SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES
Part 3 of 3 Finale Arc
All Characters © Respective Owners
Chapter One Hundred and Two: Heaven and Earth, Part 3
The scene returns to the battle field of Angel Island, where the final conflict to the greatest war was about to begin. Despite their best efforts, Master Nazo effortlessly overpowered the Sonic Heroes without suffering as much as a scratch. And as a bonus, the God of Darkness took great pleasure in destroying Chaos of the Master Emerald. After a great struggle of conflicting morals, Silver accepted the fire demon within his heart and evolved to the Heaven Form. As of now, the war between both good and evil had come to a halt as Master Nazo and Heaven Silver stared down against one another.
"Who...are you?" Nazo questioned hesitantly.
"Your reign of terror has finally ended, Nazo." Silver said; his voice mixed with a deep growl. "I am the hope of the universe – the light that will pierce the darkness! I am Heaven Silver!!"
"Whoa, what happened to Silver?" Sonic asked amazingly.
"He looks like he evolved." Shadow said dumbfounded.
"He's so bright!" A bat demon screeched.
"I wonder who his barber is." A wolf beast asked randomly.
"Heaven Silver, eh?" Nazo chuckled lowly, clapping his hands in a mock applause. "That was a very touching speech – very dramatic and appealing. But I could care less for what you have to say. All I know is that I am the one with the superior power and my ambition for revenge will be sanctified."
"Your ambition ends here, Nazo?" Silver scowled darkly. "I have accepted the darkness within my heart and united with the light to ascend towards a new power. I'm not certain if I possess the strength to defeat you, but I will fight till my last breathe."
"Which will come very shortly." Nazo said confidently, moving to a fighter's position. "Now, show me this power that you..."
That was as far as the emerald-green hedgehog could get before he was forced to double over in pain. Silver had suddenly disappeared from sight for one second and struck Nazo's chest the next. The heroes cheered and yelled in praise while the villain staggered back in shock; Nazo had been forced to his knees in one blow. The Dark Ruler took a small moment to gain a second wind and swiftly turned with a cluster of green arrows in his hand. Silver somehow saw this coming and vanished without a trace just a half-second before his enemy attacked. And where the attack missed, four of Nazo's soldiers were eliminated by the uncontrolled arrows. But the lives of his creations meant nothing to the Dark Ruler as he turned to scan the area. The search didn't last long as he found the white hedgehog leaning against the emerald shrine.
"Heh! Too slow!" Silver taunted.
"No, it has nothing to do with speed." Nazo thought carefully. "If that were the case, I would easily dominate him for Iblis cannot provide an increase in speed." He relaxed himself as the Heaven hedgehog stood. "I think I understand. This boy exists outside of time because his powers have mixed with Mephiles'. And because Iblis is acting upon Silver's conscious mind, he is unintentionally moving through time itself." He smirked darkly. "This should be entertaining."
"Hey, are you going to stand or fight?!" Silver shouted.
"I already had my turn." Nazo said nonchalantly. "I think the younger generation should get a chance to express themselves."
"You're starting to sound like an old man." Silver commented.
The emerald-green hedgehog shook his head in amusement – Silver jumped at the chance. Time literally slowed down around the glowing hedgehog, allowing him to moving through the eternal passage unnoticed. Once he was close enough, Heaven Silver jabbed his fist forward towards Nazo's forehead. But by the time his knuckles were within half an inch from the Dark Ruler's face, time resumed its normal pace and Nazo vanished. Silver was thrown off guard by the sudden disappearance – he failed to notice the dimensional ripple forming behind him. Master Nazo emerged from the alternate dimension twisted around to strike his opponent in the ribs. The glowing hedgehog cried out in pain, leaving himself open for the Dark Ruler to strike in the face. Heroes and villains quickly jumped to the side as the warrior of the future skidded against the grass and smashed his head into a tree, toppling it over. Nazo's army quickly fled the island as their master approach his young with a wall of heroes separating them.
"Aw, isn't this precious." Nazo mocked. "All his friends are willing to throw his life away for him."
"Who said anything about throwing my life away?!" Spade glared as he was forced into place by Shadow and Tikal. "I don't even like anyone here! I wasn't even invited to this damn wedding!"
"Silver is our friend." Blaze said certainly, ignoring the wolf's commentary. "The Sonic Heroes stand united and protect each other from danger. And I will fight with all my strength to defend the one I love."
"Love..." Nazo scoffed. "How could someone as young and narrow-minded such as you understand the concept? You do not understand the joy and pain one receives from an unpredictable emotion. The suffering alone was enough reason for me to rip my heart out."
"Just because your love died doesn't mean others suffer the same." Blaze stated solemnly.
A pulsing vein emerged from the Dark Ruler's forehead, alerting them of the rage forming in his mind. And before they had the chance to blink, Master Nazo eroded into a swirling vortex. The Sonic Heroes were on high alert. Now that Nazo was watching them from an alternate dimension, he hundreds of opportunities to strike without giving himself away. Amelia noticed the vortex forming above their heads and quickly told the others, causing them to focus on that one space. This proved to be a disastrous mistake as the Sonic Heroes failed to notice over twenty voids forming in a circle around them. And by the time anyone had realized what had occurred, a storm of Chaos Spears struck each and every fighter a critical blow. Either by Nazo's will or some stroke of luck, none of the Heroes suffered any fatal blows. Blaze lay flat on her stomach with a smoking burn over her left shoulder, spilling a small quantity of blood down her clothing. The pyro feline tried to push herself up, only to feel Nazo's foot press her down.
"Such pain and misery." Nazo said monotonously. "Though I may have forgone my heart, it is simple matter of how to destroy one."
"You'll never... break me." Blaze growled weakly.
"But it is not you that I want to break." Nazo informed coldly, lowering himself closer to her ear. "Silver has managed to maintain control so far, but that won't last long if he becomes absorbed in his anger." He watched Blaze's eyes shoot wide in horror. "That's right. Iblis will be free, Mephiles will rejoin his brother, and I will be one step closer to realizing my ambition."]
"Silver...won't...lose." Blaze stated spitefully.
"You seem confident." Nazo said as he raised his hand overhead. "Let's see if your words prove true."
In one sharp motion, the God of Darkness thrusted his hand directly for Blaze's spine. And surprisingly, but not unexpected, and hand jumped into sight and captured the demon warrior's strike before he could finish. Nazo glanced up to Silver and, with immense satisfaction, noticed a change in his attitude. The glowing hedgehog was growling monstrously as the golden lines that traced his body shifted to a vibrant red. The enraged hedgehog tightened his grip around Nazo's wrist – one could hear a faint crack – and lifted him off the ground by a few feet. Immediately after he was in the air, Silver raised his fists in a rapid-fire motion, nailing the Dark Ruler exactly twenty-one times in the chest before a powerful uppercut. And while Nazo tried to regain his balance, Silver screamed furiously and unleashed a thick stream of fire. The cindering flames covered Nazo, hopefully devouring his body. Meanwhile, Blaze watched in fright at what her lover was becoming.
"No..." Blaze groaned as she forced herself to her knees. "Silver...you can't..."
"There's nothing you can do for him, Blaze." The pyro cat was surprised as Shadow placed a hand on her shoulder; he seemed fairly unharmed. "This isn't a fairytale where love can solve any problem. Silver needs to maintain control of his anger alone."
"But..."
"Just stay out." Shadow said with a final tone.
The skyward smoke clouds parted after a moment, revealing the emerald-green hedgehog hidden within the dust. Master Nazo seemed relatively uninjured with the exception of the shining-red burns on his forearms. The God of Darkness hissed while his Chaos abilities healed the marks, emitting a faint slip of steam.
"I clearly underestimated him." Nazo winced. "But still, it's only a matter of time before Silver succumbs to his anger. And when that time comes, there will be nothing left to stop me."
Heaven Silver, disoriented by Iblis' fury, exploded off the ground with an inhumane roar. Nazo was barely able to catch his movements and swiftly raised his forearm to defend against his overhead kick. The God of Darkness groaned the moment Silver's foot connected with his forearm, which was still healing. Taking Nazo's distraction as an opportunity, the glowing hedgehog back flipped and stabbed his hand for his heart. Unfortunately, the Dark Ruler grabbed Silver's wrist before it could make contact with his skin. Nazo maintain his grip on the hedgehog and twirled him around before throwing the future warrior in a random. Silver collided with the ground, forming a wide crater in his wake, but jumped shortly back to his feet with a menacing glare.
"Damn it!!" Silver screeched. "I'm going to kill you!!"
"Silver, Stop!" The glowing hedgehog followed the command with a shocked expression. "You can't allow this madness to continue!"
"Chaos...?" Silver responded hesitantly. "But how...?"
"I am contacting you from the afterlife through the Council of Death." Chaos explained hurriedly. "I tried to convince the Council to allow me a temporary link to mind, but I failed dismally. Thankfully, the Highest One managed to change their mind."
"Can't this wait?" Silver sneered, glaring at the dark demon above. "I'm close to killing your murderer."
"But that's exactly what Nazo wants." Chaos stated. "If you continue to feed your anger, Iblis will draw strength from it and eventually breech the seal that contains it. And if that happens, Nazo will be unstoppable. You can't rely on hatred to be your source of power."
"Then what am I supposed to do?!" Silver snapped.
"Just think about what your fighting for and center your thoughts around it." Chaos answered calmly. "Focus your heart around those memories and they will give you the strength to tame the beast within you."
Silver found the former guardian's lack of reasoning to be very irritable, but reluctantly agreed. He tried to focus his mind around the objects of his affections, but the flames of Iblis formed a barrier around his thoughts. And the more he focused, the farther he seemed out of reach. But then he found a small sliver of light in the fire demon's wall. Through that small fragment, the memories of his friends began to slip across the barrier. He could see his ancestors, Sonic and Amy, standing happily together, Shadow giving a proud grin with the Sonic Heroes in the background, and even caught a glance of Mephiles. But of all the faces, Blaze's seemed to shine the brightest of all of them.
"What is this?" Nazo questioned confused. He took notice of Silver's drastic change once the radiating markings flashed from burning-red to piercing gold. "He managed to tame the Flames of Destruction. He's gone farther than any could have expected."
"All right, Nazo!" Silver shouted confidently. "Are you ready for round two?!"
"Actually, I am really behind schedule." Nazo said unconcerned. "I should have destroyed my third world by now. So..."
The God of Darkness nonchalantly raised his left hand into the air, sending Silver on the defensive. And due to his heightened senses, the hero of the future could detect a cold chill radiating from the demon's palm. He wasn't the only one that could feel the pressure – Shadow and Sonic gave involuntary shivers. Darkness culminated into the Dark Ruler's palm and traveled through his body as a surge of black lightning to his right hand. Master Nazo brought his hand back as the darkness continued to cluster around his fist. Hoping to counteract this, Silver brought his palms together it front of him, rapidly drawing out as much energy as he could gather. The Chaos Energy reshaped into a perfect white sphere formed from pure light.
"So you plan to fight against me, do you?!" Nazo cackled victoriously. "This works out perfectly! If you try to fight back, you'll die! But if you try to avoid it, this whole planet will be eradicated! Either way, I win!"
"Don't count on it, Nazo!" Silver shouted in return. "I'll fight back with everything I got!"
The Sonic Heroes quickly took cover, understanding what was going to happen next – Spade tried to make a run for it. Both sides of the battle drew out the long minutes collecting the twilight energies surrounding them. Dark clouds rolled over the sea-blue sky with the sounds of thunder rumbling across the plains – lightning flashed in the background. Sonic felt the first drop before the rain showered over them. Master Nazo and Heaven Silver ignored the droplets of waters and finished the final preparations of the final clash. They struck instantly.
"Final Cataclysm!!" Nazo roared.
"Final Chaos!!" Silver shouted.
The God of Darkness threw out his right hand, unleashing a mighty black wave, and Silver pressed his hands ahead to form a blast of white energy. Both attacks collided in midair, emitting a shockwave that nearly threw the Sonic Heroes off the island – Charmy was the unfortunate exception. Master Nazo attempted to force his Final Cataclysm further down the connection, but Silver pushed back with equal force. A stalemate seemed to have been drawn between them and the glowing hedgehog seemed to think the same thing.
"Looks like we're evenly matched, Nazo!" Silver proclaimed while struggling.
"That's what you may believe." Nazo said coolly over the calamity. "But so far, I have only been using my right hands. Let's see what happens when I use my left!"
Silver watched the event with terror visible in his eyes as the Dark Ruler raised free hand. It took him much less time to gather the necessary energy and added his collective energy to the blast. In that one instant, Nazo's Final Cataclysm doubled in strength and size, effortless devouring Silver's Final Chaos technique. Heaven Silver attempted to react to this as quickly as possible and managed to keep a small remainder of his attack in place. But there was no denying that Silver was at a disadvantage, especially since there was only half an inch of pure energy separating him from certain doom. The Sonic Heroes, who were struggling to remain in place, felt helpless as their friend faced this challenge alone.
"Isn't there any way we can help him?" Amy asked hopefully.
"That attack is made from raw Chaos Energy." Shadow explained thoughtfully. "Nothing less of a Super Form could get within twenty feet of the blast radius. But even if we had enough strength to activate the Super Form, there's no guaranteeing that any of our attacks will be enough to give Silver a chance to fight back."
"So you're saying we can't do anything?!" Blaze growled angrily; Shadow kept a solemn expression. "Great! What else could go wrong?!"
"Has anyone seen Cheese?" Cream asked worried.
Looking around the battlefield, this was the first time anyone noticed that the small Chao was not among them. Meanwhile, Silver struggled to maintain the thin barrier that was protecting him. With each passing second, the glowing hedgehog felt his energy fade away and the defenses were slowly weakening. Silver suddenly dropped to his knees, but left his hands raised to hold the shield.
"It can't end like this." Silver groaned painfully. "I won't fail."
"Don't give up yet, Silver!" Chaos shouted through the mental link. "There is still one chance left!"
"There is?" Silver thought hopefully. "What do you mean?"
The glowing hedgehog remained silent to listen for the former Guardian's explanation, much to Nazo's interest. The God of Darkness then realized a superior smirk crossed his opponent's expression. And using the force of sheer willpower, Silver pushed to his feet and strengthened his defensive barrier.
"Well, looks like someone's eager to rejoin the fight." Nazo smirked.
"Actually, there is no fight." Silver grinned confidently. "This battle is over."
"What are you prattling on about?" Nazo questioned sternly.
"For someone who planned to kill Zeenint you didn't really think that far ahead." Silver said with confidence. "You overlooked the fact that I could control Iblis' power and become a threat. And though you have proven that you are clearly the superior in terms of strength, there is one more crucial fact that you missed."
"What do you mean?" Nazo growled furiously. "Answer me!"
"Haven't you ever wondered what happened after Zeenint was turned to an animal?" Silver chuckled playfully. "The universe had lost three of its Sovereigns. The Highest One couldn't maintain the universe alone, so he created three new guardians to replace the ones he lost. That means someone else replaced Zeenint as the Northern Sovereign." Nazo hissed at this hedgehog, irritated by his riddles. "I think you would know him very well. He's been around since Parasiden was destroyed."
"Since Parasiden was..." Nazo repeated slowly. All of a sudden, his expression turned to one of true fright as he turned his attention to the direction of the Master Emerald. The enlarged gem remained colorless, but a familiar character stood atop the jewel with a serious stare. It was Cheese. "You don't mean that....?"
"That's right!" Silver laughed. "Cheese is the North Sovereign! And that means the power of the Master Emerald is his to command!"
Once given the signal, Cheese hovered loftily over the deceased gem, singing a claming note. Nazo felt something stir in his chest and soon realized that the energies of the Chaos and Master Emeralds were leaving him. All eight gems regained the former glow as Master Nazo was forced to resume his Perfect Form. With the sudden decease in the Dark Ruler's power, Silver was able to gain a firm grasp on the Final Cataclysm and thrusted it into space. The hero of the future finally found a chance to regain his breathe while Nazo hovered in midair, staring at his hands in shock.
"This..." Nazo panted unevenly. "This can't be happening..." He gripped his fists and exclaimed with pure rage. "I won't allow this to happen! I will not become a subordinate to miniscule pest!!"
Perfect Nazo summon a single Chaos Lance to his hand and threatened to release it upon Cheese. However, the Dark Ruler found his wrist captured by Silver, who relieved him of any power he had left.
"It's over, Nazo." Silver said coldly. "And this time, there's no coming back."
The glowing hedgehog twisted his enemy around and delivered a solid uppercut, sending him flying close to the clouds. And before Nazo could get the chance to regain his bearings, Silver opened his mouth to release a course of flames. Using his psychic abilities, the hero of the future commanded the fire to form a perfect sphere around him. Nazo finally caught his balance and rocketed downwards in a fit of rage. This ultimately proved to be his last mistake. As Nazo charged ahead, Silver thrusted his fists upwards in the flaming dome and produced a column of fire towards the sky. The God of Darkness barely caught this and pressed his hands to stop the initial attack. But after everything they have been through, Nazo knew this was as far as he could go.
"I feel sorry for you, Nazo." Silver stated within the dome. "You had a right to want recompense, but you allowed yourself to surrender your heart to the darkness. If there is any light left in you, I hope one day that it will be reborn and we can become good friends." He clenched his fists in preparation for the final strike. "But that's just wishful thinking."
And with that, Silver threw up his fists and unleashed a second burst of fire. And this time, the Dark Ruler had no strength to deflect the assault. But before he was completely incinerated, Sonic noticed a feint glimmer of victory in Nazo eyes from a distance. The God of Darkness cried out in pain while the flames devoured every fraction of his body, right down to the smallest atom. The pillar of fire pierced through the shadowing clouds, brushing them away to allow the sun to shine again once more. Heaven Silver released his flames – the sunlight glimmered against his white fur. Against all possibility, against all expectations, Nazo of the Dark Rulers was finally dead.
"He did it!!" Kumori screamed joyfully.
The Heroes could not hold back their happiness and cheered until their lungs were worn out. Up in the sky, Heaven Silver smiled proudly at his friends as Cheese drifted close to his face. The glowing hedgehog allowed the Northern Sovereign to sit on his shoulder, sighing in relief and gratitude.
"It's finally over." Silver whispered softly.
"This is where we say goodbye, Silver." Chaos Echoed. "Never forget what you have learned this day."
"The greatest gifts can come from the smallest places." Silver smiled, petting Cheese's head.
Chaos could finally rest in peace. After spending nearly an hour to repair all the damage, Knuckles and Rouge decided to continue the wedding where it left off. They were hoping to get married before they died of old age. All though Mephiles and the remainder of the Dark Rulers got away, they were no longer considered a threat. Without their leader, the shadowed warriors were powerless and most likely wouldn't attack anytime soon. With this in mind, the wedding went off without a hitch. Tikal was able to get through her speech and Knuckles and Rouge painted a strip of their own blood across their lover's forehead – Marine passed out after that. And after what seemed like a century, they had finally reached the end.
"The blood you both share will exist through the next generation." Tikal recited happily; she wiped a tear from her eye. "And just as your love bonds you together, so will the joys of your friends continue to strengthen. And with proud acceptance, I now declare you as one."
"Thank you, Tikal." Knuckles nodded.
"So what are you waiting for, man?" Sonic chuckled, slapping his friend's shoulder. "Kiss her already."
Knuckles' faces had turned the same shade of red as his fur. The echidna had never shown any public displays of affection before, but that didn't stop Rouge. The vampire heiress jumped into her new husbands arms and forced his lip onto hers, forming the final bonds between them. In all the excitement, Rouge unintentionally threw her bouquet and, to Tails' distress, was captured by Cream. The gathered friends and family clapped respectfully for the newly wedding – Spade was forced to do so with a machine gun to his back.
"It looks like we get a happy ending after all." Silver smiled.
"You are so naïve, Silver." Blaze said playfully. "This is just a new beginning.
The final scene alternates the ruins of the Dark Ruler's castle, which seemed to have become much colder during its time of abandonment. Shira Darkcrest somehow found a way to ignore the freezing temperature and remained seated in the white marble throne that had formerly belong to her master. Up-close, one would notice that her skin was unusually pale and her hair had lost its former sheen. The feminine hedgehog looked deathly sick and seemed on the brink of passing out, but she refused to sleep until she knew what was happening.
"Shira..." A weak voice called.
"Mephiles?" Shira asked hopefully.
As expected, the time demon emerged from the dark corridor, keeping close to the wall. Mephiles the Dark had not fully recovered from the battle, as displayed by the lack of his right arm and eye. The time demon limped forward briefly and quickly collapsed to the ground, frightening Shira gravely. She threw herself out of the throne and dashed to her lover's side, placing his head on her lap.
"What happened?" Shira gasped fearfully. "Where are the others?"
"Tomo and Nack ran like the filthy cowards they are." Mephiles growled weakly. "And Lord Nazo had unfortunately met his end."
"This is tragic, but not unexpected." Shira sighed tiredly. "Lord Nazo had prepared for this in any case that he should be defeated by the Sonic Heroes. We still have a plan to fall back on."
"Project: End Game is a failure." Mephiles said calmly. "But now we can begin Project: Rebirth."
Shira smiled down at the demon she loved, who returned her pleasing gaze. Instinctively, Mephiles raised his claw and placed it against her stomach, rubbing it softly. It was there he could feel it: the heart beat of a child.
Nazo's child
The end only leads to a new beginning. What events will continue from the end of this grand adventure? Will Nazo's final plan prove to be the heroes' undoing? What future awaits them? Find out on Epilogue of Sonic Heroes!
Please, read and review.