Chapter 37- Urban Havoc

The three made it into the city limits. The only sounds where that of the three’s footfalls against the broken pavement and the crackling fire of the burning building. 

"I don’t like this at all," Gray commented glumly as he pulled Spitfire in front of him.

"Neither do I," Carmen agreed.

"I suggest that you hide somewhere Carmen, we’re not going up against your average foe," Sotsu suggested as he pulled the Chaos Blade in front of him and charged it, the green glow cast an errie tint against the dead city walls.

The three came to a point between two turns, where at their sides were buildings, it was there, at that almost perfectly set up point they were ambushed.

"Get them!" the lead gangster shouted, all of them propped up their Thomson’s.

In reaction another large group of Abet’s men came from behind, all wielding the same automatic weapon. Gray hefted Spitfire up and pulled the trigger unleashing the rounds that sounded throughout the area like a hammer against metal. Sotsu turned to the group that came from behind and unleashed Assault rounds into the legs of the thugs.

As Abet’s men, only a split second behind initiative, pulled the trigger of their Thomson’s starting up the rattling weapons. Sotsu quickly dispersed a shadow field about the three that managed to stop most of the bullets altogether. 

There was the sudden sound of a loud thud, a bright flash was seen before a rumbling explosion was heard. A pile of pavement, no more then a few yards from Sotsu was tossed into the air. 

"They’ve got rockets!" Gray shouted as he pulled Carmen by the wrist toward one of the buildings.

"You go I’ll try and handle them!" Sotsu shouted as he launched another clip into the Sword.

"I’m not leaving you!" Gray shouted back as he shoved Carmen into the door of the building and began to open fire again.

A hiss was heard as a flare like object launched down from above. Sotsu leapt out of the way before the rocket burrowed into the pavement and exploded brightly.

"You take care of these guys I’ll go up!" Sotsu yelled to Gray above the gunfire.

"Right go!" Gray replied.

Sotsu took a flying bound to the side of one building, with his feet becoming a blur under him he began to scale up the wall. He saw at least a dozen or so of Abet’s men with bazooka lurched over their shoulders. They were stationed upon the lip of the building.

Sotsu seethed the Sword and pulled free his Chaos Blade from the strap holding his equipment bag up. He saw the bright flash of a rocket being launcher in his direction. As it came speeding down with a tail of smoke trailing behind Sotsu meet it head on. He leapt over the explosive and as he passed over he burst himself along quickly with a hit of Chaos Energy. As he trailed over his nicked the missile with the Chaos Blade and caused it to explode. Sotsu quickly used a mere spilt second of Chaos Control to give him a head start to out-run the blazing blast. As he felt the warmth of time slowing, and the loud rumbling of the explosion expanding becoming to a silent and slow roar; he jetted off a fragment of the remaining bit of the rocket’s shell and hit the side of the building with his feet flying fast. Just as he other foot hit the wall time returned with a sudden woosh of cool air.

The explosion ripped into the walls and the shattering of glass echoed about that area. Another two rockets were launched at the echidna. As the twin projectiles sped forward a third became visible. Sotsu wound back his arm holding the Chaos Blade and threw the weapon upward. Just as the first two missile reached the side of the large blade Sotsu pulled free his pistols and shot a single round into each rocket. When the rockets exploded it sent the sword flying back toward Sotsu.


Sotsu caught the blade in his right hand and let the momentum of it spin him about, once around he tossed the Chaos Blade back up right toward the third rocket. It contacted the projectile and formed a bright orange blast. The sword was pushed a ways outward and just as it was going to seem to fall back downward the Black Knight erupted from the smoke of the blast, caught the blade in his right hand and continued his path up.

"He’s insane!" Sotsu heard one of Abet’s men shout from above. 

Several of Abet’s mean turned their backs from the lip of the roof and headed over to their discarded Thomson’s which where piled in the middle of the roof. Just as they let go of their rocket launchers Sotsu burst from over the lip.

The Black Knight sent a swift quick to the back of the head of one, then as his feet touched ground he took a large bound forward bring his Chaos Blade in a wide arc and sending a crescent shaped projectile of bright green energy toward the weapons. 

When it contacted the weapons exploded in a bright flash. Most of Abet’s men were shaken, stunned, unconscious or wounded from the blast. Sotsu took up one of the men still awake by the collar and shook him violently.

"Where is he?" Sotsu demanded.

"You’ll find him at the p…plaza!" the thug squeaked, shaking with terror.

"’k… thanks," Sotsu replied lightly with a smile.

The echidna dropped the thug and took a bound from the roof and descended quickly to the streets below. He saw that all of Abet’s men were downed, his bodyguard was loading in another several more rounds into a smoking Siptfire.

"Sotsu! Let’s find Abet and get going!" Gray exclaimed.


Sotsu was about to reply but just as he opened his mouth a trio of automobile bound thugs were rumbling around the corner and straight for them. The loud rumbling motors sounded as the revved up cars had the two fixed in their path.


"Gray watch out!" Sotsu shouted, as he pulled free his motorcycle cube on mistake, forgetting it had broken down.

Gray dived out of the way as did Sotsu. Sotsu hit the expand button and the motorcycle turned to it’s riding form. Sotsu got on and hit the ignition, to find it worked.


Without much thought into it, Sotsu took off toward the thugs taking the Chaos Blade into his left hand and steering with his right. The loud rumbling of the cars made it so Sotsu didn’t have to worry about them being able to get anywhere without his notice. 


Several thugs hung out the window with their Thomson’s blazing away toward the Black Knight. 

"Shit!" Sotsu cursed as he produced a shadow field about the cycle. It was hard for him to steer and concentrate. He knew with consistency would come the failing of his shield, and with that his death would be the result.

Sotsu pressed ever more on as he neared the back of one car. An unanticipated sharp corner came and he pulled hard in that direction. All of the Thomson shots became off by several yards. Sotsu smiled as he neared enough to take out on of the tires. He pressed even harder on the speed and got to the side. 

Abet’s men locked their sites right on the echidna figuring him to be an idiot to be so close to armed men. But with a swift slash from the Chaos Blade all the weapons were disabled, their barrels hitting the ground with metallic clanging.


The thugs looked ignorantly at their broken weapons, then it was another second before one of the back tires were slashed. Sotsu continued dragging the Chaos Blade along one side as he speed up and out ran the black car, which now slowed to a halt with the thugs cursing frantically.

The other two cars were side by side, all of the thugs opening fire of Sotsu with their rattling guns. Sotsu followed the automobiles onto a raising overpass. The wind of the open area ripped about Sotsu’s long black hair. He squinted behind his blue glasses as the air dried out his eyes. His red and gray trench coat flapped behind him loudly.

Sotsu slammed his fist into the big red button on the counsel in front of him. With a sounding metallic clank the barrels of the large gattlings came fourth from the sides of the black and green motorcycle. 

"Don’t press this unless you want to kill something," Sotsu once again said, remembering Mewy’s words very clearly.

With that the two large weapons began to whine to life as the huge gattling slugs ripped into the backsides of the black automobiles. In reply some of the thugs jumped from the vehicles. Sotsu whizzed by them, the cars didn’t slow a bit. Sotsu took the Chaos Blade into his right hand and as he neared the right automobile he jammed the black weapon into the side of the car. 

The thugs inside that car picked up their weapons, as they pulled the trigger the bullets jammed inside the gun and backfired, causing the weapons to brake. Sotsu had used his telekinesis to jam the guns in the same way he had jammed the missiles of the Dark Legion jets from before. 

Sotsu let up on the pedal to get behind the pair of cars. The threat of the right automobile was diminished as all it’s firearms were destroyed.


Sotsu put up a shadow field as another salvo of Thomas bullets rained on him from the left car, the last one Sotsu had to do away with. 

As the black echidna hit the fire button for the gattlings the weapons didn’t respond. The guns had overheated for some reason, Sotsu cursed under his breath and hit the gas pedal to boost up to the last remaining car.

The right car gave up and took to the side of the highway, now it was one on one. Sotsu and the remaining automobile that now took front and center in Sotsu’s view. Several of the thugs boarded in the car replaced their empty magazines. 

Sotsu placed the Chaos Blade in the strapping on his back and exchanged for the Sword. He drew the long rifle and set it for an assault/sniper mode as he placed on a medium barrel, and the scope. He jammed in an AP clip and cocked the weapon. Then taking both hands off the cycle and balanced carefully as he half stood. 

Taking the car into the rifles sites he breathed slowly, he let time slow for a mere millisecond using Chaos Control. Then taking that millisecond to steady, aim, and pull the trigger. The bullet shattered through the glass of the back, and hit dead on through the dashboard and into the engine, stopping the car in it’s tracks. 

Just as Sotsu rode by the car on of the thugs lugged a small black bomb out the window. In a loud bang the Black Knight was tossed with his bike into the air and off the over pass. As Sotsu twirled end over end he hit the bike’s compactor button, shoved the device into the pocket of his trench coat and slowed his decent down just before he touched ground. 

He looked about, something was amiss. Normally the plaza was in the center of some of the major buildings, what was it doing off this overpass? There Sotsu stood in cracked white tiles, about were the now broken form of the marble shark statues that used to stand grand in the place. Now the once beautiful plaza was nothing more then trash. 

A ways away from the plaza, the nearest building, was the old city bank. A little ways from that was the old Technology Museum. Someone was coming out.

From out of the double doors of the near dilapidated structure was a rather chubby white rabbit, wearing a blue colored suit outfit with a matching bowler’s hat. Large black sunglasses hide his eyes, and a large brown cigar hung below that. To Sotsu it seemed like an ordinary thug, but that he was far from. 

He walked right into the line of sight of Sotsu and turned to the black echidna. There the two stood in silence, each taking position on one side of the plaza. Then the white rabbit looked up through his large pair of black sunglasses, a grin held on his face.

"Abet," Sotsu stated in a near whisper.

"And… you must be Sotsu, the Hunter," the Legend replied in a loud and rather obnoxious voice. 

"That’s right I am," Sotsu said almost proudly as he dropped his hands near his pistols.

"Well then I guess I’ll have to take you out myself!" Abet shouted violently as he pulled up his arms, somehow two large black Thomson’s formed in his hands, he pulled the triggers and the Thomson’s rattled to life.

Sotsu quickly dived behind the stone foundation of one of the statues. The Thomson’s bullets ripped up to where Sotsu had just been standing, tile fragments were tossed up with a loud cracking sound. Sotsu pulled free his akimbo and dived out of the cover, he used his telekinesis to pull up loose tiles that took the oncoming Thomson salvo. 

Sotsu pulled the triggers rapidly, his vision was slightly hindered from the sparse floating tiles about him, but he still made contact, or so it seemed. As the blue energy blasts neared the Legend they simply passed him, seeming as if Sotsu was stray by several yards. Sotsu knew that was almost impossible for him to do, something was up with this rabbit.

Sotsu hit the ground and rolled, pulled sharply upright and while still pulling the pistol triggers he dived back into the cover of some piled up debris. Abet’s projectiles ripped across the ground right as Sotsu made it in.

Seeing the echidna behind cover Abet grinned wider. He released his left Thomas, instead of falling to the ground it floated over the right Thomas. With a slight chuckle from the Legend the hovering Thomas broke to pieces and formed back together over the other, to make one very large Thomas. 

As Abet braced the larger weapon with his other hand he pulled the trigger. The now double chambered circular clip whined to life like a gattling. Then with a loud and sharp metallic sound the bullets were spit at the pile of debris that Sotsu was using as cover.

Sotsu heard the loud rounds being shot forward, he pushed hard off the ground with both feet and leapt widely away before the debris was blasted everywhere. Had Sotsu been sitting their still his body would have become a pin cushion of rock and marble pieces. 

He scrambled to his feet as the bullet line was hot on his heels. The empty bullet cartridges bounded to the ground as they emptied from Abet’s Thomson. The huge weapon recoiled hard each time it dispensed another round. He grinned, and the flash from the muzzle of the gun reflected off his black sunglasses.

"Come on echidna! Can’t you do better?" Abet mocked as he target dashed about back and fourth until he found a large piece of wall to hide behind. 

"Better eh? How about this?" Sotsu replied as he set the pistols to full power. The akimbo whined as the energy built up. A vicious smile crossed Sotsu’s face, he would make sure Abet got a good hit from them. 

Sotsu charged a good amount of shadow energy about his arms. Then he slammed shoulder first through the crumbling stone wall, he pulled up his pistols, diving forward and trigger-happy. Abet’s rounds danced about the echidna, if not for Sotsu’s slight shadow field to deviate the accuracy of the oncoming rounds he would’ve been long dead. 

The bright barrage of blue beams hit head on the Legend. Abet put his arms up, taking the rounds straight on, and only backing a little ways from the hits, no actually damage was visible. Sotsu rolled forward as he neared the ground, then as he got into a crouch he swung up his right arm, taking dead-on aim on the just recovering Abet. 

Just as Abet lowered his arms Sotsu pulled the trigger. The shot echoed about the city, the event seemed to go as slow as if Sotsu was using Chaos Control. A blue steak erupted from the black metal muzzle of Sotsu’s right pistol. It dashed across quickly closing the distance between it’s originator and it’s target. It connected with Abet just as he was looking up to the black echidna. Then he recoiled backward as the laser made it’s mark. With his back arched and falling backwards, Abet was down.

With hesitation Sotsu slowly uprighted his stance. He breathed deeply, not believing Abet was finished off so easily. Smoke rose from the barrels of the pistols. The extreme heat of the full-powered shots and the insane number of times Sotsu had pulled the trigger in such as short time would have melted a standard pistol, he was lucky Mewy was such a genius. 

Sotsu slowly walked to the body of the rabbit. His hat had fallen over his face, Sotsu was afraid that if he lifted the hat he’d find a huge bloody hole in the middle of the Legend’s face. The weapons he was using had disappeared just as mysteriously as they had appeared.

Just as Sotsu was a step away from the Legend the rabbit burst upright. Sotsu tried to lift his pistols up to meet but he was a split second to slow. Abet tossed his right arm upward in a motion as if he were bowling. At that he almost was, as a black bomb was sent right toward Sotsu. The black echidna aborted the shooting idea as he dove backwards, but the bomb blew right there. 

A bright orange explosion sent white tiles raining about, Abet stood his ground as not a flicker of it touched him, he stood their smiling as Sotsu was sent flying straight backwards. He hit the ground hard, and the ground gave way with a loud crackle. Sotsu, along with a hail of white tiles and stone fell down to a room below the ground. Sotsu felt a good amount of debris bury him. 

He coughed as he inhaled a bit of risen dust. Then he pushed up with his legs and stood up from the pile of fallen construct. He looked about, he was in what appeared to be an exhibit. About him, in a room painted black with black carpeting, were several old space exhibits, similar to those ones found in his time, in fact, that’s what they were. Though standing, the exhibits were damaged, worn and otherwise aged. 

"The… San Jose Museum," Sotsu gasped, awe struck that after thousands of years it would even still be standing, why it was underground was unknown to him. 

Sotsu didn’t have much time to tighten his grip about his pistols and leap out of the way before Abet came crashing down hard on the pile. Sotsu quickly scrambled behind a small wall section that contained a map of the solar system tacked on there. Though it would be more appropriate to call it the map of the old solar system. No doubt Earth wasn’t the only planet with a changed name, and perhaps there were other things different but Sotsu didn’t have the time to think about it.

Several bullets ripped trough the wall section, lucky for Sotsu they were placed way off to the end. As the bullet line traced straight for Sotsu the black echidna took off running to another wall segment a few yards off. 

As Sotsu exited the cover Abet pulled sharp on his re-summoned large Thomson, bring the weapon about to Sotsu. The bullets zipped by Sotsu as the Black Knight dove into the cover of the other wall segment. 

He rolled and continued his fast pace as the bullets ripped through hot on his tail. Sotsu jammed one pistol into it’s hoistel and pulled free a fragmentation grenade. He lifted the green explosive to his mouth and ripped loose the pin. Then he charged shadow energy in his right arm. As he lobbed the explosive over the wall segment he burst through another that was further back. As he rolled through the debris a blast shook the area sending various pieces of concrete and stone flying about. The shattering boom broke the glass on one of the encased space suits. Sotsu lay still for a bit a little shell shocked from the blast.

He stood up, and looked about the place as dust rose and debris still rained down. He quickly took up his other pistol and braced himself as Abet leapt from the cloud of dust and straight for Sotsu. The echidna had little time to brace himself as Abet jammed one silver tipped boot into his stomach. 

Sotsu was downed and Abet held his foot down hard keeping the echidna in place. Not a mere second after Sotsu’s back touched ground Abet thrust his Thomson down for Sotsu’s head and pulled the trigger. Sotsu knocked the weapon aside with his left hand, as it spat out several rounds. Then before Abet could recover the aim of his weapons Sotsu shot up his right hand and clipped off a shot aimed for Abet’s head. 

Abet pulled to the left as the shot severed some stray whiskers, then the Legend backed away as Sotsu lifted his other weapon and began firing away to try and gain distance. The Legend took flight as he quickly ascended a staircase to a higher level.

Sotsu got up and tightened his grip on his pistols. Then he slowly and cautiously ascended the same staircase. His footfalls only made a dull clap that echoed silently about the large room. As he neared the top it came level as he was standing on a connection between the lower lever, which he had just come from, and a higher level, as well as the lobby which was even with where he was now. 

He stepped across the wide, open lobby. He walked over to the edge of the open walling which overlooked the lower lever he had come from. Sotsu couldn’t sense anything, the LED on his glasses didn’t detecting anything. Where was Abet?

"Hey Hunter!" Sotsu heard Abet shout from far behind. 

Just as Sotsu took a sharp turn and spun about he saw the rabbit behind the glass windows of the Souvenir’s Shop. The Thomas rounds blasted through the glass that sounded loud as it busted fourth. Sotsu had no choice, he dived backwards over the viewing wall segment. The bullets whizzed right over his face, and he felt gravity pull on him hard. 

He maneuvered a back flip and landed gracefully on the top of a large podium. He heard the Legend’s footfalls from above. Sotsu didn’t wait around for Abet to shot down on him, Sotsu took flight, quickly dashed upward. 

Right as both of them came even over the wall segment they pulled fourth their weapons and simultaneously pulled the triggers. Abet took full force of several of the laser rounds, stunning him. The rounds from Abet’s weapons skinned Sotsu’s sides as he turned sharply facing his right side to the Legend. He whenced as he felt blood surface, but he didn’t have time to concern himself with a flesh wound, he had to act now, before Abet could recover.

Sotsu tossed both guns up, he slowed time just long enough to give himself a head start. He pulled free his Chaos Blade and it charged to life with blazing green Chaos Energy. The pistols feel to the floor below with a sounding clack, they were even with Sotsu’s time. Abet was just finishing his recoiling from the shots. The echidna flew forward extending his left arm out, the Chaos Blade going horizontal. Sotsu pushed himself forward, going past Abet’s right, bringing the blade across the Legend’s ribs. But it didn’t work, it was a trap.

Just as the weapon was about to make contact Abet ripped about in his normal speed and grabbed hold of the flat side of the blade. Sotsu looked over in shock and didn’t react fast enough as the rabbit ripped the Chaos Blade from his hands and flung it to the other side of the room.

Abet brought up his Thomson and Sotsu reached for the Sword while taking a roll to the ground. As Sotsu twirled about on the ground he heard the click of the trigger of Abet’s gun being pulled. The echidna struck an Assault clip into his rifle. 

As Sotsu spun up bringing the Sword about to face Abet, the Legend’s rounds whizzed by. The two automatic’s spat vividly. The loud rattling sound of the Thomson and the silenced <phewing> of the Sword. It sounded like a war, and it just about was. Two warring fighters, each with the capability of being a single man army.

Both of the gun-blazing warriors dived backwards, several shots clipped at the edges of Sotsu’s black fur. He felt several of the rounds skin across and draw blood. As with Abet the thug dived backward with his large Thomas rattling away. The Sword rounds being pushed around him, a few managed to skim the edge of his suit but nothing more. 

As the two hit the ground they rolled backward and got up. Sotsu felt the strong jerking of the Sword in his hand as the weapon continued to pump out rounds. The whole place was full of bullet holes, the floor was chewed up and there were even several rounds in the roof. The smell of gun smoke held in the air, Sotsu and even the Legend were breathing heavily.

The Sword’s bullets merely were pushed aside again. Sotsu growled and felt the fur on him frizzle up as anger built. Sotsu took up a charge of Chaos Energy then boosted himself forward. As he dashed headlong toward Abet’s rounds the black echidna took the Sword in front of him and pelted the opposing bullets with the rifle. As he hit the bullets they ricocheted off to the sides, to Sotsu it was all in fury, he was too frustrated to stand here and wait for Abet to leave his guard down again. Either he’d charge the Legend or he’d die trying. He seemed nothing but a black blur as he rushed forward, using the Sword as a shield and as he neared a few feet from his target his produced a shadow blade in his left hand.

He stepped forward, and spinning he brought out the shadow blade in a wide arc. Abet tried to pull back but the shadow material skinned his ribs, then as Sotsu pivoted about he shot his arm holding the Sword straight forward. Before Abet could recover from the slash, Sotsu evened his sight with the Legend, took aim and pulled the trigger once.

The shot blasted fourth, sounding so much like a cannon shot from the now sudden silence of the place; ejecting from the long silver barrel of the Sword, traveling through the air and ripping into Abet’s left lower ribs. As the bullet penetrated the skin it sent a spray of blood into the air like fine mist. The Legend dropped his Thomson and grasped his bleeding side with both hands. 

Sotsu quickly took a step forward he slipped the Sword into it’s place in the equipment bag and letting the shadow blast disappear, he spun and as he turned about he brought up his right foot. The blade of the armored foot connected with the left side of Abet’s face. The Legend was sent spinning to the floor. Then in one swift motion Sotsu grabbed hold of the metal box from his pack, he popped the lid with a touch of the button on the front. He popped out a small metal chip, stepped one foot on the back of the downed rabbit, and contacted the chip with the back of the white neck.

With that Abet let out a long breath and fell into unconsciousness. Sotsu hesitated for a moment, then righted his stance. He looked down on the Legend as his form began to glow white. Then after flickering for a moment it disappeared, having been teleported to Dark Legion Head Quarters. Sotsu sighed, he could finally relax. He had finally gotten one of the eight Legends. One more Legend closer to being able to return to Skara, or at least, without having to comb the planet to find her.

"Yep," Sotsu began with a slight hint of a sarcastic tone," seven more."

He walked over to the back of the room where the Chaos Blade lay discarded. He slung the heavy sword over his right shoulder with his hand resting on the handle and headed to the lower floor to retrieve his pistols. He sighed deeply as he looked at the trashed place. He remember having just visited the place not long before he was pulled into Mobius. Then after a few more moments of reminiscing he went for the exit of the place. As he reached the double doors leading out he drew fourth his photo of Skara. 

He carefully unfolded it with his left hand and looked into the deep jade eyes. The photo was only a little more wrinkled then before. He smiled, but only for a moment, he knew he didn’t have time to stand about. He had to make sure Gray and Carmen were okay. He replaced the photo and exited to the outdoors.

As he stepped onto the pavement of the dead city the clouds seem to open on him. White sunlight spilled down like color onto a black and white painting. The color spread about and the place seemed to become alive again. He looked over to the plaza which wasn’t to far away. The broken, split and scattered white tiles seemed to glisten. The color of the broken statues of the once beautiful sharks seemed to have returned. Yet the dead silence still hung in the air. The only thing Sotsu could hear were the rapid footfalls over Gray and Carmen as they ran over to the Black Knight.

"Are you okay Sotsu?" Carmen questioned as she slowed to a halt, looking upon the bloody, dusty and fairly beaten black echidna. 

Sotsu smiled and replied, "I’m good Carmen. Now let’s go."

With that the three left east, out of the city. Abet’s men were no where to be seen. The light from the clouds spilled about the place and flooded the dead city. Abet was down, Sotsu had no idea who, what or where he might find the next Legend. But if he had to travel a thousand miles then so be it. It was his mission to find all eight of the Legends. Sotsu had his doubts about that one being dead that Fury Gear had claimed having been killed. 

A pair of armored cover hands rested on a large console of a computer. The gull gray armor matched the equally dull surroundings. The screen blinked white a few times as a rapid beeping sounded.

"Huh? What is this?" a harsh voice sounded from the figure at the front of the large computer.


The hands typed frantically at the keyboard until the screen came up with gray static. The static seemed to be moving in a wave like fashion. The figure gasped in shock and awe.

"By the Ancient Walkers! It… it… it is Mobius Prime!" he shouted. Without a second of hesitation the figure dashed off. 

On the screen the static continued the pattern. Up and down, again and again. It held on the screen making a wavering sound, it haunted the counsel like a ghastly apparition. Seemly shapeless and ever-changing back and fourth. 

-Nicholas D. Wolfwood-