Alter Egos

Chapter 10

"Hey Sonic, did you feel that?" Tails asked.
Sonic and Tails were walking along the beach when the ground suddenly began to shake.
"A-an Earthquake?" As the earth shook, the ocean began to recede, rippling violently.
"Woah, this isn't a normal earthquake. Tails! Can you give me a lift?" Tails began to hover into the air, and grabbed Sonic as he flew higher to get a better view. But before either of them could react, a sinister looking beam of light shot up into the sky in the distance.

"What the..."

"Tails, can I-" Sonic started, but Tails already started moving towards the light, knowing what Sonic wanted to do. He was curious as well.

They were halfway there when they heard a cry from below, and looked down to see Amy, Knuckles, and none other than Team Dark staring up at them. They flew downward to meet them and as they questioned what was happening, the ground shook again, more violently than before. After the shaking stopped, Sonic worriedly stepped forward before looking back at everyone else. Tails nodded, and Sonic immediately ran off in the direction of the light. Shadow paused for a second before speeding off after him without a word. Rouge sighed heavily "Of course." And with a flap of her wings, she flew into the air next to Tails.

"You guys coming or what?"

Meanwhile, Sonic had reached the source of light and was currently hiding behind a tree. He trusted that Tails and the others would catch up soon, but then all of a sudden, he heard footsteps behind him and turned around in a fighting pose, but relaxed once he saw that it was Shadow, who, without a word, he slid next to him in the darkness, nodding quietly before turning to the scene before them.

"Bwahahahahaha! Arise Achlys, from the prison of earth you shall rise, and shall never return to!" Eggman chanted. The glowing cracks in the ground became wider and brighter, and then suddenly, as if made from the darkness, a swirling being clawed its way out of the depths.

"Uh oh."
"You think?"
"Shut up, something's happening."

Eggman stepped back as the nightmarish creature, now floating above the earth, explored his surroundings. His dark, empty eyes darted around the area until they landed on the ground underneath, still cracked and glowing unnaturally. The empty eyes glowed with a quick flicker of rage and contempt as he slowly raised his shadowy arm, closing his fist. The deep fissures, in turn, slowly closed back up until the ground returned to normal, as if nothing had happened at all.

"Who are you?" The one called Achlys spoke.
His voice was like that of the depths of the abyss, cold, empty, and dark. "I am Dr Eggman, the one who brought you back from your so called... Eternal slumber." There was brief pause before he spoke again. "For that, I thank you, but before anything else..."

"Tell me doctor. Is... is Lucian still alive?"

"Oh no, he died a long time ago, which means there is nothing left to stop us from taking over the world, except..." Eggman paused.
"There's this hedgehog, always trying to mess up my plans so we'll need to get rid of him first-" There was a small snapping sound, and Sonic slowly looked down in silent horror at his foot, surrounded by a broken branch.
Sonic had just enough time to shove Shadow away before the trees around him were violently uprooted and tossed away, leaving him face to face with Achlys.

"So you are the hedgehog the doctor is talking about I presume? What an interesting form you have..." he muttered. Sonic tried to get away but then all of a sudden, he was grabbed and hoisted up into the air. As he looked on, Achlys slowly transformed, the dark smoke surrounding his body slightly faded away, revealing Achlys, but now he was... a hedgehog. Not exactly like Sonic or Shadow, but he had long, sharp quills and his eyes were a dark, empty, shade of red.
His fur was a mix of crimson, deep purple, and obsidian black.

"Interesting..." Achlys then threw away Sonic into the forest as he observed the new changes.
"Why did you do that?!" You could have finished him off right now!" Dr Eggman protested.
"Now is not the time doctor. My powers are still recovering from being in that wretched, glorified hole in the ground for the past few centuries."
"Sigh, very well." Eggman didn't want to push the matter any further, as he still wanted Achlys to be on his side. He got into his hovercraft and as they both flew off, Shadow cautiously emerged.

He then rushed towards where Sonic was thrown, to find him unconscious underneath a tree. Shaking hands slowly searched for a pulse, and as he gently pressed his ear to his chest, he breathed a sigh of relief hearing the other's steady heartbeat.

"Hey Shadow! Guys, they're over here!"

Shadow quickly whipped his head up from its resting position on Sonic's chest and turned to see everyone else hurrying towards them.
"About time, what happened?" Shadow asked.
"There were more earthquakes, it was getting harder to move and some of the forest got partially destroyed and-" Tails then saw Sonic on the ground and went into a panic.
"W-what happened?! Why is he..."
"Relax, fox. He's just unconscious, he'll probably wake up soon."

As Shadow explained what happened, Sonic stirred and opened his eyes. "Hey, where've you guys been? You missed the party." He joked groggily. Before anyone could react he was shoved onto his back by Shadow. "Stay down until we figure out what to do."

They decided to head back, but as they were about to exit the forest, there was a sharp crackling sound. Everyone turned, ready to fight if needed, but then, a female voice spoke.
"Whoa, hey relax, I'm here to help you."
"If you're here to help, then show yourself!" Knuckles growled. A figure stepped out into the moonlight, and everyone looked in surprise.

"You..."

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Sorry in advance, but I have surgery next week, so I won't be able to write for a while. Hope you enjoyed this chapter though.
Happy reading!