SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES
Damien © SlashBandicoot43
Lucario © Nintendo
Kingdom Hearts © Square Enix
South Island Invasion Saga: 2 of 3
Chapter Eighty-Seven: Visions of Destiny, Part 2
The scene returns to the castle of South Island, birth home to Sonic the Hedgehog. All the families were sitting around in the courtyard, talking animatedly between one another. Gale was telling one of his many tales about his adventures at sea and the Heroes made the perfect audience. The younger audience gasped at all the right places, the boys cheered loudly during the fights, and Amy particularly loved the moment Gale and Aleena were stranded.
"And with the magic emerald," Gale continued dramatically. "I delivered the finishing blow and crush Davy Jones' Horcrux. But the leader of the Shadow Colony was making his escape. But before he could flee, Scourge jumped out of the water and grabbed him by his leg. My brother took his Piece of Eight and pierced through the leader's heart, ending the threat of the colony."
"And then you and mommy got married back home, right?" Stream finished happily.
"That we did, Stream." Aleena smiled, holding her son close.
"That was an amazing story." Xenot commented. "I never suspected that a person like you would actually challenge a god, especially two gods."
"The God of Babylon and Davy Jones." Jet said impressively; Accel looked hurt. "You really are one of the best."
"You're life is almost as exciting as mine." Sonic grinned jokingly.
"What your tongue, child." Gale threatened playfully. "I have no trouble giving you a lashing in front of my daughter-in-law."
Sonic gave an audible whine to his father while the rest of his friends laughed at his expense. Sonic was still embarrassed about his family joking over his relationship with Amy. And the concept of marriage between them was exciting, frightening, and unusual for the cobalt hedgehog to think about – Amy had a different opinion. As Tails began to tell Sonic's life story and their many battles against Eggman, Lucario suddenly appeared in the center of the group, bowing to the queen.
"Your majesty, a monumental time has come." Lucario said eagerly.
"What's up, pops?" Damien asked.
"First off, you will refrain from calling me as such." Lucario said strictly before turning to Aleena. "Now as I was saying, a rare Solar Eclipse is about to appear over the horizon."
"I heard that Solar Eclipses have special properties." Thorn said interestingly. "They are just as rare as the sightings of the fabled Green Flash."
"Can we watch the eclipse since half the moon is gone?" Wave questioned
"Fortunately, the ARK is passing over the sun at the same moment." Lucario informed. "Now might I suggest we observe this moment at a better venue?"
The group nodded eagerly at the suggestion and quickly picked themselves up to proceed towards the hill outside the castle. They were apparently not the only ones. The hill they chose was flocked with scattered crowds all wearing special glasses used to observe the upcoming eclipse – none of them realized royalty was amongst them.
"Everyone, shield your eyes." Gale forewarned. "Looking at the eclipse without protective vision – not a pretty sight."
Fortunately, eclipse goggles were amazingly selling out fast and the Babylonians used their goggles/glasses. The moment finally arrived when the moon and the ARK had completely passed over the sun, blocking out all light completely. And just as the moon began to return to its regular position, an explosion of red energy emerged from the forest. The red energy transformed into a bolt of crimson lightning and speared directly into the sky, stopping only when coming in contact with the natural satellite. The colored lightning wrapped around both the objects, forming an unbreakable chain.
"Uh...what just happened?" Accel asked cluelessly.
"Mama, why is moon stopping?" Cream asked worried.
"I don't know." Vanilla shrugged. "Why don't we ask them?"
"Who?" Wrist questioned.
The elderly hare pointed down the hillside, where the groups were scattering and screaming frantically. A flock of humanoid shadows with piercing gold eyes and pulsating purple veins around their skulls ripped from the shadows. These shadow creatures were quickly joined by a verity of beasts that included armored knights, flying machines, and flying dragons. And upon most of them was the Heartless symbol Sonic remembered seeing on Skarga's chest. The nearest Heartless hissed and leapt for Marine, only to be knocked to one side by Gale's boot – the Heartless evaporated a moment later.
"I don't think they're in the mood for answering questions." Gale commented.
"What are those things?" Mech asked, reaching into his bag.
"Heartless..." Nyrox appeared with Kyira at his side, brandishing a golden staff. "The darkness made real. The Heartless are beings made from the greed and hunger of people's hearts and seek to devour the hearts of others."
"But how is that possible?" Wrist questioned, surprising the Heroes. "The Chaos Emeralds should prevent the Heartless from touching this world."
"That is true for the soldiers." Kyira proclaimed. "But if a stronger Heartless appears on this world, they are able to move freely without fear of the emeralds destroying them. Much like that Heartless I felt attack the city of water a few months back."
"The Heartless are able to appear because of the Solar Eclipse." Nyrox explained. "It is the only time where the light of the Chaos Emeralds are overshadowed. But the Heartless are only mindless beasts – they couldn't have planned for this....unless someone more powerful was in control."
"You are truly wise, old man." A cold voice echoed.
Reacting instantly, Xenot summoned a blade of black steel from the darkness and jumped in front of her father to reflect a shower of kunai. After the last shot was blocked, Nyrox pushed back his daughter and slammed his staff into the head of a white warrior appearing from the air. The Heroes stood ready as a horde of white creature dispersed across the field. Many of them took the shape of samurais, dragons, and some with a weapon for battle.
"Those are the monsters that hurt Damien last time!" Stream cried pointedly. "That ones with that Orion meanie!"
"But Orion was destroyed by Gemini." Rector informed. "Who could be controlling them now?"
"Maybe this will give you a hint." The Nobodies and Heartless formed a row in their ranks and bowed as Kai walked nonchalantly into the battlefield. "Nyrox, Xenot, and Sonic. Three of the four people I despise the most."
"Kai?!" Sonic exclaimed. "What are you doing with them?!"
"Isn't it obvious, spiky?" Xenot snipped, savoring Sonic's nickname. "Kai is a Nobody controlling the Heartless and the lesser Nobodies. He has no heart, which means he has no fear of the Heartless betraying him." She held her sword out defensively. "So, am I to guess that Naga is behind this whole thing?"
"Oh, Xenot, you were always to smart for me." Kai taunted. "Or was it the other way around?"
"What are you doing here, boy?" Lucario sneered.
"Why don't you ask you master?" Kai said, nodding to Nyrox. "After all, he did call you here for a reason."
All eyes were now of the disguised elder, but he did not wait long enough for the others to ask questions. The grey fox charged forward with his staff pressed outwards, aimed straight for Kai's nonexistent heart. Unfortunately, the creatures known as Berserkers and Defenders jumped in front of their master to block the shot. The titanic warriors pushed their weapons, forcing the aged master backwards. With a snap of his fingers, the blue-haired Nobody commanded a group of shadow creatures called Neoshadows to jump overhead and strike down. Nyrox twisted his staff around in midair and knocked away the Heartless shadows, but suddenly dropped to his knees while clutching his chest.
"Dad!" Tails cried.
"It's his heart!" Xenot screeched. "It's giving out much quicker than normal!"
With the sense of danger imminent in her head, Kyira discarded her sense of humanity and released a demonic roared. Kai knew it was time to stop playing. The blue-hair Nobody snapped his fingers, ordering the rest of the Heartless and Nobody army to attack at once. Instantly, Kyira jumped in front of her lover and slashed the Neoshadows with her claws, ripping away at the darkness. Xenot summoned a chain of black steel to lash through the row of Creeper Plants while Tails dived to his father's side, lifting him on his shoulder.
"Dad, are you ok?" Tails asked over the sound of battle.
"You...you must protect yourself." Nyrox coughed. "You cannot waste time worrying for my sake."
"But, dad, we need to help you." Tails stated worried.
"It is pointless, Kyuta." Nyrox wheezed. "My fate was determined ages ago."
And without warning, the elder fox dropped forward on the ground. Tails could tell that his father was still breathing, but the emotional damage rested heavy on his heart. Despite the defenses left by the females of the family, a Dancer Nobody twisted its way through the gap for the young kitsune and his father. As the feminine Nobody raised its leg for the striking blow, it caught sight of the kitsunes scarlet-red eyes – the demon was loose. Meanwhile, Aleena was carrying Stream through the battle field with Lucario jumping in every occasion to protect them. A Book Master Heartless conjured a sphere of ice to attack the hedgehogs, which was shattered by the blue jackal's Aura Sphere.
"You majesty, you can't remain here much longer!" Lucario screamed, launching another Aura Sphere. "You must return to the castle!"
"But the entrance is blocked!" Aleena shouted. "And what if the Heartless are inside?!"
"Damien will protect us!" Stream exclaimed proudly. "Where is he?!"
All of a sudden, a purple-nailed fist slammed into the jackal's face, sending him flying into a group of Fortune Tellers. Damien landed in front of the mother and child with a heavy breath, but they were far from safe. The golden hound had assumed his darker persona known as Nightshade – he stretched his claws eagerly.
"Hey, if it isn't the little rat." Nightshade hissed happily. "Oh, and the mama rodent as well. How sweet."
"Nightshade." Aleena glared. "How did you get out of Damien's mind?"
"Hello..." Nightshade rolled his eyes, raising a hand to the eclipse. "Have you forgotten? The Solar Eclipse is when darkness is at its greatest. A weak-minded imbecile like Damien couldn't trap forever." He grinned manically at the blue hedgehog cowering in his mother's arms. "Hey, kids, why don't we play a new game called slaughter the rat?!"
The demonic hound lashed his claws for the child until he felt a powerful pressure strike at his chest. The evil creature skidded backwards on his feet, cringing slightly as Lucario jumped into his line of vision. The blue jackal had three purple scratches on his cheek.
"You just don't know when to quit, old man." Nightshade growled.
"I have sworn to protect the Queen with my life." Lucario proclaimed. "And as long as I remain alive, you will never touch the Aleena or Stream!"
"Then we'll just have to do something about that." Nightshade snarled.
The battle proceeded as such. Knuckles amazed his father by summoning the Living Flames, which both echidnas used simultaneously on a fleet of Gambler Nobodies. Thorn took this opportunity to teach Marine a few magic lessons while tackling a horde of Surveillance Robots – Thorn had to put out all forest fires. Mech and Wave were actually enjoying themselves by showing off their newest inventions. Wave was showing off a self-propelling razor ring that cut through a swarm of Lunar Bandits, but Mech clearly outshined her with his nerve bomb. Accel tried to strike a conversation while helping his son but the emerald hawk jumped away into a pile of Samurais. Meanwhile, Rector, Sonic, Amy were left pushing back the majority of the army.
"Geez, how many of these guys are there?" Rector groaned, punching a Wight Knight in the face. "You would think that even an evil master mind would have a limit to the number of men he has."
"You haven't been in the hero business long, have you?" Sonic asked rhetorically.
"Shut up, blue boy!" Rector snarled, ripping an Air Soldier in two. "Or you're going to be black and blue!"
"Will you two shut up?!" Amy roared. The Heroes, Heartless, and Nobody staggered backwards in fear. "Thank you."
Meanwhile, Kai and Gale were locked in combat. Originally, Gale had pulled a pistol on the blue-haired Nobody, but Kai had deflected all shots and jammed a dagger into the shot hole. Left with no other option, Gale pulled a hidden dagger from his boot and clashed with one another. But Kai was definitely much stronger than he appeared as he not only disarmed Gale within a minute, but he also forced him onto the ground with two daggers in his shoulder.
"You're getting slower with age, hedgehog." Kai stated coldly.
"What is it that Naga wants?" Gale interrogated. "Naga knows he can't take control of South Island anymore. What is the point of attacking? This land should hold no desire for him."
"Oh, but this island is where everything will begin and end." Kai proclaimed. "Lord Naga can see what no one else can. He no longer thinks of the present or the past, but sets his ideal towards a future of darkness. And this time, it will be your blood that will set Lord Naga's goals in full motion."
"I will have no involvement in your plans." Gale glared.
"Too late, you already have." Kai stated.
Ignoring the hedgehog's confusion, Kai swiped his hand into his jacket and pulled out a cluster of knives. Gale raised his arm in protection, only to learn that it wasn't him the boy was aiming for. Instead, his target was...
"AMY!!" Gale yelled.
The rosy female turned on her heels and caught sight of the death points flying towards her. She would have used her hammer for protection, but it was currently being weighted down by a horde of Dusk Nobodies. With nothing to keep her safe, Amy closed her eyes and awaited the end to come. Much to her dismay, death had once again missed her. When she could not feel the expected demise, she opened her eyes and gasped in horror. Rector stood over Amy with his arms held outwards – the storm of knives driven into his spine. Sonic saw this and broke away from his battle with a Lance Soldier and rushed to the crimson hedgehog just in time to catch him. Thankfully, the ruby warrior was still breathing as he was set on his knees.
"Are you crazy?!" Sonic exclaimed fearfully. "You could have been killed!"
"If I hadn't done anything, Amy would have been." Rector panted.
"I...guess you have a point." Sonic said appreciatively.
"Are you going to be ok?" Amy whispered softly to her brother.
"Of course I am." Rector smiled weakly. "It's going to take a lot more than that to take down..."
But these proved to be his final words. Without a moment to spare, a venomous-green claw ripped through Rector's chest directly over his heart. The hand retracted itself through Rector's spine, allowing the ruby hedgehog to drop forward with a dull thud. Amy instantly broke down in tears over her brother's body, but Sonic was taking things much worse. Rector Rose – the man he had both feared and respected – was dead. There was only one thought running through Sonic's mind: vengeance. The cobalt hedgehog jumped to his feet and charged after the retreating claw into the forest. Kai smirked from a distance.
"And now the plan is set in motion." Kai proclaimed.
"What are you talking about?" Gale grunted, pushing to his feet.
"I said you were involved in Lord Naga's plan." Ka repeated. "But I never said how."
"Wait a minute." Gale said, struck by realization. "It's not the island you're after....it's Sonic."
"Bingo." Kai smirked devilishly.
Gale quickly forgot the war around him. All the Pirate King knew was that he had to stop his son. The adult hedgehog sharply ripped the knives from his shoulder and tossed them onto the ground before chasing after Sonic. Kai watched amusingly as the Cobalt hedgehog charged into the trees before joining his soldiers in battle.
The scene alternates to the deep woods across the edge of the island. Sonic was following the slithering hand as it curved around the trees and shrubs. The forest became so thick that a clear path was no longer available to the hedgehog. But none of this mattered to him. Sonic was driven beyond the edge of furious and wanted to murder the owner of the hand. His hatred forced him to unintentionally convert into his Werehog form, ripping the trees from their roots and forging a path.
"I always thought Rector would survive anything." Sonic thought, shredding a shrub with his claw. "He was the only one Amy could always count on to be there. And now he's gone. I swear, someone is going to die today!!"
Sonic the Werehog roared furiously – the force of his lungs blew away the remains of his path. Imagine his surprise when he arrived at the forest plain and spotted the Heartless symbol printed on the smooth grass. This was the symbol of hatred that allowed Sonic to release all his anger and frustrations. The ferocious werehog slammed his fists into the ground, forming a row of craters in his wake. This proved to be a bad idea as the ground suddenly caved beneath him, sending the werehog tumbling into a twenty foot crater. And the situation was only made worse as a colony of massive serpents nested and hissed from all sides. Even in this form, Sonic was still deathly afraid of snakes.
"Showing fear towards my brethren?" The Werehog looked to the side and nearly passed out at the appearance of Naga the Snake. "As you should be. I had hoped the memory of that day had taken full effect."
"Who are you?" Sonic growled feebly.
"I am Naga the Snake." Naga hissed pleasingly. "But I'm sure you've heard of me."
"You kidnapped me when I was born." Sonic nodded. "You performed some messed up experiment and my dad and uncle killed you. Or at least, I thought they did."
"Oh, they kill me – that much is certain." Naga nodded, walking around the werehog. "But I was gracefully resurrected by the power of darkness. All to be given a chance to share my story with the world."
"What story?" Sonic asked.
"Haven't you ever wondered how you received your gift?" Naga grinned. "About how you obtained a power that neither of your parents possess. But after fifteen years of waiting, I think it's time you knew. It was I who gave you the power that made you a legend."
"What are you talking about?" Sonic asked interestingly.
"You never knew what experiment I had performed." Naga hissed. "But our story begins five years before I met you mother. After I was banished by Master Xehanort, I arrived back on Earth. And the first place I stopped was Space Colony ARK."
"Shadow's home." Sonic whispered.
"Which leads me to my point." Naga continued. "I had hoped to arrive there and discover the secrets of the Ultimate Life-Form. But to my dismay, everything was destroyed. However, it wasn't a total waste. Before leaving, I discovered a treasure more valuable than gold – a remnant of Shadow's blood."
"What does that have to do with me?" Sonic questioned.
"When I had taken you, I infused your DNA with Shadow's blood sample." Naga explained. "The process should have killed you, but instead your body accepted the DNA, giving you all of Shadow's powers. It was my intention to investigate this matter further until your wretched father interfered. Fortunately, I was able to repeat the process with Kai. Being a Nobody, his physical form accepted the DNA without haste."
"Then..." Sonic said shockingly. "You're saying..."
"Shadow's blood..." Naga hissed. "The blood of the Black Arms...courses through your veins, Sonic the Hedgehog!" He grabbed Sonic by the throat, dragging him closer. "And now, it's time for me to take my gift back."
Not far away, Gale was following the trail of destruction left behind by his son.
"Man, Sonic must be real pissed." Gale murmured. "Of course, I wouldn't blame him."
Fortunately, he reached the snake pit a short while after. The Pirate King gently slid down the crushed section of Earth, glancing around suspiciously. The horde of serpents had cleared off and Sonic, in his hedgehog form, was standing in the center of the crater with the body of Naga the Snake resting at his feet. Given his son's irrational fear of snakes, it was surprising to find him in this position.
"Sonic...did you do this?" Gale asked. The cobalt hedgehog nodded as he placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Well, I must say I'm impressed. Looks like this nightmare is finally over."
"But the nightmare has only just started." Sonic hissed.
At that moment, Gale knew something was wrong. The Pirate King jumped backwards and moved into a fighting position as his son turned slowly on his heels. Now facing one another, Gale noticed no difference in his son's appearance. That wasn't until he reached his eyes – piercing yellow with a hint of evil. Those were Naga's eyes.
"It's been a while, Gale the Hedgehog." Naga hissed in Sonic's voice.
"Naga, what have you done with my son?!" Gale yelled. "Give him back!"
"I am afraid I can't do that." Naga chuckled evilly. "You see, I have transferred my essence into Sonic's body and devoured his soul. But this of it this way: your son isn't dead."
"Why have you done this, Naga?" Gale said restrained. "Is this your way of getting back at me?"
"That was my original intention." Naga nodded. "But when I became a Heartless, I realized something: revenge wouldn't satisfy me. Nothing but pure destruction would satisfy me."
"What do you mean?" Gale asked.
"Some people destroy for money, power, or conquest..." Naga laughed. "But me...I just want to see the world burn. And it is through your son I will achieve my goal."
"Why do you need him?" Gale questioned.
"It all begins from the creation of existence." Naga said. "The Highest One, Mythril, and his brother, Orphius, were just forming the universe. While Mythril created creatures of light, his brother was secretly forming a weapon to destroy that light: the ultimate Heartless. Unfortunately, Mythril found out and sealed it away. Now only a creature that is aligned with light and darkness together can destroy the seal."
"That why you needed Sonic!" Gale exclaimed. "His Werehog form represents darkness and his Super Form represents light!"
"Precisely!" Naga screeched. "And it is with this boy that I unleashed the seal!"
Gale moved to stop Naga's plan, but it was already too late. The possessed hedgehog ripped out a knife and sliced open his right arm, splattering blood across the ground. Naga swiftly swatted down his hand, ending the ritual.
The eclipse was overshadowed by a storm of black clouds, which amazingly began to form together. Both sides of the war stopped and looked to the skies in amazement as the cloud suddenly became solid. Without warning, a tremendous foot twice the size of the island stomped into the ocean, forming a tidal wave to wash over it. It was only fortunate that Nyrox managed to use whatever power he had left to split the wave in two. But it all proved to be in vein. A giant black beast towered millions of miles over the island, breaching as far as the stratosphere. The beast had three enormous tails along with six unbelievably large feet that looked like a planet compared to the island. The rib cages was visible outside the body under the row of eight mighty wings, but its neck was so long that its face was obscured by the height.
"What is that?" Vanilla asked frightfully.
"The end." Nyrox answered mournfully.
Back to Naga and Gale.
"That beast..." Gale murmured horrifically. "It's not possible."
"Oh, but it is possible!" Naga screamed insanely. "Now witness the ultimate destruction of this world and all worlds! Surrender your life to the true god: ARMAGEDDON!!!"
Armageddon roared, literally shaking the Earth with its presence.
The fate of the world has drawn closer to an end. Will, the heroes discover a way to destroy the ultimate Heartless? Is it possible to save Sonic? Or will Naga finally obtain victory? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!
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