Chapter Fifteen
"Overlord! They've escaped!" one of the guards cried as he rushed into Sonic's throne room. Sonic was examining one of the Chaos Emeralds.
"So?" Sonic inquired without seeming to worry much.
"No doubt they are searching for the metal man…"
"You mean Omega? Heh…they can have him. I have the real prize!" Sonic held up the Chaos Emerald. "With these, there is nothing they can do to defeat me!"
"I overhead them talking about how they defeated Knuckles…who also used the Chaos Emeralds!"
"Is that so? Then I am glad you notified me. Unlike certain rulers, I know when I'm in danger. But…then again…they wouldn't harm THIS little beauty, would they?" He tugged on a chain, which had Yumi, handcuffed on the other end.
"Sire…that's Tsuko's mate…" the guard said.
Sonic cut him off. "And soon it will be Bakura's. He's had his eye on this one for quite a while…and she was intended for him, anyways. But she opted out."
"I could never love such a jerk!" Yumi said with great antagonism.
"You will be his mate…and not just for the dry season." Sonic replied.
Another guard appeared soon after. "Sire, the feast is about to begin! What should we do about the escaped prisoners?"
"Let them come. They wouldn't dare harm me in front of so many innocents."
"You're a coward, Sonic!"
"I'm just looking for out for my own interests…"
Sonic tugged Yumi to make her come, and when she did, they teleported outside. The feast would soon begin.
-- -- -- -- -- --
"There you are, Omega!" Shadow exclaimed with relief as he opened a large storage room. The robot was laid in an upright sitting position, with his secret compartment open.
"Crud…Sonic must have the Chaos Emeralds," Espio said with dismay. "Look." He pointed to Omega's open door.
"Let's turn him back on…" Shadow replied. He looked around for any switch…but no luck, until he noticed two buttons under Omega's "eyebrows." He pushed them, and Omega whirred to life.
"I am E-123 Omega…oh, hello. What happened after I was turned off?"
"Sonic's got the Chaos Emeralds, Yumi is about to be married off to Tsuko's big brother at the feast, and Amy still can't get over that revelation about her.
"The feast! Crap! We need to get over there now!" Tsuko cried when he realized the problem. "I need to save Yumi!"
"Can you even do that?" Espio asked as the group started out of the castle.
"Yes…but it will be difficult…I would need to defeat my own brother in a Maiden's Honor Duel. Bakura is Sonic's best, and I'll probably die…grrr…damnit!"
"Can't one of us fight in your place?" Omega asked.
"No…thanks, though. Besides, this is my battle." When he said this, he could feel an unusual fire growing within himself. The very thought of Yumi in Bakura's arms was angering him…very much.
"Tsuko…are you…okay?" Espio asked as they neared the exit. "And why is it getting hotter all of a sudden?"
Shadow suddenly remembered something…when he saw Cadmus burst into the arena, his body seemed somewhat rock-like…and he could feel a strong earth-elemental aura coming from him…and a fire-elemental aura was being produced by Tsuko…could it have something to do with the gems in the temple?
"Tsuko…get angrier!" Shadow finally said to him.
"Shadow…what are you doing?" Espio cried as they exited the castle. "I'm starting to melt here!"
Shadow didn't hear him. "Tsuko! Yumi's in danger! She needs you! Think of that! Use your love for her! Let it burn like fire!"
Tsuko's anger and emotion was rising higher and higher, and the heat was getting more oppressive…the air was wavering with heat.
"Yumi…" Tsuko murmered. His fur began to change to a fiery-orange, and flames began to encircle him.
"That's it, Tsuko! Just a little more!"
About five hundred yards from the feast's center, a massive flame flared up, and a vengeful scream pierced the afternoon air. Everyone stopped and watched as Tsuko came streaking across the way unto a burning demon…
"Shadow, you idiot! Tsuko is gonna burn the place down!" Espio screamed.
"You don't understand the elements like I can, Espio. Look..."
Indeed…Tsuko touched many flammable objects, but not one caught fire. Espio realized this anddecided to stand back andwatch the events unfold.
-- -- -- -- -- -- --
The crowd had turned fearful when they beheld the burning form of the vengeful Tsuko standing before them. Sonic, however, was quite amused.
"Well, if it isn't little Tsuko, slayer of a hundred echidnas. That's an interesting light show you're putting on."
"Where's…Bakura?" Tsuko growled. His flame aura grew a little larger.
"Right here, little brother!" Bakura yelled out, and made his way in front of his overlord, his large halberd drawn. Something wasn't right about him…his pupils had faded, and his teeth had turned sharp.
"Haha! A Maiden's Honor Duel! What fun!" He turned to the frightened Yumi. "Look at that, Yumi…your boyfriend's love for you is burning…literally!" He laughed at his little joke.
"Sir…what about the people?" Another of his elites asked.
"Get them to safety…I don't want any…unnecessary deaths."
"It shall be done."
The guards began to herd the crowd back, until they thought it was a safe distance. Sonic hovered backwards a few hundred yards, and then set the Chaos Emeralds down. They shot up a large beam of light, which formed into a large energy field, similar to the one in Knuckles' arena.
And so the stage was set…two brothers would fight for the hand of a single girl…one lusted her, one loved her. The question on everyone's mind was: Who would win?
-- -- -- -- -- -- --
"Miko! Get back in cover, damnit!" Aeron yelled as he watched Miko dash into the open, his twin uzis blazing. The group was caught in a gunfight with about ten of Vector's military police when the group was caught out in the open one day.
Miko didn't hear him, and continued to fire. He managed to down three guards before he ran out of ammo. He immediately dived behind a dumpster when he was out.
One of the officers pulled out a grenade and heaved it in Miko's direction, hopping to blast the fox into smithereens. Thankfully, quick thinking and sharp aim by Yakujo caused the grenade to detonate in midair. The shrapnel rained down, wounding the group only slightly.
Raiden, tired of this game of cat-and-mouse, rushed out of hiding and toward the officers. Thankfully, he could dodge bullets easily, and was soon upon the officers, who began to back down. Seeing Raiden's successful rush, Yakujo also came out of hiding, and pulled a large knife out of his boot. Aeron finally decided to come out, and took wing with a pair of handguns.
Miko, however, decided to pull out his secret weapon…his masterpiece. He took out a small, roughly cylindrical object and pressed a small button. The object expanded somewhat, and the fox put his hand in it. Clenching the trigger, he charged up the weapon, and took careful aim. Before he fired, he yelled "Buster Blue!"
Immediately, the rest of the group leapt away from the confused and wounded police officers. Miko braced himself and fired the weapon. A large energy blast sped across the street, blasting the two cars apart, and killing several officers. One was hit directly and utterly consumed by it. The remaining officers were severely wounded, but were able to escape. The group was able to get to safety by fleeing to a nearby restaurant…Mario's Bar and Bistro. Coming to the back door, they knocked several times, and after a moment, a short, chubby man with a large mustache opened the door.
"Guys! I'm-a glad you made it! Hurry! I'm-a sure backup will-a come!" the man said in an Italian accent, bidding them to come in.
Aeron nodded. "Thank y'kindly, Mario. We wouldn't know what to do without you. Sorry about Luigi. Are there any people around?"
"None. Business has-a been very slow since Vector took-a over," Mario replied.
"Pity," Raiden said. As Mario led them to their usual haunt, a secret basement room he installed. "By the way, who's the cute female bat I see sometimes? She a waitress?"
"Ya. Her name's-a Rouge. She's a great gal. When she showed up, business boomed…anyway, she's-a got a teenage daughter…such a beauty, just like her mother. Pity she has to raise the girl herself.
"Hey!" Miko exclaimed. "I'm friends with her daughter! Rouge doesn't trust me though."
"Oh? Well, then I'll tell her what you're really like, Miko. You're a good-a kid."
"Thanks, Mario."
-- -- -- -- -- -- --
"Damnit! Out of my fingers again!" Vector yowled, slamming his fist on the table in frustration. It was the third time since the start of his rule that members of G.U.N. had escaped his police. He never realized how hard it was to be a dictator. The death threats, the protests, and the annoying verbal jabs he received from the underground media…all in less than a week. Thankfully for him, he had a strong grip over the city, and most of the populace was compliant with his regulations.
"Are all great dictators doomed to have bumbling subordinates!" he lamented. "It seems like the more troops I muster, the weaker each becomes individually! If this law is true…then if I assembled a million troops, a three-year-old child could beat them!"
He realized how silly he sounded. "Bah, what am I saying! I'm new at this evil overlord thing. It will take time to get used to. But still…those G.U.N. guys get me so mad! Especially that fox! Every time they find his group he pulls out some sort of crazy gun and blasts them."
He picked up the latest report… "A 'Buster', eh? Interesting. If I could only get this kid on my side…I'd be unstoppable…but how? How? If only he had a girlfriend or something…yeah…I gotta find his girlfriend! Yeah!" He pressed the button on the intercom.
"Miss Della!"
"Yes, Mayor?"
"I want all incoming calls in the South Side tapped by my security technicians! I have a feeling those G.U.N. insurgents might be there."
"Yes, Mayor. I'll get on that right away"
Vector released the intercom and chuckled to himself as he looked out the window. "They always fall for the dames. Yep…they always fall for the dames. Vector, you are a genius!"