Chaotic Origins

Sonic cursed under his breath. He should've known that the whole thing was fake. It was just too strange to be real. He ran into the main room. He noticed that the statue that had depicted himself was now obsidian, and showed an evil looking dragon serpent...thing.

     "Lawbringer! What did you do to me!" yelled Sonic, screeching to a halt.

     "Why, I made you better! I made you so you could fulfill your true purpose." Lawbringer's ghostly voice echoed around the room.

     Sonic raised an eyebrow.  "Which is?"

     "To serve me!"

     "No way! I don't serve anyone, especially not the likes of you!" Sonic protested. He didn't know the entirety of Lawbringer's scheme, but he knew it wasn't good.

     "You always were rebellious, Hanzoku. But you will bend to my will. You cannot resist the call of your master!" As he spoke, the statue of the dragon began moving, the obsidian skin falling away to reveal the more sinister darkness underneath. To Sonic's surprise, the dragon's new skin was also covered in strange markings, exactly like the ones Sonic now sported.

     "Hanzoku? What's that supposed to mean?" Sonic asked cautiously. He wasn't about to let Lawbringer make him get sidetracked.

     "It is your true name, not the one you now use. It means 'rebel' in the ancient language. I gave you that name because you were always hard to control, even from the time you first came into being. As punishment, I made you take mortal form. You lost all your memories of your time in the Nexus when that happened, but not your spirit. But you will not be so difficult to control now."

     "You really think you can control me? That'll be harder than you think. I have free will, and I'm not about to give it up!" Sonic yelled defiantly. The dragon, who had completely shed his outer layer, stepped down onto the shards of obsidian, approaching Sonic.

     "BOW TO YOUR MASTER, HANZOKU!" the dragon screeched. As he did so, a blue wave of energy swept the room. As soon as the wave reached Sonic, he fell to his knees.

     "Sonic!" cried Tails. He and Knuckles tried to reach him, but were swept away by the dragon's tail. They crashed into the wall, gasping for breath as all the air was knocked out of them.

     Sonic yelled in pain as he felt his consciousness, his personality being torn up. Thoughts that weren't his own flooded his mind, thoughts of destroying and wreaking havoc, of obeying Lawbringer's every word. For a moment, he succumbed.

     He lifted his head, his now blank eyes rising to meet those of the dragon's. Lawbringer smiled in success. He had finally triumphed the will of the other immortal. But then that moment ended.

     Sonic stood, his emerald eyes reappeared, and the dark aura vanished. Lawbringer growled in frustration.

     "I told you not to underestimate me," quipped Sonic. " I'm stronger than you think."

     "No matter, Hanzoku. Trust me, I planned for this. I would never underestimate my servant. You are created from some of the most chaotic creatures in the universe."

     "But that reality was fake," insisted Sonic.

     "The people weren't. No, they may not have really met you, but they do exist, in a dimension exactly like the one you saw. And you did meet your creator. You fought him. I also wanted you to meet Dark Lord Sombra, but you discovered the farce too soon."

     "Discord? That weirdo?" Sonic realized.

     "Partially. Do not worry, you will learn the whole truth soon." Lawbringer sidled closer to Sonic, his claws scraping against the stone. Sonic backed up a few steps, not wanting Lawbringer so close. Lawbringer grinned, showing off his mouthful of teeth.

     "You are right to fear me," whispered Lawbringer into the hedgehog's ear. "You have no idea what I'm about to do to you. Trust me, it will hurt." Sonic smirked in response to the dragon's threat.

     "They all say that," he answered.

     It didn't matter how Sonic might have braced himself for what was about to happen, it still hurt. A LOT. Sonic grit his teeth, determined not to scream like he had before. But this was completely different. It felt like everything he was began doubling. For a moment, he swore he saw himself in front of him, that he saw and heard and thought from two different points. The feeling snapped off, but Sonic still saw himself in front of him.

     "What did you just do?" Lawbringer circled the two identical Sonics, making a wall of swirling black and glowing blue. The second Sonic's eyes snapped open, revealing two familiar emerald eyes, and looked at the first Sonic in wonder.

     "Woah! Trippy, there's two of me? So what's it like being a clone?" Sonic-2 asked.

     "No, YOU'RE the clone, not me." Sonic-1 answered. The other Sonic looked puzzled, but the first Sonic interrupted before he could argue.

     "Look, it doesn't matter who's the clone and who isn't! We have to defeat him!" Sonic-1 pointed out. To his surprise, Sonic-2 looked confused.

     "But why would we want to defeat him? He is our master. We must obey him!" Sonic-2 confidently said. Sonic-1 stepped back in shock.

     "This is what you should have been like," said Lawbringer. "Why can't you be more like your little brother?" Sonic-2 smirked, clearly enjoying the praise.

     "No one should have to pledge their loyalty to a monster," Sonic-1 said vehemently. "I would never obey you!"

     "Have no fear, you do not need to now. That is why I made provision for a second you. One that is more... suitable, for my purposes. Unfortunately, a personality is not required, so that needs to go." The dragon stared at Sonic-2. He yelled in pain, holding his hands with his head. Suddenly he stopped, standing with no emotion. His eyes disappeared, leaving only blank whiteness. Sonic-1 stepped back, for seeing himself like that was not a pleasant experience.

     "Now then. You are probably wondering why I wanted to control you. The reason is simple. This is not a temple. It is a prison. In fact, you put me here, trapping me in the Nexus. So I stayed, gathering power from all the things going on in other universes. There was quite a few. Even so, while I can exit the Nexus, I cannot leave this temple. I cannot enter any other dimensions either, though I can view them. You were quite thorough when you imprisoned me. But, my consciousness can leave. It just needs a different body." Sonic gasped as the full extent of Lawbringer's plan began to hit him. "So you see, I could not just take over anyone. It had to be someone powerful enough for my purposes. So I thought it best to use the one who trapped me in the first place. To tell the truth, I did not make you mortal. You sacrificed your immortality so you would have the power needed to put me in this prison. But that weakened you after the deed was done, so I could now manipulate you to a much greater extent. Now, my plan finally comes to fruition. I have a body, ready and waiting to take me away from this dungeon. I have you, who I will destroy, and I have this world to conquer. Then I will move on to the next, and the next, and the next. I shall rule all that is." Lawbringer explained. Sonic snarled at Lawbringer's bold statements..

     "There's no way I'm letting that happen!" he swore.

     "You don't have a choice in the matter, Hanzoku. In fact, I won't destroy you. I will weaken you until I can control you, and then you will conquer the universe at my side."

     "And why exactly are you telling me all this?" Sonic asked.

     "Because I want to see the look on your face when you are defeated, when you realize that your failure has left the universe at my mercy. I want to see you BEG. You will know what it is to see everything you were taken away, sealed up, unable to do anything. You Will SUBMIT, Hanzoku. You will bow to me, just as you were meant to do." Lawbringer smiled. Sonic glared at him, but he had to admit, Lawbringer's words chilled him to the bone. But they also made him more determined than ever before.

     "You know I won't let you do that. If I stopped you once, then I'll do it again." Sonic replied confidently.

     "Oh, Hanzoku. You are foolish as always. Why do you slave for these people? They are beneath you. You should be ruling them. You should be king! You were immortal once, and you can be again. You need only take my hand, and I will bring you to Godhood again." Lawbringer smiled slightly. While Sonic may be strong enough to fight his control, how would he fight what he didn't know was happening?

     Tails watched in horror as he saw Sonic actually considering the dragon's proposal. Sonic would never do that! That was when he realized that Lawbringer must have been using subtle mind control.

     "Sonic! Don't!" he yelled. Lawbringer growled, increasing the slight push he was putting on Sonic's mind. That proved to be the wrong desicion, for Sonic finally realized what was happening. The glazed look his eyes had taken on disappeared, and Sonic glared at the serpent.

     "No! I don't want to be a king, or a god, or anything else! I especially don't want a no-good, low-down evil rat like you changing my mind for me!" Sonic snarled. Finally, he was truly finding out the extent of Lawbringer's power and control.

     "I'm done talking, Lawbringer. Either fight, or go back to the prison where you belong!"

     Lawbringer's eyes narrowed. "If that is what you think, then so be it. Feel free to change your mind anytime, as I will not let you escape until you do." He once again focused on the second Sonic. As he did so, his form began melting into a swirling pool of black. Floating high above, the mass suddenly dived down and was absorbed into the second Sonic. Lawbringer opened his new eyes.

     "Good. Now I am the perfect height to enjoy it when you beg for mercy. And I will enjoy it immensely." Lawbringer smiled, his grin eerily similar to Sonic's. Then he frowned, and his green eyes narrowed.

     "This form does not please me. I shall change it." Lawbringer's eyes completely closed, and the markings began to glow brightly. With a bright flash, he completely changed form. Sonic stared in surprise. While the creature standing in front of him still bore similarities to him, it was impossible to describe. It just looked like a demon, all spikes and claws and slitted eyes. It also had a long tail with barbs on it, capped in silver highlights.

     "Today I take a new name! From now on I shall be known as Onigami! The Demon God! Bow before my power, mortals!" This new creature looked at Sonic with achingly familiar emerald eyes. But now they shone with evil intent.

     "Could you finish with your little spiel already? This has been going on forever!" yawned Sonic. He just wanted to get this over with. Save the world, beat the bad guy, yada, yada, yada. Deep down, Sonic was afraid, but he'd never let it show. He would not let fear or anger or anyone else control him. This was his fight. He wasn't going to back down easily.

     It was a slaughter, and not in a good way. Onigami had the power of galaxies and the knowledge of centuries behind him, and an innate knowledge of Sonic's moves. Sonic had two feet and a snarky attitude. That last one didn't do him much good.

     But even with all that, Onigami wasn't finding it easy.

     "Why won't you give up?!" he yelled after Sonic picked himself back up from off the ground.

     "He's like a cockroach! Impossible to kill!" called out Tails. He and Knuckles had been trapped behind a force field almost immediately, but they still called out encouragement.

     "Uh, thanks... I guess." Sonic called back. The creature he was fighting had no strategy or pattern to its attacks. At one moment it would try to stab him with its tail, the next moment it would blast him with a dark beam of energy. It also never used the exact same attack or combo twice, so Sonic was left guessing as to what he had to dodge or counter.

     Sonic ducked under Onigami's outstretched arm, only to get knocked over by a sweep of his tail. Onigami leapt on top of him, pushing one clawed foot on his chest.

     "You must see how pointless this is. There is no way to defeat me. I am immortal, Hanzoku." Onigami taunted. As he spoke, Sonic's eyes blazed red in fury. He glared holes into the demon above him.

     "My name," he ground out from in between clenched teeth,"IS SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!" He exploded upward in golden light, floating above the floor. The transformation only lasted a moment, though, and he fell back to the ground. He landed on his feet, standing proudly. Tails stared in shock, and Knuckles did the same.

     "He... he went super. Without the Chaos Emeralds! And he didn't go crazy!" Knuckles shouted. Tails cheered, glad to see that Sonic was not so easily vanquished. (He would never doubt him, but there were times...)

     "Ugh! This so taking too long! I have arrangements I must make. Our battle will have to wait for another time, " Onigami spat. Sonic started to run after him, but Onigami sent one last wave of energy and blasted him into the wall, making a sizable hole.

     The moment he left, the force field holding Tails and Knuckles fell away, drifting into wisps of energy. Sonic pulled himself out of the wall, flinching at the dozen and some wounds that bled freely. All in all, he was a pretty gruesome sight. He wiped blood from his lip, grimacing at the metallic taste.

     "Sonic! Are you okay?" asked Tails. The wounds had not escaped his notice, but Sonic had gone through worse just fine.

     "Eh. I'm good," he answered, shrugging his shoulders. Even doing that hurt though, as Onigami had bent his arm back at one point, bending bones the wrong way and stretching tendons.

     "That wasn't too bad for your first showdown with the guy. But how did you go super? And, well, not go completely nutso?" Knuckles asked. As usual, he hated giving praise, so he went as light as he possibly could with it.

     "I just wanted to. It felt right. Don't ask me how it works. I couldn't hold it for long either. Maybe the power of the Chaos Emeralds rubbed off on me?" Sonic guessed. Tails shrugged. He'd have to test it later.

     "That doesn't matter. We're going to need those Chaos Emeralds if we want to defeat him." Tails pointed out. Sonic looked worried, though.

     "But what if the Chaos Emeralds aren't enough? We've only seen a fraction of what that guy can do." Knuckles asked.

     "Then I know just the ponies to help," grinned Sonic. Tails and Knuckles looked at eachother, confused.

     "Ponies?"