STAK n Order

By: Kanakarogoh

Chapter 1: Catastrophic Catastrophe

A screen fizzles into static until it finally projects a clear image of a woman riding within a helicopter, her brown curly hair flowing due to the intense air pressure created by the propellers. The sun flares off the helicopter's windows as it passes over a city riddled to the brim with large craters and damaged buildings.

"What you are currently seeing is the aftermath of a catastrophic incident caused by an unidentified creature," the woman reported as the camera focuses entirely on the ruined city below. The scene cuts down to what was happening within the megalopolis; there we could see heroes from across the world helping civilians to safety while breaking debris to set some free.

"Multiple eye witness reports there being a crimson light engulfing the village while portals opened up all across the globe. Casualties are in the dozens but more would've followed if it weren't for the interference from our heroes." The news reporter explained as the scene cut to Tails; A yellow two-tailed fox piloting a blue mech that charged up an energy beam, which he used to destroy pieces of fallen rubble that trapped humans. The screen then cuts to a red echidna with black gloves named Flaming Knuckles, this echidna climbed up a deteriorating building to help some civilians off the roof.

"Thankfully, our heroes were able to combat the catastrophe progenitor and come out victorious like they always do." The next jump cut showed Amy Rose; A pink hedgehog in a red dress working with the emergency medical personnel to treat any of the survivors' injuries as they were brought to them by a blue blur most famously called: Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Now as you can see, our heroes have all gathered up to rescue those who were fortunate enough to survive the incident." Another jump cut showed Cream: an orange and cream colored rabbit waiting patiently for her chao named Cheese to finish scooping out the city for survivors. Upon the little sky-blue baby creature's return, Cheese would direct Cream and Shadow; A black and red hedgehog toward where those in need were located.

"Eye witness reports sightings of a new hero making their debut during the incident, a special teal creature who took it upon themself to protect people from the attacks of the catastrophe progenitor. Many thanks are owed which leads us all to ponder one question; who was this new hero and where are they now?" Finally, the screen shuts off while two light blue tails flutter in the wind.

Somewhere within the jungle zone of South Island, a place where critters were allowed to roam freely in the wilderness without fear of the tyrannical super genius known as Eggman. Here at the edge of this jungle sat a teal creature atop a log all by his lonesome. This creature was peculiar in the sense that his body had the build of an echidna, two fluffy tails of a fox, and the head of a hedgehog. This chimera gazed out onto the crashing waves of the sea reflecting the sun as it shined down upon the earth. As he sat there drinking it all in while snacking on some grapes he found, his ears perked while he turned to notice a chipmunk by his side, no doubt in search of food. It looked up at him munching on some grapes and pleadingly sniffled its tiny nose.

"Tch…" he scoffed, annoyed by the animal's pathetic attempt at pulling his heartstrings. He turned away and gave a couple of grapes to the chipmunk, refusing to show how much the chimera was blushing. The chipmunk's eyes lit up as it excitedly grabbed the grapes and ran away. Finally left alone, the chimera let out a sigh and closed his eyes to enjoy the sudden isolation once more.

That was until the sound of a jet pack ended this soliciting silence much to the chimera's annoyance. He opened his eyes as the sudden gust of wind brushed against his fur, an egg shaped humanoid robot dawned in red and gray flew down behind the chimera. A growl left his lips but he quickly took a deep breath to keep his composure.

"EXPERIMENT CODENAMED: S.T.A.K. DETECTED!" The robot announced. Soon after, three more of the same robots descended from above. STAK closed his eyes, figuring that these robots were simply sent here to return him to Eggman.

"NEW OBJECTIVE IN PROGRESS: DESTROY PROJECT S.T.A.K!" It exclaimed. STAK opened his eyes once again, shocked by this new goal programmed into these machines. The robot raised its blaster and aimed it at the chimera with a heartless glare.

"What!?" He gasped. "I'm on your side, you dumb bucket of bolts!" STAK brought up. He had been working for Eggman ever since he was created, how could the doctor let such a flimsy mistake be made? It had to have been a bug or something. A robotic laughter could be heard from above as a fifth machine landed on the ground with a metallic thud.

"SAME SIDE? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO METAL SONIC," The fifth robot said. As the dust settled, the machine's tall bright blue body shone beneath the sunlight, its limbs were a light grayish blue with red tips on its feet, but it glared at STAK with its single red eye. STAK knew who it was, for he had heard its voice many times in the past.

"Mecha Sonic, the doctor sent an outdated machine like you and some Egg Robos after me?" He questioned. Ever since Eggman created metal sonic, he never truly cared or even used his older mecha sonic models ever again, so this was a surprise. Mecha Sonic placed both hands on its hip as if standing proud to be once again used by Doctor Eggman.

"YES… THE GOOD DOCTOR SAW HOW YOU TERMINATED HIS PRIDE AND JOY AND NOW DEEMS YOU A TRAITOR TO THE EGGMAN EMPIRE," Sonic's robotic doppelganger explains while a single robot approached STAK from behind. The chimera clenched his teeth as he felt the robot's blaster get closer to the back of his head.

"Damn it…" he swore. Mecha Sonic's eye gleams with sadistic glee as the robot minion begins to charge its blaster.

"AND THUS WE ARE NOW TASKED TO STOP YOU FROM BECOMING A THREAT!" Mecha sonic chuckled. STAK clenched his hands into fists as a purple aura began to flare around him, his angst finally rearing its ugly head.

"Hey Garbage Pile, did you know that most robots tend to have more than one hundred frames of internal circuitry?" He asked, his anger building up like a volcano ready to erupt.

"What?" Mecha Sonic questioned, were those words really the ones STAK wanted to make his last? It didn't make any sense.

"Of course I do!" He exclaimed in an offended manner.

"Good," STAK responded before turning his head to glare at the robots with his now purple gleaming eyes.

"You'll have fifty when I'm done!" He announced, narrowly dodging the Egg robo's blast and repaid its kindness with a fist through its face. Both Mecha Sonic and the other bots took a step back as the Egg robo fell to the ground with its face shattered to a hundred pieces. STAK took two steps towards the four robots and cracked his knuckles, ready for a fight.

Mecha Sonic acted quickly and commanded the other three Egg robos to attack, one shot a laser while the other two flew after him. The chimera shifted his head to the side as the laser passed and exploded the ground behind him, all with a smirk on his tan muzzle. Then with the help of his hedgehog traits, STAK spun himself into a ball and dashed towards one of the two incoming robots.

"INCOMING THREAT!" The Eggrobos signaled. In a swift motion one of the bots spun over STAK and fired a laser at him. STAK anticipated this and in a bizarre fashion used his tails to trip his ball form onto its side, effectively forcing his body to move like a beyblade that spun right back towards the Eggrobo. The chimera back flipped out of his ball form and kicked the machine's lower body, knocking it away.

"Heh," STAK chuckled before landing in a kneeling pose. He closed his eyes to embrace how good this felt; he felt cool, felt awesome, invincible even, so much so that he immediately got tackled by an egg robo.

"Fuck!" The chimera grunted. He tried to dig his legs into the dirt to gain some leverage, however, the eggrobo tucked in his legs to prevent him from stretching them out. STAK sucked his teeth and glanced at a tree behind himself. With a grin, STAK grabbed the robot and slammed it into the tree with enough force to cause an explosion.

Smoke and fire enveloped the tree as the impact caused it to topple over, the bark whining as the tree timbers to the ground with a loud crash, allowing the fire to consume the rest of its body. The last remaining egg robo moved cautiously towards the fire, its optical lenses scanning through the smoke to find any signals of life. The crosshair moved left and right before scanning something moving in the center. As the smoke cleared, the robot caught a glimpse of STAK in the middle of the flames, his knees slightly bent, his eyes closed as he swung both arms back and forth in rhythmic fashion. Wait, he was dancing in the flames!?

"TARGET LOCKED!" The Egg robo announced with a raised blaster. STAK slightly opened his eyes with a small grin on his muzzle, almost humored by the action. As the robot fired its blaster, STAK swiftly ducked under the blast and swooped up the gun left by the now destroyed badnik and fired back. The blaster beam blew up the Egg robo's head in a splash of crimson energy.

The robot fell to the ground beneath Mecha Sonic's feet as the mechanical doppelganger glared at STAK, who clearly enjoyed this wanton destruction of eggman's robots. The chimera swung the blaster and fired it at Mecha Sonic, who simply raised its right hand and conjured a black and purple diamond shield. The blaster beam splashed against the diamond shield, its crimson particles dancing in the wind as Mecha sonic crossed its arms.

STAK kept his grin while ditching the blaster gun and leapt towards Mecha Sonic with his right arm raised. Mecha Sonic chuckled as it lowered its dark shield as if goading STAK to strike. Without any argument, STAK brought his arm back as he moved upon Sonic's mechanical doppelganger.

Suddenly, two large caterpillar robots burst out of the ground beside Mecha Sonic and towered over STAK as he was left helpless in midair. The chimera's eyes widened as the two caterpillar robots opened their massive maw to reveal two plasma cannons that fired at him simultaneously.

"Augh!" STAK screamed as the blast forced him back, crashing against the ground hard enough to cause a small crater.

"Erk," he groaned in annoyance. The male chimera opened his eyes only to see a red falcon-like robot swoop down and drop a couple of bombs above him. With a grunt, STAK rolled back into multiple somersaults while the bombs simultaneously exploded into a geyser of dirt and dust. STAK then performed a backflip in order to kick the last bomb back at its sender. The robot falcon recoiled in horror as its own bomb exploded in its face. The sky lit up in a brilliant orange hue while the falcon plummeted from above, a tail of smoke followed behind it.

STAK stood up and took on a masculine pose as the falcon dived into the sea behind him, exploding into a large water geyser.

"Ha ha ha ha ha, this is a lot of fun you obsolete garbage, what else you got for me?" STAK laughed, taunting Mecha Sonic by leaning forward and motioning with his index finger for the robot to come and get him.

Mecha Sonic stood unphased even as the encroaching fire slowly began to spread around it. A yellowish orange hue bathing on his visor as its single iris sparkled in both hatred and amusement, its metallic forehead gleamed with the reflection of STAK's glowing purple eyes.

"HMPH, YOU'VE HAVEN'T BEATEN ALL OF MY ALLIES JUST YET," it scoffed with a sudden chuckle. STAK raised his brow before the ground beneath him began to shake.

"Uh oh," STAK muttered before he leapt backward. Right as he did however one of the giant blue caterpillar robots from before erupted from the ground he once stood.

Won't catch me a second time! STAK thought to himself. Just then, the second caterpillar erupted behind him.

"Gah!" STAK gasped as the bot smacked him into the ground stomach first. The robot lifted its head, leaving behind small pebbles of dirt and rocks. STAK slammed his fist into the ground in frustration, this whole being surprised attack started to get old. The caterpillar in front of the chimera opened its mouth yet again to charge up its plasma cannon, but this would prove to be STAK's opportunity. As the robot fired, STAK rolled out of the way so that the blast would strike the second bot's body forcing it to recoil back.

Now free to act STAK jumped up and grabbed the robot by its bear sized head and slammed it into the ground. With clenched teeth STAK ripped the robot's head off, leaving a trail of electrical sparks in its path. The last remaining caterpillar looked on in horror as the chimera slammed the head down to the ground once again. It charged up its cannon one final time but STAK flashed a toothy grin.

"Set hut," STAK spoke while in a quadrupedal position. As the remaining badnik fired, STAK spun his tails like helicopter propellers to soar above the blast. It exploded behind him, giving him a small boost of speed to raise the dismembered head above his shoulders.

"And now, touchdown!" STAK roared before slamming the head through its ally with enough force to cause an explosion. Smoke covered both combatants as a loud thud could be heard within the pitch black smog. Mecha Sonic's visor gleamed a deep red as it scanned the smoke but even then it couldn't be prepared to witness STAK moonwalking out of the smoke.

"What?" Mecha Sonic gasped out of sheer unadulterated confusion, the chimera wasn't damaged in the slightest from this little schermish. It would seem that something more was at hand in this conflict. STAK then proceeded to pose like a smooth criminal and point at Mecha Sonic, using his index finger to challenge the final robot.

"Hmph…" Mecha Sonic shook Its head, not willing to be phased by such outrageous taunts. STAK kept his smirk as the smoke continued to rise behind him, in a quick motion he boosted towards Mecha Sonic with a raised fist. Just then, the last remaining egg robo flew in to intervene; however, STAK quickly caught the robot and punched it against the ground, shattering the robot into hundreds of pieces.

STAK looked up at his opponent only for Mecha Sonic to kick him in the face, the chimera flips over but lands on his feet, glaring at the mechanical doppelganger. The two glared at each other as they began to walk around in a circle, daring the other to make the first move. STAK wiped his cheek and chuckled.

"I have to say raccoon home, that was a nice hit…" He claimed. Mecha Sonic let out a loud humph before responding.

"Heh, the good doctor used the remains of his pride and joy to upgrade me. Now I've become stronger and superior to that Metal Sonic. In fact you may refer to me as Metal Mecha Sonic!" The sonic doppelganger laughed as though that information would strike fear into STAK's heart. All the male chimera could do however was shake his head.

"Nah too long, I'd rather kill you now," he claimed, dashing towards his opponent with a raised fist.

"Tch, I'll crush you like a bug," Mecha Sonic retorted, It returned STAK's gesture in kind. Mecha's core lit up as sparks of overheating electricity crackled around it. Mecha Sonic's jet boosters flared off, propelling the mechanical doppelganger to fly towards STAK with a raised fist. The two clashed with their punches, the impact burst into multiple shockwaves that put out the entirety of the newly born forest fire, for now only smoke surrounds the two.

STAK grins before he throws a roundhouse kick at his opponent, Mecha Sonic blocked it with a raised forearm and allowed Its electrical aura to zap into STAK's system. The chimera's eyes widened as he felt the electricity attack his body, electrocuting his organs.

"Grr," STAK growled as he swung around to throw a spinning back fist. Mecha Sonic halted the jaw shattering punch by catching the chimera's wrist, dishing out thousands volts of electricity into his system. A slight growl left STAK's lips as he glared at his opponent with Bright purple eyes.

ANGST

"IMPOSSIBLE, THAT WAS TWO JOLTS OF TEN THOUSAND VOLTS. YOU SHOULD BE GROVELING UNDER MY FEET BY NOW," Mecha Sonic questioned in disbelief. Through clenched teeth STAK punched the ground to generate a shockwave that blew his opponent off of him.

"GRAH," It groaned as the shockwave dissipated all the smoke around the two. The final robot dug its fingers into the dirt to halt its momentum leaving behind a trail of dirt. It raised its eye and saw STAK walk towards It with a chip on his shoulder. A fluid purple aura enveloped the chimera, his eyes darkened with malicious intent.

"SCANNING… INFORMATION INCONCLUSIVE? NO, THIS CAN NOT BE," Mecha Sonic refused. It was upgraded and enhanced by the greatest scientific genius in the world. It can't, no, It refused to lose right now.

"NO!" It roared, flying towards Its enemy as a ball of sharp spikes. STAK didn't utter a single word,he simply side stepped Mecha Sonic and punched it away.

"GAH," It growled, sliding its feet through the ground. "NO!" It repeated, firing its jet boosters again to dash back at the chimera while activating its black diamond shield. STAK watched as Mecha Sonic came closer and closer, analyzing how much the distance between the two grew smaller and smaller until finally, they were the perfect distance apart. He took one massive step forward and leaned his head back.

"NOW DIE!" Mecha Sonic howled. With a deep breath STAK let out a massive roar before he slammed his head into Mecha Sonic's shield. The collision caused a small gust of wind to form as the two continued to apply pressure.

ANGST

However, much to Mecha Sonic's horror, Its protective diamond shield cracked. Before the final robot could react, STAK's head butt broke through the shield and dented its face.

"AUGH," Mecha Sonic recoiled back, all of its sensors signaled to the robot that it was in danger. It stumbled back, unable to believe what was happening.

"NO, THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING…" Mecha Sonic spoke, seeing past all the errors in its cracked visor. Its eye glared at STAK who looked down upon the final robot with a wide grin.

"NO… NO!" It screamed in denial, like a toddler being denied its favorite toy during its playtime.

"I WILL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!"

STAK kept his smirk and leaned forward while motioning with his index finger.

"I'll let you try," he retorted. Mecha Sonic bellowed a mighty roar and dashed towards the chimera. STAK stayed still as his opponent punched him over and over again.

ANGST

"DIE, DIE, DIE!" It demanded. The final robot landed a powerful elbow strike against STAK's jaw which threw the chimera's head back.

ANGST

Powerful as the blow was however, STAK simply looked back at Mecha Sonic with the same smug look on his face. Rage overflowed the final robot's circuits, prompting Mecha Sonic to grab STAK's face and slam him into the ground.

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE!?" Mecha Sonic questioned before it fired up its jet boosters one last time, dragging STAK through the ground in a desperate attempt to do some type of damage. At this point however, STAK the Chimera had enough. In one swift motion, STAK ripped Mecha Sonic's arm off and stabbed it into the ground to halt his momentum.

Mecha Sonic tumbled through the ground and created a small dirt hill in the process. STAK stood up still no worse for wear since the battle began.

"I… IMPOSSIBLE…" Mecha Sonic muttered as it stumbled to its feet. "AFTER EVERY (every) THING I THREW AT YOU (you) YOU… J-JUST WHAT KIND OF MON-MONSTER ARE YOU?" It stuttered the question, large electrical sparks pulsated out of its damaged parts. STAK walked up to his defeated opponent, a sadistic grin formed on his tan muzzle.

"Oh it's very simple, waste product, I am the end," he claimed with a raised fist. A feeling of triumph and superiority entered his brain, no longer did he feel angry or anxious, merely a better product. His eyes dimmed back to their normal greenish hue as his aura slowly dissipated into nothingness.

"Gack," STAK sharply inhaled. Suddenly, his body recoiled in pain as though every inch that made up his physical space was struck individually with a freight train. He held his face and kneeled down much to Mecha Sonic's confusion. The damaged and beaten robot couldn't help itself but laugh.

"HA, IT WOULD SEEM-SEEM I DID MANAGE (nage) TO DO SOME DAMAGE AFTER (after) AFTER ALL," It claimed through some glitches. STAK glared up at Mecha Sonic, pissed that the robot was able to take some solace before the end. The chimera stood back up and slammed his fist into Mecha Sonic's face, the collision of which broke through its visor and forced off its shoulders.

The head was sent flying, spiraling away until it was caught by a hand wearing white gloves with a silver band around the cuffs. The hand lowered down to the light blue face of SNT, STAK's older sister. She wore a pink crop-top with a dark pink line on the bottom with a matching skirt and shorts underneath, white socks, a heart shaped pink fanny pack, pink shoes and goggles that lay atop her head. Her green eyes glanced at the disembodied head of Sonic's mechanical doppelganger before looking back at STAK.

"Thought I'd find you here, STAK," SNT chimed as she dropped Mecha Sonic's head. STAK sneered at the sight of his sister, wishing to be alone.

"What do you want, Traitor?... SNT." he asked with a slight correction. The male chimera stretched his right shoulder before sitting back down on the tree stump.

"You here to destroy me as well?" he scoffed. Always having a deep seeded programmed hatred toward his sister. She was always the better one, the one that his creator always compared him to. The male chimera gritted his teeth, his hands trembling from all those embarrassing memories. SNT could still feel her brother's aura rippling out of his body, though she kept her smile and took a step forward.

"Of course not," she stated clearly. "I just want to talk to my brother," she said. STAK's eyes snapped to SNT as they flared a dark purple.

"Brother?" STAK growled, offended by the very notion the female chimera implied. He stood up from the stump fists clenched.

"We are not siblings, SNT. Only experiments created by Dr. Robotnik for the sole purpose of killing Sonic, nothing more nothing less," he claimed as his eyes dropped before continuing.

"We don't get the luxury of having a family."

SNT raised a fist to her chest.

"That's not true, STAK! My friends are my family and they can be-"

"I grow tired of hearing your voice," STAK cut his sister off, his purple aura flared to life as he walked up to SNT.

ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST

"Just shut up and leave me alone!" He roared, throwing a punch at the light blue chimera. SNT quickly closed her eyes and caught the punch, the impact rocked the ground beneath them and rustled all trees within a three mile radius.

SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL

"Never!" SNT cried, her eyes beaming a bright pink. "I won't let you feel alone again!" She claimed. Frustrated, STAK raised a second fist.

"I said shut up!" He demanded, throwing a second punch. SNT ducked under it and now finding an opening, the female chimera moved in and hugged her brother, surprising him. STAK's eyes shifted back to a vulnerable green.

"Wha- what are you doing?" STAK questioned, it didn't make any sense to him. What kind of offense was SNT doing? Why did this action feel so warm and… why does he feel so tired now?

"I know how Eggman treated you, suppressed your emotions and made you feel as though you were never worthy of acceptance," SNT explained. STAK's expression intensified, his heart felt empty.

"Don't act like you know what I've been through!" He denied with a darkened expression. He raised his elbow to end this charade.

"But I see your potential and I accept you," SNT admitted. STAK's eyes dilated as he came to a sudden halt, unable to process the words his sister just uttered.

"You?" He gasped as SNT looked him in the eyes, her aura now taking over.

SPECIAL

"So please, STAK," she pleaded. "Come see my home and give my friends and I a chance to be your new family," she offered.

"I…" STAK stuttered, trying desperately to find any signs of deceit or lies, but he found none. The male chimera looked away from his sister and sucked his teeth. He placed both hands on SNT's shoulders and pushed her off, facing away from his sister and crossing his arms.

"Fine… I'll give your stupid friends a chance," he says coldly. A small smile formed on SNT's muzzle, her eyes shimmering in excitement.

"Really?" She asked hopefully. A slight growl left STAK's lips as he pointed toward the female chimera.

"But don't get the wrong idea, SNT. Nothing you do will ever change the fact that I hate you," He clarified. SNT chuckled a bit but offered a hand to her stubborn brother.

"Oh yeah? Well let's see how long that lasts, bro," she sassed. STAK begrudgingly takes her offer as the two chimeras leave the jungle.

In a brilliant flash of teal and aqua blue, the two boosted off the island with a trail of rising water followed behind them. Their feet moved so fast that the ocean was nothing but a long stretch of land to run across. SNT was ahead of STAK, leading the way towards their destination with a huge smile on her face.

STAK looked at his sister with a stern expression, a mixture of conflicting emotions bubbling inside his heart. He didn't know what to expect anymore. He had been fighting against SNT and everything she represented for a year now, it was almost scary to have it change all of a sudden. Still, STAK hardened his resolve and kept his guard up as they reached land, just in case things were too good to be true.

Upon reaching land the two began to slow down so that their momentum did not wreak havoc across civilization. After a couple more seconds of running, the two finally made it to their destination. Sliding through the ground the two stopped in front of an apricot colored building surrounded by a brick gate, a wooden doorway seemed to be the only means of getting in.

STAK observed the building, noticing how dark the windows were.

"Well here we are, home… well Amy's home that is," SNT clarified. STAK didn't say anything, his eyes widened slightly in fear at the mention of the pink hedgehog though. Usually he would've cracked a joke or sass but something about this felt off. It was quiet and peaceful, something the male chimera only experienced in isolation. Before he could ponder on it some more, SNT grabbed him by the arm and pulled him closer to the building.

"Come on lil bro, I have something to show you," she claimed. Taken off guard, STAK stumbled a bit as they pushed through the gate and moved towards the front door.

"H-hey watch it will ya? And don't call me lil bro!" He muttered, regaining his composure. He noticed the bushes and tree within Amy's lawn as it reminded him of mystic forest. STAK looked at SNT as she rang the doorbell, her happy go lucky smile still lingered on her muzzle. It was the longest STAK has ever seen his sister smile, almost felt wrong even.

"We're here, Sonic," she announced, taking a step behind her brother. STAK's eyes widened as he felt his sister's hands on his back suddenly.

"Huh? What do you think you're doing, you punk?" STAK barked as SNT pushed him forward. The door opened suddenly as STAK was pushed closer to it, the interior being nothing but an empty black void in front of the two. Light barely breached this darkness, only illuminating the first couple of wooden floor tiles inside. STAK grunted, not exactly in the mood to be heading face first into darkness.

"Come on, don't be scared, STAK," SNT advised while pushing her brother inside the house. The male chimera stumbled inside surrounded by pure empty darkness that reminded him of Eggman's imprisonment. The claustrophobic memories of his 'room' birthed a swell of anxiety upon his back. His breathing became heavy as he silently pleaded for something to happen, and it did.

"Surprise!" A cacophony of voices suddenly arose all at once to invade his ears with an overdose of stimuli. In a panicked state, the male chimera rushed forward and slammed his fist against whatever was in front of him.

"Owch!" A familiar voice cried out. STAK's eyes widened as light flooded inside the room, finally blessing him with insight as to what was happening. Before him laid Sonic the hedgehog who rubbed his cheek with a surprised expression. There was a colorful bunch of people in front of him, people he knew all too well. As confetti fell, STAK saw Tails and Amy looking stunned at Sonic being attacked, meanwhile Knuckles was laughing within his party blower and waving a 'welcome home' flag. Instinctively STAK raised his fists to defend himself.

"An ambush!" He panicked, not in the right mental space to take on the entirety of team Sonic right now. Amy helped Sonic get back to his feet while Tails stood on guard, Knuckles in the meantime smirked, smacking both fists together with a spark of flames. SNT noticed how tense her brother was and placed a hand on STAK's shoulder. All the fur on the male chimera's body stood up as he immediately turned around and threw a punch at SNT. The female chimera caught it with her free hand and gazed into her brother's eyes. Both auras activated in an ethereal clash of essences. Sonic, Tails, Flaming Knuckles, and Amy looked on in awe as flashes of pink and purple lit up the room.

ANGST SPECIAL

"SNT!" Sonic called out, prepared to help out his crush but SNT signaled for him to stop.

"No," she demanded. "He's just confused, STAK listen to me," she pleaded. STAK glared at his sister with a burning passion.

"You lied to me!" He claimed. SNT shook her head.

"No, an educated wish. This isn't an ambush, it's a surprise welcoming party," she explained, struggling to keep her brother at bay.

"All for you," SNT revealed. STAK's eyes widened in shock as his aura quickly died down and thus so did SNTs.

"What," the male chimera gasped. He turned toward SNT's friends, Sonic and Tails smiled welcomingly.

"Oh yeah, I know we started off on the wrong foot but that shouldn't stop us from being friends," Tails explained.

"Yeah, plus it wouldn't be the first time I became buds with someone that punched me in the face heh heh," Sonic jokes. Amy and Flaming Knuckles both scoffed, looking away with their arms crossed.

"Yeah whatever, don't get any big ideas. This was all SNT's idea," Amy brushed off. She gave the male chimera a look though that made him fear for his life. Like she was promising something bad later. STAK was even more confused now, it didn't make any sense!

"Why?" he asked.

"Because you're my brother," SNT answered. She walked in front of her friends while motioning STAK to come and join them. The male chimera looked down at his hands, remembering how much he fought against his sister. He clenched his right hand into a fist before looking back at Team SNT. He took a step forward, willing to give them a chance.

A plethora of actions soon occurred next as STAK found himself being swept in the moment, actually allowing himself to enjoy the company of SNT's friends. Sonic would challenge him to a race where Tails was the referee, but of course the two had tied. STAK didn't really see the point of such a competition but the thrill of it all kept him from backing down.

"Come on, let's do another race, STAK! I'm pumped this time!" Sonic challenged once more. STAK simply shook his head and shrugged.

"We can race over and over again, the result won't change Sonic! I'm made of every person in this party, there's no way I'd lose to you," STAK retorted. Sonic chuckled, not willing to back down.

"Hey come on, just one more race, okay?" Sonic bargained. STAK let out a sigh and nodded his head.

"Alright, fine!" He answered. The two would go on to race again and again and again, every single time STAK and Sonic would end up in a tie. Eventually Sonic gave up and promised to get faster than STAK one day. The male chimera would laugh with the blue blur, feeling a sense of satisfaction from this competitive nature as though one lay dormant within him this entire time and not just against SNT. Regardless, STAK went back inside to see who else he could interact with.

The next person was Flaming Knuckles, the rough and tough pyrokinetic echidna. STAK found himself enjoying a conversation with SNT's first rival, especially on the subject of how the two came to blows.

"Well you see the first time, SNT caught me by surprise. However, Eggman captured me in my sleep and did some tinkering with my body, allowing me to access these sweet fire powers!" Flaming Knuckles explained. The blood red echidna raised his fist to ignite small flames on his knuckles to show off his mastery in pyrokinesis.

"Wait, Eggman had access to giving fire powers this whole time? Why didn't he give that stuff to me?" STAK questioned. Flaming Knuckles chuckled as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Hell if I know, I ain't complaining. Was able to give SNT a real smackdown the next time we fought because of these babies, so i'd say it was a good trade," he claimed. STAK chuckled as well.

"Wait, you beat the traitor? Get out," STAK brushed off, unable to believe that his older sister could've been defeated by anybody, especially not Knuckles the echidna. Flaming Knuckles winked as he put out the flames on his glove.

"Beat her? I had her running to Sonic and Shadow for help, and they STILL couldn't win," He recounted. It all seemed a bit silly now, all of the fighting for some payback in a match he wasn't even prepared for. Perhaps in another timeline; Knuckles simply asked for a rematch against SNT and the two of them became friends.

"Wait then how come you DIDN'T kill SNT?" STAK questioned. If Knuckles was really that powerful and nobody was able to stop him, then how did he eventually get beaten? There was something being left out of this story clearly. Flaming Knuckles's eyes widened at the question, a bead of sweat formed on his forehead. He remembered exactly how he was defeated but it was something one could only describe as embarrassing.

"Well… let's just say I had a change of heart last minute," the echidna answered. The song 'Unknown from M.E' being sung by a group of people that couldn't sing played repeatedly in his head. After a brief moment afterwards, STAK decided to try hanging out with another person. The only other person he however hadn't hung with yet was the one that scared him to his core. He glanced over at SNT talking to Amy before heading out to check up on Sonic and Tails.

A well of anxiety began to form on his back for he knew that this was his chance to make peace with the pink hedgehog, it was now or never.

"Well… I have nothing to lose, alright." STAK mustered up his courage and walked up to Amy, his anxiety activating his aura. Amy quickly noticed as STAK approached her, her eyes instantly darkened into a malicious glare as she couldn't help but wonder what SNT's annoying little brother wanted with her.

"That's close enough," Amy scoffed. The pink hedgehog turned to the male chimera and crossed her arms with a loud huff and puff. It was evident to STAK that Amy hadn't forgotten about the last confrontation they had a year ago.

"Don't think that because your SNT's brother that I'm just going to be nice to you, SNT may be easily convinced that you're different now but I surely am not," she claimed with a pouty expression. STAK cleared his throat, he's heard about how freakishly strong the pink hedgehog could be if provoked negatively. He took a deep breath and chose his next words carefully.

"Hey so, I'm sorry for breaking your hammer, if you want I can get you a new one?" He apologized. Amy raised her brow at the apology and chuckled as though she found this entire predicament cute.

"Hm? Oh that," she realized. "Nah, you're fine. I already got it replaced half a year ago anyways, you're cool," Amy explained before she looked away. Confusion plagued STAK's heart, this didn't go any ways he imagined it would go in his head. There was no yelling, no fighting, no threats, nothing.

"Huh, really?" He asked, unsure if what he heard was actually a part of reality. Amy gazed at SNT's younger brother with a bored expression.

"Yeah, really," she answered.

"Wha-" STAK struggled to find the words. "Then why were you terrorizing me for the past six months?" he questioned yet again. There had to have been a reason for it, she practically made him fear for his life every now and then. Amy smiled warmly at the male chimera and shrugged her shoulders and then proceeded to sit down on a table with some cards.

"You people are so confusing…" STAK sighed with a hand on his forehead. He never could get a good read on SNT's friends, it was practically impossible to actually predict what they would do next. His eyes then went down to Amy's deck of cards; the back was a dark blue with many golden stars adorned in every corner.

"What do you got there, some kind of trading card game?" STAK asked out of genuine curiosity. Amy glanced at him and smiled once more, drawing one card from the deck and showing it to him.

"No silly, these are tarot cards. I use these to communicate with spirits and see into the future," she explained. The card she showed was one with a heart with a man and a woman intertwined through a red knot. STAK looked at Amy quizzically, unconvinced.

"You can predict the future with cards? Sounds like a bunch of malarkey to me," STAK spoke honestly. Amy placed the card back into the deck and pouted in annoyance, as though STAK's comment was an attack on her own character.

"Hmph," Amy puffed.

"Ah, sorry? I just don't understand how it works," STAK explained while rubbing his nape.

"Well why don't I give you a tarot reading then," Amy asked.

"What, like let you read my future?" STAK questioned, unsure on if he even wants to know what the future has in store for him. It seemed to be nothing but failure after failure, what else could he expect to find in something unknowable as the future?

"Not just that, I'll give you a full Tarot reading. It won't tell you exactly what happens in the future but will let you know what to expect," Amy explained. STAK couldn't help but be curious about these tarot cards and what power they could potentially possess. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

"Alright, read my fortune," STAK spoke as he took a seat on the other side. Amy nodded and began to shuffle the cards. Once she finished she drew up three cards and placed them across the table. She flipped over the first card which was upside down and contained a sword crossing some type of threshold.

"The Ace of sword… in reverse it seems," Amy began, she closed her eyes and continued to speak.

"You come from a place of tyranny and self-destruction. You have been stuck due to the obstacles in your life. It makes you very angry. You try to make plans to make things better but something keeps getting in the way," she explained. STAK's eyes widened in shock, it felt as though he was being read like a book. It made him feel uncomfortable yet at the same time fascinated.

"Wha… how do you know that? That's not my future," he began to question. Amy cracked a small smile.

"The spirits use the tarot cards to send me a message of what to expect. That card was a reflection of your past and by the tone of your voice I can tell that I got very close didn't I?" She chuckled. STAK leaned against his chair, curious as to what will be predicted next.

"Next, I'll read into the present," Amy claimed as she opened her eyes and flipped over the next card. This card contained three swords stabbed into a stone tablet.

"The three of swords, reversed as well… interesting…" Amy spoke. She closed her eyes again and allowed the spirits to guide her words.

"There is a lot of confusion and strife in your life right now. You have a new fear of losing what you have. There is a darkness ahead of you that has just as much malice for you and you do for it," she predicts but Amy then flipped over the third and final card, most likely the one that predicts STAK's future. It contained a picture of a man and a woman looking at each other as a red knot of fate intertwined the two.

"Lovers Arcana…" Amy muttered. "But you will also meet someone. Someone you trust that you will need to help you make the right decisions. But you need to be willing to be their partner in this. It affects them just as much as you. And in the end you will have a new found camaraderie with them," she explained. STAK's eyes stayed glued on the cards and the meaning behind their message and position. To find such deep meaning in something so simple reminded him of how he looked to the stars for guidance.

"A camaraderie, huh?" He repeated those words before looking towards his older sister. She was with Sonic and Tails, talking about some side adventure they had in the past. Sonic tried to transition the conversation into something cheesy and romantic, only to follow it up with an attempted kiss. SNT blocked him with her hand and laughed nervously with Tails. A small smile cracked on STAK's face as he finally began to relax.

"Perhaps you are onto something, Rose," he conceded. Amy smiled to herself as she put the cards back into her deck.

"Hm, well I'm glad to make a believer out of you, STAK," Amy cutely giggled. SNT noticed STAK staring and smiled warmly at her brother. She took something out of the cuff of her glove and walked up to him.

"Here STAK," she said. The male chimera was stunned to see SNT hand him a small present. It was yellowish orange with teal ribbons wrapped around it.

"What's this supposed to be?" STAK questioned. It was the first time someone ever gave him a gift so he had no idea what to do with it. His sister put a hand on her hip.

"It's a gift stupid, you open it," SNT sassed. STAK looked at her and scoffed with an embarrassed blush.

"Oh shut up, I hate you so much," he blurted out in frustration. SNT once again smiled at her little brother and giggled.

"I know. Just open the gift please," she requested. Still blushing, STAK took a deep breath and ripped the present open like a child on christmas eve. There was a phone inside with a bright pink casing next to a couple of bluetooth headphones. The pink phone sparkled with glitter which made STAK look at SNT with an annoyed expression.

"It's a phone with a playlist of songs already built in," she explained. STAK poked at the screen, his eyes dilated as it lit up with a picture of SNT and her friends all grouped together. They all smiled except Amy who blushed due to being so close to SNT. STAK couldn't help but smile, finally, he felt like he was home.

"I want you to listen to the first song, lil bro. It perfectly describes how I think of you," she said. A chuckle left STAK's lips as he rolled his eyes. His sister was so dramatic sometimes, but it wouldn't hurt for him to play along. The male chimera took the headphones and placed them within his ears. SNT looked at her brother excitedly, her expression glowing in positivity. STAK took the phone and began exploring the apps it contained.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE

The ground began to shake violently, taking our heroes by surprise as some of them stumbled around a bit.

"Woah what's happening?" SNT gasped. Both Sonic and STAK glanced at each other knowing something was up. A large crumbling sound could be heard outside, forcing our heroes to leave Amy's house to see what was going on. As they all ran out, their minds began to unravel as reality all around them pulsated and recoiled as though terrified of something foreign.

Beyond the horizon arose a living mountain that towered over the world. Its main body consisted of two separate halves connected through the middle; one half resembled that of a slightly muscular wolf with forest green fur. The other half held the appearance of a beautiful woman with long feminine pink hair, a slim curvy body and a soft hand. A humongous TV screen served as its helmet as it gazed down upon the world like an artist gaze upon a blank canvas and a dry brush.

A smirk formed on Sonic's peach muzzle as he knows what to do when encountering something like this. A booming voice could be heard from the beast's muttering baseball stadium sized maw.

"I just can't think of anything else to do with this world anymore," It said. Sonic wiped his nose as he got ready to act.

"Come on guys, another threat to the earth. It must be Tuesday already, we got this, let's blast on through with Sonic Speed," the blue blur encouraged. Tails and Flaming Knuckles got pumped as well.

"Okay," Tails chimed in. STAK felt uneasy about this, his aura suddenly flared to life as though it too was trying to warn him.

ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST

"Wait, this doesn't feel right, we have to assess what's going on," he warned. SNT's friends ignored him and continued on with their hard headed decision.

"Alright, I'll follow your lead this time, Sonic," Knuckles agreed. SNT glanced at STAK, her eyes also being engulfed by her aura's color. It would seem as though something beyond the universe was trying to protect them.

SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL

"Guys? I think STAK is onto somethin-" Before the female chimera could finish her sentence, the giant mountain sized behemoth began to speak once more.

"Guess it's time for me to put this story to rest…" It sighed while bringing both of its city sized hands together, a swelling of white energy began to orbit around its skyscraper fingers and claws, pulsating and crackling with purple electricity.

"Wait guys don't!" STAK pleaded but his voice fell on deaf ears. Team Sonic boosted on through towards the behemoth with reckless abandon. STAK, SNT, and Amy were left alone to witness what the behemoth had planned to do.

The energy that orbited the behemoth's fingers merged into spheres that laid atop its fingertips before bleeding into its massive palms. Reality now began to crack and crumble around our heroes which maddeningly only served as the prelude for what's to come. The Behemoth closed both palms together resulting in a massive explosion of white light that engulfed everything in its path.

Team Sonic ran into this exploding light only to dissipate into nothingness. In naught but a mere millisecond, the light engulfed STAK and company, erasing everything around them as if reality was nothing but writing on a piece of paper. Amy Rose could not so much as yell as she too was erased from existence.

"STAK…" SNT muttered weakly. The male chimera turned to his sister in horror, SNT was reaching out to him. Her eyes flickering from pink to green for the SPECIAL one could feel her body slowly begin to eviscerate. Her aura cracked, slowly losing control of her very molecules as it was failing for the first time in SNT's life.

STAK reached out to her in a desperate yet futile effort to save her. SNT's eyes turned green for the last time as she too was erased. Anger and sadness plagued the surviving chimera's heart.

"NO!" He screamed as loud as his lungs would allow before he too was consumed by the dying light.