Author's Note: Here's chapter 3. Happy reading and sorry that it's late...assuming it was posted at all due to what's going on again. I hope everything will be okay around the world.
Anyway, enjoy! Warning: More spoilers from Sonic and the Werehog.
I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog. All rights belong to Sega. I only own the OCs.
Chapter 3: Legendary Information.
After escaping from the city with such a close call, and to add to the relief, the attack of the mysterious S.N.A.K.E.S organization lead to the Kingdom being evacuated, and news had already spread of Sonic's heroics of saving the Princess yet no one knew of the Sun Stone's destruction, but things were a bit on high alert, it wasn't long before Sonic and Elise raced through the desert, the Dusty Desert to be precise.
He made sure not to sink into any quicksands and eventually came to a clear spot of a bit of a solid ground, dusty but luckily the Princess wasn't making a fuss over it. Skidding to a stop just behind a large boulder, the blue hedgehog glanced around to make sure the coast was clear before gently setting her down.
"You okay?" Sonic asked, and she nodded.
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, Mr. Sonic." Elise replied, and despite what has happened, she felt relieved.
"Eh, just call me Sonic." The cobalt hero replied, shrugging. "Sorry about last night. I wish I could've done more to prevent the chaos that's happened. At least nobody else got hurt, right?"
"I hope so. Except...those awful men." The Princess of Soleanna muttered, her smile fading which wasn't strong to begin with, as she lowered her gaze. "It's all my fault. I failed my people, I failed to protect my kingdom. I'm supposed to be the ruler, the beckon of hope...and I could not do that at all."
"That's not true, your majesty. You didn't do anything wrong. Those guys just attacked and invited themselves to cause trouble. I should know, because Eggman does that sort of thing all the time. Most bad guys do, actually." Sonic shook his head.
"I have heard so many things happening, but I wish I paid more attention." The Princess sighed.
"Don't worry. Not everyone would know everything that happens around the world." The blue hedgehog said, before sighing as he scratched his head. "I should've acted sooner, but I had no idea what was going on. I should've stopped that Snakehead guy from trying to steal and then break the Sun Stone. I'm really sorry."
"Don't say that. You did nothing wrong either." Elise pointed out.
"Might as well have. This is the third time I messed something really big up. Maybe I'm a disaster magnet. Wherever I go, an evil enemy strikes. Most of the times it was Eggman, but I can't blame him for what's happened now, what happened in another place a really close friend of mine had to go through, or even what happened back at Tesrod Village almost a month ago." The fifteen year old sighed, leaning against the rock behind him.
"...Is it really true that this Dr. Eggman, the man who terrorizes the world, is really dead?" The seventeen year old young woman asked, hesitantly. He nodded. "How did he die, if I don't mind my asking?"
"Long story, and it's a pretty crazy one." Sonic smiled sadly, gazing up at the sky. "I can at least say that it was his evil plot that backfired on him so hard it finally destroyed him, and I was powerless to stop it from ending him, even though I knew that if I did, he'd just keep making endless plots to take over the world. I'm not a fan of death, but I guess sometimes when it comes to evil people, there's no helping it. Monsters that were born pure evil, and robots, those are different. But taking away another person's life or many people's lives? I try to avoid going down that dark path."
"It must not be easy being a hero." Elise remarked softly.
The blue hedgehog chuckled softly. "No one said being a hero ever was easy. It's just the right thing to do, y'know. I've always been like this ever since I was a kid. Coming up to five years now."
"Five years?" The Princess asked, puzzled.
"Three months after I turned eleven. My birthday's in two months time." Sonic answered.
"I never knew. You were so young, and you'll only be sixteen this year." Elise muttered.
"Well, time may fly, but I'm faster." The blue hedgehog teased, which made the Princess giggle, making him join her by chuckling. They laughed for a few moments before calming down and sighed, before he gazed at her again. "Anyway, I'm really sorry about last night. I didn't think that there'd be somebody like that guy causing trouble."
"No one knew, like you said. Please, Sonic. Don't blame yourself. Even I didn't know of these S.N.A.K.E.S existence." She replied, shaking her head.
Normally he would protest a little, but he thought long and hard and, given the circumstances, what if's never really helped and while he knew he should've acted sooner, it couldn't be helped at all. Sonic then realized that he was wasting his time wallowing in guilt yet again, only this time it was over something that he never heard of, over an organization he never even knew that existed. Most people didn't. At least this time, no one was really hurt apart from the bad guys who got cursed by the Sun Stone, mainly due to Julian's actions, and the blue hedgehog was successful in rescuing someone this time, and the people of the kingdom had evacuated.
Now it was the matter on how to solve this crisis and put an end to it, to once again save the world.
"You're right. I had no idea guys like them were even around. It's like those Mobian-haters the S.O.N.I.C.X creeps all over again, only more crazier and they're after something different and from what I gather, more powerful and dangerous, too." Sonic nodded in agreement.
"And you saved me. I have no words to express how grateful I am for your help." Elise added, smiling warmly in relief.
It was true smile this time, he noted. A smile that reached into her eyes. Not like the one she used just for the show during the parade. The blue hedgehog then figured that she really must be lonely, and didn't have much friends, if any at all. Suddenly he saw his younger self in her, back before he became the hero he was today. Before he met Tails, Amy, Knuckles, everybody else who all became his entire family.
Back then, though, Sonic did have the freedom to run around and play, and had some sort of company with his animal friends at Green Hill Zone. With Elise, though, he had a feeling that even her Maids couldn't be count on as even decent company. Just those who had the top priority in keeping her safe, as it was her duty as royalty to keep the Kingdom safe and happy.
What happened last night changed all that, and despite the situation, maybe, just maybe, Sonic could be Elise's first friend she ever had. Royalty or not, she was human, one of zillions born on the planet, just like everybody else, including himself.
Sonic smiled back, replying. "It's okay. Your smile...That's all I need."
The Princess found herself smiling a bit wider, and for the first time in her life, she felt...somewhat free. Actually talking to someone who wasn't speaking of royal terms or duties, or just a citizen getting a rare small and brief chance to greet her in a crowd of fans. He treated her like a normal person.
"So um, about the Sun Stone..." Sonic spoke up after a while, placing his hands behind his head. "Can breaking it really have caused those guys to turn into actual snake-people?"
"Yes. The name of the Sun God our country honors is Solaris...It is told that Solaris's rage would destroy the world should one of a royal blood with a dark heart use the power of the Sun Stone and destroy it, attempting to become a God themselves, driving away Solaris but plunging the world into darkness. But if anyone that is not of royalty and with a dark heart of their own, he or she and those whom they serve would suffer a transformation into monsters, showing off who they truly are on the inside." Elise explained.
"I get it. Since that Julian guy wasn't a Prince or anything, and those S.N.A.K.E.S guys worked for him, the Sun Stone's curse turned them into Snake-People which fits the nick-name." Sonic realized, understanding, before adding. "But, the Sun Stone broke into three pieces. That would mean..."
"That's right. Because that man wasn't of royal blood, he could only scatter the Sun Stone into pieces, causing them to be hidden across the country. The only way to restore it, and reseal the flames of Solaris is one of the royal family, one to not hold a dark heart, to find them and pray to restore things to their original state. In the time of it's shattering, they must leave the kingdom quickly before it could spread, to prevent their people from suffering the same cruel fate. Even outsiders had to be protected." The Princess said.
"Whoa...!" The blue hedgehog breathed in shock, then blinked nervously. "Good thing you told me to not argue with you when we left last night. Thanks for the warning. If I hadn't listened to you, then everybody else in the kingdom woulda been affected and that really would've been my fault."
He then thought of something and asked, "But, what about the Flame Ritual thing?"
"When the Flame of Solaris engulfs the one who freed it, it would only be a matter of time before Julian would unknowingly make himself the host for Solaris to use and bring destruction upon the world." Elise answered.
"So, it's to find the Sun Stone pieces, put it back together, reseal the flame back inside it and stop the destruction from happening, turning everything back to normal." Sonic surmised, before asking hesitantly. "Not to be the bearer of being suspicious, but what's the catch?"
"I don't know. I only heard what I told you when my father told me this ten years ago. I was a child then, so this is what I can really remember." She replied apologetically.
"Well, then I guess it's up to us to find the Sun Stone and put it back together before Snakehead, er, I mean, Julian ends up being Solaris's puppet." The blue hedgehog declared, already making up his mind as he knew that this was a dangerous threat and as Elise was the only one to fix it up, she needed protect and to get to places fast.
That is where the Hero of Mobius would come in, and he didn't want anything horrible happen to her or anyone else.
"Huh?" Elise blinked in confusion.
Sonic smirked, "Hey, I'm not gonna let you go out there alone. It's dangerous, royalty or not. Whenever someone needs help, I'll come running to aid that person. Besides, with me around, we can find the pieces faster before those guys do. I'm the fastest hedgehog in the world!"
The Princess was more stunned than ever, as that for someone she barely knew, he was willing to help her, put his own life at risk for her safety, and not just because she was royal. But she was a person, one of the people he was willing to help, no matter who it was. He had a split personality, a balance between kindness and ferocity, a carefree spirit with determination, strong in many ways yet he could be so gentle. The blue hedgehog was just like the wind; gentle in nice days, or ferocious like a storm, but strongly benevolent none the less.
Elise then realized, he used his strength and speed for good and being able to live freely, while being caring for other people at the same time.
'I wish I could live as free as he can.' She thought to herself.
"You don't have to." Elise said, almost softly.
"Well, I want to. I'll do what I can to help, as a friend." Sonic replied warmly, holding out his hand to her. "Sound good?"
"We're...friends?" She asked, surprised.
"Yep! I don't need a reason to help out my friends, and I want to protect you, not because you're a Princess, but because you're a person who needs help. The outside doesn't count. It's the inside, what people do, and what our hearts tell us that always counts, and as far as I can see, you're a really caring person." He explained.
"...I don't feel like a caring person, though. I left everyone behind. I let them down. I couldn't protect anyone like you could." Elise pointed out sadly.
Sonic's smile faded a little, before sighing as he bend down on one knee to meet her by eye level and said. "Hey, everybody makes mistakes. Even me. But you shouldn't let your guilt, fear, anger and sorrow overcome you. If you do, you're only letting those negative emotions swallow you whole. That fact is that you did your best, and you still have a chance to set things right. Yeah, leaving behind people is always hard, but sometimes there isn't much of a choice. But I swear, we will set things right, and I'll stop that Julian Snake-guy with all my strength. It's best to act now before it's too late. Okay?"
The way how Sonic described these words made Elise remember her late father had told her when she had been a child, many many years ago.
"You're a good girl, Elise. Remember, be brave. Don't let your fears or sorrow overcome you, no matter what happens."
Finally understanding the true meaning of her father's words, and adding it to what Sonic was saying, Elise nodded. "You're right, Sonic. We must find the Shards, before those people do. I will do my best to not slow you down."
"That's the spirit!" The blue hedgehog praised happily, standing up and offered her his hand once more. "And don't worry, I'll make sure those creeps won't hurt you or anybody else."
Elise smiled once more, and took his hand as he help her stand up. "Thank you, Sonic."
"My pleasure." Sonic replied with a thumbs up.
"And, one more thing." She began, relaxing enough to have her guard down just around him.
"Yes?" He blinked, curiously.
"You can just call me Elise." The Princess replied.
That made Sonic smile even more. "Well, alright then! Let's do it to it!"
"But Sonic..." Elise suddenly spoke up again, another realization hitting her hard. "Where can we find the Sun Stone? The pieces could be anywhere?"
Realizing that she had a point, Sonic glanced around the area they were in, holding his hand over his eyes as he looked over the horizon of the desert, attempting to remember even vaguely on where he spotted one of the flying pieces that landed in last night.
"Hmmm...If I remember correctly, I think one of the pieces landed somewhere around here. Guess this is gonna be a bit harder than I thought, but it can't be helped." He muttered, glancing around the desert.
Elise looked up and to her surprise as she looked to her right, she saw a glimmer of what appeared to be sunlight, which was strange as the sun was higher and above their heads. The light on her right was more behind a rock format.
"Sonic...I think it's right there." She pointed at the direction, and Sonic quickly looked. There he saw that she was right, considering how the actual sun was already high in the sky. "It could be one of the three shards."
"Well, only one way to find out. Great spotting, Elise!" Sonic declared, winking at the Princess who, finding herself growing more and more fond of him already despite only having met not even 24 hours ago, but she began to see why people were really fond of him, smile bashfully in return. For people with good hearts, it was hard not to like Sonic the Hedgehog.
With a lead to follow and hoping it was the right one, Sonic carefully carried Elise like before, telling her to hold on and then raced across the desert to follow the light, as the quest to find the Sun Stone, save Mobius and defeat the evil S.N.A.K.E.S had just began.
Unaware to the duo, high above the rock they had been resting against, was a figure of a man in a golden silky coat, aging white beard and long silver hair, looking in his mid 60's, white medieval trousers, brown boots, white shirt and black vest, wielding a staff with the top having a symbol of the sun as he heard the conversation and witnessed the young Mobian and young Princess leave to begin their quest.
"The ritual as began. Your journey will not be an easy one, Princess Elise III." The man whispered, before he used some sort of magic and vanished into a golden glitter.
"Are you ever going to tell me who you are, or make me wait even longer? Where are we going, old man?" Sun complained, still suspicious as he followed the mysterious man in the black robe. It had taken the orange hedgehog a while before he had been satisfied enough that every citizen and tourist had managed to escape unharmed from the crisis that occurred the previous night.
Now that the city was empty save for the monsters and flames that taken over, the former Werehog followed the strange person from the area he arrived in and towards the coastlines. He felt that it was a waste of time. Something was wrong, and while he wasn't that much of a hero like Sonic was, Sun still wanted to go out there and figure out what was happening. He didn't trust this guy, because something was up.
"We are here." The mysterious man announced, leading the young hedgehog to a wall with trees and fern growing on the rock with a darker patch at ground level, leading to the forest and jungle in a good distance from the kingdom, the ocean waves heard gently crushing against the shores of the beach, the sun already high in the mid-morning and creating a beautiful scene of blue skies, white clouds and the sunlight's reflection sparkling the water's surface.
Sun raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You lead me to a wall? What's so special about this?"
"You will see, young Sun the Hedgehog."
"Again, how did you know my name?" The tangerine hedgehog demanded.
The man didn't answer, but instead pushed aside the vines and revealed, to Sun's surprise, a hollow opening of a cave within the rock. It wasn't dark and it lead somewhere very secret that only this guy knew of. The orange hedgehog's violet eyes widened in amazement and disbelief, his mouth gaped open slightly.
"Come along, child." The man gestured, stepping through and despite still feeling slightly uneasy with this strange human, Sun hesitantly followed, pushing away the vines to step through and walked along the cave until they reached the other side.
It was a larger cavern with the sunlight shining through from the ceiling, but suprisingly sealed with plastic and unbreakable glass like a glass ceiling, which technically it was, traces of tree roots shown, but it had an old-fashioned lamp tied up, and pieces of furniture that looked pretty old but in a surprisingly good condition. Couches and chairs here and there, with a bed of ancient patterns of the early art of what the sun looked like sheets against the corner, a bookshelf that looked dusty, other things that made Sun realize that this was the old man's home.
Despite his suspicions, Sun had to admit this guy had good taste, yet it occured to him that he didn't get out as much.
"Nice place." The orange hedgehog commented, slowly inspecting his new surroundings.
"Thank you. Now then, I believe it is time for me to answer your questions." The mysterious man nodded, gestuing Sun to take a seat anywhere. Once the young traveler took a spot on one of the chairs close to the entrance, the human did the same on the opposite side. "I am Harutio Salamous. I have traveled across Mobius for a very long time."
"Uh-huh..." Sun muttered, folding his arms. "So you were just happened to have known what was going on...like say, three months ago?"
Harutio nodded. "Don't be alarmed. Your good deeds along with Sonic and his closest friends have done the world such wonders. Only I know of your origins, and I have seen your exploits and heroics. I followed you to Clocksworth Town, but once I saw you reunite with your brothers, I decided that you have found peace within yourself."
That made Sun lower his gaze a little, shifting in his seat uncomfortably. "I'm not that much of a hero, but...what do you want with me?"
He then came to a thought and glared up at Harutio. "You're not going to try and use me for something really bad, are you? I'm no one's puppet. I am my own self. A Mobian."
"You are not in any form of danger of being used, young hedgehog." Harutio informed. "Neither is your brother. It is Princess Elise who is in grave danger."
"Let me guess. She's been kidnapped, right?" The tangerine said sarcastically.
"The young royal was about to be abducted by the man who leads the organization who have transformed into those hideous beasts the people of this kingdom witnessed. He goes by the name of Julian Fredrick, his heart of pure evil. For years, he sought out the Sun Stone's power, yet he failed to acknowledge that as he is not of the royal blood, it put him and his men under the Stone's terrible curse." The old man explained.
"If it's a curse, why did the royals keep it?" Sun asked, skeptically.
"It was said to be connected to the Sun God Solaris, who in rage would destroy the world should a royal blood with a dark heart use it's power for evil. Yet those who wish to use it's power and not of the royal bloodline, this happens and unless settled soon, the leader of the Organization will become Solaris' vessel and plunge the world into destruction." Harutio said.
'Great. So it's like a light version of Dark Gaia. Not a good namesake for me. Good thing Sonic named me after the sunlight and not a sun rock or a crazy flare god.' The orange hedgehog thought to himself, before asking. "I'm gonna go off the limb here and say that Julian wanted this Princess Elise do to something for him with the cursed rock, right?"
Harutio nodded grimly. "He wants her to be his queen, and as he has been driven to madness, he seeks to use the Sun Stone's power and rule the world."
"Why am I not surprised? It's only a good thing that Ro-butt-nik is dead, from what Sonic and Tails told me." Sun rolled his eyes in exasperation, though he felt worried about the situation over this. Plus if Eggman had still been alive, he'd hate to think what would happen to the evil scientist if he got his grubby hands on the stone itself. "So if he hasn't kidnapped her yet, where is this Princess?"
"Princess Elise has been rescued by your brother, who should be out of this city as she would tell him what I have told you, Sun the Hedgehog." The man replied.
That caught Sun off-guard by surprise as he softly gasped, lowering his arms. "Sonic's...here?"
"Yes." Harutio answered. "As you would expect, Sonic will be aiding the Princess on a very important quest, as only she can restore the Sun Stone and advert this crisis. As one of the royal blood and with a pure heart, she will be someone to protect her, and to be her friend, to help her on this difficult journey. She is the only one to save us all from the Flame Ritual. Unfortunately, I fear even she does not know of the price that must be paid."
"I knew there was catch to this. What's the price?" Sun asked after he had listened, and he wasn't surprised to hear that Sonic would be helping the damsel he saved. It was in the cobalt hero's nature; to help others because it was the right thing to do. To hear that his brother was already here, most likely on another adventure or a vacation, it was a mixture of good and bad luck.
"If the Princess succeeds, the world will be saved. But in order for her to stay alive, she must perform the Flame of Hope with the Chaos Emeralds. Without the Emeralds, a sacrifice must be made, and whether or not Julian succeeds in capturing her, she will die and her body and soul will remain trapped inside the Sun Stone for all eternity." The man explained.
"WHAT!?" The tangerine hedgehog exclaimed, horrified as he felt a terrible case of deja vu surge up, memories of what could've happened to him if Sonic and Chip hadn't saved his life. He then groaned. "Why is it always sacrifices?"
"If the Emeralds are not found, then Princess Elise will meet her demise and the kingdom will be left without a rightful heir." Harutio re-informed.
Getting the hint on why he's needed as Sonic would be too busy in helping Elise getting the Sun Stone back possibly without knowing the full truth, Sun stood up and said. "And you want me to go out and find the Chaos Emeralds. You're telling me this because one, I'm the only one available to do that and two, if the Princess doesn't have a clue about what she's about to face, Sonic won't know either."
"That is correct. But be forewarned, as the organization will not still until the Princess and the Sun Stone shards are found, and they will kill all who oppose them, meaning that they will show no mercy to you or Sonic." The old man nodded. "Find the Emeralds, and warn your brother and the princess, and all who may come to help you."
"Not that I trust you now about all of this, but I'll do my best." The orange hedgehog nodded, as he still didn't trust Harutio Salamous, but if what this old guy said was true, then this was serious. "Sonic risked his life to save the world and save me. I wouldn't call myself his friend and brother if I weren't willing to do the same."
Harutio nodded in approval. "Then you know what you must do. Go forth, Sun the Hedgehog. Your journey will not be easy."
Sun rolled his eyes, "Like my first two adventures were? You've gotta be kidding me, old man. I'm outta here. I've got my brother and Chaos Emeralds to find."
With a new goal in mind while deciding to so some investigating of his own to figure out what Hartio Salamous's true goals were, Sun turned and waved the advisor a good bye before dashing out to begin his quest, as the old man watched him leave.
"Safe travels, child. And good luck." Harutio whispered.
He could only hope that Sun will be able to find the Chaos Emeralds as well as Sonic and Princess Elise before it was too late.
A/N: Sorry that this chapter lacked action and such, but hopefully the next chapter will have a bit more than this one. Thus both Sonic and Sun's new quests have just begun. Only time will tell when they face unpredicted dangers.
See you later!