Chapter 6

Revelations

(A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Here's chapter six, so enjoy!)

"You know, it's kind of funny." Sonic said.

His friends turned to look at him. "What do you mean, Sonic?" Asked Amy.

Sonic grinned. "Tails and Cream are the ones who were wronged the worst by this idiot, and they have to stay behind to fix the Tornado so we can get out of here!"

Amy stared up at the huge staircase they had reached. Galaxina had told them that there was some sort of temple at the top of the steps, and it was more than likely that Nebulous had taken Cosmo there. On the trip there, the Mobians had learned a lot about Galaxina's past; how she was Vice-Head of the Greengate Council, and second in line to become the Head. She had also explained that she was not like the other Petalis. While they were out playing with dolls, she was usually out on her firing range, practicing with her blasters, which she said were called 'Gunarrows', and they drew their clips from her very life force. After a full day of walking, the team finally made it to the temple stairs, and quite possibly their final battle.

"Remember, guys." Sonic said. "This guy is ludicrously strong. There's a large possibility that one of us could get ki...seriously hurt. If you want to run, now's the chance."

Amy shook her head and Knuckles gave a grin. "No way, Sonic. We came with you this far, and now you want us to run? Sorry pal, but bragging rights don't come that easy!"

"And I'm coming too." Said Galaxina, activating her Gunarrows. "I have something to straighten out, and I'm going to!"

Sonic nodded to his friends. "So let's go." He said, running up the stairs.

Sonic and his friends screeched to a halt at the top of the stairs. "Nebulous!" Sonic roared.

The Seedrian was standing with his back to the four heroes in front of the temple. Before him on the alter was the plant. Sonic stared. Was it just him, or was the plant emitting a faint light? He didn't have time to think about it too much, because Nebulous had turned around.

"You know...I thought I asked you not to follow me." He began. "But I guess you aren't very good listeners. Not only do you follow me, but you get help to try and stop me." He chuckled. "Hey there...sis."

"SIS?!" All three of the Mobians stared at their guide, who hung her head.

"Yeah...he's my brother. Sad, but true." She said sadly.

"Sad?" Nebulous laughed. "What's sad is that you haven't learned your lesson about sticking your neck out all the time! I mean, after that little 'incident'..."

"I...don't know what you're talking about!" Galaxina said suddenly, causing Sonic and his friends to stare at her again.

"Oh, come on!" Nebulous laughed. "You know exactly what I'm talking about! You know...the Colony?"

Galaxina frowned. "I...I..." She stammered.

Sonic and his friends leaned forward against their wills. Nebulous's grin grew wider. "Well, Galaxina? Either you tell them, or I do."

Knuckles gave a deep growl. "Shut up!" He snarled angrily, but Galaxina held up a hand. She took a breath, and then began.

"I was bored. There was nothing to do on the ship, and I wanted to help fight the Metarex rebels any way I could. When we were forced to leave, I decided to try to collect information on the Metarex onboard our ship's computer. But I made a terrible mistake, and I accidently..." She stammered to a stop, took a deep breath, and then blurted: "I gave away the location of the Colony!"

Sonic's heart stopped as Amy's hands shot to her mouth. It was because of Galaxina that Cosmo's family was killed?!

Nebulous laughed rancorously. "And they deserved what they got! Petalis never lay down their lives for the sake of their planet, but they expected the Thorndrigans to sacrifice themselves without any emotion! And then when they had the chance of victory: they ran, expecting us to abandon our dead, as if all they had fought for was pointless!"

"Now that sounds kind of familiar..." Said Amy.

"Dark Oak." Knuckles growled. "He's your father, isn't he? And he's been here all along, giving orders to his son."

Sonic's eyes widened and Amy gasped. "Dark Oak? He's here?"

"Bingo! He's taking the Nightshade out for a spin at the moment, but he's here all right, alive and well! You actually think you could defeat my father? The great Lucas?!" Nebulous shouted. "Flesh-things such as yourselves could never destroy the Metarex! He has been here, in this godforsaken wasteland of a world, awaiting the moment when I arrive, with his freedom in tow! That moment is now, and it is because of you, Sonic, that the Metarex will rise again! Just look!"

Nebulous swung his scythe to point at the flower on the alter, who's glow seemed to have strengthened. "It's funny, really." He grinned. "If you hadn't used Chaos Regeneration to try to save that pathetic Petali, our plans would have gone to waste! But in a matter of minutes, that plant's regeneration process will be complete, and Cosmo's death shall grant freedom to me and my Father! You, on the other hand..." He smiled at Sonic and his eye gleamed. "You and your friends will wander this dimension forever, as punishment for defying the Metarex's will. Including you, Galaxina. I see an eternity of knowing that you destroyed your kind, as much worse than death. Even though I could kill you in an instant," He snapped his fingers to emphasize the point. "and open the portal, I will spare your pitiful life. We will simply have to wait for my baby sister to revive."

Suddenly, his smile faded, and he looked almost confused. "But why did you resist in the first place?

"Living beings; plants and flesh-things alike, all desire perfection. We dream of a better world, be it Heaven, Nirvana, whatever you want to call it. We work our fingers to the bone to try to make our lives better and our planets better places to live. Yet we fear and destroy our own creations! Just as the Petalis feared and destroyed us, when my father created what could have saved our entire planet and guaranteed a future of peace and prosperity! But why? WHY?!" His voice rose to a screech and his face twisted in rage. "WHY DO YOU FEAR PERFECTION?!"

Galaxina grinned, looking away calmly. "That's simple, Nebby." She glared back at the maniacal assassin, aiming her Gunarrows right between his eyes. "It's because one planet doesn't have the right to screw up other worlds for their own desires!"

A sudden blast of light illuminated the entire Atrum, as Nebulous took a shocked step backward. Suddenly, Sonic realized that the light was glowing brighter, and the glow was emitting from something behind Nebulous.

The plant exploded in a burst of light and Sonic and his friends were forced to cover their eyes. Nebulous smiled as he saw a tall figure emerging from the light.

"So it begins..."

As the light faded, Sonic's eyes widened at an amazing sight. Like a wonderful dream, Cosmo stood before them. However, she looked...different...older. Her green hair had grown down to the middle of her back, and the rose buds that had been growing from the sides of her head had turned into hardy flowers. Her gem was gone, and she had grown taller, more elegant, and more beautiful. Her closed eyes opened slowly, revealing the bright, clear, warm blue eyes that Sonic and his friends remembered so well.

"Where...where am I?" She stammered. Her eyes widened as she saw her friends. She silently mouthed each of their names as she slowly looked from Amy, to Sonic, to Knuckles, to...her eyes widened. "Galaxina?"

As much as Galaxina would have loved to run to her sister in joy, she knew there were more important matters. She finally got her tongue unstuck, but Sonic beat her to the punch.

"Cosmo, RUN!" He shouted. Cosmo stared at him in shock. "He's trying to kill you!"

"Sonic? What's going..." She gave a sudden shout of surprise as she leapt gracefully over Nebulous's scythe blade, landing next to Sonic and his friends as they stared at Dark Oak's son, as he slowly turned to the five warriors. A slow grin spread across his face as he twirled his scythe.

"Cosmo...so the guest of honor has finally shown up at my little party. How I have waited for this moment! Now I can have the chance to kill a Petali with my own hands, and TRULY BE MY FATHER'S SON!"

The assassin vanished in an explosion of petals, as a cloud of dark smoke spiraled around Sonic, Cosmo, and Galaxina.

"SONIC!" Amy screamed in horror as she dashed forward to her crush. Sonic turned to her and reached out in a feeble attempt to catch her hand.

And then he was gone.

The smoke cloud vanished, along with Cosmo, Galaxina, Sonic, and Amy's heart. She stared at where he had vanished, then collapsed to her knees, sobbing. Knuckles kneeled down next to the magenta hedgehog and wrapped her in a hug. Amy turned her tear-streaked face to look at the echidna. "Knuckles...what do we do...?"

Knuckles stared blankly at the place where the three had disappeared.

"Pray."

Sonic's senses were useless. He couldn't tell where he was, or where Cosmo and Galaxina were. Infinite darkness spread out before them, which seemed to ripple like the smoke that had surrounded them. "Galaxina! Cosmo!" He called. As if on cue, the darkness dispersed around him, and he had to shield his eyes from the light. As his eyes adjusted, he saw blurs of green and blue, which slowly became Cosmo and Galaxina, who were rubbing and blinking their eyes. Sonic sighed in relief to see they were all right, and only then did he look around to see where he was. His eyes bugged out as he took in his surroundings. It was a vast landscape of darkness that stretched as far as he could see, punctuated by a massive, beautiful tree that towered to a sky of black. A chill shot up his spine and Cosmo gasped.

I...know this place.

Suddenly a huge tornado of darkness exploded before the three, before dispersing. Nebulous stood before them, head bowed. He slowly reached up, and smoothed back the hair over his closed left eye, revealing it. Sonic and his friends stared as he slowly raised his head...and opened his eyes. Sonic gave a gasp of horror.

While one of Nebulous's eyes was a cold electric blue, the straight eye, the one hidden until now, was a color unlike none Sonic had seen before. It was a sickening, bloody-looking hazel, that glowed with an evil, demonic light. He grinned and raised his left hand high, as a huge hurricane of darkness and sakura petals amassed around it, spiraling at a tremendous speed and spewing lighting bolts. Suddenly, the twister burst, revealing his scythe, which was revolving before his hand. He closed his fist around the hilt, and slowly lowered it to his side. Suddenly, he gave a maniacal laugh, as an aura of pure darkness surrounded him and his scythe.

Sonic stared, then raised his fists. Galaxina activated her Gunarrows, and Cosmo raised her hand, then gripped something that had appeared out of nowhere-a gleaming scimitar that seemed to be made of a leaf, with a shining oval-shaped ruby on the hilt.

Sonic stared in awe. "When could you do that?!" He asked in wonder. Cosmo seemed as bewildered as he was.

"I...I don't know..." She said, looking the weapon over, then she glared back at Nebulous, who seemed mildly amused.

"Well...I guess that Chaos Regeneration gave you a couple of parlor tricks. It doesn't matter to me either way." He grinned.

"Because all three of you are going straight to Hell."

(A/N: With the return of Cosmo, a battle of good and evil is imminent. With the help of his allies, can Sonic beat the odds and defeat the evil Nebulous, or will the Metarex get a second chance at galactic domination? Find out next time, and until then, Review!)