Chapter Fifty-Nine

Me: Okay, now it's Tahra's turn to meet her key guardian…and it's going to be a very unusual fight, to say the least.

Tahra: (cracks knuckles) …Bring the sucker on!

Me: Okay then, Tahra…you asked for it!

-- -- -- -- -- --

Tahra moved cautiously through the passageway leading to the second key. She had no idea what to expect, and so far, the going was way too easy. But she began to hear mumbling as she approached the door, which sounded oddly familiar.

As she put her ear to the door, she heard not one, but TWO voices. One definitely belonged to that no-good cousin of hers, Regal. She always knew the forces of darkness would see his perversion and use it to win him over. She assumed the other voice was just some girl he took with him to do whatever he wished. But if Regal was the guardian, she would have to fight (and probably kill) her own cousin. Even though she extremely disliked him, he was still family.

Tahra kicked the door down, and found Regal with Vera. Even though the two had never met, Tahra did recognize the pendant though, as it was the same as Haishin's. Vera stood up and grinned.

"So, I finally get to meet the object of my little Regal's hatred…" the bat said.

"I assume you must be one of my cousin's little groupies," Tahra replied sardonically. "He never did have great taste in women." She paused and relished this next comment. "…And I thought Rouge looked like a prostitute."

"…A prostitute?" Vera exclaimed angrily. "I'll have you know that I am one of Nazo's top-ranking officials AND his best spy. I won't be humiliated by the likes of you…the one who dishonored Regal in front of all his friends."

"ME?" Tahra exclaimed. "I said nothing! Sonic was the one who made the comment." She turned to Regal in order to reason with him.

"Regal…what were you thinking, siding with the enemy? You do REALIZE what they're going to do?" To Tahra's surprise, Regal nodded.

"Yeah, I know all too well…and I'm not going along with it!" He removed his pendant and tossed it aside.

Vera was aghast. Was Regal betraying her? After all she did for him? She couldn't stand it, and lashed out at Regal with a kick to his groin, dropping him to the floor in one shot. The bat then turned her attention to Tahra and cracked her knuckles, eager for a fight.

"You do realize you're outmatched, you rat with wings," Tahra said as she brandished her axe. "I can beat you in two seconds."

"Maybe for now…but get a load of this!" Vera clasped her pendant and concentrated. Four small black strings came out, and stuck themselves into the bat's arms and back. Tahra watched in amazement and revulsion as Vera's muscles began writhing and growing. This transformation took only a few seconds and did not make her grow immensely, but it was plain to see that the bat was far more powerful than before, if the glowing yellow eyes and much larger wingspan didn't indicate that.

"Okay…that was just disturbing," Tahra commented. "But just because you got a little more muscle doesn't change a thing. I can still beat you in no time at all." She beckoned Vera to attack, and she did, delivering a powerful punch that knocked Tahra through the wall, and into an empty, but far larger chamber. Vera shot a few black and purple energy bolts into the room, which Tahra was able to deflect.

The purple hedgehog knew that she needed to get to that pendant if she was going to beat this opponent. But the question was how. The bat had a much greater reach now (her new height was now a little less than five feet) and Tahra was unable to power up, even to her Heroic form, and Chaos energy was a little thin.

Tahra realized that she seemed to have no other choice. To defeat this foe, she had to draw upon her darker side. She was afraid for Regal's life. He was family, after all. She was about to weigh the possibilities when Vera came in and did a powerful shoulder barge, which Tahra barely dodged.

That settled it for her. It was time to bring out Dark Tahra, as much as she didn't want to. With a simple thought, her mind slipped into the shadow, and the evil within her came forth. Vera was quite astonished by this transformation.

"Well, it looks like the goody-goody DOES have her darker side. I'm impressed."

Dark Tahra said nothing, and only eyed the pendant. In a flash, she warped behind Vera, wrapped one arm around the bat's neck, and removed each wire with astounding speed, then ripped the pendant off and tossed it aside. Dark energy seeped out of Vera, and she returned to normal. Dark Tahra tossed her to the ground and held the axe to her throat.

"That was too easy…" Dark Tahra chuckled. "My good self apparently DOES have enough sense to let me out. Now to finish you off…"

As Tahra raised her axe, Regal suddenly stepped in her way, standing over Vera, with her body lying between his legs. He held his arms out to try and stop his cousin from hurting the bat he suddenly seemed to care for.

"Tahra…I don't want this fight to go on. Please, spare her life."

"Why should I? She's my enemy. Give me one good reason why I should spare this pathetic soul's life, and maybe I'll consider it."

Regal smiled. "I can tell you the Meteor Parasite's weakness."

Even Dark Tahra hated Geddon, so this offer piqued her interest, but she was still suspicious. He sounded honest, but she had been fooled more than once by her cousin's words.

"Oh, you know his weakness?"

"I do. They were stupid enough to trust me with it. Now if you would be so kind as to step away from the bat and get back to your normal self, I'll whisper it to you."

Hesitantly, Dark Tahra did so, and just as Regal said, he began to whisper the secret, he was suddenly grabbed by a massive pair of jaws and tossed into the air…those jaws belonged to the shadowy Biolizard, the shadowy Heartless residing inside Vera's pendant.

The purple hedgehog wasn't about to let some overgrown salamander devour the key to saving the planet, and she quickly tossed Labrys at the massive creature, slicing off its head with a single hit. Regal landed just a few inches short of where its mouth would be.

"Thanks, cousin. I didn't think you'd actually save me."

"We all make mistakes, Regal. You just saw yours in time. Now, what were you saying?"

Regal whispered the Meteor Parasite's secret weakness into his cousin's ear, and she listened carefully. She could tell he was telling the truth this time. But now another question had to be asked.

"Why did you save the bat? She seems pretty evil to me."

Regal sighed. "She's only evil to please her dad."

"And who's that?" Tahra asked.

"…It's Nazo. She's been in denial though. But maybe she'll come to her senses now that she isn't under constant fear of exploding…I don't think you want to hear the details."

Vera was getting up and rubbing her head. "Who got the number of that truck…wha? Did you just do what I'm sure you did, Regal?"

The red hedgehog nodded. "…Yeah. I told my cousin here the boss' weakness. I did it for both of us. Don't worry about your old man…he won't bother us anymore. Now let's blow this joint." As Regal turned to leave, he stopped and spoke to his cousin one last time, but without looking at her.

"I'm leaving old man Nazo and that freak show Geddonto you and your friends. And…I'm really sorry for everything. I just wanted revenge so bad, that I lost my way. But now I think I've finally found it again. But this doesn't mean I'm not looking at hentai anymore!"

Tahra grinned. "You wouldn't be Regal without it…now get out of here, you little pervert!"

Regal took Vera by the shoulder and carried her out by the chamber's main door, while Tahra, after standing there satisfied that she had patched things up with her cousin, took the key and made her way back to the chamber with the quadruple-locked door.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

Shadow was expecting to see Eclipse as the guardian of the third key…but it looked like no one was guarding it after all. It was just sitting there, out in the open. The black hedgehog was sure it was a trap, but despite this knowledge, he moved forward, still cautiously. As he reached for the key, something huge came out of a portal and smashed headlong into Shadow, sending him careening into the wall. When Shadow managed to get to his feet, he beheld a surprise…not Eclipse, but one of the loathsome heads of the Meteor Parasite itself.

"Never thought you'd see me here, huh?" the beast cackled. It did not have a true voice, but its mind could produce speech. "If you're wondering where your little friend Eclipse is, he's somewhere else. So, I'm going to let you have this key.

"What's the catch?" Shadow asked suspiciously. The creature did not respond.

Shadow grimaced. "I don't know whether to thank you or chop your head off right now…"

Geddon chuckled. "You amuse me, ebon one. As for the key, instead of having to fight me, I'm going to quiz you! Isn't that interesting?"

"I have no time for games, you monster," Shadow retorted as he went to grab the key. But the beast's head moved in his way, and Shadow stared into his eye for a moment, and then found an opportunity. Quickly he stabbed Masamune into the creature's eye…only to find that it went straight through him. The creature cackled.

"Shadow, you fool…this is merely a projection of me. I can make it solid or incorporeal as I please, so fighting me is futile. Now, I think it's time to play my game. You must answer three out of five questions correctly. If you fail, you shall die. If you succeed, you can have the key."

"Fine…" the black hedgehog sighed.

"Oh joy! Okay, first question…what is my proper name?"

Shadow grinned. "Simple…Geddon." The creature simply nodded, and closed its single huge eye, as it thought of the next question.

"Next question…what is my goal?"

Shadow took a little more time to answer this one. "To devour the universe, I suppose."

"Close…but not completely correct. That's one strike. Next question…how many heads do I have in reality? It's more than one, let me just say right now."

Shadow was stumped for a moment, but then he remembered one of his favorite songs...

"Seven heads."

Geddon seemed mad. "You shouldn't have been able to get that! Okay, next question…who is my closest friend?" The beast seemed sure that Shadow couldn't get this.

"Nazo?" the black hedgehog answered. The parasite cackled victoriously. "Fool! I have no use for friends…Nazo is my minion and servant! He is not my friend! That's two strikes. Now for your final question, Shadow…" The black hedgehog's heart raced. He wasn't even fighting, yet his life was on the line. He had to get this next question, or the whole world was doomed.

"What is the name of the being who rules this world?"

Shadow was flabbergasted. No one being ruled the world…or was that not the case? The answer came to the black hedgehog, but he did not like it.

"Geddon, the Meteor Parasite."

The beast roared in delight. "Oh, you're so smart, Shadow! Yes, I have ruled this planet for eons, and once we meet, I will destroy you and your friends to ensure that I will rule this planet until I have finished consuming its energy! Take the key, now. I'll see YOU on the top floor." With that, the head of Geddon disappeared. Shadow finally put his hands on the key and took it with him. He was relieved to be alive, but angered at Geddon for taunting him so.

-- -- -- -- --

"Regal…why did you save me?" Vera asked once the two had left the city of Hasyn and found shelter from the sun under the rubble. "I had lured you into my father's evil clutches, and made you do horrible things. How can you still save me?"

"I told you already, Vera…I love you, damn it! Out of all the girls in my group, for reasons I just couldn't put my finger on, I wanted to protect you. I used to think it was all about having lots of girls…but now I guess that it's just having the right one."

Vera didn't seem cheered up, and was still stunned by what had happened some time ago. "But…why me, Regal? You could have tossed me away like you did Melody. And she was your race, too."

"But she didn't listen to me. None of my favorites did. They just rolled all over me. You did, too, I'll admit, and it was hot stuff…but you listened to my problems, even if you were going to use me. We were both being used. Now stop being all emo and gimme some sugar, toots."

Vera grinned. She felt so happy now that she was out of her dread father's reach, and for the first time in her life, she felt loved. Who could deny her love a little fun?

-- -- -- -- -- --

Me: Only Amy remains to get her key, and then the final battle will begin! Chapter 60 will be a really long one, as it is the final chapter! That's right, folks…this story is about to come to an end.

Tahra: I can't believe it's almost over…

Amy: I guess I have to fight Eclipse. Yay!

Me: Stay tuned for the epic final battle of this tale!

Charmy: The suspense is killing me!