The Apocalypse
Ava Cross was pouring over her encyclopedias searching for an article
about the Floating Island. She had been living there for a while now,
but she didn't know that much about it. Eventually she found an
article regarding a mysterious cave. This piqued her interest, and she
continued to read. A fierce animal inhabited the cave, but its
identity is a secret to all. She read on, and discovered that everyone
who entered the cave, never came out. But legend says that there is a
treasure inside the cave. "Hmmm...if I could best the beast, and
get the treasure, I may finally be able to show up that snot of a
princess Sally!" she mumbled to herself. Packing a map, some
extra clothes, and some food, she set off in search of the treasure.
Elsewhere on the Floating Island, Sparx and Psycho were playing a
2-player game of K��ler Instinct" on the SNES. Tapping furiously
on the controllers, they were close to k��ling each other. Suddenly
Sparx yelled, "LOOK! It's Mario!" Psycho turned his head as
he said, "Really? Where!!!" Seeing no one, he returned to
the game, and noticed that Sparx had one.
"You cheated." he accused.
"So? I won!" replied Sparx.
"Yes, but you ch��ted!!" >
Transfer interrupted!
ult that you thought Mario was actually here!" she laughed.
"But..you..oh, never mind!" he grumbled. They continued
playing, but they didn't notice the dark clouds swiftly gathering
overhead.
"Hey Utah!" called Cerebral.
"What?" asked Utah.
"If a tree falls, and no one is around, does it make a
sound?" asked the red fox.
Utah thought about it for a second, then replied, "I dunno, does
it?"
'Honestly, I don't know. Anyways, it was a rhetorical question, it
can't be answered." said Cerebral with a laugh. Utah got up, and
started to rifle through a dictionary.
Cerebral smiled as he asked, "Utah, what the heck are ya
doin'?"
"I'm looking up the word 'rhetorical'" replied Utah as he
continued searching.
"I already told you what it means, 'rhetorical' means 'can't be
answered'. It's like asking yourself something that's not supposed to
be answered." said Cerebral, laughing.
"Oh..." mumbled Utah as he put the dictionary away.
Suddenly, Cerebral felt the hairs on the back of his neck go on end,
although he wasn't quite sure why.
"I'm bo�bytrapping my room." stated Snowy.
"Say what?" asked his twin sister with a laugh.
"You heard me, " he said seriously, "I'm bo�bytrapping
my room." Roxy looked at him.
"In fact," he continued, "instead of bo�bytrapping my
room, I'm gonna bo�bytrap the hut." he declared, "I'm going
to make this hut impenetrable." Snowy got up and gathered his
equipment.
"Oh I give up!" cried Roxy exasperated. She walked
downstairs, and noticed that Sparx and Psycho were still playing
K��ler Instinct." She poured herself a cup of Java. Roxy took a
sip and the hairs on the back of her neck went on end, but she ignored
it, dismissing it as nothing.
Ava was cheerily walking when it started to rain heavily. She ran to
the nearest cave. She lit a flare and looked at her surroundings.
"This is the cave that I'm looking for!" she exclaimed. She
started walking deeper into the cave. She felt a slight rumble.
Ignoring it, she continued. Minutes later, she felt a slight tremor,
and she stumbled a few feet. Quickly regaining her composure, she
pressed on. The tremors got worse, and she was knocked off her feet.
She slid down the path. Eventually, she started to slide faster so her
flare was put out. After a minute or so, she felt herself flying
through the air. Quickly, she lit a flare, and saw that she was headed
straight towards the mouth of an oversized reptile!
"C'mon Utah, we were supposed to be at Sparx's hut 5 minutes
ago!" complained Cerebral.
"Hold on a sec! I need my jetboard!" replied Utah as he
grabbed the board and hopped on, "anyways why are you in such a
bad mood?"
"I don't know, but something tells me that the Apocalypse is
here!" replied Cerebral.
"The apoco-wazzit?" asked Utah confused.
"The A-po-ca-lypse!!!" grumbled Cerebral. Utah rolled the
word around in his mouth as they started on their way.
Snowy was working outside, when a drop of rain fell on his nose.
Brushing it off, he cursed his bad luck. Starting to pick up his
equipment, he headed for the doorway. It started to pour, so once he
reached the door, he was completely soaked. Inside, Roxy was watching
Sparx and Psy duking it out on the SNES. Snowy wrung out his fur and
sat down beside Roxy. He started tinkering with his tools. Roxy looked
over at her brother. In the background, they could hear the two
combatants;
"Take that!!!" yelled Sparx.
"Oh yeah? Eat THIS!!!!!" answered Psycho. They continued
playing, at least until the power went out.
"Hey! I payed my hydro bill!" fumed Sparx. She held her
hands in the air. They produced a dim glow.
"Huh? What happened to my powers?" she asked. Psy looked out
a window, and saw that it was pitch black outside. He could hear the
rain pouring down.
"I think," he said, "that it has to do with the
apocalypse Cerebral mentioned. He tried to use his own powers, but
nothing happened. Suddenly, the door flew open, and Cerebral and Utah
stepped inside, soaking wet. Roxy gave Cerebral a hug, but she
released him as soon as she felt how wet he was.
"Why didn't you use your telekinesis to protect yourselves from
the rain?" asked Roxy.
"It wouldn't work, and neither would Utah's jetboard."
replied Cerebral. Snowy went and lit some candles, so the hut was now
brightly lit. Utah grabbed one of Snowy's tools, and started poking at
his jet-board.
Sparx stepped forward and addressed her friends, "Guys, does
anyone know where Ava is?" Her face bore a worried expression.
Psycho started pacing. He was trying to figure out why his powers
weren't working. Sparx was trying to get her backup generator working.
Suddenly, Psy stopped pacing and stood ram-rod still.
"Finally got tired, eh?" joked Cerebral. Psycho didn't
answer. Sparx, who was still working also froze. They both fell
forward, and as they hit the ground, they vanished.
"What the heck?" yelled Utah.
Cerebral jumped out of his chair; "The Apocalypse is here, "
he said, " and no one is safe!"
Ava closed her eyes, and braced for impact. Suddenly, she felt strong
hands close around her, and she was pulled in another direction. She
opened her eyes, but couldn't see who saved her. They landed, and she
was placed gently on the ground. She lit yet another flare, and found
herself staring into the concerned face of Ace.
"Oh Ace! Thanks for saving me!" she gushed.
"No problem ma'am!" replied Ace. Tremors still rocked the
cave. but they were less severe than before. Something caught Ava's
eye, and she walked towards it. She picked up the object, and held it
up to the flare. It was a power ring; she had come all this way for a
measly power ring! She stood up, and stuffed the ring into her
backpack.
"Ace," she said, disappointment in her voice, "let's go
home." Ace nodded, and with but a thought, they were teleported
inside Ava's hut.
"Want some Java?" she asked him. Ace nodded, and Ava started
preparing the cappuccino. The phone started ringing, so Ava rushed to
it.
"Yes, hello?" she said into the receiver. "Ava!
Finally!" said Roxy, "You've gotta get over here
how--". Suddenly, before Roxy was finished, the phones were
disconnected.
"Blast!" complained Ava as she ran out the door, into the
rain. Almost forgetting Ace, she turned around, and said,
"Hurry up! I don't wanna get too soaked...RUN!" Ace obeyed,
and they ran as Ava suggested.
"Ava, wouldn't it be easier if I teleported us there?"
stated Ace. Ava stopped and looked at the black echidna.
"Oh, yeah...right...well, HOP TO IT!!!" she said. Ace
teleported them inside Sparx's hut. Ava took a quick glance around,
and asked,
"Where's Sparx?"
"We're not sure, something happened to her and Psycho a while
ago." stated Utah, "Besides, where were you?"
"I was out looking for this!" she said as she held out the
power ring she had found. Cerebral stepped forward,
"Guys, I'm gonna check some things out, anyone who's not needed
here should come."
"I'm staying to work on my defense system" stated Snowy.
"I've gotta go, Sparx and Psy need my help!" said Ava.
"Snowy's gonna need someone to watch his back while he
works." said Utah.
"I'm going." said Ace simply.
"Ok, first things first." said Cerebral, "we're gonna
check on Blaze, Morningstar, and Hunter. I've got a bad feeling in my
gut." They all got dressed in rain gear, and headed out.
Cerebral, Ace, and Ava headed towards the Lava Reef, where Blaze
resided, hoping to find some answers. Instead, all's they got were
more questions.
They entered Blaze's hut. It was completely dark, and completely
silent. They did a complete round of the house, guided by the light of
a flare.
"Ace, it's been bugging me. Why do you still have use of your
powers?" asked Cerebral.
Ace lifted his hands in a gesture;
"Actually, I don't have them any longer. It seems as though my
powers lasted longer than yours." replied Ace, calm and cool as
ever. Finding no one, they left that hut, and proceeded to Hunter
Eagle's hut. No one was home either. Then, they went to Morningstar's
hut. Through the darkened window, Cerebral could barely make out the
silhouette of an echidna. Cerebral breathed a sigh of relief. They
entered the hut, expecting to greet Morningstar, but to their
surprise, they found Darkstar sitting at the table.
"Darkstar!" cried Cerebral in surprise. He leaped forward,
ready to engage in battle.
"Cerebral! Where's my brother?" asked Darkstar.
"I was about to ask you the same question," replied
Cerebral, "what are you doing here?"
"I don't need to tell you!" sneered the echidna. Ava pounced
forward, tackled Darkstar, and held him in a powerful hold.
"All right, all right! I'll speak." screamed Darkstar,
"Do all of you know about the Apocalypse?" Everyone nodded.
"This time, its target is the Floating Island, and for it to
succeed in its evil purpose, it must harness the following powers;
lightning, fire, light, demonic, and the chosen one. You, Cerebral,
are the chosen one. For the sequence to be complete, you must go to
it. My advice is to hide away..." preached Darkstar.
"Oh... ..." mumbled Cerebral.
"Yeah, but you didn't answer our earlier question; why are you
here?" asked Ace.
"My brother, Morningstar, has the power of light. He was
kidnaped. I don't want the apocalypse to happen, it'll k��l me as well
as you. I wanted to protect myself, so I came here to protect him...I
was too late." said Darkstar. And with that, he broke free of
Ava's hold, and jumped out a window into the darkness.
"This is getting weirder and weirder." observed Ava.
"Me, the chosen one..." mumbled Cerebral, "well, now.
The big decision rests on me. If I don't go to try and save Sparx and
the others, who knows what'll happen. But, on the other hand, if I do
go, everyone is doomed." No one said anything. They all sat
there, thinking. Cerebral stood up, grim determination on his face.
"I'm going, even at the cost of my own life!"
Meanwhile, back at Sparx's hut, Snowy continued to tinker with his
equipment. Utah was still working on his jetboard.
"Aha!" exclamied Utah. Snowy looked over his shoulder,
surprise showing in his eyes.
"You own a power ring? Cool, I could use some," said Snowy,
"got any spares?"
"Sorry dude. Since this baby can harness the power of an alive or
power ring, I've never needed spares." replied Utah.
"Wow." commented Snowy.
"Yeah, I know. But for some strange reason, it's not working
anymore." said Utah.
"Hmmmm....hey, waitaminute!" exclaimed Snowy, "Where's
Roxy?"
"Last time I saw her was just after she finally contacted
Ava." replied Utah. They searched the entire hut, but found no
one.
"Darn! Not her too!" said Snowy. Finally, they sat back
down at the kitchen table. Movment was briefly seen outside the
window, and that instantly put the two boys on guard. Swiftly and
silently, they crept outside, into the rain and darkness. They made
their way to where they saw the movement, and they saw a blue fox
standing over Roxy's limp body. Snowy leaped towards the fox, metal
arm forward. He hit the fox, knocking it to the ground.
"What did you do to my sister?" growled Snowy.
"Mes? I didn't do n-nothin'!" replied the fox.
"Then what are you doing here?" asked Snowy, still on guard.
"Mes was looking for Cerebral, when I passed by here. I saw that
fox exit the house carrying something," said the fox, pointing at
a garbage bag, "mes was about to leave, when the wind blew a big
branch in her direction...I saw her go down, and rushed to aid her.
Mes didn't want to move her in case I made her concussion worse."
Snowy helped him up, then went over to his sister. He saw the branch
that had hit Roxy. Picking Roxy up, Snowy brought her inside. Utah and
the stranger followed. Snowy laid her on her bed softly, covering her
up. Returning to the kitchen, Snowy, Utah, and the stranger sat
together at the table.
"So, what's your name?" Utah asked the stranger.
"My name is Chaos." replied the fox.
"So, Chaos, I have just one last question;" said Snowy,
"when you saw my sister on the ground, why didn't you call for
help?"
"Well, for starters, I thought that I would get a terrible
reaction out of you," Chaos paused, masaging where Snowy's metal
arm connected with his face, "and, I was hoping that when she
woke up, she could tell me where Cerebral is."
"Oh...that explains it." commented Utah.
Chaos took a look at the clock on the wall;
"Well, my friends, I must leave, Cerebral needs my help,
otherwise, Sparx and the others are doomed!" Chaos dashed out the
door, in search of Cerebral. Snowy and Utah looked at each other with
a puzzled look on their faces.
"Hey!" exclaimed Snowy, "how does he know Sparx and
Cerebral?"
Leaving Morningstar's hut, the trio started walking in no particular
direction, unsure of which direction to take. Ava who had been silent
for a little while, spoke up;
"This is really bugging me!" said Ava, "Think about it!
Sparx was taken for her lightning, Psycho his demonic powers,
Morningstar for his light, and Blaze for his fire, but why was Hunter
taken?"
"Good point," commented Cerebral, "mabye Darkstar
forgot to tell us something, or it has to do with something Hunter
owns....hmmmm...wait a sec, what about his talisman?" They each
pondered over that while they walked. Suddenly, Cerebral collided with
something.
"Watch where you're going!" grumbled Cerebral.
"Cerebral! Finally!" exclaimed someone.
"Who are you?" asked Cerebral.
"I'm Chaos Kitsune, and I can show you where your friends
are!" said Chaos.
"What? How?" asked Cerebral.
"Don't worry about how I know, just follow me!" exclaimed
Chaos. Cerebral, Ava, and Ace nodded, so they followed Chaos throught
the darkness. Hours later, they entered the Sandopolis zone, and each
could feel a strong source of evil emenating from one of it's ruins.
"Woah! How come no one noticed this?" asked Ava.
"It's way to dark for anyone to see it, unless they are this
close to it!" replied Chaos. Cerebral stepped forward;
"Let's get a move on. I want to get this over with as soon as
possible." They entered a temple, of which, they could feel the
evil at it's strongest point. Silently, they made their way through
dark corridors. They could hear each other's breathing, nothing more.
Up ahead, there was a bright light. They crept towards it, unheard. At
the doorway, they got an excellent view of the room ahead; in the
exact center of the room, hovered a sphere that contained their
friends, unconscious. Below the sphere, emenating a white glow, was
Hunter's talisman. Surrounding the sphere were a dozen ceremonial
candles. Sitting on an oversized throne, sat a female purple fox.
Cerebral let out a gasp of surprise.
"T-that's m-m-my sis-ter!" he said.
"Say what now?" asked Chaos, Ava, and Ace in unison.
"Years before I was exiled, my parents had given birth to a . I
always d her, but I figured that it was sibling rivalry..,I guess I
should have listened to my instinct...but the
village....mom...dad...her too...the apocalypse...SHE ED THEM!!! SHE
HAD ME EXILED!! SHE"S GONNA PAY!!! hissed Cerebral. He jumped out
of hiding, shedding his rain gear;
"ROSIE!!!" he yelled.
"Welcome, brother." replied Rosie.
"Shyeah right!" said Cerebral, "You, my dear sister,
are gonna pay!" Chaos, Ace, and Ava crept up behind Cerebral.
"Oh, I see you've brought your friends along, are they that eager
to d��?" sneered Rosie.
"Hey Roseeeeeeeeee! Over here!" sing-songed Ava, "Nice
name, HAW! 'Rosie" Ooooooooooh, really strikes fear into our
hearts!" Ava fell onto the floor laughing. Rosie, not liking any
of that, leaped from her throne, and landed next to Ava. Ava got up,
ready to defend herself. Rosie lashed out, and stuck Ava in the
stomach. Ava doubled over in pain. She got back up, and pounced at
Rosie, claws beared. Rosie caught Ava by the neck, and started to
squeeze. Cerebral stepped forward to do something, but Rosie stopped
him with but a single phrase;
"One step closer, and I k��l her!"
"Wait just a minute, how is it that you look and act older that
me?" asked Cerebral. Rosie threw Ava to the floor, and turned to
face her brother.
"Fine, I at lease owe you this much." started Rosie,
"You were exiled because of me. Weeks before that, though,
someone or something came to me in a dream, and offered me unlimited
power and life if I agreed to help it. I was jealous of your
telekinesis, so I agreed. Since you were the only one who could stop
me, I planted rumors that your telekinesis was dangerous. The village
council had a vote, so you were exiled. I then enaced the rest of my
plan. I destroyed the village, and harnessed my powers until I became
what you see before you!"
"Why the Floating Island, there are thousands of creatures that
live here!" said Cerebral.
"I came after you!" sneered Rosie. She lifed her hands in
the air, and a purple beam lashed out and struck Ace, Chaos, and Ave
far to the other side of the room.
"Now that they are out of the way, I can focus on you!"
screamed Rosie. Ava struggled to sit up...and reached into her back
pack and grasped the power ring. Mustering the rest of her strength,
she threw the ring at Cerebral. He caught it just as Rosie was
launching her attack. The power ring absorbed the beam, and started to
glow purple. Rosie was taken aback. Cerebral lifted the ring high into
the air, and shouted, "IFF UNITE!!!" Suddenly, the ring
released the energy it had captured, and launched it at the sphere,
which shattered like glass. Their friends were released. Rosie backed
up to her throne, surprise on her face. Sparx, Psycho, Blaze,
Morningstar, and Hunter did not look too pleased. Neither did
Cerebral. Rosie pressed a button and her throne, with her on it,
swiveled around, leaving a blank wall in it's place. Sparx went and
helped Ace, Ava, and Chaos to their feet. They exited the temple, and
subsequently Sandopolis. With their powers back, Sparx escorted all
her friends home.
Returning to Sparx's hut, with Ace and Chaos tagging along, they
entered and found Roxy, Snowy, and Utah talking amicably around the
table. The sun was shining again, and it cast a warm glow about the
hug. Sparx, Cerebral, and Ava took their places at the table, while
Ace and Chaos stood in the background.
"That was a lovely experience," said Sparx sarcastically,
"Cer, you did an excellent job in my absense. Also, Ava, thanks
for going on that little quest of yours, it payed off bigtime!
Cerebral, can you fill me in on what happened?" Cerebral told her
about everything that had happened, with Ava and Snowy ocassionally
chipping in.
"Sparx, I think that we should make Ace and Chaos members of the
IFF!" suggested AVe, "Please, PLEEEEASE!"
"Don't worry, Av, I'm for it, if Cer is!" replied Sparx.
"Two tumbs up...no wait, that's not it...yep, I'm for it!"
said Cerebral. Ace and Chaos nodded. Sparx stood up, and addressed
Chaos and Ace;
"Well, with the power vested in me, I'm dubbing you two official
Island Freedom Fighters!" said Sparx, "huh?" Sparx
noticed that the TV was on, so did Cerebral. Their eyes crossed.
"It's mine!" said Sparx, leaping for the first controller.
"No way! It's my turn!" said Cerebral, tripping Sparx, and
grasping the controller. He activated the SNES, and the 'K��ler
Instinct' logo appeared on the TV screen. Sparx settled for the first
controller.
"Die, die, DIE!!!!" screamed Cerebral.
"No, no, NO! Take that!" screamed Sparx in return.
"Aargh...eat fire!!!" replied Cerebral. Roxy turned away
from the TV;
"Not this again..."
(To Be Continued)
The Apocalypse
