Chapter Four
"And how goes the operation, Dardnik?" said a voice from a strange crystal ball. Baron Von Dardnik, as Raiden predicted, was contacting Vector, to establish the situation. The crocodile's image appeared in the crystal ball.
"I have good news and bad news, Emperor Vector," the lizard replied.
"The good news first." Vector's voice responded.
"Your toon army is growing at a stupendous rate! I suspect that it will reach five-hundred-thousand strong by the end of the week! The boy has a very strong imagination."
"Now, the bad news."
"It seems the ones Overlord Geddon defeated a year ago are here in this very castle! I fear they may be on to me…surely they have confided in those three do-gooders, Gogo, Strago and Edgar. The pink hedgehog Amy showed up quite some time ago as well. She may be a threat now"
Vector nodded, but did not seem distressed. "I would have thought as much. I suppose I can settle for four-hundred-and-twenty-thousand. I want that army dispatched tomorrow morning! The Sanctuary Realm will fall to the unstoppable toons!"
Unbeknownst to either of them, all this was being taken in by the discerning ear of Trenk.
"Yeah…this is great…time to spring the trap…" he whispered to himself. He scampered back to the group.
"Well, what's the scoop?" Raiden asked the imp when he returned.
"It was as Strago said…Geddon wants a toon army. Now can we go and beat that crazy lizard into a pulp!"
"It won't work…only somebody like Edgar could do that…he's a toon, remember?" Raiden reminded the imp.
"And they're all asleep…crap…" Shadow grumbled.
"He also said something about a Sanctuary Realm…I wonder what that is…sounds like a fortress of good or something."
A lightbulb, quite literally, appeared over Amy's head, signifying that she had an idea. "Wait…if Dardnik is really a minion of Geddon…then he isn't actually a toon! It would only be a disguise…"
Trenk smirked. "Good point. Then it's settled…we go in there and beat the snot out of that crazed creature!"
"Let me handle it…" Shadow said. "He may have some tricks that could really hurt you guys. You guys get Amy to the bus."
-- -- -- -- --
Elsewhere, a raging inferno blazed through the forest...entire forest villages were razed by unholy fire, lighting up the seemingly eternal with light, and smoke adding more pollution to the already corrupted air.
At the center of this blaze, a single fuming hedgehog stood…and a few dying echidna warriors lay around him, burned and broken severely. One still stood, but barely. This hedgehog, the bringer of this hellish inferno, was none other than Tsuko…the one who held the power of the Elemental Gem of Fire…and who was using it for revenge. He walked up to the teetering echidna, grasped him by the throat, and hoisted him up. His strong, flaming grip began to burn away the skin around his victim's throat.
"Wh…why? Why do you do this?" the echidna rasped.
Tsuko did not answer, but gave a scowl that would make even the heartiest soul quiver in fear.
"That's no…" but he never finished his sentence…his jugular vein had been burned through. Tsuko tossed him aside like a girl would to a rag doll she no longer wanted.
All shall be aflame…only then will I be satisfied, Tsuko thought to himself. His love, Yumi, had died in a raid by rogue echidnas who still believed that the war between the hedgehogs and echidnas continued. His grief knew no bounds, and the only way he could cope was to make the echidnas pay. But lately, Tsuko began to enjoy burning things…and when he realized this, he knew he had crossed the line, and he could never go back…he had been tainted by the corrupting tendrils of the very fiend he had sought to defeat some time ago. Still he did nothing to try and free himself.
He began to walk away from the village. He took one last emotionless look, and continued his journey of destruction. He would make the world burn in the same manner his heart burned…and the Gem that he drew his power from was dissatisfied.
Another had to been chosen by the Fire Gem to take his place…
-- -- -- -- -- --
Blaze had done it. The broken body of Eggman Nega now lay before her, cringing in fear of her wrath. The Sol Emeralds were back in her possession, the evil man's army had been laid to waste and her people avenged. Now, only the final piece needed to be placed.
"Blaze…please have mercy on me!" the cowering scientist cried, feebly raising his hand.
The cat's eyes were full of hate for a moment, but she stayed her hand, which had, moments before, been so eager to grasp Nega's throat and throttle him to death for his crimes. Even when she defeated him with Sonic many years before, still Nega survived.
"I will not kill you, Nega…even though I wish to do so very much. I know you are working with someone…tell me who it is and I shall let you live!"
"Very well…I cannot fight for him any longer…he hails from Sonic's dimension, and his name is Geddon…that world has been razed by him already…and I even think Sonic is dead…how you still remain perplexes me."
"Sonic…is dead?" she said with a mixture of surprise and anger.
"Yes…as is that rabbit, Cream…she died many years ago…"
"I will hunt this Geddon creature, Nega…and he will pay dearly for what he has done. And you will get me to Sonic's world…" Blaze grabbed Eggman Nega by his collar, and the fire returned to her eyes. "…understand?"
"There is a warp portal somewhere in the remains of my lab…it might still be working…here are the settings…" Eggman Nega said nervously.
Blaze put down the broken doctor. "That's a good doctor. Now get away from here before I change my mind and finish you off anyway." The doctor, with a great deal of effort, crawled away.
-- -- -- -- -- --
Blaze soon reached the remains of his lab, and found, soon enough, the warp portal, just as Eggman Nega had said. It was surprising that out of everything she had wrecked, this one object, the one she needed most, was intact. It was almost as if fate had allowed the portal to survive...
"Wherever you are, Geddon…I'm coming for you…" she said to herself out loud.
After carefully examining the panel, she set the coordinates as best she could, and then waited. There was a bit of clanking and whirring, but soon enough, the portal opened with a bright flash of white light. She stared into the swirling vortex, swallowed with a bit of anxiety, and stepped into the portal…
-- -- -- -- -- --
Yakujo, who had fallen asleep for quite some time, awoke to a strange flash of light nearby. Renoplax was asleep as always. It seemed nothing could wake him up. When the light dimmed down, Yakujo could make out the shape of a light cat…a female. She seemed confused, and so was he…the toon world was now apparent to him. But the first on his mind was to find out who this stranger was. If she could appear out of nowhere, then surely she could benefit the group. He quickly ran outside of the bus, and hailed the stranger, who was none other than Blaze.
The cat took notice of Yakujo, and walked up to him. In her typical polite but slightly can't-touch-this manner, she addressed him.
"Excuse me, hedgehog…do you know where I am? I must have set the coordinates wrong on my warp portal…"
"Warp portal? You're not from around here, are you?" Yakujo replied.
"It's kind of funny to say it…but I'm not even from this world…my name is Blaze, Guardian of the Sol Emeralds. Do you know anyone named Sonic or Cream?"
Yakujo was taken aback for a second. He would have never guessed that she was from another dimension. She fit in perfectly well. "Never heard of any Cream…but yeah…I've heard of a Sonic…you know him?"
"He and I once battled together. Our respective worlds began to merge, and were nearly destroyed." Her manner turned a tad shy before she continued. "You know…you look a lot like him…same hairstyle, mostly." She blushed a little.
"Maybe we should go inside the bus here…who knows what crazy things lurk in this nutty cartoon land…"
-- -- -- -- --
"Dardnik!" Shadow cried when he burst open the lizard Baron's door. The Baron jumped about a foot off his seat from his surprise.
"The jig is up! We know what you're up to, Dardnik!"
"Huh? What am I up to, hedgehog? Tell me…" the lizard retorted after regaining his senses.
"Don't play games, you lizard-creep!" Shadow replied angrily, and he grasped the lizard by his puffy shirt. "You were in contact with that psycho, Vector, weren't you?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about. This conduct is most uncalled for! I'll have Adrian send you to the Bottomless Shaft for this! Or…better yet…I'll do you in myself."
The lizard kicked Shadow right in the groin, causing him to stumble back in pain. The Baron then drew a pair of rapiers and began to attack Shadow. But he was smashed in the stomach by the ebon hedgehog, sending him through the wall, right into Adrian's room. The king, as one would expect, bolted awake. But instead of terror, his expression turned from lethargy to excitement.
"Cool! A fight!" he squealed as Shadow gave Dardnik a swift kick. Moments later, Edgar burst into the room. "Go Baron!"
As Dardnik came back, he delivered a fierce barrage of black energy orbs into Shadow, which sent him reeling inches from Adrian's bed.
"Fool!" Dardnik hissed, "You cannot beat me as long as Adrian believes that I am the good guy!" About a millisecond later, he realized that he just gave away his secret.
"Believes?" Adrian exclaimed. "You mean..."
"Curse my loose tongue!" Dardnik moaned. "Yes! I am the bad guy!"
"But…why?"
"He's using you, Adrian…" Shadow said. "He wants to do bad things with the toons you've created." The boy looked at Dardnik, then back at Shadow. He was even more confused now.
"Even so…I'll force the boy to make me more toons! He'll never leave, and as long as he lives, I cannot be truly defeated! In fact, I hold some control over this world as well! Behold!" The lizard morphed, in nearly an instant, into a massive non-toony red dragon the size of the castle. His drastic change began to break down the castle.
Adrian's excitement finally turned to terror, and he screamed at the sight of the terrifying dragon before him. Shadow quickly grabbed Adrian.
"Chaos Control!" he yelled, warping out just as the ceiling of the room collapsed. They reappeared just outside, and Adrian, in tears, watched as his beloved home crashed to the ground, with Edgar, Gogo, and Strago still inside.
"They're gone…that creep killed my best friends!" the boy wailed.
"You see now that the Baron is truly evil? Come back with us…once we beat that freak, we'll find you a new home…just let go of this…that's all I ask."
"I d-don't wanna…" Adrian whimpered. The dragon loomed closer.
"You have to! Many more kids will lose their parents if you let the Baron win! Just let go!"
Adrian, sniffing and pulling back his tears, closed his eyes. The entire area began to waver and crackle, and soon, everything came apart. The Baron's mighty dragon form, only inches away from them, dissipated, leaving absolutely nothing in its place.
-- -- -- -- --
Back at the bus, the group witnessed the change, and breathed a sigh of relief. The toon world, the happy place of a miserable child, was gone. Even the bleak atmosphere of the dying world seemed a breath of fresh air to Amy and the rest.
"Did Shadow win, Amy?" Crimsa asked. "I'm sure he did. He's the ultimate life form!" Amy shook her head at this, but she still seemed happy.
"Adrian did it. He let go of his grief," Amy replied.
"Okay, that's all fine and good…I suppose we can go now?" Raiden asked. "I think I'm off cartoons forever! Well…maybe just for a while."
Yakujo opened the door. "Where have you guys been?" he asked, and then he noticed Amy.
"Amy! You're back!" he exclaimed with joy.
"Yakujo!" she squealed. They hugged in a sibling-like manner.
"I didn't know you had a…" a voice from inside the bus started. Amy looked up and her normally cheerful look turned into a scowl…
"Blaze!" Amy cried angrily, pushing her brother aside suddenly.
"Do I know you?" Blaze asked innocently. "It seems you know me…"
"You know Blaze, Amy?" Yakujo asked.
"She tried to take Sonic from me years ago!"
"So you're Amy…that pink stalker girl that Sonic always ran from!" Blaze replied, grinning a little.
Amy was furious. "STALKER?" she screamed, the veins on her head pulsating from indignation. Her hands were shaking in her rage, but Yakujo quickly tried to ease his sister's anger.
"Sis…"
Amy ignored her brother. "And now I suspect you're here to steal Shadow from me!"
"Who's Shadow?" Blaze asked.
"That would be me," Shadow said as he came up behind the group, surprisingly unnoticed. Running behind him was little Adrian, who didn't want to be left alone.
"Oh…" Blaze said, and nodded to acknowledge him. "And who is this little guy?" She bent down a little to speak with the young hedgehog.
"I'm Adrian…who are you?"
"A boyfriend-stealer," Amy growled.
Blaze shook her head in humorous disappointment. "You haven't changed much, Amy…you're still as territorial as they come when it comes to those you care for." Blaze then turned her attention to Shadow. Amy and the others went to the bus, leaving Shadow and Blaze alone.
"So…you're Shadow…"
"The one and only," he replied.
"And Amy seems to have a thing for you…"
"Life's been rough for her."
"I'd suspect that, with Sonic being dead and all…she was obsessed with him. Poor girl"
"Things change…Sonic turned evil not long after you left...he killed Amy…"
Blaze's expression turned to one of confused surprise. "But…she was standing in front of me!"
"That Amy is not the original. She's a clone, with a few extra abilities. The original body is currently inhabited by the spirit of a crazy evil sorceress named Lady Thorn."
"What about Sonic…he's dead…so who finished him off?"
"Amy did…it's a really long story. I suspect you want to know everything, but basically, we're trying to defeat this psychotic creature named Geddon, who's taken over this world, and is eating it away."
Blaze nodded. "I, too, seek this creature, for he plans to take over my world as well."
"You're…from another dimension? This adventure just gets weirder and weirder. Since it seems we have a similar objective, why don't you join us? We could always have another capable combatant on the team."
"There's strength in numbers, my friend. But what will Amy think?"
Shadow put her hand on Blaze's shoulder. "I'm sure someone else will find you attractive."
"I think that I already have." she replied. She turned and looked at Yakujo.