SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES
Chapter Seventy-Nine: Clouded Future, Part 2
"Kuasagan!!"
The scene had return to the large, and recently devastated, clearing in the heart of Silver Valley. While Sonic, Amy, and Rouge stood by to protect their newest friend, Mina Mongoose, Knuckles stubbornly charged ahead at the strange visitors. Terro and Kuanga, revealed to be from the future, watched the hotheaded echidna in amusement. While commanding his partner to step back, Terro remained still at Knuckles' charge. Though slightly suspicious, the Knuckle Tribe warrior pressed his namesake into Terro's chest with ease. He twisted his fist into the bat's cloak before he realized that his attack went straight through. A instant later, the unknown character separated into a thousand miniature red bats.
"What the?" Knuckles questioned confused.
"You were foolish to attack something you had no knowledge of." Terro's voice echoed.
"Show yourself!" Knuckles demanded. On command, the bats reshaped themselves into the upper portion of Terro. "What the hell are you?! How are you doing this?!"
"I thought even you would have understood your own ancestry." Terro insulted, earning a fierce growl from the echidna. "The Kuasagan is the most ancient and powerful force in existence – second only to the Rinnegan. The Knuckle Tribe used this power in ancient times to defeat their longtime enemies: The Nocturnus. With this special trait, one can reshape time and space – they can control reality."
"If this power belongs to my ancestors," Knuckles snarled angrily. "Why do you have...?" His answer suddenly became obvious when he noticed the crescent birthmark on Terro's forehead. "No way....you're..."
"I think our time has expired." Terro said shortly.
Once again, the Hakumei member exploded into a cloud of miniature bats. Knuckles jumped into fighting position and started jabbing the small creatures to one side. He would provide a valiant effort before the bat twisted themselves in circles and transformed into a shower of metallic weapons. The bold echidna could do nothing to stop the assault and unwillingly allowed the flashing tools to cut across his body, leaving horrifyingly deep wounds. But against all odds, Knuckles remained standing. That was until Terro appeared once more and grasped the echidna by his head.
Meanwhile, we return our attention to reality. Knuckles and Terro stood in place in the middle of the makeshift battle field – neither opponent moved for several minutes. While the heroes stared curiously at the echidna, who would normally attack savagely, Kuanga could be seen smirking from the other side.
"Hey, what's up with Knucklehead?" Sonic asked cautiously.
"They've been staring at each other for ten minutes." Amy noted, looking back and forth between the fighters.
"Maybe he's..."
In that very instant, Knuckles' body exploded with nearly a hundred wounds appearing out of nowhere. The heroes watched in fear as the echidna's blood splattered across the once-green grass. Knuckles opened his mouth wide in terror, but his voice seemed to have gotten lost in his throat – he toppled forward unconsciously. At the same time, Terro's mind returned to the physical world and dropped to his knee in exhaustion before Kuanga assisted his friend back up. Amy and Rouge dropped on all fours to check if Knuckles was ok while Mina and Sonic stood guard.
"He's all right." Rouge sighed in relief. "He's still breathing. He lost a lot of blood, but he's going to live."
"What happened to him?" Amy asked scared.
"That bat has a weird power." Mina informed. "He has the ability to create pain and injury without even touching his enemy. A lot of people often avoid him because he is revered and the third most powerful member of the Hakumei."
"Well, someone's going to have to teach him some manners." Sonic glared.
Meanwhile, the two partners were conversing as Terro staggered to his feet.
"You didn't kill him, did you?" Kuanga asked softly.
"No." Terro answered, panting heavily. "I was careful to avoid hitting his vital spots. But he was more resilient than the last time I used the Kuasagan – he must have been prepared beforehand. I won't be able to use it for a long while."
"Then does that mean I can join in on the fun?" Kuanga asked hopefully.
"We work batter as a team." Terro nodded tiredly. "I can tell that they are weaker when divided, but do not kill them."
"Just leave it to me." Kuanga grinned deviously, drawing his blade from the leather strap. "With my legendary sword, the Shamado, we became one of the Seven Sword Lords. I think I can hold back from shredding these rodents."
Noticing the shark warrior drawing his blade, Rouge swiftly carried Knuckles back to the lake while Sonic stared between the two villains. Kuanga was tall and well-built, clearly meaning that he was physically stronger than his partner and could endure more. But Terro was thin and looked slightly paler than ten minutes ago – he was clearly not made for battle and the thinker of the two.
"Ok, if we split up, I think we might stand a chance." Sonic stated certainly. "Rouge, you and Amy take out the big guy while Mina and I get rid of the red one."
Before he realized what had happened, the blue hedgehog was jumping around on one foot with painful tears in his eyes. Amy was not happy about the arrangements and had crushed Sonic's foot under her hammer.
"What was the plan again?" Amy questioned menacingly.
"What I meant was," Sonic stammered fearfully. "Amy and Mina will take out the fish-head guy. That leaves Rouge and I to take care of doom and gloom. Happy?" The two females glanced at one another and sharply looked away with dignified expressions. Sonic whispered to Rouge. "What are the chances they don't kill each other?"
"Slim to none." Rouge answered silently.
"I'm tired of waiting!" Kuanga yelled impatiently. "If you guys won't move, I'll get this party started!"
The unkempt shark warrior lifted his unusual sword over his shoulder and dashed across the bloody battlefield – Terro sighed irritably. While Sonic and Rouge curved around him, Amy clasped her hammer and sent a powerful swing in Kuanga's direction. The Sword Lord stabbed his blade into the ground to create a successful shield between them, but he still shuddered from the vibrations created. Jumping backwards, the pink hedgehog tossed her hammer across the air and jumped above with her foot thrusted forward to the shark's face. The aquatic warrior was unbelievably fast. Kuanga ripped the Shamado from the ground, knocked away the hammer, and used to broadside to block Amy's foot. And with a grin on his expression, he slid the sword downwards, literally shredding Amy's boot. Against her better judgment, Mia dashed over and kneeled to Amy, who was sobbing loudly. The mongoose looked at her foot and nearly choked – it was raw-red with skin starting to peel.
"What did you do?!" Mina exclaimed.
"After all our time together, you still haven't figured it out." Kuanga sniggered audibly, bring the Shamado into view. "My blade doesn't rip flesh, it shreds!"
"It hurts..." Amy sobbed endlessly.
"You'll pay for that one." Mina sneered; her neon markings returned.
"Now that's more like it." Kuanga grinned.
The mongoose warrior clapped her hands together, which resulted in the growth of two powerful oaks. The twin trees did not bear any leaves, but instead looked like a pair of giant claws – Kuanga already knew what was coming. Without warning, the oaks came to life and lunged forward at Kuanga, who used the Shamado to knock them away. Unfortunately, the teeth of his weapon were caught in the bark of the tree, leaving him defenseless against the second branch. Mina called back the trees, which returned to the soil, but captured the Shamado before turning the blade on its original master.
"Well, well, well..." Mina said mockingly. "Looks like the tables have turned."
"You think so, huh?" Kuanga smirked superiorly.
"The chase is over, Kuanga." Mina stated. "I've got your weapon and – YOW!!"
While distracted by the Hakumei shark, Mina failed to notice something attacking her hands. It only took a minute for her to realize that the sword in her hand was shredding through her palms, ripping away the gloves, before dropping it. She stared at her hands. They were as raw as Amy's foot, but her skin remained intact. Meanwhile, Kuanga held out his hand – the Shamado jumped off the ground and twirled into his palm.
"The Shamado is a very special blade." Kuanga explained. "It was first forged several decades ago by Madara Uchiha himself. He forged the blade from the scales and teeth of a demon shark. He intended to use it against his enemies, but was consequently killed in battle and the blade was passed on to his opponent: Hishirama Senju."
"What's with the history lesson?" Mina questioned.
"And they say I'm impatient." Kuanga chuckled. "Let me put it this way. The Shamado can only be wielded by the person it deems worth. And it will only deem you worthy if you kill its previous owner." He grinned manically. "That is the bloody history of the Shamado."
"And that was two minutes of my life I'll never get back." Mina said blandly.
The Sword Lord glared and dashed ahead. Meanwhile, Sonic and Rouge were dealing with their own troubles against Terro. Even with his ultimately advanced speed, Sonic found it impossible to gain a proper hold of the crimson bat. Every time the blue hedgehog would get within an inch of him; the unknown rogue would always find a way to slip through his fingers. With this in mind, Rouge decided to go on the offensive. Whenever close enough, she would attempt to knock him away with her strong legs, but was surprised when Terro mimicked her movements. After the last attempted strike, The crimson fighter managed to kick away her attack and pressed his heel into her cheek.
"Hey, don't you know it's not nice to hit a lady?" Rouge scowled.
"I was not raised upon chivalry." Terro stated dully.
"Obviously." Rouge pouted; Terro didn't even twitch.
"I don't think flirting will work on him." Sonic commented, ignoring her inappropriate statements. "Trying to catch this guy is like trying to separate Vector from his secret jar of pickles."
"Right...." Rouge said awkwardly. "Well, if we can't take him separately, we just have to attack at once. You stay low, I go high."
It was a simple plan with many flaws, but Sonic could never tell the difference. Rouge spread her wings open and took to the sky while Sonic dashed around Terro to attack from behind. The heroes charged at the Hakumei member from opposite sides, but he did not appear to be concerned. To make sure their plan was successful; Rouge twisted her body around for her signature Screw Kick and Sonic curled for his special Spin Dash. Terro finally took action. The crimson bat skipped into the air and twisted his body horizontally to avoid both attack above and below him. Before the passed him completely, Terro stuck out his foot to kick Sonic in the face and his arm to thrust against Rouge's neck. The blue hedgehog tumbled backwards in surprise, but was able to roll back to his feet. Rouge was not as fortunate and smacked face forward into the nearest tree, losing consciousness.
"Rouge!" Sonic exclaimed fearfully.
"There is nothing to worry about." Terro claimed while feeling the female's pulse; Sonic sneered spitefully. "I made sure that nothing of physical value was harmed. She will awaken within an hour or so."
"Thanks...I guess." Sonic said hesitantly. After watching Terro place Rouge in a more comfortable position, he began to question the rogue's motives. "I don't get it. From what Mina has told me, you're supposed to be evil. So what don't you kill us when you have the chance. You let Knuckles live and saved Rouge."
"I have my reason." Terro stated distantly. "But none of which shall be revealed to you."
"Then I guess I'll force it out of you!" Sonic shouted. The blue hedgehog held out his palm and began to gather a large amount of blue Chaos Energy. He was able to compress it into the shape of a sphere, forming his signature attack. "SONIC WIND!!"
The blue hedgehog braced himself in place, watching Terro's movements, before shooting across the field at a godly pace. Even the crimson bat would not be fast enough to escape, so he did not attempt to. He waited until Sonic was within arms-length of him before thrusting out his own hand. In an amazing show of skill and speed, Terro miraculously captured Sonic's wrist – the Sonic Wind was instantly dispelled. The blue hero tried to tug away his arm from Terro's grasp, but was unsuccessful when the crimson bat snapped his wrist. Sonic cried in pain – it was shortly ended when the Hakumei rogue slammed his knee into the hedgehog's chest. The last thing Sonic saw was the glint of Terro's eye – they were demonically orange.
"That puts our troubles on a temporary hold." Terro said dully, calling to his partner. "Are you finished yet?!"
"Hey, just because you don't like to have fun doesn't mean I'm the same!" Kuanga shouted amusingly, pushing aside another tossed hammer aimed for his head. "Just give me a few minutes and I'll take care of them!"
"You have three minutes." Terro sneered impatiently.
The Sword Lord scoffed. As he partner took a seat near the lake, Kuanga resumed his attention to the battle, barely avoiding another flying hammer. Because her foot was so badly injured, Amy was incapable of walking. Fortunately, Mina and the pink rose managed to overlook their differences and assist each other in battle. In a stunning display of power, the mongoose warrior summoned a wooden creature that looked and acted as tiger. Mina commanded the wooden tiger from the front while Amy summoned an unusual amount of Piko-Piko Hammer's from nowhere.
"This isn't working." Amy stated, watching another one of her hammers ripped to shreds. "Don't you have anything that could help? Maybe some weaknesses you know about him?"
"Weaknesses..." Mina said hesitantly.
"I'll take that as a no." Amy commented dryly.
"Good luck trying to get anything on me!" Kuanga cackled. He jumped overhead and nearly decapitated the young females as they passed by. "I wasn't a Sword Lord for nothing. My type of power is..."
"What kind of power he possessed remained unknown. Without warning, the broad shark dropped to his knees, choking as if some invisible hand was strangling the life out of him. It was only when they noticed his skin turning a pale-grey and the gills on his neck expanded did they realize his ultimate weakness. He needed constant hydration. This provided the heroes with the advantage. Kuanga, chocking on his own breathe, leaned against his sword while dragging himself to the lake. Unfortunately for the shark, Mina's wooden beast stepped between them and allowed Amy a clear shot for his head. Because of his dehydrated state, Kuanga's movements were sluggish and left him unable to defend against the attack. The powerful hammer struck against his jaw, sending the croaking shark skidding backwards on his back – he felt one of his teeth fall out.
"I think we finally got him." Mina said cheerily, jumping off the wood tiger's head.
"Be careful, Mina." Amy said cautiously
The mongoose girl merely waved and approached the fallen swordsman. Kuanga tried to push himself up using the Shamado, but Mina kicked it out of him, dropping him face forward into the ground. She pushed the dying Sword Lord on his back, slamming her foot on his heaving chest.
"Look how the mighty have fallen." Mina taunted. "You should have given up the moment this battle started."
"And you're just as arrogant as your Spark." Kuanga choked, still smiling deviously. "If you think the battle is over, you've forgotten one fact." He chuckled tiredly at Mina's dazed expression. "There's a reason the Hakumei travel in two."
"Uh oh." Mina murmured.
Finally catching to Kuanga's thoughts, Mina turned on her heels, barely catching a blur of red before flying across the ground. The Mongoose girl stumbled awkwardly – she twisted her ankle – and pushed herself high enough to see. The fractured remains of her wooden sentinel were strewed across the ground and Terro stood over his partner with an exasperated expression. He was carrying the unconscious Amy Rose under his arms while holding a bottle of water over his partner. He rudely dumped the contents over the shark's head, which immediately returned his strength and color. Moaning loudly, Kuanga cracked his back before calling the Shamado into his hand.
"How many times have I told you not to play around?" Terro questioned sternly.
"Over a hundred times." Kuanga said like a kid being punished.
"Maybe this time you will finally learn how to execute a plan properly." Terro said, tossing Amy into his partner's arms. "I won't you to finish this now. Do not delay or the Leader will speak to you."
"No!" Mina screamed.
"You're a little late, girl." Kuanga said wickedly, raising the teeth of his blade to the hedgehog's neck. "I lost something valuable because of her. It's ironic that I'll be using it to take something of value from her."
"Leave – her – alone!!" Mina roared furiously.
Without warning, a pulse of invisible energy swept across the clearing – Kuanga nearly lost his footing. The green marking along her body glowed brighter than ever, but something even stranger was taking place: they were moving. All the neon markings squirmed across her body until forming a circle on her back. Then a hole was ripped in the back of her shirt as the green light slithered into the physical world while remaining connected to its origin. Terro and Kuanga stared in wonder as the slithering light gained a serpentine body, a pair of claws, and a spiked head. Once the light had died, a serpentine dragon roared in righteous fury – its lower half remained connected to the mongoose's back.
"I don't believe it." Kuanga said excitedly, gleaming proudly at the magnificent dragon. He unknowingly dropped Amy. "She actually summoned her Chaos Spark. I finally get to see one with my own eyes."
"Don't take too long." Terro said tiredly. "Finish this battle quickly."
"Aren't we a little hopeful?" The Green Dragon roared savagely. "As if this fish bait could defeat the most powerful of the thirteen Chaos Sparks. As if he could destroy the greatest essence of Nazo!"
"The Leader was right about one thing." Kuanga chuckled. "This one certainly is arrogant."
"I'm not arrogant if I'm right." The Green Dragon countered.
Kuanga merely grunted while drawing his sword forward. The Green Dragon slammed hic claws into the ground, ripping open the Earth under his command. From those fractures, massive golems of pure wood and other plan life clawed their way to the surface, all glaring darkly at their prey. The Sword Lord looked like he had been given an extravagant present. He gripped his sword with all his might and jumped into the sky, dropping in the center of the army. From all directions, the sentinels reached for the shark swordsman, not realizing their enclosed space. With such limited room, the golems were unable to attack their target without bumping into each other. Kuanga took full advantage of the situation and shredded the sentinels with a single twist of his hand. Surrounded in a rain of scattered leaves, Kuanga gave off the impression of a noble swordsman preparing for battle. However, his self-made distraction allowed the Green Dragon to reach out and grab the Sword Lord with his claw – the Shamado dropped to the ground.
"And you call me arrogant." The Green Dragon snarled. "You may have defeated those pathetic rats, but I am superior to all!"
"You're strong, but not very smart." Kuanga said amusingly. "Like I said, there will always be two of us."
"And that will lead to your downfall."
The Green Dragon's gaze shifted around for the source of the voice when he noticed something missing: Terro was nowhere in sight. The Chaos Spark stared around the environment and accounted for Sonic, Knuckles, Rouge, and Amy, but the crimson bat was nowhere to be spotted. But when the mysterious rogue returned, it became the last action the Dragon would do. Terro reappeared close to the Green Dragon's left eyes and stared at his with his own demonic presence.
"Kuasagan!!"
The Green Dragon muttered intangibly with a stream of thick blood creeping from the corners of his jaw. After several agonizing moment, the jade lizard toppled to the side with a deafening thud – Kuanga jumped back into place while grabbing his sword. With the defeat of the Chaos Spark, the serpent of energy backtracked into Mina's back and resumed its place as the markings across her body. Unfortunately, the battle had drained the last of the mongoose's energy – she toppled forward within seconds.
"That worked better than I thought." Kuanga commented.
"And it only took three months to capture." Terro muttered silently.
"Well, at least we got what we came for." Kuanga stated. He reached forward with his sword and carried the mongoose on the blunt edge, safe from being shredded. "Shouldn't we be moving on?"
"Not just yet." Terro murmured, turning his attention to the unconscious blue hedgehog.
"Whoa!" Sonic screamed, swiftly sitting up.
"What's wrong, Sonic?"
The blue hero snapped his head. Sonic found himself sitting on the picnic blanket that Amy had prepared for them while the pink furred girlfriend and leaning on his shoulder, looking concerned. Staring around, he noticed Knuckles continuing his fishing venture near the lake with Rouge sitting in the grass. They both seemed to have been attracted by Sonic's sudden outburst, but shortly returned to their activities. Everything from the clean cut grass to the towering pines, nothing looked as if it had been placed in the middle of the battle. Even the existence of Mina seemed to have been abandoned.
"Are you ok, Sonic?" Amy asked concerned.
"I'm fine." Sonic said, sounding thoroughly confused. "I think I just had a bad dream."
"With the present company, that comes as no surprise." Rouge laughed.
"Hey!!" Knuckles snapped.
While the hotheaded echidna tackled his fiancé to the ground, Sonic was lost in thought.
"But it couldn't be a dream." Sonic thought certainly. "It was too real to be one. What happened?"
Meanwhile, in the ridge above the clearing, Terro and Kuanga were gazing down at the small group of characters below. Mina was lying unconscious on the blunt edge of Kuanga's sword – her cloths and fur dripping with large traces of water.
"Whew, that was a close one." Kuanga sighed in relief. "It's a good thing we caught Mina in the river before she could reach them. Imagine the catastrophe that would have caused." Terro said nothing as he watched Knuckles and Rouge fall into the lake. "But the one thing I don't understand is why you showed the hedgehog your vision."
"He needed to be prepared for the future." Terro said simply.
"Whatever." Kuanga said nonchalantly. He followed Terro's gaze to the bickering couple, who was splashing water at each other. "Oh, I get it. You just wanted a chance to see them again."
"You could understand my pain, Kuanga." Terro said monotonously. "You lost your wife and child in battle, while I was chose the path to separate myself from my family. Even though it pains me, I do not regret the day I turned my back upon them." He glanced at the couple once more. "But still, I wanted to see my mother and father one last time."
"It's time to go, Terro." Kuanga stated, staring about to the horizon.
"We have the Chaos Spark." Terro stated bluntly. "With it, the Hakumei are one step closer to completing their goals. And then 'HE' will rise and become the chosen messiah he was destined to be."
From within their coats, the partner members pulled out a pair of familiar gems: the Chaos Emeralds. They both muttered a pair of simultaneous words, summoning a white vortex in the background. Without sparing a glance back at the past, the dark duo passed through the vortex into the future.
Some destinies are bleaker than others. Why did Terro show this vision of unknown consequence to Sonic? Where will the Hakumei strike next? And who is the chosen messiah the crimson bat speaks of? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!
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