Tales of Team Sonic
Owl Night Long Part 1
Sonic tossed and turned in his sleep as a distant voice kept calling to him.
"Ugh," Sonic moaned.
You were a son to Longclaw once. And you can be again.
The blue hedgehog shook his head, trying to clear the voices.
The owls have not gone extinct but you are the key to our revival.
Finally, Sonic woke up drenched in sweat.
Tails stood by his side. It was early in the morning but Knuckles was not up yet.
"Same bad dreams again?" asked Tails.
"It was the same voice again," confirmed Sonic. "Telling me that the owls haven't been wiped out."
"Do you think it could be Longclaw or another owl?" asked Tails.
"It's another voice," Sonic replied. "Male this time. It's not anyone I've ever heard before. Tails, do you suppose it could be Agent Stone somewhere messing with my head?"
"Nah, I've got sensors all over our home," Tails told him. "I would've let us know if strange radio waves or something else was bombarding our place."
"So far I'm the only one hearing these voices," Sonic looked down.
"Do you see anything in those dreams?" asked Tails.
"I do," Sonic responded. "It's a huge formation of stones. In a circle."
"Hmm," Tails rubbed his chin. "Let me do a quick search on the internet."
After a while, Tails came back with his laptop.
"Is this the place?" asked Tails.
"It is," Sonic confirmed.
"Sonic, the vision you saw was Stonehenge," Tails told him.
"Hmm, so the voice came from there," Sonic wondered aloud. "But what could it mean?"
"I don't know," Tails told him. "But if it can give you some closure, maybe we can go there and find out."
oooo
"Sonic, are you sure you want to do this?" asked Tom.
"Yeah, I'm not against a vacation," Maddie told him. "But a trip based on a hunch and a dream?"
"This is something I need to do," Sonic told his parents. "I need closure. And to see if Longclaw's people are really gone or not."
"I'm with you on this, Sonic," Knuckles told the hedgehog. "You helped me during a time when I needed it most and I would be happy to do the same for you."
"At the very least, maybe we can put an end to these recurring dreams," Tails added.
"You guys ready?" asked Sonic.
Both echidna and fox nodded.
"Let's do this," Sonic threw out a ring.
The ring expanded, revealing Stonehenge before the entire family.
"Good luck guys," Tom nodded.
"We'll be back before dinner," Sonic smiled, waving.
All three members of Team Sonic stepped through the portal, entering into the huge stone formation in England.
After the portal closed, Tails took out his machine and began scanning the entire place.
"Hmm, this place is giving off a lot of strange energy," the fox admitted. "It's not like any natural energy I've detected on Earth so far."
"There is something unnatural about this place," Knuckles nodded, sensing something strange.
"Is there anyone here?" Sonic called out. "I've heard your voice. And you told me Longclaw's people aren't gone. If you're really here, I need to know."
A gust of wind blew against Team Sonic, giving them a brief chill.
"Uh, Sonic," Tails told his friend. "Energy readings are spiking."
Before the three, a ghostly spectre materialized before the three. It was another horned owl, similar to Longclaw but bigger. From the looks of it, this particular owl was a male. And not only that, he had a scar across his eye.
"Who… who are you?" asked Sonic.
"You are truly Longclaw's son," the owl spirit looked at Sonic in admiration.
"Do you know Longclaw?" asked Sonic.
"Not personally," the owl answered. "But I am her ancestor. And I couldn't be more proud of what my lineage has lead to."
"Do you have a name?" asked Tails. "Maybe you can jog Sonic's memories from the time he spent with Longclaw. Maybe she mentioned your name at some point."
"I am Betelgeuse," the great owl spirit told them. "Unfortunately, I existed generations before Longclaw ever came into being."
"I… honestly don't remember a time during my childhood when Longclaw ever mentioned you," admitted Sonic.
"That is fine," Betelgeuse replied. "During her time, I am certain I was little more than ancient history to her."
"Wow, you must be really old," Tails admitted. "Err, no offense, sir."
"It is fine," the older owl smiled gently.
"You said Longclaw's people weren't gone and that they could be brought back," Sonic mentioned. "Did you mean that?"
"I did," Betelgeuse replied. "But it will require your power, Sonic. First, I must be revived. And after that, we will journey to find the other owls."
Sonic looked at both his companions. Tails seemed to be content to do whatever Sonic wanted but Knuckles had another expression on his face.
"I'm with you on this, Sonic," Tails told him.
"If… this is what will bring you closure, I too will stand by your side," Knuckles finally spoke with what sounded like hesitation in his voice.
"What do I need to do?" asked Sonic.
"The centre of this stone structure holds my essence," Betelgeuse informed him. "Run until you can unleash a full energy blast towards the middle of these rock formations."
"I gotcha," Sonic agreed as electricity crackled around him and gestured for Tails and Knuckle to move away from the center.
Tails and Knuckles did as they were told and backed away until they stood near one of the standing stones. At that point, Sonic began running around Stonehenge, gathering energy.
The two-tailed fox then took a glance at the stone next to him. On the rock were inscriptions in a language he did not recognize.
"Huh?" Tails looked at it curiously as Sonic was running around Stonehenge.
Tails took out his universal translator and scanned the words on the stone. After the translation finally came through, Tails read it carefully as a frown appeared on his face. Soon, realization dawned on him.
"Sonic!" Tails cried out. "Wait! Don't do this!"
However, it was too late. Sonic had gathered enough energy and leaped into the air, hurling a bolt of his own lightning towards the center of Stonehenge.
The bolt struck the center, unleashing a huge surge of energy. When the smoke cleared, a massive wingspan stretched out, followed by glowing red eyes.
"Thank you Sonic," the now-corporeal Betelgeuse arose. "I could not have done this without your help."
"I'm glad I could help," Sonic told him. "Now what do you want us to do to bring back Longclaw's people?"
"Uh Sonic," Tails went up towards his friend. "You're going to want to read this."
"Read what?" Sonic looked at Tails.
Tails showed Sonic the words on the stone he had translated.
"Wait, a minute," Sonic frowned. "This can't be right."
"Huh," Knuckles scratched his head. "It says Betelgeuse abused the power of the chaos emeralds and became a tyrant who crushed his own owl tribe with an iron claw."
Suddenly, Betelgeuse's seemingly benevolent expression changed. He had not counted on Tails having the means to translate what was written on the stones.
"Betelgeuse," Sonic asked. "What's all this about?"
"Those are lies, my boy," Betelgeuse scoffed. "I would not do such a thing to my fellow owls."
"It also says your own daughter led a rebellion against you and all of them trapped you in these stone formations," Tails pointed out.
"What's going on here?" asked Sonic pleadingly. "Betelgeuse, please. Tell me.
"Sonic wanted to bring you back and sought you out because he received visions of someone similar to Longclaw," Knuckles pointed his fist at Betelgeuse. "I think he deserves an answer."
Inwardly, Betelgeuse was fuming. Because of Tails, he could no longer maintain any charade and his ancient history had been exposed. There was really only one option left for him and maintaining a façade for much longer was not going to be possible.
"Very well," Betelgeuse told them. "The truth is… I really only needed Sonic to be here and not the rest of you."
Betelgeuse smiled as a standing stone behind Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles was activated. A powerful beam emerged from the rock and struck Sonic from behind, knocking him unconscious.
"Sonic!" Tails cried.
"Both of you stand aside," Betelgeuse warned. "Final warning."
Before Betelgeuse could react, Knuckles punched him across the face, sending him flying against one of the standing stones, shattering it.
Knuckles leaped up at Betelgeuse but the giant owl unleashed a gust of powerful wind with a swipe of his wing that knocked Knuckles back.
"I will be taking Sonic now," Betelgeuse told them.
"No way," Tails took out a laser pistol and fired.
Betelgeuse shielded himself with his wing, blocking the blasts and hurled a few razor sharp feathers at Tails, forcing him to dodge. The great owl then lifted a pillar of stone with his psionic power and hurled it at the fox.
Immediately, Knuckles got in front of the stone, punching it with all his might and shattering it to pieces. The echidna charged at Betelgeuse. Betelgeuse unleashed a pair of laser beams from his eyes, forcing Knuckles to roll under.
The echidna came up, after the blast, punching Betelgeuse in the stomach with a powerful blow.
"Aaagh!" Betelgeuse stumbled back.
Again and again, Knuckles punched him, unleashing powerful blow after powerful blow. Betelgeuse swiped at Knuckles with his wing but Knuckles leaped over it, kicking Betelgeuse across the head to send him stumbling back.
"Yeah, Knuckles!" Tails cried out.
"You are more troublesome than I anticipated," Betelgeuse licked his lips.
Another punch across the face sent Betelgeuse crashing to the floor.
"You will not have Sonic, deceiver!" Knuckles growled.
"What Knuckles said," Tails pointed his gun at the downed Betelgeuse. "Sonic isn't going anywhere with you!"
"I will have the hedgehog's power," Betelgeuse swore. "And neither a mutant fox nor an overgrown echidna will stand in my path!"
At once, multiple Tails holograms began swirling around the owl. Tails had switched on his Miles Electric.
"Hoping to confuse me, are you?"
All the Tails holograms flew around Betelgeuse until one of them kicked the owl across the face. It was the real Tails.
As Tails flew in again, Betelgeuse smacked him with a wing, knocking him against one of the stones to take him out.
Knuckles charged at the owl next but Betelgeuse grabbed Knuckles by the face with one of his claws and slammed Knuckles to the ground. He slammed the echidna down a second time forcefully.
Suddenly with a burst of strength, Knuckles grabbed Betelgeuse's foot and lifted it up, throwing the owl off of him. As Betelgeuse regained his footing, Knuckles came with mighty uppercut that sent the large owl staggering back.
"I have no time for this," Betelgeuse growled.
As Knuckles charged again, Betelgeuse summoned a mighty stone hand from the earth which grabbed Knuckles. As Knuckles struggled, Betelgeuse telekinetically sent Knuckles and the earthen weapon into another piece of Stonehenge. With that needed distraction, he grabbed Sonic by both claws and flew him into the air, flying away.
"I have great plans for you, hedgehog," Betelgeuse promised.
"Ugh," Knuckles pushed one of the rocks off of himself just in time to see the giant owl fly off into the distance with Sonic.
"Tails, are you alright?" the echidna rushed towards Tails.
oooo
"Guys?" Maddie asked as Tails and Knuckles reappeared at the door.
"Bad news," Tails told his adoptive family. "It turned out to be a trap."
"Wait, what?" Tom got up.
"It was one of Longclaw's people," Knuckles informed the family. "An ancient ancestor of Longclaw's. But this owl was not who he made himself out to be. His main goal was to free himself so that he could get Sonic for himself. For what yet, I don't know."
"Ok, so does anyone know where he's taking Sonic?" asked Tom.
"During our battle, I was able to plant a tracking device underneath one of his feathers," Tails informed everyone. "It was when he got distracted by all my holograms."
Immediately Tails took out his tracking device. He turned on his personal computer to see where the owl was going.
"He's within driving distance," Tails told everyone. "He's on the Columbia Center in Seattle. That might be the tallest building in that city."
"Why is he taking Sonic there?" asked Tom.
"Hmm," Tails pondered aloud. "If I were to guess, a tall building like that would be useful for him to effectively broadcast something to the entire world. But what yet, I don't know."
Tails then showed another photo he took of some writings on Stonehenge with his universal translator.
"There's more," Tails told them. "This Betelgeuse was once an ancient owl who came from Longclaw's tribe many centuries ago. He became corrupted by the power of the Chaos Emeralds back then and began ruling over the other owls like a tyrant. Over time, because of his evil ambitions and iron fisted rule, the other owls turned against him. His own daughter was the one who led a rebellion against him and overthrew him. After his defeat, Betelgeuse was trapped here on Earth, within Stonehenge by the other owls in a mystic ritual designed to contain evil spirits."
"And I say it is time we put a premature end to his second reign," Knuckles cracked his fists.
"Alright, let's get over there," Tom promised. "We'll get Sonic back. And we'll even the score with this evil owl."
oooo
"You're awake, good," Betelgeuse looked at Sonic who was just getting up.
"Ugh, where am I?" Sonic looked around. "Wait, I'm back in Seattle?"
"A good view, isn't it?" asked Betelgeuse.
"Why?" asked Sonic. "I trusted in your voice… thought you were like Longclaw."
"But alas, I'm not," Betelgeuse shook his head. "But it was fortuitous you once knew an owl like your own mother. That made my task of making telepathic contact with you much easier."
"Just what are you?" demanded Sonic.
"I suppose there's no more hiding it," Betelgeuse confessed. "I once considered the owls my own people. But one day I came in contact with the Chaos Emeralds and began unlocking their secrets. In my zeal, many of my own people turned against me, including my own daughter."
"You know, something tells me there's more to this story that you're not telling me," Sonic remarked.
"Do you know what it's like to have your own daughter stab you in the back?" Betelgeuse glared at Sonic.
"I wouldn't know," Sonic told him. "But what I do know is that you're not the good guy you made yourself out to be."
At once, blue electricity surrounded Sonic as he charged at Betelgeuse.
The hedgehog punched at the owl as hard as he could but at once, a red force field surrounded Betelgeuse's body. Sonic's fist struck the energy force field which then repelled him and knocked him back.
Betelgeuse's eyes glowed as his telekinesis activated. Stone was ripped from the building as they surrounded Sonic, trapping him tightly from all sides.
"Let go!" Sonic cried.
At once, Sonic transformed into a spin dash, destroying the rocks and striking Betelgeuse in the stomach to knock him off the building.
Sonic was fairly certain the battle had not yet been won as he cautiously walked towards the edge, trying to be prepared for a second attack.
"I will not be denied dominion over this world!" the large owl flew into the air in front of Sonic as his eyes glowed red.
Betelgeuse's eyes unleashed a powerful red electricital burst that struck Sonic, unleashing a wave of agony into the hedgehog. The burst of power was so great that everyone in Seattle could see it spreading out over a large portion of the city.
Finally, Sonic fell down unconscious.
"First I take over this mudball," Betelgeuse promised, landing next to Sonic. "Then I draw back the Chaos Emeralds to me. Finally, I will return to the stars to reclaim my rightful destiny."
oooo
"Sir," a young lieutenant told Commander Walters at a G.U.N. facility. "There's been a massive burst of power at Seattle."
"Another one?" asked Commander Walters. "Any possible leads?"
"No sir," the lieutenant stared at the monitor. "All I can tell you at the moment that it's probably not Sonic. Our cameras caught something generating a red electrical shockwave."
"So it's something else then," Walters frowned. "Where is this exactly."
"It's near the Columbia Center in Seattle," the lieutenant reported.
"Do we have access to a camera on that building?" asked Walters.
"Accessing right now," the lieutenant continued typing.
On the screen, both Walters and the lieutenant could see Sonic fighting briefly against a large owl. Afterwards, the owl generated the massive shockwave which knocked Sonic out.
"Alright, that thing can't be native to Earth," Walters confirmed. "And judging from the situation, Sonic was fighting against it. That just leaves us with one option left. Send all available GUN units to dispatch this extraterrestrial owl creature."
"Yes sir."
oooo
"Now to rearrange this stain of a city to something more suitable," Betelgeuse concentrated all his psionic energy upon the city itself.
He focused fully on the kind of scientific equipment he needed and found one of the buildings. Telekinetically, he tore that building apart with his psychic energy as all the equipment he needed floated into the sky towards his new abode on the Columbia Center.
Betelgeuse arranged everything carefully, constructing a machine what resembled a treadmill. After he was done, he picked up Sonic telekinetically and placed the unconscious hedgehog on top of it. With that, he then telekinetically erected a cage around the machine.
"As promised, you will serve me well," Betelgeuse exclaimed.
In the distance, Betelgeuse saw several jets and airships headed his way.
"Hmm, curious," Betelgeuse noted.
Suddenly, one of the doors on top of the building was kicked open. Multiple GUN agents swarmed in, pointing their weapons at the giant owl.
"Sir," one of the agents spoke to Walters on the com. "We have the target surrounded and Sonic is indeed under his possession."
"Good," Walters' voice replied back. "Give him his one chance to stand down. You know what to do if he doesn't."
"Alright," one of the commanders got closer to Betelgeuse, training his gun on the owl. "We are the Guardian Unit of Nations and you are an anomaly who displayed hostile behavior towards the people of this planet and our cities. Stand down at once. I will not repeat myself."
"I do not grovel before my inferiors," Betelgeuse told them. "Not before my own people, the owls who betrayed me… and certainly not before you wretched vermin!"
"Open fire" one of the agents shouted.
At once all of them opened fire. In addition, multiple drones in the sky also fired upon the owl.
Smiling, Betelgeuse created a powerful electro-magnetic pulse that caught all the bullets in mid-air, shorting them out and dropping them to the floor. Soon, all of the drones fell from the sky as the human agents took out other weapons to subdue him.
Betelgeuse, however, did not give them that chance. He swung one wing, creating a powerful guest of wind that knocked multiple GUN agents off the building. And with another swing, he sent multiple razor feathers flying forth that pierced the hearts of multiple other agents.
"All units!" a remaining agent shouted. "We need backup!"
Betelgeuse launched himself at them. Immediately, the agent who spoke on his com was bisected with a single wing slash. Another agent found his head being grabbed by the owl's talons.
"Know your place, human!" Betelgeuse snarled.
He crushed that agent's skull. Moving at a fast rate comparable to Sonic, Betelgeuse dive-bombed the remaining agents, annihilating them on the spot.
"Pathetic," Betelgeuse spat.
The final agent on the building took out a bomb and prepared to throw it but Betelgeuse saw him. Just as the agent pulled out the pin, Betelgeuse knocked the man off the building with another powerful wind blast. Below, the owl could hear the man's own bomb going off and taking his life.
In the air, Betelgeuse finally took note that multiple fighter jets and other aerial crafts were coming closer towards him, including a giant GUN airship.
"So, you want to escalate this, do you?" Betelgeuse grinned.
The giant owl flew into the air to engage. He flew past multiple gunfire from the jets and sliced the wings off of one with his own razor-sharp wings, sending the craft plummeting to the ground.
Then Betelgeuse turned around and struck another jet with his wind blast, sending it spiraling out of the way into another jet, triggering an explosion. From behind Betelgeuse, a hail of bullets hit his back.
At that moment, Betelgeuse became enraged. He created another ball of red electricity with his wings, sending the blast in multiple angles, destroying all the jets surrounding him.
Before long, all of the jets crashed down onto the city below, creating panic and bedlam like no other.
"It seems to me the people of this planet need to be taught a severe lesson," Betelgeuse said firmly, staring at the giant GUN airship right above him.
Betelgeuse flew up into the sky higher than the airship.
"Let a swift death from above be your lesson!"
Betelgeuse flew down directly towards the airship. Immediately he made contact, dive-bombing his way through the entire ship and destroying its engine. A part of the ship exploded as it caught fire. Soon, the flaming airship fell from the skies onto Seattle below.
On the ground, Walters and some of his aides looked on helplessly.
"This doesn't look good sir," one of Walter's assistants told him.
"Don't give up hope yet," Walters reminded him. "This was just the initial force we sent. GUN forces from across the rest of the country and our overseas bases are mobilizing."
"I don't mean to sound pessimistic, sir," the assistant replied. "But will they be enough? From what we've just witnessed, this thing seems like it has enough power to destroy the entire city if it wanted to."
"Didn't that thing have Sonic?" asked Walters.
"Yes, I believe it did."
"Maybe we need to get in contact with Sonic's family," Walters took out his cell phone. "Hold on. I have them on here somewhere."
After finding out the proper number, Walters gave the call. After a few moments, however, nobody picked up.
"They're not available," Walters frowned.
oooo
"I just got a call from the guy from GUN," Tom looked down at his phone.
Knuckles, Tails, and the Wachowski's had just stepped foot into Seattle from one of the rings they used as transportation.
"Well, I'm sure it can wait," Maddie nudged Tom. "We have more pressing concerns right now."
"Yeah, like rescuing Sonic," Tails added.
"Hmm, I just got a voicemail from him," Tom looked down as his phone vibrated again.
"Dot dot dot," Knuckles looked at his messaging system. "Dot dot dot…"
"Now he's texting me about the situation," Tom sighed. "It's really not the best time for him to be doing this now."
"Tom, shall I punch that man in the face to make him stop harassing you?" asked Knuckles.
"That would be nice," Tom almost agreed before realizing it was a bad idea. "I mean… no! No thank you, Knuckles. I appreciate it but I don't think the commander would survive one of your punches."
"You said he's right on top of the Columbia Center?" asked Maddie.
"Directly on top," confirmed Tails.
"So what's the plan here?" Tom asked Tails.
"Judging from the devastation Betelgeuse has already inflicted on Seattle," Tails told the team. "He might be expecting an attack from all sides. But I think there might be another way we can get up there without alerting him."
"How can we do that?" asked Tom.
"Tom, can you look up photos of what the top of that building looks like?" asked Tails.
"Alright," Tom took out his iPhone.
"Don't worry buddy," Tails looked up at the top of the Columbia building. "We're coming for you, Sonic."
To be continued.