Zielo Cave - Blog Posts

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 21

20 years ago…

The two EXEs laid their baby on the rocky cliff gently, being careful to be quiet and make sure their child stays comfortable. Once the baby is settled, the female EXE kissed the baby on the forehead, whispering, "My bittersweet baby, I'm so sorry for leaving you without any parents to support and love you physically, but we will always be there for you physically." The EXE choked on her loving words, tears streaming down her face.

The male EXE held the female close, while stroking the baby's cheek gently but firmly. The male chuckled as the baby attempted to bite his hand off, murmuring, "My fierce and beautiful daughter, always be watchful and strong even in the most hopeless moments. We love you so much, Scylla." He slowly took his wife's wrists and asked her, "Are you ready, Diamond?"

Diamond nodded, "I'm ready, Quartz." The two EXEs shapeshifted into diamond-clear and quartz-black ravens, flying into their very last battle in the sky. Baby Scylla wailed for hours, the screams growing loud as a huge blast took out many EXEs in the sky, including her parents.

It was only moments after her parents died that a goddess took the baby EXE under her wing. Her name, Scylla later learned, was Helias.

Scylla would remember the traumatizing moment forever.

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Present day…

"Sophia!" Scylla shouted, a hint of fear flashing in her expression. That fear soon turned into anger, allowing her to fiercely spit, "Let her go, Zielo!"

Zielo chuckled. "Or else what?"

Scylla hissed, "Don't test me."

Zielo inspected Sophia closely, watching as she struggled to escape his grip. Zielo looks at Scylla, who was about ready to burn the god down. "How about a deal?" Zielo asked. "Your friend will be free, and in exchange, you become my slave."

"Don't listen to him! Run, Scylla!" Sophia pleaded, letting out a pained strangled sound and Zielo tightened his grip on her. Dang, the caring traits of werewolves are sometimes a bad trait in a dangerous situation.

Scylla thought about it. "How do I know that you're not going to break that deal? If anything, you could break her in half as soon as I start walking to seal the contract." Zielo squeezes Sophia's neck, making Sophia squeak in pain. Scylla jumped at the sound, raising her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, fine! I give myself up! Just… Don't do anything to her."

Zielo let Sophia go, allowing her to leave as Scylla lowered her head slightly, secretly planning something under her somber expression.

So, what is she planning?

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 20

7 years ago…

There was a break-in.

Scylla didn't know how it happened, it just happened.

She was downstairs, sweeping the dust off the shelves when she heard her grandmother shriek and smelled blood. Helios closed his book, eyes widening. "There's an intruder!"

"What?!" Scylla gasped, dropping everything and teleporting into the room upstairs to see Diana's dead body. Her claws were painted with someone's scent - she'd put up a fight, Scylla realized. Shaking with grief, she used a blanket to cover the body, so at least Diana can be warm.

Something snapped in Scylla, something that forced her out of control of her body. Sniffing the unknown blood, Scylla tracked it to a person wearing a violet cloak. She attacked. As they fought, one of the daggers missed Scylla and hit…Helios.

The fight ended as Scylla threw the intruder onto the wall behind her and zapped them with lightning for good measure, before rushing to Helios's side and doing medical procedures. "You're gonna be okay, uncle, j-just don't leave me." Scylla whispered. "Where's the -"

"I'm not going to make it." Helios grimly told Scylla. She froze.

"No," Scylla hissed. "You're going to live. I'm not going to let another one of my family die on my watch. I-I wouldn't live with myself if I had."

Helios's heart broke for the thirteen-year-old, but he said, "That dagger, it was poisoned with a toxin that is incurable."

Scylla grit her teeth, growling as she replied, "Then I'll work harder to save you."

Helios shook his head. "I love you." He whispered, then fell limp.

Scylla felt her uncle's soul leave his body. She sat there, processing the death of her family. She shook, tears dripping onto Helios's cold chest. Fire licked her power reserves, begging to be released. So she let it out.

She'd let her past burn.

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Present

She wasn't able to sneak past Zielo.

Scylla knew she should've expected this, but honestly? He looked so peaceful that she couldn't possibly bear to bother him (that was a lie, of course).

"Trying to steal from me?" Zielo asked.

Suppressing a groan, Scylla asked, "Well, hi, Mr. Baddie, are you trying to break my spirit?" She smirked as she turned to face Zielo. "But really, what do you think I'm stealing from you?"

Zielo's face stayed cold and unfeeling, but Scylla could feel the waves of annoyance coming off of him. It made her giddy with excitement. "My spark." Zielo simply replied.

Scylla laughed at him, taking a few seconds to calm herself down. With a shrug she said, "Oh, Sonic? Yeah, he's not your puppet, nor is he the 'spark' you're claiming him to be. He is his own person, and you shove up an apocalypse up the world's nose, expecting the hedgehogs, no, the world, to bow down to you."

Zielo snarled, "DON'T DISRESPECT -"

"I disrespect whoever I want, bucko. Guess what? You wanna stay a god? Act kinder." Scylla snapped.

"APOLOGIZE!"

Scylla growled, "Fine! I'm sorry that I will not treat you like a god. Is that what you want me to say? I'm sorry that I won't treat you like the 'perfect' person you claim to be, like all your followers do!" Scylla chuckled. "I'm just an inconvenience to you, a pest, a PROBLEM to you!"

"How dare you!" Zielo tried and failed to break Scylla's soul in half.

"Do you want to know something?" Scylla glitched behind the god. "I'm a god, too. But I'm a demon, a computer virus, and it hurts to not feel recognized, doesn't it?" She chuckled, glitching away from his swipe at her. Scylla transformed into her EXE form, hissing, "Well, I shouldn't have to justify what I'm doing to you, and I won't make it up to you, you low-class ruler!" Zielo lashed out at Scylla, trapping her in his telekinesis. Scylla cut through it easily with dark magic. "Well, I'm sorry that an abomination like me exists!"

"Scylla!" Sophia called out, taking Zielo's next attack, which was to grab her by the neck and lift her up.

"Sophia!"

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 19

11 years ago...

"What's going on?" Nine-year-old Scylla asked her grandmother and uncle. Why were they so mad? Why were they looking at her like that? She's done nothing wrong!

"I don't know, do you want to explain the death of your mother?" Helios asked gruffly, in the wolf language. Scylla cringed and opened her mouth to explain that she didn't do anything, but gasped instead when she saw the bloody body of her mother lying on the floor. She covered her mouth as tears sparked in the corners of her eyes.

Carefully and cautiously, Scylla gently walked over to the body and began to stroke the now-bloody blonde hair, like her mother used to do when Scylla had nightmares. It was almost like she could wake up the dead if she made the wrong move. Scylla choked down her sobs and softly asked, "What happened to her?"

"YOU happened!" Diana screeched, her tone filled with rage and hatred, making Scylla flinch. She's never done that before, and Scylla certainly has not done anything to make her family that mad. She didn't understand.

Scanning the overly-large scratches on Helias's body, Scylla whispered, "But I-I d-didn't do anything..."

"LIES!" Helios shouted, slapping Scylla across the face. Scylla recoiled, reaching to touch the emotional wound. They aren't in their right minds.

"I'm being honest, I was in my bedroom, sleeping like Mom wanted me to. Please, you have to believe me!" Scylla cried.

"Why should we believe you?" Diana asked, her face neutral. "After all, you're an EXE, not a normal girl, not even a soul, just a husk." Scylla opened her mouth to point out the scratches, but closed it instead in fear of punishment.

"That's what we thought," Helios grinned. "You're grounded for a year."

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Present day

"Oh, thank goodness you're back!" Aite shouted, slicing a Soulless in half and running towards Scylla.

"I got your message." Scylla glared at Diana in the distance, causing the werewolf to stare at the ground guiltily. Turning back to Aite, Scylla asked, "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright," Aite replied, "Sonic should be over there... Somewhere over there." Scylla looked in the direction Aite was pointing, the exact direction in which the Soulless were pouring out of. Scylla set her jaw.

"I'll go. You hold back the Soulless with the others. If all goes according to plan, I'll get us out of this apocalypse one and for all." Scylla ordered, before turning to her Soulless slaves. "You will fight alongside my pack. So unless you want to die, I advise you to follow their orders." She told Aite, "Take great care, and I'll be back soon."

"But what are you doing?" Aite asked.

"I'm doing what I should've done beforehand." Scylla narrowed her eyes. "I'm rescuing the innocent."

Aite nodded. "Good luck!" Aite put the Soulless slaves into chains and dragged them into battle, leaving Scylla to her own devices in the war. Scylla closed her eyes, and grinned, the sparks of evil glinting her senses. Using her Chaos Spear to move quickly and cut down as many Soulless as she can in one sitting, earning herself shrieks, screams, and yells on the battlefield until finally, she reached the city.

At the port, she sees Zielo standing near the water and meditating. Scylla fought back a growl of irritation in hopes that she can sneak into the Eggman base without getting spotted.

So that's what she's gonna do.

But would she get spotted, or will she succeed? That is the question.

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 18

12 years ago...

"Hey!" A young Scylla shouted, playfully wiggling out of Helios' grip.

The adoptive uncle chuckled, tickling the little girl relentlessly as she giggled and squirmed. "Are you escaping? This is war!" Helios teased.

"Time for dinner!" Helias shouted from the kitchen, startling Helios just enough to allow Scylla to break free and sprint towards the large dining room on the second floor. Scylla soon jumped into her mother's arms, startling Helias. Scylla's adoptive grandmother, Diana Moon, walked into the room to find Helias being tortured by Scylla through snuggles. Chuckling, Diana swiftly swiped the glass plates from Helias, earning herself a lupine whine.

"Oh, hush, you know that you can't set the table with the little demon trapping you like that? Let me set the table." Diana joked, earning herself a glare from her daughter. Scylla knew what she was, but she feigned naivety to hide her hurt in front of the werewolves.

"I heard food was ready?" Helios asked breathlessly, panting at the door like an excited dog. Scylla giggled at the sight, letting go of her adoptive mother and rushing to help Diana with setting the table.

"Yes, food's ready." Helias remarked, striding towards her brother and looking mischievously into his eyes. "Now go sit at the table and wait for dinner to be served." She flicked Helios in the forehead, turning and striding over to the table to serve dinner.

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Present

They had trained day and night, and it was fun - well, for Scylla. For the Soulless, it was torturous and difficult, constantly having to forget their barbaric ways of battling and being forced to learn new ways to battle. It was exhausting for both parties, but it was worth it to Scylla.

The morning after the training, Scylla was frantically reaching out her mind to try and trace Sonic's thoughts to a specific location on the map. So far, it hadn't worked. When Scylla had started to panic, she heard someone's voice - a certain pack member named Diana.

Scylla?

Diana, I'm busy right now -

With training the Soulless? Yeah, sure.

Diana. What. Happened?

Well, Aite wanted me to tell you to hurry up, 'cause we've found the Tainted one.

Scylla abruptly stood up and ran out of the glass tent, frantically asking, Where is he?

Well, that was fast.

Tell me!

Fine, fine. The Tainted One is in an abandoned Eggman base underneath a port of some sort. We'd get in, if the Soulless weren't attacking like maniacs!

Is it in a city?

Yeah, why do you ask?

Meet me at the outskirts of the town. Expect a group of Soulless slaves to be with us as well.

Okay, Mistress of Evil.

Oh, and one more thing.

Diana hesitated for a second, then she asked timidly, Yes?

Don't call me again, unless something happens to Aite or the rest of the pack. Understand?

Affirmative.

And tell Aite that if she wants something from me, call me herself.

Right.

Thanks. Scylla cut off the connection as she climbed the platform and blared out loudly, "ALL SOULLESS, FOLLOW ME OUT OF HERE! WE'RE PAYING YOUR BUDDY A VISIT!"

The Soulless yelped and clumsily followed Scylla out of the island in six cluttered lines. Scylla smirked, imagining the blunt and painful injuries, deaths, and the like she would face in battle. Three sides, all facing casualties of some sort in this war. Something to fight for. Gleeful and curious to see how everything turned out, Scylla quickly teleported everyone to the battlefield. The Dark Gaia pack were reunited again.

Aite shouted, "Oh, thank goodness you're back!"

Oh, this is going to be soooooo much fun.

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 17

A couple of hours later, Scylla found herself on land again, in the form of a human. Her raven-blue eyes reflected the crazed glee she felt as she stood at the edge of the abandoned island, waiting for the eventual arrival of the Soulless. A part of her wondered if her family were safe, but she knew nowhere was truly safe during an apocalyptic event. How many Soulless have they had to destroy since the beginning of this blasted zombie timeline?

Too many to count, that's for sure.

And that's only within a few weeks, if not months. Who knows how many more will be forced to die for their cursed master? What's it going to take for them to stop?

Nothing, because the god who orchestrated the entirety of the apocalypse was selfish and greedy for power.

Scylla finally spotted something. It was small, yes, but it was nothing compared to the violet lights in the distance that signified the presence of the Soulless. They were coming.

Scylla retreated to the gray ashes of what had once been the grass, trees, and bushes that outlined the island. From there, Scylla opened her mouth and let out a blood-curling shriek that echoed for miles on end.

The water was splashing from several miles away, allowing Scylla to run towards the trees in the middle of the island and hide in the branches. She started to have doubts about her plan.

What if the Assimilation ring doesn't work?

What if they won't listen?

What would the pack say about this?

This was a bad plan.

Why did I make this plan? To cope with having to fight Zielo someday?

What kind of strategy is this? A dumb one?

How are we going to restore the world when this apocalypse ends?

Scylla's thoughts was interrupted when the Soulless were fumbling on the island's shores, muttering something along the lines of, "Master's gonna enjoy his new slave."

Scylla shuddered, reluctantly sliding down the tree she was hiding in and tapping the ring five times.

A large number of pained screams filled the air, making Scylla smirk and enjoy the sounds of agony. She let her EXE form take over, walking over to the large group of Soulless. Her grace was unnerving and terrifying to those who saw it. It was like she was going to kill the Soulless right then and there. But Scylla only whispered, "All of you are mine now."

Some of the Soulless looked at Scylla, terrified of what she might do to them. Scylla smirks and said in a lighthearted tone, "Don't worry, I'm not going to make you do anything stupid, like a suicide mission or something like that."

"But what about -" One of the Soulless started.

Scylla clicked her tongue, holding up a hand and interrupting the question. "I don't want to hear you say, think, or wish for your god to save you. He's the one who corrupted you, and I am here to fix that. If you rebel against me or even run away, I will not hesitate to track you down and turn you into ashes. Do I make myself clear?"

Most of the Soulless gulped, afraid of what would happen to them if Scylla made good on her threat. They nodded, offering fearful smiles at the terrifying woman. One Soulless nervously replied, "O-of course, we won't let you down, Your Terrifying Lady."

Scylla smirked, snapping her fingers and letting the Soulless be slightly free. What the Soulless didn't know was that they were standing still long enough to allow Scylla to get a firm hold on their souls, so if they actually escaped, she'd destroy the souls almost instantly.

Talk about making good on the threat, am I right?

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 16

Scylla couldn't remember the last time she was a mermaid. Probably at least four years ago, when she was still practicing her underwater spells. No matter, because she saw the broken shards of the Chaos Emeralds.

Scylla almost choked from swallowing the oxygen-lacking water too quickly. "God..." She managed to whisper, grabbing the colorful shards. "How am I going to fix this?" Her vision swirled as her tears began to rim her eyes. Scylla wiped away the tears and began to sort the shards into seven black bags.

She took a deep breath in after she was done, mentally preparing herself for the rest of the destroyed island.

Swimming around the island, Scylla noted the main drowning sites for the plants and animals, picking up some of the wet Soulless ashes carefully. She took note of the destroyed temple that had once served to protect both the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald.

Now, it was time to take a look at the Master Emerald.

Scylla cautiously entered the temple, bracing herself for the worst.

What she saw was not what she had in mind.

The Master Emerald was practically nonexistent, as if it had disappeared into thin air. All that was left of it was the powdery dust that was suspended in the water.

Scylla stood there, staring at the scene in shock and disbelief. There's no way Zielo would do this...right?

From the looks of it, he would.

Scylla growled, twitching before swimming off. THIS is the reason why the apocalypse needed to stop, effective immediately. Being a vessel for Chaos energy – as in all of it - won't be good. It's already shown its effects. It'll only be a matter of time before Scylla dies of this and the energy finds another, more potentially dangerous place to inhabit. SHE CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN.

If it did, not only would she fail as a leader, but she'd also fail at her mission at keeping that dangerous family heirloom safe. She looked at the ring in her hand. Such a simple object, capable of causing destruction by creating a hive mind with the people affected by the assimilation...

Wait, wasn't that what Zielo was already doing? Creating his own hive mind to attack innocent people and cause destruction?

What if Scylla used his strategy against him? Destroying his hideouts would be simple, and there would be more recruits – if not members – of the Dark Gaia pack.

Scylla looked at the ring and stopped swimming. There was an answer – it was on her finger the entire time.

And she was ready to use it.

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 15

With how cloudy and dark this part of the desert is, Scylla was surprised to see even a sliver of the moonlight reflecting off her skin. But her curiosity was cut off as she heard the Soulless scampering toward an old city, which was in ruin ever since the apocalypse started. Realizing that she may have a lead to where Zielo and Sonic may be, Scylla lifted herself up, wincing as her body protested.

Scylla? Aite asked, scaring Scylla enough to have her jump and wince from the movement.

Aite, I thought I told you -

I know, I know, but we heard a scream a couple of hours earlier, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.

I'm fine Aite, I have a lead.

Remember, if you need help, you can always call the pack. Ok?

Fiiiiiiiiiine. But no promises. Scylla cut off her link.

Scylla starts to limp towards the empty city. At the most times she winced from her sore legs, she was in a lot of pain. What she didn't notice was the Soulless coyote trailing her from behind. Such irony that a predator was hunting another predator.

Once Scylla reached the ruins, she looked around, and spotted the coyote. It looked strangely familiar, but it clicked once she drew up a memory. Scylla huffed as a form of amusement. She continued walking as though she didn't know the coyote was there.

But a few seconds later, Scylla was stopped by the coyote, who had a sword in his stomach. She could have sworn he did it to himself earlier, based on how deep and fatal the injury was. "Halt!" The coyote said, "You muzt zee Mazter, az you are not perfect."

Scylla laughed weakly, amused by this form of intimidation. She stopped laughing a few moments later, her eyes blazing with joy and fury as she growled, "Whyyy, if it isn't a demigod, descending from Paradise to mingle with the commoners."

The coyote blinked. "We have a mission; and it iz to serve Mazter!"

Scylla rolled her eyes sarcastically as she smirked. "That was the universe's mission? Oh, I feel simply awful." A crack of thunder filled the air. "Must've slipped my mind."

"That's NO EXCUZE TO DISOBEYING MAZTER!!" The Coyote screeched.

That's what I was afraid of. Scylla thought, before smirking and giving a death glare to the coyote. "Well, it's disgusting to see a Bloodthroat think that they are perfect just because their master is. Such as Zielo, and he is -"

"Perfect?" The coyote suggested.

Scylla shuddered. "No, not perfect. Not since he fell to sin."

"Mazter IS PERFECT!!"

Scylla grimaced at the claim. "No one's perfect, not even the god of whatever you call it. That's a stupid claim." Scylla turned around and limped away.

"Don't turn your back on Mazter!" The coyote howled.

Scylla turned her head slightly, rolling her eyes sarcastically as she purred, "Oh no, Antoine, perhaps you shouldn't turn your back on your values."

Antoine let out a bloodthirsty shriek, diving towards Scylla as she dodged the attack. As a returning move, Scylla scratched the coyote harshly. Feeling her feet getting grabbed by some sort of tentacle, Scylla jumped onto an intact rooftop. She scanned the area below her, already picking up on a few details. First off, the location of the Bloodthroat's mark was on his...ugh, tongue. Blech. Second, Antoine was using some kind of updated version of his illusions. Third, the Bloodthroat was too powerful for Scylla to defeat on her own. At least without the necessary resources to save Antoine's soul. So, Scylla made the only choice she could make without bloodshed.

Scylla retreated, quickly and weakly teleporting to the submerged Angel Island.

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 14

A feeling of someone being drained drew Scylla's attention towards the wasteland southwest of where she was standing. A chill went down her spine as she realized what's happening at that moment. Sonic must've been stealing some of his brothers' energies to fight.

Scylla shook her head as she started to run towards the area, ignoring the Soulless approaching from behind her, and taking the other Soulless' souls as she ran.

By the time she got to the general area, Scylla had already captured about a hundred of the Soulless. Her new ability – if that's what it was - helped her in more ways than one. But Scylla stopped – not because of the Soulless, but because Shadow cut off Sonic from Silver and Shadow's minds.

Scylla softly whimpered, accepting the fact that she may have to temporarily sever Sonic's connection with Shadow and Silver.

Pulling herself together, Scylla grabbed a small handful of Soulless ashes and sprinkled them in a small circle on the sand, before merely lighting a pure-white fire in her hand. She stopped to look at the flame once, as a reminder that this is for the best, and then lowered the spark to the ashes. The darkest of violet flames was then lit.

Scylla sucked in a breath, tears stinging her eyes as she focuses on the next, more painful step.

Scylla got down on her knees, her head bowing towards the fire, and her hands shaking as she raised them near the sparking flames. The flames she hated the most.

Scylla shakily recited the ritual, pain slightly moving through her chest as she cut off a fixable part of the Sons of Heephis' connections.

When she finished, however, the pain felt like it was going to eat her alive. It spread quickly, not giving Scylla the chance to breathe before she howled in pain. Her balance threatened to tip her over. Nausea clawed in her brain. It was suffocating. Scylla's vessel screamed for air, for water, for the pain to stop, and a number of other things Scylla couldn't comprehend.

She stopped screaming when she passed out, and the last thing she saw was black fire erupting all around her. She blacked out.

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When Scylla woke up, her body felt like it was being infested with black worms. In short, less gruesome words, she was sore.

The first thing she noticed was the white glass around her, similar to the custom-made glass she made during the first month of living her new life.

The bodies around that glass though, was burnt, the victims' mouths open with silent, yet clear screams of agony and pain.

The Soulless.

Scylla picked up a glass shard and looked at her reflection.

Her eyes were blood-moon red, her hair was a natural obsidian black color, and her copper skin shone like moonlight.

Moonlight?

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 13

Look, I'm not in the mood for medical attention. Someone's in the rubble. Scylla transmitted, pointing towards where she felt the familiar, yet painful feeling.

Diana, Adam, and Sophia all shared a look, obviously having a private telepathic conversation between them. Scylla was too busy trying to get rid of the painful feeling to notice, or to mind.

Suddenly, Scylla's EXE instincts snapped into place, and she moved towards the source of the energy.

It took her five minutes, maybe less, to find the source. But once she did, she gasped in shock, falling to her knees and shaking. Tears streaked down her face as she looked at the violet cinders and crimson blood, along with the unconscious bodies.

Sophia, Adam, and Diana all just stood there after finding Scylla a few seconds later. They couldn't believe it.

Scylla found Ajal and Aite.

Feeling herself spiraling out of control, Scylla muttered softly, "Take Aite and Ajal and treat them. I'll hold the Soulless back."

Diana nodded, taking Aite, and Adam and Sophia taking Ajal. They all soon left Scylla to her thoughts.

Hearing the crazed shrieks of the Soulless, Scylla slowly stood up, black flames igniting in her hands and on the floor around her. Her tears were angry and furious. One of her eyes turned red, her sclera black in color, and it was clear that she slipped off her hold on reality and saw red.

Her hand reached out, and in fifteen seconds, she could feel the half-souls of the second and first stage Soulless spilling out.

Scylla lost her mind in that moment. She controlled the souls for a moment, messing with them as her insane part of her mind contemplated on whether or not she should destroy them.

She snapped out of it as soon as someone's voice whispered in her mind, Scylla?

Aite? Scylla asked, the fire extinguishing around her. I thought you were -

Dead? Yeah, I know. That's what I thought too. Aite reassured. Luckily, Ajal and I were both far enough away that we got the least amount of the damage. I bet that if anyone was in the middle of the destruction, they'd be very much dead.

But are you safe? Scylla pressed, tightening her grip on the rotting souls of the Soulless.

Aite went quiet for a moment, before whispering, We're safe.

Scylla almost cried when she heard that, but spotting a large group of Soulless in the distance made her think sharply, before transmitting, Aite, stay as far away from the desert as possible, and don't run into any Soulless. I'll join you as soon as possible. Tell the others.

But, Scylla, what about you? You're our leader! Aite said worriedly.

I'll... be fine. Scylla hesitantly said, not sure if her words were true.

Alright, but I want you to promise me something. Aite transmitted.

Scylla mentally rolled her eyes. You know I can't say no to that.

Promise me that you'll be careful. Aite said seriously.

It shocked Scylla, but she brushed it aside and transmitted, I'll try. Scylla then cut off the connection.

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 12

The Ini Pyramid crumbled.

Sonic had cut off a large piece of Zielo's quills.

Scylla woke up to see Adam, Sophia, and Diana worriedly staring at her. Scylla touched a feather on her face; which was located near her eyes.

Scylla panicked, asking urgently, "Where's Aite and Ajal? Are they here?"

Adam shook his head. Diana answered timidly, "Aite and Ajal went to the Ini Pyramid. When the pyramid collapsed, they didn't come back."

Scylla's eyes widened, and she sat up quickly, only to feel the blood rushing to her head. Scylla turned towards the destroyed Ini Pyramid and growled, "Then we need to get over there quickly. Aite and Ajal may be in trouble."

Sophia asked, "But how are we going to get there without the Soulless spotting us?"

Scylla thought about it, sparking a tongue of fire in her hand. Looking into it, Scylla smirked.

Extinguishing the flame, Scylla said, "I think I have an idea."

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Scylla made another illusion, but this time, it was of a couple of demigods engaging in battle with the Soulless. Before the Soulless could come to the scene, Scylla, Adam, Diana, and Sophia ran toward the ruins quickly.

As they reached the wreckage, Scylla saw a mix of violet cinders and blood on the ground. Signaling to the others to stop, Scylla knelt down, trying to drown out the doubts, fear, anger, and despair that welled up, pricking her tears with a dangerous guilt as Scylla tried to blink the tears back. Her eyes were blurry, and she felt like she was going to burst into flames.

Please be okay, Ajal and Aite. Scylla transmitted, not expecting anything to happen.

"Scylla, we should be helping with exterminating the Soulless." Adam gently whispered, helping Scylla up.

Scylla nods. "Their deaths won't be – ACK!!!!"

Scylla held her head, feeling dizzy, but she felt something coming from the north. It felt familiar, but she was in too much pain to walk towards it.

"Scylla, are you hurt?" Adam asked.

"Are you okay?" Sophia asked urgently.

Diana started, "Maybe we should take her to the -"

ENOUGH!! Scylla transmitted.

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 11

Daylight came, causing Scylla and the other Dark Gaia members to transform back into "regular" humans. As of last night, they had made a backup plan, and they finally caught up with Shadow, Sonic, and Silver. However, the Dark Gaia pack had stayed five kilometers away from the Sons of Heephis.

Scylla turned to the pack, asking, "Do you want me to cast an illusion over us? No one will know of our existence."

Aite, Adam, Sophia, Ajal, and Diana nodded.

Scylla took a deep breath. She hasn't casted a grouped illusion in a long time, not since...

No, she can't think about that now. Scylla's illusion was soon set over the Dark Gaia pieces. Sweat dripped down Scylla's brow.

"Alpha Scylla, are you okay?" Sophia asked.

Scylla nearly jumped out her human form. "Y-y-yeah, I'm fine. I just...Haven't done this in a long time."

Aite and the others noticed Scylla's condition. Sophia said, "You sure? You're growing pale."

Scylla grit her teeth. "As I said, I haven't done this in a long time."

As they slowly walked closer and closer towards the Ini Pyramid, it started to rain, which was unusual in the desert. Scylla spotted Sonic running towards the pyramid. Scylla chuckled a little, causing her to falter slightly. After the tsunami incident, she expected Sonic to be at least a little traumatized - but she never expected how much it cost him. But part of her insanely enjoyed the revelation that the Sons of Heephis could be suffering as much as the werewolf pack was.

Scylla shoved the unempathetic emotion aside, not wanting to focus on the terrifying parts of her existence.

She could see that Shadow and Silver entered the Ini Pyramid, so Scylla tried to quicken her pace, but she ended up almost collapsing from the energy that was left.

Adam was swift enough to catch Scylla, but Scylla had a droplet of consciousness left to notice a blue blur rushing out of the pyramid.

Scylla passed out, her packmates calling out her name.

In her dreams, she saw two split scene happening at the same time. One of them was Sonic trying to be peaceful with his mother (who was the Soulless we saw in Chapter 3), which eventually turned into a fight against Zielo. The second scene was Shadow and Silver fighting Anna Croi.

Suddenly, in the first scene, Zielo moved out of range of one of Sonic's attacks, causing Sonic to kill his Soulless mother – on accident. Since Scylla was only watching them in the crook of her mind space, she could only watch as Sonic's mother dissolved into ashes. The next moment in the first scene was a blur – Sonic turning Tainted and fighting like a schizophrenic rabid animal, while Zielo dodged every attack and making threats, until finally -

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 10

Everyone started protesting.

"WHAT?!!!"

"WE CAN'T JUST DO THAT!!!"

"WHY SHOULD WE BE LEAVING???!!!"

"THIS IS OUR HOME!"

"WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING OUT THERE?!"

Scylla rubbed her temples, telepathically shouting with a burst of authority, STOP! 

Everyone quieted down, shivering in fear. Scylla said softly, "We have to make sure that the Sons of Heephis aren't heading towards a trap. During the time I listened to their thoughts, they were heading towards the Ini Pyramid."

This led to a fearful silence. Sophia asked meekly, "Isn't the Ini Pyramid a dangerous place to go for a mission, though?"

Scylla nodded, speaking more authoritative voice, "Exactly. It's home to a Stage Three Soulless, who goes by the name of Anna Croi. If anything goes wrong, we need to have a plan in place."

A nervous tension filled the air. Sensing this, Scylla gently said, "We can come back to this topic at dusk, but for now, pack your valuables and destroy this watch house." Scylla got up and walked carefully out of the glass building, a sign that the meeting was over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At dusk, the Dark Gaia pack transformed into wolves and left the territory. The watch post was destroyed, as Scylla had ordered.

Scylla asked telepathically, "Does everyone have any ideas on a backup plan?"

None of the other pack members even looked at their alpha. Scylla sighed, feeling guilty for making the decision in the first place.

Aite nudged Scylla, telepathically saying reassuringly, "Let's hunt something first. No one's eaten anything today, so it might help to think it over a pile of dead scraps."

Scylla barked in laughter. "Are you making a joke out of Zielo's right hand man?"

"Maybe."

Adam, Diana, Sophia, and Ajal hid their laughter by running ahead. Scylla and Aite gave chase, telepathically shouting, "HEY! Wait up!"

The night was filled with the sounds of the Dark Gaia pack happily yipping and barking.

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 9

Aite gasped, pulling Ajal closer. Adam's expression went blank in shock. Ajal's expression was filled with an unreadable amount of anger.

Scylla's ears flattened in fear of what will come in the future. Scylla looked at the glass walls of the watch post and whispered, "Where's Diana and Sophia?"

Ajal pointed below the watchpost. Scylla sighed in defeat, walking towards the trapdoor and pulling it open. Climbing down the semi-dark ladder, Scylla was greeted by Sophia.

"So, guess who came to this dimension." Sophia said cheerfully.

Thinking that this was another joke, Scylla replied darkly, "The Sons of Heephis."

"WHAT??!!!!!" Sophia gasped in shock, covering her mouth. As Scylla walked towards the first room, Scylla ground out angrily, "Yeah, apparently the Sons of Heephis came back for their first mission."

Sophia shook her head fearfully, saying in a subdued voice, "I don't like where this is going."

Diana ran out of one of the rooms in this basement, asking, "What's happening? I heard Sophia shout-" Diana looked at Scylla's serious face, and physically cringed at her expression.

Scylla said darkly, "The Sons of Heephis are back."

Diana sucked in a breath, muttering, "I presume we're going to go upstairs talk about this."

Scylla nodded.

Five minutes later, Diana, Scylla, and Sophia had climbed upstairs to see Adam, Ajal, and Aite looking at them fearfully. The pack sat down in a circle. Aite, Adam, Sophia, Ajal, and Diana finally started speaking their minds.

"Why are they here?"

"What are their intentions?"

"Have they changed?"

"Are they even themselves?"

"Shouldn't we be keeping an eye on them?"

"What should we do?"

"ENOUGH!!!!!" Scylla shouted. Everyone went silent. Scylla took a deep breath, and said calmly, "As much as I don't like this as much as you do, I have made my decision long before this had ever been brought up." The pack looked at each other fearfully. Scylla closed her eyes, and said in a dark growl, "We're leaving this territory at dusk."

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 8

"Scylla. Scylla! SCYLLA!! Wake up!" A female voice said. Someone shook Scylla awake.

Scylla groaned, opening her eyes to the bright sun and a familiar woman.

"Aite? Did I have another nightmare?" Scylla mumbled, her head a little fuzzy from the nightmare.

Latest development of the Dark Gaia pack over the past few months was that the Dark Gaia pieces became werewolves. That means that the Dark Gaia pieces' human forms had characteristics relative to their former master.

Aite nodded, her violet eyes as dark as the night. "You started screaming in your sleep. Again."

Scylla sighed, sitting up and leaning against the sandy wall of the dune. Scylla noticed a man with violet hair and navy blue eyes walking up to Aite and Scylla. Scylla stood up and asked, "Any signs of the Soulless, Adam?"

Adam shook his head. "No, Alpha Scylla. It seems they left. But..."

Scylla growled. "But what?"

Adam shook his head. "Diana, Sophia, and Ajal wanted to tell you and Aite about it."

Aite and Scylla looked at each other with surprised expressions. Aite telepathically asked Scylla, "Could it be...Them?"

Scylla shook her head, telepathically replying with, "No, it can't be. They're with the demigods." Scylla transmitted the last word with a growl. "They should be as stuck-up as them now."

Adam cleared his throat, clearly eavesdropping on the telepathic conversation Scylla and Aite were having. Adam asked, "So, are we going to the other pack members now, or -"

"Of course we are. Let's see how they fared." Scylla intercepted.

Scylla grabbed her bow and quiver of arrows, slinging them onto her back. Then, Scylla, Adam, and Aite started to walk the ten-kilometer distance towards the makeshift watch post.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About an hour later, Scylla, Aite, and Adam entered the watch post, which was made of beige-colored glass. As they entered, they saw Ajal looking at them expectantly. His blue-violet eyes are impossible to miss.

"Where is Diana and Sophia, Ajal?" Scylla asked impatiently.

"Can I say something before I answer?" Ajal asked meekly.

"Alpha Scylla, Ajal has our news. I suggest we listen to him first." Adam said.

Scylla sighed. Looking at Ajal, Scylla said formally, "Forgive me. I haven't been in the best mood lately, and I just woke up an hour beforehand."

Ajal nods in understanding, saying in a more serious tone, "I understand. But three Mobians have arrived in the desert just about 190 miles from here."

Aite asked, "Were they demigods? We've been seeing them several times on our daily hunts."

Scylla cringed at the thought of more demigods entering the desert. Ajal said seriously, "Not this time. They felt more like gods than demigods."

Scylla froze like a deer in headlights. That description...It feels so familiar, yet it didn't seem real. Scylla blocked her telepathic connection with her pack for a moment and listened for Sonic, Silver, and Shadow's thoughts. Once she heard them, Scylla gasped and shut it down immediately. Reopening her telepathic connection with her pack, Scylla's black eyes were wide.

Scylla looked at Adam, Aite, and Ajal worriedly. Aite asked Scylla, "What happened?"

Scylla took a deep breath, her trembling hand subconsciously curling into a fist as she said seriously, "The Sons of Heephis are back."

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 7

Scylla jumped at the voice, turning around to see a Mobian Coyote - with the aura of a demigod. Scylla grew angry, spitting out the words, "So, your one of those DEMIGODS."

The coyote calmly tried to speak, confirming this before Scylla made an illusion and quickly left, hearing the coyote demigod "defeating" Scylla's little illusion.

Several hours later, Scylla transformed into her wolf/Dark Gaia hybrid form at night. Her ruby red eyes turned a gentle orchid color, her fur turned a navy blue, and her face had blue and violet markings, signifying that Scylla was a servant of Dark Gaia, not Zielo.

As per usual, Scylla's pack appeared in thin air, eager for the hunt in the desert tonight. Scylla's paws sunk into the desert sand like a pile of worms, and Scylla raised her head to the new moon, took a deep breath, and howled. The other Dark Gaia wolves joined Scylla's howling. To them, it meant that the hunt has started.

The Dark Gaia pack then ran off, the wind cooling their fur to a raven's feather-point. Scylla had never felt so alive before. It's like she actually belonged in the pack, and she wasn't discriminated because of her DNA.

Scylla was the alpha of the pack, guiding the pack away from the Soulless whenever possible. The hunt only lasted for a few hours, but by then the Dark Gaia pack were exhausted and needed a place to sleep. Scylla spotted a pyramid about ten miles east of where the wolves were standing, but the place felt like Zielo.

Scylla was concerned about her pack's safety, so she led the Dark Gaia pieces north, towards a dune where they could rest peacefully.

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A few months (?) later...

Scylla had ran. And ran and ran. That's all she knew how to do right now. She tripped over a rock, falling on her stomach. Black eyes darted to a cyan-eyed hedgehog. Zielo. Scylla's black eyes swiveled towards a horde of Soulless behind Zielo. For the sixth time this month, this nightmare actually scared Scylla. Flipping onto her back, Scylla whispered in a distorted, scared voice, "Please, just let them go. You could have chosen something else to be your minions."

Zielo held no expression, saying in a bored voice, "Did you forget that I'm your God?"

Scylla grew enraged, blue-violet lightning striking the ground as Scylla shouted, "I am not your little puppet, and you do NOT reign over me, you psychopath!"

Zielo shouted in a very enraged voice, "YOU WILL NOT DISRESPECT GOD!!"

Scylla's voice distorted into a very unrecognizable voice as she shouts back, "THEN WHY DO YOU DISRESPECT YOUR PEOPLE? IS IT BECAUSE OF THAT PARASITE SSSSSIIIIIIIIIIINNNNN?"

"SILENCE!"

"NO! ANSWER THE QUESTION, ZIELO THE HEDGEHOG!"

Scylla saw what looked like tainted versions of Sonic, Silver, and Shadow, and it shook her to the core. These...Tainted...versions of the hedgehogs had sharp teeth, claws with blood on them, and looked particularly insane.

Scylla went from rage to concern and fear. Turning to Zielo, Scylla shouted, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE SONS OF HEEPHIS?"

Zielo smirked. "I didn't do anything. They only did it to themselves."

Scylla stood up and backed away from them, her EXE form overpowering her instincts. She fell deeper and deeper into the overwhelming rage and fear.

Unable to take the pain of it anymore, she screamed.

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 6

All Scylla could remember was the blinding light on the water, the three hedgehogs laying on the ground, and Scylla herself being slammed into a tree from the force of the explosion. Scylla's magenta eyes slowly closed as she felt the white-hot pain rock itself into her core.

Several hours later, Scylla opened her violet eyes to see that Silver, Shadow, Sonic, Zielo, and the blinding light were gone. Panicking and worried that Zielo could have taken the younger gods to his lair, Scylla jumped to her feet, only to wince in pain as her sore body protested.

Scylla started to run west to try to find Sonic, Silver and Shadow. Scylla's mind swirled with worried thoughts as she checked every tree, lake, rock, and bush where the three hedgehogs could have hidden near.

Suddenly, Scylla heard the thoughts transmitted between Shadow, Sonic, and Silver. Scylla stopped searching for the hedgehogs, because she felt how far away they were.

Scylla closed off the hedgehogs' transmissions and thought to herself, "Well, I can't reach them, so it's only fair that I leave."

As Scylla turned her back and transformed into a pale-skinned, green-eyed, blonde-haired woman with wolf ears and tail, five wolf-looking Dark Gaia creatures rose out of the ground and awaited Scylla's directions. Scylla looked at the Dark Gaia wolves and understood what had happened. She looked at the starlit sky and whispered, "Thank you, Dark Gaia."

So, Scylla and the wolves stalked off into the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two days later, Scylla had changed her appearance. She has ruby-red eyes, black skin, and strawberry-blonde hair.

Scylla had her bow and arrow stretched into a potential firing position, aimed on what was called a Soulless. Apparently, according to the information she had learned from SOMEBODY'S thoughts (not naming who), a Soulless is a slave of Zielo, with half a soul left in their body. The other half of the Soulless' soul is kept inside Zielo. The half of the soul in Soulless' body rots away, and the Soulless knows it. There are three stages of being a Soulless and how much time you have to "save" them.

The First Stage of being a Soulless - Its' soul is just starting to rot away, and you have a somewhat medium-sized time window to save the other half of the Soulless' soul.

The Second Stage of a Soulless - Their soul is halfway rotted, and there is a smaller time window to save it.

The Third Stage Soulless - They can't be saved. The only way to end their suffering is to destroy them and their mark.

But there's a catch to saving a Soulless - You have to make a deal with the Dark God, which is Zielo, who somehow keeps every Soulless' soul in himself.

Scylla fired her fiery arrow, hitting the Soulless in their mark.

A voice with a French accent spoke behind Scylla, saying, "Alright, it iz time to go to Paradise."

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 5

Speeding closer, Scylla can see that Amy and Sonic were okay. Scylla slowed her speed, turning to see that the tsunami broke though the barrier between Tin-Can and was headed directly towards Sonic and Amy. Scylla flew ten feet higher in the air, just to be safe.

Amy jumped to higher ground, while Sonic, for some reason, didn't seem to jump for some reason. Scylla cocked her head to see better, and saw Sonic's slightly pained expression and look of realization. Sonic turned around to face Amy.

Sonic said, "A-Amy, I... I..." He took a deep breath. "Amy, I lo-" And just like that, Sonic was engulfed in the tsunami. Scylla nearly gasped, while Amy looked on with an emotionless face, and took off.

Scylla dove into the water, not caring if she drowned trying to save the hedgehog.

Not even twenty minutes later, the water shot Scylla out.

Scylla became a raven-winged woman, with copper skin, magenta eyes, and blond hair. Out of the corner of her eye, Scylla can see Silver and Shadow dragging Sonic out of the water. And the smell of hedgehog blood was going to make Scylla's mouth water. But that didn't matter, because a large water monster formed out of the newly-formed lake.

Scylla sensed that Zielo was behind this, and growled at the monster in front of her. The water monster roared at the three hedgehogs, attacking Shadow, Sonic, and Silver with watery tentacles.

Scylla screeched like a harpy at this, throwing a Chaos Spear at the water monster in a rage. Flying five kilometers high in the sky, Scylla threw Chaos Spears like an animal, boiling the water wherever the Spears hit. Scylla didn't see anything but the water monster. She wanted to destroy it. She wanted to ruin whatever life it had left. She wanted to -

The water creature exploded, the force sending Scylla flying into a sharp branch. She felt the wound with her hand, and felt an ice-cold liquid. Scylla looked at her hand and saw her signature black blood. Cursing herself, she removed herself from the branch and flew to the skies, away from where she could potentially be found.

Scylla saw her blood dripping from her wing, a sign that the puncture wound was deep. Scylla spotted some dark violet lights, a yellow zigzag, and a mountain thrown onto the land. It made Scylla shiver. She wasn't sure what happened, but she doesn't want to go near THAT ever again.

Three screams ended the predicament. Scylla recognized those voices like a dark angel would.

Scylla tried speaking, but it felt like a hundred mites closed off her lungs, making it hard to breathe. Scylla dove down to the ground, trying her best to breathe normally as the panic engulfed her mind.

When she reached land, Scylla made sure to carefully hide behind a tree, because she felt Zielo's presence.

Transforming into a black wolf, Scylla snuck closer to the hedgehogs. Scylla's tail felt like lightning, swirling and crackling as the puncture wound healed.

Zielo used his telekinesis to lift Sonic, Silver, and Shadow off the ground. Scylla's head felt like bones, so she barely could hear anything the gray hedgehog was saying.

But as soon as Zielo opened his mouth and started to try absorbing the three hedgehogs' souls, Scylla snapped out of it and ran to take their place instead.

BOOOOOOM!

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 4

The world seemed to dive down with Scylla, as she narrowed her focus on the magically immobilized hedgehogs, which they were currently falling to their deaths. As Scylla got closer to the three hedgehogs, Scylla heard Sonic shout, "Silver, use your mind powers to stop us from falling!"

Scylla heard inaudible mutters from Silver about his head hurting and something about the fact that he can't use his telekinesis.

Scylla got close enough to see the blue hedgehog roll his emerald-green eyes and demand the black hedgehog - called Shadow - to do something.

"I'm trying! I just need to -" Shadow started, but Sonic starts to panic as the three hedgehogs starts to reach a midway point of falling. Only panicking a little due to the life-or-death situation, Scylla got behind Shadow and gently nudged his leg, just enough that his rocket shoes activated.

Stopping the spell Zielo had put onto Silver, Sonic, and Shadow, the three hedgehogs curled and crashed into a burned, destroyed building of Tin-Can.

Scylla was relieved to see that the young gods were going to be alright. So, she stopped diving towards Tin-Can. Looking at the wasteland, Scylla felt her heart drop in sorrow.

Scylla managed to chirp, "I'll miss your bright spark, Tin-Can."

She was about to fly off when Scylla spotted violet lights heading towards the crash site. She knew something was off instantly. Scylla dived down, keeping an eye on her surroundings. On the southern side of the wasteland, Scylla could see that the water was starting to disappear from the shore of the nearby beach. She'd have to hurry if she wants everyone else to get away quickly.

Scylla put more strain on herself to make the dive to the crash site quicker. As the sound of arguing reached Scylla's currently-nonexistent ears, she made a sharp upwards turn, to a perch high enough to allow her to see the situation at hand.

Three familiar-looking Mobians snuck up on Sonic, Silver, and Shadow, and quickly got into a fight with the young gods. Scylla could see only Shadow and Silver warding off a red echidna - Knuckles, Scylla remembered - and a yellow fox with two tails - Miles "Tails" Prower, Scylla knew, based off the gossip that went around two years ago. But she didn't really see Sonic throwing any punches and was very confused.

At least, until Scylla saw who was trying to hit Sonic's head off with a violet hammer.

Amy Rose - Owner of Vicky's - was swinging her disfigured, violet, magic-based hammer at the blue hedgehog. Scylla was tempted to help, but with the quickly approaching tsunami, she'd need to leave the area as soon as possible.

She heard a faint sentence from a few miles away.

"You have no soul."

Scylla stopped herself from trying to peck whoever said it, because deep down, Scylla knew the sentence was true. Born half-Exe and half-Assimilated, Scylla never had a true soul in her entire life. Even if she tried to deny it, tried to be "emotional," Scylla can never be a living being.

Her mind swirled with the insults and names Scylla had been called in her life.

"Monster."

"Undead being!"

"DEMON!!"

"KILLER!"

Eyes brimming with tears, Scylla flew into the sky, only to see Angel Island fall into the ocean.

"NOOOO!" Scylla shrieked, watching in horror as the foreseen tsunami trampled and rushed towards the wastelands of what was once the town of Tin-Can, heading towards...Sonic and Amy.

Scylla started to dive towards the couple, praying that they haven't been washed out yet.

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 3

Scylla raised an eyebrow as she folded her navy blue raven wings against her wolf body, wondering what the grey hedgehog was going on about.

The grey hedgehog continued. "My brothers fell into the deep ominous pit of sin, and betrayed me in response. They became imperfect, so I took the liberty of eliminating them."

Scylla scoffed, muttering in a growl, "Like YOU were even born perfect anyway."

The grey hedgehog said, "But Heephis, unfortunately, sent prerequisites before his death. Those prerequisites being you three."

Scylla barked a laugh, thinking, "Well, he chose great entertainers!"

The grey hedgehog continued, "Since you have originated from the deepest parts of Heephis' soul, you partake our appearances."

That led Scylla to be confused. "What does that merciless bastard mean?" Scylla wondered.

The grey hedgehog carried on. "As for me, what once was three had become one."

Scylla made a red-eyed face, growling, "Of course that dust-maker absorbed his brother's souls. As if that wasn't bad enough." Scylla rolled her eyes.

The grey hedgehog said, "I am the only god of existence. I no longer hold responsibility for the Control of everything. I have taken Heephis' and Celios' power, and became the only divine being."

Scylla was about to pop an artery out of anger at this so-called "divine being," but forced herself to calm down.

The grey hedgehog then said proudly, "I am everything. I am nothing. I am perfect. I am Zielo."

Scylla had to put her paws over her mouth to keep from laughing and breaking her illusion. Her wings slowly opened once the urge to laugh went away. It didn't take her very long to lose that laughter, though.

A sharp sound of shattered emeralds and a blast of a broken, erased energy had Scylla tensed. All Chaos energy was destroyed in this multiverse. Well, except for Scylla's Chaos powers.

Scylla felt herself become the vessel for Chaos energy, leading her to panic. "W-wha? H-h-how? Why?" Scylla yipped. She looked at Zielo, and saw the shattered bits of the seven Chaos Emeralds. Scylla understood what happened now, and it made her remember that all energy has to go somewhere.

Which led to one last question. Why did the Chaos energy choose Scylla to be the vessel?

Zielo forced the younger hedgehogs to the edge of a cliff. Zielo had mentioned something about Sonic, Silver, and the black hedgehog playing some kind of game with "god."

Scylla followed the hedgehogs quietly, not trusting Zielo with the young Mobians. Transforming into a raven, Scylla flew above the gods and saw the remains of Tin-Can. Scylla wanted to ruin Zielo right then and there, but stopped when she saw the look on Sonic's face and what he saw; a female hedgehog with the same strange, violet marking as the other people from earlier.

Zielo's laughter was heard from out of nowhere, as he said through the female Mobian, "She is the perfect slave because she used to be yours."

Sonic, Silver, and the black hedgehog were thrown off the cliff.

Cawing out, "NO!" Scylla dove down, refusing to let more innocent people die.

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 2

Scylla's body screamed at her with the sharp sensation of pain as she slowly crawled back into the trees with her eyes closed, when something suddenly grabbed her leg, dragging Scylla somewhere else. Her mind was spinning and it felt like it was dunked in ice. Scylla heard muffled voices, screaming for mercy from a master. She opened one eye slowly, wincing as the screams rose in volume. It seems she was left in a bush, with multiple injuries on her neck and torso.

For once, Scylla was glad to be an EXE.

Groaning softly, Scylla sat up, being careful to not make too much noise. She looked up to see a large, fluffy, gray destroying a large amount of the strange people in front of the Master Emerald's altar, turning them into dust. Scylla's fists clenched in anger.

"Oh, you little-" Scylla started to whisper, but immediately stopped as the god-like hedgehog turned to face the bushes on the other side of the altar.

The hedgehog asked the bushes, "Did you enjoy the show?"

A blue hedgehog ran out of the bushes, shouting with a mix of anger and hatred, "YOU!"

Scylla looked at the gray hedgehog, wondering internally, "What did you do to this hedgehog to make him hate you so much?"

Her question was answered quickly as the gray hedgehog stopped the blue hedgehog in his tracks with telekinesis.

The blue hedgehog asked angrily, "Do you know who I am?"

The gray hedgehog looked through the blue hedgehog's eyes as though he could see through him, and said emotionlessly, "Sonic Oglivie the Hedgehog, son of Jules the Hedgehog and Bernadette the Hedgehog. Your ancestor, Jonathan Hedgehog, was two of the last two souls sacrificed to me."

Scylla then heard the gray hedgehog say something about Sonic being a copy of someone called Heephis. Sonic stuttered, "W-what?"

Then, to Scylla's ever-growing rage and horror, the gray hedgehog starts to tear Sonic's cheek off, asking him if the gray hedgehog should repeat himself.

Scylla subconsciously let out a quiet, yet angry growl. She knew that this is not how you should treat people, "godly" or otherwise. She was so ready to tackle the gray hedgehog to the afterlife, she was startled to see the gray hedgehog's hand freeze. Looking around, Scylla spotted a silvery-gray hedgehog using telekinesis, and Scylla gasped softly in concern.

The silvery-gray hedgehog was...scarily thin, to say the least, but he looked a lot like the larger, more gray hedgehog.

Scylla decided to call the silvery-gray hedgehog Silver, after the silvery sheen his fur gave off. Somehow, the gray hedgehog broke free from Silver's telekinesis and walked toward him.

Scylla started to silently stalk toward Silver in case the gray hedgehog decides to harm him. She could practically smell the confusion wafting from Silver. Scylla transformed into a sleek, navy blue wolf with raven wings as she silently stalked closer to Silver. Scylla's bright, glowing, red eyes glinted with a motherly concern for the weaker hedgehogs, and a vengeful anger at this powerful, gray hedgehog for what he has done to this world.

Scylla used an illusion to cloak her existence from the hedgehogs as she got closer to them. The emotionless look in the gray hedgehog's face led Scylla to angrily assume that he didn't care for anyone in existence. Scylla's red eyes glowed brighter as her anger grew.

What snapped Scylla out of the angry trance was the smell of blood and sickly coughing. Scylla's head snapped towards Silver, who was hacking and coughing up blood on the ground. Scylla's eyes widened in concern, letting out a worried bark and quickly ran over and started curling Silver against Scylla's body. She didn't care if no one could sense her existence, she wanted to comfort Silver if he was dying.

"HEY!" Sonic's voice shouted. Scylla looked at Sonic, whose eyes were glowing a sun yellow. Sonic said in a god language, "Leave my brother alone!" Scylla could feel a god's power radiating from Sonic. Looking at Silver, Scylla realized that if Silver truly was truly someone's brother, she'll need to protect them all.

Scylla didn't know how or why she felt the need to protect them, she just does. It was probably just her instincts. If there was only a way to make it disappear...

The grey hedgehog forced Sonic to kneel. Scylla's mind was swimming with unsaturated rage as this grey hedgehog was talking. Scylla glared at the grey hedgehog.

A black hedgehog with red stripes in his quills suddenly appears with a violet gun pointed to the grey hedgehog, earning an amused smirk from Scylla as she watches what happens next.

The black hedgehog started demanding that the grey hedgehog tell them what's going on and how to fix the problem. Often getting interrupted, the gray hedgehog grew angry. Scylla enjoyed the taste of this deity's anger, a devilish smile forming on her wolfish lips as she thought about how the emotionless being would taste.

Suddenly, Silver, Sonic, and the black hedgehog were brought to face the gray hedgehog and were forced to kneel. Sonic noticed several glowing objects that were apparently called energy controllers. Scylla growled at the grey hedgehog for his treatment toward living beings.

The grey hedgehog soon said something about their origins, which caught Scylla's attention quickly.

"Then what ARE your origins?" The black hedgehog demanded.

Scylla sat closer to the forest nearby, silently begging that someone explained what the grey hedgehog's origins are. From the currently invisible expression on the invisible wolf's face, Scylla was dying of curiosity.

The grey hedgehog said calmly, "Correction... OUR origins."

An Apocalyptic Christmas

(Author's Note: I'm sorry to anyone that don't celebrate Christmas, I don't know very much about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and other holidays that many cultures enjoy during December. I promise to make a holiday-related story every December. Happy Holidays!)

"Hey, Scylla?" Sophia asked, startling Scylla out of her thoughtful gaze at the falling snow.

"What's up, Sophia?" Scylla asked. Sophia seemed both nervous and excited, as she showed Scylla an old poster, filled with scribbled-out words and pictures. All but one word: Christmas.

"What's Christmas?" Sophia wondered.

Scylla took the poster and chuckled. "Oh, it's my favorite holiday. Usually there's decorations, presents, caroling -" Scylla paused, sighing as she looked at Sophia. "But obviously, not in this universe. Here, there's nothing but a wasteland." Scylla looks at the snow. "I used to enjoy celebrating it, but once my adoptive mother died, I had no longer the privileges of honoring the holiday, besides opening gifts." Sophia had tuned out Scylla's words at this point, making a snowball. Once Sophia was done, she threw the snowball at Scylla, who dodged and laughed. "You'd have to do better than that." she said.

Sophia growled in fake frustration. "Oh, you're so ON!" she laughed, rolling up multiple snowballs and throwing them at her opponent.

-------------------------------------------~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~------------------------------------------------

"Hey Scylls?" Adam asked, peeking through the watch post's door.

"Come in." Scylla answered, not turning around as she mapped out some areas of Mobius.

Adam creeped in, being sure to shut the door so the cold wouldn't sneak inside. "So, uh, while you were working, Sophia told us about the whole... Chrysler holiday -"

"It's called Christmas, but go on with what you were saying." Scylla clarified.

"Oh, so, as what I was saying, Sophia was telling us about Christmas, and then Aite got this brilliant idea to make some snow angels and stuff -" Scylla turned around, a puzzled look on her face. She gestured to Adam to keep going. He continued, "And now we have a surprise for you." Scylla shrugs.

"Alright, show me. I've done enough work for the day." Scylla replied. Adam led the alpha outside, twisting through many piles of snow and trudging through more than ten miles of snow, and after about....six hours of walking through the snowy parts of the desert, Adam and Scylla reached a tree sparkling with twinkling light spells, colored royal violet and cobalt blue. Underneath the tree was Sophia, Aite, Ajal, and Diana with faded choir lyrics. Scylla stared in wonder, her eyes sparkling with childish delight as memories of past years of Christmases flashed through her mind. Adam eventually had to ask Scylla if she was okay, to which she looked at him and replied, "Did...Did you guys do all of this? For me?"

Adam smiled, saying, "Of course! We wanted to celebrate Christmas with you. Why would we do this otherwise?"

Scylla brightened, instantly exclaiming, "OH, THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANK -" She took in a deep breath, steeling her emotions as she cleared her throat. She said formally, "I mean, thank you for making this extraordinary surprise for me, I appreciate it." Diana burst out laughing, while the others hid their chuckles. Scylla tilted her head slightly, confused when she asked, "What?"

"I-It's nothing, I promise." Aite stuttered as Diana died on the snow, laughing herself to the point of wheezing. Scylla shrugged, thinking about how the gesture of kindness was extremely sweet, but unnecessary, due to the fact that there was a current apocalypse going on! 

"Let's get straight to the caroling!" Sophia cheered.

"Caroling? But there's going to be Soulless around anytime soon, so we need to -" Scylla protested.

"It's fine, Scylla. We've got this, really!" Ajal deflected, waving the worried EXE to a seat.

"Okay..." Scylla said nervously.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"I TOLD YOU!!!" Scylla shouted as she burned down the area with violet flames. They had gotten into a fight with a group of Soulless a few hours into the caroling.

"I know, I know, but it was worth it!" Aite rolled her eyes. "At least you enjoyed it!"

"Zielo's got a crisis going on." Sophia muttered, causing Ajal to chuckle.

"What's so wrong with this dimension that he has to create semi-sentient zombies?" Diana asked.

Scylla mumbled, "That bastard's got so much wrong in his head, I'm surprised that he can even think through his master plan." The flames extinguished as soon as they reached the snow. Adam rolled his eyes, murmuring something like:

"Where's our heroes when you need them?"

Scylla froze, rushing through the memory of the last time she..."observed" the Sons of Heephis, as to say.  Scylla whipped around, her eyes blazing with a surge of sorrow and a hint of anger as she said, "We don't talk about them. When they come back, THEN we can talk about the Sons of Heephis." Adam gulped, fearful of Scylla. When she gets like this, they don't argue with her, otherwise she'll somehow put the fear of God (pun intended) into the Gaia pack. Adam eventually nodded his agreement.

"Adam, you knew better than to mention them in front of the Gaia leader." Ajal hissed.

"It was a slip up! I promise!" Adam protested.

Scylla starts to walk away, Diana and Aite following as Sophia called out, "OI! YA BETTER GET A MOVE ON, OR YUR GONNA BE LEFT ALONE TOGETHER!!!" She turned and ran to catch up with the others, Adam and Ajal following behind soon afterwards.

__________________________~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-------------------------------------------

A flurry of gifts were given in a matter of minutes.

It's Christmas, so there was a lot of drama. No peace was found as Scylla broke up what she had felt was a hundred fights within the past few hours. It was that exhausting.

Eventually, it was time for opening presents. What Aite, Ajal, Adam, Diana, and Sophia had gotten made them ecstatic for Scylla opening her present, for some reason. It all made sense when she opened it.

In the gift, Scylla had been given a pair of locket earrings, both bearing engraved images of the Gaia pack. Tearing up, Scylla whispered, "Oh...You didn't have to do this for me."

"We know, but we wanted to." Diana replied.

Scylla wrapped her family in a hug, telepathically hissing gratefully, Thank you so much, but the best gift right now...Is with you.

-------------------------------------~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'''''''''''''-------------------------------------------

"Scyllie?" Young Ashley asked.

Scylla smiled gently, wiping away stray tears from her face. "Yes, Small One?" she wondered.

"Why are you crying?" Ashley said curiously, tilting her head. The kind of tilt that made Scylla laugh even if she was crying.

"I...I just miss your parents, aunts, and uncle, th-that's all." Scylla replied, looking at the Christmas tree in the room, instantly thinking back to the sparkling tree Aite, Adam, Diana, Sophia, and Ajal had created years beforehand.

"Can you tell me what they did during the apocalypse, Alpha?" Ashley pressed, using her bright, pleading, puppy-dog eyes that Scylla rarely ever refused against her.

Scylla chuckled. "Alright, alright, but you need to sit down to hear the story. Can you call in the others?"

"OKAY!" Ashley shouted, speeding through the house to summon the rest of the children.

Once the six children arrived (including Ashley), Scylla sat them all down and began, "Once, during the apocalypse...." She told the Christmas story to the younglings, who, one by one, fell asleep.

It was a peaceful Christmas that year.

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 1

Scylla Raven sold another handmade voodoo doll to another Mobian customer. It was a normal, boring day in Tin-Can, at least until she smelled blood. Fresh Blood.

Scylla's body tensed, fighting the urge to find the reckless person and do something horrible. A blue blur ran past her shop, causing all of the voodoo dolls to fly. Scylla quickly caught all of the merchandise before they hit the floor. As she set the voodoo dolls back in their proper place, Scylla tried to reassure herself that the blood scent and the blur was just the wind.

In her raven's-eye vision, she sees a crack in the ground, seemingly ready to explode. Scylla quickly looks around, quickly spotting another Mobian walking towards the volcanic-looking crack. Without even thinking about what she was about to do, Scylla jumped out of her stall and pushed the Mobian out of the way as the crack exploded, knocking Scylla to the ground.

Time seemed to slow down. Tin-Can was in chaos. Fire engulfed the buildings. Men, women, and children were rushing to evacuate the area. Screams echoed in the air. Too many scents of blood reached Scylla's nose, making her slowly lose her mind. Within the chaos, strangely without anyone else there to notice, Scylla slowly got up, letting her EXE form take over.

Scylla's eyes slowly turned blood red, while black blood spilled out of her eye sockets and dripped down her copper cheeks. Her hair was as black as a new moon. Blood-stained claws grew out of her fingernails. If anyone noticed her now, they'd call her a monster. Scylla's urge to kill someone grew larger, but she ignored it. Now was the time to leave the the scene of destruction. Scylla touched a certain ring on her finger. The Miraculous of Assimilation. She'd promised someone she'd loved that she would keep it safe.

Scylla clenched her fist hard. In the corner of her eye, she saw people standing on the highest hills outside of the town, where the explosions didn't reach them...for now. Smirking, Scylla actually admitted to herself that it was a smart move to head to the hills. A female scream of pain jerked Scylla of her thoughts. Her instincts tracked the scream to the woods nearby. Cursing internally at herself, she ran out of the now-destroyed Tin-Can to find the exact source of the scream.

A specific scent of blood wafted in from the west of where Scylla was in the forest. Scylla turned around, only barely missing a bump against a red blur that had sped from behind Scylla, toward the scent of the blood. Realizing that this streak might bring the EXE to the source of the scent of blood, Scylla tried to follow as quickly as she could without having to fly after the blur. Scylla quickly got lost in a maze of trees and fires.

"Curse this fire!" Scylla distortedly growled as she looked around. "If it weren't for this maze of light, I'd have been able make my way around this blasted forest!"

Transforming into a seemingly normal raven, Scylla flew into the flaming sky, reaching a height higher than the burning forest. Scanning between the flames and trees, she spotted a red light that seemed to shine brightly. Tucking her sleek, black wings against her body and diving towards the harsh glow, Scylla remembered an old quote her adoptive mother used to say countless times, but she refused to acknowledge it.

If Scylla's raven eyes could naturally narrow, they would have been slits by now. Suddenly, the red light disappeared, making Scylla stop diving and open her wings to glide through the air. She silently cursed, but only stopped when she felt a ripple of magical energy in the fabrics of reality. Turning to a floating island - the ONLY floating island in the sky, called Angel Island, Scylla spotted much light on the land, and what feels like blue eyes and purple outlines of people walking on the island like guards.

Mentally raising an eyebrow, Scylla flew to the island to investigate. Her thoughts felt like they were swimming in a bath of honey and matcha tea. Scylla felt the energy around Angel Island were darker than normal, drawing more concern from her than it should've.

Scylla took how her instincts reacted to the island as a red flag. As soon as she landed on the island, Scylla transformed back into a "regular" copper-skinned human, with the intention of investigating the fire.

"What happened here? I thought this island wasn't supposed to be inhabited." Scylla wondered. Dodging falling trees and avoiding the strange Mobians and humans, Scylla eventually saw two hedgehogs getting attacked by these strange creatures. It made her blood boil, so, she made a mistake. She grabbed a Mobian - with cyan eyes and a strange purple mark on their hand - and punched him. Hard. Smelling blood, Scylla shapeshifted into a wolf and went insane, Harming the humans and Mobians acting strange enough to be considered a threat.

Then, Scylla was knocked down to the ground by something - or someone.

Um… Do I want to emphasize that I am, indeed, the same person?

*Flops onto the floor*

27helena-solaris has spent TWO DAYS creating mass posts. Trust me when I say it’s good.

A Dangerous Encounter - Starts posting on December 17 and will post every 2 weeks.

The Blizzard - Starts posing on January 6 and will post every 3 weeks.

These stories will be posted faster than they will on Wattpad.

See ya soon!

Hi guys! My name is 28amaris-mochizuki and I specialize in horror, fanfiction stories, and more!

My current fandoms are the Zielo Cave and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Feel free to follow and share my content!

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