Disclaimer: The following is a story based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video games by SEGA and comic books by IDW Publishing which is set in the future between the IDW series and Sonic Frontier. Certain issues from the comic books have yet to be released, so the content will be made through theories and predictions created by me, along with any fan made ideas of my own. Any continuity errors or contradicting details should be accepted as part of an alternate universe. An alternate version of this story will be made if any future comic arcs have reached their conclusions to be made more accurate. Enjoy!
Sonic the Hedgehog
The Specter of Speed
Chapter 2
A Monster
The night was quiet, only lit by the moon with just a quarter piece revealed missing. Although more light was beaming in the middle of the woods from a lone outpost within a clearing. The base was surrounded by a stone wall in the outline of a large square with a long rectangle extending out from the front. A metal gate was at the far end of the rectangle, and on the other side was a roadway with no ceiling about twenty meters long, leading to another gate. On each side of the paved road were two levels of platforms; the lower platforms were three feet off the ground and the upper platforms were walkways that oversees the outside, with railings and two bridges connecting them. On the other side of the second gate was the vast courtyard of the compound. The front of the interior was a motor pool, the back had a single tall building with a loading dock in the front, and big metal containers were all stacked and scattered around the base.
Guards patrolled every inch of the outpost, including the surrounding area outside. They were all wearing black tactical armor, carrying high-tech weapons, and have their heads covered with helmets, goggles, and masks on their heads. There were big white letters "W.G.C." on their backs, and smaller letters under them that spell "GARRISON". They searched around and called in on the radios they got in their helmets, sometimes talking with each other in person. One guard nodded head before getting off his radio after checking the nearby foliage, a bit far from the compound. He was about to turn around when he got pulled into a bush by some unseen force.
Inside the building, there was a dimly lit security room with three people watching a wall of monitors. Each one displayed a live image of over a dozen security cameras scattered all over the outpost. The otter watching the monitors noticed one of them had changed into static.
"SE-06, this is central," the otter spoke into the desk microphone. "There seems to be some interference with Camera 3."
"Copy that, central. We'll check it out," said a voice coming from the desk speaker.
Outside, two guards went around the corner of the main entrance and toward the southeast corner of the square wall. They looked up at the camera and found it was demolished, smoking with sparks coming out of it.
"Central, Camera 4 has been attacked," the guard spoke into his radio.
Then some strange sound caught the two guards' attention.
"What was that?" asked the second guard.
They turned around the corner and got a clear view of the east wall. There was a camera in the far back corner and in the center. The guards noticed one of the two lights next to the center camera was damaged the same way as Camera 4. Then they heard a faint sound which caused them to look down along the wall. Suddenly, a small red light quickly came out of nowhere and hit the back camera. The guards were surprised at the sight of the camera going up in sparks. They tried to rush over toward the newly destroyed camera.
"Central, this is SE-06!" called the guard running the farthest on his radio. "There's been a disturbance on Camera 8! Standby for farther detail." He switched his radio over to another link. "SE-12, report to our position on the east wall. Do you copy?" But all he heard was static on his radio, so he stopped in front of the working camera. "SE-12, come in. Hoops, are you there? Hoops isn't responding," he turned back to his partner and found that he disappeared. The lone guard went back on his radio, "SE-03, come on. Slip, respond!" But he was still getting static.
He heard a humming sound coming from behind him. He turned around and his eyes widened to the illumination of a strange red glow.
In the security room, the otter watched the monitor where SE-06 is in view of the working camera. He just stood there, looking at something offscreen when the image went out into static. "Security," the otter said into the desk microphone. "We lost contact with our patrol unit on the eastside!"
"What in the-?!" said the ferret, sitting on the right side of the otter. Those two, and the aqua-colored cardinal sitting on the otter's left, noticed some of the other monitors going out. "What is going on?"
Outside, more small bolts of red lights just zoomed down across the sky, destroying the cameras and lights all over the base upon impact, and with such precision. They were so small and moved so fast, none of the guards even noticed them. Only those who were close enough to hear the sounds or witnessed the event took notice of what was happening.
The announcement from the head guard went out on every radio: "ALL UNITS! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK! REPEAT, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!"
One guard on top the east wall was pulled over the side from behind. His partner turned around fast from hearing the commotion. He rushed over to the side and looked down to find out what happened. Then suddenly, two dark silhouettes jumped up out at him. He got hit, he flew backwards into the railing, and fell unconscious. It was so dark, not even the moon could make out the silhouettes' features. One seemed a bit square and angular, while the other was much smaller. They each went in opposite directions atop the wall.
"This is central! We lost the external cameras. We need a visual!" said the voice of the otter.
"This is SE-01!" yelled the head guard. "Light 'em up! Switch on your helmet cams."
All the guards switch on the flashlights installed on their blasters, and activated the cam built into the crown of their helmets to give central the visual they asked by observing the guards' view on the monitors. The troops searched around for any sign of intruders. The large silhouette landed in the courtyard, running around the containers, and attacked them in the shadows. It would pull them by the legs with some kind of wire, strike them down with some sword they pulled out of their cloak, or jump them with incredible speed. The small silhouette ran along the walls and attacked the guards with such swiftness. Each attack gave off a bright red light, but not bright enough to reveal the attacker's identity. It continued along the platforms and bridges on the south entrance.
The guards on the walkway below noticed one of them getting knocked off one the bridges and landed on the paved road. Among the flashing red lights and sirens from the alarms along the driveway, they turned in surprise after hearing both gates opening.
The three people in the security room watched the commotion outside on the monitors with stress and surprise. They saw that the guards were firing their weapons at the shadowy figures without prevailing. They were moving so fast that they were taking out the guards without getting hit. Most of the screens went out from those who were attacked.
"This is central!" said the otter. "What is going on out there!"
"Hey, fellas! Check this out!" the cardinal told the two while looking at a computer screen on their desk. "Someone is opening Gates 1 & 2!"
"What? Who authorized this?!" yelled the otter.
"The gate controls aren't responding! Our systems have been compromised!" said the ferret working on his own computer.
The three looked at the monitor of the driveway and saw that all the guards stationed there were already down. Then then watched more screens going out faster than before. They then returned to the remaining helmet cams to see that the troopers were falling back to the building's loading dock. The troops were stumbling to get inside and firing their weapons into the darkness outside.
"Fall back! We are being overrun!" said SE-01. "Retreat: We ar-!" Then suddenly, they lost the transmission on his com, and there was quick glance of the white figure in his helmet cam a split second before the screen had gone static.
"What was that?!" yelled the cardinal. "Hello?! Security?!"
"This is central! Is anyone out there?!" called the ferret.
As the two tried to get things under control, the scared otter looked at the monitors to the interior camera and found that all the guards inside the building were already on the floor, and that the walls had big scratches on them. He searched all the screens until he was shocked to have found a live feed of a hallway and mysterious character standing in front of one of the doorways. He recognized it as the door to the security room. He spun his chair around to see the frightening sight of a white masked figure standing right behind him: with glowing blue eyes, sharp teeth, and long black claws; staring down at him with a long screeching roar.
The night continued in the outskirts of Barricade Town, where a Restoration Shuttle was grounded. The light from the massive battleship illuminated the area. At the ramp, dozens of people have been loading and unloading a lot of containers and crates. Some of the animal people were partnered with a Wisp of all sorts of colors and carrying a Wispon compatible to the little flying aliens' Hyper-go-on energy. The opened crates they were loading onto the ship were filled with broken Badnik parts. The Green Wisps phased into the huge containers onboard, using their Green Hover Color Power to cause them to float in the air, making it easy for the workers to move them by hand. The female antelope civilian walked up to the meerkat supervisor work on his clipboard.
"So, how are things coming along?" asked the antelope.
"It's coming along great," the meerkat answered. "We'll have these Badniks cleared out in no time."
"That's good. I just wanna say I can't thank the Restoration enough for helping our town fend off against the Badniks and giving these fresh supplies to help us rebuild."
"No problem. It's what we do. And I'd like to thank you for gathering these volunteers to help us out."
"It's the least we can do."
The two parted way, and the meerkat pulled out his radio and switched it on. "Hey, Draft. We're almost done down here, so get ready for departure," the meerkat said into his radio.
"Sure thing, boss!" said the voice of the coyote pilot in the ship's cockpit.
A worker tiger had just picked up a small crate when he noticed some dark silhouette within a distance within the moon and grew bigger as it was coming closer toward their site.
"Sir," the tiger caught the meerkat's attention. "What's that up there?"
The supervisor looked up, as well as any nearby workers and volunteers who overheard it. They stared with confusion at the mysterious object coming toward them. It got close enough to be identified as a small blue aircraft of a unique design. It seemed very sharp and angular with a special engine on each wing and a different engine in the back. It also appeared to be mounted with barreled weapons on each side of its nose cone. As the craft got closer, it fired a series of energy blasts from its weapons upon the big battleship and the site. They created small explosions upon impact, creating a series of fires on the ground and destroying most of the lights on the shuttle. Everyone in the area was shocked by this sudden ambush, most of them just ran and scattered. As the aircraft swooped down and launched two missiles from the opened shafts within its wings, making bigger explosions with they hit the ship. Some of the workers pulled out their Wispons and their Wisps partners flew inside of them. They fired their Wispons up at the lone craft. The White Boost Wispons fired energy blasts and the Orange Rocket Wispons launched out rocket blasts. But the aircraft evaded every shot with such speed and maneuverability. One of the workers stopped when he noticed atop a nearby fire was a large silhouette standing behind it. The huge figure came out of the flames and rushed toward him. He was about to turn his Wispon, but the big hand of his attacker had already grabbed him.
The coyote pilot was sitting in his seat, while the ship was still being attacked by the mysterious fighter jet. He worked on the controls to the weapon system to fire the shuttle's cannons onto the light craft. But it evaded every shot, despite the entire sky being peppered with energy bolts. It swerved back and took out some of the cannon.
"Draft! Get this thing in the air! We're out of here!" said the supervisor voice on the com.
"Right!" the pilot responded.
He worked on starting up the engines. They started to light up inside the exhaust and there was a humming sound of them warming up.
The Restoration workers started falling back up the ramp, firing their Wispons at the unknown attacker on the ground. The flames were already spreading and getting so big that they could not get a clear look at this mystery person or get a clear shot at him. All they could do was fire rapidly and helplessly watch their remaining forces within the fire being attacked. They were then startled by the loud sound of the enemy craft's engine and watched it firing upon the shuttle's engines until they explode.
"Sir! Look!" one of men alert the supervisor and pointed out at a certain part of the fire. There they saw a different type of silhouette emerging from the flames. One much smaller and thinner than the first, and it appeared to be walking slowly through them.
In the cockpit, the pilot tried desperately to figure out how to handle the current situation. But then he felt a hand being placed on his left shoulder. He looked to see that it was a white gloved hand with claws. He turned his head around fast to see that it was a person wearing white with a mask.
Within a wasteland, lay a lone base bearing the Eggman Empire emblem. It was made up of a few metal buildings, bridges, and walkways. A series of Egg Pawn Badniks were working various jobs around the place. Some were doing construction work of some of the buildings, some were patrolling the area, while others were loading crates onto transports.
Two Egg Pawns that were each carrying a crate were stopped by the clicking sound. They looked down between them to find it was coming from a pair of black dice that came out of nowhere. They curiously leaned down and watched the dice landed snake eyes. The dots on the face of the dice began to blink red and beep. Suddenly, the spot where the dice landed on became engulfed in a huge explosion, along with the two Egg Pawns.
The other Badniks in the base stopped what they were doing and took notice of the explosion. The two builders closet to blast radius became skewered by what appeared to be small metal rectangular slits flying out of the smoke. Three Egg Pawn security were running toward the site, when a long black jointed tendril with a pointy bulbous tip appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around the rear guard. The other two stopped and turned to watch the third being lifted and crunched. The closest Egg Pawn was about to aim its weapon, until it was impaled by the tendril. As the final robot prepared to attack, it got quickly torn apart by some unseen force.
In just mere seconds, every Badnik in the base was being mysteriously ripped to shredded. Claw marks suddenly appeared on most of the walls, including on the Eggman emblem. In no time at all, the entire base was completely being burnt down.
Elsewhere, there was another base of the Eggman Empire, much larger and with taller buildings. In the center, there lay a large tower with circular eyes, a long nose, and a big mustache. Within that tower, Dr. Eggman was walking down a metal hallway, acting disgruntled from his defeat earlier. He went through the sliding doors at the end and into a big control room with multiple computers covering a whole wall. There was a big chair in the room with what appeared to be a small red circle and a yellow square attached to each side.
"ORBOT! CUBOT!" he yelled out.
Just then, the circle and the square popped out of his chair, revealing them to be his short robotic minions, Orbot and Cubot. The half-black colored robots changed out of their namesake shape forms and into their thin metallic bodies, glowing light blue circled eyes, and teeth-like mouths.
"AH! JUST A QUICK CHARGE, BOSS!" said the startled Orbot.
"WE WEREN'T TAKING ANY BREAKS OR ANYTHING!" added Cubot.
"I don't want to hear it! I've had a rough night." shouted Eggman. He sat down on his rotating chair, while his two minions floated over to a terminal on each side of the computer wall. "My 'Scavenging Operation' was a complete bust, thanks to that blasted hedgehog and his cyborg double. I was this close to getting the secrets of Starline's technology within that troublesome tenrec. If I had known they would show up, I would have sent Metal Sonic to deal with them. It was easy enough when they were fighting each other."
"He couldn't beat them when they 'were' fighting each other. What difference would it make now?" Orbot sarcastically muttered to himself.
"What was that?" said the doctor, overhearing him.
"Oh nothing, sir!" the robot responded in false delight.
"Good." Pressing a button from his chair, Dr. Eggman brought up holographic screen next to him, and it interacted with his touch "So, what's the status on my EggmanLand projects?"
"Slight behind schedule. But I'm sure we can speed things along with whatever materials we already have."
"Be sure it does. What about my new and improved Egg Forces?"
"The factories had just whipped up fresh platoons as requested," said Cubot.
"Excellent. Now give me status report on my 'Siege on Imperial City'. Was the invasion successful?"
"Sorry, boss," said Orbot. "But I'm afraid Ms. Amy Rose was in the area with Team Chaotix, and…the invasion force failed."
"AGAIN?!" Dr. Eggman yelled angrily while stringing out of his street. He grunted in disappointment with a hand on his forehead. "No matter. I guess we'll have to try again tomorrow." He walked up to the computers, between Orbot and Cubot. He pressed a few buttons and then twisted off a large black disk-like device with his emblem on it from the panel. "This will be my greatest masterpiece. It'll be a huge improvement over you two." He then started to yawn. "It's been a long day. You two finish things up. I'm gonna turn in."
He was just about to leave when Orbot said "Sir! I just an immediate update on the Eggnet! Your outposts within a dozen sectors are being attacked almost simultaneously!"
"WHAT?!"
"This just came in!" said Cubot. "The outposts in Sectors 3, 5, & 6 are completely destroyed!"
"IMPOSSIBLE!"
"And I hate to make matters worse, sir," said Orbot. "But we've lost contact with your east battalion. Apparently, they've never made it to Spagonia."
"Well, how is that possible?! Neither Sonic nor the Restoration could've moved that fast. Plus, this is highly irregular of them!" Then suddenly, the room began to shake followed by a loud noise. The three of them were losing their balance a bit until the shaking stopped. "What was that?!"
"It sounded like a huge explosion!" yelled Cubot.
"I can tell, you idiot. But what caused it?!"
"Doctor! We traced the source of the disturbance to District E-12!" announced Orbot.
Eggman shoved Orbot away in the face to get a better look at his terminal. He looked at the live surveillance feed the metal street within his own base, and watched a portion of it engulfed in flames. He magnified the image on a small silhouette within the fire. It walked out of the inferno, revealing itself to be a thin character wearing white garbs and straps connected by metal rings and a featureless mask with glowing cyan eyes.
"Who is that?!" yelled Dr. Eggman.
"I'm not quite sure," said Orbot, looking at a handheld computer tablet. "But his description does not come up in our Eggnet databanks."
"Well, I think it's time to teach him a lesson what happens when you crashed into my house uninvited."
"Or at all for that matter," said Cubot.
Dr. Eggman slammed his fist onto a big red button on the panel, and bright red lights started flashing all over the compound, along with a loud siren noise.
"Security!" he announced. "Get down to District E-12 and illuminate the intruder!"
The doctor and his minions watched on one of the big screens as about a dozen squadrons of Eggrobos were flying toward the masked intruder's position. The oval-shaped robots had managed to surround him, about a couple feet away from the fire. He just stood where he was, holding his wrist behind his back as he calmly looked around in all directions at the Badniks pointing their energy weapons at him. He remained unresponsive as several Egg Monitors pods were floating down the area, displaying Dr. Eggman's face live.
"I don't know who you are or how you slipped past my proximity sensors," said Dr. Eggman. "But you've got some nerve trespassing on Eggman territory and blowing up my property. You got five seconds to surrender to me or face oblivion." The masked stranger softly chuckled in his computerized voice. "Time's up! Security! ATTACK!" The Eggrobos fired their energy gun at the intruder almost simultaneously. But then, he suddenly disappeared right when the energy bolts were about to hit him. "WHAT?!" The doctor and his sidekicks were shocked to have witnessed the blasts hitting nothing but the ground. The security bots ceased firing and scanned the spot where the masked man was once standing, seeing nothing but the scorch marks on the metal ground their guns made.
"He just…vanished," Orbot stated.
"Wow. He's like a magician. Is he gonna pull a rabbit out of a hat next?!" asked the excited but dim-witted Cubot.
Dr. Eggman growled in anger before commanding the security drones, "All units, search the area! He couldn't have gone far. I want that pest for breaking into my-!" But right when the Eggrobos started to respond to his command, one of them fell back with a large gash appearing in its face. "WHAT?!"
In less than an intent, more Eggrobos had parts of themselves torn off with big marks being carved into their bodies. They were being literally cut down by some unseen force, until there was only one left. The lone robot looked around and could see that the intruder was standing a short distance from him. He pointed his weapon at the masked man. But before it could fire, the white stranger's body began to shift and blur for just a few moments. Then the Eggrobo was suddenly torn to pieces right before the intruder stopped shifting. The masked stranger looked down at the mess of robot pieces he made, and then looked up at the Egg Monitor. Then he instantly faded and disappeared.
"He's not magic. Just fast. He's a speedster!" said Dr. Eggman. He announced to his robots throughout the base, "ALL BADNIKS ON HIGH ALERT! SEEK OUT THE INTRUDER AND WIPE HIM OUT!" Then with a wicked smile, he said "And I got the thing for this one."
The unknown speedster zoomed his way through the compound, destroying every Badnik he came across. He just passed by them like some blurry image that was there for just a second, and all robots get dismantled without them noticing. Those who do didn't have enough time to react as they were being demolished or torn to shreds. More explosions occured throughout the base.
"He's already gone through Distract E-6 through 9, sir," said Cubot, monitoring the situation on his computer.
"Incredible," said Orbot. "His fighting-style does not match that of Sonic, Shadow, or Surge. The readings on his speed seem to have exceeded their recorded parameters, sir."
"Fascinating," said the doctor. "This new player has broken their records. So, he thinks he can come down here and try his achievement out on me, huh? Well, no matter. For there one I know he can't outrun."
The masked figure sprinted around the base, searching for some mayhem to commit. But then, in front of his path, something crashed straight down from the sky and onto the ground at top speed. The impact created a large cloud of dust. While at the same time, the stranger immediately stopped at the edge of the cloud. He just stood where he was, watching the cloud clear, and in the center was Dr. Eggman's most dangerous creation. Metal Sonic. The blue robot in the shape of Sonic the Hedgehog stood up with its jet engine torso, sharp metal claws, and black eyes with glowing red irises, which are staring directly at the mysterious character.
Dr. Eggman displayed himself in a nearby Egg Monitor. "Metal Sonic," he commanded. "Dispose of this intruder!"
Metal made bleeping sounds and moved into a fighting stance, pointing out his claws. The white faceless stranger slowly raised his hands, and then, a long claw extended out of all ten of his fingertips. They were thin, sharp, black claws, each about 6 inches long. The stranger then took a fighting pose himself. The glowing cyan eyes looks at the robot, with a computerized voice whisper "Yes." The two of them stood still for just a few moments. The humming sound of Metal's jet turbines warming up can be heard getting louder. With just a flinch, they both lunged at each other almost simultaneously. The stranger sprinted forward, while Metal Sonic's thruster on his back propelled him at top speed.
They zoomed toward each other and swiped their sharp claws once they got close. Their claws clashed upon one another while their owners pushed with great force. Then they've vanished from sight. Only sparks appeared and clinging sounds from their claws were coming all over the place. Metal Sonic appeared right by a metal wall, scanning the area, when the masked intruder popped out, swiping at him. Metal quickly dodged, causing the intruder's claws to cut through the metal wall, leaving gash marks on it. Then the stranger sprinted away, and Metal boosted after him. The two then dashed down the roads of the fortress, with the mystery intruder sprinting and Metal flying forward, both side-by-side. They stared down at each other for just a bit, and they started swinging their arms around with their nails making the sound of blades hitting blades. Meanwhile, Dr. Eggman and his two minions continued watching the battle.
"Whoa! This guy is good!" said Cubot.
"Indeed. He's even able to keep up with Metal Sonic," Orbot replied.
"BAH!" Eggman scoffed. "Once Metal is able to scan this pest's life data, he won't stand a chance."
Metal and the white stranger stopped running when their latest clash was so great, it pushed them backwards just a bit. Metal Sonic longed forth to attack his opponent. The mystery man body shifted just a bit, and Metal ended up behind him after laying his blow. But it seemed like nothing had happened. The robot looked up in confusion as if he didn't hit anything at all. He was about to turn around when the unknown anthro swung his arm backward at Metal, sending him flying back a few feet. The mechanical hedgehog regained his composure, and leaped toward him, laying few blows at him. The intruder was leaning back against a wall, but Metal seemed surprised to watch him getting back like it was no big deal, chuckling. By this time, Metal decided to use his Copycat technique and analyze the stranger's life data to mimic his abilities. But while he was scanning him, a long bleeping sound came up, and Metal realized that the scans detected an error.
The intruder suddenly sprinted forward in the robot's confusion and started punching and kicking him with great success. So, Metal decided to copy his enemy's fighting style from his scans to counter. It worked well for a while, blocking the masked fighter's attacks and hitting him with his own techniques. But then, it was the masked person who got the upper hand. Countered all of Metal's moves and was able to get the robot down. As he was able to swing long black claws at him, the metal hedgehog had just cast his Black Shield. The claws bounced off the diamond-shaped force field made up of dark transparent energy that Metal Sonic is encased in. He leaped up and started punching, kicked, and slashing his claws at the top of the shield, but it seemed impenetrable. As he took one more hit at it, the shield dispersed, and Metal Sonic fired his Plasma Pulse Blast from his chest on his opponent at pointblank range. After the laser blast was fired, the intruder vanished and there was nothing left in front of the blue robot but a molten hole in the wall, glowing from the heat. Metal gave out his metallic bleeps as a sign of relief. But he was shocked when he realized that his opponent had reappeared directly behind him. The masked man began hitting the robot with multiple blows.
"What is this?!" yelled Dr. Eggman in displeasure. "He somehow managed to have Metal on the ropes! Why hasn't copied his abilities yet?! Metal! Stop messing around and finish him off already—" Then suddenly, all the screens were showing nothing but static. "What is happening?!"
"There appears to be some interference," said Orbot. "Our systems are being tempered with! Nothing's responding!"
"But it can't be! How is this possible?!"
Elsewhere in the tower, a silhouette was running down the halls. Knowing that the security cameras were all down, this faceless figure could roam throughout the building without worry. Especially since all the Badnik patrols he passed by are all deactivated. He stopped in front of a giant vault door. Then he walked up to the control panel on the side, pulled out a special handheld device, pulled on the thin extendable cord from it, and plugged it into the panel. As he worked on the device, a few codes appeared on the little screen on it, and then a green light flashed on the panel. The vault door opened, and the mysterious person walked inside. The contents inside were mostly crates and shelves filled with unique gadgets and machine parts. But at the center of all of it was a small pedestal, and sitting on top of it was the yellow Chaos Emerald.
Meanwhile, Dr. Eggman, along with Orbot and Cubot, were working on their computers to try and get the system back online.
"This shouldn't be happening!" said the doctor. "There's no way anyone could bypass my firewall! It's equipped with advanced monitoring parameters and several binary encryption algorithms of my own design. How can anyone hack into my mainframe without even setting off any security alarms?"
"Maybe that masked guy guessed the password," Cubot suggested. "I always figured it'd be something simple, like 'password'."
"Knowing the boss, he probably used his own name again," Orbot whispered to his counterpart.
Dr. Eggman wacked them both in the back of the head. "I heard that, you idiots! There's just no way that mystery speedster could've had time to hack in while battling Metal. Unless…" While he was pondering, the whole room started to shake hard, followed by a loud booming sound. Eggman lost his balance until he caught hold of his chair. "What was that?!"
Then the wall on their left just blew into pieces. As the dust cloud cleared up, the doctor and his two robots could see there was the masked intruder standing in front of the big hole he made in the wall. Lightning flashed in the sky behind him, while Metal Sonic was lying on the floor behind him. The stranger was about to stomp on him, but the robot evaded by zooming himself out of the way just in time. The masked person sprinted after him. The two then started bouncing off the walls and clashed with each other again at an accelerating rate. Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot had to take cover as the speedsters tore the room apart.
Right when Metal took a swipe at his opponent, he was surprised to see he had somehow phased through him. The man in the white mask quickly turned around and grabbed Metal by the ankle. The robot hedgehog used his jet engine to fly away, but his enemy was so strong that neither of them budged an inch. Then the other pulled Metal with great force and slammed him to the floor repeatedly with great force until he threw him upward. He hit the ceiling and started to fall, and then the stranger in the white mask began to leap off the walls again. Only this time, Metal Sonic wouldn't be able to fight back. The masked man charged at him over and over, hitting him from all directions. It seemed like Metal was being tackled so much and very quickly while in midair, he wasn't given any time to respond. Then the intruder in the white mask leaped downward from the ceiling and delivered a dropkick onto Metal. The two plunged down fast, creating a large dust cloud and big shake once they impacted the floor. Dr. Eggman and his two minions shielded themselves until things settled down. Eggman waited for the dust to clear, only to look in shock to see the intruder with a foot planted on the chest of the defeated Metal Sonic on top of a pile of rubble.
Metal's body was beaten up and covered with dents and claw marks. He struggled to lift his own robotic arm while beeping. But then his opponent lifted his leg off the robot's chest and slammed it down on the struggling arm. He then placed on hand on Metal's chest, and raised the other hand high while his retractable claws came out. He looked down at the robot who was just staring back at him while he prepared for the final blow. But then, he noticed one of the working monitors lying on the floor switched back from static to being operational again. So; his claws slid back into his fingers, he removed his hand and foot from Metal, and turned away while whispering "Next time".
The man of white mask was walking toward the hole in the wall when he was stopped by sound of somebody yelling "HEY!" He turned around to see a furious Dr. Eggman approaching him. "I don't know who you think you are! You come into my facility, smash the whole place up, break most of my stuff, beat my greatest creation down to scrap, and now you think you're just going to walk away as if nothing happened?! I am the infamous Dr. Eggman! The greatest scientific mind ever known! I should have you grounded into paste for what you did! However, I would be happy to look pass this little oversight, if you are willing to hear me out." His tone got a little softer and calmer. "Your abilities are extraordinary. I could find such use for your talents. How's about we make a deal? I will spare your life and will forgive these senseless actions of yours, but only if you pledge your allegiance to the glorious Eggman Empire. Your loyalties will serve a higher purpose. You will be well protected; I can reward you with whatever you desire; and you will have a chance to prove your own worth. There is a certain blue hedgehog running around giving me trouble. From what I see, your speed seems to surpass his own. If you can get rid of him for me, you will be known as the 'Fastest Thing Alive'. What do say? Do we have a deal?" He extended his hand out for a handshake, showing off his teeth in a big grin.
The stranger in white just stood there, staring at his hand. Then he gave out a soft chuckle through his robotic voice filter. Dr. Eggman pulled his hand back, looking very confused.
"What? What's so funny?" the doctor asked.
"You, of course," the masked intruder replied. "Feeling desperate, aren't we? Well let me tell you something: I'm not trying to prove anything, I don't need protection, and I already got what I want. And as for Sonic the Hedgehog, I believe the both of you will get what's rightfully yours. For all you know is about to change."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Eggman asked. The man in the mask was just about to walk away again. "Hold on!" he yelled out, stopping the stranger from leaving. Then he pressed on a button that doubled as an actual button on his red coat. "All units! Converge in my location!" He then looked back at the back of the intruder's head. "You just made a grave mistake today! There's no escape for you now! I'll have imprisoned and enslavement before you coul—"
"SILENCE!" the masked man quickly turned and yelled out at the top of his lungs. This time, his body shifted just a bit and a blurry pulse excreted from him in all directions.
It didn't seem to do any damage. But the wave went pass Eggman so fast, and he suddenly felt an unpleasant feeling, as well as a cold chill. His face frozen from shock and his body completely petrified until he lost his balance and landed on his bottom. He sat down on the floor beathing heavily in a cold sweat. He then looked up at the masked intruder with an anxious look.
"Who are you?" ask Dr. Eggman. "What are you?"
The masked man looked away only slightly. "I am a Ghost…A Practitioner…" He then slowly turned his head back at the doctor. "…A MONSTER."
A bolt of lightning flash from the hole in the wall, and the masked man intently disappeared. Dr. Eggman stumbled getting back up, walking to the hole. He looked outside down at the damage done to his city fortress. Multiple fires and piles of rubble were made by the explosions from the attack. Robot parts were lying scattered on the metal streets. The remaining Badniks were seen picking up the pieces off the ground. Eggman looked forward with a discouraging look. The ground illuminated by the fires and the sky lit up by lightning. Then the sky outside became filled with squadrons of Buzz Bombers and Egg Chasers.
"Oh look. Your reinforcements are here," said Cubot.
"Shall we send our force to sweep the area for him?" asked Orbot.
"Ah don't bother," answered Eggman. "He's probably miles away by now. Get the construction bots to work immediately. I'll have to make a few personal repairs in the morning." He took out and looked upon the disk-like device he had earlier. "Time to put you back in the vault."
Dr. Eggman started walking out toward the door, a beaten-up Metal Sonic struggled while trying to get back up, and Orbot and Cubot were scrounging through the bushed equipment on the floor. But then, Orbot noticed something on one of the working monitors.
"Oh look, boss! The system's back online again," he said.
The doctor stopped in front of the doorway. "System?" he pondered. "THE VAULT!" From this realization, Eggman dashed out of the room frantically, leaving Metal, Orbot, and Cubot in the devastated control room.
Dr. Eggman rushed down the hallways feeling on edge, until he stopped in front of a giant vault door. He entered the code on the control panel, the light changed from red to green, and the vault door opened. The doctor walked inside and was suddenly devastated the find the only thing different about it is that the Chaos Emerald was no longer on its pedestal.
"THE CHAOS EMERALD!" The bald doctor became so furious. "I knew it! He did have an accomplice! The guy in the mask was a diversion. His buddy hacked my security so they can steal the emerald right under my nose!" While he was angrily growling, he started sniffing when he took notice of a strange smell that he knew wasn't there before. "Paint?"
He then followed the smell right up the empty pedestal and found that on the top where the gem used to be, was an unfamiliar symbol that was written in grey paint.
In the middle of a dark forest, a small clearing was dimly lit by the light of the moon. The white masked figure suddenly shifted out from nowhere right in the middle of the clearing. Then he noticed there he was surrounded by silhouettes of many shapes and sizes. One of them held out his hand toward the mystery fiend, and in it grasp was the yellow Chaos Emerald. The gem started to radiate a bright glow that only revealed the hand it was in. The man in the white mask just stared at it as if he was mesmerized, before its carrier handed it to him.
"Well done. All of you," the masked stranger said to his associates. "This is only the beginning." He looked down at the glow yellow emerald that filled his whole palm in his grasp. He then started to laugh maniacally, which got louder and uncontained as if he was a madman.
Far away, there was a small village, made up of small wooden huts scattered about some ancient ruins. Inside one of these huts was a single room with a roaring fire pit. It barely illuminated the interior, but revealed enough of what was inside. Pots, jars, and vials filled with potions, herbs, and powders were standing along wall shelves or on the floor. A bunch of knickknacks and unique items were on the shelves as well, as well as being hung from the ceiling. A large while tarp was completely covering something big, taking up a whole corner of the room. In another part of the room was a thin wooden staff with short twin horizontal prongs at one end, decorated with straps, strings, and beads.
Sitting right by the fire was an elderly anthropomorphic tortoise apparently meditating. He had bushy grey eyebrows and a long grey beard with little beads decorating it. His pale banana yellow skin was completely covered in wrinkles and little brown liver spots, and he was in a large dark green shell with symbols carved into it. He wore light brown fingerless gloves and shoes, and a handmade necklace around his neck with special metal and wooden accessories with a symbolled charm as the centered piece. He also had four long claw marks scarred down the left side of his face.
His peaceful meditation slowly changed to an uneasy disturbance. He started grunting and twitching, as if he felt something was wrong. In his mind, he could hear voices and screams, and see visions of destruction and fear. Then he saw an image of a beastly face, followed by an evil laugh. The old tortoise's eyes opened wide with fright. His eyes were pearl white with faded pupils, filled with so much terror. He placed the long skinny fingers with the long black nails of his left hand onto the scars of his horrified face.
He was breathing so heavily; all he could say is "No. It can't be."
To Be Continued…
Sorry, but we had to take a little break from Sonic and Surge just a bit. I would also apologize if I was not accurate about Dr. Eggman's cyber security. I do not know much about science and technology. So, I came up with what little I know. So, now the man in the white mask has proven to be a handful, even for Eggman. What was the point of these attacks and what is he planning to do with the Chaos Emeralds? Stay tune for more exciting details on the next chapter.
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