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  "description": "The complete 5th season, opening with the GeneX - Legacy special, which was the original ending for the series prior to Doomsday.",
  "description_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>The complete 5th season, opening with the GeneX - Legacy special, which was the original ending for the series prior to Doomsday.</span>",
  "writing": "Sonic GeneX: the Series - The Complete Season 5\nSonic GeneX - Legacy\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\nThis story serves as the ending to the Sonic GeneX series...unless I manage to continue writing up to the true ending. - 2BIT\n\n\nDirt and dust. A hooded fox awoke in a pile of it, groaning and clutching a wood cane. He was old and weak. A long and confusing life he had led. He climbed to his feet and dusted himself off. He was a black fox with two spiky tails and some white bangs on his head...more white there now than there used to be, and his black fur was graying overall. He tried to remember his name. Copter? No, he'd discarded that name long ago... Dimentime. That was his name. Looking around, Dimentime thought he was in some sort of desert. However, he quickly noted a familiarity about the walls around him. They were buildings, decaying and forgotten. \"This is... Station Square...\" he grunted, leaning on his cane as he walked away from his resting place. \"...I thought my work was done after the Soleanna Struggle ended... Why am I here? Is there something the Time Stones still wish me to fix?\" he muttered. A newspaper blew past him, and he poked out his cane to stop it, the paper wrapping about the gnarled wood walking stick. He untangled the newspaper from his cane and examined it. The headline: \"President Slain! GUN Takes Command!\" The date was approximately 20 years after the Time Eater incident. \"A few decades into the future, then? Ugh, I feel like I might have aged those decades... but I was old back in Soleanna. Hopefully whatever this is won't take much physical effort...\" he sighed, shuffling out to explore the ruins of Station Square. It appeared like the city had been evacuated prior to some sort of battle, the buildings having been damaged in places from what appeared to be weapon fire. However, there were no bodies to be found. Still, the place was eerily quiet. At least until trucks sped towards Dimentime. They surrounded him, and quickly GUN agents rushed out, training their weapons on him! \"Don't move, freak!\" said one of the humans, \"We don't know how you got past our security cams this far, but we'll find out before your execution!\" Dimentime raised his arms and silently stepped into the nearby prisoner transport truck, where he noticed a handful of other animals were restrained. \"Okay... I guess I have an idea why I'm here. Why couldn't the Time Stones have sent me when I was younger?\" he groaned. \"Get in there, freak!\" a GUN agent snarled, shoving him into the truck!\n\nDimentime found a seat as the prison transport started to drive off. He could escape this easily, but he needed information. Sitting beside him was a light purple hedgehog. \"So, what're you in for?\" Dimentime asked. \"Seriously?\" the hedgehog responded, \"Oh, that's a joke, right? Funny... Hey... you look kinda familiar.\" the young hedgehog said, glancing at him. \"I get that a lot when I don't wear my hood... And yes, seriously. I've been...out of town. For a few decades.\" Dimentime grunted. The hedgehog frowned. \"Out of planet, too? Well... You look pretty old. I bet you remember Sonic, right?\" the youngster asked. Dimentime scoffed. \"Yeah, sure. He make this mess?\" he asked. The young hedgehog crossed his arms. \"NO... He's my father.\" he stated. Dimentime smiled awkwardly. \"Oooooh... Twenty years, right...\" he mumbled, \"Well, I guess we're saved, then! He'll speed in and bust us outta here.\" Dimentime babbled. \"Don't count on it.\" the kid sighed, \"I've been searching for dear ol' dad a long time. Got caught searching. My friends say he's dead...\" he said, looking at the ground sadly. Dimentime patted his shoulder. \"What's your name kid?\" he asked. \"...Juice.\" the hedgehog replied, resulting in snickers from the other prisoners. \"Keep laughin'. My dad's alive, I know it... And I'll have him kick your butts later.\" he said, sticking his tongue out. Suddenly, the truck rocked sideways, nearly tipping over! Gun shots could be heard outside, followed by loud thuds before a small explosion blew the back door open! A red, female echidna stood just outside, wearing a black jacket. \"Today's your lucky day, guys! Executions have been delayed! Hey, Juice!\" she said, waving. \"Lara-Su!\" Juice exclaimed. Dimentime rubbed his head awkwardly. \"Rescued by a teenage girl...\" he grumbled. \"Don't stand so close to the bomb next time, Lara...\" said a fox as he stepped next to her. Said fox was almost the spitting image of Tails. \"Even better... Tails Junior...\" Dimentime groaned, leaning on his cane as he joined the other prisoners in vacating the truck. Lara-Su looked at Dimentime like she'd seen a ghost. \"C-copter??\" she stammered. \"Not exactly. Do I know you?\" Dimentime asked. Lara-Su saluted him. \"Lara-Su Echidna, last of the Knuckles clan and leader of the Anti-GUN-Force... Nobody wanted to be cliched and call it 'the Resistence.'\" she said. Dimentime frowned. \"So, you're Knuckles's daughter...and he's dead.\" he said to sum it up. \"We got a lot to catch you up on...\" Juice sighed.\n\nThere was no time to waste, GUN would have reinforcements quickly. So they hurried to their escape ride; a motorboat waiting at the coastline. The boat took them to an almost familiar island. Looking carefully, Dimentime recognized it as the island that once housed Darkegg Fortress...only the tower was gone. All that remained was a base leading to the basement, which the Anti-GUN-Force led Dimentime and the other freed prisoners into. \"It's a bit stuffy, but it's home.\" Lara-Su stated. A tri-tailed fox rushed to meet the group, and Dimentime was stunned upon seeing him. The fox was the spitting image of himself, or Copter, except his bangs were bushier and black, one of his tails was adorned with colorful tailbands, he had a blue collar around his neck, and he wore glasses. He stopped and wiped those glasses with the cuffs of his gloves before looking at Dimentime again. \"...Are you my grandpa?\" he blurted, making Juice chuckle. \"I get the feeling I sort of am.\" Dimentime said awkwardly, \"Who are you?\" he asked. The fox shrugged. \"Chopper. My dad stunk at names...\" he mumbled. \"I am his father!\" Dimentime choked, only to have his arm tugged by \"Tails Jr.\" \"We need to talk.\" the yellow fox stated, leading Dimentime to a back room along with Lara-Su. Dimentime looked around in awe, noting that there were mostly kids there. Kids to his eyes, at any rate. A girl who looked like a clear child of Punchy and Rainbow was chatting with a black cat with sky blue hair on his head. A pair of colorful Divine girls that resembled Whisk were sitting at a table playing cards. There was a male coyote...Katie's son? But before Dimentime could ask around about any of this, they'd stepped into the back room. \"You're Dimentime.\" the fox said. \"And you're Tails Junior.\" Dimentime said gruffly. \"The name's Skye. Skye Prower. My dad used to tell me stories... and you were in them. You came from another time...\" he stated. \"Sort of. Can one of you explain what's going on to me?\" Dimentime asked. Lara-Su looked impatient. \"Do we have time for this? I need to get a report on Argyle and Venice's mission...\" she grumbled. Skye raised an eyebrow. \"Your mushy-time with Argyle can wait, Lara. Dimentime's here for a reason. He needs to know what happened.\" he said, sighing before he began, \"...It was a long time ago now. The truth of these events is known now, but it does little good. General Gunner ordered his minion, Guard the Gargoyle, to kill the President, making it appear that said gargoyle had acted alone. Not only was the President killed, but so was GUN's Commander... and Gunner seized control. Decieving the public, he made humans believe that animals were to blame, and started mass-executions... by the time Gunner's plot was exposed, it was too late. He'd amassed enough followers to hold his control of the government, and rule the country through fear, setting his sights on conquering the rest of the world. Sonic and the other heroes tried to stop him, but with the full might of GUN behind him... they were defeated.\" Skye explained. Dimentime stared in disbelief. \"There's no way... GUN couldn't beat all of fur-kind combined!\" he shouted. \"Oh, you know how it is...\" Lara-Su griped, \"People don't want to get involved until it's too late. Like those experiments! Selfish lot, all of them!\" she snapped. \"Hey! I'm listening outside the door!\" Chopper shouted. Dimentime looked at her understandingly. \"I get you...but there's no way they're all dead. We need to reach out for help.\" he stated. \"That's what I've been telling them!\" Juice shouted from outside the door. \"We came in here for privacy!!\" Skye shouted. \"Argyle said it was okay!\" Juice teased, making Skye's face turn red with frustration.\n\nUltimately, Dimentime felt he had to help these kids. But he couldn't help them alone. After talking to Skye, he was led to a computer where he could look up recent events online. \"What are you lookin' for?\" Chopper asked him. \"Survivors...\" Dimentime stated. Argyle the crocodile, an obvious offspring of Vector, sat next to Dimentime to assist. \"You're not gonna like what you see...\" the croc sighed. He wasn't wrong. Newspaper articles gave quick confirmation of several deaths. Tails and Knuckles had died valiantly fighting GUN forces, while Bucky had been the victim of a sneak attack. Dimentime almost vomited when he saw an image of several familiar and not-so familiar heads displayed on spears, trophies of Gunner's victories. Everything looked pretty grim. \"I can't believe all of this... We really are alone here...\" he sighed, \"Tails and Bucky, gone... I didn't exactly have the best relationship with them, but it doesn't seem real...\" Argyle got up from his seat and sniffled. \"My dad, too. Most of us here know our parents are dead...\" he sighed, walking away. Dimentime turned to Chopper, who had a glum look. He knew what it meant. \"I'm dead? Well, your real father...\" he said, rubbing his head awkwardly. Chopper nodded, looking rather sad. Dimentime slowly placed a hand on his shoulder. \"Look, kid... I can't replace him, but... I'm here for you...at least for now.\" he said. Chopper looked up at him. \"I don't need that. I'm Experiment 2's son! I can... I can...\" Dimentime caught him in his arms as he started to cry into his chest. \"He needed to lean on people too, kid. It's alright.\" he sighed. \"But he was so strong...and I'm not...\" Chopper whimpered. Dimentime scoffed. \"I was never strong. That was the tailband doing the work... I see you have your own there.\" he pointed out. Chopper glanced at it. \"It's not magic like yours...\" he said, \"The original is gone.\" Dimentime patted the kid's head. He felt odd about it, but not in a bad way. \"C'mon, kid. Everything's gonna be okay. You'll see. I'll whip ya into shape!\" he grinned. Chopper smiled at him. \"Thanks...gramps!\" he said, making Dimentime stumble in his seat. \"...Call me Dad or Dimentime, please...\" he grumbled. Chopper nodded. \"Dimentime... okay.\" he sighed.\n\nDimentime continued to look over the news reports for a bit, and he reached a conclusion. \"There's no record of Sonic or Eggman dying! That'd be all over the news, wouldn't it?\" he stated. Several of the kids were sitting around Dimentime at this point, hoping he'd arrive at a hopeful conclusion, but the oldest in the room spoke up first, a hedgehog that looked remarkably similar to Silver. \"Everyone knows where Eggman is. He's in Eggmanland.\" the hedgehog stated. Dimentime squinted at him. \"Silver?\" he muttered. \"Who? My name's Venice. I'm the oldest here... I fled Soleanna when GUN took it over, and found these kids. Lara-Su stays in charge because I don't know the lay of the land.\" he stated. Lara-Su had entered the room at this point, along with Punchy's obvious daughter. \"We need to plan our next move. Aurora and I will coordinate the next attack.\" she said, motioning to the echidna beside her. Dimentime knelt on his staff as he stood up. \"No. We're going to Eggmanland.\" he said firmly. Everyone stared at him, and Juice chuckled awkwardly. \"That old turn of the century humor! Eggmanland! ...You're not serious!\" he stammered. Dimentime looked quite serious. \"It's as good a place to start as any. Your way isn't working. Eggman might have Sonic hostage. He might know something. Hell, Eggman might turn out to be an ally!\" he suggested, earning scoffs from all over the room. Lara-Su didn't scoff, though. \"Okay. You're the expert sent by the Time Stones. Aurora's in charge until I get back... IF I get back.\" she stated, \"I will be back. Starr's coming with us.\" A purple creature with pink hair sat up from the crowd. The star on her shirt seemed to suggest she was Starr. Dimentime stared at her. She was a morph. \"No way... Kosmo?!\" he babbled. \"Dead. I'm his offspring.\" Starr winked. Lara gathered Skye and Juice to join the mission as well. \"We'll keep our group small, just in case this is a suicide mission...\" she stated. Chopper stood up and raised his hand. \"I want to volunteer to go!\" he said, trying to sound brave. Lara-Su stared at him, and Dimentime shrugged. \"I'll look after him.\" he grumbled. Lara nodded. \"Fine. The rest of you, don't get killed while we're gone!\" she shouted. A male coyote walked up to Chopper, shaking his hand. He was brown furred, wore a red vest, a crescent moon pendant, and had an earring on his left ear. \"Brave of you, going like that. And maaan, I wish I was going with Starr...\" he said, looking wistfully at the morph. Dimentime gagged. \"Err... Thanks, Casey.\" Chopper stated, \"And stop hitting on my girlfriend!\" Hearing that, Dimentime gagged harder. \"Boy, we're gonna have a talk!\" he grunted after he stopped gagging. Before leaving, Casey handed Chopper his pendant. \"Take this with you. It's my lucky charm. It'll keep you safe.\" he said. Chopper shook his head. \"Dude, it's got pictures of your parents! I can't take this!\" he protested. Casey hung it around his neck. \"I want you back safe. You're my best friend.\" he said, \"...Aaaand... I'm hoping the luck will rub off on Starr.\" he smirked. Chopper rolled his eyes. \"Okay, whatever. My best friend wants to steal my girl... in exchange for a pendant! Some trade!\" he joked. Dimentime watched them and found himself smiling. He had to protect these dimwits. He just had to.\n\n\nThe Hopebringer Center for the Criminally Insane was never an honest name for said facility, by any means. This was more true than ever now that GUN had converted it into a literal prison and concentration camp. Richard Gunner arrived by chopper on this day, stepping out wearing a lavish general's uniform, adorned with fancy patches and medals. His right hand was replaced with a large gun of some sort, ironically. Spy hopped out of the chopper behind him, looking older and weary...and balding. \"Damn those freaks! Another transport attacked!! You are an utter failure, Spy!!\" Gunner shouted. \"I wasn't there, sir... As I have to tell you over and over...\" Spy sighed, only to get a gun-hand pointed at his face. \"Saying something?! Keep up! I've had my fill of this petty resistance!\" he snarled, leading Spy into the prison, where animals were busy wailing and screaming from the various tortures GUN had prepared for them. They were headed not for the prison, but for the lab. Dr. Nammad met them, though he was wrinkled and confined to a wheelchair now. \"Ahhh, Richard! Here to check my progress? Well, I have great news! We're all set!\" he said, motioning to a glass pod. Gunner smirked as he looked at it. Inside was Shadow the hedgehog, skinny and unconscious. He'd been in GUN's vicegrip for some time, and had just about given all he had to give the twisted scientist in the wheelchair. \"It, ah, wasn't easy replicating Bucky's power-draining technology... But behold!\" A light went on in the back of the lab, and a multitude more tubes were revealed, showing a multitude of new Shadows resting... waiting to be awakoned! \"Ha ha!! Powers transferred?! And they'll obey my every command?\" Gunner sneered. Nammad grinned proudly. \"Oh, ah, yes... This is my magnum opus. Clones without will... The perfect finale to cap off the science Bucky started. They are almost ready. The remainder of the cloning process is running on automation, as you requested...\" he stated. Gunner beamed. \"And you're the only one that could potentially stop them...\" he said darkly. \"Well... Me or you...\" Nammad muttered, looking pale as it dawned on him, \"Wait, no!!\" he cried, his final words as Gunner incinerated a hole in his chest with his gun-hand. Spy looked at this with a calmness only earned through experience. \"Orders, sir?\" he asked. Gunner cackled softly. \"We kill 'em all...\" he grunted.\n\n\nEggmanland was barred by massive gates, emblazoned with Eggman's corporate logo. \"...What have they got in there, King Kong?\" Juice joked as they waited for Starr to join them. Chopper looked at the pendant he got from Casey intently. \"...You'll get back fine.\" Dimentime promised. Chopper nodded. \"Yeah... Hey, wanna see who Casey's parents are? Maybe you knew them.\" he asked. Dimentime shook his head. \"I know enough. Showing me more dead people just...\" he trailed off, and Chopper understood. \"Yeah... I was gonna ask about my mother, but maybe I shouldn't...\" he sighed. Dimentime glanced at him. \"Oh, go ahead... She's not my wife.\" he muttered. Chopper shrugged. \"That's just it, I was hoping you could tell me about her because I never knew her. She died when I was very little...\" he stated, \"...I don't know who she was...\" Dimentime glanced at him and sighed. \"That makes two of us...\" Soon, the door opened, and a robot resembling Omega met them beyond it. The robot changed shape however, taking the form of Starr. \"Piece of cake!\" she winked. Skye and Chopper clapped for her while Lara crept past the gate carefully. \"How much resistence did you see?\" she asked. \"Ghost town! This'll be fun!\" Starr stated. As they walked in, Dimentime noted that Chopper didn't walk too close to Starr. Rather than have the awkward talk with Chopper, he turned to Skye. \"What's with Chopper and Starr?\" he asked. Skye shrugged. \"Starr's like, the cool girl, because she's one of our MVPs. There's a few guys that want to date her, but no one has the nerve to really try. Rumor is she likes Chopper, but that hasn't made him braver, really.\" Dimentime nodded, then pulled out his staff as giant robots surrounded them! \"Holy cow...!\" Dimentime gasped. It seemed the Egg Pawns were on steroids, and the other classic robots looked pretty souped up as well. It seemed like they were in for the fight of their lives, when a nervous voice called out to stop them. \"Hold iiiit!!\" Char the Chao flew in, ironically having become an angel Chao. \"Interesting look for you!\" Dimentime stated. Char panted as he caught his breath. \"Dimentime! I can't believe you're here! You HAVE to talk to Dr. Eggman! Come, come! Follow me!\" he said, hastily motioning for them to follow as the robots stood at attention. Lara looked stunned. \"This is a first for me...\" she muttered. \"Off to see the wizard!\" Juice chuckled. \"No more TV for you, Juice...\" Skye sighed.\n\nChar led Dimentime in to speak with Eggman, leaving the others in a small room outside Eggman's... control room? It looked like a dirty gamer's lounge, with screens surrounding his Egg Mobile and discarded snack wrappers littering the floor. Dimentime looked around in disgust. \"The great Dr. Eggman... What a slob you've become.\" he muttered. A cough was heard from the Egg Mobile. \"Most robots are too nervous to approach me... I'm prone to hitting their self-destruct buttons just for kicks.\" he grumbled. Juice barged into the room at this point, followed by Lara and Starr. \"Eggman! Give back my dad!\" Juice shouted. \"Not a smart play, Juice! Stand down!\" Lara shouted. The Egg Mobile turned around, revealing an old and miserable-looking Eggman. \"Sonic's son... So, you live. I... I'm glad.\" he coughed, and Char moved to adjust the pillow behind his head. Starr made a face. \"THAT'S the mighty Dr. Eggman?\" she muttered. Eggman sighed. \"Dimentime, I've hoped to see you one day... You can fix my greatest mistake. Siding with Gunner against the rest of the world... I shouldn't have done that. When all is said and done, I helped him kill millions, and all I have to show for it is this meager city... My only remaining comfort.\" he said. Dimentime leaned on his staff and frowned. \"This was the Mystic Ruins. I can tell. Were you the one to kill Tails?\" he asked. Eggman shook his head. \"...I was the one to kill Sonic.\" he proclaimed. Juice was about to leap at him, but Lara held him back. \"Y-you monster!! You lie!! You couldn't ever kill my dad! Never!!\" he shouted as the others stepped in. \"He killed Uncle Sonic!?\" Skye growled. Dimentime turned to the young ones. \"...Give us the room. I have questions for the doctor, and you hotheads are liable to give the old guy a heart attack.\" he told them. Lara nodded, but Juice was enraged. \"I'll make you tell the truth! I'll make you! Get over here!!\" he yelled as Lara and Starr both started to drag him away. Chopper watched awkwardly. \"Poor fella... Hey, wait... Did you kill my dad?\" he asked Eggman. Eggman sighed. \"I take the responsibility. Blame me for it all. I'm used to it...\" he said before Skye and Chopper left Dimentime alone with him.\n\nDimentime looked at him slyly. \"Where's Sonic, doc.\" he asked. Eggman brushed his graying moustache, looking at him with a frown. \"You don't buy my story?\" he asked. Dimentime chuckled. \"I know you better than that. As if you could ever beat Sonic... or tell the whole truth.\" he smirked. Eggman let out a heavy sigh. \"I feel like I killed him... He's dead inside.\" the doctor stated. Dimentime raised an eyebrow. \"So he's alive. Know where he is?\" he asked. Eggman pressed a button to bring up a display on one of his monitors. It showed Tails's old Mystic Ruins workshop, carefully preserved. \"He stays there. You can go, but keep your expectations low. He's even more broken than I am.\" he said, a hint of sadness in his voice, \"The robots will leave you alone for the next hour... Don't hang around.\" he grunted, turning his Egg Mobile around again to illustrate that their conversation was over. Char looked at him with a frown. \"...Things have been pretty grim... Yeah... Good luck, Dimentime.\" he said. The old fox turned and headed for the door, realizing there wasn't a lot of time to get Sonic. \"Eggman gave us an hour to wander. We're going to see Sonic.\" he stated, getting to the point. Juice jumped up excitedly. \"Ha! Told ya! Tooold ya!\" he said, pointing around at everyone. \"Cool it kid. This might not be the win you were hoping for.\" Dimentime stated. \"How could it not be?\" Skye asked, making everyone glance at him, \"Even if Sonic's not in fighting shape, at least Juice has his dad back.\" he stated. Chopper nodded in agreement, and Lara-Su shrugged. \"We'll stay together. If this is a trap, it'll take all of us to escape.\" she said, being a realist about the situation. Dimentime started hobbling on his way, wishing he'd come in as his younger self. \"Come on. We gotta get out of the jungle.... Sorry, I'm used to there being a jungle here.\" he muttered. Starr scratched her head. \"What's a jungle?\" she asked, making Dimentime growl. \"This future sucks.\" Watching them leave through a monitor, Eggman hovered his finger over a red button. Char watched. \"Do you really want to destroy them?\" he asked sadly. Eggman looked contemplative, and took his hand away from the button. \"No... So what do I want?\" he murmured, glancing at Char. He stroked his moustache and sighed. \"How about a Chili Dog? ...For old time's sake...\" he murmured.\n\nThey hurried to Tails's workshop. Dimentime suggested most of the group wait outside, so as not to spook Sonic, in case that was an issue. Juice couldn't be held back, though, and Dimentime decided to bring Chopper along as well to help \"handle\" Juice. When they initially entered, the place seemed empty. A pair of red and white sneakers on the floor were the only sign of Sonic's presence. A shadow moved in the darkness of the workshop. \"...Dad?\" Juice called. Dimentime shushed him. \"...Sonic? This is Dimentime. Come out, you know it's the will of the Time Stones and all that!\" he shouted, getting right to the point. \"Sonic is dead...\" came a voice, robotic clanking stepping the figure toward the light, \"I...am a ghost.\" Sonic stood before them, his legs replaced with robotic replacements, clearly not as fast as his old legs. Chopper looked crestfallen, but Juice only looked mildly sad. \"I'm sorry, dad... But you still got me!\" he said, trying to cheer his father up. Sonic looked slightly angry. \"You shouldn't have come! I-I mean...\" he sighed, his expression softening, \"I'm sorry, son... I failed. I watched them die... Tails... Amy... It broke me. Then my legs... Eggman built me these as a pitiful penance...\" he said, clicking his metallic heels together, \"But it doesn't bring everyone back... It doesn't bring your mom back...\" he said, almost tearing up. Chopper nodded. \"I know what you mean, Sonic... But you're the best qualified to lead us!\" he told him. Sonic shook his head and pointed to Dimentime. \"There's your leader. Tails's smarts with Copter's guts. You don't need me.\" he stated. At this point, Skye walked into the room. \"Kid...\" Dimentime stammered. Skye looked around. \"I... barely remember this place... Dad's workshop...\" he said solumnly, glancing at Sonic, \"Uncle... My sister Melody is sick. She needs help that we can't give her, but with GUN in power, she'll never get that help... We need you. Please... If not for us... do it for my dad.\" he pleaded. Juice nodded. \"Mom would want you to help, too.\" he stated. \"So would my dad!\" Added Lara, standing in the doorway. Sonic looked at the faces of the next generation, and then at Dimentime. \"We don't need your speed. We need the hope you bring.\" he stated. Sonic let out a sigh. \"...I'm not sure how much hope I can offer...\" he muttered. Then, a long-lost smirk began to return to his face. \"But seeing you all here... Maybe they didn't die for nothing. Alright, kids... Let's get to work and show GUN that we won't just lie down and die like the animals they think we are!!\" A cheer followed. Sonic the hedgehog was back!\n\n\nAny celebration was short-lived. Making their return to the Anti-GUN-Force's HQ as quickly as they could, all their hearts sank to find smoke coming from the island. Everyone rushed in search of survivors, Skye dashing into the base with the welfare of his sister paramount on his mind. Chopper clutched Casey's pendant tightly. \"...I shouldn't have taken this from him...\" he choked. \"Superstitious, much?\" Dimentime asked the boy. Sonic found a young divine lying outside the entrance to the base. She had yellow fur, black wings and green ears...and an artificial chaos sword through her chest. \"Oh no... Whisk's kid!\" Dimentime gasped. \"Minnie!!\" Starr wailed, covering her face. The divine was barely breathing. \"I-it was...Shadow... Th-there was... so many of... him...\" she wheezed. \"Don't speak... It's okay...\" Sonic whispered, hoping to console her in her last moments. Minnie was distraught, though. \"P-pepper...\" she gasped before the light left her eyes. The elder mammals glanced at Starr. \"Pepper was her twin sister. I hope she's alright, but then, she'll be crushed...\" Lara was looking around in utter shock, while Skye and Chopper returned from inside with nervous looks. \"A lot of dead, but no Melody anywhere...\" Chopper stated. \"Salma's dead... Jemma's dead...\" Skye murmured in a hollow, grim tone. \"Aurora!? Did you see Aurora!?\" Lara-Su stammered, the carnage rocking her out of her seemingly unshakable composure. Skye shrugged, and Sonic patted her shoulder. \"We'll make sure this kinda thing never happens again...\" he said in a serious tone. The sky suddenly went dark, and everyone looked up nervously. Shadow Arcangel was passing overhead. \"Okay, if Bucky's dead, who is that?\" Dimentime asked, a nervous look on his face. As the ship landed, floating on the ocean just offshore, some people stepped out of the upper exit. First came Aurora. \"...Thank Chaos, you made it...\" she sighed. Lara was quick to run to her and give her a hug. \"Don't scare me like that!\" she cried. Some other survivors were emerging as well, led by Vortex the chameleon, who was wearing a white lab coat and small glasses. \"Yes, yes, it's all very sweet. Now, hurry aboard! We can't stay here!\" he shouted. Dimentime pointed at him in disbelief. \"You're here... you're helping us... and you can talk normal?\" he babbled. Vortex crossed his arms. \"GUN wants us all dead. I'd be a fool not to asssisss... asssisss... urgh... help.\" he groaned. Sonic chuckled softly. \"Some things never change, eh, Copter?\" he said, nudging Dimentime. The old fox grunted. \"Don't get senile on me now, Sonic.\"\n\nThe group hurried aboard the Arcangel, which was luckily massive enough to hold all passengers. Skye was quick to inquire about his sister. \"The girl is stable in the lab.\" Vortex told him, \"We tried to save all we could, but some regrettably gave their lives to cover the escape...\" Sonic and Dimentime looked around, noting that the ship was fairly crowded with passengers. \"You got all the surviving experiments here, don't you?\" Sonic asked. \"Most of them...\" said Spiny the porcupine, who groaned as he passed by, \"I don't believe this! You're alive, and you got your legs robotisized, too!\" he growled, his footsteps clanging as he went. Sonic scratched his head. \"I just don't get that guy...\" he muttered. Dimentime shrugged. \"So what the hell happened?\" he asked. A gray divine approached, obviously Pepper. \"GUN's created an army of Shadow copies. They must've known where our base was, and were only waiting until this army was ready to try and wipe us out...\" she stated. Aurora, who was nearby, gave a nod. \"These aren't androids, either. They have Shadow's powers... It's hopeless...\" she sighed. Juice patted her on the back. \"Hopeless? Hey, look over there. That's my dad, SONIC! Hopeless is gone!\" he grinned. Vortex shook his head. \"No, she's right. This isn't good. Ah, if only Zipp were with us... But he's holding the fort in Holoska.\" Dimentime was scarcely listening. He was watching Chopper talking to Casey and Starr. He returned the pendant, and Casey seemed to be talking him up to the female morph. The three seemed to be good friends. \"Earth to Copter! You with us?\" Sonic asked. \"Copter's dead, Sonic.\" Dimentime grunted, \"We need a plan.\" he sighed. Vortex nodded. \"We got one, but it's not good. We need Experiment 626 to beat the Shadow army. It's the most powerful Experiment I've ever created...\" he stated. Dimentime stared at him. \"How many damn crimes against nature have you and Bucky-- No, don't even tell me. Six hundred is enough to know about!\" he groaned. Lara-Su stood beside Aurora. \"Well, if you'd been paying attention, you'd have heard that 626 is in Gunner's clutches, deep in GUN's stronghold. We'd never get to it.\" she said. \"Not without help from the future!\" Turning around, the group saw Silver the hedgehog enter the room. Venice, who was sitting in the corner, spit out his coffee. \"M-me!?\" he stammered. Silver scratched his head. \"Great Grandpa? Errr, never mind. I brought help!\" he said. Behind him came Capricorn the divine ferret, Ozzie the morph and the Deathbringer! Sonic looked at Vortex smugly. \"You kept them in the back just to show off, didn't you?\" he asked. Vortex shrugged. \"Too bad Dimentime doesn't seem to know them.\" he chuckled. Dimentime shrugged. \"Hey, that reminds me, who was the Doomsayer?\" he asked. The Deathbringer chuckled at him. \"No spoilers... There's no telling if the Time Stones will throw you into the past next.\" she stated.\n\nAs Shadow Arcangel flew the Anti-GUN-Force through the sky towards their destiny, Sonic watched a sad scene play out. Skye approached Pepper and the black cat with light blue hair Dimentime had noticed before. Sonic recognized that black cat's collar as Lucky's, and knew he was Lucky's son. \"I don't know how to say this... but I drew the short straw so I have to...\" Skye said with a sad look. Pepper touched his shoulder. \"I know, Skye... I'll tell him...\" she said, turning to the black cat. \"L-lucky... Minnie, she... She's gone...\" she said, tears in her eyes. Lucky Jr. fell into Pepper's arms, crying. Sonic surmised that they were siblings from how they were acting toward each other. \"Lucky and Whisk... huh...\" he murmured, his expression pained as he watched the young ones mourn their sister. Juice sat next to him, and Sonic let out a sigh. \"This was a mistake... I really can't do this. I'm not good enough anymore...\" he said sadly. Juice took his hand. \"It's okay, dad... You've always been my hero. Just being here for me is enough.\" he smiled. Dimentime and Chopper stepped over as well, obviously having overheard. \"Sonic...\" Dimentime began, \"Don't ever sell yourself short. It's not your speed that makes you a hero to so many. Speed was never more than a tool in your arsenal.\" he held up his staff and pointed it at Sonic's chest, \"Right there... that's where your true strength comes from.\" he said. Chopper nodded. \"Yeah! That upper-body strength! You must still work out, right?\" he grinned. Dimentime rubbed his head in annoyance. \"It's bad enough I have to give a speech like this, do I have to spell it out too? I was pointing at his heart, kid!\" he groaned. Sonic looked at them and couldn't help but chuckle. \"Good speech, Copter... And before you correct me, I think you're worthy to use the name. I think the old one would be honored.\" he said, giving a thumbs up. Lara-Su ran into the room hastily at that moment. \"We're here. Everyone... You need to see this!\" she said, out of breath. Everyone hurried to the control room, where Vortex was looking grimly at what awaited them. GUN's Fortress was guarded by a legion of robots, supplemented by Shadow clones...enough of them to be quite worrisome indeed. And this was just outside. \"We're nuked.\" Casey gulped. \"Hey, obviously we win. How else can my grandson from the future be here?\" Venice stated. Ozzie chuckled softly. \"Yeah, about that... Our survival depends on this mission.\" he said. Silver nodded. \"It takes time for past events to catch up to the future. Some of our meddling with the past... may have led to this in some way... which is why we're still here to help change it. But if we fail, we'll disappear.\" he said gravely. Dimentime sighed. \"We all share the blame... Past and future. It's time for us to fix the present.\" he stated. Sonic nodded and raised his fist into the air. \"Let's do it to it! Juice and jam time!!\" he declared. The kids let out giddy cheers, but Dimentime stared at him. \"You thought juice and jam sounded cool once??\" he asked. Sonic looked at his son. \"Well, obviously, so did someone's mom...\" he chuckled, \"...I haven't always made the best decisions...\" he admitted with an embarrassed face. \"Well... Who am I to talk? ...I'm Copter.\" Dimentime smirked.\n\nAs the Arcangel got as close to the base as it could manage safely, Dimentime held up his staff. \"Alright... No turning back for anyone coming with me...\" he said. Sonic, Lara, Skye and Silver joined him. \"Stay on the ship, Chopper... Survive.\" Dimentime ordered. Sonic looked at Juice as if to say the same thing. However, as Dimentime moved to cast a warping spell, Juice grabbed Chopper and ran them both in to join them! \"No! Stop!\" Sonic shouted before they all vanished from the ship... just in time to avoid being aboard as GUN's anti-air cannons struck it hard! \"We're going to have to land!\" Vortex grunted. \"Figures, right when Sonic leaves!\" Spiny groaned.\n\nDimentime's group emerged inside the GUN Fortress. Sonic was quick to grab Juice by the arm. \"I can't lose you, too! Why are you here!?\" he snapped. Juice pulled his arm back and crossed his arms. \"Did it occur to you that I can't lose you, either? You agree about your dad, right Chopper?\" he asked. Chopper rubbed his head awkwardly. \"My real dad's dead. I thought they had a point...\" Silver started walking, motioning for them to follow. \"It doesn't matter now! We're all here, so we better work together!\" he told them. \"Agreed.\" Lara sighed. Dimentime sighed. \"Keep behind me, Chopper. I'll keep you safe...\" he said. \"Uhhh, it's not safe behind you...\" Skye stammered. GUN robots were approaching from both sides. Lara tossed Sonic a gun. \"If you got no speed, you still need to defend yourself...\" she said. Sonic nodded. \"Not my favorite, but I'll give it a...shot!\" he smirked, making Dimentime roll his eyes. \"Your puns are older than you are...\" he groaned.\n\nOutside, the Anti-GUN-Force rushed out of the Arcangel to meet the enemy head on. Ozzie took Starr's hand as they charged ahead, the pair morphing into giant rhinos to tear through the first robots. They were both knocked aside as the Shadow clones arrived. Morphing back to normal, they quickly found themselves surrounded by Shadows. \"This might be too much even for morphs...\" Ozzie gulped. \"They can't hit me! Hah!\" Starr grinned, only to get smacked by a Chaos Spear. \"You didn't see that.\" she grunted. Capricorn flew up above them, and with a burst of light, caused some of the Shadows to warp away! \"Don't get cocky, but don't give up! The future is in our hands!\" she cried. Lucky Jr., Pepper, Aurora and Casey stood at the exit to Shadow Arcangel. \"Let's do this for Minnie... And the others.\" Aurora stated. Casey nodded, holding his pendant. \"For our parents, too.\" he sighed. Pepper flapped her wings and smirked. \"Well, I'm ready to die, how about you guys?\" Lucky Jr. shook his head and extended his hand. In a flash of light, a magic blade appeared... shaped like a key. \"I'm ready to live. Let's do it to it!\" he smiled.\n\nSonic and the others fought their way through the fortress, Skye navigating with a map procured by Vortex. Soon, they arrived at their destination: the vault. This was where GUN's weapons were kept, and where Experiment 626 was being held. Upon arriving, they found Gunner, who immediately fired his gun arm at Sonic, only for Silver to catch the shot with his powers and toss it aside! \"Hmph... Sonic the hedgehog... Alive. That's perfect. I'll have the pleasure of killing you myself!\" Gunner sneered. Juice chuckled. \"You and what army?\" he taunted. \"Yeah! We've got you cornered!\" Chopper added. Gunner pointed his gun arm at Chopper's head. \"Do you?\" he sneered. This did it. Dimentime charged forward, firing a bolt from his wand to knock Gunner's arm aside! \"Threaten my boy!? I'll kill ya once and for all, Gunner!!\" he roared. Gunner smirked at him. \"No, Guard will finish you, instead!\" At his word, a huge mechanical beast shaped like a gargoyle fell from above, slashing its broad scythe across Dimentime's chest! The beast then kicked him across the room, and Chopper hurried to his side. \"N-nooo!! D-dad!! Not again!!\" he cried, holding the bleeding Dimentime in his arms. The rest of the group stood ready to fight. \"Guard was executed for treason after killing the President... But I never throw away a good soldier. Dr. Nammad rebuilt him, without the pesky shreds of free will he tried to cling to before. He's the perfect soldier now...\" he said coldly. \"As in, no humanity.\" Lara-Su spat. Gunner glared at the animals. \"H-humanity? Humanity!? What would a bunch of FURRY FREAKS know about humanity!? YOU'RE NOT HUMAN!!\" he roared. Sonic growled at him. \"Maybe, but we've got more heart and goodness inside of us than you've ever shown! I'm pretty convinced you're the freak around here, Gunner!\" he shouted. Gunner snarled at them, but then grinned as a couple Shadow clones warped in beside him. \"Alright, hedgehog... Let's see what that heart of yours looks like. I'll have it pulled out of your pitiful chest!\" he sneered with an almost demonic scowl!\n\nOutside, the battle with GUN's forces continued. Everyone had to join the fight, including Vortex, Spiny, Argyle, and of course the Deathbringer, who was a particular asset in bringing down the larger GUN machines, but the Shadow clones were too quick even for her. Still, the valiant battling didn't go unnoticed by lookers-on. Firstly, there was the janitor, mopping up just outside the entrance to the GUN Fortress...for some reason. He wore an alligator suit, so there was that. \"Every time the Nazis win, Gator ends up a janitor...\" he grumbled, stopping to watch the battle. \"Hmm... Waaait... Rebels don't fight Nazis. That's World War 2 soldiers... Why, you guys aren't the Nazis at all! Gator's not afraid of you without Hitler!! Banzaaaai!!\" the kooky janitor shouted, charging into the battle with his mop. Some GUN soldiers beyond the door peeked their heads out, watching him. \"...Can he do that?\" one of the soldiers asked. The next shrugged. \"I got nothing against furs. That was always Gunner.\" he said. \"My best friend was a cat before Gunner showed up!\" another growled. The soldiers exchanged nods, and together they ran outside and began shooting robots! Spiny scratched his head as he watched them. \"They're nuts! They'll be killed!\" he stammered. Not before him, though, as a Shadow clone appeared behind him and stabbed him through the chest with an artificial Chaos Sword. \"Ughh!! Cruel irony... Quick, say something original... Urk!!\" he collapsed before he could finish his thought, but Vortex was quick to fire a beam of Chaos Energy in an attempt to avenge him. \"Blast!! No! Not another brother!!\" he growled. Even with some agents turning to their side, it didn't look good with the Shadow clones, as the one with the sword easily evaded Vortex's shot. Then, however, a missile came roaring towards it...a familiar smiling symbol on its side. Finally, a Shadow clone was blown to pieces in a fiery explosion. Looking to the source of the missile, Vortex and the others were shocked to see who was coming. It was Dr. Eggman! \"Too long has the name of Eggman symbolized the destruction of this world!! If it's the last thing I do, I'm going to set things right! Ho ho ho ho ho!!\" the doctor laughed from his Egg Mobile. He was accompanied by a few robots, and also some more reinforcements led by Zipp the hornet, who's tattered leather jacket was covered in gun holsters, ammo reload packs, and knife sheaths. He was certainly packin' heat for the apocalypse. \"Let's light 'em up!!\" he smirked, cocking a rifle.\n\nSilver, Lara and Skye were busy distracting the Shadow guards, while Sonic stood between the mechanized Guard and Dimentime. \"You two...always fighting. Well, break it up! Guard... you in there?\" Sonic called. The gargoyle let out a crazed snarl. If anything was left of the old Guard, it was buried deep inside. At this moment, Spy came running into the room, out of breath. \"Sar--Col--Lord Gunner!! Our human troops are defecting! They're joining the rebels against us... and more insurgents are storming our fortress by the moment!\" he shouted, panicked. Gunner snarled, pointed his gun arm at Spy, and fired, his most loyal minion dropping dead while he looked on like it was mere stress relief. \"Report received... I have no idea why I didn't blast him years ago...\" he grumbled, and then started shooting at Juice and Chopper with a maniacal laugh! As the young ones fled out of the way, Sonic looked on in shock. \"No wonder his troops are ditching him... He's lost what little mind he had...\" he stammered. Taking advantage of his distraction, Guard shoved Sonic aside and neared Dimentime. \"Graaah!! I win, Copter!!\" he snarled, raising his scythe. Dimentime pointed up his staff. \"...Got you first... Oblastion!!\" he called, his staff glowing red before a terrible explosion erupted from the spot Guard stood, sending mechanical pieces of gargoyle flying across the room as Gunner's other loyal henchman died out. Sonic, Juice and Chopper ran to Dimentime's side while Gunner stared in shocked awe. Dimentime coughed, the slash he'd endured causing him to fade fast. \"S-sonic... You have to end this... Please... For everyone... For time itself... This is why the Time Stones sent me... to bring you here...And to give you one last chance...\" he said, raising his staff one last time. Chopper couldn't hold back the tears as he watched the staff melt away, revealing Gemini's wand. \"D-dad... No...\" he sniffled. Dimentime smiled at his son. \"Copter would be... IS... proud of you...\" he said before casting a spell, \"Discovereva!!\" With that, a bright light was flung from the wand and went into the vault, shining over a pod containing a small creature. It was a Wisp... a dark blue one, its tendrils shaped oddly like an X. Skye jumped away from the Shadows and gasped. \"Th-that's Experiment 626!!\" he cried. It was then that Dimentime's body went limp, and Chopper collapsed beside him in tears. Copter the fox had made his final act. Experiment 2 was dead, having paved the way for Experiment 626.\n\nGunner cackled. \"You think you children are a match for me? I'm the man who conquered the world!!\" he shouted, and as he did, more Shadow guards warped into the room, surrounding the young ones, Sonic and Silver! They brandished swords, shooting Chaos Spears from the blades to stun their targets. Gunner laughed triumphantly, but Sonic stood up. \"...I can't give up... Feet, don't fail me... I can't let these kids down!\" he grunted. Sonic then broke into a run, pushing his robotic legs with all the strength he could muster. Gunner fired shots at him, but he simply sped up, outrunning them as his metal legs heated up... He could feel the ground beneath him getting unsteady as he went into the vault. His legs were breaking up. \"I have...to make it!!\" he growled, pushing himself to keep going as Gunner fired another shot straight for him! Sonic's legs cracked to pieces, and the hedgehog toppled to the floor before the shot could hit him. Instead, the shot shattered the glass of the capsule containing Experiment 626. Sonic laid on the ground, nothing but broken stubs remaining of his legs. He rolled himself onto his back and looked up to see Gunner, smirking and cackling. \"So close, Sonic... Look how the mighty have fallen. You're nothing without your legs... just a pitiful cripple! Ha ha ha ha!\" he laughed with a dark grin, heading into the crowd to grab Sonic's son. Chopper tried to stop him, but the Shadows pushed him back. \"Y-you bastard!!\" the fox shouted. \"You'll never destroy the resistance, Gunner... People will always fight you. Your own soldiers are fighting you.\" Lara-Su said defiantly. Gunner sneered. \"That will stop once examples have been made... Putting your heads on display should do it.\" he grinned, pointing his gun arm at Juice. \"Now let's see... Should your son learn what it's like to be a cripple like daddy, first?\" he asked, pointing at the hedgehog's legs. \"Bite me, Gunner!\" Juice spat. Gunner pointed his arm at the child's head. \"Then again, I do enjoy watching the light leave a FREAK's eyes!!\" he snarled. Sonic grabbed the edge of the capsule, his fingers bleeding as they were cut on the glass, but he had to get up. \"G-gunner... I've never said this before... But I'll kill you.\" he growled. \"Oh, will you!?\" Gunner laughed, \"Good luck! First I'm going to kill your wretched spawn. Just watch me...\" he said darkly.\n\nSonic looked to 626, and the alien experiment seemed to nod. The creature flew into Sonic's body, and he rose into the air, glowing with a brilliant orange light! \"ChaosBolt!!\" The Wisp-voice caught Gunner off guard, and he turned with alarm to see a blazing, spiky bolt of Chaos energy where Sonic once stood. Before Gunner could act, or even speak, the bolt went searing through the room, arcing towards the Shadow clones! They tried to Chaos Control away, but the bolt was drawn to the very Chaos energy they would use to warp, and once the bolt struck, each clone disintegrated into a pile of ash! \"Whoa... Dad! Badass!\" Juice gasped. Hearing the kid, Gunner went to shoot him anyway, but howled in pain instead as the bolt arced past his gun arm, shattering it to pieces and dropping him to his knees to clutch his stub of an arm! Once the clones inside were gone, Sonic stormed outside, his Chaosbolt homing in on each Shadow clone, including a trio that had Gator pinned down and were frustratedly stabbing him, wondering why he wouldn't die. Gator sat up a second later, covered in ash. \"I did iiiit...\" he coughed, raising his arms in victory. As the Shadow clones were dying off, the Deathbringer changed her course, heading for the GUN Fortress. Inside, Gunner held a remote that he had in his pocket. \"So, I die. I'm 78 years old, I'd say I had a good run...\" he smirked. \"Waiiit... You're 78? You looked that old 20 years ago!\" Silver stammered, \"You were only in your 50s??\" Gunner's grin turned to a scowl as he clutched his remote. \"I press this button, we all go out in a blaze of fire. Maybe with the munitions in this base, the explosion will manage to take out Sonic and your friends, too!\" he cackled. The group moved forward, hoping to stop him. Instead, however, a blast came from the hole in the wall Sonic's Chaosbolt had left, piercing Gunner's chest!! The Deathbringer flew in, pulling off her hood to give Gunner a final shock. It was the original Deathbringer, Hope the Raven! \"That...was for Dr. Buck Stein!\" she said. Gunner tried to press his remote anyway before he faded, but Chopper had run over with one of the dropped artificial Chaos Swords from the Shadow clones, and sliced his arm! Diving to catch the remote safely was Juice, who barely made it in time to keep the remote from triggering by hitting the floor! \"Wheeew... I gotta go faster...\" he chuckled. Lara-Su, Skye, and the others began to clap for them, and cheers were heard coming from outside as GUN's remaining forces fell. Sonic landed outside and released 626. \"Thanks, little guy. We made a good team!\" Sonic smiled, sitting on the floor until Casey and Aurora came to help him up. 626 looked a bit sad. \"...I have seen much pain... Much death... Perhaps this world will be rebuilt...and know peace... But for me, I cannot bear the memory of what I have seen... I will seek a new world, beyond the stars...\" With that sorrowful speech spoken in a soft voice, 626 flew up into the sky and off into space, never to be seen on Earth again.\n\nIn the weeks that followed, news of GUN's defeat spread. Survivors of GUN's regime began to emerge. Parents began to reunite with their children, if they had lived to see the reunion. Skye and Dr. Eggman collaborated to build Sonic a new set of legs, so he could personally turn up at the President's house...to decline the honor of leading the nation. \"I've got a better President in mind for the job...\" he told a gathering of surviving officials, and led Lara-Su into the room. \"She's young, but she's led a ragtag group of freedom fighters to victory over Gunner. I can't think of anyone better for the job!\" he smiled. Lara blushed at the complements. \"I don't know what to say, Sonic...\" she stammered. Sonic winked. \"Say you'll do it. Make your dad proud. He guarded an island. You, you'll guard a nation.\" he smiled.\n\nWith access to medical care, Skye's sister Melody recovered, and was with him and the others when Lara-Su was sworn in as the United Federation's new president. Chopper stood with them, hand in hand with Starr, and Casey was there holding hands with Pepper. Sonic sat with the rescued Shadow, the real Shadow, who had promised to act as Lara-Su's bodyguard in penance for what he'd allowed to happen. This ceremony was well and good, but there was one more important to most in attendance that came after.\n\nReturning to the island where Darkegg Fortress once stood, a funeral was held for a dear friend. Two friends, actually, as they were finally giving a related long-overdue funeral. The grave stones each read \"Experiment 2.\" One with the epitath \"Beloved friend and father,\" the other simply \"Dimentime.\" Vortex and Zipp were there, along with Sonic, Eggman, Hope, and a number of the kids, most notably Juice, Aurora, Starr, Skye, Casey, Lara-Su, and Chopper. Hope gave a brief speech. \"Our first son, Buck's and mine... We never got to share the same time. Funny... He had the Time Stones behind him. We'll never quite know how or why... But they gave us two of him. Each loved us in their own way. They were never wholly sure of their purpose... But our Arthur Prower was always there, lighting the darkness from within the darkness... Our dark angel...\" she said with a small smile. Chopper rested Dimentime's tailband on his father's grave. \"Sleep well, dad... You're with mom and grandpa Bucky now...\" he sniffled. Sonic brought Gemini's wand and set it on Dimentime's grave. \"She meant the world to you... I wonder if she made it safely to her own time... I hope so.\" he whispered. Chopper glanced at him. \"She...? Was... Did you know my mother?\" he asked. Sonic shrugged. \"Probably. Copter and I weren't exactly close... He was jealous of me, I think.\" Sonic said sheepishly, \"...Maybe she was your mother. But I couldn't say. I wish Copter and I had gotten along better...\" he sighed. Chopper and Juice each took one of his hands. \"It's okay, dad.\" Juice smiled. \"He trusted you enough to save his son...me. I'm sure he respected you more than you know.\" Chopper stated, drying a tear.\n\nThe future was saved for a new generation. The legacy left by Sonic and Copter would be a good one from here, Sonic would see to that. His high speed adventures were over... The only adventure left, was to watch the children of him and his friends grow up...\n\nFin\n\n\nSonic GeneX - The Series: Countdown to Doomsday\nMini Episode - Prologue: Aftermath Pt. 1\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nChief Paynson sat across from Razor the Porcupine in the police interrogation room. His droopy moustache was looking droopier than usual. \"Where have you been?\" the chief asked. Razor folded his hands on the desk and wore a sheepish expression. \"I'm a bit fuzzy on that myself. I remember Eggman taking over the world... I remember battling his army... Then, I was shot. I... died.\" he murmured. Paynson looked at him incredulously, but Ridley the Coati leaned down next to him and muttered in his ear. \"Uhh, it's not that crazy, chief. Reports say Sally Acorn died, too, yet she's back at home, safe and sound.\" Paynson scratched his head. \"Hm... Well, Ridley's report indicates your actions these past months were not your own. In light of that, and your apprehension of the fugitive hyena, I am willing to brush it all under the rug and welcome our finest officer back to active duty.\" he offered. Razor nodded. \"Thanks, chief. I would like to come back as soon as I'm ready... but I've got some missing time to fill in, and that'll take more than a quick recap.\" he sighed. Paynson shrugged. \"Try the quick recap anyway, would you, Ridley?\" he asked. Ridley chuckled. \"Ahh, well... Fera turned good and helped beat Eggman. Rebuilding the world started. Gemini went to the past to stop the Lost Ones from being created for...reasons. Guard and Bucky were out searching for the missing Robians from when Eggman took over, including Crash and Mia. Robians are Mobians-turned-robot, if you're wondering. Gemini failed to stop the birth of the Lost Ones in the past and learned that they were even in cahoots with the Zodiac Council that was controlling you, Sally, and a bunch of others. So, we got Sonic and Tails and attacked their freaky space base in some place outside time, which blew up and caused the Zodiacs to lose their powers. And Cancer the Vulture died. I think Sonic and them chased the snake-dude to another dimension and ended up beating him somehow. Copter convinced Gemini to start training the holders of the Chaos Relics, and your first order of business was arresting Eddie who isn't Scorpio no more.\" Ridley summed up, speaking fast. Razor and Paynson stared at him. \"Take as much time as you need, Razor...\" Paynson muttered. Ridley gasped. \"Oh! And you missed Punchy and Rainbow's wedding! Fera went nuts again and chopped off Gunner's arm!\" he added. Razor rubbed his head. \"I owe you big for looking after Tommy... What a year...\" he sighed.\n\n\nFera the wolf was now hearing the voice of Howler, the former leader of the Covenant of Despair, through the power of her Despair Seal. Somehow, it was letting him speak to her from beyond the grave, and he was seeing to her retraining in the ways of dark magic. She walked with her eye shut, only his voice to guide her. \"Breathe slowly... Your senses are consumed with your task, and only your task. You must purge all weakness. You do not feel despair...you wreak it upon those who oppose you.\" Howler whispered as Fera stepped deliberately, avoiding any debris in her path as though she could see it. She was near the place where the Resistance prevailed; EggmanEmpire Fortress. Or, what remained of it. As she stepped, she heard a stirring in the ground. Wrapped hands burst through the earth. Black mummies were rising, their moans familiar to her. Fera stood ready for battle, her eye still shut. \"Darkness is yours... Death cannot harm you!\" Howler sneered. Fera held out her hands, holding one palm over the other. Violet flames emerged from her palms, seemingly hers to hold and command. \"I do not fear death!\" she scoffed, leaping into action and hurling dark flames at each mummy with shocking accuracy, burning them and causing their corpses to drop, moaning as the fire overcame their will to move! Fera heard a clapping, and opened her eye to look, seeing Anubis approaching her. One of his ears was bent, and his body seemed a bit scratched up, but he had survived his fall down the chasm from months ago. \"You have returned, Fera... I feel the darkness from you.\" he smirked. Fera nodded, placing a hand upon her heart. \"The light has a hold on me still, but I hear him... our Darkseeker... He left a bit of himself in this Despair Seal. Together, we can rebuild.\" she stated. Anubis nodded. \"Despair can rise again...and should that foul Infinite show his mask again, we will be ready, our power crushing him and showing him why...why I was chosen, and the other jackals were cast out!\" he sneered, fire burning around him to show his conviction. Fera nodded. \"Good...because the Darkseeker wants you to find our friends. Gather them back. It's time to return to our purpose...\" Fera grinned.\n\n\nIt was the very same night after the defeat of the Zodiac Council, and the sealing away of Ophiuchus. Astra the fennec, who had been found alive and well in a cell within Zodiac Station, and used a spell from Gemini's wand to restore her own youth and vigor, now had some explaining to do. Since Rainbow wasn't using it during her honeymoon, her house in the newly restored Hidden Ruins would suffice as a place to talk things over. Copter, Gemini, Libra and Timothy sat around a table as Astra stood nearby. \"So... You created the Zodiac Council?\" Copter muttered. \"She said that like three times now, Copter, keep up!\" Libra groaned. Astra nodded. \"I know it's tough to wrap your head around. I was a student of Divine magic even before joining Rex and his group. I learned from the Divines themselves... ordinarily they are distrusting of outsiders, but they found me as an infant after my mother had been killed by bandits, leaving me alone. They decided to take me in...only until I came of age.\" she said with a wistful sigh, \"At any rate, after Rex fell to darkness, I didn't want to give up on protecting the world like Bard did. I gathered new allies, and formed the Zodiac Council. We couldn't use the Creation Relics, so...I fashioned new powers for them, creating the Zodiac Station to share my own magic amongst them.\" she explained. \"You must be insanely powerful!\" Timothy gasped. \"Not so much now. Ophiuchus had separated most of my power from me and made the Station self-sustaining. Now that it's gone, I'm just an old lady with a fair bit of knowledge...\" Astra frowned. Copter rubbed his head. \"Magic isn't fair. You can do whatever you want. Yeesh. Even steal other people's magic. Chaos...\" he muttered. Gemini nodded. \"So, we've established that Ophi betrayed you... Probably a long time ago, too. How about this whole Creation Relic thing?\" she asked. Astra nodded. \"Only a few of us close to Radia knew they were called Creation Relics. They don't harness power from Chaos. It's creation energy itself... It flows through all life.\" she stated. Copter slapped his forehead. \"Gah! It's literally GeneX energy! ...Sometimes I pay attention when Bucky talks.\" he mumbled. Gemini nodded. \"Yes, Copter, that stupid name your creator came up with ties back to the Relics. Not incredibly relevant but way to pay attention.\" she noted. Astra chuckled at the interaction between the two. \"Well, anyway... When you know the Relics harness creation energy, it becomes easier to take control of their true powers.\" she stated. Gemini looked around and sighed. \"And you want me to train people to use them? I've never even held a Chaos... Creation Relic.\" she babbled. \"No, stick with Chaos. We are NOT changing their names again. Sorry, Astra.\" Copter insisted.\n\nSuddenly, out of nowhere, Lospecter floated into the room! \"Hello, kiddies! And may I just applaud you all for getting rid of that snake-headed time lord? Now the Lost Ones are free to pop in and wreak mayhem as they please!\" he chuckled. Gemini and Timothy both aimed their wands at him, and he yawned in a bored fashion. \"I just popped in to tell you all that past-Ophiuchus is popping in to see how his plan went. He'll wanna talk to Gemini. If he sees any of the rest of you, he'll probably suspect things went awry and decide to fiddle with history. That'd suck for all of us. Convince him he wins, and his timeline stays intact!\" Lospecter said, floating out of sight. They all looked to Astra. \"I'd do what he says. Zodiac Station runs on a different time axis. For a past version of Ophiuchus, it still exists, and he still has power!\" she warned. Timothy ran to Libra and grabbed her hand. \"Cleviso!\" he cast, turning them both invisible! \"Darn, I miss my tailband, it could do that, too!\" Copter said, rushing out of the room with Astra in a hurry. Gemini gulped and looked to see Ophiuchus soon enter from the other side of the room. \"Here you are...\" he sneered. \"O-ophi... Wh-why are you here?\" Gemini stammered, looking nervous. Ophiuchus glanced at her. \"You aren't in my power... My plans have gone awry, haven't they? Tell me what's happened.\" he ordered. Gemini backed up a step. \"Y-you monster... You may not have dragged me off with you, but you got what you wanted! You're off ruling some other world...while the council is basically dead. You decided sharing was overrated, I guess.\" she snapped, clenching her fists. Ophiuchus was looking her straight in the eye. \"Hmmm... I'm an excellent judge of whether or not... Someone is telling me the truth. I believe you...so what's stopping you from chasing me through time to change your fate?\" he growled, stepping closer to her. \"You... You have...\" she hesitated, unsure what would convince him, \"C-copter... You'll kill him if I try to stop you!\" she sniffled. Ophiuchus grabbed her chin and stared her in the face. \"Hmm... Chin up. You're free to live out the rest of your life as you see fit. Just don't ever cross my timeline again...\" he warned, turning away from her. \"Chronokadabra!\" he called, stepping through a time portal and leaving. Copter, Astra, Libra and Timothy appeared moments later. \"Man, that was intense! What'd you tell him?\" Copter asked. Gemini crossed her arms and looked at the ground. \"Only the truth...\" she murmured. \"He's ruling over a world...of nothing. The council is dead...or Cancer, anyway.\" she sighed. Libra nodded. \"I guess we gotta be careful about running into past versions of him if we ever time travel again, huh?\" she said nervously. Astra nodded, and Gemini wiped her eyes. \"In the morning, let's get in touch with Tails and Knuckles. We gotta train those Relic holders... The Lost Ones are still out there!\"\n\n\nMini Episode - Prologue: Aftermath Pt. 2\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nRazor found himself in a sort of former Zodiac Council support group set up by Capricorn. It was a few months after the defeat of the Zodiac Council, and the former members honestly hadn't made much progress reintegrating into society. \"All right, who wants to share next?\" Capricorn asked. \"Oh! Me! Ahem... Taurus, former Zodiac... It's been, uhh... Two weeks since my last drink...\" he mumbled. \"This isn't AA!\" Pisces snapped. \"Wait your turn!\" Aquarius grunted. Razor raised his hand. \"Yes, Sagittarius?\" Taurus asked. \"Name's still Razor... Anyone make any progress finding their original names besides me?\" he asked. Capricorn shrugged. \"For many of us, the past doesn't matter.\" she stated. Libra was also sitting in on this group. \"Not to mention, there's no telling what time some of us even originated from in the first place...\" she stated. Razor sighed. \"The past is very important to me... I can't get over how easily I was brainwashed... The things that Ophiuchus made me do...to my friends...my family...\" he sighed. Everyone blinked. Taurus then cleared his throat. \"So, as I was saying...\" Rather than listen to this anymore, Razor got up and walked out of the meeting. \"This is useless... There's gotta be a way past this...\" he muttered. As he stepped outside, he heard a whoosh, and Guard the Gargoyle landed in front of him! \"Grrr... Are you done feeling sorry for yourself yet?\" he grunted. Razor stared at him. \"Are you gettin' smart with me? Guard is gettin' smart with me!\" he shouted, waving his arms in surprise. Guard smirked. \"Things change while you're brainwashed. But it's been a year, and Mia is still missing. Grrr... I'm gathering those who would help save our friends. Will you join us, or did Zodiac break you?\" he grunted. Razor looked at him and crossed his arms. \"I still haven't joined active duty... Guess I'm a vigilante on this...\" he smirked. \"Or I could deputize you.\" Guard grinned. \"You're no fun. Besides, Gunner doesn't know you're doing this, does he?\" he teased. Guard growled softly. \"...We're vigilantes, then. Rrrr...\" he winked.\n\n\nFera was busy meditating, sitting cross-legged in the burned-out remains of Hollow Manor. No one would bother her there. No one, that is, except Felicia. \"You can...try to suppress me all you want... I fought off Infinite and Eggman's forces, I won't yield to the likes of you!\" her defiant voice rang in her mind. \"She is more resilient than I ever imagined...\" Fera murmured, her eye shut tight as she tried to concentrate. \"We will burn her out. Purge her from your being. Despair needs only Fera... This Felicia is a nuisance...\" Howler said in her mind. Fera growled, dark energy surrounding her form. Felicia groaned in her mind, struggling to maintain herself. \"You can't fight forever, child...\" Howler sneered. A fourth voice broke Fera's concentration. \"My, how many you got rattling in that head, dearie?\" Opening her eye, Fera saw a real witch. It was Tabitha, who hadn't been spotted since the Tournament of Chaos. \"Who dares interrupt me? I warn you, don't trifle with this wolf!\" she snarled. Tabitha smirked. \"I like your spirit. I was drawn to that glorious darkness you are weilding... Darkness is my ally, too.\" she said, holding out her hand, from which a burst of green flame emerged, which she held just to show a sample of what she can do. \"...And what are your goals, dark feline?\" Fera asked, remaining in her cross-legged pose. \"Amassing power, primarily...\" Tabitha smirked, \"Controlling hearts and minds, using sorcery to remain youthful and full of life forever, all good goals...\" she stated. \"She lacks focus... We can offer her a path.\" Howler said in Fera's mind. The wolf nodded. \"You're a witch, hmm... Part of a coven?\" she asked. Tabitha grinned. \"I had a thought you might ask that. What do you offer?\" she asked. Fera smiled wide. \"...Power...\" she replied simply. The new Covenant of Despair would indeed have power... Fera and Howler would see to it!\n\n\nWithin the Hidden Ruins, now known as Raisol Sanctuary in its restored state, training had begun. Tails and Blaze had shown up with the Chaos Tailbands and Chaos Crown, respectively. Marine had joined them as well, if only just to watch. Timothy sat beside her while Copter, Gemini and Astra stood ready to instruct the trainees, all of them outside the underground buildings and instead in the streets of the underground city proper. \"Do a good job, Tails! Your girlfriend is watching!\" Timothy teased. Tails and Marine both blushed. \"W-we're just friends!\" they both snapped. \"...I don't have time to date right now...\" Tails muttered. \"I'm here to watch Blaze, ya doof!\" Marine said, nudging Timothy. Gemini cleared her throat, looking to Copter and Astra, who gave her encouraging smiles. \"So, ah... As we've said before, the Chaos Relics are actually made from Creation Crystals. Thus, they manipulate creation energy, not Chaos.\" she stated. Blaze shrugged. \"That's a nice clarification, but can you tell me anything more helpful than Illusi? When I try to use the life-growing power of the crown, my flames counteract it and burn it away...\" she stated. \"And how do I channel the energy of the tailbands so that I... don't use TOO much of their power? I don't want the power to get out of control, that's why I don't use the tailbands...\" he muttered. \"And where's Knuckles? Haven't we been trying to get ahold of him?\" Copter added, to which Gemini just began to sweat. \"...Sorry...\" he mumbled. \"Relax, dear.\" Astra told Gemini. The fennec took a breath. \"The place to start is practice. Why don't the two of you show us what you got... Just use one tailband for now, Tails...\" she suggested, stepping away and leaving Copter and Astra with them. \"Gem? You alright?\" Copter wondered, watching her.\n\nShe went into an alley and clutched her chest, breathing hard. \"What was I thinking? I can't answer their questions... I've never used a Chaos Relic...\" she huffed. Copter stepped up behind her. \"Gem... Relax!\" he said a bit too loud, making her jump, \"...sorry again. It's just, it's weird seeing you like this. Even when you don't know what you're doing, you always seem pretty optimistic.\" he said. \"That's a front. As soon as you're not looking, I'm a mess...\" she stammered. \"You can do this, though. Don't think about the science of it. You're a mage!\" he pointed out. She looked at him with a light smile. However, it faded as she saw Lospecter float behind him. \"Look at you two! Stealing kisses in private?\" he teased. Copter spun around and growled. \"What do you want?\" he spat. Lospecter smirked. \"I wanna help you two out. See, you're headed down the same road me and Astra were goin' down when we tried to stop those nasty old Doomlings. Wanna know how the story ends, Hell-Copter? The beautiful fennec... sees the boy for who he really is... and then she dumps him, hard! Right, Astra? Right! Right!?!\" he said, shouting over his shoulder a bit. Copter grabbed Gemini's hand. \"Whatever you're plotting, Lospecter, it won't work! We'll wreck you and your undead pals' plans!\" he warned. Lospecter laughed at him. \"You are so me! So full of yourself! But your tune will change when she sees the real you... And I'll show him to her!\" Pointing the Chaos Key right at Copter's chest, he turned it and laughed, \"Time to unlock your heart...and let out the beast within!!\" he shouted, the Chaos Key glowing and darkness pouring from Copter! \"G-gemini!! Get back!\" Copter shouted, grunting!\n\nIn the next instant, a second fox was standing before Copter. It looked just like him, but with darker black fur, blue chest fur, and blue highlights on his bangs and tail tips. His eyes glowed red briefly, fixed on Copter. \"You... You kept me bottled up...so long! I'll... kill you!\" the dark fox snarled, grabbing Copter by the throat! Lospecter clapped. \"May I introduce Dark Copter at long last! This oughta give you kids something to think about!\" Lospecter cackled. Suddenly, vines grew up and wrapped Dark Copter's legs, and Tails ran up, smacking him with a tailband-powered tail whip! Dark Copter groaned, but broke free as the vines caught fire, and then swiftly tossed Copter into Tails! \"I'll be back for you... I'm going to enjoy my freedom for a bit first!\" Dark Copter snickered, spinning his tails and flying off at high speed! Lospecter followed after him. \"Ta ta, Gemini! Invite me to the wedding, please!\" he cackled. Gemini helped Copter up, while Blaze helped up Tails. \"Strewth! There's another clone of Tails now, what??\" Marine shouted as she arrived. Gemini hugged Copter. \"I'm sorry! He did this to you because he wants to mess with me! He thinks I like you or something, I guess? Weird, where'd he get that idea?\" she said, turning to look at where Dark Copter had gone. \"Y-yeah... Weird...\" Copter said, blushing in Gemini's arms. Suddenly, Punchy sped onto the scene wearing the Chaos Boots. \"What in the name of Tikal?! Copter, are there two of you now?\" he babbled. Astra cleared her throat. \"It seems Spiro has worked out quite a bit of the Chaos Key's abilities already...\" she stated. Punchy tapped his foot with a frown. \"We leave our home in your care, and you guys are doing what with it? No, really, tell me?\" he asked. Behind him, Rainbow was approaching with her sister Violet beside her. They looked somewhat excited. Tails perked up to see that Rainbow was holding a very obvious sort of bundle in her arms. \"R-rainbow... We were wondering why your honeymoon was so long...\" he babbled with a smile and a blush. Looking, everyone gasped and let out \"Awwws\" as they saw. Rainbow was holding a small, green furred echidna baby! \"Hehe... Uhm... Fellas, I want you all to meet Aurora... Our daughter!\" Rainbow said with a blush. Violet giggled. \"I'm an aunt!\" Copter rubbed his head. \"Am I an uncle? Wait... Punchy, you dog!\" he laughed, punching him in the arm. Gemini smiled as well, heading over to join their friends in welcoming this new life. It was good to know that, despite all the danger still ahead...good things could still take root and grow.\n\n\nEpisode 1 - Eggman Returns\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and\nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nSonic sped up the steps to the cliff that proceded Tails' Workshop in the Mystic Ruins. He was a hedgehog on a mission today, and he'd heard this was where the Chaos Relic training group had met today. Sure enough, Tails, Blaze and Punchy were there equipped with their relics. Shade and Knuckles had shown up, too. And to help with training, along with Gemini was Copter, Astra, Timothy and even Illusi! \"I don't think I've ever seen this cliff so crowded!\" Sonic remarked. Knuckles scratched the Chaos Claws against each other with a grouchy look. \"The only way I'd agree to this is if I could keep Angel Island in sight!\" he huffed. \"What a workaholic...\" Timothy sighed. Sonic clapped his hands loudly to get everyone's attention. \"Right! I'm leadin' the charge against Eggman to get our Robian friends back! Who wants to come along!? Tails?\" he asked, figuring he'd rally an army to his cause. Gemini scratched her head, and Illusi sent a Wrongo up to obnoxiously tell Sonic \"No.\" He looked stunned. \"You're all gonna leave me hanging?!\" he babbled. Tails sighed. \"I already promised I'd train today. And, uh... I don't trust all these guys around my workshop by themselves...\" he whispered. \"This is about me, isn't it?\" Copter grumbled. \"I can't run off to battle willy-nilly, Sonic. I've got my daughter to think about now.\" Punchy sighed. \"Say what??\" Sonic gasped. \"Sorry... I'm sure you'll be fine without us. It's just...their training has barely begun...\" Gemini stated. Copter shrugged and pulled the Hurricane remote out of his pocket. \"Don't say I never gave you anything, Sonic. Yo, Hoover! Lend Sonic the plane! Or you're out on the curb!\" he said through the remote's communicator. \"Yer kiddin' me! You wanna use Eggman's plane agin' Eggman! That's a dirty trick, dagnabit!\" Hoover complained, \"Graaah, fine, but he better not scratch 'er up!\" Sonic shrugged after listening to this. \"Well, it's something. Don't worry about me, either. We got Bucky and Guard and Team Chaotix. We're good. I just trust you guys a lot more than Bucky is all...\" he chuckled softly. Illusi shrugged. \"Your interests are aligned. You have no reason to fear anything from Bucky.\" he said. \"He did build the machine that took Sonic's speed a couple years back...\" Copter shrugged. \"Boy, I've missed a lot here...\" Blaze murmured, \"I need a pen pal in this world or something...\" Sonic chuckled and started to speed on his way. \"Happy training, guys! See ya later!\" he smirked as he zoomed off!\n\nEach of the students found themselves with their own teacher as training began. As much as Gemini would like to train them herself, she just didn't feel like she could handle it. Since Astra once held a Chaos Tailband herself, she saw to Tails' training. \"Remember, it's not Chaos, but Creation energy. When you know that, you can think about how to focus better. Let the life force flow around you...through you...and feel it in your tail.\" she said, watching the tail that was wearing a band sway back and forth as Tails sat cross-legged. He blushed in embarrasment at how she was watching him in this silly meditative position. \"I-I'm trying... Ahh, I wish you wouldn't stare at my tails...\" he babbled. He took a deep breath, and as he focused, he suddenly vanished from view! \"I'm not staring, Tails...I can't see you.\" Astra smiled. Tails looked around, and then at his hand. \"Yaaah!! Where'd I go!?\" he gasped, breaking his focus and turning visible again! \"That's a good start. You might have been destined for the tailbands after all.\" Astra smiled as Tails chuckled softly, a bit proud of himself. \"Show off...\" Copter muttered, watching. Meanwhile, Gemini was trying to work with Shade. Her magic had crafted dummy targets for Shade to attack with the Chaos Gauntlets. Punching the air in the direction of these dummies, glass replicas of Eggman's robots, Shade fired energy blasts from her fists at them which easily shattered each target. \"I seem to have these things pretty well figured out. Why couldn't I go with Sonic?\" she grumbled. Gemini's ears drooped. \"Ahh... Sorry... But no one through history has ever fully mastered the Chaos Relics, as far as we know. The untapped power you're carrying could be dangerous if we don't understand it.\" she explained weakly. Shade crossed her arms. \"Why don't you just hold up a sign that says 'I have no clue what I'm doing?'\" she huffed. \"That's fair...\" Gemini sighed, and then used her magic to form replicas of buzzbombers. \"How about we try you on moving targets, then?\" she asked. Meanwhile, Copter had gone to coach Knuckles. \"Okay, Red, I had a tailband glued to my tail for years so listen up!\" he began. \"Oh, so you think you're better than me?! Then tell me how to remove these claws, smart guy!\" Knuckles retorted. Copter rolled his eyes. \"Maybe they're stuck on your hands because you haven't figured out how to control them, so maybe you should PAY ATTENTION!\" he snapped. \"As if you have a clue!\" Knuckles growled. \"C-copter!! Fighting with the student isn't helping!\" Gemini shouted. \"Oh, so it's my fault?\" Copter grumbled. \"Anyone wanna trade partners?\" Knuckles asked, getting no response.\n\nThe others had moved down the steps to give them more room on the cliff. Blaze stood at the foot of the steps, the Chaos Crown upon her head. Timothy the fawn stood before her with an awkward expression. \"I know it's weird, your teacher being younger than you and all... But I did see the crown in action in the past.\" he said. Blaze sighed in frustration. \"See anything that would help with my particular problem?\" she asked. To demonstrate, she tapped into the power, causing nearby flowers to bloom and grow...only for her flames to start cinging their petals. Timothy chuckled softly. \"That, uh... That's an interesting problem. Can't you turn off your flames?\" he asked. Blaze gave him a slight glare. \"What do you think?\" she asked. Timothy shrugged. \"Well, maybe we need to figure a way...\" he murmured. Blaze sighed and nodded. \"Keen grasp of the obvious, at least...\" she murmured. Nearby, Illusi had set up an obstacle course of illusions for Punchy to race through with the Chaos Boots. Hurdles, fire pits, and angry-looking Wrongos were among the obstacles. Punchy stood at the start of the course with a grouchy look. \"Why Illusi? I should've traded with Knuckles and got Copter instead... Not that he could teach me anything. The boots are just about speed, what's to learn?\" he grumbled. \"Control, Dark One. You need to learn control.\" Illusi shouted. \"It's not polite to eavesdrop on a soliloquy!\" Punchy snapped. Illusi smirked. \"Are you afraid of my course?\" he teased. \"...Yes...\" Punchy mumbled. However, he started running through it, jumping over the hurdles and trying to evade the oncoming Wrongos... Of course, Illusi had them electrocute Punchy for good measure. \"Ow! Yaah! I hate you, Mousy!\" he yelled. \"Being married to Rainbow is rubbing off on you, Dark One! You're picking up her habits!\" he teased. Punchy changed course and charged at Illusi, aiming to tackle and pin him. Of course, he ran right through an illusion of Illusi and crashed into a wall. And of course, his tail was on fire due to the fire pits. \"Yaaaahh!! Son...of...a...!!\" he shouted, running in circles until the fire went out. \"The fire was an illusion, silly.\" Illusi teased. \"Still hurts...\" Punchy groaned. \"You could have avoided it if you were used to such speeds.\" Illusi pointed out. \"Har har har...\" Punchy scoffed. \"You could be faster than Sonic with the boots. You just need to master them.\" Illusi added. \"Not sure we're meant to go faster than Sonic...\" Punchy sighed.\n\n\nShadow Arcangel was flying towards Scrap Brain Zone. After months of searching, Team Chaotix had determined that Dr. Eggman was holed up here, in his original base of operations. As the ship neared the base, it did seem to be back in operation, the old booby traps back in working order and new robots and threats prepared to stop intruders. Fortunately, Sonic was here with a group of allies. He was outside the ship, standing on the wing of the Hurricane while Heather the phoenix was piloting. \"Sonic... It's hard to see while you're standing there, actually...\" she said awkwardly. \"Huh... Tails never complains.\" Sonic shrugged. Guard the gargoyle was flying next to the plane, scythe in hand and ready for a fight. \"Grrr... Mia's in there... I know it!\" he grunted. \"Easy, Garen! Let's approach with caution...\" Heather said nervously. Aboard the Arcangel, Razor the porcupine, Bill the hedgehog and Team Chaotix were looking out from the control room. \"This base is a polluted nightmare...\" Espio muttered. \"The sky is gray and yucky!\" Charmy observed. \"I staked this place out. Eggman's definitely here.\" Vector said. Vortex was at the ship's controls, and looked at them grouchily. \"Would you sssstop crowding the window? I have to find a place to land. Then I'll be joining my massster in the laboratory.\" he hissed. \"You ain't comin? I thought your brother was in there!\" Bill grumbled. \"That'sss why Zipp and Talon are going with you. Talon'sss been training, he won't be usssselessss... In theory.\" Vortex scoffed. \"Less useless than you!\" Talon shouted from behind him. Zipp chuckled. \"Yeah, what are you and the boss making MORE Experiments for, anyway? Sixteen not a round enough number or somethin?\" he teased. \"You can asssk massster yourssself. Let me land thissss thing!\" Vortex hissed. Razor sighed. \"Well, least I can be here for Mia...and Bob.\" he mumbled, \"Sorry I wasn't here sooner, guys. I'll do my best to atone...\" he whispered. Of course, Bucky was in the lab, prepping his tools for the creation of new experiments. \"Now, what should Seventeen be? ...These may be my very last Experiments... I should make them strong children that can bear the burdens... of what's to come...\" he said with a sigh, glancing at a framed picture of Hope the raven before returning to his work. The Arcangel soon landed just outside of Scrap Brain Zone. Eggman had surely detected them. They'd have to fight their way to rescue their friends!\n\n\"Alert! Alert!\" the Base Alarm System blared as Eggman scrambled to rally his troops. \"Can't they let me have my 0.01% of the world in peace?!\" he growled. \"Actually, boss, by my calculations, you only possess...\" Orbot started saying before the doctor threw a wrench at him. \"No one cares! I'll make those geeks think twice about coming in here... Send out the Robians! Give them some of my own personal mean machines to play with!\" he commanded with a wide smirk. Orbot rolled away to relay the command, while Eggman turned his attention to a familiar Egg Pawn and Gizoid duo in the room. \"Jolt! Freeze! End sleep mode!\" he commanded. Jolt's eyes flickered on, and he let out a robotic yawn. \"I was having the most lovely dream... Aw, we're still in this dump.\" he grumbled, \"There isn't even internet access in here!\" he complained. Freeze was silent, looking around as though this was the first time he'd seen this base. \"Well, I'm sorry, the internet hadn't caught on yet when I built this base and... Wait, you're not allowed online! Shut up and listen to me! Sonic and his annoying friends are here! Defend the base! Chop chop!\" Eggman ordered. \"Acknowledged... They will know true pain as I chill them to their bones...\" Freeze stated. \"On my way, boss! Gotta say though, the tree house was more modern!\" Jolt babbled. \"It was a tree FORT!\" Eggman shouted as the robots headed on their way. \"Blast it, where's Metal Sonic? Where did I put that pile of junk? I still haven't finished unpacking... I hate that hedgehog...\" he grumbled, moustache drooping.\n\nIn the meantime, Sonic sped into the base, evading buzz saws and flamethrowers as he went! Bill and Razor were trying to catch up to him, but they were far outdistanced in no time. \"Ahh... Why ain't I stayin' on the ship? ...Oh yeah, it's creepy as heck.\" Bill mumbled. \"Well, maybe you should keep to the back, Bill. We can't rescue Bob if we're busy saving you.\" Razor panted. Espio emerged from the shadows beside them. \"Maybe he should help Charmy and Vector. They have something important to bring in here... Something a bit heavy. Myself, I'll be clearing a path for it!\" he stated, charging swiftly forward with the agility of a ninja. Bill shrugged and scratched his head. \"Somethin' heavy...? Like what?\" he wondered.\n\nWhile Sonic was working his way deep into the base, searching for Eggman to take him out of commission, the others were running interference and searching for the Robians. Razor caught up to Guard and Heather inside one of the imposing buildings, and there the three of them were stopped by a massive four-legged Egg Walker, not unlike the one that attacked Station Square years ago. \"Grrraahh! Eggman! You dare come after us directly?!\" Guard snarled, clutching his scythe. \"Uhhh... That's not Eggman.\" Razor murmured with a gulp. In the cockpit, Eggman's cruelty became more apparent. A Robian was operating the walker, and not just any Robian. \"Grah... Mia!!\" Guard gasped. \"Look out, Garen!\" Heather shouted, diving into him to move him out of the way as the walker fired a laser beam directly at him! Guard appeared shaken by this...to save Mia, he had to fight her? It was a cruel joke. Razor fired some shots at the Egg Walker, but as was typical, Eggman's mech was bulletproof. \"How is it a curled-up hedgehog can break these things but not bullets?\" he groaned as he ran for cover. Heather stood up and tossed balls of fire into the air, which struck bombs the walker was sprinkling down on them. \"Garen... We knew this was a possibility. We can't be afraid. You gotta get Mia out of that machine so we can wreck it!\" she told him. Guard looked at her and nodded. He placed a hand over his heart. \"Rrr... It appears sentiment has clouded my judgement... The boss would be furious, but...\" a light smile crossed his face as he looked up at the approaching walker, \"That my android brain can feel sentiment... feels like a victory to me. Rrrr...\" he said, spreading his wings and taking to the air, rising faster than the laser could strike him! \"...That's right, Garen. Your heart will set you free...\" Heather whispered, rushing over to help Razor as the walker turned towards him, hurling bombs! Guard flapped towards the cockpit, only to find Mia lifting up a laser gun and shooting at him! \"Graaa! Stop it, Mia!\" he shouted, blocking with the blade of his scythe! \"Intruders! I will...destroy you... for the Eggman Empire!\" she declared in a robotic voice, sweeping the walker's laser beam up and down and nearly hitting Guard! He was about to seize the Robian when he heard a pained scream behind him. \"Grr... Heather??\" he gasped, looking back to see her collapsed in Razor's arms. He sped towards them. \"Don't touch her! She may burst into flames!\" he warned Razor. If he had to defend his friends AND get at Mia, this would be quite difficult. How could they save Mia?\n\nVector and Bill were wheeling the Mega Wispon towards Scrap Brain Zone while Charmy supervised and Talon and Zipp stuck around for tactical support. Rotor had left the de-robotisizing Mega Wispon on Shadow Arcangel after the last battle with Eggman, considering Crash was one of the missing Robians and Bucky did help build the massive de-robotisizer. As they wheeled the Wispon close to the base, however, Jolt and Freeze approached them. \"Oooh, big gun! Tell ya what, give it to me and I'll let you guys live!\" Jolt snickered. \"We use the term 'live' loosely, though.\" Freeze said bluntly. Vector jumped out from behind the Mega-Wispon and growled. \"Half-pint robots? Leave this to me!\" he grinned. \"Aaaah!! Vector, this dang thing's too heavy fer me!!\" Bill grunted, able only to keep the Mega-Wispon from rolling backwards and unable to move it forward. Zipp twirled a pistol and let out a hum. \"C'mon, lemme handle it...\" he chuckled. \"Uh, Zipp? We got more company!\" Talon pointed. Along with Jolt and Freeze, Crash was approaching them, riding on top of one of Eggman's rhinotank robots and looking ready to fight! \"I've got no qualms about shootin' ya, Crash!\" Zipp shouted. \"Dude, the whole point is to save him!\" Talon groaned, flying ahead to get to Crash first. If he could hold him still, they could de-robotisize him! Meanwhile, Vector stumbled back from the combination of electric and freezing attacks from the two \"half-pint\" robots. \"Ughhh, why'd Espio have to run ahead and ditch us?\" he groaned. \"Want my help?\" Charmy chuckled. \"You little brat! Why are you just flitting up there watching, anyway!?\" Vector shouted. \"Teehee, I'm the supervisor!\" Charmy giggled. \"Supervise THIS!\" Jolt shouted, flying after Charmy with his jetpack and punching at him with a sparking fist! Charmy twirled backwards and stuck out his tongue. \"Too slow! Now yer gonna get stung!\" he taunted, zooming at Jolt and bashing him with his stinger, sending the Egg Pawn stumbling back in midair! \"You little runt! I'm gonna zap you like... Like a bug zapper! Because you're a bug!\" he yelled. \"They get it, Jolt.\" Freeze grumbled, turning his attention to Vector. The crocodile charged his way, so Freeze pointed at the floor and froze a path of ice, causing the croc to slip and slide right past him! \"You're a buffoon. I'll just dismantle that device and take my leave of you.\" Freeze grumbled. Vector leapt back at him and held the Gizoid tightly. \"Grah!! I'm not done with you yet! Ever wrestle a crocodile!?\" he shouted. They'd have to pull out all the stops to protect the Mega Wispon if they wanted a shot at saving the Robians!\n\nArriving near the center of the base, Sonic stopped short as a shot was fired his way. It struck near his feet, just missing him, and caused the floor to grow an extra layer of metal. \"Blast it! That was my last shot with this portable robotisizing pistol! The one time that blue pest stops moving, I miss him!\" Eggman groaned as Sonic looked in the direction of his voice. He'd erected a laser barrier to protect himself, and was standing at a control panel. \"Well, there's more than one way to skin a blue rat!\" he smirked, grabbing a couple joysticks as a pair of dome-shaped laser cannons emerged from the ceiling! Sonic chuckled softly. \"So, upgraded to two? Really think that'll be enough?\" he taunted, speeding out of the way as the lasers fired wide beams down at him! \"I've upgraded their power source! They won't burn up like previous models! And I'm bound to hit you eventually!\" Eggman cackled, twisting the joysticks around and moving the cannons to chase the hedgehog! Sonic nimbly dodged one beam and then weaved to avoid the next one. \"I can do this all day, Eggy! Ha ha!\" Sonic taunted. \"How about all night?\" Eggman smirked, a second barrier sealing Sonic into the room at that point! \"Think you can stay awake, old man?\" Sonic chuckled, zipping between the lasers again and again. \"Grrr... Maybe I should've used three cannons...\" Eggman grumbled, \"Plan B!\" he smirked, pressing a button. Hatches in the floor opened, carrying Robians into the room! Sonic noticed Bill's brother Bob among them. \"Eggman! What do you think you're doing?!\" Sonic stammered, noticing that the Robians weren't moving. Eggman smirked. \"Target practice. If I can't hit you, I need to brush up on the old skills!\" he sneered, aiming the two turrets at separate Robians across the room. Sonic's eyes widened as he saw the lasers charging up. He sped across the room at incredible speed, pulling each Robian out of the way before Eggman could blast them! \"Missed again... How about these two?\" he snickered. \"Eggman! Stop it and fight me fair, you coward!\" Sonic shouted. Eggman chuckled. \"You know who calls people cowards, Sonic? The losers! I would know, I've been calling you a coward behind your back for years.\" As Eggman cackled, Sonic rushed to pull the Robians to safety again. \"Oh, minions, stop letting Sonic save you... Hold that hedgehog still for me instead, okay?\" Eggman ordered. Sonic appeared trapped. It was either surrender or let the Robians go down with him. What could be done?\n\nAt that moment, Vector hurled Freeze into Jolt, who shot off intense sparks in retaliation! \"Take cover! He's a regular thunder cloud!\" Vector shouted as he and Charmy ducked behind the Mega Wispon! \"Wait! Don't draw the attack here!\" Bill stammered. The electric discharge struck the Wispon hard, leaving smoke rising from it. \"Hah! We win!\" Jolt cackled. \"I think I broke my gravity stabilizer...\" Freeze groaned, falling limply to the floor. Vector groaned. \"You worked on this Bucky... Why didn't ya make it shock-proof!?\" he shouted, banging on the Mega-Wispon angrily. As if in reaction to his strike, and with help from the extra jolt of power, the Wispon fired off a massive discharge of energy! The beam covered a wide, far-reaching area, and as Talon and Zipp were wrestling with the robotic Crash, the beam washed over him, and he was restored to flesh! \"Ugh, ow!! Wh-what the heck, Zipp?! Talon??\" he grunted, feeling the griffin holding him in a choke-hold. \"Don't let go! It's a trick!\" Zipp smirked. Jolt picked up Freeze and slunk away. \"Boss is gonna fry us...\" he whined. As Guard lifted Mia free of the Egg Walker's cockpit at last, the beam hit, and she looked up at him with her own eyes. \"G-guard?? Yaaa!! Wh-what the??\" she gasped. \"Grrr!! Hold on!\" Guard cried as Heather was burning up the walker with her flames to finish it off! Deeper within the base, the beam even reached Sonic, and the Robians around him were suddenly cured as Eggman pounded his control panel in fury. \"No!! How?! Why!?\" he cried. Behind him, Alpha jumped around happily in the beam. \"I'm a real boy!! Yay!!\" he giggled. \"No, you're not. You can't de-robotisize a robot!\" Eggman shouted, too aggravated to ignore Alpha's stupidity. \"Aww, I'm not a real boy, either?\" Cubot asked sadly. \"NO!!\" Eggman yelled. The doctor then heard explosions behind him, and realized Sonic had wrecked his cannons while he was distracted. \"Thing is, Eggman, I didn't come in here alone.\" he smirked. Eggman growled and started stomping away. \"This base is a monument to my past failures. I'm putting it into self-destruct mode. And leaving you trapped in there. Farewell, Sonic!\" he grumbled as he fled the scene, followed by Alpha, Cubot and Orbot. \"Ahh! How we gon' get out, Sonic?\" Bob asked. Guard and Razor soon arrived at the barrier blocking their exit. \"Guard, your android eyes see a power source?\" Razor asked. Grunting, Guard pointed to a spot in the wall, and Razor shot it, causing the barrier to short-circuit! \"There's our exit! Everyone, run like me!\" Sonic said, leading the way as he, Guard and Razor took the hostages to safety! They managed to escape just in time to watch the base burst into flames, and then the freed hostages made their way onto the Arcangel. \"Bob! Bro, yer a sight for sore eyes! I had to work a dang weddin' by myself!\" Bill chuckled, hugging his brother. Crash stepped onto the Arcangel with a sigh. \"How long?\" he asked. \"Ten years!\" Zipp teased. \"Zipp! ...It was maybe a bit over one year.\" Talon stated. Crash growled softly. \"Eggman will pay for this...\" he huffed. Mia walked onto the ship hand in hand with Guard. \"Heather told me you never stopped looking for me. Didn't know ya cared so much, haha. You're secretly a big softy...\" she smirked, making him blush. Heather watched them from behind with a small smile, but an uncertain sigh. At any rate, it was time to go. Sonic smirked as he hopped into the Hurricane to pilot it back to Copter. \"See ya next time, Eggman... Hope that's it for the robotisizer...\" he said to himself.\n\n\nCopter and Knuckles continued to get along quite poorly during their so-called training. \"Are you even trying to focus? You couldn't even scratch paper with this attitude!\" Copter snapped as Knuckles failed to chop through a log that was set up for practice, getting the claws stuck midway through. \"Are the claws even supposed to be able to slice like this?? We know nothing about their abilities and you have the gall to snap at me!? You have the GALL?!\" Knuckles yelled, violently wresting the claws from the log and turning on Copter. There was an aura of darkness around him. \"You try living with these damn things stuck to your hands for months!! You know what?! I'll target practice on YOU!!\" he roared, slashing in Copter's direction as the fox scrambled to get out of the way! \"Whoa! Hey! Knux!! Cool it! The curse of the claws are gettin' to ya! You don't wanna do this!! I- uhh- I'm fairly sure you don't wanna do this!!\" he shouted, rushing toward Gemini and Shade as Knuckles was wildly slashing at him! \"Wait, don't bring your crazy over here!\" Shade protested, raising the gauntlets to block as Copter hid behind her. Knuckles leapt into the air and raised a claw, planning to propel himself downward at Copter forcefully... However, he simply hung in midair instead, his arm swinging from his clawed hand! \"Yaaah!! What in the hell!?\" he shouted, dangling in midair as though stuck on something. Gemini, Copter and Shade looked up at him in surprise. His claw was piercing the very air itself... Using it as a sort of anchor to keep him in the air. \"Knuckles... I think you've discovered a previously unknown power of the Chaos Claws!\" Gemini shouted excitedly. Knuckles groaned, still dangling in the air. \"Great... How do I get down?\" he grumbled. \"Maybe you should chill up there a while. The curse of the claws is making you crazier.\" Copter stated. \"Crazier!? I'm not crazy, you take that back!!\" Knuckles shouted, flailing his other fist in the air as though trying to fight Copter. Shade sighed. \"What's this curse?\" she asked. Gemini glanced at Astra as she and Tails approached. \"Thousands of years ago, when the Lost Ones were born, Luna the Wolf was forcibly transformed into Loscream.\" Astra explained, \"She was wearing the Chaos Claws as she transformed. We managed to save the Claws, but not without them being corrupted...\" Tails flew up to Knuckles and examined the stuck claw. \"Hmmm... I'll try to get ya down, don't worry Knuckles.\" he said. \"Hurry... My arm's gettin' tired...\" he groaned. Gemini looked at him with concern. \"Astra... I want to break the curse of the Chaos Claws.\" she stated. They weren't sure how to do it, but they knew... the curse had to be broken...\n\n\nMini Episode - Ch. 1.5 - Silver Returns\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nIt had been a while since anyone had seen Silver the hedgehog. He had returned to the future with Fred Leo, Adam the bat, Evelyn the fox and Cuthburt the alligator. With Zodiac out of the way, there was little holding them in the present, and Silver wanted to check on the status of his own time. Now, he had returned, and was stopping by to check Gemini's progress training the holders of the Chaos Relics. He found them on Angel Island, where Knuckles was hanging in midair over the steps of the Master Emerald shrine, and Tails and Copter were looking up as though deciding if they should let him down or not. \"Huh...? Is Carrie here? Shouldn't she put Knuckles down?\" Silver asked, knowing he himself wasn't lifting Knuckles up. \"Ah, no, Knuckles did that to himself...\" Gemini said awkwardly, glancing up at him, \"It might be best to leave him there, he's been getting violent lately.\" she explained. \"Come up here and say that! I dare ya!!\" Knuckles yelled, kicking his legs angrily. Silver shrugged and tried pulling him down with his powers. \"Agggh! He's stuck!? Arrgh!\" he cried, yanking at him. Knuckles groaned as well. \"Don't tear my arms off, Silver!!\" he shouted. Astra the fennec had borrowed SPOT from Tails, and was sitting on his back to fly up and examine the stuck Chaos Claws. \"They won't unstick until you relax, Knuckles.\" she told him. \"How can I relax like this!?\" he yelled. Gemini turned to Silver with a sigh. \"It's gonna be noisy here. We can catch up across the bridge. I'll bring Libra and Tim, they might wanna hear what Fred's up to.\" she said.\n\nThe four of them gathered across the bridge, away from the shrine. Silver shrugged. \"Fred's not planning on coming back right now. He needs to work some things out in the future. He lived there for quite some time. He wouldn't tell me his true time period, though.\" he stated, \"But anyway, Adam and Eve say hi, Gemini, Timothy. They hope you'll return home soon.\" he added. Timothy nodded. \"Once I'm done helping here, I'll be back.\" he said. Gemini looked more unsure. \"I don't even know which is home for me...\" she murmured. \"Me either...\" Libra added. Silver nodded. \"I wish I had answers for you...\" Then, he looked around, \"Hey, wasn't Blaze training with you guys?\" he asked. Libra chuckled softly. \"She has royal matters to attend to back home.\" she said in a snooty tone. \"Besides, we're kinda wrapped up in trying to figure out how to cure Knuckles...\" Timothy added. Silver scratched his head. \"Well, gee... the Chaos Claws got cursed I guess because Luna was wearing them when she became a Lost One, right? Maybe the Lost Ones have the answer to breaking the curse.\" he said simply. Gemini looked at him with a blank stare. \"That... Huh... I see...\" she murmured, rubbing her chin, \"That's actually interesting...\" she said. \"Echidna coming through!!\" they heard Copter yell. Knuckles was charging across the bridge with a fury in his eyes, swiping the claws about like a wild beast! \"Oh boy... You wanna take it this time, Silver?\" Libra asked. Silver sighed and raised his hand. \"Psychic...control!\" he cried, freezing Knuckles in place with his psychokinesis! \"Argh!! Hey! Lemme go! I'll kill you, you albino freak!!\" he shouted. \"Albino?\" Silver muttered. \"Pay him no mind. He's crazy right now.\" Gemini sighed.\n\nWhile Silver held him in place, Gemini discussed it with Astra. The golden furred fennec had a dire look on her face. \"I'd hoped to come up with another solution, but yes. The best way to break the curse is to go to the source. It's a dangerous proposition, though. You need to bring back a piece of Loscream in order for a countercurse to be created.\" she stated. Gemini stared at her. \"You knew?\" she asked. Astra nodded. \"You must understand... Loscream is Luna...my old ally. I can't go with you. And the journey will be your most dangerous thus far. You'll have to brave a Lost One nest.\" she said. \"Don't worry, I'll go with you.\" Silver offered. Gemini shook her head. \"No... It's too risky to take too many of us. We should attempt this as a stealth mission. I'll go alone.\" she said. \"You will not!\" Timothy snapped, having been listening, \"We got too close to a Lost One nest in the future, and you went back in time to save me as a result, and all this was set in motion! I'm not letting you get into the same predicament... I'm going to protect you this time!\" he insisted. Libra sighed. \"I mean, I'd go, but I'm not the Deathbringer anymore...\" she murmured, \"What good am I?\" she wondered. Silver patted her shoulder. \"You'll figure something out. At least you're here for your sister now. You couldn't be when you were working for Zodiac.\" he pointed out. Knuckles huffed as he sat on the ground, having been released from Silver's grip. \"Please hurry... I wanna take these dumb claws off... wash my hands... and punch something on my own terms...\" he sighed. Gemini nodded. \"Knuckles... I won't let you down. You helped me regain myself when we first met, and now I'm going to do the same for you!\" she promised. \"Yeah, yeah, everything's all full circle... Just get goin' already!\" Knuckles groaned. She nodded, clutching her wand. It wouldn't be easy, but with Timothy at her side, she would take on the very stronghold of her enemy...and make it out alive!\n\n\nEpisode 2 - The Lost Chaos Relics\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and\nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nAs Gemini prepared to embark on her mission to take on the Lost Ones and acquire the means to break Knuckles' curse, Illusi stepped into her room within the Raisol Sanctuary. \"You're sure I can't talk you out of this? You need a better plan than charging in wands blazing.\" he warned her. Gemini picked up and pocketed her wand. \"First of all, it's a stealth mission, so the wands won't be blazing... And secondly, Knuckles doesn't have time for us to figure out a better plan.\" she insisted. Illusi crossed his arms. \"A stealth mission in a hot pink sweater?\" he asked. Gemini rolled her eyes and took her wand back out. \"Pigmentiakazam!\" she said, twirling her wand at her clothing to turn the color black. Illusi chuckled softly and nodded. \"Alright, since there's no stopping you, I have a request. While you're there, try to get the Chaos Key back from Lospecter. You've already seen the havok he can wreak with it.\" he said. \"Is this about me?\" Copter said as he stepped in, \"Or rather, Dark me? But yeah, he's right, but it's suicide.\" he grunted. Gemini nodded. \"This place needs locks on its doors. What if I was getting changed, boys?\" she asked grouchily. \"Then you'd probably use that wand to wipe our memories.\" Copter said cutely. Gemini was quick to get back on topic. \"Dangerous or not, we should try to get ALL the Chaos Relics back safe and sound.\" she said. \"Who was the idiot who scattered them in the first place?\" Copter grunted, glancing at Illusi. \"I'm the idiot who brought them all together in the first place, shut your mouth Dark Fox.\" he said. The three of them left Gemini's room and soon found Shade waiting at her front door. \"We drew straws for who would keep an eye on Knuckles. When that led to arguments, I volunteered.\" she said. Illusi chuckled. \"I'd do it, but his clone is enough of a handful.\" he said. Copter rubbed his chin. \"So, uh... The other Chaos Relics are in Conan's grimy hands, eh? Well, and Fera, but let's focus on Conan for now.\" he said. Gemini glanced at him. \"You don't think he'd join our training group, do you?\" she asked. Copter sighed. \"Yeah, he'd join for a chance to steal the rest of the relics... I think I'd better find a partner of my own and go after him. We gotta try to get the cape and sword away from him.\" he stated. \"Wing. It's the Chaos Wing, not a cape.\" Illusi said. \"Looks like a cape...\" Copter grunted. Tails and Timothy stepped into the door next. \"Ready to go, Gemini?\" Timothy asked. \"Tails! Just the man I wanna see! Can I borrow your robo-mutt?\" Copter asked.\n\nOutside Gemini's house, Tails started configuring SPOT's sensors to track the Chaos Relics, with a specific focus on ones they didn't already have. As he tinkered away in the open hatch on the robo-puppy's back, Violet the echidna approached him and Copter. She had been visiting her new niece, but Illusi had just gone over to inform Punchy of Copter and Gemini's plans. \"You two want to go after Conan? He's got two Chaos Relics. He'll torture you for information and kill you, then come after our relics.\" she said. \"That's a possibility.\" Copter sighed. \"We wouldn't tell him anything. I'm not bringing my tailbands either, so he can't get them.\" Tails added. Violet shook her head. \"You two need a power hitter. I'm going.\" she said. Copter scoffed. \"I thought you'd like to see me killed.\" he said, making Tails shrink into his work with a shudder. \"Awkward...\" he whimpered. Violet crossed her arms. \"Copter...you see what Punchy and Rainbow have? We coulda had that.\" she said with a scowl. \"I know... I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't ready to let go of the power of the tailband... I'm past it now. I'm just trying to be useful without it.\" he said. Tails closed the hatch on SPOT and stood up. \"Can we save the fighting for Conan?\" he asked. Gemini and Timothy walked past them, and when she saw Violet, Gemini let out a light gasp. \"Oooh, she's going with you? Good luck, Copter...\" she murmured. Copter glanced at her with a smug smirk. \"Good luck yourself, FRED.\" he said, noting that her blacked-out clothes made her look like her teacher's fennec form. Gemini looked down and blushed. \"Very funny...\" she sighed. As the two groups started to leave, they passed Shade tying Knuckles to a chair. \"This is for your own good, Knuckles... Once those claws are off you, you'll be free to go.\" she told him. Knuckles struggled with a look of rage on his face. \"How'd this even happen! You let me out of this right now or you'll be sorry you Nocturnus scum!!\" he shouted. Shade backed up a step as he writhed in his bonds. \"I'm gonna pretend that you said that because of the claws, because otherwise, I'd be taking advantage of this situation to kick your...\" As Tails passed by, he waved to them. \"Good luck, you guys! Try not to hurt each other!\" he said. \"Tails! Come back! Get me outta this! Tails!! Get back here you little nerd!!\" Knuckles yelled. Violet turned and stuck her tongue out at him, which didn't help. Timothy turned to him as he passed with Gemini. \"Snorozika!\" he cast, putting Knuckles to sleep. \"THANK you...\" Shade sighed.\n\n\nGemini and Timothy's magic led them on a path to where the Lost Ones were now hiding. They were a bit unsettled by what they found. The Lost Ones were building their nest on Angel Island, in a secluded area. It was nearly complete, too. A dark, foreboding temple composed of hardened slime. It was...the same nest that they'd gotten too close to in the future. The same one that led Timothy to be seemingly killed. It shouldn't be there so soon, but there it stood. \"We've messed up history. The Lost Ones built that thing early...\" Gemini whispered. \"So, we're not gonna talk about you dressing like our teacher?\" Timothy said to try and cut through the tension with jokes. Gemini glanced at him. \"It was for stealth. And he wasn't really a fennec.\" she huffed, \"Now, let's be serious. How do we go about this...?\" she murmured. Timothy looked around. \"Man, this nest looks huge. Well, I say we go invisible, sneak in, and pray the invisibility doesn't wear off...\" he muttered. Gemini sighed. \"Fend them off with ice magic if they're liquid-based. If they're more solid, go for light magic.\" she suggested. Timothy nodded, \"But the plan isn't to go to war with them.\" he pointed out, \"And what do we do when we find Lospecter?\" he asked. Gemini started towards the temple. \"Grab the Chaos Key and use it. We can warp out of there quickly with the Chaos Key. It's how Illusi used to get around.\" she said. \"Why the heck did he give that up? Well, let's split up and look for Lospecter and Loscream...\" Timothy suggested. Gemini turned and stopped him. \"Have you seen any movie ever?\" she asked. \"Yeah, they always split up.\" he smirked. Gemini rolled her eyes. \"Our future movies are too feel-good. You gotta watch some classics...\" she sighed, and waved her wand, \"Cleviso!\" Using the invisibility spell, she was able to get herself and Timothy to the door without being spotted. \"Alright... We split up. But Tim... If things get dicey, warp yourself out of here. Keep a tight grip on your wand!\" she told him before giving him a tight hug. Timothy hugged her back and nodded. \"You, too, Gem...\" he said. They then entered the temple, finding things eerily quiet and empty, the only sound being distant echoes of that familiar whisper, \"Lossss... lossss...\" They couldn't see them yet, but they could feel the presence of the Lost Ones everywhere. They both gulped and started off in different directions. This felt like a tremendous mistake...\n\n\nSPOT tracked a pair of energy signatures to Troblusk City. It sure seemed similar to Chaos energy, probably because people who didn't know about the creation aspect of the relics did in fact use them to harness Chaos powers. \"Here we are back on the wrong side of the tracks...\" Tails murmured as he looked around the dark and ominous streets of the city. \"Hey! I used to live here!\" Violet snapped. \"Err...sorry?\" Tails sighed. Copter raised his hands up as he walked between them, slowing them both down. \"Shh, there he is...\" he whispered. Conan was standing rather conspicuously at a street corner, hand on the hilt of the Chaos Sword, ready to draw it at any moment. \"Tell me you brought the tailbands, foxes...\" he said without looking at them. \"We're smarter than that!\" Copter scoffed. Conan turned to them with a frustrated grunt. \"Then what use are you to me? Don't try my patience, pups! I've searched far too long for the Chaos Relics, and I won't be delayed by the likes of you!\" he grunted, tightening his grip on the sword. \"Try something, I dare you!\" Violet warned, her hands glowing with black energy. Conan laughed a bit. \"Need the Covenant of Despair to fight your battles for you, now?\" he smirked. \"Ex-Despair! Like you...\" Violet pointed out. Tails' eyes darted back and forth. \"Uhhh, yeah. Well, I also brought SPOT, don't forget. He's armed, too. You're outnumbered, Conan!\" he said, trying to sound tough. Conan didn't draw his sword yet. \"You're here for my Chaos Relics, but you're delusional if you think you can take them from the master of Chaos!\" he sneered. Copter raised his fists. \"Well, I trust your relics in our hands more than you in our training group, so we're doing this!\" he said. \"Copter!!\" Tails gasped. Seeing Conan smirk, Copter realized his mistake. \"Training group? What are you saying? You're gathering the Chaos Relic holders and training them? Is that why you've tracked me?\" Now was the point where he drew his sword, and pointed it at them. The trio backed away a step. \"If you think we're telling you where the relics are, you're the delusional one!\" Violet warned. The gold cape on Conan's back glowed, and a pair of wings formed in its place, flapping to lift the raccoon into the air above them. \"We shall see... Ohh, I'm going to enjoy this... Now, Copter, die! I'll interrogate your friends!\" he laughed. As Conan charged down with his sword, SPOT jumped in front and erected a barrier, blocking him from stabbing Copter! \"Oh, I'll get through this...\" he smirked, and Violet looked at Tails and Copter with concern. \"Take cover, boys. I'll handle him...\" she said. \"Don't tell me to take cover! I kicked your butt without my tailband!\" Copter snapped. She slapped him for that. \"You asked for that one, Copter...\" Tails sighed.\n\n\nMoving carefully through the maze-like corridors of the Lost Ones' temple, Timothy soon found a chamber where Loscream appeared to be sleeping. The massive pumpkin's vines snaked around the room, seemingly trying to clutch at invisible victims in his sleep. Timothy crept carefully inside, and moved towards the tip of one of the vines. \"If I cut this off, it should be enough for the cure...\" he said, clutching his wand tightly, \"Slibeam...\" he said, attempting to slice at the vine with magical energy. It didn't appear to be working. \"Hmm... Maybe if I freeze it first? Chillazim!\" he said a bit louder, icing over the tip of the vine as he pointed his wand at it. A shadow was cast over him as he reached out to try and break off the vine. \"This is a curious place to find a living soul... Surely you did not come alone...\" Timothy felt his blood run cold as he heard the familiar voice of Losipher! He tried to spin around and cast a spell, but vines suddenly wrapped around him, covering his mouth! \"I'll snap your neck and feast on your bones!\" Loscream bellowed as his pumpkin face stared at him with a frightening wide grin. Big black wings grew out on Losipher's back and extended out in a way that seemed intended to intimidate Loscream. \"Not yet, you bloodthirsty fool! Get him to lead us to his accomplice, first. Then we shall feast on both their souls.\" he said with a fang-filled grin. Timothy shivered in Loscream's grip, and tried to struggle. The vine slipped away from his mouth, allowing him to speak. \"I won't lead you to Gemini! ...Ooops!\" he yelped, realizing they hadn't had any idea who was with him or how many allies he had yet. Losipher crossed his arms and laughed demonically. \"I can taste your fear... But it was obvious that you were here with that foolish mage girl. Does she not realize the hopelessness of trying to defeat the Lost Ones yet? Her error in judgement will cost her everything... As mine did thousands of years ago...\" he said, turning to leave. \"Bring him, Loscream. We'll find the girl...\" he growled. Loscream lifted Timothy up as he began to slither after Losipher using his vines to move. \"Always whining. He's such a baby. Just because he had to spend five thousand years as a writhing puddle... I was trapped in suspended animation and I don't whine!\" the pumpkin grumbled. If Timothy wasn't so frightened, he might find his oddly human banter humorous. Instead, his mind was bent on figuring a way out of this...\n\nGemini wondered why the temple seemed to be lacking in guards as she wandered. When she found Lospecter in a deep chamber, it began to become clear to her. He floated in the center of the chamber as though he was waiting for her, and behind him was Dark Copter! The chamber was dimly lit by ghostly blue flames, but she could tell it was him. \"Welly welly well, Gemini. You wouldn't be here looking for this, would you?\" Lospecter said, holding up the Chaos Key, \"Honestly, when I saw you were starting to train people with these relics, I knew you'd come knockin' to get mine sooner or later. You must feel left out without your own!\" he grinned. \"You've done enough damage with that one!\" Gemini snapped. \"You callin' me damage? Huh?? I've not begun to do damage!!\" Dark Copter snapped, clenching his fists as his body became surrounded by dark energy. Lospecter let out a gleeful laugh. \"I'm just gonna hang back and watch you fight your boyfriend! Oooh, will one of you kill the other?\" he smirked. Gemini held her head in aggravation before pointing her wand angrily at Dark Copter. \"He's NOT my boyfriend! Your mind games won't work, Lospecter!!\" she shouted. Lospecter twirled his key and glanced at Dark Copter. \"I hate boring 'will they-won't they' dramas. End the suspense, will ya?\" he ordered. With that, Dark Copter charged at her, his tails glowing black as he whipped them in her direction, dark shockwaves shooting from his tail whip and knocking her backward a few steps! \"Aaaack! D-dark Copter! He's just gonna turn you into a Lost One when he's done using you!\" she shouted. Dark Copter cracked his knuckles and sneered. \"One prison for my soul or another, what difference does it make? As long as I can sate my appetite for destruction!\" he snarled, lunging at her! Gemini pointed her wand at him and cast a spell. \"Proplasmar!\" she called, erecting a barrier that shattered against his attack, but also slowed him down! \"C'mon, Gemini! Fight him back! Boy, I'm glad I didn't sell tickets to this, I'd have an angry crowd on my hands!\" Lospecter complained. Gemini took a breath. This was distracting from her mission. She had to get to that key. \"Snorozika!\" she cast, trying to put Dark Copter to sleep! She then ran after Lospecter, expecting that would work, only to feel her tail yanked. \"Yaaah!!\" she gasped. \"I won't be tranquilized! Darkness fuels me!!\" Dark Copter snarled, twirling her by the tail and slamming her against the ground as Lospecter clapped. \"Now THAT'S entertainment!\" he smirked. Gemini sat up grunting. She had to fight back...this whole mission really felt like a mistake at this point.\n\n\nAs Conan slashed his sword at Violet, she vanished in a burst of dark energy, appearing behind him! However, his wings glowed and sent a gust of wind backward to keep her off-balance. Tails hopped on SPOT's back and gripped his tail as it became a handle, the robo-puppy turning into a hover-scooter. \"Over here, Conan! Try and catch me!\" he taunted, flying circles around him. \"Cute. But one of you is completely lacking in power now...!\" Conan smirked, lowering down towards Copter and pointing his sword at him. \"So why don't I deal with you first?\" Copter jumped to the side and tried to hit him with a tail whip, but Conan zapped him with a Chaos Spear and grabbed him by the throat! \"Copter!!\" Violet gasped. \"Hang on!\" Tails cried, turning in his direction. Conan held the blade to his throat. \"Uh uh... If you want him in one piece, you will tell me where the tailbands are, fox boy...\" he sneered. Copter grunted in the raccoon's grip. \"H-hey, Conan...\" he smirked, \"Not all my powers came from the tailband...\" he snickered. Clenching his fist, he mustered his energy. \"Chaos...blast!!\" he growled, his body erupting with chaos energy and flinging Conan off of him! Violet and Tails both hurried straight into the blast, intent on seeing if he was okay. Copter was lying on the street with a cut in his chest, but it wasn't too bad. \"Gaah... I hate Conan...\" he winced. Tails hopped off SPOT, and the robot transformed back to normal. \"SPOT, first-aid mode, stat!\" Tails said. The tip of SPOT's tail popped open, revealing medical ointment, while a hatch on his underside opened up, giving Tails access to bandages. \"Is there anything that mutt isn't prepared for?\" Copter asked. Violet sighed and looked around for Conan. He was across the street, picking up his hat and placing it back on his head. \"Conan!! Stop right there!\" Violet shouted, running after him. Conan aimed his sword at the ground and made a slashing motion, sending out a cutting beam that tore up the asphault and made Violet trip over it! \"Gyaaa!! S-since when can you do that!?\" she stammered. Conan smirked. \"You're not the only ones looking to unlock the secrets of the Chaos Relics. I must be the master of chaos... If I'm to save Emily...\" he said solumnly, the wings on his back flapping and carrying him into the air. \"I'll find you next time, heroes!\" he said as he made his escape. Violet tried to stop him by tossing balls of dark energy at him, but the Chaos Wing carried him away too fast. \"We shoulda brought Sonic...\" Tails sighed, to with Copter rolled his eyes. \"Yeah, maybe. That's on you, scout.\" he said as Tails bandaged his wound. \"I don't wanna bother him for every little thing. We need to learn to survive without him... In case something like Infinite comes along again.\" Tails sighed.\n\nConan landed a few blocks away, close to the borders of the city. Not too far from Troblusk Plateau. \"I should have trashed that robo-mutt. That's how they tracked me...\" he growled. \"Troubles, Conan?\" a familiar voice said from the shadows. Looking, Conan saw Anubis approach him. \"What could you possibly want? First aid for that bendy ear? Try back that way...\" he scoffed. Anubis grunted. \"I want revenge. Revenge upon Infinite, and the obese human who set him off his leash... And I want my Covenant of Despair back.\" he growled softly. Conan chuckled. \"You want a lot of things, but I don't see why I should care.\" he said. As he turned to leave, Anubis continued speaking. \"Fera is back. She hears the voice of the Darkseeker calling through her Despair Seal...\" he said. Conan glanced back with a calculating stare. \"Fera is back?\" he asked. He remembered the Tournament of Chaos well, and the events of Eggman's invasion of the world. Fera held the Chaos Cards, relics so powerful, they could hold the key to saving Emily. He turned to Anubis and crossed his arms. \"Well, if it's not just you, that changes things a bit...\" he mused, \"Does our new Despair have a plan yet?\" he asked. Anubis glared intensely at Conan. \"I see right through you, vermin... Oh, I remember how you used the old covenant... but Fera does not. If I bring you back with me, keep your personal goals in check for now... But if you put your trust in me, you may just get what you want...when I get what I want...\" he said. Conan adjusted his hat and smirked. \"Oh, but you want so many things. Not sure I can wait that long...\" he said smugly. Anubis held up a fireball in his hand. \"What other options do you have?\" he asked as the flame seemed to take the shape of the face of Emily the Squirrel. That's what Conan got for carrying her picture with him at all times. Anubis must have seen it at some point, and figured him out. He growled softly and batted the jackal's flaming hand away. \"Fine. I guess we're partners now, dog boy. I'd better get what I need, or mark me, you'll die...\" he said, grasping Anubis' hand in a tense handshake. The jackal smirked with a light grunt. \"I've been dead before. But it's the dead that heed me...\" he said as black mummies clawed up from the ground around him to illustrate his point. Conan looked around and smirked. \"This isn't going to be quite like old times, is it? Maybe it'll be more fun...\" he grinned.\n\n\nBack at the Lost Ones' temple, Gemini had risen to her feet, and tried flinging some spells intended to deter Dark Copter, but he simply kept coming after her, hitting back with dark blasts and gradually wearing her down. \"Come on! Why don't you fight him with all your might? Huh?\" Lospecter smirked. Gemini huffed and glared at him. \"I won't fall into your trap... You can't make me hate Copter like this...\" she huffed. Lospecter shrugged. \"Silly girl. That wasn't the trap. The trap was tricking you into NOT fighting back! Oooooh, oooor waaaas it!!\" he said ominously, taunting her, \"Haha! But it doesn't matter. Check the door.\" he sneered. Gemini heard activity behind her, and turned to see Losipher and Loscream enter, with Timothy in her clutches. \"We'll make this simple for you, mage... Surrender yourself and your wand, or watch your friend die...for real this time!\" Losipher said darkly as Loscream pulled at the fawn's limbs with his vines. Gemini looked on in horror, feeling utterly defeated. \"I... I...\" she murmured. \"Don't give in, Gemini!\" Timothy shouted, \"I-if you surrender to the Lost Ones... Who else will keep fighting them?\" he grunted, looking at her with tears in his eyes. \"But...what can I do?\" Gemini sniffled. \"Learn to lean on your friends more, my child...\" a voice sounded through the room. Lospecter looked around and narrowed his eyes. \"Oh, you gotta be kidding me...\" he growled. Green check-marks with eyes burst into the room, flying around the Lost Ones and zapping them, annoying Loscream into dropping Timothy! \"Rightos!!\" he babbled. Lospecter swatted one of the creatures away and growled. \"Illoser! Show yourself!\" he called. Illusi the shrew emerged from each entrance, most if not all of him clearly illusions. Dark Copter charged after one, only to pass through it! \"I wasn't going to come, but I don't say no to a lady older than myself...\" Illusi smirked. Astra the fennec stepped in from the main exit, beckoning Timothy her way. Gemini fired icy shots from her wand to delay Losipher and Loscream as she ran to join Timothy. Lospecter floated after them, his key raised in a violent stance, but Astra stood between them. \"Spiro... Are you going to attack me?\" she asked. Lospecter stopped short. \"Out of the way, old lady!\" he snapped. \"You could have killed me right here, Spiro...\" she stated. Lospecter scoffed. \"Still can! I got no feelings for you anymore! I got no feelings at all!\" he snapped. \"Galaporta!!\" Gemini cried, taking Timothy and Astra's hands as she warped them all away. Astra was able to see Lospecter through the magical light for a moment before warping. \"There's good in you, Spiro...\" she whispered. Once they were gone, Illusi's illusions faded as well, leaving the Lost Ones alone with Dark Copter. \"Lame! No one died! I'm outta this dank place!\" Dark Copter snorted, running off. Losipher glared at Lospecter furiously. \"Astra doesn't have a hold on your heart... Does she?\" he snarled. \"Gunny, Gunny... Shut up... Spiro is dead. Just like the world will be...\" Lospecter murmured, clenching his teeth.\n\n\nReturning to Raisol Sanctuary, it seemed as though both missions were utter failures. Knuckles was still tied to the chair as Shade sat beside him looking exhausted. \"He's on his fifth rope here, he keeps breaking free...\" she groaned. \"I'm gonna be stuck like this?? I can't be stuck like this!?\" he groaned as Gemini and Tails looked at him uncertainly. Timothy cleared his throat. \"Umm, actually... The trip wasn't a total waste, because I might've managed to...\" With a flick of his wand, he levitated a severed piece of Loscream's root. It was small, but it might suffice. Astra's face lit up upon seeing it. \"Someone get me vials and a place to, uhh, cook...\" she grinned. \"You couldn't show anyone that before freaking me out!?\" Knuckles groaned, \"Wait, what's she cooking?? Am I gonna have to EAT that thing!?\" he groaned. \"Don't be such a baby, Knuckles...\" Copter grunted, clutching his bandaged chest as he walked. Violet smirked and poked him there hard, making him yelp.\n\nKnuckles was led to where Astra had a bubbling cauldron of...something. Knuckles gulped. The substance looked green and goopy. \"Don't worry, Knuckles.\" Gemini said, \"The curse is in the claws. You just gotta soak them.\" she said. \"Aww, good...\" Knuckles sighed. Astra doused the flame under the pot, and then glanced at Knuckles. \"Straight away. Sorry, your fingers will get burned a bit. We have spells for that...\" she said. Knuckles inhaled sharply and stuck his hands in the boiling pot, clenching his teeth to avoid screaming. Astra then held up a sort of fuzzy root thing. \"There is a bit of curse in you, too, so you have to eat this.\" she stated. \"NOW YA TELL ME!!\" Knuckles screamed as his hands burned. Astra stuffed the root into his mouth, making him eat it. Outside the door, Copter and Punchy were listening and chuckling. \"Cut that out, you two.\" said Tails as he stood nearby. Finally, Knuckles removed his hands from the cauldron, and Astra was able to slip the Chaos Claws off his hands with ease! \"I'm free! Haha... Agh!! My hands!!\" he gasped as he saw how blistered they were, \"What happened to the gloves I had under those claws!?\" he yelped. \"Sorry...\" Gemini said sheepishly. She then waved her wand over his hands. \"Streeze...\" she said, blowing air on his hands first to cool them off, \"Recoveration...\" she added to heal them. Knuckles sighed with relief once his hands were back to normal. \"Thank you, Gemini... Astra... I hope I never need anything from you again...\" he chuckled softly. Gemini giggled. \"Yeah... Well, now we can train you with the claws properly, so get ready!\" she said. Knuckles nodded. \"No offense, but I'm gonna just not touch those things for a week or so... And I'm gonna go glove shopping, too. And make sure the Master Emerald is still on Angel Island. See ya!\" he said, opening the door and knocking Copter and Punchy over. Hearing them groan, he scoffed. \"Don't be such babies, guys.\" he said before leaving. Things were finally getting back to normal... Or, what passed for normal with this group...\n\n\nMini Episode - Ch. 2.5 - Neo Neon Interlude\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nThe Neon Tavern had seen better days, but it had also seen worse days. Eggman's occupation of the world hadn't been kind to Bill and Bob the hedgehogs' Troblusk City watering hole, but now that Bob was back on the job, the place felt a bit cheerier again. Bill sat back and cleaned the glasses, calmly watching Bob handle customers for a change, glad to have things back to a semblance of normalcy. \"Hopefully the customers start comin' back in, cuz' we gotta fix some damage to the foundation...\" he murmured. Bob was pouring Violet a soda...she was actually old enough to drink now, but she wanted to be sober for what she intended to discuss. \"Thanks, Bob. Good to see you haven't lost a step.\" she said. \"I dunno. Lost 'bout a year... Glad ta be back, tho.\" he nodded. The door swung open quickly, and Bill looked up eagerly. \"Customer?\" he asked. \"If anyone asks, you didn't see me!\" said Sonic, who dashed in, jumped behind the counter, and crouched down. \"What'll it be?\" Bill said slyly. Sonic gulped. \"Ahhh... Chaos Soda, on the rocks...\" he babbled. The door opened again and Amy peered in. \"Sonic? Helloooo? Argh, how dare he mount a dangerous rescue mission without my help...\" she grumbled, \"Anyone seen him?\" she asked. Bill glanced down and casually reached a hand, asking for money for the drink. Sonic searched himself for cash and gulped, shrugging. \"Behind the counter, miss.\" Bill grunted. \"Shoot!\" Sonic yelped, leaping up and speeding out past Amy faster than she could grab him! \"SONIC!! You're just making it worse for yourself!! Come back here!!\" Amy yelled, storming out the door. Bill shook his head and sighed. \"We need paying customers, dang it...\" he mumbled. The door opened again and Razor shuffled in, looking frazzled. \"I think I'd call that a domestic disturbance, but I don't wanna get in the middle of those two on my first day back...\" he said. He was back in his uniform, gun, badge and all. \"Officer on deck!\" Bill saluted, \"But nuts, that means no drinks.\" he sighed. Razor chuckled softly. \"Sorry, just checking in on Bob. Also, shhh, I was supposed to be on leave there, so technically I was a vigilante taking on Eggman...\" he said with a wink. Bob nodded. \"Ya sure yer ready ta go back? I heard 'bout what happened to ya.\" he said. Razor shrugged. \"Seems the best way to atone is to get back to work. That's the feeling I got out there fighting Eggman...\" he said.\n\nVortex was seated in a dark corner of the bar, drinking away his loneliness. Whisk, the only girl he had eyes for, was now off in space somewhere or something, and it seemed she was moving on. He just wanted to be left alone with his misery. \"Hello, dear, why so glum?\" glancing up, he saw Vanilla the rabbit of all people standing beside him. \"Oh my, I thought you were Espio. My mistake...\" she stammered. \"It'sss alright... I'm not the villain the newsss hasss made me out to be in the passsst.\" Vortex sighed. Vanilla sat down across from him. \"You're one of the experiments, aren't you! I got to know one of them while locked in a bunker last year... Talon?\" she said. Vortex stared into his glass. \"Sssso, you were locked up with Talon for ssssix monthsss...\" he murmured. Vanilla giggled. \"He was such a nervous boy, but Cream was a bit of a comfort to him. I'm proud of her.\" she said. \"Sssswell...\" Vortex sighed, sipping his drink. Vanilla reached across the table and placed a hand on his shoulder. \"It'll get better, young one. I've had that look before myself.\" she said. Vortex glanced up at her in surprise. \"I...\" he murmured. \"You want to be alone. I understand.\" she smiled. Vortex patted her hand as it rested on his shoulder. \"...You can ssstay...\" he said softly. The door opened and Katie and Mia walked in, just in time to catch Razor before he was going to leave. \"Hold it! Where ya goin, officer? I gotta frisk ya, first!\" said Mia playfully, giving him a hug. Razor smiled and hugged her back. \"Hey there, someone's happy!\" he chuckled. Mia nodded. \"I've got the best friends who never stopped hunting down Eggman to find me and bring me home!\" she said before turning to hug Katie next. \"And this one! She looked after my cab all that time!\" she giggled. \"Awww... But seriously, you two gonna order somethin?\" Bill said, clearing his throat. Razor waved good bye as Katie and Mia sat down to order drinks. \"Yo, Bob, how are ya?\" Katie asked. \"Lightly busy...\" he muttered with a soft chuckle. Violet was still sitting at the counter with a glum look, only now a bit glummer having had to watch Mia's display as she entered. \"Hey, what's with you?\" the cat asked her. Violet huffed. \"You and all your friends are back together, that's swell. My friends were with Despair before Eggman took over, probably were among the group of Robians that just got freed, but I still haven't seen them, so they probably went right back to Despair.\" she said. Katie and Mia looked at her a bit sadly. \"Aw, that's tough... My boyfriend joined up with Despair for a while after I got shot.\" Katie said, \"When he quit he...kinda died. Or just got hurt real bad? I'm not sure but he's an experiment now.\" she said, scratching her head in thought over it. Violet nodded. \"Well... I'm hoping for a better way out for my friends than...that.\" she said.\n\nFinally, Mitch the weasal came in. He was who Violet was waiting for. He sat down next to her and pulled down his hat over his eyes, grunting. \"Whatcha want? I got business to see to...\" he murmured. Violet glanced at him smugly. \"Don't be like that. You owe me, or did you forget who saved your tail when Eggman had the world under his thumb?\" she asked. Mitch clenched his teeth and glanced at Bob. \"Don't just stand there, get me some booze!\" he grunted. Violet gave him a small smile. \"So, Infin, I'm trying to find Patch and Daisy. Can you tell me if they're back with Despair?\" she asked. Mitch sipped his drink briefly and scoffed at her. \"I ain't Infin no more. World's changed, info's changed. I ain't as connected as I used ta be. Just plain 'ol Mitch... But I gots an in with the new Covenant of Despair. I could probly look.\" he murmured. Violet nodded. \"Let's cut to the chase. I want you to help me get Patch and Daisy out of Despair. Last time I saw them it seemed clear to me that they were being forced to stay. They're my friends and I can't leave them like this.\" she said. Mitch smirked. \"Why don'tcha get yer pal, the dark echidna what beat Fera before, have him fight the new covenant?\" he asked. Violet frowned. \"He's got a kid now...\" she said. \"How 'bout yer boyfriend, the fox...\" he snickered. Violet then grabbed him by the throat. \"Watch it, I know you saw the tournament, everyone did.\" she growled. \"Dat's how I know 'bout 'im, ack!\" Mitch grunted as Violet released him, \"I'm real important all of a sudden! What'll ya give me?\" he asked. Violet crossed her arms. \"How about never having to see me again?\" she growled. Mitch took a big sip of his drink and then let out a sigh. \"You realize I could get killed tryin' to help ya do this. This goes beyond settlin' my debt wit you.\" he told her, \"I want... I want my foot back.\" he said, lifting up his robotic foot for her to see. Violet looked at it and raised an eyebrow. \"I don't think we can fix that. It's not robotisized, it's just replaced.\" she said. Mitch lowered his foot and smirked. \"Hah, seriously though. I may not be as connected as I was, but I do remember dis magic wand involved in Project GXterminate. I think you know the owner of dat wand. We'll fix me with magic.\" he said. Violet thought about it. Then, she extended her hand. \"Deal. You help me, you get your foot back.\" she said as Mitch shook her hand. \"Great... I'll get right on it!\" he smirked.\n\nAs the customers left and Bill locked up for the night, Bob was calmly humming while cleaning a glass. \"Never a dull moment, eh?\" Bill asked. \"Nope. Glad to be back, bro...\" Bob smiled. Bill nodded. The place was a dump now, but it was their dump. \"Night Bob... See ya tomorrow...\" Bill said, heading for the back door to head home for the night.\n\n\nMini Episode - Ch. 2.8 - Echidna Training\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nTime was passing quickly. Training for most of the holders of the Chaos Relics was going at a slow but steady pace. Knuckles and Punchy were a bit behind the others, for various reasons, so Gemini came up to the Master Emerald shrine to see that they got some catch-up training done. They ended up bringing baby Aurora along as well; Rainbow had some errands to run and there was no one willing to babysit. \"Some friends I got...\" Punchy grumbled, holding the baby and trying to rock her to sleep as she babbled playfully, not wanting to sleep. Knuckles shrugged. \"Just put her down on the grass. She won't get into much trouble here.\" he said. \"I'm not leaving my baby in the dirty grass!\" Punchy growled. Gemini rolled her eyes. \"Morphikadabra!\" she sighed, casting a spell that changed the entire floor into styrofoam! Knuckles stared as Punchy shrugged and set Aurora down. \"You baby-proofed the Master Emerald shrine!! ...It is gonna change back, right?\" Knuckles babbled. Gemini nodded. \"Yeah, yeah. Get focused, you two. Knuckles, you need to learn to control the Chaos Claws' weird clingy powers. Put 'em on.\" she said. He groaned softly. \"What if I can't get 'em off again?\" he asked. Punchy tickled Aurora's belly as she laid on the foam floor. \"Uncie Knux is a scardie cat! Yes he is!\" he said in baby talk. Knuckles glanced at him with a grouchy grunt and turned to head up the steps of the shrine and get the claws. \"The whole shrine is foam!! Gemini!!!\" he shouted. The fennec scratched her head sheepishly and looked at Punchy. \"As for you... You know the boots are more than just speed, right?\" she asked. Punchy frowned. \"Um... No.\" he muttered. Gemini shook her head, sighing. \"According to Astra, they'll let your feet take you anywhere, whatever that means. Maybe Astra should be the one training you...\" she murmured. Punchy looked at the winged boots on his feet. \"So... Can they teleport me, then?\" he wondered. \"I...don't...know.\" Gemini said through clenched teeth. She had no idea how to train people when she herself didn't know what she was training them to do. Knuckles returned with the Chaos Claws back on his hands. \"Hey, if I slash up the foam shrine, will that affect it when you change it back?\" he asked. \"Don't do that.\" Gemini warned. At any rate, it was now time for their training to get back underway...\n\nWhile Punchy practiced running around the area with the Chaos Boots, Knuckles was busy trying to stab the air with his Chaos Claws. \"C'mon... stick! Catch something! Stab nothing!\" Knuckles grunted. If he could gain mastery over this power, he could climb around literally anywhere without the need for a surface to climb on. Gemini watched him and hummed thoughtfully. \"Remember, you're using creation energy. It's probably not so much about stabbing through some invisible thing as it is actually creating a foothold to stab... hand-hold?\" she murmured. Knuckles took a breath. \"And how do I tap into creation energy anyway?? All I remember about before is being cursed and mad!\" he complained. \"Maybe you gotta be mad!\" Gemini suggested. Knuckles glared at her in annoyance. \"No, because I've been mad since you turned my shrine into foam...\" he grunted. Gemini sighed and decided to turn her attention to Punchy. \"How do you feel?\" she shouted. Punchy was running circles around the shrine while Aurora sat up and watched, giggling. \"I feel like this is stupid!\" he shouted. She nodded. \"Yeah, sure is...\" she murmured. She didn't tell him to do this. \"Try to see if you can use the energy from the Chaos Boots! Figure out what the creation energy will allow them to do!\" she shouted. Punchy gulped. \"I don't wanna run through time or any nonsense like that!\" he shouted. \"You watch too much TV, Punchy!\" Knuckles shouted, trying a different, more casual motion with the Chaos Claws. The tips of the claws started to glow as he moved them forward, and stopped glowing as he pulled them back. \"Hmmm...\" he mumbled. Meanwhile, Punchy thought about what Gemini had said earlier. The boots would let his feet take him anywhere. He decided to try running up the wall of the nearby shrine. \"Alright, I'll... OOF!!\" Fortunately, the shrine was currently made of foam, because otherwise smacking into it at high speed would have caused serious injury. Knuckles smirked and extended his arm forward, managing to stick the claws into an invisible mass of energy that they'd created. He twisted his hand a little. It felt securely stuck. He tried sticking the other claw somewhere above it. \"Oh! You're getting it!\" Gemini clapped. Knuckles smiled proudly, but that smile quickly turned to a frown. \"Uhhh... How do I pull them out of the hand-holds?\" he asked, grunting in frustration as he tugged at them.\n\nPunchy couldn't help laughing at him. \"While you're stuck there, I'm gonna master these boots!\" he taunted. Knuckles scoffed. \"I'm ahead of you, at least I've figured something out beyond the obvious!\" he sniped. Punchy shrugged. \"Big deal. The boots are clearly way better.\" he said, dashing back to his course around the shrine. During all this, Aurora had gotten bored, and began crawling off on her own. The baby seemed curious about how high up they were, and was crawling towards the ledge of the area. As Knuckles grunted against the claws, he turned his head and gasped. \"B-baby!! Look out!!\" he babbled, yanking his hand right out of one of the claws and trying to run, only to find the other hand still stuck, and stumbling around into Gemini, causing her to drop her wand! \"Aaaagh! I'm such a klutz!!\" Gemini gasped. \"No, no, my bad... PUNCHY!!\" Knuckles yelled. Aurora was getting dangerously close to the ledge. \"Oh, god, baby's gonna fall!!\" Knuckles cried loudly. Punchy heard the commotion as he was running and reacted without thinking, turning straight in the direction of Aurora, which happened to be right through the shrine. He ran without a thought, and somehow, he passed right through the solid styrofoam shrine and popped out on the other side, speeding straight for Aurora! \"Wait, what? WHOA!! I was trying to go up the wall!! AAAAAAAAAAA!!!\" Punchy shrieked as he kept going uncontrollably, the Chaos Boots creating a shimmering path under his feet as he ran off the edge and across the sky! Aurora stopped moving and clapped as she watched her father speed away like a rocket. This gave Gemini time to act. \"Aeroft!\" she stammered, casting a levitation spell with her wand that she used to draw Aurora back to herself, catching the baby in her arms. Knuckles stood with his arms crossed and the Chaos Claws stuck in midair, staring out at Punchy, who was standing on a shimmering island suspended by the Chaos Boots. \"Hey, Gemini!!\" Punchy shouted, \"Save me!\" Gemini sighed and glanced at Knuckles, her eyes darting between his stuck claws. \"Agh, hold the baby, we'll figure out this weirdness later...\" she said, handing Aurora off to Knuckles, who held the baby awkwardly. \"H-hey! I don't want...!\" He smelled something unpleasant coming from Aurora. \"Gemini!! Come back! Save me!!\" Knuckles groaned. Gemini shook her head as she stepped towards the ledge and pointed her wand at Punchy. \"I can't believe I'm the only adult around here. Aeroft!\" she said, drawing Punchy back with the same spell. He was...much heavier to catch.\n\nNeedless to say, Punchy had to appoint a babysitter for the future.\n\n\nEpisode 3 - Ray's Oddysey\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and\nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nMighty the armadillo had reconnected with his old friend, Ray the flying squirrel, who had been traveling abroad for a few years. Mighty had brought him back home, the younger squirrel eager to see his old friends again, and maybe meet some of the new friends Mighty had made. However, they had gotten separated while passing through Troblusk City. Meeting up again at the Station Square burger shop, Ray looked a bit worried when he sat down. \"Sorry about that detour, Ray. Hey, why the long face? Did you run into trouble in that dirty city? Man, I knew we should've gone around...\" Mighty grumbled, feeling bad about the whole thing. Ray rubbed his head nervously. \"W-well, you see, the thing is...\" he was cut off by the manager, Dave, talking to a customer behind them. \"Wha? It's your birthday?! BIRTHDAY ALERT!!\" he called. Ray looked alarmed as the staff ran out to start singing to that customer. \"Happy happy birthday! Happy birthday, to you! Here blow out a candle, and may all your dreams come true!\" Mighty shuddered as he heard them sing. \"I thought they only did this at fancier restaurants... Uhh... Ray?\" he mumbled, staring at his friend. Ray had hopped out of his seat, a vacant look in his eyes, and began to tap dance uncontrollably while the staff were singing. \"H-hey, Ray... Snap out of it!\" Mighty went to shake him, but Ray wouldn't stop until the singing ceased. He shook his head dizzily as Dave walked by. \"At least someone likes our singing!\" he said with a coy smile. Ray blushed in embarrasment and sat down. \"Oh no, it happened again...\" he murmured. Mighty blinked a couple times. \"Again? Ray, what the heck was that?\" he asked. Ray twiddled his thumbs, his head looking down. \"Ya see, in that dirty city, I ran across a witch. I guess I annoyed her quite a bit, because she cursed me. Now, every time I hear something like music, I go into a trance and start dancing...\" he mumbled. He then started to cry. \"I can't go on like this! I can never go in a store again! They always have music in the background! Waaaah!!\" as he started to sob, Mighty placed a hand on his shoulder. \"Okay, okay, take it easy. We'll track down this witch and make her take off the curse. I wonder if that Wendy Witchcart is back?\" he murmured, lost in thought for a moment. Just then, from the other booth next to them, Gator poked his head out and looked at them. \"Can I come, too?\" he asked. Mighty glanced at him with annoyance. Gator always seemed around to bug him when he came to this town. \"No.\" he said blankly, taking Ray's hand and leading him out the door. Gator sighed. \"Awww... Well, happy birthday, Travis.\" he said to the guy two seats down, who happened to be Lucky's friend from some other world. \"This is not how I envisioned this day...\" Travis sighed.\n\n\nBlaze was sitting silently in a meditative pose at the bottom of the steps leading to the ledge below Tails' Workshop. She needed to control both her flames and the Chaos Crown at once in order to properly use the Chaos Crown. It would take immense focus. However, she seemed to be making progress as vines grew up around her, thriving. Then, Mighty and Ray passed by, talking loudly. \"I can't believe Charmy's a detective now! Like, wow, I can't even imagine!\" Ray said. \"Well, they tracked the guy we want to here, so I guess they know their stuff.\" Mighty chuckled. The vines around Blaze burst into flames, covering her with their ash in mere moments. \"Son of a...\" she growled. Up the steps, Ray spotted Tails smacking an Egg Pawn-shaped scarecrow with his tails. Turning, he smiled to see him. \"Ray! Oh, wow, it's been forever!\" he said excitedly. Ray ran up and playfully hugged him. \"Tails! Wow, you've really grown, haha!\" he chuckled. \"Gosh, you think?\" Tails asked bashfully. Mighty found Knuckles nearby with his claws stuck in the air. \"Mighty! Good to see ya back! Wanna help us train?\" he asked with a smirk, removing his hands from the still-hovering claws and doing a few practice punches in Mighty's direction. The armadillo playfully punched back, but sighed. \"Nope, we're lookin' for that guy.\" he said, pointing at Timothy, who was having a little talk with Punchy about the Chaos Boots, apparently. Knuckles tilted his head. \"Why?\" he asked. \"Well, I seem to recall an impressive bit of magic he performed at the green guy's wedding.\" Mighty stated. Just then, Copter stepped out of Tails' garage, holding his bass guitar. \"Ladies and gentlemen, my next number is a song I've been working on for a while...\" he smirked. \"Hey! Put that down, Copter!\" Tails stammered. \"Gah! Please, don't!\" Ray gasped. Snickering, Copter started to strum the guitar, playfully making some noise. \"Ohhh, I'm a dark angel, a captive from the light! The dark angel, flyin' through the blackest night!\" Copter started to sing, which prompted Ray to do a moonwalk, followed by some twirling. Tails watched him with surprise. \"Wow, Ray... You got skills, unlike Copter...\" he murmured. \"S-stop meee!\" Ray whimpered. Gemini walked out from inside Tails' workshop and gasped. \"Oh no! You've been cursed!\" she stammered, \"Stop playing, Copter!\" she said. Copter's eyes darted back and forth, and he grinned darkly as he kept playing. \"I'm flyin' as a dark angel for all eternity, yeah!!\" he sang as Ray kept dancing. \"Quit it!\" Mighty yelled. Copter finally stopped and Ray collapsed dizzily. \"Oh no, I'm hallucinating. There's two Tails, two Knuckles, and two... uh... fox ladies.\" he said, pointing at Gemini as Astra stepped out from behind her. Astra looked him over with a serious expression. \"This curse can only be lifted by the witch who cast it. Take this.\" she said, handing Mighty a bronze coin. It looked similar to the coin that was able to detect Chaos Relics and opened the door to the Chaos Crystal. \"This talisman will lead you to magical energy. Use it to find the one who cursed him.\" Astra said. Mighty nodded, and propped Ray onto his feet. The squirrel waved. \"Nice meeting you, guys...\" he said as Mighty carried him off. Copter carried the guitar down and smirked at Punchy. \"Leave music to Tails.\" Punchy groaned. Knuckles rubbed his chin. \"Hmm... Y'know, Duditude hasn't done a concert in a while...\" he muttered.\n\n\nThey had to go a good distance away before the talisman would stop detecting Gemini and Timothy's magic. They hopped the train and found themselves back in Station Square, where the talisman led them to the Raisol Sanctuary under the city. \"I hope it's not detecting the spell used to transform this place...\" Mighty said as they looked around the undreground city. Ray looked around in wonder. \"Whoa! There's another city under the city! Do people live in all these houses? Are those crystals glowing?\" he babbled. As they walked, the talisman glowed brighter the closer they got to a particular building. Before they could approach, though, Talon dropped down into their path, his talons glowing as he pointed at them threateningly. \"Who dares trespass on the realm of mystical beasts?\" he said, making his voice sound deep and menacing. A certain purple dragon landed next to him, making Ray jump and hide behind Mighty. \"Turn back now, or face our furious wrath!\" he warned. Mighty turned to Ray. \"Anyone look familiar, pal?\" he asked. \"Nope! Let's get outta here!\" Ray whimpered. \"Guys, lay off!\" came the voice of Carrie inside the building. As she stepped out, the dragon shifted back into Kosmo's default form. \"Hey, it's my house they're walkin' up to!\" he complained. Mighty tapped the talisman and shook it. \"Sorry, this thing's supposed to lead us to magic, not experiments.\" he murmured. Carrie sighed. \"Oh, is it? Well, um... I did spend about a year hanging around Gemini and Timmy, using their magic to jump back and forth through time. Maybe I stink of magic to that thing. Wonder if there's any way to wash the stink off...?\" she murmured, blushing awkwardly. Kosmo rolled his eyes. \"Wherever I go, people's problems find me...\" he groaned. Talon folded his wings and retracted his glowing talons, looking at Mighty and Ray curiously. \"Is there any way we can help you guys?\" he asked. Ray shook his head. \"Nah, no thanks, we're good.\" he said nervously, not too keen on possibly seeing that dragon again. Mighty shrugged. \"Right, then, sorry to bother you. C'mon, Ray...\" As they walked away, Carrie crossed her arms, shaking her head at the two boys. \"What?\" Kosmo grumbled. \"With how often I'm coming over, I'd say this is my place, too.\" she smirked. Talon stepped away from them. \"Hey, y'know, I think I hear Bucky calling...\" he murmured, running off on his own to give them privacy. Kosmo crossed his arms. \"You saying you wanna move in...? That'd practically make us...\" he trailed off. \"A couple.\" Carrie finished. They both stood blushing for a bit. \"Talon's not moving in?\" Kosmo clarified. \"No, dummy. We're a couple.\" Carrie said, sticking her tongue out at him. Well... That settled that, it seemed.\n\n\nRay hovered in the air next to Mighty, gliding on the gentle breeze as they followed the talisman to Central City. It was glowing brightest outside a particular house, so, shrugging, Mighty knocked at the door. Shade the echidna opened up. \"...Hello... Can I help you?\" she asked, looking a bit drowsy. Seemed she overslept, possibly explaining why she wasn't at training with the other Chaos Relic holders. Mighty looked a bit awkward. \"Errr, sorry to bother you, ma'am. Do you have anything magical in your house? It might be messing with our tracker's um... tracking.\" he said. Ray tilted his head. \"You know, maybe we should have just started where I got cursed.\" he pointed out. Mighty had a stupid look on his face as the obvious was just pointed out. \"Right. That'll be next, maybe.\" he grumbled. Shade shrugged and showed them in. \"I've got magical doodads cluttering up everything. See anything you need?\" she asked, \"You can't take my Chaos Gauntlets, though.\" she mumbled. Sitting here and there in her living room were a number of artifacts that Shadow had entrusted her with guarding. There was a certain scepter, a conch, some inactive Phantom Ruby prototypes, too. Most interesting was the Mask of Enerjak, which Shade had reassembled after it had shattered into Twilight Shards when they found it. Ray looked at it as though mesmerized. \"Yes, I shall release you, master...\" he babbled, at which Shade snatched up the mask and swatted him on the head. \"You can't take this, either.\" she said. Mighty looked around. \"Weird. Why do you have so much magic junk just cluttering the place?\" he asked. \"Eggman had collected it when he conquered the world. We found it after his defeat, but there are people at GUN who... let's say we don't trust them with this stuff.\" Shade stated. The door opened again, and as the trio turned, a pair of glowing eyes greeted them. \"I've been looking all over for you...\" His body rippling in a watery form, Nova the morph stood in the doorway! Shade grabbed the Chaos Gauntlets and fumbled to put them on while Mighty and Ray took on defensive positions. \"Stand down, boys, this need not concern you. I've given up everything to get that mask. I've killed, been exiled, and don't get me started on that Kosmo...\" he ranted. Shade tried to fire a bolt from the Chaos Gauntlets at him, but his liquid chest opened up to allow the shot to pass through him! He then extended his arm to grab the mask, and began to slither away to escape! \"After him!\" Shade shouted. Mighty nodded, and Ray gave chase first. He leapt into the sky, gliding on the wind to chase Nova as he slipped away fast like a wave, eventually slipping into a crowd. Ray landed just outside the crowd, and Mighty soon caught up. \"What are all these people gathered for?\" he asked. Spotlights pointed to an outdoor stage, and the crowd cheered as Sonic stepped to the microphone. \"Helloooo, Central City! Ready for the Duditude Reunion Concert!?\" he shouted. Knuckles sure worked fast. Ray gulped hearing this. \"C-concert??\" Shade pushed past them, searching for Nova. \"Never mind that, we can't let him escape with that mask!\" she grunted.\n\nMighty started to drag Ray through the crowd, hoping to keep him focused as they went. However, when Duditude started playing, Ray started dancing again, and soon squirmed out of Mighty's grip. \"Aaaah! I'd love to dance to this but not now!\" Ray said awkwardly. Mighty fumbled through the crowd, trying to catch him, and bumped into Chet the cheetah. \"Ooof! S-sorry...\" he muttered. \"No prob. Hey, you know that guy dancin' with Mia?\" Chet pointed. Mia had taken Ray by the hand and started groovin' with him to the music, which he seemed rather embarrassed by. Katie stood beside Chet and shook her head. \"Same old Mia... Maybe we should dance, Chet?\" she grinned. Mighty groaned at what he realized he'd have to do to get Ray out of this. \"Cutting in!\" he said, and to Mia's surprise, danced off with Ray. \"Ahh, well, d-don't be a stranger!\" she waved, \"...They're not coming back, are they? Too bad Guard's not into this.\" she muttered. Mighty and Ray then waltzed past Cosmo and Zooey, who were holding up signs that read \"U rock, Tails!\" as they listened to the concert. They stopped next to them. \"Enough, Ray! Let's try plugging up your ears...\" Mighty said, sticking his fingers in there. \"It's no good, it's too loud!\" Ray groaned, tap dancing on the spot. Cosmo and Zooey glanced at them, raising their eyebrows. \"What are you doing?\" Zooey asked. \"It's not what it looks like!\" Mighty babbled. \"What does it look like?\" Ray asked. \"Like, uh... Like we should move...\" Cosmo murmured, taking her sign and edging away from them awkwardly, followed by Zooey. Shade caught up to them next. \"Any sign of that morph?\" she asked. Mighty and Ray shook their heads, and Shade frowned. \"He got away then... Now what?\" she groaned, looking up onstage. \"Maybe I should tell Knuckles when he's got a moment.\" she murmured. Mighty nodded. \"Sounds like a plan. We gotta run, though!\" he said, lifting up the squirming Ray and trying to head out of the crowd. \"Oooh! I love this song! I wanna fly high! Doot do do...\" Ray murmured. On the way out of the crowd, they found a small group that had come to boo, led by Spiny the porcupine. \"Get off that stage! You're blocking traffic!\" Spiny shouted. \"That song's lame!\" yelled Zazz, who was also there to boo. \"Play Gotta Go Fast!\" shouted Char the Chao. The music stopped playing at that point, and Amy yelled at them from the stage. \"Scram, losers! We got a whole crowd here that's against ya!\" she snapped. With the music stopped, Mighty put Ray down and the pair began to run. \"Thanks for being jerks!\" Mighty said as he passed Spiny. \"Uhhh... anytime?\" he murmured. \"Cute little fella!\" Ray giggled, patting Char as he passed. \"Hey! No touchy!!\" Char growled. A police car pulled up, and as Razor and Ridley stepped out, Zazz decided to beat it. \"Later, suckers!\" he laughed, making Spiny jump in surprise. \"Dude, I thought we were in this together! Gaaah! Coward!\" he yelled, taking off in another direction while Char flew off too. \"Kinda breaks my heart to have to tell the crowd they're blocking traffic...\" Razor murmured. \"Let's chase those guys first.\" Ridley smirked.\n\n\nSo, Mighty and Ray started walking towards Troblusk City next. About halfway there, they found Shadow Arcangel parked, and the talisman glowed. \"Well, that's a witch's lair for sure.\" Mighty said. They headed inside, but didn't get far before Vortex and Crash found them. \"And jusssst where are you two going?\" Vortex asked. \"This isn't a public lab.\" Crash grunted. \"It's a lab? Like, Frankenstein?\" Ray asked, looking around curiously. Mighty sighed, holding up the talisman. \"Looking for a witch. This thing led us here.\" he murmured. Crash rubbed his head under his bowler. \"Witch? Do we have magic here now? I have been gone a spell...\" he muttered. Vortex looked a bit nostalgic for a minute. \"You mussst be getting tracesss of Whisssk'sss magic from her lasssst visssit.\" he said. Just then, Zipp flew into the room. \"Guys, guys! Boss just finished givin' Experiment 18 the 'ol check-up! We can meet him now!\" he said with a snicker. Ray pointed as if to say \"Aha,\" and grinned. \"I knew it! Frankenstein! I bet he has neck-bolts and everything! Let's check it out!\" he said, following Zipp. \"R-ray, wait! Aw, geez...\" Mighty groaned. They soon found themselves at Bucky's lab, where the rat himself was packing up some of his equipment. \"And with this, I have brought all of Hope's children into the world... Every creation she wished to give life with me...\" he sighed, reminiscing about his lost love. Sitting on the lab bench was a cyan colored unicorn, with a beautiful silver mane and a lovely horn on her head. Well, one would be forgiven for thinking it was female, but in fact it was a boy. Zipp chuckled at him. \"Let's put him in a dress!\" he snickered, to which Crash swatted him aside. \"Respect our fellow experiments!\" he grunted. Vortex sighed. \"Why Whisssk's fur color?\" he asked. \"You try being creative after 18 experiments.\" Bucky retorted. Ray looked around the unicorn curoiusly. \"Hmm, where's the bolts?\" he asked. Eighteen blushed at everyone staring at him, awkwardly stroking his mane. \"Hi there, everyone...\" he murmured. The door opened, and someone else started to enter. \"Ah, seventeen, there you are.\" Bucky smiled. Looking, Mighty gasped, and Ray pointed. \"Frankenstein!!\" they both yelled. Experiment 17 was a mish-mash of different creatures. Contained in a turtle shell was some sort of mammilian body. His head was that of a bat, and his bushy tail was a chinchilla's. Also, he had bolts in his head like a certain famous monster. \"Please, we call him Frankie. Frankie Stein.\" Zipp chortled. The turtle creature groaned. \"My name is Bolt.\" he said. \"Bit on the nose, isn't it?\" Mighty murmured. Electricity started to spark from Bolt's head, and he growled angrily, but then, Eighteen started to sing. \"Hush little Boltie, don't you cry. Nothing's gonna hurt you when I'm here nearby.\" As the unicorn started to hum in his beautiful voice, Bolt relaxed, while Ray started to slow dance. Everyone looked at him, and Bucky folded his arms. \"He's cursed, huh?\" he asked, \"Yeah, we had the Lost Ones on this ship a while, I know something about curses...\" the rat sighed. \"Ship? This is a ship? Cool! Can I fly it?\" Ray asked excitedly as Mighty lifted him up. \"Nope, we're getting you fixed somehow!\" he grumbled. \"This is a ship? What's a ship?\" Eighteen asked. \"Firssst thing'sss firssst. You need a name.\" Vortex said. \"Rainbow D-\" Zipp started to say, only to get swatted again. \"Please don't be violent...\" the unicorn sighed.\n\n\nAfter a bit more wandering, Mighty and Ray somehow wound up at a military checkpoint. General Gunner was looking over a map of the area, sticking little toothpicks in it with his good hand to mark said map. \"We'll find all those freaks that took advantage of Eggman's invasion of the world to escape the Hopebringer Center... God, I wish we could change the name back to Death Row...\" he grumbled as Shadow the hedgehog stood close by with a bored expression. \"'Scuse us! Passin' through! Sorry to disturb ya!\" Ray babbled as they stepped past the checkpoint. Mighty gulped. He'd hoped Ray would be quiet. Gunner turned to them and pointed his other arm in their direction, which was now sporting a very menacing looking laser cannon instead of a hand! \"You boys are trespassing! Shadow, be a good soldier and arrest them!\" he ordered, smirking. He loved bossing around Shadow. However, the hedgehog didn't exactly jump to it. \"We put our checkpoint in the middle of the road, on a crazy tip that the Battle Bird Armada was in the area, and you want to arrest civilians for trying to pass said public road?\" he stated. \"It's not your job to think, just obey your general!\" Gunner snarled. At that moment, Spy ran up, out of breath. \"Sarge! Colonel! Whatever!\" he shouted. \"I'm a GENERAL now, you twit! Learn the chain of command!\" he shouted. Spy panted and held up something sparkly. \"S-sir! General Gunner! Look! What I found!\" The pink stone in his hand was unmistakable. Spy was holding a Phantom Ruby! Gunner took his attention away from Mighty and Ray, pointing his gun arm around. \"Gah!? Is that jackal freak around?!\" he stammered. \"Infinite wouldn't be a threat without the Phantom Ruby.\" Shadow pointed out, \"On the other hand, there were two functioning rubies at the end. Neither were ever recovered.\" he explained. A whoosh was heard, and the ruby was gone from Spy's hand. \"Huh?!\" he gasped. Rouge flew above them, admiring the ruby. \"It's lovely, for something so lethal. I think I should hold on to it!\" she grinned. \"You'll do no such thing! It's going straight to Dr. Nammad so GUN can weaponize it for the good of mankind!\" Gunner shouted. \"Uh huh, I'll be sure to inform the Commander so that it doesn't get misused like Project GXterminate...\" Rouge said with a sly glance. Gunner snorted angrily. \"Now, as for you two... What!?\" Mighty and Ray were gone. They'd left in the distraction. \"Shadow! Where'd they go?!\" Gunner snapped. \"Sorry, sir, the Phantom Ruby seemed more pressing.\" he said. Gunner grit his teeth, turned, and fired a blast at the map he'd been using. \"You're...right... Let's get that ruby off the field...\" he growled. Shadow looked at the ground as Gunner's forces started prepping to return to base. \"Working for Gunner is like working for the same kind of people who took Maria from me... This has to stop...\" he whispered to himself.\n\n\nSoon, Mighty and Ray were drawn to Troblusk Plateau, where a set of black tents were pitched here and there up the mountain path. This was the temporary gathering place for the new Covenant of Despair until a suitable replacement for Despair Castle could be found. Tabitha could be seen sitting outside one of the tents. \"That's her! That's the witch that cursed me!\" Ray pointed. Mighty looked at the path to her, and could see that Fera was holding a bit of a meeting along that path. Nova was there, along with Nack the weasal, Bark the polar bear, Bean the duck, and some of the Battle Bird Armada, including their leader, the Battle Lord Kukku himself, all apparently getting orientation from Fera and Anubis. Mighty gulped. \"We're gonna have to sneak our way there, Ray. These are NOT friendlies...\" he said. \"I'm the master of stealth!\" Ray grinned. Mighty gave him a flabbergasted stare. \"Is that why we've gotten mixed up in like, five misadventures on the way here?\" he asked as Ray sheepishly rubbed his head. As they began their tense hike up the mountain, Fera and Anubis addressed the group. \"Some of you are here looking for sanctuary against the law. That's fine. Those laws are human constructs. Just remember our mission... We exist to bring down humanity and put furs on top!\" Fera told them. \"Why not just say Mobian? That's more inclusive!\" Bean said, raising his hand. Fera scoffed. \"I'll consider it when you can prove humans didn't come up with the term.\" she said. Anubis grunted. \"Unfortunately, we don't have uniforms for you now. Our resources have been depleted. But with your assistance, we'll regain those resources and more...\" he grinned. \"I expect my rank among the Battle Birds to afford me certain leadership privelidges here...\" the Battle Lord announced. \"Pah, he wants to go straight from jail back to king? Put in some work, pops!\" Nack grunted. As some mild arguing started up there, Mighty and Ray crept past by hiding behind some boulders near the edge of the cliff. \"They're building a new army...\" Mighty whispered. \"I didn't know they had an old army.\" Ray muttered. \"Shh...\" Mighty looked around, and motioned for Ray to follow. They crawled by, heading past a few tents towards Tabitha. A rock was tossed at them as they passed by, and they looked to see Dark Copter peering at them from within a tent. \"Be careful boys... If I get the order, you two are being torn limb from limb...\" he said with a wicked smirk. Ray chuckled nervously. \"Uhh, th-thanks, we'll be...careful...haha...\" he babbled. Mighty grabbed him by the hand. \"C'mon, lets's make this quick...\" he said, not wanting to stick around any longer than necessary.\n\nUpon reaching Tabitha, the orange feline smirked at them. \"The little pest is back with a friend. How are your lessons proceeding, hm? I think I want to see how you perform...\" she cackled. Mighty raised his fists. \"This isn't funny! You remove the curse you put on my friend, right now!\" he shouted. \"Yeah, or we'll get tough with ya!\" Ray warned, jumping back and forth in a boxing stance. Tabitha snickered at them. \"Quiet, child, the adults are talking. Patch, dear! Play us a little song, will you?\" she called. Patch the fox hopped over with a manic chuckle. \"Hee hee! I shall play the most fiendish instrument of them all... the TRIANGLE!!\" he giggled, lifting up said triangle and starting to ding it, causing Ray to start breakdancing for some odd reason. Who could figure out why he picked certain dances. At any rate, Tabitha took advantage of the brief distraction to hop on her broom. \"Now, I'll cast you both out of this place! Good bye!\" she sneered, hurling some sort of green sparking spells down at Mighty, who turned around so his strong armadillo shell could take the blow! \"Ugh! You can't curse me so easily! Now, come down from there!\" Mighty said, picking up rocks and throwing them up at Tabitha. Ray whined as he helplessly danced. \"Please stop, Mr. Fox...\" he babbled. \"Hee hee... I could knife ya instead!\" Patch smirked. Sweating, Ray kept spinning around on the ground. \"K-keep playing! Keep playing!\" he gulped. The commotion easily drew the attention of the Covenant of Despair, who were mostly just watching for now. Conan stepped calmly over to Fera. \"Well? Orders, madame boss?\" he asked. Fera grunted and started heading up there, looking like she would deal with this herself. However, she moved a bit slowly. \"So, what, we're killing our own kind now?\" a voice in her head asked. It was Felicia. Fera growled. \"Butt out...\" she huffed. \"I can see your memories now, you know. You used to stand for something. But I guess you're just twisted like Howler.\" Felicia said. \"I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions without voices in my head, yours or his!\" she snapped. Dark Copter scratched his head as she passed by. \"And they say I'm nuts...\" he mused. Finally, Fera arrived at Tabitha, who had created a ring of fire around Mighty and Ray, and was prepared to finish them off. \"Halt!!\" Fera shouted. \"Hee hee! Intruders, boss...\" Patch babbled. Mighty pointed up. \"We're only here because she cursed my friend!\" he stated. Fera glanced from the moronically dancing Ray up to Tabitha. \"Tabby... we don't curse fellow furs. Put him right and let him go. You'll have plenty of opportunity to work your dark arts on the humans...\" Fera ordered. Tabitha sat on the broom, rolling her eyes. \"Fine... I'm bored anyway...\" she grumbled. As Fera turned to leave, she heard Felicia in her head. \"Nice show of compassion.\" To which Fera groaned. Lower down the mountain, Conan glanced at Anubis. \"She has gone soft...\" he whispered. Anubis smirked. \"The others will grow discontent with her leadership, and I will be primed to take control...\"\n\n\nFinally freed from the curse, Ray was quick to glide away from that mountain, keeping an eye on Mighty from above as he followed. Using the talisman, they found their way back to Gemini and Astra, who were now resting after training back in the Raisol Sanctuary, where so many of their friends without proper homes had found sanctuary. They returned the talisman and told their story, though omitting a few details here and there. Gemini looked at Astra with concern. \"Fera's got the Chaos Cards, and now she's building a new Covenant of Despair, too. As if we didn't have enough to worry about with the Lost Ones building their own fortress...\" she murmured. Astra nodded. \"Training our heroes is becoming all the more important. They may be needed to take on this covenant.\" she said, glancing over her shoulder at Copter, who was chatting with Timothy and Punchy just outside Rainbow's house. \"I think you need to train him, too.\" Astra said. Gemini looked where Astra was looking. \"...Timothy?\" she asked, but that wasn't who Astra meant, \"...Copter?\" That was it. \"Not sure how he'd take to that. He's... prideful.\" Gemini stated. Astra nodded. \"But it's his dark form they spotted on that mountain, now, isn't it?\" Mighty and Ray glanced at each other, feeling like third wheels now. \"Hehe, maybe we'd better go...\" Ray chuckled, \"Thanks for the coin thingy, though!\" he smiled. \"You're welcome to stay and help us.\" Gemini told them. Mighty tilted his head. \"Magic's not our thing. Knuckles will know how to contact us if you really need us.\" he said with a sheepish grin. They nodded, and waved as Mighty and Ray started towards the ladder leading to the surface, and Station Square. \"So, Ray, you think you can dance that good without a curse?\" Mighty asked, slapping his back playfully. \"Ah ha ha! I have no idea. I'm all danced out for now, anyway. Let's do something else fun!\" he said with a big smile. Mighty nodded. \"Well, alright... How about singing? I bet Vector would love to get our old band back together!\" he chuckled. Ray flapped up into the air protesting. \"No way! Vector's TERRIBLE!! I wanna sing for once! Let's us two do karaoke!\" he shouted. Gemini watched them leave with a wistful sigh. \"I wonder if the extent of my problems will ever be that mundane again...\" she murmured. Astra placed a hand on her shoulder. \"Believe. The world can be set right. And until then...you might want to think about who you'd like to spend that mundane time with, once you have it...\" she said, once again glancing over at Timothy and Copter, with a knowing smile.\n\n\nMini Episode - Ch. 3.5 - Home is where the Heartache is\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nPreviously - After several adventures amongst various worlds, Lucky and Whisk landed on the home world of their Tails companion. There, he betrayed them, calling himself Miles and helping Scourge the hedgehog to claim the keyblade from Lucky. Despite the betrayal, Whisk still believes there is good in Miles. However, needing to regroup, Lucky and Whisk return home to the world of GeneX Prime...\n\n\n\nLucky and Whisk weren't sure where to go or what to do upon arriving back in their home world. They stopped off at Shadow Arcangel, where they got to meet the latest additions to the Experiment family, Bolt the turtle-thing and Experiment 18 the unicorn. Whisk stared at Eighteen as he stood polishing his white horn. \"Why light blue? Am I being replaced?\" she asked. \"No, no, of course not. Geez, nobody ever asked me why I went with black several times...\" Bucky complained. Lucky looked at the bolts in Bolt's bat-shaped head. \"Now I really feel... lucky...\" he murmured. \"Why? ...Stop staring!!\" Bolt grimaced. Eighteen stopped polishing his horn and patted Bolt on the head. \"Easy, there, it's alright... Hey, could you two help me come up with a name for myself?\" he asked in his sweet, lyrical voice. Lucky scratched his head. \"Umm... Actually, I think we need a quiet place to think things over.\" he stated. \"Is this about your missing otherworldly Tails friend?\" Bucky asked. They nodded, and Bucky nodded back. \"If you want to know anything about Tails, why not ask him? He's likely at his workshop.\" the rat stated. Lucky glanced at Whisk. \"Hmm... I'm not sure he could help us.\" she said, \"But it's worth a shot.\" Before they could go, however, Vortex burst into the room with a small handful of flowers. \"Whisssk! I... I heard you were back!\" he said loudly, blushing. Zipp and Crash stepped to the door behind him, snickering as they watched Vortex hand her the flowers. \"It hasss been ssso dark and gloomy here without you...\" he said. \"It's always dark and gloomy here. This ship is dark...and gloomy.\" Lucky babbled. Vortex hissed at him briefly before fixing his attention on Whisk. \"I have been working to change my waysss... Pleassse sssay you'll remain here with me...\" he said, taking her hands in his and dropping to his knees. \"Mee-yow! Is he gonna propose!?\" Lucky gasped. Whisk looked rather flabbergasted. \"Vortex... I'm sorry, but my memory only takes hold after what we'd been through. I only vaguely remember us ever being a thing... And... I kinda...\" she glanced at Lucky with a blush, and Eighteen gasped. \"Ooooh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Vortex...\" he said offering the chameleon a hug. Vortex looked confused. \"Wha?\" Then Zipp chuckled. \"Whisk loves Lucky! Whisk loves Lucky!\" he teased. Lucky turned red with embarrasment, but not as much as Vortex. \"I... I...\" he stammered. \"You've always got unicorn-girl.\" Lucky said. \"I'm a boy...\" Eighteen sighed. Lucky then grabbed Whisk's hand. \"Teleport!! Teleport!!\" he shouted. They vanished in a flash, and Bucky patted Vortex's back. \"Plenty of fish in the sea...\" he said. \"I'm not hungry...\" Vortex retorted.\n\nSo, the next stop for Lucky and Whisk was Tails' Workshop. He was on break from training, luckily, but was instead occupied trying to teach Copter to play his bass guitar, since he'd shown an interest. The noise nearly scared Lucky away, and when they pressed past it, the sight of Tails gave them butterflies in their stomachs, but his cheery demeanor quickly calmed them. Before long, they'd told him everything that had happened, and how Miles had betrayed them. \"Hmm... This other Tails sounds more like me...\" Copter said at the end. Tails rubbed his chin. \"I don't know about that, Copter. He still has my tech smarts.\" he pointed out. \"Ouch...\" Copter muttered. Lucky observed both of them and realized that Miles was kind of like a combination of the two. \"Huh... Well, anyway, do you have anything you can tell us, Tails? Why'd ya do it!? ...Sorry...\" he said awkwardly. Tails chuckled softly, sitting back in a chair by his work bench. \"Well... Miles and I are technically not the same person, even if we look the same and have a lot in common, so I can't really tell you his reasons.\" he said. \"They're no more the same than Tails and I are.\" Copter pointed out. Whisk nodded. \"Fair enough... We just hoped you could help us...\" she said. Tails gave a small smile. \"I can try guessing... If he's anything like me, Sonic will have found him at a time in his life when he really needed a friend. This Scourge may not have been a good influence like Sonic, but Miles is probably still loyal to him because Scourge was the first person to treat him like he mattered...\" he said. Lucky sighed. \"Does that mean that Scourge makes him evil and there's nothing we can do?\" he asked. Tails stood up. \"No way! I refuse to believe any version of me could be evil! And if all the stories you just told me are true... then there's no way Miles doesn't feel in his heart that you're his friends, too! He's conflicted right now, but there must be a way to get through to him!\" he said. Lucky and Whisk smiled. \"Wow, Tails, you're not bad with words. Maybe you could come with us?\" Whisk asked. Copter shook his head. \"Bad idea. It would just look to Miles like you'd replaced him.\" he pointed out. \"Oh... No, but we could never... Ahh, but I guess coming here, maybe we were trying to after all... Does that make us bad friends?\" he asked. Tails shook his head. \"You miss him. That makes you good friends. Now, come on. Let's do something about your lack of a weapon...\" he said, heading for a box he had in the corner and starting to rummage through it...\n\nLucky was soon standing outside, holding what appeared to be a glass sword. \"What good is this?\" he asked. \"It's an Artificial Chaos Sword, which I confiscated from GUN during the war with Despair...or was it Infinite? All these wars are starting to blend together...\" Tails said, rubbing his head. Gemini had been called over, and was standing next to Whisk. \"So, the Zodiac Council gave you a wand like mine. But you've been using it for basic, all-worlds magic? Maybe I could show you some Divine spells while you're here...\" she said. Copter carried SPOT in his arms and ran around in front of Lucky, a shield erected around him thanks to SPOT. \"Alright, kid! This is training! Hit me with that sword!\" he challenged. \"Huh? I don't want to hit you, Copter!\" Lucky said, waving the sword in another direction and accidentally firing a bolt from the blade towards Tails, who flew up quickly to avoid it! \"Yaaah! Careful! Like the Chaos Sword, your AC Sword can shoot bolts of energy. It's not quite a Chaos Spear, but it's better than nothing.\" he said. Lucky looked at the sword and nodded. \"Ahh... Okay. Any thoughts on how we'll find Tails-err-Miles, though?\" Lucky asked as he ran after Copter, firing bolts from his sword at SPOT's shield. Gemini smiled. \"I'll teach you a spell that can help. First, think about the guitar, which I've hidden to keep Copter from playing it...\" Gemini said. \"Wha? Hey!\" Copter babbled. Whisk giggled and nodded. Gemini held up her wand. \"Wave your wand up like this... And speak the magic word, 'Discovereva' while tapping into the magical energy of your wings...\" she instructed. Whisk gave it a try, but her wings spread out, glowed, and kicked up a magical wind! \"Aaaah, too much focus on your wings!\" Gemini gasped. \"Sorry...\" Whisk said sheepishly, \"D-discovereva!\" she said, trying again. A light emitted from her wand. It flew off in a direction, and Whisk and Gemini followed it. Before long, they came to a patch of dirt where something had been freshly buried. \"Terralifta!\" Gemini said, swishing her wand over the dirt to reveal the guitar! \"HEY!! How could you do that to my guitar, Gemini!?\" Tails stammered. Gemini chuckled softly. \"Don't worry... It'll be good as new after a little magical TLC...\" she said apologetically. Lucky and Whisk smiled. \"Can you guys teach us anything else? We wanna be ready when we find Scourge...\" Lucky said. Gemini smiled wide. For the first time, she was feeling like an effective teacher. \"Why don't you two join our training group for a day or two?\" she asked. Lucky and Whisk nodded. They didn't know where they'd find Miles out there among the worlds, but they wouldn't give up hope that they could free him from Scourge's control. And if they couldn't...they'd try to be prepared for that, too. But could one ever really be prepared to fight a friend?\n\n\nMini Episode - Ch. 3.8 - Phantom Thieves\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nThe Hopebringer Center had seen more hopeful days. Since Eggman's invasion of the world had caused the guards to leave their posts, the inmates escaped and trashed the place on the way out. In the reconstruction, the building had become something of a hybrid of the two facilities it was previously, the other being Death Row. Security had been upped, and the building looked like a cross between a hospital and a military compound now. This was where the Phantom Ruby was being held. Naturally, as word of this spread, thieves would come looking. Three boards whizzed overhead, flying to the top of the center, near where Copter's old cell would have been. Wave the Swallow stepped off her board and approached a console on the wall, pulling a screwdriver from her pocket to remove the cover blocking access. \"Once I disable the security, this should be a piece of cake.\" she said. Jet the Hawk landed behind her. \"Pah! We're wasting time! Let's just speed in and out! No security can catch me!\" he said cockily. Wave rolled her eyes. \"This facility was designed to contain Sonic! You think they'd be unprepared for someone speedy?\" she snapped. \"Contain, not capture!\" Jet squawked. Storm the Albatross had landed nearby, and stepped between them. \"Do you two have to argue? Let's just do the job so that the gargoyle mob can auction off the stone, and we can all be rich!\" he said before glancing at Jet nervously, realizing who he was talking back to, \"Errr... R-right boss?\" he stammered. Jet smirked. \"You forgot the step where we steal it back. Can't have someone going all Infinite on us.\" he grinned. Seemed like a good plan to him. However, the alarm suddenly went off! As red lights flashed around them, Jet growled in aggravation. \"Wave!!\" he yelled. \"This wasn't me... Someone else is here, I think.\" Wave said, hacking the security panel to get access to the camera feeds via a small monitor atop the panel. They could see people in familiar uniforms storming into the front door. \"That's those, uhh... Coffin of Despair dudes!\" Storm babbled. \"Covenant of Despair, Storm.\" Wave corrected. Jet grabbed his board and hopped on. \"No way! I'm not letting those has-beens beat us to the Phantom Ruby! Come on, they'll make a good diversion!\" he smirked. \"The cameras will still see us, Jet... JET!!\" Wave shouted, but he was already leaving. Storm looked at the monitor. \"Are those Battle Birds with them?\" he asked. \"Who cares. We'd better help Jet...\" Wave sighed.\n\nMuch of the facility's defenses were indeed occupied rushing after the intruding agents of Despair, so Jet got to have a few cocky laughs as the trio flew past the prison blocks, including a particular cell where a certain hyena was contained, surrounded by power dampening devices and wrapped in a straightjacket. \"Eee hee... Hey, birds, help a guy out?\" Eddie the hyena asked with a chuckle. \"No time for you, crazy guy!\" Storm grunted as he followed Jet and Wave past the cell. Eddie just sat back with a smirk. \"Suit yourselves. Eee hee... Karma comes around...\" he snickered. The Rogues continued heading deeper into the facility, closing in on the laboratory. A few GUN Hornets hovered in their path, and sent their bombs down the hall after them! Wave pulled out a large wrench and sped ahead, weaving between the bombs until she could whack the nearest robot with that wrench! Jet soon cruised past her and leapt from his board, kicking the next robot before gracefully landing back onto his board! Wave clobbered one more Hornet with her wrench, and glanced back, seeing their bombs detonate with the robots gone. Storm flew past the explosions and sighed. \"I'm nothin' but a huge target in these little hallways...\" he complained. \"I could have disabled the robots along with the security...\" Wave sighed. \"Relax, we've got this...\" Jet smirked, pushing open the door. He jumped back as a gun shot off in his direction. \"I won't go down without a, uhh, fight! You Despair dogs!\" Dr. Nammad shouted, adjusting his glasses and aiming his firearm again. \"We're not Despair or dogs! Put that thing down!\" Jet shouted. Nammad lowered the gun briefly as Wave and Storm entered the lab behind Jet. \"Wait... Even so, uhh, you're still intruders! And I won't just give you the, uhh, Phantom Ruby!\" he warned. \"So, it's in here?\" Wave smirked. Dr. Nammad chuckled. \"What, you don't see it? Aaaah, I'm not falling for, uh, that!\" he said, moving his gun from Jet to Wave nervously. Storm looked around and scratched his head. \"No, we don't see it. Was it supposed to be on that table there, with all that equipment?\" he asked. Nammad had set up a bit of equipment to experiment on the Ruby, but it was nowhere in sight. \"I said I'm not falling for that! It couldn't, uh, get up and walk away the second my back was turned!\" the scientist stammered. Jet looked behind him on the ground, and noticed the ruby. Then, he gasped as black liquid surrounded the ruby, and Shadow Chaos emerged, standing behind Dr. Nammad with the Phantom Ruby stuck in his belly! \"Uhhh, doc...\" he said, pointing. Nammad tilted his head in confusion, and turned around to see Shadow Chaos rushing for the door on the other side of the lab! \"Impossible! Uhh, unthinkable!!\" he shouted, but was silenced by Wave knocking him over the head with her wrench. \"Shut up...\" she grumbled. With Nammad unconscious, the Rogues took off after Shadow Chaos!\n\nDuring the commotion of the Rogues and Despair invading the facility, one particular agent of Despair broke away from the pack. Finding his way to the prison area, the red-eyed hound stopped at Eddie's cell. \"I should leave you rot here, traitor. Or would you prefer to be called Scorpio?\" Basker said to Eddie smugly. The hyena snickered. \"Eee hee, some of us just aren't built for robotisization...\" he grinned. Basker stepped out of the shadows to reveal that his eyes were robotic now, along with his ears and left hand. He'd been partially robotisized, but escaped somehow. \"Can you contain Shadow Chaos for us?\" he asked. Eddie chuckled and nodded, so Basker glanced at the lock for his cell, and fired lasers from his eyes, smashing it and freeing him! \"We've hacked the cameras. Shadow Chaos has possessed the Phantom Ruby. Go fetch.\" Basker ordered. An illusory blade appeared in Eddie's hand, which he used to slice his way out of the straightjacket. \"Eeee hee hee hee! I missed you too, Sherlock!\" he smirked. \"Everyone calls me Basker, idiot...\" the hound growled.\n\nShadow Chaos slithered into the vents, leaving the Rogues stuck fighting Despair a bit before they could search. Wave found herself clanging her wrench against Daisy the skunk's katana. \"What are you thieves doing here??\" Daisy shouted. \"We were here first!\" Wave growled as she used her board to maintain a height advantage in the battle. Storm found himself grappling against Bark the polar bear while Bean sat nearby munching on popcorn. \"Rah rah rah! You can do it, Bark! Toss that seagull on his tailfeathers!\" the duck cheered. Bark just grunted while Storm fired up his board, using its momentum to push Bark into the wall hard! \"Hah!! Child's play!\" he growled. Jet was busy dodging bombs from minions of the Battle Bird Armada. \"Hey, guys, were't we friends before? Cut it out!\" he shouted. Nova the morph took advantage of his distraction to liquify his arm and extend it to Jet's board, yanking it out from under him! \"Yaaahh!! Ooof!!\" Jet yelled as he tumbled. \"What good are you without this, bird brain?\" Nova grinned, tossing the board aside. Jet stood up with a grin. \"Well, I'm still a world-class thief... Look what I snatched!\" he said, holding up a bomb he'd grabbed from the Battle Birds! Nova's eyes widened as the bomb was tossed his way, the explosion splattering his watery body all over! It would take a moment for him to pull himself back together, enough time for Jet to recover his board. \"Enough of this! Rogues! Let's finish this...!\" Jet shouted, but it was too late. Eddie stepped in, cackling hysterically, and with a wave of his hand, the vents crashed out of the wall, knocked out by an illusionary wrecking ball on the other side! Shadow Chaos splashed out, only to be caught in an impenetrable shell created by Eddie! As the hyena carried Shadow Chaos and the Phantom Ruby away with his illusion, he winked at Storm. \"Toodle-ooo...\" he chuckled. \"After him!\" Jet squawked, but at that moment, Basker stepped in, using his fear-inducing powers to paralyze Jet, Wave and Storm with terror! \"Let's go... We have a new fortress to settle into...\" Basker told the agents of Despair.\n\nBy the time the Rogues recovered, Despair had escaped with the Phantom Ruby. They hurried out of the Hopebringer Center before GUN could capture them, and each groaned in frustration as they flew away from the island the center was contained on. \"What do we tell those mobsters now?\" Storm muttered. \"Well, whatever we tell them, let's do it over the phone...\" Wave murmured. Jet grinded his beak angrily. \"The Covenant of Despair will pay for this... No one messes with the Babylon Rogues!\" It may not be practical for three bird racers to take on the whole covenant by themselves, but if the opportunity ever arose, Jet would be sure to get back at those creeps someday...\n\n\nEpisode 4 - The Fall of GUN\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and\nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nRichard Gunner stood in the war room of the GUN Headquarters, a prosthetic hand attached to his gun arm enabling him to hold both his coffee and a marker at once as he wrote on a dry-erase board, thinking over how to accomplish his goals. Spy and Guard were sitting nearby, while Dr. Nammad had just delivered a report on the invasion by the Covenant of Despair that led to the loss of the Phantom Ruby. \"Damn the Commander... His shoot-to-capture policies are letting the freaks win...\" Gunner grunted, turning around, \"Who among us are ready for that blasted Ruby to allow another maniac to take over our world?!\" he growled. \"Technically that last maniac was your buddy, wasn't it?\" Spy pointed out. Gunner glared at him. \"Ivo Robotnik is no longer my 'buddy' after he threw in his lot with that freak, Infinite!\" he snapped. Nammad raised his hand like a kid in a classroom. \"Question, uh, General... Can I go now?\" he asked. Gunner scowled at him. \"No... Ivan, the time has come. I'm high enough in rank, and we've let this country stay under threat from those furry freaks long enough. If you're with me, I'm going to seize control...\" he said a bit quietly, glancing around to be sure the wrong ears weren't listening. Guard looked over at him with surprise. As important as he was as Gunner's top agent, he had no idea he was planning something this extreme. \"Rrr... Grruhh... S-sir, are we sure that's wise?\" he stammered. \"Don't talk back to me, Guard, I can have Ivan here rewire your brain any time I feel the need!\" Gunner snarled. \"Yeesh, you sound like me, Guard...\" Spy whispered. Ivan Nammad glanced around as some stray GUN Agents walked by, and once they were out of earshot, he spoke up. \"Naturally, I'm, uh, on your side in this. When the likes of Sgt. Murten wanted to lock me up like Bucky, you were able to see my, uh, value. But how can we pull this, uh, off?\" he asked. Gunner set down his coffee on a desk and picked up a file that was sitting there. \"I'll think it over, but for right now, I've got intel that requires immediate attention... An informant has sent word of where the Covenant of Despair is camped out. Seems they're out of luck without their floating island of terror! If I can get the go ahead to blast them out of existence right now, we'll never have to worry about those pests ever again!\" he said with a devilish smirk. Spy stood up with a salute. \"Yes, sir! I'll run it by the Commander!\" he said. \"No... I will...\" Gunner stated, popping the prosthetic hand off his gun arm and smirking to himself.\n\n\nThe Covenant of Despair were in the process of moving from Troblusk Plateau to a new base of operations. Gargoyle muscle had been hired from the nearby city to move their things. It was a bit of an exhausting operation to oversee, and Fera needed a break, and a wash. Fortunately, she'd discovered a small mountain spring while setting up camp here, and set up a large tent around it for privacy. She took off the Despair Seal before entering, leaving it just outside the opening of the tent. This was one place she didn't want Howler in her head. Once she was inside the tent, though, Conan crept over, whistling nonchalantly. He picked up the seal and hastened away, soon meeting with Anubis. \"Here ya go. One Howler-possessed seal. Enjoy.\" he said. Anubis nodded. \"You have proven a valuable asset... You'll get what you desire by the end of this, I'll see to it...\" Anubis stated before slipping the Despair Seal onto his wrist. \"Master Darkseeker... Are you there? I beseech you...!\" the jackal called out. The seal glowed softly, and Howler's voice spoke in his mind. \"Anubis... Perfect. I have need of you.\" he said. The jackal smirked. \"Of course you do.\" he replied. Howler continued, \"I have tried to build my prized agent back up, but she is broken. Weakness has taken hold in her heart, and I cannot purge this other personality, this Felicia... She is no longer of use to me. Anubis... I feel, a change of leadership is in order...\" the voice spoke. Anubis covered his body in flames, laughing as Howler told him precisely what he wished to hear. \"This was always my Covenant... I am ready to take my place as leader!\" he growled. Howler's whispers continued. \"Yes... I see that you have endured the sort of pain that will make you a fine leader... With me to guide you, Despair will be unstoppable... But proceed as though nothing has changed for now. The troops are moving, a change in leadership would be jarring now...\" he stated. Anubis nodded, and removed the Despair Seal, returning it to Conan. \"Put this back where you found it. When the time is right, we will dispose of Fera, and the Chaos Cards will be yours.\" he said. Conan accepted the seal and tipped his hat to Anubis. \"Pleasure doing business... I also saw to it our location got to Gunner's ears. I know you wanted to make Fera look weak, but it looks like you didn't have to...\" he snickered. Anubis nodded as Conan scurried away. \"...It also helps if I look strong...\" the jackal mused.\n\n\nGemini, Timothy, Copter, Astra and Illusi had gathered the holders of the Chaos Relics at Raisol Sanctuary for some serious training. Sonic and Violet had been called in to join the session, as well. \"Alright, listen up!\" Gemini announced, \"We're all here to train for practical battle now, since the Covenant of Despair is back!\" she said. \"Despair is back?? Aw, great, Fera's leading them, isn't she...\" Sonic sighed, a bit sad that the Rookie who helped fight off Infinite was back to being that evil wolf again. \"This is what I've been waiting for... I'll save Patch and Daisy from their control!\" Violet announced. Astra nodded. \"I like your spirit.\" she said. Illusi stepped forward. \"Now, we know that not all of you have mastered your Chaos Relics, but time is of the essence. We'll be splitting into sparring pairs, and hopefully the heat of combat will be the best teacher.\" he announced. \"Sonic, you're with Punchy. Maybe you can teach him a thing or two about speed.\" Gemini said. Sonic glanced at Punchy with a chuckle. \"A fast Knuckles? Now I've seen everything!\" he said. \"Hey! I'm not slow!!\" Knuckles shouted. \"You're with Shade, Knuckles. Hmm... We'll figure this out... Who wants to spar with me?\" Gemini asked. Violet raised her hand. \"I'll kick yer butt, Gem! Hehe...\" As the group split off into pairs, Copter backed off into the shadows. \"I should sit this out... I've got no flashy relics or super speed or magic... I've got nothin' to offer... Not even smart...\" he sighed. \"Cut that out and fight me, Copter!\" said Tails, who had followed him. Copter turned to face him, sweating a little. \"Guh... You've got both tailbands, and you kicked my butt when we were even!\" he stammered. Tails crossed his arms. \"I remember us being even when we were even. You gotta stop under-valuing yourself, Copter!\" he said. \"Yeah, yeah...\" Copter sighed, only to be thwacked by a tail whip from Tails! \"Ow! My nose! ...Hey, you're not even using the tailbands!\" he grumbled. Tails smirked. \"If you're so weak, I don't need them!\" he teased, lightly pushing Copter to rile him up. The black fox wagged his finger at him. \"I see what you're trying to do...\" he said. \"Is it working?\" Tails asked. \"...We'll see... Chaos Whirlwind!!\" Copter shouted, blowing a familiar chaotic wind Tails' way! He spun his two tails and flew over it, landing punching-distance from Copter. \"Alright! Let's see how much we've grown, Copter!\" he said, ready for a long-awaited rematch!\n\n\nGeneral Gunner headed for the command center, where the Commander himself was directing the troops on various missions all over the world. Spy, Guard and Nammad followed behind him, interested to see how this would go. Gunner plopped the file on the desk in front of the Commander. \"Here it is, boss. The location of the Covenant of Despair. What say we send a warship and blow those terrorists off the map?\" he grinned. Several agents perked up at hearing Despair mentioned, and the Commander picked up the file. \"Where are they located? Who is your source on this...?\" he asked, paging through the file, \"...This is too close to Troblusk City. We can't risk open warfare. There's no law against assembly, and we can't prove the ones who broke into the Hopebringer Center to release that hyena are there.\" he said. He was unaware of the Phantom Ruby...Gunner had kept that off the books. \"This is bull, Commander! They're planning something, and we can't ignore it!\" Gunner shouted, drawing more attention...\n\n\nAs Fera stepped out of the bath tent wearing a towel, Conan was standing nearby, arms folded across his chest. \"There are traitors in your ranks, ma'am...\" he said bluntly. Fera held the towel tight around her body and gave him a bit of a glare with her good eye. \"Takes one to know one, doesn't it, Conan? I'm told you were only using us for our supply of Chaos Relics before...\" she huffed. He shrugged. \"Guilty... And I still have the same aspirations. So, if you hand over your cards, I might tell you what I know about those traitors plotting against you... Otherwise, you're on your own, I really couldn't care less either way.\" he said. Fera's body glowed with dark energy. \"You'll not be laying a hand on the Chaos Cards... And no mind tricks you can think of will change that. If that's all you're here for, you'd best consider leaving now, because I won't tolerate any treachery from you in the future!\" she warned before heading back into the tent, likely to get dressed. Conan shrugged and drew his Chaos Sword, pointing it up at the sky casually. \"Oh, sweet irony... Can't say I didn't try to save you, love...\" he murmured, \"But my Emily comes first, and if I have to let you fall for her to be reborn...so be it...\" he whispered.\n\n\n\"End of discussion, General... We monitor the situation, and nothing more!\" the Commander refused to launch an attack on Despair the way Gunner wanted. However, after so much war and strife had torn their country apart in the past decade, this decision couldn't sit well with everyone in that room. \"I think we should discuss it!\" said the green-shades wearing Agent 32, \"We're barely recovered from the last two wars with Eggman and Despair! We can't just let them prepare to start another one!\" he protested. \"Yeah!\" added the purple-shades wearing Agent 77, \"You have any idea what Despair put us through last time, Commander?\" Gunner smirked as the discussion started getting louder. \"Richard Gunner led us to, uh, victory! Not you!\" Nammad shouted. \"Blow up someone else! Not me!\" Spy chanted. Gunner stepped up to the Commander, and Guard flew up behind him to cut off his escape. \"R-richard! What are you doing!? This is... This is mutiny!\" he stammered. Gunner pointed his gun arm at the Commander's head. \"I thought I'd have more of an elaborate plan, but it seems I already have the hearts and minds of our organization... I'm in command now, SIR!\" he sneered, to which Spy started clapping awkwardly. \"Yaaay, this is totally gonna end well...\" he muttered. Guard grunted and tugged the Commander's arm. \"Grr... This way... HURRY!\" he shouted, yanking the Commander aside as Gunner fired, barely missing the Commander! \"Oh, my itchy trigger finger... But wait! That traitor is escaping! He's going to warn Despair! Stop him!\" Gunner yelled. The Commander tugged away from Guard and stopped at a seemingly empty wall. \"Activate Hostile Nest Protocol! Authorization: Tower!\" he shouted. \"Acknowledged...\" a robotic voice stated, the wall opening up and revealing an escape tunnel! He then grabbed Guard by the arm. \"Get in!\" he said, shoving him. Gunner was about to fire again, when the blue-shades wearing Agent 64 shot off a round at his gun arm, messing up his shot! Agent 64 and a couple other allies covered the Commander as he entered the escape tunnel, and hurried in behind him before the wall sealed shut again! Gunner rushed to the wall and slammed it with his gun arm, then shot it a couple times to no avail. \"Someone figure out where that leads! Don't let them escape! Nammad!! Can you hack Guard!?\" he shouted. \"Uhm, uhh, I uhh...\" Nammad babbled, twiddling his thumbs, \"That link was severed when Infinite, uh, killed him. I didn't have the budget to, uh, fix it...\" he murmured. Gunner glared at him furiously. \"Keep sight of the bright side, boss!\" Spy pointed out. Gunner nodded and smirked. \"Agent 32, prep me a GUN Warship! I'm going to wipe out those Despair freaks once and for all!\" he announced amid cheers from GUN's battle-weary agents...\n\n\nSome agents of Despair had left for their new base, but several of their most powerful agents were still at the camp, keeping a vigil in case any humans came sniffing around. It also helped that Nack the weasal had procured a military-grade radar system, which he had running on the Marvelous Queen's battery considering there was no power on the mountain. His ears drooped as he noticed a blip on the radar...too big to be a commercial airline. \"Guuuuys... This is a GUN Warship headed our way, it is.\" he called out, drawing the attention of Fera along with several others. The wolf looked around for Conan, but didn't see him. \"Traitors... He was right. They gave away our location...\" she growled. Anubis stepped over and pointed a flaming finger at the she-wolf. \"You are weak! Your weakness has led GUN right to us! If we leave you in charge, we'll all be destroyed!\" he snarled. \"I second that emotion...\" Basker said, standing beside him with a glare in his now-robotic eyes. Patch hopped over to Fera's side. \"Hey! Hee hee! No mutiny! You don't wanna see what I'll do to muties!!\" he snickered. Daisy seemed to agree with him. \"We've seen Despair under your command...well, Basker's. We're not going back to that!\" she said, holding up her katana. Tabitha hovered between the two groups on her broom. \"Idiots! We can't fight among ourselves now! We have to deal with those foolish humans! Give me a few minutes and I'll disable that heap's weapons, forcing them down to our level... I'd bring the whole ship down, but I take it you prefer not to have it land on your heads?\" she said before flying off. Anubis glanced at Basker. \"Don't think I forgot what you did to me when you were in charge...\" he grunted. \"If we take Despair from that pretender, it can be water under the bridge...\" Basker whispered, which Anubis nodded to. Nack jumped to his feet and disconnected the radar from his hover-bike. \"Well, if you guys survive, I'll find ya! Everyone take cover!!\" he shouted, driving off as the Warship arrived, and started firing down on the mountainside callously, wiping out some of the more unlucky birds, dogs and other miscellaneous animals caught in the blasts! \"My battle birds!!\" Kukku shouted, flapping backward to avoid the shots. Gunner sat on the bridge of the Warship, a wicked grin on his face. \"Eradicate them all... This is just the beginning...\" he sneered. However, the ship rocked as Tabitha hurled spells at it, targeting the weapon systems. \"No one rains death on the masses but me, fool!\" she cackled. Gunner looked over the status of the ship on the screens in front of him and snarled. Tabitha rapidly took out their weapons. \"Damn it! I want troops on the ground now! We do this the old fashioned way! Don't let them escape!\" he shouted. \"Aye aye, Sar...Colo...Gen...uhhh...Boss!\" Spy stammered, rushing to relay the order.\n\nSome simple Hunter robots dropped down from the Warship first, but they were quickly joined by the latest in GUN's android program headed up by Dr. Nammad. More robotic versions of Guard were among them, as well as upgraded Shadow androids, and androids based upon Infinite designed to strike fear into the enemy. Some classics were sprinkled in, too; Androids based on Copter and Punchy, which GUN had used to infiltrate Darkegg Fortress quite a long time ago. As the robots charged up the mountain, Nova was quick to meet them in battle. \"Oh, what fun! I can pry the heads off those guys that tried to keep me from this beauty...\" he said, placing the mask of Enerjak on his face. In that moment, he was filled with power, and holding out his hand, shot a charged burst of water that decimated a Copter android with ease! \"Hahahaha!! Enerjak lives!!\" he said, his voice twisted by the mask's evil. Tabitha flew down and started zapping the Guard androids from the air, while Dark Copter charged in, whipping his tails to send out dark shockwaves that tossed the Hunter robots like broken action figures! Gunner watched from above with an unpleasant expression. \"This is exactly what I was worried about. Escalation. They've got more powerful freaks with them this time. Nammad!! Get those weapons back online! And send everything we have at them in the meantime!!\" he shouted. More robots dropped down, forcing the other agents of Despair to join the fight! The battle birds formed up a wall and shot flamethrowers down as Punchy androids tried to climb up to them! \"Mua ha ha ha!! Alright, but find me one of those fox robots... I have frustrations I want to work out on it...\" Battle Lord Kukku mused. Patch and Daisy crept up on an Infinite robot. \"Hee hee... Don't worry... Without the Phantom Ruby, he's weak!\" Patch chuckled, only to have to run as the android began chasing him, firing a high powered beam from the eye hole on his mask! \"Aaaa!! Not weak! Not weak!!\" he shouted. Daisy sighed and charged after him, slicing off the jackal robot's head with her blade! \"Stay focused, Patch...never mind, that's impossible.\" she murmured. Fera saw the fighting going on, and was prepared to join as well. \"I should warp onto that ship and take out the human responsible for this attack... I bet I know who it is...\" she said. At that moment, however, Conan stepped before her. \"I'm afraid I can't let you leave with the Chaos Cards...\" he said. Fera scoffed. \"You were telling the truth, but all to serve your own self-interests. I'll root out the traitors myself and take the appropriate action...\" she said. \"No need...\" Anubis growled from behind her. Black mummies began to rise around the wolf, and she clenched her fists. \"I should have known...\" she scoffed.\n\nFera warped behind one of the mummies and swiftly snapped its neck, then covered her hands in violet flames and shot those flames at the other mummies! \"Foolish girl! Know when you're beaten! Chaos Spear!\" Conan shouted, shooting spears from his sword to soften her up, but they didn't seem to faze her much. She shot dark electricity in Conan's direction, his blade acting like a sort of lightningrod, which he had to grip tightly to avoid getting zapped himself! Anubis came after her in the meantime, shooting a jet of flame from his hands, which Fera leapt to avoid. Basker then came up behind her and grabbed her arm. \"You won't be needing this...\" he said, grabbing for the Despair Seal! As Fera struggled, she heard Howler's voice one last time. \"You are a disappointment... If you are not fit to spread despair... you will feel it!\" Her eye went wide as she realized that even Howler had forsaken her, and in that moment of hesitation, she allowed herself to be assaulted by the trio. Conan pelted her with Chaos Spears, Anubis burned her with his flames, and after yanking the seal from her wrist, Basker shot her in the back with his laser eyes! She collapsed to the ground, badly injured and beaten, and Anubis wasted no time in seizing leadership. \"Agents of Despair! Fera has fallen! Follow me to safety... We have illusions to cover us...\" he said as Eddie the hyena emerged from a tent nearby, cackling excitedly. \"Eeee hee hee hee! I've been awaiting my cue! Time to make a fake-Despair!!\" he smirked, using his powers of illusion to duplicate everyone on the mountain in a burst of smoke and light! Gunner looked in bewilderment...the illusions even fooled their scanners. \"What... NO!! They... they're escaping!!\" he shouted as the illusions set about destroying the rest of the robots. \"Commander Gunner! We should regroup, sir!\" Agent 32 suggested. Gunner sat down and swung his gun arm angrily. \"Damn it, that anonymous tip must have been a trick! They wanted us to waste manpower on this battle! Well, there's plenty more where this came from! Mankind is NOT at the mercy of those furry freaks! We will not be pushed around!\" he shouted. \"Sir, while you were yelling, our robots were pushed around and trashed, and Despair escaped.\" Spy reported. \"Arrrgh!!\" Gunner groaned. \"...Except one.\" Spy added. Gunner rushed to the window to look, and recognized the battered body of Fera immediately. \"...Take her... What luck... I need a replacement for Guard anyway...\" he mused.\n\n\nPunchy was a bit dizzy after spar-racing with Sonic for a while. \"I hate that hedgehog...\" he groaned. The entire training group was a bit pooped at this point, in fact. It took some effort for Tails to get Copter into the spirit of sparring, and as usual their match ended without a conclusive victor... just two tired foxes. Violet and Gemini were resting on a bench outside the hut the fennec was staying at, when Violet's cell phone rang. \"Huh? Who would be calling me, Rainbow's right around the corner...\" she murmured. Answering, she heard Mitch the weasal's voice. \"Yo, dis is Violet's number, right? Don't ask me how I got it...\" he murmured. \"Aaa! Mitch! You... You have news?\" she asked. The next voice she heard was Daisy's. \"Vy! It's me... Whoa, it's been a dog's age!\" she said. \"Daisy!! You're alive! I'm so relieved...\" Violet sighed. She was a bit loud, and drew the attention of Copter and Punchy. \"She still with Despair?\" Copter grumbled. \"Shh...\" Violet hushed him. \"I need to tell you and your friends something... First off... Fera's been betrayed...\" Daisy began. The skunk recounted everything that happened, and finished off with what would be happening next. \"We've moved our operations to the tower that Eggman was operating out of with Infinite. Vy... Anubis is going to lead the covenant in a retaliation against GUN soon. They killed some of our people, so there's no stopping this violence... But, maybe you can help prevent more death. You can reach out to people that can help!\" Daisy pleaded. The call was on speaker by this point, and the whole group was listening. Sonic crossed his arms and looked worried. \"Fera... I hope she's okay... Whatever else she's done, she also helped us beat Infinite...\" he sighed. \"Nova's with Despair...and he has the mask that killed my people...\" Shade growled. \"Are we sure we're enough to stop these Despair guys?\" Timothy asked. Violet nodded and responded to Daisy. \"I've got a team here myself. And if I can count on you, Patch and Mitch, we can do this!\" she said. \"Whoa, I ain't agreed to nothin!\" Mitch stammered. \"You're in this now, like it or not!\" Daisy huffed. Astra looked around at the group. They looked a bit nervous, rightfully so. \"Training time is over, everyone. It's time for the real thing. Prepare yourselves, because we'll be taking on some of the deadliest villains of this era soon...\" she said. \"Not your best pep talk.\" Knuckles muttered. Tails had a look of greater worry on his face than the others. \"How could Gunner get away with such an attack? Where's GUN's Commander? Where's Shadow? I've got a bad feeling, guys...\" he said.\n\n\nHe wasn't wrong to worry, but Shadow was perfectly fine. That night, he warped into White Base, the President's home and office, and was accompanied by Guard and the Commander. The President was up late with paperwork, and stood up with a start as they arrived. \"Mr. President... You're in danger, sir.\" the Commander announced. Shadow nodded. \"The Commander contacted Rouge, who then called me. It seems our old friend Gunner has finally lost the last shred of his sanity.\" he said. The President gasped softly, stepping back from his papers. \"I suppose I always suspected Gunner was capable of flying off the deep end... He has followers?\" he asked. Guard nodded. \"Grrr... Agents who are discontent with the escalating dangers the world has faced since Sonic emerged on the scene.\" he said. Just then, alarms blared, and explosions could be heard coming from somewhere in the base! \"Mr. President! We need to go! As we suspected, Gunner isn't satisfied with control of GUN alone!\" the Commander warned. They hurried together to the door. \"I trust you two...but isn't the gargoyle Gunner's...?\" he murmured. Guard grunted. \"My mind is my own, it seems.\" he said. Nodding, the President followed the others as they rushed to escape Gunner's impending attack. Before long, White Base had fallen, but Gunner could find no sign of the President. It didn't matter to him as he sat in the President's chair, kicking his feet up. \"I've done what Robotnik never could, Spy... I've seized control of this nation!\" he smirked. \"Uh, didn't Eggman have control of the world for six months?\" Spy pointed out. \"Stop bringing up the past! The future is mine!\" Gunner smirked, \"Now, where's my pet? Have Nammad send her in...\" he snickered. In a moment, Fera was led in wearing a power-dampening collar. Nammad had seen to her injuries, too, but her expression was anything but grateful. \"You...\" she growled, \"Just kill me now. I refuse to work for you again.\" she snarled. Gunner hummed to himself, pointing his gun arm at her. \"Hmmm... Eventually, yes, you will die. First, you're going to lead me to the freaks that left you for dead. How does that sound?\" he grinned. Fera's eye darted around. \"You'll kill them all. I owe some of them that debt, but others... No, I refuse.\" she sighed. Gunner laughed softly. \"You presume I'm giving you a choice in the matter. Oh, Fera... You won't even be able to take your own life... We'll keep you alive, until I get what I need from you...\" he sneered. With that, the wolf was led away, and Gunner started to laugh as all his plans were coming to fruition. Outside, rain beat down on the roof of White Base, and the Doomsayer stood, looking over Central City. \"Shadow covers all... Evil poisons the world... Hope has no home here. It is time for one last prophecy...\"\n\n\nMini Episode - Ch. 4.5 - The Last Respite\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nSonic, Tails and Knuckles had met at Tails' Workshop. They were sitting along the ledge at the end of the Tornado's runway, looking out over the beautiful ocean view. They weren't yet aware of the full extent of Gunner's schemes, only that he'd attacked Despair and captured Fera. So much had changed through the years, but these three were still much the same. It seemed nothing could truly drive them apart. \"Well, feels like we'll have to break up more fights between GUN and Despair soon. You ready for this, guys?\" Sonic asked, standing up. \"As I'll ever be...\" Tails murmured, climbing back to his feet. \"I'm good as long as the Master Emerald stays out of it this time.\" Knuckles smirked. They heard footsteps approach, and the trio turned around to see an odd bat-headed, turtle-shelled, chinchilla-tailed creature with bolts in his head approaching...accompanied by a light blue unicorm with a white horn. \"This is Bucky's handiwork...\" they all sighed at once. \"Th-they're staring...\" the turtle-creature stammered. \"It's okay, I'll do the talking.\" the unicorn said in a soothing voice. Knuckles crossed his arms. \"Alright, spill it, what's that crazed scientist want now?\" he asked. The unicorn raised his hands to call for peace. \"He asked us to go to you for training. He believes great evil is approaching our world, and he created us to help fight it...even though I don't want to fight...\" he said. Then, he pointed to his awkward turtle companion. \"This is Bolt, and the others decided to call me Sonata, because they find my voice soothing and melodic...\" he said with a blush. \"Yo, Sonny.\" Sonic waved. \"Leave the nicknames to Rainbow, Sonic...\" Knuckles sighed. \"No, no... I kinda like it.\" Sonata blushed again. Bolt tapped his pointer fingers together awkwardly. \"So, uh, you think you can help us? Vortex and Zipp weren't exactly patient enough to train us...\" he said. Tails looked a bit worried. \"I don't know about us, but you could join our whole training group, I guess. There's a bunch of us.\" he stated. Sonic chuckled and nudged him. \"You can train 'em, bro! I saw you with Copter the other day!\" he winked, making it Tails' turn to blush. \"Ahh, well, what exactly can you guys do?\" he asked. Knuckles nodded. \"Yeah, are you like Carrie and Kosmo, or are you more like Zipp and Lucky?\" he asked, earning slightly judgemental glances from his companions. \"...What? Legitimate question! Some experiments are loaded with powers and then you got ones with no powers!\" he stammered. \"Lucky and Zipp do have powers.\" Tails stated. \"They do??\" Knuckles scratched his head.\n\nA demonstration of their abilities was in order. They moved over to the cliff below Tails' Workshop where there was more room. Then, Sonny suggested Knuckles try throwing a punch at Bolt. \"Alright... Sorry, kiddo...\" Knuckles said, charging at the creature, who yelped and ducked mostly into his shell, but his head bolts kept him from drawing his head inside, so he spun in place a bit to avoid getting hit in the head. Knuckles punched the shell, and it went spinning off! Sparks began to fly from it, and then the shell changed direction, spinning towards Knuckles! \"Gah, what!? Wait!! No one said...!!\" More sparks flew from the shell as it moved, and Knuckles got a bit of a jolt when it hit him! \"Aaaaaaagh!! Ow ow!! I wasn't ready for that!! Zzzzt!!\" Knuckles shouted, static frizzing his quills a bit. As Bolt stood up, his head bolts were still sparking, and he looked mad. \"Rrrraaaagh!! You hit me!!\" he roared. Sonny cleared his throat. \"That's my cue...\" he said, and began to hum a soothing melody. \"Hmmm, hmmm... Relax, little Bolt, don't be sad. You're safe and sound, these guys aren't bad...\" he sang softly. His lovely voice rapidly soothed Bolt's wild rage, and the sparks began to subside. \"Ahh, huh? Oh, dear, I'm sorry...\" he said to Knuckles shyly. Knuckles looked at him awkwardly. \"Therapy. Get some.\" he muttered. Tails nodded as he listened to Sonata's song. \"So, you two work in tandem. Bolt gains power when he goes berserk, and your voice brings him out of it. Fascinating...\" he said. Sonata nodded. \"I also have some empathic abilities... I can tell what you're feeling. Tails...you're uneasy about something... Knuckles, you're just mad.\" he said. Knuckles pouted. \"Am not...\" he huffed. Tails looked away, rubbing the back of his head. \"Tails... Are you uneasy about something?\" Sonic asked. \"Aren't you? Gunner killed a bunch of Despair agents, and now he has Fera...Felicia...\" he murmured, \"And Despair's going to attack again, Daisy told us. Don't you get a little tired of all the violence?\" he asked. Sonic put a hand on his shoulder. \"You just gotta remember what we're fighting for. Not everyone is violent, most people are good, and they don't deserve to be caught in the crossfire.\" he said. \"Neither do you or our friends, Sonic... I wish we didn't have to put ourselves in danger like this...\" Bolt and Sonata nodded in agreement, and seeing this, Tails amended his statement, \"But that doesn't mean I'm gonna sit the fight out! I'm with you all the way, Sonic!\" he smiled. Sonata turned to Sonic and smiled. \"That's a very warm feeling coming from you!\" he said. Sonic nodded, smiling at his friends and allies. \"It's pride. I know you won't let me down, guys!\" he said, giving Tails and Knuckles each a hi-five!\n\n\nMeanwhile, explosions rocked the EggmanEmpireFortress where the Covenant of Despair had moved. \"Air raid!! Every bird for themselves!!\" Bean shouted, scrambling about to avoid crumbling pieces of the base falling around him! Nova blased a hole in the wall using some of Enerjak's power, and peered out to get a look at what was happening. Missiles had been launched at their location. Gunner wasn't even bothering to waste manpower trying to destroy them, he just sought to blow them off the map. \"Shoulda killed Fera guys, looks like she sold us out!\" Nova-jak shouted. Conan stepped to the hole in the wall and held up the deck of Chaos Cards he'd managed to steal from Fera before she was captured. \"This'll be good practice... Why don't I try summoning my own missile?\" he said, pulling a card and tossing it! The card turned into a mist of bubbles, and Patch burst out laughing from behind Conan. \"Heeheeheehee!! Good job! We'll shampoo 'em to death!!\" he giggled. Conan growled. Now wasn't the time for experimentation. Another missile rocked the fortress, sending part of the roof crumbling. Anubis was forced to come to a decision. \"We must evacuate the fortress... Hurry, before they decimate us all!\" he shouted. \"I knew throwin' in my lot with you guys would turn out a disaster!\" Nack complained as he ran to gather his loot. During this chaos, Dark Copter stood with a furious scowl. \"Cowards...all of you! I'll handle this myself!\" he growled, pushing past panicking Despair agents until he located the illusion shell that was holding Shadow Chaos captive. \"Out of my way, hyena-boy!\" he snarled, whipping his tails to generate a dark shockwave that broke the illusion! Before Shadow Chaos could go far, Dark Copter reached into him and pulled at the Phantom Ruby, and as he drew the ruby towards his chest, Shadow Chaos vanished inside it! Dark Copter now wore the Phantom Ruby as Infinite had, and his darkness bonded with its power. The familiar sound of the ruby rang through the fortress. \"Nothing can stop me now...\" Dark Copter's voice boomed. In an instant, he was outside, and with a wave of his hand, he sent phantom energy forth to obliterate the incoming missiles! Anubis watched this through the hole in the wall with wide eyes, and then a wider smile. \"Excellent... Well done, agent! Everyone! Come back! The tower will stand!\" Anubis shouted as Dark Copter used the ruby's power to repair the damage. Then, appearing beside Anubis, he scoffed at the gathering agents. \"Simpering cowards. You're lucky I don't destroy you. I could use groveling worshippers...\" he sneered. Anubis grunted softly. \"Well... I daresay with your power, now is the time to launch an attack... Let us finish off the humans that tried to destroy us!\" he suggested. Nova, Tabitha, Dark Copter and Conan all nodded as they gathered around, snickering and laughing, reveling in their evil plans. With so much dark power gathered together, could Despair be stopped?\n\n\nEpisode 5 - The End\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and\nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nLeft unguarded, the Master Emerald began to glow. In a moment, Chaos stood at the top step of the shrine, his eyes narrowed and full of purpose...\nMeanwhile, televisions across the area were tuned to Katie the coyote, delivering a breaking news story. \"I'm coming to you all from about as close to Troblusk City as I can safely get. The situation here is dire, as the Covenant of Despair has returned with vicious criminals in their employ, attacking the human population of the city without mercy...\" The camera switched to helicopter footage, showing Battle Birds running amok, Tabitha hurling explosive spells from her broomstick, and Nova flooding a building to flush out the scared people inside, among other horrors. \"GUN has arrived on the scene, but under the orders of our self-declared President Gunner...ugh...the military force is attacking mobians indiscriminately.\" Katie reported as the camera panned to Gunner's troops rounding up innocents and mobsters alike. The camera turned back to Katie. \"Reports also indicate that Dr. Eggman has been sighted in the area, clearly hoping to capitalize on the chaos for yet another diabolical scheme. In times like these, our nation's collective minds turn to one burning question... Where is Sonic the Hedgehog!?\" An explosion rocked the area near Katie, and Dark Copter landed beside her, grabbing her microphone, the Phantom Ruby clearly visible in his chest. \"Oh, Sonic! Where's Sonic! Gaahh! I've got a message for you, Sonic, and your pathetic little friends! Stop us if you can!\" he growled, aiming his hand at the camera, which resulted in static taking up the screens across the area. Rainbow held Aurora tightly as she watched this report from the TV in her temple home, and looked over her shoulder to see Punchy, Gemini, Copter, Sonic and Tails behind her. \"It's time...\" Gemini sighed. \"Be careful everyone... I have to stay and watch our baby girl...\" Rainbow said. Punchy nodded. \"You'll catch us on the late edition! Or, y'know, when we get back!\" he chuckled. Sonic nodded, and started to lead them all out. \"C'mon, let's gather up the others!\" he said. Once they were gone, Rainbow heard footsteps coming from elsewhere in the house. She clutched Aurora tightly and crept to the hall to check it out. \"Hey...Mom?\" a voice called to her. Rainbow looked with wide eyes to see a green echidna with multicolored quills, about her own age. \"...Aurora?\" she gasped.\n\nSonic was first to reach Troblusk City, where he found Katie safe, but her equipment was in shambles. Tails, Knuckles, Gemini, Timothy, Copter, Punchy, Illusi, Shade, Blaze, Astra, Violet, Bolt and Sonata arrived soon after, looking out upon a city in chaos. \"Not sure we're r-ready for this...\" Bolt the turtle-creature murmured. \"The static in my fur says otherwise...\" Knuckles said. \"You alright, Katie? Did... Well, did I hurt you?\" Copter asked. Katie shook her head. \"That's not you, Copter... Plus, he has the Phantom Ruby. Anyone got a counter for that?\" she asked. Tails wagged his banded tails. \"These, maybe?\" he smiled. \"Let's try not to tear up the city going overkill...\" Gemini warned, \"There are innocents trapped here.\" she said. \"Not to mention, maybe Fera.\" Sonic added, making a few people in the group glance at him uncertainly. \"She doesn't deserve to suffer as Gunner's slave.\" he insisted. Illusi nodded. \"I will try to find her. It's my responsibility...\" he said. Before they could get going, Shadow warped to their location! \"Well, well! Shadow! You fighting for Gunner again, or did you see the report?\" Knuckles asked. Shadow scoffed. \"I'm here on request from the real President... Rouge, Omega and Guard aren't far behind me. We'll handle GUN. You guys take care of Despair.\" he said. \"Oh, sure, leave us with the harder job, Shadow!\" Sonic smirked. \"What about Eggman?\" Blaze asked, \"Supposedly, he's out there, too.\" she pointed out. SPOT crawled up to Tails and let out a robotic bark. \"I'll have SPOT scanning for Eggman activity. But I'll just bet he's at Eggtopia if he's planning to stage some kinda scheme.\" he noted. \"If anyone sees Patch or Daisy, leave them to me... Mitch too, I guess...\" Violet spoke up. \"And uh, who are they, dear?\" Astra asked. \"I don't know who half the people here even are...\" Sonata said sheepishly. Sonic tapped his foot. \"If we keep trying to plan this, the city will get leveled to the ground. So before we get into the traditional argument, why don't we just split into teams and get movin?\" he suggested. Everyone nodded. \"Right!\" they declared as Shadow warped away. \"I'm with you, Sonic!\" Tails announced. \"Sure thing, bro!\" he smirked. \"Guess I'm with Punchy... Rainbow would never forgive me if he got hurt.\" Violet sighed. \"Hey! I'm the one who'll watch your back!\" he stammered. Knuckles picked up SPOT. \"I'm on Eggman duty. I'm sick of Despair!\" he grunted. With everything more or less figured out, the groups set out to save the city!\n\nSonic and Tails dashed into the city, finding the Battle Bird armada shooting at fleeing humans from atop their hover vehicles. Battle Lord Kukku was overseeing the havok, but sneered as he saw Tails approach. \"Foooox!! I've been waiting ages for revenge upon you!\" he shouted, leaping towards him and Sonic! \"Ugh, this guy...\" Tails groaned. \"I really missed somethin', huh?\" Sonic asked. Before he could move to defend Tails, he heard a gun cocked, and glanced to see Nack the weasal aiming at him from atop the Marvelous Queen. \"Stay still... I'll see if I can hit fox boy through ya...\" he smirked. However, his bike went tumbling over when Bolt's shell suddenly crashed into it! \"Yaaargh!!\" he yelped. Sonata kicked the shell back as it went spinning away, hitting Nack again! \"Take out the birds! We've got this!\" he said. Sonic nodded, and turned to see Tails smacking Kukku backward with a strong whip from his tails! \"Gooof!! I see you've grown stronger! I've been training as well!\" Kukku sneered, lifting a rather heavy-looking spiked mallet and swinging it at Tails! The tailbands glowed, and the fox vanished, causing him to miss! \"Wha?? Hey, what did you?? Ooof!!\" Tails began to clobber Kukku while using the tailband's invisibility. Seeing that he had this well in hand, Sonic sped after the rest of the armada, leaping at them with well-aimed homing attacks to take out their vehicles! \"And you're grounded, and you're grounded! Bye bye, birdie!\" he laughed, making quick work of them! Meanwhile, Bark the polar bear grabbed Sonata, stopping him from keeping up Bolt's volley. He growled, and Bean the duck jumped over, laughing at him. \"Lookit you! Are you really a unicorn, or did you glue that horn to your head?\" he chuckled. Sonata's horn glowed softly. \"You... don't really want to do this... I feel it... You are conflicted.\" he said to Bark. Bolt stood up dizzily as Nack leapt from his bike and pointed his gun at him. \"Shut up! You two are so toast!\" he growled. Bark whimpered softly. \"It's not too late... You don't have to fight for evil...\" Sonata said. Bean laughed. \"No one understands Bark like I do! He's gonna snap your neck now...whoaaa!!\" he yelped as Bark suddenly kicked him aside, releasing the unicorn! Nack gulped, and went to shoot Bolt, but his wrist was grasped by the angry creature. \"You try to hurt me!! Rrrrraaaaaagh!!\" he roared, sparks flying from his bolts. \"Oh, shoot...\" Nack gulped. As the weasal started taking a beating, Tails was busy tying Kukku up. \"Same old Battle Birds. Still hung up on conquest. You should move on, like Speedy did...\" he said.\n\nOne of Tabitha's magic spells crashed against a fireball thrown from Blaze. \"Gah, pointless to attack you with that Chaos Crown offering protection... I'll just destroy your little friends!\" the witch cackled, turning her attention to the nearby Timothy and Astra. \"Um... Can you actually fight without a wand of your own?\" Timothy asked. \"I'm also an alchemist!\" Astra smirked, producing a batch of potions, and swishing one around to produce a shield. Tabitha struck the shield with a powerful lightning spell, cracking it. \"I'll get through that quickly, pitiful wretch!\" she sneered. Blaze was about to charge in while she was distracted, but a voice caught her off guard. \"Hardy har har! You can't even use the crown! You're not half the cat I was!\" She turned to see Lospecter smirking at her. \"What are you doing here?!\" she gasped. \"Lookin' for opportunities. We watch TV too, you know... Informative.\" he smirked, \"I think you should give up on the crown. Give it back to me. I was its owner first. I can use its true power...\" he smirked. Meanwhile, Tabitha's spells clashed with Timothy's. Astra was using potions to strengthen Tim's magic, but it was only making them even. \"My powers are far beyond yours. I draw strength neither from light or darkness, but from eldritch power older than both magic classes!\" the witch taunted. \"Blah, blah, it's just darkness with another label!\" Timothy scoffed. \"So, your last words are wasted on witless comebacks. Farewell!\" Tabitha smirked, charging a huge, crackling ball of magic and tossing it! Blaze heard it coming and gasped. \"No... Timothy!! Astra!!\" she cried, speeding into the path of the blast! The sight that followed shocked all who bore witness. A wall of flame rose to strike at the ball of magic, while a wall of roots rose up from the ground to shield Timothy and Astra! Blaze was focusing on using both her own powers and the crown's simultaneously, and it was working! \"Feline meddler! You can't repel my spell!!\" Tabitha shouted. Blaze grunted and chuckled. \"Who says anything about repelling it?\" she smirked. Tabitha felt something grab at her broom. A vine?! Blaze controlled the vine, making it toss Tabitha down into her own spell! \"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!! Nooooooo!!\" she wailed, the spell exploding on impact with her! She was left a charred, but breathing, mess on the floor. Blaze didn't have time to celebrate, though, as Astra's scream caught her attention! Lospecter's hand had reached into her chest, and her body was rapidly disintegrating into a puddle of losol slime! \"You can betray me, reject me... But in the end, Astra... Your soul is MINE!\" he laughed as Timothy tried to hit him with spells, only to see the spells pass through him! Lospecter scoffed and opened a portal with the Chaos Key, tossing the losol remains of Astra through. \"I'll have all your souls soon...\" he said ominously, escaping through the portal!\n\nPunchy sped through the city with the power of the Chaos Boots, delivering some swift punches to the jaws of any unprepared uniformed animals that got in his way. Violet followed by using her dark powers to warp here and there, searching for her friends as she went. Eventually, Punchy stopped when he was shocked by the sight of Dark Punchy in his path! \"Made you look! Eee hee hee!\" laughed Eddie, who stepped through the illusion and cast the illusion of bear traps, which clamped onto the Chaos Boots! \"Owww!! Yeesh, if those weren't illusions I'm sure my feet would be gone!\" Punchy winced, \"Still HATE illusions!\" he added. Violet appeared beside him and raised her fists. \"Let him go! Remember, I was trained by Fera!\" she warned. \"And Fera is gone... Trapped in her own ultimate despair!\" came the voice of Anubis as his black mummies rose up, surrounding them! Basker rounded out the trio. \"I could just cripple you with your fears and then watch as the mummies tear you limb from limb... But we owe you a slower death...\" he said. They were about to attack, when blades pierced two of the mummies, and a gunshot blew up a third's head! As the mummies fell, Patch, Daisy and Mitch could be seen! \"Sorry boss, life debt!\" Mitch grunted. \"Don't...touch...our...friend!\" Daisy warned, holding up her katana. Patch hopped at Eddie and smacked him with his nunchucks, causing the illusion to fade from Punchy's feet! \"Hee hee! Throwing Fera to the humans wasn't coooool!\" he said manically. Basker's eyes glowed, and he paralyzed Patch, Daisy and Mitch with fear. \"Nothing says we can't kill you three quickly!\" he said bluntly. \"I say... Chaos Avalanche!!\" Punchy shouted, lifting chuncks of the street up from below Basker and Eddie's feet and tossing them straight up into the air, hurtling the hyena and hound skyward! The group turned on Anubis, but he summoned more mummies. \"I can raise the dead from anywhere... Because death is the oldest, most inevitable force in our world... And fire...complements it nicely!\" he said, his body being covered in flames! Violet's eyes glowed with dark magic. \"Darkness does too... Bring it on!\" she said, shooting a beam of dark energy at him as Anubis fired a jet of flames! Punchy tried to activate the Chaos Boots, but his feet were still in pain. \"Ugh... You guys up for this?\" he asked. Mitch rubbed his head and nodded. \"You guys better know how to fix my foot...\" he grunted. \"Hee hee! I can bust the other one for symmetry?\" Patch offered. \"Easy there, Patch... Hurt the mummies, not our friends...\" Daisy sighed. It wouldn't be easy, but together they could escape from Anubis...\n\nNova, wearing the Enerjak mask, had just leveled a building by flooding it and then charging the water with destructive energy from the mask. He laughed at the destruction, and that was when Shade approached him with the Chaos Gauntlets. \"You... you monster! Both humans and mobians could have been in there!\" she shouted. Nova turned and chuckled. \"It makes no difference to me... I'm not a mobian. I am not of this world.\" he said. \"What do you mean?\" shouted Kosmo the morph, who had joined the fray along with Carrie and Talon. They'd fought their way past GUN robots and Despair agents to find Nova, and now the two morphs stood face to face. \"Do you still have that annoying bout of amnesia, Kosmo? I guess you'll never remember. You were the one responsible for stranding me on this rock! But it doesn't matter...once I've fully harnessed the power of this mask, I'll rule this world!\" Nova smirked. Kosmo morphed his arms into electric eels, planning to zap the aquatic morph. \"You're saying what? I've been lied to? I'm not an Experiment at all? I came from space??\" he asked, not much caring. Shade got bored and fired a couple blasts from the Chaos Gauntlets at Nova's head, only to watch his mask be drawn into his liquid body, his head splattered, and then regrown before the mask replaced itself. \"Nice try, girlie...\" he said before tossing Enerjak-charged orbs of water at the four heroes in front of him! Carrie tried to hold them back with her powers, but found she couldn't and got knocked back! \"You okay, Carrie?!\" Talon asked, only to notice Eddie land behind them! \"Eee hee... That wasn't polite of the echidna... I think I'll take it out on you!\" he said, creating illusory duplicates of himself to battle them! Carrie stood up and smirked, turning invisible. \"Try and hit me, chuckles!\" she said. Meanwhile, Kosmo whipped his eel-arms at Nova, zapping him and stunning him enough for Shade to deliver some solid hits! However, the mask glowed, and sent out a shockwave that knocked them both back! This gave Shade an idea, and she slammed her fists on the ground, causing the ground to shake due to the Chaos Gauntlets. This activated something akin to Chaos Avalanche, which shot up chunks of the ground beneath Nova's feet and flung him into the air! He splattered onto the ground and sank into the cracks into the street, escaping...with no sign of the mask nearby. Kosmo sighed. \"I've got questions for a certain rat... But first...\" his voice trailed off as he turned to where Carrie and Talon were fighting Eddie's copies. \"This might be a long day...\" he murmured.\n\nKnuckles was led by SPOT, predictably, to the Eggtopia base. Sonic sped to his side. \"Hey, Knux! Thought I'd check up on you while Tails is kickin' butt and takin' names... Our little boy's all grown up...\" he said, sniffling. Knuckles rolled his eyes. \"Eggman's in here, be ready for anything!\" he said. \"You mean like you getting tricked and capturing me?\" Sonic teased. \"I'm sorry, alright!? But I wasn't tricked, you were just bein' a jerk!\" Knuckles pointed out as they headed inside. Eggman was busy tinkering with something. \"Oh! Knuckles! I thought you might be Gunner or Despair or something. That'd be egg on my face! This base isn't operational anymore!\" he murmured. \"Ahem...\" Sonic cleared his throat. \"Sonic, you wouldn't attack me when I'm just recovering my own property!\" the doctor stammered. \"Depends what it is...\" Sonic smirked. Suddenly, a couple of golden cards fell in front of Sonic and Knuckles. \"...What the...?\" Knuckles murmured before they exploded, sending the duo falling backwards as Conan flew above them with the Chaos Wing! \"We meet again, Master Emerald guardian! This time, you'll turn over those Chaos Claws, or I'll pry them off your corpse!\" he smirked. Knuckles leapt to his feet and lunged the claws forward, digging them into thin air and using them to climb after Conan! \"Want 'em?? Come get 'em!!\" he shouted! Sonic dusted himself off and ran after Eggman, who stood back and smirked. \"Sonic, say hello to the rest of the E-X series of robots! You may recognize E-7X!\" The robot he'd been tinkering on rose up, towering over the hedgehog! It was a slot machine with arms, legs, angry eyes and a \"prize\"-spouting maw. \"...Rouletar!? Haven't seen this bozo since Tails' first fight with Copter!\" he recalled. Rouletar laughed. \"That was the old Rouletar, E-777! I am an E-X robot, filled with GeneX energy! I am equipped with a soul, and can think and plan!\" he declared. Sonic's eyes widened, and he held back a chuckle as another robot joined Rouletar. It was a metallic body, but a familiar form. \"Meowr!! Remember me? I'm E-8X now!! Firepaw!!\" the robot feline announced! Eggman chuckled. \"I had my virus uploaded into an appropriate body...and last but not least, E-9X! This series is keeping to single-digits so that's all folks.\" the doctor said hurriedly. E-9X stepped out of the shadows, his rounded form very familiar...it was Metal Eggman! \"Think you can beat us all! ...In time to save Knuckles?\" he chuckled. Sonic turned to look for Knuckles, but it appeared he had taken the fight with Conan outside. \"Danger!! Danger!!\" SPOT's alarm blared. An explosion rocked the building, and Eggman started rushing for the exit with his robots following. \"That'll be Gunner! Have fun, Sonic! We'll see you soon!\" the doctor shouted hastily. \"Can't wait to burn you!! Meowr!!\" Firepaw laughed.\n\nAs Eggman escaped, Sonic left the base to find Copter, Gemini and Illusi gathered around Knuckles. He was injured, but it seemed as though the others had chased Conan off before he could get the claws. However, Gunner was approaching with Spy, a squad of robots, and Fera in tow. Fera was fitted with a special collar, obviously designed to ensure her obedience. Sonic raced to join his friends and glared at Gunner. \"Stand down, Gramps! You're already lookin' at forever in jail, don't make it worse for yourself!\" the hedgehog warned. Gunner smirked and glanced at Fera. \"My pet is here just for you, Sonic. Dr. Nammad combined a shock collar with a power-dampening collar, so if she steps one claw out of line, I can punish her severely without fear of her being able to hit back. But I imagine she has issues to work out with you anyway, freak!\" he smirked. Fera stepped forward and grunted. \"You... All of you... You used me, let me think we were friends. On this, Felicia and I agree... Your lies are the biggest betrayal of all!!\" she shouted, holding up dark flames in her hands. \"And how would the conversation have gone, Fera? Oh, by the way, no big deal, but before the amnesia you were tryin' ta KILL us??\" Sonic pointed out, \"We just wanted you to move on from all the hate...\" he said. \"There is no moving on from hate!\" That voice wasn't Fera... Turning, the group saw Dark Copter approaching, with Anubis behind him, dragging a battered Punchy and Violet. Dark Copter had clearly had a hand in their defeat. \"We'll figure out what to do with these fools later... Dark Copter, crush GUN, and Fera...\" Anubis ordered. The Phantom Ruby glowed, and Shadow Chaos emerged, bonding with Dark Copter, turning him into a being of pure darkness, chaos and phantom energy! Copter gulped, but stepped forward. \"No can do, Dark me! You'll have to get through me first!\" he said, raising his arms defensively. \"Copter...not the best time to be a hero!\" Knuckles grunted. Sonic turned to Fera. \"Seems like a great time to be a hero to me!\" he said, heading after her. Illusi was torn between Fera and Punchy. \"I can't let them down... I will fight to the last!\" he said. Gunner scoffed and snapped his fingers, causing the hunter robots behind him to advance. \"Don't let them escape.\" he sneered. Meanwhile, Dark Copter charged at Copter, only for Gemini to jump in front! \"Proplasmar!!\" she shouted, erecting a shield to defend them. \"Copter!! You don't need to die to prove you're not that thing! Now, take my hand... We'll do it together!\" she declared.\n\nDark Copter's hand turned into a blade and quickly pierced Gemini's shield! \"My power is limitless! You'd do well to ditch him and join me!\" he warned. Copter kicked the blade aside, still holding her hand. \"Don't touch her!\" he snapped. Nearby, Lospecter was eating popcorn and watching the fight, but he noticed Conan flying nearby. \"Doth my eyes deceive me? My Chaos Cards...\" he mused, flying off. As the hunter robots neared, Wrongos swarmed in, destroying a few of them. \"Fera! I won't abandon you!\" Illusi called. Shadow warped in as well, with Guard flying nearby. \"Gunner! You'd do well to surrender!\" he warned. Gunner scoffed and aimed his gun arm up at Guard. \"Idiot freaks... I've got all I need...\" he said as hornet robots rose up from behind the hunters! Sonic, in the meantime, was speeding around close to Fera, avoiding her dark flames without doing much to counter attack. \"Fera! I know we've failed as your friends... We should have gone looking for you soon after you left us... Seeing Violet's determination to save her friends makes me realize that.\" he said. Fera growled and fired dark lightning at him, trying to catch him off guard by zapping at the spots he was heading! \"It's too late! Look at me! The best way you can save me is to kill me!\" she snarled. Sonic jumped back and gritted his teeth. \"That's not true... It may have taken six months when I was captured, but I didn't give up... and remember who saved me? ...It was you!\" Fera hesitated at those words, and gunner pressed a button at the side of his gun arm. \"Don't even think it, freak...\" he said, causing Fera's powers to cut off and the collar to shock her! Meanwhile, Gemini sliced through a weird red block produced by the Phantom Ruby using her magic, and then propelled herself and Copter skyward, the fox spinning his tails to fly her as Dark Copter tried hitting them with a shockwave caused by one of his tail whips! Frustrated, Dark Copter decided to go big. \"Time to demonstrate my power...\" he growled, the Phantom Ruby glowing bright as the ground quaked, and pink spikes erupted everywhere!! Gunner's robots were skewered and destroyed, while the living beings leapt out of the way in a panic! Fera stumbled to the ground as she was hit from the side, indirectly. Rushing to her, Sonic struggled with the collar, but it was Illusi who managed to disconnect it. \"You're safe, Fera... I won't let them hurt you...\" he said, pulling her into a hug.\n\nCopter was forced to drop Gemini, and as she laid on the ground, injured, Dark Copter stomped her tail. \"Tell me... Do you think he'll mourn you in the moments he has left?\" he asked. \"Will anyone mourn you?\" Copter shouted, pointing Gemini's wand at him, which he'd recovered after she'd dropped it. Dark Copter laughed. \"You can't use that! You can't do anything! You're feeble, and weak... a failed experiment through and through!\" he shouted. Copter smirked. \"That depends what the purpose of the experiment was. Hiccatastrophe!\" he said with a smirk, hitting Dark Copter with a spell that caused him to hiccup furiously. \"What >hic< the heck!! >hic< This won't >hiccup< stop me!!\" he groaned, holding his throat and stepping off Gemini's tail. She ran to Copter with wide eyes. \"You can...?\" she stammered. \"I was Areis, wasn't I?\" he smirked. As Dark Copter was distracted, Chaos rose from a nearby sewer grate. \"What >hic< do you want?\" he growled. Chaos plunged his hands into Dark Copter's chest, making him howl in pain as he began to suck Shadow Chaos out of the Phantom Ruby! \"He... he's taking his other half back!\" Knuckles gasped. The black fluid mingled with Chaos' blue fluid before dissolving inside it, while the Phantom Ruby turned gray, cracking as Chaos took everything! It shattered as Chaos pulled his hands away, and Dark Copter stumbled forward, weakened. \"Ahhh... N-no... I need... To return to you... C-copter...\" he panted, shuffling towards him. Copter backed away. \"No thanks. I'm whole without you.\" he huffed. \"You don't have a choice!\" Dark Copter sneered. However, Sonic leapt into the air and crashed down with a mighty homing attack, causing Dark Copter to collapse! \"The man said 'No!'\" he shouted. Then, Dark Copter turned into dust. \"Uhhh... Whoops...\" Sonic said awkwardly, scratching his head, \"Didn't mean to murder him...\" he sighed. \"It's fine... He was so consumed with hate, this was the only way he could be at peace...\" Copter sighed. At this moment, Gunner looked around and cursed. \"Sonic... You distracted me. You took my pet away. You've ruined everything for the last time! I will make you PAY for this, Sonic the Hedgehog!!\" he said before vanishing, a hologram. Spy jumped. \"Wait, I'm not a hologram! Aaaaah!!\" he yelped, scurrying away. Lospecter turned around a single Chaos Card in his hand, all he'd managed to swipe from Conan, and observed the pile of ash where Dark Copter was. \"Soooonic... You dusted my minion... He was gonna clinch things for me. You are DEAD, Sonic!! Dead, dead, dead!!\" he said before flying off. Anubis noticed Sonic's allies surrounding him, and he released Punchy and Violet. \"You will burn for this, Sonic!! You think you have won! My Covenant of Despair will return, stronger than ever!! And we're coming for YOU!!\" he vowed. Sonic sighed as he helped Fera up. \"Boy, I'm makin' friends today...\" he muttered. \"That's what happens when you're the face of heroism.\" Gemini sighed. \n\nLooking around, the heroes saw the people taking to the streets, chasing the remaining Despair goons and GUN forces out of town themselves, as the police department led by Chief Paynson, Razor the porcupine and Ridley the coati rallied them. The people began to cry out in unison. \"End the hate! End the hate! End the hate!\" During all this, Fera vanished into the shadows, but the rest of the heroes gathered in the center of the city in front of the clock tower. It seemed they'd won the day. \"Well, you've all done real good. Inspired the heck out of the people.\" Kosmo told them. \"You too, Kosmo?\" Tails smiled. He gave an awkward smile back. Violet found Patch and Daisy nearby. \"You're okay!\" she cried. \"We won't be for long if we don't get out of these uniforms, hee hee!\" Patch chuckled. Timothy sighed. \"Astra's not okay, though... Gemini... She's gone. Lospecter got her...\" he sighed. Gemini gasped and started to cry, burying her face in Copter's chest as he patted her on the head. \"She taught us all she could...\" he said. It seemed Mitch had rushed out in the chaos, too, but overall the gang was all there. Punchy even heard Rainbow's voice joined with the chanting. \"End the hate! End the hate!\" she said, holding baby Aurora as she approached. \"Rainbow, what in blazes are you doing here!?\" he asked. \"I had it on good authority that the battle would be over now. Hey, Shade. Nocturna!\" she said to Shadow and Shade, making them both roll their eyes. \"Who told you that?\" Sonic asked, only to freeze as he heard Amy call his name. \"Ohhh, no. I forgot to invite her again...\" he shivered. \"Yeah, you did! But I'm so glad you're safe!!\" she said, hugging him tightly. Cream was with her as well, and waved shyly to Tails. \"I saw you on the news... You were... very brave.\" she smiled. Tails smiled back. \"Thanks, Cream.\" Behind them came Silver. \"Sorry I'm late...\" he said. \"Ah, of course, future boy told ya it was safe!\" Copter said to Rainbow. \"Huh? What are you talking about. Blaze called me and asked if I could help with this battle. Seems I was too slow...\" he murmured. Rainbow cleared her throat. \"No, it wasn't Shiny... Uh, One, you might wanna sit down...\" she said. Everyone looked to see who was approaching next. It wasn't just one person, but a group, led by the green echidna who kinda looked like Rainbow. \"You all might wanna sit down, actually...\" Rainbow added. Before intros could be made, though, lightning crashed against the clock tower!\n\nIt began to rain, and even more lightning crashed, striking the clock face! Everyone looked up to see a dark figure on the roof, hooded, with huge spikes on his back, red shoes and glowing yellow eyes. His voice boomed down from above. \"Your time is up! My prophecy is at hand!\" he declared. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles all spoke his name at once. \"The Doomsayer!\" they gasped. The weather worsened around the tower, and the Doomsayer cackled softly. \"This world's ending is at hand! As all life is snuffed out and the world becomes cold and barren, I reiterate my original prophecy... A fox of Prower blood will die, signalling the End of the End Days!\" he declared. Tails shivered, and felt Cream hugging him. Copter felt Gemini holding him tighter, too. \"We already beat that prophecy!\" Copter shouted. \"He's remaking it... Last time doesn't count I guess...\" Tails gulped. Sonic stepped forward and raised a fist. \"Hey, you! Don't threaten my friends! I will come up there so fast!!\" he warned. The Doomsayer laughed again. \"The children of doom are the Lost Ones, birthed from Doomlings, anti-life in itself. They are ready, and poised to end all life in existence. And with dark forces spread out vowing vengeance upon you in every direction, how can Sonic the Hedgehog hold back the inevitable? You cannot... no one can!\" he declared. With that, lightning struck the spot where the Doomsayer stood hard, and he was gone! Then, Lospecter was heard laughing. \"Nice diversion! Say hello, my dark chums!\" he cackled. As Punchy turned, the Chaos Key struck him, and in an instant, Dark Punchy had separated from Punchy! \"Oh, no...\" Illusi gulped. Knuckles turned and tried to punch Lospecter, but missed, and he next turned the key on Kosmo! \"Didja know? That super-evil Kosmogon from way back... was Dark Kosmo?\" he snickered, turning the key to generate a second Kosmo! He then created a portal and escaped with the two dark forms as everyone looked in bewilderment! Lospecter cackled as he used the Chaos Key to jump from place to place. He used it on Zipp, creating a green Dark Zipp, then Vortex, forming a white Dark Vortex, and then Crash, forming a somewhat grayer-colored Dark Crash! Escaping quickly, he found Spiny and turned the key on him, creating a dark form that somewhat resembled Shadow. \"VERY FUNNY!!\" Spiny snapped as he watched Lospecter escape. Heather's dark form, it seemed, hadn't been resurrected with her, but Lospecter even managed to warp to distant worlds to find Zeke, creating a black Dark Zeke, and startled Lucky on the Galestrom as he finished his collection by separating Whisk from Dark Whisk! \"Mee-yow!! There's another you that looks like your Halloween costume!!\" Lucky gasped. \"Come back home sometime, and maybe you'll learn more about this, kiddo!\" Lospecter chuckled, escaping with his final dark form!\n\nEveryone looked around in bewilderment. \"Just what we need. ALL the dark forms loose.\" Timothy said to sum it up. Rainbow turned to the group she was going to introduce, but found they had fled in the panic. \"Aw, no...\" she sighed. \"What now, Rainbow?\" Punchy asked. \"Just who were those people?\" Illusi questioned, the look of confusion a bit unusual on the shrew. Rainbow cleared her throat. \"Well, One... The green echidna was... She was our daughter, grown up... Everyone, those were our kids...from the future! They came to help stop the Reaper's prophecy!\" she told them. \"...Oh, she means the Doomsayer guy.\" Shade sighed. \"Our KIDS!?\" Amy shouted, wide eyed, \"Sonic!! We can meet our kids!!\" she said excitedly. Sonic began to sweat. \"But, where did they go?\" he asked. That was the latest in a long list of questions. It seemed now that the answers might not come...until Doomsday...\n\nThe End...\n\n...Until the true end begins, in Sonic GeneX: Doomsday!",
  "writing_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>Sonic GeneX: the Series - The Complete Season 5<br />Sonic GeneX - Legacy<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br />This story serves as the ending to the Sonic GeneX series...unless I manage to continue writing up to the true ending. - 2BIT<br /><br /><br />Dirt and dust. A hooded fox awoke in a pile of it, groaning and clutching a wood cane. He was old and weak. A long and confusing life he had led. He climbed to his feet and dusted himself off. He was a black fox with two spiky tails and some white bangs on his head...more white there now than there used to be, and his black fur was graying overall. He tried to remember his name. Copter? No, he&#039;d discarded that name long ago... Dimentime. That was his name. Looking around, Dimentime thought he was in some sort of desert. However, he quickly noted a familiarity about the walls around him. They were buildings, decaying and forgotten. &quot;This is... Station Square...&quot; he grunted, leaning on his cane as he walked away from his resting place. &quot;...I thought my work was done after the Soleanna Struggle ended... Why am I here? Is there something the Time Stones still wish me to fix?&quot; he muttered. A newspaper blew past him, and he poked out his cane to stop it, the paper wrapping about the gnarled wood walking stick. He untangled the newspaper from his cane and examined it. The headline: &quot;President Slain! GUN Takes Command!&quot; The date was approximately 20 years after the Time Eater incident. &quot;A few decades into the future, then? Ugh, I feel like I might have aged those decades... but I was old back in Soleanna. Hopefully whatever this is won&#039;t take much physical effort...&quot; he sighed, shuffling out to explore the ruins of Station Square. It appeared like the city had been evacuated prior to some sort of battle, the buildings having been damaged in places from what appeared to be weapon fire. However, there were no bodies to be found. Still, the place was eerily quiet. At least until trucks sped towards Dimentime. They surrounded him, and quickly GUN agents rushed out, training their weapons on him! &quot;Don&#039;t move, freak!&quot; said one of the humans, &quot;We don&#039;t know how you got past our security cams this far, but we&#039;ll find out before your execution!&quot; Dimentime raised his arms and silently stepped into the nearby prisoner transport truck, where he noticed a handful of other animals were restrained. &quot;Okay... I guess I have an idea why I&#039;m here. Why couldn&#039;t the Time Stones have sent me when I was younger?&quot; he groaned. &quot;Get in there, freak!&quot; a GUN agent snarled, shoving him into the truck!<br /><br />Dimentime found a seat as the prison transport started to drive off. He could escape this easily, but he needed information. Sitting beside him was a light purple hedgehog. &quot;So, what&#039;re you in for?&quot; Dimentime asked. &quot;Seriously?&quot; the hedgehog responded, &quot;Oh, that&#039;s a joke, right? Funny... Hey... you look kinda familiar.&quot; the young hedgehog said, glancing at him. &quot;I get that a lot when I don&#039;t wear my hood... And yes, seriously. I&#039;ve been...out of town. For a few decades.&quot; Dimentime grunted. The hedgehog frowned. &quot;Out of planet, too? Well... You look pretty old. I bet you remember Sonic, right?&quot; the youngster asked. Dimentime scoffed. &quot;Yeah, sure. He make this mess?&quot; he asked. The young hedgehog crossed his arms. &quot;NO... He&#039;s my father.&quot; he stated. Dimentime smiled awkwardly. &quot;Oooooh... Twenty years, right...&quot; he mumbled, &quot;Well, I guess we&#039;re saved, then! He&#039;ll speed in and bust us outta here.&quot; Dimentime babbled. &quot;Don&#039;t count on it.&quot; the kid sighed, &quot;I&#039;ve been searching for dear ol&#039; dad a long time. Got caught searching. My friends say he&#039;s dead...&quot; he said, looking at the ground sadly. Dimentime patted his shoulder. &quot;What&#039;s your name kid?&quot; he asked. &quot;...Juice.&quot; the hedgehog replied, resulting in snickers from the other prisoners. &quot;Keep laughin&#039;. My dad&#039;s alive, I know it... And I&#039;ll have him kick your butts later.&quot; he said, sticking his tongue out. Suddenly, the truck rocked sideways, nearly tipping over! Gun shots could be heard outside, followed by loud thuds before a small explosion blew the back door open! A red, female echidna stood just outside, wearing a black jacket. &quot;Today&#039;s your lucky day, guys! Executions have been delayed! Hey, Juice!&quot; she said, waving. &quot;Lara-Su!&quot; Juice exclaimed. Dimentime rubbed his head awkwardly. &quot;Rescued by a teenage girl...&quot; he grumbled. &quot;Don&#039;t stand so close to the bomb next time, Lara...&quot; said a fox as he stepped next to her. Said fox was almost the spitting image of Tails. &quot;Even better... Tails Junior...&quot; Dimentime groaned, leaning on his cane as he joined the other prisoners in vacating the truck. Lara-Su looked at Dimentime like she&#039;d seen a ghost. &quot;C-copter??&quot; she stammered. &quot;Not exactly. Do I know you?&quot; Dimentime asked. Lara-Su saluted him. &quot;Lara-Su Echidna, last of the Knuckles clan and leader of the Anti-GUN-Force... Nobody wanted to be cliched and call it &#039;the Resistence.&#039;&quot; she said. Dimentime frowned. &quot;So, you&#039;re Knuckles&#039;s daughter...and he&#039;s dead.&quot; he said to sum it up. &quot;We got a lot to catch you up on...&quot; Juice sighed.<br /><br />There was no time to waste, GUN would have reinforcements quickly. So they hurried to their escape ride; a motorboat waiting at the coastline. The boat took them to an almost familiar island. Looking carefully, Dimentime recognized it as the island that once housed Darkegg Fortress...only the tower was gone. All that remained was a base leading to the basement, which the Anti-GUN-Force led Dimentime and the other freed prisoners into. &quot;It&#039;s a bit stuffy, but it&#039;s home.&quot; Lara-Su stated. A tri-tailed fox rushed to meet the group, and Dimentime was stunned upon seeing him. The fox was the spitting image of himself, or Copter, except his bangs were bushier and black, one of his tails was adorned with colorful tailbands, he had a blue collar around his neck, and he wore glasses. He stopped and wiped those glasses with the cuffs of his gloves before looking at Dimentime again. &quot;...Are you my grandpa?&quot; he blurted, making Juice chuckle. &quot;I get the feeling I sort of am.&quot; Dimentime said awkwardly, &quot;Who are you?&quot; he asked. The fox shrugged. &quot;Chopper. My dad stunk at names...&quot; he mumbled. &quot;I am his father!&quot; Dimentime choked, only to have his arm tugged by &quot;Tails Jr.&quot; &quot;We need to talk.&quot; the yellow fox stated, leading Dimentime to a back room along with Lara-Su. Dimentime looked around in awe, noting that there were mostly kids there. Kids to his eyes, at any rate. A girl who looked like a clear child of Punchy and Rainbow was chatting with a black cat with sky blue hair on his head. A pair of colorful Divine girls that resembled Whisk were sitting at a table playing cards. There was a male coyote...Katie&#039;s son? But before Dimentime could ask around about any of this, they&#039;d stepped into the back room. &quot;You&#039;re Dimentime.&quot; the fox said. &quot;And you&#039;re Tails Junior.&quot; Dimentime said gruffly. &quot;The name&#039;s Skye. Skye Prower. My dad used to tell me stories... and you were in them. You came from another time...&quot; he stated. &quot;Sort of. Can one of you explain what&#039;s going on to me?&quot; Dimentime asked. Lara-Su looked impatient. &quot;Do we have time for this? I need to get a report on Argyle and Venice&#039;s mission...&quot; she grumbled. Skye raised an eyebrow. &quot;Your mushy-time with Argyle can wait, Lara. Dimentime&#039;s here for a reason. He needs to know what happened.&quot; he said, sighing before he began, &quot;...It was a long time ago now. The truth of these events is known now, but it does little good. General Gunner ordered his minion, Guard the Gargoyle, to kill the President, making it appear that said gargoyle had acted alone. Not only was the President killed, but so was GUN&#039;s Commander... and Gunner seized control. Decieving the public, he made humans believe that animals were to blame, and started mass-executions... by the time Gunner&#039;s plot was exposed, it was too late. He&#039;d amassed enough followers to hold his control of the government, and rule the country through fear, setting his sights on conquering the rest of the world. Sonic and the other heroes tried to stop him, but with the full might of GUN behind him... they were defeated.&quot; Skye explained. Dimentime stared in disbelief. &quot;There&#039;s no way... GUN couldn&#039;t beat all of fur-kind combined!&quot; he shouted. &quot;Oh, you know how it is...&quot; Lara-Su griped, &quot;People don&#039;t want to get involved until it&#039;s too late. Like those experiments! Selfish lot, all of them!&quot; she snapped. &quot;Hey! I&#039;m listening outside the door!&quot; Chopper shouted. Dimentime looked at her understandingly. &quot;I get you...but there&#039;s no way they&#039;re all dead. We need to reach out for help.&quot; he stated. &quot;That&#039;s what I&#039;ve been telling them!&quot; Juice shouted from outside the door. &quot;We came in here for privacy!!&quot; Skye shouted. &quot;Argyle said it was okay!&quot; Juice teased, making Skye&#039;s face turn red with frustration.<br /><br />Ultimately, Dimentime felt he had to help these kids. But he couldn&#039;t help them alone. After talking to Skye, he was led to a computer where he could look up recent events online. &quot;What are you lookin&#039; for?&quot; Chopper asked him. &quot;Survivors...&quot; Dimentime stated. Argyle the crocodile, an obvious offspring of Vector, sat next to Dimentime to assist. &quot;You&#039;re not gonna like what you see...&quot; the croc sighed. He wasn&#039;t wrong. Newspaper articles gave quick confirmation of several deaths. Tails and Knuckles had died valiantly fighting GUN forces, while Bucky had been the victim of a sneak attack. Dimentime almost vomited when he saw an image of several familiar and not-so familiar heads displayed on spears, trophies of Gunner&#039;s victories. Everything looked pretty grim. &quot;I can&#039;t believe all of this... We really are alone here...&quot; he sighed, &quot;Tails and Bucky, gone... I didn&#039;t exactly have the best relationship with them, but it doesn&#039;t seem real...&quot; Argyle got up from his seat and sniffled. &quot;My dad, too. Most of us here know our parents are dead...&quot; he sighed, walking away. Dimentime turned to Chopper, who had a glum look. He knew what it meant. &quot;I&#039;m dead? Well, your real father...&quot; he said, rubbing his head awkwardly. Chopper nodded, looking rather sad. Dimentime slowly placed a hand on his shoulder. &quot;Look, kid... I can&#039;t replace him, but... I&#039;m here for you...at least for now.&quot; he said. Chopper looked up at him. &quot;I don&#039;t need that. I&#039;m Experiment 2&#039;s son! I can... I can...&quot; Dimentime caught him in his arms as he started to cry into his chest. &quot;He needed to lean on people too, kid. It&#039;s alright.&quot; he sighed. &quot;But he was so strong...and I&#039;m not...&quot; Chopper whimpered. Dimentime scoffed. &quot;I was never strong. That was the tailband doing the work... I see you have your own there.&quot; he pointed out. Chopper glanced at it. &quot;It&#039;s not magic like yours...&quot; he said, &quot;The original is gone.&quot; Dimentime patted the kid&#039;s head. He felt odd about it, but not in a bad way. &quot;C&#039;mon, kid. Everything&#039;s gonna be okay. You&#039;ll see. I&#039;ll whip ya into shape!&quot; he grinned. Chopper smiled at him. &quot;Thanks...gramps!&quot; he said, making Dimentime stumble in his seat. &quot;...Call me Dad or Dimentime, please...&quot; he grumbled. Chopper nodded. &quot;Dimentime... okay.&quot; he sighed.<br /><br />Dimentime continued to look over the news reports for a bit, and he reached a conclusion. &quot;There&#039;s no record of Sonic or Eggman dying! That&#039;d be all over the news, wouldn&#039;t it?&quot; he stated. Several of the kids were sitting around Dimentime at this point, hoping he&#039;d arrive at a hopeful conclusion, but the oldest in the room spoke up first, a hedgehog that looked remarkably similar to Silver. &quot;Everyone knows where Eggman is. He&#039;s in Eggmanland.&quot; the hedgehog stated. Dimentime squinted at him. &quot;Silver?&quot; he muttered. &quot;Who? My name&#039;s Venice. I&#039;m the oldest here... I fled Soleanna when GUN took it over, and found these kids. Lara-Su stays in charge because I don&#039;t know the lay of the land.&quot; he stated. Lara-Su had entered the room at this point, along with Punchy&#039;s obvious daughter. &quot;We need to plan our next move. Aurora and I will coordinate the next attack.&quot; she said, motioning to the echidna beside her. Dimentime knelt on his staff as he stood up. &quot;No. We&#039;re going to Eggmanland.&quot; he said firmly. Everyone stared at him, and Juice chuckled awkwardly. &quot;That old turn of the century humor! Eggmanland! ...You&#039;re not serious!&quot; he stammered. Dimentime looked quite serious. &quot;It&#039;s as good a place to start as any. Your way isn&#039;t working. Eggman might have Sonic hostage. He might know something. Hell, Eggman might turn out to be an ally!&quot; he suggested, earning scoffs from all over the room. Lara-Su didn&#039;t scoff, though. &quot;Okay. You&#039;re the expert sent by the Time Stones. Aurora&#039;s in charge until I get back... IF I get back.&quot; she stated, &quot;I will be back. Starr&#039;s coming with us.&quot; A purple creature with pink hair sat up from the crowd. The star on her shirt seemed to suggest she was Starr. Dimentime stared at her. She was a morph. &quot;No way... Kosmo?!&quot; he babbled. &quot;Dead. I&#039;m his offspring.&quot; Starr winked. Lara gathered Skye and Juice to join the mission as well. &quot;We&#039;ll keep our group small, just in case this is a suicide mission...&quot; she stated. Chopper stood up and raised his hand. &quot;I want to volunteer to go!&quot; he said, trying to sound brave. Lara-Su stared at him, and Dimentime shrugged. &quot;I&#039;ll look after him.&quot; he grumbled. Lara nodded. &quot;Fine. The rest of you, don&#039;t get killed while we&#039;re gone!&quot; she shouted. A male coyote walked up to Chopper, shaking his hand. He was brown furred, wore a red vest, a crescent moon pendant, and had an earring on his left ear. &quot;Brave of you, going like that. And maaan, I wish I was going with Starr...&quot; he said, looking wistfully at the morph. Dimentime gagged. &quot;Err... Thanks, Casey.&quot; Chopper stated, &quot;And stop hitting on my girlfriend!&quot; Hearing that, Dimentime gagged harder. &quot;Boy, we&#039;re gonna have a talk!&quot; he grunted after he stopped gagging. Before leaving, Casey handed Chopper his pendant. &quot;Take this with you. It&#039;s my lucky charm. It&#039;ll keep you safe.&quot; he said. Chopper shook his head. &quot;Dude, it&#039;s got pictures of your parents! I can&#039;t take this!&quot; he protested. Casey hung it around his neck. &quot;I want you back safe. You&#039;re my best friend.&quot; he said, &quot;...Aaaand... I&#039;m hoping the luck will rub off on Starr.&quot; he smirked. Chopper rolled his eyes. &quot;Okay, whatever. My best friend wants to steal my girl... in exchange for a pendant! Some trade!&quot; he joked. Dimentime watched them and found himself smiling. He had to protect these dimwits. He just had to.<br /><br /><br />The Hopebringer Center for the Criminally Insane was never an honest name for said facility, by any means. This was more true than ever now that GUN had converted it into a literal prison and concentration camp. Richard Gunner arrived by chopper on this day, stepping out wearing a lavish general&#039;s uniform, adorned with fancy patches and medals. His right hand was replaced with a large gun of some sort, ironically. Spy hopped out of the chopper behind him, looking older and weary...and balding. &quot;Damn those freaks! Another transport attacked!! You are an utter failure, Spy!!&quot; Gunner shouted. &quot;I wasn&#039;t there, sir... As I have to tell you over and over...&quot; Spy sighed, only to get a gun-hand pointed at his face. &quot;Saying something?! Keep up! I&#039;ve had my fill of this petty resistance!&quot; he snarled, leading Spy into the prison, where animals were busy wailing and screaming from the various tortures GUN had prepared for them. They were headed not for the prison, but for the lab. Dr. Nammad met them, though he was wrinkled and confined to a wheelchair now. &quot;Ahhh, Richard! Here to check my progress? Well, I have great news! We&#039;re all set!&quot; he said, motioning to a glass pod. Gunner smirked as he looked at it. Inside was Shadow the hedgehog, skinny and unconscious. He&#039;d been in GUN&#039;s vicegrip for some time, and had just about given all he had to give the twisted scientist in the wheelchair. &quot;It, ah, wasn&#039;t easy replicating Bucky&#039;s power-draining technology... But behold!&quot; A light went on in the back of the lab, and a multitude more tubes were revealed, showing a multitude of new Shadows resting... waiting to be awakoned! &quot;Ha ha!! Powers transferred?! And they&#039;ll obey my every command?&quot; Gunner sneered. Nammad grinned proudly. &quot;Oh, ah, yes... This is my magnum opus. Clones without will... The perfect finale to cap off the science Bucky started. They are almost ready. The remainder of the cloning process is running on automation, as you requested...&quot; he stated. Gunner beamed. &quot;And you&#039;re the only one that could potentially stop them...&quot; he said darkly. &quot;Well... Me or you...&quot; Nammad muttered, looking pale as it dawned on him, &quot;Wait, no!!&quot; he cried, his final words as Gunner incinerated a hole in his chest with his gun-hand. Spy looked at this with a calmness only earned through experience. &quot;Orders, sir?&quot; he asked. Gunner cackled softly. &quot;We kill &#039;em all...&quot; he grunted.<br /><br /><br />Eggmanland was barred by massive gates, emblazoned with Eggman&#039;s corporate logo. &quot;...What have they got in there, King Kong?&quot; Juice joked as they waited for Starr to join them. Chopper looked at the pendant he got from Casey intently. &quot;...You&#039;ll get back fine.&quot; Dimentime promised. Chopper nodded. &quot;Yeah... Hey, wanna see who Casey&#039;s parents are? Maybe you knew them.&quot; he asked. Dimentime shook his head. &quot;I know enough. Showing me more dead people just...&quot; he trailed off, and Chopper understood. &quot;Yeah... I was gonna ask about my mother, but maybe I shouldn&#039;t...&quot; he sighed. Dimentime glanced at him. &quot;Oh, go ahead... She&#039;s not my wife.&quot; he muttered. Chopper shrugged. &quot;That&#039;s just it, I was hoping you could tell me about her because I never knew her. She died when I was very little...&quot; he stated, &quot;...I don&#039;t know who she was...&quot; Dimentime glanced at him and sighed. &quot;That makes two of us...&quot; Soon, the door opened, and a robot resembling Omega met them beyond it. The robot changed shape however, taking the form of Starr. &quot;Piece of cake!&quot; she winked. Skye and Chopper clapped for her while Lara crept past the gate carefully. &quot;How much resistence did you see?&quot; she asked. &quot;Ghost town! This&#039;ll be fun!&quot; Starr stated. As they walked in, Dimentime noted that Chopper didn&#039;t walk too close to Starr. Rather than have the awkward talk with Chopper, he turned to Skye. &quot;What&#039;s with Chopper and Starr?&quot; he asked. Skye shrugged. &quot;Starr&#039;s like, the cool girl, because she&#039;s one of our MVPs. There&#039;s a few guys that want to date her, but no one has the nerve to really try. Rumor is she likes Chopper, but that hasn&#039;t made him braver, really.&quot; Dimentime nodded, then pulled out his staff as giant robots surrounded them! &quot;Holy cow...!&quot; Dimentime gasped. It seemed the Egg Pawns were on steroids, and the other classic robots looked pretty souped up as well. It seemed like they were in for the fight of their lives, when a nervous voice called out to stop them. &quot;Hold iiiit!!&quot; Char the Chao flew in, ironically having become an angel Chao. &quot;Interesting look for you!&quot; Dimentime stated. Char panted as he caught his breath. &quot;Dimentime! I can&#039;t believe you&#039;re here! You HAVE to talk to Dr. Eggman! Come, come! Follow me!&quot; he said, hastily motioning for them to follow as the robots stood at attention. Lara looked stunned. &quot;This is a first for me...&quot; she muttered. &quot;Off to see the wizard!&quot; Juice chuckled. &quot;No more TV for you, Juice...&quot; Skye sighed.<br /><br />Char led Dimentime in to speak with Eggman, leaving the others in a small room outside Eggman&#039;s... control room? It looked like a dirty gamer&#039;s lounge, with screens surrounding his Egg Mobile and discarded snack wrappers littering the floor. Dimentime looked around in disgust. &quot;The great Dr. Eggman... What a slob you&#039;ve become.&quot; he muttered. A cough was heard from the Egg Mobile. &quot;Most robots are too nervous to approach me... I&#039;m prone to hitting their self-destruct buttons just for kicks.&quot; he grumbled. Juice barged into the room at this point, followed by Lara and Starr. &quot;Eggman! Give back my dad!&quot; Juice shouted. &quot;Not a smart play, Juice! Stand down!&quot; Lara shouted. The Egg Mobile turned around, revealing an old and miserable-looking Eggman. &quot;Sonic&#039;s son... So, you live. I... I&#039;m glad.&quot; he coughed, and Char moved to adjust the pillow behind his head. Starr made a face. &quot;THAT&#039;S the mighty Dr. Eggman?&quot; she muttered. Eggman sighed. &quot;Dimentime, I&#039;ve hoped to see you one day... You can fix my greatest mistake. Siding with Gunner against the rest of the world... I shouldn&#039;t have done that. When all is said and done, I helped him kill millions, and all I have to show for it is this meager city... My only remaining comfort.&quot; he said. Dimentime leaned on his staff and frowned. &quot;This was the Mystic Ruins. I can tell. Were you the one to kill Tails?&quot; he asked. Eggman shook his head. &quot;...I was the one to kill Sonic.&quot; he proclaimed. Juice was about to leap at him, but Lara held him back. &quot;Y-you monster!! You lie!! You couldn&#039;t ever kill my dad! Never!!&quot; he shouted as the others stepped in. &quot;He killed Uncle Sonic!?&quot; Skye growled. Dimentime turned to the young ones. &quot;...Give us the room. I have questions for the doctor, and you hotheads are liable to give the old guy a heart attack.&quot; he told them. Lara nodded, but Juice was enraged. &quot;I&#039;ll make you tell the truth! I&#039;ll make you! Get over here!!&quot; he yelled as Lara and Starr both started to drag him away. Chopper watched awkwardly. &quot;Poor fella... Hey, wait... Did you kill my dad?&quot; he asked Eggman. Eggman sighed. &quot;I take the responsibility. Blame me for it all. I&#039;m used to it...&quot; he said before Skye and Chopper left Dimentime alone with him.<br /><br />Dimentime looked at him slyly. &quot;Where&#039;s Sonic, doc.&quot; he asked. Eggman brushed his graying moustache, looking at him with a frown. &quot;You don&#039;t buy my story?&quot; he asked. Dimentime chuckled. &quot;I know you better than that. As if you could ever beat Sonic... or tell the whole truth.&quot; he smirked. Eggman let out a heavy sigh. &quot;I feel like I killed him... He&#039;s dead inside.&quot; the doctor stated. Dimentime raised an eyebrow. &quot;So he&#039;s alive. Know where he is?&quot; he asked. Eggman pressed a button to bring up a display on one of his monitors. It showed Tails&#039;s old Mystic Ruins workshop, carefully preserved. &quot;He stays there. You can go, but keep your expectations low. He&#039;s even more broken than I am.&quot; he said, a hint of sadness in his voice, &quot;The robots will leave you alone for the next hour... Don&#039;t hang around.&quot; he grunted, turning his Egg Mobile around again to illustrate that their conversation was over. Char looked at him with a frown. &quot;...Things have been pretty grim... Yeah... Good luck, Dimentime.&quot; he said. The old fox turned and headed for the door, realizing there wasn&#039;t a lot of time to get Sonic. &quot;Eggman gave us an hour to wander. We&#039;re going to see Sonic.&quot; he stated, getting to the point. Juice jumped up excitedly. &quot;Ha! Told ya! Tooold ya!&quot; he said, pointing around at everyone. &quot;Cool it kid. This might not be the win you were hoping for.&quot; Dimentime stated. &quot;How could it not be?&quot; Skye asked, making everyone glance at him, &quot;Even if Sonic&#039;s not in fighting shape, at least Juice has his dad back.&quot; he stated. Chopper nodded in agreement, and Lara-Su shrugged. &quot;We&#039;ll stay together. If this is a trap, it&#039;ll take all of us to escape.&quot; she said, being a realist about the situation. Dimentime started hobbling on his way, wishing he&#039;d come in as his younger self. &quot;Come on. We gotta get out of the jungle.... Sorry, I&#039;m used to there being a jungle here.&quot; he muttered. Starr scratched her head. &quot;What&#039;s a jungle?&quot; she asked, making Dimentime growl. &quot;This future sucks.&quot; Watching them leave through a monitor, Eggman hovered his finger over a red button. Char watched. &quot;Do you really want to destroy them?&quot; he asked sadly. Eggman looked contemplative, and took his hand away from the button. &quot;No... So what do I want?&quot; he murmured, glancing at Char. He stroked his moustache and sighed. &quot;How about a Chili Dog? ...For old time&#039;s sake...&quot; he murmured.<br /><br />They hurried to Tails&#039;s workshop. Dimentime suggested most of the group wait outside, so as not to spook Sonic, in case that was an issue. Juice couldn&#039;t be held back, though, and Dimentime decided to bring Chopper along as well to help &quot;handle&quot; Juice. When they initially entered, the place seemed empty. A pair of red and white sneakers on the floor were the only sign of Sonic&#039;s presence. A shadow moved in the darkness of the workshop. &quot;...Dad?&quot; Juice called. Dimentime shushed him. &quot;...Sonic? This is Dimentime. Come out, you know it&#039;s the will of the Time Stones and all that!&quot; he shouted, getting right to the point. &quot;Sonic is dead...&quot; came a voice, robotic clanking stepping the figure toward the light, &quot;I...am a ghost.&quot; Sonic stood before them, his legs replaced with robotic replacements, clearly not as fast as his old legs. Chopper looked crestfallen, but Juice only looked mildly sad. &quot;I&#039;m sorry, dad... But you still got me!&quot; he said, trying to cheer his father up. Sonic looked slightly angry. &quot;You shouldn&#039;t have come! I-I mean...&quot; he sighed, his expression softening, &quot;I&#039;m sorry, son... I failed. I watched them die... Tails... Amy... It broke me. Then my legs... Eggman built me these as a pitiful penance...&quot; he said, clicking his metallic heels together, &quot;But it doesn&#039;t bring everyone back... It doesn&#039;t bring your mom back...&quot; he said, almost tearing up. Chopper nodded. &quot;I know what you mean, Sonic... But you&#039;re the best qualified to lead us!&quot; he told him. Sonic shook his head and pointed to Dimentime. &quot;There&#039;s your leader. Tails&#039;s smarts with Copter&#039;s guts. You don&#039;t need me.&quot; he stated. At this point, Skye walked into the room. &quot;Kid...&quot; Dimentime stammered. Skye looked around. &quot;I... barely remember this place... Dad&#039;s workshop...&quot; he said solumnly, glancing at Sonic, &quot;Uncle... My sister Melody is sick. She needs help that we can&#039;t give her, but with GUN in power, she&#039;ll never get that help... We need you. Please... If not for us... do it for my dad.&quot; he pleaded. Juice nodded. &quot;Mom would want you to help, too.&quot; he stated. &quot;So would my dad!&quot; Added Lara, standing in the doorway. Sonic looked at the faces of the next generation, and then at Dimentime. &quot;We don&#039;t need your speed. We need the hope you bring.&quot; he stated. Sonic let out a sigh. &quot;...I&#039;m not sure how much hope I can offer...&quot; he muttered. Then, a long-lost smirk began to return to his face. &quot;But seeing you all here... Maybe they didn&#039;t die for nothing. Alright, kids... Let&#039;s get to work and show GUN that we won&#039;t just lie down and die like the animals they think we are!!&quot; A cheer followed. Sonic the hedgehog was back!<br /><br /><br />Any celebration was short-lived. Making their return to the Anti-GUN-Force&#039;s HQ as quickly as they could, all their hearts sank to find smoke coming from the island. Everyone rushed in search of survivors, Skye dashing into the base with the welfare of his sister paramount on his mind. Chopper clutched Casey&#039;s pendant tightly. &quot;...I shouldn&#039;t have taken this from him...&quot; he choked. &quot;Superstitious, much?&quot; Dimentime asked the boy. Sonic found a young divine lying outside the entrance to the base. She had yellow fur, black wings and green ears...and an artificial chaos sword through her chest. &quot;Oh no... Whisk&#039;s kid!&quot; Dimentime gasped. &quot;Minnie!!&quot; Starr wailed, covering her face. The divine was barely breathing. &quot;I-it was...Shadow... Th-there was... so many of... him...&quot; she wheezed. &quot;Don&#039;t speak... It&#039;s okay...&quot; Sonic whispered, hoping to console her in her last moments. Minnie was distraught, though. &quot;P-pepper...&quot; she gasped before the light left her eyes. The elder mammals glanced at Starr. &quot;Pepper was her twin sister. I hope she&#039;s alright, but then, she&#039;ll be crushed...&quot; Lara was looking around in utter shock, while Skye and Chopper returned from inside with nervous looks. &quot;A lot of dead, but no Melody anywhere...&quot; Chopper stated. &quot;Salma&#039;s dead... Jemma&#039;s dead...&quot; Skye murmured in a hollow, grim tone. &quot;Aurora!? Did you see Aurora!?&quot; Lara-Su stammered, the carnage rocking her out of her seemingly unshakable composure. Skye shrugged, and Sonic patted her shoulder. &quot;We&#039;ll make sure this kinda thing never happens again...&quot; he said in a serious tone. The sky suddenly went dark, and everyone looked up nervously. Shadow Arcangel was passing overhead. &quot;Okay, if Bucky&#039;s dead, who is that?&quot; Dimentime asked, a nervous look on his face. As the ship landed, floating on the ocean just offshore, some people stepped out of the upper exit. First came Aurora. &quot;...Thank Chaos, you made it...&quot; she sighed. Lara was quick to run to her and give her a hug. &quot;Don&#039;t scare me like that!&quot; she cried. Some other survivors were emerging as well, led by Vortex the chameleon, who was wearing a white lab coat and small glasses. &quot;Yes, yes, it&#039;s all very sweet. Now, hurry aboard! We can&#039;t stay here!&quot; he shouted. Dimentime pointed at him in disbelief. &quot;You&#039;re here... you&#039;re helping us... and you can talk normal?&quot; he babbled. Vortex crossed his arms. &quot;GUN wants us all dead. I&#039;d be a fool not to asssisss... asssisss... urgh... help.&quot; he groaned. Sonic chuckled softly. &quot;Some things never change, eh, Copter?&quot; he said, nudging Dimentime. The old fox grunted. &quot;Don&#039;t get senile on me now, Sonic.&quot;<br /><br />The group hurried aboard the Arcangel, which was luckily massive enough to hold all passengers. Skye was quick to inquire about his sister. &quot;The girl is stable in the lab.&quot; Vortex told him, &quot;We tried to save all we could, but some regrettably gave their lives to cover the escape...&quot; Sonic and Dimentime looked around, noting that the ship was fairly crowded with passengers. &quot;You got all the surviving experiments here, don&#039;t you?&quot; Sonic asked. &quot;Most of them...&quot; said Spiny the porcupine, who groaned as he passed by, &quot;I don&#039;t believe this! You&#039;re alive, and you got your legs robotisized, too!&quot; he growled, his footsteps clanging as he went. Sonic scratched his head. &quot;I just don&#039;t get that guy...&quot; he muttered. Dimentime shrugged. &quot;So what the hell happened?&quot; he asked. A gray divine approached, obviously Pepper. &quot;GUN&#039;s created an army of Shadow copies. They must&#039;ve known where our base was, and were only waiting until this army was ready to try and wipe us out...&quot; she stated. Aurora, who was nearby, gave a nod. &quot;These aren&#039;t androids, either. They have Shadow&#039;s powers... It&#039;s hopeless...&quot; she sighed. Juice patted her on the back. &quot;Hopeless? Hey, look over there. That&#039;s my dad, SONIC! Hopeless is gone!&quot; he grinned. Vortex shook his head. &quot;No, she&#039;s right. This isn&#039;t good. Ah, if only Zipp were with us... But he&#039;s holding the fort in Holoska.&quot; Dimentime was scarcely listening. He was watching Chopper talking to Casey and Starr. He returned the pendant, and Casey seemed to be talking him up to the female morph. The three seemed to be good friends. &quot;Earth to Copter! You with us?&quot; Sonic asked. &quot;Copter&#039;s dead, Sonic.&quot; Dimentime grunted, &quot;We need a plan.&quot; he sighed. Vortex nodded. &quot;We got one, but it&#039;s not good. We need Experiment 626 to beat the Shadow army. It&#039;s the most powerful Experiment I&#039;ve ever created...&quot; he stated. Dimentime stared at him. &quot;How many damn crimes against nature have you and Bucky-- No, don&#039;t even tell me. Six hundred is enough to know about!&quot; he groaned. Lara-Su stood beside Aurora. &quot;Well, if you&#039;d been paying attention, you&#039;d have heard that 626 is in Gunner&#039;s clutches, deep in GUN&#039;s stronghold. We&#039;d never get to it.&quot; she said. &quot;Not without help from the future!&quot; Turning around, the group saw Silver the hedgehog enter the room. Venice, who was sitting in the corner, spit out his coffee. &quot;M-me!?&quot; he stammered. Silver scratched his head. &quot;Great Grandpa? Errr, never mind. I brought help!&quot; he said. Behind him came Capricorn the divine ferret, Ozzie the morph and the Deathbringer! Sonic looked at Vortex smugly. &quot;You kept them in the back just to show off, didn&#039;t you?&quot; he asked. Vortex shrugged. &quot;Too bad Dimentime doesn&#039;t seem to know them.&quot; he chuckled. Dimentime shrugged. &quot;Hey, that reminds me, who was the Doomsayer?&quot; he asked. The Deathbringer chuckled at him. &quot;No spoilers... There&#039;s no telling if the Time Stones will throw you into the past next.&quot; she stated.<br /><br />As Shadow Arcangel flew the Anti-GUN-Force through the sky towards their destiny, Sonic watched a sad scene play out. Skye approached Pepper and the black cat with light blue hair Dimentime had noticed before. Sonic recognized that black cat&#039;s collar as Lucky&#039;s, and knew he was Lucky&#039;s son. &quot;I don&#039;t know how to say this... but I drew the short straw so I have to...&quot; Skye said with a sad look. Pepper touched his shoulder. &quot;I know, Skye... I&#039;ll tell him...&quot; she said, turning to the black cat. &quot;L-lucky... Minnie, she... She&#039;s gone...&quot; she said, tears in her eyes. Lucky Jr. fell into Pepper&#039;s arms, crying. Sonic surmised that they were siblings from how they were acting toward each other. &quot;Lucky and Whisk... huh...&quot; he murmured, his expression pained as he watched the young ones mourn their sister. Juice sat next to him, and Sonic let out a sigh. &quot;This was a mistake... I really can&#039;t do this. I&#039;m not good enough anymore...&quot; he said sadly. Juice took his hand. &quot;It&#039;s okay, dad... You&#039;ve always been my hero. Just being here for me is enough.&quot; he smiled. Dimentime and Chopper stepped over as well, obviously having overheard. &quot;Sonic...&quot; Dimentime began, &quot;Don&#039;t ever sell yourself short. It&#039;s not your speed that makes you a hero to so many. Speed was never more than a tool in your arsenal.&quot; he held up his staff and pointed it at Sonic&#039;s chest, &quot;Right there... that&#039;s where your true strength comes from.&quot; he said. Chopper nodded. &quot;Yeah! That upper-body strength! You must still work out, right?&quot; he grinned. Dimentime rubbed his head in annoyance. &quot;It&#039;s bad enough I have to give a speech like this, do I have to spell it out too? I was pointing at his heart, kid!&quot; he groaned. Sonic looked at them and couldn&#039;t help but chuckle. &quot;Good speech, Copter... And before you correct me, I think you&#039;re worthy to use the name. I think the old one would be honored.&quot; he said, giving a thumbs up. Lara-Su ran into the room hastily at that moment. &quot;We&#039;re here. Everyone... You need to see this!&quot; she said, out of breath. Everyone hurried to the control room, where Vortex was looking grimly at what awaited them. GUN&#039;s Fortress was guarded by a legion of robots, supplemented by Shadow clones...enough of them to be quite worrisome indeed. And this was just outside. &quot;We&#039;re nuked.&quot; Casey gulped. &quot;Hey, obviously we win. How else can my grandson from the future be here?&quot; Venice stated. Ozzie chuckled softly. &quot;Yeah, about that... Our survival depends on this mission.&quot; he said. Silver nodded. &quot;It takes time for past events to catch up to the future. Some of our meddling with the past... may have led to this in some way... which is why we&#039;re still here to help change it. But if we fail, we&#039;ll disappear.&quot; he said gravely. Dimentime sighed. &quot;We all share the blame... Past and future. It&#039;s time for us to fix the present.&quot; he stated. Sonic nodded and raised his fist into the air. &quot;Let&#039;s do it to it! Juice and jam time!!&quot; he declared. The kids let out giddy cheers, but Dimentime stared at him. &quot;You thought juice and jam sounded cool once??&quot; he asked. Sonic looked at his son. &quot;Well, obviously, so did someone&#039;s mom...&quot; he chuckled, &quot;...I haven&#039;t always made the best decisions...&quot; he admitted with an embarrassed face. &quot;Well... Who am I to talk? ...I&#039;m Copter.&quot; Dimentime smirked.<br /><br />As the Arcangel got as close to the base as it could manage safely, Dimentime held up his staff. &quot;Alright... No turning back for anyone coming with me...&quot; he said. Sonic, Lara, Skye and Silver joined him. &quot;Stay on the ship, Chopper... Survive.&quot; Dimentime ordered. Sonic looked at Juice as if to say the same thing. However, as Dimentime moved to cast a warping spell, Juice grabbed Chopper and ran them both in to join them! &quot;No! Stop!&quot; Sonic shouted before they all vanished from the ship... just in time to avoid being aboard as GUN&#039;s anti-air cannons struck it hard! &quot;We&#039;re going to have to land!&quot; Vortex grunted. &quot;Figures, right when Sonic leaves!&quot; Spiny groaned.<br /><br />Dimentime&#039;s group emerged inside the GUN Fortress. Sonic was quick to grab Juice by the arm. &quot;I can&#039;t lose you, too! Why are you here!?&quot; he snapped. Juice pulled his arm back and crossed his arms. &quot;Did it occur to you that I can&#039;t lose you, either? You agree about your dad, right Chopper?&quot; he asked. Chopper rubbed his head awkwardly. &quot;My real dad&#039;s dead. I thought they had a point...&quot; Silver started walking, motioning for them to follow. &quot;It doesn&#039;t matter now! We&#039;re all here, so we better work together!&quot; he told them. &quot;Agreed.&quot; Lara sighed. Dimentime sighed. &quot;Keep behind me, Chopper. I&#039;ll keep you safe...&quot; he said. &quot;Uhhh, it&#039;s not safe behind you...&quot; Skye stammered. GUN robots were approaching from both sides. Lara tossed Sonic a gun. &quot;If you got no speed, you still need to defend yourself...&quot; she said. Sonic nodded. &quot;Not my favorite, but I&#039;ll give it a...shot!&quot; he smirked, making Dimentime roll his eyes. &quot;Your puns are older than you are...&quot; he groaned.<br /><br />Outside, the Anti-GUN-Force rushed out of the Arcangel to meet the enemy head on. Ozzie took Starr&#039;s hand as they charged ahead, the pair morphing into giant rhinos to tear through the first robots. They were both knocked aside as the Shadow clones arrived. Morphing back to normal, they quickly found themselves surrounded by Shadows. &quot;This might be too much even for morphs...&quot; Ozzie gulped. &quot;They can&#039;t hit me! Hah!&quot; Starr grinned, only to get smacked by a Chaos Spear. &quot;You didn&#039;t see that.&quot; she grunted. Capricorn flew up above them, and with a burst of light, caused some of the Shadows to warp away! &quot;Don&#039;t get cocky, but don&#039;t give up! The future is in our hands!&quot; she cried. Lucky Jr., Pepper, Aurora and Casey stood at the exit to Shadow Arcangel. &quot;Let&#039;s do this for Minnie... And the others.&quot; Aurora stated. Casey nodded, holding his pendant. &quot;For our parents, too.&quot; he sighed. Pepper flapped her wings and smirked. &quot;Well, I&#039;m ready to die, how about you guys?&quot; Lucky Jr. shook his head and extended his hand. In a flash of light, a magic blade appeared... shaped like a key. &quot;I&#039;m ready to live. Let&#039;s do it to it!&quot; he smiled.<br /><br />Sonic and the others fought their way through the fortress, Skye navigating with a map procured by Vortex. Soon, they arrived at their destination: the vault. This was where GUN&#039;s weapons were kept, and where Experiment 626 was being held. Upon arriving, they found Gunner, who immediately fired his gun arm at Sonic, only for Silver to catch the shot with his powers and toss it aside! &quot;Hmph... Sonic the hedgehog... Alive. That&#039;s perfect. I&#039;ll have the pleasure of killing you myself!&quot; Gunner sneered. Juice chuckled. &quot;You and what army?&quot; he taunted. &quot;Yeah! We&#039;ve got you cornered!&quot; Chopper added. Gunner pointed his gun arm at Chopper&#039;s head. &quot;Do you?&quot; he sneered. This did it. Dimentime charged forward, firing a bolt from his wand to knock Gunner&#039;s arm aside! &quot;Threaten my boy!? I&#039;ll kill ya once and for all, Gunner!!&quot; he roared. Gunner smirked at him. &quot;No, Guard will finish you, instead!&quot; At his word, a huge mechanical beast shaped like a gargoyle fell from above, slashing its broad scythe across Dimentime&#039;s chest! The beast then kicked him across the room, and Chopper hurried to his side. &quot;N-nooo!! D-dad!! Not again!!&quot; he cried, holding the bleeding Dimentime in his arms. The rest of the group stood ready to fight. &quot;Guard was executed for treason after killing the President... But I never throw away a good soldier. Dr. Nammad rebuilt him, without the pesky shreds of free will he tried to cling to before. He&#039;s the perfect soldier now...&quot; he said coldly. &quot;As in, no humanity.&quot; Lara-Su spat. Gunner glared at the animals. &quot;H-humanity? Humanity!? What would a bunch of FURRY FREAKS know about humanity!? YOU&#039;RE NOT HUMAN!!&quot; he roared. Sonic growled at him. &quot;Maybe, but we&#039;ve got more heart and goodness inside of us than you&#039;ve ever shown! I&#039;m pretty convinced you&#039;re the freak around here, Gunner!&quot; he shouted. Gunner snarled at them, but then grinned as a couple Shadow clones warped in beside him. &quot;Alright, hedgehog... Let&#039;s see what that heart of yours looks like. I&#039;ll have it pulled out of your pitiful chest!&quot; he sneered with an almost demonic scowl!<br /><br />Outside, the battle with GUN&#039;s forces continued. Everyone had to join the fight, including Vortex, Spiny, Argyle, and of course the Deathbringer, who was a particular asset in bringing down the larger GUN machines, but the Shadow clones were too quick even for her. Still, the valiant battling didn&#039;t go unnoticed by lookers-on. Firstly, there was the janitor, mopping up just outside the entrance to the GUN Fortress...for some reason. He wore an alligator suit, so there was that. &quot;Every time the Nazis win, Gator ends up a janitor...&quot; he grumbled, stopping to watch the battle. &quot;Hmm... Waaait... Rebels don&#039;t fight Nazis. That&#039;s World War 2 soldiers... Why, you guys aren&#039;t the Nazis at all! Gator&#039;s not afraid of you without Hitler!! Banzaaaai!!&quot; the kooky janitor shouted, charging into the battle with his mop. Some GUN soldiers beyond the door peeked their heads out, watching him. &quot;...Can he do that?&quot; one of the soldiers asked. The next shrugged. &quot;I got nothing against furs. That was always Gunner.&quot; he said. &quot;My best friend was a cat before Gunner showed up!&quot; another growled. The soldiers exchanged nods, and together they ran outside and began shooting robots! Spiny scratched his head as he watched them. &quot;They&#039;re nuts! They&#039;ll be killed!&quot; he stammered. Not before him, though, as a Shadow clone appeared behind him and stabbed him through the chest with an artificial Chaos Sword. &quot;Ughh!! Cruel irony... Quick, say something original... Urk!!&quot; he collapsed before he could finish his thought, but Vortex was quick to fire a beam of Chaos Energy in an attempt to avenge him. &quot;Blast!! No! Not another brother!!&quot; he growled. Even with some agents turning to their side, it didn&#039;t look good with the Shadow clones, as the one with the sword easily evaded Vortex&#039;s shot. Then, however, a missile came roaring towards it...a familiar smiling symbol on its side. Finally, a Shadow clone was blown to pieces in a fiery explosion. Looking to the source of the missile, Vortex and the others were shocked to see who was coming. It was Dr. Eggman! &quot;Too long has the name of Eggman symbolized the destruction of this world!! If it&#039;s the last thing I do, I&#039;m going to set things right! Ho ho ho ho ho!!&quot; the doctor laughed from his Egg Mobile. He was accompanied by a few robots, and also some more reinforcements led by Zipp the hornet, who&#039;s tattered leather jacket was covered in gun holsters, ammo reload packs, and knife sheaths. He was certainly packin&#039; heat for the apocalypse. &quot;Let&#039;s light &#039;em up!!&quot; he smirked, cocking a rifle.<br /><br />Silver, Lara and Skye were busy distracting the Shadow guards, while Sonic stood between the mechanized Guard and Dimentime. &quot;You two...always fighting. Well, break it up! Guard... you in there?&quot; Sonic called. The gargoyle let out a crazed snarl. If anything was left of the old Guard, it was buried deep inside. At this moment, Spy came running into the room, out of breath. &quot;Sar--Col--Lord Gunner!! Our human troops are defecting! They&#039;re joining the rebels against us... and more insurgents are storming our fortress by the moment!&quot; he shouted, panicked. Gunner snarled, pointed his gun arm at Spy, and fired, his most loyal minion dropping dead while he looked on like it was mere stress relief. &quot;Report received... I have no idea why I didn&#039;t blast him years ago...&quot; he grumbled, and then started shooting at Juice and Chopper with a maniacal laugh! As the young ones fled out of the way, Sonic looked on in shock. &quot;No wonder his troops are ditching him... He&#039;s lost what little mind he had...&quot; he stammered. Taking advantage of his distraction, Guard shoved Sonic aside and neared Dimentime. &quot;Graaah!! I win, Copter!!&quot; he snarled, raising his scythe. Dimentime pointed up his staff. &quot;...Got you first... Oblastion!!&quot; he called, his staff glowing red before a terrible explosion erupted from the spot Guard stood, sending mechanical pieces of gargoyle flying across the room as Gunner&#039;s other loyal henchman died out. Sonic, Juice and Chopper ran to Dimentime&#039;s side while Gunner stared in shocked awe. Dimentime coughed, the slash he&#039;d endured causing him to fade fast. &quot;S-sonic... You have to end this... Please... For everyone... For time itself... This is why the Time Stones sent me... to bring you here...And to give you one last chance...&quot; he said, raising his staff one last time. Chopper couldn&#039;t hold back the tears as he watched the staff melt away, revealing Gemini&#039;s wand. &quot;D-dad... No...&quot; he sniffled. Dimentime smiled at his son. &quot;Copter would be... IS... proud of you...&quot; he said before casting a spell, &quot;Discovereva!!&quot; With that, a bright light was flung from the wand and went into the vault, shining over a pod containing a small creature. It was a Wisp... a dark blue one, its tendrils shaped oddly like an X. Skye jumped away from the Shadows and gasped. &quot;Th-that&#039;s Experiment 626!!&quot; he cried. It was then that Dimentime&#039;s body went limp, and Chopper collapsed beside him in tears. Copter the fox had made his final act. Experiment 2 was dead, having paved the way for Experiment 626.<br /><br />Gunner cackled. &quot;You think you children are a match for me? I&#039;m the man who conquered the world!!&quot; he shouted, and as he did, more Shadow guards warped into the room, surrounding the young ones, Sonic and Silver! They brandished swords, shooting Chaos Spears from the blades to stun their targets. Gunner laughed triumphantly, but Sonic stood up. &quot;...I can&#039;t give up... Feet, don&#039;t fail me... I can&#039;t let these kids down!&quot; he grunted. Sonic then broke into a run, pushing his robotic legs with all the strength he could muster. Gunner fired shots at him, but he simply sped up, outrunning them as his metal legs heated up... He could feel the ground beneath him getting unsteady as he went into the vault. His legs were breaking up. &quot;I have...to make it!!&quot; he growled, pushing himself to keep going as Gunner fired another shot straight for him! Sonic&#039;s legs cracked to pieces, and the hedgehog toppled to the floor before the shot could hit him. Instead, the shot shattered the glass of the capsule containing Experiment 626. Sonic laid on the ground, nothing but broken stubs remaining of his legs. He rolled himself onto his back and looked up to see Gunner, smirking and cackling. &quot;So close, Sonic... Look how the mighty have fallen. You&#039;re nothing without your legs... just a pitiful cripple! Ha ha ha ha!&quot; he laughed with a dark grin, heading into the crowd to grab Sonic&#039;s son. Chopper tried to stop him, but the Shadows pushed him back. &quot;Y-you bastard!!&quot; the fox shouted. &quot;You&#039;ll never destroy the resistance, Gunner... People will always fight you. Your own soldiers are fighting you.&quot; Lara-Su said defiantly. Gunner sneered. &quot;That will stop once examples have been made... Putting your heads on display should do it.&quot; he grinned, pointing his gun arm at Juice. &quot;Now let&#039;s see... Should your son learn what it&#039;s like to be a cripple like daddy, first?&quot; he asked, pointing at the hedgehog&#039;s legs. &quot;Bite me, Gunner!&quot; Juice spat. Gunner pointed his arm at the child&#039;s head. &quot;Then again, I do enjoy watching the light leave a FREAK&#039;s eyes!!&quot; he snarled. Sonic grabbed the edge of the capsule, his fingers bleeding as they were cut on the glass, but he had to get up. &quot;G-gunner... I&#039;ve never said this before... But I&#039;ll kill you.&quot; he growled. &quot;Oh, will you!?&quot; Gunner laughed, &quot;Good luck! First I&#039;m going to kill your wretched spawn. Just watch me...&quot; he said darkly.<br /><br />Sonic looked to 626, and the alien experiment seemed to nod. The creature flew into Sonic&#039;s body, and he rose into the air, glowing with a brilliant orange light! &quot;ChaosBolt!!&quot; The Wisp-voice caught Gunner off guard, and he turned with alarm to see a blazing, spiky bolt of Chaos energy where Sonic once stood. Before Gunner could act, or even speak, the bolt went searing through the room, arcing towards the Shadow clones! They tried to Chaos Control away, but the bolt was drawn to the very Chaos energy they would use to warp, and once the bolt struck, each clone disintegrated into a pile of ash! &quot;Whoa... Dad! Badass!&quot; Juice gasped. Hearing the kid, Gunner went to shoot him anyway, but howled in pain instead as the bolt arced past his gun arm, shattering it to pieces and dropping him to his knees to clutch his stub of an arm! Once the clones inside were gone, Sonic stormed outside, his Chaosbolt homing in on each Shadow clone, including a trio that had Gator pinned down and were frustratedly stabbing him, wondering why he wouldn&#039;t die. Gator sat up a second later, covered in ash. &quot;I did iiiit...&quot; he coughed, raising his arms in victory. As the Shadow clones were dying off, the Deathbringer changed her course, heading for the GUN Fortress. Inside, Gunner held a remote that he had in his pocket. &quot;So, I die. I&#039;m 78 years old, I&#039;d say I had a good run...&quot; he smirked. &quot;Waiiit... You&#039;re 78? You looked that old 20 years ago!&quot; Silver stammered, &quot;You were only in your 50s??&quot; Gunner&#039;s grin turned to a scowl as he clutched his remote. &quot;I press this button, we all go out in a blaze of fire. Maybe with the munitions in this base, the explosion will manage to take out Sonic and your friends, too!&quot; he cackled. The group moved forward, hoping to stop him. Instead, however, a blast came from the hole in the wall Sonic&#039;s Chaosbolt had left, piercing Gunner&#039;s chest!! The Deathbringer flew in, pulling off her hood to give Gunner a final shock. It was the original Deathbringer, Hope the Raven! &quot;That...was for Dr. Buck Stein!&quot; she said. Gunner tried to press his remote anyway before he faded, but Chopper had run over with one of the dropped artificial Chaos Swords from the Shadow clones, and sliced his arm! Diving to catch the remote safely was Juice, who barely made it in time to keep the remote from triggering by hitting the floor! &quot;Wheeew... I gotta go faster...&quot; he chuckled. Lara-Su, Skye, and the others began to clap for them, and cheers were heard coming from outside as GUN&#039;s remaining forces fell. Sonic landed outside and released 626. &quot;Thanks, little guy. We made a good team!&quot; Sonic smiled, sitting on the floor until Casey and Aurora came to help him up. 626 looked a bit sad. &quot;...I have seen much pain... Much death... Perhaps this world will be rebuilt...and know peace... But for me, I cannot bear the memory of what I have seen... I will seek a new world, beyond the stars...&quot; With that sorrowful speech spoken in a soft voice, 626 flew up into the sky and off into space, never to be seen on Earth again.<br /><br />In the weeks that followed, news of GUN&#039;s defeat spread. Survivors of GUN&#039;s regime began to emerge. Parents began to reunite with their children, if they had lived to see the reunion. Skye and Dr. Eggman collaborated to build Sonic a new set of legs, so he could personally turn up at the President&#039;s house...to decline the honor of leading the nation. &quot;I&#039;ve got a better President in mind for the job...&quot; he told a gathering of surviving officials, and led Lara-Su into the room. &quot;She&#039;s young, but she&#039;s led a ragtag group of freedom fighters to victory over Gunner. I can&#039;t think of anyone better for the job!&quot; he smiled. Lara blushed at the complements. &quot;I don&#039;t know what to say, Sonic...&quot; she stammered. Sonic winked. &quot;Say you&#039;ll do it. Make your dad proud. He guarded an island. You, you&#039;ll guard a nation.&quot; he smiled.<br /><br />With access to medical care, Skye&#039;s sister Melody recovered, and was with him and the others when Lara-Su was sworn in as the United Federation&#039;s new president. Chopper stood with them, hand in hand with Starr, and Casey was there holding hands with Pepper. Sonic sat with the rescued Shadow, the real Shadow, who had promised to act as Lara-Su&#039;s bodyguard in penance for what he&#039;d allowed to happen. This ceremony was well and good, but there was one more important to most in attendance that came after.<br /><br />Returning to the island where Darkegg Fortress once stood, a funeral was held for a dear friend. Two friends, actually, as they were finally giving a related long-overdue funeral. The grave stones each read &quot;Experiment 2.&quot; One with the epitath &quot;Beloved friend and father,&quot; the other simply &quot;Dimentime.&quot; Vortex and Zipp were there, along with Sonic, Eggman, Hope, and a number of the kids, most notably Juice, Aurora, Starr, Skye, Casey, Lara-Su, and Chopper. Hope gave a brief speech. &quot;Our first son, Buck&#039;s and mine... We never got to share the same time. Funny... He had the Time Stones behind him. We&#039;ll never quite know how or why... But they gave us two of him. Each loved us in their own way. They were never wholly sure of their purpose... But our Arthur Prower was always there, lighting the darkness from within the darkness... Our dark angel...&quot; she said with a small smile. Chopper rested Dimentime&#039;s tailband on his father&#039;s grave. &quot;Sleep well, dad... You&#039;re with mom and grandpa Bucky now...&quot; he sniffled. Sonic brought Gemini&#039;s wand and set it on Dimentime&#039;s grave. &quot;She meant the world to you... I wonder if she made it safely to her own time... I hope so.&quot; he whispered. Chopper glanced at him. &quot;She...? Was... Did you know my mother?&quot; he asked. Sonic shrugged. &quot;Probably. Copter and I weren&#039;t exactly close... He was jealous of me, I think.&quot; Sonic said sheepishly, &quot;...Maybe she was your mother. But I couldn&#039;t say. I wish Copter and I had gotten along better...&quot; he sighed. Chopper and Juice each took one of his hands. &quot;It&#039;s okay, dad.&quot; Juice smiled. &quot;He trusted you enough to save his son...me. I&#039;m sure he respected you more than you know.&quot; Chopper stated, drying a tear.<br /><br />The future was saved for a new generation. The legacy left by Sonic and Copter would be a good one from here, Sonic would see to that. His high speed adventures were over... The only adventure left, was to watch the children of him and his friends grow up...<br /><br />Fin<br /><br /><br />Sonic GeneX - The Series: Countdown to Doomsday<br />Mini Episode - Prologue: Aftermath Pt. 1<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />Chief Paynson sat across from Razor the Porcupine in the police interrogation room. His droopy moustache was looking droopier than usual. &quot;Where have you been?&quot; the chief asked. Razor folded his hands on the desk and wore a sheepish expression. &quot;I&#039;m a bit fuzzy on that myself. I remember Eggman taking over the world... I remember battling his army... Then, I was shot. I... died.&quot; he murmured. Paynson looked at him incredulously, but Ridley the Coati leaned down next to him and muttered in his ear. &quot;Uhh, it&#039;s not that crazy, chief. Reports say Sally Acorn died, too, yet she&#039;s back at home, safe and sound.&quot; Paynson scratched his head. &quot;Hm... Well, Ridley&#039;s report indicates your actions these past months were not your own. In light of that, and your apprehension of the fugitive hyena, I am willing to brush it all under the rug and welcome our finest officer back to active duty.&quot; he offered. Razor nodded. &quot;Thanks, chief. I would like to come back as soon as I&#039;m ready... but I&#039;ve got some missing time to fill in, and that&#039;ll take more than a quick recap.&quot; he sighed. Paynson shrugged. &quot;Try the quick recap anyway, would you, Ridley?&quot; he asked. Ridley chuckled. &quot;Ahh, well... Fera turned good and helped beat Eggman. Rebuilding the world started. Gemini went to the past to stop the Lost Ones from being created for...reasons. Guard and Bucky were out searching for the missing Robians from when Eggman took over, including Crash and Mia. Robians are Mobians-turned-robot, if you&#039;re wondering. Gemini failed to stop the birth of the Lost Ones in the past and learned that they were even in cahoots with the Zodiac Council that was controlling you, Sally, and a bunch of others. So, we got Sonic and Tails and attacked their freaky space base in some place outside time, which blew up and caused the Zodiacs to lose their powers. And Cancer the Vulture died. I think Sonic and them chased the snake-dude to another dimension and ended up beating him somehow. Copter convinced Gemini to start training the holders of the Chaos Relics, and your first order of business was arresting Eddie who isn&#039;t Scorpio no more.&quot; Ridley summed up, speaking fast. Razor and Paynson stared at him. &quot;Take as much time as you need, Razor...&quot; Paynson muttered. Ridley gasped. &quot;Oh! And you missed Punchy and Rainbow&#039;s wedding! Fera went nuts again and chopped off Gunner&#039;s arm!&quot; he added. Razor rubbed his head. &quot;I owe you big for looking after Tommy... What a year...&quot; he sighed.<br /><br /><br />Fera the wolf was now hearing the voice of Howler, the former leader of the Covenant of Despair, through the power of her Despair Seal. Somehow, it was letting him speak to her from beyond the grave, and he was seeing to her retraining in the ways of dark magic. She walked with her eye shut, only his voice to guide her. &quot;Breathe slowly... Your senses are consumed with your task, and only your task. You must purge all weakness. You do not feel despair...you wreak it upon those who oppose you.&quot; Howler whispered as Fera stepped deliberately, avoiding any debris in her path as though she could see it. She was near the place where the Resistance prevailed; EggmanEmpire Fortress. Or, what remained of it. As she stepped, she heard a stirring in the ground. Wrapped hands burst through the earth. Black mummies were rising, their moans familiar to her. Fera stood ready for battle, her eye still shut. &quot;Darkness is yours... Death cannot harm you!&quot; Howler sneered. Fera held out her hands, holding one palm over the other. Violet flames emerged from her palms, seemingly hers to hold and command. &quot;I do not fear death!&quot; she scoffed, leaping into action and hurling dark flames at each mummy with shocking accuracy, burning them and causing their corpses to drop, moaning as the fire overcame their will to move! Fera heard a clapping, and opened her eye to look, seeing Anubis approaching her. One of his ears was bent, and his body seemed a bit scratched up, but he had survived his fall down the chasm from months ago. &quot;You have returned, Fera... I feel the darkness from you.&quot; he smirked. Fera nodded, placing a hand upon her heart. &quot;The light has a hold on me still, but I hear him... our Darkseeker... He left a bit of himself in this Despair Seal. Together, we can rebuild.&quot; she stated. Anubis nodded. &quot;Despair can rise again...and should that foul Infinite show his mask again, we will be ready, our power crushing him and showing him why...why I was chosen, and the other jackals were cast out!&quot; he sneered, fire burning around him to show his conviction. Fera nodded. &quot;Good...because the Darkseeker wants you to find our friends. Gather them back. It&#039;s time to return to our purpose...&quot; Fera grinned.<br /><br /><br />It was the very same night after the defeat of the Zodiac Council, and the sealing away of Ophiuchus. Astra the fennec, who had been found alive and well in a cell within Zodiac Station, and used a spell from Gemini&#039;s wand to restore her own youth and vigor, now had some explaining to do. Since Rainbow wasn&#039;t using it during her honeymoon, her house in the newly restored Hidden Ruins would suffice as a place to talk things over. Copter, Gemini, Libra and Timothy sat around a table as Astra stood nearby. &quot;So... You created the Zodiac Council?&quot; Copter muttered. &quot;She said that like three times now, Copter, keep up!&quot; Libra groaned. Astra nodded. &quot;I know it&#039;s tough to wrap your head around. I was a student of Divine magic even before joining Rex and his group. I learned from the Divines themselves... ordinarily they are distrusting of outsiders, but they found me as an infant after my mother had been killed by bandits, leaving me alone. They decided to take me in...only until I came of age.&quot; she said with a wistful sigh, &quot;At any rate, after Rex fell to darkness, I didn&#039;t want to give up on protecting the world like Bard did. I gathered new allies, and formed the Zodiac Council. We couldn&#039;t use the Creation Relics, so...I fashioned new powers for them, creating the Zodiac Station to share my own magic amongst them.&quot; she explained. &quot;You must be insanely powerful!&quot; Timothy gasped. &quot;Not so much now. Ophiuchus had separated most of my power from me and made the Station self-sustaining. Now that it&#039;s gone, I&#039;m just an old lady with a fair bit of knowledge...&quot; Astra frowned. Copter rubbed his head. &quot;Magic isn&#039;t fair. You can do whatever you want. Yeesh. Even steal other people&#039;s magic. Chaos...&quot; he muttered. Gemini nodded. &quot;So, we&#039;ve established that Ophi betrayed you... Probably a long time ago, too. How about this whole Creation Relic thing?&quot; she asked. Astra nodded. &quot;Only a few of us close to Radia knew they were called Creation Relics. They don&#039;t harness power from Chaos. It&#039;s creation energy itself... It flows through all life.&quot; she stated. Copter slapped his forehead. &quot;Gah! It&#039;s literally GeneX energy! ...Sometimes I pay attention when Bucky talks.&quot; he mumbled. Gemini nodded. &quot;Yes, Copter, that stupid name your creator came up with ties back to the Relics. Not incredibly relevant but way to pay attention.&quot; she noted. Astra chuckled at the interaction between the two. &quot;Well, anyway... When you know the Relics harness creation energy, it becomes easier to take control of their true powers.&quot; she stated. Gemini looked around and sighed. &quot;And you want me to train people to use them? I&#039;ve never even held a Chaos... Creation Relic.&quot; she babbled. &quot;No, stick with Chaos. We are NOT changing their names again. Sorry, Astra.&quot; Copter insisted.<br /><br />Suddenly, out of nowhere, Lospecter floated into the room! &quot;Hello, kiddies! And may I just applaud you all for getting rid of that snake-headed time lord? Now the Lost Ones are free to pop in and wreak mayhem as they please!&quot; he chuckled. Gemini and Timothy both aimed their wands at him, and he yawned in a bored fashion. &quot;I just popped in to tell you all that past-Ophiuchus is popping in to see how his plan went. He&#039;ll wanna talk to Gemini. If he sees any of the rest of you, he&#039;ll probably suspect things went awry and decide to fiddle with history. That&#039;d suck for all of us. Convince him he wins, and his timeline stays intact!&quot; Lospecter said, floating out of sight. They all looked to Astra. &quot;I&#039;d do what he says. Zodiac Station runs on a different time axis. For a past version of Ophiuchus, it still exists, and he still has power!&quot; she warned. Timothy ran to Libra and grabbed her hand. &quot;Cleviso!&quot; he cast, turning them both invisible! &quot;Darn, I miss my tailband, it could do that, too!&quot; Copter said, rushing out of the room with Astra in a hurry. Gemini gulped and looked to see Ophiuchus soon enter from the other side of the room. &quot;Here you are...&quot; he sneered. &quot;O-ophi... Wh-why are you here?&quot; Gemini stammered, looking nervous. Ophiuchus glanced at her. &quot;You aren&#039;t in my power... My plans have gone awry, haven&#039;t they? Tell me what&#039;s happened.&quot; he ordered. Gemini backed up a step. &quot;Y-you monster... You may not have dragged me off with you, but you got what you wanted! You&#039;re off ruling some other world...while the council is basically dead. You decided sharing was overrated, I guess.&quot; she snapped, clenching her fists. Ophiuchus was looking her straight in the eye. &quot;Hmmm... I&#039;m an excellent judge of whether or not... Someone is telling me the truth. I believe you...so what&#039;s stopping you from chasing me through time to change your fate?&quot; he growled, stepping closer to her. &quot;You... You have...&quot; she hesitated, unsure what would convince him, &quot;C-copter... You&#039;ll kill him if I try to stop you!&quot; she sniffled. Ophiuchus grabbed her chin and stared her in the face. &quot;Hmm... Chin up. You&#039;re free to live out the rest of your life as you see fit. Just don&#039;t ever cross my timeline again...&quot; he warned, turning away from her. &quot;Chronokadabra!&quot; he called, stepping through a time portal and leaving. Copter, Astra, Libra and Timothy appeared moments later. &quot;Man, that was intense! What&#039;d you tell him?&quot; Copter asked. Gemini crossed her arms and looked at the ground. &quot;Only the truth...&quot; she murmured. &quot;He&#039;s ruling over a world...of nothing. The council is dead...or Cancer, anyway.&quot; she sighed. Libra nodded. &quot;I guess we gotta be careful about running into past versions of him if we ever time travel again, huh?&quot; she said nervously. Astra nodded, and Gemini wiped her eyes. &quot;In the morning, let&#039;s get in touch with Tails and Knuckles. We gotta train those Relic holders... The Lost Ones are still out there!&quot;<br /><br /><br />Mini Episode - Prologue: Aftermath Pt. 2<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />Razor found himself in a sort of former Zodiac Council support group set up by Capricorn. It was a few months after the defeat of the Zodiac Council, and the former members honestly hadn&#039;t made much progress reintegrating into society. &quot;All right, who wants to share next?&quot; Capricorn asked. &quot;Oh! Me! Ahem... Taurus, former Zodiac... It&#039;s been, uhh... Two weeks since my last drink...&quot; he mumbled. &quot;This isn&#039;t AA!&quot; Pisces snapped. &quot;Wait your turn!&quot; Aquarius grunted. Razor raised his hand. &quot;Yes, Sagittarius?&quot; Taurus asked. &quot;Name&#039;s still Razor... Anyone make any progress finding their original names besides me?&quot; he asked. Capricorn shrugged. &quot;For many of us, the past doesn&#039;t matter.&quot; she stated. Libra was also sitting in on this group. &quot;Not to mention, there&#039;s no telling what time some of us even originated from in the first place...&quot; she stated. Razor sighed. &quot;The past is very important to me... I can&#039;t get over how easily I was brainwashed... The things that Ophiuchus made me do...to my friends...my family...&quot; he sighed. Everyone blinked. Taurus then cleared his throat. &quot;So, as I was saying...&quot; Rather than listen to this anymore, Razor got up and walked out of the meeting. &quot;This is useless... There&#039;s gotta be a way past this...&quot; he muttered. As he stepped outside, he heard a whoosh, and Guard the Gargoyle landed in front of him! &quot;Grrr... Are you done feeling sorry for yourself yet?&quot; he grunted. Razor stared at him. &quot;Are you gettin&#039; smart with me? Guard is gettin&#039; smart with me!&quot; he shouted, waving his arms in surprise. Guard smirked. &quot;Things change while you&#039;re brainwashed. But it&#039;s been a year, and Mia is still missing. Grrr... I&#039;m gathering those who would help save our friends. Will you join us, or did Zodiac break you?&quot; he grunted. Razor looked at him and crossed his arms. &quot;I still haven&#039;t joined active duty... Guess I&#039;m a vigilante on this...&quot; he smirked. &quot;Or I could deputize you.&quot; Guard grinned. &quot;You&#039;re no fun. Besides, Gunner doesn&#039;t know you&#039;re doing this, does he?&quot; he teased. Guard growled softly. &quot;...We&#039;re vigilantes, then. Rrrr...&quot; he winked.<br /><br /><br />Fera was busy meditating, sitting cross-legged in the burned-out remains of Hollow Manor. No one would bother her there. No one, that is, except Felicia. &quot;You can...try to suppress me all you want... I fought off Infinite and Eggman&#039;s forces, I won&#039;t yield to the likes of you!&quot; her defiant voice rang in her mind. &quot;She is more resilient than I ever imagined...&quot; Fera murmured, her eye shut tight as she tried to concentrate. &quot;We will burn her out. Purge her from your being. Despair needs only Fera... This Felicia is a nuisance...&quot; Howler said in her mind. Fera growled, dark energy surrounding her form. Felicia groaned in her mind, struggling to maintain herself. &quot;You can&#039;t fight forever, child...&quot; Howler sneered. A fourth voice broke Fera&#039;s concentration. &quot;My, how many you got rattling in that head, dearie?&quot; Opening her eye, Fera saw a real witch. It was Tabitha, who hadn&#039;t been spotted since the Tournament of Chaos. &quot;Who dares interrupt me? I warn you, don&#039;t trifle with this wolf!&quot; she snarled. Tabitha smirked. &quot;I like your spirit. I was drawn to that glorious darkness you are weilding... Darkness is my ally, too.&quot; she said, holding out her hand, from which a burst of green flame emerged, which she held just to show a sample of what she can do. &quot;...And what are your goals, dark feline?&quot; Fera asked, remaining in her cross-legged pose. &quot;Amassing power, primarily...&quot; Tabitha smirked, &quot;Controlling hearts and minds, using sorcery to remain youthful and full of life forever, all good goals...&quot; she stated. &quot;She lacks focus... We can offer her a path.&quot; Howler said in Fera&#039;s mind. The wolf nodded. &quot;You&#039;re a witch, hmm... Part of a coven?&quot; she asked. Tabitha grinned. &quot;I had a thought you might ask that. What do you offer?&quot; she asked. Fera smiled wide. &quot;...Power...&quot; she replied simply. The new Covenant of Despair would indeed have power... Fera and Howler would see to it!<br /><br /><br />Within the Hidden Ruins, now known as Raisol Sanctuary in its restored state, training had begun. Tails and Blaze had shown up with the Chaos Tailbands and Chaos Crown, respectively. Marine had joined them as well, if only just to watch. Timothy sat beside her while Copter, Gemini and Astra stood ready to instruct the trainees, all of them outside the underground buildings and instead in the streets of the underground city proper. &quot;Do a good job, Tails! Your girlfriend is watching!&quot; Timothy teased. Tails and Marine both blushed. &quot;W-we&#039;re just friends!&quot; they both snapped. &quot;...I don&#039;t have time to date right now...&quot; Tails muttered. &quot;I&#039;m here to watch Blaze, ya doof!&quot; Marine said, nudging Timothy. Gemini cleared her throat, looking to Copter and Astra, who gave her encouraging smiles. &quot;So, ah... As we&#039;ve said before, the Chaos Relics are actually made from Creation Crystals. Thus, they manipulate creation energy, not Chaos.&quot; she stated. Blaze shrugged. &quot;That&#039;s a nice clarification, but can you tell me anything more helpful than Illusi? When I try to use the life-growing power of the crown, my flames counteract it and burn it away...&quot; she stated. &quot;And how do I channel the energy of the tailbands so that I... don&#039;t use TOO much of their power? I don&#039;t want the power to get out of control, that&#039;s why I don&#039;t use the tailbands...&quot; he muttered. &quot;And where&#039;s Knuckles? Haven&#039;t we been trying to get ahold of him?&quot; Copter added, to which Gemini just began to sweat. &quot;...Sorry...&quot; he mumbled. &quot;Relax, dear.&quot; Astra told Gemini. The fennec took a breath. &quot;The place to start is practice. Why don&#039;t the two of you show us what you got... Just use one tailband for now, Tails...&quot; she suggested, stepping away and leaving Copter and Astra with them. &quot;Gem? You alright?&quot; Copter wondered, watching her.<br /><br />She went into an alley and clutched her chest, breathing hard. &quot;What was I thinking? I can&#039;t answer their questions... I&#039;ve never used a Chaos Relic...&quot; she huffed. Copter stepped up behind her. &quot;Gem... Relax!&quot; he said a bit too loud, making her jump, &quot;...sorry again. It&#039;s just, it&#039;s weird seeing you like this. Even when you don&#039;t know what you&#039;re doing, you always seem pretty optimistic.&quot; he said. &quot;That&#039;s a front. As soon as you&#039;re not looking, I&#039;m a mess...&quot; she stammered. &quot;You can do this, though. Don&#039;t think about the science of it. You&#039;re a mage!&quot; he pointed out. She looked at him with a light smile. However, it faded as she saw Lospecter float behind him. &quot;Look at you two! Stealing kisses in private?&quot; he teased. Copter spun around and growled. &quot;What do you want?&quot; he spat. Lospecter smirked. &quot;I wanna help you two out. See, you&#039;re headed down the same road me and Astra were goin&#039; down when we tried to stop those nasty old Doomlings. Wanna know how the story ends, Hell-Copter? The beautiful fennec... sees the boy for who he really is... and then she dumps him, hard! Right, Astra? Right! Right!?!&quot; he said, shouting over his shoulder a bit. Copter grabbed Gemini&#039;s hand. &quot;Whatever you&#039;re plotting, Lospecter, it won&#039;t work! We&#039;ll wreck you and your undead pals&#039; plans!&quot; he warned. Lospecter laughed at him. &quot;You are so me! So full of yourself! But your tune will change when she sees the real you... And I&#039;ll show him to her!&quot; Pointing the Chaos Key right at Copter&#039;s chest, he turned it and laughed, &quot;Time to unlock your heart...and let out the beast within!!&quot; he shouted, the Chaos Key glowing and darkness pouring from Copter! &quot;G-gemini!! Get back!&quot; Copter shouted, grunting!<br /><br />In the next instant, a second fox was standing before Copter. It looked just like him, but with darker black fur, blue chest fur, and blue highlights on his bangs and tail tips. His eyes glowed red briefly, fixed on Copter. &quot;You... You kept me bottled up...so long! I&#039;ll... kill you!&quot; the dark fox snarled, grabbing Copter by the throat! Lospecter clapped. &quot;May I introduce Dark Copter at long last! This oughta give you kids something to think about!&quot; Lospecter cackled. Suddenly, vines grew up and wrapped Dark Copter&#039;s legs, and Tails ran up, smacking him with a tailband-powered tail whip! Dark Copter groaned, but broke free as the vines caught fire, and then swiftly tossed Copter into Tails! &quot;I&#039;ll be back for you... I&#039;m going to enjoy my freedom for a bit first!&quot; Dark Copter snickered, spinning his tails and flying off at high speed! Lospecter followed after him. &quot;Ta ta, Gemini! Invite me to the wedding, please!&quot; he cackled. Gemini helped Copter up, while Blaze helped up Tails. &quot;Strewth! There&#039;s another clone of Tails now, what??&quot; Marine shouted as she arrived. Gemini hugged Copter. &quot;I&#039;m sorry! He did this to you because he wants to mess with me! He thinks I like you or something, I guess? Weird, where&#039;d he get that idea?&quot; she said, turning to look at where Dark Copter had gone. &quot;Y-yeah... Weird...&quot; Copter said, blushing in Gemini&#039;s arms. Suddenly, Punchy sped onto the scene wearing the Chaos Boots. &quot;What in the name of Tikal?! Copter, are there two of you now?&quot; he babbled. Astra cleared her throat. &quot;It seems Spiro has worked out quite a bit of the Chaos Key&#039;s abilities already...&quot; she stated. Punchy tapped his foot with a frown. &quot;We leave our home in your care, and you guys are doing what with it? No, really, tell me?&quot; he asked. Behind him, Rainbow was approaching with her sister Violet beside her. They looked somewhat excited. Tails perked up to see that Rainbow was holding a very obvious sort of bundle in her arms. &quot;R-rainbow... We were wondering why your honeymoon was so long...&quot; he babbled with a smile and a blush. Looking, everyone gasped and let out &quot;Awwws&quot; as they saw. Rainbow was holding a small, green furred echidna baby! &quot;Hehe... Uhm... Fellas, I want you all to meet Aurora... Our daughter!&quot; Rainbow said with a blush. Violet giggled. &quot;I&#039;m an aunt!&quot; Copter rubbed his head. &quot;Am I an uncle? Wait... Punchy, you dog!&quot; he laughed, punching him in the arm. Gemini smiled as well, heading over to join their friends in welcoming this new life. It was good to know that, despite all the danger still ahead...good things could still take root and grow.<br /><br /><br />Episode 1 - Eggman Returns<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and<br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />Sonic sped up the steps to the cliff that proceded Tails&#039; Workshop in the Mystic Ruins. He was a hedgehog on a mission today, and he&#039;d heard this was where the Chaos Relic training group had met today. Sure enough, Tails, Blaze and Punchy were there equipped with their relics. Shade and Knuckles had shown up, too. And to help with training, along with Gemini was Copter, Astra, Timothy and even Illusi! &quot;I don&#039;t think I&#039;ve ever seen this cliff so crowded!&quot; Sonic remarked. Knuckles scratched the Chaos Claws against each other with a grouchy look. &quot;The only way I&#039;d agree to this is if I could keep Angel Island in sight!&quot; he huffed. &quot;What a workaholic...&quot; Timothy sighed. Sonic clapped his hands loudly to get everyone&#039;s attention. &quot;Right! I&#039;m leadin&#039; the charge against Eggman to get our Robian friends back! Who wants to come along!? Tails?&quot; he asked, figuring he&#039;d rally an army to his cause. Gemini scratched her head, and Illusi sent a Wrongo up to obnoxiously tell Sonic &quot;No.&quot; He looked stunned. &quot;You&#039;re all gonna leave me hanging?!&quot; he babbled. Tails sighed. &quot;I already promised I&#039;d train today. And, uh... I don&#039;t trust all these guys around my workshop by themselves...&quot; he whispered. &quot;This is about me, isn&#039;t it?&quot; Copter grumbled. &quot;I can&#039;t run off to battle willy-nilly, Sonic. I&#039;ve got my daughter to think about now.&quot; Punchy sighed. &quot;Say what??&quot; Sonic gasped. &quot;Sorry... I&#039;m sure you&#039;ll be fine without us. It&#039;s just...their training has barely begun...&quot; Gemini stated. Copter shrugged and pulled the Hurricane remote out of his pocket. &quot;Don&#039;t say I never gave you anything, Sonic. Yo, Hoover! Lend Sonic the plane! Or you&#039;re out on the curb!&quot; he said through the remote&#039;s communicator. &quot;Yer kiddin&#039; me! You wanna use Eggman&#039;s plane agin&#039; Eggman! That&#039;s a dirty trick, dagnabit!&quot; Hoover complained, &quot;Graaah, fine, but he better not scratch &#039;er up!&quot; Sonic shrugged after listening to this. &quot;Well, it&#039;s something. Don&#039;t worry about me, either. We got Bucky and Guard and Team Chaotix. We&#039;re good. I just trust you guys a lot more than Bucky is all...&quot; he chuckled softly. Illusi shrugged. &quot;Your interests are aligned. You have no reason to fear anything from Bucky.&quot; he said. &quot;He did build the machine that took Sonic&#039;s speed a couple years back...&quot; Copter shrugged. &quot;Boy, I&#039;ve missed a lot here...&quot; Blaze murmured, &quot;I need a pen pal in this world or something...&quot; Sonic chuckled and started to speed on his way. &quot;Happy training, guys! See ya later!&quot; he smirked as he zoomed off!<br /><br />Each of the students found themselves with their own teacher as training began. As much as Gemini would like to train them herself, she just didn&#039;t feel like she could handle it. Since Astra once held a Chaos Tailband herself, she saw to Tails&#039; training. &quot;Remember, it&#039;s not Chaos, but Creation energy. When you know that, you can think about how to focus better. Let the life force flow around you...through you...and feel it in your tail.&quot; she said, watching the tail that was wearing a band sway back and forth as Tails sat cross-legged. He blushed in embarrasment at how she was watching him in this silly meditative position. &quot;I-I&#039;m trying... Ahh, I wish you wouldn&#039;t stare at my tails...&quot; he babbled. He took a deep breath, and as he focused, he suddenly vanished from view! &quot;I&#039;m not staring, Tails...I can&#039;t see you.&quot; Astra smiled. Tails looked around, and then at his hand. &quot;Yaaah!! Where&#039;d I go!?&quot; he gasped, breaking his focus and turning visible again! &quot;That&#039;s a good start. You might have been destined for the tailbands after all.&quot; Astra smiled as Tails chuckled softly, a bit proud of himself. &quot;Show off...&quot; Copter muttered, watching. Meanwhile, Gemini was trying to work with Shade. Her magic had crafted dummy targets for Shade to attack with the Chaos Gauntlets. Punching the air in the direction of these dummies, glass replicas of Eggman&#039;s robots, Shade fired energy blasts from her fists at them which easily shattered each target. &quot;I seem to have these things pretty well figured out. Why couldn&#039;t I go with Sonic?&quot; she grumbled. Gemini&#039;s ears drooped. &quot;Ahh... Sorry... But no one through history has ever fully mastered the Chaos Relics, as far as we know. The untapped power you&#039;re carrying could be dangerous if we don&#039;t understand it.&quot; she explained weakly. Shade crossed her arms. &quot;Why don&#039;t you just hold up a sign that says &#039;I have no clue what I&#039;m doing?&#039;&quot; she huffed. &quot;That&#039;s fair...&quot; Gemini sighed, and then used her magic to form replicas of buzzbombers. &quot;How about we try you on moving targets, then?&quot; she asked. Meanwhile, Copter had gone to coach Knuckles. &quot;Okay, Red, I had a tailband glued to my tail for years so listen up!&quot; he began. &quot;Oh, so you think you&#039;re better than me?! Then tell me how to remove these claws, smart guy!&quot; Knuckles retorted. Copter rolled his eyes. &quot;Maybe they&#039;re stuck on your hands because you haven&#039;t figured out how to control them, so maybe you should PAY ATTENTION!&quot; he snapped. &quot;As if you have a clue!&quot; Knuckles growled. &quot;C-copter!! Fighting with the student isn&#039;t helping!&quot; Gemini shouted. &quot;Oh, so it&#039;s my fault?&quot; Copter grumbled. &quot;Anyone wanna trade partners?&quot; Knuckles asked, getting no response.<br /><br />The others had moved down the steps to give them more room on the cliff. Blaze stood at the foot of the steps, the Chaos Crown upon her head. Timothy the fawn stood before her with an awkward expression. &quot;I know it&#039;s weird, your teacher being younger than you and all... But I did see the crown in action in the past.&quot; he said. Blaze sighed in frustration. &quot;See anything that would help with my particular problem?&quot; she asked. To demonstrate, she tapped into the power, causing nearby flowers to bloom and grow...only for her flames to start cinging their petals. Timothy chuckled softly. &quot;That, uh... That&#039;s an interesting problem. Can&#039;t you turn off your flames?&quot; he asked. Blaze gave him a slight glare. &quot;What do you think?&quot; she asked. Timothy shrugged. &quot;Well, maybe we need to figure a way...&quot; he murmured. Blaze sighed and nodded. &quot;Keen grasp of the obvious, at least...&quot; she murmured. Nearby, Illusi had set up an obstacle course of illusions for Punchy to race through with the Chaos Boots. Hurdles, fire pits, and angry-looking Wrongos were among the obstacles. Punchy stood at the start of the course with a grouchy look. &quot;Why Illusi? I should&#039;ve traded with Knuckles and got Copter instead... Not that he could teach me anything. The boots are just about speed, what&#039;s to learn?&quot; he grumbled. &quot;Control, Dark One. You need to learn control.&quot; Illusi shouted. &quot;It&#039;s not polite to eavesdrop on a soliloquy!&quot; Punchy snapped. Illusi smirked. &quot;Are you afraid of my course?&quot; he teased. &quot;...Yes...&quot; Punchy mumbled. However, he started running through it, jumping over the hurdles and trying to evade the oncoming Wrongos... Of course, Illusi had them electrocute Punchy for good measure. &quot;Ow! Yaah! I hate you, Mousy!&quot; he yelled. &quot;Being married to Rainbow is rubbing off on you, Dark One! You&#039;re picking up her habits!&quot; he teased. Punchy changed course and charged at Illusi, aiming to tackle and pin him. Of course, he ran right through an illusion of Illusi and crashed into a wall. And of course, his tail was on fire due to the fire pits. &quot;Yaaaahh!! Son...of...a...!!&quot; he shouted, running in circles until the fire went out. &quot;The fire was an illusion, silly.&quot; Illusi teased. &quot;Still hurts...&quot; Punchy groaned. &quot;You could have avoided it if you were used to such speeds.&quot; Illusi pointed out. &quot;Har har har...&quot; Punchy scoffed. &quot;You could be faster than Sonic with the boots. You just need to master them.&quot; Illusi added. &quot;Not sure we&#039;re meant to go faster than Sonic...&quot; Punchy sighed.<br /><br /><br />Shadow Arcangel was flying towards Scrap Brain Zone. After months of searching, Team Chaotix had determined that Dr. Eggman was holed up here, in his original base of operations. As the ship neared the base, it did seem to be back in operation, the old booby traps back in working order and new robots and threats prepared to stop intruders. Fortunately, Sonic was here with a group of allies. He was outside the ship, standing on the wing of the Hurricane while Heather the phoenix was piloting. &quot;Sonic... It&#039;s hard to see while you&#039;re standing there, actually...&quot; she said awkwardly. &quot;Huh... Tails never complains.&quot; Sonic shrugged. Guard the gargoyle was flying next to the plane, scythe in hand and ready for a fight. &quot;Grrr... Mia&#039;s in there... I know it!&quot; he grunted. &quot;Easy, Garen! Let&#039;s approach with caution...&quot; Heather said nervously. Aboard the Arcangel, Razor the porcupine, Bill the hedgehog and Team Chaotix were looking out from the control room. &quot;This base is a polluted nightmare...&quot; Espio muttered. &quot;The sky is gray and yucky!&quot; Charmy observed. &quot;I staked this place out. Eggman&#039;s definitely here.&quot; Vector said. Vortex was at the ship&#039;s controls, and looked at them grouchily. &quot;Would you sssstop crowding the window? I have to find a place to land. Then I&#039;ll be joining my massster in the laboratory.&quot; he hissed. &quot;You ain&#039;t comin? I thought your brother was in there!&quot; Bill grumbled. &quot;That&#039;sss why Zipp and Talon are going with you. Talon&#039;sss been training, he won&#039;t be usssselessss... In theory.&quot; Vortex scoffed. &quot;Less useless than you!&quot; Talon shouted from behind him. Zipp chuckled. &quot;Yeah, what are you and the boss making MORE Experiments for, anyway? Sixteen not a round enough number or somethin?&quot; he teased. &quot;You can asssk massster yourssself. Let me land thissss thing!&quot; Vortex hissed. Razor sighed. &quot;Well, least I can be here for Mia...and Bob.&quot; he mumbled, &quot;Sorry I wasn&#039;t here sooner, guys. I&#039;ll do my best to atone...&quot; he whispered. Of course, Bucky was in the lab, prepping his tools for the creation of new experiments. &quot;Now, what should Seventeen be? ...These may be my very last Experiments... I should make them strong children that can bear the burdens... of what&#039;s to come...&quot; he said with a sigh, glancing at a framed picture of Hope the raven before returning to his work. The Arcangel soon landed just outside of Scrap Brain Zone. Eggman had surely detected them. They&#039;d have to fight their way to rescue their friends!<br /><br />&quot;Alert! Alert!&quot; the Base Alarm System blared as Eggman scrambled to rally his troops. &quot;Can&#039;t they let me have my 0.01% of the world in peace?!&quot; he growled. &quot;Actually, boss, by my calculations, you only possess...&quot; Orbot started saying before the doctor threw a wrench at him. &quot;No one cares! I&#039;ll make those geeks think twice about coming in here... Send out the Robians! Give them some of my own personal mean machines to play with!&quot; he commanded with a wide smirk. Orbot rolled away to relay the command, while Eggman turned his attention to a familiar Egg Pawn and Gizoid duo in the room. &quot;Jolt! Freeze! End sleep mode!&quot; he commanded. Jolt&#039;s eyes flickered on, and he let out a robotic yawn. &quot;I was having the most lovely dream... Aw, we&#039;re still in this dump.&quot; he grumbled, &quot;There isn&#039;t even internet access in here!&quot; he complained. Freeze was silent, looking around as though this was the first time he&#039;d seen this base. &quot;Well, I&#039;m sorry, the internet hadn&#039;t caught on yet when I built this base and... Wait, you&#039;re not allowed online! Shut up and listen to me! Sonic and his annoying friends are here! Defend the base! Chop chop!&quot; Eggman ordered. &quot;Acknowledged... They will know true pain as I chill them to their bones...&quot; Freeze stated. &quot;On my way, boss! Gotta say though, the tree house was more modern!&quot; Jolt babbled. &quot;It was a tree FORT!&quot; Eggman shouted as the robots headed on their way. &quot;Blast it, where&#039;s Metal Sonic? Where did I put that pile of junk? I still haven&#039;t finished unpacking... I hate that hedgehog...&quot; he grumbled, moustache drooping.<br /><br />In the meantime, Sonic sped into the base, evading buzz saws and flamethrowers as he went! Bill and Razor were trying to catch up to him, but they were far outdistanced in no time. &quot;Ahh... Why ain&#039;t I stayin&#039; on the ship? ...Oh yeah, it&#039;s creepy as heck.&quot; Bill mumbled. &quot;Well, maybe you should keep to the back, Bill. We can&#039;t rescue Bob if we&#039;re busy saving you.&quot; Razor panted. Espio emerged from the shadows beside them. &quot;Maybe he should help Charmy and Vector. They have something important to bring in here... Something a bit heavy. Myself, I&#039;ll be clearing a path for it!&quot; he stated, charging swiftly forward with the agility of a ninja. Bill shrugged and scratched his head. &quot;Somethin&#039; heavy...? Like what?&quot; he wondered.<br /><br />While Sonic was working his way deep into the base, searching for Eggman to take him out of commission, the others were running interference and searching for the Robians. Razor caught up to Guard and Heather inside one of the imposing buildings, and there the three of them were stopped by a massive four-legged Egg Walker, not unlike the one that attacked Station Square years ago. &quot;Grrraahh! Eggman! You dare come after us directly?!&quot; Guard snarled, clutching his scythe. &quot;Uhhh... That&#039;s not Eggman.&quot; Razor murmured with a gulp. In the cockpit, Eggman&#039;s cruelty became more apparent. A Robian was operating the walker, and not just any Robian. &quot;Grah... Mia!!&quot; Guard gasped. &quot;Look out, Garen!&quot; Heather shouted, diving into him to move him out of the way as the walker fired a laser beam directly at him! Guard appeared shaken by this...to save Mia, he had to fight her? It was a cruel joke. Razor fired some shots at the Egg Walker, but as was typical, Eggman&#039;s mech was bulletproof. &quot;How is it a curled-up hedgehog can break these things but not bullets?&quot; he groaned as he ran for cover. Heather stood up and tossed balls of fire into the air, which struck bombs the walker was sprinkling down on them. &quot;Garen... We knew this was a possibility. We can&#039;t be afraid. You gotta get Mia out of that machine so we can wreck it!&quot; she told him. Guard looked at her and nodded. He placed a hand over his heart. &quot;Rrr... It appears sentiment has clouded my judgement... The boss would be furious, but...&quot; a light smile crossed his face as he looked up at the approaching walker, &quot;That my android brain can feel sentiment... feels like a victory to me. Rrrr...&quot; he said, spreading his wings and taking to the air, rising faster than the laser could strike him! &quot;...That&#039;s right, Garen. Your heart will set you free...&quot; Heather whispered, rushing over to help Razor as the walker turned towards him, hurling bombs! Guard flapped towards the cockpit, only to find Mia lifting up a laser gun and shooting at him! &quot;Graaa! Stop it, Mia!&quot; he shouted, blocking with the blade of his scythe! &quot;Intruders! I will...destroy you... for the Eggman Empire!&quot; she declared in a robotic voice, sweeping the walker&#039;s laser beam up and down and nearly hitting Guard! He was about to seize the Robian when he heard a pained scream behind him. &quot;Grr... Heather??&quot; he gasped, looking back to see her collapsed in Razor&#039;s arms. He sped towards them. &quot;Don&#039;t touch her! She may burst into flames!&quot; he warned Razor. If he had to defend his friends AND get at Mia, this would be quite difficult. How could they save Mia?<br /><br />Vector and Bill were wheeling the Mega Wispon towards Scrap Brain Zone while Charmy supervised and Talon and Zipp stuck around for tactical support. Rotor had left the de-robotisizing Mega Wispon on Shadow Arcangel after the last battle with Eggman, considering Crash was one of the missing Robians and Bucky did help build the massive de-robotisizer. As they wheeled the Wispon close to the base, however, Jolt and Freeze approached them. &quot;Oooh, big gun! Tell ya what, give it to me and I&#039;ll let you guys live!&quot; Jolt snickered. &quot;We use the term &#039;live&#039; loosely, though.&quot; Freeze said bluntly. Vector jumped out from behind the Mega-Wispon and growled. &quot;Half-pint robots? Leave this to me!&quot; he grinned. &quot;Aaaah!! Vector, this dang thing&#039;s too heavy fer me!!&quot; Bill grunted, able only to keep the Mega-Wispon from rolling backwards and unable to move it forward. Zipp twirled a pistol and let out a hum. &quot;C&#039;mon, lemme handle it...&quot; he chuckled. &quot;Uh, Zipp? We got more company!&quot; Talon pointed. Along with Jolt and Freeze, Crash was approaching them, riding on top of one of Eggman&#039;s rhinotank robots and looking ready to fight! &quot;I&#039;ve got no qualms about shootin&#039; ya, Crash!&quot; Zipp shouted. &quot;Dude, the whole point is to save him!&quot; Talon groaned, flying ahead to get to Crash first. If he could hold him still, they could de-robotisize him! Meanwhile, Vector stumbled back from the combination of electric and freezing attacks from the two &quot;half-pint&quot; robots. &quot;Ughhh, why&#039;d Espio have to run ahead and ditch us?&quot; he groaned. &quot;Want my help?&quot; Charmy chuckled. &quot;You little brat! Why are you just flitting up there watching, anyway!?&quot; Vector shouted. &quot;Teehee, I&#039;m the supervisor!&quot; Charmy giggled. &quot;Supervise THIS!&quot; Jolt shouted, flying after Charmy with his jetpack and punching at him with a sparking fist! Charmy twirled backwards and stuck out his tongue. &quot;Too slow! Now yer gonna get stung!&quot; he taunted, zooming at Jolt and bashing him with his stinger, sending the Egg Pawn stumbling back in midair! &quot;You little runt! I&#039;m gonna zap you like... Like a bug zapper! Because you&#039;re a bug!&quot; he yelled. &quot;They get it, Jolt.&quot; Freeze grumbled, turning his attention to Vector. The crocodile charged his way, so Freeze pointed at the floor and froze a path of ice, causing the croc to slip and slide right past him! &quot;You&#039;re a buffoon. I&#039;ll just dismantle that device and take my leave of you.&quot; Freeze grumbled. Vector leapt back at him and held the Gizoid tightly. &quot;Grah!! I&#039;m not done with you yet! Ever wrestle a crocodile!?&quot; he shouted. They&#039;d have to pull out all the stops to protect the Mega Wispon if they wanted a shot at saving the Robians!<br /><br />Arriving near the center of the base, Sonic stopped short as a shot was fired his way. It struck near his feet, just missing him, and caused the floor to grow an extra layer of metal. &quot;Blast it! That was my last shot with this portable robotisizing pistol! The one time that blue pest stops moving, I miss him!&quot; Eggman groaned as Sonic looked in the direction of his voice. He&#039;d erected a laser barrier to protect himself, and was standing at a control panel. &quot;Well, there&#039;s more than one way to skin a blue rat!&quot; he smirked, grabbing a couple joysticks as a pair of dome-shaped laser cannons emerged from the ceiling! Sonic chuckled softly. &quot;So, upgraded to two? Really think that&#039;ll be enough?&quot; he taunted, speeding out of the way as the lasers fired wide beams down at him! &quot;I&#039;ve upgraded their power source! They won&#039;t burn up like previous models! And I&#039;m bound to hit you eventually!&quot; Eggman cackled, twisting the joysticks around and moving the cannons to chase the hedgehog! Sonic nimbly dodged one beam and then weaved to avoid the next one. &quot;I can do this all day, Eggy! Ha ha!&quot; Sonic taunted. &quot;How about all night?&quot; Eggman smirked, a second barrier sealing Sonic into the room at that point! &quot;Think you can stay awake, old man?&quot; Sonic chuckled, zipping between the lasers again and again. &quot;Grrr... Maybe I should&#039;ve used three cannons...&quot; Eggman grumbled, &quot;Plan B!&quot; he smirked, pressing a button. Hatches in the floor opened, carrying Robians into the room! Sonic noticed Bill&#039;s brother Bob among them. &quot;Eggman! What do you think you&#039;re doing?!&quot; Sonic stammered, noticing that the Robians weren&#039;t moving. Eggman smirked. &quot;Target practice. If I can&#039;t hit you, I need to brush up on the old skills!&quot; he sneered, aiming the two turrets at separate Robians across the room. Sonic&#039;s eyes widened as he saw the lasers charging up. He sped across the room at incredible speed, pulling each Robian out of the way before Eggman could blast them! &quot;Missed again... How about these two?&quot; he snickered. &quot;Eggman! Stop it and fight me fair, you coward!&quot; Sonic shouted. Eggman chuckled. &quot;You know who calls people cowards, Sonic? The losers! I would know, I&#039;ve been calling you a coward behind your back for years.&quot; As Eggman cackled, Sonic rushed to pull the Robians to safety again. &quot;Oh, minions, stop letting Sonic save you... Hold that hedgehog still for me instead, okay?&quot; Eggman ordered. Sonic appeared trapped. It was either surrender or let the Robians go down with him. What could be done?<br /><br />At that moment, Vector hurled Freeze into Jolt, who shot off intense sparks in retaliation! &quot;Take cover! He&#039;s a regular thunder cloud!&quot; Vector shouted as he and Charmy ducked behind the Mega Wispon! &quot;Wait! Don&#039;t draw the attack here!&quot; Bill stammered. The electric discharge struck the Wispon hard, leaving smoke rising from it. &quot;Hah! We win!&quot; Jolt cackled. &quot;I think I broke my gravity stabilizer...&quot; Freeze groaned, falling limply to the floor. Vector groaned. &quot;You worked on this Bucky... Why didn&#039;t ya make it shock-proof!?&quot; he shouted, banging on the Mega-Wispon angrily. As if in reaction to his strike, and with help from the extra jolt of power, the Wispon fired off a massive discharge of energy! The beam covered a wide, far-reaching area, and as Talon and Zipp were wrestling with the robotic Crash, the beam washed over him, and he was restored to flesh! &quot;Ugh, ow!! Wh-what the heck, Zipp?! Talon??&quot; he grunted, feeling the griffin holding him in a choke-hold. &quot;Don&#039;t let go! It&#039;s a trick!&quot; Zipp smirked. Jolt picked up Freeze and slunk away. &quot;Boss is gonna fry us...&quot; he whined. As Guard lifted Mia free of the Egg Walker&#039;s cockpit at last, the beam hit, and she looked up at him with her own eyes. &quot;G-guard?? Yaaa!! Wh-what the??&quot; she gasped. &quot;Grrr!! Hold on!&quot; Guard cried as Heather was burning up the walker with her flames to finish it off! Deeper within the base, the beam even reached Sonic, and the Robians around him were suddenly cured as Eggman pounded his control panel in fury. &quot;No!! How?! Why!?&quot; he cried. Behind him, Alpha jumped around happily in the beam. &quot;I&#039;m a real boy!! Yay!!&quot; he giggled. &quot;No, you&#039;re not. You can&#039;t de-robotisize a robot!&quot; Eggman shouted, too aggravated to ignore Alpha&#039;s stupidity. &quot;Aww, I&#039;m not a real boy, either?&quot; Cubot asked sadly. &quot;NO!!&quot; Eggman yelled. The doctor then heard explosions behind him, and realized Sonic had wrecked his cannons while he was distracted. &quot;Thing is, Eggman, I didn&#039;t come in here alone.&quot; he smirked. Eggman growled and started stomping away. &quot;This base is a monument to my past failures. I&#039;m putting it into self-destruct mode. And leaving you trapped in there. Farewell, Sonic!&quot; he grumbled as he fled the scene, followed by Alpha, Cubot and Orbot. &quot;Ahh! How we gon&#039; get out, Sonic?&quot; Bob asked. Guard and Razor soon arrived at the barrier blocking their exit. &quot;Guard, your android eyes see a power source?&quot; Razor asked. Grunting, Guard pointed to a spot in the wall, and Razor shot it, causing the barrier to short-circuit! &quot;There&#039;s our exit! Everyone, run like me!&quot; Sonic said, leading the way as he, Guard and Razor took the hostages to safety! They managed to escape just in time to watch the base burst into flames, and then the freed hostages made their way onto the Arcangel. &quot;Bob! Bro, yer a sight for sore eyes! I had to work a dang weddin&#039; by myself!&quot; Bill chuckled, hugging his brother. Crash stepped onto the Arcangel with a sigh. &quot;How long?&quot; he asked. &quot;Ten years!&quot; Zipp teased. &quot;Zipp! ...It was maybe a bit over one year.&quot; Talon stated. Crash growled softly. &quot;Eggman will pay for this...&quot; he huffed. Mia walked onto the ship hand in hand with Guard. &quot;Heather told me you never stopped looking for me. Didn&#039;t know ya cared so much, haha. You&#039;re secretly a big softy...&quot; she smirked, making him blush. Heather watched them from behind with a small smile, but an uncertain sigh. At any rate, it was time to go. Sonic smirked as he hopped into the Hurricane to pilot it back to Copter. &quot;See ya next time, Eggman... Hope that&#039;s it for the robotisizer...&quot; he said to himself.<br /><br /><br />Copter and Knuckles continued to get along quite poorly during their so-called training. &quot;Are you even trying to focus? You couldn&#039;t even scratch paper with this attitude!&quot; Copter snapped as Knuckles failed to chop through a log that was set up for practice, getting the claws stuck midway through. &quot;Are the claws even supposed to be able to slice like this?? We know nothing about their abilities and you have the gall to snap at me!? You have the GALL?!&quot; Knuckles yelled, violently wresting the claws from the log and turning on Copter. There was an aura of darkness around him. &quot;You try living with these damn things stuck to your hands for months!! You know what?! I&#039;ll target practice on YOU!!&quot; he roared, slashing in Copter&#039;s direction as the fox scrambled to get out of the way! &quot;Whoa! Hey! Knux!! Cool it! The curse of the claws are gettin&#039; to ya! You don&#039;t wanna do this!! I- uhh- I&#039;m fairly sure you don&#039;t wanna do this!!&quot; he shouted, rushing toward Gemini and Shade as Knuckles was wildly slashing at him! &quot;Wait, don&#039;t bring your crazy over here!&quot; Shade protested, raising the gauntlets to block as Copter hid behind her. Knuckles leapt into the air and raised a claw, planning to propel himself downward at Copter forcefully... However, he simply hung in midair instead, his arm swinging from his clawed hand! &quot;Yaaah!! What in the hell!?&quot; he shouted, dangling in midair as though stuck on something. Gemini, Copter and Shade looked up at him in surprise. His claw was piercing the very air itself... Using it as a sort of anchor to keep him in the air. &quot;Knuckles... I think you&#039;ve discovered a previously unknown power of the Chaos Claws!&quot; Gemini shouted excitedly. Knuckles groaned, still dangling in the air. &quot;Great... How do I get down?&quot; he grumbled. &quot;Maybe you should chill up there a while. The curse of the claws is making you crazier.&quot; Copter stated. &quot;Crazier!? I&#039;m not crazy, you take that back!!&quot; Knuckles shouted, flailing his other fist in the air as though trying to fight Copter. Shade sighed. &quot;What&#039;s this curse?&quot; she asked. Gemini glanced at Astra as she and Tails approached. &quot;Thousands of years ago, when the Lost Ones were born, Luna the Wolf was forcibly transformed into Loscream.&quot; Astra explained, &quot;She was wearing the Chaos Claws as she transformed. We managed to save the Claws, but not without them being corrupted...&quot; Tails flew up to Knuckles and examined the stuck claw. &quot;Hmmm... I&#039;ll try to get ya down, don&#039;t worry Knuckles.&quot; he said. &quot;Hurry... My arm&#039;s gettin&#039; tired...&quot; he groaned. Gemini looked at him with concern. &quot;Astra... I want to break the curse of the Chaos Claws.&quot; she stated. They weren&#039;t sure how to do it, but they knew... the curse had to be broken...<br /><br /><br />Mini Episode - Ch. 1.5 - Silver Returns<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />It had been a while since anyone had seen Silver the hedgehog. He had returned to the future with Fred Leo, Adam the bat, Evelyn the fox and Cuthburt the alligator. With Zodiac out of the way, there was little holding them in the present, and Silver wanted to check on the status of his own time. Now, he had returned, and was stopping by to check Gemini&#039;s progress training the holders of the Chaos Relics. He found them on Angel Island, where Knuckles was hanging in midair over the steps of the Master Emerald shrine, and Tails and Copter were looking up as though deciding if they should let him down or not. &quot;Huh...? Is Carrie here? Shouldn&#039;t she put Knuckles down?&quot; Silver asked, knowing he himself wasn&#039;t lifting Knuckles up. &quot;Ah, no, Knuckles did that to himself...&quot; Gemini said awkwardly, glancing up at him, &quot;It might be best to leave him there, he&#039;s been getting violent lately.&quot; she explained. &quot;Come up here and say that! I dare ya!!&quot; Knuckles yelled, kicking his legs angrily. Silver shrugged and tried pulling him down with his powers. &quot;Agggh! He&#039;s stuck!? Arrgh!&quot; he cried, yanking at him. Knuckles groaned as well. &quot;Don&#039;t tear my arms off, Silver!!&quot; he shouted. Astra the fennec had borrowed SPOT from Tails, and was sitting on his back to fly up and examine the stuck Chaos Claws. &quot;They won&#039;t unstick until you relax, Knuckles.&quot; she told him. &quot;How can I relax like this!?&quot; he yelled. Gemini turned to Silver with a sigh. &quot;It&#039;s gonna be noisy here. We can catch up across the bridge. I&#039;ll bring Libra and Tim, they might wanna hear what Fred&#039;s up to.&quot; she said.<br /><br />The four of them gathered across the bridge, away from the shrine. Silver shrugged. &quot;Fred&#039;s not planning on coming back right now. He needs to work some things out in the future. He lived there for quite some time. He wouldn&#039;t tell me his true time period, though.&quot; he stated, &quot;But anyway, Adam and Eve say hi, Gemini, Timothy. They hope you&#039;ll return home soon.&quot; he added. Timothy nodded. &quot;Once I&#039;m done helping here, I&#039;ll be back.&quot; he said. Gemini looked more unsure. &quot;I don&#039;t even know which is home for me...&quot; she murmured. &quot;Me either...&quot; Libra added. Silver nodded. &quot;I wish I had answers for you...&quot; Then, he looked around, &quot;Hey, wasn&#039;t Blaze training with you guys?&quot; he asked. Libra chuckled softly. &quot;She has royal matters to attend to back home.&quot; she said in a snooty tone. &quot;Besides, we&#039;re kinda wrapped up in trying to figure out how to cure Knuckles...&quot; Timothy added. Silver scratched his head. &quot;Well, gee... the Chaos Claws got cursed I guess because Luna was wearing them when she became a Lost One, right? Maybe the Lost Ones have the answer to breaking the curse.&quot; he said simply. Gemini looked at him with a blank stare. &quot;That... Huh... I see...&quot; she murmured, rubbing her chin, &quot;That&#039;s actually interesting...&quot; she said. &quot;Echidna coming through!!&quot; they heard Copter yell. Knuckles was charging across the bridge with a fury in his eyes, swiping the claws about like a wild beast! &quot;Oh boy... You wanna take it this time, Silver?&quot; Libra asked. Silver sighed and raised his hand. &quot;Psychic...control!&quot; he cried, freezing Knuckles in place with his psychokinesis! &quot;Argh!! Hey! Lemme go! I&#039;ll kill you, you albino freak!!&quot; he shouted. &quot;Albino?&quot; Silver muttered. &quot;Pay him no mind. He&#039;s crazy right now.&quot; Gemini sighed.<br /><br />While Silver held him in place, Gemini discussed it with Astra. The golden furred fennec had a dire look on her face. &quot;I&#039;d hoped to come up with another solution, but yes. The best way to break the curse is to go to the source. It&#039;s a dangerous proposition, though. You need to bring back a piece of Loscream in order for a countercurse to be created.&quot; she stated. Gemini stared at her. &quot;You knew?&quot; she asked. Astra nodded. &quot;You must understand... Loscream is Luna...my old ally. I can&#039;t go with you. And the journey will be your most dangerous thus far. You&#039;ll have to brave a Lost One nest.&quot; she said. &quot;Don&#039;t worry, I&#039;ll go with you.&quot; Silver offered. Gemini shook her head. &quot;No... It&#039;s too risky to take too many of us. We should attempt this as a stealth mission. I&#039;ll go alone.&quot; she said. &quot;You will not!&quot; Timothy snapped, having been listening, &quot;We got too close to a Lost One nest in the future, and you went back in time to save me as a result, and all this was set in motion! I&#039;m not letting you get into the same predicament... I&#039;m going to protect you this time!&quot; he insisted. Libra sighed. &quot;I mean, I&#039;d go, but I&#039;m not the Deathbringer anymore...&quot; she murmured, &quot;What good am I?&quot; she wondered. Silver patted her shoulder. &quot;You&#039;ll figure something out. At least you&#039;re here for your sister now. You couldn&#039;t be when you were working for Zodiac.&quot; he pointed out. Knuckles huffed as he sat on the ground, having been released from Silver&#039;s grip. &quot;Please hurry... I wanna take these dumb claws off... wash my hands... and punch something on my own terms...&quot; he sighed. Gemini nodded. &quot;Knuckles... I won&#039;t let you down. You helped me regain myself when we first met, and now I&#039;m going to do the same for you!&quot; she promised. &quot;Yeah, yeah, everything&#039;s all full circle... Just get goin&#039; already!&quot; Knuckles groaned. She nodded, clutching her wand. It wouldn&#039;t be easy, but with Timothy at her side, she would take on the very stronghold of her enemy...and make it out alive!<br /><br /><br />Episode 2 - The Lost Chaos Relics<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and<br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />As Gemini prepared to embark on her mission to take on the Lost Ones and acquire the means to break Knuckles&#039; curse, Illusi stepped into her room within the Raisol Sanctuary. &quot;You&#039;re sure I can&#039;t talk you out of this? You need a better plan than charging in wands blazing.&quot; he warned her. Gemini picked up and pocketed her wand. &quot;First of all, it&#039;s a stealth mission, so the wands won&#039;t be blazing... And secondly, Knuckles doesn&#039;t have time for us to figure out a better plan.&quot; she insisted. Illusi crossed his arms. &quot;A stealth mission in a hot pink sweater?&quot; he asked. Gemini rolled her eyes and took her wand back out. &quot;Pigmentiakazam!&quot; she said, twirling her wand at her clothing to turn the color black. Illusi chuckled softly and nodded. &quot;Alright, since there&#039;s no stopping you, I have a request. While you&#039;re there, try to get the Chaos Key back from Lospecter. You&#039;ve already seen the havok he can wreak with it.&quot; he said. &quot;Is this about me?&quot; Copter said as he stepped in, &quot;Or rather, Dark me? But yeah, he&#039;s right, but it&#039;s suicide.&quot; he grunted. Gemini nodded. &quot;This place needs locks on its doors. What if I was getting changed, boys?&quot; she asked grouchily. &quot;Then you&#039;d probably use that wand to wipe our memories.&quot; Copter said cutely. Gemini was quick to get back on topic. &quot;Dangerous or not, we should try to get ALL the Chaos Relics back safe and sound.&quot; she said. &quot;Who was the idiot who scattered them in the first place?&quot; Copter grunted, glancing at Illusi. &quot;I&#039;m the idiot who brought them all together in the first place, shut your mouth Dark Fox.&quot; he said. The three of them left Gemini&#039;s room and soon found Shade waiting at her front door. &quot;We drew straws for who would keep an eye on Knuckles. When that led to arguments, I volunteered.&quot; she said. Illusi chuckled. &quot;I&#039;d do it, but his clone is enough of a handful.&quot; he said. Copter rubbed his chin. &quot;So, uh... The other Chaos Relics are in Conan&#039;s grimy hands, eh? Well, and Fera, but let&#039;s focus on Conan for now.&quot; he said. Gemini glanced at him. &quot;You don&#039;t think he&#039;d join our training group, do you?&quot; she asked. Copter sighed. &quot;Yeah, he&#039;d join for a chance to steal the rest of the relics... I think I&#039;d better find a partner of my own and go after him. We gotta try to get the cape and sword away from him.&quot; he stated. &quot;Wing. It&#039;s the Chaos Wing, not a cape.&quot; Illusi said. &quot;Looks like a cape...&quot; Copter grunted. Tails and Timothy stepped into the door next. &quot;Ready to go, Gemini?&quot; Timothy asked. &quot;Tails! Just the man I wanna see! Can I borrow your robo-mutt?&quot; Copter asked.<br /><br />Outside Gemini&#039;s house, Tails started configuring SPOT&#039;s sensors to track the Chaos Relics, with a specific focus on ones they didn&#039;t already have. As he tinkered away in the open hatch on the robo-puppy&#039;s back, Violet the echidna approached him and Copter. She had been visiting her new niece, but Illusi had just gone over to inform Punchy of Copter and Gemini&#039;s plans. &quot;You two want to go after Conan? He&#039;s got two Chaos Relics. He&#039;ll torture you for information and kill you, then come after our relics.&quot; she said. &quot;That&#039;s a possibility.&quot; Copter sighed. &quot;We wouldn&#039;t tell him anything. I&#039;m not bringing my tailbands either, so he can&#039;t get them.&quot; Tails added. Violet shook her head. &quot;You two need a power hitter. I&#039;m going.&quot; she said. Copter scoffed. &quot;I thought you&#039;d like to see me killed.&quot; he said, making Tails shrink into his work with a shudder. &quot;Awkward...&quot; he whimpered. Violet crossed her arms. &quot;Copter...you see what Punchy and Rainbow have? We coulda had that.&quot; she said with a scowl. &quot;I know... I&#039;m sorry, okay? I wasn&#039;t ready to let go of the power of the tailband... I&#039;m past it now. I&#039;m just trying to be useful without it.&quot; he said. Tails closed the hatch on SPOT and stood up. &quot;Can we save the fighting for Conan?&quot; he asked. Gemini and Timothy walked past them, and when she saw Violet, Gemini let out a light gasp. &quot;Oooh, she&#039;s going with you? Good luck, Copter...&quot; she murmured. Copter glanced at her with a smug smirk. &quot;Good luck yourself, FRED.&quot; he said, noting that her blacked-out clothes made her look like her teacher&#039;s fennec form. Gemini looked down and blushed. &quot;Very funny...&quot; she sighed. As the two groups started to leave, they passed Shade tying Knuckles to a chair. &quot;This is for your own good, Knuckles... Once those claws are off you, you&#039;ll be free to go.&quot; she told him. Knuckles struggled with a look of rage on his face. &quot;How&#039;d this even happen! You let me out of this right now or you&#039;ll be sorry you Nocturnus scum!!&quot; he shouted. Shade backed up a step as he writhed in his bonds. &quot;I&#039;m gonna pretend that you said that because of the claws, because otherwise, I&#039;d be taking advantage of this situation to kick your...&quot; As Tails passed by, he waved to them. &quot;Good luck, you guys! Try not to hurt each other!&quot; he said. &quot;Tails! Come back! Get me outta this! Tails!! Get back here you little nerd!!&quot; Knuckles yelled. Violet turned and stuck her tongue out at him, which didn&#039;t help. Timothy turned to him as he passed with Gemini. &quot;Snorozika!&quot; he cast, putting Knuckles to sleep. &quot;THANK you...&quot; Shade sighed.<br /><br /><br />Gemini and Timothy&#039;s magic led them on a path to where the Lost Ones were now hiding. They were a bit unsettled by what they found. The Lost Ones were building their nest on Angel Island, in a secluded area. It was nearly complete, too. A dark, foreboding temple composed of hardened slime. It was...the same nest that they&#039;d gotten too close to in the future. The same one that led Timothy to be seemingly killed. It shouldn&#039;t be there so soon, but there it stood. &quot;We&#039;ve messed up history. The Lost Ones built that thing early...&quot; Gemini whispered. &quot;So, we&#039;re not gonna talk about you dressing like our teacher?&quot; Timothy said to try and cut through the tension with jokes. Gemini glanced at him. &quot;It was for stealth. And he wasn&#039;t really a fennec.&quot; she huffed, &quot;Now, let&#039;s be serious. How do we go about this...?&quot; she murmured. Timothy looked around. &quot;Man, this nest looks huge. Well, I say we go invisible, sneak in, and pray the invisibility doesn&#039;t wear off...&quot; he muttered. Gemini sighed. &quot;Fend them off with ice magic if they&#039;re liquid-based. If they&#039;re more solid, go for light magic.&quot; she suggested. Timothy nodded, &quot;But the plan isn&#039;t to go to war with them.&quot; he pointed out, &quot;And what do we do when we find Lospecter?&quot; he asked. Gemini started towards the temple. &quot;Grab the Chaos Key and use it. We can warp out of there quickly with the Chaos Key. It&#039;s how Illusi used to get around.&quot; she said. &quot;Why the heck did he give that up? Well, let&#039;s split up and look for Lospecter and Loscream...&quot; Timothy suggested. Gemini turned and stopped him. &quot;Have you seen any movie ever?&quot; she asked. &quot;Yeah, they always split up.&quot; he smirked. Gemini rolled her eyes. &quot;Our future movies are too feel-good. You gotta watch some classics...&quot; she sighed, and waved her wand, &quot;Cleviso!&quot; Using the invisibility spell, she was able to get herself and Timothy to the door without being spotted. &quot;Alright... We split up. But Tim... If things get dicey, warp yourself out of here. Keep a tight grip on your wand!&quot; she told him before giving him a tight hug. Timothy hugged her back and nodded. &quot;You, too, Gem...&quot; he said. They then entered the temple, finding things eerily quiet and empty, the only sound being distant echoes of that familiar whisper, &quot;Lossss... lossss...&quot; They couldn&#039;t see them yet, but they could feel the presence of the Lost Ones everywhere. They both gulped and started off in different directions. This felt like a tremendous mistake...<br /><br /><br />SPOT tracked a pair of energy signatures to Troblusk City. It sure seemed similar to Chaos energy, probably because people who didn&#039;t know about the creation aspect of the relics did in fact use them to harness Chaos powers. &quot;Here we are back on the wrong side of the tracks...&quot; Tails murmured as he looked around the dark and ominous streets of the city. &quot;Hey! I used to live here!&quot; Violet snapped. &quot;Err...sorry?&quot; Tails sighed. Copter raised his hands up as he walked between them, slowing them both down. &quot;Shh, there he is...&quot; he whispered. Conan was standing rather conspicuously at a street corner, hand on the hilt of the Chaos Sword, ready to draw it at any moment. &quot;Tell me you brought the tailbands, foxes...&quot; he said without looking at them. &quot;We&#039;re smarter than that!&quot; Copter scoffed. Conan turned to them with a frustrated grunt. &quot;Then what use are you to me? Don&#039;t try my patience, pups! I&#039;ve searched far too long for the Chaos Relics, and I won&#039;t be delayed by the likes of you!&quot; he grunted, tightening his grip on the sword. &quot;Try something, I dare you!&quot; Violet warned, her hands glowing with black energy. Conan laughed a bit. &quot;Need the Covenant of Despair to fight your battles for you, now?&quot; he smirked. &quot;Ex-Despair! Like you...&quot; Violet pointed out. Tails&#039; eyes darted back and forth. &quot;Uhhh, yeah. Well, I also brought SPOT, don&#039;t forget. He&#039;s armed, too. You&#039;re outnumbered, Conan!&quot; he said, trying to sound tough. Conan didn&#039;t draw his sword yet. &quot;You&#039;re here for my Chaos Relics, but you&#039;re delusional if you think you can take them from the master of Chaos!&quot; he sneered. Copter raised his fists. &quot;Well, I trust your relics in our hands more than you in our training group, so we&#039;re doing this!&quot; he said. &quot;Copter!!&quot; Tails gasped. Seeing Conan smirk, Copter realized his mistake. &quot;Training group? What are you saying? You&#039;re gathering the Chaos Relic holders and training them? Is that why you&#039;ve tracked me?&quot; Now was the point where he drew his sword, and pointed it at them. The trio backed away a step. &quot;If you think we&#039;re telling you where the relics are, you&#039;re the delusional one!&quot; Violet warned. The gold cape on Conan&#039;s back glowed, and a pair of wings formed in its place, flapping to lift the raccoon into the air above them. &quot;We shall see... Ohh, I&#039;m going to enjoy this... Now, Copter, die! I&#039;ll interrogate your friends!&quot; he laughed. As Conan charged down with his sword, SPOT jumped in front and erected a barrier, blocking him from stabbing Copter! &quot;Oh, I&#039;ll get through this...&quot; he smirked, and Violet looked at Tails and Copter with concern. &quot;Take cover, boys. I&#039;ll handle him...&quot; she said. &quot;Don&#039;t tell me to take cover! I kicked your butt without my tailband!&quot; Copter snapped. She slapped him for that. &quot;You asked for that one, Copter...&quot; Tails sighed.<br /><br /><br />Moving carefully through the maze-like corridors of the Lost Ones&#039; temple, Timothy soon found a chamber where Loscream appeared to be sleeping. The massive pumpkin&#039;s vines snaked around the room, seemingly trying to clutch at invisible victims in his sleep. Timothy crept carefully inside, and moved towards the tip of one of the vines. &quot;If I cut this off, it should be enough for the cure...&quot; he said, clutching his wand tightly, &quot;Slibeam...&quot; he said, attempting to slice at the vine with magical energy. It didn&#039;t appear to be working. &quot;Hmm... Maybe if I freeze it first? Chillazim!&quot; he said a bit louder, icing over the tip of the vine as he pointed his wand at it. A shadow was cast over him as he reached out to try and break off the vine. &quot;This is a curious place to find a living soul... Surely you did not come alone...&quot; Timothy felt his blood run cold as he heard the familiar voice of Losipher! He tried to spin around and cast a spell, but vines suddenly wrapped around him, covering his mouth! &quot;I&#039;ll snap your neck and feast on your bones!&quot; Loscream bellowed as his pumpkin face stared at him with a frightening wide grin. Big black wings grew out on Losipher&#039;s back and extended out in a way that seemed intended to intimidate Loscream. &quot;Not yet, you bloodthirsty fool! Get him to lead us to his accomplice, first. Then we shall feast on both their souls.&quot; he said with a fang-filled grin. Timothy shivered in Loscream&#039;s grip, and tried to struggle. The vine slipped away from his mouth, allowing him to speak. &quot;I won&#039;t lead you to Gemini! ...Ooops!&quot; he yelped, realizing they hadn&#039;t had any idea who was with him or how many allies he had yet. Losipher crossed his arms and laughed demonically. &quot;I can taste your fear... But it was obvious that you were here with that foolish mage girl. Does she not realize the hopelessness of trying to defeat the Lost Ones yet? Her error in judgement will cost her everything... As mine did thousands of years ago...&quot; he said, turning to leave. &quot;Bring him, Loscream. We&#039;ll find the girl...&quot; he growled. Loscream lifted Timothy up as he began to slither after Losipher using his vines to move. &quot;Always whining. He&#039;s such a baby. Just because he had to spend five thousand years as a writhing puddle... I was trapped in suspended animation and I don&#039;t whine!&quot; the pumpkin grumbled. If Timothy wasn&#039;t so frightened, he might find his oddly human banter humorous. Instead, his mind was bent on figuring a way out of this...<br /><br />Gemini wondered why the temple seemed to be lacking in guards as she wandered. When she found Lospecter in a deep chamber, it began to become clear to her. He floated in the center of the chamber as though he was waiting for her, and behind him was Dark Copter! The chamber was dimly lit by ghostly blue flames, but she could tell it was him. &quot;Welly welly well, Gemini. You wouldn&#039;t be here looking for this, would you?&quot; Lospecter said, holding up the Chaos Key, &quot;Honestly, when I saw you were starting to train people with these relics, I knew you&#039;d come knockin&#039; to get mine sooner or later. You must feel left out without your own!&quot; he grinned. &quot;You&#039;ve done enough damage with that one!&quot; Gemini snapped. &quot;You callin&#039; me damage? Huh?? I&#039;ve not begun to do damage!!&quot; Dark Copter snapped, clenching his fists as his body became surrounded by dark energy. Lospecter let out a gleeful laugh. &quot;I&#039;m just gonna hang back and watch you fight your boyfriend! Oooh, will one of you kill the other?&quot; he smirked. Gemini held her head in aggravation before pointing her wand angrily at Dark Copter. &quot;He&#039;s NOT my boyfriend! Your mind games won&#039;t work, Lospecter!!&quot; she shouted. Lospecter twirled his key and glanced at Dark Copter. &quot;I hate boring &#039;will they-won&#039;t they&#039; dramas. End the suspense, will ya?&quot; he ordered. With that, Dark Copter charged at her, his tails glowing black as he whipped them in her direction, dark shockwaves shooting from his tail whip and knocking her backward a few steps! &quot;Aaaack! D-dark Copter! He&#039;s just gonna turn you into a Lost One when he&#039;s done using you!&quot; she shouted. Dark Copter cracked his knuckles and sneered. &quot;One prison for my soul or another, what difference does it make? As long as I can sate my appetite for destruction!&quot; he snarled, lunging at her! Gemini pointed her wand at him and cast a spell. &quot;Proplasmar!&quot; she called, erecting a barrier that shattered against his attack, but also slowed him down! &quot;C&#039;mon, Gemini! Fight him back! Boy, I&#039;m glad I didn&#039;t sell tickets to this, I&#039;d have an angry crowd on my hands!&quot; Lospecter complained. Gemini took a breath. This was distracting from her mission. She had to get to that key. &quot;Snorozika!&quot; she cast, trying to put Dark Copter to sleep! She then ran after Lospecter, expecting that would work, only to feel her tail yanked. &quot;Yaaah!!&quot; she gasped. &quot;I won&#039;t be tranquilized! Darkness fuels me!!&quot; Dark Copter snarled, twirling her by the tail and slamming her against the ground as Lospecter clapped. &quot;Now THAT&#039;S entertainment!&quot; he smirked. Gemini sat up grunting. She had to fight back...this whole mission really felt like a mistake at this point.<br /><br /><br />As Conan slashed his sword at Violet, she vanished in a burst of dark energy, appearing behind him! However, his wings glowed and sent a gust of wind backward to keep her off-balance. Tails hopped on SPOT&#039;s back and gripped his tail as it became a handle, the robo-puppy turning into a hover-scooter. &quot;Over here, Conan! Try and catch me!&quot; he taunted, flying circles around him. &quot;Cute. But one of you is completely lacking in power now...!&quot; Conan smirked, lowering down towards Copter and pointing his sword at him. &quot;So why don&#039;t I deal with you first?&quot; Copter jumped to the side and tried to hit him with a tail whip, but Conan zapped him with a Chaos Spear and grabbed him by the throat! &quot;Copter!!&quot; Violet gasped. &quot;Hang on!&quot; Tails cried, turning in his direction. Conan held the blade to his throat. &quot;Uh uh... If you want him in one piece, you will tell me where the tailbands are, fox boy...&quot; he sneered. Copter grunted in the raccoon&#039;s grip. &quot;H-hey, Conan...&quot; he smirked, &quot;Not all my powers came from the tailband...&quot; he snickered. Clenching his fist, he mustered his energy. &quot;Chaos...blast!!&quot; he growled, his body erupting with chaos energy and flinging Conan off of him! Violet and Tails both hurried straight into the blast, intent on seeing if he was okay. Copter was lying on the street with a cut in his chest, but it wasn&#039;t too bad. &quot;Gaah... I hate Conan...&quot; he winced. Tails hopped off SPOT, and the robot transformed back to normal. &quot;SPOT, first-aid mode, stat!&quot; Tails said. The tip of SPOT&#039;s tail popped open, revealing medical ointment, while a hatch on his underside opened up, giving Tails access to bandages. &quot;Is there anything that mutt isn&#039;t prepared for?&quot; Copter asked. Violet sighed and looked around for Conan. He was across the street, picking up his hat and placing it back on his head. &quot;Conan!! Stop right there!&quot; Violet shouted, running after him. Conan aimed his sword at the ground and made a slashing motion, sending out a cutting beam that tore up the asphault and made Violet trip over it! &quot;Gyaaa!! S-since when can you do that!?&quot; she stammered. Conan smirked. &quot;You&#039;re not the only ones looking to unlock the secrets of the Chaos Relics. I must be the master of chaos... If I&#039;m to save Emily...&quot; he said solumnly, the wings on his back flapping and carrying him into the air. &quot;I&#039;ll find you next time, heroes!&quot; he said as he made his escape. Violet tried to stop him by tossing balls of dark energy at him, but the Chaos Wing carried him away too fast. &quot;We shoulda brought Sonic...&quot; Tails sighed, to with Copter rolled his eyes. &quot;Yeah, maybe. That&#039;s on you, scout.&quot; he said as Tails bandaged his wound. &quot;I don&#039;t wanna bother him for every little thing. We need to learn to survive without him... In case something like Infinite comes along again.&quot; Tails sighed.<br /><br />Conan landed a few blocks away, close to the borders of the city. Not too far from Troblusk Plateau. &quot;I should have trashed that robo-mutt. That&#039;s how they tracked me...&quot; he growled. &quot;Troubles, Conan?&quot; a familiar voice said from the shadows. Looking, Conan saw Anubis approach him. &quot;What could you possibly want? First aid for that bendy ear? Try back that way...&quot; he scoffed. Anubis grunted. &quot;I want revenge. Revenge upon Infinite, and the obese human who set him off his leash... And I want my Covenant of Despair back.&quot; he growled softly. Conan chuckled. &quot;You want a lot of things, but I don&#039;t see why I should care.&quot; he said. As he turned to leave, Anubis continued speaking. &quot;Fera is back. She hears the voice of the Darkseeker calling through her Despair Seal...&quot; he said. Conan glanced back with a calculating stare. &quot;Fera is back?&quot; he asked. He remembered the Tournament of Chaos well, and the events of Eggman&#039;s invasion of the world. Fera held the Chaos Cards, relics so powerful, they could hold the key to saving Emily. He turned to Anubis and crossed his arms. &quot;Well, if it&#039;s not just you, that changes things a bit...&quot; he mused, &quot;Does our new Despair have a plan yet?&quot; he asked. Anubis glared intensely at Conan. &quot;I see right through you, vermin... Oh, I remember how you used the old covenant... but Fera does not. If I bring you back with me, keep your personal goals in check for now... But if you put your trust in me, you may just get what you want...when I get what I want...&quot; he said. Conan adjusted his hat and smirked. &quot;Oh, but you want so many things. Not sure I can wait that long...&quot; he said smugly. Anubis held up a fireball in his hand. &quot;What other options do you have?&quot; he asked as the flame seemed to take the shape of the face of Emily the Squirrel. That&#039;s what Conan got for carrying her picture with him at all times. Anubis must have seen it at some point, and figured him out. He growled softly and batted the jackal&#039;s flaming hand away. &quot;Fine. I guess we&#039;re partners now, dog boy. I&#039;d better get what I need, or mark me, you&#039;ll die...&quot; he said, grasping Anubis&#039; hand in a tense handshake. The jackal smirked with a light grunt. &quot;I&#039;ve been dead before. But it&#039;s the dead that heed me...&quot; he said as black mummies clawed up from the ground around him to illustrate his point. Conan looked around and smirked. &quot;This isn&#039;t going to be quite like old times, is it? Maybe it&#039;ll be more fun...&quot; he grinned.<br /><br /><br />Back at the Lost Ones&#039; temple, Gemini had risen to her feet, and tried flinging some spells intended to deter Dark Copter, but he simply kept coming after her, hitting back with dark blasts and gradually wearing her down. &quot;Come on! Why don&#039;t you fight him with all your might? Huh?&quot; Lospecter smirked. Gemini huffed and glared at him. &quot;I won&#039;t fall into your trap... You can&#039;t make me hate Copter like this...&quot; she huffed. Lospecter shrugged. &quot;Silly girl. That wasn&#039;t the trap. The trap was tricking you into NOT fighting back! Oooooh, oooor waaaas it!!&quot; he said ominously, taunting her, &quot;Haha! But it doesn&#039;t matter. Check the door.&quot; he sneered. Gemini heard activity behind her, and turned to see Losipher and Loscream enter, with Timothy in her clutches. &quot;We&#039;ll make this simple for you, mage... Surrender yourself and your wand, or watch your friend die...for real this time!&quot; Losipher said darkly as Loscream pulled at the fawn&#039;s limbs with his vines. Gemini looked on in horror, feeling utterly defeated. &quot;I... I...&quot; she murmured. &quot;Don&#039;t give in, Gemini!&quot; Timothy shouted, &quot;I-if you surrender to the Lost Ones... Who else will keep fighting them?&quot; he grunted, looking at her with tears in his eyes. &quot;But...what can I do?&quot; Gemini sniffled. &quot;Learn to lean on your friends more, my child...&quot; a voice sounded through the room. Lospecter looked around and narrowed his eyes. &quot;Oh, you gotta be kidding me...&quot; he growled. Green check-marks with eyes burst into the room, flying around the Lost Ones and zapping them, annoying Loscream into dropping Timothy! &quot;Rightos!!&quot; he babbled. Lospecter swatted one of the creatures away and growled. &quot;Illoser! Show yourself!&quot; he called. Illusi the shrew emerged from each entrance, most if not all of him clearly illusions. Dark Copter charged after one, only to pass through it! &quot;I wasn&#039;t going to come, but I don&#039;t say no to a lady older than myself...&quot; Illusi smirked. Astra the fennec stepped in from the main exit, beckoning Timothy her way. Gemini fired icy shots from her wand to delay Losipher and Loscream as she ran to join Timothy. Lospecter floated after them, his key raised in a violent stance, but Astra stood between them. &quot;Spiro... Are you going to attack me?&quot; she asked. Lospecter stopped short. &quot;Out of the way, old lady!&quot; he snapped. &quot;You could have killed me right here, Spiro...&quot; she stated. Lospecter scoffed. &quot;Still can! I got no feelings for you anymore! I got no feelings at all!&quot; he snapped. &quot;Galaporta!!&quot; Gemini cried, taking Timothy and Astra&#039;s hands as she warped them all away. Astra was able to see Lospecter through the magical light for a moment before warping. &quot;There&#039;s good in you, Spiro...&quot; she whispered. Once they were gone, Illusi&#039;s illusions faded as well, leaving the Lost Ones alone with Dark Copter. &quot;Lame! No one died! I&#039;m outta this dank place!&quot; Dark Copter snorted, running off. Losipher glared at Lospecter furiously. &quot;Astra doesn&#039;t have a hold on your heart... Does she?&quot; he snarled. &quot;Gunny, Gunny... Shut up... Spiro is dead. Just like the world will be...&quot; Lospecter murmured, clenching his teeth.<br /><br /><br />Returning to Raisol Sanctuary, it seemed as though both missions were utter failures. Knuckles was still tied to the chair as Shade sat beside him looking exhausted. &quot;He&#039;s on his fifth rope here, he keeps breaking free...&quot; she groaned. &quot;I&#039;m gonna be stuck like this?? I can&#039;t be stuck like this!?&quot; he groaned as Gemini and Tails looked at him uncertainly. Timothy cleared his throat. &quot;Umm, actually... The trip wasn&#039;t a total waste, because I might&#039;ve managed to...&quot; With a flick of his wand, he levitated a severed piece of Loscream&#039;s root. It was small, but it might suffice. Astra&#039;s face lit up upon seeing it. &quot;Someone get me vials and a place to, uhh, cook...&quot; she grinned. &quot;You couldn&#039;t show anyone that before freaking me out!?&quot; Knuckles groaned, &quot;Wait, what&#039;s she cooking?? Am I gonna have to EAT that thing!?&quot; he groaned. &quot;Don&#039;t be such a baby, Knuckles...&quot; Copter grunted, clutching his bandaged chest as he walked. Violet smirked and poked him there hard, making him yelp.<br /><br />Knuckles was led to where Astra had a bubbling cauldron of...something. Knuckles gulped. The substance looked green and goopy. &quot;Don&#039;t worry, Knuckles.&quot; Gemini said, &quot;The curse is in the claws. You just gotta soak them.&quot; she said. &quot;Aww, good...&quot; Knuckles sighed. Astra doused the flame under the pot, and then glanced at Knuckles. &quot;Straight away. Sorry, your fingers will get burned a bit. We have spells for that...&quot; she said. Knuckles inhaled sharply and stuck his hands in the boiling pot, clenching his teeth to avoid screaming. Astra then held up a sort of fuzzy root thing. &quot;There is a bit of curse in you, too, so you have to eat this.&quot; she stated. &quot;NOW YA TELL ME!!&quot; Knuckles screamed as his hands burned. Astra stuffed the root into his mouth, making him eat it. Outside the door, Copter and Punchy were listening and chuckling. &quot;Cut that out, you two.&quot; said Tails as he stood nearby. Finally, Knuckles removed his hands from the cauldron, and Astra was able to slip the Chaos Claws off his hands with ease! &quot;I&#039;m free! Haha... Agh!! My hands!!&quot; he gasped as he saw how blistered they were, &quot;What happened to the gloves I had under those claws!?&quot; he yelped. &quot;Sorry...&quot; Gemini said sheepishly. She then waved her wand over his hands. &quot;Streeze...&quot; she said, blowing air on his hands first to cool them off, &quot;Recoveration...&quot; she added to heal them. Knuckles sighed with relief once his hands were back to normal. &quot;Thank you, Gemini... Astra... I hope I never need anything from you again...&quot; he chuckled softly. Gemini giggled. &quot;Yeah... Well, now we can train you with the claws properly, so get ready!&quot; she said. Knuckles nodded. &quot;No offense, but I&#039;m gonna just not touch those things for a week or so... And I&#039;m gonna go glove shopping, too. And make sure the Master Emerald is still on Angel Island. See ya!&quot; he said, opening the door and knocking Copter and Punchy over. Hearing them groan, he scoffed. &quot;Don&#039;t be such babies, guys.&quot; he said before leaving. Things were finally getting back to normal... Or, what passed for normal with this group...<br /><br /><br />Mini Episode - Ch. 2.5 - Neo Neon Interlude<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />The Neon Tavern had seen better days, but it had also seen worse days. Eggman&#039;s occupation of the world hadn&#039;t been kind to Bill and Bob the hedgehogs&#039; Troblusk City watering hole, but now that Bob was back on the job, the place felt a bit cheerier again. Bill sat back and cleaned the glasses, calmly watching Bob handle customers for a change, glad to have things back to a semblance of normalcy. &quot;Hopefully the customers start comin&#039; back in, cuz&#039; we gotta fix some damage to the foundation...&quot; he murmured. Bob was pouring Violet a soda...she was actually old enough to drink now, but she wanted to be sober for what she intended to discuss. &quot;Thanks, Bob. Good to see you haven&#039;t lost a step.&quot; she said. &quot;I dunno. Lost &#039;bout a year... Glad ta be back, tho.&quot; he nodded. The door swung open quickly, and Bill looked up eagerly. &quot;Customer?&quot; he asked. &quot;If anyone asks, you didn&#039;t see me!&quot; said Sonic, who dashed in, jumped behind the counter, and crouched down. &quot;What&#039;ll it be?&quot; Bill said slyly. Sonic gulped. &quot;Ahhh... Chaos Soda, on the rocks...&quot; he babbled. The door opened again and Amy peered in. &quot;Sonic? Helloooo? Argh, how dare he mount a dangerous rescue mission without my help...&quot; she grumbled, &quot;Anyone seen him?&quot; she asked. Bill glanced down and casually reached a hand, asking for money for the drink. Sonic searched himself for cash and gulped, shrugging. &quot;Behind the counter, miss.&quot; Bill grunted. &quot;Shoot!&quot; Sonic yelped, leaping up and speeding out past Amy faster than she could grab him! &quot;SONIC!! You&#039;re just making it worse for yourself!! Come back here!!&quot; Amy yelled, storming out the door. Bill shook his head and sighed. &quot;We need paying customers, dang it...&quot; he mumbled. The door opened again and Razor shuffled in, looking frazzled. &quot;I think I&#039;d call that a domestic disturbance, but I don&#039;t wanna get in the middle of those two on my first day back...&quot; he said. He was back in his uniform, gun, badge and all. &quot;Officer on deck!&quot; Bill saluted, &quot;But nuts, that means no drinks.&quot; he sighed. Razor chuckled softly. &quot;Sorry, just checking in on Bob. Also, shhh, I was supposed to be on leave there, so technically I was a vigilante taking on Eggman...&quot; he said with a wink. Bob nodded. &quot;Ya sure yer ready ta go back? I heard &#039;bout what happened to ya.&quot; he said. Razor shrugged. &quot;Seems the best way to atone is to get back to work. That&#039;s the feeling I got out there fighting Eggman...&quot; he said.<br /><br />Vortex was seated in a dark corner of the bar, drinking away his loneliness. Whisk, the only girl he had eyes for, was now off in space somewhere or something, and it seemed she was moving on. He just wanted to be left alone with his misery. &quot;Hello, dear, why so glum?&quot; glancing up, he saw Vanilla the rabbit of all people standing beside him. &quot;Oh my, I thought you were Espio. My mistake...&quot; she stammered. &quot;It&#039;sss alright... I&#039;m not the villain the newsss hasss made me out to be in the passsst.&quot; Vortex sighed. Vanilla sat down across from him. &quot;You&#039;re one of the experiments, aren&#039;t you! I got to know one of them while locked in a bunker last year... Talon?&quot; she said. Vortex stared into his glass. &quot;Sssso, you were locked up with Talon for ssssix monthsss...&quot; he murmured. Vanilla giggled. &quot;He was such a nervous boy, but Cream was a bit of a comfort to him. I&#039;m proud of her.&quot; she said. &quot;Sssswell...&quot; Vortex sighed, sipping his drink. Vanilla reached across the table and placed a hand on his shoulder. &quot;It&#039;ll get better, young one. I&#039;ve had that look before myself.&quot; she said. Vortex glanced up at her in surprise. &quot;I...&quot; he murmured. &quot;You want to be alone. I understand.&quot; she smiled. Vortex patted her hand as it rested on his shoulder. &quot;...You can ssstay...&quot; he said softly. The door opened and Katie and Mia walked in, just in time to catch Razor before he was going to leave. &quot;Hold it! Where ya goin, officer? I gotta frisk ya, first!&quot; said Mia playfully, giving him a hug. Razor smiled and hugged her back. &quot;Hey there, someone&#039;s happy!&quot; he chuckled. Mia nodded. &quot;I&#039;ve got the best friends who never stopped hunting down Eggman to find me and bring me home!&quot; she said before turning to hug Katie next. &quot;And this one! She looked after my cab all that time!&quot; she giggled. &quot;Awww... But seriously, you two gonna order somethin?&quot; Bill said, clearing his throat. Razor waved good bye as Katie and Mia sat down to order drinks. &quot;Yo, Bob, how are ya?&quot; Katie asked. &quot;Lightly busy...&quot; he muttered with a soft chuckle. Violet was still sitting at the counter with a glum look, only now a bit glummer having had to watch Mia&#039;s display as she entered. &quot;Hey, what&#039;s with you?&quot; the cat asked her. Violet huffed. &quot;You and all your friends are back together, that&#039;s swell. My friends were with Despair before Eggman took over, probably were among the group of Robians that just got freed, but I still haven&#039;t seen them, so they probably went right back to Despair.&quot; she said. Katie and Mia looked at her a bit sadly. &quot;Aw, that&#039;s tough... My boyfriend joined up with Despair for a while after I got shot.&quot; Katie said, &quot;When he quit he...kinda died. Or just got hurt real bad? I&#039;m not sure but he&#039;s an experiment now.&quot; she said, scratching her head in thought over it. Violet nodded. &quot;Well... I&#039;m hoping for a better way out for my friends than...that.&quot; she said.<br /><br />Finally, Mitch the weasal came in. He was who Violet was waiting for. He sat down next to her and pulled down his hat over his eyes, grunting. &quot;Whatcha want? I got business to see to...&quot; he murmured. Violet glanced at him smugly. &quot;Don&#039;t be like that. You owe me, or did you forget who saved your tail when Eggman had the world under his thumb?&quot; she asked. Mitch clenched his teeth and glanced at Bob. &quot;Don&#039;t just stand there, get me some booze!&quot; he grunted. Violet gave him a small smile. &quot;So, Infin, I&#039;m trying to find Patch and Daisy. Can you tell me if they&#039;re back with Despair?&quot; she asked. Mitch sipped his drink briefly and scoffed at her. &quot;I ain&#039;t Infin no more. World&#039;s changed, info&#039;s changed. I ain&#039;t as connected as I used ta be. Just plain &#039;ol Mitch... But I gots an in with the new Covenant of Despair. I could probly look.&quot; he murmured. Violet nodded. &quot;Let&#039;s cut to the chase. I want you to help me get Patch and Daisy out of Despair. Last time I saw them it seemed clear to me that they were being forced to stay. They&#039;re my friends and I can&#039;t leave them like this.&quot; she said. Mitch smirked. &quot;Why don&#039;tcha get yer pal, the dark echidna what beat Fera before, have him fight the new covenant?&quot; he asked. Violet frowned. &quot;He&#039;s got a kid now...&quot; she said. &quot;How &#039;bout yer boyfriend, the fox...&quot; he snickered. Violet then grabbed him by the throat. &quot;Watch it, I know you saw the tournament, everyone did.&quot; she growled. &quot;Dat&#039;s how I know &#039;bout &#039;im, ack!&quot; Mitch grunted as Violet released him, &quot;I&#039;m real important all of a sudden! What&#039;ll ya give me?&quot; he asked. Violet crossed her arms. &quot;How about never having to see me again?&quot; she growled. Mitch took a big sip of his drink and then let out a sigh. &quot;You realize I could get killed tryin&#039; to help ya do this. This goes beyond settlin&#039; my debt wit you.&quot; he told her, &quot;I want... I want my foot back.&quot; he said, lifting up his robotic foot for her to see. Violet looked at it and raised an eyebrow. &quot;I don&#039;t think we can fix that. It&#039;s not robotisized, it&#039;s just replaced.&quot; she said. Mitch lowered his foot and smirked. &quot;Hah, seriously though. I may not be as connected as I was, but I do remember dis magic wand involved in Project GXterminate. I think you know the owner of dat wand. We&#039;ll fix me with magic.&quot; he said. Violet thought about it. Then, she extended her hand. &quot;Deal. You help me, you get your foot back.&quot; she said as Mitch shook her hand. &quot;Great... I&#039;ll get right on it!&quot; he smirked.<br /><br />As the customers left and Bill locked up for the night, Bob was calmly humming while cleaning a glass. &quot;Never a dull moment, eh?&quot; Bill asked. &quot;Nope. Glad to be back, bro...&quot; Bob smiled. Bill nodded. The place was a dump now, but it was their dump. &quot;Night Bob... See ya tomorrow...&quot; Bill said, heading for the back door to head home for the night.<br /><br /><br />Mini Episode - Ch. 2.8 - Echidna Training<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />Time was passing quickly. Training for most of the holders of the Chaos Relics was going at a slow but steady pace. Knuckles and Punchy were a bit behind the others, for various reasons, so Gemini came up to the Master Emerald shrine to see that they got some catch-up training done. They ended up bringing baby Aurora along as well; Rainbow had some errands to run and there was no one willing to babysit. &quot;Some friends I got...&quot; Punchy grumbled, holding the baby and trying to rock her to sleep as she babbled playfully, not wanting to sleep. Knuckles shrugged. &quot;Just put her down on the grass. She won&#039;t get into much trouble here.&quot; he said. &quot;I&#039;m not leaving my baby in the dirty grass!&quot; Punchy growled. Gemini rolled her eyes. &quot;Morphikadabra!&quot; she sighed, casting a spell that changed the entire floor into styrofoam! Knuckles stared as Punchy shrugged and set Aurora down. &quot;You baby-proofed the Master Emerald shrine!! ...It is gonna change back, right?&quot; Knuckles babbled. Gemini nodded. &quot;Yeah, yeah. Get focused, you two. Knuckles, you need to learn to control the Chaos Claws&#039; weird clingy powers. Put &#039;em on.&quot; she said. He groaned softly. &quot;What if I can&#039;t get &#039;em off again?&quot; he asked. Punchy tickled Aurora&#039;s belly as she laid on the foam floor. &quot;Uncie Knux is a scardie cat! Yes he is!&quot; he said in baby talk. Knuckles glanced at him with a grouchy grunt and turned to head up the steps of the shrine and get the claws. &quot;The whole shrine is foam!! Gemini!!!&quot; he shouted. The fennec scratched her head sheepishly and looked at Punchy. &quot;As for you... You know the boots are more than just speed, right?&quot; she asked. Punchy frowned. &quot;Um... No.&quot; he muttered. Gemini shook her head, sighing. &quot;According to Astra, they&#039;ll let your feet take you anywhere, whatever that means. Maybe Astra should be the one training you...&quot; she murmured. Punchy looked at the winged boots on his feet. &quot;So... Can they teleport me, then?&quot; he wondered. &quot;I...don&#039;t...know.&quot; Gemini said through clenched teeth. She had no idea how to train people when she herself didn&#039;t know what she was training them to do. Knuckles returned with the Chaos Claws back on his hands. &quot;Hey, if I slash up the foam shrine, will that affect it when you change it back?&quot; he asked. &quot;Don&#039;t do that.&quot; Gemini warned. At any rate, it was now time for their training to get back underway...<br /><br />While Punchy practiced running around the area with the Chaos Boots, Knuckles was busy trying to stab the air with his Chaos Claws. &quot;C&#039;mon... stick! Catch something! Stab nothing!&quot; Knuckles grunted. If he could gain mastery over this power, he could climb around literally anywhere without the need for a surface to climb on. Gemini watched him and hummed thoughtfully. &quot;Remember, you&#039;re using creation energy. It&#039;s probably not so much about stabbing through some invisible thing as it is actually creating a foothold to stab... hand-hold?&quot; she murmured. Knuckles took a breath. &quot;And how do I tap into creation energy anyway?? All I remember about before is being cursed and mad!&quot; he complained. &quot;Maybe you gotta be mad!&quot; Gemini suggested. Knuckles glared at her in annoyance. &quot;No, because I&#039;ve been mad since you turned my shrine into foam...&quot; he grunted. Gemini sighed and decided to turn her attention to Punchy. &quot;How do you feel?&quot; she shouted. Punchy was running circles around the shrine while Aurora sat up and watched, giggling. &quot;I feel like this is stupid!&quot; he shouted. She nodded. &quot;Yeah, sure is...&quot; she murmured. She didn&#039;t tell him to do this. &quot;Try to see if you can use the energy from the Chaos Boots! Figure out what the creation energy will allow them to do!&quot; she shouted. Punchy gulped. &quot;I don&#039;t wanna run through time or any nonsense like that!&quot; he shouted. &quot;You watch too much TV, Punchy!&quot; Knuckles shouted, trying a different, more casual motion with the Chaos Claws. The tips of the claws started to glow as he moved them forward, and stopped glowing as he pulled them back. &quot;Hmmm...&quot; he mumbled. Meanwhile, Punchy thought about what Gemini had said earlier. The boots would let his feet take him anywhere. He decided to try running up the wall of the nearby shrine. &quot;Alright, I&#039;ll... OOF!!&quot; Fortunately, the shrine was currently made of foam, because otherwise smacking into it at high speed would have caused serious injury. Knuckles smirked and extended his arm forward, managing to stick the claws into an invisible mass of energy that they&#039;d created. He twisted his hand a little. It felt securely stuck. He tried sticking the other claw somewhere above it. &quot;Oh! You&#039;re getting it!&quot; Gemini clapped. Knuckles smiled proudly, but that smile quickly turned to a frown. &quot;Uhhh... How do I pull them out of the hand-holds?&quot; he asked, grunting in frustration as he tugged at them.<br /><br />Punchy couldn&#039;t help laughing at him. &quot;While you&#039;re stuck there, I&#039;m gonna master these boots!&quot; he taunted. Knuckles scoffed. &quot;I&#039;m ahead of you, at least I&#039;ve figured something out beyond the obvious!&quot; he sniped. Punchy shrugged. &quot;Big deal. The boots are clearly way better.&quot; he said, dashing back to his course around the shrine. During all this, Aurora had gotten bored, and began crawling off on her own. The baby seemed curious about how high up they were, and was crawling towards the ledge of the area. As Knuckles grunted against the claws, he turned his head and gasped. &quot;B-baby!! Look out!!&quot; he babbled, yanking his hand right out of one of the claws and trying to run, only to find the other hand still stuck, and stumbling around into Gemini, causing her to drop her wand! &quot;Aaaagh! I&#039;m such a klutz!!&quot; Gemini gasped. &quot;No, no, my bad... PUNCHY!!&quot; Knuckles yelled. Aurora was getting dangerously close to the ledge. &quot;Oh, god, baby&#039;s gonna fall!!&quot; Knuckles cried loudly. Punchy heard the commotion as he was running and reacted without thinking, turning straight in the direction of Aurora, which happened to be right through the shrine. He ran without a thought, and somehow, he passed right through the solid styrofoam shrine and popped out on the other side, speeding straight for Aurora! &quot;Wait, what? WHOA!! I was trying to go up the wall!! AAAAAAAAAAA!!!&quot; Punchy shrieked as he kept going uncontrollably, the Chaos Boots creating a shimmering path under his feet as he ran off the edge and across the sky! Aurora stopped moving and clapped as she watched her father speed away like a rocket. This gave Gemini time to act. &quot;Aeroft!&quot; she stammered, casting a levitation spell with her wand that she used to draw Aurora back to herself, catching the baby in her arms. Knuckles stood with his arms crossed and the Chaos Claws stuck in midair, staring out at Punchy, who was standing on a shimmering island suspended by the Chaos Boots. &quot;Hey, Gemini!!&quot; Punchy shouted, &quot;Save me!&quot; Gemini sighed and glanced at Knuckles, her eyes darting between his stuck claws. &quot;Agh, hold the baby, we&#039;ll figure out this weirdness later...&quot; she said, handing Aurora off to Knuckles, who held the baby awkwardly. &quot;H-hey! I don&#039;t want...!&quot; He smelled something unpleasant coming from Aurora. &quot;Gemini!! Come back! Save me!!&quot; Knuckles groaned. Gemini shook her head as she stepped towards the ledge and pointed her wand at Punchy. &quot;I can&#039;t believe I&#039;m the only adult around here. Aeroft!&quot; she said, drawing Punchy back with the same spell. He was...much heavier to catch.<br /><br />Needless to say, Punchy had to appoint a babysitter for the future.<br /><br /><br />Episode 3 - Ray&#039;s Oddysey<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and<br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />Mighty the armadillo had reconnected with his old friend, Ray the flying squirrel, who had been traveling abroad for a few years. Mighty had brought him back home, the younger squirrel eager to see his old friends again, and maybe meet some of the new friends Mighty had made. However, they had gotten separated while passing through Troblusk City. Meeting up again at the Station Square burger shop, Ray looked a bit worried when he sat down. &quot;Sorry about that detour, Ray. Hey, why the long face? Did you run into trouble in that dirty city? Man, I knew we should&#039;ve gone around...&quot; Mighty grumbled, feeling bad about the whole thing. Ray rubbed his head nervously. &quot;W-well, you see, the thing is...&quot; he was cut off by the manager, Dave, talking to a customer behind them. &quot;Wha? It&#039;s your birthday?! BIRTHDAY ALERT!!&quot; he called. Ray looked alarmed as the staff ran out to start singing to that customer. &quot;Happy happy birthday! Happy birthday, to you! Here blow out a candle, and may all your dreams come true!&quot; Mighty shuddered as he heard them sing. &quot;I thought they only did this at fancier restaurants... Uhh... Ray?&quot; he mumbled, staring at his friend. Ray had hopped out of his seat, a vacant look in his eyes, and began to tap dance uncontrollably while the staff were singing. &quot;H-hey, Ray... Snap out of it!&quot; Mighty went to shake him, but Ray wouldn&#039;t stop until the singing ceased. He shook his head dizzily as Dave walked by. &quot;At least someone likes our singing!&quot; he said with a coy smile. Ray blushed in embarrasment and sat down. &quot;Oh no, it happened again...&quot; he murmured. Mighty blinked a couple times. &quot;Again? Ray, what the heck was that?&quot; he asked. Ray twiddled his thumbs, his head looking down. &quot;Ya see, in that dirty city, I ran across a witch. I guess I annoyed her quite a bit, because she cursed me. Now, every time I hear something like music, I go into a trance and start dancing...&quot; he mumbled. He then started to cry. &quot;I can&#039;t go on like this! I can never go in a store again! They always have music in the background! Waaaah!!&quot; as he started to sob, Mighty placed a hand on his shoulder. &quot;Okay, okay, take it easy. We&#039;ll track down this witch and make her take off the curse. I wonder if that Wendy Witchcart is back?&quot; he murmured, lost in thought for a moment. Just then, from the other booth next to them, Gator poked his head out and looked at them. &quot;Can I come, too?&quot; he asked. Mighty glanced at him with annoyance. Gator always seemed around to bug him when he came to this town. &quot;No.&quot; he said blankly, taking Ray&#039;s hand and leading him out the door. Gator sighed. &quot;Awww... Well, happy birthday, Travis.&quot; he said to the guy two seats down, who happened to be Lucky&#039;s friend from some other world. &quot;This is not how I envisioned this day...&quot; Travis sighed.<br /><br /><br />Blaze was sitting silently in a meditative pose at the bottom of the steps leading to the ledge below Tails&#039; Workshop. She needed to control both her flames and the Chaos Crown at once in order to properly use the Chaos Crown. It would take immense focus. However, she seemed to be making progress as vines grew up around her, thriving. Then, Mighty and Ray passed by, talking loudly. &quot;I can&#039;t believe Charmy&#039;s a detective now! Like, wow, I can&#039;t even imagine!&quot; Ray said. &quot;Well, they tracked the guy we want to here, so I guess they know their stuff.&quot; Mighty chuckled. The vines around Blaze burst into flames, covering her with their ash in mere moments. &quot;Son of a...&quot; she growled. Up the steps, Ray spotted Tails smacking an Egg Pawn-shaped scarecrow with his tails. Turning, he smiled to see him. &quot;Ray! Oh, wow, it&#039;s been forever!&quot; he said excitedly. Ray ran up and playfully hugged him. &quot;Tails! Wow, you&#039;ve really grown, haha!&quot; he chuckled. &quot;Gosh, you think?&quot; Tails asked bashfully. Mighty found Knuckles nearby with his claws stuck in the air. &quot;Mighty! Good to see ya back! Wanna help us train?&quot; he asked with a smirk, removing his hands from the still-hovering claws and doing a few practice punches in Mighty&#039;s direction. The armadillo playfully punched back, but sighed. &quot;Nope, we&#039;re lookin&#039; for that guy.&quot; he said, pointing at Timothy, who was having a little talk with Punchy about the Chaos Boots, apparently. Knuckles tilted his head. &quot;Why?&quot; he asked. &quot;Well, I seem to recall an impressive bit of magic he performed at the green guy&#039;s wedding.&quot; Mighty stated. Just then, Copter stepped out of Tails&#039; garage, holding his bass guitar. &quot;Ladies and gentlemen, my next number is a song I&#039;ve been working on for a while...&quot; he smirked. &quot;Hey! Put that down, Copter!&quot; Tails stammered. &quot;Gah! Please, don&#039;t!&quot; Ray gasped. Snickering, Copter started to strum the guitar, playfully making some noise. &quot;Ohhh, I&#039;m a dark angel, a captive from the light! The dark angel, flyin&#039; through the blackest night!&quot; Copter started to sing, which prompted Ray to do a moonwalk, followed by some twirling. Tails watched him with surprise. &quot;Wow, Ray... You got skills, unlike Copter...&quot; he murmured. &quot;S-stop meee!&quot; Ray whimpered. Gemini walked out from inside Tails&#039; workshop and gasped. &quot;Oh no! You&#039;ve been cursed!&quot; she stammered, &quot;Stop playing, Copter!&quot; she said. Copter&#039;s eyes darted back and forth, and he grinned darkly as he kept playing. &quot;I&#039;m flyin&#039; as a dark angel for all eternity, yeah!!&quot; he sang as Ray kept dancing. &quot;Quit it!&quot; Mighty yelled. Copter finally stopped and Ray collapsed dizzily. &quot;Oh no, I&#039;m hallucinating. There&#039;s two Tails, two Knuckles, and two... uh... fox ladies.&quot; he said, pointing at Gemini as Astra stepped out from behind her. Astra looked him over with a serious expression. &quot;This curse can only be lifted by the witch who cast it. Take this.&quot; she said, handing Mighty a bronze coin. It looked similar to the coin that was able to detect Chaos Relics and opened the door to the Chaos Crystal. &quot;This talisman will lead you to magical energy. Use it to find the one who cursed him.&quot; Astra said. Mighty nodded, and propped Ray onto his feet. The squirrel waved. &quot;Nice meeting you, guys...&quot; he said as Mighty carried him off. Copter carried the guitar down and smirked at Punchy. &quot;Leave music to Tails.&quot; Punchy groaned. Knuckles rubbed his chin. &quot;Hmm... Y&#039;know, Duditude hasn&#039;t done a concert in a while...&quot; he muttered.<br /><br /><br />They had to go a good distance away before the talisman would stop detecting Gemini and Timothy&#039;s magic. They hopped the train and found themselves back in Station Square, where the talisman led them to the Raisol Sanctuary under the city. &quot;I hope it&#039;s not detecting the spell used to transform this place...&quot; Mighty said as they looked around the undreground city. Ray looked around in wonder. &quot;Whoa! There&#039;s another city under the city! Do people live in all these houses? Are those crystals glowing?&quot; he babbled. As they walked, the talisman glowed brighter the closer they got to a particular building. Before they could approach, though, Talon dropped down into their path, his talons glowing as he pointed at them threateningly. &quot;Who dares trespass on the realm of mystical beasts?&quot; he said, making his voice sound deep and menacing. A certain purple dragon landed next to him, making Ray jump and hide behind Mighty. &quot;Turn back now, or face our furious wrath!&quot; he warned. Mighty turned to Ray. &quot;Anyone look familiar, pal?&quot; he asked. &quot;Nope! Let&#039;s get outta here!&quot; Ray whimpered. &quot;Guys, lay off!&quot; came the voice of Carrie inside the building. As she stepped out, the dragon shifted back into Kosmo&#039;s default form. &quot;Hey, it&#039;s my house they&#039;re walkin&#039; up to!&quot; he complained. Mighty tapped the talisman and shook it. &quot;Sorry, this thing&#039;s supposed to lead us to magic, not experiments.&quot; he murmured. Carrie sighed. &quot;Oh, is it? Well, um... I did spend about a year hanging around Gemini and Timmy, using their magic to jump back and forth through time. Maybe I stink of magic to that thing. Wonder if there&#039;s any way to wash the stink off...?&quot; she murmured, blushing awkwardly. Kosmo rolled his eyes. &quot;Wherever I go, people&#039;s problems find me...&quot; he groaned. Talon folded his wings and retracted his glowing talons, looking at Mighty and Ray curiously. &quot;Is there any way we can help you guys?&quot; he asked. Ray shook his head. &quot;Nah, no thanks, we&#039;re good.&quot; he said nervously, not too keen on possibly seeing that dragon again. Mighty shrugged. &quot;Right, then, sorry to bother you. C&#039;mon, Ray...&quot; As they walked away, Carrie crossed her arms, shaking her head at the two boys. &quot;What?&quot; Kosmo grumbled. &quot;With how often I&#039;m coming over, I&#039;d say this is my place, too.&quot; she smirked. Talon stepped away from them. &quot;Hey, y&#039;know, I think I hear Bucky calling...&quot; he murmured, running off on his own to give them privacy. Kosmo crossed his arms. &quot;You saying you wanna move in...? That&#039;d practically make us...&quot; he trailed off. &quot;A couple.&quot; Carrie finished. They both stood blushing for a bit. &quot;Talon&#039;s not moving in?&quot; Kosmo clarified. &quot;No, dummy. We&#039;re a couple.&quot; Carrie said, sticking her tongue out at him. Well... That settled that, it seemed.<br /><br /><br />Ray hovered in the air next to Mighty, gliding on the gentle breeze as they followed the talisman to Central City. It was glowing brightest outside a particular house, so, shrugging, Mighty knocked at the door. Shade the echidna opened up. &quot;...Hello... Can I help you?&quot; she asked, looking a bit drowsy. Seemed she overslept, possibly explaining why she wasn&#039;t at training with the other Chaos Relic holders. Mighty looked a bit awkward. &quot;Errr, sorry to bother you, ma&#039;am. Do you have anything magical in your house? It might be messing with our tracker&#039;s um... tracking.&quot; he said. Ray tilted his head. &quot;You know, maybe we should have just started where I got cursed.&quot; he pointed out. Mighty had a stupid look on his face as the obvious was just pointed out. &quot;Right. That&#039;ll be next, maybe.&quot; he grumbled. Shade shrugged and showed them in. &quot;I&#039;ve got magical doodads cluttering up everything. See anything you need?&quot; she asked, &quot;You can&#039;t take my Chaos Gauntlets, though.&quot; she mumbled. Sitting here and there in her living room were a number of artifacts that Shadow had entrusted her with guarding. There was a certain scepter, a conch, some inactive Phantom Ruby prototypes, too. Most interesting was the Mask of Enerjak, which Shade had reassembled after it had shattered into Twilight Shards when they found it. Ray looked at it as though mesmerized. &quot;Yes, I shall release you, master...&quot; he babbled, at which Shade snatched up the mask and swatted him on the head. &quot;You can&#039;t take this, either.&quot; she said. Mighty looked around. &quot;Weird. Why do you have so much magic junk just cluttering the place?&quot; he asked. &quot;Eggman had collected it when he conquered the world. We found it after his defeat, but there are people at GUN who... let&#039;s say we don&#039;t trust them with this stuff.&quot; Shade stated. The door opened again, and as the trio turned, a pair of glowing eyes greeted them. &quot;I&#039;ve been looking all over for you...&quot; His body rippling in a watery form, Nova the morph stood in the doorway! Shade grabbed the Chaos Gauntlets and fumbled to put them on while Mighty and Ray took on defensive positions. &quot;Stand down, boys, this need not concern you. I&#039;ve given up everything to get that mask. I&#039;ve killed, been exiled, and don&#039;t get me started on that Kosmo...&quot; he ranted. Shade tried to fire a bolt from the Chaos Gauntlets at him, but his liquid chest opened up to allow the shot to pass through him! He then extended his arm to grab the mask, and began to slither away to escape! &quot;After him!&quot; Shade shouted. Mighty nodded, and Ray gave chase first. He leapt into the sky, gliding on the wind to chase Nova as he slipped away fast like a wave, eventually slipping into a crowd. Ray landed just outside the crowd, and Mighty soon caught up. &quot;What are all these people gathered for?&quot; he asked. Spotlights pointed to an outdoor stage, and the crowd cheered as Sonic stepped to the microphone. &quot;Helloooo, Central City! Ready for the Duditude Reunion Concert!?&quot; he shouted. Knuckles sure worked fast. Ray gulped hearing this. &quot;C-concert??&quot; Shade pushed past them, searching for Nova. &quot;Never mind that, we can&#039;t let him escape with that mask!&quot; she grunted.<br /><br />Mighty started to drag Ray through the crowd, hoping to keep him focused as they went. However, when Duditude started playing, Ray started dancing again, and soon squirmed out of Mighty&#039;s grip. &quot;Aaaah! I&#039;d love to dance to this but not now!&quot; Ray said awkwardly. Mighty fumbled through the crowd, trying to catch him, and bumped into Chet the cheetah. &quot;Ooof! S-sorry...&quot; he muttered. &quot;No prob. Hey, you know that guy dancin&#039; with Mia?&quot; Chet pointed. Mia had taken Ray by the hand and started groovin&#039; with him to the music, which he seemed rather embarrassed by. Katie stood beside Chet and shook her head. &quot;Same old Mia... Maybe we should dance, Chet?&quot; she grinned. Mighty groaned at what he realized he&#039;d have to do to get Ray out of this. &quot;Cutting in!&quot; he said, and to Mia&#039;s surprise, danced off with Ray. &quot;Ahh, well, d-don&#039;t be a stranger!&quot; she waved, &quot;...They&#039;re not coming back, are they? Too bad Guard&#039;s not into this.&quot; she muttered. Mighty and Ray then waltzed past Cosmo and Zooey, who were holding up signs that read &quot;U rock, Tails!&quot; as they listened to the concert. They stopped next to them. &quot;Enough, Ray! Let&#039;s try plugging up your ears...&quot; Mighty said, sticking his fingers in there. &quot;It&#039;s no good, it&#039;s too loud!&quot; Ray groaned, tap dancing on the spot. Cosmo and Zooey glanced at them, raising their eyebrows. &quot;What are you doing?&quot; Zooey asked. &quot;It&#039;s not what it looks like!&quot; Mighty babbled. &quot;What does it look like?&quot; Ray asked. &quot;Like, uh... Like we should move...&quot; Cosmo murmured, taking her sign and edging away from them awkwardly, followed by Zooey. Shade caught up to them next. &quot;Any sign of that morph?&quot; she asked. Mighty and Ray shook their heads, and Shade frowned. &quot;He got away then... Now what?&quot; she groaned, looking up onstage. &quot;Maybe I should tell Knuckles when he&#039;s got a moment.&quot; she murmured. Mighty nodded. &quot;Sounds like a plan. We gotta run, though!&quot; he said, lifting up the squirming Ray and trying to head out of the crowd. &quot;Oooh! I love this song! I wanna fly high! Doot do do...&quot; Ray murmured. On the way out of the crowd, they found a small group that had come to boo, led by Spiny the porcupine. &quot;Get off that stage! You&#039;re blocking traffic!&quot; Spiny shouted. &quot;That song&#039;s lame!&quot; yelled Zazz, who was also there to boo. &quot;Play Gotta Go Fast!&quot; shouted Char the Chao. The music stopped playing at that point, and Amy yelled at them from the stage. &quot;Scram, losers! We got a whole crowd here that&#039;s against ya!&quot; she snapped. With the music stopped, Mighty put Ray down and the pair began to run. &quot;Thanks for being jerks!&quot; Mighty said as he passed Spiny. &quot;Uhhh... anytime?&quot; he murmured. &quot;Cute little fella!&quot; Ray giggled, patting Char as he passed. &quot;Hey! No touchy!!&quot; Char growled. A police car pulled up, and as Razor and Ridley stepped out, Zazz decided to beat it. &quot;Later, suckers!&quot; he laughed, making Spiny jump in surprise. &quot;Dude, I thought we were in this together! Gaaah! Coward!&quot; he yelled, taking off in another direction while Char flew off too. &quot;Kinda breaks my heart to have to tell the crowd they&#039;re blocking traffic...&quot; Razor murmured. &quot;Let&#039;s chase those guys first.&quot; Ridley smirked.<br /><br /><br />So, Mighty and Ray started walking towards Troblusk City next. About halfway there, they found Shadow Arcangel parked, and the talisman glowed. &quot;Well, that&#039;s a witch&#039;s lair for sure.&quot; Mighty said. They headed inside, but didn&#039;t get far before Vortex and Crash found them. &quot;And jusssst where are you two going?&quot; Vortex asked. &quot;This isn&#039;t a public lab.&quot; Crash grunted. &quot;It&#039;s a lab? Like, Frankenstein?&quot; Ray asked, looking around curiously. Mighty sighed, holding up the talisman. &quot;Looking for a witch. This thing led us here.&quot; he murmured. Crash rubbed his head under his bowler. &quot;Witch? Do we have magic here now? I have been gone a spell...&quot; he muttered. Vortex looked a bit nostalgic for a minute. &quot;You mussst be getting tracesss of Whisssk&#039;sss magic from her lasssst visssit.&quot; he said. Just then, Zipp flew into the room. &quot;Guys, guys! Boss just finished givin&#039; Experiment 18 the &#039;ol check-up! We can meet him now!&quot; he said with a snicker. Ray pointed as if to say &quot;Aha,&quot; and grinned. &quot;I knew it! Frankenstein! I bet he has neck-bolts and everything! Let&#039;s check it out!&quot; he said, following Zipp. &quot;R-ray, wait! Aw, geez...&quot; Mighty groaned. They soon found themselves at Bucky&#039;s lab, where the rat himself was packing up some of his equipment. &quot;And with this, I have brought all of Hope&#039;s children into the world... Every creation she wished to give life with me...&quot; he sighed, reminiscing about his lost love. Sitting on the lab bench was a cyan colored unicorn, with a beautiful silver mane and a lovely horn on her head. Well, one would be forgiven for thinking it was female, but in fact it was a boy. Zipp chuckled at him. &quot;Let&#039;s put him in a dress!&quot; he snickered, to which Crash swatted him aside. &quot;Respect our fellow experiments!&quot; he grunted. Vortex sighed. &quot;Why Whisssk&#039;s fur color?&quot; he asked. &quot;You try being creative after 18 experiments.&quot; Bucky retorted. Ray looked around the unicorn curoiusly. &quot;Hmm, where&#039;s the bolts?&quot; he asked. Eighteen blushed at everyone staring at him, awkwardly stroking his mane. &quot;Hi there, everyone...&quot; he murmured. The door opened, and someone else started to enter. &quot;Ah, seventeen, there you are.&quot; Bucky smiled. Looking, Mighty gasped, and Ray pointed. &quot;Frankenstein!!&quot; they both yelled. Experiment 17 was a mish-mash of different creatures. Contained in a turtle shell was some sort of mammilian body. His head was that of a bat, and his bushy tail was a chinchilla&#039;s. Also, he had bolts in his head like a certain famous monster. &quot;Please, we call him Frankie. Frankie Stein.&quot; Zipp chortled. The turtle creature groaned. &quot;My name is Bolt.&quot; he said. &quot;Bit on the nose, isn&#039;t it?&quot; Mighty murmured. Electricity started to spark from Bolt&#039;s head, and he growled angrily, but then, Eighteen started to sing. &quot;Hush little Boltie, don&#039;t you cry. Nothing&#039;s gonna hurt you when I&#039;m here nearby.&quot; As the unicorn started to hum in his beautiful voice, Bolt relaxed, while Ray started to slow dance. Everyone looked at him, and Bucky folded his arms. &quot;He&#039;s cursed, huh?&quot; he asked, &quot;Yeah, we had the Lost Ones on this ship a while, I know something about curses...&quot; the rat sighed. &quot;Ship? This is a ship? Cool! Can I fly it?&quot; Ray asked excitedly as Mighty lifted him up. &quot;Nope, we&#039;re getting you fixed somehow!&quot; he grumbled. &quot;This is a ship? What&#039;s a ship?&quot; Eighteen asked. &quot;Firssst thing&#039;sss firssst. You need a name.&quot; Vortex said. &quot;Rainbow D-&quot; Zipp started to say, only to get swatted again. &quot;Please don&#039;t be violent...&quot; the unicorn sighed.<br /><br /><br />After a bit more wandering, Mighty and Ray somehow wound up at a military checkpoint. General Gunner was looking over a map of the area, sticking little toothpicks in it with his good hand to mark said map. &quot;We&#039;ll find all those freaks that took advantage of Eggman&#039;s invasion of the world to escape the Hopebringer Center... God, I wish we could change the name back to Death Row...&quot; he grumbled as Shadow the hedgehog stood close by with a bored expression. &quot;&#039;Scuse us! Passin&#039; through! Sorry to disturb ya!&quot; Ray babbled as they stepped past the checkpoint. Mighty gulped. He&#039;d hoped Ray would be quiet. Gunner turned to them and pointed his other arm in their direction, which was now sporting a very menacing looking laser cannon instead of a hand! &quot;You boys are trespassing! Shadow, be a good soldier and arrest them!&quot; he ordered, smirking. He loved bossing around Shadow. However, the hedgehog didn&#039;t exactly jump to it. &quot;We put our checkpoint in the middle of the road, on a crazy tip that the Battle Bird Armada was in the area, and you want to arrest civilians for trying to pass said public road?&quot; he stated. &quot;It&#039;s not your job to think, just obey your general!&quot; Gunner snarled. At that moment, Spy ran up, out of breath. &quot;Sarge! Colonel! Whatever!&quot; he shouted. &quot;I&#039;m a GENERAL now, you twit! Learn the chain of command!&quot; he shouted. Spy panted and held up something sparkly. &quot;S-sir! General Gunner! Look! What I found!&quot; The pink stone in his hand was unmistakable. Spy was holding a Phantom Ruby! Gunner took his attention away from Mighty and Ray, pointing his gun arm around. &quot;Gah!? Is that jackal freak around?!&quot; he stammered. &quot;Infinite wouldn&#039;t be a threat without the Phantom Ruby.&quot; Shadow pointed out, &quot;On the other hand, there were two functioning rubies at the end. Neither were ever recovered.&quot; he explained. A whoosh was heard, and the ruby was gone from Spy&#039;s hand. &quot;Huh?!&quot; he gasped. Rouge flew above them, admiring the ruby. &quot;It&#039;s lovely, for something so lethal. I think I should hold on to it!&quot; she grinned. &quot;You&#039;ll do no such thing! It&#039;s going straight to Dr. Nammad so GUN can weaponize it for the good of mankind!&quot; Gunner shouted. &quot;Uh huh, I&#039;ll be sure to inform the Commander so that it doesn&#039;t get misused like Project GXterminate...&quot; Rouge said with a sly glance. Gunner snorted angrily. &quot;Now, as for you two... What!?&quot; Mighty and Ray were gone. They&#039;d left in the distraction. &quot;Shadow! Where&#039;d they go?!&quot; Gunner snapped. &quot;Sorry, sir, the Phantom Ruby seemed more pressing.&quot; he said. Gunner grit his teeth, turned, and fired a blast at the map he&#039;d been using. &quot;You&#039;re...right... Let&#039;s get that ruby off the field...&quot; he growled. Shadow looked at the ground as Gunner&#039;s forces started prepping to return to base. &quot;Working for Gunner is like working for the same kind of people who took Maria from me... This has to stop...&quot; he whispered to himself.<br /><br /><br />Soon, Mighty and Ray were drawn to Troblusk Plateau, where a set of black tents were pitched here and there up the mountain path. This was the temporary gathering place for the new Covenant of Despair until a suitable replacement for Despair Castle could be found. Tabitha could be seen sitting outside one of the tents. &quot;That&#039;s her! That&#039;s the witch that cursed me!&quot; Ray pointed. Mighty looked at the path to her, and could see that Fera was holding a bit of a meeting along that path. Nova was there, along with Nack the weasal, Bark the polar bear, Bean the duck, and some of the Battle Bird Armada, including their leader, the Battle Lord Kukku himself, all apparently getting orientation from Fera and Anubis. Mighty gulped. &quot;We&#039;re gonna have to sneak our way there, Ray. These are NOT friendlies...&quot; he said. &quot;I&#039;m the master of stealth!&quot; Ray grinned. Mighty gave him a flabbergasted stare. &quot;Is that why we&#039;ve gotten mixed up in like, five misadventures on the way here?&quot; he asked as Ray sheepishly rubbed his head. As they began their tense hike up the mountain, Fera and Anubis addressed the group. &quot;Some of you are here looking for sanctuary against the law. That&#039;s fine. Those laws are human constructs. Just remember our mission... We exist to bring down humanity and put furs on top!&quot; Fera told them. &quot;Why not just say Mobian? That&#039;s more inclusive!&quot; Bean said, raising his hand. Fera scoffed. &quot;I&#039;ll consider it when you can prove humans didn&#039;t come up with the term.&quot; she said. Anubis grunted. &quot;Unfortunately, we don&#039;t have uniforms for you now. Our resources have been depleted. But with your assistance, we&#039;ll regain those resources and more...&quot; he grinned. &quot;I expect my rank among the Battle Birds to afford me certain leadership privelidges here...&quot; the Battle Lord announced. &quot;Pah, he wants to go straight from jail back to king? Put in some work, pops!&quot; Nack grunted. As some mild arguing started up there, Mighty and Ray crept past by hiding behind some boulders near the edge of the cliff. &quot;They&#039;re building a new army...&quot; Mighty whispered. &quot;I didn&#039;t know they had an old army.&quot; Ray muttered. &quot;Shh...&quot; Mighty looked around, and motioned for Ray to follow. They crawled by, heading past a few tents towards Tabitha. A rock was tossed at them as they passed by, and they looked to see Dark Copter peering at them from within a tent. &quot;Be careful boys... If I get the order, you two are being torn limb from limb...&quot; he said with a wicked smirk. Ray chuckled nervously. &quot;Uhh, th-thanks, we&#039;ll be...careful...haha...&quot; he babbled. Mighty grabbed him by the hand. &quot;C&#039;mon, lets&#039;s make this quick...&quot; he said, not wanting to stick around any longer than necessary.<br /><br />Upon reaching Tabitha, the orange feline smirked at them. &quot;The little pest is back with a friend. How are your lessons proceeding, hm? I think I want to see how you perform...&quot; she cackled. Mighty raised his fists. &quot;This isn&#039;t funny! You remove the curse you put on my friend, right now!&quot; he shouted. &quot;Yeah, or we&#039;ll get tough with ya!&quot; Ray warned, jumping back and forth in a boxing stance. Tabitha snickered at them. &quot;Quiet, child, the adults are talking. Patch, dear! Play us a little song, will you?&quot; she called. Patch the fox hopped over with a manic chuckle. &quot;Hee hee! I shall play the most fiendish instrument of them all... the TRIANGLE!!&quot; he giggled, lifting up said triangle and starting to ding it, causing Ray to start breakdancing for some odd reason. Who could figure out why he picked certain dances. At any rate, Tabitha took advantage of the brief distraction to hop on her broom. &quot;Now, I&#039;ll cast you both out of this place! Good bye!&quot; she sneered, hurling some sort of green sparking spells down at Mighty, who turned around so his strong armadillo shell could take the blow! &quot;Ugh! You can&#039;t curse me so easily! Now, come down from there!&quot; Mighty said, picking up rocks and throwing them up at Tabitha. Ray whined as he helplessly danced. &quot;Please stop, Mr. Fox...&quot; he babbled. &quot;Hee hee... I could knife ya instead!&quot; Patch smirked. Sweating, Ray kept spinning around on the ground. &quot;K-keep playing! Keep playing!&quot; he gulped. The commotion easily drew the attention of the Covenant of Despair, who were mostly just watching for now. Conan stepped calmly over to Fera. &quot;Well? Orders, madame boss?&quot; he asked. Fera grunted and started heading up there, looking like she would deal with this herself. However, she moved a bit slowly. &quot;So, what, we&#039;re killing our own kind now?&quot; a voice in her head asked. It was Felicia. Fera growled. &quot;Butt out...&quot; she huffed. &quot;I can see your memories now, you know. You used to stand for something. But I guess you&#039;re just twisted like Howler.&quot; Felicia said. &quot;I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions without voices in my head, yours or his!&quot; she snapped. Dark Copter scratched his head as she passed by. &quot;And they say I&#039;m nuts...&quot; he mused. Finally, Fera arrived at Tabitha, who had created a ring of fire around Mighty and Ray, and was prepared to finish them off. &quot;Halt!!&quot; Fera shouted. &quot;Hee hee! Intruders, boss...&quot; Patch babbled. Mighty pointed up. &quot;We&#039;re only here because she cursed my friend!&quot; he stated. Fera glanced from the moronically dancing Ray up to Tabitha. &quot;Tabby... we don&#039;t curse fellow furs. Put him right and let him go. You&#039;ll have plenty of opportunity to work your dark arts on the humans...&quot; Fera ordered. Tabitha sat on the broom, rolling her eyes. &quot;Fine... I&#039;m bored anyway...&quot; she grumbled. As Fera turned to leave, she heard Felicia in her head. &quot;Nice show of compassion.&quot; To which Fera groaned. Lower down the mountain, Conan glanced at Anubis. &quot;She has gone soft...&quot; he whispered. Anubis smirked. &quot;The others will grow discontent with her leadership, and I will be primed to take control...&quot;<br /><br /><br />Finally freed from the curse, Ray was quick to glide away from that mountain, keeping an eye on Mighty from above as he followed. Using the talisman, they found their way back to Gemini and Astra, who were now resting after training back in the Raisol Sanctuary, where so many of their friends without proper homes had found sanctuary. They returned the talisman and told their story, though omitting a few details here and there. Gemini looked at Astra with concern. &quot;Fera&#039;s got the Chaos Cards, and now she&#039;s building a new Covenant of Despair, too. As if we didn&#039;t have enough to worry about with the Lost Ones building their own fortress...&quot; she murmured. Astra nodded. &quot;Training our heroes is becoming all the more important. They may be needed to take on this covenant.&quot; she said, glancing over her shoulder at Copter, who was chatting with Timothy and Punchy just outside Rainbow&#039;s house. &quot;I think you need to train him, too.&quot; Astra said. Gemini looked where Astra was looking. &quot;...Timothy?&quot; she asked, but that wasn&#039;t who Astra meant, &quot;...Copter?&quot; That was it. &quot;Not sure how he&#039;d take to that. He&#039;s... prideful.&quot; Gemini stated. Astra nodded. &quot;But it&#039;s his dark form they spotted on that mountain, now, isn&#039;t it?&quot; Mighty and Ray glanced at each other, feeling like third wheels now. &quot;Hehe, maybe we&#039;d better go...&quot; Ray chuckled, &quot;Thanks for the coin thingy, though!&quot; he smiled. &quot;You&#039;re welcome to stay and help us.&quot; Gemini told them. Mighty tilted his head. &quot;Magic&#039;s not our thing. Knuckles will know how to contact us if you really need us.&quot; he said with a sheepish grin. They nodded, and waved as Mighty and Ray started towards the ladder leading to the surface, and Station Square. &quot;So, Ray, you think you can dance that good without a curse?&quot; Mighty asked, slapping his back playfully. &quot;Ah ha ha! I have no idea. I&#039;m all danced out for now, anyway. Let&#039;s do something else fun!&quot; he said with a big smile. Mighty nodded. &quot;Well, alright... How about singing? I bet Vector would love to get our old band back together!&quot; he chuckled. Ray flapped up into the air protesting. &quot;No way! Vector&#039;s TERRIBLE!! I wanna sing for once! Let&#039;s us two do karaoke!&quot; he shouted. Gemini watched them leave with a wistful sigh. &quot;I wonder if the extent of my problems will ever be that mundane again...&quot; she murmured. Astra placed a hand on her shoulder. &quot;Believe. The world can be set right. And until then...you might want to think about who you&#039;d like to spend that mundane time with, once you have it...&quot; she said, once again glancing over at Timothy and Copter, with a knowing smile.<br /><br /><br />Mini Episode - Ch. 3.5 - Home is where the Heartache is<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />Previously - After several adventures amongst various worlds, Lucky and Whisk landed on the home world of their Tails companion. There, he betrayed them, calling himself Miles and helping Scourge the hedgehog to claim the keyblade from Lucky. Despite the betrayal, Whisk still believes there is good in Miles. However, needing to regroup, Lucky and Whisk return home to the world of GeneX Prime...<br /><br /><br /><br />Lucky and Whisk weren&#039;t sure where to go or what to do upon arriving back in their home world. They stopped off at Shadow Arcangel, where they got to meet the latest additions to the Experiment family, Bolt the turtle-thing and Experiment 18 the unicorn. Whisk stared at Eighteen as he stood polishing his white horn. &quot;Why light blue? Am I being replaced?&quot; she asked. &quot;No, no, of course not. Geez, nobody ever asked me why I went with black several times...&quot; Bucky complained. Lucky looked at the bolts in Bolt&#039;s bat-shaped head. &quot;Now I really feel... lucky...&quot; he murmured. &quot;Why? ...Stop staring!!&quot; Bolt grimaced. Eighteen stopped polishing his horn and patted Bolt on the head. &quot;Easy, there, it&#039;s alright... Hey, could you two help me come up with a name for myself?&quot; he asked in his sweet, lyrical voice. Lucky scratched his head. &quot;Umm... Actually, I think we need a quiet place to think things over.&quot; he stated. &quot;Is this about your missing otherworldly Tails friend?&quot; Bucky asked. They nodded, and Bucky nodded back. &quot;If you want to know anything about Tails, why not ask him? He&#039;s likely at his workshop.&quot; the rat stated. Lucky glanced at Whisk. &quot;Hmm... I&#039;m not sure he could help us.&quot; she said, &quot;But it&#039;s worth a shot.&quot; Before they could go, however, Vortex burst into the room with a small handful of flowers. &quot;Whisssk! I... I heard you were back!&quot; he said loudly, blushing. Zipp and Crash stepped to the door behind him, snickering as they watched Vortex hand her the flowers. &quot;It hasss been ssso dark and gloomy here without you...&quot; he said. &quot;It&#039;s always dark and gloomy here. This ship is dark...and gloomy.&quot; Lucky babbled. Vortex hissed at him briefly before fixing his attention on Whisk. &quot;I have been working to change my waysss... Pleassse sssay you&#039;ll remain here with me...&quot; he said, taking her hands in his and dropping to his knees. &quot;Mee-yow! Is he gonna propose!?&quot; Lucky gasped. Whisk looked rather flabbergasted. &quot;Vortex... I&#039;m sorry, but my memory only takes hold after what we&#039;d been through. I only vaguely remember us ever being a thing... And... I kinda...&quot; she glanced at Lucky with a blush, and Eighteen gasped. &quot;Ooooh my gosh! I&#039;m so sorry, Vortex...&quot; he said offering the chameleon a hug. Vortex looked confused. &quot;Wha?&quot; Then Zipp chuckled. &quot;Whisk loves Lucky! Whisk loves Lucky!&quot; he teased. Lucky turned red with embarrasment, but not as much as Vortex. &quot;I... I...&quot; he stammered. &quot;You&#039;ve always got unicorn-girl.&quot; Lucky said. &quot;I&#039;m a boy...&quot; Eighteen sighed. Lucky then grabbed Whisk&#039;s hand. &quot;Teleport!! Teleport!!&quot; he shouted. They vanished in a flash, and Bucky patted Vortex&#039;s back. &quot;Plenty of fish in the sea...&quot; he said. &quot;I&#039;m not hungry...&quot; Vortex retorted.<br /><br />So, the next stop for Lucky and Whisk was Tails&#039; Workshop. He was on break from training, luckily, but was instead occupied trying to teach Copter to play his bass guitar, since he&#039;d shown an interest. The noise nearly scared Lucky away, and when they pressed past it, the sight of Tails gave them butterflies in their stomachs, but his cheery demeanor quickly calmed them. Before long, they&#039;d told him everything that had happened, and how Miles had betrayed them. &quot;Hmm... This other Tails sounds more like me...&quot; Copter said at the end. Tails rubbed his chin. &quot;I don&#039;t know about that, Copter. He still has my tech smarts.&quot; he pointed out. &quot;Ouch...&quot; Copter muttered. Lucky observed both of them and realized that Miles was kind of like a combination of the two. &quot;Huh... Well, anyway, do you have anything you can tell us, Tails? Why&#039;d ya do it!? ...Sorry...&quot; he said awkwardly. Tails chuckled softly, sitting back in a chair by his work bench. &quot;Well... Miles and I are technically not the same person, even if we look the same and have a lot in common, so I can&#039;t really tell you his reasons.&quot; he said. &quot;They&#039;re no more the same than Tails and I are.&quot; Copter pointed out. Whisk nodded. &quot;Fair enough... We just hoped you could help us...&quot; she said. Tails gave a small smile. &quot;I can try guessing... If he&#039;s anything like me, Sonic will have found him at a time in his life when he really needed a friend. This Scourge may not have been a good influence like Sonic, but Miles is probably still loyal to him because Scourge was the first person to treat him like he mattered...&quot; he said. Lucky sighed. &quot;Does that mean that Scourge makes him evil and there&#039;s nothing we can do?&quot; he asked. Tails stood up. &quot;No way! I refuse to believe any version of me could be evil! And if all the stories you just told me are true... then there&#039;s no way Miles doesn&#039;t feel in his heart that you&#039;re his friends, too! He&#039;s conflicted right now, but there must be a way to get through to him!&quot; he said. Lucky and Whisk smiled. &quot;Wow, Tails, you&#039;re not bad with words. Maybe you could come with us?&quot; Whisk asked. Copter shook his head. &quot;Bad idea. It would just look to Miles like you&#039;d replaced him.&quot; he pointed out. &quot;Oh... No, but we could never... Ahh, but I guess coming here, maybe we were trying to after all... Does that make us bad friends?&quot; he asked. Tails shook his head. &quot;You miss him. That makes you good friends. Now, come on. Let&#039;s do something about your lack of a weapon...&quot; he said, heading for a box he had in the corner and starting to rummage through it...<br /><br />Lucky was soon standing outside, holding what appeared to be a glass sword. &quot;What good is this?&quot; he asked. &quot;It&#039;s an Artificial Chaos Sword, which I confiscated from GUN during the war with Despair...or was it Infinite? All these wars are starting to blend together...&quot; Tails said, rubbing his head. Gemini had been called over, and was standing next to Whisk. &quot;So, the Zodiac Council gave you a wand like mine. But you&#039;ve been using it for basic, all-worlds magic? Maybe I could show you some Divine spells while you&#039;re here...&quot; she said. Copter carried SPOT in his arms and ran around in front of Lucky, a shield erected around him thanks to SPOT. &quot;Alright, kid! This is training! Hit me with that sword!&quot; he challenged. &quot;Huh? I don&#039;t want to hit you, Copter!&quot; Lucky said, waving the sword in another direction and accidentally firing a bolt from the blade towards Tails, who flew up quickly to avoid it! &quot;Yaaah! Careful! Like the Chaos Sword, your AC Sword can shoot bolts of energy. It&#039;s not quite a Chaos Spear, but it&#039;s better than nothing.&quot; he said. Lucky looked at the sword and nodded. &quot;Ahh... Okay. Any thoughts on how we&#039;ll find Tails-err-Miles, though?&quot; Lucky asked as he ran after Copter, firing bolts from his sword at SPOT&#039;s shield. Gemini smiled. &quot;I&#039;ll teach you a spell that can help. First, think about the guitar, which I&#039;ve hidden to keep Copter from playing it...&quot; Gemini said. &quot;Wha? Hey!&quot; Copter babbled. Whisk giggled and nodded. Gemini held up her wand. &quot;Wave your wand up like this... And speak the magic word, &#039;Discovereva&#039; while tapping into the magical energy of your wings...&quot; she instructed. Whisk gave it a try, but her wings spread out, glowed, and kicked up a magical wind! &quot;Aaaah, too much focus on your wings!&quot; Gemini gasped. &quot;Sorry...&quot; Whisk said sheepishly, &quot;D-discovereva!&quot; she said, trying again. A light emitted from her wand. It flew off in a direction, and Whisk and Gemini followed it. Before long, they came to a patch of dirt where something had been freshly buried. &quot;Terralifta!&quot; Gemini said, swishing her wand over the dirt to reveal the guitar! &quot;HEY!! How could you do that to my guitar, Gemini!?&quot; Tails stammered. Gemini chuckled softly. &quot;Don&#039;t worry... It&#039;ll be good as new after a little magical TLC...&quot; she said apologetically. Lucky and Whisk smiled. &quot;Can you guys teach us anything else? We wanna be ready when we find Scourge...&quot; Lucky said. Gemini smiled wide. For the first time, she was feeling like an effective teacher. &quot;Why don&#039;t you two join our training group for a day or two?&quot; she asked. Lucky and Whisk nodded. They didn&#039;t know where they&#039;d find Miles out there among the worlds, but they wouldn&#039;t give up hope that they could free him from Scourge&#039;s control. And if they couldn&#039;t...they&#039;d try to be prepared for that, too. But could one ever really be prepared to fight a friend?<br /><br /><br />Mini Episode - Ch. 3.8 - Phantom Thieves<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />The Hopebringer Center had seen more hopeful days. Since Eggman&#039;s invasion of the world had caused the guards to leave their posts, the inmates escaped and trashed the place on the way out. In the reconstruction, the building had become something of a hybrid of the two facilities it was previously, the other being Death Row. Security had been upped, and the building looked like a cross between a hospital and a military compound now. This was where the Phantom Ruby was being held. Naturally, as word of this spread, thieves would come looking. Three boards whizzed overhead, flying to the top of the center, near where Copter&#039;s old cell would have been. Wave the Swallow stepped off her board and approached a console on the wall, pulling a screwdriver from her pocket to remove the cover blocking access. &quot;Once I disable the security, this should be a piece of cake.&quot; she said. Jet the Hawk landed behind her. &quot;Pah! We&#039;re wasting time! Let&#039;s just speed in and out! No security can catch me!&quot; he said cockily. Wave rolled her eyes. &quot;This facility was designed to contain Sonic! You think they&#039;d be unprepared for someone speedy?&quot; she snapped. &quot;Contain, not capture!&quot; Jet squawked. Storm the Albatross had landed nearby, and stepped between them. &quot;Do you two have to argue? Let&#039;s just do the job so that the gargoyle mob can auction off the stone, and we can all be rich!&quot; he said before glancing at Jet nervously, realizing who he was talking back to, &quot;Errr... R-right boss?&quot; he stammered. Jet smirked. &quot;You forgot the step where we steal it back. Can&#039;t have someone going all Infinite on us.&quot; he grinned. Seemed like a good plan to him. However, the alarm suddenly went off! As red lights flashed around them, Jet growled in aggravation. &quot;Wave!!&quot; he yelled. &quot;This wasn&#039;t me... Someone else is here, I think.&quot; Wave said, hacking the security panel to get access to the camera feeds via a small monitor atop the panel. They could see people in familiar uniforms storming into the front door. &quot;That&#039;s those, uhh... Coffin of Despair dudes!&quot; Storm babbled. &quot;Covenant of Despair, Storm.&quot; Wave corrected. Jet grabbed his board and hopped on. &quot;No way! I&#039;m not letting those has-beens beat us to the Phantom Ruby! Come on, they&#039;ll make a good diversion!&quot; he smirked. &quot;The cameras will still see us, Jet... JET!!&quot; Wave shouted, but he was already leaving. Storm looked at the monitor. &quot;Are those Battle Birds with them?&quot; he asked. &quot;Who cares. We&#039;d better help Jet...&quot; Wave sighed.<br /><br />Much of the facility&#039;s defenses were indeed occupied rushing after the intruding agents of Despair, so Jet got to have a few cocky laughs as the trio flew past the prison blocks, including a particular cell where a certain hyena was contained, surrounded by power dampening devices and wrapped in a straightjacket. &quot;Eee hee... Hey, birds, help a guy out?&quot; Eddie the hyena asked with a chuckle. &quot;No time for you, crazy guy!&quot; Storm grunted as he followed Jet and Wave past the cell. Eddie just sat back with a smirk. &quot;Suit yourselves. Eee hee... Karma comes around...&quot; he snickered. The Rogues continued heading deeper into the facility, closing in on the laboratory. A few GUN Hornets hovered in their path, and sent their bombs down the hall after them! Wave pulled out a large wrench and sped ahead, weaving between the bombs until she could whack the nearest robot with that wrench! Jet soon cruised past her and leapt from his board, kicking the next robot before gracefully landing back onto his board! Wave clobbered one more Hornet with her wrench, and glanced back, seeing their bombs detonate with the robots gone. Storm flew past the explosions and sighed. &quot;I&#039;m nothin&#039; but a huge target in these little hallways...&quot; he complained. &quot;I could have disabled the robots along with the security...&quot; Wave sighed. &quot;Relax, we&#039;ve got this...&quot; Jet smirked, pushing open the door. He jumped back as a gun shot off in his direction. &quot;I won&#039;t go down without a, uhh, fight! You Despair dogs!&quot; Dr. Nammad shouted, adjusting his glasses and aiming his firearm again. &quot;We&#039;re not Despair or dogs! Put that thing down!&quot; Jet shouted. Nammad lowered the gun briefly as Wave and Storm entered the lab behind Jet. &quot;Wait... Even so, uhh, you&#039;re still intruders! And I won&#039;t just give you the, uhh, Phantom Ruby!&quot; he warned. &quot;So, it&#039;s in here?&quot; Wave smirked. Dr. Nammad chuckled. &quot;What, you don&#039;t see it? Aaaah, I&#039;m not falling for, uh, that!&quot; he said, moving his gun from Jet to Wave nervously. Storm looked around and scratched his head. &quot;No, we don&#039;t see it. Was it supposed to be on that table there, with all that equipment?&quot; he asked. Nammad had set up a bit of equipment to experiment on the Ruby, but it was nowhere in sight. &quot;I said I&#039;m not falling for that! It couldn&#039;t, uh, get up and walk away the second my back was turned!&quot; the scientist stammered. Jet looked behind him on the ground, and noticed the ruby. Then, he gasped as black liquid surrounded the ruby, and Shadow Chaos emerged, standing behind Dr. Nammad with the Phantom Ruby stuck in his belly! &quot;Uhhh, doc...&quot; he said, pointing. Nammad tilted his head in confusion, and turned around to see Shadow Chaos rushing for the door on the other side of the lab! &quot;Impossible! Uhh, unthinkable!!&quot; he shouted, but was silenced by Wave knocking him over the head with her wrench. &quot;Shut up...&quot; she grumbled. With Nammad unconscious, the Rogues took off after Shadow Chaos!<br /><br />During the commotion of the Rogues and Despair invading the facility, one particular agent of Despair broke away from the pack. Finding his way to the prison area, the red-eyed hound stopped at Eddie&#039;s cell. &quot;I should leave you rot here, traitor. Or would you prefer to be called Scorpio?&quot; Basker said to Eddie smugly. The hyena snickered. &quot;Eee hee, some of us just aren&#039;t built for robotisization...&quot; he grinned. Basker stepped out of the shadows to reveal that his eyes were robotic now, along with his ears and left hand. He&#039;d been partially robotisized, but escaped somehow. &quot;Can you contain Shadow Chaos for us?&quot; he asked. Eddie chuckled and nodded, so Basker glanced at the lock for his cell, and fired lasers from his eyes, smashing it and freeing him! &quot;We&#039;ve hacked the cameras. Shadow Chaos has possessed the Phantom Ruby. Go fetch.&quot; Basker ordered. An illusory blade appeared in Eddie&#039;s hand, which he used to slice his way out of the straightjacket. &quot;Eeee hee hee hee! I missed you too, Sherlock!&quot; he smirked. &quot;Everyone calls me Basker, idiot...&quot; the hound growled.<br /><br />Shadow Chaos slithered into the vents, leaving the Rogues stuck fighting Despair a bit before they could search. Wave found herself clanging her wrench against Daisy the skunk&#039;s katana. &quot;What are you thieves doing here??&quot; Daisy shouted. &quot;We were here first!&quot; Wave growled as she used her board to maintain a height advantage in the battle. Storm found himself grappling against Bark the polar bear while Bean sat nearby munching on popcorn. &quot;Rah rah rah! You can do it, Bark! Toss that seagull on his tailfeathers!&quot; the duck cheered. Bark just grunted while Storm fired up his board, using its momentum to push Bark into the wall hard! &quot;Hah!! Child&#039;s play!&quot; he growled. Jet was busy dodging bombs from minions of the Battle Bird Armada. &quot;Hey, guys, were&#039;t we friends before? Cut it out!&quot; he shouted. Nova the morph took advantage of his distraction to liquify his arm and extend it to Jet&#039;s board, yanking it out from under him! &quot;Yaaahh!! Ooof!!&quot; Jet yelled as he tumbled. &quot;What good are you without this, bird brain?&quot; Nova grinned, tossing the board aside. Jet stood up with a grin. &quot;Well, I&#039;m still a world-class thief... Look what I snatched!&quot; he said, holding up a bomb he&#039;d grabbed from the Battle Birds! Nova&#039;s eyes widened as the bomb was tossed his way, the explosion splattering his watery body all over! It would take a moment for him to pull himself back together, enough time for Jet to recover his board. &quot;Enough of this! Rogues! Let&#039;s finish this...!&quot; Jet shouted, but it was too late. Eddie stepped in, cackling hysterically, and with a wave of his hand, the vents crashed out of the wall, knocked out by an illusionary wrecking ball on the other side! Shadow Chaos splashed out, only to be caught in an impenetrable shell created by Eddie! As the hyena carried Shadow Chaos and the Phantom Ruby away with his illusion, he winked at Storm. &quot;Toodle-ooo...&quot; he chuckled. &quot;After him!&quot; Jet squawked, but at that moment, Basker stepped in, using his fear-inducing powers to paralyze Jet, Wave and Storm with terror! &quot;Let&#039;s go... We have a new fortress to settle into...&quot; Basker told the agents of Despair.<br /><br />By the time the Rogues recovered, Despair had escaped with the Phantom Ruby. They hurried out of the Hopebringer Center before GUN could capture them, and each groaned in frustration as they flew away from the island the center was contained on. &quot;What do we tell those mobsters now?&quot; Storm muttered. &quot;Well, whatever we tell them, let&#039;s do it over the phone...&quot; Wave murmured. Jet grinded his beak angrily. &quot;The Covenant of Despair will pay for this... No one messes with the Babylon Rogues!&quot; It may not be practical for three bird racers to take on the whole covenant by themselves, but if the opportunity ever arose, Jet would be sure to get back at those creeps someday...<br /><br /><br />Episode 4 - The Fall of GUN<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and<br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />Richard Gunner stood in the war room of the GUN Headquarters, a prosthetic hand attached to his gun arm enabling him to hold both his coffee and a marker at once as he wrote on a dry-erase board, thinking over how to accomplish his goals. Spy and Guard were sitting nearby, while Dr. Nammad had just delivered a report on the invasion by the Covenant of Despair that led to the loss of the Phantom Ruby. &quot;Damn the Commander... His shoot-to-capture policies are letting the freaks win...&quot; Gunner grunted, turning around, &quot;Who among us are ready for that blasted Ruby to allow another maniac to take over our world?!&quot; he growled. &quot;Technically that last maniac was your buddy, wasn&#039;t it?&quot; Spy pointed out. Gunner glared at him. &quot;Ivo Robotnik is no longer my &#039;buddy&#039; after he threw in his lot with that freak, Infinite!&quot; he snapped. Nammad raised his hand like a kid in a classroom. &quot;Question, uh, General... Can I go now?&quot; he asked. Gunner scowled at him. &quot;No... Ivan, the time has come. I&#039;m high enough in rank, and we&#039;ve let this country stay under threat from those furry freaks long enough. If you&#039;re with me, I&#039;m going to seize control...&quot; he said a bit quietly, glancing around to be sure the wrong ears weren&#039;t listening. Guard looked over at him with surprise. As important as he was as Gunner&#039;s top agent, he had no idea he was planning something this extreme. &quot;Rrr... Grruhh... S-sir, are we sure that&#039;s wise?&quot; he stammered. &quot;Don&#039;t talk back to me, Guard, I can have Ivan here rewire your brain any time I feel the need!&quot; Gunner snarled. &quot;Yeesh, you sound like me, Guard...&quot; Spy whispered. Ivan Nammad glanced around as some stray GUN Agents walked by, and once they were out of earshot, he spoke up. &quot;Naturally, I&#039;m, uh, on your side in this. When the likes of Sgt. Murten wanted to lock me up like Bucky, you were able to see my, uh, value. But how can we pull this, uh, off?&quot; he asked. Gunner set down his coffee on a desk and picked up a file that was sitting there. &quot;I&#039;ll think it over, but for right now, I&#039;ve got intel that requires immediate attention... An informant has sent word of where the Covenant of Despair is camped out. Seems they&#039;re out of luck without their floating island of terror! If I can get the go ahead to blast them out of existence right now, we&#039;ll never have to worry about those pests ever again!&quot; he said with a devilish smirk. Spy stood up with a salute. &quot;Yes, sir! I&#039;ll run it by the Commander!&quot; he said. &quot;No... I will...&quot; Gunner stated, popping the prosthetic hand off his gun arm and smirking to himself.<br /><br /><br />The Covenant of Despair were in the process of moving from Troblusk Plateau to a new base of operations. Gargoyle muscle had been hired from the nearby city to move their things. It was a bit of an exhausting operation to oversee, and Fera needed a break, and a wash. Fortunately, she&#039;d discovered a small mountain spring while setting up camp here, and set up a large tent around it for privacy. She took off the Despair Seal before entering, leaving it just outside the opening of the tent. This was one place she didn&#039;t want Howler in her head. Once she was inside the tent, though, Conan crept over, whistling nonchalantly. He picked up the seal and hastened away, soon meeting with Anubis. &quot;Here ya go. One Howler-possessed seal. Enjoy.&quot; he said. Anubis nodded. &quot;You have proven a valuable asset... You&#039;ll get what you desire by the end of this, I&#039;ll see to it...&quot; Anubis stated before slipping the Despair Seal onto his wrist. &quot;Master Darkseeker... Are you there? I beseech you...!&quot; the jackal called out. The seal glowed softly, and Howler&#039;s voice spoke in his mind. &quot;Anubis... Perfect. I have need of you.&quot; he said. The jackal smirked. &quot;Of course you do.&quot; he replied. Howler continued, &quot;I have tried to build my prized agent back up, but she is broken. Weakness has taken hold in her heart, and I cannot purge this other personality, this Felicia... She is no longer of use to me. Anubis... I feel, a change of leadership is in order...&quot; the voice spoke. Anubis covered his body in flames, laughing as Howler told him precisely what he wished to hear. &quot;This was always my Covenant... I am ready to take my place as leader!&quot; he growled. Howler&#039;s whispers continued. &quot;Yes... I see that you have endured the sort of pain that will make you a fine leader... With me to guide you, Despair will be unstoppable... But proceed as though nothing has changed for now. The troops are moving, a change in leadership would be jarring now...&quot; he stated. Anubis nodded, and removed the Despair Seal, returning it to Conan. &quot;Put this back where you found it. When the time is right, we will dispose of Fera, and the Chaos Cards will be yours.&quot; he said. Conan accepted the seal and tipped his hat to Anubis. &quot;Pleasure doing business... I also saw to it our location got to Gunner&#039;s ears. I know you wanted to make Fera look weak, but it looks like you didn&#039;t have to...&quot; he snickered. Anubis nodded as Conan scurried away. &quot;...It also helps if I look strong...&quot; the jackal mused.<br /><br /><br />Gemini, Timothy, Copter, Astra and Illusi had gathered the holders of the Chaos Relics at Raisol Sanctuary for some serious training. Sonic and Violet had been called in to join the session, as well. &quot;Alright, listen up!&quot; Gemini announced, &quot;We&#039;re all here to train for practical battle now, since the Covenant of Despair is back!&quot; she said. &quot;Despair is back?? Aw, great, Fera&#039;s leading them, isn&#039;t she...&quot; Sonic sighed, a bit sad that the Rookie who helped fight off Infinite was back to being that evil wolf again. &quot;This is what I&#039;ve been waiting for... I&#039;ll save Patch and Daisy from their control!&quot; Violet announced. Astra nodded. &quot;I like your spirit.&quot; she said. Illusi stepped forward. &quot;Now, we know that not all of you have mastered your Chaos Relics, but time is of the essence. We&#039;ll be splitting into sparring pairs, and hopefully the heat of combat will be the best teacher.&quot; he announced. &quot;Sonic, you&#039;re with Punchy. Maybe you can teach him a thing or two about speed.&quot; Gemini said. Sonic glanced at Punchy with a chuckle. &quot;A fast Knuckles? Now I&#039;ve seen everything!&quot; he said. &quot;Hey! I&#039;m not slow!!&quot; Knuckles shouted. &quot;You&#039;re with Shade, Knuckles. Hmm... We&#039;ll figure this out... Who wants to spar with me?&quot; Gemini asked. Violet raised her hand. &quot;I&#039;ll kick yer butt, Gem! Hehe...&quot; As the group split off into pairs, Copter backed off into the shadows. &quot;I should sit this out... I&#039;ve got no flashy relics or super speed or magic... I&#039;ve got nothin&#039; to offer... Not even smart...&quot; he sighed. &quot;Cut that out and fight me, Copter!&quot; said Tails, who had followed him. Copter turned to face him, sweating a little. &quot;Guh... You&#039;ve got both tailbands, and you kicked my butt when we were even!&quot; he stammered. Tails crossed his arms. &quot;I remember us being even when we were even. You gotta stop under-valuing yourself, Copter!&quot; he said. &quot;Yeah, yeah...&quot; Copter sighed, only to be thwacked by a tail whip from Tails! &quot;Ow! My nose! ...Hey, you&#039;re not even using the tailbands!&quot; he grumbled. Tails smirked. &quot;If you&#039;re so weak, I don&#039;t need them!&quot; he teased, lightly pushing Copter to rile him up. The black fox wagged his finger at him. &quot;I see what you&#039;re trying to do...&quot; he said. &quot;Is it working?&quot; Tails asked. &quot;...We&#039;ll see... Chaos Whirlwind!!&quot; Copter shouted, blowing a familiar chaotic wind Tails&#039; way! He spun his two tails and flew over it, landing punching-distance from Copter. &quot;Alright! Let&#039;s see how much we&#039;ve grown, Copter!&quot; he said, ready for a long-awaited rematch!<br /><br /><br />General Gunner headed for the command center, where the Commander himself was directing the troops on various missions all over the world. Spy, Guard and Nammad followed behind him, interested to see how this would go. Gunner plopped the file on the desk in front of the Commander. &quot;Here it is, boss. The location of the Covenant of Despair. What say we send a warship and blow those terrorists off the map?&quot; he grinned. Several agents perked up at hearing Despair mentioned, and the Commander picked up the file. &quot;Where are they located? Who is your source on this...?&quot; he asked, paging through the file, &quot;...This is too close to Troblusk City. We can&#039;t risk open warfare. There&#039;s no law against assembly, and we can&#039;t prove the ones who broke into the Hopebringer Center to release that hyena are there.&quot; he said. He was unaware of the Phantom Ruby...Gunner had kept that off the books. &quot;This is bull, Commander! They&#039;re planning something, and we can&#039;t ignore it!&quot; Gunner shouted, drawing more attention...<br /><br /><br />As Fera stepped out of the bath tent wearing a towel, Conan was standing nearby, arms folded across his chest. &quot;There are traitors in your ranks, ma&#039;am...&quot; he said bluntly. Fera held the towel tight around her body and gave him a bit of a glare with her good eye. &quot;Takes one to know one, doesn&#039;t it, Conan? I&#039;m told you were only using us for our supply of Chaos Relics before...&quot; she huffed. He shrugged. &quot;Guilty... And I still have the same aspirations. So, if you hand over your cards, I might tell you what I know about those traitors plotting against you... Otherwise, you&#039;re on your own, I really couldn&#039;t care less either way.&quot; he said. Fera&#039;s body glowed with dark energy. &quot;You&#039;ll not be laying a hand on the Chaos Cards... And no mind tricks you can think of will change that. If that&#039;s all you&#039;re here for, you&#039;d best consider leaving now, because I won&#039;t tolerate any treachery from you in the future!&quot; she warned before heading back into the tent, likely to get dressed. Conan shrugged and drew his Chaos Sword, pointing it up at the sky casually. &quot;Oh, sweet irony... Can&#039;t say I didn&#039;t try to save you, love...&quot; he murmured, &quot;But my Emily comes first, and if I have to let you fall for her to be reborn...so be it...&quot; he whispered.<br /><br /><br />&quot;End of discussion, General... We monitor the situation, and nothing more!&quot; the Commander refused to launch an attack on Despair the way Gunner wanted. However, after so much war and strife had torn their country apart in the past decade, this decision couldn&#039;t sit well with everyone in that room. &quot;I think we should discuss it!&quot; said the green-shades wearing Agent 32, &quot;We&#039;re barely recovered from the last two wars with Eggman and Despair! We can&#039;t just let them prepare to start another one!&quot; he protested. &quot;Yeah!&quot; added the purple-shades wearing Agent 77, &quot;You have any idea what Despair put us through last time, Commander?&quot; Gunner smirked as the discussion started getting louder. &quot;Richard Gunner led us to, uh, victory! Not you!&quot; Nammad shouted. &quot;Blow up someone else! Not me!&quot; Spy chanted. Gunner stepped up to the Commander, and Guard flew up behind him to cut off his escape. &quot;R-richard! What are you doing!? This is... This is mutiny!&quot; he stammered. Gunner pointed his gun arm at the Commander&#039;s head. &quot;I thought I&#039;d have more of an elaborate plan, but it seems I already have the hearts and minds of our organization... I&#039;m in command now, SIR!&quot; he sneered, to which Spy started clapping awkwardly. &quot;Yaaay, this is totally gonna end well...&quot; he muttered. Guard grunted and tugged the Commander&#039;s arm. &quot;Grr... This way... HURRY!&quot; he shouted, yanking the Commander aside as Gunner fired, barely missing the Commander! &quot;Oh, my itchy trigger finger... But wait! That traitor is escaping! He&#039;s going to warn Despair! Stop him!&quot; Gunner yelled. The Commander tugged away from Guard and stopped at a seemingly empty wall. &quot;Activate Hostile Nest Protocol! Authorization: Tower!&quot; he shouted. &quot;Acknowledged...&quot; a robotic voice stated, the wall opening up and revealing an escape tunnel! He then grabbed Guard by the arm. &quot;Get in!&quot; he said, shoving him. Gunner was about to fire again, when the blue-shades wearing Agent 64 shot off a round at his gun arm, messing up his shot! Agent 64 and a couple other allies covered the Commander as he entered the escape tunnel, and hurried in behind him before the wall sealed shut again! Gunner rushed to the wall and slammed it with his gun arm, then shot it a couple times to no avail. &quot;Someone figure out where that leads! Don&#039;t let them escape! Nammad!! Can you hack Guard!?&quot; he shouted. &quot;Uhm, uhh, I uhh...&quot; Nammad babbled, twiddling his thumbs, &quot;That link was severed when Infinite, uh, killed him. I didn&#039;t have the budget to, uh, fix it...&quot; he murmured. Gunner glared at him furiously. &quot;Keep sight of the bright side, boss!&quot; Spy pointed out. Gunner nodded and smirked. &quot;Agent 32, prep me a GUN Warship! I&#039;m going to wipe out those Despair freaks once and for all!&quot; he announced amid cheers from GUN&#039;s battle-weary agents...<br /><br /><br />Some agents of Despair had left for their new base, but several of their most powerful agents were still at the camp, keeping a vigil in case any humans came sniffing around. It also helped that Nack the weasal had procured a military-grade radar system, which he had running on the Marvelous Queen&#039;s battery considering there was no power on the mountain. His ears drooped as he noticed a blip on the radar...too big to be a commercial airline. &quot;Guuuuys... This is a GUN Warship headed our way, it is.&quot; he called out, drawing the attention of Fera along with several others. The wolf looked around for Conan, but didn&#039;t see him. &quot;Traitors... He was right. They gave away our location...&quot; she growled. Anubis stepped over and pointed a flaming finger at the she-wolf. &quot;You are weak! Your weakness has led GUN right to us! If we leave you in charge, we&#039;ll all be destroyed!&quot; he snarled. &quot;I second that emotion...&quot; Basker said, standing beside him with a glare in his now-robotic eyes. Patch hopped over to Fera&#039;s side. &quot;Hey! Hee hee! No mutiny! You don&#039;t wanna see what I&#039;ll do to muties!!&quot; he snickered. Daisy seemed to agree with him. &quot;We&#039;ve seen Despair under your command...well, Basker&#039;s. We&#039;re not going back to that!&quot; she said, holding up her katana. Tabitha hovered between the two groups on her broom. &quot;Idiots! We can&#039;t fight among ourselves now! We have to deal with those foolish humans! Give me a few minutes and I&#039;ll disable that heap&#039;s weapons, forcing them down to our level... I&#039;d bring the whole ship down, but I take it you prefer not to have it land on your heads?&quot; she said before flying off. Anubis glanced at Basker. &quot;Don&#039;t think I forgot what you did to me when you were in charge...&quot; he grunted. &quot;If we take Despair from that pretender, it can be water under the bridge...&quot; Basker whispered, which Anubis nodded to. Nack jumped to his feet and disconnected the radar from his hover-bike. &quot;Well, if you guys survive, I&#039;ll find ya! Everyone take cover!!&quot; he shouted, driving off as the Warship arrived, and started firing down on the mountainside callously, wiping out some of the more unlucky birds, dogs and other miscellaneous animals caught in the blasts! &quot;My battle birds!!&quot; Kukku shouted, flapping backward to avoid the shots. Gunner sat on the bridge of the Warship, a wicked grin on his face. &quot;Eradicate them all... This is just the beginning...&quot; he sneered. However, the ship rocked as Tabitha hurled spells at it, targeting the weapon systems. &quot;No one rains death on the masses but me, fool!&quot; she cackled. Gunner looked over the status of the ship on the screens in front of him and snarled. Tabitha rapidly took out their weapons. &quot;Damn it! I want troops on the ground now! We do this the old fashioned way! Don&#039;t let them escape!&quot; he shouted. &quot;Aye aye, Sar...Colo...Gen...uhhh...Boss!&quot; Spy stammered, rushing to relay the order.<br /><br />Some simple Hunter robots dropped down from the Warship first, but they were quickly joined by the latest in GUN&#039;s android program headed up by Dr. Nammad. More robotic versions of Guard were among them, as well as upgraded Shadow androids, and androids based upon Infinite designed to strike fear into the enemy. Some classics were sprinkled in, too; Androids based on Copter and Punchy, which GUN had used to infiltrate Darkegg Fortress quite a long time ago. As the robots charged up the mountain, Nova was quick to meet them in battle. &quot;Oh, what fun! I can pry the heads off those guys that tried to keep me from this beauty...&quot; he said, placing the mask of Enerjak on his face. In that moment, he was filled with power, and holding out his hand, shot a charged burst of water that decimated a Copter android with ease! &quot;Hahahaha!! Enerjak lives!!&quot; he said, his voice twisted by the mask&#039;s evil. Tabitha flew down and started zapping the Guard androids from the air, while Dark Copter charged in, whipping his tails to send out dark shockwaves that tossed the Hunter robots like broken action figures! Gunner watched from above with an unpleasant expression. &quot;This is exactly what I was worried about. Escalation. They&#039;ve got more powerful freaks with them this time. Nammad!! Get those weapons back online! And send everything we have at them in the meantime!!&quot; he shouted. More robots dropped down, forcing the other agents of Despair to join the fight! The battle birds formed up a wall and shot flamethrowers down as Punchy androids tried to climb up to them! &quot;Mua ha ha ha!! Alright, but find me one of those fox robots... I have frustrations I want to work out on it...&quot; Battle Lord Kukku mused. Patch and Daisy crept up on an Infinite robot. &quot;Hee hee... Don&#039;t worry... Without the Phantom Ruby, he&#039;s weak!&quot; Patch chuckled, only to have to run as the android began chasing him, firing a high powered beam from the eye hole on his mask! &quot;Aaaa!! Not weak! Not weak!!&quot; he shouted. Daisy sighed and charged after him, slicing off the jackal robot&#039;s head with her blade! &quot;Stay focused, Patch...never mind, that&#039;s impossible.&quot; she murmured. Fera saw the fighting going on, and was prepared to join as well. &quot;I should warp onto that ship and take out the human responsible for this attack... I bet I know who it is...&quot; she said. At that moment, however, Conan stepped before her. &quot;I&#039;m afraid I can&#039;t let you leave with the Chaos Cards...&quot; he said. Fera scoffed. &quot;You were telling the truth, but all to serve your own self-interests. I&#039;ll root out the traitors myself and take the appropriate action...&quot; she said. &quot;No need...&quot; Anubis growled from behind her. Black mummies began to rise around the wolf, and she clenched her fists. &quot;I should have known...&quot; she scoffed.<br /><br />Fera warped behind one of the mummies and swiftly snapped its neck, then covered her hands in violet flames and shot those flames at the other mummies! &quot;Foolish girl! Know when you&#039;re beaten! Chaos Spear!&quot; Conan shouted, shooting spears from his sword to soften her up, but they didn&#039;t seem to faze her much. She shot dark electricity in Conan&#039;s direction, his blade acting like a sort of lightningrod, which he had to grip tightly to avoid getting zapped himself! Anubis came after her in the meantime, shooting a jet of flame from his hands, which Fera leapt to avoid. Basker then came up behind her and grabbed her arm. &quot;You won&#039;t be needing this...&quot; he said, grabbing for the Despair Seal! As Fera struggled, she heard Howler&#039;s voice one last time. &quot;You are a disappointment... If you are not fit to spread despair... you will feel it!&quot; Her eye went wide as she realized that even Howler had forsaken her, and in that moment of hesitation, she allowed herself to be assaulted by the trio. Conan pelted her with Chaos Spears, Anubis burned her with his flames, and after yanking the seal from her wrist, Basker shot her in the back with his laser eyes! She collapsed to the ground, badly injured and beaten, and Anubis wasted no time in seizing leadership. &quot;Agents of Despair! Fera has fallen! Follow me to safety... We have illusions to cover us...&quot; he said as Eddie the hyena emerged from a tent nearby, cackling excitedly. &quot;Eeee hee hee hee! I&#039;ve been awaiting my cue! Time to make a fake-Despair!!&quot; he smirked, using his powers of illusion to duplicate everyone on the mountain in a burst of smoke and light! Gunner looked in bewilderment...the illusions even fooled their scanners. &quot;What... NO!! They... they&#039;re escaping!!&quot; he shouted as the illusions set about destroying the rest of the robots. &quot;Commander Gunner! We should regroup, sir!&quot; Agent 32 suggested. Gunner sat down and swung his gun arm angrily. &quot;Damn it, that anonymous tip must have been a trick! They wanted us to waste manpower on this battle! Well, there&#039;s plenty more where this came from! Mankind is NOT at the mercy of those furry freaks! We will not be pushed around!&quot; he shouted. &quot;Sir, while you were yelling, our robots were pushed around and trashed, and Despair escaped.&quot; Spy reported. &quot;Arrrgh!!&quot; Gunner groaned. &quot;...Except one.&quot; Spy added. Gunner rushed to the window to look, and recognized the battered body of Fera immediately. &quot;...Take her... What luck... I need a replacement for Guard anyway...&quot; he mused.<br /><br /><br />Punchy was a bit dizzy after spar-racing with Sonic for a while. &quot;I hate that hedgehog...&quot; he groaned. The entire training group was a bit pooped at this point, in fact. It took some effort for Tails to get Copter into the spirit of sparring, and as usual their match ended without a conclusive victor... just two tired foxes. Violet and Gemini were resting on a bench outside the hut the fennec was staying at, when Violet&#039;s cell phone rang. &quot;Huh? Who would be calling me, Rainbow&#039;s right around the corner...&quot; she murmured. Answering, she heard Mitch the weasal&#039;s voice. &quot;Yo, dis is Violet&#039;s number, right? Don&#039;t ask me how I got it...&quot; he murmured. &quot;Aaa! Mitch! You... You have news?&quot; she asked. The next voice she heard was Daisy&#039;s. &quot;Vy! It&#039;s me... Whoa, it&#039;s been a dog&#039;s age!&quot; she said. &quot;Daisy!! You&#039;re alive! I&#039;m so relieved...&quot; Violet sighed. She was a bit loud, and drew the attention of Copter and Punchy. &quot;She still with Despair?&quot; Copter grumbled. &quot;Shh...&quot; Violet hushed him. &quot;I need to tell you and your friends something... First off... Fera&#039;s been betrayed...&quot; Daisy began. The skunk recounted everything that happened, and finished off with what would be happening next. &quot;We&#039;ve moved our operations to the tower that Eggman was operating out of with Infinite. Vy... Anubis is going to lead the covenant in a retaliation against GUN soon. They killed some of our people, so there&#039;s no stopping this violence... But, maybe you can help prevent more death. You can reach out to people that can help!&quot; Daisy pleaded. The call was on speaker by this point, and the whole group was listening. Sonic crossed his arms and looked worried. &quot;Fera... I hope she&#039;s okay... Whatever else she&#039;s done, she also helped us beat Infinite...&quot; he sighed. &quot;Nova&#039;s with Despair...and he has the mask that killed my people...&quot; Shade growled. &quot;Are we sure we&#039;re enough to stop these Despair guys?&quot; Timothy asked. Violet nodded and responded to Daisy. &quot;I&#039;ve got a team here myself. And if I can count on you, Patch and Mitch, we can do this!&quot; she said. &quot;Whoa, I ain&#039;t agreed to nothin!&quot; Mitch stammered. &quot;You&#039;re in this now, like it or not!&quot; Daisy huffed. Astra looked around at the group. They looked a bit nervous, rightfully so. &quot;Training time is over, everyone. It&#039;s time for the real thing. Prepare yourselves, because we&#039;ll be taking on some of the deadliest villains of this era soon...&quot; she said. &quot;Not your best pep talk.&quot; Knuckles muttered. Tails had a look of greater worry on his face than the others. &quot;How could Gunner get away with such an attack? Where&#039;s GUN&#039;s Commander? Where&#039;s Shadow? I&#039;ve got a bad feeling, guys...&quot; he said.<br /><br /><br />He wasn&#039;t wrong to worry, but Shadow was perfectly fine. That night, he warped into White Base, the President&#039;s home and office, and was accompanied by Guard and the Commander. The President was up late with paperwork, and stood up with a start as they arrived. &quot;Mr. President... You&#039;re in danger, sir.&quot; the Commander announced. Shadow nodded. &quot;The Commander contacted Rouge, who then called me. It seems our old friend Gunner has finally lost the last shred of his sanity.&quot; he said. The President gasped softly, stepping back from his papers. &quot;I suppose I always suspected Gunner was capable of flying off the deep end... He has followers?&quot; he asked. Guard nodded. &quot;Grrr... Agents who are discontent with the escalating dangers the world has faced since Sonic emerged on the scene.&quot; he said. Just then, alarms blared, and explosions could be heard coming from somewhere in the base! &quot;Mr. President! We need to go! As we suspected, Gunner isn&#039;t satisfied with control of GUN alone!&quot; the Commander warned. They hurried together to the door. &quot;I trust you two...but isn&#039;t the gargoyle Gunner&#039;s...?&quot; he murmured. Guard grunted. &quot;My mind is my own, it seems.&quot; he said. Nodding, the President followed the others as they rushed to escape Gunner&#039;s impending attack. Before long, White Base had fallen, but Gunner could find no sign of the President. It didn&#039;t matter to him as he sat in the President&#039;s chair, kicking his feet up. &quot;I&#039;ve done what Robotnik never could, Spy... I&#039;ve seized control of this nation!&quot; he smirked. &quot;Uh, didn&#039;t Eggman have control of the world for six months?&quot; Spy pointed out. &quot;Stop bringing up the past! The future is mine!&quot; Gunner smirked, &quot;Now, where&#039;s my pet? Have Nammad send her in...&quot; he snickered. In a moment, Fera was led in wearing a power-dampening collar. Nammad had seen to her injuries, too, but her expression was anything but grateful. &quot;You...&quot; she growled, &quot;Just kill me now. I refuse to work for you again.&quot; she snarled. Gunner hummed to himself, pointing his gun arm at her. &quot;Hmmm... Eventually, yes, you will die. First, you&#039;re going to lead me to the freaks that left you for dead. How does that sound?&quot; he grinned. Fera&#039;s eye darted around. &quot;You&#039;ll kill them all. I owe some of them that debt, but others... No, I refuse.&quot; she sighed. Gunner laughed softly. &quot;You presume I&#039;m giving you a choice in the matter. Oh, Fera... You won&#039;t even be able to take your own life... We&#039;ll keep you alive, until I get what I need from you...&quot; he sneered. With that, the wolf was led away, and Gunner started to laugh as all his plans were coming to fruition. Outside, rain beat down on the roof of White Base, and the Doomsayer stood, looking over Central City. &quot;Shadow covers all... Evil poisons the world... Hope has no home here. It is time for one last prophecy...&quot;<br /><br /><br />Mini Episode - Ch. 4.5 - The Last Respite<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />Sonic, Tails and Knuckles had met at Tails&#039; Workshop. They were sitting along the ledge at the end of the Tornado&#039;s runway, looking out over the beautiful ocean view. They weren&#039;t yet aware of the full extent of Gunner&#039;s schemes, only that he&#039;d attacked Despair and captured Fera. So much had changed through the years, but these three were still much the same. It seemed nothing could truly drive them apart. &quot;Well, feels like we&#039;ll have to break up more fights between GUN and Despair soon. You ready for this, guys?&quot; Sonic asked, standing up. &quot;As I&#039;ll ever be...&quot; Tails murmured, climbing back to his feet. &quot;I&#039;m good as long as the Master Emerald stays out of it this time.&quot; Knuckles smirked. They heard footsteps approach, and the trio turned around to see an odd bat-headed, turtle-shelled, chinchilla-tailed creature with bolts in his head approaching...accompanied by a light blue unicorm with a white horn. &quot;This is Bucky&#039;s handiwork...&quot; they all sighed at once. &quot;Th-they&#039;re staring...&quot; the turtle-creature stammered. &quot;It&#039;s okay, I&#039;ll do the talking.&quot; the unicorn said in a soothing voice. Knuckles crossed his arms. &quot;Alright, spill it, what&#039;s that crazed scientist want now?&quot; he asked. The unicorn raised his hands to call for peace. &quot;He asked us to go to you for training. He believes great evil is approaching our world, and he created us to help fight it...even though I don&#039;t want to fight...&quot; he said. Then, he pointed to his awkward turtle companion. &quot;This is Bolt, and the others decided to call me Sonata, because they find my voice soothing and melodic...&quot; he said with a blush. &quot;Yo, Sonny.&quot; Sonic waved. &quot;Leave the nicknames to Rainbow, Sonic...&quot; Knuckles sighed. &quot;No, no... I kinda like it.&quot; Sonata blushed again. Bolt tapped his pointer fingers together awkwardly. &quot;So, uh, you think you can help us? Vortex and Zipp weren&#039;t exactly patient enough to train us...&quot; he said. Tails looked a bit worried. &quot;I don&#039;t know about us, but you could join our whole training group, I guess. There&#039;s a bunch of us.&quot; he stated. Sonic chuckled and nudged him. &quot;You can train &#039;em, bro! I saw you with Copter the other day!&quot; he winked, making it Tails&#039; turn to blush. &quot;Ahh, well, what exactly can you guys do?&quot; he asked. Knuckles nodded. &quot;Yeah, are you like Carrie and Kosmo, or are you more like Zipp and Lucky?&quot; he asked, earning slightly judgemental glances from his companions. &quot;...What? Legitimate question! Some experiments are loaded with powers and then you got ones with no powers!&quot; he stammered. &quot;Lucky and Zipp do have powers.&quot; Tails stated. &quot;They do??&quot; Knuckles scratched his head.<br /><br />A demonstration of their abilities was in order. They moved over to the cliff below Tails&#039; Workshop where there was more room. Then, Sonny suggested Knuckles try throwing a punch at Bolt. &quot;Alright... Sorry, kiddo...&quot; Knuckles said, charging at the creature, who yelped and ducked mostly into his shell, but his head bolts kept him from drawing his head inside, so he spun in place a bit to avoid getting hit in the head. Knuckles punched the shell, and it went spinning off! Sparks began to fly from it, and then the shell changed direction, spinning towards Knuckles! &quot;Gah, what!? Wait!! No one said...!!&quot; More sparks flew from the shell as it moved, and Knuckles got a bit of a jolt when it hit him! &quot;Aaaaaaagh!! Ow ow!! I wasn&#039;t ready for that!! Zzzzt!!&quot; Knuckles shouted, static frizzing his quills a bit. As Bolt stood up, his head bolts were still sparking, and he looked mad. &quot;Rrrraaaagh!! You hit me!!&quot; he roared. Sonny cleared his throat. &quot;That&#039;s my cue...&quot; he said, and began to hum a soothing melody. &quot;Hmmm, hmmm... Relax, little Bolt, don&#039;t be sad. You&#039;re safe and sound, these guys aren&#039;t bad...&quot; he sang softly. His lovely voice rapidly soothed Bolt&#039;s wild rage, and the sparks began to subside. &quot;Ahh, huh? Oh, dear, I&#039;m sorry...&quot; he said to Knuckles shyly. Knuckles looked at him awkwardly. &quot;Therapy. Get some.&quot; he muttered. Tails nodded as he listened to Sonata&#039;s song. &quot;So, you two work in tandem. Bolt gains power when he goes berserk, and your voice brings him out of it. Fascinating...&quot; he said. Sonata nodded. &quot;I also have some empathic abilities... I can tell what you&#039;re feeling. Tails...you&#039;re uneasy about something... Knuckles, you&#039;re just mad.&quot; he said. Knuckles pouted. &quot;Am not...&quot; he huffed. Tails looked away, rubbing the back of his head. &quot;Tails... Are you uneasy about something?&quot; Sonic asked. &quot;Aren&#039;t you? Gunner killed a bunch of Despair agents, and now he has Fera...Felicia...&quot; he murmured, &quot;And Despair&#039;s going to attack again, Daisy told us. Don&#039;t you get a little tired of all the violence?&quot; he asked. Sonic put a hand on his shoulder. &quot;You just gotta remember what we&#039;re fighting for. Not everyone is violent, most people are good, and they don&#039;t deserve to be caught in the crossfire.&quot; he said. &quot;Neither do you or our friends, Sonic... I wish we didn&#039;t have to put ourselves in danger like this...&quot; Bolt and Sonata nodded in agreement, and seeing this, Tails amended his statement, &quot;But that doesn&#039;t mean I&#039;m gonna sit the fight out! I&#039;m with you all the way, Sonic!&quot; he smiled. Sonata turned to Sonic and smiled. &quot;That&#039;s a very warm feeling coming from you!&quot; he said. Sonic nodded, smiling at his friends and allies. &quot;It&#039;s pride. I know you won&#039;t let me down, guys!&quot; he said, giving Tails and Knuckles each a hi-five!<br /><br /><br />Meanwhile, explosions rocked the EggmanEmpireFortress where the Covenant of Despair had moved. &quot;Air raid!! Every bird for themselves!!&quot; Bean shouted, scrambling about to avoid crumbling pieces of the base falling around him! Nova blased a hole in the wall using some of Enerjak&#039;s power, and peered out to get a look at what was happening. Missiles had been launched at their location. Gunner wasn&#039;t even bothering to waste manpower trying to destroy them, he just sought to blow them off the map. &quot;Shoulda killed Fera guys, looks like she sold us out!&quot; Nova-jak shouted. Conan stepped to the hole in the wall and held up the deck of Chaos Cards he&#039;d managed to steal from Fera before she was captured. &quot;This&#039;ll be good practice... Why don&#039;t I try summoning my own missile?&quot; he said, pulling a card and tossing it! The card turned into a mist of bubbles, and Patch burst out laughing from behind Conan. &quot;Heeheeheehee!! Good job! We&#039;ll shampoo &#039;em to death!!&quot; he giggled. Conan growled. Now wasn&#039;t the time for experimentation. Another missile rocked the fortress, sending part of the roof crumbling. Anubis was forced to come to a decision. &quot;We must evacuate the fortress... Hurry, before they decimate us all!&quot; he shouted. &quot;I knew throwin&#039; in my lot with you guys would turn out a disaster!&quot; Nack complained as he ran to gather his loot. During this chaos, Dark Copter stood with a furious scowl. &quot;Cowards...all of you! I&#039;ll handle this myself!&quot; he growled, pushing past panicking Despair agents until he located the illusion shell that was holding Shadow Chaos captive. &quot;Out of my way, hyena-boy!&quot; he snarled, whipping his tails to generate a dark shockwave that broke the illusion! Before Shadow Chaos could go far, Dark Copter reached into him and pulled at the Phantom Ruby, and as he drew the ruby towards his chest, Shadow Chaos vanished inside it! Dark Copter now wore the Phantom Ruby as Infinite had, and his darkness bonded with its power. The familiar sound of the ruby rang through the fortress. &quot;Nothing can stop me now...&quot; Dark Copter&#039;s voice boomed. In an instant, he was outside, and with a wave of his hand, he sent phantom energy forth to obliterate the incoming missiles! Anubis watched this through the hole in the wall with wide eyes, and then a wider smile. &quot;Excellent... Well done, agent! Everyone! Come back! The tower will stand!&quot; Anubis shouted as Dark Copter used the ruby&#039;s power to repair the damage. Then, appearing beside Anubis, he scoffed at the gathering agents. &quot;Simpering cowards. You&#039;re lucky I don&#039;t destroy you. I could use groveling worshippers...&quot; he sneered. Anubis grunted softly. &quot;Well... I daresay with your power, now is the time to launch an attack... Let us finish off the humans that tried to destroy us!&quot; he suggested. Nova, Tabitha, Dark Copter and Conan all nodded as they gathered around, snickering and laughing, reveling in their evil plans. With so much dark power gathered together, could Despair be stopped?<br /><br /><br />Episode 5 - The End<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and<br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />Left unguarded, the Master Emerald began to glow. In a moment, Chaos stood at the top step of the shrine, his eyes narrowed and full of purpose...<br />Meanwhile, televisions across the area were tuned to Katie the coyote, delivering a breaking news story. &quot;I&#039;m coming to you all from about as close to Troblusk City as I can safely get. The situation here is dire, as the Covenant of Despair has returned with vicious criminals in their employ, attacking the human population of the city without mercy...&quot; The camera switched to helicopter footage, showing Battle Birds running amok, Tabitha hurling explosive spells from her broomstick, and Nova flooding a building to flush out the scared people inside, among other horrors. &quot;GUN has arrived on the scene, but under the orders of our self-declared President Gunner...ugh...the military force is attacking mobians indiscriminately.&quot; Katie reported as the camera panned to Gunner&#039;s troops rounding up innocents and mobsters alike. The camera turned back to Katie. &quot;Reports also indicate that Dr. Eggman has been sighted in the area, clearly hoping to capitalize on the chaos for yet another diabolical scheme. In times like these, our nation&#039;s collective minds turn to one burning question... Where is Sonic the Hedgehog!?&quot; An explosion rocked the area near Katie, and Dark Copter landed beside her, grabbing her microphone, the Phantom Ruby clearly visible in his chest. &quot;Oh, Sonic! Where&#039;s Sonic! Gaahh! I&#039;ve got a message for you, Sonic, and your pathetic little friends! Stop us if you can!&quot; he growled, aiming his hand at the camera, which resulted in static taking up the screens across the area. Rainbow held Aurora tightly as she watched this report from the TV in her temple home, and looked over her shoulder to see Punchy, Gemini, Copter, Sonic and Tails behind her. &quot;It&#039;s time...&quot; Gemini sighed. &quot;Be careful everyone... I have to stay and watch our baby girl...&quot; Rainbow said. Punchy nodded. &quot;You&#039;ll catch us on the late edition! Or, y&#039;know, when we get back!&quot; he chuckled. Sonic nodded, and started to lead them all out. &quot;C&#039;mon, let&#039;s gather up the others!&quot; he said. Once they were gone, Rainbow heard footsteps coming from elsewhere in the house. She clutched Aurora tightly and crept to the hall to check it out. &quot;Hey...Mom?&quot; a voice called to her. Rainbow looked with wide eyes to see a green echidna with multicolored quills, about her own age. &quot;...Aurora?&quot; she gasped.<br /><br />Sonic was first to reach Troblusk City, where he found Katie safe, but her equipment was in shambles. Tails, Knuckles, Gemini, Timothy, Copter, Punchy, Illusi, Shade, Blaze, Astra, Violet, Bolt and Sonata arrived soon after, looking out upon a city in chaos. &quot;Not sure we&#039;re r-ready for this...&quot; Bolt the turtle-creature murmured. &quot;The static in my fur says otherwise...&quot; Knuckles said. &quot;You alright, Katie? Did... Well, did I hurt you?&quot; Copter asked. Katie shook her head. &quot;That&#039;s not you, Copter... Plus, he has the Phantom Ruby. Anyone got a counter for that?&quot; she asked. Tails wagged his banded tails. &quot;These, maybe?&quot; he smiled. &quot;Let&#039;s try not to tear up the city going overkill...&quot; Gemini warned, &quot;There are innocents trapped here.&quot; she said. &quot;Not to mention, maybe Fera.&quot; Sonic added, making a few people in the group glance at him uncertainly. &quot;She doesn&#039;t deserve to suffer as Gunner&#039;s slave.&quot; he insisted. Illusi nodded. &quot;I will try to find her. It&#039;s my responsibility...&quot; he said. Before they could get going, Shadow warped to their location! &quot;Well, well! Shadow! You fighting for Gunner again, or did you see the report?&quot; Knuckles asked. Shadow scoffed. &quot;I&#039;m here on request from the real President... Rouge, Omega and Guard aren&#039;t far behind me. We&#039;ll handle GUN. You guys take care of Despair.&quot; he said. &quot;Oh, sure, leave us with the harder job, Shadow!&quot; Sonic smirked. &quot;What about Eggman?&quot; Blaze asked, &quot;Supposedly, he&#039;s out there, too.&quot; she pointed out. SPOT crawled up to Tails and let out a robotic bark. &quot;I&#039;ll have SPOT scanning for Eggman activity. But I&#039;ll just bet he&#039;s at Eggtopia if he&#039;s planning to stage some kinda scheme.&quot; he noted. &quot;If anyone sees Patch or Daisy, leave them to me... Mitch too, I guess...&quot; Violet spoke up. &quot;And uh, who are they, dear?&quot; Astra asked. &quot;I don&#039;t know who half the people here even are...&quot; Sonata said sheepishly. Sonic tapped his foot. &quot;If we keep trying to plan this, the city will get leveled to the ground. So before we get into the traditional argument, why don&#039;t we just split into teams and get movin?&quot; he suggested. Everyone nodded. &quot;Right!&quot; they declared as Shadow warped away. &quot;I&#039;m with you, Sonic!&quot; Tails announced. &quot;Sure thing, bro!&quot; he smirked. &quot;Guess I&#039;m with Punchy... Rainbow would never forgive me if he got hurt.&quot; Violet sighed. &quot;Hey! I&#039;m the one who&#039;ll watch your back!&quot; he stammered. Knuckles picked up SPOT. &quot;I&#039;m on Eggman duty. I&#039;m sick of Despair!&quot; he grunted. With everything more or less figured out, the groups set out to save the city!<br /><br />Sonic and Tails dashed into the city, finding the Battle Bird armada shooting at fleeing humans from atop their hover vehicles. Battle Lord Kukku was overseeing the havok, but sneered as he saw Tails approach. &quot;Foooox!! I&#039;ve been waiting ages for revenge upon you!&quot; he shouted, leaping towards him and Sonic! &quot;Ugh, this guy...&quot; Tails groaned. &quot;I really missed somethin&#039;, huh?&quot; Sonic asked. Before he could move to defend Tails, he heard a gun cocked, and glanced to see Nack the weasal aiming at him from atop the Marvelous Queen. &quot;Stay still... I&#039;ll see if I can hit fox boy through ya...&quot; he smirked. However, his bike went tumbling over when Bolt&#039;s shell suddenly crashed into it! &quot;Yaaargh!!&quot; he yelped. Sonata kicked the shell back as it went spinning away, hitting Nack again! &quot;Take out the birds! We&#039;ve got this!&quot; he said. Sonic nodded, and turned to see Tails smacking Kukku backward with a strong whip from his tails! &quot;Gooof!! I see you&#039;ve grown stronger! I&#039;ve been training as well!&quot; Kukku sneered, lifting a rather heavy-looking spiked mallet and swinging it at Tails! The tailbands glowed, and the fox vanished, causing him to miss! &quot;Wha?? Hey, what did you?? Ooof!!&quot; Tails began to clobber Kukku while using the tailband&#039;s invisibility. Seeing that he had this well in hand, Sonic sped after the rest of the armada, leaping at them with well-aimed homing attacks to take out their vehicles! &quot;And you&#039;re grounded, and you&#039;re grounded! Bye bye, birdie!&quot; he laughed, making quick work of them! Meanwhile, Bark the polar bear grabbed Sonata, stopping him from keeping up Bolt&#039;s volley. He growled, and Bean the duck jumped over, laughing at him. &quot;Lookit you! Are you really a unicorn, or did you glue that horn to your head?&quot; he chuckled. Sonata&#039;s horn glowed softly. &quot;You... don&#039;t really want to do this... I feel it... You are conflicted.&quot; he said to Bark. Bolt stood up dizzily as Nack leapt from his bike and pointed his gun at him. &quot;Shut up! You two are so toast!&quot; he growled. Bark whimpered softly. &quot;It&#039;s not too late... You don&#039;t have to fight for evil...&quot; Sonata said. Bean laughed. &quot;No one understands Bark like I do! He&#039;s gonna snap your neck now...whoaaa!!&quot; he yelped as Bark suddenly kicked him aside, releasing the unicorn! Nack gulped, and went to shoot Bolt, but his wrist was grasped by the angry creature. &quot;You try to hurt me!! Rrrrraaaaaagh!!&quot; he roared, sparks flying from his bolts. &quot;Oh, shoot...&quot; Nack gulped. As the weasal started taking a beating, Tails was busy tying Kukku up. &quot;Same old Battle Birds. Still hung up on conquest. You should move on, like Speedy did...&quot; he said.<br /><br />One of Tabitha&#039;s magic spells crashed against a fireball thrown from Blaze. &quot;Gah, pointless to attack you with that Chaos Crown offering protection... I&#039;ll just destroy your little friends!&quot; the witch cackled, turning her attention to the nearby Timothy and Astra. &quot;Um... Can you actually fight without a wand of your own?&quot; Timothy asked. &quot;I&#039;m also an alchemist!&quot; Astra smirked, producing a batch of potions, and swishing one around to produce a shield. Tabitha struck the shield with a powerful lightning spell, cracking it. &quot;I&#039;ll get through that quickly, pitiful wretch!&quot; she sneered. Blaze was about to charge in while she was distracted, but a voice caught her off guard. &quot;Hardy har har! You can&#039;t even use the crown! You&#039;re not half the cat I was!&quot; She turned to see Lospecter smirking at her. &quot;What are you doing here?!&quot; she gasped. &quot;Lookin&#039; for opportunities. We watch TV too, you know... Informative.&quot; he smirked, &quot;I think you should give up on the crown. Give it back to me. I was its owner first. I can use its true power...&quot; he smirked. Meanwhile, Tabitha&#039;s spells clashed with Timothy&#039;s. Astra was using potions to strengthen Tim&#039;s magic, but it was only making them even. &quot;My powers are far beyond yours. I draw strength neither from light or darkness, but from eldritch power older than both magic classes!&quot; the witch taunted. &quot;Blah, blah, it&#039;s just darkness with another label!&quot; Timothy scoffed. &quot;So, your last words are wasted on witless comebacks. Farewell!&quot; Tabitha smirked, charging a huge, crackling ball of magic and tossing it! Blaze heard it coming and gasped. &quot;No... Timothy!! Astra!!&quot; she cried, speeding into the path of the blast! The sight that followed shocked all who bore witness. A wall of flame rose to strike at the ball of magic, while a wall of roots rose up from the ground to shield Timothy and Astra! Blaze was focusing on using both her own powers and the crown&#039;s simultaneously, and it was working! &quot;Feline meddler! You can&#039;t repel my spell!!&quot; Tabitha shouted. Blaze grunted and chuckled. &quot;Who says anything about repelling it?&quot; she smirked. Tabitha felt something grab at her broom. A vine?! Blaze controlled the vine, making it toss Tabitha down into her own spell! &quot;Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!! Nooooooo!!&quot; she wailed, the spell exploding on impact with her! She was left a charred, but breathing, mess on the floor. Blaze didn&#039;t have time to celebrate, though, as Astra&#039;s scream caught her attention! Lospecter&#039;s hand had reached into her chest, and her body was rapidly disintegrating into a puddle of losol slime! &quot;You can betray me, reject me... But in the end, Astra... Your soul is MINE!&quot; he laughed as Timothy tried to hit him with spells, only to see the spells pass through him! Lospecter scoffed and opened a portal with the Chaos Key, tossing the losol remains of Astra through. &quot;I&#039;ll have all your souls soon...&quot; he said ominously, escaping through the portal!<br /><br />Punchy sped through the city with the power of the Chaos Boots, delivering some swift punches to the jaws of any unprepared uniformed animals that got in his way. Violet followed by using her dark powers to warp here and there, searching for her friends as she went. Eventually, Punchy stopped when he was shocked by the sight of Dark Punchy in his path! &quot;Made you look! Eee hee hee!&quot; laughed Eddie, who stepped through the illusion and cast the illusion of bear traps, which clamped onto the Chaos Boots! &quot;Owww!! Yeesh, if those weren&#039;t illusions I&#039;m sure my feet would be gone!&quot; Punchy winced, &quot;Still HATE illusions!&quot; he added. Violet appeared beside him and raised her fists. &quot;Let him go! Remember, I was trained by Fera!&quot; she warned. &quot;And Fera is gone... Trapped in her own ultimate despair!&quot; came the voice of Anubis as his black mummies rose up, surrounding them! Basker rounded out the trio. &quot;I could just cripple you with your fears and then watch as the mummies tear you limb from limb... But we owe you a slower death...&quot; he said. They were about to attack, when blades pierced two of the mummies, and a gunshot blew up a third&#039;s head! As the mummies fell, Patch, Daisy and Mitch could be seen! &quot;Sorry boss, life debt!&quot; Mitch grunted. &quot;Don&#039;t...touch...our...friend!&quot; Daisy warned, holding up her katana. Patch hopped at Eddie and smacked him with his nunchucks, causing the illusion to fade from Punchy&#039;s feet! &quot;Hee hee! Throwing Fera to the humans wasn&#039;t coooool!&quot; he said manically. Basker&#039;s eyes glowed, and he paralyzed Patch, Daisy and Mitch with fear. &quot;Nothing says we can&#039;t kill you three quickly!&quot; he said bluntly. &quot;I say... Chaos Avalanche!!&quot; Punchy shouted, lifting chuncks of the street up from below Basker and Eddie&#039;s feet and tossing them straight up into the air, hurtling the hyena and hound skyward! The group turned on Anubis, but he summoned more mummies. &quot;I can raise the dead from anywhere... Because death is the oldest, most inevitable force in our world... And fire...complements it nicely!&quot; he said, his body being covered in flames! Violet&#039;s eyes glowed with dark magic. &quot;Darkness does too... Bring it on!&quot; she said, shooting a beam of dark energy at him as Anubis fired a jet of flames! Punchy tried to activate the Chaos Boots, but his feet were still in pain. &quot;Ugh... You guys up for this?&quot; he asked. Mitch rubbed his head and nodded. &quot;You guys better know how to fix my foot...&quot; he grunted. &quot;Hee hee! I can bust the other one for symmetry?&quot; Patch offered. &quot;Easy there, Patch... Hurt the mummies, not our friends...&quot; Daisy sighed. It wouldn&#039;t be easy, but together they could escape from Anubis...<br /><br />Nova, wearing the Enerjak mask, had just leveled a building by flooding it and then charging the water with destructive energy from the mask. He laughed at the destruction, and that was when Shade approached him with the Chaos Gauntlets. &quot;You... you monster! Both humans and mobians could have been in there!&quot; she shouted. Nova turned and chuckled. &quot;It makes no difference to me... I&#039;m not a mobian. I am not of this world.&quot; he said. &quot;What do you mean?&quot; shouted Kosmo the morph, who had joined the fray along with Carrie and Talon. They&#039;d fought their way past GUN robots and Despair agents to find Nova, and now the two morphs stood face to face. &quot;Do you still have that annoying bout of amnesia, Kosmo? I guess you&#039;ll never remember. You were the one responsible for stranding me on this rock! But it doesn&#039;t matter...once I&#039;ve fully harnessed the power of this mask, I&#039;ll rule this world!&quot; Nova smirked. Kosmo morphed his arms into electric eels, planning to zap the aquatic morph. &quot;You&#039;re saying what? I&#039;ve been lied to? I&#039;m not an Experiment at all? I came from space??&quot; he asked, not much caring. Shade got bored and fired a couple blasts from the Chaos Gauntlets at Nova&#039;s head, only to watch his mask be drawn into his liquid body, his head splattered, and then regrown before the mask replaced itself. &quot;Nice try, girlie...&quot; he said before tossing Enerjak-charged orbs of water at the four heroes in front of him! Carrie tried to hold them back with her powers, but found she couldn&#039;t and got knocked back! &quot;You okay, Carrie?!&quot; Talon asked, only to notice Eddie land behind them! &quot;Eee hee... That wasn&#039;t polite of the echidna... I think I&#039;ll take it out on you!&quot; he said, creating illusory duplicates of himself to battle them! Carrie stood up and smirked, turning invisible. &quot;Try and hit me, chuckles!&quot; she said. Meanwhile, Kosmo whipped his eel-arms at Nova, zapping him and stunning him enough for Shade to deliver some solid hits! However, the mask glowed, and sent out a shockwave that knocked them both back! This gave Shade an idea, and she slammed her fists on the ground, causing the ground to shake due to the Chaos Gauntlets. This activated something akin to Chaos Avalanche, which shot up chunks of the ground beneath Nova&#039;s feet and flung him into the air! He splattered onto the ground and sank into the cracks into the street, escaping...with no sign of the mask nearby. Kosmo sighed. &quot;I&#039;ve got questions for a certain rat... But first...&quot; his voice trailed off as he turned to where Carrie and Talon were fighting Eddie&#039;s copies. &quot;This might be a long day...&quot; he murmured.<br /><br />Knuckles was led by SPOT, predictably, to the Eggtopia base. Sonic sped to his side. &quot;Hey, Knux! Thought I&#039;d check up on you while Tails is kickin&#039; butt and takin&#039; names... Our little boy&#039;s all grown up...&quot; he said, sniffling. Knuckles rolled his eyes. &quot;Eggman&#039;s in here, be ready for anything!&quot; he said. &quot;You mean like you getting tricked and capturing me?&quot; Sonic teased. &quot;I&#039;m sorry, alright!? But I wasn&#039;t tricked, you were just bein&#039; a jerk!&quot; Knuckles pointed out as they headed inside. Eggman was busy tinkering with something. &quot;Oh! Knuckles! I thought you might be Gunner or Despair or something. That&#039;d be egg on my face! This base isn&#039;t operational anymore!&quot; he murmured. &quot;Ahem...&quot; Sonic cleared his throat. &quot;Sonic, you wouldn&#039;t attack me when I&#039;m just recovering my own property!&quot; the doctor stammered. &quot;Depends what it is...&quot; Sonic smirked. Suddenly, a couple of golden cards fell in front of Sonic and Knuckles. &quot;...What the...?&quot; Knuckles murmured before they exploded, sending the duo falling backwards as Conan flew above them with the Chaos Wing! &quot;We meet again, Master Emerald guardian! This time, you&#039;ll turn over those Chaos Claws, or I&#039;ll pry them off your corpse!&quot; he smirked. Knuckles leapt to his feet and lunged the claws forward, digging them into thin air and using them to climb after Conan! &quot;Want &#039;em?? Come get &#039;em!!&quot; he shouted! Sonic dusted himself off and ran after Eggman, who stood back and smirked. &quot;Sonic, say hello to the rest of the E-X series of robots! You may recognize E-7X!&quot; The robot he&#039;d been tinkering on rose up, towering over the hedgehog! It was a slot machine with arms, legs, angry eyes and a &quot;prize&quot;-spouting maw. &quot;...Rouletar!? Haven&#039;t seen this bozo since Tails&#039; first fight with Copter!&quot; he recalled. Rouletar laughed. &quot;That was the old Rouletar, E-777! I am an E-X robot, filled with GeneX energy! I am equipped with a soul, and can think and plan!&quot; he declared. Sonic&#039;s eyes widened, and he held back a chuckle as another robot joined Rouletar. It was a metallic body, but a familiar form. &quot;Meowr!! Remember me? I&#039;m E-8X now!! Firepaw!!&quot; the robot feline announced! Eggman chuckled. &quot;I had my virus uploaded into an appropriate body...and last but not least, E-9X! This series is keeping to single-digits so that&#039;s all folks.&quot; the doctor said hurriedly. E-9X stepped out of the shadows, his rounded form very familiar...it was Metal Eggman! &quot;Think you can beat us all! ...In time to save Knuckles?&quot; he chuckled. Sonic turned to look for Knuckles, but it appeared he had taken the fight with Conan outside. &quot;Danger!! Danger!!&quot; SPOT&#039;s alarm blared. An explosion rocked the building, and Eggman started rushing for the exit with his robots following. &quot;That&#039;ll be Gunner! Have fun, Sonic! We&#039;ll see you soon!&quot; the doctor shouted hastily. &quot;Can&#039;t wait to burn you!! Meowr!!&quot; Firepaw laughed.<br /><br />As Eggman escaped, Sonic left the base to find Copter, Gemini and Illusi gathered around Knuckles. He was injured, but it seemed as though the others had chased Conan off before he could get the claws. However, Gunner was approaching with Spy, a squad of robots, and Fera in tow. Fera was fitted with a special collar, obviously designed to ensure her obedience. Sonic raced to join his friends and glared at Gunner. &quot;Stand down, Gramps! You&#039;re already lookin&#039; at forever in jail, don&#039;t make it worse for yourself!&quot; the hedgehog warned. Gunner smirked and glanced at Fera. &quot;My pet is here just for you, Sonic. Dr. Nammad combined a shock collar with a power-dampening collar, so if she steps one claw out of line, I can punish her severely without fear of her being able to hit back. But I imagine she has issues to work out with you anyway, freak!&quot; he smirked. Fera stepped forward and grunted. &quot;You... All of you... You used me, let me think we were friends. On this, Felicia and I agree... Your lies are the biggest betrayal of all!!&quot; she shouted, holding up dark flames in her hands. &quot;And how would the conversation have gone, Fera? Oh, by the way, no big deal, but before the amnesia you were tryin&#039; ta KILL us??&quot; Sonic pointed out, &quot;We just wanted you to move on from all the hate...&quot; he said. &quot;There is no moving on from hate!&quot; That voice wasn&#039;t Fera... Turning, the group saw Dark Copter approaching, with Anubis behind him, dragging a battered Punchy and Violet. Dark Copter had clearly had a hand in their defeat. &quot;We&#039;ll figure out what to do with these fools later... Dark Copter, crush GUN, and Fera...&quot; Anubis ordered. The Phantom Ruby glowed, and Shadow Chaos emerged, bonding with Dark Copter, turning him into a being of pure darkness, chaos and phantom energy! Copter gulped, but stepped forward. &quot;No can do, Dark me! You&#039;ll have to get through me first!&quot; he said, raising his arms defensively. &quot;Copter...not the best time to be a hero!&quot; Knuckles grunted. Sonic turned to Fera. &quot;Seems like a great time to be a hero to me!&quot; he said, heading after her. Illusi was torn between Fera and Punchy. &quot;I can&#039;t let them down... I will fight to the last!&quot; he said. Gunner scoffed and snapped his fingers, causing the hunter robots behind him to advance. &quot;Don&#039;t let them escape.&quot; he sneered. Meanwhile, Dark Copter charged at Copter, only for Gemini to jump in front! &quot;Proplasmar!!&quot; she shouted, erecting a shield to defend them. &quot;Copter!! You don&#039;t need to die to prove you&#039;re not that thing! Now, take my hand... We&#039;ll do it together!&quot; she declared.<br /><br />Dark Copter&#039;s hand turned into a blade and quickly pierced Gemini&#039;s shield! &quot;My power is limitless! You&#039;d do well to ditch him and join me!&quot; he warned. Copter kicked the blade aside, still holding her hand. &quot;Don&#039;t touch her!&quot; he snapped. Nearby, Lospecter was eating popcorn and watching the fight, but he noticed Conan flying nearby. &quot;Doth my eyes deceive me? My Chaos Cards...&quot; he mused, flying off. As the hunter robots neared, Wrongos swarmed in, destroying a few of them. &quot;Fera! I won&#039;t abandon you!&quot; Illusi called. Shadow warped in as well, with Guard flying nearby. &quot;Gunner! You&#039;d do well to surrender!&quot; he warned. Gunner scoffed and aimed his gun arm up at Guard. &quot;Idiot freaks... I&#039;ve got all I need...&quot; he said as hornet robots rose up from behind the hunters! Sonic, in the meantime, was speeding around close to Fera, avoiding her dark flames without doing much to counter attack. &quot;Fera! I know we&#039;ve failed as your friends... We should have gone looking for you soon after you left us... Seeing Violet&#039;s determination to save her friends makes me realize that.&quot; he said. Fera growled and fired dark lightning at him, trying to catch him off guard by zapping at the spots he was heading! &quot;It&#039;s too late! Look at me! The best way you can save me is to kill me!&quot; she snarled. Sonic jumped back and gritted his teeth. &quot;That&#039;s not true... It may have taken six months when I was captured, but I didn&#039;t give up... and remember who saved me? ...It was you!&quot; Fera hesitated at those words, and gunner pressed a button at the side of his gun arm. &quot;Don&#039;t even think it, freak...&quot; he said, causing Fera&#039;s powers to cut off and the collar to shock her! Meanwhile, Gemini sliced through a weird red block produced by the Phantom Ruby using her magic, and then propelled herself and Copter skyward, the fox spinning his tails to fly her as Dark Copter tried hitting them with a shockwave caused by one of his tail whips! Frustrated, Dark Copter decided to go big. &quot;Time to demonstrate my power...&quot; he growled, the Phantom Ruby glowing bright as the ground quaked, and pink spikes erupted everywhere!! Gunner&#039;s robots were skewered and destroyed, while the living beings leapt out of the way in a panic! Fera stumbled to the ground as she was hit from the side, indirectly. Rushing to her, Sonic struggled with the collar, but it was Illusi who managed to disconnect it. &quot;You&#039;re safe, Fera... I won&#039;t let them hurt you...&quot; he said, pulling her into a hug.<br /><br />Copter was forced to drop Gemini, and as she laid on the ground, injured, Dark Copter stomped her tail. &quot;Tell me... Do you think he&#039;ll mourn you in the moments he has left?&quot; he asked. &quot;Will anyone mourn you?&quot; Copter shouted, pointing Gemini&#039;s wand at him, which he&#039;d recovered after she&#039;d dropped it. Dark Copter laughed. &quot;You can&#039;t use that! You can&#039;t do anything! You&#039;re feeble, and weak... a failed experiment through and through!&quot; he shouted. Copter smirked. &quot;That depends what the purpose of the experiment was. Hiccatastrophe!&quot; he said with a smirk, hitting Dark Copter with a spell that caused him to hiccup furiously. &quot;What &gt;hic&lt; the heck!! &gt;hic&lt; This won&#039;t &gt;hiccup&lt; stop me!!&quot; he groaned, holding his throat and stepping off Gemini&#039;s tail. She ran to Copter with wide eyes. &quot;You can...?&quot; she stammered. &quot;I was Areis, wasn&#039;t I?&quot; he smirked. As Dark Copter was distracted, Chaos rose from a nearby sewer grate. &quot;What &gt;hic&lt; do you want?&quot; he growled. Chaos plunged his hands into Dark Copter&#039;s chest, making him howl in pain as he began to suck Shadow Chaos out of the Phantom Ruby! &quot;He... he&#039;s taking his other half back!&quot; Knuckles gasped. The black fluid mingled with Chaos&#039; blue fluid before dissolving inside it, while the Phantom Ruby turned gray, cracking as Chaos took everything! It shattered as Chaos pulled his hands away, and Dark Copter stumbled forward, weakened. &quot;Ahhh... N-no... I need... To return to you... C-copter...&quot; he panted, shuffling towards him. Copter backed away. &quot;No thanks. I&#039;m whole without you.&quot; he huffed. &quot;You don&#039;t have a choice!&quot; Dark Copter sneered. However, Sonic leapt into the air and crashed down with a mighty homing attack, causing Dark Copter to collapse! &quot;The man said &#039;No!&#039;&quot; he shouted. Then, Dark Copter turned into dust. &quot;Uhhh... Whoops...&quot; Sonic said awkwardly, scratching his head, &quot;Didn&#039;t mean to murder him...&quot; he sighed. &quot;It&#039;s fine... He was so consumed with hate, this was the only way he could be at peace...&quot; Copter sighed. At this moment, Gunner looked around and cursed. &quot;Sonic... You distracted me. You took my pet away. You&#039;ve ruined everything for the last time! I will make you PAY for this, Sonic the Hedgehog!!&quot; he said before vanishing, a hologram. Spy jumped. &quot;Wait, I&#039;m not a hologram! Aaaaah!!&quot; he yelped, scurrying away. Lospecter turned around a single Chaos Card in his hand, all he&#039;d managed to swipe from Conan, and observed the pile of ash where Dark Copter was. &quot;Soooonic... You dusted my minion... He was gonna clinch things for me. You are DEAD, Sonic!! Dead, dead, dead!!&quot; he said before flying off. Anubis noticed Sonic&#039;s allies surrounding him, and he released Punchy and Violet. &quot;You will burn for this, Sonic!! You think you have won! My Covenant of Despair will return, stronger than ever!! And we&#039;re coming for YOU!!&quot; he vowed. Sonic sighed as he helped Fera up. &quot;Boy, I&#039;m makin&#039; friends today...&quot; he muttered. &quot;That&#039;s what happens when you&#039;re the face of heroism.&quot; Gemini sighed. <br /><br />Looking around, the heroes saw the people taking to the streets, chasing the remaining Despair goons and GUN forces out of town themselves, as the police department led by Chief Paynson, Razor the porcupine and Ridley the coati rallied them. The people began to cry out in unison. &quot;End the hate! End the hate! End the hate!&quot; During all this, Fera vanished into the shadows, but the rest of the heroes gathered in the center of the city in front of the clock tower. It seemed they&#039;d won the day. &quot;Well, you&#039;ve all done real good. Inspired the heck out of the people.&quot; Kosmo told them. &quot;You too, Kosmo?&quot; Tails smiled. He gave an awkward smile back. Violet found Patch and Daisy nearby. &quot;You&#039;re okay!&quot; she cried. &quot;We won&#039;t be for long if we don&#039;t get out of these uniforms, hee hee!&quot; Patch chuckled. Timothy sighed. &quot;Astra&#039;s not okay, though... Gemini... She&#039;s gone. Lospecter got her...&quot; he sighed. Gemini gasped and started to cry, burying her face in Copter&#039;s chest as he patted her on the head. &quot;She taught us all she could...&quot; he said. It seemed Mitch had rushed out in the chaos, too, but overall the gang was all there. Punchy even heard Rainbow&#039;s voice joined with the chanting. &quot;End the hate! End the hate!&quot; she said, holding baby Aurora as she approached. &quot;Rainbow, what in blazes are you doing here!?&quot; he asked. &quot;I had it on good authority that the battle would be over now. Hey, Shade. Nocturna!&quot; she said to Shadow and Shade, making them both roll their eyes. &quot;Who told you that?&quot; Sonic asked, only to freeze as he heard Amy call his name. &quot;Ohhh, no. I forgot to invite her again...&quot; he shivered. &quot;Yeah, you did! But I&#039;m so glad you&#039;re safe!!&quot; she said, hugging him tightly. Cream was with her as well, and waved shyly to Tails. &quot;I saw you on the news... You were... very brave.&quot; she smiled. Tails smiled back. &quot;Thanks, Cream.&quot; Behind them came Silver. &quot;Sorry I&#039;m late...&quot; he said. &quot;Ah, of course, future boy told ya it was safe!&quot; Copter said to Rainbow. &quot;Huh? What are you talking about. Blaze called me and asked if I could help with this battle. Seems I was too slow...&quot; he murmured. Rainbow cleared her throat. &quot;No, it wasn&#039;t Shiny... Uh, One, you might wanna sit down...&quot; she said. Everyone looked to see who was approaching next. It wasn&#039;t just one person, but a group, led by the green echidna who kinda looked like Rainbow. &quot;You all might wanna sit down, actually...&quot; Rainbow added. Before intros could be made, though, lightning crashed against the clock tower!<br /><br />It began to rain, and even more lightning crashed, striking the clock face! Everyone looked up to see a dark figure on the roof, hooded, with huge spikes on his back, red shoes and glowing yellow eyes. His voice boomed down from above. &quot;Your time is up! My prophecy is at hand!&quot; he declared. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles all spoke his name at once. &quot;The Doomsayer!&quot; they gasped. The weather worsened around the tower, and the Doomsayer cackled softly. &quot;This world&#039;s ending is at hand! As all life is snuffed out and the world becomes cold and barren, I reiterate my original prophecy... A fox of Prower blood will die, signalling the End of the End Days!&quot; he declared. Tails shivered, and felt Cream hugging him. Copter felt Gemini holding him tighter, too. &quot;We already beat that prophecy!&quot; Copter shouted. &quot;He&#039;s remaking it... Last time doesn&#039;t count I guess...&quot; Tails gulped. Sonic stepped forward and raised a fist. &quot;Hey, you! Don&#039;t threaten my friends! I will come up there so fast!!&quot; he warned. The Doomsayer laughed again. &quot;The children of doom are the Lost Ones, birthed from Doomlings, anti-life in itself. They are ready, and poised to end all life in existence. And with dark forces spread out vowing vengeance upon you in every direction, how can Sonic the Hedgehog hold back the inevitable? You cannot... no one can!&quot; he declared. With that, lightning struck the spot where the Doomsayer stood hard, and he was gone! Then, Lospecter was heard laughing. &quot;Nice diversion! Say hello, my dark chums!&quot; he cackled. As Punchy turned, the Chaos Key struck him, and in an instant, Dark Punchy had separated from Punchy! &quot;Oh, no...&quot; Illusi gulped. Knuckles turned and tried to punch Lospecter, but missed, and he next turned the key on Kosmo! &quot;Didja know? That super-evil Kosmogon from way back... was Dark Kosmo?&quot; he snickered, turning the key to generate a second Kosmo! He then created a portal and escaped with the two dark forms as everyone looked in bewilderment! Lospecter cackled as he used the Chaos Key to jump from place to place. He used it on Zipp, creating a green Dark Zipp, then Vortex, forming a white Dark Vortex, and then Crash, forming a somewhat grayer-colored Dark Crash! Escaping quickly, he found Spiny and turned the key on him, creating a dark form that somewhat resembled Shadow. &quot;VERY FUNNY!!&quot; Spiny snapped as he watched Lospecter escape. Heather&#039;s dark form, it seemed, hadn&#039;t been resurrected with her, but Lospecter even managed to warp to distant worlds to find Zeke, creating a black Dark Zeke, and startled Lucky on the Galestrom as he finished his collection by separating Whisk from Dark Whisk! &quot;Mee-yow!! There&#039;s another you that looks like your Halloween costume!!&quot; Lucky gasped. &quot;Come back home sometime, and maybe you&#039;ll learn more about this, kiddo!&quot; Lospecter chuckled, escaping with his final dark form!<br /><br />Everyone looked around in bewilderment. &quot;Just what we need. ALL the dark forms loose.&quot; Timothy said to sum it up. Rainbow turned to the group she was going to introduce, but found they had fled in the panic. &quot;Aw, no...&quot; she sighed. &quot;What now, Rainbow?&quot; Punchy asked. &quot;Just who were those people?&quot; Illusi questioned, the look of confusion a bit unusual on the shrew. Rainbow cleared her throat. &quot;Well, One... The green echidna was... She was our daughter, grown up... Everyone, those were our kids...from the future! They came to help stop the Reaper&#039;s prophecy!&quot; she told them. &quot;...Oh, she means the Doomsayer guy.&quot; Shade sighed. &quot;Our KIDS!?&quot; Amy shouted, wide eyed, &quot;Sonic!! We can meet our kids!!&quot; she said excitedly. Sonic began to sweat. &quot;But, where did they go?&quot; he asked. That was the latest in a long list of questions. It seemed now that the answers might not come...until Doomsday...<br /><br />The End...<br /><br />...Until the true end begins, in Sonic GeneX: Doomsday!</span>",
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  "title": "Sonic GeneX: the Series - Complete 5th Season",
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