GeneX Generations
Chapter 6 - The Death Egg Rises
Stage - Hidden Palace, Sky Sanctuary, Death Egg - Sonic & Knuckles

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.

"We have to learn to fight!
Learn to overcome!
Resist with all our might!
Learn to overcome!
And we can make things right,
If we learn to overcome!" - Learn to Overcome, Sonic Underground


The story thus far:
During Sonic's birthday party, a mysterious creature appeared and captured his friends by sucking them into portals, sending them to several places from his past! Sonic awoke in a white space, where each of the places from the portals could be found, drained of their color. Copter the fox had been dragged into this place as well, and soon met Dimentime, another version of himself created from events that occurred in Soleanna some time ago. This version of Dimentime was from the past, and time traveled to this point in order to fix problems with the space-time continuum, most likely caused by the monster. As they explored the locations found in the white space, they found younger, "Classic" versions of Sonic and Tails, as well as some of their friends, frozen in colorless statues, which could be freed when a normal person approached. Along the way, Copter and Dimentime also encountered Dr. Robotnik, Eggman's Classic self, and his robots, who were making trouble. At Panic Puppet Zone, they found Bucky and his ship, Shadow Arcangel, and managed to free them, but the engines were damaged, and it made an emergency landing in white space. Now, Shadow Arcangel acts as a haven for those waiting to escape white space. Copter and Dimentime next accompanied Sonic and Tails to Launch Base Zone, where Robotnik flung them all to Ice Cap Zone. Despite misunderstandings with Classic Knuckles, they managed to find the exit, but now, Copter and Dimentime have split up, Copter having decided he doesn't trust his shadier self. Copter now sets out with Punchy to follow Classic Knuckles through a secret passage in Ice Cap, and find out where it leads, while Dimentime attempts to stop Robotnik's scheme to launch his ultimate weapon: the Death Egg!
Now, on to the next chapter!


Copter and Punchy followed the secret passage a long way, finding themselves in a strange cavern where the walls seemed to be made of a sort of blue stone. Ahead of them, they could see an entrance to a sort of underground building. "This must be where Knuckles is heading..." Copter said. Punchy looked in wonder as they approached the building. "...What is this place...?" he muttered. They wandered into the Hidden Palace, and after some exploration, they came across a strange red sphere. "No sign of Knuckles... What do you suppose this thing is?" Copter wondered. Punchy stared at it for a moment. Somehow, he seemed to know. He jumped on top of it. "Hey, what are you doing!?" Copter shouted as a bright red light started to surround Punchy. "Follow me!" Punchy said as he disappeared into a tunnel above! Copter gulped and climbed onto the red sphere. "You better know what you're doing, Punchy..." he growled. In a moment, he was transported to a similar sphere in the room above, where Punchy was already waiting. "There's something strangely familiar about this place..." Punchy muttered. Copter shrugged. "That's just your clone memories talking..." he said. Punchy glared at him. "WHAT was that?!" he growled. "Errr... Nothing..." Copter muttered, realizing that he'd brought up a sore subject for Punchy. They continued into the next room, a large chamber with a big mural on the wall, showing what appeared to be a shining hedgehog in battle with a sort of giant carrying a huge gem. Copter and Punchy glanced at the mural and looked puzzled. "Is that... No, it couldn't be..." Copter muttered. "Intruders!! How did you find your way into my Hidden Palace!?" Copter and Punchy were startled as Classic Knuckles stormed into the room, glaring furiously at them! "So, you ARE after the Master Emerald, aren't you?" Knuckles yelled, raising his fists. Punchy scratched his head. "What do you mean? This isn't the Master Emerald shrine..." he muttered. Copter shrugged. "What good is reasoning with Knuckles? We'll have to subdue him!" he said. Knuckles growled. "Bring it on! I'll take you both!" he shouted.

Knuckles came at them, flinging his fists furiously! Copter jumped out of the way while Punchy started getting pummeled by the young Knuckles like before. "Argh!! Why you little!!" he took a few swings at him, but Knuckles jumped and glided out of the way! Copter ran at him and smacked him with a tail whip, but Knuckles blocked the attack! "Heh, not bad! Now try this!" he said, curling into a spin dash and charging at them! Copter flew out of the way while Punchy dove hastily. While Knuckles was getting up, Copter took advantage of the opening. "Chaos Whirlwind!" The chaotic wind took Knuckles by surprise and blew him into the wall, causing him to land on his back! He started to climb back up, but before they could resume fighting, they heard a crash coming from the next room! Classic Knuckles gasped. "No, not again! It can't be!!" he shouted, running for the next room. Punchy watched him in confusion. "Can't be what?" he wondered as he and Copter gave chase. In the next room, they found a large shrine with crystal pedestals, shaped to house huge gems. Inside one at the center was a truly massive green gem. "The Master Emerald!?" Punchy gasped. Suddenly, an Egg Mobile emerged, with a claw attached to the bottom, enabling it to lift the Master Emerald out of its pedestal! Piloting the Egg Mobile was none other than the EggRobo known as Robo-Robotnik! "Stop!! Put that emerald down!!" Knuckles shouted. Robo-Robotnik chuckled menacingly. "Ah, Knuckles, we meet again! Sorry, but the Death Egg needs a new power source. You can thank these fools for destroying our Chemical Plant!" he explained. Knuckles shook his fist at Robo-Robotnik. "You!! I should have known you wouldn't stay destroyed! Come back here!!" he shouted, chasing Robo-Robotnik as he carried the Master Emerald into the next hall. Copter and Punchy gave chase and watched as Knuckles jumped up and grabbed the Master Emerald. "Don't do that!!" Punchy groaned, his cloned memories seeming to warn him of something. Robo-Robotnik pushed a switch on the Egg Mobile, and a pair of electrodes emerged from the vehicle and gave Knuckles a powerful shock, knocking him away from the Master Emerald! "Aaaaaargh!! I can't believe I fell for that AGAIN!!" Knuckles groaned. Copter ran at the Egg Mobile and attempted to hit it with a tail whip, but Robo-Robotnik quickly started to fly away! "Adieu, my furry friends! Enjoy my parting gift!" he said. Suddenly, an explosion took out the floor below them, and the three of them plummeted down into the darkness below!


Meanwhile, Dimentime was at Sky Sanctuary Zone, a beautiful garden sanctuary hanging high in the clouds, one of the highest points of Angel Island. Despite the apparent lack of power, the Death Egg had somehow managed to take off anyway, and Dimentime was desperately trying to climb high enough to get on board. It wasn't easy, because as the Death Egg took off, it had released a multitude of EggRobos on Sky Sanctuary, and they were making the trip more hazardous than it normally would be, but Dimentime was getting close despite their interference. As he charged towards the Death Egg, which was still somewhat low, a swarm of EggRobos flew at him, firing their lasers, which had been modified to shoot three beams at a time! Dimentime gracefully dodged the beams without missing a beat, and smashed the robots with his staff as he passed by! "I don't have time for all this nonsense! I've got to catch that giant disco ball!" he growled. He sped up and ran around a walkway as it spiraled around a tower, the walkway collapsing behind him as he went! He climbed higher and higher, and leapt towards the Death Egg when he was as close as he could get. He twirled his tails rapidly, flying with all his might, and managed to grab on to the edge of an entrance to the massive, Robotnik-shaped ship! "Whew..." he sighed as he climbed aboard, glancing down at Sky Sanctuary when he was safely inside. "I guess I'm on my own. I don't think Sonic made it. Probably too busy smashing every robot in sight..." he muttered. As he was about to turn around and start exploring the Death Egg, Dimentime was startled as he saw something heading his way. It was the black shadow! It flew up from Sky Sanctuary Zone and blasted into the Death Egg, laughing as it blew past him! "You! What are you doing here?! Never mind... You won't get away from me this time!" Dimentime shouted, chasing the shadow into the Death Egg. "Come back here! I'll... I'll tell Robotnik you're trespassing!!" he shouted, though he quickly realized he might as well save his breath and concentrate on the chase.


Copter, Punchy, and Classic Knuckles slowly climbed to their feet. They had landed in a chamber of the Hidden Palace far below the Master Emerald's room, and it seemed to be a dead end with no way out. "Ugh... Copter, do you think you can fly back up?" Punchy asked. Copter groaned. "What am I, a jetpack?" he said. Classic Knuckles looked around and felt a nearby wall. "Let's see... I'm a little disoriented, but... Here!" he said. Copter and Punchy glanced at him as he threw a punch at the wall, reducing it to rubble! There was a hidden room on the other side! Knuckles motioned for them to follow. "Come on! We've gotta get the Master Emerald back!" he said, hurrying into the next room. Copter and Punchy stared in surprise, but followed him. He seemed a little beat up, but Knuckles led them to another red sphere like the one used to teleport them into the Hidden Palace earlier. "This way!" he said, jumping onto it. As the teleporter carried him off, Punchy quickly followed. "Ugh, this again? The last one made me feel queasy..." Copter groaned before following the echidnas. The teleporter dropped them off at Sky Sanctuary Zone, where they saw the Death Egg hanging in the sky! "Whoa... That Master Emerald worked fast..." Copter muttered. Punchy scratched his head. "No way! They must have stolen the emerald for something else!" he said. Knuckles growled. "There's not much time! We've gotta catch that ship before it gets out of range!" he said, hurrying to a gap ahead of them and gliding across in order to press a switch on the other side, extending a bridge. "Hurry!" he shouted. Though he was weak, Classic Knuckles led the way as Copter and Punchy ran through Sky Sanctuary. It was still crawling with EggRobos, and there were a few EggRobos that were firing missiles from their heads instead of lasers! Using Chaos Whirlwind, Copter managed to knock back the missiles, causing them to explode harmlessly on the ground, while Knuckles and Punchy attacked the robots as they passed by, though many of the robots kept flying out of range and kept shooting at them! "Grrr... Never mind these guys! We've gotta keep moving!" Knuckles said, running ahead without paying the robots any mind. Punchy sighed. "That plane of yours would be good right about now, Copt!" he said. Copter groaned. "It needs a tow truck!" he yelled.

They kept moving, going across an unstable bridge as it collapsed behind them! They approached a tower, and as they did, some birds flew out of it in a panic. Behind them, and EggRobo burst out for a surprise attack! "Outta my way!!" Knuckles shouted, smashing right through the robot with his fist before it could attack! Inside the tower, they found a spring to send them up through an opening at the top of the tower! Once there, they couldn't spot anything to land on! "Aaaah!! What now!?" Copter yelled. Knuckles moved towards a cloud in front of the tower, and as he landed on it, he bounced off of it! Copter stared in surprise as he fell back into the tower and landed back on the spring, but Punchy caught on fast enough to bounce off another cloud. Copter followed behind them, bouncing from cloud to cloud to get higher up until they arrived at a platform with a spherical teleporter like the ones at the Hidden Palace. "I hope this takes us high enough..." Punchy said. Copter nodded. "Yeah, 'cuz this whole place is making me nauseous..." he whined. They hopped on the teleporter and arrived at a much higher platform, but they were still nowhere near the Death Egg. "No!! We'll never make it..." Knuckles growled. Copter scanned the sky for any way to catch up, when his ears caught a familiar sound. "Huh... That sounds like... Naw, it couldn't be..." he muttered. Punchy heard it, too. "A plane engine?" he said. Classic Knuckles pointed to the source of the sound. "Look! Over there!" It was Classic Tails piloting an old model of the Tornado, with red paint and gray wings! He was heading in their direction. "Hey, guys! Need a ride?" he asked as he neared them. Copter and Punchy glanced at each other and nodded, jumping on the wings of his plane, while Knuckles remained behind. "Uhhh... I guess it's up to you. Bring back the Master Emerald, OK?" he said. Punchy nodded. "Errr... You can count on me!" he said. "Next stop, the Death Egg!" Classic Tails announced. However, as they set their course, a swarm of EggRobos took off after them, some firing missiles at them! "Yikes! Evasive maneuvers!" Tails yelped. Copter groaned. "No, not that! Keep her steady! We'll handle this!" he begged, but Tails started moving the plane to avoid the missiles anyway, forcing Copter and Punchy to hold on. "Next time, we take a bus!!" Punchy yelled.

Below them, Sonic was nearing the top of Sky Sanctuary Zone. He homing attacked a few EggRobos, and then started dashing across a collapsing bridge before reaching a set of springs. The springs led him to another platform, and that led him to the highest point in the area, where he could see the Death Egg clearly, but he had no hope of reaching it. "Darn... Guess I missed my flight... Hmmm... How am I at long jumping?" he wondered, recalling that he'd made the jump once before. He backed up and built up speed before leaping towards the Death Egg... but it was no use! He started to fall, screaming in his panic, but his jump carried him far. He fell right out of Sky Sanctuary and landed on the soft ground of white space. "Whew... That was close... I'll never go bungee jumping without a bungee again... Maybe." he said to himself. Looking around, he spotted a statue near the exit from Sky Sanctuary, another familiar face. He ran over to set his friend free. The statue glowed, color was restored, and Modern Knuckles the echidna started to move! "Thanks for the help, not that I needed it! But it's good to have my Sanctuary back!" he said, glancing at Sky Sanctuary and seeing that its color had been restored. Sonic crossed his arms, but then gave Knuckles a thumbs up. "Sure, Knuckles. But the job's only half done. The Death Egg's floating around there again!" he explained. Knuckles stared at him. "WHAT!? That's crazy talk!" he shouted. Not having time to discuss it, Sonic looked around. Ahead, he saw a big, menacing looking door floating in the white space. "Excuse me, Knux... I think I've found something worth checking out..." he said, running off. "Hey, wait!! What about my Sanctuary!?" Knuckles shouted. As he watched Sonic go, Classic Sonic dashed past him as well. "Huh, wha!?" Knuckles gasped as he saw him. "...TWO Sonics...?" he muttered as he saw Classic Sonic follow Modern Sonic through the door. He shook his head and nodded. "Hold it right there, Sonic! You're not leaving me out of this one!" he said, running off for the door as well. He might be a bit late, but he wouldn't miss whatever was about to happen for the world!


Classic Tails managed to find an opening in the Death Egg large enough to fly the Tornado inside. He brought it in for a landing, and he, Copter and Punchy hopped off the plane to begin looking around. "OK, we've gotta get the Master Emerald and put this thing outta commission!" Copter said. Punchy crossed his arms. "We know that, Copt. Why do you gotta state the obvious." he grumbled. Classic Tails sighed. "Let's not fight. I'm sure there are plenty of robots to fight with us! Let's try to find Sonic! He should be here already. He'll help us!" he suggested. Copter shrugged. "Yeah, sure, keep your eyes peeled for anyone. Let's just try to get the job done as fast as we can. This place makes me REAL uncomfortable..." he muttered.

Meanwhile, Sonic was walking down a long hallway with a mirror on one wall. He thought perhaps it was a trick mirror, because the Sonic in the mirror looked different than himself. He seemed shorter, younger even. Halfway through the room, Sonic stopped to check himself in the mirror. He stroked his quills, checked his teeth, and patted his belly, which seemed a bit chubbier in the mirror. Something definitely seemed off, so he banged on the mirror a little. Suddenly, a voice called out to him from the next room. "Take a good look at yourself, Sonic!" He recognized the voice immediately. "Dr. Eggman!?" he gasped, looking in the direction of the next room. He didn't notice that his "reflection" was still staring at him, shocked that he was no longer acting like a reflection. "It's the last look you'll get before I close your eyes forever! Hoo hoo hoo ho!" Eggman laughed, daring the hedgehogs to come after him. The smaller Sonic decided not to dwell on his doppelganger, and took off for the next room, finally catching the taller Sonic's attention. "Another Sonic!? What!?! Wait a second!!" Modern Sonic gasped, hesitating in his surprised before rushing to follow Classic Sonic. However, as Classic Sonic passed the door, it closed behind him, and Modern Sonic ran straight into it! "Ooof!!" he grunted. As he stood up, he looked around. "I'd better find another way in there, quick!" he decided. "Hey, Sonic!!" shouted Knuckles, who had just arrived. "Did I miss the fireworks?" he asked. Sonic shook his head. "Nope, but I'm missing 'em! Or... one of me, anyway... C'mon, I'll fill you in on the way!" he said, dashing off in search of another way to catch up with Classic Sonic. On the other side of the door, Classic Sonic ran to the edge of the hall, nearly tripping over it, but falling backward onto his rear instead. An elevator rose up, bringing a giant robot to meet him. It was a robot resembling Dr. Robotnik himself, only huge, and much more dangerous than an EggRobo, the Death Egg Robot! Classic Sonic jumped onto the elevator, ready to face this menace. Robotnik cackled at him from inside the machine. "Ha ha ha ha!! Catch me if you can!" he challenged as the battle began!


The Death Egg was a massive ship, filled with all sorts of deadly traps, including spikes, spots where gravity would flip, electric fields, and of course, various projectile weapons and robots. However, Copter, Punchy, and Classic Tails worked together and managed to make their way deep into the ship, where they eventually managed to catch up with Dimentime. He glanced at them when they arrived and scoffed. "So, you ended up here anyway. Did you find anything interesting for your trouble?" he asked. "Well, um... We know that Eggman has the Master Emerald." Copter mentioned. Dimentime nodded. "Well, how else would this thing be flying." he said. Punchy shook his head. "That's NOT how this ship is flying. This ship was flying before he got it!" he pointed out. Dimentime scratched his head. "Doesn't matter. That shadow is here. Look out!" he said, pointing. The black shadow was hovering around a nearby statue. The statue was young Tommy the porcupine, and the shadow was hesitating to go after him. It seemed uninterested. "Now might be our chance! Surround it!" Dimentime suggested. Copter and Punchy joined Dimentime in approaching the shadow while Tails stared at it, freaked out by it. "Wh-what is that thing!?" he wondered. The shadow seemed to look around. "This boy has no power... What use would he be to me...?" it muttered before 'glancing' at Classic Tails. "This one, on the other hand... You have seen battle, haven't you? I guess you'll do..." it said, soaring at Tails suddenly! Tails gasped and backed away while the others tried to chase the shadow, but they weren't fast enough! The black shadow dove into Classic Tails's shadow, disappearing into it! Copter ran over to Tails, and the young fox collapsed into his arms! "Whoa! Tails, you OK?" he asked. Tails whimpered. "Aaah... That was scary... What'd it do to me? Now I feel all woozy..." he groaned. Meanwhile, Punchy and Dimentime took a moment to release Tommy from his statue. The yellow porcupine looked around a moment and let out a shocked scream. "Bwaaa!! Where in the heck am I!?" he yelped. "About the last place you wanna be. Just do whatever we tell ya and you'll be safe." Punchy said. Dimentime nodded. "You're brother is waiting for you. We'll get you to him." he told him. Tommy sighed with relief. "Good... Razor made it..." he said. Suddenly, mechanical laughter resonated through the room. "You little thieves... Did you really think you would get out of here alive?" said Robo-Robotnik as he hovered into the room, accompanied by Slash and Sting! "You've had it now, punks!" Slash buzzed. "Hyah ha ha!! You picked the wrong place to trespass! Hey, how'd we get on board from Ice Cap?" Sting muttered. Slash smacked him. "Shut up! You don't even know how you function!" he growled. Classic Tails stood up, ready to fight. "Well, we've got you outnumbered!" he said, apparently feeling better. Copter frowned. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this anyway...?" he said to himself.

As the group prepared to deal with Robo-Robotnik and his lackeys, Sonic and Knuckles arrived on the scene. "Well, if it isn't Copter and Punchy and... Copter..?!" Knuckles said, confused. "Dimentime." Sonic explained before noticing Classic Tails. "Um... Is that a second Tails, too!?" he said. Copter scoffed. "Took ya long enough..." he remarked. Classic Tails also looked confused. "Why are Sonic and Knuckles big...?" he muttered. Robo-Robotnik wasn't enjoying being ignored. "Sonic and Knuckles! Finally! Now we have a worthy adversary!" he growled. Knuckles stared at Robo-Robotnik like he saw a ghost. "YOU!? But you're destroyed!!" he said. Robo-Robotnik chuckled. "This time things will end differently! Prepare to meet your doom!" he declared, flying to the back of the room as the wall opened up, revealing a massive robot that dwarfed even the Death Egg Robot! He flew into the robot's cockpit, and it shut behind him. The robot resembled a humungous EggRobo, with giant three fingered hands, a big red nose with a flamethrower attached, and an apparent inability to fit inside the room, having to stand outside in its hangar! "Ha ha ha ha!! Grovel before the might of the Ultra Death EggRobo!!" Robo-Robotnik bellowed from within the robot. Sting glanced at Slash. "Um... That's not its name, is it?" he asked. Slash shrugged. "Let Robo-Robotnik have his fun. Or you can correct him yourself!" he said. Sonic whistled at the huge robot. "And I thought I was missing the action! Woo hoo! Yeah!" he cheered. Copter, Punchy, and Knuckles all glanced at Sonic hopelessly. "You enjoy certain death way too much..." Punchy grumbled. Tommy backed away as far as he could, while Classic Tails stepped in front of him. "Stay back! We'll take care of this!" he said. Robo-Robotnik laughed and went on the attack, smacking at the heroes with the robot's giant fingers! They fled out of the way, while Slash and Sting started launching attacks of their own at them! "This is great! We've got them on the run!" Slash chuckled. "And there's nothin' they can do about it!" Sting laughed. The group frantically dodged the attacks, and Copter found himself knocked back by the giant's hands! "Whoaaaa!!" he shouted, but was caught and placed on the ground gently by Tails! "Easy does it! Be careful, OK?" Tails said. "Err... Yeah..." Copter muttered. Sonic sped between the robots fingers and gave them some homing attacks, eventually smashing one of them! "Rrrrraaaaa!!! Blast you, hedgehog!!" Robo-Robotnik roared, blowing fire at him from the Death EggRobo's nose! The fireball missed Sonic, but kept going towards Tommy! Dimentime dove at the young porcupine and knocked him out of the way! "Don't just stand around, kid! Pay attention!" he said. "Um... Sorry..." Tommy whimpered. Knuckles jumped up and grabbed the robot's arm, attempting to reach its head, but found it difficult due to attacks from Slash and Sting! Seeing this, Punchy ran over to the robots. "Hey, you bolt brains! Aren't you a little out of date for this fight?" he growled, cracking his knuckles. They yelped and focused their attention on him, allowing Knuckles to reach the robot's nose! He gave it a punch, but instead of destroying it, he merely caused a reaction, which opened a hatch around the robot's "mouth." A giant laser beam weapon was inside, and they could see that the Master Emerald was attached to it! "H-hey!! How did that get in there!?" Knuckles shouted. Punchy shrugged. "Looks like SOMEONE was asleep on the job..." he joked.

Robo-Robotnik laughed manically as the laser started charging. "You revealed my little secret! Now prepare to face its wrath!" he cackled. Sonic gasped as he realized the extent of the laser's power. "Everyone, take cover!" he shouted. Classic Tails grabbed Tommy and started flying, while Knuckles and Punchy grabbed the walls and Copter and Dimentime took to the sky as well. They laser fired in a wide area, covering the entire floor! Slash and Sting had barely escaped the blast as well, Sting having swapped his laser for a helicopter tail and grabbed on to Slash with his legs. When the laser stopped, the hatch concealing the laser closed again. Dimentime saw this and got an idea. "That laser must take time to charge up, but while it does, it must be a weak spot! That's why it's hidden! Rush it!" he said. Tails nodded. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" he said. Sonic grinned. "Get the hatch open and I'll take care of it! Break!" he shouted. They took off, but Robo-Robotnik had heard everything. "Oh, no you don't!" he shouted, intensifying his attacks. He attacked with the robot's arms, and fired more fireballs from the robot's nose, so Classic Tails remained back to keep Tommy safe from those fireballs. Dimentime turned to deal with Slash and Sting, bashing at them with his staff as he got close! "Ahhh! Get him, Sting!!" Slash shouted. "Ow!! I can't!! He keeps smacking my laser aside!" he whined. Copter and Punchy kept the robot's arms occupied, dodging their attacks and then attacking the fingers, whittling them down until all it had left was its palms! Knuckles jumped at the nose, dodging the fire and punching it again, revealing the Master Emerald laser! "No!! Stay away from there!!!" Robo-Robotnik screamed as the laser frantically attempted to charge up! Sonic sped at the laser, but not before Knuckles got his punches in! Sonic then launched a high speed homing attack, smashing the laser and causing the Ultra Death EggRobo to begin exploding! "No!! No!! NOOOOOO!!!" screamed Robo-Robotnik, trapped in the explosions as the robot fell forward in a heap! Everyone sped out of the way, but Knuckles leapt into the flaming wreckage! "Whoa!! Wait, Knuckles!!" Tails gasped, worried. In a moment, Knuckles emerged carrying the Master Emerald, which was miraculously intact. "Whew... I did NOT wanna hunt down the pieces of this thing again..." he said as the robot exploded behind him once more! Slash and Sting stared with a horrified expression. "They... killed... Robo-Robotnik!" Sting whimpered. "L-let's scram before we're next!" Slash added, leading the way as they escaped. Classic Tails approached Knuckles. "We'd better get this back to the floating island, quick!" he said, pointing to the Master Emerald. Knuckles nodded. "Errr... Yeah, I guess..." Classic Tails smiled. "I'll be glad to take it in the Tornado!" he offered. Dimentime nodded. "You should get it to the other Knuckles who's waiting for it." he suggested. Knuckles scratched his head. "OTHER Knuckles...?" he said, leaving with Tails to see the emerald safely home. Copter glanced at Sonic. "Any sign of Eggman yet, Sonic?" he asked. Sonic gasped. "That other me! I'd better go check on him!" he said, running off!

In an observation deck, looking down on the world below, Classic Sonic had defeated the Death Egg Robot, leaving it in a broken heap! Dr. Robotnik was coughing as he attempted to climb out of the rubble, while Sonic watched impatiently. Finally, he decided to try to help him, but he wouldn't get the chance. An unexpected guest flew into the room, the monster that had sent so many people and places into the white space in the first place! It started to lift Robotnik up into the air, dropping the pieces of his robot as it did. "What!? No! No! Sonic! Save me!!" Robotnik cried, but Sonic couldn't even see him in the ball of energy the creature was carrying him in. Once the creature had Robotnik in tow, it vanished into a portal, leaving Classic Sonic staring in astonishment. "Whoa... Unbelievable... Who'd think anybody would wanna kidnap Eggman?" said Modern Sonic as he entered the room. "Hey, little me! We'd better bail! We found the ship's power supply on the way up here! Turns out it was the green Chaos Emerald! Who knew one emerald had so much power, huh?" he shouted, prompting Classic Sonic to run after him.

Classic Sonic met Modern Sonic, Tails, and Classic Tails outside the large door at white space. On the way there, he had shown them the purple Chaos Emerald he acquired earlier, having apparently bested Metal Sonic, meaning they now had 2 Chaos Emeralds, but now that they were in white space, there was something more pressing on Sonic's mind. "I can't believe there's two of me." he remarked. Classic Sonic made a gesture of agreement, but not of displeasure. Classic Tails looked thoughtful. "I think I've figured it out." he said. Modern Tails nodded. "Yeah, me too." he said. "Doubles of us..." Classic Tails began. "Places and enemies from our past..." Modern Tails added. "We're traveling through time and space!" the two Tails finished together. Sonic scratched his head. "How did this happen?" he asked. "I think it's got something to do with that big thing that just kidnapped Eggman." Modern Tails explained. "It sounds like that same thing that kidnapped your friends... I mean our friends. You know what I mean!" Classic Tails noted. Copter, Punchy, Dimentime, Tommy, and Razor were gathered at the entrance to Sky Sanctuary, listening in on Sonic and Tails's conversation. "Yeesh, talk about being the last to figure things out..." Copter remarked. "Hey, I didn't know this stuff either!!" Tommy protested. "And me, neither!" Punchy added. Copter chuckled. "Kid was frozen, what's your excuse?" he joked. Razor sighed. "Well, anyway... Thanks for getting Tommy back. It's far from over, though. We've gotta find the others, and we've gotta get home." he said. Suddenly, everyone was startled by the sudden appearance of the monster that kidnapped Robotnik, which soared through the air, briefly diving at Sonic before rising up and disappearing once again! Classic Tails looked around frantically. "Where'd it go!?" he wondered. Sonic growled. "We need to find that thing, and fast!" he said. Classic Sonic nodded in agreement, smiling confidently at his elderly twin. They saw some new areas they hadn't explored ahead, and so the two Sonics and Tails set out to check them out. Copter saw them, too, and decided it was time to move on. "Can't leave this to Sonic... Coming, Punchy?" he asked. Punchy shrugged. "Maybe later. I need a breather..." he said. Razor nodded. "Come on, I'll show you to Shadow Arc. Amy came by, and we're fixing up a room there for refugees." he said. Tommy and Punchy both gave him an awkward expression. "That creepy place?" Tommy asked. "Amy!?" Punchy added. As they left, Dimentime joined Copter in heading for the new areas. "Copter... You were right. If you're involved in this, I shouldn't keep anything from you. Had I leveled with you from the start, perhaps this whole Death Egg thing would have been easier..." he said. Copter shrugged. "We all make mistakes... Especially if you're me..." he said. Dimentime nodded. "So, it's time for the truth. The black shadow... I wasn't sure for a while, but now I'm certain. That shadow is what I've feared all along. Somehow, our worst enemy has been revived and found his way into this white netherworld... That black shadow... Is Mephiles the Dark!"

To be continued...