Violet Dreams

Part II

Chapter 42: Beginning of the End, Part 1

"Our ideals are ultimately our truths."

Location: Eggman's Hidden Base, Spagonia

"We should hurry back to your shop, Tails,"the Professor suggested calmly, gripping the kitsune's shoulder. "There's nothing else we can do here. But first, shouldn't you contact the others? They'd benefit from what we've just learnt."

Nodding slowly, Tails stood up and took a deep breath. "Yeah. If I'm right, they probably duplicated the machine for efficiency. Besides, I can probably find the schematic on Eggman's hard drive once I get back. Then I can figure out something to fight it."

"Perhaps a better plan would be to research a method of reversing the effects," Pickle added, the duo slowly making their way back up to the main laboratory. "As it is right now, we wouldn't be fast enough to stop them all. I have no doubt in my mind that the signatures the others are investigating are those machines in action."

"You're probably right," Tails agreed, bending over behind the Doctor's chair. A couple clanks later, the fox sprung up with the hard drive disc in hand. "And this will sure come in handy!"

"Shall we make our leave, then?"

"Yeah, I'll make a broadcast to the others once we get to the Tornado," the young fox answered, and rushed ahead to the elevator.

Once again the lights illuminated the inside of the small enclosure. A short ding sounded, sending the elevator car shooting upwards at faster speeds than it had descended. The duo stumbled from the sudden halt, but quickly raced out of the opening doors, unaware of the cloaked figure perched on the branch behind them.

"So I was right," the figure called, jumping to the ground. "Someone was snooping around. Not that it matters, Eggman's bases are all barren now."

Both Tails and the Professor spun around to face the figure, noticing his white cloak flapping in the wind. Behind him, they watched the elevator shaft once again plummet into the earth, revealing a strange, pulsating white machine. It had to be no more than three feet tall, with a hull shaped like a cannon. The top was widest, and narrowed down to the ground, with a glass case implanted in the centre, which contained a Chaos Emerald.

Red and yellow metal extended from Tails wrist communicator, beginning to form his weapon. The material stitched together around his forearm, and then sprouted forwards and formed a cannon like muzzle. The young fox gripped it with his free hand and aimed the weapon at the enemy, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"So you do have it!" He shouted.

"Of course, we seized everything we needed years ago," the figure informed, pulling down his hood. Pale orange hair wavered in a messy arrangement all about his head, each with lock bearing a hint of white as well. The figure fixed the black goggles strapped to his forehead, his ear flickering in the process, while ruby eyes turned their attention to the machine, and then to Tails. "You didn't expect it to be left there when it was meant for us, did you? We had started planning for this very day since you and your friends killed Doctor Robotnik."

"So why now?" Professor Pickle spoke up curiously.

"Well tomorrow's a meteor shower," Gantz replied simply, and took the Chaos Emerald from the chamber of the machine. "Some say the Meteors are apart of the once great civilization that the God's created. Legends say the Gigos had technology far surpassing our own, and had created colonies on the moon. They say they tried to create a second moon, because of a civil dispute within the Lunar Tribes. But, they failed and it blew up. That's just a silly myth though. This year is actually the first time the Moon will be at it's peak gravitational influence on the earth – meaning it'll be the closest it's ever been. That means the energy given off by the Moon mixes in with the atmospheric energies of Earth, making it much richer. We're after a perfect world, after-all. Unfortunately I can't stay any longer."

The young fox watched in astonishment, soaking in the new information. Gantz waved lazily and jumped through a portal, leaving the duo in silence. The Professor grunted in thought, and turned to his young assistant, breaking him from his trance.

"We'll look into it more when we return, Lad." He assured, and pointed to the forest. "We should hurry."

"Y-yeah..."

Doing his best to ignore the information until later, Tails twisted his tails round, and then hovered above the Professor. Before long, the duo had burst through the thick forest once more, and sped across the field towards the plane. Tails eased the old man to the ground, then slipped the disc he had retrieved from Eggman's base into his biplane's console. After Professor Pickle had readied himself in the passenger seat, Tails hopped in and pressed his thumb against the button that initiated the Tornado's communication systems.

"Knuckles, Amy," the young fox called eagerly.

"You okay, Tails?" Knuckles replied with genuine concern, amidst his gruff voice.

"Whatsup?" Amy answered with interest.

"Those energy signatures I picked up are definitely the Chaos Emeralds," the young fox informed, anxiety filling his words. "But they're being used by strange machines that Eggman had designed before he died. They're built to sap the atmosphere of it's natural Chaos Energy, which in turn causes really chaotic side effects. I've seen a lot of lightning and funnel clouds out here, so be careful. Any storms that come up will be on a much more powerful scale right now. Also be on the look out for Dusk, I have no doubt that they'll be guarding the machines. Don't bother fighting them, because they're too powerful. Just try and avoid their attacks and get the Chaos Emerald, then come back to the Workshop!"

"Will do, Tails!" Came Amy's enthusiastic yet determined reply, followed by a chirp from Cheese.

"Roger that," Knuckles responded, his voice calm.

Location: Ivory Coast, Apotos

"What's that? Somethings glowing in the distance." Espio pointed out, gaining the attention of the others. "I can feel Chaos energy from it. Should we go check it out?"

In the distance a faint, white glow pierced the darkness of the apocalyptic weather surrounding them. The troops of either army continued to clash, with deaths tallying up to equal numbers. Artillery cracked in the air like thunder, while the roars of fighting men ensued. Vector watched the war below, but soon glanced further ahead at the strange source of light, becoming intrigued.

"Looks like a lead to me, boys," he responded with a confident grin. "Maybe that's the key to ending all this madness!"

Earning a nod of agreement from his comrades, Vector jumped down from the small cliff and into the jungle. Like they had done during their fight against Metal Sonic many years ago, the trio hung from Charmy as he weaved through the falling trees. Slabs of rock and soil shifted and rumbled beneath them, spewing streams of magma from below. However, they were forced to ignore the menacing molten rock trailing behind them, allowing it to eat away at the plant life. The trio burst out onto the beach, where GUN and Dusk forces continued to clash. Rockets burst away from the machines of war coming from the ocean, igniting flame and smoke on the opposing side. But Dusk retaliated with powerful, spiralling beams of energy from the heavy-weight creatures leading the battalion.

"Lead the way, Espio! We can use your wind-based attacks to deflect anything coming our way!" Vector directed, running the moment he fell to the ground.

Charmy had now taken to flying right above Vector just in case he needed a quick lift, while Espio weaved in between the holes created by explosions. Sand shot up all around them from stray bullets, while missiles whizzed between them occasionally. A fleet of flying creatures then swooped in front of them, their talon like feet outstretched and eager to grapple the trio. The beast's singular eye swivelled around in its fowl shaped skull, as it's leathery, bony wings fluttered quite madly, struggling to keep it in the air. Espio jumped upwards, landing feet first on the leading pawn, sending it plummeting down to Vector. The crocodile quickly grabbed the monster, immediately spinning around on his heel and tossing it into the sky at breakneck speeds. To their luck, a missile collided with it, scattering it's body parts across the beach.

By this time, Espio had annihilated the troop of creatures, leading his team mates further across the battlefield, as well as closer to their lead. Noticing a stray pawn ahead, Espio jumped up, producing a vortex around him. Using the vortex to his advantage, Vector jumped into it, flying into the sky towards the bulky creature, noticing it's hammer like arms and tail swatting away GUN troops. Vector reeled his fist back, preparing a punch, failing to notice the second mouth on the foes stomach beginning charge a orb of energy in it's fanged maw. Smashing his fist against the bulky creature's chest, the Rorx pawn staggered backwards, losing it's gathered energy. Vector then grabbed hold of Espio's arm, swinging him up into the sky, where Charmy awaited to do the same. A streak of purple zipped in an arch between the two, and the creature crashed to the ground in a cloud of sand.

With nods and calls of thanks by the surrounding soldiers, the Chaotix rushed along the rocky shores leading up to the hilltop baring the white light. Charmy once again took the lead, and grabbed his team mates to fly past the rough terrain leading straight to their target. Once they past the uphill portion of the beach, they found a mysterious machine in the centre of a grassy plateau, a constant aura of light pulsing around it. The Chaotix each landed twenty yards away from the cannon-shaped device, a Chaos Emerald embedded into a glass compartment below it. Beside, a silver furred monkey stood guard, his fists rested against his hips, watching the trio draw near.

"Didn't expect to see you three again," he called with a smirk, the white cloak flapping violently in the wind. "I haven't seen ya' since the Museum...yeah?"

"Oh great! The annoying one!" Vector grumbled, jutting a thumb out to the Dusk agent. "If you think you're gonna get away this time, you're wrong! This time you're outnumbered!"

"I don't need the others to help me kick yer' asses!" Hurricane retaliated furiously. "I'm just as capable as any'a the others!"

"What's that machine doing?" Espio questioned, breaking the battle threats. "And why is the ground trembling? Is it because of you?"

Snickering, Hurricane patted the white metal that laced the machine. "This is called a Planet Eater," he answered. "We're draining all the life from Earth, and eventually...poof!" Mimicking an explosion with his hands, Hurricane cackled with a wild grin. "Earth will be all gone!"

Then, static cut through the conversation, and Tails' voice sounded above the chaos. "Vector? Are you guys there?" He called desperately. "We have a big, big problem. Professor Pickle and I just investigated one of Eggman's old laboratories, and it turns out he had left a machine capable of destroying the planet. I'm not sure if Dusk has more of them by now, but if they do, we have to stop them! I've already contacted the others who are searching for the Chaos Emerald signatures in different areas on the globe."

"We're here, and I think that's the thing causing the crazy shit going on in Apotos right now." Vector replied, staring ahead at Hurricane. "The Emerald's in there too. We'll do our best to try and get it back. Has anyone found the other Emeralds?"

"No, but Sonic and Mighty said they saw one in Station Square not too long ago. Unfortunately they weren't able to get the Emerald back," Tails replied solemnly. "We have to stop these things, or we're all done for!"

"Roger that, Tails," Espio assured. "It's three against one over here, so we have the advantage. We'll keep in touch."

"Good! Meet back at my Workshop afterwards!"

Growing tired of their conversation, Hurricane rushed towards the trio hastily. Lightning shot through the sky behind him, the earth trembling from the volcanic activity. Taking the offensive, Espio lunged out in front of his team mates, tossing a battle knife as he did so. The weapon spiralled through the air, but Hurricane quickly pivoted on his heel, arching his other leg through the air. A concentrated burst of air jutted out from the strike, knocking the blade up into the sky. The monkey quickly jumped backwards, performing a midair flip, and then punched down at his enemy. From his fist, a burst of wind rocketed forth, causing the ground to rumble from its power.

Espio quickly cartwheeled, allowing Vector to jump forwards and unleash a flurry of explosive gum-bubbles into the air. The air impacted the gum, and immediately fire shook the already quivering plateau. Grass and dirt flew all about, and as the blast died down, Hurricane charged through the debris, his fist ready to strike. Vector slung his arms up in an "X" shape just as the monkey's fist collided. A vicious blast of air shot outwards from the impact, further eradicating the once beautiful terrain. Soon the effects of gravity grabbed hold of Hurricane, and pulled him to his feet – but he wasted no time to formulate a counter attack. The monkey pivoted on his foot and spun counter-clockwise, swiping his other leg around and into Vector. Adding to the blow, wind erupted from the kick, throwing Vector away and bouncing along the ground with such force the earth seemed to break apart.

However, Charmy rocketed down from the sky, his fingers wrapped around one of his comrades battle knives. An unusual looking piece of paper stuck to its blade, giving off a yellow gleam as the bee descended. Unaware of the strange material, Hurricane used the back of his hand to swat Charmy's hands away, knocking the knife from his grasp. Shafts of light suddenly expanded from the knife, igniting an explosion. Time seemed to slow down in Espio's eyes, as he slid beneath Hurricane's stance, and leaped upwards to save the young bee. A vortex of leaves and wind shot upwards around the chameleon, propelling the Chaotix away just before the knife exploded in a fiery burst of energy. Hurricane screamed and flew from the blast, rolling along the ground madly, before violently coming to a stop against a rock. Cracks etched upwards from the collision, and Hurricane groaned, rubbing his head.

"Ready to give up, Punk?" Vector called, walking towards the strange machine.

"Y'know, I've dealt with shitheads like you three all my life." The monkey scowled, struggling to his feet with a palm rested on his knee. "Constantly they looked down on me, like I'm just'a piece of trash. That stupid ol' shit back in Mazuri even kicked me outta the village! But y'know what? It's coz' they were afraid of me! And you should be too!"

A wild look had now consumed Hurricane's gaze, and the ground had crumbled beneath his feet. Air pulsated around his body, cutting up anything in its wake from its momentum. The Chaotix stumbled backwards, noticing their adversary rushing towards them. They knew better than to get caught in something like that. A reckless personality mixed with a destructive ability could only mean trouble, and they knew this simple fact all too well.

"Maybe it was because of your attitude!" Vector snapped in return, standing his ground. By now, each opposing side were equal distances from the machine. "You seem pretty immature, it's no wonder your friends and family didn't give you the recognition you wanted!"

"They weren't all afraid o' me. I led a coupl'a men against Gwek and his soldiers," he informed with a snicker. "The others looked up to me! But, I guess they were weak, because they just went n' got killed. I don't care, I was too good for that place. All I need now is retribution! That's why I came to this here organization."

"But they've only turned you into a criminal!" Charmy shouted, growing sympathetic for the rebel before them.

"Oh well, atleast they went n' gave me purpose!" He shouted, and jumped towards them, his barrier now concentrated around his fist. "He appreciates my abilities! I'm noticed by them!"

The Chaotix stumbled back in shock, but Charmy shot forwards from behind his comrades. Hurricane sneered and spread his fingers, thrusting his arm forwards to grasp the bee's throat. But the young Charmy veered upwards at a seconds notice to ram his helmet clad cranium against the agents bare skull. Hurricane's eyes grew, his pupils dilating from the pain.

Like a dead moth, the monkey fell from the air and crashed to the ground beside the Planet Eater, groaning in pain. Charmy hovered down just in front of him, a finger planted on his chin as he glowered at the moaning agent.

"You..." he snarled. "You won't embarrass me anymore!"

Espio and Vector jumped into action hearing their comrade scream. Hurricane held the young bee up in his grip, his body hunched over like a mad man. He stared at the other two members of the Chaotix, a wild smirk slithering along his face. Hurricane snatched the Emerald and jumped through a newly formed portal, with Charmy screaming in his grip. Both Espio and Vector grunted and raced through after their friend, leaving the crumbling continent to its demise, realizing there wasn't anything more they could do.

Molten rock spewed from various places across Apotos, it's once beautiful foliage slowly being eaten away by flame and destruction.

Location: Dusk Hideout

Light filled the darkness of the hideout, effectively washing away the shadows that lurked in the corners. Amused, Galaxy jumped from his throne, the moon high in the sky above. The black hedgehog tugged at the orange furred mouse, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground, to which she cursed and spat at the dark hero's feet. A distinguishable chuckle arose from the Phase 1 leader, his insanity showing through his gestures and voice even more so.

"So you did take the bait, I see." The cat grinned wide, and snapped his fingers. A portal spun open into thin air, then from it stumbled Rouge, her arms bound behind her and mouth gagged. "You know, it would have been much easier if you would have just snuffed out the care in your heart. The sooner I release Polaris, the sooner I can exact my reign over this filthy planet, and renew the Seiryu legacy! Peace is outdated – it brings nothing but strife to those that try to keep it. My family is a perfect example of that! One of our military's finest warriors killed by a government aimed for peace.

"But I'm sure you realize that now, don't you, Shadow? Has GUN finally proven to you that they're twisted and corrupt? Metal relayed his discussion with that sickening Commander before he was destroyed. Seems that man is trying to swipe my kingdom from under me. We can't have that, can we, Shadow?"

He was losing his mind, and Shadow knew it wouldn't be long before he went mad.

Chuckling further, Galaxy shoved the treasure hunter forth, taking shelter beside Shadow soon after. The dark hedgehog stared deeply at the mouse, as she walked towards her leader gingerly. Something about this deal seemed off, however.

Something wasn't quite right.

Then, a portal opened up behind the former GUN agents, releasing a Drix pawn from it. The beast screeched and snatched Rouge, a pair of torn, leathery wings sprouting from its back to allow it flight. The indigo cat sniggered heavily as the beast landed in front of him and his soldier. Rouge looked at her friend desperately, tears washing the mascara down her eyes.

"Honesty isn't your strong point, is it, Galaxy?" Shadow asked, golden energy dancing around his fist. His energy reserves were slowly being drained, but he had to do finish what he started.

"All's fair in war!" Came the vicious reply, as he freed Athana from her rope bindings. "You're the gullible and naive one in this trade off, dear Shadow. I couldn't just let you snatch away my sacrifice – my key to victory! Now I'm sure Athana here would have sufficed, but I need all the man power I can get my hands on when it comes time for the rebellion.

"I'm through taking orders from those who view themselves as God's above me! It's time I show this disgusting planet what true power is. What a true God can do when given the opportunity! And you; you're just another stepping stone I need to trample to get there!"

Sparkling gold and red energy suddenly spun outwards from Shadow's wrist, forming a crackling blade of power. Unaware of the forming attack, Galaxy snickered and ordered for his pawn to take Rouge away.

However Shadow wouldn't allow that.

In one swift motion, the black hedgehog rose his blade upwards, thrusting it towards the beast. Black and purple blood oozed from its head, then dripped to the ground. Feeling the intense heat radiating from the blade, Rouge gulped, breaking the silence that washed across the hideout. Along with the demonic liquid dripping from the dying creature, Athana gasped for air. Her hands clawed at the blade of energy impaled through her upper chest, staining her gloves with bright red blood. The liquid splattered to the ground, creating a puddle, when suddenly the blade disappeared into a flurry of golden particles. First the Drix pawn to vaporize, and then Athana fell over, choking on blood, saliva and vomit.

Galaxy watched the event unfold before him, his temper starting to boil over. Slowly, he begun to see red, fitting to the blood spilled from his underling. Athana continued to gasp for air, as she writhed on the ground in desperation and agony. Her olive eyes watched Galaxy eagerly, pleading for him to help her. Her fingers dug into the ground, but it was all in vain. Choking on her bodily fluids, the young mouse gurgled and stopped moving. Watching the girl intently, Shadow walked forwards, knowing now he had struck fear into his opponent. All became quiet, even Rouge's cries had ceased from witnessing the murder.

"How...how dare you!" the young soldier roared, veins bulging from his forehead. "How dare you betray me!"

Aware of the situation at hand, Shadow grunted and picked Rouge up in his arms, then swiftly jumped into the air. Vicious black pillars of energy launched through the ground like needles, while black particles begun to dance around Galaxy. The dark hedgehog quickly tore the gag from his friends mouth, then once again jumped free of harm. Avoiding a cluster of smoking violet spikes plunging through the dirt, the hedgehog whizzed around each. A streak of black darted around the hideout, dodging cluster by cluster. Soon the cave floor became a hazardous spike trap, and Galaxy roared in anger, his temper rising higher than it ever had.

"I'll rip you apart!"

Rock begun to crumble around the makeshift hideout, the rock columns lining the outer walls falling one by one. Meanwhile, Shadow silently manoeuvred through the dangerous attack, charging towards the exit.

"We have to get out of here, Shadow!" Rouge exclaimed desperately, pointing to the mass of black and violet particles gathering in place of the moon. "He's really lost it!"

The exhaustion suddenly hit Shadow like a freight train, his heart lurching in chest. The dark hedgehog stumbled, forcing Rouge to kneel beside him. Glancing at her ally worriedly, Rouge then shot her attention towards Galaxy, who had started walking towards them, his eyes a lit with rage. Shadow's heavy breathing increased, but with desperate urges from his friend, the rogue agent scrambled back to his feet. The albino bat flung the black furred arm around her shoulders, assisting the hedgehog in escaping.

"I can walk, you go on ahead, I'll buy us some time," Shadow grunted.

With a weary look, Rouge hesitantly complied and ran towards the exit. Shadow, on the other hand, summoned a fizzling burst of Chaos Energy to his being. Ignoring his bodies neglect, Shadow aimed his hand out to Galaxy, who had now begun to run towards them. A shock wave of golden light expanded from the anti-hero's hand, ripping apart the ground in the process. A trench three feet deep and four feet wide exploded in the attack's wake, throwing Galaxy backwards and tumbling across the rock.

The dark hedgehog clutched his chest in pain, and then spun around to reunite with Rouge in the corridors running throughout the base. Judging by the trembling, he knew they didn't have long before he levelled the entire building.

"This planet is a gift; a home to all those blessed to have been given life. It is our home, our protection. So why do we destroy it?" ~ Tikal the Echidna - Echidnian Scholar, 2 Years Prior the Destruction of the Knuckles Tribe.

To be Continued