MerendinoEmilano: I'm glad you liked it so much.

Daedriel: Can a Dark Guard produce more than a spear? Yes, they can produce all sorts of things with the dark magic… I'll leave that there. Can they manifest multiple weapons? yes, but working arms are a little tricky, and not something most would attempt. It takes a lot more concentration to control extra arms than it does to just swing around a spear or sword.

As for Whisper… I wasn't sure when to introduce her, but about fifty chapters after her first impact on the story, I feel like I've kept her out of the spotlight for two long. I went with a type of discarding armor for Whisper, where blades make up plates, but can be removed to be swords if need be. And as Whisper put it herself, "Don't trust what you see or hear." With regards to everything Sonic saw after he was infected with Venom.

As for Hamlin, I have plans for him as well, and while he might be under Johan's thumb currently, a lot can change.

/*-*/

Sonic ran around the town and did checks on the little things. The first stop was the kitchen, where Christina was with some of the wives of the carpenters, and some young men who also wanted to cook. Sonic saw four large boxes of tiny rolled pastries, with Christina standing between a grey wolf woman and a young fox.

As Sonic walked up from behind, he heard Christina walking through the process, "Now-a mix the cheese with-a the dill. Stir-a till mixed."

Sonic heard the sound of a spoon striking a wooden bowl. He saw another team working on pastries, and another team working on dips. Sonic cleared his throat, "Um… How's it going?"

Christina jumped a bit and Sonic pulled back as she spun around, panting. She managed to catch the bowl in her hand and took a breath, "Ah, lord-a. We're-a just going to make-a some more puffs-a. The food-a is almost-a done."

Sonic nodded with a smile, "Thank you Christina, and everyone involved." Sonic raised his voice to ensure that everyone in the room heard him well, "Thank you all. It means a lot to me that everyone is coming together to make this festival amazing."

He got a couple nods, when one a lady sow came over to him, "Pardon me, lord, but what is this festival over?"

"Oh… uh… Elias is having a kid." Sonic smiled, a little embarrassed at the reason. He then asked, "Why?"

The sow frowned, "I thought you might be celebrating the adoption of so many orphans, like my little Michael." She seemed to hold it to Sonic.

Sonic took a moment to think about that. That was a more noble reason, and telling everyone they had to be happy and cheerful probably wouldn't make everyone happy or cheerful. Sonic weighed it carefully, before nodding, "You know what? Let's make it a day celebrating life. The kids who make our lives so joyful."

Sonic gave the sow a smile, and she nodded.

Sonic then left and went down to the carpenter's guild to see how decorations were coming. The weaver's guild was working to make banners with the Carpenter's guild, so visiting one helped Sonic deal with the other. He zipped into the workshop, and met with the head carpenter.

The Fox was busy talking to one of the weavers, "Now, we need four ties, not six."

"But six will keep it stable." Countered the sheep, who pointed to the wooden posts laid out.

"Hey, how's it coming?" Sonic asked, almost laughing from the argument.

"Ah, lord Sonic, I was wondering if you might settle this dispute we are having." The head carpenter smiled confidently at the wooden posts, "I believe that we need four ties to keep the banners up. He wants to use more wool and wood to make six tying points because he believes that the banners will be more secure."

Sonic blinked, before thinking. They really only needed these banners for a few days. Sonic frowned as he came to the conclusion, " I think that the four ties should be good… and Uh… can you make a change to the banners?"

The head carpenter and the sheep looked at Sonic with blinking, confused eyes. The weaver asked, "What would you like?"

Sonic gave a thumbs up, "Can you change the banner to say "Congratulations people" instead of "Congratulations Elias", or something like that?" Sonic asked, giving a big smile.

The weaver sucked his lips in but nodded, "Yeah, we can do that."

Sonic pumped a fist, "Thank you!" He ran off to Freedom Headquarters to tell Elias and Sally about the little changes and that everything was almost ready.

As he walked through the door, Sonic was about to shout when he realized that some of the Freedom Fighters might be taking a nap. So Sonic walked down the hallway that led to the cafeteria/mess hall. He stopped when he heard some talking.

Sonic was usually above ease dropping, but he felt something come over him that made him hesitate to walk around the corner.

"How did you know?" Sally's voice quivered, as she struggled to maintain her composure. She was having a moment.

"Your… symptoms, they sounded familiar. I'm surprised Sonic didn't figure it out." Elias mumbled, and Sonic looked around the corner. Sonic saw Elias looking off, having a smile that threatened to either grow or crumble. Sonic saw Sally sitting at the table, eating a bar of chocolate.

"I'm honestly glad he's too stupid to figure it out." Sally groaned, taking a bite out of it. She drank a glass of green liquid. She recoiled at the flavor as Sonic felt like he got stabbed.

"He's not being stupid, He's just happy that you aren't dying according to what the doctor told him." Elias sighed, and Sonic saw his eyes wander towards the door way, Sonic pulled back. Maybe he was hoping she would say something to counter what she just said. Elias continued, "I'm glad too…"

Did Elias see him? Sonic didn't know, but he took a deep breath.

Sally groaned, gritting her teeth as she ate another bite of chocolate, "Come on, he's very stupid. He didn't even notice Fiona sneaking out."

"He assumes the best in people. He wants the best in people." Elias sighed, and Sonic could hear him tapping his feet, "At least he used to. Now, I think he's becoming more perceptive, and less trusting." Elias actually sounded like he felt bad.

"Well, It might do him some good." Sally growled, before sighing, as if suddenly becoming depressed, "I don't want to hurt him, but I can't help that he's so dumb." Sonic felt her metaphorical knife twist inside him.

"What would you say if he, in his many bursts of sporadic speed and movement, burst in here right now and heard that? Do you love?" Elias asked, as if wounded from her comments about Sonic.

She growled, once again becoming angry, "He knows. That's my answer for both of those questions." She growled, slamming a fist on table, panting in anger.

She wasn't wrong. Sonic knew he wasn't exactly a genius. He wasn't calm or collective. He wasn't the type to plot in the shadows. Sonic knew he was impulsive, and probably quicker to acting before he though than the other way around. But it hurt for her to say those things about him.

Sonic slumped back against the door frame. He really didn't want to hear anymore.

"Well… You'll have to take time off eventually. Even if he isn't exactly smart, eventually he will catch on." Elias countered, being firm with his sister.

Sally sighed, and Sonic could tell she slumped down from the sound of her voice, "When that day comes, I'll take some medical leave until it passes. That will probably be a while. Until then we keep going forward." Sally growled, being just as firm back.

Sonic got off the wall and walked in, "Hey, what's going on?" Sonic put up a smile, and sat down, a few seats away from Sally.

Sally's eyes widened and she tensed up, "H-How long have you been listening?"

Elias looked incredibly uncomfortable, before passing a look of "I told you so" to his sister.

Sonic sighed, "Long enough to know that I am apparently too stupid for you… I guess." Sonic felt wounded, he was hurt by those words. Still, he couldn't find it in his heart angry… just sad.

"That's not… I don't…" Sally looked helpless as she turned to her brother for support.

Elias gulped, "What's going on?" He seemed to just want to push past the awkwardness. Sonic agreed.

"Well, the decorations are almost done, but I changed the festival's meaning a bit. I went to celebrating all of the kids coming into their parent's lives." Sonic put up a smile, and turned slightly as Sally climbed over a seat to get closer to Sonic.

Elias gulped, "That's good. I'm sure dad would like the fanfare of royalty, but I believe that this will be a good opportunity for everyone to enjoy their children."

Sonic nodded, "Well, I am glad you aren't mad at me for that. I guess I can go check on everything before the next three days of partying." Sonic stood up, and walked back to the doorway.

Sally followed, which was the only reason Sonic didn't zip off. "Sonic, come on I didn't mean it like that."

Sonic kept walking as Sally followed behind, "You did. You meant every word."

Sally began to cry, another mood swing most likely, "Don't be so mean!"

"Is that how you talk about me when I'm out? Do you and Geoffrey laugh at me behind my back?" Sonic demanded, jerking around, perhaps being a little harsher than he should have been, but he was hurt.

Sally shrank down, "N-no, we don't talk like that."

Sonic felt is jaw lock in anger, before he sighed, "You know, I was happy that you weren't dying. I knew something was fishy, but if it was bad, the Doc would have kept you there, so I didn't pry." Sonic watched her shrink lower, almost falling back.

He caught himself, and took a deep breath, "Let's just get through these three days. Maybe have some fun? Whatever." Sonic groaned, and zipped back into the city, leaving Sally alone to maybe think about being honest with him.

Sonic did his last-minute checkups. The food was great, and on schedule. There was plenty of booze ready to be sold, although the bartender was not exactly keen on letting Sonic try some. The masons didn't have a lot to do with the festival, so Sonic didn't really check on them. He walked through the east side of town. Several of the large buildings, now abandoned as the people from conquered territories moved back to resettle their lands.

Sonic still saw a few mobians walking about, but the deserted nature of that particular street was… unnerving. Sonic walked over to the Blacksmith houses. The ox was standing there, slamming the hammer on more nails, "Good evn' lord, what brings you here?"

Sonic smiled at him, "Hey, have you seen a wolf?" Sonic realized how blatant he just asked that. Sonic really wasn't good at tact.

The ox nodded, "Of course. Wolves come and go all through the city. A few merchants that come here are wolves." The ox seemed to laugh at his joke.

"I mean a consistent wolf who comes here. She may have been heavily armed with a gun I've never seen before. Long rifle." Sonic stuttered, trying to explain what he saw.

The ox frowned, "No, nothing like that. Why'd you think she was out here?"

Sonic scowled, "Well, she had a toolshed where she did work. She patched her wounds with what looked like tongs." Sonic sighed.

"You know, now that you mention it, We had to work on a plow out in the farmlands, so we put some tools in the work shed out by the farms. You may want to check on them. South side." The ox explained with a smile, and went back to hammering the iron.

Sonic nodded and ran out the southern gate, turning into the breaks in the fields where the farmers would carry plows without tearing up the fields. He saw the shed standing at the cross of the two pathways. Sonic zipped inside.

He wasn't sure what he was hoping for. Sonic naively expected to find her sitting there, waiting to give him answers. Sonic was right about the shed, though. He saw the blood stains from where she had performed surgery on herself. Sonic walked over to the table where the work had been done. Maybe he really was stupid.

It wasn't all pointless, however, as when Sonic looked at the table, he saw a note. It wasn't written in a language he could understand. Sonic still picked up the letter and walked out, before looking at the blood on the table. He may have wanted to clean that up before it became a real problem.

Sonic made a note of that before realizing that the festival was going to start at sunset, and the sun was starting to decline. Sonic ran back to Freedom Headquarters, and made sure that everyone was ready. He came inside to see Geoffrey pleading with Sally.

"Please, that beast is up to something, and I don't think we can stop him if you don't something soon!" Geoffrey was… begging. Sonic would have relished the idea that Geoffrey was begging and on his knees, but it was so out of character for him that Sonic felt more on guard by what he was saying.

Sally shook her head, "I can't do "Something" over someone plotting "Something". I need more information than just, he's up to something."

Sonic gulped, unable to believe what he was about to say, "Maybe we should listen to him? I don't know, this sounds really bad."

Sally jerked around and her face softened at the sight of Sonic, " Sonic… I-… I am very sorry about-"

Sonic waved her off, "It's all good. You were having a mood swing, I get it." Sonic put up a smile. He was not ok, but he didn't feel like it was the right time to get frustrated with her, "I think we need to hear what he has to say."

Sally recoiled slightly, but nodded. Elias had come out and heard the commotion, and he also wore the shock after hearing Sonic agree with Geoffrey.

"Look, I know the republic is at risk. That Wolverine is trying to destroy it." Geoffrey exclaimed, "He's going to give Nagus dictator privileges."

"Is he doing anything illegal?" Sally groaned, sighing in anger. As if this was a waste of time.

"Well… I don't know." Geoffrey sighed looking pitiful, "Nagus isn't planning with me anymore."

Sally thought for a moment, before her anger grew, "You know what I think? I think you are jealous that you aren't Nagus's golden boy anymore. You've been replaced, like we told you would happen. Now you want us to start something with a monster that could hurt all of us easily."

Geoffrey went to say something to plead his case, but Sally clearly had enough, and Sonic again felt pity for a guy who had only served to ruin his life, "I've heard enough out of you. I can't do anything about him, so stop asking me to."

They left that there and the Freedom Fighters walked outside. Sonic scooped up Sally, and took her back to the manor, where a stage had been built. Sonic saw Tails flying around, checking the ties on the banners and putting up lanterns.

Sonic set Sally down at the manor, and noticed her black, rather exposing dress. He shifted nervously and she did the same. This was awkward for them. Sonic scratched the back of his head, "You look nice."

Sally smiled softly, "I know those words hurt you. You aren't ok." She rubbed his face gently and Sonic leaned into her hand.

"I'll get over it. I always do." Sonic smiled at her, and actually felt relaxed. He was almost asleep at her touch.

"We shouldn't have to do this. I shouldn't have these moments of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time." Sally sighed, her voice full of regret. Sonic was actually getting angry over those words.

He growled slightly, "I just want you to be honest with me. I'd like you to tell me what is going on. I want to be there if anything goes wrong."

Sally pressed her forehead against his, "You don't have anything to worry about."

Sonic wasn't satisfied with that answer but he figured it was the best he was going to get. It ate at him inside.

They stayed like that for a few moments, before Sally pulled her head back, "There is a festival to be had."

Sonic nodded and pulled away. He zipped outside in front of the manor. Apparently, a lot of the city's citizens were waiting for him. Sonic saw the large wooden stage that was constructed for this moment. Then again, they could always reuse it for any later announcements.

Sonic walked up the stage, and saw the people all giving him expectant looks. Sonic was always a people hedgehog, but he felt a bit of stage fright at the stand.

Sonic cleared his throat, remembering that this whole festival was supposed to keep that monster away, "Wow, way to make a guy feel nervous. You all were waiting here for me to start." Sonic hoped for a roar of laughter, instead he got a few giggles.

Sonic gulped and laughed a little bit, trying to hide his nervous nature, "Well, I'm not really a good speech kind of guy, but I'll try this time. We are gather here, in our city, to celebrate life." Sonic looked around, and saw the freedom Fighters standing on the sidelines.

Sonic smiled, "We're here to celebrate those special people who come into our lives and change them for the better. Whether it's your own kid on the way-" Sonic looked at Elias, before turning to the crowd, "Or maybe it's a kid that isn't yours, but you took them in. Maybe it's a brother or sister who sits there with you. We are here to celebrate those people." Sonic smiled at the crowd.

The crowd still stood, as if to wait for something else from Sonic. Sonic tapped his foot, "Well, I said I'm not very good with speeches. Go on, have fun."

The crowd laughed a little, and went about. Some stalls had been set up to knock down old bottles. A few horse shoe rings and a lot of food lined the market street.

Sonic walked down the street, and met up with Tails, "You big sap." Tails teased with a laugh.

"Yeah, lay off me. I was on the spot." Sonic laughed as they walked down the street.

Tails crunched on a pastry, "Dude, have you tried these spinach puffs? They are awesome."

Sonic laughed, " Yeah, Christina knows what she's doing."

As Sonic walked further down, he saw Sticks, looking around in dark alleys.

"Hey!" Sonic called out as the Badger continued to sniff the air, stomping her feet in frustration. She scrambled deeper into the alley. Sonic figured it was important, and ran down to get a closer look.

"H-hey, Sonic… come on!" Tails called before the sputtering on tails revealed that he was following. Sonic turned the corner and saw Sticks, over by the orphanage, which was no longer populated as they had all gone out to eat and play games.

She was sniffing the air, and Sonic could tell she was getting infuriated with the lack of progress with… whatever she was doing.

Sonic called out again, "Hey Sticks!"

Sticks turned around to Sonic, and he actually got a look under her cloak. She had… several javelins, a spear, a couple of the knives like his wolf protector had. She was armed to the teeth.

Sonic slowed down, raising an eyebrow, "Is everything alright?"

Sticks nodded, growling, "I'm fine… I'm just looking for my sister." She was not fine, she was frustrated.

"Why are you so… sharp?" Sonic asked with a gulp. It wasn't that he thought she was going to do something violent, but if things got out of hand, Sonic knew people could get hurt.

Sticks, however, looked confused by his statement, "What? I always wear this… not that I don't like the compliment. You can do more, I don't mind." Sticks smiled at him, doing a little spin.

Sonic shook his head, "Why are you so armed?"

Sticks stopped her, spin, and frowned, "I always have these." She held up the knives, "And My Da is on the hunt. I'm gonna show him that I am just as much a Saxon as he is. Then he'll let me fight in the war."

"I didn't know you had a sister." Sonic stated, surprised. He knew about her "brothers" but not about any sister.

Sticks looked down, "We don't talk about her." Sonic felt like he just stepped on a conversation landmine. He opted to try and move on.

Sonic nodded slowly at that fool-proof logic. "So… You think your sister is here, in my city?"

"Yes." Sticks nodded, before scanning the roof tops.

"You… You sure you don't want to come and play with us in the festival?" Sonic asked, before remembering something.

He pulled out the letter he found in his shoe, "Hey… Uh, I found this in the shed where, your sister helped me, Could you read it?"

Sticks picked up the letter and seemed to read each line. Sonic waited patiently, or with as much patience as he could muster before he asked, "Can you… read it?"

Sticks nodded, "Yeah, she's grateful that you didn't lock the shed, or stir up anyone to attack her. She said don't… look for her." Sticks slumped at those last few words.

Sonic paused for a moment, before nodding, "Alright, then we won't look for her. Come on, let's go play some games. This whole festival is about life and joy. Let's enjoy it."

Sticks looked at Sonic as if he were crazy, but then she nodded, "Alright."

They walked out of the alley, and Sonic saw Tangle throwing a fist up in front of a "Knock over all the bottles and win a prize" stall, surrounded by kids who were probably half her age.

"That's cheating!" One of them cried.

Tangle shrugged, "Come on, no rule saying I can't use my tail."

"There should be one."

"Do you want the stuffed animal or not?" Tangle groaned, her shoulders slumping.

"Gimme-Gimme."

Sonic laughed and moved over to the next stall, which was also a "Knock over all the bottles and win a prize" stall.

Sticks looked bummed out, as they walked up.

"Step right up… knock over all the bottle and win a prize. We got a wooden toy cart, a wooden cup, a wooden box." The Fox advertised.

"Come on Sticks, play a round." Sonic slipped him a couple mobiums.

The Fox set up the bottles into three bowling pin formations, before handing Sonic four balls. Sonic handed Sticks the balls.

She halfhearted picked them up. The Fox stepped out of the way. Sonic got a rude reminder in that moment.

Sticks threw the three ball faster than Sonic's eyes could keep up. He saw the bottles all fall down with lightning precision. Sticks set the last ball down, before smiling at Sonic, "Yeah… that was fun."

Sonic blinked as Sticks walked off into the crowds.

"She's a skirmisher, she's used to throwing things with precision." Tails pointed out.

"Yeah… I'll remember that next time." Sonic laughed, seeing the poor fox look at his prizes he would have to give away. Sonic shook his head, "Don't worry about it."

Sonic saw the look of relief on his face, and laughed. Then he heard a scream.

Sonic jerked around and saw the crowd running away from the large black creature. Sonic felt himself lock up. The festival was supposed to keep the creature away.

Sonic ran to the Dark Guard. This time, he knew to watch for the tail. Sonic ran through the parting crowd, seeing the three bodies at the dark creature's feet.

Sonic had trouble seeing it completely with the way the black hide blended in the shadows, but he had a basic idea of where it was.

Sonic bolted forward and curled up, slamming into the monster that stood in front of him. The impact knocked the Dark Guard back, but it didn't even seem hurt by his attack. That was fine, for the moment. Sonic just wanted to get its attention away from the people.

Sonic heard Tails sputtering over the sky. Screams rang throughout the city as the people cleared out. Sonic saw an object fly through the sky as he rolled out of the way of the dangerous tail.

A javelin struck the Dark Guard's side, but fell off. Maybe it would leave a bruise? Sticks ran out into the street with Sonic. She had a second javelin in her hand, and took on a wide stance.

The Dark Guard hissed at them, and began to sway its tail. Sonic called out, "Watch out for the tail! You don't want to get stabbed!"

Tails seemed to take it to heart, and nod. Sticks didn't respond, but Sonic had to assume she heard.

The Dark Guard didn't actually seem to move towards Sonic. It was between Sonic and Tails, so all they had to do was wait for it to charge on of them.

It took a step back, propping up its tail in a threatening way. Sonic kept his eyes on the tail, watching it sway back and forth. He got low and ready to jump out of the way.

The tail seemed to be shrinking, until Sonic looked down and realized that the creature had a smug grin on its face. Then Sonic turned and saw that Tails and Sticks were still standing there. They had lost their flanking ability.

It knew they were focusing on their tail. Sonic gulped and found that little bit of knowledge more terrifying that the tail… almost. It knew they were strategizing, or something similar.

Sonic didn't' know how to proceed. So, he relied on his tried-and-true tactic. He burst forward, and curled into a ball, trying to slam into the Dark Guard's chest. Sonic slammed into it as hard as he could, and the creature staggered back.

Sonic was going all out. It had a hide that was almost like a shell, and Sonic kept scraping against it. Sonic then felt something he didn't like feeling. The creature's claws dug into his hardened quills, and began to pull him. Sonic was forced to straighten himself out or have his back broken.

He could feel his back bleeding as his muscles were stretched and pierced as he cried out in pain. Sonic then got his first perfect look at the creature that was attacking him. It was humanoid, with large spikes coming out of the back of its skull. The longest one in the middle had a… glow of darkness? It seemed like it was sucking in black smoke, or radiating darkness from it.

Then Sonic got a nice view of the teeth. Large arrow heads, easily the size of his thumb. Sonic gulped as he saw the large teeth open up, threatening to bite down on him.

Sonic called out, "A little help please!"

Sonic saw Tails slam into the monster that was in front of him, trying to hit the stomach, but the armor that made up its hide was touch, and only slightly knocked the Dark Guard slightly off balance.

Sonic flared his spikes up as a foot slammed on Tails' back, causing the little fox to cry out. Sonic struggled as its claws seemed to dig deeper into Sonic's muscles.

Sonic closed his eyes, bracing as the teeth came over him.

A loud shot rippled through the air, and Sonic felt an explosion under him. Sonic went flying as he heard a cry.

"GO, GET SONIC TO SAFETY! FREEDOM FIGHTERS MOVE TO ATTACK!" Sally's voice called out. Sonic opened his eyes and saw black chunks on the ground. He looked up and saw that the Dark Guard had a piece of its chest armor blown off. There was a large grey hole where the ribs and Stomach met.

Sonic turned and saw the window down the street that had smoke coming out of the long rifle which hung out the window.

Sonic turned and heard the Dark Guard screech as Sally brought her energy blades across its chest, cutting open the spot where the grey area was. Sonic heard the creature shriek it turned to retreat, before Antoine stood in the alleyway. Bunnie hovered overhead.

The Dark Guard snarled, and bared its teeth, and Sonic saw the black smoke begin to swirl around it once again.

A second loud shot came from the window of the building, and Sonic heard the screech of the Dark Guard as a large chunk came off its head. Sonic saw the center spike on the ground as the creature began to whine in agony.

Then the Freedom Fighters moved in. Sonic staggered to his feet, and got ready.

Then, the strangest thing happened. The Dark guard held up its hands, and began to pant in anger, "I surrender." He stated, and lowered his tail. He sniffed the air and looked at Sally with what Sonic could only assume was shock.

Sally gazed at him suspiciously, "No tricks, you try anything, and we'll pummel you."

The creature began to rumble, before his rumbles turned to shudders, which then turned to laughter, "Fair enough. I will do as you say… for now."

Sonic turned to lead the Dark Guard up to the headquarters, only to see the glint in the window. Was she going to take the shot? Sonic got ready to rush in at any moment. The Black Creature seemed to notice the glint as well, and walked cautiously. It was still taller than them, so it was very intimidating, but they got the monster back to Freedom HQ.

They walked inside the debriefing room, and then kept walking. Sally and Sonic entered a new room. Sonic didn't know this room existed. It was a simple interrogation room. And the creature laughed as he ducked inside, "Ah… I know these kinds of rooms."

The Dark Guard sat himself down. Tall and lanky meant that he could fit if he just squeezed himself into the spot.

Sally and Sonic stepped outside with Elias and the Freedom Fighters waiting in the command room.

Sally asked the large computer screen, "Nicole, is the door re-enforced?"

"Yes Sally." The mechanical voice replied from the computer, "The door can withstand up to a ton of pressure."

Sally nodded, "Alright, Let's go interrogate this monster." Sally sounded angry, and Sonic couldn't blame her. He was also curious.

"You can't go in there alone, that thing is dangerous." Elias growled, pointing at the room where Sonic and Sally kept the monster.

"I'm going with her." Sonic confirmed, "I won't let this thing hurt anyone else. I owe it to those people who died." Sonic was angry, angry that the Dark Guard had come to hurt his people. Angry that he wasn't able to stop it in time.

Elias looked hesitant before looking at the rest of the Freedom Fighters. He nodded, "Alright, keep my sister safe."

Sonic nodded, and the two entered the room. The door shut, and made a clicking sound as the center wheel turned. No getting out now. The Dark Guard sat in the chair with the seat pulled back to accommodate the long legs.

Sonic and Sally sat down at the table, and Sally pointed to the hand cuffs that were attached to the table, "Please put the handcuffs on."

The Dark Guard snarled, "You think those will stop me from killing all three of you?"

Sonic almost laughed. There were two of them in the room, "Your eyes don't work good, do they?"

The Dark Guard growled, but put on the handcuffs, "Now, I trust you have questions? Questions which your tiny mortal bodies can't help but ask. Question that make you want to glimpse into my world of misery and agony. Am I right?"

Sally smiled formally, "First question: Do you have a name?"

"I do." The Creature answered with a formal, rigid and smug grin.

Sally waited for the next response. It did not come.

"Can we know your name?" Sally asked, getting testy.

"No. Names have power, little child." The Dark Guard smiled at her, thrashing his tail along the ground.

"What do we call you?" Sonic asked, sharing Sally's agitation as he laced his fingers together.

The creature scrapped his claws along the desk, peeling up chunks of the wood, "Turn the lights down." He sounded agitated.

"Dude, we can't just pull a lever of something. The lights are either on or off." Sonic complained, feeling his cuts burn a bit.

The Dark Guard lowered his head and began to scratch aggressively, "Call me… Sarat."

Sonic blinked, "Ok, Sarat. Why are you here?" Sonic tried to not get so upset that he was hurt really bad by this guy twice. He saw Sally looked impressed by his question.

"I simply wandered here, that is all." Sarat held up his hands. It sounded so innocent, if not for the fact that he had stacked way too many bodies to just write it all off.

"No, I mean why are you here? In our world?" Sonic demanded. Sally turned and looked confused, and Sonic realized that he was only one who really knew about the Dark Guards.

Sarat seemed to get surprised, only for a moment, then he laughed, "I've always been here. You just haven't been paying attention."

"Nice try, but I know you're scared of those blades that my wolf-friend had. I know you know about the Saxons." Sonic pried, glaring deeper at the Dark Guard.

Sarat snarled, and Sonic saw his tail thrashing against the ground, "Hmmm, you would too I you had the years I did, child. That dreadful king who sits on the throne."

"So you lied." Sonic growled, balling a fist.

"Of course I did. Little lies, little deceptions, I thrive on them. You all like to give your sins weight and value… which one is lesser, which one is greater. They all work for us." Sarat grinned and laughed.

"Why are you here?" Sally demanded, clearly getting agitated with the Dark Guard.

"I was called here." Sarat smiled, wiggling his talons on the table.

Sally raised an eyebrow, and turned to Sonic.

Sonic shrugged, "Called here by who?"

"The Saxons. " Sarat smiled.

Sonic sighed, "Now I know you are lying. They don't want you here."

Sarat sighed in anger, "Very well, the Sorcerer called me here." Sarat smiled, "He's very useful, although I think is rather dull. He seems to believe that I am his servant or something of the sorts."

Sorcerer? Sonic thought for a moment. Nagus? Could he do something like that? Was it a lie?

Sarat continued, "I don't believe he knew exactly what he was doing. He thinks he summoned me directly, like a simple thrall or familiar. In reality, he simply reached into a chest of sorts, no knowing what was inside, and pulled out whatever he could grab. His words in his incantation were jumbled, and nonsense."

"You seem to understand us fine." Sally pried, glaring at him, "The Saxons we encountered had trouble with our language for a while."

"It's not difficult to learn." Sarat snorted in the most mocking manner.

Sally nodded, "Alright… So what are you doing here? Of all places?"

"I was wandering, and I found here." Sarat smiled once again, holding his hands up as far as the chains would go.

"That's a lie." Sally growled. They were both tired of this.

"Well, I guess I'll tell the truth then. The Sorcerer does not like you. He wants you dead, so I decided I would do him a favor." Sarat grinned at Sonic.

"Why?" Sonic asked.

"Why?" Sarat sounded confused, "Because I can. Because your death would lead to more and more despair, which would give me more power."

Sonic frowned. That made sense in a morbid way.

Sally sighed, "Well, I think I've heard enough." She stood up, "We're are going to lock you up and move to get rid of Nagus. Thank you for your cooperation." Sally smiled at the Dark Guard.

The Dark Guard laughed, "You won't do anything. I'll kill everyone here first."

Sonic paused for a moment. Then he realized the center back horn had healed on Sarat. He Snapped his chairs and thrust his tail forward at Sally. She jumped out of the chair and avoided the sharp barb which split said chair.

"Face it, you're all going to die in here. Men, women and children alike." Sarat laughed, cackling higher. Sonic saw that his chest and stomach had healed.

Then Sarat's laugh quieted down as the Door suddenly dented. Sarat Snarled and backed away towards the corner as the door dented again, lower this time.

Sonic pulled Sally to the end of the room, away from the door as Sarat shriek at it, displaying his large array of teeth.

The door burst open, and a large, armored Wolverine stood in the doorway.

Sarat did not seem to like him being there one bit. The Dark Guard backed away and held out his hand, forming a spear once again. Sonic moved to shield Sally as Ceawlin pushed into the room.

Sarat thrust his spear forward, only for Ceawlin to grab it. Sonic turned his head as he heard a crash, before turning around and seeing Ceawlin on top of the Dark Guard, slamming its head into the concrete below.

Sarat didn't take kindly to those attacks and arched his tail up to stab Ceawlin. Ceawlin seemed to lock up as the tail went towards his chest, and it deflected into the concrete. Sonic pulled Sally out of the room, and set her down out in the command center, only to see Elias and the others on the ground.

None of them were dead, which was good, but looked like they put up a fight, and lost.

Sonic heard the sound of glass shattering and a roar as he turned around and saw Sarat slammed into the light overhead, causing sparks and glass to rain down.

Sonic got ready to run in when the Sarat was launched out of the room. Ceawlin marched out, bleeding from two stab wounds that seemed like they were from Sarat's Tail. Sonic gulped as the points looked deep.

Sarat jumped up with his spear, but as he rose through the air, Sonic his face shift to horror as Ceawlin reached at his waist, and drew the long sword with runes on it. The Dark Guard tried to pull away in mid air, but the blade slashed across his chest.

The Dark Guard fell back and shrieked, before thrusting his tail forward at the Wolverine. Ceawlin growled and snarled, probably in a lot a pain, but He swung the sword as the tail aimed for his face. Ceawlin's blade cut off the shar tip, and the Dark Guard retreated and shrieked in agony.

Sonic saw the two of them panting, and for the first time, he realized that the anger and hatred ran deeper than their lives. And yet, there was a level of respect. The two seemed to let each other breath for a moment.

Ceawlin growled at his opponent. Sarat sneered back. Sonic got ready to jump into the fight.

Sarat then bolted for the doorway. Sonic and Ceawlin pursued, until the door opened. A second Wolverine stood in the doorway, causing Sarat to fall backwards. Johan had arrived.

/*-*/

Johan found himself pleasantly surprised. He was not expecting the Shadow to be right in front of him. It was a damaged Dark Guard judging by the size and smell of it. A Dark Guard that was not happy that Johan was there in front of him.

The Dark Guard already lost his tail and was reliant on his spear. The Dark Guard turned back and forth between Johan and Ceawlin of all people. Johan had smelled the Gedriht, but he had assumed that it was Stoix or someone close. Johan did not expect Ceawlin to leave his mountain, but the circumstances were understandable.

The Dark Guard growled, "You damn beasts, get out of my way!"

Johan lunged forward and swung his axe cutting into the Dark Guard's chest. It grabbed the blade of the axe, cutting into the palms. It shrieked at Johan pushed his weight into the Dark Guard.

Then, Johan felt his momentum stop. The Dark then began to push Johan back. Johan should have been able to over power it… in his past life. Johan was no longer working his old body; he had a new… weaker body.

Johan growled and doubled down on his push, but it was quickly becoming clear that Johan was not at the same level as he was before. Johan couldn't back down.

"You're a Saxon aren't you? You're body is different, but I can feel it in you." The Dark Guard snarled as Johan began to stagger back.

Ceawlin slammed into the side of the Dark Guard and stabbed it in the side. The Dark Guard, however, was pushed towards the door. It saw the opportunity and ran.

They followed the creature back out into the town. Johan could feel the dark energy flowing into the Shadow as it stood in the town center.

Johan growled, baring his teeth at his opponent. The Dark Guard dared to grin back at him. Its grin morphed into a yelp of pain as a knife imbedded itself into its stomach. Johan ran forward and swung his axe at the Dark Guard, cutting into his side again, reopening the wound that was being healed.

Johan heard Sonic rush out with them, but Johan didn't have time to focus on him. Ceawlin quickly closed the distance and stabbed the Dark Guard with his sword, pinning it to the ground.

The Shadow thrashed across the ground, as if trying to escape. Johan wouldn't let it, and brought his axe down on the creature's chest.

It shrieked in pain, but Johan was not about to demonstrate mercy. He raised his axe again, and brought it down, this time cutting through the precious chest piece…. Only Johan didn't cut a crystal.

He cut into organs. This was a womb-born Dark Guard. Not a thrall that was forged from dark magic and eventually became too strong.

Johan found himself impressed with the rare quarry that had come his way. Still the creature was a threat to them, and Johan needed to protect the world. He loomed over the Dark Guard, which had that look of terror on its… his face once more.

Johan raised his axe, only to feel the Tail stab in between his midriff.

"Johan, you alright?" Sonic's voice called out.

Johan felt the venom coursing through his blood. He saw the Dark Guard start to run away. A large bullet ripped though his knee, cutting off the leg. Johan felt his body react in pain. He walked closer to his target, growling.

The Dark Guard rolled over and looked up at Johan, but his anger was getting the better of him. Johan brought a fist down on the Dark Guard's head, then brought his other one down. Johan pulled his first fist back, before slamming it back down. Johan felt his vision begin to blur as he smacked again and again, pummeling the dark, dishonorable creature.

Johan saw the tail come back up as his stomach swelled in pain. He grabbed the tail and brought the sharp point down on the Dark Guard's shoulder.

He then resumed his pummeling, slamming his fist down with all his might, listening to the sound of the skull and shell crack. Then another Crack. Johan raised both his fists in that moment, and brought them down together, creating quite the mess.

Johan waited a moment for regeneration. Nothing came, and he rose up.

Ceawlin snarled in pain. The two were both poisoned, but the poison was not made to kill. It would pass in time. They crawled away, moving to isolate themselves and Johan ignored whatever the blue warrior had to say.

He needed to hunt any thralls the Dark Guard made. That involved tracking and hunting. They should have limits without their master, but Johan did not want to leave any to create problems for him later.

As he walked to the outside of the city to prevent his visions and pain from hurting anyone he needed, Johan smelled her.

He followed the scent, and saw the wolf girl, her legs crossed on the ground with the long anti-armor rifle resting across her knee. She bowed her head at him. She wanted to make a proposition.

Johan, was happy to hear her out.

/*-*/

If I'd have known that the Dark Guard Arc was going to be so popular, I probably would have kept him around. I honestly thought everyone was going to roll their eyes at his introduction, instead you all seem to have been supportive, and a little excited over our black-magic villain.

A lot to unpack in this chapter, might warrant a reread.

Confession time, I don't like Whisper in IDW, mostly because I've seen angry Whispangle fans harass writers for going somewhere else in his fanfiction. I used to like the character, but that section of the fandom… Well, I obvious think that if you don't like something, don't read it. One guy wasn't hiding that he wasn't going Whispangle(He ended up no longer writing). I won't hide it either, Whisper in this story is celibate via a vow. I have no intention of pursuing romance with her. I won't rip into her, I do have an arc planned for her, but if you are here solely for Whispangle romance, or any romance with Whisper, you will be disappointed.

Please leave a review and tell me what you thought of the Arc. I do welcome criticism, and love to hear from my audience.

As We end this short arc, we lead into the next arc: "Fate of the Kingdom"