Westopolis Underground

Slowly, Sonic returns to consciousness. Though he opens his eyes, he still sees only blackness. "Wha…what happened?"

The voice of Black Cloak speaks from nearby, "You shoved us into the chasm, remember? You're lucky I was able to break your fall, or you could've been injured a lot worse."

"You don't sound very grateful…considering I just saved your life." He gets to his feet.

"I've been waiting on that encounter for a while now. It was supposed to be my way straight to King. Forgive me if I'm bothered at my own failure."

Still a bit dazed, Sonic looks straight up. A small amount of dim moonlight filters down from high above. Some slight amount of visibility returns as Sonic's eyes adjust to the darkness. Suddenly, he becomes aware of the mildly searing pain in his arm. He moves his hand up to cover the spot, and it comes away sticky with blood.

"The bullet grazed your arm. The one meant for me. You should get that wrapped up."

Something dawns on Sonic. "You…you stayed here. Why didn't you just leave?"

"Some hero I'd be if I left an injured man trapped at the bottom of a hole."

"But I thought you weren't a hero. You said that yourself."

"Yeah, I– uh, I mean– you– ugh, nevermind! Forget I said anything…"

"What's the matter? Did I hit a nerve? I was beginning to wonder if you even had any of those."

"Come on. We need to get out of here."

Sonic agrees to drop the last subject. "And how do you propose we do that?"

"You can use Chaos Control. Just warp us back up. You do have a Chaos Emerald, don't you?"

Sonic pulls out his blue Chaos Emerald. Its soft light helps to illuminate the pit. "I…I could. But I shouldn't."

"Shouldn't?"

"Chaos Control…I've only successfully used it a few times in my life. And every one of those times, it was absolutely necessary. Do you have any idea…how dangerous it is?"

"Dangerous? I think you're talking about the wrong Chaos power. I'd say you have it lucky."

"I had never really thought about it before…before recently. Warping instantly to any location you can think of…one lapse in concentration, and you end up inside of a wall or something. I'm not going to take that risk, not unless I have to. And certainly not if I'm putting someone else at risk."

Black Cloak thinks on that for a moment. "I…guess I never thought about it that way. Well, luckily for you, I do know another way out of here. But it will have dangers of its own."

Sonic shrugs, but winces from the pain in his arm. Through gritted teeth, he still lets out a sarcastic, "Lead the way." The two walk off, the Chaos Emerald lighting their way.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 0, Episode 11

Black Cloak, Part 3: Black Cloak and Sonic

Written by ChaosProject

Concept by ChaosProject

"So…what was that thing up there?"

Black Cloak answers with contempt, "That was an android. A robot meant to look or behave like an intelligent being. I've never seen a King robot built like that one before. It was built specifically to fight me, I'm sure of it."

"Had many problems with androids in the past?"

"You could say that."

Sonic stops as he steps on something metallic. He bends down to pick it up. It's Black Cloak's red projectile, lost in the chasm during the fight. Immediately, Black Cloak snatches it from his hand. But not before he gets a good look at it. The center of the flat, sharp object is composed of a single swirl, clockwise outwards. Six curved spikes of varying length protrude from the outside of the swirl, all curving in the same direction, vaguely resembling the spikes of a hedgehog.

"Give me that!"

"You sure are protective of those things, considering that you throw them at your enemies."

"They aren't easy to make. I reuse them when I can."

"Do you make all of your tools?"

"Most of them. It's a talent I didn't know I had."

"So…what does that symbol mean?"

Black Cloak stares at his throwing tool. "It…it's inspired by the markings that the Black Arms used. With some of my own flair. It's meant to be a message. That I'm serious about what I'm doing. That those who cross me should tremble in fear."

"Black Arms…. The only place I've ever seen a symbol like that before…is on the Black Comet itself. Were you…on the Black Comet?"

"So what if I was?"

"Nothing…it's just…it wasn't a very hospitable place. No one would have gone there…without a good reason."

"So maybe I had one. It's not your business."

"The Black Aliens…it just keeps coming back to the Black Aliens. What did they do to you? Did…did they take someone important away from you?"

"Not exactly."

"Did they destroy your home?"

"Not exactly."

Sonic starts to lose patience. "Were you even in Westopolis during the invasion? Wait, let me guess."

They both say at once, "Not exactly."

They walk in silence for a while. Finally, Sonic asks, "So…did you ever find out anything about Shadow?"

After a moment, he responds, "Not exac–"

Sonic throws up a hand. "Don't say it." Again, they walk on in silence. But Sonic can't keep quiet. "I just can't figure you out."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"I first ask you about Shadow, and you act like you've never heard of him. But every time I mention his name, you pause. And now I learn that you weren't only affected by the Black Arms invasion, but you actually went to the Black Comet. Shadow was the hero of the invasion. It's impossible for you not to have heard of him. Which tells me…that you're hiding something. But what? And why?"

Black Cloak doesn't answer for a long time. Finally, he lets out, "…I can't tell you that."

"Why not!?"

"Because I can't, okay!? I never wanted you to come here, you're making everything so much harder! Everything I've been working so hard to build here, you're ruining all of it! I was trying to make a name for myself! I wanted King to fear me! I wanted the entire city to know that King was going to get what he deserved! But then you showed up! Who needs a guy in a mask when they have a real hero to get behind, one with a face!? And now, thanks to your meddling, my work is inextricably tied to you! How could King ever fear me, when I'm working with the face of absolute happiness and goodness!? And all the while, you're putting yourself and Rouge in danger! This was supposed to be my fight! And to top it all off, I have to worry about keeping secrets from you!" He ends his rant, panting.

Sonic remains silent, unsure of what to say. The awkward silence remains for quite a while. Finally, Sonic prompts, "…If you knew where Shadow was…would you even tell me?"

"…No."

"Do I have any hope of finding Shadow on my own?"

"…No."

Again, all is silent. "…Well I guess I should just leave, then. There's nothing for me here."

"Don't."

"What?"

"Don't leave." He sighs. "I was…wrong. About why I didn't want you. You don't have to say it, I know what you were thinking. And you're right. I don't need fear. I don't need him to feel inferior. That was all for my own satisfaction. What I need is support. From the people. King's operations can't run without the thousands of citizens he's coercing to work for him. I always thought…if they feared me more than they feared him, that would be my only chance. But I can't fight fear with more fear, that just makes everything worse. That's how I got into that mess with the android. What I need is their support. Their respect. That's the only way I can tear down King from the inside. That's why you can't leave. You saw the people up there. Just the sight of you was enough to inspire them. They deserve a real hero, one with a face, not a masked vigilante like me. That's what it comes down to. What I'm doing here is vital. I am the hero that this city needs. But you are the hero that this city deserves. Together, we can take down King. But I can't do it if you leave."

Sonic thinks on this for a while. "…You've just told me…that you've been lying to me this whole time…about something that's more important to me than anything…and now you're asking for my help to take down this, this criminal mastermind, who I'd never heard of until two days ago?"

"I'm not asking you to put yourself at risk. Just be here. Let the people know that things are getting done. It's safer for you and Rouge that way. And when it's all over, I'll tell you everything."

Again, Sonic stops to think. "I guess the whole game's changed, then. You should know…this'll all be reported. You could very well be arrested for knowingly impeding official G.U.N. investigation."

"I knew there would be consequence from the beginning. Vigilante justice isn't exactly legal. What's one more crime added to the list?"

"And there's the other thing. Let's say that you do get to King. Let's say you do it tomorrow. What're you gonna do with him?"

Black Cloak sighs at the inevitable question. "I suppose the answer to that question means everything, doesn't it? I'm going to be honest with you. I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"That's right. I don't know. I'm going to do whatever it takes. If I have to kill him, I won't hesitate. If there's another option…I'll see what I can do."

"That's where you're wrong. There's always a better option than killing, and you know it. You can subdue him, take him in to the police."

"The police? Ha! He controls the police."

"Then turn him over to G.U.N., they can lock him up…at whatever they have now instead of Prison Island. I can help make sure of it, they're eager to help me."

"I certainly don't need your help with that, and I don't need your moral compass either. This isn't something I'm going to debate. I'll do what I can, and that's the best I can offer."

"Well I guess the deal's off then. I'm not going to stick around and help you kill someone, I don't care how evil you think he is. I'm not going to help you become the thing you're trying to defeat."

"Tsk. You think that ending a source of pure evil makes me some kind of monster? I'd be humane about it. He certainly wouldn't do the same for me."

"You think that ending someone's life makes you a good person, just because you're quick about it? I guess the world is full of saints, then."

"I'm not a saint. I'm not a hero. I'm not even a good person. I'm just trying to correct my own mistakes. To put my past behind me, and make a future for myself, one that matters."

"Are you saying…that you have something to do with all of this?"

Black Cloak sighs. "You asked before…if I was in Westopolis during the invasion. And I was. I watched as they rained down from the sky. But then I left. I thought that my silly problems were more important than the thousands of lives lost on that day. If I had stayed…and fought…I could have saved countless lives, driven back the creatures before they could destroy Downtown, while…while someone else dealt with the problem at the source."

"You really think you could have done all that on your own?"

"That and more. I have no doubt of it."

They go on in silence once more. "…I still can't help you, I don't care what you're doing."

"I guess you'll never find Shadow, then."

"Is that supposed to be a threat?"

"Not at all. But I won't tell you what happened to Shadow until King is defeated. It's your choice."

This time, Sonic sighs. "Well I guess it's not much of a choice then. I'll stay. But let's get one thing clear. I'm not stepping out of the way. We're in this together, all the way or not at all, and I'm going to make sure that no one gets killed."

"…If it were anyone else…I would never consider letting you get in my way. But…if I trust anyone to keep up, to work with me, it's Sonic the Hedgehog. But I'll make something clear as well. If you stop me from doing anything that needs to be done…I won't hesitate to turn on you."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

Black Cloak seems to look at Sonic oddly for a moment. "You really do care, don't you?" Sonic nods resolutely. With that settled at last, the two continue on into the darkness. High above them, the first light of dawn begins to show.

—–—

King Industries HQ

"He's what!?" Eggman slams his hands down onto the table.

King speaks back from the shadows, "Please, be calm, my good Doctor. You heard me correctly. Sonic the Hedgehog is here, in Westopolis. He has been for nearly thirty-six hours."

"Thirty-six hours!? Why didn't you tell me this sooner!? He must have followed me, he must know what I'm up to! We must act quickly, or–"

"Nonsense. He knows nothing of the sort. Quite an ignorant fellow, that one. I don't believe he even knew I was here, at least until he started snooping around. He is here on other business, searching for a lost friend by the name Shadow. So long as he was ignorant, his presence was ignored. But now, he has meddled in my affairs. He has teamed up with the vigilante."

"You shouldn't underestimate him. He is crafty and agile."

"Oh, don't worry yourself. We now know exactly where he is. And he is being taken care of as we speak. Should my security system fail, there is still a backup plan. This squabble ends today."

"Hold on! You don't mean to kill him!? You can't! I must have Sonic alive!"

"No one said that I would deliver him to you. But, as an act of goodwill, I believe I shall. After all, I understand the need to take an enemy alive. I wouldn't dream of killing the vigilante so soon."

"My, how very generous of you. Our combined forces defeat both of our nemeses, and we both get everything we ever wanted. It truly is a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. King."

"As it is with you, Doctor."

—–—

Black Cloak and Sonic walk on through the chasm, which has now become a cavern. No opening can be seen above them, just a rocky ceiling. "Are we almost there?"

"It shouldn't be far now." Suddenly, they both stop as a large metal clank can be heard.

"Uh…what was that?"

"Remember what I said about danger? Well here it comes." Another clank can be heard, louder this time. "King has been known to use these chasms as dumping grounds for dysfunctional and damaged robots."

"Dumping grounds?" Another clank.

"That's right. For someone like him, it's faster to build a new robot than fix an old one, and he certainly has the money to afford it. And dysfunctional doesn't always mean inactive. Some were simply programmed too violently to be used on the streets without attracting attention."

"So you're saying…"

"This thing will be deadly." With the loudest clank yet, something emerges from the shadows. The thing can only be described as a mechanical monstrosity. Massive in size, it is covered from top-to-bottom in mismatched plates of every metal material imaginable, most of which are missing screws in multiple places, and many of which are barely hanging on at all. The robot has four arms, and is heavily built in the shoulders, hunching over. It has a long, almost dragonoid neck and head. Atop the head, made of various scraps of metal, is a single crown. The King Chimera gives a terrifying mechanical roar.

Black Cloak wastes no time, throwing three of his weapons at the Chimera. They harmlessly bounce off of its hard metal plating. Sonic lets out an "Uh oh." The Chimera roars again, and unleashes from its mouth a stream of bubbling green fluid.

Black Cloak shouts, "Get down!" The two dive out of the way, and the acid sizzles as it strikes the floor where they had been standing.

The robot brings a fist down to try and pound Sonic. Sonic leaps out of the way, and lands on the arm. It tries to swat him off with its second left arm, all while dealing with Black Cloak using its two right arms. Sonic leaps from the arm to the shoulder, and from there aims a spinning strike at a loosely-hanging plate on the Chimera's head. With a loud bang, the plate is ripped free from the robot, revealing some exposed circuitry underneath. Back on the ground, Sonic shouts to Black Cloak, "Aim for the loose plates, we might be able to reveal a weakness!"

"Right!" Black Cloak rolls out of the way of another swat, and before he's even stopped moving, throws three more projectiles, each one precisely aimed for a crevice between plates. For a moment, he remains absolutely still. Then, the projectiles explode, dislodging several more armor plates. While robot is still stunned, he once again pulls out his grappling gun, and fires it at the ceiling. It rapidly propels him upwards and towards the machine, until he lets go, flung into a powerful kick at the base of the neck. Another plate comes off, revealing an area inside where all of the robot's wires and circuit boards appear to lead into. "That must be it!"

This time Sonic goes head-on for an attack. He rolls under another spat spray of acid, but stumbles and grabs at the wound in his arm through a new wave of pain. He quickly picks his speed back up, and sidesteps out of the way of four separate punches. Finally, he leaps into the air, keeping all of his momentum, and delivers a powerful strike to the exposed core.

The Chimera stumbles back, its core damaged and sparking. Black Cloak states simply, "I'll finish this." he throws one last explosive weapon, which sticks into the core and detonates. The robot tumbles to the ground, leaking drops of acid from the cracks in its neck. Wordlessly, Black Cloak starts to walk around it, and indicates for Sonic follow. Behind where the robot was are piles and piles of scrap and junk.

"What was that thing? Why would something like that get thrown down here?"

"I'm sure it wasn't like that originally. All it takes is one semi-functional robot with self-repair functionality, left down here damaged and with plenty of resources for a few weeks to get something like that."

Sonic seems satisfied with that answer, and next displays one of Black Cloaks throwing weapons, which he apparently picked up earlier. "So, you make these explode now? I thought they were hard to make."

"They are. Those are for emergencies only."

"Have you thought about how easily you could get someone killed with one of these?"

"The thought crossed my mind. But really it's not any different than the normal ones. If I wanted to kill someone with one of those, I still wouldn't need more than one. I wouldn't miss. Now, unless you have any other pointless questions, we're here."

"Here?" Sonic puts a hand up and places it onto the rock wall they've just come up to. They appear to be surrounded by stone all sides, except back where they came from. "It's a dead end."

"Step back." Sonic obeys. Black Cloak puts both of his hands onto the stone, and heaves with all of his might. Slowly, the wall, actually just a single large rock, begins to budge. With one final push, the rock slides completely out of the way.

Sonic comments, "Wow, you're stronger than you look." Black Cloak ignores him, and walks into the opening he's created. Sonic follows.

As the two enter the newly-opened cavern, the still-glowing red eyes of the fallen and otherwise deactivated King Chimera can be seen glaring at them, recording and transmitting their movements.

In the cavern they've entered is a wide, flat stone platform, ending in a steep cliff. A trickling waterfall down the wall flows into a creek, across the platform, out and over the cliff. Lying against the wall is a simple metal table with an old radio on top, emitting a continuous static that mixes with the sound of the stream. As Sonic examines all of this, Black Cloak pushes the rock back into place behind them. Finally, Sonic notices, lying on the floor in the center of the cavern, a sparkling white gem. "That's a Chaos Emerald!"

"Yeah, it is. And it's safer in here than it would have been if I had taken it out there."

Sonic thinks on that for a moment. "So in other words…you have no use for it."

Black Cloak immediately tightens a fist as if enraged by the comment. But he calms down in a moment. He growls out, "No, I don't."

"You know, I could–"

"No."

Sonic takes the hint, and resumes looking around the room. "So this is like your secret base then? Your Cloak Cavern?"

"If that's what you want to call it." He takes a few steps so that he stands behind Sonic.

"It looks very nice. Who would've guessed that something like fissures through a city would open up such a stunning view like this? So…how do we get out from here?"

"Well you see…" He lifts an arm into the air behind Sonic's head. "…I'm afraid that I can't let you see that part." Sonic hardly has a chance to realize what's happening before Black Cloak's chop strikes him on the head. Black Cloak catches Sonic's unconscious body in his arms. "Now, let's take a look at that wound in your arm."

—–—

Downtown

Rouge opens the door, a look of exhaustion and despair on her face. She holds something in her other hand. On the other side of the door, Black Cloak lays Sonic down onto the bed of the hotel room. Rouge gasps at the sight. Black Cloak turns with a start to face her. For just a moment, his vision seems to fixate on the object in her hand, what appears to be a simple gold ring. Then he turns and leaps out the open window. Rouge still stands stunned for a moment. Then she runs up to Sonic. He has a bandage carefully wrapped around his arm, as well as a small patch on the top of his head. She begins to shake him. "Sonic! Sonic, are you alright!? Say something!"

Slowly, Sonic begins to stir. He lets out a soft grunt, followed by a weak, "My head hurts."

Rouge breathes out an immense sigh of relief, and collapses back onto the other bed.

Sonic opens his eyes and props himself up a bit. Still weak and groggy, he lets out, "What's the matter? Didya miss me?"

"I thought you were dead! I've been asking around for hours, and all anyone tells me is that no one's ever gotten out of one of those chasms alive! How did you get out? How did you survive the fall?"

Sonic struggles to think back. "That's just the thing…I don't know." He thinks for another moment. "We can't trust him."

"Him? You mean the Black Cloak? Did he not just save your life?"

"He did…at least I think he did. He also knocked me out. But that's not what matters. We can't trust him."

"Sonic…what happened down there?"

"We had a nice long talk. Rouge, he knows what happened to Shadow." She gasps again. "And he agreed to tell me everything, if I stayed here and helped him beat…kill King. And that's the problem. He's going to kill him, Rouge, and he wants me to help him do it. He said he would try to avoid it, he said he would let me be there to make sure, but he was lying. He's been lying all along."

Rouge thinks on this. "What if…what if King deserves it?"

"How could you say that!? How could you wish the end of existence on someone else!? It's despicable! It's unthinkable!" His words ring in the air for a while until all falls silent. "…Sorry…"

"No. No, you're right, that was a terrible thing for me to say." She thinks for another moment. "So you're saying…that he's not going to tell us about Shadow, either."

"That's right. He's going to get to King, he's going to finish him, and then he's going to disappear. Unless we do something about it." Rouge is staring deeply at the ring she holds, which Sonic only just seems to notice. "Is…is that…?"

Rouge nods. "It's Shadow's. The one you gave me."

"You've kept that old thing all this time? I thought you would've thrown it away, or just given it to Shadow after he came back."

"At first…when I was trying to help him get his memories back…it was for him. I kept showing it to him, it was the only proof I had that I really did know him, that he really did have a past. But he just kept pushing me away. So it became a reminder of something else. That, even without me…Shadow would never be completely alone. Because he had another friend looking out for him. You." She smiles at him.

Sonic nods, understanding why she had the Inhibitor Ring out in the first place. "So, you really did miss me."

Rouge scoffs, but doesn't object.

"Come on." Sonic starts to get up.

"Whoa, hold on there." She pushes him back down. "You're still hurt. You need rest. In fact, I think we could both use some sleep after a night like that."

"We can sleep once we've found Shadow." He pushes past her and stands up anyways. "Until then, every minute we're not searching is a waste. We're on a time limit now. Once Black Cloak gets to King…we may not get another chance. He may be the only link we have left to Shadow. And I have a theory on where we can start." Sonic promptly leaves the room. Rouge sighs, shrugs, and follows.

—–—

Shadow's House

Sonic and Rouge step over the untouched door they broke down the previous day. "Just as I thought." Sonic indicates the floor. "Take a look."

Rouge examines the floor carefully. "All I see are our footprints in the dust."

"Look closer. Those aren't just ours." Sonic speaks the truth. One trail of prints can be traced around the room where Sonic had been searching, then into the kitchen, where a trail of Rouge's bootprints can also be seen entering. Both trails come back out of the kitchen and straight to the door. But there is a third trail, starting from the center of the room and going straight out the door, almost unnoticeable in that they blend in with Sonic's trail. The mysterious third trail, upon closer inspection, has deeper, more clear impressions in the dust, with a few prints that slide slightly, as if their creator was staggering under a heavy load. "As if he was carrying an unconscious person on his shoulder," Sonic finishes the thought. "These prints belong to the Black Cloak."

"Can you be sure? What if someone else–"

"I'm sure." He walks to the center of the room, and crouches down for a closer look. He pinpoints the very first print, then follows it backwards. It doesn't have any traceable entrance point. "Now where could he have come from…?" Just as last time, he begins to trace the seams of the wood paneling with his fingers. But he stops as he comes across four small depressions in the dust over a particularly wide gap between panels. Hesitantly, he places his own four fingers into the gap at that point, then suddenly grips the panel and heaves up. A large section of floor paneling flips back. Underneath the floor, in the center of the cement foundations of the building, is a great puddle of oozing red and black fluid. "No…it couldn't be…"

The enraged voice of the Black Cloak growls from behind them, "You weren't supposed to see that."

To be continued…