Author's Note: Here's chapter 4! Enjoy!
I hold no rights to Sonic the Hedgehog. All propeties of the franchise belong to Sega. I only own the OCs(including the titular character of this story).
Chapter 4: Seaside Dilemma.
Not long after the not-so-crash landing despite Vector's recklessness in nearly getting them all killed, the green crocodile along with Espio, Charmy and Sun exited their plane and glanced around their surroundings, finding themselves in an opened area just outside of the vast jungle of the island itself, which was fairly large considering. Maybe about the same size as South Island or Angel Island, none of them could tell.
What they did see was a large building made of stone, an old temple possibly considering it looked very old. To the orange hedgehog, it was different compared to the Gaia Temples all across the world(or at least used to be before Sonic and Light Gaia defeated the latter's counterpart). It had broken symbols of the moon and hexagon shaped crystals that was hard to decipher.
"Ugh, I still feel nauseous..." Sun groaned, his hand to his stomach which was still queasy from the worst flight he'd ever experienced, slipping his back-pack onto his back.
"Next time, I will drive." Espio grumbled, rubbing his head.
"Hey, at least we didn't crash!" Vector pointed out, miffed for being silently called a really bad pilot, which wasn't far from the truth. He then thoughtfully wondered. "I wonder what that weird light was, though."
"Wasn't that what save ya' and Sonic in your first adventure together, Sun?" Charmy asked the former Werehog who, finally starting to recover, shook his head.
"No. It was different compared to what Chip and his necklace did." Sun replied, now gazing at the tall building near them. "Call me crazy, but I think that light came from this temple here. Hmmm...I wonder if it's the Lunar Temple Professor Amantha was talking about."
"You know what? I'd say you're right, and if that crystal thingy Espio mentioned is around here too, then what better place to hide it than inside the Lunar Temple itself?" Vector agreed, standing beside the tangerine hedgehog, his fingers under his chin.
"It's called the Cosmos Sapphires, and while it is unusual for the gems to react in a way that it would save our lives, Master Koga once said that they act upon the arrival of a chosen one who would use them for the power of good and they would link themselves to that person and they are hidden in a place not many would suspect." The aforementioned chameleon explained.
"Well if that's true, then why would it react to us?" Sun asked with a raise eye-ridge. "Sonic's more capable of things like that since 1, he has better experience over the Chaos Emeralds and 2, Light Gaia chose him to help save the planet and he still has squirt's necklace he was given not long after Dark Gaia's been defeated."
"Hmmm...One of us may have unusual potential. Mobians have more unique abilities when it comes to legends and it is very rare for humans to do so." Espio said in deep thought. He then deadpanned while gazing at Vector. "Though I doubt it would be you, Vector."
"What!? Why would ya' say that!?" Vector exclaimed, outraged.
"I think it's because you never used the Chaos Emeralds or other stuff before and I'm a detective kid." Charmy stated with his own deadpanned expression. "Maybe the Cosmos Sapphire thingys like either Espio or Sun better."
The orange hedgehog blinked at him, before scoffing. "Yeah, right. Espio I can understand since he's been told with this stuff, but me? I've only used a little bit of the Chaos Emeralds' powers due to Sonic lending me some of it. Besides, I may have the knowledge and physical form of a teenager and that sort of thing, but you guys forget that I used to be my brother's clone. Besides that I'm a real Mobian now, I'm only a little over a month old for crying out loud."
"Better than saying that you were born yesterday." The young bee pointed out happily. "Or else everybody would have to change your diaper."
"HEY!" Sun growled with a vein squeezing on his head. "At least you have a chance to grow up INTO a teenager! Do you have any idea what it's like being born like this while thinking you have amnesia, and then you're told you were born by being created by a heroic hedgehog's quills and a half-planet-sized monster?"
"Uh...nope."
"Exactly. Consider yourself lucky, kid." The orange hedgehog spun around and folded his arms. "In fact, the only one who can relate to my situation is Shadow, and he's pretty tough for an old guy."
Vector, feeling sorry for Sun, glared at Charmy and hissed. "You hurt his feelings, you bumblin' bee!"
"What'd I do?" The six year old bee asked, cluelessly.
"Even so, Shadow also had the power to use the Chaos Emeralds because of the energy he was created from. Sonic was born unknowingly with it until he first became a hero almost five years ago. It would stand to reason that because you were born from his quills, and Dark Gaia, being made real by Sonic's love towards you as well as Light Gaia's power, you also have the kind of energy. That kind of power does not fade from one's body. It remains until the day you die." Espio informed, ignoring his two allies' bickering.
That made the former Werehog feel even more uneasy. If what the purple chameleon said was true, then he was more like Sonic and Shadow than he could want. Being a former clone of the blue hedgehog, Sun would have thought that being made real would severe the cloning link or something, being free from Dark Gaia's influence, being saved by his brothers, and...being able to do what he wanted. He can no longer turn into a Werehog which was a huge relief and he loved the experience of it.
But...what if Chip and Sonic somehow made a mistake somewhere and the power to turn him into a real Mobian was incomplete? What if there was a side effect somewhere that might cause him to...to become a new Sonic? To really transform him into a true clone? Not like how he was born or how he is now, but...an identical copy of the hero of Mobius?
His mind raced back to the nightmare he had last night, one where he transformed into Sonic, while the real one had been sent into space by Eggman, while Sun himself, flickering out from being his old self, Sonic, his new self and the Werehog, had been devoured by the Werehog-Beast who was thought to have been truly gone, absorbed by Dark Gaia before it's defeat.
"YOU CAN NEVER DESTROY ME. WE ARE ONE; WE ARE SONIC THE HEDGEHOG; SONIC THE WEREHOG. ALWAYS HAVE BEEN, AND ALWAYS WILL BE. AS LONG AS YOU EXIST, I WILL HAUNT YOU AND THE TRUE SONIC FOR ALL ETERNITY." The Werehog chuckled darkly. "YOU ARE MINE TO CONTROL, THE CREATION OF DR. EGGMAN; YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN HIS LIVING PUPPET, AN ORGANIC ROBOT NOT MADE OUT OF METAL, BUT STILL TO OBEY HIS COMMAND."
"STOP DENYING THE TRUTH! YOU WERE NEVER MADE REAL! YOU WILL NEVER ESCAPE ME, SUN THE HEDGEHOG..."
"Why would the Cosmos Sapphires choose me?" Sun whispered to himself. 'What if he is right? What if...what if the Werehog somehow managed to draw itself back into me and only now it's starting to come back? What if it's soul somehow managed to free itself from Dark Gaia and it's back inside me, waiting to take over and then it's back to square one? How can I face Sonic like this?'
Maybe he was still a clone.
Realizing that he was doing it again, the orange hedgehog shook his head and turned to the group with a firm expression. "This is getting us nowhere. Maybe there's some kind of sick joke and one of you guys is the candidate for that thing. We're wasting time in figuring out who's the number 1 whatever for the Sapphires. If there is one in here, then we need to split up into groups. I have to go to the village and save Star and the people there from the Hybrians. You guys are the detectives, so I think it'll be a good idea that you get the Cosmos Sapphire."
"You're gonna go by yourself, Sun?" Charmy asked, surprised.
"I can take care of myself. I have been traveling for a month already. I'm not fast like Sonic, but it thanks to him and Knuckles I've put up some serious training." Sun reassured, then turned to the older Mobians. "Where's the quickest way to get to the village from here?"
"Just follow that path and up the hill. There you will see the Unnamed Village from the point of view." Espio instructed.
Sun sweat dropped. "So...the reason they called it the Unnamed Village because everybody else were either too lazy to come up with a name or haven't figured it out yet...?"
"It once had another name but it's been so complicated that everybody's decided to try and come up with a new one, which they still haven't." Vector responded with an one-arm shrug and placing his other arm behind his head.
"That's the most unimaginative thing I've ever heard of. I thought Ro-butt-nik was bad when it comes to naming things." The orange hedgehog shook his head in disbelief. He then sighed and waved. "Never mind. I'll meet you guys at the village."
"Be careful, Sun. The Hybrians are ruthless and very dangerous." Espio cautioned.
Sun smirked a little. "So were the Dark Gaia losers and Eggman's robots."
"You can count on us in finding that crystal!" Vector declared.
"Yeah! We're detectives and finding things is part of the job!" Charmy added excitedly.
That made Sun feel a little bit better despite that the Chaotix were also clowns, but their loyalty was unquestionable. Thanking them and while the trio made quick arrangements to ensure their plane wasn't damaged or stolen before they all headed inside the temple to investigate, the former Sonic clone ran off as fast as he could, and as he reached the trees, he used his grappling hooks to swing from branch to branch, and even used vines hanging from trees to swing about. The orange hedgehog flipped and spun in mid-air before landing on the ground in the middle of the path and, trusting Espio's coordinates, hurried as fast as he could.
Along the way, he found a bit of trouble as suddenly a couple of Hybrians came out from the bushes and trees, holding up spears and arrows, blocking his path. Sun glared back at them in annoyance.
"Out of the way, Hybrid-punks!" He growled, using his Spin Dash to easily dodge the arrows that were shot at him and hit the arrow-wielding one who screamed in agony as he was being shot up into the air before crashing into a tree. Sun then jumped and threw a powerful punch at the Spear-wielding Hybrian Soldier who charged to stab him, but was knocked to the ground hard.
The Spear-Wielding Hybrian grunted along with his partner as the two then charged to use their other skills of kicks and punches, and while one of them managed to hit the former Werehog in the chest, Sun ignored the injury and dodge-rolled out of the way before using a Homing Attack he learned from Sonic, hitting them both with several hits, being surprisingly too fast for them as they cried out in pain and surprise, unable to do anything before they were knocked down unconscious. Landingly safely with style, Sun dusted his hands off before looking around for anything to tie up the two losers before gazing at the vines up in the trees.
"Perfect." Sun smirked.
Five minutes later, he tied the two mutant men against a tree with about at least twenty vines since he knew that they were fragile, so he wasn't taking any chances. Once that task was completed, Sun smashed apart their weapons just in case one of them had the idea of getting out, before continuing his way to find the Unnamed Village and hoped that he wasn't too late to save Star. He raced through the jungle, swinging from tree to tree, carefully crossing a log over a rapid river, then flinched and froze in the middle when he saw an over-size piranha jump out of the water and over the log bridge, snapping it's jaws before splashing back into it and swum away.
When Sun looked to his left, he saw a large school of them coming one by one in a slow but quick session.
"Okay...This is a problem. So much for crossing quickly and carefully. Guess I'd better time this right." The orange hedgehog muttered nervously with a sweat drop.
Unfortunately, going slow now meant it gave the giant fish a better chance in chomping them with their jaws, drowning him and then eat him for lunch. Irritated and terrified, the tangerine Mobian looked for another way to cross before noticing the large tree branch above his head. Narrowing his violet eyes as an idea formed, no matter how risky it was, Sun held onto his gripping hooks and fired at the branch, tying themselves up and once he made sure it was firm and steady without breaking it. Waiting for a moment until another piranha jumped out, seemingly not noticing him, though it was closer and he gasped in shock when he saw the school swim faster now and realizing that they did notice him, he quickly pulled himself up while trusting his precious accessories, yelping when one almost got him by the heels and he dodged it just in time before holding onto the branch hard.
"Just for a reference, fish-heads, I already had a nightmare of my old Werehog self trying to eat me and I almost ate my own brother without wanting to." Sun commented down to the fish below. "Plus a whale almost swallowed the both of us and a friend of ours up in really cold place."
After watching the school of piranhas jump in and out of the water and over the bridge a few more seconds, Sun turned his attention back to up ahead and then used his hooks to swing over again to the other side safely and landed on the ground before taking off once more as fast as he could. As he ran while worried sick about Star and whoever else is in danger, he began to wish that he had the speed like Sonic and Shadow, or at least super fast shoes or something.
Around maybe half an hour later after racing through the jungle, taking out more of the ambushing Hybrians who attempted to stop him but he managed to pull through by himself and tying them up against more trees just in case, the tangerine hedgehog finally made it to the hill, only to stumble a bit when he heard an angry yet strangely familiar roar, yells and grunts, including faint clashes of metal and such filling the air, and as he exited the jungle, he gasped in horror when he saw not only the Hybrian air-ships, but as he got closer and closer, he saw a glimpse of a giant gorilla's head that stood about 89 feet tall which almost towered the hill and most likely towered the entire village.
"Huh?" Sun muttered, before his eyes widened in shock as he began to recognize the shape and colour of the head. "No...! It can't be!"
Despite being slightly out of breath but pushing himself to keep going, the orange hedgehog hurried up to the hill and the sight he saw made him want to gag. Even with the best efforts of some of the people down below doing their best to keep the army of Hybrians at bay, it was clear that with a giant gorilla on the enemy's side, huts and buildings were being badly damaged and the evil soldiers that were made Hybrids by that twisted scientist Dr. Starline, and the resistance formed were struggling. The former Werehog gazed in shock, especially when he saw the familiar face with the look of trance in the eyes turn around slightly and he knew instantly who it was.
"Gaiver!? Not only he's taller now, he's also under Starline's influence!?" He exclaimed in horror, then gritted in anger and looked down to see four Mobians doing their best with the enemies; three hedgehogs and one squirrel, in different colours.
But there was one that stood out the most, one that he instantly recognized; the lavender colour in fur, the gripping hooks much like his own, the beautiful face and eyes, the wonderful personality, and the fighting skills that would maybe put those professionals a run for their money. And she was unknowingly about to be attacked by the brain-washed Gaiver who was slowlying making his way towards her with a dark look he didn't like since the last time he, and also Sonic, saw him.
"Star!" Sun shouted, immediately racing down and with the use of his hooks, made his way as quickly as possible.
Everything was a mess. Some buildings remained standing, but it was clear that with this many mysterious men around even though some were already beaten to unconsciousness, it didn't help that the trance-like Gaiver was making things worse by smashing buildings as though he was looking for something. Star, Manny, Kairi, and Sophia were doing their best along with the local police, but even the authorities were struggling as most of them were also defeated and injured. Many panicking people had already evacuated, yet some were about to be captured. The lavender female hedgehog and her friends found themselves now stuck in different areas no matter how hard they fought.
"Man! What the heck are these guys!?" Manny complained, panting as he stood with his Extreme Gear in one arm, finding himself cornered by three of the Hybrians and he cautiously stepped backwards.
"HAAAH!" Sophia yelled, whacking another Hybrian on the head with her boomarang, whining. "Ooh! I wish they would all just go away!"
While Star was still fighting some of the Hybrians herself, not willing to give up as she swung about the trees with the use of her gripping hooks, swinging around with a powerful axe-kick and hopped from one head of the evil soldiers to another, knocking them down before landing safely, Kairi clashed against the sword of another Hybrian with her Club before she successfully smacked it out of the man's grasp before whacking him on the side of the head, smashing part of his helmet while knocking him unconscious.
But as the cream-yellow hedgehog turned to Star, she gasped in horror when she saw Gaiver head towards the latter and cried out. "Star, look out!"
"Huh!?" Star gasped, only to spin around to see the hypnotized giant gorilla tower over her before reaching out for the fourteen year. She screamed as she turned to make a run for it, but it was too late. He clasped her and lifted her up to his face while she struggled to pull herself free.
"No! Star!" Kairi, Manny and Sophia, the latter two also seeing this, exclaimed in horror.
The lavender-pink hedgehog wiggled and squirmed, but the grip was too strong for her. "Let me go, Gaiver! It-It's me, Star! Don't you remember? I met you with Sonic, Sun and Chip! We promised to help you! Let go of me!"
From where she was hiding, Ceilia grinned wickedly as she chuckled. "Nice work, Gaiver. Now, bring the girl to the craft and we will be on our way."
She clutched her fist as a bracelet worn on her right wrist glowed red with the same material as Starline's glove. Gaiver growled, as he, under Starline and Ceilia's control, turned to walk away with the trapped girl in his grip.
"Hey, get back here with our friend, you over-grown monkey!" Manny demanded, but the green hedgehog was stopped as the group of Hybrians blocked him off. He narrowed his eyes in panic, worry and anger.
"Come back! You can't take Starry away!" Sophia screamed angrily and helplessly.
Just as Gaiver began to walk away with the trapped Star in his grasp, he paused when he and the teenage girl heard yelling from the side and looked to see something, or rather, someone come jumping out from the trees via hooks and skills similar to Sonic the Hedgehog's.
"NOOO!" It was Sun, who had made it just in time as he had swung himself into the air, and despite he didn't want to fight Gaiver, he had to save Star first. He spun into a Spin Dash and hit the giant gorilla right in the face. Gaiver roared in pain and then grunted when the orange hedgehog punched him several times and forcing the mind-controlled Mobian to lose his grip on Star who began to fall as she screamed.
Gasping in alarm, Sun jumped and held out his arms, successfully catching his friend who blinked and softly gasped in surprise, before he used one of his hooks to grapple a tree and the two hedgehogs swung quickly while Gaiver attempted to grab them but missed and they landed safely on the ground. Everyone stared in shock at the arrival of the unfamiliar orange hedgehog who had come to the rescue, as Ceilia stared in great dismay, then smirked in interest upon seeing the tangerine Mobian, while Star's friends, seeing that she was okay, used their chance to distract the bewildered Hybrians. Manny smacked the three soldiers that had him cornered before hopping onto his Extreme Gear and knocked them out skate-board style, while Kairi Spin-Clubbed two more, and Sophia knocked out another one with her boomarang which she caught and smirked.
"Sun!?" Star exclaimed in great surprise, clinging onto Sun who sighed in relief, glad that he made it in time and had saved her.
"You okay?" He asked, half worried as he gazed down at the most beautiful hedgehog he met since his adventures with Sonic and Chip. More than that, he was very relieved to have saved her, though he did find himself mesmerized at just how close he was, and unknowingly to him, Star was feeling the same way as she gazed at the former Werehog that had saved her life.
"Yes, I'm alright. Thanks for saving me, Sun. Talk about a great timing." The lavender hedgehog replied, giggling as she blushed shyly.
Sun was about to say something else when he and Star heard an irritated growl which made the two of them and the other three to turn to see Gaiver rub his face and even still in trance, he held a look of anger before pounding his chest. The orange hedgehog and his close friend looked on, the former hissing as he knew that he had to at least knock some sense into their friend by fighting him.
"Sun! Something's wrong with Gaiver! I think he's being mind controlled!" Star exclaimed worriedly.
"I figured that, and I also think I know who's behind this." Sun growled, before commanding. "Star, get to safety! I'll try and knock some sense into him! Go!"
Despite that she wanted to protest, Star could tell that her friend was willing to try and get through to their giant ally and she hesitantly nodded while telling the orange hedgehog to be careful before she hurried to rejoin the others. The former Sonic clone stood ready while making sure that there was no one else around that would get hurt in this fight.
"Gaiver! Snap out of it! It's me!" Sun shouted, but like with Star, it fell to deaf ears as Gaiver roared before landing a punch to hit him. But the orange hedgehog leaped back and avoided in getting squashed even though the impact of the punch made the earth move. Narrowing his eyes, he jumped and leaped with the aid of his grapping hooks to swing from building and tree to another, swinging around while avoiding the giant's hands that attempted to either grab him or punch him.
Sun landed a few Homing Attacks and powerful punches once he managed to reach up to Gaiver's face, hitting him squarely on the sides and between the eyes, making the huge Mobian to roar and scream in agony, while the orange hedgehog felt awful for doing so but knew that there was no other choice. Just as he landed on his brain-washed friend's shoulder, he made to leap down but was almost shaken off when Gaiver shook his head and then saw that the smaller Mobian was clinging onto his clothes and fur as long as possible. The giant gorilla then made to grab him, much to the hedgehog's horror which forced him to let go and slide down the right arm while screaming as he went. His eyes widened in horror as the right hand opened up to capture him.
Not willing to be captured, he quickly used his hooks to the trees on the side and leaped off just in time before he was grabbed and landed on the ground. Gaiver attempted to stomp him while approaching, but the former Werehog was still too fast for him despite not having the same speed as Sonic and Shadow, but Sun was still pretty fast enough considering. However, the giant did manage to catch him off guard by thrusting his arm and smacked him hard which sent him flying.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Sun screamed as he was flown and about to crash hard towards the ground, grunting in pain due to the hard hit he received from the giant gorilla.
"Sun!" Star screamed out in horror.
"Leave this to me, Staria! I'll save him!" Manny declared, hopping onto his board and flew up towards the descending orange hedgehog, and while the girls down below watched on worriedly, the green hedgehog successfully caught the newcomer despite the sudden slight weight and wobbling. "Whoa! Gotcha!"
"Ugh..." The tangerine hedgehog groaned, shaking his head to dull the pain and slight dizzy spells.
"You okay, dude?" The green hedgehog asked, carefully helping the former Werehog to stand and hold onto his board. "Man, that was a close one!"
"Huh? Uh, thanks?" Sun blinked, not having expected to be saved by a stranger, let alone a fellow hedgehog.
Manny winked. "Hey, just returnin' the favor. Thought you could use some help in beating this overgrown monkey!"
For a split second, Sun saw his brother Sonic in this new guy's place, even though the wink was different compared to the blue hedgehog's, and the personality was just as quirky as the cobalt hero's. So he just nodded in agreement and held on while Manny did all the driving, the two hedgehogs getting closer and closer as Gaiver, seeing them approach, made to attack, smack, or capture them.
After telling Sun to hold on, Manny maneuvered his Extreme Gear to avoid in getting hit, which had given the orange hedgehog a chance to leap off and used his Spin Dash and Power-Punches to hit Gaiver in the face once more, and used his hooks to jump off and swing around before leaping back up and used the Homing Attack to hit him on the back of the head. While the giant screamed in anger, he landed back onto the green hedgehog's board while Manny then flew around and around and around the huge Mobian who tried to catch them, but by then was getting completely dizzy...though so was Sun as he was having another case of deja vu only in reverse in his case.
"Hey, can you slow down a little? I think I can take care of the rest now, thanks!" Sun asked, whimpering a little as he held onto his savior around the waist for dear life.
"Can do, my man! Just hold on!" Manny replied, smirking.
'Ugh, wonder if Sonic knows this guy. I think they would be buddies if they hadn't met yet.' The orange hedgehog groaned in his mind while feeling nauesous all over again.
Thankfully the green hedgehog slowed down while hovering above the completely dizzy but slowly recovering Gaiver, allowing Sun, after recovering himself, to leap off and finished off the fight by giving his friend a regrettable series of Spin Dashes and punches in the face and chest, and with a practiced kick learned from his friends, shoved him back so hard that the giant gorilla fell backwards with a moan and crashed onto the ground with a tremor-like thud. The orange hedgehog in the meantime landed safely himself, moaning as the dizzy spells kicked in before he shook his head to regain his own senses, and Manny flew down before leaping off his board and held it in his arm.
"Think I'll stick to speed while on the ground with Sonic from now on." Sun decided, placing a hand to his face.
"Hey, dude. Did you just say Sonic?" Manny asked as he approached. "Like as in, Sonic the Hedgehog? The fastest thing alive, hero of Mobius?"
"How many Sonics do you know?" The orange hedgehog replied sarcastically.
The green hedgehog chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, good point. You must be new, and a friend of Star since she seems to know you. Sun, right?"
Blinking, Sun nodded. "Yeah. My name's Sun the Hedgehog."
"Glad to meet ya, Sun! I'm Manfred Milestone, but everybody calls me Manny. Some people even mistake me for the super cool drummer and Extreme Gear racer Manic the Hedgehog even though he's the same age as Sonic." Manny introduced himself, jerking his thumb at himself.
"Huh. That sounds really cool. Thanks for the help, Manny." Sun replied, smirking a little as he and Manny, who chuckled, shook hands with style.
"No problemo, Sun! Thank you for helping us out." The Extreme Gear rider replied happily, just as Star, Kairi and Sophia raced over to regroup with the two boys who noticed them.
"Is everybody alright?" The orange hedgehog asked, as the girls nodded before he was startled when Star hugged him tightly. "Whoa! Uh...Star?"
"Thank you, Sun. If it weren't for you, I don't think we would've defeated those men, and I wouldn't have been saved. You're a hero!" The lavender hedgehog said happily, unconsciously nuzzling into her close friend's chest.
"Um...Uh...S-sure. No problem. Glad I made it time." Sun said awkwardly, sighing as he gently returned the embrace which was warm and soothing, and he felt so relieved that he rescued his close friend just in time. He wasn't sure why, but there was the same odd tingly feeling he felt towards her everytime he was around Star, and while he didn't believe himself to be a hero, the compliment coming from her was...he couldn't describe the right word for it and his heart leaped a little, his stomach fluttered about like butterflies...
The moment between was then interrupted when Kairi, while smirking along with Manny who blinked at first, before realizing what was going on and tried hard not to laugh, and Sophia who looked a bit suspicious about the orange hedgehog, cleared her throat to get their attention. As Sun and Star blinked and looked back at the latter's friends, they realized what was happening and shared a glance before blushing heavily and then parted away lightly and avoided each other's expressions, looking equally embarrassed.
"Now I'm not sure if today's either a Seaside dilemma or a Seaside romance." Kairi giggled teasingly.
"Hey, it's not like that! We're just really good friends!" Sun and Star both protested in unison, glaring at the cream-yellow hedgehog while their muzzles were bright pink and red in sheer embarrassment.
"Really? So you're this Sun guy, right?" Sophia asked, suspiciously.
"Yeah...?" The former Werehog replied, blinking at the female squirrel who raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"
"Don't mind her. She can be a little bit paranoid. These guys are new friends of mine I met when I first came here." Star reassured with a smile. "You already know Manny, but these two are Kairi Clover and Sophia Whinster."
"It's nice to meet you, Sun. Thanks for helping us out. What you did was so cool!" Kairi replied, shaking hands with Sun who nodded.
"Aw! I wanted to introduce myself to him!" Sophia pouted, folding her arms.
"So, Sun. What brings you here?" Manny asked, curiously.
"Yeah, how did you know where I was, if you came here to save us?" Star realized, turning to the former Sonic clone who blinked, and nodded.
"Actually, the reason I'm here is because of those guys that attacked this place; the Hybrians." Sun began explaining.
"Hybrians?" The other four Mobians asked, blinking in confusion.
"The most powerful and elite force of all of Mobius, children." An unfamiliar voice cooed like a snake behind the five of them, causing Sun, Star, Manny, Kairi and Sophia to turn around quickly and they all gasped in shock and no small amount of fear to see another Hybrian, but without the outfit of the soldiers and helmet, Ceilia, approach them with a wicked evil grin on her mutated face. "And soon to be taking the place of all humans and Mobians."
"AH! What the!?" Manny yelped in fright. "What the heck is wrong with that lady!?"
"She's...she's a..." Kairi stuttered in horror and fear.
"AAAHHH! An alien!" Sophia screamed, holding out her boomarang. "Back off, lady, or I'll pummel ya' with this!"
"Sun...Who is that?" Star asked, nervously.
Sun glared at the Hybrian-Woman and stood protectively in front of his friend and the others, holding out an arm to shield them while preparing to fight if he had to. "She's a Hybrian! Probably one of Dr. Starline's lackies!"
"What!?" Star, Manny, Kairi and Sophia exclaimed in disbelief.
Ceilia cackled madly and in an insane delight. "Quite clever of you, little boy. You must be Sun the Hedgehog. My boss Dr. Starline and comrade Grotto has mentioned quite a bit about you. You're just as quick-witted, courageous and handsome as I thought."
"What did that Beak-Face fan of Ro-butt-nik do to Gaiver!?" Sun demanded angrily, ignoring the twisted woman's comments which only confused and concerned the others as they wondered what was going on.
"Oh, nothing much, except for mind controlling him to be under our command. After all, that big stinkin' ape was part of the good doctor's experiments. Having him here is part of the plan, to take that pretty little hedgehog girl with the star clip in her hair..." The Dragon-Woman grinned wickedly.
"Me? What does this Dr. Starline want with me?" Star exclaimed, shocked.
"He thinks you and your father are a help of this twisted plan of his; something to do with the Twilight Cage and it's missing Princess somehow." Sun quickly explained, not keeping his eyes off of the new enemy, shocking the others once more. "These guys attacked Clocksworth Town last night. I went there for a visit when they showed up. Your dad asked me to come and save you since they're looking for something else here."
"Oh...Oh no!" The fourteen year old hedgehog girl softly exclaimed in great worry, worried about her adoptive father while confused on what this Twilight Cage is and it's unusual Princess. "Wait...Twilight Cage? Missing Princess? What does that mean?"
"Aw, so you don't know much of your own past, do you little girl? How sad. But then I can't blame you for being ignorant of where you actually came from and who you really are." Ceilia mocked, grinning.
"Lady, you're not making any sense at all." Manny shaking his head.
"My...past?" Star muttered slowly, before shaking her head and glared at Ceilia. "You don't know a thing about me! Okay, sure I don't know who my real family is or where I came from, it doesn't matter! I'm Staria Amantha, researcher of all things of Mobius' history! But if you and Dr. Starline think I'll help you, forget it!"
"You heard her, Dragon-Girl! You're not getting to Star or her father, and you and those idiotic Hybrians won't be taking over Mobius! If I can't stop you, then Sonic definitely will if it comes down to it!" Sun growled with determination.
A moment of silence as Ceilia gazed at the young group who two of them glared back, the others looking on in wiry, before she scoffed and snapped her fingers. "Bring that overgrown ape back to headqurters. We'll come back for the brat later."
The group of Hybrians, that somehow managed to recover, much to the group's shock, all got up before hurrying over to capture the unconscious Gaiver with the aid of the helicopters. Sun and Star both gasped before they attempted to stop them, only to be held back when Ceilia extracted her long tongue which was somehow covered in flames and created a wall of fire and blocked their path, much to their, Manny, Kairi and Sophia's shock and disgust. The two stepped back to rejoin their friends before glaring back at Ceilia who's tongue returned to the Hybrian-Normal length and she smirked coldly.
"Ugh, gross. A super long lizard tongue that makes fire? That's sick, man!" Manny groaned, feeling nauseous to the stomach.
"Ew!" Star, Kairi and Sophia all groaned in disgust.
"Ugh, that Starline is more disgusting with what he did to all of those people including this lady than I thought." Sun shuddered, trying not to throw up.
"It's all part of being more alive than being pathetic weaklings like the human race and all Mobians. With this power, who needs a job or even the Chaos Emeralds?" Ceilia said in delight, before walking away to rejoin her men. Though she paused and added. "Oh, and one more thing..."
Before Sun and his group could fathom on what she was doing as she snapped her fingers again, the five of them heard more helicopter propellers and looked up to see it drop a large capture net towards them, much to their horror. Even as Sun moved Star out of the way as he, Manny, Kairi and Sophia did the same, managing to avoid in getting caught, the net landed on the ground and extended ropes that strangely came out and tied them all up, capturing them. Sun and Star were caught together, as the same happened with Kairi and Sophia, while Manny was pinned with his Extreme Gear, as they all struggled to free themselves before the net was being drawn upwards, lifting the captured four hedgehogs and one squirrel with them.
"Hey, let us go!" Star exclaimed as she and Sun struggled against the binds of the rope.
"Who are you, you dragon-snake!?" Sun demanded with a furious growl. He mentally kicked himself for having fallen into a trap like that, and now he and his friend, and her friends were about to be taken to Dr. Starline along with Gaiver, and who knew what the evil scientist fan of Eggman would do to them.
Ceilia cackled again. "I am Ceilia, and now that you two are within my grasp, with a few more prizes, Dr. Starline will not only get what he desires, but you have also shown him such a quite interest that he is curious of your connections with that hero of Mobius, Sonic the Hedgehog."
Sun gasped in horror, his eyes widening as terror filled his senses while realizing his ultimate mistake.
For one, Starline was going to use Star to figure out how to find this Twilight Cage and it's princess. For another, as he felt horrified by this at the sudden realization, the evil Platypus could turn Sun himself as well as Manny, Kairi and Sophia into more of his mindless Hybrian puppets, and, now that he realized he was captured again, his heart dropped as he didn't even think about himself. If Starline experimented on him, he could figure out his connections with Sonic, maybe even attempt to contact Eggman who would spill the beans and maybe even be surprised that Sun himself has survived, and inform the Hybrian leader that he was once a clone and a Werehog...
'Oh, sweet Chaos...! If they figure out that I came from Sonic, not only they'll use me for horrible experiments, they could brain-wash me into luring him into a trap! Darn it! What was I thinking!?' Sun thought to himself, struggling to try and free himself, Star and the others.
"Put us down, you sick Fire-Lizard-Monster-Lady!" Manny demanded, struggling to break free as well.
Just as the group were about to be lured into the helicopter, suddenly there were several miniature shurikens that flew across the sky and cut the rope that held the net which broke apart instantly on it's own, freeing the five Mobians who all fell screaming, much to Ceilia's shock. Suddenly a plane flew in that Sun recognized and caught him, his friend and her friends who landed on it's wings safely, before they flew away.
"What!?" Ceilia exclaimed, before growling as all of the sudden four more shurikens hit the chopper which didn't seem to do much, but then they self-destructed and blew up the aircraft which spiraled out of the control, safely away from the Unnamed Village, hitting a couple of choppers which ended up nearly losing course, and the destroyed one landed into the ocean.
"Vector!" Sun exclaimed in surprise and relief, peering into the window of the cockpit to get a glimpse of the detective crocodile who smirked with a thumbs up as he piloted the plane.
"Chaotix Agency at your service, Sun!" Vector responded, as Charmy appeared next to him happily with a cheerful wave.
"Vector! Charmy!" Star greeted in surprise, before realizing what happened and gazed at Sun. "They helped you get here?"
"Well, I lacked an airplane and I was in Isalenna, so I couldn't call Tails and Sonic for help at the time." The orange hedgehog shrugged sheepishly. He then sensed presense next to him despite that there was seemingly no one there, and smirked. "Nice move on that invisible attack, Espio. Thanks."
Espio, having made himself invisible during his attack, dismissed his ability and nodded. "I had a feeling you would need more help, Sun. It's good to see that Star is here safe and sound."
"Wow! Thanks, guys!" Star exclaimed in relief.
"Uh, excuse me?" Kairi spoke up from the other wing, making the five of them turn to the other side and saw her, Manny who was having the time of his life, and a hysterical Sophia, hold on for dear life. "Can we land somewhere safely please, or at least let us into the plane?"
"I wanna get off!" Sophia panicked, her eyes wide in fear.
"Aw, you guys go on inside! I'm stayin' right out here!" Manny grinned. "Boy, do I miss this! Just wish Sonic and Tails were around to give me a bit more of these flying fun rides!"
Everyone else sweat dropped at this before sighing, as Vector sheepishly made to land somewhere more safer and out of the Hybrian's sights.
Back on the ground, a furious Ceilia hissed as she realized what happened, screaming out. "Chaotix Swamp Dwellers! This isn't over, Sun the Hedgehog! I'll get you, and that little gullible princess brat too, and all of your friends will die! Especially, that, Sonic the Hedgehog!"
Not only she had to report back to Dr. Starline for her failure in capturing both Sun and Star, but also that she had figured out what has happened; The Chaotix may also have the Cosmos Sapphire.
After Vector made a landing back to where he and the others landed before thanks to the mysterious light, he and the Chaotix were introduced to Manny, Kairi and Sophia who along with Star thanked them and Sun for rescuing them, before each of them explained what was going on in both cases and the four who hadn't even heard of what happened until now were absolutely shocked.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're sayin' that Eggman of all people really has a fan!?" Manny exclaimed in horror.
"Yeah, unfortunately. Sad, ain't it?" Vector nodded.
"I think sad is an understatement." Charmy pointed out.
"What's important is that you're all safe for now." Espio reminded firmly. "But the Hybrians will keep coming after you, Star. No matter what."
"But what does this Twilight Cage thing have to do with me? I mean, of course I know that my father adopted me when I was just a baby, but how is it possible that I'm connected with all of this?" Star asked, confused and worriedly.
"Yeah, and where did he get this Twilight Cage idea from? I've never heard of anything like it before." Kairi added.
"We have reason to believe that the Lunar Temples and the Cosmos Sapphires are linked into all of this, but we have yet to discover your connections with them, Star." The purple chameleon stated. "The good news is, if we leave now, they won't be getting either."
"What do you mean?" Sun asked, before realizing. "Wait, you mean you guys..."
"Yep! We found the first Cosmos Sapphire! Feast your eyes!" Vector declared proudly.
"Tada!" Charmy proclaimed, holding out a hexagon-shaped light-blue topaz crystal that glowed slightly brightly, much like a Chaos Emerald. "Pretty cool, huh?"
The four hedgehogs and squirrel were all stunned to see it, their eyes widening in different expressions of amazement as Manny whistled. "And I thought the Chaos Emeralds were cool."
"So it was inside the Lunar Temple?" Sun asked, then smirked. "Nice work, guys. Great job."
"It was nothing. Thrilling but nothing." The young bee said happily, which made his two older close friends to sweat drop with both nervous and annoyed expressions.
The orange hedgehog raised an eye-ringe and deadpanned. "Thrilling, huh? Let me guess, judging by your expressions, this temple has a bunch of booby traps or something, right?"
"They do say that whomever enters the Temple and accidentally triggers the defense system would get caught into traps." Star said sheepishly with a sweat drop of her own.
"Yeah, it was an accident. I stepped on something after we found the crystal and got caught in all kinds of traps that nearly skinned us alive." The green crocodile admitted, blushing.
Flash-Back:
No sooner had the Chaotix found the Cosmos Sapphire which they were utterly amazed by the beauty and power of it, Vector accidentally stepped on a loose stone tile on the floor which began to cause the booby traps to trigger. As they trio wondered what was going on, the wall in front of them opened up to reveal hundreds of spiked clubs, a giant boulder and arrows sticking out on the walls. All three of them began to sweat in fear as they backed away.
"Uh-oh..." Charmy muttered, nervously.
"Uh...whoops." Vector muttered, shaking.
"Vector...!" Espio hissed as he realized who caused this to happen.
"It was an accident!" The leader of the Chaotix held up his hands in surrender, before exclaiming as he grabbed his two friends along with the Cosmos Sapphire. "Let's go!"
They all quickly made a run for their lives as the traps began to try and kill them in every way including the boulder rolling in an attempt to squish the three detectives flat, running and flying(in Charmy's case) as fast as they could, hurrying as the entrance began to close up. Panting and wheezing, the trio made a daring leap and made it outside just as the entrance closed and surprisingly blocked the boulder which also blocked off the entrance.
"Whoa...that was close." Vector panted, as he and Espio sat up, the latter holding the Cosmos Sapphire.
"And we have the first Cosmos Sapphire. So that's something." The purple Chameleon added.
"Let's do that again!" Charmy said excitedly as he hovered up, buzzing.
The only response he got were his two friends and guardians exclaiming loudly. "NO!"
End of Flash-Back:
"That explains the great big rock in the doorway." Sophia deadpanned, after the Chaotix explained what happened.
"Well, at least the Hybrians won't be getting the Cosmos Sapphire." Sun sighed, shaking his head. He then informed them. "We'd better head back before they get to us. As much as I want to head to the village to help fix up the mess, I don't think we should be going anywhere near there for a while."
"Everybody's pretty much evacuated anyway, and those who managed to get off the island can still make a phone call to their friends and families. What I don't get is how you're connected with Sonic, Sun. Sure, the last time we saw him was around maybe two years ago or less when he and the others helped out with Eggman."
"That Ro-butt-nik really doesn't know when to leave things alone, does he?" The orange hedgehog sighed, as he, Star and the Chaotix were hesitated and wiry on whether they should tell Manny, Kairi and Sophia of his connections or not, until Sun shrugged. "As for me...Let's just say that I got caught up in helping Sonic to save the world a month ago from another one of Eggman's evil plots and leave it at that."
"If Dr. Starline has interest in you, Sun, then you are in mortal danger now yourself. Especially if he learns of your origins. It's best to inform Sonic about this and-"
"No. We can't let Sonic know." Sun cut him off, surprising Espio and everybody else. "The less he knows, the better. I can't risk in putting Sonic's life in danger, especially since Starline could use me to lure him into a trap and then he might contact Eggman or something. Let's head back to Clocksworth Town."
Before anyone could protest or ask him what he meant, the orange hedgehog just turned and walked off towards the plane, his mind whirling into the situation he put himself in. He should've known that by doing such a heroic thing, now he has done what he promised himself to never do when it comes to evil. Sun had been lucky to not run into Eggman, and he didn't want to stress out Sonic given his brother's condition and not knowing whether the fifteen year old was feeling better yet or not.
Now Sun had made himself a target of Dr. Starline's evil interests, and if the mad platypus doctor learned of who he really is, not only was he in risk of becoming an experiment to be sent off back to Eggman, maybe to have the evil human doctor claim the orange hedgehog as his property which he wasn't, but as he said, he could use Sun to lure Sonic in.
Then Mobius was really in deep trouble.
A/N: Did the best I could with this chapter and sorry that the visit to Seaside Island was short, but at least Star has been rescued. But now Sun is a target for the Hybrians that will his life and possibly the safety of Sonic in danger! Will Sun and his friends be able to handle Starline and his Hybrid-Army? Only time will tell.
See you later!