~ The White of the Sky ~

1

Cinders on the Ground

Thick pillars of smoke obscured the sky above Tourmaline Town, painting the world below in shades of black and grey. The once idyllic little village was barely recognizable: most of the huts and barns were reduced to smouldering heaps of ashes and charred wood, the rows of apple trees warped into burning husks, the beautiful stone-paved roads now smeared in blood and cinders. The crackling of flames mixed with screams and metallic clanks, as Eggman's war machines marched among the smoke, determined to search and crush even the last survivors.

Crouched behind the half-blackened remains of a plough, a young hedgehog watched in terror. She didn't look older than thirteen, and her dress and light brown spines were soiled in ash and dirt. Wide open orange eyes darted through the inferno, desperately looking for a way out, but wherever they wandered they only met fire, ruins, and robotic silhouettes. She cringed.

Don't panic… don't panic! You can do this, Hazel…

But her legs were shaking violently, threatening to buckle any minute, and the smoke was making her lungs burn and her head spin. She didn't know how much longer she could resist. A coughing fit shook her form, and she pressed her gloved hand against her mouth to stifle the noise, praying that nobody heard her.

Too late.

A shadow appeared beside the plough, looming over Hazel.

Eggman's soldiers!

The girl instinctively cowered, yelping as an hand seized her arm and pulled her up, but the voice whispering in her ear was smooth and gentle: "On your feet, kid."

Hazel gazed up, her eyes watering. A black cat around her twenties gave her a reassuring smile. She wore white robes, adorned with a dark leaf trim around the sleeves and hood, and carried an unmistakable gnarled staff behind her back. Hazel knew her by sight: Opal, one of the Sentries of the Obsidian Tree and protectors of Tourmaline Town.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Opal held her hand out, and Hazel reached for it.

Together, the cat and the hedgehog sprinted through the smouldering ruins of the town. Hazel's steps were unsteady, but Opal's firm grip around her fingers instilled in her a fragile sense of hope. As they ran past a burning barn, Hazel almost tripped on something… the charred corpse of a canine. Her stomach twisted sharply as she recognized her neighbour, the kindly middle-aged dog with a love for raspberry tea.

"Opal…!"

"Don't look!" the Sentry hissed. "Just run!"

Choking back a sob, Hazel complied. The tears stinging her eyes were causing her vision to blur.

The two girls had almost managed to reach the fences that marked the town's boundary, when a shrill robotic voice cried out: "Fugitives! Fugitives!"

Two harpy-like robots descended from above, accompanied by a whir of jet engines. Their gleaming red claws and razor-sharp pecks reflected the light of the flames.

Hazel whimpered. Before she could even think about what to do, Opal acted: without hesitation, she let go of the hedgehog and charged forward, drawing her staff as she jumped towards the robots. The gnarled weapon swirled in her hands, tracing a crescent mid-air; and the first harpy was savagely knocked down in a single, swift strike.

"B-behind you!" Hazel cried out.

The Sentry didn't need that warning. Nimbly spinning on herself, she ducked under the talon attack of the second harpy and retaliated by hitting the winged robot straight into its head, effectively beheading it.

Still twitching, the two harpies plummeted down in a heap of metal and fizzing wires. Their clatter was followed by the light thump of Opal's shoes meeting the grass a moment afterwards. Equally scared and awed, Hazel looked up at the Sentry.

"Quick, now." Opal straightened her back with a flick of her white cape. "Before more uninvited guests join the party."

She and Hazel resumed their run, but were forced to hide again soon: evidently drawn by the turmoil, a troop of Egg Pawns were rushing towards the fences, clanking heavily at each step. Cat and hedgehog hunkered down behind a pile of debris, remaining perfectly still and silent until the robots strode off.

"W-what's going on?" Hazel's voice came out in a hoarse whisper. "We haven't done anything wrong. Why is the Empire attacking us?"

"No idea." The Sentry peered beyond the corner, and then back at Hazel. "You are the swordsman's daughter, right? Where's your father?"

A stab of pure anguish pierced the girl's heart. "I… I don't know. Eggman's s-soldiers got to him… he told me to run..."

Opal bit down on her lower lip, silent for a moment. When she spoke again, her hushed voice had a soothing tone to it: "I'm sure he'll be okay. He's a fine fighter, someone like him eats this robotic trash for breakfast." She ruffled Hazel's spines. "Now listen up, kid. This is where we part ways. Something's off - the Sentries on watch at the Obsidian Tree should have summoned the Town barrier and rejected Eggman's robots ages ago."

"What's wrong with the b-barrier?" Hazel stuttered out.

"Beats me. All I know is that it activated, as according to plan, and then five minutes later it just went down. I'll make a run to the Tree and see if I can restore it. In the meanwhile, I want you to get away from here, okay? You only need to reach the river and..."

"N-no!" The thought of finding herself once again alone in that hell terrified Hazel more than anything else. "Please, let me c-come with you."

"It's too dangerous." The Sentry shook her head. "We don't have much time. You'll be safer if you..."

In that very moment, a powerful roar shook the earth and air alike. Hazel and Opal turned their heads at the same time, and the cat cursed through her teeth.

The largest machine Hazel had ever seen was approaching Tourmaline Town. It resembled a tank, but each of the road wheels were thrice her height, and a vicious-looking drill was mounted onto the turret ring, shimmering in the light of the pyre. Two rows of Egg Knights marched by its sides, spears at the ready, greaves hammering on the ground.

"… if you come with me!" Opal hastily concluded.

#

The Obsidian Tree sat over a nearby hill, standing tall above the village. It was about the size of a small palace, and quite the sight to behold: crimson and golden reflections skimmed the lustrous black bark, all the way up to the natural cupola weaved by its branches; the boughs themselves were crowned by strangely luminescent leaves, gleaming like a concatenation of jewels in the light of the distant fires. At the base of the plant, large roots twisted and twirled into elaborate curlicues, shaping the frame of a wooden sanctuary among them.

In spite of the horror and fear still knotting her stomach, Hazel couldn't help but feel the littlest spark of relief. According to the local legends, the beautiful living spire hosted fays and warded off demons, and those fairytales contained a kernel of truth: tasked with safeguarding both the Tree and the Town, the wardens forming the order of the Sentries were capable of tapping into the power of the plant to heal and defend, as well as to summon a protective dome vast enough to cover the whole area. The summoning ritual per se, along with most of the knowledge surrounding the Obsidian Tree, was a jealously guarded secret; but Opal was here, and if there was someone who could bring the great barrier back, that was a Sentry.

"It's too late to stop the invasion, but hopefully I can still prevent that drill monster from getting to Tourmaline." Opal closed her eyes for a moment, then she nodded, as if answering a voice only she could hear. "Yes... not all is lost. It's odd, though. There's no way Eggman's robots could have breached the barrier on their own. Something must have caused it to deactivate from the inside, so keep your eyes peeled. And if I say run, you do exactly that, alright?"

"O-okay."

They ran closer to the Obsidian Tree, but abruptly paused in their tracks. Hazel pressed a hand against her mouth. Half a dozen of bodies were scattered among the roots: gnarled staves lying in the dust, limbs bent in unnatural angles, white robes burnt or stained in blood, there was no doubt the Sentries had tried to put up a fight.

Opal gasped loudly. "No..."

"Well, well." A dark voice spoke, its tone laced with cruel amusement. "Even more bothersome insects come scuttling to their demise."

A grey figure materialized himself, floating in midair between the two girls and the Obsidian Tree. A jackal, haloed in ominous crimson light. His features were almost completely concealed from sight by a metal mask; a jagged, tear-like opening revealed his one remaining eye, glowing yellow and surrounded by a red sclera.

His gaze met Hazel's and sharply bored into it. The hedgehog flinched and looked away, frightened.

That reaction amused the jackal. "Moreover, one of the insects is a quivering child. Can this possibly get any more pathetic?"

"You bastard..." Opal took a step forward and tightly clutched her staff. "Mark my words, you'll pay for what you've done to my sisters!"

"Fret not, Sentry. You shall see them again soon enough."

He extended his hand towards Hazel and Opal. A vicious red beam darted towards them...

… only to be deflected by a shield of spectral dark energy, promptly summoned by Opal. The Sentry held her staff horizontally before herself, her white cloak swaying around her form.

"Go, kid" she said quietly.

Staggering backwards, Hazel turned and began running, but fell back on her buttocks with a squeal when another crimson beam incinerated the patch of grass right before her.

"Scream again, child." The jackal chuckled. "I quite like that sound."

"You scumbag!" Opal dismissed the magical protection with a flick of her hand and rushed forth. "Leave her alone, your opponent is me!"

As graceful as only a trained Sentry of the Obsidian Tree could be, she leapt towards the jackal and rotated her staff, but her strike met only air: moving at supernatural speed, he had dashed behind and above her. A violent kick sent Opal crashing painfully against the ground.

"You're feeble, just like the rest of that so-called sorority of yours." Gliding down, the jackal gestured towards the broken bodies of the other Sentries. "You should be honoured your death comes by my hand."

Opal gritted her teeth and sprang back on her feet. "This isn't over yet!"

She lunged at him again, and again he dodged. Opal didn't give up. Halfway between ninja and dancer, she whirled and twirled her weapon with skill and accuracy, the gnarled staff drawing a mandala of strikes all around herself. In spite of her best endeavours, however, her enemy's reflexes were impossibly quick: he seemed to know Opal's moves before the Sentry could even perform them, and none of those hits, no matter how masterful, ever reached its target.

Hazel couldn't do anything but helplessly watch. Dismayed, she realized the jackal wasn't even taking the fight seriously: he simply dodged and parried, dodged and parried, without bothering to counterattack. He was toying with Opal.

Her hands were shaking, so Hazel clenched them. At this rate, Opal would have lost... There had to be something she could do to help the Sentry. She instinctively turned to the Obsidian Tree: the mystical plant gleamed in its full glory, gently, beautifully.

That shimmer enticed her. There was something comforting yet tantalizing about it, and Hazel found herself staring at the Tree with a dazzled look, enraptured by that glint. For a moment, just a moment, she believed she could hear a melodic voice softly whispering in her mind, the words still unintelligible - but she had almost managed to grasp them…

Hazel took a step forward.

Then her gaze fell on the bodies of the Sentries.

Mangled.

Bloodstained.

Dead.

A chill rolled down her spine, freezing up her veins. What little hope and confidence she had managed to muster suddenly shattered; her eyes filled with tears, her knees hit the ground. What good could she possibly be? Each and every of those Sentries had been a skilled warrior, a thousandfold stronger than she could ever dream to be. And still they had been dispatched that easily, as if they were nothing more than… what did the jackal say?

Insects.

Hazel whimpered, tears burning through her eyelashes and scorching her cheekbones. She hadn't inherited her father's penchant for battle, as he never missed a chance to disappointedly point out. She wasn't a hero. She wasn't even a fighter. She was just an awkward little coward. Helpless. Powerless.

Worthless... I'm so worthless...

That vague, melodic voice tried to reach out to her again, but Hazel couldn't hear a word it spoke. All she could perceive were the clangs of war machines in the distance, the crackle of the fire devouring her hometown, her own panic-stricken pulse… The anxiety. That viscous, heavy anxiety weighing on her chest. What was the point in trying anything? She couldn't help Opal. She couldn't even help herself.

A nearby thud announced that Opal had been downed again. Hazel gave a start, returning to her senses: white robes smeared in blood and dust, the Sentry lay motionless on her stomach.

"O-Opal…!"

Fighting back a sob, the hedgehog crawled towards her. Opal's opponent however was nowhere in si-

Hazel shrieked as a hand seized her quills and yanked her head backwards, fully exposing her throat. Now quivering uncontrollably, the hedgehog girl was forced to look up: the jackal stared down at her.

"A pleasant sound indeed" he commented, indolence in his voice.

Hazel's spines were painfully ensnared within his grasp. The jackal shifted his free hand to her throat, letting his sharp-clawed fingertips brush against her jugular. In reaction, she stiffened up and closed her eyes shut, but that gesture seemed to annoy him.

"Look at me!"

Too frightened to resist, the hedgehog cracked her eyes open again. His predatory yellow gaze promised pain. Endless pain. The purest terror she'd ever known froze her body and numbed her mind, and she had to bite her lower lip not to whimper again. She was about to die. He would have killed her like he had killed all those Sentries.

"I can sense your dread" he observed flatly. "Your eyes glisten with fear... Isn't it delightful? Do you finally understand what feeling alive means? Most realize it way too late, usually just two or three seconds before the light leaves their gaze forever."

Hazel was petrified, unable to do anything but tremble and stare. The jackal's fingers lingered on her throat.

"But unfortunately for me and luckily for you, I find no satisfaction in massacring flimsy children."

He abruptly let go of her and vanished from her field of view. Hazel gasped, laboring for air. It took her a few moments to realize the jackal was floating in midair again, right before the Obsidian Tree.

"I am Infinite. Remember my name, child. Spread your story, and taint those who'll listen with equal dismay. Now leave."

Another roar shook the ground. The drill machine was approaching, slowly but surely.

Trembling, Hazel stood up and cast one last look at Opal: the cat's mangled body didn't move. Her heart sunk painfully. The last Sentry of her hometown had fallen right before her eyes, and all she could do was cowering like the lowest of wimps.

She clenched her head, tears trickling down her chin.

Worthless.

Worthless.

WORTHLESS.

And suddenly she was running like hell, too frightened to think, too frightened to focus on anything that wasn't putting one foot in front of the other. She barely heard the whirr of the drill piercing into the Obsidian Tree. Her ears were ringing with Infinite's cold, mocking laughter.

Hazel knew that sound would have haunted her dreams for years to come.

A.N.

Hello everyone ^^ what can I say, Sonic Forces made me go full Nostalgic Mode. The game was actually pretty enjoyable if you ask me, even if those stages were waaaay too short.

I apologize in advance for any eventual grammar mistake, as English isn't my motherlanguage. But since I'm planning to move to England soon, I thought I could try to write a fanfiction, both for fun and for practice! So please bear with me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog (else Silvaze would totally be canon).

Tourmaline Town and the Obsidian Tree, along with its Sentries and my super wimpy OC, are products of my twisted imagination, and their background will be expanded in future chapters.

I hope you enjoyed the read!

Syrence, out~!