SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES
Chapter Seventy-Six: To Return
The scene opens to the skies of the Pacific Ocean, where the Egg-Carrier III drifted aimlessly across the clouds. It was atypical day for the team of the most unusual villains in the universe. Eggman was trying to throttle Rai for making fun of his weight, Violet was casually reading a book, and Metal resumed his endless hours of staring into the Chaos Emerald. But today, the metallic copy was pulled from his meditation by his own son, Emerl. The young Gizoid had pulled his father out by his arm and dragged the irritable mech into the training room, ignoring Mecha, who was occupying the space.
"There better be a good reason for disturbing me." Metal scowled.
"It is, father." Emerl said excitedly. "I have been practicing the Metal Surge ever since the battle against my copies on East Island. I think I finally perfected it."
"Oh, this I got to see." Mecha said amusingly.
The blue clone said nothing but merely waved Emerl to continue. The Gizoid's copying ability allowed him great promise, but the true power depended on his strength of will and control. Both of which he showed no signs of. But Emerl was persistent as he faced the steel training dummy at the other end of the room. The young mech crouched low in the usual stance and gripped his left arm, attempting to gather energy from within. Emerl had mastered the form, but master the technique was an entirely different story. Slowly, but surely, a crackle of electricity began forming around his claw until flaring into a surge of lightning.
"Metal Surge!!" Emerl roared.
With jubilant expectations, the young Gizoid charged ahead at the dummy and thrusted his amplified fist forward. Unfortunately, at the last second, the electrical attack dissipated and only his normal fist collided with the metallic skull.
"Well, that was certainly entertaining." Mecha said bored, going back to his training.
"I...I don't understand." Emerl murmured. "It was working fine earlier. If I could use it against Ix and the Gizoids, why can't I use it when I want to?!" He punched his fist into the wall.
"Because you have nothing to drive you." Metal stated – Emerl winced. His voice did not sound angry, but disappoint, which made the Gizoid feel worse. "Last time, you were encouraged to strive for survival and to protect your family. But now that you are no longer in danger, you cannot access that power." He walked to the door. "You are not powerful enough."
And he left, leaving Emerl alone with his thoughts, which was offensively punctured by Mecha's grunts. After what seemed like an hour, Emerl finally found the strength to move and began wandering the Egg-Carrier. Why was it that he was the weakest of everyone on board? Bokkun may have counted, but he had been locked in the utility closet since the Christmas episode. Metal and Mecha were equals in terms of strength and power, the Metal Squadron had their own unique traits, and even the Eggman proved to be formidable when angry. Be he was supposed to be the first Gizoid, the greatest creation of the Nocturnus Tribe. He had powers people could only dream of possessing. So why was he so weak?
"Why can't I do anything right." Emerl whispered.
"Mumbling to yourself again?" The Gizoid jumped once Violet appeared out of nowhere. The colored Chaos clone once again had her non-existent nose buried in a book. "You know, that could be part of a health issue."
"Read that out of a book?" Emerl asked sarcastically."
"Actually, I did." Violet nodded – Emerl facefaulted. "Travels with the mentally broken is a best seller."
"I'm sure you didn't come out here to talk about book preferences." Emerl glared.
"I can't seem to find Metal anywhere." Violet said, flipping to another page. "I want to inform him that another Chaos Emerald has been located on the Emerald Scanner."
"And just where is this Chaos Emerald?" Emerl questioned interestingly.
"Somewhere in the mountains of Mongolia." Violet informed. "But we have detected a large trace of Chaos Energy in that very same vicinity. No doubt in my mind that Nazo is attempting to recover the emerald himself."
"Thanks for the news." Emerl bowed respectfully. "I will be sure to inform my father."
And with that, he raced down the deserted corridor.
"He's not going to tell him." Violet said blandly.
The scene alternates to the western borders of Mongolia, close to the base of the highest mountains in the country. As the harsh wind brushed against the large formation, the glimmer of Nazo's silver fur glinted in the sun. The God of Darkness stared intently at the dirt beneath his feet – his gaze piercing through the stone and dust. Suddenly, the ground began to shift below and Nazo shot out his hands as a shining object jumped into the air. Turning over his hand, the Gaia Warrior of Light smiled proudly at the red Chaos Emerald in his open palm.
"That will make my third emerald successfully captured." Nazo said pleasantly, replacing the gem into his quills.
"Shall we be preparing for your return?" Mephiles' voice echoed.
"Not just yet." Nazo smirked, taking a seat on the nearest rock. "Right now, I want to make sure that I have been thorough with my investigation. It would be such a tragedy to let this venture go to waste."
"Are you certain, my lord?" Mephiles questioned awkwardly.
"Trust me, Mephiles." Nazo chuckled. "I have everything under control."
And so, the God of Darkness closed his eyes and allowed the time to wander by. Even as the harsh winds ruffled his fur, the leader of the Dark Rulers remained motionless, expecting something to appear out of the blue. For several hours, Nazo did not move an inch – the local wildlife believed him to be a statue added to the landscape. Suddenly, his eyes snapped wide open and flipped backwards into the air as the ground exploded beneath him. The wildlife hisses and scattered in anger for being disturbed, but Nazo remained floating in midair, staring interestingly at his recent arrival. He had half expected to see Sonic or Metal when the smoke cleared, but was genuinely surprised when Emerl emerged.
"Well, this is a change of pace." Nazo chuckled. "Instead of a real challenge, they send me a child."
"I am not a child!" Emerl snapped.
"You could have fooled me, little one." Nazo sniggered as he landed. "Now run along and play like a good little boy. This is for adults only."
"I was created four thousand years ago." Emerl stated pointedly. "You have no right to treat me like an infant."
"Compared to me, you are one." Nazo laughed.
The God of Darkness was really striking at Emerl's nerves. It was bad enough that he was considered weak, but now he was being mocked by a sworn enemy of his father. Fueled by his anger, Emerl accessed his memory banks for Sonic's speed with Knuckle's strength added in the mix. He felt proud of himself upon seeing Nazo's surprised expression when his fist jabbed against the Dark Ruler's jaw. The evil hedgehog flew backwards into the mountainside, forming a vertical crater within the formation itself. Emerl laughed victoriously, but was halted immediately when the bruise on Nazo's chin healed itself and the God of Darkness smiled in a malevolent manner.
"I'm impressed." Nazo compliment as he jumped down to the ground. "I can name a very few number of people that have been able to deliver such a powerful blow when I am at full strength. Perhaps your services could be better used as a member of the Dark Rulers."
"That's for the offer." Emerl glared. "But I feel my services are better suited for my current career."
"Too bad." Nazo grimaced. "I was hoping of finding someone to replace Corrupt or Rodrigo. It's very difficult to find good help these days."
Accessing the powers of Blaze and Silver combined, Emerl released a wave of flames from his hand, which he mentally transformed into a row of tigers. Nazo couldn't resist a laugh. He had been hoping to test his newly acquired powers, but he had expected it to be against the Heroes. Smirking lightly, the God of Darkness transformed his hand to reshape into its frozen claw form. Nazo released a mist of frozen air from his palm, which would have normally frozen any object within reach. But he was surprised to learn that Emerl had used Silver's powers to form a perfect barrier around the flames. With fire beasts surrounding him, Nazo had no choice but to raise his arms in defense as the flames engulfed his body. The young Gizoid watched as his fire devoured the remains of his enemy, but altered his gaze when he noticed something glimmering out of the corner of his eye. The red Chaos Emerald had somehow escaped from Nazo's possession and rolled across the ground. Emerl released his control and gently caressed the flashing gem in his hand.
"Hmph. And he called himself a god." Emerl sniggered.
"You should believe everything you see."
Before he could recognize what had happened, a frozen claw clutched Emerl's forearm. Within a fraction of a second, his entire right arm was coated in a think layer of ice before being shattered to pieces. As he staggered backwards – the Chaos Emerald dropped to the ground – he took a single glance at the remains of his arm then to his attacker. The creature resembled much like Blue and Violet, but was made from solid ice. Nazo reverted to his Gaia Warrior Form.
"But...how?" Emerl groaned.
"Did Eggman tell you?" Nazo questioned – Emerl stared confused. "Hmm...Eggman must have decided to keep that whole venture a secret. Well, I guess I can honor that and respect the privacy of Light and Dark Gaia."
"And Violet says I mumble." Emerl said aloud.
"It does not matter." Nazo waved as he collected the Chaos Emerald. "The fact is that I have more than enough power to defeat you."
"Well see about that." Emerl seethed.
The young Gizoid didn't know what drove him to it, but he crouched low and held his remaining arm forward. Nazo could recognize the stance from anywhere as he had been on the opposite end of the attack for a number of times. But for someone as young and unfocused as Emerl, it wasn't really expected for him to perform the attack perfectly. Imagine the look of shock on Nazo's blank expression when a storm of electricity began to gather around the small mech's hand. Metal was right: only the thirst for survival could empower him.
"Metal Surge!!" Emerl shouted.
"Hmm...How interesting." Nazo said intriguingly. "Perhaps I have underestimated you."
"And you're going to pay for it!" Emerl screamed.
The small mech lowered his hand – the flash of lightning shattering the ground – and activated the combined speed of Sonic, Shadow, Kumori, and Amy. With the stamina and agility of a god, Emerl flashed across the terrain faster than you could breathe, shattering the ground in his wake. A colossal eruption formed from the contact of two forces, tearing away at the land and a large percent of the mountain. As the impact began to die down, Emerl's faint outline could be seen behind the cloud of smoke. The young mech's body trembled – he used more energy than what was necessary to form the attack. The Gizoid dropped to his knees in exhaustion, but swiftly discovered that his arm remained hanging in midair. It was only when the rest of the cloud vanished did Emerl realize that his hand had impacted with a wall of thin ice.
"What the?" Emerl questioned surprisingly.
"Surprised?" The Gizoid was shocked, but nearly jumped out of his armor as Nazo's head formed from the wall of ice. "It's times like these that I miss being a Guardian. Parasiden was especially lovely during the eight months of winter."
"While you busy with your nostalgia," Emerl grunted, pressing his feet into the wall to pull his arm. "I need that Chaos Emerald."
"To earn your father's respect?" Nazo questioned. His answer was made clear as Emerl stiffened. "You foolishly believed that you could challenge me in order to prove yourself. That was very admirable, but very idiotic."
"Says you." Emerl sneered.
"Yes..." Nazo chuckled, grasping Emerl's head. "Say Nazo."
The scene returns to the Egg-Carrier within the central computer chamber. Eggman was playing a game of chess with Knux and surprisingly losing to the robotic echidna. Meanwhile, Violet was reading her newest book: What to do when your boss's kid decides to fight an evil mastermind. The rest of the crew still wonders where she finds such highly detailed novel. But at the moment, Metal and Amelia walked into the computer room, glancing back and forth with worried expressions. It wasn't until Amelia tossed Knux and Eggman through the ceiling did Violet lower her book.
"Is there a problem?" Violet sighed.
Emerl's missing!" Amelia screamed, ripping the pipes off the walls. "Metal was so caught up in his stupid experiments that he lost our only son!!"
"I did not lose him." Metal argued calmly; he ducked Amelia's metallic hammer. "I told you before that Emerl was practicing his control of the Metal Surge in the training room. He's probably just wandering around in the Black Clones manufactory again."
"I wouldn't count on it." Violet said airily.
"Do you know something about this?!" Amelia screamed, ripping Violet's book in two.
"I wasn't done with that." Violet murmured.
"TALK!!" Amelia roared furiously.
"I told him to give you the message earlier, but I didn't think he would deliver it." Violet informed nonchalantly. "The Emerald Scanner picked up the trace of another Chaos Emerald somewhere in the Mongolian mountains. He's probably gone there to get it."
"Well, that's not bad." Amelia said calmly.
"Oh, and Nazo's also at that same point." Violet added.
"WHAT?!" Amelia exclaimed.
"When I get back, remind me to kill you." Metal glared.
The blue mech quickly dashed out of the room, leaving Violet to fend off the psychopathic mother.
Meanwhile, the scene returns to the battle field within the Mongolian mountains. Emerl skidded backwards on his feet with several fragments of his arm broken off, revealing the wires and organs inside. The fearless Gizoid struggled to stand, but his limbs seemed to argue against his attempts. He managed to glimpse a flash of silver before Nazo send a powerful kick to his chin – the Dark Ruler reverted to his standard from. Emerl's limbs flailed randomly, threatening to rip apart at any given moment. Scanning his own body, Emerl learned that all his motor functions had been shut down.
"You...you..." Emerl stammered.
"Now, now, little one." Nazo said mockingly, patting the mech's head. "You have gone through enough. Why don't you just admit defeat while you are still behind?"
"Go to hell." Emerl said spitefully.
"I've been Hell before." Nazo said nonchalantly. "It's actually a nice place when you learn to take control. Although, the Council of Death weren't too happy about accepting me." He grinned maniacally. "Perhaps they will offer you safer passage."
Gathering a small fraction of his Chaos, the God of Darkness formed a red blade of energy around his hand. As he reeled the blade backwards and swung, a shot of lightning suddenly appeared and pierced his palm, eliminating the death tool. Nazo watched the burn mark on his palm heal itself instantaneously and shifted his gaze to the source of the attack. Metal stood present at the end of the field – his electrified claw held forward and the yellow Chaos Emerald in his other claw.
"Well, if it isn't Metal Sonic." Nazo said pleasingly. "I haven't seen you since our delightful encounter in Station Square."
"I have not come for pleasantries, Nazo." Metal glared, clutching his fist. "I want my son back. I even brought the Chaos Emerald to use as a bargaining chip."
"That is very well thought-out, Metal." Nazo smirked, taking a seat on the fractured mech. "But at the moment, you have something that interests me more than Chaos Emeralds."
"What?" Metal questioned.
"My memories." Nazo answered seriously. "You stole them from me during the incident with the Ark of the Cosmos. I demand them back."
"But I can't..." Metal whispered softly. "These memories he possesses are far too great to surrender. If anyone were to unlock their secrets..." But one look at the shattered remains of his son seemed to settle his resolve and called out to the Dark Ruler. "All right! You have a deal!"
Nazo said nothing, but the superior look on his expression disgusted the metallic doppelganger. As slowly and carefully as possible, Metal approached the silver hedgehog and kneeled with hesitation. Emerl watched fearfully – Metal usually bowed to no one. The God of Darkness rested his hand on the machine's forehead and summoned several tendrils of green energy from the mech's cranium and through his forearm. Metal grunted and hissed from the pain, but did nothing to retaliate. When the process was finished, Nazo released his hold and dropped Metal to his knees. The blue clones panted heavily while watching his hated enemy take the red and yellow Chaos Emeralds into his hand.
"And that makes four." Nazo grinned. "It was a pleasure doing business with you."
And with that, he disappeared into flash of light.
"Father, I am so sorry." Emerl said apologetically as Metal gathered his weakened body. "Because of me, we lost our only Chaos Emerald and Nazo retrieved his memories."
"Yes, it is your fault." Metal nodded; Emerl lowed his gaze in shame. "But it is also mine."
"Huh?" Emerl questioned in surprise.
"I was not very supportive of you." Metal explained. "Your mother has told me hundred of times that I should focus on my family instead of a lifeless emerald. It is only now that I see she was right. I can only hope that you can forgive me."
"There's nothing really to forgive." Emerl sighed.
With all things said, Emerl allowed himself to fall into Sleep Mode.
The final scene shifts to the dark and dreary dimension of the Dark Ruler's castle. Nazo remained seated at his marble throne, staring happily into the four glistening emeralds that hovered above him. But his thoughts were not of the gems of power. The chess board he normally used to track movements of everyone was now altered to only show all artifacts of power. The Seven World Rings remained with the Heroes, the Seven Sol Emeralds seemed to be traveling with an unknown character, and the Chaos Emeralds were scattered. He noticed other items of power that resembled swords, but ignored them. As of now, his attention was mostly focused on the Master Emerald. He did not even look away as Mephiles appeared to his side.
"My lord, is everything well?" Mephiles asked worried.
"Oh, everything is better than I had hoped." Nazo said darkly. "Now we can begin our final phase."
"You mean..."
"Yes..." Nazo hissed. "My memories have been restored. It is time to start planning Project: Endgame."
The final phase of darkness draws closer. Will Nazo succeed in collecting all the emeralds? Will Emerl learn to master the powers of his father's techniques? And what is Project: Endgame? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!
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