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  "description": "The third Halloween Special, from 2009.\nSonic has been brought back from the dead, but all is not well. The evil witch, Tabitha the Cat, has placed a curse on him! Can he stop the spread of the Nightmare Zone, in spite of this curse?",
  "description_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>The third Halloween Special, from 2009.<br />Sonic has been brought back from the dead, but all is not well. The evil witch, Tabitha the Cat, has placed a curse on him! Can he stop the spread of the Nightmare Zone, in spite of this curse?</span>",
  "writing": "GeneX - Halloween Special\nThe Black Curse\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\nThere are many dimensions. Universes that exist entirely separate from our own. Some are similar to each other, and some are drastically different. Several of these realities are inhabited by intelligent animals, and several of them are home to a super fast being called Sonic the Hedgehog. In most of those realities, Sonic uses his speed to heroically save the day without fail. However, there is one reality where even he could not stop the darkness. GeneX Necros is a universe of evil, given power by the mysterious and ever expanding Nightmare Zone. Two years ago, Sonic and several other heroes met their ends in this terrible place, and darkness has been spreading unchecked ever since. One year ago, more lives were lost as a diabolical feline witch named Tabitha attempted to cast a spell that would once and for all cast the planet in terror, reviving a being known as the Lord of Nightmares in the process. This spell came very close to completion, but the intervention of a resurrected Sonic and several other heroes caused the Spell of the Shadows to end in failure! However, Tabitha remained. A violent battle ensued, where the monsters known as the Lost Ones managed to kill several more of Sonic's allies, but soon a brave sorceress named Gemini managed to banish the Lost Ones from the area! Tabitha then killed Gemini, leaving Sonic and Shadow to face her while the remaining heroes fled to safety. Tabitha maintained the upper hand, and soon trapped Sonic in a magical cage! Thinking fast, Shadow got a Chaos Emerald to Sonic, but was killed in the process! Sonic used the emerald to warp out of the cage, and managed to take the witch by surprise, knocking her from her broom! As she fell, the witch fired a spell at Sonic, which hit the Chaos Emerald, and then used her magic to warp herself away, promising that they'd meet again as she vanished. The Chaos Emerald turned black from Tabitha's spell, and Sonic worried that the spell might affect him as well, since he had been tapping into the emerald's power. Now, it is nearly Halloween again, and the Nightmare Zone is spreading once more...\n\nStation Square had become dark and hollow since the previous year. The Nightmare Zone's evil had fully taken hold, and all survivors were forced to flee the city. This evacuation was the first time anyone was known to have escaped the Nightmare Zone. Yet, each night for the past year, a lone figure ran through the streets of this deserted ghost town. Faster than the eye could see, this poor, cursed creature fled into the Night Woods, just beyond the border of Station Square. Ordinarily, he would be alone here. However, as he moved deep into the woods, he soon found another lurking in the darkness, and was soaked by an accompanying rainstorm. \"It has been a long time. Welcome back to the Nightmare Zone, Sonic!\" The quick-footed hedgehog slowed his pace as he neared the cloaked figure who was speaking to him. \"You... Stay back!\" Sonic warned, keeping his distance. The cloaked one, the Doomsayer, quietly laughed at Sonic's reaction. \"Ha... Afraid for your own safety, or for mine? No matter. You have reached me at the right time. It is the night before All Hallows' Eve. Technically the next morning, in a few minutes. Now begins the day when spirits of the dead may rise and speak.\" he said. Sonic glanced around the area before looking up at the sky. The moon was almost full. \"You have been coming here each night for a year. You know by now that nothing will happen tonight.\" the Doomsayer said. Sonic shook his head. \"I'm not certain about anything since I died...\" he whispered. The rain began falling more fiercely as midnight arrived. \"This is it! Spirits may now rise!\" the Doomsayer declared! Thunder could be heard nearby as the trees were lit by white lights, the ghosts of those who died in the Nightmare Zone! The Doomsayer pointed at spirits overhead and beckoned them down. Sonic saw a few familiar faces coming down from the trees. First was Amy, the first of Sonic's friends to die in the Nightmare Zone. \"Sonic!! So that's why I haven't felt your presence in the spirit world since last year! You're alive again!\" she said, attempting to hug Sonic. However, her arms simply passed through him. Seeing this, she backed away sadly. Rouge came down next, followed by Knuckles and Silver. \"Way to let me die two years ago!\" Rouge snapped. \"HEY! It wasn't HIS fault!\" Knuckles yelled. \"Hey, Sonic. I'm glad to see the séance worked.\" Silver said. Knuckles glanced from Silver to Sonic, and then attempted futily to punch Sonic. \"You jerk! Got brought back to life without me! And why is the Nightmare Zone STILL spreading!? You should've done something by now!!\" he screamed. Amy pulled Knuckles away from the bewildered Sonic. \"Cut it out! I'm sure there's a good reason why it's taking so long!\" she said. The four ghosts looked tensely at Sonic. \"Well?\" Rouge asked. Sonic looked at the ground miserably. \"We've been trying to figure out how to stop it. But I can't be much help. I... I've been cursed.\" he explained. \"Oh, stop wallowing in pity!\" The ghost of Shadow descended from the treetops and joined them. \"I didn't sacrifice my life just for you to let some curse stop you!\" he yelled. The Doomsayer's glowing eyes showed a hint of uncertainty. \"The fate of this world is shrouded in darkness. It would be no simple task to stop this. Especially for a cursed soul.\" he warned. The ghosts shook their heads at the Doomsayer's words. \"No. You can't give up!\" Silver insisted. \"It's up to you. No one else is left who can do this!\" Rouge added. \"So you've suffered a curse for the past year. This could be your chance to break it!\" Knuckles suggested. \"I believe in you, Sonic!\" Amy cheered. \"Don't let us down.\" Shadow said. These encouraging words lifted Sonic's spirits somewhat. \"That's right... Maybe the curse could be broken! If it's possible any day, it would be today! Thanks guys! I'm off!\" he said, rushing back towards Station Square. As he left, the ghosts turned to the Doomsayer. \"We have much to speak of.\" the mysterious being told them...\n\n\nHours later, the sun rose over the Mystic Ruins, still safe from the Nightmare Zone, for the time being. Tails had been awake well before the sun rose, and sat on a chair in his workshop, quietly reading \"Three Thousand Dos and Don'ts of Scary Scenarios.\" His workshop had been converted into a laboratory, and while Tails read his book, Bucky the rat was busy examining a body laid out on a metal table. It was Punchy's body. The green echidna was as lifeless as he was the last time Tails had seen him two years ago, but Bucky was hoping that would change soon. \"Attach the GeneX helmet!\" Bucky commanded. Vortex emerged from a nearby closet, alive, and carrying an odd sort of helmet with a light bulb on top of it. He attached it to Punchy's head, and backed away. Zipp and Crash were watching nearby as well, also alive despite having been killed the year before. Bucky turned to Tails. \"We're ready.\" he reported. Tails closed the book and stood up to walk to the back of the room, far from the table. \"Great. I just finished re-reading that book, too! Now I'm ready for anything!\" Tails said. \"Oh, goody! Can we throw that annoying book in the trash now? Or maybe I can torch it with a flamethrower?\" Zipp teased. Bucky raised his hands. \"Silence! It is time for me to complete my experiment! Experiment 1... Rise!!\" Bolts of electricity came bursting from Bucky's fingers, zapping Punchy's lifeless body! The blue and yellow sparks flowed through him, and lit the bulb on the helmet he was wearing! His body began shaking violently as Bucky shot more power into his fallen creation! Zipp began laughing manically as he watched this. \"Yes! Give his creation LIFE!! AGAIN!! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!\" Crash pulled his hat down over his eyes. \"I hate watching this...\" he groaned. After a while, Bucky ceased shooting sparks at Punchy, and the room went dark. \"Aw, your lightning hit the lights again!\" Tails groaned. Bucky ran over to Punchy's side. The echidna was still for a moment, but soon started breathing again. \"It's ALIVE!! ALIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!\" Zipp shouted, prompting Vortex to smack him in the head. \"Musssst you sssshout that every time!?\" he hissed. Soon, Punchy's eyes opened, and he began to sit up. \"What in the...\" he muttered. Zipp flew over to him and looked at his dazed face. \"Aw, nuts. I'd say the experiment was a failure.\" he joked. Punchy attempted to swat him, but he flew out of the way. \"Where am I?\" he groaned, glancing at Bucky. \"You are in Tails's Workshop, Experiment 1. You have been dead for two years.\" the rat began, \"Now that you are restored, we are as ready as we will be this year. Ready to attempt to stop the flow of dark energy that has slowly been choking the life from our world!\" Tails opened the front door and called to the outside. \"Punchy lives, everyone!\" he said. Copter was first to peek into the room, followed closely by Heather. \"Welcome back! Too bad Rainbow's not here for this.\" Copter said. Punchy glanced at them before turning back to Bucky. \"Seems like I've been out of the loop for a while. Care to explain a few things?\" he asked. Bucky nodded. \"Yes, of course. But first, we need to contact the new experiments. Zipp, call twelve. Tell him to have fourteen and fifteen begin their mission. Then, have him await my arrival with thirteen. There's much to be done!\"  \n\n\nIllusi the shrew had just appeared at the Master Emerald shrine on Angel Island. He had narrowly escaped zombies the previous year by using an illusion of himself to fool them. He now appeared before Espio the chameleon, Charmy the bee, and Vector the crocodile. \"Do you HAVE to appear out of nowhere like that!? My detective nerves can't take it!\" Vector growled. \"Sorry. It's my quickest mode of transportation.\" Illusi said. \"Well, I think it's cool!\" Charmy grinned. Espio remained silent, watching the black Master Emerald on the shrine as though expecting it to do something. \"Any word on the disappearances?\" Illusi asked. Vector shook his head. \"Not a trace! I don't get it. Animals are disappearing left and right, without leaving so much as a clue!\" he said. \"What do you think about it, Espio?\" Charmy asked. Espio remained still. \"I think we have more pressing things to worry about.\" he said. \"Aw, what do you know!\" Vector scoffed. \"No, he's right.\" Illusi said, \"The Nightmare Zone will have reached here soon. That's why I called you here. I feel we must guard the Master Emerald from evil hands. Maybe take it away before the Nightmare Zone arrives.\" Charmy pointed into the distance. \"Uh, I think that's gonna be hard...\" he said, shaking. They looked where Charmy was pointing, and saw their fears realized. A shroud of darkness was rapidly approaching the area, blocking out the sunlight! The Nightmare Zone had come!\n\nCream the rabbit was peering out the window of Tails's Workshop with Cheese the Chao, when she saw it. The terrible darkness, rapidly nearing from the direction of Station Square! \"Oh, no... It's here! We have to tell the others!\" she gasped, rushing out of the second floor room of Tails's Workshop and jumping to the ground so she could shout into the doorway of the lab. \"Everyone! The Nightmare Zone is here!\" she yelled! Tommy the porcupine met Cream at the door first. \"The N-n-nightmare Zone!? But it wasn't due here for another few hours!\" he stammered. \"Outta the doorway, kid!\" Copter shouted, leading everyone outside to see the darkness covering the land.\n\nAs the Nightmare Zone was rapidly covering the Mystic Ruins, Sonic sped out of the tunnel trains used to use when arriving from Station Square. Just as he reached the old train station, darkness consumed it, blocking out the sun! Sonic quickly sped out of the station and looked around the area. \"No... It can't be! The whole Mystic Ruins is already taken by the Nightmare Zone!\" he gasped. While Sonic was wondering what to do now, someone laughed at him from atop the train station's roof! Sonic turned to find Dr. Eggman hovering above the station in his Egg Mobile. \"Ho ho ho ho! Looks like even Sonic can't outrun the Nightmare Zone!\" he taunted. Sonic rolled his eyes. \"I wasn't trying to outrun it, Eggman. This is where I was going!\" he explained. Eggman didn't seem to care. \"Either way, you won't be able to outrun it soon! The first phase of my plan to complete the world's transition to darkness is complete! Now, I'm off to finish this! See you in my world of dreams... or nightmares! Ha ha ha ha ha!\" With that, Eggman began flying off in the direction of the jungle. Sonic started to follow him. \"Wait up, Eggman! I won't let you get away THIS time!\" Sonic kept his eyes on Eggman as he followed him. As a result, he didn't see the costumed man he ended up running into. \"Oooof!! HEY! You did this to me before!!\" shouted Gator, who fell on the floor after Sonic ran into him. Sonic had fallen over as well, and as he stood up to resume chasing Eggman, he found that Eggman was already out of sight. \"What the... Where'd he go!? Aw, thanks a lot, Gator!!\" Sonic groaned. Gator gave him a friendly grin as he stood up. \"You're welcome. But how did you know I brought people to help you with me?\" he asked. Sonic looked confused until he noticed the animals standing behind Gator. It was Fred the fennec, Adam the bat, Evelyn the fox, and Cuthburt the alligator. \"We came from another time. We're looking for Silver the hedgehog and Gemini the fennec. Do you know them?\" Fred asked. Sonic frowned at the mention of the fallen heroes. \"I'm afraid you're a year too late... But we could use your help.\" he said.\n\nSonic brought Gator and the others to Tails's Workshop. After explanations regarding the events of the previous two years, Fred and his companions were looking very discouraged. \"Not even Silver survived... What chance do we have now?\" Evelyn said sadly. Bucky looked at the distressed faces in the crowd scornfully. \"We won't have any chance if everyone continues crying and whining! We have to do what we can to fight back! As for myself, I and my new experiments are going back to Night Woods to reclaim my laboratory!\" he said. Adam looked at Bucky like he was insane. \"You mean that ship that crashed in those woods? How are you going to get it out without flying? And without dying?!\" he asked. \"I'll examine the ship and find out why it crashed. If we can get it flying in the Nightmare Zone, we'd have an easy method of escaping if things get too dangerous. Of course, my safety is not guaranteed, so I'm leaving my revived experiments behind to help all of you attempt to defeat the villains who are working to spread the Nightmare Zone.\" Bucky replied. Zipp twirled a gun in his hands. \"You can count on us, boss! We'll wipe 'em all out!\" he grinned. Heather scoffed at him. \"Never mind that you all died last Halloween!\" Sonic was tapping his foot impatiently by now. \"If you guys don't quit arguing, it'll soon be dark...er.\" he said. Tommy agreed. \"Yeah! Let's get this show on the road!\" Bucky nodded in agreement. \"You all do your best! I'm off for Night Woods!\" he said before leaving. Once Bucky was gone, Cream and Tails ran into the workshop to gather supplies for the trip, along with Crash and Vortex. Fred took the opportunity to speak with Sonic. \"So, what are we going to do, anyway?\" he asked. Gator, who hadn't been paying attention so far, offered a suggestion. \"Let's have some cake to celebrate my birthday!\" he said. Sonic ignored him. \"We're going to find Eggman. I saw him head into the jungle on my way here. Seems like a good place to start.\" he suggested. Punchy pointed at Angel Island nearby. It had fallen from the sky since the Nightmare Zone arrived. \"When did Angel Island fall? We've gotta go there first and check on the Master Emerald!\" he said. Copter nodded. \"Right. Remember what Bucky said he found out last year? The Master Emerald was tainted like the black Chaos Emerald!\" he recalled. \"Right... I forgot!\" Crash said as he emerged from the workshop with bags of supplies. Vortex, Tails, and Cream were behind him, followed by a robotic puppy. \"I see you finished repairing SPOT, Tails.\" Sonic observed. \"This is SPOT 2.0. He's got better armor, and is equipped to detect monsters and other forms of darkness.\" Tails explained while the bags of supplies were being handed out amongst the group. Cuthburt pointed to Angel Island once the group was ready. \"Let's get going! For Gemini and all the others who died!\" he said. \"Yeah, for me!\" Zipp agreed.\n\nUnfortunately, the main tunnel to the Master Emerald shrine had caved in when the island fell, so the group was forced to take a detour through IceCap. The trip was relatively uneventful, though the island was dark and spooky. It took several hours, but soon they reached the lava filled caves of Red Mountain, where they finally decided to stop for lunch. Heather used her powers to light a fire, and they all began roasting hot dogs by the fire. Despite the lava in the caves, it had become dark and cold since the Nightmare Zone covered the area. \"Weird. We've been wandering in the Nightmare Zone for hours, but no monsters have attacked us yet.\" Heather observed. \"Don't let your guard down. They might just be leaving us alone so far because we're in a group! Like the book said.\" Tails pointed out. Cream shivered at the mention of monsters. \"I hope we don't find any m-monsters this time...\" she whimpered. Sonic seemed particularly alert as he munched on his lunch. \"It's way too quiet... Maybe I should take a look around by myself.\" he said. Adam shook his head. \"That's a sure way to get killed! We know all about this, the Nightmare Zone is everywhere in our time!\" he told the group. Evelyn smacked him with the stick she used to roast her hot dog. \"Why would you tell them that!? Way to ruin everyone's hope!\" she growled. Gator laughed at the tension in the group. \"There's nothing to be scared of out here! What you REALLY gotta be scared of... is the headless Lost One!\" he warned. Tommy and Cream began shaking more fearfully at Gator's words. \"H-h-headless?!\" Tommy whimpered. Vortex crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. \"Bah! That'sss jussst a ghossst sssstory!\" he hissed. Punchy looked curious. \"Headless Lost One? Maybe it's 'cuz I've been dead, but I haven't heard that story.\" he said. Gator picked up SPOT and held the robot's headlight up to his face like a flashlight. \"They say it was just a harmless scarecrow... Except it wore a sack-shirt that once was used to hold rotten potatoes!\" he began. Copter laughed at him. \"Potatoes?! Gimme a break.\" Gator ignored him and continued. \"Anyway, the head of the scarecrow was made of a pumpkin. Carved with the knife of a cereal killer! That poor cereal... Then, one day, the Lost Ones invaded the cornfield! A priest managed to chase the lost ones away, but the scarecrow's head was knocked off while the Lost Ones were running away! That night, the farmer died in his sleep... And the scarecrow was gone! They say the pumpkin was possessed by a Lost One, and it's still wandering the world... Searching for its missing potatoes!\" By the end of the story, half of the group laughed, while the other half was shaking fearfully. One thing the group could agree on, was that lunch was over. \"We should get moving. Number 60 in my book says 'Don't stay in one place too long. Monsters will find you.'\" Tails warned. Zipp groaned at him. \"You mean you even memorized the NUMBERS in the book!? Please, can I shoot him?\" Everyone glared at Zipp angrily. \"I take that as a no...\" he sighed.\n\nOnce they had packed and put out the fire, the group continued on their way to the Master Emerald shrine. The caves went on for a long distance, but the trip remained uneventful for a while, until they came across an area covered in spider webs. Sonic started to lead the group straight through the web-filled path when Tails grabbed his arm. \"Are you sure we should go that way, Sonic? Number 808 in the book says 'Don't go through giant spider webs. Giant spiders might eat you!'\" he said. The experiments all groaned at him. \"Tails, you are such a dork! Giant spiders!\" Copter grumbled. Fred looked thoughtful. \"Maybe... The spiders aren't here right now?\" he wondered. Evelyn shuddered at the idea of walking through the webs. \"I say we find another route anyway...\" she said. Gator approached the webs anyway. \"You guys are silly! Spiders don't eat people! They eat curly fries!\" he said as he pushed some webbing aside. Suddenly, an enormous spider burst through the webs and stabbed Gator with giant fangs! \"YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!\" Gator shrieked as Sonic and Crash pulled him away from the spider. Amazingly, Gator didn't even appear to be injured at all. \"See, giant spiders!\" Tails yelped. \"He bit me! Bad monster!\" Gator said sternly. In a moment, more spiders arrived, and began crawling out of the webs to attack the group. \"RUUUUUUN!!\" Cuthburt shouted, leading the others as they fled in terror! Fred remained behind and pointed his magic wand at the spiders. \"Pyrower!\" he shouted. The spell caused flames to spew from his wand, igniting the webs and burning the spiders as well, causing them to scatter in panic! The fire continued burning the webs, making it impossible to continue in that direction. \"I suggest we find another way to the Master Emerald shrine!\" Fred shouted as he rushed to catch up with the rest of the group.\n\nWith the detour, it took a few more hours, but the group soon made it out of the caves. Despite being viciously attacked earlier, Gator was perfectly all right, much to everyone's surprise. The rest of the group had survived the trip as well, and now they reached the bridge leading to the Master Emerald shrine. The bridge had apparently seen better days, but it was the only way across. \"Uhh... Maybe some of us should stay behind, just in case the bridge isn't safe.\" Tommy suggested. \"I agree... It's a long way down from up here...\" Cream added. Tails looked nervous. \"That book doesn't like any part of this situation... Especially the creaky old bridge...\" he said. Sonic smiled. \"Heh, that bridge is no problem. I'll go by myself!\" he said. Vortex shook his head. \"No, you won't. If anything goesss wrong, ssssomeone mussst be able to fly back and tell ussss. And that'ssss Zipp.\" he said. Zipp saluted Vortex. \"Aye aye... Hey, wait, you're not the boss of me!\" he protested. Copter grabbed Zipp by the wings. \"Yes, he is! And I'll be going to keep you in line!\" he told him. Punchy approached the bridge as well. \"This was MY idea, and I'm going!\" he said. Cuthburt grinned at him. \"I like your enthusiasm! I'm in, too!\" he said. Adam backed away from the bridge. \"Be my guest, Burt. I'm gonna go with my survival instincts.\" he muttered. With the search team decided on, Sonic dashed across the bridge first, followed by Copter and Zipp flying over the bridge. Punchy quickly but carefully followed, while Cuthburt started across the bridge very slowly. So slowly, in fact, that the rest of the team soon grew impatient on the other side of the bridge. \"It's safe enough! Hurry up!\" Punchy shouted. Cuthburt glared at him. \"Don't rush me! I'm heavier than you guys! I gotta go more carefully!\" he explained. \"Yeah, I always said you were FAT!\" Adam teased from behind him. \"Wait 'till I get back, you!\" Cuthburt threatened. Sonic turned to check out the Master Emerald shrine. \"Let's get moving. He'll catch up!\" he said.\n\nIt was getting late as Sonic, Copter, Punchy, and Zipp ascended the stairs of the Master Emerald shrine. When they reached the top of the steps, a look of concern appeared on all their faces. \"Looks like it wasn't the Nightmare Zone that caused the island to fall...\" Sonic muttered. \"The... the Master Emerald's gone!\" Punchy yelled. Copter looked around. \"Yeah, seems like it. But I'm pretty sure I saw the island floating this morning. It must have been taken recently.\" he pointed out. \"By who?\" Zipp wondered. \"That's what I'd like to know!\" said a new voice! From behind the shrine, the owner of the voice levitated up to where Sonic and the others were standing. It was a female wolf wearing a uniform with a red, thirteen-pointed star on it. One of her eyes was covered by overgrown hair. \"I am Fera, and I have come on a mission to obtain the black Master Emerald!\" she declared. \"Oh yeah? On whose orders?\" Punchy growled. \"My orders!!\" said another voice overhead. They looked up and found Tabitha riding on her broomstick, cackling at them. \"Ha ha ha ha ha!! Happy Halloween, Sonic! Wonderful night to die, isn't it!\" she shouted. Zipp immediately began shooting at her. \"You killed me, you son of a witch!! Take this!!\" Tabitha shielded herself from Zipp's attacks with her magic, and then fired spells back at them! They initially dodged Tabitha's attacks, but Fera soon joined in with dark magic of her own! \"It's no good! Run for it!\" Copter shouted, leading the way as he, Punchy, and Zipp fled the area. Sonic remained behind, distracting Tabitha and Fera. \"We're going to defeat you this year, Tabitha!\" Sonic warned. \"Ha ha ha ha! How do you intend to do that with a full moon?\" Tabitha cackled. Sonic glanced up, and sure enough, the moon had begun to rise, though obscured by clouds for the moment. While he was distracted, someone crept up behind him. \"Hee hee! Death to hedgehogs!!\" Sonic jumped away just in time, as a multicolored fox wearing the same uniform as Fera attempted to stab him! \"Aw, drat! I thought I had you!\" the fox grinned. Sonic ran off to catch up with the others at this point. \"You can't outrun your fate, Sonic! You died once, and you shall die again!!\" Tabitha yelled as Sonic ran.\n\nCopter, Punchy, and Zipp dashed past Cuthburt, who was only halfway across the bridge. \"Witches and murderers!! Run for your lives!!!\" Zipp yelled as he made it across the bridge. Fred pointed to the tunnel that they'd found blocked off earlier. \"That way! I'll have to use my magic to blast our way through. It's risky, with the tunnel in that vulnerable state, but it's the fastest way out of here!\" he shouted. The group quickly began speeding towards the tunnel, most of them screaming in their panic. \"Shoulda stayed at the workshop! Shoulda stayed at the workshop!!\" Tommy yelled. \"I hate Halloween!!!\" Tails added. Cuthburt had just gotten off the bridge as the others were reaching the tunnel. \"Hey! Guys!! C'mon, wait for me!!\" he shouted, running to catch up. Sonic soon crossed the bridge as well, causing it to collapse behind him as he ran! \"That oughta slow... that fox down at least!\" Sonic said as he caught up with Cuthburt. \"Where'd they all go?\" he asked. \"They ran for the tunnel. They're gonna try to break through to the other side!\" Cuthburt explained. \"OK, let's hurry!\" Sonic suggested. They started running towards the tunnel as the moon slowly crept out from behind the clouds. Cuthburt didn't notice, though, for he was too busy running. As he reached the darkened entrance to the tunnel, however, he noticed that somehow he'd gotten ahead of Sonic. \"What in the... Hey, speedy! Did you finally get tired...?\" As Cuthburt turned around to see what Sonic was doing, he saw an enormous clawed hand reaching out for him! \"Oh, no!! Aaa... AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!\"\n\nThe group running through the tunnel heard the screams as they ran. \"Something got Cuthburt!\" Evelyn screamed. Crash was ahead of the group as they reached the caved in part of the tunnel. \"No time to waste then! I'll take care of this!\" he yelled, charging at the rocks horn-first! He impacted the rocks with tremendous force, and crashed right through them, clearing the path! The path he cleared began to cave in, but Fred dealt with that. \"Proplasmar!\" Fred's spell erected a barrier overhead, blocking the rocks from caving in again. \"Hurry through everyone!\" he shouted, though he didn't need to. In seconds, everyone ran through the tunnel and reached the exit on the other side.\n\nSonic was the last to emerge on the other side of the tunnel. Aside from Cuthburt, everyone was accounted for. Evelyn approached Sonic when he emerged from the tunnel. \"Where's Cuthburt? Did you see what happened?\" she asked. Sonic glanced up at the night sky. The moon was once again covered by the clouds. \"Well? Did you ssssee anything?\" Vortex asked. Sonic shook his head. Tails was consulting SPOT's monitor. \"Seems like there was a dark presence behind us briefly as we went through the tunnel... It must've...\" Tails's voice trailed off, and Cream started crying, holding Cheese tight. \"This is just like last year! Everyone's going to die!\" she sobbed. \"No, we're not!\" Copter snapped, \"We are NOT going to just sit here and let people keep dying this year! I didn't come back to life for that!\" The other experiments nodded in agreement. \"Me neither.\" Punchy said. \"I was brought back to avenge myself!\" Zipp added. Gator looked skeptical. \"No way. You can't revenge yourself. You'd be dead!\" he said, apparently having not paid attention to the earlier explanation of the events of the previous years. Heather and Sonic both looked impatient. \"While we're sitting here wasting time, Tabitha's probably coming after us! We have to figure out what we're going to do next!\" Heather pointed out. Sonic glanced out in the direction of the jungle. \"Eggman was going that way, saying something about going off to finish this. We should go after him!\" he suggested. Crash looked up at the clouds. \"Great idea, but let's get done quick. I don't like the looks of those clouds. Any minute, it might start...\" Before Crash could finish his sentence, Tails, Vortex, Zipp, Copter, and Punchy attempted to stop him. \"DON'T SAY ANOTHER WORD!!\" they shouted. Suddenly, lightning crashed somewhere nearby, and it started pouring. \"...raining...\" Crash finished. Heather held her bag of supplies over her head quickly to keep from getting wet. \"I'll die in this! We have to find shelter!\" she yelled. Tails looked worried. \"Well, we can't go back in the tunnel!\" he said. Sonic began leading the way to the jungle. \"Maybe the trees will be shelter enough! Let's go!\" he said. \"Aw, this plan's all wet...\" Gator groaned as he and the others headed for the jungle.\n\nAs Sonic and the others were heading for the jungle, Tabitha, Fera, and the fox emerged from the tunnel. \"Hee hee! Hey! The rain didn't make you melt!\" the fox giggled to Tabitha. Fera smacked him in the head. \"Don't be an idiot, Patch!\" she groaned. Tabitha hopped onto her broom and hovered in the air. \"We have no time to waste! There are mere hours before midnight, and then once again I will have failed to bring forth the Lord of Nightmares!\" she said urgently. \"Hee hee! Sounds like you stink at the whole evil witch racket!\" Patch teased. Tabitha raised her hand to strike him, but held herself back. \"You're lucky I have need of your aid. I have been unable to locate the others who helped me last year, so I'll have to settle for you.\" she growled. Fera kneeled to Tabitha respectfully. \"So, how may we serve your plan, powerful one?\" she asked. Tabitha pointed towards the jungle. \"There is no escape from this place. My magic is seeing to that! Therefore, that Master Emerald has got to be out here somewhere. I will search for it. I want the two of you to follow those meddlesome pests. If they find the emerald first, kill them and take it!\" she instructed. \"Can I kill some just for fun?\" Patch asked. Fera grinned at him. \"Couldn't hurt...\" she said. Tabitha cackled as her broom carried her into the sky. \"Soon, the world will belong to darkness! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!\" she cackled, soaring into the night.\n\nUpon reaching the jungle, Sonic and the others found the trees useless. It was raining very hard, and the trees were no use as shelter. Still, they explored the jungle anyway, hoping to find shelter along the way. Everyone was getting soaked by the rain. \"Ah... ahchoo!! Wh-why didn't we pack umbrellas?\" Tommy said as he shivered. \"We didn't HAVE any...\" Tails replied. \"And why not!?\" Copter growled. Zipp stopped flying and started walking at this point. \"My wings... They're too soaked to do any good now...\" he whined. \"Aw, quit complaining, guys. It could be worse!\" Adam said. \"How?\" Punchy asked. \"DON'T SAY ANYTHING!!\" Tails shouted, worried about their luck getting worse. Suddenly, ghostly lights similar to the ones in Night Woods, appeared overhead and began laughing at them. \"Oh... That's how...\" Punchy muttered. \"Now what do we do?\" Evelyn said fearfully. Sonic kept moving. \"Ignore the ghosts. They're only trying to scare us.\" he told them. \"They're doing a good job...\" Cream said quietly. Soon, the group reached the clearing where an ancient pyramid stood within the ruins. Two brown hedgehogs were standing in the entrance to the pyramid. \"Bill and Bob!\" Tommy shouted excitedly. \"Who?\" Adam asked. \"They were friends of my brother! They owned a tavern in Station Square. Looks like they escaped last year after all!\" Tommy explained. Bill stepped out of the pyramid and motioned for everyone to come in. \"In here! You'll all catch your death in this rain!\" he shouted. \"You don't know the half of it!\" Heather replied weakly. Copter and Punchy helped Heather up the steps to the pyramid. \"We gotta get her dry.\" Copter said worriedly. Tails hesitated to follow the others into the pyramid. \"That book would have a few cautions against going in there...\" he warned. Zipp kicked Tails's ankle as he passed him by. \"My wings need to get dry! Shut up!\" he yelled. \"Ow! OK, fine, I'm going!\" Tails groaned. As everyone walked up the steps and entered the pyramid, Fera and Patch snuck into the clearing behind them. \"Hee hee! I think it's playtime...\" Patch grinned.\n\n\nDeep inside the pyramid, others had already taken shelter. Illusi, Vector, Espio, and Charmy had been exploring the pyramid, and now found themselves in a room with a big mural. Originally, the mural depicted Chaos destroying a city, but now it had changed. It now depicted a hideous demon in a dark abyss, attacking several animals. Team Chaotix looked at the mural with concern. \"Whoever drew this was psycho.\" Charmy muttered. \"The spirits drew it.\" Illusi said with utter seriousness. Vector examined the mural closely. \"I think I know some of those victims...\" he shuddered. \"Maybe... This has something to do with the Master Emerald.\" Espio suggested. \"Who knows, but that's yet another reason why we have to find the emerald fast.\" Illusi reasoned. Charmy sighed unhappily at being reminded. \"I can't believe someone snatched it when we looked away! Whoever it was must've been fast.\" he said. Vector shook his head. \"Whoever it was wasn't running! There were no footprints!\" he recalled. Espio looked thoughtful. \"Could it have been... a ghost?\" he wondered. \"Yes, and no!\" The four of them looked back and found the Doomsayer behind them! \"What are you doing here!?\" Illusi wondered. The Doomsayer glared at the group seriously. \"The time is approaching. The spirits grow restless. It is no longer safe here.\" he warned. Vector nodded knowingly. \"We already knew that! The Nightmare Zone is here!\" he pointed out. The Doomsayer's expression did not change. \"There is nowhere to run. The nightmares have come, and it is very likely that none will survive! I can linger no longer, Nor can you. Once I depart, the full moon's wrath will reveal itself, and none will be safe. But none are safe now. Evil spirits have risen. Doom has come!\" As the Doomsayer finished speaking, he was surrounded by a twister of hail, and once it ended, he was gone! \"So... Are we about to die?\" Charmy said fearfully. Vector and Espio turned to Illusi, whose expression was grave. \"Quite possibly. There's no time to waste!\" he said.\n\n\nWhile the group was drying off in the entrance room of the pyramid, Bill and Bob explained their presence there. \"Two years ago, Bob and I were moving our tavern from Station Square to Troblusk City. It was luck for us, 'cuz we got to avoid the Nightmare Zone when it took over Station Square.\" Bill said. \"We sure were worried 'bout all our friends back in Station Square when the darkness took it.\" Bob recalled. Tommy frowned upon recalling what became of his brother and friends. \"They all died. I was the only one to escape after last Halloween...\" he said. Bill nodded. \"I heard that some folks had escaped the Nightmare Zone. I also heard when it was starting to spread faster.\" he said. \"The darkness had been quiet 'till 'round last month.\" Bob added. \"How'd you hear about that?\" Tails asked. \"We got connections. Anyway, we came here to see if we could find any old friends and help 'em.\" Bill explained. \"Hold on. Ssssomething ssstinksss, here. Why did you wait a month to come here?\" Vortex wondered. \"We were checkin' the surrounding territories. We weren't sure where y'all were.\" Bob replied. Tails was looking at SPOT's monitor. \"SPOT doesn't sense anything in here. I think we can trust these guys. But SPOT is picking up something close... by...\" Tails's eyes went wide as he looked at the monitor. \"Something's here!\" he gasped. Everyone quickly got up to run as ghosts emerged from the hallways and began surrounding them! Among the ghosts, Sonic was devastated to see an old foe. \"It's Xenegg!!\" he gasped. Xenegg let out a diabolical laugh as he gazed at the terrified faces before him. \"You thought you had seen the last of me? It is Halloween, and my old business is unfinished once more! I, and these other vengeful spirits, will never let you leave here alive!\" he bellowed, causing the formless spirits accompanying him to grow more violent. \"RUN FOR YOUR PIE!!!!\" screamed Gator before running away. \"Gah! Where'd he come from?\" Punchy wondered. ( Gator had been missing since they'd entered the jungle. ) \"Never mind that! Split up and try to lose the ghosts!\" Adam yelled. Tails opened his mouth to protest this idea, but everyone started running off before he could speak, so he started running, too. \"How many times do I have to tell people to stay together!?\" he said to himself. In the confusion, Xenegg began shooting randomly, and one of the stray lasers hit Heather! She fell over, and Copter stopped to help her. \"Never mind me... Run!\" she yelled as her body burst into flame. Copter obeyed, and soon everyone had run into the pyramid. \"Fools! You can't escape me!\" Xenegg yelled before vanishing.\n\nCopter caught up with Vortex, Zipp, Crash, and Bob in a dark hallway deep inside the pyramid. \"Hey, guys!\" Copter called out. \"Monster!\" Zipp yelped, shooting in Copter's direction. Luckily, he missed. \"Cut that out!\" Copter shouted. \"It'sss jussst Experiment 2.\" Vortex pointed out. Crash and Bob waved to him, relieved. \"You seen Bill anywhere?\" Bob asked. Copter shook his head. \"I haven't seen anyone but you guys since we split up.\" he explained. \"Hello?! Is... is that you, guys? Where are ya!?\" shouted Adam, who was somewhere nearby. Zipp pressed a button on his helmet and looked around. \"Hmm... Looks like we're in some sort of maze.\" he said. \"Aw, how'd that happen?\" said a voice behind them. Zipp spun around again and fired at the voice, who collapsed after being hit! Crash grabbed Zipp by the wings and confiscated his gun. \"You're more dangerous than the ghosts!!\" he growled. Copter approached the body of who Zipp shot, and was startled as the body burst into flames. \"Yaaaaa!! Uh... oh... It's Heather...\" he realized. Heather was once again revived from her ashes, and then glared at Zipp. \"Would everyone PLEASE stop killing me! It's disorienting!\" she snapped. \"Forget you guys! I'll find my own way outta here!\" shouted Adam after overhearing Heather. \"Stay where you are! We'll find you!\" shouted Fred from somewhere else in the maze. \"Hey! Who's with you!\" Copter shouted. \"We are!\" said Cream, while Cheese was making scared noises. Copter pointed around a corner of the maze. \"The voices are coming from that way! Let's go!\"\n\nElsewhere in the maze, Adam was wandering by himself, hoping to find a safe place somewhere. \"Stupid hornet. Safer on my own...\" he muttered. He was suddenly startled by a quiet laugh in the shadows. \"Hee hee...\" Adam turned toward the voice and raised his fists. \"Nobody laughs at m-me! W-where are ya?\" he said. He heard the same laugh again, this time behind him, so he turned around again. \"Ha! You don't s-scare me! Y-you're just as blind as I am!\" he pointed out. \"Hee hee! I'll show you scary!\" shouted Patch, who jumped out of the shadows behind Adam and swung a knife at his back! Adam quickly spun around and started struggling with Patch, who soon pushed him to the floor! \"Hee hee! You like games? I do. Operation!\" Patch said, laughing manically as he began wildly swinging his knife...\n\n\nSonic, Tails, Punchy, Evelyn, Tommy, Bill, and SPOT had all gone in another direction, and now found themselves in a chamber with lots of water on the floor. A hole in the roof allowed them to see that the rain had stopped, though it was still cloudy outside. There was no sign of Xenegg or the other ghosts, so they decided to stop for a rest here. \"Great. Our group's been split in half...\" Punchy complained. \"Don't look at me. That wasn't my idea.\" Tails reminded them. Tommy was looking back in the direction they came, hoping to see the others arriving. \"I hope everyone's OK...\" he said worriedly. \"Don't worry. They've got Fred with them. They'll be fine.\" Evelyn said. Sonic pointed to SPOT. \"We've gotta find them quick and get outta here! Can your robot find 'em, Tails?\" he asked. Tails took a look at SPOT's monitor. \"Hmmm... Aaaa!! There's an unidentified signal coming this way!\" he shouted. Punchy raised his fists and looked around. \"Where is it? Is it Xenegg?\" he asked. Tails pointed to one of the four exits to the room. \"It's coming from that way! It's not Xenegg, but I don't know who...\" Before Tails could finish speaking, Punchy ran towards the exit Tails pointed to. \"I'll get 'em! Leave it to me!!\" he yelled. \"Wait, you idiot! You know the book wouldn't advise that!!\" Tails shouted, leading Evelyn, Tommy, Bill, and SPOT as they followed Punchy to the doorway. \"Wait here, guys! I'll be right back!\" Punchy said, running after the intruders while the others waited by the door. They couldn't see in the dark hallway, but they could hear shouts and other noises suggesting that Punchy was fighting the intruders. \"Take this, monsters!\" \"Aaaa!! Hey! Get him!\" \"I got him! I got him!\" \"That's my tail, Charmy!!\" As moonlight from the hole in the roof illuminated the area, Tails and the others jumped back in terror as a swarm of symbol-shaped creatures flew out of the hall! They were Wrongos, summoned by Illusi, and soon the group saw that Punchy was fighting with Vector of Team Chaotix! \"Enough! Stop fighting!\" said Illusi once everyone saw each other. \"Hey, he's not a monster, he's that guy I thought was Knuckles.\" Charmy realized. \"Yeah, thanks for the news update, Charmy...\" Vector groaned as Punchy let him up from the floor. The relief was short lived, as Tails noticed someone was missing. \"Hey, where's Sonic?\" he wondered as Team Chaotix, Punchy, and Illusi reached the doorway. Vector pointed into the wet room and screamed as he saw inside. \"There!! THAT'S a monster!!\" he screamed. Everyone turned and joined him in screaming as they saw a giant, hairy creature, with thick blue hair, sharp fangs, and claws! Tails quoted a line from his book: \"Number 2!! Don't just stand here, RUUUUUUN!!!!\" he screamed. As everyone turned and ran, the strange monster gave chase, forcing everyone to run faster! They all ran right by Fera, who'd been watching them from the shadows all along. \"Whew... Good thing the monster didn't see me either. But... Was that what I thought it was?\" she muttered, slowly starting to follow the monster...\n\n\nEveryone in the dark maze ran towards Adam's screams, and everyone arrived there too late. Cream hid her eyes upon seeing Adam's remains, while Fred used his magic wand as a flashlight to illuminate the area. As a result, they spotted Patch ahead! \"Hee hee! Busted!\" Patch giggled. Copter and Crash immediately began chasing Patch, while the others followed. Patch laughed continuously as he led them through the maze. \"Get back here you murderous twerp!\" Copter yelled. Patch merely continued laughing and led them out of the maze. They now found themselves in a large, dark room. Light bouncing from mirrors in the room did little to illuminate the area, but it was enough to allow the group to see Patch. The crazed fox reached behind himself and pulled several knives seemingly out of nowhere! \"Time for a new game! Hee hee! Catch!\" He laughed like a madman as he started tossing knives at Copter and the others, who ran around the room attempting to avoid them. Patch seemed to have an endless amount of knives, and he skillfully kept the whole group busy avoiding them. As a stray knife flew towards Cream, Fred blocked it with a barrier spell. \"That was close...\" he said, out of breath. Zipp picked up some of the knives Patch was tossing and attempted to throw them back, but his aim with knives wasn't so good. \"Stupid Crash! Throw back my gun!\" he shouted. Crash shook his head. \"I'll shoot him!\" he said, aiming and pulling the trigger. The gun didn't fire. \"Arrrgh! Out of bullets!\" he growled. Realizing Patch was too dangerous, everyone backed away from him to make it harder for him to hit them. \"Hee hee! That's enough practice! Who wants to be my first target?\" Patch said. Suddenly, Gator came running out of the maze! \"I'm here to save all of ya!!\" he shouted. Patch responded by tossing a knife at him that hit him right between the eyes! \"Ouch...\" he muttered, pulling the knife out of his head. Once the knife was removed, he appeared to not even be injured, but he fainted anyway. \"Eeeeek! I can't stay here anymore!\" Cream shouted, making a break for the nearest exit! \"Wait! It's too dangerous!\" Fred shouted, chasing after her. Patch started aiming a knife at Cream, but Cheese flew at him and knocked him down! \"Oooof!! Hee hee! That tickled!\" Patch grunted. \"Now'sss our chance! Let'sss get out of here!\" Vortex suggested, following Fred and Cream. \"So long, psycho!\" Copter shouted as he joined the others making a run for it. \"Call me if you ever want to go hunting!\" Zipp added as he and Cheese followed the others deeper into the pyramid. Patch got back to his feet in time to see which way they went. \"I hope Fera's having as much fun as I am! Hee hee!\" he chuckled.\n\nIllusi led the group being chased by the monster back to the room with the creepy mural. There, they found Copter, Cream, Cheese, Fred, Vortex, Zipp, Crash, Heather, and Bob, who had reached this dead end after giving Patch the slip. \"Hey, guys! Where's Adam?\" Evelyn asked. \"Done for.\" Copter replied. \"Hey, where's Sonic?\" Bob wondered. Before anyone could answer, the blue monster appeared, snarling and growling at them! \"Oh, no! We're goners!!\" Tommy shouted, while Cream started crying. Suddenly, the monster flinched and fell down. \"Huh? What the...?\" Punchy said upon seeing who hit the creature. It was Gator! \"Nothing's gonna stop me from MY pirating! That guy's not nearly as scary as the Headless Lost One!\" he said, walking past the creature to rejoin the group. Tails pointed at the creature excitedly. \"Gator! Don't turn your back on it! Never turn your back on the monster!\" he yelled. Gator pointed at the mural. \"Who's been doodling on the walls?\" he asked, causing everyone but Tails to turn and look at the mural. \"Why do I say anything?\" Tails groaned. Bill and Bob were first to turn back to the collapsed creature. \"The fox has a point. Anyone got ropes to tie it up with?\" Bill asked. Crash pulled some ropes out of the bag of supplies he was carrying and tossed them to Bill and Bob while everyone else examined the mural. \"You know what? That thing on the mural reminds me of something...\" Tails muttered. Suddenly, Bill and Bob started yelling as the monster started to wake up! \"It's breakin' outta the ropes!\" Bill shouted. \"Do somethin'!!\" Bob yelled. As everyone turned around, Gator freaked out. \"Aw, I'm bad at this Halloween stuff! I'm outta here!\" he said, teleporting away! Punchy and Crash ran over to help Bill and Bob restrain the creature, but it smacked them all away, knocking Punchy and Crash into the rest of the cornered crowd! The monster then turned its attention to Bob, but Bill whipped it with the rope to get its attention. \"Run, Bob! Hurry!\" he shouted. The monster responded by slashing Bill across the chest, killing him! \"NO!!!\" Tommy shrieked, horrified. Suddenly, Gator teleported back into the room in front of the creature. \"Forgot my supplies! Whoa! IT'S THE HEADLESS LOST ONE!!\" he screamed, pointing in the direction of the mural! As everyone turned around yet again, something snatched Heather! \"EEEEEEK!!\" she screamed as the monster Gator had pointed out dragged her to the back of the room! It resembled a scarecrow with a jack-o-lantern for a head. Green slime acted as the pumpkin's \"hair,\" and roots acted as its arms and feet. It had Heather in its tangled clutches, and laughed demonically as the others screamed at it. \"Ha! I am aptly named Loscream! Prepare to be crushed in my vines!\"\n\n\"Don't just scream at it! Let's get outta here!\" shouted Sonic, who had appeared behind them. \"Huh? Where'd that monster go?\" Espio wondered as everyone turned to face Sonic. \"Never mind that, Espio! Let's get outta here!\" Vector yelled. \"We can't! Look!\" Evelyn shouted, pointing behind Sonic. Patch, Fera, and Xenegg were approaching from the only exit! \"You are trapped now! Prepare for the fiery depths of Hell!\" Xenegg yelled. Fred and Illusi, who had been silently talking among themselves up to this point, finally put an escape plan to action. \"Proplasmar!!\" Fred shouted, creating a barrier around the group. \"We need reinforcements! Cover our escape, Wrongos!\" Illusi said, calling forth another swarm of the strange circular creatures! Being illusions, the Wrongos were able to pass through the barrier and interfere with all of the enemies, except Xenegg. \"Time to run for it again!\" Charmy said urgently. \"Follow me!\" Sonic shouted, leading the way as the group fled the attacks of Fera, Patch, Loscream, and Xenegg, which quickly destroyed the barrier! \"Hee hee! Eat knives, stragglers!\" Patch laughed, tossing knives at the members of Team Chaotix, who were at the back of the group. They quickly jumped away, and Charmy stuck his tongue out at Patch. Angry, Patch tried to chase them, but ended up hit by one of Xenegg's lasers intended for them! As Patch fell down dead, his ghost immediately flew out of his body. \"Revenge! Hee hee!\" he giggled, chasing after the fleeing heroes. Fera hesitated to join the chase. \"Loscream! Take that prisoner away! Then, return to me!\" she commanded. Loscream held Heather over his head. \"Come my dear! A fate worse than death awaits you! Ha ha ha ha ha!\" the monster bellowed. With that, Fera joined Patch and Xenegg in chasing the heroes.\n\nSPOT had mapped the areas of the pyramid its group had visited, so Sonic and Tails used the map to lead the survivors to the exit. Sonic was the first to exit the pyramid, followed by Tails, SPOT, Fred, Evelyn, Cream, Cheese, Tommy, Copter, Punchy, Illusi, Crash, Zipp, Vortex, Bob, and finally Team Chaotix. Gator had apparently gotten lost somewhere along the way. \"Great. We're out, and we're all exhausted. What now?\" Copter panted. \"Speak for yourself! I have plenty of energy!\" Charmy bragged. Sonic started wandering away from the group, gazing up at the sky. \"Sonic?\" Tails said, confused. Espio approached Sonic and peered up where the hedgehog was looking. The full moon was emerging from behind the clouds. \"Of course...\" Vector muttered. \"What?\" Punchy asked. Espio placed his hand on Sonic's shoulder and turned him around, revealing a feral look emerging on Sonic's face! \"That's why Sonic was missing when the monster was there! And why the monster disappeared! Sonic's a Werewolf- errr... Werehog!\" Vector explained. Everyone looked shocked as the moonlight slowly began to transform Sonic into a hairy, hideous beast. \"Ssssson of a... Hey! Get away from him!\" Vortex shouted. \"R-right...\" Espio muttered, backing away. Unfortunately, it was too late! As Sonic's transformation was completed, he quickly grabbed Espio by the arm and roared in his face! \"Espio!!!\" Charmy yelled in terror. Espio struggled with the Werehog, but it was useless. \"Run for it guys! I'm... finished...\" he shouted. Illusi motioned for everyone to follow him. \"Hurry! I know where to go!\" he said. Everyone reluctantly started following Illusi, though Vector had to grab Charmy by the arm. Soon, Were-Sonic slashed Espio and turned to follow the others. \"Hold on! I'm a-coming to save the lot of ya!!\" shouted Gator, who had just emerged from the pyramid. As he neared Sonic, the Werehog punched him with a giant fist! \"Ow! I'm REALLY bad at this... AAAAHH!!\" Not satisfied with knocking Gator over, the Werehog proceeded to maul the hapless immortal. \"This is the WORST birthday EVER!!\" Gator screamed.\n\nAfter the group arrived a safe distance away from Were-Sonic, Zipp grabbed his gun back from Crash. \"I'll take that! Now, everyone check the supplies! I'm pretty sure we packed silver bullets!\" he ordered. \"No! We can't kill Sonic!\" Tails protested. Vector growled at Tails. \"Oh, yeah? Well he just killed Espio! I say he deserves it!\" he snapped. \"But that wasn't his fault...\" Cream argued. \"And what would that all-important book of yours say about werewolves, hm?\" Copter asked. Tails looked conflicted. \"It... uh... doesn't say anything about werehogs.\" he said weakly. \"I say we put it to a vote. Who wants to shoot Sonic with a silver bullet?\" Illusi asked. Charmy, Vector, Copter, Punchy, Zipp, and Vortex raised their hands along with Illusi. \"That'sss a tie. Wait, raissse your hand, Crasssh!\" Vortex hissed. Crash shook his head. \"No. I disagree. Besides, the Chao counts. You lose!\" he pointed out. \"Bah! Next you'll be saying the robot gets a vote!\" Punchy complained. SPOT growled at him in response. Fred flashed a bright light from his wand to interrupt the argument. \"That's enough! We have no time to waste! It's getting late, and we haven't accomplished anything to fight the Nightmare Zone yet!\" he pointed out. Bob scratched his head. \"Well, gee, how're we s'posed to stop it from inside?\" he asked. \"Ho ho ho ho ho! You CAN'T stop it, of course!\" Tails pointed up at the source of this voice. \"It's Eggman!\" he yelled. Evelyn raised an eyebrow. \"Eggman Nega?\" she asked. Eggman shook his head. \"No, my look alike is busy in another area of the Nightmare Zone. But I don't need him to deal with you! Though I don't exactly have time for this, either... Xenegg! Show yourself!\" he called. Xenegg immediately appeared below the Egg Mobile with a legion of evil spirits, including Patch! \"I await your command, sir.\" Xenegg said. Eggman waved farewell to his foes. \"Xenegg will see to you, while I make my way back to the Dream Temple for the final phase of my glorious plan! I hope you enjoyed your year outside the Nightmare Zone, for none shall ever experience that again! Mua ha ha ha ha!!\" Eggman was laughing diabolically as he flew his Egg Mobile away, leaving the group with Xenegg. \"Now, spirits... Drag them to Hell!\" Xenegg commanded.\n\nAs the ghosts began surrounding the group, Fred decided to take a stand. \"There's no choice now! I must perform an exorcism!\" he realized. \"Good, fine! Just do it quickly!\" Punchy shouted. Cream, Tommy, and Charmy stood close to Fred while the others spread out to protect them. \"Hey, ghosts! Over here!\" Evelyn shouted, hoping to distract them. It worked, and she was forced to flee. Vector ran by to draw their attention. \"Can't catch me!\" he taunted. \"Careful, Vector!\" Charmy shouted. \"I'm always careful!\" Vector said before running straight into Vortex. \"Gah!! Ssssstupid!!\" Vortex hissed. Patch began laughing uncontrollably as he watched the group’s pathetic diversion tactics. \"Hee hee! Oh, please! Hee hee! Stop it! Hee hee! You're too much!\" he chuckled. Xenegg was becoming impatient with his spirit minions. \"Enough! I will handle this myself!\" Xenegg yelled, shooting at the nearest animals, which happened to be Tails and Copter. \"Look out!\" Tails yelled, running to the side. Copter decided to try fighting back. \"Chaos Whirlwind!!\" His windy attack blew right through Xenegg, who fired at Copter in retaliation. Bob grabbed Copter by the tails and pulled him to safety. \"OWW! Thanks... I think...\" he yelped. Suddenly, Wrongos swarmed Xenegg, making it difficult for him to aim! \"Who dares impede me!?\" he howled. Illusi started whistling nonchalantly. Seeing this, Patch composed himself and flew after Illusi. Tails quickly arrived with SPOT to help. \"Boo!\" Tails shouted, holding up SPOT so it could shine bright light in Patch's eyes. \"YAAAAAAAHH!! IT BURNS!!!\" he screamed, flying away. Xenegg had grown enraged by now. He shrieked loudly and fired powerful, continuous beams at the Wrongos, destroying them all quickly! He then began randomly aiming those beams around the area, forcing everyone to scramble for their lives. \"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!!!!\" he shrieked. Suddenly, Fred completed his spell. \"Dark spirits! I cast thee out! The power of light shall repel you! Begone!!\" Light erupted from Fred's wand, expelling all the ghosts from the area as it hit them. \"Hee hee! Pretty.... WHOOOAA!!!\" said Patch as the light spirited him away. \"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!\" Xenegg screamed as he, too was expelled from the area! Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but it was too soon to celebrate. \"The Headless Lost One will eat us all!!\" screamed Gator, who had somehow escaped Sonic and now fled past the group and into the woods.\n\nMoments later, Loscream arrived, no longer holding Heather. The group attempted to run, but Fera blocked their escape. They tried another direction, but Were-Sonic was approaching as well! \"Aaaahh!! Where're those silver bullets!?\" Zipp shouted, panicking. Vortex turned to Fera. \"Ssssave them! We can essscape through her!\" he hissed. Fera laughed at the suggestion. \"None of you are even close to a match for me! Especially with him. Loscream! Over here!\" she called. Loscream jumped high into the sky and landed beside Fera! \"Whoa... He should try out for the Olympics...\" Tails said in awe. \"You need to pass us if you ever want to stop Tabitha! But first, I must have a word with you!\" Fera said, pointing at Illusi. \"Me? Why me?\" he asked. Fera laughed at him. \"You don't fool me. I've got it all figured out. The Master Emerald was never at the Mystic Ruins tonight, was it?\" she said accusingly. \"Whaddaya mean? We SAW it, right, Charmy?\" Vector pointed out. Fera grinned. \"Yes, but just think. He's been using illusions to mess with us all night. He could just as easily have created an illusion of the Master Emerald, too!\" she concluded. Charmy's eyes went wide. \"Hey, yeah! That's why there were no footprints leading away from the shrine!\" he said. Vector understood. \"He moved the emerald long before we got there!\" Illusi clapped his hands, impressed. \"Well done. Yes, I moved the emerald, and tricked Team Chaotix into thinking someone else stole it. To be honest... I didn't have money to pay for their detective skills. I knew they'd take on my case for free if the emerald was snatched from under their noses. They'd never want to let someone make a fool of them like that.\" he explained. Vector's jaw dropped. \"So YOU made fools of us!? You underhanded...\" Fera stomped the ground impatiently. \"ENOUGH! Where'd you stash the emerald, shrew!?\" she demanded. \"Where'd YOU stash the animals that have been going missing? I assume you've been using that... thing... to kidnap them.\" Fera nodded. \"Yes. Dr. Eggman needed test subjects for his new scheme. But the subjects kept dying. That phoenix should be perfect for our plans!\" she explained. Finally understanding what had been going on, the group glared at Fera angrily. \"You won't get away with this!\" Tails said. \"Yeah! We'll tear your monster apart!\" Punchy added. \"You are FAR too late!\" Everyone looked up to the sky, where Tabitha was hovering just below the clouds blocking the moon! She was carrying the black Master Emerald! \"I had a devil of a time finding this, but your plans have failed, illusionist!\" she said victoriously. Sonic, who had reverted to normal when the moon was blocked, had seen everything. \"No, Tabitha! We'll never let you get away with this!\" he shouted. Tabitha cackled at him. \"Ha ha ha ha! And how do you propose to get around my curse? You've killed several of your friends, and now you will help finish them off! Time to clear the air!\" she laughed, using a spell to cause the clouds to dissipate! The moonlight struck Sonic, and he quickly began to transform! \"Farewell! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!\" Tabitha cackled as she flew away!\n\nWhile Sonic was transforming, white flames appeared overhead. The flames changed into ghostly forms, and started laughing playfully. \"Ghosts? But I thought you got rid of them!\" Tommy said to Fred. Tails recognized the voices of the ghosts. \"It's the ghosts of the Nightmare Zone!\" he said, remembering their warning about the Spell of the Shadows the year before. \"What do they want?\" Evelyn wondered. The ghosts giggled once more and started to sing. \"We ghosts do not want, we just try to scare. On Halloween night, the living must beware. The moon casts its spell, the evil Black Curse. Matters are turning from frightening to worse. Dreams turn to nightmares, souls fall dead. All the world has reason to dread. We sing our song as our way of warning. Time is short, soon it's YOU they'll be mourning. Tee hee hee hee...\" As the voices of the ghosts faded, Sonic the Werehog howled at the bright, round moon overhead. Fera wore a malevolent smile. \"What an observant song. Now, I'll finish fulfilling that prophecy. Despair in darkness!\" Fera turned to Loscream and fired beams of dark magic at him! The magic served to fuel Loscream, and made his pumpkin head grow to an immense size. As the head grew, the roots grew as well, and burst out of the sack, writhing wildly! Loscream now resembled an enormous octopus, with a pumpkin body and roots for tentacles! \"Ha ha ha ha! I will crush you all in my grip!\" Loscream roared. Tommy and Cream backed away from the hideous creature while the others prepared to fight it. \"All right, guys! Let's smash that pumpkin!\" Copter shouted. \"No thanks. I'll go for that wolf!\" Vector decided. Tails pointed at Loscream's giant roots. \"No time for that! Jump!!\" he yelled. Loscream began swinging his roots at the group, forcing them to jump out of the way. Meanwhile, Were-Sonic was hesitating to do anything. He watched the monster fighting his friends, and began holding his own bloodthirsty madness back. Meanwhile, Loscream smacked aside Punchy, Crash, Evelyn, and Vector. \"Oooof!!\" While they hurried to stand back up, Loscream attempted to finish them with his roots! \"Get outta the way!!\" shouted Bob, who jumped into the path of the roots without thinking! The roots snatched the brown hedgehog up and snapped his spine before throwing his body into the distance! \"Now, I shall break the rest of you!\" the monster bellowed. Bob's body landed near Sonic, who glanced at it with wide eyes before looking back at Loscream. His eyes became angry, but not with madness. \"Grrr.... What have I done.... Grrrr... Enough! Must... fight... curse!! Grrrrr..... HOOOOOWWWWWWWL!!!!!!\" Sonic's loud howls even got Loscream's attention. \"Back... away.... from my friends!!\" Sonic growled, running at Loscream like a mad dog! Loscream swung one of his roots at the approaching werehog, but Sonic simply caught it in his powerful werehog arms! \"Playtime's over, Loscream!\" he growled.\n\nFera scoffed at Sonic's attempt to interfere. \"Just get him with your other roots, imbecile!\" she ordered. Loscream hurled another of his roots at Sonic, only to have it caught by Sonic's other arm. Fera growled in frustration. \"I guess I have to do this MYSELF!\" she snarled, preparing to hit Sonic with her dark magic. \"Solare!!\" shouted Fred, firing a beam of light magic at Fera, knocking her back! \"Gah!! Meddling fool!\" she growled. \"Now's our chance!\" Charmy shouted. \"Right! Chaos Whirlwind!\" Copter yelled, sending a chaotic wind to blow Loscream's roots away from Sonic. \"Chaos avalanche!\" Punchy called upon the power of chaos to lift some chunks of the ground and hurl them at Loscream. Illusi joined in by sending Wrongos to attack. Zipp, who had found the silver bullets, began shooting at Loscream as well, accompanied by Vortex's Chaos Inferno attack! Loscream used his roots to block these attacks. \"Pitiful worms!\" he growled. However, those attacks were just a diversion! Vector, Crash, Cheese, SPOT, and Were-Sonic charged at the distracted pumpkin, and hit it as hard as they could! Loscream was knocked over! Fera looked at the toppled monster and shrugged. \"Whatever. I've finished my work. Good-bye!\" she said, using her dark magic to teleport away. The group took a moment to celebrate this comeback. \"You did it, Sonic! You beat the curse!\" Tails said, high-fiving his friend. \"Thanks, but it's not over yet!\" Sonic pointed out. Suddenly, someone else was heard cheering nearby. It was the red Chao, Char, and he was sitting in a nearby tree. \"Way to go, guys! Maybe you have a chance of stopping Tabitha!\" he said. \"Do you know where she is?\" Copter asked. Char nodded. \"She's with Dr. Eggman. They made me help with their plan, but when they needed test subjects, I got scared they were gonna use me, so I ran away...\" he explained. \"Can you lead us to them?\" Sonic asked. Char hopped out of the tree and started flying in the direction Tabitha had flown. \"Follow me!\" he said. Suddenly, SPOT started beeping loudly, looking at Loscream. Tails looked as well. \"Guys? We better follow him quick! Loscream's not dead!\" he shouted as Loscream began shifting back into his original shape. \"You can't kill me in the Nightmare Zone!\" the monster growled. \"Run for it!\" Evelyn shouted. Char started leading the way as the others followed. \"Be quick! Loscream is fast!\" he warned. \"Great! And I'm much slower in this form!\" Sonic groaned. As the rest of the group ran, Vortex, Zipp, and Crash stayed behind. \"What are you doing!?\" Vector asked as he passed them. \"We'll lead Loscream away from you!\" Crash said. Charmy shook his head. \"No way! He'll probably kill you!\" he said. \"Sssso what? Our massster revived ussss once. He'll do it again!\" Vortex hissed. \"What if he dies?\" Copter asked. Zipp raised his gun. \"Then I'll see ya in Hell! Now get going!\" he yelled. Thus, Team GeneX remained behind while the others followed Char!\n\nChar led the group to a large, crystal building hidden deep in the woods. The dreamlike building was familiar to Tails. \"I know this place... This is the Dream Temple!\" he recalled. Char looked surprised. \"Huh? How did you know? Oh well. Dr. Eggman and Tabitha are in there. This is where I take off. Good luck, guys!\" Char said before flying away. Sonic turned to Tails. \"What do you know about this place?\" he asked. Tails looked at the building fearfully. \"I don't know much. I'm not even sure if what happened last time I was here was real. There was a creature in there that knew all my fears... The Dream King.\" he explained. \"I shudder to think how a creature like that may have been twisted by the Nightmare Zone...\" Illusi said. \"Well, we've come too far to turn back now! Let's go in!\" Punchy suggested.\n\nThe interior of the Dream Temple had changed drastically. It was now one large room, resembling the laboratory of a mad scientist. The room was covered in cobwebs, and the walls were lined with tables and shelves littered with scientific equipment. At the back of the room was an odd sort of machine attached to a metal table. The black Master Emerald was inserted into the machine, and Heather was strapped to the table, struggling to get free! Hanging on the wall overhead was an enormous clock, showing that midnight was near. \"Sit tight, Heather! We're coming!\" Copter shouted. \"Great! We found the Master Emerald, too!\" Punchy added. As everyone scrambled toward the machine, Dr. Eggman and Tabitha dropped into their path from above, laughing at them! \"Ha ha ha ha ha! You're too late!\" Tabitha said. She was holding the Book of Nightmare, the book that had contained the Spell of the Shadows. \"Ho ho ho ho! On the contrary, I say they're just in time! In time to witness the culmination of my brilliant plan!\" Sonic growled at Eggman angrily. \"No way, Eggman! We're here to stop you!\" he said. Eggman glanced at Were-Sonic. \"Oooh, I love what you've done with your hair, Sonic!\" he chuckled. \"Don't take credit for the plan, doctor! It was from the Book of Nightmare, you just created the gizmos to perfect the plan!\" Tabitha said. \"Just what is your plan?\" Fred asked. \"Isn't it obvious?\" Eggman said. Tabitha opened the book and looked at it. \"After my spell failed last year, I needed a new way to finish spreading the Nightmare Zone and summon the Lord of Nightmares. Dr. Eggman perfected a darkness machine in the Night Woods to speed up the Nightmare Zone's progress, but it would still take years for the planet to fall. So, we came here. This place is a lightning rod for nightmares.\" she explained. Eggman glanced at his machine. \"With this, my Dream Machine, powered by the black Master Emerald, the whole planet will fall before the Nightmare Zone!\" he said. \"Then, the machine will use that phoenix's living body as a vessel for the spirit of the Lord of Nightmares! We needed a body that would survive the process long enough for the Lord of Nightmares to take it, and an immortal is perfect!\" Tabitha said, completing the explanation. Eggman held up a remote control. \"All that's left now, is to turn the machine on!\"\n\n\"Not so fast!\" shouted Sonic, hurling his fist at the Egg Mobile to disorient Eggman. \"Whoa!! Back, furball!!\" he shouted. Tabitha prepared to fire a spell at Sonic, but Copter stopped her first. \"Chaos Whirlwind!\" The chaotic wind knocked Tabitha off her broom, and bought Fred time to aim at the machine. \"Blastrotall!!\" he shouted, firing several bolts from his wand, which caused the machine to break apart! \"NO!! NOOO!! NOT AGAIN!! You little pests!!\" Tabitha screamed, realizing her plan was ruined once again. Eggman moved his Egg Mobile higher up and approached the broken machine with it. \"I guess it's time to cut my losses and go... Stupid cheap machine parts!\" he said, pressing a button to extend a claw at the bottom of the Egg Mobile. It snatched the black Master Emerald, and Eggman began to fly away with it. \"No you don't, Eggman!!\" Punchy yelled, jumping into the air and punching the Egg Mobile! The punch sent the Egg Mobile spinning, and Punchy grabbed the Master Emerald out of the claw as he fell back to the floor. Tabitha mounted her broom and flew toward Punchy. \"Give that back!!\" she said threateningly. \"Solare!!\" Fred shouted, knocking Tabitha off her broom again with a beam of light! \"Over here, kids! And you, too, Punchy!\" Fred shouted. \"We're coming!\" Cream replied, grabbing Tommy by the hand and leading him, Cheese and Charmy to Fred. Punchy caught up with them seconds later. \"That witch isn't about to take this without a fight, so I've got to get you and the Master Emerald to safety!\" Fred explained. \"But I want to help...\" Charmy protested. \"Don't argue!\" Punchy insisted. \"Good luck everyone!\" Tommy said in parting. Fred waved his wand as Punchy and the kids held on to him. \"Galaporta!\" His spell warped them out of the Dream Temple, leaving Sonic, Tails, SPOT, Copter, Evelyn, Illusi and Vector with Tabitha and Dr. Eggman. Tabitha hovered in the air and glared at Sonic and his friends, glowing with magical energy in her rage. Seeing this, Eggman became nervous. \"W-well... I guess I'd better track down that Master Emerald...\" he said, hastily piloting his Egg Mobile out through the door.\n\nWhile Tabitha was hesitating, Copter ran to the table and freed Heather. \"Thanks, but now what'll we do? She looks steamed...\" Heather said. Tabitha turned towards Heather's voice in a fury. \"Curse your corpse!!\" she screamed, zapping Heather with a spell! As the phoenix caught fire and began to rise again, Tabitha fired a spell at Copter, which he scrambled to dodge. Once Heather was back on her feet, she and Copter joined the other heroes who now faced Tabitha. \"It's over! You can't beat all of us yourself!\" Vector told her. Tabitha glared at him. \"Oh, no?\" She turned to the remains of the Dream Machine. \"Perhaps they're right. Let's destroy them together!\" she said. As the giant clock chimed, signifying midnight, the parts of the machine seemed to react to Tabitha's words, and shifted their shape until they combined to form a black shadow, shaped like Tails! Shadow Tails waved at Tails and laughed. \"Remember me?\" he asked. Tails backed away fearfully. \"The Dream King!\" he gasped. Tabitha cackled at the terrified reaction. \"I see someone knows what's in store! Now, the Book of Nightmare will help me power your destruction!\" As Tabitha looked into the book, a Wrongo flew into it, knocking it from her hands! Tabitha quickly attempted to catch the book, but Illusi was ready to catch it as well! Thinking fast, Tabitha fired a spell at the book. \"I won't let YOU have it!\" she said. However, Illusi caught the book and teleported just as the spell was making contact! A bright light flashed as Illusi, the book, and the spell all vanished! \"NO!! What just happened!? Arrgh! There's no telling where my book is now, or if that shrew has it or not! AAAAAAAHHHH!!!\" Tabitha shrieked. The Dream King shook his head. \"It is of no consequence. I can destroy these fools myself!\" he said. Tabitha rolled her eyes at his overconfidence before turning and casting spells on him! \"Not just can! You shall! With the power of darkness and nightmares, take form! Become terror itself! You shall be invincible!!\" The Dream King began laughing in a nightmarish voice as his shape began to change. He grew in size to take up the whole room. His arms became large bones, his hands grew massive claws. Spikes grew out of his back, while the two tails become thousands of powerful tendrils. His body opened to reveal a rib cage, with dark energy instead of organs. His legs became bones as well, with enormous, clawed feet. A giant, red eye emerged in the center of the beast. Its face became a feral skull with giant fangs and flames in place of eyes. Tabitha cackled at the terrifying result of her magic. \"Now, devour them all!\" she commanded. Sonic, still in werehog form inside the Dream Temple, stood in front of his friends. \"Run for it, guys! This thing is too dangerous! I'll handle it myself!\" he said. The group turned to Tails expectantly. \"Uh... The book has nothing that'd help us against that thing! Let's run!\" he said. As everyone but Sonic started to retreat, Tabitha fired a spell. \"Not so fast!\" she yelled as the spell hit the door, causing it to slam shut! Tails and Copter attempted to pull the door open, but it wouldn't budge. \"Looks like we're in this together!\" Heather said. Vector turned to the Nightmare Monster and charged at it. \"The only way out is through that thing!\" he yelled, raising his fist to punch it. \"No, wait!\" Sonic shouted as Vector passed him. As he neared the monster, he realized he couldn't reach anything worth punching. \"Oh... Shoot...\" he muttered. The monster let out a demonic laugh and wrapped Vector in his tendrils! Vector struggled with the monster, and Copter and Evelyn ran over to see if they could help. As they approached, Tabitha fired several spells at them, hitting Evelyn in the head, killing her! Before she could hit Copter as well, Tails flew up to her and threw SPOT at her! The robot hit Tabitha with its paws a few times before she managed to throw it to the floor. Meanwhile, Copter flew up to Vector, who was biting the tendrils to hurt them. \"Hang on!\" Copter shouted. Vector, looking at Copter, pointed behind him. \"Watch out!\" he shouted. The monster tried to slash Copter with its claws, but he ducked just in time! However, that left him unable to help Vector. The tendrils tossed Vector into the air, where the eye fired a beam at him, piercing his chest! Sonic howled angrily at the monster. \"Vector, no!! Everyone, get back!\" Sonic insisted. Tails and Copter joined the others by the door, while Tabitha laughed at them. \"Now, Sonic... Die!!\" she screamed, firing a spell at the werehog! \"I'm here to help!!\" shouted Gator, who teleported right into the path of Tabitha's spell! The spell knocked him over, but he just stood back up. \"Ta-da! I'm safe! And I brought help!\" At Gator's words, several ghosts flew into the room! They were the ghosts of Shadow, Silver, Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge! The five ghosts flew over to Tabitha and started swarming her, forcing her to avoid them. \"Pesky spirits!! How did that fool find you!?\" the witch yelled. Sonic took the opportunity to attack the monster while Tabitha was distracted. The monster sent its tendrils to grab him, but his werehog claws easily slashed through them! Sonic then proceeded to grab the creature's bony leg! \"I'll take you apart one piece at a time!\" Sonic yelled, pulling the bone out of its socket! The monster clawed at Sonic as his body fell slightly, but Sonic smacked the clawed hand away with the bone! He then grabbed the rib cage and climbed up. \"My arms are stretchy in this form. Why don't I test how stretchy?\" he said, grabbing the other ribs with his other hand. He then kicked himself back and used his stretchy arms as a slingshot, launching himself at the eye of the monster! The monster screeched in pain, signifying that it had been hurt! Tabitha refused to be left out of the fight, though. \"Take this, pesky spirits!\" she shouted, hitting the ghosts with spells to knock them away. \"It seems you're too comfortable with my curse now, Sonic, so I'll just take it back!\" she said, casting a spell over the werehog. Sonic howled in his feral voice once more as he reverted to his normal hedgehog self. \"Thanks, Tabitha...\" he grinned, holding up the green Chaos Emerald, which he'd been holding since he was cursed. Tabitha's eyes went wide upon seeing it. \"What!? The emerald!? No! You tricked me! Now you can use that emerald's power!\" she wailed. \"And you can't stop him!\" shouted Copter from below Tabitha. He and the others had been sneaking towards her while the ghosts distracted her. Now, Heather tossed fireballs at Tabitha, while Copter used Chaos Whirlwind and Tails aimed SPOT's laser! Tabitha managed to shield herself with her magic, but this was all the time Sonic needed. He used the Chaos Emerald to power himself up as he jumped into the air and attacked the Nightmare Monster's eye again with tremendous force! The eye flashed with light before exploding, knocking Sonic backward as the monster collapsed in a bony heap! It then shifted back into Shadow Tails, who looked exhausted. \"Better luck... next year...\" said the Dream King to Tabitha before vanishing. Tabitha, furious, fired one more spell at Sonic, which he was too exhausted to dodge! However, before it hit, the ghost of Shadow intercepted it, and was knocked backward a bit. \"Hmph... Can't kill a ghost...\" he said. Tabitha sighed grumpily. \"Fine. This temple will be your tomb anyway! Happy Halloween!\" she cackled, firing a spell at the roof! As the temple began shaking violently, Tabitha used magic to warp herself to safety. Gator panicked as the temple began to collapse. \"Uh... You're on your own! See ya next year!\" he shouted before teleporting away. \"What now!?\" Copter wondered as the group ran for the door. Sonic was exhausted, but he still had a plan. \"Everyone... Over here!\" he said. They all approached Sonic, and he held up the Chaos Emerald. \"Someone's gotta use Chaos Control...\" he said. Shadow and Silver's ghosts approached Sonic and touched the emerald in his hand. \"You can...\" Silver said. Shadow nodded in agreement. \"With our help.\" he said. \"Chaos Control!\" said Sonic, Shadow, and Silver all at once.\n\nOutside, a light flashed brightly as Sonic, Tails, SPOT, Copter, and Heather appeared outside the temple. As the temple collapsed, the ghosts of Shadow, Silver, Knuckles, Rouge, and Amy flew out, waving to the heroes as they flew into the distance. Soon, the Dream Temple finished collapsing. Its remains began slowly vanishing, as though the temple never truly existed. \"Well... We beat 'em...\" Copter panted. \"Yeah, but so what?\" Heather groaned. Tails nodded. \"Yeah, we lost more friends, and the Nightmare Zone's still spreading.\" he noted. Sonic shrugged. \"It's not so bad. I'm back to normal, and I'll figure something out. We can start by looking for the Master Emerald and that book of Tabitha's.\" he said. As the full moon was slowly covered by the clouds again, the group sighed with relief. The Halloween nightmare was over, for this year. Much was left to be done, but with Tabitha's Black Curse lifted, it seemed to Sonic that anything might be possible now.\n\nThe End\n...UNTIL NEXT TIME!! GWA HA HA HA HA!!!\n\nHappy Halloween!",
  "writing_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>GeneX - Halloween Special<br />The Black Curse<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 />There are many dimensions. Universes that exist entirely separate from our own. Some are similar to each other, and some are drastically different. Several of these realities are inhabited by intelligent animals, and several of them are home to a super fast being called Sonic the Hedgehog. In most of those realities, Sonic uses his speed to heroically save the day without fail. However, there is one reality where even he could not stop the darkness. GeneX Necros is a universe of evil, given power by the mysterious and ever expanding Nightmare Zone. Two years ago, Sonic and several other heroes met their ends in this terrible place, and darkness has been spreading unchecked ever since. One year ago, more lives were lost as a diabolical feline witch named Tabitha attempted to cast a spell that would once and for all cast the planet in terror, reviving a being known as the Lord of Nightmares in the process. This spell came very close to completion, but the intervention of a resurrected Sonic and several other heroes caused the Spell of the Shadows to end in failure! However, Tabitha remained. A violent battle ensued, where the monsters known as the Lost Ones managed to kill several more of Sonic&#039;s allies, but soon a brave sorceress named Gemini managed to banish the Lost Ones from the area! Tabitha then killed Gemini, leaving Sonic and Shadow to face her while the remaining heroes fled to safety. Tabitha maintained the upper hand, and soon trapped Sonic in a magical cage! Thinking fast, Shadow got a Chaos Emerald to Sonic, but was killed in the process! Sonic used the emerald to warp out of the cage, and managed to take the witch by surprise, knocking her from her broom! As she fell, the witch fired a spell at Sonic, which hit the Chaos Emerald, and then used her magic to warp herself away, promising that they&#039;d meet again as she vanished. The Chaos Emerald turned black from Tabitha&#039;s spell, and Sonic worried that the spell might affect him as well, since he had been tapping into the emerald&#039;s power. Now, it is nearly Halloween again, and the Nightmare Zone is spreading once more...<br /><br />Station Square had become dark and hollow since the previous year. The Nightmare Zone&#039;s evil had fully taken hold, and all survivors were forced to flee the city. This evacuation was the first time anyone was known to have escaped the Nightmare Zone. Yet, each night for the past year, a lone figure ran through the streets of this deserted ghost town. Faster than the eye could see, this poor, cursed creature fled into the Night Woods, just beyond the border of Station Square. Ordinarily, he would be alone here. However, as he moved deep into the woods, he soon found another lurking in the darkness, and was soaked by an accompanying rainstorm. &quot;It has been a long time. Welcome back to the Nightmare Zone, Sonic!&quot; The quick-footed hedgehog slowed his pace as he neared the cloaked figure who was speaking to him. &quot;You... Stay back!&quot; Sonic warned, keeping his distance. The cloaked one, the Doomsayer, quietly laughed at Sonic&#039;s reaction. &quot;Ha... Afraid for your own safety, or for mine? No matter. You have reached me at the right time. It is the night before All Hallows&#039; Eve. Technically the next morning, in a few minutes. Now begins the day when spirits of the dead may rise and speak.&quot; he said. Sonic glanced around the area before looking up at the sky. The moon was almost full. &quot;You have been coming here each night for a year. You know by now that nothing will happen tonight.&quot; the Doomsayer said. Sonic shook his head. &quot;I&#039;m not certain about anything since I died...&quot; he whispered. The rain began falling more fiercely as midnight arrived. &quot;This is it! Spirits may now rise!&quot; the Doomsayer declared! Thunder could be heard nearby as the trees were lit by white lights, the ghosts of those who died in the Nightmare Zone! The Doomsayer pointed at spirits overhead and beckoned them down. Sonic saw a few familiar faces coming down from the trees. First was Amy, the first of Sonic&#039;s friends to die in the Nightmare Zone. &quot;Sonic!! So that&#039;s why I haven&#039;t felt your presence in the spirit world since last year! You&#039;re alive again!&quot; she said, attempting to hug Sonic. However, her arms simply passed through him. Seeing this, she backed away sadly. Rouge came down next, followed by Knuckles and Silver. &quot;Way to let me die two years ago!&quot; Rouge snapped. &quot;HEY! It wasn&#039;t HIS fault!&quot; Knuckles yelled. &quot;Hey, Sonic. I&#039;m glad to see the s&eacute;ance worked.&quot; Silver said. Knuckles glanced from Silver to Sonic, and then attempted futily to punch Sonic. &quot;You jerk! Got brought back to life without me! And why is the Nightmare Zone STILL spreading!? You should&#039;ve done something by now!!&quot; he screamed. Amy pulled Knuckles away from the bewildered Sonic. &quot;Cut it out! I&#039;m sure there&#039;s a good reason why it&#039;s taking so long!&quot; she said. The four ghosts looked tensely at Sonic. &quot;Well?&quot; Rouge asked. Sonic looked at the ground miserably. &quot;We&#039;ve been trying to figure out how to stop it. But I can&#039;t be much help. I... I&#039;ve been cursed.&quot; he explained. &quot;Oh, stop wallowing in pity!&quot; The ghost of Shadow descended from the treetops and joined them. &quot;I didn&#039;t sacrifice my life just for you to let some curse stop you!&quot; he yelled. The Doomsayer&#039;s glowing eyes showed a hint of uncertainty. &quot;The fate of this world is shrouded in darkness. It would be no simple task to stop this. Especially for a cursed soul.&quot; he warned. The ghosts shook their heads at the Doomsayer&#039;s words. &quot;No. You can&#039;t give up!&quot; Silver insisted. &quot;It&#039;s up to you. No one else is left who can do this!&quot; Rouge added. &quot;So you&#039;ve suffered a curse for the past year. This could be your chance to break it!&quot; Knuckles suggested. &quot;I believe in you, Sonic!&quot; Amy cheered. &quot;Don&#039;t let us down.&quot; Shadow said. These encouraging words lifted Sonic&#039;s spirits somewhat. &quot;That&#039;s right... Maybe the curse could be broken! If it&#039;s possible any day, it would be today! Thanks guys! I&#039;m off!&quot; he said, rushing back towards Station Square. As he left, the ghosts turned to the Doomsayer. &quot;We have much to speak of.&quot; the mysterious being told them...<br /><br /><br />Hours later, the sun rose over the Mystic Ruins, still safe from the Nightmare Zone, for the time being. Tails had been awake well before the sun rose, and sat on a chair in his workshop, quietly reading &quot;Three Thousand Dos and Don&#039;ts of Scary Scenarios.&quot; His workshop had been converted into a laboratory, and while Tails read his book, Bucky the rat was busy examining a body laid out on a metal table. It was Punchy&#039;s body. The green echidna was as lifeless as he was the last time Tails had seen him two years ago, but Bucky was hoping that would change soon. &quot;Attach the GeneX helmet!&quot; Bucky commanded. Vortex emerged from a nearby closet, alive, and carrying an odd sort of helmet with a light bulb on top of it. He attached it to Punchy&#039;s head, and backed away. Zipp and Crash were watching nearby as well, also alive despite having been killed the year before. Bucky turned to Tails. &quot;We&#039;re ready.&quot; he reported. Tails closed the book and stood up to walk to the back of the room, far from the table. &quot;Great. I just finished re-reading that book, too! Now I&#039;m ready for anything!&quot; Tails said. &quot;Oh, goody! Can we throw that annoying book in the trash now? Or maybe I can torch it with a flamethrower?&quot; Zipp teased. Bucky raised his hands. &quot;Silence! It is time for me to complete my experiment! Experiment 1... Rise!!&quot; Bolts of electricity came bursting from Bucky&#039;s fingers, zapping Punchy&#039;s lifeless body! The blue and yellow sparks flowed through him, and lit the bulb on the helmet he was wearing! His body began shaking violently as Bucky shot more power into his fallen creation! Zipp began laughing manically as he watched this. &quot;Yes! Give his creation LIFE!! AGAIN!! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!&quot; Crash pulled his hat down over his eyes. &quot;I hate watching this...&quot; he groaned. After a while, Bucky ceased shooting sparks at Punchy, and the room went dark. &quot;Aw, your lightning hit the lights again!&quot; Tails groaned. Bucky ran over to Punchy&#039;s side. The echidna was still for a moment, but soon started breathing again. &quot;It&#039;s ALIVE!! ALIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!&quot; Zipp shouted, prompting Vortex to smack him in the head. &quot;Musssst you sssshout that every time!?&quot; he hissed. Soon, Punchy&#039;s eyes opened, and he began to sit up. &quot;What in the...&quot; he muttered. Zipp flew over to him and looked at his dazed face. &quot;Aw, nuts. I&#039;d say the experiment was a failure.&quot; he joked. Punchy attempted to swat him, but he flew out of the way. &quot;Where am I?&quot; he groaned, glancing at Bucky. &quot;You are in Tails&#039;s Workshop, Experiment 1. You have been dead for two years.&quot; the rat began, &quot;Now that you are restored, we are as ready as we will be this year. Ready to attempt to stop the flow of dark energy that has slowly been choking the life from our world!&quot; Tails opened the front door and called to the outside. &quot;Punchy lives, everyone!&quot; he said. Copter was first to peek into the room, followed closely by Heather. &quot;Welcome back! Too bad Rainbow&#039;s not here for this.&quot; Copter said. Punchy glanced at them before turning back to Bucky. &quot;Seems like I&#039;ve been out of the loop for a while. Care to explain a few things?&quot; he asked. Bucky nodded. &quot;Yes, of course. But first, we need to contact the new experiments. Zipp, call twelve. Tell him to have fourteen and fifteen begin their mission. Then, have him await my arrival with thirteen. There&#039;s much to be done!&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br /><br />Illusi the shrew had just appeared at the Master Emerald shrine on Angel Island. He had narrowly escaped zombies the previous year by using an illusion of himself to fool them. He now appeared before Espio the chameleon, Charmy the bee, and Vector the crocodile. &quot;Do you HAVE to appear out of nowhere like that!? My detective nerves can&#039;t take it!&quot; Vector growled. &quot;Sorry. It&#039;s my quickest mode of transportation.&quot; Illusi said. &quot;Well, I think it&#039;s cool!&quot; Charmy grinned. Espio remained silent, watching the black Master Emerald on the shrine as though expecting it to do something. &quot;Any word on the disappearances?&quot; Illusi asked. Vector shook his head. &quot;Not a trace! I don&#039;t get it. Animals are disappearing left and right, without leaving so much as a clue!&quot; he said. &quot;What do you think about it, Espio?&quot; Charmy asked. Espio remained still. &quot;I think we have more pressing things to worry about.&quot; he said. &quot;Aw, what do you know!&quot; Vector scoffed. &quot;No, he&#039;s right.&quot; Illusi said, &quot;The Nightmare Zone will have reached here soon. That&#039;s why I called you here. I feel we must guard the Master Emerald from evil hands. Maybe take it away before the Nightmare Zone arrives.&quot; Charmy pointed into the distance. &quot;Uh, I think that&#039;s gonna be hard...&quot; he said, shaking. They looked where Charmy was pointing, and saw their fears realized. A shroud of darkness was rapidly approaching the area, blocking out the sunlight! The Nightmare Zone had come!<br /><br />Cream the rabbit was peering out the window of Tails&#039;s Workshop with Cheese the Chao, when she saw it. The terrible darkness, rapidly nearing from the direction of Station Square! &quot;Oh, no... It&#039;s here! We have to tell the others!&quot; she gasped, rushing out of the second floor room of Tails&#039;s Workshop and jumping to the ground so she could shout into the doorway of the lab. &quot;Everyone! The Nightmare Zone is here!&quot; she yelled! Tommy the porcupine met Cream at the door first. &quot;The N-n-nightmare Zone!? But it wasn&#039;t due here for another few hours!&quot; he stammered. &quot;Outta the doorway, kid!&quot; Copter shouted, leading everyone outside to see the darkness covering the land.<br /><br />As the Nightmare Zone was rapidly covering the Mystic Ruins, Sonic sped out of the tunnel trains used to use when arriving from Station Square. Just as he reached the old train station, darkness consumed it, blocking out the sun! Sonic quickly sped out of the station and looked around the area. &quot;No... It can&#039;t be! The whole Mystic Ruins is already taken by the Nightmare Zone!&quot; he gasped. While Sonic was wondering what to do now, someone laughed at him from atop the train station&#039;s roof! Sonic turned to find Dr. Eggman hovering above the station in his Egg Mobile. &quot;Ho ho ho ho! Looks like even Sonic can&#039;t outrun the Nightmare Zone!&quot; he taunted. Sonic rolled his eyes. &quot;I wasn&#039;t trying to outrun it, Eggman. This is where I was going!&quot; he explained. Eggman didn&#039;t seem to care. &quot;Either way, you won&#039;t be able to outrun it soon! The first phase of my plan to complete the world&#039;s transition to darkness is complete! Now, I&#039;m off to finish this! See you in my world of dreams... or nightmares! Ha ha ha ha ha!&quot; With that, Eggman began flying off in the direction of the jungle. Sonic started to follow him. &quot;Wait up, Eggman! I won&#039;t let you get away THIS time!&quot; Sonic kept his eyes on Eggman as he followed him. As a result, he didn&#039;t see the costumed man he ended up running into. &quot;Oooof!! HEY! You did this to me before!!&quot; shouted Gator, who fell on the floor after Sonic ran into him. Sonic had fallen over as well, and as he stood up to resume chasing Eggman, he found that Eggman was already out of sight. &quot;What the... Where&#039;d he go!? Aw, thanks a lot, Gator!!&quot; Sonic groaned. Gator gave him a friendly grin as he stood up. &quot;You&#039;re welcome. But how did you know I brought people to help you with me?&quot; he asked. Sonic looked confused until he noticed the animals standing behind Gator. It was Fred the fennec, Adam the bat, Evelyn the fox, and Cuthburt the alligator. &quot;We came from another time. We&#039;re looking for Silver the hedgehog and Gemini the fennec. Do you know them?&quot; Fred asked. Sonic frowned at the mention of the fallen heroes. &quot;I&#039;m afraid you&#039;re a year too late... But we could use your help.&quot; he said.<br /><br />Sonic brought Gator and the others to Tails&#039;s Workshop. After explanations regarding the events of the previous two years, Fred and his companions were looking very discouraged. &quot;Not even Silver survived... What chance do we have now?&quot; Evelyn said sadly. Bucky looked at the distressed faces in the crowd scornfully. &quot;We won&#039;t have any chance if everyone continues crying and whining! We have to do what we can to fight back! As for myself, I and my new experiments are going back to Night Woods to reclaim my laboratory!&quot; he said. Adam looked at Bucky like he was insane. &quot;You mean that ship that crashed in those woods? How are you going to get it out without flying? And without dying?!&quot; he asked. &quot;I&#039;ll examine the ship and find out why it crashed. If we can get it flying in the Nightmare Zone, we&#039;d have an easy method of escaping if things get too dangerous. Of course, my safety is not guaranteed, so I&#039;m leaving my revived experiments behind to help all of you attempt to defeat the villains who are working to spread the Nightmare Zone.&quot; Bucky replied. Zipp twirled a gun in his hands. &quot;You can count on us, boss! We&#039;ll wipe &#039;em all out!&quot; he grinned. Heather scoffed at him. &quot;Never mind that you all died last Halloween!&quot; Sonic was tapping his foot impatiently by now. &quot;If you guys don&#039;t quit arguing, it&#039;ll soon be dark...er.&quot; he said. Tommy agreed. &quot;Yeah! Let&#039;s get this show on the road!&quot; Bucky nodded in agreement. &quot;You all do your best! I&#039;m off for Night Woods!&quot; he said before leaving. Once Bucky was gone, Cream and Tails ran into the workshop to gather supplies for the trip, along with Crash and Vortex. Fred took the opportunity to speak with Sonic. &quot;So, what are we going to do, anyway?&quot; he asked. Gator, who hadn&#039;t been paying attention so far, offered a suggestion. &quot;Let&#039;s have some cake to celebrate my birthday!&quot; he said. Sonic ignored him. &quot;We&#039;re going to find Eggman. I saw him head into the jungle on my way here. Seems like a good place to start.&quot; he suggested. Punchy pointed at Angel Island nearby. It had fallen from the sky since the Nightmare Zone arrived. &quot;When did Angel Island fall? We&#039;ve gotta go there first and check on the Master Emerald!&quot; he said. Copter nodded. &quot;Right. Remember what Bucky said he found out last year? The Master Emerald was tainted like the black Chaos Emerald!&quot; he recalled. &quot;Right... I forgot!&quot; Crash said as he emerged from the workshop with bags of supplies. Vortex, Tails, and Cream were behind him, followed by a robotic puppy. &quot;I see you finished repairing SPOT, Tails.&quot; Sonic observed. &quot;This is SPOT 2.0. He&#039;s got better armor, and is equipped to detect monsters and other forms of darkness.&quot; Tails explained while the bags of supplies were being handed out amongst the group. Cuthburt pointed to Angel Island once the group was ready. &quot;Let&#039;s get going! For Gemini and all the others who died!&quot; he said. &quot;Yeah, for me!&quot; Zipp agreed.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the main tunnel to the Master Emerald shrine had caved in when the island fell, so the group was forced to take a detour through IceCap. The trip was relatively uneventful, though the island was dark and spooky. It took several hours, but soon they reached the lava filled caves of Red Mountain, where they finally decided to stop for lunch. Heather used her powers to light a fire, and they all began roasting hot dogs by the fire. Despite the lava in the caves, it had become dark and cold since the Nightmare Zone covered the area. &quot;Weird. We&#039;ve been wandering in the Nightmare Zone for hours, but no monsters have attacked us yet.&quot; Heather observed. &quot;Don&#039;t let your guard down. They might just be leaving us alone so far because we&#039;re in a group! Like the book said.&quot; Tails pointed out. Cream shivered at the mention of monsters. &quot;I hope we don&#039;t find any m-monsters this time...&quot; she whimpered. Sonic seemed particularly alert as he munched on his lunch. &quot;It&#039;s way too quiet... Maybe I should take a look around by myself.&quot; he said. Adam shook his head. &quot;That&#039;s a sure way to get killed! We know all about this, the Nightmare Zone is everywhere in our time!&quot; he told the group. Evelyn smacked him with the stick she used to roast her hot dog. &quot;Why would you tell them that!? Way to ruin everyone&#039;s hope!&quot; she growled. Gator laughed at the tension in the group. &quot;There&#039;s nothing to be scared of out here! What you REALLY gotta be scared of... is the headless Lost One!&quot; he warned. Tommy and Cream began shaking more fearfully at Gator&#039;s words. &quot;H-h-headless?!&quot; Tommy whimpered. Vortex crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. &quot;Bah! That&#039;sss jussst a ghossst sssstory!&quot; he hissed. Punchy looked curious. &quot;Headless Lost One? Maybe it&#039;s &#039;cuz I&#039;ve been dead, but I haven&#039;t heard that story.&quot; he said. Gator picked up SPOT and held the robot&#039;s headlight up to his face like a flashlight. &quot;They say it was just a harmless scarecrow... Except it wore a sack-shirt that once was used to hold rotten potatoes!&quot; he began. Copter laughed at him. &quot;Potatoes?! Gimme a break.&quot; Gator ignored him and continued. &quot;Anyway, the head of the scarecrow was made of a pumpkin. Carved with the knife of a cereal killer! That poor cereal... Then, one day, the Lost Ones invaded the cornfield! A priest managed to chase the lost ones away, but the scarecrow&#039;s head was knocked off while the Lost Ones were running away! That night, the farmer died in his sleep... And the scarecrow was gone! They say the pumpkin was possessed by a Lost One, and it&#039;s still wandering the world... Searching for its missing potatoes!&quot; By the end of the story, half of the group laughed, while the other half was shaking fearfully. One thing the group could agree on, was that lunch was over. &quot;We should get moving. Number 60 in my book says &#039;Don&#039;t stay in one place too long. Monsters will find you.&#039;&quot; Tails warned. Zipp groaned at him. &quot;You mean you even memorized the NUMBERS in the book!? Please, can I shoot him?&quot; Everyone glared at Zipp angrily. &quot;I take that as a no...&quot; he sighed.<br /><br />Once they had packed and put out the fire, the group continued on their way to the Master Emerald shrine. The caves went on for a long distance, but the trip remained uneventful for a while, until they came across an area covered in spider webs. Sonic started to lead the group straight through the web-filled path when Tails grabbed his arm. &quot;Are you sure we should go that way, Sonic? Number 808 in the book says &#039;Don&#039;t go through giant spider webs. Giant spiders might eat you!&#039;&quot; he said. The experiments all groaned at him. &quot;Tails, you are such a dork! Giant spiders!&quot; Copter grumbled. Fred looked thoughtful. &quot;Maybe... The spiders aren&#039;t here right now?&quot; he wondered. Evelyn shuddered at the idea of walking through the webs. &quot;I say we find another route anyway...&quot; she said. Gator approached the webs anyway. &quot;You guys are silly! Spiders don&#039;t eat people! They eat curly fries!&quot; he said as he pushed some webbing aside. Suddenly, an enormous spider burst through the webs and stabbed Gator with giant fangs! &quot;YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!&quot; Gator shrieked as Sonic and Crash pulled him away from the spider. Amazingly, Gator didn&#039;t even appear to be injured at all. &quot;See, giant spiders!&quot; Tails yelped. &quot;He bit me! Bad monster!&quot; Gator said sternly. In a moment, more spiders arrived, and began crawling out of the webs to attack the group. &quot;RUUUUUUN!!&quot; Cuthburt shouted, leading the others as they fled in terror! Fred remained behind and pointed his magic wand at the spiders. &quot;Pyrower!&quot; he shouted. The spell caused flames to spew from his wand, igniting the webs and burning the spiders as well, causing them to scatter in panic! The fire continued burning the webs, making it impossible to continue in that direction. &quot;I suggest we find another way to the Master Emerald shrine!&quot; Fred shouted as he rushed to catch up with the rest of the group.<br /><br />With the detour, it took a few more hours, but the group soon made it out of the caves. Despite being viciously attacked earlier, Gator was perfectly all right, much to everyone&#039;s surprise. The rest of the group had survived the trip as well, and now they reached the bridge leading to the Master Emerald shrine. The bridge had apparently seen better days, but it was the only way across. &quot;Uhh... Maybe some of us should stay behind, just in case the bridge isn&#039;t safe.&quot; Tommy suggested. &quot;I agree... It&#039;s a long way down from up here...&quot; Cream added. Tails looked nervous. &quot;That book doesn&#039;t like any part of this situation... Especially the creaky old bridge...&quot; he said. Sonic smiled. &quot;Heh, that bridge is no problem. I&#039;ll go by myself!&quot; he said. Vortex shook his head. &quot;No, you won&#039;t. If anything goesss wrong, ssssomeone mussst be able to fly back and tell ussss. And that&#039;ssss Zipp.&quot; he said. Zipp saluted Vortex. &quot;Aye aye... Hey, wait, you&#039;re not the boss of me!&quot; he protested. Copter grabbed Zipp by the wings. &quot;Yes, he is! And I&#039;ll be going to keep you in line!&quot; he told him. Punchy approached the bridge as well. &quot;This was MY idea, and I&#039;m going!&quot; he said. Cuthburt grinned at him. &quot;I like your enthusiasm! I&#039;m in, too!&quot; he said. Adam backed away from the bridge. &quot;Be my guest, Burt. I&#039;m gonna go with my survival instincts.&quot; he muttered. With the search team decided on, Sonic dashed across the bridge first, followed by Copter and Zipp flying over the bridge. Punchy quickly but carefully followed, while Cuthburt started across the bridge very slowly. So slowly, in fact, that the rest of the team soon grew impatient on the other side of the bridge. &quot;It&#039;s safe enough! Hurry up!&quot; Punchy shouted. Cuthburt glared at him. &quot;Don&#039;t rush me! I&#039;m heavier than you guys! I gotta go more carefully!&quot; he explained. &quot;Yeah, I always said you were FAT!&quot; Adam teased from behind him. &quot;Wait &#039;till I get back, you!&quot; Cuthburt threatened. Sonic turned to check out the Master Emerald shrine. &quot;Let&#039;s get moving. He&#039;ll catch up!&quot; he said.<br /><br />It was getting late as Sonic, Copter, Punchy, and Zipp ascended the stairs of the Master Emerald shrine. When they reached the top of the steps, a look of concern appeared on all their faces. &quot;Looks like it wasn&#039;t the Nightmare Zone that caused the island to fall...&quot; Sonic muttered. &quot;The... the Master Emerald&#039;s gone!&quot; Punchy yelled. Copter looked around. &quot;Yeah, seems like it. But I&#039;m pretty sure I saw the island floating this morning. It must have been taken recently.&quot; he pointed out. &quot;By who?&quot; Zipp wondered. &quot;That&#039;s what I&#039;d like to know!&quot; said a new voice! From behind the shrine, the owner of the voice levitated up to where Sonic and the others were standing. It was a female wolf wearing a uniform with a red, thirteen-pointed star on it. One of her eyes was covered by overgrown hair. &quot;I am Fera, and I have come on a mission to obtain the black Master Emerald!&quot; she declared. &quot;Oh yeah? On whose orders?&quot; Punchy growled. &quot;My orders!!&quot; said another voice overhead. They looked up and found Tabitha riding on her broomstick, cackling at them. &quot;Ha ha ha ha ha!! Happy Halloween, Sonic! Wonderful night to die, isn&#039;t it!&quot; she shouted. Zipp immediately began shooting at her. &quot;You killed me, you son of a witch!! Take this!!&quot; Tabitha shielded herself from Zipp&#039;s attacks with her magic, and then fired spells back at them! They initially dodged Tabitha&#039;s attacks, but Fera soon joined in with dark magic of her own! &quot;It&#039;s no good! Run for it!&quot; Copter shouted, leading the way as he, Punchy, and Zipp fled the area. Sonic remained behind, distracting Tabitha and Fera. &quot;We&#039;re going to defeat you this year, Tabitha!&quot; Sonic warned. &quot;Ha ha ha ha! How do you intend to do that with a full moon?&quot; Tabitha cackled. Sonic glanced up, and sure enough, the moon had begun to rise, though obscured by clouds for the moment. While he was distracted, someone crept up behind him. &quot;Hee hee! Death to hedgehogs!!&quot; Sonic jumped away just in time, as a multicolored fox wearing the same uniform as Fera attempted to stab him! &quot;Aw, drat! I thought I had you!&quot; the fox grinned. Sonic ran off to catch up with the others at this point. &quot;You can&#039;t outrun your fate, Sonic! You died once, and you shall die again!!&quot; Tabitha yelled as Sonic ran.<br /><br />Copter, Punchy, and Zipp dashed past Cuthburt, who was only halfway across the bridge. &quot;Witches and murderers!! Run for your lives!!!&quot; Zipp yelled as he made it across the bridge. Fred pointed to the tunnel that they&#039;d found blocked off earlier. &quot;That way! I&#039;ll have to use my magic to blast our way through. It&#039;s risky, with the tunnel in that vulnerable state, but it&#039;s the fastest way out of here!&quot; he shouted. The group quickly began speeding towards the tunnel, most of them screaming in their panic. &quot;Shoulda stayed at the workshop! Shoulda stayed at the workshop!!&quot; Tommy yelled. &quot;I hate Halloween!!!&quot; Tails added. Cuthburt had just gotten off the bridge as the others were reaching the tunnel. &quot;Hey! Guys!! C&#039;mon, wait for me!!&quot; he shouted, running to catch up. Sonic soon crossed the bridge as well, causing it to collapse behind him as he ran! &quot;That oughta slow... that fox down at least!&quot; Sonic said as he caught up with Cuthburt. &quot;Where&#039;d they all go?&quot; he asked. &quot;They ran for the tunnel. They&#039;re gonna try to break through to the other side!&quot; Cuthburt explained. &quot;OK, let&#039;s hurry!&quot; Sonic suggested. They started running towards the tunnel as the moon slowly crept out from behind the clouds. Cuthburt didn&#039;t notice, though, for he was too busy running. As he reached the darkened entrance to the tunnel, however, he noticed that somehow he&#039;d gotten ahead of Sonic. &quot;What in the... Hey, speedy! Did you finally get tired...?&quot; As Cuthburt turned around to see what Sonic was doing, he saw an enormous clawed hand reaching out for him! &quot;Oh, no!! Aaa... AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!&quot;<br /><br />The group running through the tunnel heard the screams as they ran. &quot;Something got Cuthburt!&quot; Evelyn screamed. Crash was ahead of the group as they reached the caved in part of the tunnel. &quot;No time to waste then! I&#039;ll take care of this!&quot; he yelled, charging at the rocks horn-first! He impacted the rocks with tremendous force, and crashed right through them, clearing the path! The path he cleared began to cave in, but Fred dealt with that. &quot;Proplasmar!&quot; Fred&#039;s spell erected a barrier overhead, blocking the rocks from caving in again. &quot;Hurry through everyone!&quot; he shouted, though he didn&#039;t need to. In seconds, everyone ran through the tunnel and reached the exit on the other side.<br /><br />Sonic was the last to emerge on the other side of the tunnel. Aside from Cuthburt, everyone was accounted for. Evelyn approached Sonic when he emerged from the tunnel. &quot;Where&#039;s Cuthburt? Did you see what happened?&quot; she asked. Sonic glanced up at the night sky. The moon was once again covered by the clouds. &quot;Well? Did you ssssee anything?&quot; Vortex asked. Sonic shook his head. Tails was consulting SPOT&#039;s monitor. &quot;Seems like there was a dark presence behind us briefly as we went through the tunnel... It must&#039;ve...&quot; Tails&#039;s voice trailed off, and Cream started crying, holding Cheese tight. &quot;This is just like last year! Everyone&#039;s going to die!&quot; she sobbed. &quot;No, we&#039;re not!&quot; Copter snapped, &quot;We are NOT going to just sit here and let people keep dying this year! I didn&#039;t come back to life for that!&quot; The other experiments nodded in agreement. &quot;Me neither.&quot; Punchy said. &quot;I was brought back to avenge myself!&quot; Zipp added. Gator looked skeptical. &quot;No way. You can&#039;t revenge yourself. You&#039;d be dead!&quot; he said, apparently having not paid attention to the earlier explanation of the events of the previous years. Heather and Sonic both looked impatient. &quot;While we&#039;re sitting here wasting time, Tabitha&#039;s probably coming after us! We have to figure out what we&#039;re going to do next!&quot; Heather pointed out. Sonic glanced out in the direction of the jungle. &quot;Eggman was going that way, saying something about going off to finish this. We should go after him!&quot; he suggested. Crash looked up at the clouds. &quot;Great idea, but let&#039;s get done quick. I don&#039;t like the looks of those clouds. Any minute, it might start...&quot; Before Crash could finish his sentence, Tails, Vortex, Zipp, Copter, and Punchy attempted to stop him. &quot;DON&#039;T SAY ANOTHER WORD!!&quot; they shouted. Suddenly, lightning crashed somewhere nearby, and it started pouring. &quot;...raining...&quot; Crash finished. Heather held her bag of supplies over her head quickly to keep from getting wet. &quot;I&#039;ll die in this! We have to find shelter!&quot; she yelled. Tails looked worried. &quot;Well, we can&#039;t go back in the tunnel!&quot; he said. Sonic began leading the way to the jungle. &quot;Maybe the trees will be shelter enough! Let&#039;s go!&quot; he said. &quot;Aw, this plan&#039;s all wet...&quot; Gator groaned as he and the others headed for the jungle.<br /><br />As Sonic and the others were heading for the jungle, Tabitha, Fera, and the fox emerged from the tunnel. &quot;Hee hee! Hey! The rain didn&#039;t make you melt!&quot; the fox giggled to Tabitha. Fera smacked him in the head. &quot;Don&#039;t be an idiot, Patch!&quot; she groaned. Tabitha hopped onto her broom and hovered in the air. &quot;We have no time to waste! There are mere hours before midnight, and then once again I will have failed to bring forth the Lord of Nightmares!&quot; she said urgently. &quot;Hee hee! Sounds like you stink at the whole evil witch racket!&quot; Patch teased. Tabitha raised her hand to strike him, but held herself back. &quot;You&#039;re lucky I have need of your aid. I have been unable to locate the others who helped me last year, so I&#039;ll have to settle for you.&quot; she growled. Fera kneeled to Tabitha respectfully. &quot;So, how may we serve your plan, powerful one?&quot; she asked. Tabitha pointed towards the jungle. &quot;There is no escape from this place. My magic is seeing to that! Therefore, that Master Emerald has got to be out here somewhere. I will search for it. I want the two of you to follow those meddlesome pests. If they find the emerald first, kill them and take it!&quot; she instructed. &quot;Can I kill some just for fun?&quot; Patch asked. Fera grinned at him. &quot;Couldn&#039;t hurt...&quot; she said. Tabitha cackled as her broom carried her into the sky. &quot;Soon, the world will belong to darkness! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!&quot; she cackled, soaring into the night.<br /><br />Upon reaching the jungle, Sonic and the others found the trees useless. It was raining very hard, and the trees were no use as shelter. Still, they explored the jungle anyway, hoping to find shelter along the way. Everyone was getting soaked by the rain. &quot;Ah... ahchoo!! Wh-why didn&#039;t we pack umbrellas?&quot; Tommy said as he shivered. &quot;We didn&#039;t HAVE any...&quot; Tails replied. &quot;And why not!?&quot; Copter growled. Zipp stopped flying and started walking at this point. &quot;My wings... They&#039;re too soaked to do any good now...&quot; he whined. &quot;Aw, quit complaining, guys. It could be worse!&quot; Adam said. &quot;How?&quot; Punchy asked. &quot;DON&#039;T SAY ANYTHING!!&quot; Tails shouted, worried about their luck getting worse. Suddenly, ghostly lights similar to the ones in Night Woods, appeared overhead and began laughing at them. &quot;Oh... That&#039;s how...&quot; Punchy muttered. &quot;Now what do we do?&quot; Evelyn said fearfully. Sonic kept moving. &quot;Ignore the ghosts. They&#039;re only trying to scare us.&quot; he told them. &quot;They&#039;re doing a good job...&quot; Cream said quietly. Soon, the group reached the clearing where an ancient pyramid stood within the ruins. Two brown hedgehogs were standing in the entrance to the pyramid. &quot;Bill and Bob!&quot; Tommy shouted excitedly. &quot;Who?&quot; Adam asked. &quot;They were friends of my brother! They owned a tavern in Station Square. Looks like they escaped last year after all!&quot; Tommy explained. Bill stepped out of the pyramid and motioned for everyone to come in. &quot;In here! You&#039;ll all catch your death in this rain!&quot; he shouted. &quot;You don&#039;t know the half of it!&quot; Heather replied weakly. Copter and Punchy helped Heather up the steps to the pyramid. &quot;We gotta get her dry.&quot; Copter said worriedly. Tails hesitated to follow the others into the pyramid. &quot;That book would have a few cautions against going in there...&quot; he warned. Zipp kicked Tails&#039;s ankle as he passed him by. &quot;My wings need to get dry! Shut up!&quot; he yelled. &quot;Ow! OK, fine, I&#039;m going!&quot; Tails groaned. As everyone walked up the steps and entered the pyramid, Fera and Patch snuck into the clearing behind them. &quot;Hee hee! I think it&#039;s playtime...&quot; Patch grinned.<br /><br /><br />Deep inside the pyramid, others had already taken shelter. Illusi, Vector, Espio, and Charmy had been exploring the pyramid, and now found themselves in a room with a big mural. Originally, the mural depicted Chaos destroying a city, but now it had changed. It now depicted a hideous demon in a dark abyss, attacking several animals. Team Chaotix looked at the mural with concern. &quot;Whoever drew this was psycho.&quot; Charmy muttered. &quot;The spirits drew it.&quot; Illusi said with utter seriousness. Vector examined the mural closely. &quot;I think I know some of those victims...&quot; he shuddered. &quot;Maybe... This has something to do with the Master Emerald.&quot; Espio suggested. &quot;Who knows, but that&#039;s yet another reason why we have to find the emerald fast.&quot; Illusi reasoned. Charmy sighed unhappily at being reminded. &quot;I can&#039;t believe someone snatched it when we looked away! Whoever it was must&#039;ve been fast.&quot; he said. Vector shook his head. &quot;Whoever it was wasn&#039;t running! There were no footprints!&quot; he recalled. Espio looked thoughtful. &quot;Could it have been... a ghost?&quot; he wondered. &quot;Yes, and no!&quot; The four of them looked back and found the Doomsayer behind them! &quot;What are you doing here!?&quot; Illusi wondered. The Doomsayer glared at the group seriously. &quot;The time is approaching. The spirits grow restless. It is no longer safe here.&quot; he warned. Vector nodded knowingly. &quot;We already knew that! The Nightmare Zone is here!&quot; he pointed out. The Doomsayer&#039;s expression did not change. &quot;There is nowhere to run. The nightmares have come, and it is very likely that none will survive! I can linger no longer, Nor can you. Once I depart, the full moon&#039;s wrath will reveal itself, and none will be safe. But none are safe now. Evil spirits have risen. Doom has come!&quot; As the Doomsayer finished speaking, he was surrounded by a twister of hail, and once it ended, he was gone! &quot;So... Are we about to die?&quot; Charmy said fearfully. Vector and Espio turned to Illusi, whose expression was grave. &quot;Quite possibly. There&#039;s no time to waste!&quot; he said.<br /><br /><br />While the group was drying off in the entrance room of the pyramid, Bill and Bob explained their presence there. &quot;Two years ago, Bob and I were moving our tavern from Station Square to Troblusk City. It was luck for us, &#039;cuz we got to avoid the Nightmare Zone when it took over Station Square.&quot; Bill said. &quot;We sure were worried &#039;bout all our friends back in Station Square when the darkness took it.&quot; Bob recalled. Tommy frowned upon recalling what became of his brother and friends. &quot;They all died. I was the only one to escape after last Halloween...&quot; he said. Bill nodded. &quot;I heard that some folks had escaped the Nightmare Zone. I also heard when it was starting to spread faster.&quot; he said. &quot;The darkness had been quiet &#039;till &#039;round last month.&quot; Bob added. &quot;How&#039;d you hear about that?&quot; Tails asked. &quot;We got connections. Anyway, we came here to see if we could find any old friends and help &#039;em.&quot; Bill explained. &quot;Hold on. Ssssomething ssstinksss, here. Why did you wait a month to come here?&quot; Vortex wondered. &quot;We were checkin&#039; the surrounding territories. We weren&#039;t sure where y&#039;all were.&quot; Bob replied. Tails was looking at SPOT&#039;s monitor. &quot;SPOT doesn&#039;t sense anything in here. I think we can trust these guys. But SPOT is picking up something close... by...&quot; Tails&#039;s eyes went wide as he looked at the monitor. &quot;Something&#039;s here!&quot; he gasped. Everyone quickly got up to run as ghosts emerged from the hallways and began surrounding them! Among the ghosts, Sonic was devastated to see an old foe. &quot;It&#039;s Xenegg!!&quot; he gasped. Xenegg let out a diabolical laugh as he gazed at the terrified faces before him. &quot;You thought you had seen the last of me? It is Halloween, and my old business is unfinished once more! I, and these other vengeful spirits, will never let you leave here alive!&quot; he bellowed, causing the formless spirits accompanying him to grow more violent. &quot;RUN FOR YOUR PIE!!!!&quot; screamed Gator before running away. &quot;Gah! Where&#039;d he come from?&quot; Punchy wondered. ( Gator had been missing since they&#039;d entered the jungle. ) &quot;Never mind that! Split up and try to lose the ghosts!&quot; Adam yelled. Tails opened his mouth to protest this idea, but everyone started running off before he could speak, so he started running, too. &quot;How many times do I have to tell people to stay together!?&quot; he said to himself. In the confusion, Xenegg began shooting randomly, and one of the stray lasers hit Heather! She fell over, and Copter stopped to help her. &quot;Never mind me... Run!&quot; she yelled as her body burst into flame. Copter obeyed, and soon everyone had run into the pyramid. &quot;Fools! You can&#039;t escape me!&quot; Xenegg yelled before vanishing.<br /><br />Copter caught up with Vortex, Zipp, Crash, and Bob in a dark hallway deep inside the pyramid. &quot;Hey, guys!&quot; Copter called out. &quot;Monster!&quot; Zipp yelped, shooting in Copter&#039;s direction. Luckily, he missed. &quot;Cut that out!&quot; Copter shouted. &quot;It&#039;sss jussst Experiment 2.&quot; Vortex pointed out. Crash and Bob waved to him, relieved. &quot;You seen Bill anywhere?&quot; Bob asked. Copter shook his head. &quot;I haven&#039;t seen anyone but you guys since we split up.&quot; he explained. &quot;Hello?! Is... is that you, guys? Where are ya!?&quot; shouted Adam, who was somewhere nearby. Zipp pressed a button on his helmet and looked around. &quot;Hmm... Looks like we&#039;re in some sort of maze.&quot; he said. &quot;Aw, how&#039;d that happen?&quot; said a voice behind them. Zipp spun around again and fired at the voice, who collapsed after being hit! Crash grabbed Zipp by the wings and confiscated his gun. &quot;You&#039;re more dangerous than the ghosts!!&quot; he growled. Copter approached the body of who Zipp shot, and was startled as the body burst into flames. &quot;Yaaaaa!! Uh... oh... It&#039;s Heather...&quot; he realized. Heather was once again revived from her ashes, and then glared at Zipp. &quot;Would everyone PLEASE stop killing me! It&#039;s disorienting!&quot; she snapped. &quot;Forget you guys! I&#039;ll find my own way outta here!&quot; shouted Adam after overhearing Heather. &quot;Stay where you are! We&#039;ll find you!&quot; shouted Fred from somewhere else in the maze. &quot;Hey! Who&#039;s with you!&quot; Copter shouted. &quot;We are!&quot; said Cream, while Cheese was making scared noises. Copter pointed around a corner of the maze. &quot;The voices are coming from that way! Let&#039;s go!&quot;<br /><br />Elsewhere in the maze, Adam was wandering by himself, hoping to find a safe place somewhere. &quot;Stupid hornet. Safer on my own...&quot; he muttered. He was suddenly startled by a quiet laugh in the shadows. &quot;Hee hee...&quot; Adam turned toward the voice and raised his fists. &quot;Nobody laughs at m-me! W-where are ya?&quot; he said. He heard the same laugh again, this time behind him, so he turned around again. &quot;Ha! You don&#039;t s-scare me! Y-you&#039;re just as blind as I am!&quot; he pointed out. &quot;Hee hee! I&#039;ll show you scary!&quot; shouted Patch, who jumped out of the shadows behind Adam and swung a knife at his back! Adam quickly spun around and started struggling with Patch, who soon pushed him to the floor! &quot;Hee hee! You like games? I do. Operation!&quot; Patch said, laughing manically as he began wildly swinging his knife...<br /><br /><br />Sonic, Tails, Punchy, Evelyn, Tommy, Bill, and SPOT had all gone in another direction, and now found themselves in a chamber with lots of water on the floor. A hole in the roof allowed them to see that the rain had stopped, though it was still cloudy outside. There was no sign of Xenegg or the other ghosts, so they decided to stop for a rest here. &quot;Great. Our group&#039;s been split in half...&quot; Punchy complained. &quot;Don&#039;t look at me. That wasn&#039;t my idea.&quot; Tails reminded them. Tommy was looking back in the direction they came, hoping to see the others arriving. &quot;I hope everyone&#039;s OK...&quot; he said worriedly. &quot;Don&#039;t worry. They&#039;ve got Fred with them. They&#039;ll be fine.&quot; Evelyn said. Sonic pointed to SPOT. &quot;We&#039;ve gotta find them quick and get outta here! Can your robot find &#039;em, Tails?&quot; he asked. Tails took a look at SPOT&#039;s monitor. &quot;Hmmm... Aaaa!! There&#039;s an unidentified signal coming this way!&quot; he shouted. Punchy raised his fists and looked around. &quot;Where is it? Is it Xenegg?&quot; he asked. Tails pointed to one of the four exits to the room. &quot;It&#039;s coming from that way! It&#039;s not Xenegg, but I don&#039;t know who...&quot; Before Tails could finish speaking, Punchy ran towards the exit Tails pointed to. &quot;I&#039;ll get &#039;em! Leave it to me!!&quot; he yelled. &quot;Wait, you idiot! You know the book wouldn&#039;t advise that!!&quot; Tails shouted, leading Evelyn, Tommy, Bill, and SPOT as they followed Punchy to the doorway. &quot;Wait here, guys! I&#039;ll be right back!&quot; Punchy said, running after the intruders while the others waited by the door. They couldn&#039;t see in the dark hallway, but they could hear shouts and other noises suggesting that Punchy was fighting the intruders. &quot;Take this, monsters!&quot; &quot;Aaaa!! Hey! Get him!&quot; &quot;I got him! I got him!&quot; &quot;That&#039;s my tail, Charmy!!&quot; As moonlight from the hole in the roof illuminated the area, Tails and the others jumped back in terror as a swarm of symbol-shaped creatures flew out of the hall! They were Wrongos, summoned by Illusi, and soon the group saw that Punchy was fighting with Vector of Team Chaotix! &quot;Enough! Stop fighting!&quot; said Illusi once everyone saw each other. &quot;Hey, he&#039;s not a monster, he&#039;s that guy I thought was Knuckles.&quot; Charmy realized. &quot;Yeah, thanks for the news update, Charmy...&quot; Vector groaned as Punchy let him up from the floor. The relief was short lived, as Tails noticed someone was missing. &quot;Hey, where&#039;s Sonic?&quot; he wondered as Team Chaotix, Punchy, and Illusi reached the doorway. Vector pointed into the wet room and screamed as he saw inside. &quot;There!! THAT&#039;S a monster!!&quot; he screamed. Everyone turned and joined him in screaming as they saw a giant, hairy creature, with thick blue hair, sharp fangs, and claws! Tails quoted a line from his book: &quot;Number 2!! Don&#039;t just stand here, RUUUUUUN!!!!&quot; he screamed. As everyone turned and ran, the strange monster gave chase, forcing everyone to run faster! They all ran right by Fera, who&#039;d been watching them from the shadows all along. &quot;Whew... Good thing the monster didn&#039;t see me either. But... Was that what I thought it was?&quot; she muttered, slowly starting to follow the monster...<br /><br /><br />Everyone in the dark maze ran towards Adam&#039;s screams, and everyone arrived there too late. Cream hid her eyes upon seeing Adam&#039;s remains, while Fred used his magic wand as a flashlight to illuminate the area. As a result, they spotted Patch ahead! &quot;Hee hee! Busted!&quot; Patch giggled. Copter and Crash immediately began chasing Patch, while the others followed. Patch laughed continuously as he led them through the maze. &quot;Get back here you murderous twerp!&quot; Copter yelled. Patch merely continued laughing and led them out of the maze. They now found themselves in a large, dark room. Light bouncing from mirrors in the room did little to illuminate the area, but it was enough to allow the group to see Patch. The crazed fox reached behind himself and pulled several knives seemingly out of nowhere! &quot;Time for a new game! Hee hee! Catch!&quot; He laughed like a madman as he started tossing knives at Copter and the others, who ran around the room attempting to avoid them. Patch seemed to have an endless amount of knives, and he skillfully kept the whole group busy avoiding them. As a stray knife flew towards Cream, Fred blocked it with a barrier spell. &quot;That was close...&quot; he said, out of breath. Zipp picked up some of the knives Patch was tossing and attempted to throw them back, but his aim with knives wasn&#039;t so good. &quot;Stupid Crash! Throw back my gun!&quot; he shouted. Crash shook his head. &quot;I&#039;ll shoot him!&quot; he said, aiming and pulling the trigger. The gun didn&#039;t fire. &quot;Arrrgh! Out of bullets!&quot; he growled. Realizing Patch was too dangerous, everyone backed away from him to make it harder for him to hit them. &quot;Hee hee! That&#039;s enough practice! Who wants to be my first target?&quot; Patch said. Suddenly, Gator came running out of the maze! &quot;I&#039;m here to save all of ya!!&quot; he shouted. Patch responded by tossing a knife at him that hit him right between the eyes! &quot;Ouch...&quot; he muttered, pulling the knife out of his head. Once the knife was removed, he appeared to not even be injured, but he fainted anyway. &quot;Eeeeek! I can&#039;t stay here anymore!&quot; Cream shouted, making a break for the nearest exit! &quot;Wait! It&#039;s too dangerous!&quot; Fred shouted, chasing after her. Patch started aiming a knife at Cream, but Cheese flew at him and knocked him down! &quot;Oooof!! Hee hee! That tickled!&quot; Patch grunted. &quot;Now&#039;sss our chance! Let&#039;sss get out of here!&quot; Vortex suggested, following Fred and Cream. &quot;So long, psycho!&quot; Copter shouted as he joined the others making a run for it. &quot;Call me if you ever want to go hunting!&quot; Zipp added as he and Cheese followed the others deeper into the pyramid. Patch got back to his feet in time to see which way they went. &quot;I hope Fera&#039;s having as much fun as I am! Hee hee!&quot; he chuckled.<br /><br />Illusi led the group being chased by the monster back to the room with the creepy mural. There, they found Copter, Cream, Cheese, Fred, Vortex, Zipp, Crash, Heather, and Bob, who had reached this dead end after giving Patch the slip. &quot;Hey, guys! Where&#039;s Adam?&quot; Evelyn asked. &quot;Done for.&quot; Copter replied. &quot;Hey, where&#039;s Sonic?&quot; Bob wondered. Before anyone could answer, the blue monster appeared, snarling and growling at them! &quot;Oh, no! We&#039;re goners!!&quot; Tommy shouted, while Cream started crying. Suddenly, the monster flinched and fell down. &quot;Huh? What the...?&quot; Punchy said upon seeing who hit the creature. It was Gator! &quot;Nothing&#039;s gonna stop me from MY pirating! That guy&#039;s not nearly as scary as the Headless Lost One!&quot; he said, walking past the creature to rejoin the group. Tails pointed at the creature excitedly. &quot;Gator! Don&#039;t turn your back on it! Never turn your back on the monster!&quot; he yelled. Gator pointed at the mural. &quot;Who&#039;s been doodling on the walls?&quot; he asked, causing everyone but Tails to turn and look at the mural. &quot;Why do I say anything?&quot; Tails groaned. Bill and Bob were first to turn back to the collapsed creature. &quot;The fox has a point. Anyone got ropes to tie it up with?&quot; Bill asked. Crash pulled some ropes out of the bag of supplies he was carrying and tossed them to Bill and Bob while everyone else examined the mural. &quot;You know what? That thing on the mural reminds me of something...&quot; Tails muttered. Suddenly, Bill and Bob started yelling as the monster started to wake up! &quot;It&#039;s breakin&#039; outta the ropes!&quot; Bill shouted. &quot;Do somethin&#039;!!&quot; Bob yelled. As everyone turned around, Gator freaked out. &quot;Aw, I&#039;m bad at this Halloween stuff! I&#039;m outta here!&quot; he said, teleporting away! Punchy and Crash ran over to help Bill and Bob restrain the creature, but it smacked them all away, knocking Punchy and Crash into the rest of the cornered crowd! The monster then turned its attention to Bob, but Bill whipped it with the rope to get its attention. &quot;Run, Bob! Hurry!&quot; he shouted. The monster responded by slashing Bill across the chest, killing him! &quot;NO!!!&quot; Tommy shrieked, horrified. Suddenly, Gator teleported back into the room in front of the creature. &quot;Forgot my supplies! Whoa! IT&#039;S THE HEADLESS LOST ONE!!&quot; he screamed, pointing in the direction of the mural! As everyone turned around yet again, something snatched Heather! &quot;EEEEEEK!!&quot; she screamed as the monster Gator had pointed out dragged her to the back of the room! It resembled a scarecrow with a jack-o-lantern for a head. Green slime acted as the pumpkin&#039;s &quot;hair,&quot; and roots acted as its arms and feet. It had Heather in its tangled clutches, and laughed demonically as the others screamed at it. &quot;Ha! I am aptly named Loscream! Prepare to be crushed in my vines!&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Don&#039;t just scream at it! Let&#039;s get outta here!&quot; shouted Sonic, who had appeared behind them. &quot;Huh? Where&#039;d that monster go?&quot; Espio wondered as everyone turned to face Sonic. &quot;Never mind that, Espio! Let&#039;s get outta here!&quot; Vector yelled. &quot;We can&#039;t! Look!&quot; Evelyn shouted, pointing behind Sonic. Patch, Fera, and Xenegg were approaching from the only exit! &quot;You are trapped now! Prepare for the fiery depths of Hell!&quot; Xenegg yelled. Fred and Illusi, who had been silently talking among themselves up to this point, finally put an escape plan to action. &quot;Proplasmar!!&quot; Fred shouted, creating a barrier around the group. &quot;We need reinforcements! Cover our escape, Wrongos!&quot; Illusi said, calling forth another swarm of the strange circular creatures! Being illusions, the Wrongos were able to pass through the barrier and interfere with all of the enemies, except Xenegg. &quot;Time to run for it again!&quot; Charmy said urgently. &quot;Follow me!&quot; Sonic shouted, leading the way as the group fled the attacks of Fera, Patch, Loscream, and Xenegg, which quickly destroyed the barrier! &quot;Hee hee! Eat knives, stragglers!&quot; Patch laughed, tossing knives at the members of Team Chaotix, who were at the back of the group. They quickly jumped away, and Charmy stuck his tongue out at Patch. Angry, Patch tried to chase them, but ended up hit by one of Xenegg&#039;s lasers intended for them! As Patch fell down dead, his ghost immediately flew out of his body. &quot;Revenge! Hee hee!&quot; he giggled, chasing after the fleeing heroes. Fera hesitated to join the chase. &quot;Loscream! Take that prisoner away! Then, return to me!&quot; she commanded. Loscream held Heather over his head. &quot;Come my dear! A fate worse than death awaits you! Ha ha ha ha ha!&quot; the monster bellowed. With that, Fera joined Patch and Xenegg in chasing the heroes.<br /><br />SPOT had mapped the areas of the pyramid its group had visited, so Sonic and Tails used the map to lead the survivors to the exit. Sonic was the first to exit the pyramid, followed by Tails, SPOT, Fred, Evelyn, Cream, Cheese, Tommy, Copter, Punchy, Illusi, Crash, Zipp, Vortex, Bob, and finally Team Chaotix. Gator had apparently gotten lost somewhere along the way. &quot;Great. We&#039;re out, and we&#039;re all exhausted. What now?&quot; Copter panted. &quot;Speak for yourself! I have plenty of energy!&quot; Charmy bragged. Sonic started wandering away from the group, gazing up at the sky. &quot;Sonic?&quot; Tails said, confused. Espio approached Sonic and peered up where the hedgehog was looking. The full moon was emerging from behind the clouds. &quot;Of course...&quot; Vector muttered. &quot;What?&quot; Punchy asked. Espio placed his hand on Sonic&#039;s shoulder and turned him around, revealing a feral look emerging on Sonic&#039;s face! &quot;That&#039;s why Sonic was missing when the monster was there! And why the monster disappeared! Sonic&#039;s a Werewolf- errr... Werehog!&quot; Vector explained. Everyone looked shocked as the moonlight slowly began to transform Sonic into a hairy, hideous beast. &quot;Ssssson of a... Hey! Get away from him!&quot; Vortex shouted. &quot;R-right...&quot; Espio muttered, backing away. Unfortunately, it was too late! As Sonic&#039;s transformation was completed, he quickly grabbed Espio by the arm and roared in his face! &quot;Espio!!!&quot; Charmy yelled in terror. Espio struggled with the Werehog, but it was useless. &quot;Run for it guys! I&#039;m... finished...&quot; he shouted. Illusi motioned for everyone to follow him. &quot;Hurry! I know where to go!&quot; he said. Everyone reluctantly started following Illusi, though Vector had to grab Charmy by the arm. Soon, Were-Sonic slashed Espio and turned to follow the others. &quot;Hold on! I&#039;m a-coming to save the lot of ya!!&quot; shouted Gator, who had just emerged from the pyramid. As he neared Sonic, the Werehog punched him with a giant fist! &quot;Ow! I&#039;m REALLY bad at this... AAAAHH!!&quot; Not satisfied with knocking Gator over, the Werehog proceeded to maul the hapless immortal. &quot;This is the WORST birthday EVER!!&quot; Gator screamed.<br /><br />After the group arrived a safe distance away from Were-Sonic, Zipp grabbed his gun back from Crash. &quot;I&#039;ll take that! Now, everyone check the supplies! I&#039;m pretty sure we packed silver bullets!&quot; he ordered. &quot;No! We can&#039;t kill Sonic!&quot; Tails protested. Vector growled at Tails. &quot;Oh, yeah? Well he just killed Espio! I say he deserves it!&quot; he snapped. &quot;But that wasn&#039;t his fault...&quot; Cream argued. &quot;And what would that all-important book of yours say about werewolves, hm?&quot; Copter asked. Tails looked conflicted. &quot;It... uh... doesn&#039;t say anything about werehogs.&quot; he said weakly. &quot;I say we put it to a vote. Who wants to shoot Sonic with a silver bullet?&quot; Illusi asked. Charmy, Vector, Copter, Punchy, Zipp, and Vortex raised their hands along with Illusi. &quot;That&#039;sss a tie. Wait, raissse your hand, Crasssh!&quot; Vortex hissed. Crash shook his head. &quot;No. I disagree. Besides, the Chao counts. You lose!&quot; he pointed out. &quot;Bah! Next you&#039;ll be saying the robot gets a vote!&quot; Punchy complained. SPOT growled at him in response. Fred flashed a bright light from his wand to interrupt the argument. &quot;That&#039;s enough! We have no time to waste! It&#039;s getting late, and we haven&#039;t accomplished anything to fight the Nightmare Zone yet!&quot; he pointed out. Bob scratched his head. &quot;Well, gee, how&#039;re we s&#039;posed to stop it from inside?&quot; he asked. &quot;Ho ho ho ho ho! You CAN&#039;T stop it, of course!&quot; Tails pointed up at the source of this voice. &quot;It&#039;s Eggman!&quot; he yelled. Evelyn raised an eyebrow. &quot;Eggman Nega?&quot; she asked. Eggman shook his head. &quot;No, my look alike is busy in another area of the Nightmare Zone. But I don&#039;t need him to deal with you! Though I don&#039;t exactly have time for this, either... Xenegg! Show yourself!&quot; he called. Xenegg immediately appeared below the Egg Mobile with a legion of evil spirits, including Patch! &quot;I await your command, sir.&quot; Xenegg said. Eggman waved farewell to his foes. &quot;Xenegg will see to you, while I make my way back to the Dream Temple for the final phase of my glorious plan! I hope you enjoyed your year outside the Nightmare Zone, for none shall ever experience that again! Mua ha ha ha ha!!&quot; Eggman was laughing diabolically as he flew his Egg Mobile away, leaving the group with Xenegg. &quot;Now, spirits... Drag them to Hell!&quot; Xenegg commanded.<br /><br />As the ghosts began surrounding the group, Fred decided to take a stand. &quot;There&#039;s no choice now! I must perform an exorcism!&quot; he realized. &quot;Good, fine! Just do it quickly!&quot; Punchy shouted. Cream, Tommy, and Charmy stood close to Fred while the others spread out to protect them. &quot;Hey, ghosts! Over here!&quot; Evelyn shouted, hoping to distract them. It worked, and she was forced to flee. Vector ran by to draw their attention. &quot;Can&#039;t catch me!&quot; he taunted. &quot;Careful, Vector!&quot; Charmy shouted. &quot;I&#039;m always careful!&quot; Vector said before running straight into Vortex. &quot;Gah!! Ssssstupid!!&quot; Vortex hissed. Patch began laughing uncontrollably as he watched the group&rsquo;s pathetic diversion tactics. &quot;Hee hee! Oh, please! Hee hee! Stop it! Hee hee! You&#039;re too much!&quot; he chuckled. Xenegg was becoming impatient with his spirit minions. &quot;Enough! I will handle this myself!&quot; Xenegg yelled, shooting at the nearest animals, which happened to be Tails and Copter. &quot;Look out!&quot; Tails yelled, running to the side. Copter decided to try fighting back. &quot;Chaos Whirlwind!!&quot; His windy attack blew right through Xenegg, who fired at Copter in retaliation. Bob grabbed Copter by the tails and pulled him to safety. &quot;OWW! Thanks... I think...&quot; he yelped. Suddenly, Wrongos swarmed Xenegg, making it difficult for him to aim! &quot;Who dares impede me!?&quot; he howled. Illusi started whistling nonchalantly. Seeing this, Patch composed himself and flew after Illusi. Tails quickly arrived with SPOT to help. &quot;Boo!&quot; Tails shouted, holding up SPOT so it could shine bright light in Patch&#039;s eyes. &quot;YAAAAAAAHH!! IT BURNS!!!&quot; he screamed, flying away. Xenegg had grown enraged by now. He shrieked loudly and fired powerful, continuous beams at the Wrongos, destroying them all quickly! He then began randomly aiming those beams around the area, forcing everyone to scramble for their lives. &quot;DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!!!!&quot; he shrieked. Suddenly, Fred completed his spell. &quot;Dark spirits! I cast thee out! The power of light shall repel you! Begone!!&quot; Light erupted from Fred&#039;s wand, expelling all the ghosts from the area as it hit them. &quot;Hee hee! Pretty.... WHOOOAA!!!&quot; said Patch as the light spirited him away. &quot;NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!&quot; Xenegg screamed as he, too was expelled from the area! Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but it was too soon to celebrate. &quot;The Headless Lost One will eat us all!!&quot; screamed Gator, who had somehow escaped Sonic and now fled past the group and into the woods.<br /><br />Moments later, Loscream arrived, no longer holding Heather. The group attempted to run, but Fera blocked their escape. They tried another direction, but Were-Sonic was approaching as well! &quot;Aaaahh!! Where&#039;re those silver bullets!?&quot; Zipp shouted, panicking. Vortex turned to Fera. &quot;Ssssave them! We can essscape through her!&quot; he hissed. Fera laughed at the suggestion. &quot;None of you are even close to a match for me! Especially with him. Loscream! Over here!&quot; she called. Loscream jumped high into the sky and landed beside Fera! &quot;Whoa... He should try out for the Olympics...&quot; Tails said in awe. &quot;You need to pass us if you ever want to stop Tabitha! But first, I must have a word with you!&quot; Fera said, pointing at Illusi. &quot;Me? Why me?&quot; he asked. Fera laughed at him. &quot;You don&#039;t fool me. I&#039;ve got it all figured out. The Master Emerald was never at the Mystic Ruins tonight, was it?&quot; she said accusingly. &quot;Whaddaya mean? We SAW it, right, Charmy?&quot; Vector pointed out. Fera grinned. &quot;Yes, but just think. He&#039;s been using illusions to mess with us all night. He could just as easily have created an illusion of the Master Emerald, too!&quot; she concluded. Charmy&#039;s eyes went wide. &quot;Hey, yeah! That&#039;s why there were no footprints leading away from the shrine!&quot; he said. Vector understood. &quot;He moved the emerald long before we got there!&quot; Illusi clapped his hands, impressed. &quot;Well done. Yes, I moved the emerald, and tricked Team Chaotix into thinking someone else stole it. To be honest... I didn&#039;t have money to pay for their detective skills. I knew they&#039;d take on my case for free if the emerald was snatched from under their noses. They&#039;d never want to let someone make a fool of them like that.&quot; he explained. Vector&#039;s jaw dropped. &quot;So YOU made fools of us!? You underhanded...&quot; Fera stomped the ground impatiently. &quot;ENOUGH! Where&#039;d you stash the emerald, shrew!?&quot; she demanded. &quot;Where&#039;d YOU stash the animals that have been going missing? I assume you&#039;ve been using that... thing... to kidnap them.&quot; Fera nodded. &quot;Yes. Dr. Eggman needed test subjects for his new scheme. But the subjects kept dying. That phoenix should be perfect for our plans!&quot; she explained. Finally understanding what had been going on, the group glared at Fera angrily. &quot;You won&#039;t get away with this!&quot; Tails said. &quot;Yeah! We&#039;ll tear your monster apart!&quot; Punchy added. &quot;You are FAR too late!&quot; Everyone looked up to the sky, where Tabitha was hovering just below the clouds blocking the moon! She was carrying the black Master Emerald! &quot;I had a devil of a time finding this, but your plans have failed, illusionist!&quot; she said victoriously. Sonic, who had reverted to normal when the moon was blocked, had seen everything. &quot;No, Tabitha! We&#039;ll never let you get away with this!&quot; he shouted. Tabitha cackled at him. &quot;Ha ha ha ha! And how do you propose to get around my curse? You&#039;ve killed several of your friends, and now you will help finish them off! Time to clear the air!&quot; she laughed, using a spell to cause the clouds to dissipate! The moonlight struck Sonic, and he quickly began to transform! &quot;Farewell! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!&quot; Tabitha cackled as she flew away!<br /><br />While Sonic was transforming, white flames appeared overhead. The flames changed into ghostly forms, and started laughing playfully. &quot;Ghosts? But I thought you got rid of them!&quot; Tommy said to Fred. Tails recognized the voices of the ghosts. &quot;It&#039;s the ghosts of the Nightmare Zone!&quot; he said, remembering their warning about the Spell of the Shadows the year before. &quot;What do they want?&quot; Evelyn wondered. The ghosts giggled once more and started to sing. &quot;We ghosts do not want, we just try to scare. On Halloween night, the living must beware. The moon casts its spell, the evil Black Curse. Matters are turning from frightening to worse. Dreams turn to nightmares, souls fall dead. All the world has reason to dread. We sing our song as our way of warning. Time is short, soon it&#039;s YOU they&#039;ll be mourning. Tee hee hee hee...&quot; As the voices of the ghosts faded, Sonic the Werehog howled at the bright, round moon overhead. Fera wore a malevolent smile. &quot;What an observant song. Now, I&#039;ll finish fulfilling that prophecy. Despair in darkness!&quot; Fera turned to Loscream and fired beams of dark magic at him! The magic served to fuel Loscream, and made his pumpkin head grow to an immense size. As the head grew, the roots grew as well, and burst out of the sack, writhing wildly! Loscream now resembled an enormous octopus, with a pumpkin body and roots for tentacles! &quot;Ha ha ha ha! I will crush you all in my grip!&quot; Loscream roared. Tommy and Cream backed away from the hideous creature while the others prepared to fight it. &quot;All right, guys! Let&#039;s smash that pumpkin!&quot; Copter shouted. &quot;No thanks. I&#039;ll go for that wolf!&quot; Vector decided. Tails pointed at Loscream&#039;s giant roots. &quot;No time for that! Jump!!&quot; he yelled. Loscream began swinging his roots at the group, forcing them to jump out of the way. Meanwhile, Were-Sonic was hesitating to do anything. He watched the monster fighting his friends, and began holding his own bloodthirsty madness back. Meanwhile, Loscream smacked aside Punchy, Crash, Evelyn, and Vector. &quot;Oooof!!&quot; While they hurried to stand back up, Loscream attempted to finish them with his roots! &quot;Get outta the way!!&quot; shouted Bob, who jumped into the path of the roots without thinking! The roots snatched the brown hedgehog up and snapped his spine before throwing his body into the distance! &quot;Now, I shall break the rest of you!&quot; the monster bellowed. Bob&#039;s body landed near Sonic, who glanced at it with wide eyes before looking back at Loscream. His eyes became angry, but not with madness. &quot;Grrr.... What have I done.... Grrrr... Enough! Must... fight... curse!! Grrrrr..... HOOOOOWWWWWWWL!!!!!!&quot; Sonic&#039;s loud howls even got Loscream&#039;s attention. &quot;Back... away.... from my friends!!&quot; Sonic growled, running at Loscream like a mad dog! Loscream swung one of his roots at the approaching werehog, but Sonic simply caught it in his powerful werehog arms! &quot;Playtime&#039;s over, Loscream!&quot; he growled.<br /><br />Fera scoffed at Sonic&#039;s attempt to interfere. &quot;Just get him with your other roots, imbecile!&quot; she ordered. Loscream hurled another of his roots at Sonic, only to have it caught by Sonic&#039;s other arm. Fera growled in frustration. &quot;I guess I have to do this MYSELF!&quot; she snarled, preparing to hit Sonic with her dark magic. &quot;Solare!!&quot; shouted Fred, firing a beam of light magic at Fera, knocking her back! &quot;Gah!! Meddling fool!&quot; she growled. &quot;Now&#039;s our chance!&quot; Charmy shouted. &quot;Right! Chaos Whirlwind!&quot; Copter yelled, sending a chaotic wind to blow Loscream&#039;s roots away from Sonic. &quot;Chaos avalanche!&quot; Punchy called upon the power of chaos to lift some chunks of the ground and hurl them at Loscream. Illusi joined in by sending Wrongos to attack. Zipp, who had found the silver bullets, began shooting at Loscream as well, accompanied by Vortex&#039;s Chaos Inferno attack! Loscream used his roots to block these attacks. &quot;Pitiful worms!&quot; he growled. However, those attacks were just a diversion! Vector, Crash, Cheese, SPOT, and Were-Sonic charged at the distracted pumpkin, and hit it as hard as they could! Loscream was knocked over! Fera looked at the toppled monster and shrugged. &quot;Whatever. I&#039;ve finished my work. Good-bye!&quot; she said, using her dark magic to teleport away. The group took a moment to celebrate this comeback. &quot;You did it, Sonic! You beat the curse!&quot; Tails said, high-fiving his friend. &quot;Thanks, but it&#039;s not over yet!&quot; Sonic pointed out. Suddenly, someone else was heard cheering nearby. It was the red Chao, Char, and he was sitting in a nearby tree. &quot;Way to go, guys! Maybe you have a chance of stopping Tabitha!&quot; he said. &quot;Do you know where she is?&quot; Copter asked. Char nodded. &quot;She&#039;s with Dr. Eggman. They made me help with their plan, but when they needed test subjects, I got scared they were gonna use me, so I ran away...&quot; he explained. &quot;Can you lead us to them?&quot; Sonic asked. Char hopped out of the tree and started flying in the direction Tabitha had flown. &quot;Follow me!&quot; he said. Suddenly, SPOT started beeping loudly, looking at Loscream. Tails looked as well. &quot;Guys? We better follow him quick! Loscream&#039;s not dead!&quot; he shouted as Loscream began shifting back into his original shape. &quot;You can&#039;t kill me in the Nightmare Zone!&quot; the monster growled. &quot;Run for it!&quot; Evelyn shouted. Char started leading the way as the others followed. &quot;Be quick! Loscream is fast!&quot; he warned. &quot;Great! And I&#039;m much slower in this form!&quot; Sonic groaned. As the rest of the group ran, Vortex, Zipp, and Crash stayed behind. &quot;What are you doing!?&quot; Vector asked as he passed them. &quot;We&#039;ll lead Loscream away from you!&quot; Crash said. Charmy shook his head. &quot;No way! He&#039;ll probably kill you!&quot; he said. &quot;Sssso what? Our massster revived ussss once. He&#039;ll do it again!&quot; Vortex hissed. &quot;What if he dies?&quot; Copter asked. Zipp raised his gun. &quot;Then I&#039;ll see ya in Hell! Now get going!&quot; he yelled. Thus, Team GeneX remained behind while the others followed Char!<br /><br />Char led the group to a large, crystal building hidden deep in the woods. The dreamlike building was familiar to Tails. &quot;I know this place... This is the Dream Temple!&quot; he recalled. Char looked surprised. &quot;Huh? How did you know? Oh well. Dr. Eggman and Tabitha are in there. This is where I take off. Good luck, guys!&quot; Char said before flying away. Sonic turned to Tails. &quot;What do you know about this place?&quot; he asked. Tails looked at the building fearfully. &quot;I don&#039;t know much. I&#039;m not even sure if what happened last time I was here was real. There was a creature in there that knew all my fears... The Dream King.&quot; he explained. &quot;I shudder to think how a creature like that may have been twisted by the Nightmare Zone...&quot; Illusi said. &quot;Well, we&#039;ve come too far to turn back now! Let&#039;s go in!&quot; Punchy suggested.<br /><br />The interior of the Dream Temple had changed drastically. It was now one large room, resembling the laboratory of a mad scientist. The room was covered in cobwebs, and the walls were lined with tables and shelves littered with scientific equipment. At the back of the room was an odd sort of machine attached to a metal table. The black Master Emerald was inserted into the machine, and Heather was strapped to the table, struggling to get free! Hanging on the wall overhead was an enormous clock, showing that midnight was near. &quot;Sit tight, Heather! We&#039;re coming!&quot; Copter shouted. &quot;Great! We found the Master Emerald, too!&quot; Punchy added. As everyone scrambled toward the machine, Dr. Eggman and Tabitha dropped into their path from above, laughing at them! &quot;Ha ha ha ha ha! You&#039;re too late!&quot; Tabitha said. She was holding the Book of Nightmare, the book that had contained the Spell of the Shadows. &quot;Ho ho ho ho! On the contrary, I say they&#039;re just in time! In time to witness the culmination of my brilliant plan!&quot; Sonic growled at Eggman angrily. &quot;No way, Eggman! We&#039;re here to stop you!&quot; he said. Eggman glanced at Were-Sonic. &quot;Oooh, I love what you&#039;ve done with your hair, Sonic!&quot; he chuckled. &quot;Don&#039;t take credit for the plan, doctor! It was from the Book of Nightmare, you just created the gizmos to perfect the plan!&quot; Tabitha said. &quot;Just what is your plan?&quot; Fred asked. &quot;Isn&#039;t it obvious?&quot; Eggman said. Tabitha opened the book and looked at it. &quot;After my spell failed last year, I needed a new way to finish spreading the Nightmare Zone and summon the Lord of Nightmares. Dr. Eggman perfected a darkness machine in the Night Woods to speed up the Nightmare Zone&#039;s progress, but it would still take years for the planet to fall. So, we came here. This place is a lightning rod for nightmares.&quot; she explained. Eggman glanced at his machine. &quot;With this, my Dream Machine, powered by the black Master Emerald, the whole planet will fall before the Nightmare Zone!&quot; he said. &quot;Then, the machine will use that phoenix&#039;s living body as a vessel for the spirit of the Lord of Nightmares! We needed a body that would survive the process long enough for the Lord of Nightmares to take it, and an immortal is perfect!&quot; Tabitha said, completing the explanation. Eggman held up a remote control. &quot;All that&#039;s left now, is to turn the machine on!&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Not so fast!&quot; shouted Sonic, hurling his fist at the Egg Mobile to disorient Eggman. &quot;Whoa!! Back, furball!!&quot; he shouted. Tabitha prepared to fire a spell at Sonic, but Copter stopped her first. &quot;Chaos Whirlwind!&quot; The chaotic wind knocked Tabitha off her broom, and bought Fred time to aim at the machine. &quot;Blastrotall!!&quot; he shouted, firing several bolts from his wand, which caused the machine to break apart! &quot;NO!! NOOO!! NOT AGAIN!! You little pests!!&quot; Tabitha screamed, realizing her plan was ruined once again. Eggman moved his Egg Mobile higher up and approached the broken machine with it. &quot;I guess it&#039;s time to cut my losses and go... Stupid cheap machine parts!&quot; he said, pressing a button to extend a claw at the bottom of the Egg Mobile. It snatched the black Master Emerald, and Eggman began to fly away with it. &quot;No you don&#039;t, Eggman!!&quot; Punchy yelled, jumping into the air and punching the Egg Mobile! The punch sent the Egg Mobile spinning, and Punchy grabbed the Master Emerald out of the claw as he fell back to the floor. Tabitha mounted her broom and flew toward Punchy. &quot;Give that back!!&quot; she said threateningly. &quot;Solare!!&quot; Fred shouted, knocking Tabitha off her broom again with a beam of light! &quot;Over here, kids! And you, too, Punchy!&quot; Fred shouted. &quot;We&#039;re coming!&quot; Cream replied, grabbing Tommy by the hand and leading him, Cheese and Charmy to Fred. Punchy caught up with them seconds later. &quot;That witch isn&#039;t about to take this without a fight, so I&#039;ve got to get you and the Master Emerald to safety!&quot; Fred explained. &quot;But I want to help...&quot; Charmy protested. &quot;Don&#039;t argue!&quot; Punchy insisted. &quot;Good luck everyone!&quot; Tommy said in parting. Fred waved his wand as Punchy and the kids held on to him. &quot;Galaporta!&quot; His spell warped them out of the Dream Temple, leaving Sonic, Tails, SPOT, Copter, Evelyn, Illusi and Vector with Tabitha and Dr. Eggman. Tabitha hovered in the air and glared at Sonic and his friends, glowing with magical energy in her rage. Seeing this, Eggman became nervous. &quot;W-well... I guess I&#039;d better track down that Master Emerald...&quot; he said, hastily piloting his Egg Mobile out through the door.<br /><br />While Tabitha was hesitating, Copter ran to the table and freed Heather. &quot;Thanks, but now what&#039;ll we do? She looks steamed...&quot; Heather said. Tabitha turned towards Heather&#039;s voice in a fury. &quot;Curse your corpse!!&quot; she screamed, zapping Heather with a spell! As the phoenix caught fire and began to rise again, Tabitha fired a spell at Copter, which he scrambled to dodge. Once Heather was back on her feet, she and Copter joined the other heroes who now faced Tabitha. &quot;It&#039;s over! You can&#039;t beat all of us yourself!&quot; Vector told her. Tabitha glared at him. &quot;Oh, no?&quot; She turned to the remains of the Dream Machine. &quot;Perhaps they&#039;re right. Let&#039;s destroy them together!&quot; she said. As the giant clock chimed, signifying midnight, the parts of the machine seemed to react to Tabitha&#039;s words, and shifted their shape until they combined to form a black shadow, shaped like Tails! Shadow Tails waved at Tails and laughed. &quot;Remember me?&quot; he asked. Tails backed away fearfully. &quot;The Dream King!&quot; he gasped. Tabitha cackled at the terrified reaction. &quot;I see someone knows what&#039;s in store! Now, the Book of Nightmare will help me power your destruction!&quot; As Tabitha looked into the book, a Wrongo flew into it, knocking it from her hands! Tabitha quickly attempted to catch the book, but Illusi was ready to catch it as well! Thinking fast, Tabitha fired a spell at the book. &quot;I won&#039;t let YOU have it!&quot; she said. However, Illusi caught the book and teleported just as the spell was making contact! A bright light flashed as Illusi, the book, and the spell all vanished! &quot;NO!! What just happened!? Arrgh! There&#039;s no telling where my book is now, or if that shrew has it or not! AAAAAAAHHHH!!!&quot; Tabitha shrieked. The Dream King shook his head. &quot;It is of no consequence. I can destroy these fools myself!&quot; he said. Tabitha rolled her eyes at his overconfidence before turning and casting spells on him! &quot;Not just can! You shall! With the power of darkness and nightmares, take form! Become terror itself! You shall be invincible!!&quot; The Dream King began laughing in a nightmarish voice as his shape began to change. He grew in size to take up the whole room. His arms became large bones, his hands grew massive claws. Spikes grew out of his back, while the two tails become thousands of powerful tendrils. His body opened to reveal a rib cage, with dark energy instead of organs. His legs became bones as well, with enormous, clawed feet. A giant, red eye emerged in the center of the beast. Its face became a feral skull with giant fangs and flames in place of eyes. Tabitha cackled at the terrifying result of her magic. &quot;Now, devour them all!&quot; she commanded. Sonic, still in werehog form inside the Dream Temple, stood in front of his friends. &quot;Run for it, guys! This thing is too dangerous! I&#039;ll handle it myself!&quot; he said. The group turned to Tails expectantly. &quot;Uh... The book has nothing that&#039;d help us against that thing! Let&#039;s run!&quot; he said. As everyone but Sonic started to retreat, Tabitha fired a spell. &quot;Not so fast!&quot; she yelled as the spell hit the door, causing it to slam shut! Tails and Copter attempted to pull the door open, but it wouldn&#039;t budge. &quot;Looks like we&#039;re in this together!&quot; Heather said. Vector turned to the Nightmare Monster and charged at it. &quot;The only way out is through that thing!&quot; he yelled, raising his fist to punch it. &quot;No, wait!&quot; Sonic shouted as Vector passed him. As he neared the monster, he realized he couldn&#039;t reach anything worth punching. &quot;Oh... Shoot...&quot; he muttered. The monster let out a demonic laugh and wrapped Vector in his tendrils! Vector struggled with the monster, and Copter and Evelyn ran over to see if they could help. As they approached, Tabitha fired several spells at them, hitting Evelyn in the head, killing her! Before she could hit Copter as well, Tails flew up to her and threw SPOT at her! The robot hit Tabitha with its paws a few times before she managed to throw it to the floor. Meanwhile, Copter flew up to Vector, who was biting the tendrils to hurt them. &quot;Hang on!&quot; Copter shouted. Vector, looking at Copter, pointed behind him. &quot;Watch out!&quot; he shouted. The monster tried to slash Copter with its claws, but he ducked just in time! However, that left him unable to help Vector. The tendrils tossed Vector into the air, where the eye fired a beam at him, piercing his chest! Sonic howled angrily at the monster. &quot;Vector, no!! Everyone, get back!&quot; Sonic insisted. Tails and Copter joined the others by the door, while Tabitha laughed at them. &quot;Now, Sonic... Die!!&quot; she screamed, firing a spell at the werehog! &quot;I&#039;m here to help!!&quot; shouted Gator, who teleported right into the path of Tabitha&#039;s spell! The spell knocked him over, but he just stood back up. &quot;Ta-da! I&#039;m safe! And I brought help!&quot; At Gator&#039;s words, several ghosts flew into the room! They were the ghosts of Shadow, Silver, Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge! The five ghosts flew over to Tabitha and started swarming her, forcing her to avoid them. &quot;Pesky spirits!! How did that fool find you!?&quot; the witch yelled. Sonic took the opportunity to attack the monster while Tabitha was distracted. The monster sent its tendrils to grab him, but his werehog claws easily slashed through them! Sonic then proceeded to grab the creature&#039;s bony leg! &quot;I&#039;ll take you apart one piece at a time!&quot; Sonic yelled, pulling the bone out of its socket! The monster clawed at Sonic as his body fell slightly, but Sonic smacked the clawed hand away with the bone! He then grabbed the rib cage and climbed up. &quot;My arms are stretchy in this form. Why don&#039;t I test how stretchy?&quot; he said, grabbing the other ribs with his other hand. He then kicked himself back and used his stretchy arms as a slingshot, launching himself at the eye of the monster! The monster screeched in pain, signifying that it had been hurt! Tabitha refused to be left out of the fight, though. &quot;Take this, pesky spirits!&quot; she shouted, hitting the ghosts with spells to knock them away. &quot;It seems you&#039;re too comfortable with my curse now, Sonic, so I&#039;ll just take it back!&quot; she said, casting a spell over the werehog. Sonic howled in his feral voice once more as he reverted to his normal hedgehog self. &quot;Thanks, Tabitha...&quot; he grinned, holding up the green Chaos Emerald, which he&#039;d been holding since he was cursed. Tabitha&#039;s eyes went wide upon seeing it. &quot;What!? The emerald!? No! You tricked me! Now you can use that emerald&#039;s power!&quot; she wailed. &quot;And you can&#039;t stop him!&quot; shouted Copter from below Tabitha. He and the others had been sneaking towards her while the ghosts distracted her. Now, Heather tossed fireballs at Tabitha, while Copter used Chaos Whirlwind and Tails aimed SPOT&#039;s laser! Tabitha managed to shield herself with her magic, but this was all the time Sonic needed. He used the Chaos Emerald to power himself up as he jumped into the air and attacked the Nightmare Monster&#039;s eye again with tremendous force! The eye flashed with light before exploding, knocking Sonic backward as the monster collapsed in a bony heap! It then shifted back into Shadow Tails, who looked exhausted. &quot;Better luck... next year...&quot; said the Dream King to Tabitha before vanishing. Tabitha, furious, fired one more spell at Sonic, which he was too exhausted to dodge! However, before it hit, the ghost of Shadow intercepted it, and was knocked backward a bit. &quot;Hmph... Can&#039;t kill a ghost...&quot; he said. Tabitha sighed grumpily. &quot;Fine. This temple will be your tomb anyway! Happy Halloween!&quot; she cackled, firing a spell at the roof! As the temple began shaking violently, Tabitha used magic to warp herself to safety. Gator panicked as the temple began to collapse. &quot;Uh... You&#039;re on your own! See ya next year!&quot; he shouted before teleporting away. &quot;What now!?&quot; Copter wondered as the group ran for the door. Sonic was exhausted, but he still had a plan. &quot;Everyone... Over here!&quot; he said. They all approached Sonic, and he held up the Chaos Emerald. &quot;Someone&#039;s gotta use Chaos Control...&quot; he said. Shadow and Silver&#039;s ghosts approached Sonic and touched the emerald in his hand. &quot;You can...&quot; Silver said. Shadow nodded in agreement. &quot;With our help.&quot; he said. &quot;Chaos Control!&quot; said Sonic, Shadow, and Silver all at once.<br /><br />Outside, a light flashed brightly as Sonic, Tails, SPOT, Copter, and Heather appeared outside the temple. As the temple collapsed, the ghosts of Shadow, Silver, Knuckles, Rouge, and Amy flew out, waving to the heroes as they flew into the distance. Soon, the Dream Temple finished collapsing. Its remains began slowly vanishing, as though the temple never truly existed. &quot;Well... We beat &#039;em...&quot; Copter panted. &quot;Yeah, but so what?&quot; Heather groaned. Tails nodded. &quot;Yeah, we lost more friends, and the Nightmare Zone&#039;s still spreading.&quot; he noted. Sonic shrugged. &quot;It&#039;s not so bad. I&#039;m back to normal, and I&#039;ll figure something out. We can start by looking for the Master Emerald and that book of Tabitha&#039;s.&quot; he said. As the full moon was slowly covered by the clouds again, the group sighed with relief. The Halloween nightmare was over, for this year. Much was left to be done, but with Tabitha&#039;s Black Curse lifted, it seemed to Sonic that anything might be possible now.<br /><br />The End<br />...UNTIL NEXT TIME!! GWA HA HA HA HA!!!<br /><br />Happy Halloween!</span>",
  "pools_count": 2,
  "title": "GeneX Nightmare Zone III - The Black Curse",
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