Chapter Fifteen:

Supernatural Battle


The mist cleared up, but darkness still surrounded Tails and the girls. However, once their vision had become a little clearer, they could see how much their environment had changed.

A mountainous region surrounded the trio with massive rocks rising up from the ground around them, on the left and on the right. Tails, Amy and Sticks stood atop a mountain, overlooking a gorge ahead of them. Steam rose from below and more mist surrounded them; it seemed as if the mist wasn't gone yet.

Ominous cackling from above sent chills down their backs, prompting everyone to look up. Ghouleena was floating above them, her magic staff in hand and her eyes gleaming with a sinister hue. The sorceress' mouth curled into a smile; a dark, sinister and foreboding grin.

Amy shouted, "WHAT SORCERY IS THIS? ANSWER US, YOU WITCH!"

Ghouleena laughed, her cackle echoing across the hill, across the valley. She laughed loudly, the sorceress' shriek of laughter piercing the trio's ear drums until their ears were ringing.

Luckily, they could still hear everything. That laugh, that horrible laugh, wasn't loud enough to even disrupt Tails' hearing or break the girls' ear drums. No, it would take more than that. That sorceress didn't have the power to rob the trio of their hearing capability, she didn't.

"Foolish prattlers…" Ghouleena declared, "You stand atop the cliffs of Iblis Rock, the gateway to oblivion, the border into the realm of the supernatural and the Great Darkness from which I shall summon the ultimate being to aid me in battle against those who wish to oppose our power and efforts to rule over all mortals."

"Stop her!" Sticks screamed, "She's gonna summon a giant demon puppet!"

"My, my…" Ghouleena purred, "You are a silly badger, perhaps there's potential in you."

"You're not gonna make Sticks your puppet!" Tails told Ghouleena, "Now release Sonic and Knuckles."

Ghouleena batted an eye. "Release?" She purred, "Release? The only one I shall release is him and release him onto you I SHALL!"

The sorceress floated over the gorge and raised her magic staff as a gleaming light emitted from the bottom of the mountain, in the darkness below.

"ARISE!" Ghouleena proclaimed dramatically, "THE QUEEN COMMANDS YOU, COME FORTH AND UNLEASH THE MIGHT OF DARKNESS ON OUR ENEMIES FOR ALL TO FEAR IN THEIR FINAL HOUR! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Beneath Tails, Amy and Sticks' feet, the ground rumbled and pebbles rattled. The trio took a step back as the surface beneath their feet began to crack, part of the ground crumbled away into the abyss and a deafening roar shook the mountains.

For a minute, the vibrations stopped and all seemed to calm, despite the ominous glowing light in front of the heroes.

Then the rumbling picked up again, Ghouleena raised her staff, which glowed vibrantly and the strange light in the gorge began gleaming brightly to. A vortex of wind shot up from the gorge, accompanied by a roar.

The rumbling intensified and the trio wondered what was about to happen, the tension grew and the rumbling became stronger and stronger.

And then...

A massive hand with dark-crimson flesh baring menacing claws emerged from the abyss and propped itself up on the peak, digging each of its claws into the ground. Another hand emerged and followed suit, something growled and Ghouleena laughed, "YES! HE RISES!"

Tails, Amy and Sticks watched as a massive humanoid beast made its appearance, its eyes a chilling shade of yellow, horns resting atop its head and the beast's mouth lined with sharp rows of teeth that could shred anything that came into contact with it.

The heroes' hearts pounded, it was him, the one they'd seen in Knoal's crystal ball with Ghouleena's image.

Shahl'tor'ohk, the Great Demon Underlord, the Emperor of H'el.

"I SERVE THE WILL OF MY MASTER!" Ghouleena screamed with a hint of sinister ecstasy, "I WILL HELP HIM CONQUER THE WORLD OF MORTALS AND WE WILL RULE TOGETHER, WE WILL CONQUER EVERY CONTINENT AND CRUSH EVERY LAST ANIMAL. THEN WE WILL EXPAND ACROSS THE STARS AND TRANSCEND ACROSS TIME-AND-SPACE, RULING EVERYTHING AT OUR COMMAND!"

"YOU ARE INSANE, WITCH!" Tails yelled.

"ENLIGHTENED, DELIGHTED TO SERVE!" Ghouleena proclaimed, she raised her staff and it gleamed ominously in sync with her eyes as Shahl'tor'ohk roared again, the demonic beast's roar giving Tails the chills as the shockwave made Amy's quills ripple.

"OH YES!" The sorceress declared, "AND NEITHER OF YOU, maybe except for that orange badger over here, WILL LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO SEE OUR VICTORY! AND NOW, HEROES, YOUR LONG-EXPECTED DESTRUCTION AND ULTIMATE DAMNATION AWAITS! IT IS TIME FOR THE DARKNESS TO CONSUME YOUR SOULS AND FOR ALL OF YOU TO JOIN THE RANKS OF THE RESTLESS SPIRITS OF THE BEYOND!"

The trio swallowed their fear and faced the enemy, their weapons ready and their faces filled with great determination.

Lightning exploded and the mist grew, the battle was on.

Ghouleena's eyes gleamed and she raised her staff again as lightning bolts flashed around her.

A bolt of lightning struck the tip of her staff, energizing it with tremendous and terrifying power, the ominous glow of the aura surrounding the sorceress became brighter as the gleam in Shahl'tor'ohk's demonic eyes as he surveyed the heroic trio.

The demon made the first strike.

He raised his fist and brought it down, aiming to crush the heroes like pancakes. Tails, Amy and Sticks scattered for cover as Shahl'tor'ohk's clawed hand smashed into the earth, sending rocks and debris in every direction.

Letting off a vicious snarl, the beast retracted his arm and then struck again, bringing both fists down and pounding the mountain with enough force to crack the rocky surface while Ghouleena screeched with delight, proclaiming how victory was in her grasp and that the heroes stood no chance.

Bone-chilling unearthly screeches echoed through the gorge and specters arose from the mist, taking the form of ghosts with demonic faces, growling and snarling at the struggling heroes.

Tails activated his Ghost Vacuum and faced the threatening spirits that had arisen to serve their masters. The evil phantoms swarmed the fox and the girls, claws bared and fangs flashing. Tails pressed the button and the vacuum roared to life, sucking in as many spirits as possible.

Amy and Sticks followed suit, they turned their devices on and got to work, fending off the encircling phantoms and sucking them up into the depths of the Vacs without a fight.

A shadow loomed over and the trio realized that Shahl'tor'ohk was coming down to try and smash them again. They dove for cover behind a rock and the demon's fist smashed into the ground, rattling the mountainside, while Ghouleena screamed with delight.

"Your efforts to stay alive are futile, heroes!" She cried, "Why not surrender, my master is hungry!"

The rock which the trio hid behind suddenly rose into the air and the gang saw that their demonic nemesis had picked it up. The beast leaned over them, growling like a rabid animal. Tails and Sticks looked at Amy, wondering if she had any tactical ideas in mind.

They thought about it quickly, even as Shahl'tor'ohk moved closer with every intent to crush and devour them.

Her mind filled with desperation, her instincts screaming for a battle plan, Amy drew her hammer. The pink hedgehog lifted her weapon and swung it hard, hitting Shahl'tor'ohk between the eyes. The beast staggered, clutching his face in pain, and Ghouleena suddenly yelped in shock.

"I got it!" Amy cried, "Tails, you take care of as many specters as you can with your Vacuum if any spooks come for us. Sticks, you use your boomerang and I'll use my hammer!"

"Tails deals with the ghosts and ghouls while we deal with the demon puppet master!" Sticks quipped, "That's a good tactic, Amy! However, it could use a little improvement. Hate to be a revisionist here, but we also need a diversion. Tails, while you're suckin' up 'em phantoms and demons, can you fly around our evil friends and be a pest to 'em?"

"Um, that wasn't what I had in mind." Amy remarked, "But, I suppose we could go with that idea too. Tails?"

"You can count on me, girls." Tails nodded.

Emerging from their former hiding spot, Amy and Sticks launched their attack right before Shahl'tor'ohk could strike again. Sticks threw her boomerang at the demon lord, striking him in the head and Amy leaped up and whacked the beast in the torso with her hammer.

Tails took to the air, his tails whirling wildly, and he flew around the demon lord's head in rapid circles.

Lord Shahl'tor'ohk swatted at Tails, trying to drive him away. But even then, the fox was flying so fast, he couldn't catch him, and this left him open long enough to be hit by Amy and Sticks in a series of rapid combo attacks. The girls struck as hard as they could, hitting the demonic overlord with relentless hammer-smashing and boomerang strikes.

The girls attacked hard, knocking and pushing Shahl'tor'ohk back. Various phantoms emerged from the mist and rushed to aid the demon lord, even as Tails sucked them up with his Vacuum.

With each strike landed upon the monstrosity, the heroes' every blow seemed to have an effect on Ghouleena as well.

As the girls struck harder, Tails heard grunting and briefly looked up to see the ghost queen sorceress staggering and clutching her magic staff, which appeared to be shaking while its tip let off a strange glow that flickered out every couple seconds.

"No… NO!" The sorceress grunted, "How... Fight back, you stupid... Don't let..."

'Somethin' strange is going on.' Tails thought.

A massive fist flew past the twin-tailed fox and he returned his attention to distracting the massive horned beast, flying circles all around his head until he could see that Shahl'tor'ohk's eyes were rolling in circles and the demonic entity was clutching his head and groaning.

'Yes.' Tails thought, 'We got 'em.'

A hammer flew in, striking the gigantic beast in the forehead, courtesy of Amy herself, Tails took advantage of Shahl'tor'ohk's dazed state to activate the Ghost Vac with a sinister smirk.

He pressed the button, aiming the weapon in the swaying and dazed demon's face, and the Vacuum roared to life. Shahl'tor'ohk screamed as he felt the force of the device sucking on his face, his eyes bulged in his sockets and his tongue rattled in its spot in his mouth.

Tails pulled back, spinning his rotor tails and gripping the ghost-sucking device as tightly as he could, even with the weight of the enemy bearing down on him.

Sticks threw her boomerang at the monster, hitting him in the eye and not-so feared demon lord wailed in pain. Tails pulled harder, his vacuum shaking intensely and Shahl'tor'ohk fell over, his face slamming into the ground.

"AHH, NOOOOOOOOO!" Ghouleena cried. The aura around her suddenly appeared to give out and her staff vibrated so hard as if it had taken on extra weight, the sinister sorceress' flight powers faltered; Ghouleena stumbled out of the air and fell towards the gorge.

"NO, NO, NO!" She screamed, "USELESS PUPPET, WHY DIDN'T I... HE SHOULD BE... SHOULD'VE KNOWN THIS SORCERY WOULDN'T PROPERLY FUNCTION…"

Tails landed on the ground next to the girls, they looked at each other with stunned silence, it appeared there was something off about Shahl'tor'ohk and the way Ghouleena was acting.

Whatever was going on, it was very suspicious. The sorceress' staff let off an eerie light and Ghouleena, who'd landed on the edge of the mountain, shot back up and raised her staff skyward…

...which prompted Shahl'tor'ohk to move his head upward, his eyes blank, and his arms raised as if he were reaching out for something.

Ghouleena snarled and waved her staff; the demon king raised his arm further upward, almost as if he were describing the height of something, then he raised his other hand. Ghouleena yelled with frustration and shook her fist holding the staff, screaming commands and chanting random incantations.

Shahl'tor'ohk, halfway somewhere in a strange trance, suddenly closed his hand into a fist and punched himself in the face.

He slumped over, then, he fell into the abyss… and vanished. This left Tails, Amy and Sticks in shock. They thought Ghouleena was serving a demon lord, but based on what they'd just seen, it was too good to even be true...

"The demon was a puppet!" Sticks exclaimed, "I TOLD YA, I TOLD YA SHE WAS GONNA SUMMON A DEMON PUPPET!"

"Wow, how easily we were fooled by an illusion." Amy remarked.

"Looks like Ghouleena is working on her own free will." Tails said.

Ghouleena glared at the trio, floating over to them with her eyes ablaze with malice, and snarled with fury. "If a puppet can't do the job, then it's time for the puppet master herself to do this personally. "But look at how easily you were all fooled, thinking I served a great demon overlord of H'el.

"Now, no more strings and simple trickery, the mighty Ghouleena ends this. A magician always saves her best trick for last; the underworld still awaits you and now, Ghouleena gets to be the one who makes you disappear forever!"

She raised her staff and pointed it threateningly at Tails, Amy and Sticks with a smirk. Lightning rained down around them and they ducked for cover before a massive lightning bolt rained down on the spot they stood, blasting rocks everywhere and partially blinding their vision with a cloud of dust.

Sticks ran for Ghouleena and threw her boomerang at her, aiming for the head. The sorceress flicked her staff, anticipating this attack, and the boomerang froze in midair with a sinister red hue of light surrounding it.

Then, it twirled like a whirl-blade and flew back at Sticks. The feral badger ducked and her own weapon flew over her head, then it circled back around and smacked Sticks on the butt.

"GAH!" The badger jumped and grabbed the boomerang, regaining her weapon before anything could happen.

For a short minute, Sticks glared at it, filled with disbelief that it would turn against its own creator. Then, remembering the fight at hand, she looked up at the smirking Ghouleena. The sorceress waved her fingers in a mocking manner, taunting the irked jungle badger.

"BRRRRRRR!" Sticks trilled and leaped onto Ghouleena, biting her shoulder and punching her in the face. Tails took flight with his namesakes and flew at the sorceress while Sticks distracted her, ready for his own attack on the sinister would-be conqueror.

But just then, Ghouleena ducked and threw Sticks off of her, sending the badger flying right into the approaching fox boy.

The orange badger crashed into Tails and they collapsed to the ground in a dazed heap. Amy saw this and ran at Ghouleena, her hammer twirling. She lunged towards the sorceress, swinging her weapon, and Ghouleena casually sidestepped the attack as if it was nothing.

Tails and Sticks got back up, watching as Amy tried to attack Ghouleena, swinging her hammer at the sorceress and attempting to land a hit off of the gang's dangerous foe.

"Wait…" Tails muttered.

He took a minute to study Ghouleena, his eyes focusing on the weapon in her hand, emitting off a large aura with the power she wielded.

"GO FOR THE STAFF!" Tails yelled, "WE CAN BEAT HER IF WE GET IT FROM HER!"

Sticks drew her boomerang and ran towards Ghouleena, who turned her attention away from Amy to see her would-be attacker.

Sticks threw the boomerang at the sorceress again and, predictably, Ghouleena used her magic to stop the weapon in mid-air. But right before she could employ her "return to sender" trick, Amy struck with her hammer and whacked Ghouleena in the side.

The sorceress, taken off guard, turned her focus on Amy and pointed her staff at the pink hedgehog, which caused the spell on Sticks' boomerang to break and the jungle badger's weapon flew at Ghouleena, hitting her in the arm and going right back into Sticks' hand.

Ghouleena yelled in pain and flinched, causing her to drop her staff. Tails dove for it and grabbed it. The twin-tailed genius lifted it up, smirking with confident satisfaction.

A recovered Ghouleena snarled and pounced, grabbing Tails by the neck as she tried to reach for her own weapon in the fox's grasp. Tails struggled with the sorceress and fought to keep the staff away from its owner.

"YOU GIVE ME THAT STAFF!" Ghouleena screamed, "YOU KNOW NOTHING OF IT'S POWER, THAT STAFF IS RIGHTFULLY MINE! GIVE ME THAT!"

"So, you can summon more spooks and make paintings of us?" Tails mocked, "I don't think so."

He punched the ancient ghost queen in the face and tossed the staff to Sticks, who slammed it into the ground base first. A shockwave rippled through the arena and Ghouleena's grip on Tails slackened as she was sent flying into a boulder; the sorceress' eyes widened with shock.

Tails, Amy and Sticks came together as a united front, looking Ghouleena in the eye with her staff in hand as she got back up on her knees, her hands shaking.

Lightning flashed across the sky behind the heroes and Ghouleena grit her teeth in a furious snarl. Sticks handed the staff to Amy and threw her boomerang at Ghouleena, smacking her hard in the eye just like with her fake puppet master.

Ghouleena rubbed her eye, groaning in pain, and she glared back at the trio with fury.

She raised her hands and chanted an eerie incantation, her palms agleam with a green-yellow power. The sorceress threw her arm out and energy bolts shot from her fingertips, going right for Tails, Amy and Sticks.

The trio scattered and then ran at Ghouleena while she threw her hands to the air, lightning bolts rained down upon the mountain and blasted rocks to smithereens.

Amy leaped onto a boulder and jumped towards Ghouleena with her hammer raised, letting out a battle cry as she came down.

She bashed the sinister magic-wielder in the head and the enemy staggered, the crown Ghouleena was wearing appeared to crack from the force of the blow. Sticks swung her boomerang and hit Ghouleena in the cheek hard, leaving a bruise upon her face.

Desperate, Ghouleena screamed and more phantoms emerged from the mist, swarming the heroes. Tails, Amy and Sticks reactivated their Ghost Vacuums and sucked up the spooky spirits, then they ganged up on Ghouleena, striking away until she was down on her knees, overwhelmed from the heroes' barrage of attacks.

The sinister magic-wielder panted, eyes gleaming with pain and hatred. She looked up, finding herself surrounded and cornered with Tails, Amy and Sticks glaring at her.

"Didn't you say that a magician saves her best trick for last?" Amy asked Ghouleena in a sarcastic manner, "If I recall correctly, you did, and you said something about making us vanish forever. Well, guess what's going to happen to you, Ghouleena?"

"Hope you like the dark." Tails said with a smirk, "Because where you're going, there will a be a lot of darkness. And in a land of darkness where people like you dwell, nobody can hear you scream. Well, except maybe those who share the same place as you. Either way, goodbye for good, Ghouleena. You certainly won't be missed."

"It's time for a magic show with Amy Rose..." Sticks blabbed, "...and for her act, her assistant is you!"

Ghouleena smiled nervously and held up her hands in protest, but whatever she was about to say, she wouldn't get the chance.

Amy waved the magic staff in her hand and flicked her wrist, pointing the tip of the magical artifact at Ghouleena. A bright flash engulfed her and Ghouleena shrieked in pain, she protested and struggled to make a movement, but it was all for naught.

Amy raised the staff, levitating Ghouleena in the air and then threw her arm out to the right and flicked her wrist. Ghouleena found herself being levitated over the edge of the mountain, then, she fell into the chasm with a scream. There was a flash of light and then, she was gone...

With the sorceress defeated, the mysterious region around the trio rumbled and Ghouleena's magic staff emitted a vibrant glow of colorful lights.

Mist surrounded Tails, Amy and Sticks once again and the mountains vanished, disappearing as though they were nothing but a dream; an illusion cast by Ghouleena's sorcery. Tails and the girls braced themselves, they were going back to the mansion.

And yet, while Ghouleena was defeated, there was one last detail to resolve before the case of the haunted mansion was put to rest for good...