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 KýÍler Instinct" on the SNES. Tapping furiously on the controllers, they were close to kýÍling 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 chõÂted!!" he complained.
"It's not my fault 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 boôbytrapping my room." stated Snowy.
"Say what?" asked his twin sister with a laugh.
"You heard me, " he said seriously, "I'm boôbytrapping my room." Roxy looked at him.
"In fact," he continued, "instead of boôbytrapping my room, I'm gonna boôbytrap 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 KýÍler 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 kýÍl 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.
"Damn! Not her too!" cursed 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 dýÆ?" 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 kýÍl 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 'KýÍler 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..."