Author's Note: Again, sorry for the long wait. It's been quite tricky to write this story to reach to certain points I want to get to(as usual), and the website having issues for the last month, things have been pretty crazy.
Hopefully this will make up for the long wait. Happy reading!
I hold no rights to Sonic the Hedgehog. All propeties of the franchise belong to Sega. I only own the OCs(including the titular character of this story).
Chapter 9: The Gigan Canyon.
It was about two hours later that Sun, Star, and the Chaotix(after finally getting Vector to stop singing...if that's what you want to call it) thanked Mnyambo for his advice and sense of directions, the five took to the skies and headed straight towards Gigan Canyon itself in hopes of locating the third Cosmos Sapphire.
It wasn't until the five had landed just outside of the wall canyon-like walls that they noticed it wasn't anything like they even expected. In fact, the two hedgehogs, the green crocodile, chameleon and young bee looked up to see a long flight of stairs leading up to the actual canyon itself in front of them.
"You sure this is the right place?" Sun asked, dubiously at Vector.
"'Course I'm sure! This is where that Mnyambo fella gave his directions, didn't he?" The Chaotix Leader responded, folding his arms in a pout at the orange hedgehog's doubt. "Or else we'd be going around in circles in Mazuri all day!"
"The only way to enter Gigan Canyon is to go up these stairs, unfortunately," Star reminded the boys, gazing carefully at the valley before them. "If the calculations are correct, the Lunar Temple should be further within the valley itself. We'll have to ask the local people living there to see if they can help us."
"Sure is a pretty long way up, huh? Almost like the beanstalk in those giant storybooks, only without great big vines and leaves, but with stairs." Charmy remarked thoughtfully.
Espio gazed at his youngest friend, skeptically with a sweat drop. "Neither one have any relation nor resemblance, Charmy."
"C'mon, guys! We're wastin' time chattin' about stairs! We're here to get to the Lunar Temple and the Cosmos Sapphire before the Hybrians do, not gossip on ancient structures all day!" Vector impatiently reminded.
"Alright...Let's go." The former Werehog declared, taking the lead this time with Star one step behind. He was determined to try and set things right, and get to the Temple before Starline's army does.
As the Chaotix quickly followed behind the two hedgehogs, Sun's thoughts then went back to what Mnyambo had said to him...About him being the chosen one to save the world this time, that Sonic's interference in order to protect him would cause his mental state of mind to deteriorate even further, and how Star was involved with all of this.
Plus his ongoing identity crisis which made him feel slightly even worse.
"There are also times when we question our identities when our origins are not what we would expect or hope for, or even when we feel responsible for other people's terrible actions they do not regret all the time. Our pasts can either change us for the better, or for worse, or perhaps not make any difference what so ever."
'Everybody keeps on telling me that I can make my own decisions...But how can I do that if I'm supposed to be the big hero like Shadow was when he had his amnesia problem? Or Sonic who was just an eleven year old kid when he first started fighting Ro-butt-nik?' The more Sun thought about it, the more he unfortunately uncertain he became.
This was twice as hard as he thought. What was he going to do? How can he solve all of this and save Mobius at the same time? How did Sonic and everybody else do it?
He just hoped that Starline wouldn't find out about his origins and use him against Sonic and everybody else. But it still pegged the question of Star's origins.
Not to mention...Who IS Aria from her dreams?
Deep within parts of a structure of canyon walls and fluorescent plant life, lied a monument painting of Mobius along with fourteen crystals: Seven within the planet that resembled to the Chaos Emeralds, and seven outside of it with stars and a portal linking to a caged realm with fragments of other planets, the very heart of Gigan Canyon deep within. Standing in front of the staircase of the ancient building itself, was a female Mobian Lynx with long crimson hair, peach-brown coloured fur, cobalt blue eyes, black markings on her hands and lower legs, wearing a long priestress violet dress, black leather boots, and a long robe covering it all with a hood over her head.
She was kneeling in respect before the great temple, her hands clasped together in a prayer as she silently concentrated.
"The protectors are the seven Cosmos, Cosmos is flight, healing enriched by the hearts...The healer is the one who unifies the Cosmos...they intertwined with the seven Chaos...the two sides of the very balance of life and death, light and darkness...Light and Dark Gaia...the two halves of the Twilight...Oh, great God of Judgement...I seek thy wisdom." The Mobian Lynx prayed and chanted, as the winds began to pick up, torches that were lit up around her to add to the light snuffed out, leaving her with noting but the light of the plants that grew from the dry soil.
Then, the light within the Temple began to glow and as the Lynx Priestress waited, an orb of light materialized before it formed into a portal and as she gazed up expectingly, an intimidating silhouette of a giant figure was seen from the other side of a twilight sky with stars twinkling.
"WHO DARES TO SUMMON THE LINK BETWEEN THE MORTAL REALM AND THE TWILIGHT CAGE?" A deep, male, and dark voice bellowed from the giant being, sounding suspicious and disturbed.
"It is I, Crysta, Priestress of Gigan Canyon of Planet Mobius," Crysta, the Lynx Priestress spoke boldly, showing no signs of fear but still stayed in her position to show her respects. "I seek your wisdom of the grave dangers beckoning upon both worlds which is looming far closer than we expect."
"AH...SO YOU ARE THE DESCENDANT OF THOSE WHOM ONCE SOUGHT OUT MY GUIDANCE EONS AGO," The giant figure sounded rather amused than distrusting, with a smirk heard in his voice. "I TAKE THAT THE COSMOS SAPPHIRES ARE IN GOOD HANDS, HM?"
Crysta lowered her gaze in remorse, ashamed having to reveal what she is about to say next. For fourteen years, she and her people have waited once her late father recieved word from the coming disaster that would befall Mobius.
"My lord, I'm afraid we do not know who the chosen Champion is to be. However, I sensed that two of the Cosmos Sapphires are already taken from the other Lunar Temples, and great evil is seeking them out." The young Lynx regrettably explained.
Rather than yelling out in pure anger and fury as she would have expected and had braced herself for the bitter punishment on behalf of her father and people, instead the giant figure let out a gasped shock, before groaning in sheer annoyance and seemed to facepalmed himself.
"WHICH MEANS THE TWILIGHT PRINCESS' POWER OF THE SAPPHIRES IS BEING SOUGHT OUT AS WELL. I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN!" He complained, shaking his head. Of all the bad things to remain unchanged, it had to be the prophecy which foretold of the missing Princess.
"I am deeply sorry for our failure, oh, master. Rest assured, if the Champion does come, he must know of the truth. Perhaps it is the one who is also chosen by the Chaos Emeralds stories say outside of our home, one who has been chosen by Light Gaia." Crysta shook her head, while having a glimmer of hope in her voice.
"UNFORTUNATELY, THE CHAMPION IS NOT THE CHOSEN OF THE CHAOS EMERALDS, ONE WHOM I HAVE SEEN THROUGH MY REALM OVER THE RECENT FIVE YEARS. HE IS KNOWN AS SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, AND YES, BECAUSE OF HIS PURE HEART AND BEING CHOSEN BY LIGHT GAIA, YOUR WORLD IS RESTORED. ALAS, HIS NEXT TASK IS ON THE HORIZON, BUT THE TRUE CHOSEN IS QUITE CLOSE TO HIM." The figure corrected, much to the Priestress' shock.
Someone who is close to Sonic? That person is the true Champion of the Cosmos Sapphires? Crysta was beyond bewildered at this point as she has yet to have visions of her own like her father as it passed down from generation to generation and now it is her time to follow in his footsteps.
"I don't understand. If it is not Sonic the Hedgehog, then who could it be? Is it one of his close friends? Or perhaps the Master Emerald's Guardian?"
The giant being laughed that would send chills down people's spines. "YOU ARE PRETTY CLOSE, YOUNG MORTAL. BUT IT IS NEITHER THE GUARDIAN OF THE MASTER EMERALD NOR THE CHOSEN ONE'S CLOSE BONDED FOX CUB SIBLING, OR HIS FUTURE LOVER, THE YOUNG FORTUNE TELLER. I HAVE A FEELING YOU WILL BE VERY SURPRISED WHEN YOU SEE HIM."
"Him?" Crysta blinked, feeling that it wasn't much of a hint, but it was admittedly close enough. Would it be Shadow the Hedgehog, then? Or anyone else the hero of Mobius knew of?
"YOU WILL KNOW SOON ENOUGH. IN FACT, I HAVE A FEELING HE ALONG WITH HIS ALLIES WHO ARE ALSO FRIENDS TO SONIC ARE ARRIVING NOW AS WE SPEAK. I FIND MYSELF SURPRISED THAT THE THREATS HAVE AT LAST BEGAN TO ENDANGER YOUR PLANET AND THE TWILIGHT CAGE ONCE MORE."
"Yes...The last of the Zeti have been awakened and they, and those who seek the Sapphires will soon spell doom if the Princess and her Champion do not find them first and fufil their destiny." Crysta nodded in grim agreement.
"HMMMM...THEN THERE IS NO MORE TIME TO WASTE," The being murmured in deep thought with a frown heard, as well as concern. Knowing what needs to be done, he turned to the Lynx who summoned him. "PRIESTRESS CRYSTA. AS A SUCCESSOR, YOU ARE TASKED IN PUTTING YOUR VISITORS INTO A TEST TO PROVE THEIR WORTHY, AND ENSURE THEIR SAFETY SHOULD THE CHAMPION BE ONE OF THEM. LEAD THEM TO THE LUNAR TEMPLE AND MAKE SURE THEY GET TO THE THIRD COSMOS SAPPHIRE FIRST BEFORE THE ENEMIES DO."
Crysta nodded firmly, agreeing with the being's logic and knew that the Luna Temple in her home is sacred. She bowed her head once more. "As you wish, my lord."
This made the giant figure chuckle in approval. "EXCELLENT. MAY THE STARS SHINE UPON YOU, CHILD. FAREWELL."
With that, the portal between the two worlds faded and disappeared without a trace, leaving the young Lynx alone once more. After a few moments of thinking, she nodded to herself fully determined to figure out what went wrong all those years ago and see if the Princess was coming along with her Champion or not. Whoever he was is close to the hero of Mobius, Sonic the Hedgehog.
"Priestress Crysta! Priestress Crysta!"
Softly gasping over a male voice calling out to her, Crysta instantly stood up and turned to see a male Mobian Owl with crimson feathers with white feathers on his chest, a yellow beak, blue eyes, and was wearing a robe.
"Eren? Eren, what's wrong?" The young Lynx asked in growing concern.
"We have visitors here apart from that friendly fisherman with the frog, Big the Cat, being two hedgehogs, a crocodile, a chameleon and a child bee, but there are intruders! They were the ones wearing robes pretending to honor our people, armed men and wearing helmets!" Eren the Owl panted frantically, sweat forming all over his body.
"What!?" The enemy was here already, having captured their people...and the visitors were here as well? Oh, sweet Realm...The evil was already here...looking for the rest of the Cosmos Sapphires.
"We must do something! You must hide! I fear they are after you!" Eren continued urgently.
Crysta frowned in shock, before narrowing her eyes as she knew, the time has come for her to take action. First, the enemy soldiers had to be taken care of.
"No, I will not run away! I know not who these men are, but they will not bring harm to our people." She declared firmly, racing past the bewildered Owl who stood there for a moment, before calling out to her.
"Mistress, please! If the enemy know of your existence, it will cause more harm to the world!" He tried to reason desperately.
Crysta paused in her steps, grimly pointing out. "Then perhaps this is what my father foresaw before his death. Even if I were to be captured by these evil forces..." She glanced over her shoulder, determined to complete her task. "The fate of our world lies in the hands of the Champion, chosen by the Cosmos Sapphires...and the missing Princess who is yet to be identified."
Without waiting for a response and knowing that much was at stake, the Priestress Lynx hurried out of the chamber, with a frantic and dumstruck Eren, who worried for her safety, flying after her.
She had to hurry before it was too late.
Around the same time...
About fifteen minutes later, Sun and his friends were still making their way up towards the canyon, as the stairs were far longer and higher than they originally thought. To make things more annoying, the sunlight was baring down on them with it's intense heat in what could only be described as a really hot day.
"Ugh...Places like this, Mazuri and Shamar are just way too hot. I know some people grow up in these environments but how can anybody stand it?" Sun groaned, wiping his forehead. He felt like he was about to melt for crying out loud!
"Oh, this heat is nothing," Star giggled knowingly, only a bit hot but being an archaeologist, she was used to this sort of thing during her travels. "I've been to deserts that are a lot hotter and far more unbearable. Not to mention that they are areas where nobody can live."
"Yeah, well, just hope the fourth temple is in a place where there's no jungles or deserts, but I also would like to avoid the icy cold terrains like at Holoska, thank you." The orange hedgehog shuddered over the thought, because if the other temples were in placed with freezing, cold snow, he would go stir crazy.
Vector, bearing the heat and the fact that they had been walking for too long far worse than the others, groaned loudly as he was slumping his way up. "Couldn't these people have built the Temple on the lower level like a cave or something? And why have it in an area where I feel like I'm about to have my scales more drier than usual?"
"If the Lunar Temple was built on a lower ground, Vector, it would make it far easier for intruders such as Dr. Starline and the Hybrians to break into and steal the Cosmos Sapphire." Espio pointed out firmly, as like Star, he managed to ignore most of the heat and focus on the task.
"Or Eggman," Charmy added, panting as he gave up on flying and just walked up the stairs...which unfortunately made his legs hurt. "Can't forget about that bad guy."
"I'm actually kind of surprised that Ro-butt-nik hasn't gone after the Cosmos Sapphires yet," Sun remarked thoughtfully, gazing upward. "Do you think he could be already working with those guys by now? Or wasn't he informed yet or something?"
"Hmmmm..." Espio thought deeply, closing his eyes. "It could be either way, or else like a few previous times, he is recovering from the most recent failure and will only make his appearance once again in a few months or so."
The purple chameleon did make a good point. Dr. Eggman could be one step behind in all of this...It wasn't until Sun remembered that Starline is the man's number one fan, and was doing all of this in order to help human scientist take over Mobius while becoming his assistant. If that evil platypus succeeds, then no one was safe. Not even Sonic who, in his mental state of mind which he still hasn't fully recovered from, would blame himself and lose whatever confidence he still has left and managed to regain during his recovery.
But before the tangerine hedgehog could even continue his thoughts of concern, he and his friends began to hear chattering and paused in their steps in confusion and curiosity. There they saw the very top of the stairs.
"Hey, we made it!" Charmy cheered in relief.
"Finally. I thought these stupid stairs would never end." Sun groaned in relief.
"It seems that there are people already here, but they do not sound hostile or even related to the Hybrians." Espio remarked, yet at the same time remained on his guard just to be on the safe side.
"Let's go take a look around and see what we can find." Star suggested, and the three of the four boys nodded in agreement, hurrying along the rest of the way up.
"H-hey! Hold up! You guys can't leave me behind! I'm the boss here!" Vector protested, being the most exhausted as he ran as fast as he could...but ended up almost sluggishly slowing down, panting and wheezing.
Unfortunately for him, the younger Mobians completely ignored the green crocodile and instead reached the top, panting as climbing up those stairs was a real torture, Sun and Charmy both having their hands on their knees while leaning over.
By the time they recovered while hoping to never go through this ever again, they, Star who breathed in awe, and Espio who was speechless, all looked up to see, much to their shock and amazement, was anything unlike they have ever seen: Beyond them within the top of the canyon, was a structure that looked like some sort of village, a mixture of Sonic's childhood hometown in Green Hill Zone, Mnyambo's village in Mazuri, only that it was built on the one side of the canyon wall's and upward towards a mountain.
It was spread all around a large area of flat space that must have been carved artificially, no doubt hand-made by the people long before machinery and mechanical tools were ever made. There were huts built with strong wood and sandstone that could withhold against the strongest and dangerous weather patterns, some built into the walls themselves, some having wooden ladders leading to the front doors, others only accessible within the walls through wooden doors.
Not only there were huts and houses, but there were also shops selling pieces of fine and colourful material used as sarongs or capes, fruit and fish, and even hand-made wooden or material toys for children to play with. Also unlike the Mazuri Village, all of the citizens here were Mobians, the majority of them being tall lions with different coloured manes or long hair tied up in braids, Lynx in the similar colouring fashion, and Owls all wearing robes with brown and/or white feathers.
"Holy Chaos..." Sun whispered, wondering if he was dreaming.
"The Gigan Canyon Village...These people must be the sole residents with some of them seemingly connected with the Lunar Temple here," Star was beyond amazed, glancing around in beaming wonder, before sheepishly admitting. "Or, at least that's my theory."
"This is pretty cool! It kind of reminds me of that Mountain Village in that Final Galaxy 7 video game.(1)" Charm remarked in surprise.
"Hi there, Sonic and Espio! Hi, Charmy!" A new voice called out all of the sudden.
Startled out of their thoughts and amazed trance, Sun, Star, Charmy and Espio looked up to see a previously unnoticed Mobian whom the latter two were surprised to recognize, and the two hedgehogs dumbfounded. Approaching them was a large purple, black and white striped Mobian Cat with a really round body, big ears, wearing brown gloves and sandals, and a belt, carrying a fishing rod with a frog resting on his shoulder.
"Big?" Espio blinked, not expecting to see a familiar ally, Big the Cat, to be here.
"Hi there, Big! How are you doin', Froggy?" Charmy waved happily.
Sun at first was dumbfounded by this, before his eyes widened as he realized that two of his friends and Sonic know this large Mobian, turning to the two detectives. "You guys and Sonic know him?"
"That's right. This is Big the Cat, and his friend Froggy. Sonic and the others have first met them when they were both involved with Dr. Eggman's evil plot in controlling Chaos." Espio explained.
"Oh..."
"Say, Sonic, how come you're all orange now? You also sound kind of different." Big, not realizing he was speaking to the wrong hedgehog, asked in confusion.
"Um...Sorry, Big guy. I'm not Sonic, but I do know him, besides the fact that I look just like him," The former Sonic clone apologetically corrected awkwardly. "My name is Sun."
A moment of silence, before Big's eyes widened in realization. "Oh! Are you Sun the Hedgehog, Sonic and Tails' new best friend and brother?"
"Excuse me?" Sun flinched back a little. How in the world did this cat know about that info?
"Amy told me about you a few weeks ago. She said that Sonic and Tails met a new friend who looked just like Sonic, and that he's a new brother to them." Big explained brightly, making both of the Chaotix sweat drop and Star blink in surprise.
Sun groaned, folding his arms while muttering to himself about the pink hedgehog girl. "Oh, thanks, Amy..."
"And you must be Miss Star, the nice girl who helped out our friends," Big then turned his attention to the lavender-pink hedgehog who blinked in surprise, as he smiled warmly. "It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too, Big," Star smiled warmly, already linking the large cat. She then turned to Froggy, adding. "And a pleasure to meet you as well, Froggy."
Froggy just croaked as he seemed to sense that the two new hedgehogs were not a threat.
"Say, where's Vector? I thought he would be with you." The large Cat asked, confused as he noticed the absence of the green crocodile...Before he and the others heard the aforementioned detective's panting and wheezing, turning to see him struggling his way up.
"He's right there." Charmy calmly pointed at his boss.
"And it looks like he's the happiest out of all of us." Sun teasingly remarked, folding his arms with a smirk.
"Ugh...Oh, FINALLY...!" Vector groaned loudly before collapsing onto the ground with a thud, utterly exhausted and overheated. "Ngggghhhh...I wish there was someone who had psychic powers that can lift people and stuff and knows how to fly...It would make things a whole...lot easier to...get to...places like...this..."
That made former Werehog and Espio stare deadpanned at him before sharing a skeptical glance with raised eye-ridges, before they both sighed in embarrassment and exasperation.
"Explain to me why he's your boss of the Agency?" The orange hedgehog whispered almost pleadingly.
"I still sometimes question myself that." The sixteen year old replied.
"So, Big, what are you doing here in Gigan Canyon?" Charmy, ignoring Vector's complaints and oblivious of what Sun and Espio were talking about, asked curiously.
"I came to this place to go fishing with Froggy at it's really pretty lake," Big explained, also oblivious of the situation. "The people here are very nice and there's lots of fishies to catch too."
"I take that you travel all around the world to find good fishing spots, right?" Sun tilted his head, admittedly curious.
The large Cat nodded, "That's right. Would you and everybody else like to join me and Froggy? It's not too far from here."
"We're sorry, Big. We'd love to, but I'm afraid we're on an important mission." Star apologetically declined as Sun, Espio and Charmy nodded, while Vector stood up, fanning himself with his hand to try and cool off.
"Yeah, like taking out those bad guys up there." Charmy calmly added, pointing up towards part of the upper walls of the canyon.
Suddenly shocked and alarmed when the six year old bee just casually informed on their enemies, Sun and the rest of the group glanced up to the left where he was pointing at. Surely enough, about six or seven familiar enemy soldiers wearing helmets were seeing peering around the corner of a rock, only to flinch in fright with sweat drops as they realized they had been spotted before quickly feeling in a panic to get away.
"The Hybrians!" Sun shouted in dismay, narrowing his eyes with gritted teeth. "Those clowns never catch a break, do they?"
To make things worse, screams could be heard as the group quickly turned to see even more of them suddenly emerge from the buildings, those who were originally believed to be Mobians of Gigan Canyon had covered themselves in robes, threw them off and began charging and attacking the citizens, who either screamed in alarm and fear, or those like some of the male lions, who growled as one of them shouted, 'Invaders!' brought out spears and other weapons and charged. But as they clashed heavily with the soldiers who brought out their own weapons of swords and tasers, one of the Hybrians entering a wrist and weapon battle, heavy grunts and thrusts were pulled.
"It's an ambush!" Espio exclaimed in realization.
"Who are those people wearing the funny hats!?" Big exclaimed in horror, his eyes widening as he realized the kind people are getting hurt.
"Bad guys who are lead by a creep that is a liker to Dr. Eggman!" Vector growled, his fatigue all but forgotten as he quickly rolled his shoulders to loosen the tension. "C'mon, boys and gal'! We've got people to save!"
"Right!" Sun nodded, quickly instructing to the female hedgehog. "Star, you help out Big and Charmy to get the people to safety and don't get caught by those creeps! Vector, Espio and I will take care of the rest!"
"You got it! Please be careful!" Star nodded, grabbing Big's hand and dragged him alongside her. "Big, Charmy, I need your help!"
"Yes, sir, Ma'am!" Charmy saluted, quickly buzzing to follow the fourteen year old girl and the large cat.
"I want to help those people too! It isn't nice of those men hurting them!" Big, in his rarity of being serious, declared as he pulled out his Umbrella(which made Sun sweat drop, dumbstruck when he saw this) and hurried to join Star and Charmy.
While Sun didn't quite understand why the large cat was carrying an Umbrella and would use it for a weapon, the former Werehog decided to worry about that later and instead he informed Vector and Espio to follow him with the two other Mobians nodding, before the trio quickly raced into action to try and fend off the invading Hybrians that somehow got here first and were now attacking, no doubt to kidnap Star and steal the Cosmos Sapphires.
"Where is the Lunar Temple?" One of the Hybrians, a taller, muscular one with a long rat tail but covered in a helmet, grasped the collar shirt of a white lion with a blue mane, as the latter, having been punched in the face and lost his weapon, gagged and gasped as he tried to pull himself free, but the enemy's strength was too strong.
"Ack! I-I will...Never...tell anyone...for the likes of...you!" The white and blue lion hissed and gasped, grasping at the soldier's arm while attempting to force the Hybrian off.
This didn't please the Hybrian at all, as he scoffed in disappointment. "Hmph...Then you will die first, fur-ball."
All of the sudden, before the evil mutant-soldier could do that, he shouted in agony and surprise when a Homing Attack coming from an orange blur hit him on the side of his head, sending him flying while letting go of his captive, hitting the wall hard while slumping with a hiss. When the Hybrian, who's helmet was shattered and revealed that his face resembled to a horse, but with a shark's snout and teeth, ears being that of a deer's, and eyes slit like a cat, red and black, grunted before looking up, the one who attacked him was none other than Sun who uncurled and landed in front of the recovering lion who rubbed his neck, panting.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that your brain's been scrambled by that stupid Platypus-Ro-Butt-nik-fan guy!" Sun scowled with a hint of sarcasm, readying himself to continue fighting the ugly but misfortune transformed Hybrian who growled back, pushing himself up with a heated glare.
"So, you are the one who Master Starline speaks of, the annoying little pest who has been hindering all Hybrians: Sun the Hedgehog." The Hybrian snarled darkly, taking out another taser in a threatening manner.
"That would be me," The orange hedgehog narrowed his eyes and clutched his fists tightly. "And I'm not going to let you or your army hurt these people! I'm giving you two options, and it's to either get your ugly mug out of here and take your friends with you, or my own friends and I will force you."
The response he got was the Hybrian returning the glare, before he let out a battle yell to kill the former Werehog who stood his ground.
"You'd better get yourself to recovery! I'll handle this idiot!" Sun instructed to the Lion who made to stand up and to continue the fight, only to freeze in his tracks when the smaller hedgehog made the order.
Without waiting for a response, the tangerine hedgehog then raced forward charging, before noticing a couple of tree branches sticking out from the wall and quickly came up with an idea. Determined to drive off the Hybrians, Sun instantly used his grapple hooks and shot them upward, lifting himself up high just as the Hybrid-Soldier swung his weapon at him, but narrowly missed and instead the hedgehog was pulled high and hung from the tree.
He then used his hooks to swing around with every available branch and roofs he could use without causing too much damage, narrowly avoiding the Hybrian who, roaring in fury and impatience, switched out his weapons and used an Arrow Sniper to shoot at him but again kept on missing, even though he came pretty close.
"Ugh! Tch!" Sun grunted as one of the arrows nearly scraped him on the arm and chipped a couple of strains of his fur from his quills which unknowingly gently descended onto the ground.
Seeing other Hybrians about to make an attack from the cliffsides, the orange hedgehog hissed before planting his feet onto the walls and ran along as fast as he could while holding onto one of the grapple hooks to use to his advantage, undaunted by the weapons thrown and shot at him. He then leaped off and let go before using his Homing Attack, grunting loudly as he hit and attacked each Hybrian who were seconds too late to stop him, each and every one of them screaming in pain and panic, before he kept on using this strategy to force out the enemies and figure out how to get back to his other opponent on the ground.
The orange hedgehog then swung in a high-speed while letting go when he saw one Hybrian soldier fire to break the rope of his Grapple Hook.
"Hyah!" He aimed a strong punch squarely at the head, causing the enemy to grunt in agony, crashing to the side while his helmet smashed into pieces, revealing to be a human man with car nose, whiskers and ears, but with feathers on his face. The mutated soldier stumbled in panic before falling of the ledge screaming and hit the ground hard, knocked out cold.
Once that was done, Sun managed to then make his way back to where the other Hybrian was who roared in fury and, pushing the recovering but still fighting whtie and blue lion aside as the Mobian attempted to fight back once more, the soldier raced forwards before leaping up, much to the hedgehog's shock as the former Sonic Clone gasped.
"You shall know better than to mess with the Hybrians, hedgehog!" The Soldier exclaimed furiously, landing on the second highest ledge to block the orange hedgehog's path.
Sun just gritted his teeth after landing on the ledge, refusing to give up. He then leaped out of the way when the Hybrian charged once more, and the two then wrestled into a fist-fight, clashing with strength and muscle, the hedgehog ducking and dodging the irritated soldier's punches and taser while landing his own attacks, but some were blocked despite him managing to land pretty hard hits on the stomach and sides.
'It wasn't this hard fighting the Hybrians in the last few days! I guess Beak-Face has made them stronger due to us getting in his way...and saving Star.' He thought to himself, readying himself to continue fighting as he realized the Hybrians here are stronger than the ones in Clocksworth Town, Seaside Island and Botanical Kingdom.
Which was going to be as serious problem like it was already.
While Sun was busy fighting some of the tough Hybrian soldiers, his friends had their hands full themselves with the rest of the invading army. Vector was punching away another Hybrain soldier squarely in the face the moment he encountered one, almost easily knocking the mutated guy out while destroying the helmet which shattered into pieces.
"Oooough..." The Hybrian groaned groggily before falling unconscious onto the ground.
"Hah!" Vector grinned victoriously, before hearing yelling and movement coming up behind him and looked over his shoulder, frowning in annoyance to see six more Hybrian soldiers coming his way. "These guys sure are a handful, almost as bad as Charmy sometimes and he's a kid!"
The green crocodile snarled before whipping his tail right at the first two that came up close, catching them off-guard while they were whacked away, screaming before he punched another and, yelping a bit while nearly avoiding getting his snout cut off by a sword from another, quickly grasped it and held the wrist of the now shocked and bewildered soldier who stared at him. The enemy soldier tried to break free, and while the head Detective's strength was similar to both Sun and Knuckles', he was still stronger than the guy he was currently fighting.
"You clowns messed with the wrong Mobians, pal!" Vector snapped in a warning, before practically head-butting his opponent to unconsciousness while taking hold of the sword to temporarly use in just he had to get into a sword fight...
Though in retrospect, he really shouldn't be messing with things that were sharper than his teeth. Not to mention that while these villains were still easy, he was beginning to think that the soldiers were growing stronger in strength...At least some of them.
When he turned to face the other three, the crocodile saw them now sweat drop nervously and worriedly. They shuddered in fear, gulping when he chuckled evilly at them.
"Well, what're you punks waitin' for? Don't you want a piece of me too?" He challenged almost wickedly.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" The three Hybrians, realizing that even with their skills and strengths, saw that Vector was stronger than them and practically dropped their weapons of swords, tasers and whips before running away, screaming high-pitched squeals.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Vector laughed, both victorious as well as amused before calmly hurrying away to fight more of the 'braver' Hybrians. "Yeah, that's what I thought would happen."
Meanwhile, Espio was skillfully using his training of ninjistu and material arts in leaping and flipping, successfully avoiding many attacks and punches from the Hybrians he was facing with grunts before tossing his shurikens at several, knocking back their weapons right out of their hands.
"Ugh!" The three soldiers grunted, while the fourth hissed darkly, his own shurikens in hand. "You measly, little lizard!"
"Hmph. Measly? You clearly have no idea what you criminals are in for. Especially since you have all been mind-controlled no doubt into taking orders with Dr. Starline." The teenage Chameleon scoffed, his golden eyes narrowed before he concentrated on his powers and before the four Hybrians knew it, he used his camouflage ability, vanishing out of sight.
"Huh!?" The enemy soldiers gaped, looking around dumbstruck.
"Whoa, where'd he go!?" One of them exclaimed, he and the other three wildly looking all around, back and fourth, up and down to see where the sixteen year old detective had disappeared to.
Unfortunately for them, as they looked around helplessly trying to locate him, Espio had silently crept around them and upward to focus on how to take them out without making a huge mistake. Because the next thing they knew, two of them were punched and kicked expertly on the heads, stumbling before falling face first onto the ground.
"Huh!?" The other two whirled around, dumbstruck but couldn't find the attacker anywhere.
Suddenly, in a whirl of leaves in the wind, their weapons were knocked out from their hands which made them gaze at the lack of the items, before the invisible Espio came silently charging and struck them from behind as well, the two Hybrians stumbling with groans for a moment, then collapsed unconscious. The first part of his task done, the purple chameleon turned visible with a grunt before taking off to take care of the other soldiers that needed to be defeated.
At another part of the village, Star, Charmy and Big were doing their best to lead those who couldn't fight to the safety of the huts while attempting to prevent the Hybrian soldiers from attacking them. Which proved to be a difficult challenge but none the less, the trio, surprising with the large cat actually proving to be a decent fighter himself despite that he hated fighting, managed to do their best to drive them off.
"You leave my friends and these nice people alone!" Big yelled, whacking his umbrella into two Hybrians who, shocked and comically dumbfounded with sweat drops at first, were knocked away before hitting the ground hard.
Star in the meantime jumped and leaped before using her material arts combat skills against the Hybrians who attempted to kidnap her on top of everything else, but she successfully punched and kicked some while avoiding their attacks, ducking and dodging before somersaulting out of the way, determined to get to the bottom of this.
"Resistance is futile, girl. Surrender or else we will hurt these people worse than you can ever imagine!" One of the Hybrian Soldiers commanded darkly, holding a whip on his hand.
"I don't think so!" The lavender-pink hedgehog scowled, using her Grapple Hooks to quickly avoid the two soldiers that tried to grab her, and grunted when one of them grabbed her by the leg and causing her to cry out in alarm. She wriggled and squirmed to pull free. "Ugh! Let me go, you creep!"
"I've got her! I've got the hedgehog!" The other Hybrian exclaimed excitedly, pulling hard in an attempt to yank the fourteen year old from her hooks.
Hissing in anger and refusing to give up despite feeling utterly terrified as her mind whirled back to what Dr. Starline really wanted with her, Star narrowed her eyes before she swung her free leg as hard as she could, thrust-kicking at the soldier's head.
"UGH!" He shouted, forced to let go and fell to the ground hard.
"You little-!" The first soldier growled...
Only for Charmy, who made a dramatic, "Da da da da da da da da da da da da! Take this, bad guy!" shout, to stab the Hybrian's...er, butt so hard like a fighter jet that not only he stung the soldier, but also had him jump up so high in agony.
"OOOOOOOWWWWWWW!" The Hybrian screamed while clutching his bottom, only for Star to then punch him in the chest, sending the enemy crashing into the already unconscious Hybrians that Sun and Vector took care of earlier.
"Thanks, Charmy!" Star waved as she landed safely on the ground, smiling warmly at the six year old who giggled.
"Detective Charmy to the rescue, at your service!" The young Bee playfully saluted.
Back with Sun, he was forced to leap back when the Hybrian he began fighting earlier swung his sword like a mad man on a rampage. The orange hedgehog ducked and jumped before finally managing to punch at the soldier's arm that was holding the deadly weapon.
"GAH!" The Hybrian grunted painfully, forced to drop his sword which was quickly kicked away by the hedgehog who used this distraction to his advantage, axe-kicking at his chest that the former Werehog learned from Sonic. This sent the soldier flying once more, hissing as he crashed onto the ground.
"Ready to...give up yet?" Sun challenged, panting a little as the fight against so many was really driving him to tiredness, and he wasn't the only one: Even Vector, Espio and Star were starting to reach their limit, panting as well while Big and Charmy kept on trying to make sure the innocent people weren't hurt and the citizens who could fight ended up in the worst condition.
To the point that they were either bending on their knees due to how tough and dangerous the Hybrians were, or some of then ended up knocked out cold despite the best efforts of the tangerine hedgehog and his friends.
"Hm hm hm hm hm...Barely, little hedgehog," The Hybrian chuckled darkly, despite that he was at his limit but refused to admit defeat. He struggled to stand up yet still held an evil grin. "There is still so many of us, and only a handful of you and these pathetic little people of Gigan Canyon. Do you really think you can defeat us? You may resemble to that blue child, Sonic the Hedgehog, but you are nothing like him!"
"Maybe I'm not," The orange hedgehog grudgely admitted, even though he was only half-lying but refused to say it. "But Sonic is still my friend and even if my other friends and I can't stop you, he will!"
"Brave words, boy...But you are surrounded-!" Before the Hybrian could continue, there was a loud whacking and bashing coming from above, alarming him, the other soldiers, Sun's group and the Gigan Canyon citizens to look up.
There above another ledge having emerged from a tunnel and knocked out five Hybrians who fell screaming and hitting the ground hard, was, unbeknownst to the heroes, Crysta who glared hard at the enemy soldiers. She held a long, seemingly wooden staff.
"What the?" Sun blinked, bewildered. He didn't that Lynx girl coming. Could she be a fighter of Gigan Canyon too?
"Who's that lady?" Charmy asked, confused.
Crysta, having taken out other intruders a few minutes ago, narrowed her eyes in anger and determination as she refused to allow the Hybrians to hurt her people and take over the valley. She had also witnessed the bravery of not just the Gigan Canyon Warriors, but also the brave visitors, two being hedgehogs. The Lynx then tore off her robe, revealing her long dress that was not only fashionable of the finest material of this land, but also flexible enough for combat.
"The Gigan Canyon Priestress...!" The Hybrian that was facing Sun breathed in a mixture of awe and fear.
"Huh?" The orange hedgehog was puzzled to hear this. Priestress? Of Gigan Canyon? He didn't hear anything about that...only for his eyes widened as he realized that he actually did...Hours ago, in fact.
Seeing that the battle was taking a turn, Crysta leaped off of the ledge and stood ready in the middle of the Hybrian Soldiers who stared at her in awe, fear and shock, before they all charged to attack, but were thrust and bashed away by her long staff, she jumped and spun her weapon while in mid-air and tossed it where it flew around like a Frisbee, knocking out several of them as they cried out while failing to avoid the attack. At the same time, she somersaulted a kick at those that jumped at her, only to be defeated easily before she landed on the ground and retrieved her weapons.
"Hear me, my people, hear me visitors! Cover your ears, now!" Crysta commanded boldly, and while the other Lynx, all of the Lions and Owls, including Eren who arrived moments later and watched on shock, did as commanded, Sun, Star, Vector, Espio, Charmy and Big were left in confusion, but complied on the less as they wondered what was going to happen next.
The answer they got was her surprisingly splitting her staff into two pieces which are attachable, before she spun them vertically in both hands fast and so hard that they were making ear-killing whistling noises. The Hybrians all grunted and cried in pure agony over the high-pitched and painful sound that they tried to cover their hearing, but their helmets prevented them from doing so and even those who lost their gears could not escape from the noise.
Even Sun and his friends winced in agony, crying out while trying to protect their ears as much as possible, crouching low.
"UGGGGHHHH! This is too much! Hybrians, fall back!" The Hybrian that Sun was fighting, now clearly to be leader of this squad, shouted in agony as he then ran straight towards the entrance with the remaining soldiers, some forced to carry their unconscious comrades who were lucky enough to be too out of it to hear, fleeing to avoid the terrible whistling.
"This worse than nails on a chalkboard!" One of the exhausted Hybrians wailed.
"And a blow whistle!" Another exclaimed, panicking.
By then, all of the Hybrian invaders had left with some of them tumbling and rolling down the stairs screaming, clumsily crashing into the rest including the leader who, looking over his shoulder, gasped too late before he too ended up in the same fate as his army. Once certain the enemies would not be back for hopefully a long time, Crysta stopped spinning her weapon and glared at the direction where they left.
Thankful but hesitant that the noise finally stopped, Sun and his friends, and the citizens uncovered their ears while standing up.
"Whoa..." Sun breathed in awe, stunned by Crysta's dramatic entrance.
"That was incredible." Star remarked, amazed as her heart leaped in both anxiety as well as excitement for such a heroic appearance of the Lynx Priestress, who re-attatched her weapon.
"That was so cool! Thanks for helping us out, ma'am!" Charmy beamed, excitedly.
Even Vector was amazed, rubbing the back of his head with a shy blush forming. "Yeah, you sure showed those guys a real good lesson!"
"We are humbly grateful for your aid." Espio bowed respectfully, his fist slightly cupped into his open palm.
Crysta, hearing them, turned to face the group and nodded with a warm smile. "I believe it is I who should thank you all, visitors. Your bravery is the most appreciated."
The rest of her people, who came by either stumbling while helping the warriors who had been injured, or the innocent who had been taken to safety, approached and thanked Sun, Star, Big and the Chaotix for helping to save them from the Hybrians.
"Uh, sure, no problem," Sun shrugged, feeling more than a little embarrassed. Man, this sort of heroic thing and praise really made him feel uncomfortable. Even Sonic could cope a lot better than he could, but then again, the blue hedgehog had four and a half years of experience of being the hero.
While the other Mobians continued to thank the heroes, with Vector and Charmy goofing and showing off their pride, much to Espio's embarrassment as he facepalmed himself, Crysta got a good look at the five of them since she had already greeted Big days ago, before the two hedgehogs caught her attention. The moment her eyes laid upon them, they widened in shock when she got a better look at Sun.
That...that orange hedgehog...Could he be? It certainly isn't Sonic since the fifteen year old is blue...But this one...the resemblence was too much of a coincidence to be uncanny. Was he a relative of the hero of Mobius?
"You..." The Priestress murmured, approaching the now even more confused orange hedgehog who stepped back a little with wide eyes.
"Huh?" Sun was beginning to feel more than a little uncomfortable, as Crysta, ignoring the puzzled expressions on everybody else(even though Big isn't really that bright), reached over to him.
As she gazed at the tangerine hedgehog, almost immediately her special abilities filled her vision with her eyes glowing. Within this power of sensing who other people really are, Crysta saw Sun's appearance change: While most of him was that of a normal Mobian, but there was also something else. There before her also stood a blue hedgehog, with green eyes and red and white shoes matching the other hedgehog in shape and form, mostly faded but still there, yet in a past memory in some way, Chaos Energy and another energy mixing up with both, a brand new heart, mind and soul within the young Mobian's body.
No older than a month old, yet having the intelligence of a teenager with every day knowledge.
Crysta softly gasped as she toned down her power, her eyes widening as she came to a conclusion on what this hedgehog really is. 'This hedgehog...He is unlike any other...Far more closer to Sonic the Hedgehog...He is the one whom the Master of Judgement speaks of!'
"Uh...Is there something wrong?" The former Werehog, fully unaware of Crysta's powers even though he did notice the unusual glow in her eyes which made his stomach turn, his heart's beat increasing ever so slightly.
"Tell me, young visitor. What is your name?" The Priestress Lynx questioned carefully.
Not sure what to make of the somewhat easy question, Sun just responded as calmly as he could manage to sound. "Sun the Hedgehog..."
"Hmmm...So you bear the name of the sunlight, I see," Crysta remarked thoughtfully, before gently cupping the uneasy former Sonic Clone's cheeks which made the latter blush heavily, and Star, who couldn't help but feel a bit of a pang of jealously for whatever reason as well as uneasiness, and the Chaotix who looked surprised and shocked, staring over at what the Priestress was doing. "You are unlike any other hedgehogs in the world. What is your relation with the hero of Mobius?"
"Sonic?" Sun blinked, before nervously sweat dropping. "He's one of my best friends. We met a month ago and...I kinda helped to save the world from Dr. Eggman."
'He speaks only half the truth...This must be the one. But I need to make sure.' The Lynx frowned in concern, sensing hesitation within him. But at the same, she could understand why as it would break a secret he and his companions were keeping.
Speaking of which, Crysta turned her attention to the other visiting Mobians that came here today, where that, given the description of the crocodile, chameleon and bee, they must be more of Sonic's friends. But the female hedgehog, who blinked as the Lynx now stared at her, again the Priestress's eyes glowed when she used her power to identify her which surprised the Lynx. Much to her shock, it was an overbearing power that is yet to fully grow, but beyond her comprehension, aged fourteen years old. Except unfortunately she doesn't seem to know of it...
Could it be?
Once more snapping out of her gaze, Crysta gently questioned the lavender hedgehog. "And your name is...?"
"Staria Amantha, Miss. Star for short. I'm an archaeologist." Star answered, tilting her head in confusion as she held back the urge to gasp. This Lynx's eyes...Why did they glow just now? Or was she just seeing things?
'She seems to be in a confused state. If this child hold deep power within herself, she knows nothing of it..Could she be...No, it can't be.' The Priestress thought, before nodding. "Very well then, Staria Amantha, and Sun the Hedgehog. Once again, I must thank you and your friends, and Big the Cat for coming to our aid and protecting my people."
"Ah, don't mention it, ma'am! Just doin' a hero's job!" Vector, being the show-off that he is, rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"I must ask, however, what brings you all here to Gigan Canyon and who were those invaders?"
"To make it short," Sun began carefully, folding his arms. "Those guys are mutant transformed army changed by a creep named Dr. Starline who's looking for these crystals called the Cosmos Sapphires. We're actually looking for them to stop Starline from handing them over to Dr. Eggman or something. We're still not sure ourselves."
"You know of the Cosmos Sapphires?" Crysta asked, admittedly caught off-guard.
"A little..." The orange hedgehog shrugged. "Besides the fact that they're similar to the Chaos Emearlds."
"How do you know about them?" Charmy asked, curiously, only to be quickly held back by Vector and Espio, both of them fearing the six year old was being impolite.
"I believe what our friend was saying is, if you don't mind my asking, what do you know about the Cosmos Sapphires of Gigan Canyon? I take that you and your people know more than the rest of us." Espio correctly requestioned in an apologetic tone.
Crysta regardless understood, introducing herself. "I shall tell you in my hut, only if you are willing to accept what I must request for you all to do. Firstly, allow me to introduce myself: I am Crysta, Priestress of the Gigan Canyon."
Despite not knowing what Crysta wanted them to do before she could tell them what she knew about the Cosmos Sapphires, Sun and Star both shared a glance as did the Chaotix with Vector shrugging cluelessly. None the less, they and Big began to help out with tending to the injured Lion Warriors...
All unaware that another cloaked figure, undetected and revealing to be another invader, secretly hid behind a rock while keeping an eye on the group who had driven off the Hybrians. Beneath the hood, was a red gleaming eye that spied on the heroes: Solely onto Sun and Star who were helping Crysta to see to the people.
It was Terrance, who had arrived and grinned.
'So, this is Sun the Hedgehog. The good doctor was serious when he said that little Sunspot strongly resembled to that blue rodent, Sonic. Along with that girl hedgehog, who is as Dr. Starline described. As for that Priestress...she could be a very good use into our plans.' The evil Hybrian Soldier thought to himself, before noticing something on the ground which caught his attention.
Finding himself curious and, once he made sure the Gigan Canyon people and the travelers were far too busy and had gone into the medical huts, Terrance silently emerged from his hiding place to get a closer look and...
With a long leather dark grey gloved hand, picked up what he realized were strains of fur...from hedgehog quills. There were only three and nearly impossible to see in the lighting and the ground, but there was no doubt in his mind that they were coloured in tangerine orange.
It was tiny traces of Sun's quills that were chipped off earlier.
"Mmmm...hm hm hm hm hm...Well, even if I may fail to collect that orange Sunspot hedgehog, the doctor will still be able to use these strains for further research to understand who that brat really is. This makes things far more interesting." The Hybrian whispered to himself evilly with a grin.
Deciding to buy his time and move onto the next phase of his mission, Terrance glanced up where Sun's group had been standing.
"I hope you are prepared for what is yet come, Sun the Hedgehog," Terrance vowed softly in a cruel manner. "Because soon you and I will meet, and put our strengths to the test."
Terrance chuckled before moving away to secretly plan how to follow the Mobians and contact Dr. Starline of his current findings. After all, what those heroic fools don't realize is that the Hybrian army attempting to spy on them before attacking as part of a plan B, was all a diversion of the real terrors that were yet to come.
As he did, he took off his disguised robe...Only to have disappeared as like normal Mobian Chameleons such as Espio, Terrance had the ability to turn invisible, leaving the piece of fabric behind littered onto the ground.
Back within Dr. Starline's secret labortory, the once again imprisoned Gaiver, who had regained consciousness after being mind-controlled into attacking Seaside Island and try but failed to kidnap Star, sat chained in his glass cell. While he had been unable to control his own mind at the time when the evil Hybrians used him to terrorize the Unnamed Village, he had actually been conscious enough to witness the whole thing but his free will wasn't strong enough to get through...whatever that Platypus used against him.
Because of that, the giant gorilla felt unbearable guilt surge deep into his heart, wishing to have prevented himself from capturing the young hedgehog girl, or attacking Sun who had both tried and failed to get through to him.
'Those poor children...This is all my fault. How could I have not been strong enough to protect them? Why does Dr. Starline have to be so cruel?' The miserable Gorilla thought, his gaze low as he stared at his hands.
Worse part is, even if the mind-control device wasn't all that strong and Gaiver only managed to reveal that Sun the Hedgehog, who is now one of the targets for Starline and the Hybrians, was a close friend to Sonic, the orange hedgehog's life was in grave danger.
If Sonic were to ever find out about this, and there was no doubt in Gaiver's mind that he will, the poor cobalt teenager would be devastated. Far more so than what the fifteen year old was still going through even weeks on.
He thought back to the promise the blue hedgehog made not long after Sonic and his friends restored Adabat to it's original position.
"...If we find a way to fix up this mess, we'll come back and cure you. I promise."
"I'm deeply sorry, Sonic. But I'm afraid I will have to make you break that promise. If you, Sun and all of your friends get hurt by Dr. Starline, I will never forgive myself." The giant Gorilla somberly sighed. In retrospect, he would rather be dead than continue to be forced to serve the evil Mobian scientist to cause more harm to the world.
Gaiver was brought out of his thoughts when he noticed the doors slide open and, to his dismay and sheer irritation, Starline was approaching him once more.
"Well rested, I presume, my dear Experiment #21?" The evil platypus greeted with a sneer.
"Hmph..." The imprisoned gorilla snorted, before looking away in disgust.
Starline just chuckled, "Oh, come now. You have been doing such a wonderful job, in-spite that I still know so little about your friend, Sun the Hedgehog. Needless to say, there is something about your free will that has prevented me from fully mind controlling you even with the power of the Tricore."
"Why are you so obsessed with these horrible experiments, Starline?" Gaiver grunted, looking over his shoulder with a glare. "You force innocent people into undergoing these transformations and attack the rest of the planet?"
"It is quite simple, my overgrown friend," The mad scientist grinned, spreading his arms out as though acknowledging the world. "Mobius needs a desperate change, humans and Mobians need to evolve into something far greater, the planet itself needs a rightful ruler. And who better than the most brilliant scientist of all: Dr. Eggman himself?"
A moment of silence.
"Dr. Eggman will never rule Mobius. Not as long as there are those who can fight against him as well as you."
"Hm hm hm hm hm...If you are referring to Sonic the Hedgehog and all of his friends, things are about to become quite different. Especially...when the missing Twilight Cage Princess is finally within my grasp. Along with her chosen Champion...and Cosmos Sapphires." Starline chuckled evilly, raising his hand up which it's fingertips on his Tricore glowed, causing his prisoner to gasp in horror once he realized what this meant. "To do that, I will need you to fufil your next task...And you will obey me."
Even when Gaiver attempted to close his eyes to avoid in getting hypnotized again, he knew it was far too late because even at the quick glance at the glove his captor wore, the dizziness overtook his senses before everything went black.
'Sun...Sonic...' Were Gaiver's thoughts before he was once again trapped under Dr. Starline's power of the evil Tricore.
He could only hope that Sonic, Sun and everybody else would be able to defeat Starline and the Hybrians before it was too late.
A/N: Once again, while the idea wasn't fully used yet for this chapter, I'd like to once again thank my friend TU4QU0I53T4IAN6L3 for helping me out on how to continue this story. The adventure in Gigan Canyon will continue, but I will warn you now, things are about to become more bleak as the quest goes on.
(1) Reference to Final Fantasy VII, it's Compliation and the ongoing Remake Trilogy.
Also, the name Crysta is not a spelling mistake, but Crysta the Lynx is named after the Fairy from the animated movie "Ferngully: The Last Rainforest" which was one of my favorite childhood memories.
Not sure when I'll update this story again, but I hope it'll be soon(if fanfiction is still around by the time I get back to this and if my computer doesn't die on me).
See you later!