Sonic Pandemonium
Written by Crystal Crazyshot and Mike Wolfskin (a.k.a. Team Icon)
Issue three - The Rise of Dark Matter.
"Mwa ha ha ha" Black Eggman laughed maniacally "MWA HA HA HA!
Fools! A new power has arisen! Bow down to your new master! HAHA!"
"Oh excuuse me 'master'!" Mike said "I'm not worthy! I mean come on! What's next? Aluminum Sonic?!"
Black Eggman glares at Mike as he says "A mere child DARES to make fun of me?! The lord of the ....island?!"
"If I'm not mistaken,"Knuckles said "but I think he just called us 'fools'"
"Yeah!" Mike replied "Let's get him!"
They both ran towards Black Eggman at full speed with their right hands held back. Ready to hit the robot, but it just batted them away like flies.
A hole then opened up on its stomach, revealing a high powered laser.
Mike flew out of the way carrying Knuckles with him. Landing really close to the water's edge as the ocean water splashed Knuckles in the face.
" Isn't this a little close?!" said Knuckles.
"Give me a break!" Mike replied " It's been at least three years since I did this kind of thing!"
He looks at Mike then at Black Eggman.
"At LEAST?!" Knuckles exclaims" You're telling me you're out of practice?!" "That's about the deal" he said nervously. "We're gonna die!!" Knuckles exclaimed. Black Eggman then starts to shoot off lasers and missiles from its hands and fingers.
"Any ideas?" asked Knuckles.
"Yeah" Mike said "I have an idea. RUN!!!"
"What?! Run?!" he said " I never run from a fight!"
Mike then grabs hold of Knuckles' hand and backs up to the Advance.
"Believe me, Knuckles" he said "If we don't, Black Eggman is going to turn us into ashes!"
"Good point" Knuckles said "Let's get out of here!"
They both ran for the airship as they avoided the onslaught of Black Eggman's weapons.
"Crystal!" Mike called above the noise of the projectiles "Crystal, start the engines and open the bottom hatchway!"
"What?! Why, Mike?!" Crystal said confused "What's wrong?!"
"Just do it!" he replied.
The Advance lifted off the ground as a door opened underneath.
Knuckles, Turbo and Mike ran in just barely avoiding another wave of lasers.
"Hey, there" Crystal said to three "Going my way?"
As the airship began to leave, Black Eggman lowered the left wing to reveal more weapons.
"You won't get away from me that easily" he said " Take this!"
Several high speed lasers fired from his wing. A few hit the back wing.
A sudden jolt shook the Advance as Crystal managed to keep the bed Sonic was strapped to from falling over.
"We're hit, Mike!" she called from the back "Do something!"
Another missile hits the airship and damages the wing.
"Brace for turbulence, everyone!" Mike called " We have wing damage!"
A feminine computer voice starts to announce a warning as red lights begin to flash. This was the same warning, Knuckles had heard many times during his experience with Sonic and the others.
Mike pulls up on the wheel just barely missing the ocean.
"I can see the Great Continent!" Crystal said "Knothole isn't too far from here!"
"There's the Great Forest straight ahead, Crystal!" he said "We're going to make it!"
"And not too soon for Sonic" she thought "he's going to make it too"
Just then, the damaged wing on the Advance breaks off into the ocean.
"Uh, guys?" Knuckles said " I think we'll have make it an emergency landing!"
"I know that already!" said Mike.
It makes a shaky descent in to the Great Forest as it starts to land.
"Hold on" he called "We're headed for a rough landing!"
Meanwhile in the secret underground village of Knothole, Princess Sally looked over a holographic file brought up from Nicole.
It looked to be a structure of some kind that had been built little over two and a half weeks ago.
"Nicole" she said " Bring up file of Robotroplis" "Processing, Sally" replied Nicole.
Several electronic beeping sounds were emitted by her hand held computer as another projection came up. This time it was a map of the entire city of Robotropolis.
The majority of the areas were labeled with names, noting the specific sections like the control room and the Swatbot factories.
One area however was labeled with a number rather than just a regular name.
"Enlarge this sector and exclude everything else" Sally told Nicole.
All other sections were darkened out with only that one area lit up.
In large green print it read "G-7".
It was uncertain whether any one knew what this part of the city was used for. Mostly due to the fact that it was just built.
"Access file name - 'Bio' " she said pressing a few buttons.
There was a long silence for several minutes.
"No files have been found" Nicole said finally "Level twelve security code required"
She then closed Nicole and placed the computer inside her vest pocket.
"What ever is going on in that building" Sally thought "Robotnik doesn't want any one to know what it is"
The wall mounted clock read two-thirty as she walked out side of her hut and towards the memorial.
It was down the road several yards away from the Lake of Rings. The path itself was surrounded by trees on either side as sunlight glinted through the leaves.
Soon arriving at the grave site, Sally placed a bouquet of red and blue flowers at the headstone.
"Sonic" she sighed sadly "If only ....if only there was some way he could've been saved."
The headstone was made of oak with a solid gold plate riveted to it reading "In memory of Sonic the Hedgehog 3220~3235"
The statue on top was posed in his usual confident stance- both feet firmly apart , one hand at his side while the other was in a "thumbs-up" and the usual cocky but confident grin.
It wasn't fair that Sonic had been taken away from them so early. Without warning, Nicole starts to go off as the computer receives an emergency distress call from the Advance.
"Incoming transmission...." Nicole said "Patching through to channel Priority One..."
"Ad....ake....he....da...mage....em....enc....lan....ing" the transmission said through Nicole "repeat.... emergen.....land.....Advance ...damaged.."
For the moment, Sally was startled by the sudden transmission. She barely had time to prepare for the landing . When it came to a stop right by the statue, smoke issuing from the airship both from the damaged areas and the overworked engines.
As the jets come to an immediate halt, several moments pass before the engines stop and the hatchway opens. Revealing four characters.
To Princess Sally's surprise, Knuckles the Echidna: whom had passed away many years ago, a strange looking Flicky bird from Flicky Island at whom she barely recognized because it had been many years since she had visited the vast tropical island - in fact the last time she visited it was with Sonic on one of his adventures, and two overlanders, a thirteen year old girl with long, blonde and wavy hair wearing a white short top t shirt and light blue denim jeans. Under the styled bangs were very bright green eyes similar to Sonic's that usually shone with the same kind of confidence, but now had shown too many mixed emotions and a young boy of twelve; his hair was a mixture of light brown and light blonde, his eyes were a sapphire blue, that stared at you as though to say "Don't worry! There's hope for tomorrow and today!", he wore a black jacket which stayed slightly open. Revealing a white t shirt. Over his neck, he wore a small emblem shaped like a sword that seemed half broken. On his head he wore a fine brown cowboy hat with a black leather strap around the top of it. Which on top laid out one of many different emblems from different regions from across Mobius.
On his back laid a sheathe of wooden and metal carvings, surprisingly no sword lay in the sheathe. Then suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, an earthquake in a can and a fuze from a microchip - everything came back to her and the three shady characters became all too familiar.
Many questions and emotions rushed through her mind. The first was Knuckles who was thought to be dead, the second was Crystal Crazyshot, the third was Mike Wolfskin. Although Mike and Crystal appeared to be much younger than in the days of the alliance of the System Outcast Freedom Fighters. It was not only odd that they seemed younger or they were members of the S.O. alliance, but that neither of them have been seen for one of many years. Crystal had been seen two years before and yet Mike had not been seen since the death of young Miles Prower three years ago.
Yet at the same time, it seemed strange that the System Outcast blade was not in its sheathe and Knuckles or someone that looked like him stood before her. The fourth character was a red Flicky bird, who she did not know. All four characters walked down slowly and became more visible.
"It is a great honor to see you, Lady Crystal" Sally said kneeling on to one knee "Sir Mike and Sir...."
She pauses a minute as aqua marine tears fall from the corner of her eyes seeing the red echidna before her "Knuckles."
A bit confused, Knuckles turns to her and responds " Do I ... know you?"
"Oh my" Sally thought " He has amnesia!"
She then turns to Crystal and Mike, who appear to both have serious looks on their faces.
"How may I help you?" she said "What brings you all the way out to Knothole?"
"One of many problems. I can only ask you to brace yourself" said Mike.
"Yes, but which one to speak of first?" said Crystal.
"First, the most gravest. Apparently we have a new enemy on our hands to the west" Mike said " It seems that Metal Robotnik has risen again, but it seems to have a spirit of its own. It's far more maniacal than anyone we've faced before. Second the appearance of characters who should be dead.
Mind you, I have theory and only a theory about this one. It appears as though characters like Sonic, Knuckles and possibly others have come from one universe into ours. Where their existence in our dimension is no more."
"How did you come to that conclusion?" she said.
"Well, it seems that though Knuckles would recognize me" Mike said " We were great friends and allies and Sonic died before our very eyes trying to save us."
"I see" Knuckles said "So, I am im another universe."
"The Space Colon ARK has appeared near FLicky Island" said Mike.
"But at the same time, the ARK we know is still orbiting Mobius" said Crystal.
"Fourth, I lost the System Outcast blade" Mike said " But, I will return for it at a later time." Mike's gaze focuses on the Advance that is still smoking and turns to Sally.
"We just barely managed to escape Black Eggman's barrage of attacks" he said "Several of his weapons hit the Advance and it's in need of serious repair."
Crystal stepped forward as she said " Also, we seemed to have found Sonic and he's in critical condition. I fear that he won't last without proper medical care."
Her voice was slightly cracked as if she was going to cry the next second.
Sally saw the mixed emotions in Crystal's eyes and understood completely.
"I'll send for Dr. Quack immediately, Crystal" she said pressing the com link button on Nicole "Dr. Quack, this is Princess Sally. Meet me by the memorial. There's a medical emergency and your services are needed."
Shortly after the call was made, a yellow duck in a white lab coat ran up to the group standing by the Advance.
"Come this way, Doctor." Crystal said escorting him into the back of the ship "He's right here."
They both came to the bed where Sonic laid still, almost lifeless.
"This is serious, Ms. Crazyshot" Dr. Quack said "Help me take him to the medical ward"
"Of course, Dr. Quack" she replied "I'll do anything I can to save Sonic."
The two came out carrying the front and back end of Sonic's bed, carefully walking down the steps of the airship. Setting the injured hedgehog down on a stretcher as the group cleared the way.
"Please tell me if and when there are any changes in his condition" Crystal said "Anything at all."
The duck looked towards Crystal and responded " Agreed, Lady Crystal."
As this conversation took place, Mike explained about Black Eggman and how he has made Flicky Island his base of operations.
"He was too powerful for even me and Knuckles to take out on our own" he said "I think we should go after him in an all out assault before he can become a bigger threat to Mobius!"
Princess Sally thought for a minute, back to the building that was recently discovered within Robotropolis.
"You have a point, Mike" she said " But, first we have to check out what Robotnik's up to. He has a new building set up in the city and is under high security. Nicole couldn't even access any file s on it." "I thought things were too quiet in Robotropolis!" he said "Any other details we can go by?"
"Nothing" Sally replied " Except for it was coded G-7 on the map file I recently received from Sonic's Uncle Charles."
Taking out Nicole, she begun to press several buttons on the handheld computer as a holographic display flashed in front of the two.
The same map that was brought up from earlier that day as the area of that map was the only building that was lit up.
Meanwhile, Shadow comes to on the coast of a small island as the shrill cry of mew gulls can be heard.
For the moment, his vision starts to clear but fades and blurs the next.
"I am .....alive?" he said warily "I must be, but where is this place that I have ended up?"
He looks around slightly tilting his head towards a dirt road, there appeared to be small dwellings in the far off distance.
Crimson streaks of blood trickle down his face and arms as it sticks to his black fur.
"This pain" Shadow thought "I can vaguely recall I have gotten injured, but how did I survive?"
Shadow then tries to get up, falls heavily on his side as several injuries scream pain in protest.
"How pathetic. Me, the Ultimate Life form and I can barely stand" he said weakly "Hah. What a joke!"
As his vision started to fade more, he could barely make out a figure of an Overlander standing over him.
"Huh.... who are ...you" Shadow said "and... where ...am I?'
Visioning clearing again, Shadow sees what appears to be a young boy with a cap over his head and a long brown tail wrapped around his waist.
Bill kneels down next to the black and red hedgehog, which appeared to be similar to Sonic in appearance. Shadow's markings however were very unique and different from his blue counterpart's; he was mostly black with a
patch of white fur over his chest and was streaked with red down the back his legs and arms, over his head quills and lining the corners of his eyes.
At the moment, his fur was a brownish red from blood stains. "I will explain everything once your wounds are taken care of" Bill said "For now lets get you to the infirmary"
Shadow did not understand why this Overlander wanted to help him, after the incident on the ARK when it was boarded he had a strong distrust of Overlanders. They had no reason to kill Maria, she was only trying to help them both to escape to Mobius.
"So, GUN sent someone to take me back to their research facility" he thought "I can't let them take me back 'there'! I won't let them!"
As Bill tried to pick him up, Shadow leaped to the left. Standing warily as he watched him careful and cautiously. Fear clearly visible in the hedgehog's ruby red eyes.
"It's alright" Bill said "I'm a Freedom Fighter."
Somewhere in Shadow's hazy memory recognized the word, Eggman had often called Sonic that.
"Freedom Fighter" he said "So, you don't work for the government?"
"What are you talking about?!" Bill exclaimed "Robotnik's the government! Why would I work for aa over bloated scum sucker like him?!"
Shadow's fear melted away as he begun to put his trust in the young Overlander.
"Go ahead then" he said " Take me to your 'infirmary'"
* * * *
Shadow laid on his back in white clean sheets on a bed by a window.
"I wonder if I am the only one that got sent here" he thought "Did Sonic make it here as well?"
Most of his injuries had healed quite well for only a short amount of time. Professor Gerald had created him as the Ultimate Life form and as such allowed his injuries to heal much quicker than that of most people.
"Now that I survived, what am I going to do now?" Shadow thought "I fulfilled my promise to Maria and saved Mobius from the destruction of the professor's self destruct program on the space colony. I suppose I should look for that blue hedgehog and see if he's here."
Without warning, the whole room shook with a loud roar of a monster just outside.
Shadow sprang to his feet and put on his gloves and hover skates.
"What ever is going on " he said "I'd better investigate it!"
He immediately ran outside to see a giant lizard like monster attacking the village.
"Impossible!" Shadow exclaimed "Don't tell me that Professor Gerald's creation, the Biolizard is still alive! Sonic and I destroyed it!!!"
The monster was an ugly grayish green on top with a sickly yellow colored underside as it stood on it's hind legs.
"So, it has gained some intelligence and can stand upright" he thought "Whatever! I'll have to take it out before it can doom the world again."
In the middle of the monster's war path, a young female two tailed fox tripped directly in front of it.
She screamed in terror as it was about to step on her. When out of no where Shadow appeared and used Chaos Control to freeze the monster in place.
"Get to a safe place!" he said " I will handle the monster!"
As soon as the girl was out of harm's way, he looked directly at the monster.
"So! You've come back to see who the REAL Ultimate Life form is!" Shadow said "Fine! Don't expect me to go easy, because I won't!"
He then jumped to avoid a swipe of the lizards's huge tail and kicked in the back of its head. Knocking it over on its face. It got up and struck him on his shoulder. He recovered quickly enough to dodge another attack and reciprocate with a black flip kick to its side.
"Had enough yet?!" he called to the monster "I'm going to make this quick!"
Summoning a thunder bolt in his hand, Shadow threw a Chaos Spear at the giant lizard. It disintegrated the left arm up to the shoulder.
"My attacks seem to have a weaker effect on the Biolizard than expected" he thought " Time do things the old fashioned way!"
He then ran at full speed at the monster, which almost close to Sonic's running speed. Jumping at it and sprang into the Spin-dash.
The attack split the monster in half and it dissipated. In its place, several small emerald pieces from the fake Chaos Emerald.
Gathering them into his hand, he suddenly remembered what had happened- Chaos Control shattered the fake emerald. It's energies released and merged with that of the similar kind. Teleported him and everyone on the space colony to this place.
"It is the fake," Shadow thought "It wasn't meant to be used for Chaos Control. Sonic used it once already for that purpose, that's why it broke in to several pieces after I attempted the same." He examined the Chaos Emerald pieces in his hand closely they didn't have a normal feel to them. Almost as though the positive polarity was nearly canceled out by the negative energies.
"This doesn't make any sense" Shadow said quietly " When I had a normal Chaos Emerald in my hand, they had equal polarities. They were balanced."
He then looked at them again.
"These pieces seem to have a greater negative polarity than that of the seven original Chaos Emeralds" he thought "And that giant lizard was almost as if it was berserk. Just attacking everything in its path. It definitely had a negative feel to it."
Suddenly, Shadow began to feel faint and started to fall to his knees. Catching himself at he last minute, breathing slightly heavier than normal.
"Darn! My wounds have not fully healed!" he said out of breath "Looks like it is going to be awhile before I can search for Sonic and the others."
His gaze then shifts behind him. Where Bill and his grandfather come running up to him.
"That was incredible how you destroyed that monster! Almost like another hedgehog I used to know" Bill said "How'd you do that?!"
"First, we should let him rest a bit more. He hasn't fully regained his strength,"Bill's grandfather said "Come. Let us go inside. We shall talk inside the house."
Meanwhile on a small untraveled dirt path, three travelers stop in their tracks.
"Why did you stop so suddenly, Nike?" Lily asked "What's wrong?"
Nike's eyes focus on the road to his left, narrowing as if searching for something. A deep growl issues from his throat as he clenches his fists tight enough to turn stark white.
"Blood! I can smell it!" he answered without shifting his gaze "Someone has been fighting recently!"
He then runs towards the nearby village like a bolt. Leaving Tails and Lily behind.
"HEY!" Lily yelled "Don't leave me here! Wait up, Nike!"
Tails then flies off and chases after the black echidna.
Silence passes the short three or so minutes as Lily begins to realize that she is the only one standing on the small road.
"You guys!" she exclaims "Wait for me!"
Sometime later, the trio comes across a town that has been recently attacked. Of which there is nothing left. Buildings and trees are burned to the ground, large red blotches scatter the ground of blood stains and what is left is literally smoldering in the ruins.
Not too far away stood the very thing responsible for the wide spread massacre, a shiny metallic blue hedgehog-like robot that bared a striking resemblance to Sonic. Its eyes were not normal digital red. They were completely red, as if it had a mind of its own and was possessed by the devil himself. The usual bright metallic blue was a dark midnight blue and the silver was a dark pitch black. Its whole frame had a dim yellow glow that seemed to mix with the light of the fires. Making it look a sick yellowish green color. Its cold stare made it even more evil.
Seeing this, Lily immediately hid behind Tails for protection. Clinging on to him like a vine.
Then the strange and menacing robot spoke as its razor sharp hand ripped straight through one of the remaining villagers. Blood running down its arm.
"This area is under siege of Black Eggman" it said "Anyone who resists will face death!"
Scanning the ruins for anyone else that would get in its master's way, the robot saw a lone girl in the midst of the wrecked village. Hiding around what was left of a small house.
The robot was about to attack her, when a large blade comes between the girl and its claws.
"You've got a lot of nerve attacking those who can't defend themselves, pal!" Nike said annoyed "This is one villager you won't be attacking."
Nike steadily held his sword as it was pushed back by the robot. "Oh?"it said "And who are you, echidna?!" The cold metallic voice had an electronic quality that was hinted with a slight touch of Sonic's own.
Breaking the sword lose of its grip, Nike swung it to the left and hit the robot. The hit left a tiny scratch which almost automatically repaired.
"Metal Gear Sonic!" said Black Eggman through a communication device by its ear "What's taking you so long!"
In a peeved voice Metal Gear Sonic answered "I've run into some trouble, master!"
"I don't care how you deal with the problem"he yelled "Just do it"
Now that Metal Gear Sonic was given the power to do as he pleased with his enemy, it decided to have some fun with him.
"Pathetic organic!" Metal Gear Sonic said "You shall pay for interfering with my master's plans!"
Several of Metal's attempted attacks were blocked with Nike's sword as he also attempted to get several hits in on the mechanoid hedgehog. Without warning, he received about three deep gashes across the right arm. Causing him to drop his sword. Nike tightly closed his eyes trying to block out the pain of his injury.
Picking up the sword with his left hand, he just as skillfully hacked at the robot causing minor damage to its frame. Nothing more than scratches on the dark blue and black finish.
"Foolish echidna!" Metal yelled "You can't harm me! I am indestructible!" "We'll see about that!" Nike said "Take this!"
Nike's sword landed a slice mark down its face the size of a thin paper cut.
He was then pinned to the ground as he felt the robot's fingers run straight through his chest. The black echidna screamed from the unexpected pain.
Fueled by anger and fury, Nike pushed his attacker off of him despite the injuries. Blood from the wound to his chest stained his fur a reddish brown and the claws of the robot a dark crimson from finger tip to wrist.
Hitting rapidly with his large sword, Nike scored several hits on Metal. Which appeared to cause mild damage to it and deactivated it but it had activated the temporary deactivation sequence to repair itself.
"Dammit!" Nike said as he slumped down slightly on to his back "This is seriously going to slow me down!"
The young girl then came out of hiding. "Is it still alive?" she asked.
"Ah! If it is, I'm gonna shove this sword down its circuit board" he answered "That metal Sonic-wanna-be has caused me enough trouble already."
Lily and Tails caught up to Nike as he held his hand up to the wound on his chest to stop the bleeding.
"It's alright. I don't think he'll come back on line anytime soon" Nike said "Besides, I need time to regain my strength"
They both caught him as he collapsed. "Is he going to be alright?" asked Tails. "He just needs time to heal" Lily said "Nike's got a way of coming back from even the most serious of injuries."
"That's right, just look for a place that we go to for shelter" Nike said "For now, I just need some rest."
Written by Crystal Crazyshot and Mike Wolfskin (a.k.a. Team Icon)
Issue three - The Rise of Dark Matter.
"Mwa ha ha ha" Black Eggman laughed maniacally "MWA HA HA HA!
Fools! A new power has arisen! Bow down to your new master! HAHA!"
"Oh excuuse me 'master'!" Mike said "I'm not worthy! I mean come on! What's next? Aluminum Sonic?!"
Black Eggman glares at Mike as he says "A mere child DARES to make fun of me?! The lord of the ....island?!"
"If I'm not mistaken,"Knuckles said "but I think he just called us 'fools'"
"Yeah!" Mike replied "Let's get him!"
They both ran towards Black Eggman at full speed with their right hands held back. Ready to hit the robot, but it just batted them away like flies.
A hole then opened up on its stomach, revealing a high powered laser.
Mike flew out of the way carrying Knuckles with him. Landing really close to the water's edge as the ocean water splashed Knuckles in the face.
" Isn't this a little close?!" said Knuckles.
"Give me a break!" Mike replied " It's been at least three years since I did this kind of thing!"
He looks at Mike then at Black Eggman.
"At LEAST?!" Knuckles exclaims" You're telling me you're out of practice?!" "That's about the deal" he said nervously. "We're gonna die!!" Knuckles exclaimed. Black Eggman then starts to shoot off lasers and missiles from its hands and fingers.
"Any ideas?" asked Knuckles.
"Yeah" Mike said "I have an idea. RUN!!!"
"What?! Run?!" he said " I never run from a fight!"
Mike then grabs hold of Knuckles' hand and backs up to the Advance.
"Believe me, Knuckles" he said "If we don't, Black Eggman is going to turn us into ashes!"
"Good point" Knuckles said "Let's get out of here!"
They both ran for the airship as they avoided the onslaught of Black Eggman's weapons.
"Crystal!" Mike called above the noise of the projectiles "Crystal, start the engines and open the bottom hatchway!"
"What?! Why, Mike?!" Crystal said confused "What's wrong?!"
"Just do it!" he replied.
The Advance lifted off the ground as a door opened underneath.
Knuckles, Turbo and Mike ran in just barely avoiding another wave of lasers.
"Hey, there" Crystal said to three "Going my way?"
As the airship began to leave, Black Eggman lowered the left wing to reveal more weapons.
"You won't get away from me that easily" he said " Take this!"
Several high speed lasers fired from his wing. A few hit the back wing.
A sudden jolt shook the Advance as Crystal managed to keep the bed Sonic was strapped to from falling over.
"We're hit, Mike!" she called from the back "Do something!"
Another missile hits the airship and damages the wing.
"Brace for turbulence, everyone!" Mike called " We have wing damage!"
A feminine computer voice starts to announce a warning as red lights begin to flash. This was the same warning, Knuckles had heard many times during his experience with Sonic and the others.
Mike pulls up on the wheel just barely missing the ocean.
"I can see the Great Continent!" Crystal said "Knothole isn't too far from here!"
"There's the Great Forest straight ahead, Crystal!" he said "We're going to make it!"
"And not too soon for Sonic" she thought "he's going to make it too"
Just then, the damaged wing on the Advance breaks off into the ocean.
"Uh, guys?" Knuckles said " I think we'll have make it an emergency landing!"
"I know that already!" said Mike.
It makes a shaky descent in to the Great Forest as it starts to land.
"Hold on" he called "We're headed for a rough landing!"
Meanwhile in the secret underground village of Knothole, Princess Sally looked over a holographic file brought up from Nicole.
It looked to be a structure of some kind that had been built little over two and a half weeks ago.
"Nicole" she said " Bring up file of Robotroplis" "Processing, Sally" replied Nicole.
Several electronic beeping sounds were emitted by her hand held computer as another projection came up. This time it was a map of the entire city of Robotropolis.
The majority of the areas were labeled with names, noting the specific sections like the control room and the Swatbot factories.
One area however was labeled with a number rather than just a regular name.
"Enlarge this sector and exclude everything else" Sally told Nicole.
All other sections were darkened out with only that one area lit up.
In large green print it read "G-7".
It was uncertain whether any one knew what this part of the city was used for. Mostly due to the fact that it was just built.
"Access file name - 'Bio' " she said pressing a few buttons.
There was a long silence for several minutes.
"No files have been found" Nicole said finally "Level twelve security code required"
She then closed Nicole and placed the computer inside her vest pocket.
"What ever is going on in that building" Sally thought "Robotnik doesn't want any one to know what it is"
The wall mounted clock read two-thirty as she walked out side of her hut and towards the memorial.
It was down the road several yards away from the Lake of Rings. The path itself was surrounded by trees on either side as sunlight glinted through the leaves.
Soon arriving at the grave site, Sally placed a bouquet of red and blue flowers at the headstone.
"Sonic" she sighed sadly "If only ....if only there was some way he could've been saved."
The headstone was made of oak with a solid gold plate riveted to it reading "In memory of Sonic the Hedgehog 3220~3235"
The statue on top was posed in his usual confident stance- both feet firmly apart , one hand at his side while the other was in a "thumbs-up" and the usual cocky but confident grin.
It wasn't fair that Sonic had been taken away from them so early. Without warning, Nicole starts to go off as the computer receives an emergency distress call from the Advance.
"Incoming transmission...." Nicole said "Patching through to channel Priority One..."
"Ad....ake....he....da...mage....em....enc....lan....ing" the transmission said through Nicole "repeat.... emergen.....land.....Advance ...damaged.."
For the moment, Sally was startled by the sudden transmission. She barely had time to prepare for the landing . When it came to a stop right by the statue, smoke issuing from the airship both from the damaged areas and the overworked engines.
As the jets come to an immediate halt, several moments pass before the engines stop and the hatchway opens. Revealing four characters.
To Princess Sally's surprise, Knuckles the Echidna: whom had passed away many years ago, a strange looking Flicky bird from Flicky Island at whom she barely recognized because it had been many years since she had visited the vast tropical island - in fact the last time she visited it was with Sonic on one of his adventures, and two overlanders, a thirteen year old girl with long, blonde and wavy hair wearing a white short top t shirt and light blue denim jeans. Under the styled bangs were very bright green eyes similar to Sonic's that usually shone with the same kind of confidence, but now had shown too many mixed emotions and a young boy of twelve; his hair was a mixture of light brown and light blonde, his eyes were a sapphire blue, that stared at you as though to say "Don't worry! There's hope for tomorrow and today!", he wore a black jacket which stayed slightly open. Revealing a white t shirt. Over his neck, he wore a small emblem shaped like a sword that seemed half broken. On his head he wore a fine brown cowboy hat with a black leather strap around the top of it. Which on top laid out one of many different emblems from different regions from across Mobius.
On his back laid a sheathe of wooden and metal carvings, surprisingly no sword lay in the sheathe. Then suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, an earthquake in a can and a fuze from a microchip - everything came back to her and the three shady characters became all too familiar.
Many questions and emotions rushed through her mind. The first was Knuckles who was thought to be dead, the second was Crystal Crazyshot, the third was Mike Wolfskin. Although Mike and Crystal appeared to be much younger than in the days of the alliance of the System Outcast Freedom Fighters. It was not only odd that they seemed younger or they were members of the S.O. alliance, but that neither of them have been seen for one of many years. Crystal had been seen two years before and yet Mike had not been seen since the death of young Miles Prower three years ago.
Yet at the same time, it seemed strange that the System Outcast blade was not in its sheathe and Knuckles or someone that looked like him stood before her. The fourth character was a red Flicky bird, who she did not know. All four characters walked down slowly and became more visible.
"It is a great honor to see you, Lady Crystal" Sally said kneeling on to one knee "Sir Mike and Sir...."
She pauses a minute as aqua marine tears fall from the corner of her eyes seeing the red echidna before her "Knuckles."
A bit confused, Knuckles turns to her and responds " Do I ... know you?"
"Oh my" Sally thought " He has amnesia!"
She then turns to Crystal and Mike, who appear to both have serious looks on their faces.
"How may I help you?" she said "What brings you all the way out to Knothole?"
"One of many problems. I can only ask you to brace yourself" said Mike.
"Yes, but which one to speak of first?" said Crystal.
"First, the most gravest. Apparently we have a new enemy on our hands to the west" Mike said " It seems that Metal Robotnik has risen again, but it seems to have a spirit of its own. It's far more maniacal than anyone we've faced before. Second the appearance of characters who should be dead.
Mind you, I have theory and only a theory about this one. It appears as though characters like Sonic, Knuckles and possibly others have come from one universe into ours. Where their existence in our dimension is no more."
"How did you come to that conclusion?" she said.
"Well, it seems that though Knuckles would recognize me" Mike said " We were great friends and allies and Sonic died before our very eyes trying to save us."
"I see" Knuckles said "So, I am im another universe."
"The Space Colon ARK has appeared near FLicky Island" said Mike.
"But at the same time, the ARK we know is still orbiting Mobius" said Crystal.
"Fourth, I lost the System Outcast blade" Mike said " But, I will return for it at a later time." Mike's gaze focuses on the Advance that is still smoking and turns to Sally.
"We just barely managed to escape Black Eggman's barrage of attacks" he said "Several of his weapons hit the Advance and it's in need of serious repair."
Crystal stepped forward as she said " Also, we seemed to have found Sonic and he's in critical condition. I fear that he won't last without proper medical care."
Her voice was slightly cracked as if she was going to cry the next second.
Sally saw the mixed emotions in Crystal's eyes and understood completely.
"I'll send for Dr. Quack immediately, Crystal" she said pressing the com link button on Nicole "Dr. Quack, this is Princess Sally. Meet me by the memorial. There's a medical emergency and your services are needed."
Shortly after the call was made, a yellow duck in a white lab coat ran up to the group standing by the Advance.
"Come this way, Doctor." Crystal said escorting him into the back of the ship "He's right here."
They both came to the bed where Sonic laid still, almost lifeless.
"This is serious, Ms. Crazyshot" Dr. Quack said "Help me take him to the medical ward"
"Of course, Dr. Quack" she replied "I'll do anything I can to save Sonic."
The two came out carrying the front and back end of Sonic's bed, carefully walking down the steps of the airship. Setting the injured hedgehog down on a stretcher as the group cleared the way.
"Please tell me if and when there are any changes in his condition" Crystal said "Anything at all."
The duck looked towards Crystal and responded " Agreed, Lady Crystal."
As this conversation took place, Mike explained about Black Eggman and how he has made Flicky Island his base of operations.
"He was too powerful for even me and Knuckles to take out on our own" he said "I think we should go after him in an all out assault before he can become a bigger threat to Mobius!"
Princess Sally thought for a minute, back to the building that was recently discovered within Robotropolis.
"You have a point, Mike" she said " But, first we have to check out what Robotnik's up to. He has a new building set up in the city and is under high security. Nicole couldn't even access any file s on it." "I thought things were too quiet in Robotropolis!" he said "Any other details we can go by?"
"Nothing" Sally replied " Except for it was coded G-7 on the map file I recently received from Sonic's Uncle Charles."
Taking out Nicole, she begun to press several buttons on the handheld computer as a holographic display flashed in front of the two.
The same map that was brought up from earlier that day as the area of that map was the only building that was lit up.
Meanwhile, Shadow comes to on the coast of a small island as the shrill cry of mew gulls can be heard.
For the moment, his vision starts to clear but fades and blurs the next.
"I am .....alive?" he said warily "I must be, but where is this place that I have ended up?"
He looks around slightly tilting his head towards a dirt road, there appeared to be small dwellings in the far off distance.
Crimson streaks of blood trickle down his face and arms as it sticks to his black fur.
"This pain" Shadow thought "I can vaguely recall I have gotten injured, but how did I survive?"
Shadow then tries to get up, falls heavily on his side as several injuries scream pain in protest.
"How pathetic. Me, the Ultimate Life form and I can barely stand" he said weakly "Hah. What a joke!"
As his vision started to fade more, he could barely make out a figure of an Overlander standing over him.
"Huh.... who are ...you" Shadow said "and... where ...am I?'
Visioning clearing again, Shadow sees what appears to be a young boy with a cap over his head and a long brown tail wrapped around his waist.
Bill kneels down next to the black and red hedgehog, which appeared to be similar to Sonic in appearance. Shadow's markings however were very unique and different from his blue counterpart's; he was mostly black with a
patch of white fur over his chest and was streaked with red down the back his legs and arms, over his head quills and lining the corners of his eyes.
At the moment, his fur was a brownish red from blood stains. "I will explain everything once your wounds are taken care of" Bill said "For now lets get you to the infirmary"
Shadow did not understand why this Overlander wanted to help him, after the incident on the ARK when it was boarded he had a strong distrust of Overlanders. They had no reason to kill Maria, she was only trying to help them both to escape to Mobius.
"So, GUN sent someone to take me back to their research facility" he thought "I can't let them take me back 'there'! I won't let them!"
As Bill tried to pick him up, Shadow leaped to the left. Standing warily as he watched him careful and cautiously. Fear clearly visible in the hedgehog's ruby red eyes.
"It's alright" Bill said "I'm a Freedom Fighter."
Somewhere in Shadow's hazy memory recognized the word, Eggman had often called Sonic that.
"Freedom Fighter" he said "So, you don't work for the government?"
"What are you talking about?!" Bill exclaimed "Robotnik's the government! Why would I work for aa over bloated scum sucker like him?!"
Shadow's fear melted away as he begun to put his trust in the young Overlander.
"Go ahead then" he said " Take me to your 'infirmary'"
* * * *
Shadow laid on his back in white clean sheets on a bed by a window.
"I wonder if I am the only one that got sent here" he thought "Did Sonic make it here as well?"
Most of his injuries had healed quite well for only a short amount of time. Professor Gerald had created him as the Ultimate Life form and as such allowed his injuries to heal much quicker than that of most people.
"Now that I survived, what am I going to do now?" Shadow thought "I fulfilled my promise to Maria and saved Mobius from the destruction of the professor's self destruct program on the space colony. I suppose I should look for that blue hedgehog and see if he's here."
Without warning, the whole room shook with a loud roar of a monster just outside.
Shadow sprang to his feet and put on his gloves and hover skates.
"What ever is going on " he said "I'd better investigate it!"
He immediately ran outside to see a giant lizard like monster attacking the village.
"Impossible!" Shadow exclaimed "Don't tell me that Professor Gerald's creation, the Biolizard is still alive! Sonic and I destroyed it!!!"
The monster was an ugly grayish green on top with a sickly yellow colored underside as it stood on it's hind legs.
"So, it has gained some intelligence and can stand upright" he thought "Whatever! I'll have to take it out before it can doom the world again."
In the middle of the monster's war path, a young female two tailed fox tripped directly in front of it.
She screamed in terror as it was about to step on her. When out of no where Shadow appeared and used Chaos Control to freeze the monster in place.
"Get to a safe place!" he said " I will handle the monster!"
As soon as the girl was out of harm's way, he looked directly at the monster.
"So! You've come back to see who the REAL Ultimate Life form is!" Shadow said "Fine! Don't expect me to go easy, because I won't!"
He then jumped to avoid a swipe of the lizards's huge tail and kicked in the back of its head. Knocking it over on its face. It got up and struck him on his shoulder. He recovered quickly enough to dodge another attack and reciprocate with a black flip kick to its side.
"Had enough yet?!" he called to the monster "I'm going to make this quick!"
Summoning a thunder bolt in his hand, Shadow threw a Chaos Spear at the giant lizard. It disintegrated the left arm up to the shoulder.
"My attacks seem to have a weaker effect on the Biolizard than expected" he thought " Time do things the old fashioned way!"
He then ran at full speed at the monster, which almost close to Sonic's running speed. Jumping at it and sprang into the Spin-dash.
The attack split the monster in half and it dissipated. In its place, several small emerald pieces from the fake Chaos Emerald.
Gathering them into his hand, he suddenly remembered what had happened- Chaos Control shattered the fake emerald. It's energies released and merged with that of the similar kind. Teleported him and everyone on the space colony to this place.
"It is the fake," Shadow thought "It wasn't meant to be used for Chaos Control. Sonic used it once already for that purpose, that's why it broke in to several pieces after I attempted the same." He examined the Chaos Emerald pieces in his hand closely they didn't have a normal feel to them. Almost as though the positive polarity was nearly canceled out by the negative energies.
"This doesn't make any sense" Shadow said quietly " When I had a normal Chaos Emerald in my hand, they had equal polarities. They were balanced."
He then looked at them again.
"These pieces seem to have a greater negative polarity than that of the seven original Chaos Emeralds" he thought "And that giant lizard was almost as if it was berserk. Just attacking everything in its path. It definitely had a negative feel to it."
Suddenly, Shadow began to feel faint and started to fall to his knees. Catching himself at he last minute, breathing slightly heavier than normal.
"Darn! My wounds have not fully healed!" he said out of breath "Looks like it is going to be awhile before I can search for Sonic and the others."
His gaze then shifts behind him. Where Bill and his grandfather come running up to him.
"That was incredible how you destroyed that monster! Almost like another hedgehog I used to know" Bill said "How'd you do that?!"
"First, we should let him rest a bit more. He hasn't fully regained his strength,"Bill's grandfather said "Come. Let us go inside. We shall talk inside the house."
Meanwhile on a small untraveled dirt path, three travelers stop in their tracks.
"Why did you stop so suddenly, Nike?" Lily asked "What's wrong?"
Nike's eyes focus on the road to his left, narrowing as if searching for something. A deep growl issues from his throat as he clenches his fists tight enough to turn stark white.
"Blood! I can smell it!" he answered without shifting his gaze "Someone has been fighting recently!"
He then runs towards the nearby village like a bolt. Leaving Tails and Lily behind.
"HEY!" Lily yelled "Don't leave me here! Wait up, Nike!"
Tails then flies off and chases after the black echidna.
Silence passes the short three or so minutes as Lily begins to realize that she is the only one standing on the small road.
"You guys!" she exclaims "Wait for me!"
Sometime later, the trio comes across a town that has been recently attacked. Of which there is nothing left. Buildings and trees are burned to the ground, large red blotches scatter the ground of blood stains and what is left is literally smoldering in the ruins.
Not too far away stood the very thing responsible for the wide spread massacre, a shiny metallic blue hedgehog-like robot that bared a striking resemblance to Sonic. Its eyes were not normal digital red. They were completely red, as if it had a mind of its own and was possessed by the devil himself. The usual bright metallic blue was a dark midnight blue and the silver was a dark pitch black. Its whole frame had a dim yellow glow that seemed to mix with the light of the fires. Making it look a sick yellowish green color. Its cold stare made it even more evil.
Seeing this, Lily immediately hid behind Tails for protection. Clinging on to him like a vine.
Then the strange and menacing robot spoke as its razor sharp hand ripped straight through one of the remaining villagers. Blood running down its arm.
"This area is under siege of Black Eggman" it said "Anyone who resists will face death!"
Scanning the ruins for anyone else that would get in its master's way, the robot saw a lone girl in the midst of the wrecked village. Hiding around what was left of a small house.
The robot was about to attack her, when a large blade comes between the girl and its claws.
"You've got a lot of nerve attacking those who can't defend themselves, pal!" Nike said annoyed "This is one villager you won't be attacking."
Nike steadily held his sword as it was pushed back by the robot. "Oh?"it said "And who are you, echidna?!" The cold metallic voice had an electronic quality that was hinted with a slight touch of Sonic's own.
Breaking the sword lose of its grip, Nike swung it to the left and hit the robot. The hit left a tiny scratch which almost automatically repaired.
"Metal Gear Sonic!" said Black Eggman through a communication device by its ear "What's taking you so long!"
In a peeved voice Metal Gear Sonic answered "I've run into some trouble, master!"
"I don't care how you deal with the problem"he yelled "Just do it"
Now that Metal Gear Sonic was given the power to do as he pleased with his enemy, it decided to have some fun with him.
"Pathetic organic!" Metal Gear Sonic said "You shall pay for interfering with my master's plans!"
Several of Metal's attempted attacks were blocked with Nike's sword as he also attempted to get several hits in on the mechanoid hedgehog. Without warning, he received about three deep gashes across the right arm. Causing him to drop his sword. Nike tightly closed his eyes trying to block out the pain of his injury.
Picking up the sword with his left hand, he just as skillfully hacked at the robot causing minor damage to its frame. Nothing more than scratches on the dark blue and black finish.
"Foolish echidna!" Metal yelled "You can't harm me! I am indestructible!" "We'll see about that!" Nike said "Take this!"
Nike's sword landed a slice mark down its face the size of a thin paper cut.
He was then pinned to the ground as he felt the robot's fingers run straight through his chest. The black echidna screamed from the unexpected pain.
Fueled by anger and fury, Nike pushed his attacker off of him despite the injuries. Blood from the wound to his chest stained his fur a reddish brown and the claws of the robot a dark crimson from finger tip to wrist.
Hitting rapidly with his large sword, Nike scored several hits on Metal. Which appeared to cause mild damage to it and deactivated it but it had activated the temporary deactivation sequence to repair itself.
"Dammit!" Nike said as he slumped down slightly on to his back "This is seriously going to slow me down!"
The young girl then came out of hiding. "Is it still alive?" she asked.
"Ah! If it is, I'm gonna shove this sword down its circuit board" he answered "That metal Sonic-wanna-be has caused me enough trouble already."
Lily and Tails caught up to Nike as he held his hand up to the wound on his chest to stop the bleeding.
"It's alright. I don't think he'll come back on line anytime soon" Nike said "Besides, I need time to regain my strength"
They both caught him as he collapsed. "Is he going to be alright?" asked Tails. "He just needs time to heal" Lily said "Nike's got a way of coming back from even the most serious of injuries."
"That's right, just look for a place that we go to for shelter" Nike said "For now, I just need some rest."