Chapter 62; trials of the tree
Sonic and crew left the great wall and headed for the giant tree in the distance. Sonic's phone buzzed receiving the message from Amy.
"Alright. Amy is on her way to the temple. She says she met a tribe that knows about the lunar dragon. They will lead her there."
"That's good. we're halfway there. Let's get to that tree" Miles said.
"Wait. Another message. They did find the answers. But in order to learn them they have to wait for 3 days until the full moon".
"And there I thought we were halfway there." Miles said in disappointment.
They began walking through the woods being sure not to take a wrong turn. Sonic noticed Sticks being uneasy.
"You feel ok?"
"I have… a familiar feeling. As if I have been here before."
Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other. That wasn't something unheard of.
"I have a feeling that getting forgiveness for my ancient self will be a complicated situation to deal with".
They continued on. Marianna felt that they were followed. She looked over her shoulder all the time. Nothing however.
"So when will you reveal it?" Sticks suddenly asked her.
Marianna was taken by surprise.
"Reveal what?"
"That you are expecting."
"What?! I'm not expecting."
"You're not talking with Knuckles right now you know."
Marianna realized hiding it was no longer a choice.
"After we're done with this mess."
"Why not before?"
"My father is on the other side of the world and my father-in-law is already busy with his problem of forgiveness. I can't reveal it now."
"I see. One less problem for the time being."
"Yes".
Soon after that little conversation after climbing a little hill they finally saw it. The tree wasn't just big. It was gigantic. It was big enough that if it could easily fit over 100 people. In awe they all went closer. They saw a little hole on the base of the tree which led inside it. Bracing themselves, they entered. Inside was mostly hollow except for something in the middle. Something like a seat. And someone was sitting on it.
"Hello?" Knuckles said creating an echo inside the tree.
The figure didn't move. They approached it. Just before they got close enough to see its face, its eyes opened. They all froze in place. The figure looked at Sonic.
"I have been waiting for you my king."
Sonic's mark started shining. Ancient Sonic appeared as energy projection.
"You're…" he said looking at the figure and then at Sticks.
The figure got up and walked holding a staff to walk, towards the group. Once they could see its face, they were all surprised except for Sonic who had already gone through this in the spirit world. It was an old decaying version of Sticks.
"Which time do you come from?" he asked her.
"From the time of my king."
"You are from 3 millennia ago?!" Miles said trying to process this.
"Yes… after the end of the nameless war I walked the earth being cursed into immortality due to my part in creating the illusionary beasts. The lunar dragon guided me here. He showed me parts of the future where the beasts turned on humanity with Tails as their master".
"Tails stole them from me and turned their energy into a giant living meteorite called nibiru the primal being".
"I see. And you led him here right?" She asked her younger self.
"Yes. Is there any way the king can be forgiven for his sins?"
"Indeed there is. The lunar dragon also showed me the way. But it won't be easy."
"I have no problem. I'll do whatever I need to" Ancient Sonic said.
"You can't do anything. Your modern self has to do everything."
"I'll do it!" Sonic said.
"Good. You have to complete three tests to achieve forgiveness. However the ancient spirits that rest in this tree will not allow more than one test to be taken a day."
"Three tests. Three days huh?" Sonic said rubbing his chin "Well… Amy said that the secrets of the temple will be revealed in 3 days so there's not a lot we can do. Ok I'm in".
"Very well. The first test is just a little north of here. You will find an ancient rock with a blue crystal on the top. Once you grab the crystal the test will begin."
"Ok. Let's go team."
"You have to pick only one person for this test. The rock demands you only get help to climb to the top as it is a bit too high for one person to climb alone".
"Ok then. Knuckles come with me. Miles you and the girls will wait here ok?"
"You got it father. Go and ace the test!" Miles said joking.
"Oh I will!" he said laughing.
They left the tree and used Sonic's compass to find the north and then began their journey to the rock.
Back home Luke, Ruff, Storm, Rouge and Shadow were searching through the city day and night, asking all around about any info on Tails. No one knew anything. Shadow discovered a clue eventually in a part of the city that had a very bad reputation. He heard two suspicious looking guys saying about the payment they received from someone whose description fit Tails perfectly. After he beat both of these guys and interrogated them, he called the others.
"Tails has paid a cartel of assassins that operate all around the world to find Sonic and end him. We need to inform them now!"
"On it!" Luke said calling Miles.
Miles back at the entrance of the tree looking at the sky. His phone buzzed.
"Hello?"
"Miles…." the signal was very bad.
"Luke?"
"Miles… in dang… assassins… you dad!"
"What?" he tried to say but the call was stopped from the bad reception. He went back inside.
"Luke just called me but I couldn't understand him. He said Miles.. in dang.. assassins.. and my dad."
"In dang?" young Sticks said.
"No!" Marianna said in shock "not in dang. In danger!"
"My father is in danger?!" Miles said and ran off ignoring Sticks' command that only 2 people could approach the rock at a time.
In the Amazon jungle, Amy and her team had spent a night at makeshift tents the tribe had made for them. At dawn they heard the village waking up. Amy tried to get more sleep but unable to due to her anxiety about Sonic she got up and exited the tent. Immediately she was offered breakfast and sat with Aurora and Evelyn to eat it. They informed her that Jet and Wave were by the river trying to relax despite seeing nibiru on the sky being reminded of their limited time. T-bone had met several other teenagers of the tribe and had learned to communicate with them. The previous day after their return from the temple they had took him for fishing where he showed them how to make makeshift fishing lines with sharp objects to fish more efficiently. Now he was teaching them how to play football using a backpack that the team no longer used tied with ropes to look like a ball. They all seemed to have the time of their lives.
"I guess this is how civilizations evolve" Evelyn said "by assuming parts from other civilizations, or turning them into something completely new".
"Scientists would pay millions to witness such things up close" Aurora joked.
At that moment Wild Flower approached them.
"Excuse me… this is for you.." she said giving a giant ring of flowers from the forest to Amy who had no words.
"This is wonderful. You made it yourself?"
"Yes. My daddy showed me this morning how. It is an old custom the tribe has, expressing their gratitude to the dragon's warriors."
Amy found it weird that Wild flower was talking about her tribe as if they were strangers to her. However she wore the ring on her neck.
"Thank you".
"Hey Wild Flower. Wanna do some girly stuff?" Aurora asked her.
"Girly?" Wild Flower asked her.
"Yeah. Like have me and Evelyn make your hair".
"I'd love too."
They took Wild Flower elsewhere. Amy got up and headed off to walk alone for a while. She approached the river and looked at her reflection. It was really beautiful. She sat by the water and took out her cell phone. She opened it and saw the background picture of Sonic and her family. She prayed Sonic was safe on the other side of the ocean. She then noticed that she had signal once again. She dialed Sonic's number and called. She put the phone on her ear and noticed Jet and Wave next to the river looking at the sky hugging.
"Amy? You there?" Sonic's voice was heard.
"Yes. Everything's ok. How about you?"
"We found the tree."
"That's great. Have you found the way to get your other self forgiven?
"Yeah. But I have to pass three tests. And I can only take one a day."
"Three days for me and three for you huh? It's ok. We'll still have plenty of time."
"We're almost to the location of the first test. I have to hang up now. Are they treating you ok there?"
"Yes perfect."
"Alright. I gotta go. I love you."
"Love you more." She said and closed the phone.
"Who was that?" Tiger Fang's voice was heard.
Amy turned around and saw him.
"I was talking to my husband" he saw the plane crash and was worried about me."
"I see. I understand his concern. Is he back home?"
"No. He is dealing with some personal matter in China."
"I understand. And are you two good together?"
"We're perfect together."
"I see." Tiger Fang said trying to look happy.
"What about you? Haven't seen your wife anywhere in the village. I thought she would take care of Wild Flower".
"She is… no longer with us."
"Oh. Did she die?"
"No, she left."
"Oh I'm sorry."
"It's ok. She left soon after Wild Flower was born. She doesn't remember her."
"Have you ever spoken to her about her mother?"
"Yes. I told her she left because she didn't want her. Which is actually kind of true. My wife wasn't the biggest fan of kids."
"I see."
"You know you remind me of her."
"Really?"
"Yes. In almost every way except for the kid part. It's obvious you love your daughters."
"And my son too. He is with his father in China to help him."
"Big family huh? And does your husband…"
"What?"
"Does he know about your powers?"
"Yes."
"Hmmm.."
"What?"
"Is he also a warrior?"
"No" Amy lied.
Tiger Fang looked at her for a moment then got up.
"Ok. Nice talking to you. I got to go. Hunting's the only way to find food around here."
"Ok" Amy said.
However she started to feel uneasy. Why was Tiger Fang so keen on asking about Sonic? Why did Wild Flower refer to her own people as they? And most importantly… how was Tiger Fang, the leader of an Amazonian tribe capable of understanding them? A wild tribe leader should be somewhat wild. And he seemed too civilized for that.
"Could it be that he is hiding more than he is letting on?" Amy wondered.
"Amy! Everything ok?" Jet asked her from afar.
"Yeah" she answered looking at the water "All ok".
Meanwhile Sonic and Knuckles reached the rock.
"Alright Knucks. We're here".
They approached the rock and saw it was really impossible to climb it alone as it was too tall and had nowhere to grab to.
"Give me a boost."
Knuckles put his hands together and Sonic climbed to the top of the rock.
"The crystal is right here!" he said to Knuckles from the top.
He tried to pick it up but the moment he touched it everything blacked out. He opened his eyes after a while and saw he was standing in a weird place. It was like a cave. In front of him was a giant crack on the ground separating him from the other side. A man dressed in a cloak was standing there.
"Who are you?" Sonic asked him but got no response.
"Where am I?" he tried asking again.
The man raised his hand and a giant tablet appeared above him. At the same moment a duel disc appeared on Sonic's hand. He saw numbers of blue fire hovering above the cloaked man making the number 8000.
"Is this a duel?" Sonic wondered "No if that thing over him is a card then why would he start only with one card? Unless…. Of course! This is a duel puzzle! Alright you're on!" he said drawing 5 cards.
"I got to win this turn. He probably has something like battle fader in his hand or something. Too bad for him this is nothing I can't handle. Alright let's do it! I summon blackwing steam the cloak! You're in trouble buddy. I duel with new rules! I no longer need link monsters' zones to summon synchros! I special summon blackwings kris the crack of dawn, bora the spear and gale the whirlwind! Next I activate blackwing feathers to draw 4 cards as I control 4 different blackwings! Now I tune together steam the cloak and bora the spear! Spread your jet-black wings and lead my winged warriors to victory! Synchro summon! Appear blackwing tamer obsidian hawk joe! Next because of steam the cloak's effect I get a token! Now I tune together bora the spear and gale the whirlwind! Wet those pitch-black wings and along with the drizzling rain bring forth one strike of thunder! Synchro summon! Pierce through assault blackwing chidori the rain sprinking! Next I activate the effect of steam the cloak in the graveyard! I tribute chidori to summon it back! Appear sky circuit! I use the steam and the token as materials! Link summon! Appear! Crystron needlefiber! Summon to my side blackwing zephyros the elite! Now I activate the spell flying together. I can summon a blackwing tuner monster from my deck by negating its effects as long as it is used for synchro summoning using a monster of the same level. I bring out kochi the daybreak! Now that his effect is out of the way I tune it with zephyros! Darkened gales reveal hidden wishes on your wings! Synchro summon! Soar black winged dragon! Next my tamer hawk joe revives chidori with his effect! The combined attack is over 8000! All the pieces are in place for victory! It's over! Monsters! Attack!"
At the moment Sonic declared attack the cloaked man raised his hand and on the tablet appeared the shape of a meteor. Then letters and effect of the card were inscribed. In the name Sonic read..
"Nibiru the primal being!"
Suddenly the card came to life summoning a small version of nibiru. The primal being came down on his monsters eliminating them all then summoning itself on the opponent's field and a token with Sonic's monsters' stats combined into it.
"What the… I… I can't win now!" Sonic said in shock.
Suddenly the field disappeared and everything returned to the start. Sonic noticed his hand was exactly the same. However now above him on his left was a giant pendulum blade. His feet were now chained to the ground.
"So… if I don't win now… I die?!" he thought in shock as he read the effect of Nibiru.
"So… if I summon 5 times in a turn…. My monsters are all wiped out and nibiru and that token appear? How do I beat that?!" He thought in terror.
Knuckles could see Sonic on the rock sitting in a kneeling stance with closed eyes holding the crystal.
"I hope he is ok" he thought.
Suddenly he heard a voice behind him.
"This will be easier than I thought. The king is out of it".
Knuckles turned and saw a guy wearing a duel disc and with a gun on his hand.
"I see. Tails is getting desperate."
"I don't know who this 'Tails' is but I have been paid to end your blue friend. So get out of the way or I'll end you too".
"How about beating me first?"
"How about no?" he said raising his gun and firing.
However the bullet went through Knuckles without hurting him. He raised his right hand showing him his glowing mark.
"Looks like you have to get through me first".
"I said no!" he screamed and raised his gun pointing to Sonic's head. He fired but the bullet crashed into an invisible wall and fell in front of Knuckles.
"You got no choice!" Knuckles said firing a hook on the hitman's duel disc.
"Fine then!"
"DUEL!"
"Time to unleash my new power. My deck shall no longer be limited by red eyes fusion's backfire effect! I summon predaplant ophrys scorpio! By discarding red eyes wyvern I summon predaplant darlingtonia cobra from my deck! Appear circuit of darkness! Link summon! Blossom in rage! Predaplant verte anaconda! I activate its effect! For 2000 LP (Knuckles LP 6000) I send red eyes fusion from my deck to my grave to activate its effect! I send red eyes black dragon and dark magician from my deck to my graveyard! The ultimate magician and the black dragon from hell shall merge to invoke the unholy offspring of death! Fusion summon! Raise from the earth! Dragun of red eyes! Now that the new rules are in play it is summoned in the main monster zone. But why stop here when I can activate the spell dragon's mirror! I banish dark magician and red eyes from my graveyard! The black dragon from hell shall become the servant of the ultimate magician to strike down their opponents! Fusion summon! Come forth! Dark magician knight! I set 2 face downs and end my turn."
"I draw. I summon forth a monster called achichi ignister! I activate its effect to add pikari ignister to my hand. Then I activate the field spell ignister Ailand! Appear circuit! Link summon! Link 1! Linguriboh! Then I activate ignister Ailand's effect. Since I don't have any monsters in the main monster zones I can summon an ignister from my hand! Appear…"
"Not so fast! I activate one of my sets! There can be only one! Now we can only control one monster of each type. My monsters are spellcaster and dragon. Yours are all cyberse so you are stuck!"
"No! I activate the spell twin twisters! By discarding bururu ignister I can destroy your two sets!"
"Didyou forget about my knight's effect? My spells and traps are protected from destruction!"
"Not once I activate the quick play spell effect shut! It's a spell version of infinite impermanence. So your magician loses its effect and your cards are vanquished!"
"Dragun of red eyes activate your effect! At the cost of a card in my hand I negate your card it!"
"What?!"
"And because this effect was successful my monster gains 1000 points!"
"Shoot! Fine then. I activate the shallow grave. Thanks to its effect I can set a monster from my graveyard like bururu ignister. You can set something too if you want".
"I'm good as I am".
"Fine. I end my turn. Don't get too cocky. I will play though your dragun next turn."
"There is no next turn! I draw. In my main phase I activate the effect of dragun of red eyes. It can be activated as times as the normal monsters used for his summon. I smash a monster per time the effect was activated and deal you its attack points as damage! Dragun! Destroy linguriboh and bururu!"
"AAAAAh!" (hitman LP 7100)
"Now my monsters! Attack!"
"Not yet! I activate my set! Inevitable destruction! It destroys a monster on the field and you can't react to this card! I can't destroy dragun or magician knight but verte anaconda is going and I will survive! AAAAH!" (hitman LP 300)
"If only. I activate the spell card red eyes insight! I send red eyes black flare dragon and add inferno fire blast to my hand! And since the dragun is named red eyes due to fusion it blasts you again for its attack points!"
"AAAAH!" (hitman LP 0)
At the moment the hitman was defeated Knuckles charged and knocked him out. He then walked away from the rock and saw a wild tiger somewhat close. He whistled to the tiger and threw the hitman who was regaining his senses to it. Then he run away listening to the hitman's screams. He returned to the rock where Sonic was still out of it.
"You're safe pal. Do it." Knuckles thought.
Sonic kept thinking over and over but no matter how much he thought he didn't have a way to play past Nibiru.
"It doesn't make sense. How do I play against a monster that will destroy my field? Even if I go for crystal wing synchro dragon he will use it before I can summon it. What do I do?"
Suddenly a sphere of light appeared before his eyes. He could see his family at the top of the duel tower as they were crashed by Nibiru.
"NOOOOOOO!" he screamed as he raised his hand in despair. And then he saw his mark and remembered.
"What am I doing?! I have the powers of a god! I will win! And I know how!" he said as his mark started glowing.
"I summon once again steam the cloak. Then with the abilities of my blackwings I invoke to my field bora the spear, kris the crack of dawn and gale the whirlwind! I then use my blackwing feathers to draw 4 cards! All my monsters be gone! Link summon! Appear!" he said raising his hand and a blue glow came from his palm.
Miles was running towards the rock when he saw his duel disc shining in a blue light. He picked up the card from which the light came from. It was his apollousa. It suddenly disappeared from his hand as he heard his father calling his name.
"Do it dad!" Miles whispered and once again started running.
"I summon Apollousa bow of the goddess! But there's more! I banish blackwing zephyros the elite to summon blackwing simoon the poison wind! Now I place black whirlwind to my field and normal summon with simoon's effect blackwing auster the southern wind! Next I use its effect to summon my banished zephyros! Now I link summon again with auster and zephryros! Appear crystron needlefiber! With his effect I summon another copy of gale the whirlwind! Next by returning gale to my hand and losing 400 LP I can summon zephyros from the graveyard. Now I link summon one last time! Needlefiber, zephyros gale! Make way for borrelsword dragon! It's over this time! I got borrelsword who will strike twice with 3000 and simoon the poison wind with 2200! Monsters attack!"
The cloaked man used nibiru again.
"Not this time! I use the effect of apollousa to negate nibiru! And I can see that despite his hard once per turn effect and only in the main phase you can bypass that! But it's no use! Apollousa gains 800 points per link material and can lose 800 to negate a monster effect! I used it once to enter my battle phase! I need 3 attacks to win! Every time I attack you activate Nibiru and Apollousa negates it! So I can just keep negating it until you lose!"
The cloaked man turned to dust at the second attack of borrelsword losing all his life points and Nibiru shattered into pieces. Sonic opened his eyes and saw he was back at the top of the rock holding the crystal in one hand and Miles' apollousa card into his other hand. At that moment Miles made it to the rock.
"Father are you ok?"
"I'm fine Miles. I passed the first test."
"Yeah but we got two more."
"And Tails just got desperate. I disposed of a hitman while you were being tested."
"What?!"
"Indeed" Miles said "Tails paid assassins to end you. Let's get back to the tree. We should be safe there."
"All right let's go. Thanks for the card by the way." Sonic said handing apollousa to Miles.
"What was the test?"
"A duel puzzle. In the beginning I failed because he used a card version of Nibiru."
"Nibiru as a card?!" Knuckles said in shock.
"Yes. But I harnessed my powers the second time during which my life was at stake and summoned apollousa from Miles."
"Nice so one down 2 to go right?"
"Yes."
"Let's head back" Knuckles insisted.
They collected themselves and walked back to the tree. During the way Sonic sent Amy a message that he passed the first test. Amy received it and was very happy. She informed her team immediately.
"Nice. I can start being optimistic" Jet said.
"Me too guys" Amy said smiling "We will save the world. I'm sure of it."
After that talk they all went to their tents and slept like babies. Unaware that Tiger Fang had listened to their discussion secretly.
"Save the world? They can't be planning to stop Nibiru can they?" he said walking back to his tent. Wild Flower was there.
"Daddy why did you listen to them?"
"They had contact with Amy's husband and his team. They said something about saving the world."
"Daddy.. what if that's the right thing?"
"You know it is not! Don't make me remind you!" he screamed at her silencing her. He then hugged her.
"I'm sorry daughter. Soon enough everything will be ok. The blue dragon will soon be freed and we will reach ascension. Everything will be ok" he said ignoring the fact that Wild Flower was crying.
The next morning as the routine of the tribe proceeded normally Tiger Fang announced that they would hold a feast for Nibiru and the upcoming ascension. Meanwhile Sonic and his team were about to wake up in the tree as well to face the second test. Back home Luke Ruff and the remaining legendary nine members deciphered another clue from Tails and found his hideout.
"I'll duel him" Luke said.
"No Luke. I'll handle this. Your deck got crashed in the last forbidden and limited list. You can't possibly fight your father without miragestallio."
"I have to do this."
"Let me fight. I promise you I will win."
Luke hesitated for a second but then nodded in agreement. They met Shadow Rouge and Storm and entered the hideout heading deep into the unknown.
