AN: I'm finally back everyone, and I've come back with a bang. This is the second to final chapter of my long-running fic. Gee, this has to be longer than any chapter I've written before!
On that note, my trusty beta dark-pheonix-loves-kai was unable to assist me in this endeavor. Admittedly, the search for another beta is what held me off so long. In her stead, a rising fiction writer has assisted me: everyone give a round of applause for KanraTea! *applause, applause*
But enough of my rambling. Enjoy, readers, the climax of Remnants of the Past
~ ("The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled."—Plutarch) ~
^/\^|v\/v
Syaoron the Fox Presents
Following the Events of Sonic '06
Accompanied by Various Music and Themes
Remnants of the Past
Chapter 18
The Dark Dawn and the Dying Light
^/\^|v\/v
Soleanna
September-29-2506
7:50 Mobius Time
[Now Playing: "The Mirror of the Signs" by: Bush]
"Leave me in peace, Kristof. I wish not to be disturbed right now."
"Miss, I cannot go. There is a matter of strict urgency that you must address."
"Whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait till I no longer grieve."
Of course, she mourned and loathed too deeply to see reason. She couldn't see out of the mire of her misery and into the real world. The butler tugged at her shoulder, but she shrugged him off. "Miss Elise, I implore you to come with me. I understand you are upset, but quite frankly, the people of Soleanna are in great danger."
To this, Princess Elise sat up and looked to the elderly butler. She saw the distress in his wrinkled face; he saw the tears staining her soft cheeks. "Danger? Explain the situation to me immediately."
The two walked and Kristof said nothing on the way. Elise listened and looked around, but what she felt through the soles of her feet helped her more than anything else: a dull rumbling off in the distance that made her shudder. "Kristof, what is that?"
"That is the troubling thing, Miss," Kristof replied as he looked out a nearby window; it was an early daybreak, a bloody dawn upon the horizon. "We are not quite sure what it is, but its energy signature is very similar to one all too familiar signature."
"A familiar energy signature?" she asked. "Do you mean the Chaos Emeralds?"
Kristof shook his head. "No. Allow me to jog your memory; your father was one of the scientists in a study conducted to analyze Solaris' energy and how it could be made to serve our people more directly. This energy signature is nearly identical to one of the readings your father gathered during his studies."
Elise's eyes widened. She looked again to that hemorrhage on the horizon and feared the worst. "Solaris himself is outside our city," she mumbled. "Or Iblis I should say."
Kristof nodded and sighed, "Unfortunately, you are correct, Miss."
Princess Elise stood still for a moment in thought. Was this what was happening in her kingdom? Death, destruction, the coming of a god at their doormat; how had she not noticed these things? Had she been so caught up in her angst that she had forgotten about her people? These feelings raged within her as she fought back self-loathing tears. All that time, she had been making a choice between her two loves: the kingdom and her hero. All that time, she had been making the wrong choice.
A hand on her shoulder shook her from her thoughts. "Now is not the time for regret, Miss," Kristof reminded her. There was a certain wisdom behind his weathered eyes. "Now is the time for action."
Elise clenched her fist. She dug her nails into her palms in order to repeat those words in her head. The time for action had come. "Take me to the homeland defense headquarters. I must speak with Carton."
They wove past guards and through crowds unnoticed. Too many people were focused on the sanguine sunrise to notice the princess going about. "They are worried," said Kristof.
"Then we must quell their fear," replied Elise in kind. They entered the headquarters where the defense mainframe was stationed; they passed through the double doors and security, went upstairs, and proceeded into Carton's office.
River Carton, clad in his sleek, grey tuxedo and yellow tie, stood and bowed to the princess. "What seems to be the matter, Princess Elise?" he asked. "Is this about the monster?"
Elise nodded. "Then you already know about it?" she asked. She tapped on his desk, her impatience evident. "Is the defense mainframe back online?"
Elise could see Carton's jaw gnash in frustration as he spoke, "We still don't know what shut it down in the first place. Some of it is online now, but we're not quite as indestructible as we were before."
"By which you mean…?"
"Frankly, Miss, we may as well be prostrated to the enemy."
Elise shook her head. "Focus all remaining defense on keeping this monster at bay," she ordered. "I have work to attend to." She stormed out of the room shortly after, leaving Carton to rush around in a panic and organize what remained of their crippled defense system.
Elise strode back out of the building, followed by her orderly butler. "Miss, I must ask, what work do you refer to?" he questioned.
"I have to organize an evacuation, of course," Elise said, her words strong, contrary to her former, broken state. "Our city is on the brink of disaster; I will not risk another unnecessary life in the pursuit of my own sanctuary."
They arrived again at the castle. Elise clacked her heels on the cobblestone and looked about her. Her people were gathered; they were worried and fearful, distraught and confused; they looked toward their princess for protection, direction, and instruction.
"My people of Soleanna!" Elise shouted. Though she quivered and the valves of her heart trembled, she stood firm. No more fear, no more inactivity. The time for action was now. "Please remain calm while I explain:
"We are soon to be besieged by a monster. He is Iblis, the Flames of Disaster, Solaris' warmonger. I need everyone to remain calm." Of course, panic met the crowd. However, they remained still. Mob panic had yet to strike, Elise remained in control of her people. "There is a time to fight and a time to retreat; now is the time to escape. There are tunnels beneath the castle that will lead you to safety. I know you are scared; I know you are confused, but I assure you that your family will be spared the destruction. All you must do is follow the guards."
No other words were needed; hundreds of Soleanna's residences funneled into the castle grounds to follow the royal guardsmen to their safety. Meanwhile, Elise stood outside. She could feel the heat on the horizon—it created a convection current which caused wind to blow from behind. The heat in the air was a stark contrast to the cold, barren walls of her estate. Perhaps this was the push she needed to become a better leader.
"Miss, will you not come inside?"
"No, Kristof. I must face my fears and embrace them." Elise bowed her head to the loyal man and bid him farewell. "Should I not survive, the throne is to be passed on to my closest relative. Now go, Kristof."
She was alone again once Kristof left for shelter. Now, Elise stood firm with Armageddon at her doorstep. She would not run away this time.
[Stop Music]
^/\^|v\/v
Temporal Vestige
-:-
-:-
[Now Playing: "The Requiem" by: Linkin Park]
Flabbergasted: the only word that could have described the wandering anachronisms at that point. Sonic hung his head in shame while Thunder gnashed his teeth together in frustration. Sam held tightly to Ghost's hand, and Cynthia patted him on the shoulder. Jack remained silent, thoughtful.
Blaze, now among them, remained close by Silver. She could sense his devastation by means of telepathy or some other incomprehensible connection; she figured it was the latter. "Silver… None of this is your fault," she whispered to him.
Her words were mostly drowned out by the snarls of an enraged Knuckles. "What are we doing just standing around here?" he growled in anger. "There's still more to be done; we can't waste time sitting here!"
"Don't talk, Knuckles," Ghost grumbled, feeling utterly defeated. "What more can be done? Imperious has already won."
"Giving up so quickly isn't your style, John," Knuckles retorted. "There's still time to stop him, we just need to get in gear."
"Tails literally has the power of a demigod now. We can't amount to such power," Cynthia countered.
"You're forgetting that we have the power of the Sol Emeralds, all seven of them!" Knuckles said again. "I don't understand. Why are you all so eager to give up?"
Then, Sonic spoke up in a tone of dread, of defeat, of doom: "Look at us, Knuckles. We're tired, we're beaten, and now our friend is taken. What's to stop Imperious now from destroying the whole world with the power of our friend?"
A sigh from the echidna escaped. "Sonic, we must fight him."
"I will not kill my best friend, my little brother!"
The pop of a jaw and the collision of fist and face echoed throughout the vestige. "You think I don't feel the same, selfish prick?" retaliated the hardened echidna. "Don't forget, Tails is my friend and a friend to us all.
"I know you want to save Tails, because I share that same feeling. I want nothing more than to save the little guy. But that thing is not Tails; that's Iblis, an abomination that is using Tails' body. Tails is already dead, and we'd be doing him a dishonor now if we did not try to kill that parasite! Wouldn't Tails want us to avenge him and carry on where he could not?"
"I agree with Knuckles."
All eyes focused on Silver as he spoke decisively. "We may not have brought him into this fight, but he is still our responsibility in life and death, even if he has no control over his own body. We have to kill Tails, for the sake of us all."
The others nodded in unison, though Sonic only begrudgingly acquiesced, and they flew back to the distant, present timeline.
Silver, near the rear of the pack, would have followed soon after, but Blaze grabbed his wrist and turned him around. "That was a brave, wise thing you said, Silver," she whispered. "You've grown up a lot in the time I've been gone."
"I've had to," Silver mumbled with a sad smile. His face seemed to hold new wrinkles since she last saw him; those eyes were a little bit emptier. "It's been difficult, these past few days. We've suffered and seen others suffer. We destroyed a digital world. But in the end, it was all worth it. For you, it was worth it."
Blaze smiled and caressed his cheek. She looked in his eyes and still found hope. "You've matured," she mumbled in pride before kissing him passionately. They lingered in embrace and felt the warmth of each other's bodies. "But you're still naïve."
Silver smiled. Something was different about their relationship now—something other than the obvious kiss. He felt like his heart was leaning against hers, and she reciprocated. "I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too," Blaze murmured. She pulled him by the hand onward and winked. "Come on, idiot. We have to go take down Tails."
Silver chuckled as he followed Blaze. If nothing else, at least he had her. "Right. Let's go."
[Stop Music]
^/\^|v\/v
Soleanna
September-29-2506
12:00 Mobius Time
It's gone, Princess Elise despaired as she eyed the scene before her. Even as she directed local personnel to their duties, all hope seemed lost. She looked at the scene before her: everything was aflame. Shops, homes, gardens and trees, lampposts; nothing was safe from the destruction. Even the river seemed to glow with the light of flame. It's all gone.
"Get some water on those fires; try to minimize the damage!" she barked her orders at what few men she had left to command. In the distance through the rising smoke, Elise could hear the feral growl of an ancient god rising. Its roar tore through the air and ripped at her eardrums.
"I don't mean to question your judgement, milady," spoke one of her volunteers, a gruff, middle-aged man with black hair and brawny stature, "but we fear for your safety. You must flee with the other citizens."
"I understand your concern, but I am going nowhere," Elise responded as she stood firm by her word, ready to face down the entity despite her intense fear.
It was then, to her surprise, a miracle occurred. A blue portal appeared at the footsteps of the castle, and from it emerged eight heroes like angels in rugged clothing. Silver glanced back to see Elise standing wide-eyed, then nodded to former guardsman Jack Makarov and to Ghost's betrothed Sam. "Protect the princess. The rest of us will go on to fight Tails."
The other six then ran off to go face the demon that had invaded the castle town. In search of an explanation or some support, Elise turned to her trusted guard and sighed. "Jack, what is happening?"
"The apocalypse, ma'am," Jack responded shortly. "It'll be a pleasant surprise if we all survive it."
[Now Playing: "The Truth Beneath the Rose" by: Within Temptation]
Meanwhile, the other seven ran off to find Tails. The kitsune was undoubtedly at the epicenter of the hellish destruction. "You don't think it'd be possible to go back in time and fix some of this, do you?" Blaze asked as they raced forward.
"I doubt it," Ghost responded. "We went back in time to fix paradoxes, if you will recall. Going back and disrupting the continuum would cause another paradox, which we in turn would have to fix by going back in time again and stopping ourselves from fixing the original problem. There's no way to fix it that way."
"So we really do have to kill him," Blaze mumbled sadly.
She felt a pat on her shoulder and looked over to see Silver there. "It'll be fine. Like Knuckles said, Tails would have wanted it," he insisted. "Don't worry so much."
The seven reached a small courtyard where there was a fountain. Ghost passed a handgun to Sonic, nodding. "Without your speed, you'll need this," insisted the renegade as they surveyed the epicenter of Tails' destruction. Sonic nodded in silent understanding. They looked around the fires, attempting not to breathe in the smoke as razed buildings crumbled. Still, there was no sign of the kit.
Opposite the fountain, a building suddenly collapsed as a figure came dashing out of it. Tails stood there, now blazing, enraged, with nine tails flailing behind him. His eyes were blood red and his fur was charred and covered in ash. Insane, maddened, this was no longer Tails, but the machinations of Iblis, the flames of disaster.
"Out of the way!" Ghost called out to everyone as Tails rushed forward with malicious intent. The seven dove out of the way when Tails careened in, his tails whipping out to lash at them. Silver noticed he had inadvertently destroyed the fountain. While the others distracted him, Silver took that moment to heave the pointed tip of the fountain with his psychokinesis and launch it at Tails.
The kit's feral senses were the only things that saved him. He turned his head and lashed out a tail, obliterating the fountainhead into dust. Tails cried out when he felt a few bullets pierce him and swerved back to see Ghost firing away. Thanks to his godly powers, the bullet holes healed quickly.
Tails darted toward Ghost, ready to deal a blow. Ghost saw the telegraphed attack coming and blocked Tails' attack; however, he cried out in sudden pain from the sheer force of the attack. He jumped back and glanced at the dark purple bruise that had appeared on his arm. "Dammit," he grumbled when Tails flew in for another attack.
Cynthia launched in from the side with a saving kick, and Tails was forced into a nearby café with a crash. "It's better to dodge at this point," said Cynthia, a seasoned fighter herself. "It doesn't look like we can deal much damage to him. Knuckles, how much time until the Sol Emeralds can be used again?"
"It'll take time, but I can't be sure," he grumbled as he concentrated on the emeralds. "Just because I guard the Master Emerald doesn't mean I'm in touch with the Sol Emeralds."
"Then get in here," Sonic suggested as he pointed his pistol at the kit. The weapon was uncomfortable in his hands, and every shot rang out in his entire body. It didn't help that he was shooting his former best friend. "We need you to fight, Knuckles; the emeralds can come later."
Knuckles nodded and stood firm, ready to take action. He charged to the front of battle, waiting for Tails to approach. He had learned many lessons from this journey, and he was prepared to put his newfound self-control to the test.
Tails was lightning fast, but Knuckles was ready for him. The echidna watched with a steady eye and reeled back as Tails approached. With a climactic yell, Knuckles smashed his fist downward into Tails' skull with tremendous strength. When the kit fell to the ground, Knuckles continued to punt the kit backward.
Tails snarled once he stood back up. He dashed up the side of the building, supporting himself by clinging to surfaces with his tails. He waved his hand forth and cast down a rain of flames, even as Ghost, Cynthia, and Sonic continued to pepper him with bullets.
Silver rolled to the side to dodge the flame blast. He looked to his side and noticed that John had been caught in the blast, but he removed his cloak in order to avoid most of the burn. Silver looked around for anything else he could launch at the kit, but he knew he wouldn't have time to throw another.
Just like that, Silver saw Tails send another blast of fire toward him. Reaching quickly for a nearby slab of stone, he drew the debris over him like a shield with his psychokinesis. He could feel the intense heat nearly melt through the stone, but he was relieved to find that he was still alive.
Silver felt a drop of rain hit him, but even the coming storm was not enough to douse the hellfire that Tails had ignited the city with. Lightning struck and Tails prepared to shoot off another flame blast directly at Silver.
Blaze had rushed over in just that moment. She spun gracefully and drew up a wall of flame to neutralize Tails' own blast. "I have Iblis' fire in me now," she whispered as she helped up the white hedgehog. "I can fight him on his own ground."
"Good," Silver responded with a smile. "Let's keep going then."
Ghost ran quickly over to Silver and placed his hand over Silver's forehead. "I need to borrow your power for a bit," he said with a chuckle, sapping some of the hedgehog's ability for himself. Silver nodded in understanding and watched as Ghost concentrated on the wall that Tails was hanging onto.
Ghost's eyes glowed blue as he reached out with his power and gripped the wall. It took a tremendous amount of effort, but he was able to bring the wall down with his sheer willpower, surprising the kit and crushing him under the rubble.
"Did we get him?" Silver spoke in the short moment of silence.
Sonic watched the rubble mound closely, his fists clenched in anticipation. "No," grumbled the blue hedgehog as the rubble melted around Tails. "That would be too easy."
Tails' namesakes shot out in frantic waves, blazing with infernal heat. He waved his head about, letting out an enraged growl. He shot out a blast of flame, so fast that no one saw it coming. Ghost howled in pain as his left arm was caught in the blast. He shook the limb in an attempt to alleviate the burning with the rain. Still, his flesh had been scorched terribly. "Dammit," grumbled Ghost as he looked at his now useless arm.
Thunder looked over to the injured man and bit his lip in frustration. "Cynthia, take care of his wound," he ordered as he looked up. "I've got to transform, now."
Ghost glared up at Thunder at that moment, struggling against Cynthia's care. "Don't you dare, Thunder. You promised me you'd never resort to that."
Thunder looked back at Ghost with a remorseful smile. "We can't always keep our promises," he said as he unzipped his jacket and revealed a circular brand on his chest. He brushed his fingers over the mark and it began to glow with pale green light.
An instant change came over him: his canines grew into vicious fangs, and his muscles rippled and expanded. He had undergone an animalistic induction, reverted to a more primal form of brutal strength and rage.
On a path of blind destruction and savagery, Thunder and Tails charged at each other. Claws tore at flesh, flames peeled the fur and skin, and fangs ripped into muscles. Silver watched from afar in fascination as Thunder spun and kicked in oddly graceful swings, slashing at Tails' rapidly regenerating skin.
Tails seemed unfazed by this, but it was clear that the demigod was frustrated by the swift lion. He lashed his tail out at Thunder but was unable to hit his dodgy target, and Tails took another blow from a clawed strike. He growled with guttural voice and ghastly intent, shooting one of his tails out to grab firm hold of Thunder.
Thunder was caught in Tails' firm grasp, hoisted by the furry tendril. The appendage continued to crush his throat as another tail poised to strike him through the chest. Growling, Thunder attempted to escape, to no avail.
Tails shouted at that moment in sudden pain. The tail that held Thunder had been cut clean off, and Thunder fell to the ground, unconscious. Tails looked instantly at his assailant, Silver. The hedgehog had retrieved Ghost's dagger from the man's coat and sliced with determined intent. "This isn't you, Tails!" Silver shouted, though vain it was. "We're going to kill Iblis for you; know that!"
The words seemed to echo off of Tails in the way that he ignored them. He rushed Silver with inhuman speed and hooked in a smashing punch that sent Silver's lithe body skyward. Blaze easily caught the hedgehog and sighed, setting the bruised Silver on his feet. "Careful, Silver. You can only take so much."
"I'll be fine," he responded as he looked at Thunder, caught beneath the flesh of Tails' severed tail. He hoped that the lion was still alive under there. "We have to finish him quicker."
"Only a little while longer," Knuckles shouted as he ripped up a chunk of the earth and used it to deflect some of Tails' blows. "The emeralds are nearly charged; I can feel it!" Shoving forward, Knuckles blindsided Tails and punched, knocking the kitsune down for a short while. Knuckles shook his hand as it sizzled from the flame. "Damn…"
Tails managed to get back up quickly to Knuckles' surprise, and he whipped around his tails violently. Knuckles was slammed by one whipping tendril and knocked back into a brick wall. His lungs immediately gasped for air upon impact before he was hit a second time and rendered unconscious.
"No, Knuckles!" Sonic shouted as his friend fell to the ground. Glaring back at Tails, the blue hedgehog realized that there was still nothing he could do without the speed he once had. "There has to be something we can do."
Silver sighed and looked over to the enraged deity. "It doesn't look like there's much we can do until those emeralds are charged," he said as he looked around for something to use against Tails. He suddenly caught sight of a nearby building and nodded. "Blaze, Sonic and I are going to distract Tails; I need you to destroy that building just behind him."
Blaze nodded, seeing the immediate logic of his plan. "Of course," she responded, darting around Tails.
Sonic kept Tails' immediate attention with his shooting while Silver continued to heave rubble at the kit. Silver watched as Blaze's impressive speed carried her easily up the side of the building. She shot high above is and aimed down for the corner supports of the structure. Her leg was alight with flame as she crashed back down, destroying the supports. The edifice toppled soon after that, crumbling apart.
Tails noticed the building and dodged out of its fall path, but Silver knew exactly how the kit would react. Instead of allowing the concrete to fall, the white hedgehog reached out with his psychokinesis and held the debris in the air. He encircled Tails with the debris, every pointed tip aimed for the kit. "Now!" shouted Silver as he entombed Tails in the debris with an echoing crash.
"That should at least slow him down for a bit," Silver said as he sprinted back to the emeralds to check their condition. "I can't tell if their charged or not. Blaze?"
Blaze had run back from destroying the building and knelt beside the emeralds. Attentively, she gazed at the emeralds, nodding. "They're done."
"Good," Silver said. "Sonic, will you join us?"
Sonic shook his head and looked back at the rubble pile. "I couldn't. With my injured legs and shaky confidence… the emeralds' power will not react well with me. They need a confident, brave user. Silver, Blaze, I leave it to you."
They had run out of time to discuss, however. The debris covering the kit had exploded, and Tails, with eyes of fire, reeled back and let out an earsplitting howl. The ground around him began to erupt in spires of flame, exploding divots of earth and stone. The debris shot like shrapnel all around while the fiery spires charred the very air.
Enraged and bent on destruction, the kit looked with wild eyes at Cynthia, the one who looked most weak. It was a shock to them all when Tails lashed out with one of his namesakes and hoisted her into the air. She wailed for a moment in shock as the tails surrounded her, crushing, burning her.
"Get her down!" Silver shouted to break everyone's shock. A piece of the debris that Silver hadn't noticed suddenly slammed into Tails, forcing him back into one of the destroyed buildings after dropping Cynthia's battered body to the ground.
[Stop Music]
Silver looked over to see Ghost with hands of glowing blue. He must have used whatever he had left of Silver's power to save her. The trench coated man crawled and dragged himself over to his sister, kneeling beside her. "Cynthia…" he whispered softly as her burnt body lay there.
Cynthia turned over then, her weakness preventing her from doing much else. Half of her body was charred and burnt, the other half bruised and weak. Ghost held her in his arms, and she felt her eyes flutter in weakness. "Hey, John. Why the long face?" she asked, uttering a laugh that turned into a cough.
"Shut up," he grumbled sorrowfully as he held her helpless body. She already felt like a corpse in his arms. "Don't act so lackadaisical in this serious situation, dammit!"
Cynthia frowned then, an act which, once so easy, took so much effort to perform. "John… Don't do this…"
"Don't do what?"
Cynthia closed her eyes and listened. His ragged breathing wasn't just from exhaustion; it was made sharp and coarse with tears. She had never heard her brother cry before. "Don't resign yourself to mourning. You know there's nothing you can do about it."
"You know I've never been one to accept defeat," Ghost mumbled as he shook her, trying to keep her awake. "And you shouldn't either. I can still get you out of here; there's still time."
"Time enough to save me and defeat Tails?" she grumbled. She winced, looking up at him. "Stop shaking me… you're hurting me."
"Sorry," he whispered, looking down at her. He had never seen his strong sister so weakened before. The burnt flesh was like a black veil that covered her, and the darkening sky gave it a morbid glow. "Just… Don't die on me. I only just found you, I can't lose you again."
Silver watched as Cynthia's head leaned back. He turned his head away, unable to watch as her life left her.
Ghost's brow was furrowed in anger and fear. He had never felt such a surge of emotion before. Often he had wondered about the death of his family, but now that it had hit him, he wasn't sure he could handle the emotions that surged beneath his skin.
He was brought out of the shock of that emotion by a touch, one so dainty and light, he thought it would fade the instant he opened his eyes. He looked down to see his sister smiling her brightest smile and caressing his tear-covered cheeks with her good hand. "Don't cry for me, John," she said, even as her own tears wet her face. She seemed positively illuminated, even in death. "I want you to promise me something: after this, no more fighting. You've always gone at this alone, always thought you could fight alongside no one else. Now, things are different. You have Thunder, Knuckles, Silver, Blaze, even Sonic. You're getting old, John. It's time… time for you to pass the baton."
John looked down at her and smiled, if only for her. "That's what you want?"
She gave a brief nod.
"Then I'll do it, for you. No more," he whispered to her. "I'll raise a family and keep them safe and satisfied. Just like you dreamed I would. Just like I hoped you would too…"
Cynthia closed her eyes, a smile still stretching her lips at the edge. "That's nice to know…" she whispered as she leaned in close to him. The warmth from his body and the pelting of steamy rain were the last things she felt as her arm fell limp, dead.
The devastation of tragedy reverberated in Ghost's trembling cries of anguish and drowned out the distant thunderclaps.
A chill washed over Silver as he gazed down at their lost friend. He hadn't known her long, but her death still penetrated the depths of his heart and drew tears from his eyes. His breath hitched. He knew that there was always the possibility that one of them would die, but to see it happen before his eyes stole his breath and choked him with tears.
"Do you want her death to be in vain?"
Silver turned around to see Blaze, her hand on his shoulder with a look of sympathy about her face. He remembered how she'd always been his support in such dire times, and at that moment, he felt lucky to have her presence there. "The emeralds are charged. It's time for us to finish this."
"Right," Silver responded. It was thanks to her words that he was able to smile and wipe the tears from his eyes. "Let's do this."
[Now Playing: "A Demon's Fate" by: Within Temptation]
They gathered the emeralds and reached out with their souls to feel the immense power they begot. Silver could feel Blaze's emotions through the connection, and he was sure that she could feel his. Hands joined, they resonated their souls and emotions with the emeralds.
Now there was only one goal in mind: defeat Iblis at all costs.
Surging with power, the Sol Emeralds floated and rotated about Silver and Blaze. The emeralds accelerated until they were a blur of pure, white light, at which moment they closed in on Blaze and Silver. The two absorbed the power of the stones and unleashed booming battle cries.
Blaze's fur licked with flames and turned a pink tone, and Silver's became golden. Red and gold aura's respectively emanated violently from the two as they turned their focus to the intrigued, demonic kit.
Sensing a threat from these two, Tails lunged forward to strike with claws bared. Blaze and Silver quickly evaded, their senses heightened by the emeralds' power. Blaze whipped around a powerful kick that sent Tails crashing through the walls of several buildings.
Silver could feel the power pulsing through his veins as he aimed his palm at a nearby skyscraper and let loose an immense psionic wave. The wave cleaved through stone and steel alike, causing massive destruction. The crumbling of buildings littered the ground with concrete and brick.
Out from the rubble, Tails burst free. He was enraged at these suddenly opposing challengers and wanted them dead, now more fiercely than ever. He snarled and bared his fangs, rising into the air. He was held solely by his inner power, not unlike a puppet on a string.
With a nod to the others, Silver and Blaze rose into the air as well, in control of their strength. "We'll take care of Tails. Stay back and rest," Silver instructed Sonic and Ghost, the last two awake. The reunited, super-powered couple then sped off to face the threat.
Tails floated, an obelisk of flame stretching up behind him, showcasing his might. Silver clenched his fists and glowed with the same blue aura that marked his psychokinesis. "We can defeat him, right?"
"Of course we can. You can't second guess yourself now," Blaze said, burning brightly. "Let's go."
It was a sudden barrage of fists in the air, a sudden clash of titans, each with their own worlds on their shoulders. Each bore their struggles and troubles differently, but each clashed in battle with the same goal in mind: to bring their ideals to life.
Silver sensed the sheer amount of power in every blow. Every strike he dealt flew light as air, but crashed against Tails like a cosmic collision. Every kick he blocked, every strike he defended, they rang his body like a bell and wracked him with echoing pain.
Silver reached up at an opportune moment and grabbed Tails' outstretched tail. For a moment, looking up to Tails' eyes, he could see Iblis' inner shock. With ferocious strength, Silver slung the kit down to the ground, embedding him in the earth. He reached forward with his palm, christened with knowledge of the Sol Emeralds' powers, and shouted, "SOLUS COMPRESSION!"
An area around Tails' landing spot was suddenly encircled in blue light. Tails looked about frantically, but with no time to escape, he took the brunt of the blow. With earth-shattering power, an invisible force crushed down on the blue ring, creating an immense crater at the riverside. Water flowed into the crater and began to steam.
"How much more time do you need, Blaze?" Silver asked while he contained Tails within the compression field.
"Just a bit longer," Blaze assured him, gathering flames around herself.
Silver nodded and gripped his hands together in an attempt to hold Tails down longer, but even his heightened psychic abilities could not pin a demigod indefinitely. Tails escaped his confines and rushed up to attack his aggressor. The attack came right out of the steam cloud, and Silver was unable to dodge it in time. He took the jab to his cheek, reeling back a distance of a fifty meters at least.
Silver's vision was swimming and swirling. His attempts to focus only seemed to make his surroundings more blurry. When he at last regained his vision, he saw Tails charging up some kind of attack. A barrage of red lights were suddenly hurtling toward the hedgehog, and he quickly put up his defense. "SOLUS RAMPART!" he cried loudly, turning the air in front of him into pure energy, a shield he used against the volley.
He couldn't hold up for long, though. He took a fierce blow from a blast that had pierced his defenses. Silver held up his hands to protect his face from the flames that battered him. He opened his eyes to see Tails' own eyes through the fire. Silver wasn't quite sure what he saw in them. They had become crimson with bloodlust and heat, but he could tell that an inkling of what once was clung tightly to his last strand of hope; the hope that the kit would be destroyed before too much pain was caused.
Silver came back to his senses just in time to receive a harsh lash from Tails' namesakes. He felt blood gush from his side and he went to work patching up the wound. It wasn't unmanageable, but it would deter him.
He snapped his gaze up to see Tails approaching Blaze. Silver gasped; if Tails interrupted her now, there would be no more time to enact their plan. He charged Tails with a burst of adrenaline, using his elevated psychokinesis to create a blockade between Tails and Blaze. The frustrated demigod bounced off of the shimmering shield before glaring at its maker with ferocity.
The brutal beating begotten by Tails afterward went by in a flash; Silver could hardly process the pain as the possessed kit struck him like a comet. Stars floated in his vision as a harsh, burning kick impacted his sternum. His breath felt out of reach, as though it were sucked into a vacuum.
When his eyelids finally crested his eyes, Silver was able to dodge another serious blow and even countered by firing off razors of psychic energy that lacerated the kit, nearly dismembering a few of his tails.
The bloodied and mangled demigod was a sight to see. Fur matted with blood, skin charred with flame, eyes shocked open fangs borne; he resembled hell incarnate more than a celestial deity. Silver could no longer equate this unholy spawn with who had once been a dear friend, not even in physical appearance; he would no longer hold back.
"Wake up, Silver!"
Brought of his musings by Blaze's shouted, Silver noticed Iblis rushing at him with intention. Unable to dodge, he put up a block for the tail lashing to come. Snatched out of the air by those furry tendrils, Silver flailed for a moment—first in shock, then in indignation. Iblis whipped around its tails and flung Silver toward the ground, smirking at the earthshaking impact.
Iblis smirked in victory, assured that the hedgehog would not return to the fight in any short time. It returned to Blaze who was still focusing on gathering her power for what would have been the clinching decider of this fight. "What now, Blaze?" asked Iblis. "Your resistance is gone; your disarrayed comrades are either dead, unconscious, or mourning. Have you anything left?"
Blaze smiled still, a rebellious smile at best. It wasn't a cheek-splitting smile, but a small grin. She kept her arms crossed over her chest in concentration. "You think Silver would be downed so easily? You think too lowly of him."
"The weakling?" Iblis questioned, ignoring such a possibility. "Please, I've seen enough of our memories to know what he's like: a sniveling runt who can't tell up from down if you are not present."
"That's the thing I've always hated about you, Iblis," Blaze retorted. "You believe too firmly in the predictability and stationary attitude of mortals. See, some of us are not too fond of staying in one place. We grow up; we get stronger; and we most certainly change."
Iblis felt a jolt and looked around, shocked. Opaque, glowing, blue chains latched onto it and kept it from moving. At the root of the chains, Iblis could see Silver reigning it. "What is this? Unhand me!"
Blaze said nothing, only continued to grow brighter with flame. She raised her arms and screamed loudly, as if hoping her voice alone would magnify her flame. All around her, the sky lit up with an all-engulfing flame. The entire sky turned bright red from her light, and the rain in the air seemed to evaporate before the fire.
When finally the flame died down, Iblis looked about itself and noticed that it suddenly felt weak, as though all the power were sucked right out of it. It tried to breathe and found the task difficult, nearly unbearable. "What… What have you done?" wheezed the demigod, glaring at Blaze as it drifted to the ground and knelt, unable to stand.
Blaze floated down, landing before it. She stood now, superior to the god. "The real Tails would have figured out our plan much faster," she said, gesturing for Silver to come closer.
Silver strode with deliberate steps toward the two, sighing as the battle drew to a close. "It's simple physics, really. How do you stop a big flame? Set off an even bigger flame right next to it; snuff the oxygen, diminish the intensity."
A sense of finality overcame Silver as he looked to a nearby church. He grasped the spire of the church with his psychokinesis and brought it above Iblis' chest. Desperately—but still snidely—Iblis turned to Silver weakly. "Come on, Silver. You wouldn't kill your dear friend Tails would you?"
The spire came down, splitting open Iblis' chest with a sickening strike. "Don't fool yourself," Silver grumbled to the broken god. "You are no friend of mine."
[Stop Music]
^/\^|v\/v
Imperious smirked as he looked upon the city in ruin from his throne. "See this, Chameleon? This is destruction at its finest. A nation's capital brought to its knees by the very god it worshipped and sought to understand. Never before have I been as pleased as I am now."
"What do you plan to do now, master?"
Imperious smirked and stood from throne at that point. He spread his wings out, stretching them. His gait was unsteady from sitting down so long, but now he could stand and embrace the world. "Now, we confront them, of course," the ancient dragon replied as he drew a circle in the air with his claw. Arcane symbols glowed in the air and formed a portal for them to pass through. "Come. Let this be our victory march, pupil of mine."
The two stepped through the grand portal. At the other side, they stood before Castle Soleanna where Princess Elise herself stood alongside Samantha and Jack.
Those three had been watching the portal in wonder, but their looks of surprise turned to despair at the sight of the black dragon tattooed with red, arcane symbols. That glowing pentagram at his chest was the most ominous of all, a gateway to unending torment they imagined.
"Well, if it isn't Samantha. I had not dreamed of seeing you again so soon," Imperious spoke facetiously. "And you, Jack. Still the princess' errand boy?"
"I am no one's errand boy!" Jack responded all too quickly. His grudge toward the princess was still apparent.
"Very good, Jack. You have grown a backbone."
Elise cleared her throat. She wore a glare that spoke defiance as she interjected, "You have our attention, Imperious. What do you want?"
Imperious' lungs growled and grumbled, forming his draconic chuckle. "You know what I want, Elise. I have wanted it ever since I first laid eyes on it. I want the throne.
Elise's eyes were full of indignation. Imperious saw this and spoke up before she could respond. "Think carefully about what you are about to say, princess. I am not so forgiving when I am crossed, and should we not come to agreeable terms, allow me to remind you of the sword of Damocles that I hold over your head."
"What is he talking about?" Sam asked, fearfully hiding behind Jack. Even she could not repress the fear she held so fiercely for him.
Elise frowned. "He's talking about the lives of my people."
"Well done, princess," Imperious grumbled, smirking. His huffs caused smoke to fire from his nostrils, and his colossal figure imposed even more on them. "Heavy is the head, princess, and heavy it will hang. Do not believe that you can protect your people from a being of omniscience and omnipotence."
"I have never believed that I could," Princess Elise spoke with reluctance. She backed down and fell to her knees. Tears streamed down her cheeks in rivers, yet her voice did not falter. She hung her head down to hide her wet cheeks. "Only that I could delay your coming. I will step down, Imperious. I know when I am beaten."
"Elise, you cannot do this!" Jack scolded her, looking back at the broken princess. "You have a country to lead; your people need you!"
"Not anymore, they don't," Imperious said, sending a narrow gaze toward the cyborg. The dragon checked behind him shortly, assuring that his apprentice was still there, and smirked. "Tis the fate of kings to be brought low by their heirs. All monarchs will rise and fall, and she is no different. Go on, Elise."
Upon the next few words would begin a new nation. It was a construct of evil, and a dawn of new leadership. The machine of the new regime would be built upon the backs of the conquered, and allegiance would be mandatory on pain of death. Those next words were the hallmark of a new age, the epitaph of an old monarchy, the black hole sunrise on a land of light.
"I, Elise, hereby relinquish my right to the throne."
^/\^|v\/v
[Now Playing: "Exile Vilify" by: The National]
Tails felt the edges of his consciousness slide back into place, a wonderful feeling that he thought he'd never know again. His body felt numb and drained, but he didn't feel pain, even though he knew he should. His eyes opened for a short while, barely enough to see outside. A blurry sky of grey was the shroud on a cratered city, filled with destruction and ruin. Crumbled buildings lay all around; a river flowed next to a desecrated fountain. Turning his head to the side, he could see the blurry forms of Silver and Blaze kneeling beside him. Sonic was behind them, his head turned to hide tears. On his chest, he could see the spire from a nearby steeple. So that was what dealt him in.
"I… didn't mean to cause any trouble."
His voice brought all ears to attention. Sonic rushed over to his side and clutched Tails' hand desperately. Silver was empathetic; Blaze was collected. "None of this was your fault, Tails. We do not blame you," spoke Blaze.
Tails felt comfort from the words, but had difficulty finding them true. "It is a shame I wasn't stronger. This should never have come to pass, if I had only kept my emotions in check," he muttered, weak and tired.
"Don't speak that way," Sonic sputtered, refusing to stay silent forever. "You are strong Tails, stronger than any of us. You lived your whole life through adversity and loss. None of us have your strength."
"Is that so?" Tails mumbled. A smile stretched the corner of his lips just a centimeter. "To think that I have strength; that is a funny thought. When I am in the company of my friends, all that sorrow seems to melt away. Perhaps I was too dependent on all of you. I thought I'd grown over the course of our adventure together, Silver, but if there's anything I've learned over the past few hours, it's that I'm still as frail as the child who once piloted that wonderful starship across the cosmos."
Water rolled down Sonic and Silver's cheeks, and Tails knew it wasn't rain. Blaze appeared stoic, but her eyes told tales of inner turmoil. "Don't cry for me, Sonic, Silver," Tails whispered. He could hardly breathe, hardly speak. He didn't even know how he was still alive. "Water and salt are such vital bodily elements that would be wasted on my behalf."
Still, they remained silent. Sorrow like the shroud of clouds hung dark over their heads. Tails shushed their lamenting and reached for Sonic's hand, grasping it with what strength he had left. "I love you—all of you. Whether or not I have grown up over this journey, I do not know, but I did learn something: I have the faith, love, and companionship of all my dearest friends.
"Soon, I will die, and I know what you'll say. There is nothing that can be done for me—that much is apparent. I have to die to take Iblis with me. It is taking all my strength just to speak with you now."
Sonic nodded and held tightly onto Tails' weak hand. Silver and Blaze's clasped hands were caught in Tails' gaze and a happier smile crossed his face. "Go ahead, Tails," Silver encouraged him. "Say what you have to say."
Tails closed his eyes in understanding, acceptance. "When I am dead and gone, I… I don't wish for this world to become a darker place, but I'm afraid that's what I've brought on. S-soon, Imperious will step forth and make his move. When he does… I want you all to rebuild what I have so destroyed, protect what I could not.
"And most of all, please don't mourn me. Though our time was brief and the parting bittersweet, I will always cherish the time we spent together, in this life and the next. Should you speak of me, please don't agonize over my passing, but remember all the times we spent together in happiness."
Through a maelstrom of emotions, Sonic laid his forehead on Tails' and whispered, "We will; of course we will. We'll never forget this, Tails, and I'm never going to forget my best bud."
Tails chuckled weakly; his eyes fluttered shut. "You always seem to be that light in the darkness for me, Sonic, like a shining star or sun," he muttered, barely a whisper. His voice weakened, going, going… "If I could only be so incandescent… if only…"
A thunderclap fanfare seemed to accompany his departure. He wheezed one final breath and his limbs fell limp. Sonic slipped his slender hand out of his glove to caress the cheek of his lifeless brother. The body once touched by hellfire and celestial flame was cool to the touch, only a crumbling ember of its former strength.
"No… Tails—Tails, come back. Don't die—not like this—it's not right—you deserved a full life!"
Blaze put a hand on Sonic's shoulder in order to rouse him and was surprised to find that the blue blur's own skin was chilled to the touch, drained of life almost. "Sonic, that won't help."
"I don't care!" shouted Sonic. He hugged the bodily shell close to him, holding on as if it might still be revivable. "He deserved more than this!"
"But shouting won't fix anything."
"What makes you think you have the right to say that?" Sonic mumbled. "Were your parents claimed by war? Has society ever made a mockery of you? You didn't know Tails; you don't know me! I was always the hero, and Tails was always my unrecognized comrade. No one ever looked up to him; no one ever gave him the credit he deserved. Even in company, he was always alone!"
Blaze bit her lip and tried looking around, hoping to find an answer. "Sonic, I…"
"Quiet!" he barked again, his eyes shocked open by rage and sorrow. "He was the only family I had left! He was my brother, and now he's gone!"
The hedgehog's raving had him clutching his head. In his forehead built a pressure that only seemed to grow with every passing second. His breath ragged on and heaved harder, wheezing to bite back traitorous tears. It seemed he could tear himself in half and split open like the heavens.
The clouds left. The storm parted. In an instant, Sonic's raving stopped. Sonic fell backward, caught by the man who dealt him the sleep-inducing blow. "Quiet now, Sonic Hedgehog," Ghost mumbled. His voice was hollow, nearly broken, but salvageable. "The rain is past now; the time for tears has come to an end. Sorrow spawns sorrow, and anger will beget only more indignation. A peaceful retreat is what we need now."
Carefully, Ghost laid Sonic on the cobblestone road. He looked to the body that the hedgehog held and sighed. "As good a friend in life as he was in his dying breath," he mumbled as he picked up Tails' body, a featherweight in the hands of the tall man. "If it is okay with you, Silver and Blaze, I want to build them each a funeral pyre."
"Do what you must, Ghost," Silver agreed. He watched the burlesque man carry away Tails and Cynthia, preparing for the morbid task of handling their corpses.
And there they were again, the two lovers reunited under circumstances foul. The energy of the emeralds left them and they returned to simple existence once more, choosing to sit beside one another at the river bank. They held hands and looked out to the burning skies.
Silver squeezed Blaze's hand just a little tighter. He leaned on her shoulder. He needed her support now more than ever. "This wasn't what I intended to come out of this."
An arm wrapped around Silver's shoulders and pulled him closer to the regal cat. "I don't think any of this was intended," Blaze whispered, brushing back his quills.
"All I wanted was to make sure you were okay," he mumbled. "All I wanted was to see you again."
"Then perk up." Blaze lifted Silver's chin to see the tears in his eyes. Even in the midst of sadness, it somehow brought a smile to Blaze's face. "Fret not, Silver. I'm here now; that's one thing you accomplished, and what an exemplary accomplishment that was. I was watching over you, you know."
Silver wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded. He nuzzled her bosom and smiled. Even in the darkest of times, her presence was still the most comforting thing. "Still," he mumbled. "I fear not everything went as it should have."
"I understand, Silver," Blaze muttered, looking up at the ashen clouds. "There is a darkness on the horizon. It will assume a hegemonic rampage, about which I fear we can do very little."
"If only I could have done more."
"If only we all could have done more."
The two lovers sat there. The fight was over for now. Remitting and wavering, the two cuddled at the riverside and embraced powerlessness. Questions filled their minds, but the answers could only come later, and "if"s haunted their dusk thoughts.
If only. If only...