Sonic Chronicles: The Series

The first rounds of the Ultimate World Tournament were finally coming to an end. While most of the competitors were still in the medical ward, Hybrid’s eyes wandered the room on the remaining fighters. The proactive Viral, the stern Metal, the timid Cancer, and the mysterious Morph were all that remained. Just by glancing at the armored warrior, Hybrid could tell that was becoming impatient. The mixed hedgehog turned his attention to the randomizer screen.
“Why don’t we see who’s up next.” Hybrid smirked.
“About time.” Morph muttered.
Ignoring his comment, Hybrid activated the randomizer with a wave of his hands. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the symbols slowly came to a stop. The first of them was a blue raindrop symbol and the second was a nocturne blade symbol. Seeing this, Morph gripped his fist in anger.
"The seventh match: Cancer vs. Viral!” Hybrid announced.
“All right, this should be a quick one.” Viral said confidently. Out of nowhere, Space kicked him. He howled in pain, jumping up and down on one leg. “What was that for?!”
“Nothing. I just don’t like you.” Space said sternly.
“(Awkward.)” Thebes said.
"Verrry." Queen N'rrgal said.
Meanwhile, Strike was trying to drag Cancer to the platform by pulling his arm, but the crab wasn’t giving up without a fight. The more strike pulled, he found himself becoming more like a training dummy.
“Come on, Cancer.” Strike groaned; Cancer kicked his face. “Ya gotta fight sometime.”
“If it was someone like Kazuki!” Cancer exclaimed; he punched Strike’s chest. “Have you seen the size of that guy?! He’s gonna kill me!”
“If he does, you’ll just be sent back here.” Strike pointed; Cancer stared at him with a blank expression. “That didn’t help at all, did it?” Cancer shook her head. “Yeah, didn’t think so. But you’ve got to listen to me, Cancer. You’re stronger than you think and you know it. I’ve seen you and action and you are amazing.”
“Y-you really think so?” Cancer said.
“I know so.” Strike said praising. “Now go out there and whip that guy good.”
“Whatever you say, Strike.” Cancer smiled. As he slowly started to make his move, Cancer suddenly stopped and turned. “On Second thought...”
Before he could even make a run for it, Strike grabbed Cancer by the wrist and tossed him towards the platform. Strike knew he was going to live to regret that; Especially with Geisy and Rector hanging over him. Noticing the flying crab, Hybrid quickly pushed Viral onto the platform and activated the transporter. As Viral watched the crab lend next to him, a white beam flooded over them and both competitors vanished.
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---New Zealand---
The scene shifts to the southern island country of New Zealand. The rushing waves lapped over the gentle beaches near the shores that remained untouched by human resources. In the background of the beach was a wide forest that stretched for more than half the area. As the clouds parted from the sky, a white beam crashed onto the sandy beach, delivering the two fighters to their destination. While Viral stared calmly into the open ocean, Cancer was wiping his mouth clean of the sand he fell in.
“Ugh! That’s nasty!” Cancer said disgustedly, scrubbing his tongue with steel wool. “The beach is romantic, but there are some things that are better left buried.”
“You’re an odd one.” Viral said strangely.
In all the distraction, Cancer almost forgot about Viral. Almost instantly, his zesty personality had vanished and was replaced by his usual timid persona. The sudden shift in personality seemed a bit unusual for the robot.
“A-are you going to f-fight me now?” Cancer asked shyly.
“Well, that’s what we’re supposed to be doing?” Viral said awkwardly, scratching his head. “But, we don’t have to if you don’t want. You could just give up and we could go back.”
“No, I can’t do that.” Cancer shook. “I accepted this invitation because I thought it would help me build confidence. If I turn back now, I’ll never prove myself that I am strong without Strike.”
“Without Strike?” Viral repeated.
“Every time I was in a tough situation, I always froze.” Cancer said sadly. “Strike was always there to protect me, but I was never able to do the same.” She slowly moved into attack position, though he was still slightly shaking. “I want to be strong to protect those I care for. That is my dream!”
“He’s got a fiery spirit.” Viral thought, moving into a battle position. “But there is no way I’m gonna let him off that easily.”
“Here I come!” Cancer announced.
“Then again, this might not be too hard.” Viral sweat dropped.
Cancer charged forward towards the robot, swinging his arms in a random fashion. Viral lowered his guard and held out hand in a bored manner. This tactic, amazingly, stopped Cancer in his tracks as he pushed him back by his head. It took two minutes for Cancer to realize this and dropped to the ground, swinging his legs around to trip the robot. Unfortunately, Viral saw this coming a mile away and effortlessly flipped over his head. Just as he landed, Viral began dodging Cancer’s claws left and right. Though he was determined, Viral noticed that he left herself completely wide open the entire fight. Cancer had no defense, strategy, or fighting style; he was just swinging at random.
“I like his spirit, but he can’t even fight properly. How’d he even get into the Zodiac 12?” Viral noted.
As Viral jumped back from Cancer’s attacks, he suddenly found himself with his back to a tree.
“Hah! Got ya know!” Cancer cheered.
“You might wanna rethink that.” Viral smirked.
Cancer charged forward with his claw swinging for the echidna’s face. Unfortunately, Viral sidestepped the attack, allowing the crab to fall forward. Cancer’s face smacked into the tree and slowly slumped to the ground, appearing to be unconscious. Just for random thought, Viral grabbed a stick and started poking his motionless form.
“That can’t be good.” Viral said fearfully. “Oh man, Strike is going to kill me then bring me back and kill me again! What do I do? What do I do?!” As the clueless robot tried to shake Cancer awake, he realized something: he was still here. “Wait a minute. I thought everyone was supposed to go back after they were defeated.”
“They are.” Cancer grinned, suddenly shooting up.
Viral jumped back in shock and moved his way into his fighter’s position. But the robot stared in shock as Cancer’s form disappeared and transformed into a puddle of water. What happened to him? That was the question that was going through the robot’s mind as he walked away, having a fear of water, he may had a Nocturne Decurion suit for a body, but he wasn’t waterproof like his father. Suddenly, Viral heard a loud splash coming from the ocean and looked back. Cancer jumped out of the water and landed safely on the sandy beach. Apparently, he had been hiding in the ocean; his ocean blue color making the perfect camouflage.
“Where’d you come from?” Viral asked confused. “You just melted a moment ago.”
“Oh, that wasn’t me.” Cancer smiled. “That was my water clone.”
“Water clone?” Viral repeated.
“Yep.” Cancer replied. “I wanted to see how strong you were without risking the danger of getting hurt. I created the water clone to test you with some of my basic moves.” He rubbed his head embarrassingly. “As you can guess, I’m not much of a fighter.”
“When did you have the chance to make this clone?” Viral asked curiously.
“From the very start.” Cancer answered. “While you were looking out at the ocean, I hid in the water without being noticed. I used some of my powers to create a clone to use until this point.”
“Then I guess that means your elemental affinity is water.” Viral Said as his body shook.
“They don’t call me Cancer Aqua Crab for nothing.” Cancer said playfully.
With an inspired look on his face, Cancer held his hands out to the ocean and called a flow of water. He began to manipulate the shape of the flow and turned them into a pair of aquatic whips. Surprised by Cancer’s abilities, Viral was barely able to realize that he was attacking. The crab lashed his waters whips at Viral feet, shocking him, and forcing him into his own interpretation of a dance. If Viral could see the faces of his audience, they would be laughing their hearts out. Unfortunately, Viral feet weren’t as quick as Blur’s, allowing Cancer to wrap his whip around the robot’s leg. Though he did not look the part, Cancer was actually quite strong. He lifted the robot with his whip and slammed him face forward into the ocean. A few moments later, Viral dragged himself out of the water with hundreds of sparks flying off him.
“Ouch.” Viral groaned.
“Ya ready to give up yet?” Cancer said. “You’re strong, but you can’t beat something you can’t touch.”
“Can’t touch, huh?” Viral smirked.
All of a sudden, the robot used the electricity sparking around him with his Leech Blade. Taken by surprise, Cancer stepped back in fright. The robot jumped forward and slammed his shocking fist into Cancer’s chest. Surprisingly, his attack went through him, leaving a wet hole in the crab’s torso. Viral figured it was another clone, but that thought was proven wrong when the wound slowly started to heal.
“What the?” Viral questioned. “What just happened? Aren’t you supposed to be a clone?”
“Nope, I’m the real deal.” Cancer replied. “My entire body is made of one hundred percent water, not just my attacks.”
“And that means physical attacks won’t work on him.” Viral cursed mentally. “Darn, why’d I have to get the water freak?”
Cancer and Viral faced each other in a traditional staredown as the sun began to set over the horizon. Cancer was twirling his claw towards the open ocean, forming a whirlpool in the calming waves. Viral once again put the electricity in his fist and started glowing like he always did for his Nocturnus Strike. Both warriors never lost the sight of one another, adding to the tention. It seemed like an eternity went by before the sun disappeared, leaving way to night. They went on the attack.
“NOCTURNUS STRIKE!!” Viral shouted.
“WATER HYDRA!!” Cancer called.
Viral blasted forward to form a phoenix made of electricity. As Cancer waved his hands to the air, three dragons heads made from water appeared out of the whirlpool. The hydra snapped its heads at the electric phoenix, but the bird was too fast to land a direct attack. Given an open opportunity, the phoenix dived through the hydra heads towards Cancer. Just moments before the phoenix struck; the hydra heads suddenly appeared and wrapped their bodies around the bird. The combined forces of water and electricity clashed with each other, forming a cloud of steam from the remains. The steam covered a majority of the beach, which included our two fighters. In the next few minutes, there was series of screams and grunts hidden within the mist. As the steam began to fade, Viral was lying on the ground with Cancer weakly standing over him.
“Err...” Viral said holding up a white flag. “You win, I surrender.”
“I...I told you...I would get...stronger.” Cancer panted.”
“Yeah, you did.” Viral smirked.
But suddenly, something stirred in Cancer’s chest. The Crab dropped to his knees, coughing frantically. Viral watched with a worried expression before Cancer hurled a black liquid from his mouth.
“Cancer?” Viral asked fearfully. “What’s going on?”
“O-oil...” Cancer moaned, holding the liquid in his hands. “It’s...oil...” And without warning, both fighters disappeared in a flash of light.
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---East Island---
“Winner: Cancer Aqua Crab!” Hybrid announced.
Opening his eyes, Viral discovered that he was back on East Island. But unlike the others, Cancer did not receive applause for his victory. The robot was crouching over Cancer, who was still exerting the black liquid from his mouth. Before he could find out what happened, Strike pushed him away to secure his friend.
“What happened?!” Strike questioned angrily. “What did you do, Viral?!”
“I didn’t do anything!” Viral yelled back. “Last thing I knew, she I surrender and he suddenly started to cough out that liquid.”
“What is this stuff?” Geisy said, referring to the black liquid.
“He said it was oil.” Viral stated.
“Oil?!” Strike exclaimed fearfully. “Oil is toxic to him! We have to get her to a doctor!”
“Rave is still in the hospital wing.” Hybrid said calmly. "Wing will take you two."
The mixed hedgehog pointed to the psychic hedgehog who returned from delivering Scylla to the emergency ward. Wing lowered his head in disappointment; none of them would ever get a break. Strike lifted Cancer in his arms securely before following wing and the crawling Viral out the door. As they passed by, the heroes murmured to one another.
“It doesn’t make sense.” Jac said. “Where did the oil come from?”
“Memory files state that no offshore platforms are designated in that area!” Multis stated. “And visual inspections show the water around that region to be pure and untainted! No sign of contamination!”
"Ang I don't have oil in me so I couldn't have squirted any out from an injury." Viral explained.
“Something very strange is going on around here.” Esper said lowly.

“While they treat Cancer, we should finish with the last round.” Hybrid said, calling the attention of everyone in the room. “And since Metal and Morph are the only ones left, they shall finish this wonderful spectacle.”
“It’s about time.” Morph grumbled.
As Morph walked towards the platform, the Metal Squadron gathered around to wish their leader luck. Mecha shook his hand for good luck.
“My circuits...are being...crushed.” Metal groaned.
“Sorry.” Mecha said, releasing him. “Make us proud.”
“Have you forgotten who you are talking to?” Metal chuckled. Metal started to walk towards the platform. But before he could move, Space suddenly grasped his hand. Metal stared at the little robot in confusion. “What is it?”
“I...don’t know.” Space whispered slowly, staring at Morph. “I just feel like...I know him.”
Though he didn’t show it, Metal found it a bit suspicious that Space knew this person. Glancing back at him one last time, Metal slowly made his way towards the platform. Morph was becoming irritated by the wait and growled as Metal followed him. Once both fighters were on the platform, Hybrid activated the machine with his electrical power and they disappeared inside the white beam.
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---Australia---
The scene shifts to the tall grassy plains of Australia. A pack of kangaroos were drinking by a watering hole when they noticed the parting clouds above. The hopping animals quickly fled as a large white beam dropped from the sky, carrying the warriors that traveled with it. Once the beam vanished, both warriors jumped back with a hateful resonance present from each of them.
“For some reason, I had hoped I would face you.” Metal said deviously. “Of all the fighters I have seen so far, you are the one that intrigues me the most.” He glances at Morph’s armor. “Those garbs you wear are too advanced. Just like the Nocturnus.”
“You are a very observant machine.” Morph stated. “It is true; my armor greatly exceeds any technology these present day human minds could create.”
Metal wasted no time in extracting his claws and jumped ahead at the armored warrior. Thanks to the DNA of Sonic in his systems, Metal charged at Morph at rapid speeds. But to the machine’s surprise, Morph was able to dodge Metal’s claw by bending backwards. Seeing an opening in Metal’s defenses, Morph pressed his palms to the ground and kicked up at his face. Acting fast, Metal used his forearm to block Morph’s kick before skidding backwards seeing Morph' feet had changed into cannonballs. Metal glared at the armored soldier as he flipped back to his feet.
“You’re faster than you appear.” Metal commented.
“I have spent my entire life in training.” Morph stated. “Everyday was a battle for survival. I could not be held down by things such as emotions or friendship or family, only training with my associated partners Darkness and Shade.”
“It’s strange how much we have in common.” Metal sniggered.
“Don’t compare me to you.” Morph seethed.
“But we are very much alike.” Metal stated. “I used to believe that emotions were for the weak and I allowed my heart to die. But that was before someone close to me was hurt.” The cold machine closed his eyes to remember the event that changed his life. “Black Doom nearly killed the one I loved. I resurrected my heart and found strength I never knew imaginable.”
“Do you honestly expect me to believe such a pathetic tale?” Morph muttered.
“No.” Metal replied. The Sonic copy grasped his wrist and began to gather a culmination of electricity into his claw. “I expect you believe this. METAL SURGE!!”
Without warning, Metal charged ahead with blinding speed. Due to the added electrical energies, Metal was faster than he was the first time he attacked. Caught by surprise, Morph could only find one solution for this predicament. Just before Metal stabbed his claw through his chest, Morph slapped his circlet and vanished in a flash of light. As Metal stabbed his claw into the ground, he began to ponder about what had just happened.
“I didn’t feel any chaos pulses.” Metal thought. “Then it was clearly not Chaos Control. So...where is he?”
“Looking for someone?” Metal twisted around and found Morph leaning against a lonely tree. “You almost had me, that I am certain.”
“Then how did you get over there?” Metal questioned.
“Standard Nocturnus Warp Belt.” Morph explained, pointing to the circlet on his right wrist. “It allows me to transport myself at any location with viewing distance. And it is the only thing keeping me bound to this dimension.”
“So you are an invader to this realm.” Metal said.
“It is an invasion when you attack another person’s homeland. This was once my kind's home.” Morph said.
“Interesting.” Metal thought.
Morph pressed a button on his left wrist, which summoned two blades of green energy into his hands. Metal could tell those blades were a threat. As Morph charged forward and swung his blades around, Metal did what he could to best avoid them. As the armored warrior crossed his blades towards Metal’s chest, Morph noticed that he was anticipating his every move. After just one set of moves, Metal had already predicted Morph’s tactics. So to catch him by surprise, Morph head butted the metallic copy. As Metal staggered back, he suddenly felt his energy draining away. Looking down at his chest, Metal found that Morph had landed a hit before jumping back.
“Amazing.” Morph said stunned, recalling his energy blades. “You weren’t lying earlier. You are a machine, but my leech blades were able to sense organic matter from inside your armor.”
“Surprised?” Metal laughed. “I thought you would be. It is disappointing to know that you’re civilization has not thought of such a thing. And here I thought your clan was the most advanced Earth...five thousand years ago, one thousand years before the Nocturnes clan disappeared.”
“How did you...?” Morph trailed off, slowly coming to realization. “Oh, I get it. You stripped Space of his memories. That’s why he didn’t recognize me when we met. I am the last of the Precursor race, truely known as the Morpholomews.”
“I’ve learned quite a few things from him.” Metal said, holding his arms out wide. Suddenly, he began to draw a tremendous amount of blue electricity into his claws. “But you won’t live to find out. METAL SHOT!”
In one swift move, Metal thrusted his claws forward and unleashed a barrage of electrical bolts. Morph raised his arms in defense to this attack, but felt nothing as he waited. Pulling his arms down, the armored warrior noticed that the electric bolts have completely passed him.
“HA! Looks like you missed.” Morph said confidently.
“I never miss.” Metal proclaimed, raising his hand to the sky. As Morph followed his movements, he began to notice a wave of black clouds covering the sky. “Even after all you’re training; you still haven’t learned the most important lesson: never underestimate you opponent. METAL BLACKOUT!!”
Metal brought down his claw, commanding the skies to strike down his enemy. The clouds produced a massive bolt of blue lightning that took the shape of a dragon’s head. Lightning moved faster than sound and not even Morph’s Warp Belt could help him escape. He could only watch as the lightning consumed his body within its powerful volts. Metal closed his claw to end the attack, staring at the twenty foot hole he formed. But after a few moments, he noticed that he still remained after Morph had been struck down; he was still alive. This fact was proven when Morph began to pull himself out from the hole. He soon removed his helmet to regain his oxygen, revealing his identity: the same Morph the Morpholomew that fought with Darkrion.
“I finally see your true appearance.” Metal said. “The only Precursor Procurator of the Nocturnus Clan or better known as the Fourth Civilization. But I prefer to call you...The Lost Echidna Clan.”
As the clouds parted from the sky, the sunlight revealed Morph’s true face. He looked like Chaos, only he was silver and opaque with 6 small quills that looked like Sonic’s, his eyes were pure black and he wore a headband like Shade’s only it was replaced with his own green symbol.
“You...you miserable little...” Morph grunted in pain.
“You are in no condition to fight.” Metal stated. “Might I suggest that you surrender?”
“Never.” Morph growled as he used his morphing powers to fix his wounds.
“Then you shall learn from your mistakes.” Metal said, moving into an attack position. “My power is limitless.”
Of course, this was just a bluff. Metal had used up all his energy forming the Metal Blackout, meaning he barely had the strength to stand. And due to the extensive damage from the attack, Morph was barely able to stay conscious. Both fighters only had the strength to throw one last punch and they decided to make it one worthwhile. Drawing the last of their strength into their fists, both warriors charged forward. Once close enough, they swung with all their might.
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---East Island---
“Winner: Morph the Morpholomew!” Hybrid announced.
Morph groaned and used whatever strength he had to crack his eyes open. He was not surprised to see Hybrid standing over him and Metal lying at his side, but he did not except to see the members of the twilight cage. They all seemed to be staring at the morpholomew with looks of concern and confusion. Morph hated the way they were staring at him. Light held out his hand, but Morph didn’t take it and slapped it away.
“Don’t touch me.” Morph moaned.
“I just...can’t believe it.” Raxos muttered. “I thought you're race was extinct.”
“It must be terrible to be lied to Zoah.” Morph sniggered; he started to cough up a storm.
“(We should get you healed.)” Thebes said, reaching out to assist him.
“I said don’t touch me.” Morph growled.
“I’ll take him to the medical ward.” Hybrid offered, slowly lifting Morph into his arms. He turned his attention from the morpholomew and looked out to the remaining crowd. “And that concludes the first rounds of the Ultimate World Tournament! While I deliver our victor to be treated, I must ask you to return to the entrance hall. My assistants will show you to your rooms.”
The remains of the crowd exited through the door and backtracked back to the entrance hall below. The Metal Squadron made sure to retrieve their leader before leaving. The mixed hedgehog watched as the crowd travel down the stairs before climb in the other direction with Morph. Once he knew they were out of hearing range, Morph spoke.
“I did as you asked.” Morph said weakly. “I dragged out my opponent’s full strength.”
“You did perfect, Morph.” Hybrid asked darkly. “Now we can begin step two.”

The group of unlikely allies had almost tasted victory until it was suddenly taken away from them. When 3 new tentacles came from the sky, but unlike the first, the circles were not yellow; these tentacles had red, white and brown circles respectively.
“What?!” Eclipse screamed. “How many tentacles does he have?”
“Seven.” Journey said.
“I applaud that you were able to defeat the Main Tentacle. But now you shall understand what other pains I have suffered through. You shall feel the power of the Raiton, Katon and Doton Tentacle.” Argus proclaimed. “You shall learn the wrath of a God.”
“You don’t know when to quit, do you?” Spallax hissed. “You arrre jussst a foolisssh beassst prrretending to be sssomething yourrr not.”
“(Spallax, don’t upset him.)” Thelxe warned.
“Why arrre we cowerrring in fearrr of him?” Spallax questioned. “We have alrrready defeated one of them. Two morrre will not possse any threat.” (From here on I’m not doing the 3 r’s an s’s)
“But we’re dealing with someone who has the Twiligan.” Journey said. “Maybe if we regroup, we can...”
He was unable to finish before Spallax stretched his body at the group of tentacles. Reacting to Spallax’s assault, the Doton Tentacle, stepped a few feet from his other halves and slammed into the ground. Just inches before Spallax could claw at the Doton Tentacle, a wall of stone jutted between the two. As the N’rrgal retracted, Argus slammed his tentacle into the wall, fragmenting the stone into hundreds of shards. Just before the fragments could hit, Syrax appeared to his defense with his shield to block the bombardment.
“Don’t think this means I owe you.” Spallax hissed.
“You’re welcome.” Syrax replied sarcastically.
“You cannot hide.” Argus stated. “I am god, I see everything.”
“See this!” The Raiton Tentacle looked over and found Journey. “Wind Slicer!!”
Journey gathered a large amount of wind energy into his hand, Journey reached for the Oblivion and swung towards Argus. The swipe released a blade of concentrated air that cut clean across everything that was in its path. All of a sudden, the Katon Tentacle, jumped in front expelling a jet of flames. Since Journey had been fighting the entire day, he was too weak to move and left wide open for attack. But Grunst jumped in front, absorbing the flames.
“Impressive.” Raiton Argus said. “Kron can absorb most element attacks other than water and wind and ice.” Suddenly, he twisted around to face Eclipse, who was sneaking behind the godly aquid hybrid. “But it will not be enough.”
“Aw, darn.” Eclipse said.
Argus grasped Eclipse by his throat, forcing him to drop the Oathkeeper. Adding to the suffering, Argus discharged a flow of energy from his palm into his body. Eclipse screamed until he felt a cold sensation near his throat. For a moment, he thought he was dead until he noticed that the Raiton tentacle was completely frozen in place. A moment later, Thelxe ripped Eclipse from Argus’s grasp and jumped backwards down the street, collecting Eclipse’s weapon in the process.
“(You should have been more careful.)” Thelxe informed. “You don’t know what he is capable of.”
“I thought I had him.” Eclipse said. “His back was turned to me and he somehow knew that I was coming.”
‘(Yes, that is odd.)’ Thelxe thought.
The voxai quickly grabbed Eclipse and jumped to the rooftops, watching the battle below from a safe point. Thelxe followed the patterns of his allies and the three tentacles before noticing something strange between them. Every time one of their allies would attack a tentacle from behind, he would somehow always know where they were and how to counteract their movements. Eclipse also pointed out that each individual Argus was watching each other during the battle. Finally, it came to him.
“(Of course.)” Thelxe stated.
“Hmm?” Eclipse asked shakily.
“(Everyone, run to safety!)” Thelxe shouted, attracting the attention of all fighters. “(We need to fall back and come up with a plan!)”
“You want us to run?!” Spallax hissed.
“I think that’s the idea.” Syrax said, following his master’s orders.
“Warrior true flees not from fight.” Grunst stated.
“Then you shall perish with a warrior’s death.” Argus stated.
The Doton Tentacle stabbed into the street and ripped out two massive boulders from the Earth. While the Doton tentacle hurled them into the air, the Katon Tentacle followed and ejected a torrent of flames engulfed the boulders, turning them into pure magma. As the lava rocks were soaring in their direction, Journey jumped in front of Spallax and Grunst.
“Space/Time Manipulate!” Journey shouted.
Just as the molten rock was inches away from its target, all three warriors flickered from sights. Argus did not seem angered by their escape, but rather unaffected by it. All three tentacles gathered together with the Raiton Tentacle giving a single order.
“Scatter.”
And with that, all three tentacles separated to their individual destinations.
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The scene alternates to the other side of the village far from Argus’s view. Journey was able to transport himself and his allies to safety. Unfortunately, the technique had drained all his energy, making her complete helpless. Luckily, Thelxe managed to apply some healing light. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to get her back on her feet.
“Thanks.” Journey muttered.
“(I’m just glad to see that you are ok.)” Thelxe said.
“Why did you order us to retreat?” Spallax hissed angrily, grabbing Thelxe by his wing. Syrax jumped to defend him, but the Voxai stopped him. “We could have defeated him. His power is insignificant to ours.”
“(And that is why you were the tainted N’rrgal.)” Thelxe said calmly. “(You set yourself too high above your opponent without knowing their true capabilities. There are many things were have not realized about Argus until now.)”
“Like what?” Grunst questioned.
“(Let’s start with the basics.)” Thelxe said. “(We already know he possesses the legendary Twiligan, which gives him accesses to an unlimited number of techniques. And on top of that, he is able to control seven tentacles, each of them possessing their own power. Not only that, they also have the power of the Twiligan at their side, giving them a limitless numbers of techniques as well.)”
“And he’s the first creation of Apocalypse.” Journey added. “And Argus single-handedly won in a war by killing their leader and everyone connected to him.”
“So you’re saying this guy really is a God.” Syrax said.
“(I wouldn’t go that far.)” Thelxe said lowly. “(It is true that he has strength and powers are far beyond anything we have encountered, but we’re not defeated yet).” He turned to Eclipse. “(Our friend here discovered a secret ability in Argus.)”
“Eclipse?” Journey questioned; he sniggered lightly. “You’re kidding right.”
“Hey, I can be smart when I want to.” Eclipse grimace at his brother before turning to the group. “Anyway, I noticed that all the tentacles were looking at each other during the fight. And wherever we attacked, that tentacle would always know where we are. I think they might be sharing the same sight.”
“Is such a thing possible?” Grunst questioned.
“It is not unheard of.” Spallax hissed lowly. “The wielders of Psychic are well-known for using a similar technique. Argus must not only be utilizing the tentacles for their powers, but also to cover any blind spots. If he can see us from three different directions, there are no chances that we will be able to take advantage of the situation.”
“Couldn’t we just split them up?” Syrax asked.
“(That wouldn’t work.)” Thelxe shook. “(Knowing Argus, he wouldn’t separate unless he had a plan to protect himself. And unless we have some way to blind them all at once, I do not see any hopes of us winning.)”
“Well...” Spallax said. “There might be one option left.”

“I know they did not leave the village.” Argus thought. “Now where are they hiding?”
He searched through the eyes of his other tentacles, both of which were failing as much as he was. Suddenly, the Katon Tentacle flipped backwards into the air while dodging a large beam. Argus turned to face Syrax.
“Whoa, you’re better than I thought you were.” Syrax said, slightly impressed. Argus rushed over to Syrax, grabbing the warrior by his wrist and twisting it behind his back. “Hey, watch the goods!”
“You are too foolish to defeat me alone.” Argus stated.
“Who said I was alone.” Syrax chuckled.
Argus felt a sudden energy spike and turned in the direction of flying sword. Suddenly, the sword exploded into a cloud of smoke and revealed Journey hiding within the smog. While Argus wasn’t looking, Syrax slammed into the tentacle’s ‘face’. As it stumbled back, Journey released a swarm of Oblivions. Acting fast, Argus jumped in midair; Syrax used the shield to protect himself. What Argus didn’t realize was that he was set up. Grunst suddenly appeared above him and slammed his foot at the top of his head, sending the Twiligan wielder crashing into the streets below. While the Katon Tentacle struggled to get back up, Grunst tossed a horde of boulders for him. Unfortunately, the Doton Tentacle erupted from the ground and blocked them with his body, which had been temporarily turned to stone. The group gathered together as they faced the two tentacles.
“That makes two.” Grunst announced.
“Now all that left is to draw out the first.” Syrax said.
“Don’t worry.” Journey said nonchalantly. “If everything goes all right, my brother should be able to bring him around.” The duo stared at him.
“Stand still so that I may pass judgment on you.” Argus said.
“Sorry, I skipped my court date.” Journey sniggered.
The Doton Tentacle slammed into the ground, which erected a violent quake that shook the area. Journey and the others jumped from one side to another as fragments of the buildings began to topple near them. Suddenly, the Earth began to split open down the street, forcing the group to jump towards the rooftops. Unfortunately, Argus was waiting for them. With a large amount of flames. And since the group was in midair, they had no chance of escape. But seconds before the Katon Tentacle could finish, he suddenly felt a sting in his ‘eye’, which started bleeding, soon te Doton tentacle met the same fate. As the group landed, they found Eclipse standing on the roof across from them with his Oathkeeper ready to fire a beam.
“Impressive shot!” Grunst shouted.
“It’s tough being this good.” Eclipse said.
“You believe yourself to be superior?”
“Sure, it’s not like...” Eclipse turned and faced the Raiton Tentacle which also had a bleeding eye.
Argus released a surge of energy from his body, just as Eclipse jumped across the rooftops. He was barely able to grab the edge of the building before Journey and Syrax pulled him up. Eclipse panted in relief, but it was no time for relaxation. Grunst pulled his allies back just in time as the Doton Tentacle smashed through the roof. While the group drew out their weapons, the Katon and Raiton Tentacles jumped next to their other part; They had a little advantage even though the tentacles were now blinded. Before the group could even flinch, Argus created Earth shackles that prevented them from moving. They were easy targets. As the battle raged on, Thelxe and Spallax were watching from a nearby tower. Thelxe looked fearful, but Spallax was calm and collected.
A column of dark water erupted into the sky, ripping the shrouding clouds apart. This event redirected Argus’ assault on the group and stared in wonderment of the event.
“What is that?” Argus question.
As the dreaded flames began to die down, Thelxe suddenly appeared to break his allies free from their bindings. The three tentacles turned their heads to the disturbance; a big mistake on their part. When the flames parted, a massive beast head lunged at the Twiligan master; Argus was barely able to dodge it in time. The three tentacles looked above and found themselves faced with a fifty-foot long N’rrgal. But what made this creature even more deadly was the seven other heads sprouting from its neck.
“Whoa.” Eclipse said.
“(Maybe I over did it on Spallax.)” Thelxe said.
The eight hydra heads charged forward at the Twiligan master, who jumped away from the shockwave created. The Katon Tentacle, despite the disadvantage of blindness, raced ahead towards the nearest hydra head and spun around into the formation of a fire drill. While the hydra tried to eat the flaming tentacle, Argus’ fire proved to be too much and burned through the head. As the hydra head dropped dead, Argus extinguished his fire. That proved to be the last mistake he would ever make. When the flames had vanished from his body, another hydra head stabbed through the Tentacle’s middle, thus killing it. Spallax watched as the tentacle dropped into the fissure below.
“One down, two to go.” Spallax hissed.
“You are all the first to destroy even one of my tentacles.” Argus said in.
“You talk big.” Spallax said. “But do you have the strength to back it up?”
“Let us find out.” Argus said.
While Spallax wasn’t looking, the Doton Tentacle was able to slip through his defenses and landed on his back. All of a sudden, a large spike of rock ripped into the village and pierced through the the body. Hundreds of stone spikes broke free from the central column and ripped the heads apart. It seemed as if nothing could escape such a fate, but Spallax was more resourceful than Argus realized. While four of the heads were slaughtered, three of the hydra’s ripped from the main body and acted on their own accord. Of course, Argus didn’t realize this until one of the heads stabbed the tentacle in the back, killing it almost instantly. The hydra tossed the body down the fissure to join its other half.
“Now that leaves you.” Spallax hissed.
“You shall not succeed.” Argus stated.
With no options left, Argus thrusted his palms forward and released every ounce of energy in his body at the hydra heads. But the hydra appeared to be immune to the feeble energy bolts as they bounced off his skin. But then Spallax realized something; the attack was too weak compared to Argus’ normal attacks. Suddenly, a rumble emerged from the sky, attracting the attention of the N’rrgal. What he found next seemed almost impossible. The sky had been ripped open to reveal a massive bird made of pure energy.
“What is that?” Spallax questioned.
“My last technique.” Argus stated, raising his hands to the sky. “Energy Kaiser!!”
Argus swung his tentacle down, commanding the phoenix to follow his example. Acting only on instinct, the remaining hydra heads charged at Argus just as the phoenix dropped on its prey. A massive explosion of energy burst forth from the initial contact. Thelxe and the others remained firm; Journey had to make sure Eclipse didn’t go flying off. When the blast died down, a cloud of smoke was formed in its place. The group moved closer to inspect the sight when they discovered Spallax, in his normal form, and the tentacle standing across from each other. For a moment, it looked like a stand off until the tentacle dropped backwards into the fissure below.
“Looks like its over.” Journey said in relief.
“Ok are you?” Grunst asked.
“I will be fine.” Spallax panted.
“Then I guess there is a happy after all.” Syrax sniggered; Grunst tossed a rock at his head. “What’d I do?”
“(We no longer have to worry about the threat of Argus for now.)” Thelxe said joyously. “(The world can feel safe once again.)”
“You continue to underestimate me.”
Suddenly, six black blurs emerged from the fissure below and landed on the roof across from our temporary heroes. Six individual creatures stood in a row, each of them looking equally unhappy. Among them were the three tentacles that were believed to be slayed.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!” Eclipse exclaimed.
“It’s time for you to witness the full fury of Argus.” Argus stated.
The ultimate test for survival had begun.

Three days has passed since the first rounds of the tournament were completed. Thanks to Rave’s expert treatment, everyone was properly healed. Currently, all the fighters and their guests were seated at the main dinning room on the third floor. The room, like the rest of the castle, was overly decorated. The table was made of pure jade, the tableware was made of brilliant gold, and the chandelier was made from cluttered gem shards; Jasmine had another concussion.

“You really know how to pick them, Rock head.” Blur sniggered, gazing at Jasmine’s unconscious form.

“Yeah.” Rock muttered, not paying any real attention.

Blur followed his gaze and traced it over to Morph the Morpholomew. He was eating peacefully at Hybrid’s side until he noticed her present watchers. Every since Morph’s identity had been found out; Light and Space were more interested in learning more from him. Where did his race come from? And are there more Morpholomews still alive? Morph glanced at the staring gizoids and instantly turned away. And at that same moment, Hybrid stood up from the end of the table.

“If I may have your attention!” Hybrid called. “I have a very important announcement! As you know, eight of our members will be moving on to the quarterfinals! They are Blur, Jac, Devlin, Morph, Aqua, Mystic, Charyb, and Kazuki!”

The eight present names stood up and bowed to their clapping audience with the exception of Morph. While he remained in his seat, he caught Space staring at him. He turned away, feeling slightly uneasy at his gaze. A moment later, the selected winners took their seats.

“Yes, it is a special time.” Hybrid smirked. “And tonight will make it even more special. I have sent selected invitations to important diplomats that will be attending the rest of the tournament.”

“Diplomats?” Ryan repeated suspiciously. “As in world leaders?”

“That’s right, Ryan.” Hybrid nodded. “Government officials from Station Square to Soleanna will come to marvel at this spectacular event. And tonight, they will join you in an event of cultural rhythmic movement.”

“Uh...can anyone translate that?” Blizzard asked confused.

“It’s a dance.” Jac said simply.

“Say what?!” The guys and Morph exclaimed.

After a five confusing hours, the heroes had gathered together on in the courtyard behind the castle. Ryan was the only one that didn't joined saying he had something to do. Most of the guys, especially ones with girlfriends, were literally sweating their nerves out. They had been trained for battle, but never dancing. As the night rolled on, world leaders were being directed to the courtyard by Wing, Egghog, and Tech. Hybrid continued to greet his guests. Meanwhile, Blur was talking to Alexis, who continually stared at Wing with a sad expression. The blue blur could understand her pain; him and Wing were close to each other as close as brothers. But while the hedgehog wasn’t looking, a pair of strong arms wrapped around his neck and Blur knew they didn’t belong to Geisy. Blur tried to squirm out of her grip, but it was pointless; Alexis and Lucky were silently giggling.

“Hey, let me go!” Blur exclaimed.

“Blur Journey Blazer!” The woman said sternly. “That is no way to talk to your mother!”

“Mom?” Blur asked hopefully; Amy nodded. Almost instantly, Blur jumped into his mother’s open arms. “Mom! I can’t believe it’s you!” He pulled away. “What are you doing here?”

“Well I am one of the world’s greatest former heroes.” Amy smirked; Alexis found out where Blur inherited it from. “Of course we were invited. Other than your father who was busy.”

“We?” Alexis asked curiously.

“Oh, that reminds me.” Amy said, moving aside. “I want you to meet someone, Blur.”

Blur and Alexis directed their attention to the small figure standing behind Amy. It was a little hedgehog no older than eleven years. He looked very much like Blur, only he was Aqua.

“Hello.” Alexis greeted cheerfully. “My name is Alexis. Who are you?”

“My name is SJ.” SJ answered cutely, turning to Blur. “Are you really Blur?”

“That’s my name, speed’s my game.” Blur grinned.

“Blur, this is your little brother.” Amy informed.

“Little brother?” Blur stammered in shock. “You and dad had another kid? How come you never told me?”

“We tried to contact you, but you were always moving.” Amy smirked. “I believe your latest excuse during that time was rescuing a girl from a robot clone of yourself.”

“Hey, someone has to be the hero.” Blur laughed. He picked up his little brother and lifted him to his level of height. “I wasn’t really expecting this, but I have the 2 coolest little brothers ever.”

“And I have the best 4 big brothers in the world.” SJ smiled.

Amy’s heart warmed at the sight of her children’s laughter. It was times like these that reminded Amy of her times with Sonic. How they would travels the world, destroy Eggman’s machines, and often get into trouble. But as she reminisced on previous memories she almost failed to notice Geisy walking next to her.

“Hey, Blur.” Geisy smiled. “So who are these two?” Geisy asked, referring to Amy and SJ.

“Well, I finally get to see my child’s wife.” Amy said, shaking hands with Geisy. “Blur mentioned you lots of times in his letters.” She pointed to SJ. “That’s Blur’s little brother, SJ. And I’m his mother, former hero Amy.”

“Now I remember you!” Geisy said cheerfully. “Blur told me the story of how you and Sonic met! They way you two were forced onto a deserted island and sparks of love were crossed between you.” She sighed longingly. “That was so romantic.”

“I see you went into a lot of detail.” Amy giggled to her son.

“But he never mentioned that you were a hero.” Geisy said. “Why is that?”

“Yeah, how come, big brother?” SJ asked curiously.

“Uh....I guess I forgot.” Blur said sweating. Suddenly, he tossed SJ into Amy’s arms and started to drag Geisy out to the dance floor. “Come on, Geisy. Let’s get to dancing.”

Amy laughed, meanwhile, Jac was leaning against the castle walls, watching the dancing groups around them. Strawberry was sitting at him, not really dressed for the occasion. She was looking between the dancers and the Ultimate life-form next to her.

“So...Are you going to do anything?” Strawberry asked slowly.

“This dance is a waste of time.” Jac grimaced. “We could be using this time for more important things such as training.”

“Yeah, I...I guess you’re right.” Strawberry said sadly.

“But, there is one advantage to this.” Jac said; Strawberry looked to him in curiosity. Slowly, a smile began to creep up to Jac’s mouth and the hedgehog held out a hand. “I get to spend it with you.”

Strawberry was a little embarrassed by Jac’s way of offering, but took it none the less. Meanwhile, Devlin and Dahlia were speaking to their old friend, Princess Annalise. They were talking about Annalise’s life after the Creator Incident, getting to the point when they found out about the princess’s new relationship.

“Ok, explain me again.” Devlin said in disbelief. “How did you and Mark ever get together?”

“I’ll say it again.” Annalise said exasperatedly. “I snuck out of the castle in disguise and got hungry. I decided to stop at this open café and I met Mark. He and I have been secretly seeing each other ever since.”

“That just doesn’t make sense!” Devlin shouted.

“Why not?” Dahlia asked. “A princess can love someone other than royalty.” She nuzzled up to Devlin, purring slightly.

“I’m a hero, he’s a waiter.” Devlin pointed. “Big difference.”

“Devlin, you are so naïve.” Dahlia sighed.

Meanwhile, the Metal Squadron was standing away from the large crowd. Space was silently reading his new book: “How to deal with a group of idiotic robots” (Those books are specific, huh?) Mecha was finished repair his rival’s arm and snapped the compartment shut.

“Your mechanical systems are fully functioning.” Mecha stated as Metal inspected his arm. “But I can do nothing for your organic systems. They will have to repair on their own.”

“It will be sufficient.” Metal said, slamming his fist onto the table. “But I will not take my loss to the Precursor so lightly. Before the battle, my mechanical systems were drained, severally extinguishing my powers. I think that Nocturnus soldier is up to something.” He looked to Space before whispering to Mecha. “Until I find out what, keep Space away from her.”

“As you wish.” Mecha replied.

And while this was going on, Light was sitting at his own table, staring intently on Morph. When he wasn’t looking, Tsunami sat beside him. He noticed Light stare and looked worried.

“It’s not healthy to obsess over this.” Tsunami said.

“That’s not the problem.” Light muttered.

“I can understand.” Tsunami sighed. “You shouldn’t have suffered like that. It was my fault for tampering with the Chaos Emeralds.”

“I don’t blame you, Tsunami.” Light said, smirking slightly. “What happens will happen. We can’t blame ourselves for past mistakes. We have to forget the past and move on to the future.”

“Wow, Light.” Tsunami said inspiringly. “That was so...” She stopped when she noticed Light reading a fortune cookie. “Never mind.”

Meanwhile, Blizzard was kneeling to the prosperous plants near the edge of the courtyard. While she was watering a blooming rose, Alexis walked next to her with an impressed look on her face.

“Wow, you made it grow so fast.” Alexis said amazed. “And Roses shouldn’t be able to bloom during the winter.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of a gift of mine.” Blizzard said proudly.

Meanwhile, Mercury was sitting near a lamppost, watching with interest at the flowering dancers. Since the incident with Nexus, the cat lost all memory of his life with the exception of his name. Just then, Venus walked back from the concession stand, handing Mercury his drink before sitting next to him.

“Thanks.” Mercury said, glancing lightly at the vixen. “You’ve been a real help to me ever since I woke up. Um...what was your name again?”

“It’s Venus.” Venus said irritably. “I’ve been telling you that for the past three days.”

“Sorry.” Mercury said cowering. “It’s just that everything is a big blur to me. I can hardly remember anything after what happened?” He held a confused look on his expression. “So, what happened again?”

“You and Jac were fighting until Nexus interrupted.” Venus growled. “But he didn’t find out on his own. Our so-called ‘friend’, Mars, betrayed us. I’ll bet anything that he was planning this ever since he knew Jac joined the tournament.”

“Well, I may not remember everything...” Mercury grinned, placing his hand on top of Venus’. “I know I can always trust you.”

Venus blushed slight and cuddled closer to the alien cat. Meanwhile, Strike the hedgehog was hustling through the crowd, looking for Cancer. Ever since he was poisoned, Strike had been very protective of him, despite his protests. Luckily, he was able to find him in short time, but in a bad situation. While no one was looking, Cancer was being cooked by the Emperor of China.

“Hey, Strike.” Cancer said. “What’s going on?”

“Jasmine has been a bad influence on you.” Strike said, taking him off the grill. “And besides, you shouldn’t even be out of bed. You might still be sick from the poisoning.”

“Ah, you worry too much.” Cancer said offhandedly. “I’ve been cooped up in that room all day and I wanted to join the party. And...I was thinking that you and I might...you know.”

Meanwhile, Mystic was pushing his way through the crowds, trying to find one person in particular. Though he couldn’t find her, Mystic did find the next best thing. Alan and Vash were standing around the concession stand, laughing very some joke they were talking about. Despite getting hit in the face several times, Mystic was able to make it to the duo.

“Hey, it’s Mystic.” Alan pointed.

“Hey, guys.” Mystic groaning, rubbing his sore face. “Is Emily around?”

“Yeah, she went to the shore.” Vash replied. “But I suggest you watch out for her. She still pretty pissed about the thing.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.” Mystic moaned.

Though against his better judgment, Mystic escaped from the party and jumped down to the shore below the castle. Once he landed on the sandy beach, it was easy to spot the blue hedgehog. She didn’t look dressed for a dance, nor even looked like she cared. With fear still present in his eye, Mystic slowly moved his way closer to the female. Unfortunately, a twig snapped under his foot, alerting Emily of his presence. She turned with the intention of killing until she discovered it was only Mystic.

“What do you want?” Emily sneered, turning her back to him. “Can’t you see a want to be alone?”

“Yeah, I kinda noticed that.” Mystic chuckled weakly. “Listen, I just wanted to talk to you about that incident.”

“There is no need to explain.” Emily said. “Devlin came to me earlier and explained everything. I do not blame you for what happened.”

“Then why do you keep picking on me?!” Mystic whined.

“Because it’s fun.” Emily laughed; Mystic smacked himself in the face. As Emily slowly halted her own laughter, feeling sorry for the poor hedgehog, and stared into the space above. “You know, the stars are more beautiful every time I look at them.”

“Kinda like you.” Mystic whispered.

Unfortunately, Emily’s sensitive hearing caught every word and it was only a moment before Mystic realized this. Both glanced away from each other for a few second; embarrassed looks on both their expressions. Slowly, they turned to one another, this time with welcoming confidence. They didn’t know why, but they couldn’t resist moving closer to one another. They slowly closed their eyes and inched closer to the awaited moment.

“Whatcha doing!” Rev exclaimed.

Emily and Mystic swiftly jumped away as Rev suddenly appeared between them. The confused hedgehog glanced at them momentarily before Aura suddenly dropped down next to him.

“Rev!” Aura said sternly. “What have I told you?”

“Never pick your nose in public.” Rev recited.

“Uh...no, but that’s good too.” Aura said; Emily and Mystic looked disgusted. “I meant, never interrupt people when they’re in their intimate moments. They were just about to kiss. For that, you get no cake.”

“NO!!” Rev screamed to the heavens. “I need my cake!!”

Back at the party, Gemini and Rector were seated at their table, eyeing Blur and Geisy dancing. Despite what people would think, Blur was actually a fantastic dancer. Though they were married, that didn’t stop either of the hedgehogs from keeping an eye on them.

“I don’t like that guy.” Gemini said darkly.

“Welcome to my world.” Rector sighed, gulping down his drink. “But he’s the only one that can make Geisy happy. And as long as my sister is happy, it’s ok by me.”

“Wow, I never thought you were the kind of guy to allow this.” Gemini smirked. “Then again, I never really expected you to forgive me after that incident.”

“You were young and misunderstood.” Rector said calmly. “It was easy for Naga to manipulate your mind at that age. All he needed to do was eat away at your confidence.”

Ryan and Heather were sitting on the other side of the room. But Heather noticed a particular morpholomew walking by them. Morph paid no mind to Heather’s stare, but it did make her feel uneasy. Once Morph had completely passed them, Heater stood up from her seat.

“I’m going for it.” Heather smirked.

“Good luck.” Ryan nodded. “Something tells me you’ll need it. Seeing as he might be too old”

Morph was leaning against the guardrail, staring into the brilliant night sky above. For a moment, he felt at peace. But that moment was ended when he noticed Heather leaning on the rail next to him.

“What do you want?” Morph questioned rudely.

“Nothing.” Heather shrugged. “Just checking the view.”

“Why are you even speaking to me?” Morph questioned. “Do you not fear me? Have you not seen what I can do?”

“Actually, I was really impressed by your fight.” Heather smirked; Morph began to question her sanity.

“You lost yourself to a lowly fox.” Morph sniggered. “I thought you women were supposed to be superior.”

“We’re not that superficial.” Rector stated. “I believe that men and women are equals in this world. But for some reason, my brother can’t stand females. Probably because one said he loved him at school.” (Yes; that did happen. I cannot get near a girl other than my mom or sister now.)

“If that’s the case, I best be leaving.” Morph said, slowly turning away. Out of pure instinct, Heather reached out and grasped Morph by his wrist, earning a scowl from the morpholomew. “Release me or I will make you wish you were never born.”

“I’ll let you go.” Heather promised. “But only on one condition.”

“And that would be?” Morph questioned.

“You promise me a date later.” Heather said.

That was the last thing Morph had expected. He was feared among his people and everywhere he went, people would cower in his presence. No one had ever asked Morph such a question in fear that they might lose their life. What made this girl so bold? Was she truly brave or just plain stupid?

“I’ll think about it.” Morph said slowly.

With a nod of reassurance, Heather released her grip. Maybe there was hope for him after all. Unfortunately, their private moment was not as private as they thought. Standing in the balcony above them were two unknown figures. One of them could easily be recognized as Blitz’s arch-enemy from the future, Nega. The second was a concealed man wearing a flowing Green cloak. He was holding a golden staff and his identity was closed off by a pointed with helmet that covered his entire face. In a way, his appearance was similar to Morph’s masked form.

“It seems your soldier is wondering away, Xi.” Nega chuckled. “Who knows, he might actually take her up on her offer.”

“I trained Morph personally” Xi growled. “He will not succumb to fleeting emotions.”

“I would not take these heroes lightly, Xi.” Nega said seriously. “They have the power to do things no ordinary man could do.”

“It would seem that you have forgotten, my friend.” Xi chuckled. “I am anything but ordinary.”

Argus has proven to be more of a match compared to anything they had witnessed before. This creature had not one, but six individual forms. And to make things worse, he was in possession of the Twiligan. As the parted skies began to form together from the previous attack, the opposite forces stared in terror of The Six Tentacles of Argus.

“Six...” Eclipse muttered shaking. “Now there are six of them.”

“Eh, it’s not really that bad.” Syrax said.

“Not that bad!!” Eclipse screamed. “We could barely beat one of them! How are we supposed to take on six?!”

“Argus may have many tentacles, but there are still the three previous ones to remember.” Spallax noted; staring between the Doton, Katon, and Raiton Tentacles. “I was able to kill all three of them at once, but they somehow survived.”

“One of the other three must have some resurrection ability.” Journey suggested, looking at the N’rrgal. “Do you think it would be possible to perform the Hydra Technique again?”

“Highly seems unlikely.” Grunst stated coldly. “Spallax drained severely. Never will perform again technique.”

“So in other words, he’s useless.” Syrax commented.

“(Be on guard, my comrades.)” Thelxe said, keeping his eyes locked on the six paths. “(We may have lost most of our prowess during this battle, but we still hold an advantage.)” His partners looked at the aged master like he was crazy. “(Do not forget, Argus has also drained half his power. The earth, fire, and lightning tentacles are still recovering.)”

“So then there’s still a chance.” Journey smirked.

“If that is what you believe.”

The brave warriors nearly jumped when they realized Argus had broken through their ranks. Argus appeared in the center of the group without them realizing it. He called forth a large shuriken of pure wind. Journey had learned that wind element techniques were considered lethal; able to cut sharper than blades. The group barely had time to jump away before the Futon Tentacle could swing the elemental weapon around. While Grunst zipped away from the group, he was barely able to notice a shadow overlapping his. He looked up and dived away before Argus released a heavy torrent of water, crushing the platform below.

“I believe we’ve just found out what these two can do.” Grunst said. He stood back-to-back with Syrax, who was warding off a raging whirlwind with his shield. “Why I always with you?”

“I don’t know.” Syrax shrugged. “Maybe it’s destiny?”

“Destiny sick humor sense.” Grunst stated.

“(Stand strong!)” Thelxe shouted.

All of a sudden, the Voxai dropped from the sky. He landed in front of the Futon Tentacle swung across with a psychic blade. Unfortunately, moments before he could hit, Argus was cloaked in a sphere of wind and vanished. At the same time, Spallax slithered his way across the rooftop and constricted the Suiton Tentacle with his body. He quickly noticed the Suiton Tentacle becoming weaker the longer he stood still. Spallax was ready to kill until the Futon Tentacle appeared and gripped him by his neck. The N’rrgal released his hold and slithered his way back to his team. A moment later, the original three tentacles joined at the newcomer’s side.

“Guys, they’re back.” Eclipse whined.

“We’ve got nothing to worry about.” Journey smirked, pointing to Thelxe. “Like he said, they are completely useless.”

Unfortunately, that fact was proven false. The Doton Tentacle stepped out of the line, clapping his hands together. Suddenly, he slammed down his palms and created a fracture in the rooftop. The group of six jumped away, splitting into two teams. This made it easier for Argus. The Katon Tentacle released a massive fireball. At the same time, the Raiton Tentacle unleashed a surge of electricity. Thankfully, Thelxe summoned a shield to block the fireball and Grunst absorbed the lightning. The six rivals jumped back and watched Argus’s bodies with utmost confusion.

“I thought you said they were drained of their powers.” Spallax hissed angrily to Thelxe.

“(I...I don’t understand.)” Thelxe said shockingly. “They couldn’t possibly have any energy left to fight. After being killed, they should have lost a tremendous amount of power.”

“The first three represented fire, lightning, and earth.” Grunst noted, counting between the six tentacles. “The next two represented water and wind.”

“But what about the last one?” Eclipse asked. At that moment, Argus jumped from his position, landing behind his fellow paths. “What’s the last element?”

“Not many know.” Journey said wisely. “It is a gifted element that very few warriors are able to control. In fact, it is so rare that only people like Eclipse and I could learn to control it. The elements of balance. Infinity and Silence”

“Infinity and Silence?” Syrax repeated.

“It is better known as the nature of Yin-Yang.” Eclipse explained.

“Then the Twiligan was the true founder of Chaos.” Spallax said.

“(No, Chaos existed long before.)” Thelxe shook, watching the Inyo Tentacle intently. “Eclipse and Journey were just the first to learn how to control it. And now that knowledge exists within Argus. Due to Apocalypse, no wonder he sealed this creature.”

“Why does the world hate us?” Syrax moaned.

Ignoring Syrax’s complaining; Journey carefully watched the Inyo Tentacle’s movements. He noticed that as the tentacle moved from each path, it was glowing with a white and black aura. He also noticed that after being touched by the Inyo Tentacle, each tentacle was suddenly energized. He had discovered their secret.

“I got it!” Journey exclaimed, alerting hid teammates. “I can almost guarantee you that the last body holds the element of balance. Haven’t you noticed that the purple spotted tentacle is the only one that hasn’t attacked yet?”

“You’re point being?” Grunst questioned.

“I think the reason he doesn’t fight is because he can’t.” Journey explained. “I’ve noticed that when it touches the other tentacles, they have a sudden rush of energy. I’ll be you anything that he’s the one that regenerated the other tentacles lacking energy.”

“That would explain why they can suddenly fight again.” Spallax hissed. “The sixth body must have a limitless amount of energy and is spreading it between the six paths. It must also have the ability to resurrect the other bodies as well, making him nearly immortal. As long as that tentacle remains alive, Argus can never be stopped.”

“Then all we need to do is to server it.” Eclipse grinned.

“Easier said than done.” Syrax commented. “I’ve fought people like him before.” He suddenly remembered his ultimate defeat at the hands of Sonic and friends. “They never leave themselves open unless they have a way to counteract.”

“(All we need is one straight shot.)” Thelxe said, grinning lightly. “(And I think I have an idea.)”

Once the Inyo Tentacle had finished replenishing its counterparts, the five paths charged ahead to continue the battle. Thelxe could barely finish explaining his plan before the five tentacles were already upon them. Argus charged an electrical current that resembled much like Metal’s signature technique. Fortunately enough, Grunst was the one to face him and absorbed it. Argus gathered a current of flames and released. Eclipse barely rolled away and was able to shoot at Argus’ shoulder from a distance. Argus slammed his fist into the rooftop, summoning small fragments of rock to strike. Spallax’s body was enough to allow him to avoid the attack ease.

“How much longer must we keep this up?!” Spallax questioned, dodging an avalanche of rocks.

“(Only until we can provide enough time to attack.)” Thelxe stated.

“Yep, we’re going to die.” Syrax said hopelessly.

“Syrax!!” Everyone snapped.

“Just saying.” Syrax shrugged

While he wasn’t looking, the Suiton Tentacle charged at the Zoah and constricted him from the use of his arms. Suddenly, Syrax was becoming dehydrated. To escape from his torture, Syrax swiftly swung his legs up and slammed his foot into the tentacle. Once free, Syrax charged ahead. Meanwhile, Thelxe was having his own problems with the Futon Tentacle. Because of his control over the wind, Argus could easily transport the use of the very air. And every opportunity he could get, Argus would strike at Thelxe with small blades of air. Having no options left, Thelxe protected himself in a dome of rock. This was fortunate since the wind could only scratch the surface, but not cut it.

“(He has me pinned down.)” Thelxe groaned. “(The only thing I can do is hope for the plan to work.)”

As the battle raged on, Argus watched from a safe distance.

“I have never fought a more experienced group in my life.” Inyo Argus whispered. “It almost makes me wish that I would not have to kill them. They would have been great attributes in the war.”

“Sorry, not interested!”

His eyes wide in shock, Argus glanced down towards his feet as the structure below him crumbled away. All of a sudden, Journey thrusted upwards with his fist held high. He was aiming for his chin, but the Argus managed to move before he could nail him. This was his chance.

“Great Fireball!” Journey called.

Calling forth a great flame from his chest, Journey exhausted his energy into an enormous fireball. Argus had just landed before realizing that Journey had plotted this move. The god smirked, knowing there was no way for Argus to survive. He was wrong. The Inyo Tentacle thrusted his right palm directly into the fireball and was able to absorb it into his body. Journey landed, his expression filled with shock.

“B-but how?” Journey said fearfully. “That’s just not possible. No one can absorb the highest level of Fire attacks.”

“You should know from experience.” Argus said, holding his left palm open. “Nothing is impossible for Argus. Great Fireball!”

Suddenly, Journey’s very own attack was released from Argus’ hand and thrusted back at its creator. In a desperate attempt to guard, Journey unsheathed Oblivion and used it as a shield. The sword, being energized with his remaining energy, was able to repel most of its power, but not all of it. The fireball exploded, sending Journey flying backwards across the rooftops. Eclipse pulled away from his fight with Argus and kneeled next to his brother.

“Hey, are you ok?” Eclipse asked worried.

“What do you think?!” Journey snapped. “I was just beaten by my own attack!”

“That is not the worst of it.” Argus stated, closing his ‘eye’ to focus. “You shall learn true pain.” When Argus opened his eye, they had altered from their original appearance changed with a pinwheel-like pupil formed in the center. Journey was now confronted with his worst fear. “AMATERASU!!”

Before Journey or Eclipse could even take the chance to run, a jet-black flame had ignited from the retina of Argus’ eye. The intensity was greater than the sun and the force behind it was enough to crush the building beneath it. Thelxe and his allies jumped to the nearest building to save themselves, but noticed that the gods were not with them. It was Spallax who pointed out their location, much to Thelxe and Syrax’s despair. The two unfortunate souls were trapped and consumed by the eclipsing flames. It started to rain, but the flames lived on.

“The Amaterasu...” Spallax said lowly. “The inextinguishable flames from hell. It is said that the Amaterasu will burn everything in its path until it has devoured its target. The flames can burn for seven days and seven nights.”

“I had heard about it, but I never realized how terrible it was.” Syrax said mournfully. “For such a technique to exist seems so inhumane. What kind of monster would unleash such a despicable technique?”

“A cold-hearted demon such as Argus.” Grunst said. “He is even more powerful than I had imagined.” The Kron looked angry beyond all imagination.

“Now you have come to understand the truth.” The group of four turned swiftly on their feet and found The Six Tentacles of Argus standing on separate parts of a tower. “Only through pain of loss can this world learn to grown.”

“(This has to stop, Argus!)” Thelxe shouted. “(How can you just take innocent lives like that?!)”

“I had once believed in the existence of innocence.” Argus said coldly. “But that was before I realized what innocence truly was. It is an illusion to cloud our thoughts and judgment. Once you see through the deception, you can reach new levels of power.”

“Oh, shut it!” Spallax snapped. “And I tired of your rambling. I will kill you, even if I have to rip apart my own body.”

“Do you think you can do it?” Argus questioned. “Can you match the powers of a God?”

“That’s what I’m hoping of finding out.” Spallax hissed.

Without warning, Spallax charged ahead with Grunst following. Despite their odds, Thelxe and Syrax rushed forward with them; to commemorate their fallen comrades. The Six Tentacles watched their opponents run towards their doom before five of the paths jumped down to face them. Spallax found himself faced with Katon tentacle; a smirk of victory on his expression. The tentacle ignited and thrusted forward at a rapid pace towards the N’rrgal. Fortunately enough, Spallax was able to stretch himself out of the way and used his neck to tie the coyote down.

“Is this the true strength of a God?” Spallax sniggered.

“This is only the beginning.” Argus proclaimed.

Meanwhile, Grunst was facing against Futon tentacle. Both warriors were on equal ground since both of them could move with the wind. Argus constantly attacked with blades forged from wind, only to have them stopped by Grunst’s wind plate. While this was going on, Syrax skidded backwards away from Doton tentacle. He stomped his foot into the ground, forcing a boulder of concrete into the air. The Doton Tentacle smashed his fist into the stone, creating a shower of blistering rocks. Fortunately, Syrax’s shield was able to block the onslaught. A moment later, Syrax and Grunst was back-to-back again.

As this want on, Thelxe was pushing against the continuous battle against Suiton tentacle. Of all the tentacles, Suiton was one of the more vicious creatures. The tentacle continually snapped at Thelxe’s throat, barely missing by a thread. But Thelxe’s focus was more bent on the tentacle at the top of the tower. With a plan swiftly formulated in his head, Thelxe called a psychic particle and tossed it to the Suiton Tentacle. A moment later, the particle formed into yellow darts, pinning the tentacle to the wall. Thelxe skipped across the tower platforms until he reached the Inyo Tentacle. Thelxe summoned a psychic chain in his hand and swung it around to hold Argus in his place.

“You have managed to trap me.” Argus stated.

“(I realized something during your battle with Journey).” Thelxe sneered, pulling the chain to tighten its grip. “(Your current tentacle can only absorb elemental and Chaos attacks. But against physical attacks, you are defenseless.)”

“You have defeated my ultimate tentacle, but that does not mean you have won.” Argus said indifferent.

“(I will only ask this one last time.)” Thelxe said, calling a cluster of psychic particles to his fins to make a sword. “(Surrender your ambition.)”

“No.”

“(Then you leave me no choice.)” Thelxe said lowly.

Thelxe shot the sword with all his strength. But just before the blade could pierce the tentacle, something jumped in front to take the hit. The Raiton Tentacle willingly took a stab died.

“(He sacrificed his own tentacle to protect himself.)” Thelxe thought nervously.

“AMATERASU!!”

Upon hearing the sound, Thelxe shot his head up to gaze at the tentacle. His eyes once again released the black flames of hell. Thelxe jumped dived back to the roof with the Amaterasu following. The others never noticed the Amaterasu’s appearance until the other Argus suddenly skipped away.

“Maybe they gave up.” Syrax said hopefully.

“Or maybe they didn’t wish to be turned to ashes.” Grunst stated, pointing towards the black flames.

“(Ugh, at this rate, we won’t survive.)” Thelxe thought, falling closer to his allies. They could only watch as the flames came closer.

“VIOLENT WATER WAVE!” Everyone turned to see a tsunami of water come down on the flames and put them out. A moment later, the other tentacles fell other then the Inyo tentacle. Soon in front of the 4 were Journey and Eclipse.

“What? Impossible, I killed you.” Argus said. “Please, like you can really kill the creators of the universe who are immortal.” Eclipse said. “You ready to finish this?” Journey asked. The two put there hands together and a black and white sphere appeared in the middle mixing together. “DESTINY JUDGEMENT!” The two shouted firing their combined signature attacks, Argus grabbed all of his other tentacles and sunk back into the sky.

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The scene changes to the dreary domain of space. We find ourselves in the ex-throne room of Apocalypse. He was staring at his handcrafted board, trying with every hope to find Nexus. But so far, his search proved futile. He was suddenly interrupted once a portal of darkness appeared before him. As the figure slowly stepped out, he smirked.

“I trust everything is in order...Argus.” He said amusingly.

“I was nearly in completion of my mission until I was interrupted.” Argus said.

Slowly, yet painfully, He staggered to his feet. “Let us discuss this in private, Argus.” He requested.

“As you wish, my lord.” Argus nodded.

The dark leaders walked through the massive structure of the castle. After walking for what seemed like miles and stopping for He to rest, both found themselves at the highest roof of the castle. Argus stared into the bleak sky above. It made him feel depressed; he felt more comfortable watching the rain clouds.

“What have you discovered, my faithful spy.” He questioned.

“I have learned a great deal through my many dealings with Nexus.” Argus reported. “He has revealed to me that he is no longer occupying the planet. He appears to be hiding somewhere in the outer rims of space.”

“That would explain why I have not been able to find him.” He sniggered. “He is more cleaver than I expected. He will be more useful then I thought.”

“What will you do now, my lord?” Argus questioned.

“I can do nothing at the moment.” He stated. “I am unable to leave this dimension. In the mean time, I have a request for you, Argus.”

“What is it, my lord?” Argus questioned.

“I have been informed by my future son.” He said sorrowfully. “Sooner or later, I will die and pass my legacy on to him. But before he can succeed me, I need someone to occupy the position until he is ready.” He turned to the Twiligan Master. “I wish for you to take my place.”

“M-my lord...” Argus said in genuine shock. “Why me?”

“You are the only one capable of controlling my power.” Nazo reasoned. “You have mastered the Twiligan, which is the only thing that can allow you to fully understand the limitations of my powers. Now, I wish for you to kneel before me, Argus.” Argus nodded and followed his master’s orders. The God of Darkness placed his hand on the man’s head. “The day that I die, you will inherit my powers and lead my army of darkness. Do you accept these terms, Argus?”

“I do, lord Apocalypse.” Argus accepted.

Once he had uttered those words, a bleak aura of darkness appeared and forced its way into Argus’ skull. For a moment, Argus’ eyes were green and slitted before returning to the Twiligan.

“Now rise and become anew.” Apocalypse commanded. “Live forever as Argus, Leader of the Dark Siege!”

Under New Elemarious, the weird sphere was in chaos. A demonic creature pulling a demonic chariot flew fifty feet above the churning waves. In the chariot was Nexus, practically shivering in anticipation.

The chariot stopped in a specific area over the ocean, no visibly different from any other bit of sea. Nexus smiled and lifted both hands. “Brothers!” Nexus called. “Titans! Look at you in your prison! Who put you down there!?”

“ECLIPSE!” Fourteen loud, chilling voices cried out.

Nexus pointed down at the opening. A beam of light shot out, mixing with the cage lightning. There were a few seconds of chaos below.

“And now that Argus wishes me to set you free...” Nexus went on, “What’s the first thing you’re going to do!?!?”

“DESTROY HIM!!!” The voices proclaimed. Fourteen giant fists smashed through the lightning.

Nexus smiled. “Good answer.”

------------------------

“Guys!”

Solstice was streaking at them, going so fast he appeared a blur. “Guys! The titans have escaped! And their heading right for EARTH!”

“Sound the alarm! Launch an immediate counter-attack! Then deliver a message to the Blur Team to prepare them for this battle. GO GO GO!” Arceus ordered.

“Gone!” Solstice saluted, and took off, blowing a trumpet loudly enough to wake the dead. All below them, soldiers looked up in surprise, and hastily prepared for battle.

Then, the ground shook briefly and stopped. It wasn’t drastic, but enough to catch their attention. Then it shook again, slightly harder and, stopped. Then again, still harder. And Fanglongmon realized that they were footsteps. Massive, approaching footsteps.

“They’re here!” It was a terrifying sight. Fourteen massive figures were walking in single file toward the mountain. From what he could tell from this height, they each represented the fourteen elements.

The 1st was probably the largest. It was made entirely of dark brown rock, large chunks of it protruded from it’s back and arms. It had two heads, with small red eyes on each of them. Its massive arms could brush the ground as it walked. Its huge feet left craters with every step.

The 2nd looked like a giant humanoid skeleton made of ice. Its head was similar to a horse’s. Its long snout was filled with pointed ‘teeth’. Its eye sockets were dark and empty. Its glacier-sized feet feet froze to the ground every time they touched down. They broke off from it’s legs, and regrew as it took it’s next step.

The 3rd resembled a large, fat man covered in oozing lava with a cooled layer of magma covering its head and shoulders. The eyes could still be seen through that crust, as glowing pools of white-hot lava. Lava dripped off of it frequently, and it seemed to slither across the ground, leaving a burning trail behind it.

The 4th resembled a hundred foot tall tornado with fists. It sucked up everything around it as it tore across the ground. Glowing red eyes peered out through its depths.

The 5th was a familiar one, it was the same moss monster that Geisy and Blur faced when Sally showed up that one time, but now it was covered in vines and tiny roots were attached to the base of its feet and it had gleeming purple eyes.

The 6th was a hundred feet tall tsunami with tendrills similar to perfect chaos that kept rising and falling like a real wave, through the waves a pair of green eyes could be seen unmoving at all as the waves crashed down.

The 7th was made out of solid electricity that kept moving around and circled the beast, the beast seemed to look like some kind of land eel that slithered on it tail leaving staic bolts flying everywhere as it dragged itself on the ground, it had dark blue eyes that seemed to chill the atmosphere.

The 8th was mode out of pure darkness and seemed to be a giant humanoid figure with the same creeping yellow eyes as a heartless only with more feral claws and spiked toes.

The 9th was shining with light that gve off an evil aura and seemed to spiral around creating a spiriling humanoid body that had brown eyes that seemed to shake what they looked at casing a wave of weakness in the area.

The 10th was made cubes which emitting screeching sounds from all ares, the cubes were clear other then the gleeming red eyes seen on the head.

The 11th was some of living purple slime that gave a burning feeling to anything it touched while it caught the fear of everyone inside of its green chilling eyes.

The 12th was like a human/squid crossbeed made of crackling energy the keep the tentacles flailing like flies, only one giant orange eye could be viewed on each tentacle.

The 13th was basically wavy psychic energy surrounded by invisable objects and at the arms were outlines of a giant cannon which seemed to be charging a screw of psychic energy while its black eyes seemed to move on their own.

The 14th was a blackhole that didn't suck in anything and seemed to have gravity changing around it and everything else while the rest of the body held in white dots that would have thought to be stars and the worst feature were its grey eyes.

The Rock Titan had just reached the mountain, and was beginning to climb up when Arceus called, “CHARGE!”

It was later that night at Hybrid’s castle. After enjoying the entertainment and short feuds of the dance, everyone was returning to their designated rooms for the night. Almost everyone was asleep except for a particular family. After realizing his family was staying, Blur decided to sleep with his mother and new brother. Amy and Blur were sitting around SJ’s bed, preparing him for the night.

“You ready for bed, SJ?” Amy asked politely.

“No, mommy.” SJ pouted. “I wanted to play with Blur.”

“There’ll be more time for that later.” Blur said, wrapping his arm around his brother’s neck. “Besides, we need to get up extra early if you want to watch your big brother in action. I’m gonna be kicking butt all over....wherever it is I’m fight and who.”

“Really?” SJ said curiously. “Swift says you’re going to die.”

“SWIFT!!!” Blur screamed.

Back in his room, Mach was grinning wickedly at Blur’s outburst. His grin grew wider as Kumori snuck into his room and...I’ll let you use your imagination. Back with Blur, Blur was continuing his ranting while Amy and SJ laughed. While the blue blur was stomping around, SJ noticed something on his brother’s ear.

“Hey, big brother, what’s that?” SJ said, pointing to this ear.

“You mean this?” Blur asked, touching his mark. “I’m not really sure what happened. Eclipse explained to me that this was given to me at birth. Not like when dad was kidnapped by that Naja guy.”

“Your father told you?!” Amy exclaimed furiously; Blur and SJ held each other in fear. “I specifically told him never to say a word about that incident! When I get my hands on the hedgehog...”

“Mom, I was going to find out eventually.” Blur said bravely. “Dad knew that and told me a little about Naja. But he really didn’t explain everything about him.” He set SJ back on his bed and stared intently at his mother. “Mom, I’ve been through hundreds of horrible situations. I even almost died...twice. I think I deserve to know.”

This brought surprise to Amy’s expression. She had only heard bits of Blur’s accomplishments, but never knew what kind of dangers he faced. For years, she was worried that she would have to tell the truth. Looks like that day had finally come.

“Ok, I’ll tell you.” Amy sighed. “Starting off, Naja was a scientist that worked for your despicable great grandfather.” Her eyes grew hateful at the mention of her grand father. “You Grandma Mai spent a lot of time together and almost ended up marrying him.”

“WHAT?!” Blur and SJ exclaimed.

“I said almost.” Amy chuckled nervously; Blur and SJ sighed in relief. “As it turns out, my grand father only accepted him in hopes that he would take over one day as king. Luckily, my father discovered that he was permitting illegal trades. The day she took to job, she willingly married Streak. And a few years later, your father and uncle were born.”

“And that was the day he was kidnapped.” Blur said. “Naja did some kind of crazy experiment that gave him his super speed and grandpa killed him. But what I want to know is what in that experiment he did.”

“I’m not really sure.” Amy said honestly. “I don’t think there’s anything else to know about him.”

“That’s because you don’t know the whole truth.”

The hedgehog family jumped slightly as the door to the room suddenly opened. White entered the room and closed the door behind him with a serious expression on his face. The white-haired kid was holding a roll of gauze while wrapping it around his bleeding arm.

“What are you doing out this late?” Amy asked concern. “And what happened to your arm?”

“This is nothing.” White grunted, flinching slightly from his wound. “King and I were getting some last minute training in.”

“King?” Blur asked.

“He was also on the boat, Scylla also invited him. His doctor said not to fight, but King just won’t listen.

“What do you mean by ‘the whole truth’?” SJ asked curiously. “Did you know him?”

“Not personally, but I have often heard about him from King.” White stated. “King taught Naja many things while he was growing up.”

“So he was a student of his?” Blur asked

“If only it were just that.” White said uneasily. “It all began thirty-five years ago.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---Flashback---

The scene alters to a wide-range forest. Trudging through the dirt path between the trees were two familiar figures: Blade and King. Both looked tired and were covered in dirt; they were returning from an epic battle.

“Back in those days, King and his best friend, Blade, were still being trained by a man named Master Hollow.” White narrated. “They were returning to their world when they discovered something on the side of the path.”

King and Blade sighed loudly, wishing to stop for a rest. But they knew Master Hollow would be expecting them. As they trudged on, King noticed something covered by the grass of the forest. He kneeled down and slowly lifted the object off the ground. It was a sleeping infant serpent, only a few hours old, wrapped in a bundle of cloth.

“King had discovered a baby.” White continued. “The one that would eventually become Naja. They searched the forest in hopes of finding his parents, but had no such luck. With no other option, they took him in.”

King and Blade nodded to each other before vanishing into a whirlwind of light. But as they departed, they failed to notice a white-skinned man watching with an evil grin on his expression. The scene changes to a year later, where King was sitting as Naja crawled to the snake master’s head.

“With no else to take him in, King adopted Naja.” White continued. “Though they weren’t related by blood, King still loved the boy as if he were his own son. Things were going well, despite the...painful experiences.”

Once on top of King’s head, Naja grabbed a clump of his scales and ripped it out from his scalp. It was painful beyond belief, but King did not want to upset his adopted son. The scene changes to the point where Naja is six years old. He was hanging around in the training room, playing with a wooden dummy. He was punching randomly at the doll until one lucky shot sent the dummy flying through the wall. Amazed by his performance, King began to show Naja the proper fighting form.

“Once Naja showed signs of natural talent, King decided to train him as his apprentice.” White continued. “Naja showed exceptional skill in combat that is only seen once in a century. He even surpassed Blade’s student. But that was never enough for Naja.”

Naja was now twelve and testing himself against a pair of Kanohi Dragons, the most vicious beasts on the planet. The twin dragons curled themselves into multiple patterns in an attempt to confuse their opponent. But Naja was not on to be fooled so easily. With perfect grace, Naja spun into the air and stuck out his legs to slam them into both dragons’ foreheads. The impact itself was enough to knock both dragons unconscious and collapsed to the ground; Naja landed next to them softly. During this event, King and Master Hollow were watching from afar.

“All the power he received was not enough to satisfy his hunger.” White continued. “He wanted the ultimate power. King believed in him and tried to make Master Hollow see his views. But Hollow saw darkness in his heart and refused him. That is what sealed Naja’s fate.”

After hearing the news, Naja began his destruction of Hollow’s domain, killing everything in his path. Naja eventually forced himself into the central chamber, finding Hollow and King..

“Naja tried to take it by force.” White continued. “And it was up to King to kill the very boy he raised.”

With hatred coming from the eyes of both serpents, they charged ahead at one another. King began gathering large amounts energy into his palm with the intention of killing Naja in one blow. But once he stared into Naja’s eyes, he began to lose control. When they were close enough to attack, King couldn’t bring himself to finish the attack. Taking this opportunity, Naja grabbed his former master by the throat and tossed him to the wall.

“But King was unable to complete his mission.” White continued. “No matter how evil Naja had become, King still loved him as his own son. He had failed as a master and father.”

With King out of the way, Naja raced after Master Hollow with his claws extended. He swiped at the aging master, but Hollow vanished at a moments notice. Before the evil serpent could realize what happened, Master Hollow appeared behind Naja and grasped his shoulder. This action activated one of Naja’s pressure points and forced him unconscious.

“And that was the last they had seen of Naja.” White finished.

---End Flashback---

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The scene returns to the hedgehog family’s room. While he was telling the story, White finished bandaging his hand, thought it often hurt whenever he moved it. In the middle of the story, SJ dozen off and Amy tucked him in before continuing to listen to the rest of White’s explanation.

“After Naja was captured, he was striped of his powers.” White explained. “And for failing to defeat his student, King was exiled from his homeland.”

“Whoa, that was tense.” Blur said amazed.

“That Naja...” Amy seethed. “He has causes pain to everyone he touches.”

“But we can all rest easy now that he is out of the way.” White sighed.

But while they trio took a moment of silence; they failed to hear a faint hiss moving past their door.

The scene shifts to the courtyard behind the castle. The dance was long over, but one person still remained. King the Snake stared transparently at the moon above, watching the shadows flow over every so often. It disturbed King that the shadows resembled dark serpents.

“Even the calm nature of the moon holds dark secrets.” King thought wisely. “I knew I shouldn’t have eaten that fortunate cookie.”

But while King wasn't looking, a shadowed figure slowly walked up to the snake warrior. Once the figure’s hand reached his shoulder, King’s instincts instantly took over. He grabbed the figure by his wrist and hurled him over his shoulder, slamming him hard into the ground. It was only when the clouds parted did King realized that he just attacked Solstice.

“Oh, I’m gonna be feeling that one in the morning.” Solstice groaned, fixing his spine.

“Sorry about that.” King said sheepishly, helping the human to his feet. “For a moment, I thought you were an enemy.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” Solstice joked; King snorted at the boy’s humor. “I was just looking for the bathroom on my way to meet the Blur Team and somehow found myself out here. They should draw a map of this place.” His curious eyes wandered to the serpent master. “But what are you doing out here, anyway?"

“I just came out here to think.” King said.

“About what?” Solstice questioned, standing upside down the rails.

“About the mistakes I made in the past.” King stated sadly. “About how I could have changed everything if I had paid proper attention.”

“I don’t know what to say about that.” Solstice said. “But I bet my dad would know a thing or two about it, he’s god #1 of 2 after all. Though some wicked virus took over my uncle and tried to take over the world.”

“So I’ve heard.” King chuckled.

“Hey, everyone needs a hobby.” Solstice shrugged. “My dad just likes to sit all day looking for any problems. Though I can’t really figure out why.” He laughed for a moment, but slowly dies down. He traces his fingers over the birthmark on his arm which represented the shape of a dragon, (Think of all 5 of the dragon birthmarks in Yugioh 5ds on the same arm.) which King noticed. “This wouldn’t have happened if it wasn't that filthy lizard.”

“And I apologize.” King sighed; Solstice looked confused. “You see, the one who marked you was...”

But before he could finish, the duo jumped away just in time to avoid an elongated arm from crushing the ground below. While in midair, they found a row of daggers flying in their direction. Solstice pushed out his palm and released a pulse of energy, throwing the blades off course. As they landed safely on the ground, their attackers made themselves known. Dino Grong appeared at his master’s side as Naja slowly retracted his arm.

“Still as graceful as ever, master.” Naja hissed.

“I am no longer your master.” King stated coldly.

“Hey, a dinosaur!” Solstice greeted excitedly. “Haven’t seen one in a while.”

“Solstice...” Dino Grong said indifferently. “Still as undisciplined as ever.”

“Ok, that kinda hurt.” Solstice said.

“What are you doing here, Naja?” King questioned.

“Does a student need a reason to greet his former master?” Naja grinned. “But if you must know, we are here on important business. We both seek to finish what we started long ago. That is, if you have the will to finish.”

“I will not make the same mistake twice.” King said solemnly.

“Are we out of the loop or what?” Solstice said to Dino Grong; the dinosaur shrugged.

Naja extended his arms and shot it forward towards his father figure. King was temporarily caught off guard, never expecting his former student to be capable of such a feat. Acting swiftly, King managed to jump backwards before the Heartless serpent could land his attack. Unfortunately, Naja came prepared for this tactic and shot his foot into the air. It was at that moment King realized Naja’s ability. While still in midair, King twirled his body to the right, barely able to dodge Naja’s attack. As Naja retracted his body parts, King landed softly while inspecting his opponent.

“He can extend his limbs to greater distance.” King analyzed. “That makes him capable of close and long range attacks. But his powers have mostly been removed. Besides his limbs and venom, he is a standard fighter.”

“Are you done calculating, master?” Naja hissed. “You always had a natural talent to predict your opponent’s techniques from their first moves. But I can assure you, I will not be that simple.”

“Then I can look forward to an exciting match.” King said coldly.

“Yes...” Naja muttered. “You’re last.”

Meanwhile, Dino Grong and Solstice were in the middle of their own match. Dino Grong had an advantage over the warrior with his unlimited speed. Every time Solstice could find him, Dino Grong would always slash and disappear into thin air. Thankfully, Solstice inherited some power from his father. Clapping his hands together, Solstice released a pulse of energy around his body. No matter how fast Dino Grong was, the dinosaur could not dodge something that was everywhere at once. While Dino Grong was thrusted into the air, Solstice shot several blasts of pure energy at his opponent. Unfortunately, the dinosaur was perceptive and able to block the blasts with a simple dagger before landing safely.

“Now this is the kind of action I missed.” Solstice said excited.

“I must admit, you are somewhat of a challenge.” Dino Grong stated, replacing his dagger into his pouch. “In all honesty, you are one of the two people I would ever consider to be my equal.”

“Aw, look’s like I have some competition.” Solstice joked.

“That will not be a problem.” Dino Grong smirked as he pulled out a three-pronged dagger. “After tonight, there will be only one.”

With that, both warriors charged in for the next round. Back with the serpent fighters, King was finally going on the offensive. As he had anticipated, Naja grew frustrated with his opponent and thrusted both arms at King. King took this opportunity to smack his palm into the ground, calling forth a column of stone to restrain Naja’s hands. While the Heartless serpent fruitlessly struggled to get free, King used this chance to attack his former student. Unfortunately, Naja had more tricks up his sleeve. Against all logic, Naja was able to compress his arms until they were thin enough to slither through the stone shackles. He swiped at his former master while retracting his arms as King did the same. King was able to dodge Naja’s attack and cut across Naja’s chest before jumping back. King panted slight, exhausted from battle, when he noticed something horrify about his adoptive son. Through the shreds of his gi, he could distinctly see the symbol of the Heartless tattooed on Naja’s chest.

“I see.” King muttered lowly. “So that’s how you came in possession of this power. You sold your own heart to the army of darkness.”

“That is where you are wrong, dear master.” Naja cackled. “I am no soldier to the Heartless, I command them. I was willing to do anything after suffering for your weakness.”

“Master Hollow was right about you.” King said sadly. “You were never Destined One. Your heart was filled with too much darkness. It was never my decision to make.”

“No, but it was your fault for what happened!” Naja said spitefully. “I trained for twelve years, only to be denied! I did everything for you! You filled my head with hopeless dreams that would wield the power! I trained everyday until knuckles bled and my bones were broken! And when the time came, you turned your back and denied me of my destiny!”

Fueled by overwhelming angry, Naja went far beyond his limits. In an unexpected twist, Naja somehow managed to call upon four more pairs of arms from his body. (4 ‘pairs’ of arms, not 4 arms) Surprised by this, King barely had enough time to jump backwards as ten striking fists dropped down on him.

“Defeating me will not help you gain the power.” King stated.

“No, but it will satisfy my hatred!” Naja hissed furiously.

Back with the sparring humans. After learning of Solstice’s pulse attack, Dino Grong went against using his speed and drove straight into hand-to-hand combat. Unfortunately, that’s where everything went wrong for the swift dinosaur. Dino Grong was at a complete disadvantage against Solstice, who was trained for such situations in his eternally youthful life. At every chance he could get, Solstice was able to strike his opponent at each opening. While Dino Grong swiped away with his dual daggers, Solstice was able to capture him by his wrists to halt all movement. Seeing the raptor trying to break free, Solstice raised his knee to Dino Grong’s chin to send him flying across the courtyard. But unfortunately, Dino Grong was able to regain his balance and landed softly on his feet.

“It would seem that he was prepared for me from the start.” Dino Grong thought. “He must have been training since the last time we fought. I must admit, he has slightly impressed me.”

“Hey, ya need a break or something?” Solstice asked.

“I am the last of the anthro dinosaurs.” Dino Grong proclaimed. “I do not require rest like you pathetic lower life-forms.”

“Someone’s a bit full of himself.” Solstice sniggered. “I’m a half-god.”

“Why boast when I can prove?” Dino Grong smirked.

In one swift movement, Dino Grong reached into his pouch and pulled out every dagger he had, all connected the same thread. Solstice prepared himself as Dino Grong thrusted the daggers while retaining his grip of the thread. The half-god found no trouble dodging each blade, but didn’t trust the look on Dino Grong’s expression. Looking closely, he noticed the dinosaur moving his fingers in a random order. It suddenly dawned onto him why. As Solstice looked back, he found all the daggers he had avoided hovering over his head. Thanks to the glistening light of the moon, Solstice was able to figure out how the were suspended.

“Wire.” Solstice said.

“You didn’t think I was that stupid to relinquish my entire arsenal.” Dino Grong said, slightly arrogant. “This way, there is no chance of you escaping."

“Wow, I’m starting to like this guy.” Solstice thought excitedly.

“Now die.” Dino Grong commanded emotionlessly.

Pulling back the wire, Dino Grong attracted every hovering dagger to strike at Solstice’s position. Since Dino Grong was thorough about not leaving any exits. Luckily, Solstice didn’t need to dodge, he manipulated his energy into a shield. Seventy daggers later, Solstice was panting heavily from exhaustion. But he had no time to rest once Dino Grong appeared at his side. The raptor swiped a kick to the half-god’s face, sending him stumbling across the courtyard. Solstice tried to push himself back to his feet, but no longer had the energy to fight.

“What a pity.” Dino Grong said indifferently, twirling a dagger between his fingers. “I was hoping to get the chance to play with you more. But I guess you can’t have everything.”

“You’re telling me.” Solstice moaned. “I forgot to eat delivering my message.”

Dino Grong sweat-dropped. Back with our serpentine masters, King was not fending to well against his former student. With ten stretching arms and very little energy, King was barely able to keep up with him. Sudden, King felt a twinge in his heart. While he clutched his heart in pain, the snake master left himself completely unguarded against Naja’s assault.

“Do you now understand what I’ve been through?!” Naja screamed, swiping multiple blows at King. “I trained till I dropped, all to make your proud of me! Well, tell me how proud you are now, father!”

Naja reeled back all ten of his arms and shot them simultaneously at King’s body. The aged serpent was tossed backwards towards the castle, landing on the ground next to Solstice. Naja slowly walked up to his former master, retracting his extra eight arms back into his body. King slowly sat up as Naja's shadow loomed over. But instead of trying to fight back, King looked down with a sad expression.

“You’re right, it was my fault.” King said solemnly. “I loved you like the son I never had; I was always proud of you from the start. But I wanted to prove that I could be better master than Blade. And it was my pride that forced you down the path of darkness.” A tear rolled from his eyes. “I’m sorry, son.”

“It’s too late for apologizes now, master.” Naja hissed, grasping King’s throat. “Now, where is...”

But before he could finish, there was a sudden explosion from the side of the castle. Naja and Dino Grong barely had had time to jump away before a black object crashed into the ground between them. As the dark hedgehog slowly stood, the moonlight revealed that he was covered in bruises and his right arm remained limp.

“Ashurion, what are you doing?” Naja hissed.

“I was completing my mission until I met with some interference.” Ashurion stated.

“Interference?” Naja repeated. “What interference?”

“Allow me to answer that.”

A moment later, Hybrid dropped down from the hole in the castle and landed in the courtyard. It was only minutes before the doors to the castle opened to reveal the castle occupants racing to check on the commotion. They found Hybrid and Ashurion, but did not expect to see Naja and Dino Grong. Upon gazing into the serpent’s eyes, a cold chill traveled down Blur’s spine.

“Those eyes...” Blur thought frightfully. “The same eyes in my nightmare.”

“Naja!” Amy shouted spitefully. “Why are you still alive?!”

“Ah, Amy.” Naja said, bowing slightly. “Still as beautiful and feisty as ever.”

“Mommy, he’s scary.” SJ said shakily, taking cover behind his mother.

“Stay back, SJ.” Amy warned. “I won’t let him get near you.”

“Yeah!” Geisy shouted. A raging aura of fire surrounded the aggressive hedgehog. “If he tries to get anywhere near my Blur or his family, he’ll have to go through me!”

“She’s sca...” SJ was interrupted by Blur’s mouth.

“I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you.” Blur said.

“This is perfect.” Naja thought darkly. “I can kill my master and take possession of Blur’s key mark power all at once. But the time is not proper yet. I’ll just have to take him prisoner until the right moment.”

“My lord, I fear we must retreat.” Dino Grong said warningly; Naja glanced at his apprentice. “Look towards the third balcony on the right-hand side.”

The Heartless snake follower his instruction, but ultimately wish he didn’t. Watching Journey, Eclipse, Spallax, Grunst, Syrax, Thelxe and another figure hidden by the shadows were observing the battle below.

“It would seem that our time has run out.” Naja announced, grabbing Ashurion by the scruff of his neck. “But fear not, we shall meet again.”

“What are you doing?” Ashurion whispered. “What about the hedgehog?”

“We can do nothing until the Vernal Equinox.” Naja informed. “For now, we can only wait.”

Ashurion wasn’t the most patient hedgehog, but he knew Naja had something big planned. Sighing lightly, the dark hedgehog allowed himself to be taken away. And before the gathered fighters could stop him, the trio of villains vanished into a portal of darkness.

“He was always a stale fruitcake. What do you think dad?” The hidden figure asked.

“Think what you want Equinox.” Journey said.

“Syrax?” Raxos said.

“(Thelxe?)” Thebes said.

“Raxos, it’s really you.” Syrax said.

“(Hello Thebes.)” Thelxe said.

The scene opens several moments before the battle between Naja and his
master. The dance was long over and everyone was headed to bed, excited
for tomorrow’s event. At the time, Hybrid was walking through the
corridors of the sleeping chambers to check that no one was out on a
late night venture. He walked past Shadow’s room and heard some unusual
noises; Hybrid decided to leave them. While finishing his route, Hybrid
suddenly heard a voice around the corner. Acting cautiously, he edge
closer and looked around to find Ryan.

“This is Agent Diulus calling Command.” Ryan said, speaking into a small communicator.

“This is Command.” A voice replied. “What’s your current status?”

“So
far, it has been unsuccessful.” Ryan reported. “I have my suspicions
that the missing scientists may be hidden somewhere in the basement
floors. I’ve tried to access them, but the floors are guarded heavily
by rogue fighters in armor.”

“Why have you not confronted them?” The voice questioned.

“I
have seen their commander's fight.” Ryan said hesitantly. “I know for
fact that I do not stand a chance against their advanced technology. I
am hoping once the tournament dies down...”

“Good afternoon, Ryan.” Hybrid said.

Ryan
jumped slightly and swiftly cut off the connection. He stashed the
communicator in his pocket before the mixed hedgehog could find it. The
dark wolf turned his cold gaze to Hybrid, wondering how much he had
heard.

“Hello, Hybrid.” Ryan said coldly. “What are you doing at this time of night?”

“I
was just making sure that everyone was in bed.” Hybrid explained. “We
have a big day tomorrow with the quarterfinals beginning soon. And we
expect to keep our guests entertained.” He shifted sights to the
secretive wolf. “But what may I ask are you doing during this time?”

“I was just...headed to bed.” Ryan excused, walking past the mixed hedgehog. “Good night.”

But
Hybrid did not appear to be too trusting to Ryan. Making a note to
watch out for him, Hybrid climbed the stairs towards his private
chamber. Unfortunately, thanks to Ryan, the mixed hedgehog forgot to
check one room: Gemini’s. And it was bad luck that he didn’t. Inside
his room, Gemini was sleeping away his fatigue from the earlier
festivities, unaware of his familiar guest. Ashurion stood at his
counterpart’s bedside, slowly reaching for his throat.

“Oh, foolish Gemini...” Ashurion thought pleasantly. “How long has it been since I was born from your hatred.”

---Flashback---

The
scene shifts to the large gambling resort Casinopolis. We find
ourselves directed to one of the largest corporations in the city,
which would eventually belong to Gemini. Speaking of whom, a two
year-old Gemini was happily playing with his toys in his father’s
office. At the same time, both of Gemini’s parents were standing around
the office desk, looking frustrated at the piles of papers.

“We
can’t keep going like this.” Gemini’s father groaned. “Dr. Robotnik cut
off all funds for the casino, which means we might have to close it
down.”

“I can’t say I didn’t see it coming.” Gemini’s mother
sighed. “With all the expenses, lack of customers, and having to raise
a child on the side, we should have expected this.” She looked hesitant
for a moment. “Maybe we should consider talking to your brother.”

“That
will not happen!” Gemini’s father screeched, slamming his fists on the
desk. “I swore that I would never be involved with that magic-using
freak! Without Dr. Robotnik, we can’t afford to keep this place open.”
Gemini father sighed and looked over to his son with a chilling
expression. “Unless....”

“Dear, you can’t possibly be thinking...?” Gemini’s mother said pleadingly.

“We
have no choice.” Gemini’s father sighed, turning his chair to face the
window. “Start looking for the best orphanage there is. If we can’t
keep him, we can at least make sure he has a decent place to live.”

---Three Years Later---

The
scene changes to a wealthy orphanage near the pleasant Green Hill Zone.
The children were playing happily in the courtyard, occasionally joined
by Vanilla the Rabbit, who was volunteering. But while most children
were enjoying the delightful rays of the outdoor sun, one child in
particular did not join them. A five year-old Gemini Rose stood near
the window of his room, watching down pitifully at the happy children.

“Look at those idiots.” Gemini said darkly. “They act all happy, pretending they don’t have a care in the world.”

“But
you are different.” A voice hissed from the corner. “You are the only
one who knows what true pain feels likes. The pain of being deserted by
the ones you thought loved you. To know that the pain never fades from
your heart.”

“I just wish I could get revenge on my so-called
parents.” Gemini said angrily, gripping his fists tightly. “I would
like to thank them for all that they have done for me.”

“Oh,
that will no longer be necessary.” The voice said softly; Gemini looked
confused. “I had a delightful conversation with your parents and taught
them a lesson.” The figure moved to the window and pulled Gemini close.
“I did it for you, Gemini. And tomorrow, you will finally get the
family you always wanted.”

“You’re the only one that understands me, Naja.” Gemini smiled.

---Five Years Later---

The
scene alters to a tranquil countryside just outside of Station Square.
Traveling down the dirt path across the plain was Naja the Snake with
two new companions. The one on his left was a younger version of his
Nobody apprentice, Dino Grong. To his right was the vengeful Gemini.
After five years under Naja’s teachings, Gemini has learned of the
powers of darkness and used it as a weapon. Even now, a small aura of
darkness emitted from his palms, which Naja noticed.

“Patience, Gemini.” Naja hissed. “We have not reached our destination yet.”

“Forgive
me, my lord.” Gemini said apologetically. “I am just excited for our
mission. “If what you say is true, this guy is one of the most powerful
men in the world.”

“Theodore ‘Thorn’ Rose.” Dino Grong stated
indifferent. “He was once part of a special team that defeated Lord
Naja in his previous life. He is exceptionally gifted in the mystic
arts.” He glared at Gemini. “If you are not careful, he will kill you.”

“Aw, I had no idea you care.” Gemini smirked.

“I don’t.” Dino Grong said coldly.

Ignoring
the constant squabbles of his younger partners, Naja led them beyond
the hillside to their destination. At the bottom of the hill was a
small home settled near the shores of the nearby ocean. The residents
of the home were outside, enjoying the peaceful time. Just by looking
at the happy family, Gemini felt disguted.

“Such a sad sight.” Dino Grong commented. “A great warrior reduced to a meager lapdog.”

“I thought he was supposed to be the best.” Gemini said arrogantly. “Doesn’t look like much to me.”

“Then you will take this opportunity to defeat him yourself.” Naja hissed.

“Say what?!” Gemini exclaimed fearfully.

“If
you wish to stay at my side, you must prove yourself.” Naja commanded.
“Unless you wish for me to send you back to that wretched orphanage
where I found you.”

The dark hedgehog didn’t know what to do at this point.

---------------------------------------------------------

“What was that?!” Naja hissed furiously. “Dino Grong allows you the perfect chance to kill that rat and you didn’t take it?!”

“I couldn’t do it, Lord....” Gemini said slowly, no longer struggling. “No, not lord. You are not my master anymore, Naja.”

“You dare betray the one who saved you?” Dino Grong questioned.

“I
never needed saving to begin with.” Gemini stated. “You used me and
made me believe that no one wanted me. But my family always loved me.
It may not have been my parents, but I still had a family.” He craned
his head around, barely able to glare at the Heartless snake. “I will
never serve you.”

“That’s too bad.” Naja said calmly. “If that
is the case, then I will have to take back what’s rightfully mine.”
Without warning, Naja dropped Gemini to the ground. As the dark
hedgehog looked back, he noticed Naja holding something that looked
like a black version of his soul. “The darkness I granted to you, I
will now take back. For the rest of your life, you will be haunted by
this memory.”

---End Flashback---

“It’s been seven years
since Lord Naja freed me from your vile soul.” Ashurion said darkly,
moving his hand close to his counterpart. “But you are the only one
that stands in the way of my ambition. You will pay for your weakness.”
But before he could strangle his opposite, someone caught him by his
wrist. Looking over, he discovered that Hybrid was interrupting his
mission.

“Who are you?” Ashurion questioned.

“Hybrid, Lord of East Island.” Hybrid stated. “And you are trespassing.”

“I
don’t really care who you are.” Ashurion sneered, trying to pull his
arm free. “I am in the middle of an important mission and you shall not
interfere.”

“If you are trying to kill my guests, you’ll have to
take it up with me.” Hybrid said coldly; even Ashurion felt chills down
his spine. “Personally, I’ve been hoping for a challenge ever since
this tournament started.”

“Then I shall provide you with your last.” Ashurion said wickedly.

Ashurion
tapped a ring on his belt and the battle began. Out in the corridors,
an explosion erupted from within Gemini’s sleeping chamber with two
figures exiting through the dust cloud. Hybrid landed at the top of the
staircase platform at the level while Ashurion, whose fur was yellow,
landed at the bottom. Thanks to the loud noise, everyone in the castle
was awake and running out of their bedrooms to check out the
disturbance.

“Hey, what’s going on out here?” Ash mumbled, rubbing the sleep dust out of his eyes.

“What does it look like, knucklehead.” Blur called. “There’s a fight going on and Hybrid’s in the middle of it.”

“Who’s the new guy?” Rain asked.

Ignoring
the endless chattering of their audience, Ashurion was the first to
step up for attack. Ashurion shot forth a series of lightning bolts.
Unfortunately for the dark counterpart, Hybrid had an affinity with
electricity and was able to redirect the bolts with a single thought.
Realizing his disadvantage, Ashurion released a large ball of fire from
his mouth, Hybrid countered with a single bolt of electricity that cut
through the attack. Ashurion appeared to be at complete disadvantage.
Every time Ashurion would try to attack, Hybrid would always analyze
his movements and remain one step ahead of him. He had already gone
through six attacks and only managed to scratch or bruise the mixed
hedgehog. Ashurion glared at his opponents and thrusted his fists
forward, releasing a wave of icicles from his wrists. It only took two
seconds for Hybrid to anticipate this and clapped his hands together.
The action forged a barrier of high voltage electricity that melted the
ice in seconds. Hybrid released the barrier and smirked.

“There’s
no way you can win.” Hybrid stated; his audience was cheering. “You are
dealing with a super genius who can think faster than a computer. Just
by watching your movements, I have predicted all of your techniques.
You may have multiple powers, but they are rendered useless if one
knows how to get past them.”

“Dang, he’s right.” Ashurion thought frustrated. “But everyone has their weakness and he’s no exception. But what is it?”

“Come on!” Rain cheered. “Show that conker who’s boss!”

“You are really starting to get on my nerves!” Ashurion shouted.

Ashurion
turned to Rain’s directional and waved his hand to release a swarm of
ice shards. Rector tried to jump in and save her, but the piecing ice
was moving too fast for his speed. Unable to watch the scene, Rain held
her head and closed her eyes to await the brutal assault. But it never
came. Taking the risk of opening her eyes, she found that someone had
jumped in her place. Hybrid stood upon the railing in front of her with
his arms crossed in protection. Hybrid managed to muster a smile and
turned to Rain.

“You ok?” Hybrid asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Rain nodded happily.

“Not a problem.” Hybrid said; a thought entered his mind. ‘I won’t let another innocent die like my mother.’

“I
should have guessed that was his weakness.” Ashurion thought deviously.
“All heroes have the same flaw: compassion. The only way I can get to
this guy is to get rid of the others. This will be fun.”

Noticing
Ashurion’s shift in power, Hybrid stood ready for battle. Ashurion
grunted with effort as he erected millions of miniature metal spikes
from every portion of his body.

“This is the trouble with being
a hero!” Ashurion cackled wickedly. “You never know when some
psychopath will come along with a sadistic choice. You have a choice,
Hybrid. Save yourself or your friends.”

“He’s serious.” Hybrid
growled. He was suddenly reminded of the spider that killed his mother.
‘Why must these vile creatures exist? As long as they remain, I can
never crate the peace that Sarah wanted.’

“Time’s up!” Ashurion screeched.

Suddenly,
Ashurion released the metal spikes in every possible direction. Not
even Blur could avoid something that was everywhere at once. Hybrid had
never anticipated this sort of thing to happen, but was willing to do
anything to protect the innocent. Placing his palms onto his chest,
Hybrid centered every ounce of electricity to that point. The unusual
tactic seemed to create a magnetic effect as all the spikes were
redirected at the mixed hedgehog. Once every spike was cluttered
together close to himself, Hybrid broke the connection momentarily.
During the split-second the spike floated in midair, Hybrid released an
electric pulse that sent every spike diving for its originator.

”Well, this is going to hurt.” Ashurion commented.

The scene shifts to the courtyard, where Naja and Dino Grong were finishing their battle with King and Solstice.

“You’re
right, it was my fault.” King said solemnly. “I loved you like the son
I never had; I was always proud of you from the start. But I wanted to
prove that I could be better master than Blade. And it was my pride
that forced you down the path of darkness.” A tear rolled from his eyes
“I’m sorry, son.”

“It’s too late for apologizes now, master.” Naja hissed, grasping King’s throat. “Now, where is...”

But
before he could finish, there was a sudden explosion from the side of
the castle. Naja and Dino Grong barely had time to jump away before
Ashurion crashed between the two groups. As the dark hedgehog slowly
stood, the moonlight revealed that he was covered in bruises and his
right arm remained limp.

“Ashurion, what are you doing?” Naja hissed.

“I was completing my mission until I met with some interference.” Ashurion stated.

“Interference?” Naja repeated. “What interference?”

“Allow me to answer that.”

A
moment later, Hybrid dropped down from the hole in the castle and
landed in the courtyard. It was only minutes later that the large
audience entered from the castle to witness the conclusion of the
battle. But what they also found there was not something to be expected.

“Naja!” Amy shouted spitefully. “Why are you still alive?!”

“Ah, Amy.” Naja said, bowing slightly. “Still as beautiful and feisty as ever.”

“Mommy, he’s scary.” SJ said shakily, taking cover behind his mother.

“Stay back, SJ.” Amy warned. “I won’t let him get near you.”

“Yeah!”
Geisy shouted, a raging aura of fire surrounded the hedgehog. “If he
tries to get anywhere near my Blur or his family, he’ll have to go
through me!”

“She’s sca...” SJ was interrupted by Blur’s hand covering mouth.

“I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you.” Blur said.

For
a moment, it looked like Naja was prepared to attack. But after being
interrupted by Dino Grong and gazing into the upper levels of the
castle, Naja slowly relaxed himself and grasped Ashurion by his neck.

“It would seem that our time has run out.” Naja announced. “But fear not, we shall meet again.”

And
with all words said, the trio of villains faded into a portal of
darkness. A few minutes later, everyone was headed back to their rooms
after Hybrid told them it was past curfew. Because his room was
destroyed during the fight, Gemini was forced to bunk with Ryan, much
to both of their displeasure, while the new guest came into the same
room as their species’ leader; while Eclipse, Journey and their sons
talked with Blur. But while everyone was resting up for tomorrow,
Hybrid sat at the bed of his private chamber as Morph applied medical
ointment to his bruises. The mixed hedgehog winced, which annoyed Morph.

“You have to be still.” Morph said strictly. “I can’t apply the medicine properly if you won’t cooperate.”

“Well, you’re not exactly the best doctor.” Hybrid commented; Morph slapped his back. “OW!!”

“You
just better be thankful that we even have any medical supplies left.”
Morph said, applying the bandage to his cheek. “With all the accidents
going on, it’s a miracle that we still have them.”

"You might
want to save some for tomorrow.” Hybrid smirked. “I feel that these
little...'accidents' will be continuing for the rest of the tournament.”

“What do you mean?” Morph questioned curiously.

“Use
your head, Morph.” Hybrid said playfully. “The boulder that almost
crushed Heather, the brick that knocked out Blizzard, the oil that
poisoned Cancer that would have made him lose if Viral hadn’t
surrendered. You don’t think those were just mere accidents. I had the
Nocturnus soldiers warp to the locations and make sure that the victors
would move on to the next round.”

“What about the others?” Morph asked.

“It
was mere luck that Scylla ended up the way he did.” Hybrid explained.
“If the battle went any longer, I had a plan for Sonic to win. As for
Mercury, it was I that allowed Mars to contact Nexus through our
satellite uplink. I had planned for Ryan to win, but he lost the battle
on purpose. And as for Mystic’s victory, he had the power to defeat
Gemini from the beginning. He just needed a little push.”

“And what about my match?” Morph questioned seriously.

“It’s
not that I didn’t have any faith in you, Morph.” Hybrid answered. “But
I knew Metal was way too powerful for you to defeat. To even the
playfield, I severely cut Metal’s power in half when I transported you.
I needed to collect enough information on him.” He cast a serious look
at the Morpholomew. “Now there is the matter with you.”

“What about me?” Morph asked.

“Xi
feels that you are slowly converting to the enemy’s side.” Hybrid
stated. “To test your loyalty, he has given you a simple mission.”

“What mission?” Morph asked fearfully.

“You must kill Heather.” Hybrid said.

“What?” Morph said.

"So who are you two?" Chase asked. "Well I'm Solstice, Eclipse's son. And that's Equinox, Journey's son." Solstice said. "Why are you even here?" Eclipse asked. "Oh man I forgot. THE TITANS HAVE BEEN FREED! The others stalled them so I could warn you in time, but I know they failed to stop them." Solstice explained. "Aw man." Journey moaned. "This is worse than when you called that Dragon to help uncle Eclpse destroy The Black Chaos Emerald." Equinox said before clamped his unseeable mouth with his hands. "What!?" Eclipse sneered. "It's time I told you. When Elemarious had to be destroyed, because Journey was 'absent' I needed to find more power to help. So I went on a hunt during one of your rests and I found, the Crimson Dragon." Solstice said. "No wonder it seemed so eas...the Crimson Dragon!" Eclipse yelled. "I had no choice, he was the only thing with enough power. And if you got his power. Bye-bye immortality." Solstice said. "Dang I got owned." Eclipse said. "He placed the marks of the dragon on my arm and I summoned him to help you out from a place you didn't see me. But now I can't summon him due to Naja and he knew to do it at the best time due to Apocalypse passing on his commandingship of the Dark Siege." Solstice said.

"Apocalypse! But he's supposed to be dead." Chase yelled. "He isn't dead yet, until another 3 days. He has Argus holding onto his rule until his son is born." Solstice explained "Son?" Journey shivered. "Apocalypse's spirit laid a egg. One month in the future it hatches into the new ultimate villain. They set a army that has more power than the combined technology of the Humans, Kron, N'rrgal, Zoah, Voxai, Nocturnus and one I shouldn't mention yet. The Crimson Dragon would have evened the odds, but Naja was able to tamper with the mark and now I can't summon him." Solstice explained. "But he didn't know 5 others would gain one of the 5 symbols each called the Signers. If I can find them all, I can summon the Crimson Dragon, but I have to hurry. They have a monstrous creature like the Crimson Dragon that can be summoned by 5 Dark Signers since Apocalypse's son holds all 5 of the symbols. Luckily I'm ahead by one. As I've just find the Dragon head signer." "Who, and where is he?" Journey asked. Solstice touched Chase's left ear and the darker fur that took the shape of a key disappeared. "Great, his brain is broken...I better get a..." Eclipse was interrupted as Chase grunted in pain as he felt his arm throbbing after a few seconds the symbols on Solstice's arm randomly flashed until only his head symbol glowed. Soon the same symbol slightly larger appeared where his arm was throbbing and then disappeared. "My brain is broken?" Solstice asked. "I was talking to a germ." Eclipse said. "What happened?" Chase asked. "You are one of the 5 signers, now you just need to find a dragon, that was something added a century ago." Solstice said. "Well, me and Journey better go back to the middle of the universe and help clean up the mess. You two stay here and prepare them for what's coming, I have a bad feeling about Hybrid." Eclipse said.

-------------------------------------------------------

The scene opens to the next day on East Island. Many of the were still confused or disturbed by the event that occurred the night before, but none more than King or Amy. Both had refused to speak to anyone after the Heartless serpant vanished with his faithful followers; Chase and SJ were worried. Meanwhile, No one really understood what they did or why they were here, but no one was really concerned about them at this point. There was an endless chatter across the table of everyone’s expectations about the upcoming matches.

“Five bucks says Jac faces Chase and kicks his blue butt across the floor.” Strawberry wagered.

“No way.” SJ shook. “Chase’s totally gonna win because he’s faster.”

“I think Mystic’s going to fight Emily and get his tail handed to him.” Strike said.

“As if that wasn’t obvious.” Mathias chuckled.

The mood seemed to be a little lighter, despite all the troubling events that had occurred. A moment later, the doors to the dining room opened to reveal Morph, who was escorting the injured Hybrid. The mixed Hedgehog had several small bandages across his body and a large wrap over his wounded left arm. After saving Rain’s life from Ashurion, Hybrid had earned a lot of respect from his guests. Even Mach, who barely trusted anyone, felt calm around the mixed hedgehog. As Hybrid slowly staggered into the room, Rain jumped from her seat and walked up to him.

“Are you ok, mate?” Rain asked concerned.

“I’ve seen better days.” Hybrid chuckled. “But I think I’ll survive.”

“I can’t repay you enough.” Heather said, walking next to Rain. “If it wasn’t for you, our team would be a lot less excited.” He turns his head and grins deviously to Morph. “And I’m really glad you were there, too.”

“I-I didn’t do anything.” Morph stuttered, blushing lightly. He quickly remembered what Hybrid said last night and turned her back to him. “It was all Hybrid’s doing.”

“I can always spare time for those in need.” Hybrid said. “And speaking of time, we shall begin the Quarterfinals immediately!”

“It’s about time!” Ryan shouted eagerly; Alan and Vash sighed.

“But before we can begin, we must select the candidates for the next round.” Hybrid informed.

Though he was in pain, Hybrid waved his hand to the end of the dining room. The familiar television screen dropped from the ceiling and revealed the well-known randomizer. After the completion of the previous rounds, only eight symbols remained on the board. Using his electrical powers, Hybrid activated the machine with a snap of his fingers. As the eight symbols flew across the board, the same question entered the contestant’s mind: Who will I face? After two minutes of waiting, the randomizer slowly stopped on a black and a blue hedgehog symbol.

“The first match: Devlin vs. Chase!” Hybrid announced.

“All right!” Devlin cheered. “I finally get the easy match!”

“How can you be so sure it’s going easy?” Dahlia asked playfully.

“Someone’s full of themselves.” Chase smirked.

“I inherited it from you.” Devlin responded; a vein appeared on Chase's forehead.

“We shall begin the match soon enough.” Hybrid instructed. "But first, we should head to the matter transporter."

The guests and competition jumped anxiously from their seats and followed Hybrid out to the staircase. Of course, the mixed hedgehog had to stop occasionally because his wounds still pained him. As they traveled to the higher levels of the castle, Morph noted that someone was missing from the group; Hybrid already knew.

“Ryan has finally begun his assignment.” Hybrid whispered to his follower. “No worries. I have planned ahead for such a thing.”

“Do you think the others will notice?” Morph muttered.

“I don’t think they'll care.” Hybrid replied.

The massive group came to a halt at the seventh floor as Hybrid used his powers to open the steel door. As the audience entered, they found it to be a lot more crowded due to the increased number of guests. While the newcomers stared questionably at Hybrid’s device, Chase and Devlin pushed through them to reach the platform. Making sure both competitors were ready, Hybrid activated the transporter and both hedgehogs disappeared into the white beam.

---Greenland---

The scene alters near the frozen waters of Greenland. Despite the deceptive name, the island was one of the coldest places in the world. The plains were covered in three feet of snow, hazardous mountainsides were hanging threateningly, and large glaciers floated along the glassy waters. While in the middle of one of its annual snowstorms, a white beam cut through the clouds and delivered its passengers. It was barely five seconds before the hedgehogs were shaking uncontrollably.

“Y-y-you’ve g-got to be k-kidding me.” Chase moaned shakily. "N-no one t-t-told me about t-there being s-s-snow."

“T-this place is c-c-colder than the S-soleanna m-mountains.” Devlin stated. “If I-I knew t-this would h-h-happen, I w-would have brought a c-c-coat.”

A moment after he spoke, another beam of light dropped from the sky between them. As the light faded, the hedgehogs were happy to find two heavy wool coats prepared. Devlin took the white coat and Chase took the red one; both which were obviously picked by Dahlia and Geisy.

“Ah, that’s better.” Chase said warmly, patting his coat firmly. “I guess Geisy was right about these after all.”

“It’s a good thing she always prepares for any situation.” Devlin nodded, glancing at his opponent with a look of confidence. “But just because you're warm still doesn’t mean you stand a chance against me.”

“I’m so gonna win.” Chase proclaimed. He tried running, only to fall on his face. “Then again...”

Seeing his chance to get back at the speedy hedgehog, Devlin used his dark powers to levitate a pile of snow. Holding his palm to the snow, Devlin shifted the shape of the pile to the size of a large boulder. By the time Chase was able to pull out of the snow, Devlin had already tossed it ahead at his opponent. Realizing he couldn’t use his speed to help, Chase curled into a ball and rolled to the side. The blue hedgehog had a lot more traction in his ball form and rolled around a large rock for protection.

“What’s the matter, Chase?!” Devlin called. “I thought you weren’t the kind of person to give up?!”

“I’m just taking my time!” Chase replied. “Don’t worry; I’ll be kicking your butt sooner than you think.”

“He’s bluffing.” Devlin thought. “Thanks to all this snow, he can’t possibly run at full speed. And not only that, but his coat is also weighing him down. I just need to stay in one place and I’ll have him.”

Devlin wasn’t the only person who thought this. Chase has also predicted that he was at a disadvantage. Without his signature super speed, Devlin’s powers made the battle one-sided. With nothing else in mind, Chase grabbed a pile of snow and threw it to his opponent. Devlin did not expect this and was swiftly pelted in the face by the flying snowball. Devlin retaliated with a barrage of snowballs. Next thing you know, they were in the middle of a snowball fight.

“What is the point of all this?” Devlin asked, dodging another snowball. “At this rate, the only way someone will lose is if they catch the flu. There’s got to be an easier way of ending this.” While dropping down on all fours to dodge, Devlin’s attention shifted to mountain behind Chase. “That oughta do it.”

Devlin stood up as Chase pelted another series of snowballs. But moments before they hit, Devlin fur turned gold.

“He’s mastered the Super Form?” Chase thought surprised.

“Hey, Chase, heads up!” Devlin shouted.

The golden hedgehog raised his hand to the air and clutched it swiftly into a fist. Chase watched his descendent interestingly until he felt a sudden quake from the Earth. He soon realized that it wasn’t the Earth that was shaking, but the mountain behind him. Chase was barely able to turn before he was buried under an avalanche of snow. Devlin quickly took to the skies as the snow wave came close and watched his work at play. When the snow pile stopped moving, Devlin quickly noticed that he still remained in this frozen wasteland.

“If I won, I should have been sent back to the island.” Devlin thought seriously. “But if I’m still here, then that means...”

“You are so gonna pay for that, pal!” The snow suddenly exploded in a flash of light as Chase emerged. Like Devlin, his fur turned golden-yellow and floated across from his opponent. “That was a dirty trick.”

“There’s no rule saying I can’t create an avalanche.” Devlin said nonchalantly. “Besides, it was the only way to end this match quick enough.”

“Well, now the playing field has been level.” Chase smirked. “Still think you can take me?”

“I don’t think I can beat you.” Devlin said confidently. “I know I can.”

After a moment of waiting, both hedgehog’s charged head with their fists held back. Once close enough, the golden warriors threw them ahead. Since Chase was the fastest, he effortlessly dodged Devlin’s blow and nailed him directly between the eyes. The force of the impact sent the black hedgehog crashing into one of the many glaciers. As Devlin slowly staggered to his feet, Chase charged ahead in his ball form to perform his signature Spin Dash. Unfortunately, this allowed Devlin the perfect opportunity to catch him in a sphere of dark energy. Devlin played with the hedgehog for a bit, tossing him back and forth in the air, until he chucked him into the nearest glacier. Luckily, the glacier was shaped like the loops in Green Hill Zone and Chase was able to ride it back towards Devlin’s direction. Watching the hedgehog’s movements, Devlin raced into the sky before Chase slammed into the glacier.

“Ok, so he’s a little good.” Devlin thought. “I guess all those battles against Egghog weren’t a waste off time after all.”

"Hey...” Chase murmured dizzily. “Look at all the pretty birdies.”

“He’s out of focus.” Devlin thought gratefully. “Now’s my chance.” Devlin stretched out his arms for his final attack until he suddenly felt something tightening in his torso. Devlin hunched over, clutching his stomach. “What the...?”

It was unfortunate that it happened the moment Chase regained his senses. He didn’t know what has happening to Devlin, but he couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this. Holding his hand out in front, Chase called a large amount of blue chaos energy into his palm. He manipulated the shape of the energy into a sphere, completing the preparations. Chase clutched the energy sphere in his hand and shot back to the sky towards his descendent at maximum speed. Once close enough, Chase let loose with his ultimate attack.

“CHAOS TORNADO!!!” Chase screamed.

Just seconds before the attack could strike; Devlin vanished in a flash of light. Knowing that he had won, Chase released a loud cheer before following Devlin back to the island.

---East Island---

When Chase looked back to his surroundings, he found himself being accepted by a round of applause. Grinning at his public, Chase took a bow, only to be caught by one of Geisy’s death hugs. It was unusual that there was no accident during the battle, but that didn’t bother the contestants. Devlin remained standing, but he was bent over, clutching his stomach painfully. While his friends looked over him, Morph moved to Hybrid’s side.

“What did you do to him?” Morph questioned silently.

“Earlier, I had Wave put a little extra something in Devlin’s food.” Hybrid explained lowly. “It’s nothing lethal, but...”

“Devlin, are you ok?” Dahlia asked concerned.

“I...can’t hold it.” Devlin moaned. “I need...to find...a bathroom!!”

The audience stares strangely as Devlin zips out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Hybrid sniggered delightfully as Morph’s eye was twitching in disturbance.

“You put laxatives in his food?” Morph questioned awkwardly.

“It’s nature’s broom.” Hybrid laughed before directing to his audience. “Now, I don’t expect that we’ll be seeing him any time soon! So why don’t we move on to the next round!”

"Ya got to feel sorry for the guy." Mercury commented; everyone nodded.

Waving his hands to the back wall, Hybrid called back the randomizer. With a snap of his fingers, Hybrid activated the machine and watched the symbols fly off the screen. While the competitors looked concerned about who they would be facing next, Hybrid had a look of certainty in his eyes. While no one was looking, the mixed hedgehog twitched his fingers at the same moment the randomizer stopped. The symbols the machine had landed on earned a gasp from nearly all the competitors: a blue rain symbol and a green neon symbol.

“The second match: Cancer vs. Morph!” Hybrid announced proudly.

“Are you going to be all right?” Strike asked.

“There are some questions we need answered.” Cancer grunted. “And this may be the only time we can get them.”

“Good luck.” Aqua said.

While Cancer passed through the crowd, his eyes locked on with his opponent. He noticed a fire of hatred burning in his eyes; a look he was very familiar with. While Cancer stepped on to the platform, Morph faced Hybrid with a serious expression on her face.

“I do not want you to interfere.” Morph seethed. “This will be my battle and I will succeed. If I see you pull a string, you will feel my wrath.”

“Very well.” Hybrid responded calmly. “I will not interfere. You have my solemn vow.”

It was obvious that she didn’t believe him, but she accepted the promise anyway. The morpholomew walked onto the platform, standing at Cancer’s side. The crab tried to look at her, but Morph turned her head in disgust. Hybrid released a wave of electricity into the transporter and both warriors disappeared into the beam of light.

---Mystic Ruins---

The scene changes to the familiar terrain of Mystic Ruins. The place was properly named since it once homed the fabled echidna tribe and the mythical Angel Island. There were several structures scattered that could reveal the legacy of the ancient echidnas and the wrath of their god, Chaos. A moment later, a white beam dropped from the sky, leaving the two warriors in its place.

“Wow, Mystic Ruins.” Cancer said inspiringly. “I haven’t been here since...”

What he said next would never be revealed. Without warning, Morph swung around and slammed his foot into Cancer’s face. The impact sent the crab tumbling backwards into one of the stone statues of Chaos, shattering the piece in half. Morph’s expression was one of pure loathing as clenching his fists till he drew blood.

“I’ve waited so long for this day.” Morph thought vengefully. “Now I will be one step further to completing my tribe’s legacy.”

“Hey, what was that for?!” Cancer yelled, pulling himself from under the rubble.

“During battle, a true warrior never drops his guard!” Morph stated hatefully. “You and the rest of you scum are a disgrace to our kind! You tarnish our name with your evil ways and attempted conquests!”

“Attempted conquests?” Cancer repeated. “No tribe has ever attempted to take over since the Nocturnus.”

“Liar! I lived there until I moved to Nega-Nocturnus.” Morph exclaimed.

As Cancer bashed his claws together in preparation, Morph stretched his arms outwards. As Morph closes his palms, he is suddenly holding twin daggers of pure green energy. After watching his battle against Metal, Cancer knew they were dangerous. Morph charged ahead with his Leech Blades crossed, leaving Cancer no alternative. Grinding his claws together, Cancer summoned forth the Water Hydra. Morph was barely able to recognize it once Cancer released it in the form of a spiraling column. Morph screeched to a halt and morphed his body to avoid the shoot. The hydra barely brushed across his cheek, but it was enough to leave behind a visible cut.

“Listen, I don’t want to fight you.” Cancer stated.

“As if I am expected to believe that.” Morph glared. “You’re all the same. You abuse your power and cause pain to those around you. It was because of your selfishness that cost the lives of your kinds.”

“I’ll admit it; tampering with Chaos’ power was a mistake, Furion befalling to the Darkness, Naja’s betrayal and murders.” Cancer said disapprovingly. “But I don’t understand what it has to do with all of us. What happened between our species occurred four thousand and ten years ago.”

“The same day I was crowned leader of the Morpholomews.” Morph murmured.

“What?!” Cancer exclaimed, overhearing his sentence.

Realizing he had been exposed, Morph rushed ahead with his Leech Blade drawn out. Cancer wanted more answers, but figured that fighting was the only way to get through to him. The crab reeled back his claw and thrusted it towards Morph’s chest, but he easily able to sidestep it. With the given opportunity, Morph swiped his Leech Blade across Cancer’s chest. The crab was able to jump back far enough to where the blade barely grazed him. When Cancer looked back to his opponent, Morph’s cut had disappeared completely.

“What was that thing?” Cancer questioned.

“One of the Nocturnus Tribe’s proud creations mixed together with my kind’s even greater technology.” Morph explained. “The Omega Leech Blade allows me to consume any kinds of energy of my enemies and transfer it to healing energy. I can use it as a weapon and a medical device.”

“The Precursor Tribe.” Cancer repeated lowly. “That explains it. Your tribe cared only for advanced technology. And to get it, they stole from other lands, including Babylon Garden, White Comet, Black Comet, and Nocturnus.”

“My tribe never committed theft!” Morph exclaimed furiously. “It was every other filthy tribe that slandered our name with those lies! My people created our own technology and used it for the betterment of the world! Other tribes were always jealous of us and sought for any opportunity to bring us down!”

“Where’d you come up with a story like that?” Cancer smirked.

His rage threatening to explode, Morph crossed his Leech Blades and dived ahead at his hated enemy. Unfortunately for him, Cancer had expected this. The crab lowered himself to avoid the attack and grasped Morph by his wrists. Morph struggled to break free, but Cancer tightened his grip, forcing him to release his blades. Cancer had the perfect opportunity to end the match and Morph knew it. But he didn’t take the chance.

“I want to know what happened that day.” Cancer said.

“What are you talking about?” Morph growled.

“I will never forget that day.” Morph sighed. “It happened at the same time that I was crowned leader for killing a great disease. I soon had a plan to remove the radiation that had caused it all in the first place. But then we were ripped from our home and banished into the hellish realm Argus created: The Twilight Cage. Though the radiation had weakened the ground and halfway into our entry most of the tribe land had broken off and caused the death of 100,000 Morpholomews. My people drifted along the endless prison, searching for any hope of escaping but soon I became the last of the kind. Ix took me in and I joined the Nocturnus clan assisted by Procurators Shade and Darkness. When the residents were moved back here by Journey, there was only one hope for restoring my tribe: Master Xi of the Nega-Nocturnus. From planet Urth.”

“I heard about him.” Cancer interjected. “There were a lot of legends of the battles between Skull and Xi. During their time, they were revered as the greatest warriors in the world.” He laughed slightly. “They were even given their own titles. Xi the Warrior and the living Skull.”

“Master Xi truly is wise.” Morph proclaimed proudly. “He discovered the true workings of the Twilight Cage in over 12 hours and made many great discoveries. He was the first to learn that anything trapped in the Twilight Cage ages differently than in the true reality. 231.33333333333333333333333333333 times faster to be exact."

“Which explains why you’re still young after four thousand and 10 years.” Cancer said.

“Precisely.” Morph nodded. “Master Xi soon learned that there is a way to crossover from the dimensional barrier and return home. But to do that, we needed someone equally wise enough to assist in our return.”

“And that’s where Hybrid comes in.” Cancer finished; Morph nodded.

“After all these years, there is a chance I might be able to be with my own kind again. I can finally regain my lost family. What will you do now?” Morph questioned softly.

“That’s simple.” Cancer smiled, releasing Morph’s arms. “I surrender.”

Morph gasped at the crab as if he had grown two heads. The next thing they knew, Cancer vanished in a flash of light with Morph following shortly.

---East Island---

When both could see again, they realized that they were back on the island with the rest of the competition. Unlike the previous match, no one applauded for them. Instead, they held looks of disappointment. Morph slowly moved away from the platform. Heather was in front to welcome her back, but the morpholomew turned her back to him, leaving the hedgehog greatly confused. No matter how much he tried to forget them, Hybrid’s words kept appearing in her mind.

“You must kill Heather...”

“Before, I could carry out such a mission without hesitation.” Morph thought, clutching the pain in his chest. “But there’s just something different about her. I'm not so sure if I can complete the mission. But I can't defy Master Xi after all that he has done for me. What will I do?”

And while Morph disappeared into the crowd, Hybrid glared at her back from afar.

“Morph has exposed himself and the tribe to the enemy.” Hybrid thought seriously. “This could make things a bit more complicated for our plan.”

The first half of the quarter finals had ended. With the exception of a few heroes, no one really expected Devlin to defeat Leo. But what caught them truly by surprise was Cancer willingly surrendering. While many were disappointed in him, Cancer had his own reasons for throwing the fight.

“Now if we’re quite done badgering our loser,” Hybrid called over the agitated crowd. “We’re set to begin the next round of the tournament!”

Much to Cancer’s relief, the audience turned their sights to Hybrid once more. With a wave of his hands, the mixed hedgehog activated the randomizer once more. With half of the quarterfinal being complete, there were only four positions left on the board. After a short period of waiting, the randomizer slowly came to a stop. The first symbol was of black alien and the second was a red alien symbol.

“The third match: Kazuki vs. Jac!” Hybrid announced.

“Yahoo!!” Kazuki screeched joyously; he flipped backwards over a number of peoples heads. “Yay! I’m going to go up against my number two idol!”

“Number two?” Vec asked curiously.

“Well, you can’t really beat the Food God.” Kazuki said pointedly. (Sarcasm if you don’t notice)

“Ok....I’m not even going to ask.” Ebon said awkwardly.

Meanwhile, Jac was being greeted by his usual entourage, but with a new exception. Though still suffering from memory loss, Mercury was kind enough to wish his half-brother luck.

“I expect to see a good fight um.....” Mercury said unknowingly.

“Jac.” Venus completed.

“Yeah, what she said.” Mercury nodded.

“Just remember to keep your guard up.” Strawberry advised. “She very good at avoiding long range attacks, so most of your Nexus Techniques are useless.”

“I guess I’ll have to rely on my speed and hand-to-hand combat.” Jac said as he walked towards the platform. Strawberry pouted a little before Jac ran back and kissed her cheek. “You didn’t think I would forget, did you?”

Hybrid waited until both competitors were on the platform before activating the transporter. It took a while because Morph had to stop Kazuki from strangling her brother with her feet. Once everyone was ready, a white beam shot down from the bubble above, taking its two passengers along for the ride.

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---China---

The scene alters to the heart of the largest country in the world: China. We find ourselves in the thick of an impossibly large bamboo forest where the only path was the dirt road that divided it. A white beam dropped from the crystal clear skies above and formed in the middle of the dirt road. As the beam faded, Jac stared uncertain around at his environment while Kazuki was flipping for joy.

“Yay, a forest!” Kazuki cheered, using his tails to swing through bamboo. “I can just swing around like a monkey.”

“This puts me at a definite disadvantage.” Jac calculated. “With the forest as think as it is, there is no way I’ll be able to maneuver around fast enough to catch this girl. Guess it’s time to fall back on plan B.”

“You can’t hit me.” Kazuki whined. “You can’t hit – AAH!!”

Kazuki rebounded to the next bamboo tree as the previous one was scorched by an oncoming fireball. Jac tossed his hand to Kazuki’s direction, summoning a horde of Nexus Waves to attack in his direction. Naturally, Kazuki was able to avoid the attack with minimal effort, using the trees for support. Jac knew that his attacks weren’t doing much good, but just standing around wasn’t going to help him win. As Jac released a second wave, Kazuki jumped down and he was suspended a few feet from the ground as Jac found the perfect opportunity to form a Nexus Fire Arrow.

“I don’t know why, but you’re making this too easy.” Jac smirked.

“I guess that’s one person’s opinion.” Kazuki said blankly. “Oh, and watch out for the Foxxune Mirage Claw.”

“What claw?” Jac asked confused. Kazuki only smiled as he went back up, before a claw came toward Jac, smacking him between the eyes. “Ah, darn it!”

Jac unleashed yet another round of Nexus Waves, but Kazuki was able to cartwheel around them. Growing frustrated, Jac unleashed every attack in his arsenal, which proved useless since Kazuki was able to dodge them effortlessly. Without Jac realizing it, Kazuki made his way closer to the hedgehog until he was up close and personal. Finally coming to his senses, Jac reeled back his fist to strike. Unfortunately, Kazuki balanced himself on one tail and stampeded Jac with a flurry of his other eight and feet. Jac was left dazed for a moment until Kazuki flipped backward, thwacking him with his tails. Next thing he knew, Jac was caught in a prison of bamboo.

“Ah, dang it.” Jac growled, thrashing against the thin trees.

“You know, it’s not healthy to talk to yourself.” Kazuki stated; he was hanging upside-down from his tails.

“Once I get out of here, I’m going to hurt you.” Jac proclaimed.

“Maybe you should consider therapy.” Kazuki smiled playfully. “Can you fit into a size six dress miss?”

“That does it!!” Jac screamed.

“Ooh, pretty.” Kazuki said entranced.

What he didn’t realize was that Jac was collecting a massive amount of red chaos energy into his body. The red energy appeared to surround his body and intensify with every second. Something in Kazuki’s instincts told him to run away and he followed them momentarily. It was lucky he did. Because a moment later, Jac released a powerful attack.

“NEXUS EXPLOSION!!!” Jac screamed.

In a fury of power, Jac unleashed an explosion of red energy from his body. As the attack died down, Jac, whose body was returning to its usual shade, was seen standing in the center of the new crater, panting.

“Man, I hope I didn’t kill him.” Jac said, staring down at his hands. “But I guess not. If I had won, we should have been sent back to the island. Where could he have gone?”

Meanwhile, Kazuki was hanging upside down above a pile of pointed bamboo. Kazuki managed to survive the encounter, but it sent him flying several miles away from his opponent. He was using his athletic abilities to pull himself to safety when he noticed a figure moving through the branches.

“Wow, he really is fast.” Kazuki said impressively. “But now I got the element of surprise.”

He slowly and stealthily moved through the branches, edging herself closer to his target. Once he was above the shadow, he jumped down, with a Foxxune Hurricane Arrow in hand. Unfortunately, the figure spotted her and grasped her leg, tossing her onto the ground.

“Ow, that hurt.” Kazuki whined, looking up at her opponent. Suddenly, her expression was filled with surprise. “Who are you?”

The 4-tailed fox stared at not one, but two coated figures. Both creatures were different species, but wore the same black coat with white markings, sleeves, and flaps. A few moments later, we find Jac zipping through the crowded forest, whacking his head on bamboo occasionally, and stopped once he found himself outside the forest. After hunting for his prey for nearly ten minutes, Jac was as close to finding Kazuki as finding the North Pole.

“Where is he?” Jac sneered. “I couldn’t have blown him too far. He has to be somewhere nearby.”

“J...a...c...” A familiar voice moaned.

“Kazuki?” Jac questioned to the faint voice.

Looking over to the side, Jac nearly tripped over himself. He had found his opponent, but in the worst possible condition. Kazuki’s body was covered in nearly over a hundred cuts, a number of bruises formed over her limbs. But worst of all were his eyes; they were glassy and distant. After taking a moment to recover from the shock, Jac ran over and kneeled down to his.

“Kazuki, are you alright!” Jac panicked. “Say something! Please!”

“I was attacked, by Naja and a Shark, members of the Dark Siege” Kazuki whimpered.

“Oh no, not the group Solstice talked about.” Jac said horrified. Suddenly, he shouted to the sky. “I surrender! Just take us back!”

At the moment he uttered those words, both warriors faded from sight in flashes of white lights. They remained unaware of their present watchers.

“Why did you do that, Scar?” Naja questioned.

“Hey, I was just passing the time until our ride brings us and the Chaos Spark back to base.” Scar sniggered.

---East Island---


The scene shifts back to the island. Once Jac regained consciousness of his surroundings, he recognized the echoing gasps of the audience. He barely had time to open his eyes before Rave, Hybrid, and Strawberry were already over them. Just from Hybrid’s worried expression, Morph knew he had no involvement in this.

“What happened to him?” Hybrid questioned.

“I don’t really know.” Rave said uncertain. “To receive this number of injuries in such short amount of time is impossible. Not only is his body great damaged, but his organs have ruptured and she is suffering from internal bleeding.” He held a light to Kazuki’s eye; he didn’t blink. “To make it worse, his eyes show that he is suffering from mental trauma.”

“Is he going to be all right?” Morph asked worried.

“I don’t know.” Rave shook. “His physical wounds will be simple to heal, but his mind is in an unstable state. It could take months before he returns to his senses. If he returns, Hybrid, I need the best medical supplies you have, I’ll have to perform surgery to save him”

Hybrid waved to Eggman and commanded him to carry Kazuki to the infirmary. Rave followed him and once the door snapped shut, Hybrid returned to the audience with his judgment.

“Winner: Jac!” Hybrid announced.

“What?!” Jac exclaimed. “But I forfeited the match!”

“But that was only to save your opponent.” Hybrid stated. “If you had not found him and surrendered, he might have been in a worse state than he is now.” He patted Jac’s shoulder. “You’re a hero, Jac. Take this victory in gratitude.”

“I guess.” Jac sighed.

“Thank you.” Hybrid muttered as Jac walked back to the audience. “And now for out final match: Mystic vs. Emily!”

“Try not to overdo it, Emily.” Vash warned.

“Come on, when have I ever overreacted?” Emily questioned; Alan and Vash stared. “Alright, I won’t overdo it.”

“Keep your eyes sharp.” Rain advised, wiping Mystic’s head with a mop (Don’t ask). “She’s a nasty piece of work, she is.”

“She’s not all bad.” Mystic commented, vividly remembering the dance.

“You should still make sure to keep your guard up.” Rave warned. “If you are not careful, she will destroy you without haste.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Mystic said sarcastically.

Both warriors, Mystic pushing away Marine’s mop, made their way past the crowd and onto the platform. Mystic grinned sheepishly at her, but she responded with a deathly glare. Hope Mystic knew what he was getting into. Once both warriors were on board, Hybrid activated the transporter and teleported them through the white beam.

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---Saudi Arabia---

The scene changes to the dusty red sands of Saudi Arabia. As to be expected, the landing sight was an endless desert where the intense heat of the sun was at its greatest. The winds lashed across the desert dunes and not a drop of life existed within miles of the area. The white beam descended from sky, dropping of its passengers. The two looked at each other with competitive expression before the dune they landed on gave way. They tumbled; both their faces landing in the sand.

“Ugh! That’s nasty!” Emily moaned, trying to scrub the sand off her tongue.

“Well, it can’t get any worse than this.” Mystic proclaimed. A moment later, Emily kicked him in the crown jewel, toppling the proud warriors to he knees; his voice high-pitched “What’d ya do that for?”

“Hey, this is a fight isn’t it?” Emily grinned. “It’s not my fault you’re slow on the uptake.”

“Ok, that just about does it.” Mystic groaned weakly, slowly drawing to his feet. “Listen, I like you, but there is no way I’m risking my manhood by losing to someone like you.”

“I didn’t know you had any of your manhood left.” Emily joked.

A vein was throbbing excessively on Mystic’s forehead. At that moment, the crystal aura took form around her claws, Mystic formed black chaos duel energy swords. Emily thrusted her claws forward, which Mystic blocked with a swipe of his energy blades. Emily tried to kick at his feet, but Mystic easily jumped over her and thrusted the sword hilt towards her head. Fortunately, Emily was quick enough to turn and catch the sword with her hand. From coming in contact with Emily’s energy, Mystic’s sword imploded on itself.

“Hey, watch it!” Mystic exclaimed. “I only have two hands.”

“Grow up, kid.” Emily said playfully. “You can’t have everything.”

“I’m older than you!” Mystic said pointedly. “You can’t call me a kid.”

“I’ll call you what I want.” Emily smirked; she winked at him. “And maybe after I whoop your butt, you can be a man and take a certain lovely lady out to dinner.”

“Sounds perfect.” Mystic grinned. “Now all I need is the lovely lady.”

Now it was Emily’s turn to receive the throbbing vein in her forehead. As expected from her impatience, Emily charged ahead, swiping blindly at every direction. Unfortunately, her thoughtless actions created a sudden gust of wind to kick up and spread the sand beneath her feet. A small bit of the sand landed in Emily’s eye, temporarily blinding her and disabling her powers. This was the perfect chance Mystic was looking for. He raised his other sword and silently edge behind her until he stepped on something that made him cry out. Whimpering loudly, Mystic looked under his foot and found the remains a very venomous scorpion; the tail still lodged inside his shoe.

“Oh, I don’t feel so good.” Mystic groaned.

“Mystic, what’s happening?” Emily asked fearfully; swiping away the sand as fast as possible. “Mystic, you don’t sound too good. Is everything all right?”

“I...I think I’m gonna...”

That was about all Mystic could spare before he fell backwards into the sand. After a furious attempt to gouge her own eyes out, Emily was able to restore enough of her vision to spot the wounded Mystic. She crouched down to him, resting her ears on his chest, the scorpion ran away before it was noticed. His heart was pulsing slowly and his breathing was becoming more ragged. And once she found the bit of poison the scorpion left behind, Emily had a good idea what had happened. The blue cheetah was panicking for a moment before she remembered what Mystic said about his backpack. It contained everything medical except fevers; she never figured that part out.

“Ugh, there’s got to be something in this thing.” Emily moaned, reaching for his watch.

Pressing at the speed of sound, Emily looked through everything she could find. So far, she discovered a encyclopedia, an arsenal of rubber weapons, a holo-phone, a portable refrigerator, and a picture album of his friends. Emily pressed a flashing button. The feature must have contained a vaccine as Mystic sudden gasped to life and was cough his heart out.

“Oh, thank Eclipse.” Emily sighed; she slapped him over the head. “Don’t scare me like that again! Do you know how worried I was?!”

“Sorry, but I just couldn’t wait to kill myself.” Mystic said sarcastically, pushing himself up by his elbows. “But, I am grateful that you saved me. For a minute, I thought you would have just let me die.”

“Well, I thought I was going to.” Emily admitted sheepishly. “But I guess love make people do crazy things.”

“Did you just say you loved me?” Mystic questioned hopefully.

Registering what she had just said, Emily’s face turned redder than Knuckles fur. But despite the great potential for blackmail, Mystic didn’t seem to pester her about it. Instead, he reached over and placed his hand on top of hers. Emily was shaken by this action for a moment before she slowly began to relax. The desert sun was glaring down on them, but neither of them seemed to mind and their gently closed the gap between them. But just seconds before their lips could make contact; Mystic’s hand seemed to suddenly come to life.

“Uh, what’s that?” Emily asked curiously; she was disappointed for being interrupted.

“What the? What’s happening to my hand?” Mystic muttered, equally confused.

Without a command to be followed, Mystic’s hand suddenly began to gather a large amount of red energy. By the time Mystic could figure out what was happening, a Black Chaos Cannon fired. It was aimed for Emily, but fortunately, she was transported back seconds before the beam hit. Deeply confused, Mystic followed her example.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---East Island---

When Mystic returned to the island, he was greet by a wide spread of applause from his audience. Rain seemed to be cheering the loudest as her voice traveled farther than anyone else. For a moment, Mystic was on top of the world. A second later, it all came crashing down; Emily once more kicked him in the crown jewels.

“Why does it always have to be there?” Mystic whimpered in a high-pitched voice.

“And I just went easy on you.” Emily growled angrily; Vash and Alan had to hold her back. “You are a sick and cruel creature. I admit my feelings to you and you have the nerve to toy with them.”

“But I didn’t.” Mystic explained feebly. “I don’t know what happened. My hand just came to life on it own.”

“And you expect me to believe that!” Emily cried, tears escaping from her eyes. “I was an idiot to think that you actually cared about me. Well, I won’t make that mistake again. I never want to see you again, Mystic!”

At those words, Mystic’s world shattered. Emily turned and ran as fast out of the room as she could. Alan chased after her, but Vash took the moment to glare at him before following behind. The whole room seemed to hate Mystic at that moment as they all sent their most harmful expression at him. The only ones who seemed to show any sympathy was Leo and Luna as they helped him move as far away from the crowd as possible. Trying to cut the tension, Hybrid called out to the crowd.

“And that concludes the Quarterfinals!” Hybrid announced. “And the victors are as follow: Leo, Jac, Morph, and Mystic! In three days, we will continue to the semifinals! Until then, I wish you a good evening!”

After a few minutes of scattered conversation, Hybrid and Morph made their way down the staircase to the basement floors. Taking in a moment of silence, Morph attracted his attention to her ally.

“What happened during that match?” Morph questioned. “Did you have anything to do with Mystic’s hand reacting to itself?”

“I originally intended for Emily to win.” Hybrid stated disapprovingly. “I had one of the soldiers place that scorpion at the most possible point for Mystic to come in contact. Unfortunately, Mystic had medical supplies to help him.”

“Then how did he win?” Morph asked.

“There is only one person in this castle that can relay commands to an organism’s hand.” Hybrid said with the deepest scowl possible. “By why would he want Mystic to advance? What are you up to Xi?”

What while Hybrid thought over his new dilemma, Morph was busy with his own issues. It was unknown why, but Morph began to doubt if he could go through with killing Heather. Ever since the dance, the brown hedgehog had been using her best attempts to get closer to him. Though he was unused to such feelings, Morph couldn’t help but feel happier around her. Unfortunately, his fantasy was cut short once his circlet began beeping annoyingly. Pressing the glowing indent, a hologram of an injured Nega-Nocturnus warrior appeared above her wrist.

“What is it?” Morph questioned seriously.

“Unfortunate business, Procurator Morph.” The soldier reported weakly. “Ryan has pushed through are defenses. We believe he may be heading for the manufacturing center.”

“I don’t care what you do!” Hybrid snapped suddenly. “Kill him if you have to, but do not allow him to reach the Twelfth Floor!”

“Yes, master!” The soldier saluted before fading out.

“So, that mangy hog has managed to bypass my defenses.” Hybrid said; he was half-annoyed and half-impressed. “All right, Ryan, I’ll ply your little game of Chess. But you will learn what it means to defy the Checkmate!”

The scene opens far below the surface of Eastern Island; in the dark depths of the basement floors. While the Ultimate World Tournament was being held eighteen floors above, a couple of Nega-Nocturnus warriors were walking diligently down the spiraling staircase on the right hand side. What they didn’t realize was that a familiar shape was walking in the shadows behind them. Ryan kept his distance and prevented himself from making any noise. Unfortunately, one of the stone steps squeaked an irritable sound, which surely alerted the warriors. Acting fast, Ryan jumped over the side and hung from the banister the moment the Nega-Nocturnus turned.

“Did you hear something?” The left soldier, a female, asked.

“It’s probably the ocean tides again.” The right soldier, a male, responded. “You know the lower section of the castle is built beneath the ocean floor. I’ll wager another whale just passed by.”

“You know,” The female Nega-Nocturnus said, shivering slightly. “I never thought I would find a place that would creep me out more than the Twilight Cage.”

“Just be thankful we are part of the lucky few that could escape.” The male soldier said; bringing the clipboard he was carrying into view. “Now stop your whining and move it. The Imperator wants us to make sure everything is in order.”

“All right, but I’m not going any where near that thing.” The female soldier stated.

“Well, I’m certainly not going to check it.” The male soldier proclaimed; his voice sounded a bit edgy in Ryan’s opinion. “But someone has to make sure it’s alive or Imperator Hybrid will kill us.”

“How about we don’t and say we did.” The female soldier suggested hopefully. “What Imperator Hybrid doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“I love how your mind works.” The male soldier said joyously.

Ryan remained hanging for a while, waiting to make sure they were out of sight. Focusing most of his senses into his ears, he could hear a few footfalls followed by the sound of a door closing. Once the coast was clear, Ryan leaped back onto the stairway and followed downwards until he reached the eleventh platform. His intention was to follow through to the twelfth basement floor, but instead was met with...

“A dead end?” Ryan questioned. The stairway had stopped completely at the eleventh floor, blocked off by the handrails. Hunching over the edge, the wolf stared down at the pit below. “Ok, that won’t work very well. But Hybrid said there were twelve basement floors. Where’s the last one.”

“Was that fast enough for you?” The male soldier’s voice echoed.

“At least we didn’t run into that thing this time.” The female soldier responded.

The Nega-Nocturnus soldiers were coming back and Ryan barely had time to hide before the door behind him slide open. The two armored soldiers were locked in conversation with each other moments before they noticed the dark hedgehog standing outside the terrace. There was an awkward silence between them as both enforces stared unblinkingly at Ryan.

“Uh...hi?” Ryan said anxiously.

“Intruder!!” The soldier exclaimed.

“Oh boy.” Ryan muttered.

The Nocturnes Soldier quickly reached behind their backs and pulled out a set of light blue circular-shaped blades. The blades edges ignited in a neon light, which seemed like a blur to Ryan as he ducked his head away. Reacting to their assault, Ryan reached over his shoulders and made two katana for defense. But while Ryan crossed his blades to block the male soldier, he was forced to jumped back as the female swiped at his feet. Ryan landed, perfectly balanced, on the banister with the male soldier following in his stead; the female remained on the floor. Dodging high and low from both angles, Ryan was doing exceptionally well for himself. During the fight, Ryan found a perfect opportunity to strike. Swiping away the enemy blade, Ryan spun around and slammed his other foot into the side of the soldier’s face, sending him spiraling into the pit. Distressed for her partner, the female soldier dropped her weapon and hurried over to the edge.

“Nyzrath!” The soldier screamed.

“Gotcha!” Ryan shouted and crossed his blades near her neck.

“Imperator Hybrid was always suspicious about you.” The soldier said spitefully. "And I see he had a good reason to be weary around you. Just who are your really?”

“I am Ryan Charles Diulus.” Ryan announced importantly. “On a mission for G.P.E., Global Protectors of Earth.”

“Hahaha!” The soldier laughed strongly; Ryan stared worried. “The reports Imperator Hybrid made about you was right.”

“And possessing that sort of information is what worries the commander.” Ryan said, pushing his blades closer to her throat. “I know I’m not allowed to, but I’ll let you live if you provide me the information I require. Where is the twelfth floor?”

“If you are looking for a way to manufacturing center, the path is beyond that doorway.” The soldier instructed, pointed to the door behind them. “But I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.”

“And why would that be?” Ryan questioned seriously.

“Thirty geniuses went in, only three, Gear White Teleflame who goes by White, Tech IQ Prower, and Dr. Ivo Robotnik aka Eggman; came out.” The soldier answered. “Going inside without knowing the way is considered suicide.”

“Well, I do like danger.” Ryan smirked. “I think I’ll take the risk. Thank you for your help.”

As he slowly withdrew his blades, he suddenly shot the hilts to stab at her neck. The Nega-Nocturnus soldier fell unceremoniously back on the stairs as Ryan sheathed his blades. He walked over to the door and shot it open with great force. The room inside was pitch-black; Ryan couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled a miniature flashlight and hesitantly journeyed into the darkness. As the door slammed shut, Ryan remained unaware of the soldier’s sudden reawakening and the soldier from the pit. Moaning loudly, the female soldier removed her helmet, revealing her light-orange fur (I think you can figure out who this is.), the male soldier activated the communicator on his circlet.

“What is it?” Morph asked.

The scene alters to the dark system inside the eleventh floor. As Ryan quickly discovered, the entire floor was one gigantic labyrinth full of twists and turns. Flashing his light to the ceiling, Ryan had to guess that it reached all the way to the entrance hall. Ryan took two lefts and a right, only finding himself at a dead end. He went back and took the other direction, once again coming to a wall at the end. It almost seemed that everywhere he went, there would always be a wall waiting to show him up. Ryan was seriously starting to regret letting that Nega-Nocturnus girl go; she knew her way around. He turned around the corner, only to feel a hot-blooded pain invading his head; the path was a painted wall.

“This cannot be happening!” Ryan screamed, kicking his foot against the wall; he was hopping up and down painfully. “How can anyone get through this? It would take a miracle to find your way.”

“You’re not a very patient one, are you?” A weak voice moaned.

Ryan jumped at the sound, dropping his flashlight in the process. Fortunately enough, the light pointed to the source of the voice, allowing him to find a man slumped along the wall. It was a human man, around thirty, covered with tattered cloths and numerous cuts and bruises. Crouching low to see his face, Ryan seemed to recognize him.

“Wait, I know you.” Ryan said hastily. “You’re Prof. Tidus, one of the thirty scientists that came here and went missing. What are you doing down here?”

“It was a trap.” Prof. Tidus groaned tiredly. “Hybrid gathered the greatest minds in the world and dropped them into this death trap. He said it was necessary for us to surrender our knowledge to him for the greater good. I watched many innocent lives perish because of him.”

“How would he take your knowledge?” Ryan questioned; he was hiding a tape recorder in his pocket.

“I watched that thing kill everyone.” Prof. Tidus said frighteningly; he seemed to shiver at the thought. “And every time someone would die, those black clothed creatures would drag their bodies away, saying they were going to extract all the information from their brains. My guess is that Hybrid found a way to steal knowledge from the corpses of others and transmit them to another mind. Please, you have to get me out of here before it finds me.” Prof. Tidus requested pleadingly.

The very next moment, Ryan’s ears perked at a sudden sound. It resembled much like the hiss of a snake, but it was too loud and low to be anything remotely like a snake. The sound was soon followed by a quick sloshing sound that appeared to come from around the corner. Ryan quickly jumped to his feet and ducked around the corner at the opposite end; the man cried for him to come back. Ryan kept himself close to the edge, remaining out of sight, and waited as the sound drew closer. It seemed to stop in the spot where Ryan once stood and the labyrinth was soon filled by the screams of a dying man. Slowly taking up his katana, he moved it out into the open and stared at the reflection bouncing of the steel blade. A moment later, he held the sword closer to his chest, his eyes wide with fear.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Ryan said hoarsely.

“I know you’re there!” A familiar voice called. “There’s no point in hiding. He can still smell you.”

“You have seriously got to be kidding me.” Ryan deadpanned.

Making sure to keep his gaze low, Ryan walked into the central path with both his katana. He glanced over to the mangled corpse of Prof. Tidus before looking over to his attacker. An enormous poisonous green serpent, thick as an oak tree. At the point of its blunt head, just below it’s piercing yellow eyes, were twin fangs the size of broadswords. Trying to avoid the snake’s gaze, Ryan searched over the top of its head. To his surprise, he discovered the Nega-Nocturnus warriors he defeated earlier were riding on top.

“Oh, there you are.” The female said malevolently. “We’ve been looking for you for ages.”

“Where in the world did you find the guardian of the snake people?” Ryan said shivering.

“I believe you are referring to Imperator Hybrid’s pet.” The male said, graciously patting the snake.

“He calls a thirty-foot poisonous serpent a pet?” Ryan asked awkwardly.

“Actually, he’s only twenty-seven feet.” The male informed. “He’s a bit small for his age, but he’s big enough to get rid of you. You’ll soon learn what happens to those who stand against the Nega-Nocturnus Tribe. Rip him, tear him, kill him!”

The snake hissed menacingly and lunged its head forward. With some quick thinking, Ryan shut off his flashlight and jumped to the side. Because of the lack of lights, the Basilisk’s face smashed through the walls; it flailed its head in confusion. The snake hissed in irritancy. Because of all the noise, Ryan could use his sense of hearing similar to the way the bat use echolocation. By following the sounds of the snake, Ryan jumped overhead and stabbed his katana downwards at the serpents head. Ryan must have hit a severe point in the snake as he heard an earthshaking roar emitting from the beast’s throat. All of a sudden, Ryan felt himself being thrusted back on the floor, losing his katana in midair.

“Oh, this is getting ridiculous!” The female complained. “Activate the lights!”

A moment after the command, a row of lights flashed from the sightless ceiling, temporarily blinding everyone in the maze. As he stood up, slowly regaining his sight, Ryan was given a clearer view of the monster. One of its golden eyes was bleeding endlessly with his second katana still lodged into its socket. The two swiped their eyes of blindness, glaring down at the hedgehog.

“You are really starting to become a pain in the backside.” The male growled.

“Why don’t you make it easy on yourself and give up.” Ryan said smugly. “Let’s face it, I’m faster than the snake, making it vulnerable to my attacks. And without its eyes, there is no way it can kill me.”

“And I thought you were supposed to be a top ranking fighter.” The female sneered wholeheartedly. “You should realize that you have your back to the wall, leaving you with nowhere to go, and that the snake’s skin is harder than stone. And don’t forget that you only took out one of its eyes, leaving one left behind. In shorter terms, you’re dead.”

“Dang.” Ryan said undertone.

The snake flailed its head to relinquish the blade piecing into its eye socket and glared menacingly at him. Ryan quickly steered away from its lethal gaze and directed his flow of energy into his ears. He could distinctly hear the serpents slithering body moving closer with him edging closer to the wall. With the snake covering a wide margin of the narrow path and Ryan was forced back against the stone barrier, leaving him with only one option left. The snake swallowed him whole.

“Yes!!” The female cheered. “Finally, I’m rid of the black mutt!” A dark energy katana stabbed through the roof of the snake’s mouth near their feet. “Whoa, didn’t see that coming.”

Without much warning, the katana shredded across the snake’s skin in a complete circle until the beast was entirely decapitated. From the slimy corpse, Ryan ripped himself from the serpent’s stomach, covered in material that is too disgusting to be said out loud. For some reason, he was carrying a towel, which served well to mop up the digestive materials from his fur. Looking to his right, Ryan found the two struggling under the weight of the snake’s decapitated head. They were able to push the two-ton serpent head off before they found a pair of katana crossed at their throats.

“You are so lucky I need you alive to get out of here.” Ryan sneered. “I’m gonna give you this last chance: where is the twelfth floor?”

“The snake cut a path in the wall during the fight.” The male stated, pointing to the broken concrete. “Though it was unintentional, the hole leads directly to the manufacturing center, or the twelfth floor.”

“Now was that really so hard?” Ryan asked playfully.

“I hate you.” They glared.

“Get in line.” Ryan said nonchalantly.

He swiftly brought his hand down on their foreheads, effectively knocking them out. Stepping over the puddle of crimson blood pouring from the snake corpse, Ryan diligently walked through the hole in the wall and crossed down the narrow path. Like the echidna said, there was a silver door leading to an unknown section of the castle. Though he was so near, Ryan had never felt so far from his goal. He seemed fearful of what lied beyond the door, despite having no knowledge of its contents. Would it be a trap? Was Hybrid waiting inside? There was only one way to find out. Regaining feeling in his legs, Ryan stepped up and forced the door open in a flash.

“Whoa.” Ryan said awe-inspiring.

There wasn’t much inside, but it was enough to fill even Tails’ dreams. It was a clear white room with two clear windows on each side and a gigantic video monitor in the center. The screen looked like one for a large computer. But where was the computer? Once stepping inside, Ryan was soon able to notice the faint light-blue circuits coursing through the walls; he was inside the computer.

“Hybrid is smart.” Ryan said impressively. “I think this kind of technology is what Morph’s clan made as even we don’t have this.” A loud thud was heard nearby. “What was that?”

Making sure to keep his katana in hand, Ryan edge near the window and peered through the thin glass. What he found was nothing he could have predicted. There were robots, hundreds of them, all lined in rows, performing complicated fighting technique simultaneously. They looked almost exactly like Emerl, Charyb, Scylla and Light except their body armor was black, their limbs were metallic dark grey, and all held a five-pronged crest on their heads and two cylinders on the back of their heads.

“Gizoids? These are supposed to be only made by the Nocturnus clan.” Ryan said suspiciously. “But if Hybrid is hiding an entire army of robots in this section,” He stares over to the window across the room. “Then what’s going on over there.”

Partly excited and partly apprehensive, Ryan raced across the white room closer to the viewing window. He skidded to a halt and pressed his face against the glass. Ryan stared curiously at dozens on canisters, similar to the one Hybrid was created from, where he found strange material forming in the tanks. The materials were shapeless, but seemed to be synthesizing into some kind of creature. There was only one tank with a completed being inside and it looked exactly like...

“Leo!?” Ryan exclaimed in shock. “Hybrid is gathering an army of gizoids and is creating clones of all the guests in the castle. But what would he need these things for? What the hell is Hybrid up to?”

“Too bad you won’t be able to find out.” A familiar voice said coldly.

With a wave of cold air running down Ryan’s back, he hesitantly turned. Not even a second passed before he could feel a sudden rush of pain entering through his chest and coursing through his body. Ryan wanted to scream out in agony, but his voice seemed to stop working. Ryan ears could hear only silence and his vision gradually dimmed. The last thing he could see was Hybrid before passing out on the floor. While Hybrid stared down at his defeated intruder, Morph walked in with his unconscious comrades over his shoulder.

“You found him?” Morph said.

“Only just barely.” Hybrid said darkly. “He discovered the Zigoids and the clones, but I don’t suspect that he knows what they are for. I struck his vital nerves, meaning he will be unconscious for quite a while.” He shifts his gaze to Morph. “I want Nega-Nocturnus soldiers to watch him around the clock. He knows too much information to be left alone.”

“What if the others begin to question his disappearance?” Morph asked.

“We’ll just say he got into a training accident.” Hybrid waved.

“Very well, Hybrid.” Morph bowed. “I will take Nyzrath and Terra up to the infirmary.”

“In the meantime, I must call a conference with our benefactors.” Hybrid informed. “They seemed to be a bit restless of recent.”

Morph bowed Hybrid out of the room and continued to pick up Ryan and the two known as Nyzrath and Terra.

The scene shifts to the thirteenth floor at the highest point of the castle. At the end of the long hallway, Hybrid reached the deathly black door and phased through the material into the meeting chamber. Like the last time he was here, the room was without light except for the one that flashed above the three white thrones. Xi and Ix seemed to be deep in conversation while seated at their respective thrones until Hybrid arrived. Walking around to take his throne, Hybrid stared interestingly between them.

“May I ask why you have summoned me?” Hybrid questioned.

“My good friend, Xi, and I have been discussing much about you recently.” Ix informed.

“Such as?” Hybrid questioned suspiciously.

“Your actions of late have left us on edge.” Xi explained. “You invite the heroes here and purposely interfere with their battles. And to make it worse, you’re wasting away the resources we have provided you.”

“I can assure you that your values are not going to waste.” Hybrid stated firmly. “I have great expectation in your technology and will see them through to the point. Of course, I have no trouble proving my efforts.”

“Are you mocking us?” Xi growled; Ix looked intrigued.

“Far from it.” Hybrid said. “After all, we are all in the same boat here. Of course, there will always be a reason to fight. Religion, ideals, resources, grudges, land, love, or simply just because. No matter what the reason, there will always be something to motivate fighting and breed war. The reason can be mended, but there will always be endless fighting. Because that is all these people understand.”

“I don’t think any of us cares for you long-winded speech.” Ix grimaced. “We have all created this little group for our own purposes. And I’m not about to let all my plans go to waste because of you.”

“You say you have separate plans, but we all want the same thing.” Hybrid informed. “My final plan will make all our dreams come true. But it will only work if we work together.”

“You always talk about your final plan, Hybrid.” Xi glared. “But you have yet to divulge the secret of your brilliant plan. You wouldn’t happen to be plotting against our backs, would you?”

“Aw, did I hurt your feelings?” Hybrid said mockingly; Ix had to push Xi back into his throne. “Fine, I suppose it time I told you my intentions. My plan can be broken down into three simple steps. The first step has already been accomplish.”

“And that would be?” Ix asked curiously.

“Assemble the world diplomats and the strongest this universe has to offer.” Hybrid responded. “We extract the DNA from them to create the clones. And during the competition, we have the Zigoids watch their battles and study all their moves.”

“And what good will that do?” Xi questioned.

“It will assist us in the second step.” Hybrid answered. “Once the competition is over, the clones will take the places of the originals. The heroes will destroy countless cities, but the world leaders will do nothing to stop them. War will eventually break out and we sell the Zigoids as defense for the highest bidder.”

“What?!” Xi exclaimed. “You mean you are using my wonderful creations to act as simple mercenaries?!”

"They will be the exact opposite of mercenaries.” Hybrid smirked. “Because while we sell one series of Zigoids to one side of the war, we will sell an entirely different series to the other. Both oppositions will be locked in an eternal stalemate and beg for us to create stronger and faster Zigoids.”

“And the war will eventually breed into other countries.” Ix realized.

“Precisely.” Hybrid nodded. “The war will cover the entire world, gradually deteriorating the economy. With the ongoing war, the entire world will plead to us to provide them with weapons to fight back. But there will be countries too small to fight back and will eventually be forced out of their homes by the war. That’s where the Nega-Nocturnus come in.”

“What do you plan to do with my soldiers?” Xi asked, slightly impressed.

“Since it was the Nega-Nocturnus that created the Zigoids, they know of their weaknesses.” Hybrid explained. “They will gather together armies from the smaller countries to fight back and expand the war to the farthest reaches of the world. In the beginning, they will only work for a small fee, allow us full control of the war-trade from both smaller and larger countries. All the while, our clones will continue to create more battles, furthering our profits until we control all shifts of these endless wars.”

“But what if they have a change in government or eliminate the heroes?” Ix questioned.

“By that time, it will already be too late.” Hybrid said certainly. “The people will lose faith in their heroes and the entire government system will collapse. At that end, the entire world will come to depend on us. And when that day comes, we will shut down the Zigoids and command the Nega-Nocturnus armies to surrender. By bringing a miraculous end to the struggling war, we will be worshiped as the true heroes of the world, earning the trust and love of the people. Only then will our goal be met.”

“And what about the third step?” Xi asked excitedly.

“I thought you would have figured it out by now.” Hybrid grinned. “The third and final step. We will...control the world!”

Xi and Ix looked astounded at Hybrid’s simple, yet complex, plan. By looking at their expressions, Hybrid couldn’t help but laugh; Xi and Ix joined him only a second later. They failed to realize that someone was listening from outside the door. Morph heard everything, every paragraph, every sentence, every word.

The scene opens to the ninth floor of the Eastern Island Castle. We find ourselves in the infamous infirmary, where many of the fighters have accepted as a second home. There were rows of white-sheeted beds, one of which was covered by hanging curtains, and a number of medical devices lined along the walls. At the bed closest to the door was Kazuki – wounds healed organs regenerated, but still suffered from mental trauma. At the moment, Rave, who was acting as doctor of the castle, was finishing his routine checkup with Mercury.

“Got anything, doc?” Mercury asked repeatedly.

“Nope.” Rave sighed loudly, clearly annoyed. “I would say that you’re memory is still fragmented from the incident, but this isn’t my area of expertise. I don’t know what Nexus did, but he did a good job.”

“I don’t know what’s really happening.” Mercury said confused. “I can barely even remember my own name; let alone what I’m doing here.” He fell back on the bed. “But every time I sleep, I keep having these weird dreams of these aliens and this giant black rock.”

“My guess is that your memories are trying to resurface themselves.” Rave suggested; Mercury stared awkwardly. “But I don’t think I qualify as a psychologist. As a doctor, I recommend that you take it easy and try not to push yourself.”

“I guess.” Mercury groaned, jumping off the bed. “Thanks for the help, um...”

“Rave.” Rave said dully.

The Black Arms cat merely shrugged. Mercury nonchalantly walked past the row of beds towards the entrance to the room, but not before taking a good look at its other occupants. Kazuki looked like the picture of health, but his white, glassy eyes gave him the impression that he was still recovering. The curious cat also looked back over to the hanging curtains, wondering who was hiding behind them. He could barely make out two shadows standing over a sleeping figure. But before he could get a better look, something large and heavy smacked against his face – he was whimpering slightly. Hybrid had just walked in, slamming the doors open, and walked in with a serious expression. Looking at the grey cat on the floor, he couldn’t help but snigger.

“You should really watch where you’re going, Mercury.” Hybrid laughed.

“I’ll keep that in mind, uh...” Mercury said unknowingly.

“Hybrid.” Rave answered annoyingly, looking forward to the mixed hedgehog. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“I just came to check up on our...special guest.” Hybrid said coldly; Rave and Mercury shivered. “After what happened to him the other day, I just want to make sure he’s all right.” He sighed dramatically. “I’m starting to wonder if this tournament was a good idea.”

“It’s not your fault, Hybrid.” Rave said sympathetically. “Everything that happened during the tournament was by mere accident and coincidence. I’m sure that you never intended for Blizzard to be knocked out (shudders) and for Cancer to be poisoned. (More shudders) All thought, I do wonder how Ryan managed to hurt every nerve in his body.”

“I always thought he was a bit weird.” Mercury stated clueless. “Um...who’s he again?”

“The brown guy.” Hybrid said redundantly. “How is his condition?”

“He should be doing fine now.” Rave said informatively, holding up a clipboard. “After the procedure, he should be up and running within a few days.” He looked queasy for a moment. “Just promise not to make me do that again. I had to perform open surgery and move around his organs. I had to clean out my vomit in his intestines four times.”

“I guess I wouldn’t expect much.” Hybrid said kindly. “Don’t worry; I’m keeping him under watch for as long as possible.”

“And if there’s nothing left to talk about,” Mercury interjected. “I’ll just be going now.”

Bowing himself out, Mercury proceeded towards the spiraling staircase. Looking over the railings, the amnesiac cat could observe the other guests interacting as the passed by one another. He couldn’t help feel lonely when he spotted Leo speaking between his family and wife. He rested his head in his arms, giving out an audible sigh. He was at a loss with his memories fractured. How could he understand others when he couldn’t understand himself? He was so enthralled with the motions of the characters below that he remained clueless of the figure approaching him from behind.

“How’s it going?” A voice asked.

“AW!!” Mercury screamed in surprise. He jumped around, nearly tripping over the railing, and spotted a familiar jade vixen. “Oh, it’s you. Don’t do that again, Venus.”

“Sorry, I just wanted to check up on you.” Venus said sheepishly. “You’ve been having a lot of memory problems lately.”

“You’re not the first to tell me.” Mercury muttered lowly, leaning against the railing. “I just wish I could remember everything that happen, everything that lead to this moment. Why was I created and for what reason?”

“I’m not really sure.” Venus said; Mercury noted the hint of sadness. “Why don’t we talk about this on the roof?”

The Black Arms failure was confused at her suggestion, but ultimately accepted. After his defeat at the hands of Nexus – the victory given to Jac - Mercury spent most of his time searching the castle and memorizing each floor. There were four spiraling staircases, one for each side, and always connecting on each floor. He normally spent his time on the fifth floor in the training room. The duo passed by the thirteenth floor, watching Morph disappear down the corridor, and opened the secret hatch that led to the rooftop. The nighttime sky was glistening with bountiful sparkling stars, reflecting off the moon. Venus sighed amorously.

“I missed seeing the full moon.” Venus said desirably.

“You remember what it looked like?” Mercury asked curiously.

“Well, not the real moon.” Venus admitted. “I’ve only seen images from the Black Comet archives. The Black Arms studied the Earth and it inhabitants. A lot of reports say that a full moon represents the symbol of romance.”

“That’s stupid.” Mercury said; Venus face faulted. “There’s no logical reason for that claim.”

“It doesn’t have to be all logic.” Venus sighed. She wrapped her arms around Mercury’s, earning a doubtful look from the amnesiac cat. “When two people stare into the moon, it makes them feel safe a secure. It makes them feel that there is possibly more to this universe and allows their hearts to breach beyond mortal boundaries.”

“Their hearts fly out of their chests?” Mercury questioned fearfully.

“No, silly.” Venus giggled. “It just means that their hearts are allowed to reach out and find that special someone. And when they find that special person, they’ll be given a great and wonderful feeling.”

“What feeling?” Mercury asked.

“Love.” Venus whispered.

The jade vixen began to push forward as the grey cat leaned downward, slowly closing the gap between them. Mercury had lost complete control over his body – he couldn't stop this feeling. There was...something...about Venus that he couldn’t resist. He could feel his pulsating heart beating against his ribcage. Was this the feeling that Venus was talking about? If it was...it wasn’t so bad. The two Black Arms failures had never been so close – they could feel the other breathing. Just when they were seconds away from making contact, Mercury could feel a chill in his spill. It was an evil chill – the kind Jac was very familiar with.

“CHAOS LANCE!!” A familiar voice screamed.

Though Venus remained unaware, Mercury quickly grabbed the jade vixen and ducked away. He skidded to the edge of the roof – Venus held in his arms – a few feet from where a red beam collided. As Mercury allowed Venus to get back to her feet, a familiar chill roaming down his spine once more. This time, he knew what was coming. Swiftly turning on his heels, the amnesiac cat swiped his hand around to knock away another red blast. With a hiss of vengeance and pain, Mercury directed his attention to one of the castle turrets. Mars glared evilly as he slowly lowered his hand.

“Mars?!” Venus exclaimed; half shocked, half spiteful. “What is a traitor like you still doing here?!”

“It was your choice to remain.” Mars said solemnly. “I, on the other hand, remained true to my purpose.”

“Are you calling us the traitors?” Mercury growled.

“I always knew you were a bit slow.” Mars smirked.

“I might not remember much, but I know when I’m making the right choice.” Mercury growled. “From what I’ve heard, this Nexus guy is nothing more than a tyrant. If I’m going to live, I want to live as a free soul. I have no desires to be a slave like you.”

“You fool!” Mars hissed. “Do you not understand what you are getting yourself into? If you defy Nexus’s word, he will destroy you. You were created through his blood – you are his creation, his weapon!”

“I would rather die than work for him.” Mercury glared.

“That can be properly arranged.” Mars sneered.

Thrusting out both his hands, Mars unleashed a wave of red arrows. Venus dropped to the ground with her hands over her head, but Mercury stepped over near the edge of the roof and flipped over the assault. Seeking his opportunity, Mars compressed a mass of red energy into his hands and shot it forward. Only from his lessons with Strawberry could Mercury have been able to perform his next trick. The amnesiac cat was able to twist his body his body in midair, narrowly avoiding the shot. A second after, he grabbed the column of Nexus and pulled himself up to run along the thin path. Mars stood dumbstruck. He had never seen anyone actually walk along shapeless energy. And before the traitorous canine could break from his trance, Mercury swiped a kick at the side of his face, sending him stumbling towards the edge.

“Are you ok?” Mercury asked Venus concerned.

“I’m fine.” Venus responded.

“How is it possible?” Mars questioned lowly; he slowly pushed himself back up. “How are you able to make contact with Nexus energies?”

“It’s a little trick I learned from Strawberry.” Mercury said smugly. “She usually has a good trick or two up her sleeve.”

“Impressive.” Mars said softly as to not allow Mercury and Venus to hear. “Master Nexus warned me about such an occurrence from happening. If he is able to reshape energies, then I must use the master’s final weapon.”

“Hey, are you done mumbling!” Mercury shouted. “Because I’d like to get this finished before morning.”

“I assure you, it will be over in a matter of minutes.” Mars said confidently.

Mercury grimaced at the red hound’s tone. It sounded almost exactly like he knew of a way to defeat him. But whatever he was doing, Mercury was not going to let him go through with it. Using a similar technique he learned from watching Emily, Mercury covered his left hand in a sphere of green Chaos. The amnesiac cat waited for the perfect moment to approach with his new technique, not wanting to make any mistakes. And at the moment Mars’ eye twitched, the dark feline dashed forward with a feral scream. Despite having certain death faced only a few feet away, Mars continued to smile. Mercury’s attack made contact with his opponent’s chest, erupting into a gale of green winds. Venus had to stab her claws into the floor to prevent being thrown off. But meanwhile, Mercury remained in the dust cloud – an expression of victory etched across his maw.

“In the end, there could only be one of us left.” Mercury grinned deviously.

“It would seem that you have learned the first lesson of life.” A chilling voice echoed.

Even if he had no memory, Mercury would not be forgetting that voice anytime soon. As though by a mighty hand, the clouds that shielded them were sharply pushed away. Mercury wished they didn’t leave as he was forced to stare into the monster’s eyes. Before the frightened feline could blink the monster’s fingers wrapped around his throat. Mercury could never forget the face of Nexus.

“Nex...Nex...” Mercury choked, unable to finish his breath.

“It is always a pleasure to see my children again.” Nexus said malevolently. “How have you been during these recent events? Are you well?” His expression was amusement at Mercury’s short gaps. “Has my appearance left you speechless?”

“Nexus...” Venus stammered horribly. She looked feint, but prevented her shaking knees from giving out. “What are you doing here? What happened to Mars?”

“Ah, now there’s an interesting tale.” Nexus echoed. He tossed Mercury to the green vixen – Venus sidestepped, apologizing repeatedly while helping him up. “I guess you could say it all began with your creation. The key ingredient, as you know, was my blood, which I provided out of the goodness of my heart.”

“What heart?” Mercury growled lowly.

“But I made a few alterations in the original designs.” Nexus continued, ignoring the cat’s comment. “Instead of creating the body from scrap, I selected a few of my best Elite Soldiers. They humbly accepted my offer, knowing their sacrifice was for the betterment.”

“So that’s why we remember everything that happened before our existence.” Venus realized; Mercury stared.

“Hmm...Interesting.” Nexus hummed. “I must look into that. Anyway, after three months of reconstructing their bodies and internal systems to match Gerald’s designs, I generously offered the final piece to your completion: the soul. I added a concentrated amount of my own blood and provided you and your siblings with life and thought. That became my grandest mistake.”

“What do you mean?” Mercury asked, unable to feel curious.

“When I created your souls, I expected you to be undauntedly loyal.” Nexus seethed. “But as I watched your progress, I began to notice many unnecessary emotions that I had not planned. Generosity, compassion, and worst of all, love. The only one who remained true to his genetic code was Mars. He remained obedient and informed me of your match against Jac ahead of time.”

“Because you were afraid.” Venus glared. “You knew Jac would change Mercury’s heart and reveal all your plans. That’s why you erased his memories.”

“Exactly.” Nexus nodded. “And for his immense loyalty, I granted Mars one final gift. I infused a small part of my essence into his soul, allowing my power to be transferred to him. Mars was a larva intended to carrying on my legacy. Don’t you see? This is the reason you were created: to become the next ruler of the Black Arms.”

“You actually think I would join the likes of you?!” Mercury exclaimed.

“We would rather die than to serve a cold-hearted monster like you!” Venus spat.

“And unfortunate fate, but a necessary one.” Nexus said, waving his hand forward towards the amnesiac cat. “I had such high expectations for you Mercury. You would have done well with the Black Arms.”

“You’re wrong.” Mercury claimed.

With a glint of evil emitting from his eyes, Nexus closed his fist for the traitorous feline. Suddenly, a violent wave of unimaginable torture invaded the corners of his mind. It felt like a torrent of fire had washed over and conjoined with an army of white-hot wires. The amnesiac feline grasped his forehead, releasing a fresh scream from his muzzle, and dropped sideways onto the floor. Venus dropped to her knees next to him, concerned for his well being. She could only stare helplessly as her closest friend was being brutally murdered from inside his mind. With renewed anger, Venus hissed vindictively and dashed across the rooftop with her claws exposed pointedly. While momentarily distracted by Venus’ unruly attempt, he unknowingly released the hold that kept Mercury at bay. The amnesiac cat sighed in relief while Venus swiped her claws away, barely missing the overlord by an inch.

“You despicable vermin.” Nexus said coldly. “You feel that you could stand against your creator?”

“You – never were – a good – parent!” Venus grunted, thrashing her claws at everything she could reach.

“I despise your ungrateful thoughts.” Nexus growled, grabbing Venus by her wrists. “I created your body, gave you a soul to live, and provided you with the tools necessary to survive. And how do you repay me? With seeds of betrayal?”

Venus made no attempt to reply, but she did something no sane minded person would ever do: she spat in Nexus’s face. A massive vein appeared from under the overlord’s skin. Letting out a roar of anger, Nexus lifted the jade vixen off the ground by her wrists and tossed her towards the nearest turret. Venus cried out immediately as her back collided with the stone pinnacle, but was unable to feel the touch of the cold floor. Nexus had unfortunately stretched his fingers around the vixen’s neck, suspending her to his eye level. Bring his fist back, Nexus slammed his knuckles into her cheeks – Venus could taste the blood in her mouth. But the suffering continued. Nexus brought his fist backwards and backhanded the leafy fox straight in the eye. Back and forth, that overlord continued to bludgeon the poor creature until the blood was leaking through her eyes. He watched amusingly at her expression –Venus was chocking back the blood from her maw.

“Are you ready to surrender?” Nexus questioned malevolently.

“Go...to hell.” Venus gasped.

The overlord sighed heavily and raised his fist backwards for the finishing blow. Not far from them, Mercury was forced to watch from his spot on the ground. The sight of Venus’ pain was too much to bear, but he couldn’t turn his head from the performance. While searching distantly into shimmering the vixens blue eyes, he could vaguely hear her words vibrating in his head.


“And when they find that special person, they’ll be given a great and wonderful feeling.”

“What feeling?”

“Love.”


“Die!!” Nexus roared.

Venus closed her eyes, not wanting to witness the satisfaction on Nexus’s face. But after several agonizing minutes, she did not feel the heavy blow take her life away. Scrounging for whatever courage she had left, the mangled vixen pushed her eyes open, quickly shooting them wide with shock. Mercury, with a scowl of deep loathing, capture Nexus by his wrist, putting on as much pressure into it as possible. Try as the overlord might, he could not force the feline to release. With a seething look of hatred, Mercury effectively pulled and ripped Nexus’ arm out of its socket. The unexpected attack forced Nexus to release Venus, whom the vengeful cat caught and gently leaned against the wall.

“Are you ok?” Mercury asked softly.

“A little sore, but I’m fine.” Venus smiled weakly.

“That’s good.” Mercury nodded. “Now I have some unfinished business to take care of.”

Making one last check on Venus, Mercury turned his hateful stare towards the Nexus. The overlord watched horribly at his bleeding stump of an arm, clutching the ripped section in an attempt to stop the flow.

“My arm!” Nexus screamed furiously. “You’ll pay dearly for that! I will make you suffer for this defiance!”

“And that’s where you’re wrong, Nexus.” Mercury said coolly; Nexus suddenly felt cold. “That’s right, I remember everything. My past, my present, and most importantly, my future. And you know what I see in the near future?” He flexed his hands, gathering a large amount of Nexus energy. “A world without you.”

Upon collecting the necessary energy; the cat reshaped the loose threads into a sphere in his palm, a little trick he learned from watching Leo. With unbridled determination, Mercury raced forward and thrusted the energy sphere in front. Reacting swiftly, Nexus held out his hand and cut off the circulation of energy from his creation’s hand. The overlord thought he had succeeded, but that proved to be his final mistake. Too late for the monster to realize, Mercury revealed a second sphere and shot it directly into Nexus’s heart.

“You can’t do this to me!!” Nexus cried agonizingly. “Who do you think you are?!”

“I am Mercury the Cat!” Mercury proclaimed lividly.

With a final twist from his hand, Mercury released the energy contained in the sphere and ripped it through Nexus’s chest. The overlord went stiff and unmoving – the look of terror remained on his expression. Suddenly, his bleak skin began to shatter from his form, revealing the horrified Mars – a gaping hole remained in his chest. Taking in his last breath, the crimson hound dropped to his knees and fell flat on his face. Mars the Wolf was finally dead.

“I really wish it hadn’t come to this.” Mercury said softly to his fallen companion. “I treated you like an equal, like a brother. I just hope you find peace wherever you’re going.” He sighed mournfully and averted his gaze. Drawn to the jade vixen, Mercury walked over to Venus and sat at her side. “Are you ok?”

“Why did this have to happen?” Venus asked. She hid her eyes in the shadows, but Mercury knew she was crying. “All I wanted was for us to be together. Just like we were during the day of our training.”

“As long as there are people like Nexus, I don’t think we’ll ever find peace.” Mercury sighed, tossing his head backwards to the sky. “You know I always wondered what life would have been like if we were never created.”

“Do you regret it?” Venus asked; the tears glistening on her face.

“Not one bit.” Mercury smiled, wrapping his arms around the vixen’s shoulder. He noticed the blood dripping from her chin. “Maybe we should get you to the infirmary. Rave should be able to fix you up.”

“In a moment.” Venus smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. “But for now, let’s just enjoy the moment.”

Mercury did not go against her wishes. Smiling bright, he gripped the jade vixen closer to his chest. It was all perfect. Just him, her, and the stars above. But what they failed to realize was the third watcher aboard the scene. Morph looked at the resting couple, sighing longingly – his thoughts drifting to a certain hedgehog.

The scene returns to the Eastern Island castle, home to Hybrid and his guests. Word spread of Mercury’s encounter with Mars and revealed everything about Nexus’ intentions. Unfortunately, no one knew much of anything about this “Dark Gaia” creature the overlord was interested in. It was the day before the semifinal matches and everyone was anxious for the upcoming battles. The four remaining fighters were continuously training in the Battle Room on the fifth floor with the exception of Morph, who trained his own private arena. At the moment, Mystic was headed for the training one last time before the match.



Mystic arrived at the fifth floor platform and nonchalantly walked down the extended corridor. Much like that sleeping chambers on the third floor, the corridor was divided into multiple sections for extensive training. Lately, Mystic has been practicing with Rector on hand-to-hand combat, getting his tail handed to him every time. But he knew he had to get better in this area of battle – he couldn’t depend on the black chaos and backpack forever, even the special watch a friend of his gave him. As he made his way to the Battle Room, the door opened to reveal Leo – his breath ragged and his body sweating tirelessly.



“Hey, big blue.” Mystic greeted in his usual manner. “I guess those training robots are finally getting to ya.”



“I...wish.” Leo panted, holding his chest to calm himself. “Emily’s...in there. And she...isn’t...too happy.”



“I guess she’s still a little mad about the match.” Mystic said uneasily. Ever since Mystic’s unexpected victory, Emily has refused to talk or look at him. It was a bit depressing. “I keep telling her that it wasn’t my fault. The watch just activated on its own.”



“I believe you.” Leo said earnestly, finally catching his wind. “But it didn’t look to convincing from where I was standing. I don’t think Emily will believe you without any proof. Trust me; I have experience with this.”



“I’m gonna try and talk to her.” Mystic said seriously. “If she won’t listen, I’ll make her.”



“Ok, it’s your funeral.” Leo shrugged.



Shortly after regaining the feeling in his legs, Leo zipped past Mystic and made his way down to the third floor. Giving out a great sigh, Mystic forced open the door to the Battle Room and stepped inside. As he could very well guess, Emily was more pissed than she normally was. She was practicing with the training robots, but forced all of them to cloak themselves to look like Mystic. Mystic himself cringed every time the hedgehog would stab her energy claws through their heads or chest. Emily barely acknowledged Mystic’s existence until she was forced to face him – her eyes were full of hatred.



“What do you want?” Emily asked spitefully, ripping the head of another robot.



“I was just coming down here to practice for tomorrow.” Mystic said honestly. “I didn’t know you would be here, but I thought this would give us a chance to talk.”



“There is nothing to talk about.” Emily growled, crushing the spine of another robot. “We fought our battle and you won, despite your deceptive acting. You really had me fooled believing that you actually cared about me.”



“But I do care about you!” Mystic exclaimed. “I care about you more than I care for my friends or my own life! I don’t know what happened out their on the field, but I did not use the watch to attack you!”



“And you expect me to believe you!!” Emily screamed nastily. She slammed her foot through the joint of the robot that made Mystic winced at the thought. She turned to Mystic with tears leaking from her eyes. “You lied to me and played with my feelings! I thought I finally found the one person that I could share my heart with, but you threw it away like a piece of trash!!”



“I never did that!!” Mystic yelled, feeling raged with each passing comment. “You have no right to say that I treated you wrong!! Who was it that tried to pummel me at every possible chance?!”



“I don’t need this!” Emily snapped, rushing past Mystic before stopping at the door. “You have no idea how much you hurt me, Mystic. Maybe one day, you’ll learn what happens when you play with a woman’s feelings.”



And with that, Emily slammed the door behind her. After taking a moment to calm himself down, Mystic slowly began to realize what he had just done. He had a chance to make things right with Emily and he blew it because he quickly fell for her insults. Ebon always said the best way to resolve problems was to let the person express their feelings before speaking your own mind. Looks like he was right again. Mystic would have followed her, but Rector said it was vitally important for him to train for his next match. After all, he was going up against Leo, Jac, or Morph. He needed to take this seriously. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Mystic stepped over the wreckage of dismembered robots and moved over to the control panel.



Ok, let’s see any of these gizmos can train me for Leo or the others.” Mystic said, pressing random buttons for hopeful choices. But just as the machines were working their course, the power went out and the lights were cut off. “Oh, come on! There is no way I did this. Hybrid must have forgotten to pay the electric bill.”



“I’ve found you...”



“What the?” Mystic questioned cautiously.



Intrigued by the ghostly whisper, Mystic activated a miniature flashlight in his watch. The small radiance could barely shine over twelve feet, but it was enough to grant Mystic with some small vision. Flash the light over the machines, Mystic found nothing out of the ordinary. The debris of the robots remained scattered across the floor and the multiple training weapons were silently waiting. Many would think he was overreacting, but Mystic had experience with similar situations. While carefully stepping over the robot parts, a sudden black blur erupted from the scrape pile and slammed Mystic across the chest, sending him to the wall.



“Yeah, that’s going to hurt in the morning.” Mystic groaned as he staggered to his feet. Tracing the outline of his attack, Mystic noticed some familiar features. “Hey, is that you, Metal.



“You would be lucky if I was.” The figure said.



“Well, if you’re not Metal, who the hell are you?” Mystic questioned.



“I suppose you deserve some information before your untimely demise.” A new, more sinister, voice replied. “Shall we shed a little light on the situation?”



Without warning, the florescent lights flashed unexpectedly, vastly blinding the unsuspecting hedgehog. Once the shock of the exposure wore off, Mystic discovered two figures standing in his presence. One was the well-known madman called Ix, who Mystic had temporarily mistaken for his ancestor, and a smaller robotic creature. It came as no surprise why Mystic had mistaken him for Metal. The robot looked to be an exact copy, but his armor was pure black and the marks on his body were shining yellow.



“Ok, who are you and what is that?” Mystic questioned seriously.



“Oh, Mystic, you hurt me.” Ix joked wickedly. “But it comes as no surprise that you do not remember me. I am Ix, the future ruler of this planet. And this is my ultimate weapon, Metal 3.0!”



“Wow, you must be a big fan of Pachacamac.” Mystic said strangely. “But I never would have thought that anyone would actually dress up like him and imitate his leading.”



“I am no cheap facsimile!” Ix shouted furiously. “I am twice as intelligent and wicked than that spineless pile of waste!”



“Whoa, someone’s got issues.” Mystic sniggered.



“Ugh!” Ix said disgustedly. “You are as equally annoying as your father.”



“What?” Mystic asked shockingly.



“Kill him!” Ix commanded.



“As you wish, Master.” M3 nodded.

Before Mystic could use the time to counteract the mecha clone, M3 was already over him and slammed his elbow into the tigers face. Mystic was forced to the ground, holding his maw in pain, but managed to roll away and M3 brought his foot down. Pressing a button on his watch, Mystic materialized his neon-blue laser swords and charged forward. Swinging around in full circle, Mystic slashes his sabers simultaneously for the machine’s dark head. Unfortunately, M3 raised his forearm to effortlessly block the strike – his armor was stronger than Metal’s. While Mystic’s mind was focused on his attack, he remained unaware of the mech’s foot before it nailed a direct blow to his ribcage. But before he had a chance to even experience the pain, M3 lifted Mystic by his throat and forced him to the wall. Ix laughed wickedly while moving to his creation’s side.



“Mwahahah!” Ix laughed endlessly. “You were actually foolish enough to challenge a superior genius such as myself? You must have a death wish, boy. But it comes as no surprise of where you get it from.”



“You mean my father?” Mystic gasped.



“Exactly.” Ix said malevolently. “Your father was a terrible thorn in my side. Stubborn, unreasonable, and most of all, a great deal of ignorance. He never knew when to surrender when he knew he was outmatched.”



“How do you know my father?” Mystic questioned; he forgot he was suffocating. “I asked people from all around the world, but no one knows who he is. I was beginning to think he never really existed.”



“That’s actually quite simple.” Ix grinned. “It’s because your father and I are not from this timeline.”



“Not from this...” Mystic repeated slowly. “What are you talking about?”



“Your father came from the distant future two hundred years from now.” Ix explained darkly. “You see, your father and I have had a lot of encounters over the years, each one more irritable than the last.” He took pleasure in Mystic’s bewildered expression. “The reason for this is for my many attempts to conquer the planet. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I am the same Ix from long ago only 200 years older.”



“Yeah, as if that wasn’t obvious.” Mystic choked; M3 tightened his grip.



“We had many confrontations, each one ending in my own failure.” Ix grimaced before smiling maliciously. “But then came the day when I finally outwitted that filthy Furion. I had cornered that nasty hog when my future enemy appeared: Silver the Hedgehog!” He growl viciously, clutching his hands tightly. “Ever since then, my mind has been focused on the destruction of that accursed rodent!”



“What happened to my father?” Mystic asked, no longer caring for his condition. “Did he help Silver or anything?”



“To my disappointment, Furion retired.” Ix said falsely dramatic. “He knew that Silver and his sidekick, Blaze, were enough to take care of the world, so he disappeared from sight. I wasn’t foolish enough to leave Furion unguarded. Using a smaller version of the technology that created Metal, I programmed a bug to keep track of Furion at all times. My only guess is that he discovered this as he had disappeared the next day.”



“So he escaped.” Mystic said simply. While Ix and M3 weren’t looking, Mystic was secretly using a sequence of signals from his watch. “You didn’t happen to find out what happened to him after, did you?”



“I had not learned of what had happened to him until two years later.” Ix continued, remaining unaware of Mystic’s actions. “I was looking through my ancestors items when I came across a particularly valuable item. It was a journal left behind by his former partner, Naja the Snake. It would seem that your father and he were good friends.”



“You liar!!” Mystic exclaimed outrageously. “My father would never make friends with a monster like that!!”



“Oh, but they were friends and partners along with the help of Serpent.” Ix said gleefully. “Using their extensive knowledge, they created two of that impressive piece of technology attached to your wrist.” He pointed to the watch. “Using Furion’s extensive knowledge of machinery, Naja’s wisdom of the mystic arts and Serpent’s high intelligence, they performed impossible feats. That was until Furion and Serpent discovered the true Naja.”



“What happened?” Mystic asked, hoping to distract Ix for another minute.



“The queen of South Island had just given birth to Sonic and Naja captured the child.” Ix continued; M3 was becoming quickly annoyed. “When Furion found out, he left to escape judgment from the queen.”



“Left?” Mystic repeated curiously. “Where’d he go?”



“Why, back to our time, of course.” Ix said wickedly; his smile was wider then it had ever been. “But to his misfortune, the timeline he arrived in was not what he expected it to be. At that point, a creature known as Mephiles had tampered with the temporal flow and sent him into the past. But by the time he realize it, his moment was at an end.”



“You mean...” Mystic whispered horribly.



“Darkrion!!” Ix exclaimed joyfully. “And now we shall finish the job by destroying the last connection he has to this world: you!!”



“Well, there’s just one flaw in your plan.” Mystic smirked, much to the villain’s confusion. The warrior raised his fist to M3’s chest, revealing the watch, which was glowing a violent red. “You talk too much.”



On Mystic’s command, the watch shot a thin, red laser which shot through the robot’s chest. The action forced M3 to release him and stagger backward, clutching the gap in his torso. The last thing M3 saw was Mystic’s fist before his head was launched clear across the room. While the remains of his former creation clattered loudly over the chrome floor, Ix was forced against the wall as Mystic moved close.



“Y-you can’t be doing this.” Ix said cowardly. “I am superior to you.”



“You may be smarter, but you never know when to shut up.” Mystic said pointedly, holding the round scientist by his collar. “And once I tell Flame that you’re here, I think they’ll even throw a party for your imprisonment.”



“And that is why they must never find out.” Another voice said.



Barely moments before the sound resonated, a black sphere of energy appeared from the entrance of the room and collided with Mystic’s back. The blistering shock of the attack coursed through Mystic’s muscles, severing his nerves and clotting his veins. With his senses and motor functions failing, Mystic’s conscious mind faded and he dropped to the side. Ix sighed gratefully when he found Hybrid and Xi standing near the door – Xi holding out his scepter.



“I never thought I would be happy be to see you.” Ix said. “Of course, I’m still not.”



“You allowed yourself to be captured, Ix.” Hybrid said coldly; Ix shivered slightly. “You were concerned with your long-winded speech that you failed to notice your opponent’s actions. I have never seen such foolishness.”



“Well, I can assure you that he won’t defy me again.” Ix said confidently.



“Oh, we can be sure that it won’t happen again.” Xi said darkly. “Because we are banishing you from this island.”



“What?!” Ix exclaimed.



“You’re a liability, Ix.” Hybrid stated. “We cannot risk the operation failing because of your ignorance.”



“But you need me!” Ix proclaimed. “It is my advance methods that can assist in your plan!”



“Your part has been played out.” Hybrid said. “We have all the preparation ready for the next phase of our plan. To make it simple, you’re no longer required.”



Ix outraged at Hybrid’s defiance and attempted to strangle the hedgehog. However, Xi intervened for the final time. Tapping his scepter against the floor, the Nega-Nocturnus Imperator formed a vortex of endless space beneath the round scientist. Ix, inexperienced with mystical energies, could over cry out helplessly as his body faded into the vortex. Shortly after the former villain had vanished, Xi pulled up his scepter, releasing his spell.



“I have sent him far from the island.” Xi informed. “Without allies to aid him, Ix will not last long in this timeline.” He turned his attention to the unconscious Mystic. “Now what do we do about him?”



“We will tell the others that he was caught in a training accident.” Hybrid explained strategically. “With his experience, it will not arise any suspicious from the other fighters.” He turned his back to Xi. “But we must prevent anymore accidents from occurring.”



“For what purpose?” Xi questioned. “The more opponents defeated, the better chances are of Morph winning the tournament and obtaining the Chaos Emeralds.”



“But Rave is continually asking questions.” Hybrid explained. “It won’t be long before she discovers a pattern in these accidents.” He gazes over to Mystic. “Tomorrow, there will only be one match and then we move on to the finals.”



“And then, our plan with come together.”



“Exactly.” Hybrid muttered.



But while the villains continued with their conversation, they remained unaware of Morph’s presence outside the door. ‘Hybrid.’ Morph thought.







Hope you liked this one Quezzie, because your probably the first one that will see this, I should also let everyone else know I'm doing crossovers for The Sonic Chronicles and certain series so look for those.

The scene opens to the fourth floor of the East Island castle. As per their regular traditions, the guests of the castle were invited to the dinning hall for breakfast. Like everyday, there was a babble of excited talk over the recent events while they dined on the delicacy provided Star, Tech, and Eggman. But today, the words between them were louder and stronger than any other, including the night of the dance. Everyone was eager to end their meal and start the Semifinals. And after recovering from his mental coma, Kazuki was finally able to join with his friends. He was asked what had happened during the match, but his memories of the event were unavailable.



“The only ones left are Leo, Jac, Morph, and Mystic.” Blue recounted. “I seriously doubt that Mystic is gonna stand a chance against any of them, but I have a feeling that Jac’s going to pull ahead of this tournament.”



“No way!” Alan exclaimed. “Morph’s definitely going to win. He was able to take out Metal while still injured. He’s got some real guts and has way more experience than Jac.”



“So, Leo once took out Metal without breaking a sweat.” Jet waved casually. “I don’t really like to admit it, but the guy’s got some real skills. I’ll bet the Wind Rider that he takes it all.”



“And no one has any faith in Mystic?” Ebon asked.



“No!!” The entire table yelled.



Not even bothering to respond to their outburst, Ebon resumed himself to his sushi. It came as no surprise that everyone was against Mystic. Ever since the unfortunate incident between him and Emily, almost everyone hated the futuristic hedgehog. The only exceptions were the Sonic Hero Kids, Morph, and the Hedgehog Family. Once the long marble table was cleared away, the guests eagerly stood to their feet as Hybrid entered the room with Morph at his side. Morph carefully avoided Heather’s gaze – his cheeks becoming scarlet.



“I can see that you all wasted no time consuming your meal.” Hybrid laughed, eying Glee’s potbelly. “And seeing that you no longer wish to wait, we shall begin the Semifinal match immediately.”



“Match?” Mathias repeated. “As in singular?”



“Unfortunately, Mystic will not be joining us.” Hybrid said solemnly; Emily’s hands seemed to clench at the news. “Due to an unexpected training accident, I do not believe Mystic will be able to join us until the tournament is over.”



“Is he ok?” Emily asked, unknowingly worried.



“It is nothing life threatening.” Hybrid said calmly. “After the match is complete, I will have Rave inspect him and provide him with some medicinal herbs to advance his healing process. As for the match; whoever is not chosen will advance to the Finals. Now that just leaves one question: who will it be?”



With a wave of his hand, Hybrid called down a familiar screen from the ceiling, which provided the roulette machine that bared the symbol of the remaining warriors. At once, the trio of icons flashed across the screen in a blinding blur of light. Leo, Jac, and Morph stood motionlessly, but unable to hide their anxiety. Once the roulette came to a halt, nearly everyone in the room gasped with equal shock and amusement. The symbols were a blue hedgehog and red alien symbol.



“The Semifinal match: Leo vs. Jac!!” Hybrid announced excitedly. “And Morph advances to the finals.”



“I’ve been waiting a long time for this.” Leo grinned.



“Now we’ll see who the best is.” Jac challenged.



“Without any further delays, let us proceed to the transporter.” Hybrid said.



The mixed hedgehog regretted his words almost immediately. In all the excitement of seeing Leo and Jac’s battle, Hybrid was trampled under the stampeding audience – Morph sidestepped a moment before. After regaining consciousness and chasing his guests to the seventh floor, where everyone waited for him to open the door. Once inside, Hybrid took his place next to the transporter as the crowd flowed inside. The rivaling hedgehogs separated from the group and stepped onto the neon contraption.



“You ready to lose again?” Leo smirked.



“Again?” Jac repeated.



“As in, all the time.” Leo said confidently.



“As in, in your dreams.” Jac responded.



“For this match, I have set the coordinates for a special place.” Hybrid informed. “Now let the Semifinal match begin!”



The mixed hedgehog pressed his hands against the platform, calling forth its activation. At once, Leo and Jac were blinded by the intense ivory light before they faded from the castle.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



---???---



The scene alters to an unknown location in the middle of a valley that remains hidden to those who don’t know where it is. The valley was much like a gigantic canyon with a roaring waterfall and rushing river dividing the canyon. On each side of the waterfall, two gigantic statues were etched into the canyon walls. Though there was no one to witness the event, a White beam of light dropped from the sky and plunged into the wide river. A moment later, Jac jumped out of the water and landed on the shore – he tossed Leo to the other side. As Jac shook his fur free of wetness, he sweat-dropped at his best friend – Leo was flopping like a fish out of water.



“Stand up already!” Jac yelled embarrassingly. “You’re out of the water!”



“Huh?” Leo asked before noticing the ground below him. “Uh...yeah, I knew that.” He quickly jumped to his feet, taking in the scenery around him. “Hybrid said this place was special. But where are we.”



“The Valley of the End.” Jac answered; Leo stared. “Ebon told me about it once. There is a great and terrible history behind this place. Twice, best friends discovered this land and, both times, memorable battles were fought. Hybrid must have selected this valley for that reason.”



“Well, he picked a crummy spot to fight.” Leo grimaced, staring at the river between them. “How am I supposed to fight with all this water around?”



“That’s the point.” Jac chuckled. “You can’t.”



At once, Jac broke into a run and glided over the raging tide. While temporarily confused and speechless, Leo looked down and remembered Jac’s unique shoes that allowed him to walk over any surface. But with Leo’s envious mind on Jac’s shoes, the nexus hedgehog took his lowered defense to his advantage. With a swift kick to the jaw, Jac sent his friend tumbling backwards across the rugged surface and slamming into the wall with a crackling thud. Leo dropped onto the ground, upside-down, leaving a perfect imprint of himself.



“Hey, that’s cheating!” Leo exclaimed.



“The first rule of the tournament.” Jac recited proudly. “There are no rules.”



“If that’s the case...” Leo smirked.



While still balanced on his head, Leo curled into his famous ball form. Jac expected Leo to use his Homing Attack, but noticed that the hedgehog was spinning in place, only to release with his unrivaled Spin Dash. Both hedgehogs knew that Leo was the faster of the two and Jac had no chance of avoiding something like Leo’s Spin Dash. But the one thing that Jac did have over his enemy was his intimidating strength. With that in mind, Jac thrusted out his arms once the blue ball came near and captured the hedgehog by his limbs. But a moment of realization forced Jac to discover that he was holding Leo’s ankles. Hesitantly, Jac stared downward and caught sight of Leo holding out his signature attack.



“CHAOS CYCLONE!!” Leo cried, thrusting the blue sphere forward.



“Darn it!” Jac cursed. He flipped backwards – releasing Leo – and moved away. The hedgehog landed as his opponent jumped to his feet, grinning pridefully “I see you have been practicing.”



“A few training sessions with Stream.” Leo informed.



“Using the son of Chaos to gain an advantage.” Jac said thoughtfully. “That was actually intelligent of you.”



“I guess I’m supposed to take that as a compliment.” Leo chuckled.



“Since you were kind enough to display your special technique, I should do the same.” Jac said malevolently. He is expression was dark and evil, revealing his relation to Nexus. “You do remember my special technique, right?”



“Uh oh...” Leo said nervously.



Leo had seen that expression on more than one occasion. It was the same one he held every time he would call forth his deadliest and most vindictive attack: Nexus Explosion. Hoping to stop him in time, Leo zipped forward and shot his foot out in multiple directions. Unfortunately, Jac perform Nexus Warp and appeared on the other side of the river before he had a chance. Suddenly, the walls of the canyon turned to a sinister, scarlet-purple. The pulsating aura refrained from clinging to the walls and was forced into the red hedgehog – his fur transforming to the same shade. Without much warning, Jac once again used Nexus Warp and appeared in front of Leo – his eyes were pure Star.



“Can we talk about this?” Leo asked pleadingly.



“We’ll talk back at the castle.” Jac said confidently. “NEXUS EXPLOSION!!”



Before he could take the chance to run, Jac released the compressed energy from his form and expanded it. The pressure built up from the attack created a purple blast similar to a nuclear bomb. The massive attack obliterated everything within miles of the area, but suppressed enough to brush against the feet of the statues. For several moments, the canyon was filled with a radiating glow before the memorizing technique faded. Once the debris was cleared away, Jac was bent over, panting, grasping his knees to keep himself standing. Taking a moment to catch his breath, someone troublesome appeared in Jac’s mind.



“That attack should have annihilated everything within the valley.” Jac thought strategically. “I know Leo would have been sent back to the castle is his life was threatened. So why am I still here?”