SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES
Tomo the Chameleon © Kiba Sniper.
Chapter Sixty: A Shadow of Doubt
The scene opens to the castle of the infamous Dark Rulers. Only two days has passed since the battle and recruitment of Dark Sonic. Upon hearing the news of Sonic's current status, most of the members celebrated. Of course, with Nack and beer, that's not exactly a good thing. Tomo dived straight to the showers after waking up in Nack's bed. The only ones who didn't join in the celebration were Nazo, Mephiles, and Dark Sonic. The dark trio was gathered in Nazo's throne room around Nazo's board; Dark Sonic's figure was added to the Dark Rulers side and Sonic's figure was turned to dust, signifying his death. Black Doom still remained hidden.
"It seems that things are running smoothly." Dark Sonic stated, taking the dust of Sonic's figure in hand. He let the dust slip through his fingers and onto the floor. "With my light counterpart out of the way, there is nothing that can stop us."
"We still have to retrieve the stolen Emeralds from Black Doom." Mephiles stated. "Not to mention the trouble the other heroes might cause."
"Other heroes?" Dark Sonic repeated.
"Dark Sonic doesn't know anything about the others." Nazo explained. "After Dark Sonic was born from Sonic's hatred, he began to fear it. To make sure that nothing like that would ever happen again, Sonic locked his darker half into the deepest crevice of his heart."
"I don't wish to discuss this any longer." Dark Sonic interrupted. "Now that just leaves..."
"Get away from me, weasel!"
"Come on, you know you liked it."
Just then, Tomo barged in the room, followed by Nack. The trio of dark users was starting to receive headaches from the two. After a much heated argument, Tomo was fed up and kicked Nack in the place where no man wants to be hit. As Nack fell painfully to the floor, Erazor Djinn and Shira walked in, both looking highly amused.
"What's going on?" Mephiles asked curiously
"Tomo got drunk and slept with Nack." Shira stated; The Dark Rulers shuddered in disgust. "Tomo denies anything happened between them."
"Maybe she didn't." Nazo suggested.
"Nack recorded the whole thing on video." Erazor stated, holding up a video camera.
"You what?!" Tomo yelled furiously.
"Mommy!!" Nack screamed.
Tomo clapped her hands together and started to perform a series of familiar hand signs. Tomo took in a deep breath and ejected a massive fireball from her mouth. Nack made a run for the door, but by the time he reached it, he was reduced to a pile of ash. Shira, with a video camera, was recording the entire thing.
"This is will be perfect for Movie Night." Shira grinned.
"Can we get back to business?" Dark Sonic said seriously. "If what Lord Nazo says is true, we have a much more difficult challenged ahead of us."
"Most of the preparations are set." Nazo said, stepping down from his throne. "But there is one more essential piece required in order to achieve Project: Hellzone." Nazo starts cackling. "This will be a day the Sonic Heroes won't soon forget!"
The scene alters to the hidden base of the Sonic Heroes. The sky was dark and gloomy, which reflected the atmosphere inside the base. Shadow, Knuckles, Rouge, Emerl, and Team Chaotix were gathered in the living room, grieving over the loss of their friend. Amy and Rector returned two days ago with Sonic's dead body. Tails kept him in a special place inside the workshop so they could get prepare for a proper funeral. Just then, Kumori walked in on the group.
"How's she doing?" Shadow asked monotone.
"She refuses to leave the room." Kumori said sadly. "As she does is sit there, crying."
"It can be understood." Espio said solemnly. "Amy is going through a ruff time without Sonic."
After Amy brought Sonic back to the base, she locked herself in the room that she and Kumori shared. Kumori and Emerl were the only ones that Amy allowed inside the room. They brought her meals during certain periods, but Amy refused to eat. Amy spent her day in her bed, crying into her pillow for Sonic to come back. It was a depressing sight.
"She just can't spend all day in her room." Vector stated.
"The girl just had her heart broken!" Rouge exclaimed seriously. "But I guess you wouldn't understand."
"What's that supposed to mean, you winged rodent!" Vector yelled.
"You take that back!" Knuckles defended his fiancé.
"And if I don't!" Vector glared.
"Stop, stop, stop!!" Charmy shouted, catching everyone's attention. "Don't fight! Sonic wouldn't want us to fight!"
"I agree with Charmy." Emerl said. "Wow, never thought I would say that."
"Fighting will only bring more suffering." Shadow sighed. "I have already lost too much to go through anymore pain."
"Shadow..." Kumori murmured.
Of anyone in the base, Kumori was the only one who could truly understand Shadow. Back when he was created, Maria was the only person who would treat him as a friend, not a weapon. But during the ARK invasion, Shadow lost his first friend. Then he met Sonic. They were enemies, then rivals, and then best friends. This blow struck him as hard as it did Amy. Kumori sympathized with Shadow and embraced him comfortably. The others were silent for the moment, allowing Shadow's words to sick in. But the peace didn't last long before the alarms blared.
"Why am I not surprise?" Rouge muttered.
The television screen turned on and the G.U.N. Commander appeared on the other end.
"Commander." Shadow nodded.
"Heroes, we have another emergency." The Commander stated.
"There's a surprise." Knuckles said sarcastically.
"What is it, sir?" Espio asked, elbowing Knuckles. "Is it one of Eggman's robots or Nazo's monsters?"
"Neither." The Commander stated. "It's Nazo and he's currently destroying all of Westopolis. My troops are trying to evacuate the city while trying to hold him off. We need you to intercept him so we can get everyone to safety."
"You can count on us, chief!" Charmy saluted.
"We'll take care of that creep!" Vector proclaimed.
"Don't worry, Commander." Shadow said seriously. "I'll make sure that this is the last time we have to deal with him." The commander nodded and the screen went black. Shadow turned to his team "Our target is at Westopolis. We know our mission and we must execute a firm strike." Shadow looked to Emerl. "Emerl, stay behind and watch out for any more disturbances."
"Oh, I'll watch all right." Emerl said darkly.
Shadow recovered one of the Chaos Emerald from the storage chamber and performed Chaos Control to transport the team.
"Fall back! Fall back!"
"We can't take much more of this!"
Chaos reigned over the capital city of Westopolis. While the city was still recovering from the incident with the Black Arms, Nazo was only making things worse. The God of Darkness went on a senseless rampage, eliminating anything and everything in sight. The G.U.N. soldiers were using every weapon in their arsenal, but nothing truly affected him. Nazo held out his hands, creating a barrage of Chaos Spears. Many of the soldiers were slaughtered, but those who survived were crawling away from the silver monster.
"This is getting boring." Nazo sighed, killing yet another soldier. "I guess destruction has really lost its amusement."
"Maybe you try finding something nicer to do." Charmy said.
Nazo turned slowly around and watched as Shadow and his allies appeared in a flash of green light.
"Ah, I was wondering if you would make it." Nazo said amusingly.
"You think you're so funny." Knuckles glared, bashing together his namesakes. "We know what happened between you and Sonic."
"Is that supposed to intimidate me?" Nazo questioned coolly.
"There's no way we're going to let you get away with what you did!" Vector roared.
"Unless you value your own life, I must suggest you leave at once." Espio stated coldly.
"No, he's not going to get away." Shadow said venomously. "He's going to pay for his sins. I will make sure of that."
"And you believe you have the strength to beat me?" Nazo laughed. "That's a laugh!"
"You won't be laughing much longer." Kumori seethed.
"Then might I suggest you give it your best shot." Nazo grinned.
"Already on it, sugar."
Before Nazo realized what hit him, something slammed into the side of his face from behind. Nazo stumbled back a few feet before jumping back up. He looked skyward and found Rouge hovering over him. Any normal hedgehog would be at a disadvantage to a flying opponent. But that rule didn't apply to Nazo. The God of Darkness kicked off the ground and shot in the direction of the white bat. Rouge barely moved out of the way to avoid Nazo's direct assault. The white bat reached into the pouch she brought and threw a handful of miniature bombs. The bombs exploded on contact with Nazo's back, filling the sky with a display of brilliant flashes.
"Once again, the beast is beaten by the beauty." Rouge sighed.
"Someone's a little conceited."
Rouge gasped and turned sharply around to find Nazo floating behind her. Before she could even blink, Nazo slammed his fist into Rouge's stomach. The impact knocked the white bat unconscious and started to fall. She was about to make contact with the ground, but Knuckles dived in and saved her. Knuckles gently placed her on the ground before directing his anger towards the God of Darkness.
"You monster!" Knuckles yelled.
"Flattery will get you nowhere in this battle, knucklehead." Nazo smirked, landing on the ground.
"Don't call me that." Knuckles glared; his fists suddenly alit with flames. "Don't you ever call me that!"
Knuckles suddenly thrust his hand forward and released a ball of flames. Nazo was caught off guard momentarily, but managed to sidestep away. As the fireball passed by, Nazo realized the left hand was burned. Nazo quickly healed it and shot a look to Knuckles.
"So this is the echidna's living fire." Nazo thought. "I've heard about it. According to Erazor, the echidna's strongest warriors were able to forge flames from their own bodies and give them minds of their own. This should be interesting."
"Better watch your step." Knuckles grinned. "Things are about to heat up."
"Leave the puns to the professionals." Nazo said coolly.
A vein on Knuckles forehead was throbbing; an obvious sign at he was pissed off more than usual. Knuckles once again ignited his fists and tossed a column of flames. Nazo easily avoided the heated fires by jumping in the air and remained idle. Just as he suspected, the flames twisted themselves around like a serpent and followed Nazo's movements. Nazo swerved past the number of buildings, hoping the flames extinguish. He was amazed that the flames actually flashed through the buildings. There was only one option left. Nazo dived down towards Knuckles, the flames following his lead. Knuckles raised his namesakes to fight, but was surprised when Nazo flew around him. Before he couldn't even figure out why, the flames he conjured engulfed his body. Knuckles quickly dismissed the flames to save himself, but left himself weak and immobile.
"I must admit, that was a fancy trick." Nazo commented, touching ground. "You truly are worthy of your echidna lineage."
"BONZAI!!"
Charmy dived at Nazo with his stinger pointed out, but this didn't concern the God of Darkness. Without even looking, Nazo reached behind and grabbed the tiny bee by his stinger. Nazo pulled him forward and held him upside down.
"If you plan to surprise someone, might I suggest you do it silently." Nazo commented humorously.
"Good work, Charmy." Vector's voice echoed. "Now leave it to me."
Nazo searched the area for the masculine croc, but had no luck i his search. All of a sudden, the manhole in front of him popped open and Vector snapped his jaws at Nazo. Unfortunately, Vector was a head short away from Nazo. It was then he realized that everything below his shoulders was still caught in the sewers. Vector tried to squirm his way out, but nothing happened. Nazo and Charmy sweat-dropped.
"Uh...a little help here?" Vector asked meekly.
"How did you get down there, anyway." Charmy asked curiously.
"I don't know." Vector replied.
Nazo sweat-dropped again. Nazo slammed Charmy's body over Vectors head and sent them to the sewer. Just as he kicked the manhole cover back in its place, an enlarged shuriken was seen flying towards him. Nazo leaned his head slowly, only allowing the blade to scratch his cheek. The cut healed and Nazo directed his attention to Espio.
"You've got some nerve to strike me." Nazo grimaced.
"But I wasn't trying to strike you." Espio smirked superiorly. "Just capture you."
"Capture?" Nazo repeated curiously.
Without reason, Espio held his palms out and pulled them backwards. At first, Nazo had no idea what he was up to. But the days he spent with Tomo, Nazo learned to notice the smaller details. As he looked at his palms, he noticed there was something thin attached to his fingers: wire. Nazo knew what he was doing. Before he even had a chance to counteract, the shuriken that nearly hit him came back. It swung circles around his body, binding him by the wire attached to it. The wire was made of reinforced steel, making it difficult for Nazo to escape. As Nazo struggled, Espio clasped him hands together in a string of hand signs.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Espio shouted.
A torrent of fire released from Espio's mouth, guiding themselves down the wires. Nazo had no chance to move and was engulfed by the flames. When Espio dismissed the technique, all that was left was the wires and a pile of ash.
"I didn't think it would be that easily." Espio said suspiciously.
"That's because it isn't."
Espio turned to the side, only to find himself being lifted to the air by his throat. Looking down, Espio could see a hedgehog that looked like Nazo, only his fur was white. A moment later, the fur turned to Nazo's natural silver color.
"But...how?" Espio gasped.
"As a snake sheds its skin, so do I." Nazo smirked. "It's a good thing I learn all of Tomo's abilities, or else I never would have made it through that. I will be sure to thank her once I conquer this world."
As Nazo continued talking, Espio secretly pulled a kunai from his compartment. Unfortunately, Nazo saw this coming. He released his grip on Espio, but summoned a Chaos Lance to strike him. Espio was hit directly in the chest by the powerful arrow and sent crashing into a building. As the dust cleared, Espio was found grievously injured, but still alive.
"These feeble opponents are becoming boring." Nazo sighed.
"Then why not try me on for size!"
Nazo didn't even have to look to know that Kumori was behind him; only she could be that loud during battle, not counting Charmy. While in midair, Kumori flipped around and stretched her leg outwards. Nazo carelessly raised his forearm, easily blocking the attack. Irritated by Nazo's lack of effort, Kumori flipped backwards in midair and landed on her feet. She ducked down in an attempt to trip him, but the God of Darkness merely jumped over her. Nazo sent his fist forward, but Kumori grabbed it in her palm and threw one of her own punches. Nazo replied in the same reaction, bring them to a stalemate.
"I must say, you've proved to be more of a challenge." Nazo complimented.
"You shouldn't underestimate me because I am a girl." Kumori returned.
"I've known many great warriors who were female." Nazo stated. "I've learned never to underestimate my opponents."
"Well, that's good." Kumori smirked. "Now you know what to expect."
Kumori brought her knee up and separated her hands with Nazo. Before Nazo could counter, Kumori swung around and kicked his chest with her other foot. Nazo could see the female prototype charging ahead and summoned a horde of Chaos Spears. Kumori dived down and slid across the ground to avoid the energy assault. Nazo tried to grab her, but the black hedgehog female slid between his legs and kicked him from behind. Nazo only staggered slightly, but it was enough to get him mad. While Kumori flipped backward, Nazo started to gather a tremendous amount of red chaos energy. Kumori saw this and was already starting to panic.
"This could be bad." Kumori shuddered.
"Oh, it is." Nazo said maliciously before yelling. "CHAOS BLAST!!"
Nazo unleashed the red energy from his body in the form of a red nuclear explosion. Espio, though injured, regained enough strength to collect Knuckles and Rouge's unconscious form and duck into the sewers. But in all the confusion, he had overlooked Kumori. As close as the blast was, the only way to survive was with Chaos Control. But she was created without the ability to use chaos. Kumori closed her eye in anticipation with the blast, but it never came. When Kumori opened her eyes again, the blast was gone and Shadow stood in front of her in a defensive position.
"Shadow!" Kumori praised. "I knew you would protect me."
"I shouldn't have to protect you." Shadow said seriously, holding his hand to her. "But I made a promise to always be there for you." Kumori smiled and gratefully took his hand. "Now we only have to worry about Nazo."
"What can we do?" Kumori said worried. "If we attack, he'll heal himself. If we don't fight him, he'll kill us."
"We have to find a way to fight him without allowing him the chance to heal." Shadow said tactically. "And I think I know a way how."
"Really?" Kumori said hopefully.
"It's our one shot, but I need something first." Shadow said solemnly. "I need you to give it to me."
"Anything." Kumori said.
It was all a blur to Kumori, but it was the happiest moment of her life. Shadow suddenly grasped Kumori by the head and forced her closer to him, locking his lips with hers. Kumori felt as if her heart had exploded from her chest. Shadow, her one true love, was kissing her. Was this how Amy felt? Just as quickly as they came together, they were now apart.
"Goodbye." Shadow whispered
Kumori was still dazed from the kiss, but ultimately felt Shadow's fist lodged in her stomach. The female prototype dropped to her knees and fell over, grasping her stomach. She wasn't unconscious, but she had lost all moving capabilties. From the corner of her eyes, she could Shadow; he was crying.
"Why?" Kumori gasped.
"I don't want you to get hurt." Shadow shuddered. "Please, live on."
Leaving behind the injured Kumori, Shadow stepped up to Nazo with a look of fear and confidence.
"So this is it then." Nazo sniggered. "We finally get a chance to see who the true ultimate life-form is."
"After today, that title will fade." Shadow said seriously. "I'm taking you down forever."
"Then show me what you got!"
At once, Shadow freely summoned a powerful Chaos Lance from his open palm. Nazo mimicked his tactic and performed an equally powerful Chaos Lance. The two attacks collided, destroying all nearby buildings in the street. Once Nazo regained his senses, he quickly reacted as Shadow made an attempt to attack him. Shadow threw out his foot, but the God of Darkness swatted him away. Shadow quickly touched the ground with his palm and countered with another kick. Nazo blocked it with his forearm and released a single Chaos Spear from his hand. Shadow pushed himself off the ground and flipped over Nazo's head, successfully avoid the attack. Once behind Nazo, Shadow trapped the hedgehog's arms behind his back.
"What is it that up plan on doing now?" Nazo questioned.
"Since you heal after every attack, I'll have to destroy you in a way you can never heal." Shadow stated.
"Try your best." Nazo sniggered. "I can recover from even the smallest particle."
"That's why I won't leave a single trace." Shadow said seriously.
Suddenly, Shadow began to gather a large amount of red chaos to his body. At first, Nazo figured he was going to perform anther Chaos Blast. But then he realized that the energy wasn't headed for his body, but for his heart. Nazo's eyes shot wide with fear.
"You're insane!" Nazo yelled madly. "You'll kill us both!"
"Better to get rid of you." Shadow grunted. His eyes wandered and made contact with Kumori, who stared back. "Kumori, I'm sorry I won't be able to keep my promise. I am only doing this to protect you."
"Shadow..." Kumori murmured.
"I'll miss you." Shadow said sadly. Once the energy was gathered, Shadow released it. "CHAOS IMPLOSION!!"
"Shadow!!" Kumori screamed.
The charged energy exploded not from Shadow's body, but from inside his heart. Shadow heart and body were both consumed by the blast; not a trace of him left. Nazo was also caught in the inferno, taking with him every chance to save himself. Though dead, Shadow managed to suppress the blast enough to not destroy Kumori and the city. When the blast died down, there was nothing left but a gaping crater. Kumori could see one of Shadow's power was rings left behind and picked it up, holding it to her heart. At that moment, one of the manholes blew open, revealing the rest of the team, who were properly healed again.
"Hey, what happened here?" Knuckles questioned.
"Where's Shadow?" Rouge asked.
"Shadow..." Kumori sobbed. "He...he..."
They didn't to know the rest to know what had happened. Like Sonic, Shadow had given up everything to protect the world. And with the death of Nazo, the threat of darkness had finally been vanquished. But the price of this victory was too high. As the heroes grieved over their loss, Emerl, who had been watching the entire time, was finished scanning them.
"All copies complete." Emerl stated. "Mission 2: Complete. Mission 3: engaged."
The scene alters to the remaining half of the moon, where a black meteor was hidden in the rocks. This meteor was the remains of the Black Comet. As the Black Arms continued to renovate the base, Black Doom sat at his throne, watching the battle on Earth. The stolen Chaos and Sol Emeralds floated above his head. Black Doom was overjoyed when he witnessed the deaths of his two greatest threats.
"This is perfect." Black Doom said malevolently. "Nazo and Shadow are dead, leaving me to conquer the planet for my own." Black Doom floated up and gazed upon the emeralds. "And with these emeralds, nothing will stop me from – what is this?!"
All of a sudden, the emeralds became dull and weak. Slowly, they began to crack until they were nothing but dust. All over the universe, the Chaos Emerald counterparts were fading away: The Sol Emeralds, The Seven World Rings, even The Time Stones. With Nazo's death, all things connected to them were destroyed. The ultimate power in the universe was gone.
"NO!!" Black doom roared.
--20 years later--
The scene opens to a desolate cave where an evil plot was unfolding. Inside the cave, thirteen white thrones surrounded a giant dragon statue with thirteen holes in it. Seated at each throne was a shrouded figure, but only two of them were real; the other eleven were images. They were chanted as around a young owl, who was strapped to a stone table. A black wave of energy was escaping from the owl's heart and into the dragon's mouth. Of the two real figures, one of them could be recognized as Mephiles. He wore a black coat with a white flame symbol on the back, similar to his partner.
"Truly amazing." Mephiles inquired. "This spark was able to manipulate the metal of the city and form a gigantic beats. You are truly powerful to defeat him, my lord." He received no reply. "What is it, my lord?"
"My father is dead." The leader stated.
From this comment, all the other members were attracted by this new information, but only Mephiles was allowed to ask.
"You speak of Lord Nazo?" Mephiles asked. "Is he truly gone?"
"No, this is only his first death." The leader replied.
"First death." Mephiles said thoughtfully. "Ah, Project: Hellzone. That was one of the greatest accomplishments of your father's lifetime. It was recognized as The Day of Red Skies. If Lord Nazo can change history, we will have no need for the Hakumei to capture the Chaos Sparks."
"But we can't leave anything to chance." The leader said. "We must capture all thirteen Spark." He turns his head to one of the shrouded figures. "And I expect you to do your part in capturing your target, Terro."
The man he referred to could not be seen properly, but some aspects could be sighted. He had a white crescent birthmark on his forehead that looked exactly like Knuckles'. His eyes were orange with six black slits surrounding one large slit.
"I cannot say how the outcome will be." Terro said politely. "My target will be difficult to capture."
"What do you expect from the son of Sonic the Hedgehog?" The leader laughed.
One evil is vanquished, but others remain. What will become of the heroes without their leader? What is Emerl's third mission? Who is this strange organization from the future? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!
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