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Beyond Prophecy	By : blazingskies Category: +S through Z > Sonic Views: 2885 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: All Sonic Underground characters and settings belong to SEGA and DiC. I'm not making money off this.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
Chapter Six � The Calling of a Miracle
The rickety old sea plane that Shadow was currently aboard wobbled drunkenly
through the air, its ancient engines sputtering and straining to keep the
patched fuselage in the air as it made its uncertain way from the coast near
the Mystic Ruins over the ocean to the home of the remains of the Echidna tribe
� Angel Island.
�This isn�t the most comfortable journey I�ve ever made in my life.� Shadow
muttered to himself as the plane lurched once again,
making Shadow glad he hadn�t bothered to eat anything for the past day or so.
�We�re almost over the island now, Sir.� The pilot � a grizzled old wolf �
called to him from the cockpit, �The parachutes are in the storage locker on
the right.�
Shadow smirked, �I won�t need one.�
�But sir��
�Just tell me when we�re over the island and open the hatch.� Shadow cut him
off, �I can handle myself.�
�Yes, sir.�
The plane slowed as it began to dive down towards the large island gleaming
impossibly in the sky. Shadow watched from the window as the ground started to
loom closer.
�This is as close as I can get, sir.� The pilot said.
�Good,� Shadow replied, removing the Chaos Emerald from his quills as the
pilot opened the hatch. The sudden change in air pressure made his ears pop,
wind threatening to yank him out of the plane and almost drowning out his cry
of �Chaos control!�
As the light around him faded, Shadow found himself standing on a hill above
what seemed to be a forest made of giant mushrooms. The grass beneath his feet
was soft and everything seemed fresh and clean. After so long living in the
cities poisoned by Robotnik, this spot of greenery
seemed very idyllic to his senses.
Or it did, until a large, spiked fist whizzed half an inch past his face,
only Shadow�s razor-sharp reflexes saving him from a very humiliating knock to
the head.
Diving into a roll and back to his feet again to face his attacker, Shadow
realised that his opponent was an echidna, which was in equal parts worrying
and comforting. Comforting that none of Robotnik�s
lackeys had made their way to this floating sanctuary, but worrying in that his
alleged hosts were now attacking him.
�Get off my island!� The red echidna snarled at him, his large fists held up
in an offensive guard stance, his wicked-looking spiked knuckles pointing
threateningly in his direction.
Shadow settled nonchalantly into a light defensive stance, �Your island?� he
asked sardonically, �I thought the Echidnas had a council of elders, not a
king.�
The red echidna snarled, �I don�t care what you thought!� He spat back,
�You�re an intruder here and I want you gone, NOW!�
Shadow smirked in a way he knew a hot-head like this echidna would find
completely infuriating, �Why don�t you try and make me leave?�
The echidna�s violet eyes lit up with fury and he charged blindly, his sharp
fists extended. Shadow waited until the last possible instant, then jumped
nimbly out of the way, doing a smooth flip over the echidna�s dreadlocked head
to land behind him and following up with a full sweep of the legs. Though the
echidna was solidly built and too heavy for the move to completely knock him
down, it did make him stagger, allowing Shadow a moment to regain his guard
stance and evaluate he terrain.
This area was almost entirely made up of gently rolling hills, low-lying
scrub-brush and those towering mushroom-trees. No real cover, no major
obstacles. If he wanted, Shadow could just make a dash for it, running towards
the rough centre of the island where he was meant to meet up with Athair. However, he had no idea about what lay between here
and his ultimate goal, and this echidna knew the terrain on the island far
better than he did, which meant that Shadow�s journey would very likely be
interrupted.
No, far better that he face down this young hot-head now and get it over
with. It shouldn�t take all that long to teach this young upstart a lesson.
Shadow noticed with some amusement that the young echidna was also giving
him the once-over, trying to find weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Shadow
sincerely doubted he would find any � he was the Ultimate Life Form after all.
�You gonna use that sword or is it just for
decoration?� The red echidna taunted. Shadow narrowed his eyes.
�I wasn�t planning to waste it on the likes of you.� Shadow replied coldly,
�But since you insist�� Shadow whipped the sword from its sheath, ensuring the
blade made it�s impressive and intimidating �shing!� noise as the blade caught the metal lip of the
scabbard.
�Hmph,� The echidna grunted, �Somehow I didn�t
think you were quite like those �nobles� with the useless little
knitting-needles they carry.�
Shadow made no reply to this back-handed compliment, merely shifting his
sabre into a ready stance, his hand slightly extended, sword angled diagonally
across his body, its tip level with his right shoulder as he waited.
There was a tense pause as they stared at each other for a moment, then the
echidna shot forward, fist drawn back to take aim at his right knee. With easy
grace, Shadow pivoted on his left foot, moving his right leg easily out of
harm�s way and simultaneously bringing the flat of his sabre blade down in a
hard �smack� against the echidna�s skull.
�Ooof!� The echidna
gasped as the blow sent him tumbling into ground. Shadow jumped away to a clear
patch of ground and again settled into his ready stance. The echidna scrambled
to his feet with a growl, this time dropping into a fighting half-crouch, face
almost hidden behind those oversized fists.
�Time to go on the
offensive.� Shadow thought. With a few lightning-quick steps he
lunged at the echidna, who managed to catch and deflect the initial strike with
the back of his hand, causing the blade to cut deeply into the heavily-padded
glove he was wearing. Impressed by the echidna�s reflexes, Shadow altered his
aim, sweeping the blunt reverse of the sabre blade straight into the echidna�s
gut, making him double over and gasp for breath.
Stumbling back into his defensive crouch again, the echidna glared at him,
the faintest traces of respect in his violet eyes, �You using that left-handed
to handicap yourself, then? Don�t want to face me with your full skill?� He
said, still gasping to regain his air, annoyance clear in his voice.
�No,� Shadow replied, amused, �I really am left-handed.�
There was another pause before the echidna made another move, this time
feinting with a jab to the right before rolling to the left, aiming for
Shadow�s ribs.
By now beginning to bore of this fight, Shadow drew on the power of the
emerald nestled in his quills and called out, �Chaos CONTROL!� the world
flashed in rainbow light for a moment as time slowed to a crawl. The red
echidna was frozen in the air as he dove towards the place Shadow had been
stood. The black hedgehog danced nimbly around him, swinging his sword as he
did so, bringing the hilt of his sabre down on the back of the echidna�s head
in a sharp pommel-strike. As time began to speed up again, the echidna�s motion
was now downwards rather than forwards, which Shadow encouraged with a hard
axe-kick to the echidna�s back, sending him crashing to the ground. Before his
erstwhile opponent could climb to his feet again, Shadow placed his foot in
between his shoulder blades and held the tip of his sword to the echidna�s
throat.
�Now that I have your attention, I will explain a few things to you.� Shadow
said coldly, �I am not an intruder, I am an invited guest. I was asked to come
here by Queen Aleena Acorn to be her representative,
and no idiotic challenges from fools like you will prevent me from fulfilling
my duty to her. Do you understand?�
The echidna squirmed slightly, a dazed look on his face, �Grandfather
invited you here?�
Shadow only just barely bit back a groan, �I�m here for your initiation?�
�It wasn�t my idea!� the echidna that he was now fairly sure was Knuckles
growled back, �I can handle my own initiation just fine without interference
from outsiders like you!�
�Of course you can.� Shadow said mockingly. Then he sighed and moved his
sword and his foot, allowing Knuckles � if that was his name - to get to his
feet.
The echidna glared at him as he dusted himself off, wincing when his hands
touched the tender spots where Shadow had struck him, and then something seemed
to occur to him, �You cheated.� He said matter-of-factly.
Shadow raised an eye-ridge even as he sheathed his sword.
�You used Chaos Control,� Knuckles accused, �Wasn�t exactly a fair fight.�
�I wasn�t aware it was supposed to be a formal duel,� Shadow growled in
reply, �Now, are you going to take me to Athair or do
we have to go for Round Two?�
Knuckles rolled his eyes, �Whatever. It�s this way.� He said, pointing a
thumb towards the central hub of the island, �Who are you, anyway?�
�I�m Shadow the Hedgehog, First Knight of the Acorn Realm.�
�Huh. Well, I�m Knuckles, but I guess you knew that.�
Shadow grunted disinterestedly. Knuckles snorted, then
broke into a jog as they began to move over the rolling hills towards the
islands center. When Shadow quickened his pace
slightly, Knuckles grinned and began to lengthen his stride into a proper run.
�Think you can keep up?� Knuckles taunted.
Shadow rolled his eyes and ignited his jet shoes, sliding forwards to easily
outpace the red echidna. �Yes.� He said matter-of-factly as he sailed past.
Knuckles stared at him for a moment, then a grin
spread across his face as he ran after the black hedgehog. The chase was on.
They raced for awhile across the island, over the rolling mushroom-dotted
hills, across the red-hot sands and through the ancient ruins and right into
the fiery heart of the semi-dormant volcano at the island�s heart. Shadow�s raw
speed gave him the edge over level terrain, but Knuckles seemed to know every
single secret tunnel and shortcut as well as possessing an impressive ability
to scale walls using little more than his spiked fists and pure strength.
They remained almost level until they finally reached the exact centre of
the island � the most ancient, sacred place the echidnas possessed � the Hidden Palace
and the Emerald Shrine it contained.
Skidding to a stop at the foot of the stairs that lead up to the Emerald
Chamber, Shadow looked up at the huge stone door that loomed up on front of
him. Knuckles arrived an instant later, breathing hard from his exertions.
�Grandfather should be inside.� Knuckles said when he had regained his
breath.
�What happens now?� Shadow asked impatiently.
Knuckles shrugged, �We wait. Grandfather will call us when they�re ready.�
Sighing in barely-concealed irritation, Shadow wandered around the large
antechamber. The walls were a thick bluish stone, carefully carved by ancient
echidna hands into glyphs and pictograms depicting the history of the island
and the Emeralds. Though heavily stylised, the carved pictures were clear
enough for him to get the gist of what they were representing. Apparently the
island was the product of some kind of civil war between factions of the
echidna people, which somehow produced some kind of catastrophe which the
Guardians and the people of Angel Island escaped by using the power of the
Master Emerald to launch the entire island skywards.
Amused at the fanciful tale, Shadow turned around to look at the final panel
in the sequence.
Then he stopped dead in his tracks.
This panel was slightly more fancifully decorated than the others, inlaid
with small shining stones like an elaborate mosaic. This panel depicted a huge,
amorphous creature that loomed over the other, smaller figure, only the rows of
razor-sharp teeth clearly defined in the otherwise shapeless monster. But
Shadow�s eyes were insistently drawn to the smaller figure. It seemed to be a Mobian, floating in mid-air and surrounded by a glowing
aura of power, facing off against the massive creature. A three-fold crown of
spikes protruded from its head and ran down its back, the tips slightly turned
up - just like his own quills. Shadow felt his blood
run cold. This glowing, defiant figure almost looked like him - only the eyes
of the carved figure were depicted by two tiny, perfect pieces of green jade.
�Knuckles,� Shadow called urgently, �What is this?�
Knuckles glanced at the carving, �That? Oh, it�s meant to be some sort of
Prophecy.�
�Prophecy?� Shadow asked sharply. He was really
beginning to despise that word.
Knuckles nodded, �It�s supposed to be about the End of the World.�
---
The rickety old hover-bus belonging to the music group known as Sonic
Underground was parked outside the large sports hall that was going to serve as
tonight�s gig venue.
The three musicians � along with a couple of dogged volunteers � were
currently unloading all the instruments and other equipment needed for the
show. A task that was proceeding with unusual slowness since they kept getting
interrupted by young fans seeking autographs.
�Sonic,� His sister chided him after the blue hedgehog had finished signing
yet another autograph for a delighted young fan,
�We�re supposed to be working here. I know that work is a foreign concept to
you, but you could at least try to lend a hand.�
Sonic grinned at his sister, �Relax, sis. We�re meant to be winning support,
right? Well, hey, that�s what I�m doing.�
Sonia rolled her eyes and picked up a heavy amplifier and shoved it into his
hands, �Well for now you can support the equipment.� She said, pointing
imperiously towards the hall. Sonic just laughed as he went inside, joining his
brother and the venue owner � a rabbit called Bunnie
� on the makeshift stage.
�Almost done there, sugar?� Bunnie smiled at him
as he set the amp down. Manic waved vaguely, half his torso buried under the
sound console he was currently putting together.
�Pretty much,� Sonic replied, quickly connecting up the amplifier, �Just gotta sound test then we�re ready to juice and jam this
joint.�
�I�m lookin� forward to it, sugarhog,�
Bunnie laughed, �Ain�t all
that often we get big stars like y�all in a little ole place like Hilltop
Town.�
Sonic smiled back. Bunnie was the owner of this
gym and trained the locals in physical fitness of several kinds, but she was
also the leader of the local faction of Freedom Fighters. So as usual their
being here served a dual purpose. Hilltop was a fairly remote area, but it was
a highly defensible one, off most main roads and tricky to get to by air.
Worryingly, though, Robotnik had shown a strong
interest in the place lately, so they were here to make contact with the local
resistance as well as find out what Buttnik was up to
� and play a killer show, of course, but that was a given.
Picking up his beloved Peavey electric guitar he quickly ran through a
series of scales, still loving the crisp wail of the notes that poured from the
amp. This was a fairly new guitar, bought for his sixteenth birthday by his two
siblings. He had no idea how they had managed to afford the beautiful
instrument, but frankly didn�t really care. From the moment he had seen the
elegant red body, gleaming white scratch-plate and graceful neck, he had been
hopelessly in love.
With his brother behind him on drums, sister to the left of him with her
keyboards arrayed in front of her, himself with guitar in hands � everything
felt� almost perfect. Sonic smiled as they ran through the sound check. He
glanced again at the set-list as the people assigned as stewards began to take
their places, awaiting the rush of fans. The set was due to begin with �In the
Lead�, a nice easy intro leading into a good heavy rock song, followed by the
darker, ominous strains of �Distant Early Warning� then softening down into
Sonia�s ballad rendition of �Dangerous Type� and culminating with �You�re The
Voice� to end the first half of the show.
Sonic nodded in satisfaction. It was pretty much perfect. Now, if he could
just rid himself of that that nagging sensation that something was missing,
everything would be truly awesome. Maybe Manic was right and his part of the
stage just felt empty without a bassist to share it with. Heh
� yeah right.
People were filing in, now, talking and laughing and chatting as they
crowded towards the stage, faces alight with excitement and anticipation. Sonic
felt the same excitement build up in him, an adrenaline rush almost as good as
the one he got from running.
�Hey all!� He cried out to the crowd, grinning like
a lunatic as they whooped and cheered in response, �We�re Sonic Underground and
we�re here to rock ya!�
The cheering swept over him like a wave as his fingers took position on the
strings. Manic tapped out the intro and Sonic slammed out the first chord
feeling his mood soar as they launched into the first song of the night.
They weren�t even half-way through it when hell broke loose.
Without any warning at all, the entire back wall of the sports hall suddenly
crumbled into rubble, sending debris and dust everywhere. The screaming not
long after that as a squadron of SWATbots marched
implacably into the hall, their laser rifles levelled, grating metallic voices
ordering everyone to keep still and surrender.
Unsurprisingly, not everyone listened. Total panic set in and the crowd
tried to flee, setting off in panicked, desperate flight towards the exits.
All this happened in the space of a few heartbeats, which was enough time
for Sonic to dis-entangle himself from his guitar
strap and jump down into the fray.
�You guys get everyone you can outta here!� Sonic
called to his siblings, �I�ll distract the SWAT-butts!�
Without any hesitation or pause, Sonic threw himself into the action,
interposing himself between the robots and the innocent Mobians
they were trying to cut down.
�Sorry, guys, no ticket, no entry,� Sonic told the faceless robots in a
mock-stern voice, �I�m gonna have to escort you from
the premises.�
Dodging a barrage of laser fire, Sonic whipped behind one of the SWATbots, grabbing a slack loop of the cable two of them
were stood on, he yanked hard, sending one of them tumbling straight into its
fellows.
- 6
- 7
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Beyond Prophecy