Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Inked in flame ❯ Chapter the Eighth: Stagnancy ( Chapter 8 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: TheVulpineHero1 
ENJOY SOZ ABOUT THE WAIT
Non Anime: Sonic Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 03.15.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.1K | Visits: 295 | Status: Work In Progress
ENJOY SOZ ABOUT THE WAIT
Non Anime: Sonic Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 03.15.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.1K | Visits: 295 | Status: Work In Progress
Hey. Apparently, my little problem with bold italics has been resolved by my new approach. So, it is now easier to read my fiction than ever before! YAY! So, at any rate, last chapter had quite a bit of comedy in it. At least, more than chapter one. I’ve noticed that my chapters are becoming increasingly more comedic, which isn’t the best thing to happen to a serious fic. So, I’m going to try and tone it down a little, or introduce some more drama. Also, for those who didn’t hate Wheels of Abandonment, good news. I’m going to try and do the next chapter soon, although it might take a while…Oh, and while I’m at it, here’s a word from our sponsor!
Guy: Hi all!
Gal: Hiya!
Guy: Have you ever had a desire…
Gal:…for fire?
Guy: Do you need to burn…
Gal: …what you earn?
Guy: Are you a pyromaniac?
Gal: For money?
Guy: Do you have a hunger for…Hang on, how long does this go on?
Gal: Hey, check it out. It goes on for another fourteen pages.
Guy: Who writes these commercials anyway? They’re ridiculous!
Eggman: Hey gentlemen and gentlemenettes! Do you like the scripts I gave you?
Gal: What are you doing here, fat boy?
Eggman: What do you mean, what am I doing here? What are you doing here?
Guy: Slacking off.
Eggman: Me too! The director is a real slave driver. He wrote me a big list of things I have to do and stuck it on my fridge!
Gal: Who is the director, anyway?
Eggman: I don’t know. Let me check.
Guy: Well? Who is the stuck up little jerk?
Eggman: Me, apparently. Guess this means we’ll be spending a lot more time together! I can see it now! The Guy, Gal and Eggman show! We can do five seasons, then I’ll get bored and fire you so I can employ Richard and Judy!
Gal: This is going to be a loooooooong five seasons….
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Chapter the Eighth: Stagnancy
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“SONIC! WHAT THE F-”
“Amy! Control your language whilst my daughter is in the house!”
“I was going to say ‘flipping’!”
Tails groaned. Amy had obviously just woken up (after sleeping the entire day before) to see Sonic and Eleanor in the same room. As he listened, he heard the various sounds of the others waking up.
“Ha ha. Looks like the fuzz ball is having a bad hair day!”
“Check it out, guys. Fairy’s having a bad face day.”
“Shut up! I have a deer rifle stashed around here, you know!”
“You’d need an elephant rifle to hurt me. But you couldn’t hit a cow’s ass with a banjo, so I don’t give a damn.”
“Raze!”
“That’s my name. Got anything to eat?”
“I can make toast…”
“No, Ai, you can’t.”
Cream turned in her bed and murmured something. Tails got up, and stretched. In the absence of any better plan, everyone had gone back and slept at Cream’s house. Tails had been stuck on the floor of Cream’s room in a sleeping bag. He had never known just how hard Cream snored. He looked around, noticing something missing. Where was Cheese?
“Cream? Sorry to wake you, but where has Cheese been for the last day or two?” Tails asked, softly.
“Uhhhn? Oh, Cheese? He’s really edgy around Mr. Raze, so we sent him to stay with my cousin, Sherbet, who lives in Future City. Apparently he’s doing well, although he’s pining for us. I wish he were here now…” Cream said, sitting up.
“Sorry if this sounds rude, but what is it with your family and foodstuffs?” Tails asked. He hadn’t tweaked anything in ages, and now he was having a curiosity overload.
“It’s traditional. My branch of the family has always been named after dairy products. Have I ever told you about my Grandpa Yoghurt?”
“Uh…I wonder what’s for breakfast?”
“Look, I said I was sorry! You didn’t need to dangle me out of the window!”
“I was angry! I thought you were seeing another woman!”
“If I were in the same room as Vanilla, would you be just as angry?”
“Yes, no, maybe! It wasn’t that you were in the same room as her, it was the fact that you had your hand on her ass!”
“He had his hand on my ass? You little blue pervert! As soon as I finish my cereal, I’m gonna kick your ugly little butt!”
Tails groaned again, as Knuckles snickered. Why did adults have to be so dumb?
“Geez. I’ve never seen so many boxes of ‘Magic Fairy Sparkle Puffs’ in one house before. Fairy boy must have loved it.” Raze said, snickering.
“Oh, talking of Shadow, I meant to ask you something.” Sonic said.
“I meant to ask you something as well. How come the colour blue is so annoying?” Shadow retorted.
“I dunno. Maybe you’re just weird. I was gonna ask you about those flowers that Amy got.” Sonic went on.
“What flowers? I don’t remember any flowers.” Shadow muttered.
“You know. Amy got a bunch of flowers. Did you put them there?” Sonic asked.
“No, I damn well didn’t!” Shadow said, his voice rising to a shout.
“I don’t trust you. Hey, Raze, you seem to know Shadow pretty well. Would he have sent those flowers?”
“Were they pink?
“What’s that supposed to mean, fluffy?”
At that point, the conversation promptly stopped as Vanilla turned on the television. Raze watched intently, his eyes narrowing.
“Hey, Ai. Why is Raze watching the T.V so hard?” Cream asked.
“I dunno. Anything interesting?” Ai asked, turning to Raze.
“No.” Raze said, sharply.
The newscaster droned on. Jecht walked out of the bathroom, having occupied it for almost two hours. Sonic was being hit by both Amy and Eleanor, but no one seemed to notice it. Shadow was pondering something or other, whilst Cream was polishing off her cereal. Ai started to pester Raze. Tails just watched.
“How did things get so boring all of a sudden?” he asked.
“Muhahahahahaha. Phase one of my brilliantly retarded plan is complete. What says you, Metal Sonic?”
“I say that your momma is so fat, she has to wear a watch on both arms, because she covers two time zones.” the robot said.
“Shut up! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!”
“So, you finally unleashed Chaos?” Metal Sonic asked.
“Not only that, but I got my money’s worth out of that surveillance camera I installed in Cream’s house!” the doctor replied.
“What, that wasn’t to record porn?”
“No, it wasn’t! It was to spy on the plans of those little munchkins, Tails and Cream! I never saw any porn at all!”
“What about that time Vanilla came down and did the laundry in only her bra and knickers?”
“I don’t recall that!”
“What do you mean, don’t recall it?! You keep a tape of it under your pillow! You even added a soundtrack! I’m getting sick of hearing ‘I like big butts and I cannot lie’ at four o’ clock in the funking morning!”
“Shut up! You suck! You’re not retarded at all!”
At noon, the animals decided to split up. Whilst Jecht and Knuckles started to comb the city for any and all rumours concerning the Master Emerald, Rouge had had (That looks really weird when you type it, doesn’t it?) to stay at Cream’s house and sleep off all her hangover. Raze had decided to try and trace all leads on Arid and the Arridian Guild, with Ai bouncing along after him. Sonic had managed to ditch Amy, but had been followed by Eleanor. Shadow had decided to be Shadow someplace else. Cream, meanwhile, had dragged Tails to the park for a picnic. Tails, although pleased to have Cream’s good cooking, had just about given up any hope of getting back to his lab whilst this state of affairs was going on.
The two hedgehogs slowed to a halt in a canyon. Sonic stopped near a glimmering waterfall, with Eleanor smashing into his back when he stopped.
“Hey! That REALLY hurts! What IS your problem?” the green maiden shouted.
“Shush! Just check out the view!” he responded.
As she looked, she began to register what he was talking about. The view was fantastic. There were carp, swimming up the waterfall, which shone and glimmered in the sun. The wind carried a few leaves up into the air, and the raging river beside them glittered and sparkled. Was this where the blue hedgehog did his thinking?
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked, sitting down.
“Yeah. Even in my travels, I didn’t really see the scenery. I was always too busy…” she murmured.
“You don’t know what you were missing out on. I’m always busy, and I still find time to seek out beauty in the world.” the hedgehog said quietly.
At that point, a roaring noise echoed. Eleanor turned the see what it was. A few seconds later, a huge gust of wind bowled her over, and something sped past. The blue hedgehog merely tutted.
“Hey…If it ain’t Sonic. What’re you doing with this broad?” came a shout. A green hawk pulled into view on a highly tuned Extreme Gear.
“Huh. Had to spoil the moment, didn’t you? Sometimes I wish Tails and Wave had never made you that thing.” Sonic said.
“Tch. You’re no fun. You bring a chick to Splash Canyon, and you don’t even let her have a go on your gear?” Jet mocked.
“Yeah, shut it. I came here for the scenery, not the attitude.” Sonic sighed.
“Geez…You’ve changed, man.” the hawk said.
“So…That stuff’s called Extreme Gear? Looks useful. Can I give it a spin?” Eleanor asked.
“Yeah, if you want to. I’ll teach you!” Sonic replied.
“Fine! Let’s get started!” Eleanor said, walking off.
“Dammit.” Sonic swore, following her.
Shadow muttered to himself as he sped along through the jungle. How had he known? He had to hide his tracks more thoroughly, hide his intentions…Yes, that was what he’d do.
“Raze…I meant to ask you. Whatever happened to that Soots guy?” Ai asked, following Raze as he walked down the street. Understandably, everyone was giving him a wide berth. No one wanted to get in the way of Raze on a mission.
“We tied him up and put him in a back alley somewhere.” Raze said in a characteristically cold voice.
“Are you sure that was such a good idea?” Ai asked.
“Nope. Vanilla made me do it. I wanted to stick him in the oven.” Raze replied.
“Come on, Jecht. We’ll never find it if we have to stop for ice-cream every five minutes. I expect this kind of behaviour from Cream, Tails and Charmy.” Knuckles berated.
“Oh, that reminds me. What is it with Cream and Tails anyway? I haven’t seen them in different rooms yet. Well, discounting the toilet…” the tiger pondered.
Knuckles turned into a back alley, which smelt of rotten fish and stale socks.
“Come on, Jecht. That Raze guy told us that this so-called Arridian Guild liked to hide out in strange places, right? This sure smells strange enough…” Knuckles called, wrinkling his nose.
“What about my question? Those kids are sure close…” Jecht went on.
“Hmm. Well, they’ve been good friends ever since they met. It’s natural for two kids to make friends.” Knuckles said, dodging piles of trash as he walked through the alley.
“Yeah, but…they seem to be a bit…more.”
“You sound like Sonic. Anyway, it’s Vanilla’s problem. Let’s just find the Master Emerald, alright?”
“What’s so special about this Master Emerald? What’s gonna happen if we don’t find it?” the tiger asked.
“Shut up and help me look!”
“Uh…Cream? I’m full.” Tails moaned.
“Already? But I cooked a lot more than this!”
“Cream! I just wanna go home! I haven’t been to my house in two days, and I need to install that motherboard part! Where did Vanilla put that, anyway?” Tails asked.
“Oh…She thought it was a chopping board, so she put it in the cupboard. I’m sorry!” Cream apologised.
“It isn’t your fault, Cream. Tell you what. We’ll go back to your house, get the motherboard, clean it off from whatever your mom’s chopped on it, get it back to my house, install it, and then we’ll see if I can find the parts to make you something.” Tails said.
“Yay! I love it when you make me stuff. They always do such interesting things!”
“Alright then. Let’s get going!”
“What, again? This is too often, even for you!” Harry joked. Once again, Amy was trying to find answers at the bottom of a bottle. Of milkshake.
“This time, it’s really serious. The unthinkable has happened. I think he fancies another woman!” Amy panicked.
“Hey now! That’s nothing to worry about. All men look at fine women. It’s a fact of life. Besides, your relationship isn’t official, so it doesn’t count.” Harry soothed.
“That’s alright for you to say. You’ve never been in love as deeply as me. If he left…It would destroy me.” Amy cried.
“Hey hey hey…Dry your tears, girl. My advice is to relax. Ease off. Make him see what he’s missing. Who knows, you might even find someone better!”
“Hmm. Well, if you say so. You must’ve seen a whole lot of people in this shop, with problems even worse than mine.” Amy sighed. Maybe she really was trying too hard. Besides, since when had Harry ever steered her wrong?
“So, run this by me again. You did WHAT?!?!” Metal Sonic shouted.
“I, um, forgot to implant the control device?” Eggman muttered.
“So, you freed Chaos, using a dimensional warp machine to snatch it from its home, you plonked it outside with no way to control it, and then you spilled baby formula on the dimensional warp machine so we have no way to send Chaos back. Wow, that was SUCH a great plan.” the robot berated.
“Does this mean I’m not retarded anymore?”
“I wouldn’t say that….”
“Yay! YAY YAY YAYETY YAY YAY! I’M STILL RETARDED, I’M STILL RETARDED, I’M STILL RETARDED! BOOYAKASHA! EAT THAT, HOMIE!”
“Ugh…Why do I have such an irritating creator?”
“I think you’ve had enough, Amy.” Harry said, sounding concerned.
“But it’s only my fourteenth one…” Amy whined.
“Too many milkshakes will ruin your figure, you know. Besides, you’re not the type to waste so much time moping around.” Harry said.
“Oh, well. I guess I’ll go see what Cream’s doing…Huh?”
There, in the doorway of the shop, stood a blue, liquid entity.
“Hey…Isn’t that Chaos? I guess it doesn’t matter. Chaos is good again now!” Amy said. Chaos gave a noise as if to say, ‘That’s right. I don’t want to harm anyone this time. I just want to see the sights.’
“Hmm. Well, if it was going to attack, it would have done it by now. Plus, a customer’s a customer! Sit down, friend!” Harry smiled.
“Yeah! Tell you what, you’re first one’s on me!” Amy said, smiling.
The liquid life form sat down on one of the stools, and took a menu. Strangely, the menu wasn’t damaged by the watery hands. It pointed to its selection- the house special, Harry’s Artic Wonder. Harry spent a good five minutes preparing it, making sure to make it pleasing to his special guest. He set it down on the counter, and gave Chaos a straw. Sticking the straw into a place where the mouth (apparently) was, it then started slurping the milkshake down. Amy watched in wonder as the whole shake disappeared in little under twenty seconds. The only problem was that it wasn’t called Harry’s Artic Wonder for nothing. Amy gaped as she saw the god of destruction get the most terrible ailment known to man- brain freeze.
“Mother, I’m home!” Cream shouted as they entered, as was her custom. Tails looked around, scanning the room for the precious part. It wasn’t under the fruit bowl, or under the toaster.
“Oh, hi honey! Was the picnic good? What did you think, Tails?” Vanilla asked kindly.
“Cream’s cooking is always good, ma’am.” Tails replied politely.
“Mother, where did you put the new chopping board?” Cream asked.
“Right behind the TV. I think that it’s a part of something or other, so I left it alone.”
As Tails and Cream approached the TV and looked around the sides, a news bulletin came that would erase all thoughts of parts from their minds.
“Has Sonic the Hedgehog deserted us in our time of need? That’s what experts are asking today, as, once again, the monster called ‘Chaos’ rampages in downtown Station Square. This time, however, it is not made of liquid, but ice! Startled witnesses, including one Amy Rose, fled to safety. But, now Chaos is unleashed, can they truly be safe?” the newscaster read.
Tails and Cream looked at each other. Tails had told Cream about the previous encounter with Chaos, so she knew how scary and destructive the god could be.
“Tails…I think we should stay here. You and Mr. Sonic beat it when it was liquid, but now it’s ice, things might go differently. Besides, Amy can look after herself.” Cream said, a note of fear in her voice.
“Hmm. You’re right, Cream. This is better left to Knuckles, Sonic or Rouge. We might not have the muscle to beat it in a head-on fight. But…” Tails mused.
“What? Can we help?” Cream asked.
“Yes. We need to get the motherboard back to the Tornado. We’ll beat it using technology! I installed a weapon that will work really well, and now’s the chance to test it out!” Tails shouted.
“Hmm. But, I wonder what Shadow and the others will do. After all, Shadow’s never seen Chaos, and neither has Raze, Ai, Jecht, Eleanor or Rouge.” Cream pondered.
“Well, I can’t really imagine Raze or Shadow rushing to the rescue. Neither will Ai. Jecht and Eleanor might come- they seem to care about honour a lot more than the others…” Tails mused.
“Well…We’d better get going, before Artic Chaos has chance to hurt anyone else!”
“WHAT?!?! Chaos is…back? We need to go to Station Square, now! Come on, Elli!” Sonic shouted.
“Elli? Whatever! We’ll take the Extreme Gear, it should get us there faster! What about you, Jet?” Eleanor asked.
“Keep me out of this! If you guys have dealt with this Chaos thingy before, you can do it again!” Jet said, hopping back onto his Extreme Gear. He tethered it outside the bar they had just rushed out of.
“Hmm. I’ll take the Blue Star II for now. You can take the Legend. It’s a good thing you kept those things around!” Eleanor said, hopping onto the Blue Star II.
“Be careful, okay? The Blue Star II is a lot faster that the Legend, so I’ll have to catch you up. Don’t take Chaos lightly! If you see Raze or Shadow or anyone you think can help, take them along too!” Sonic called, as she whipped the board round and sped into the distance. She had gotten so good, so quickly…Sonic jumped on the Legend, and started the long ride to Station Square.
Knuckles winced. What was going on? His body was wracked with yet another shock. Jecht looked on, at a loss as to how to help his friend.
“Chaos? But…How? Why are these shocks…ARRGHH!”
Knuckles fell to the ground in pain. The normally tough echidna was now helpless. The tiger looked around, desperate to find a way to help his comrade.
“Hey…What’s that?” he said, reaching behind Knuckles’ left ear. He pulled out a small device, bearing some inscriptions. He read them aloud. The inscriptions said:
PROPERTY OF THE EGGMAN EMPIRE. IF LOST, PLEASE RETURN TO 33 WITHERSDALE CLOSE AND ASK FOR THE SECRET BASE ENTRACE. NOTE: IF FOUND BEHIND THE EAR OF KNUCKLES T. ECHIDNA, PLEASE LEAVE IT THERE. I PUT IT THERE AFTER I FOUND KNUCKSIE PASSED OUT IN THE GUTTER. WHAT AN IDIOT!
LUV, DR. IVO ROBOTNIK
P.S. PLEASE DON’T TELL MY MOTHER I WAS PLAYING OUTSIDE.
Jecht stifled a laugh. Was this guy for real?
“Eggman! So, he’s behind this! I might have known! Still, however retarded the message, it did its job. If I go and fight Chaos now, I’ll either get wasted or I’ll slow the others down.” Knuckles swore.
“Plus, I can’t just leave you here…That bug’s stopped both of us. That git!” the tiger swore. He kicked the ground, then set about tending to his wounded comrade.
As Eleanor tore through the deserted streets, she shivered, and felt a stabbing cold pierce her to the bone. As she felt this, the Blue Star II dropped closer to the ground. It dropped closer still, then scraped along the ground as the air grew too cold for the engine to handle. She hopped off. She saw a huge, glistening spear of ice high in the horizon. She was close. She set off, trudging across the icy wilderness created by the frozen god. Her shoes started to freeze to the ground. She quickened her step to avoid becoming completely immobile. Her breath frothed out in huge, frosty clouds, which fell behind her, leaving an arc of frost in her wake. She came closer, and closer still to the huge pillar which marked her battlefield. She became weaker as she walked. She yearned for warmth, for comfort, for sleep. But, if she fell asleep, or even laid down, she was sure to freeze to the ground, and would be doomed never to get up again. Her sense of duty as a knight demanded her to help the people here. She came to a clearing, and in the middle of the clearing, the giant pillar rested. A creature, made of blue ice, turned and saw her. It was a hulking creature, which towered over even Raze’s or Vector’s height. It was over twice as wide as Eleanor, and looked towards her with a morbid hybrid emotion comprised of curiosity and fury. She walked into the centre of the clearing, and stood. The creature, Artic Chaos, stood five or ten meters from her, and faced her. Eleanor drew her mace, which was really more of a morning star type weapon, and prepared herself for one hell of a fight.
Artic Chaos attacked. Its icy feet made it slide effortlessly and quickly across the ground. Surprised by the speed of the great beast, Eleanor ducked out of the way a second too late. She felt a sharp, freezing object slash her arm. She turned to see that Chaos had fashioned it’s icy hands into a frozen sabre. It came again, slashing the air wildly. Eleanor ducked, weaved, span, did any evasive action she could take to prevent another wound from that icy blade. Eleanor tried to slide underneath the monster’s legs, but was almost skewered as frozen spikes erupted from the lower half of the creature’s body. In sheer desperation, she kicked the monster with both legs. It slid across the clearing rapidly, losing its balance and falling, making a harsh crack as it hit the ground. Eleanor smiled as she saw the way to beat it. It might be faster than her, and it might be stronger than her, but it didn’t seem to be able to attack from a distance, and it went sliding off with every hit. Not only that, but it seemed fragile, like glass. Chaos surged forwards again, this time changing its arm into an icy spear. Eleanor ducked again, then took its legs out from under it. Again, it made a sickening crack as it hit the ground. This time, however, a crack appeared down the side of the beast. It rose to its feet, and stood looking down at her. She braced herself for another strike. However, Chaos bounded away to the other side of the clearing. For a moment, there was an uneasy tension, as Eleanor prepared herself for any strike the creature might try. Shortly, it raised its head and howled. It was a savage, unearthly cry, which shook Eleanor to her core. As she watched, an icy mist emanated from its gaping jaws, freezing the very ground beneath her feet. She smiled, seeing its tactical error. Although this looked like an advantage for the beast, it was really giving her another weapon to use. Once again, it lurched forwards. This time, Eleanor mirrored the movement, and started to increase her speed rapidly by sliding on the newly frozen ground. As the two came together, Eleanor whirled her mace around and struck hard on the crack that she had caused earlier. Much to her surprise, the beast simply shattered into a thousand shards. Coming to a halt, she turned and looked at them as they sparkled on the ground. Could it really be that easy? She looked at the frost on the windows, the ground, in the air. Was this the end of the fight? She turned and started to walk away. As she walked, she heard an ominous humming sound. Turning, she looked at the floor. The Chaos shards were nowhere to be found. Suddenly, something whizzed past her ear and shattered on the ground. Looking up, she saw a thousand shards of ice in the sky. She turned and hunched over, flattening her spines over her armour in a well practised technique. Through years of training, the spines on her back had become as hard as iron. The shards shattered on her back effortlessly, doing no damage whatsoever. Standing up again, she turned, and walked away. However, as she turned, again came an unearthly cry. She sagged in despondency. Surely, it had to be over? The beast was shattered, snapped, turned into nothing more than a frosty dust! She looked down, and saw that as she had been occupied, the dust had gathered around her feet. She looked down, as the dust began to melt, leaving behind an uncanny blue liquid, which lay in a great pool around her feet. As she looked, the pool began to ripple and shimmer, as if hit by a tear. Sensing the danger, she turned to run, but was too late. The pool sprang upwards. She felt a short, suffocating sensation, then nothing.
The blue warrior rushed along, his feet hardly touching the ground. He mopped his brow. The cold was making it much harder to run. Not only that, but the frost seemed to be melting in some parts, leaving freezing pools of water which slowed his movement. Sonic also found himself ducking and weaving, as melting icicles fell towards him from lampposts and roofs. He ran on, slipping and sliding occasionally, until he reached something that made him stop. There was a little boy, obviously frostbitten, but alive, and had obviously been warmed up by rubbing with a blanket. This was evident due to the red friction marks. It seemed that someone had thawed the poor kid out. Sonic walked past, and saw the same thing with another family. Person after person seemed to have been thawed in the same way, probably by the same person. Sonic looked in wonder. He walked on, then heard a savage cry, which chilled his heart and sent his pulse spiralling. He rushed to the source of the call, and was shocked by what he saw. Eleanor was standing bolt upright in a clearing, and glowing an unearthly blue. As Sonic watched, the blue seemed to surround her, giving her a blue second skin. Then, a brain floated in front of her face.
“What? It…engulfed her? But…Knux told me that it couldn’t engulf animals as the zero form! But…”
As Sonic reeled in shock, the eyes of Chaos came to the front of Eleanor’s submerged head. It gave a roar as it saw its old adversary. It seemed to have completely reverted to its old ways. It lung its arm at him, startling him. He ducked away, just in time to avoid it. It flung its arms again, but this time Sonic dodged easily. Its arms hit the pavement, cracking the stone where it had hit. Sonic turned to face it, and saw something extraordinary. Chaos was shuddering. It didn’t seem to be in pain, but it was obvious that it couldn’t move. Sonic looked closer, and saw, to his astonishment, a look of painful concentration on Eleanor’s brow.
“Of course! She’s helping me from the inside!” Sonic said aloud. Knowing what to do, he curled into a ball.
He thought about what he had to do. Chaos had learned new tricks, and he was no longer a match for the god. Not only that, but it had engulfed Eleanor. Who knew what was really happening to her in there? The longer she was in there, the more danger she was in, and there was no way he could allow her to get hurt. Eleanor…Looking deep within himself, and with a strength he had never felt before, he began to spin. He span faster and faster, the pavement blurring more and more as he span. As he turned, his stomach did too, and he was numbly aware that he had never span anywhere near this fast before. But what did it matter? Eleanor was what mattered. Sensing that moment that every hero senses when the moment of truth arrives, he spun into the air, going at well over 300 MPH. He flew through the air towards Chaos’ brain. His aim was perfect. He would not miss.
He span through the air, seeking that moment of impact. Presently, it came. Except that it wasn’t the impact of him smashing his frame into Chaos’ brain, delivering a crucial deathblow that would have ended the fight. It was the impact of the brick wall he had just careered into collapsing on top of him. His arms and legs were all pinned by the rubble. The only part left free was his head. As he looked, he saw that Chaos was now walking towards him, its brain hovering above its head inside a stem of water. It had ejected its brain, and made Sonic miss. Eleanor had been burnt out, and crushed by the now-looming prospect of defeat. The beast stared at Sonic a while. He thought he saw a slightly sadistic look in its eyes. Then, it slowly extended it’s arm backwards. He saw now what was going to happen. Once that arm was fully extended, there would be a sound like a whip-crack as Chaos flung it back at him, dealing a blow that would surely end his life. Knowing he was defeated, he bowed his head and waited for the blow to fall.
Thirty seconds later, Sonic opened his eyes, still expecting to die at any moment. He smiled, as he saw the cause of the delay. Far off in the distance, Raze smiled back. The fox had planted his foot on the creature’s extended arm, and no matter how the god struggled, it could not free itself. Sonic could already see what a close match this would be. Chaos had godly power, the strength of water, and pure fury. Raze, on the other hand, had merely mortal strength, but had a weight advantage, was faster and more skilful. Seizing the solid liquid of the god’s arm, Raze gave an almighty tug, sending Chaos flying towards him. He drew back his arm. At precisely the right moment, he sent it flying forwards again, performing a vicious clothesline which only just missed Eleanor. The god screamed in pain as it landed, and turned to face the fox. As it did this, it started to bubble and steam. Its blood was boiling, and it was too!
Sonic watched in awe as Raze matched the god blow for blow. The match wasn’t quite as close as Sonic had predicted. Although Raze only had the strength of a mortal, he was still nothing to sneeze at. He was knocking Chaos around like it was nothing, turning its attacks away as if they had been made by a child. As Sonic watched, it became evident to him how skilled Raze was. He was predicting the blows even as the last one was falling. Raze made his move, and swung at the creature’s head slowly and deliberately. Once again, it raised it’s brain on a stalk, which then started pulsating. The brain travelled along the stalk at great speed. Raze swore, seeing that there was no way he could hit it for sure. Then, Chaos began to shudder once again. Eleanor’s brow once again showed great concentration, as she held the creature at bay. Raze smiled. Seconds later, his hand smashed into Chaos’ brain with such ferocious force that the brain was knocked clean out of the creature. The liquid immediately lost its solidity, and turned into a pool again, leaving Eleanor on the ground. It rushed towards the stricken brain. It was too late. Seconds before the liquid united with the brain, Raze’s foot came crashing down and turned the brain into jelly.
After Raze had wiped his foot on the ground, he set about freeing Sonic from the rubble. Shortly after this was done, the blue twosome heard a groaning sound. Sonic rushed over to Eleanor, Raze walking behind him.
“She’s come to! How are you feeling, Els?” Sonic said.
“I-I…wish I had a c-camera. The expression on your f-face is p-priceless!” Eleanor laughed.
“Tch. Had to go and get yourself engulfed, didn’t you? Amateur mistake. And Sonic, trapped in the rubble? Geez. I give you two about a three-out-of-ten on the ‘Heroness Scale’.” Raze commented.
“Hey, Raze…Your tail is all puffed up. It must have been you that thawed out all those people!” Sonic exclaimed.
“Y-Yeah…and you s-still came to r-rescue us. You do care, after all…” Eleanor laughed.
“If you EVER tell ANYONE, I’ll kill you both.” the fox retorted.
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Whoa. Long. Chapter. This is about 11 pages in size twelve, and it’s about 16 pages in size 16, which now looks huge to me. There was a lot of plot though. It justifies the AGES and AGES I took writing it. So, tune in next chapter to find out what happens in the aftermath!
Guy: Hi all!
Gal: Hiya!
Guy: Have you ever had a desire…
Gal:…for fire?
Guy: Do you need to burn…
Gal: …what you earn?
Guy: Are you a pyromaniac?
Gal: For money?
Guy: Do you have a hunger for…Hang on, how long does this go on?
Gal: Hey, check it out. It goes on for another fourteen pages.
Guy: Who writes these commercials anyway? They’re ridiculous!
Eggman: Hey gentlemen and gentlemenettes! Do you like the scripts I gave you?
Gal: What are you doing here, fat boy?
Eggman: What do you mean, what am I doing here? What are you doing here?
Guy: Slacking off.
Eggman: Me too! The director is a real slave driver. He wrote me a big list of things I have to do and stuck it on my fridge!
Gal: Who is the director, anyway?
Eggman: I don’t know. Let me check.
Guy: Well? Who is the stuck up little jerk?
Eggman: Me, apparently. Guess this means we’ll be spending a lot more time together! I can see it now! The Guy, Gal and Eggman show! We can do five seasons, then I’ll get bored and fire you so I can employ Richard and Judy!
Gal: This is going to be a loooooooong five seasons….
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Chapter the Eighth: Stagnancy
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“SONIC! WHAT THE F-”
“Amy! Control your language whilst my daughter is in the house!”
“I was going to say ‘flipping’!”
Tails groaned. Amy had obviously just woken up (after sleeping the entire day before) to see Sonic and Eleanor in the same room. As he listened, he heard the various sounds of the others waking up.
“Ha ha. Looks like the fuzz ball is having a bad hair day!”
“Check it out, guys. Fairy’s having a bad face day.”
“Shut up! I have a deer rifle stashed around here, you know!”
“You’d need an elephant rifle to hurt me. But you couldn’t hit a cow’s ass with a banjo, so I don’t give a damn.”
“Raze!”
“That’s my name. Got anything to eat?”
“I can make toast…”
“No, Ai, you can’t.”
Cream turned in her bed and murmured something. Tails got up, and stretched. In the absence of any better plan, everyone had gone back and slept at Cream’s house. Tails had been stuck on the floor of Cream’s room in a sleeping bag. He had never known just how hard Cream snored. He looked around, noticing something missing. Where was Cheese?
“Cream? Sorry to wake you, but where has Cheese been for the last day or two?” Tails asked, softly.
“Uhhhn? Oh, Cheese? He’s really edgy around Mr. Raze, so we sent him to stay with my cousin, Sherbet, who lives in Future City. Apparently he’s doing well, although he’s pining for us. I wish he were here now…” Cream said, sitting up.
“Sorry if this sounds rude, but what is it with your family and foodstuffs?” Tails asked. He hadn’t tweaked anything in ages, and now he was having a curiosity overload.
“It’s traditional. My branch of the family has always been named after dairy products. Have I ever told you about my Grandpa Yoghurt?”
“Uh…I wonder what’s for breakfast?”
“Look, I said I was sorry! You didn’t need to dangle me out of the window!”
“I was angry! I thought you were seeing another woman!”
“If I were in the same room as Vanilla, would you be just as angry?”
“Yes, no, maybe! It wasn’t that you were in the same room as her, it was the fact that you had your hand on her ass!”
“He had his hand on my ass? You little blue pervert! As soon as I finish my cereal, I’m gonna kick your ugly little butt!”
Tails groaned again, as Knuckles snickered. Why did adults have to be so dumb?
“Geez. I’ve never seen so many boxes of ‘Magic Fairy Sparkle Puffs’ in one house before. Fairy boy must have loved it.” Raze said, snickering.
“Oh, talking of Shadow, I meant to ask you something.” Sonic said.
“I meant to ask you something as well. How come the colour blue is so annoying?” Shadow retorted.
“I dunno. Maybe you’re just weird. I was gonna ask you about those flowers that Amy got.” Sonic went on.
“What flowers? I don’t remember any flowers.” Shadow muttered.
“You know. Amy got a bunch of flowers. Did you put them there?” Sonic asked.
“No, I damn well didn’t!” Shadow said, his voice rising to a shout.
“I don’t trust you. Hey, Raze, you seem to know Shadow pretty well. Would he have sent those flowers?”
“Were they pink?
“What’s that supposed to mean, fluffy?”
At that point, the conversation promptly stopped as Vanilla turned on the television. Raze watched intently, his eyes narrowing.
“Hey, Ai. Why is Raze watching the T.V so hard?” Cream asked.
“I dunno. Anything interesting?” Ai asked, turning to Raze.
“No.” Raze said, sharply.
The newscaster droned on. Jecht walked out of the bathroom, having occupied it for almost two hours. Sonic was being hit by both Amy and Eleanor, but no one seemed to notice it. Shadow was pondering something or other, whilst Cream was polishing off her cereal. Ai started to pester Raze. Tails just watched.
“How did things get so boring all of a sudden?” he asked.
“Muhahahahahaha. Phase one of my brilliantly retarded plan is complete. What says you, Metal Sonic?”
“I say that your momma is so fat, she has to wear a watch on both arms, because she covers two time zones.” the robot said.
“Shut up! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!”
“So, you finally unleashed Chaos?” Metal Sonic asked.
“Not only that, but I got my money’s worth out of that surveillance camera I installed in Cream’s house!” the doctor replied.
“What, that wasn’t to record porn?”
“No, it wasn’t! It was to spy on the plans of those little munchkins, Tails and Cream! I never saw any porn at all!”
“What about that time Vanilla came down and did the laundry in only her bra and knickers?”
“I don’t recall that!”
“What do you mean, don’t recall it?! You keep a tape of it under your pillow! You even added a soundtrack! I’m getting sick of hearing ‘I like big butts and I cannot lie’ at four o’ clock in the funking morning!”
“Shut up! You suck! You’re not retarded at all!”
At noon, the animals decided to split up. Whilst Jecht and Knuckles started to comb the city for any and all rumours concerning the Master Emerald, Rouge had had (That looks really weird when you type it, doesn’t it?) to stay at Cream’s house and sleep off all her hangover. Raze had decided to try and trace all leads on Arid and the Arridian Guild, with Ai bouncing along after him. Sonic had managed to ditch Amy, but had been followed by Eleanor. Shadow had decided to be Shadow someplace else. Cream, meanwhile, had dragged Tails to the park for a picnic. Tails, although pleased to have Cream’s good cooking, had just about given up any hope of getting back to his lab whilst this state of affairs was going on.
The two hedgehogs slowed to a halt in a canyon. Sonic stopped near a glimmering waterfall, with Eleanor smashing into his back when he stopped.
“Hey! That REALLY hurts! What IS your problem?” the green maiden shouted.
“Shush! Just check out the view!” he responded.
As she looked, she began to register what he was talking about. The view was fantastic. There were carp, swimming up the waterfall, which shone and glimmered in the sun. The wind carried a few leaves up into the air, and the raging river beside them glittered and sparkled. Was this where the blue hedgehog did his thinking?
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked, sitting down.
“Yeah. Even in my travels, I didn’t really see the scenery. I was always too busy…” she murmured.
“You don’t know what you were missing out on. I’m always busy, and I still find time to seek out beauty in the world.” the hedgehog said quietly.
At that point, a roaring noise echoed. Eleanor turned the see what it was. A few seconds later, a huge gust of wind bowled her over, and something sped past. The blue hedgehog merely tutted.
“Hey…If it ain’t Sonic. What’re you doing with this broad?” came a shout. A green hawk pulled into view on a highly tuned Extreme Gear.
“Huh. Had to spoil the moment, didn’t you? Sometimes I wish Tails and Wave had never made you that thing.” Sonic said.
“Tch. You’re no fun. You bring a chick to Splash Canyon, and you don’t even let her have a go on your gear?” Jet mocked.
“Yeah, shut it. I came here for the scenery, not the attitude.” Sonic sighed.
“Geez…You’ve changed, man.” the hawk said.
“So…That stuff’s called Extreme Gear? Looks useful. Can I give it a spin?” Eleanor asked.
“Yeah, if you want to. I’ll teach you!” Sonic replied.
“Fine! Let’s get started!” Eleanor said, walking off.
“Dammit.” Sonic swore, following her.
Shadow muttered to himself as he sped along through the jungle. How had he known? He had to hide his tracks more thoroughly, hide his intentions…Yes, that was what he’d do.
“Raze…I meant to ask you. Whatever happened to that Soots guy?” Ai asked, following Raze as he walked down the street. Understandably, everyone was giving him a wide berth. No one wanted to get in the way of Raze on a mission.
“We tied him up and put him in a back alley somewhere.” Raze said in a characteristically cold voice.
“Are you sure that was such a good idea?” Ai asked.
“Nope. Vanilla made me do it. I wanted to stick him in the oven.” Raze replied.
“Come on, Jecht. We’ll never find it if we have to stop for ice-cream every five minutes. I expect this kind of behaviour from Cream, Tails and Charmy.” Knuckles berated.
“Oh, that reminds me. What is it with Cream and Tails anyway? I haven’t seen them in different rooms yet. Well, discounting the toilet…” the tiger pondered.
Knuckles turned into a back alley, which smelt of rotten fish and stale socks.
“Come on, Jecht. That Raze guy told us that this so-called Arridian Guild liked to hide out in strange places, right? This sure smells strange enough…” Knuckles called, wrinkling his nose.
“What about my question? Those kids are sure close…” Jecht went on.
“Hmm. Well, they’ve been good friends ever since they met. It’s natural for two kids to make friends.” Knuckles said, dodging piles of trash as he walked through the alley.
“Yeah, but…they seem to be a bit…more.”
“You sound like Sonic. Anyway, it’s Vanilla’s problem. Let’s just find the Master Emerald, alright?”
“What’s so special about this Master Emerald? What’s gonna happen if we don’t find it?” the tiger asked.
“Shut up and help me look!”
“Uh…Cream? I’m full.” Tails moaned.
“Already? But I cooked a lot more than this!”
“Cream! I just wanna go home! I haven’t been to my house in two days, and I need to install that motherboard part! Where did Vanilla put that, anyway?” Tails asked.
“Oh…She thought it was a chopping board, so she put it in the cupboard. I’m sorry!” Cream apologised.
“It isn’t your fault, Cream. Tell you what. We’ll go back to your house, get the motherboard, clean it off from whatever your mom’s chopped on it, get it back to my house, install it, and then we’ll see if I can find the parts to make you something.” Tails said.
“Yay! I love it when you make me stuff. They always do such interesting things!”
“Alright then. Let’s get going!”
“What, again? This is too often, even for you!” Harry joked. Once again, Amy was trying to find answers at the bottom of a bottle. Of milkshake.
“This time, it’s really serious. The unthinkable has happened. I think he fancies another woman!” Amy panicked.
“Hey now! That’s nothing to worry about. All men look at fine women. It’s a fact of life. Besides, your relationship isn’t official, so it doesn’t count.” Harry soothed.
“That’s alright for you to say. You’ve never been in love as deeply as me. If he left…It would destroy me.” Amy cried.
“Hey hey hey…Dry your tears, girl. My advice is to relax. Ease off. Make him see what he’s missing. Who knows, you might even find someone better!”
“Hmm. Well, if you say so. You must’ve seen a whole lot of people in this shop, with problems even worse than mine.” Amy sighed. Maybe she really was trying too hard. Besides, since when had Harry ever steered her wrong?
“So, run this by me again. You did WHAT?!?!” Metal Sonic shouted.
“I, um, forgot to implant the control device?” Eggman muttered.
“So, you freed Chaos, using a dimensional warp machine to snatch it from its home, you plonked it outside with no way to control it, and then you spilled baby formula on the dimensional warp machine so we have no way to send Chaos back. Wow, that was SUCH a great plan.” the robot berated.
“Does this mean I’m not retarded anymore?”
“I wouldn’t say that….”
“Yay! YAY YAY YAYETY YAY YAY! I’M STILL RETARDED, I’M STILL RETARDED, I’M STILL RETARDED! BOOYAKASHA! EAT THAT, HOMIE!”
“Ugh…Why do I have such an irritating creator?”
“I think you’ve had enough, Amy.” Harry said, sounding concerned.
“But it’s only my fourteenth one…” Amy whined.
“Too many milkshakes will ruin your figure, you know. Besides, you’re not the type to waste so much time moping around.” Harry said.
“Oh, well. I guess I’ll go see what Cream’s doing…Huh?”
There, in the doorway of the shop, stood a blue, liquid entity.
“Hey…Isn’t that Chaos? I guess it doesn’t matter. Chaos is good again now!” Amy said. Chaos gave a noise as if to say, ‘That’s right. I don’t want to harm anyone this time. I just want to see the sights.’
“Hmm. Well, if it was going to attack, it would have done it by now. Plus, a customer’s a customer! Sit down, friend!” Harry smiled.
“Yeah! Tell you what, you’re first one’s on me!” Amy said, smiling.
The liquid life form sat down on one of the stools, and took a menu. Strangely, the menu wasn’t damaged by the watery hands. It pointed to its selection- the house special, Harry’s Artic Wonder. Harry spent a good five minutes preparing it, making sure to make it pleasing to his special guest. He set it down on the counter, and gave Chaos a straw. Sticking the straw into a place where the mouth (apparently) was, it then started slurping the milkshake down. Amy watched in wonder as the whole shake disappeared in little under twenty seconds. The only problem was that it wasn’t called Harry’s Artic Wonder for nothing. Amy gaped as she saw the god of destruction get the most terrible ailment known to man- brain freeze.
“Mother, I’m home!” Cream shouted as they entered, as was her custom. Tails looked around, scanning the room for the precious part. It wasn’t under the fruit bowl, or under the toaster.
“Oh, hi honey! Was the picnic good? What did you think, Tails?” Vanilla asked kindly.
“Cream’s cooking is always good, ma’am.” Tails replied politely.
“Mother, where did you put the new chopping board?” Cream asked.
“Right behind the TV. I think that it’s a part of something or other, so I left it alone.”
As Tails and Cream approached the TV and looked around the sides, a news bulletin came that would erase all thoughts of parts from their minds.
“Has Sonic the Hedgehog deserted us in our time of need? That’s what experts are asking today, as, once again, the monster called ‘Chaos’ rampages in downtown Station Square. This time, however, it is not made of liquid, but ice! Startled witnesses, including one Amy Rose, fled to safety. But, now Chaos is unleashed, can they truly be safe?” the newscaster read.
Tails and Cream looked at each other. Tails had told Cream about the previous encounter with Chaos, so she knew how scary and destructive the god could be.
“Tails…I think we should stay here. You and Mr. Sonic beat it when it was liquid, but now it’s ice, things might go differently. Besides, Amy can look after herself.” Cream said, a note of fear in her voice.
“Hmm. You’re right, Cream. This is better left to Knuckles, Sonic or Rouge. We might not have the muscle to beat it in a head-on fight. But…” Tails mused.
“What? Can we help?” Cream asked.
“Yes. We need to get the motherboard back to the Tornado. We’ll beat it using technology! I installed a weapon that will work really well, and now’s the chance to test it out!” Tails shouted.
“Hmm. But, I wonder what Shadow and the others will do. After all, Shadow’s never seen Chaos, and neither has Raze, Ai, Jecht, Eleanor or Rouge.” Cream pondered.
“Well, I can’t really imagine Raze or Shadow rushing to the rescue. Neither will Ai. Jecht and Eleanor might come- they seem to care about honour a lot more than the others…” Tails mused.
“Well…We’d better get going, before Artic Chaos has chance to hurt anyone else!”
“WHAT?!?! Chaos is…back? We need to go to Station Square, now! Come on, Elli!” Sonic shouted.
“Elli? Whatever! We’ll take the Extreme Gear, it should get us there faster! What about you, Jet?” Eleanor asked.
“Keep me out of this! If you guys have dealt with this Chaos thingy before, you can do it again!” Jet said, hopping back onto his Extreme Gear. He tethered it outside the bar they had just rushed out of.
“Hmm. I’ll take the Blue Star II for now. You can take the Legend. It’s a good thing you kept those things around!” Eleanor said, hopping onto the Blue Star II.
“Be careful, okay? The Blue Star II is a lot faster that the Legend, so I’ll have to catch you up. Don’t take Chaos lightly! If you see Raze or Shadow or anyone you think can help, take them along too!” Sonic called, as she whipped the board round and sped into the distance. She had gotten so good, so quickly…Sonic jumped on the Legend, and started the long ride to Station Square.
Knuckles winced. What was going on? His body was wracked with yet another shock. Jecht looked on, at a loss as to how to help his friend.
“Chaos? But…How? Why are these shocks…ARRGHH!”
Knuckles fell to the ground in pain. The normally tough echidna was now helpless. The tiger looked around, desperate to find a way to help his comrade.
“Hey…What’s that?” he said, reaching behind Knuckles’ left ear. He pulled out a small device, bearing some inscriptions. He read them aloud. The inscriptions said:
PROPERTY OF THE EGGMAN EMPIRE. IF LOST, PLEASE RETURN TO 33 WITHERSDALE CLOSE AND ASK FOR THE SECRET BASE ENTRACE. NOTE: IF FOUND BEHIND THE EAR OF KNUCKLES T. ECHIDNA, PLEASE LEAVE IT THERE. I PUT IT THERE AFTER I FOUND KNUCKSIE PASSED OUT IN THE GUTTER. WHAT AN IDIOT!
LUV, DR. IVO ROBOTNIK
P.S. PLEASE DON’T TELL MY MOTHER I WAS PLAYING OUTSIDE.
Jecht stifled a laugh. Was this guy for real?
“Eggman! So, he’s behind this! I might have known! Still, however retarded the message, it did its job. If I go and fight Chaos now, I’ll either get wasted or I’ll slow the others down.” Knuckles swore.
“Plus, I can’t just leave you here…That bug’s stopped both of us. That git!” the tiger swore. He kicked the ground, then set about tending to his wounded comrade.
As Eleanor tore through the deserted streets, she shivered, and felt a stabbing cold pierce her to the bone. As she felt this, the Blue Star II dropped closer to the ground. It dropped closer still, then scraped along the ground as the air grew too cold for the engine to handle. She hopped off. She saw a huge, glistening spear of ice high in the horizon. She was close. She set off, trudging across the icy wilderness created by the frozen god. Her shoes started to freeze to the ground. She quickened her step to avoid becoming completely immobile. Her breath frothed out in huge, frosty clouds, which fell behind her, leaving an arc of frost in her wake. She came closer, and closer still to the huge pillar which marked her battlefield. She became weaker as she walked. She yearned for warmth, for comfort, for sleep. But, if she fell asleep, or even laid down, she was sure to freeze to the ground, and would be doomed never to get up again. Her sense of duty as a knight demanded her to help the people here. She came to a clearing, and in the middle of the clearing, the giant pillar rested. A creature, made of blue ice, turned and saw her. It was a hulking creature, which towered over even Raze’s or Vector’s height. It was over twice as wide as Eleanor, and looked towards her with a morbid hybrid emotion comprised of curiosity and fury. She walked into the centre of the clearing, and stood. The creature, Artic Chaos, stood five or ten meters from her, and faced her. Eleanor drew her mace, which was really more of a morning star type weapon, and prepared herself for one hell of a fight.
Artic Chaos attacked. Its icy feet made it slide effortlessly and quickly across the ground. Surprised by the speed of the great beast, Eleanor ducked out of the way a second too late. She felt a sharp, freezing object slash her arm. She turned to see that Chaos had fashioned it’s icy hands into a frozen sabre. It came again, slashing the air wildly. Eleanor ducked, weaved, span, did any evasive action she could take to prevent another wound from that icy blade. Eleanor tried to slide underneath the monster’s legs, but was almost skewered as frozen spikes erupted from the lower half of the creature’s body. In sheer desperation, she kicked the monster with both legs. It slid across the clearing rapidly, losing its balance and falling, making a harsh crack as it hit the ground. Eleanor smiled as she saw the way to beat it. It might be faster than her, and it might be stronger than her, but it didn’t seem to be able to attack from a distance, and it went sliding off with every hit. Not only that, but it seemed fragile, like glass. Chaos surged forwards again, this time changing its arm into an icy spear. Eleanor ducked again, then took its legs out from under it. Again, it made a sickening crack as it hit the ground. This time, however, a crack appeared down the side of the beast. It rose to its feet, and stood looking down at her. She braced herself for another strike. However, Chaos bounded away to the other side of the clearing. For a moment, there was an uneasy tension, as Eleanor prepared herself for any strike the creature might try. Shortly, it raised its head and howled. It was a savage, unearthly cry, which shook Eleanor to her core. As she watched, an icy mist emanated from its gaping jaws, freezing the very ground beneath her feet. She smiled, seeing its tactical error. Although this looked like an advantage for the beast, it was really giving her another weapon to use. Once again, it lurched forwards. This time, Eleanor mirrored the movement, and started to increase her speed rapidly by sliding on the newly frozen ground. As the two came together, Eleanor whirled her mace around and struck hard on the crack that she had caused earlier. Much to her surprise, the beast simply shattered into a thousand shards. Coming to a halt, she turned and looked at them as they sparkled on the ground. Could it really be that easy? She looked at the frost on the windows, the ground, in the air. Was this the end of the fight? She turned and started to walk away. As she walked, she heard an ominous humming sound. Turning, she looked at the floor. The Chaos shards were nowhere to be found. Suddenly, something whizzed past her ear and shattered on the ground. Looking up, she saw a thousand shards of ice in the sky. She turned and hunched over, flattening her spines over her armour in a well practised technique. Through years of training, the spines on her back had become as hard as iron. The shards shattered on her back effortlessly, doing no damage whatsoever. Standing up again, she turned, and walked away. However, as she turned, again came an unearthly cry. She sagged in despondency. Surely, it had to be over? The beast was shattered, snapped, turned into nothing more than a frosty dust! She looked down, and saw that as she had been occupied, the dust had gathered around her feet. She looked down, as the dust began to melt, leaving behind an uncanny blue liquid, which lay in a great pool around her feet. As she looked, the pool began to ripple and shimmer, as if hit by a tear. Sensing the danger, she turned to run, but was too late. The pool sprang upwards. She felt a short, suffocating sensation, then nothing.
The blue warrior rushed along, his feet hardly touching the ground. He mopped his brow. The cold was making it much harder to run. Not only that, but the frost seemed to be melting in some parts, leaving freezing pools of water which slowed his movement. Sonic also found himself ducking and weaving, as melting icicles fell towards him from lampposts and roofs. He ran on, slipping and sliding occasionally, until he reached something that made him stop. There was a little boy, obviously frostbitten, but alive, and had obviously been warmed up by rubbing with a blanket. This was evident due to the red friction marks. It seemed that someone had thawed the poor kid out. Sonic walked past, and saw the same thing with another family. Person after person seemed to have been thawed in the same way, probably by the same person. Sonic looked in wonder. He walked on, then heard a savage cry, which chilled his heart and sent his pulse spiralling. He rushed to the source of the call, and was shocked by what he saw. Eleanor was standing bolt upright in a clearing, and glowing an unearthly blue. As Sonic watched, the blue seemed to surround her, giving her a blue second skin. Then, a brain floated in front of her face.
“What? It…engulfed her? But…Knux told me that it couldn’t engulf animals as the zero form! But…”
As Sonic reeled in shock, the eyes of Chaos came to the front of Eleanor’s submerged head. It gave a roar as it saw its old adversary. It seemed to have completely reverted to its old ways. It lung its arm at him, startling him. He ducked away, just in time to avoid it. It flung its arms again, but this time Sonic dodged easily. Its arms hit the pavement, cracking the stone where it had hit. Sonic turned to face it, and saw something extraordinary. Chaos was shuddering. It didn’t seem to be in pain, but it was obvious that it couldn’t move. Sonic looked closer, and saw, to his astonishment, a look of painful concentration on Eleanor’s brow.
“Of course! She’s helping me from the inside!” Sonic said aloud. Knowing what to do, he curled into a ball.
He thought about what he had to do. Chaos had learned new tricks, and he was no longer a match for the god. Not only that, but it had engulfed Eleanor. Who knew what was really happening to her in there? The longer she was in there, the more danger she was in, and there was no way he could allow her to get hurt. Eleanor…Looking deep within himself, and with a strength he had never felt before, he began to spin. He span faster and faster, the pavement blurring more and more as he span. As he turned, his stomach did too, and he was numbly aware that he had never span anywhere near this fast before. But what did it matter? Eleanor was what mattered. Sensing that moment that every hero senses when the moment of truth arrives, he spun into the air, going at well over 300 MPH. He flew through the air towards Chaos’ brain. His aim was perfect. He would not miss.
He span through the air, seeking that moment of impact. Presently, it came. Except that it wasn’t the impact of him smashing his frame into Chaos’ brain, delivering a crucial deathblow that would have ended the fight. It was the impact of the brick wall he had just careered into collapsing on top of him. His arms and legs were all pinned by the rubble. The only part left free was his head. As he looked, he saw that Chaos was now walking towards him, its brain hovering above its head inside a stem of water. It had ejected its brain, and made Sonic miss. Eleanor had been burnt out, and crushed by the now-looming prospect of defeat. The beast stared at Sonic a while. He thought he saw a slightly sadistic look in its eyes. Then, it slowly extended it’s arm backwards. He saw now what was going to happen. Once that arm was fully extended, there would be a sound like a whip-crack as Chaos flung it back at him, dealing a blow that would surely end his life. Knowing he was defeated, he bowed his head and waited for the blow to fall.
Thirty seconds later, Sonic opened his eyes, still expecting to die at any moment. He smiled, as he saw the cause of the delay. Far off in the distance, Raze smiled back. The fox had planted his foot on the creature’s extended arm, and no matter how the god struggled, it could not free itself. Sonic could already see what a close match this would be. Chaos had godly power, the strength of water, and pure fury. Raze, on the other hand, had merely mortal strength, but had a weight advantage, was faster and more skilful. Seizing the solid liquid of the god’s arm, Raze gave an almighty tug, sending Chaos flying towards him. He drew back his arm. At precisely the right moment, he sent it flying forwards again, performing a vicious clothesline which only just missed Eleanor. The god screamed in pain as it landed, and turned to face the fox. As it did this, it started to bubble and steam. Its blood was boiling, and it was too!
Sonic watched in awe as Raze matched the god blow for blow. The match wasn’t quite as close as Sonic had predicted. Although Raze only had the strength of a mortal, he was still nothing to sneeze at. He was knocking Chaos around like it was nothing, turning its attacks away as if they had been made by a child. As Sonic watched, it became evident to him how skilled Raze was. He was predicting the blows even as the last one was falling. Raze made his move, and swung at the creature’s head slowly and deliberately. Once again, it raised it’s brain on a stalk, which then started pulsating. The brain travelled along the stalk at great speed. Raze swore, seeing that there was no way he could hit it for sure. Then, Chaos began to shudder once again. Eleanor’s brow once again showed great concentration, as she held the creature at bay. Raze smiled. Seconds later, his hand smashed into Chaos’ brain with such ferocious force that the brain was knocked clean out of the creature. The liquid immediately lost its solidity, and turned into a pool again, leaving Eleanor on the ground. It rushed towards the stricken brain. It was too late. Seconds before the liquid united with the brain, Raze’s foot came crashing down and turned the brain into jelly.
After Raze had wiped his foot on the ground, he set about freeing Sonic from the rubble. Shortly after this was done, the blue twosome heard a groaning sound. Sonic rushed over to Eleanor, Raze walking behind him.
“She’s come to! How are you feeling, Els?” Sonic said.
“I-I…wish I had a c-camera. The expression on your f-face is p-priceless!” Eleanor laughed.
“Tch. Had to go and get yourself engulfed, didn’t you? Amateur mistake. And Sonic, trapped in the rubble? Geez. I give you two about a three-out-of-ten on the ‘Heroness Scale’.” Raze commented.
“Hey, Raze…Your tail is all puffed up. It must have been you that thawed out all those people!” Sonic exclaimed.
“Y-Yeah…and you s-still came to r-rescue us. You do care, after all…” Eleanor laughed.
“If you EVER tell ANYONE, I’ll kill you both.” the fox retorted.
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Whoa. Long. Chapter. This is about 11 pages in size twelve, and it’s about 16 pages in size 16, which now looks huge to me. There was a lot of plot though. It justifies the AGES and AGES I took writing it. So, tune in next chapter to find out what happens in the aftermath!