Chapter 4- Dusk's Tale and What's Up With Eggman?
Tails and Knuckles arrived to where Team Dark was waiting on news on Sonic not long after the clouds of Twilight lifted. Rouge managed to catch them up to speed with what Dusk told them just as they heard Shadow gasped in surprise and they turned towards the jungle's mine entrance to see what they thought was two Sonics! But when the twins walked closer they saw the second Sonic was Dusk wearing a dark blue tunic instead of his armor so they clearly saw the dark blue patches all over his body, compared to Sonic's straight blue fur.
Dusk noticed their looks of confusion (though Omega just stared) and motioned his brother to look and try to explain. Sonic did look and tried his best not to laugh as he introduced Dusk as his twin brother, which surprised even Tails who was pretty much his younger brother for the longest time.
"B-but how?" the younger kitsune asked and Dusk chuckled gently, which oddly calmed Shadow despite having this hedgehog's sword near his throat earlier.
"It will be a long tale, some of which had been told to me, but I am willing to tell."
They all went into Tails' home so they can have lunch (though for Omega he already was charged last night) and listen to Dusk tell them of his past.
"It all started when Sonic and I were still very small. A dark warrior came to take me to the Twilight Realm for training when our parents came in, thinking I was going to be kidnapped. He explained about my powers and if I didn't get the training in darkness, then they would consume me later in life. My mother looked at my father with a look saying that I should go and he agreed to it so the warrior, who I learned later on was a survivor of a tribe thought lost and studied our common language enough to speak it very fluently, took me to the Twilight Realm.
With that I began my training under the care and instruction of the Twilight Princess Midna a few years later. I admit it wasn't easy at all since I was not Twilit-born like the rest of them. To them I was a being of the Light Realm, which is basically the world outside the Twilight Realm where the sun shines. I was able to leave and return at will but they cannot, which made it all more difficult, until I made friends with two of the Elite Warriors, Fyrus and Dia Baba, who helped with my training whenever Midna was busy.
During the times when I wasn't in the Twilight Realm, I explored the land of Hyrule with a Sheikah escort so I would not be lost. The Sheikah are a tribe of shadow that were thought lost when they were betrayed by the Royal Family many centuries before. In fact the warrior that brought me to the Twilight Realm was a special member of this tribe that was able to move freely between the Realms and somehow was transported to our world when the Goddesses of Hyrule sensed my power. The escort gave me information on each area of Hyrule, from the fast fields, to the Faron Woods, Lake Hylia, Death Mountain, and other places as well as weapons training while we avoided being seen all the same since we are not really supposed to exist to the eyes of the Hylians, who are the people of Hyrule.
That is until several months earlier when Zant, a false Twili king whose powers were given to him by a dark thief who was sent into the Realm as a punishment, took over the Realm. He changed many of the Twili into Shadow Beasts and the Elite Warriors into monsters. He even cursed Midna into an imp, but I got lucky for I was away to Snowpeak Mountain at the time so when word of him went to my ears, I hid near a Spirit Spring to avoid capture. Midna managed to befriend Link, a young Hylian swordsman who lived in the small Ordon Village and had great courage, and defeat not only Zant, but the dark king Ganondorf as well but at a price that worked to my advantage. She shattered the Mirror of Twilight, which is basically a magical doorway into the Twilight Realm, and asked me through telepathy to put it back together as my final test to become an Elite Twilit Warrior.
It took me many months but I managed to find every piece and put it together at last to complete my task. Along that journey, the Goddesses that created Hyrule came to me in a dream. Din, the Goddess of Power, gifted me with a piece of their symbol, the three golden triangles known as the Triforce, and her piece was once held by Ganon but they took it back after he was slain by Link. They heard of my own power as well as my pure heart so to make sure they didn't repeat their past mistake of letting an evil soul have it so soon, they gave it to me. I looked at her as well as her sisters Naryu, the Goddess of Wisdom, and Farore, the Goddess of Courage, and thanked them for the gift before waking to see the mark on my left hand, marking me as a Chosen One as they did with Link with the Triforce of Courage and the ruling princess of Hyrule, Zelda, with the Triforce of Wisdom. But as soon as I did recover from my sleep, I felt a sense of dread come over me, which never happened before until I realized it was a warning from the Goddesses themselves now that I have a piece of the Triforce and it enhanced my sixth sense.
Wasting no time I returned to the area where the Mirror was kept, the abandoned prison known as the Arbiter's Grounds, and completed the mirror so I could warn Midna and complete my ceremony. I also explained to the ghostly Sages who protect the Mirror and deliver punishments to the criminals about the situation, which they understood. When the ceremony was completed, my powers were strengthened and I am able to go into a larger monster form when the situation called for it."
"What about the wolf changing thing?" Sonic asked after he finished a chili dog.
"Oh I was able to do that naturally after my basic training. Anyways I decided to rest in the Realm for the night before deciding to warn the other two Chose Ones about the dark feeling when a shape appeared in my dreams. It looked like a sorcerer and I took it as another sign as I awoke from the nightmare, feeling something else was wrong. I went to this secret pool Midna showed me behind the palace that only we know about, which allows me to see into this world and try to keep up with current events about you and your friends, allowing me to know about them as well as…*Snicker*…Eggman. Sorry, I still get a good chuckle when I hear his name. I saw in the pool the Clouds of Twilight and knew this world's Light Spirits were in danger. I also saw that one was missed so I knew it was a matter of time before that one fell as well. It showed me that the last one was on that floating island and also showed me the Guardian as well as its location."
"So THAT'S how you knew about the secret entrance in the back of the Shrine!" Knuckled exclaimed in surprise.
"*Yes* er I mean yes I did. My apologies but sometimes my Hylian tongue slips a bit. I was about to leave so I can quickly warn the other two before leaving when Midna stopped me, in her imp form. Somehow she was able to switch between forms to make it easier on her for travelling. She figured out I was about to warn Link, because somehow I can't keep secrets from her, so she offered to do it instead. I agreed to it knowing her friendship with him and left immediately for Hyrule Castle, not caring if I was intruding. At First Zelda seems suspicious of my presence there, which was understandable due to the Zant incident earlier on, so I bowed down to show my manners and respect for her and warned her when she allowed me to speak. I could see in her eyes she would take my warning seriously so I left with leaving my name and transported myself to the island where I gave the Light Spirit the protection she needed against the Shadow Beasts, after explaining things to Knuckles, then arrived to stop Team Dark from trying to enter the Twilight before entering in myself to help Sonic and you know the rest."
The others were in silent shock as Dusk finished his tale, until a knock came to the door. Tails opened it to see nobody was there and looked down to see a parchment envelope with runes on it that he didn't recognize so he figured Dusk would be able to translate it.
"Who was it?" Rouge asked as he came back.
"No one was there but I did find this letter. I can't read who it's for because of the runes. Could you read it Dusk?"
Tails handed him the envelope and he instantly opened it to the letter written inside after glancing at the runes on the front, knowing it was for him. "This is written in Hylian script, which I can read perfectly…Oh! It's from Sheik!"
"Is he the guy who showed you around Hyrule?" Rouge asked with interest.
"Indeed! He said he noticed something in the jungle that he knows was never there and asked me to come help. He also said you all can come along if you'd like."
"Hey that's cool!" Sonic sad with interest as he leapt up from his chair, then added, "Can you teach me some of that stuff in case you slip up or we get another note and you aren't around?"
"Of course my brother! But first let's see Sheik's discovery."
They wasted no time making way to the cliff at the edge of the jungle, where they noticed an abandoned base very clearly; its bridge already in dismay and uncross-able.
"During this one time while we battled the water monster Chaos," Sonic started explaining when he noticed Dusk's curiosity, "Eggman had that as a base as well as his hangar for the Egg Carrier, his flying battleship, but now the animals use it as a home and shelter from the rain. As for the Egg Carrier, I think it's still sunk near Emerald Coast."
He nodded with satisfaction, then his eyes lit up as he noticed a mysterious blonde-haired warrior that looked almost ninja-like with copper eyes and a white and blue tribal outfit that bore a red symbol that looked like a crying eye at the front. He was standing in front of what seemed to be a gate or empty doorway with a distinctive symbol that looked like a familiar moustached face on the top, and turned when he heard them coming up the hill.
*Sheik it's good to see you!* Dusk greeted him in an unfamiliar language that the others guessed was Hylian from the slip-up before. *Is this what you found?*
*Hello Dusk,* Sheik replied in the same language in a calm, quiet voice, even as he switched his language to what the others can understand thanks to his studies in Common Mobian. "I noticed this just as the Twilight lifted. I figured you and your friends should know about it. Who are they?"
"This is my brother Sonic and his friends," Dusk replied in the common language as he went down the line and introducing them, getting a friendly greeting from all but Shadow who just nodded to be friendly but didn't even smile.
Tails looked up at the logo and immediately knew where it came from. "Hey Eggman set this up!"
With the mention at the name, Sheik and Dusk got into a snicker fit, with the Sheikah soon doubling over with laughter (which is rare in his case since his people aren't supposed to show such emotions too often being a tribe of shadow) since it was his first time hearing such a name. It took them five good minutes to settle down when they saw what they all thought was a red and black ball rolling by itself at first until it split to show it was one of Eggman's robot servants, Orbot.
"I see you noticed the Doctor's Egg Portal," he put in matter-of-factly in what seemed to be a proper tone like a butler. "If you may follow me, I'll lead you all to his new base so he can explain his functions."
Before anyone could have a chance to ask, he rolled back up and away, with the following out of curiosity as well as caution, knowing the last time Eggman "helped" it was all a trick. Orbot soon rolled into a freshly dug tunnel and at the end showed a large, red and yellow metal door with the same logo as the portal. He soon split again and punched in a pass-code into the keypad beside it, which beeped before opening to let them in. Along the way they heard what they thought was a cowboy, but was actually a yellow and black box-like robot named Cubot, who wasn't quite as smart as Orbot. He was chasing down some pill bug-like robots down a hall crossing theirs that seemed to escape so they ignored him and continued down to another large door at the end of the hall.
"Please wait here," Orbot asked them politely as he rolled into a small round opening in the wall to the room beyond.
"I don't like the feel of this," Knuckles suddenly muttered, having a history of being tricked by Eggman on more than one occasion that caused him to smarten up over the years. "Why would Eggman just invite us like this? There's gotta be a catch."
"I agree with you," Shadow said with similar suspicion, having worked with Eggman after he was first released after 50 years. "Something is really off about this."
The others agreed just as Orbot rolled back in. "Doctor Eggman will see you all now."
He soon swivelled to face Dusk, Sonic and Sheik, "Especially you three. He already knows about earlier so there's no need for any real alarm."
"Yeah right," Sonic muttered as the door opened.
Eggman was at a large computer looking over what seemed to be the stats of the Egg Portals he made earlier while muttering to himself. "Hmm…Egg Portals 1 & 2 are functioning well against that darkness edge…oh what's this? Portal 3 had ceased function now that it lifted! Looks like I need to move that one."
"Excuse me Doctor, but they are here now."
With the sound of Orbot he soon pun on his chair to face his guests. "Ah welcome! I'm guessing you're hear about my new Egg Portal system, eh? Oh now knock that off Knuckles! I'm willing to call a truce for the moment considering the situation!"
Knuckles was cracking his namesakes as Eggman started speaking, but stopped and kept an eye on him all the same. "That's better. Now then I sent some of my robots to investigate the darkness-"
"Pardon my interruption," Dusk cut in, "but it's called Twilight actually."
"Oh well then, thank you for correcting me then. As I was saying, I discovered that the very edge of this…Twilight seemed very weak in some spots so after some extra studying I made these Egg Portals to help those trapped inside get out once someone shows them out of course."
All but Dusk and Sheik was shocked at first and were looking at him as if they were saying, "Who are you and what the heck have you done with Eggman?"
"H-hey now don't look at me like that! I had some sort of sorcerer bother me all day, making threats worst than Shadow sometimes! So I figured I'd help out-"
"Wait a minute," Dusk interrupted again with growing fears in his eyes. "Did you say you met a sorcerer? Wh-what was his name? Wh-what did he look like?"
Sonic was surprised at the sudden shaky tone in his one-calm brother's voice as Eggman spoke again. "Well I forgot his name but he did look very pale, almost white like a ghost, with silver-white hair, red eyes like your mysterious friend there but maybe a little darker, and was dresses head-to-toe in a black cloak and cap. Uh Orbot do you remember his name?"
"I think he called himself 'Vaati', Doctor."
Sheik suddenly stiffened at the name and muttered about having to go before throwing what looked like a nut to the ground and disappearing in a flash.
"What's up with him? And what was that thing he threw?"
"That was a Deku Nut," Dusk explained while still a bit confused. "Its flash may stun enemies for a short time but the Sheikah, Sheik's tribe, use the flash to disappear to another location. As for his reaction, I'm afraid I don't know."
Suddenly an alarm beeped from the computer and Eggman turned around to see. "Looks like there's some sudden activity in the Twilight around Station Square."
"C'mon Dusk!" Sonic shouted before turning to the door. "We need to get rid of that stuff fast!"
"I'm right behind you Sonic. The rest of you stay here with Eggman. The location is well hidden so the enemies won't come and find you. I understand that you don't trust him but now isn't the time!"
The twins soon ran off out the door (with dusk quickly changing into a wolf again) and out of the base just as Cubot came in and said, "Y'all wanna know somehin'? I think those two might be related!"
"They are," Shadow replied matter-of-factly. "In fact they are actually twin brothers that can survive in the Twilight. It's a long story on how that happened."
Unfortunately, just as the twins disappeared through the mine, Vaati was watching every move from the cliffs above. "So you DID find the fourth before me. No matter…it will be a matter of time before my vengeance is complete."
Author's Notes:
O.K by request of a fan here on FanFiction I decided to put up Dusk's back story.
Also if you see any words or sentences that look like *this*that would be some of the characters, like Dusk and Sheik, speaking in Hylian because I don't think there's a site for Hylian text so I improvised. (Plus if anyone knows any such sites please send me a link.)
And speaking of Sheik he's now in here for you fans of him! (HA! And everyone thought the Sheikah were gone, not in my world! They just wet into hiding due to the fact...Whoops! I almost spoiled it! You are gonna have to wait!) The only differences here is that this Sheik is NOT Zelda in disguise, and he has an ability to travel to the Twilight Realm, but not the actual Twilight. How he got it is that he was somehow born with it, simple as that.
Also what his deal is with Vaati is a secret until a future chapter!
I decided to even put Eggman's newest lackeys from Sonic Colours, Orbot and Cubot, in here because I liked them in the game! I even put in a reference from Sonic Adventure in here as well with the abandoned base. (I bet you guys are thinking if I was on something when I made Eggman so nice with the Egg Portals. No I was not. I want to keep Vaati as the main bad guy for the series.)
And of course Vaati's identity is revealed but what does he mean by the "fourth"? Well that will be revealed soon enough! (Just not in the next chapter.)
Next chapter: Freeing Station Square, and a friend of Sonic's!
Enjoy and leave comments!
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Oh and happy 20th Sonic!