Post by Norris on Apr 3, 2009 0:30:22 GMT -5
Sonic X: Rifts - Part 3
Chapter One
Mephiles the Dark stared around Eggman's laboratory with his cold, steely eyes. Eggman had been chained up unconcious to the wall, along with Knuckles, Tails and the others Mephiles had captured, including an echidna and two squirrels fallen through one of the multiple holes between the universes.
"Hope you've got a good seat for the show," Mephiles chuckled at Knuckles as the red echidna came to his senses. Almost immediately, he was trying to break the indestructible bonds that held him fast, much to the amusement of Mephiles.
"You're wasting your time," he sneered. "One of Eggman's better inventions, and so is this," he gestured to a large apparatus in the centre of the room. There, balanced on a pedestal, was the Master Emerald, glowing and humming softly as various cables strapped to it channelled the Chaos Control to power the array of spider-like machines above them that were randomly selecting universes and opening the multiple rifts between them.
"Chaos Control," mused Mephiles. "Perhaps the greatest power nature has ever wrought. And with that power harnessed to my every whim, I can sieze control of any dimension I choose at the push of a button! And then, when I've had my fun, you and your friends will perish in the most creative way I choose,"
"Ain't you forgetting one thing?" Knuckles snapped. "You've still got Sonic to deal with, pal! He defeated you once before, and he'll do it again!"
"I doubt it," Mephiles hissed. "I have set many pitfalls for him and his friends, and I doubt that he would elude the first without my help!"
Chapter Two
By this time, Sonic, Silver and Shadow had united, and were already retracing their steps. In the period between, Bucky O'Hare had detected a strong energy force on one of his alien devices, and the small army was now following it, hoping that it would lead them to the source of all of this madness.
"It just doesn't make sense," Rouge was mumbling to herself. "Who would want to possibly conquer several dimensions at the same time?"
"Someone impatient, perhaps?" Sonia suggested jokingly, but the glares of her comrades soon silenced her.
"What confuses me is why a handful of people from each dimension are falling into this one," Shadow put in as he trekked along the side of the road, in pace with the others.
"It's the energy source," Bucky explained, his eyes upon the dial of his compass-like device. "Because the source of the rift-maker is in this dimension, so certain people from each dimension are drawn towards it, like a moth to a bright light,"
It was then that the group unknowingly entered the first pitfall set by Mephiles. The ground gave way beneath them, and they tumbled down a smoothened shaft into a cavern beneath the surface, littered with stalactites and stalagmites in all directions. Before the group could recover themselves, they found a large something bearing down upon them. A large, glowing something with a roar like a lost soul.
"Chaos?!" Sonic gasped. It was Chaos, alright, but not as the monster they knew him to be. It were as though Chaos had undergone a supercharge, and looked as vicious as ever. The lumbering monster lost no time in trying to flatten the group, but they scattered in all directions. Blaze tried her fire powers against it, likewise Bucky with his maser pistol and Silver his own powers. Nothing seemed to work, and if anything, Chaos began to increase in size.
"He's feeding on the power!" Shadow bellowed from across the cavern. "You need to try and draw the power out of him! You're only making him stronger!" In the next moment, he and Amy were knocked from their feet by Chaos and into one of the walls of the cavern. It was now Sonia's turn to do some damage, and by reversing the polarity on her keyboard-weapon, was able to drain Chaos of the excess energy, and Bucky quickly followed suit with his maser until Chaos had returned to normal form, albeit somewhat weak from his experience. Leaving him to ache and throb, the group ran off up the one tunnel in the cavern in order to continue the journey.
Chapter Three
The second pitfall lay half-a-mile from Chao's position. Sonic was the first to sense it, immediately halting. Shadow came second, and the remainder of the group came to a halt. In the dim light of the cavern, they could see shadows moving in an ante-chamber between two tunnels.
"Hello, boys," Sonic heard his own voice calling out to him, and sent shivers down his spine.
"Sonic," Amy answered firmly. "Do you...in this dimension...have a brother?"
"I'm not his brother, babe," the voice grunted. "I'm just his other half," The hearts of all present stopped at the sight of a green-furred Sonic emerging from the darkness, followed by various, sinister-looking incarnations of Tails, Bunnie and others who were vaguely familiar. Although none of the heroes realised it, they were now face-to-face with Scourge the Hedgehog and the Suppression Squad.
"Seems like your friend gets around, don't he?" Scourge turned his sights on Shadow, who was taken aback by all of this. "Not only does he get me and the squad back together, but he..." he was cut short by a sly-looking vixen named Fiona who elbowed him angrily.
"Which friend would that be?" Shadow snarled, on the defensive. Fiona just gave a haughty sniff, and stared at him icily. "You won't live long enough to find out," Then and there, the two sides clashed. Amy and Fiona almost immediately selected one another as opponents, whilst Sonic was left to grapple with Scourge, and everyone else with whoever came their way.
The squad was small in number, but vicious. None of them refused to surrender, even when they were clearly defeated. Silver and Blaze couldn't believe the sight, a group of Anti-Mobians fighting constantly regardless of their wounds. It was appalling.
"Is that all you've got?" Scourge hissed, and was about to land another blow when Shadow intervened, landing a firm kick against Scourge's jaw. The black hedgehog was down on Scourge like a flash, shaking him angrily and occasionally landing a punch on the face.
"Who do you work for?!" he roared, beating the green hedgehog senseless. "Tell me who this friend is!" Fiona then signalled for the squad to withdraw, and they disappeared into the shadows, leaving Scourge alone to face an angry foe. Rouge and Sonic had to drag Shadow away by force, ignoring Scourge and allowing his bruised body to sneak away unseen.
"Cool it!" Rouge barked, holding Shadow by the arms. "The only way we'll get any answers is to find out where these tunnels lead, OK?"
"We should be getting the answer soon," Bucky said at last, examining his instruments. "We're practically on top of the source now,"
Chapter Four
The third pitfall turned out to be the very one that successfully trapped the little group. The moment they walked off of the dusty floor of the caverns and into the metal tiling of a corridor, they were suddenly trapped inside a cage, whose walls were composed of the same energy that had affected Chaos. Sonia reached out to touch it, and was given a mild electric shock. The cage was suddenly elevated into the laboratory, where Mephiles was waiting for them, a smile spread across his cold face.
"Hello, Shadow," he grinned sinisterly. "Remember me?"
"YOU!" Shadow thundered, and was about to leap at him, when Sonic and Rouge restrained him from the electric current. Mephiles gave a booming laugh and began to parade around the room, gesturing to the captured friends and the Master Emerald.
"You were just too slow," he began. "Spending all of your time racing after petty little chaos emeralds when I have the real gem right here. You trekked the four corners of this one universe to find them as I set to work on a project that reached out beyond the boundaries of our universe! I have achieved something that has set me higher than the Gods! I can play the space-time continuum like a trumpet! And now that you are safely out of my way... the fun can begin,"
"Don't do it, Mephiles!" Blaze cried out. "You're tampering with forces in ways we're not supposed to!"
"I know," Mephiles gave a nod as he hovered over the console. "That's why I'm doing it," With a simple push of a lever, the machinery whined into life. The Master Emerald fizzed and hummed ever louder, as a computer display above them showed the multiple dimensions and universes opening at some fantastic rate. All eyes were upon that single display, and Mephiles' evil smile was at it's greatest, when...
The machines suddenly stopped.
Everything ground to a halt.
For a moment, there was silence, and then, Julie-Su suddenly disappeared, as did Mac, and then Slappy and Sonia. An alarm sounded somewhere on the complex, and the energy cage collapsed, as did the indestructible bonds holding Knuckles and the others against the wall.
Blaze and Silver suddenly faded away into nothing, as did Bucky. Mephiles, scowling with rage at his former captives, shrivelled away into nothing, cursing all those present as the laboratory began to rumble violently with the threat of collapse.
It took just a few minutes to reach the ground-level entrance, and the large group watched as the laboratory collapsed, leaving Eggman homeless, and full of rage. As he hopped about the debris swearing every word under the sun, the small group of friends, tired and weary, returned home, full of questions and curiosity.
Epilogue
"They returned to their own dimensions after Mephiles overloaded the machinery," Chris spoke into his dictaphone that night. "I had been returned to my dimension, but I was able to return in the spaceship I constructed,"
He sat up in his chair, looking at the multiple papers on his desk, among which was a photo of his younger self with Sonic and the crew. A warm smile spread over his thin lips as he continued recording.
"The Master Emerald wasn't found in the wreckage, but Knuckles sensed that it had somehow been able to clear itself of the building before it collapsed, but exactly where it went we've no idea, but no doubt someday, we'll find it again, and when we do, it'll be under lock and key,"
Satisfied, Chris switched off the dictaphone, and was beginning to tidy his files when a knock came on the door of the office.
"Come in," Chris called, and was startled to find himself in the presence of a 3ft-tall red squirrel in a pith helmet, Zulu War uniform and jackboots, who looked just as surprised as Chris was.
"Hi," said Mac. "Are we still in Furryville?"
THE END
Chapter One
Mephiles the Dark stared around Eggman's laboratory with his cold, steely eyes. Eggman had been chained up unconcious to the wall, along with Knuckles, Tails and the others Mephiles had captured, including an echidna and two squirrels fallen through one of the multiple holes between the universes.
"Hope you've got a good seat for the show," Mephiles chuckled at Knuckles as the red echidna came to his senses. Almost immediately, he was trying to break the indestructible bonds that held him fast, much to the amusement of Mephiles.
"You're wasting your time," he sneered. "One of Eggman's better inventions, and so is this," he gestured to a large apparatus in the centre of the room. There, balanced on a pedestal, was the Master Emerald, glowing and humming softly as various cables strapped to it channelled the Chaos Control to power the array of spider-like machines above them that were randomly selecting universes and opening the multiple rifts between them.
"Chaos Control," mused Mephiles. "Perhaps the greatest power nature has ever wrought. And with that power harnessed to my every whim, I can sieze control of any dimension I choose at the push of a button! And then, when I've had my fun, you and your friends will perish in the most creative way I choose,"
"Ain't you forgetting one thing?" Knuckles snapped. "You've still got Sonic to deal with, pal! He defeated you once before, and he'll do it again!"
"I doubt it," Mephiles hissed. "I have set many pitfalls for him and his friends, and I doubt that he would elude the first without my help!"
Chapter Two
By this time, Sonic, Silver and Shadow had united, and were already retracing their steps. In the period between, Bucky O'Hare had detected a strong energy force on one of his alien devices, and the small army was now following it, hoping that it would lead them to the source of all of this madness.
"It just doesn't make sense," Rouge was mumbling to herself. "Who would want to possibly conquer several dimensions at the same time?"
"Someone impatient, perhaps?" Sonia suggested jokingly, but the glares of her comrades soon silenced her.
"What confuses me is why a handful of people from each dimension are falling into this one," Shadow put in as he trekked along the side of the road, in pace with the others.
"It's the energy source," Bucky explained, his eyes upon the dial of his compass-like device. "Because the source of the rift-maker is in this dimension, so certain people from each dimension are drawn towards it, like a moth to a bright light,"
It was then that the group unknowingly entered the first pitfall set by Mephiles. The ground gave way beneath them, and they tumbled down a smoothened shaft into a cavern beneath the surface, littered with stalactites and stalagmites in all directions. Before the group could recover themselves, they found a large something bearing down upon them. A large, glowing something with a roar like a lost soul.
"Chaos?!" Sonic gasped. It was Chaos, alright, but not as the monster they knew him to be. It were as though Chaos had undergone a supercharge, and looked as vicious as ever. The lumbering monster lost no time in trying to flatten the group, but they scattered in all directions. Blaze tried her fire powers against it, likewise Bucky with his maser pistol and Silver his own powers. Nothing seemed to work, and if anything, Chaos began to increase in size.
"He's feeding on the power!" Shadow bellowed from across the cavern. "You need to try and draw the power out of him! You're only making him stronger!" In the next moment, he and Amy were knocked from their feet by Chaos and into one of the walls of the cavern. It was now Sonia's turn to do some damage, and by reversing the polarity on her keyboard-weapon, was able to drain Chaos of the excess energy, and Bucky quickly followed suit with his maser until Chaos had returned to normal form, albeit somewhat weak from his experience. Leaving him to ache and throb, the group ran off up the one tunnel in the cavern in order to continue the journey.
Chapter Three
The second pitfall lay half-a-mile from Chao's position. Sonic was the first to sense it, immediately halting. Shadow came second, and the remainder of the group came to a halt. In the dim light of the cavern, they could see shadows moving in an ante-chamber between two tunnels.
"Hello, boys," Sonic heard his own voice calling out to him, and sent shivers down his spine.
"Sonic," Amy answered firmly. "Do you...in this dimension...have a brother?"
"I'm not his brother, babe," the voice grunted. "I'm just his other half," The hearts of all present stopped at the sight of a green-furred Sonic emerging from the darkness, followed by various, sinister-looking incarnations of Tails, Bunnie and others who were vaguely familiar. Although none of the heroes realised it, they were now face-to-face with Scourge the Hedgehog and the Suppression Squad.
"Seems like your friend gets around, don't he?" Scourge turned his sights on Shadow, who was taken aback by all of this. "Not only does he get me and the squad back together, but he..." he was cut short by a sly-looking vixen named Fiona who elbowed him angrily.
"Which friend would that be?" Shadow snarled, on the defensive. Fiona just gave a haughty sniff, and stared at him icily. "You won't live long enough to find out," Then and there, the two sides clashed. Amy and Fiona almost immediately selected one another as opponents, whilst Sonic was left to grapple with Scourge, and everyone else with whoever came their way.
The squad was small in number, but vicious. None of them refused to surrender, even when they were clearly defeated. Silver and Blaze couldn't believe the sight, a group of Anti-Mobians fighting constantly regardless of their wounds. It was appalling.
"Is that all you've got?" Scourge hissed, and was about to land another blow when Shadow intervened, landing a firm kick against Scourge's jaw. The black hedgehog was down on Scourge like a flash, shaking him angrily and occasionally landing a punch on the face.
"Who do you work for?!" he roared, beating the green hedgehog senseless. "Tell me who this friend is!" Fiona then signalled for the squad to withdraw, and they disappeared into the shadows, leaving Scourge alone to face an angry foe. Rouge and Sonic had to drag Shadow away by force, ignoring Scourge and allowing his bruised body to sneak away unseen.
"Cool it!" Rouge barked, holding Shadow by the arms. "The only way we'll get any answers is to find out where these tunnels lead, OK?"
"We should be getting the answer soon," Bucky said at last, examining his instruments. "We're practically on top of the source now,"
Chapter Four
The third pitfall turned out to be the very one that successfully trapped the little group. The moment they walked off of the dusty floor of the caverns and into the metal tiling of a corridor, they were suddenly trapped inside a cage, whose walls were composed of the same energy that had affected Chaos. Sonia reached out to touch it, and was given a mild electric shock. The cage was suddenly elevated into the laboratory, where Mephiles was waiting for them, a smile spread across his cold face.
"Hello, Shadow," he grinned sinisterly. "Remember me?"
"YOU!" Shadow thundered, and was about to leap at him, when Sonic and Rouge restrained him from the electric current. Mephiles gave a booming laugh and began to parade around the room, gesturing to the captured friends and the Master Emerald.
"You were just too slow," he began. "Spending all of your time racing after petty little chaos emeralds when I have the real gem right here. You trekked the four corners of this one universe to find them as I set to work on a project that reached out beyond the boundaries of our universe! I have achieved something that has set me higher than the Gods! I can play the space-time continuum like a trumpet! And now that you are safely out of my way... the fun can begin,"
"Don't do it, Mephiles!" Blaze cried out. "You're tampering with forces in ways we're not supposed to!"
"I know," Mephiles gave a nod as he hovered over the console. "That's why I'm doing it," With a simple push of a lever, the machinery whined into life. The Master Emerald fizzed and hummed ever louder, as a computer display above them showed the multiple dimensions and universes opening at some fantastic rate. All eyes were upon that single display, and Mephiles' evil smile was at it's greatest, when...
The machines suddenly stopped.
Everything ground to a halt.
For a moment, there was silence, and then, Julie-Su suddenly disappeared, as did Mac, and then Slappy and Sonia. An alarm sounded somewhere on the complex, and the energy cage collapsed, as did the indestructible bonds holding Knuckles and the others against the wall.
Blaze and Silver suddenly faded away into nothing, as did Bucky. Mephiles, scowling with rage at his former captives, shrivelled away into nothing, cursing all those present as the laboratory began to rumble violently with the threat of collapse.
It took just a few minutes to reach the ground-level entrance, and the large group watched as the laboratory collapsed, leaving Eggman homeless, and full of rage. As he hopped about the debris swearing every word under the sun, the small group of friends, tired and weary, returned home, full of questions and curiosity.
Epilogue
"They returned to their own dimensions after Mephiles overloaded the machinery," Chris spoke into his dictaphone that night. "I had been returned to my dimension, but I was able to return in the spaceship I constructed,"
He sat up in his chair, looking at the multiple papers on his desk, among which was a photo of his younger self with Sonic and the crew. A warm smile spread over his thin lips as he continued recording.
"The Master Emerald wasn't found in the wreckage, but Knuckles sensed that it had somehow been able to clear itself of the building before it collapsed, but exactly where it went we've no idea, but no doubt someday, we'll find it again, and when we do, it'll be under lock and key,"
Satisfied, Chris switched off the dictaphone, and was beginning to tidy his files when a knock came on the door of the office.
"Come in," Chris called, and was startled to find himself in the presence of a 3ft-tall red squirrel in a pith helmet, Zulu War uniform and jackboots, who looked just as surprised as Chris was.
"Hi," said Mac. "Are we still in Furryville?"
THE END