Author's Note: Again, I'm really sorry for the major long wait. Writer's blocks always hit me and it's terrible, and fanfiction having problems again(I'm really worried about it). But a new chapter is finally here!
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 7: Clash of the Wolf Clan.
With the situation after having learned the new whereabouts of the second Cosmos Sapphire, Sun, Star and the Chaotix followed the trio's directions to the empty facility-turned-factory in order to get it back. Along the way, the two hedgehogs told Vector, Espio and Charmy about their encounter with the mysterious Deadly Three and how their current Sapphire saved them both from the evil aliens.
"What!? Now Starline's got three evil aliens on his side!?" Vector exclaimed, horrified.
"You mean he's got hold of more aliens?" Charmy added, his eyes wide in disbelief. It was already creepy enough with the Black Arms several months ago, but now there was the possibility of facing even more aliens.
"Yeah, one of them calls himself Zavok. He's the leader of these Zetis." Star confirmed, rubbing her arms. "They're just as dangerous as they let on."
"And while that Zomom guy is an idiot and fat, he's a lot tougher than he looks." Sun added, rubbing his head while still cringing over the fight and super annoyed that their job in finding the rest of the crystals was delayed even further. "The more this is going on, the more I'm beginning to think that Beak-face is just as insane as Ro-butt-nik, not that he isn't already with all of the Hybrians."
"Hmmm...I believe I have heard of these so-called Zeti once. Or at least in legend." Espio thought deeply in grave concern. When the others turned to him questionably, the purple chameleon continued. "It was many centuries ago where like the Little Planet and the Black Comet, a world known as the Lost Hex would pass by this planet, but only once every three years. However, that world was on a brink of being destroyed, crumbling away as it lost it's life support in an accelarating rate. It was also the home of an alien species, which in theory could be these Zeti themselves."
"Does every alien out there like to pass by Mobius so that they can cause trouble whenever they wanted to?" The orange hedgehog rolled his eyes, exasperated. "That sounds more like a sad habit if you ask me."
"Well, the Little Planet comes by itself and the citizens up there were said to be very friendly. I heard that even Mobians used to live there, including Amy." Star pointed out.
"Oh, right. Yeah, she and Sonic did tell me that once." Sun agreed in remembrance, rubbing the back of his neck.
"But, didn't you once tell us that the Lost Hex completely disappeared like 170 years ago or something?" Charmy asked, skeptically.
Espio nodded. "Yes, under mysterious circumstances, the Lost Hex was beyond saving and no one really knows what happened. According to Master Koga, they say that witnesses of those times have seen a portal from another dimension appear and a giant hand belonging to a mysterious being, who is said to be size of the Moon, grabbed the planet and what remained of it's inhabits before vanishing without a trace. Neither were seen ever again."
"A giant being the size of the Moon?" Sun blinked, dumbfounded. "That kind of reminds me of Dark Gaia, only a bit bigger."
He should know, because he had seen the massive beast and if it wasn't for Sonic and Chip/Light Gaia, the tangerine hedgehog wouldn't be here and instead would have been part of the evil monster forever. Just like his other half the Werehog is right now.
"Come on, Espio. That's just what some people say. The more realistic scenario is that the Lost Hex just disappeared and collapsed into dust." Vector snorted dismissively.
"Uh, if that's the case, then what happened to the Zeti and how come nobody's seen them until three attacked Sun and Star?" The young Bee pointed out.
"And how is it that Starline even got to them, let alone able to convince them to work for him to get to us?" Star agreed, narrowing her eyes in deep thought. "I have a theory that the Cosmos Sapphires might have something to do with it and forced them to help him find the Twilight Cage and it's Princess."
Sun nodded in agreement. "I don't believe in ghosts, but giant monsters, aliens and different dimensions: I'd say that Espio's theory could be true. Starline pretty much opened up a huge can of worms he shouldn't be touching."
"Which makes him the perfect supporter for Dr. Eggman himself." The Chaotix Ninja concluded.
"Yeah, a really bad one, if you ask me." Charmy deadpanned.
"Ah, enough of this already. We'll worry about those three half-giant aliens later! We still gotta get that Cosmos Sapphire back!" Vector interrupted impatiently, slapping his fist into his left palm. "And what better way than to steal it back, and using the silent invisible technique?"
Even though the group did agree it was a logical idea, the way how the green crocodile said it made the two hedgehogs, chameleon and bee sweat drop with dull expressions and groans.
"This is going to be a disaster." Sun grumbled under his breath.
Making their way through the Botanical Kingdom while avoiding and/or fighting off the Hybrians and leaving them either unaware of unconscious, Sun and his friends hurried through the jungle parts of the area as they knew they had to steer clear from the pathway. It felt like it took forever and suddenly the orange hedgehog kind of wished Sonic was here, or at least he had his brother's legendary speed, but eventually after making their way through the wilderness, the five Mobians came into a bit of a clearing.
Sadly it was the same one they came to repeatedly.
"Man, which way are we supposed to go again?" Vector complained, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm pretty sure this where we saw the factory."
"We've been this way three times already!" Sun snapped angrily, glaring at the taller Mobian. "Why don't you just face the facts that you got us completely lost?"
"That's exactly why I should have taken the lead, or even at least Charmy since even his sense of direction is much better than yours." Espio agreed in annoyance, pointingly having his back turned to his taller friend and boss.
"Thank you!" Charmy exclaimed in agreement.
"Hey, I have the best sense of direction! It's these trees that keep making things more difficult!" The crocodile protested.
"For a detective, you certainly are clueless." The purple chameleon commented with a sweat drop.
The former Werehog groaned explosively as he turned away from the arguing Chaotix, facepalming himself while thinking. 'And Sonic became friends with these guys? I really gotta ask him how that happened.'
Really, how DID Sonic, Tails, Amy and the others get to know the Chaotix?
Star in the meantime attempted to block out the arguing while having burrowed the blue Cosmos Sapphire to scan the area. If her theory was correct, then the crystal could lead them to where the stolen one is as it did make a connection earlier which had saved them from the Hybrians. As the lavender hedgehog girl thought, she felt a very strange feeling running through her veins but wasn't quite certain what it was.
Like a tingling feeling of sparkles and air flowing through out her entire body.
'Why does this feel so...strange? Like it's a part of me or something? How am I connected to all of this?' She thought to herself, before she softly gasped as the Cosmos Sapphire glowed a bit brighter for a split second, making her stop in her tracks after ground around in circles in the clearing.
"Huh?" Blinking, Star back-traced a couple of steps, then paused and looked to her right which lead to another path which she and the others had been walking past for the last three times. Thinking deeply, the young archeologist then decided to go through it to investigate and true to her suspicions, the Cosmos Sapphire was glowing brighter and brighter.
Taking a peak through the bushes, the fourteen year old girl softly gasped before she groaned with a sweat drop. There stood a run-down facility in the middle of another clearing with Mobian wolves guarding the entrance, jeeps and trucks along with high-quality tech and crates. Attempting to prevent herself from being seen, the lavender hedgehog turned around to inform her friends and reached them while the Chaotix were still arguing and Sun making annoyed comments over Vector's leadership skills.
"We're goin' this way! This time, I'm sure we'll find it!" Vector declared stubbornly, pointing to the left.
"Didn't we go there like half an hour ago?" Charmy pointed out.
"When we first entered this clearing, we did." Espio corrected.
"At this rate, Beak-face and his gang of circus freaks are gonna be stealing the Cosmos Sapphire before we can even find that darn facility!" Sun grunted in frustration.
"No, they won't! We just need to figure out how to get to them first!" The leader of the Chaotix folded his arms.
"Ever heard of using a map or a compass?" The tangerine hedgehog deadpanned.
"Uh, boys?" Star's exasperated voice called out, causing Sun and the others to gaze at her as she held an annoyed look. "We've going passing it without even knowing."
Blinking in confusion, the male Mobians followed their friend and game to a stop before peering through the bushes and saw what she was talking about. While Vector felt relieved and victorious, Sun, Espio and Charmy all sweat dropped, now groaning softly themselves and unable to believe that they had literally kept on missing the facility.
"You've gotta be kidding me." Sun felt like screaming in frustration right about now. The orange hedgehog suddenly made a mental note to never trust in Vector's sense of directions ever again.
"Good thing Star managed to spot it." Charmy whispered with a sigh.
"Ha! I knew it was around here." Vector smirked as though he was the one who found it. Before the others could correct him, the green crocodile then pulled out a pair of binoculars to count how many thieves there are. So far he counted two Mobians wolves guarding the entrance, plus a nearby broken window which looked like a safer option to get in and out of and another group of wolves going back and forth packing things up into the vehicles.
"So they're the criminals, huh?" The orange hedgehog whispered, narrowing his eyes. "At least they're not Hybrians or those stupid Deadly Three guys."
"Yes, but those are the Wolf Clan." Espio cautioned.
"Wolf Clan?"
"I've heard of them." Star remarked worriedly. "They're very dangerous and are known for heists and corruption just to make money since two years ago."
"They are not as delusional as Kaiser the Myth Hunter was and don't go on a murder spree, but the Wolf Clan are cunning, manipulative, very organized and I hear they once originated from a city somewhere in Isalenna. However, that remains yet to be seen as nothing else much is known about them, although their leader Black Fang is just as dangerous." The Chaotix Ninja continued.
"I guess that explains why GUN were unable to find them yet. Just like that stupid Myth-Hunting loser." Sun remarked with a raised eyebrow. He was relieved that the Wolves weren't delusional or as murderous, but the orange hedgehog knew they had to be careful or else it was game over.
"We're gonna need to distract them." The green crocodile decided, turning to the others. "Espio, you know what to do. Sun, you create a diversion since you're pretty good at it."
"Understood." Espio nodded.
"You got it." The former Werehog added with determination.
Knowing that these two were up for the job, both Sun and the purple Chameleon sneaked away while the latter turned invisible to carry out the plan. The two then split up with Espio heading over to the broken window, and the orange hedgehog creeping towards the guards as well as making sure the Wolf Clan wouldn't go anywhere near Star and the others, not wanting to put them at risk.
'Create a distraction, he says. I swear to Chaos, if anybody should've been the leader of the Detective Agency, it's Espio...not to mention that he's a better airplane pilot out of the two.' Sun thought to himself in annoyance, hiding behind a tree trying to figure out how to cause a ruckus without getting caught or the others seen.
He then noticed a pipe nearby and smirked, having an idea. The orange hedgehog sneaked past the two guards who were having a chat while one of them was complaining about being stuck doing boring guard duty and his companion scolding him that it's part of the job. Making sure nobody would see him, Sun ducked under a truck and purposely yanked at the fuel pipes and breaks before rolling away to avoid getting gasoline onto him.
Once that was dune, the orange hedgehog then silently made sure nobody on the inside could see him before he crept behind the two talking wolves and tapped them both on the shoulders, clearing his throat.
"Excuse me." He spoke up, causing the two Wolves to jump in alarm and spun around...
Only to be punched right in the faces simultaneously as they cried out in agony and were knocked out cold. Sun grinned while dusting his hands off. "May I give you gentlemen a word of an advice by not sleeping on the job?"
After quickly going into the jeep and tied the two morons together, Sun gazed back to where the rest of his group were and nodded when he saw Vector and Charmy both give him a thumbs up while Star sighed in relief, mouthing at him to be careful which made the orange hedgehog blush a little. He then stepped inside to really distract the wolves while making sure he wouldn't get caught. Sneaking behind crates and thankful that the other guarding Wolf Clan didn't spot him, Sun kept silent trying to figure out what to do next.
'If Sonic and Tails were here, what would they do? I wish Vector would give out better instructions.' Sun looked around carefully, trying to think the similar way as his two best friends would whenever they would sneak into Eggman's secret bases.
Even though Sonic's idea of sneaking in was usually just bashing his way through with his speed.
He then spotted the emergency fire alarm near him and nodded. That should do it.
Acting quickly, Sun made sure the Wolves didn't spot him nor did the inbuilt security cameras before the orange hedgehog reached over and yanked the lever downward which set it off, the noise blaring and red lights flashing. As he predicted all across the facility including the room where the eye-patched Wolf leader and some of his men had the red Cosmos Sapphire in all looked up in alarm to see what was going on.
"The alarm!?" One of the Mobian Wolves shouted.
"What's happening!?" Another exclaimed.
"Sir! What's your orders? Is there are fire?" Asked the third Wolf who was crimson-red in colour, feeling utterly terrified as this one had a terrible fear of fire and hated smoke.
The leader, who is Black Fang himself, snarled as he stood before marching over to the cameras, roughly shoving two other wolves who flinched in fright and screamed while crashing onto the floor. He typed down on the keyboard to bring up the security cameras...
Yet just as he was about to zoom in on one in the corridor, Sun, noticing how close he was to being seen, narrowed his eyes before the orange hedgehog picked up a small broken piece of concrete and tossed it at the lens, shattering it and making the feed lose it's signal. Thankfully the former Sonic clone avoided in being spotted and ran off to continue making the ruckus, taking out more cameras along the way, and even noticed a couple of the Wolves racing through the corridors and spotted him. The two Mobian soldiers skid to a stop upon seeing him and gasped in shock.
"It's an intruder!" A tallish white wolf exclaimed.
"We can't let intruders get away! Let's get this hedgehog!" His muscular companion declared, cracking his knuckles. "Capturing this pipsqueak will be easy."
"Dang it! Looks like I'm gonna have to fight my way out later!" Sun grunted as he stood his ground.
Just as his two large opponents charged, the orange hedgehog did the same, quickly using his Homing Attack to bash them both in the chests, catching them off guard while they cried out in agony, before Sun punched the white one on the back of the head and spun-kicked the other right in the face, the two wolves grunting as they fell to the floor with thuds. As he landed safely, the two Wolf Clan members growled before getting up when four more came charging around the corner and surrounded him along with the two he attacked, much to Sun's frustration.
"Ha! We've got you surrounded, little hedgehog!" The white wolf barked evilly with a nasty grin.
"If you want to live, brat, you'd better surrender. Or else we'll make things really tough for you." The muscular wolf growled, cranking his neck. "So, what will it be?"
"Well, let me think for a second." Sun began sarcastically, secretly reaching for his grapple hooks after noticing hooks above the ceiling. "How about...You guys are a bunch of idiots?"
That only made his would be captors laugh manically, as though they found this amusing.
"Who are you supposed to be, kid? Sonic the Hedgehog, or Shadow the Hedgehog?" The third, emerald green wolf smirked, reaching out for the orange hedgehog who gritted his teeth. "You do look like the blue blur, only orange. What are you-His relative?"
"If you really want to know...why don't I give you this!?" The tangerine Mobian quickly shot up his grapple hooks to the ceiling which stunned the six wolves who all gasped as they looked up.
"What!?" The Green Wolf exclaimed, just as Sun began to pull himself up to safety, which the former noticed and quickly growled when the hedgehog was half way of escaping. "Get him!"
Unfortunately for them, Sun narrowly managed to avoid in getting caught and the six Wolf Clan soldiers glomp right on top of each other, going into a wrestle while thinking that they caught him but only ended up punching and hurting each other.
"I think I've got 'im!" One wolf grunted, pulling at an ear, except that it wasn't the hedgehog's, but another wolf.
"OW!" The said wolf yelped comically, tears coming out of his eyes. "I'm not the hedgehog, doofus! Stopping pulling at my ear!"
"Ouch, that's my tail! Let go!" Another shouted in agony.
While the Wolf Clan below him soon ended up fighting each other, the orange hedgehog sighed in exasperation while looking around for an escape route until he noticed an upper lever with metal barrels that had toxic warning signs on them. Realizing what to do, Sun then swung straight towards the ledge with the aid of his hooks before landing by lifting his legs though he did nearly lose his balance. He then hurried to the barrels, lifted one up before chuckling as the wolves were nowhere near getting off from the ground.
"And they call themselves well organized criminals? Give me a break here." Sun then tossed the barrel straight towards them, which caught the Wolves' attentions when the white one noticed and yelped in fright.
"UH-OH!" They all exclaimed in horror, attempting to get up and run, but were slightly squashed when it rolled right into them, knocking the bad guys down like bowling pins.
Sun smirked, before he noticed more wolves charging in and groaned. Thinking quickly before they could spot him as they had other dangerous weapons similar to the Hybrians, the orange hedgehog tossed another barrel at the group while catching them off guard, causing the stunned wolves, who demanded the fallen group on what just happened before noticing the incoming attack, to cry out and falling as well.
Wasting no more time, Sun jumped off and used a combination of his brutal attacks, Homing Attacks, Spin Dash, punches and kicks at more incoming wolves who thrust their own series of punches, batons and kicks at him, but while some managed to hit him on the side and he winced in agony and on the back of his head, the former Werehog, struggling to remain conscious, managed to avoid in passing out and slide-kicked at another, knocking his opponent down as well.
Dodge-rolling out of the way when a trio of more wolves came running in with shooting arrows, narrowly avoiding in getting hit, Sun then used his Grapple hooks to jump and leap and swung by towards them, running along the wall as quickly as possible as he charged, with the Wolf Clan soldiers shooting more arrows at him but kept on missing. The orange hedgehog snatched a crate before tossing and kicking it directly at the wolves who shouted in pain and crashed onto the ground, defeated.
'Ugh...Come on, Espio! It can't take this long just to sneak in and grab a Cosmos Sapphire!' Sun grunted as he fought, hoping that they would both be able to get out of here and meet with the others before they would all get caught.
Back in the main control room, Black Fang saw the security feed being cut off and snarled. "There's an intruder! Go after them and make sure to either kill or capture them!"
"Yes, sir!" The rest of the wolves in the room saluted before racing out, while their leader made orders to the rest of the clan in the facility to be on high alert and not let the intruders get away.
Once that was done, the black wolf stormed over to the tube staring at the Cosmos Sapphire, hissing. "They must be after my treasure. And seeing that it's glowing more brightly, they must have one or more of their own. I will not let rival crooks or even GUN optain it. Not while I can help it!"
Attempting to make sure that his possession was safely secured, Black Fang then stormed out to organize what to do with the intruder, unaware that during the whole thing and through the broken window, Espio remained silent while in his camouflage form and listened in to the whole situation. He mentally praised Sun for causing a huge ruckus even though he feared for his friend's well-being.
Still, he had to focus on his own job and that's what he's going to do. The invisible Chaotix hurried to the tube and, noticing a few buttons on it, it pushes one while having guessed correctly and as luck would have it, it opened up by lowering the glass and freeing the Cosmos Sapphire before taking the gem.
'The Cosmos Sapphire. Now we have two, but I must go and help Sun.' Espio thought to himself, carefully tucking the crystal into his wrist bands and leaped up to aid his hedgehog friend.
Meanwhile, Sun was attempting to now get away from the alarming large number of the Wolf Clan who continued to come racing in even after he had taken out the others, but having received a few injuries and winced at the bruise on his back and face. He ducked just in time when another large wolf swung his mullet right at him and the orange hedgehog leaped and punched his opponent right in the face.
"UGH!" The wolf grunted in pain, before the former Werehog snatched the weapon that would've been heavy for him, but because he has the similar strength to Knuckles, he could wield it easily and smacked the criminal right back, sending the wolf crashing into five more as they cried out and crashed onto the ground.
"The way how you use a hammer is pathetic! A little girl can do this a million times better!" Sun grunted, and stood ready as more of the Wolf Clan charged and he let out a loud cry while swinging his burrowed weapon, bashing at some and even jumped before whacking more on the heads, chests, wherever he could in order to try and escape as he silently begged for Espio to hurry up.
Unfortunately this battle was really starting to wear him out as the orange hedgehog panted, never having to have thought this long and hard even on his own before. He supposed it was because a month ago he was so used to battling robots and Dark Gaia monsters with Sonic by his side. But this adventure was already proving to be far more difficult than he anticipated.
By then, at least seven more of the Wolf Clan were approaching, ready to finish him off. But the tangerine hedgehog refused to give up as he stood ready, tossing the mullet at the larger one who bashed it away with a large shield and grinned, much to Sun's irritation.
"Just great...!" Finally reaching to his limit, the former Werehog fell onto one knee and panted, unable to get up in time as the wolves all closed in with evil snickers while pointing their weapons straight at him, trapping the hedgehog in the middle just as he heard a mocking clap, causing Sun to look up and saw a black eye-patched wolf approach.
"Bravo, puny little hedgehog. I must say, it is very impressive that you, a small one able to have such strength, courage and determination to knock out most of my men." Black Fang greeted, standing before the trapped Mobian. "But I'm afraid it ends here."
"...And you are?" Sun hissed back, struggling to stand up even though he was in no position to fight anymore.
"Oh, I am Black Fang, the leader of the Wolf Clan." The black wolf introduced himself darkly. "And I know who you are: You seek my Cosmos Sapphire. You must be with GUN, because while you are strangely identical to the hero of Mobius, Sonic the Hedgehog, but in orange colouring, your expression is more of that of the so called Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow. Are you not?"
"Like I'm gonna say anything to you. Besides, I haven't met GUN before. They don't even know that I'm here." The orange hedgehog replied with a hard glare.
Black Fang raised an eyebrow questionably. "Really? Is that so? Then I suppose Sonic is around as well. That foolish little blue brat. And if he is here, then Dr. Eggman must be after the Sapphires as well."
"They don't know that I'm here either! Plus, I haven't seen that stupid Egg-shaped loser, so I guess he's busy with another evil plan and Sonic's stopping him like he always does." Sun growled, and winched when one of the Wolves that had baton roughly poked him on the back, making him stumble forward a little.
"Then why did you come here?"
"Do you have short-term memory loss, Dog-Breath? I said I'm not going to tell you...!"
That made Black Fang angry before he snapped his fingers, and the Wolf that was holding a baton hit Sun on the side and turned on it's Electrical power, causing him to scream in agony and weakening the orange hedgehog even further.
"You should learn to respect your elders, hedgehog! We the Wolf Clan are unstoppable! Unbeatable! All who try to stop us will suffer their fitting punishment! If you wish to live, you will tell me why you have come for my Cosmos Sapphire!" The evil wolf snarled, as the torture treatment stopped and Sun was left leaning on his hands and both knees painfully. "If you don't, you will never see your loved ones again. If you have any."
Sun just glared at Black Fang, glaring hard at him. "Go to...The Underworld..."
"My my, you are a feisty one. You are weak, you completely surrounded, you are-"
Having had enough despite being weak, and in a desperation, Sun let out a loud yell and used one leg to kick at one of the wolves to his right and causing him to fall over, before the orange hedgehog snatched the baton and even as the wolves attempted to grab him, he smacked and punched at their legs even though the one with the shield blocked him. Struggling, he used his Homing Attack once more to at least knock them down, leaping over the shield-wielding wolf who tried to grab him. Thinking quickly, he pulled himself up towards the ceiling with his grapple hook and to safety.
"Come back here, you sudden coward! You cannot escape!" Black Fang shouted, pulling out a sword while glaring at the orange hedgehog, before turning to the still conscious wolves who began to stand up. "Get him! I want that hedgehog dead or alive!"
"Geez, and I thought Ro-butt-nik never knew when to shut up." Sun grumbled to himself, struggling to stay awake while holding on. Yet he knew he didn't have much strength left. 'Ugh...I am so getting back at Vector for this.'
"You leave him alone!" A familiar girl's voice shouted, surprising the wolves and the orange hedgehog who looked to see, to the latter's shock, Star who was swinging past him and despite his fears for her safety, the lavender pink hedgehog kicked at two of the crooks who shouted before being knocked over.
"What!?" Black Fang shouted.
"You ain't getting to our friends, Wolfy!" Came Vector's voice, as the green crocodile, who along with Star and even Charmy who flew up to help Sun, came charging and swung his tail at the other three wolves who grunted in surprise and pain, being knocked over as he went.
"Star!? Vector!?" Sun exclaimed, surpried, shocked yet actually quite relieved even as he began to lose his grip.
"Hi, Sun!" Charmy flew up greeting, happily offering. "You need a hand getting down?"
"Uh...Yeah, sure. If you can carry me, squirt." The orange hedgehog, too tired to argue and thoroughly embarrassed, simply agreed.
By then, Espio had managed to sneak in and tossed his explosive mini shurinkens which exploded close by the remaining standing wolves who were knocked over to the floor in alarm as they screamed and were too dazed to get up. The purple chameleon then returned to visibility before reuniting with his friends, while Charmy held Sun by the arms and gently lowered him to the ground.
"Ugh...You weigh a ton!" The six year old bee grunted, struggling to hold on before he finally set the former Werehog down.
"I was...a lot...heavier as a...Werehog..." Sun panted, finally only having enough strength to just sit and winced. He was never going to through heists like this again.
"Sun! Sun, are you okay!?" Star exclaimed as she, Vector and Espio, horrified to see the orange hedgehog in such a state, raced over to him before the fourteen year old girl knelt before him. "You're badly hurt!"
"Yeah...But not that much..." The tangerine hedgehog winced, but he did managed to smile a little, attempting to reassure his close friend that he would be alright.
"You can tell us later! Let's just get outta here!" Vector declared, scooping up Sun into his arms before he, Star, Espio who tossed three more explosives to give them all a chance to escape, and Charmy all raced down the corridor and out of the facility as quickly as possible, leaving behind the stunned and furious Black Fang and his clan in a sudden defeat.
By the time the heroes made it out and hurried to head back to the plane, Sun was so tired that he finally couldn't stay awake anymore and lost consciousness.
The evil wolf growled darkly under his breath. "You...You and your friends haven't seen, the last of me yet, orange hedgehog!"
Not only he had a feeling that his Cosmos Sapphire was stolen, mostly by that purple chameleon, but those fools had another one and were after all seven of the crystals for whatever purpose there was.
"If you want revenge on that hedgehog, then I may have an idea on how you can do that...Black Fang." An unfamiliar voice spoke darkly, causing Black Fang to flinch and looked over his shoulder in alarm.
"Who goes there!?" The black wolf snarled, mentally cursing who this new intruder was now...Only for his heart to freeze up in horror and his eyes widening when he saw a silhouette of Zavok approaching him.
In his defeat by Sun the Hedgehog, Black Fang was now at the mercy of the Deadly Three.
Flash-back: During the visit in Green Hill Zone...
He had searched for Sonic all morning ever since Tails, Jules and Bernadette told Sun that Sonic went off to a hill not far from the village where he used to go to all the time. It annoyed the orange hedgehog that the hero of Mobius could actually get to places that took him less than minutes while for everybody else it was actual hours, days, weeks or even months. If not years.
But finally he spotted the promising sign of the cobalt hedgehog up on a rather small hill. Yet what caught Sun off-guard was that Sonic stood at the base of a rather nice tree at the very top, with a stone slab implanted in front of it and...the fifteen year old was holding a bunch of flowers in his hands.
"Sonic?" Sun murmured, feeling as though this place held a very dear piece of his brother's heart, and decided to approach while hearing the teenager speak to himself...as though he was talking to someone.
Unaware of Sun's presence at first, Sonic, somber and still guilt-ridden for what has happened two weeks earlier, stood before the grave as he gently laid the boque of flowers on the ground.
"Sorry that I haven't visited ya' in a while, Unc'. Things had been so crazy. I saved the world again, and don't worry, me and my friends are fine." Sonic whispered with a sad smile, before he sighed. "But I did mess up, though. I...Guess you know what really happened, don't ya'?"
Tears beginning to form in his emerald green eyes, the blue hedgehog unconsciously shed a couple before he wiped them away as he sniffled. "I'm sorry, Uncle Chuck. I didn't mean for this to happen..."
Even though Sonic knew deep within his heart that even Sir Charles Hedgehog wouldn't blame him and would want him to recover just as his father told him, the teenage hero just couldn't stop blaming himself for what has happened. In fact, unaware to Sun who felt his chest ache when he heard his friend struggling not to cry, Sonic felt a gentle presence of arms wrapped around his shoulders and a head leaning against his with a slight tickle of a white mustache against his left cheek.
He could feel and hear the whispered of his late uncle, reassuring him the very same thing as his living family and friends had been telling him for weeks now. While Sonic still had trouble with his turmoil, he calmed down upon feeling the 'ghost' of his uncle's presence.
"...Sorry, Unc'. I just can't help it. But I will do my best to recover and move on. The world's safe again and Egghead's been beaten as usual. Thanks for cheering me up." Sonic whispered, smiling softly, imaginging that he could feel Uncle Chuck's fingers run through his quills and a soft feeling of a gentle kiss on top of his head, before the ghostly feeling faded and he felt a slight chill.
But it was more than enough to soothe his heart for the time being.
"So this is where you got to."
Blinking in surprise hearing another, more lively but concerned voice speak behind him, Sonic looked over his shoulder to find Sun standing there, looking very concerned.
"You okay?" The orange hedgehog asked.
"Oh, heya, Sun." The blue hedgehog greeted as he stood up while his brother now stood beside him. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just having a chat with Unc' like I always do."
At first Sun didn't say anything and wondered what he was talking about, but when the former Werehog looked at the grave, his heart clenched and squeezed with sympathy and guilt as he saw that...it belonged to Sonic's late relative.
In the Loving Memory of
Sir Charles "Uncle Chuck" Hedgehog.
A kind hearted man, a brave soldier and scientist,
a loving brother, brother-in-law and uncle.
R.I.P.
"You come up here often?" Sun asked, hesitantly.
Sonic nodded, his hands on his hips. "Mm-hm. Yep, ever since Uncle Chuck died, I'd come up there to pay my respects and give him him a visit. Not to mention that I come here on the day he died. Kinda like a tradition or something."
The blue hedgehog then gazed up at the tree with a fond smile, explaining. "We used to often sit by here together. It's our and Dad's favorite spot. They would play up here when they were kids when they and Mom moved to Green Hill Zone, and Uncle Chuck brought me here to tell me stories of their adventures. Since he died, I'd come up here and would tell him stories about my own adventures too. Figured that I'd do that."
"You mean they didn't always live here?" That caught the orange hedgehog by surprise.
"Nah, they were born in Mobotropolis, but I figured that they and their parents moved to Green Hill Zone for more peace and quiet, even though they moved back to serve the King after saving him and the Kingdom. They would even visit Station Square too. Heck, it was Dad who had me wanting to check out the human city in the first place and I'm glad that he did. Wouldn't have met some of my other friends otherwise. I mean, I probably would've, but at a later date." Sonic explained.
"But then they had you and decided to move back here, right?" Sun guessed.
"Pretty much. Honestly, I never even met my grandparents. They died before I was born. So I've been grandparent-less for my whole life. Dad used to tell me that Grandpa Maurice was a really cool guy, though." The cobalt teenager folded his arms.
"I guess it was even more rough for Dad for not only losing his father...but his own parents as well before you came." The orange hedgehog lowered his gaze, sympathetic. What really made him a little uncomfortable was that Jules Hedgehog had a really hard time as such, it was a mystery why he wasn't overprotective with Sonic who risked his life every day to save the world.
As though reading his mind, Sonic smiled softly and placed a hand onto his brother's shoulder. "He did, but he managed to move forward while holding onto the memories. Mom's always worried about my safety, but that's what most Moms do in the world. Dad was for a little bit, but eventually when I told him once I wanted him to be happy and so did Uncle Chuck, he calmed down. We kinda had it tough after Unc' died for a week, but eventually we knew that one day I'd have to look out for myself."
Sonic then shrugged. "Being a hero wasn't on my bucket list, but I did it because my heart told me to. Dad supported me for that, and our folks knew that I don't hold still for long. Had a lot of close calls, but hey, we always pulled through. Sheer luck, I guess."
"Yeah, you're definitely one lucky hedgehog." Sun smirked a little, placing an arm around the other hedgehog's shoulders to which Sonic returned.
"We all are. Thanks, Sun."
"No problem."
The two brothers leaned in for their bonded embrace, before the hero of Mobius brought the former Werehog closer to the grave. "And seeing that you're now part of the family, I think it's time to introduce ya'."
Sun felt a little uneasy to be greeted by someone who's already dead, he just let Sonic do the introductions. "Unc', I'd like ya' to meet my new brother and your new nephew: Sun the Hedgehog. He's a cool guy and really brave. Sun, this is Sir Charles Hedgehog, but everybody calls him Chuck or Uncle Chuck."
"Uh...Hi...Uncle Chuck." The orange hedgehog said awkwardly, yet it was Sonic who made him feel safe around here.
In fact, when the two hedgehogs sat around the grave and the hero of Mobius retold their adventures with Chip, Tails and everybody else, Sun began to relax and leaned against the tree, smiling softly as he began to understand why Sonic, Jules and Charles would love to come up here in each of their childhoods.
It was soothing and comfortable as though they didn't have any worries at all in the world.
End of Flash-Back:
Feeling a bit sore but not as bad as he felt earlier before passing out, Sun felt like he was waking up from a very pleasant dream, which in retrospect was a lot nicer than the nightmare of the Werehog he had last night. He could hear voices that were seemingly distant at first, but as the orange hedgehog began to regain consciousness, they sounded much closer than he knew.
'Where...am I?' He groggily thought, slightly acknowledging that he was lying down on something nice and soft with a heavy but comfortable blanket over him.
Slowly blinking his eyes open, Sun found that he wasn't in the facility as his memories began to return, but instead he was staring at the ceiling of a familiar bedroom, and hovering over him worriedly was Star, along with Charmy and Andrew...Wait, what?
"Star...Charmy...Professor?" Sun groaned.
"Hey, you're awake!" Charmy cheered happily.
"Oh, thank goodness! We were so worried about you!" Star sighed in relief, while her father shared the same feeling.
Slightly confused as he didn't remember coming back to Clocksworth Town, the orange hedgehog slowly sat up and winced before looking at himself and saw that his torso, chest and arms, were bandaged up, and so was his head. That explained why he felt so stiff after the long hard battle against the Wolf Clan all by himself. He then realized that they all managed to escape and he was brought back here to have his injuries seen to, and been brought back to the safety bunker which explained why this room looked familiar.
He was relieved that they were all okay, though Espio and Vector seem to be absent.
"How long was I out?" Sun asked, blinking.
"You were unconscious for 8 hours, young man. We were all worried about you. The good news is that your injuries are not as severe, but you do need to continue resting for at least until tomorrow at the earliest. It's a miracle that you have survived the electrocution and the heavy battling, Sun." Andrew explained.
"That explains why I've got such a headache." The orange hedgehog lamented, gently placing a hand to his head. "It's like I fought against a whole army of Kaiser the Myth Hunter."
"You really had us scared, Sun." Star remarked, gently placing a hand onto his blanket-covered lap which made Sun blush a little, not having expected that. "When you and Espio took too long, I convinced Vector that we had to go in to save you."
"Yeah, even though he took credit over it, claiming that it was his own plan B." Charmy added, his arms folded.
At the mention of the green crocodile who had come up with the not so great idea, Sun groaned in annoyance. "Where is that guy anyway and what happened to Espio?"
"They're in the living room with Espio giving Vector a really good lecture for his poor planning skills, and personally, I don't blame him. It was a huge risk for what has happened back there." The female hedgehog explained, looking quite annoyed.
Her adoptive father chuckled nervously with a sweat drop. "Staria even gave that young man quite a lecture herself, I'm surprised you didn't wake up from all the...erm...screaming and shouting earlier."
Sun sweat dropped over that and leaned back a little. "Yeah, sorry about that. Guess I was out cold so much that I've starting to become a heavy sleeper."
He thought of something and asked. "What about the Cosmos Sapphire? Did Espio get it?"
"Don't worry, Sun. He got it. It was a close call." Star reassured.
"Tada! Right here and all red just like one of the Chaos Emeralds!" The young bee excitedly held up the aforementioned crystal in his hand.
So it was a mission success after all. All things considered, Sun was relieved that they did succeed and managed to get away with their skins intact. He leaned back a little with a sigh. "So I guess the bad news is that Zavok's team are still out there and so are Beak-face and his mutant petting-zoo."
"And so are the Wolf Clan. But I don't think we'll have to worry about them for a while." The female hedgehog confirmed, before firmly telling him in a motherly-like tone. "Right now, it's important that you recover before you even consider on the next move in find the rest of the Sapphires, Sun the Hedgehog."
"Heh...Yes, ma'am." Sun agreed, still too tired to even argue. Even though he would like to keep going, the orange hedgehog knew that Star was right. Plus it had been a long day and unlike Sonic who would immediately get straight back into action despite the blue hedgehog still recovering himself, the former Werehog knew when to take it easy.
To add it all up, his stomach began to grumble, much to his embarrassment and even more so when Star, Andrew and Charmy all began laughing knowingly.
"And that includes getting your belly nice and full too." The fourteen year old girl added.
"I'll go get us something to eat, because I'm certain you're all pretty hungry." Andrew smiled.
"If it's not too much trouble, can I have a cheeseburger?" The orange hedgehog asked hopefully.
"I don't see why not." The older hedgehog replied, before whispering in deep gratitude. "I want to thank you and the Chaotix for finding my daughter and keeping her safe."
Sun smiled back warmly and nodded. "Sure, no problem. Though I oughta be thanking her and the guys for saving me. I owe them."
Andrew nodded in response, before standing up and taking his leave, with Charmy following him and briefly leaving the two young hedgehogs on their own.
"Hey..." Sun began, as the memories of what happened day made him feel a bit awful, making Star gaze at him in confusion. "Sorry that I didn't protect you as I promised. And for not being a good distraction back there. I guess I...I still have a lot to learn...I'm not as strong as I thought I was."
Star, in response, gently placed her fingers onto the male hedgehog's lips as she whispered gently. "You did save me, Sun, and you did keep me safe. I can't thank you enough, and you don't owe me anything. I wanted to help you...because I was so worried back there. Besides which, friends look out for each other. You're so brave, kind, caring and strong, Sun. It doesn't matter if you really did come from Sonic or not. You're you, and that's what's important."
Even though Sun still felt like he wasn't really a real Mobian as Sonic and Chip had made him to be, the words from the girl in front of him not only gave him a very warm feeling and his heart raced a little, but it also once again reminded him of the good memories he had with his brothers. So he smiled back and nodded, while vowing to do his very best to keep Star safe and figure out how to defeat Starline and the Hybrians, including the Deadly Three.
"Thanks, Star. Has anybody ever told you that you're a sweet and kind too?" The orange hedgehog replied.
The lavender hedgehog girl giggled, before saying. "I'm gonna go help out my father. What would you like besides the cheeseburger?"
"Glass of water, please. If that's okay."
"Of course, silly. You just take it easy, alright?" Star nodded, and leaned up to give Sun a quick but gentle kiss on the cheek before standing up and headed out of the room to give him some time to rest.
Leaving the former Werehog stunned as his eyes widened at the unexpected gesture his friend had given him. He couldn't believe it. Star had actually given Sun a kiss! He felt the sudden wave of warmth and lightness flow in his entire body, a little giddy before leaning even further back into his bed.
"Oh man...That...was incredible." Sun whispered to himself, while not fully understanding why he felt this way...But for some reason, he really liked it.
Unaware that he really was beginning to fall in love with Star Amantha.
A/N: Once again, thanks for helping me out TU4QU0I53T4IAN6L3! While I didn't use the full idea like you suggested for this chapter, it helped out a lot even though it took me ages to get this chapter right and get through the writer's block.
(Assuming that Fanfiction survives the next time I update this story,) I just need time to brainstorm where Sun and his friends will go next to locate the third Cosmos Sapphire which will take a while once again. But I will do my best to get this story done.
And...*Grins* Sun's feelings for Star is really starting to show. But it seems that Zavok is keen on recuiting Black Fang and the Wolf Clan! What will happen next? Only time will tell.
See you later!