SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES
Corrupt © DarkspineSilver92
Chapter Seventy-Five: The Season of Change
The scene opens to the eastern border of the famous city of Station Square. All seemed very normal on the streets, inside and out, that nothing would make it look like something was about to happen. But upon further inspection, we see a group of lowly criminals trying to make a break for it towards the city border. There were only five of them and one of them was holding a tattered cloth close to his chest. As he removed the cloth, the criminal stared down at what was identified as the purple Chaos Emerald.
"Are you sure this was such a good idea?" One of the criminals asked nervously.
"Of course, you idiot!" The leader, a female, snapped. "Haven't you heard? Nazo and the Dark Rulers are looking for these little gems. I'll bet anything that they will pay top dollar to get their hands on them."
"But what if the Sonic Heroes find us?" A teenager asked.
"The Sonic heroes...please." The leader rolled her eyes. "You think they have time to handle petty thieves?"
"They might not, but we do."
The group of thieves stopped in their tracks at the sound of the voice, but not because they were afraid. They tried moving their feet, but their shoes would not leave the concrete – they had been magnetized to the ground. The leader snarled and snapped her head to the source of the voice, instantly regretting her decision. Hybrid the Hedgehog was kneeled at the corner of the street with his hands pressed into the sidewalk, emitting a steady flow of electricity. Rector Rose stood beside him with Howl the Wolf, Raine the Butterfly, and Marine the Raccoon bring up backup.
"Going somewhere?" Rector questioned playfully.
"Team Virtex!" The teenager screamed frantically. "I knew this was a bad idea!"
"Well, they always did say crime never pays." Raine commented.
"But think of it this way." Howl grinned. "You're getting an all-paid trip to Prison Island."
With Hybrid continuing to magnetize the thief's feet to the ground, there wasn't much of a choice left for them. Rector pressed his palm into one of the criminal's chest, releasing a flow of energy. Howl hit another in the neck with the hilt of his sword, effectively striking the man's nerves. Raine, who was eager to test her newest concoction, tossed a cloud of light-blue powder into the teenager's face, lulling him to sleep. And Marine just released a sphere of green energy into one of the younger thief's chest. Once the criminals were effectively defeated, Hybrid released his hold on their feet and watched them topple in random directions.
"Well, that was....short." Hybrid said bored.
"Eh, we haven't had a decent job since Nazo attacked." Rector shrugged.
"Hey, mates." Marine called to her friends. "Weren't there five of them?"
Counting over the unconscious bodies, they found that there were four of the five criminals they had managed to capture. And worse of all, the leader had stolen the Chaos Emerald when they weren't looking. Just as Hybrid began laming himself for releasing her too early, the missing criminal dropped from the sky and landed at the top of the pile – the Chaos Emerald fell in Raine's hands. The group blinked and stared back to the sky as a dark blur landed in front of them. Just as the team began preparing themselves for battle, Rector quickly called them off. His heart soared as the newest arrival stood before them.
"Looking for someone?" Shade smiled playfully.
"Shade?!" Rector screamed happily. He grabbed the echidna girl by her waist and started twirling her around. "Shade, I can't believe you're here! You don't know how much I missed you!"
"And I missed you, Rector." Shade said nauseously. "Now can you put me down? I think I'm gonna be sick."
"Sorry about that." Rector apologized sheepishly, setting the echidna back to the ground. "But what are you doing here? Last time we heard from you, you were working from some scientist in Shamar."
"Turned out to be a bust." Shade lied. She had agreed with Amy and Prof. Pickle that the existence of Light and Dark Gaia should remain secret. "I found the temple he was looking for, but there was not really much to do there."
"Aw, too bad." Marine pouted.
"So what bring you here, old friend?" Hybrid asked kindly.
"I'm here for a job offer." Shade informed. "That is, if the position is still open."
"The job is always open for you." Rector stated proudly, slinging his arm over her shoulder. "Of course, we already have six spots filled and only have one more place on the team. And we have already been given a number of candidates." He turned his head and gave a business-like expression. "But first, we're going to need to see your application, criteria, and business recommendations."
"Oh boy." Shade muttered.
The scene alternates to the dark and dreary dimension of the Dark Ruler's Castle. The leader of the dark organization, Lord Nazo, was seated at his throne with the chessboard in front of him. As it should be noted, all the pieces on the board represented a different character participating in the Dark War. There had been twice as many pieces added since Hybrid's tournament and most of them were helping the heroes. The Dark Ruler himself was transforming his hand from normal to ice, testing his Gaia Warrior powers. While looking through his clear claw, he could see the faint outlines of the Light-Blue and Green Chaos Emeralds floating overhead. Since the fall of Black Doom, all side of the war had been hunting endlessly for the emeralds. The Dark Rulers had two emeralds, Metal had the yellow emerald, and Nazo was pleased to learn that the SOnic Heroes had no emeralds. But surprisingly, the Sol Emeralds had no appeared after a long time.
"What do you want, Corrupt?" Nazo questioned suddenly.
Before the vile hedgehog even appeared, Nazo could recognize his power. The dark life-form appeared in a cloud of darkness and kneeled before his master.
"Lord Nazo, we have discovered the location of the next Chaos Emerald." Corrupt reported.
"And as usual, you are late." Nazo said in a drawling manner. "I have already learned that the next Chaos Emerald has been stolen by a band of lowly thugs. They were planning to use the emerald as a bargaining chip, but they were caught shortly before their plan could succeed. Now it is in the possession of Team Virtex."
"Forgive me of my lateness, my lord." Corrupt said bitterly.
"I have noticed that there has been a severe lack of trust for you, Corrupt." Nazo stated, returning his hand to normal.
"Who dares mistrust me?" Corrupt growls.
"Me." Nazo answered shortly. "I have watched you and Rodrigo and I feel that you two are...out of place."
"Then what do you wish for me to do, master?" Corrupt questioned.
"I am sending you on a mission to retrieve the Chaos Emerald." Nazo explained. "Collect the emerald and nothing more. This is no longer the dark realm of hell, Corrupt. It's time for you to prove your worth."
The scene returns to the heart of Station Square, entering the apartment of Team Virtex. Rector was seated in his office – his feet propped on the desk – and scanned over Shade's file. Howl sat calmly on the windowsill, Hybrid was tapping his foot anxiously next to the door, and Raine and Marine were trying to sneak peeks in the file. Shade was twitching nervously in the center of the room. She had never applied for a job before – they never had them in ancient times – and she rushed through her report, meaning it was sloppy and remedial. She had only hoped that her previous experience in Hybrid's Tournament would be enough to convince them. Her spine stiffened as Rector closed the file.
"I have to be honest with you, Shade." Rector said solemnly. "This is by far the worst profile I've ever seen. You have no public records, you have no previous job experience, and you were unable to fill out the application correctly." Shade cringed at the criticism. "But the worst part of it is, I can't read your handwriting."
He opened the file for everyone to see – the lines on the application were filled by unreadable scribbles.
"I never really learned how to write." Shade stated nervously. "Imper - I mean, Ix never really thought it was worth my time. I was to grow up as a fighter, so I never received a proper education."
"But that shouldn't matter!" Hybrid exclaimed. "Shade has proven herself worthy enough in battle! She was the Runner-Up in the Ultimate World Tournament! That should be good enough!"
"We have twenty-six applicants who are just as qualified." Rector stated coolly. "I can't play favorites."
"Listen, you pompous little..."
"It's ok, Hybrid." Shade said sadly. "I understand that I am not good enough."
"But you are good enough." Marine said supportively, turning her head to the ruby hedgehog. "Isn't she?"
"She is a force to be feared in battle." Rector said acknowledged. "But without a decent education, she can't apply for this job or any other job in the world." He stood up and stared at the echidna warrior. "So all I can suggest is..."
But before he could finish those dreaded words that Shade had feared, a massive explosion echoed through the air. The vibrations shook the very foundation of the apartment that items were flew all over the room. Most of the unimportant items were wrecked, but the team managed to save a few valuables and Marine caught a Ming vase with her teeth. As Raine gently placed a team picture on the ground, she floated over to the window, spotting a plume of smoke in the distance.
"I think there's another monster in the city." Raine said pointedly.
"Finally, a challenge!" Rector cheered eagerly.
"Perhaps I shall join you." Shade suggested hopefully.
"I'm sorry, Shade." Howl said distantly. "But this is a matter reserved for the Sonic Heroes or Team Virtex. And seeing as how you are not a part of either group, you cannot join us."
"But..." Shade interjected, turning to her friend. "Hybrid..."
The mixed hedgehog said nothing as he followed the rest of the team out the door, leaving Shade alone with her thoughts. Meanwhile, Corrupt was causing the usual amount of destruction that you would expect from a Dark Ruler. But even as he pleased himself to the mayhem he created, the vile hedgehog could not remove the thread of hatred hanging in his mind. Who was Nazo to believe that he was superior? What gave that lowly rat the right to command him, the Eternal Shadow? If he didn't already have plans for the Chaos Emeralds, Corrupt would have never agreed to this.
"It will be worth it." Corrupt muttered. "Once I have the Chaos Emeralds in my possession again, the world will tremble before my power. And this time, Chaos will not be around to stop me."
"Talking to yourself is a bad habit."
At the sound of the voice, Corrupt instinctively ducked down, expecting someone to attack from above. He watched with eager anticipation as Rector flew overhead, but was unable to attack as a strike of lightning suddenly snapped at his chest. The vile demon skidded backwards, holding the welt forming on his chest, when barely noticing the shadow hanging overhead. It was apparent that they had preplanned the attack as the lightning strike force Corrupt into Rector's path. The ruby hedgehog swung his leg downwards, but Corrupt raised his forearm in defense and pushed back his attacker. Rector landed beside Hybrid, who was kneeled close to the ground, behind Howl and Marine.
"Hey, I remember that bugger." Marine informed pointedly. "That's one of the blokes that ruined Rouge's wedding."
"One of the two abominations that returned with Nazo." Howl informed.
"Well, at least your memory is still sharp." Corrupt chuckled sinisterly.
"And exactly why are you attacking the city?" Hybrid questioned. "We're still cleaning up from the whole incident with Nazo and Shadic."
"Do I need a reason to create mayhem and destruction?" Corrupt questioned snidely. "But if you must know, I am looking for the missing Chaos Emerald. And a little birdy told me that t would be with you."
"Well, you're too late." Rector stated victoriously. "A friend of ours already took the emerald and is already on her way to delivering it to Shadow's team. And I know that even Nazo isn't stupid enough to attack on their territory."
"Then my mission is a failure." Corrupt shrugged. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy ripping the four of your, limb by limb."
"No you won't, mate!" Marine screamed.
The feisty raccoon thrusted her hand forward to release a sphere of green energy. Corrupt was not concerned by this and effortlessly tossed the attack away with a flick of his wrist. And as he took a step forward, he took careful notice that Howl was drawing his sword, holding it in reverse as he was reported to have done. The dark hedgehog was foolish enough to mistake this for a defensive reaction before noticing something that he had not seen before. A cloud of black dust surrounded him – the particles were smaller than a grain of rice, which made it nearly impossible to see. Looking upward, he spotted the missing member, Raine, pouring the contents of a vial over him and floating back to join the rest of her team. Drawn by curiosity, Corrupt took a whiff of the dust.
"Hmm..." Corrupt hummed. "Sulfur...charcoal....potassium nitrate. These are all ingredients need to make...." His eyes were suddenly shot wide in shock. "Gunpowder! You were distracting me the entire time!"
"Aren't you the cleaver one?" Howl complimented sarcastically.
Before the demonic hedgehog could even think of moving, Howl scraped the steel of his sword across the ground, forming a parade of sparks. At the moment that sparks came in contact with the gunpowder, Hybrid clapped his hands together to form a barrier of electrical energy. The polarized shield protected the heroes from the blast, but Corrupt was caught directly in the center of a multitude of explosions. It only took a minute, but the vibrations created by the blasts felt like an eternity. It was only was the last flicker of sound faded did the mixed hedgehog release his hold over the protective barrier.
"That was...short." Raine commented disappointedly.
"Almost too short." Howl stated suspiciously. "This is the same guy who took on Blaze in her Burning Form."
"Maybe we've just gotten stronger." Marine said optimistically.
"Don't count on it."
The heroes drew themselves ready for battle at once from the sound of the malevolent tone. The smoke cleared away to reveal Corrupt, who only received a minimal of burns and scratches. His arms were crossed in front of his head and the red eyes of his gloves glowed with a dim light before fading. As he lowered his hands, the expression on Corrupt's face was terrifying enough to scare anyone faint of heart – Marine passed out.
"You've got to be kidding me." Rector groaned.
"I have never been one for jokes." Corrupt snarled. "Now you will have to suffer an even more gruesome fate than I had originally planned."
"You will never harm my team." Rector stated firmly. "Not as long as I continue to draw breathe."
"That can be easily fixed." Corrupt said manically.
The stubborn hedgehog did not stop to listen before swing a chaos-enhanced punch to his enemy. His fist managed to touch the ground, but Corrupt had already vanished at the time. Before he realized what had happened, Rector could feel the demonic hedgehog grabbing his head from behind before losing his balance and falling forward. It appeared that Corrupt was draining Rector of not only his power, but his life-force as well. The remaining members of Team Virtex made a dash for their leader, but Corrupt had once again raised a barrier from the red eye on his glove. His attention was more focused on Rector, but it seemed that no matter how much life-force he drained, the ruby hedgehog refused to die.
"This can't be happening." Corrupt thought irritably. "No one should have this much life in them, not even Nazo. This child has the greatest amount of life-force possible. Not even Gods should be able to resist."
"Lumen Swipe!!" Howl cried.
Corrupt's mind was brought back to reality as his barrier of darkness was suddenly breached. He faintly caught a whip of white energy out of the corner of his eye and grabbed it firmly within his hand. He released the whip almost immediately – he couldn't touch pure light. Howl retracted his light whip into its sword form as he made a direct run for the demonic hedgehog. Corrupt was certain that in any form, the weapon was forged from pure light, making it lethal to him. He ducked and dived at every possible turn, but wolf swordsman was extremely fast and made it impossible to escape without a scratch. Now covered in abnormal injuries, Corrupt pushed out his hand to form a claw of darkness. The sudden attack caught Howl by surprise and pinned him to the far-side wall – his sword fell at a distance.
"Damn..." Corrupt cursed, hissing at his own movements. "No one mentioned that I would come to battle with a wielder of the light. I would have taken extra precautions to defend myself."
But while his mind was distracted, he failed to notice that all the lights in the block had suddenly gone out. But with his heightened senses, he managed to detect a hint of ionized oxygen – there was electricity in the air. Craning his head over his shoulder, he managed to find Hybrid gathering a large amount of electricity into his body. Corrupt attempted to attack before his opponent, but then learned the mixed hedgehog had already taken the liberty of magnetizing his feet to the ground.
"Lightning Javelin!!" Hybrid shouted.
And for a split-second, Hybrid zipped across the street, tearing up the pavement in his path. He stabbed his own body into Corrupt's back and stampeded forward through the closest building, collapsing the structure. Rector, who was faintly recovering from his drain, shook his head to release his daze and stared back at the pile where his teammate disappeared to. It was unfortunate for him to learn that Hybrid had failed in his attempt as Corrupt emerged from the rubble, carrying the mixed hedgehog by his neck. He dropped his defeated opponent unceremoniously onto the ground and cringed with each movement – the attack had done enough damage
"I can see why Nazo had difficulty." Corrupt groaned. His gaze shifted to Raine, who was attempting to wake Marine. "But now all I am left with is you. Then I can kill you all as slowly as I please."
"You...can't." Rector groaned weakly. "I won't..."
"Yes, I already know." Corrupt interrupted tiredly. "But there is nothing left for you. Your team has been defeated and you can barely stand. There is no one that can save you now."
"You might want to count again!"
It wasn't until the last moment that Corrupt turned before a black boot pounded into the side of his face. Already weakened from the previous battles, Corrupt's body tumbled across the pavement before being stopped by a lamppost. Somewhat relieved, Rector glanced back at their savior, caught by shock when he learned that it was Shade the Echidna. The Knuckle Tribe warrior had already drawn out her signature Leech Blades and looked ready to fight.
"Shade, you shouldn't be here." Rector stated.
"I need to be here, Rector." Shade said stubbornly. "You need me."
"But..."
"Rector..." Shade said softly. "I won't allow you to die. I love you too much to let that happen."
The ruby hedgehog stopped himself before he could speak again. There had only been one moment in the past where he and Shade had shared an intimate moment together, but she was under Ix's orders at the time. Now, feel from all obligations, Rector realized that her words were true. She did love him.
"Aw, isn't that sweet." Corrupt said sarcastically. "It's moments like these that make me glad I am evil."
"It's just you and me, Corrupt Darkness." Shade stated, moving into battle position.
"So you've learned my name." Corrupt glared. "But no matter how much you learn, it will not be enough!"
Corrupt threw out his hand once more and summoned forth a claw of darkness. But this time, Shade was prepared for it and effortlessly sliced the attack down the middle with his Leech Blade. Snarling lowly, the demonic hedgehog pushed out his other hand to release a surge of black lightning. Fortunately, the echidna female stabbed her second Leech Blade to the ground, redirecting the flow of the attack. Now Corrupt was pissed. No one would dare make a fool of him. With the eyes of his gloves radiating from his rage, the dark demon charge forward and attacked with his fist in a similar manner to Rector. It must have been their similarities that provided Shade with the advantage. She effortlessly sidestepped the attack, although her quills blew from the force, and grabbed the demon's wrist to flip him to the ground. The intense pain from wound on his back was increased tenfold, but Corrupt refused to give the satisfactory of becoming victorious. The demon made for a chance to sit up, but Shade was already sitting on his chest – her Leech Blade held close to his neck.
"Are you ready to surrender?" Shade questioned.
"I will never surrender." Corrupt growled defiantly. "I swear, once I regain my strength, I will..."
But what he would do was never made known. Corrupt stopped himself in mid-sentence after taking a careful observation: Shade left eye was different from her right. When he got a full look at the unknown anomaly, he couldn't resist releasing a gasp of fright. He left eye had transformed to a burning orange with the pupil turned to a slit with six smaller slits surrounding it. He had only seen this once before and it still struck fear in his core.
"I said, are you ready to surrender? Shade repeated dangerously.
Although reluctant, Corrupt vanished into a cloud of darkness. Approximately an hour later, the team had recovered from their encounter and returned home. Rector was making a call to G.U.N. about further the repairs to the city – the government had formed a separate branch just for this situation. Meanwhile, Shade was standing on the roof of the team's apartment, watching as the faint glow of the sun disappeared over the tall buildings. She heard the door close behind her, but didn't bother looking who had shown up – she already knew.
"Amy said she would drop by tomorrow to pick up the Chaos Emerald." Rector informed, taking a place next to Shade.
"That's nice." Shade said monotonously.
"Shade, I know you're upset." Rector said earnestly.
"I understand, Rector." Shade nodded, slightly saddened. "I was not qualified enough to obtained the job. I know you couldn't play favorites and allow someone inexperienced to take the position."
"That's why I'm going to make it my mission to make you qualified!" Rector stated firmly; Shade stared in confusion. "When I formed Team Virtex, I made a rule that said there was a six month waiting period before I am forced to make a decision. The team and I have decided to use that time to educate you in the modern world. And if you qualify by then, you get the job!"
"Rector, that's wonderful!" Shade shouted happily. She opened her arms to hug the ruby hedgehog before stopping suddenly, staring at him suspiciously. "Wait, I know this is going to be free. What's the catch?"
"All I want is your heart and love." Rector said softly.
"I think I can pay for that." Shade smirked.
And without hesitation, Rector welcomed the echidna into his arms and kissed her with all his passion. The same tingling sensation Shade had felt on East Island had returned tenfold. As they separated, the echidna warrior rested her head against her lover's chest, happily listening to his heartbeat. Naturally, Rector found a way to ruin the moment.
"You're first quiz is next Thursday."
"Aw, come on!"
We learn from mistakes and grown upon them. Will Shade succeed in her education? Will Team Virtex accept the echidna warrior as a new member? And will Corrupt commit an act similar to his predecessor? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!
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