Alpha World Blues (Short Series)

## **An Overture**

*All was well. There hadn't been any villains for some time now. For years it seemed. There hadn't been anything actually, I had seemed that nothing of any importance had occurred. Enter Alex Oxton, a black and red hedgehog privileged from birth by his parents' fortune, he was a engineer of sorts, creating weapons that aided his fight against evil. He lived in the Oxton Manor with his best friend Kel, a cyborg cat, his adoptive daughter, Cynthia, who was an alien species known as an Identity, and his friend Xena, who was also an Identity that crash landed in front of the Manor some years ago. He was a good-doer. Was. There had been no good to do. Tyrant, a construct of negative Chaos energy who had taken the form of Alex long ago, was sealed away in a pocket dimension, Virus had disappeared, most likely finally being defeated permanently by Rin, and no other crooks had popped up since. Alex wanted so desperately to be a hero, when would he be "Frizz the Hedgehog" as he was once known.*

## **Part 1: Keeping the Blade**

Alex sat on the balcony, he saw Cynthia leaving somewhere. He had adopted her when she was just a child, she was in her teenage years now. At least she was safe, she didn't have to worry about a "monster-of-the-week" attacking her on a simple walk to the store. He began to reflect on his past adventures when he was her age in the melancholic manner he was prone to these days. Xena approached him, "Alex, the current guardian of the Master Emerald wishes to see you, he's downstairs and it seems urgent." Alex sprung from his moody state, rushed to the door to greet the maroon echidna. Alex greeted in a chipper tone, "Hello guardian, I'm A-" He was cutoff. "Alex Oxton, I'm aware," the Echidna, who stood tall with gold rings around his dreadlocks, was not having Alex's enthusiasm. "You can cut the formality because whatever you sealed away using MY chaos emeralds wants out and if it's anywhere near the altar, I'm absolutely sure it'll be bad news for all of us, I can sense it. I need you to come back with me to Angel Island so you can do what ever you did last time to stop that thing in case it gets out" Alex nodded, "Understood, guardian."

## **Part 2: Welcome Home**

Alex and the guardian arrived on the island. "We're drawing near to the Master Emerald. From this point on no horsing around." Alex nodded in agreement. As they progressed forward into the cave that lead to the hidden palace, they had noticed a thick, black sludge coating the rocky walls. "This doesn't look good," Alex said as the two approached the altar. "Looks like he's been through here already, but it looks like he didn't touch the emeralds at all. Why?" Suddenly, a loud crackling sound could be heard from the Master Emerald, then a bright light filled the room. "Guardian, what's happening?!" Alex yelled. "Something's coming through!!" he replied.

The light had vanished. There stood an Alex from *another world*. He approached Alex angrily, "You." Alex's copy grabbed him by the tuft of fur on his chest and cocked his fist, "This is your fault! Tyrant is terrorizing everyone!" Alex was confused, "W-What?! How? I sealed him in a pocket dimension!" His copy, gripped him more forcefully, "You DIDN'T seal him in a pocket dimension, you sealed him in MY dimension and for years he's been wreaking havoc on Mobius because of you!" Alex pushed him away, "Calm down! Now, where is he?" Alex's copy looked around at the black substance on the walls and on the ground beneath his feet, "From what I can tell he could be anywhere in here. That's okay though, I managed to release him from a physical form so if we trap him in one of these emeralds before he can take control of a living being we can still-" Alex's copy became paralyzed. The sludge in which he was standing started to envelop his leg. He fell to the ground, limp as the rest of his body was consumed. Tyrant rose from the sludge, he took the form of Alex's copy, except he was fully slick, oil black and a large snake tooth-looking object tipped his long tail.

## **Part 3: No World for Tomorrow**

"Why are you here? What's your plan this time?"

Tyrant's voice echoed through the halls of the cave.

"Your mirror image knew not the truth behind his universe's destruction. Within the emeralds I had lain dormant for decades awaiting their coming end, my arrival was nothing more than a presage. And just has his world shattered beneath itself, your world will know the same."

Alex stood in disbelief, "What are you saying?"

"The power required of the master emerald will soon become unsatiable, resulting in the permanent grounding of Angel Island. After all coastal cities flood, following the next 24 hours, the master emerald will begin to collapse under its infinite energy and implode into a massive supernova that will engulf the universe."

"Alex. This universe is at its end."

"Spend these final days wisely, Frizz the Hedgehog."

Those were Tyrant's final words before disappearing into the black sludge beneath him.

Alex turned to the echidna beside him, "Guardian that isn't true right?" The echidna turned to him with a grim expression on his face, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but this has been an inevitability prophesied by my people ever since the emeralds were discovered."

Alex looked downward with his hand on his chin, with a desperate, quizzical look one his face.

"We have to warn everyone."