Horizon’s End

-Part 1: Calm Before the Storm-


Birds sang softly outside the window as dawn broke, the sun barely peeking over the horizon, the air crisp, and chill. A hedgehog sat out in this cold morning air, on a balcony, still dressed in his pyjamas. He enjoyed the cold, and didn’t mind the slightly below-mild temperature. Steam rose from a mug in his hand, of which he brought to his lips, taking a small sip.

Finally, the quiet was broken by an adorable chirp, followed up with a “chao!” A small, dark crimson creature, almost shaped like a few water drops squished together, with a halo, that seemed to burn endlessly above them, flew out from inside, before landing on the table and giggling. 
“What? I didn’t want to sleep in today, Cinder,” Caen spoke softly, before taking another sip. He breathed in through his nose, before letting out a long sigh through his mouth.

It was odd, this sense of peace. He hadn’t know it in months, what with meeting Ember, and the almost constant search for Alastor, and father’s tape… He held up a hand, summoning a small flame, watching the orange and red embers dance among them. “I wonder if we’ll ever find him. If we’ll ever save father…” The flame extinguished at once, as he closed his eyes. Cinder cocked their tiny little head, replying “chao chao…” 

Deciding to put that thought to rest for now, Caen stood up from his seat, mug still in hand as he walked slowly back inside, ushering for his chao companion to accompany him, before sliding the glass door shut. The television was already on, turned down quite low as a smartly dressed news anchor rattled through the headlines, each one pedestrian and somewhat boring. It must have been a slow news day. Not that that was a bad thing, a slow, peaceful day was a necessity, by now. One cannot go full blast forever and expect it to not take its toll.

He kicked off his slippers, leaving them by the door as he began to walk across the living room. Cinder flew to the fruit bowl, taking an apple, before plonking himself down on the sofa, munching on the fruit as he stared at the TV. Caen, however, now wanted to get on with his day. He finished the mug of tea, placing the used crockery in the dishwasher, before heading to the bathroom. After a quick shower, he dried himself off and began to brush his long, red quills, that faded from a bright red to almost burgundy at the tips. His spines were a bit of an anomaly in his family, considering his father’s jet black spines, and his mother’s coffee-brown fur. His powers, too. He had seen what his father could do, all those years ago. What he could do now, with Xavier’s power surging through him. It was so unlike what he himself could do, the way he could so easily and simply command the flames burning within him. Granted, that came from eight years of practice. He couldn’t help but wonder if he’d be even more powerful, would be capable of accessing so much more, had father been around to teach him. He sighed wistfully, twiddling a spine between his fingers. 

RING RING

A telephone broke the silence, causing Caen to rush out of the bathroom and straight to the source of the sound, picking up the receiver and speaking clearly “hello?”
“Caen, it’s Raito. You need to come to my house, now!” A familiar voice spoke. Raito, his friend that he had met on that fateful day eight years ago. When his father and mother’s lives had supposedly been brought to a fiery end.
“Wha- why? What’s going on, Rai?” He asked, frowning.
“It’s Alastor. We’ve got his location, he’s in a castle North of station square. It looks like it was built recently. Scouts say the place is swarming with ARCs and even more drones.”
Autonomous Robotic Commanders. The ARCs. Robotic units that encased innocent bystanders in a mechanical suit of armour, causing them to do unspeakable things against their will, while being conscious the whole time. Sadistic, and perfectly befitting of scum such as Alastor.
“A-alright. Let me get my things, I-I’ll be there as soon as possible!” He said, slamming down the receiver and rushing to his bedroom, where he would immediately get dressed, into a long royal blue coat, that was made of a strong, fire-resistant material, with buttons that shimmered like gold, as well as some sturdy crimson boots, that carried Caen on countless adventures before. 
He summoned a fiery arm, that shot across the room and hooked onto two blades, still in scabbards, with a golden edge that gleamed like a red hot flame. Strapping them to his sides, he looked in the mirror, nodding and saying “father. I’m coming.”

~Part 2: Winter’s Chill~
The three of them stood on the precipice, the chill morning air replaced with a cold and bitter wind that felt as though it blew right through each one of them. A great castle stood before them, a great monolith against the backdrop of the city’s outskirts. It had seemingly arose overnight, each grey block building itself out of nowhere. What helped support this was the fact that everything looked brand new, save for the architecture that made it look and feel like its medieval ancestors. Small, silver figures stomped around the perimeter, occasionally stopping, as their ever-glowing eyes drifted along the horizon.

 “So, we have no G.U.N. backup?” Caen asked, turning his head to the white fox, a purple scarf wrapped around her muzzle, as she zipped up her leather jacket further. 
“There’s no way we could have them here. A massive military unit rolling in would just scare civilians, and a covert force would be found out almost instantly. It’s like Alastor’s one step ahead of us all the time. Maybe he knows we’re here, already…” Raito said quietly, her eyes giving a somber sense of defeat.
“He knows we’re here, already, so what?” A girl, that looked very much like Caen said as she walked up behind the two Mobians. “That means he wants us here, and if you don’t think I’m gonna take that chance, then you’re damn wrong, Rai.”
“Ember…” Caen said simply, as Cinder continued to stand on Caen’s shoulder, almost keeping lookout as he watched the castle silently. Rather unusual for someone who is usually full of energy and movement. Perhaps even the watery creature could tell just how important this was. “So… How should we do this?” He asked them both, looking down at the castle’s entrance “I’m going to assume stealth isn’t an answer.”

“No. Not with that ARC on guard,” Ember said, pointing out one rather large silvery machine, that appeared to have some sort of glass bowl in its chest. “It isn’t a full-conversion model, either. See the chest? That has a person floating in it. An actual person that can be saved. Partial-conversion models were saved to those that were loyal to Alastor, though that was rare, or those that have powers too great to just waste on a one-and-done model that can’t be moved to another machine if it breaks down…” the red-spined girl explained, crouching down as she crept closer to the edge, a steep drop leading down to the grass surrounding the castle, almost leaving it in a huge crater. 
“So you’re saying there’s an innocent down there?” Caen asked, stepping forwards, almost ready to jump. “You do know I’m not leaving them there, right?”
“I think that was her point,” Raito said, stepping forwards and laying a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s go. Guns blazing, just like old times.”

With that, the fox went first, jumping and scraping her boots against the steep side, sliding down while balancing herself with a single gloved hand. She made it look easy, to say the least, as she kicked up a trail of brown dust. Ember did a similar take, creating a crimson icy ramp that carried her down much quicker. Caen took an approach that wouldn’t tear up the soles of his boots as much, as he took a running jump, summoning a pair of fiery wings, that carried him gently to the ground, Cinder fluttering closely behind. Each of their entrances was hardly quiet or stealthy, leading to tens of eyes transfixing themselves on them. 

Wordlessly, the three readied themselves. Caen crouched slightly, putting one foot backwards before drawing his blades. “Remember what father always taught you…” he muttered, widening his stance and dragging his feet along the coarse dirt. 
Ember jumped up and down, like a boxer preparing for a match, before holding up her fists, red crystalline ice growing around them.
Raito was much more simple about it, drawing a pistol holstered to her side, holding it close to her side, pointing downwards as she ran first, immediately taking cover behind a large boulder. That’s when the gunfire started. The two hedgehogs, thanks to the advantages their species provided, were swift enough to already begin strafing between bullets and lasers, Caen especially ducking and dodging a lot of them, with Ember using a lot more of her icy structures to outright block them when they came too close. Cinder, meanwhile, had flown high above them all, knowing that he most likely would not be targeted, thanks to his small and unassuming size. 

Caen slid, ducking behind a fallen tree to catch his breath, his chest rising and falling quickly as he tried to allow his heartrate to return to normal. He knew, the closer he got, his luck would run out. The gap between him and the robotic slaves grew smaller by the second, now that they were on the attack. That’s when the ARC gave out a garbled, metallic order. The gunfire stopped immediately, and all fell quiet. 

All of the lesser robots turned away from the group, walking back to the castle threshold, before forming a line across the gardens, blocking off a large portion of them. The ARC, however, stomped forwards. It was calm, collected, and it was waiting for the group to come closer. In its huge fist, a long, clear spear jutted out, threatening to pierce the flesh of any passer-by. 

Now the area had calmed, Caen took a moment to breathe in deeply, before continuing slowly towards the towering metallic giant. That’s when he could get a proper look at the glass structure in the middle. A blue liquid filled the entire orb, and, floating in the middle, was a bird, with brilliantly white plumage, and wings that were splayed outwards. Her eyes were closed, and she looked to be unconscious, but at the same time, it seemed as though she was in excruciating pain. 

Caen stopped, just as Ember stopped next to him. Both hedgehogs were shocked, but for different reasons. Caen was angered, seeing just how far his uncle could go to stop him. Ember, however, was much, much angrier. The bird, despite looking much younger, was almost certainly someone she knew: her mother. Could she tell Caen? No. No, that wasn’t possible. Victor, the creator of the machine that sent her to this time, had told her of the way time could be damaged by her input. Ember revealing that she was Caen’s daughter would not damage the overall timeline, as, instead, she would become a different instance of the hedgehog entirely. However, letting him know of her other relations could jeopardise her very existence, and cause a time paradox. Still, she had to save her.

“Dad!” Ember said, turning her head to see the hedgehog frowning, scanning the scene.
“Right.” Caen replied, as he crouched a little, readying himself. “Rai, you and Cinder will make sure the others don’t interfere. I think they won’t fight back, even if you were to destroy them.”

Raito nodded, as Cinder fluttered back down “got it. Don’t die, got it?”
“I don’t plan on it…” He replied. “Just get rid of as many as possible.” At once, the fox and the chao got to work, tearing down the robots, piece by piece. 

The two hedgehogs took a second to prepare, as the ARC made a metallic groan, hoisting the spear up and grabbing it with its other hand. “Intruder. Identification: Caen Flare. Priority: one. Directive: Kill.”  It said, before turning its head slightly “Intruder. Identification: Scanning… Scanning… Scanning… Unknown target. Directive: Neutralise and test.”

Before the giant could launch its attack, Caen had launched forwards, slashing at the metal legs of the beast, sparks flying as it barely made a dent, let alone caused it to stagger. Ember gasped “Dad, watch out! They can attack in all directions!” She shouted, jumping upwards and punching at the glass with her crystalline fists. It vibrated loudly, before a bitter wind seemed to blow the hedgehog away. She looked at her arm, and saw a thin layer of ice frozen ever her crimson spines.
Caen was not quick enough to hear his daughter’s warning, the ARC’s spear whipping around, the pole of the arm hitting into his side, a loud thud sounding as he was thrown across the ground. He let out a loud yell, as he landed on his back. Thankfully, he was only winded, and was back on his feet quickly. “Alright. The armour is much thicker than the pawns’. That makes sense.” Caen said, trying to catch his breath. 

Ember, meanwhile, shrugged off the ice.  Thankfully, she had felt colder. “Dad, she has ice! Lots of it! That means we’re at an advantage!” She shouted, as her fists of red ice shifted up her arms. Ember swung her arms, the ice sliding back down her arms and firing from her fingertips in sharp red bolts. Thanks to the hulking machine being rather slow, and completely incapable of dodging, about five of those spikes met their mark, sticking into the metal panels. However, not a single crack appeared on the glass. As the ARC moved its head to look at the female hedgehog again, it found some of its joints buckling and warping, as steam rose from the ice. It was beginning to burn through the hull. One particular one left a huge hole around its shoulder.

Caen, noticing that hole, leapt upwards. Feathers of flame erupted from his body, forming into fiery wings upon his back. With one powerful swoop, he was launched just high enough to get to the shoulder. He raised his arms upwards, both swords pointed outwards, as they bit into the exposed circuitry and machinery. Caen used his weight to slide through the joint, landing heavily on his feet as the arm hung limp.

With an almighty roar, the robot swung its spear in a wide circle, barely passing over Caen as he ducked down,  his coat draping against the dirt beneath him. “That’s it, Ember! The hull still bends to our will! Burn it, now!” 

Ember jumped back, just as the spear dug into the dirt before her, kicking up clouds of dust all around her. She wiped the back of her arm across her eyes as the dirt stung them, causing her to let out a grunt of irritation at her own idiocy. Finally able to see again, she ran straight at the titanium titan, holding out her arms, as ice spread across the floor, building upwards into a slope. She jumped, as another swing barely missed her. Ember reeled her arm back, throwing her weight into a powerful haymaker, her icy knuckle crunching against the head of the metallic beast. Circuitry bent and wires frayed, spraying out sparks, as the lights on its helm began to fade.

Caen, knowing that the robot was momentarily distracted, he jumped backwards, giving him space between the glass sphere and himself. He lost all momentum as he came to a halt in the air, floating as he threw his arms outwards. Flames began to light around him in a semi-circle, soon shaping into arrows. The hedgehog’s eyes glowed faintly as he swung his arms forwards, yelling out “fire!”
As if at his command, the arrows took off, all converging on the glass sphere with surprising precision. A loud shatter could be heard, before liquid began to drain, wetting the parched dirt and grass. 

As Caen landed, much lighter on his feet than the last time, the robot dropped to its knees, before falling forwards, the last of the blue liquid seeping out, almost like blood as it stained the ground. Ember landed next to her father, her breathing heavy. “Whew…” she sighed, “we won.”
“Indeed we did,” Caen said, his breathing already returning to normal. He summoned the same fiery wings, allowing them to carry him into the glass bowl, avoiding the jagged edges of the broken hole smashed through the thick barrier. He set himself down softly, kneeling by the girl, who was, up until now, trapped inside. She lay on her back, her eyes still closed.

Caen sheepishly reached forwards, placing a gloved hand against her shoulder, gently shaking “m-miss?” He said, afraid that the bird had passed. His fears were proven unfounded when her eyes fluttered open. Before either could say anything, the girl sat up, retching as she coughed water from her beak, some of it dribbling down her chin, though she seemed unbothered by this, considering her feathered form was already soaked through by the liquid. She spat as the last few drops of the foul-tasting liquid finally left her. “Ugh…” She groaned as she calmed down, before looking at her saviour. She let out a quiet laugh, her voice sounding somewhat hoarse. “Not the most dignified way I’ve met someone.”
“I-I’ll say… Are you alright? Y-you must be freezing!” Caen replied, about to take off his coat and drape it over the poor, soaked bird. Before he could do so, though, she held up her hand.
“It’s okay, I’m alright. Just a little wet…” She began to stand up, her legs almost like jelly. “God, is this what I was stuck in? Bloody hell…” She looked back to the hedgehog “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“Just a few bruises, nothing broken,” Caen replied, standing up. “U-um… what’s your name?”

“Winter,” she replied, squeezing water out of her feathers, “Winter Fall.”

—Part 3: The Castle in the Crater—
Many robots were destroyed around the gardens, their metallic corpses littering the area. Of course, this was the handiwork of both Raito and Cinder, as each were left virtually defenceless when the ARC deactivated them.

Finally away from the wreckage of said hulking mechanical beast, Winter and Caen stood directly in the middle of the wide-open grassy field, looking upwards at the towering fortress before them. The bird was still soaked, her feathers dripping with the blue liquid.
“Are you… sure we can’t get you something to dry off?” Caen asked, cocking his head as Ember, Raito and a Cinder finally regrouped with the two.
“I’m fine, really. Water never really bothers me. Besides, it could come in useful.” The bird replied with a smirk, seemingly pretty fired up by this point “so, I’m guessing all of you are…”
“About to attack the stronghold of possibly the most unknown world-ending threat? Yeah, pretty much.” The Arctic fox replied bluntly, as she placed a hand on her own waist, leaning to the side a little.

Ember smiled softly, tears welling in her eyes. “I… U-uh… Winter. I’m… glad you’re safe.” She wanted nothing more than to hug her mother, tears streaming down her face. However, there was but one warning she was given before stumbling into the past: never tell Caen who her mother is. If she was to do that, she risked her very existence.

“Um… thank you,” the avian replied awkwardly “I’m glad you’re okay, too. I… think I hit you fairly hard. But you and Caen seem to be… resilient. You also look… strikingly similar. Are you siblings?”
“O-oh, no, it’s… it’s a long story.” Ember said “b-besides, don’t we have a castle to storm? Like, right now?”
“She’s right,” Raito said, with a nod “Caen, battle plan?”

The hedgehog stepped forwards, looking up at the tallest spire, a gentle wind blowing through his spines. A large, stained glass window signified what Caen would imagine would be the throne room. Alastor did always have delusions of grandeur, after all. “Alastor is not a stupid man. He already knows we’re here, so there is no point in stealth. We know that Zephyr, Rhyme, Wilhelm, and… presumably father are in there. No doubt several traps have been set. Deadly traps. However, there is but one battle plan that we have…” He took one final, deep breath of the fresh, clean air of the outdoors, before slowly walking “lets go.”

———————

With a long creak, the huge double doors opened under the simplest push that Caen gave against the wood. The room beyond was dim- almost pitch black as his boots clacked against the smooth stone flooring. More footsteps echoed around him as he was followed inside by the group. There was a chill in the air, and the distinct smell of damp must lingered in the hedgehog’s nostrils.
“Chao…” Cinder said, in fear of the foreboding atmosphere. The chao gently landed on Caen’s shoulder, hugging his neck as he shook.

Caen couldn’t even try to comfort the chao, however, as he was doing all he could to not quake in his boots. Something wasn’t right. A shiver went down his spine
Winter froze as something flashed into her mind. A gunshot. Blood. Lots of blood. Caen lay facedown on the ground, the ground stained with crimson. She snapped out of it with a gasp, as she launched for the hedgehog, shouting “look out!”

BANG

The bullet barely missed.

With a click, several blindingly white floodlights lit up the room. Standing up high was a black bird, his equally black beak poking out from underneath his hood, which was raised over his head “I know birds are meant to have good eyesight, but I thought I was pretty well-hidden. Shame, that. It was a good shot. Think it would’ve gone straight from the back of his head and out his mouth. That would’ve shut him up, yeah?” He said, a handgun in his grip as he hopped down from his perch, effortlessly landing on the ground.

Caen looked up at Winter, as he lay on the ground, her body protecting his. “I… you… how did you…?” He asked. Winter got up quickly, pulling Caen to his feet. “Gut feeling, I think. Don’t mention it. You got this kid to deal with, after all.”
“R-right,” Caen nodded, drawing his blades and readying himself.

With a laugh, the bird stepped forwards and said “Aw, Dad. C’mon, don’t be like that. Thought you always wanted to play catch, didn’t ya? Never said bullets weren’t allowed.”

Ember gritted her teeth, rushing forwards “Zephyr! What is wrong with you?! Why would you turn on us like this! You could’ve killed us both back in Spagonia!”
“You coulda killed me and Rhyme, too. Knocking us off that bridge totalled the bike. Rhyme wanted to run away, go into hiding. We tried to. He found us. D’you know what Alastor said after that? Locked her up, told me to prepare for you all to arrive, and if I didn’t kill you? She has a body like Xavier’s waiting for her. You lot shouldn’t have come here, ‘cause if I lose Rhyme…”

Ember slowed down, her face depicting genuine concern for her sibling “Zephyr, none of us want that… there’s still time, we can-“
“Shut the fuck up, Ember! You and your fucking hero complex! You and Dad are just the same, yeah? What, now that I got powers like you, you actually think I’m worth your time?” He waved the gun around, no doubt ready to shoot at any moment. “They’re gonna kill Rhyme, and you think I have even a little bit of energy to give to your self-righteous shit? You tried to kill us both before, throwing us off that machine.”

Ember looked to Caen, then to Winter, before back at Zephyr, her chest rising and falling much faster than before “y-you… you…”
“What? Go on, say it. I murdered everyone, right? As Dad lay dying in Alastor’s place, we slashed that prick of a scientist and tried to kill you, too. You jumped into that machine and kicked us out the front door. You wanna know how painful it is to be sucked into a time vortex? It’s like you’re a being torn apart and smashed back together constantly!”

Zephyr held up the gun, aiming between Ember’s eyes “do the world a favour and die, yeah?”
Before the trigger could be pulled, however, an arctic fox, who stayed silent through all this, pulled a handgun of her own and fired towards the avian. With a swing of an arm, each bullet curved away, bouncing uselessly against the walls behind Zephyr. “Ah, yeah, you’re that cop friend of Dad’s, right? Said you died pretty quick, saving him from a Gatling gun.”
“Depends on who ‘Dad’ is, kid,” Raito replied simply, as she brushed Ember aside and stepped forward, holding her gun out. “But any friend of Alastor’s is an enemy of the United Nations, and I’m afraid my directive is to eliminate all threats.”
“Just shut up and fight, already. Rhyme’s time is running out, so I’m done talking.”

With that, Zephyr’s trainers squeaked against the floor as he launched forwards, throwing his arms behind him as a sudden gust of wind shot him forwards even faster. He reached into his pocket, something gleaming as he swung for the fox. “What?! Ah-!” She yelped in pain as metal dug into her flesh, leaving a gash across her side as Zephyr stood behind her. He turned, the knife clicking as he sheathed the blade. “He’s fast!” She said confidently, turning on her heels, as electricity crackled in her closed fist.

“That was a warning. A few more inches and I would’ve took a kidney,” Zephyr said confidently, turning towards her. Despite his demeanour when making conversation with the group, now his face looked entirely neutral. His chest rose and fell slowly as he took deep, slow breaths.

Raito matched this with her own slow, deliberate breaths. The last thing she’d want right now is to lose it. Fear, excitement, it wouldn’t matter, if her heart rate increased too much, she’d end up making more mistakes. “Caen. Gimme one of your swords.”

The hedgehog nodded in understanding, holding out one of his blades for Raito, to which she took hold of it, one finger resting on the metal hilt. “Kid, I’m giving you one more chance, ‘cause it looks like Caen’d be sad if I hurt ya.”
“Like I care if he’s sad. Just shut up and fight, fox.”

Zephyr held up the pistol once more, firing three bullets in quick succession, to which Raito moved her free hand in a large, sweeping motion. Each bullet’s trajectory seemed to change in just the slightest way, forcing each to zip past her, making a metal clink as they were stopped by the wall behind her. “Kid, I’ve been dodging bullets for a long time. Put down the toy and fight like a real man.” She turned her head a little “Caen, Ember, Winter, go on ahead. I’ll be fine.”

“Right,” Caen said, rushing ahead, the rest following closely behind. Upon finding the door at the end of the room locked, he took a step back, reeling back one arm and punching outwards. A fiery fist erupted from his own, thumping against the door, causing it to give way with a satisfying crack. “Hah…” He let out a breath, embers rising from his body as he continued into the dark hallways.

“Sure that’s a good idea, ‘Rai’?” Zephyr asked, cocking his head as he threw down the gun, grinning madly. “You lot are gonna fuck everything up, and Rhyme’s gonna die. So I should make sure Dad loses his dear friend, you get me?” The blade of his knife flashed as he pulled it back out of his pocket. His blue eyes flowed intensely as he lurched forwards, nearly faster than the eyes could perceive. He moved in a jagged, zig-zagged pattern, before lunging for Raito’s chest. With the clank of metal, Raito raised the blade to block it, locking the blades together. “Kid, don’t you see? We could help you and Rhyme. You gotta stop this, though. You stop, I tell G.U.N. that you and Rhyme were kidnapped by Alastor, and you two can both live your life. Hell, I bet Caen would be happy to help out any way he could!”
“Dad would never do that! He didn’t give a rat’s arse what me and Rhyme did back then, why the hell would he be different now?”
“Your version of Caen fought in a war, right?!” Raito leaned back, kicking Zephyr hard enough to send him stumbling back. She raised the sword to Zephyr’s throat, and the avian swallowed hard in response.
“You said you didn’t have powers, right? Look, I’ve been in this business a long time. If people can’t fight, you’re gonna focus resources on those who can. Why? Because those who can’t fight, and then do fight, just end up getting themselves killed. He was protecting you, kid, not glorifying Ember.”
“Didn’t protect me and Rhyme very well, did he?”
“That’s a conversation you need to have with him. But I bet you’d wanna have that conversation with Rhyme in the room, right? We’re not gonna be able to save Rhyme if you’re dying, but if you come with us…”
“And what if you fuck it up? What if you all end up dead and me and Rhyme’ll be put into robots?”
“I can’t guarantee we’ll do it, but don’t you think it’ll be way easier if you two aren’t fighting us, too? We already got a crazy scientist, and a megalomaniac on our case, do we really need the twin terrors?”
For the first time, Zephyr let out a genuine laugh “nah, I bet that makes it a little bit harder.” His smile dropped “wait, shit, Flora’s in the next room!”
“Flora, isn’t that-“
“Shit, we need to get after them!” Zephyr turned, grabbing the gun as he started to run for the door.
“Hey, wait!” Raito gave chase.