Sonic GeneX - The Series: Zodiac in Time
Episode 10 - Zodiac War

Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and
Sonic Team. You knew that, right?
GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.


Previously on Sonic GeneX - The Series...
After fighting for some time to change the past, Gemini witnesses the birth of the Lost Ones, powerless to stop it as their leader, Apocalos, travels back to prevent her from doing that. It turns out that Rex becomes Apocalos by combining the Light Gaia energy within himself with the power of the Doomlings. He then spreads the Lost One's poison, converting Spiro into Lospecter, Gunther into Losipher, William into Loskeletor and Luna into Loscream!
Bard, Monty, Astra and Radia worked together to seal the Lost Ones inside Shadow Arcangel's containment cell, at the cost of Monty's life. Radia decided then to scatter the Chaos Relics to keep them out of the wrong hands.
During all this, it came to light that Ophiuchus had actually promised Apocalos the world, in exchange for letting the timeline play out naturally. The Zodiac Council forced both the Lost Ones and Gemini to return to the present. Gemini felt defeated as she said her goodbyes to Carrie, believing that she'd have to return to her own time for good now. However, Libra suddenly emerged in a panic, begging for their help to defeat the Zodiac Council once and for all!
Now, on to the next chapter!


When Sonic heard they were planning to assault the group that was using Sally, he moved fast. Joining Tails at Kosmo's house in Troblusk City, Sonic had also brought Uncle Chuck and Sally's dad, Max Acorn. Ridley and Tommy came to help out as well, for the sake of Razor. Gemini tried to contact Knuckles, but with Punchy and Rainbow on their honeymoon, Knuckles had no one to take over guarding the Master Emerald. He refused to comment on who was doing it during the wedding. Carrie had also called her friend Talon to help, but he was away on Bucky's request, helping to search for the still-missing Crash. Fortunately, Amy came along with Sonic...whether anyone asked her or not. "So, tell us again why we're all here?" she asked as everyone sat around a table. "And why my house has to be the meeting place?" Kosmo sighed. "Sorry, Kosmo..." Silver apologized. Libra stood up to address the group. "I've learned the goals of the Zodiac Council, and I've risked a lot to come out here and get help stopping them. First there's Cancer... He just took a trip with Copter to Darkegg Fortress. You may remember that Eggman reclaimed the tower last year. Well, Cancer used his techomancer abilities to take control of the robots there. He plans to take over Zodiac and use their power to change history, placing himself as the ruler of the world!" she stated. Sonic sighed. "Where was Eggman to keep his robots from gettin' nabbed? And why the heck is Copter STILL helping that creep?" he complained. "He's kind of undercover..." Libra said, "He's safer than I am. Ophiuchus is in my head... He did something to me, but not Copter..." she said with a frown. "Oh, Libra... I'm so sorry..." Gemini sniffled. "Don't worry, good news is I'm not a robot anymore so I can help stop this Cancer." Chuck smiled. Libra took a breath. "Cancer's not the only one to worry about. Ophiuchus doesn't care about our world. He sold it out to the Lost Ones because he thinks it's doomed no matter how we change history. He plans to take the Zodiac Council to other dimensions and invade them. With the council united, he believes they can conquer other worlds and make himself a multiversal emperor!" she said with greater urgency. "Wow... Cancer and Ophi are pretty much the same." Timothy remarked. Sonic nodded. "Yeah... They're both real full of themselves! Guess we gotta stop 'em both!" he smirked. "Well, there's about as many of us as there are of them...and I guess Copter's on our side." Tails remarked. Kosmo yawned. "I'm still beat from that wedding invasion Gunner pulled. But hey, call me if it gets outta hand, I guess..." he said, heading for the bedroom. "Aww, I didn't know morphs got sleepy!" Carrie teased. Kosmo blushed. "...Be careful, Carrie." he told her.

Gemini knew how to get to Zodiac Station, the home base of the Zodiac Council hidden in a place beyond time. It was where she and her friends were imprisoned as the wedding was starting. "Chronokadabra!" she said, opening a time portal that would lead the group there. Zodiac Station was a dreamlike place, the walls and floor seeming to be paved with stars and nebulae. This wondrous place was already under attack, though. Sonic and the others found the robots under Cancer's control as they arrived, mostly Egg Pawns but a few different robots mixed in, too, such as the bladed Spinner robots. Cancer was at the center of the robot army, his eyes glowing red as he controlled them all. "Okay, let's split up." Tails suggested, "Some of us will deal with Cancer here, and the others will look for Ophiuchus!" he suggested. Sonic was already rushing to take on the robots, and didn't seem to hear him. "...I'll go with you, Tails." Silver sighed. The rest of the group seemed intent on sticking with Sonic, but weren't as gung-ho about fighting the robots right away. "Where would you guess Sally is?" Max Acorn asked. Libra shrugged. At the moment, they could only see Capricorn out there fighting the robots. Copter was standing near Cancer along with Eddie AKA Scorpio, and also Pisces and Taurus. "If we get close enough, maybe Copter will make his move against Cancer?" Gemini wondered. "Can't be easy for him surrounded by a bull and a shark...and Eddie." Amy pointed out. So, they started to join Sonic in racing to fight the robots. Meanwhile, Silver and Tails unwittingly wandered to the prison area Gemini was previously locked in. "Hey, guys! Get me outta here?" that same creepy echidna asked once again. Silver rolled his eyes at him. "Don't, Tails. Trust me." he said. Tails sighed. "I guess we should head back..." he mumbled. "...B-bard?" Tails hesitated as he heard an elderly voice. Stepping further into the prison, they came upon a cell steeped in shadows. "E-excuse me?" Tails asked. "No... you're not... Bard. Oh...but you have... the Creation Bands..." the elderly voice murmured. Tails raised an eyebrow, and curious to find out what this was about, Silver used his powers to bend open the bars. Stepping into the cell, Silver gasped by who he found. "...Astra!?" he stammered. Indeed it was. The fennec was old, but alive before his eyes. "...Do I know you? Ah... I've been here so long... What's happened?" she asked. Tails scratched his head. "I think we'll need to fill each other in a bit..." he murmured.

Ophiuchus emerged in the room with Cancer and the robots after a bit. Beside him were Aquarius, Razor/Sagittarius and Sally/Virgo. Their expressions were vacant and blank as Ophi pointed them toward the robots. "My faithful servants, clear the path for me... I must cast my spell of control on our comrades." he declared. Sonic's ears pricked, hearing this from behind him as he faced down a lance-toting Egg Pawn. "Spell of control? He's controlling them with a spell? You can do that!?" he babbled before jumping up to attack the bots in front of him! Amy looked worried as she swatted a caterkiller that crawled her way. "If he's using a spell on them, what can we do? Do you know how to break the spell, Gemini?" she asked. Gemini and Timothy glanced at each other. "Mind control wasn't exactly part of our curriculum under Teacher Leo." Timothy sighed. "We just gotta try and get through to them!" Gemini suggested. Uncle Chuck nodded and took Max by the arm. "C'mon, Mr. Acorn, it's time to go see your daughter!" he said, rushing toward Sally as she was busy delivering swift kicks to any robots in her way. Carrie ran up to help Chuck and Max by tossing aside any robots that approached them with her psychokinesis. Meanwhile, Ridley and Tommy tried to approach Razor, only for him to fire energy arrows at their feet! "Bro! It's me!!" Tommy cried. Ophiuchus sneered at them. "Thanks to my mental conditioning combined with my control spell, there isn't a piece of the one you called 'Razor' left! Don't bother trying to free his mind!" he said. Aquarius landed near Sonic and sent a wave of water ahead, not only catching some robots but also sending Sonic sliding away a bit! "Gaaahh!! Hey, I'm fightin' these bots for you! Talk about ungrateful!" he growled, shaking himself dry before turning to face Aquarius. Sally glanced at Chuck and Max as they approached her. "Sally... I still can't believe you're alive! Please, stop fighting...give your daddy a hug!" Max said with tears in his eyes. "Not so quick, sir..." Carrie warned. Sally growled and hurled a piece of scrap metal their way! "Hey! That was uncalled for, Sally!" Chuck snapped, "We're your friends, we're not tryin' to hurt ya!" he told her. Sally growled and grabbed her head. "They're in your way. As your master, I order you to complete your task." Ophiuchus commanded. Sally nodded. "You boys...stand down!" she said with a powerful tone. It compelled Chuck and Max to back away, even as they struggled to resist! "So...she has power over boys? ...Is it wrong I'm jealous?" Carrie murmured.

Cancer scoffed. "Ophi's spell won't work on me. I never submitted to his mental conditioning." he murmured, glancing over at Copter and Eddie, "Go and stop your old friends from interfering..." he ordered. Eddie chuckled. "I think Ridley's the only one that qualifies for me, but I'll throw in the others pro bono, Eee hee!" he said, turning only to find Copter standing in his way! The fox removed his helmet and sighed. "I've been waiting to tell you guys this... I really hate this dumb helmet!" he said, tossing it right at Eddie! The hyena stepped aside and raised a hand to start an attack, but hesitated as he heard Libra land behind him. "Ohhh, you think you'll double-team me, do you? Eeee hee hee... I can do that, too!" he cackled, a second Eddie splitting from him and leaping straight for Libra! Gemini started running their way. "Hold on, guys! I'll zap Eddie out of commission and then we'll get Cancer!" she shouted. A third Eddie popped into her path. "How will you do that if you can't find the right one?" he smirked. Gemini rolled her eyes. "Out of the way!" she snapped, her hands glowing as her wings appeared! During all this, Tails and Silver were arriving, holding Astra's arms to help the old fennec walk. "Thank you, dears... Get me to a wand, and I'll be able to handle myself..." Astra said. "I can't believe she's from way back in Tikal's era...and you created this place?" Tails said, glancing at her. Astra nodded. "I wanted to carry on Rex's work...the good Rex... But my task got perverted into monitoring and controlling time... When I opposed this, I was imprisoned..." she murmured. Silver raised his hand and pushed back an approaching motobug as they entered the room. "Well, Sonic found them..." he muttered. In the meanwhile, the Eddies lured Gemini, Copter and Libra into the center of the room, where the robot presence was the heaviest. Copter was busy using his staff to fend off Egg Pawns and couldn't deal with the hyena. "Dang it, I hate these bots!!" he complained. "They WERE on your side, traitor..." Cancer said through an Egg Pawn before Copter whacked it with his staff. Libra quickly took out the fake Eddies with some well placed bolts, and then together with Gemini headed for the true Scorpio. "Eeee hee... Do you plan to kill me, Deathbringer? Because if you don't, I basically win." he smirked as scorpions surrounded the sisters. Libra raised her hand but Gemini stopped her. "You don't have to be the Deathbringer anymore... Let me help you..." she said. "I'm afraid she IS the Deathbringer..." said Ophiuchus as he approached them, "And you are MY Scorpio! Both of you, to me!" he said, raising his hands to them, "Hypnoconquera!!" Casting this spell, no light or beam left his hands, but the effects were instantly apparent. Eddie and Libra quickly took on the same vacant expressions as Sally, Razor and Aquarius. "L-libra!!" Gemini stammered. "She can't hear you..." Ophi smirked, "Libra is MINE now..."

Cancer growled. "Get in there, you two. We need to crush them all and secure our control of the Zodiac Station!" he ordered Taurus and Pisces. The pair headed out to where Sonic and Amy were caught between Aquarius and some robots. "I say we freeze the wet floor with my trident!" Pisces suggested. "No! I say we electrify the wet floor with my lightning!" Taurus snorted. "Well, I say you do neither of that!!" Amy shouted, whacking an Egg Pawn with her hammer. "Eheh... I don't think we get a vote, Amy." Sonic sighed. Timothy ran to Ridley and Tommy's aid in the meantime, briefly slipping as part of the floor turned to ice. "Ooof!! Thanks a lot, Pisces!!" Taurus yelled. Timothy shrugged and waved his wand, creating a shield around Ridley and Tommy to block Razor's arrows. "Hi, I'm Timmy, by the way." he said. "Tommy..." the young porcupine said, shaking his hand. "Ugh, referring to you two could get annoying." Ridley groaned, their focus returning as Razor shot at the shield again. "Brother!! Why can't you hear me!? You might have changed, but you never seemed not to recognize me before!" Tommy cried. Ridley gritted his teeth. "Yeah, and I've been covering for you at the department for months! The chief is gonna have your head on a pike when you do finally get back! C-come on... you're supposed to be the responsible one..." he said with a hint of sadness in his voice. Timothy frowned. "He's under a spell, I don't think we can get through to him..." he stated. "Isn't there a way to break the spell??" Tommy babbled. Timothy tilted his head. "I don't know. Unless either of you wanna try true love's kiss?" he joked. Razor started shooting the shield more rapidly, growling in frustration. "Yeah, I don't think he's in the kissing mood..." Ridley murmured. Back with Pisces and Taurus, Amy raised her hammer and slammed the ice on the ground, cracking it as Sonic slid by! "Thaaaanks!" he wailed, leaping up in the next moment and striking at Pisces' trident, knocking it from her hand! "Gah!! Zap him, bully, I'll be right back!" the shark said, hurrying for her weapon only to run into Ophiuchus, who's shoe was holding the trident on the starlit ground. "Hypnoconquera!" he cast, putting Pisces under his spell! Taurus turned to see her like that and gulped. "Take over, brain-dead Aquarius. I gotta protect Cancer before my brain turns to mush!" he said, charging back in Cancer's direction. Amy glanced at Sonic. "What'll happen if that snake gets control of all of them?" she murmured. Sonic shrugged. "We stop 'em all...which we were doing anyway." he said. "...Can he control...us?" Amy asked. This caused Sonic to sweat a moment. That would not be good...

Cancer scoffed. "Fine...I'll have to play my trump card." Hearing him say this, Copter dove onto Gemini and started to shield her with his armored body as the roof caved in above them, crushed under the weight of the Death Egg Robot that Cancer was calling in with his technomancer powers! Small meteor chunks fell onto Copter as he strained to protect his friend. Or, he thought he should be straining, but in a moment a shield covered them both. "...Oh..." he muttered, blushing, "You can cast magic on your own, right." he said. "I'm not casting anything..." Gemini whispered. Moving off her and turning around, Copter saw Fred Leo casting the shield, Adam, Evelyn and Cuthburt joining him in fighting back against the Death Egg Robot! "Hey, behind the space roof is more space. Trippy!" Adam remarked. "Pay attention to the giant robot!" Evelyn groaned. Cancer growled in annoyance. "You're all insects! This is an upgraded Death Egg Robot from Eggman's last invasion! You can't defeat it with little blow guns!" he sneered. During the distraction, Taurus was cornered by Ophiuchus, and now his mind was the snake's. "All right. Cancer is right, I can't control his mind. So, finish him off my Deathbringer!" Ophiuchus ordered. Capricorn, who had been preoccupied fighting the robots, gasped at his order. "K-kill?? What??" she stammered. Gemini looked frantically for Libra. "Don't do it, sister! Don't let him make you kill again!" she pleaded. The Death Egg Robot stomped forward, firing its fist toward Sonic! "Whoa! I hate these things!" the hedgehog complained. "Just try and approach me! None of you can get past my ultimate robot!" Cancer declared. "...Unless I was here before it was..." said Libra in a monotone voice. Cancer's eyes widened, but it was too late. A killing bolt pierced through his chest and then slammed the back of the Death Egg Robot, causing it to collapse into a heap! Cancer staggered forward. "Ophi...will destroy everything... You have to...stop him!!" he gasped before falling onto his face, dead. The remaining robots regained their senses and began to scramble about the room in an alarmed panic. "How the heck did I git in this freaky-deaky joint?? Where's mah garage!?" yelped Hoover as he scurried past Copter. "Consider this payback for putting my friends out of their home." Copter growled at him. Hoover yelped as he turned to Copter. "Ehhh... What's wit the knight gitup?" he asked. Tails sighed as he and Silver reached Gemini. "Sorry you had to see your sister do that, Gemini..." he murmured, "Um... got your wand?" he asked. Gemini looked at them and did a double take upon seeing Astra. "Oh... I can't even with this right now..." she said with tears in her eyes, "I have to get Ophiuchus back for making a killer out of Libra!" she growled.

There were four remaining Zodiacs not under Ophi's control. The snake stood at the center of the room, atop the remnants of the Death Egg Robot, and smirked at the others. "I may not have put you through mental conditioning, but my power is enough to control the rest of you!" he declared. Fred stepped beside Gemini. "Try us. We'll overcome you together!" he warned. Capricorn landed next to him as well. "I trusted you! Why are you doing this, Ophi!?" she cried. Ophiuchus shrugged. "I have seen countless possible futures. No matter how we might try to save the world, it is inevitable that our world will meet its demise eventually. I realized that the only way our will could survive was if we moved to other worlds, conquering those worlds for ourselves! But I knew the overall council would never go along with this. So I created the mind control spell to ensure you would do as I command!" he explained. Copter took Gemini's hand as the four of them stared down Ophi. "This time, we'll do this together!" he said as Ophiuchus started to cast his spell! Sonic thought about what to do as the four of them started strainging against the spell. "Hmm..." He saw Max Acorn taking cover in a corner, probably driven there by the Death Egg Robot's arrival. He sped over and grabbed him, dashing him back to his daughter! "If any of these spells can be broken, you can break Sal's!" he said. Max sighed. "I can't... I lost her..." he said. Sonic crossed his arms. "Try, man! She died for you!" he pointed out. Max nodded and approached Virgo. "Sally! You're stronger than this tyrant...I know it!" he said, only for Virgo to growl at him. He kept moving. "You organized the Freedom Fghters...You fought Dr. Eggman... Please, come back to me..." Virgo started to hold her head, groaning as Ophi was too distracted to maintain his spell on one person. Max moved to embrace her. "Please...my princess!" he pleaded. Gasping, Sally collapsed into his arms, starting to sob. "D-daddy?" she sniffled. Sonic wiped his eye as he watched them. "Aw, now that's closure..." he sighed.

The four remaining Zodiacs groaned, straining as Ophiuchus began to overpower their minds with his spell. Gemini and Copter tightened their hold on one another's hand. "G-gemini...I..." he gasped. Carrie moved to help, but Silver stopped her. "Interfering might shatter their minds... Maybe. I don't know how this spell works." he warned. However, Sally suddenly stepped between the four and Ophiuchus. "...STOP!!" she shouted in that powerful tone, forcing Ophiuchus to hesitate. "Grrr... Your power can't control me, girl!" he said, instantly free. However, he'd stopped his spell. Sally next turned to the other Zodiacs. "Turn on the snake!" she commanded, leading Eddie, Razor, Aquarius and Taurus to look at Ophiuchus with angry eyes. The snake glanced around and let out a howl of fury as Taurus jolted him with lightning from his horns and Razor pelted him with arrows of light! He backed up and glanced to see Sonic beside Max, smirking at him. "Clever hedgehog, using my own allies against me... Too bad you fail to save the world in the end!" he retorted. Then, Ophiuchus raised his hands as if in surrender. "You've got me... I shall have to abandon my plans!" he said, smirking, "And what better way than to bury you all in this station?!" He flicked his wrist behind him, forming a dimensional hole before snapping his fingers and causing the many stars comprising the station to glow red! As Ophiuchus jumped through the hole, closing it behind him, Astra stammered in panic. "He set off the self destruct sequence! We must get out of here!" she warned. Gasping in alarm, Fred, Gemini, Timothy and Capricorn all yelled "Chronokadabra!" at once, creating multiple time portals for everyone to escape through and return home before Zodiac Station could go supernova! "Oh, wait, Sonic!" Silver shouted, whispering something to him. Sonic zipped away and hurried back with the creepy prisoner echidna. "What's wrong with this guy!?" Sonic stammered as he joined the others in escaping!

As the last of the group leapt out of the time portals, an explosion flared out behind them, stopped when each person closed their respective portals, except Gemini and Capricorn, who found that they couldn't. "M-my magic!!" Gemini stammered. Timothy handed her her wand. "I knew you'd need this again..." he said as Fred closed the other two portals. "Why did I have to get the late-closing portal? My poor wings..." Adam sighed, batting out some embers. Meanwhile Capricorn was groaning in pain a bit as her wings withered and dropped to the floor. "Wh-what's happening??" she wailed. Astra frowned. "Zodiac Station was the source of your powers...it amplified my own power so I could share it with a team. Now that it's destroyed, only your natural talents remain." she said. Copter tried to fire a shot from his staff, but nothing happened. "Junk... I'm useless again..." he sighed. Gemini hugged him. "You're never useless, Copter... You're my friend." she told him. "Bite her ear off!" said the creepy echidna with a leer. Sonic glanced at Ridley. "You got handcuffs?" he asked. "Way ahead of you!" said Razor, busily cuffing Eddie as the hyena cackled. "Fine, take me in! I hear Fera's back, might be safer in jail 'till I know whether she's mad at me or not... Dames, heh." he said. Tails looked around and scratched his head. "Not to be a killjoy, but shouldn't we go after Ophiuchus? He might still have a plan up his sleeve." he stated. "If he doesn't have power anymore, who cares?" Aquarius scoffed. Amy nodded. "And how would we even find him?" she asked. Sally stepped up to answer that. "I remember something... From my time as Virgo... A dimension he showed me. It was going to provide the council with the power to conquer all other worlds. He brought me there to scout it out..." she said. Sonic started to stretch out for the next round. "Alright, everyone coming?" he asked. "I'm still trying to remember my non-Pisces name..." the shark frowned. "And I feel a bit woozy..." Libra sighed, her wings having decayed along with everyone else's. "I'll stay with Astra. You can count on me." Capricorn said. Silver, Carrie and Timothy stepped up. "You're not leaving us behind!" they stated. Copter glanced at Gemini and nodded to himself, dropping his staff. "I'll help, too... I'll do what I can to make amends for what I've done wrong..." he said with determination.

Combining spells wasn't easy. It helped to have two spellcasters. Fred patted Gemini and Timothy on the shoulders. "You've worked together quite a bit recently...I'm sure you can do this..." he said. They both pointed their wands. "Discovereva!" Timothy called. "Poriftica!" Gemini cast. Her portal combined with Timothy's search spell, enabling them to track down Ophiuchus! Sally glanced through the portal. "...Yes, that's the place... Uhhh..." she sighed, feeling woozy herself. Chuck and Max caught her as she nearly fell. "We'd better watch her. End this, Sonic!" Chuck said. "Sure thing, Unc!" Sonic nodded. He, Tails, Amy, Silver, Carrie, Timothy, Fred, Copter and Gemini hopped through the portal, finding a dazzlingly beautiful world made up of various crystals and gems! "Wow... I can't believe Rouge is missing out on this..." Tails said as he looked around. Everyone looked around in awe. "A girl could get used to a place like this..." Amy murmured. Some nearby rocks shifted, and Timothy jumped. "Ah! Even the people are stones!" he gasped. Gemini looked and raised an eyebrow. "Huh... A Kron??" she murmured. It was indeed one of the stone people she recalled from the Twilight Cage. The Kron glanced at them and shrugged. "Welcome you all to Kron Mining Planet. Jewel Junkyard be this place. Take what you need, you may." he told them. Sonic scratched his head. "Yeaaaah... Seen a creepy snake dude around?" he asked. The sound of Ophiuchus cackling could be heard above, followed by a magic beam coming down and knocking over the Kron! More beams rained down to attack the group, forcing them back! "Proplasmar!!" Fred shouted, casting a protective barrier. Looking up, they saw Ophiuchus at the top of a mountain of gemstones, seeming to draw power from them, his eyes glowing in various colors as he absorbed the power! "Th-that's a mountain of ChaosStones! The gems on our wands!" Gemini said, pointing to the tip of her own wand. "I always wondered where they came from." Timothy mused. Ophiuchus saw something at the top of the mountain and reached for it. "Ahh... A Phantom Ruby! A perfect accent to this power!" he cackled. Sonic whimpered. "Why did he even need twelve mind-controlled minions, then?" he muttered. Tails was glancing elsewhere and suddenly pointed. "Look at that road! The lamps are lit by Chaos Emeralds!" he stated. Sonic nodded. "Good catch, buddy! And the Kron did say, take what we need!" he grinned. There only seemed to be enough emeralds nearby for two to transform, especially if the emeralds' power was partially drained by being lamps. "I'll go, too!" Gemini said, "I... I started this by heading into the past. It's only right I finish it." she declared. Silver and Copter exchanged worried glances, but nodded. "We'll be right here, Gemini..." Silver said. With that, Sonic raced back with 14 Chaos Emeralds. "Just like old times in Soleanna, huh? Let's do this Gemini!" he smirked. The emeralds soon swirled around the pair of them, glowing brightly as Sonic and Gemini erupted in golden glows, becoming their super forms! Ophiuchus glared at them and activated the Phantom Ruby, duplicating himself. "Very well... Before I claim a new home... I'll eliminate you relics of my past!" he sneered.

As Super Sonic and Super Gemini soared towards Ophi, the snake he produced a flurry of crystal shards around him with the magical power he'd absorbed, hurling them at hedgehog and fennec! Sonic curled into a ball and bounced off the shards, keeping up his momentum, while Gemini zapped the shards with various spells, melting them or turning them into marshmallows! "Such determination from you! But my power is infinite!!" Ophi said, activating the Phantom Ruby, which resulted in a giant clawed arm made of crystals from the mountain rising up to grab at Sonic and Gemini! It hurled the hedgehog across the sky to the duplicate of Ophi, who then grabbed him by the throat! "I have trained for centuries... You can't outwit me. You can't overpower me. You are nothing!" he sneered as Sonic struggled. Gemini fled from the clawed hand, but the other Ophi used the Phantom Ruby to reshape the entire mountain into a giant version of himself comprised of gemstones of many colors! Gemini gasped as its fist slammed into her, striking a barrier she'd erected but cracking it quickly! The giant pulled back its fist for another punch. "It's over, so-called heroes. Time has defeated you... And now it's my time!" Ophi sneered. "I'd say Zodiac's time is UP!" shouted Tails, who soared up and smacked the duplicate Ophi with his tails! As the giant fist barreled down on Gemini, Copter suddenly flew in front of her and rammed right into the fist! He...held it back?! Both foxes were in super form! "Keep your slimy hands...off Gemini!!" Super Copter snarled, twirling in midair and striking the giant's hand with a powerful tail whip, shattering it! Super Tails managed to knock the other Ophi away from Sonic, and the hedgehog gave his pal a quick fist bump. "I can always count on you, bro! Knew you'd find more emeralds!" he smirked. Ophiuchus let out a frustrated hiss. "This exertion is pointless, and beneath me!" he snarled, drawing more energy from the ChaosStones to himself. "The power I draw from this world makes me unstoppable!" he said, using the Phantom Ruby to duplicate himself until there were 13 of him. "I AM the Zodiac Council now! I'm my own army!!" he declared as pointed gems swirled around him. Gemini took Copter's hand and smirked at him. "You don't get it, snake boy... We have an army too!" she shouted. At that moment, Super Silver, Super Timothy, Super Amy, Super Fred and Super Carrie floated up to join their ranks and oppose Ophiuchus! Tails chuckled softly. "This place is a real treasure box. We should keep the address!" he grinned. Amy floated next to Sonic with a dreamy smile. "So this is what it's like to go super... Wanna try a super kiss...?" she asked in a flirty tone. "Err... Not now..." Sonic babbled. Ophiuchus snarled at them. "Your army is weak..." he said. "Alone, maybe..." Gemini said, "But together, our friendship can withstand anything. We can even change history itself! Together...we'll stop the Lost Ones and save the world!" she declared. Ophiuchus cackled. "You won't even stop me!! Time to face the full force of a magic-enhanced Phantom Ruby!!" he cried. As Sonic and Gemini led the nine of them in a daring charge against the snake, Ophiuchus once again formed a crystal giant, this time around his thirteen selves. The two groups clashed in a single, mighty blow, an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object! It seemed for a moment that Ophiuchus was simply too strong. Copter grabbed for Gemini's hand. "H-hang on!!" he cried. Gemini reached for Timothy's hand. Tails took Sonic's. Sonic took Amy's. Carrie took Silver and Fred's. Hands linked, they charged in unison, and the crystals started to crack! "N-no! It...cannot be!!" Ophi cried, feeling the Phantom Ruby crumble in his hand. "Nooooo!!" he roared, snapping his fingers before the super heroes could strike him! The planet began to explode below them, and the Kron started to flee for his spaceship in panic. "Explain this to Foreman Krag, how will I?" he grumbled. Fred grabbed onto Ophi as the heroes crashed through his crystal giant. "Think you'll escape to another source of power? Guess again!" he said, "Poriftica!" he shouted, creating a portal and stuffing Ophiuchus into it! "No!! Stop!! It's dark in heeeere!!" the snake shouted before he shut the portal. "This planet's gonna blow! Figures, just when we find an endless source of Chaos Emeralds..." Sonic groaned. Gemini had already created a portal back home. "C'mon! Let's move it!" she cried. Wasting no time, the group fled into the portal, leaving the crystal world to its ruin and Ophiuchus to the fate Fred had decided for him...

"Where did you send Ophi?" Gemini asked as the group rested back at Kosmo's house. Fred shrugged. "It's kind of a Null Space...but one that actually exists as opposed to the Phantom Ruby's version. Ophiuchus will be trapped and powerless there, hopefully forever. It's what he deserves." the lion stated. Silver scratched his head. "What's going to happen to the old Zodiac Council?" he asked. Fred shrugged. "Their lives are theirs now... Most of them have totally lost their power so they shouldn't cause any trouble at least." he stated. Libra and Astra had joined them by this point, and Gemini had dozens of questions for Astra, but first thing's first. "...Teacher...Fred... Is Libra really my...sister?" she asked. Libra leaned in, curious to know as well. Fred took a breath. "...I can confirm that much. The two of you are twins. Ophiuchus was responsible for splitting you up...for taking you from your true families. I only had a part in training Gemini. I couldn't tell you what time period is your true home..." he said sadly. Amy shuddered. "That's awful. Why would he do that?" she wondered. Libra sighed. "He wanted to mold us into his soldiers...but it didn't work. Our bonds with the people we care for overcame his evil." she smiled, hugging Gemini, "I'm glad to properly meet you, sister!" she cried. Copter watched them from the back of the room and felt a tear come to his eye. Kosmo stood next to him. "You're sane now, right?" Kosmo asked. Copter nodded. "More sane than I've been in a long time... I'm starting to see Gemini. Really see her... I... I really like her..." he said with a light blush. Hoover stepped up to him and "cleared his throat" loudly. "Ahem! Well, I'm awol now, so I guess we go home together! Where we goin' then, kid?" he asked. Copter glared at him. "You're lucky my plane needs a mechanic... I'm thinking I'll take Rainbow up on her standing invite to live in that underground echidna city. Plenty of space. If Violet moves there too it might be awkward, but we'll have to move past that... I deserve it if she beats me up." he sighed. Hoover shrugged. "Sounds rustic... I hope I don't rust down there..." he mumbled. Gemini lent Astra her wand, as the older fennec wanted. Astra quietly cast a spell on herself, and her old age melted away, restoring her youth and energy! "Ahhh, much better! And no, I won't be sharing that spell... So, fox boy, why didn't you use the Creation Bands at all?" she asked Tails. The fox held up his Chaos Tailbands. "These are Chaos Relics..." he said. Astra giggled. "The Raisol name stuck, hm? It was a false name to throw off those who would abuse the power. They are the Creation Relics, their powers don't come from Chaos at all!" she told him. Sonic smacked his face. "No, we're not changing the Tailbands' name for a third time. Everyone stick to Chaos Relics!" he shouted.

As Sonic, Tails, Amy and Silver were leaving, Chuck and Sally found them. "Hey, sonny! Good news! Sally's all back to normal and ready to return home with her dad!" Chuck announced. Sally smiled. "I just wanted to thank you...and also get Nicole shipped to my AcornCorp office." she chuckled. Tails frowned. "Aww, I didn't get time to figure out how that AI works..." he murmured. Sonic chuckled and gave Sally a thumb's up. "Anytime you need me, just call!" he winked. Amy growled softly. "Don't flirt, Sonic!! She'll get confused!" she scolded him. Sally chuckled, waving and turning to leave. Sonic then stepped to Uncle Chuck. "Hey, Unc... Ready for me to move back?" he asked. Chuck smiled. "Well, I've been ready for months! I thought you were happy chillin' out with your pal, there!" he said, pointing to Tails. Sonic nodded. "Yeah, it's just... Seeing Sal and her dad... Makes me realize that family's important too." he said with a cute smile. Chuck nodded. "So, the great hero learned a lesson? Hehe! Just kiddin', of course ya can move back! I missed ya, sonny!" he said, hugging his nephew. Tails smiled. "Don't worry about me, Sonic. I'll be just fine..." he said, pulling out his Miles Electric tablet and checking his messages, finding an "I miss you" text from Marine. Gemini and her friends were exiting the house by now, too. "Don't look for me here anymore, I'm moving!" Kosmo remarked, growing wings and flapping away. Carrie smirked and gave chase. "Get back here, you! I've got tons of stories and you're gonna hear 'em!" she chuckled. Gemini sighed. "In order to beat the Lost Ones... we'll need the power of the Chaos Relics." she said, "Even Apocalos fears them, so it's a good start." Fred nodded. "True... I trust you to do what you think is right, Gemini. Me, I'm taking Adam, Evelyn and Cuthburt home. Whether we'll be back, well... Time will tell." he said, going off to find them. Timothy glanced at Gemini. "Well, I'm still with you. So, what do we do about the relics?" he asked. Copter listened and smirked. "Tails, get over here!" he called. "Wha?" Tails murmured, stepping over to the group. Copter pointed to Gemini. "You're getting a crash course in properly using those tailbands. And Gemini's gonna teach ya!" he announced. "Whaaaa??" Gemini gasped. Tails scratched his head. "Really? Um... Thanks?" he muttered. Libra giggled. "Yeah! You can do it, Gem! You saw how Rex's crew used them!" she stated. Astra nodded. "I'll stick around, too. Maybe I can be of help to you... My, but this world is curious isn't it? Is that a horseless carriage over there?" she asked, pointing to a car across the street. Gemini chuckled softly. "Thanks a lot, Copter..." she grumbled, "I got my work cut out for me..." Copter nodded, taking her hand. "Yeah. You have to find the other relic holders and train them too. But I'll help you...any way I can." he said. "...I'll hold you to that." Gemini replied, "Thank you...my friends!" The past might have been in stone, but with the Zodiac Council defeated, the future was for the taking. Together, our heroes would fight to make it a future worth waiting for!

To be continued... BZZT! ZZZZT! BONUS SCENE! ZZZZT!!

Fera stood atop Troblusk Plateau, glaring around in disappointment. "...Our base is gone... The Darkseeker is gone... My dark power has weakened..." she said, holding up a Despair Seal, "Is the Covenant of Despair finished? How did this happen?" she growled, slipping the Despair Seal onto her wrist. "Gone? Oh, child... You could never lose me..." Fera looked around frantically for the source of this voice. "Darkseeker??" she gasped. "Howler... I'm a memory, stored in your Despair Seal. It seems my plans failed, somehow. But you, Fera...my greatest student...you could rebuild. You could continue my legacy!" the voice of Howler whispered. Fera nodded slowly. "...We'll need to find our allies... and I'll need you to retrain me. Light has taken hold in my heart. Weakness!" Fera snarled. The voice chuckled softly. "With my memory to guide you... Despair will soon reign, at last!"

To be continued...

...Wait, there was no song...ah what the heck! One more, but don't expect music next season!

"I can't do this alone,
Even though I am strong.
Need something more than me.
Someone to push me to victory.
Let's see what we can do,
Together, me and you.
Can't be afraid to try.
Kiss your fears goodbye!

No looking back!
You and I, we're on the attack!
Full speed ahead!
Running to the sunset!

Such a different feeling,
Both of us believing,
We can make it better!

Together we can show the world what we can do!
You are next to me and I'm next to you,
Pushing on through until the battle's won!
No one’s gonna give a thing to us,
Into each other we put our trust,
Standing united, after the fight, is done!

I know you have been afraid before.
But you don't have to be anymore.
No more emptiness to feel inside.
When we work together no one can break up our stride!

No looking back!
'Till we're done, we're on the attack!
Full speed ahead!
Running to the sunset!

Such a different feeling,
Both of us believing,
We can make it better!

We can show the world what we can do!
You are next to me and I'm next to you!
Pushing on through until the battle's won!
No one’s gonna give a thing to us,
Into each other we put our trust,
Standing united, after the fight...

It's a brand new day!
We have turned the page!
I never knew how much I needed,
Somebody to help me this way!

All alone, we will never be!
The two, of us, are holding the key!
We see, today, a world we couldn't see!
Before I say goodbye to you,
One more last fist bump..." - Fist Bump, Theme of Sonic Forces