Hello again. I'll make this quick, so you all can get into the reading quickly, but I'll probably cease these little pre-chapter messages until I have an important update or we get halfway through the story. I am hoping to pump out a chapter every week, and it wouldn't be hard to do so as I have a majority of the story already planned out. With that out of the way, enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 2: The Tormentor
Deep Woods
Within the seclusion of a claustrophobic forest, hidden away from the sky above with a roof of tangling leaves, Infinite and The Murmur dug in to discuss the next steps of their plot. While they were near each other, the prisoners that gathered before were absent from their conversation but still lingered close by. Infinite, while grateful for The Murmur's gifts, he had questions of his own. He didn't understand the reasoning behind plucking out filth for the means of supporting their low numbers. The prisoners lacked devotion, at least that was the impression he got.
"Is there something wrong?" The Murmur sensed Infinite's confliction almost naturally. It saw through the barrier of his mask with an unreal sense of perspective. "Do you find my judgment of selection infelicitous? Be honest." Like before, the words from The Murmur had a special nursing to them. To lie now would make him act like an ungrateful toddler when he was so much more than that now.
"We don't need those vermin." Infinite eyed the prisoners, keeping his voice low. "They are beneath people like us. Whatever you are looking for, we can snag it by ourselves." Infinite placed his hand firmly on his chest, demonstrating his adhesion. "Do I not understand? What is it that you seek that I was unable to deduce? Does my failure to fathom unwelcome me to your power?"
"Hmm…" The Murmur echoed. "No, you are not in the wrong. I should've been more clear as to what our mission details." The Murmur bobs beside Infinite's head. "We are remaking this world. But if you present to the world that you are the enemy, then they'll cave into you with spears hoisted tall. However, if you convince the desperate there awaits salvation, you create a revolution." While not as straightforward as Infinite wished it to be, he was starting to get the reasoning behind The Murmur's method. Trick a bleak world to become a pedestal for their feet to rest on as they reshape everything. That was enough for him to get behind. With their little conversation done, The Murmur sought to progress its objective by gathering the prisoners around. The deer brothers stayed close together, while the lynx strayed far away from them. "I'm thankful that you all were willing to hear me out, but I require more from you to prove your value to me. I am but a piece of a person. There are two others like me that we must find to restore my potential to what it once was. One of them I can awaken now in Emerald Hill, but the other is trapped in a timeless plane. I will handle this problem personally, but all I ask is for you to retrieve the links that will fuse me with my kin. The Chaos Emeralds."
"Honestly, I have no problem doing your chores if this means burning this dump of a planet." The Lynx spoke up, fidgeting with her nails. Her disrespect irked Infinite to no end. If The Murmur permitted, he would not hesitate to obliterate her. "But we're gonna be wanted by the planet's most powerful heroes now that you broke us out. I don't know about you two deer, but I can handle myself just fine in a fight. That won't really matter though, if say… Sonic was to show up. We'd be prime for the picking."
"Not an issue. I know the order is tall, but you'll be prepared. I shall make you three my apostles, granted by the power I shall share." Infinite couldn't believe it. He thought these prisoners were going to just be mere pawns used for distraction, but they too will be blessed with The Murmur's power? That would make them almost as strong as Infinite. "However, if you run away with this power, there is nothing that can hide you and stop me from taking back what I've so generously offered." No remarks or objections after what was essentially an ultimatum. The prisoners didn't have much of a choice but to accept the offer as it was. They stepped forward, where The Murmur started to leak a path of fog that entered through each of their mouths and eyes, causing unbelievable pain that ravages through their whole body. It wasn't long until the pain dissipated, leaving them in a new enlightened form of fortitude and dominion. The Apostles were born.
Emerald Hill
There was a disturbance detected at a nearby village on these vibrant plains. GUN had been surveying dozens of different zones for the purpose of finding Chaos Emeralds after all seven had been used. Normally, after someone would use them, they'd scatter randomly across the world and it was a race to find them next. GUN wanted their hands on them for years, but they usually would always be beaten to the punch.
This afternoon, a strange reading popped up instead. Energy levels high enough to rival that of the Chaos Emeralds manifested close by in the hills. The commander of GUN issued an order for a task force to scout it out, but they've been radio silent for almost an hour. Knowing that something was out there hunting, the commander sent in Team Dark to investigate and neutralize any threats.
"Nearest village is two kilometers west. Last contact with the task force was reportedly located in a mountainous region 500 meters from said village. Rouge briefed the rest of Team Dark with a tablet on her watch displaying information. "What do you say, boys? Do we ask the villagers if they've seen our guys pass by?" Omega didn't have much to say and little input about their first move. Shadow on the other hand…
"We don't have time to waste chatting with bystanders. We search for our lost men first, then track down where the energy source was headed. Anything else will just slow us down." He coldly declared. Rouge shrugged it off but didn't feel the need to talk back. He was right, there was no time to waste. The three of them get going and blaze down the fields, with Shadow and Omega leaving a trail of scorch behind in their wake. It didn't take long for two kilometers to reach zero as Team Dark dashed past the outskirts of the village and made a beeline for the rocky hill close by. As they scale up the rocks with ease, they soon notice two things: An opening in the middle of the region and a decayed tree at the peak.
The tree has lost all of its leaves and strikingly contrasts the bountiful life surrounding it. Its bark is dry and its branches twisted and curled in unspecific directions. As the three look inside the opening, they can see roots from the tree sticking out from above the cave's roof. Matte purple radicles were leaking drops of sludge. The further inside is pitch black, so Omega activates a light through his eyes that illuminate the cave like flashlights. With the uncovering of darkness leading a path ahead, they move forward cautiously. "Why would the task force not radio this in? This all seems too important to not notify us about it." Suddenly, Shadow's foot snags on something where the light from Omega doesn't glow, and after Omega directs his sight to it, a haunting revelation swiftly comes to them. Lying in front of them were the armor and uniforms of the task force. No one or nothing was in them, besides a pile of black ash.
"Maybe because something got to them before they could." Rouge chillingly stated as her eyes widened at the sight of eight fallen "remains". Omega detected from their weapons that they had been fired and deduced that a fight had broken out beforehand. The bot turned his head back up and saw an egg-like object embedded at the end of the cave.
"Object detected!" Omega alerted the others. They got closer and got a better look at it. It was made from the same material that was the roots, knotted and jumbled together like a cocoon. What was the most wrenching about it was that something had burst through, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that whatever was inside was what decimated the task force. With that in mind, Shadow quickly thought of the village and how helpless it would be against this monster that broke out. Without telling Rouge or Omega, Shadow dashes outside the cave and heads to the village. He hoped that he wouldn't be too late, but he was preparing for the worst to come.
Signs of trouble soon arose as he entered the village. He noticed the lack of sound and people walking about. He almost missed it, but he saw clothes and ash scattered throughout the grounds. He fell behind. He was unable to save the people here. But maybe he was wrong, as he heard someone running around in a small house close by. That false hope soon dwindled as those sounds turned to cries for mercy as something else was inside with the person. The ebony hedgehog stood outside in horror as the screams became distorted and the shifting of skin cracked through the air. Then… There was silence. But only for a moment.
Faint footsteps and a low hum approached the door. A cheerful, happy, haunting tune. Shadow raised his fists for a fight as the door creaked open, revealing something hideous. A tall and imposing stature. Thinned and malnourished limbs and torso tainted in a solid color of dark purple. It had no mouth, ears, or nose, but a single eye resembling the beam of a lighthouse. In its hand was a withered and husked bear, dead and shriveled, with the creature's claws lodged in the bear's chest. It stops its humming as it stares at Shadow, in which it chortles with a raspy bellow. The sight of this thing instantly gave Shadow a headache as images painfully flashed in his head. A temple covered in sand and a temple surrounded by the forest, all containing a shadowy figure with reptile-like eyes hovering over him. It was strange, not once had Shadow been to those places, and yet they all looked familiar. "Ahh… How kind of you to join me,
Shadow." The creature said.
"What are you? How do you know my name?" Shadow got angry just by looking at this thing like it was deeply instinctual to be repulsed by this monster.
"Oh, I know many other things." It taunted as it dropped the body in its hand. As the body slammed against the dirt, it degraded into that same ash as before. "Many of which we shared together. But I doubt you remember any of it, even if it hurts you to try." On top of everything else, this thing knew that Shadow had those afflictive mirages? This was no ordinary beast, but something much more unknown and otherworldly.
"Quit wasting my time and give me some answers. What are you?" Shadow asked, desperate for answers.
"Hmm… You see, I never really thought of a name for myself. I'm not very clever. My brother would doubtlessly think up something for me, but he's not here right now. What do you think, Shadow? What is my name?"
"Why should I indulge a tormentor like you?"
"That one!" The creature pointed at Shadow with a gleeful tone in its voice. "Tormentor… It's perfect. I can think of nothing more suitable that represents me. See, there's nothing fun about gorging your meal. You have to play around with at least. These villagers…" The Tormentor silently laughs to himself as it looks around at all the piles of ash that were people. Its sick and twisted mind angered Shadow to no end. He started to see no point in this conversation and was ready to erase this abomination from existence as jolts of chaos energy sparked from his hand. "Well, it's entertaining to see them squirm, but I was hoping for something with a little more kick." Took the words right out of Shadow's mouth. It deserved more than just a kick, but that's what he'll start with. Shadow lunges into the air and cycles his body to gain momentum in his kick. But as soon as his foot is about to reach The Tormentor's head, it grabs Shadow's leg and slams him into the ground.
The Tormentor laughed as it sharpened its claws, ready to plunge them into Shadow's chest. Even without a mouth, Shadow could see through The Tormentor's compulsive eyes that it was internally salivating. Shadow broke free from its grip by launching a chaos spear into The Tormentor's chest. The spear's explosion made it let go, but it just made it flinch, as no seeable damage was on The Tormentor's torso. But Shadow wasn't done, as he darted forward with a chaos-charged punch that twisted The Tormentor's neck backwards. He thought it was over, but to his own shock, The Tormentor laughed confidently again and reset its neck back into place with its narrow hands. "Now, that's what I'm talking about." Shadow was speechless, he'd never seen anything as durable as this. "What's wrong, Shadow? I sure hope you haven't run out of tricks yet." Shadow wipes away both the sweat and the anxious look on his face. Fine, if he had to put a little more effort into putting this monster down, so be it.
"I've just made a mistake, that's all. Next time, that head of yours won't even be with the rest of your body." He proclaimed.
"Hahaha! I like where this is going! You better intend to live up to your threats. I wouldn't want to break you too soon. We just started to have fun." Just then, a sudden blast knocks The Tormentor to its knees, irritating it. Both it and Shadow look back and see Rouge and Omega flying down to surround The Tormentor. Omega's cannon trails smoke, implying he was the one who shot.
"Primary threat detected: Battle mode engaged!" Omega's shoulders and other side panels rise to expose chambers of micro missiles primed and aimed right at The Tormentor.
"Shadow! Are you ok?" Rouge called to him.
"Be careful! This thing is more dangerous than it looks!" He warned the two with an urgent manner in his expression.
"Give me some credit, Shadow. I'm much more dangerous than you could ever imagine." It muttered in a low voice. Shortly after Rouge sees The Tormentor, she too starts to experience a brief migraine and images of false memories of the temple and some other object, like a short-winged scepter of some sort. Even Omega's circuits and processors were freaking out like he was also experiencing a similar sensation. The Tormentor sees their vulnerability and gets a wicked idea. It extends its claws and guns for both of them, ignoring Shadow entirely, but the hedgehog wasn't just going to let that happen on his watch. Shadow grabs The Tormentor by its leg and flings it back, leading it to be hurled into a house, which crumbles and collapses on The Tormentor. Shadow then runs over to Rouge and Omega and tries to snap them out of their delusion.
"Rouge, listen to my voice! What you're seeing is not real. You have to resist!" After shaking up Rouge a bit more, the headaches disappear and she regains her senses, shortly followed by Omega, who had activated a subroutine to reboot himself if he ever started to malfunction.
"It still hurts." Rouge rubs her head, trying to withstand her pounding skull.
"I know it does, but you have to fight through it. If this thing escapes, more people are bound to die." Rouge grasps the weight of Shadow's words and forces herself through the pain to stand strong next to him and Omega. A small rustling appears in the rubble as The Tormentor digs its way out. It hangs its arms low and shuffles back onto the ground outside. A new feeling and aura emits from it, one of murderous intent.
"You dare interrupt my meal?" It growled. A hole opens up within the middle of The Tormentor's hand. A chipped and blackened blade starts to emerge from it and soon a whole sword manifests from The Tormentor's hand. It wields it sloppily with one hand loosely holding it, dragging it across the fertile grass and causing it to fade into barren dirt and soil. "No matter. I do prefer my courses a little more heated anyway."
Lost Jungle
It was a long run, but they finally made it to the coordinates that Sage had put out for them. Sonic and co had a conversation prior to the journeying out here about whether this was a trap or not. Sonic and Knuckles thought that the presence of Infinite was damning enough to them that the doctor wasn't fully open, and therefore could pull out the rug under them at any time if they gave him the chance. Tails on the other hand was more receptive, as even though they were enemies, Tails trusted Sage to some degree, and he hoped that trust was mutual. While Sonic understood where Tails was coming from, she was still loyal to Eggman, and that did nothing but throw a wildcard into the mix. In the end, it was Silver who convinced everyone to hear out Eggman. Whether they liked it or not, they were in the dark. The future was in danger, and the possibility of a paradox erupting was far too high to ignore. If Eggman knew something about it, then they couldn't risk ignoring it.
With that in mind, it did make all of them surprised as to the whereabouts of the coordinates. A small opening in the forest with a worn-down cement shed in the middle. "Are we sure that this is where we're supposed to be?" Sonic looked at Tails as he asked.
"Well, it certainly isn't revealing." Tails looks at the crummy shed, slightly disgusted by the mold seething over it. "If he wanted it hidden, he did a good job at making this place as repulsive as possible."
"I'm just surprised his ego didn't persuade him to light this forest up with his name like Christmas." Sonic sighs as he shrugs. If Eggman was here and watching, he wanted to rile him up as much as possible. Surely the doctor couldn't resist his insolent mouth blabbering on and on about his standards. "Guess he's really let himself go over the years. How shameful."
*If you're done jabbing at me and ready to get down to business, I suggest you shut your trap before I staple it shut!* A hidden speaker on the front of the shed spoke to them. Sonic smiled as he instantly recognized the voice.
"There you are, Eggster." Sonic walked up to the shed, trying to spot where the speaker was, and whether there was also a hidden camera that was spying on them. "I like what you've done with the place, but if you needed some place to crash, you could've just given me a call."
"But, you're the one who crashes at my place all the time." Tails spoke up. "If you're implying that I let Eggman sleep at my house then I hope you find somewhere else to live."
Meanwhile, inside the hidden base, Eggman was watching all of them via a hidden camera at the front of the shed. Through the large screen, he watched as Sonic kept moving his face forward to the camera, creating an ungodly image as his face enlarges and distorts from getting too close to the camera. Eggman rubs his eyes, not believing that he is going through with this. "I knew this was going to be a bad idea. This is what happens when you let children decide for you."
"What was that?" Sage's voice innocently pops up from the computer, startling Eggman.
"Nothing, sweetie! I'm just about to let them in!"
Back outside, odd machinery noises are heard from below their feet. Sonic and the rest step back as an opening in the form of a hidden door rises, with a metal staircase leading down into a secret passageway. Guess that was their sign to head in, even if it still felt like a trap. "Guess I was wrong. You haven't let yourself go yet." Sonic took the first step down, soon followed by Silver and then Tails and Knuckles at the same time. Going into this place left a lot up to interpretation of what Eggman was using it for. It looked old. Like really old. It reminded Sonic of the bases he encountered when he met Eggman for the first time. But he would never be able to tell just from looks alone. The walls and floor are rusted beyond repair and not a single light to help them navigate through the hallway. It must've been in really bad shape when even the electricity refused to work. Fortunately, Silver was able to illuminate the way forward with his gleaming aura.
"Jeez, and I thought the ruins back at Angel Island were ancient." Knuckles wryly comments. "What do you think happened to force Eggman into this position? You think he was telling the truth about Infinite?" Knuckles had started to second guess himself. Not in the sense that he made a wrong judgment call before. It is never bad to doubt Eggman's words. But looking at what the doctor was coerced to do, he could only think of one word to describe it: Desperation. He was still on the side of caution, but it seemed genuine that Eggman no longer had control over Infinite.
"If he wasn't, then there would be no reason to cower down here." Silver responded with the logic that he firmly believed. If Eggman knew what happened to Infinite, then maybe he knew what that Murmur was. It seemed like the stem of all these problems lay with that ball of smoke. How else can those visions be explained? It was all either a trick or something that didn't belong had invaded their timeline. Either way, the level of power the enemy possessed was far greater than anything they'd seen in a long time, so Silver was not afraid to take chances.
At the end of the hall was a reinforced door with no handle. Tails inspected the panel beside it but found all the buttons deadlocked. Given that there were no other doors leading up to this one, this is where they were meant to be. Sonic took the initiative and walked up to the door. He gingerly taps on it three times, and when that doesn't warrant a response, the blue blur pounds his fist on the steel blockade. Once again, nothing.
"Guess no one's home." Sonic said. Without warning, the door decompresses and wakes to life as it struggles to lift up. Sparks fly and the hinges barely keep the door straight. A light on the other side blinds all of them, forcing their eyes to adjust. Once they do, they see a sour face glaring them down. Eggman greeted them with the most unfriendly gape in all of history. He could tell that Sonic was about to make a stupid remark, and prematurely gritted his teeth in distaste. "Aren't you a sight for sore-"
"Another word out of you, and I will blow up this whole base where we all stand." Eggman grumbled.
"Admit it, you like working with me. We get so much done together. Maybe you should consider changing to our side for good." Eggman's mustache twitches in revulsion just by hearing that.
"If Sage's probabilities weren't so accurate, I'd toss you into your rightful grave, Sonic." Tails' ears perked up and darted towards Eggman.
"Where is she?" Tails inquired. He thought it was strange that she was the one who called them here, and yet she was the only one absent. With how depressing the mood was, Tails feared that something may have happened. "Is she ok?"
"Yes, Miles Prower." Her voice boomed through the small space, although she was nowhere in sight. It wasn't until her icon popped up on the wide monitor that Tails felt relieved. "An accident rendered my physical avatar inoperable for the moment, but in time my body will return to normal."
"It's nice that this reunion is happening, but we need an explanation as to what has been going on." Silver said, crossing his arms as he locks eyes with Eggman. "What is the deal Infinite?"
"About a day ago, a satellite of mine picked up a reading in the middle of nowhere. Upon closer inspection, I deduced that the source of this energy was related to the Phantom Ruby in some way. I sent Sage and Infinite to investigate, who had just recovered from the enormous strain of the old ruby. An oversight on my part, as that traitorous vermin took some of its power, and is now under the influence of some new entity." The truth was almost lackluster. It was apparent that Eggman also knew very little about what was happening with Infinite and this Murmur. And yet, Sonic felt like he could swallow Eggman's words. He could tell that he was scared of Infinite. He had hundreds of other bases scattered around the world, and yet he allowed himself to become a hermit under the earth. This meeting wasn't to tell them all the details, but rather as a proposal to team up to take down Infinite.
No doubt it was Sage's idea. It would be the last of the last resorts for Eggman to fall back on. Sonic saw it plastered on the doctor's face. A man who was running out of ideas. "If we're doing this… cooperation." Eggman shuttered at the notion of that word. "You'll need to throw everything we got to put Infinite down. Our best course of action: The Chaos Emeralds."
To be continued…
Up Next: A Race for Fate!