Chapter Fourteen – Beginnings
Sonic was fuming. Manic had instinctively forgotten again. He'd ran, completely forgetting that he had Magic and could have gotten them out, in a blink of an eye. But now catching and then teleporting a moving target, however, was not so easy. Sonic tried to think it through but in the end, he was forced to run after his brother. But with his Super-Speed gone, it was very different.
Before the change, if Sonic ran, his Chaos Super-Speed would kick in within a matter of a few steps and propel him forwards in incredible ease. Now, that didn't happen. Sonic was forced to run using the muscles in his legs alone. Then he realised that his Super-Speed may have been gone, but a lifetime of using the power hadn't left him with nothing. Everything his mind's and body's had learned. The adaptations it had made and the skills he had acquired from the Chaos power all still remained. Only the raw power itself was gone. He still had his super-lightweight, cartilage skeletal frame. His heightened senses. His incredibly fast reflexes, and all of his gymnastic and spinning skills. He just didn't have the Super-Speed anymore to fuel them.
The muscles in his legs, behind and lower back very incredible powerful, as he was extremely fit, and they propelled his forwards a lot faster then he'd bargained for. He not been expecting much of anything. But he was still built for speed. By normal standards, he was fast, he just wasn't Super-Speed fast. As he ran, he noticed one major significant change, his stamina. Before, with his Super-Speed, his stamina was almost limitless, he could run practically forever. But now, he was bound by the muscles in his legs, which were quickly beginning to tired, not used to the strain he was putting them under.
He was panting. He wasn't used to this. Only now was he really beginning to miss his Super-Speed, but knew that now he'd made his choice, he had to live with it. He was extremely disheartened. No more road races with Shadow. No more Super-Spin fights. No more dodging bullets, and no more Molecular Vibration. Sonic swore. He'd only ever successfully done that once.
This was going to be very hard, and it would mean swallowing a lot of pride. When he realised he couldn't do something, anymore. But he had Chaos Sorcery, Magic. Which meant there was potentially numerous different ways of doing things, like stopping time to achieve the same goal that being physically Super-fast achieves. He just had to think around it.
He ran after Manic, breathing heavily. But he was so overwhelmed by the whole experience of running without his Super-Speed. Something he'd never done before, that he hadn't noticed that he'd completely overtaken his brother and had accidentally left him behind. It was only when he was some distance ahead, panting heavily after his sprint, did he notice that he was alone. Stopping, he swore, angry at himself for being so foolish, and turned back. But he stopped very quickly, when he saw Manic just ahead. He was surrounded by the police.
Sonic immediately took cover, out of sight. He would have teleported in there, except that the expression on Manic's face told him otherwise. Manic had spotted him behind the police and had said, with a look, to stay put. It seemed he was incredibly intrigued as to what the police wanted with him. His fear of them gone. He was getting his confidence back. His curiosity was getting the better of him now.
As the police lined up all around him, he smirked. What was this about? There was rather a large number of police officers for just one Hedgehog. One of them spoke.
"Manic The Hedgehog!" He bellowed through a speaker phone. "Your wanted for the theft of the Heart Of Gold!" He called. Manic folded his arms and huffed.
"I think you'll find I didn't steal anything!" He spat. "The Diamond is still exactly where it was and has always had been." He growled. The police officers all looked at each other, he wasn't believed. They had been chasing him for weeks, now was their chance to get him. The police speaker growled.
"Surrender Hedgehog, or we'll take you by force." He spat. Manic smirked again, he didn't move. By force? He wondered what they meant by that. He very quickly got his answer as every single police officer surrounding him, proceeded to pull a gun of him. Manic froze, panicking. He gulped. That wasn't what he had in mind. It seemed incredibly extreme but to the police, he was that dangerous.
Sonic too also panicked. He prepared himself to go in there, but was he still fast enough to dodge bullets without his Super-Speed? Possibly not but the combination of his Chaos Sorcery and the speed skills that he had, potentially yes. But he hadn't had the time to Magical train himself for such a feet. But for his brother, anything. He was willing to try, but Manic saw what he was about to do and warned him off.
Manic was stunned that Sonic was even consider such a attempt, and successful throw him off until he backed down. Thankfully, non of the police noticed. Manic gritted his teeth but he smiled.
He was a Chi Earth Bender. He could bend Metal. He'd got this.
He still didn't move. The police were getting impatient. Then someone suddenly shouted.
"Fire!"
An explosion of sounded told Sonic every gun in the place had been triggered. More then fifty bullets were fired. He screamed, putting his hands over his ears. It was deafening. Tears fell down his face as he looked up. But he frowned. He could see his brother. He didn't even flinch. He taken an extremely deep breath and stood there, completely calm, but focusing extremely hard. In fact, he was scarily calm, and had just simply raised his hand. His fingers out spread, his arm straight, and emotionless look on his face.
But Sonic's frown deepened still further. He could see the bullets move through the air. But how? He could see them before because his Super-Speed allowed him to see them. But now, it shouldn't have been possible. Then he realised, in absolute astonishment, that the reason why he could see them was because they were physically being slowed down. Within less then fifteen seconds, every single bullet had ground to a halt within a matter of inches of Manic's hand. They hovered in mid-air all around him.
Manic smirked, and walked forwards, grabbing one of the bullet's, with his outstretched hand. He examined it, and then allowed it to drop to the ground. The others followed.
The police immediately backed away, in absolute fear, but Sonic was seriously impressed. When it came to the contest between them as to who was the most powerful. After what Sonic had just witnessed, Manic wins, hands down. Not with his old Super-Speed, hell, not even with all the Chaos Sorcery in all the world, could Sonic have pulled that one off.
He bowed to him, feeling incredibly privileged to be his brother.
Manic looks up and acknowledged it, but with the police now seriously fearing him, he saw a gap. A gap he was very eager to exploit. He slightly opens his mouth, curls his lips and tongue, and whistles.
A short, sharp, extremely high-pitched whistle that Sonic instinctively reacted to. It was his old 'Get me out of here!' whistle that Manic had been using with him ever since they were kids. Sonic immediately replied. He teleported straight into the fray, directly behind Manic, grabs him and teleports out. Right to the other end of the city, well away from the commotion, leaving nothing but light behind him.
Sonic landed in a quiet corner of the city. Somewhere he knew they would be safe, with darkness still all around them. Dawn hadn't broken yet but it wasn't far away. Both the brothers looked at each other and embraced in absolute delight, at what they had just achieved, unable to still quite believe it. Manic's concentration had broke, and he collapsed with exhaustion. He'd had no idea if he could stop those bullets and was still reeling from the fact that he had. Sonic was congratulating him when suddenly they heard something that made them both look up. A voice.
"Sonic?" It asked. It was Silver. The grey Hedgehog was quite easy to see in the darkness with his light colouring, and the distinctive shape of his quills made him recognisable. He was alone. He was staring at the Blue Blur absolutely stunned. Both the brothers were equally surprised to see him. Sonic frowned.
"What are you doing here?" He asked. Silver sighed.
"There was a rumour flying around that you were alive, so I came to see for myself. I've never been to Robotropolis before so got very lost on the way to your friend's, Charlie's office. I was literally only just passing now, when I heard voices. I came to investigate and found you here." He said, honestly. It was extremely coincidental but they had no reason to doubt Silver. He also sounded incredibly relieved. "I'm just glad your alright." He added, satisfied in his own mind now he'd seen Sonic. But then he frowned.
"But how did you survive?" He asked the Blue Blur. Sonic huffed, he was getting fed up of getting asked that. But considering it was Silver's knowledge that helped him survive, he at least owned the Hedgehog an explanation. But thinking about it now, he wasn't exactly sure if he did survive. His heart may have actually stopped at one point. He explained to Silver what happened.
"So you got the Choice?" He gasped. "The information I told you was straight out of a book, I didn't actually know if it would work." He shrugged, then he looked excitedly at Sonic. "So." He grinned. "Which way did you choose?" He asked. Sonic was about to answer when an extremely cold, hard voice cut across him behind Silver.
"Chaos Sorcery!" It leered, hissing through the darkness. Silver was stunned that he'd chosen that over his Super-Speed but the voice didn't need to introduce himself, they all knew who it was.
Shadow!
It could see in Sonic himself which way he'd chosen.
It was obvious he'd followed Silver as he also was eager to see the Blue Blur for himself. His dark colouring in the night shadows made him extremely difficult to see, the complete opposite of Silver. Manic growled and stood between him and Sonic. He was protecting him, to his brother's complete confusion. Manic's eye's narrowed.
"You've got some nerve showing up here!" He growled rather coldly. Shadow smirked in the darkness. Now both Sonic and Silver were confused. It was highly unusual for his brother to be this aggressive. What was this about? Manic saw his brother's bewilderment. He growled still further.
"He's the one who sabotaged the train!" He spat.
What!
Both Sonic and Silver was absolutely stunned. Sonic swore and Silver gasped, panting heavily. He looked at Shadow.
"Why?" He pleaded. "You could have killed all those people!" He stammered. Shadow didn't immediately reply, he walked forwards towards them, where the light lit up and face, where it clearly showed him wearing an evil smirk.
"Leverage!" He hissed. "I couldn't bargain for a truce if I have nothing to bargain with." He huffed, folding his arms. He gritted his teeth. "It doesn't matter anyway, you stopped it." He leered again. Both Manic and Silver were stunned but Sonic growled.
"It nearly cost me my life." He spat. Shadow's smirk broadened and his lip curled.
"Yes." He hissed. "But you were dying anyway." He shrugged. This immediately shut Sonic down as Shadow had a point. Better to die a hero then to die a nobody. The Blue Blur was fuming. He was growling again.
"Your a right piece of work!" He spat. Shadow sniggered. He took that comment as a complement but suddenly, he hissed right at Sonic.
"Look who's talking!" He growled. Sonic frowned, he was about to enquire as to what he meant, when Shadow rounded on him.
"Astral Projection!" He spat. Silver gasped, putting his hand over his mouth, but the two brothers were completely confused. Astral Projection is the ability to project one's consciousness (or soul) into an astral form outside of the body. When a person astral projects, their physical body falls to the floor, slumps over or remains still until they return. Sonic must have woken up in his astral form, leaving his body behind and didn't even know. Shadow began to pace, still somewhat stunned at how Sonic had managed to achieve such a feet. He looked at the Blue Blur.
"I'd had a feeling that you didn't know. To cast one of the most powerful spells in Chaos Sorcery and not even know you'd done it. Now that takes power." He sounded impressed but stopped pacing and sighed. "I had it all planned out, with Eggman. I had your friends captured and the crowd on side, all I was waiting for was you to show up." He paused, sighed. "But you were late." He spat. "However, your brother turned up exactly on cue." He smirked. Sonic stared, but then thinking about it, he knew Shadow, he wasn't that surprising the black Hedgehog knew him equally as well in return. Shadow continued. "Taking him out was easy. Iknew it would force you out. But when you did eventually show, that's when I immediately knew something was wrong." Sonic frowned.
"What?" He asked. Shadow hissed in frustration. Did the Blue Blur really not know?
"Your Chaos Aura. You didn't have one." He spat. All creature generate Chaos and Shadow normally sees it as a Chaos Aura around everything. Sonic's is usually the brightest and more vivid of them all. Sonic was well aware of this and his eyes widened, absolutely stunned. Shadow growled, still extremely frustrated.
"It nearly scuppered my entire plan. That's why I grabbed your throat. I wanted a closer look. But your were as cold as ice, and you had no heartbeat." He sighed. Sonic gulped, going very white. So thats why everybody flinched. Shadow began pacing again. "I was only when I noticed the very pale, permanent, silver glow in your eyes did I realise what you'd done." He hissed. Sonic wasn't surprised at that. Shadow was incredibly well read, and would have properly looked up Chaos Sorcery as soon as he'd heard of Sonic's involvement. Shadow gritted his teeth. "I thought you were on to me, until I also noticed that you had no idea. But it did precent me with one major problem. Eggman wanted you dead, and if I shot you, you wouldn't die but wake up in that office I left you and that chestnut Hedgehog in." He spat. "I only had one chance." He growled.
Sonic stared at Shadow. It was a lot of information to process, but then he realised that Shadow was exactly right. But then it hit him, hard. Of course. He had wondered how Charlie had gotten him to Robotropolis from Dante's Peak, halfway around the planet, while he was still unconscious. Quite simply, he didn't. Shadow had Chaos Controlled them there before going to the Ark, or wherever.
But Manic was fuming. He didn't trust Shadow, let alone believe him, and got very aggressive about it.
"Back off!" He spat. "How do we know your loyalty isn't still with Eggman." He growled. Shadow's tempered flared in response, and he stormed up to the green Hedgehog. Silver back away, he was staying well out of this.
"I don't need to prove anything!" He hissed, extremely coldly, no more then a whisper. "I decided I was going to kill Eggman back at Dante's Ridge." He spat. Then he hissed. "Let just say I'd enough of Robotniks by that point." He sighed. Then he pointed at Sonic. "He already knows." He leered. The Blue Blur went completely white as all eyes were on him. The black Hedgehog was right, he did know.
"You must have had only a few days to get Eggman on side." He stammered. Shadow nodded, but his pale face said it all. Sonic gasped.
"He tortured you. Badly! Didn't he?" He asked, the black Hedgehog again nodded. He'd suffered immensity at the human's hand. Sonic continued. "And yet, in all that time, you knew exactly where I was, knowing full well that I was what Eggman desperately wanted, and you never told him. Not even during that last final confrontation." He gasped. Manic was completely stunned into silence and Silver whistled.
"Wow!" He praised. "Now that's loyalty!" He grinned. But Sonic shut him down, he was slowly working this out.
"You were there, were you? In Charlie's office. I felt you." He sighed. Only now did he realise that the second person he felt at the point of death was Shadow.
Shadow sighed, rubbing his face and running his fingers through his quills.
"After I'd freed your friends and dispersed the crowd, I went to see you. I wanted to see the Astral Projection for myself." He smirked. "When I checked you, your were lying on those chairs, limp but not lifeless, and your eyes were glowing solid silver, no pupils to be seen." He sighed. "I'm not surprised you felt my presence. You always been about to do that as much as I have been able to see yours." He hissed.
There was silence. All four Hedgehogs looked at each other. There were no further questions about Shadow's loyalty, he was definitely on their side now. That was why he'd explained himself. To prove that fact. He just didn't want to be alone anymore, he'd suffered enough. Both the brothers were stunned in silence so it was Silver who spoke first.
"So what now?" He asked. Shadow looked round and his lip curled.
"Now." He hissed. "We fight. The truce I forced will not last forever, especially when they found out the truth." He sighed, turning to Sonic. "When I was in your friend's office the second time, he wasn't there, he too busy watching your escapades on television, so I went through his computer." He smirked. But Sonic was horrified.
"Shadow!" He gasped. But the black Hedgehog's temper flared. He swore.
"Anyway, I didn't go far." He spat. "But I did find something of great interest. Turns out were not the only Hedgehogs left on this planet." He smirked. There was silence, but Sonic was confused.
"But I've searched the planet for them, and found nothing." He gasped. But Shadow sighed in response.
"Likewise." He hissed. "And yet your friend has a map, on his computer, showing more then three dozen communities of Hedgehogs dotted throughout the planet. It detailed the fact that the general population had been slowly growing only the last ten years and stated that no hedgehog was killed when I forced the truce." He smirked.
Everyone was absolutely stunned. With The Purge and The Feud, and various wars over the years, the general Hedgehog population had been absolutely decimated and they all knew it. They truly believed they were the last of their kind.
But Sonic was incredibly relieved.
'Thank you, Charlie.' He thought. Working for the Authorities, he must have kept tabs on them for years, keeping their location's secret. But he was heartbroken.
"But why didn't he tell me?" He cried. Shadow scoffed, looking at the Blue Blur.
"Because you would have gone looking for them and your fame would have brought them too much publicity. Better to stay hidden." He hissed. Sonic sniffed. Shadow was right. The black Hedgehog folded his arms. "And I'm not going to tell you where that are, either." He hissed. "When the truce breaks, it will be us verses them. The four of us are the most powerful of all Hedgehogs. If we don't fight for our species, then no one will." He spat.
Shadow had a very good point. To be this defensive about others was highly unusual for him, but he'd had simply decided that he liked his planet exactly as it was, and finding out there were other Hedgehogs out there simply meant one thing. He wasn't alone. He had a kind, a species, beyond the three Hedgehogs standing in front of him, as well as Charlie and Amy. He had something to fight for.
They all looked at each other again.
It was agreed. They would work together. Call to arms when needed to defend those who couldn't. It was possible with Sonic at the helm, his Chaos Sorcery was more that powerful enough to bond them together, when the time came. Sonic looked at his fellow Hedgehogs. All them had, in their own ways, saved his life. Silver's knowledge, Shadow's cunning and his brother's love, and he was equally willing to die for all them in return. For the Brotherhood to work, that was going to be vital. Loyalty would be paramount.
The Brotherhood, made up of four Hedgehogs, so vastly different.
One Chaos Sorcerer. One Chi Earth Bender. One Psychokinetic. One Ultimate Lifeform.
All working together for a better future.
It was a new beginning for all of them.
But they still didn't know what to do next. How long would the truce would last? The Brotherhood wasn't needed until then. But there was still work to be done. To everyone's surprise, it was Manic who spoke first.
"Well." He said. "Now that he's alright." He added, indicating his brother. "I'd like to go home." He sighed. The sun was finally coming up over Robotropolis. He'd been up all night. He'd put the Diamond back, he'd finished what he'd started, and was now very keen to leave. The others were stunned. Manic sighed. "Look, there's this kid there. He just showed up out of the blue about a month ago." He paused. "That's not that unusual. Street kids do just show up so at the time, I didn't think much of it." He added. "But he's a Hedgehog, and I would now very much like to know, who he is and where he came from." He spat. The others stared very stunned, but Silver piped up.
"Kids?" He smiled. Silver absolutely loved children. "Can I come with you?" He asked. Manic was both surprised and delighted.
"Sure." He grinned. "They'll love it if you'll show them your...eh!" Manic stammered, pointing to Silver's hands. He wasn't sure how to describe it. He'd not seen much of Silver's abilities, though what he saw with the Starship Trooper was impressive. The grey Hedgehog grinned.
"Psychic tricks!" He giggled and nodded. "Sure." He added, excited. Time for the brothers to go their separate ways. It had been a rollercoaster of an adventure. Sonic knew that Manic would instantly be back at his side, whenever he made the call. They all would be.
With one final nod to the Blue Blur, Manic left. Walking off towards dark backstreets of Robotropolis, taking a rather nervous Silver with him. Sonic giggled. With Manic at his side, Silver would be fine. No one knew those streets better then his brother.
He sighed, but there was voice from behind told him. Surprised, he'd temporarily forgotten he wasn't alone. It hissed very coldly.
"So what now for Mobius' last Sorcerer?" It smirked. Shadow had been watching him very closely, intrigued.
Sonic turned to him. He thought. Yes, what now for Mobius' last Sorcerer? Everyone now knew about his Chaos Sorcery. But without his Super-Speed, could he still be fast? Could he still perform his namesake? Potentially yes, it he thought outside of the box. A different way of doing things, and that was the point. Everything had now changed. But for the better? Sonic didn't know, but was very intrigued to find out. It was all new and was very keen to explore. While he had the chance. Once the truce failed, and war broke out, he would need everything he had to fight.
Then he thought of his other passion. Music. He sighed. He would love to get back into it again. For The Underground to play at gigs, and with his Magic, it could be phenomenal, if he didn't reveal too much. But on the brink of war, he had no idea if that would happen. It could be risky. The Underground was incredibly popular and might be the moral booster that Mobius desperately needed to get the population back on side again. But it could so easily backfire horrendously as opinion against Hedgehogs was that strong. But it might be worth it, one last time.
Like Manic with his Extreme Gear Extreme (E.G.E.) contests, they would immediately stop at the outbreak of war. Everything would change. Sonic also remembered he still had a Starship Trooper Base to destroy, now that he knew where it was. But he had decided, that there was something more important he had to do first.
"Eggman!" He said simply, but Shadow frowned. Sonic continued. "Eggman may be dead, but his territory is in an absolute mess." He said. "I suspect that it was properly Manic's doing. Tearing through the place looking for him." He shrugged. "Someone had better clean it up." He sighed. Shadow raised an eyebrow, but Sonic ignored him. "Also." He added. "I'd like to look inside Eggman's database, and nobody knows that better then you do." He said, looking at Shadow. "That it, if you'll join me?" He asked.
Shadow smirks. He immediately nodded. A mission, something he desperately needed right now. But then his smirk broadened as he leers at the Blue Blur.
"Without your Super-Speed, can you keep up?" He hissed, extremely coldly.
Sonic giggles, and proceeded to make a point by instant using his Chaos Sorcery, his Magic, to teleport directly behind Shadow, forcing him to turn around. The black Hedgehog raised an eyebrow. But Sonic giggled.
"I think you find, can you keep up with me!" He sniggered. "I may not have my Super-Speed anymore, but I kept everything I've ever learned from it. It's just going to mean a different way of doing things from now on." He grinned. Shadow gives Sonic a sideways look, he was incredibly intrigued at that. What adventures was he planning? But then Shadow huffed. Ever since he first met Sonic, he'd always been beaten by him in straight line speed. Every time. It was incredibly frustrating to always come second to him. With Sonic's Super-Speed gone, he now had a chance. He wasn't going to let the Blue Blur beat him this time.
"I'm still faster then you on the road." He hissed, coldly. But Sonic wasn't going to argue with him. He swallowed some pride admitting this.
"Yes, you are." He sighed, agreeing, to Shadow's delight, but then Sonic smirked, rolling his eyes. There was an alternative.
"Roads?" He giggled. "Where I'm going, I don't need…...roads." He hissed.
With that he kneels to the floor, palms down, allowing for large quantities of Chaos to build up his hands and feet. Sonic didn't hold back as the silvery hue began to swirl all around him like a tornado of wind, forcing Shadow to stand back. Engaging his muscles, he waited for the ka-ching to sound which told him that he was fully engaged and ready. When the wind reached its peak, his silver eyes glowing strong, he took off, into the sky, with an enormous roar, a shockwave behind him, and breaking the Sound Barrier as he went. His namesake.
Shadow swore. He'd been left behind. Again! Then he smirked. This was going to take racing to a whole new and different level, as he ran after Sonic towards Eggman's territory.
He watched the Sorcerer fly through the sky, ahead of him, leading the way. Using his powerful Magic to soar, higher and faster then ever.
Still the King of Speed.