The Lifeblood of Mobius

 

 

 

Synopsis: Sonic and his siblings must stop the Deadly Six, an alien tribe that lives on one of Mobius' moons, as they seek to siphon the planet's energy to empower themselves and roboticize any remaining survivors.

 

 

Chapter 1—Fun, Interrupted

           

            They had lain in wait for long enough now, and finally, the Deadly Six’s leader, Malek, was prepared to execute his nefarious plan.    Like the other aliens surrounding him, he had come from an advanced tribe known as the Corr.   The Corr were synthetic, completely digital, and electronic beings, with no trace of organic matter in them.  However, they could be disrupted by certain energies, be it electrical or sonic.  They knew their weaknesses and also were aware that they were running dangerously low on energy.  

            ‘That planet looks particularly rife with the energy we require, Commander.’, came the scathing, disoriented voice of Malek’s right hand executioner, Crude.  

            ‘I know what it looks like Crude.   All of us have been working on a device that can easily roboticize the army we need to bring down the organics and expand our defenses.   We had many before homing in on what could be refined here.   Now our resources are depleted.’, Malek stated, with some annoyance.    His red eyes glowed in fiery hatred.   One animal he loathed more than the others was Sonic.   He had hoped that Robotnik and his family would eradicate him, but they all failed.

            ‘You’re thinking about the hedgehog again, aren’t you ?’, came a feminine voice.   Another Corr, smaller than Malek, stood afar off, in admiration and intimidation.   None of the Corr came close to their Commander in Chief for all feared him, and one would never want to catch him on an off day, or a laser beam through their CPU would be the least of their worries.   

            ‘That damned hedgehog.   I loathe him.  I abhor the entire Mobian race !’, he fumed. 

            ‘When will the device be operational ?’, a scientific officer named Quelch questioned.  

            ‘We’re working as quickly as we can, but we need a method of running it.  Once we do that, Quelch, you will be the first to see our new and improved nanoroboticizer in action.  Miniscule agents like this are exceedingly difficult to create, but reversing their effects is nigh impossible.’, a biomechanical engineer named Tumult stated.   Quelch couldn’t help but smirk at getting the bazooka prepared for launching the ultimate biomechanical weapon. 

            ‘Those silly Mobians won’t know what hit them !’, a younger Corr named Clamor maniacally laughed. 

            ‘We mustn’t give in to hubris.  Remember what happened to Robotnik.’, Malek reproved Clamor.  Respectfully, the teen synthbot lowered her head, and turned her gaze towards the bioengineers and Quelch’s steady hands building what they felt would be the downfall of the entire civilization of Mobius.

All the while, Malek had whistled for drones to go scouting for a source of power to give his vision wings.

 

            It was a normal weekend, until Tails, Cyrus and Cyril saw something nearby.

            ‘To the dirigible, now !  No time to waste !’, Cyrus said, Sally following straight behind him.  Their children, Sable and Chad shimmied up the ladder, following their parents to engage the drones if they happened to be bogeys.  

           

            Cyril quietly hit an alert on his wristlet, alerting Sonic, and his family.

            ‘Why can nothing ever remain quiet ?  This was supposed to be our vacation.’, he moaned to himself. 

            ‘What’s flying over the crystal caverns ?’, Sapphira questioned. 

            ‘Those are drones, and Sally and her family are going to determine if they’re a threat.’, Amy said.  It didn’t take long to realize that the drones were there to siphon energy from the mines. 

            ‘That’s no good.’, Sonic thought to himself.   By themselves with the hoard of drones descending into the gulch, Sonic knew he would need more than just Sally to push them back, or worse. 

 

 

Chapter 2—Can We Talk a Moment ?

            Seeing that they were no match for the dirigible’s firepower, the drones backed off, and Sonic could stand down a moment.

            ‘Where did they even come from ? It’s like they emerged from nowhere !’, Cyril stated, clearly distressed.   Of all the years he had been on Mobius, he hadn’t seen anything that dastardly since his dear ol’ deceased dad had a tight reign over the population.   It had been a vice grip that had been broken only by the Resistance.   Something told him that this was far worse.

            ‘This isn’t father’s work, obviously.   These are the Corr.’, Sage began, her eyebrows furrowing and her tone grave.

            ‘The Corr ? What do they want ?’, Antoine questioned.

            ‘I had thought they had gone extinct during the War.’, she began.  

            ‘We don’t need exposition, I want to know what they want.’, Sonic said, a bit harshly, fear in his tone for the first time in his reign as King.

            ‘They want to re-engineer, no, redesign the planet.  Hence the drones siphoning power.   They’re going to use it for a device that will roboticize quickly.  The scourge will be almost impossible to reverse…’, Sage stated.    Apparently, in another Universe, there had been an alternate version of Sage that had encountered her in a skirmish and she was under the impression that they had been obliterated due to her override functions and command of electronic surges (and immunity to massive electronic output), but she had forgotten the ‘many roots’ theology she had read long ago.   A river flowed, but it could exist with thousands of forks.   However, Malek never changed.   He had existed for eons, siphoning power from many civilizations and now Mobius was in his sights.   He and the Corr had found one of Mobius’ moons and created an undetectable base.   They had lain low until now, but their genocidal penchant was about to be revealed.

           

'We have to put an end to this.', Amy said.

'My queen, don't worry yourself, we're going to.', Sonic said reassuringly.

            ‘Usually when you say that I know we have a fighting chance against our enemy, but Mobius itself is starting to see draught from the Deadly Six’s siphoning.’, she said, clearly distressed.    All the citizens could feel it.   This enemy was more potent than others they had faced before.  The weapon they were developing sounded absolutely devastating.    If what Sage said was true, the nanoroboticizer took control from the inside out and couldn’t be reversed.  

            ‘It’s tech we’re unfamiliar with.’, Rotor stated, after skimming the highlights of Cyril’s schematics.  

            ‘It may be a far-fetched solution, but we know that the Faye can heal anything, even something so advanced.   If it comes to that, we are going to need them.’, Cyril’s wife, Cecily stated.     At least after the Rebellion, the Faye kingdom and that of Mobius had developed an amnesty treaty and they coexisted.

Sonic had helped them countless times, but given their mercurial nature, he wasn’t certain they’d help if they found themselves in a pinch.  

 

 

Chapter 3—A Battle Unlike Any Other

 

            Malek found a method of collecting energy from Mobius to merely weaken it.

            ‘Clamor found a self-healing crystal.  Quelch and Toxin found a way of continuous growth.  This way, we never run out of a power source.’, Rampage reported, saluting proudly.   Malek towered over his subordinates, his sardonic grin sending shivers down their processors.  All of them had been fortunate that he had been in a congenial mood and their plans had been running better than expected.

            ‘You know, it never occurred to me why we’re called the Deadly Six.   I mean, there are more than six of us here.’, came a dopey voice out of the crowd said suddenly.   

            Malek shook his head back and forth.

            ‘You know our story, Gore.  We have survived countless iterations, many timelines.  We’re one of many. At one point, we were nearly obliterated, but with what little numbers we had left, we managed to piece ourselves together as the Deadly Six.’, Malek explained in exasperation.    Gore’s question hadn’t been enough to anger him or even irritate him.   He was incredibly pleased in how the mech canon was progressing.  

            ‘It’s been so long since we had a weapon so refined.   This one isn’t singular in target, but multidirectional.  Those morons will have no idea what hit them until it is too late.’, Malek thought to himself.

            Meanwhile on Mobius…

            The heroes and their friends felt helpless against the building threat and had no clue as to how to stop them before their canon was completed.

            ‘This is what I was mentioning before, what I had been having nightmares about.’, Amy said.   Nothing Sonic could do would quell her fears, and other Mobians were starting to become apprehensive.

No one had ever seen unrest this vast in Mobius since the Rebellion and it was far worse than they ever imagined.    Cyril and his family were at a loss, the Mobian engineers had no tactical defense. 

            ‘Although we don’t know what’s coming, and we couldn’t stop the Corr from stealing crystal from the mines and disabling them from mass producing it, we can still fight.’, Sonic stated, resolutely.  

 

 

Chapter 4—The Heroes Fall

           

            The Corr didn’t even have to fight head-to-head against Sonic and his friends to corner them.  They had come for what they needed and their mech cannon was prepared to fire.  Oddly enough, when they were in ultra mode, Sonic and his family couldn’t be touched by the nanobots that swarmed around them.   Instead, they infected others that weren’t protected by holy magic.  

           

            ‘This is far too easy !  See how our numbers multiply !’, Malek laughed heartily.  Increasingly Mobians were roboticized, turning into Malek’s allies, having no autonomy except for the will of Malek and the eventual siege of Mobius and all its people.

            Malek’s numbers were growing increasingly gigantic while Sonic’s were dwindling.

            ‘The nanobots are too insidious for us to combat.’, Sonia said as she, Manic and Sonic all fled to the Oracle’s cave.    This was one of the few spots in Mobius that had been protected by a force akin to that of the Faye.    They had their original members with them, including Cyrus, Sally, and their children.

Bunnie had come along, as well as the Chaotix, Knuckles and the echidnas, Cream and her mother Vanilla had arrived in this sanctuary, not knowing their next move.

            ‘This isn’t the end you know.’, the Oracle stated, coming out of the mist.    The heroes tried not to give in to despair, but the younger Freedom Fighters had started crying out of fear that everything was lost.   They were losing members left and right.  It was challenging for morale to continue thriving, but the Oracle and his wife provided them a meal and a place to rest as they regrouped.

 

 

Chapter 5—Gaining Help from the Faye

 

            What can we do now ?', Manic asked.  Typically, the rose-colored glasses optimist, Manic’s face fell, and his expression turned bleak. 

            ‘You’ll find favor but go under the protection of the medallions.’, the Oracle’s wife said, patiently.

            ‘There are so many things we don’t understand about these.  We don’t even know where mom and dad got these to begin with.’, Sonia replied sharply.

            ‘You’ll have to forgive my siblings.  All of us are stressed and the only ally that I think can help would be the Faye.   I’ve never tried teleportation, and I don’t know how it works.’, Sonic stated. 

            ‘We don’t have time, bro.   Mobius is turning into Corr territory.’, Manic yelled, shaking his brother in upset. 

            ‘Manic, get a hold of yourself. Giving in to fear is the first sign of failure.   It’s fine that we’re all freaking out, but we’ll have plenty of time to sort through all those emotions later.’, Sonic stated.   He remembered an adage his sparring partner Torque often said when he was learning how to fight as a young hedgehog.    Torque was an incredible father figure in the rebellion but unfortunately, the sprightly eagle had died facing off against Snively and menacing SWAT bots to save him and his siblings from getting caught.   He recalled the moment only briefly and could see his friend using the bots’ nets as leverage, swinging them over the ledge where they thought they had caught him.  It was over a raging lava flow, and he could remember Torque’s last words.

            ‘Don’t think, just do.  Trust your heart.’, before he fell into the lava and incinerated him instantly.   He wiped a tear from his eye, wondering what Torque had meant but he trusted himself and closed his eyes.

            ‘Take me to the Faye, I’ve got something to say’, he thought.

            While the others slept, the queen of the Faye hovered only inches from him.   Her luminescent form brightened their realm, and the others welcomed him with their own illumination, kaleidoscopic in their array.

            ‘We know the trouble that you’re in, and you’re right to contact us.  This isn’t a matter that Faye magic can mend.’, the Queen said, sorrowfully.

            ‘I thought your magic could fix anything.’, Sonic answered, disappointed.

            ‘Not this time, friend.  We can help fight the Corr, but we cannot fight their nanoroboticizer.  That insidious swarm is infecting all it inhibits, and its irreversible.’, another fairy stated.  

            ‘There’s one last thing my siblings and I can try.  It’s farfetched, but it’s our last hope.  Queen Clematis, I’m certain that the Corr’s weaponry is useless against your elemental talents.’, Sonic recalled.   He remembered that elemental magic couldn’t be matched against technology. The Corr would have to retreat, at least for a while, while Sonic, his family and friends would retreat and reformulate a new scheme to defeat this terrifying menace.

 

Chapter 6—New Abilities Unlocked

 

            Manic was still a bit miffed that nothing was going the way that he or the others had anticipated, but there had been a bit of a role reversal with Clematis and her band of elemental faeries. 

            ‘The nanobots have zero effect on them, but they can’t heal our roboticized comrades.’, Manic concluded, with some ire in his tone.   Angrily, he punched one of the Oracle’s walls, leaving a dent in it.

            ‘Manic, have some respect for our hosts !’, she said, taking him aside.

            ‘Not when everyone around us is being turned into cybots !’, Manic said, his eyes filling with hot tears. 

            ‘Lamenting about that now helps us very little.’, Sonia said, finally having enough of Manic’s tantrum.   

            ‘Don’t think, just do.’, Sonic repeated to himself.

            ‘What’s Sonic doing ?’, Manic asked Sonia, curious.   Both of them and the group of friends had  wondered if their fearless leader had gone a bit daft after realizing that all had been lost, even with the recruitment of the Faye to help in the fight.  Just then, Sonic and his siblings began to glow in their signature colors, and their three eldest children began to luminesce as well.  

 

Chapter 7—Healing Certainly Takes a Lot Out of a Hedgehog

 

            'This shine is...it cannot be !', Malek gasped in astonishment.   Although they were fighting and holding their own against the Faye, Sonic and his family blinded them all in a psychedelic light that left them fumbling for their weapons.  

            ‘Hold fast to your weapons, arm yourselves again !’, the Commander barked, getting his main forces gathered to face down Sonic and the others.

            The skirmish would have to be completed first before healing could be enacted fully.  There would be plenty of time, and those who had been roboticized were knocked out completely, so they were of no use to the Deadly Six at this time.

            ‘I’ve had about enough of this foolishness !  You think a little razzle dazzle will defeat us ?’, Clamor roared.    All of them rose up, full bore, weapons at the ready.   Their bazooka had been shorted out due to the surge Sonic and his family emitted unitarily.    One of the Corr tried using the bazooka in vain and crashed a fist through it out of rage.

            ‘We may not be able to use this to speed our takeover of this wretched fleshy planet, but at least I can use it as a club !’, Crude roared as he barreled towards Sonic.

           

            The strife between the Six and Sonic’s family was fast paced, brutal and gory.  Amy, Sonia, Manic, Amethystia, Maverick and Dashiel fought marvelously but Malek impaled Sonic. Amy wasn’t the type to give in to utter wrath, but her rage clouded her judgement.  In ultimate form, she portaled her handy hammer into her hand and pummeled the Commander into submission.    Sonic conserved his energy but felt he was slipping away, but he realized he could heal himself.

            Although it would take more power to close the nearly mortal wound, Sonic used his energy to fight alongside his wife.

            ‘You know, I take being impaled pretty personally.’, Sonic said as they faced the multi-armed Commander and his martial arts prowess.   Beat for beat, the Commander fought in defense, blocking every jab and parry until Amy walloped him with an articulate uppercut.   The other Corr were defeated, unable to regroup or repower themselves.   They had all perished on the field and those who had been roboticized had been taken back to the Castle where they could be monitored while they were in stasis.  

            While grabbing a moment to breathe and recuperate, the Commander’s apprehensive luminous eyes darted around, searching for his comrades.  Realizing they were dead and unable to be rebooted, he hissed viscerally.  

            ‘You will pay for that, hedgehogs.   I may be one Corr, but I have more capability in my little finger than all of you put together.’, Malek stated, a bit of fluid running from his forehead from where Amy had cracked his skull.    Hoping to have one more bout, he took a fighting stance, but Cyrus had shot an electric arrow into his back from his outpost on the dirigible.   Amy, relieved, saw to Sonic’s ghastly wound and healed it.

            ‘Are they gone ?   I mean, gone for good ?’, Manic questioned.

            Amethystia6, who had created a visor for monitoring vitals with a press of a button over her ocular shield, did a quick scan for any signs of life, but saw none.

            ‘Doesn’t seem to be, Uncle Manic. I think the Corr are DOA.’, she reported.  It was far too to celebrate, and the Faye had teleported all the roboticized victims back to the Castle to be tended to.   

 

            Although Sonic was tired, he knew that united, if he and his friends joined in a song from the heart, it was likely their heart song would be enough to provide the healing that the roboticized victims needed.

            ‘I don’t think the nanorobotic scourge is irreversible.  You saw how it avoided magic.’, he said, hypothesizing aloud.   It was a long shot for a cure, but in actuality, there was no other recourse. 

           

            Don’t forget who you are

            Who you once were

            Though you journeyed afar

            You can always return

            You’re lost and alone

            You can always come home

            Come back to us, you’re always welcome

            It may seem that there’s no place left for you

            Our hearts and arms are open

            There’s a place to return to

            Though you may feel you don’t fit

            That simply isn’t true

            Come back home

            We’re waiting, waiting for you

 

            Just as Sonic had postulated, the healing from the medallions when united with the harmony of heart song had healed everyone who had been infected.   Nanobots weren’t a match against the power of agape.   Sonic was enervated though, and he and his family needed to rest while the populace began to recharge from the exhausting battle that had happened.  

 

 

Chapter 8—So Much Left To Learn

           

            ‘So, you still don’t know what powers these medallions have ?’, Sonic asked his parents.

            ‘It is true.  Even the prophecies are terribly cryptic in what they can do, or what conclaves they can unlock.’, Aleena remembered.   All that the couple recalled is that before their coronation, they were given the medallions as a gift to celebrate, and the giver had been a mystery.

            ‘You did see the giver’s face, though ?’, Manic queried, inquisitively as the family sat in 0their usual seating arrangement at their grand table, savoring a delicious meal.

            ‘Yes.  He seemed aquiline.’, Jules stated.   Sonic knew that this gift had been from his mentor who had bravely lost his life so horribly during the Rebellion.   Wincing, he shed a tear for his friend, Torque, and had a feeling that he was with him, even if it was only through the medallions.

            ‘I wish we could ask Torque where he received the medallions.  It’s just so irritating we have so few answers.’, Sonia concurred.

            ‘Well, it’s like old Orc always says, ‘sometimes it is better for mysteries to remain as such, for if we knew the answers, it might come as a disappointment.’, Sonic chuckled.  

            The battle with the Corr had taken a lot out of the family and their friends, but at least now, they could completely renew themselves in their Himalayan salt spas and feel completely refreshed. 

 

Epilogue

           

            The power of music had been far more effective than Sonic and his crew realized, even though they were still puzzled over what other traits their medallions had.   The possibilities were limitless, and it was obvious that the three eldest children had these abilities within them when they were close to their parents, but the question remained of their talent to access these abilities without their parents nearby.  It wasn’t something that Sonic nor his wife wanted to think about.   It was possible that Sonia’s kids and Manic’s had latent power, even if their little ones weren’t inheriting the throne.   Their positions would be just as useful in maintaining the harmony in Mobius and protecting it from evil.   All of these enigmas would have to remain hidden, for matters such as those usually had a way of answering themselves when troubles reared their ugly heads. 

           

To Be Continued…