Violet Dreams

Part II

Chapter 35: Crusades, Part 2

"War is the most readily available form of chaos."

Location: Underground Spring, Unknown

The two heroes stared in complete awe at the beast before them. It's breathing was heavy, kicking up clouds of dust at the heroes which each exhale. They couldn't comprehend the idea of where this monster came from, or how it got here. It snorted heavily, and with a stomping of its mighty legs, vines shot up all around the cavern. Taking it as a cue to take action, Sonic and Knuckles leaped away from each other, narrowly avoiding a rapidly growing tree. All across the cavern, and each spot their feet contacted, another form of vegetation shot up, threatening to entangle them.

Streaks of blue darted around the circular cave, avoiding falling rubble and plant life with split second movements. His eyes shot open at the sight of three gigantic slabs of wood shooting up from the ground, throwing rubble towards him.

"Shit!"

His shoes slid over top of one piece of rock, and then with a powerful leap, Sonic bounded upwards over a second. A flash of blue followed him as he spun into a ball, and shot down to the ground, slicing apart two thick chunks of rock and clay in the process. Once colliding with the ground, the blue hero rebounded up into the air briefly, and then against the side of the slab of wood. Rings of blue energy shot outwards from the impact, as he shot through the newly formed forth wall. Wood shot every where from the hit, showering the ground with it.

"Knux, we can't just keep running around like this!" Sonic hollered at Knuckles, whom was taking care of the continuously appearing slabs of wood or trees.

"Whenever you've come up with a genius plan feel free to share it with me, Sonic!" he retorted through heavy breaths.

"Shoot me at that thing. We can take it down with enough force!"

With a nod of approval, and a smirk, Knuckles ducked below a sweeping vine from the ground. The Emerald Guardian quickly ran towards his comrade, whom had created a cutting vortex in front of the beast. Chunks of vine and plant life flew across the rock floor of the cavern just as the cyclone died out, giving Knuckles his opening.

Jumping up, and then spinning into a homing attack, Sonic descended down in front of Knuckles, who had readied a power packed punch. A ring of flame shot outwards from the release of the echidna's Chaos Energy on impact, and Sonic shot through a storm of leaves and vines in a blinding bullet of blue.

Wind burst throughout the cavern, cutting at the beast itself with its intensity. A glowing orb of blue wrapped around the spot where Sonic shot through the monster, allowing ribbons of Chaos Energy to sweep through the creatures body. It screamed out in agony, slamming its feet and arms against the ground as the typhoon force winds knocking it backwards. The blue blur grunted as he rebounded off of the far wall of the cavern, and in another blue streak, shot through the creature once more. Leaves fluttered in every which way, creating a storm of green as the blue hero slid to his knees and fell to the ground beside Knuckles. The echidna quickly attended to the hedgehog, as the beast screeched out from the two penetrating holes in its chest.

"Sonic, I don't think it's going down just yet!" Knuckles belted.

"Don't worry, Knux," Sonic reassured, turning around to watch as the tree behind them begin falling.

Once again the beast slammed its feet to the ground, causing the earth to quake under the heroes. However, the more it thrashed about, the faster the gigantic tree toppled. And then, finally the the mighty oak tree slammed into the beast, thrusting it to the ground. Dust swooshed upwards from the impact, as a rush of air rushed outwards, pushing against the heroes. The beast cried out several more times before finally silence overtook the cavern.

Both Sonic and Knuckles crept towards the fallen tree, closer to the green and gold aura emanating from within the tree trunk. Making their way closer, Knuckles finally moved the dead tree, where beneath the glowing orb from before lifted up in front of them. The two gazed at it in awe, before finally Sonic grabbed the orb, ceasing its elegant glow. A shock of power shifted through his body, causing him to shiver. The energy within this sphere felt like ice-water in his veins, and it reminded him of the feeling he got when he last fought Eggman.

"You okay, Sonic?" the echidna asked curiously.

"I'm fine," he replied with a thumbs up. "Don't worry. Let's just get out of this place. We should get this to Tails asap!"

Knuckles nodded in agreement. "Right."

The crimson echidna heaved the large oak tree upwards, and then thrust it up into the cavern wall where they had seen the mysterious cloaked figure disappear through. Meanwhile, however, Sonic was fixated on his thoughts, and the familiar feeling of another presence within him. Those dreams had to mean something, and he was going to figure out what.

Noticing Knuckles waving to him from the top of the tree, Sonic zipped up the length of the oak, and together the duo raced through the dark corridor, to where they were sure was the opening.

You need me, Sonic.

Location: Shopping District, Capital City

The beast was absolutely gigantic, as it towered above them nearly thirty feet. It had a long, serpentine neck with a tail to match. Two horns arched out in front of its horse looking face, while three spines formed a trident on its tail. The beast had a bulky scaled body, with icy spines sprawled across its back. It screeched out once more, this time waves of water crashing out from its four legs. As the team jumped out of the waves path, the streets flooded, washing away cars and debris in the process. The beast screeched out again, this time its arm shot towards them, expanding the closer it got. Charmy and Vector quickly slid passed a car, avoiding the massive hand, while Espio jumped off a wall, forming lightning fast hand signs as he did so.

"Ninja Arts; Great Hurricane!"

Heaving in a great breath of air the second he finished his sentence, the chameleon then exhaled. A powerful burst of wind exploded out from his mouth, carrying away the mass of water, smashing it back into the beast. Taking this as a chance to act, Vector heaved out a storm of explosive bubbles from his mouth into the gust of wind just before Espio ceased the attack. The crocodile turned his attention to the beast just in time to catch a vicious string of explosions. Fire and smoke shot upwards from each impact, forcing the beast to step backwards in both fear and pain.

"Great job, Espio!" Vector bellowed with a thumbs up, oblivious to the oncoming attack.

A bullet of condensed air shot free from Espio's mouth, and smashed into Vector seconds before a powerful drill of water burst shot through the air and into a building behind them. Ignoring the destruction of the parking blockade, the purple chameleon quickly dashed into the alley way for cover, while Vector regained his bearings. He knew that if they kept this up they'd never accomplish anything.

They needed a plan.

A vortex of leafs shot up around Espio just as he conformed to the environment around him, effectively becoming invisible. Running with haste, the ninja detective rounded the corner into the adjacent street and then leaped to towards the building on the opposite side of the road. Just as his heels landed against the sturdy wall, he again bounded into the air and towards the larger building overlooking the battle. Espio grunted and rolled across the rooftop of the office building and then ran to get a look at what was going on.

The beast roared in pain again, another explosion rumbling in the streets. Water splashed to the ground from the blow to its body, only for it to regenerate. Noticing Charmy flying beneath the beast inconspicuously, while Vector continued with an assault of explosive bubbles from the safety of a parking blockade, Espio grinned, and unravelled the wire wrapped around his wrist cuffs. The chameleon quickly wrapped the wire around a pillar jutting free from the edge of the building, and then bounded across the street in front of the beast.

Growing tired of the constant explosions, the water-formed beast screeched again, a great sphere of water collecting in front of it. From its back, two gigantic hands of water popped upwards, and then wrapped around the sphere as a gold and white aura began to form around the mass of liquid. Vector ceased his assault momentarily in order to find cover once more, evading waves of crashing water at the same time. Cars flipped and rolled down the street, while chunks of cement crashed into smaller buildings.

"Woah!" Vector yelped, narrowly dodging a storm of pellet sized bullets of ice coming from the beast.

A building toppled from the ice bullets, while Vector caught his breath from the shock of nearly being the destroyed building. "That thing is really getting pissed off now."

Vector punched through a wall into an abandoned shop, running behind a shelf for cover until Charmy was in place. "Once Charmy drops that bomb on that thing, I'll attack and give Espio the signal. Hopefully he doesn't do anything stupid..."

Popping his head over the shelf, Vector noticed Espio release his camouflage, and jump back onto a building, then run past the beast. Curious about his plan, the crocodile quickly pulled out his walkie-talky.

"Abort mission, Charmy!" he shouted into the device, watching as the sphere of water previously being formed exploded forwards in a devastating beam of gold and blue.

"What, why?" Came Charmy's reply on the other end.

"Just focus on distracting that thing, Espio is up to somethin'!" Vector replied, turning off the communicator.

Meanwhile, Espio slid to a stop behind the beast, noticing Charmy fluttering back into an alleyway after planting a string of bombs in front of the creature. Espio darted his attention back to the ground, and jumped down, forming hand signs during his descent. As he landed, Espio whirled around to face the beasts whipping tail, and exhaled a gigantic ball of flame. The swirling, churning ball grew in size until it nearly matched the size of their opponent. The beast stopped walking, its beam dying out into a thin laser until finally disappearing. It roared out, unaware of the thin wire strung across the gap. As it turned, the wire sliced through its liquid body, chopping through it when suddenly electricity shot down the wire, paralysing it. The beast screamed, its tail levelling out entire buildings. The orb of flame in front of Espio spun around in front of him, growing larger still, when suddenly a string of explosions shot up beneath the beasts feet.

It roared devilishly, its body falling apart in splashes of water. Espio then held his breath and exhaled quickly, launching the gigantic sphere of flame. The beast screeched as its body quickly evaporated from the sheer heat of the attack, until finally it became swallowed up in the heat.

A cloud of steam rose up into the atmosphere, slowly clearing to reveal the beast gone. In it's place, the glowing sphere from before hovered gently in the street. Espio sighed in relief, noticing Charmy flying to grab it. However, from the rooftops, the cloaked man from before swooped down and spun around on the ground with a leg extended. Charmy yelped in pain as the man's shin collided with the bee's face, sending him bouncing across the ground from the kick.

"Thanks for doing all the work for me, Chaotix," he remarked, saluting them. "No hard feelings, right?"

Blue energy wrapped around the mans body as he grabbed the sphere, and then his body dematerialized and spun away into nothingness.

"What was that?" Vector bellowed in rage.

Location: Memorial National Park, Prison Island

Soldiers trudged through the thick jungle, following close behind their leader. Frogs croaked through the shrubbery, while trees swayed from the winds blowing above them. A thick mist rolled through the pathway they had been travelling along, cutting out their visibility. Rouge, who had remained silent since they left the wreckage of Central Command, watched Shadow intently. Though she was trained not to crumble under fear, she could feel herself doubting her abilities. She didn't know what she'd do if Shadow was taken. They were only ten minutes away from the rendezvous point that had been set up between Galaxy and Shadow earlier, and her doubts didn't seem to go away.

"Shadow..." she called quietly, attempting to gain his attention.

The dark hedgehog glanced her direction briefly, and then back towards the path. Rouge sighed, taking it as a signal that he was listening.

"You won't get taken, right?" she asked, doing her best to sound calm and tough as usual. "I don't doubt you, hun, but we don't know what they're capable of."

"Commander Shrike is waiting across the river with back up in case anything happens that we didn't plan for," Shadow responded. "Risks are necessary in war. As of now, they're crushing the United Federations, and it's up to GUN to do their part."

"Yeah, that's true," Rouge agreed quietly, biting her lip to hold back from displaying her fears. "Sorry, it's not like me to be such a downer." She laughed gently before they came to a stop in a clearing.

A pond sat in the centre of the clearing, and above them, the trees came together like a parasol blocking out anything from the outside world. Rain spat around them, and the group proceeded further into the clearing where they were to wait for Galaxy. Shadow turned his attention to the trees, noticing a group of soldiers with sniper rifles ready to act. Rouge, however, knew they weren't solely for attacking the enemy, but rather to subdue Shadow in case he did anything that would compromise the mission. But, Rouge felt that Shadow had sensed the hostility and distrust from Shrike, and figured her comrade already knew he was being watched.

However, she couldn't help but wonder what it was that had gotten Shadow so worked up after the Commanders meeting with the President. Rouge quickly dismissed her thoughts, focusing on the situation at hand instead.

In the distance, the trees rustled, and from them came a trio of cloaked figures. They knew these men immediately, and Shadow prepared for the worst, signalling his men to ready their weapons. The sounds of guns being cocked echoed throughout the quiet clearing. Until now, Shadow had never gotten a close look at the attire these people wore. The cloaks themselves were white as snow, save for black flame-looking patterns along the bottoms and sleeves of the garments. The hoods seams also appeared to have the same marking on them.

Finally the trio landed before them, Galaxy immediately revealing himself with a pulled down hood. The other two however remained quiet, but Shadow knew them to be the duo he had met back in Empire City. Yet again, the small girl standing quietly to Galaxy's left managed to give Shadow a feeling of uneasiness. Finally, the royal cat broke the silence, his voice seeming to be calmer than usual.

"I'll admit, this is a surprise, Shadow," the cat acknowledged with a sadistic tone, taking notice to the hidden soldiers positioned around them. "You really must be desperate to attempt to make a difference. But tell me, what do you think will change?"

"I'll explain the terms of the deal," Shadow replied, ignoring the question. Galaxy in turn growled angrily. "If I give myself up to your organization, you leave the innocent alone. Whatever it is you want, can be done quietly. I'll be your personal hostage until your goal is over."

Watching the expression of their enemy, Rouge blinked in shock. "Are they really buying it?"

"That seems like a fair trade," the cat agreed with a smirk. "If it was just a hand off, however, why did you need the soldiers, Shadow?"

Glancing behind him, he noticed his men getting rigid in fear. "When you make a deal with the enemy, you can never be too safe." he explained. "Now shall we finish our business?"

Rouge gulped watching her comrade start walking to the centre of the clearing. She could tell that the entire team was on edge at this point, and that a simple slip up could result in the worst case scenario happening. The black hedgehog stopped at the edge of the pond, waiting for the enemy to make their move. He knew by now that the hidden snipers were spotted out by Galaxy. His crimson eyes swept over the trio ahead of him, waiting for any of them to move. Finally, the larger male stepped forward, as Shadow had expected.

"Fitting for the larger, more defence orientated member to do the hostage taking," Shadow thought, watching as a bridge of rock formed across the pond.

The bridge seemed to creek under the weight of the bear. Walking slowly and cautiously, the large male finally stepped onto land once more, directly in front of Shadow. The dark hedgehog stared upwards at the emotionless male, noticing his sorrowful expression. He was really beginning to doubt the sanity of these people.

"So that's why he ordered for specially armed soldiers. Despite the Dragoon rounds being experimental, they'd still pack a punch on a bigger target like that guy. Shadow must've known they'd bring him along!" Rouge realized, as rock began to crawl up around Shadow, forming a casket.

Clutching her hands tight, she knew the signal for when they were to begin their assault. Her stomach churned, feeling sick to her stomach.

The anxiety was horrible.

Finally the thick mineral surrounded Shadow completely, stopping just below his neck. Yet, he remained absolutely unfazed. Rouge heard the clicking of one of the sniper rifles in the trees cocking, and then, a deafening bam echoed throughout the jungle. A pin-sized beam of gold energy loomed in the air for a split second after the sniper had taken the shot, and Rouge knew that the mission was now under way. Feeling calmer, Rouge looked towards the man holding Shadow captive.

"What!" she shouted in disbelief.

A wall of rock crumbled to the ground beside Gaia, and in the background, Galaxy chuckled loudly. Shadow grunted, energy charging up in his fists, when suddenly the dark cat appeared in front of him, Gaia rushing towards the soldiers.

"Silly, Shadow," Galaxy whispered. "You think I couldn't see through your charade?"

Location: Royal Palace, Soleanna

Nervously watching the LCD screen mounted on the wall, a girl no older than thirty swirled a strand of her luscious red hair around her finger. Blue eyes comparable to the ocean itself watched in utter disbelief at the news anchor, who had just finished a recap on the recent terrorist strikes to the United Federations. A couple days ago, the planet had been celebrating peace, and now Doctor Eggman had a tighter hold around the planet even in his death.

"Ma'am, can I get you anything?" an elderly sounding lady asked soothingly. "You don't look well."

Unable to process anything else around her, Elise subtly shook her head. The queen's servant nodded hesitantly, and retreated from the royal chamber. Torches glimmered around the perimeter of the room, and Elise found herself wishing for a miracle.

"What will I do if those terrorists come to Soleanna?" she murmured to herself, and grabbed the remote for the television. "I can't even imagine how stressed the President must be..."

She pressed the power button on the remote control, turning the electronic off. Her room fell silent, and she eased herself off of the small wooden chair she had been sitting on, her mind consumed with what if scenarios.

Anger had now replaced her fear, and the Queen sighed as she left her quarters. The door clicked shut softly behind her, and she continued down the long corridor that led to the kitchen. To her left, rows of marble columns separated her and the garden outside.

She walked swiftly and gently, unaware of the terror lurking in the night outside. Her body stiffened, and a chill ran down her spine at the subtle breathing apart from her own.

"Queen Elise the Third," they began, the figure from which the voice came from bowing behind her. "I have some business that might definitely catch your interest."

Swallowing down her fear, Elise turned around to look at the man behind her. The darkness seemed to bend around him, enclosing him within it like it was apart of his attire. Deadly, yellow eyes loomed through the darkness, watching her all too casually.

"Who are you?" she croaked, doing her best to snuff out her fear and uncertainty.

To this, the man smiled and stood straight. "My name is Havoc, however I haven't been called that for close to three years now. So, you can call me Tempest."

Elise nodded, trying to find a way to show her acknowledgement towards the shared piece of information. Her heart slammed up into her chest as he inched closer, and finally stopped in front of her, his hand thrust out for a handshake. The Queen, formerly the Princess, nervously grasped his hand, and they shook. She saw a smile form on his face, and his arm receded back into his cloak.

"I have a message for you, Queen Elise," Tempest informed, his voice unchanging from the happy and reassuring tone. "And I'd suggest you pay close attention to it. Could you lead me to a television or monitor of some sort?"

Elise nodded, and turned around to head back towards her living quarters. Despite this man's kind and calm exterior, the feeling that she was in danger failed to leave. Debating whether or not to run, and call for help, Elise settled upon the idea of grabbing the sword in her room. Though it served as only decoration, she figured it'd come in handy.

The door swung open, and Elise escorted the mystery man into the room. Elise shut the door quietly, her eyes dancing over to the sheathed sword hanging beside a portrait of her mother and father. She flipped the light switch, and all at once the chandelier and wall mounted lights flashed to life. Tempest glanced around subtly, and then got comfortable on the small wooden chair Elise had occupied earlier. The jackal crossed his leg over the other, and watched the princess intently as she pulled the heavy two-edged sword free from its scabbard.

"Understandable." Tempest smirked. "Once you've taken a seat, the show can begin, Your highness."

Vacating the chair, the mysterious messenger extended his hand out to welcome Elise to sit, which she cautiously did. Metal clanked against the marble flooring, and then the television across from her flashed on, with nothing but a hand written "G" in red against a black background. Intrigued, Elise listened to the distorted voice that had begun talking.

"I'm sure you're wondering what's going on right now," the voice stated. "However I'll guarantee you're in safe hands and in no danger, so the sword is unnecessary."

Elise blinked in shock, clutching the blade tighter while Tempest leaned casually against the far wall, watching her just in case she did try anything. However, he knew it'd be pointless, since he could easily over power her.

"Due to recent events, the United Federations have all but crumbled at this point, ma'am," the mysterious voice informed. "Their military is being plucked apart, and so is the nations defences. I'm certain you don't wish for the same fate as your neighbouring nation, so I'll present you the options available."

Crickets chirped loudly in the background, as the voice chuckled gently, the screen switching over to fuzzy images of the cities destroyed by Doctor Eggman years ago. The familiar scenes hit Elise hard, remembering the terror that her nation had went through during that time.

Mustering up the strength to shout, Elise directed her nerve towards the mysterious transmission, which she was certain was a live broadcast now.

"Who are you?" She shouted, gripping the sword tight.

"Interesting question, Elise," the voice replied with a curious tone. "It seems that you wish to know our identity in hopes it'll make a difference. Unfortunately, it won't, but I'd be happy to explain to you who we are, and what's happening to the planet."

Elise remained silent, waiting for the rest of the speech she knew was bound to come. If these two were in any way connected to the thefts taking place around the world, then she knew that the thieves in the United Federations were much more than that.

"We are a resistance. Founded entirely on the ideal of true peace for our future and present. As a whole, we are called Dusk. Each and every one of us were born in the shadows of this worlds crime, and we'll shed a new light to guide this age. The seven thieves, as you've been calling them are apart of the first phase to a new world. Formerly vital individuals within society, now brought together under one cause – one goal. And that is peace."

Tempest had now moved to stand beside Elise, his arms crossed. His smile had since disappeared, and had been replaced with a much more grim expression than from before. Elise shot a quick glance towards him, and then turned her attention back to the screen, which had returned to the "G" image.

"Now, what we want of Soleanna is a simple favour." The voice sighed in satisfaction. "Your kingdom is in control of the third Key we are searching for. It's been held there since the death of Doctor Ivo Robotnik, and we are only requesting to have what's ours returned to us."

"You mean the Twilight Key that Doctor Eggman used in space?" Elise replied, unsure of what to do at this point.

"Yes, one of them," the voice reassured. "I understand the doubts you must be having, but, you'll be promised a place in our new world. Your favour won't go unnoticed."

The sword Elise once grasped clattered to the ground, and she stood up, her arms crossed.

"Fine," she replied. "I'm assuming this man here is one of your organization?"

"Correct," Tempest answered through a grin.

Moving her attention from the jackal, Elise turned her eyes back to the screen, which had now become black again.

"Lets not waste any time, shall we?" Tempest grinned.

"When you've lived in the darkness, and have seen how terrible war is, then you can try and relate with me." ~ Havoc "Tempest" Thorn, Dusk – Phase 3, 2010

To be Continued

Authors Note~ Terribly sorry for the lateness of this chapter! Expect a daily update throughout the remainder of my spring break! As usual, leave your tips, theories and comments in a review!

PS: Check out the start of Sonic Evolution: ASCENSION! I'll be updating that every other week, since it's a joint project!