, here." An old memory sparked, although it was hazy at best. "We met another human who claimed to be a sorcerer, named Lazaar." She never forget the man attached to that massive beard. "Sonic saved me and Bunnie from his mind control. I struggled to find a scientific explanation for it, even if his spells were attached to a computer."
"That explains it. How interesting. Imagine if someone like me got their hands on something like that!" She smiled as she said this.
Sally eyes widened as she looked at the AI with concern. "Uh, I don't think..." She was interrupted by Lupe and Sonic, who both rushed into the main hall at the same time. "Sonic! Lupe!" They both looked anxious. "What's wrong?"
The hedgehog kept looking between them and the tunnel leading upward. "Come on. Something big is going down!"
"What? Can you be more descriptive?" I hate it when he does that! He sprinted back up the tunnel before she could another word in. That too!
"Lupe. I remember you keeping a large cannon around. Perhaps that could be of some use?" Nicole asked suddenly, prompting a fight-or-flight response from the chipmunk.
The she-wolf pulled out a small remote and aimed at a section of the wall, which rose to show a pile of junk, much to the AI's disappointment and the chipmunk's relief. "That was scrapped after the war concluded, lynx. All that remains are bits of metal to be reused."
"No matter. This will do." Having said that, Nicole proceeded to grab about a couple pounds worth of metal and stuffed it into a hidden leather sack on her person.
Sally was barely following what was transpiring before her. "Where did you get-?"
"No time. Let's go Sally!" Much like Sonic, she rushed ahead as well. "See you at the entrance..." Her voice trailed off in the distance as the young leader reached out with a single hand.
Lupe pulled her out of her stupor with a clawed hand, pointing further into the Wolf-Pack hall. "I'll go get the others. Stay with your friends."
"You got it, Lupe. Don't keep us waiting!" Please. Both of you. Stay safe!
Chapter 4
Sonic flinched as bits of rock flew past him at the entrance that emptied out into the Great Unknown. Bits of charged clouds sped past as he watched a large portal start to form in the sky. He heard the laughter echo throughout the canyon once more. "Man, this ghost really likes to make an entrance!"
He instinctively shot an arm out to stop Nicole, who was the next to arrive! "OH! What -is- that?"
"Careful. It's really lighting up out here!" The portal twisted and curved, eventually settling on a perfect circle. Spirals of purple and yellow energy pulsed from within. It began to pull the two towards it! "Whoa! Find something to hang onto!"
"Oh my...gosh...!" The blue blur propped his legs on a nearby boulder and used his other hand to grab Sally before she sped past! "Sonic...! Is that...!?"
"The Void." The lynx said without emotion, as if reading off a description. "A portal to another dimension, but no records show of any occurrences in the Great Unknown until now."
"Now's not the time to go full bot on us, Nicole! Whoa..." As he grabbed Sally's vest with his other arm, he turned to see that the AI was rooted to the spot, using bits of metal to hold her position through static. "Past cool."
Her eyes glowed purple as she held a finger upward. A blue beam shot out of it, expanding horizontally as it traced across the sky. "Scanning the area for further reactions. Is Sally secure?"
"I'm...fine Nicole! I completely forgot those portals were still around!" The chipmunk gripped Sonic tightly, and he brought her in closer.
"The portal is stabilizing. I'm detecting another structure coming out of it... Oh!" The lynx brought her hands to her mouth suddenly. "Is that...a Doomsday Pod!?"
–
The pod jettisoned itself out the portal directly into the lightning cloud, as it adjusted its altitude. "What a waste. It's gonna get smoked before it does anything!" Sonic observed, watching the craft attempt to dodge the bolts coming towards it.
Suddenly, he saw a curious metal start to creep over the pod, covering it in its entirety. "What the...? Yo Nicole, scan that if ya can!"
"You got it my main hedgehog!" The horizontal beam ran over the area, and her eyes widened as she finished her scan. "That's...void crystal!" As she spoke, a lucky strike from the storm struck the craft and it glowed in a golden color for a brief moment as the shock traveled across its hull. It remained there, unharmed.
"That's not good! Sonic, is it impenetrable?" Sally wondered aloud, looking up to him for any answer, good or bad.
"Nothing's unbreakable Sal! We'll just have to find a way to open up this tin can!" Everyone, including the recently arriving Wolf-Pack watched silently as the pod drew closer, hovering above the stunned group.
A large blue beam shot out from the vehicle, striking the ground near them. It sizzled as a familiar shape began to form. A perfect hologram of a man appeared, with only slight static and deformations marring the image. Clad in red and white with a billowing yellow cape, stroking his immense orange mustache, the immense being regarded the ones who now stood before him. "What a nice surprise... All of my mortal enemies in the same place!"
"Robotnik..." Sonic said, spitting at the ground. "Can't keep you down for even a second!"
END OF ACT I
