Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog is copyrighted to Yuji Naka, Sonic Team, and Sega. The only thing(s) I claim ownerships to are my OC/fancharacters to appear in this story.
Chapter 2: Impendence
Sonic and Shelton skidded across the lush ground until they made a complete stop. "Well! That was fun while it lasted," Sonic commented, clapping his hands of any dirt.
"Always loved kickin' their butts. They hate it when I one-up them. Amusing reactions abound." Shelton said, brushing grass and dirt off of his pants.
Sonic snickered, "I can see." He then crossed his arms as he stared hard at Shelton. The man obviously knew much more about Ryu and Negative, and Sonic himself wanted to be well-informed. "That aside, what was up with them?"
Shelton shoved his hands into his pockets, "Well…it's kinda complicated. Think ya got time?"
Sonic gave him a thumbs up, "Always do."
Shelton smirked, "Then follow me." The brown-haired hero got into a track-runner stance and then zipped off as a black blur. Unperturbed, Sonic followed him while leaving behind an azure trail. The two speedsters raced across the valley, sharp winds following in their wake. Their surroundings passed by them at full-speed, and they relished the wind in their faces. Running at high speeds were like rollercoaster rides for Shelton and Sonic: fast, exhilarating, and — best of all — they could always do it again.
"You see, from what I heard, Ryu and Negative are lookin' for these temples," Shelton explained over the wind once they both were settled into their running.
Sonic's brow creased, thinking about what a villain would want a temple for. "Are they trying to unleash some deadly monster into the world? Or reawakening some ancient power to harness for their own? Oooor a variation thereof?"
"You sound like ya got experience," Shelton said.
"Eh. A bit," Sonic said nonchalantly.
Shelton shook his head, "Can't really say much else 'cuz I don't have an answer. All I know is we need to get to 'em before they do."
On cue, something on the horizon appeared. "What's that?" Sonic asked, squinting his eyes to try and get a better visual.
"One of 'em," Shelton answered.
"It is?" Sonic looked back at the other male with a raised eyebrow, "How'd you know there was one here?"
"Why'd you think my entrance was so convenient? I was chasin' 'em down cuz I knew there were headin' to another temple." Shelton faced forward and said, "I'll explain later. Right now, we got business to take care of."
True to Shelton's word, it was the stony, Greco-Roman temple that Ryu and Negative had their sights on. Like typical Greco-Roman temples, pillars were a structural emphasis. Grey-white columns circumnavigated the cylindrical building and kept up the roof that was shaped like a triangular prism. Only the front side where the entrance was lacked any pillars. The cementation that created the walls behind the columns was slightly darker in hue. The entrance was a rusted brown, iron door. Ivies clung to its sides, and ancient depictions of Greco-Roman gods were melded onto the door itself.
Sonic whistled at the sight of the marvel. "Check it out."
"I know, right?" Shelton agreed, "Those ancient people got it goin' on."
The two speedsters stopped when they reached the large entrance of the temple. The white, dirtied stairs were positioned invitingly in front of Sonic and Shelton, beckoning the two to enter. They ascended the steps and approached the door. Automatically, the giant stone doors creaked open, and flurries of dust were unleashed into the world and into the faces of the two heroes. Shelton and Sonic coughed as they waved away the dust from their faces.
"Man! Dusty old thing!" Sonic said in-between coughs.
"No kiddin!'" Shelton agreed.
The two entered the ancient building. The coloration of the inside matched the outside: earthen and caked with dust. "How big is this place?" Sonic questioned, sauntering forward.
"Dunno. But based on what I saw in the other temple 'fore I sealed it away, ya got quite a bit of runnin' to do." Shelton matched his strides.
"Sealed it away?" Sonic repeated, casting a curious look over to him, "How the heck can you seal a big thing like this?"
"Oh, that's right," Shelton said, apparently remembering a vital piece of information. "To be honest, I'm still searchin' the answer for myself. There are a lot of things about these temples Ryu and Negative know more than me. But there is one thing I know… I ain't lettin' these guys seal these things 'fore me!"
Sonic chuckled good-naturedly. "Sing it, brother. I guess you can't answer how or why does that goes with Ryu's plan?"
Shelton shook his head, "Naw. But, it's gotta be important. I guess they thought you were in the way."
"Yeah, I can see that." A few seconds and something came across Sonic's mind, something that made him point accusingly at Shelton. "Wait a minute! Does that mean you were watching them kick my blue booty?"
Shelton rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "For like a minute. Had to make an entrance, y'know?"
"Jeez, you've got a big ego."
For a while, silence — other than their echoing footsteps — befell the hedgehog and the human. The trail seemed to repeat endlessly, the same structures and features reappearing cyclically as they covered more ground. As such, when Sonic noticed the slightest structural change, he asked, "Hey, Shel? I wanna know if these temples are like something you would see in movies or on television."
Shelton couldn't help but chuckle at Sonic's little quip, but nonetheless answered, "Depends. What kind of movies?"
"Like the kind of movies that, if you touch something, booby traps will activate," Sonic answered.
Shelton scratched his head, thinking about what how things progressed in the temple he visited prior. He then gave a simple shrug, "You don't have to touch anything to make 'em happen."
Suddenly, from the shadows, arrows were flung at the duo.
"They just happen!" Shelton twisted his body slightly. He then rotated rapidly in place, gradually gaining speed. After a certain point, physics took over as Shelton generated a miniature swirl of wind that sucked in the arrows and blew them away.
Sonic smirked as he, too, sprang into action, "Good to know!" Rows of sharp pendulums that were suddenly launched from the hidden alcoves in the walls. Thanks to his great acrobatic skills, he was able to avoid them swiftly and effectively. "That makes me wonder," he spoke after getting through the first batch of traps, "is there a sort of temple guardian to match all this?"
"Who knows? The sky's the limit," Shelton answered. Instead of jumping over the blades, Shelton slid and barrel-rolled underneath them. When the pendulums were no longer an impediment, the temple decided to assault them with wrecking balls. Sonic turned to the side and ran up the wall to avoid them with Shelton following suit.
"How did you plan on conquering these things?" Sonic asked from his position on the wall.
A new set of pendulums followed after the previous set. Shelton gazed at the rows of the sharp, bladed weapons pensively. They were moving relatively fast, and their numbers covered a good amount of ground. But then his dark brown eyes locked onto the chains that held the blades. A smirked plastered on his face, "Follow my lead."
Shelton flipped so that he was in a handstand whilst straightening his body. He started to rotate himself, progressively gaining speed, until he reached the point where his whole body was like that of a drill. A few more seconds of charging, and a blazing red aura coated Shelton as a result of producing thermal energy. Shelton then projected himself, going at speeds like that of bullet. He drilled through the chains of some of the wrecking balls with ease, the slicing sounds echoing through the hall while sparks flared like fireworks.
Shelton had made sure he had enough force in his technique to reach the opposite wall. He planted himself on the wall whilst exiting his drill state and smiled at his work.
"Whoa! That's quite a technique!" Sonic commented.
"Drill Spear ain't never failed me yet. Jealous?" Shelton added a smirk to the final part of his line.
Sonic matched his smirk as he jumped off the side of the wall. "Not at all! Watch this!" Sonic then curled into a ball and spun at high speeds before projecting himself to the remaining chains. The force from his attack made the chains break, and the wrecking balls themselves fell down.
Sonic landed and cockily proclaimed, "The Homing Attack has yet to fail me."
Shelton briskly waved his hand at him while sniggering, "Showoff." The two then dashed off before the temple could react with a new wave of traps.
Eventually, the two made it to the very core of the temple, a circular room enclosed by a stony dome. In the very middle of the room, a bright green mass of energy was encapsulated by a statue-like object with lines of ancient manuscripts etched on them. Similar writings were present on the walls around them. The dark green and grey floor possessed a system of rings that made it look like an intricate dial.
"Looks like we made it," Sonic said, looking around the temple core room.
"Alright. Let's seal this thing and bounce," Shelton advised.
However, the temple had one last obstacle for the two. The writings on the wall glowed, causing Shelton and Sonic to stop and put up their guards. Green lightning struck and convened in front of the core until something began to form.
Sonic narrowed his eyes, expecting something to attack them. "One last order of business to take care of, it seems."
"Looks like it." Shelton assumed his battle stance. An entity materialized from the energy: a golem-like monster colored green, white, and black. Shelton took note of the weapon it wielded, a bludgeon on one end and a blade on the other. "A big guy with a big weapon."
A cocky grin appeared on Sonic's face. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" The hedgehog took off for the Temple Guardian. Seeing it swing its blade, Sonic dodged by sliding underneath it. Once behind the monster, he jumped up and struck the Temple Guardian as it turned around.
The monster only staggered backwards, the Homing Attack only a mere inconvenience, something Shelton took note of. "He ain't fall, Sonic."
Once back on the ground, Sonic saw the stern gaze of the Temple Guardian as it stomped toward him. Backpedaling to keep his distance, the hedgehog decided to issue a challenge. "Think you can do better?"
Shelton wasn't one to keep someone waiting, and he wanted to move things along already. "Don't blink." The young man started spinning vertically in place. His rotations increased in pace to the point he resembled a black top, the white portions of his outfit creating white streaks. Shelton, in his whirling form, shot straight toward the nearest all, bounced off it at an angle, and aimed himself at the creature
The Temple Guardian saw him coming and swatted Shelton away with its free arm, subsequently bringing up its bludgeon. Sonic strafed to avoid the hard slam and dashed to the other side of the room as Shelton landed beside him. "I didn't blink, but I didn't see results either." Sonic stated, one fist on his hip.
"Yeah, yeah... I ain't had to use Whirl Dash in a while." Shelton rose onto one knee, watching as the guardian turned around, its glowing eyes locking on them.
The conversation was cut short as the Temple Guardian slammed the bludgeon onto the ground, releasing a greenish shockwave. "Here it comes!" Sonic cried, dodging to one side. Gritting his teeth, Shelton jumped in the opposite direction. The Temple Guardian flipped its weapon so that the claymore side was in the air, and the spokes on it emitted green electricity that homed in on Shelton and Sonic.
"I don't remember temple guardians putting up this much of a fight in the movies!" Sonic yelled as he outran the lightning bolts coming his way.
The Temple Guardian stopped to gather energy in the claymore and swung, releasing a wave of energy. Sonic and Shelton jumped at the same time and managed to avoid the attack, but the guardian flipped its weapon and swung in order to release a wave of green energy.
Sucking in air to brace themselves, the two were blasted into the wall with such great force that small craters formed when they hit it. The Temple Guardian aimed its weapon and released a surge of green bolts. Heads jerking up, Sonic and Shelton strained cries, their bodies convulsing on the spot. Keeping this up for a bit longer, the monster eventually, and the both of them fell to the ground.
Sonic forced himself to stand, ignoring any lingering pain in his body. A frown firmly placed itself on his face. "Looks like we'll have to get serious." He looked at Shelton from the corner of his eyes and saw that he was still lying on the ground, parts of his body shaking as residual static crackled on them. "Hey! Shelton! You still with me?"
"Y-Yeah…" Shelton screwed one eye shut as he tried to reclaim control of his body. "God, this hurts like hell! Don't fall apart on me now!" Taking several deep breaths, the brunette forced himself back to his feet. "C'mon. We got a job to finish."
In a single second, Shelton and Sonic dashed forth so fast that they broke the sound barrier, becoming red and white projectiles as volatile black and blue winds surrounded them. The Temple Guardian literally did not know what hit him; one second it was standing up, the next its legs were taken from underneath it. By the time it gathered that it was attacked by them, the monster's face met the floor hard.
Sonic stopped his Sonic Boost and skidded across the floor, wiping sweat off his brow. "That should knock it down a peg or two."
The two ran toward the staggered Temple Guardian and then did a short hop to get themselves ready to use Homing Attack and Drill Spear. However, the giant creature sensed danger and swiftly turned around as it swung its weapon, knocking Sonic and Shelton back into the wall while they were in the middle of attacking.
They slid down the wall and landed on the floor, groaning and holding their heads. They immediately snapped out of it when they heard approaching footsteps. The Temple Guardian swung his bludgeon, this time releasing blasts of energy toward Sonic and Shelton, who quickly dodged them. Sonic reacted faster and took this chance to try and nail the golem in the face with another Homing Attack; however, it again knocked the blue hedgehog out of the way and to the ground.
"You're gettin' on my nerves!" Shelton yelled as he dashed for the Temple Guardian, who waited for him. When the human got into its weapon's radius, it swung the blade for Shelton, but he quickly jumped over it. This allowed Shelton to grab a hold of the handle when it came around. With a grunt of effort, Shelton launched himself to the face of the Temple Guardian. He then delivered a series of rapid punches, ending his assault with an axe kick that made the monster stagger backwards.
"One more!" Sonic exclaimed, speeding past Shelton as a supersonic ball and ramming himself into the torso of the dazed golem. Finally, the mighty Temple Guardian fell down, landing on its back with a thud.
"Check it out! I got him to fall!" Sonic declared proudly, skidding back to a stop.
"Man, you better focus!" Shelton chastised, shooting him a disapproving look. "Let's gloat after we're done!"
A slight rumble in the area signaled the Temple Guardian was back on its feet. Sonic frowned, tapping the ground with his foot. For something as simple as a guardian, this thing was tougher than he expected. "I guess you got a point."
Shooting forward, Sonic and Shelton ran side-by-side as they approached the Temple Guardian. The golem swung its blade down at them, but they separated to evade the attack. Shelton performed the Whirl Dash and struck the Temple Guardian's burly hand, forcing it to let go of its weapon. Sonic used his Spin Dash and hit the monster on the side of the head, rebounding toward the nearest wall and bouncing off of it to get into the air.
"You're finished!" Sonic increased the speed of his spinning. Violent, buzzing sounds were made as he charged up speed in air. He was moving so fast that gravitational forces acted oddly; he wasn't even falling to the floor. In the midst of his charging, the light particles in the room flowed to him like a magnet.
The Temple Guardian whipped around to the source of the noise, seeing Sonic, and scooped up its weapon. Noticing its attention was completely on the defenseless Sonic, Shelton ran up to him, going fast enough to scale right up the entity's body. "Where you lookin'?!" He shouted as he jumped into the air, loud enough to get its focus. The young man then drove himself into the Temple Guardian's face as a high-speed drill. "Drill Punisher!"
With the Temple Guardian now occupied, Sonic was able to complete the charge time of his attack. "Ready... Go!" The hedgehog shot at the guardian like a bullet, an azure aura about him. The initial hit bore right through its monster, making the monster roar in pain. Shelton landed on the ground and backed away to let Sonic finish the job. He watched as Sonic assailed the monster at such speeds he could only see a glowing trail.
With each hit, Sonic continued to tear holes into the Temple Guardian, who thrashed desperately in an attempt to strike the hedgehog, to end the suffering. Greenish energy leaked out of its wounds around the time its movements became slower and voice grew weaker. Sonic ended his Light Speed Attack assault by driving himself through the head of the guardian, shattering it into bits of rock and rubble. Creaking, the Temple Guardian collapsed on its back, and the energy consumed its entire body.
The walls of the room glowed the same green color, and the energy returned to whence it came.