Crossing Emotions

[Yoshi64Mario]

This is another fan fiction by me, Y64M. I'll do my best to update this one as regularly as possible. Also, new to my fan fictions will be music, although this will only appear from time to time. Just play the music as soon as it appears, and stop it when this:
*STOP MUSIC HERE*
appears. Don't worry, music will often be restricted to things like battles or during specific character times (such as when a character is thinking about something that causes emotions to arise).

This is the story of a mysterious Hedgehog called Subito. His name comes from the word subita, which is Latin for "Unexpected". Why is he called this? Well, you'll have to wait until Chapter 1 to find out! But, this will just be the prologue of the story!

Prologue

Several years have passed since that scientist Dr. Robotnik, aka Eggman, aroused the mystical being known as Chaos from its slumber deep inside the Master Emerald. His plan was to use this life form, called Chaos, to defeat Sonic the Hedgehog and take over the whole world.

Eggman found out that Chaos was at his basic form, Chaos 0, and that he would need to absorb the energy of the seven Chaos Emeralds in order to become Perfect Chaos, a nearly completely unstoppable being of which HE would control.

But there was a flaw in the doctor's plans...

Nothing goes according to plan for him. Although Chaos absorbed six of the Chaos Emeralds, turning him into Chaos 6, a huge and hideous creature, it was still unable to stop Sonic the Hedgehog and as a result Eggman's flying fortress was struck down, badly damaged and left afloat in the middle of the ocean.

But it wasn't over. Chaos managed to absorb the final Chaos Emerald, turning him into Perfect Chaos, only a few days after Eggman's crushing defeat. Eggman thought he could control the creature but he was wrong... Chaos shoved him aside like a forgotten three-year-old's toy and started heading towards Station Square.

In no time, the Square looked like a huge tornado had whipped through it, and the sea's level rose to catastrophic proportions.

Sonic found out that the only way to stop Perfect Chaos was to absorb the positive energy from the Emeralds. Since Chaos only used the negative energy, the Chaos Emeralds where still able to transform him into Super Sonic.

Super Sonic managed to beat Chaos, returning him into Chaos 0, and even returning his gentle nature.

Many, many years have passed... But now there is a new threat.

Unknown to many of the citizens of Mobius, and even Sonic and his friends, Dr. Eggman somehow managed to grab a small fraction of Chaos's data, and has been secretly working on it ever since he first released Chaos 0 from the Master Emerald.

His plans: to recreate this data almost exactly, locate the Chaos Emeralds and connect these 'copies' to a machine which will infuse them with the Emerald's energy, producing all of Chaos's forms! And since he will create a huge number of copies, he will use them to take over the world, and FINALLY beat Sonic the Hedgehog once and for all!

As he makes the clones, each one is infused with an 'obedience chip', making the clones do exactly what the doctor says, regardless of anything else!

To date, these copies are well into the hundreds in terms of number, and Eggman has already found 6 of the Chaos Emeralds. Whilst half of the Chaos copies are still at Chaos 0, there are some at Chaos stages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and even some at 6, the closest to Perfect Chaos.

They now roam the planet as they search for the last Emerald, and coming across one is now considered common, as well as expected. They are pretty weak, luckily, and can be easily defeated. But they definitely don't take too nicely to anyone who isn't either one of Eggman's creations or Eggman himself.

Before Sonic knew what was going on, in just 5 days Eggman had found 5 Emeralds - one every day. Knuckles told Sonic to take a look at the Master Emerald, and sure enough its power was weakening. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles than saw a red version of Chaos 0, and managed to discreetly follow it back to Eggman's lair, to recover information about the Emeralds, or even recover the Emeralds themselves.

Unfortunately, its been three days since they entered the new lair, but not even one of them has come out... What could be going on? Has Eggman triumphed over his old enemy? And what of the last Chaos Emerald?

 

[SuperMarioFanX100]

Good backdrop. I'd really like to see how your characters come into the story.

 

[NintenDan]

I like this, and I also like how fellow members are drawing inspiration from one another (such as using background music with the story telling), it's really cool to have such an active fan-content community!

 

[Yoshi64Mario]

Thanks for the nice comments! Also, I forgot - if the music ends before you finish reading, pay attention - beneath the video there may be this:
*REPEAT TILL END*
As it says, if the music ends, just replay it until you read *STOP MUSIC HERE*

Also, if I know that it may be hard to describe a character and I can make an image of them, an image will appear before the chapter begins. Like this:

This will help you to visualise the character!

Now some of you may complain about my music choice in this chapter, but due to the music's upbeat pace and feel-good words, I used it, despite it containing Sonic, Tails, and Eggman.

Chapter 1: Subito and Swift

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uuww5fHhnhY[/media]
*REPEAT TILL END*

"Haha, can ya keep up Subito??"

"You just get back here Swift!"

Swift, the black two-tailed fox, jumped off a ledge running at full speed. A second later, Subito, a red hedgehog, jumped after him.

"What'sa matter slowcoach? Come on, where's that speed??" Swift turns around, shouting at Subito.

"I'll show you speed!" Subito puts on a HUGE burst of speed, easily passing Swift and in only one second later he is almost 5 kilometres away!

"HEY!!! That's cheating!!" Swift runs off after him.

Subito just smirks and continues to run as fast as he can. He already knows that Swift can keep up with him whilst he runs at full speed, if he uses his twin tails and not his legs.

Its days like this that Subito loves the most. Days where he can run around as free as a bird, and that Swift will automatically follow him wherever he ends up. Not knowing their destination or what may happen adds to the thrill of the experience. And than, even though they are both 18, there's the good old friendly game of...

Suddenly Subito feels a slap on him. "TAG!!!!! You're it!!" Swift, now using his tails as a propeller to hover just above the ground to give him a lot more speed, flies straight on, way past Subito.

"Oh yeah??!! That's what you think!!"

Swift doesn't just smirk, he giggles a little. He likes nothing more than tagging Subito when he least expects it. Subito should learn by now that Swift catches him out every time, he's just so sneaky. Swift also can be cheeky at times, like now.

"Hey! Slow-Hog! Hurry up and tag me will ya?"

"You asked for it!!" Subito runs up to him, but Swift flies up into the air.

"Now THAT'S cheating!" Subito yells.

Swift just sticks his tongue out. "Ok, now you've really asked for it!!" Subito yells.

"Oooooo, I'm SCARED." Swift says sarcastically.

He wasn't expecting Subito to run straight up a tree and jump for him.

Subito pokes him with his index finger and adds slyly "You asked, you recieved. Tag, you're it, and I'm up... Over... and GONE!!!"

Subito jumps on top of Swift, than forward, landing and taking off at high speed.

"Hey! Foul!! No fair!" Swift shouts.

"I'd call it fair. I just used my head... And yours!" Subito laughs at the little joke he just made.

The game continues in much the same way, just like always. Subito is now 'it' and Swift is quite a good distance in front of him.

Swift turns around, and being the immature fox he is, sticks his tongue out and says "Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah!!!" at Subito.

*END MUSIC*

Subito suddenly notices something straight ahead. "Swift! Look out!!"

Swift turns around. "Huh?" He runs straight over a leg sticking out from a bush, something he never noticed before, crashing to the ground.

"Swift!" Subito cries. He picks up the pace.

Before he has a chance to get up, Swift is picked up. "Hey what's the big idea goop face??"

Swift has been picked up by a Chaos 0 copy, a dark blue one. Made by Doctor Eggman, they obey only him, and have been appearing a lot more frequently recently.

"Put me down, or I'll turn you back into liquid!" Swift yells.

"Swift, hang on!" Subito screams.

Another Chaos 0 turns up, this one's green. It strikes Swift across the back of the head with a large log, knocking the fox out cold.

"HEY! Whaddya think you're doing???" Subito yells, now reaching the Chaos 0's. The copies pick up Swift and drag him into the bushes.

Subito charges after them. "Get your gooey butts back here!"

As Subito runs forwards, his emotions reach a fevered pitch. He starts to transform.... "Here we go....."

His main red body starts to turn a golden colour, but a slight portion of his spikes remain red.

"I WON'T QUIT!!!!" Subito yells, launching himself forward at the Chaos 0's, which are now back in sight.

A simple charge is all it takes. The copies are flung into the air, but Subito charges up to them and blasts them again, this time horizontally.

"Don't pick on Swift again!!!!!!!!!!!" He shouts after them, watchiong as they slowly fade into a little star that goes 'PING!' before dissappearing.

Subito gently floats to the ground. His golden colour now turns to normal again. Swift has regained consciousness.

"Subito, what was THAT??"

"I dunno. I saw you in trouble, and reacted. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine!" Swift jumps to his feet. "OW!" He sits back down. "No I'm not."

"What's up?" Subito asks. He than notices Swift's leg bleeding a bit. It must've been when he fell over.

"That looks bad Swift. We ain't goin' nowehere."

"Sure we are!"

"No, not whilst you're injured."

"Can't we just get a bandage or something? I can keep off the leg by flying, stupid!"

"Actually, that's a good idea. Wait right there. I'll be back faster than you can count to 10!" Subito runs off.

"HEY! What if those goop-balls come back??!!" Swift yells.

Subito runs straight back. "Uh, just yell really, really loudly." He takes off again.

"And if you can't hear me?"

Without looking back, Subito yells "Than fly!"

"Oh yeah, right. I forgot about that." Swift mutters to himself.

 

[Wasabi Jellyfish]

Recolours? Seriously man?

 

[Yoshi64Mario]

Recolours? Seriously man?

Yes, I'm afraid so. But is this really a problem?

Chapter 2: Store Problems

MEANWHILE.... At Dr. Eggman's lab....

The world's fastest hedgehog, Sonic, slowly opens his eyes. "Wha.. Where... Where am I?" He looks around...

He's in a huge room, filled with all sorts of weird little instruments and dials. One person crosses his mind immediately. 'Eggman.'

Sonic than realizes something else - Tails and Knuckles are no-where to be seen. More importantly, Sonic can't seem to even move... He's trapped in some kind of tall glass tube and now realizes a bunch of cords attached to him.

"Hey! What the?" He tries a Spin Dash, but he just bounces off the glass. He tries a Homing Attack, but that too simply bounces right off. At that moment, Sonic hears a maniacal laugh.

"Hahahaha!! You can't escape so easily, Hedgehog!" Eggman walks into the room.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpnpzoZxo1o[/media]
*REPEAT TILL END*

He has a big mustache, dark blue glasses, a red jacket and black pants, with matching shoes.

"Old Baldy McNosehair! Where are my friends?" Sonic demands.

"Oh, enjoying themselves in a little cell... Actually, two cells. I had to separate them so Knuckle-head couldn't dig - or punch - his way out."

"Lemme outta here or I'll bust you up so bad you'll never trap me again!" Sonic yells.

"You must think I'm stupid! You'd ruff me up if I let you go!"

Sonic decides to try to learn why he's in a tube. "What are all these cords for?"

"Hahahahahahahaha!!!! For my greatest plan yet! Why try to take control over you when I could just extract a little bit of your DNA and put it into one of my Chaos Copies!!"

"Hey, that's pretty good. Too bad it won't work!" Sonic says.

"Oh, but you're a little too... How should I put this... OH, I KNOW!!! You're a little too SLOW this time, Hedgehog. I've already done it!!"

"You're bluffing!" Sonic shouts.

"Oh, am I? Mwahahahahaha! Than take a look at THIS, you disbelieving Hedgehog!"

Eggman walks over to some part of machinery covered in a blanket. Its tall and thin, similar to the tube Sonic is now in. Eggman pull off the blanket, and sure enough, its another tube...

...But with a Chaos 0 copy inside! It looks very different though, in fact, it looks similar to Sonic, except that its completely dark blue in colour from head to toe, and its eyes are completely white with no evidence of pupils.

"Wha??" Says Sonic. "Mwahahahahahahaha! I told you!" Eggman says.

"Ok. So you're finished with me now? You can let me go, right?"

"Hahahahaha! Or you ARE a joker today, aren't you? The second I let you go my plans will go up in smoke, so you can stay there in that little pod of yours!"

Eggman turns a few dials, which opens Chaos Sonic's pod. Chaos Sonic steps out.

"Best of all, he has one of my 'Obedience Chips' so he will obey me!! Mwahahahahahahaha!!!!!!"

*END MUSIC*

***​

Subito keeps running... And running... He has to find something for Swift's injury, so that they can continue doing what they do best... Move forward.

'I've gotta find something quickly, or Swift could be in some REAL danger!'

Subito finally comes across a huge city. "Station Square! I had no idea it was so close to where we are! What a lucky break!" He rushes into the nearest store and heads straight for the isle labelled 'Cereal'. Realising he's in the wrong isle, he runs to the other side and does a sharp turn, a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "Ooops, I was going so fast I thought it said "Medical". How I thought that I'll never know!"

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9RUoExrTsg[/media]
*REPEAT TILL END*

Despite his mistake he know runs faster, turning down another isle. "Geez, its a little cold in this isle... What is it?" He stops and looks at the shelves... And he spots a tub of ice cream. "Ooops, freezer isle. Darn it, where the HECK are the medical supplies??"

After a few seconds of running down multiple other isles, from Chao Food to Fruit and Veg to Bread to Baby supplies to Snacks, Subito makes another turn... And finds himslef in yet again the wrong isle.

"Aaaarrrrgggghhhhh!!! Cleaning Supplies!! Wrong again!" He shoots down the next isle over, stops, looks at the products and slaps himself in the face. "Double Aaaarrrrgggghhhhh!!! TOILET PAPER!!!!!"

About to give up and try another store, one hopefully labeled with 'Chemist', Subito runs to the next isle. This one has all sorts of vitamins, minerals, and other healthcare products like medicine for everything including the common cold. "FINALLY! The medical supplies!" Subito rushes over to a shelf full of bandages and band aids. "A band-aid is too small. I'll grab a bandage!" Subito grabs a bandage and runs off again. "Now where the hell is the d@mn checkout?"

He runs down isle after isle till he spots a door. Thinking the checkouts must be through it, he begins to open it. "A door? I've never seen a store with the checkouts in another area......"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS??????!!!!!!" Subito slaps himself on the head again. Instead of finding toilet paper, he's found... THE TOILET!!

*END MUSIC*

"Oh for the love of Chaos!" Now a little angry, he runs out of the toilet and, turning left, he almost runs smack into one of the checkout stands. He pays five Rings (the currency on Mobius) for the bandage and races out of the store. "I swear I'll NEVER go in that store again!"

He runs away from Station Square, following the path he took before to get to the city. As he runs, he hears something in the bushes. Its a cry for help!

Subito stops, and attempts to peer through the bushes from a distance. Seeing nothing, but still hearing the cries of help, he looks at the bandage. "Swift needs me now. I can't take any longer... I'll be back as soon as I can!" He mutters, and continues to run off.

Finally, he comes back to Swift, who's somehow moved over to a tree and is sitting up against it.

"Hey Swift! I got ya a bandage!" Subito holds it out. Swift looks at it and than starts applying it to his injury. "Its been fifteen minutes! What kept you?"

"Sorry... Got a little lost in that crummy store..."

"What do you mean?" Swift tilted his head and looked curiously at Subito.

Subito explained his whole story of what happened at the store as Swift finished applying the bandage. "You are SUCH an idiot!! Hahaha!!!"

Subito laughed too. "Yeah I guess I am!!!"

Suddenly Subito heard the screams of help from behind the bush he passed on the way back. "Swift, we need to get going right now!!!" He turns and runs off back towards the citym and follows the path he used.

"I'm right behind you!" Swift uses his two tails as he has so many times before, and takes off after Subito.

 

[SuperMarioFanX100]

Finally I have the chance to properly review your story. Ahem.

Well, I really love your characters Subito and Swift (Nice names BTW) and there friendship is pretty cool.

I love how you're using real sonic characters in the story and can't wait for your characters and Sonic and Co. to intertwine into your story.

The comedy is nice in your story. I laughed at the funny parts.

The music selection is also very good to my ears

Basically I really want to know what happens next to Subito and Swift in the story and how the whole plot will go.

Good first 2 chapters.

 

[Yoshi64Mario]

Along with this chapter chapter 4 is also already thought out. Stay tuned to find out what happens!

Chapter 3: An Unlikely Meeting, and a New Friend

MEANWHILE.... In a Prison Cell deep beneath Eggman's fortress...

"THIS IS INSULTING!!!!!!!!!!"

Knuckles's voice echoes loudly down the hallway. He is not impressed, or pleased. In fact he hasn't been impressed since Dr. Eggman caught him, Sonic and Tails, separated Tails and Knuckles from Sonic, and tossed him, together with Tails, into a cell.

"Calm down, Knuckles! You've said the same thing every hour every day we've been here..."

Tails is sitting on a small bench inside the cell. The whole cell is pretty small, with only a bench and a small bed without a mattress at all - not even a thin one. All that's on the bed is a paper-thin sheet that doesn't keep the cold off at night.

"I don't care! It's a real pain!" Says Knuckles. He is standing next to the wall of the cell.

"Come one... Its not too bad, I guess..."

"Not bad? NOT BAD??!! Tails have you completely lost it?? We haven't seen Sonic for a few days when he should've busted us out ages ago! Not only that, but we're in a cell where it looks like even I can't get us out!!!"

"Well, put it this way..." Tails gets off of the bench and starts to jump around the room. "The rubber makes you bounce pretty high!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Knuckles screams. He didn't need a reminder of what the floor, walls and roof where made of.

Knuckles takes a step closer to the wall and puts his left hand on it. Tails stops bouncing around on the rubbery floor and looks at him. "Knuckles, surely you won't try that again... Remember what happened last time!"

"I'm going to give it another shot!!!" Knuckles winds up and punches the rubbery wall.

His punch rebounds off and Knuckles flies backwards, bouncing slightly on the floor quite a distance from the wall he just tried to punch.

Tails just laughs at him. "That's almost EXACTLY what happened last time you tried! Excpt last time it took me forever to stop you bouncing uncontrollably because you hit the wall opposite with such a force you couldn't stop bouncing!" Tails bursts into laughter at remembering the previous time Knuckles had tried.

Knuckles slowly gets up. "Well, I think its pretty obvious we won't get out by brute force."

"I could've told you that" Tails mutters.

"So, let's try out something else..."

Knuckles turns around and walks to the room's center. Before Tails can ask what it is he's up to, Knuckles starts digging at the ground.

A few minutes pass. Suddenly Knuckles shouts "AH-HA!!!"

"What is it?" Tails asks, leaping up.

"Our way out!" Knuckles says. "Unfortunately it took me this long to just make a small hole... This is gonna take some time, Tails..."

"Knuckles, its ok. I can wait a while. Besides, I think I can be useful too!"

Knuckles returns to digging. "How so?"

"Well, you're gonna need a map of this place, or at least some directions to get out of here. We don't wanna end up inside another rubber cell... Or at Eggman's feet."

"You're right Tails."

"Hold it, Knuckles, I hear someone coming..."

"Crud!" Knuckles stops digging, grabs the sheet on the bed and uses the sheet to cover the hole up.

The door to the cell opens.

"Do you two want lunch?" The robot asks.

"Not if you're serving that slime you call food!" Says Knuckles.

"Mmm, lunch! What's on the menu?" Asks Tails.

"The same 'slime' you had yesterday for lunch." The robot says.

"Awww man..." Says Tails. "Well, I guess I'll still go... Want me to bring back anything Knuckles?" He turns to Knuckles and winks.

Knuckles understands. "Uhhhh... Yeah... If it doesn't slide out of your hands I'll have some of that grub."

"Ok!" Tails says. The robot escorts him out.

As soon as the door closes, Knuckles pulls the sheet off of the hole and starts digging again. 'Tails knows what he's doing... I just hope he doesn't get caught trying to do it.'

***​

Subito stops running. He turns around as Swift hovers up. "It was right here. This is where I heard that call for help - behind those bushes."

"Well, let's scope it out!" Swift says. He starts hovering towards the bush.

"Swift, hold up. I'd better go first. You're injured, remember?" Subito steps in front of him.

"Just cause I'm injured doesn't mean I'm incapable!" Swift says.

"Yes actually, it does. Now, shush. Just in case there's a robot or Chaos clone there I want the element of surprise."

Swift mutters something under his breath but follows Subito through the bush. When he emerges, he nearly walks into Subito who has stopped dead for some reason.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62CR_uzjf2M[/media]
*REPEAT TILL END*

"What's the hold up?" Swift asks.

"Take a look..." Subito points at something in the middle of the clearing they now stand in.

Swift looks at it. "Its a... A black Chaos copy!" He gasps.

"Yeah, but look closer..." Subito says.

"It looks like its in bad shape. Subito we should help it!"

"Agreed. Enemy or not, it has a right to be healed and looked after."

The pair step... Very carefully... Towards the black being in the middle of the clearing.

Subito crouches over it, grabs it, and shakes it. Meanwhile, something metallic takes Swift's eye and he goes over to examine it.

"Hey, you awake?" Subito asks.

The copy's emerald-coloured eyes slowly open up. "H...Huh? Where... Am I?"

"Hey Swift! He woke up!" Subito shouts.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" The Chaos 0 copy leaps out of Sunito's arms and lands a few feet away. "Hedge...Hedgehog!!!" It cries.

"Uh, yeah. What was your first guess?" Swift asks. He has the small metallic thing in his hand.

"He looks a little scared, and possibly confused... What's he doing here?" Subito whispers to Swift.

"Dunno..."

Subito takes a step forward, but the Chaos copy takes a step back. He takes a moment to examine the copy. It's mainly black, and with emerald eyes. Like all of the copies , it looks just like Chaos 0...

Than Subito notices something. The copy is... Shaking??

"Hey! We're not gonna hurt you!" Subito tells it.

"Your... Not...?" The copy responds.

"Of course not!" Swift says. "You ok?"

The Chaos falls silent.

"What are you doing out here?" Subito asks.

"I... I'm not too sure... I remember a bunch of Chaos's... And I said something but I don't remember what... And they started hitting me..."

"So it was YOU who called for help?" Subito asks.

"Well... Yeah...." The copy replies.

"I'm sorry we couldn't come sooner. My friend here got injured and I needed to help him, since he's my best friend." Subito says.

"Your not gonna hurt me, are you?" The copy asks.

"We already said we wouldn't!" Swift says.

"How do I know that...?" the copy asks.

"Well, you don't... You'll just have to trust us!" Subito says, smiling at the Chaos in a friendly way. "I'm Subito, Subito the Hedgehog."

"And I'm Swift!" Swift chimes in. "What's you're name?"

"My name is........ Well, I think I was just called a Chaos Copy..."

"Ok, decision made. You're name can be Cosmos." Subito says.

"Cosmos?" Swift and the copy say together.

"Yeah, since you're colour reminds me of it!" Subito says.

"Cosmos... Ok...." the copy replies.

"I like it!" Swift says.

"Well, that's settled than. Do you have any plans, Cosmos?" Subito asks.

"No...."

"Come with us than!" Subito offers.

"I... I don't want to get caught..." Cosmos says cautiously.

"Caught?" Swift asks.

"Someone can control all of us... If he sees one hanging with a Hedgehog, its curtains for that copy..." Cosmos says.

"Ha! I'd like to see him try that!" Subito says with a laugh.

"Well... If you guys really don't mind...."

"Not at all!" Swift and Subito say together.

Just than, Subito notices something in Swift's hand. "Hey Swift, where'd you find that thing?"

"Just over there." Swift points at where he found it. He than hands it to Subito.

"HUH???"

Subito looks at it. Its a small computer chip. The writing on it reads:

OBEDIENCE CHIP. PATENT PENDING DR. ROBOTNIK.

"Obedience chip?" Swift asks. He looks at Cosmos.

"That's the thing that he controls us with!" Quick as a flash Cosmos grabs it out of Subito's hand. "I knew I'd lost something when I came to just now!"

"Wait, what are you doing Cosmos??" Subito says.

In a surprising maneuver, Cosmos throws the chip on the ground and than steps on it, stomps on it, jumps on it a few times, than grinds it into the dirt. Swift and Subito look at him in shock.

"I won't need that stupid thing anymore!" Cosmos announces.

Subito smiles at him. "Welcome to the team, Cosmos!"

Swift punches the air. "Alright!!"

*END MUSIC*

 

[Vivian]

Along with this chapter chapter 4 is also already thought out. Stay tuned to find out what happens!

Chapter 3: An Unlikely Meeting, and a New Friend

MEANWHILE.... In a Prison Cell deep beneath Eggman's fortress...

"THIS IS INSULTING!!!!!!!!!!"

.......................

Subito smiles at him. "Welcome to the team, Cosmos!"

Swift punches the air. "Alright!!"

*END MUSIC*

And then Dev came in.
'I can't wait to eat this bagel!'
--------------
Nice story Y64. How long it take for you to write this?

 

[SuperMarioFanX100]

Great so far. BTW. Cosmos, even though you just introduced him, is already my Favorite character, Heh.

 

[NintendoChannel]

I see you've already thought deeply about this, it's awesome. Nice one, bro!

 

[Yoshi64Mario]

I'm gonna update this right now whilst Adobe takes its time to install itself (Seriously, DON'T ASK about it, its ticked me off to NO END today) as well as reply to a few comments!

Nice story Y64. How long it take for you to write this?

It doesn't take too long, Dev... Each chapter takes around 1 to 2 hours for typing, and that's not because I'm slow at typing, have trouble finding music, or lack of ideas. Most of the time the general idea for each chapter is already thought of before post it.

Great so far. BTW. Cosmos, even though you just introduced him, is already my Favorite character, Heh.

Can I ask why he's your favourite? Just curious. Anyway, in this chapter we'll see a little more of what his personality is like, since Subito's and Swift's has already been outlined.

I see you've already thought deeply about this, it's awesome. Nice one, bro!

Thanks, NC!

Chapter 4: Casinopolis Running

"So... Uh... What will you do now?" Cosmos asks Subito and Swift.

Swift laughs. "Haha, you're pretty funny Cosmos!"

"What did I say that was funny?" Cosmos asks Subito, looking a little confused.

"DO? Haha, you don't know us... We don't 'DO' anything!" Subito says.

"Than... What do you do in your spare time??" Cosmos asks.

Subito looks at him, and sees that Cosmos looks like he's really being quite serious. He probably doesn't understand for some reason.

"Just this...." Subito idles a little closer to Swift and... "TAG! You're it!!" He runs off towards Station Square.

"Hey!! Foul! No fair! Foul!!" Swift calls after him. "Come on Cosmos, we'll catch him!"

"Uh... Right!" Cosmos runs after Swift. He still hasn't a clue on what they are doing though.

Swift eventually catches up to Subito and slaps him on the back. "Tag! Gotcha!" He hovers forward, passing Subito.

"Oh man! Get back here!" Subito says. Just than, Cosmos runs up. Subito taps him lightly on his shoulder. "TAG! You're it!" He runs off again.

"Hey! Wait! What do you mean, 'it'?" Cosmos shouts.

Subito screeches to a halt. "What do I mean?" He turns forward and shouts to Swift. "Hey Swift! We've got a serious case of Newbie Don't Know How To Play here!"

Swift turns around and flies back. "Serious??"

"Serious." Subito replies.

"Well...."

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEzQi-gcUvs[/media]
*REPEAT TILL END*

"The objective of the game is to 'tag' one of the other players." Swift explains. "When you are 'tagged', you are 'it'. When you are 'it', this is the only time when you can 'tag' someone else, and they become the 'it', whilst you lose that status. The idea is to not get caught by the person who is 'it'."

"So its just run and tag someone else if I'm 'it', and stay away from the person who is 'it', right?" Cosmos says.

"Correctomundo!" Swift says.

*END MUSIC*

"Well, in that case..." Cosmos walks up to Subito and taps him on the shoulder. "I guess you're 'it' now Subito!" Cosmos runs away.

Swift and Subito watch him run away. "Fast learner." Says Subito. "Yeah, I guess..." Swift says, before saying "See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!" and runs off.

"I should've got him when I had the chance... Oh well. I'll get 'em now!" Subito takes off after the pair.

***​

The trio finally reach the outskirts of Station Square. Due to playing tag it took a little longer... The sun is now starting to set.

"Wow, that's a nice sight..." Cosmos says. He's never seen a sunset before, due to the fact that he was under control all of the time he couldn't appreciate or understand life.

"Station Square... At night." Swift says. "What do you think, Subito??"

"I'm thinking... CASINOPOLIS!!" Subito says. "Whoohoo!!!" Swift shouts.

"Casinopolis??" Cosmos asks.

"Its one of the parts of Station Square... But it never sleeps. Its a perfect excuse to run around town at high speed and there's tons of different lights and colours." Subito explains.

"Sounds ok..." Cosmos says.

"Well than lets go!" Swift shouts. He points to a letterbox at the very edge of Station Square. "Last one to the letterbox is a Rotten Eggman!"

He runs off towards the letterbox. Subito and Cosmos run after him.

Swift reaches the letterbox first. "I win!!" He shouts.

Subito, who is coming second, runs straight past. "You haven't won anything! The race was too short so its still going! Last one to Casinopolis really wins!"

As Cosmos runs past Swift, he starts to laugh but continues running.

"Heywhahey?" Swift says. 'Was that a laugh on Cosmos's face? That's the first time I've seen him laugh!'

"GET BACK HERE!" Swift shouts, racing after them.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpHuG2hHmEo&feature=related[/media]
*REPEAT TILL END*

As Cosmos runs through Station Square, he looks around at all the lights and colours. 'This place IS colourful, but from the sounds of it Casinopolis will be even better!' He thinks to himself. He can't help but smile, and looks up at the stars that are just beginning to appear in the sky above. 'Looks like this is the beginning of my... new life.'

He continues to run, following Subito as closely as he can but never passing him since he'd just get lost. It sounds like Swift is getting a little closer, but he's not worried about that.

They run left, turn right, continue straight, than left, than straight, than right... The directions are to complicated for Cosmos to take it all in, but he doesn't care. He's having the time of his life.

Cosmos can't help but smile as he runs around the city. Soon enough, he sees Subito stop and runs up beside him, joined by Swift only a second later.

"Phew! You sure can run Cosmos!" Swift says, puffing. "I couldn't keep up even with my tails! And YOU...." Swift points at Subito. "YOU used your full speed, cheater!!"

"Haha, oops. Guess we both lost." Subito says. "Looks like Cosmos won, he played fairly and came second."

"Congrats, Cosmos!" Swift says.

Cosmos just smiles. His heart is too full to say anything...

Subito turns to the others. "So, wanna run through Casinopolis?"

"Sure!" Cosmos says.

"I could use a lift..." Swift says.

"Than why don't we..." Subito grabs Swift's left hand and Cosmos's right hand. "Go Super Sonic speed!"

Subito takes off at full speed, pulling the others with him!

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Swift shouts.

Cosmos continues to smile. 'Whoa, this is amazingly fast!! But its a load of fun!!'

"Come on, let's GO!!!!" Subito picks up the pace a little more, despite running at full speed already.

"Wow..." Cosmos says. "You guys where right. This place is chock full of colour!!!"

"Told ya!" Swift says.

Subito looks at Swift, than Cosmos, than forward. Let's keep running!"

"Yeah!!!!" Cosmos and Swift shout.

The trio run everywhere, from the streets to alleyways to rooftops to the streets back to the rooftops than alleyways than rooftops followed by streets which leads to alleyways again, than back to the main road and over a long bridge, to a rooftop with a loop....

Again, Cosmos can't keep up. But he has noticed he is moving much faster than before, and loves every second of it. He can see Subito with a confident smile on him, and Swift yelling "Yahooooo!!!!" and all sorts of other words in excitement.

'Now THIS is how you begin again.' Cosmos says.

"Its gettin' a little late guys. Let's run to the nearest hotel and stay for the night. I've got a few Rings to spare." Subito says. No sooner has he finished speaking than they arrive at the footsteps of a huge 4 star hotel.

*END MUSIC*

They walk inside. Subito walks straight to the front desk and asks for a room for three and luckily there's a free room. Just as Subito is about to pay for everyone, Swift steps up. "Its ok, Subito. I'll pay for myself." Subito asks "Are you sure?" and Swift just replies "Of course!"

Cosmos walks up, feeling a little bit upset. "I... I don't have any money...."

"That's ok Cosmos! I'll pay for ya!" Subito puts a few Rings on the desk and Swift places about half of them from his own stash next to them. The friendly concierge accepts the Rings and shows them to the room.

"Thanks for paying for me... But you didn't have to. I could've slept outside." Cosmos says.

"What? While we're comfy in nice warm beds? Yeah right!" Swift says.

"Wouldn't think of it!" Subito says.

"Well..... Thank you..." Cosmos says.

"Its ok, anytime!" Subito says, smiling.

The concierge unlocks the room and hands them the key. The trio walk inside and decide to go straight to bed.

"Hey, wasn't this the part of the city that never sleeps?" Cosmos asks.

"Yeah, for those who LIVE here. As for us normal people, they have hotels so we can get some rest." Swift says, hopping into bed.

"Oh, ok." Cosmos says.

After exchanges of "Good night" the trio fall asleep.

 

[SuperMarioFanX100]

Gosh.... I forgot all about this chapter. Well I finally got around to reading it. Good job!

 

[Yoshi64Mario]

SEVERE lack of updates with no good reason here folks. I'll be updating this right now!

Chapter 5: Nighttime Thoughts

Cosmos woke up. It was still dark outside, or at least as dark as it was going to get. He'd been asleep for a few hours...

Cosmos turned over to try and get comfortable again. No luck. He tried for about five minutes but he just couldn't get comfortable. And if he was comfortable there was just too much on his mind to let him sleep.

Finally, Cosmos gave in. He sat up and looked at the others, Subito and Swift. Subito was snoring quite loudly, and Swift was just lying in his bed making no sound despite being asleep.

'Maybe Subito's snoring woke me up...' Cosmos thinks. 'I guess it doesn't matter, I'm obviously not getting any sleep for a little while. Gee, it's a bit cold tonight. I never noticed it before, and I never did when I still had that stupid chip in my brain.'

Cosmos looks around the room a little. 'I know'. He wraps his blanket around himself to keep warm. 'I'll go and sit on the balcony for a little while.'

Very quietly, Cosmos walks towards the sliding door and opens it up. The night air greets him, but his blanket is keeping him warm regardless.

Cosmos closes the door back up so the air doesn't freeze the room, and sits down on a chair, looking out over the city.

'Whoa, its a big city. So many colours and lights! I've never seen anything like this before! Its so active, even at this time of day!'

Cosmos takes some time to look around. He can hear the cars and trucks below him, zipping by. He can hear people walking and running to get to their destinations, he can hear them talking and shouting... He can see them too. They look like little ants because he's so far up. The cars and trucks all look like toys. He can see the biggest buildings and signs advertising everything from the arcade to the actual casino to a fast food place that sells burgers.

Cosmos looks straight up at the sky. 'Its a nice night tonight. There's a full moon and a lot of stars... I can see everything clearly too, there's no clouds.' Sure enough, the moon was full and the sky had countless amounts of stars. There where no clouds at all, so Cosmos could see everything quite clearly.

Suddenly there was a sound behind him. It sounded like a door opening. He turned around.

Swift had just come out. He closed the door back up. "Can't sleep huh?" he asks.

"Yeah..."

"Neither can I. When Subito goes for a good long run like he did right before bed, he snores so loudly a mouse 20,000 Kilometers away could hear him."

"I got a little sleep, but I woke up and can't get back to sleep now... I think there's too much on my mind."

"Really? Well, what's on your mind than?" Swift asks.

"Well........ I don't really know what our creator will do if he sees me running around with a Hedgehog and a Fox... They're his least favourite animals and any copy caught hanging with one has a severe punishment..."

"How severe? Do you know?"

"I only recall it once. A few days ago one of the copies... a red one... led a Hedgehog, a Fox and an Echidna to his base.... He brought all of us who where around the base to watch what would happen if this occurred again or if he caught us hanging out with a Hedgehog or Fox..."

"What happened?" Swift asks.

"He threw the copy into a small chamber... And it was than that I figured out what it was. It was a giant furnace, surrounded by perfectly see-through metal..."

"He BURNT it?"

"Yep. Pretty badly too. He told us it was a 'fate worse than death', because he wouldn't let us die, just burn us so much we would be scarred forever. After a few minutes of hearing nothing but screams and seeing nothing but the panic in that copy's eyes, he opened the chamber and let the copy out. It gasped for air, and couldn't stand up. The creator kicked it and called it useless and told the copy it was lucky he didn't finish it off."

"Whoa... That's pretty harsh!!" Swift says.

"No kidding. It made the creator happy in the end, since he caught the Hedgehog, Fox and Echidna, but every time he sees that copy it gets a good kicking for some reason..."

"That's pretty rough..." Swift says.

"GAH!!!!!" Cosmos shouts.

"What's up??" Swift shouts, leaping up.

"I... I just remembered why I was bashed up!!" Cosmos says.

"Huh? You... You do?" Swift asks.

"Sure... Now its clear. Sit back down and I'll tell you..." Swift sits back down. He really wants to know this.

"I was in that clearing you found me in with two other copies... The burnt red one was one of them. I started saying how the red one shouldn't be treated like that considering it got what the creator wanted. I was told that I shouldn't question the creator. I than said that it wasn't fair. They said "You DARE question the authority of the creator?" and the red one said "And MY allegiance to him?" and they bashed me up..."

"Whoa, rough..." Swift says. "I guess it was those Obedience Chips. Wonder why yours wasn't working correctly though?"

"Now that you mention it, I guess it wasn't. We're not allowed to even think about free will or saying something that defies the creator. I must have got a malfunctioning one."

"Yeah. You got lucky, very lucky!" Swift says.

"Still, I can never blame the red one for hitting me. Its not his fault. Its the stupid creator's."

"Yeah..." Says Swift.

"Hey, Swift... Could I ask a favor of you guys?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"That red copy surely can't have gotten far. Can we look for him tomorrow?"

"What do you plan to do with him?" Swift asks.

"If my chip can come out, so can his. I want to make him see sense."

"Well, ok Cosmos. We'll tell Subito that we actually have something we want to do tomorrow."

"Thanks Swift."

"Let's get back to bed. I'm braindead now, I'll have no trouble falling asleep." Swift gets up and opens the door. Cosmos follows and the two go back to bed.

 

[SuperMarioFanX100]

Hurray for updates!

Looking Good. A bit of a "Quiet" Chapter, but it's better than nothing.

 

[Yoshi64Mario]

Hurray for updates!

Looking Good. A bit of a "Quiet" Chapter, but it's better than nothing.

Don't worry, there's a bit more action in this and the next few chapters!

Also, I'm afraid my image editing isn't going to well (put simply I SUCK). So, until further notice everyone will have to picture what this red Chaos 0 looks like. In the first chapter that Cosmos appears in I will put up an image of him but it will only be a sprite and may be too small to see, but keep an eye out for it anyway!

Chapter 6: Convincing the Non-Believer to Believe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr6UUhHTHoM&feature=related
*REPEAT TILL END*

The sun light shines into the hotel room where Subito, Swift and Cosmos where staying the night. It slowly creeps across to where Subito sleeps and very quickly wakes him up, since it shines right in his face.

"Gah, fine nature you win, I'm up..." He groans. He looks at Cosmos and Swift. 'Still sleeping, the both of them... Wonder if I should go for an early morning run? Nah, too risky. They might think I left the behind. Especially Cosmos. He only joined us yesterday, although I must say that it feels like we've known eachother for a while already.'

Subito gets up and opens the sliding door that leads to the balcony. 'At least it looks like it's going to be a good day, no rain clouds. I really hate it when it rains, Swift just doesn't stop complaining about his fur getting wet and gross and I complain that he stinks a lot.'

Subito looks down at the city below. Even at this hour the streets are full. He can hear people yelling all sorts of things and all ways of getting to places, from walking to jogging to running to cars and all sorts of other vehicles. In fact, he also spots a rare sight.

'Well look at that. Shadow the Hedgehog's in town. Maybe he's looking for Sonic, since no-one's heard of him ever since he, Tails and Knuckles entered Eggman's new lair.'

Shadow skates straight past the hotel and up the street, turns a corner and vanishes. 'Well, I'm not one to poke my nose into someone else's business. But if Sonic isn't heard from soon it's going to cause some panic.'

"Morning, Sir Snores-a-lot."

Subito turns around to see Swift coming out of the room and onto the balcony. "Morning Swift. What's up?"

"Wait till Cosmos gets up and you'll find out." Swift says.

The pair sit in silence for a few minutes and than Cosmos comes out. "Morning guys."

"Morning!" Subito and Swift say. "Swift said he wanted to wait for you for some reason before he told me what's up... So, what is it?" Subito asks.

"Well...." Cosmos pauses.

*END MUSIC*

"I kinda want to look for another Chaos Copy..."

"Friend of yours?" Subito questions.

"Not really... He's just... Suffering..."

"What? Suffering? How so?"

Swift and Cosmos explain to Subito about the red Chaos Copy, and how much it had suffered at the hands of the Creator.

"Man, that copy sure is doing it rough. I guess you want to find him and try to make him see sense huh?"

"Yeah, that's it..." Cosmos says.

"Well, I say we have breakfast and start looking for him. You only saw him yesterday so he can't have gotten far." Subito replies.

"Right. Than let's get on with it, we don't want him gettin' away!" Swift says.

In half an hour the trio have had breakfast and have just left Casinopolis and Station Square altogether, taking the route back to where they met Cosmos.

"Here, between these bushes!" Subito says. The trio jump into the bushes and the empty clearing beyond. "Now we just have to find out where he darn well went..."

"He's gotta be close to this area. Splitting up would find him faster, but we put ourselves at risk. Cosmos is no match for them and I can't fight too many copies on my own with my injured leg."

"You're right Swift. Cosmos, any idea where you guys came from earlier yesterday?"

"That way..." Cosmos points beyond the clearing.

"Great! Than let's..." Subito is stopped short by Cosmos.

"Wait!! Before we go... I might be able to be of some use in finding him."

"How?" Asks Swift.

"Well, we can sense eachother. I'm not sure if I still can with my obedience chip gone, but I'll let you know if I notice anything. Unfortunately, each Copy shares the same aura, which is what we use to locate eachother and range is strictly limited, so even if we get close to a copy it may not be him..."

"We'll just have to be careful than!" Swift smirks. "Let's go!"

The three run towards the direction that Cosmos pointed in.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZX96Nb3IgE&feature=related[/media]
*REPEAT TILL END*

The trio soon come to a forest. "He could be ANYWHERE in here!" Swift shouts.

"Let's look, it's not that huge for a forest." Subito says.

The trio run into the forest. It becomes a bit of a challenge trying to move fast and dodge the trees that seemingly come out of nowhere. Subito and the others find themselves shifting right, than left, left again, right, right once more...

"Stupid trees! Outta the darn way!!" Swift shouts. He nearly flew into one.

"Whoa!" Cosmos dodges to his left, also nearly hitting a tree, but luckily, he span around the outside of it.

"Uh oh!!!" Subito yells. He's headed straight for a tree, and there's no way he can dodge it in time!

"Subito!" Cosmos and Swift yell.

Subito closes his eyes and waits for the impact, but it never comes. He opens his eyes.

He's run straight up the tree like he's done so many times before and is now running on thin air.

"Hey..." Subito looks forward, striking an odd pose. "Not a bad view!" He than falls back to the ground and catches up to Subito and Cosmos.

"Nice of you to join us again!" Swift says.

"Guys, I just saw the remains of a fire in the middle of the forest. Let's check it out!" Subito charges forward, leaving the other two in his dust.

"I'm not moving any faster cause I'll smash into a blasted tree!" Swift yells, more at Cosmos than Subito.

"Yeah, same here!" Cosmos yells back.

Subito finally gets to the middle of the forest. "No wonder I saw it so easily, it's a clearing. Pretty small, nothing like yesterday's one."

*END MUSIC*

He dashes into some bushes, just in case. About a minute later he is joined by Swift and Cosmos.

"There's a few copies nearby..." Cosmos says.

"What the heck kept you guys?" Subito whispers.

"Trees." Swift whispers back, in a very annoyed tone.

They trio look out into the clearing, and realise Cosmos is right. There's two copies in the clearing. One is stamping out the fire remnants and the other just watches him.

"That the copy?" Subito whispers, pointing to the copy stamping the flames.

"Yeah, that's him." Cosmos replies.

"What do we do?" Swift asks.

"There's only one thing to do!" Subito says, running out into the clearing. "CHARGE!!!!"

"That Hedgehog's brain could fit in my pinky toe. Come on Cosmos, we'd better help him out." Swift says before running into the clearing.

Cosmos just sighs and runs out into the clearing.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaSVRdXGZpQ[/media]

*REPEAT TILL END*

Subito fully charges the red copy and Swift tail spins the other. Now alerted the copies get back up.

"Get back down!" Swift says, knocking the other copy back onto the ground. Subito kicks the red one in the head, but it quickly bounces back and returns the favor.

"Oh, you wanna fight dirty huh? Cosmos, where's the Chip located?"

"Inside the head!" Cosmos replies, helping Subito back up.

The other copy, a yellow one with blue eyes, slices upwards, striking Swift in an uppercut. Cosmos runs in front of Swift, and quickly spins around, successfully striking it in the chest.

Subito Spin Dashes into the red one, and quickly stops only to deliver a swift roundhouse kick to its head in an attempt to knock the chip out.

The yellow copy, meanwhile, gets back up, only to run away. "Coward!" Swift yells. Cosmos and Swift than surround the red copy, together with Subito.

The copy looks at all of them, almost as if it is waiting for them to make a move. "Get him now!" Subito yells, all three of them jumping at the same time.

Of course, if you've ever seen something like this happen in a cartoon show you know it ends badly. The three collide with eachother head on.

"Where'd he go?" Subito says. He looks around.

"THERE!" Swift points to the copy. Its in one of the trees somehow, kneeling on a branch and appears to be snickering. Realising its been spotted, it jumps back down to face the three again.

"Hey! No fair you!" Swift yells, running up to it. He takes a swing at it with his fist but misses, and one second is all it takes. The copy grabs Swift by the arm and throws him into a tree.

"Ow...." Swift says. He falls into a heap at the bottom.

"My turn!" Cosmos says. He takes a successful blow at the copy.

"Whoa..." Says Subito.

The copies are matching blow for blow now. They can't seem to get past eachother's defences. "They're evenly matched!" Subito cries out.

Cosmos takes another swing, but misses and again its all it takes. The red copy elbows Cosmos in the back, knocking him to the ground.

It snickers, looking at the only other fighter it can see that's still standing... Subito.

"Oooh, now you're gonna get it!!" Subito yells. Swift opens his eyes. "Huh?"

Subito starts to float in the air. He starts to transform...

"What the...?" Swift looks at him. This time, ALL of Subito's body has gone gold, there's not little bits of red anywhere on his spikes.

"Take THIS!!!!!!!" Subito charges into the copy at full power, knocking it into a tree and through it. Subito rushes up to it faster than the speed of sound, and delivers a crushing roundhouse kick to its head.

The copy is knocked to Subito's left, and is launched quite a distance. Subito sees something fall out as the kick connects.

*END MUSIC*

He starts to transform back, and finally lands gently on the ground. "Whoa, I did it again. This time it wasn't anger, it was... Desire, I think..."

Swift and Cosmos run up. "Everything ok?" Swift asks.

"I'm fine... You guys?"

"We'll be ok." Swift says. Cosmos nods. "What happened Subito? You didn't have red streaks on your spikes this time..." Swift points out.

"I didn't? Hmm, maybe it has something to with my emotions at a critical time..." Subito says.

Swift runs up and inspects the unconscious copy. "Hey look! He's red and from what I saw whilst fighting him he had orange eyes. But oddly enough he has black spots all over his body..."

"Yeah, burn marks. Permanent burn marks." Cosmos says. He quickly flashes back to seeing this very copy get burned in the furnace in front of many others...

"Hey, is that what I think it is?" Swift says. He bends down to pick it up. "It might be, it seemed to fall out when I gave him a kick to the head." Subito says.

"A pretty good kick to the head, by the looks of it!" Cosmos says.

"Hey! It sure is what I think it is! It's the Obedience Chip!" Swift says excitedly.

Subito and Cosmos give eachother a double low-five and than take turns double low-fiving Swift. (A double is when you use both hands, not just one, at the same time.)

At that moment, the red copy opens his eyes. "Wh... Who..? Wh.. What...? Whe... Where am I?"

"Hey, you shouldn't try to move yet. Subito here hit you pretty d@mn hard." Swift says.

The copy slowly sits up, leaning against a tree. He looks dazed and confused.

"You're in a forest clearing..." Cosmos says. The copy looks at him. "Wait... I... I know you......"

"Yeah, you and that other guy bashed him up, remember?" Subito says.

"Wha... What?" The copy says.

"I think he's got a little memory loss..." Subito says.

"You would too if you got kicked in the head so severely." Swift says. "You ok?" He says, bending down to the copy.

"Who are you...?" The copy asks.

"I'm Swift, and this is my best pal Subito and the black copy now has a name, he's called Cosmos."

"Ok......" The copy says.

"How about you? You got a name?"

"No... No, I don't think so..."

"Than I say we call him Flame." Says Swift.

"Why Flame?" Asks Subito.

"Just like Cosmos's colour reminds you of space, Flame's reminds me of fire."

"Ok, Flame it is!" Subito.

"Your names Flame now." Says Swift. "We managed to track you down upon Cosmos's request and knocked this out of you."

Swift shows Flame the Chip. "What is that...?"

"Something you won't need anymore. The Creator used it to control us and forced us to obey him. Somehow, mine malfunctioned and enabled me to talk trash about him, which led you and the other copy to bash me up. When you did, my whole Chip came loose and fell out. I stomped it so flat it broke to millions of little pieces."

"..." Flame says nothing, and just looks at the Chip.

"Flame, if you go back, the Creator is going to treat you like dirt, much like he did before. Remember, he's why you have all those burns on your body." Cosmos says.

"Its either back to that way of life or you come with us. What's it gonna be?" Swift asks.

"..." Flame doesn't say anything, and thinks this over for a minute. If he goes back, he'll just get kicked around again. It looks like he'll be safe if he hangs around these guys.

"Take it away. Destroy it." Flame says.

Swift simply crushes it in his hand. "Subito, we should really take Flame somewhere to rest for the day, you DID beat him pretty hard."

"Ok, we'll have to go back to the Hotel than..." Subito says.

"I managed to grab a few Rings along the way here, enough to pay for myself I think." Says Cosmos.

"Ok, back we go than. Come on Flame, I'll carry you." Subito says, picking up Flame and hoisting the copy onto his back.

"Let's go!" Subito shouts, and takes off at high speed once more. Swift and Cosmos follow.

 

[SuperMarioFanX100]

Long, and good chapter. I would say keep up the good work, but that's too regular. Instead, you may sniff my Nom Nom Cereal. It's a great honor.

 

[Yoshi64Mario]

Boy, what a serious lack of updates on my part. Sorry about that everyone.

Chapter 7: Bad News, Good News

And so it was decided. Subito, Swift, and Cosmos supported the injured Flame back to the Hotel and paid more Rings to stay another night.

MEANWHILE.... Back in Eggman's Fortress...

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRuACfH-yf4&feature=related[/media]

*REPEAT TILL END*

"Tails has been gone for HOURS! In fact, if it wasn't so dark down here I'm almost SURE it's been 36 hours! Where the heck is he??"

Knuckles has been continuously digging at the ground in the cell he and Tails share. The hole is quite a significant size now, and is in fact looking more and more like a tunnel than a hole. The hole goes down to about twice of Knuckles's size before turning ninety degrees and into a tunnel. The tunnel was only started a few hours ago, so Knuckles isn't far into it.

Suddenly, he hears something and climbs out of the hole, quickly covering it up with the sheet, as usual. He hears the loud "CLANK" of a lever... The lever that opens his cell.

The door opens and he hears a robotic voice shout "GET IN THERE!!!!"

Tails is thrown, rather fiercely, into the cell, landing in front of Knuckles. He sits up.

"And take your food with you!!!" The robot shouts. It throws a bowl it holds in the hand that wasn't holding Tails.

Tails quickly ducks out of the way but Knuckles isn't as fortunate. SPLAT!!!!

The robot pulls the lever to the cell back down, so fast he could break the thing off if he did it any faster. The door slams shut.

"If he slammed that lever any faster, he'd be buying us an escape route. Those levers weren't made to be slammed like that." Tails comments.

He turns around to see the bowl slide off of Knuckles's face, which is now almost completely covered in the slime that is supposed to be food. Knuckles just sighs and Tails almost falls over from laughing too much.

Knuckles shakes his head, getting rid of the food but splattering a few drops onto Tails. "Hey!" Tails says.

"Where the heck where you Tails? What took you so long?" Knuckles asks. He smirks as he asks though and he can't help it. Tails has received a few blotches of food on his face.

"Sorry Knuckles. I did find some information that can really help us though!" Tails replies.

"Well, spit it out!" Knuckles says.

*END MUSIC*

"Well....

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx6nOkdeNKs[/media]

*REPEAT TILL END*

"After I left the cell I went down to the dining hall for lunch. Same goop as always. Whilst there I asked some of the other prisoners if they knew the way outta here, or at least where I could find a map of this place.

"Unfortunately nobody knew anything but I wasn't about to give up. Just before lunch was over I ran into the toilet and hid there for a few hours. When I thought the coast was clear and that the robots had forgotten about me, I walked out.

"I found myself able to walk around. Despite what we though there aren't many robots roaming the halls - actually it's only one or two and they only patrol the really big halls, so I was able to stay well-hidden.

"Somehow or another, I ended up in a lab of some sort. The place was heavily guarded, but I saw Sonic!"

"Where is he?" Knuckles asks.

"He was in that lab on the other side of about ten robots... I managed to sneak around, but Sonic didn't see me. I saw that the tube he was in was connected to another tube... It looks like it contains a Chaos Copy of Sonic..."

"A Chaos Sonic? That sounds like trouble..." Knuckles says.

"It sure does! I tried to open Sonic's tube, but just as I was about to press the button I realized it was connected to the alarm, which would've alerted the robots...."

"And? Ten robots is no problem for Sonic!" Knuckles says.

"I know, but if I opened up Sonic's tube the tube with the copy would've also opened, and there' no way that's gonna be good..."

"You've got a point there..." Says Knuckles. "Sonic would be distracted and unable to help you, and you could've gotten yourself caught and separated again. If I was there, we would've had a chance..."

"I know. I sneaked back out and ended up in Eggman's own quarters!"

"Wha? How did you do that?" Kunckles asks.

"I'm not sure. I just continued wandering and suddenly I saw Eggman! I waited for him to leave and looked at his desk. I found something I was looking for that can help us!"

"What is it?" Kunckles winders out loud.

"This!" Tails pulls a piece of paper from his sock and shows it to Knuckles.

"It's... It's a map of the place!!" Knuckles exclaims.

"Right! Looks like Eggman's not too smart and this place is so huge he needs a map to remember where he is! Either that or his cohorts where using it. There was a huge stack of 'em, so I took one."

"Great going Tails! This'll definitely help us! Using this we can find Sonic and get outta here!"

"Right! So I tucked that into my sock and headed out. I tried to find more information but I had no luck... It'd taken me a while to get this info. The rest of the time I tried to look for more but I had no luck until finally a robot tripped over one of my tails, so he wasn't happy when I told him to watch where he was going. I'd just got my dinner, so he decided I could eat in my cell... If I caught it."

*END MUSIC*

"That doesn't matter Tails, you've done a great job! I was just wondering if you'd been caught and we'd been separated..."

Tails just smiles.

"Well, I've finished digging the hole. Now I need to start digging the tunnel out of here." Knuckles says. "This map you scored will be a great help - we won't end up at Eggman's feet or in another cell with this..."

Kunckles pulls the sheet off and shows Tails what he's done, than jumps down the hole and continues digging the tunnel. Tails tells him that he will study the map, find out what way they are facing, and plan a way out...

Chapter 8: Flame's Recovery

Meanwhile...

Night has fallen once again. Subito, Swift, Cosmos and Flame are all sitting around the small table in the room they are staying at in the hotel.

"Swift, I'm wondering if we'll ever move away from this hotel. This is the second time we've been here..." Subito wonders out loud.

Both Chaos copies hang their heads.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that!" Subito says, waving his arms around and making a friendly face.

"You are right though, despite it not being their faults. But considering we don't do anything anyway, who cares if we spend a few weeks in the same hotel?" Swift replies.

"That's true, but I'm a Hedgehog. I need to run around. I'm kind of sick of... Running around the same area..."

"But we haven't!" Cosmos points out. "Yesterday it was the city and today it was a forest!"

"Maybe it's because we're staying in the same hotel... Subito may not like stopping at the same location he started in..." Flame says.

The room falls silent for several minutes.

Finally, Flame speaks up again. "I think I'll turn in. I should've been in bed hours ago, after the beating I got..." He looks at Subito, who smirks back.

Flame gets up and wanders over to a bed. He falls asleep in a few minutes.

Swift yawns and stands up. "I'm gonna hit the hay too." He says.

Within ten minutes all four of them are asleep.

A few hours pass... When suddenly...

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A HUGE shout loud enough to wake the whole street occurs. Cosmos, Swift and Subito shoot straight up, with brief questions like "Did you hear that?" "What the heck was that?".

They look over at Flame. He is already up, his head hanging low. It looks like he's... Crying??

"Flame?" Cosmos asks.

"I...... I'm..... I'm sorry....." Flame manages to say.

"Was that you?" Subito asks.

Flame only nods his head.

"Bad dream..." Swift says. "You ok?"

Flame shakes his head this time.

"You two go back to sleep. I'll sit up with him." Subito says.

The others say "Ok..." and go back to bed.

Subito sits on the bed, next to Flame. "What happened?"

"I'm.... Sorry.... I can't quite remember but it was scary... I yelled and than realised I'd also yelled in real life. I... started crying because I knew I'd woken everyone up...."

"Eh, come off of it Flame. You and Cosmos... Heck, even me and Swift.... Have been through quite a lot in the past twenty-four hours. It's ok."

Flame just sighs.

"And look... I know its hard after a nightmare, but you need to get back to sleep or you'll never recover."

"I know..." Flame replies.

"Great! Than let's get some rest!" Subito says. Flame lays back down on the bed.

Subito stays next to him until he can hear Flame sleeping. He than goes back to his own bed.

A whole day passes, complete with consistent complaining from Subito. He eventually got his way and went for a run by himself. He returned several hours later, by which it was nightfall.

The next day though...

"So, feeling better Flame?" Cosmos asks.

"Much better!" Flame says. Just to prove it, he runs around the room, an act that would've made him collapse from exhaustion during the past few days.

"Great! Let's go than!" Subito says. After some breakfast the group rush outside.

They all notice something in the sky that is casting a HUGE shadow on the ground and the buildings. "What the heck...?" Says Swift.

Cosmos, Flame and Subito notice that a lot of people have gathered around from every building and are looking up at the thing in the sky. Finally, Cosmos and Flame look up.

"Oh no...." They say together.

"What is it?" Subito and Swift asks.

"That's... That's...." Flame stutters.

"The Creator's Flying Foretress!" Cosmos finishes.

"Oh, CRAP." Swift says.

"That design... It's gotta be..." Subito starts.

"Eggman." Swift finishes.

 

[SuperMarioFanX100]

This part has been here for a while, but I haven't read it sadly until now.

But anyway great job YM!

 

[Yoshi64Mario]

Chapter 8: What's Eggman up to this time?

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF1RNw3NPtU[/media]

*REPEAT TILL END*

"Eggman? What's he want?" Swift asks, to no-one in particular.

Both the copies look down at the ground.

"I doubt he's looking for you guys. Maybe its not him, some of his dumb cohorts could be flying that thing. Who knows?" Subito says.

Flame gulps, taking a small step back. Cosmos lifts his head up and looks around curiously. "I don't think he's on board but I could be wrong..."

"I think Subito might get some action he's been wanting. Whaddaya say Subito? Can we?" Swift asks.

"I say we go for it!" Subito shouts. "Cosmos, Flame... An easy way on board?"

"Uh, back entrance.... Normally unguarded but left unlocked for emergency escape for the Creator." Flame replies. "Why?"

"We're goin' in!" Swift shouts.

Both the copies gulp, Flame takes another step back.

"Hey, you've gotta face him sometime. He'll find out you guys disobeied sooner or later no matter how long you put it off. And I'm itching for a fight and adventure. You can stay here or come with us, your choice." Subito says.

"Hey, I'm coming. No way I'm lettin' you guys go with no knowledge!" Cosmos says.

"Flame?" Swift asks.

"I... I'll come....." Flame says.

"Ok, than let's go!" Subito shouts.

"Ok... We can't use Chaos Control though, it's protected by a barrier that prevents it."

"Looks like I'm making multiple trips..." Swift mutters.

After about 15 minutes, the group is standing just inside the ship.

Cosmos hears something and turns in the direction of the sound. He sees Flame, muttering something. It gets only slightly louder but its loud enough for Cosmos to hear it.

"I won't be afraid.... I won't be afraid.... I won't be afraid...."

Cosmos walks up to Swift and whispers "Flame's a little scared...."

"He has nothing to worry about, we're right here!" Swift says.

Just then though, an alarm goes off. "Oh no...." Flame mutters, closing his eyes and shaking his head. Cosmos notices a tear come out of his shut eye...

A whole bunch of copies burst through the door opposite, crying out "Intruder Alert!" as well as "Betrayers!"

Flame looks away.

"There's too many of 'em!" Subito shouts, despite tripping the closest one.

The four begin to fight back, but there's no chance against that many copies, who also have a few Robots arrive shortly after.

The four put up a decent fight, but are finally caught nonetheless. Flame first, then Cosmos, then Swift, and finally Subito.

They are taken away by eight robots, two per captive, one holding each arm.

They are thrown, rather rudely, into a cell. Just when the group thought things couldn't get any worse, it does - their hands are chained to the wall opposite the door.

*END MUSIC*

The robots close the door and the group watches them walk away.

"This is what the creator likes to do with Hedgehogs, I'm afraid..." Cosmos says.

"I.... I'm so sorry.... I feel like I've led you all into a trap...."

The voice is coming from Flame. Cosmos can see the tears flowing quite freely now.

"I'm.... Sorry. I should never have told you the back exit is the best way for entrance. Looks like the Creator's increased security... I don't deserve to be with you any more..."

The others look at him, not sure what to say...

Finally, Swift speaks up.

"Meh, could be worse. We've gotten out of worse scrapes than this before, right Subito?"

"Like that time I ran off the edge of that cliff, right? The 50 feet drop?" Subito says.

"And the day I met you for the first time!" Swift says.

"Lucky you can fly, Swift. You saved me that day." Subito says, remembering the day well.

"And I'm sure we'll get outta here!" Swift says. This immediately lifts the mood. Flame even raises his head a little.

"Swift's right Flame. Stop feeling sorry when you're already forgiven and start thinkin'. We need a way out and we need it fast!" Cosmos says.

MEANWHILE....

"Knuckles, are you getting tired? You can stop if you want to, you know."

Knuckles is still digging. Oddly enough, he was expecting some dirt, but keeps digging through all kinds of metal. "Nah, its fine Tails. Not tired at all. You look like you wanna stop walking, is that it?"

"Haha, nope! Digging's much more exhausting. Its good that you can do it for days at a time."

"And dig through metal." Knuckles adds.

After a few minutes of silence, Knuckles stops. "Where are we Tails? Which direction from here?"

"Actually Knuckles, straight up for a minute. Sonic should be in the room above us!"

"Great! Let's go!"

Knuckles begins to dig his way upwards, and Tails uses his tails to follow behind him...