Chapter 36- Foreshadowing Absolution 

Sotsu and Nack managed to get to the rest stop. The two rested outside with their weapons at hand just in case. Sotsu checked up on Carmen and Gray, the two were fast asleep inside, undisturbed. Nack agreed to leave shortly in the morning. Though Sotsu insisted that he should stay and travel with them, the weasel said he still had a job to complete. 

That night as Sotsu tried to stay awake to make sure everything was fine, his eyes began to water, his head began to swim. He fell down, his temperature at a dangerous level.


There was the distant sound of a loud door shutting in the background, the sound reverberated off the non-existing walls, of the dream. It was all black, Sotsu couldn’t even tell if his eyes were open or closed. 

"Hello?" the black echidna called out, his voice echoed about the place like a haunting phantom.

"Black Knight," the words echoed back.

"What the?" Sotsu asked himself as he lifted an eyebrow.

"Failure! You have failed! You… are a villain!" a loud voice boomed throughout the black walls that didn’t exist.

"What? Who are you!" Sotsu demanded.

There was a slight flash of white light that filled the room. In that split second Sotsu had dived and rolled to the side just as a large piece of a glass shard slammed down and imbedded itself into the ground where the black echidna had just been standing.

Sotsu righted himself and looked into the mirror.

"Look," the voice whispered. 

Sotsu found himself starring into the mirror, he was wearing his suit again. He lifted a white-gloved hand to find the brim of his hat there. 

"Look again!" the voice now boomed. Sotsu did so… he looked into the mirror, he wasn’t standing there.

A valiant form held his spot. He was looking at what seemed to be an opposite. An ivory-white echidna, standing strong with a crisp white suit, no hat, sunglasses, and a normal tail, cold blue eyes locked into his gold ones.

"Who are you?" Sotsu repeated reaching for his pistol, to find himself disarmed.

"I am everything you were suppose to be. I am not you. I am you, the hero," the white echidna replied in Sotsu’s old emotionless tone.

"What? This is just a dream though!" Sotsu said shaking his head.

"No I’m afraid not. There is always something to be said about history. It is unchangeable. You Sotsu were to be history. A hero, standing high above the evils that threaten to corrupt this land. But you Sotsu… you became it! You are not history, you must be changed," the ivory echidna said raising his voice just enough to indicate his seriousness.

"The very seconds that this dream lasts in real time… in these seconds one of us will wake, the other shall be stuck in subconscious. Though in truth, we both walk away," Sotsu’s white counter-part explained.

The white echidna stepped from the glass, and the glass faded to black and disappeared. The ivory echidna pressed his right fist into his left palm, then as he drew them apart, a shining white light-blade was drawn. Sotsu thought this echidna did it in an all too professional manner, Sotsu was worried that he might not walk away from this, or at least not walk away as himself.

Sotsu formed a shadow blade and got into a fighting stance. The other echidna merely stood there with his blade in his hand, his legs standing firm, he seemed too confident. 

Sotsu dashed forward drawing back his blade, as he was about to strike down upon his white counterpart the ivory echidna merely zipped upward, so quickly he was merely a white line. He landed far behind Sotsu in the same fashion. Sotsu turned and stood slightly confused, he hardly even registered what had just happened. The white echidna was too fast.

Sotsu snarled and dashed forward again. This time the white counter part took action, as soon as Sotsu began a wide arc with his blade, the white light-blade simply clashed against his. Sotsu was pushing hard against the ground with his legs, trying to over-power the white echidna who was just standing in a natural position like Sotsu’s force was nothing.

"It’s sad Sotsu, you haven’t even discovered your own power. You are weak," the white echidna said lightly.

"I don’t think so," Sotsu snapped as he drew back spun about bringing his blade around.

Just as Sotsu turned his head and brought down the blade the white echidna lifted up two fingers on his right hand into a meditative formation. Sotsu’s shadow-blade was blocked by a translucent panel of light. Then several more of the panels began to form in front of the black echidna, they began to heighten in intensity until Sotsu had to back away and shield his eyes.

Sotsu backed away with his arms covering his face, then the lights slowly faded. As Sotsu regained sight of the other echidna, to his horror the echidna had used the time to build up a strong attack. The white echidna stood erect with one hand behind his back and the other beneath a large glowing sphere of light.

Sotsu quickly brought up both arms, but wasn’t fast enough as the other echidna thrust his arm forward and the sphere quickly shot into the shape of a giant blazing beam. Sotsu felt the searing energy ripple about his form, it burned, a searing blaze that ripped through him like a hot knife. 

Inside the bright light Sotsu heard a loud thud, the shockwave came. The light tunnel widened for a second and Sotsu was forced back and hurled to the ground as the tunnel then thinned to nothing.

He groaned feeling as if he had been hit by a truck, feeling as if all his energy had been taken away, feeling lost, alone, and helpless. Being defeated by himself, yet at the same time, this "hero-him" wasn’t him. It was a part of him, purified and filtered of everything else. 

Sotsu lifted his head and looked over to the other echidna. The other echidna’s face was down, he walked slowly forward, one foot in front of the other. Slowly he rose his arms out wide to his sides. 

"Sotsu," he began." Let me in. I will take care of everything. I shall bring the world to peace, I shall destroy Kragok, destroy Robotnik, destroy everything against goodwill and peace. I shall vindicate this land of corruption. I shall cleanse those uncleansed."

"I can’t trust you, I’ll never give in," Sotsu shot back as he managed to prop himself on his elbows.

There was hesitation, then came a simple reply as the echidna still stalked forward. Then he stopped his arms dropped to his sides.

"Pity."

The echidna lifted one arm up, there was a flash. A white light that seemed to envelope everything. Sotsu didn’t feel anything, just a great amount of energy, then blackness took him. It was calm, silent. 

"Only the future knows," the white echidna’s soft voice echoed.

There Sotsu stood, watching himself in the badlands. He was in his black suit, his sunglasses perched on his nose, his hat sat lightly atop his head. He ran off to one side of the craggy region, his hat flipped off his head as he took off near his max speed. The hat began to slowly descend, the black echidna was off into the distance of the blue horizon, he was nothing more then a rising trail of kicked up dust. Then it turned and began to head back. The echidna came into view again swooped by and took up the hat, plopped it back on his head and leapt off a raised section. For the very few milliseconds in the air his coat flapped, one hand holding his hat down. Then as soon as he hit the ground he took off into the horizon and didn’t return.

It was the end of something, the beginning of another. Something, somewhere, sometime soon. It was something that changed everyone, something that changed the world. It was soon, but when? When and what? Who was obvious, Sotsu, the echidna no matter what he’d do, this would happen. No matter where he goes he has to face life again and again. No matter what form he took or was forced to take. 

Be it Sotsu, the real one, the one that helped his friends escape the bugging devices Robotnik had placed on them. The Sotsu that had helped the Freedom Fighters rid of the DE-55’s. The Sotsu that had recovered the kidnapped Knuckles and Julie-Su from the clutches of his present master, Kragok. 

Be it Sotsu, the controlled one. The one that was forced to do his master’s bidding, be it good or bad. The Sotsu that was responsible for the pain of the Freedom Fighters, Chaotix, ex-earthlings, and several others. The Sotsu that had blown up almost a quarter of the ARK in an attempt to kill everyone inside. The Sotsu that had near nothing for free will. The Sotsu that could only seem to regret most of his actions in some fashion.

Or be it the Sotsu of absolute heroism. The Sotsu that hadn’t been Sotsu yet, but threatened to become him soon enough. The white echidna that held so much more power, so much more vigilance, yet no humanity, no content, only absolute justice. Sotsu knew this echidna would do Mobius a world of good, yet at the same time, it’d be killing the real Sotsu. And what would happen to Skara? 

So many questions circled inside the echidna’s mind while he rested. So many possibilities, yet so few can be done. So many roads, but only can be walked. For now though Sotsu knew he must remain who he is. He must find Skara, that is his main purpose at the time. 

Helping Carmen find Magus and his friends, and getting the eight Legends served as nothing more then a side job to do on the way. Sotsu knew though that change is an inevitable force that is always bound to happen. Weather or not the white echidna could take over forcefully though was another question. Should he be able to Sotsu was sure he’d have no problem in doing so. 

Sotsu awoke abruptly the next day. Carmen shook him violently, his eyes opened slowly and the foxes face came into view.

"Wake up!" she shouted.

"I’m awake I’m awake!" Sotsu replied.

"Hey Carmen come take a look at this," Sotsu heard Gray call from the parking lot.

Carmen dropped Sotsu and walked over. Sotsu lay dizzy for a few minutes then once he regained his equilibrium he slowly walked over to the pair. Sotsu cast Gray a confused look then the red echidna simply lifted a finger in reply. 

Sotsu looked over to what Gray was pointing to, off and over the dead city that was now San Jose stood the ghostly buildings. On the front of one of the taller buildings, flames shot from the windows.

"It’s a message," Gray began. "Whoever’s doing that, which I’m guessing is Abet, is saying they know we’re here. And they’re gonna try for a kill once we enter their territory."

"Well then," Sotsu began, stepping forward a ways and lifting the Chaos Blade over one shoulder and his equipment bag over the other. "Get ready for one hell of a fight."

-Nicholas D. Wolfwood-