Chapter 112: The Iblis Trigger - Part 3

Last time on Sonic the Hedgehog, Agatha's group were suddenly ambushed by the shadowy folk calling themselves the Children of Ixis. While Agatha defeated her assassin, Silver and Gold were kidnapped, leading to her mounting a rescue attempt to save them. But to no avail as the leading figure himself brings her down...

Starring:

Sally Acorn - Leader of the Freedom Fighters
Blaze the Cat - Pyro-dancer
Princess Elise the Third - Heir to Soleanna

Soleanna New City

*Sally was holding her communicator in a frozen bit of worry. Agatha had just cut communications with her, leading to her solo mission in the last chapter.*

Blaze: "Agatha just went on her own without any back up?"

Sally: "Agh! What is she thinking!? This is supposed to be a team effort!"

Elise: "Sally, calm down. Please..."

*Elise puts a hand on Sally's shoulder before smiling.*

Elise: "Agatha will be okay, won't she? I've only known her for a moment, but she did look tough enough to handle herself."

Sally: "I... Well... I mean... Yes, she is tough... But no matter how tough she is, going in alone isn't a smart thing to do without a plan..."

Blaze: "And it puts us in a pretty big bind. We don't know where in Soleanna she went."

*The girls begin the think on it a bit more before Sally comes up with an idea.*

Sally: "Maybe whatever lead Agatha found in the library can help us find her. Elise, Blaze? What do you think?"

Elise: "It is worth a try. But what are you hoping to find?"

Sally: "At the moment? Anything..."

*Sally, Blaze, and Elise run off towards the Castle Town's library in order to find whatever clues they could to find Agatha.*

Soleanna Castle Town; Library

*At the library, several town guard were already there investigating what happened. Elise, still in hiding, hung back and let Sally and Blaze speak with the guards.*

Guard: "This place is under investigation. If you want to check-out a book, you'll have to look elsewhere."

Sally: "N-No... Um... We heard about some commotion here and wanted to see if we could help."

*The guard didn't seem to believe Sally but after a moment, just shrugged.*

Guard: "Fine. We arrested a guy in a hooded robe...who are caught in a block of ice. We're in the middle of a hot summer and yet he still got frozen...what are the odds?"

Blaze: "Would that be Agatha's doing?"

Sally: "Likely. She said Silver and Gold were attacked by goons wearing robes so no doubt they tried to attack her and paid dearly for it."

Guard: "..."

Sally: "Um... You wouldn't know what was on the robe that could clue us in on where we can find our friend, would you?"

*The guard begins to think before realizing there was a clue.*

Guard: "The robe had a lot of sand. If I were to take a guess, he might have come from Wave Ocean. Its a popular beach site, but we've been seeing some strange activity that way."

Sally: "Strange activity?"

Guard: "Some reports of say they saw Mobians leaving the beach toward a restricted part of Wave Ocean. Mostly just cliffs and stuff down that path, yet those Mobians don't ever come back."

Blaze: "Then we have our lead. Let's go!"

*The girls leave, though unaware that where they are going is the furthest they could go from Agatha...*

Wave Ocean

*The trio arrive to Wave Ocean, looking around the beach area for anything resembling a path leading away from the beach. Elise finds one which prompts them to head that way.*

Elise: "Wave Ocean is a lot bigger than just the beach area. It actually spans to multiple cliffs and beaches across the Soleanna shore."

Blaze: "...So I see..."

*Blaze takes a step back, not really wanting to take a dip in the ocean if she can help it.*

Sally: "...? Not big on oceans, Blaze?"

Blaze: "I can swim in it just fine. It's just that when I am wet, it limits my fire abilities. I...learned how bad this is the hard way..."

Sally: "Ah, it's fine. You could stay here and watch our backs!"

Blaze: "...Not funny."

Elise: "It was a little funny."

*The trio ran through Wave Ocean, Sally and Elise taking the low route while Blaze stuck to the high road, leaping from cliff to cliff. She sees the two girls stop at a beach before leaping down to join them.*

Blaze: "Find something?"

Elise: "A hatch. Mind giving us a hand? Its pretty heavy..."

*The three girls start to move the hidden iron hatch, sliding it just to the side as they reveal a hole down.*

Sally: "Where does this lead?"

Elise: "I don't know. I don't think anyone is even aware of this being here..."

Voice: "And no one evah will!"

*The trio turn and find themselves surrounded by cloaked figures! The Children of Ixis had arrived and began an assault, with some using magic from afar while a few jumped down to attack directly.*

Sally: "Blaze! Elise! To me!"

*Elise created a barrier using some form of magic while Blaze ignites her hands, readying herself for a fight. Sally readied her bracelet blades as she avoids a fire ball from one of the long range mages, getting into a close range battle with a metal staff using Child. When he attempts to pin her down to the ground, she kicks him over her before getting back on her feet.*

Blaze: "These guys mean business..."

Elise: "Yeah, well... So do we!"

*Elise looks on as a mage conjures forth a bolt of lightning, aiming it at Blaze.*

Elise: "LOOK OUT!"

*The human princess conjures forth a barrier, blocking the lightning from hitting Blaze. She gets scorched on the shoulder by a stray fire ball, causing her minor pain. Blaze is quick to return fire at the mage that fired that fire ball before checking on Elise.*

Blaze: "Are you alright?"

Elise: "Me? Just a little burn. Nothing I can't handle."

*Sally kicks a Child back before jumping back to her friends.*

Sally: "They're not giving us a lot of room. We need to get out of the open!"

Elise: "Agreed. Blaze?"

Blaze: "Cover your eyes..."

*Blaze's fire ignites over her body before she unleashes a bright light, similar to the sun in order to blind the Children of Ixis for a moment. When the Children are able to see, all they see is a scorch mark on the ground but the girls are gone.*

Child: "Find them! Get rid of the other two, but do not kill the human princess!"

*The Children scatter, going off to find the trio of girls, unaware that they hadn't gone that far. Blaze peeks from behind some bushes before looking around to see if the coast was clear.*

Blaze: "I guess they were a bit tougher than we were expecting."

Sally: "Magic wasn't always easy to deal with. I imagine a spar with Agatha would prove a lot more difficult."

*Sally turns to Elise and examines the burn mark.*

Sally: "Looks pretty serious. We should get you some help."

Elise: "I'll be fine, Sally. Nothing I can't handle."

*Elise pulls out her princess gloves she had stashed away and turns them into a makeshift bandage, covering her wound up.*

Elise: "There. That should do."

Blaze: "Hmm... I don't think Agatha's been through here..."

Sally: "What do you mean, Blaze?"

Blaze: "Think about it. If Agatha had been through here, she'd knock these guys out by now. The fact this place was so well guarded means that she didn't come from here."

Elise: "Well that just sucks... We'll need to head back and regroup then."

Sally: "Agreed. I'll contact Tails and Amy and ask them come as reinforcements. We'll need all the help we can-"

*A sudden missile comes from the air, surprising the girls as it explodes between them and scattering them. Blaze seems to have taken the brunt of the attack as she is left on the ground heavily injured. Elise tries to blow away the smoke but can't, blinding her as a robot comes and snatches her. Sally runs up and sees...a battleship in the air. It was a new Egg Carrier!*

Sally: "Eggman!?"

Voice: "Not quite."

*Sally turns and gets caught by a swarm of tiny bee-like Badniks, all attacking and lifting her up until she was over the ocean. Another missile is launched from the Egg Carrier, this one landing a direct hit on Sally as she is sent into the ocean, sinking underwater. Standing over Blaze, a womanly figure looks down upon the cat.*

Jenni: "You are different... Perhaps you'll make...for a nice Badnik."

*A capsule descends from the Egg Carrier, landing beside the two as Blaze is tossed inside it. Jenni goes to her Egg Mobile and takes off back to the Carrier, leaving Sally to her fate.*

To be continued...