SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES
Tomo the Chameleon © Kiba Sniper.
Note: This is the start of the Project: Hellzone Arc
Chapter Fifty-Nine: Descent to Darkness
The scene opens up in the market square of Station Square. Unlike the mall, the market square was known for selling the most unusual items on stock. Team Virtex was back, finally, but were scattered for the moment. Marine and Raine decided to go on a trip to Emerald Beach, Howl was meeting with a visiting friend, and Rector was currently shopping for the team. The team leader had already collected food and other supplies the rest of the team needed; Rector crossed off Marine's boat from the list. He was currently standing in apothecary; gathering medical supplies for Raine.
"Balm root powder, garlic cloves, and jasmine leaves." The merchant checked off. "Do you need anything else?"
"That's all for now." Rector said, handing him the money. "See ya next week, Stan."
"Later, Rector." Stan waved. "Give my regards to Raine."
Recter waved back as he stepped outside the shop. Rector checked his list one last time and was pleased to find that he was finished; he was still not buying Marine a boat. He just started heading back home, when, out of nowhere, he was bowled by some random object. All his purchases were scattered across the ground; Rector was pissed. He looked for something to vent out his anger and was pleased to find that the thing that hit him was a familiar blue hedgehog.
"That hurt." Sonic groaned. He felt himself being lifted up by the scruff of his neck. "Why do I get the feeling I'm in trouble."
"Do you realize what you just did?" Rector growled. "I just brought all that stuff using the money from our missions."
"I'm sorry, but I'm actually glad to see you." Sonic grinned. "I was looking for you all day."
"You...were?" Rector asked slowly, setting Sonic down. "That's strange. Normally, you're trying to get as far away from me."
"Well, this is an exception." Sonic grinned. "I need to ask you something."
"Shoot." Rector said, picking up the dropped supplies.
"Well, you know how much I like Amy, right?" Sonic said, helping the red hedgehog.
"As I recall it, you told me you love her." Rector said hotly. "But that only means I have to watch you even more."
"Come on, Rec." Sonic said; Rector fumed at the nickname. "Don't you trust me?"
"Not as far as I can throw you." Rector stated. "Which happens to be very far."
"Well, listen." Sonic said nervously. "I was thinking of asking Amy out on a date."
"And you're telling me this, why?" Rector questioned irritably.
"I know you are really protective of Amy." Sonic grinned, remembering the painful memories. "But I was hoping that you would give me permission to go out with her tonight. It's very important that you say yes."
"Why's that?" Rector asked interestingly.
"Today's the same day I first met Amy on Little Planet." Sonic explained. "This is the day Amy first said she loved me, so I want to make it special. I'm going to tell her I love her, too. But that's only if you let me."
"Sonic." Rector said slowly. "Amy loves you with all her heart and soul. And if you are the one thing that makes her truly happy, I won't interfere." Sonic sighed; Rector turned angry. "But if anything happens during the date, I will make sure you never have any children."
"I promise, nothing will happen, sir!" Sonic saluted.
Even Rector couldn't resist, he started chuckling at Sonic's expression. Realizing this, Sonic joined in for a short while before racing back to the base. Sonic was overjoyed with happiness. This was the day he would finally be with his love.
The scene alters to the castle of the Dark Rulers dimension. Nazo sat at his throne; the board he created was present. Black Doom's figure had long departed from the castle and was currently missing from the board. Nazo suspected he created a base somewhere in space, where the board couldn't track him. The Dark Rulers figures were gathered in the castle and the Heroes were scattered; Sonic's figure was zipping across the board. Just then, Erazor Djinn, Tomo, and Nack appeared before their master.
"What do you have to report?" Nazo questioned.
"I have recovered two of the Seven World Rings." Erazor stated. "But the other five elude me. Jet the Hawk knew what he was doing when he hid them."
"Then keep searching." Nazo glared. "I will not accept anymore failures." He turns to Tomo. "And what do you have?"
"We've received word from Mephiles' dark birds that there is a third enemy." Tomo informed. "Not known is much about this group, but they seem to gathering around South Island under a man called Naga."
"Naga..." Nazo said thoughtfully. "That name seems familiar." He looks to Nack. "And you, Nack."
"I was going to go get some tacos." Nack claimed. "Want some?" Nazo blasted the weasel. "I'll take that as a no."
"Idiot." Tomo muttered
"At least we'll never get bored." Erazor shrugged.
"Lord Nazo." The four turned and found Mephiles, obviously with Shira, entering the room. "I have been looking through the celestial charts. The winter solstice is nearly upon us."
"That's good news." Nazo grinned.
"But we have a problem." Shira stated nervously.
"Problem?" Nazo repeated.
"If you plan to go through with Project: Hellzone, we need more power." Shira informed. "We were relying on Black Doom's help, but without him, it won't work."
"So, the Dark Rulers need to grow in their ranks." Nazo said, stepping down from his throne. "It would normally be difficult find someone that can match Black Doom in terms of power. Luckily for us, I have found the perfect candidate."
The scene changes an hour later to the world famous theme park, Twinkle Park. Amy would die from happy knowing she was going on a date there, especially with Sonic the Hedgehog. Unfortunately, the couple's admission expired a long time ago, and Sonic held a funeral for his wallet. Amy was happily marching through the park, dragging along a depressed Sonic.
"Aw, cheer up, Sonic." Amy said cheerfully. "At least we got inside."
"But two hundred dollars for each ticket!" Sonic exclaimed furiously. "That's a total rip-off!"
"Come on, Sonic." Amy pouted. "You promised me a special date."
"Oh, it's going to be special, all right." Sonic grinned, wrapping his arm around Amy. "It was three years ago on this day that I met someone that changed my life forever."
"Changed your life?" Amy said intrigued. She began to think back to the incident three years ago until. "Oh, you mean Metal."
"Uh...no." Sonic sweat-dropped. "I was talking about you, Amy."
"Me?" Amy said, blushing.
"Ever since I met you, thinks have always been more exciting." Sonic said brightly. "Sure, you were a bit annoying, stubborn, uptight, and aggressive at times, but you get used to it after a while."
"Thanks, I feel so loved." Amy said sarcastically.
"Come on, Ames." Sonic said. "Let's make this the best day ever."
Amy grinned from ear to ear and followed her blue hero farther into the park. For the rest of the day, there was nothing but rides, rollercoaster's, and entertainment for our loving couple. They would occasionally stop for either food or when one needed to throw up. On one ride, Sonic hurled his lunch, which caused another passenger to hurl and so on. They thought it was time to take a break from the ride. They stopped by the game stands, where Sonic won Amy a little chao doll. After hours of traveling through the park, the day had turned to night and the hedgehog couple was sitting on a hill in the park.
"Sonic, that was the best time I ever had." Amy said happily.
"It's not over yet." Sonic stated. "They're supposed to have fireworks tonight. I know how much you love fireworks."
"Sonic, you seem to think of everything." Amy smiled.
"I just wanted tonight to be perfect for you." Sonic said softly. "After three years of running away from you, I never really bothered to think what it would be like without you. But when you became Mach, it really got me thinking."
"I'm sorry I lied about that." Amy said sadly.
"I'm glad you did." Sonic replied; Amy stared in confusion. "If you hadn't disappeared, I never would have learned to appreciate you." He grasped Amy's hand and moved in closer. "You are the greatest thing to have ever happened to me. That's why I need to tell you the truth."
"What is it, Sonic?" Amy said breathlessly.
"Amy, I...I..." Sonic whispered.
Sonic couldn't finish his sentence, but actions speak louder than words. They both stared at one another, unknowingly pulling each other closer. Their eyes closed after one another, both feeling the warmth of their partner. Their hearts were beating erratically as the two were only inches from each other. Just as they were about to connect, there was a loud explosion coming from the park and it wasn't fireworks. They pulled away quickly and saw a massive fire erupting from the park.
"Typical." Sonic said sourly. "Just as it was getting to the good part."
Though disappointed at their most recent failed attempt, Sonic and Amy zipped down to the cause of the trouble. It was difficult to coordinate through the panicking crowd, but the duo managed to reach the source. To there surprise, it wasn't one of Nazo's monsters, but Nazo himself.
"Sonic, I was so hoping that you would show up." Nazo said malevolently.
"What do you want, Nazo!" Amy snapped. "Can't you see we're on a date?!"
"And you seem to think I care." Nazo grimaced.
"Why are you here, Nazo?" Sonic glared. "We didn't bring any Chaos or Sol Emeralds."
"I currently have no interest in the Emeralds." Nazo stated. "I am merely looking for a new recruit to bring into the fold."
"Why?" Amy asked curiously, despite herself.
"I feel that is best saved for later." Nazo said.
Suddenly, Nazo kicked off the ground and dived forward at Amy. Amy was caught off guard and was totally unprepared as Nazo loomed over her. The God of Darkness was ready to strike when Sonic, in his ball form, suddenly struck him from the side. Nazo was tossed towards the bumper cars and toppled the entire rink. Sonic uncurled and held out his arms protectively in front of Amy.
"No one hurts my girl." Sonic seethed.
"He called me 'his' girl." Amy thought pleasantly.
But Nazo was not one to go down that easily. The God of Darkness pushed himself through the rubble of the broken carnival rise; a series of scratches around his torso. As Nazo's minor wounds healed themselves instantly, the evil hedgehog did not seem at all upset. On the contrary, Nazo looked as if he had already won this battle.
"It seems I have drawn his anger." Nazo thought. "But it doesn't seem to be enough to draw him. Look's like this is going into overtime."
Nazo walked out of the rubble and held out his hand to summon a Chaos Lance in his open palm. The God of Darkness released the attack on the couple, but Sonic grabbed Amy and quickly rolled away. Once Amy was safe, Sonic once again donned his ball form and performed his signature Spin Dash. Nazo had anticipated Sonic's rash outburst and held out his hands to stop him. He succeeded; Sonic was spinning wildly in one place. Nazo let out and low laugh and reeled back his foot to kick the blue ball into the air. It was only after that Nazo realized great amount of chaos energy was gathering around him. Sonic uncurled himself and dived down at Nazo with his signature attack in hand.
"SONIC WIND!!" Sonic yelled.
"You really think I'm gonna fall for that trick again!?" Nazo countered.
Sonic's attack was near its target, but Nazo grasped the hedgehog by his hand, canceling the attack. Nazo grabbed Sonic by his wrist and pulled him in closer to drive his other fist into the hedgehog's gut. Sonic was sent flying and slammed into the side of the Rollercoaster structure, which toppled shortly after. Sonic was lucky not to be entirely crushed by the metal beams, but was left temporarily dazed. Nazo smirked at his accomplishment and grasped Sonic by his head, lifting him painfully in the air.
"So this is the extent of your abilities?" Nazo sneered. "And here is was hoping I wouldn't have to kill you."
"You leave my Sonic alone!" Amy screamed.
Nazo looked to the side for a moment and found Amy charging at him with her own super speed. She had already pulled out her Piko-Piko hammer and, with force and speed behind it, swung it around to claim its target. Nazo was hit dead center in the face, forcing him to let go of Sonic, and stumbled across the ground a few feet away.
"That girl is becoming an annoyance." Nazo thought angrily.
"Sonic, are you ok?" Amy asked hopefully, kneeling to her love.
"I'm...I'm fine." Sonic slurred, rubbing his pounding head. "Man, did anyone get the license off that truck."
"Don't worry, Sonic." Amy said confidently, her hammer in hand. "My love will save us from this monster."
"A monster, am I?"
Amy stiffed when she realized how close the voice was; Nazo was standing directly behind her. Taking whatever courage she could, the pink hedgehog grasped her hammer around tightly and took a random swing behind her. She had soon found that she had hit no one and Nazo had suddenly disappeared. She searched the park for any signs of the dark hedgehog when she realized her hammer was heavier than usual. She looked over and was gasped when she found Nazo standing on the end of her hammer. She tried to swing him off, but Nazo kicked her by the hand and forced her to let go. Nazo held Amy's hammer and swiftly snapped it in two; the hammer faded to dust.
"Not so tough without your little hammer, are you." Nazo grinned wickedly.
"Don't you dare underestimate me!" Amy exclaimed. "Wow, that sounded familiar."
Nazo was not at all intimidated by the pink hedgehog. He held out his hand for another blast of chaos energy until...
"LEAF WHIRLWIND!!"
Nazo was unaware of what happened next, but suddenly found himself being kicked in the face by a heavy force and was thrown back several yards. Amy had watched the entire thing and noticed that her brother was now protectively over her in a fighters stance.
"Sonic promised nothing would happen." Rector groaned. "Remind me to kill him later."
"Rector, what are you doing here?" Amy asked.
"I'm save your butt, that's what." Rector replied.
"No, you were spying on me and Sonic, weren't you!" Amy yelled furiously; Rector stiffened. "I knew it! You don't trust me at all, do you!"
"It's not you I don't trust." Rector replied. "It's the blue rat I don't trust."
"Sonic happens to be the perfect gentleman." Amy countered. "I bet you were watching us back on the hill, weren't you."
"And...What is if was." Rector said nervously.
"Why can't you ever trust me with Sonic!?" Amy roared. "I'm not a little girl anymore!"
"But you are my little sister!" Rector shouted back.
"Hey, guys." Sonic interrupted. "Can we worry about this later?"
The moment Sonic said that, Nazo pulled himself to his feet; his angered expression added by a large bruise. The bruise healed over swiftly, but Nazo was still furious. Using Chaos Control, Nazo transported himself only a few feet from them.
"Great, another contender." Nazo said sarcastically. "This day just gets better and better."
"I remember you." Rector said spitefully. "You're the guy who attacked the museum! You cost me ten-thousand dollars worth of damages!"
"Figures." Amy muttered. "All he can think about is money."
"Leave him to me." Rector said. "This freak owes me."
Despite the others best wishes, Rector charged in head forward without a second thought. Following the teaching he learned from the Hyuuga's, Rector remembered the anatomy of hedgehogs and pinpointed the pressure points. Nazo recognized Rector's charging stance; it was similar to the fighting style he had seen on Parasiden. Rector came close and started aiming for the pressure points in Nazo's body. But unfortunately, Nazo moved so fast that he couldn't even touch him. Rector tripped to trip him up, but Nazo kicked off the ground at the last moment.
"Stand and fight." Rector growled.
"If you insist." Nazo sniggered.
Nazo flipped in midair and held out his leg to strike Rector in the shoulder. Rector cried out in pain, losing all feeling in his left arm. Rebounding off the ground, Nazo held out his arm and slammed into Rector's neck. The red hedgehog was tossed down on the ground, gasping for any air that would circulate through his throat. With his left and throat not working properly, Rector tried to crawl back with his remaining arm. Unfortunately, Nazo stamped that idea out by crush Rector's hand with his foot.
"Going somewhere?" Nazo grinned, summoning a Chaos Lance. "You don't look so good. Perhaps I should just put you out of your misery."
"Coming through!"
All of a sudden, a blue blur zipped past Nazo, knocking him off balance. Sonic rebounded from his position and kicked off the ground for a spinning kick. Unfortunately, Nazo easily blocked it with his forearm, allowing him a chance to reach for Sonic. Luckily, Sonic reacted swiftly by kicking off of Nazo's face and landed back on his feet.
"You just don't know when to give in, do you?" Nazo said irritantly.
"I don't know the meaning of give up." Sonic said confidently.
"Do you want to borrow Tails' dictionary?" Amy asked.
"That's not what I meant!" Sonic shouted embarrassingly.
Taking advantage of Sonic's momentary distraction, Nazo summoned a horde of Chaos Spears. One ran across his leg; his fur and skin singed, and brought him back to his senses. Sonic, after many training sessions with Shadow, skillfully dodged the remaining arrows. In all the confusion, Amy pulled her brother away from any danger to recover.
"You ok?" Amy asked worried, placing Rector against a wall.
"I'm fine." Rector wheezed. "Just help Sonic." Amy turned, but Rector caught her. "And...I'm sorry I didn't trust you."
"You're my big brother." Amy smiled. "You're just looking out for me."
Rector sighed, but felt better as Amy ran into battle. Back with Sonic and Nazo, the God of Darkness was not through with his assault. Sonic was dodging every act like they were nothing, occasionally making comical gestures. Nazo was losing his patience. If Black Doom hadn't taken his Chaos Emeralds, Nazo would already be in his Hell Form, killing the rat. Seeing as that won't work, Nazo resorted back to Chaos Control. The God of Darkness stopped time temporarily, allowing him to get a closer view of his opponent. When time returned to normal, Sonic received an unexpected hit in the face from Nazo. Sonic stumbled back for a few short moments before jumping back to his feet.
"Ok, this is not one of my better days." Sonic commented.
"Damn, this isn't work." Nazo mentally growled. "But I've done everything I could think of. Why isn't he appearing?"
Nazo was suddenly brought back to reality when something slammed into the top of his head. Nazo was dazed for a moment, but for only just a moment. He turned to the source of the attack and found Amy with her Piko-Piko Hammer once again.
"How many of those do you have?" Nazo questioned.
"You'd be surprised." Amy giggled.
"You certainly annoying enough for that blue..." Nazo said, trailing off slight. Suddenly, an idea came to him. "Of course, why didn't I think of it before? If I can't fight him out, I'll use his little girlfriend instead."
"Leave her out of this!" Sonic shouted.
"She brought it upon herself!" Nazo replied.
Before Sonic or Amy even had a chance to react, Nazo unleashed a swarm of Chaos Spears upon the young girl. Amy had no experience with dealing against chaos and was left vulnerable. Sonic could only watch in horror as the thousands of arrows slashed across Amy's body; her cries mixing in with the blasts. Nazo felt satisfied and dropped the attack, watching Amy fall in a crumpled heap. Sonic easily forgot Nazo and ran to her side, holding her close to himself.
"Amy, please be all right." Sonic pleaded.
"Sonic, don't lose to him." Amy groaned painfully.
"So, are you going to fight or not?" Nazo smirked.
"I'm going to kill you." Sonic growled. "I'm seriously going to kill you!!"
"Got him." Nazo thought.
As Sonic gently let Amy down, a black aura began to surround him. His blue fur was suddenly becoming darker and his pupils were beginning to fade. This was Nazo's chance. Gathering a heavy amount of black chaos into his hand, Nazo jumped ahead with his hand held forward. Just as Sonic was completing his dark transformation, Nazo's hand plunged into Sonic's chest. Amazingly enough, it didn't hurt the hedgehog, nor did it tear through him. Nazo grinned and started digging around inside Sonic until he found what he was looking for. He grasped it and started ripping it out from Sonic's body. With enough force, Nazo ripped a black shadow from Sonic's chest. Suddenly, Sonic's transformation was cut off and returned him to normal.
"What...was that?" Sonic panted, dropping to his knees. "What did you do to me?"
"I have brought an end to this." Nazo stated confidently.
Nazo tossed the dark shadow to the ground and watched it spread; Sonic was curious as well. As the dark shadow became larger, it suddenly started to lift itself from the ground and take form. It resembled a pitch-black hedgehog with five spiked quills and completely blank eyes. He wore the same gloves and shoe as Sonic did. Though they had never met before, Sonic could never forget that face. The same monster that destroyed Station Square and fought Nazo in the first battle.
"Allow me to introduce the newest member of the Dark Rulers." Nazo said politely. "Dark Sonic."
"Finally, I'm free from that wretched hedgehog's heart." Dark Sonic said pleasantly. "I can go forth and spread my darkness across this world."
"You're not going anyway." Sonic grunted weakly.
"You're right." Dark Sonic said, holding out his hand. "You are."
The world suddenly became silent and the next moment shocked the world. Dark Sonic released a purple beam from his open palm, aimed for his good counterpart. Sonic tried to move out of the way, but he was still weak from Nazo's earlier attack. With nowhere to go or defend, Sonic was blasted straight through the chest. He could barely register Amy's screams or Rector's yells before he fell limp on the ground. He felt himself being lifted off the ground and looked up to find Amy, crying.
"Please, don't die, Sonic." Amy whimpered.
"You'll pay for that!" Rector shouted furiously.
"I believe our time here has expired." Nazo nodded.
Rector aimed a well place fist at the dark duo, but they had already disappeared into a portal of darkness. Back with Amy, she was still crying over injured body, begging him to be alive. When she felt a hand on the side of her face, she realized Sonic was still with her.
"Sonic..." Amy whispered.
"Amy, I'm sorry it has to end this way." Sonic said weakly.
"No, it's not over!" Amy yelled defiantly. "We'll get Tails to help you!"
"Amy, before I go, there's something I've been meaning to tell you." Sonic whispered, moving closer to her. "I love you."
Before she knew it, Amy found Sonic kissing her lips. It was everything Amy could have dreamed for: A warming light that would brighten everything. It felt as if nothing could ever touch them. But just as fast as the warmth came, it was suddenly gone. Sonic's body suddenly become cold and limp, separating himself from her. She wanted ask tell Sonic to wake up, but there was no denying the facts. Amy fell over Sonic's body and cried her eyes out.
"You promised nothing would happen." Rector whimpered, tears streaming from his eyes. "You lied to me! You lied! I hate you, Sonic the Hedgehog!"
The world seemed less bright that day as the truth impacted everyone. Sonic the Hedgehog, The blue Blur, Earth's greatest champion, was dead.
As Darkness rises, the light begins to fade. How will the heroes take this lastest upset? What does Nazo have planned for Dark Sonic? And what will happen during the Winter Solstice? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!
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