Team Dropship~ Season 1- Episode I: Origins

== Part I ==
“For the last time, MOVE, Finitevus!!” Julie-Su
shoved the aforementioned echidna behind a heavily dented and rusted old car
for cover before leaping behind it as well just seconds after. The Egg Pawn clucked
in anger as its laser beam missed both Mobians entirely. 
Just its luck.
Julie-Su tele-equipped her double-barreled pistol,
pointed it around the corner of the car, and pulled the trigger. Two orange
beams burst free from the barrels and struck the Pawn, blowing it up upon
impact. 
“Child, you do realise I am able to fend for myself,
correct?” Finitevus lifted up a gauze-wrapped hand, black flame-like energy
playing on the tips of his fingers. Julie-Su whipped her head to look at him,
frowning. The albino echidna snapped his fingers, and the flames flickered out
of existence.
“You wanna argue about this now??”
“Psst!” a voice from the nearby alley called to
them. Julie-Su- immediately forgetting Finitevus’ question- straightened up and
whirled around, raising her pistol to aim at the same time. Her yellow eyes
locked onto a familiar fluffy figure standing in the shadows, and she lowered
her weapon.
“Whisper?” Julie-Su called to the figure.
“It’s me,” Whisper told her, her voice quiet as she
stepped closer to the two echidnas. “I have the sword- we should go before he
sends more.”
Julie-Su nodded as she and Finitevus both got back
onto their feet. The trio started making their way swiftly but cautiously down
the dystopian street, all of them on the lookout for more enemy robots- Egg
Pawns or otherwise. It was hard to believe that these ruins were from the once
prosperous city of Mobotropolis, which Eggman had taken control of about two
months ago now. Almost everyone was evacuated and taken to the underground city
of New Albion for protection. After having received news of what Eggman had
done to Knothole, Queen Acorn had her workers construct a secret underground city
for the citizens of Mobotropolis should Eggman choose to attack them next. A
smart move on her part, as Eggman had begun launching his invasion not long
after destroying Knothole. As to what happened to those who had stayed behind
to defend the city when Eggman attacked- that being Queen Acorn (who was at one
time a soldier in her youth and could hold her own in a combat situation) and
her Royal Guard… Julie-Su had heard from one of the Royal Legion’s spies- who
had been sent to scope out the remains of Mobotropolis to find any intel on the
situation- that Acorn and her Royal Guard were nowhere to be found. It was
presumed that they were dead, though the spy did also report that he heard some
strange noises coming from one of Eggman’s newly constructed factories.
After the spy returned to New Albion, another team
of Legion spies were sent in to investigate further. While they still found no
trace of Acorn or her Guard, they did find some files pertaining to Queen Acorn’s
most prized possession- the Sword of Acorns. Evidently, Eggman had gotten ahold
of it and intended to use its power to further his plans of world domination. 
Fast forward three days later and now here Julie-Su,
Whisper, and Finitevus were, the sword in hand as they made their way through the
city to freedom. Lien-Da, the commander of the Royal Legion, had sent them in
to retrieve the Sword of Acorns and bring it back in the hopes that the Science
Division could use its power to undo defeat Eggman and restore the Acorn
kingdom.
Strangely enough, so far none of them had
encountered much resistance. None of them were sure if this was a good or a bad
thing.
Julie-Su’s eyes locked onto what little remained of
the bounty-hunting office she and Whisper had once owned before Mobotropolis’
destruction. The roof was nothing more than rubble now, and the walls had
crumbled almost completely, leaving only a little bit of concrete sticking out
of the debris. The wooden sign that once hung on a pole on the front of the
building was now charred, and lying face down on the asphalt road. The echidna
looked away from the sight, sighing softly. 
Things eventually would go back to the way they
were.
Someday.
----
New Albion… in the lab…
Julie-Su stood beside Whisper, the both of them
leaning their backs against the wall as they watched Finitevus and the Science
Division examine the sword (which was currently resting on the examination
table), taking scans of it with their equipment and running them through the
computer. While Queen Acorn would definitely
not approve of this, no other solution was apparent- all attempts to contact
the other cities and villages had failed, and when Lien-Da sent spies to
investigate some of the villages closest to New Albion, all they found was
rubble. Mysteriously enough, no bodies were found in any of the villages.
In any case, everyone in New Albion was in agreement
that this was the only option they had at the moment. No one from the other
villages was able- or willing (assuming any of them were spared from Eggman’s
armies, which was highly unlikely)- to help them take back the kingdom. So
their only option was to examine the Sword of Acorns and find a way to use its
power.
And so, the Science Division was working alongside
former criminal Doctor Finitevus to do just that. Julie-Su still couldn’t
believe that Lien-Da would just let the guy waltz around free, but apparently a
deal had been made between him and Lien-Da. If Finitevus were to help them
examine the sword and harness its full power and potential, then Lien-Da would
allow him to remain free for the time being. Once the Acorn kingdom was
restored, she would then speak to the Queen about giving him a pardon- or at
least making his punishment less severe.
At least the scientist was actually making himself
useful. 
Finitevus, who was now wearing a lab coat in place
of his usual cape and had a pair of goggles pulled over his eyes, looked over
at the computer placed beside the table. “Hmm…” He looked over at one of the
other scientists- a female cat- currently in the lab and pointed at the screen
as he asked, “What do these scans tell you?” The feline looked at him with a
raised eyebrow and a frown, earning an annoyed huff from the albino echidna. “If
I am interpreting these scans correctly,” Finitevus explained, pulling his
goggles off his eyes and settling said goggles on his forehead, “then the sword
will only respond to very specific users.”
“That makes sense,” the feline replied. “The sword’s
powers have only ever been able to be used by the Acorn family and- prior to
the rise of the first Acorn monarch two thousand years ago- by people such as
Mammoth Mogul and Ixis Naugus. But that isn’t exactly news to us.”
“True, but what is
new information is the fact that we now know why it can only be used by specific people,” Finitevus told her. “This
weapon has a very strong connection to Chaos Energy. Meaning its power can only
be wielded by someone who also has a connection to that same energy.”
“So what, are you ‘volunteering’ to use the sword??”
Julie-Su interrupted, stepping away from the wall she was leaning against just
seconds earlier and approaching Finitevus. “Sorry pal, but I’m pretty sure even
Lien-Da isn’t crazy enough to trust you
with that kind of power, Marshmallow.”
“Jules…” Whisper put a hand on the pink echidna’s
shoulder, holding her back.
“I-‘Marshmallow?’” Finitevus blinked in puzzlement as
he stared at her blankly, and then shook his head. “I’m going to ignore your
clear lack of faith in me for the moment, and to answer your question- no. I am not volunteering. The Chaos
Energy I wield is incompatible with the sword, most likely due to the fact that
mine is…  artificial, so to speak. It can only be used by those who can use natural Chaos Energy.”
“So then what do you suggest?” Whisper asked
quietly, stepping closer to Julie-Su.
“I suggest we continue to examine the sword and see
if-”
A violent tremor rippled through the lab as Finitevus
spoke, sending everyone tumbling to the floor. Julie-Su and Whisper were the
first ones to get back onto their feet. Just as everyone else started to stand,
the lights began to flicker on and off ominously. A rumbling noise off in the
distance could be heard, and the lights flickered more frequently.
Lien-Da herself came barging into the lab. “Everyone,
get the sword, grab a weapon, and move!!
We’re being attacked!! He found us!!”
== Part II ==
Whisper snatched up the Sword of Acorns in one hand
while Julie-Su waited, pistol already equipped and ready. The scientists- minus
Finitevus- had already hurried out the door. The good doctor had discarded his
lab coat and was busy fiddling with his cape, apparently wrapped up in its
overly-complicated process of putting together the giant clasps properly.
Thankfully he got himself situated more quickly than usual (perhaps now that
his existence was very much at stake, he better understood the gravity of the
situation. That, or he just had better luck this time- which Julie-Su was more
likely to bet on) and the three Mobians could make their escape. They scrambled
out of the laboratory, down the hall, and out of the building- which had just
now started to crumble as one of Eggman’s Auto Drones razed it to the ground,
carving into the concrete with its searing hot lasers. Julie-Su looked away
from what remained of the now-decimated-building they were in just seconds
earlier, allowing her horrified gaze to take in the terrible sights surrounding
her and her companions: shops, apartments, homes- all of them on fire. Debris
lay strewn across the ground, and several bodies could be seen sprinkled
amongst the blazing chaos. Egg Pawns prodded at captured civilians with their
arm-fitted cannons, shoving them into a long line that was being forced to
board one of Eggman’s transport ships.
Lien-Da and several Legion spies could be seen a
ways away, trying to fight off the Egg Fighters currently swarming around them.
But they were severely outnumbered, and Julie watched as two of the spies
finally fell, having been shot dead by the Fighters’ lasers. Without thinking,
the female echidna rushed forth, firing at the nearest Egg Fighter with her
pistol.
“’Su-!” Whisper chased after her, Finitevus following
after begrudgingly. If only he had his Warp Rings…
Julie-Su’s pistol beam struck the Fighter in the
back of its head, practically incinerating it clean off. The Egg Fighter fell
to its knees, and then onto its front, permanently incapacitating it. She smirked,
albeit a little nervously as the other Egg Fighters stopped shooting at Lien-Da
and the still-breathing spies and turned to face her. “I think you guys should
stop by the trash compactor sometime,” Julie-Su quipped, lifting up her pistol
and shooting another one in the head. “Recycling is caring!” 
“Actually, I believe the phrase is ‘sharing is
caring,’” Finitevus corrected as he leapt forward and smashed one of the
Fighters in the chest, the metal crumpling instantly under the impact of his
fist. 
“Your opinion is moot, Snow White,” Julie-Su
retorted. 
“Your idea of an insult is pitiful at best, child.”
Whisper chose to calmly ignore the echidnas’
squabbling, and instead swung the sword in her hands, slicing one of the Egg
Fighters in half. While she may not be able to use the sword’s powers, it could
still be used as a normal weapon. Lien-Da on the other hand quickly grew
annoyed at the irrelevant-to-the-situation argument as she and her fellow spies
blasted away at the other Egg Fighters while their backs were turned. “Will.
You. Two. Shut. UP?!?!” Several of
the Fighters turned around and opened fire on the echidnas. None of them were
fast enough to dodge the lasers.
Julie-Su reached for Lien-Da as the crimson echidna
fell, trying not to look at the green splotch of live-giving liquid already
spreading over the cloth of her bodysuit. A yelp emanated from behind Julie,
and she whipped around to see Whisper falling to the ground, having too been
shot in the abdomen by one of the Egg Fighters. “NO!! Wispy!” The sword in Whisper’s hands fell with a clatter as it
impacted the stone below. The echidna charged for her best friend, not paying
the sword any mind. 
It was in that moment that all three Mobians and the
Sword of Acorns were engulfed in a flash of pale turquoise light. 
“What- where’d they go?!” A pod flew down to where
the still-standing Egg Fighters were. In the pod in question sat an overweight
man in a rather tasteless red and yellow suit that more likely than not was
probably made of spandex, and a very over-sized orange mustache under his nose
to boot.
And that man was none other than Eggman himself.
----
Meanwhile… location: the ruins of Soleanna…
Julie-Su, Whisper, Finitevus, and the sword tumbled
out of the aqua-coloured portal swirling a couple feet above one of the few
intact buildings in Soleanna City. Julie hit the ground face-first, but was
back on her feet and scrambling to Whisper’s side in an instant. “Whisper…
Wisp… say something to me.” The echidna scooped the cream-furred wolf into her
arms, her gaze locking onto the blue liquid slowly leaving from the terrible
wound on her friend’s body.  “Anything…”
Finitevus’ voice interrupted Julie-Su’s pleas. “I
think we ought to m-”
“Khronos Control!”
Julie whipped her head towards the source of the
second voice. A silver hedgehog stood before them, knees slightly bent with one
gloved hand holding a faintly orange jewel and his other -currently glowing- hand
raised toward them. 
“Forever running,
And never stopping,
A tool to protect and heal,
And a power to make others kneel-
Knights of Khronos,
I ask you only to
Restore that of which
Has been nearly lost!”
Whisper’s wound slowly started to close up, the
damaged tissue healing quickly and knitting back together seamlessly.
“Intriguing,” Finitevus remarked to himself as he watched in curiosity.
Julie-Su too watched, eyes widened in both astonishment and awe. The wound was
fully healed in a matter of seconds, the only evidence left of it being the
ugly scar on the wolf’s abdomen, as well as the scorched hole of her vest.
Whisper’s eyes flitted open a little, and her gaze
locked with Julie’s. “’Su… what happened?”
“I screwed up,” the silver hedgehog told her,
panting as the glow surrounding his hand faded. Everyone turned their heads to
look at him in confusion. “That’s what happened.” He looked sorrowfully at the
now pitch black stone resting in his hand. “Congratulations, Silver- you’re now
officially the world’s worst time
traveler ever.”
“Who are you and why are you helping us?” Julie-Su
asked as she helped Whisper to her feet, looking at the addressed hedgehog in
puzzlement. 
“Hmm?” He looked back up at them, as if suddenly
remembering that there were three other people on this roof. “Oh. Right! Umm…
my name’s Silver, and long story short- I’m from the future, I came to the past
to stop my world from being destroyed again,
I got here two months too late, and now I’ve pretty much drained all the power
from my Khronos Stone, so until I can find a way to recharge it, there’s
absolutely no way I can go back in time to correct moment that I was supposed to be in in the first place.”
“Silver” said all of this ridiculously fast, leaving the two echidnas and wolf
more confused than ever. He squinted his eyes and frowned a little as he looked
at Julie-Su more closely. “Wait a second… your eyes. They’re yellow. Like his-”
He pointed at Finitevus for reference- “but… the energy I sense coming from you is natural. Could it be that you’re…”
“That I’m what??”
Julie-Su demanded, a hint of warning in her voice.
Silver’s eyes flicked away from her and settled on
the Sword of Acorns, which was still lying unattended on the ground. “Of course!
You’re… you’re the True Avatar!”
Before any of them could respond, he started to turn around and waved for them
to follow. “C’mon, we shouldn’t stay out in the open like this. I know a place-
follow me! Oh- and don’t forget the sword!”
Julie-Su looked at Whisper, who looked back at her
blankly. They both then turned to Finitevus, who- for once- looked just as
clueless as they were. “He’s right,” Whisper finally said as she picked up the
Sword of Acorns. “About us staying out in the open. We should follow him.”
“What if it’s an Eggman trick?” Julie-Su whispered,
grabbing Whisper’s arm as the wolf started to walk after Silver.
Whisper lifted her head to look at Julie-Su, her
eyes now a tad more open than usual, revealing the aqua blue irises of her eyes
for this brief moment. “He healed my wounds. And the Doctor’s always been more…
direct in his approach.”
Julie-Su sighed quietly, letting her hand fall away.
“Okay…” She took Whisper’s hand in her own and squeezed it gently before
releasing it. She then looked at Finitevus, gaze hardening. “I’m guessing you’re
coming too?”
Finitevus shrugged, following after Julie-Su and
Whisper. “It’s either that, or stupidly pass up an opportunity to learn more
about this ‘Silver’ individual and his powers.”
Julie-Su, hearing these words, didn’t even bother
trying to resist the urge to roll her eyes.
----
They were all inside the deserted safe house Silver
had apparently been living in for the past week, sitting on a couple of crates that
were covered in green and red blankets. Julie-Su looked around the safe house
quietly, her eyes taking in the tiny multi-coloured lights that were strung about
the room, the dusty old posters on the walls, and the large quilt spread across
the floor apparently serving as a rug. 
“Sooo… I’m guessing you’re all wondering what’s
going on, right?” Silver asked them, chuckling nervously as he played with the
black Khronos Stone in his hands. 
“One might make that assumption, yes,” Finitevus
replied, tilting his head as he observed the self-proclaimed time-traveler with
interest.
Silver’s anxious eyes flitted away from the albino
echidna, and then the silver hedgehog looked up at Whisper and Julie-Su. “I
come from two hundred years in the future in order to stop my world’s
destruction- your world’s
destruction. My Khronos Stone is what brought me here.” He lifted up the
Khronos Stone in his hands for reference. “Except I arrived two months later
than I intended. I would’ve tried to go back further, but as I said earlier, the
stone’s power had been drained too much…”
“And then you used what was left to heal me,”
Whisper finished, her voice quiet. 
Silver nodded in response. “Yeah. Anyway, since I
couldn’t go back any further in time, I decided to try and find a way to stop
Eggman here and now before the damage became irreversible. And, when I was
checking out one of the underground temples here in the city, I found this.” He
had opened up the drawer of a nearby oak cabinet as he spoke, and reached in.
The hedgehog pulled out a medium-sized leather book. “This book was written by
the First Chronicler of the Servers of the Seven. It talks about an evil that
will one day be unleashed upon the world, destroying all life… and it also
speaks of three people called ‘The Triad’ who’ll rise up and defeat the evil. One
of those three people is called the ‘True Avatar.’”
“And why are they called that?” Julie-Su asked.
“I’m not really sure,” Silver admitted. “I have some
ideas, but they can wait. Anyway, I think you might be what the book was
talking about. You’re the True
Avatar.”
Julie-Su shook her head in response. “No. I’m not anything. I’m just a bounty hunter
and a soldier. Nothing more.”
“Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out,”
Silver told her, unfazed by the echidna’s denial. He looked over at Whisper and
asked, “Whisper, give the sword to Julie-Su.”
“What- what does the sword have to do with anything??”
Julie-Su demanded, sliding off the crate and onto her feet. 
“If I’m right, then the sword should confirm what I
already know,” Silver answered.
“Jules,” Whisper addressed. Julie-Su turned towards
her expectantly. “If he’s right… if you are the True Avatar that he speaks of…
then this could be the first step to defeating Eggman. To restoring Mobius. And
bringing back those whom we’ve lost.”
Julie-Su clenched her fists and scrunched her eyes
shut, letting out an irritated sigh. “Fine. Whatever. But I’m telling you, it’s
not gonna work.”
Finitevus raised an eyebrow. “I believe that the
time-traveler may be on the right track, actually- at least in terms of your
possible ability to harness the sword’s power.”
“I have a name,” Silver muttered indignantly.
Julie-Su rolled her eyes. Of course Finitevus had to offer his input on the matter. Still, if it was possible… then maybe they
could fix it all. She sighed again,
and finally took the sword from Whisper’s hands. The female echidna held the
sword tightly in her hands, watching the shiny blade curiously as the room’s
multi-coloured light danced across it. For a moment, nothing happened. “Well,
Silver- I guess you were wr-” Julie’s words were cut mid-sentence as the sword
started to glow a soft green. “No… no way…” The green then traveled from the
blade to the handle, leaving in its wake thin, emerald-green accents. The green
lines then spread to her hands, and crawled across her arms. The speed at which
the accents traveled increased, and soon enough Julie-Su was covered in an
almost blinding green glow. The light then vanished, and there the echidna
herself was. Except replacing her usual attire was apparently an armoured
variant- the padded side of her shirt was replaced by a gold-like plating. Her
shorts- which she tended to wear over a pair of leggings- were gone, having
been replaced by similar gold mesh that went down each side of her now-black
leggings. Similarly, her belt and boots were now covered in the gold plates.
The only things that stayed the same was her physical body, her cybernetics,
and her glove.
The one major addition was the large helmet atop her
head, which had two somewhat thick, decorative plates on each side of her head.
They started as a point at the top of each side of the helmet and trailed down
to just above her shoulders.
Whisper and the others could only stare in awe. She
was the first to speak, after a short moment of silence. “’Su…”
Julie’s eyes met hers. “It worked… it really worked.”
She looked at Silver. “You were right… but what are we supposed to do now? You
said the book speaks of a Triad?”
“Yeah- we’ll have to find the remaining two before
Eggman does,” Silver replied. The hedgehog opened up the book in his hands. He
studied the pages for a moment and then walked over to them, lifting it up so everyone
could see. “You see these pages? They describe the attributes of each member of
the Triad. Using this information, we just might be able to find the rest
before Eggman destroys the planet completely.”
Julie-Su lifted up a hand and pointed towards one of
the Triad members listed in the book. “The traits being described in this book…
well some of them at least- they resemble you.”
Silver nodded. “Yeah, psychokinesis and all that
jazz.” He handed the book to her and turned around, raising his now glowing
hands. The crate that he had been sitting on earlier was now glowing a bright
aqua color, and it slowly levitated off the floor and into the air. After a
minute, it lowered back down and settled gently back onto the floor. “But I’m
not nearly as powerful as the book describes. Which means either it’s someone
else who’s stronger and more skilled, or I just haven’t tapped into my full
potential yet- if I haven’t already. In any case, I think we should still act
as if there are two members of the Triad left.”
“Does the book offer any clues as to where we ought
to start?” Finitevus asked.
Julie-Su flipped through the pages and then, after
stopping and reading for a moment, she answered, “It doesn’t really look like
there’s anything exactly clear on where to start, but this part here talks
about something called the Cult of Chaos. They apparently resided in a temple
located in Downunda.”
“We have to start somewhere,” Whisper said. “And
Downunda isn’t far from here, I believe. This city was Soleanna at one point,
correct?” She directed her question at Silver, who nodded in response.
“Then we should start there and see if we can find
more information,” Finitevus stated.
“Thanks for the tip, Doctor Obvious,” Julie-Su
quipped, glaring at him. She then turned to Silver and went on, “One question
before we head out… is this new get-up gonna be permanent?”
== Part III ==
TBA
== Part IV ==
TBA
== Part V ==
TBA? (Depends on part IV's length)