Chapter 6
The Maiden of purple.
Back at the castle, the most of the Cramoisi have returned and are helping the newcomers settle in their new home. The ghouls on the other hand continued to stay in the city, living off what was left of the dead GUN troopers and blue agents. Other Cramoisi stayed behind helping to rebuild the city with the help of robots made by Tails. Standing on the highest point as a golden shrew. He was dressed in a white suit with pants and shoes to match. He was meditating listening to the wind around him. From the stairs, Amy came walking up quietly when she was just a few feet away from the shrew she knelt down in respect.
"You…wanted to see me, father?"
The shrew opened his eyes and stood up. He turned over to Amy smiling. "It's good to see you, Amy. How have you been since I've been gone?"
"Um, ok..i guess. It's just that…there's been so much going on" Amy sounded a little nervous speaking with the dapper king.
Even so the king was still happy to see her. "Quite right. I can understand why you are lost, child. I too was once lost before my darling Darcy turned me into a vampire. Which is why I have asked you to come here, to tell you a long and forgotten tale. Come" Amy could hear a made come up the steps with tea and treats and another one bringing a table. "We have much to discuss"
Guilty nightmares
Richter was walking through a hallway listening to his music and dancing to the beat.
"WHOOOO! I FEEL GOOD! DA NA NA NA NA NA!" He then opened the door at end seeing the rest of his crew members. "Hey! Guys! Feel like a raid?"
The group didn't respond or anything.
"Helllloooooo…..anybody home? This is your captain speaking! Let's go raid some more banks!"
"Captain? Captain? What do you mean captain?" Asked one of them slowly turning to him.
"Well yeah….I mean….AHHH!" Richter jumped out of sheer fear looking at one of his crew members look at him with blank white eyes. "What the hell?!"
"You're not worry of being our captain!" Spoke another one looking the same way.
"Wha…what are you talking about?! We're a team!"
"Don't use that word, traitor!" Another crew quickly crawled over him looking at him directly scaring the orange echidna even more.
"You abandoned us!"
"No! No!" He looked around and saw the room was melting. "I…I would have tried to find you! I believe you could have taken care of yourselves!"
"Heartless! Sick! Cruel! You left us to rot!"
"You forgot about us!"
"NO! NO! STOP!" Richter covered his hears closing his eyes. "I didn't leave you!"
"Yes, you did, Richter!" All the voices spoke together. Richter looked up and gasped seeing them in slowly be engulfed in flame. "You…left us….to DIE!:
The crew members crumbled to the ground in flaming bones. Richter screamed at the top of his lungs with tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!"
"Then why did leave them?" Richter lifted his head and looked up and saw Zarah looking down at him. "Do you remember why?"
"I…I would never leave them….never!"
"You need to remember…." She said in a soft voice. "You need to remember them, they are in grave danger. You can't let them die. If you do, it will be all your fault…."
"What are you talking about? Hey! Come back here! Wait!" She was fading in the dark leaving Richter. "No! NO! I need to know!"
Caged
"BWWAAAAHHHHHHH!" Richter rose from a bed in cold sweat panting. He looked at his hands and saw he was ok. He then came to his senses and sighed in relief. "It….it was….just a dream…..it was all a dream!" He looked to his right and saw his brother was sleeping in another bed and laughed. "WHOOO!" He got out of bed and walked over to the window. "Yup! Just look at that nice purple and orange sky with red stars. So beautiful"
He turned back to the room and hummed happily, but then let out a gasp, looking around. He could see bars at one of the entry ways, and saw the room was made of gray brick. He then dashed back to the window, but then tripped suddenly. He looked at his ankles and saw they were both cuffed as well as his wrist.. "Wait a minute! We're not in a villa! I'm captured?! Not another dream!"
"I wish it were a dream" Richter turned toward the corner and saw Lila walk out from the dark with her silver eyes glowing. Like him, she too was chained. "Glad to see you're a wake"
"You! Here! That means! No…no, no, no, no, no, no, no no…this can't be!"
"Richter…." Lila walked over to him holding up her hands. "Calm down…"
"That means everything…everything that happened….it did…my crew… everyone…they can't be gone…." Richter's closed his eyes with his lids shaking.
"What are you talking about?" Lila asked
"I…I saw them…..both of them….." Richter had a vision of the masked figure looking down on him and several members of his crew with something running through their chest. With his eyes tightly closed, he growled with a tear falling down. "No….Please! It can't be…!"
Lila walked over and touched his face. He looked up and saw her smile. "Hey, if your ship mates are anything like you, I'm sure they're fine"
Richter looked at Lila's glowing silver eyes and was lost for words. He stared at her not wanting to turn away. He never felt this way before, not at all. Both slowly lean closer and closer together. Suddenly they were interrupted by groaning. The moment they realized what was happening they pulled away immodestly looking away from each other apologizing.
Richter looked at his brother stir from his sleep. He opened his eyes looking at Richter directly. "Nor…" he covered his mouth quickly and uncovered it. "Rich*. Where are we?"
(*Pronounced Rick
Richter: MY NAMES NOT RIIIIIIIIICK!)
"We're in Kingdom Valley" Lila answered, "The home of the vampires"
"The vampires. They did something to my friends! That woman in the mask! Her eyes were glowing too!"
"Woman in a….." Lila's memories of the masked woman coming back to her. She knew about the mask woman, but how did Richter know? How could have seen her in his sleep, and why.
"Do you know anything about her? "Richter came up to her. "Please tell me!"
"Calm down. I don't even know who or where she is" Lila said
Richter sighed in frustration. "Great. Just wonderful! We don't even know if they are at the rendezvous now! Or IF they even made it there!"
"Well, whatever happened to your friends, it won't matter if we can't get out of here. Furthermore, as you already know, the Cramoisi don't take kindly to people like us"
"Who gives a rat's ass? If any of them saw my friends, I got to know!"
"Keep it down, Zenith….." Everyone heard a voice coming from the room. Chrome then felt something on his bed. He removed the covers and yelped seeing an amber hedgehog sleeping with him. "…I don't want to get up…. ten more minutes…." She then opened her eyes half way, and jumped out of bed seeing Chrome. "Captain! Wha…AHHHH!" She knelt holding her body. "Ahhh…everything…hurts…"
"Mercury?" Richter ran up to her to speak with her. "Where are the others?! How did you get here?!"
"Please captain…" the hedgehog was holding her head. "I don't know exactly…my head won't stop banging"
"So, you finally woke up" At the cell door Knuckles stood in front with Julie by his side. "You've been out for almost two days"
"Two days?" Chrome asked "That long"
"There you are, traitor!" Richter said pointing to the red echidna who got angry.
"Who you calling traitor!? You're the one running around being a thief!"
"At least I'm not hanging out with echidna robians!"
"You got a problem with me?!" Julie asked also getting upset.
"Anyone who gave up their mortality and their normal body is the lowest of the low" Lila added.
Knuckles bashed his fist together with his muzzle as red as his fur. "That did it!" He then opened up the bar door. "You and me, buddy!"
"Save some for me!" Julie said hissing.
"Bring it, pinky" Richter said giving a beckoning gesture. Lila was getting into a fighting pose.
"Enough!" Chrome came up walking over to Richter yanking on his deadlocks. "Can't you at least try to spend one day without picking fights?!"
Richter yipped in pain. "Ah….Ah..Ah…..! Stop it! Stop it! I'll be good!"
Chrome at first glared at Knuckles who glared back. "Excuse my brother. His head is full of hot air" He slightly bowed.
With his rage slightly quelled, Knuckles crossed his arms grunting. "He can stay, you two are coming with us" He was pointed at both Chrome and Lila.
"What's this about?" Lila asked. "We already surrendered"
"Doesn't mean we're friends. Now get moving" Julie said pushing the brown hedgehog out of the room with Chrome.
They were walking through the hollow halls, with the sounds of their feet and the clanging chains echoing."Wait, where's Tanzi?" Chrome asked
"Don't worry about her" Knuckles said grabbing onto something on Chrome's neck; a small electronic patch. All Knuckles did was pull on the patch and that caused Chrome to cough and gasp. "This is keeping you alive. If ya'll try anything funny, we'll rip it off"
"So, you changed the air, started a war, and took over a city. Any other plans you monsters have in store?" Julie reached over for Lila's neck moving the patch slightly, making Lila cough.
"Keep quiet, if you know what's good for you" she said.
History lesson
Moments later the four showed up at one of the cathedrals outside of the one of the buildings. There were multiple Cramoisi among the crowd, including Sonic's friends, and some ghouls. In front of the cathedral was a fountain that had black water coming out of one of the statues. The statue looked like a beautiful maiden with long hair carrying an urn that was endlessly pouring out the black water. Some of the ghouls were drinking from the water, while others were just kneeling down with their hands clasped. Darcy as well as others were overlooking the water as it was giving out an eerie, yet alluring glow. Standing closest to the fountain was a tall human woman with long black hair wearing a long black dress, with matching gloves and shoes. Her wings were different from other vampires, as they were were much longer that they reached the floor. She was kneeling down praying and speaking in the tongue only known to the ghouls. In translation, she was speaking the following words;
"Great Sonaura, protect your children. Let the mighty night beast watch over us all and guide our hands as well as our wings. And may we feast upon the evil that wishes to do harm.
Knuckles and Julie lead the two to the top where Darcy.
"Evil that sleeps within the shadows of the light, cowers at the sight of the crimson gleam, and with become devoured by the radiant dark" Darcy recited the vampire creed. Relic was standing next to her listening in. Tails, Shadow and Rouge were close by observing the small ritual. "We do not live in the light, we dwell in the dark and protect those who live in the light"
As she heard all this, Lila scoffed a little. Shadow heard the rude gesture and walked up glaring at her. He then turned to Knuckles with his arms crossed. "Where's the orange one?" He asked
"He had a little…behavior problem" Knuckles answered.
Darcy opened her eyes and turned around looking at the two. The tall woman also stood and looked at them.
"Could the brother be the one child?" Darcy asked the woman who held her hand up closing her eyes.
"I….can feel a faint presence….but he's not the one…" the woman answered. Chrome and the others got a closer look at this woman. They don't know why, but there was something familiar about her.
"Presences? What are you talking about?" Rouge asked.
"If these pirates truly wish to be our allies, perhaps there is more to their charming words than we let on.
Shadow let out a light huff and walked up to Chrome facing him. "State your name"
Chrome cleared his throat and spoke "I am Captain Chrome, of the dusk raiders. And if I'm not mistaken, you're agent Shadow and Rouge. You two were GUN agents before you disappeared. Looks like this answers what happened to you"
"Show respect in front of the queen, and speak the truth" the tall woman spoke. "Earlier you mentioned you were waiting for your crew. How many more of you are there?"
"There are dozens of Dusk Raiders, but my crew in particular….I haven't heard from them since we split up. We were supposed to rendezvous at the Damson Park, but they never showed. All except for Mercury"
"Indeed. We found one of your crew members wearing some sort of device over her head. Knuckles explained the condition you were in, right?"
"Yes"
"and you are aware what will happen if you cross us?"
"Very. Now answer me this" Chrome turned over to Shadow. "If you are now on GUN's most wanted list, why would you arrest us? Why not join forces?"
"That's highly unlikely with the likes of you" Shadow explained "Tell us where your crew is. And we might consider keeping you alive."
"No. We never disclose our hiding locations, only where we meet up"
Shadow glared back at Chrome "You're lying. If that amber hedgehog had a device to keep her alive, then most likely your crew has the same thing. Tell us where they are!"
Even slightly intimidated, Chrome kept his composure and calmly answered "I can't do that. Even if I did know, I would never put them in danger, by telling you. I would die before I let that happen"
Shadow's hands started to glow as he growled with rage. But then a hand touched his shoulder. Rouge was right behind him keeping him calm. He then took a breath and lowered his hands. He turned and saw Rouge's expression.
"Fine…" he said in a low voice.
"Your majesty" the tall woman spoke walking up to Chrome and Lila. Chrome narrowed his eyes getting a closer look at the woman. "I recommend we hold on our choice on what to do with the pirate captains, and go straight to the real enemy" She pointed at Lila who glared back. "This one clams she has no connections to the shroud, yet she still has a deep hatred for us. Can we truly trust someone who wants us all dead?"
"Your highness" Relic interjected. "Please, would you reconsider my offer? We can be a valuable assets to your survival. I also believe that this pirate could be useful as well"
"How so" the woman asked. "She could be a spy for the shroud"
"But she swooped in and saved a young Cramoisi from getting killed. And the pirate captain did surrender. We know that GUN want to hunt down all criminals, so it's unlikely the shroud would want to team up with roughens"
"But didn't the one called Guyllos strike a deal with the captain?"
"And the captain responded by distracting the marcoat so you all could fight back. And they helped you fight back the threat"
"I've heard enough" Darcy spoke raising her hand. "Agent, who did you say you were?"
"I am Lila Russeti from the house of Garrow"
"That explains your attire and blades"
"What are you talking about?" Shadow asked "What are these houses you keep speaking of"
"Um, the seven houses of the shroud" Lila explained. "The seven houses lead by the seven leaders that make up the council with Klaus being the leader. The house of Garrow specializes in swords and different forms of weaponry.
"You sure are disclosing a lot of information" Knuckles said. "Scared for your life?"
"No. This is common knowledge. How do you not know? You're precious king and queen not tell you?"
"Watch your mouth" Shadow came up looking intimidating. "or we will remove that patch"
"We had no reason to tell them, at the moment. My only goal was to keep them safe" Darcy explained to Lila.
"Well, I know a few things even the king and queen don't know. Kill me now, and you won't be getting any of that info"
The crowd was silent for a few seconds, Then Darcy spoke. "Children. I will make a decision soon, right now let us listen to the lecture. Doctor if you would"
"Yes! Quite! Ahem. As queen Darcy has suggested, she wanted me to start from the beginning of the history of the dark dweller"
Meanwhile, Zerach would be explaining the same story to Amy.
Relic's Pov
As previously stated, this dates back long before Chaos' rampage that wiped out almost all of the echidnas. A few thousand years after the world was created, there existed two races: the Niluzien, and the Noctenbre. The leaders of these races fought on our world for centuries, and mortals were caught in the crossfire. According to legend, the misery of both races festered and manifested into energy. Energy that would provoke a fourth race to come and attempt to take over our world. Some say that this fourth race were demons, others thought that the Noctenbre were increasing in numbers. But when the Noctenbre saw that they wanted to rule this world, they chose to fight back, but being dwellers of the dark themselves they were evenly matched. The queen of the Noctenbre pleaded with the Niluzien to try and stop the evil race, although they agreed that they had to be destroyed, they refused to work with the Noctenbre, the race they've been fighting for years. One of the leading knights of the Niluzien thought differently, so in secret, he collaborated with the queen, despite what his leaders would say. The queen took up on the knight's offer.
When these demons had the world of mortals under their thumb, the knight and the queen declared war against the demons and their leader, a cruel and sick being who would bring the strongest of either race to their knees. He was known as the master of malevolence. However, despite of their collaboration, it was hard for either side to claim victory. So, the knight called upon the help of seven beautiful maidens with extraordinary power, and the queen asked the help of seven of her deadliest beast to fight along with them. The final battle was the most brutal of them all. So many lives were lost. Even after both armies from the light and dark tribes retreated, the maidens, the beast, the knight and the queen stood to face the demons alone. Combining both their powers and with all sixteen of them fighting as one force that no one had ever seen, the master of malevolence and many of his minions were defeated and sealed deep within the surface of the earth.
After the demons were sealed, the Niluzien and the Noctenbre decided to leave the world, but the sixteen beings deflected from their fellow tribes, and have decided to stay on the earth protecting it should the demons ever return, for they will bare their fangs and trap them back in the earth. That's how they became the first fangs of dark radiance.
Normal Pov
"Seven maidens?" Amy asked Zerach as she was sitting down with him.
"Yes. The maidens of the Niluzien were servants to the knights. Those seven were handpicked because of their mysterious powers. They were not just proud warriors, their songs were powerful enough to soothe the wildest of beast. Each of them were tasked to tame one of the beast. Once tamed, the beast would take a more friendly appearance"
"And that bat beast…"
"Mathra; the beast of the night sky…."
Back at the cathedral, Relic was writing different images on her chalkboard and turning to her books. She then showed a scroll showing two different people. They were large compared to the other beings who were smaller forming a circle. There were seven females standing over seven different creatures
"This here is a print out of a mural that I discovered, during one of my excavations. It shows the knight and the queen, the seven maidens and their beast companions.
"What do these people have to do with us?" Rouge asked "They don't even seem like vampires"
"Indeed! But after a while the fangs of dark radiance decided to carry on their legacy. They soon learned that they could not exist in this world for long, so they…. ensured that their legacy would continue onward"
"How so?" Tails asked
"Why bearing children" Darcy spoke nonchalantly.
"What?!"
"Of course! You of all people should be aware your majesty. After all, the queen carried the seed of the knight and gave birth to who would be the first queen of new tribe. The queen whom would be a distant relative of you"
"So the child wasn't you, mother?" Julie asked
"Throughout history, there have been five darkdweller queens with myself being the fifth" Darcy explained
"So, what happened to the maidens and the beasts?" Cosmo asked "Don't tell me they also…."
Relic looked away while blushing while hugging herself. "Why they fell in love and mated of course, allowing the Nilutenibus or Nillutenbre to be born, with the knight and the queen's daughter as the queen of that tribe.
"That's disgusting! Women mating with monsters?!"
Blaze wasn't paying attention to the new voice, only with what he said. "Yes, but she did say that the beast took a more appealing appearance…." Blaze turned over and saw Richter sitting next to her eating popcorn. "What the?!"
"Howdy do?" Richter said waving. The monsters got up in defense. Shadow stormed over to him.
"How did you break free?!" He asked drawing his gun. Richter then dangled the hand cuffs in front of them.
"You "Cam-inoids*" insult me. Trapping me in two-bit handcuffs? I've broken out of cookie jars tougher"
(*Richter means Cramoisi. He tends to mispronounce the word or say it wrong)
"Richter What are you doing?!" Chrome asked
"I thought we were friends" Richter looked at Shadow with puppy dog eyes. "I surrendered and everything. Can we just get along?"
Shadow looked at Richter with his right eye twitching. He then looked at Cosmo who nodded back.
XXXXXXXX
"So, I take it that's a no?" Minutes later Richter was hanging over his head wrapped in vines Cosmo conjured up. He was hanging right above Darcy, Relic, and Tails. "Hey, come on! I didn't even get to finish my popcorn! This is no way to treat a guest! I've never…!"
They just looked away as Richter continued his rant. "Do you want us to silence him, my lady?" Asked the tall woman
"No, he needs to listen to this as well" Darcy answered while turn to Relic. "Please proceeded, Doctor" Cosmo made the vines cover Richter's mouth.
"What ever happened to this group after they bore their children?" Shadow asked
"No one knows. They and the Niluzien and Noctenbre faded into history. A history that barely anybody knows about to this day. The children, became special maidens to the first Nillutenbre queen and help her fight off the demons that seep from the cracks of the earth where they were once sealed. Some of the demons and servants to the demons would disguise themselves as normal mortals just to either kill them, or get closer to the Nillutenbre.
"When evil seeps from the shadows of light…." Rouge recited the Cramoisi's creed.
"…cowers at the sight of crimson's gleam, and will be devoured by the radiant Dark" Relic finished. "Some see it as a creed, to some a religion, but over time, I have learned it was your main purpose. If this master of malevolence was ever free, it could mean the end of everything. You monsters serve as warriors to stop this evil, cracks and all"
"How…how is this possible…." Lila wondered looking down. "But….the Cramoisi are the demons who serve the malevolence. There's no way"
Shadow and the others listened to Lila. At first they seemed annoyed, but some of them began to wonder what the other shroud members think of them.
"I don't know what your teachers said, Lila. But all this time, the demons and vampires are of different classes. Now let me explain the one who watches over the Cramoisi; the maiden of purple.
Zerach had a table set up with a tea set in front of him and Amy. Zerach sat down taking a sip of blood.
"Hold on…" Amy spoke finishing her cup. The servant standing beside her gave her a refill. "I thought that was the creed of our race. Are you saying that it's just a code spoken by some purple madden?"
"That's right" Zerach spoke. "There are seven maidens of the Nillutenbre, each one with different hearts, and each one with different views of the world. They would make those views the objectives of their followers. But they were all self-righteous and virtuous, at least…from their perspective. But they, along with their tribes all shared the same goal; keeping the master of malevolence's evil from escaping into the world. I would love to go into detail about the other maidens' ideals, but for now, let's focus on the maiden of purple.
"What's so special about this maiden?"
"She was the one who started finding servants to help seal the demons should they escape. After that, her sisters did the same. But they didn't just pick any one. Like you and your friends, you were judge by your hearts"
"So it wasn't just wasn't because of our desire for love?" Amy asked tilting her head.
"My dear, Darcy's awakening was eminent. Even if there were no obstacles in your way of love, Darcy would have found you out and asked for your help. But, would you had helped her?"
"Well she was looking for you…so….maybe…'
Zerach chuckled. "I appreciate your honesty. Now that you and Sonic have awaken to this new power, we must invoke the ritual handed down from eons ago"
"Ritual?"
"Legend tells that when a beast is awakened, a maiden must be revealed in order to contain the power. And that maiden is to also assist the tribe, and the followers of that tribe. It was a ritual we intended to follow 3000 years ago, however, the cobalt shroud wiped out those children of that time, and Darcy and I were sealed. But now that, we've seen the beast return and how you tamed it, there's hope in reviving our fallen tribe"
"You think that I'm the maiden?" Amy looked at Zerach surprised
"You felt compelled to sing to Sonic when he was enraged, and you sang a song only known to vampires of old. That is no mere coincidence, my dear"
Amy lowered her head in thought. "it was just...something...I mean. I love him, and I'd do anything for him"
"I don't doubt you would. Be that as it may, you still sang the nocturne the maiden of purple sung. And that makes you a likely candidate for her reincarnation"
Amy was silent at the moment. She was too lost for words. "Reincarnation….me?"
XXXXXX
"So how do we find this purple madden?" Knuckles asked
"It's possible one has already been found" Darcy answered. "She is the one who tamed Sonic when he was enraged"
"A rage that you encouraged" Shadow brought up.
"Indeed, but had I not many of us may not be standing here now" Shadow just looked the other way scoffing. "You must understand, this wasn't supposed to be, but it had to be done. The next step in your journey has begun.
"What step? "
"First, we must do something about the people we've transformed"
"Hold the phone!" Rouge interrupted "You're not saying the people changing was really our fault are you?" Darcy nodded lightly. "You...you can't...there's no way"
"New darkdwellers who are born are welcomed by our guardian Sonaura, and are guided into their new lives"
"However, there are some who are not chosen and were transformed into vampire thralls. That could be done by the effects of the vampire biting the victim, the result of the beast awakening without the maiden's guidance, or the misuse of your magical capabilities. These poor souls become victims of the beast's venomblight" Relic explained.
"Sounds like something off a RPG" Tails commented
"Believe me, it's true. It's a condition that can spread far and wide if left unchecked. This was how the beast of old would affect the mortals turning them into monsters themselves. Those monsters like the ones before you have lost all sense of being mortal and wander around shadows of their former selves. Not even being able to speak in their normal language, all memories of them ever being mortal will soon fade away.
"That's horrible…" Cosmo said "So that poison that monster spewed out..."
"Indeed. That's the venomblight in its airborne form. If mortals breathe it in, they ether die, or transform depending on their hearts" Darcy explained
"You knew about this, and yet you let it happen?!" Shadow asked
"I did what I had to, for my people"
"Even if it meant ruining their lives? Letting hundreds of people die?!"
"Shadow, enough!" Rouge came between them. "This isn't helping. We need to fight the shroud, not each other"
"Interesting…" Chrome spoke making shadow glance at him. "These words of sympathy are coming from the very same hedgehog who was part of a plot to cause global genocide his own creator tried to inflict."
"What did you say?!" Shadow said stomping over to him.
"Oh, I'm sorry, you did stop it from killing us, but weren't you also the one who tried to help evil aliens from animalizing us as well?"
"I will remove that patch if you don't shut up!" Shadow threatened.
"It just boggles the mind how you call us criminals heartless, when you've done the work for a madman and aliens" Shadow raised his fist about to hit Chrome. But he lowered his hand growling once more trying to keep his rage in check. He was remembering all the deeds he wasn't proud of. He stepped back.
Lila then bonked Chrome on the head. "Are you trying to get killed? Didn't you just tell Richter to stop doing this?!"
"Right…sorry. I'm morally stating facts"
"Don't despair, my friends. There is hope" Relic pointed out
"How do we contain or stop this venomblight?" Rouge asked trying to comfort Shadow.
"For the moment, we need to focus on the new maiden and the beast" Darcy explained.
"The maidens would put an end to the venomblight, and guide the infected mortals to become servants of Sonaura, allowing them to regain their memories and act less like monsters." Relic explained "For generations, the venomblight would return. When it did, it would signal the return of one of the beast, and reveal a new maiden. The beast fights for the tribe, while the maiden guides their people and ends the venomblight"
"This….is so much to take in….." Blaze said. "So in order to stop the people from changing, we have to find this maiden?"
"Close" Relic said. "You must find the beast, and their host. And you must also find the maiden, for only she can quell the beast's venomblight and stop the infestation"
"So…does this mean Amy is this maiden?" Tails asked
"No, it's got to be, mother" Knuckles concluded. "She is the one who brought us together"
"Don't be silly" Relic laughed. "She's the queen. The queen may take the job of a maiden, but they can't serve as a replacement. You have to find the host of the beast, and the maiden. It doesn't matter which order though"
"Host of the beast...it's got to be Sonic" Tails noted. "He absorbed that big…bat thing…"
"Sonic….absorbed Mathra?" Relic asked "Well that's fantastic! Now we must find the maiden, and we can end the beast venomblight.
"We have already found one" A voice called out from behind. Zerach was walking up to Darcy
Behind him was a girl wearing a flowing purple gown holding a wooden staff. Everyone was looking in awe at the hedgehog was walking up. It was Amy who also had a circlet on her head with an amethyst in the center. She made her way in front of the king and queen and turned around looking at her friends.
"The king has returned!" A Cramoisi said "It's a miracle!"
"He and the queen rule!"
"Is that the maiden? Did the king find her?"
Shadow and the others marveled at Amy's new attire. Amy looked to the side blushing.
"Looking good, Amy" Julie said giving a thumbs up.
"Oh, boo" Rouge crossed her arms pouting. "I would have started singing had I'd known it got me some free jewelry"
"You look beautiful" Blaze commented
"Thanks guys..." Amy said with a light smile.
"Magnificent" Darcy said looking at Amy. "I knew deep down I made the right decision choosing all of you, but you've turned out more beautiful than I imagined"
Amy turned over to Darcy and bowed in respect. "I'm…ready to start…." She said unsure of herself.
"My humble people. Welcome!" Zerach spoke. "We come here now to give thanks to our, guardian spirit Sonaura, for she has brought us a new maiden. One who will guide her people into a new light, and allow them to enter in her presence.
Darcy walked up to the statue and placed the emerald in a pedestal in front of pedestal slowly lowered in the water. "The purple emerald served as a bridge for the guardian beast, and now it shall serve as a cleanser
"A cleanser?" Shadow and Knuckles wondered. They already know that Sonic absorbing the beast took most of the emeralds power. So what else does Darcy have in store for it? The pool's color changed from black to bright purple.
"Oh my!" Relic's cheeks turned red as she started to squeal. "It's the sacred baptism! I wish I'd brought my camera..."
"Now I give you our caudate for the next maiden of purple, Amelia Rose" there was a strong applause across the crowd. Zerach turned around smiling at her. "Now, my child, you must lay down so we can begin"
"Wait...please..." Amy said stepping back looking at the crowd. "I...I don't know if I should do this...not without Sonic"
"Worry not. He is always with you" Zerach ensured.
Amy still looking worried nodded and laid down on stone floor. Darcy and Zerach hold up their hands. Zerach started speaking in the ancient language along with Darcy. Both of their hands started glowing. Amy then closed her eyes and started floating. Her body moved over to the pool while lowering down till her body was completely submerged.
Flip of a coin.
Sonic could hear the sound of water sloshing. He opened his eyes and stood up from the wooden floor.
"What is this?" he asked as he walked over to the edge and looked down. He gasped and fell back on the floor.
It was clear to him now where he was, but it begs a bigger question. "Why am I on a boat?!"
He then could hear the sound of a sword slice followed by a thud. Sonic turned around and nearly gaged.
He could see that the ship was actually a pirate ship with the flag of a skull that had a sun and moon for eyes. But the most grotesque scene was the sliced up body parts and severed heads laid across the deck. He recognized the bodies and saw wings growling from the back. He covered his mouth slowly walking up getting a closer look at the corpse.
"Who….who did this….." He wondered still horrified.
"No! Please! Stop!" Sonic heard a voice up head. He walked forward trying to avoid the carnage. He looked a head and saw a battle going on. Pirates were fighting off GUN troopers. The troopers didn't stand a chance and were killed mercilessly. The one leading the raid was a mobian wearing an old English pirate suit. "No one stands a chance against me!" He turned around with his orange dreadlocks swaying, looking at Sonic with his glowing garnet eyes. "Anyone who stands in my way is dead!"
Sonic recognized the echidna, he didn't fully understand what was going on. "The pirate captain from before…."
"Oh, captain. I've done it!" another voice was head across from the boat. Sonic instantly recognizes the next mobian. It was a brown hedgehog, but she was wearing a white shirt and black pants. She smiled devilishly with her eyes glowing bright silver showing off a severed head of what looked like a Cramoisi. "I got this one to tell me the location of the queen, right before I slaughtered him!"
"Good!" the echidna captain said. "I will become a power to be reckoned with! Not even the military stand a chance against us! Once we kill the queen we'll rule the world! Huh?" the captain turned over to Sonic who gave him an angry glare.
"Hey captain jerk face!" Sonic quipped. "Hate what you've done with the place! Got anything to say before I beat your butts?!" Sonic got into a fighting position extending his claws.
The captain laughed while getting out a gun with a blade at the end. "We can take this one on, together"
"Blue and purple, a perfect color combo for a dead monster!" The two lunged at Sonic, but before the first blow was stuck his vision went white.
"Wha…what?!" he could hear his voice, but he couldn't move or even see. "What happened?! Where's that captain! Where did he go?!"
Reverberation
Sonic woke up from his bed and checked his location. A familiar scent filled his nostrils. It was the smell of organic cherry blossom shampoo, Amy's favorite. He then realized he was back in his and Amy's room in the castle.
"What a crazy dream" Sonic held his head feeling dizzy. "That was the captain….and the shroud….wait! What….DAAHHHHHHH!" He felt his vision blur and his daze turned into a migraine. He got up growling feeling an overwhelming power take him. It felt similar to his werehog transformation, only this one was much more painful and he wasn't changing. He then felt a hand press on his shoulder that made his pain go away. He knelt down breathing heavily. "Wha…what's going on?!"
"Relax. Your body is adjusting" Sonic jumped when he heard a familiar voice. He turned around and saw her, the mysterious masked woman looking down with two silver lights shining at him through her mask. "it will take time to get used to it"
"You!" Sonic showed his claws growling.
"I said, calm down. Do you want to kill everyone?"
Sonic did his best to regain his composure. He lowered his hands and sighed. "Didn't your weird mother ever teach you manners?"
"You know….I never had a mother. Only my father…..Why Mathra chose the likes of you, I'll never know"
"What are you…talking about?"
"The beast, that dwells inside you…"
"Yeah…I got rid of that beast in me long ago. Turing into a wolf-hog was….not very fitting for my taste.."
Zarah sighed crossing her arms in annoyance. "I don't have much time, so listen closely. The monster that resonates in you, is the guardian beast, Mathra. As Mathra's host, you must protect your people from the upcoming threat. Should you fail, it would mean the end of all of us.
"Upcoming…." Sonic then had a flash back of what looked like to be Richter and Lila. They both looked like they were the ones causing destruction and chaos. "What do you know about this evil?"
"I don't know much, I'm afraid. Whatever the shroud is planning, you and your friends must be ready. She then removed her glove and bit her finger drawing what looked like to be white blood. "It will be dangerous to fight with your power alone" She then slammed her hand on the ground creating a circle. From it came a sword with the hilt shaped like two wings. "Take this, and channel the beast power with your own. There will be many test you, your friends, and your lover will face. Be ready" She turned around and walked to the balcony.
"Hey wait! I still have questions!"
"If you're looking for your lover, she's preforming the ritual at the cathedral. Good luck, Sonic" With those words she jumped from the balcony and spread her wings flying in the sky. Sonic wasn't sure if she should believe her, but he looked at the sword and gripped it with two hands pulling it from the floor. As he held onto it, the sword started glowing bright.
"Huh….insert item get music here" Sonic quipped. The sword then disappeared and reappeared on his back complete with its own sheathe. "Cool! Now to find the others!" He dashed out of the room.
When Sonic reached the cathedral outside, he could see everyone standing around looking at the pool glowing bright. Sonic walked up to the crowd, everyone recognized him the moment the saw him.
His friends turn and see the awakened hedgehog in surprise. "Well look who came back from the absolute dead" Knuckles joked. "When were you planning to wake up, next century?"
"I would if it meant not listening to your mouth" Sonic quipped back. "What's going on, here?"
"Sonic…." Tails said walking up to him. "Have we got some explaining to do…."
Out from the fountain came a glowing light which showed a figure glowing purple revealing herself to be Amy. She was now wearing a newer form of her old attire. She wore long black socks on her arms and legs, she had on a purple top with a matching skirt and also wore red shoes. On her back were two of her hammers now purple and black. And on her waist was a purple sash with the purple chaos emerald on it. She stood in front of everyone
"Ok…Now I'm really jealous" Rouge pouted
"Amy….you look….wow…." Sonic said looking directly at his lover.
"Sonic! You're awake!" Amy came rushing down hugging him. Sonic feeling the tightness of her hug was still happy to see her.
Zerach laughed at the small reunion and looked up to his people. "My children. I give you, the new maiden of purple, and the host of the guardian beast!" the other Cramoisi cheered looking at the couple. Sonic was still confused but he smiled while hugging Amy back. He then looked at the crowd seeing how happy they were with him. He then saw Richter who was still hanging upside down from a pillar with his face beat red and his mouth wide open. "What the…"
"Cosmo…if you would…" Darcy asked the alien. In response she used her powers to free him and dropped him on the ground.
"OWWW!" The echidna groaned holding his head. "Blood rushing...ah...my limbs...pins and needles..." He then looked at Cosmo who glared at him. "You couldn't have been a bit gentler?" Cosmo then scoffed, and looked back at Amy and Sonic.
Sonic just looked at Richter and glanced over at Lila seeing images of the greedy captain the sadist assassin. Just what is in store for his friends, and what is to become of him and Amy?
"Well, let the games begin" he said out loud.
Amy then stopped hugging Sonic and looked at his back. "When did you get a sword?"
"You won't believe me if I told you…."
(TBC)
Again sorry for the long wait. Hope you guys loved it!