The Resurrection of Shadow Fox
Chapter 2- The Reaping
Greetings yall! Joe here, bringing you Chapter 2 of his newest Sonic fic! Coming up (in keeping with the fantastic new game Sonic Unleashed) some brand new locations, and some more returning characters! All feedback is welcome!
Enjoy everyone!
Disclaimer: I own neither Sonic nor any of Sonic Team or Sega's assets.
--
The frozen tundra of Holoska was regarded by many as being one of the most inhospitable places on Earth, its icy surface free of any form of plant life. Miles upon miles of snow and ice, devoid of any human habitation, where the days were short and the nights were so very long. No one came to Holoska unless they absolutely had to.
The figure dressed in black was one of those that was drawn to Holoska for that very reason. He had no other choice, if he wanted his task to be accomplished.
His fur coat ruffled in the biting arctic wind, its black material blotted with minute flakes of snow. Eyes squinted in concentration being red visor goggles, scanning over the frozen wastes.
A black snow-mobile lay parked several yards behind him, footprints in the snow leading back to his present position. Gloved hands were wrapped round a slim metal rod, LED's flashing across its face at random intervals. A pinprick of light in the centre caught his attention, a soft bleep emitting from within as he waved it in front of him in an arc. Pulling up his collar, he continued forwards, the crunching sound of snow coming with each step taken.
"I hate snow. I really hate snow" Nack growled, his ears stinging from the chill even under his wide-brimmed hat. The weasel focussed ahead through red tinted lenses, nothing ahead of him but a blanket of zone leading out over the horizon. Swinging the device lazily out in front of him, his ears perked as the soft bleeping turned into an alarmed shriek. Nack gripped it tightly, slowly passing it over the area he had just checked. Once again, a harsh electronic squeak alerted him to his target. Stepping forwards, he leveled the rod downwards until it was pointing directly at the snow, ears pressed down against the unpleasant sound emitting from it.
"Bingo" Nack grinned, switching off the device and tucking it into his coat pocket. Turning his head, he gestured at the patch of snow he was stood on.
"Okay boys, get to it"
The purple weasel stepped back as the crimson metallic forms stepped forwards. He watched in vague interest as the identical Knuckle clones began their objective, teeth clicking softly in both excitement and cold.
"No dawdling. I'm freezing my ass off here"
--
Beyond the frozen wilderness of Holoska, almost on the other side of the planet, the neon heights of Empire City burned across the night. Next to the Casino Night Zone, it was the central hot spot for entertainment after dark, glowing skyscraper spires climbing high into the sky.
But Shadow the hedgehog was interested in only one thing. Crimson eyes flared in concentration, cold blasts of air blowing his quills out. One gloved arm was tightly wrapped round a metal spire, the black hedgehog leaning over a drop of several hundred feet to the bustling street below. In his other hand was the object of his unwavering attention.
It glistened in the neon splashed atmosphere, its surface smooth like glass and warm to the touch even under gloved hands. More valuable than any gem on the planet, and twice as beautiful as any equivalent. But its aesthetic beauty was only scratching the surface of its true power. Hidden to all but a few who had the knowledge of their potential. And Shadow was one of those people.
Oh, he knew the true power of Chaos energy.
And he was going to use it to change the world.
--
He felt the throbbing pulse under his palm, fingers stretched out over its surface and bathed in its eternal glow.
It had been moved from the flight deck to the very centre of the ship, wires and cables hooking it into the computer matrix. So much power was dangerous and difficult to control unless you were a genius. And the albino fox was a genius. The greatest in fact.
Reluctantly, he removed his hand from the shimmering gem, feeling the warmth leave his fingers instantly. He looked down at it, at the tightly wrapped bandages leaving not an inch of skin exposed. Once they had been bloodied and ragged, but over the months they had healed enough to leave the gauze unstained. It would be worth it, and soon he would be able to remove them for good. Tentatively he flexed his fingers, wincing at the shot of pain that danced through them. It only lasted a second, and he had long ago become used to pain to the extent he had almost become numb to it. Almost.
The fox didn't like dwelling on his own weaknesses. It wasn't in his nature to accept that he was mortal. After all, he hadn't been born naturally. He had been created in a freak accident, and though he looked mature beyond his years, his physical form was barely two years old. If one looked closely enough they would find faded scars behind the white fur, ones that the surgeons had been unable to remove completely. Just thinking back to that time made him wince. The stress had been enough to turn his fur white, so no longer could he pull off the evil twin role he had found himself playing. But he wasn't just a cliche. He was his own personality, and soon he would imprint that on the entire planet.
Once everything had been put into place, the past would indeed be nothing but a memory.
Shadow Fox didn't look back. He only looked forwards. And he was savoring every moment.
--
The Eggman Empire had once stretched across over ninety percent of the planet. In its heyday it had sprawled over every landmass and continent, suppressing all those unlucky enough to be caught under its shadow.
These days it was an entirely different story. Although Eggman Nega had managed to consolidate and rebuild the remnants of the empire since his arrival in the Prime Universe, it was little more that a patchwork series of subjugated zones, the largest of which lay several hundred miles away from the border with the United Federation. A city of metal dominated by the forbidding fortress that was the Egg Dome, the capitol building of Eggmans ragtag dictatorship.
It was here that Nega sat, sullen and fuming from his latest stinging defeat. His nostrils flared over his grey moustache, eyes glaring behind blue tinted shades.
"How can this be!? In my zone that blue rat was history! Extinct! What am I doing wrong?"
As this thought continued to swim round the recesses of his mind, a small red light began to pulse on the dashboard in front of him. His eye flickered over it lazily.
"Whats that?"
A low roar caused his head to snap up. Something was flying over the Egg Dome. But that was impossible, the alarms would have alerted him sooner. Anything approaching the limits of the city was instantly scanned and shot down if deemed necessary. But no alarm had gone off, no warning had emitted. So that meant only one thing.
Someone was blocking his instruments.
No sooner had Nega come to this conclusion when a massive explosion blew him out of his seat, debris and sparks shattering through the room. A cloud of dust blinded him, sprawled on the floor trying to get to feet. Above him, stars glistened down from a gigantic hole torn into the dome, flames lining the edge of the tear. The burning embers flickered as something large descended into the room, fire glistening off it body work.
Nega coughed raggedly, the dust and curling black smoke choking and burning his throat. Tears streamed down his face, blurring his image of the thing slowly approaching him, its heavy footsteps sending vibrations through the floor. Nega pulled himself to his knees, one hand covering his mouth from the smoke whilst the other hovered over his forehead in an attempt to clear his sight. Slowly, the thing in front of him came into view.
"You!" Nega rasped, his shades cracked once more and hanging from his ears. Before him stood something so bizarre he could hardly take it in.
The grinning face of Doctor Eggman leered at him, drool slowly trickling down his chin and onto his jacket. The rotund madman was strapped into a massive metal structure, his head and shoulders the only things not encased in steel. His arms were strapped into giant moveable gauntlets, vicious spikes lining the end of the gloves that were bunched into fists. The doctors lower body was encased entirely in an egg shaped metal cocoon, his legs held up with steel rods and pistons. The strangest element of the bizarre suit of armour was the colour. Red and black, just like the good doctor always wore.
Nega struggled to get his words out, his throat dry and his mind reeling from the shock of it what had just happened.
"What...the hell....have you done!?" he finally spluttered, dragging himself onto his feet and staring wide-eyed at his armour plated twin.
Eggman didn't give a reply, continuing to stare and drool at his bewildered counterpart with a smile that stretched his entire face.
Nega's shock quickly turned to anger as the madman just stood there.
"Its mine now! It belongs to me, you lost!"
"Oh don't flatter yourself my friend," a sudden voice caught Nega off-guard. "I'm not interested in your pathetic excuse of an empire. My goal is far grander"
Nega span his head round in an attempt to find the owner of the mystery voice, but apart from the grinning doctor there was no one else in the ruined room. Nega slowly turned back to face his twin, realizing there was only one place that voice was coming from.
"What I want off you," it continued, emitting from within Eggmans armour as the doctor remained mute. "Is the little treasure you came across in the jungles of Adabat"
"You must be joking" Nega snarled. "And what makes you think I'd hand the Chaos Emerald over to you?"
"If you value your pathetic little life...you will" If anything, Eggmans grin grew wider at this reply.
"I can be very, very persuasive"
Nega felt the swept trickle down his back as the goliath ominously walked forwards, gauntlets flashing savagely.
And Eggman kept grinning.
--
Sonic flipped the gold ring in the air for the hundredth time, catching it in his palm and twirling it round his finger. He was bored, and he hated being bored.
Outside a thunderstorm had set in, staving off any opportunity for the blue hedgie to go out for a run which he normally did to ease off the boredom. Sighing, he ran a hand through his quills, flicking them up before they fell inevitably back into place. What he wouldn't give for Eggman right about now.
The phone ringing broke his boredom temporarily, and his hand was instantly on the receiver.
"Yo Tails," he smiled as the familiar voice of his favorite fox reached his ear. "What up?"
The smile faltered as he listened to the reply, holding the phone tighter against his ear.
"Run that over me one more time bro"
Outside, the storm picked up.
--
End of Part 2.
Stay tuned for more!
Joe.