Sonic Quills: Saga 1: Sonic Begins Ep2

Ep2: Origins of Evil

How did the Great War even begin?

As it turns out, the Kingdom of Soleanna believed that the planet Mobius was once called planet Earth and as such, they believed that the humans should be the rulers of the planet. They were also obsessed with progress and would destroy nature without a second thought, just to expand their cities run by fossil fuels, and were also extremely aggressive and prejudiced against non-humans. They were led by a Duke, a dictator who is known to be absolutely ruthless and cruel, especially towards Mobians.

On the other hand, the Kingdom of Acorn, filled with Mobians of various kinds, lived in harmony with nature and did everything to preserve it. Mobians as a whole were very accepting of outsiders. They were led by the royal line of Acorn family, who were known to be wise and benevolent rulers.

For a long time the Kingdom of Soleanna had been preparing to conquer the world, however they were foiled twice by the Kingdom of Acorn in the ancient past. This time however, they now have cutting-edge technology and the latest in weaponry and once again they begin to take what they believed was theirs, along the way killing or enslaving any Mobians that they came across.

That didn’t sit well with the Kingdom of Acorn, but nonetheless they tried to appeal to the humans’ better nature and trying to negotiate, but these humans didn’t make deals with ‘filthy weed-loving, primitive animals’. And so with that, the Kingdoms were once again at war. The war went on for four years with neither side getting a foothold. The Soleannans were technologically advanced but they were relying mostly on brute force. And the Mobians, despite inferior tech, weren’t primitive at all, they fought smarter and are more tactical then the Soleannans. This made the two kingdoms fight to a standstill.

Unfortunately, not everybody in the Kingdom of Acorn were happy with the royal Acorn line...
_______________________________________________________________________

At Castle Acorn, King Max Acorn was talking with a Mobian fox with red fur, brown neatly combed hair, a cybernetic arm, and a brown uniform. "I still think it is an absolute waste, not using the human's research to aid in our war against Soleanna."

"You know I won't do that without Dr. Kintobor's permission, and I know he will NEVER have his inventions be used for war." King Acorn said to the red fox. "We are at war, and I know that the humans won't stop until we're all dead, so it's only fair to wipe them out first." The red fox said to the king. "You speak of genocide, but I will not have it! Obviously the traumas you've experienced in this war has clouded your judgment!" King Acorn yelled at the red fox. "There are Mobians that are being killed or worse enslaved by those uncivilized beasts. I would say it is your judgment that is clouded!" The red fox yelled at the king.

"I don't need to be reminded about how ruthless the Soleannans are, Benedict! I know all the things that the Soleannans are capable of, but Kintobor has proven himself to be NOTHING like them!" King Acorn yelled at the fox as he give him a fearsome look that would even scare a lion "We WILL end this war without using his inventions and commenting genocide! As far as this Kingdom is concerned, those dark thoughts are best forgotten." King Acorn said with clear venom in his voice. Afterwards, Benedict just stared deep into the king's angry blue eyes, not feeling affected by the fury inside them, then he walked out of the castle without another word.

Afterwards, a fox with brown fur, white fur around his muzzle and tail tip and a blue eye (the other had an eyepatch), wearing a blue uniform came in. "I'm sorry for Benedict's outburst, your majesty."

"'Sigh' That's okay, Amadeus... This war has affected many people, him most of all." King Acorn said to the brown fox. "All the more reason to end it, I can't have my future family live in at time like this." Sir Amadeus said with a sad tone. "Oh, speaking of which... congratulations. I heard you and Rosemary are going to be proud parents of a son.” King Acorn said. "Thank you, your majesty. I just hope we can put an end of this madness before he is born." Amadeus said. "Don't worry, we will. I'm not sure how, but we will end the war, so that he may have a safe future, Amadeus. You and Rosemary deserve this miracle. After the selflessness you both displayed and your contributions to the war." King Max Acorn assured him. "Thank you, my king. I swear, I... no, we will not let you down." Amadeus said as he started to leave.

"Oh and Amadeus, one more thing... about Benedict, I say he's gotten rather unstable due to the losses that he suffered... I fear that he must be watched." King Max Acorn said to Amadeus.
_______________________________________________________________________

MEANWHILE...

Dr. Julian Ovi Kintobor and Sir Charles Quills were working on more projects, this time joined by an assistant and a new scientist. They were both in lab coats, one was a green troll looking creature with red eyes and black hair called Grimer, while the other was an aging grey lynx, with black markings on his cheeks and yellow eyes. That was Dr. Thomas Ellidy.

"I can't thank you enough for your efforts in science. Thanks to the two of you, we now have a pure, clean energy source, that we can use to improve our lives and maybe save some more..." Dr. Thomas Ellidy said. "Thank you, Dr. Ellidy. I'm glad that you and Grimer had joined us in our endeavors, together we can make even more projects that can save lives." Charles said. "But I think that it's a waste that we built this efficient energy source, and yet we are not using it for the war." Grimer said. "I will NOT have our inventions used in war, Grimer. You know that." Dr. Kintobor told to Grimer. "Yeah... but still..." Grimer lamented.

"Let's not talk about that." Charles said. "And let's talk about our projects. I've been working on a project that can turn flesh and bone into metal and circuitry. True it might cause some controversy, but the end result I'm sure will be well worth it. Making irreparable damaged limbs functional again…making a terminally ill person able to live on until a cure is found…it will change everything."

"Turning flesh to machinery…it sounds kind of amazing. Almost unreal." Grimer noted.

"Indeed it is, but with the Chaos Drives, it is indeed possible to build the technology for a project such as this." Sir Charles said.

"There are things that can go wrong with such a risky invention as yours, Charles, you do realize that, right?" Dr. Kintobor noted.

"I know. That’s why Thomas and I are working our projects back to back. One can be a backup for the other." Charles noted as he looked at his feline college.

"At least if we can’t save the body, we can save the mind…all the knowledge of a person won’t be lost, and neither is what makes the person…him or herself.” Dr. Ellidy said. "The Digitizer, a way for the mind to survive, no matter what happens."

"That's good, because I’ve been working on another project by myself, and I think it can be used for medical uses if the Roboticizer or Digitizer ideas won't catch on." Dr. Julian Kintobor said as he pulled out what appears parts of a robotic armor. "So…what’s this supposed to be?” Grimer asked. "I call it the NIK-suit; Neuro-Integration unit mark K. If a person is terribly wounded or in a coma or suffers from an incurable disease, he or she can be placed in a suit like this, the organic body will be in stasis while the mind controls the robotic suit around it and he/she can go on in their daily lives until his/her body is healed or a cure for his/her predicament is found." Julian explained. "Sounds great…but are there any disadvantages?" Dr. Ellidy asked. "The integration in the suit can be painful, and I haven’t worked out any flaws considering the neuro-mental interface. But I’m working on it." Julian answered. 

"Three projects together, the Roboticizer, the Digitizer, and the NIK-suit... all three have such great potential to change the world, they could make people more…powerful. Stronger, immortal…they could be used for more than… just medical purposes.” Grimer said out loud.

“We want to save lives, not take any more. We would rather keep them as medical tools once we finish all three projects." Julian said to Grimer.

"Besides, with this whole war going on and people dying every day, do we really need any more weapons to screw one another over?" Charles asked.

"I'm sorry... but I have a feeling you all have personal reasons for creating these particular devices. I don’t doubt you are selfless, but no one does something without their own reasons as well. It’s a part of both Mobian and Human nature." Grimer said.

"You are right." Dr. Ellidy said. "My daughter…she is ill. The doctors don’t know anything, it’s like a whole new disease. And they can’t find a cure. She’s…wasting away. I hope my Digitizer can save her, if all else fails."

"I…am so sorry to hear that." Dr. Kintobor said. "I might not be the guy with the best family life, but I know how you feel, one of my brothers, Namgge, once had a wife, unfortunately, last I've heard, she fell victim to an incurable disease and then she...passed away."

"Oh.. I'm sorry... I didn't know..." Dr. Ellidy said.

"Yeah... I don't like to talk about family that much... because, to make matters worse, most of my family, aside from Namgge and Colin Jr., all support the Duke of Soleanna, so they forced us to make weapons for them when we should have worked on medicine and more efficient energy sources." Dr. Kintobor lamented. "If they weren't so stubborn and didn't believe in THAT myth, we wouldn't even be fighting in this war right now."

"That's really sad, family should be a wonderful thing. And such a brilliant man as you, who has done so much, deserves better." Charles said.

"I appreciate the concern. But there are some past tragedies we can’t turn back. However we can instead focus on our little projects and try to make things better." Julian said.

"And we WILL make things better." Dr. Ellidy assured Dr. Kintobor. "The Roboticizer, the Digitizer, and the NIK-suit. The ultimate tools..."

Suddenly a blue blur came rushing in. "WWWeeeee!" It was Oliver.

"Oliver! Slow down... we can't run as fast as you." Sonia said, as she, Manic, and a 5-year old female chipmunk/squirrel with brown fur, blue eyes, and red hair, wearing a regal looking blue outfit, with a golden necklace and a golden tiara (with a small red gem in the middle) came in. "Sorry, but I'm just having too much fun with my superspeed." Oliver said.

Charles picked up his blue nephew and patted the squirrel girl on his head. “Hey, lil’ Oliver, Manic, Sonia…and Princess Sally too."

"Uncle Chuck!" Oliver said as he, his siblings, and the squirrel girl came towards him. "Just what are you doing here, little ones?" Charles asked. "I've been having fun with my superspeed. This power is way past cool!" Oliver proclaimed. "You know bro, with you being as superfast as you are, I think we should come up with a cool superhero name for you." Manic suggested. "You think so, okay then... lemme think... Swift, Speedy…Sonic! Yes, Sonic, that sounds like a cool name." Oliver said. "I think the name rather suits you, Oliver just doesn’t fit you anymore. It's cute but it's not you." Sally agreed.

"Little ones. You know you can’t just barge in the lab. I know you kids like to run around, but next time don’t go into the labs on your own. It can be dangerous." Dr. Kintobor said. "Sorry, Mr. Kintobor." Sally said. "Anyways, it’s getting late. Why don’t we all call it a day? Let’s go home and make dinner. I’m making chilidogs!” Charles said. “Yay! Chilidogs! My fav!” Oliver…I mean Sonic said happily.

“Any of you want to join in for dinner?” Charles asked.

“No thanks…I’m doing a bit of overtime. I’ll close the lab and then I’ll eat something afterwards.” Julian insisted. He didn’t like chilidogs anyways. "No, I'm going to head home. I have some errands I need to take care of." Grimer said. He didn’t like chilidogs ether.

“No…I’m going to see Nicole at the hospital. I’ll eat in the cafeteria.” Dr. Ellidy said.

“Mr. Ellidy? When is Nicole coming out of the hospital? Is she still sick? We haven’t been able to play with her for weeks.” Sally asked sadly.

“The doctor says she needs to stay a little longer. But I’m sure she’ll be back on her feet in no time.” None of the scientists just had the heart to tell the kids that Nicole is now slipping away. How did you say to kids that young that their friend is dying anyways?

“Okay then. Tell her we said ‘hi’! I’ll ask dad if he can bring her a fruit basket…or cookies, she loves cookies!” Sally said. She and the others left and went separate ways.
_______________________________________________________________________

LATER ON TONIGHT...

A hooded figure stood over the lab, "Soon the Chaos Emerald will be mine to use." he said as he hacked into the security door and entered the lab.

Dr. Kintobor was working late on the NIK-suit making some improvements when the Hooded Figure came up behind him and knocked him out.

Dr. Kintobor soon woke up, tried to a chair. "Wha... What..." "So you're awake... good... You have something that I want." the Hooded One said. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Dr. Kintobor demanded. "Oh me... well, I just want to give the Mobians the edge that is needed to win the war." the Hooded One said. "You want the Chaos Emerald that's inside the R.O.C.C., don't you?" Dr. Kintobor figured. "Brilliant deduction, human. And all I need is the password to the R.O.C.C. that contains it. I know you sealed the Chaos Emerald inside the machine to keep it from falling into the wrong hands and now I want it." the Hooded One said as he pointed to the R.O.C.C. that was in the room. "You will never get it from me, I won't have our inventions or that Emerald be used as weapons of war." Dr. Kintobor declared. "You do not have a choice. When it comes to war, it's kill or be killed. It's as simple as that." the Hooded One said. "You're insane..." Dr. Kintobor said. "So they say..." the Hooded One said.

"BENEDICT!" The Hooded One turned around to see Amadeus standing at the door. "Ahh, Amadeus, what an unpleasant surprise." The Hooded One said, as he took his hood off to reveal Benedict. "His majesty knew that this could happen, that's why I'm here... to take you in." Amadeus declared. "Do you really think that you can? Do you think you can beat me?" Benedict asked as he threw off his cloak and drew his sword. Amadeus then drew his own sword. The two of them clashed with their swords. Amadeus then tried to slash Benedict across the face, but he dodged it and tried to stab Amadeus in the heart, but Amadeus blocked it. Amadeus then tried another slash this time aiming for his chest, but once again Benedict blocked it.

"You’re skilled, my old friend, but not skilled enough. You have great potential. You have the strength and skills, as well as the intelligence. You would have made a fine partner in my endeavors. The only thing holding you back are your misguided ideals." Benedict said as he clashed his sword with Amadeus's, pushing him back.

"It is my ideals that drive me to fight in this war. The ideals of justice and peace that push me onward. Ideals that you have lost over time and that's why I cannot let you win!" Amadeus proclaimed as he pushed back Benedict, then thrown him to the floor.

Seeing his chance, Amadeus then cut the ropes holding Kintobor. "Are you all right?" "Yeah, I'm okay." Kintobor said. "Good, now get to safety." Amadeus ordered.

"Oh no, you don't!" Benedict said as he got back up, morphing his cybernetic arm into an arm cannon. "Watch out!" Amadeus said as he pushed Dr. Kintobor out of the way. Benedict's arm cannon then blasted Amadeus, but he deflected the blast with his sword, causing it to hit the R.O.C.C. blowing a hole in it. "Uh, Oh." Benedict said. The damaged machine started to zoom, making strange sounds. "It's going to blow." Amadeus said. Benedict then grabbed some of the Chaos Drives saying, "At least I won't leave empty-handed." Leaving the lab with the Drives.

"GO, go after him! I can handle this." Dr. Kintobor said. "But Kintobor, you could die." Amadeus said, concerned for the kindly scientist. "I've got to shut this machine down, otherwise there will be a major crisis! Don't worry about me, go after him!" Dr. Kintobor said. Amadeus then gives chase yelling, "Benedict, come back here." Leaving Dr. Kintobor on his own.

Dr. Kintobor tried pushing several buttons on the R.O.C.C. in order to stabilize and shut it down, but to no avail. The machine overloaded as it started to glow in a dark purple tone and an energy bolt flew out and hit Dr. Kintobor in the forehead. His body began to change, shrinking in height and swelling in bulk. The buttons on his coat popped off. The hair on his head seemed to slide back to his scalp, and then down and out of his nose as his orange moustache sprouted and grew, becoming huge and bristling. His expression grew ferocious and manic. There was a colossal crash from inside the machine and with a roar the device exploded, blowing a hole in the roof, causing the power in the entire lab to go out, and starting a fire.

Amadeus then noticed the burning lab. "Oh, No!" "Hm, hm, hm. What will you do now, Amadeus? Will you still try to catch me or try to save the human? What's it going to be?" Benedict taunted. Amadeus turned back and fourth between the lab and Benedict, having trouble deciding between the two. "Maybe I'll make it easy for you." Benedict said as he pulled out a flash bomb, blinding Amadeus for just a moment, so that Benedict could get away. When Amadeus regained his sight, Benedict was gone. Amadeus then pulled out his phone to call the firefighters in order to save what was left of the lab.
_______________________________________________________________________

Soon firefighters were sent out to the lab to put out the fire, along with Amadeus. Sir Charles, Grimer, and Dr. Ellidy rushed to save their college from the burning building, however they were blocked off by the firefighters.

"We need to save him." Charles said. "And we will!" a firefighter assured Charles as the firefighters continued to put out the raging fire. "I can't believe Benedict would do something like this." Dr. Ellidy said in disbelief. "On other hand, I'd say it was only a matter of time before Benedict did something like this." Grimer said. He noticed the two scientists staring at him. "Hear me out first, he was getting frustrated with how the Kingdom of Acorn does things, pair that up with his losses during the war, and you have someone who is ready to lash out on the world itself." He quickly added.

Then, someone came out of the fire... "Look, it might be Julian..." Grimer said with a bit of hope. But all three scientists (along with everyone else) were horrified, because what walked out of the flames was not the college they once knew, it was the mutated Dr. Kintobor, only his ears were gone, one of his eyes was a bloody mess and one of his arms looked dead and burned, but it was still a surprise that he was alive, barely walking along. "What.. What happened?" Charles asked. "Our work has been compromised..." Dr. Kintobor said weakly as he collapsed. "Oh, no..." Dr. Ellidy said, horrified. "Let's get him to the hospital!" Amadeus said as the paramedics rushed poor Julian Ovi Kintobor to the hospital.
_______________________________________________________________________

MEANWHILE

"Well, it seems my reputation in the Kingdom of Acorn is now ruined. No matter... I have no use for their archaic ways. I will build my own empire. It might take a little time, but I will rise to rule this world and all humans will cower before me." Benedict said as he looked over the Kingdom of Acorn, holding the Chaos Drives in his organic hand.
_______________________________________________________________________

And so the seeds of disaster were planted. Soon Robotnik will rise and the Kingdom of Acorn will fall and as for Benedict, he will bide his time.