In my time of living, I have experienced... Regret, sadness, anger, and...true terror... Years upon years of these emotions that have followed me to the present, haunting me... Praying on my very soul... I never tell those closest to me... I choose not to... And it has led to my downfall... My mistakes of the past... Perhaps... In some twisted form of irony... I deserve this... For ever reading that book... For ever awakening that...demon... For ever...creating them... The Chidren of Ixis... This is my own sin... My own punishment...

My own personal Hell...

*Agatha awakens to a devestating sight... A destroyed Kingdom of Acorn, dead trees surrounding her, and a dark overcast that gave off a forboding feeling.*

Agatha: "...Where...am I...? What happened here...?"

*She tries to clear her mind and think of what happened before she fell unconscious... But it becomes a blur as she feels a presence. She turns around and finds a figure.*

Agatha: "Excuse me... What has happened here?"

Figure: "He...destroyed us... None of us were ready... None of us survived..."

Agatha: "What? But you stand before me..."

Figure: "Yes... To blame you!"

*Agatha is jump scared by the figure turning to face her, revealing it to be a zombified Sally Acorn, her face mangled beyond description. The cat jumped and toppled down a hill before crashing into a grave stone. There she found the names of all of her friends on various stones.*

Agatha: "What... No... This cannot be... Something is wrong..."

*A hand comes out of the ground, scaring her as more zombies rose out, each of them being her friends.*

Sonic: "You brought him onto us..."

Maurice: "You...set him free..."

Tails: "You killed us..."

Everyone: "You did this..."

*They began to repeat "You did this..." causing Agatha to cry before she finally...*

Agatha: "ENOUGH!"

*...unleashes a wave of fire, burning away the zombies and silencing them. She starts to pant, clenching her heart to calm it down before another hand grabbed and held her down. It was a mutated monstrosity of her own mother, Blair.*

Blair: "You left us to die... Your whole village... You could have saved us..."

Agatha: "No... I... I could not... I was..."

Voice: "Too weak?"

*Agatha hears the voice and looks around, seeing a large figure form, revealing himself...as Mogul.*

Agatha: "...No... Why... How!?"

Mogul: "Hahaha! You truly thought you were free of me? Pathetic whelp... I haunt even your nightmares..."

*Mogul reached out and grabbed Agatha by the neck, choking her before unleashing pulses of magical energy to shock her, she crying out in pain.*

Dusty Desert Ruins

*In the dark chambers in an unknown set of ruins of Dusty Desert, Agatha is seen lying on a table, yelling and screaming out in pain as she thrashes about. All while the leader of the Children of Ixis, Scorn, watches on with delight.*

Scorn: "Feel the wrath of the Children of Ixisss, Forbidden One. You have betrayed our massster and will feel the consssequencessss..."

*The other Children of Ixis stand next to him, chanting in the name of Mogul a prayer. However, they soon hear what sounds like explosions outside.*

Scorn: "HISS! Are thossse outsssidersss here already? Thossse...robotsss... If it isss..."

*He turns to a few of his Children.*

Scorn: "We shall retire to our Sssanctum. If it isss those robotsss...allow them to take the Forbidden One... Here or with them, it mattersss not..."

*He leaves with the rest of the Children of Ixis, leaving three to stand guard. But what came crashing down was not a bunch of robots...but a red and yellow hammer coming down on a Child's head and slamming them to the ground. The figure looked up, a look of pure rage on her face.*

Amy: "Leave our friend... ALONE!"

Child: "Wah! It- It's the Forbidden One's minions! Alert Lord Sco-"

*The Child is attacked by the force of a curled up bunny girl and two Chao joining her.*

Cream: "Nobody messes with my friends and gets away with it! Cheese! Blair! Get them!"

*The last Child tried running away to warn Scorn, but gets knocked into a wall by the two Chao slamming into them, knocking them out cold. Amy runs up to the screaming Agatha and starts praying.*

Amy: "Please let this work... Out of everything these rings have done for me, healing my friend is what I wish for the most..."

*Amy's ring bracelets start to glow before she places her hands on Agatha's head.*

Agatha's Subconscious

*Agatha was on her hands and knees, a crying and bleeding mess as she lost any fight she had left. Mogul starts to lift her up through his telepathy.*

Mogul: "A sad excuse for a vessel. And to think you could have been part of something greater if you had just stuck beside me."

Voice: "And you're a sad excuse for magicial, tusks!"

*Mogul looks around but gets smacked in the head by a hammer from a pink glowing spirit with a glare on her eyes. Agatha looks up and recognizes the shape of the spirit.*

Agatha: "A...Amy...?"

Amy: "Agatha! You need to wake up! All of this? Mobius destroyed? The freakshow? This monster? They are all illusions!"

Agatha: "But... But I let loose..."

Amy: "You may have brought Mogul back to life, but you did the right thing in joining us! None of us would ever blame you for the past! Not me, not Sally, not Sonic, and not Maurice! We're all your friends!"

Agatha: "...My...friends..."

*Mogul rises once again, standing tall over the two girls. Agatha begins to collect herself, closing her eyes as her injuries mend themselves. Her body then glows as the seven Chaos Emeralds in her mind start to gather around her, her clothing changing from purple to a bright blue.*

Agatha: "Plagues of my mind! Begone! I do not fear you! I have moved on from my past! I have moved on from my sins! While you all will be a reminder of my darkest times... You will not weigh me down from living my life! From protecting those I hold dear! Now by my command..."

*She forms a glowing orb in her palm, raising it high in the sky.*

"BEGONE!"

*A mighty explosion of light engulfs the entire mind scape, obliterating the nightmares as they disintegrate. Agatha looks on at the world cleansed before her, she and Spirit Amy now standing on a green meadow as a soft wind blows.*

Amy: "Whoa... You have your own Super form?"

Agatha: "...Perhaps I did and never knew... Or perhaps it was merely myself gaining what I needed from my own imagination..."

*Agatha turns to Amy before smiling.*

Agatha: "But thank you, Amy... I... I owe you..."

*Amy smiles before extending a hand out, offering to help wake Agatha up. The cat nods and grabs the hand, returning to reality with Amy.*

Dusty Desert Ruins

*Agatha begins to blink awake as she stirs back to the land of the living. Amy and Cream step back as the cat regains her senses.*

Agatha: "Ugh... My head hurts something fierce..."

Cream: "AGATHA!"

*Cream jumps at Agatha and hugs her tightly, crying out as she did.*

Cream: "I'M SO SORRY! IT'S MY FAULT YOU GOT IN TROUBLE LIKE THIS! I shouldn't have been so sad when I heard about Albion... And about my friends... I made you sad...and then you left because you were sad... I'm so sorry, Mrs. Agatha..."

Agatha: "...Hush now, little one..."

*Agatha pets Cream on the head, smiling brightly.*

Agatha: "It is only natural for a growing girl to cry... Especially after losing those she holds dear... You deserve your tears... I did not..."

*The two look at each other before hugging it out, showing a deep compassion for each other.*

Agatha: "But... What are you two doing here?"

Amy: "To rescue you, duh."

Agatha: "...No... I meant what are you doing in Soleanna? And how did you find me?"

Amy: "Oh that. Um... Well... We kind of hitched a ride to Soleanna after you guys left. Cream felt bad about you being sad and as long as I watched over her, Miss Vanilla said she could come to apologize. We noticed some creeps heading to Dusty Desert and followed them and spotted you being dragged through the desert to these ruins."

Agatha: "...Ah yes. I remember now... Scorn ambushed me after he kidnapped Silver and Gold..."

Cream: "Miss Gold and Mister Silver are here too!?"

Amy: "Then we got to save them."

Agatha: "Indeed..."

Amy: "And along the way..."

*Amy walks over to a sealed shut wall and slams her hammer into it, breaking it down.*

Amy: "Tell us who we're dealing with, huh?"

Agatha: "...Very well. I shall."

*Agatha and Cream stand beside Amy, Team Rose ready for a rescue mission!*

Chapter 114: Heroes Unite - Part 1

Starring:

Agatha the Cat - Cat Witch of a Dark Past
Amy Rose - Leader of Team Rose
Cream the Rabbit - Lover of All
Silver the Hedgehog - Hero of the Future
Gold the Tenrec - Telepath of a Ruined World

Dusty Desert Ruins

*In another part of the desert ruins, Silver begins to awaken, blinking his eyes as he starts to look around.*

Silver: "Ugh... Where am I...?"

Gold: "Awake, are we?"

Silver: "Gold?"

*Silver feels shuffling behind him, barely seeing Gold tied up behind him.*

Silver: "What's going on? Why are we tied up?"

Gold: "We are prisoners to some cult. Those that worship Mogul..."

Silver: "What!? Why worship that monster?"

Gold: "Never mind the 'why'. From what I could read of their minds, they are using us as bait for the one they call 'the Forbidden One'... Master Agatha..."

Silver: "Grr... No way are they going to get away with that... Hold on... I'm going to try and get us loose."

*Silver begins to concentrate, breathing slowly as he starts to manipulate the rope tied around their wrists to untie itself. Once they were loose, Silver and Gold stood up, rubbing their wrists and ankles.*

Silver: "Hah. I guess they didn't suspect a psychic hedgehog being their enemy."

Gold: "It at least gave us an advantage. But we need to leave these ruins without drawing attention."

*A wall slides open as two robed figures see Silver and Gold free.*

Child: "Woah! How'd they get free!?"

*One child gets ready to fight while the other tries to run away to alert the others. Silver catches the battle ready Child with his psychic powers and tosses them to the nearest wall.*

Silver: "So about not drawing attention..."

Gold: "Oh shut up..."

*The two run out of the room and run into a puzzle involving what appear to be billiard balls.*

Gold: "Pool?"

Silver: "I don't see any water though, Gold."

Gold: "No not that pool... It's a game involving balls like these."

*Silver tries to move the balls with his mind, but finds them too heavy. Frustrated, he just finds the wall that appeared to be an entrance.*

Silver: "Screw that puzzle. I'll force the door open if I need to..."

*Silver begins to concentrate and try to force the wall to by using his telekinesis. The wall begins to lift by his command but as he finishes opening it, a hammer comes right at him...and bonks him on the head. Amy, standing on the other side, holds her hand against her mouth as she realizes her mistake.*

Amy: "Oops... Um... Found them..."

Silver: "Look Gold... Birds..."

*Silver collapses on the ground, knocked out by Amy's hammer swing.*

Gold: "...He'll...be okay..."

A little time later...

*Silver had woken up, a bandage on his head provided by Cream and her Chao. Amy only laughs nervously over her overzealousness in swinging her hammer.*

Amy: "Again... Sorry, Silver... Totally meant to hit the wall..."

Silver: "It's fine. Teaches me to wait before lifting..."

Gold: "Well in any case... It is good to see you, Agatha... I didn't expect you to bring the whole team though."

Agatha: "...They invited themselves actually..."

Silver: "So who are the guys in cloaks? Part of some secret club?"

Agatha: "Sort of... They are referred to as the 'Children of Ixis', a group of Mogul worshippers who follow his gospel... And my own as I had created them..."

Gold: "You created them?"

Agatha: "Hm. During my days under Mogul's influence, I would lead the Children of Ixis to attack various villages and spread Mogul's influence to those poor and helpless enough to believe his lies... After I betrayed him, they branded me the 'Forbidden One' and have since tried hunting me down."

Amy: "In other words, a group of people who enjoy being basement dwellers way too much."

Agatha: "I had a suspicion that they were after Elise, but for what purpose I cannot say... But it may involve the Iblis Trigger..."

Silver: "So we need to find Sally and the others..."

Agatha: "Yes. But we can't leave the Children unattended. They could go after Elise at any moment and that would spell trouble... The sooner they are dealt with, the better."

Amy: "Well, you know those creeps better than us. You take the lead, Aggy."

Agatha: "Who? Me?"

Cream: "Yeah, Miss Agatha. We need someone who knows these bullies and you do."

Gold: "We've got your back."

Silver: "And once they have been taken care of, it'll be straight to Sally and the others."

*Agatha looked at her friends before smiling, closing her eyes.*

Agatha: "And to think... I wanted to solve this matter myself... But that was my error... Together, as a team, no obstacle is impossible to overcome..."

*The team nods, looking ready to get going as Agatha led ahead, the group rushing through the ruins and the various traps in them. Once at the end, Agatha opened up a hidden stairway behind an altar descending into darkness.*

Soleanna Catacombs

*The group stick close together, sand dropping from the desert above as they walked through the dark tunnels with only Agatha's fire as a source of light.*

Agatha: "The catacombs of Soleanna would make for an excellent hiding spot for the Children. To be able to spy on Elise and to set up various bases right from under the citizens' noses."

Cream: "I-It's so dark in here..."

Amy: "Don't worry. We'll keep you safe. Right, gang?"

Silver: "Sure will!"

Gold: Do you think these catacombs expand all the way throughout Soleanna?"

Agatha: "Perhaps. Buckle in... We're in for a long walk..."

Children of Ixis Lair

*Within the lair of the Children of Ixis, Scorn was meeting with three other Children who were giving him varying reports.*

Child A: "Our old base at White Acropolis was overrun by robots. The Eggman Empire was ruthless as we tried to escape. We have successfully blocked off access to White Acropolis from the catacombs, but we've lost so many of our own..."

Child B: "That's not all. The intruders at Wave Ocean had been attacked by them as well. They took our target to White Acropolis... Meaning we have no way to retrieve her!"

Child C: "And our hostages escaped their bindings at Dusty Desert... Which includes the Forbidden One... And they are likely to come here!"

Scorn: "Idiots! Numbskulls! Useless, all of you! If nothing else, the end of the Forbidden One would have forgiven the other atrocities. But because she still lives, we have no choice but fight back... Prepare yourselves brothers and sisters! Our fight has only begun!"

*The Children scatter, all heading to their fighting stations to prepare for Agatha and her friends' arrival. All while their benefactor watches.*

Mephiles: "...Hmph. What fools... Mortals are so easy to manipulate under the right conditions... But this 'Forbidden One' interests me... Perhaps... I can make her obey me with just enough...persuasion..."

To be continued...