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  "description": "Happy Halloween! Finally, here's this year's special.\nThis one actually contains two separate stories. The first is a continuation of the main Nightmare Zone plot, taking place at the same time as Nightmare Zone 3. Furthermore, it is a crossover with another story I started on FA, called \"Chaos Hearts\", which is itself a Sonic/Kingdom Hearts crossover. Confused yet?\n\nThere's a second story, too... Hey, wait, I wrote a foreword in this thing, why am I explaining this?!",
  "description_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>Happy Halloween! Finally, here&#039;s this year&#039;s special.<br />This one actually contains two separate stories. The first is a continuation of the main Nightmare Zone plot, taking place at the same time as Nightmare Zone 3. Furthermore, it is a crossover with another story I started on FA, called &quot;Chaos Hearts&quot;, which is itself a Sonic/Kingdom Hearts crossover. Confused yet?<br /><br />There&#039;s a second story, too... Hey, wait, I wrote a foreword in this thing, why am I explaining this?!</span>",
  "writing": "GeneX - Nightmare Zone: Act V\n\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\nForeword\n\n\nHi, I'm 2BIT, and this is my 5th annual Halloween Special! Yay and all that! Just a short foreword. There are two stories posted here, not one. The first is a continuation of the Nightmare Zone story that you may already be familiar with. The second is a brand new horror tale without fancharacters for those who are sick of my OCs. OK, have fun!\n\n\nEpisode 1: The Heartless Machine\n\n\nThere are many names for alternate dimensions. Some call them realities. Some call them universes. A few simply call them other worlds. There is a cluster of these worlds that are said to have once been part the same world. GeneX Necros was never part of this world. A dark, evil place, the balance between good and evil was forever altered. A terrible shroud of darkness began to cover the land. This darkness was called the Nightmare Zone. It started in a forest, and over the course of the first year, it spread to a nearby city. Now, it is spreading further. However, the denizens of this world who once dwelled in light still hope to make a stand. As the Nightmare Zone covers the Mystic Ruins, one hedgehog is determined to break the Black Curse placed upon him, and defeat the Nightmare Zone.\n\nMeanwhile, another hero has set off on his own journey. Flying from world to world in a ship called \"the Galestrom,\" this black cat named Lucky has a mission to protect all worlds from another brand of darkness, one that feeds upon the darkness in peoples' hearts. As the ship carrying him nears the world of GeneX Necros, the passengers begin to get an uneasy feeling. \"We can't land there! Look, the darkness from that world is already messing with the ship's navigation!\" said Whisk the divine, a winged feline who was training to use magic. \"No, it's been acting like that ever since Winston decided to tinker with it while we were exploring a world!\" said Travis, the human who owned the ship. \"I only wanted to learn how the ship works! Curiosity is the road to knowledge, kupo.\" said Winston, an unusual creature called a moogle. Lucky looked at the world ahead of them nervously. \"I don't like what curiosity does to cats, though...\" he said. \"Well, where else do we go? There are no other pathways. We're landing!\" Travis insisted, tired of piloting the ship. As the Galestrom flew over the treetops of a forest, however, something started to go wrong. The ship began to shake violently! \"Mee-yow!! What's going on!?\" Lucky yelped. \"We seem to be experiencing some turbulence... We have to land!!\" Travis shouted as his control over the ship faltered. Soon, the Galestrom crashed, and Lucky and his group had arrived at the Nightmare Zone.\n\nLucky and Whisk climbed out of the Galestrom while Travis was attempting to assess the damage the ship had taken. The found themselves in a dark, creepy forest: the Night Woods. Lucky shivered as he looked around. \"This is one spooky place...\" he said. Whisk frowned at him. \"It's just a forest in the middle of the night. Don't be such a scaredy cat.\" she said. Suddenly, a stampede of rats with glowing red eyes sped past them, making them both jump and scream! \"Meee-yow!!! Zombie rats!!\" Lucky shouted while Whisk teleported to the top of the Galestrom. The rats simply ran past them, not even stopping to look at them, and soon they were gone. Whisk peered down and chuckled sheepishly. \"Some cat, afraid of rats...\" she joked. Lucky glanced up at her. \"Hey! Get down here!! Don't leave me alone!\" he yelled. Just then, Travis stepped out of the ship. \"Bad news, guys. I can't figure out what's wrong with the ship. It simply won't start, even though nothing appears to be wrong with it.\" he said. \"Wait, so we're stuck here!?\" Whisk groaned. Lucky crossed his arms. \"Hmph! I think you're the one who's scared.\" he said. Travis shrugged. \"Anyway... It's going to take some time to figure this out. So, me and Winston will stay here and work on the ship. You go and look for this world's keyhole.\" he suggested. Whisk teleported down next to Lucky, startling him. \"Wait! You can't stay behind, Travis! You've got the journal and everything! What about your research and stuff?\" she whined. Travis sighed. \"It's not to be, I guess. You two can tell me all about this world when you get back anyway.\" he said, turning and walking back into the ship. Winston flew out briefly, took a look around, and then headed back into the ship. \"W-well, I don't n-need any supplies from a p-place like t-this, kupo. Good luck!\" he said, obviously scared. Lucky turned around and looked thoughtful. \"So, which way should we go first...?\" he wondered. Whisk stepped behind him and shoved him forward. \"I don't care, but the key bearer gets to lead the way! Go, go, go!\" she insisted. Lucky sighed and went deeper into the woods, followed by Whisk.\n\nThere were few landmarks in the woods, and it wasn't long before they realized they were lost. \"Gosh, this is the most creepy, dark, empty world ever...\" Whisk whined as they kept wandering aimlessly. \"Well, we've got to find a gateway, or else we won't be able to get to another world. Plus, we should find the keyhole so that the Heartless don't wreck this place...\" Lucky insisted. \"Oh, that would be such a shame...\" Whisk said sarcastically. Suddenly, they heard some movement ahead. \"Eeep... More rats, maybe?\" Whisk whispered. \"Shh! I'll check it out...\" Lucky muttered, cautiously tiptoeing toward the sound. Footsteps were coming in his direction. He quickly hid behind a tree, and the person ahead of him did the same. Lucky slowly peered around the tree... and saw himself! \"Huh... Mirror...\" said both Luckys, causing them both to jump in surprise. \"MEEE-YOW!!\" they shrieked, drawing Whisk's attention. \"I'm here to save you, Lucky!! I... WHAT!?\" she gasped upon seeing two Luckys. \"Keep it down! What did I tell you about making noise and giving away our position?\" said a voice that Lucky recognized. Behind the second Lucky, Bucky the rat soon emerged. He was accompanied by an orange coati with a blue striped tail, as well as an echidna wearing a black uniform and a purple weasel wearing a brown hat. They all looked a bit shocked to see two Luckys. \"What in the... I don't remember creating two of you...\" Bucky said. The second Lucky hid behind Bucky and pointed frantically at his twin. \"It must be a monster that copied me to try and trick us!!\" he shouted. Lucky shook his head, and then summoned his keyblade! \"No way! I say you're the monster! Stand back, father! I'll get him!\" Before Lucky could attack, Whisk grabbed him by the wrist. \"Stop it!! This isn't our world!! That's you from this world!!\" she shouted.\n\nIt took a moment, but they soon came to understand that the two Luckys were, in fact, counterparts from different worlds, in much the same way that there were other Sonics across the worlds. \"I guess that makes sense... It explains how Whisk can still be alive.\" Bucky said. Whisk looked nervous. \"What... I'm dead!?\" she whimpered. Bucky took a moment to introduce his companions. \"I don't know if you know these people, but that coati there is Ridley. The echidna is Shade, and the weasel is called Nack. They're helping me attempt to retrieve my ship, Shadow Arcangel. I had more experiments with me, but I've lost contact with them. They are most likely dead.\" he explained. Shade crossed her arms. \"I can't believe the world fell into such darkness while my clan was trapped in the Twilight Cage...\" she grumbled. Lucky and Whisk looked puzzled, so Nack decided to explain things. \"Brace yourselves, kids. You're trapped in the Nightmare Zone. This is a dark, evil place... Well, more a cloak of super evil than a place. Ghosts and monsters run free around here, stronger than they could ever be in the light.\" he said. Ridley nodded. \"Worse, because the Nightmare Zone is more an evil force than a place, it's been able to spread. Our allies are busy trying to stop it from spreading, and we're trying to reclaim Shadow Arc so that we can fly away from danger, but it won't be easy...\" he said. Bucky frowned. \"Yes. You see, flying vehicles don't work in the Nightmare Zone. Or at least, not usually, but I've heard that Dr. Eggman has found a way to get his hovercraft off the ground, so we're going to try to find a way to get Shadow Arcangel flying, too.\" he said. With the explanations completed, Lucky and Whisk glanced at each other nervously. \"So... Our ship won't be able to fly, either?\" Whisk realized. Lucky held up his keyblade. \"Then we'll have to help you all out! We'll all have a better chance if we work together!\" he declared. Necros Lucky looked less confident. \"Easy for you to say, you've got a magic sword. Totally not fair...\" he groaned. At any rate, they all agreed that it would be foolish not to join forces, so they set out together.\n\nSo, with Bucky leading the way, they headed through the woods towards the place where Shadow Arcangel had crashed two years before. Lucky looked around, watching strange white flames that were floating in the air, burning without touching anything. \"Should we be worried about that fire?\" he wondered. Nack shook his head. \"Don't mind them, mate. They're just the ghosts of the Nightmare Zone.\" he explained. Whisk looked nervous. \"Ghosts!?\" she gasped. Shade snickered. \"What, are you scared? They're not gonna eat us, you know.\" she pointed out. Ridley shushed everyone. \"Keep it down. There are worse things than ghosts out here, and we don't want to draw that kind of attention...\" he warned. Suddenly, the ghosts started chuckling at them. \"Hee hee hee hee...\" Necros Lucky looked up at them curiously. \"What's so funny?\" The ghosts ignored him and continued chuckling ominously. Nack drew a gun and started looking around cautiously. \"I've heard the ghosts try to scare people mostly as a way to warn them about danger. On your toes, mates...\" he said. \"Hee hee hee hee...\" Suddenly, a different sounding laugh was heard overhead. Glancing up and behind them, they saw an Egg Mobile following them! Bucky growled as he saw the dark figure piloting the vehicle. \"Eggman Nega! I knew I'd encounter someone like you around here!\" he said. Nega laughed at them like a madman. \"Oh... I really must be losing it! I'm seeing two of the same cat down there! I must really miss Blaze... When I'm through here, I'll have to go back home and detach her head from her body to mount on my wall! Now, let's see... How to destroy you? Maybe I'll feed you to my new pets! Come on out, creatures of darkness!\" At Eggman Nega's command, several dark creatures began to appear. They resembled those who had died in the Nightmare Zone! Except they were black, like shadows, and had red eyes, jagged fangs, clawed hands, and heartless emblems on their chests! Lucky quickly summoned his keyblade. \"Man, these are some gruesome heartless!\" he said. The heartless present resembled Amy, Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge, Jet, Zeke, and even Whisk, which freaked the live Whisk out. \"There's-a-zombie-heartless-me-over-there!! Let's get outta here!!\" she shouted. Nack fired a few shots at the heartless, only to find it was useless. \"Right... Zombies... Bye, mates!\" As he took off into the woods, the others gradually started to follow suit, scattering in different directions. \"Well? Go get them!\" Eggman Nega commanded. The heartless obeyed, and Eggman Nega was about to follow them, when a lone ghost flew into his path, making him spin in the air a moment. \"Whooooa! Who dares slow me down!?\" The ghost of Gemini the fennec was hovering in front of him, glaring at him. \"You?\" he growled. \"You won't get away with destroying our world...\" she said.\n\nThe scattered group ran a good distance and regrouped when they were pretty sure they had lost the heartless. They even managed to arrive at Shadow Arcangel's crash site, but some of their group was missing. Ridley, Shade, and one of the two Luckys was missing. Whisk looked concerned. \"Uh oh... Which Lucky are you?\" she asked. \"The REAL one.\" he replied smugly. Nack shook his head. \"He's the useless one...\" he grumbled. \"HEY!!\" Lucky protested. Bucky shushed everyone. \"Come on. Let's get inside before something else happens.\" he whispered. They crept over to the entrance to the ship, and after walking through the dark hallways for a bit, they came to the old experiment containment room, which was in serious a serious mess. \"Wow... Just like home... Except for all the... Ahhh-chooo!! Dust...\" Whisk sneezed. Nack looked around. \"It's not dust. It's cobwebs.\" he grumbled. Suddenly, an enormous tarantula hung down from the ceiling in front of Lucky! \"MEEE-YOW!!!\" he shrieked, jumping back! Bucky laughed at him. \"That's nothing. You should see the size of the spiders in the wilder parts of the Nightmare Zone. They'll bite your head off.\" he said. Just then, dozens more of those tarantulas sped across the floor, making Lucky and Nack jump, and causing Whisk to take flight! Bucky groaned. \"All right, you babies, I'll take care of them!\" he growled, pointing his fingers at the tarantulas and shooting bolts of electricity at them, frying some and scaring the others away! \"Errr... Fire!\" Whisk shouted, hitting one more with a fire spell on its way out. \"That'll... uh... teach them!\" she said. Nack shuddered. \"If you mates are quite through GOOFING OFF, I think we ought to get moving! We don't want to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves!\" Just then, some impacts were heard in the hallway, and some of the tarantulas were hurled back into the room! The heartless resembling Knuckles, Amy, Zeke, and Whisk crept into the room! \"Thanks for screaming, Mr. Don't-Draw-Unnecessary-Attention...\" Lucky groaned. Bucky pointed to the next hallway. \"The Arcangel is like a maze! We'll lose them inside! Hurry!\" he shouted.\n\n\nRidley, Shade, and the other Lucky kept looking around, but had lost track of the others. Instead, they ended up at a dark, creepy castle. Lucky held his keyblade like a cane and rested after all the running. \"Why didn't you guys fight? Why'd you all run away?\" he asked. Ridley frowned. \"You kidding? To fight a pack of monsters in the Nightmare Zone is suicide! Somehow the odds always seem to be in their favor. I know it sounds like superstition, but trust me on this. It almost never works out.\" he said. While they were resting, the ghost of Gemini appeared nearby. \"E-excuse me...\" she said. \"Mee-yow!!\" Lucky yelped, startled, but Shade and Ridley showed no fear. \"It's a poor soul who died in the Nightmare Zone...\" Shade said, \"What can we do for you?\" Gemini looked up at the castle tower nervously. \"This wretched tower... This is where all of the horrors began. This is where our worlds heroes first fell and the Nightmare Zone began to grow in strength. The two Eggmen are using this place to further the Nightmare Zone's coup.\" she explained. Lucky scratched his head. \"You don't say...\" Shade looked up at the tower. \"What exactly are they doing up there?\" she asked. Gemini shuddered. \"Eggman built a terrible machine. It's been making vicious creatures with the hearts of those who died in the Nightmare Zone!\" she explained. Lucky growled. \"He built a machine that's creating heartless from dead people? That's just plain sick!\" he said. Ridley nodded. \"Let's get in there and put a stop to it, then! Quickly, while we have the element of surprise!\" he suggested. The trio quickly ran inside the castle, despite Gemini's protest. \"No, wait! Not yet!\" she pleaded. As soon as they were inside the tomb-like entrance area, the door slammed shut behind them, and Eggman Nega started cackling at them. \"Surpriiiiiise...\" he chuckled. The heartless resembling Shadow, Rouge and Jet were there, as well as a number of more generic heartless. Lucky gulped and glanced at his companions. \"Either of you got a plan B?\" he asked. Ridley shrugged. \"Try not to get killed?\" he said. Shade groaned. \"I miss the Twilight Cage...\"\n\n\nFollowing Bucky, the others managed to reach Shadow Arcangel's control room and evade the heartless. \"That was close... Hey, do I smell gunpowder?\" Nack muttered, glancing at some boxes in the corner. Bucky shrugged. \"Those are Zipp's weapons. Help yourself, our need is greater at the moment.\" he said. Nack took a peek inside one of the boxes and grinned. \"I think I like this Zipp guy...\" he chuckled, examining a sniper rifle. \"I'm afraid you're too late!\" said someone who was already in the room. Bucky, Whisk and Lucky looked towards the back of the room to see an orange cat dressed as a witch. It was Tabitha! She was standing beside one of the ship's power terminals, where for some strange reason, the Master Emerald had been inserted. The emerald had taken on a sinister black color, which had been caused two years before. Nack made some adjustments to the sniper rifle and joined Whisk and Lucky in looking at Tabitha in confusion. \"Who's the broad?\" he asked. Bucky growled. \"It's the witch who wishes to resurrect the Lord of Nightmares. Tabitha. But what are you doing here?\" he asked. Tabitha cackled a little. \"As if you fools aren't all working together! That shrew thought he could hide the Master Emerald from me, but his illusions can't hide things from my magic! Now, my plans will proceed on schedule!\" she said. Nack scoffed and fired his rifle at her, only to have his shot deflected by magic! \"Cripes! Don't guns work on ANYTHING here?\" he growled. To make matters worse, the heartless had found their way into the room. \"Oh, great... They must've followed us by our hearts...\" Whisk groaned. Tabitha looked at them deviously. \"Hmmm, do I finish you myself, or do I let your friends devour you? Decisions, decisions... Hey, I thought I killed that one last year!\" she realized, looking at Whisk. \"NO ONE CHEATS DEATH FROM ME!!\" Tabitha yelled, hurling a spell at her! \"Look out!!\" shouted Lucky, hurling himself into the path of the spell just in time! The spell struck him in the chest, and he fell to the floor, dead. \"L-lucky!! NOOOO!!!\" Whisk screamed, horrified. Nack growled angrily. \"That's it. I'll fix that hag. Stand back!!\" Before he or anyone else could do anything, however, Whisk grabbed him and Bucky by the arms and teleported them away! Tabitha shrugged at their sudden exit. \"The Master Emerald is mine now. By the end of the night, there won't be any hope left for them!\" she grinned.\n\n\n\"Hello? Hellooooo? Wakey wakey, kitty! Get us outta these cages!\" Lucky slowly opened his eyes to see a familiar man in an alligator suit standing over him. \"G-gator? What happened?\" he muttered. Gator groaned. \"I've been having one lousy night. I just got mauled by a werehog a few minutes ago! Hey, did I ever tell you about the headless Lost One?\" he asked. Ridley & Shade, who were standing nearby, both groaned. \"Don't listen to him. He hasn't made any sense since he was tossed into this cell.\" Ridley said. Lucky looked around. They were trapped in a cage! \"Huh!? How'd this happen!?\" he gasped. Shade shrugged. \"We lost. Eggman Nega was oddly merciful, though.\" she said. Their cell was located at the room at the very top of the tower. The red carpeted floor was still stained with blood and remnants of Shadow Chaos. The hole in the window had been patched up with cardboard, and along the wall was a large machine, pulsing with the power of darkness! Above it, a strange hole seemed to have been carved in the wall, leaking blood. Its shape was familiar to Lucky. \"Th- That's the keyhole!\" he realized. A heartless resembling an alligator emerged from the machine. Gator almost seemed to recognize it. \"Cuthburt...? Nah, on second thought, that looks nothing like him.\" he said. The heartless turned toward the keyhole and lunged at it, but was repelled by a sort of force field, apparently created by the same machine. Eggman Nega was seated at the throne by the desk, the same place the other Eggman was found passed out two years before. \"Thank you for joining us, cat boy. After you lost consciousness, that lovely key of yours disappeared. I am ever so curious to find out how you used it to destroy some of my normally invincible creatures back there.\" he said. Lucky snickered at him. \"Well, I could give you a demonstration...\" he summoned the keyblade and pointed it at the cell door, unlocking it and dashing out, quickly striking down the alligator heartless! As the others ran out of the cell, Eggman Nega stood up from the throne, drew a laser and fired! Lucky looked back in shock as he watched Ridley fall to the floor! \"Looks like my number's up... Don't hesitate... to kill... my heartless...\" he said as he died. Eggman Nega's heartless army began to emerge from the shadows of the room as he cackled at them. \"Now... Let's discuss this under MY terms, shall we?\" he growled.\n\nSuddenly, someone started banging on the door! A gunshot was heard, and the door slowly opened. \"Finally, my gun worked on something!\" said Nack, who was accompanied by Bucky and Whisk! Eggman Nega glanced at them with surprise. \"How did you find this place?\" he asked. The ghost of Gemini hovered in the air behind them, waving. Gator screamed upon seeing her. \"Yaaaaah!! A GHOST!! This is just like that weird Paranormal whatshamacallit special from last year! Or was it next year? Never mind! I'm outta here!!\" he shouted, teleporting away! Whisk saw Lucky with the keyblade and ran to his side. \"Lucky!! You're alive!! I mean, I knew one of you was alive, but... They wouldn't give me a straight answer about which one and...\" she gave him a relieved hug, but this was no time to celebrate. \"Whisk!! Not now!! The keyhole!!\" he shouted. Eggman Nega growled and pulled a remote from his pocket, pressing a button which called his Egg Mobile, which had to crash through the patched up window to reach him, not that he cared. He hopped in and glared at his foes below. \"You dare try to stop my glorious darkness from spreading!? The Lord of Nightmares will awaken, and this world will die! Even Sonic can't stop it! What hope do you have? Dark creatures! Devour them!!\" he yelled. The heartless went on the attack, and Lucky and Whisk immediately set to work trying to defend those of them who couldn't harm the heartless. Lucky slashed his keyblade at the heartless carefully, making sure not to mistake a friend for a foe in the dark room. Shade kept some of them at bay with her clan's laser based weapons, it had little effect on the heartless, as did Bucky's lightning. Meanwhile, Nack was utterly frustrated by his gun's utter uselessness, and the fact that the machine was simply remaking each heartless as soon as it fell. \"All right... I'm gonna take that gizmo apart!!\" he yelled, aiming his sniper rifle at it. Eggman Nega looked at him in surprise. \"What? NO!! Don't you dare!!\" he shouted, pulling out his own laser. The chaos made it hard enough to aim, and now Nack had to watch out for Nega. \"Aw, blast it! Move out of my way!!\" he yelled, waiting only a moment before firing several shots at the heartless machine! As the machine started sparking, Eggman Nega started shooting furiously at Nack, leaving the poor weasel unable to find cover in time! He collapsed in a heap, but the heartless seemed confused by the machine's partial destruction. \"The heartless are reacting to the shift in darkness!\" Eggman Nega realized. One more heartless managed to escape the machine, but the group acted fast to make sure no more would. Bucky and Shade attacked the machine with everything they had, while Lucky and Whisk set about attacking the confused heartless, setting their hearts free at last!\n\nWith the machine destroyed, the force field surrounding the keyhole was gone, and the few remaining heartless were becoming enticed by it. They included heartless resembling Shadow, Jet, Ridley, Gemini, and one particularly nasty looking one. It was the last one to escape the machine, and Eggman Nega chuckled upon seeing it. \"Ah, the emergency creature. Say hello to our resurrected version of Shadow Chaos!\" he said. It looked like Shadow Chaos, but it wore the heartless emblem on its chest, and was a bit more feral looking. It flailed some long, black tendrils around the room, forcing everyone to take cover, while Eggman Nega started shooting to make counterattacks more difficult. Bucky glanced up at the keyhole. \"That thing must be important. I'll keep the heartless away from it.\" he said. Shade nodded. \"I'll assist as well! You try to stop that... thing!\" she said. Lucky and Whisk nodded, and tried to approach \"Heartless Chaos,\" but it shot out a wave of black fluid from its arms, knocking them back! The fluid was painful to the touch, apparently infused with dark energy. \"Oww... Whisk, try some magic...\" Lucky suggested. \"Ummm... Thunder!!\" she shouted, but the thunder magic had little effect. Meanwhile, the other heartless were getting closer to the keyhole. Bucky and Shade were throwing everything they had at them, but could barely slow them down. Eggman Nega watched the battle, laughing in amusement. \"Poor fools. You're trapped in the Nightmare Zone. It's useless. Darkness wins. ALWAYS!\" he said. Lucky glanced at him and chuckled. \"Oh, yeah? Tell that to your machine!\" he teased. Bucky and Shade had their backs together, and were nearly surrounded. \"Not a good time for jokes, kid!\" Bucky shouted. \"BACK OFF!!\" shouted the ghost of Gemini, who flew in and tried her best to mess with the heartless. Being a ghost, she couldn't do much to them, but as she charged at the heartless resembling herself, the collision knocked them both to the floor! Lucky turned around to see the Shadow, Jet, and Ridley heartless surrounding Bucky and Shade, but before it was too late, someone shouted at them. \"Solare!!\" A powerful beam of light struck the heartless, destroying them! Bucky and Shade looked to see Gemini standing there, restored to life! Eggman Nega looked down in bewilderment. \"What!? How!?\" he muttered. Lucky shook his head. \"No... clue...\" he muttered. \"Maybe her heart colliding with her soul restored her somehow?\" Whisk muttered. Suddenly, Heartless Chaos let out an enraged roar, and sent another wave of black fluid through the room! Whisk, thinking fast, grabbed Lucky and teleported behind the heartless! \"That's enough of that!\" she shouted. Lucky jumped at the heartless and swung his keyblade. \"Take that!! ...Uh oh...\" Heartless Chaos split itself to evade the attack, and then slid aside and reshaped itself in its normal form! Eggman Nega laughed. \"Idiots! Even Sonic couldn't beat Nightmare Chaos. This is basically the same thing. You're all dead!\" he said. Gemini smirked. \"But he was ultimately on his own...\" she said. Everyone exchanged glances and nodded. Then, they all started firing whatever ranged attacks they had at their disposal. Bucky's lightning, Shade's lasers, Gemini's magic, and Whisk's magic all focused on Heartless Chaos, holding it in place! Lucky gripped his keyblade and tried once again. \"Let's try this one more time!! Hi-yaaaa!!\" With a couple powerful slashes, the heartless faded away, releasing a heart and leaving Eggman Nega as the only threat left in the room. He pointed his laser around the room, but thought better of it. \"Hey... It's after midnight, isn't it? Where's the kaboom? ...There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering kaboom... Ugh, delays delays... See you next year, cretins!\" he grumbled, flying out of the room. With everyone breathing a collective sigh of relief, Lucky walked over to the keyhole and held up his keyblade. \"Here goes...\" A beam of light flew from the tip of his blade and entered the keyhole, causing it to glow, and soon vanish, and as it did, the entire room seemed to light up! Everyone quickly took a look outside. A change had come over the Night Woods. The dense fog had lessened, the trees looked greener, and though the darkness still hung heavy over the area, it felt as though part of the evil had been extinguished.\n\nLater, the group was gathered in front of the Galestrom. Lucky's heartless friend, Dark, had found him and delivered a note from Travis saying that the ship was running again. Now, Lucky and Whisk were saying their goodbyes to Shade and Gemini. Bucky had insisted on returning to Shadow Arcangel, despite the dangers on going on his own. \"You really have to go?\" Shade asked. Gemini chuckled. \"That's a silly question. What she means is, can we come with you?\" she asked. Lucky sighed. \"As dangerous as this world is, I think it's all the more reason why you're needed in it.\" he said. Gemini nodded. \"I know. I'll do my best not to waste this second chance.\" she said. Whisk sighed. \"Yeah... Try to avenge our deaths for us. I can't believe we died in this world...\" she said. Suddenly, the ground began to shake, startling the group. \"Meee-yow!! What NOW!?\" Lucky shouted. Looking in the direction of the sound, and then up, they soon saw Shadow Arcangel rising into the sky! Travis stepped out and whistled upon seeing the ship. \"She's a beauty. Oh, and did you see that castle? I admit, I took a little walk while you were away... Found a curious book in the castle's library. Tells a legend about a visitor from another world with a lust for the power of darkness. When he learned of a Nightmare Zone on this world, it's said he cast a spell on the keyhole to prevent aircraft from flying in the zone. Meant it as a way to trap his enemies in eternal darkness. Nice ghost story to tell around Halloween, eh?\" he chuckled. Shade laughed nervously. \"Yeah... story...\" she said. While Lucky looked up at the ship, his keyblade appeared and started to glow! A flash of light shot up from Shadow Arcangel, and took the shape of a giant keyhole in the sky! \"The whole ship is the gate!?\" Lucky gasped. He jumped back and pointed his keyblade up, opening the gateway to the next world! Gemini scratched her head. \"What the heck?\" she muttered. \"It's officially time to go! A new world is waiting!\" Lucky said. Gemini and Shade waved as Lucky, Whisk and Travis boarded the Galestrom. \"Bye! We won't forget you!\" they said before Gemini teleported them aboard Shadow Arcangel. Bucky gasped at their sudden appearance. \"Don't do that to an old man! Well, I guess we should head for the Mystic Ruins and check the damage. I hope Sonic's still alive.\" he said. Gemini smiled. \"Something tells me he is!\" As the Galestrom took off, Winston breathed a sigh of relief. \"Why did you all leave me alone like that!? And with Dark, no less! No offense...kupo.\" he said. Dark pouted, clearly offended. Travis chuckled. \"Now, Winston, I wasn't gone that long. Honestly, I hardly got a good look around. Maybe if we have time later, we could go back, because-\" Lucky and Whisk wouldn't let him finish. \"NO WAY!!\" they screamed, their faces looking pale at the very suggestion. They might have left the world of GeneX Necros with a little more hope than when they found it, but one visit was more than enough! The end...?\n\n\nEpisode 2: Metal Massacre\n\n\nIt was a brisk autumn evening. A bit chilly, but the breeze didn't bother Amy as she made her way through the familiar trails of Green Hill Zone on her way to meet Sonic. She had been looking forward to this for a long time. However, she would not make it to see her beloved blue boyfriend. As she walked, she soon came across an old fashioned robot she remembered Sonic describing to her in the past. A robot resembling a ladybug, called a Motobug! She immediately pulled out her Piko Piko Hammer. \"You? Aw, please! Don't even think about delaying my date with Sonic!\" she warned. The Motobug's eyes darted back and forth, and it let out a loud buzzing sound! Just then, a pair of Batbots flew out and flapped their wings in her face! \"Ahh!! Get away, you creeps!\" she shouted, swinging her hammer blindly! Drills popped out of the ground below her, and she tripped over them, falling backwards and dropping her hammer! \"No!! Stop! What are you doing!?\" she screamed. Robotic heads popped out of the ground, revealing the drills to be the noses of Burrowbots. Monkey-like Kikis emerged to pin Amy down as the Motobug approached her, its sharp pincers rising, poised to strike! It was then that Amy realized these robots intentions. \"No!! Wait!! You could kidnap me! Use me as bait for Sonic! Isn't that Eggman's plan?! Stop!! Don't!! S-sooooonic!!! Save me!!!\" she screamed desperately. The Motobug's pincers swiftly crashed down, and rose and fell a few more times before Amy's screams finally fell silent. A robot resembling Dr. Eggman stood over the body. It was an Eggrobo, and it was carrying a communicator. \"Unit Amy Rose is deactivated. Mission has gone unhindered.\" it reported. \"Well done.\" A voice replied, a mechanical sounding voice that could possibly have been disguised. \"Move on and search for the next target.\" the voice commanded. The Eggrobo gave a nod, and the robots began to move about in their own ways, leaving Amy's mangled body where it was.\n\nIt wasn't like Amy to be late for a date. That was Sonic's job. So, when it came to his attention, he gathered his friends Tails and Knuckles and set out to investigate. A quick dash through Green Hill Zone, and they were horrified by the sight of her bloodied corpse. \"A-amy...? AMY!!\" Sonic shouted, shaking her in desperation. \"C'mon... Hang on!\" he cried. Knuckles shook his head. \"We're too late, Sonic. She's gone.\" he said. Tails wiped away some tears and pulled Sonic to his feet. His legs wobbled. He was in shock, and he could barely stand. \"You know who did this, Sonic.\" Tails said, \"It had to be Eggman. Who else would?\" Sonic clenched his teeth in rage. Eggman did it. It made sense. \"Th-that monster... He killed her... Just to get to me! This is IT! He's crossed a line, now! I'm going after him!\" he growled, but as he went to run, he stumbled to the ground. He was still in shock. \"Sonic! You need to take a moment!\" Knuckles suggested. Sonic glared at him. \"I'll have all the time in the world when Eggman's dead!\" he snapped. Tails patted him on the back. \"Easy, Sonic. If Eggman went this far, he must really think he's ready for you this time. We need to go in prepared...\" he warned. Sonic climbed to his feet and started running. \"I don't care!! Eggman thinks he's ready!? Well I got news! He'd BETTER be!!\" he screamed as he tore off faster than Tails or Knuckles could ever hope to keep up with. They glanced at each other. \"I'm scared Knuckles...\" he muttered. Knuckles nodded. \"Yeah... I kinda am, too. I'm gonna head for Angel Island a minute, and then I'll be on my way to help just as soon as I can.\" he said. Tails nodded. \"I'll head to my workshop and get the Tornado. I have a very bad feeling about all this...\" he whimpered. They both glanced at Amy and shed a tear for her. \"I think he loved you after all...\" Knuckles muttered before the two went their separate ways.\n\nAs if the events of the evening weren't stressful enough, Knuckles found Rouge the Bat sitting atop the Master Emerald when he arrived. \"Hello... How's the guardian business?\" she asked, a sly grin on her face. Knuckles growled at her angrily. \"Beat it! Now is NOT the time for this!\" he shouted. Rouge pouted. \"What's got your dreads in a knot?\" she grumbled. Knuckles sighed and responded with utmost seriousness. \"Amy has been murdered. Does that sound serious enough for you?\" he sneered. Rouge was taken aback. \"Oh... I... I had no idea. That IS serious. I... I guess we'll talk later...\" She hopped off the Master Emerald and flew on her way, heading for the tunnel leading out of Angel Island. \"My god... Could Eggman really do that? I mean, Sonic I could understand, but her?\" she muttered as she flapped her wings, passing slowly through the dark tunnel. Some other wings could be heard in the tunnel with her. She listened carefully and flipped in midair, kicking the Batbot that was following her and smashing it to bits! \"Nice try, Eggie!\" she grunted. Suddenly, she noticed more robots emerge from the tunnel leading to IceCap. \"Listen, bots. I'm no pushover like Amy.\" she warned. Eggrobo, the other Batbot, a bee-like Buzzer, and an Egg Pawn with a laser had emerged to challenge her. Eggrobo motioned to the others, and the Batbot and Buzzer charged at Rouge! She nimbly dodged the charging Batbot and weaved out of the way as the Buzzer fired a laser at her. The Egg Pawn attempted to sneak behind her and shoot her as well, but she dropped down and kicked the gun from its hands! \"Ha ha! This isn't seriously how Amy was killed, was it?\" she chuckled. Suddenly, Eggrobo gave a wave of his hand, and the robots rushed her! She scrambled out of the way quickly, but their goal seemed not to be to hit her. \"Drop!\" Eggrobo commanded. A black and yellow striped spider robot called a Grabber dropped from the ceiling and grabbed Rouge tight in its clutches! \"Hey!! Let me go!! Don't get fresh with me, robot!!\" she shouted, struggling to break free. It was no use, and what was worse, the Grabber was flashing and beeping loudly. \"What? N-noooo!!\" In a moment, the Grabber exploded with Rouge in its arms, the force of the blast hurtling her to the rocky floor of the tunnel hard! \"Ooof!! Aaack!!\" she yelled, panting hard from her injuries as the robots gathered around her. The Buzzer aimed its stinger laser directly between her eyes. \"Wait! We can make a deal! We can...\" BLAM!! Rouge was dead. Eggrobo called his master. \"Unit Rouge is deactivated. Unit Batbot 1 was lost in the process. Mission will still continue as planned...\"\n\n\nTails found that the Tornado needed some maintenance, so he pulled out his tools and set to work, hoping to get the necessary work done as quickly as possible. \"I wish Sonic hadn't run off like that. He could be dead by the time I get there...\" he said, shivering. Suddenly, he heard some banging noises outside. \"What's that...? Maybe Sonic had a change of mind...\" he muttered, crawling out from under the plane. He then heard a whirring sound, followed by other strange noises. \"What the... H-hello...?\" Not sure what to expect, he picked up a baseball bat and started heading for the exit to his garage. He peered outside, but saw nothing. \"My imagination? Easy, Tails... Don't go off the deep end, here...\" he muttered. Suddenly, something was dropped from the roof to the floor in front of him. It was a round, coconut shaped bomb! \"Yikes!!\" Tails shouted, jumping into his workshop to avoid the blast! Through the smoke of the explosion, the Motobug and the two Kikis entered the workshop and charged at Tails! He picked up his bat and struck the Motobug, causing it to spin out and crash into the wall! With the bug now a flaming wreck, Tails flew over the Kikis and ran for the door. \"Eggman was behind this after all! But why these robots? What's so special about them?\" he panted as he burst out of the garage. Suddenly, two Burrowbots jumped out of the ground, startling him! The Kikis tossed bombs out the door, so Tails' only option was to take to the sky! He flew carefully between the two Burrowbots and landed on the roof of his workshop, watching as an Egg Fighter, a purple variation of the Egg Pawn, joined the robots below. \"Quite a random assortment of robots. And they move in synch real well. This is almost too smart for Eggman...\" he muttered. The robots just stood there, staring up at him. \"What're they waiting for...?\" he wondered, until he heard a propeller behind him. A familiar bladed enemy called a Spinner was behind him, and as Tails turned and backed away from it, it charged into him, its spinning blade slicing through his neck, sending his head and body toppling to the ground separately! Eggrobo arrived just in time to see the success of his lackeys. \"Unit Miles 'Tails' Prower deactivated. Mission on schedule...\"\n\n\nIt didn't take all that long for Sonic to find Dr. Eggman. It had been all too easy to find his way through his current base. In fact, there seemed not to be a single robot or trap anywhere in sight. Sonic finally found Eggman laid up in his bed, wrapped up in bandages and watched over by his lackeys, Orbot and Cubot. \"What's this scene supposed to do? Buy my sympathy?! You sick bastard!! You killed Amy!! And I'll do the same to you!!\" he screamed. Cubot hopped in front of Sonic and blocked him. \"Take it easy, pal! You're talkin' CRAZY! The doc's been cooped up like this for weeks! He's needed a doc himself!\" he said. Eggman coughed and nodded weakly. \"It's true, Sonic... And I'm... Sorry to hear about... Amy...\" he groaned. Sonic stared in disbelief. \"No... You're lying!\" he snapped. Orbot shook his head. \"A man in his condition can scarcely speak, let alone concoct lies. You see, one of the boss' own robots turned on him a while back. Can you believe the ingratitude? I mean, if I have a complaint with the boss, I just find healthier ways to express it... Open wide, doctor!\" he said, feeding Eggman a spoonful of some foul looking substance, which he looked quite displeased at tasting. \"Find that robot... Sonic... He... must be your... killer...\" he coughed. Sonic looked thoughtful for a moment. \"This base looked pretty empty. Where are all your defenses?\" he asked. Cubot shrugged. \"Ya got me...\" he muttered. Orbot looked thoughtful. \"Well, if I was a crazed robot on the path of vengeance, I would seek out a group of like minded individuals and organize them with a rigorous training regimen and turn them into brutal killing machines... But that's just me talking.\" he said. Sonic's eyes went wide as it all finally became clear. \"My friends... They're all in danger! I've gotta move!\" he said, racing back as fast as he could. Eggman laughed amidst his coughing as Sonic left his base. \"Godspeed, hedgehog... Not that I care who wins... Hey, what was in that stuff you fed me, anyway?\" he asked. \"Motor oil, of course. Why?\" Orbot replied. Eggman gagged. \"At least one of my enemies died before me...\" he mumbled.\n\n\nShadow the hedgehog had found Rouge's body. There was no special reason for his visit to Angel Island, but now there was vengeance on his mind. \"Whoever did this... There's a spot in Hell waiting for you...\" he growled, looking around. The killer might be long gone by now, but he hoped not. He headed into the tunnel, towards the Master Emerald shrine. Maybe Knuckles could provide him with some answers. As he neared the exit to the tunnel, he noticed the Batbot hanging on the roof of the cave. \"Eggman's robot? It may have seen something, but I don't think that thing is responsible.\" he muttered. The Batbot flapped out of the tunnel and out of sight, leaving Shadow to ponder what it was doing. \"Hmph... Trying to lead me into a trap, eh? As if Eggman could trap me...\" he said, stepping out of the tunnel. He looked around, but nothing appeared to be there. \"Hello? Trap...?\" he muttered. Just then, Eggrobo emerged from the trail to Red Mountain. \"Shadow the Hedgehog... State your business here.\" he said. Shadow crossed his arms. \"I found Rouge dead in the cave over there. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?\" he asked suspiciously. Eggrobo nodded. \"I am aware.\" he said. Shadow glared at him. \"AND....?\" he growled. Eggrobo bowed politely. \"Of course. Unit Rouge was deactivated by unit Buzzer.\" he said. Shadow stared in disbelief. \"Why!?\" he shouted. Eggrobo let out a cold robotic laugh. \"Ha ha ha. We will spare no enemy. You spare no robot. Fair is fair. This is what our leader says.\" he explained. Shadow growled. \"Well, if fair is fair, then you won't mind if I tear you apart!!\" he yelled. However, before he could act, an Egg Fighter's chainsaw-esque blade pierced his chest from behind! \"Gack!! W-what...?\" he gasped. Eggrobo glared at him. \"Unit Shadow is deactivated ahead of schedule. Good.\" he said. Shadow grunted and tried to attack, but the Egg Pawn had arrived as well, and its laser struck him a few more times until he collapsed to the ground, dead. The two Kikis and Burrowbots had arrived on the scene as well. \"Units Knuckles and Sonic remain.\" Eggrobo announced.\n\n\"You BASTARDS!!\" shouted Knuckles, who was just arriving on the scene. He charged at one of the Burrowbots and smashed his fist into it, reducing it to rubble! Eggrobo backed away and motioned for the robots to attack. \"Finish him, and Sonic will be a simple matter!\" he commanded. \"I don't think so!\" shouted Sonic as he sped out of the tunnel, jumping and attacking one of the Kikis as he arrived, and causing the other robots to scatter in the process. Eggrobo took off into the air and commanded the other robots to flee. \"Regroup! All units will be necessary to defeat both of them!\" he shouted. Sonic and Knuckles ran over to Shadow as the robots fled, but it was too late. He was gone. \"First Amy, now this... What next?\" Knuckles growled. Sonic frowned. \"Actually... I saw Rouge in the tunnel. They got her, too.\" he said. Knuckles stared at the ground. \"And... Eggman?\" he asked. Sonic shook his head. \"Out of it. The robots are the culprits. They've got some psycho leader.\" he explained. Knuckles looked at Sonic seriously. \"Tails! He's alone at his workshop!\" he told him. Sonic clenched his teeth. Already, a feeling of dread was brewing in his stomach. \"Come on, we gotta move. If anything's happened to Tails, I...\" he couldn't even finish. They took off for Tails' Workshop, dreading what they might find when they got there.\n\nThey soon found Tails' head and body scattered next to his door. Sonic knelt down beside his head, choking back tears as he looked at the face of his former best friend. \"This... can't be...\" he sniffed. Knuckles stared grimly. \"Eggman... Even if he isn't responsible for this directly... He has to die for creating those monsters!\" he growled. Suddenly, mechanical laughter was heard behind them. Turning around, Sonic and Knuckles saw the robots assembling on the cliff below. Eggrobo was accompanied by Buzzer, Burrowbot, Spinner, Batbot, Kiki, Egg Pawn, and Egg Fighter. \"Do not weep, fleshy ones. You will be with your friends soon.\" Eggrobo said. Knuckles raised his fists as Sonic rose to his feet. \"You guys are pretty good at picking off people one at a time. Let's see how you do against both of us!\" Knuckles growled. Sonic stared at Eggrobo hatefully. \"You're a cold... heartless monster. A twisted replica of your maker. I'm gonna do to you what I should have done to him years ago!\" he shouted, leaping into the air and launching himself into a homing attack, which Eggrobo scrambled to avoid, only to discover that Sonic's real target was the Spinner! The Spinner was smashed to pieces, and Knuckles quickly ran to join the fight! Eggrobo let out a mechanical growl. \"Kill them! Use your strengths, just as we trained!\" he commanded, firing his laser at Sonic to attempt to slow him down. Knuckles hurled some punches at the robots, but they kept jumping out of the way. The Batbot charged at him, and Knuckles jumped back, but it was a ruse to give the Egg Fighter an opening to attack with its blade! Knuckles barely evaded it, but then Kiki tossed a bomb at him! \"Hey! Why aren't you guys picking on Sonic? Grrr... Take this!!\" he shouted, picking up Kiki's bomb and hurling it at the Egg Pawn, blowing it to smithereens! Meanwhile, the Buzzer and Eggrobo were busy shooting at Sonic, who easily sped past their shots. However, their shots were leading him towards Burrowbot's drill hands! Sonic rolled his eyes and jumped on Burrowbot's head, smashing it easily. \"All the strategy in the world can't prepare you losers for me!\" he said.\n\nThe other robots kept the pressure on Knuckles, so Sonic rushed to try to give him a hand. The Batbot was sneaking up on him, so Sonic jumped and smashed it before it could reach him. \"Gotcha! That would've been embarrassing, getting taken out by the little guy, wouldn't it, Knux?\" Sonic said. Knuckles nodded, but was suddenly struck in the head by a laser! \"Knuckles!!\" Sonic shouted. Eggrobo's laser was smoking. \"No mercy...\" he said, firing a few more shots as Knuckles dropped to the ground! Sonic wanted to scream, but there was no time. The robots were already coming after him! The Egg Fighter thrusted its blade at him, so Sonic jumped into the air, landed on its head, and wrestled the blade from its hands! \"You like killing, huh?? Let's see how you like getting killed!!\" he shouted, stabbing the robot in the head with its own blade! The Egg Fighter collapsed to the ground in a heap, and Sonic stared at the remaining three robots, breathing heavily. \"Well done, Eggrobo. His spirit is broken... Now, we will BREAK him!\" came a mechanical voice. Sonic looked around. A blue object jumped from below the cliff and landed across from him! It was a tall, mechanical version of himself. It was Mecha Sonic, the robot Dr. Eggman had left to guard the Sky Sanctuary Zone on Angel Island back when he was plotting to conquer the world using the Death Egg! \"You!? I don't get it... Where did you come from?\" Sonic gasped. Mecha Sonic scoffed. \"You fools failed to destroy me. But since I also failed to destroy you, Dr. Eggman saw no use for me. He ABANDONED me!! So I decided to seek my revenge... And what better way than to succeed where he failed? And I have. Your friends have been slain. Once I have killed you, my victory will be complete!\" he declared. Sonic let out a crazed chuckle. \"Heh heh heh... That's the story, eh? Well, let's see how it ends, then, shall we?\" Mecha Sonic nodded. \"You are ready to die. I will end your life swiftly.\" he said. Sonic charged at the robots, ready to end this one way or another!\n\nMecha Sonic charged at Sonic as well, but Sonic jumped into the air and launched a homing attack. The Buzzer fired lasers desperately at him, but was soon smashed by Sonic's attack! As Mecha Sonic turned to chase after Sonic, Kiki started hurling bombs and Eggrobo fired lasers. Sonic dashed out of the way and went into a spin, rolling around skillfully until he managed to smash into the Kiki, leaving only Mecha Sonic and the Eggrobo! \"You better kill me quick, or you'll be all alone!\" Sonic taunted. Mecha Sonic knelt down and used thrusters in his shoes to charge at Sonic, knocking him over, but Sonic quickly got back up and turned his attention to Eggrobo. \"Time's up! Here I cooooome!!\" he shouted, jumping straight for Eggrobo! \"No!! Stop!! Desist!! Mecha Soniiiiic!!!\" Eggrobo screamed, only to be blown to pieces by Sonic's mighty homing attack. Finally, Sonic and Mecha Sonic were alone. Mecha Sonic was unmoved by the loss of his allies. \"You forget, Sonic. I am a robot. I do not have emotional attachments to my comrades. That is a weakness you cannot exploit. But tell me... How did you feel... Seeing your friends' blood stain the floor?\" he said coldly. Sonic leapt at him in a fury. \"Shut up!!\" He hurled punch after punch at the robot, but Sonic wasn't exactly known for the power of his punches. \"Ha ha ha! Fool! Do you want to die?\" Mecha Sonic laughed, punching Sonic back hard! Sonic stumbled backward, but came at the robot again, putting all of his might into kicks, punches, anything he could think of in his rage. He looked for weak spots as he struck the robot, and knocked it around a good bit, but Mecha Sonic simply laughed. \"Is that Tails' head I see over there?\" he taunted. Sonic's mind was broken. He could no longer think. He just kept hitting the robot, not thinking about whether he was hitting it effectively or not. Mecha Sonic laughed victoriously, and closed his hand around Sonic's neck! With Sonic helpless in his clutches, he walked over and picked up the Egg Fighter's blade, and in one swift motion, Mecha Sonic plunged the blade through Sonic's chest! He then hurled Sonic's lifeless body to the floor and laughed triumphantly! \"At last, victory is mine! Now, nothing stands in the way of Mecha Sonic!! Ha ha ha ha ha!!\" he roared. Suddenly, an unexpected voice was heard nearby. \"Cheese, get him!\" A Chao flew by and knocked Mecha Sonic over! \"Ooof!! Who dares!?\" Before Mecha Sonic could get back up, Cream the Rabbit ran over holding the Egg Pawn's laser and blasted the robot repeatedly, until it was no longer recognizable. \"Take this! And this! You mean, nasty robot!\" she shouted! \"Chao! Chao!\" Cheese added. A blue haired man in an alligator costume arrived on the scene next, looked over the scenario, and then looked out into space. \"Tsk, tsk. Such a shame. Well, friends, the moral of this story is quite simple. Always be thorough. Never leave any little rabbit girls and their little fairy critters around to sneak attack you at the last minute. I am Gator, and this has been the Nightmare Zone.\"\n\nThe End!\n...CAPITAL LETTERS FOR TRADITIONS SAKE! TEE HEE HEE!!!\n\nHappy Halloween!",
  "writing_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>GeneX - Nightmare Zone: Act V<br /><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 />Foreword<br /><br /><br />Hi, I&#039;m 2BIT, and this is my 5th annual Halloween Special! Yay and all that! Just a short foreword. There are two stories posted here, not one. The first is a continuation of the Nightmare Zone story that you may already be familiar with. The second is a brand new horror tale without fancharacters for those who are sick of my OCs. OK, have fun!<br /><br /><br />Episode 1: The Heartless Machine<br /><br /><br />There are many names for alternate dimensions. Some call them realities. Some call them universes. A few simply call them other worlds. There is a cluster of these worlds that are said to have once been part the same world. GeneX Necros was never part of this world. A dark, evil place, the balance between good and evil was forever altered. A terrible shroud of darkness began to cover the land. This darkness was called the Nightmare Zone. It started in a forest, and over the course of the first year, it spread to a nearby city. Now, it is spreading further. However, the denizens of this world who once dwelled in light still hope to make a stand. As the Nightmare Zone covers the Mystic Ruins, one hedgehog is determined to break the Black Curse placed upon him, and defeat the Nightmare Zone.<br /><br />Meanwhile, another hero has set off on his own journey. Flying from world to world in a ship called &quot;the Galestrom,&quot; this black cat named Lucky has a mission to protect all worlds from another brand of darkness, one that feeds upon the darkness in peoples&#039; hearts. As the ship carrying him nears the world of GeneX Necros, the passengers begin to get an uneasy feeling. &quot;We can&#039;t land there! Look, the darkness from that world is already messing with the ship&#039;s navigation!&quot; said Whisk the divine, a winged feline who was training to use magic. &quot;No, it&#039;s been acting like that ever since Winston decided to tinker with it while we were exploring a world!&quot; said Travis, the human who owned the ship. &quot;I only wanted to learn how the ship works! Curiosity is the road to knowledge, kupo.&quot; said Winston, an unusual creature called a moogle. Lucky looked at the world ahead of them nervously. &quot;I don&#039;t like what curiosity does to cats, though...&quot; he said. &quot;Well, where else do we go? There are no other pathways. We&#039;re landing!&quot; Travis insisted, tired of piloting the ship. As the Galestrom flew over the treetops of a forest, however, something started to go wrong. The ship began to shake violently! &quot;Mee-yow!! What&#039;s going on!?&quot; Lucky yelped. &quot;We seem to be experiencing some turbulence... We have to land!!&quot; Travis shouted as his control over the ship faltered. Soon, the Galestrom crashed, and Lucky and his group had arrived at the Nightmare Zone.<br /><br />Lucky and Whisk climbed out of the Galestrom while Travis was attempting to assess the damage the ship had taken. The found themselves in a dark, creepy forest: the Night Woods. Lucky shivered as he looked around. &quot;This is one spooky place...&quot; he said. Whisk frowned at him. &quot;It&#039;s just a forest in the middle of the night. Don&#039;t be such a scaredy cat.&quot; she said. Suddenly, a stampede of rats with glowing red eyes sped past them, making them both jump and scream! &quot;Meee-yow!!! Zombie rats!!&quot; Lucky shouted while Whisk teleported to the top of the Galestrom. The rats simply ran past them, not even stopping to look at them, and soon they were gone. Whisk peered down and chuckled sheepishly. &quot;Some cat, afraid of rats...&quot; she joked. Lucky glanced up at her. &quot;Hey! Get down here!! Don&#039;t leave me alone!&quot; he yelled. Just then, Travis stepped out of the ship. &quot;Bad news, guys. I can&#039;t figure out what&#039;s wrong with the ship. It simply won&#039;t start, even though nothing appears to be wrong with it.&quot; he said. &quot;Wait, so we&#039;re stuck here!?&quot; Whisk groaned. Lucky crossed his arms. &quot;Hmph! I think you&#039;re the one who&#039;s scared.&quot; he said. Travis shrugged. &quot;Anyway... It&#039;s going to take some time to figure this out. So, me and Winston will stay here and work on the ship. You go and look for this world&#039;s keyhole.&quot; he suggested. Whisk teleported down next to Lucky, startling him. &quot;Wait! You can&#039;t stay behind, Travis! You&#039;ve got the journal and everything! What about your research and stuff?&quot; she whined. Travis sighed. &quot;It&#039;s not to be, I guess. You two can tell me all about this world when you get back anyway.&quot; he said, turning and walking back into the ship. Winston flew out briefly, took a look around, and then headed back into the ship. &quot;W-well, I don&#039;t n-need any supplies from a p-place like t-this, kupo. Good luck!&quot; he said, obviously scared. Lucky turned around and looked thoughtful. &quot;So, which way should we go first...?&quot; he wondered. Whisk stepped behind him and shoved him forward. &quot;I don&#039;t care, but the key bearer gets to lead the way! Go, go, go!&quot; she insisted. Lucky sighed and went deeper into the woods, followed by Whisk.<br /><br />There were few landmarks in the woods, and it wasn&#039;t long before they realized they were lost. &quot;Gosh, this is the most creepy, dark, empty world ever...&quot; Whisk whined as they kept wandering aimlessly. &quot;Well, we&#039;ve got to find a gateway, or else we won&#039;t be able to get to another world. Plus, we should find the keyhole so that the Heartless don&#039;t wreck this place...&quot; Lucky insisted. &quot;Oh, that would be such a shame...&quot; Whisk said sarcastically. Suddenly, they heard some movement ahead. &quot;Eeep... More rats, maybe?&quot; Whisk whispered. &quot;Shh! I&#039;ll check it out...&quot; Lucky muttered, cautiously tiptoeing toward the sound. Footsteps were coming in his direction. He quickly hid behind a tree, and the person ahead of him did the same. Lucky slowly peered around the tree... and saw himself! &quot;Huh... Mirror...&quot; said both Luckys, causing them both to jump in surprise. &quot;MEEE-YOW!!&quot; they shrieked, drawing Whisk&#039;s attention. &quot;I&#039;m here to save you, Lucky!! I... WHAT!?&quot; she gasped upon seeing two Luckys. &quot;Keep it down! What did I tell you about making noise and giving away our position?&quot; said a voice that Lucky recognized. Behind the second Lucky, Bucky the rat soon emerged. He was accompanied by an orange coati with a blue striped tail, as well as an echidna wearing a black uniform and a purple weasel wearing a brown hat. They all looked a bit shocked to see two Luckys. &quot;What in the... I don&#039;t remember creating two of you...&quot; Bucky said. The second Lucky hid behind Bucky and pointed frantically at his twin. &quot;It must be a monster that copied me to try and trick us!!&quot; he shouted. Lucky shook his head, and then summoned his keyblade! &quot;No way! I say you&#039;re the monster! Stand back, father! I&#039;ll get him!&quot; Before Lucky could attack, Whisk grabbed him by the wrist. &quot;Stop it!! This isn&#039;t our world!! That&#039;s you from this world!!&quot; she shouted.<br /><br />It took a moment, but they soon came to understand that the two Luckys were, in fact, counterparts from different worlds, in much the same way that there were other Sonics across the worlds. &quot;I guess that makes sense... It explains how Whisk can still be alive.&quot; Bucky said. Whisk looked nervous. &quot;What... I&#039;m dead!?&quot; she whimpered. Bucky took a moment to introduce his companions. &quot;I don&#039;t know if you know these people, but that coati there is Ridley. The echidna is Shade, and the weasel is called Nack. They&#039;re helping me attempt to retrieve my ship, Shadow Arcangel. I had more experiments with me, but I&#039;ve lost contact with them. They are most likely dead.&quot; he explained. Shade crossed her arms. &quot;I can&#039;t believe the world fell into such darkness while my clan was trapped in the Twilight Cage...&quot; she grumbled. Lucky and Whisk looked puzzled, so Nack decided to explain things. &quot;Brace yourselves, kids. You&#039;re trapped in the Nightmare Zone. This is a dark, evil place... Well, more a cloak of super evil than a place. Ghosts and monsters run free around here, stronger than they could ever be in the light.&quot; he said. Ridley nodded. &quot;Worse, because the Nightmare Zone is more an evil force than a place, it&#039;s been able to spread. Our allies are busy trying to stop it from spreading, and we&#039;re trying to reclaim Shadow Arc so that we can fly away from danger, but it won&#039;t be easy...&quot; he said. Bucky frowned. &quot;Yes. You see, flying vehicles don&#039;t work in the Nightmare Zone. Or at least, not usually, but I&#039;ve heard that Dr. Eggman has found a way to get his hovercraft off the ground, so we&#039;re going to try to find a way to get Shadow Arcangel flying, too.&quot; he said. With the explanations completed, Lucky and Whisk glanced at each other nervously. &quot;So... Our ship won&#039;t be able to fly, either?&quot; Whisk realized. Lucky held up his keyblade. &quot;Then we&#039;ll have to help you all out! We&#039;ll all have a better chance if we work together!&quot; he declared. Necros Lucky looked less confident. &quot;Easy for you to say, you&#039;ve got a magic sword. Totally not fair...&quot; he groaned. At any rate, they all agreed that it would be foolish not to join forces, so they set out together.<br /><br />So, with Bucky leading the way, they headed through the woods towards the place where Shadow Arcangel had crashed two years before. Lucky looked around, watching strange white flames that were floating in the air, burning without touching anything. &quot;Should we be worried about that fire?&quot; he wondered. Nack shook his head. &quot;Don&#039;t mind them, mate. They&#039;re just the ghosts of the Nightmare Zone.&quot; he explained. Whisk looked nervous. &quot;Ghosts!?&quot; she gasped. Shade snickered. &quot;What, are you scared? They&#039;re not gonna eat us, you know.&quot; she pointed out. Ridley shushed everyone. &quot;Keep it down. There are worse things than ghosts out here, and we don&#039;t want to draw that kind of attention...&quot; he warned. Suddenly, the ghosts started chuckling at them. &quot;Hee hee hee hee...&quot; Necros Lucky looked up at them curiously. &quot;What&#039;s so funny?&quot; The ghosts ignored him and continued chuckling ominously. Nack drew a gun and started looking around cautiously. &quot;I&#039;ve heard the ghosts try to scare people mostly as a way to warn them about danger. On your toes, mates...&quot; he said. &quot;Hee hee hee hee...&quot; Suddenly, a different sounding laugh was heard overhead. Glancing up and behind them, they saw an Egg Mobile following them! Bucky growled as he saw the dark figure piloting the vehicle. &quot;Eggman Nega! I knew I&#039;d encounter someone like you around here!&quot; he said. Nega laughed at them like a madman. &quot;Oh... I really must be losing it! I&#039;m seeing two of the same cat down there! I must really miss Blaze... When I&#039;m through here, I&#039;ll have to go back home and detach her head from her body to mount on my wall! Now, let&#039;s see... How to destroy you? Maybe I&#039;ll feed you to my new pets! Come on out, creatures of darkness!&quot; At Eggman Nega&#039;s command, several dark creatures began to appear. They resembled those who had died in the Nightmare Zone! Except they were black, like shadows, and had red eyes, jagged fangs, clawed hands, and heartless emblems on their chests! Lucky quickly summoned his keyblade. &quot;Man, these are some gruesome heartless!&quot; he said. The heartless present resembled Amy, Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge, Jet, Zeke, and even Whisk, which freaked the live Whisk out. &quot;There&#039;s-a-zombie-heartless-me-over-there!! Let&#039;s get outta here!!&quot; she shouted. Nack fired a few shots at the heartless, only to find it was useless. &quot;Right... Zombies... Bye, mates!&quot; As he took off into the woods, the others gradually started to follow suit, scattering in different directions. &quot;Well? Go get them!&quot; Eggman Nega commanded. The heartless obeyed, and Eggman Nega was about to follow them, when a lone ghost flew into his path, making him spin in the air a moment. &quot;Whooooa! Who dares slow me down!?&quot; The ghost of Gemini the fennec was hovering in front of him, glaring at him. &quot;You?&quot; he growled. &quot;You won&#039;t get away with destroying our world...&quot; she said.<br /><br />The scattered group ran a good distance and regrouped when they were pretty sure they had lost the heartless. They even managed to arrive at Shadow Arcangel&#039;s crash site, but some of their group was missing. Ridley, Shade, and one of the two Luckys was missing. Whisk looked concerned. &quot;Uh oh... Which Lucky are you?&quot; she asked. &quot;The REAL one.&quot; he replied smugly. Nack shook his head. &quot;He&#039;s the useless one...&quot; he grumbled. &quot;HEY!!&quot; Lucky protested. Bucky shushed everyone. &quot;Come on. Let&#039;s get inside before something else happens.&quot; he whispered. They crept over to the entrance to the ship, and after walking through the dark hallways for a bit, they came to the old experiment containment room, which was in serious a serious mess. &quot;Wow... Just like home... Except for all the... Ahhh-chooo!! Dust...&quot; Whisk sneezed. Nack looked around. &quot;It&#039;s not dust. It&#039;s cobwebs.&quot; he grumbled. Suddenly, an enormous tarantula hung down from the ceiling in front of Lucky! &quot;MEEE-YOW!!!&quot; he shrieked, jumping back! Bucky laughed at him. &quot;That&#039;s nothing. You should see the size of the spiders in the wilder parts of the Nightmare Zone. They&#039;ll bite your head off.&quot; he said. Just then, dozens more of those tarantulas sped across the floor, making Lucky and Nack jump, and causing Whisk to take flight! Bucky groaned. &quot;All right, you babies, I&#039;ll take care of them!&quot; he growled, pointing his fingers at the tarantulas and shooting bolts of electricity at them, frying some and scaring the others away! &quot;Errr... Fire!&quot; Whisk shouted, hitting one more with a fire spell on its way out. &quot;That&#039;ll... uh... teach them!&quot; she said. Nack shuddered. &quot;If you mates are quite through GOOFING OFF, I think we ought to get moving! We don&#039;t want to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves!&quot; Just then, some impacts were heard in the hallway, and some of the tarantulas were hurled back into the room! The heartless resembling Knuckles, Amy, Zeke, and Whisk crept into the room! &quot;Thanks for screaming, Mr. Don&#039;t-Draw-Unnecessary-Attention...&quot; Lucky groaned. Bucky pointed to the next hallway. &quot;The Arcangel is like a maze! We&#039;ll lose them inside! Hurry!&quot; he shouted.<br /><br /><br />Ridley, Shade, and the other Lucky kept looking around, but had lost track of the others. Instead, they ended up at a dark, creepy castle. Lucky held his keyblade like a cane and rested after all the running. &quot;Why didn&#039;t you guys fight? Why&#039;d you all run away?&quot; he asked. Ridley frowned. &quot;You kidding? To fight a pack of monsters in the Nightmare Zone is suicide! Somehow the odds always seem to be in their favor. I know it sounds like superstition, but trust me on this. It almost never works out.&quot; he said. While they were resting, the ghost of Gemini appeared nearby. &quot;E-excuse me...&quot; she said. &quot;Mee-yow!!&quot; Lucky yelped, startled, but Shade and Ridley showed no fear. &quot;It&#039;s a poor soul who died in the Nightmare Zone...&quot; Shade said, &quot;What can we do for you?&quot; Gemini looked up at the castle tower nervously. &quot;This wretched tower... This is where all of the horrors began. This is where our worlds heroes first fell and the Nightmare Zone began to grow in strength. The two Eggmen are using this place to further the Nightmare Zone&#039;s coup.&quot; she explained. Lucky scratched his head. &quot;You don&#039;t say...&quot; Shade looked up at the tower. &quot;What exactly are they doing up there?&quot; she asked. Gemini shuddered. &quot;Eggman built a terrible machine. It&#039;s been making vicious creatures with the hearts of those who died in the Nightmare Zone!&quot; she explained. Lucky growled. &quot;He built a machine that&#039;s creating heartless from dead people? That&#039;s just plain sick!&quot; he said. Ridley nodded. &quot;Let&#039;s get in there and put a stop to it, then! Quickly, while we have the element of surprise!&quot; he suggested. The trio quickly ran inside the castle, despite Gemini&#039;s protest. &quot;No, wait! Not yet!&quot; she pleaded. As soon as they were inside the tomb-like entrance area, the door slammed shut behind them, and Eggman Nega started cackling at them. &quot;Surpriiiiiise...&quot; he chuckled. The heartless resembling Shadow, Rouge and Jet were there, as well as a number of more generic heartless. Lucky gulped and glanced at his companions. &quot;Either of you got a plan B?&quot; he asked. Ridley shrugged. &quot;Try not to get killed?&quot; he said. Shade groaned. &quot;I miss the Twilight Cage...&quot;<br /><br /><br />Following Bucky, the others managed to reach Shadow Arcangel&#039;s control room and evade the heartless. &quot;That was close... Hey, do I smell gunpowder?&quot; Nack muttered, glancing at some boxes in the corner. Bucky shrugged. &quot;Those are Zipp&#039;s weapons. Help yourself, our need is greater at the moment.&quot; he said. Nack took a peek inside one of the boxes and grinned. &quot;I think I like this Zipp guy...&quot; he chuckled, examining a sniper rifle. &quot;I&#039;m afraid you&#039;re too late!&quot; said someone who was already in the room. Bucky, Whisk and Lucky looked towards the back of the room to see an orange cat dressed as a witch. It was Tabitha! She was standing beside one of the ship&#039;s power terminals, where for some strange reason, the Master Emerald had been inserted. The emerald had taken on a sinister black color, which had been caused two years before. Nack made some adjustments to the sniper rifle and joined Whisk and Lucky in looking at Tabitha in confusion. &quot;Who&#039;s the broad?&quot; he asked. Bucky growled. &quot;It&#039;s the witch who wishes to resurrect the Lord of Nightmares. Tabitha. But what are you doing here?&quot; he asked. Tabitha cackled a little. &quot;As if you fools aren&#039;t all working together! That shrew thought he could hide the Master Emerald from me, but his illusions can&#039;t hide things from my magic! Now, my plans will proceed on schedule!&quot; she said. Nack scoffed and fired his rifle at her, only to have his shot deflected by magic! &quot;Cripes! Don&#039;t guns work on ANYTHING here?&quot; he growled. To make matters worse, the heartless had found their way into the room. &quot;Oh, great... They must&#039;ve followed us by our hearts...&quot; Whisk groaned. Tabitha looked at them deviously. &quot;Hmmm, do I finish you myself, or do I let your friends devour you? Decisions, decisions... Hey, I thought I killed that one last year!&quot; she realized, looking at Whisk. &quot;NO ONE CHEATS DEATH FROM ME!!&quot; Tabitha yelled, hurling a spell at her! &quot;Look out!!&quot; shouted Lucky, hurling himself into the path of the spell just in time! The spell struck him in the chest, and he fell to the floor, dead. &quot;L-lucky!! NOOOO!!!&quot; Whisk screamed, horrified. Nack growled angrily. &quot;That&#039;s it. I&#039;ll fix that hag. Stand back!!&quot; Before he or anyone else could do anything, however, Whisk grabbed him and Bucky by the arms and teleported them away! Tabitha shrugged at their sudden exit. &quot;The Master Emerald is mine now. By the end of the night, there won&#039;t be any hope left for them!&quot; she grinned.<br /><br /><br />&quot;Hello? Hellooooo? Wakey wakey, kitty! Get us outta these cages!&quot; Lucky slowly opened his eyes to see a familiar man in an alligator suit standing over him. &quot;G-gator? What happened?&quot; he muttered. Gator groaned. &quot;I&#039;ve been having one lousy night. I just got mauled by a werehog a few minutes ago! Hey, did I ever tell you about the headless Lost One?&quot; he asked. Ridley &amp; Shade, who were standing nearby, both groaned. &quot;Don&#039;t listen to him. He hasn&#039;t made any sense since he was tossed into this cell.&quot; Ridley said. Lucky looked around. They were trapped in a cage! &quot;Huh!? How&#039;d this happen!?&quot; he gasped. Shade shrugged. &quot;We lost. Eggman Nega was oddly merciful, though.&quot; she said. Their cell was located at the room at the very top of the tower. The red carpeted floor was still stained with blood and remnants of Shadow Chaos. The hole in the window had been patched up with cardboard, and along the wall was a large machine, pulsing with the power of darkness! Above it, a strange hole seemed to have been carved in the wall, leaking blood. Its shape was familiar to Lucky. &quot;Th- That&#039;s the keyhole!&quot; he realized. A heartless resembling an alligator emerged from the machine. Gator almost seemed to recognize it. &quot;Cuthburt...? Nah, on second thought, that looks nothing like him.&quot; he said. The heartless turned toward the keyhole and lunged at it, but was repelled by a sort of force field, apparently created by the same machine. Eggman Nega was seated at the throne by the desk, the same place the other Eggman was found passed out two years before. &quot;Thank you for joining us, cat boy. After you lost consciousness, that lovely key of yours disappeared. I am ever so curious to find out how you used it to destroy some of my normally invincible creatures back there.&quot; he said. Lucky snickered at him. &quot;Well, I could give you a demonstration...&quot; he summoned the keyblade and pointed it at the cell door, unlocking it and dashing out, quickly striking down the alligator heartless! As the others ran out of the cell, Eggman Nega stood up from the throne, drew a laser and fired! Lucky looked back in shock as he watched Ridley fall to the floor! &quot;Looks like my number&#039;s up... Don&#039;t hesitate... to kill... my heartless...&quot; he said as he died. Eggman Nega&#039;s heartless army began to emerge from the shadows of the room as he cackled at them. &quot;Now... Let&#039;s discuss this under MY terms, shall we?&quot; he growled.<br /><br />Suddenly, someone started banging on the door! A gunshot was heard, and the door slowly opened. &quot;Finally, my gun worked on something!&quot; said Nack, who was accompanied by Bucky and Whisk! Eggman Nega glanced at them with surprise. &quot;How did you find this place?&quot; he asked. The ghost of Gemini hovered in the air behind them, waving. Gator screamed upon seeing her. &quot;Yaaaaah!! A GHOST!! This is just like that weird Paranormal whatshamacallit special from last year! Or was it next year? Never mind! I&#039;m outta here!!&quot; he shouted, teleporting away! Whisk saw Lucky with the keyblade and ran to his side. &quot;Lucky!! You&#039;re alive!! I mean, I knew one of you was alive, but... They wouldn&#039;t give me a straight answer about which one and...&quot; she gave him a relieved hug, but this was no time to celebrate. &quot;Whisk!! Not now!! The keyhole!!&quot; he shouted. Eggman Nega growled and pulled a remote from his pocket, pressing a button which called his Egg Mobile, which had to crash through the patched up window to reach him, not that he cared. He hopped in and glared at his foes below. &quot;You dare try to stop my glorious darkness from spreading!? The Lord of Nightmares will awaken, and this world will die! Even Sonic can&#039;t stop it! What hope do you have? Dark creatures! Devour them!!&quot; he yelled. The heartless went on the attack, and Lucky and Whisk immediately set to work trying to defend those of them who couldn&#039;t harm the heartless. Lucky slashed his keyblade at the heartless carefully, making sure not to mistake a friend for a foe in the dark room. Shade kept some of them at bay with her clan&#039;s laser based weapons, it had little effect on the heartless, as did Bucky&#039;s lightning. Meanwhile, Nack was utterly frustrated by his gun&#039;s utter uselessness, and the fact that the machine was simply remaking each heartless as soon as it fell. &quot;All right... I&#039;m gonna take that gizmo apart!!&quot; he yelled, aiming his sniper rifle at it. Eggman Nega looked at him in surprise. &quot;What? NO!! Don&#039;t you dare!!&quot; he shouted, pulling out his own laser. The chaos made it hard enough to aim, and now Nack had to watch out for Nega. &quot;Aw, blast it! Move out of my way!!&quot; he yelled, waiting only a moment before firing several shots at the heartless machine! As the machine started sparking, Eggman Nega started shooting furiously at Nack, leaving the poor weasel unable to find cover in time! He collapsed in a heap, but the heartless seemed confused by the machine&#039;s partial destruction. &quot;The heartless are reacting to the shift in darkness!&quot; Eggman Nega realized. One more heartless managed to escape the machine, but the group acted fast to make sure no more would. Bucky and Shade attacked the machine with everything they had, while Lucky and Whisk set about attacking the confused heartless, setting their hearts free at last!<br /><br />With the machine destroyed, the force field surrounding the keyhole was gone, and the few remaining heartless were becoming enticed by it. They included heartless resembling Shadow, Jet, Ridley, Gemini, and one particularly nasty looking one. It was the last one to escape the machine, and Eggman Nega chuckled upon seeing it. &quot;Ah, the emergency creature. Say hello to our resurrected version of Shadow Chaos!&quot; he said. It looked like Shadow Chaos, but it wore the heartless emblem on its chest, and was a bit more feral looking. It flailed some long, black tendrils around the room, forcing everyone to take cover, while Eggman Nega started shooting to make counterattacks more difficult. Bucky glanced up at the keyhole. &quot;That thing must be important. I&#039;ll keep the heartless away from it.&quot; he said. Shade nodded. &quot;I&#039;ll assist as well! You try to stop that... thing!&quot; she said. Lucky and Whisk nodded, and tried to approach &quot;Heartless Chaos,&quot; but it shot out a wave of black fluid from its arms, knocking them back! The fluid was painful to the touch, apparently infused with dark energy. &quot;Oww... Whisk, try some magic...&quot; Lucky suggested. &quot;Ummm... Thunder!!&quot; she shouted, but the thunder magic had little effect. Meanwhile, the other heartless were getting closer to the keyhole. Bucky and Shade were throwing everything they had at them, but could barely slow them down. Eggman Nega watched the battle, laughing in amusement. &quot;Poor fools. You&#039;re trapped in the Nightmare Zone. It&#039;s useless. Darkness wins. ALWAYS!&quot; he said. Lucky glanced at him and chuckled. &quot;Oh, yeah? Tell that to your machine!&quot; he teased. Bucky and Shade had their backs together, and were nearly surrounded. &quot;Not a good time for jokes, kid!&quot; Bucky shouted. &quot;BACK OFF!!&quot; shouted the ghost of Gemini, who flew in and tried her best to mess with the heartless. Being a ghost, she couldn&#039;t do much to them, but as she charged at the heartless resembling herself, the collision knocked them both to the floor! Lucky turned around to see the Shadow, Jet, and Ridley heartless surrounding Bucky and Shade, but before it was too late, someone shouted at them. &quot;Solare!!&quot; A powerful beam of light struck the heartless, destroying them! Bucky and Shade looked to see Gemini standing there, restored to life! Eggman Nega looked down in bewilderment. &quot;What!? How!?&quot; he muttered. Lucky shook his head. &quot;No... clue...&quot; he muttered. &quot;Maybe her heart colliding with her soul restored her somehow?&quot; Whisk muttered. Suddenly, Heartless Chaos let out an enraged roar, and sent another wave of black fluid through the room! Whisk, thinking fast, grabbed Lucky and teleported behind the heartless! &quot;That&#039;s enough of that!&quot; she shouted. Lucky jumped at the heartless and swung his keyblade. &quot;Take that!! ...Uh oh...&quot; Heartless Chaos split itself to evade the attack, and then slid aside and reshaped itself in its normal form! Eggman Nega laughed. &quot;Idiots! Even Sonic couldn&#039;t beat Nightmare Chaos. This is basically the same thing. You&#039;re all dead!&quot; he said. Gemini smirked. &quot;But he was ultimately on his own...&quot; she said. Everyone exchanged glances and nodded. Then, they all started firing whatever ranged attacks they had at their disposal. Bucky&#039;s lightning, Shade&#039;s lasers, Gemini&#039;s magic, and Whisk&#039;s magic all focused on Heartless Chaos, holding it in place! Lucky gripped his keyblade and tried once again. &quot;Let&#039;s try this one more time!! Hi-yaaaa!!&quot; With a couple powerful slashes, the heartless faded away, releasing a heart and leaving Eggman Nega as the only threat left in the room. He pointed his laser around the room, but thought better of it. &quot;Hey... It&#039;s after midnight, isn&#039;t it? Where&#039;s the kaboom? ...There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering kaboom... Ugh, delays delays... See you next year, cretins!&quot; he grumbled, flying out of the room. With everyone breathing a collective sigh of relief, Lucky walked over to the keyhole and held up his keyblade. &quot;Here goes...&quot; A beam of light flew from the tip of his blade and entered the keyhole, causing it to glow, and soon vanish, and as it did, the entire room seemed to light up! Everyone quickly took a look outside. A change had come over the Night Woods. The dense fog had lessened, the trees looked greener, and though the darkness still hung heavy over the area, it felt as though part of the evil had been extinguished.<br /><br />Later, the group was gathered in front of the Galestrom. Lucky&#039;s heartless friend, Dark, had found him and delivered a note from Travis saying that the ship was running again. Now, Lucky and Whisk were saying their goodbyes to Shade and Gemini. Bucky had insisted on returning to Shadow Arcangel, despite the dangers on going on his own. &quot;You really have to go?&quot; Shade asked. Gemini chuckled. &quot;That&#039;s a silly question. What she means is, can we come with you?&quot; she asked. Lucky sighed. &quot;As dangerous as this world is, I think it&#039;s all the more reason why you&#039;re needed in it.&quot; he said. Gemini nodded. &quot;I know. I&#039;ll do my best not to waste this second chance.&quot; she said. Whisk sighed. &quot;Yeah... Try to avenge our deaths for us. I can&#039;t believe we died in this world...&quot; she said. Suddenly, the ground began to shake, startling the group. &quot;Meee-yow!! What NOW!?&quot; Lucky shouted. Looking in the direction of the sound, and then up, they soon saw Shadow Arcangel rising into the sky! Travis stepped out and whistled upon seeing the ship. &quot;She&#039;s a beauty. Oh, and did you see that castle? I admit, I took a little walk while you were away... Found a curious book in the castle&#039;s library. Tells a legend about a visitor from another world with a lust for the power of darkness. When he learned of a Nightmare Zone on this world, it&#039;s said he cast a spell on the keyhole to prevent aircraft from flying in the zone. Meant it as a way to trap his enemies in eternal darkness. Nice ghost story to tell around Halloween, eh?&quot; he chuckled. Shade laughed nervously. &quot;Yeah... story...&quot; she said. While Lucky looked up at the ship, his keyblade appeared and started to glow! A flash of light shot up from Shadow Arcangel, and took the shape of a giant keyhole in the sky! &quot;The whole ship is the gate!?&quot; Lucky gasped. He jumped back and pointed his keyblade up, opening the gateway to the next world! Gemini scratched her head. &quot;What the heck?&quot; she muttered. &quot;It&#039;s officially time to go! A new world is waiting!&quot; Lucky said. Gemini and Shade waved as Lucky, Whisk and Travis boarded the Galestrom. &quot;Bye! We won&#039;t forget you!&quot; they said before Gemini teleported them aboard Shadow Arcangel. Bucky gasped at their sudden appearance. &quot;Don&#039;t do that to an old man! Well, I guess we should head for the Mystic Ruins and check the damage. I hope Sonic&#039;s still alive.&quot; he said. Gemini smiled. &quot;Something tells me he is!&quot; As the Galestrom took off, Winston breathed a sigh of relief. &quot;Why did you all leave me alone like that!? And with Dark, no less! No offense...kupo.&quot; he said. Dark pouted, clearly offended. Travis chuckled. &quot;Now, Winston, I wasn&#039;t gone that long. Honestly, I hardly got a good look around. Maybe if we have time later, we could go back, because-&quot; Lucky and Whisk wouldn&#039;t let him finish. &quot;NO WAY!!&quot; they screamed, their faces looking pale at the very suggestion. They might have left the world of GeneX Necros with a little more hope than when they found it, but one visit was more than enough! The end...?<br /><br /><br />Episode 2: Metal Massacre<br /><br /><br />It was a brisk autumn evening. A bit chilly, but the breeze didn&#039;t bother Amy as she made her way through the familiar trails of Green Hill Zone on her way to meet Sonic. She had been looking forward to this for a long time. However, she would not make it to see her beloved blue boyfriend. As she walked, she soon came across an old fashioned robot she remembered Sonic describing to her in the past. A robot resembling a ladybug, called a Motobug! She immediately pulled out her Piko Piko Hammer. &quot;You? Aw, please! Don&#039;t even think about delaying my date with Sonic!&quot; she warned. The Motobug&#039;s eyes darted back and forth, and it let out a loud buzzing sound! Just then, a pair of Batbots flew out and flapped their wings in her face! &quot;Ahh!! Get away, you creeps!&quot; she shouted, swinging her hammer blindly! Drills popped out of the ground below her, and she tripped over them, falling backwards and dropping her hammer! &quot;No!! Stop! What are you doing!?&quot; she screamed. Robotic heads popped out of the ground, revealing the drills to be the noses of Burrowbots. Monkey-like Kikis emerged to pin Amy down as the Motobug approached her, its sharp pincers rising, poised to strike! It was then that Amy realized these robots intentions. &quot;No!! Wait!! You could kidnap me! Use me as bait for Sonic! Isn&#039;t that Eggman&#039;s plan?! Stop!! Don&#039;t!! S-sooooonic!!! Save me!!!&quot; she screamed desperately. The Motobug&#039;s pincers swiftly crashed down, and rose and fell a few more times before Amy&#039;s screams finally fell silent. A robot resembling Dr. Eggman stood over the body. It was an Eggrobo, and it was carrying a communicator. &quot;Unit Amy Rose is deactivated. Mission has gone unhindered.&quot; it reported. &quot;Well done.&quot; A voice replied, a mechanical sounding voice that could possibly have been disguised. &quot;Move on and search for the next target.&quot; the voice commanded. The Eggrobo gave a nod, and the robots began to move about in their own ways, leaving Amy&#039;s mangled body where it was.<br /><br />It wasn&#039;t like Amy to be late for a date. That was Sonic&#039;s job. So, when it came to his attention, he gathered his friends Tails and Knuckles and set out to investigate. A quick dash through Green Hill Zone, and they were horrified by the sight of her bloodied corpse. &quot;A-amy...? AMY!!&quot; Sonic shouted, shaking her in desperation. &quot;C&#039;mon... Hang on!&quot; he cried. Knuckles shook his head. &quot;We&#039;re too late, Sonic. She&#039;s gone.&quot; he said. Tails wiped away some tears and pulled Sonic to his feet. His legs wobbled. He was in shock, and he could barely stand. &quot;You know who did this, Sonic.&quot; Tails said, &quot;It had to be Eggman. Who else would?&quot; Sonic clenched his teeth in rage. Eggman did it. It made sense. &quot;Th-that monster... He killed her... Just to get to me! This is IT! He&#039;s crossed a line, now! I&#039;m going after him!&quot; he growled, but as he went to run, he stumbled to the ground. He was still in shock. &quot;Sonic! You need to take a moment!&quot; Knuckles suggested. Sonic glared at him. &quot;I&#039;ll have all the time in the world when Eggman&#039;s dead!&quot; he snapped. Tails patted him on the back. &quot;Easy, Sonic. If Eggman went this far, he must really think he&#039;s ready for you this time. We need to go in prepared...&quot; he warned. Sonic climbed to his feet and started running. &quot;I don&#039;t care!! Eggman thinks he&#039;s ready!? Well I got news! He&#039;d BETTER be!!&quot; he screamed as he tore off faster than Tails or Knuckles could ever hope to keep up with. They glanced at each other. &quot;I&#039;m scared Knuckles...&quot; he muttered. Knuckles nodded. &quot;Yeah... I kinda am, too. I&#039;m gonna head for Angel Island a minute, and then I&#039;ll be on my way to help just as soon as I can.&quot; he said. Tails nodded. &quot;I&#039;ll head to my workshop and get the Tornado. I have a very bad feeling about all this...&quot; he whimpered. They both glanced at Amy and shed a tear for her. &quot;I think he loved you after all...&quot; Knuckles muttered before the two went their separate ways.<br /><br />As if the events of the evening weren&#039;t stressful enough, Knuckles found Rouge the Bat sitting atop the Master Emerald when he arrived. &quot;Hello... How&#039;s the guardian business?&quot; she asked, a sly grin on her face. Knuckles growled at her angrily. &quot;Beat it! Now is NOT the time for this!&quot; he shouted. Rouge pouted. &quot;What&#039;s got your dreads in a knot?&quot; she grumbled. Knuckles sighed and responded with utmost seriousness. &quot;Amy has been murdered. Does that sound serious enough for you?&quot; he sneered. Rouge was taken aback. &quot;Oh... I... I had no idea. That IS serious. I... I guess we&#039;ll talk later...&quot; She hopped off the Master Emerald and flew on her way, heading for the tunnel leading out of Angel Island. &quot;My god... Could Eggman really do that? I mean, Sonic I could understand, but her?&quot; she muttered as she flapped her wings, passing slowly through the dark tunnel. Some other wings could be heard in the tunnel with her. She listened carefully and flipped in midair, kicking the Batbot that was following her and smashing it to bits! &quot;Nice try, Eggie!&quot; she grunted. Suddenly, she noticed more robots emerge from the tunnel leading to IceCap. &quot;Listen, bots. I&#039;m no pushover like Amy.&quot; she warned. Eggrobo, the other Batbot, a bee-like Buzzer, and an Egg Pawn with a laser had emerged to challenge her. Eggrobo motioned to the others, and the Batbot and Buzzer charged at Rouge! She nimbly dodged the charging Batbot and weaved out of the way as the Buzzer fired a laser at her. The Egg Pawn attempted to sneak behind her and shoot her as well, but she dropped down and kicked the gun from its hands! &quot;Ha ha! This isn&#039;t seriously how Amy was killed, was it?&quot; she chuckled. Suddenly, Eggrobo gave a wave of his hand, and the robots rushed her! She scrambled out of the way quickly, but their goal seemed not to be to hit her. &quot;Drop!&quot; Eggrobo commanded. A black and yellow striped spider robot called a Grabber dropped from the ceiling and grabbed Rouge tight in its clutches! &quot;Hey!! Let me go!! Don&#039;t get fresh with me, robot!!&quot; she shouted, struggling to break free. It was no use, and what was worse, the Grabber was flashing and beeping loudly. &quot;What? N-noooo!!&quot; In a moment, the Grabber exploded with Rouge in its arms, the force of the blast hurtling her to the rocky floor of the tunnel hard! &quot;Ooof!! Aaack!!&quot; she yelled, panting hard from her injuries as the robots gathered around her. The Buzzer aimed its stinger laser directly between her eyes. &quot;Wait! We can make a deal! We can...&quot; BLAM!! Rouge was dead. Eggrobo called his master. &quot;Unit Rouge is deactivated. Unit Batbot 1 was lost in the process. Mission will still continue as planned...&quot;<br /><br /><br />Tails found that the Tornado needed some maintenance, so he pulled out his tools and set to work, hoping to get the necessary work done as quickly as possible. &quot;I wish Sonic hadn&#039;t run off like that. He could be dead by the time I get there...&quot; he said, shivering. Suddenly, he heard some banging noises outside. &quot;What&#039;s that...? Maybe Sonic had a change of mind...&quot; he muttered, crawling out from under the plane. He then heard a whirring sound, followed by other strange noises. &quot;What the... H-hello...?&quot; Not sure what to expect, he picked up a baseball bat and started heading for the exit to his garage. He peered outside, but saw nothing. &quot;My imagination? Easy, Tails... Don&#039;t go off the deep end, here...&quot; he muttered. Suddenly, something was dropped from the roof to the floor in front of him. It was a round, coconut shaped bomb! &quot;Yikes!!&quot; Tails shouted, jumping into his workshop to avoid the blast! Through the smoke of the explosion, the Motobug and the two Kikis entered the workshop and charged at Tails! He picked up his bat and struck the Motobug, causing it to spin out and crash into the wall! With the bug now a flaming wreck, Tails flew over the Kikis and ran for the door. &quot;Eggman was behind this after all! But why these robots? What&#039;s so special about them?&quot; he panted as he burst out of the garage. Suddenly, two Burrowbots jumped out of the ground, startling him! The Kikis tossed bombs out the door, so Tails&#039; only option was to take to the sky! He flew carefully between the two Burrowbots and landed on the roof of his workshop, watching as an Egg Fighter, a purple variation of the Egg Pawn, joined the robots below. &quot;Quite a random assortment of robots. And they move in synch real well. This is almost too smart for Eggman...&quot; he muttered. The robots just stood there, staring up at him. &quot;What&#039;re they waiting for...?&quot; he wondered, until he heard a propeller behind him. A familiar bladed enemy called a Spinner was behind him, and as Tails turned and backed away from it, it charged into him, its spinning blade slicing through his neck, sending his head and body toppling to the ground separately! Eggrobo arrived just in time to see the success of his lackeys. &quot;Unit Miles &#039;Tails&#039; Prower deactivated. Mission on schedule...&quot;<br /><br /><br />It didn&#039;t take all that long for Sonic to find Dr. Eggman. It had been all too easy to find his way through his current base. In fact, there seemed not to be a single robot or trap anywhere in sight. Sonic finally found Eggman laid up in his bed, wrapped up in bandages and watched over by his lackeys, Orbot and Cubot. &quot;What&#039;s this scene supposed to do? Buy my sympathy?! You sick bastard!! You killed Amy!! And I&#039;ll do the same to you!!&quot; he screamed. Cubot hopped in front of Sonic and blocked him. &quot;Take it easy, pal! You&#039;re talkin&#039; CRAZY! The doc&#039;s been cooped up like this for weeks! He&#039;s needed a doc himself!&quot; he said. Eggman coughed and nodded weakly. &quot;It&#039;s true, Sonic... And I&#039;m... Sorry to hear about... Amy...&quot; he groaned. Sonic stared in disbelief. &quot;No... You&#039;re lying!&quot; he snapped. Orbot shook his head. &quot;A man in his condition can scarcely speak, let alone concoct lies. You see, one of the boss&#039; own robots turned on him a while back. Can you believe the ingratitude? I mean, if I have a complaint with the boss, I just find healthier ways to express it... Open wide, doctor!&quot; he said, feeding Eggman a spoonful of some foul looking substance, which he looked quite displeased at tasting. &quot;Find that robot... Sonic... He... must be your... killer...&quot; he coughed. Sonic looked thoughtful for a moment. &quot;This base looked pretty empty. Where are all your defenses?&quot; he asked. Cubot shrugged. &quot;Ya got me...&quot; he muttered. Orbot looked thoughtful. &quot;Well, if I was a crazed robot on the path of vengeance, I would seek out a group of like minded individuals and organize them with a rigorous training regimen and turn them into brutal killing machines... But that&#039;s just me talking.&quot; he said. Sonic&#039;s eyes went wide as it all finally became clear. &quot;My friends... They&#039;re all in danger! I&#039;ve gotta move!&quot; he said, racing back as fast as he could. Eggman laughed amidst his coughing as Sonic left his base. &quot;Godspeed, hedgehog... Not that I care who wins... Hey, what was in that stuff you fed me, anyway?&quot; he asked. &quot;Motor oil, of course. Why?&quot; Orbot replied. Eggman gagged. &quot;At least one of my enemies died before me...&quot; he mumbled.<br /><br /><br />Shadow the hedgehog had found Rouge&#039;s body. There was no special reason for his visit to Angel Island, but now there was vengeance on his mind. &quot;Whoever did this... There&#039;s a spot in Hell waiting for you...&quot; he growled, looking around. The killer might be long gone by now, but he hoped not. He headed into the tunnel, towards the Master Emerald shrine. Maybe Knuckles could provide him with some answers. As he neared the exit to the tunnel, he noticed the Batbot hanging on the roof of the cave. &quot;Eggman&#039;s robot? It may have seen something, but I don&#039;t think that thing is responsible.&quot; he muttered. The Batbot flapped out of the tunnel and out of sight, leaving Shadow to ponder what it was doing. &quot;Hmph... Trying to lead me into a trap, eh? As if Eggman could trap me...&quot; he said, stepping out of the tunnel. He looked around, but nothing appeared to be there. &quot;Hello? Trap...?&quot; he muttered. Just then, Eggrobo emerged from the trail to Red Mountain. &quot;Shadow the Hedgehog... State your business here.&quot; he said. Shadow crossed his arms. &quot;I found Rouge dead in the cave over there. You wouldn&#039;t know anything about that, would you?&quot; he asked suspiciously. Eggrobo nodded. &quot;I am aware.&quot; he said. Shadow glared at him. &quot;AND....?&quot; he growled. Eggrobo bowed politely. &quot;Of course. Unit Rouge was deactivated by unit Buzzer.&quot; he said. Shadow stared in disbelief. &quot;Why!?&quot; he shouted. Eggrobo let out a cold robotic laugh. &quot;Ha ha ha. We will spare no enemy. You spare no robot. Fair is fair. This is what our leader says.&quot; he explained. Shadow growled. &quot;Well, if fair is fair, then you won&#039;t mind if I tear you apart!!&quot; he yelled. However, before he could act, an Egg Fighter&#039;s chainsaw-esque blade pierced his chest from behind! &quot;Gack!! W-what...?&quot; he gasped. Eggrobo glared at him. &quot;Unit Shadow is deactivated ahead of schedule. Good.&quot; he said. Shadow grunted and tried to attack, but the Egg Pawn had arrived as well, and its laser struck him a few more times until he collapsed to the ground, dead. The two Kikis and Burrowbots had arrived on the scene as well. &quot;Units Knuckles and Sonic remain.&quot; Eggrobo announced.<br /><br />&quot;You BASTARDS!!&quot; shouted Knuckles, who was just arriving on the scene. He charged at one of the Burrowbots and smashed his fist into it, reducing it to rubble! Eggrobo backed away and motioned for the robots to attack. &quot;Finish him, and Sonic will be a simple matter!&quot; he commanded. &quot;I don&#039;t think so!&quot; shouted Sonic as he sped out of the tunnel, jumping and attacking one of the Kikis as he arrived, and causing the other robots to scatter in the process. Eggrobo took off into the air and commanded the other robots to flee. &quot;Regroup! All units will be necessary to defeat both of them!&quot; he shouted. Sonic and Knuckles ran over to Shadow as the robots fled, but it was too late. He was gone. &quot;First Amy, now this... What next?&quot; Knuckles growled. Sonic frowned. &quot;Actually... I saw Rouge in the tunnel. They got her, too.&quot; he said. Knuckles stared at the ground. &quot;And... Eggman?&quot; he asked. Sonic shook his head. &quot;Out of it. The robots are the culprits. They&#039;ve got some psycho leader.&quot; he explained. Knuckles looked at Sonic seriously. &quot;Tails! He&#039;s alone at his workshop!&quot; he told him. Sonic clenched his teeth. Already, a feeling of dread was brewing in his stomach. &quot;Come on, we gotta move. If anything&#039;s happened to Tails, I...&quot; he couldn&#039;t even finish. They took off for Tails&#039; Workshop, dreading what they might find when they got there.<br /><br />They soon found Tails&#039; head and body scattered next to his door. Sonic knelt down beside his head, choking back tears as he looked at the face of his former best friend. &quot;This... can&#039;t be...&quot; he sniffed. Knuckles stared grimly. &quot;Eggman... Even if he isn&#039;t responsible for this directly... He has to die for creating those monsters!&quot; he growled. Suddenly, mechanical laughter was heard behind them. Turning around, Sonic and Knuckles saw the robots assembling on the cliff below. Eggrobo was accompanied by Buzzer, Burrowbot, Spinner, Batbot, Kiki, Egg Pawn, and Egg Fighter. &quot;Do not weep, fleshy ones. You will be with your friends soon.&quot; Eggrobo said. Knuckles raised his fists as Sonic rose to his feet. &quot;You guys are pretty good at picking off people one at a time. Let&#039;s see how you do against both of us!&quot; Knuckles growled. Sonic stared at Eggrobo hatefully. &quot;You&#039;re a cold... heartless monster. A twisted replica of your maker. I&#039;m gonna do to you what I should have done to him years ago!&quot; he shouted, leaping into the air and launching himself into a homing attack, which Eggrobo scrambled to avoid, only to discover that Sonic&#039;s real target was the Spinner! The Spinner was smashed to pieces, and Knuckles quickly ran to join the fight! Eggrobo let out a mechanical growl. &quot;Kill them! Use your strengths, just as we trained!&quot; he commanded, firing his laser at Sonic to attempt to slow him down. Knuckles hurled some punches at the robots, but they kept jumping out of the way. The Batbot charged at him, and Knuckles jumped back, but it was a ruse to give the Egg Fighter an opening to attack with its blade! Knuckles barely evaded it, but then Kiki tossed a bomb at him! &quot;Hey! Why aren&#039;t you guys picking on Sonic? Grrr... Take this!!&quot; he shouted, picking up Kiki&#039;s bomb and hurling it at the Egg Pawn, blowing it to smithereens! Meanwhile, the Buzzer and Eggrobo were busy shooting at Sonic, who easily sped past their shots. However, their shots were leading him towards Burrowbot&#039;s drill hands! Sonic rolled his eyes and jumped on Burrowbot&#039;s head, smashing it easily. &quot;All the strategy in the world can&#039;t prepare you losers for me!&quot; he said.<br /><br />The other robots kept the pressure on Knuckles, so Sonic rushed to try to give him a hand. The Batbot was sneaking up on him, so Sonic jumped and smashed it before it could reach him. &quot;Gotcha! That would&#039;ve been embarrassing, getting taken out by the little guy, wouldn&#039;t it, Knux?&quot; Sonic said. Knuckles nodded, but was suddenly struck in the head by a laser! &quot;Knuckles!!&quot; Sonic shouted. Eggrobo&#039;s laser was smoking. &quot;No mercy...&quot; he said, firing a few more shots as Knuckles dropped to the ground! Sonic wanted to scream, but there was no time. The robots were already coming after him! The Egg Fighter thrusted its blade at him, so Sonic jumped into the air, landed on its head, and wrestled the blade from its hands! &quot;You like killing, huh?? Let&#039;s see how you like getting killed!!&quot; he shouted, stabbing the robot in the head with its own blade! The Egg Fighter collapsed to the ground in a heap, and Sonic stared at the remaining three robots, breathing heavily. &quot;Well done, Eggrobo. His spirit is broken... Now, we will BREAK him!&quot; came a mechanical voice. Sonic looked around. A blue object jumped from below the cliff and landed across from him! It was a tall, mechanical version of himself. It was Mecha Sonic, the robot Dr. Eggman had left to guard the Sky Sanctuary Zone on Angel Island back when he was plotting to conquer the world using the Death Egg! &quot;You!? I don&#039;t get it... Where did you come from?&quot; Sonic gasped. Mecha Sonic scoffed. &quot;You fools failed to destroy me. But since I also failed to destroy you, Dr. Eggman saw no use for me. He ABANDONED me!! So I decided to seek my revenge... And what better way than to succeed where he failed? And I have. Your friends have been slain. Once I have killed you, my victory will be complete!&quot; he declared. Sonic let out a crazed chuckle. &quot;Heh heh heh... That&#039;s the story, eh? Well, let&#039;s see how it ends, then, shall we?&quot; Mecha Sonic nodded. &quot;You are ready to die. I will end your life swiftly.&quot; he said. Sonic charged at the robots, ready to end this one way or another!<br /><br />Mecha Sonic charged at Sonic as well, but Sonic jumped into the air and launched a homing attack. The Buzzer fired lasers desperately at him, but was soon smashed by Sonic&#039;s attack! As Mecha Sonic turned to chase after Sonic, Kiki started hurling bombs and Eggrobo fired lasers. Sonic dashed out of the way and went into a spin, rolling around skillfully until he managed to smash into the Kiki, leaving only Mecha Sonic and the Eggrobo! &quot;You better kill me quick, or you&#039;ll be all alone!&quot; Sonic taunted. Mecha Sonic knelt down and used thrusters in his shoes to charge at Sonic, knocking him over, but Sonic quickly got back up and turned his attention to Eggrobo. &quot;Time&#039;s up! Here I cooooome!!&quot; he shouted, jumping straight for Eggrobo! &quot;No!! Stop!! Desist!! Mecha Soniiiiic!!!&quot; Eggrobo screamed, only to be blown to pieces by Sonic&#039;s mighty homing attack. Finally, Sonic and Mecha Sonic were alone. Mecha Sonic was unmoved by the loss of his allies. &quot;You forget, Sonic. I am a robot. I do not have emotional attachments to my comrades. That is a weakness you cannot exploit. But tell me... How did you feel... Seeing your friends&#039; blood stain the floor?&quot; he said coldly. Sonic leapt at him in a fury. &quot;Shut up!!&quot; He hurled punch after punch at the robot, but Sonic wasn&#039;t exactly known for the power of his punches. &quot;Ha ha ha! Fool! Do you want to die?&quot; Mecha Sonic laughed, punching Sonic back hard! Sonic stumbled backward, but came at the robot again, putting all of his might into kicks, punches, anything he could think of in his rage. He looked for weak spots as he struck the robot, and knocked it around a good bit, but Mecha Sonic simply laughed. &quot;Is that Tails&#039; head I see over there?&quot; he taunted. Sonic&#039;s mind was broken. He could no longer think. He just kept hitting the robot, not thinking about whether he was hitting it effectively or not. Mecha Sonic laughed victoriously, and closed his hand around Sonic&#039;s neck! With Sonic helpless in his clutches, he walked over and picked up the Egg Fighter&#039;s blade, and in one swift motion, Mecha Sonic plunged the blade through Sonic&#039;s chest! He then hurled Sonic&#039;s lifeless body to the floor and laughed triumphantly! &quot;At last, victory is mine! Now, nothing stands in the way of Mecha Sonic!! Ha ha ha ha ha!!&quot; he roared. Suddenly, an unexpected voice was heard nearby. &quot;Cheese, get him!&quot; A Chao flew by and knocked Mecha Sonic over! &quot;Ooof!! Who dares!?&quot; Before Mecha Sonic could get back up, Cream the Rabbit ran over holding the Egg Pawn&#039;s laser and blasted the robot repeatedly, until it was no longer recognizable. &quot;Take this! And this! You mean, nasty robot!&quot; she shouted! &quot;Chao! Chao!&quot; Cheese added. A blue haired man in an alligator costume arrived on the scene next, looked over the scenario, and then looked out into space. &quot;Tsk, tsk. Such a shame. Well, friends, the moral of this story is quite simple. Always be thorough. Never leave any little rabbit girls and their little fairy critters around to sneak attack you at the last minute. I am Gator, and this has been the Nightmare Zone.&quot;<br /><br />The End!<br />...CAPITAL LETTERS FOR TRADITIONS SAKE! TEE HEE HEE!!!<br /><br />Happy Halloween!</span>",
  "pools_count": 3,
  "title": "GeneX Nightmare Zone V - Double Feature!",
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