Delphine Kimin From ???@??? Thu May 28 15:43:09 1998 Realm Sagas: Story 23: After the Scattering By: Chandra Rooney & Delphine Kiminsu ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Legal stuff: Sonic & Knuckles, and all related characters are copy-right of Sega and Archie comics. KTE is copy-right of KTE. Vampire Sephiroth is copy-right of Vampire Sephiroth. The Green Gibbon! is copy-right of GG! Moon Echidna, Ashrire, Lirsage, Tonia, Leslie, Sailor Eclipse, and all other original realm sagas characters are copy-right of Chandra Rooney. All the characters and ideas presented are my own, unless otherwise noted. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, this story was co-written by Del. She wrote the parts involving her characters. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter One: Location: Great Forest Realm Location: Unknown The boy groaned and opened his eyes. He stared up at the smog-obscured stars above him. The moon of Mobius was resting high in the heavens. Galatia's Harp was just visible above the horizon. He sat up after a moment, coughing on the stale, polluted air. "Where am I?" He closed his eyes again, and rubbed his hands over his face. The last thing he remembered was... His eyes snapped open. "I don't remember....anything." He stood, ignoring how the world spun and dipped. "Where am I?" he asked again. But more importantly...*who was he?* Walking through the Great Forest one might happen upon an interesting group tonight. The 14-year-old red echidna, who looked too much like the guardian of the floating island, and the blue female hedgehog with the black hair, and dark eyes were newcomers to the forest. KTE rubbed his head. He tipped his hat back, and looked back up at the star patterns. "What's wrong now?" Tonia Hedgehog demanded in a huff. "They're all in the wrong places." He sighed, putting a hand up rub the battle scar near his dark brown eyes. "Amahai should be over there...to the north by Gehesda. And the Harp is too low." "I don't see any of these things." Tonia snapped. "What are you talking about? I tell you this is not the proper treatment for a princess." k.a. tugged at KTE's hand. "Where's the pretty lady?" KTE blinked. "What pretty lady?" The five-year-old red echidna smiled proudly and pointed to a cluster of stars. "My daddy showed me her. She's up in the sky and she looks after everyone." "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Tonia snapped. "No it's not!" k.a. yelled, blue eyes growing wide. "NO IT'S NOT!!!!" KTE put a hand on k.a.'s shoulder. "It's okay, kid. She doesn't understand." He sighed. They were all on edge. Even k.a.'s usual cheerfulness was false. They all knew that unless they figured out where they were, and found the others, they were in serious trouble. Location: Knothole Village Delphine Kiminsu looked around Knothole Village. Ever since the death of Princess Sally Alicia Acorn, the order of things was shot. Tension was thick in the air -- friends had fights, lovers broke up, and Sonic had locked himself up in his hut since the incident. The village was in total dismay; only nine people where still working properly. Bunnie Rabbot, who was in command of half the village for the time being. Delphine, who was in charge of the other half. Jared Matte, Devon Comber, Rotor Walrus, Tails Prower, Lisa Baerry, and Comet where the other seven. They pretty much gave moral support; none of them where equipped or experienced enough to do much else. Delphine sighed. "This sucks. I was better off with the damned frog." "What is this? First echidnas, now frogs... what's next? Chickens?" Delphine turned and grinned at Dimitria. "Very funny, Dimi. Echidnas are first, last and only. So there." "Th... I know." She had almost said, "They'd better be." But that would have been a mistake. "So what do you predict for today?" "Something is coming." "Something is always coming. Could you be a bit more specific?" "Something bad. Or something good. I'm not sure." "Well, at least we eliminated the something in the middle, right?" "Yeah. Right." Chapter Two: Location: Unknown The Masked Silver Echidna opened his eyes. For the first few seconds he thought he was blind. Then he realized why his vision was obscured. Masked reached up to the side of the mask, and tapped the side of the metal mask on his head. The electric motors protested, but gave way. He pulled it off, going against all he'd been taught, and breathed in cool night air. "Lirsage?!" The brown fox looked down at him. "You're the Masked Echidna?!" Masked muttered a strain of echidna curses under his breathe. "But how-?" Leslie Prower asked, as she sat down. She tugged browny-blond hair out of her light green eyes. "Well, that's not important now. We're lost. Any idea where we are?" Masked looked up at her, his dark brown eyes concerned. "What did you call me?" Leslie blinked. "Lirsage...it's your name...isn't it?" He frowned. "Don't call me that." "Uh...okay...what I am supposed to call you? He looked up at her, absently pushing a red-streaked sliver bang off his face. "Mamoru." She gave him an odd look. "Are you sure, Mamoru? I mean...you are Lirsage?" "That's a very long story." Location: The Floating Island Moon Echidna put a hand up to her dark blue eyes. It was day here on the Floating Island. At least she assumed it was the Floating Island. "But *which* Floating Island?" she wondered out loud. Was this a Realm of the Silver Unity Ring? Was it possible Observers or Realm Enforcers from her own realm were stationed here? She didn't know. But she knew someone who would. "I need to find the Guardian." Knuckles the Echidna was standing on a high overhang, looking over his island. Everything looked in order, but... something did not seem right. Not just with the island, but with the planet. Knuckles laughed at himself. "I'm going paranoid," he said to himself. "Yo, bro! Wassup?!" Vector slapped his friend on the back. Knuckles groaned and grinned. "Not much, Vector. Island seems fine. But..." "Aw man, stop worryin' bout it all! You've been too down since last Petey boy was here! Chill man!" "Not sure I can," Knuckles murmured. Location: Unknown "All right, Julie-su, they're in the Great Forest. Two miles west of Knothole village." Sailor Eclipse handed the pink echidna a silver dagger. "You know what to do." "But..." Julie-su spoke up. "I still don't understand. You *want* me to give him back his Master Tool?" Sailor Eclipse smiled patiently. "Only long enough to get rid of him. On a permanent level." Julie-su blinked. "You want me to...kill...Ash?" " 'Ash'?" she narrowed her eyes. "I certainly hope you are capable Julie-su. I would hate to see a fate similar to Kit's befall you." Julie-su gulped. "No, I'm more than capable." "Then get going." She waited till Julie had left to turn to the others. "I have located Neo Tuxedo Mask." "Allow me to rid you of him, my love," Vampire Sephiroth spoke up. "I'd be more than happy to bring you the Neo Crystal." "I have a better plan. Sailor Lunar Eternity is on the Floating Island. Sephy, you will go there, and bring back the Eternity Crystal." "What about me?" Ember hedgehog asked. "You will go and find out where the Green Gibbon! is hiding." Sailor Eclipse paused. "He'll be in his human form, no doubt. He should be somewhere around the Great Forest." "Um, the Great Forest is a big place." Ember said. "Just find him, you idiot!" Sailor Eclipse snapped. Vampire Sephiroth placed an arm around her. "The gibbon is hardly worth the concern." She shrugged him off. "I'm going to get Neo Tuxedo Mask." Location: Near Pitopolis The boy wandered closer to the city lights. "Is that where I'm from?" "Going somewhere?" He turned to see the silver-haired girl in the sailor outfit. Her skirt and scarf were black, trimmed with white, her gloves were black and went past her elbows, her bows were back, and she had high black boots. She narrowed dark blue eyes at him, and sneered. "And to think you mocked my power." "Do I know you?" "Of course you don't." She smiled. "Hand over the Neo Crystal. I know you have it. I had thought that they would return to the Guardian, but it seems they've stayed with the 'Chosen Ones'. Oh, well...simply makes it easier for me to find your and destroy you before you become more of a threat to my plans." "Huh?" he blinked. "What's a 'neo crystal'?" She stepped closer to him and stared into his eyes. "You have something I need. Now give it to me." "Hey...whoa...I don't even know your name..." She slammed him up against a tree, and dug in his jacket pocket. "Ouch." He blinked, then paused. "Can you do that again? It felt kinda good..." "Shut up!" She snapped, and smacked him across the face. When the dots left his vision he saw she was holding a green crystal sphere. "The Neo Crystal..." she smiled. "I've waited a long time for this." She turned back to him. "Now that I have it, there's no need for you to continue to exist." She raised a black crystal staff. A double-bladed ax was on the top, and on top of the ax was a black orb, and a sharp crystal shard topped the orb. "Drop it, Sailor E!" a voice cried. A boy with longish red hair, and green eyes had come into the clearing. He was dressed entirely in red, wearing a brown hat, and brandishing a sword. "Why hello...Jack," the sailor smiled. "So...nice to see you." "Yeah, well the pleasure's all yours," Jack snapped. "Now drop the Crystal..." "Or what, Realm Protector?" She tossed her head back and laughed. "Are you sure it was wise to leave your little friends all by themselves? The forest is a dangerous place." Peter Matte stared into the monitor. Metal Sonic and Metal Knuckles were somewhere behind him, doing some menial task or another. So far, since the incident on the Floating Island, almost nothing had happened. Peter was bored out of his mind. "What is this! This is supposed to be a war! Where's the explosions?! Where's the battles?! This isn't a war! This is a bore!" He paused. "Hey, I'm a poet and I didn't know it." Something beeped. "Now what? A SACCbot misfired? A laser gun imploded? The flu is going around?" He sighed and looked at the readings. "Wait a minute... three life forms... what the hell?! It's not supposed to say that!" Peter looked up at the monitor. He switched views until he found the subjects of the scan. Apparently there were three humans. The camera was too high to see their faces. "Lesse... one's dressed normally, one looks like an echidna wannabe, and the other one looks like a sailor... make that sailorette... hmm..." Peter stared for a moment, then snapped back to reality. He grinned evilly. "I have the strangest feeling that things are about to get VERY interesting." "I am really not in the mood for your games." Jack snapped. "Now put the crystal down..." The other boy took the opportunity to snatch the crystal away from her. "I may not know what this is, but I don't think you should have it," he replied, edging away from her. "Now, now, be a dear, Neo, and give it back..." the girl snapped. "Don't make me get ugly with you-" "Too late for that," Jack retorted. "Now...how bout you prove that you're not still the biggest wimp in all the realms?" "Hmm, maybe later, Jacky boy." She vanished. "Thanks," the boy said to Jack. "I owe you one." "No biggie. I'm Jack." "I'm..." the boy trailed off. "Well, I guess I don't know who am I." "Sailor E called you Neo. Is that your name?" "It could be...I honestly don't know...I can't remember much of anything." "I'll call you Neo for the time being," Jack replied. He started to walk away. "You coming?" "You'd just welcome me along?" Neo blinked. "Sure. Anyone Sailor E is that bent on killing has got to be ok." "Was she really going to kill me?" Jack shrugged. "C'mon, it's this way." Chapter Three: Location: the Great Forest k.a. sat awake staring up at the pinkish sky. Veenusa was fading above the rising globe in the east. "It's gonna be a purdy day, Missus Tonia," he told the blue hedgehog beside him. "Missus Tonia?" he looked at her; she was asleep. "Hello there, Ashy," a voice said. k.a. turned to see a pink echidna with purple-tipped bangs falling in her violet eyes. "WAKE UP MISSUS TONIA!!!!! ISSA BAD LADY!!!!" he yelled. Julie-su grabbed him and clamped a hand over his mouth. "Shut-up! I have something for you, Ashy..." k.a.'s eyes widened at the sight of the dagger. "MMRRRRRRRRPH!!!!!" he cried, grabbing for it. "Oh so you do know what it is..." she waved it just out of his reach for a little while. "So why don't you show me how it works?" She handed him the dagger, and let go of him. k.a. looked at her, then at the sleeping hedgehog, and then ran off into the trees. Ember Hedgehog grumbled to herself. She was just outside of Knothole, and it looked like the Green Gibbon! was just up ahead. He was in human form, just like Sailor Eclipse had said he would be. The problem was, she didn't want to have to go into the village to drag his electrified tails back to the temporary base. But on the other hand, Sailor Eclipse wouldn't think twice about finishing her off. She hadn't when Kit had... Ember trailed off, a little choked. But there was a time and a place for tears. Here and now was neither. She made up her mind. If GG! wouldn't come out; she'd go and get him. Lirsage noticed the tingling feeling had returned. It was coming stronger now. He wasn't stupid. He was of Sorcery blood after all. He could sense a spell casting activation. But who could have cast the spell? He sighed. Was it possible that this was a reactivating of the spell placed on him by Mistress Belladonna before the group went to that human realm? If he listened carefully, he could almost hear the spirits whispering on the night breeze. So many voices... "This is an island," he told Leslie. "How do you know?" she asked, surprised. He shrugged. "It just feels like one." "If you say so." He ignored her odd look. What was one more to him? "We should rest," Leslie suggested. "We're just wandering in circles." "Hmmm." He nodded. She leaned back against a tree trunk, and closed her eyes. Lirsage did the same. But he didn't sleep. The spirits had found someone who could hear them; they weren't about to stop now. "Then tell me something useful," he murmured. But it was a waste of breathe. Spirit agendas did not include helping lost realm travelers. Suddenly his eyes snapped open. He sensed something...someone was watching them...and it didn't feel like a spirit. Sebrina watched the two resting figures. In her left hand she was holding a staff. A sword was sheathed at her right. Her long white hair was, for once, in a neat braid. Her faded green shirt was loosely tucked into her short blue denim shorts. Her green boots were slightly stained with dirt and blood. Her hazel eyes scanned the landscape for a moment, then went back to the figures. One of them, the male echidna, was looking in her direction. She tensed for a moment, then shrugged it off as coincidence. She silently traveled towards and around them at the same time, so that soon she was directly behind them. she thought. She froze. The one who had been looking at her before had stood up and was looking her way again. She drew her sword and waited. Moon spotted him across the field. Up on the high overhang, he was hard to miss. A crocodile stood beside him. "Knuckles the Echidna and Vector," she murmured. "It must be." She glanced back up to make sure they were still there. Then she began to search for a way to get to them. Jared Matte sighed. He was bored, he was lonely, and he was thinking about something he didn't want to. Peter. He picked up a rock and slammed it into a tree. "Why... he... ARG! It just doesn't make sense!!" He sat down hard on a rock and put his head in his hands. A twig snapped. He looked up. "Del?" No answer. "Who's there?" A female purple hedgehog stepped out of the undergrowth. He eyed her and stood. "Who're you?" "Quit playing games, GG!. Sailor Eclipse wants you to stop fooling around and to get back to business." "What? Who's GG!? Who's Sailor Eclipse? Who're YOU?!" "Funny, GG!. Really. Let's go." Jared crossed his arms. "Sorry, mom told me not to hang around with loonies." He turned back towards Knothole. A few moments later, something hard thudded against the back of his head and the world went black. Ember Hedgehog sighed. "Great, now I have to drag him." Jack led the way back to the clearing. Tonia was just getting up. "Tonia," he waved to her. "This is..uh, Neo." The blue hedgehog looked up at Neo, and then smiled strangely. "Hi." "Hey," he nodded. "Tonia," Jack interrupted, "where's k.a.?" "Hmmm?" she blinked. "Oh, I dunno. He's around, I guess." "He's around? I thought you said you'd watch him," he was trying not to yell. "We fell asleep." He opened his mouth to say something but stopped. Without a word, he turned and ran off towards the trees. "Jack! Where are you going?!" Tonia called after him. She turned to Neo. "What set him off?" He shook his head. "I have no idea." Peter sat in his chair, thinking. Maybe, if Snivley was still here, he would be able to help -- "Snively was an idiot. And so was Robotnik. Neither knew what they were doing," he said aloud. "What was that?" Peter absently looked around at Metal Sonic. "None of your business. Go do something useful." "Yessir." The 'bot left Peter to his thoughts. Peter looked at the monitor. He was switching between two frames; in the first one, the sailorette was still there. In the next, she was gone. The last time he had seen this was when he had gone through all the old video files that had been saved... Dimitria had been the subject. "Maybe," he said to himself, unable to finish the thought. He pressed a button on the control panel, and almost immediately Metal Sonic and Metal Knuckles entered the room. "You called?" "I want each of you to take a team of SACCbots and search the area that those three were in," he thumbed at the monitor, "and find out what they were doing here. And find out where they went. And all that other preocedure stuff." "Yes sir!" They both said at the same time, saluted, and left the room. Peter sighed. "I think I need to dumb down these damn 'bots." He sighed, and went back to switching between the frames again. Ashrire was looking up as Jack came into the clearing. White-blond hair had fallen in his twilight blue eyes, and he was leaning against an oak and clutching his side. Jack noticed a trickle of blood seeping out from between his fingers. "Ash?! How-What happened to you?!" "Julie-su," Ash replied. "She attacked me, but I did manage to hold onto this..." He showed Jack the Blade of the Guardian. Blood stained the silver dagger. "Well, leave it to you to go about getting it back the hard way," Jack paused. "You okay?" Ash looked about to snap, probably make derogatory comments about Jack's intelligence and demand to know if he *looked* okay...but he didn't. "Yeah, I'll live." An awkward pause. "Thanks for coming so quickly." Jack chuckled. "Anything to shut-up up the noise you were making in my head." Tonia and Neo came running into the clearing. "Jack!" Tonia gasped. "What's the big idea takin off like that?" Ash and Jack just stared. "Didn't you hear it?!" Jack demanded. "Hear what?" Neo asked. Jack looked at Ash, unable to explain. <> <> Ash frowned. <> "Oh, Ash, this is Neo. Sailor E was tryin to kill him." Jack explained. "I brought him back with me." "Well, any enemy of my enemy could be considered a friend," Ash remarked, looking at Neo. "But as for you-" "Hold up," Jack whispered. "Someone's coming..."