Author's note: Welcome to episode 3 of Sonic DX Adventures! Happy Reading!
I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog. All rights belong to Sega. I only own the OCs.
Episode 3: Operation Julius.
Deep beneath the ocean miles away from both the mainland and Dr. Robotnik's Island, was a very well hidden underwater base that looked more like an underwater factory, deep inside the building filled with tanks that had pollution chemicals, steams coming out of pipes from time to time, deadly looking robots that might put Robotnik's designs to shame hard at work, escorting helpless prisoners from Cream's village who were bring forced into hard labor, wearing prisoner clothes. Children were kept inside cages that made them very frightened.
Flickies also kept in containers and being put into the metal cases that were powering up some kind of machine. Everywhere else was like an underground city that was more like a factory of nightmares. At the heart of it was a tall building that looked more like an fortress, in the top of it in the dark office that was a mixture of a President's office, an interrogation room, and a dark evil throne room that was all dark, was Julius who sat at his desk, facing the men who had survived Knuckles' punch attack, barely driving their helicopter out of Station Square and needing to be rescued.
Yet the man that resembled to Ivo Robotnik was beyond furious.
"YOU INCOMPETENT FOOLS!" Julius roared, punching his fist so hard on his desk that it made a dent in it, while his men, the Pilot and two others, along with a few others. "I gave you one mission! ONE! And yet you couldn't retrieve one small child with a Chao! Give me one good reason why not only you failed, but also how the rest of the men I've sent have not yet returned!"
"S-Sir, the reasons for that is-is our men have been captured by the authorities, and t-that there were other Mobian children with one of our prisoner's daughter. The Echidna is among them; two hedgehogs, one blue and the other pink, and a even a small fox flying a plane!" The terrified pilot stammered.
"The Guardian has reached the city? I thought he was dead!" The evil man growled, before wincing as he questioned darkly. "And did you just say...a blue hedgehog?"
"Yes, sir. From a far distance, he destroyed the robot belonging to Dr. Ivo Robotnik." The man shakily confirmed.
Julius clutched his fist, standing up quickly and smashed his desk in half which frightened the men who hurdled together, fearing of what their boss would do to them. He pulled out the top draw from his destroyed table and yanked an old news paper dating back to three years ago, with the picture of an eleven year old blue hedgehog posing at the camera as it was in the old headlines.
"So, you are here as well as that buffoon. Sonic the Hedgehog..." Julius growled deeply and darkly, glaring at the picture of the back-then eleven year old Sonic after the young hero's first ever success in saving Mobius. He looked back up to his men and commanded. "Find me that girl! I want that Chao, and kill all who stand in the way! Show them no mercy! And if you spot that hedgehog and his friends, destroy them! And that includes Ivo Robotnik as well! He must not stand in my way as his Empire is to be mine! While you're at it, prepare the Air-Craft and Guard-Armor to make a return to Florel Forest Village, in case we missed anyone that has also escaped!"
"S-Sir, yes, sir!" The men saluted in fear, before scrambling out of the room as quickly as possible to avoid in facing their leader's wrath.
Once again alone for the time being, Julius stormed up to the window which overlooked his underwater base and city with a twisted scowl, taking off his glasses which revealed the terrifying sight of them being completely black with purple pupils.
"So, you have escaped and made your way to find that foolish hedgehog hero, little girl. You and your mother are more clever than I thought. But know this, brat. Your Chao will be mine, and so will the lives of this world. Especially yours...and Sonic the Hedgehog's head will be within my grasp...!" Julius hissed, narrowing his eyes.
He will capture the Chao, and he will show no mercy.
Sonic directed his friends towards the Thorndyke Mansion where a worried Chris and concerned Chuck were waiting for them. The five Mobians and little Chao were now greeting the four humans available, making introductions with Chuck being fascinated with Tails' designs and after Sonic and the two-tailed fox raced back to collect his plane to keep safe here for the time being, the group explained what happened. They were all seated in the guest living room where Ella made them Tea and Biscuits as Cream relived the events of what's happened to her and Cheese and came to find Sonic.
"So you came all this way to find Sonic to ask him for his help to find your mother and the other people." Chuck thought as everyone was seated on the chairs and couches, his arms folded to his chest.
"Mm-hm. We don't have anywhere else to go, and Mr. Sonic's our only hope. I just don't know why that mean Dr. Robotnik would do that." Cream confirmed, her expression full of sadness while Amy sat next to her, the older girl rubbing her back gently to comfort the distraught child.
"You poor sweetie. What a horrible thing you had to go through." Ella muttered in strong sympathy and sorrow. To think that a little five year old rabbit had to go through such a horrific event and out of desperation and hope, went out into the outside world to find the hero of Mobius.
"That's just low, even for Robotnik." Sonic grunted as he reclined in the chair, yet he was furious over what the young girl had gone through. At the same time, however, some of the fury was directed to himself. The blue hedgehog felt guilty for not having known of this sooner and now an entire village save for Cream and Cheese have been captured.
"I can't believe something like that happened to Cream's village. It must've been scary." Chris muttered, still in shock himself.
"It was, but I didn't know what else to do." Cream replied, thinking back on the last thing that her mother had said.
"I love you, Cream. Remember, be a good little girl, be brave and be safe."
Tears began to form in her eyes even though the young rabbit tried hard not to cry, but being so far away from home, away from her mother for more than just a few hours, it scared her. "She told me to be good, brave and safe."
Everyone, even Knuckles who remained silent during the whole thing, felt their hearts crack or split into pieces as Cream began to sob which prompted Amy to gently hug her to comfort her and Ella approached to do the same. Sonic winched the moment he saw tears in the little girl's eyes, and it made him feel even worse. He didn't like tears, and in that moment, his desire to help the child as soon as his new friend told him that her mother was in danger became stronger. The blue hedgehog didn't know how he was going to find Vanilla, but he wasn't about to leave the kid all alone in the world. It was already horrible enough that Tails lost his parents long ago which was one of the reasons why Sonic wanted to adopt him, and Knuckles was the last of his kind.
He didn't want another person living a life without a mother's care on his conscience, and he wanted to believe that the five year old's only family was still alive. Yet he couldn't just leave her all alone either. She needed protection, friendship and support. He knew what he had to do. So the blue hedgehog stood up and approached the trio, bending on one knee and gave her a soft smile.
"Don't cry, Cream. I'll get your Mom and the other people back. I'll search all over Mobius if I have to, and I know that I'm not your parent or brother, but me and my friends will do our best to take care of you and Cheese until then. I promise." Sonic vowed kindly.
"Sonic's right, sweetie. I'm going to help to find your mother and help to take care of you too." Amy vowed, while she felt her heart warming up by Sonic's vow and kindness.
"Me too!" Tails declared. "We can all help you, Cream."
"Perhaps it would be a good idea to keep Cream and Cheese here for a while just in case, and you're all welcome to stay as long as you need until we find her mother." Chuck decided, smirking a little. "You're going to need all the help you can get.
"Grandpa, are you serious?" Chris asked, surprised by his grandfather's declaration.
The elder Thorndyke nodded. "Of course I'm serious, and I suspect you want to help too. You told me you didn't want to live a boring life like your father so here's your chance for some excitement!"
"Well, I do want to help Cream too, and if you're up for it, then I'm up for it." The twelve year old boy admitted, scratching the back of his head. "Just don't tell Dad."
"I will help take care of you too, dear. And I'm sure your mother misses you terribly." Ella added as she smiled warmly at Cream.
"As will I, young Miss Cream." Tanaka added.
Cream felt emotional that not only Sonic vowed to do his best to find her mother and take care of her, but all of his friends who had become her new friends she only just met were willing to do the same. She smiled warmly and felt that for the first time since the attack she felt safe.
"Thank you, everybody. I hope we can be friends and I can help you whenever you need." She replied, which melted the hearts of almost everyone who all smiled. Even Knuckles shrugged.
"Chao." Cheese said happily.
"Don't worry. We're all friends already." Sonic reassured with a smile and a wink, and Amy, Tails, Chris, Chuck and Ella nodded in agreement.
"Thank you, Mr. Sonic." Cream said.
"Chao, Chao!" Cheese cheered, before flying onto the blue hedgehog in a tackle and hugged him, making the teenager fall onto the floor and laugh.
"Whoa, hey! E-Easy there, little guy! Ha ha ha! That tickles!" Sonic laughed as the adorable Chao, who was much more friendlier than he imagined, continued to hug him in happiness and gratitude. Amy, Cream and Ella all giggled at the cute scene, Tails giggling as well, Chris and his grandfather chuckled, Tanaka smiled, and Knuckles scoffed with a smirk.
"Cheese is saying thank you, and I think he really likes you so much, Mr. Sonic." Cream giggled.
"Aw, don't mention it, Cheese." Sonic chuckled as the two settled down and he gently patted the Chao on the head which the cute little creature really liked. "I like you too."
"But, there's one thing that leaves me concerned." Chuck spoke up, causing everybody else to glance up at him as the old scientist said, frowning in concern. "Given what has happened last night with those people, and robots attacking Cream's village, I'm afraid it's too big of a coincidence."
"Huh? What happened last night?" Tails asked, confused.
"Oh, right. I didn't think you guys knew or not." The blue hedgehog shrugged sheepishly, before explaining with a frown of his own. "When I came into Station Square last night, a bunch of creeps had robots of their own and they were trying to kidnap a girl, said something about wanting her and her 'flying pet' and finding the rest for their leader. Good thing I was in the right place in the right time and saved her and stopped them."
"Were they wearing helmets?" Knuckles questioned, speaking up for the first time after only just introducing himself, causing the others to glance at the red echidna now.
"Yeah. Why?" Sonic asked.
"They attacked Angel Island and took it over as well as the Master Emerald." The Guardian explained, causing his friends to gasp in shock. "Or at least, there's a whole army of them and I have a feeling they're all across the world, looking for something. There's also another problem, which is one of the reasons why I ended up here in this city."
Flash-Back: Hours before Sonic's arrival in Station Square...
Angel Island, the Sanctuary and mysterious giant floating island that drifted all across Mobius with occasional stops as it was powered by the mystical gem, the Master Emerald which controls the Chaos Emeralds. It was once part of the planet, and home of Echidnas. Now the Altar had been in ruins for thousands of years, and it was the home of Knuckles, who made it his duty to guard the giant Emerald for all of his life.
The red echidna was guarding it at the bottom of the stairs...and sleeping as he was softly snoring since being a guardian can sometimes be dull and boring. But it was the life he knew and wouldn't change it for the world. All of the sudden, a loud noise of machinary and propellars startled him awake, causing Knuckles to sit up and glance up ahead, wondering what was going on and was on high alert.
What he saw sent a chill down his spine. A large airship that was about the size of Robotnik's flying fortress, only it had a symbol, one of the letter J with a dark look of purple pupils in black eyes that made it look like a monster. To make things worse as Knuckles watched it in shock, the bottom hatch opened and revealed a bunch of robots that looked like Robotnik's designs, but what really shocked him was that there were men wearing unusual uniforms and helmets that covered their eyes, riding on some kind of hover-bikes and were approaching the island!
"What's this!?" Knuckles exclaimed, standing up as the robots landed at the bottom of the alter while the men began approaching. He immediately knew what they were after and growled, "What do you think you're doing!?"
The leader of the group that descended and flew over to the Island hovered in front of him. "Last Echidna of existence. You are to surrender the Master Emerald and this island."
"No way! Over my dead body!" The red echidna shouted, standing in a fighting stance. "Get off of my island or I'll make you!"
"This sacred land belongs to the Iron Empire now! It holds secrets that our master needs to rule the planet!" The leader declared. "If you don't surrender it now, we will take it by force!"
"Knuckles never runs away from a fight!" Knuckles declared, becoming angrier and angrier by the second.
That only made the leader of the group furious, hissing. "Fine then, filthy animal. Have it your way! Get rid of this rodent and then Echidnas will truly become extinct!"
The other men and the robots charged up towards Knuckles who growled, before charging himself and easily dodged the rapid fire from the weapons and machines. The red echidna then bashed and smashed the robots, either knocking them back or simply making them exploded, he flipped and somersaulted when the men attempted to hit him or capture him, but while he wasn't fast like Sonic, he did have some decent speed as he was born more for strength and power whereas the blue hedgehog was the opposite. Knuckles rapid-punched many men and their weapons and dodge-rolled when they tried to counter-attack.
But as he was busy taking out the large army that seemingly kept on coming, unfortunately he couldn't stop the ones that flew over him and the men and robots he was fighting. Seven men landed all around the Master Emerald on the top while Knuckles was distracted. But he did feel a shocking jolt that made him quickly alarmed.
"Operation capture of Master Emerald; Commence." One of the men declared.
Hearing this after bashing another robot, Knuckles looked up and gasped in horror as the seven men held up some kind of controllers that seemed to glow in seven familiar colours, fitted with just as familiar gems which became brighter and brighter.
"Where did they get the Chaos Emeralds!?" Knuckles exclaimed, hissing as he quickly made to save the Master Emerald, stop these men and retrieve the Chaos Emeralds.
"Stop him!" The Leader commanded.
One robot used the fifteen year old's distraction and fired a net and by the time he noticed, it was already too late as Knuckles was captured and pinned to the ground, trapped inside the net and unable to get up. The teenage echidna grunted as he tried to free himself, but was soon surrounded by robots and the mysterious army. Shock and horror filled in his entire body, desperation took hold as he struggled.
"Stay away from my Emerald!" The red echidna demanded.
"It's OUR Emerald now, Echidna. So is your life. Say goodbye to your days, Mobian." The leader declared darkly, making Knuckles growl and glare at the enemy in fury. The man then gazed up at the seven men and ordered. "Prepare the transportation! Use Chaos Control!"
"Yes, sir!" The seven men with the Chaos Emeralds ordered, holding up the devices with the aforementioned gems which glowed even brighter.
"NO! You don't know how to use Chaos Control!" Knuckles exclaimed, realizing what they intended on doing.
"Silence!" One of the soldiers snapped.
By then it was already too late, as the men attempted to use Chaos Control manually. But as Knuckles predicted, it began to quickly get out of control. Even with the researched knowledge, those guys clearly never had any experiences of what the Chaos Emeralds are capable of doing. The Emeralds were glowing and spreading out of control, electrocuting them and then causing the small devices to explode, forcing the men who screamed in alarm and being briefly shocked, to drop them. The seven Emeralds landed all around the Master Emerald which also began to glow, before it caused a huge burst of light, destroying the remaining robots, sending the back crashing onto the ground.
The net that kept Knuckles trapped was set free, but as he tried to get up and reach for the Master Emerald he swore to guard with all of his life, even as the lights died down before the Chaos Emeralds scattered and flew away as it was failed Chaos Control that the devices only managed to make damage, a surviving robot appeared right in front of him, much to his shock before catching him off-guard, smacking him away so hard that he flew off the island while screaming and landed into the ocean.
By then as he lost consciousness, Knuckles drifted onto the shores of a beach in a good distance from Angel Island and the main continent of Station Square. Miraciously he survived and by the time he opened his eyes, groaning and sitting up, he realized what has happened and was dismayed. He punched the ground in frustration over his failure. Then he knew what he had to do.
He had to figure out how to get it and the Master Emerald back.
End of Flash-Back:
"Since then, I've been wandering until I came to this place and, you know the rest." Knuckles concluded, with his friends who were well aware and familiar of the Emeralds and Angel Island left in shock.
"No way...They had the Chaos Emeralds only to lose them?" Sonic muttered in disbelief, his eyes wide in shock.
"And they tried to use Chaos Control to teleport the Master Emerald? That's pretty dangerous, especially with those devices that failed to maintain their power." Tails summerized in concern.
"So, this Chaos Control can teleport stuff to different places?" Chris asked, confused as he blinked as he and Cream had very little idea of the Emeralds themselves. "Hmm, I think I understand that much but I still don't understand these 'Chaos Emeralds' you guys are talking about."
Tails stared at the human boy in surprise. "You've never heard of the Chaos Emeralds? Boy, you really do have a lot to learn, don't ya?"
"What are the Chaos Emeralds?" Cream asked, puzzled.
"Each Chaos Emerald is filled with a magical power. So you could imagine what would happen if you found all seven of them." Amy explained.
"And the Master Emerald holds control of all the Chaos Emeralds themselves. It's also the most powerful emerald of all of Mobius, and for centuries my people have been guarding if, sworn to protect it as well as the Chaos Emeralds. Of course, protecting the other seven is harder than it sounds." Knuckles added.
Chuck frowned in concern. "But no one has ever found all seven Emeralds and now it's highly improbable that anyone ever will find them."
"Why is that?" Cream questioned, blinking.
"Well, you see, Cream, every one of the precious Chaos Emeralds has disappeared. They never stay in the same place for a long time." The old man explained.
"That doesn't mean they're gone for good." Sonic pointed out, "I should know, because I have the experience with them. Any time the seven Chaos Emeralds come together in one place, they scatter and disappear all over again. Kind of like a fail-safe. When one uses their power for good or evil, that power is limited. Clearly those guys had no experience and those doohickeys they had couldn't hold them right."
"So there's a chance they can be found again and they're out there somewhere?" Chris asked in realization.
"That's right. They randomly hide themselves in any place all of Mobius, so they don't go back to where they were found before." The blue hedgehog confirmed.
"But, if Robotnik did send those men and robots, how come the devices they used couldn't maintain them? That doesn't sound like any of his designs." Tails realized.
"Robotnik did say that he had no idea what Cream was talking about when we pointed out that he had those robots to kidnap her mother and their people. But I still think he was lying." Amy recalled.
Sonic frowned in concern, thinking back on what the guy he fought last night said.
The bad guy's eyes narrowed behind his helmet, gritting his teeth as he grunted. "I know you. You're that annoying blue brat who's the so-called hero of Mobius, who defeated Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the stupid scientist."
"Actually, Amy, I think he's telling the truth for once." Sonic admitted, making everyone gaze at him as he continued. "I mean, I've never known Ro-butt-nik to hire anybody who isn't a robot, and if he has no idea what's happened with Cream's mom, those guys are after kids with what I suspect are Chao, plus the symbol that Knuckles mentioned doesn't fit with his own, then I have a feeling that what I thought of last night could be we have an enemy that's much more of a threat than Robotnik himself."
He then shrugged and continued, "This morning, I wasn't convinced that those creeps weren't with that clown, but now I have my doubts about that."
"I'm afraid you're right, Sonic." Chuck agreed. "And if they attacked Cream's village as well as taking Knuckles' home while looking for children with flying creatures, then it's all connected. Cream and Cheese are what these men are after, which means they are in mortal danger."
Everyone went pale at this realization.
"But why would they want me and Cheese?" Cream asked, now even more scared as she held a terrified Cheese in her arms who whimpered.
"To find more Chao. That's what they want." Sonic realized, recalling what the man said. "I'll bet my Chili Dogs that they want to use Cheese to find more Chao somewhere in the world while using the Master and Chaos Emeralds for whatever evil plot they have in mind, and that's definitely a bad thing."
"And since Chao are rare, whoever their leader is thinks that they are connected with the Emeralds." Tails added in realization.
Sonic nodded with a serious expression. "We need to make sure they don't get to Cream and Cheese, find Cream's mom and the other people they kidnapped and stop them, and it's probably a good idea to find the Chaos Emeralds before they or Robotnik do."
"You guys handle the babysitting if you want. I'll find the Emeralds and take back the Island myself." Knuckles declared as he stood up, much to everyone's shock, except for Sonic who, annoyed by this, wasn't all that surprised.
"You mean you're not gonna help us protect Cream and Cheese?" Tails asked, shocked.
"They're both safe here, and Chao are really hard to find. I doubt those guys will have any luck even with the kid's Chao with them." The red echidna pointed out, waving at the group as he made his way to the door.
"Wait, don't go!" Amy cried out, standing up.
"See you around." Knuckles said for the last time, before taking his leave with the others watching him walk out and leap away to begin his own search.
"What an impolite young man!" Ella criticized.
"He doesn't want to help us?" Cream asked, off-put by Knuckles' attitude as well.
"Why not?" Amy added.
Sonic shrugged. "That's Knuckles. He likes to do things his way."
"Will he be okay by himself?" Chris asked, worriedly. "Those guys could hurt him, or even Robotnik."
"He can take care of himself. Plus, Knux is a year older than I am." The blue hedgehog responded dismissively. "In the meantime, there might be a clue on who those guys are. I'm gonna go to Cream's village and see if anybody else managed to escape."
"Do you even know where it is?" Chuck asked.
An awkward pause.
"Uh...No." Sonic sheepishly answered.
"My home is called Floral Forest Village. But...I can't remember where it is." Cream sighed in sadness, realizing that she had been so focused on finding her way here that she hadn't thought of a way back.
"Maybe we can find it through the air, but I'm gonna need some directions on where it is." Tails suggested.
Realizing that the name sounded familiar, Sonic stood up. "I think I might have an idea. Chris, can I burrow your phone? I'm gonna need to make a call."
"To who?" Chris asked, blinking.
"I'm gonna call home." The teenage hedgehog winked, confusing some of the group even further.
A couple hours later after Sonic called in his parents to inform them what has happened and asked for directions for Cream's hometown Floral Forest Village, Jules, shocked as he once heard that Bernadette had been there in her childhood but never met Vanilla regrettably, was quick to give his son coordinates on where the place is, the blue hedgehog and Tails took the former's plane towards where the young girl and her mother lived.
To their surprise, Chris, with some encouragement from his grandfather and even from Ella and Tanaka, the three of them telling him to be careful, decided to go with them despite being nervous and while he sat in the seat behind the two-tailed fox, the blue hedgehog stood on the wing of the plane as usual.
"Poor Cream. I can't believe those men would try and kidnap Cheese and took away her mother and the other villagers." Tails murmured in sadness as he flew himself, Sonic and Chris towards the village.
"That makes the both of us, Tails. Why would they do such a thing?" Chris agreed in sadness, while he was wearing a football player helmet.
"Maybe they want to find a Chao Colony." Sonic suggested, causing his two younger friends to glance up at him. He shrugged. "How else can you find Chao these days? Even then, it's almost fully impossible to find the peaceful sanctuary."
"Chao Colony?" The human boy asked.
"It's a special Colony where Chao live, but nobody ever sees them or find them because they're kept secret." Tails explained.
Sonic looked up ahead deep in thought, as an unbidden memory came back to him, back to when he was just only four years old. So it was ten years ago when he first heard of the Chao Colony...from his late uncle.
Flash-Back: Ten years ago...
A four year old Sonic was being looked after by his uncle Sir Charles Hedgehog, or commonly known as Uncle Chuck, for the weekend. He was an older hedgehog with light blue fur, blue eyes and a gray mustache with brown boots. The two were at the fields with the young hedgehog running around and playing. Sonic came racing back laughing until he noticed something in the sky, gasping in surprise.
"Look, Uncle Chuck! Look!" Young Sonic exclaimed, almost tripping over his feet as he was still adjusting to his speed, pointing with his hand towards the sky. "Look! The clouds look funny!"
"Hm?" Uncle Chuck murmured, gazing up at the sky to see what his nephew was seeing. Surely enough, while most of the clouds looked the same, one surprisingly took a vague form of a chubby and adorable figure. That he recognized through his research.
"Well, I'll be. The cloud is shaped just like a Chao." The older hedgehog remarked with a chuckle.
"Huh? What's a Chao?" Young Sonic asked.
"Chao are remarkable creatures. They are completely different from us Mobians, Mobini and humans." His uncle explained, picking up the child and had him sit on his lap. "Well, in appearances at least."
"Why's that?" The four year old asked, curiously.
"You see, Sonny Boy, Chao are very gentle and quite friendly. They usually live in a Colony, a group that live in peace and happiness. They also behave like newborn children and they can sense who are friendly and become friends with them. Chao even live with lakes where the water must be kept clean and love to play and eat fruit. They are a combination of personalities of humans and Mobians and even like being hugged or petted." Uncle Chuck explained.
"Wow! I wanna met and play with the Chao, Uncle Chuck! They sound very cool! Can we go find and met them, please?" Young Sonic asked excitedly, eager to see a real Chao with his very eyes.
"I'm sorry, Sonny. But I'm afraid Chao are very rare, perhaps only existing in stories. But I have a strong belief that they are real, only that they live in Colonies that are kept in secret places that no one can find." The older hedgehog said with an apologetic smile.
That made the young hedgehog whine in disappointment. "Aww!"
Uncle Chuck laughed gently, "Although, maybe someday we can be very lucky and find a Chao Colony, as long as we keep it a secret. Otherwise the Chao won't be able to live in peace."
"Really?" Young Sonic asked, beaming once again.
"As long as you promise to keep it a secret if we do find it by say an accident or you're looking for a lost friend." His uncle smiled.
"Okay! If I ever find a Chao Colony, I won't tell anybody except you, Mommy and Daddy. I promise!" The four year old hedgehog vowed happily, and his beloved uncle chuckled once more, hugging his nephew who giggled.
The two hedgehogs then gazed up at the sky once more to watch the Chao-Cloud begin to fade away, but it was an image that Sonic would always remember for years to come.
End of Flash-Back:
Sonic attempted to swallow the sadness that began to form and focus on the task ahead. He couldn't afford to think back now, despite that it was a pleasant memory of Uncle Chuck. It was a pity that after years on, he still hasn't seen or found a Chao Colony, eventually coming to terms that Chao were in fact pure myth and were just a story for little kids. He had been admittedly shocked that Cream had a pet, or rather, a best friend of a Chao who was just as friendly and sweet as he and his friends have heard.
Not to mention very cute. Cuter than he thought. Which also begged the question; Where in the world did Cream and her mother find Cheese? Maybe it got lost from the Colony? Or they found a missing Egg? Sonic would have to ask the kid later when he and his two friends got back to Station Square.
As he looked down in thought while looking for any traces of Cream's village, he soon gasped in shock and horror which was echoed by his adoptive little brother and new human friend who also noticed.
"Is that...?" Chris trailed off in horror.
"I-I think it is! I don't believe it!" Tails exclaimed.
Below them was Floral Forest Village...or what was left of it.
"It can't be...!" Sonic muttered, his heart plummeting to his stomach.
Once the trio landed just outside of Cream's village, Sonic, Tails and Chris ventured out and made their way through. What was once a beautiful village that their newest and youngest friend had described was now a place of burnt ruin, again worse than what they imagined and what the little girl had described as well. Houses were wrecked and most were destroyed, trees and grass were burnt to charred remains and covered in black, the smell of smoke still strong, it was like a bushfire hit it, or a deadly war. Everywhere the boys looked, there wasn't a single sign of life at all.
"This is terrible. How could anybody do such a thing?" Chris asked, horrified beyond belief as he never saw anything like it.
"Those people with their robots really are just as dangerous as we thought if they could do all of this." Tails remarked.
"Talk about walking into a War-zone. This is just awful." Sonic commented, and it certainly felt like they'd walked into the aftermath of a warzone. He then called out loudly for any other survivors. "Hello? Is anybody here? Anyone?"
There was no response. Not even the sound of surviving Flickies. That made the three of them begin to fear the worst.
"I don't think we're gonna find anybody around, you guys." The twelve year old boy stated gravely.
"We have to at least try, Chris." The two-tailed fox pointed out.
"Let's split up and look. We'll meet back here." The fifteen year old suggested, and without waiting for a response, he sped off racing around the remains of the village, leaving his younger friends to share a glance before deciding to go for Sonic's approach and split up to find clues, survivors or anything. All the while the three of them hoped they wouldn't be finding any dead bodies.
Between the three boys, all they found was ruined houses, most just gone with nothing left, trees either uprooted, sliced in half or just burnt, Flicky Nests unrecognizable, the path towards the flower field being the only thing left untouched, but even then no bodies were found. But there were no other people or animals around either. Sonic raced all around in desperation, unable to believe such destruction took place and he knew nothing about it. It was too much like what he heard when he was about Cream and Tails' age, that he had to shake those thoughts out of his head.
"Oh, come on! Please let there be somebody around." Sonic whispered to himself pleadingly. He almost missed a clue on the ground until he noticed something charred and once colourful that he skid to a stop.
When Sonic looked down, he gasped softly as he saw remains of flowers, sewed together, once perfectly well made, now destroyed and the flowers themselves, once beautiful, now dying. The hero of Mobius bend down to pick it up ever so carefully.
"A flower crown. Must be the one Cream made for her mother." He whispered, before looking around for a second and to his left was, to his shock, a house that was mostly intact, but half of it, namely the front door, was gone. Smashed open. Correctly guessing it as the five year old girl's home, Sonic stood up and carefully went inside to investigate despite that it was completely empty, void of life, but he just felt the urge to see for himself.
Everything was beyond repair, the kitchen and passage way unrecognizable, and he even noticed unpacked groceries with a basket still on the table, the food and supplies scattered everywhere. It had once been a cosy cottage, he thought. As it took another step, he froze when he realize he stepped on something that made a cracking sound, like glass. Confused, the blue hedgehog looked down and lifted his foot up, seeing a broken photoframe on the floor.
He picked it up carefully without cutting himself, gently pulled out the photo from the pieces of glass and wrecked wooden frame, and held it in his hands. Sonic's eyes widened before his expression fell into sympathy and sadness. It was Cream, about four years old, smiling happily with a very sweet and adorable smile, in the arms of an older rabbit woman, Vanilla, who was smiling warmly and happily and a happy looking Cheese in both their arms.
"They looked so happy...Her mom looks very nice." Sonic muttered, a pang of guilt and sorrow hanging in his chest. How could anyone like those men tear apart such a kind and happy family all just for one adorable and gentle Chao, he didn't know yet. He was determinded to find out, protect Cream and Cheese and rescue his newest friend's only family. As well as the other people.
Narrowing his eyes in determination, the blue hedgehog muttered. "Don't worry, Cream. I'll do my best to not let anything happen to you and Cheese, and I'll save your Mom. I promise."
Just then he heard screaming which caused him to gasp and tucking the photo away into his quills to give to Cream later, Sonic immediately raced outside as he quickly feared for the safeties of his two friends. The cobalt hedgehog ran as fast as he could despite that he is the fastest thing alive, and when he reached the area where he was supposed to meet up with Tails and Chris, he gasped in horror as they were running away from a heavy-clunk looking robot that disturbingly looked like a brute-alien with red eyes and a jagged jaw.
"Sonic!" Tails and Chris screamed out as they ran from the robot, the Guard-Armor.
"Tails! Chris! I'm coming!" Sonic cried out, speeding up and scooped up his two friends, easily escaping and dodging the Guard-Armor's attack as it brought it's fist down but missed the trio when it smashed it's fist onto the ground.
The blue hedgehog immediately raced back to the Tornado, greatly relieved that it was left untouched and set his friends down, asking. "You guys okay?"
"I-I think so." Chris asked, a bit shaken. "That giant robot just appeared out of nowhere!"
"We just met up waiting for you when it came falling from the sky! It also had the same symbol that Knuckles described! Nothing like Robotnik's!" Tails explained shakily.
"Then it looks like we're not only ones looking for answers. I'll handle that hunk of metal. You guys take to the skies and watch out for any more of those punks." Sonic instructed, knowing that the men that had destroyed Cream's village, kidnapped all of the villagers to look for her, taken over Angel Island and had attacked Station Square, were back. "Back me up just in case I get into trouble."
"You got it!" Tails nodded, using his namesakes to fly into the pilot seat with Chris, who was surprised by the two-tailed fox's ability to do so, climbed in and nervously put on his helmet.
Satisfied for the time time, the teenage hero then raced back into the ruined village where he left the Guard-Armor who was looking around for it's victims until he skid to a stop behind it, whistling loudly to get it's attention and called out tauntingly. "Hey, you big metal brute! Over here!"
The Guard-Armor turned around and saw the Hero of Mobius who noticed that the robot was about at least 25 feet tall and he smirked at the huge robot. "Why don'tcha pick on somebody your own size, Tubby?"
Standing for a moment, the robot scanned the teenager and identified him. "Target locked on: Sonic the Hedgehog. Priority one: Exterminate!"
It raised it's arm which it's hand turned into a machine gun, locking onto Sonic who stood his ground and when it opened fire, he leaped back and easily dodged that attack. He grinned confidently and raced away when it attempted to shoot him but missed every time due to the hedgehog being too fast. It began to give chase, but Sonic was too quick for it.
"Ha! Too slow, ya mutant refrigerator! I've faced Ro-butt-nik's robots that were faster than you!" Sonic taunted.
"Standing position: Activating Rocket Missiles: Fire!" The Guard-Armor declared, holding out it's other arm which turned into a rocket missile launcher, firing at the teenage hero who flipped, somersaulted and dodged even as the deadly looking missiles hit the ground and exploded, causing the earth to tremor a little.
The blue hedgehog chuckled, teasing in a sing-song tone. "Run and fire, you big slow-hog! You can't catch me, I'm a fast hedgehog!"
Sonic then sped up towards it and used his Homing Attack to smash it's chest, sending it backwards and causing a huge hole that began to spark and explode. He then smashed the two arms with a series of Axe-kicks and Spin Dashes before leaping back as the Guard-Armor seemed to be finished off already with a smirk.
"Heh. That thing's a rusty old tin-can. Buttnik's toys last longer than you." Sonic chuckled, rubbing his nose in victory.
Unfortunately, he spoke too soon as, to his shock, the Guard-Armor began to move and sit up. It then regenerated it's torso and arms, or rather replacements were coming out and fixing up the damage he caused. The blue hedgehog gasped in disbelief at what he saw. Realizing he was in huge trouble, Sonic leaped back and dashed away to avoid it's firing line when it locked on to try and kill him again before it gave chase and despite that it was slow, it began to pick up the pace and when he attempted to attack it again, he was met with the same result.
"This rusty old tin-can's built with self-repairments! There's gotta be a weak spot somewhere!" Sonic exclaimed to himself, dodging more of it's attacks.
Realizing that it was coming too dangerous to try and think of a plan this time quickly, Sonic sped up even more and hoping that he'd vanished from the huge robot's sight, he hid around the corner of one of the houses there still intact, keeping silent as the Guard-Armor seemingly lost sight of him and began to scan around to find the blue hedgehog and eliminate him. Yet he was unaware that it was also capable of flying, because as Tails and a very nervous Chris flew in, the former open fired with the Tornado's machine gun and hitting the large machine on the back before it turned around and opened fire in return while repairing itself, forcing Tails and Chris to dodge and fly back to safety, the Guard-Armor's feet were also it's rocket jets, making it fly up into the air.
"Whoa! We're in real big trouble now!" Chris cried out in alarm, hanging on for dear life.
"We've gotta find Sonic! Maybe the weak-spot is inside that thing!" Tails exclaimed, moving back as carefully as possible. To his and the human boy's surprise, the Guard-Armor detected the heat from it's original target and turned around, it's scanners seeing through the building and saw Sonic's body temperature.
"Sonic the Hedgehog located: Eliminate!" The Guard-Armor muttered, flying over to kill the teenager, much to the horror of his friends who cried out his name.
"This calls for an emergency!" The seven year old fox declared, flying in to try and find and save his best friend/big brother.
Sonic couldn't hear the stomping anymore, but he did hear the rapid fire which soon stopped. Fearing for his friends' safety, he peered around the corner and only saw the Tornado with Tails and Chris in it, much to his relief but didn't see the robot.
"Way to go, guys." Sonic sighed in relief, thinking that they finished off the robot, only to feel a powerful thud which made him yelp in fright. He turned around and gasped when the Guard-Armor just landed behind him, ready for another attack. It prepared to open fire which made him scream before he quickly ran away again, narrowly avoiding it's gunshots and missiles. It missed him, but the house that was mostly intact was now further damaged.
"Sonic!" Tails called out as he zeroed in after telling Chris to hang on. The young fox flew in low enough for the blue hedgehog to speed it up and leaped onto it's wing before flying back up high to avoid the Guard-Armor's rapid fire, which the robot then took flight after them as well.
"Thanks, Tails!" The teenage Mobian thanked.
"It's gaining on us, guys!" Chris cried out in alarm.
"We need to stop this thing without it regenerating itself!" Sonic grunted as he held onto the wing.
"If we can somehow get inside it and find it's power source, it might be able to stop it's self-repairment!" The two-tailed fox explained.
Realizing that this was their best shot, Sonic nodded. "You fire a hole into that thing and I'll go straight for it's battery!"
"Look out!" The human boy cried out, as more missiles and shots were being fired at them, forcing Tails to fly higher to avoid the attacks.
"Gotta need to get behind it! Hang on!" The young fox-cub told his friends, going into a mid-air somersault with the plane, with Sonic holding onto the plane's wing and despite feeling terrified, he felt thrilled with excitement while Chris held onto the sides and tightened his seat-belt, screaming for dear life.
The Guard-Armor was too slow to turn around even in mid-air as the trio were not chasing after it, before Tails opened fire at it's back. Sonic then jumped off and Spin Dashed right into the newly made hole, smashing his way through and made it inside just as it repaired itself, closing the hole and seemingly trapping him. But the blue hedgehog used this to his advantage as he did a full on attack by ripping out everything inside of the Guard-Armor and smashing it before Homing-Attacked it through it's chest, freeing himself. The robot in the meantime, now without it's self-repairment ability and it's core, began to explode until it was up in flames, completely destroyed.
"All right, Sonic!" Chris cheered in awe despite feeling a little nauseous from the air-somersault.
"Yeah! Ha-ha!" Sonic laughed while cheering, landing safely onto the Tornado's wing once Tails flew underneath him. He twirled around the power core of the robot that was now smashed and wrecked like a dented box. "Guess that tin-can won't be needing this anymore."
"You okay, Sonic?" Tails asked.
"Totally fine. Thanks for the help, l'il bro!" The blue hedgehog replied, giving his best friend a thumbs up and a wink, which the two-tailed fox returned with a giggle.
Just then, the two Mobians and their human friend heard jet engines close by and when the three of them looked to their left, their eyes widened as they saw a large air-craft that was all black and purple with red linings on the sides, the front and sides with the same symbol as the robot. While Sonic and his friends tensed up, preparing themselves for another fight, instead the top of the front of the Air-Craft opened up to reveal a platform rising, and with it, came Julius. But what shocked the three of them was the uncanny resemblance this guy had.
"Huh!?" Sonic, Tails and Chris all exclaimed in unison.
"What the!?" Sonic exclaimed. "How can this be!?"
"He looks...just like...!" Chris began in horror.
"Like Dr. Robotnik!" Tails finished in realization. "But creepier..."
"Scarier." The human boy continued.
"And uglier." The blue hedgehog commented.
Julius grinned wickedly that was just as terrifying as Robotnik's. "So, we meet at last, Sonic the Hedgehog. As much as I lothe you already, I admit that you have such a talent along with your pathetic little friends for destroying my creations."
Sonic narrowed his eyes in anger, demanding. "So you're the leader of the creeps that destroyed this peaceful village, took over one of my friends' home and tried to kidnap kids while looking for Chao. Who are you!?"
"Clever little hedgehog. But I beg your pardon for my rude entrance. I am Julius Robotnik, the Master of the Iron Empire!"
"Robotnik!? You mean you're related to Dr. Ivo Robotnik!?" Sonic gasped in shock and disbelief.
"Does that mean you two are teaming up to try and take over the world!?" Chris asked in horror.
"This can't be!" Tails cried out, horrified that the leader of the group was actually related to Ivo Robotnik.
"Yes, I am related to pathetic Ivo, since he is my bumbling buffoon and second-rated brother, who acted too soon three years ago and futilessly attempted to conquer the world without a solid proofed plan." Julius explained, his expression becoming dark. "So no, we have a strained relationship as we have disowned each other years ago. But like him, I intend on taking over the world, and destroy all who oppose me. This includes my stupid sibling, who was my father's favorite son. Why, I will never know."
"Didn't know Ro-butt-nik had family issues." Sonic admitted. Sure, he knew nothing of Robotnik's family history and never even borthered to find out. Considering how this guy and his brother disowned each other over jealously and Julius was right about Ivo being a goof-ball, it's no wonder the blue hedgehog and his friends didn't hear anything about this evil man.
"And I thought I had a complicated family." Chris muttered, shuddering.
"He sure is just as scary as Robotnik, that's for certain." Tails commented nervously.
"Silence!" Julius shouted. "You brats have gotten in my way three times in a row in less than two days! It's no wonder my idiotic brother disdains you, hedgehog. You're far too meddling for your own good!"
"What'd you do to Cream's mother and the other villagers?" The blue hedgehog demanded.
"That's for me to know, boy. Rest assured, they are safe and all mine to see fit. All I need is the little girl you're hiding as well as her Chao, to find the rest as well as unlocking the secrets of the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds. With them, Mobius will be mine to rule and all will bow before me!" The evil Robotnik-Sibling declared.
"Then you got yourself some serious competition, since your Buttnik brother is trying to take over the world himself as usual! But like him, I won't let you do that, Juli-Loser!" Sonic declared bravely.
Julius growled furiously, insulted over the taunting name. "You fool! You haven't seen the last of me yet, Sonic the Hedgehog! We will meet again, and you and all who oppose me will be destroyed! That child and the Chao will be mine!"
Rather than staying to fight, Julius retreated back into his Air-Craft which then took off and leaving the trio behind, the younger two watching worriedly while the teenage hero just stared with narrowed eyes as the situation has only gotten twice as bad.
One Robotnik was complicated enough. But two who were against each other? This has gotten even more dangerous.
By the time Sonic, Tails and Chris returned home to the Thorndyke Mansion, it was late afternoon and they recounted the events that occurred in Cream's village, including the revelation of Robotnik's twice as evil sibling who was the leader of the Iron Empire, much to everyone else's shock and horror.
"Robotnik's brother is behind all of this!?" Amy exclaimed in disbelief, as they were seated on bean bags in the attic which served as Chuck's bedroom.
"And to make things more complicated, he and Julius don't get on well at all." Chris confirmed.
"They pretty much have been evil rivals to each other that Julius wants to get rid of Robotnik." Tails added, shuddering as he rubbed his arms. "It gives me goosebumps!"
"So Sonic's theory in finding other Chao as he mentioned earlier to both of you proves to be true. Not to mention taking over Angel Island and the Master Emerald which makes things just as dangerous." Chuck said grimly, his arms folded to his chest as he seated in his chair.
Cream sat on the edge of the bed, unable to believe what she was hearing. She stared at the photo of herself with her mother and Cheese that Sonic retrieved, with tears in her eyes. "Why would Mr. Julius want to do something so horrible? Is it...Is it all my fault that Mama and everybody are taken away?"
"Oh, Cream, no. No, it's not your fault, sweetie." Amy attempted to comfort her. "Julius is just a bigger bully than Robotnik. You didn't do anything wrong at all."
Sonic was lying on the window sill near his friends, gazing out of the window in deep thought over the newest enemy who was related to the enemy he has been fighting for over three years. Robotnik was bad enough, but Julius was just...a terrifying monster. Those eyes, he saw those creepy eyes. It was enough to give him nightmares. But he was brought out of his thoughts when he heard Cream sniffle and reluctantly turned to see that she was about to cry.
"Amy's right, Cream." Sonic spoke softly, climbing down before approaching the two girls, sitting beside the youngest one in the room to her right. "How were you or your Mom or anybody else to know?"
"I really love Cheese, but maybe it's because of me wanting a Chao is what made this happen." The five year old rabbit girl sniffled, with Cheese moaning in sorrow.
"No, Cream. Don't say that. Look, things may be bad now, but I promised I would get your Mom back, and I will. I never break my promises, and I won't let Julius or Robotnik or anybody else horrible hurt you and Cheese. Okay?" The blue hedgehog told her, gently rubbing her on the head.
"And neither will the rest of us." Amy vowed, with Tails and even Chris and Chuck nodding in agreement.
Despite still feeling upset without her mother, Cream felt reassured once again, being surrounded by so many kind people and knew there and then she made the right choice in leaving her home to find Sonic. She just knew that while things looked bad now, everything will be alright. She smiled emotionally and nodded.
Back on Robotnik Island, the evil scientist Ivo Robotnik was hard at work in recovering from his latest defeat by the hands of Sonic and his friends, and attempting to learn more about the attackers as well as Cream's family history.
"It looks like these men who had robots with them are called the Iron Empire, with high-class machinery that rivals yours, doctor." Decoe reported as he and Bocoe kept on typing as did their creator.
"We also found little evidence in the recording via hacking into their systems. It wasn't easy and it's rather gritty and in static." The shorter robot added.
"Well, it won't be a static grit that much longer. I'll find out who this is and give those Iron Dumb-heads a piece of my mind! No one is a greater genius than me!" Robotnik grunted, typing away to fix up the footage from the hacked recording.
But when he did and got a good look at the leader, his eyes went wide behind his sunglasses and he became pale in pure horror. That man, those teeth, that mustache...those glasses...and the eyes. Oh dear, Chaos, he knew those eyes! He recognized that horrific abomination!
"No...No, it can't be!" Robotnik squeaked in fear, standing up too quickly from his seat and stumbled away, backing up against the wall and had to hold onto something to give him support. "Anything but him!"
"Dr. Robotnik?" Decoe asked, worriedly.
"What's wrong?" Bocoe asked, concerned.
"It's...It's him! J-J-J-Julius!" Robotnik exclaimed, pointing at the screen with a shaking finger.
"Who?" The two robots asked, now even more worried.
Robotnik gulped nervously. "He's my deranged and i-insane brother! Julius Robotnik! He-he-he murdered our father!"
"WHAT!?" The two robotic minions exclaimed in horror and disbelief.
"This took place eleven years ago because my father prefered me more than Julius. We have disowned each other since then and I vowed to stay well away from him and conquer Mobius before he would get the idea. But now that he's here...Sonic isn't our only problem anymore." Robotnik shivered, staring in fear at the image of his cruel and terrifying brother.
Things have just become more dangerous, both for himself and for Sonic.
A/N: Julius Robotnik is based on the Satam Robotnik as well as his earlier(and scarier) incarnation of the early days of the Archie Comics, without the Roboticizer, and in this universe, is Ivo Robotnik's just as twisted and evil brother who will serve as the other main antagonist of the Cream Arc of this story.
See you later!