Okay, as promised, the third Mobian superpower will be revealed this chapter. Presenting... The Felis Empire! Not heard of it? There's a reason.
The Felis Empire is one of my own fan creations. The potted backstory is that centuries ago, there was a schism in the Acorn Kingdom that resulted in a mass exodus of the feline Mobian species. Settling in a distant island continent, they developed their own highly evolved but isolated nation. Think of the Empire as the Archie Sonic comic's 'Felidae', but with the culture and outlook of Meiji era Japan and 21st century technology. Oh, and I slipped in a reference to Babylon 5 this chapter. Shouldn't be too hard to spot...
My thanks to DevinMatt for following my story, and special thanks to Chinerpteron for not only following, but giving me my first favourite! On with the saga. Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic, blah blah blah, all characters belong to Sega, Archie, DiC, Fleetway, Ken Penders, etc, etc, the Felis Empire is my own creation not to be used without my permission yadda yadda snore...
TIME: 7 May, 3324
PLACE: Imperial palace, Starlight city, Felis Empire.
Emperor Solar allowed his attention to drift from his current diplomatic audience for a second, gazing up at the massive white marble statue of Imperatrix Solus that dominated the audience chamber of the palace. The statue of the founder of the Felis Empire looked down with benevolent gaze at the Emperor, a tall figure with golden fur and deep orange eyes, resplendent in his red-and-gold robes of state, and his visitor, who despite also being royalty, looked very drab by comparison. Although Emperor Solar was starting to feel a little fed up with the visitor's flattery and diplomatic manoeuvres, on the surface, the supreme ruler of the Felis Empire embodied the inscrutability his people were renowned for. However, the fact remained that Solar was a warrior as well as a politician, and he appreciated plain talk. Solar looked up and cut into the dialogue.
"Your tale is a fascinating one, King Acorn. However, this problem belongs to the United Federation. You may be bound by treaty to aid them, but this does not apply to the Empire. Five hundred years ago, we rode out the storm of the last Great War by declaring our neutrality. We will certainly keep watch for any evidence of this 'Eggman', but any Royal Guard outposts installed on Imperial soil will be treated as an unofficial declaration of war."
A young cat, about fourteen years of age, entered the audience chamber. Her fur was a light violet colour, swept up into two tufted sweeps almost like sideburns on the side of her head. The longer fur at the rear of her head was secured in a short ponytail with a red hairband. Her muzzle was snow-white, and her large, almond-shaped eyes were lemon yellow. A long tail with two noticeable kinks in it waved behind her. She was dressed in red-and-gold robes of a similar design to the Emperor's, although noticeably less ornate. She was obviously known to the katana-bearing Imperial Guardsmen as she was permitted to approach the Emperor's seat unopposed. She bowed deeply before Solar, touching her head to the floor in a respectful kneeling bow. "My life at your command, father."
Emperor Solar accepted the formal salutation, but remained inscrutable. "Blaze. I trust you have a good reason to interrupt a royal audience?" Princess Blaze raised her head to look at her father. "My apologies, father, but two representatives from the United Federation have arrived and are seeking an audience." Solar scratched his chin. "Show them in, daughter. If I am correct, they are here for the same reason as our other visitor."
Princess Blaze retreated, returning moments later with a pair of humans that were under escort by two more Imperial Guards. The first human was a thin man in a light grey suit and fair skin. His watery blue eyes darted around the chamber, as if he was ill at ease in unfamiliar territory. A well-groomed coif of ginger hair sat atop his head. The second figure, despite being bulkier than the first, was also significantly taller. He stood ramrod-straight in his dark grey military uniform, with the star and laurel wreath insignia of G.U.N., the standing army of the United Federation, displayed proudly on one sleeve, and five gold stars adorning each of his epaulettes. He had salt-and-pepper hair and mismatched eyes: one blue, one brown. "Presenting Jerome Hull, aide to the President of the United Federation, and Abraham Cyrus Tower, chief of staff for the Guardian Units of the Nation." Blaze announced formally. Solar nodded. "Very good, daughter. You and their escort may leave now." Blaze bowed again, as the Imperial Guardsmen saluted, before all three backed away and left the audience chamber
"Welcome, gentlemen. I believe you know King Maximilian Acorn XIV, ruler of the Acorn Kingdom?" Solar indicated King Max with a wave of the hand. "We have met." stated Ambassador Hull simply. "With such insight, I am sure you have guessed at the reason for our visit."
"Eggman?" Asked Solar, smiling wryly. Ambassador Hull nodded. "He is a threat to the whole world, and should be met by a concentrated effort from a coalition of nations." Emperor Solar leaned slightly forward, meeting Hull's gaze. "I reiterate what I have already told King Acorn. Any information on this 'Eggman ' will be forwarded to you immediately, but no outside forces can be allowed to use the Empire as a staging post."
"I'm sorry, your highness, but things have changed since your nation entered its policy of isolationist neutrality." A touch of steel had entered Hull's voice. "I know you appreciate plain speaking, so I will be blunt. Either a nation works with the Federation, or they're against the Federation. There's no middle ground anymore." Hull paused. Solar remained expressionless. Hull continued. "The forces of G.U.N. are the most advanced fighting force in the world. We will not hesitate to use them on a nation that opposes us…"
"Enough." Emperor Solar snapped in a deathly quiet voice that nevertheless brooked no argument. "Save your threats for those who choose to give in to them, or for those too weak to oppose them, not for me or my empire. Tell your President that should his warriors enter Imperial territory on the order of those who suppose themselves to be powers, they will shortly be educated as to the nature of true power." Flinging his arms wide, a burning wreath of white fire surrounded and played around Solar like the wings of a Phoenix as he continued speaking. The assembled ambassadors shielded their eyes from the actinic glare and staggered back, away from the furnace blast of heat. "The skies will open and deliver the first part of the lesson in a display that a blind man could not fail to notice. Anyone foolish enough to ignore this warning will find actually entering the skies even more dangerous. Never forget, gentlemen, what a scion of the line of Imperatrix Solus is, or what that means, or you shall swiftly learn the difference in power between a bearer of the Solus Gene…and a human at the controls of a metal suit." Solar flourished with his arms and allowed the white-hot halo of flame to flicker out. "The Felis Empire is, for the moment, neutral. Do not give me cause to reconsider this position."
Outside the audience chamber, a young Mobian teen, probably about fifteen, was gazing up at another huge statue of Imperatrix Solus. The Mobian girl was apparently some form of rodent, resembling a squirrel without a tail. Her eyes were an aqua blue colour, while her hair was combed forward into a deep red cowlick. Most of her body was covered in chestnut brown fur, apart from the front of her torso, which was light tan, and a deep red stripe down her back. Her outfit was a formal mint green dress and a gold coronet.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" The rodent looked over her shoulder to see a Mobian cat around her own age, dressed in ornate robes. "Yes, it is." the rodent agreed. "Who does it depict?" The cat seemed surprised at the question. "That is Imperatrix Solus, founder of our Empire, first scion of the Solus Gene, illuminate of the Sol Force, defender of our people, Phoenix Queen and Mother Of Us All." The rodent nodded. "That sounds…impressive. She must have achieved a lot to be remembered with a collection of titles like that."
"And it was, that the tyranny of the Acorn line displeased Solus, Illuminate of Sol, and she led her people out of the tyrant's grip. The Arch-tyrant Alexander pursued, but the fire of Sol burst forth from the being of Solus. With spiral shield and burning lance she struck down the arrows of the tyrant's army, and with the cobalt flames of the Sol Force she smote our foes. Thus were the people of Solus saved to claim their new land, and vengeance dealt upon the arch-tyrant Alexander." The cat said, as if reading from a book. The rodent frowned. "Pardon?" The cat elaborated on her recitation. "It is an excerpt from the Book of Emperors, the Felis Empire's combined holy writ and historical chronicle. It's required reading for all students."
"That's interesting." mused the rodent. "No offence, but the histories of the Acorn Kingdom paint a quite different picture. They merely say that King Alexander Acorn was assassinated by an unnamed person, and that the assassin and her followers were exiled from the Acorn Kingdom."
"History is a three-edged sword." declared the cat matter-of-factly. "Our side, their side, and the truth. Probably both the Acorn Kingdom and the Felis Empire have a few historical skeletons they'd prefer to keep in the closet."
"That's true enough." smiled the rodent. "I'm sorry, I didn't give my name. I'm Sally. And you are?" The cat looked slightly uncomfortable, but gave her name. "I am Ororo Felicia Sybilline Kusanagi Estellise Repede of Noble House Incendrius, line of Solus and Bearer of the Flame." The cat laughed weakly at Sally's dumbfounded expression. "Most people prefer to call me by my nickname of 'Blaze.'" Blaze paused slightly, seeming to be slightly worried about something. "I apologise, Sally. Please don't think me rude, but I am unable to place your species. Could you please enlighten me?"
"No offence taken, Blaze. I'm a chipmunk, but you're not the first to be unable to tell." Sally looked ruefully over her shoulder at her short stump of a tail. "When I was very young, I decided to try and explore my home's wine cellar. My tail ended up trapped in the trapdoor leading down to the cellar. I was stuck there for two and a half days before the butler found me. By that time, the damage to my tail was irreparable, so it required amputation. It's a constant reminder to me to look before I leap."
"I have a similar tale to tell…if you'l pardon the pun." Blaze smiled a little, swishing her double-kinked tail round her side to allow Sally to see. "I too was young when I tumbled out of the window of the highest tower of the castle while trying to recapture my pet bird. I survived only because of my older sister, who goes by the nickname of Pyre. As I fell, she grabbed me by the tail and pulled me back up. My father was furious in his worry, but I had already suffered two lasting punishments for my lack of care." Blaze held her tail and tapped one of the kinks thoughtfully. "The grabbing of my tail by Pyre saved my life, but broke my tail in two places. The breaks healed poorly, and as such, I'll carry these kinks until the end of my life. I believe that the experience was also the root of my fear of heights."
"I don't believe you told me who your father was." Sally said curiously. "He must be pretty important to have a castle." Blaze nodded. "My father is Emperor Solar, supreme leader of the Felis Empire, descendant of the line of Solus, defender of the faith, guardian of the realm, son of Heaven and inheritor of the flame of Sol."
"Wow, you're a princess?" Sally laughed. "That's a kick in the head, so am I! My father is King Maximilian Acorn XIV. So, I guess I'll see you at the state banquet later…princess?"
Blaze looked a little nonplussed for a minute, then smiled. "Of course…princess."
Well, that's the in-story introduction to not just Sally, but Blaze as well. As you might have guessed, Blaze's background is totally different to the canon. This is partly because she's one of my favourite characters and I wanted to give her a chance to interact with the story to a greater extent than the odd cross-dimensional visit, but mainly because her canon story is a mess. I mean, is she from a parallel universe or a post-apocalyptic future? If the answer is "both", how come she only looks a couple of years older than she did in Sonic Rush when she's in Crisis City when it's 200 years later? Also, dimensional travel is revealed to be quite dangerous to reality in both 'canon' Sonic (Sonic Rush) and non-canon Sonic (Sonic X), so you'd think that a royal who claims to be all about defending her people would shy away from casually hopping between universes just to take part in Extreme Gear races and the Olympic Games!
Speaking of Sonic X, Ambassador Hull is based visually on the President's first aide from Sonic X, the one who got fired for making a dodgy deal with Eggman. I think that character's name was Jerome, but I'm not sure. I don't remember if his surname was ever mentioned, so I gave him the surname of "Hull" after the wartime American foreign minister, Cordell Hull.
Next time on Sonic Chronicles: Some light is shined on the formative experiences of a certain fox with double the normal amount of tails. Be sure not to miss it!