Tales of Team Sonic
Owl Night Long Part 2
As Sonic looked up, he saw himself in a different dimension, almost on a different plane of existence. Everything was ethereal and weightless in a way he wasn't used to in a more physical realm.
"Am I… dead?"
"No, and I thank the stars for that."
Sonic turned around to a familiar sight.
"Longclaw?" his eyes widened.
"I stand before you," his mentor and mother figure said to him. "Though I cannot stay with you for long, there are several things I wish to tell you."
"You're… you're not alive again, are you?" asked Sonic.
Longclaw only shook her head sadly.
"I appear before you only in spirit," she told him. "But because the situation was dire enough, I managed to temporarily leave my final resting place to bring you this message."
"All this time," Sonic asked her. "Betelgeuse telling me he could bring back the owls. It was all a lie, wasn't it?"
"Yes," Longclaw confirmed. "Betelgeuse was once an ancestor of mine. He abused the power of the Chaos Emeralds for his own ends and became corrupted. His own people rose up against him and overthrew him for his crimes. However, his own daughter was so distraught at the idea of having to kill her own father that instead of taking his life, she sealed him on this planet many ages ago."
"So Stonehenge was a creation of the owls," Sonic realized.
"Yes, it was designed to hold one of Betelgeuse's power," confirmed Longclaw. "But now that he is free, there's no telling what he'll do."
"What do you need me to do?" asked Sonic.
"I cannot return to the realm of the living," Longclaw told her adoptive son. "Only you have the power to stop this mad owl."
"I'll do whatever it takes," Sonic swore. "You can count on it"
Sonic looked up and saw a bright light. Instinctively, he knew that his time was short.
"I've really missed you Longclaw," Sonic told her.
Longclaw embraced Sonic as the two hugged tightly.
"My spirit will be with you forever," Longclaw told him.
oooo
Sonic woke up. He was back in the physical world and on top of some kind of treadmill.
"Do you like it?" asked Betelgeuse.
All around him, Sonic saw a forcefield that contained him inside that treadmill. He curled up and hit the forcefield with several spin dashes and as expected, he couldn't break through.
"Just what are you doing?" demanded Sonic.
"Sadly, this planet's forces were no match for me," Betelgeuse informed him. "But I sense they've sent more backup against me."
Sonic looked at the devastation down below that Betelgeuse had caused.
"Can you blame 'em?" asked Sonic.
"Perhaps not," Betelgeuse pointed his wing at Sonic. "And that is where you come in."
"To do what exactly?" Sonic raised an eyebrow.
"Your speed will supply the power necessary to my transmitter, calling the power of the Chaos Emeralds to this planet," Betelgeuse told him.
"So this treadmill I'm on is just one big homing beacon?" Sonic looked down.
"With the power of the Chaos Emeralds, no one on this planet will be able to stop me," Betelgeuse promised.
"Sorry but if you think I'm gonna give you juice for your homing beacon, you can—"
Sonic was interrupted as the treadmill he was on hummed to life, nearly knocking Sonic down. At the last second, Sonic prevented himself from falling but at the cost of his own promise not to power the treadmill. As he was now hooked to the machine, Sonic felt himself being unable to stop as he continued to run. Before long, blue electricity crackled all around him, giving the machine more power.
Two clamps from the treadmill then reached out and grabbed Sonic, restraining him by both arms, keeping him in place.
"Oh man!" Sonic cried. "This isn't good!"
oooo
Knuckles, Tails, and the Wachowski's appeared in front of the building where Betelgeuse was holding Sonic through a ring. By now, most people had evacuated the area and the damage around the area was extensive.
"What are you doing here?" a familiar voice rang out.
Tom and his family turned around. Commander Walters was there at the scene with a few soldiers by his side.
"This is a warzone," Walters told Tom. "You shouldn't be here."
"All due respect, sir," Tom told him. "Sonic is family. And that giant owl up there has someone I consider a son."
"Besides, we have a plan," Tails assured the GUN commander.
Walters did not look convinced.
"We just threw everything we had at that giant owl creature," Walters told the fox. "And guess what? He tore through GUN forces like tissue paper. Add in the fact that he seemingly has Sonic hostage and I'm not sure what you can bring to the table that will stop someone like that."
"He is formidable," Tails admitted. "But I have a plan that might work and free Sonic."
"Please, we just need a shot at bringing Sonic back," Tom told the commander.
Walters looked down at his watch.
"Reinforcements are set to arrive in an hour and twenty minutes," Walters informed them. "And even then, I'm not sure if they'll succeed. That's all the time I can afford you, because if you can't rescue Sonic in that time frame, all units have orders to attack that creature on sight regardless if you're on that building or not."
"That's all the time we need," Tom nodded.
"Alright everyone," Knuckles told them. "Are you ready?"
The entire team gathered together as Knuckles took out two rings from his bag.
oooo
"I can feel it," Betelgeuse looked up into the sky proudly. "I sense the Chaos Emeralds drawing closer. They will be here soon."
"And then what?" Sonic demanded, still being forced to run on the cosmic treadmill Betelgeuse had created. "You just take control of them like that?"
"I have tasted their power in the past," Betelgeuse replied. "And they will be mine once again."
"Something tells me you don't really know what you're doing," Sonic grimaced.
"Oh, but I do," Betelgeuse smiled. "Has Longclaw told you of how the owls took the emeralds from the echidnas because they believed no one should be allowed such power?"
"Wait," Sonic frowned. "What're you getting at?"
"I was the owl who declared war on the echidnas," Betelgeuse said triumphantly.
After a few seconds, Sonic completely figured it out.
"You," Sonic realized. "You just wanted the power of the Chaos Emeralds for yourself."
"It's such a shame the other owls believed in the mission objective," Betelgeuse lamented. "After we had taken the emeralds, they did not take well to my use of the Chaos Emeralds after a while. A fearsome battle ensued on earth eventually and my own daughter defeated and sealed me away. After that, the rest of those fools still carried on believing that it was their mission to protect and hide the emeralds."
"You started a war because you wanted the power of the Chaos Emeralds for yourself," Sonic gritted his teeth. "You get trapped but the damage is already done and the owls and echidnas all suffer for it in a war that drags on for eons."
"That is correct," Betelgeuse confirmed. "My people's foolish nobility was their ultimate undoing. They should have followed me and I would have led them to glory beyond their wildest imaginations. Instead, they chose to be stewards and guardians even after my defeat."
"Let me out of this thing right now," Sonic cried. "Unlike Robotnik, this time I'm going to make sure to check for a body!"
"I think not," Betelgeuse smirked. "You will run until your little legs give out."
Suddenly, a portal ring appeared right before Betelgeuse.
"What?!" the owl cried.
Both Tom and Maddie appeared. Tom had his sheriff's rifle in hand while Maddie was packing a laser rifle Tails had given her.
"Get away from our son!" Maddie cried, unloading a laser blast at him.
The shot struck Betelgeuse on the shoulder, stunning him briefly.
"How dare you!" Betelgeuse cried.
Tom fired a second shot, hitting Betelgeuse. The couple began firing at him multiple times, forcing Betelgeuse back. However, none of them appeared to do any damage. Finally, Betelgeuse shielded himself with a wing as he chuckled deeply.
"You think your primitive tools can stop me?" Betelgeuse mocked.
From the sky, a second ring portal opened up right above Betelgeuse. Knuckles leaped down, stomping down on Betelgeuse's head.
"Agh!" the owl cried as the echidna stomped his face into the pavement.
As Knuckles leaped off, he joined Tom and Maddie who aimed their shotguns at him.
"You insolent echidna!" Betelgeuse cried. "I will make you suffer!"
"It is not wise to take your eyes off an opponent," Knuckles crossed his arms.
"What do you mean?" Betelgeuse cried. "You're standing right before me."
"I was not referring to us," Knuckles grinned.
Suddenly, Betelgeuse felt himself being slammed into the ground by a powerful force that seemed to overwhelm every inch of his body.
"W-What is this?!" Betelgeuse cried in shock.
Tails was right above him with a gravity disk, except this time the gravity disk was pointed down, concentrating all its energy on Betelgeuse, keeping him pinned down.
"Just something to make sure you don't get up for a long time," Tails promised.
"Alright, any way to free Sonic from this machine?" asked Tom.
"There has to be some way, right?" Maddie looked at the force field surrounding the treadmill.
"No," Betelgeuse told them, trying to focus on maintaining the force field as the gravity generator continued to increase its pressure on him.
"Only one way," Knuckles said, walking forward.
The echidna punched the force field as hard as he could, destroying it in one punch.
"No!" Betelgeuse cried.
Knuckles grabbed the restraints holding Sonic on the machine and broke them. After that, he took Sonic off the device and set him down on the ground.
"Oh man, thanks Knux," Sonic smiled.
"You okay Sonic?" asked Tom.
"Never better," Sonic huffed. "Just need to catch my breath for a moment."
"I… I will not be denied!" Betelgeuse cried.
Betelgeuse looked up at the gravity generator, using his telekinesis to crush the machine psychically as Tails was forced to let go of it. The owl got up as Team Sonic gathered together.
"It's too late," Betelgeuse told them. "Soon the Chaos Emeralds will return and I will rightfully ascend to the role I was born for."
Wisely, Betelgeuse decided not to directly fight the team all at once, surveying the team and seeing who the weak links were, realizing that Tom and Maddie were the ones who needed protection the most.
His eyes glowed briefly, lifting both Tom and Maddie up with his telekinesis. Smiling, he hurled them both off the building.
"Tom!" Sonic cried. "Maddie!"
"I got 'em!" Tails leaped off the building to go catch the two.
Not thinking straight, Sonic rushed directly towards Betelgeuse who had counted on such a reaction. The owl unleashed twin eye beams that struck Sonic before the hedgehog could reach him.
"Aaaaaaahhh!" Sonic screamed.
"I predicted such impetuous behavior!" Betelgeuse gloated.
As Sonic fell down, Knuckles came in, punching at Betelgeuse who avoided the wide blow. In turn, Betelgeuse swung a massive wing, smacking Knuckles across the face to daze the echidna.
Knuckles, however, returned fire and punched the owl in the stomach to send him stumbling back. Betelgeuse came back with a powerful wind blast. Knuckles held his arms up just in time, blocking the wind attack but getting moved back a few feet by the impact.
Knuckles regained his stance and prepared to attack again but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Knuckles, let me handle this guy," Sonic requested.
"What?" Knuckles looked surprised. "But Sonic…"
At that moment, Tails landed on the top of the building once again with both Tom and Maddie safely.
"He tricked me," Sonic pointed out. "Used me. Made me think there was a chance I could bring back Longclaw and her people when all he cared about was his own selfish gain. I'm going to settle the score once and for all."
"Sonic, you sure that's a good idea?" Maddie asked in a concerned voice.
"What do you say?" Sonic turned to Betelgeuse. "You and me, pal."
"Hmph," Betelgeuse spat. "I will grant your wish. After all, do not gods answer the requests of mortals from time to time?"
"Everyone," Sonic told his family. "Clear the area."
"Are you sure about this Sonic?" asked Tom.
"Have those chili dogs ready for me by six," Sonic merely smiled.
Tails looked at Knuckles who nodded. The echidna pulled a ring out from his bag and opened a portal to the ground level. As the team left the top of the building wide open for Sonic and Betelgeuse, both combatants stared each other down.
"So, shall we?" asked Sonic.
"Longclaw raised you well," Betelgeuse told him. "But not well enough to be a warrior."
"Yeah, well," Sonic shrugged. "Some things you just aren't born or raised with. But when life comes at you, you gotta learn on the fly."
Snarling, the owl telekinetically ripped off a huge chunk of the building and hurled it at Sonic.
The blue hedgehog met it head-on, transforming into a spin-dash at the last second and smashing his way through the debris. The moment Sonic burst through the weaponized rubble, he smashed into Betelgeuse's chest, sending them both hurtling off the building.
Within moments, Sonic was punching Betelgeuse repeatedly as the two of them fell. In return, the owl head-butted Sonic, dazing him. With a powerful flap of his wings, the giant owl sent Sonic flying into a building. Sonic crashed through a few walls before ending up in some kind of office building.
Immediately Betelgeuse was upon him, telekinetically lifting a bunch of furniture up inside the building. Before he could hurl them at Sonic, however, the hedgehog realized the opportunity he was given. Transforming into a spin cash, Sonic bounced off all the furniture in the air, striking Betelgeuse from different sides.
"Aaaahhh!" Betelgeuse cried as Sonic struck him from all sides.
One final spin cash slammed into him from behind, sending Betelgeuse crashing outside the building. Sonic then leaped out the window, running down the building as Betelgeuse pursued him.
"Stay still!" the owl shouted, hurling razor-sharp feathers at Sonic which the hedgehog avoided.
However, the owl was able to close in the gap. He grabbed the speeding Sonic with his razor talons by the head, lifting Sonic up and smashing him face-first across the building for a good few seconds.
"Speed can only help you so much," Betelgeuse declared boldly.
"That's right."
Sonic turned into a spin dash while he was being held in the evil owl's grasp.
"Agh!" Betelgeuse screamed, being forced to let Sonic go by the sheer burn of the dash.
Sonic then landed on the ground but turned into a spin cash once again, leaping upwards and striking Betelgeuse across the chin with a powerful blow and sending him crashing back-first onto a random car on the streets.
"I can do a lot more than just run fast," Sonic informed him.
"Yes," Betelgeuse finally looked up. "So I've noticed."
Suddenly, Sonic noticed he was standing on a dark shadow. Above him were thousands of tons of debris that Betelgeuse had torn from a building while he had been lying on top of the car Sonic knocked him into.
At once, Betelgeuse dropped the telekinetic chunk of the building on Sonic with a mere gesture of his chin, smashing the hedgehog all at once.
"Ugh," Sonic moaned as Betelgeuse psychically cleared some of the wreckage to reveal the injured hedgehog.
"It's over," Betelgeuse told Sonic. "Soon the Chaos Emeralds will return and I will take my rightful place as ruler of this galaxy."
"It's really saying something," Sonic told him. "Your plan to steal from the echidnas was self-serving and power hungry. But the other owls… they still believed that no one should have that much power despite being tricked by you. Wanna know why?"
Betelgeuse glared at Sonic.
"You showed them what a power hungry tyrant is really capable of, not Knuckles' people," Sonic told him. "That's why they sealed you away and continued trying to hide the Chaos Emeralds from those who would abuse their power."
Suddenly, Sonic noticed the Chaos Emeralds floating above himself and Betelgeuse. They had finally arrived thanks to the machinations of Betelgeuse. The evil owl noticed it as well as he grinned.
"I offer you one last chance," Betelgeuse offered Sonic. "Bend the knee before me and I will spare your life and the lives of your adoptive family. Continue to resist me and die."
"Bow to you?" Sonic scoffed. "Don't bet on it."
"Very well," Betelgeuse snarled.
The owl's eyes glowed with energy as he fired a powerful blast at Sonic.
"Sonic, no!"
Sonic looked to the side as Tails got in the path of the blast.
"Tails!" Sonic cried out.
The beam struck Tails, hitting him full force and knocking him to the ground.
"No!" Sonic cried.
With a burst of strength, Sonic destroyed the rubble surrounding him with a spin dash and ran towards Tails.
"Tails, buddy!" Sonic cried. "Talk to me!"
"It is too late," Betelgeuse declared as the emeralds hovered in the air. "The power will finally be mine!"
The emeralds floated in the air as the owl flew up to their level.
"Come, join with me and together we will unlock the secrets of the universe!" Betelgeuse beckoned to the emeralds.
He got no response.
"I command you to obey me!" Betelgeuse ordered with more force in his voice.
"Tails," Sonic below cradled the limp body of his buddy.
Finally, the Chaos Emeralds began to glow.
"TAILS!"
To the owl's surprise, the emeralds floated down towards Sonic, enveloping him in a bright light.
"No!" Betelgeuse cried. "What is this?!"
When the light cleared, a golden warrior appeared, cradling Tails in his arms.
"Buddy, you just made the biggest mistake of your life," Super Sonic told the evil owl.
Sonic in his super form enveloped Tails with a healing power to mend his injuries.
Knuckles arrived on the battlefield just in time to see him.
"They have come back," Knuckles said in awe.
Sonic took Tails and handed him over to Knuckles.
"Here," Super Sonic told Knuckles. "Watch over Tails for me, alright?"
Not needing to be told twice, Knuckles took Tails into his arms.
"Good luck," Knuckles nodded.
"Yeah, Betelgeuse is gonna need it," Sonic winked at Knuckles.
"The Chaos Emeralds were supposed to be mine!" Betelgeuse cried, lifting an entire building with his telekinesis, hurling it at Sonic.
At once, Super Sonic stopped the building in mid-air with a touch of his finger.
"No more collateral damage now, you hear?" Sonic smiled.
"You dare take what is rightfully mine?!" Betelgeuse howled. "I will feast on your—"
At once, Betelgeuse was sent into orbit with a powerful punch.
In the coldness of orbit, Betelgeuse could only cough in shock and horror at the power he just experienced.
"It's not over yet, pal," Super Sonic instantly appeared in front of the evil owl.
Betelgeuse blasted at Sonic with his eye lasers but Sonic punched it right back at him, knocking Betelgeuse across the horizon again.
Super Sonic came in, laying punch after punch into the evil owl as he continued to glow in a speed blitz Betelgeuse couldn't even keep up with anymore. Finally, Sonic hit Betelgeuse with another uppercut that sent him further into space.
By the time the owl got his bearings, he looked down and saw the golden hedgehog flying towards him.
"The Chaos Emeralds chose you over me," Betelgeuse created a massive ball of energy with his wings. "I do not know why but I will rectify that mistake! If they will not serve me, they will serve no one ever again!"
With that, the evil owl hurled the ball of energy at Sonic.
Immediately, Super Sonic transformed into a spin dash, meeting the giant ball of energy head-on and completely tearing through it, destroying it on the spot. To Betelgeuse's horror, Super Sonic was still coming towards at him.
"No, stay away!" he cried in horror.
At once, Super Sonic hit Betelgeuse full force, tearing right through his head and making it explode in a single powerful spin dash before stopping some feet away from Betelgeuse. The golden hedgehog then looked back. The now headless body of Betelgeuse floated momentarily in space before a golden glow enveloped the rest of his body, making it explode.
oooo
"Knuckles, is Tails okay?" asked Tom as he and Maddie joined Sonic.
"He is," the echidna confirmed, setting Tails down.
"What happened?" asked Tails, waking up and shaking his head.
"That's what we'd like to know as well," Maddie nodded.
"I saw it," Knuckles told them. "The Chaos Emeralds returned and chose Sonic over the owl. I have a feeling we will not have to worry."
"Did he become Super Sonic again?" asked Tails.
"That he did," Knuckles replied, nodding his head.
"I wonder how that happened," Tails scratched his head. "I always wondered if the Chaos Emeralds have a mind of their own. That evil owl does have a history with the emeralds so I figured there was some chance he'd be able to control them."
"It is possible," Knuckles theorized. "The Chaos Emeralds already knew Betelgeuse would only wish to use their power for his own gain. But Sonic? They sensed how the hedgehog's only wish was to protect his friends… his family… his new home."
"So Sonic was more worthy in their eyes," Tom concluded.
From the sky, all of them saw a golden light flying towards them. In an instance, Super Sonic stood before them.
"Sorry if I made you guys worry," Sonic told them.
"It's alright Sonic," Maddie told them. "We're just glad you're okay."
Sonic looked around the devastated city of Seattle.
"Hang on a second," Sonic told them.
Super Sonic glowed with more power, flying around the city and using his super form to repair all the damage Betelgeuse had caused before flying back to his family.
"There, now GUN won't have extra cleanup duty," Sonic landed before his family.
"You really don't feel any different with the power of the emeralds, do you?" asked Knuckles. "In our past battle with Robotnik, I assumed you had transcended to a new level of existence."
"Personally?" Sonic replied. "I still feel like the same person inside despite this power boost. But I do have an extra bit of wisdom granted to me by the Chaos Emeralds. And they're right.
No one should have this much power and Betelgeuse was living proof of it. It's why the owls continued to believe in the mission even though their leader turned out to be a power hungry fraud. Because he showed them how much absolute power can corrupt someone."
Super Sonic glowed one more time, letting go of the power of the Chaos Emeralds which then floated into the air and disappeared beyond the stars.
"It's why I gotta let it go," Sonic turned back to his usual blue color.
"So what next?" asked Tails.
"What's next?" Sonic looked surprised. "What's next is that we go home and I spend time with my family!"
"Good to have you back, Sonic," Tom smiled.
"Yeah, you're always gonna be our son!" Maddie hugged Sonic, setting him on Tom's shoulders.
"You know, I learned two important lessons from all this," noted Sonic.
"Know when to let go of great power?" asked Knuckles, scratching his head.
"History is more complicated than we make it out to be?" asked Tails, recalling how the noble mission of the owls did have its start in a manipulative leader in Betelgeuse.
"Close, but remember how Betelgeuse reached out to me psychically and manipulated me into freeing him?" Sonic winked. "First, don't talk to strangers. And second, never listen to voices in your head."
As everybody walked towards their car, chuckling at Sonic's observations, Sonic looked back up into the sky. In the air, he saw the spirit of Longclaw looking down on him and giving him an approving smile.
Sonic smiled back.
"I love you, Longclaw," he whispered quietly.
Fin.