SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES
Corrupt (c) DarkspineSilver92
Rodrigo (c) Kiba Sniper
Chapter Sixty-Two: Passing the Torch
The scene opens to the base of the Sonic Heroes, which was not the best place to be at the time. It's been over four days since Silver's death and marked the sign of worse troubles. Blaze remained strong during all this, but Cream would often hear her crying in her sleep. After losing all three of their leaders, the heroes have been disordered and frantic without anyone to guide them. All the while, crime rates are at their all-time high, and G.U.N. soldiers were forced to pick up the pieces. Knuckles, Rouge, Blue, Jet, and Tails sat around the living room, caught in a state of depression.
"Well, now what do we do?" Tails sighed.
"We can't just sit around, doing nothing." Blue stated. "There's a whole world out there in need of our help."
"But how are we going to fight without a leader?" Knuckles said grimly. "Nazo may be gone, but there is still Eggman and Metal Sonic."
"Don't forget the Metal Squadron, Violet, and the rest of the Dark Rulers." Rouge added.
"Yeah, them, too" Knuckles nodded.
"Man, you guys are really starting to bring me down." Jet said nonchalantly, lying against the back of the couch. "If you want a leader so bad, why not just pick a new one. Preferably, a handsome green hawk."
"What makes you think you could be leader?" Blue glared, shooting straight to his feet.
"Well, I do have some experience leading the Babylon Rogues." Jet claimed.
"Please, everyone knows Wave was the brains behind the operation." Blue scoffed.
"You think you can do any better!" Jet snapped.
"Much better than an overstuffed turkey!" Blue shouted.
"I'm a hawk!!" Jet roared.
And within moments, Jet jumped on top of blue and started beating at the aquatic clone. Blue pressed his feet against Jet's chest and kicked backwards into the wall. Blue flipped back to his feet, extending and sharpening his claws, and rushed ahead to the thieving bird. When they were only a few feet from each other, Blue stabbed his claws forward. On the reaction, Jet pulled both his fans from his head feathers and blocked the claws to the side, sending them through the base walls. Jet folded one fan and aimed a piercing blow to Blue's visible brain, but Rouge flew in out of nowhere and kicked it to the ceiling. A moment later, Knuckles grabbed Blue by his arms and Tails pushed Jet away, keeping a distance between the two.
"Stop!" Tails ordered. "Fighting each other isn't going to solve anything!"
"It will make me feel better." Jet growled, attempting to push the fox aside.
"Anything works for me." Blue growled, struggling in Knuckles grip. "As long as I wipe that grin off that pigeon's face."
"I'm a hawk!!" Jet yelled.
"Stop this already." Knuckles said calmly. "Do you really think Sonic or the others would want us to fight?"
That blow struck both the infuriated heroes hard. They knew for a fact that Sonic, Shadow, and Silver valued friendship and would never turn against each other. Jet and Blue slowly started to calm, feeling their rage depleting from their hearts. Knowing they were starting to cool down, Tails and Knuckles released their friends; Rouge looked like she had a migraine.
"I should have just stuck with jewels." Rouge muttered.
"Hey, at least the worst is over." Tails said cheerfully.
Just then, the alarms blared and the G.U.N. Commander appeared on the television screen.
"You really need to learn to keep you mouth shut." Blue commented.
"What do you want, old man?" Jet asked rudely.
"Heroes, I know you're going through a tough time, but we need your help." The Commander said, ignoring Jet's comment. "While you have defeated Nazo, Eggman has taken the opportunity to go on the attack. He has sent an army of black clones to attack Megalo City, along with the elite clone, Violet."
"Perfect!" Blue shouted cheerfully. "All we have to do is beat a couple of fakes, take down my sister, and prove once and for all that I am the new leader."
"Not a chance, blob!" Jet snapped. "I'm clearly the best for the job!"
"Ahem!" The Commander spoke. "There's more to it. We've received word that there is someone else in Eggman's ranks."
"Got anything we can work on?" Rouge asked.
"Nothing much." The Commander shook. "All we know is that he's a teenage boy with amazing powers."
"We'll find out soon enough." Knuckles said seriously; He reminded everyone of Shadow. "We'll get right on it, sir."
The Commander nodded and vanished from the screen. Now normally, the heroes would use Chaos Control as transport to the location, but without the Chaos Emeralds, that plan was a bust. So, the heroes had to find their own way of transportation. Jet naturally took the Wind Rider, Tails and Rouge flew overhead, Blue used the water to his advantage, and Knuckles borrowed all the way there. But unknown to them, Emerl was watching them depart with Bokkun at his side.
"They're gone." Bokkun stated obviously.
"Yes." Emerl nodded. "Pass word to my father that my mission is near completion."
"Roger!" Bokkun saluted before flying off.
"Man, his voice is so annoying!" Emerl shivered.
The scene changes to the Megalo City, the most futuristic place in the whole world. The Meteor Tech robots were still offline after the ABIS, which would be considered a bad moment in the current situation. Currently, hundreds of Black Chaos Clones were swarming over the high-tech city, destroying everything in their path. Standing in the middle of the destruction was Violet, who was peacefully reading her newest book she had acquired.
"This is not as good as I expected." Violet commented, closing the book. "I am defiantly getting a refund."
"This is getting boring." Violet looked over and found Eggman's son, Rai, leaning against a street light. "Are we done yet?"
"Your father created this distraction in order to provide time for Emerl." Violet stated.
"He was talking?" Rai smirked. "I thought the old mammoth was just bellowing."
"You better watch your tongue, child." Violet said sophisticatedly. "It will eventually lead you to trouble."
"Says who?" Rai grimaced.
"FIRE DUNK!!"
As Violet and Rai looked back to the swarm of black clones, they saw a massive flame engulf them. When the embers passed, they could see Knuckles with his fists out front. As more began to gather around him, the echidna suddenly drilled underneath the street. A moment later, a pile of gold rings dropped from the sky and exploded in the clones faces. To those who had survived, Rouge performed her signature drill kick and snapped their heads clean off. Knuckles reemerged from the ground across from Violet and Rai, shortly joined by Tails and Rouge.
"You were saying." Violet said humorously.
"Shut up." Rai pouted.
"Hey, Knuckles." Tails whispered to the echidna. "Is that Rai, the guy you talked about?"
"Yeah, that's him." Knuckles replied before shouting. "Rai, what are you doing with these creeps?!"
"Eh, I had nothing better to do." Rai shrugged.
"But why are you helping them?" Rouge questioned. "From what I heard, you were supposed to be a great guy."
"That's flattering." Rai grinned wildly. "But you're not my type."
At that comment, several veins could be seen from the top of Rouge's skull. But none of them were compared to the one on Knuckles. Tails grabbed both of them by their tails; he blushed heavily when he grabbed Rouge, to stop them from killing the boy.
"Let me go!" Knuckles roared. "I'm gonna kill him!"
"Whoa, they're really steamed." Rai chuckled.
"They show hostility towards you." Violet commented. "You definitely Eggman's son."
"Eggman's son!" Violet and Rai looked back, where they found Jet and Blue standing directly behind them. They seemed to have been planning a sneak attack, but Jet unfortunately tipped them off. "Oops."
"Oops?" Blue repeated. "Nice cover, you've done this before?"
With their original plan failed, the two went on a basic forward attack. Jet swung his fans and Blue swiped his claws, but both villains flipped their opposing adversaries overhead. As Blue and Jet landed on their backs, Violet jumped up and swung her leg down on her brother. Luckily, Blue dissolved his body into a puddle of water and reformed to his original state a few feet away.
"Leave my sister to me." Blue said confidently. "You just take care of the other guy."
"But you can't beat her all by yourself." Tails said. "She's way to advance for you."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Blue sweat-dropped.
"I don't usually admit this, but Tails is right." Knuckles supported; Tails glared at the echidna's back. "You can't win if you fight alone."
"I can and I will!" Blue shouted determined.
"Wait!" Knuckles called.
"Then I guess this guy is mine." Jet grinned, running at Rai.
"But I – What the – huh?" Knuckles said confused.
"Use whole sentences, Knuckie." Rouge giggled.
Knuckles pouted at his fiancés comment, but didn't have time to make a comeback. A moment later, the black clones that were scattered throughout the city jumped down and surrounded the trio. Naturally, Tails and Rouge flew up when the clones piled up, but they seemed to have forgotten someone. Luckily, Knuckles used his shovel claws to burrow his way away from the clones. With most of the enemy gathered together, Tails threw down a handful of handmade paralysis rings. The clones stiffened and were rendered helpless, leaving them wide open for attack. Rouge flew overhead of them and dive bombed the horde, spinning at an unparalleled rate.
"SCREW KICK!!" Rouge called.
Rouge swiped past the clones in drilling formation, reducing them to piles of black liquid. She landed safely, but soon realized that she had missed one. The one remaining finally broke free from the power of the ring and extended its sharpened claws to her. Rouge would have dived out of the way, but she unconsciously slipped on one of the black puddles, falling backwards. Just as the claw made its attempt, it was suddenly stopped. The clones gasped in horror and turned its head to the side, attracting Rouge's attention. They could both see Knuckles with his namesake through the clone's chest.
"Don't you ever hurt my future wife." Knuckles growled. The fierce echidna watched the black clone dissolve for a moment before helping the tripped up bat. "Are you all right?"
"I'm just fine." Rouge said proudly. "I had that creep right where I wanted him."
"And I suppose falling on your butt was a part of your plan." Knuckles said.
"It wasn't intentional." Rouge said flirtingly. "But I'm sure you wouldn't mind."
"Can we save this for later?" Tails said, flying down to the two; Knuckles had a nosebleed. "Right now, we have bigger problems."
"Like what?" Rouge questioned.
At that moment, Blue flew past the trio and tumbled backwards on the ground. Being made of water, Blue couldn't easily get visible injuries, but his left eye was leaking yellow blood. Violet appeared over him and thrust both her claws straight down to her brother. Acting fast, Blue pushed against the ground and flipped sideways to avoid the assault. Blue though he was safe, but that was before Violet used her arms to slingshot herself at him. With rapid speed and powerful feet, Violet stamped Blue in the chest and sent him rocketing down the street. Blue collided with a stop sign and was splattered across the pavement. Blue weakly pulled himself together, but was unable to move even a finger. Violet landed in front and crouched down to his level.
"This all could have been avoided if you were to accept your fate." Violet said lowly.
"That's the difference between you and me." Blue said weakly. "I can chose to be free and not a worthless puppet."
"You disgraceful...!!"
Violet raised her claw and swung it down with heavy force. She was an inch away from connecting with her brother's skull until she suddenly stopped. Blue looked up, curious at why she didn't finish, and found his sister stiff as a statue. He looked down to her feet and found a purple ring on the ground.
"Thanks for the save, Tails!" Blue called.
"No problem!" Tails shouted back.
"That takes care of one of them." Rouge said.
"Yeah, but that still leaves the biggest problem." Knuckles said seriously.
Back in the fight against Rai and Jet, the emerald hawk wasn't fending very well. Jet originally started out by merely swinging his fans at a regulated stance, but Rai would dodge each swipe effortlessly. The more Jet attacked, the more he realized Rai was just playing with him. The Babylon leader, being easily agitated, was already pissed with the redhead after the first ten swings. Now Jet was swiping at Rai unconditionally with his fans moving in every direction possible. But Rai still sidestepped every time and even had time to read a page from Violet's book; He tossed it a moment later.
"Man, can this get anymore boring." Rai yawned.
"You know, I'm really starting to get pissed." Jet growled.
"That's not good for you." Rai said wisely. "I hear birds molt under stress."
"I am not molting!" Jet screamed; a green feather dropped to the ground. "That one doesn't count!"
"Can we just get this over with?" Rai said bored. "Let's face it, you can't beat me."
"Oh yeah." Jet smirked; his green Ark started to glow. "Let's see what you think about this. GRAVITY DIVE!!"
Rai stared curiously as a small black hole appeared out of nowhere in front of the emerald hawk. Taking satisfactory of Rai's confusion, Jet jumped into the black hole. A second later, he was shot forward at incredible speeds that reviled Sonic. The street, buildings, and windows all cracked and shattered as Jet shot by them. Rai was caught off guard by this, which gave Jet and perfect chance to attack. Despite the pressure of gravity, Jet managed to outstretch his fans and swipe across Rai's chest as he passed by. When Jet landed, gravity resumed its course and the flying objects dropped.
"Showed him." Jet boasted.
"Whoa! That was awesome!" Jet's eyes shot wide and turned around to find Rai; a large cut across his chest. "You have to show me how to do that!"
"No way." Jet muttered.
Using whatever senses he had left, which wasn't much, Jet took a desperate stab with his fans. Rai merely moved his head to the left and caught the fan with his shoulder blade. Jet tugged at his fan, but it refused to give way. Finally, Rai kneed his in the chest, forcing the emerald bird to his knees. Rai grabbed Jet's fan from his shoulder and threw it at the hawk's forehead, pushing him to his back.
"Nothing personal, pal." Rai said. "Just doing what my dad told me."
Rai holds out his hands and begins to form an orb of blue energy in his palm. Rai didn't seem happy, but unleashed the blast nonetheless. Jet was fearful for his life and snapped his eyes shut. Surprisingly, the attack didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. When he opened his eyes, he found out why. Knuckles, who was hunched over him, took the hit in the back instead.
"Knuckles!" Rouge cried as she and the others ran to his side.
"Hey, you all right, man." Jet asked worried.
"I'm fine." Knuckles wheezed. "But right now, we need to get you to safety."
"Are you crazy?" Jet said seriously, standing over the echidna. "You're the one in need of help."
"Growing up as a guardian, I've learned a few things." Knuckles panted, slowly getting to his feet. "When you protect something important to you, you protect it with your life. And right now, you guys are what's most important."
"Knuckles..." Blue whispered.
"That was so beautiful." Rai sniffed, blowing into a tissue. "So heart moving. You guys deserved an Oscar."
"Uh...thanks?" Tails sweat-dropped.
"But, unfortunately, I have to beat you guys now." Rai grinned.
"That won't be happening anytime soon." Knuckles said pounding his namesakes.
As Knuckles bashed his fists together, a wave of flames engulfed them together. AT the same time, Rai cupped his hands together and began to gather a large amount of blue energy into his palms.
"FIRE DUNK!!" Knuckles yelled.
"KA-ME-HA-ME-HA!!" Rai cried.
A pillar of fire formed from the tip of Knuckles' namesakes and a beam of blue energy formed from Rai's hands. As the two attacks collided, it became obvious that Rai's attack was stronger. Slowly, but surely, the flames were pushed back to their creator. Rouge pleaded to her future husband to get out of the way, but Knuckles was stubborn as usual. As Rai started adding pressure on the echidna, he slowly began to realize that the flames were creeping up the beam. Rai suddenly released his attack and stared as the flames started to form together.
"Ok, that's different." Rai commented.
"The most powerful attack of the echidna legacy." Knuckles smirked. "The Living Flames."
The raging fire slowly started to rise from the ground and took the shape of a prowling wolf. The flame wolf snarled and raced to the human boy. Using his special gift, Rai pushed off and levitated in the air. Rai laughed as the fire wolf snapped and jumped at the boy with no effect. That was until it turned into a screeching falcon. Knowing that he wasn't getting anywhere with this unusual creature, Rai grabbed Violet, who was still frozen in place, and raced across the sky back to Eggman's base; the fire beast burst into a display of sparks.
"Now that was awesome." Rai grinned.
Violet sweat-dropped, wishing to slap the boy silly.
The scene returns to the Sonic Heroes base. Knuckles was sitting at one of the beds in the infirmary as Rouge applied some ointment to his back; the other three were standing around him. But instead of a gentle touch, she slapped the medicine on him.
"Yow!" Knuckles whined. "What was that for?"
"For being an idiot." Rouge glared. "You could have died like that."
"But at least he didn't" Tails said brightly. "In fact, he saved all of us."
"You were awesome out there." Jet complimented.
"You were strong and dedicated." Blue nodded. "I guess we made the right choice."
"Choice?" Knuckles repeated. "What choice?"
"On the way back, we talked for a bit." Tails explained. "And after what you did today, we decided to make you leader."
"Leader? Me?" Knuckles asked in surprise. "But what about Blue or Jet?"
"Hey, you saved both our lives because you care." Jet shrugged. "We only fought for ourselves."
"A true leader thinks of others before himself." Rouge added smiling.
"I guess I should say thanks." Knuckles smiled. "I know I won't be as good as Shadow or Sonic, but I'll do my best. I swear that as long as I live, no one will ever suffer again."
The gathered heroes praised and cheered for the newest leader. But unknown to them, Emerl was watching from around the corner. His eyes were fixated on Knuckles and slowly started to scan his body signature.
"Power process complete." Emerl stated. He stared down at his hand and slowly started to build a green aura around it. "Now I can control the Master Emerald." He clutched his fist. "I will save you, mother."
The scene alters to a barren land were the rivers were lava and the air was filled with molten ash. In the center of this land stood a colossal black tower; inside the tower was a small circular room with five black seats. The room remained unoccupied until five of the most gruesome creatures appeared and took a seat. There were known throughout history and legend as the God of Death: Yama, Anubis, Hades, Grim Reaper, and the Devil.
"Any news of the situation." The Devil questioned.
"It is unfortunate." Grim Reaper shook. "Ever since he appeared, there have been more disturbances than normal. If this were to continue, he will surely regain enough power to destroy the Council of Death."
"Why not send him to the lower rings." Yama questioned. "Leave him to Malebolgia and his ilk."
"It is impossible now." Hades stated hopelessly. "We felt it alone for too long. He's too powerful for any of us to control."
"So the rumors are true." Anubis sighed. "Nazo has become the King of Hell."
Far away from the black tower, hordes of the most evil and darkest creatures in the universe were gathered at the base of a cliffside. Some of the monsters were recognized as Nazo's creations. At the top of the cliff, two unknown figures stood in praise. One was a black crow with a white flame tattoo on his wrist. He wore white boots, white gloves, and a long white cloak with the symbol of the Babylon Rogue's on the back. His name was Rodrigo. The second was black hedgehog with five pointed quills and purple stripes going up his arms. He wore purple boots and grey gloves with red eyes. His name was Corrupt. The two held up their hands, silencing the roaring crowd.
"My fellow captives!" Corrupt echoed. "How long has it been since we suffered such torture? Never! That pathetic Council of Death have made us endure an eternity of pain and grief in this land of ash."
"But not anymore." Rodrigo continued. "For now, we have a savior. A great and vile warrior who will overthrow the council and bring us what we have all ways desired.
"All bow and obey Lord Nazo!" The two exclaimed.
The two dark masterminds stepped aside and bowed as Nazo, the God of Darkness stepped past them. The crowd below chanted and roared at their savior's appearance. Nazo waved his hand, ordering them to silence.
"My brave soldiers!" Nazo called. "All preparations have been set for the final phase our plan! The Winter Solstice will arrive soon and we shall bring Hell to Earth to repay those who have allowed us to exist in such pestilence! And once all light is extinguished, darkness shall rule the universe for all of eternity!"
"All Hail, Lord Nazo!!"
With new light comes new darkness. Will Emerl succeed in capturing the Master Emerald? Will Nazo's new army be enough to end the world? Why am I asking you these questions? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!
Please, read and review.
Note: This chapter is dedicated to those who have suffered pains and losses during the hurricanes.
Project: Hellzone is nearly upon us and I have one last poll for you to choose. I decided to mae it a chapter focused around Fan charecters. Which one will you choose?
A) Naga vs. Gemini and Armand
B) Pirate Crew vs. Bat Colony
C) South Island vs. Nightshade
Vote now!