Normal POV (Espio)
River Village
Espio ran down the dirt road towards the destination he was told.
The purple ninja had stayed behind in Chun nan to make sure the Fallen didn't try anything dangerous to nearby villages in the chaos from the destroyed factory.
Once he was done, Aura promised him a meeting with his sensei to see if maybe he could offer some experience.
Espio also felt curious about recruiting Aura to help the Chaotix, as well as the various heroes who fight Dr. Robotnik often.
Aura's strength, discipline and foresight had made great work of the enemy, and talent like his could help the team protect freedom well.
The train of thought was interrupted, however, by the sight of two of the three villages destroyed upon Espio's arrival outside the valley.
Now the ninja was rushing to help aid the people with their current dilemma.
The Mountain Village had already calmed down the destruction of their village, so Espio turned his sights to the River Village.
Upon arrival, he was met with a shocking sight and a feeling of dread of what happened there.
It was more damaged than the Mountain Village, with structures almost completely lacking from the place.
What really made him feel worried for what came next was encountering Blaze and the state she was in.
Blaze was on her knees, tears flowing down as she looked at what remained of a fallen building.
He went over to her. "Blaze, what happened?"
She couldn't answer, as if she was in deep thought.
Espio checks the ruins of the building, moving over rocks and wood to search for any survivors.
What he found stunned him with worry.
A piece of Aura's robes was found torn off from what might be left of it.
Espio jumps down to the river to see if he could find Aura, but he couldn't find him anywhere when ten minutes had past.
He climbed back up and looks at the torn piece of green clothing with remorse.
Aura was dead, and there was nothing anyone could do to save him or bring him back.
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Normal POV
Eggmanland
A certain scientist with a large mustache sat at his main console, pondering what his next plan would be.
He remembered his last failure back a few months ago.
He had controlled a group of powerful beings with a powerful conch shell, but thanks to his pesky nemesis, he can't use it anymore, as well as a special machine he used.
Now he had to come up with a new plan from scratch to deal with his plans of global domination.
Before he could continue searching the depths of his mind for a new plan, an Egg Pawn arrived with a small pad.
It asked him. "Sir, our scans have picked up something...different from anything they are used to searching for."
The doctor immediately sat up straight in surprise at the news of a sudden update.
Could what his machines found be his next big plan to overthrow his annoying archenemy?
He asked it as he turned his swivel chair around. "What is it?"
The Egg Pawn hands him the pad. "There was a huge energy surge that has appeared often across the planet. The first time was a few miles away from Station Square, while the second was deep in the heart of Chun nan."
The doctor strokes his mustache as he grins at the readings. "Interesting. These measurements are off the charts! Whatever or whoever did is might be as powerful as that annoying brat!"
He then looks at the Egg Pawn. "Go call for Fang and the others."
The Egg Pawn shook his head. "Negative. Subjects Fang, Bark and Bean have been dispatched by you for another mission."
The scientist face palmed at his own orders. "Great! My own orders for those numbskulls came right when I need them. Pull up the Dark Web's contract creator. I'm going to need to hire a new mercenary to deal with this."
A list was pulled up after he had sent out a contract offer for anyone willing, with a reward of 500 million in cash.
He spots a mercenary with a perfect track record that was the first to bid for the job.
The doctor smirks and selects him, calling him over for his important objective.
30 minutes later...
Eggman sees a human sized figure walk in at a height of 6 feet and one inch.
The man wore a special padded armor that was built to deflect blades and bullets, like something out of science fiction universe.
The skull painted on his helmet and the sniper holstered on his back was enough to intimidate most of Eggman's staff.
Eggman asks. "They say you always fit your name literally...Death Streak. Why is that?"
The mercenary called Death Streak answered through his filtered mask. "I've never failed a mission. I can stack up on kills more than anyone."
Eggman's eyebrow raised in an amused and questioning glance. "And how do you accomplish this?"
Death Streak's stance stayed unfazed by the doctor's presence. "I know the weakness of any target I'm up against."
Eggman was slightly confused. "Did I hear that right? Any weaknesses?"
Death Streak crosses his arms. "If you want proof, give me a test subject. Preferably an actual living being."
Eggman presses a button. "I can't give you a living test subject yet, but I have a robot that is just as good."
A certain blue robot flies in and grabs Death Streak by the throat, attempting to pin the man to the wall.
But just a few seconds from impact, Death Streak grabs onto the robot's torso and flips, breaking free from it's grasp and sending the robot crashing into the wall.
The mercenary added more damage to his opponent by slicing his left arm and right leg off with a katana, leaving the robot crippled and on the floor.
Eggman looked on in shock at his greatest creation being reduced to a broken mess within seconds.
Death Streak taunts at the doctor. "Is that you're best? Anyone can take that thing down by using it's momentum against it."
Eggman nods. "You've proven your point for now, though any tests against my Egg Bosses would have to wait for a long while. Are you ready for your mission?"
Death Streak puts his katana away. "I'm listening, Doctor."
Eggman shows a map of the world via a hologram. "Two or three anomalies in my energy tracker have appeared in the last couple of hours, but they are not like the Chaos Emeralds, Wisps or the Phantom Ruby. Your mission is to find whatever living being or object they're carrying and capture it intact. Understand?"
Death Streak crosses his arms. "Anomalies are not in my usual contracts. If you want my help, I'll want extra."
Eggman sighs. "Fine. I'll pay you one billion in cash to catch to capture it. Happy now?"
Death Streak uncrossed his arms. "Very. Just give me something to track it with and the cash, then the anomaly is as good as yours."
Eggman's robots hand him a small radar and stack a bunch of brief cases full of money onto a hovering platform.
The mercenary walks off from the base, starting his objective immediately.
The doctor smirks to himself. "Soon I will have all of the most powerful weapons on my side, and I will crush that nuisance once and for all."
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Normal POV
Outside the Forbidden Valley
Lord Rai watches the chaos of the destruction left on two of the villages, flames lighting up the night as people scrambled around like ants.
He had spared the Field Village because he wanted them to be filled up with fear before he brings their inevitable doom.
The man once looked at the place as home and thought it was a tragedy if anything like this happened to it.
But after seeing first hand how much of fool he was for believing everything the Fuji Clan believed...
...all of this felt like an entertaining comedy for him.
One of his guards come in dragging in a weak Suzuki. "We found him trying to sneak his way to you."
The old man waves him off. "Leave him here with me. I wish to discuss something with him."
The guard dumps Suzuki on the ground and walks away.
Suzuki weakly gets up. "Where.....is........Yua?"
Lord Rai answers. "Simple. The River Village sold her to some slave traders. My scouts found their position, which I can give to you for nothing in return."
Suzuki looks at him with his eyes almost looking desperate and lifeless at the same time. "Please...."
Lord Rai balances him against the tree and injects more of the drug inside Suzuki. "This will help you regain your energy. Then you will find your girlfriend again."
Suzuki's eyes completely whitened as he lets out a menacing yell.
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Normal POV
Remains of the River Village
Blaze and Espio were stuck on what to do next, and not sure how to go about it.
With Aura assumed dead, there wasn't much reason to stay in the valley, especially since everything was already gone.
Espio was thinking if he should call his team over to help rebuild the villages, though getting them and the rest of his allies here would be a difficult obstacle.
He eventually came to the conclusion that there was only one thing they could do.
Espio went to Blaze. "We cannot stay like this. Aura would not want you to be like this, Blaze."
Blaze dries her face off. "I know...but I wish he didn't leave just when we reunited again."
Espio nods. "I understand. We got to avenge Aura and everyone he lost."
Blaze stands up. "What is your plan?"
Espio pulls out three shurikens. "We find this.....Lord Rai that Aura mentioned and destroy whatever he plans to use, saving the valley and the world."
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Normal POV
Unknown Location
There was a calm river bank with well patterned tides pushing along the edge of the dirt, which was paired with a large field of colorful flowers nearby.
A young rabbit walks around the flowers with her Chao companion, looking for the most beautiful among the bright canvas of flowers.
The rabbit then hears the tide of the river, but it's louder for some reason, indicating that the river had just washed something in.
She went over to look at whatever it was, her Chao staying close by protectively.
The rabbit gasps when she saw what was laying there motionlessly.
The young one runs off to find someone, but the reason for why remains unknown.
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It's been a while since I've returned to this.
Hope you enjoyed this story so far.
Let me know if you have any questions about this.
See you in the next chapter!