Constellations

Chapter 5: Puzzle Pieces

Unknown Location

Rain fell madly from the sky, pelting the streets in a chaotic dance with the thunder bellowing as its drum. The cobblestone walkways seemed to glisten with each bolt of lightning that stretched through the sky, the world becoming hauntingly dark when its heavenly light subsided. A demonic howl echoed across the quiet castle town, followed by the booming rumble of a distant explosion. Amidst the rain a cloud of smoke and flame lurched up high, followed by another and another. Suddenly a small house fell in a flurry of energy and fire, a figure narrowly escaping the wreckage, his cloak tattered and drenched.

"He sure is something..." the figure commented, exhausted and eager to escape. His eyes flickered over to the scorched remains of the house that indubitably had a family within it; the realization of Sonic's sheer brutality sent an unexpected chill down his spine. He had to retreat. "If I don't get out of here quick, or knock him out...then this entire city will be destroyed."

A horrific screech roared behind him, urging him to spin around only for a glistening claw to cross his chest. Havoc quickly somersaulted forwards with a grunt, then vaulted back to his feet in a fighting pose, eying his malevolent enemy then taking a quick peak down at the blood dripping through his tattered cloak.

"You're not even trying anymore, Sonic!" Havoc taunted with a smirk, his deep lust for battle beginning to show through.

Sonic stood hunched over and seething in anger, his aura smoking and convulsing with each rigid breath that escaped him. Another distorted grumble left the hedgehog's hellish mask, and in the blink of an eye he lunged at Havoc, the fragile streets crumbling from his amazing power. The hedgehog roared and swiped his newly gained claws at Havoc once more like a beast out of hell. In the blink of an eye the Dusk agent grasped the hero's wrist and flipped him into the side of a building, trying to open up a way to escape. Brick and debris fell around the hedgehog as he staggered through the wreckage, a glistening orb of crimson light spinning together between his horns, casting a ominous glow across the city. Steam burst through the nose holes of his mask, and another chilling scream escaped the hero, declaring his victory over the Dusk agent like a beast out of ancient stories.

He had become a monster, and his thirst for blood had become insatiable.

Standing across from the beast, Havoc watched in silence, his chest rapidly rising and falling from the exhaustion of battle. Lightning began to chirp from the Dusk agent's hands, turning the rain that touched his body into puffs of steam. Arcs of energy danced across Havoc's body, his eager, electrifying eyes locked on Sonic. His heart slammed against his chest, and in that split moment the energy glistening across his body intensified, bursting every street lamp on the street around them.

"I think it's about time I end this little scrap..." Havoc muttered to himself. "You're not even worth fighting in an uncontrolled state like this. And frankly I'm getting bored now."

Sonic snarled in response, enraged by the blatant disapproval of his abilities. Despite being in a blinded state of rage, his pride was still very much present.

The city trembled from a massive burst of thunder, the rubble beneath Sonic's feet shaking from the power. Havoc flexed his fingers, electricity jolting up his arms, and down his body like it were the blood coursing through his veins. An angry grumble escaped Sonic, his rage increasing the size of the energy ball above his head. Wind spun dangerously around the darkened hero, threatening to rip apart the streets.

A flash of lightning struck the tip of a church, destroying it like it were built out of nothing more than sand. However in the same instant, Sonic fired off his attack at Havoc.

"You think that's going to catch me off guard?!" Havoc shouted, his eyes wild with adrenaline.

Light consumed the entire city for a blink of an eye, but when it had retreated Havoc stood quietly behind Sonic, his hand chirping with power and most importantly, it was wedged through Sonic's chest. Blood dripped and spilled onto the destroyed sidewalk away from the wound and Havoc's hand. Sonic became quiet, his breathing slowing down, and then in a flash the demonic form he had been consumed by dispersed like it hadn't even existed in the first place. His soaking, wet, blue quills clung to his body as he fell forward away from Havoc and into a pool of his blood.

"I'll see you when you get back, I suppose," Havoc mumbled, wiping his bloodied hand on his cloak. "Don't expect things to be the same when you get home, though, Sonic. The world is going to be flipped upside down in no time flat...and you know what's funny...we're both trying to achieve the same goal. It's funny how peace can differ from person to person...well...ciao, I guess."

A Few Hours Later...

Muffled voices reverberated through Sonic's mind, like haunted figments of his imagination. Pain coursed through his body, from his neck right down to the tips of his toes. He couldn't bare it, but at the same time he felt much too weak to move. The blue blur struggled against the fogginess obscuring his memory of the events that had left him feeling broken; he tried to fit the puzzle pieces together, but just couldn't manage it.

Groaning gently, his fingers twitched against the soft, linen sheets hugging him into the soft bed beneath him. He couldn't remember how he had gotten like this, yet at the same time a part of him knew, but wasn't forfeiting the answers. Another groan, and his eyelids slowly peeled back to reveal the shining emerald hues hidden behind them.

"Damnit that's bright!" Sonic shrieked, his voice hoarse and strained. Immediately he clamped his eyes shut again, his hand swinging over his face to help guard him from the atrocious light beaming down at him from above.

Suddenly a group of doctors scurried to his bed side, checking his vital signs and prodding at the bandages around his body. The blue hero grumbled to himself and shooed the professionals away, eager for some quiet. However another figure walked up to him, a gentle smile on her face.

"Blaze?" Sonic questioned utterly confused. "Wait, what are you doing in the Chaos Dimension again? Is there something wrong?"

The royal feline furrowed a brow at the strange comment, and then cleared her throat, signalling to the doctors for some privacy. "Actually...Sonic, you're in the Sol Dimension. I had heard explosions coming from the south end of the kingdom, and after I had sent the emergency crews there, they came back with you and no one else."

Blaze narrowed her eyes at the hedgehog suspiciously. "What happened?" she questioned flatly.

Suddenly Sonic found himself at a loss for words. As much as he wanted to provide her a reasonable explanation – if any – for his random appearance...he just couldn't recall anything. He searched his memories, but the last moment he could remember was the revelation of his mother's murder. But, that he didn't want to think about. It was still too fresh, and too painful to dwell on.

With a heavy sigh, the young hero shook his head, and flopped back into the pillows supporting him. "Honestly...I have no idea."

"Well you're lucky I know you, Sonic, otherwise you probably would have been dead. But I'm still not sure how in the world you ended up here. If you managed to travel dimensions so easily...then I'm concerned. Someone could have created a bridge between our dimension and -"

Sonic's eyes suddenly went wide. A flood of details exploded into his brain, like a faucet had been turned on in his mind. At that moment everything made sense...but of course he knew now that he was the reason for the deaths of all the families caught in his battle with Havoc.

"You know...I remember a bit, now. A guy named Havoc brought me here...well, more like I followed him here. I tried to stop him, but he must've knocked me out," Sonic said, unable to hide his shame.

"I think knocked out isn't quite accurate. When you were brought back to the palace you were on the verge of death. There's a hole right through your chest," Blaze informed, sitting down on a chair beside the bed. "So...this Havoc character...who is he?"

Biting his lip, Sonic paused a moment to gather his thoughts. He wasn't quite sure if Havoc was who said he was. It was hard for him to swallow the fact that his long time friend was still alive, especially after learning of his mothers fate and the disappearance of his uncle; but what confused him most was why he chose to work for a group hellbent on world destruction. Realizing he had yet to answer Blaze, and noticing her growing impatience, Sonic cleared his throat and rubbed his chin.

"Well...back home a group called Dusk showed up a couple years ago. Long story short, they're not really up to anything good..in fact I don't even know if we can stop them. So far the group this guy works for has caused nothing but destruction all over Earth," Sonic explained, choosing to leave out his affiliation with the man. "That's really all I know."

"So this man is loose in my kingdom, then?" Blaze questioned with a heavy sigh. "Why is it whenever I see you, there's always some delusional freak trying to destroy the world?"

Chuckling a bit, Sonic shrugged. "I guess the maniacs are attracted to me!"

"Listen, get some rest and in the morning I want you to help me track down the problem you brought with you," Blaze said and stood up. "I'll talk to you in the morning."

"Sure," Sonic replied with a yawn.

Mere seconds slipped by and he had already began snoring, loud as could be. The young Queen Blaze shook her head at the sound, and started down the hallway, lost in the ticking of her boots against the pristine marble floors. She didn't feel right with the situation at hand, as if there was more to what Sonic was telling her; but yet she had no way of telling what details were missing. Blaze grit her teeth in frustration and entered through into the throne room, where her closest friend Silver stood anxiously waiting. His topaz eyes landed on her, and instantly a smile found its way on his face.

Jogging up to her, he thrust out his hands to show her the last Sol Emerald that they had been searching for. "I found it hidden in the rubble by where your friend, Sonic was taken from! But, we didn't see anyone there. Did he say anything when you went to talk to him?"

Blaze sighed gently, her head throbbing from all the commotion that had happened. She grabbed the Sol Emerald from Silver's hand quietly, then trotted over to the majestic, marble throne positioned in the center of the gigantic room. From the ground, a pedestal rose up in front of the royal seat, the six other Sol Emeralds placed in separate cut outs on the edge. The violet feline placed the gem in with the rest, and watched as the pedestal sunk back into the ground. Meanwhile Silver stood watching her patiently, waiting for an answer. The young hedgehog gulped, unsure what to say in regards to Blaze's sudden silence.

"Tomorrow, Algol and I are leaving to go find the man Sonic followed here," Blaze said quietly, her eyes locked on the portrait of her family hung behind the throne. "I want you to keep a close eye on Sonic...I don't trust him."

Silver narrowed his eyes, then frowned at the statement. "What do you mean you don't trust him? I thought you had said Sonic was a hero back in the Chaos Dimension?"

The young Queen stared at Silver, her eyes ferocious like the flames she used in battle. "Something was off about him, and I don't want you to let him out of your sight tomorrow."

To be Continued