Violet Dreams

Chapter 2: War, Part 1

Destroy the seed of evil, or it will grow up to your ruin.

"Long time no see, Metal head!"

Powerful flares of azure light wrapped around the mechanical copy, as the blue hero snatched the captured girl from Metal's grasp, and landed safely on a smoking office building. The menacing navy blue copy of Sonic swerved through the air, leaving behind a trail of elegant purple energy from his thrusters. Electricity began to crackle around Metal's claw, ready to rip the blue hero's head right from his shoulders. Sonic gave nothing more than a confident smirk, and looked back at Amy quickly.

"Okay, Ames," He assured calmly, and smiled, "Close your eyes and count to ten, can you do that for me?"

The shell shocked pink hedgehog nodded, and closed her eyes slowly, and began to mutter a countdown under her breath. Sonic smirked and threw the young hedgehog into the sky, and dashed off towards Metal Sonic, a loud boom shaking the city in his wake. Cerulean energy wrapped around Sonic in a powerful display of speed, as the blue hero heaved his right arm back, uncontrolled strands of white and blue light swirling around his hand.

Five-one thousand.

Cracks echoed throughout the entire city, shattering the glass windows on the nearby buildings as each fighter ascended into speeds faster than sound. A streak of violent electricity raced through the air towards the wind wielding hedgehog. A wide grin spread over Sonic's lips, his confidence becoming unbreakable.

Six-one thousand.

While thrusting his right arm out in front of him, a powerful burst of white and blue energy exploded from his palm, and shot forwards in a spinning star of light. The star suddenly dispersed, but from its disappearance, left a burst of wind. The velocity of the resulting shockwave smashed into Metal, driving the mechanical copy back through the sky.

"Sonic...Wind!" Shouted the blue hero, just as he fell back to the building below him.

A great cyclone of energy suddenly engulfed the robotic warrior, and like a vacuum, the vortex shot the mechanical copy down towards the ground at supersonic speeds.

The blue hero stood at the edge of the building, and grinned, just as a plume of dust shot up into the air, marking the impact of his foe. However, just as Metal had hit the ground, the young hedgehog, Amy Rose, descended from the sky and into Sonic's arms, shivering in fear.

Of course, this wasn't the end of the battle. Sonic understood that.

He was more concerned on finding Amy somewhere safe.

Then again, she wasn't so worried about that.

"I coulda been killed!" The pink hedgehog shouted, "You mindless, egotistic -"

Tears began to well up in the young girls eyes, as her voice cracked. Her words began to quiver, and finally she burst into tears, sobbing against the blue hero's chest.

"You big jerk," She mumbled, "I was worried..."

A warm smile found itself on Sonic's face, as he closed his eyes and set the younger hedgehog down, and hugged the pink hero.

"Don't worry, Amy." Sonic softly assured, "I'm back now. I ain't goin' anywhere."

Interrupting the temporary peace, a massive explosion rocked the entire city, taking out the main radio tower in the centre of the downtown district. Smoke rolled through the streets, blanketing the entire area in a thick cloud of debris. Car alarms blared against the sounds of windows being shattered, and buildings tumbling to the ground. Then, none other than Eggman made himself visible – his Eggmobile armed with weapons of every kind. Beside him, Metal Sonic floated ominously in the air.

Good moments never last forever.

"I see you heard my broadcast, filthy pest." Eggman mused, stroking his orange moustache, "It's been awhile my spiny-haired friend."

"Nice to see you haven't given up on your old tricks, Doctor." Sonic smirked, and crossed his arms, "What's gotten up your ass this time? Santa give you coal for Christmas?"

The genius doctor growled in rage, and slammed his fist down on the console of his vehicle. "I've been pushed to my wits end, hedgehog!" The doctor bellowed, "This time, the world is going to be mine, and there's nothing you can do to stop me! I've created an army of the most advanced technological warriors, and I have the locations of all seven Chaos Emeralds mapped out in my emerald tracker. You've finally lost, Sonic!"

"You say that all the time, Eggy." Sonic chuckled, and walked forwards, leaving Amy behind him, "But for some reason, it never works out? You know, you're beginning to let me down, doctor." The blue hero yawned, and scratched his ear, grinning at the same time.

"We'll see what you think after you witness my new army of EX technology!"

Slowly, orange, yellow and purple began to wash away the blue in the sky, as the sun descended into the horizon. The air became warmer, and the clouds faded yellow.

"Not even GUN can stop me!" Eggman cackled, "With the new Death Egg IV, I'll reign over my new kingdom in a fortress the size of the moon!"

"Heh, you're always babbling about something new," The blue hero yawned, his smirk reappearing right after, "How about this, Eggman. Surrender now, and I won't break all your new toys."

Finally, Robotnik had been pushed to his limits. His last nerve had been stomped on. The half mad doctor slammed his hand down on the console of his hover craft once again, in turn pressing a large blue button. A wide, toothy grin spread over the doctor's face, as the sounds of emergency sirens blared throughout the entire city.

"If it's a fight you want, Sonic, then that's what you'll get!" The doctor cackled, slowly hovering upwards, "The treasures of the Echidna prophecies will finally be mine! I'll dominate this world!"

"Don't say I didn't warn ya', Egghead!"

"Metal!" Eggman snarled, "Destroy him!" The doctor scowled venomously.

Lighting up like the flames of hell, the demonic red eyes of Metal Sonic shone to life, staring at the blue hero. Electricity gracefully danced along the deadly claws of Sonic's adversary, heating the air around them. By now, the sun had set entirely past the horizon, allowing for the twilight to set in – stars beginning to twinkle in the sky.

It looked like a scene out of a storybook.

But this was no children's fairy tale.

A cocky smirk inched its way across the blue hedgehog's lips, as he poised himself to fly through the air at his enemy – maybe coming back was a good idea after all.

Hardly two seconds passed before the destined rivals shot off into the sky towards each other, ready to ultimately kill – or destroy – one another. A cocoon of blue hugged Sonic's figure, propelling him through the air at mach 2 speeds, while Metal opposed him at a rivalling velocity. Each hedgehog had their own signature attack ready at their disposal – each set to tear the other apart.

A swirling, hardly controllable, orb of white and blue energy spun violently within Sonic's palm, releasing ribbons of white behind him. To counter Sonic's affinity, was the electricity that Metal Sonic represented.

He might as well of been Zeus.

Crackling blades of blue arcs of electricity tore away from the barely visible mass of energy within Metal's claw, as it slowly began to spin out of control, heating up the atmosphere immensely.

The twins shot through the sky, and finally, met each other at a stale mate.

Each fighter through their own attack forward, pouring every ounce of power they could muster into this one attack, in hopes to destroy the other once and for all.

A sphere of light erupted around the hedgehog copies, engulfing them in a barrier of divine energy. Helixes of light shot outwards from the sphere, followed by powerful shockwaves threatening to rip apart the city. The bursts of energy smashed into office buildings, tearing apart the upper levels and throwing them into the already chaos ridden streets below. Citizens screamed and fled for safety – some had the unfortunate fate of being pulverized by falling rubble. Vehicles became mere scrap parts, as car alarms sounded through the entire downtown area.

Finally, out of the sphere of light, Sonic had been repelled into a nearby apartment building, steam rolling off his body. The blue hero groaned in pain, and fell down to a balcony below him.

Safety was always a pleasant surprise.

But that wouldn't last for long.

The sphere of light suddenly faded, revealing the ultimate copy, Metal Sonic, hovering the air. Its body hadn't even been scratched in the dynamic clash that had taken place only a couple seconds ago.

Impossible.

"The doctor really gave you a good upgrade, bucket head!" Sonic called out, his trademark grin still plastered to his face, "But I'm not even going all out yet. I'm just getting warmed up! Besides, I wouldn't wanna beat ya' into the ground so soon." The blue hero snickered, and dropped his hand down beside him, preparing another attack.

The mechanical copy in the air simply stared down at the blue hero, almost as if doubting the hedgehogs words. Metal may be a robot, but he was equipped with information processors that not even the greatest GUN scientists could construct in five years.

Doctor Eggman really was a genius.

"I think it's time we stop holding out on the tricks, and get this over with!" Sonic exclaimed, his eyes narrowing, "Besides, I've got a city to save."

"You're no match for me, pathetic hedgehog." Metal retorted, emotionless as ever.

As to be expected from an almost demonic robot.

"Oh yeah?"

Now that all traces of sunlight had faded away, and storm clouds began to roll in, the only resource of light Sonic had to rely on were either the street lights, or flashes of lightning.

Street lights weren't exactly a reliable option in a city being destroyed by a mad man.

Streaks of electricity shot through the sky, briefly lighting up the entire city, allowing for Sonic to make his move, and launch himself onto a higher rooftop. With each use of his speed, a small, rotating mass of light began to form within his hand, resembling the attack he had used to counter Metal's opening attack before. Thunder shook the entire city, adding to the echoing sounds of distant explosions and screaming civilians. Every flash of lightning provided the blue blur just enough time to get closer to Metal – but with each move to get closer, Metal began to trace the hedgehog's movements, and predict his final attack.

Metal wasn't about to go down easy.

After one last flash of lightning, the blue hero slid along an office buildings rooftop, and quickly dashed off the building, and shot through the sky. His eyes were locked onto his target, and the mass of energy in his hand was about ready to spiral out of control. He was going to end this today.

For good.

"Sonic!"

Amy?

For a split second, the blue hero shifted his attention over to the rooftop he had left the pink hedgehog on – only to catch a glimpse of the entire building tumbling to the ground.

"Crap!" Sonic grunted, and quickly unleashed his trump card, but using its energy to redirect his body towards the tumbling building.

Whilst bouncing off chunks of the building that had been there before, Sonic smashed through beams of metal, and blasted down slabs resembling a runway. If he didn't catch up to her now, she'd be buried under an entire building.

Sonic shook the thought from his head, and released several Sonic Winds into the masses of rock falling around him, allowing him to fall faster towards the pink hedgehog tumbling to her demise.

Chunks of rock smashed into one another, creating a more violent hell storm of debris ready to kill anyone that got in the way. However, Sonic's determination proved to be greater than the force of falling rock. The blue hero smashed through one final slab of cement, and wrapped Amy up in his arms, before finally bounding off one final chunk of debris, and rolling along the ground to safety – or rather sliding into a flaming vehicle.

Glass rained down around them, as the entire building crumbled down on itself, blocking off the entire downtown road. The blue hero grunted, and forced his body to stand, but when one smashes their head on the concrete, after falling 25 storeys, standing doesn't play out well.

Everything fell to black, leaving Sonic with his final conscious thoughts.

That really hurt.

Location: Unknown

It wasn't anything that could be explained by words. Visual interpretation would fumble at its glory, but yet, it seemed all strangely familiar. Everything from the endless abyss of black, purple, blue and gold, to the white washed stone pillars. Sonic groaned, and slowly pushed himself up to his feet, finding his body suspiciously light. It was as if he was in space.

Wasn't he in Station Square?

The blue hero groggily rubbed his forehead, and looked ahead at the mass of stone pillars, and the ancient ruins lying beyond that.

Where was he?

Everything felt surreal. Time felt like it was moving at a crawling pace, and colours seemed like they were being thrown at him. He was walking as if he were stepping on clouds. His feet sunk into the darkness below him, and from beneath he heard wicked screams. It was difficult to tell what they were saying, but Sonic wasn't going to pay enough attention to figure that out.

Besides, he was too focused on the golden cage on the shrine ahead.

He felt like he's been here before.

Then, just as he was about to speak, he felt himself being pulled away. It was if someone had just plugged in a vacuum cleaner. His body was being tugged at, and he had nothing to grab onto. So he allowed himself to fall into nothingness.

"Sonic, wake up!"

That voice was familiar to him. He'd known it for a long time now, but he wasn't quite sure who it was in his current state. His mind seemed to be broken. Nothing was making sense, as the senses coming to him overloaded his brain. He felt like screaming, but the sound wouldn't come out properly. He urged to squirm, and fight the force grabbing against him, but his limbs felt like lead.

"We have to get him out of here," The voice explained, "Central City isn't safe right now. Load him up in the..."

Sonic faded out of reality once more, his senses becoming numb all over again.

Location: Death Egg IV Launch Site, Ruin Beach

Today was a proud day for Doctor Robotnik.

Finally, his plans of world domination were coming to bloom, and nothing could come in his way. He had captured the only intel that the heroes had for any hopes of victory, and he had acquired world control through fear in under ten hours. The time was coming for his self decided armageddon to approach.

"With the power of the Chaos Emeralds, and the research of ancient Echidna science, I'll be able to resurrect the weapon the Precursors locked away," Eggman snickered. "And then, the God of the Realm of the Dead will be mine to control! I'll be unstoppable!"

Slowly the sun had began to rise on the shore of the glorious Ruin Beach, casting its golden rays over the white stone buildings that had been forgotten in time. The water washed up against the rocks and the rubble, keeping it clean on a daily basis. The entire ocean seemed to shine in admiration to Eggmans success, as the entire world was beginning to crumble under his new army.

Back inside the base, Eggman's self victory speech had been interrupted by his top mechanical warrior, Metal Sonic.

"Give me status reports on my final two projects, Metal." Eggman snorted, sticking a cherry in his mouth.

"EX Metal Knuckles 2 is 90% complete. His computer systems and main computing network is being setup, and his DNA patch is being reworked for the reconstructed model." Metal replied monotonously.

"And what about Project Dusk?" The doctor questioned curiously.

"Progress is slow, as we're lacking proper energy sources to fully integrate the energy source into the mechanism. Once it's mainfraim has been patched, and successfully booted, everything will run at a faster rate," Metal explained, almost in an annoyed fashion. "But for now, physical make up is the limit, doctor."

"Very well." The madman grinned, "I want you to take Metal Knuckles with you when he's finished and scout out the Twilight Key. Without the keys the Echidna prophecies talk about, Project Dusk will fail."

"Yes master..." Metal responded, and turned to leave.

Once the doctor had finally failed his plans once more, Metal would take it to his own initiative and start up an utopia of his own. All he needed was the greatest power source on the planet. But for now, he'd lay low. He'd have his chance.

"In the face of annihilation, the world has always found itself the heroes needed to protect it. But now, it's almost as if the world has gave breed to it's own protectors. We'll forever be in debt to you, Sonic the Hedgehog." ~ Lincoln McHolm, President of the United Federation, 2002

To Be Continued

Authors Note~ I hope I was able to keep up the octane in this chapter. To me it didn't feel as great as the last...but that's just me. Yes, it's a bit shorter, but that's only because I needed to keep other things for the next chapter, which will mark the start of the invasion on Eggman's new base...sort of. We'll also check in on Mighty, and have some in depth look at the Echidna prophecies Eggman kept babbling about. Please, if you have any comments, tips or theories, leave them in a review!

PS: The quote at the end of the chapter today is from the current president in the series. I just gave him a spiffy name!