New Age: Dark Pages of a Fox
Third Chapter
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing in this story, including the basic concept and plot, which is owned by hitobito. SEGA owns Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Robotnik, and Tikal. Come on! You already know what this is about!
BEE'S NOTE: Ah, so you are continuing. Good for you! In hitobito's third chapter, he uses a lot of things from the Archie Comics universe. How fun this will be to try to convert into a SEGA-centered plot. Well, read on. Let's see what happens!
As hitobito says, "Doh-ho-ho-ho-ho-hoh!"
On with the story!
********************
Chapter 3-
The Incident
Tails is not quite sure what he wants to do at the moment exactly. All he can decide, however, is that, for some reason, he does not want to go to the ruins of Metropolis with the others.
"Come on, Tails. We need your help--"
"Just leave him alone, " Knuckles interrupts Amy's entreaty.
"He's right, Amy. Tails is tired. He hasn't slept in almost two days," Sonic concurs. He then turns to the kit, "Right? You're gonna stay behind to rest."
Tails looks toward his shed, which has been calling to him ever since the latter part of the banquet. Actually, more specifically, his new project is what has been calling him. The lure of the emerald powering that fan tripped something in the now-thinking fox's mind. He turns to Sonic after a moment, replying slowly, "No, I don't think I will sleep."
Reading the preoccupied look on his friend's face, Sonic decides to give up on the matter of convincing him to rest while they are gone.
"Well, we'll see you in a bit, Tails," Tikal sweetly says. She has just now joined the group. Her face shows great enthusiasm in readiness to help her friends to rebuild their reclaimed land.
This, in turn, causes a certain red echidna to smile to himself.
********************
Again Tails smiles as he watches his skilled hands move this way and that--correcting a wire here, adjusting a screw there. The concept of turning a mere thought into an actual, tangible thing just delights Tails every time. At the simple tweak of a small piece of hardware, he invents; with the mere flick of a switch, he creates. The feeling is almost as if--whether it be a plane, a motor, or even just a malfunctioning light switch--he is bleeding a piece of his soul into his undertakings.
This time, however, the feeling is beyond anything he has ever felt before. The rush of intense emotion pushes his fingers harder.
He collapses, breathless from exhaustion. He turns to his Chaos Emerald. He smiles. He places the red-glowing jewel into its aperture. He quietly, but eagerly, flicks the switch.
********************
Knuckles, wiping away a bit of sweat that had accumulated on his forehead, turns his head slightly, glancing his eyes to the quiet echidna next to him. He had been quite pleased to have her here in his time. His ancestry always mystified him. All he really can recall about who he is comes just what he knows now: that he is the Guardian of the Master Emerald and he is the only one left. But with her here, he can learn more. He glances again to the girl that is his history. His eyes widen when he sees she is returning the glance. His mind veers around in thought again. "Uh..." is all he can get out. Well, I gotta say something to her or I look like an idiot. He tears his attention away from her. A staring idiot. "Do you know if...?"
"Mm?" she responds.
He takes a breath. "About how long will it take to rebuild Metropolis, d-do you think?" His eyes are looking down at some random debris which have suddenly become extremely fascinating.
"Well, I'd guess about three years to clear the debris," she says, and then stops and sits up, looking up, thinking. "And I'd say about eight years to rebuild."
Everyone stops. A sudden, distant rumble had just emanated through the ground just then, and all the workers from Mystic Ruins are caught off-guard. Sounds of fright, both distant and nearby, begin to fill the air: "That sounded like it came from Mystic Ruins..." "My children!" "What's happening?" And so on.
Amy, hearing the fellow citizens' exclamations, now feels very uneasy. She crouches closely next to Sonic. "Wh-What was that?"
Sonic did not seem to be paying much notice to Amy, or even the other workers, at the moment. His ears and eyes are focused intently on something. "Do you hear that?" He utters quietly.
Knuckles turns to Sonic. Amy turns likewise. They both confirm they hear it, whatever it is.
"It just sounds like a storm coming," Amy says placidly.
"It's not a storm. It's different. Coming from where? Which way, Sonic?" Knuckles asks, a quite a bit more concerned than Amy.
Sonic indicates to where he believes he hears the pernicious sound. "From that way. The south."
Tikal stands up quickly, "I hear it, too."
The air begins to change a color similar to the hue the sky takes just before a tremendous storm, but it has a redder wash. Shadows all around take on a look like blood. A cold, unsettling breeze twists this way and that. It dances as if to taunt the gods, and anger the heavens.
As the air changes, Tikal becomes even more alert. "Whatever it is, it's causing a lot of energy interference in the clouds," she crouches down and touches the dry dirt beneath her with her palm. "And in the ground. It feels like it is pulsing."
At this, Sonic's ears prick up. "Can you tell what kind of energy?"
She turns her face to Knuckles, "The kind caused by--"
Knuckles likewise turns to her and nods. Ominously, they say as one, "Contortion of a Chaos Emerald."
The sound intensifies. Sonic shrinks a little. "It's coming closer."
Knuckles gapes at Sonic, looking somewhat pale.
"But emeralds can't move on their own," Amy points out.
Suddenly Amy and Sonic are blown over by an orange streak. By the time they can stand up, they hear dark chuckling. They turn both at once. Tails is standing just behind them, smirking.
The sneering kit is tossing his Chaos Emerald from hand to hand. The large bauble is glowing a fiery red, giving Tails's hands a look of being covered in blood. "Hello, Tikal." He maliciously takes her by the base of the neck, and squeezes. He chuckles as she slips to the ground with a stolid thud. "One pest down." He says, then laughs again.
Amy walks up to Tails with her signature naiveté. She places her hands gently on his, unaware that she is touching the red-shined emerald. "What is wrong with you? Why did you do that?" she asks tearfully.
All of a sudden, she is grabbed by the neck by Tails. "Oh, be quiet," the darkened kit growls. "I hate all this order and peace. That's all it is," he replies. He then narrows his eyes, "And don't ever touch my emerald." With a toss of his arm, he causes Amy to fly across the area and crash densely into Knuckles. Both scrape the ground, and fail to rise. Snickering, he turns to the others, "Maybe it would be more healthy for all of you if you surrender without a fight."
Sonic walks up to Tails, staying just out of reach, and asks him slowly, "What happened to you? Why are you--!" He is nailed in the stomach and slammed into the ground.
Tails is standing over him now. He laughs again through his twisted smile, and remarks, "Isn't it ironic, Sonic? This is much like the way the oh-so terrible Eggman stood before you, before I snapped and took him down." A dark red aura rises up, surrounding the kit. "Sadly, there is no one to take me down. And I told you already; I hate order and peace." He turns his back to Sonic, and, with a low growl, utters, "You all make me sick!" He turns briskly and kicks the gasping Sonic, and watches him slam against a broken brick wall. As the hedgehog falls to the ground, the weakened structure topples over his battered body.
Sonic barely utters Tails name, and then slips into unconsciousness, helpless. This time, there is no one to rescue him.
********************
End Third Chapter
BEE'S COMMENTS:
Tails: ::is crying.:: Why do you make me do that to Sonic?!
lilkoisuru: I'm sorry. But that's what happens in hitobito's story, and I have to go along with his plot as closely as possible.
Tails: But I'm not a meanie!
lilkoisuru: Yell at hitobito, not me! ::cries.::
Tails: ::looks at lilkoisuru and crosses his arms.:: Hmph. I'm still not a meanie.
Third Chapter
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing in this story, including the basic concept and plot, which is owned by hitobito. SEGA owns Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Robotnik, and Tikal. Come on! You already know what this is about!
BEE'S NOTE: Ah, so you are continuing. Good for you! In hitobito's third chapter, he uses a lot of things from the Archie Comics universe. How fun this will be to try to convert into a SEGA-centered plot. Well, read on. Let's see what happens!
As hitobito says, "Doh-ho-ho-ho-ho-hoh!"
On with the story!
********************
Chapter 3-
The Incident
Tails is not quite sure what he wants to do at the moment exactly. All he can decide, however, is that, for some reason, he does not want to go to the ruins of Metropolis with the others.
"Come on, Tails. We need your help--"
"Just leave him alone, " Knuckles interrupts Amy's entreaty.
"He's right, Amy. Tails is tired. He hasn't slept in almost two days," Sonic concurs. He then turns to the kit, "Right? You're gonna stay behind to rest."
Tails looks toward his shed, which has been calling to him ever since the latter part of the banquet. Actually, more specifically, his new project is what has been calling him. The lure of the emerald powering that fan tripped something in the now-thinking fox's mind. He turns to Sonic after a moment, replying slowly, "No, I don't think I will sleep."
Reading the preoccupied look on his friend's face, Sonic decides to give up on the matter of convincing him to rest while they are gone.
"Well, we'll see you in a bit, Tails," Tikal sweetly says. She has just now joined the group. Her face shows great enthusiasm in readiness to help her friends to rebuild their reclaimed land.
This, in turn, causes a certain red echidna to smile to himself.
********************
Again Tails smiles as he watches his skilled hands move this way and that--correcting a wire here, adjusting a screw there. The concept of turning a mere thought into an actual, tangible thing just delights Tails every time. At the simple tweak of a small piece of hardware, he invents; with the mere flick of a switch, he creates. The feeling is almost as if--whether it be a plane, a motor, or even just a malfunctioning light switch--he is bleeding a piece of his soul into his undertakings.
This time, however, the feeling is beyond anything he has ever felt before. The rush of intense emotion pushes his fingers harder.
He collapses, breathless from exhaustion. He turns to his Chaos Emerald. He smiles. He places the red-glowing jewel into its aperture. He quietly, but eagerly, flicks the switch.
********************
Knuckles, wiping away a bit of sweat that had accumulated on his forehead, turns his head slightly, glancing his eyes to the quiet echidna next to him. He had been quite pleased to have her here in his time. His ancestry always mystified him. All he really can recall about who he is comes just what he knows now: that he is the Guardian of the Master Emerald and he is the only one left. But with her here, he can learn more. He glances again to the girl that is his history. His eyes widen when he sees she is returning the glance. His mind veers around in thought again. "Uh..." is all he can get out. Well, I gotta say something to her or I look like an idiot. He tears his attention away from her. A staring idiot. "Do you know if...?"
"Mm?" she responds.
He takes a breath. "About how long will it take to rebuild Metropolis, d-do you think?" His eyes are looking down at some random debris which have suddenly become extremely fascinating.
"Well, I'd guess about three years to clear the debris," she says, and then stops and sits up, looking up, thinking. "And I'd say about eight years to rebuild."
Everyone stops. A sudden, distant rumble had just emanated through the ground just then, and all the workers from Mystic Ruins are caught off-guard. Sounds of fright, both distant and nearby, begin to fill the air: "That sounded like it came from Mystic Ruins..." "My children!" "What's happening?" And so on.
Amy, hearing the fellow citizens' exclamations, now feels very uneasy. She crouches closely next to Sonic. "Wh-What was that?"
Sonic did not seem to be paying much notice to Amy, or even the other workers, at the moment. His ears and eyes are focused intently on something. "Do you hear that?" He utters quietly.
Knuckles turns to Sonic. Amy turns likewise. They both confirm they hear it, whatever it is.
"It just sounds like a storm coming," Amy says placidly.
"It's not a storm. It's different. Coming from where? Which way, Sonic?" Knuckles asks, a quite a bit more concerned than Amy.
Sonic indicates to where he believes he hears the pernicious sound. "From that way. The south."
Tikal stands up quickly, "I hear it, too."
The air begins to change a color similar to the hue the sky takes just before a tremendous storm, but it has a redder wash. Shadows all around take on a look like blood. A cold, unsettling breeze twists this way and that. It dances as if to taunt the gods, and anger the heavens.
As the air changes, Tikal becomes even more alert. "Whatever it is, it's causing a lot of energy interference in the clouds," she crouches down and touches the dry dirt beneath her with her palm. "And in the ground. It feels like it is pulsing."
At this, Sonic's ears prick up. "Can you tell what kind of energy?"
She turns her face to Knuckles, "The kind caused by--"
Knuckles likewise turns to her and nods. Ominously, they say as one, "Contortion of a Chaos Emerald."
The sound intensifies. Sonic shrinks a little. "It's coming closer."
Knuckles gapes at Sonic, looking somewhat pale.
"But emeralds can't move on their own," Amy points out.
Suddenly Amy and Sonic are blown over by an orange streak. By the time they can stand up, they hear dark chuckling. They turn both at once. Tails is standing just behind them, smirking.
The sneering kit is tossing his Chaos Emerald from hand to hand. The large bauble is glowing a fiery red, giving Tails's hands a look of being covered in blood. "Hello, Tikal." He maliciously takes her by the base of the neck, and squeezes. He chuckles as she slips to the ground with a stolid thud. "One pest down." He says, then laughs again.
Amy walks up to Tails with her signature naiveté. She places her hands gently on his, unaware that she is touching the red-shined emerald. "What is wrong with you? Why did you do that?" she asks tearfully.
All of a sudden, she is grabbed by the neck by Tails. "Oh, be quiet," the darkened kit growls. "I hate all this order and peace. That's all it is," he replies. He then narrows his eyes, "And don't ever touch my emerald." With a toss of his arm, he causes Amy to fly across the area and crash densely into Knuckles. Both scrape the ground, and fail to rise. Snickering, he turns to the others, "Maybe it would be more healthy for all of you if you surrender without a fight."
Sonic walks up to Tails, staying just out of reach, and asks him slowly, "What happened to you? Why are you--!" He is nailed in the stomach and slammed into the ground.
Tails is standing over him now. He laughs again through his twisted smile, and remarks, "Isn't it ironic, Sonic? This is much like the way the oh-so terrible Eggman stood before you, before I snapped and took him down." A dark red aura rises up, surrounding the kit. "Sadly, there is no one to take me down. And I told you already; I hate order and peace." He turns his back to Sonic, and, with a low growl, utters, "You all make me sick!" He turns briskly and kicks the gasping Sonic, and watches him slam against a broken brick wall. As the hedgehog falls to the ground, the weakened structure topples over his battered body.
Sonic barely utters Tails name, and then slips into unconsciousness, helpless. This time, there is no one to rescue him.
********************
End Third Chapter
BEE'S COMMENTS:
Tails: ::is crying.:: Why do you make me do that to Sonic?!
lilkoisuru: I'm sorry. But that's what happens in hitobito's story, and I have to go along with his plot as closely as possible.
Tails: But I'm not a meanie!
lilkoisuru: Yell at hitobito, not me! ::cries.::
Tails: ::looks at lilkoisuru and crosses his arms.:: Hmph. I'm still not a meanie.