| “ | Kneel. | „ | |
| ― Queen Gyardhia |
Queen Gyardhia comes from an alternate story to the events of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, where she would take control of Sonic's body and use it for her own survival.
The Parasite[]
Queen Gyardhia comes from the race of the same name. Gyardhians are parasites that inhabit only space, using the stellar vacuum as camouflage. While they lack great mobility, they are extremely resistant to damage and extreme heat, also having unlimited energy.
By possessing a host, they can obtain their memories and knowledge, which allows them to quickly understand languages or gain a general understanding of the area.
Queen Gyardhia, like the rest of her race, doesn't kill for pleasure, but simply to feed herself. She's not one for many words, preferring to make pointed remarks. After gaining control of Super Sonic's body, she would go after Sonic's friends and acquaintances.
Appearance[]
Her body is taken from Super Sonic, however, due to her parasitic nature, she would end up infecting the body, giving it duller fur, bluish skin, and black eyes without pupils. The most striking feature is the large eye in the center, which is the parasite itself, and its claws protruding from its gloves and shoes in her three fingers.
The Tragedy[]
During the Doomsday Zone stage, Super Sonic would be intercepted by a parasite from space, falling to Earth and failing his mission to retrieve the Master Emerald. After his fall to Earth, it will take minutes for Sonic to be completely controlled by the parasite, losing all trace of self-awareness. Knuckles and Tails were confused by Sonic's absence, but after seeing Robotnik's Mech flying through the air with the Master Emerald, their faces showed bitterness. Knuckles would go after the Doctor, and Tails would try to locate Sonic.
The Tale[]
In the sky, agonizing cries could be heard, not from someone bleeding to death, but from someone who feared being lost. To open your eyes again and no longer be there, to simply cease to exist... Isn't that worse than death? Even though you are no longer conscious, your body continues to move. That was what Sonic experienced in his last moments. A large crater formed on Isolated Island, fear and despair concentrated in one spot, and there she was, Queen Gyardhia.
Finally, she had control of a body, but it wasn't all that simple, using his limbs, understanding the information coming from his host, and processing everything new before her eyes. The Gyardhians' parasitic infection was extremely fast, and its effect on Sonic's body was soon apparent. Dark eyes, dull fur, almost blue skin, and sharp claws protruding from his gloves and shoes, besides now only having 3 fingers, and along with all that, the parasite itself was visible on the hedgehog's forehead.
Eventually, she would begin to experience and feel what it was like to be hungry, so she went in search of something to eat. In the darkness of the night, she managed to see a creature and realized it was a “Flicky.” The only flavor her species can process is raw meat, so even though she could try other types of food without tasting them, she chose to be selfish. Queen pounced on the Flicky and disemboweled it in an instant. It tasted average. “Something's missing.” she thought. Queen got up with a disappointed look on her face and was planning to leave, but she saw a strange figure nearby. Looking closer, she could see its appearance, but her host had no information about it. It was Espio the Chameleon.
Although Queen was naturally elusive, it was nothing more than an amateur attempt for Espio. In an instant, she leaped toward him, but he dodged her without much trouble. “Not a bad attempt at stalking, but unfortunately for you, I'm used to it,” he said with utter certainty. Queen remained silent, which made the chameleon uncertain, but he didn't think to let his guard down. “Say something! Who are you?!” he shouted at the parasitic hedgehog.
Queen lunged at the chameleon once more, but Espio responded by spinning around, almost forming a mini tornado. They collided, but the difference in strength was too great, and Espio was sent flying into the air, realizing that he would have to adopt another strategy. In the darkness of the night, Queen searched for her prey, and as she took small steps, she exclaimed, “You can't hide forever.” The chameleon was no fool; he knew he couldn't escape her even if the opportunity presented itself. He had to fight here and now. Queen walked quietly, when suddenly...
Gyardhia let out a slight cry; something had attacked her, but there was no one there, or so she assumed. Espio used his camouflage ability to attack her without being seen. Although extremely useful, this ability is temporary, and the slightest lapse in concentration could mean death here. Espio had no idea who or what his enemy was, but if it attacked him in any way, he would not make it easy for it. Queen was confused. Blows and kicks were coming from all directions, but it was clearly her enemy. “I can't see him, but he's here,” she thought. Although Espio was extremely agile and skilled, he wasn't experienced enough to avoid falling into redundancy. She had finally detected a pattern, and just when Espio thought he had everything under control...
"Agghk-"
“Enough,” said Queen, grabbing her prey by the neck. The young chameleon was no match for her physical superiority, and in an instant, Queen tore him in two. Eager to taste her meal, she ripped off one of his arms and began to try it... “Delicious...” "I want... More, I need more..." she began to say as she chewed.
A strange addiction had taken hold of her, it was the flesh of the Mobians. She began to devour the entire body faster and faster, and in a moment she fell silent, wiped the blood from her lips, smiled contentedly, and murmured, "I know where to find more"
After a successful hunt, Queen lay in a small cave, resting on the rubble. As she gazed at the night sky, she thought, "I never imagined I'd have this. I thought I'd die like the rest of my kind... And now I'm here. It seems the previous owner of this body was someone strong; I must take advantage." Then she crossed her arms and murmured, "I am their Queen now, and my hunger must be satiated." before falling silently asleep.
Eventually, dawn arrived, and Gyardhia awoke, stretching her arms. She stood and gazed at the horizon, unable to believe how different this planet was from space; it was a completely different world. "What a beautiful place" she thought. By this point, Queen had absorbed all of Sonic's knowledge, so she knew where to find his friends, and she already had one in mind: Miles "Tails" Prower. Determined to achieve more than she had yesterday, she took her position, and as if struck by lightning, she launched herself from the cave, blowing it to smithereens. But... there was a problem. Her escape velocity was too high. Queen could barely maneuver and crashed into a mountain. "Too... fast..." she thought. After seeing how difficult it was to go at top speed, she decided to slow down until she had better control.
Queen sat for a moment, pondering how she would capture Tails. Sonic's memories suggested he was very clever, but at the end of the day, he was still just a kid. "He must be looking for his friend. I can take advantage of that..." she murmured to herself. "He must be trying to track him down, so I could ambush him in a desolate location." she reasoned. She quickly stood up, but as she turned around, the mountain she had crashed into began to collapse. Releasing energy from her body, she flew like a beam of light, clearing the entire avalanche of rocks. Having decided on her plan, Gyardhia flew toward a partially destroyed Robotnik base located on South Island.
Far from Angel Island, a young fox was walking through a verdant landscape. He was putting on a backpack that seemed to contain some things. "Now that Sonic is missing, I have to fend for myself!" he said with determination, but his face quickly turned sad, and he asked, "Where are you, Sonic...?" During his friend's absence, he had created a device to try and locate him, but he hadn't succeeded... until now. The device on his wrist began to flash, pointing to a distant location. Tails, surprised, exclaimed, "...SONIC!" With joy in his heart, he began to twirl his two tails and quickly flew toward the location. "I finally found him, now everything will be alright!" "I missed you so much, Sonic!" he thought as he flew at the speed of the wind. In no time, the boy would have flown over 300 kilometers. He arrived at the location and turned off the device, though he was somewhat confused. "Why would Sonic be in a place like this?" he wondered. His hero and friend had taught him to be cautious, and this time he would put what he'd learned into practice. "It might be a trap set by Robotnik..." he murmured. Puzzled, but also determined, the fox entered Robotnik's desolate base.
Everything was dark, with rusty walls, a large hole in the ceiling, and a clear lack of effort to clean the place. With every step he took, his intrigue grew, and the atmosphere only added to the feeling. Tails considered leaving, as something was clearly wrong. The weather in the area was still unsettled, causing clouds to gather. It began to drizzle, but the young fox was determined to find an answer. At this point, it seemed his silly contraption had malfunctioned. Just when all hope seemed lost, footsteps were heard from the darkness. Tails looked around, unsure of who was there. Then, emerging from the clouds, a familiar figure appeared.
"S-Sonic...?" murmured the young fox, having no idea what was happening. Queen, with a cold stare, the rain glistening on her fur, and an ego that seemed almost tangible, exclaimed: "Before your queen, all life bends in reverence; and you, fragile child, are no exception."
Tails' expression shifted from astonishment to confusion. He knew what was there resembled Sonic, but those words that came out of its mouth weren't his own. However, his inner child couldn't accept that what stood before him wasn't his friend. "Sonic, what happened to you?" he stammered. Then Queen, floating above, exclaimed, "Your friend is gone. What's left of him is nothing more than a sack of meat controlled by me." Tails began to tremble. He refused to cry, but a few tears fell down his cheeks. "N-No... You're lying" he said, while in his head, his conscience echoed "Don't cry! You must stay strong!!" Queen grimaced and, in an egotistical tone, shouted, "Don't worry, kid! Your suffering will be brief." Queen began to charge his energy and took off toward Tails, but before she could intercept him... "BOOM!" Tails had thrown a Bomb from his backpack, shattering part of Queen's face. Tearfully, the young fox screamed "YOU'RE NOT SONIC!!!" and ducked into a vent. Gyardhia regenerated, and with an irritated look, went after the boy.
Tails reached the ground floor, and in front of him was a large metal wall separating the room. He flew over it and stood before it, sitting for a moment to think. "God, what should I do? Sonic's gone, I'm all alone..." he sobbed. He was scared, but the little fox wasn't about to give up. "What would Sonic do...?" he thought. He wiped his tears, and still confused, two things were clear to him: That thing wanted to hurt him, and it definitely wasn't Sonic. He figured that since his device detected it, it probably had Sonic's DNA. "It's just as strong and fast, but not as smart or skilled..." he suggested. "I have to think of a way to neutralize it—"
The room fell into complete silence. Tails tried not to breathe. He could hear the enemy approaching step by step. The boy's tension filled the air, but unexpectedly the footsteps stopped, and then grew ever more distant. "...Did it leave?" Tails thought, but suddenly...
Gyardhia's arm pierced the wall. Tails jumped in fright and began to fly to higher ground. The Queen was enjoying this, and after a brief laugh, she exclaimed:
She began striking different parts of the area, causing instability and a collapse of debris. Tails managed to reach the last section. "If I don't think of something now, I don't know what will happen... I wish you were here, Sonic..." he said softly. He began to feel dizzy with nerves, and one of his bombs fell from his backpack. He looked at it closely, and the inner genius within him had an idea. "That's it!" he thought. The only option he had now was to devise an escape, but for that, he would have to hold off the creature for at least a moment. He removed the device from his arm and disassembled it, trying to short-circuit it, which he quickly succeeded in doing. His device was throwing sparks nonstop, as if it were about to catch fire. He piled up the bombs he had in his backpack, and then he could hear the debris beginning to break; it was it. Tails peered out of the escape door, and then Queen appeared.
"You can't run forever!" she exclaimed. Tails, with a serene look and a soft voice, said, "I can. I learned from the best." Queen saw the bombs, but instead of seeing danger, she only saw a failed plan. As Queen began to charge her energy, Tails threw his damaged device at the bombs. Queen's expression changed, but before she could do anything, Tails closed the escape door and flew over the area as fast as he could. The Queen tried to escape quickly, but her body betrayed her again, and then...
The explosion was massive, shattering the entire base into a thousand pieces. Fire engulfed the area, and a damaged Queen emerged from the flames. She was bewildered; a child had cornered her. But instead of despairing, she took it as a lesson. She wouldn't let her ego blind her again. She regenerated her skin, arms, and legs to fly over the area and prepare for her next attack, this time better planned. "Fox... We'll meet again." she said before heading to a place to sit down.
Smoke filled the area, and amidst the blazing flames stood the Queen. Confused by her failed hunt, she exclaimed, "How was that possible?" She felt powerless inside, but knew that if she remained this way, next time would be no different. "I need to learn more about these rocks. They are the key to my victory." she declared. Queen had absorbed the Chaos Emeralds as a side effect of having Super Sonic's body, which guaranteed her the ability to extract information from them. However, employing her abilities wouldn't be so simple, would it? "Control... of chaos?..." the information reached the parasite, but it was too much to process in an instant. "Aghh!" Queen began to tear at the ground, screaming in confusion and agony. These were definitely not just any rocks. Queen writhed on the earth, the pain in her mind overwhelming, and her body seemed to be trying to betray her once more. However, between groans and cries of pain, she took control of her body and shouted "...CHAOS CONTROL!". Time had stopped for a moment, and then returned to normal. The suffering had finally ended, but at what cost? Gyardhia was utterly exhausted, and not having eaten anything only added insult to injury. She began to feel dizzy, but nevertheless tried to get up and fly to a more comfortable area. As she flew, exhaustion struck her like a thunderclap, causing her to lose consciousness and fall into a lake.
In a base not far from the now-fallen Angel Island, Dr. Ivo Robotnik was located. He had been hiding, but a familiar figure began to make a racket at his entrance: "DOCTOR!! I KNOW YOU'RE HERE!!!! OPEN THE DOOR!!" exclaimed a furious Knuckles, pounding on the door relentlessly. Robotnik sighed, but after a moment's stare, he smiled and decided to open the door. Knuckles made his way through the corridors and reached the central area, where the doctor stood. "Give me back the Master Emerald, now." Robotnik looked at him and began to laugh, which only increased the echidna's anger. "WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!" he exclaimed. The doctor smiled and said, "Calm down, you little clown. I have it safely stored away." Knuckles slammed his shoe against the floor and shouted, "I DON'T CARE! I NEED IT FOR MY ISLAND...!" Knuckles was stunned for a moment, and asked in a worried tone, "...What happened to Sonic...?" Robotnik's smile vanished from his face, and putting his arms behind his back, he turned away. "At first, I had no idea. As much as I would have enjoyed being the architect of such victory... It wasn't to be."
Knuckles looked at him, confused, and Robotnik continued, "A strange creature intercepted him mid-battle. To be honest, I thought that blue rat could handle it, but unfortunately, I underestimated the situation." The doctor began displaying a recent recording on his screen. "I love winning, but of course, only by my methods. So I decided to send a drone to locate your stupid friend, spending almost a day trying to find him, until I finally located him—or so I thought." The recording focused on what appeared to be Sonic. Knuckles was perplexed. "Similar to the blue hedgehog, but with notable differences. It was sleeping in a cave like some primitive animal. That's when I came up with my hypothesis."
He raised his glasses in his hands and said, "Whatever the recording shows is no longer Sonic, but a strange parasite. To make matters worse, it somehow manages to maintain the Emeralds' transformation." Knuckles lowered his head and asked in a low tone, "...Did he leave?" The room fell silent. "...Whatever it is, it's a danger to everyone, so it decided to prioritize its annihilation before taking control of all of you." Then he pointed at Knuckles and said, "THAT'S where YOU come in!" Knuckles looked at him, puzzled, and before he could say anything, the Doctor remarked, "It's simple. I need time for my project, and unfortunately, I need your Master Emerald due to the absence of the other seven. But don't worry, I anticipated your visit and will prepare some upgraded gloves for you to battle with. Tell me, What do you say—" At that, Knuckles exclaimed, "WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I WANT TO BE PART OF THIS?! What happens beneath my island is none of my business, and besides, Sonic already defeated me. What am I supposed to do against THAT THING?" Robotnik remained silent. "Just give me the Emerald and I'll leave." Then the Doctor said "What will you do if it finds your home? What will you do if it finds you? Your options don't change." Knuckles looked at him in surprise, but retorted, "We don't know if it is evil." The Doctor grimaced and remarked, "Very well, and you plan to take the risk? To put so many in danger? If your suggestion is wrong, in the end we'll have nothing left to do."
Knuckles started to growl, but then he began to think things through. "Well?" the Doctor said, to which Knuckles replied, "What other choice do I have? I guess I have to get ahead of the odds... It's no longer a question of what I can or can't do, but—" Robotnik interrupted and said, "What you must do, yes." They both fell silent. After this, the Doctor gave Knuckles the enhanced gloves. "What do they do?" he asked. "Well, they'll make you much stronger than usual; however, I was unsure if they could even the odds, so there's an extra feature." Knuckles looked confused, "...And that is...?" Robotnik laughed and simply said, "You'll see for yourself."
Knuckles put them on and asked how they would catch the parasitic hedgehog. The doctor replied, "Well, unfortunately, I don't have enough information about what it does. So all the information will come through you." Robotnik handed the echidna a communicator and continued, "I'll be talking to you from here, and you'll also be able to see what's happening through the mini-camera installed." Knuckles nodded, and the doctor said, "Okay, I need you to patrol South Island randomly. Like I said, we have no idea what it does, but if it's an aggressive creature, you can be sure it will show up." Knuckles was about to leave, but before he did, he said, "I'm not sure how things will turn out, but listen to me, once this is all over, I want the Emerald on Angel Island, no matter what, UNDERSTAND?" Robotnik smiled and said, "What guarantees you I'll do it?" to which Knuckles replied, "I know you won't do it on your own, but someone will force you to". Knuckles, with a determined expression, protested: "Even far from my island, I can feel the brilliance and balance that the Master Emerald produced, and I feel in my heart that that brilliance will return." The echidna said before departing, leaving the room in complete silence.
In the distance, Queen was resting in the water for several minutes when she opened her eyes. Instinctively, she began to drink from the lake, which made her wonder, "Was this thirst? I didn't think it would be any different from hunger. No wonder I felt strange." While her thirst had been quenched, her hunger was a different matter. She began to consider looking for someone other than Tails, so she explored her host's memories, visualizing options. A recent memory surfaced spontaneously: Knuckles. In her mind, Queen witnessed Sonic defeating the echidna warrior. "...I probably shouldn't have any problem with that either..." she thought for a few minutes. She clenched her claws, gazed at the horizon, and thought, "I'll try not to get carried away this time. I can't afford another failure". She released her aura and set off in search of the echidna. Knuckles had been wandering around South Island for hours, and at one point he stopped to say, "Doc, this idea isn't working. I've been walking for ages, and that thing still hasn't appeared." Robotnik, from the other side, protested, "Patience, my reddish partner. We'll have an answer soon." Minutes passed, and then a beam of light flashed across the sky. Robotnik murmured, "Finally..."
Knuckles got into a fighting stance and started shouting, "I don't know who or what you are, but I'm the guardian of the Master Emerald, and if you plan to cause a disturbance on my island... or in this place... I'll stop you!" Queen emerged from the shadows, and as if by muscle memory, they both began circling each other. Knuckles said in a serious tone, "Where's Sonic?" Queen confidently replied, "Well, I'm sure he's not here anymore". Knuckles clenched his fist but remained calm. "What do you want?" "What are you looking for?", "You know, when I came here I only intended to feed on small creatures, but I had an encounter with one of yours—it was a chameleon." Knuckles remained silent, and Queen added, "We fought, and I couldn't resist tasting his flesh. Delicious, so much so that it awakened a particular kind of taste in me. Perhaps that's what I seek, to satiate my hunger. It didn't take me long to find the orange fox, but unfortunately, he ran away.", "Tails..." Knuckles thought. "But it doesn't matter, now I have you to compensate for his absence, and after I bring you to your knees, I'll devour your entire body."
Knuckles got into a fighting stance, and with a fiery look said, "We'll see." He lunged at the golden hedgehog, trying to land a blow. Queen was too fast, dodging the blows with ease. In her mind, she thought, "Maybe I shouldn't take this so seriously after all." Then she stepped back and saw Knuckles start spinning on the ground. She assumed it was a technique of the locals, the well-known Spindash. After dodging the ferocious attack, she thought, "If I did that, it would be terrible. Detaches me from my host, or maybe something worse." Knuckles knew this wasn't working, so he devised a strategy: He ripped a piece of rock from the ground and threw it at her. Queen naturally dodged it, but as she returned to the attack, a blow was coming toward her stomach, and then:
"AGGHH-" the queen screamed. But that wasn't all; the blow was generating energy, instantly delivering a massive electric shock. Queen screamed in pain, completely confused by what had happened. From Knuckles' communicator, the Doctor could be heard laughing. "HOHOHO! Excellent work, it works perfectly!" Knuckles grinned and simply said, "Not bad, Doc." "GOOD! Now keep hitting that thing!"
Knuckles launched himself forward with fury and began relentlessly pummeling Queen. Screams and cries of pain filled the battlefield, and Knuckles had the upper hand. With the advantage, the echidna charged up his most powerful punch, aiming directly at the parasite. Upon impact, the parasite shrieked and released spores. Knuckles coughed in confusion. "WHAT'S GOING ON? KEEP GOING!" Knuckles replied, "I hit the thing on its forehead, and it released some kind of gas. I'm having trouble breathing."
Queen was weakened, completely exhausted from Knuckles' attacks, but even so, she went on the offensive with everything she had. She no longer had the agility to evade him, so it would be a fight of attrition. They were roughly evenly matched, but Knuckles' electric shocks were giving him the upper hand. However, he was gradually feeling herself running out of oxygen. Their blows generated earthquakes, slowly destabilizing the area. With no intention of surrendering to exhaustion, the echidna unleashed a massive punch to Queen's face, causing blood to spurt across the area. Gyardhia, exhausted but determined to win this time, got up as blood dripped from her face and shouted before Knuckles could intercept her, "...CHAOS CONTROL!"
Suddenly, the parasitic hedgehog vanished from Knuckles' sight. Confused, he turned around as he was struck by another massive blow from Queen. "Ugk-!", "You should have stayed on your island" she muttered. Queen began to stop time repeatedly, confusing and disorienting the reddish warrior. She disappeared and reappeared in different locations at extreme speeds, and combined with Knuckles' dwindling oxygen, he lost consciousness.
"NOOO! YOU STUPID BUFFON! HIT IT, YOU'VE ALMOST GOT THIS!" Robotnik yelled from the communicator. Although Knuckles was unconscious, his body remained standing. Queen tried to kill him right there, but Knuckles' body pierced her chest. She didn't scream or complain of the pain, she was simply stunned. "How can a piece of meat have such a will...?" Amazed by his indomitable spirit, she considered giving him a painless death. Queen extended her arm, and as if wielding a sharp sword, she severed his head. While the head was still attached to the body, Queen said, "You earned my respect, however, your queen must satiate her hunger. Now, young warrior... KNEEL."
Knuckles' body was on its knees, and eventually his head fell to the ground. Queen grabbed the communicator and, in a menacing tone, exclaimed, "I recognize your voice, Ivo Robotnik. And I won't let what you tried to do here go unpunished. When you least expect it, I'll be there." She then smashed the communicator. After that, he began to devour the fallen warrior's body.
Robotnik sat silently in his room, disappointed but without a hint of sadness. After a few minutes with the same expression, he stood up from his chair and said, "Well, it wasn't a total disaster. After all, we got the required information..." Footsteps approached. "...Didn't we, Hyper Metal Sonic?"TBA.
TBA.
Trivia[]
- She is carnivorous.
- She's not really the queen of her species; she just named herself that way out of egocentrism.
- Unlike Super Sonic, his body is no longer invulnerable, instead, she possesses regenerative abilities.
- When she wants to reproduce, she can lay eggs in useless bodies.
- She likes to stalk her prey, but she doesn't give them a painful or long death.
- Her species traverses star systems in weeks in search of hosts, because without these their lifespan is greatly shortened.
- They usually fail, which led to the near extinction of the race. In fact, her intercepting Super Sonic was merely a twist of fate working in her favor.
- Given their limited mobility, it is difficult for them to enter planets.
- Despite having unlimited energy, the host does not, and is therefore forced to feed. The unlimited energy is then transferred to the absorbed emeralds to maintain the transformation.
- Her race only eat raw meat, which evidently makes her averse to any other type of food.
- Thanks to her ability to absorb information, she has knowledge of the Emeralds and their functions, as well as Chaos Control.
- She never speaks with Sonic's mouth, the voice always comes from the parasite.
- Although she displays a cold and egocentric personality towards her opponents, when she is alone she tends to be curious.
Gallery[]
