Chapter 14
Doomsday & Epilogue
"Hey! What's that?" asked Silver as he looked up at the mid day sky. We had returned to the edge of the beach where the Tornado was parked on Floating Island, which was now resting on the surface of the water. I had been a little apprehensive about returning, but for some odd reason, the island didn't seem to be sinking, so I had decided it was okay. I looked up and saw what looked like a shooting star coming right for the island. I squinted, trying to better make out the falling object.
"I'm not sure," I said. We both watched as the object grew closer, and it was then I noticed that there were four smaller flaming objects falling along with the bigger one. "Wait a sec. That's Tails and the flickies!" I cried. Silver looked up and watched as the five objects fell down almost into the ocean, shining brightly as they flew over to us and landed.
"Hey Knuckles," said Tails as he reached out and clapped two emeralds together, decharging himself and the flickies.
"What happened? Where's Sonic?" I asked. Tails turned and looked up to the sky.
"He's up there somewhere, chasing down Robotnik," said Tails.
"What do you mean?" asked Silver.
"Robotnik escaped the Death Egg with the Master Emerald. Sonic went after him and I came back down here," said Tails. I looked up to the sky. Now the fate of the Master Emerald rested in the hands of Sonic. All we could do now was hope…
**********
Hyper Sonic spindashed through another meteor as he chased after the fleeing cargo ship. The appearance of the meteor field had taken Sonic by surprise. One minute, clear space, the next, total chaos. But even meteors couldn't stop Sonic from chasing Robotnik. His anger with Robotnik fueled him to push forward, ignore everything else around him. Sonic shot through another meteor and out into open space, the cargo ship now a good distance ahead of him. But Sonic flung his arms and legs behind him, shooting forward at an incredible speed.
"This time, Robotnik. You are mine," said Sonic to himself as he flew up along side the fleeing ship. He could see Robotnik at the controls, watching him. Sonic flew over and grabbed onto the ship, sending his invincibility flowing into the crafts fragile circuitry. The engines whined silently in the vacuum as they started to short out. But before they could, Sonic was suddenly blown off the ship. He tumbled back over a hundred feet before he could regain his sense of balance.
Sonic looked back to see two missiles heading towards him. Sonic then realized he had never heard them launch, the vacuum of space allowing no sound to be heard from the missiles launching. A smile worked its way onto Sonic's face as an idea came to mind. He shot towards the ship's engines, the two missiles following in his wake. He looked over his shoulder as the two missiles flew at him. Then, just before they hit him, Sonic flew up and out of the way. The missiles, while still able to rack Sonic, weren't as maneuverable, and they slammed into the engines, the whole back side of the craft exploding into flames as the atmosphere of the ship was sucked out into space. Sonic flew back and watched, waiting to see the Master Emerald drop from the cargo bay. But instead, a much smaller version of the Robotnik robot flew out of the bay, clutching the Master Emerald to its chest.
"You just don't know when to give up, do you Robotnik?" said Sonic to himself as he flew after the robot. He was almost to it when it shot several missiles at him, blowing up in his face to knock him back several hundred feet. Sonic regained his balance and shot forward. Now he was mad. Robotnik had pushed him over the edge. He had caused a load of misery to Knuckles, caused Floating Island to crash into the sea, stole the Master Emerald, and had even shot him in the leg back on the Death Egg!
Sonic had had enough. He curled into a spindash and crashed his glowing body into the machine, causing it to crumple inward from the blow. But Sonic didn't stop. He repeatedly spindashed into the robot all over, putting huge dents in it. He didn't care about electrocuting it anymore. He only wanted to smash that thing until it was unrecognizable. With one final spindash, Sonic smashed through the midsection of the robot, the whole body going limp as it lost power. It then let go of the Master Emerald and started to float off into space. Sonic flew over and grabbed the giant gem, watching with cold hatred as the robot floated away. Sonic sighed, exhausted from all that had happened. He grasped the Master Emerald and started back towards Mobius, not noticing the head of the robot detach from the main body, a rocket booster on it firing, taking it back towards Mobius.
**********
"Look!" cried Silver as he watched the sky. Tails and I followed his gaze to see a bright flash of light falling from the sky.
"It's Sonic!" cried Tails. I smiled. Sonic must have done it. Tails suddenly ran out of my view. I turned my gaze to see him climbing into the Tornado.
"What are you doing?" I asked as Tails donned his scarf and cap.
"I'm going to get Sonic. He has to be exhausted after all that. I know I was just fighting that huge robot," said Tails as he started the bi-plane. It slowly rolled along the beach, picking up speed as it took off. Silver and I watched as the small booster on the under side fired, propelling the small plane forward towards where the bright light was falling.
**********
Sonic could barely keep his eyes open as he flew down into the atmosphere of Mobius, he was so tired from all the action. But he still held onto the Master Emerald, feeling its power pulse around him. He fell down a few more minutes, wondering if the island had sunk by now, when he spotted a small spot of red flying just above the surface of the ocean. Realizing what it was, he flew towards it. He flew down along side the Tornado, then pulled up and placed the Master Emerald on the wing, slipping his feet into the harnesses as he looked down at Tails, who looked back up at him.
"Way to go Sonic!" cried Tails. Sonic was too tired to say anything, so he just gave Tails a thumbs up as the Tornado flew back towards Floating Island, which Sonic saw was still resting on top of the ocean, looking like a normal island if one didn't know that it normally floated.
**********
Silver and I watched as the Tornado returned, this time sporting a very tired looking Sonic and the brilliant glow of the Master Emerald resting on the wing.
"He did it," said Silver. I looked over at the robotic hedgehog, smiled and shook my head.
"No. They did it together," I said. Silver looked over at me, and nodded with a smile. The Tornado flew by overhead, and I saw Tails waving at us to go inland. Silver picked me up from behind and took to the air, following after the bi-plane as it prepared to land in a region of Marble Gardens. We landed next to some of the ruins, watching as the Tornado landed gracefully on a stretch of open land. I ran over to it, Silver right behind me. Sonic flew off the plane and placed the Master Emerald on the ground. I immediately went to the jewel, looking it over from top to bottom.
"Hey Knux. I've got some bad news," said Sonic. I looked over at him. What had happened? Was the Master Emerald okay? Sonic looked down as he spoke. "Mecha had the miniature Master Emerald with him. He went super and distracted us. Then he threw it out of the Death Egg . I tried to get it, but I wasn't fast enough." I noticed how defeated he looked, even after getting the actual Master Emerald back. I walked over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. Sonic looked up at me.
"It's okay Sonic. I only really used the miniature to steer the island. I can easily do that with a piece of the Master Emerald. All I need to do it just cut the pointed tip off it. I can steer the island with that and still keep the island aloft," I said. Sonic smiled as he sat on the ground. Not even bothering to decharge himself, he leaned over onto a patch of grass and fell asleep within twenty seconds.
"Poor guy. He's exhausted," said Silver. I nodded.
"Yeah. He put up one major fight today. Let's let him rest," I said as we quietly walked away. For the next four hours, we just sat and talked about the last three days' events. I sat there at one point, thinking about that mural in Hidden Palace. It was then that it hit me why I felt a connection with it. That wasn't just any mural. It was one that was accounting what had happened today. Robotnik represented the dark giant figure. I was the red figure, Sonic the blue, and Tails the yellow. And the jewel was the Master Emerald. I had always heard that some of my clan were able to tell the future, but I had never actually believed that, until now. Just as it was getting dark out, four figures walked up to us.
"Hey Tails. Long time no see," said one voice. We all turned around to see a crocodile, a honeybee, an armadillo, and a chameleon looking at us.
"Vector! Charmy! Mighty! Espio!" cried Tails as he leaped off the grass and ran up to them. I looked over at Silver, who just shrugged. We both stood up and walked over to where Tails was talking with the four Mobians.
"Who's your friends?" I asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry. You guys haven't met one another. Knuckles, Silver, let me introduce you to Vector, Espio, Mighty, and Charmy. They're friends of me and Sonic," said Tails. I shook the crocodile's hand. He just gave me a smirk.
"So your this Knuckles guy these two were talking about," said Vector. I nodded. "I see you made up with them."
"Yeah. We've made amends," I said. I liked this croc. He had an attitude about him that was nice. But something bothered me.
"How did you get here anyway?" I asked.
"Been here for over a month," said Charmy, flying up next to Vector. I was shocked. These two had been here that long and I had never know.
"Me and Mighty here came onto the island while it was over Launch Base," said Espio, looking around the ruins. "You have a very nice island."
"Thanks," I said. There was something about these four, something I couldn't quite put my finger on. I liked these guys. It was then I realized I had seen the armadillo and the chameleon before. "Hey! You two were the ones I met at Launch Base!" I cried.
"I was wondering if you'd recognize us or not," said Mighty.
"Yeah. I thought you had forgot us," said Espio. Suddenly, a groaning sound caught their attention. The six of them turned to see Sonic, still hyper, sit up and rub his eyes.
"Well well. Look who's here," said Vector as they started back towards Sonic. Sonic looked up suddenly at the familiar voice. He turned to see all the new friends he had made in the course of the last three days standing in front of him.
"Hi guys!" said Sonic as he got to his feet. Mighty then got a good look at Sonic's left leg.
"Oh Sonic. You shouldn't be standing on that leg!" cried Mighty. Sonic looked down, remembering that he had been shot there. He had totally forgotten it when he had gone hyper earlier that day.
"Oh man. That's going to sting when I decharge," said Sonic. Mighty knelt down and looked at his leg.
"Knuckles. Do any Podicun Berries grow on this island?" asked Mighty. I had to think about that for a sec. I hadn't heard of those berries in years. But I did remember the name. I nodded. "Good. Go and get some. They'll help him heal faster." He looked back down at the leg. "We'll have to make a splint for it." Over the next twenty minutes, we patched Sonic's leg up good. Then, after another ten minutes of persuasion, he decharged himself, the glow fading from his body as he became normal again. He closed his eyes in dicomfort, ut he quickly shook off the pain. He started to say something when suddenly, his, Tails, and Silver's heads jerked up right for just a second, then they each shook their heads at the same time.
"What's wrong?" asked Charmy.
"What do you mean?" asked Sonic. We looked at each other, then back at the trio.
"Why did you just do that little movement with your heads?" I asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Knux," said Sonic. I just shook my head. Probably some joke on their part.
"Well, now what do we do?" asked Tails.
"I guess we head back. Sal's probably out of her mind with worry, as is probably the rest of Knothole," said Sonic. The Power Flickies, who up to this point had been completely silent ever since Tails had left the Death Egg, suddenly started chirping.
"I'm sorry, Tails. We must return to our dimension, and you will have to give up the Chaos Emeralds," said one of the small birds. All of us turned towards the four flickies.
"Why?" asked Tails.
"We have served our purpose in protecting you. The Chaos Emeralds have served their purpose for now, and they must be released into the world again," said another flicky.
"Hold up," said Sonic as he walked up to the four birds. "You mean we spent all that time collecting them to only use them once and then lose them?"
"I am sorry Sonic. The Chaos Emeralds' purpose at this time was to release the Super Emeralds power. They have done that, and now they must be scattered," said the flicky. With that, the four birds took flight, taking an emerald in each of their talons, the smallest one taking only one. The four birds flew up into the night sky, the glow of the emeralds showing where they were. Then there was a bright flash of light as the emeralds scattered off in seven directions. But for some reason, the dark blue glow headed right back towards. The smallest flicky was still clutching onto the blue Chaos Emerald as it landed in Tails' hands.
"Young master. I have managed to save one emerald for you. Watch it with care, and don't let it fall into evil hands," said the flicky as it winked out of this dimensional plane.
"Well, at least we're not going home empty handed," said Sonic as he held up the supers. I snapped my fingers as a thought came to my mind. I ran into one of the nearby ruins, and ran out a minute later with a belt that had been handed down in my family for years.
"Here Sonic. Give me the supers," I said. Sonic handed them over to me. I placed each of the glowing gems into seven areas on the front of the belt where other jewels were probably embedded in it at some point. I then handed it back to Sonic. "Put it one." Sonic put on the belt, and as soon as he clasped the buckle, the whole belt disappeared.
"Where'd it go!" cried Tails. I smiled.
"It's still there. It's just invisible. You can see it, right Sonic?" I asked.
"Yeah. I can see it," said Sonic.
"Try using them," I said. Sonic crossed his arms over the belt, then he snapped erect as the supers lit up, his fur and quills glowing in a rainbow of seven colors as he became hyper again.
"What is this belt?" asked Sonic.
"I'm not sure what it's made out of, but it was made by my ancestors to provide an easy way to carry the super miniatures if anyone ever had them. One of my family members acquired it at some point, and now I'm giving it to you. Call it a peace offering," I said with a smile. Sonic smiled.
"Thanks Knux. Say, why don't you come back with us? We could sure use you in the Freedom Fighters," said Sonic. This caught me off-guard. I hadn't planned to be asked that question.
"Well…I'm not sure…I don't want to leave Floating Island all alone out here by itself," I said. I looked up to see Sonic motion with his head behind me. I turned around to see the four new Mobians standing there.
"I think you have yourself some people that wouldn't mind watching the place for you," said Sonic. Each one of the animals gave a nod. I didn't know what to say. Here I was three days ago, not a friend in the world. Now I had six new friends and new people to help me watch my home. I smiled.
"I think so too," said Knuckles. "And I know just the name to give this group."
"What's that?" asked Silver.
"The Chaotix. A name that was given to an elite team from my clan that watched the Master Emerald in the beginning years of our civilization here," I said.
"I like the name," said Vector.
"Same here," said Mighty.
"The Chaotix it is," said Espio.
"Here here," said Charmy. I walked over to Sonic.
"I'll gladly join your cause. But I will come back here from time to time to check up on the place," I said. Sonic smiled and shook my hand.
"Good to have you on the team, Knuckles," said Sonic. He then flew up into the air. "Now come on. We need to get back before Sal gives me a serious yelling at." Everyone laughed as I went over to the Master Emerald and put it on its side.
"Hey Silver. Could you get this?" I asked.
"Sure thing," said Silver as he walked up to the emerald's tip. He extended his claws and cut off the top three inches of the tip. He handed it to me, and I put it in my shoe. I then turned to the Chaotix team.
"You guys can use one of my teleporters to get this thing back to Hidden Palace. All the teleporters around here are set to take you there and back. There should be one about a quarter a mile away from here in that direction," I said, pointing off to the southeast. The four Mobians walked over and, with a little bit of a strain, managed to lift the giant gem off the ground. They then walked off with it, vanishing into the dark night.
"Well, let's go!" I cried as I jumped onto the Tornado's wing. Tails climbed into the cockpit while Silver joined Sonic up in the air.
"All right! Next stop Knothole Village!" cried Sonic.
**********
"I must say sir, all things accounted for, you were extremely lucky," said Metal Sonic as he walked into the command room at Launch Base, a cup of hot chocolate and a foot warmer on a tray.
"Lucky? I would have been lucky if that infernal hedgehog had been killed. No, this wasn't lucky. This was just normal," said Robotnik, who was wrapped up to his head in blankets after nearly freezing in space from exposure to the cold.
"At least you are alive and able to continue your work," said Metal Sonic as he placed the tray next to his master.
"True," said Robotnik, sighing. "I can not wait to be back in Robotropolis again. I feel as though that is my only home now. These bases are good for small times away, but nothing beats the comforts of home." He reached over and took the cup of hot chocolate from the tray and sipped it, taking in its warmth.
****Epilogue****
"I wish you were still here, my dear friend. This world has so many things that I know you would have enjoyed," said Shadow to himself as he knelt before a wooden gravestone with the name Maria carved into the wood. "But because of me, you're not. If only I hadn't been brought into this world, you would still be alive and safe." Tears started forming in the black hedgehog's as he looked up at the night sky. All the stars were out on this clear night, but he was looking for one point of light in particular. He finally spotted it, wiped his eyes, then let out a sigh.
He had spent most of his life up there in space. But the events after he was brought down here had led him to cryogenic freezing, to freedom, to wandering for a year, to finding the green Chaos Emerald, and finally finding Sonic and the Freedom Fighters. He still hadn't run into any humans in person, as their numbers in the north had dropped drastically after the Great War. There were still a few colonies here and there in the north, but the bulk of the human population was situated in the south. In fact, he was on the exact same island where he had been frozen for 43 years. Now, four years after his escape, he had come back to pay his respects to the only friend he had from his past. He started to rise, but suddenly the sound of gunfire went flying through the thick jungle.
As quietly and as quickly as he could travel without being detected, he headed towards the source of the sound. After about a minute, he came upon the outer skirts of the military base where he had been frozen. From his hiding place behind a thick tropical plant, Shadow watched as a firing squad made up of twenty humans stood at attention. But what caught his eye was the people that were lying on the ground dead. The first person was a female human, and the other two were preteen male humans, probably her children.
All his mind could take in was seeing the now lifeless bodies of the woman and two children fall to the ground. At that moment, something from deep within his mind was unleashed. He saw not the children, but instead, the dying body of Maria , just having been shot, during the last few seconds he had remained in space before he had been launched in a capsule to Mobius. And it was with this thought that he snapped. He let out a cry out anguish so inhuman that every single member of the firing squad looked nervously around, scared to death that whatever the voice belonged to would attack them. And it did.
Shadow burst from the jungle, eyes like fire as he spindashed into the side of the nearest person, knocking him to the ground, the man dead even before he hit the ground. The rest of the men started running for their lives as the now deadly black hedgehog started spindashing into people left and right.
"You humans! You haven't changed at all! You will all be wiped clean from this planet!" shouted Shadow as he continued his rampage. After he had down the firing squad, he headed full speed towards the military complex itself, intent on killing everyone inside. The lieutenant was the only one still alive as Shadow raced towards the complex. Slowly, he pulled his radio off his belt, then lifted it up to his mouth.
"Dispatch…this is…Lieutenant Conway…come in," he called into the radio.
"What is it? What's going on?" asked Dispatch.
"Intruder alert…black Mobian hedgehog…entering complex…" with these last words, Lieutenant Conway collapsed to the ground, dead.
**********
"General Dryson!" cried an officer as he ran up to a military clad man about six feet in height.
"What is it, private?" asked Dryson as he turned around. The worry in the officer's face reflect the news he had to report.
"Sir, we have just received word that an unidentified black Mobian hedgehog has entered the complex. He has already take out one of our firing squads and three full squads of our combat robots," said the nervous officer. The general's eyes widened slightly.
"So, he has returned," said Dryson as he started walking at a fast pace towards the command center of the complex. Upon arriving, he waved the comm operator away from the mike. He then spoke clearly and calmly into it, sending his message throughout the whole base. "Attention all personnel. Intruder alert. Initiate Shadow Defense. This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill." At this announcement, all the guards located in the Level 2 through 7 Security area retreated into the nearest hidden rooms, leaving the hallways completely void of life.
**********
Shadow raced through the Level 2 security area, not even giving notice of the absence of humans as he downed several more squads of robot guards. He was unstoppable, fueled by his anger and hatred of humans. He didn't care what happened to him, as long as he could find and destroy everything and everyone in the complex, and eventually the rest of the world. He was so engulfed in his fury that he didn't even notice the dozens of stun guns emerge from the walls and aim right at him. Then all the guns fired, each one sending sizzling electricity into Shadow's body. Shadow let out an inhuman scream as he fell to the ground, almost unconscious from the amount of electricity that had just coursed through him. He slowly rose to a kneeling position, and looked up right into the eyes of a tall male human in uniform.
"So, you have finally come back, Shadow," said the man. "You don't know how long we searched for you after your little escape four years ago. We figured you for dead." Shadow gritted his teeth as he tried to stand up. But he found that he couldn't, his legs feeling like gelatin from the electricity.
"Who are you?" asked Shadow.
"My name is not important, rodent. However, your return to your cryogenic capsule is," said the man, snapping his fingers. Two armed guards stepped forward and lifted Shadow to his feet. Shadow tried to break their grip, but he was too weak from the stun guns to get free. "Have his memory wiped clean of the last four years. I want him to remember nothing."
*You humans are never going to change. Even after 47 years you still hurt and kill those you see as inferior and even your own kind,* thought Shadow as he blacked out. Suddenly, he felt a cold metal bowl fall onto his head. He strained to look up, and saw that his was strapped into some kind of machine. *I must have been unconscious part of this time. I don't even remember getting here.*
"Now, erase his memory. He should know nothing of the outside world," said General Dryson. A technician typed a few commands into the control console of the machine, and it started up with a hum. Shadow could feel his memories of the last four years start to be ripped from his mind, forever erased.
*No! These humans won't take me without a fight!* thought Shadow as he tried to fight the machine. But it seemed that the more he fought the effects of the machine, the faster it drained his mind. After a few minutes of struggling, he suddenly realized he couldn't remember anything from before he joined the Freedom Fighters. Shadow suddenly opened his eyes. Sonic, the Freedom Fighters, and many other Mobians knew of his existence. And if they knew of him, then his mission to destroy all humans might be in danger. Shadow realized what he had to do. He closed his eyes again, concentrating hard as he called upon the last of the psychic power he had gained from the green Chaos Emerald. Concentrating on all those he had had contact with over the last four years, he unleashed a powerful psychic blast from his mind, its intent to erase the memories of his existence from all the people he had met since his release.
"Sir. The subject's brain pattern is giving off a strange reading," said one of the technicians.
"What do you mean?" asked Dryson. The technician turned to him, puzzlement evident on his face.
"I'm not sure, sir. But whatever was causing it is gone," said the technician.
"Ignore it. It was probably a computer glitch," said Dryson. Shadow opened his eyes. The last few months of his memory was all that remained. But he knew that his existence was once again safe from the outside world. A smile worked its way across his tan muzzle.
*The world may no longer know of my existence, but one of these days I will escape from here again. And when I do, humans everywhere will pay for what they have done,* thought Shadow, even as his memory of what he had seen outside vanished from his mind, leaving only the feeling of revenge left.
THE END…?