Violet Dreams
Chapter 5: War, Part 4
Violence can only be concealed by a lie, and the lie can only be maintained by violence.
Location: Holding Quarters, Below Eggman's Base
Chips of cement crumbled along with support beams to the ground of the holding area, and amidst the rubble, Knuckles smacked into the cement floor, groaning. Raw, turquoise energy swarmed around the charging EX King, as it's thrusters lit up with unseen intensity. Acting quickly, the crimson guardian swiftly punched the ground, accomplishing two things.
One, he managed to push himself into the air and avoid an attack from the deadly robot.
Two, with his punch, the EX King had taken a small toll of damage.
A barrage of rock spikes erupted from the ground, and launched outwards at the EX King, only temporarily stalling its attack.
"Get me outta here, Knux!" Cried Mighty, dodging falling slabs of rock, "Before I get squashed!"
Blood dripped down the guardian's arm, as he quickly threw a punch at a falling slab of rock, hoping to damage his opponent somewhat, and allow him to catch his breath. However, the EX warrior easily disposed of the projectile with a quick blast of energy from its cannons, and thus scattering debris over the room. Knuckles threw his arms over his face, guarding himself from the flying bits of rock.
This battle wasn't looking good, and it had only begun. Either Knuckles finished it off with his most powerful attack in his arsenal, and risk being buried under the collapsing base, or weaken the mech, and escape. He had to choose now, or else he'd be left with option number three.
Being killed.
Then, something bizarre took place. Everything began to shake. Not the shaking compared to an earthquake, but the rumbling that one would imagine if the Moon itself had crash landed on Earth. Larger pieces of the ceiling smashed into the floor, allowing rays of the morning sun to peek through the gaps. From the heavens fell puffs of white crystal, or better known as snow.
Wait.
Snow?
"Since when does it snow in July?" Knuckles grumbled in confusion, watching as the individual particles of ice gathered on the floor, "And in a Volcano?"
Something was going on, and it wasn't Eggman's old schemes of taking over the world. Whatever he was up to, it was big, and it wasn't good.
Knuckles quickly turned his attention back to the EX King, watching as it simply stopped attacking, and retreated down the halls. The emerald guardian sighed in relief, and slumped against a large chunk of rock that had sunk into the ground behind him. Being the helpful hero he was, Mighty quickly raced up to the echidna, having been freed, as his cell was obliterated by over three tons of rock.
"Let's get out of here, buddy." Mighty suggested and looked up at the sky, as snow fell down onto his face, "Maybe that talk of Global Warming is true, eh?"
With a heavy grunt, the echidna eased himself up with the help of Mighty, and proceeded with walking down the quiet corridors of Eggman's base. It was like everything just disappeared from the base and vanished.
"Eggman did this." Knuckles grunted finally, "He's doing something big, and I think it's screwing with the Earth's atmosphere..."
"Well, we can worry about that later," Mighty retorted with a sigh, "We gotta get you fixed up. That 'bot really beat'chya up."
"Thanks for reminding me." The echidna warrior sneered in pain, and clutched the massive gash in his side.
Location: Main Control Room, Eggman's Base
The quivering in the earth had just began to subside, when not only a great wind blew against the base, but another powerful rumbling shook the continent. It was if something beneath the earth's crust was beginning to stir, and shake the planet like its toy. The blue hero struggled to keep his balance, as the EX Ace zipped through the massive room, swiping it's crackling energy blade at Sonic with enough force to tear through a building. The pillars lining the side of the room toppled down like dominoes, and crumbled into chunks of mangled rubble.
Eggman finally made something able to scare the blue hero.
Cracks pierced the bullet proof glass that made up the windows of the main watch tower, and spread over the entire area of the glass.
"What's happening, Eggman?" Sonic yelled out, desperate for answers, "What'd you do this time?"
The evil genius cackled to himself, and snapped his fingers, which in turn called the EX Ace back to his side. With a sudden turn of events, the wind quickly died down, and the quake ceased, leaving a strange sense of calm to reign over the hero. However, from the gaps in the ceiling, came the white powder that one would find in the northern areas of the earth.
The powder that kids would slide on, and make forts out of.
It was snowing. In Mazuri!
Sonic blinked, and turned his attention to the sky, watching as the fluffy white clouds floated through the air just above the watch tower, as snow fell from the clouds and gathered around the entire region. It was as if the continent had gained a completely opposite environment.
"Alright, time to explain yourself, Doctor." Sonic announced, turning towards the chuckling scientist, "What did you do?"
"Oh, Sonic," Eggman snickered, "Quit while you're no further into the cataclysm. I'll give you one chance to back down, and maybe I'll spare you a place in my new kingdom!"
The snow had begun to fall heavier through the gaps in the building, and a slight wind had started to pick up, throwing the powder into small drifts at the side of the room. Everything had grown quiet, yet a eerie chill lingered in the air.
"Stop kidding around, Egghead!" The blue hero replied quickly, noticing the increase in snow in the room.
"If you insist, blue pest." The doctor cackled, and tapped a button on his console, allowing a massive screen to open up from the floor, projecting an image of the earth, "As you know, the earth has countless distinct environments that keep the animals that live in them alive. A number of things affect the different weather that rolls through these environments, but the key factor is their positioning on this chunk of rock you call home."
Growing impatient, Sonic crossed his arms and tapped his foot.
"Well, as you may not know, a special energy source keeps these specific weather habits in routine in the proper areas of the world, and they're stored in seven different vessels among the planet."
"Let me guess, you're manipulating these things for your own twisted use?" Sonic sighed, "Don't you ever change?"
"Shut up, and don't interrupt me!" Eggman shouted, but quickly calmed down, and cleared his throat, "Now, as I was saying...if these vessels are destroyed, it will send a disturbance in Chaos Energy through the atmosphere above that certain spot of the planet, and reverse its weather to something abnormal, which will throw the ecosystems into a downwards spiral!"
"So, in order to make your own little play land," Sonic yawned, "You're destroying the homes of billions of creatures?"
"Oh hoho!" The Doctor chuckled, "You're not as dense as I thought you to be!"
Ten foot snow drifts piled over the debris from the powerful earthquake that had taken place before, and now the entire room was covered, being turned into a white wonderland.
"Then I guess I have no choice but to play along," The blue hero grinned, "I'll just smash all your new toys and turn things back!"
"Ahaha! You don't have a chance in hell of winning this time, Sonic!" Eggman sneered, "With the final touches on my Death Egg IV, and my invasion of the capitals of the world, the entire planet will be at my feet! You may be fast, but you're not fast enough to stop my reign!"
A playful grin found it's way across Sonic's muzzle.
Finally, something fun was gonna happen.
"Is that a challenge, Ro-butt-nik?"
"You'll never win, my dear pest!" Eggman cackled, and began to ascend through an opening in the watch tower, "For now, however, I must apply the final upgrades to my pride and glory. Until then, I'll keep you very close in my updates, hedgehog!"
As the sheets of thick metal slammed open, allowing the mad scientist to ascend to the air, and into the massive air ship above, Mighty and Knuckles had found their way into the watch tower. The blue hero gazed on at his arch nemesis, ready to take the doctor down once and for all, and end this on going war for good.
Watch out, Doctor. This game is almost over! I'll give you the fight of a life time!
"You just let him get away?" Knuckles growled, ready to pulverize the blue hero, "We coulda had him!"
"Chill, Knux." Sonic grinned, "He'll be back. Though, I have a feeling we're in for a bigger party than we asked for!"
"What're you talkin' about?" The black armadillo wondered, gaining the blue hero's attention.
"Mighty?" Sonic exclaimed in surprise, "Where've you been, dude?"
The lone traveller chuckled warmly, and heaved the muscular Echidna, keeping him from putting weight on his beat up leg. His own wounds had been treated by Eggman, allowing him to walk.
"Well, I did a lot of travelling, actually." He explained, "And while I was staying out in Paradise Coast, GUN came and took me away. Don't tell anyone, but I think it's cause I destroyed one of their big tanks while I was helping fend off an attack from some mad man."
"Well, it's good to have you back, man!" Sonic chirped, and fist pounded the armadillo.
"Yeah, it's great to be here," The traveler exclaimed, but his expression shifted to disgust, "I think I'm gonna be sick!"
Dropping Knuckles to the ground – and earning a string of curses – Mighty rushed over to a corner, and vomited up the small amounts of food he was fed, as images of the severed head from the GUN troops only a couple weeks earlier rushed back to him.
"Yo, Knuckles." Sonic asked, sitting beside the groaning Echidna, his grin had faded to a frown. "You saw it, right?"
The echidna grew silent, and stared at the floor, gaining a sudden interest in the blue hero's words.
Of course he did. He just didn't want to accept it.
"Yeah." The echidna replied quietly, "It's hard not to see an explosion that big."
Growing solemn, the blue hero sighed, and his trade mark grin reappeared.
"Well, whatever it is that Eggman's done," He began, and jumped to his feet, "We're gonna stop it!"
Nodding in agreement, the crimson echidna grinned and stuck out his arm, forming a fist. Knowing what the guardian was signifying, the blue hero bumped his fist against the echidna's, and chuckled.
"Let's head over to the village on the other side of the jungle," Sonic stated, looking out of the watch tower at the snow piles in the base, "Tails is waiting there. Maybe once we get back to his workshop we can figure out a battle plan! Then we can fry this Egg for good!"
With plans of ending the world, Sonic was determined to stop Eggman once and for all. He had crossed the line a long time ago, and now he was going to be put in his place. Finally, the end of the war that had endured for nearly ten years was about to end, and Sonic was destined to stand in the victory. Whatever it was that Eggman was planning, Sonic had a feeling it wasn't good. The doctor had a resume of fooling around with forces beyond his control, and there was nothing stopping him this time around. Whatever was going on, Sonic would find a way to reverse it, and keep everyone safe.
He was a hero after all.
Location: Ruin Beach, Death Egg IV Launch Site
"Metal!"
Twin blast doors slid open, allowing the metallic doppelganger to walk through, his brown cloak fluttering with each step. Glistening with unmatched divinity, the Twilight Key that Metal Sonic had acquired pulsed with unmatched power – except maybe by the Chaos Emeralds – in his claw. Bowing in front of Eggman, Metal set the small orb on the titanium sheet flooring, awaiting his next command.
"Congratulations, Metal Sonic!" The doctor shouted in glee, picking up the small orb, and examined it closely, "I see you had no trouble eradicating the vessel?"
"Negative, Doctor." The doppelganger replied, "Target proved to be of minimal threat. However, the Guardian sealed within the target was noted as a future threat to be remembered for the next vessel."
"Very well." Eggman grinned, and placed the glowing orb within his console, "One is all I need. I want you to go and scout out the whereabouts of the remaining vessels for future reference. If you must, I want you to capture them, and return alive."
The navy blue copy jotted down the commands almost instantly in his CPU, and stood up, ready to leave, when Eggman turned around once more.
"Oh, and why don't you pay Sonic a visit. He's growing to be a thorn in my side, and I want you to prioritize in destroying him first."
"Yes, master."
The brown cloak wavered around Metal as he continued out through the laboratory, and proceeded down the brightly lit hallways of the base. The day was finally coming, the time had arrived where he'd finally achieve the goal he was made for.
Withdrawing the cyan Chaos Emerald from his cloak, the metallic android gripped the gem in his claw, allowing the emerald's power to activate.
The eyes of Metal flashed for a short second, his AI systems activating, and his obedience chip resetting. Today was the day where he'd put an end to the blue hero, and do away with his curse forever.
Flashes of light wrapped around the metal copy, blowing the brown cloak from the intensity of the power. Ribbons of energy swirled away from the gem, and finally, a bright flash engulfed Metal in one second, and the next, he was gone, leaving the brown cloak to flutter to the ground.
It ended today.
The rivalry would be turned to ashes.
Location: Mazuri
The people of the once thriving savannah village were now huddled up in their tents, each wrapped up in thick blankets provided by to them by the kind heart of Tails. White, puffy snow was of no rarity at the moment, and covered the red sands all over the continent. The trees were covered in the powder, and hardly any grass could be seen. The once green leaves had already shifted to brown, red and yellow, and fell to the ground, only to be buried by the sudden snow storm.
Knuckles sat with his back turned to Tails on a bench, occasionally groaning in pain, and tightening his fists. Tails wasted no time pulling out his self prepared first aid kit, and started patching the guardian up. The young fox slowly stitched the gash in the echidna's side together, frequently dabbing away the clotted blood with disinfectant. After wiping away the blood from the finished stitching, Tails wrapped heavy duty bandages tightly around the Echidna warriors side, earning a yelp from the guardian, and then the muttering of swears.
"Alright, your wounds should be healed up soon enough, Knuckles. Just don't over do it!" Tails calculated, and then returned to his plane and tucked the first aid kit in the air craft. "So what happened back there, Sonic?" The fox asked, his words muffled as he ruffled through some junk in the Tornado, in search of something.
"Remember the Death Egg, bud?" Sonic replied, taking a bite of a chilli dog, "Yeah, well, it's back." The blue hero explained over his chewing.
"And! The old man did something to make it snow in the middle of summer!" Mighty blurted out, and shook his fist, "We oughta beat him up for that!"
"He's using the Master Emerald for this, I just know it." Knuckles growled, and turned around to face the others, "He's up to something. And it's bad."
"Eggman made that storm?" Amy wondered, "And he's invading the cities of the world? I think that man needs a brain check!"
Sonic sighed, and closed his eyes. Wrapping his head around a situation like this was no easy task. Especially when the very fate of human life was on the edge of destruction. The blue hero finished off his favourite food, hungrily chewing and swallowing. Sighing in relief, the blue hero burped and rested on a log.
"I think the best thing we can do for now, is go back and think of some way to fight back." Tails explained, tinkering with a strange device, "Eggman has us running to stop three different threats, and we can't properly figure a plan of action like this. I've been doing research on some energy sources from the Echidna Civilization, and it seems the Chaos Emeralds weren't the only ones. It's the only explanation that I could find that could be the cause of this!"
"A hero is no different than an ordinary man. He's just braver five minutes longer." ~ John. G. Tuscon, President of the United Federation, 1994
To be Continued
Authors Note~ So, this is the end of the four part mini arc, and the starter to the troubles the heroes are about to face. With plans to disrupt the world's ecosystems, launch his Death Egg, and destroy the cities of the world, Eggman really means business! This was a relatively slow chapter, and I apologize. The coming chapters will lead to the main storyline of this arc, which will feature a lot of elements from the first Violet Dreams, and even a little something else! So hang tight!
If you have any theories, comments or constructive criticism, leave it in a review!