Hey, Everyone! Hope you had an amazing holiday! Here is your late Christmas/Early New Years present!
A dark hooded figure was trekking through a small forest in the shadows. Thunder and rain roared down upon the land for miles and miles with its gray, gloomy clouds. It was so dark from the lack of sunlight you could almost mistake it for being night. Anyone outside would normally run for shelter to stay dry. The area was densely populated with tall trees and bushes, but in the center was nearly clear of any plant life. Almost like it's made to hide something, or was…
The figure was rustling through the last of the tall bushes before unveiling the utter destruction in front of him once more. Down the valley, the ruins of what seemed to be large walls meant to protect a town inside was nearly obliterated into rubble.
"Hm…" he muttered, "What has happened here?"
Beyond the walls was the town in question. Even the day after the event, smoke was still rising from the demolished homes and streets. Nothing was left untouched in whatever caused this.
Finally, there was the castle, or what was left of it. Many of the towers, which might've been used for the castle's defenses, seemed to have nearly vaporized. From looking at the base of the tower to the top, you can see the strong stone exterior slowly burn away and reveal the wooden interior before it's nothing but ash.
The hooded walker started to move towards what looks like a side entrance to the town, but other than embers sizzling around him, a new sound captured his ears. It was faint, but it was definitely the sound of someone sobbing. He honed in on the sound and ran to the source. He had to return through the trees and bushes before running up a hill towards a cliff and the bushes and trees were thinning and he saw light starting to bleed through. He slowed to a stop just before the last step into the light to look at the source of the crying.
There, by the edge of the cliff, was a distraught fuchsia hedgehog with pink fur. She looked to be around the age of a teenager, sitting on the ground with her knees in her face. Her clothes were scratched, torn, and covered in mud from the rain. It was even worse that the cliff had a perfect view of what was left of a beautiful living town.
The mysterious man let out a sigh of pity, 'She must be another refugee…' he thought. He stepped forward to reach out to her, but stopped when the hedgehog ceased her crying and started to hum. She hummed a short little sad tune for about a few seconds before the same tune started to play from what sounded like a piano or a bell around them, but there was not a second refugee or any instrument in sight.
Then, she started to sing…
"Hush now, my baby
Be still love, don't cry
Sleep like you're rocked by the stream"
"Sleep and remember my lullaby
and I'll be with you when you dream"
The hedgehog slowly rose up onto her feet, feeling the rain all over her as she opened her arms…
"Drift on a river that flows through my arms
Drift as I'm singing to you
I see you smiling so peaceful and calm
and holding you I'm smiling too"
"Here in my arms, safe from all harm
Holding you I'm smiling too"
She dropped her arms and looked down at her once called home…
"Hush now, my baby
Be still love, don't cry
Sleep like you're rocked by the stream"
"Sleep and remember this river lullaby
and I'll be with you when you dream"
"Here in my arms, safe from all harm
Holding you I'm smiling too"
Then, she clasped something on her neck with both hands, holding it tightly. A second voice could faintly be heard singing with her in almost perfect sync.
"Sleep and remember this river lullaby
and I'll be with you when you dream
Sleep and remember this river lullaby
and I'll be with you when you dream"
"I'll be with you when you dream"
As the song started to fade, she slowly sat back down the same way she was before. The hooded mobian took this as his chance to reach out to her as he finally walked towards her. He pulled out an umbrella that was supposed to be meant for him, but he never used it, and opened it above the crying hedgehog. She let out a gasp before seeing the figure staring down the town with her.
"Who are you?" she whispered.
"A… friend." He whispered back. "What were you singing just now? If you don't mind me asking."
"Oh… Uh, It's something my mother sings to me and my siblings when we worry that we'll lose her again."
"You've lost your mother before?"
"Yes… Long ago and for a very long time…" She mumbled.
'She lost her mother when she was young for a long period of time… Is she one of the high priority targets the commander was talking about?'
Sonia attempted to see past the cloak her visitor was wearing to get a good look, but was only able to see his tan muzzle and outstretched arm holding the umbrella that was protecting her from the cold rain. He had a glove on his hand and some kind of large golden ring on his wrist. His arm was completely black, but had a strip of red fur all along up his arm. That's when she looked back at his face to see him staring at her with glowing crimson red eyes.
"What is your name?"
"S-Sonia, Sonia Hedgehog…"
"Sonia? Princess Sonia of Mobius?" he questioned.
"You- You know my royal status?"
"Yes, I have been assigned to rescue refugees from your distress call. You are one of the high priority targets assigned by the queen to be taken to the rescue point."
Distress call? The entire capital was on lockdown until the day Sonic would return. No outside communication was allowed without the queen's approval. Why send a distress signal and who would it even be sent to? And did he say the queen, her mother, made her a priority target?
"It's not safe here, your highness. I must get you to the rescue point."
"Huh? H-Hey! Wait!"
The man uses his other hand to grab Sonia by her arm and hoists her up to a standing position, But after she regained her footing after being lifted, a flash of light appeared with another hedgehog in view. A dark blue-ish purple field still glowed around him. He opens his eyes and sees Sonia with joy that he found her, but when he sees another man holding her arm in an aggressive manner, something snapped. His eyes changed to the same crimson red as his aggressor's and his field intensified. It resembled almost like fire burning along his body from his rage. The hooded man lets go and puts the handle of his umbrella into Sonia's hands while he steps in front, protecting her.
"Get away from her." Sonic growled.
After he said that command, right on cue, the rain slowed to a stop like he was in control of the weather. The cloaked figure didn't move, he just stared at him intently. After either side didn't move an inch, Sonic lowered his battle stance and walked closer to them. That's when the figure got a clearer look at his opponent, His blue face was impossible to not recognize even with or without his iconic smirk.
'Faker? What is he doing here? How did he find this place and what does he want with the princess?'
Sonic was trying to walk past the cloaked one, but he jumped to stay in between her and Sonic.
"Look, I don't want to hurt you, pal. But I don't appreciate you putting your hands on my sister."
"Sister?" He blurted.
"Sonic, He wasn't trying to do anything! He was just trying to protect me." Sonia screamed.
The mysterious opponent backed up in almost shock. He lowered his head slightly so you can no longer see his eyes or face. 'Sonic, my longest rival, the faker, was actually…'
"After everything that's happened, Sonia, Sorry that I just want to make sure you're safe." He retorted back. "And as for-" He turned to his cloaked opponent. He wanted to continue his little verbal takedown, but when he noticed him he just stood there almost in… shame? Sonic's eyes faded back to its normal shade of emerald green as the moment passed. He was no longer mad, but curious on how his opponent had been acting.
"After all this time, our many battles, and I never knew."
Sonic and Sonia both give puzzled looks as they exchange glances. He kneels down on one knee and puts his fist to the ground with his head bowed in respect.
"I never knew I fought against and with the crowned prince of Mobius."
Sonic was just completely dumbfounded. First, he finds his sister after a huge argument boiled over and it looked to be that this mysterious mobian was trying to take her away. Next, they were on the edge of battle before Sonia started to intervene. And now, he is bowing and says they have fought before.
"What are you talking about? Who are you?" He asked.
His first response was just a chuckle, but replied with,
"Funny, I thought you would've taken my bow of respect as a chance to gloat about yourself, Faker."
Sonic's eyes went wide as saucers, 'Faker?! No one calls me that except…'
"Shadow?! Is that you? What are you doing here?"
He gets up from his bow and lowers his hood to reveal his old, ebony rival. He took off his cloak to reveal the rest of his clothing. He had some kind of battle suit in full gray color with "G.U.N." plastered on the top right of his chest on the suit.
"I was called into a rescue mission by my commander to help refugees escape this town, or what's left of it."
All hedgehogs slowly deadpanned towards the barren wasteland of a town. Both the royal hedgehog's ears fell flat on top of their heads with nothing but sadness and dread for all the lost citizens of what's left of their kingdom. Sonia was brought to tears once more as strong streams of tears fell down her face, the sad truth is too much for her to handle. Sonic feels nothing but sympathy for not only his sister, but for every mobian he failed to protect as the city was attacked. He moved close to her and pulled him into an embrace to which she quickly accepted with almost all her strength. Not enough to cause harm, but he could still feel the pressure. For a moment, he thought about what Shadow said. He was assigned to evacuate citizens from the capital, does that mean…
"Wait, Shadow… You helped everyone evacuate right?"
"Yes. Ever since we received the distress call coming from your city, All available soldiers were called in to cover citizens in the evacuation. At least, the ones that survived…"
Sonic felt a cold chill run down his spine, just how many mobians have survived and who were lost? Were his old buddies from the resistance still alive or were they killed in the attack?
"W-What about the resistance? Did you see them?" He questioned.
"Resistance? How should I know? I only found out about this place from the distress call. I don't know anything or anyone who resides in it. Who are they?" Shadow said coldly.
"A group of mobians who basically started a revolution to take back Mobotropolis. I had some old friends there when the Sonic Underground was still together. They helped us in finding ways to beat Eggma- Wait a minute! What distress signal?"
This time Sonia cuts in, "I think mother sent out the call for help to whoever this guy works for to help."
"Mom asked for help from G.U.N.? Since when did she have connections to them?" Sonic argued.
"I don't even know what 'G.U.N.' is, but mother never told us anything happening outside the capital."
"Ugh… whatever. Come on, Sonia. We need a plan to save mom."
"The queen is still alive?" Shadow interrupted.
"Not for long, We have to move now."
"What do you mean 'Not for long,' Sonic?! What happened to mother?!" Sonia screamed.
"There's no time! Come on!" He stretched out his hand towards Sonia, hoping that she would take it.
Sonia hesitated. What happened to her mother? What did Sonic mean by that? Is she hurt? Is she… dead…? She took his hand slowly as he gave a firm grip in response. Sonic turned his head towards Shadow with almost a pleading look in his eyes, something that Shadow never sees.
"Shadow, will you help us? We need all the help we can get…"
He stretched out his other hand towards him in hopes he would agree. He knew that he wouldn't, but thought it was worth a shot. Shadow looked away for a moment with his eyes furrowed. He waits for a moment, just standing there… He closed his eyes and pulled out some kind of wrist communicator. He pressed a few buttons before a dial tone could be heard from it. After a couple moments, a new voice spoke from its speakers…
"Hey, Shadow. How's it going with another one of your 'searches'?"
The feminine voice spoke with sarcasm with that last word.
"Mmm… What's your location, Rouge?" He grunted.
"I'm doing good, thank you for asking. I'm not far from where you are, I had a feeling you would need me. What's up?" She questioned.
"I found the princess and crowned prince, They say the queen is still alive."
"What?! This isn't some kind of weird joke is it?"
"Negative, Head to my coordinates. Shadow, out." He pressed the end call button and faced back towards the royal hedgehogs.
"Was that Rouge? She's with you on this?" Sonic asked.
"Rouge? Who's…" Sonia let out a sigh of stress, "Nevermind, you have a lot of explaining to do after we save mother."
They wait in silence for a few minutes before the sound of bat wings flapping in the air captured all their ears. Next, a female bat mobian in a similar suit to Shadow descended down onto the ground and walked towards her caller. She notices the newcomer in the group with her poorly kept dress or suit and was disgusted by it. Then, she noticed Sonic arrived too.
"Oh! Hey there, blue! Did Shadow here drag you out here as well?"
"Uhhh…Heh heh, Actually-" Sonic answered.
"I guess that this… girl is the princess you were talking about, Shadow? You said you had the princess and the crowned prince, but I don't see him."
Shadow only points at Sonic as he just stands there idly, waving his hand, and scratching his head. Rouge just gives a confused look and Shadow clarifies,
"Sonic is the crowned prince."
"What?!" She screamed.
"It's a long story, Rouge. I tried to call you and Shadow, but you never picked up." Sonic explained.
"So… After all this time…. You were-"
"Yes, yes. I was the crowned prince of Mobius, can we go now? I have a mom that needs saving!" He yelled.
"Then, transport us back!" Sonia yelled.
"I'll try, but my powers are still a little weak. I don't know if I can transport us all at once."
"You have new Chaos powers?" Shadow uttered.
"Yeah. They're from my mom, but something happened and I need time to recharge."
Shadow reaches behind his quills and pulls out a green Chaos Emerald and shows it to Sonic.
"Then, let me… help you…" Shadow struggled to say.
Sonic gave his signature smile when he looked from the emerald to his rival. He also gave his signature thumbs up along with it to agree to his offer. They gathered together in a small circle before they all Chaos Control away from the destruction to their destination.
Sonic, Sonia, Shadow, and Rouge all appeared in their home, startling everyone else in the room. Amy immediately tried to apologize to Sonia about her behavior during the panic Sonic caused.
"Sonia, I… I want to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it seem like you were-"
Sonia raised her hand to cut Amy off, letting her to voice her apology. "I know, but It was partially my fault too." She looked over towards the stairs where Silver was sitting on a step next to Blaze. Making sure she doesn't startle them, She slowly walks towards them in a non threatening manner. Unfortunately, Blaze doesn't trust her after what she did to him as she jumps in between her and Silver. Sonia raises both of her hands in the air slightly above her shoulders to show no sign of aggression.
"Look, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to punch you, Silver. I understand you were trying to help, but I let my anger takeover." Her hand rubbed the side of her arm and looked away in shame. "I'm really sorry…"
Blaze gave her an untrustworthy stare before Silver put a hand on her shoulder and moved beside her. He stood there for only a moment as he thought. It was only an accident in the heat of the moment, why should he hold a grudge on her for something like that. Aleena wouldn't like it either. So, he moved forward with his hand outstretched to Sonia.
"It's fine. We are all having rough times, right?" He smirked.
Sonia stared at his open hand for a moment before she gave a smile in his direction. She took his hand and shook it. After their hands are separated, Sonic cuts in behind Sonia with his hand on her shoulder.
"I think there is still someone you need to apologize to."
He points over to Manic who is still sound asleep on the couch from his breakdown. Sonia's eyes slightly widen in worry before kneeling down next to him. She placed her hand on his head and moved it in slow circles. She could see his tear stained muzzle and cushion and slightly cringed. What happened when she left?
"He couldn't handle losing you both…"
She spun her head around to see the two tailed kitsune fox answer her question, almost like she asked him telepathically.
"He tried to follow you, but lost track just outside the house. We found him on the ground in the rain whispering and whispering something to himself."
"W-What did he say?"
"He only repeated the words… 'Not again' over and over again…" Tails replied.
Sonia turned her head to face Manic one more time before she gave a long sigh. It sounded like he was getting abandoned all over again. It must be too much for him to handle. She didn't mean to make it look like she abandoned him, she just needed time to think and clear her mind.
Silence once more filled the entire room for an uncomfortable amount of time. Sonic decided it was finally time to break the news about what he saw in his dreamscape. It's gonna be tough, but he has to say it.
"Guys. I know we are all having problems right now, but… Things have gotten worse."
"What do you mean?" Blaze asked.
"You said something like that before you left, Sonic. What happened?" Tails wondered.
"It's… about mom. That scream you guys heard? It wasn't mine… it was her's…"
"What?!" Sonia yelled. "What happened to mother?!"
"I don't know exactly, Sonia. She didn't look too good when I saw her in my dream. She's hurt really, really bad…"
"How bad?! Tell me!" She screamed.
Sonic cringed in response. He tried to lessen the blow, but Sonia isn't going to accept that unless it's the full truth. He gave out a long sigh before explaining everything he saw in the dreamscape.
"When I woke up in the dream, I started to hear someone crying. When I got closer… I saw mom… She… She was on the ground and it… looked like… like…"
Sonia was getting irritated. He's stalling and trying not to tell what happened and she had enough.
"Sonic Hedgehog! If you don't tell me what happened to mother right now, I'm going to punch you so hard that you-"
"It looked like someone mutilated her!" Sonic snapped. "She was on the ground bleeding all over and it looked like she was missing an eye!"
Everyone in the room gasped at the sudden admission. Disgusted and horrified looks spread to everyone's face except Sonia's. Her's was just pure horror. She felt so sick to her stomach, she immediately gagged and ran towards the nearest trash can. Sonic could only look down in despair. There was nothing he could do, but he felt responsible for everything that happened to her.
"S-Sonic… did that really happen?" Silver asked.
"Yes… Eggman was never going to keep his word. After what I saw… was all the proof I needed."
"So she's in critical condition, she needs an immediate evac out of the doctor's hands." Shadow stated.
"That's the plan, Captain Obvious." Sonic said with sarcasm.
"But do we even have a plan?" Rouge questioned.
Sonic turned towards the bat with a smirk when his aura flared and his green eyes once again transformed to crimson red.
"Yeah, I do."
Looks like we are reaching the end of this chapter, hope you all enjoyed and HAPPY NEW YEAR!