I've been gone for so long it's not even funny
I've been gone for so long it's not even funny. Sorry about the long wait but here's the next chapter.
Kitsune-Superfox: Yes. I made the poem up myself. Hope you enjoy this.
Kitsume-awesomeness: Amy killing him certainly would be humorous but I'll stick with the original plan. Hehehe.
Kilatails: OKAY OKAY OKAY OKAY! I'm here now!
Silver Sheilds: I like the fact that the gang's all here as well.
Lordoftheluis4: This time coming was certainly a much longer wait.
Shala the Hedgehog: Expect the unexpected.
Raziel777: I couldn't wait either but the homework kept piling up…
Konya X3: Thanks for the support!
Well I guess that's everybody. The story is almost done but not quite yet! Here you all are!
Chapter 39: Darkness' Beginning
Knuckles and Amy stood there in front of Darkness with their heads held high and their ambitions strong. It was clear to both of them that they could die at anytime just from letting their guard down at least once.
"I feel your pent up rage… and fear… do you honestly believe that you'd be able to face me and win with any noticeable shred of fear exposed?" Darkness asked.
Amy looked bewildered.
"Don't answer him Amy. He's just trying to play mind games!" Knuckles said.
"Well of course I am… that's what I do! It's what I live for, to trick and manipulate poor unfortunate beings with little inner individuality. Like the pink one for example."
"What about me?" Amy asked almost offended.
"Never mind, it's not important." Darkness chuckled a bit.
Amy obviously didn't want to here his mouth anymore and raised her hammer.
"What are we waiting for?! Let's go Knuckles!" She shouted then charged right at Darkness. Knuckles looked hesitant but felt as if there was no choice now that Amy had done so.
He ran after him as well and took his opportune chance to raise his fist and hope for a devastating blow to follow.
Sadly, that wasn't the case as Darkness simply held out his hands and grabbed the two as they came up on him with their choice weapons.
"A mallet and a spiked fist! Nice weaponry. However, it pales in comparison to my own power!" Darkness clutched them hard and sent bolts of his black electricity through their bodies. Amy and Knuckles immediately began screaming as the lightning pierced their skin and literally boiled their blood in separate places.
"T-Too strong… ARRRRGH!" Knuckles shouted as he and Amy stood hopelessly in the man's grasp.
"It appears an example is about to be set! I wonder how long it will take before you both end up cuddled heaps of ash!" Darkness allowed his power to go all out and soon had both of them screaming bloody murder.
The screaming went on but didn't go unnoticed as a smoked fist was sent straight towards Darkness' skull during the outburst of power.
The deity saw the fist coming and hurridly allowed himself to jump. Even so, a second one was sent straight after him not a second later had he done so. This one ended up connecting and prompted him to let go of Amy and Knuckles.
The two hit the roof hard and struggled to regain the feeling in their arms, legs, and basically their entire bodies. The man who had delivered the two punches wasted no time in approaching them as Darkness made his unharmed decent.
"You two shouldn't be so reckless around a guy like him. You were lucky I decided to follow." Smokestack said as he helped the two sit up.
"More nuisances have come to die I see. I guess now it won't be all bad." Darkness laughed as he let his power explode.
Smokestack, Amy, and Knuckles were almost completely blown back by it. This whole situation was just so weird and desperate. What was it going to take to kill this guy!?
"You all look puzzled. Allow me to end your confusion. You're the idiots that decided to oppose me… and you're also the ones that will perish TODAY!"
Prower Castle: Level 9
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!" Sonic shouted in overwhelming pain as the robot's grip simply refused to let up. The hedgehog had been battered, bruised, and basically tossed around this room too hard for him to retaliate. Any regular person would be dead.
As for Sonic, he simply had to suffer.
Rouge, Shimon, Big, Froggy, and the Chaotix were forced to watch this troublesome spectacle unfold in front of their eyes.
Sonic was literally being crushed and the only one with enough power to save him… wanted him dead!
"Don't let a single shred of his bones evade being turned to dust. I want to see a literally broken hedgehog Cytrokron!" Eggman shouted and cheered for the first of his E-series.
Sonic was suffering, this was true, but he wasn't the only one.
Tails had been resonating within the confines of his mind for a while now. Maybe it was too long! He was actually worried that he had been thinking too much! What if Sonic had died!
'I wouldn't be able to live with myself… but… Master Darkness… he said… Sonic said… that Darkness isn't… he isn't…' Tails clutched his head and fell to his knees as Sonic's cries for help echoed and mixed in with his own mental shout out for assistance.
It hurt his brain and began to dysfunction his train of thought. It was happening again. His head was filling up with voices! Which ones were the right ones to listen too?!
'Master Darkness! Sonic said… he isn't my master! But… he's still… I can't! I can't take it!!'
Tails let his head hit the floor as Sonic's screams only grew louder and louder as did the cynical Dr. Eggman's laughter.
'All the voices… I can't listen… to any of them… at least not the ones in my head… there's so many… but… there's only one right one in my heart… is the answer there?' Tails opened his eyes and allowed his vision to focus. In his range of sight was a metal floor and beads of sweat where his frustration had prompted them to land.
He looked up and saw his hero, best friend, and older brother being crushed by an Eggman robot!
"S-Sonic… you're right… Darkness isn't my master… I'm my own master… and this master's heart is telling him to save his older brother!" Tails shouted out in a fury of spontaneous courage and belief.
Eggman noticed it, Rouge, noticed it, the Chaotix noticed it, even Sonic noticed it.
"Tails… good job buddy…" Sonic said in a painful whisper.
"Err! Cytrokron, stomp on the fox!" Eggman commanded obviously not taking any chances from what he's seen. However, it was too late. Tails had his kitsune power and this time his light side was in control!
The fox saw the robot's foot coming and quickly evaded the huge collision. He zipped up the side of its leg and didn't hesitate to burst through its right arm. Not only did it subtract one of his limbs but it set Sonic free as well.
The arm hit the ground with a loud slam that alerted the Chaotix that it was time to move. They quickly made their way to the severed limb and tried to pry open the fist so that Sonic could escape.
"Argh! Darnit! Cytrokron, attack again! Do it as wildly as necessary!" Eggman shouted again in mild frustration. The robot headed to his whim and sent out a fury of punches and kicks throughout the room, all of which missed the fox in question as his power exceeded that of the robot's.
"I'm gonna get you Eggman!" Tails chuckled as he took his open opportunity to slice through the robot's left leg.
The robot fell forward from the impact and slammed against the ground on its knee and slammed the rest of its huge body against the steel wall.
"No! Stop it you idiot fox! My precious machine!!" Eggman yelled as Tails continued to bombard the thing with many unforgiving impacts and slams.
Rouge and the others quickly made it over to the other side hoping to vi-pass the explosion that was sure to come. Bocoe, Decoe, and Bokkun had to forcefully drag Eggman away due to his anger.
"This is what happens when I follow my own way! I'm taking this thing down Eggman!" Tails yelled happily as he continued to use his kitsune powers for a thorough dismantling of the robot. Eventually it had so many fatal holes in it that it had no other option but self-destruction, which is what it did.
The explosion would've easily engulfed the entire room but Tails being the child genius that he was managed to put up a decent sized barrier in order to make sure that the blast didn't hit any of the people on the outside. Sadly, this included Eggman.
When the smoke and ash finally cleared there was very little trace of the robot's existence left. Eggman slowly approached the gapping hole that was left behind hoping with all his might that it wasn't true. It was however and when the force field dissipated it became clear to Eggman that this plan was a flop.
Tails emerged with his body all a glow and his smile bright. He looked passed the stunned Dr. Eggman and saw his older bro lying there on the ground with the biggest smile the fox had seen to date.
"Wow… I'm so proud of you Tails…" Sonic said in a small raspy voice.
Tails winked and put his thumb up at Sonic, which prompted Sonic to attempt the same thing. It worked but it hurt doing so. Still his little brother was defidently worth it especially after the feat he just pulled.
Tails approached his older brother and bent down to face him with his pure kitsune light illuminating the room. He put his hands on the hedgehog's chest and slowly began healing him to the best of his power's ability.
'I did it… I filled up this Star ball energy with pure light… and I did so by realizing that even though my brain is huge and smart … it's really my heart that I should've listened to all this time… now all the loud voices have stopped coming into my head… I can finally help Sonic the way I want to now!' The fox thought as Sonic's injuries healed.
Rouge, Big, Shimon, and the Chaotix all approached them and couldn't help but feel the warmth of Tails' light embrace them. It felt good. It had taken a long while but the fox had finally figured out how to transfer his dark energy into that of light.
Sensing the awkward moment intake Dr. Eggman and his three flunkies all started to tiptoe up the steps toward the tenth level hopefully without being seen for fear of a tremendous and merciless beating.
Eventually Sonic made a full all around recovery and the first thing he did when he was healed was give Tails the biggest bear hug he could muster to the fox boy.
"I'm sorry if I'm crushing ya kid! I'm too proud of you to ease up though." Sonic said.
"It's okay… since I'm in my light kitsune form it doesn't even hurt." Tails stammered but chuckled.
Rouge looked on for a few more seconds before realizing that Eggman and the three Chaos Emeralds were gone.
"Oh no my emeralds! That eggface must've stolen them! How dare he steal from a thief!" Rouge was angry.
"But they weren't even yours to begin with." Big said with his eyebrow raised.
"Erm well you know what I mean… let's get him! If we nab his three emeralds we'll have four! And since that echidna has the other three it should be easy pickings!" Rouge said as she flew on up the stairs with Big following.
Sonic finally let Tails out of his brotherly embrace and turned to the Chaotix who were watching and smiling at them.
"Oh please don't mind us." Vector said.
"Yes, we don't want to impose." Espio said.
Charmy just sucked his thumb and chuckled.
"No, you're fine. We need to get to Darkness and end this anyway!" Sonic said as he stood up. Tails nodded and stood up straight as well. His body glowed with bright pure light. Light that shown for what Tails really was.
A kind hearted soul with the coolest big brother ever!
If this were an actual anime this would be where the ominous hero music started to play. The five of them faced the last staircase leading them to the long awaited final battle.
"Well then, enough of this suspenseful standing around! We've got some 10,000 year old butt to kick!" Sonic shouted as the group finally and after all hardships traveled up the last flight of stairs.
'Darkness… I'm coming for you this time… I'll prove to you that you're wrong and my body will serve as proof enough… no matter how far down the wrong path you may go… there's ALWAYS a chance to turn back!' Tails thought as they made their way on up.
Prower Castle: Level 10
Smokestack, Knuckles, and Amy were exhausted. They were limp, they were tired, they were bleeding, and they wanted this annoying robed deity to just fall over dead all ready. If only they could've been that lucky.
"Such pitiful existences thought that they could best me in a battle of wits is that true? Hahaha! Such folly! I would never allow myself to hinder to you pestilence! Scum! Remove yourselves from my sight at once!" Darkness boasted charging his hand up for what obviously looked like a final attack.
The three tuckered out warriors did not say anything or move as his power fluctuated and sent cursed vibes toward them. Maybe they were about to die but at least they died doing something worth dieing for.
With that Darkness flung his attack out at the three. It was going to land a perfect shot! He knew that it would!
However, such was not the case as at the last minute the red echidna used the gimmick he used to best Darkness last time once again.
In a flash he held up one of his emeralds and let the attack hit the gem with the full blunt of its power. The strain it put on the echidna's battered body was unbearable to say the least but it had the same affect as last time. A huge light shown out that struck Darkness and his ascending figure.
"ARRRGH! That's light!! You worthless little… I'll make sure to kill you swiftly for this! Normally people who oppose me and create a strategy that's able to hinder me in the slightest I admire but in this case it's simply annoying!" Darkness shouted.
"And why's that cloak face. Is it because you know that deep down you're not some all powerful being who is immortal in every way shape and form. Sure you put on a good act but you said yourself that this was an ambition to gain full control over the kitsune's power was it not. Wasn't it you who said that you needed it to be immortal?" Knuckles asked.
Darkness stepped back as the light shown and he cursed Knuckles under his breath.
"Why so silent? What's the exact point of this new order of yours eh? It'll become corrupted just like all the others. I could care less who their leader is. If it's someone like you then it's basically doomed for failure!" Knuckles chuckled.
"I agree." Came a voice that traveled towards the scene with a stature of pure seriousness. The four turned to see Eggman and his flunkies all there at the scene of the 'Fate Rising'.
"Hello Eggman…" Darkness said bitterly.
"Why'd you have Metal Sonic use my teleporter to place all those seeds on those other planets? You're not planning on colonizing anything are you?" Eggman hummed a bit angered at his recent failures. Seeing Darkness standing right in front of him certainly didn't help any.
"You and your new world order crap!" Bokkun shouted.
"Yes, we may want to create the Eggman Empire-!" Bocoe began
"But we want to have control over the order of life not destroy it!" Decoe shouted.
"There'd be no point in ruling over a empire of subjects that were perfect. What would be the point of establishing the monarchy? If they're all perfect then there's nothing there that would allow you to consider yourself on a higher level then the rest of them because they're all the same! Ruling over such a world would be boring and serve zero purpose in the flow of life." Eggman said.
Rouge and Big came up soon after that.
"What is this a tea party!? Where's my emerald Eggy!?" Rouge sounded impatient but Eggman simply ignored her and continued.
"I predict… that in a world where everyone was perfect… time would simply seem like it was standing still… there'd be no point to living. There'd be absolutely no point! No one would be able to make new discoveries because everyone all ready made them all ready! They all know the same things, they all speak the same way, and they all eat the same things! Reliving every single day over and over again with it never ending and never going anywhere, is that you're perfect order Darkness!?" Eggman shouted.
Rouge quieted down and turned to the deity in front of her. Big and Froggy were also silent as well.
"… You think you're so smart don't you… but I've anticipated every possible thing that could happen! I know where this universe's place is and it certainly won't continue on like this. So long as poor deluded people like Miles Prower exist the world will forever plunge itself deeper and deeper into the black abyss. Tell me Eggman, which is better? Falling into the abyss or repeating the same thing over and over again?"
Eggman's sweat dropped and he hesitated before answering. However, he never got the chance to for a certain blue hedgehog had beaten him to the punch.
"… Neither is better… because they're both essentially the same thing…" He said.
Everyone stayed silent.
"We could all die tomorrow without warning and end up being known as the galaxy's scum hole… but in reality every being is imperfect. Our imperfections make us perfect you freak. Too me if we all truly did die tomorrow then we should have no regrets but then again people have goals and they strive to achieve them in the best way they can. That's what I admire about this imperfect world." Sonic said.
"Why's that!? At least in my world order… the organisms and inhabitants would actually stand a chance at surviving!" Darkness shouted.
"It's not about surviving! IT'S ABOUT LIVING!!"
Silence…
Everyone was stunned… even Eggman…
"… There's a HUGE difference between the two… and if you can't see it then you truly are a hopeless waste of a life form… you're the scum who needs to disappear… not us..." The hedgehog concluded.
Darkness looked stiff… he had once again ran out of words to say. This time wasn't like the other times it's happened today though. Usually he would've rebuttled with something but this hedgehog… DAMNIT!! HE COULDN'T THINK OF ANYTHING!!
"Just because we have feelings and emotions doesn't make us inferior. I've noticed plenty of times that you have the same thing. So don't come crying to us about how inferior we are." Sonic started up again.
Darkness didn't say anything.
"And if you want proof that with the right amount of heart and friends you can overcome the power of a douchebag like you then allow me to introduce to you… Tails… the Kitsune… of light!" Sonic proudly stepped out of the way and allowed his little brother to make his entrance with the Chaotix.
What Darkness saw almost made him vomit and stab himself in the face continuously.
It was Tails all right but the dark aura and fur that surrounded him whenever he became a kitsune was gone. In its place was a white aura and light colored fur. The exact opposite of what Darkness had been prompting Tails to become.
"A Kitsune… of Light!" He muttered.
"Hi there… that's me!" Tails grinned from cheek to cheek as did Sonic and the Chaotix members standing behind them.
It was a spectacle.
The fox he had tried so hard to manipulate… ended up becoming the exact opposite of what he was striving for… such a realization was indeed maddening. But this…they were grinning about it! Mocking him for it nonetheless! He would most certainly make them all suffer dearly for this.
Because despite all that's happened… Darkness' plan… had still worked!
The deity chuckled slightly. It was small at first but then it grew into a capsizing echo of maniacal laughter that sent shivers down everyone's spine, even Tails.
"Didn't you fools hear me before? I said that I anticipated everything! Including this!" Darkness shouted as his body began to glow.
The wind shifted and the clouds suddenly began to rotate slowly. It was creepy how suddenly all of this was happening, as no sign of anything would've been predicted before hand.
The Chaos Emeralds that were now all there began to glow. It was a creepy and irritable sight to see them all suddenly float.
"What is this Darkness!? This ultimate power you kept referring to has really started to bother me! Tell me now! We all deserve to know!" Eggman shouted as the wind picked up.
Darkness simply chuckled.
"Congratulations to you all for making it this far. You'll all be referred to in my new world order scriptures. As for now though it's time to begin the 'Fate Rising ritual!'" Darkness said as he slowly began to rise.
The emeralds all floated and circled through the air at an increasingly fast speed.
"Don't worry Sonic! What ever he's planning I'll stop it!" Tails said in a confident voice as he charged at the cloaked schemer. Sonic realized how uneasy the scenery and Darkness' reaction to all that was taking place was and immediately realized how big of a mistake Tails was making.
"Tails! Stop! Don't get any closer to him!" Sonic shouted as he began running after him.
Once again it was too late to turn back.
Darkness easily extended his powers and shot a piercing blast at the approaching kitsune, Tails was easily caught off guard and ended up being struck in the chest directly. The power emanating from Darkness' hand used its strong pull to force the fox over to him and his intimidating appearance.
The emeralds looked as though they had simply turned into a rotating streak of light from spinning so fast in the air. Lighting struck, thunder cackled, and soon Coordinates 000's realm reopened to reveal the atmosphere of the real world once again. It was raining like it was forecasted a while ago and the castle they were in seemed to fluctuate along with that.
Tails struggled and struggled to break free but all that was happening was that his light was coinciding with Darkness' powers of the black night. He couldn't do much of anything.
"Wh-what are you gonna do now huh? You're manipulation didn't work… your mind control didn't work… and now I'm a kitsune of light just like I said I would be when we met in my dream! You… stink at plans you big meanie!" The fox struggled and shouted.
"Hmph. I could careless what the personal perception of a 4-year-old is. I offered you so much and yet you scornfully shoved it aside for these imperfect beings. No matter. That's what I get for trying to be generous and attempting to actually save one of these hopeless creatures. I guess that's why the word hopeless is a reflection of my description of people like you." Darkness sighed and began to allow his powers to completely overtake the fox.
"Well what are you planning on doing now! Your power's don't work on me anymore!" Tails shouted.
"I don't care about you anymore. You were simply an experiment, a guinea pig that I used to store up the dark kitsune power so I could steal it for myself. I waited for the time when your anger and hatred would soon cause the dark powers you possessed to overflow and grant me access to take it over while it was weak and unstable. However, I also took into the unlikely possibility that you could've become a kitsune of light!" Darkness explained.
"Wh-what!? Y-You mean you had a plan for this too!?" Tails sounded scared and surprised. He was certain that Darkness was so confident in his plan to turn him evil that he wouldn't have considered a back up plan for the coming of the Kitsune of light.
"Yes… truly. With your light powers at a full opening your dark powers are now at rest!"
Tails' eyes bugged out. He knew what that meant. Since his dark powers were currently in-active that meant that they were accessible for Darkness to take!
"F-Forget it! You're not taking my dark powers! I-I won't let someone like you-!"
"You're not in any position to tell me what I'll be doing! I've waited over 10, 000 years for this and I'm not stopping now because the 4-year-old has a misguided sense of justice!" Darkness increased his intake of dark lightning on Tails' body, which in avertedly caused the fox to scream in coursing pain.
Sonic ran straight up to the deity, the anger on his face as clear as day. He didn't like where any of this was going and was determined to stop this before it began.
However, when the hedgehog jumped up to swipe him across his cloaked face, Darkness simply grabbed his face with his black-gloved hand and flung him carelessly to the ground.
"Y-You… bastard! Let my little brother go!" Sonic shouted getting up almost immediately.
"S-Sonic… s-s-sorry…" Tails whispered as the black lightning pierced through his heart and began extracting the dark power.
"Don't apologize! This isn't your fault!" Sonic shouted.
Shimon looked on from behind Big and became transfixed by the scene that was taking place in front of him. He remembered hearing about the Kitsune legend from his destroyed village some time ago but never really thought about it until today…
Shimon had heard the story about a greedy member of the Prower kingdom who hated the current king and devised a scam that set his own subjects against him. The plan was working perfectly until an accident dealing with the powers of their time and the king caused the untimely creation of the first Kitsune. And afterwards the betrayer became its unloyal servant and messenger…
"You're Zerokichi!" Shimon shouted all of a sudden.
The silence had returned once again. This time even Darkness was stumped.
However, he knew exactly what the kid meant at the same time. Shimon had figured it out now. That legend and what was happening here all fit together. It was undeniable proof that this Darkness' guy was infact the one who betrayed King Prower over 10,000 years ago.
"Zero-ka-who?" Rouge asked feeling a bit uneasy.
"Aw, now it all makes sense… so you're him aren't you… which means there's no point in keeping that hood of yours over your head any longer." Eggman spoke up not even caring that his flunkies were immensely confused.
Sonic looked back at Eggman and turned to face Darkness with the same look of anxious questioning on his face. Tails suffered from it the most however. He didn't understand. Prower was his last name. There was a kingdom named after him 10,000 years ago? This castle they were standing on right now must be…
Darkness' face was that of disgust and anger. No one could see it however due to his hood but that all changed in an instant. The cloaked schemer realized that Eggman was right. There was no point for the hood anymore…
He forcefully grabbed the hood that hid his face and flung it back revealing to everyone there his purple face.
Knuckles, having all ready seen it, couldn't help but flinch at the sight of it again. He however was the only one there whose eyes didn't bug out tremendously when they saw what he really looked like.
Tails, especially couldn't believe it… it was too… there was a word but he couldn't find the right one. He was in a confusing spiral of mixed emotions right now.
"Y-You… look… just like me… you're a fox too!?"
Darkness scoffed and continued to draw his power from Tails.
"I bare some resemblance to you indeed but it's mostly due to the fact that we're the same species! Don't ever compare me to a hopeless whelp like you again fore what will follow will be a very painful experience." Darkness explained.
"Darkness is a fox!? I can't believe this!" Sonic shouted.
"Believe it hedgehog. Not only that but the uninspiring name of Darkness seems to be false as well. So you were really Zerokichi eh? Can't say I'm all that surprised." Eggman said.
"Would someone mind explaining this to us?" Espio spoke up feeling that he and the others were a little too out of the loop.
"He's Zerokichi. Regarded as one of the single handedly most vile people of all time according to the ancient text I had Metal dig up on the subject." Eggman spoke calmly and without hesitation.
Tails turned to face Zerokichi in the face and just stared at him while the doctor continued.
"That kingdom… that castle… Prower castle. I had heard it was one of the most prestigious kingdoms of its time. The wide range of foxes there were at an all time high! Their king was regarded as one of the greatest soverns to ever take command of these people. It truly was a happy time from what I heard. But then there was always that one bad seed… isn't that right Zerokichi?" Eggman asked.
Darkness just glared at him as he noticed the doctor began to passé around the top of the roof.
"For some reason or another you hated the king despite all that he did for the kingdom and its people. You were one of his loyal assistants and a very competent one at that. Always did your work when it was assigned and still found yourself receiving nothing for it but a room and a small regard. If I recall a depute over the control of that particular land had been going on at the time… with the Diox clan."
Smoke's ear perked up.
"The king didn't want to engage in war because he saw it as a pointless errand for those who wish to take the lives of the people. You obviously didn't see it this way as this statement of his was what prompted you to completely lose it! What happened next was astonishing to read. Apparently some pattern dealing with the coordinates was set in motion some time ago and the power source of their castle followed it the letter. You apparently began abusing this power source and attacked the Diox clan numerous times with it then blamed the king. Correct?"
"You should probably shut up now. Your history lesson bores me! The king was a fool who couldn't grasp the fact that this world was full of degenerate scum who go off fighting and claming their rise to power for no reason. I hated the king for not only minimizing the importance of my existence but also for not destroying the Diox Clan himself before I had to start blaming him. Fighting is pointless, I agree, but only against those who also see fighting in pointless wars as unnecessary! The ones who insist on going to war over something as petty as land deserve to be eradicated as to not poison the life styles who only fought in wars for greater good." Zerokichi explained.
"What are you saying!?" Smokestack shouted. "My clan was full of peace bringers! They never went into war with anyone that didn't try and appose the well-being of the planet!" Smokestack shouted clearly angered.
"It's a façade." Was Eggman's reply.
"What!?" Smoke turned to him still very angered.
"Their overall intention was to do good but not even they were perfect Smokestack. They made one mistake that dealt with a huge war that could've escalated across the entire planet you know? I've been reading about it. No matter how one tries to obtain world peace it's something that is unattainable. What ever your clan did to tick off the Prower kingdom it probably wasn't intentional though… another misunderstanding that Zerokichi miscalculated again perhaps?" Dr. Eggman smirked.
"Believe what you will but that king was a fool. He got everything he had coming! It's true I did manipulate the castle's power source and blame it on him. For a while things went smoothly until…" Zerokichi began then stopped.
"Until the king found out about your betrayal. Then it just ran straight into the ground. He confronted you when you were about ready to manipulate the castle's power source again and tried to stop you but an accident happened that caused the power to mutate the king into what was known as the first Kitsune. Because of your connection to the power it had you were forced by its will to be its servant throughout time. In other words… a curse was placed on the both of you." Eggman chuckled.
"It was after that when the transformed king destroyed my clan correct?" Smoke asked and Eggman nodded.
"Yes… the pattern of the arrivals of kistune's throughout time continued and you constantly waited and waited for the power to build and become unstable enough for you to take it for yourself and be rid of the curse. That's the jist of it isn't it?" Eggman finished.
"You know a lot but you're a very stupid person all the same. Calling me and my ambition out in front of everyone defidently wasn't a good idea!" Zerokichi shouted, as he didn't let Tails go.
"Yeah, and what're you gonna do about it. Here I am an old man and I managed to survive all of your crap. Why should today be any different?" Eggman chuckled.
Darkness was nearly finished sucking the power out of Tails.
"Heh, because this time I have finally been granted the power that I require. It's too late for boasting. Especially when it originates from the mouths of inconsistencies like you." Zerokichi chuckled to himself and then finally let his power flow!
Tails screamed as the black lightning jetted across the area and dangerously struck by everyone. Zerokichi and Tails rose into the air and allowed the Chaos Emeralds to encircle around them.
"This is the beginning! Finally! After waiting over 10,000 agonizing years, I can reawaken the premise of a perfect world! Your power is finally mine!" Zerokichi actually felt his heart beating a mile a minute. After waiting for so long why wouldn't his heart be racing?
"He's got the emeralds! Damn it! Give them to me!" Rouge shouted as she took off after him.
"Don't go near him you greedy idiot!" Knuckles shouted.
Rouge didn't listen as she flew toward him. The black piercing lighting that basically was his body now easily struck her before she could reach him. The bat plummeted toward the roof and Sonic easily caught her.
"You really are crazy." Sonic said.
"I suppose… it was worth a shot…" Rouge mumbled.
"Hmph. Even if it was a shot in the dark." Sonic said as he stood her up and looked up at Tails. The fox was still fighting. Even after all this hopelessness he kept pushing onward. It was such an admirable thing. It made Sonic proud.
"I-I became the Kitsune of Light… and if you take my powers that would make you-" Tails began.
"The exact opposite… I know…" Zerokichi's eyes suddenly became blood red and his fangs grew. "A Kitsune of dark!"
The wind and rain picked up and began to rotate as if it were a tornado.
"What's going on…? I've never seen this before…" Sonic said.
"It's a new trick I learned when I was observing the powers of the emeralds!" Darkness shouted as he forcefully grabbed Tails' chest and harshly pulled the fox away from his lightning powers, which prompted his heart to be stricken.
"ARRRRGH!" Tails shouted as he felt an unbearable bloody pain in his chest.
"Tails!" Sonic shouted as he noticed small droplets of blood make their way to the roof below.
"I call it… the Chaos Control!" Darkness raised his hand and shot all seven emeralds into the huge vortex that he had created. Not a second later had a huge bright light flashed across the entire castle, blinding everyone there.
"Doctor! What's he doing!?" Decoe shouted, as he grew even more frightened by the minute.
"I'm not sure… ARGH! It's bright!" Eggman said in response.
"CHAOS CONTROL!!" Zerokichi shouted with a dark voice that echoed throughout the night sky.
Then not but one second later… there was silence and an air of vacancy.
Meanwhile over Station Square
The city of Station Square, usually an active city that never sleeps was in deep turmoil ever since the events that took place occurred. Not only had a 4-year-old fox killed so many people but their hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, left with him. It was obvious to them all that he cared for the fox, which confused them to no end.
Some said that he was simply tailing the fox and looking for a good enough opening to take him out.
Other's said that Sonic had finally lost it and joined the side of the crazy and insane. Many had believed Sonic to be a threat from the beginning despite all that he did for them.
Others simply didn't care what Sonic was doing or what his plan was. They believed in their hero and whatever it is he had planned he was going to follow through with it just like he always did.
However, today was different. Not but a few hours ago was the sky blue, bright, and full of clouds. Now it was dark and depressingly threatening. The sky looked angry to most of the citizens and they seemed as though they were rotating in the air.
"Yeah! What's with this traffic! Damnit! Some people have places to be!" Shouted one man wearing a greasy wife-beater and a Nike cap. His car was rusty and run-down and the constant horn honking he was instigating certainly didn't make it look anymore attractive.
The main streets of Station Square were hardly ever backed up so this was a rare inconsistency indeed. The man got so frustrated that he jammed down on the horn for as long as humanly possible before others decided to do it back.
While the people were busy ticking themselves off the rotating clouds became that of a dangerous vortex that not only flashed lighting, it struck the ground fiercely as to get everyone's attention and alert them that black lightning had arrived.
Pretty soon more and more people began to notice as the clouds opened up to reveal a bright light. It shot through the atmosphere and shined all across the city instantly prompting people to cover their eyes if they were to mistakenly look into it.
Then it appeared. Hovering over the city was Prower Castle!
"What! What the hell happened!?" Knuckles shouted noticing that they were suddenly over a city.
"We're all the way back in Station Square!?" Sonic looked down at the city with sweat on his face and a worried expression in his eyes.
"Oh, didn't I tell you? I wish for everyone to take part in the spectacle. I thought it only fair that the citizen's the hedgehog fought so hard to protect share in this world's new beginning." Zerokichi laughed as he floated above everyone still holding Tails who was barely conscious.
Everyone stood there and watched as Zerokichi saw the reactions of the citizens below. There was confusion, anger, fear, and even an odd sense of false bravado. It was amusing to Zerokichi as all this did was prove how insolent humans were.
It didn't take long for the police, G.U.N, and the annoying news helicopters to show up. Zerokichi was well aware of what they were and he purposely waited for the broadcast of the situation that was unfolding to come to the citizen's full attention.
Sonic and the others couldn't do anything but stand and watch as the cloaked schemer stood there getting more and more amused by the moment. The way he held Tails by the hairs of the poor fox's pierced chest angered Sonic a great deal but he couldn't reach him from where he was. And even if he could he had all seven of the chaos emeralds and Tails' dark Kitsune powers at his will.
"D-Darnit! We're powerless… powerless damnit!" Sonic cursed as he fell to his knees in frustration. The rain that had come during the Fate Rising back at Coordinates 000 caught up here as well. The angry and threatening looking clouds gave way and began to rain down on the helpless city.
"Yes… come hither you pathetic existences… come and witness your demise… the time has come to make way for the new world order… the rise of the perfect inhabitants of the universe is at hand!" Darkness shouted into the air.
The response was a repetition of the reaction from before. Awed silence was the phrase. Citizens throughout the entire city had no clue as to why all the activity simotamiously stopped.
As soon as the reports, the police, the G.U.N troops, the pedestrians, and all the other humans were focused on the scene at hand Darkness sent all of the chaos emeralds circling around above his head once again.
"Zerokichi! You bitter sovern of darkness… what is it that you're planning on doing with those emeralds!?" Eggman shouted up at him.
"Doctor, I'm disappointed. I was certain that you of all people would know! I need to not only eradicate these inferior beings but reconfigure this universe as I see fit!" Zerokichi explained as he let each emerald pass by the tip of his gloved finger.
With one small jester he sent all the emeralds straight up into the sky. Everyone down below watched, as the emeralds were all gathered together and made one illuminating sparkle.
That was until Zerokichi summoned up a huge ball of his own black energy and pitched it at the emeralds up above. On contact the light soon turned into and equal mixture of black and white then expanded.
"Behold! Up there is where the reconstruction of the order of the universe will begin! But before I go I must make sure that the dark Kitsune powers have been put to good use! It is that with which I will use to destroy these humans once and for all!" Darkness let his body glow a bright purple as he summoned up another ball of energy.
This time he shot it down toward the city. The energy ball floated downward and stopped before connecting with the street. The ball expanded and out of it came many small creatures similar looking to Tails only they all had red eyes, fiercer body features, and extended fangs!
The citizens were all caught off guard as the creatures all came out from within the sphere of black energy in numerous numbers. Cars were crushed, buses were toppled over, and many facilities and structures became easily tampered with.
The chaos that was taking place quickly spread through out the city as the area the black creatures covered quickly expanded. Their mission was to completely rid the planet and more of these creatures.
The news helicopters taped the massacre from below with a fearful insight. It was astonishing how quickly mayhem began to break out below them.
People were slashed apart; both woman and men alike screamed for their lives, and Tails, still in Zerokichi's clutches winced in an incredible amount of grieving pain.
"… I h-hate you…" Tails mumbled silently.
"HAHAHAHAHA! I'm long past the point of even considering of listening to the dribble that escapes your worthless mouth! My ambition is being realized and you've been drained of the dark powers I've required from you. You're nothing but a worthless shell of a speck of dust to me now. You can die now." Darkness said letting his grip on Tails loosen.
Sonic looked up and saw Zerokichi's fingers uncurling on Tails' chest. The hedgehog grew frightened.
"Tails! No!" Sonic shouted knowing there was nothing he could do from where he stood on the floating castle's grounds.
Darkness let Tails go and the fox plummeted to the city below. His light streaked fast upward as the fox descended to the street filled with destroyed cars.
Tails hit the ground with a noticeable sound induced impact.
Sonic's eyes couldn't stop twitching with worry as he looked down at the city below. It was getting ripped apart literally but the only thing he could focus on was the fox's impact below. The smoke wouldn't clear fast enough as Sonic looked on in a mixture of negative emotions.
His sadness and fear was soon accompanied by rage and anger as he started to hear the previously drowned out laughter that was currently escaping from Zerokichi's mangled mouth.
"YOU! Shut up! This isn't funny damnit! I'll kill you!" Sonic shouted not sure of what else to say.
"It isn't very likely. Just stay there and watch as I remodel the universe. When it's finished I'll kill you all and use your bodies as manikins to show the new race of beings that will soon inhabit this galaxy what inferior scum came before them. Your lifeless shells will prove as reminders to my new race that they must never hinder and end up like any of you all!" Zerokichi laughed as the rain continued to pour adding on to his doomsday scenery.
"NO! You won't win! I'll make sure of it!" Sonic said as he stood himself up. With determination in his eyes he ran towards the building's edge and jumped off of it letting himself drop to the impact below.
"We'll all make sure of it!" The injured Knuckles stated as he perked up with the rest of them.
Rouge smiled at the echidna's statement and grabbed his shoulders then took flight.
"Wh-what are you doing?" He asked confused.
"In the shape you're in jumping off the castle's edge wouldn't serve as a good idea. Allow me to take you down there myself!" Rouge said as she flew down to the city to help fight off the black creatures.
"YEEEEEEAAAAH! LET'S DO THIS CRAZY THING!!" Vector shouted extremely pumped up for one reason or another. With little haste his jumped off the castle to the city below. Espio filled with the same strange enthusiasm decided to shout as well.
"YES! EVIL MUST DIE! BEWARE MY NINJA POWER!!" He jumped off following his boss. Charmy couldn't help but get pumped too.
"YAY! Evil bad guys are gonna get spanking!" Charmy grabbed Shimon's shoulder and flew off the castle with him.
"Hey! I don't want to go too! I need to be safe!" He shouted in fear as the bee continued to pull him closer to the action.
Smokestack stood there and let his mind take over his function. It was clear what needed to be done.
"Let's go Big!" Smoke said as he grabbed Big's arm and used his smoke to bring them both down to the action.
"I'll help as best I can!" Big said with Froggy's rabbit serving as back up agreement.
Zerokichi watched them all go and chuckled to himself. It was incredibly funny how stupid the flesh and blood creatures of now were to him.
"Do as you wish. You'd never be able to destroy them all anyway. While you all are fighting a futile battle I'll be busy reconstructing the universe! Here I come! The day of reckoning is FINALLY here!" Zerokichi flew off toward the huge swirling vortex of black and white light that the Chaos emeralds had created and went inside.
"Err! You creep! If anyone can stop you my Sonic can!" Amy yelled grabbing her hammer and running off the edge as well.
"Hmm… It's maddening isn't it…?" Eggman mumbled as he watched the chaos unfold before him.
Sonic landed on to the crumbled street below with determination and fear still lingering on his face. He ran up to his fox friend's body that had impaled the street and cradled him in his arms.
"Tails… I'm so sorry that this had to happen…" Sonic mumbled as he held him. The light had faded from his body and he was indeed bleeding. Due to him being drained by Zerokichi the impact's effects on his body were unpredictable.
Sonic had seen some pretty depressing stuff in his travels but this… this was just awful…
Sonic hugged the little fox boy and felt his emotions take over. For the first time since their journey began, tears escaped the hedgehog's eyes and dripped on to the ground.
"S-Sonic… a-are you… crying…?" Came a small raspy voice. Sonic's ears perked up as he looked down at his friend. His eyes were open and his lips had moved.
"Tails… y-you're…" Sonic spoke silently.
"Sonic… I'm sorry … did I do something bad to make you cry like that?" Tails said as his whisper slowly became a regular speaking tone.
Sonic didn't answer, as he looked surprised at the small fox's face. He was alive! He was really alive! Sonic's heart was beating a mile a minute as what had just taken place not but a while ago had reminded him of the time Tails had jumped off that cliff back on Westside Island. It scared him so much.
Sonic however was smiling now as tears rolled down his face. He pulled the fox into a hug and chuckled.
"N-no… you didn't do anything wrong. I'm crying because… I'm happy to see you… that's all…" Sonic said. Tails sat there shocked for a second before he hugged him back.
"Thanks Sonic…I-I'm happy…" The fox said.
"Here the city is being destroyed and you two softies are hugging each other in the middle of the street!" Eggman remarked as he made his way up to Sonic and Tails.
The hedgehog and fox stood up and turned to face the doctor and his three flunkies face to face.
"We're as angered about this situation as you are!" Bocoe said.
"Zerokichi won't get away with this! Not with us around!" Decoe remarked.
"Yeah! He's going down! WAY DOWN!" Bokkun shouted.
Sonic looked at them with Tails by his side and chuckled.
"Well what do you suppose we do Eggman?" Sonic said with his famous mocking tone.
"Hmph! As much as I detest you… I hate that traitorous punk Zerokichi even more! However, he escaped into that open light in the sky! If you can somehow reach him then there should be no problem!" Dr. Eggman explained. Sonic and Tails looked up as they noticed the black creatures starting to gather around.
"Sonic! They're coming!" Tails said a bit worried.
"Screw them! They can't hurt us! It's Zerokichi we need to worry about!" Eggman said as his robots and Bokkun got into battle position.
"What is that light anyway?" Tails asked staring up at it while the creatures were fended off by Bocoe, Decoe, and Bokkun.
"It's an unstable mixture of chaos energy and Zerokichi's dark Kitsune power. Most likely what lies in there is an in-between dimension that he's using to remodel the universe in his own image. You two need to get up there and kill him quickly before he makes the biggest chaos rip in history!" Eggman shouted.
"Up there eh?" Sonic asked slightly transfixed by the rain, thunder, and lightning. Tails, who was usually afraid of thunder and lightning, didn't even care right now, as he knew the situation with Zerokichi was more important then a childish fear.
"What about Knuckles? And Amy? And-?" Tails started.
"They're all fine! They're doing what they can to defend this pathetic planet and it's weak citizens from these putrid creatures. Perfect world he says. Blech! There's no such thing. I doubt there's even a such a thing as a perfect Eggman Empire as much as I hate to admit it!" Eggman remarked.
Tails turned to Sonic and Sonic turned to him. They were both thinking the same thing. This is where the hardships needed to end. It was now or never! They had to stop Zerokichi once and for all!
"Okay… are you ready Tails!?" Sonic said curling his hand into a confident fist.
"You bet Sonic!" Tails said back with a noticeable grin.
"I'd never thought I'd say this Sonic but… good luck." Dr. Eggman muttered slightly with his arms crossed.
Tails grabbed Sonic's arms and began to fly. "Thanks Eggman. We won't let this imperfect world down!" Sonic said as they began to ascend into the air.
"Yeah well if you die I'll kill you so make sure you come back alive… so I can kill you!" Eggman shouted as he took out his own personal blaster and began attacking the black creatures along with his robots.
Sonic couldn't help but smile. "Okay! We're ready to go! Let's get that guy Tails!" Sonic shouted up at his little bro.
"Right! Here we go!" Came Tails as he flew Sonic all the way up to the black and white light from above.
Knuckles was using his powerful fists to punch back as many of the creatures as he possibly could.
Rouge was using her iron booted feet to break through the lot of them. Her Screw Kick seemed to be doing the trick as the creatures were being driven back.
Big and his fishing pole was a force to be reckoned with. Especially when provided with extra strength and support from Smokestack's projectiles. The two were defidently making excellent progress.
Amy and her hammer did what they did best. She ended up bashing in as many heads as she could muster. The more they got in her way the more she got angry and the more her hammer flew!
Vector's fire, Espio's kunai, and Charmy's stinger delivered a severe amount of pain to the enemy. They weren't going anywhere! Not while the Chaotix were on the case.
Shimon, being of sound and body, was able to at least defend himself by using pieces of the debris to hold the creatures off. Even if it didn't hurt them as much the pain they received defidently started to add up.
Bocoe and Decoe, although far from extremely overwhelmingly powerful fighting mechs, were infact built for a considerable combat. The blows they delivered were indeed devastating. With Bokkun and his rocket-powered kicks by their side, victory was assured for them.
Dr. Eggman, accompanied with a single blaster but plenty of useful shots, began firing at the disgusting nuisances that crowded around before him. It didn't take a genius to know when it was time to rely on good old fashion personal blasters!
Tails dodged all the lightning strikes that shot down at him and Sonic as they neared the huge swirling vortex. It was a mixture of light and dark... Night and day... Hope and Despair.
What lied beyond that vortex marked the beginning of the end for something! They just hoped it would be Zerokichi and his twisted ambition.
"We're almost there Sonic!" Tails shouted.
"Great! Keep flying buddy!" Sonic shouted up to him.
"I was never planning to stop! We'll show that creep what happens when you mess with us!" Tails smirked and Sonic once again couldn't help but feel proud.
"Right! Here we go!" The hedgehog shouted back as they penetrated the black and white vortex and made their way toward the final battle.
I really hope this was well worth the long wait! Anyway, the final battle starts next time! Review please!