The (*) symbol used once signals the start of a new scene while the (*) symbol used TWICE signals the END of a scene.
Chapter 8
*Sonic rode in the co-pilot's seat in a cramped fighter ship with Amy piloting. Mile's ship the Tour had taken heavy damage during a sky battle some time after Robotnik's ship The Tyrant had been destroyed. He and Amy were heading to Chun-Nan where rumor had it that Mario was spotted there. Nothing had been confirmed, but the Chairman believed it was important to check, which was perfectly okay with Sonic. It had been a week since his first encounter with Ivo Robotnik and Shadow, and he needed to go out and do something, even if was possibly just an inspection. He was tired of his head hurting from all the questions jumping around inside. Was that really the same Shadow that had showed up on the ship, or was it a replica? Would he try to come back and take him again? Sonic had also been keeping a very sharp eye out for the turncoat that he was warned about earlier onboard The Tyrant.
No one was showing any suspicious activity, but he noticed a rising frustration from W and W.L, the men he had faced off against when he was first recruited. He couldn't quite nail down exactly what it was they were frustrated about, but they seemed to be taking a large interest in the Chairman's experiments. They had been demanding to see an experiment that was only known as Project 60, but Sonic didn't know exactly what Project 60 was. He would've liked to ask the Chairman, but the only times he got to talk to the Chairman was when he was being sent on another mission, in which case he was too excited to talk about something personal. Other than that, the Chairman was nowhere to be seen. Sonic was still keeping the truth that there was a spy in their midst so that conflict and distrust could be prevented between each other. If they were going to win this war, they needed to do it as a team.
"We're here," Amy announced. Sonic looked out to see a fancy village in front of him. All the buildings were small except for one large one in the back, which looked like a monastery. Amy lowered the ship down so that it was almost touching the river below them. She set it down on a flat mound at the edge of the island. The cockpit opened up, and Sonic anxiously jumped out. Dark men with swords were already approaching them. All of them except the leader wore the same light tan-colored robes. The leader wore a nature green robe with a tall hat, which was also green. They looked like they had been a darker tan, but had faded from being out in the sun for long periods of time. All of the warriors had hair as black as ash.
"Let me do the talking," Sonic said. Amy rolled her eyes, taking her helmet off. Sonic had noticed that she wasn't using her helmet as often when they went out on missions. And yet, it made Sonic happy.
"Hey guys, we're not here to hurt you, we just…" he tried, but the leader of the group of warriors moved the tip of his sword to Sonic's neck.
"State your business," the warrior demanded. Sonic chuckled.
"I was just getting to that. I'm Sonic, and me and my friend are here to search for a friend that's been taken by the G.U.N. forces," Sonic explained.
"The G.U.N. forces have no presence here," the green warrior replied. Well, what a disappointment.
"Oh, well, in that case, I guess there's no point hanging around…" Sonic said, but the warrior put the flat of his sword on his shoulder, which made Sonic shiver.
"Wait," he said, and he turned to his fellow warriors, speaking in a different tongue. Sonic looked at Amy to see if she possibly knew what they were saying. But Amy shook her head. Finally, the leader looked at him again.
"Is it possible that you are the one?" He asked. Sonic tilted his head, confused.
"Um…what are you talking about?" Sonic asked. The warrior removed his sword from his shoulder and put it back into his sheath, much to Sonic's joy.
"Follow me," he said simply, and without waiting for Sonic to reply, he turned around and walked toward the village. Sonic turned around to look at Amy and shrugged at her, indicating he was just as confused as she was. Reluctantly, Sonic followed the warriors.
"Could I at least know your name?" Sonic asked.
"Gideon," the leader replied.
"And what do you think I am again?" Sonic asked.
"I believe that you are the One in the prophecy, and the one that will bear the Sword," Gideon replied, with a tone that sounded irritated.
"Sorry I didn't know," Sonic said, exaggeration in his voice.**
*Ivo Robotnik hadn't had a decent meal in a long time. Trying to eat a plate of roasted meat was almost just as hard as trying to get a good shot at a blue hedgehog with super sonic speed. He attempted to stab his fork into the meat again, only for the plate to steer itself away. Ivo tried again, this time with a little more ferocity, but the plate of meat skidded away from him and into the garbage tube which would take it to the incinerator. Ivo threw his fork down onto the table in anger and put his face in his hands. A light on the table flashed red, indicating that there was an incoming transmission. Ivo put it through, revealing a holo-image of a G.U.N. soldier.
"Sir, our spies tell us that the blue hedgehog and the pink one is at Chun-Nan," the soldier informed. Ivo's eyes snapped open.
"Chun-Nan? The place where the…" Ivo remembered reading manuscripts about foretold prophecies that were yet to be fulfilled. Why was Sonic there? There was no G.U.N. presence there, and Ivo had no interest in that village. He turned to the other person standing in the room with him.
"Well, it looks like this might be your chance to get what you want. I already have what I need to accomplish my tasks. This fight is between you and that hedgehog," Ivo said.
"Fine," the person replied.
"You could be of some use to me in the future. This could be your test to prove that you can really help me," Ivo pointed out.
"You will not be disappointed," the visitor concluded, and he left the room. Ivo carefully clasped his fingers around a goblet full of red wine, but as he began bringing it to his lips, the wine rebelled, propelling out of the goblet and splattering Ivo all over his eyes and nose. When he slapped his stained face, the wine scattered like scared mice away from it. The holo-image of the soldier snickered.
"Is…is that all sir?" He asked, hardly able to contain himself.**
*Sonic and Amy were led through the village of Chun-Nan toward what looked like a shrine. Around Sonic were tall, fancy buildings that showed off the village's culture. There were paintings of warriors on the sides of some of the buildings, and the people were dressed fancy. Their robes flashed many different colors, which seemed to change color every time they moved. Children were carrying buckets of water from one pump, and women were knitting scarves and sweaters. As they got closer to the shrine Gideon put up a hand.
"It is forbidden for us to go in, except for the prophesied one," Gideon admitted.
"And what makes you think it's me?" Sonic asked.
"The One mentioned in the prophecy is not supposed to be human," Gideon explained. Sonic looked at Amy, knowing of course that she wasn't human either.
"You seem to be the only one that inherits special talents that nobody else has," Gideon said. My speed? Sonic thought to himself, but he didn't suggest it out loud. He was completely caught off guard when Gideon pulled out his sword from his sheath.
"I will challenge you to a duel which will test your abilities. I feel that you have those special traits that can help you win," he said, holding his sword in both hands. He nodded his head to another warrior standing behind him. The warrior pulled his own sword out and threw it toward Sonic. The hedgehog caught it in his hands.
"My advice Amy: stand back," Sonic whispered. Amy reluctantly nodded, and took a few steps back. Everybody that was watching gave Sonic and Gideon their space. Both of them had their eyes locked on each other. To Sonic, all of this just felt like superstition and myths to him, but something in his head kept urging him to go along with this. If the prophecy was indeed about him, then how come he did not hear of this before? He honestly couldn't remember much of his past. A lot of it seemed like a blur. The events in the past couple of weeks with the Heroes of Today didn't give him time to think about his past. He could only think of a few snippets here and there that just felt scrambled and confusing. The sun's rays reflected off of his sword, which felt strangely light in his hands. Finally, his attention came back to Gideon.
"Are you ready?" Sonic asked. Gideon didn't answer. Instead, he sprang forward with his sword. Sonic quickly did a pose, then brought the sword up. Gideon's sword clashed against his with a loud sound. There was a moment of silence and no movement. Sonic could see the awed looks of the villagers and warriors as they watched. Sonic jumped back, and Gideon regained his pose. Now it was Sonic's turn to lash out. Kicking his feet into gear, he charged forward, aiming straight for Gideon's neck. Gideon however, flicked his sword up to parry the move. Finally, the fighting began to quicken its pace. Sonic and Gideon were now taking quick turns lashing out and parrying. Sonic had never wielded a sword before in his life, at least he didn't remember doing such a thing, and he was surprised that he was still alive so far.
Sonic decided it was time to pull a couple different moves. Sprinting forward, he jumped over Gideon's sword with a flip, and swung his sword to slash across his opponent's back, but Gideon had already spun around and parried the move. Sonic aimed for the legs, but Gideon jumped over the quick swing of the sword, and he attempted to bring his sword down across Sonic's head, but Sonic jumped back, and Gideon's sword sank into the grass. He had only just then lifted his head to see Sonic's foot crash against his face, which sent him flying backward down the small hill. Sonic then had an idea. Pulling Gideon's sword out of the ground, he passed it to Amy, and then ran forward, calling upon his speed at full force. He grabbed the dazed Gideon by the leg, and shot back toward the shrine, carrying Gideon with him. He then stopped and angled his own sword at Gideon's neck. Gideon looked up at him with admiration all over his face.
"You have skill, you have your speed," he admitted, a shadow of a smile forming on his face.
"So I'm the One then?" Sonic asked. Gideon got up onto his feet, brushing the dust off of his green cloak.
"One can never be too sure, however, your skills have shown that you are worthy to hear the prophecy," Gideon replied.
"Isn't that type of stuff supposed to be, you know, private?" Sonic asked. Gideon laughed, but without humor.
"If you are the One that the prophecy foretells, then you must hear it so that you may know what you may be facing, for it foretells the world's possible future. This is what it says:
The weak will tremble
At evil's death blow
Until the One rises up
Its abilities unlike no other
A loved one shall make the choice
For the One to succeed**
*"Where did you come from?" Ivo demanded a dazed, stricken being sprawled out on the floor in front of him.
"What? Where…where am I?" The being asked, desperation filling his voice.
"That does not matter right now, who are you?" Ivo insisted.
"Sonic…I must destroy…Sonic," the being pleaded. Ivo looked at Koopa, who was crouched next to him, staring intently at the being lying on the ground, breathing heavily.
"Sonic? You want to destroy Sonic?" Ivo asked.
"Mobius…It…it is in ruins…" The being continued, his eyes welling up with tears.
"Answer this question, do you want to destroy Sonic?" Ivo demanded.
"Yes, I must destroy him…he is the enemy…I must destroy him," the being pleaded again. A thin smile spread across Ivo's face.
"I can help you destroy him, but you must be patient," Ivo replied.
"I will do anything sir."
"Good, do not worry, we will have everything figured out. Now, what is your name?" Ivo asked.**
*Sonic could not think of the right word that described how confused and baffled he was.
The weak will tremble
At evil's death blow
Until the One rises up
Its abilities unlike no other
A loved one shall make the choice
For the One to succeed
Those were the words of an ancient prophecy, and everybody in the village of Chun-Nan were beginning to believe that he was the One. Now he was walking into the shrine, where the sword Caliburn was stuck in a large, smooth stone. Gideon had explained to him that if he could pull the Sword out, that could only mean one thing: he was the One.
"You know, I think I could understand why no one comes in here. It's kind of creepy," Sonic shouted over his shoulder. He stared ahead at the sword in the stone.
"Who stabbed the sword into the stone?" Sonic asked.
"They say that Gaia had brought the sword into the shrine himself," Gideon shouted back. Sonic sighed. Gideon had explained to him that Gaia was a force that lived under the earth. There were two parts: Dark Gaia and Light Gaia. The amount of evil and good on Mobius determined how large Dark Gaia and Light Gaia would grow. Sonic noticed a light purple mist drifting around the stone. The mist seemed to be…attracting him. Sonic couldn't get his eyes off of the mist, and he found his feet walking toward the stone without his control. He tried fighting for control of his legs, but they continued walking toward it, rebelling against his mind.
No, no! What are you doing? Sonic thought to himself. Finally, before he even realized it, he was standing right by the stone. A trembling, gloved hand reached out and grasped the hilt of the sword. Sweat trickled down Sonic's face as he stared at the hilt gleaming in the sunlight. He shut his eyes tightly, wondering what could possibly happen. The urge to pull the sword out and get this over with was unbearable.
"Hello, Sonic," a familiar voice muttered behind him. Sonic spun around to face the Echidna Knuckles.
"How dare he enter the shrine! How did he get in?" Gideon screamed behind him. Knuckles chuckled.
"Let's just say I took another way in. I apologize for interrupting your rituals, but I'm afraid that sword is mine," he said.
"What?" Sonic backed away. Was Knuckles the spy? The turncoat in their freedom fighter group?
"You impress me hedgehog, for making it this far," Knuckles admitted, posing himself.
"You don't impress me very much Knuckles, how could you betray us?" Sonic demanded, anger rising inside of him. Knuckles growled.
"Enough talk! Almost ten minutes ago I came crawling to Ivo Robotnik begging for an opportunity to please him, and now, in less than that, you will be crawling to me begging for mercy," he declared, his spiky gloves gleaming in the sunlight. Behind him, Amy was beginning to run towards him.
"No, stay Amy! Stay!" Sonic demanded. Amy showed bitter reluctance at first, but then gave up and walked back.
"Smart girl. I've always been impressed with her skills, but I wished I could see her be her own commander once in a while instead of you playing leader on her," Knuckles remarked. Amy's face burned a bright scarlet.
"After I'm done with you, I'm going to search for that Android of Shadow and take care of him as well," Knuckles continued.
"There is one thing I could do to stop you," Sonic pointed out. He gestured to the Sword in the stone. Knuckles threw back his head and laughed.
"You are choosing to believe mere fairy tales and myths hedgehog, I thought you were smarter than that!" He scoffed.
"Try me," Sonic replied, then he flipped backwards, and gripped the hilt of the Sword. With both hands, he pulled, calling upon all of the physical strength he could take in. He gritted his teeth. Sweat dripped down his forehead and stung his closed eyes. He was pulling harder than he had ever pulled in his entire life. For him, it didn't take much effort to become the speeding blur he was, but he always knew that physical strength wasn't quite a special talent of his. Just then, he realized the purple mist around the stone was beginning to quicken its spinning, almost until it became like a funnel, picking up speed now and engulfing the blade of the Sword. Sonic wanted to smile, but he continued pulling, feeling victory sprout inside him. But then, the purple mist began spiraling up the blade and around his hands. He heard everybody gasp in terrified shock, which made him open his eyes and see the horror that everybody else was seeing. His hands had become a dark gray. Long nails grew from his hands as he continued clutching the hilt of the Sword, this time beyond his control. He couldn't move his hands.
The pain was almost excruciating which sent him crashing to his knees, which were changing to a dark gray as well. He felt his head distort, and his teeth grew and became as sharp as knives. As he screamed in pain, he could hear his voice change. It got lower. Gruffer. His hands finally let go of the sword hilt, he fell on all fours, and let out a bloodcurdling roar, which was definitely not a hedgehog sound.
"What the…" Sonic heard Knuckles stumble back in terror.
"That…that's an interesting look for you. Festive," Knuckles spat out. Behind him, everybody gasped in horror and awe.
"He's been cursed by Dark Gaia, he is not worthy!" Gideon shouted. Knuckles recovered, and turned to the people watching.
"Now you people see the error of your ways! Sonic is now a furry beast because of you!"
"No!" Amy screamed from behind him.
"Shut up, Amy! I'll take care of this!" Sonic yelled, a large, furry hand on his aching head. Without really realizing what he was doing, his arm stretched toward Knuckles and grasped his neck, lifting him up off his feet.
"You've been spying on us this whole time! You meant to betray us!" Sonic screamed. Knuckles didn't say anything as he struggled to get out of the werehog's grip.
"Sonic, put him down!" Amy shouted. Her voice seemed to cut through his mind like a bad wound, and he dropped Knuckles and stepped back, realizing he had gone too far. He looked down at the ground feeling humiliated.
"Amy, I'm…I'm sorry, maybe I deserve to be transformed into this," Sonic muttered. Amy ran into the shrine despite Gideon's wishes, and as she did, the Dark Gaia energy drifting around in the shrine seemed to thicken.
"No Sonic, you've always been a good friend to me. I want the hedgehog back," Amy admitted, walking up to him. A horrible shrieking sound exploded from the Dark Gaia energy, and it started retreating into the stone that was holding the Sword. Out of the corner of his eye, Sonic could see Knuckles staggering up onto his feet and regaining his balance. Anger burned in his eyes.
"Don't…try it," Sonic replied, but the Echidna bolted for the Sword. Sonic got on all fours and launched himself at Knuckles, knocking him away from the Sword, which seemed to somehow glow. The ground began to tremble, and the sky over the shrine began to turn dark. Lightning lit up the ominous clouds above them. Dark Gaia energy rose from the ground underneath them, most of it surrounding Knuckles. But he continued staring at Sonic with a hating look as if nothing was happening.
"That Sword is mine!" He declared.
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Sonic shouted back. He looked at Amy, and motioned to her to stand back. Facing Knuckles again, he prepared himself for a fight, which he felt was going to be one of the biggest so far in his entire life.
Knuckles lashed out at Sonic, his sharp spikes reflecting off the glowing Sword. He attempted to slash them across Sonic's throat, but the hedgehog jumped back, and stretched his arm out, grabbing Knuckles and hurling him against the wall. But he was able to recover quickly and jump into the air and coming down toward Sonic's head, but Sonic was impatient to wait for Knuckles to make his move. He jumped up, delivering several punches to Knuckle's face. But the Echidna was able to recover and kick Sonic in the chest, which barely affected him. Sonic grabbed Knuckles by the shoulders, and shoved him down back toward the ground. As soon as Knuckles and Sonic hit the ground, thick Dark Gaia energy exploded from the ground, which was so thick that Sonic couldn't see anything else.**
*Sleep was something that Chairman Neeko was barely able to get during his long and stressful life. He turned over on his bed, trying to close his eyes and rest. But every time he closed them, he continued getting flashes of memories that had been haunting him for a long time. The guilt from past deeds plagued him and kept him awake, barely able to grab rest from it all. He was so unsure about almost everything, but he knew one thing for sure. The hedgehog Sonic would play a large part to bring peace to Mobius, tear it away from Robotnik's grip, and end the man's obsessions.**
NOTES: It seems that in the first season, I brought up so many questions, but didn't give enough answers. Well, that was supposed to be the point. In this chapter, we see for the first time that Sonic can't remember most of his past, which causes some tension as to where he might've come from and what kind of a history he had before he joined the Heroes of Today. We also see the subject of Project 60 get brought up again. With this and two more chapters left in this season, it was a good idea to kind of round up most of the questions that have been brought up throughout the season. Project 60, the spy, Shadow's whereabouts, the prophecy, and Ivo's strange food incident are all mysteries. We also get a mention that W and W.L are beginning to demand seeing Project 60, which is a tension that will be explored further later on.
In the Sonic franchise, Knuckles was described as a very gullible character. He had betrayed Sonic more than once in the TV series Sonic X, so I wanted to show Knuckles do this as a starting point for his own little journey throughout the series.
In this chapter, elements were taken from the games Sonic Unleashed (the Werehog, and Gaia), and Sonic and the Black Knight (the sword Caliburn), and yet I added elements from the legend The Sword in the Stone to make it a little more interesting.