SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES
Chapter Fifty-Four: Eternal Sleep
The scene opens to the Pacific Ocean around a small island near Japan. Out in the water closing into the island was a large ship holding a group of the most unlikely heroes: Gale's crew. Currently, each member was doing their own thing to preoccupy them. Gale was directing the ship, Wrist was in charge of navigation, Mach was repairing the outside of the ship from their last venture, Vanilla was trying to regain her old fighting form, and Accel was lounging around on the deck. But up in the bow, Thorn Rose was keeping a steady eye on the island ahead.
"Are you sure she's there!" Wrist yelled.
"For the last time, yes!" Thorn replied irritably. "My tracker spell has never been wrong. I know Kyira is on that island."
"Tell me again," Mach said, pulling himself back onto the ship. "Why exactly are we looking for the daughter of a demon?"
"And the Nine-tailed fox demon at that." Accel added.
"Hey, she's helped us out in the past." Gale stated.
"Was that before or after she tried to eat us?" Vanilla questioned sarcastically.
"Ok, so she has her faults." Gale admitted sheepishly. "But if we're going to defeat Naga, we're going to need all the help we can get."
The crew thought this over and figured Gale was right, but despite that, they weren't at all convinced. The crew weighed anchor near the beach of the island and cast off. The entire island was covered in one vast jungle that stretched from one side to the other.
"This place is huge!" Accel exclaimed.
"How are we ever going to find Kyira in all this?" Vanilla asked.
"My tracking spell is still in effect." Thorn explained. "Just follow me and we'll find her within the hour."
"I still don't trust magic." Wrist said.
"Deal with it." Thorn replied.
Thorn closed his eyes momentarily and then reopened them; his eyes bright red. It took several seconds for the hedgehog sorcerer to locate his target, but he eventually found her. With his eyes set, he Thorn led the pirate crew into the jungle. But getting through the jungle was a another story. The journey started out simple until they were ambushed by a pack of jaguars. Wrist used his super strength to fling them away and Vanilla used good old fashioned martial arts to kick them back.
"Anything else you want to feed us to?" Wrist said angrily.
"It wasn't his fault." Mach said reasonably. "He didn't know about those creatures."
"I don't need you to defend me, Mach." Thorn glared. "And just so you know, Kyira is close by."
"Where is she?" Gale questioned.
"She is just a half mile north of here." Thorn stated.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Gale said cheerfully. "The sooner we find her, the sooner I can get back to my rum."
"You know, drinking is not very good parenting." Vanilla said sternly.
"Neither is being a dangerous pirate." Accel commented.
Vanilla shook her head and followed the band of men into the jungle. After trekking through sever swamps, creeping trees, and winding bogs, the pirate crew came to a clearing in the middle of the island. There were small remains of a campfire and several branches form into a tent, but there was no sign of life with the whole area.
"These embers are fresh." Vanilla stated; examining the campfire remains. "She couldn't have left for a few minutes."
"No, my spell says she's here somewhere." Thorn said sternly.
"I knew it." Wrist smirked. "All that magic mumbo-jumbo has finally gone to your head."
"Shut it!" Thorn growled irritably. "If you think you can do a better..."
"Hey, did you guys hear that?" Accel interrupted.
"Hear what?" Mach asked.
"I don't know." Accel said shiftily. "It sounds like something's moving in the trees."
The group remained silence, waiting to hear for the noises the adult hawk stated. But after two minutes of silence, the only thing that could be heard was the wind brushing through the trees.
"I don't hear anything." Gale said. "Maybe you..."
Suddenly, something orange flashed through the group, knocking them to the ground. The six pirates jumped back to their feet and faced the creature that passed them. It was a female fox with, surprisingly, nine wild tails. Her fur was bright orange, which only matched her blood-red eyes. She wore white silk pants, a white sleeveless shirt, and a blue sash around her waist. The demonic female was crouched low to the ground, looking poise to strike.
"See, I told you!" Thorn shouted victoriously. "I knew my spell wasn't wrong."
"Great, now do you have a spell that stops us from getting eaten?!" Mach exclaimed.
The demon fox blurred passed the group with blinding speed, swiping at the crew in the process. Vanilla and Accel jumped away without a scratch, but the other four were thrown back into the trees. A coconut landed on Wrist's head and knocked him out.
"You don't see that every day." Gale commented.
Thorn flipped back up to his feet and shot a large ball of ice from his palm. The air around the demon was so thick, the ice melted before it could reach her. The fox demon growled at Thorn, but was unable to do anything when the wind suddenly kicked up. Accel had his own version of fans and swiped them across the air, creating a miniature tornado. The tornado picked the demon fox up off the ground, sending her flying into the trees. The demon recovered quickly, more angered than ever. She made a quick dash for Accel, but Gale jumped out of nowhere and whipped his foot to the side of her face. While she was down, Mach threw a small metal ball, which released a steel net from its contents. The female demon snarled, trying to break free. Suddenly, Vanilla calmly walked up to her and slapped her across the face.
"Ow!" The female screamed. "Damn, Vanilla! Why do you have to hit so hard!?"
"Don't give me that!" Vanilla said sternly. "You nearly scared us half to death, Kyira!"
"Hey, I was just having a little fun." Kyira pouted, trying to break from the net. "Now get me out of here. It's getting kinda cramped."
Mach pressed a button from the control he was holding and released the demon fox from the net. The fight took their attention away from the time and realized it was already night time. Kyira walked back to the campfire and relit it with a quick flame she whipped from her tail. Gale's crew joined their old friend and sat around the campfire.
"So what are you doing here?" Kyira questioned, throwing a stick of meat on the fire. "It's no mere coincidence that all seven of us are gathered together in one place. We haven't been together since the birth of Gale's first son."
"I'm gathering the old to take down an old enemy." Gale informed.
"Don't tell me Davy Jones is back again." Kyira sighed.
"Worse." Gale said seriously. "It's Naga."
"The snake scientist?" Kyira frowned. "You can't seem to kill anyone properly. So, what does this have to do with me?"
"We just heard that Naga has gained a new army." Mach explained seriously. "We don't know who they are or what they do, but we know they're very powerful. I we want a chance to kill that filthy snake, we need all the help we can get."
"Please, Kyira." Vanilla pleaded. "We can't do this without you."
"On normal circumstances, I would agree immediately." Kyira said, staring into the fire. "But as of now, I have to decline."
"But why?" Accel asked.
"Being the daughter of the great demon, Kyuubi no Kitsune, I'm not exactly liked." Kyira explained. "No matter how much good I try to do, the people will see me as nothing but a monster." She clenched her fist and bared her teeth. "To make matters worse, they murdered my husband and son. So whatever happens to the world is no concern of mine."
"But they only found your husband's body." Thorn stated. "So there is a chance your son might still be alive. I could use the tracking spell and..."
"And wind up lost in the Sahara Desert?" Wrist interrupted rudely. "I think we'd have a better chance with a blind badger."
"I've had just enough of your mouth!" Thorn shouted, jumping to his feet. "If you have a problem with my magic, then why don't I just save you the trouble?! I'm out of here!"
"Thorn!" Vanilla called, but he was gone. "Nice going, Wrist."
"What?" Wrist shrugged. "It's not my fault he's a freak. Just let him cool off; he'll be back in a few minutes."
"You know, this is not a good example of teamwork." Mach stated. "Since we are going to be working together, he ought to learn how to handle team situations like..."
Mach was more like his daughter than anyone thought. The adult swallow continued his speech, unaware that everyone had already tuned him out. Within five minutes, Mach put everyone to sleep. Out in a different part of the jungle, Thorn was storming through the thick trees to reach a large cliffside. Thorn stood at the edge, looking out to sea; the wind flowing through his quills and cloak.
"That echidna urchin thinks he's better than me." Thorn grumbled. "What I wouldn't give to wipe that smirk off his face."
"How far would you be willing to push yourself?" A mysterious voice called.
"Who's there?!" Thorn questioned, turning to the trees. "Show yourself!"
"If wish to achieve a higher understanding, you must be willing to open up." The voice continued. "Open your mind and your heart."
Thorn gathered a fire spell and threw it into the trees. Suddenly, the fireball was thrown backwards and the flames turned an eerie shade of black. The last thing Thorn remembered was the burning sensation in his chest.
Morning arrived in a few hours with Gale and his crew awake to greet it. Gale's original plan was to continue convincing Kyira to join them, but then he noticed something was missing. Thorn had still not returned. Their current mission was to find the hedgehog sorcerer and continue with their original plan. They had Kyira lead the way since she's the only one who knows her way around the island. But after two hours of looking, the pirate crew came up with nothing.
"Where is he?" Gale asked worried. "It's not like him to venture off like this."
"Why doesn't he just use his little hocus-pocus to find his way back?" Wrist grumbled.
"Stop it, Wrist!" Vanilla said sternly. "It's because of your insensitivity that Thorn went off in the first place."
"I am not insensitive." Wrist defended.
"Oh, please." Mach rolled his eyes. "You're about as sensitive as Accel is smart."
"Yeah." Accel nodded. Five seconds later, he realized what he meant. "Hey!"
"Why exactly do you need me again?" Kyira whispered to Gale.
"I need better company." Gale replied.
As they continued their trek through the jungle, they found the air becoming thicker and the temperature hotter. Vanilla was starting to lag behind, not used to this kind of intensity, and Accel offered to carry her on his back. But the emerald bird had other ideas. Realizing this, Mach kicked his leader in the shin and offered it to Vanilla instead, which she accepted. The pirate crew quickly found the source of the unusual atmosphere as they suddenly appeared in the middle of a desert.
"Is this supposed to be here?" Gale asked.
"No." Kyira shook her head. "This island is one big jungle; there shouldn't be any deserts."
"Then where did all this come from?" Accel questioned.
"How am I supposed to know?!" Kyira roared irritably.
"Forget the desert," Wrist said. "Who's that?"
Wrist pointed his hand out into the vast sands; a blurred figure was making its approach. As the figure came closer, his form became clear to the group. It was a human, an old man to be exact, with a bald head, piercing yellow eyes, pointed ears, and a small white beard. He wore a black and grey trench coat, a white shirt and gloves, black pants and boots. The old man seemed to travel across the desert sands without a problem from the atmosphere. He stopped a few yards from Gale and his crew.
"Who are you?" Vanilla asked curiously. "What is this place?"
"I am known as Master Xehanort." Xehanort stated. "And I have brought you here to this ancient battle ground."
"But why have you brought us here?" Accel asked.
"Forget him." Kyira said. "The sooner we find Thorn, the sooner you guys can leave."
"Thorn." Xehanort said thoughtfully. "He wouldn't happen to be a red hedgehog, middle-aged?"
"Yeah, how did you know?" Mach questioned suspiciously.
Master Xehanort grinned wickedly and stepped aside to reveal Thorn Rose. But something was wrong with the hedgehog sorcerer. His eyes were blank, his expression was lacking, and he was wielding a large weapon in his hand. The weapon was shaped like a sword, but with red cogs at the end and green eyes on the hilt and the teeth.
"Hey, Thorn, what are you doing here?" Mach asked. No reply. "Hey, what's up with him?"
"Aw, you not still mad, are you?" Wrist grumbled.
"Don't bother." Xehanort said. "Your voices can no longer reach him where he is."
"What do you mean?" Gale asked seriously.
"It means, Thorn's mind is possessed." Kyira growled. "I don't like the feel of this guy."
"Hey, old geezer!" Gale shouted. "Whatever you did to Thorn, you better set him straight."
"Don't worry; your friend will be restored soon enough." Xehanort stated. "Just as soon as I have a word with Gale."
"Forget it, pal!" Wrist exclaimed, holding up his tri-spiked fists. "If you want to get to our captain, you'll have to go through is first!"
"It shall be a pleasure." Xehanort said calmly.
Xehanort's cool attitude was starting to bug Wrist, so the echidna went on the attack. Without listening to his crewmates warnings, Wrist kicked off the ground his fist out in front. Xehanort remained calm in the situation and merely raised his hand to the sky. This action caused a pillar of stone to suddenly burst from the ground and slam into Wrist's jaw. While Wrist was thrown back to the rest of the crew, Master Xehanort raised his hand again, this time creating a plateau below him and Thorn.
"Now that is insane." Accel said.
"And completely illogical." Mach added.
"I don't really care much for logic." Gale said. "What I do care about is getting Thorn back from that bald freak." He turned to his crewmates. "Wrist, take Vanilla, Accel, and Mach and try to see if you can snap Thorn back to normal."
"Finally, some action." Wrist grinned eagerly.
"What about you?" Vanilla asked worried.
"Gale and I will get rid of the human." Kyira growled. "He will soon learn not to trespass on demon territory."
The six crewmates scattered into two groups. Meanwhile, Master Xehanort and the possessed Thorn were watching the small images of the pirate crew scatter and charge at them from both sides.
"Not a very organized group." Xehanort said. "But times have changed since I've been away. It's been eleven years since I've gone into battle. Time to see if I still got it." He holds out his hand to the group. "Go, my soldier."
Thorn nodded at the command and jumped from the tall cliffside. While Wrist led the frontal assault, Gale and Kyira started climbing up the backside of the plateau. The four crewmates started to climb the rocky terrain until a suddenly bolt passed by them. They looked up and found Thorn diving after them, firing several bolts of lightning from his weapon. The four pirates jumped back as Thorn came to a soft landing in front of them.
"Oh, I have been waiting to do this for a long time." Wrist grinned.
"Don't hurt him, Wrist." Vanilla pleaded.
"I think the ones we have to worry about getting hurt are us." Mach stated.
Wrist jumped ahead and flung his tri-spiked fist towards Thorn's head. The hedgehog sorcerer counteracted by raising his weapon to block the attack. Thorn pushed the echidna back and shot a blast of ice from his palm. Wrist was thrown back a few feet, his left arm completely encased in ice. Thorn raised his weapon to strike again, only to swing around and block Accel's fan from behind. Mach slide under Thorn and tripped him behind his legs. Thorn pressed his hand into the ground and flipped back to his feet before unleashing a fresh surge of lightning. Mach pulled out a small yellow ball and tossed it into the lightning, absorbing the contents.
"Hey, not bad." Accel commented.
"You always have to be prepared for anything." Mach smirked pridefully.
But in their moment of distraction, Thorn ran up to Mach and whacked him with the side of his weapon. Seeing his teammate's distress, Accel jumped into battle double fans. Accel swung both fans at once, forming a miniature tornado in his wake. Thorn stabbed his weapon into the ground, preventing himself from being blown away. When the winds finally died down, Thorn thrust his palm forward, releasing a dark fireball. Accel was hit square in the chest, sending him flying back to his teammate.
"Well, that could have gone better." Accel said hoarsely.
Thorn slowly stepped forward, his grip tightened around the handle of his weapon. But before the possessed sorcerer could take another step, Vanilla stepped out of nowhere and nailed a blinding side kick to the face. Thorn tumbled backward, but recovered himself and growled at the mature rabbit.
"I hope you can forgive me." Vanilla said kindly, raising her fists. "But I must protect my friends."
Thorn charged forward and swung his weapon around her head, but Vanilla avoided it by bending backwards. Vanilla planted her hand to the ground and shot her foot upwards, slamming it into Thorn's face. Thorn was thrown into the air, but regained his composure and released another surge of lightning from his palm. Vanilla saw this and back flipped into the air, landing on the side of the plateau. She kicked off the plateau and thrusted her fist forward, which Thorn blocked with his weapon.
"Thorn, please." Vanilla pleaded. "Snap out of it."
But there was no talk to him. Thorn pushed back vanilla and continued his battle. But up at the top of the plateau, Master Xehanort was happily watching the battle going on below. Unknown to him, Gale and Kyira managed to climb up the plateau and eyed him over the edge of the cliffside.
"Let's just take him out quickly." Kyira whispered.
"That would be stupid." Gale retorted. "We have no idea how powerful this guy is. He's obviously very strong if he is able to change the environment at his own will."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Kyira growled.
"Next time, try keeping your voices down."
Gale and Kyira shot back around and found Master Xehanort standing over them. The aged man grasped them by their heads and threw them to the center of the plateau. Kyira, being her uncontrollable self, was the first to recklessly go on the attack. Xehanort remained calm and merely swung his hand to her. All of a sudden, something cold and metallic collided with her chest and threw her backwards. Gale got to his feet and found Xehanort wielding a weapon he retrieved from nowhere. It was shaped like a sword, but had two bladed sides, a curved edge at the teeth, and a black emblem around the handle.
"What the hell is that?" Gale questioned. "And why does Thorn have one just like that?"
"I would not expect you to understand to complexities of the Keyblades." Xehanort said.
"The Keyblades?" Gale repeated.
"Yes, such marvelous and mysterious weapons." Xehanort said sadly. "The keyblade the red one wields once belong to my apprentice. At least, it did before..."
Master Xehanort remained silent in a moment of depression. But it didn't last long. Kyira came back and she was more angry than ever. She went on a rampage and started lashing out at Xehanort with all nine of her tails. But the master was much faster than he looked and blocked every attack with the keyblade. After having a moment of fun with her, Xehanort grasped one of the demon's tails and flung her to the edge. Kyira growled with a furious look in her eyes as Xehanort calmly walked up to her. He slowly started to raise his Keyblade, when Gale came around with a flying spin kick. Xehanort blocked the attack with his forearm and thrust the hedgehog backwards, sending him flying to the edge. Gale scrambled rapidly to prevent himself from flying off and succeeded.
"Damn, that was close." Gale panted.
"Now are you willing to listen?" Xehanort asked coolly.
"You can listen to my claws tearing into your flesh!" Kyira roared.
Kyira burst out again; Xehanort sighed in annoyance. Down below, the others were fair well against Thorn. The hedgehog sorcerer was beating them without even trying. But that was mostly because they were afraid of hurting their old friend. The only who didn't hold back was Wrist. The echidna warrior was unleashing everything he had, only to have it stopped by Thorn's new Keyblade. Wrist tried for another assault, but the red hedgehog dived down and flung the echidna over his head.
"What is wrong with you?!" Wrist yelled to Thorn. "Snap out of it!" Thorn paid no attention to his pleas and continued to swipe at him. Wrist managed to stop the Keyblade from cracking his head open by clasping it between his hands. "Thorn, I'm sorry for what I said. You're one of my best friends. Don't do this."
"That's all you needed to say." Suddenly, Thorn's eyes returned to normal and the Keyblade he held vanished forever. "Aw, man. I was so hoping I could keep that."
"Thorn, how did you break free from that guys spell?" Accel asked.
"I was never under Xehanort's control." Thorn stated.
"Then you were just helping him kill us!" Wrist shouted.
"He's not here to fight us." Thorn explained. "He came to give us a warning."
Back at the top of the plateau, Xehanort was making quick work of Kyira and Gale. The fox demon and pirate king tried every attack in their arsenal, but nothing seemed to get past the master's Keyblade. In their last attack, Gale used his signature spin kick and Kyira thrust herself with a wave of red chaos. Maser Xehanort blocked Gale's kick and thrust Kyira backwards with a wave of magic. Gale and Kyira were both left in a crumpled heap at the master's feet, both too tired to continue.
"Now are you willing to listen?" Xehanort asked again.
"If you're going to kill us, just make it quick." Kyira said defeated.
"But I have no desire to kill you." Xehanort stated. "I merely come here to make a request."
"What request?" Gale asked.
"As you may already know, Naga was gathered himself an army." Xehanort said. "The creatures under his control are called the Heartless. It was the Babylonians who created them, but it is my fault they were able to spread. I tried to find a way to stop them eleven years ago, but I failed. My spirit has been unable to rest, knowing the Heartless are rampaging through the universe."
"So what does that have to do with us?" Gale questioned.
"I have one simple request." Xehanort said pleadingly. "Defeat Naga and his followers; correct my mistake." Xehanort tossed something to Gale, which he caught. It was a silver leaf with golden veins. "Take this with you. When the time comes, it will provide a light to help you against the darkness."
"Thanks." Gale said awkwardly. "I think."
"I wish you the best of luck." Xehanort nodded; he turned to Kyira. "And one more thing, your son is still alive."
"M-my son?" Kyira stammered in shock. "Kyuta is alive."
"Yes." Xehanort replied. "Young Miles Prower seems to be doing well for himself."
Xehanort sighed and opened himself to the blazing sun. Suddenly, the old man exploded in a ray of light, blinding everyone in the area. When the light died down, the desert had returned to the jungle and Xehanort was nowhere to be seen. After an hour of packing and preparing, the pirate crew was ready to cast off, this time with a new member."
"So what changed your mind, Kyira?" Vanilla asked.
"That man, Xehanort, he waited eleven years for someone to save him." Kyira said thoughtfully. "He has suffered all those years. I will make it my mission to end his torment so that he may rest in peace." She turned her attention out to the sea. "And besides, my son is out there somewhere. I will find him and we will be reunited forever."
And thus, the final member of Gale's crew had returned. A pirate king, an echidna warrior, a hedgehog sorcerer, a Babylon leader, a mechanical genius, a martial arts master, and a raging demon. Now gathered together again for the first time in fifteen years, they set their sights on their targets: Naga and the Heartless.
True light sleeps in the darkness and awakes the awakening. Will Kyira be reunited with her son? Will Gale's crew be enough to defeat Naga? What was Master Xehanort's mistake? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!
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