People sometimes wish that their boring, mundane lives would be a bit more exciting. That something would spice things up and turn the mundane into something... fantastical. I won't lie to you and say I sometimes didn't think the same thing. But Never in my life would I expect my life to be turned upside down in such a way. Other worlds? At the time, that was nothing more than a pipe dream. Fiction. Now? It's just the new norm. But you know what they say.
Be careful what you wish for.
Uncharted Frontiers
Chapter 1: Rekka Kurenai.
Somewhere in the multiverse, on the edge of outer space a battle had been waged. Two golden figures floated within the vast expanse of space, swirling golden energy encompassing their bodies in empowering them with near limitless strength and energy that protected them from the harsh conditions of the expansive abyss around them. One of these figures was an anthropomorphic hedgehog wearing white gloves and a pair of red shoes with white socks and golden buckles. His quills shot upwards, and were a vibrant glow, energy crackling along his fur. He wore a confident smirk on his face. Beside him was a cyborg, wreathed in a similar gold energy, his armor a mix of gold and white, with massive thrusters attached to his back.
Two heroes from completely separate worlds, Sonic the Hedgehog, the Hero of Mobius, and Mega-Man, the Blue Bomber. Both, with the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds, had accessed the legendary Super forms, becoming Super Sonic and Super Mega-Man. Standing before the two normally blue themed heroes was a ripple effect that seemed to effect the very universe around them. Tearing at it from the seems. Unstable and powerful. The Super-Genesis Wave had been complete. The combined efforts of their arch-nemesis Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik and Dr. Wily utilizing the power of the emeralds resulted in the phenomenon being generated, the mad scientists wanting to use the Super Genesis Wave to rewrite the very multiverse itself under their rule.
Super Mega-Man felt sweat roll down his cheek as he looked at the effects the Super Genesis Wave was having on the universe. "What... what do we do?! The Super Genesis Wave is practically finished! We're... too late..."
Compared to Super Mega-Man's reluctant admittance of defeat and despair, Super Sonic remained lax and casual. Grunting while stretching his arms out, the super-powered hedgehog grinned. "Eh, nothin' a little Chaos Control can't fix!"
Super Mega-Man's face scrunched up in confusion at the mention of the ability. "..."Chaos Control"...?"
Super Sonic's grin widened. "It's some super ancient and powerful technique used to control Chaos Energy. The same stuff the Docs used to power the wave, the same juice we used to transform? That's what were gonna use to fix this whole thing!"
Super Mega-Man's eyes slowly widened as the capabilities of Chaos Control began to sink in. He looked down at his hands in astonishment, still coming to grasp with the practically infinite amount of power and energy surging through his body. He spoke up in a hushed, awed whisper. "It's really that easy...?"
At that, Super Sonic's grin turned a tad sheepish as he glanced at the gold bomber, then back at the Super Genesis Wave. "Eh... not really. Thing is, you gotta be totally focused and in tune with the Chaos Energu you're using to pull it off. If we screw this up or lose concentration, consider us toast."
A small pit of dread formed in Super Mega-Man's stomach, but he shook his head with a determined frown and clenched a fist. "If we can fix anything and prevent any further damage, then it's worth a shot!"
Super Sonic flashed the robot a thumbs up and a broad grin. "That's the spirit! Let's do to it to it!"
As the hedgehog turned towards the universe-disrupting phenomenon, a frown briefly crossed his muzzle as he closed his eyes and took in a slow breath. Just hang on a little longer, Sal... everyone.
As the two heroes joined together and closed their eyes in concentration, the fiery gold aura that engulfed them doubled in size like a raging fire, burning brightly and illuminating the space around them. As they focused harder and delved into the energy bubbling within, the Chaos Energy that surrounded them began to shrink, swirling around their bodies and down into the center of their palms, sparking unstably with unbridled power.
Across from them, two mad doctors, one dressed in a crisp red and black battle suit, bald, with a sharp nose and a wild bright orange mustache, and the other, a balding man with his greying hair flaring out at the sides, dressed in a white lab-coat. Dr. Eggman looked utterly furious, huddled away in the cockpit of the destroyed remains of the Egg-Wily Machine X, while Dr. Wily remained slumped and defeated in a miniature blue plod akin to the Egg-Mobile.
"No...! NO! NO!" Eggman screamed, banging his fist against the control panel. "They're going to use Chaos Control to undo everything the Super Genesis Wave just accomplished!"
Slumping in defeat, Dr. Wily lightly banged his forehead against the rim of his pod. "Then that's it... we lost. We crossed dimensions, rewrote realities, altered time and space... and... and--that's it. All for nothing."
Their plans for complete and utter domination over the entire universe was being broken down right before their very eyes. It was nothing new, however. They'd always come up with some scheme that supposedly had no flaws in the slightest--with contingiences set in stone for situations such as this. And yet those heroes, somehow, someway, always managed to defeat them. It was common routine. But this was different. They'd come so far, the cusp of victory in the grasp. Two of the smartest and most intelligent minds of both their respective worlds had come together to formulate a plan to destroy their arch-nemesises and rewrite the universe in their image. It was perfect. And in this instant, it was all for nothing.
For Wily, it was exhausting. He felt defeated. For Eggman? It was infuriating. His artificial optics glowed a malicious red as he practically frothed at the mouth. Wily's attitude wasn't improving his mood in the slightest.
"I wonder if I'll remember any of this after Mega-Man resets it all."
"It's not ending like this!"
"Ivo, it's over. I know it's a challenge for you, but show a little grace and dignity."
Wily's words went ignored. Hot-wiring the control panel and redirecting what little energy the Egg-Wily Machine X had remaining into the thrusters, Eggman gripped the controlls and blasted off with a furious snarl and scream of rage. He would not lose again. Not after coming this far. His pride could not sustain another blow! He would not let this come to pass!
"I... I can feel it! The energy--it has purpose. Everything is going to be alright!"
"Heh. Told ya. Don't lose focus, now! Aim the energy at your reality..."
Back with the golden duo, the energies they were manipulating had grown more stable as the effects of Chaos Control gradually began to take effect. As the energy built up, Super Sonic and Super-Mega Man aimed their respective attacks at the two interconnected swirling masses of dimensional energy that represented their individual universes. Just as they were about to fire, the Egg-Wily Machine X--courtesy of Eggman--crashed straight into Sonic. While it caused him no pain thanks to the invulneralbility granted to him by the Super transformation, the impact made him grunt in surprise as both he and Eggman sailed towards the pit of blinding light. Super Mega-Man's eyes widened in horror.
"SONIC!"
"D-Don't worry about me!" Super Sonic grimaced, sweat rolling down his chin as he used one hand to keep the massive machine, and by extension, Eggman back, while using the other to maintain a grip on his Chaos Control. The interruption caused a lapse in focus, and the energy was rapidly beginning to spiral out of control. "Take care of your universe! I'll worry about mine! TAKE THE SHOT!"
Hesistance was writren all over Super Mega-Man's face. Uncertainty swam in his eyes and he bit his lip before sucking in a breath and nodding solemnly. "R-Right. Thanks, Sonic... for everything."
"CHAOS CONTROL!"
He fired. The sphere of condensed Chaos Energy impacted the swirling mass of distorted energy. The cracks in the universe and reality began to recede, as if being sewn shut. The build up in energy wasn't as chaotic as before, and the light grew brighter before encompassing the robot in full. Super Mega-Man felt a smile cross his lips as he closed his eyes and let the light envelop him. Deep inside, something told him everything would be fine. That he'd return home... and everything would be normal once more.
On Super Sonic's end, his grasp on Chaos Control was beginning to wane, putting a considerable strain on him. He even felt the effects of the Super form beginning to die out, which wasn't good at all! The hedgehog desperately wanted to glare at Eggman and give the mad doctor a piece of his mind, and maybe a good old fashioned butt-kicking. But this required what little focus he had left, or quite frankly, they were totally boned. Regardless, Super Sonic growled.
"Are you out of your freaking mind, Eggman?! Actually, scratch that! I already know the answer!" Super Sonic snarked, his face scrunching up into a violent grimace. "You're gonna screw everything up!"
"If I can't have the universe MY WAY, then you won't have it AT ALL!" Eggman fired back, putting more power into the thrusters.
Super Sonic hissed as he stared at the unstable, crackling ball of Chaos Energy in his palm. With a heave of strength, he pushed the Egg-Wily Machine X back and cupped the sphere of energy with both his hands. He had no time to think. He had to act now! "C-CHAOS... CONTROL!"
"OH NO YOU DON'T! FIRE!!"
Activating the weapons system, the partially destroyed missile hatch on the Egg-Wily Machine X forced itself open with the slam of a button from Eggman. The missile sailed over Super Sonic's shoulder and straight into the sphere of Chaos Energy just as he casted Chaos Control. The hedgehog's eyes widened in horror as he was engulfed in a blinding explosion. Forcing him to cover his eyes.
Their universe grew unstable. Reality itself warped and began to tear itself apart. Super Sonic's eyes looked around rapidly as everything began the blur. He had no time to compute what was going on. He could heae multiple voices calling his name, shouting at once, vibrating through his ears. He saw multiple worlds, dimensions--alternate realities and timelines. Of places where he was bad, where the world was at it's end, where he didn't even exist, and it was too much for his mind to digest in such little time. Clutching his head as the Super form fizzled out, and his spiked up golden quills began to return their lax blue, multiple memories from his past, and some from his future appeared. All a blur. They were erased, replaced by experiences he didn't recognize and people he didn't know. Yet he felt as though he did know who they were.
Sonic screamed.
The entire universe, and beyond was engulfed in a blinding flash of white light. Torn apart, nearly erased... and then pieced back together. Sewn into place.
Then there was nothing.
《In Another World...》
"Annnnnnnnd~ that should do it!"
In a messy bedroom with several posters of superheroes and video game characters strewn about, a teenage boy sat alone at his desk in the middle of the light. Several pencils and markers, some colored, some not were haphazardlt rest on the table. In front of the boy was a big sheet of paper with something expertly sketched on it.
The boy looked to be 16 years old, with tan skin and a frustrating case of bed hair, his tangled black locks framed his forehead to where he had to blow them out of his eyesight on occassion. Mundane brown eyes with dark, heavy bags stared down at the sheet of paper before him, twinkling with pride and satisifaction. The young man held a smile of relief as he stared at the art he made.
"Finally done..." He yawned, rubbing at his eyes and giving the paper one final look.
The drawing was a full blown character sheet of a fictional character of his own creation. An anthropromorphic draconic boy that stood at about 4'0 feet tall, with wild untamed shoulder length dark red hair with curved horns jutting out his head and smooth, light-pink 'skin'. Notes on the side noted that they were in fact smooth microscopic scales that appeared as skin at first glance, but provided exceptional defense and were as hard as diamond. The dragon held a youthful and boyish appearance, but still had a sense of maturity to him. He had wide, bright emerald eyes that gave off a sense of confidence and adventure, and a small black button nose. There were darker patches of red scales that framed the side of his face and went down the ridge of his nose, giving off the illusion of a snout.
The dragon held a lean frame, but he was far from skinny. He had muscle, but not to the point where he was some large beefcake. He was atheltic, with big hands and sharp claws that were covered by white bandages. He wore a sleeveless dark-red leather hooded jacket with intricate scale-like patterns running along the fabric that clung snugly to his form. The hood was adorned with flame-like patterns for aesthetic purposes.
Underneath the jacket was a black compression shirt, accompanied by loose charcoal-colored pants with fire patterns running down the sides. The pants were noted to be lightweight, for better flexibility and maneuverability. Along with that, were toe-less dark red leather boots fit for handling most if not all forms of terrain. On closer inspection the material was detailed, resembling dragon scales, further hitting home that this was in fact a dragon, even if he lacked the wings.
Finally, he had a tail, like the rest of his scales, were a light pink. Though the tip had a flare of fur shaped like fire, similar to a Chinese dragon's. The character sheet depicted this characters from multiple angles, from front to back, and even had smaller doodles drawn on the side depicting some of the abilities the character had. Such as super-strength, speed, and pyrokinesis. Being capable of things such as breathing fire, or performing other sorts of attacks with his flames.
There was some tidbits of information for the character scribbled down. Like he was a martial artist raised in the mountains, with hints to an unknown origin and past--yet despite this, he retained an optimistic outlook on things and enjoyed helping others, and never asked for much in return. He also loved to get into scraps. And then the name...
Rekka Kurenai the Dragon.
The boy smiled tiredly. Overal the sheet looked professionally made. He was proud of it, but aldo terribly exhausted. He'd been working on it for hours and quite frankly, wanted to get some rest. He felt he deserved it. The young artist set his pencil down and groaned as he stretched in his seat. "Ugh... it's a school night, too. I'm not gonna enjoy this in the morning..."
His eyes drooped and he slumpd forward, leaning his head against his desk. He should really move to his bed, but he was too tired. Instead, he rested his head againsr his arms and yawned. "Maybe a quick little snooze... and then I'll... move..."
As the boy drifted off to sleep, he failed to notice his lights flicker and the very world rumble. It was almost as if a blackout had occured as the lights shut off completely. And then, after that... the everything was engulfed in a blinding lash of white light.
《FRONTIERS》
He awoke to the sound of screaming and gunfire, as well the smell of soot and ash. Of fire. He didn't feel the comfort of his desk or the cool AC that billowed in his room. He was on the cold hard ground. He sat up with a start, eyes wide with confusion and panic. He stood up to his feet and looked around. He was stationed in an alleyway. These buildings... he didn't recognize them at all.
"... Where am I?"
He flinched at the thundering sound of an explosion. His panic had come back full force. Why was he outside? Was there a terrorist attack or something? He swiftly started patting himself down and blinked in confusion at the clothes he was wearing. His brows furrowed and he looked down, a startled gasp building up in his throat.
Those were not human feet or toes. Those were clawed, three-toed feet. And freakishly cartoonish.
He looked down his hands and his heart pounded against his ribcage. His sense of reality started to wane, and he began to wonder if he was hallucinating or having some kind of dream.
His hands were large and clawed. Covered in bandages.
"What happened to me?!"
Another explosion rocked the earth and nearly threw him off his feet. Finding purchase against a wall, he huffed and peered out the corner with a look of fright and confusion. His eyes widened in shock, morbid fascination, and horror.
Giant... mechs stomped their way through the city, aiming massive cannons and firing ballistic missiles at every which way. Buildings exploded in a cacophony of fire, shrapnel, and debris. Crowds of people--animals, anthropromorphized animals were running away from the threat. They came in all shapes, sizes, and species. Dogs, bears, cats, leopards, dolphins. Some wear clothes, others jusr wore a pair of gloves and shoes. He noted that most of the ones wearing actual clothes and outfits looked female.
Peering further down the street, he could see what could only be described as an army of smaller robots were attacking these... people. Aiming firearms at them and unloading bullets, missiles, and lasers upon innocents. Some got hit and had to be carried away. He noted that there were a good chunk of the anthros that didn't run away were wearing what looked like military gear and held odd contraptions that looked similar to guns. They looked to be holding off the cybernetic threat. But it was clear they were being overwhelmed.
Just what the hell did I wake up to...? He thought incredulously. He couldn't believe what he was seeing right now. It was as though he'd stepped into some kind of comic book or video game. Hell, even a cartoon. Yet, for some reason, this also felt normal to him. It was an odd feeling to describe.
"MOMMA!"
Perking up, his eyes instantly locked down to a small anthro. A child, most likely. They--she, appeared to be a wolf, with snow white fur and windswept bangs with frosty blue tips and violet eyes.The child looked absolutely terrified. He couldn't blame her... so was he. She looked to have scraped her knee, and it was bleeding badly. Did she trip?
"Wait..." One of those robots had managed to slip past the men and women holding the horde of robots back and was making it's way towards the small wolf, it's weapons raised. His eyes widened in horror. It wasn't going to...
"AMAYA!"
His gaze shifted to a larger wolf anthro. A woman that looked similar to the little girl was running towards her as fast as her legs could carry her. She wasn't going to make it in time. That girl was going to die before she could make it. They both may die. And those military people hadn't taken notice yet.
Move.
Said a tiny part of his brain. But what was he going to do? He hadn't the foggiest idea what was going on! He couldn't fight those things!
Move!
And throw himself in harms way! He'll get all three of them killed!
MOVE!
He screamed internally and his instincts took over and run. It was as if his body moved on auto-pilot as the world around hin blurred and he was upon the bright orange rotund robot in seconds. He didn't have time to process what he was doing or why he was doing it. He'd already attacked in retaliation, throwing a devastating punch towards the bot.
WHAM!
His fist tore straight through the robot's metal exterior much to his shock and sent it careening into a nearby building, where it exploded on impact. Slowly easing out of a combat stance he didn't even know he entered, he stared at his fist in shock and awe for a brief moment. Then he turned his attention to the little girl, who was staring up at him with wide eyes.
He blinked. She blinked back. Then, he smiled. It was a tad awkward and strained, but he tried his best to convey kindness. "Are you alright?"
He got a slow, dumb-founded nod in response.
"Amaya!"
Their attention turned to the woman that had finally caught up. Her movements weee so fast he didn't even have time to process it, as the mother scoopd her daughter up into a tight-embrace. Tears pooled up in her eyes as she didn't let go of the girl.
The mother, teary-eyed, peered up at him with a grateful smile. "Bless you, sir! Bless you!"
Blinking, a geniune smile managed to creep it's way up his face. "... No problem. Quick, you should get out of here before more of those things show up."
The mother was quick to agree and turned to the leave. But not before giving him one last grateful glance and running off. The little girl in her arms waved goodbye. And he couldn't help but wave back with a soft smile and feeling of pride for having helped.
Remembering that he was standing in what could only be described as a warzone, he turned towards the overbearing numbers of robots ahead that were being held off by those soldiers. The situation only got worse. It was clear they weren't going to last long. He chewed the inside of his cheek, wondering what he should do. Part of him wanting to ignore it. He still didn't understand what was going on or what was... wrong with him. But another part... a larger part of him wanted to help.
He clenched a fist and exhaled through the door before rushing into the fight.
...
"When are reinforcements going to arrive!? We can't hold the fort forever!"
"I don't know! They should be here any minute! Just keep going!"
Darius, a dog Islander, grimaced as he and his team continued to fight the horde of Egg-Pawns. Raising his wispon, he pulled the trigger and released a stream of fire that burned straight through one of the Egg-Pawns, causing it to explode which set off a chain reaction and caused several others to blow up in the process. A trinkle of satisfaction rang through him at that. But there were still more to deal with.
Where had it all gone wrong? He'd asked himself that several times now and came to one conclusion.
Eggman. Eggman was where it all went wrong.
Ever since the start of the world, little by little, they'd lost ground against the Eggman Empire. At first it was... fine. After all, they had Sonic the Hedgehog with them! Surely with him by their side, Eggman wouldn't succeed in his plans! That was the same song and dance. The formula. That's how it always turned out... and yet that wasn't the case.
Sonic lost.
Eggman had acquired a new lackey, someone named Infinite with some unknown power that was capable of enhancing machinery and creating tangible enemies. Not much was known about the masked jackal. What was known and what was established was that he was a threat. Far more powerful than anything they'd faced before. Him defeating Sonic was proof enough. With Sonic in the hands of the Empire, it didn't take long for the world to be taken over. Even with people like Shadow the Hedgehog, things became bleak. People lost hope and were grasping at straws. The Resistance was formed to combat the threat and take in refugees. Nearly 90% of the world had been taken over.
Darius and his team had been stationed in Sunset Heights by the Resistance for means of lookout. Then another attack by Eggman was launched. They'd issued an evacuation for the citizens of Sunset Heights, and had been holding off the threat. They'd greatly underestimated the number of Egg-Pawns and several other Badniks that were deployed. They even sent a freaking SUPER BADNIK down!
Overkill, much?!
Darius grunted in mild pain as his wispon was shot out of his head. He fell onto his backside in a painful heep and groaned in pain. "Shit..." the dog flinched as a cannon honed in on his face. The soulless optics of the Egg-Pawn before him bore into his soul as the cannon began to whir and charge up. His eyes slowly widened in horror, before he shut his eyes tightly and waited for his demise.
... Yet it didn't come.
Darius cracked an eye open and blinked in surprise to see the Egg-Pawn that was going to end his life go flying into the horde before exploding. Several others were soon to follow. His confusion grew as a tall dragon Islander with unruly dark red hair stood in front of him. His jaw dropped slightly. "Who...?"
Emerald irises honed in on the jaw from over their shoulder. "Can you stand?"
Darius stared, gobsmacked, before quickly scrambling to his feet. "Y-Yeah! Are you the backup sent by the Resistance?".
The dragon's brows furrowed as he eyed Darius before shaking his head and turning back towards the horde. "No. Dunno what that is. You should get your friends out of here, though."
Darius felt inclined to agree, but he felt incredulousness and suspicion build. He had to be joking, right? How did he not know who the Resistance was?! Shaking his head, Darius quickly picked up his wispon with an anxious frown, his gaze shifting towards the back of his savior. "... Right... if you aren't with the Resistance, then who are you?"
The dragon paused, spacing out for a moment, as if he had to think deeply on the question. Darius frowned uncomfortably at the silence, only to blink when the dragon turned to him with a wide, fanged grin.
"Call me Rekka... Rekka Kurenai!"
I'm probably never gonna stop dumping out fics and not finishing most of them because I have WAY too many ideas that I've the foggiest clue what to do with.
Had this little idea for a while but didn't act on it until now. Why now? Well, I like Sonic. And~ I was listening to the Forces soundtrack. For all the game's faults, it had a BANGER OST!
Also Rediscovered Frontiers inspired me too, check that fic out. Awesome stuff. Anywho! Hope you enjoyed! See you... whenever the next chapter comes out.
