4.
Tails found himself inside a huge lobby… It was somehow familiar but he couldn't figured out why. He noticed an old fashioned writing machine on a random table… He slowly approached it and picked up the fine peace of paper that was inside of it… He red the paper and, to his utter horror, he saw only one phrase written on it… Constantly repeated… Again and again and again…
"Without Cosmo and his beloved parents, Tails goes insane."
There were other papers nearby… And each and everyone of them had this single line written on…
Thousands of papers.
What was the meaning of that?
Than the vulpine turned his head and saw himself… Or better, a deranged, psychopath and deadly axe in hands, version of himself… It look at him with crazy eyes before yelling:
"Honey? I'm home!"
It was about to murder Tails when a sudden light came out of nowhere and got rid of it. The Kitsune covered his eyes for a moment… Then he reopened them… And he saw her…
His angel…
His one and only love…
His Cosmo.
"Hello Tails." She said, looking gorgeous as always with her big blue eyes and delicate leaf hair.
"C-Cosmo… It's really you? You're not Void, are you?"
"Of course I am, silly." She replied giggling in her cute way.
Tails couldn't contain his tears anymore…
"COSMO!!!"
He hugged her tightly without any intensions in letting her go.
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!!" He sobbed between tears.
She hugged him back… Caressing him and consoling him like a mother with her son.
"I didn't die back there Tails… As incredible as it could be… I used Chaos Control to teleport myself into another dimension along with that missile…" She reassured. "…I ended up in this dark and crystallized place where, strangely enough, that thing didn't explode…"
Now the vulpine seemed confused.
"It didn't explode… How?" Asked the famous rational part of the kit.
Cosmo released the embrace and frowned.
"I believe… It's the doing of my… 'Roommate'."
"Roommate?"
And now, Cosmo's face was showing genuine fear.
"Tails. You have to listen to me… We only have a few minutes before He would find us…"
"Who's He? Eggman? Void?" Hypothesized the fox cub.
"Neither the mad man nor my… Son." She hinted some distress in the last word.
"Then who?" Insisted the now impatient vulpine.
The Seedrian took a moment to collect her thoughts…
"An ancient evil… Way more powerful and dangerous than the doctor will ever be… And if He will be liberated from his prison… For all us, will be a catastrophe!"
Tails gulped.
"He's plan has already begun and he ensured himself my son's services… And some Chaos Emerald too! You must stop him before it's too late!" She continued.
"Just… Who is this guy?"
"A potent sorcerer with powers great enough to bend reality itself at his pleasure… He's name is… IXIS NAUGUS!!!" She said solemnly.
"…. Ictus Bogus?" He replied.
"……."
What is the correct definition of the word "Nemesis"? Does anybody stopped a moment to reflect on this?
It's a term that descended from ancient Greek. It happened to be the name of an half-goddess who's job was to bring revenge over the disrespectful mortals who dared to defy the Olympian Gods' rules… Her name meant "Vendetta". During the course of ages, this interesting word assumed another signification… Nemesis is a one's perfect opposite and, for that reason, the perfect enemy…
And in that moment, Blaze the cat had him right in front of her… Her opposite… Her worst enemy… The one who, ironically enough, was looking for violent revenge.
The one she once loved… And still loved, for that matter.
He was staring at her with his eager yellow eyes, evilly smirking… Already tasting his imminent triumph.
She was, to use an euphemism, tremendously terrified, panicked and over all scared. She knew why he was here… She could feel it in her soul… And she could see it in his wanton gaze.
There were a lot of things she wanted to say to him… So many questions… One in particular…
How did he survive?
She hadn't, however, the material time to ask it… Since she had to avoid a lethal psychokinetic energy wave that took out a few trees in the process…
"You're done hiding, cursed Bakeneko! FOR THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD, I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!" The fanatic silver hedgehog yelled… Showing a fair level of madness in doing so.
Another shot of energy was launched from the glowing symbol on the palm of his hand, narrowly missing the agile cat who, by now, was struggling for her life… While still panicking.
"I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT FOR TWO LONG YEARS!!!" He cried, still looking mad.
"SILVER! PLEASE WAIT!!!" She cried as well, trying to reason with him.
"DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO ME!! YOU WILL DIE HERE, BAKENEKO!!!"
Again… He used that word. He called her Bakeneko… The name of the legendary Monster Cat of Flames…
That hurt her… A lot.
And what was worst… Was that she agreed with him.
She's been the one who's birth was cursed by the Flames of Disaster… She's been the one who burnt down her own city because of her weakness… She's the one who took all those lives…
And she's the one who ruined the silver hedgehog's life. In her mind, he had all the rights to claim revenge.
She suddenly stopped moving and stood still… A frowned expression on her face. Silver was a little taken aback by this… This battle wasn't anywhere near he had imagined it.
"After all these years… After all that we shared together… That is all you have to say?" She put on a sad smile and continued. "I've missed you, Silver… In ways you can't even think…"
The male seemed interested in her speech.
"I used to love you, as a matter of fact, I still do… But… I understand that, what I've done 2 years ago, is unforgivable… I, myself, didn't forgive me for my actions… Even if I didn't do it on purpose…"
She took a deep breath and than she looked Silver dead in the eye. The hedgehog stared back.
"… Do what you have to do… And leave." She solemnly muttered, sitting on the grassy ground and crossing her legs… In wait.
She closed her eyes, expecting a deadly shot to put an end at her miseries.
What she received, instead… Killed her in more ways than physical.
Laughter.
He was laughing at her… Hysterically… Madly… Evilly.
Laughter.
She was speechless… Her eyes widen.
Again… laughter.
And he laughed and laughed and laughed… Until his delighted expression turned into a genuinely evil one.
"You're soooooo pathetic, you know that?" He replied with a grin, showing her his sharp teeth.
Blaze was mouth agape. Shock quite visible.
"And to think… That I was expecting you to be a worthy opponent… I'VE BEEN TRAINING FOR TWO DAMN YEARS FOR THIS!!!?" He yelled in rage.
The cat was still silent… Too astonished to talk back.
"Did you really think that I would have spared you if you acted like a martyr? HA! That's freaking hilarious! You're the cursed Bakeneko! The messenger of the Apocalypse… You have no soul!" He boldly remarked.
A peculiar cracking sound could be heard in the fragile peace of the forest… It was Blaze's heart.
He continued.
"Your only existence is a sin… I should have killed you a long time ago… 'Queen Blaze'!" The way he pronounced her former regal name was voluntarily ironic.
She was shaking. NOT in fear.
"It doesn't matter now… I shall put an end at your sinful life, right here and now… I'm the TRUE Chosen One by the Gods… Not you!" He finished.
That was it.
She couldn't believe it… She couldn't believe that this freak was the same person that she romantically depicted as her Charming Prince… She couldn't believe she was in love with this fanatic jerk…
Most of all, she couldn't believe that she almost dropped her life… For him!
"You…"
"What?"
"YOU BASTARD!!! YOU'RE NOTHING MORE THAN BRAINLESS DOUCHEBAG!!!" For some reason, she just loved that insult.
His face was unreadable.
Blaze's face, however, was the portrait of anger and her eyes were literally burning.
"I've just realized something…" She continued saying, calmly this time. "… Perhaps you're right, maybe I am the Bakeneko, the cursed demon of fire… Maybe this world could be a better place without me… Maybe I deserve to die for my actions… BUT!!!" her tail started to burn. "… If I'll let myself to get killed…" Fireballs in hands. "… By a fanatic fucker like you…" And her feet were now blazing. "THAN ALL MY LIFE WOULD HAVE REALLY BEEN POINTLESS!!!" She was, now, ready for him.
He seemed amused.
"YES! THAT'S HOW I WANTED IT! LET'S FIGHT, DEMON OF FLAMES!!!"
"My name… IS BLAZE!!!"
And the fight begun.
Immediately, Silver used his telekinesis to grab some of the trees around, than he launched them toward the flaming feline. She grinned and with a simple movement of her hand, reduced the trees to ashes.
They went for a close quarters combat: Blaze shot some of her fireballs to Silver, who shielded himself with his psychic powers. He responded to the fire with his energy beams, the cat shielded herself with a wall of fire that came out of nowhere.
They repeated this action for a few times before realizing that they were evenly matched. They paused in the middle of the battlefield, which, for some reason, became larger over the past minutes… Less trees and more dust.
The two of them were breathing heavily, trying to recover faster than the other…
The two enemies.
The two opposites.
"Anf… Anf… Ehe! Eh eh eh eh eh!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!"
"What's so funny, Silver!?"
"Oh nothing… I'M JUST ABOUT TO WIN!!!" He yelled before disappearing into nothingness.
She wasn't excepting this… Or the sudden kick in the stomach, for that matter. He reappeared right in front of her, with a diabolical smirk on his face… And a blue colored gem in one hand.
She slowly and painfully rose from the ground, spitted some blood from her mouth and gave a good look at the sadly familiar jewel.
"That's a… A Chaos Emerald!" She muttered not quite under her breath.
His smile grew even bigger.
"Indeed, my dear flaming beast… This jewel has been within my family for generations! I personally inherited it from my father, you know, but it seems that only I can properly utilize it's powers… Guess I must be the chosen being from the legends… The chosen one from Natural Selection… THE FIRST ELEMENT OF A WHOLE NEW RACE!!!"
The legends the hedgehog was talking about were the ones that said that only the first being, of a specific race, who showed physical or mental changes caused by the doing of Natural Selection could claim the true power of the Chaos Emeralds… In other words, the being must be chosen by Chaos and Nature themselves… Or the Gods, in the maniacal silver hedgehog's case.
That's what the legends say.
"As soon as I kill you… I will turn all the hedgehog females in Mobius into mothers for my future children and then, my superior genes shall be spread all over the world… MY PERFECT RACE WILL RULE THIS PLANET!!!" He yelled in a humongous display of derailed madness while showing the appropriate facial expression for the moment.
Blaze turned her head in utter disgust.
"That is the most revolting thing I've ever heard… To think that I used to love you… Ugh! I'm going to throw up now, thanks a lot!"
"SHUT UP, LESSER BEING AND FEEL MY WRATH!!!" He raised his blue emerald for an emphatic effect…
"Not so fast, pal!"
"What?"
A blue blur came out from nowhere, kicking the psycho hedgehog square in his chest in a perfect "This Is Sparta" style! The silver one ended up hitting a tree… And now he was furious.
The smirking blue hedgehog in front of him just raised his middle finger in the typical taunting fashion.
"HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME, YOU PEST!!!" Cried the irate would be gene spreader… Yuk!
He was about to launch some of his psychic spears when… A shuriken found it's way into his shoulder.
"AAAARRRGH!!! WHO'S THE MISERABLE WORM WHO DID THIS!!?"
The silhouette of a chameleon suddenly appeared on the left side of Sonic. It was Espio.
"Tsk. Tsk. A cool party like this… And we hadn't been invited? I feel quite offended!" Again, Sonic put on his fake British accent. "… I demand satisfaction, Sir!"
Espio smirked too, ninja stars in hand, eager to impale the new comer.
Blaze couldn't find the words to describe her surprise… She just stood there… Staring.
Silver, on the other hand…
"I'LL SEND YOU BOTH TO HELL!!!" He yelled, even more crazed now (if possible) before launching them all the psychic arrows he could manage.
They both easily avoided them while reducing their distance from their silverish target.
When he was sufficiently near, Sonic did something no one was expecting… He rose in midair… Curled into a ball… And performed a Homing Attack!
Neither Blaze nor Espio could believe this… They thought that only Shadow could do such a move… Apparently, they were wrong.
The flying pinhead attack missed a bewildered Silver only by inches and took off a few trees instead. The psychic fanatic could move out just in the nick of time… Or at least, the grand part of him…
The metal hedgehog exited from his rolling position, holding an unexpected trophy in his hand… A bloody trophy.
He smirked while showing to a bewildered Silver, his severed left arm…
The crazed hog looked down where his arm where supposed to be, only to find out that it was missing.
"And now I'm ARMED and dangerous!" Sadistically joked the fake skinned cobalt hedgehog.
Espio gave him a satisfying look while Blaze was feeling a little sick… For the bad joke not for the cut off arm.
At this point, Silver had definetelly surpassed the proverbial boiling point…
"You… Did… Just… TURNED ME INTO A FREAK!!!"
"I beg your pardon, Sir Freaks-a-lot!" He ironically replied.
Then… Silver's eyes became red… Not a good sign. He still had his emerald in the other arm. A strange red aura surrounded his body, which was absorbing the gem's power.
A sudden fear came into the metal brain of Sonic and immediately yelled to the others.
"TAKE COVER!!! HE'S GONNA BLOW!!!"
But it was already late…
Silver's body changed color from white to red while releasing some dark electric thunders… Then he finally screamed the damned line.
"CHAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOSSSSS… BLAST!!!!!"
A gigantic explosion of red energy engulfed the entire battlefield, leaving no room for hiding places…
Blaze was about to be assimilated by the blasting energy when…
"Outta way, sex stuff!!" Yelled the obnoxious voice of a certain would be lady-killer… Right before pushing the cat far away at the very last second… Taking the blast for her.
"SOOOONIIIIIIC!!!" She cried but to no avail… After a few short seconds it was all over.
And there they were…
A one-armed hedgehog, drained and exhausted but still standing strong… Grinning.
A purple chameleon ninja half burnt alive… But somehow still breathing.
And a robotizied courageous comrade… Lying on the ground nearby a shocked Blaze… With a big hole where is stomach was supposed to be.
Again… It came the laughter.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! DID HE REALLY THINK HE COULD STOP ME!? I AM THE CHOSEN ONE!!!" Cried in victory the demented gene spreader.
Yes, he laughed… For the very last time.
The cat girl was on her knees… Tears were descending from her eyes… Tears of sadness… Tears of remorse…
Tears of burning rage.
"Thank you… Fool!" She started speaking with a voice that didn't belong to her… They many different voices, as a matter of fact.
Her nemesis stared at her in amazement… And fear. He knew what that meant… And just too late, he realized his fatal mistake.
The one once known as Blaze continued to talk.
"It's been too long since our last outburst… And thanks to you… THE FLAMES OF DISASTER ARE FREE ONCE AGAIN!!! LET US BRING THIS WORLD INTO IT'S BLAZING END!!!"
And for the first time since the Soleanna incident… The Flames were in control.
The Bakeneko has been unleashed.