Cory felt himself begin to bow to the king out of his own control. It just felt… right. The pale kings smile radiated through the mask, Cory could feel it's warmth. A heavenly light shone over the king as he pushed through the gates into the palace grounds.
"Cory, things have changed since you were sent back, many things," the pale king said as he walked onward through the gardens, slowly and elegantly. His demeanor was that of a higher being.
"Yes, I have seen that sir."
"Hmm, yes I suppose you have. One thing I'm sure you haven't seen is me though. You see, I am now immortal."
Cory gasped in shock, "Wow, so you'll rule the United States forever, that's amazing!"
The pale king nodded, "I have given myself the curse of immortality in order to lead these people into a brighter future. My job is tireless, but the success of a nation is more than satisfying enough for me to give up my mortality."
"You are really the greatest, sir."
"We have more news, but I would like to discuss that in the throne room," you could almost hear the smirk in his voice, "If you can get there, that is." With that, the pale king disappeared into particles of light as the doors to the white house opened, revealing what seemed to be another world.
"Master Cory, perhaps I should stay out here, this seems too dangerous for me."
"Wait no I want you to come along."
"Alright sir, but please, take me and leave this shell behind," A panel opened on the robot, revealing a USB drive, "plug this into any object and I will be able to gain control of it."
Cory grabbed the drive, instantly turning the robot off, and strapped it onto his necklace. Bb couldn't talk while in this form, but he had the heart of his friend. Cory turned and enter the white palace.
The palace was filled with many floating platforms and an ominous metallic sound resonated throughout the halls. It was as if he was transported into Sonic lost world! Cory walked into the palace and jumped as the doors shut behind him. Now he knew what the pale king meant by if he could make it there. The entire palace was an obstacle course.
"You can do this Cory… You can do this!" Cory shouted to himself as he jumped to the next platform. The next platform was up higher so he would need to get a running jump. He looked down into the blinding white nothingness below and swallowed. Cory ran across the platform and jumped, reaching out with his robotic assisted arm and grabbed onto the ledge. Using the power of the arm, he was able to easily pull himself up onto the ledge.
A piercing metallic sound filled the air as he recovered from the jump. Looking up, he noticed the source of the sound. Littered across the rest of the course were giant rotating circular saws. They were massive and spun at a fast rate. If he were to get hit by one he would be torn to shreds. Cory glared at the saws and pulled out his katana. He could do this.
The wind blew against Cory as he jumped over the first saw as it raced toward him. Time seemed to slow as he looked down at the blade, feeling the force around it spin. It picked back up as he landed running once more, his arms behind his back to gain maximum acceleration. He jumped up and used his katana to propel himself up higher over the next saw, which was much higher than the first one. Cory gasped as he saw two saws slowly making their way out into his path. He threw his sword down and landed atop it as the two saws slowly made their way out into the path from both sides. Cory closed his eyes and focused as the saws slowly retracted back into the sides.
Cory kicked the sword and caught it as he continued onward toward the last saws in his path. This time they were coming from the ceiling. He would need to slide. With the focus of a cougar, Cory fell to the ground and slid 50 feet under the saws. As he neared the end, he realised the path ended as soon as the saws did. He quickly grabbed his sword and stabbed it into the side of the platform, hanging on for dear life over the white nothingness.
He swung back and forth, readying his jump to the final platform. Needless to say, he made it there. But cages falling onto the platform told him it wasn't over yet. The cages slowly opened to reveal two knights standing side by side. They were covered in white armor, almost blending into the surroundings. Cory gasped, they looked exactly like Silver.
The two pulled out their hooked swords, they were ready to fight. Cory pulled out his own katana, accepting their duel. It was on.
Cory charged at the duo, jumping up to do a downward slash at one of them. The knight backed off and retaliated with a sideways swipe. Cory parried the swipe and jumped back. The knights nodded at each other and one swung his hook onto a latch on the back of the other, hooking onto him. He began to swing the other clone around, and eventually threw the at a high speed, Cory dodged the attack, but it wasn't over yet. The flying clone hooked onto a nearby pole and swung around back toward Cory. The boy jumped up and swung downward at the clone, who landed on the ground sliding, but quickly recovered before sliding off the platform. The two began to charge up their throw move again but Cory wasn't having that.
"No, you aren't doing that again!" Cory said as he slid toward the two and sliced down at one of them. It's back armor came undone, showcasing the machinery below it. Cory couldn't make out anything, but he noticed a USB port. He quickly removed the drive and plugged it into the port, instantly activating the robot. The silver clone nodded to Cory and brought his hooked sword upwards, then pointed it down toward the other clone. Bb was in.
The other clone spun his hook around expertly and began to get ready. Bb charged at the clone and swung his hook around, attempting to break off the armor parts of the robot. In turn, the clone po-goed off of his hook and jumped over Bb, swinging his sword at the hijacked robot. Bb expertly ducked and hooked onto the other robot's hook, pulling it away from him. The clone jumped away and glanced at Bb with both of the hooks. The clone bowed to him.
"Good job, Bb, I knew you could do it!" Cory exclaimed, "wait, what are you doing?"
The clone inched toward the edge of the platform.
"No, please don't! You have so much to live for!"
The clone ignored him, saluting. He then jumped backwards into the bright void. Cory ran up to the edge and looked down, seeing nothing at all. A single tear fell down his face as he realised his opponent was gone. Bb walked up and pulled Cory away from the edge. The boy turned and nodded. They needed to continue.
Cory and Bb jumped up to the next platform, where a large door loomed over them. Bb slowly pushed the door open and the two were sucked into a large white void. The concept of a void is a completely empty space, so the way it has been described is technically incorrect. Voids are usually black to represent the absence of color, but it is white in this adaption, implying there is light. Ok this section is over.
When Cory awoke from what seemed like a dream, he realised he was in the white house doorway. Had any of that actually happened? He looked around at the nearly unchanged white house corridors. The only major change to this was the paintings, all of which were of the pale king. How glorious.
As he got up, Cory noticed Bb as a USB drive on the ground next to him. He grabbed it and put it on his necklace again. Nostalgic music (for example: 'emotion' from Pokemon Black and White, but not necessarily this) begins to play as Cory slowly walks down the hallway. As he reached the lobby, Cory saw visions of him as a child with his father, meeting Newt for the first time. Where was Newt now?
Cory turned his attention to the stairs, remembering the night he was kidnapped by Jeff the Killer and the creepypasta gang. He walked up the stairs onto the second story. He looked down the hall, his home. He walked toward the door of his closet and slowly opened it.
A thick layer of dust covered everything, but it was all still there. Cory climbed into the small room, looking over everything he had. His small shelf was littered with items from his past. Bane's mask stood out as the biggest item, from his fiasco when he fought Bane. Next to that stood a small yellow hedgehog medallion. This, of course, came from Chris, one of Cory's oldest friends. On the next shelf stood a valuable Sonic comic, which he had received from a maniac, though he still treasured it because of his love for Sonic.
On the top shelf stood his most valuable item. A frame. But it wasn't just the frame that made it valuable. Cory reached out and grabbed the frame, wiping the dust off of it. Underneath was a photo taken years ago. Simpler times. Cory stood in front of the photo, looking very proud. Around him stood his greatest allies. To his right stood Michael jackson, smiling innocently. A deep sadness filled Cory as he looked at the smiling face of Michael. Next to him was Espio, who looked like he didn't want to be there. Classic Espio. To Cory's left stood his best friend Newt, who was holding one of the chaos emeralds.
Cory set the frame down, wiping away the nostalgic tears. He took a deep breath and shut the door as he walked out the door. It was finally time to see the president, sorry, the pale king. Cory turned his attention to the oval office, which now was known as the pale court. He opened the door and saw the king, looking out the window out into the city.
"So you made it?" The king continued to stare out into the city. The sun was setting.
"Yes, that was some obstacle course!" Cory said, bowing.
"Hm, what obstacle course?" The pale king smirked under his mask.
"Oh, well what has happened in the time I was gone?"
The king turned and sat atop his throne, "Cory, a lot has happened, as you can probably tell. I cannot tell you everything, but I will catch you up. First, ever since you have left, the public have needed a figure to look up to. That is why I have become a god. Yes, we have discovered immortality. Next, the small terrorist cowards known as the akatsuki have been doing small scale attacks ever since you have left. These have been mildly annoying, but they are basically gone now, no new attacks in months."
"Wait, Bb said that one of the members of the Akatsuki was in the city!"
"Most likely a programming error. They are merely insects to the large scale of the United States government. There are no akatsuki in DC. Anyway, next, the country of China has risen up, attempting to become the next Japan."
"NO!" Cory shouted.
"Yes, their new leader, who wears a mask meant to look like a shinigami, a Japanese god of death. That brings us to your mission. Kill the leader of China."
"Woah, a new mission already?"
"Yes, but this will be a rigorous mission, kid. China is protected by a shield generator, which is protected by a satellite in space. Of course, you'll need to get the chaos emeralds first."
"Why do I need them?"
"To reach your full power."
"Oh, well where is Espio, does he still have them?"
"I believe so. Though I do not know the location of Espio. You'll need to find him, I suppose. Another thing. The CIA has turned against the United States government to try to create a democracy in Canada. They are small now and have nearly zero power. I want you to wipe them out first. It'll be good practice to get you back into the groove," He stood up and walked toward the door, "Come along, I need to show you something."
Cory got up and walked out the door after the pale king, his robes trailing behind him. As they walked down the hallway, Cory noticed the doorway to Newt's room was gone, plastered over.
"Um, sir. Do you know where Newt is?"
"Hm, Newt? He is dead."
"W-WHAT?" Cory shouted, stopping in his tracks.
"Yes, he died a few years back, soon after his master died."
Cory began to cry, falling to the floor.
The pale king rolled his eyes, "cheer up, kid. I have someone you'll want to meet."
Newt was dead. How could this happen? It couldn't be true, could it? The king wouldn't lie… He had to be. But why? Why!? Cory couldn't get up.
"Kid, get up. Make his legacy proud. Destroy China. It's what he would want." The king smirked under the mask at his tactics. Newt, of course, wasn't dead, but telling Cory about how his friend switched over to the akatsuki could send him into a panic, possibly making him question his loyalties. He couldn't have that.
Cory wiped the tears from his face. He needed to stay strong and make Newt proud. Cory got up and stared at the pale king.
"Here kid, I forgot to give you this earlier, it's the mark of the pale king. You're part of the pale court now." He reached into his robes and pulled out a glowing white cape. Cory stared in awe as he pulled it on, looking at it gleam around him. It almost matched his sword's light. Cory nodded and they continued on.
"Here we are, the kitchen." The pale king walked in, not waiting for Cory to follow. Cory's mouth dropped as he walked in. Across the room was the last person he thought he would see. It was him.
"H-how?" Cory said in amazement, walking toward the man. In the kitchen stood none other than Cory's father, Victor.
"Hey son, long time no see," Victor said.
"B-but how? That Italian guy killed you!"
"Heh, nothing can kill a man with security imposters! I hid out in Iowa while I was waiting for the coast to be clear. I tried to contact you, but to no avail."
"W-wow…" Cory was at a loss for words. Victor approached Cory and embraced him. Instantly, everything was better.
"Victor here is going to be more important to the country now that we have less people here in the white palace. In addition to being the head chef, he will also be in charge of many other duties."
Cory nodded and turned to his father, "dad, have you heard about what I did these past years?"
Victor nodded, "The pale king told me many stories. How you fought off the Creepypasta Gang in Japan to retrieve the fedora of power. How you went to Germany to defeat the darkness. Your journey to Tenochtitlan to fight Caesar and the neo Aztecs. I know all about what you have accomplished. Cory, I'm proud of you. I'm proud of who you've become. Remember, no matter how hard it gets out there, I'll be behind you 100%."
Cory pulled off his bandana, "Thank you dad. I'll make you proud." He held up the bandana, changing it into a white fedora of power to match his cape. Cory would become warrior DC needed. He would defeat China. He would defeat the Akatsuki, and he would defeat the darkness.
Cory waved behind him as he walked out the door into the dark of night, not sparing a moment's rest. He needed to get on his quest and make his dad proud. He would show the world what he could do, and no one would stop him once he started.