Note: If you like Sonic, the Floating Island and it’s remaining inhabitants, I wouldn’t advise reading this chapter…


                    THE JOURNEY BEGINS

          Sonic was out for a walk in the woods, thinking about what Vargus had said, about his only hope not in this realm. Then, another thought came across. How could someone as noble and heroic as himself be infested with a demon? ‘Sure, I have a few, small attitude problems, but my heart was always in the right place, wasn’t it?’ After realizing this, he decided to search for Vargus, to find out more about what was happening to him.

          Vargus had just come recently to the Floating Island. He, being of the Vizjerie, was intrigued to see what could keep such a large mass of land afloat. He came from a secluded part of Mobius, where he could train in secret. After he had mastered most of his techniques. Just to be on the safe side, he had learned skills from all types of mage clans. The elemental skills of the sorceresses and druids, the dark magic of the necromancers, and of course, the universal spells of the Vizjerie sorcerers. In his time alone, he also became very skilled at the art of stave fighting. When he felt his training was complete, he decided to go out into the world. It didn’t take long for him to hear of the island, and immediately, he wanted to study it. When he had reached it, he had been quite surprised to find it so populated.

          He had stopped at a restaurant to grab something to eat, and to possibly find out how the island floated. But, ever since he found that a hedgehog by the name of Sonic had Diablo, the Lord of Terror, within him, he had a new goal. He had to find a way to contact the Archangel Tyreal, so he could possibly find a way to save the young creature’s soul. He had been skimming through every book he had brought, trying to find a way to contact the angel. Nothing.

          Sonic was passing through the wilderness, trying to get back to Echidnaopolis, when the pain started again. This time, though, the voices from his dream were present as well. This time, he was almost beaten. But, it was gone as quickly as it came. ‘I’ve got to find him,’ he thought to himself, as he sped toward the now visible city.

          Vargus was double-checking his books, when there was a knock on the door (he rented out). When he opened the door, Sonic was standing at the entrance.
“Vargus, I have to know everything you know about what’s happening to me!”
“Very well, Sonic. Follow me,” the wolf sighed, sounding a little hesitant. But, he seemed more willing after a moment.
‘Maybe he’ll be able to fight off Diablo more effectively if he knows what will happen if he were to lose.’
Vargus led Sonic out of his apartment and into the woods. When they were far enough so that no one could see or hear them, he finally spoke.
“Sonic, close your eyes, and free your mind, as I reveal the horror that has unfolded upon your realm.” Sonic did so, and was suddenly transported to a place he didn’t want to be: the River of Flame.
“What the hell are we doing here?!” the hedgehog demanded. Vargus gabbed a hysterical Sonic by the shoulders and tried to calm him down.
“Don’t worry. This is not real. It’s merely an illusion,” the wolf said.
“So, how does this explain anything?”
“It started many eons ago. It was in the realm of Heaven and Hell, where the Great Conflict was raging on. The High Heavens were fighting for peace and virtue, while the Burning Hells were fighting for dominance and suffering. The armies of Hell were ruled by the Seven Evils. The four Lesser Evils were Andariel, the Maiden of Anguish, Azmodan, the Lord of Sin, Belial, the Lord of Lies, and Duriel, the Lord of Pain. These four each ruled their own dominion of Hell, having their own small armies at their disposal. Above the four Lesser Evils were the three Prime Evils.” Sonic then saw three large forms begin to take shape before him.
“The three Prime Evils ruled all of Hell. They were far superior to the Lesser Evils, and ruled over them with brute force and malicious cunning. The Three never held sway over the High Heavens for long, but were justly feared by enemies and subjects alike. The eldest of the three brothers was Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred.” Sonic watched as the form on the left began to gain greater detail, and formed what appeared to be the upper half of a large skeleton. There were ragged slabs of pale flesh on the arms and torso, while the spinal cord hung below like a short tail. The head seemed that of an overlander, but with pale skin so tight, you could make out almost every detail of the skull. The teeth were sharp, and the eyes were glowing blue. From the top of the skull sprouted two large horns (like a goat’s horns, but straightened out). From the back grew two large tentacles, and two smaller ones.
     “Mephisto, being the eldest and wisest of the evils, was responsible for many well planned victories against the High Heavens. His seemingly endless army was the undead (mummies, skeletons, vampires, ghosts, zombies, etc.). In fact, Mephisto is said to be the undead, himself. Then, there was Baal, the Lord of Destruction.” The form on the right began to take shape, and formed six long, white scorpion-like legs. Above that looked like an overlander’s torso, but more stout. There were six stiff legs growing from the back, and long tentacles growing from the back of the head. The face was pale white, with small, black tattoos, and dark, lidless eyes.
     “Baal had the most powerful minions of any of the evils. He had the most destructive capabilities, and would defeat 99 out of every 100 that opposed him. And finally, the youngest and most powerful of the Three, the one that resides within you. Diablo, the Lord of Terror.” The middle form was about to take shape, when the ground began shaking, and the visions were gone.
“What’s going on?” Sonic asked, trying to keep his balance on the shaking ground.
“I don’t know. Shall we find out?”

          Knuckles, as far away as he was, also felt the ground shake beneath him.
     “This doesn’t feel like a normal earthquake, Knuckles,” said Julie-su, who was now grabbing on to the Guardian’s hand for support.
     “We should go find the others. I got a bad feeling about this,” he said, as he held on tightly to Julie-su’s hand, and glided off to find the others.

          Everyone in the streets of Echidnaopolis was in a state of confusion and fear. Especially those in the middle of the city, for two cloaked figures stood in the middle of in intersection, radiating yellow and blue waves of energy. Knuckles and Julie-su were the first of the group to reach the center, followed by the rest of the Chaotix, and then Vargus and Sonic.
     “So begins the end of your realm,” a voice from behind said. They all turned to see Sazabi, who looked even more miserable than before. Sonic ran up and grabbed him by the neck.
“What did you do to me, you freak!?” the hedgehog yelled, as he slammed him against a nearby wall.
     “I know that apologies will not make up for what I did against my will, but this scroll can help,” Sazabi said, as he pulled out a scroll from his cloak. He motioned toward Vargus, and said, “Get to a safe place, and use this scroll to summon Tyreal’s aid. But you must hurry. Those two over there,” he pointed at the two cloaked figures, “are Mephisto and Baal’s corrupted ones. And since they are willing to submit, they will soon assume their true forms without outside aid.” But it was too late. The figures’ auras began to brighten, up to the point where it was too bright to see anything. The sound of horrific screams and tearing flesh could be heard. When the light cleared, everyone had a look of horror on their faces. There, in the clearing smoke, stood the Lords of Hatred and Destruction themselves, Mephisto and Baal.

          “All will bow before us!” hissed Mephisto, in his snake like voice.
     “Not while I’m around, skull-boy!” taunted Mighty, who decided to launch a punch at the Lord of Hatred. But, Mephisto merely swatted the pest away (he’s about 7 feet tall, not counting the 6 feet of space between him and the ground, cause he floats), and the armadillo went through 3 buildings before coming to a stop.
     “As for the rest of you,” the Undead Lord growled, as he launched a lightning bolt straight at Vector, and it hit with deadly accuracy. The body of the crocodile was still breathing, but bloodied and sizzling. Mephisto laughed, and fired a sphere of cold energy that moved with amazing speed toward Charmy and Ray. The others watched in horror, as the bee and squirrel shattered into shards of ice upon impact. Espio, who was now furious, charged the demon, but his cloaking was useless against Mephisto, for he launched a charged bolt attack (multiple charges of lightning about one square meter each that scatter about until they dissipate), knocking out the chameleon when one hit him. Knuckles, who had been watching this, could not take any more, and went into a rage, running toward Mephisto, fists swirling.
     “So, some midget barbarian thinks he can defeat me?” the demon laughed, recognizing the attack patterns of the echidna as those of the barbarians who had tried to defeat him in Kurast. But, he was soon emitting grunts of slight pain when the Guardian’s swirling fists made contact with him. But again, he laughed, and emitted a poisonous cloud around him, which weakened Knuckles, making him deadly ill.
     “Knuckles!” Julie-su ran toward him, and brought him away from Mephisto. Vargus threw a potion with a black liquid inside it to Julie-su.
     “Make him drink it. It’s an antidote potion. I’ll handle Mephisto.” He then began to emit a green aura, and his blue eyes were now glowing. Then, he vanished. Mephisto looked around, only to see the wolf right in front of him.
     “Ahh, a Vizjerie,” the demon smirked, as he swiped at the wolf with his large, bony hands. But, to his surprise, Vargus managed to block every hit with his staff. The wolf then jumped in the air, and fired a Holy Bolt (a blue fire bolt that only effects the undead), causing Mephisto to be pushed back. But, the Lord of Hatred was not even started yet, as he launched a lighting bolt ten times as powerful as the one that took out Vector, which only weakened Vargus. The wolf ran back to Julie-su and Knuckles, and said, “We’ve got to get out of here, now!”
     “What about the others?” asked Julie-su. Vargus hesitated, and then said, “I’ll distract Mephisto for a few more moments, so make it quick.”

          Julie-su went to pick up Vector, who was out cold, and put him over by a still weakened Knuckles.
     “Where are you going?” Knuckles caughed, the antidote not quite up to full strength yet.
     “I’m going to get Mighty and Espio. I’ll come back. You just stay here and get your strength back, an- Hey, where’s Sonic?” Knuckles shrugged, then got a very serious look on his face.
     “Not only that. Where’s Baal?”

          Baal had Sonic cornered in a building. He had been chasing the hedgehog, and although he had plenty of opportunities to attack, he didn’t. And, whenever Sonic tried to attack, Baal would charge up his energy shield.
     “Why do you hide? You know that I can’t harm you while my little brother is in there,” the Lord of Destruction said in his tiger like voice. “Don’t bother trying to resist. So many have tried to resist Diablo’s power, and all of them suffered, no wait, are still suffering eternal damnation.” Then, before Sonic could retaliate, the pain and voices returned. Only this time, it was lasting much longer, much stronger, than ever before. Sonic let out one final cry of pain before Diablo fully took over his mind. The hedgehog’s voice grew much deeper, and his eyes (pupil, white, the whole thing) turned blood red.
     “Let us return to the battle, so Mephisto can relieve me of this wretched form,” said Diablo, who was now in full control of Sonic’s body and mind.
     “Good to have you back, my brother.”

          Vargus was holding his own against Mephisto, while Julie-su, who had retrieved Vector and Espio, was now looking for Mighty. ‘How could this have happened? Everything was going so well, so perfect,’ thought the echidna, who was rummaging through the slabs of concrete, searching for Mighty. Then, a voice startled her.
     “Julie-su, over here!” She turned around, and saw that Mighty had gotten himself out of the rubble. However, he didn’t escape unscathed. Every bone in his left arm had been shattered from Mephisto’s blow, and he had a rather large gash on his forehead. Julie-su, after inspecting the damage, decided that he could walk on his own. But, she grabbed his right arm, just so he’d have extra support.
     “Come on! We need to get out of here!”

          “Die, mortal!” Mephisto shot lightning bolts at Vargus every opening, but he still managed to dodge them all. He stood in front of Mephisto, and launched a fire ball (explosive fire bolt) at him, which made the demon stagger. Before the Lord of Hatred could retaliate, he found himself being scorched with an inferno attack (a jet of flame that extends about 3 meters). “Need some help there, brother?” a voice asked, and Mephisto turned to see Baal with the hedgehog in front of him. Before Mephisto could answer, Baal teleported in front of Vargus and fired his much more powerful inferno, which sent the wolf flying in to a tree. “We’ve got our little brother back, Mephisto,” Baal sneered, as he motioned toward Sonic.

          Vargus, now leaning against a tree, overheard this, and thought, ‘We’re too late.’ He pulled out a red potion from his belt, and was healed when he finished drinking it. He went to the group, of which only Knuckles and Julie-su were in good condition. He pulled out three more red potions, and had Mighty, Vector, and Espio drink them. They, too, were healed. “What’s the fastest way off the island?” Vargus questioned.
     “Flying off would be the best way, but I don’t think we’ll be able to find a good ship in time,” Knuckles informed.
     “Then we’ll just have to phase,” said the wolf.
     “Wait, what about Sonic?” asked Knuckles, who had a look of concern in his eyes.
     “I’m sorry. He’s gone.”

          “Mephisto, get me back to my true form! I grow tired of being inside this wretched creature!” demanded Diablo.
     “Very well, my young brother.” Mephisto’s hands began to cackle with small blue sparks, and he sent a small wisp of those sparks over Diablo, who began to shake, but then nothing happened.
     “What happened!?” Diablo yelled, enraged by his brother’s failure.
     “It seems that this creature’s soul is still alive within you. His spirit was too noble for even you to fully corrupt.” Diablo grunted and spat, “Great. This is Leoric all over again.” He remembered how he had tried to possess Leoric, but could not, for the king was too devoted to the light. “So how do I return to my true form?”
     “Simple. We need the Soulstones,” the Lord of Hatred began, “and this looks like a perfect place do make new ones. If only it weren’t so natural.” Baal just laughed.
     “Allow me!” and the Lord of Destruction began to power up.

           “Everyone, take each other’s hands!” Vargus ordered, and he was soon a link in the, “Chaotix Chain.” He then went into a deep concentration, and they teleported off of the island. They wound up on a regular island underneath the Floating Island, and watched the mass above them begin to shape.
     “What’s happening up there?” asked a concerned Knuckles.

          Baal reared up on his four hind legs, and when his front legs touched the ground, a ring of super-powerful fire balls emitted from all sides of him, and made their way to flatten everything in their path. Everything, and everyone, in their path was destroyed and killed. Mephisto and Diablo (in Sonic) were unaffected by the blast, however, floating safely above the chaos taking place below them,

          “It’s Baal. He’s powering up, and could only mean one thing…” the wolf trailed off, as he began to lower his head.
          “You mean he’s gonna,” and Knuckles was interrupted by thousands of screams and explosions from the Floating Island, and they all watched a ring of fire emit from all sides. Knuckles could not take it anymore.
          “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”


          To be continued…