Chapter 69; allies and enemies
A new day was starting in dimension 412. Sonic was looking at the sunrise while finalizing his plan. He had rested long enough. It was time to take action.
He had spent one day in a cave he encountered randomly while walking through the forest after his duel with lord Sonic's son, an evil version of his son Miles. He spent the 24 hours inside that cave resting, healing his remaining injuries from his adventure in the war torn dimension he had been in only a day earlier and devising a plan to infiltrate the fortress of lord Sonic's army that was in this dimension. However the list he had received from his fallen ally, Sonic 616 had at least 20 more dimension numbers. He knew it would take him weeks if not months to explore them all and gather evidence.
"Should I really do this? Maybe I should locate the resistance" Sonic had thought to himself at least 5 times.
But that plan would just not work. Despite believing the resistance was real, he had no idea how to find them. His only choice was to push on himself.
Sonic got up and exited the cave heading towards the fortress. His mind was back at his own dimension and his loved ones. He knew that there was a huge possibility he would have PTSD after this war but just thinking of his wife, his children, his friends and his son's family gave him the courage to push on.
On the way there he almost came face to face with a battalion of soldiers under the warlord's command. They were carrying Miles' dead body. Soon enough the warlord would know Sonic had killed his son and would unleash a manhunt across the multiverse for him. Thankfully he had found a way to protect his own dimension. Invoking the powers of the lunar dragon he managed to create a barrier around the dimension. Sonic himself had no idea how it worked but he had already tested it to be sure. He caught a wild fox and threw it through a portal to his dimension. This time instead of being disintegrated or passing through safely the fox hit a weird kind of rubber forcefield and bounced back running away scared.
Sonic knew that now his family and friends were safe. The only way for the forcefield to be destroyed was if he died. So the warlord would have to come for him.
Returning his mind to the present Sonic followed the battalion at a safe distance to find the fortress and put his plan into action. Following them he noticed at least one version of each of his friends in that battalion. It was really strange seeing them all in those weird war suits.
Eventually the came out of the forest into a clearing where the fortress was. Sonic remained in the cover of the trees. The fortress was just as big as Knuckles 583's in the previous dimension but this time Sonic was lacking the advantage of the plan Sonic 616 had. His new plan was much more risky. However he knew if he was too get in and collect info he needed one of those uniforms.
Loading the firing system of the duel disc he was wearing at his right hand he opened fire on the air causing many birds to fly away from the trees. It was just as he expected. 5 soldiers from the battalion that had just entered the fortress were sent out to find the shooter. And to his luck and relief one of them was another version of himself. Sonic hid and after the soldiers went past him he lured the version of himself closer to him. Once he was close enough he knocked him down with a tree branch causing him to pass out. He quickly changed into the other Sonic's suit and read the number on the mask he was supposed to wear before wearing it; 327. Then he wore the mask and activated Sonic 327's wristwatch. He opened a portal to dimension 327 and before throwing him through it he took the wristwatch off. Sonic 327 safely went through the portal as it closed behind him.
After hiding the wristwatch and leaving his duel disc behind having to depend on the one with the firing system from now on, Sonic met with the remaining 4 soldiers. They were all from dimension 327 just like the Sonic he had just sent off; Amy, Tails, Jet and Storm.
"Absolutely nothing" Amy 327 said "anything on your search?" she asked them.
"Negative" Tails, Jet and Storm said at the same time.
"Negative" Sonic answered as well with one moment's delay.
Amy 327 looked at him suspiciously.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I mean… I thought I saw a movement but it was just a fox so.. yeah nothing".
She looked at him top to bottom for a moment. Sonic was sweating underneath the mask. Could she tell he wasn't Sonic 327?
However he was relieved as the next moment she ordered them to return to the fortress.
Sonic followed them in and was impressed by the level of organization inside the fortress. There were some on the walls of the fortress looking all around with binoculars probably looking for him thinking he was still out there. A lot of them where gathered in a circle where a fight had broken out between a version of knuckles and a version of storm. Sonic could tell they were heavily trained in actual combat and not just dueling. He tried to keep his cool despite feeling that any moment someone would scream that he was an imposter and point at him.
While they were walking though the corridors Sonic saw several captured versions of himself and his friends as well as many others being held captive and interrogated.
"Releasing them could be a good enough distraction to escape once I need to get out of here".
Lastly they walked by a giant room with a weird generator running.
"So it is almost done" Tails 327 said "good."
"What did you say? I dozed off for a while." Sonic 999 said as innocently as possible.
"The generator man! The one that will make our fortress invasion-proof and escape-proof. Though it is slightly annoying that we will have to walk outside its radius before using our wristwatches".
"Oh yeah. Right. Good." he said but cursed on the inside "Damn. That is a serious problem".
Amy 327 led them to the general's room. The general was a version of Sonic from dimension 163. Once he saw them he got up.
"Report" he said.
"Nothing sir. Looks like 999 just played with us. However I suggest we stay on high alert and expect an attack at anytime."
"I see. But we need to also consider the chance he will just activate the wristwatch he stole and travel somewhere else. Organize patrol teams to search the woods at all times. And tell them to always be at least 2 together at any given time. We can't let 999 blend in."
"How ironic" Sonic 999 thought "I already did."
At that moment a little hologram appeared on Sonic 163's desk. It was another version of Sonic but he was dressed in a similar version to Sonic 999's black duelist suit only this one's cape was torn in some places and the suit itself looked like an armored version.
"My lord" Sonic 163 said slightly bowing while motioning at the 327 battalion to do the same "what an honor. For you to contact us directily…"
"Shut your mouth you worthless scum!" the warlord screamed in anger.
"My day is already bad enough. My heir to my empire is gone because of the murderous monster, Sonic 999… who is even claimed to be the strongest across the multiverse… and now the resistance has already broken into 3 fortresses looking for him. We can't let the two of them join forces or it will be our end. Find that monster or I will come there and do it myself before I take out your heart for your failure."
"Y-yes my lord. R-right away" Sonic 163 said stuttering scared.
The hologram disappeared. Sonic 163 turned to Amy 327.
"What are you waiting for? Organize the patrols!"
"Yes sir" she said and they all walked out.
Sonic followed them. He had grown a little anxious having seen the warlord first hand even if it was just a hologram. He tried his best to calm down as Amy 327 gave orders to her subordinate and ordered her team to go and have lunch before their first patrol. Sonic obeyed alongside the 327 versions of Jet Tails and Storm. They walked for a while, the friends from 327 talking while Sonic scanned every corridor and room they passed trying to memorize it while also looking for any potential source of info. They eventually reached the cafeteria and received their bowls of soup. Sonic tasted a bit but he felt he would throw up once again.
"Either I'm still dizzy by the trash from the previous dimension or they make this food gross to keep us angry. Go figure" he thought as he pushed his plate away.
"Not hungry?" Tails 327 asked him.
"Huh? Oh yeah. No appetite."
"How come? You usually eat until you blow up." Jet 327 mentioned.
"Guess I'm just in one of my down days".
They looked at him suspiciously. Sonic felt cold sweat on his back.
He was saved the next moment when Amy 327 came and sat next to him giving him a kiss on the cheek. Sonic jumped up in surprise.
"What's gotten into you?" she asked him in surprise.
"What? Oh nothing you just surprised me that's all."
"You seem like a totally different person ever since we returned from the search for Sonic 999. Are you ok?"
"Wait a minute? How do we know you are not 999 dressed as our friend?" 327 Tails asked him.
"That is suspicious indeed" Jet said "prove you are the Sonic we know"
Sonic was weighing his options when suddenly 163 Sonic burst in.
"What are you morons doing?! This is no time to be eating! Get out there with the other patrols and find 999 or at least a proof he left or lord Sonic will have our heads!"
"Yes sir!" the 327 battalion answered and headed out immediately. Sonic was trying his best not to breathe heavily from relief. A moment longer and his cover would have most likely been blown.
The search took all evening and Sonic 999's original duel disc which he had left behind was found. They took it back to the fortress and presented it to Sonic 163 much to Sonic 999's horror.
"HE HAS BLENT IN!" Sonic 163 screamed in terror "All Sonics report immediately!"
"Oh no!" Sonic thought in terror "they will find me out what do I do?!"
All the versions of Sonic were brought to a small room and were put in line. Sonic knew they were about to be asked to reveal their marks and if his was seen it was the end. An idea came to his mind but he knew it was a desperate longshot. He could try to cast an illusion into everyone in the room to make them think that another of the Sonics was the imposter and capture him instead. But he didn't know if they would be affected by his mark and even if they were if he could hide the shining of his mark from everyone. However the mark check had begun. Not having a lot of time to think and betting everything on this one chance he invoked his powers and changed the shape of the mark of the Sonic standing right next to him. He then waited in anxiety as Sonic 163 was checking the marks one by one. And eventually he got to the Sonic that Sonic 999 had tried to affect. The former rolled up his sleeve.
"THAT'S HIM! WE GOT HIM!"
The Sonic right next to 999 looked in shock at first and then in horror as he saw his mark wasn't the average one but rather the changed form Sonic 999 had invoked.
"Wha… this … it's not me!"
"Get him! Lord Sonic wants him alive!"
The Sonics jumped onto the 'imposter' Sonic. Sonic 999 thought he heard him pleading for mercy and that he was from dimension 699 not 999 but eventually he was taken away. Sonic 999 felt bad for what he had just done but there was no other choice. Plus Sonic 699 was a soldier under lord Sonic. That eased the guilt slightly.
Sonic 999 left the room and ran into the 327 group. He lied that they had found the imposter and they all apologized for their suspicion. Later after a long hour of chores given to them by a higher-up Sonic 999 and the male members of the 327 squad headed to their beds as lights out would be ordered in 5 minutes. However right before they entered Amy 327 caught up with them.
"Give me 5 with Sonic" she said to Tails Jet and Storm. They smiled at Sonic in a supportive way. Sonic immediately realized what they meant. Before he knew he was alone with Amy.
"You would go to bed without a goodnight kiss? Where are your manners?" she teased him playfully.
Sonic however was under a lot of pressure. He didn't want to kiss her.
"I errr… I caught a cold. I didn't want to pass it to you. I mean you will meet lord Sonic tonight along with the commander. I didn't want to be responsible for lord Sonic getting even a cold in his state."
"Oh come on tell me what's really up. You know I can see through your lies".
"Damn. She knows Sonic 327 too well. And they are probably in love. How do I convince her to leave me alone?"
"Sorry" he said "I'm just still under adrenaline from the whole imposter thing earlier. I know I was proven innocent but I was scared for a while that I would be falsely accused. Lord Sonic just lost his son. 999 is about to face pain beyond his worst nightmares. The thought I could have been in his shoes just.. brrr… anyway I'm just not in the mood for a kiss. Sorry Amy".
She looked at him for a moment then gave him a hug. Sonic forced himself to hug her back to not make her more suspicious.
"I understand. I got to go. One minute till lights out. Sleep well babe."
"You too" Sonic said and went inside the bedrooms.
The whole room was stinking from the shoes of the other soldiers. Sonic pinched his nose praying he would get used to it by the time he would go looking for info.
"I'm not gonna make it whole out of this. I will probably cut off my nose before I win the war" he thought to himself as he laid on his bed.
Minutes passed by painfully slowly. Eventually Sonic felt sure enough to get up. He exited the room as silently as he could. He then made his way toward the main computer room which coincidentally was the same room the generator was in. Sonic opened one of the computers and started browsing through the files. Most of them were reports and paperwork in general but one file got his attention. The name was dimension traveler. It contained blueprints of a gigantic starship sort of vehicle. Sonic looked at it rubbing his chin.
"Why would the warlord create a starship to travel through the multiverse? The wristwatches can transport entire armies. So why?"
Knowing that he couldn't waste time, he looked around and found a flash drive. He used it to download the blueprints. Then he made his way to a storage room and picked up time bombs setting them to 5 minutes each. Once he had armed them he placed them on the generator and left the room. Knowing he needed to both time this perfectly and cause a distraction to flee the place without getting caught, he exited the building and slowly and stealthily made his way to the cages where the war prisoners were kept. On the way outside he heard a scream coming from a room. He peered inside through a crack on the door. He saw Sonic 699 tied on the wall and the warlord himself piercing a spike through his arm.
"Tell me you piece of shit! You like it?! Cause this is going to go on for hours!"
"Please my lord" he said in pain "I haven't done anything I'm not Sonic 999".
"Shut up!" the warlord scream as he twisted the spike causing Sonic 699 to scream again. Sonic 999 felt he would throw up. The warlord had ruptured the median nerve and now was torturing the 'imposter' through it. Knowing that if he didn't leave he would share the same fate he got to the prisoners cage. However trying and failing to resist, he made a small detour and took back his duel disc from the room it was stashed in. Once he got to the cage he tried to be quiet but the prisoners spotted him.
"You here to help us? Who are you? Sonic 999?" they all whispered in hope.
And these small whispers in the absolute silence of the night was the beginning of the end.
Searchlights were suddenly lit on Sonic. And an air raid and a scream pierced the night.
"SONIC 999 IS RELEASING THE PRISONERS!" one of the soldiers on the wall screamed as the siren sound pierced their ears
At that moment however the five minutes passed and an explosion took place destroying the generator room and blowing a giant hole on the building's roof. Sonic knowing this was his chance used the duel disc firing system and shot the lock opening the door. The prisoners immediately exited and a huge battle commenced. A few duels started taking place but most of the prisoners were fighting hand to hand with the soldiers. Sonic knowing he had to get out as soon as possible fought his way up the wall and jumped down, hurting his leg. He took a few moments to heal it and then started running. Once he had made it to the trees, the whole clearing was lit by a giant light. Sonic turned back in horror and saw the whole fortress had blown up. The prisoners must have gotten to the storage room and accidentally triggered the giant nuke stashed in there. Hoping that the good guys survived and the warlord had perished Sonic ran deep into the trees. Once he could no longer see the light from the explosion he stopped and took some deep breaths. His very first raid in this war… and it had ended in multiple casualties. His mind went to the 327 squad. Despite them being enemies they were almost no different from the versions he knew. And they had most likely been killed in the explosion. He was coping with these feelings when he saw a small light approaching. Knowing it was someone from the fortress he ran away. He could hear the roar of an engine behind his ear but nevertheless he didn't look back to see how close his pursuer was. He tried to activate the wristwatch to flee elsewhere but at that moment he almost ran off the edge of a ravine. He did his best to regain his balance allowing his pursuer to catch up. It was him. It was the warlord.
The warlord looked at Sonic with pure rage and hatred as he got off the hovercraft he was riding. He had severe burns all over his face from the explosion. His cape was also smoking as if it had caught fire.
"You….! you! Look what you did to me!"
"Serves you right for waging war across the multiverse you sick psycho!" Sonic 999 said, spitting to his direction.
"You killed my son, you destroyed a part of my army, you burned my face! I will have you killed in the most gruesome way imaginable! And I will keep you alive long enough to see your loved ones killed as well!"
"No I think not!" Sonic said trying to activate the wristwatch which he had set to dimension 518 the next on the list. Before he could press the button however the warlord tackled him to the ground and they started wrestling. However Sonic broke free by activating his original duel disc causing it to hit the warlord on his face causing him great pain. He got back up instantly though and activated his own duel disc.
"You're not getting away!" he screamed at Sonic.
"You want to duel?! Fine!"
"DUEL!"
"I'll start! I summon darkwing shura the black flame!"
"Darkwings?!" Sonic said remembering back during his time as dark Sonic when his deck had turned into darkwings as well.
"I activate his ability. Once per turn I can reveal a darkwing in my hand to deal you 1000 points of damage! Here is darkwing-mistral the platinum shield!"
"AAAH!"(Sonic LP 7000)
"Then because mistral was revealed he is immediately special summoned. I tune it with shura! Spread your darkened wings and envelop my opponent in your dark power! Synchro summon! Appear darkwing-evolution wing! When it is summoned I can draw a card and if it is a darkwing I can summon it and blast you with 300 points multiplied by its level! I draw. It is darkwing-sirroco the dusk! It is level 5 so you take 1500 damage!"
"AAAAH!" (Sonic LP 5500) "damn the darkwings are meant to build into stronger synchros while chipping away at my life points. This is bad".
"Next I activate sirroco's ability. I can summon another darkwing from my hand. I select darkwing-bora the lancer. When bora is summoned I can discard a darkwing from my hand to summon a darkwing one level higher from my deck! I discard darkwing blizzard the freezing south wind and summon darkwing gale the typhoon! I activate gale's ability. I can send the top card of my deck to my graveyard as a cost and if it is a darkwing you take its attack points as damage! I send…. Darkwing kris the midnight vulture. It has 1900 attack points so you take another 1900 damage!"
"AAAAH!" (Sonic LP 3600)
"Next I tune together sirroco and gale! Wings of darkness spread across the sky and cover the earth in a blanket of darkness! Synchro summon! Dark-winged dragon, the dragon of disaster! I use its ability! For every 1000 life point difference between us I draw 1 card!"
"Exactly where I need to act! I discard effect veiler to negate your dragon's effect!"
"Nice move! Now I can move on and defeat you! my evolution wing loses 2 levels to initiate a very special synchro summon!"
"WHAT?!"
"Royal wings of darkness soar to the birth of the strongest ruler! Synchro summon! Serve me! Dark feathered dragon, ruler of the skies!"
"He has his own version of my sky ruler dragon? Damn now what?"
"I activate my dragon's ability. In your end phase if my dragon is on the field you take damage equal to the difference between our life points!"
"Oh no!"
"I end my turn with a face down!"
"Very well! I draw! I play the spell card mystical space typhoon to blow your set card away!"
"Oh no you don't! I activate the trap summon limit! Now you can't summon more than 2 times a turn! And during the resolution I discard darkwing Jetstream the blackened sky to prevent it from being destroyed!"
"Damn ok then plan b. I summon eccentric boy. Then I initiate a synchro summon using eccentric boy's effect to use the sirroco the dawn in my hand! Darkened gales reveal hidden wishes on your wings! Synchro summon! Soar black winged dragon!"
"This is as far as you go! Black winged dragon was your second summon."
"Indeed. But before I end my turn I activate the spell card reclaiming power. My dragon's ability was negated due to being summoned by eccentric boy but with this card its effect is back on. I set 3 cards and end my turn."
"So long fool! Dark feathered dragon eliminate him!"
Dark feathered dragon unleashed a black orb of power and sent it towards Sonic. Before it could strike him down however black winged dragon blocked it with its wing.
"WHAT?! What is the meaning of this?"
"Don't you know my dragon's ability? Whenever I would take effect damage I can reduce its attack by 700 and add a black feather counter to it. Once this is done I can negate the damage completely!"
"No!"
"My dragon is the ultimate shield against your deck! As long as he stands I cannot lose!"
"Fine! I will just strike it down and then defeat you! I draw! Dark feathered dragon! destroy black winged dragon!"
"I discard Jetstream the blue sky to protect my dragon from destruction!"
"How long do you think you can last? I activate the spell card soul taker! I destroy your dragon and raise your LP by 1000".
"nice try but I use 2 of my 3 sets. Hope for escape and call of the haunted! My dragon returns and I pay 1000 LP to draw a card for every 1000 point difference in our LP so I draw a total of 4 cards. Looks like I'm not out of this yet!"
"Damn you! Mark my words you will die! I end my turn by using my dragon's effect!"
"I draw! I activate the spell card instant synchro! I pay another 1000 LP" (Sonic LP 2600) to instantly synchro summon blackwing evolution booster! Thanks to its effect I draw a card! Next I use my dragon's effect! You see my dragon doesn't lose the counter from protecting me even if it is destroyed. By removing the counter I reduce both your dragon's power and your LP by 700!"
"AAh!" (warlord LP 7300)
"Next I tune my 2 monsters together! Spread your royal jet black wings and soar to the birth of the ultimate king! Black synchro! Take your place in the sky black feather sky ruler dragon!"
"No! it can't be!"
"My dragon gains 300 points for every blackwing in the graveyard. there are 3 so he has 4400 attack points! But there is more! I activate my spell card pump up! It doubles my dragon's power all the way to 8800!"
"What?!"
"Now attack! Strike down dark feathered dragon! And because you used the evolution wing as a synchro material every time your monster is attacked you have to reduce its power by 300 to survive!"
"Damn! AAAAAHH!" (warlord LP 1000)
"And now to finish this!"
"No!" lord Sonic screamed as he raised his duel disc attempting to shoot Sonic right then and there.
At the next moment a blast came out of nowhere and threw both of them back causing Sonic to drop the last card in his hand. A giant ship then appeared from the ravine and a door opened to the side. Sonic saw a silhouette resembling Amy motioning for him to jump inside. He didn't know who they were but if they could help him escape they were allies. He looked at the warlord.
"Looks like we will end this some other time!" he said jumping on the ship. It then sped out into the night and disappeared into a giant portal which opened and closed in a moment's notice.
The warlord stood there speechless in a mask of defeat and hatred. When he tried to stand up he saw the card Sonic had dropped. He picked it up. And his face froze in shock.
"N-no! He… he beat me! NOOOOOOOO!" he screamed in rage.
Meanwhile Sonic who took his time to relax and process what had just happened. he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize he was approached by a version of Amy.
"Some duel. You are really as strong as they say."
Sonic remembered where he was and attempted to attack her only to be knocked back by a version of Tails.
"Easy now!" he said holding Sonic at gunpoint with his disc.
"Stand down Tails" she told him "he is an ally". She then helped Sonic back up.
"Sorry for this."
"Don't be. You didn't know who we are so it's natural to not trust us. But I assure you we are not enemies."
"I know. You saved me from that maniac. He was about to shoot me dead."
"Let's go and sit. I wanna ask you about that duel."
Tails escorted them to a small table where Amy and Sonic sat. He then stood a little further away just in case.
"How did you fight the warlord so well? Almost as if you knew how to stop him."
"Long story short, my deck transformed once into darkwings and I used them on my friends. So I knew how to beat them too."
"You left him with almost no LP. If only he hadn't been a man with no honor you could have maybe won."
"I had already won."
"Huh?"
"The card I dropped when you guys shot that blast was blackwing etesian of two swords. If his monster survived which it did I would discard it and inflict him 1000 damage. In other words I would have won."
"Damn. You sure will make a great ally."
"For who?" Sonic asked her as she led him to the cockpit.
He saw outside a gigantic building where several other ships were coming and going. He saw on the ground many duels taking place as well as battle training taking place. It seemed like another fortress just like the warlord's. Until Amy said with a smile…
"For the resistance of course".
