GeneX Generations
Chapter 15 - Treasure Rush
Stage - Water Palace - Sonic Rush;  Sky Babylon - Sonic Rush Adventure

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

"I’m falling free in the wind, in the wind.
Free to be me in the wind, in the wind.
What would it take for you to make,
A simple speed transition?
Into the known, from the unknown.
I feel this wild temptation." - Free, Sonic Free Riders


The story thus far:
While the Sonics are seeking the Chaos Emeralds, Bucky has gathered his friends and rivals and is attempting to combat Dr. Eggman directly. During this, Mephiles has encountered Lospecter inside Shadow Arc, and the two began to work together. On Onyx Island, Copter encountered Eggman Nega, who revealed he, too was working with Eggman and Robotnik! During the confusion that followed, Lospecter snuck up on Heather the phoenix and kidnapped her! Accompanied by Gemini the fennec, Copter and Dimentime gave Eggman Nega the slip and chased Lospecter to Lost Mine, where they found Jet the hawk. He was unwilling to help them, preferring to search for the other Babylon Rogues. At the end of the mine, they found Mephiles attempting to fuse with Heather as he had done before, but since she was no longer willing, it would not work anymore. Frustrated, Mephiles left them to Lospecter, who summoned a "copy" of Gemini's dragon form he'd been saving since she had been possessed by the Lost Ones once before while in that form! However, the dragon was no match for everyone working together. Lospecter retaliated by attempting to cause the mine to collapse on top of them, but the Babylon Rogues intervened to help them escape before the mine could bury them! At white space, Copter and Dimentime soon found Classic Sonic and Classic Tails talking to Classic Amy and Classic Knuckles, who had left the areas they'd originated from against Dimentime's warning. Before Dimentime could convince them to return, Char and Alpha flew by towards Water Palace, prompting the Classic heroes to chase after them! Fearing the consequences should anything happen to them, Dimentime led Copter in following after them.
Now, on to the next chapter!


Tommy had fled back to the Arcangel's control room after his scare, and Bucky soon managed to get him to coherently explain his panic. Punchy overheard it all, and groaned. "Sounds like Lospecter! Don't we have enough problems?" he said. Vortex sighed. "Big deal. He'sss alwaysss been ssssneaking around here." he said. Tommy yelped. "And nobody warned me!? What else is creeping around here...?" he whimpered. Rainbow walked over and patted his head. "It's okay... nothing's gonna get you in here." she said sympathetically. "Except maybe Zipp..." Crash grumbled. "Heeey!" Zipp protested, lowering a flamethrower he'd been tinkering with during his spare time. Bucky sighed. "Lospecter... Last I noticed, he was moving his slimy friends OFF the ship for some reason. So I hadn't given the Lost Ones much thought. If he's still here, though... I wonder if this is cause for concern..." he pondered. Everyone glanced around uneasily, when suddenly, drops of water started to fall from the ceiling! "Huh? Has the ship sprung a leak...?" Rainbow wondered. Everyone looked around in confusion as it started to rain inside the ship! Tommy pointed at the entrance to the control room as the Flickies started chirping nervously. "Look! Over there!" he gasped. A hooded figure was entering the control room, with red shoes, large spikes on his back, and glowing golden eyes. Zipp growled and pointed his flamethrower at him. "Oh, this guy!" he said angrily. "The Doomsayer!?" Punchy gasped. Tommy hid behind Rainbow, while Bucky stepped forward to face the intruder. "I don't recall inviting the likes of YOU to my ship!" he growled. The Doomsayer raised a hand, and a strong wind blew the rain into their eyes, making it difficult to see! "Ha! I'm wearing a visor! Eat flamethrower!" Zipp shouted, only to find the rain had soaked his weapon too much to ignite its flames. "What!? Aw, this is bogus!" he grumbled. "Your efforts are meaningless... You are railing against time itself. The past, present, future... What will you do when it all comes against you at once?" the Doomsayer mused. Punchy wiped the rain from his eyes. "Aw, shut up!! Captain bringdown!" he yelled. The Doomsayer crossed his arms. "Afraid to know? Or foolish enough to believe brute force will triumph over all?" he said blankly. From the back of the room, SPOT emerged, and began to approach the Doomsayer. "Hm? What'sss with the robot?" Vortex murmured. "My guess would be his goofy sensors think he recognizes this guy..." Zipp said. The Doomsayer glanced at SPOT's screen, his glowing eyes widening. He then waved his hand towards the robot and struck it with a bolt of lightning! "Hey!!" Rainbow yelled, freaked out. The Doomsayer then vanished amidst a swirl of rain and hail. SPOT's screen flickered back on a moment later, but as Punchy and Rainbow ran over to check it, they found that its recent memory had been wiped clean. "What was THAT about...?" Punchy wondered. Bucky sighed. "We'd better get back to work..." he said.


Copter and Dimentime followed Classic Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy into Water Palace. The palace was located just outside a town, possibly built just offshore. Time Eater had apparently taken the whole nearby town as well! At the entrance to the palace, the heroes caught up with Char and Alpha, who were looking around for something. "Nope, no sign of it here... Aw, this palace looks huge. You sure you don't remember where you stashed it, Alpha?" Char whined. "Error 404 Not Found! Please hang up and try again!" Alpha babbled, turning his head around until he saw everyone behind him. "Minis...? Now I KNOW I'm crazy. Will you fix me, Tails?" the robot whimpered. Classic Tails scratched his head. "Ummm... I don't know if that's a good idea..." he murmured. Char turned around and yelped. "Where'd all you come from!? Well, don't tell 'em anything, Alphie!" he instructed. As Alpha turned his body around to face them as his head already was, he saluted Char. "Yes, sir! I will not mention our search for the treasure map I stashed here earlier, sir!" he said. Char smacked his forehead in frustration while Classic Knuckles's eyes lit up. "Treasure map? Heeey, this just got interesting!" he said. "You said it!" came another voice. Copter glanced to his side and jumped as he noticed Gator had appeared out of nowhere! "Yaaaaah!! C'mon, Gator, get outta here!! We've got enough trouble!" he growled. Gator was wearing a pirate hat over his gator hood, and seemed intent on playing the part. "But I smell plunder! I put my crew together and everything! I still need someone to swab the decks!" he offered. Copter turned him around and booted him away. "No nonsense!!" he growled. While Gator was distracting him, however, Char and Alpha had decided to take off into the palace! "We can't let them get away!" Classic Tails said. Classic Sonic nodded, and the two of them took off at high speed, leaving the others behind! "Hey!! Sonic!! Wait for meeeee!!" Classic Amy cried, attempting in vain to chase after him. Dimentime ran over to restrain her, grabbing her arm. "Do not go off alone! You're not as strong as your older self!" he said. Amy pouted. "No fair..." she said. Suddenly, a shadow passed over them, and they noticed an Egg Mobile in the sky! Knuckles recognized it immediately. "Dr. Robotnik!?" he gasped. Copter stared in surprise as well. "Him again!? Wait a minute..." he said, glancing at Dimentime, who was whistling nonchalantly. "You KNEW!?" he gasped. "Everyone doesn't need to know..." Dimentime muttered. "Grrr... Curse that Alpha! Hiding the map! Seems I can't EVER rely on my robots at any point in time..." Robotnik grumbled. "This map must be valuable..." Everyone's attention was drawn to the voice of Mephiles, who was apparently observing from the nearby shadows the whole time. "You!? Can't you leave me alone!?" Robotnik groaned. Lospecter emerged beside Mephiles. "Maybe we should join the treasure hunt, eh Mephy?" he said. Mephiles nodded. "If only to ruin your plans." As Mephiles and Lospecter went on their way, Robotnik glanced at Knuckles thoughtfully. "Knuckles, help! Those terrible monsters are going to wreak havoc with the treasure if I don't get it first!" he said. Knuckles frowned. "Is it dangerous?" he asked. "Indeed. So I'm trying to obtain it to keep it out of the wrong hands." Robotnik lied. Copter and Dimentime rolled their eyes, while Amy nudged Knuckles. "Isn't HE the wrong hands?" she pointed out. Knuckles stared at him, but Robotnik wasn't finished. "This so-called treasure is much too destructive. I want to rule the world, not destroy it... and you better not let Sonic touch it. That irresponsible twit. There's no telling what he'll do." he said. Knuckles looked thoughtful. "You make a good argument..." he said. Dimentime whacked him over the head with his staff at this point. "OW!!" Knuckles yelped. "Dummy! He's trying to TRICK you into fighting Sonic! He wants the treasure for himself, whatever it is!" he shouted. Amy had her hammer ready, as well. "And don't you EVER imply Sonic is a twit!" she growled. Knuckles nodded quickly. "All right! All right!! I get it!! Sorry, Robotnik, we don't trust you!" he said. Robotnik growled. "Fine! You'll never beat me to it anyway!" he said, flying off. "Need a hand?" said Gator, who was still nearby. They ignored him and started on their way, searching for the map to whatever treasure Robotnik was seeking.

The palace was a massive structure built mostly out of white stone, as far as Copter could tell. It was submerged in water in many areas, but for the time being they attempted to stay dry. Eggman's robots were patrolling the area, including Egg Flappers and some Egg Pawn Knights with armor and lances. The Egg Flappers seemed more or less unarmed, and Dimentime was glad to allow Amy to trash them with her hammer so that she felt like she was helping. "Why does Eggman send unarmed robots out anyway?" Copter wondered. Dimentime looked around. "I'd say surveillance, but it seems like a lot just for that. Then again, they ARE looking for something." he said. Though the Knights appeared to be armored, they were actually no more protected than normal Egg Pawns, and Knuckles was having a good time running ahead to trash the robots with a few fists to their metal frames. Dimentime would occasionally use magic to knock one of the lances away from Knuckles, but otherwise, they had very little trouble. "Sonic's definitely been here already. The ground troops feel pretty thinned out." Dimentime observed. "They look pretty fat to me." said Gator, once again appearing out of nowhere. "Gaaah!! Leave us alone, you!" Copter yelled, pushing him aside. "Tell 'em to lay off the oil cans!" Gator remarked as he walked off. They soon arrived at what appeared to be a large water slide, and it seemed to be the only way forward. "Hey, that looks like fun! Let's try it!" Amy giggled. Knuckles sighed. "Old news. I've seen this sort of thing at Hydrocity Zone." he said. "Would you say it's safe...?" Copter asked. Knuckles smirked. "What are you, scared?" he teased. Copter gulped as they slid down the slide, looping around and around! Copter was screaming and getting queasy as they were deposited in the water below. "Oh, no... This reminds me of Chemical Plant. Except MILDLY more pleasant." Copter thought as he started swimming through the area, looking for the others after the confusion of getting tossed from the slide. Electric jellyfish robots were floating nearby, and Copter was careful to keep his distance. "Shouldn't they be shocking the whole pool? Never mind... Don't question science when it benefits you." he thought. He caught up with the others floating near a wall, looking nervous. There appeared to be no easy way to swim up to the next area before they'd run out of air. Suddenly, the water below them blew out of a spout as a powerful geyser, blasting them all upward quickly! They all screamed in surprise, loosing what air they had in their mouths, but fortunately, the surface was nearby. The poked their heads out and coughed a bit. "That ride was cool, wasn't it!" said Gator, who was wading nearby as well. Knuckles rolled his eyes. "STOP FOLLOWING US!!" he snapped. Amy frowned. "We can't get out of the water here... We'll have to dive again." she whimpered. "The slide looks like FUN you said! Let's try it, you said!" Copter growled. "I didn't hear you come up with any genius ideas!" Amy shouted. Dimentime poked his head underwater and then popped back up. "There's a big waterwheel down there. If we spin it really fast, it might get the water moving and make our swim... easier. Unfortunately, I can't cast spells underwater, so we'll need to get it moving ourselves. Let's, um... wing it." he said. "I sure hope that sea monster from the city doesn't come back." Gator mumbled, diving underwater.


In a section of the palace above the water, Sonic and Tails were gaining on Char and Alpha. Noticing this, Alpha turned in midair to fire a few shots at them. "Bwahahaha! Once I zap you, I'll never be born! That'll give the voices in my head a headache!" he cackled. Tails stopped short. "...Wow..." he said in bewilderment. Char frowned. "I got a headache just thinking about that! Don't talk crazy, Alphie!" he sighed. Sonic zigged and zagged out of the way of Alpha's shots, soon jumping into the robot and knocking it backward! "Owie! My flux cappuccino maker!" Alpha yelped. Not far away, a certain large cat who was napping by the water while holding a fishing rod briefly lifted his head. "Hm? Hear somethin' Froggy...?" he mumbled. The frog sitting beside him was sleeping peacefully. "Musta been the wind..." the cat mumbled sleepily, closing his eyes once more. Sonic landed in front of Alpha and pointed at him challengingly. "You don't talk much, do ya?" Char said, weirded out a bit by his complete silence. Tails caught up and smiled. "Good job, Sonic! So, where's this map?" he asked. Alpha looked around. "Sensors detect clear liquid substance. Ewwww." he said. Tails scratched his head. "I wonder if he even knows..." he realized. Suddenly, a bunch of Mephiles Takers appeared out of nowhere, surrounding them all! "Bwaaaa! Bad guys!!" Alpha shrieked, "Save me Super Sonic!!" Taking a moment only to blast some monsters out of his way, Alpha started to retreat towards the nearest exit from Water Palace! "Hey!! Alpha!! What about the maaaap!?" Char shouted, chasing after him. Sonic and Tails gave chase as well, considering he was their only lead on the whereabouts of the treasure map. The monsters simply allowed them to escape, and Mephiles soon emerged from the shadows to join them, chuckling. "That eliminates some competition. I wonder exactly what this so called treasure is. It may not aid me in any way, but if it's worth THEIR time... Who knows..." he murmured, glancing briefly at the big cat before wandering off.


Back underwater, Copter, Dimentime, Amy and Knuckles were swimming frantically to evade falling debris after a giant Sea Pawn, an Egg Flapper with scuba gear, had started banging into the wall from the other side! They had only caught a glimpse of the massive robot through a hole in the wall, and it was enough to leave them freaked out. "I didn't know Robotnik could build robots this huge!" Amy gargled, her shock making her briefly forget she was underwater and shouldn't speak. Knuckles quickly got frustrated and swam over to the wall. "What's he doing!?" Copter thought. Knuckles wound up his arm and hurled a strong punch at the weak wall, shaking the entire building! Debris started falling all over, making the others have to swim even more quickly to evade it! "Dummy!" Copter blurted, bubbles escaping his mouth. However, they soon heard a loud crash and an explosion from the other side of the wall! The attacks from the Sea Pawn then subsided, and they were able to proceed unhindered. Knuckles had caused debris to fall on top of the Sea Pawn, just as it had been doing to them! They soon found a geyser at the end of the area, which they used to blast them up and out of the water! They landed on a ledge at the exterior of the palace, and as the caught their breath, Knuckles glared at Copter. "I'm a dummy, am I?!" he growled. Before Copter could reply, the cackling of Dr. Robotnik caught their attention! "THERE you all are! Have you found my map yet?" he asked, flying at them with an Egg Mobile with a giant hammer attached to the front of it! They screamed at first, but quickly calmed down. "Whew... you surprised me with that hammer. I thought the other Amy was here." Copter said. "HEY!!" Amy snapped. "Seriously, you're supposed to be a genius, and THIS is what you arrived at? A big hammer?" Dimentime said. Robotnik frowned and then growled. "Look, instead of flinging insults, you could just politely say you aren't giving over the map!" he yelled. "We don't have the map!" Copter pointed out. Robotnik growled again. "Well, I don't care now! I need to teach you some respect!" he shouted, coming at them with his massive hammer! They all scrambled out of the way as the hammer crashed into the ground, the force of the impact even making the ground seem to shake a little! "D-don't get hit! That's one strong hammer!" Copter stammered. Amy pulled out her own hammer. "It doesn't scare me! Hammers are my specialty!" she said. Knuckles joined her in running towards Robotnik, but he wouldn't let himself be double teamed. The metal joint his hammer was attached to pivoted a bit, turning the hammer to its side! "I'll take you all on! I practiced with a game on the Egg Carrier!" he chuckled, swinging the hammer sideways towards both of them! Knuckles jumped aside, but Amy blocked the hammer with her own! "No way you'll beat MY hammer!" she grunted, straining as Robotnik's hammer clashed with hers! "Impossible! Your hammer is so puny!" he shouted. "Hey, Robotnik!" Knuckles called from behind him. Robotnik turned around, only to see Knuckles charge at his Egg Mobile fist first, smacking it hard and knocking him away from Amy! They then both charged at him while he was still reeling from the attack! "Hey!! Time out!!" Robotnik shouted. Copter and Dimentime joined in the attack as well, and their combined blows caused the Egg Mobile to start exploding, resulting in the hammer breaking off! The explosions soon subsided, however, leaving the Egg Mobile intact. "Cheaters! Oh, fine... I'm going to give Alpha a lecture about taking things that don't belong to him. Good bye!" Robotnik grumbled, flying away. As they watched him fly off, they noticed Big the cat fishing nearby. Copter ran over to check it out. "Hey... big fella. You seen any sort of map around here?" he asked. Big perked his head up sleepily. "Huh? Sorry... The fish aren't biting..." he said groggily, "Maybe I'll try another spot..." He started to reel in his line, and as he did, he noticed a paper stuck to his hook! "Hm...? That's strange..." he muttered. As the others caught up to Copter, he stared in disbelief. "I think he just fished up the map!" he said. As Big picked it up and examined it, however, a robotic claw dropped down from above and snatched it from his hands! "Yikes!! What was that!?" Big gasped. "Robotnik!?" Knuckles gasped. Watching the claw return to the Egg Mobile it came from, they saw that it did not come from Robotnik's vehicle. "Thanks ever so much for finding this for me!" came the sinister voice of Eggman Nega! Big backed away nervously, but was quickly backed up by the arrival of Cream, Cheese, and Modern Amy, who were apparently nearby the whole time! "You leave Mr. Big alone!" Cream shouted. "What's going on here, anyway!?" Modern Amy shouted. Eggman Nega chuckled. "Nothing at all. I was just leaving. Farewell!" he said, flying off! "Hold it, right there!" Copter shouted, leading the charge as everyone began chasing after him, including Amy, Cream and Big. "Heeeeey!! Wait for Gator!!!" shouted Gator, who came lagging behind.


Classic Sonic had somehow lost track of Alpha once they arrived at white space, but he soon met up with Modern Sonic, who was finally finished at Tropical Resort. They waved to each other as they approached, and then a flashing red light caught their attention. "Dude, there's the emerald!" Modern Sonic said, pointing up at the light. The frozen Chaos Emerald was now unfreezing! The Sonics had apparently restored enough of the area that the emerald was reacting as well! The Chaos Emerald, now red in color, dropped down low enough for the hedgehogs to reach. Glancing at each other, they quickly decided to race for it! They were neck and neck at first, but then Modern Sonic leapt into the air and boosted at the emerald at incredible speed, causing Classic Sonic to gasp in surprise as his older self snatched the emerald first! "Pretty slick move, huh?" Modern Sonic smiled. Classic Sonic spun around excitedly and gave him a thumbs up, congratulating his older self. Now, they had just one Chaos Emerald left to find.

Meanwhile, Copter, Dimentime, Amy, Cream, Big, Gator, Classic Amy, and Classic Knuckles were chasing Eggman Nega out of Water Palace, following him towards another area. However, as they ran, a loud roar was heard above them, startling Classic Amy and stopping her in her tracks! The Time Eater suddenly burst out of a portal and dove at the group! "Look out!!" Classic Knuckles yelled, hanging back to defend Classic Amy. The others, however, simply ran around it as it dove, not letting it stop them from chasing Eggman Nega. "Nice try, Eggman! I'm not falling for that trick!" Dimentime growled, hurrying after Nega at the front of the pack as the Time Eater disappeared into a portal once more. "Curses... Only lost two of them..." Eggman Nega grumbled as he neared his destination. It was a location somewhat resembling Sky Sanctuary in some ways, but with more jewels and crystals in its construction. "Well, since you've been so persistent to follow me, allow me to welcome you all to Sky Babylon! You still won't find the treasure first!" Eggman Nega shouted back.

As they entered Sky Babylon, Eggman Nega's Egg Mobile suddenly stopped short as a fireball flew down in front of him! "Gyaaaah! Oh, no, what now!?" Nega groaned. As everyone stopped behind Eggman Nega, they saw someone drop down in front of him! It was Blaze the cat, and she was holding another fireball in her hand! "That's far enough, Eggman Nega!" she shouted. Behind her, an orange raccoon dressed in green ran up, smirking up at Eggman Nega. "Oy, there! We got ya cornered now, mate! There's no 'scaping Captain Marine!" the raccoon shouted excitedly. "Captain Marine??" Amy muttered in confusion. "And there's Blaze! Hi, Blaze!" Cream waved. Eggman Nega looked around at how he'd been surrounded, but simply grinned. "All right, your majesty, you've got me..." he said. Blaze stared up in surprise. "You're... surrendering?" she asked. Suddenly, something large dropped down behind Blaze and Marine, smacking them both aside! "Avast, mateys!" shouted the large robot, which resembled Eggman Nega in pirate gear! "Eeeek! The blighter got the jump on us!" Marine shrieked. Copter dashed ahead to defend Blaze and Marine, while Eggman Nega took the distraction as an opportunity to escape. "I didn't actually SAY anything about surrendering, did I? So long!" he snickered. Copter helped up Marine while Blaze was composing herself, rubbing her head. "You OK, kid?" Copter asked. Marine looked at him awkwardly. "Yeah, she'll be apples... Do I know you, mate?" she asked. He frowned. "Um... Maybe Tails..." he said. The pirate robot laughed at them, pleased with himself. "D'arr har har har! Look how you scallywags fall over at the mere sight o' me! It is I, the scourge of the seas, Captain Whisker!" the robotic pirate sneered. Gator stepped forward and shook his fist at him. "HEY! I'm the pirate captain around here! Cut that out, you scurvy dog!" he shouted. Whisker backed away slightly, but then stood up more menacingly. "D'arr! There be room for only one ruler of these seas, and that be yours truly! So... uh... What does that mean, anyway?" he mumbled, appearing a bit confused. "It means you're going to beat him to the treasure and prove you're the real pirate, captain! Sheesh!" Another pirate sped up behind Whisker to set the captain straight. It was another robot, green in color, with a sort of shark-shaped head. "Oh, geez, who're you?!" Copter groaned. "Ha! I'm the sultan of speed, the unrivaled and unbeatable Johnny!" the robot smirked. Marine snickered. "You still can't beat my speed milk-drinkin' time, mate!" she teased. Amy ran up with her hammer. "All right, pirates! I know how to deal with YOU!" she grinned. "Be careful, Amy..." Cream murmured. "D'arr... AHOY THERE!! The mighty Captain Whisker was talkin' to ye, you bilge rats! As I was saying, the treasure belongs to my boss, savvy? So..." Before Whisker could finish speaking, even more visitors arrived on the scene. "Did someone say treasure!?" The whooshing of Extreme Gear could be heard as Jet the hawk led his companions, Wave and Storm, to check out the commotion. Marine glanced up at the birds with wonder. "Now that's keen, 'ay? Hey, up there! How's about letting me have a go at one of those flyin' surf boards, mates?" she asked playfully. Wave glared down at her scornfully. "These aren't toys, kid!" she snapped. Marine frowned. "Don't chuck a wobbly. I won't wreck it." she said. "So, where's this treasure?" Storm asked impatiently. Gator pointed at them frantically. "THIEVES!! Don't let them get the treasure!!" he shouted. Johnny glanced up at the Babylon Rogues. "Thieves? Heh, don't worry, they'll never beat me to the treasure, flying boards or not!" he chuckled. Jet glared at him. "What did you say!? I'm the fastest thing in the universe! How DARE you!!" he snapped. Copter and Dimentime rolled their eyes. "Oh, brother... Where's Sonic when we NEED him?" Dimentime groaned. "He'd enjoy this nonsense..." Copter sighed. Johnny activated a booster on his back and started hovering in the air. "Oh, yeah, wise guy? Think you're so fast? Wanna race, then?" he challenged. Jet smirked at him. "I eat punks like you for breakfast! Wave, Storm, keep an eye out for that treasure! I need to teach this guy some manners!" While they were getting ready for a race, Captain Whisker seemed upset that his crewmate had deserted him. "Yarrr? Hoy! Johnny! Jumping ship is mutiny! Blast ye to the depths, I can't count on you!" he grumbled. While he seemed distracted, Amy grabbed Cream's hand and led her in sneaking past him, snickering quietly. They were quickly followed by Big, and then by Copter, Dimentime, Blaze and Marine. "That pirate bloke sure ain't bright, is he? Well, time for a walkabout, mates! Welcome to my humble crew!" Marine said moments after passing Whisker. Gator soon appeared beside her and began to protest. "Hey! I'm the captain, here! They're joining MY crew!" he argued. Marine glanced at him with a goofy grin. "Lookit this 'ere drongo. 'Orright, we'll put it to a vote! Fair dinkum!" she offered. Big glanced back at them and sighed. "But I don't wanna be a pirate..." he mumbled.

Blaze quickly took the lead as they made their way through Sky Babylon. There was fire burning in several places, and with her pyrokinetic powers, she was able to clear the path. "Be careful, everyone! This place is very dangerous..." she warned. Marine didn't seem at all worried. "No drama, Blaze! We passed 'ere fine last time!" she said as she strolled right past Blaze without looking where she was going. "Ahh! Wait!!" Amy yelped as Marine walked right over a cliff! Everyone gasped and ran over, only to see her bounce right back up, yelling in surprise! "Hooly dooley!!! I'm flying!!" she shouted. Cream glanced down. "She's bouncing on a trampoline!" she realized. Copter sighed. "No running ahead!" he shouted. Suddenly, some robots resembling jellyfish began floating towards Marine as she bounced on the trampoline! They were different from the ones at Water Palace, with a sleeker design and lasers, which they started firing right away! "Strewth! That's no way to treat a sheila!" she shouted. Acting fast, Cream flew over the trampoline and snatched Marine. "Get 'em, Cheese!" she shouted. The Chao quickly flew at the robots and smashed them one by one while Cream brought Marine back to solid ground safely. Blaze chuckled softly. "Um... Thanks, Cream. That was quick thinking." she said. Marine nodded. "That was ace! Thanks, mate!" she said. "Now, let's go AROUND the trampoline, please..." Dimentime grumbled. Before they could get moving, though, they heard something speeding across the sky! Looking up, they saw Jet and Johnny finally racing by! "There they go... I wonder what kept them?" Amy said. "Probably lots of boasting and arguing." Blaze groaned. Wave and Storm followed behind them, stopping briefly to gawk at the group on the ground. "We know you're after the treasure!" Storm shouted. "But you'll never find it first! Give it up!" Wave added before they both flew off. Gator growled at them. "THIEVES!!! We'll show you!!" he yelled. "We'd better hurry. They're getting a big lead on us..." Copter pointed out.

They kept moving, and as they went, they encountered more robots. They were members of Captain Whisker's pirate crew, and had skull shaped heads, metallic bodies of varying sizes, and wielded different weapons. The skinnier pirates were carrying knives, and weren't particularly threatening. There were heavier pirates that almost resembled Egg Pawns, which were carrying small cannons. Cream and Marine kept back while the others handled the robots. Big was throwing his weight around, smashing pirate robots with ease. "Sorry... You're in our way." he mumbled as he trashed some robots. Amy handled the knife carrying robots with her hammer, while Copter, Dimentime and Blaze moved at the front of the group, dealing with the cannon-toting robots using their ranged attacks. Even Gator joined the fighting, since there were plenty of robots. He drew a green sword and pointed it at a knife holding robot. "Ha ha, you brought a knife to a sword fight!" he laughed. The robot then ran behind another robot holding a rather massive cannon, bigger than the normal ones. "Ummm... Parley?" Gator whimpered. However, before the cannon could fire, Cream and Marine simultaneously tackled the robot, knocking it to the floor in pieces! "Ha! We did it!" Cream giggled. "Crikey! This 'ere cannon is beaut!" Marine said, struggling to lift it. Gator stepped out of the line of fire and pointed his sword at the robot that hid from him. "Where were we?" he said. Marine continued examining the huge cannon, and soon ended up setting it off, sending a huge cannon ball through the area, smashing several robots and finally blowing up a wall! "Eeep! Um... Wasn't me, mates!" Marine stammered. Copter pointed to the hole in the wall. "That way! There'll be fewer robots!" he suggested. As they hurried down the new path, Marine smirked. "Right! It was all part of my plan! Wasn't it ripper?" she said.

As they moved on, they found strange crystals that were floating in midair. "These crystals alter the gravity around them. They will carry us upward if we approach." Blaze explained, recalling her last trip through Sky Babylon. There were platforms higher up, and it seemed like the crystals might help them reach them. "Hope none of us are afraid of heights..." Copter said. Blaze jumped a little. "Huh? W-wha?" she asked. "Right! We'll be able to spot the treasure easy from way up there!" Gator grinned. Blaze frowned. "Very...well..." she sighed miserably. Marine patted her on the back. "She'll be apples, Blaze. We'll all be right 'ere with ya! No need to fear!" she said. Blaze gasped. "I-I'm...not...scared!" she protested. "It's okay to be scared, Blaze. We're your friends. We'll help you!" Cream smiled. Blaze sighed, then gave her friends a slight smile. "All right, let's go." The crystals carried them up fast, each crystal bringing them to another higher up until they reached the platform! Even Big was lifted easily, which made him yell in fright! "Waaaah! I don't feel good!" he whined. They soon landed on the high platform and began panting to calm their nerves, but they were soon approached by Lospecter. "Hello, there! Is this a field trip?" he asked. "Eeeeek!! A g-g-ghost!" Marine gasped, hiding behind Blaze. Dimentime raised his staff. "So, you followed us here, eh?" he growled. Lospecter chuckled. "I take it you haven't found the treasure yet then, huh? Here, play with these guys while I go find it!" he said, tossing out some of his cards to summon some of Mephiles's monsters! These monsters resembled large, purple giants, and seemed more powerful than the other monsters. "Mephiles Golems!? How'd he get those!?" Blaze gasped. Lospecter shrugged. "You have fun discussing that. Bye!" he said, flying off. Cream and Marine shivered behind Blaze, frightened of the monsters. "Huh? Where'd these big giants come from?" Big mumbled, scratching his head. Amy pulled out her hammer. "Let's just get past 'em quick so we can catch up to the bad guys!" she suggested. However, before they could start fighting, Captain Whisker came soaring over the levitating crystals and smashed into the monsters! "D'arr!! What be this!? Outta my way, scurvy dogs!" he shouted, grabbing the monsters and whirling them around, easily tossing them far away! Everyone stared at him in disbelief, and when he noticed them, he couldn't help laughing. "D'arr har har! I see you're all awestruck by my power! Now, mateys, I'll be off to collect me booty, so don't be thinkin' of gettin' in me way!" he said, running off. "NOT SO FA--" as Gator started to yell at him, Copter covered his mouth. "Wait, Gator! Let's follow him quietly." he suggested. Blaze smirked. "Right. That pirate isn't very bright. He might lead us straight to the treasure!" she realized. Everyone agreed, so they set out to follow Captain Whisker.

Following Captain Whisker, they soon arrived at a large treasure chest! Johnny and the Babylon Rogues were already there, and were apparently arguing. "Never try to cheat a pirate out of treasure! Give it up already!" Johnny shouted. "WHAT!? I beat you fair and square, you bucket of bolts! This treasure's mine!" Jet squawked. "Keep dreaming, parrot! I beat you by a mile!" Johnny snapped. Wave shook her head. "Oh, brother... Talk about delusional." she sighed. "Let's stomp him!" Storm suggested. Johnny gulped as the three birds came at him, charging him with their boards! They knocked him away easily, and Captain Whisker growled angrily at this. "Arrr, now ye'll have to contend with me!" he growled, stomping towards them. While this was happening, the others noticed that the area was somewhat whited out. Cream quickly pointed out the statue sitting off to the side behind the chest! "Over there!! It... It's m-my... my mom!!" she cried, horrified at seeing her mother in this state. Dimentime scratched his head. "What!? Why would Eggman kidnap Cream's mom?!" he muttered. "Your ma?! Um... Do ya know she's a statue, mate?" Marine asked. Gator ran ahead of the group. "My treasure!! Stay away from it, you thieves!!" he shouted. Captain Whisker stopped to smack him away. "D'arr!! That's MY booty, bilge rat!" he yelled. The Babylon Rogues took the opportunity to open the chest and check out its contents. "Sorry, pirates, but this treasure belongs to the Babylon Rogues!" Jet grinned, "...Hey, wait, what IS this junk!?" he gasped upon getting a look inside the chest. They opened it wide, revealing a collection of odd looking stones and gems, but certainly not silver and gold. Marine's eyes lit up. "Crikey! It's a mother lode of materials! With these I could build a real beaut of a boat, I bet!" she grinned. Everyone but Captain Whisker stared at her. "What're you talking about!?" Amy asked in confusion. Just then, a huge claw dropped down from the sky, closed the chest, and lifted it into the air! The claw was attached to Eggman Nega's Egg Mobile! "You're very perceptive, little girl! Yes, materials are what we've been after all along. We found a map leading to the perfect supply, which will be vital to Dr. Eggman's plans! And now that I have it, all that's left to do is ensure you don't prevent me from leaving with it..." he said, snapping his fingers. At his command, some of the jellyfish robots arrived and dropped a cage over the statue of Cream's mother! "Now, Captain Whisker! Take care of our guests for me, would you?" Nega ordered. Whisker turned to the band of heroes and chuckled. "D'arr har har har har! I'll see you all to Davy Jones' locker!" he said. "They put my mom in a cage!!" Cream cried, "We have to do something!" Jet watched this and started growling. "Argh!! I can't believe this! That Eggman...looking guy! He's gonna regret messin' with us!" he said, flying towards the cage. "Let's bust this thing open!" he shouted, rallying Wave and Storm to him. However, Mephiles suddenly appeared in front of them, and was quickly joined by Lospecter! "What's your hurry? I think this cage creates an element of drama in this conflict..." Mephiles said. "Plus, you're about to have other things to worry about." Lospecter smirked.

As a fight was preparing to break out, Eggman Nega took the opportunity to slip away without a word. He didn't want to ruin his chance by gloating, since Mephiles was around. "Dr. Eggman warned me about that shadow... I'd better not get his attention..." he thought. Johnny stood beside Captain Whisker, ready to aid him in battle. "OK, who dare's challenge us? I'll go circles around all of ya!" he said. "D'arr har har! Think ye can take on both of us, scallywags?" Whisker taunted. Blaze smirked. "Easily." she said. Mephiles let out a low chuckle. "Allow me to provide a challenge, then..." he said, summoning Mephiles Biters and Golems into the area! As the monsters started to surround the group, Mephiles began to fly away. "I've wasted enough time here..." he grumbled. Lospecter looked between Mephiles and the others before he started following Mephiles. "H-hey! Wait up!" he stammered. The Babylon Rogues backed away from the monsters and found themselves caught with the rest of the group. "All right, I guess we're with you..." Jet sighed. Captain Whisker just laughed. "Extra crewmates! D'arr har! Now it’s time for a little payback on her royal highness, methinks! Blow the men down!" he shouted. Amy, Cream and Big banded together, using their team formations to aid them in fighting the monsters as they approached. "Think you can handle this, Big?" Amy asked. Big grunted. "They look tough... But I won't let them hurt you!" he said. Gator drew his sword and joined the fight against the monsters as well, aided by the Babylon Rogues. "Eat this, giant! Hiyaaah!" he yelled, poking his sword into a golem. However, it seemed to have to effect! "Come on, that's against the rules!" he groaned. Storm flew down and pounded the golem away before it could strike Gator, using his incredible strength to do so. "Hey, weird guy, you should really stick to the smaller monsters." he suggested. Gator frowned. "Smarty thieves..." he pouted. This left Copter, Dimentime, Blaze and Marine to face Captain Whisker and Johnny. "'Oy! Fuzzy face! Why don't you save us all this drama and surrender now?" Marine suggested. Dimentime held her back. "Marine, don't antagonize him further! Stay with me, I'll keep you safe." he said. Johnny growled. "You don't have Sonic here to help you now! You're toast!" he said, charging at Copter and Blaze! Blaze dodged him, so he changed direction and tackled Copter into the air! "Gaah! You Metal Sonic-shark thing! Put me down!" he yelled. Blaze came at Whisker, only to have him leap into the air! "Avast, matey! Cannonball!" he shouted, hurtling down towards her! She hurried out of the way, but the force of his landing created a shockwave that knocked her over! Meanwhile, Copter was struggling with Johnny in the air. He had had enough, so he spun his tails in order to gain some control over their flight path. "What!?" Johnny gasped as Copter let go of him, sending him speeding out of control and crashing into the ground! "Ooof!! Typical slowpoke move... Using my speed against me!" he yelled. Copter snickered. "That felt good." he grinned. Whisker turned to him and pointed his arm at him. "D'arr har har! Think you're clever, do ye? Then try this!" he said, firing his arm at Copter like a rocket! "Crikey!!" Copter yelled, dropping out of the sky so hastily that he tumbled to the ground at Dimentime and Marine's feet. "Crikey?" Dimentime mumbled. "Care to tag me in, mate?" Marine offered. Copter pulled himself to his feet while Blaze got up as well. "We got this, kiddo." Copter said. Johnny flew over to Whisker, who grabbed him and started spinning. "Don't know when to quit, do ye? Then I'll have me mate skewer ye!!" he shouted, hurling Johnny at high speed like a homing missile! Johnny seemed to pick up extra speed and power from Captain Whisker, and Blaze was forced to run as fast as she could as he zoomed by! Copter, however, tried a different tactic. "Wise guy. I'll show you power!" he said, tapping into his tailband and whipping his tails at Johnny as he approached! The impact, combined with the tailband's power, resulted in an explosion, hurtling Johnny far away! "Yaaaaaaah!!! Impossiblllllle!!!" he yelled. Whisker tilted his head. "How'd you do that...? N'arr, never mind! I'll be sending ye all to Davy Jones yet! Extra crispy! D'arr har har!" he laughed. He then took a deep breath and blew a long stream of fire from his mouth! "Yipe!" Copter hurriedly dove out of the way, but Dimentime was busy casting magic attacks against monsters and not paying attention! "Ay!! Watch out, mate!" Marine yelped, jumping at him to pull him to the ground, out of the way! As the fire died down, the two of them got back up, and Dimentime looked at her awkwardly. "Um... Thanks, Marine..." he said. "No prob, mate! All in a day's work for the captain!" she grinned. Meanwhile, Blaze had kept close to Captain Whisker while he blew his flames, not concerned with them. "Did you forget about my powers?" she smirked, holding a fireball. Captain Whisker jumped in surprise, and tried to fire his arms at her, but didn't have proper time to aim, and they flew out in random directions. "Yarrrr!! Don't ye come any closer, ye scurvy cheat!" he warned. Blaze charged at him and delivered a flaming kick to his chest, knocking him back a bit, while Copter took advantage of the distraction to run up and get in a tail whip! "Arrrrrr!! Shiver me timbers!! I'll get ye!!" he growled. However, the monsters had finally expired at this point, and the Babylon Rogues were charging his way now. "No, we'll get YOU!! Now you're in for it, pirate!!" Jet yelled. The rogues smacked their boards into Captain Whisker together at high speed, sending him flying off into the distance much like Johnny had been earlier. "D'arrrrr!! Me poor whiskeeeeeers!!" he whined as he went soaring away. "I think he's outta commission!" Amy chuckled. "My treasure's gone..." Gator whined sadly. Big walked up to the cage holding Cream's mother and grabbed at the bars, using all his strength to try to bend them. "Ngggggh.... There! I got it open!" he sighed at last. "Couldn't you have just magicked it open?" Copter asked Dimentime. "Why? He had it covered." Dimentime replied. Cream slowly approached the statue, and soon her mother's color began to return! She slowly climbed out of the cage, and Cream jumped into her arms, hugging her and crying in relief. "It's OK, Cream... I'm here now..." she said soothingly.


They all returned to white space together, some hoping to catch up to Eggman Nega along the way, but finding no sign of him, it seemed the "treasure" was Eggman's to use now. "Darn it! What a waste of time!" Jet growled. "Chill, Jet. We'll come up with something." Wave sighed. Jet nodded. "I guess we'll keep looking around this weird place. So long!" he said, waving to everyone on the ground as he led the Babylon Rogues away. Marine and Cream's mother were busy looking around white space, awestruck. "Strewth! What happened to the rest of the islands!?" Marine gasped. "I'm not sure, but these things have a way of righting themselves. Usually having to do with Sonic." Cream's mother said plainly. Just then, Classic Knuckles and Classic Amy approached them. Marine looked from Classic Amy to Modern Amy and jumped. "Crikey! For a second I thought you were the same person!" she said. "Um... Actually, we are." Modern Amy said. Classic Amy ran over and hi-fived her older self. "Hey! Guess what! I found my Sonic! But I lost him again..." she said. "Awww, I wish I'd gotten a chance to talk to MY Sonic lately..." Modern Amy sighed. Classic Knuckles groaned. "Oh, brother... So, any luck on that treasure?" he asked. Copter shook his head. "Eggman got it. Errr... Robotnik. Looked like junk anyway, though. But I bet he's got a use for it." he said. "Darn! If only we hadn't gotten left behind..." Knuckles groaned. Blaze looked at him. "Um... I'm not sure that would've done much good. There were lots of us there as it was. It was probably one of those things that you just can't really prepare for." she said, "Um... By the way... Didn't you used to be taller? Never mind..." Knuckles sighed. "Maybe you're right. Well, I guess we'll head back where we came from... 'Till we get bored." he said, motioning for Classic Amy to follow him. "Aw, OK... I guess it's safer back there. Bye everyone!" she said, waving as she left. Marine looked around nervously. "Um... I guess I can't get back to Southern Island from here, ay? Maybe I better wait back where Blaze found me until the world comes back..." she muttered. Blaze glanced at her. "I don't know... Be careful there, Marine. I'll be back to check on you periodically." she promised. "I'll just be snoozin' I guess... I'm pretty knackered after all the drama..." Marine said sleepily. Blaze and Marine said their goodbyes to the group, and Blaze walked Marine back to Sky Babylon to rest. "There. Now no more debate! I'm captain!" Gator said, prompting everyone to groan. "Let's go back to Shadow Arc. I could use a rest. Never thought I'd say that..." Amy said. "Okie dokie. Hey, where's Froggy?" Big asked, only to have Froggy leap on to his head. "Oh, there you are! Were you waiting out here for us all this time, buddy?" he wondered. Cream walked toward Shadow Arc while holding her mother's hand. "Shadow Arc's kinda scary, but I'll feel better now that you're with me, mom." she said. Her mother looked concerned. "Isn't that place where... Well, I guess I'll see, won't I?" she murmured. Gator watched them leaving and then ran off after them. "Errr, right! I suggest we all drop anchor at Shadow Arc! Ironic, considering Shadow Arc itself is a ship, but we don't actually have an anchor anyway!" he babbled hurriedly. Copter and Dimentime watched them leave for a moment, and then Dimentime started following them as well. "Hey, where are you goin'?!" Copter asked. "Got any better ideas? Let's give our report to Bucky and see if anything's been going on while we've been gone. What was the point in assembling us all together if we're not going to act as a team?" he pointed out. Copter shrugged and joined him in heading to Shadow Arc. "You get to explain to him why we didn't do the job he asked us to do then!" he grumbled.

To be continued...