Chapter 1 - Awakening.
"With the loss of Eden, Man forged
his own, creating all in that which
he believed, but never did he fathom
what could'st exist on the borders of
all that is, where Chaos does thrive.."
"Forty thousand years in the future the Alliance has spread to the very edges of the known
galaxy, colonising millions of habitable planets in the process. Yet despite all scientific
achievements and the valiant efforts of millions of explorers and settlers, the fate of the
entire Alliance can be decimated by one thing..."
Sonic's vision slowly came into focus, and he squinted weakly against the light of a halogen
imbedded in the wall beside him. Blinking a few times to get his eyes into focus, he gazed
around. His sleepiness soon dissipated when he came to grips with where he was. A large coffin
of some sort lay directly behind him. It was of a dull grey colouring, but gleaming with no
traces of dust. Taking up most of the room, it was covered in strange and complicated-looking
devices, all of which appeared to be dysfunctional.
"How the heck did I get into this place?" he pondered. "Last thing I remember is.. yipes, my
memory's a blank! Major headache.. but.. I remember who I am.. but that's all."
There were no viewable doors or windows, the place was like a tomb. Pressing himself up against
one of the walls, Sonic could hear faint noises- shouting, loud thumps. Edging further along
the wall, his glove snagged on a section jutting out very slightly from the wall. Freeing
himself, Sonic pushed and pulled at the section, trying to pry it off, but it wouldn't budge.
At last, tired and forlorn, he leaned against the wall for support, resting his glove on the
section of wall. *click* the section rotated 90 degrees away from him and retracted into the
wall. Simultaneously, a door on the far side of the room sprang open.
There was silence, but Sonic had to be sure. Snapping off a particularly expensive piece of
equipment, he took careful aim and threw it into the adjoining room. Crouching against the
wall, he waited. When ten minutes had gone by, and he was convinced there wasn't anything in
there, Sonic darted through the door.
Sally Acorn lay propped up in a coffin. There were no signs of life, except for a dull bleeping
from one of the devices on the edge of the coffin. A needle protruded from the side of the
device, which was buried in Sally's neck. She wasn't moving. Gasping in shock and horror, Sonic
glanced around the room for something to smash the glass lid, which gleamed green over Sally's
pale skin.
"Don't worry Sal," he whispered to her prostrate form, "I'll get you out of this."
Finding another door on the opposite side of the room, Sonic took no chances this time and ran
straight through.
There was yet another coffin in this room. Sonic rushed to the coffin, almost certain of what
he would find. It was empty, the glass smashed and the needle glistening in the dim light with
traces of blood. Lights blinked sporadically, and the needle retracted in and out of the side,
whirring at the completion of each cycle. Running his finger over the needle, Sonic removed his
glove and touched the substance. Cold. Whoever it was had left some time ago, and they'd been
in a hurry.
Getting a sudden thought, Sonic felt the side of his own neck. As he had thought; a small
puncture wound from where his own needle had undoubtedly rested. A chill of fear ran through
him as he realised that more than ever before, he had no idea what was going on.
Checking the other rooms, he found Bunnie and Rotor, both in the same deathly still sleep as
Sally. Was it even sleep, could they be dead? Sonic dismissed this thought from his mind
immediately. I was like that. Until I woke up. Running to Sally's side, he poked, jabbed and
yelled at her to wake up. Nothing.
"I figure those needles don't just come out on their own.. there has to be a button on one of
these techno-gadgets to wake them up.."
He looked down at the side of the coffin and examined the gadget carefully. A groove ran across
a thin plate of metal, then stopped, then continued in exactly the way. Feeling along the edge,
Sonic found and ellipse, and pushing upwards, lifted the section off. Green light cascaded out,
spreading until it filled the whole room. Then suddenly, it dissipated. Vanished. There was a
sudden whirr of machinery as lights blinked out one by one. The needle retracted in one of the
gadgets and the coffin tilted towards him.
Air. Filling her lungs. Darkness melted away. Light. Something.. wrong.
Choking and spluttering, Sally writhed about in pain.
"Sal! What is it? SAL!"
Sally's eyes opened. Fiery red pupils danced away, staring out at a confused and terrified
hedgehog.
"Get the fuck out of the way!"
The air rippled behind Sonic, and turning, he found five armoured beings. Their armour was a
pure white, and they carried swords with sparkled unnaturally with green fire. Pushing Sonic
out of the way, the foremost two rushed towards Sally and grabbed her by the arms, pinning her
against the coffin.
"What do you think? Too far gone?"
"Nah, she'll live. But we'll need to destroy the infectant."
Sonic picked himself off the ground and stared in horror as the oldest looking of the beings
extended a sword.
"Abominable creature! I banish thee drawing onst all of my power. Thou art not fit to inhabit a
host so pure! By the Emperor's throne, begone!"
Screaming and writhing, Sally stared out at Sonic, who could only offer a stare of utter
confusion. A sudden smile lit her face, and Sally collapsed backwards into the coffin. Her eyes
were normal.
"Close, that. What the fuck to do these technomages think they're doing? Not listing their
location with the Administratum is punishable by death. Chaos worshippers, I'm guessing."
"It would've taken a powerful Psyker to transport a daemon through the warp and into the body.
We could be dealing with a Champion.."
"Who are..?" Sonic felt like crumpling into a pile himself.
The leader of the group slipped the sword back into its sheath and turned to face the bewildered
hedgehog.
"We art the Grey Knights. Terminators who hath earned the right to work for the
Inquisition, in service to the Emperor. The question that doth plague my mind remains... how
you're alive."
The being's face was barely visible under a helmet, but Sonic thought he saw a frown.
"You know who I am?"
"Of course! Not one of us is unknowing of Sonic the Hedgehog. But I myself attended your funeral
more than seven hundred years back. Am I to understand you escaped the Heresy unscathed?"
Sonic could only gulp. He was 700 years old.. and probably more.
"Sonic?" Sally's voice trailed off. "Where are we?"
Leaving the pair to sort things out, the group of Grey Knights made their way through the room
into the adjoining chamber. Finding the coffin empty, just as Sonic had, the commander sighed.
"It is as we feared. They have recruited a new Chaos Champion. Captain, I'll need a secure
channel to the Inquisition."
Nodding in acknowledgement, the Captain removed his helmet and focused his energies. The room
melted away behind him and he soared up through the roof, a spirit of the mind. Increasing his
focus, he left the compound and navigated his way towards the nearest Inquisition instalment.
Entering through one of the walls, he signalled to a fellow Psyker, who was on alert in one of
the rooms. Reaching a console, he entered it, immediately accessing the communications program.
From his office overlooking the dried up river once known as the Thames, Grand Master Jemmus
found a window bleeping away on his screen. He accepted the message and lounged back in his
chair.
Back in the compound, the Captains eyes rolled back into his head and a voice emerged from his
throat.
"I'm a busy man, Commander. You should make this brief."
Putting his annoyance in check, the Commander spoke. "I need all information on Miles Prower,
Grand Master."
"Indeed, and for what purpose?"
"Analysis. We believe he has been induced into serving one of the greater gods."
Sitting forward in his chair, Jamus' voice lost any trace of arrogance. "The records show him as
deceased, and well so." Typing quickly, he brought a record onto the screen. "Latent psychic
abilities. Powerful magical attributes. Three hundred an forty-seven kills, one defeat."
"And that was by who? We need accurate information. We intend to eradicate the threat."
"That remains to be seen. The termination was byyyyyy..."
The Captain writhed about, the Grand Master's words lost in a scream. Drawing their weapons, the
Grey Knights stood their distance, knowing all too well what could happen.
The Captain's mind wheeled around from the terminal. A daemon had attached itself to his leg,
its tentacles reaching out to ensnare his mind. In material form he could have defended himself,
yet in spirit he was defenceless.
Cursing himself for not better guarding his mind, the Captain focused on returning to his
physical body.
The screams stopped, and the Captain opened his eyes.
"I'm okay."
The Grey Knights relaxed.
"Aaaaarrrgh!" Screaming insanely, the Captain's eyes became red slits, and he launched himself
at the nearest Knight.
The remaining knights opened fire, but the bullets bounced off the heavy
armour. Releasing the knight, whose face he had torn apart with his new-found claws, the
possessed knight ran toward the Commander. The commander waited until the daemon was within a
foot of him and drew his sword in an arc, its enchanted surface slicing through the armour and
banishing the evil spirit inside. The captain slumped to the ground, dead.
Sonic and Sally burst through the door.
"What on Mobius is going on?"
Sheathing his sword, the captain sighed.
"I think you mean 'What on Earth'."
"With the loss of Eden, Man forged
his own, creating all in that which
he believed, but never did he fathom
what could'st exist on the borders of
all that is, where Chaos does thrive.."
"Forty thousand years in the future the Alliance has spread to the very edges of the known
galaxy, colonising millions of habitable planets in the process. Yet despite all scientific
achievements and the valiant efforts of millions of explorers and settlers, the fate of the
entire Alliance can be decimated by one thing..."
Sonic's vision slowly came into focus, and he squinted weakly against the light of a halogen
imbedded in the wall beside him. Blinking a few times to get his eyes into focus, he gazed
around. His sleepiness soon dissipated when he came to grips with where he was. A large coffin
of some sort lay directly behind him. It was of a dull grey colouring, but gleaming with no
traces of dust. Taking up most of the room, it was covered in strange and complicated-looking
devices, all of which appeared to be dysfunctional.
"How the heck did I get into this place?" he pondered. "Last thing I remember is.. yipes, my
memory's a blank! Major headache.. but.. I remember who I am.. but that's all."
There were no viewable doors or windows, the place was like a tomb. Pressing himself up against
one of the walls, Sonic could hear faint noises- shouting, loud thumps. Edging further along
the wall, his glove snagged on a section jutting out very slightly from the wall. Freeing
himself, Sonic pushed and pulled at the section, trying to pry it off, but it wouldn't budge.
At last, tired and forlorn, he leaned against the wall for support, resting his glove on the
section of wall. *click* the section rotated 90 degrees away from him and retracted into the
wall. Simultaneously, a door on the far side of the room sprang open.
There was silence, but Sonic had to be sure. Snapping off a particularly expensive piece of
equipment, he took careful aim and threw it into the adjoining room. Crouching against the
wall, he waited. When ten minutes had gone by, and he was convinced there wasn't anything in
there, Sonic darted through the door.
Sally Acorn lay propped up in a coffin. There were no signs of life, except for a dull bleeping
from one of the devices on the edge of the coffin. A needle protruded from the side of the
device, which was buried in Sally's neck. She wasn't moving. Gasping in shock and horror, Sonic
glanced around the room for something to smash the glass lid, which gleamed green over Sally's
pale skin.
"Don't worry Sal," he whispered to her prostrate form, "I'll get you out of this."
Finding another door on the opposite side of the room, Sonic took no chances this time and ran
straight through.
There was yet another coffin in this room. Sonic rushed to the coffin, almost certain of what
he would find. It was empty, the glass smashed and the needle glistening in the dim light with
traces of blood. Lights blinked sporadically, and the needle retracted in and out of the side,
whirring at the completion of each cycle. Running his finger over the needle, Sonic removed his
glove and touched the substance. Cold. Whoever it was had left some time ago, and they'd been
in a hurry.
Getting a sudden thought, Sonic felt the side of his own neck. As he had thought; a small
puncture wound from where his own needle had undoubtedly rested. A chill of fear ran through
him as he realised that more than ever before, he had no idea what was going on.
Checking the other rooms, he found Bunnie and Rotor, both in the same deathly still sleep as
Sally. Was it even sleep, could they be dead? Sonic dismissed this thought from his mind
immediately. I was like that. Until I woke up. Running to Sally's side, he poked, jabbed and
yelled at her to wake up. Nothing.
"I figure those needles don't just come out on their own.. there has to be a button on one of
these techno-gadgets to wake them up.."
He looked down at the side of the coffin and examined the gadget carefully. A groove ran across
a thin plate of metal, then stopped, then continued in exactly the way. Feeling along the edge,
Sonic found and ellipse, and pushing upwards, lifted the section off. Green light cascaded out,
spreading until it filled the whole room. Then suddenly, it dissipated. Vanished. There was a
sudden whirr of machinery as lights blinked out one by one. The needle retracted in one of the
gadgets and the coffin tilted towards him.
Air. Filling her lungs. Darkness melted away. Light. Something.. wrong.
Choking and spluttering, Sally writhed about in pain.
"Sal! What is it? SAL!"
Sally's eyes opened. Fiery red pupils danced away, staring out at a confused and terrified
hedgehog.
"Get the fuck out of the way!"
The air rippled behind Sonic, and turning, he found five armoured beings. Their armour was a
pure white, and they carried swords with sparkled unnaturally with green fire. Pushing Sonic
out of the way, the foremost two rushed towards Sally and grabbed her by the arms, pinning her
against the coffin.
"What do you think? Too far gone?"
"Nah, she'll live. But we'll need to destroy the infectant."
Sonic picked himself off the ground and stared in horror as the oldest looking of the beings
extended a sword.
"Abominable creature! I banish thee drawing onst all of my power. Thou art not fit to inhabit a
host so pure! By the Emperor's throne, begone!"
Screaming and writhing, Sally stared out at Sonic, who could only offer a stare of utter
confusion. A sudden smile lit her face, and Sally collapsed backwards into the coffin. Her eyes
were normal.
"Close, that. What the fuck to do these technomages think they're doing? Not listing their
location with the Administratum is punishable by death. Chaos worshippers, I'm guessing."
"It would've taken a powerful Psyker to transport a daemon through the warp and into the body.
We could be dealing with a Champion.."
"Who are..?" Sonic felt like crumpling into a pile himself.
The leader of the group slipped the sword back into its sheath and turned to face the bewildered
hedgehog.
"We art the Grey Knights. Terminators who hath earned the right to work for the
Inquisition, in service to the Emperor. The question that doth plague my mind remains... how
you're alive."
The being's face was barely visible under a helmet, but Sonic thought he saw a frown.
"You know who I am?"
"Of course! Not one of us is unknowing of Sonic the Hedgehog. But I myself attended your funeral
more than seven hundred years back. Am I to understand you escaped the Heresy unscathed?"
Sonic could only gulp. He was 700 years old.. and probably more.
"Sonic?" Sally's voice trailed off. "Where are we?"
Leaving the pair to sort things out, the group of Grey Knights made their way through the room
into the adjoining chamber. Finding the coffin empty, just as Sonic had, the commander sighed.
"It is as we feared. They have recruited a new Chaos Champion. Captain, I'll need a secure
channel to the Inquisition."
Nodding in acknowledgement, the Captain removed his helmet and focused his energies. The room
melted away behind him and he soared up through the roof, a spirit of the mind. Increasing his
focus, he left the compound and navigated his way towards the nearest Inquisition instalment.
Entering through one of the walls, he signalled to a fellow Psyker, who was on alert in one of
the rooms. Reaching a console, he entered it, immediately accessing the communications program.
From his office overlooking the dried up river once known as the Thames, Grand Master Jemmus
found a window bleeping away on his screen. He accepted the message and lounged back in his
chair.
Back in the compound, the Captains eyes rolled back into his head and a voice emerged from his
throat.
"I'm a busy man, Commander. You should make this brief."
Putting his annoyance in check, the Commander spoke. "I need all information on Miles Prower,
Grand Master."
"Indeed, and for what purpose?"
"Analysis. We believe he has been induced into serving one of the greater gods."
Sitting forward in his chair, Jamus' voice lost any trace of arrogance. "The records show him as
deceased, and well so." Typing quickly, he brought a record onto the screen. "Latent psychic
abilities. Powerful magical attributes. Three hundred an forty-seven kills, one defeat."
"And that was by who? We need accurate information. We intend to eradicate the threat."
"That remains to be seen. The termination was byyyyyy..."
The Captain writhed about, the Grand Master's words lost in a scream. Drawing their weapons, the
Grey Knights stood their distance, knowing all too well what could happen.
The Captain's mind wheeled around from the terminal. A daemon had attached itself to his leg,
its tentacles reaching out to ensnare his mind. In material form he could have defended himself,
yet in spirit he was defenceless.
Cursing himself for not better guarding his mind, the Captain focused on returning to his
physical body.
The screams stopped, and the Captain opened his eyes.
"I'm okay."
The Grey Knights relaxed.
"Aaaaarrrgh!" Screaming insanely, the Captain's eyes became red slits, and he launched himself
at the nearest Knight.
The remaining knights opened fire, but the bullets bounced off the heavy
armour. Releasing the knight, whose face he had torn apart with his new-found claws, the
possessed knight ran toward the Commander. The commander waited until the daemon was within a
foot of him and drew his sword in an arc, its enchanted surface slicing through the armour and
banishing the evil spirit inside. The captain slumped to the ground, dead.
Sonic and Sally burst through the door.
"What on Mobius is going on?"
Sheathing his sword, the captain sighed.
"I think you mean 'What on Earth'."
