SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES
Disclaimer: Tomo belongs to Kiba Sniper.
Chapter Thirty-Four: Star Struck, Part 2
Great...what else can go wrong?" Jet groaned.
Things were getting seriously out of control. Here they were, on the ancient Babylon Garden, dealing with another major worldly crisis. The Arks of the Cosmos were restored to power and ABIS was resurrected through Omega's body. Now it was three birds and two genies up against an army of robots and a two-ton giant, mechanical tyrannosaurus. Not very good odds, are they?
"This was inevitable, Jet the Hawk." ABIS stated. "Upon my defeat, you should have realized I would come back for revenge."
"I would, if I didn't think you were still dead." Jet shrugged. "I pretty must figured you were in the scrapheap."
"Jet, this is not the time to make fun of the giant killer dinosaur." Wave strained through her beak; eying ABIS' snarling maw.
"So, you think you would beat me again?" ABIS asked amusingly.
"No problem!" Storm exclaimed excitingly. "Boss will beat your metal butt all over the pavement!"
"Storm!" Wave shriek shrilly.
"Very well, but this place is too crowded." ABIS said; his head motioning up and down the corridor. "I shall use the Arks reality altering capabilities to take us elsewhere."
ABIS whipped his tail and stomped his giant foot down hard on the floor. The Arks in ABIS' chest began to glow and the background swirled out of place and rearranged itself into an alternate plain. Where the crystal room once stood now lies a rocky desert terrain; the sky as black as coal and the air as thick as smog. The Babylonians could hardly breathe until Shahra cast a spell over them. Erazor was completely unaffected. ABIS stomped forward; commanding his soldiers to stand back to allow him to fight.
"Well then, shall we begin?" ABIS growled menacingly.
"Bring it on!" Storm accepted.
Not so fast!" Erazor commanded as he skidded in front of the birds. "I shall take this one."
"You're defending us?" Shahra questioned; his expression of deep confusion and happiness. "Erazor, you finally..."
"Don't misunderstand me!" Erazor shouted to cut her off. "If anyone is goingto kill Jet the Hawk, it will be me!"
"That's reassuring." Jet muttered under his breath.
Erazor, ignoring Jet's comment, surrounded himself in a circle of flames, a move he hasn't used since he first fought Jet. Erazor's body stretched to the same height of ABIS' new body. The dark genie whipped out his razor blade and charged forward. Erazor swung his blade, but ABIS caught it in his mouth. ABIS swung his tail around, but Erazor slapped it away with some difficulty. Erazor pushed himself away while throwing a well aimed fireball to his chest. But ABIS' armor just seemed to absorb it.
"A tough guy, huh?" Erazor smirked. "That can be easily mended.
Erazor raised his hands to the air to conjure a fireball the size of the sun. But before he could toss it, ABIS opened his jaw to shoot out an orb of dark matter. Erazor was thrown into the ground, returning to his normal size, forming a crater around him.
"Next?" ABIS laughed.
For a split second, it looked like Jet was up. Then suddenly, a large boulder smashed into the side of the metal dinosaurs head. The boulder was shattered on contact, but that didn't prevent the look of annoyance present of ABIS' face. He shot swiftly around to gaze upon Storm, who was lifting another boulder.
"Like that?" Storm said. "Have some more!"
Storm tossed the second boulder, but ABIS crushed it easily with his dagger teeth.
"Storm! Get down from there before you get killed!" Wave cried.
"Calm down." Storm said lazily. "What's the worst he can...?"
But Storm would never finish that sentence. Somehow, ABIS moved silently towards Storm and caged him in his jaw. ABIS shook his head left and right to rattle him and spit him out into the crater with Erazor.
"Enough stalling!" ABIS growled towards Jet. "Time to end this!"
ABIS ejected another dark matter orb from his jaw aimed at Jet. Shahra made herself scarce by diving back into her ring as Jet shot away on the Wind Rider. When his first attack missed, ABIS started firing a large quantity of dark matter orbs from his jaw. At one point, Jet swerved behind the Meteor Tech robots, causing ABIS to destroy a third of them.
"Stop moving, you filthy pigeon!" ABIS demanded.
"For the last time, I'm a hawk!" Jet emphasized annoyingly. "Hawk! H-A-W-..."
Jet was cut off when the Wind Rider collided with something, forcing him to jerk forward. His beak hit the dirt for a moment and then looked back. He hit ABIS' tail, which was now hanging high over his head.
"Die!" ABIS roared.
ABIS swung his tails down with extreme force. But Jet dived away before he even had the chance. But when he was in the safety, he noticed he dropped something when he landed: TheCrystal Box.
"No!" Jet screamed, but it was too late.
The tails impacted the ground. ABIS gave a wide smirk as he raised his tail to prolong his enjoyment. Jet scuttled towards the shattered remains of his family heirloom. What may have been the only chance to defeat ABIS was now gone forever.
"How does it feel to lose everything you once held dear?" ABIS chuckled heartily. "Now that your only weapon is lost, there is no need to drag this out any longer."
ABIS opened his jaw and formed another dark matter orb. Jet, to distraught to move, did nothing as ABIS lowered his jaw to him. ABIS was ready to fire until...
"Fire in the hole!"
A loud series of bangs followed by explosions erupted up and down ABIS back. ABIS' concentration was broken, forcing him to drop his dark matter orb. ABIS whirled his head backwards; a flare of rage present in his eye. It was Wave who saved Jet. She had stolen a pack of Tails' exploding rings before leaving earlier.
"You...don't you filthy pigeons ever die?" ABIS growled.
"Funny, I was wondering the same thing!" Wave said as she shot another load of exploding rings.
But ABIS blocked them with his tail and said. "You dare to challenge me with such miniscule toys. Allow me to show you real power."
Wave repacked the rings and prepared her Tsunami Gear to shoot off at the first sign of dark matter. But it wasn't dark matter that ABIS used. To her surprise, ABIS threw his head backwards and shot it forward to eject a stream of fire. Wave, caught off guard, was hit full force by the searing flames. Jet finally snapped out of his depressant trance when Wave pained screams reached his ears. He instantly dropped the shattered crystals and ran to Wave's side.
"Wave!" Jet cried; dropping down to his knees and held her in his arms. "Wave, speak to me!"
"Jet..." Wave spoke in a hoarse voice. "Jet...I...I'm."
Her eyes closed softly and her head fell sideways.
"Wave!" Jet cried loudly. "Wave, please don't leave me."
"Gaze upon the legendary king of Babylon?" ABIS said with a low chuckle. "Now nothing more then a puddle of sorrow."
But Jet could not hear him. Jet minded was going over when had just happened in the last few minutes. Storm was crushed, Wave was burned, and even Erazor, who was his sworn enemy, had fallen to protect him. He didn't know whether they were alive or dead. All he knew was that ABIS caused it and he was going to pay.
"On your feet, vermin." ABIS commanded.
"Erazor...Storm...Wave...you hurt them." Jet said softly as he set Wave down gently. "I'll kill you...I'LL KILL YOU!"
"What is happening!" ABIS exclaimed in surprise.
He could feel his chest give a startling shake. He looked down to the five Arks, which were now pitch black and emitting a demonic aura. Jet's rage flared; his gaze sending small tremors down ABIS' steel spine. The emerald hawk's feathers changed to a darker shade; his chest fathers turned coal black, his pupils disappeared, and the iris was blood red. Jet had transformed into Shadow Jet.
"What has happened? How have you transform?" ABIS questioned.
"I would tell you, but it won't matter in a moment." Jet said in an icy cold tone.
Jet shot forward in blinding speed and smashed his fist into ABIS' chest before he could realize it. The impact created a small fracture that split the armor opened slightly to reveal the Arks. Jet flipped backwards and kicked ABIS' massive jaw and hurtled him back a few feet.
"This is improbable." ABIS stated.
"What's the matter, ABIS?" Jet spoke in the same cruel tone. "Lose your nerve somewhere?"
"I will not stand for this!" ABIS roared; quickly spinning to his feet. "My followers; defend me!"
At once, the Meteor Tech robots curled into their wheel forms and rolled forward.
"Having others fight for you." Jet sniggered. "You really are useless."
Jet landed on the ground. The moment he set foot on land, a black hole formed on the ground. The robots tried to turn away, but the gravitational pull forced them inside. Jet levitated to the air again, dismissing the black hole. He smiled at his work, but it didn't last long. One robot got away and grasped Jet from behind. But coming into contact with the dark bird erupted its circuits and exploded from the inside. Jet smiled.
"Is that all?" Jet said maliciously; his gaze never leaving ABIS' growling form. "Stand still so a can kill you quickly."
ABIS braced himself. Jet began to move forward until...
"JET STOP!"
Jet's body was suddenly paralyzed. ABIS and the surrounding area were blocked by a wall of stars. A grey eagle, a pink sparrow, and a blue hawk came into view. It was only a moment before he realized it was his ancestors: Rakis, Aeriala, and Stolen.
"Whoa, now that's what I call a makeover." Aeriala said; eyeing Jet's changed figure.
"Let...me...go." Jet strained against his invisible restraints.
"Not until you calm down." Rakis said. "You must control yourself before you get killed."
"The only one that's gonna get killed is ABIS." Jet growled.
"Not if you keep this up." Aeriala said.
"Don't ya know what happens when you use the shadow form?" Stolen asked. "The shadow form shortens your life span. Already, you've lost ten years of your life.
"Why should I believe you." Jet growled
"Why don't we ask Feron?" Aeriala said
"Who?" Jet asked.
"My partner." Rakis said. "He became greedy and used the shadow form to take over the world. He used it for a month before dying."
"Then I'll die killing ABIS." Jet stated.
"That won't be happening." Aeriala said.
"What are you talking about?" Jet asked.
"The Arks are fueled by the shadow form." Rakis explained. "You can't defeat him as long as you use it."
"Then what do I do?" Jet asked sadly.
"Just do what I told you last time." Stolen said. He moved close to Jet's ear and whispered. "Remember what you're fighting for."
Jet's eyes snapped open. He was lying on the ground, back at ABIS' altered world. Jet's had extinguished the shadow form and was back to normal. Unfortunately, that wasn't good either. As he slowly rose to his feet, ABIS tail came in out of nowhere and swatted Jet across the barren floor and skidded to a halt.
"Now who's lost his nerve?" ABIS chuckled. "You must have realized that you could never defeat me."
"No." Jet smirked. "I justdidn't want to getmy hands dirty."
"And how, may I ask, do you intend to defeat me?" ABIS asked.
"Like this. Yo, Shahra!" Jet called.
Jet's ring glowed and Shahra appeared in a flash of light.
"Yes, master?" Shahra said with a twirl.
"I have something big planned and I need your help." Jet explained.
"I will do whatever I can." Shahra said pleasingly.
"I need three wishes." Jet stated. "My first wish: restore the Babylon Crystal Box."
"Your wish I my command." Shahra recited.
Shahra twirled around and with a flick of her wrist; a cloud of sparkling dust surrounded the shattered box. When the dust cleared, the box had been properly mended. The newly restored box emits a pulse of crystal light; enveloping its master. Jet's body entire body became a crystal color and his head feathers stood up, transforming him into Shining Jet.
"Not this trick again." ABIS groaned in annoyance. "You think this form with help you any better."
"I'm not done yet." Jet said; a devious smile curved on his beak. "Shahra, my second wish: I wish the Arks of the Cosmoswere in my possesion!"
"As you wish, o master." Shahra obeyed.
She performed another twirl and flicked her wrist again. ABIS staggered slight; feeling a heavy rumble in his chest. A second later, all five Arks erupted from his chest and surrounded Jet. The surrounding Arks surrendered their powers to their new master. Jet's body changed once again; this time a full-body black with star markings. Shining Jet transformed into Galaxy Jet.
"This...this cannot be!" ABIS screamed frantically.
"This is where it ends." Jet stated.
"Not so fast." ABIS said; his panicked expression turning to one of satisfactory. "You can't kill me. If you do, you'll kill Omega as well. How could you live with yourself if you killed one of your friends?"
"That's a good point." Jet said lazily. "But I'm way ahead of you. Shahra, my final wish: I wish to separate Omega and ABIS."
"As you wish, master." Shahra said; a prideful smile on her face.
For one last time, she twirled and flicked her wrist. A sudden shudder of pain came over ABIS, causing him to stumble backwards slightly. ABIS was engulfed in a flash of light and separated into two separate beings: E-123 Omega and SCR-HD, ABIS' true form.
"Omega, nice to have you back, buddy." Jet said.
"It is good to be back, Jet." Omega said.
"No. No! This can't be happening!" SCR-HD exclaimed as he struggled to his feet. "I've had enough of this!
SCR-HD tried to attack Omega, but he was too strong and was thrown to the air by the brute. While still in midair, Jet clutched his head; suspending him in the air.
"You can't be doing this." SCR-HD stated.
"Actually, I can." Jet said; tossing him in the air. "Later."
Jet held his hand forward and clamped it shut. At this motion, a black hole formed around SCR-HD, crushing him into dust. With SCR-HD gone, Babylon Garden returned to its normal state. Jet landed and also returned to normal.
"Finally, this nightmare is over." Jet said, falling backwards onto the ground.
"Jet, I am sorry for the pain I have caused." Omega apologized.
"Hey, it's no problem." Jet waved it off. "The point is your back to normal and ABIS is gone forever.
"That is good." Omega said in relief. But one thing was still bugging him. "What happened to the chaos emeralds?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot about those." Jet said.
The chaos emeralds were lying on the floor; completely forgot since the beginning of the battle. Jet jumped to his feet and trotted over. But just as he was a few feet away, Erazor came out of nowhere and blocked him off.
"I must commend you, Jet the Hawk." Erazor said; a grin plastered on his bleeding face. "Not many could pull of what you did. But now that it is over, I'll be taking those emeralds." Erazor turned to grab them when they suddenly vanished. "What is going on?"
"The emerald, they're gone." Jet gaped.
"Not just them." Everyone turned as Nazo appeared from a black hole. "All the emeralds are."
"What do you mean?" Omega asked.
"All seven emerald have just vanished." Nazo explained; clearly furious. "I don't know who did this, but they will pay."
Nazo grabbed Erazor roughly by his hair and the two disappeared into the dark vortex.
Jet and Omega worked hard to help Storm and Wave, who were lucky enough to survive the encounter, recover. After a few moments of rest, Jet and his team, this including Shahra and Omega, departed from Babylon Garden, taking once last glance at it. Each of the five held one of the five Arks, but Jet was the only one wearing one.
"So what will happened to Babylon Garden?" Storm asked.
"Without the Arks to power it, Babylon Garden will remain on Earth forever." Wave explained.
"And what will we do with the Arks of the Cosmos." Shahra asked.
"We'll do what our ancestors did and scatter them." Jet stated. He stared down his arm to gaze at the green Ark attached to his wrist. "I'll keep this oneand pass it down to my descendents so that no one will try to do what ABIS did again."
"Now that only leaves..."
Their conversation was cut when a flash of light suddenly erupted in front of them. A second later, Shadow stood before them and he looked mad.
"Hey, shad." Jet said casually.
"Where's my car?" Shadow questioned thoroughly.
"Uh...Yeah. About that..." Wave stammered.
"It blew up." Storm said straight out.
Jet and Wave slapped their foreheads. But Shadow didn't appear angry. Instead, he seemed suddenly interested in the sand he was standing on.
"Listen..." Shahra said soothingly. "...I am sure there has to besome way we could – is he turning red?"
Indeed, Shadow's fur was turning bright red. His head shot up and his eyes were also bright red. It didn't take a genius to know why.
"Uh oh." Jet muttered.
"CHAOS BLAST!"
Meanwhile, the scene changes to a desolate jungle island. Near the shores of the island, all seven chaos emerald could be found glinting in the sunlight. The glint drew the attention of a wild tiger and beckoned it from the safety of the trees. The tiger sniffed the emeralds innocently and pawed it like a cat to yarn. But with its attention to the emeralds, it failed to notice a thin coil snaking around its neck until it was lifted into the air. The tiger snarled and tried to break free, but it was pointless. Within a minute, the tiger was dead.
"Pathetic organic creature."
The tiger was thrown into the water and washed away by the waves. The killer emerged from the jungle, revealing its true identity. It was the time rogue and Eggman's loyal servant: Future Mecha Shadow. Mecha's dragon head smiled sinisterly as he loomed over the emeralds.
"It would appear that my plan has work after all." Mecha said as he picked up the red emerald. "Now that the Jewels of Time are in my possession, the Jewels of Space be a much easier task."
His eyes peered through the sparkling jewel to gaze at another island from afar. He dropped the emerald to see the island more clearly. It was a small island, slightly smaller then the one he was one. It had a dormant volcano, a small port, and a small village that lie at the foot of the volcano.
"My first destination: Southern Island."
Lesson learned: never touch Shadow's car. How did Mecha come into possession of the chaos emeralds? And what are the Jewels of Space? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes