Emerald of Darkness REWRITE

[Azier the Swordsman]

Yep, I rewrote the first chapter. Prologue remains the same though...

Disclaimer: The characters in the following fanfiction are owned by Sega. All rights reserved.

Prologue

Dawn of the Third Age – Mobian Year 2135 (Period of the Ancients)
The planet was dying. The resources of the planet had been used almost to oblivion. The wind ceased, the seas stopped, and the water became stagnant. The ozone layer was destroyed, causing the Earth to heat into an unnatural temperature. The elements were thrown completely out of balance.

In order to preserve the planet, the ancient Mobians and the human race formed an alliance to resolve the problem. The Ancients, having great scientific knowledge and technological prowess used their skills to create a solution to the problem: The Seven Chaos Emeralds. These special gems contained massive power, the kind of power to restore and hold the forces of the world in balance. They were also made indestructible. The Emeralds were created to be in balance with the natural forces of the Earth, and to preserve it for future generations. Seven Emeralds were made, One for each specific force of the Earth, along with a Master Emerald, to keep in balance the seven Emeralds along with the natural forces of the world. The power of the Master Emerald was so great that it caused the entire area of ground it rested on to ascend to the sky. This landform became known as the Floating Island. The Emeralds were kept with the Master Emerald in a shrine on the Floating Island known as the Temple of Chaos.

The solution had seemed perfect. However, the Emeralds contained two flaws: For one, their power could be harnessed by one who had the skills to do so, and not necessarily for good. Two, the Emeralds are, in theory, indestructible, but if one, just one, were to ever so much as crack open, the results would be catastrophic, and could result in annihilation of the planet. Because of the power of the Emeralds, many evil men attempted to gain control of the Emeralds for their own evil purposes. War erupted over control of the Emeralds, and the Mobian and Human councils once again allied themselves to find a solution. The solution they devised was to create a ‘guardian’, that would guard the Emeralds day and Night, one that was immortal. The result was the creation of the liquefied creature known as Chaos. Chaos, created by the Ancients, was meant as a guardian to annihilate any evil doers who dared to attempt to misuse the power of the Emeralds. (Chaos himself resided in the Master Emerald)

The Echidna race of Mobians (One of the most highly technologically advanced races of that time who also were responsible for the creation of the liquid monster Chaos) were given the task as the guardians of the shrine. The war over the Emeralds ceased to exist. But the heart of men is dark and cunning. Evil will not rest until its innate desire to conquer and destroy is fulfilled. The new evil that was soon to arise in the world was a man known as Eliazar.

[Azier the Swordsman]

Eliazar was a very evil man, who loved to see destruction, terror and death. His immense evil was so great he became an outcast from the world of Men. He desperately longed to have the emeralds in his grasp, not only for revenge on those who shunned him, but to allow his evil desires to come to fruition. Being a very sharp thinker and a cunning strategist, he knew that if he couldn’t get ahold of the emeralds, he would have to opt for the next best thing: create one. Now, back then, record keeping was very efficient. Every minor detail and change throughout history, every scientific achievement by the Mobians, minor or not, was written (detailed) and archived in a huge library known as The Library of Constanopolis. (Also considered a wonder of the world in its time). Eliazar used his great knowledge to become a scholar at the Library (he was not an outcast among the Mobians as he was the world of Men since his evil deeds were then unknown by the Mobians) and gained the trust of those around him. He waited for the perfect opportunity.... one dark night, he broke into the Sacred Archives (where the blueprints for the Emeralds were sealed away) and took the manuscripts. He used their knowledge to forge an eighth Emerald, containing the most horrible power of them all: the power of Darkness.

With his newfound power, he began to lay waste to the planet, specifically setting out to accomplish his two main goals, the destruction of the world of Men (who had shunned him) and the control of the Master Emerald. The Great War had begun, with every nation literally rising up to battle against him. The Emerald contained the power to control any being whose heart possessed great darkness, and it was through this that Eliazar created his dark army. The power of Emerald was great, it seemed no one could stand up to this immense power. The Human and Mobian councils met a third time to arrive at a conclusion for this latest threat. They decided that the power of the Eighth Emerald was too strong, the only thing that could be done was to seal it away.... into another dimension.

Thus, six more stones were created, the six Time Stones. The Time Stones gave the power to control the very fabric of Time and Space. (A very difficult achievement to accomplish even with their high level of science and advanced technology). Eliazar had set his sights on the Master Emerald, and it was on the Floating Island that the last stand was made. Eliazar was confident in his victory, but it would never happen. Using the power of the Time Stones, the Ancients sealed Eliazar and the evil Emerald into another dimension, and sealed it off forever. The councils decided it was far to dangerous to allow the Emeralds to exist in our world, so, with the Time Stones, they created two more dimensions, (One located on South Island and the second on West Island) and sealed the Emeralds in them forever. (The Master Emerald was left in our world along with its guardian, the monster Chaos, so that the Emeralds would have their continued effect on this world; it is still guarded by the descendents of the Echidna tribe today.) The Time Stones, with their extremely dangerous powers, was given to a division of Mobians, who created a fourth dimension and sealed themselves and the Time Stones in the dimension. (Because of the manner with which the Time Stones were created, they must return to our world once a year to sow their ‘Seeds of Time’ to keep the Space/Time Continuum in balance.) They created a mass of land in this dimension known as the ‘Little Planet’, which can be seen every year at Never Lake, (The point where the dimension was created) where it arrives to sow its Seeds of Time. The world was at last at peace, civilization flourished, and the nations prospered. The Emeralds were sealed away, never again to be used for evil.

-Excerpt from an ancient Mobian manuscript. Date of time written unknown. Presumably around the Middle of the Fourth Age.

[Azier the Swordsman]

Chapter One: Premonition

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…the Chaos Emeralds were sealed away to prevent their misuse by any one plotting to use them for evil. But because of the existence of the Emerald of Darkness, its power was channeled through the Master Emerald, and connected forever through the other Chaos Emeralds. The Black Emerald is drawn to the power of the other Emeralds; it wishes to neutralize them and plunge the world into eternal darkness. The Emeralds were sealed away by us into another dimension, which was made loosely connected to the dimension we sealed the Black Emerald in, with a powerful barrier dividing the two. This was so that the Darkness might not penetrate the outside world. You see, if the Emeralds were to remain in the outside world, the Black Emerald would find them breaking through the seal of the zone it’s bound too, and plunge the entire world into darkness. In closing, if the Emeralds are ever removed from the zone they were sealed in, the world is doomed…

Excerpt from and ancient Mobian manuscript; written by one of the original Guardians of the Master Emerald. Time of being written unknown. Presumably around the End of the Fourth Age.

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Knuckles slowly opened his eyes and waited for his eyes to adjust to the surrounding darkness. ‘Where the heck am I?’ he thought. ‘Am I still on the Floating Island?’ As he further came to, he realized that he was indeed still on the Floating Island, albeit at the bottom of the steps leading up to the altar where the Master Emerald resided. Knuckles could sense that something was very wrong.

For one, why on Earth was it so dark? For some reason, there seemed to be no moon nor sun or any kind of light in the sky anywhere. With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, Knuckles began to sprint up the altar where the Master Emerald was kept. When he got to the top, he discovered to his horror that it was completely shattered, its pieces lying on the ground everywhere. Knuckles clenched his fists tightly. His first thought that whoever had done this was gonna pay dearly. His eyes began to dart around everywhere for whoever might be responsible. He still couldn’t seem to make out anything though, as the darkness was too thick. “Mystic Light.â€

[Azier the Swordsman]

Knuckles whirled around in surprise and turned to face the black form behind him. Curiously, although by shape whoever it was seemed to be human, darkness covered his entire body from head to toe. Knuckles couldn’t make out any distinct features whatsoever. The figure even appeared to be somewhat blurry and faded, as if it was a hallucination not really there at all. However, he could sense a very evil aura coming from the form. Evil so intense it made him even feel slightly afraid. Knuckles wasn’t very accustomed to feeling afraid of ANYTHING, but somehow, there was something about this man he couldn’t place his finger on.

“Who the heck are you?â€

[Azier the Swordsman]

St. John walked through the hallways of the Mobotropolis Grand Castle at a rapid pace. Something was up. Something big. The King’s message to him had been urgent, declaring an emergency of highest proportions. The royal Captain of His Majesty’s Secret Service couldn’t figure out what might be up, after all, the Kingdom of Mobotropolis, existing in an Alternate Dimension sealed off from any other world, had been at peace for thousands of years. The people lived in prosperity and happiness, and the Kingdom was as vibrant as ever. He passed through the gates welcoming all into the Grand Castle, passed through the exquisite courtyards, and proceeded through the castle towards the royal chambers.

As he passed through the inner hallaway connected to the royal chambers, he could hear the sounds of yelling and swearing. The door to the royal chamber burst open and Prince Anzar stormed through cursing and swearing to such an extreme extent that would make a sailor blush in shame. The sight of St. John seemed to tick him off more than he already was. “Get the HECK out of my way!!!â€

[Azier the Swordsman]

“St. John,â€

[Azier the Swordsman]

Prince Anzar was kneeled down in front of his royal bed sobbing his eyes out. He couldn’t stand it. One day, everything’s going his way, and all of a sudden, that WENCH has to appear out of nowhere and take it all away from him. He hated her. He wished she were still dead. He wanted to find her and kill her right now, brutally, hatefully. Curse her! Curse that St. John! That no-good for nothing lowlife! Anzar KNEW he would find her for sure, St. John was the most competent and skilled man under the king’s command. Oh, yes. He would find her. Then everything he had been waiting for all his life would be taken away from him. They hated him. He KNEW they hated him. They wanted to take everything away from him. Everybody hated him. They were all against him and he KNEW it. He could sense them whispering behind his back, saying hateful, MEAN things about him. Criticizing him, always looking for any way to disgrace him. That’s how everyone was. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. He wanted to STRANGLE THEM ALL RIGHT NOW!

He thrashed his head back and forth, clenching his fists around his bedsheets, and twisting and convulsing, heaving like a raging animal! He cried out, screaming in utter hate and anguish. He hated them all. HE HATED THEIR GUTS! Especially her…. THAT STUPID WENCH! HOW DARE SHE ATTEMPT TO TAKE THE THRONE FROM HIM? HE WANTED TO KILL HER NOW! Kill her in so many horrible, brutal ways… rip her to shreds… tear her life apart as she had his… After awhile, the convulsions stopped, and the young prince slowly began regaining his composure. He couldn’t lose everything, he mustn’t. He wanted to kill her… but he knew he couldn’t do it himself. No, the future ruler of a kingdom must not ascend the throne with his hands bloodstained. He would need someone else to do the dirty work for him.

Slowly, an evil, demonic smile crept across his face. Yes, someone to do the dirty work for him. And he knew just who to do it. Instantly, his nasty, somber mood turned to one of complete joy. Once again it seemed as if everything was going right for him again. The world was once again his playground, to do with and mold as he pleased. He stood up, threw back his head and laughed. Today was a good day, a very good day indeed.

[Azier the Swordsman]

St. John sighed as he took a good, long gulp from his drink, finishing it off before setting it back on the table. It had been quite an eventful and surprising day, he had needed some time though to sit down and let the events of the day sink in. That’s why he had come here, the Grand Mobotropolis Tavern, and he wasn’t alone, at the opposite end of the table where he sat was his closest companion and main squeeze, Hereshy. She was still trying to get a grip on everything St. John had just told her. “Wow.â€

[Godly Paladin]

AWESOME!!!! *Waits impatiently for more* Rewrite? Does that mean I missed it earlier?

[Azier the Swordsman]

AWESOME!!!! *Waits impatiently for more* Rewrite? Does that mean I missed it earlier?

Actually, when I originally started writing it, I got out one chapter, but I decided to scrap it because I decided to go in a slightly different direction...

[Godly Paladin]

Ohkay! Gotcha!

[Azier the Swordsman]

A major plothole in Prologue has been corrected. Chapter 3 coming soon. (Finally)