SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES
Damian © SlashBandicoot43
Genesis © Blue-Kaous
Pokemon © Nintendo
Chapter Fifty-Eight: Island Insanity
The scene opens up to the birthplace of the legendary Sonic the Hedgehog, South Island. Most of the island was covered by a large town, but in the center of the island stood a large castle that belonged to the royal family. Inside the castle, an aged stag wearing formal garbs was making his way to the throne room, grumbling under his breath. As he walked down the hallway, two guards, who were lazing around, quickly ran past the stag to guard the door to the throne room.
"Let me through." The stag commanded. "I must see the queen about an important matter."
"Uh...why do you need to see her?" The first guard asked fearfully.
"With the Princess of Soleanna canceling the meeting, our plans are out of order." The stag stated. "That is why it is my job as the Royal Adviser to sort this matter out with the queen."
"But she's had a long day." The second guard excused. "You know, with all the ruling and being queen..."
"She ran off again, didn't she?" Stag questioned dully.
"Yeah." The first guard answered.
"Pretty much." The second guard nodded.
"So where is she?!" The stag yelled.
"CANNONBALL!!"
The scene alters to the beach of South Island. Everyone loved to visit the beach, and this newest character was no exception. He was a 15 year-old dog with golden fur and two bangs sticking from his forehead. He was Damien, soldier-in-training and adoptive son of Lucario. Damian was soon joined by another character. It was a little blue hedgehog no older than four with seven dangling quills that looked like dreadlocks. It was Steam the Hedgehog, second son of Gale and Aleena and brother to Sonic.
"Hah! I beat you!" Stream gloated.
"That's because you're so heavy." Damien retorted.
"Am not!" Stream cried, throwing his fists at Damien.
"Stream, don't hurt the poor puppy!"
The voice had belonged to a violet hedgehog with long flowing hair, currently wearing a pure-white bikini that was attracting a lot of attention. It was the queen of South Island, Aleena the Hedgehog. Right now, every male on the beach would be on Aleena, if not her trusted bodyguard, Lucario.
"I'm not puppy!" Damien yelled. "I am a respected warrior!"
"By who?" Aleena smirked.
"Uh..."Damien hummed. "Give me a minute, it'll come to me."
"We don't think we can wait a century." Aleena laughed.
"Haha!" Stream laughed. "She got ya!"
"Did not!" Damien shouted, splashing the hedgehog.
Stream started splashing back at the hound until it became a full-blown splash war. Aleena giggled at the children's antics, particularly Damien's level of maturity. Being Lucario's adopted son, you would think he would be more strict.
"I'm not sure this is such a good idea, my queen." Lucario commented. "Shouldn't you be back at the castle, doing your duties?"
"What duties?" Aleena grinned. "With Elise canceling on us, we have a whole week to ourselves."
"But, you majesty..."
"Lucario." Aleena said, lying back. "You are Captain of the Guard, not my adviser. You should take a lesson from Damien and learn to relax."
Lucario grunted, not at all pleased by the comment. Back in the water, Stream and Damien was still splashing, with Damien having the advantage. Suddenly, Stream splashed again, this time creating a large wave that sent Damien crashing back to the other side of the beach. Regaining his senses, Damien found himself lying in the sand; a little girl staring at him.
"Man, that kid sure can hit." Damien groaned.
"Get away from my baby!"
All of a sudden, a random woman runs up and grabs her child into her arms. Before he realized it, the father came up slammed his fist to the side of Damien's face. Damien was thrown back into the sand; hatred brimming from his eyes.
"What the hell was that for?" Damien growled.
"You stay away from our child, monster."
"I wasn't doing anything to the kid." Damien stated.
"Like we're supposed to believe that!" The woman spat. "Ever since you were born, you've been nothing but trouble to the island! Why don't you just crawl back to whatever hole you came from and die!"
It was always the same; Damien was ostracized by the people he had sworn to protect. Sometime, the pain became too much for him. Damien's dark eyes became demonic red and bared his fangs at the family. The family saw this and ran away, screaming. Damien was prepared to chase after them when suddenly; he lost control of his own body. His arms were forced together, his knees buckled, and he was forced into a kneeling position in the sand. As all this happened, an new figure approached him.
"Genesis." Damien growled.
The one called Genesis was a crimson hedgehog with seven quills that pointed in different directions and his bangs covering his right eye. He wore black shoes with crimson buckles, black fingerless gloves, and a black heart necklace. Genesis was holding out his hands like a puppeteer, controlling Damien's body.
"I thought that you might lose your cool." Genesis smirked. "But this makes it way too easy."
"What are you doing here?" Damien asked.
"Lucario thought you might go out of control again." Genesis explained. "Since I have the ability of bloodbending, it's very easy for me to control you when you start to lose it. There is a reason why I'm second-in-command of the Guard."
"My own father doesn't trust me?" Damien asked sadly.
"You don't exactly have a clean record." Genesis said tauntingly, releasing the golden hound. "So, are you going to go back peacefully, or am I gonna have to drag your tail back...again."
"Yeah, laugh it up!" Damien shouted. "I'll be my revenge yet."
"That's what you said the last seventy-two time!" Genesis laughed.
Damien tried to come up with a comeback, but his brain was empty, as usual. Damien sighed and bowed his head in defeat, following the crimson hedgehog. When they returned, Aleena was already dressed in her ceremonial white robe and Stream was wearing gloves and shoes similar to Sonic's. Damien had also grabbed his cloths, too. He wore black and white sneakers, black jeans, and a black bandanna on his left wrist.
"Is everyone ready to go?" Lucario questioned.
"Yeah." Everyone replied dully.
"Do we have to leave?" Stream asked cutely.
"Aww, don't worry, Stream." Aleena smiled. "We'll come back tomorrow. That is, if old iron-paws doesn't rat us out."
"Oh, she nailed you on that one." Damien chuckled.
"Whatever." Lucario sneered; Damien flinched. "Let's just get back to the castle."
Lucario, much to everyone's dismay, led the group away from the beach towards the flowered path that led the castle. Aleena was disappointed that she was forced to get back to work, Stream was disappointed that he wasn't going to spend more time with his mother, and Genesis was disappointed that he hadn't buried Damien yet. Damien was the only one not disappointed; only sad. He could still vividly remember the hatred looks from both the adults he met. Both looked at him as if he were a virus; it was always the same.
"Why can't they just let it go?" Damien thought. "It happened over five years ago. I'm not like that anymore."
"Hey, mutt, wake up!" Genesis snapped.
"Say wha?" Damien mumbled.
All of a sudden, Damien found himself tackled to the ground by Lucario. Aleena grabbed her son protectively as Genesis suddenly stood guard. Damien was beyond confused, but what else is new? He soon found out why when several strange creatures dropped from the sky. The creatures were white and purple that took the shape of spiked dragons, each carrying a sharp lance. Lucario jumped to his feet and confronted the creatures.
"Who are you?" Lucario questioned. The creatures made no reply. "As Captain of the Guard, I order you to answer."
"They won't talk. The Dragoons aren't exactly the social type." Suddenly, a portal of darkness appeared and the mysterious hedgehog, Orion, was formed into existence. "All thought, Nobodies don't usually socialize."
"Who the hell are you?" Genesis questioned.
"And when was the last time you washed?" Damien asked, covering his nose.
"That's you, idiot." Orion replied. "And for those of you who don't know, my name is Orion."
"Well, Orion, what do you want?" Lucario questioned cautiously.
"Not much." Orion shrugged. "I heard the royal family was in town and I just decided to drop by."
"If you want to get to them, you'll have to go through us." Genesis said.
"That doesn't sound too difficult." Orion smirked, holding up his hand. "Dragoons attack!"
Orion waved his hand forward, sending the Dragoons to follow in his direction. Damien was eager to get into battle, but the minute he tried to fight, Lucario jumped in. He held his paws close and summoned a blue aura sphere, which he used to repel the Dragoon.
"Hey, that one was mine!" Damien yelled.
"Genesis and I will take care of this." Lucario stated, fighting off another Dragoon. "You take the queen and the prince back to the castle."
"But..."
"As you father, I order you to listen!" Lucario growled.
Damien wasn't happy about being pushed from a fight, but was not willing to go against his father's orders. Damien quickly grabbed Aleena by the wrist and started running off in the direction of the castle; Orion looked pleased.
"This is becoming too easy." Orion said.
While Lucario and Genesis weren't looking, Orion vanished in a portal of darkness. Back in the fight, the Dragoons were becoming difficult to fight with their erratic movements. They were able to bend their bodies in impossible angles and even sometimes disappear. Lucario tried attacking with his Aura Sphere, but the Dragoons merely bended their bodies out of the way. This tactic forced Lucario to revert to hand-to-hand combat. Lucario gathered a strong amount our aura into his palms and charged headlong after them. Meanwhile, with Genesis, the crimson hedgehog was doing his best not to be skewered. He managed to stay alive long enough to jump away from the group. He held out his hands and tried to control them like he did Damien. But something was wrong.
"This isn't right." Genesis said frightfully. "I can't use bloodbending on them. I can't sense a single trace of blood within them. It's as if they don't have any life in them"
"That must be why they are called Nobodies." Lucario grunted, pushing away a Dragoon. "They don't have any real bodies."
"Well, that kinda ruins the fun." Genesis pouted.
As the Dragoon's dived at him once again, Genesis back flipped until he was standing in the middle of the flower field. Though surrounded by seven Dragoons, Genesis never felt more invincible. With a confident smirk on his face, Genesis raised his hands swiftly to the sky. Suddenly, the flowers around him started to wilt, but the water They contained now floated above Genesis. With a flick of his wrist, Genesis turned the water to ice and shot sharp icicles at the Nobodies. Unfortunately, the Dragoons were too fast and easily dodged the attack. The Dragoon's continued their assault, forcing Lucario and Genesis back-to-back.
"I think I liked these guys better when I didn't know them." Genesis chuckled lightly.
"I never liked them at all." Lucario replied. "But at the least, Damien got away with the queen."
"Yeah, and get to die for it. How lucky of us." Genesis said sarcastically.
"There's one thing I won't miss when I'm dead." Lucario muttered.
All the Dragoons formed into one circle and held their lances out to the duo. But just as they were about to attack, they disappeared as quickly as they came.
"Uh...did we win?" Genesis asked.
"I have no idea." Lucario replied.
"Lucario! Genesis!"
Lucario and Genesis turned at the voice coming down the path and saw Queen Aleena running to them. She ran up to Lucario and clinged to him for support; her eyes filled with tears.
"Your majesty, what happened?" Lucario questioned fearfully.
"That man, Orion." Aleena chocked. "He came and took Stream away. Damien tried to stop him, but he was too powerful."
"Don't worry, Aleena." Lucario said kindly; this was one of rare times Lucario called her by her name. "We'll hunt this monster down and make him pay for what he has done."
"Thank you." Aleena nodded.
"Now I have a question." Genesis piped. "Where's Damien?"
The scene returns to the beach. The loving beachgoers were driven into a panicked frenzy as the Dragoons made their appearance and started gathering everyone. Not far from the captured group, Orion sat on one of the larger rocks, taking pleasure in their screams. Stream was captured by the dark hedgehog, who retained a firm grip on his small wrist. Stream struggled to break free; Orion noticed the ocean waters lapping wildly.
"Let go! Let go!" Stream cried.
"Not a chance, brat." Orion said lowly. "But don't worry, once I'm done here, you won't ever see me again."
"Let me go!" Stream screamed. "Mommy! I want my mommy!"
"Quiet, you impudent rodent!" Orion yelled, backhanding Stream in the face. "I've had enough of your mouth."
"Ok, that goes too far!"
Orion was startled for a moment, looking back to find Damien diving at him. Orion tossed Steam to the sand for a moment and fell backwards with his feet held upwards. Unfortunately, Orion pushed his feet up and tossed Damien overhead. The golden hound was tossed backwards into the water. Stream tried to make his escape, but Orion quickly grasped the child by his ankle and lifted him into the air. Damien tried to crawl back to the beach, but Orion easily kicked him back. There was a lot of noise coming down the beach. Damien looked over and found the crowd of capture residences shouting something. They seemed to be cheering...for Orion.
"Kill him!" One screamed.
"Finish him off!" Another yelled.
"You don't seem to be very popular around here." Orion sniggered. "I wonder if I should give the crowd what they want."
"You can't beat Damien!" Stream proclaimed. "Damien is like my big brother: no one can beat him!"
"I've getting sick and tired of listening to you!" Orion yelled furiously.
Orion flipped Stream over and grasped the child by his head. He tightened his grip on the little boys head, causing him to cry out in pain. Getting annoyed, Orion threw Stream face-first into the sand. Damien was now beyond pissed; a growl emitting from his throat.
"Don't touch him." Damien growled.
"What was that?" Orion questioned.
"I said...don't touch him!" Damien roared.
All of a sudden, a black aura engulfed Damien's body, catching the dark hedgehog off guard. The captured residents cowered in fear, remembering the incident that happened five years ago. Stream pushed himself out of the sand and stared curiously at what happened to Damien. As the dark aura disappeared, Damien had become a black wolf with a yellow crescent moon tattooed on his forehead and enlarged purple claws.
"Damien?" Stream asked curiously.
"Sorry, rat." Damien growled sinisterly. "The name's Nightshade."
"I get it now." Orion nodded. "I've heard word that everyone feared you and now I find out why."
"God, it was cramped in the small brain of his." Nightshade groaned, stretching his muscles. "It's been five years since I've been out. I can't only break free when Damien is angry enough to allow a window of opportunity. After what happened last time, Lucario made sure Damien never left the castle again. I'll have to kill that mutt later."
"You sound confident." Orion grimaced. "Does that mean you believe you can beat me?"
"I don't have to believe." Nightshade grinned. "I'll just need to rip you in half."
Orion was caught off guard as Nightshade suddenly reappeared in front of him. Unlike Damien, Nightshade held no concerns for Stream and knocked the tiny child out of his hands. As Stream flopped across the sandy beach, Orion barely had time to realize that Nightshade had attacked. The demonic hound thrust his claws through Orion's chest and exited out the other side. Orion grunted in pain and began to cough up blood, but Nightshade was far from done. Damien retracted his claw and started spinning in place like a black tornado. Trapped inside the whirlwind, Orion suffered the painful stabs from Nightshade's claws piercing his skin. Nightshade ended the attack; Orion fell to the ground in a whimpering heap. Nightshade's eyes wandered to the captured resident's; they flinched from his glare.
"It's been a long time, hasn't it?!" Nightshade yelled to them. "Nearly five years, right?!"
The Dragoons saw their master in pain and dived to defend him. But Nightshade didn't like the idea. He held out his claws and suddenly ejected a wave of black flames that devoured the Nobodies. Orion was just getting to his knees when he found Nightshade looming over him, black flames in hand.
"So, what are you waiting for?" Orion groaned. "Finish me."
"With pleasure." Nightshade grinned.
"NO!!" Suddenly, Stream jumped in front of Nightshade. "Don't do it!"
"Get out of the way, rat." Nightshade growled.
"No!" Stream shook. "I know Damien would never do this. He was always nice and fun and loved to play with me. He was my first and best friend. What happened to him?"
Somehow, those words seemed to strike Nightshade at his core. Suddenly, the dark wolf grunted with a pain emitting from his chest; Damien was breaking free. Nightshade tried to suppress it as much as he could, but it didn't work. Damien's fur returned to its normal golden shade and his black aura faded from existence. Damien fell to his knees and panted; Stream hugged him for comfort.
"Thanks, Stream." Damien muttered.
"No problem." Stream smiled.
"What a pathetic sentiment." Orion chuckled. "You'll regret not finishing me."
At that moment, Orion reached for his belt and tapped a green ring. Suddenly, his fur turned temporarily green, healed all his injuries, and returned back to its dark shade. He tapped another ring, blue, and his fur turned a similar color. Orion quickly jumped to his feet and held his hand to the ocean. All of a sudden, a pillar of water arose from the ocean and struck down on our heroes. Damien pushed Stream to safety and took the full blow. The water pillar pushed Damien into a rock and nearly cracked his spine. Using what little senses he had, Damien opened his eyes and found Orion with the water surrounding him.
"Not so tough, now are you?" Orion smirked.
"Now what?" Damien asked hoarsely.
"Now, we put an end to this." Orion grinned. Orion threw his hands forward, commanding the water to crash down on Damien. But just as it was about to hit, it suddenly stopped in midair. "What is this?!"
"You will not harm him."
The two fighters looked over and found that the voice came from Stream, but something was different. Stream's eyes were blank and his expression was serious. With a flick of his wrists, Stream commanded the waters to repel from Damien and aim towards their original master. Already obtaining what he came for, Orion disappeared in a portal of darkness before the attack struck. Once the attack was over, Stream fainted. Luckily, Lucario showed up just in time to catch him. Genesis and Aleena followed shortly.
"What happened?" Aleena asked, taking her son into her arms.
"Not sure." Damien shrugged. "The kid just snapped and started fighting. He was great, too"
"It's a miracle he isn't hurt." Genesis stated.
"So that's it!" One of the tourists yelled. "You're just going to let that monster get away!"
"We don't know where Orion vanished to." Lucario explained. "But we'll find him soon enough."
"Not him!" Another shouted. "We're talking about that monster of a mutt!"
"Hey!" Genesis yelled angrily. "Damien just saved your worthless lives! You should be thanking him!"
"Let it go, Genesis." Damien said sadly.
"But..."
"He's right." Lucario stated. "I've taught Damien that you can't change the world all at once. You have to reach to their hearts and make them see the truth, one step at a time."
"And I think a great first step would be getting back to the castle." Aleena said. "Wow, never thought I would say that."
"You finally learning, your majesty." Lucario joked.
"Oh, now he has jokes!" Genesis laughed.
Lucario walked in front of the group, not wanting them to see the embarrassed look on his face. Aleena held her protectively in her arms as Genesis started cracking jokes at every possible opportunity. There was a benefit to having him around. Damien began to follow, but felt something tugging at his leg. He looked down and saw the same little girl from earlier. She smiled happily at him and gave him a flower she recently picked. Damien was taken back, but gladly accepted.
"You're my hero, Damien." The girl giggled.
Damien was shocked, but happy. As the little girl skipped away, Damien stared down at the flower. After a few minutes of thinking, Damien tucked it into his wrist-bandanna for preservation. Lucario was right. He would make the world see the true him, one step at a time.
The scene changes to midnight in the forest outside the castle walls. Naga and his faithful follower, Kai, were standing between the trees, gazing at the castle. Suddenly, a portal of darkness emerged behind them with Orion appearing in its place.
"It took you long enough." Kai said monotone. "Lord Naga has a limit on patients."
"Well, excuse me." Orion glared. "I had some issues to work out before coming here."
"Did you get the job done?" Naga questioned.
"Yeah, right here." Orion said.
Orion reached into his belts and pulled out four different cards and tossed them to Naga. The venomous serpent caught them and stared with intrigue. On each of the cards was a picture of Lucario, Damien, Genesis, and Stream with stats and other information under their pictures.
"So, these are the strongest warriors in the castle." Kai questioned; Orion nodded.
"Ah, Lucario." Naga hissed, staring at the blue jackal's picture. "I haven't seen him since he was a pup. He has certainly improved over the years." Naga changed to Genesis' card. "Ah, so this boy is a waterbander. I thought they had died out over a thousand years ago. He could be a nuisance with that bloodbending." He changes to Damien's card. "Ah, if it isn't Damien."
"You know him?" Orion questioned.
"During my days as a Heartless soldier, I came across a creature called Jenova." Naga explained. "I was fascinated by her powers and took a blood sample for myself. I returned here and began to experiment with Jenova's blood, implanting it within one hundred children. All of them died except for one."
"Damien." Kai stated.
"He was only a year old at the time, but I saw potential." Naga hissed. "Unfortunately, my lab was raided and Lucario took my prize away. I haven't seen him since." He turns to the final card, Stream's. "So, my theory was proven true."
"Theory?" Orion repeated.
"I heard rumors during my days as a soldier." Naga explained. "They would often speak of an ancient warrior named Stream that once defended the world of Parasiden. Though many have forgotten him, the darkness never forgets. When I heard that Aleena bared a child named Stream, I came to the conclusion that he was the reincarnation of that warrior. But to prove my theory, I needed someone to test his power. That's where you came in, Orion."
"So, you just used me as a puppet?" Orion growled.
"Precisely." Naga hissed.
Orion was outrage and made a dive for the snake, his palms holding a mass of dark energy. Just when he was in reach of the serpent, Kai suddenly appeared and blocked the attack with his three-pronged knife. Kai kicked the dark hedgehog back and held him by the throat against a tree. They would have continued the fight, but Naga interfered.
"That's enough, Kai." Naga commanded.
Kai nodded and released Orion, who pushed himself back to his feet.
"I've had enough of this, Naga." Orion sneered. "I have questions and you have answers. Where is my light? Where is Gemini?"
When you have friends, you are never alone. Will Damien make peace with his people? Will Orion find Gemini? And what is Naga's true intentions with the warriors? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!
Please, read and review.
Note: This is the last of the OC Arc. If you wish to particpate with your OC, you must wait until Hybrid's Wrath. This story and future chapters are dedicated to Kiba Sniper. "Let Freedom Reign!"