Finally, your wish has been granted, and we are back with more Sonic DxD, and your question about Asia's fate will finally be answered. I will admit, me not posting it sooner was my own fault. It was ready on the 16 of January, but didn't post mainly because I was reading to official English release of the DxD light novels, and I also did a playthrough of the Little Nightmares 2 Demo on my channel (you should check out that playthrough if possible. Its a really good game), so I apologize for that. This chapter WAS worth the wait, I assure you.
In other sad news, Roger Craig Smith was confirmed to be retiring and is now being replaced by another VA, along with most of the cast. That also put this story back a bit. While Colors admittedly wasn't the best introduction with him, he started to grow on me as time went on. He was also pretty involved in the fanbase unlike most others. I wish him the best, and I really hope SEGA knows what their doing. I'm kinda getting Sonic X vibes here if you know that story...
Before we pick up where we left off, do go check out the latest chapter of Sonic DxD - Extras (if you already did, check it again because parts of it got cut off and had to repost it). There is some foreshadowing in the latest update, and be sure to follow it for more information as it comes out. That doc is much easier to update than this one, which is the main story. Also, the poll results for the additional villain from Sonic's world will be displayed at the end.
From Boshwa:
This is it. This is what I've been searching for. You have no idea how long it has taken me to find a Sonic crossover fic that didn't the dumb version of sonic aka Sonic after the release of Colors. He's a silly hedgehog sure, but he still found times to be serious. I refuse to believe that the quippy Sonic we have now is the same Sonic that taught a young woman not to be afraid of the future of her story, the Sonic that humiliated a genie while using his lamp as a gun to make his wishes, the Sonic that KILLED A HUMAN WITHOUT HESITATION WITH A SWORD
Bakuganman: Exactly (granted, while that human was an illusion, your point still stands)! Pretty sure any long-time Sonic fan will agree that. While Sonic doesn't take things too seriously all the time, there is always those instances and places he DOES take that step when things get out of control. This might be an unpopular opinion, but at least Forces attempted to recapture those days and it DID start out pretty strong... but no. The writers couldn't help themselves because: 'No? Of course not. You hate fun.' Glad I could be the one to give you what you've been searching for, and this story is far from over. In fact, its just getting started.
Chapter 15: Hold on Tight, Asia! (Part 2)
"HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAA! Hope your all hungry, cause our special today is all-you-can-eat Light Spears!" Freed laughed at them, his own confidence restored upon seeing his allies on their way. Rias dispelled her power at this point. She couldn't risk wasting it now with Fallen descending upon them.
"Akeno, get a portal open. We're leaving," Rias ordered. Akeno nodded and did as was asked of her, opening a magic glyph in seconds that was large enough for all of them. "Koneko, grab Issei." The King continued. Koneko also obeyed, but not before getting a piece of furniture, and throwing it at Freed. The stray Priest was trapped underneath it before he had the chance to escape, and that's when the mascot hoisted Issei over her shoulder like he weighed nothing.
As Issei was hung over Koneko's back, he noticed Sonic holding his injured side, and Asia still on the floor. "Wait!... What about them?"
Rias frowned. "I'm afraid that's not possible. Only members of my house can make the jump with this magic circle. Sure your not a Devil, but the Evil Pieces in your body should suffice" she explained.
Sonic's ears perked up, but he didn't say anything yet, mainly because Issei spoke again, his voice panicked. "Then make another one that CAN!"
"Opening a circle like that will take too long, we have to go!" Rias explained further. It was an unfortunate truth. Devil magic and magic in general, despite all it can do, was not perfect. It was possible to teleport beings and objects, but doing that takes even more energy than a standard House Circle and therefore, longer to cast. Besides, as far as she was concerned, Sonic didn't need a teleportation circle, considering his own abilities.
"So that's it?" Asked Sonic, getting Rias' attention, but her back was still turned to him. He ignored how his body was feeling right now, needing some of that healing mumbo-jumbo again, but that wasn't a priority to him at the moment. "Your just gonna... walk away? Leave Asia behind?" He asked Rias point-blank.
DID she want to? No, of course not! But even if she DID help, there were rules she had to follow. She wasn't about to stoop to the Fallen Angels' level. She had an excuse with Freed but with him already knocked out, she had no lifeline. The Fallen will also be here any second, so there was no time to argue with the rodent right now. "Even if I did, we don't have time. Now go! Meet us back at..." Rias finally turned to face Sonic, but that's when she noticed that look in his eye... that look.
While there was no grin this time, it was exactly the same when they 'played tag'...
Rias: ... No... Sonic, no. NO! Don't do anything stupi-!"
ZWHEEEE! SHATTER!
A shot from outside the residence is shown. As Rias gave a command; it was ignored and Sonic, Asia in his arms, broke through the window in slow motion, glass shards flying all around them. Thankfully, neither of them were cut. Sonic was used to this anyway, having ran through almost anything with his speed alone. Once he hit the street after jumping through the glass, he dashed off down the street. The ORC and Issei just stared into the hallway Sonic had fled into and the noise that followed, taken aback by what had just happened. They didn't expect him to go THAT far.
Rias' initial shock however, turned to anger seconds later, visible on her face. That walking Sea Urchin! Did he have any idea what he just done?! What position this puts her in?! "... go! Akeno! GO!" Rias ordered. Obeying, Akeno triggered the teleportation effect and got out the group out of there. Good thing too, because the Fallen arrived the second they vanished. A small group of 10 Fallen came through, then 2 familiar ones joined soon after. One was wearing a fedora, the other was in gothic attire. They both saw Freed was knocked out.
"We gave him one job... one..." said Dohnaseek, the fedora man, with annoyance in his voice.
"Useless. I don't get WHY Lady Raynare likes him," the goth, Mittelt responded, equally annoyed. All Freed had to do was show Asia how evil humans were when 'manipulated' by Devils, and use the poor girls own past as a scapegoat to convince her to join their ranks... and by join, she means join for the sole purpose of getting her Gear, which was rumored to heal any and all injuries since the perverts supposed power was a bust. "Yo! Alex Anderson. Wake up." She poked the downed Priest a few times with her finger, getting a groan as a response. "... get him up." She looked towards 2 of her fellow Fallen, who obeyed her order and lifted the object off of the stray Priest.
"Uggggh... nice of you to finally come by..." Freed said, slowly recovering. He was a bit annoyed himself, getting blindsided like that.
"Oh, its a pleasure," Mittelt sarcastically replied. "Where's the girl?"
"What are you talking about? She's righ..." Freed groaned, looking in the direction Asia was, only to see a white blinking outline if her last position. Crap! She was gone! Did those Devils take her with them? No, that's not possible. Then how did...?
"Miss Mittelt? You might wanna take a look at this," called one of the Fallen soldiers, leaning his head into this rooms only entrance. Pointing at what he had discovered, Raynare's 2 groupies and Freed (though he was pulled along by Dohnaseek) walked out into the hallway to see that the front window was shattered. However, there were no shards on the floor of the house so that wasn't a break in... it was a break out. Freed realized this himself, and knew he was in hot water.
Mittelt's eyes were closed and she had a smile directed at Freed, but there was nothing happy about it. "Unless you broke in through that window and she's taking a bath upstairs, can you please direct us to her?" Mittelt asked again, beginning to lose her patience.
Freed became a little nervous. "Um. I uh..." He fumbled. "L-Listen. I-It wasn't my fault. I-I had everything in place. The Devil arrived as planned, but..." he tried to excuse, but Mittelt cut him off.
"What... happened?" She asked.
As strong as he was, even Freed was no match for an army of Fallen, small as this one or not. Not wanting to get into anymore trouble, Freed began to explain with a nervous chuckle. "Heheheh... I didn't expect for it to be accompanied by a blue Youkai. I assumed it was..."
GRAB!
It was here that Mittelt yanked Freed down by his collar to her eye level. She looked more aggravated than before. A blue Youkai?... No. This must have been one of his sick jokes. "I'm sorry... can you repeat that?" She asked in a dark tone.
"Y-Yeah. The Devil summoned here had a Hedgehog Youkai with him, then the rest of them..." Freed was about to cover his own ass and blame the fact he couldn't get the job done due to the ORC arriving when they did, but upon the word Hedgehog hitting Mittelt's and Dohnaseek's ears, they reacted to it with slightly widened eyes.
...
...
...
CRACK!
Freed: OWIE!
CRASH!
The camera was looking at the outside of the house, and Freed went through a wall and outside seconds later, Mittelt having thrown him out in a fit of anger. "That pinecone? He's back?!" Yelled Mittelt, unable to believe what she had just heard. That walking, blue cactus? He was involved again?! First the kid, now the girl... how many times was he gonna stick his Mickey Mouse nose where it didn't belong? He was ruining everything!
No.
He was NOT going to get away... not this time...
XXX
Meanwhile...
As Sonic bolted down the street with Asia in his arms, he didn't get too far before he gritted his teeth in pain, and stopped running. Asia herself, still processing what just happened, blinked once. Then again. Freed about to do something unreligious to put lightly, Issei and Sonic stepping up for her, real-life Devils, Freed kicking her, everything blew past her eyes as Sonic ran out of that house... she was ok. Just like she did for them, Sonic and Issei risked themselves for her; only the Hedgehog took it a step further after learning the redhaired Devil could not assist in escaping, so he did it himself.
Sonic let her down for some reason and she stood up on her own. She was grateful Sonic had gotten her out of there. Who knows what could have happened if she was left behind? "Sonic?" She called his name. "T... Thank you for sav..." she began to thank him, but that's when she noticed he was holding his side. Kneeling down since he was a bit shorter than her, she pushed his hand gently away with said hand a few inches away from his body, and her eyes widened and she slightly gasped. "Y-Your hurt!" She said, seeing the wound from Freed's sword on Sonic's body.
"Ugh... it's ok... just a scratch" Sonic insisted, though that was clearly not the case. Even with his confident (and now strained) voice and a fake grin to try and reassure her... it wasn't working either. She saw right through it. She was innocent and shy, but not stupid. She leaned in closer to Sonic, about to do something...
"I should have known..."
Both Hedgehog and Nun stopped, hearing and recognizing the voice. They looked in its direction, which was behind Sonic, and saw Mittelt and Dohnaseek floating down from above with their wings out... but it wasn't just them two. Hearing the sound of flapping wings, Sonic and Asia glanced all around them to see the 2 Fallen had brought reinforcements. Some landed in the street, others on houses and street structures such as lights and walls from other developments. They were completely surrounded! Sonic stepped in front of Asia protectively, ignoring the pain from his cut, with his hands out a bit in a protective manner. Not that this was going to do much, but it was something.
"And here I thought you would have... ran out of town," Mittelt taunted. "And don't try anything funny. In case you haven't noticed, your currently surrounded by 10 of our best soldiers, so we're not falling for your little tricks again. Step away from the girl... and no one gets hurt." She continued, giving Sonic a warning. Sure he caught them off guard before, but that was the first and only time that would happen. Failure was not an option this time. The spikey-haired kid, maybe; but the blonde was what they needed to continue their plans.
Sonic gritted his teeth for two reasons. One, there were more of them. And two, he was in no condition to fight back right now. He didn't want to give Asia up, but what was he supposed to do? The cut was still fresh on his body, and it really impacted his running. Just lugging Asia out this far, while that wouldn't make him break a sweat under normal circumstances, took allot out of him. He wasn't sure if he could go far without that stinging pain kicking in again cause if it did, they would be in serious trouble. And even if he did outrun them, there was a good chance they had teleportation magic as well, and they could come from a dozen different angles with their numbers. Until he could be healed by Akeno's magic again, his options were limited.
Maybe if he broke the sound barrier quick enough he could...
GRAB!
Asia then grabbed Sonic and as quickly as she could, pulled him into a hug. Because of how fast she did this, Sonic's head got buried in her chest. This was an eyebrow raiser to everyone present.
"... uh... yeah. That's real cute" said a Fallen, a male.
"She's a nun, yet into bestiality" said another Fallen, this one also male.
"I don't know. There was a Bill passed a while back..." said a third male Fallen Angel.
"That's for demi-humans you idiot!" Snapped the second Fallen.
"And pretty sure its for the next town over" added the first.
"Misa?... mat mre vou voing?" Sonic asked his Nun friend, his voice muffled for 'reasons', but that's when he felt it... a warn sensation. Looking down with his eyes, he saw that one of Asia's hands were glowing... OF COURSE! How could he have forgotten? Asia had healing powers too! THAT'S why she pulled him tight. So the Fallen couldn't see the light coming from the effect of it. It was brilliant! Once she had finished, Asia released him, assuming she was done since she let go. Sonic did feel allot better. Not 100%, but enough.
"Are you both done?" Came Mittelt's voice. "We don't have all night. Hand her over."
Sonic slowly grinned. "Yeah... we're done."
ZOOOOOM! WHOOOOOOSH!
Asia had to hold her habit and close her eyes from the sudden gust if wind around her. Once it ceased, she looked to see every single Fallen Angel had been attacked somehow. Some were impacted on buildings, others on and hung over development walls, and the rest were flat in the street. Before she could respond verbally or physically, Sonic had gotten ahold of her again and rush down the street as the Fallen began to recover, groaning at what had just happened.
Mittelt, from the floor; and Dohnaseek, from a wall; recovered as well, just in time to see Sonic dash off. Mittelt's face twisted into rage. He couldn't get away, not with the Healing Chick! Raynare was gonna have a fit if she finds out! "I don't care how you do it, I don't care what you do, just get the nun and don't let that rat get away!" She ordered, raising her voice. They didn't have time to open a dimensional space. They needed to get that girl out of the Hedgehog's grasp... and they needed it now! The 10 Fallen soldiers got up and went after them first, with Mittelt and Dohnaseek following from behind.
One way or another... they needed their hands on that girl. Tonight.
(AN: Optional music - Radical Train: The Abandoned Mine.)
Sonic ran down the sloped street... kinda brought back memories of him 'snowboarding', but now wasn't the time to reminisce. "Asia! Hold on tight!" He said.
"O-Ok!" Asia said, a little nervous. She barely got over how fast they got out of the house, now the town?! This was gonna get crazy, she had a feeling. That feeling became even stronger with the humming sound of glyphs in the air, followed by the Fallen directly above them! Looks like they had company.
"Ugh. Too much traffic... let's take the main road!" Sonic said, making a turn to use the road that lead out of the development and onto the main city streets. Due to how fast he was using this road, it looked like he was swerving. That's not even mentioning how many things, such as lights and objects, that flashed by Asia's field of vision. How did Sonic see where he was going when he was practically racing? They lost the Fallen, at least for a few seconds before they found them again.
Unfortunately for everyone involved in this chase, this was a particularly busy time of night, so the traffic joke Sonic made before backfired. Even worse, these cars were moving, so they weren't in another plane of existence. 'Sure. Now they don't open a new space' Sonic mentally groaned. While this wasn't an issue for him, it just made getting out of dodge with Asia in tow harder than it needed to be. Asia's eyes widened in shock like a deer caught in the headlights, horns blazing as they were about to crash! Sonic quickstepped past that car, and each one after it flawlessly, avoiding getting himself and his passenger hurt. Easy enough.
The Fallen however, were not used to this. One slammed into a large truck, and another went headfirst into a car after trying to stupidly copy Sonic's actions. The college girl who was driving screamed and crashed into a streetlamp, but her airbag went off so she was fine. The Fallen who ruined her car got out of the windshield, groaning in pain. Processing what just happened, the college girl got mad and stormed out of her car. "Look what you did to my new Toyota, asshole! What; you couldn't wait till tomorrow to do cosplay in the aftern...?" The girl yelled at him, but he responded by using memory altercation magic to silence her with a blank expression, not in the mood for humans and they're whining. Shaking off the effects of crashing, he took flight again.
For all the girl knew now, a bird flew into her car and caused this to happen.
Sonic made a left, out of the busy section and into one that was practically dead, no cars or people in sight, the Fallen that were following either by flight or appearing from glyphs in hot pursuit. A few of them, Mittelt and Dohnaseek included, threw Light Spears past the duo, landing in a formation that blocked the way. Sonic could jump over it, but instead...
"Whoops. Road closed. Gotta take the side road." Sonic ran towards the buildings on the side on a incline, and ran along it for a second before going down on another incline back on the actual road itself. Dohnaseek frowned and Mittelt gritted her teeth. Showoff! 4 Fallen made an attempt to teleport a few feet in front of Sonic and tried to grab him; but he darted to the side of the first, repeated this on the second one but went in the opposite direction, slid under the third, and finally jumped over the 4th, kicking the back of his head for extra momentum.
Maybe they didn't teleport far enough, so 2 more Fallen teleported on ahead a bit farther to a fork in the road. Using magic again, they created large glyphs on the exits so if Sonic ran into these, he would be caught in a trap. They also stood in front of a building at the end of this street with spears drawn. If the Hedgehog wasn't gonna fight them directly, for it seemed he was avoiding them, they could do this as a feint and kill two birds with one stone. Catch the rodent and remove the girl from his person.
However... Sonic wasn't stopping...
With narrowed eyes. He sped up and dashed in-between these two Fallen, who were caught off guard, and looked behind... what the?! He was running UP the wall?! Their gaze, silently saying followed the flash of blue rocketing up the large building, but they thought he could only run alongside walls, not up them! "Next stop: top floor!" Said Sonic, rocketing upwards a bit faster. Upon reaching the top, he was in midair for a few seconds, quickly glancing around to figure out his next move.
KICK!
"GACK!"
Out of nowhere, a Fallen had kicked Sonic right in the back, making the Hedgehog drop Asia! The nun screamed as she began to fall and feel gravity take effect, as she had no way of fighting against it. Mouth agape, Sonic then angrily leered at the Fallen behind him before executing a Homing Attack that ended with his foot on the head of the Fallen one who sucker kicked him, knocking the birdbrain away. Not wasting any time, Sonic skydived towards Asia, hoping to nab her before the pavement did that for him.
Another Fallen had grabbed Asia as she fell, terrifying her. "Got..."
ZWHEEEE! KICK!
Spin Dashing into the Fallen, Sonic kicked him away after impacting him. Getting ahold of Asia, Sonic used the new building they ended up falling beside as traction for his feet and ran downward. With those 2 Fallen out of the way, there were only 9 left to deal with, and they were coming in hot! To avoid the new barrage of Light Spears tossed at them from behind, the Hedgehog ran around the circumference building while still heading downwards, windows shattering behind him as the Light Spears missed! Frightened, Asia clung harder to Sonic, burying her head in his chest time. She couldn't look! All this was too much!
Continuing his path, Sonic got down safely to the street level again. As he sped down the road, he felt a pang in his side again, gritting his teeth. Great. His wound was acting up again. He began to slow down because of it, and the Fallen who were chasing them were about to catch up! Asia noticed this, and quickly reached down to heal the wounded spot again, her hands trembling due to all the adrenaline coursing through her body. While she was scared, she knew she had to do this. Sonic needed her! 'Come on. Come on!' She begged, hoping this would take effect soon. It appeared her prayers weren't being answered, for Mittelt had a Light Spear drawn and looked ready to pierce a certain rodents head clean through!
Sonic thankfully got out of the funk, and dashed off, a second away from Mittelt making a Hedgehog-Kebob out of him. He owed Asia big time for that one. Mittelt wasn't so happy however. She growled... damn that Hedgehog! Did he slow down on purpose just to toy with them? That bastard!
XXX
Back at the ORC clubhouse, the club of Devils just arrived in the main office. Rias looked around to see the teleportation was a success, and seeing as Issei was still over Koneko's shoulder like Santa's bag, the energy from Rias' own power from the Pieces in Issei's body was in fact enough to allow him through. "Couch. Now!" She ordered, which Koneko did without question, putting Issei in that very location. "Kiba; guard the door, in case we were followed." Rias continued.
"Yes, President" Kiba respectfully said, going out of office to do as he was told.
"Akeno, take care of Issei," Rias said, which was code for 'heal him'. Akeno started immediately.
"Ugh... thanks" Issei said, despite the pain still in his foot from the gun shot.
"No problem, sweetie. Your in good hands" Akeno reassured him. As she was working, she noticed Rias step away from them. "Wait!" Akeno called to her King. "Where are you going?"
Rias took a breath through her nose and exhaled out of it in an annoyed, sigh-like fashion. "To get our mascot..." she said through gritted teeth before using her own power to teleport out of the clubhouse. She couldn't believe she was doing this, but doing nothing would be wrong. Sonic was out there, wounded by a light-based weapon. Whether or not he did something stupid was out of the equation, and she couldn't in good conscience just leave him out there. He did help her after all, even if she was almost caught, and Devils repay their debts whether they like it or not.
She teleported back to where they left off... of course no one was here now, they probably went off after the idiot. Getting out her wings, she flew out of the house and into the sky above, looking around. "Ok... where the hell are y..."
BOOM!
Rias turned her neck to the sound of the explosion, only to see a few more ring out in a section of town some distance away from this residence. Those were a mix of light and magic explosions. She could tell. "Well... that was easy." Rias commented, flying in the direction of the disturbances.
XXX
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM, BOOM! BOOM!
Several more explosions occurred, making a dust cloud, with Sonic and Asia dashing out of it... and of course, the Fallen a few seconds later. They had a few close calls, but Sonic and Asia still managed to avoid getting caught. A few more Fallen were also taken care off, as only 7 remained, be it by tricking them with Sonic's speed or them royally messing up a chance to catch them and hit an obstacle. Sonic's wound started acting up once again, which was a constant throughout this chase, but Asia noticed him slow down again and acted accordingly. However, she couldn't heal him completely if they stayed on the run, which is why the pain kept returning, but this was the only way to avoid the Fallen trying to catch them.
Sonic knew this too, but what other choice did they have? These Fallen were highly persistent and no matter how far or fast he ran, they were determined to get them. More Light Spears were flung, and Sonic evaded each set as they came in a rapid session. The first set was thrown at the street, so darting to the side was the best bet. The next set was thrown at him directly, so he hopped up and ran along a building. The next set targeted this location, so he jumped off that building with a barrel roll-like flip to the one on the other side of the street. He followed this building into an alleyway, where Dohnaseek teleported at the end and blasted magic at Sonic, so the Hedgehog had to Wall Jump to not only climb out of danger, but avoid more magic blasts and spears from the rest of them.
On a roof, Sonic ran across it and jumped off the edge. The problem here was, there were no footholds or anything to help him continue onward... at least, until more Fallen appeared in front. Asia, whose heart was now beating as fast as Sonic could run, was even more terrified. Was this it? Had they finally been caught?
Sonic: TAAAAAAAA!
Thinking quickly; Sonic using a Homing Attack on the nearest Fallen, bouncing off of him, and using the ones after as stepping stones. Of course, Sonic didn't like doing his signature move like this, for he was limited to using his feet since curling into a ball was out of the question, plus his range and accuracy were lessened doing it this way, but thankfully the Fallen were close enough together so it wasn't a big issue. After bouncing off the 4th Fallen Angel, Sonic Air Boosted across the sky for extra distance, landing on a building roof that was at least 4 city blocks away, and a lower height than the previous ones. He then ran down the side of it, much like the infamous section of Speed Highway.
That included the Fallen Angels following behind him, just like the Cop Speeders' in Generations. "GOING DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWN!" Sonic yelled as he went down the building. Asia wanted to scream, but couldn't get it out of her vocal cords. She was also holding into Sonic as tightly as her hands would allow. If she let go now...
Some of the Fallen threw light spears from behind, which either missed or Sonic had to avoid, but a few of the Fallen took it a step further and teleported on ahead to try and blast Sonic with magic/spears from below or the sides of him. It was clear these "Angels" didn't care what or how much they destroyed of the human city, their only goal was to decapitate Sonic and capture Asia. As long as he was could run, Sonic was never gonna let that happen!
Kicking off the wall, Sonic launched himself off the building 100 feet before hitting the ground, where he saw something they could use. "Lets use this!"
"Sonic, I don't think...!" Asia tried to reason, but he was already going through with his idea. He hit some power lines and... what the? How was he...?!
"The hell?" Asked one Fallen.
"HE'S FUCKING GRINDING?!" Yelled Mittelt, her and her fellow Fallen once again caught off guard by the Hedgehog's ingenuity. Furthermore... how the fuck was that even possible?! Shouldn't the lines snap under his and the girls combined weight?
Sonic continued to use this new method of transportation, having to jump from line-to-line to continue moving forward as the power lines went in multiple different directions. Figuring they could stop him that way, the Fallen cut the cables directly or from a distance with their spears, not caring if the town was gonna have a power outage. Sonic was forced to change rails more quickly until he decided this was no longer a viable option, and hit the ground running again.
Sonic turned a corner, and ahead were 3 Fallen that already had magic circles prepared!
FLOOSH!
A red magic glyph appeared out of nowhere and fired hellish flames at the 3 Fallen blocking their path, frying them, and allowing Sonic to continue running interrupted. Both he and Asia were surprised, the remaining 4 Fallen Angels included. Where did that come from? Sonic looked above and lo and behold, Rias was looking down at him, smiling. He grinned at her. This was perfect! With her covering him and Asia from above, they'll kick the rest of the Fallen's butts in no time flat!
"Seriously?! She's getting involved!" Mittelt said. It was bad enough they had to chase down a mouse like a bunch of cats, NOW a bat had to join in?
"We'll take her, you take the hog" Dohnaseek said.
"Gladly!" Agreed Mittelt. Splitting into 2 groups, the remaining Fallen chased a single target, 2 for each. Dohnaseek flew after Rias, and Mittelt after Sonic.
Rias was up first. The Fallen soldier with Dohnaseek went to strike her, but she avoided it and summoned 2 balls of crimson fire in each hand, tossing one to each offender. They both blocked it what a magic barrier but then again, she didn't put much power into those fireballs. Dohnaseek went to counterattack with a Light Spear, but Rias launched her flames again, both attacks canceling each other out.
"I find this assuming... Rias Gremory, was it?" Asked Dohnaseek with a sly smile. "A Devil like yourself, trying to help a little Hedgehog protect a little nun girl? What have you got to gain from such a position?"
"Oh, don't worry, my friend. I have my reasons," Rias answered him, coolly. Then building up her power, she fired yet another blast of crimson fire. Only this time, instead of hitting Dohnaseek, she aimed for the Fallen solider with him who was preparing another attack. He quickly put up a barrier, only for it to break under the strain of Rias' power, and fell out of the sky. This caught Dohnaseek off guard a little, never having witnessed a Gremory's power before, but he kept his smug look. "Why not quit while your ahead?" She offered. "Otherwise I can very easily make your life... a living Hell." Rias warned the Fallen.
"Heh. The same could be said to you," Dohnaseek said with confidence. While he would have enjoyed to stay and fight, as he was the battle manic of the team, he was also running on empty after helping chase that rodent for so long. Besides, once Raynare gets what she wants, Rias and the rest of the Devils will be a thing of the past. With Mittelt after Sonic now and him running interference for her, it was only a matter of time. Opening a portal, he vanished from sight.
Back with Sonic and Asia, she just finished healing him partly again a second before the Fallen solider with Mittelt brought his spear down in the street, also cracking the pavement. As Sonic ran, he felt that the job Asia did wasn't as thorough this time. Looking at her, he saw she was looking a bit tired. This was probably from the high-emotional roller coaster ride she's been on for the last few minutes, along with constantly healing his wound halfway and only getting a chance to continue when Sonic slowed down. Clearly, the poor girl had a limit.
Sonic better make this last lap count... or there won't BE another lap.
"Stop running, you coward! You can't run forever!" Mittelt said to him as she and her partner continued the chase.
"Wanna bet?" Sonic taunted, speeding up and rushed down a shopping plaza to right. Of course, he knew what the gothic Fallen Angel said was true. With the light sword wound, he needed magical medical attention real soon, but he still couldn't give in as long as his feet can move!
Dashing down the plaza, Sonic had to react more quicker than before, since this section was a bit cramped. But that was also part of his plan. If he used this to his advantage and did it properly, he could end this chase now! He nimbly evaded restaurant signs on the walkway, but they just fell over due to speed as he passed. This didn't do much as the 2 Fallen just past them as well, but that wasn't the point. What Sonic was going for was up ahead. There were decorations such as hanging flags and those paper lanterns... chochins' or something they were called. It must have been for a festival, which was what Sonic was hoping for!
Sonic sped up again, quickly and flawlessly avoided the obstacles as he zipped past every little thing in his way: chairs, tables, stands, etc.; to try and throw the Fallen off their since they were focused on following his movements. This was working, as both of they're eyes were darting around due to locking onto Sonic and keep track of him. This caused them to almost crash into things or almost get caught on something, they're wings also grazed a few lamps and posts, but they were otherwise ok. Eventually this paid off for the Hedgehog; for the Fallen solider with Mittelt made a miscalculation, and one of his wings impacted with a bakery stand, covering said ligament in product. If that wasn't bad enough, the impact alone knocked him off balance and he skidded on the pavement, grunting as he slid.
Damn it! Now Mittelt was on her own! No matter, then she'll be the one to get the girl, and end that Hedgehog's interference once and for all! She then opened a glyph and flew into it, intent on catching that hog one way or another. Sonic heard the hum and smirked. That's EXAXCTLY, what he was waiting for! He sped up once final time, now was his chance! Waiting for it to appear where it would pop up, it opened directly in front of him, with Mittelt attempting to grab him with both hands in a fit of rage!
Sonic stopped on a dime and because she didn't expect him to do this, Mittelt ended up blowing past him. She looked behind herself, the hedgehog adjusting Asia so he could wave at her as she got further and further away. She turned around to look ahead of her, and...
(AN: Pause music)
SMASH!
That very second, she ended up with her head stuck in a billboard sign. But it wasn't any sign; she smashed into a café sign, and her head was in the perfect place above the mascots body, which was a maid outfit for a maid café. She was like a 3D head. "Later, Master!" Sonic quipped as he ran past the trapped Mittelt. She tried to push herself out by using her hands for leverage, but no matter how much she struggled with it, her head was stuck in tight. Sighing, she gave up and just hung there. She was too exhausted mentally and physically to continue.
(AN: Resume music)
Sonic zoomed out of the section from the way they came, with Asia giggling at the Fallen's misfortune and the clever joke Sonic made. Rias dove down to join them, having just finished with Dohnaseek. "And what took ya so long?" Sonic joked but before Rias could (assuming she would) answer, a Light Spear flew in-between them. Rias and Asia was shocked by it, though Sonic's shock was a bit more on the comedic side with him showing his teeth. It was the final 2 Fallen! They must have recovered form their injuries/humiliation and were now chasing after them to finish the job. Rias was about to launch an attack, but that's when she and Sonic glanced ahead and noticed a fork in the road just coming up. They looked at each other, and their expressions asked each other: 'Thinking what I'm thinking?'
As they approached the fork, they both took opposing paths. Sonic/Asia ran left, Rias flew right.
"You get the pineapple, I'll get the Devil!" Said one of the Fallen soldiers, going to change direction but the second one yanked his hand.
"No, no! Forget her! We need the girl!" Said the second solider. He and his only left comrade took the left path after Sonic, not worrying about the Devil, for it was true that she wasn't the main target. The nun was, and the only reason they were after the blue Youkai was because of whom his passenger was. As Sonic keep running, the 2 Fallen now hot on his tail, he passed a sign which Asia was able to miraculously read despite the speed they were going, it read...
Asia: Sonic, this is a...
Sonic: I know!
Ignoring Asia or the fact of where this path lead, Sonic rushed down as quickly as his feet would allow without too much G-Force for Asia's human body to handle. The Fallen also noticed the sign and smirked... Dead End. Looks like the Hedgehog ran out of places to run. As he zipped into the area, the Fallen got their spears ready, and one of the began to taunt the Hedgehog. "Heh, looks like a dead end, hedgeh-..."
(AN: End music)
However, once they entered the same Dead End, a light began to glow and hum. The 2 Fallens' bodies began to react to the sudden power, frozen with fear.
Rias, her arm outstretched, with energy radiating off of her and a smirk of her own. "... Yes. It is."
FLASH!
The area lit up with red light... and the Fallen were gone. Rias dispelled her power, lowered her hand, and turned her neck to look behind her. Sonic was there, holding Asia's head on his shoulder so she was facing the Dead End itself so she wouldn't have to see that. She still saw the light flash since it was dark out from the walls of the Dead End and the corners of her field of vision, and also no longer heard the Fallens' voices so there's only so much that could've just happened.
Still... it was over. The chase was over... she was safe.
XXX
Akeno had just finished healing Issei's wound, which he was thankful for. When she was done, it felt like it was brand new, as if he was never shot in the first place. Before he could thank her, a circle opened up near the entrance to the office, just as Kiba was coming in to check up on them. Out of that circle appeared Sonic, Rias and... Asia! That came as a surprise to them all. Sonic was one thing, but a Devil bringing a nun with her? That was a new one.
Sonic went to set Asia down, but she wasn't letting go, still holding him tight... she must still be affected by everything that just happened. Understandable, considering the circumstances. "Asia? You ok?" Issei sat up from his position on the couch, asking if the nun was ok. He knew from firsthand experience what Sonic's running could be like. He could only imagine what she just went through.
Asia did peek over her shoulder, hearing Issei's voice. "... Y-Yes... I-I'm fine" she said. Sonic tried letting her down again, this time on the couch next to Issei, which she complied with.
"Your ok, right? Nothing broken?" Asked Issei out of concern for her. Of course, she could probably just heal herself of any injuries anyway, but he still wanted to be sure. Asia shook her head. "Nice going, Sonic-Bro" Issei thanked his alien friend.
"Hey. It's wasn't just me," Sonic said. "If Fire Princess didn't show up when she did, we might not have made it outta there." He pointed to Rias with his thumbs, praising the Devil for her help, whom started walking away from Sonic. Now the blue Hedgehog didn't know why, but something felt different about Rias right now. She walked away from him sure, which wasn't a problem, but her hands where balled up in fists right now... and they were shaking. "Hey.. Ri?... Ya ok?" He asked, walking up behind her.
She seemed to perk up to the sound of his voice. She turned arou...
SLAP!
...
...
...
That slap echoed throughout the room, everyone else was unprepared for that. Now admittedly for the ORC Devils, this wasn't the first time Rias got physical. While she rarely raised a hand to any of them, she would like a normal scolding mother when her child did something admittedly stupid, but it was something else altogether seeing her slap Sonic across his face. She got him pretty good to, his head snapping in the opposing direction upon impact.
...
...
...
"... what was that for?!" Sonic finally responded after a few moments of silence plagued the room, rubbing the cheek she hit. While it was a hard slap, it thankfully wasn't hard enough to send him flat against a wall, which Rias seemed very capable of doing with her own strength.
"Do you... have any idea... of what you just did...?" Rias kept her voice low, trying not to scream at him. She couldn't believe he just did that, nor the fact she got herself involved. What was she thinking?! She'd pray to God if she could without getting a headache! What if the higher-ups found out? What if she was called before the Great Satans' again?! And if she was, HOW was she gonna mosey her way out of this one?!
Sonic looked confused. "What do ya mean: what I did? I was saving Asia! You said you couldn't teleport her outta there, so I did it for you!"
"Sonic... let me be perfectly clear," Rias said, calmly at first; but she was so destressed, that she was starting to lose her cool a bit. "The Fallen Angels and our kind have been at war for centuries. Things started to calm down after a peace treaty was formed thousands of years ago, but now this could very well be a start of another war!" Rias felt the weight of her world on her shoulders, feeling responsible. She didn't want to be the cause of even more of her people dying needlessly!
"And whose fault is that?" Sonic asked. "Not yours. If this treaty was agreed on, their the ones to blame! They attacked us first!"
"That doesn't matter!" Rias exclaimed. "We have rules, Sonic! RULES!"
"So they can bend the rules to target a human, but you can't to save another?" Sonic asked, bringing up in clearer detail on how the Fallen violated this supposed treaty already, seeing as they tried going after Issei already and now Asia.
"There hasn't been any conflict in over hundreds of years!" Rias argued.
"Oh yeah, because laying waste to a city sounds peaceful to me..." Sonic sarcastically remarked, not even bothering to mention the amount of innocent lives that could have been lost tonight if they weren't so focused on Sonic. That was already obvious.
"Its not that simple! You don't understand!" Rias snapped, getting a little aggravated at the little Hedgehog's attitude.
Sonic, frowning at Rias, reached into hammerspace behind him and pulled out a red wig; which matched her own hair but wasn't as long due to their height difference and wasn't the exact same style, being flat as opposed to pointy; placing it on his head. "I do not tolerate such vile fiends waltzing around, nor those that walk over the innocent. Insidious creatures like you have no place in my territory, and should just disappear" Sonic said, mimicking Rias' voice to the best of his ability, repeating EXACTLY what she said earlier. It wasn't perfect of course, and this only served to make Rias frown and bite her lip in annoyance. "Please, oh great Devil; TELL me... what I DON'T understand!" Sonic continued, after taking off the wig and sending it back to hammerspace.
"I'm not falling to the same level as those Fallen Angels!"
"So your just gonna let innocent people die?"
"NO! I just have no choice!"
"Everyone's got a choice!"
"It wasn't my place to get involved!"
"Yet you let a boy with metal in his arm..."
"THAT'S DIFFERENT!"
This continued back and forth, both Devil and Hedgehog, for several long moments. In fact, the observers just looked in the direction of whomever was talking with their eyes, focusing in on whomever had the floor. Rather quickly though, it ended up with the 2 of them talking over each other... allot... making it hard to track who had the helm during the conversation.
If they had one thing in common, they were both passionately stubborn.
The debate finally started coming to a head, both non-humans letting each other have it with their ideals clashing. "It really is about control with you, isn't it?" Sonic snapped. "I was only joking last time, but you really do just lash out when things don't go your way!"
Hearing that made Rias' brain snap. Go HER way?! If only life were that fair... this Hedgehog clearly had no idea what she's gone through... the sacrifices she had to make to get where she was, and now dealing with something that was out of her control in just a few weeks! The anger in her reaching maximum capacity, growling like a mad dog, she yelled at Sonic with:
"THEN GO! GET THE HELL OUTTA OF MY TERRITORY AND GO HOME!"
...
...
...
Everyone froze. Not a single peep came from a single person. Silence filled the room because of what Rias said... and she wasn't talking about Issei's house.
Sonic's eyes were widened of course, but now it was their turn to slowly shift into anger. While his facial reaction wasn't surprising due to the wording Rias used, it was unsettling, especially considering how large the Hedgehog's eyes were. The emotions in them were as clear as a blue sky. "Ya know what? Fine! I will!" Sonic yelled back, feeling a whirlpool of emotions. The last time he felt this way was with a set of Rings from a storybook.
Rias returned fire, full of anger herself. "Well, finally! Something we agree on! So run along and take your rock collection with you!"
"Oh, don't worry, Princess! I've found them plenty of times on my own! I don't need your help anyway!"
"Neither did I! You were just a means to an end!"
"That's cool, just don't ask me for anymore favors."
"Good to know; cause I never will."
"GOOD!"
"FINE!"
ZOOOOOOOOOOOM!
And with that; Sonic burst out of the office door, almost taking it off its hinges, and ran off into the night in a sonic boom. "Sonic, WAIT!" Issei called out to him, opening the window to call out to him, but either Sonic didn't hear him or just didn't care at the moment. The last thing Issei saw of his blue pet was a blue trail that vanished in a second. All he could do was stare out in shock, still trying to process what had just occurred in the last few minutes.
Sonic... was gone...
XXX
A few hours later...
"So... let me get this straight: you bring the best Fallen I could get from under the radar, I set up the perfect trap to get her to join us for the ritual, you rampage through half the town... hell, I even HIRED the Priest in her jurisdiction; and you STILL couldn't get the nun?!" Raynare asked her subordinates, pinching her nose at first, then used gestures to visualize her feelings, and also used as much of her patience as possible... though she was very close to popping a gasket. All she knew right now was they failed to get Asia after the exorcism, then they chased her through the city, yet she got away?... It didn't make any sense.
While Kalawarner wasn't involved in the latest mission, she did feel bad for the other two right now.
"It was Freed's fault! He screwed everything up!" Mittelt threw their human contact under the bus. "More Devils showed up, we were outnumbered. Not our fault!"
Raynare cocked an eyebrow. Devils... rescuing nuns... that made even less sense. "Is this true, Dohnaseek?" She asked the only man in their group. He didn't add anything to Mittelt's statement, just nodded. Raynare kept playing this over in her head. Why in Gods name would a bunch of Devils need a nun for? Her power? That could be a valid argument but if that was the case... why didn't it happen sooner? This was Devil territory, the Gremorys' no less. If the family knew she was in this town, which most likely they did, why did take them this long? Raynare hated to admit it, but Devils have better contacts in this town than they did, so why wait until this particular night to try and get Asia first? They had plenty of chances beforehand.
"... Is there something your not telling me?" Raynare asked as calmly as she could, wearing a smile that wasn't exactly happy. Was she sure something else happened? No. But there had to be more to it than just a mere coincidence.
Due to Raynare's tone, Mittelt felt the jig was up."... Well... the truth is..." She began to say, not looking forward to how Raynare was going to react. But if they kept this to themselves and she found out herself, it was gonna end up worse. "It was definitely Freed's fault! We fought hard and did everything in our power, but... the blue weasel returned and ran off with Asia." She finally admitted, saying the last part nervously. She also couldn't help but shove the stray Priest under that same bus again.
Raynare was silent for a moment... a long moment, which came to a surprise to the other three. Wow. She was taking this pretty well...
"... Heh... That was weird. For a second, it sounded like you said the blue weasel returned and ran off with Asia." Raynare said, giving a small scoff-like chuckle. When she wasn't corrected, an intense aura radiated off of her person. She was smiling with closed eyes. "Can you three do me a HUUUGE favor... and give me a moment to myself?" She asked in a kind voice, but the subtitles were giving off a different vibe entirely. Taking the hint, and not wanting to antagonize her further, the other 3 vanished via portals with their own magic.
...
...
...
BLAST!
In a fit of rage, Raynare turned around from her position, and blasted a hole in the wall behind her of the church they were using as a base, the blast itself going diagonally skyward. That rotten, wise-cracking, meddlesome Hedgehog! He screwed everything up not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES! First humiliating her in front of her comrades, saved Issei's life a second time, now she learns that he prevented Asia's capture! How far was that little pipsqueak gonna go?!
After venting her anger and now lowering her hand, she took a breath to calm herself down a bit. She got her wings out and with a single flap, exited via the hole she created. She can always fix it with magic later. Right now, there were more pressing matters to take care off. 'If you want something done right...' She grumbled to herself, flying off into the night sky toward the main city.
He had foiled her plans... for the last time...
Well... that was quite the turn of events, wasn't it? Didn't expect the chase scene to end with that result, did ya? And that ending? I'll let you all debate in the reviews, but wasn't that worth the wait? The Raynare Arc is reaching the end and then finally... the moment you've all been waiting for. As promised, the results are in, and the verdict is...
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Mephiles the Dark: 12
Infinite: 12
Black Doom: 7
Enerjak: 2
Ixis Magus: 1
Eggman Nega: 1
Eclipse the Darkling: 1
Mammoth Mongul: 0
What a interesting poll this was to hold. Mephiles was in the lead, but then Infinite must have thrown a tantrum and fired back up... or he just made clones of all you, who knows? Whatever the case is, I'll have to go ahead and edit the story board for this change to happen, so updates will be slower than usual for the main story. In the meantime, pleas do consider following the Extras doc for additional content.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'll talk to you again real soon.