My first feeble attempt at creation. I have called it "Resurrection".(v1.02, rewritten...) It deals with Moebius... 600 years after the death of Packbell, Robotnik and Snively... I have integrated continuities,concepts and characters from David Pistone, Joseph DeLacroix, Aaron Lye, Ryan Huber,Eric Goodwin, Shaun Wolski,Dan Drazen, Holly B-Kraft, Hack Emery, David Gonterman, Adrian Tymes... and quite a few others... Could you kindly slip in an email to ngeowwt@netlink.com.au should you notice a concept, character or idea I have pilfered and I will gladly give due credit... (or put the name in if you notice any one who failed to get due credit...) Copyright ©1996 by Raoul Wu-thien All "Sonic The Hedgehog" characters and related indica © and TM Sega of America, Inc. Used without permission. This document may be freely distributed as long as it is not modified in any way. Comments,suggestions to: ngeowwt@netlink.com.au Timeline: 3880, several centuries AFTER the defeat of Packbell,Robotnik, and Snively The tall, well-built squirrel stared pensively into the distance. Hewas leaning on a fine Mobian marble balcony, his green eyes thoughtful.Not a sensitive, caring kind of thoughtfulness; but a hard, cynical thoughtfulness, somewhat like a chess player contemplating a move. The lights of New Mobotropolis, forming a grid that stretched for miles seemed, in the squirrel's mind, to be like a chessboard. And I the one who moves all the mindless little pawns scurrying below. Some I sacrifice... others I just... remove... His thoughts went to the legendary Freedom Fighters, who had, long ago, rid Moebius of its' greatest evil, the Dark Triumvirate, Ivo Robotnik,Snively and Packbell. Did they have to make hard choices? Did they have to ever compromise on their ideals to make their dreams reality? Or were they as legends portrayed, firm, steadfast, and true to one another and themselves? Slowly, he turned towards his bedchamber. His eyes fell upon a portrait of King Sonic in full regalia after ascending the throne following the final defeat of Packbell... features youthful, confident, and full of mischievous life which belied the serious expression... Did you, he asked silently, ever have to waver or bend or do something you hated yourself for? Or were you just some damned perfect hero like everyone says you are. He did not notice a shadow on his balcony. Until it shifted slightly.And took form; the form of a beautiful vixen, dressed in black,tight-fitting synth-fiber which emphasized her curvaceous body and left little to the imagination. "Unable to sleep, I see. More 'affairs of state' weighing heavily on your mind?" The squirrel did not flinch. He was well-used to her sudden appearances by now. And, although he did not condone her... eccentricities... he realized that she, unlike most of his subordinates, was trustworthy. Absolutely, beyond doubt. Which, coupled with her extraordinary capabilities, made her the prime candidate for Head of Internal Security. But he could never bring himself to be entirely tolerant of her perversions, nor could he ignore the rumours about her treatment of her numerous paramours. "Unlike some of us, I have responsibilities." He waved his hand over the city,lights twinkling below. "I have duties, and sometimes they require some thinking upon when I cannot sleep. Unlike some of us, I do not appear uninvited on other people's balcony's and risk... severe injury..." "Well, you HAD better get some rest. Tomorrow's a big day. We wouldn' twant you yawning and looking like a half-chewed shoe in front of everyone." She smirked a little. "Dead embarrassing." "That is my problem, Rebecca. But thank you for the concern. Now please leave my balcony. Go find one of your boytoys to play with." Rebecca grinned, teeth sharp, canines a little too long even forvixens. "Of course, sir. Would you care to... join us?" She slid over; no word could better describe her smooth, flowing grace; and began putting her hand over the squirrel's chest, slowly moving lower... "Hands off, Rebecca." His claw whipped around her wrist,with a speed that shocked even Rebecca. He pushed her harshly away. "I am not in the mood for one of your sick mind games." "I hear... and obey, your Majesty." Any lesser vixen would have been flushed with embarrassment at this rebuke, but Rebecca merely slid back into a corner of the shadows, melting into the darkness. Her soft laughter, throaty and knowing, hung in the air, lingering like faintest perfume. King Alexander Prower-Acorn, 12th King since the reign of King Sonic Hedgehog-Acorn and Queen Sally Hedgehog-Acorn returned to his dark reverie, his face deep in thought as he continued to contemplate his city. * * * * * * * * * * * * "Now, following Dr Ivo Robotnik's apparent demise at the Doomsday Project, the ruins of which are located at where we know today as the Plains of Steel, Snively assumed power, only to have it wrested from him by Packbell, Robotnik's "son" and protege, an android, posessed of his creator's dark genius and darker intellect. But Robotnik HAD lived. We do not know where he was during this period;some say he hid on board the Ur'thaen planet destroyer "Apocalypse",while others claim he entered a cryogenic stasis. Still others claim his personality was digitized into a computer unit and implanted into a clone body or a robotic one... while some believe he hid in the Void... no one knows. What is known is that the Freedom Fighters continued their battle; eventually destroying Packbell and defeating a task force of Robotnik's alien allies: the Machinix, the Ur'thaen Secundus, the Gharkel and the Harani when a combined force of inter planetary aggressors attacked, determined to gain Moebius' Chaos Emeralds for their own ends.<> Snively was captured and tried for treason against the original House of Acorn. But many had died in this conflict; the legendary Bookshire, the cyber-synthetic fox David Prower, and the time-lost human Sir Eric Kain. And even as the Freedom Fighters buried their dead, Robotnik struck again. Over the ruins of Robotropolis, the Destroyer II flew again, even as then-Princess Sally gave the eulogy honoring the dead, spreading destruction and belching foul fumes as it predecessor had... All seemed lost, but after a terrible struggle, called the Redemption Conflict<>, Sonic, Sally and the other Freedom Fighters managed to infiltrate the Destroyer II's bridge. And, in a desperate battle, Robotnik was slain. Sonic, after destroying the Mecha-Egg power armor Robotnik was using,launched a spin maneuver directly into the tyrant's body, ending his foul existence once and for all... Finally, the scourge that had plagued Moebius for over a decade was gone. But his legacy lived on in many ways. Mobians, oppressed for so long,became as obsessed with control as Robotnik himself had been. Some races refused to unite with King Sonic's new government, even though at the time it was a republic; instead of a monarchy. Eventually, and in hindsight, inevitably, the first Race War started, lasting several years, ending only when the Caynorian Federation offered their help tothe Republic and reuniting Moebius... I could go on for hours, talking about the bitter infighting, the killing, the Second Race War... Robotnik must have howled with laughter in the Abyss at the sight of his enemies slaying one another after his death with greater efficiency than he could ever command. Yet, after it all, after 26 years, the Monarchy was firmly, and finally established. With King Sonic Hedgehog-Acorn and Sally Hedgehog-Acorn on the throne.However, they had become, for lack of a better word, hardened. They established 10 Great Houses to help consolidate their rule, realizing that an iron fist in a velvet glove was needed to prevent Moebius from slipping once again into turmoil. Especially now contact had been formally made with worlds beyond our own, Moebius could not afford weakness in a universe which contained rapacious, planet-devouring empires and pirates just waiting for an oppurtunity to seize a resource-rich, fertile and weak planet... The 10 Houses were: House Dulcy, House Rotor, House Rabbot, House Echidna, House Joseph, House Nightweaver, House Prower, House Hedgehog,House Kintobor(after Robotnik's son David Kintobor, who had become the cyborg Davey Crockett), and of course House Acorn. Each House was a clan-like family which controlled one of the major provinces of the Northern Continent(the Southern Continent was rendered utterly sterile when the Chaos Bomb used during the Second Race War detonated...),and was ruled by one of the original Freedom Fighters.Although many of the Freedom Fighters themselves initially spoke out against such an oligarchy, they were finally forced to acquiesce mainly by persuasion but sometimes by threats... a sadly necessary step to ensure Moebius' future security. Throughout the next 30 years, peace reigned in Moebius. The few rebel elements were either pacified through patient diplomacy... or crushed by force when all else failed. But, objectively speaking, these measures WERE necessary otherwise Moebius would have fallen once again into a time of chaotic warfare. History does not record how the actions of King Sonic and Queen Sally weighed on their conscience... Mysteriously, however, in the 56th year of His most Benevolent and Majestic Rule, King Sonic vanished. The circumstances surrounding his disappearance have been, until now, a secret only the Great Houses are privy to, and even for years after the disappearance, it was something the Royal Family passed off as a "most grievous and tragic demise due to natural causes". And now, 350 years after the formation of the new monarchy, there are 17 Great Houses. We are currently ruled by House Rabbot-Acorn. House Acorn has always been the ruling House, but our beloved King Vladimir Maximillian Rabbot-Acorn's mother was a daughter of House Rabbot. Both Houses combined, but as tradition dictates, the next House whose' son or daughter marries the next king or queen of Moebius has the right of being merged with House Acorn for the reign of that monarch. When the crown prince or princess assumes the throne, his or her consort will have its' family's name attached to the munificent House of Acorn. Moebius is now a peaceful, harmonic planet. We have established colonies throughout our solar system(though the Intercession Treaty<> prohibits the New Moebian Monarchy from expanding beyond that). Moebius is one of the most technologically advanced planets in the Union of Allied Races; and we have firm ties with most of the other alien races and unions. House Rabbot-Acorn rules with benevolence and kindness, and our planet's security is ensured, within through the ever vigilant Strosstrupen<> and without, thanks to the Chaos Wave Device. But darkness lurks everywhere. Especially so in the hearts of people ambitious for power, in the souls of those who dream that their goals for Moebius justifies anything, in the forbidden places where evil once rules and longs to rule again. In all of us. We MUST remain strong. We MUST be ever-watchful should another Robotnik emerge again." -excerpt from a speech during the 350th Liberation Day by Wilfred Boomer Rotor,great- great-great grandson of Rotor I, first Patriarch of House Rotor. * * * * * * * * * The figure stirred. How many years had it been? How many centuries? I tgot to its feet, slowly shaking its head. Stretching its limbs gingerly,it concluded that it was, sadly, alive. But how could that be? It remembered a blue blur, a wash of pain, that accursed hedgehog(the figure's eyes gleamed redly), and then... The pain. The fires. The spectres of all it had kiled coming to haunt it; the accusing, vengeance-lusting cries of all the souls it had wronged. Suffering. Agony. Hell... But that seemed to have passed. He was... back... on Moebius?? "And you must be wondering why?" The figure whirled. It saw a huge, gleaming, armoured ... man?..towering over it. Nothing could be seen of the face except two, piercing golden eyes. The armour was fantastically designed, with runes encrusting it and enamelled a vivid crimson red. Its gauntlets were shaped like huge talons, instead of hands. But more than that, there was an aura of genuine power, which emitted from the armoured warrior like heat from a furnace. The newly reawoken figure stood. It assumed shape; from being a shapeless mass of bones to a corpulent, moustachioed man with a cybernetic left arm. Ivo Robotnik lived. "Yes, Ivo Robotnik. I have granted you life; I have brought you from the Abyss to this planet, which you once had the impertinence to assume you ruled." "Who are you?" Robotnik gasped. "What power did you use to return me?".His voice was cracked, parched, the voice of one who has spent countless years in torment and now, can scarcely believe that relief has come. "The same power I will use to dominate this planet; strengthen through the acquisition of the Chaos Emeralds, and, finally, utilize towards reshaping this universe and others, to my will. The same power that has made me a demi-god." Robotnik shuddered at this. "Then why resurrect me? I tried to conquer Moebius; not once but TWICE, and failed. Why do you need me? Why have you rescued me from the torments of the Abyss if you are so mighty?" "Because..." and here, for the first time,in that voice, a tone of frustration, "... I need you. For the time being, I require your services, and the services of others to carry out my goals. I promise you immortality and power in exchange for your loyalty." Then the voice grew even colder," And I promise you vengeance and torment beyond even the Abyss in exchange for treachery." Robotnik pondered this. He had no choice, and if here was truly a second chance he would gladly take it. Better that than to return to thefire, the laughing of the damned, the grasping hands of the spectres ofthose he had slain.... And if his... saviour's... offer was good, here was a chance for vengeance on that damned hedgehog; if not his descendants. And a chance to recapture Moebius... and possibly the universe if his saviour's boasts were true. And, on top of all this, if he could discover the source of power his new ally had and wrest it for himself... "Do you accept?" the armoured warrior asked in a voice that would snap the gods to attention. "Do you acknowledge me thy Master?" "I.. accept your terms. Master." The last word spat out with audible venom. "Done, then. Come." Robotnik's new master made a gesture, and the two figures began to teleport to another place, far,far away... "What is your name, Master? " "... I have many names.But Moebius will know me as...Darkbringer... " The night has begun to fall, once again. -- to be continued in: Night, Falling. -- Note: I am looking for comments, feedback, reviews, co-collaborators and ideas. Feel free to email me at ngeowwt@netlink.com.au