Fate of Enerjak - A Silver Saga fanfic

[Tani Coyote]

Based on issues 25-28 of Sonic Universe.

I wrote this ages ago on the Bumbleking forums. Never finished it but if the reception is warm enough perhaps I will.

===

Lightning struck across the sky, accompanied by the boom of thunder and torrents of rain. This place, this island of the heavens, home to countless Guardians and once the base of the great tyrant Enerjak, was currently enduring the wrath of nature. Ever since Enerjak had been removed from power, forced to retake his birth name of Knuckles, the island always seemed to have gloomy weather... some speculated Enerjak had cursed it during his reign.

But this part of the Island was very special. A cave, thinly concealed beneath a net, hid many secrets that most of this twisted Mobius would love to know... and unfortunately, the secret was out: a heavy white shoe with red trim and Chaos Fusion engines built into the sole, snapped a twig as it dug into the soil... a gloved hand, golden ring around the wrist, pulling that net aside...

The feeble old man fumbled with something in his weak paws, some sort of book. He had taken up hiding for almost a year now... if his dating was accurate. From time to time, his daughter, Lara-Su (having retaken her name after some thought) would drop in... but only she and Sonic the Hedgehog knew of his location.

He remembered it like it was yesterday...

---

Remington gasped as he regained consciousness, his soul having been fed back to his husk. He had been soulless for what, less than twenty-four hours? Either way, he seemed restored to good health. The white-clad goddess before him smiled with delight at her success; she had feared she might destroy his soul, his body, or both entirely... after all, her father had taken souls, but never put them back.

"Remington! Thank goodness!" Jani-Ca(formerly Lara-Su), in her Enerjak guise, hugged him, his husk chained to the wall by supernaturally-formed bonds that came from the walls. Seeing this, she snapped her fingers, and the bonds retreated into the walls... Remington fell gently to the floor. It was all coming back to him... this horrible, gloomy place... how for thirty years, they had been fighting Knuckles, who had taken the title "Enerjak," and how he had been one of the tyrant's latest victims, his soul ripped from his body in a process that took seconds but felt like years of never ending agony, on par with the depths of Hades.

His suffering, nor any of Enerjak's other victims, did not end there; their souls would be used to form the mystical Prelate Army, forced to watch as their souls' energies fought their family and friends. In many cases, capturing them to be turned into Prelates themselves! How the once-noble Guardian could stoop so low...

It was then the Constable's eyes looked a bit behind Jani-Ca, or Lara, as he had always known her. He saw the cybernetic right eye, the organic left... the incredibly-aged face, the tattered black and gold robes...

Seeing Jani/Lara having taken on the Enerjak armor, and Knuckles now reduced to mere tatters of his former demigod self, Remington knew what had transpired. The tyrant had fallen. And now he was going to answer for all he had done...

He reached for his pistol; Knuckles, with his mystical god-like power, had not bothered to remove it from Remington's person. He rushed towards the Guardian, pistol drawn, "This is all your fault, 'Guardian!'" Remington was consumed by his anger, his mentioning of the red echidna's title showing how empty it had become to him. It used to represent something; now it was but a reminder of a well-meaning hero's fall to insanity and villainy.

Several shots rang out. Knuckles cowered in fear; he fell to his rump, an audible crack and a pained howl emitting from him as his fragile body suffered injury from the fall. Fortunately, the bullets stopped in mid-air, surrounded by a green aura, as was the Constable who fired them. Remington pounded on the confines of his chaos-created prison, Lara-Su having used her newly-attained abilities to stop the madness before it could go on any further.

"Constable! What has gotten into you?!" She scolded Remington, the blue-eyed echidna seething with rage, spending all of his bullets into the barrier, where they fell harmlessly upon impact with it. He tossed his gun aside, sitting down in his energised prison with a hmph, knowing he was stuck there. While she contained Remington, she also sent just enough energy to her father to repair his wounds... and he seemed to be slightly grateful... albeit disappointed she hadn't given him more...

"Lara... Jani... Enerjak... he has destroyed our world. He must answer for it!"

"He already has, Remington! He is nothing but a shadow of his former self, stripped of his power, his youth, and his pride... by none other than his own blood." She motioned over to Knuckles, the artificially-aged echidna struggling to stand up... "He can't hurt anyone anymore, Constable. As far as I'm concerned, that's all the justice he needs, not an execution on top of it!"

...Remington did have to admit. While the Guardian had become the scum of the planet, it was hard to not pity him. He was pretty much just a husk of his former glory, barely alive.... what irony considering how he stole the life force of countless heroes and villains alike.

"...you have a point. He already did himself in it seems like. He should be allowed to live out the rest of his days and think about all the pain and misery he's caused." Remmy nodded at the walls, where Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Sally, Eggman, Snively, and every prominent Mobian imagineable lay petrified, drained of their soul. Some of them because they challenged Enerjak, others because it was amusing to hunt them down.

Jani-Ca nodded, slowly dissipating the green-hued energy bubble, letting the Constable roam free. The Constable walked to where Knuckles was, lunging slightly, scaring the shriveled Guardian, who tried to hide within his robes!

"...I will of course, keep him under close watch... his body may have aged, but the same mind that destroyed this world is still there."

Knuckles whimpered, but his daughter merely nodded... blood ties or not, Knuckles had to be watched to ensure he never found a way to recreate the nightmare he had crafted the last three decades.

Lara-Su pondered who to restore next... her eyes falling upon the hero of Mobius. Whereas many had faces of pure terror and fear, Sonic's merely seemed to reek of disappointment and shock, that calm smirk wiped from his face as his former friend took his soul...

"I'd suggest being *koff* careful with that one." Knuckles spoke up in his aged, weak voice. He had seen where his daughter had been looking.

"Why...?" The goddess turned, eyebrows raised in curiousity... what was her father cooking up this time? Another attempt to get his power back?

He smiled, his cheeks forming numerous creases... "Oh, just summon the Core and you'll see..."

Lara was a bit confused, but slowly focused her mind to it... a massive, azure sphere forming in her hands. The weight! The brightness! The sheer power!

"...I never used his Prelate because I knew he'd do the job too *koff* well... he would have buried you all in a matter of minutes... his Core truly was the most special... perhaps I should have used him..." He put a finger under his chin in thought... ah well, too late for that!

Much to Lara's surprise, the Core, massive compared to all the others, seemed to jump away, only for her to call it back... it was as if it wanted to run away from this dark, foreboding place. She could sympathize!

"...Ah. He was also a fighter even when his body was taken from him. That too." He chuckled for a moment, before he broke into a coughing fit.

She grasped the vast Core tight in her hands, moving over towards the world's greatest hero's body... only to hear that dark, sinister voice from behind...

"...You know, with how long ago I took his, it might be more difficult than Remington's to restore..." Said Constable glaring down at the Guardian, and Lara, frozen, soon turned and added to the glare. Knuckles sighed... he'd get her eventually.

"I would sooner take my chances with destroying his Core than with you to actually do something good."

Ouch. The ex-Guardian almost felt a sting. Almost. He'd stopped caring ever since he ripped his mate's - and by extension Lara's mother's - soul out. You tend to be too far gone when you can do that!

Lara offered the Core to Sonic's body, and much to her relief, streams of energy began to form between the Core and the husk, the Core steadily shrinking as its vitality transferred back to its owner...

Sonic's vibrant emerald eyes seemed to slowly fade back into existence, his complexion growing brighter by the second, his drooping cheeks slowly curling into a familiar smirk... his shell was retaking the cheerful demeanor associated with the speedster.

The Core dissipated after about a minute, fully re-absorbed into its owner... goodness, so much power! Lara waved a hand nervously in front of the fallen warrior's face, Sonic not moving... she was panicking... what had she done? He was limp, and while his appearance had changed slightly, he was just as lifeless and without hope for a better future as before... eyes unmoving, as if he had just passed on.

---end of Part I

She hung her face low, grasping it in a palm. She had failed! The Hero was gone... she moved a hand up to stroke the top of his head as salty tears pooled in the corners of her eyes...

"Sonic, I'm so sor-"

"Boo!"

The goddess was taken aback as the seemingly-petrified hero returned to life. ...he had been feigning unconsciousness the whole time! How typical for him to retain his playful demeanor even in a serious situation... whether his soul was being removed or being returned.

She naturally hit him a bit for that, albeit lightly. She had never known the blue blur herself, but just as Eggman's evil was legendary, his virtue, kindness, and heroism were an inspiration to all who fought against Enerjak's oppression. As was his sacrifice.

Knuckles rolled his tired, aged eyes... oh how typical. Granted, this was just a cover for the fact he too had been slightly startled. Had he been next to the spiky hero, he likely would have had a heart attack.

While Lara chastized Sonic for such a trick, he nodded in a repetitive, uninterested fashion, having that same bored expression he'd get when Sally or Tails was on one of their rambling explanations... a single thought went across his mind, 'Gee, I almost wish she'd take my soul back!'

"So uh..." He finally interrupted her, "Mind gettin' me down from here? I hate being stuck in one place for more than two seconds, if that."

He had ignored Knuckles entirely since he awoke, not seeming to pay notice to the fallen Guardian. It was almost insulting to the dreadlocked villain; no rage? No despair? No reaction at all to the fact Sonic had been displaced as the world's greatest hero, only for that red-furred hero to in turn be usurped by these narrowminded demagogues and their fetish for chaos?

"Oh! Yes, of course." With but a thought, Sonic's binds weakened, and he fell softly to the cold, hard floor. His natural instinct was to dust off his shoes; funny thing, being a step up from a corpse tends to make you accumulate all sorts of ickyness.

"You've got your work cut out for you..." He gazed up at the walls, his smile dissipating into a bit of a frown as he looked at his best bud, the woman he loved, and even his greatest foes all on the wall. His sorrow was unconditional; no one, no matter how evil, should be subjected to what Enerjak did to his victims.

"Tell me about it. From what he told me, they go all the way to the top of the tower..." Lara sighed...

Sonic blinked a bit in amazement, as he slowly (odd considering his penchant for speed) walked over to the old man, finally paying him notice, green eyes meeting amethyst. Knuckles' eyes seemed to say, "Please don't hurt me!" Sonic did ponder a bit... knowing what had to be done.

Lara was trying to decide which victim should be restored next, deciding to play it safe and do one at a time... as she reached for Tails' body, she was once more interrupted, this time by Sonic.

"Wait! Before you bring back anyone else, we need to get Knucklehead outta here." Sonic motioned to the old echidna, with his shriveled dreadlocks and droopy face.

"Why Sonic? No one can hurt him." Lara-Su spoke, and Remington nodded in agreement. ...he had learned first hand that despite the enmity between them, Lara was willing to protect her father from harm.

"You can't protect him forever, Lara." Sonic replied, tapping his foot with his arms crossed.

"I have Enerjak's power I can-" Lara was swift to defend her abilities, before being interrupted.

"That uh... giving up your powers bit bein' forgotten already, is it?" Sonic stuck out his tongue. Even when faced with a demigod of immense power, he had no fear.

"Oh... that's right, isn't it?" Her face was one of worry. She could not hold onto the power for too long, or she would find herself as warped and twisted as her father before her.

"He needs to be taken somewhere nobody will find him. Y'think all the good guys are gonna just forgive him for what he did to us all? For what he did to Mobius? Take Tall, Dark and Angsty. He's not exactly known for being forgiving..." Sonic motioned towards Shadow's shell. Oh, the anger on that one's face! He'd surely vaporise Knuckles at the first opportunity. If he was in a good mood. Which he usually wasn't.

Lara thought on it... but she slowly nodded with a frown, "It will take a while for this world's wounds to heal... for people to be willing to forgive him and let him live amongst them. Where do you have in mind?"

"I know just the right place... I'll tell ya when I get back!" In a flash, Sonic had taken off, taking the toppled demigod with him. Lara had held out her hand... and while she could have just reeled him back in, she didn't need to. She smiled as her hand lowered again; Sonic would be able to take care of her father. She, meanwhile, had a lot of work ahead of her.

"W-wait Sonic, don-!" Knuckles' raspy old voice could be heard pleading in complete fear!

A loud crash was heard, followed by an "Oww..." from the hero, and Lara facepalmed... due to there being no entrance, it was both impossible to escape and impossible to enter the Dark Spire without Enerjak's aid.

Lara used her will, and the distant entrance opened... it was easy to hear a sonic boom as the hero took off. She knew all to well that Sonic would keep his word; his kindness and forgiveness, even to his enemies, were all too well-known.

With the entrance dissipated, Lara resumed her laborous task of undoing all the damage the preceding Guardian had caused. She would concoct some sort of story as to Knuckles' fate, and she received Remington's word he would go along with it.

---

Ever since then, the oak of an echidna kept to himself in his little abode. It was quite comfortable, this cave, hidden a considerable distance below ground to make it hard to enter or exit for any not familar with it...

Knuckles sat at a desk, an immense collection of books to his left, right, and front. He always was more intellectual than he was given credit for, and he had taken up extensive reading as a hobby. His only lamentation at this juncture was how many timeless archives he had destroyed in his rampage across Mobius.

He wore a pair of glasses to assist the dulled vision of his left eye, his right, cybernetic eye as proficient as ever. This new book was rather interesting... then again, he was biased; it was a critique of his exploits. Oh, how society was quick to rebuild and then focus on condemning the former dictator. He had ended all wars, all crime! ...he also left half the world lifeless and killed millions of people but it was all for the geater good right?

His glasses hit the table with a crack as his ears, hidden beneath withered, worn dreadlocks, perked up.

"I've finally found you, 'Guardian.'"

-End of Part II

His heart pounded rapidly, sweat cascading down his face. Despite Lara and Sonic's best efforts, he had been found. Sonic's prediction was correct; the Ultimate Life Form would pursue vengeance for such humiliation.

Knuckles hesitantly backed his chair up, slowly rising to his feet. He no longer wore that withered robe, but his clothes were very humble. Had he lived on Mobius Prime, he would be one of the many impoverished echidnas left helpless and destitute by Eggman's tyranny.

"I knew this day would come..." Knuckles spoke softly. He would finally reap what he had sown...

"Well it's a good thing you didn't put an end to yourself, then. I was afraid I would never have the chance to meet you again..." Shadow's face curling into a wicked smirk... Knuckles, though his back was turned, could sense the malice.

"Is that so..?" Knuckles held his palm in front of himself...

"Indeed. I've devoted my entire life to this day ever since I was restored."

"Well then..." Knuckles turned himself around, energy slowly, quietly growing in his palm, the echidna able to feel his skin heat up and feel as if it was on fire from so much power.

"Thunder Arrow!" Using every bit of energy he had built up, he intended to not go quietly. A blast of green energy short forth from his palm, several in fact. Bolts of lightning originated from the crippled overlord's hand, and sought out their target of Shadow.

At the same time, however, Shadow had held out his hand, "Fool!" Multiple bolts of energy, a deep, vibrant red, short forth from his. The red in his quills and limbs seemed to glow a bit themselves as the blasts collided... Such was Shadow's mastery he did not even require a verbal command to use such an ability, even if he had come to call it the "Chaos Ballista," due to its likelihood of skewering an unprepared target.

Parts of the cave were scorched as stray bolts shout off from where the blasts met. Heavy stones broke off from the ceiling due to such intense vibrations, and both combatants thought the cave might collapse around them. But neither seemed to care: Knuckles groaned, putting all his effort into it, matching Shadow for every ounce of power.

"Now... what was it that you said?" Shadow kept his power constant, fiendishly delighted as Knuckles kept up the fight... though he knew the old man would not be able to fight such a young, skilled adversary... this wasn't even touching on how Shadow, after years of training, was only using a fraction of his ability.

"Ah yes. You are not strong enough, cunning enough, or skilled enough to stand against me. Submit to your fate, Guardian!" A massive wave of energy rippled from Shadow, the force of it consuming Knuckles, the latter flying back into a wall as all his energy, combined with the ebony hedgehog's own, struck him.

Knuckles sagged weakly down the wall... breathing heavily... tears pooling in his eyes. As the pained tears rolled down his cheeks, he just lay there, weak, on the brink of death. His cybernetics' circuitry was damaged by such an explosive blast, crippling him as much as the fractured bones he now possessed in his organic limbs. His robotic eye, though mostly fried, was able to make out the dark figure advancing upon him... he looked like a demon. Pure darkness, complete with crimson eyes.

He winced with each heavy footstep his ringing ears picked up. He could see Shadow was charging green energy this time around... ah, of course. A Chaos Spear. A fitting move to finish off an opponent...

The fear he felt in every fiber of his body, Knuckles wondered... was this what his victims felt when he advanced upon them, knowing they were to not be killed, but be enslaved by his godly might? How fitting, a small part of his mind thought... At least Shadow was merciful; the former tyrant would receive a quick, mostly painless demise.

Or so the fallen despot thought.

He then felt the hedgehog's gloved hands grasp at his throat, lifting him up the wall with his immense, unnatural strength. Knuckles cowered, turning away, not wanting to stare into the face of the Reaper, his hands weakly pawing at Shadow's grip, trying to break free of the uncomfortable position. The grip was tight enough to be uncomfortable, but loose enough to not cut off the air supply. Shadow had practiced for this day... he would draw out Knuckles' suffering.

As Knuckles choked, his face was roughly forced to turn towards Shadow's, his neck feeling like it might have broken had the hedgehog turned any harder, Shadow's rubies staring into a lone amethyst, "Look me in the eyes, coward."

The echidna was tearing up in pain as he choked, his grip slowly slipping... he had used up all his energy... he was more like a ragdoll than a person now, completely at Shadow's mercy. His organic eye seemed to beg for pity, forgiveness despite all his sadistic sins over the last thirty years, but Shadow's trademark frown did not change in the slightest.

"Very good... how about some background before I end this...?" The former Guardian hung limply in Shadow's grasp, still alive, but barely. The Ultimate Life had intended for this, so his revenge could be exacted at his leisure.

"When I first awoke, I was consumed by vengeance. Defeat is humiliating enough, but the horrid pain of one's soul being taken, and all the torment one feels in that bizarre limbo... why, it's amazing that so few have actively sought you out. I shall be honest; I was afraid you might already be dead by the time I located you." He gave a rather sinister grin, a gust of cold seeming to make its way down Knuckles' back; Shadow was like some demonic corruption of Sonic with that smile.

Knuckles weakly nodded... he'd just have to put up with this.

"As I sought you out, I was also honing my skills with Chaos Energy, as you have seen. If I were to be given the Chaos Emeralds, I suspect I would quite possibly outmatch you, even at your peak. Become a force that would reduce you to but a mere footnote..."

Knuckles was a bit annoyed... despite the fact he was indeed inadequate in his new state, he hated the idea of others besting him. Such inadequacy had led to his heart's fall to darkness.

"...I learned one very useful talent. One that changed everything... I think this will be the most fitting way to conclude my quest."

Shadow slowly extended a hand before Knuckles... his palm upward. Knuckles began to pant a bit, his eyes in pure terror. He recognized this gesture all too well.

Shadow couldn't! He wouldn't!

-End of Part III

[Soniman]

This was actually a really good read and I would definiyley like to see more.