Stone of Wind

Stone of Wind Fanfic by Danny "D-Boy" Wheeler

=Summary= When one of Melody's family accidentally unleashes the Granite Ace, Princess Sally must defeat him for good.

=Main Fic=

Chapter 1: Granite Ace Comes Forth
Samuel, Melody's oldest brother, was walking in the Great Unknown one day with his wife Karista. Then Karista read some runes that translated:

"Whoever enters this cave shall awaken the Granite Ace and envoke his wrath upon all Mobius"

"Samuel," Karista said with a shiver, "I think we shouldn't enter." "Ah, it's probably a superstition," said Samuel as he entered the cave. But soon he stepped on a tile that awakened a humanoid monstrosity. He called out "I AM THE GRANITE ACE! WHO HAS AWAKENED ME?" Samuel makes a run for it. "Karista," he cried to his mate, "you were right. I am sorry I had brought this calamity." "Look, my love," whispered Karista, "what's done is done. Now we must hope and pray that one of our friends can help us."

Chapter 2: Sally Is Transported To The Great Unknown
Sally was taking a stroll with Sonic in the park one day, when suddenly she was wrenched from Sonic via black magic. She was landed in the Great Unknown, where Samuel and Karista are frozen in stone. Angered, she said "I will find the one who did this to you! Mark my words!" She sets out to find the culprit.

The princess then is confronted by the guilty party: The Granite Ace. "Ah, the princess of Acorn!," sneered the madman. "I see that you seek the one who turned your friends to stone. Well, I am he!" "Why, you fiend!," cried the princess as she tried to punch the Granite Ace's lights out. But he transported out of Sally's way and left her to fall to the ground. Humiliated, Sally gets back up.

"You're all washed up, Sally!," laughed the Granite Ace, "Your kingdom is washed up as well! As soon as I find the Stone of Wind, I shall blow it down with hurricane force winds and deadly storms.  I shall do what my creator Vorticia could not!"

Chapter 3: The Hunt For The Stone Is On!
Hearing this bleak news, Sally decides to chase after the madman. But the Granite Ace was not without friends: As soon as he saw her follow, he sent out some black bats to slow her down. Sally had to find some rocks to throw at them to get them out of her way. She then followed the Granite Ace to a cave that had glowing crystals in the walls.

Sally decided to enter the cave, believing that this cave would be where Granite Ace would find the Stone of Wind. As she delved into the cave, she was ambushed by crystal monsters, obviously awakened by the Ace. She had to do some fancy jumping and kicking to vanquish her hard foes. With them out of the way, Sally journeyed further into the cave.

She came to the banks of an underground river. Sally found a boat to go into the river, but it was guarded by a Moai made of lapis lazuli. It said to her "None shall pass to go to the Stone of Wind unless one can answer my riddle." "A riddle it is then," answered Sally. "Listen well, little one: 	I am a golden flame that shows by day, 	Reflected like silver when the night gives way.	I give warmth and life as well as light.	I glow on and on with all my might."

Sally thought for a moment, pondering the riddle. She then knew the answer, and replied "The answer is the sun!" "Correct!," boomed the Moai as it revealed the path to the boat. Sally was on her way.

Chapter 4: Down The Crystal River
Since Princess Sally was alone from the beginning, she had to paddle her boat alone. She rowed through a river that reflected the crystalline cavern with such beauty. But that beauty may be the last thing she and her friends may see if she fails in her mission. The trail of broken stalagmites showed the way Granite Ace had travelled. Sally was quick to follow.

"How did you get the boat?!," Granite Ace shouted. "I had this motorboat because I couldn't pass the Moai!" Now Sally knew how he got into the water: He made a motorboat appear! Sally replied "I solved the riddle of the Moai." "So," the ace thought to himself, "she solved the riddle. Well, it will do her little good once I find the Stone!" He conjourns a mud monster from sediment at the bottom of the river to slow Sally down. Sally had to smack the monster a couple of times, though she barely escape from being pulled under; her boots were grabbed onto as it went under, so she had to take the boots off. She had to swim after Granite Ace now!

Chapter 5: The Stone Of Wind Found
As Sally swam after Granite Ace, she noticed that there were power rings everywhere. This could only mean one thing: She had entered a zone! The Stone of Wind was inside a zone! She gathered some rings as she swam through the chilly waters of the underground river.

As she made her way to shore, Sally notices the motorboat has run agoround... and her boots washed ashore as well. Once she made it to the mainland, she put her boots back on and followed some footprints made in the soft silt to the Stone. But Granite Ace had made it first! He uses a chisel to try to pry the Stone loose! "NOT SO FAST, GRANITE ACE!," Sally shouted. "Ah, the princess," Granite Ace sneered. "You're too late; I have the Stone of Wind now!"

Chapter 6: The Final Battle with Granite Ace
Fortunately, Sally still had the rings she gathered on the way. She uses the rings to protect herself from Granite Ace's stone darts. "So you have the rings, eh?," Granite Ace snickered. "Well, they'll do you little good against the Tornado Blast!" But as the spiraling wind nears her, Sally jumps over it. "Why don't you announce your moves to all of Mobius while you're at it?," Sally remarked sarcastically.

This enrages the Granite Ace. He surrounds himself with storm clouds and runs toward her. But Sally just gives a good kick to his abdomen while there was a hole in the cloudy "force field" and knocked the Stone of Wind out of his hands. She grabbed the Stone and used its Tornado Blast against him, scattering his stony self into rubble. Then the Stone activated its self destruct spell. Sally uses her last ring to teleport out of the cave and back to Mobotropolis.

Melody prepares a "welcome back" party for Sally even before she teleported into the palace courtyard. She tells of how the Stone of Wind destroyed itself after the Granite Ace was destroyed. Samuel and Karista breathed a sigh of relief, as did Sonic. They and their home were safe... for now, at least.

The End :)

=Trivia=
 * This fic makes reference to Melody's family--namely, her brother Samuel and his wife Karista.
 * The Granite Ace reveals that he is a creation of Vorticia, the sorceress Sonic faced in Tornado of Fury.