PoC: So good to be both nearing the end of this long story, and to be back in my…less form-fitting clothes. PenFullofChaos819 has written three stories based off of Sega's characters and games, but claims no rights to any content reserved by the said company.
Metal: …I hope the story ends with you suffering fan-hatred from all corners of the globe. So much hate that, in fact, you go to your lonely bed crying like a toddler missing his bottle.
PoC: Yeah? Well maybe I should let my nutty imagination turn you back into a kid bee, just so you're forced to wear an itchy powder-stuffed diaper, seeing as how you OBVIOUSLY can't handle having a second set of 'cheeks'.
Silver: Whoa now guys! What's with the incredibly spiteful baby-themed insults? You know Met, maybe Pen wouldn't have left you looking like Charmy so long if you were a nicer guy.
Metal: Kiss my gas tank, cat-nip dealer. You KNOW that's the only reason Blaze comes anywhere near you.
Silver: Um…right…whatever. And PoC, like it or not Metal WAS your first co-host. *Shrugs* You know, you two have a mondo-bizarro way of going about it, but I really do think you both…
Metal: As for you! Consider changing your name to 'PenFullofTypos', you college-English reject!
PoC: And there you have it folks; another paper-mache insult brought to you by Metal Cliché. Oh what's that? An evil Sonic clone with a typical throwaway villain's schemes and motives for killing his original self? Brilliant! Never-before-seen genius I say!
Silver: …you know what? I digress. You two are best friends for life!
PoC & Metal: WHAAAAAT? LIES! ALL LIES! He makes me sick! *both attempt to punch, but accidentally fist-bump*
Silver: I rest my case. XD
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Lies of the Light, Hope in the Darkness
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Prominent was the scent of grit and dirt in a cavern like this. However, the kind that filled his nostrils now was fresher than it had previously been five minutes ago; through his mitts he could feel that the earth was cooler to the touch as well. Murals depicting warfare, murder, and suffering had been replaced with scenes of a group of tribesman staring forlornly at what looked like the sun, or possibly some other great light. Keen though his impudent mind had never been, Knuckles had hope that these signs meant that he was nearing the end to his long underground journey. One would think after all his complaints and endless groaning that the echidna couldn't wait to leave these Chaos-forsaken catacombs behind.
However, for a mobian who had lived the larger portion of this life in a slum called 'The Underground' the echidna had never truly experienced his kind's actual environment in its natural form. Be it slabs of stone jutting upwards or rich patches of earth smoothed against his sore fingers, Knuckles had never felt so at home in his whole life. Over time, despite his former lack of any artistic sense whatsoever, even the carvings on the walls seemed to instill a sense of pride and longing inside the crimson fighter for his estranged heritage. The more he watched the pictures, the greater his yearning to see his own people became. Loneliness had played a partial role in his fall from grace, since he was, for all he knew, the last pureblooded tribal echidna remaining in the known world. Though his rarity and raw power had made him an exotic proposition to many fine women and a welcome addition to any gang or mob leaders, Knuckles knew deep down he was nothing more than the remnant outcast of dying race. This hateful recognition prompted him to exploit and abuse anyone or anything he can in contact with. Drowned in his indulgence and decadence, the echidna left his crippling emptiness behind to rot in exchange for a life of authority and respect. Until he had set foot inside this hellish trial, that had remained his immovable mindset. But now…
"But now you've begun to see the error of your ways." Her again, speaking directly into his mind as usual. He didn't even try to shut her out this time, in fact he was almost glad that she hadn't left him alone to his thoughts. Bitterly, Knuckles let out a laugh at this thought. If his older self could see him now, he'd probably beat him bloody and raw for being such a wimp.
As she was tied to his innermost thoughts, Tikal appeared in front him, stopping his tiresome steps long enough for her to say "You will banish your other self with this newfound strength. There is nothing weak about regretting and facing your past mistakes. In truth, the old you is a coward, while the person you're becoming is a warrior." She then placed her hand gently against his scarred cheek, an act that mildly served to ease the male echidna's self-torment "You've done very well. Now begins the final test for you to surmount."
He felt her hand release him, causing him to look up as she shattered a caved-in segment of the earthen wall. Rays of stormy-grey light poured out from the recently crafted exit. Unsure of what he would find outside, the echidna climbed his way to the top.
But as he did, his eyes failed to catch another mural…one that depicted a lone tribesman facing off against an identical foe. Behind this foe lay a number of strange kneeling mobians; the first and only drawings to portray any non-echidnas in the entire cave.
Tikal rematerialized before this piece of artwork; setting her slender fingers on in the image's center "Let our destinies be fulfilled… Oh Chaos, please watch over these brave souls."
Curiously…the stone-painting shimmered softly in reply.
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*Through the eyes of Super Sonic*
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He wanted to move fast, much faster now that he'd unlocked his potential. What did he have to fear in this divine form? As far as he knew, this transformation brought on by concentrated positive chaos left him invulnerable to injury, so long as he had a constant supply of energy to sustain himself. This conventionally would've required a medium of expendable energy, such as power rings, but here extra power was free-floating, leaving him permanently locked in his supercharged state. He had almost hoped things would've been a little trickier, at least so he could savor kicking that ghostly prick's butt, though he supposed it was better to be safe than sorry.
As evident from his haughty thoughts, the power within him raised his confidence exponentially higher, causing him to feel slightly annoyed at everyone's sluggish pace. Really, what was their problem? Yes he knew he must've been a dazzling sight to behold, but this was no time to drool over his obvious supremacy. He'd made sure not to push the little people too hard, knowing that they didn't have his magnificently heightened level of speed, so honestly WHAT could be slowing them…
"Sonic? Are you coming?" One of them asked him, a female if his mighty ears had heard correctly, which of course they had. Wait, what had that…that person dared to ask him? 'Was HE coming'? As if he was even capable of holding up the group for ANY reason!
"Seriously Sonic, is something wrong?" A male, this time a male was ordering him about! Of all the silly-Oh wait, so that was it. They were worried about him! How quaint, almost sweet. Surely it was hard for them to understand that he was practically perfect now, and so they felt it only kind to…
"SONIC! Are you deaf? We've got to keep moving!" the last voice finally cracked some sense into him. What had he been thinking? For the first few seconds after he had transformed, he had possessed only a strong desire to save everyone, but suddenly things had taken a nosedive when his thoughts started festering in a self-praising light. He'd shifted into Super Sonic many times before, why was it only now affecting him this way? Could it be the influence of the negative chaos, or something else?
No matter, it was time he got back on the straight path again, and stopped holding everyone up.
"Sorry about that guys… I just…ah don't worry about it. Let's go." He was about to explain, maybe even then ask if Amethyst or Shadow knew anything about what this new condition meant, but the thought was summarily dismissed in the essence of time. Whatever was wrong with him, he was sure he'd be able to face it alone.
At least he hoped so…
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*Ten minutes later. Sonic's team's POV*
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Outside Sonic's mysterious silence, and the team's overall shock at his sudden change of color and power, nothing eventful had transpired. No sinister robots, no slobbering beasts of evil, no…nothing. Being spied on alone would be expected of even in the abode of a harmless hermit that simply didn't like intruders. But this facility, or whatever it was, lay defenseless, unless one counted the 'madness' barrier of chaos as a countermeasure. Wouldn't someone have attempted to investigate the premises? The island's location was remote, but remote enough to deter all possible traffic.
Espio in particular had this on his mind. Would no one from G.U.N. have ever investigated this place? Especially if they had traced Maasa-err Shadow's crime's back to possible bases of operation. Then again, he had to admit that both the ebony hedgehog and the hazy-freak were very good about covering their tracks, and he had high standards in that department. The lizard's scraped together intel about Shadow alone took a whole week, and that was while working day and night. Why, if this specter-thing was so secretive, would it have now practically tossed them the keys to it's front door? Did it really know what it was getting into? Maybe it counted on their arrival, but the chameleon was certain that there was no way it could've predicted Sonic's power surge. The ex-ninja himself was still surprised, as he'd never seen anything like it all his born days. Still, if it hadn't been for some quick thinking, or maybe luck, on Sonic's part they all would've been lost to insanity by now.
"Espio…may I have a word?" Speaking of insanity, he wasn't expecting this either. Sonic, Amethyst, maybe even Rouge, but why oh why would Shadow be wanting a 'word with him'? Bad interactions they'd already had BEFORE the discord descended upon them, so would this time be any different? Groaning a little, Espio knew that as long as they kept moving, there wasn't any real harm in humoring the dark one for a bit. He doubted Shadow would be willing to start trouble in Sonic's presence at any rate, so he replied with a somewhat short "As you wish."
Shadow didn't have the reaction the stealthy mobian had braced for. Rather than show any moodiness, the black and red mobian sighed in a melancholy, though quite level-headed, manner before saying "I think my foolishness has…rather left us at a greater impasse than before. I know you can't forgive me for what happened to Miles, but will you at least accept my sincere apologies for my roguish behavior?"
No, Espio was not in the mood for this, nor would he ever be, for if there was one thing he hated more than an angry jerk, it was a remorseful one. He could handle rude or dismissive angst better, thanks mostly to Vector's antics. But still he knew that, by his honor code, one good turn deserves another "Cut the lengthy nonsense. It's enough to say that we both made a**es of ourselves. But just so you know, if this is going to turn into a tearfest, I will promptly line those sharp-looking quills of yours with even sharper objects." At this he snuck out a small, deadly, but genuine grin before holding his hand out to say "Truce?"
In response, Shadow gave back his equally restrained smile, while clasping the lizard's gloved hand "Truce. However I must say you were still the nobler one, coming to the aid of a lovely woman whom I so callously emoted upon. You are certainly a gentleman of sorts." Shadow spoke his mind with no ill intentions; however, Espio did not seem to take kindly to this, as he vigorously snatched his hand away while quickly hiding his face.
"I don't know what you're insinuating by bringing her up, but know this: I have no feelings for Amethyst whatsoever! I just…was looking for an excuse to fight with you." Espio was not stupid enough to say this in the ladies' earshot, and didn't really know or care how much 'golden boy' heard. But, for all his careful planning, he had made a tiny oversight, one that a now-amused Shadow felt obligated to point out.
"Oh? Odd then, since I don't remember mentioning Amethyst by name, much less was I implying or even thinking that you might… Well, not until now anyway." It was apparent that Espio had been, to use bearded-dragon terms, 'one-upped' by Shadow via careless idiocy alone. Needless to say, the chameleon ended their 'good-natured' discussion with all haste, but one could say the two temperamental teammates had finally bonded to a shaky extent.
These two aside, Rouge and Amethyst were taking alternate routes to dealing with this mind-blitzing situation. While Rouge busied herself with 'scouting' out the narrow, unchanging scenery, Amethyst went about drowning her own thoughts in a constant stream of data and calculations. Both made no eye contact with their 'new' ally, whether out of fear or awkwardness.
To the bat it was like Sonic had undergone another unimaginable change, one almost as hard to digest as his sudden aging and personality alterations had been. The sweet, but remarkably wise beyond his years, young pre-teen she had known before was now a cocky, hero with some angst issues. This latest change had merely iced the cake and sealed the deal. It only affirmed her original fear that there was nothing she understood, or would ever come to fully understand, about this Sonic.
The vixen was having other shocks from the new change. As far as she knew, neither Rouge nor anyone else had seen a chaos-induced transformation before, so it was only natural that they were too stunned to approach him about it. Amethyst on the other hand was curious about how he had pulled it off. The one and only time she herself had seen such a shift, it had come about only with the help of all seven Chaos Emeralds. Even then, Tails had her discerned that only certain individuals could wield it's power. Not to mention that harnessing the energy alone took a very sound mind and a large amount of focus. How could Sonic have been able to achieve such concentration with all the negative chaos floating around them? Sure, the theory that he 'wasn't from their world and thus couldn't be affected by chaos energy here' was all well and good, but then how had he taken in the positive energy? Unless there was something, or maybe someone, acting as an intermediate for the energy flow, the odds of him being able to harness it didn't seem likely.
Deep as both their thoughts were how could they approach Sonic about it now? And moreover, why should they bother? For Rouge's dilemma, it deep down didn't truly matter to her if this Sonic held night and day differences from the 'original' Sonic or not. The important thing was that he had saved them, and now was still willing to save Tails. And against Amethyst's research, it hardly was a bad thing that Sonic had tapped into the positive flow. Though she was still worried by his odd silence a few minutes ago, she had faith that he would turn to them before whatever was bothering him spun out of control. Bottom-line, both could agree on the same truth: No matter how powerful or different looking he became, Sonic was still Sonic at heart.
Unbeknownst to them, the glowing hedgehog overheard parts of their thoughts, a power he wasn't formerly aware of, which led him to let out a sigh of relief "Thanks again Amy. I don't think I could've saved these guys without both you and Tikal. And if I hadn't saved them I…don't think I would be able to keep going. So…thanks, to all of you."
"Aww that's sweet of you, but I was happy to be helpful for once. And…Sonic? Just so you know, people can say whatever, but I really like you just as much as the old Sonic."
The empowered hero didn't resist forming a small cup of tears in his ruby-red eyes. All the glorified power in the world could never compare with the purifying strength loving friendship brought. These factors alone may've led him to his near-emotional encounter. Plus, he'd never heard, nor ever expected to hear, such moving words from Amy Rose. It was proof that even now this world still had surprises in store for him…
…and not all of them would be negative.
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*With…Tails?*
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Dark again…like there had never been any light to begin with. Where had he been flung to now? And worse than that, why could he not tell what position he was in? His body, it had become colder and number than last time. Even his memories were getting harder to maintain. At moments…it was hard to imagine that he had ever had a past at all.
"You're awake? That's good to hear. You had me quite worried you know."
Tails couldn't move his mouth to speak, so he ignored his case of 'fat-lip' in lieu of mental communication "You again… What is this place? What's happened to me?"
"It's like I told you: You listened to the sweet words of a lying, false spirit, and got yourself caught. Don't you understand? This was all a test."
Tails wished he could express surprise, shock, or anger, but his dulled senses inhibited such responses. As such, he once again retreated into his inner thoughts "A test? For what?"
"For you of course. The evil one wanted to be sure that you would follow orders, so he used the form of a benevolent apparition to manipulate and test you. Knowing your fear of ghosts, he wanted to see just how far you would go to save these 'friends' of yours."
Tails would've grasped his head in pain if he could. Something about the voice's words felt out of place, like it was telling him something that didn't fit. It took a decent time of searching, but eventually Tails overcame his memory-fogging stupor and identified the out-of-place element "Friends? What friends?"
"That's what I'd like to know! What sort of foolish lies has that monster been telling you? Since when have you, Miles Prower, ever had any friends outside of your science and engineering?"
Tails inwardly nodded at this point. So these memories were lies. That would explain why none of them seemed clear to him. They were fabrications crafted by…whatever beast had imprisoned him. Certainly they seemed real at the time, especially since the sinister one had gone far enough to give these fakes real names: Shadow, Rouge, Vector, Charmy, Espio, Sonic, Ame-
"Wait, hold on I…" The fox almost overlooked them, how could he? He was certain he knew those last two names very well, and even vaguely the third to the last "I know them…Sonic…Amethyst… They're my…family." Sonic, his little brother, the hedgehog boy he'd taken in all those years ago. And Amethyst, his beloved Amethyst. The complex but beautiful and witty vixen he'd met in his childhood. Never mind those other names, he'd never let that demon steal these, his dearest and fondest, memories from his heart.
"How could you… Ah, I mean yes. How could you forget them, you wonder? They manifest as your true memories alongside the false ones, so it's no surprise that you had some confusion. But now that you have your 'real' memory back, are you ready to trust me as you would a real friend?"
Concrete memories or not, the vulpine still didn't like the speaker one bit. Edgy about putting his trust in anything at this point, he replied "For now, but if I don't see some results from you, I'll drop you as quickly as I dropped that 'Tikal' person."
"Fair enough. Now, we'd better get a move on…Miles. I promise to guide you to the light you seek."
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End of Chapter Thirty-nine
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Brain-scrambler much? Don't worry; I assure you all that I have a point to this massive headache I'm making XD. I'm dragging this out a bit more than I anticipated (nothing ever goes as planned with me), but I hope you all don't mind.
DanceDream: Heh-heh! I'm glad you're excited! I hope his slightly arrogant side didn't put a damper on your mood (that's, figuratively, not the REAL Super Sonic talking). Spring IS crazy busy! I can't tell you how happy it make me to think that you read, AND re-read my story (just when I thought you couldn't get any more awesome :D). Metal is back, and he and I are still…friendish-foes XD. Ah yes, Robotnik and 'Tikal'. My oh my, whatever could be happening?*cue trademark evil grin*. That…was actually Rouge talking, and the count was crappy oversight on my part (fixed along with my humiliation ._.). Anyway, yes those changes were creepy. And Sonic's immunity is no less so. :D Thank you. I just write out what I feel is most emotionally fitting in the given situations. It takes me longer to write those than most of the other 'body text' as expected. Well think about it for a second: Why WOULD this Tikal use this method of reaching Sonic, unless something was holding her back? Consequently, why then would 'Tikal' be able to contact Tails? Hee-hee, all very good questions to ask. He's staying Super Sonic for a while, but he's still got some problems (let's hope it doesn't hurt him in the 'specter encounter'). I blame nobody and nothing. I'm simply glad to hear you and lovely song-quotes again! XD I will indeed. Fun-fact: Did you know this fic was inspired by at least three songs (not counting other songs that inspired individual chapters)?
Ghostkid33: No you're right. No final battle yet (I have three other battles planned before the grand finale, all taking place close together). It is nice to see him, but I had to throw even SS a curveball (no one gets off easy in MY world! Mwahahahaha!). Thank you for the vote of confidence ^_^. I hope this and next semester go well for the both of us (it's a never-ending grind).
Serenity/ravenclaww: Thanks, and so am I :). It's great to look back on old work to see just how much you've progressed. Gives you a firm feeling of accomplishment.
Infamousplot: I think you PMed me recently, but I've just not had the time to reply. Sorry for that :(. As always I await your further replies with happy anticipation (paradoxical much? XD).
Kindra Mckleen: But like everything in this story, he's got issues, pride issues to be exact. Still, I want to be fair, seeing as how Sonic's friend's had that nasty 'chaos-therapy' (Oh no…I just listed Sonic's future psychological specialization XD). Yeah, I picture it causing a plethora of psychological disorders that manifest in ways that depend on the person's individual past. Chem major huh? Sweet, considering I fittingly am majoring in Nursing. Well…close but no cigar. There is only one set of emeralds in this world (I play evil mind-games XD).
knight of the windZ10Z: Let me know what you think whenever. I'll try my best to not spaz out until then XD.
Sierra Zanimalini14: I'll see you soon I hope :)
Super Shadix 520: I hope your busy schedule allows you time read this soon :)
Sparkling-nexis137: "Too bright a shine draws eyes of envy." Thank you creepy Dissidia quote, but thankfully not in this case! The evil chaos erosion was eerie to even write about! Just imagining your friends losing their sanity inside a couple of minutes…guh! Amy will be on stand-by for the rest of the story. It's great to finally give her a important role, seeing as how I robbed both her AND Maria back at the first climax (nothing ever goes as planned :\). Here's a quick and equally nonsensical explanation for all that: My rampant imagination bled over from my topsy-turvy world and flip-flopped the three of us in to the things we fear/dislike most (turning female would scare the heck out of me, Metal hates weakness, and Silver…just loves being fluffy XD).
prowerboy: Uh-oh… You're catching on faster than I expected…or are you? XD Hey listen, I'm really sorry I haven't reviewed your story yet. I'm not going to bore you with excuses, but just know that I haven't forgotten *nervous smile*.
draco'sfairmaiden: Great to hear! So, did they all go well? It's nice to have the last parts of this semester coming to a close. Yep, you guessed it, although Sonic won't be the ONLY one to tangle with Evil Tails (I'll leave it at that for now). Have fun traveling!
Cut Productions: I hope you two like this chapter! *Sigh* Pretty soon I'll have nothing left to do but finish my delayed reading requests (which I do very much enjoy, such as yours :) ). But that's only temporary until I start another crazy story up!
CharmyXcream14: For the ending, my good sir or ma'am, for the ending perhaps XD.
Skyelara: Thank you very kindly. Like so many others before, I hope I can retain your interest right up until the very end. Your support is a very welcome addition. P.S. I'm very glad my OC is not Mary-sue or crappy. She's my first OC, but I'm taking extra care to not ruin her in any way shape or form. I like to use methods separate from the general recipe for OC-making. Sans the…fact that she's a vixen (a highly overused OC-type XD).
ALERT: No update next week, as I'll be off taking my finals. Expect the next update around May 16th. I apologize for the brief hiatus.
Until next time.