GT: (watching videos of all 4 Twitter Takeovers for the Sonic Twitter account) Huh...Eggman sure likes to put a lot of Evil Ham on his sandwiches. And Shadow doesn't drink coffee, he eats the beans? ...Wow.

SZ: Huh...who knew Shadow liked Kill la Kill...which exist in our toku-verse.

Z0: *appears from the shadows* Shh...spoilers~

GT: Right. Moving on. We don't own anything but OCs. Everything else is owned by their respective companies. Though if we owned SEGA? Remakes of SA 1 and 2 with improved graphics, better English dubbing with accurate Japanese translations if you want to listen to the Japanese voices with English subtitles, and improved game mechanics/controls with more characters in the 2 Player mode of SA2.

Z0: Right right, on with the story!

SZ: BEGIN!

"So this is what Shadow spoke of," Quval noted, standing with Clove, Cassia, Akhult, and Thunderbolt within a dark hallway, faded lights on the lower and upper edges of the walls barely giving a light, "The Space Colony: ARK. I believe he said that the control room is this way."

"Surprised to see you here and not with Dr. Robotnik," Akhult noted to the chinchilla.

"I do believe she prefers his goofier and less helpful incarnation," Quval spoke as he scanned the area with devices in his arms, "On some level, Eggman is more enjoyable as a being...or at the least...entertaining. Whereas this version is more...serious."

"More like frightening…" Cassia whispered with a shiver.

"Oh, is he?" Quval spoke, "The only thing I fear is Ginis-sama," he explained.

"You've never had to live on the same planet as him for years…" Clove spoke.

"True, but Robotnik is a mere paultry compared to milord," Quval spoke, "And he wiped out My home world."

"?!" the pronghorn sisters looked at him with wide eyes.

"...Blood was spilled here," Akhlut noted, looking around the area.

"Yes...It was really long ago. Fifty years if Shadow was correct," Quval spoke, "Bullets...gunfire, and much blood shed. So much bloodshed." he noted, "Clearly the humans abandoned this station in the hopes it would appear as a simple space rock caught in orbit."

"They didn't expect for Shadow to reveal it," Clove noted as Quval approached a door.

"Hmm…" Quval picked up Thunderbolt and took the paneling off a piece of the door before shoving her tail in, shocking it and causing the door to open, "Ah. An excellent thing to have you here, Thunderbolt." he turned back to the door to see a water-made creature with a robotic head and green optics looking at him, "...This reminds me of Chaos." Quval noted.

"What is that thing?!" Clove gasped.

"Hmph," Quval spoke, swinging his rapier like sword and slicing it to ribbons.

"...Ohhh...I am getting a lot of Resident Evil vibes here," Cassia noted, her ears drooping as her eyes widened in realization.

"Oh? Prey tell, what would a game do with this?" Akhult snorted.

"For one, this is an abandoned structure that had scientists on it," Cassia replied, "And judging from that…" she pointed at the puddle of water with a broken robot head in it, "...There may be a ton more just like it. For all we know, there may be robots from GUN still up here operating and waiting for us to attack since we're all living beings."

"Oh please. Like that…" Akhult began as he entered the new room before running back out in time to avoid bullets, "Okay. She was right about the robots."

"Hmm...Thunderbolt," Clove spoke.

"What?"

"I'm sure that when, ahem, Eggman returns, I bet he'd be so excited to hear how you were able to destroy these GUN robots. You may even get a surprise from him a..."

"DIE FOR EGGMAN-SAMA!" Thunderbolt screeched as she lunged at the robot, electricity erupting off her tiny form.

"And everyone questions why I enjoy the company of you and your sister, Clove," Quval noted with a chuckle.

"So we have to fight our way to the controls?" Akhult groaned.

"No. We send in our more punch happy members...until they get tired so I can walk ahead to hack into the robots to make them serve me," Quval spoke, "But...this is more entertaining...and retribution for what Thunderbolt did to my personal ship...Do you know how long it takes to get space dragon leather…?"

"From this one space game I played? Thirty-seven hours of grinding for cash on this one long level that equated to ten trillion of the in-game currency," Cassia replied, "Though given the time in-game moved at a rate of one day and night cycle being forty minutes, it took me months."

"And those humans think video games rot the mind when one girl who plays them just got it correct," Quval shook his head.

"Wait. Space dragons are real…" most of the others asked.

"Of course they are...incredibly violent, too," Quval added, "They breath plasma like fire that burns even in space, and their saliva is a powerful acid. Now judging by the shape of the space colony and the distance we need to travel, I say this will take no more than nineteen minutes." an burned out electrified GUN robot head went over Akhult's, "Less if she continues on with her 'quest.'"

"So what should we do?" Clove asked.

"I don't know about you, but all this machinery and technology surrounding us drives me to take a nice leisurely stroll." Quval responded simply, "I think I detected a secret passageway that only the elite are allowed to take." he snapped his fingers as a door opened, "Shortcuts anybody?"

"Sweet!" Cassia beamed.

It would take them roughly seven minutes with shortcuts to arrive at their destination. Hanging above a deep pit was a massive purple colum-like structure. Silver growths that pulsed and throbbed like hearts hung from it as a large array of terminals were set up before it all. Below them, eight thick metal pipes connected the platform the machine was on to the walls. Standing before it all was Shadow.

"So you've managed to arrive before I had to leave for Prison Island," Shadow noted, "Let us take a look at the legacy of Dr. Robotnik's grandfather, Professor Gerald, known as the greatest mind in scientific history." he waved a hand to the device and the pillar opened up, revealing a magenta organic-like inside with seven silver slots in an 'X' shape, "Humanity's first Space Colony: ARK. However, few are aware of the fact that many fearful weapons were developed and produced by the research facilities here. I'm sure you encountered one of these weapons on your way here: the Artificial Chaos."

"Truly an interesting creation," Quval spoke, "For a human...he was good at his work."

"Indeed. And this is another of those weapons. The one I spoke of on Lord Ginis' vessel, though I understated its power since I worried for his health if he were to become too excited," Shadow noted, "A weapon that pierces stars. The Eclipse Cannon."

"Pierces stars…" Quval repeated.

"However, it is currently sealed," Shadow went on as he pulled out the green Chaos Emerald before he turned to the opened pillar and placed the green emerald right into the center slot, "In order to activate it…" a pulse of green light erupted from the device as energy arrays lit up and spiraled around beneath the platform, "Enormous energy is required."

"That's why you need the Chaos Emeralds from Mobius…" Quval realized, "What an innovation. But how did he know of such a power source to begin with?" he went on, "My interest is captured. Begin cataloging data of interest." he ordered to the others.

"It is quite nice to hear something like that once more on this Space Colony," Shadow noted before walking off and past the panting Thunderbolt as she stumbled in, smoking and her clothing riddled with bullet holes from barely-avoided shots, "I am heading for the island now. Good luck."

"Hai hai...Have a safe trip," Quval replied as his arm sprouted metal tendrils that jammed into the machines, "Hmm?" he stopped at data hidden deep in the machine's memory, an image displayed on the screens for all the Mobians to see, "Oi...you guys...what...is...that?" he asked, slowly showing them the ruins and carvings within said ruins.

"That's…" many of them paused.

"Mobians…" Quval spoke, looking at the images of humanoid animals...exactly like Mobians.

"Maji...a prison island?" Ginis asked Naria, "How cruel, humans...I never thought you had such wonderfully twisted beings among you." he laughed.

"Had we known of such a location, we could have found more Mobian subjects." Naria replied.

"Hai hai...but the three we found...They were more than enough for The World," Ginis laughed while turning to see the Sentai Ranger he created standing there, waiting for orders, "Shadow has deployed to begin his part in the operation, The World, escort Lien-Da in her mission to get the Emerald."

"Hai," he spoke, raising his head and walking off.

"She will be your handler so obey her orders until you return to my side," Ginis added.

"Understood," The World nodded.

"And don't forget to have fun if you find the Zyuohgers."

"Ah, it seems they delivered," Quval noted as a Moeba approached, a tray with five Emeralds in its hands, "All from one island even."

"What an amazing haul," Akhult awed.

"When the Zyuohgers are more distracted with saving their friends then beating us in a...ah...what did you call it, Cassia? Those levels where you need to collect items…" Quval muttered.

"Fetch Quest?"

"Yes...that!" Quval cheered, "When the Zyuohgers are more distracted with saving their friends then beating us in a Fetch Quest, good things happen for us." he took the Emeralds and placed them into the slots, each Emerald letting out a different colored pulse from the device each time they were put into it, "And one remains."

"What do you expect this weapon to do?" Clove asked.

"Hm...well, it seems to harness this Chaos Energy in its most destructive form and blasts it out like a beam," Quval spoke, "In terms of what that does...well I'd need a good test shot to see how effective it is as an Orbital Artillery," he went on, "I could probably wipe out a small country."

=Quval=

"Hai, Ginis-sama?" Quval asked.

=I'd like for you to aim our new toy at the moon=

"The moon? ...Oh, the gravitational effects this will have," Quval chuckled, "Far more damaging than merely a small country being destroyed."

=Hai...but also...it sends a strong message= Ginis explained =You're playing my game, humans...don't break the rules= he growled as everyone but Quval felt a horrible chill down their spines at that =When I give the signal, fire away=

"Hai, Ginis-sama," Quval replied, "Adjusting angle now. Targeting the moon. I must admit something...it's quite small for a moon, almost like it's lost two thirds of its original mass."

"Oh, I read about that. Apparently, a few years back, a scientist was conduction experiments with tentacles made of antimatter and caused the moon to lost over seventy percent of its mass and causing it to look like a crescent moon for about two years," Akhult recalled.

"...Antimatter tentacles…" Quval repeated, "Nani sore...kimochi warui…" he groaned at the thought.

"The humans seem to not treat their moon rather well...I hear it has a giant stamp from when a, and I quote…'giant golden Vampire Kamen Rider kicked it back into orbit'…" Akhult muttered.

"Vampire?" Clove repeated, "Like...a Bat?"

"Yes and no…" he muttered.

"I found it," Quval spoke, showing the mark, "See? He actually marked it…" he went back to the controls, "Aiming for that then."

"You actually purchased paper for blueprints to expand the house," Yamato noted.

"Mario-san told me he's been wanting to make the place bigger, but he felt you needed to admit that it needed to expand," Aphrodite replied, carrying a bag with sheets of blue paper in it along with writing utensils and several items to draw straight lines, curved lines, and make measurements.

"Soka…" Yamato smiled, "Well how much more can we do with a treehouse though? ...Unless we begin connecting it to neighboring trees."

"Oh...a Treehouse mansion complex…" Skye spoke as his hologram appeared in a shrunken state to stand to scale on the blueprints, "Hmm...it has a nice ring to it. Mixing the rusticness of a house in the trees with the moderness of a mansion."

"Trees in houses…" Aphrodite noted before giggling, "Honestly, it reminds me of Knothole Village."

"Knothole Village?"

"The city you were in when you came to Mobius was actually the second Mobotropolis," Aphrodite explained, "When Robotnik took over, a village in the great forest near it was created so deep in it that Robotnik couldn't find it. It was called Knothole and it was where the main Freedom Fighters would live...until a nuclear bomb fired by Robotnik destroyed both it and the original Mobotropolis once it was taken back."

"Soka…" Yamato said sadly.

"Mah-mah...Now we can remake it to an extent out of respect!" Skye offered.

"Knothole...Mansion?" Yamato offered with a chuckle.

"We'd have to run it by Sonic-chan and Tails-chan since they're the only ones who grew up there," Aphrodite noted as she pulled out a photobook, "I actually have some photos from my time living there."

"Hm?" Yamato pondered as he accepted the offered book and looked at it, "Oh. Sugei."

"It's a nice thought, Yamato," Skye agreed, "Maybe everyone can finally have their own rooms instead of sticking Sela in the bathtub, Leo in a shelf, and Roll in the pantry."

"Agreed. Especially the pantry when you're so tired you forget she's in there and ask someone to get something from it," Yamato chuckled sheepishly.

"That explains the Leo-shaped hole in the wall that one morning," Aphrodite giggled as they passed an electronics store just as the TVs being displayed flickered and showed Robotnik, "?! Yamato-san…"

"Nani?" Yamato belinked, "Ah! Robotnik!"

=Greetings, Earth...You may not remember me, so let me reintroduce myself…= Robotnik began with that iconic dark smile of his =I am Ivo Robotnik...Grandson of the world's former greatest scientific mind, Gerald Robotnik. As for where I've been...I've come from a world...a world that was broken much like this one. However...I decided to fix it of one simple thing...free will. Sure it may be fine...but it can often lead to some…destructive choices...So after convincing the former Captain of the guards I was going to 'fix everyone's problems' more or less...I began to enact my plan...with the Roboticizer, which not only took away that pesky free will..but gave me workers that never got tired...never got sick...obeyed my every command...=

"Oh Bud-kun…" Aphrodite gasped as Skye clenched his fists.

=Unfortunately, those plans...were undone no thanks to...shall we say...alternate means. But not any longer. I am still determined to get rid of free will, but to do that...I humbly hand it over to the one who shall fix all our problems= Robotnik continued before bowing and motioning away, causing the camera to turn to show Ginis, chuckling while swirling his chalice of wine =Lord Ginis=

"...He...He's back?!" Aphrodite gasped, a hand going to her heart as she shivered.

=Thank you, Ivo, for that...bone-chilling intro…= Ginis chuckled =But yes...I am here to fix all your problems, Earthlings. You see...after observing what happened those...those...now what were they called again? GUN? ...Ah nevermind. The point is, after they declared that whole martial law thing and had you turn on your very protectors...it bored me. And trust me...I loath boredom= he growled, nearly crushing his chalice, =What kind of nonsense is that?! You think my game is so trivial your pathetic race can fight it without them? I want a challenge from you...and you think weaklings like GUN can give it to me...Don't. mock. me...I am Ginis...a being of destruction= he spoke as his tone alone was enough to send shivers down the backs of those who heard it =Getting rid of Heroes...the only redeemable quality of this boring little world...don't dare taunt me… You gave me a taste of true entertainment...none of which I felt after crushing 99 planets. Now...you will see what happens when you mess up my fun…observe...= the screen changed to show the moon =While this may not be of my power...behold the power of something your own world's government made in secret...the Eclipse Cannon...now don't blink. You don't want to miss the fun...= a split screen popped up to show Ginis on one side, holding his hand out like a gun =...bang=

Within a matter of seconds...a massive beam had collided with the moon, resultign in a large chunk of it being destroyed as bits and pieces of the moon floated out into space. Yamato and the others...no...A majority of everyone on Earth couldn't help but watch in horror at what they had just witnessed.

=Heh heh...terrifying isn't it?= Ginis asked as the screen showing the moon vanished, showing just him now as he lowered his hand =And guess what? That wasn't even at full power..no...that was just with six Chaos Emeralds…once all seven have come together to power it up...your planet…well...boom=

=Take note of this Earth…= Robtnik's voice began as the screen showed him for a moment, his eyes glowing menacingly =You're playing my lord's game now…=

"How the…? What?" Aphrodite gawked as Skye typed in the air frantically.

"Uh...um...checking satellites and, uh...oh! Got a recording from the MLB's spy satellite," Skye noted.

"...What?" Yamato shook out his his shock.

"You heard nothing, especially if you're an American," Skye quickly denied as he flicked a wrist and displayed a holographic screen of the spherical ARK.

Cracks appeared on the lower half of the sphere, letting out an eerie green light. The lower half of the sphere exploded with a pulse of energy. Six diamond-shaped pieces spread out from the now exposed part of the half-sphere as a long cone-shaped formation was exposed in the center. Yamato and Aphrodite blinked as they realized...it looked like Robotnik's face with the diamonds making the whiskers of his mustache and the cone as his nose with eyes being a pair of massive ventilation fans. The 'nose' split in four parts and left behind a long, thin barrel. The base of it lit up as green energy pulsed through it and travelled up towards the end of the barrel before firing the laser they just saw. Skye waved a hand and the screen vanished into a digital envelope that split into two and both vanished.

"One to Nicole for Tails and one to Commander Doggie," Skye informed.

"That was...what happened…?" Yamato asked dazed and confused.

"Trouble...very big trouble," Aphrodite replied as she looked back at the TV screens to show a countdown from twenty four hours on it, "...We need to get home immediately."

"Hai," Yamato nodded, "Skye-san."

"Teleporting now," Skye confirmed.

"GYAAAAAH! THE MOON WENT KABOOM!" Leo freaked, falling off his 'bed' and landing on Sela in her 'bed.'

"GAH! Leo!" Sela snapped, punching him off, "What are you doing?!"

"The moon went a'splode!" Leo replied, pointing out the window, "Look, look! We have half a moon for good! ...Wait. We have a half a moon. ...How are Mobian wolves going to howl at full moons for their traditions now?!"

"Baka…" Sela spoke, elbowing him and sending him flying out the front door, "But...what happened?" she asked in concern.

"I heard Leo scream. What's going o-The moon exploded!?" Roll gasped, coming in from the kitchen with a mixing bowl filled with batter, "Minna, the moon exploded!"

"It blew up again?!" Bae exclaimed.

"What?! How will Mobian wolves be able to do their traditions with only half a moon?!" Sticks freaked.

"That's what I said!" Leo's voice exclaimed from outside.

"That is a bit concerning...but the oceans…" Miyuki began in worry.

"It's going to be a repeat from the last time the moon blew up," Amy noted, earning looks, "What? I found old articles that said it blew up a few years ago in Africa when someone shipped me there."

"Eh...really?" they asked.

"Hmm...It also almost fell on the Earth…" Amy added.

"EH!?"

"But apparently and I keep forgetting this part...giant Golden...vampire man kicked it back into place..." Amy muttered, "I don't know. Earth is weird like that."

"...We need to go to the library more like Tusk does," Sela sighed.

"I go to read real books...she just reads Shoujo manga," Tusk pointed to Amy with his trunk.

"Hmph!" Amy huffed at that.

"Minna! Ginis blew up the moon!" Yamato called as he ran in with Aphrodite behind him.

"A giant orb in the sky exploded and the upper half made Robotnik's face and it fired a beam from its nose!" Aphrodite added quickly.

"We know!" Leo shouted from outside.

"About the moon part; not the how it blew up," Sela corrected as Tails ran in with Nicole and Haseo.

"Guys! Guys! Someone created a giant laser in space and Ginis just used it to…!" Tails began.

"We know!" everyone replied.

"We have to stop him," Yamato spoke.

"But that's what Ginis wants," Tails pointed out.

"Exactly...he wants to fight…" Yamato sighed.

"What I want to know is how he got the power to do that to the moon," Tusk noted.

"Isn't it obvious?" Nicole asked, Cube Kirin and Mogura squeaking on her shoulders in a 'tsk'ing manner, "It is more than likely that they're using Chaos Emeralds for it."

"So...what we need to break into a space station…?" Leo asked as he ran in.

"Map of the station, its coordinates, and-of course-a space ship that will let us get up there," Skye informed.

"Oh, you don't have a teleporter for up there?" Amy joked.

"No. Just only in Japan. No one wanted to get on a boat. I almost got Bud on one, but he tied me up and threw me in a broom closet in Bunker 69," Skye replied.

"You better not laugh at that, Leo!" Sela snapped.

"Tails...You've made a supercomputer from an empty tube of toothpaste and toothpicks before, right? Surely it's easy for you to make a ship that lets us go into space, right?" Amu asked.

"Okay, one: that was for a supercomputer and those weren't what I used to make it," Tails replied, "And two: building planes is vastly different than building a spaceship. And that's not even going into space training those going up there will need to do."

"Well can you make stuff that will train us for going up there?" Sela asked.

"Oh, I made those last month," Tails replied, "I bought this energy drink by accident and blacked out. When I came to...boom. It was all there and made by me because I know my welding skills."

"Okay A: No more energy drinks for you…" Yamato spoke.

"Aw man…"

"And B: We'll have to prepare fast. We only have one day to get up there and stop it," Yamato spoke, "I would have suggested Eagle, but I doubt the Cube Animals work in space."

"...Hmm…" Nicole mummered as she pulled up a holographic map of Earth, "It should be here…"

"Something up?"

"Yes...When SPD was helping us, we ended up finding something interesting…" Nicole answered as she tapped a part of the map, "It appears Robotnik or possibly someone else had set up a hidden base in the desert...and fortunate for us...it has a ship that can lead us up into space."

"Eh honto?" Yamato asked.

"Yes. Though, I'm not completely sure how accurate it is," Nicole admitted.

"Right. Skye, Nicole, make sure it's accurate. We'll use Eagle to get there when you find it. In the meantime, the rest of us will be doing that training," Yamato ordered, "Ms. Sakurai…"

"Again, you can call me 'Auntie' if you want," Aphrodite assured.

"We all do…" Leo and Amu spoke.

"...Right. Can you stay with Uncle Mario, Amy-san, Miyuki-san, and Haseo-kun here?" Yamato asked.

"Of course," Aphrodite replied.

"Huh?" Amy and Miyuki gawked.

"Just in case someone tries to come here to kidnap someone or attack while we're away," Yamato explained, "And you can take your mind off worrying by working on that tree mansion idea."

"A tree what now?" Sonic and Tails asked.

"Wonderful!" Aphrodite beamed, "Oh, and just the right gals to help me with decorating plans!"

"Ohh~!" Miyuki beamed, clapping a bti at that, "I haven't been able to help plan decorations since the restaurant, kyu!"

"Oh, this is exciting! An entire tree mansion? We'll do our best, Auntie!" Amy cheered.

"I wish we'd gotten more than a night's rest after fighting that Rhino bastard…" Leo sighed, "I bet we'll run into him up there."

"The World…" Yamato spoke, "He is a human though…"

"Eh?" they all asked.

"...He's only like that because Ginis tortured and experimented on him...forcing the power of Mobians onto him...unlike me who gained them willingly…" Yamato went on, "Maybe...maybe I can free him from Ginis's control…"

"Free him?" Sonic spoke.

"I don't know how to put it into words…" Yamato admitted, "Maybe it's because I feel he and I are alike. Humans who have Mobian powers…" he went on, "I want to help him. To free him from the darkness Ginis has trapped him in. surely whoever he was, is nothing like The World is now. Maybe it's because I'm also a human whose life has been forever changed by Mobians...I want to help him."

"Maybe…" they all muttered.

"I have another reason to…" Yamato spoke, "No...more of a theory. His Yasei Dai Kaihou...I can't explain it...but it seemed…" he looked at Roll, "Ehe...Familiar…" everyone joined him in looking at Roll.

"Hm? Why are they looking at us?" Bae asked.

"Ano...it's more...me," Roll noted...before nine of her ten tails smacked her and Bae, sending the fly into the kitchen, "ITE!"

"AH! Help! Tasukete~! I don't wanna be a cookie!" Bae screamed from in the mixer.

"You're really comparing what he did to her?" Sela asked.

"He was able to call upon different traits all at once," Yamato explained, "The claws of a Wolf in one hand, his arm became the crushing tail of a Crocodile, and he grew Rhino horns from his shoulder. Not to mention even if we could hit him...it looked like he had the thick skin of a rhino and a crocodile. A wolf's speed and senses as well..." he listed all the abilities he noted.

"But that shouldn't...how?" Sela pondered.

"...That hand," Yamato gasped, earning the attention of the others, "Well, apparently, Roll lost an arm when she went Apex and regrew it. I saw Naria pick up this severed hand, but thought it belonged to one of those that Roll, well...you know."

"Eh...Roll's...hand?" Amu asked in concern, "Mou Roll…" she complained.

"I don't remember a thing in that state," Roll defended quickly.

"So wait...what are you implying?" Tusk asked.

"Maybe...Ginis balanced The World's powers by giving him some of Roll's DNA…" Tails offered.

"If that's true then…" Aphrodite trailed off.

"Wait for it," Skye advised.

Sela quickly stuck earplugs in followed by sound-blocking headphones and wrapped her head in a thick scarf before giving a thumbs up. Everyone collapsed aside from her and Aphrodite.

"He's technically an adult male Sakurai!" Aphrodite squeed.

"Eh?" most gawked, getting back up slowly.

"That means The World is...Haseo and Roll's Aniki!?" Leo gawked.

"And since he's technically a Sakurai and Yamato-kun and all of you can break him from their control, it will mean that the Sakurai will have a male Head once more!" Aphrodite cheered.

"I guess after all they did to him...a welcoming new family would be nice," Yamato smiled, looking at the bright side.

"One issue," Skye whispered to Yamato, "What if this person has family already?"

"We'll have to cross that bridge when it comes, won't we…" Yamato sheepishly replied, earning a nod from the AI, "Do you want to ruin this for her?"

"Absolutely not," Skye replied, "And Nicole and I just finished the accelerated Space training schedule for you all, so get to it while we're confirming that pyramid base's location."

"Right. Let's go, minna," Yamato ordered.

"Yosha!"

"Oh, I don't feel good…" Bae groaned from the mixer, "Too much...cookie mix…" he complained with a belch.

"...Knux?"

"Yes, Manic."

"Ya know I see ya as a bro and can count on ya a lot, right?"

"Just say it so we can get this over with," Knuckles sighed.

"Thanks," Manic replied before inhaling and pointing a finger at the array of ghosts wandering the abandoned water-filled mine they were in, "WHY ARE WE IN A HAUNTED FLOODED MINE WHEN WE JUST ESCAPED A STONE PUMPKIN-FILLED HELL?!"

"A shard is in here!"

"That's not a valid excuse! Apologize! You apologize for dragging me into this!"

"You found those new cuffs back there, didn't you?" Knuckles replied as he pointed at a pair of spiked cuffs on his wrists, the spikes having a glowing red line on them with the part wrapping around his wrists sporting a data-design, "Slashed through those metal crates blocking the entrance here easily, right?"

"Well yeah and they'll be good for thieving b-but this is sidetracking! Apolo…" Manic began before Knuckles pushed him off and into the water-filled mine, "GIZEEEEEEEEE!"

*SPLASH!*

"...Huh. There's switches that control the water level back here. They must have used it to raise and lower platforms for easier carting of the stuff they'd find," Knuckles noted, looking behind him, "Sorry, Manic!" a hand stuck out of the water with a single finger raised, "Now that's just rude."

"And...time," Nicole noted, stopping the program and causing the spinning disc before her and Bae to slow down to a stop, "G-Force simulator complete. You all were able to handle the G-Forces needed to handle take-off and for the escaping of gravitational forces."

A door on the side opened and Leo and Amu dashed out and to different bushes.

"Whoo! Let's go again!" Sonic cheered and Roll nodded in agreement as they came out next.

"Oh, that was so much fun!" Roll beamed as Tusk took one step out and fell down the stairs, groaning once he hit the bottom.

"I...don't feel much of anything…" Yamato spoke honestly, "It actually kinda felt slow."

"I know, right?" Sonic chuckled, "Yo, Tails! Can we…" he held his arms out and caught the fox as he fell off the stairs, "Can we make it faster?"

"No! Never again!" Tails replied quickly as Sela was helped by Yamato down the stairs.

"Interesting...the ones with high speed movement were fine," Nicole noted, "Sonic and Roll break mach speeds all the time, so this level is more akin to them finally getting a rush from a high speed ride. While Yamato's Eagle powers let him endure the sensory overload, making him an ideal pilot. And his Gorilla powers strengthened his body to handle the force."

"I understood just bits of that," Bae noted before pulling out three gold stickers and putting them on a board beside photos of Sonic, Yamato, and Roll, "But I do know that it's another gold star for those three on the Board of Space Training!"

"Yay!" Roll cheered, clapping her hands.

"I'd give another for being adorable, but that'd be favoritism…" Bae laughed, "And, um...Leo and Amu get another rainbow sticker by theirs for effort."

"Yay…" Leo and Amu groaned from the bushes.

"All that's left is the Isolation Test," Nicole noted, "Fortunately, it will only be for an hour."

"Okay...how bad is that one?" Leo asked.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE! GYAAAH!" Tusk screamed.

"Huh...I was sure Leo was going to crack first," Bae admitted.

"Can I come out now? ...I'm hungry...in fact...that fly is looking mighty plump…" Leo spoke.

"...Hit him with the steam," Bae spoke.

"Huh? Steam? What st-AH! I got a sauna?!"

"You're supposed to try to fix the issue that happened, Tusk," Nicole noted.

"PAOOOOON! LET ME OUT OF HERE!"

"Let's check on the others. How about the girls first?" Bae offered.

"Mmmm…." Amu purred as she fell asleep, curled up in a ball.

"Oh now that's just adorable," Bae muttered.

"Sela seems fine," Nicole noted as Sela sat in a meditation stance.

"Good, good," Bae agreed, "...Though I must admit something. I keep thinking she'll do a pose and go 'Shakkin' when we least expect it."

"I can hear you...and it's never gonna happen, Bae-san," Sela spoke, "Besides this is no different then doing yoga with my mom."

"Eh yoga? What kind of…"

"At the bottom of the ocean," Nicole elaborated, "Where it's pitch dark and only shark senses guide you."

"Ah...Reminds me of some training that I'd see Master Sharkie Chan of the Gekijyu Shark-ken do," Bae noted, "...I wonder if I should ask the Kensei for training advice for them all if they want to."

"Ano...not to complain…" Roll spoke.

"Hello~" Caliwave added.

"It's not really an isolation test for me…"

"Exactly! I will be the one who goes crazy for Rolly! So she can stay sane! That makes sense...don't it?"

"..." Nicole and Bae shared looks.

"Moving on," Nicole stated, "How is everything, Tails?"

"Going pretty well," Tails replied, "Fixed the vent issue and moving on to the control panel."

"Excellent," Nicole smiled.

"Next," Bae noted, "All I see for Sonic is blue."

"...Slowing down the feed."

"LEMMEOUTLEMMEOUTLEMMEOUT!" Sonic rapidly repeated, running about.

"I am glad I asked not to be brought in…" Caliburn spoke as he was placed down next to a wall, "The Knave bring such shame to himself for this."

"Ah, seems Yamato-san is doing well," Bae noted, "...Hm? Seems he's muttering something."

"Increasing volume," Nicole noted.

"Rhinoceros, Greek name Rhinokeros of the Rinocerotidae family, meaning nose horn. Abilities, thick skin that is bullet proof, their horns are made of keratin and hardened hair. Crocodile, subfamily of Crocodylinae, the true crocodile, powerful reptilian predators with armored scales covering their bodies save for their soft stomachs, they are among the few non-true aquatic life forms to be able to live in salt water due to salt glands which filter the salt out of their body. Wolf Canis Lupus, canine predators who hunt in family packs, have a powerful sense of smell and hunting instinct." he rambled as he kept his eyes closed, "All three are animals which congregate, Rhinos in herds called Crashes. Crocodiles in Basks, and Wolves in packs. All three are social animals, strong parenting instincts. All three share powerful body structures, survival and hunting instincts, all have their own senses attuned for their environments…"

"That's a Zoologist for you…" Nicole muttered.

"He's quite knowledgeable," Bae agreed before the timer went off, "And that's time!"

"FREEDOM!" two voices screamed before their doors were blasted off with a blue blur shooting off into the distance and Elephant in Yasei Kaihou lowering his foot.

"Freedom!" he cheered, rushing off as he ran for the library and dropping his transformation, "Oh sweet peace…"

"*cough* Nerd…*cough*" Bae coughed into his hand.

"So gold stars for everyone but Sonic and Tusk?" Nicole guessed.

"Hai hai!" Bae cheered.

"Nya…" Amu yawned as she cuddled into Sela's arms and chest.

"Anyone wanna take her?" Sela asked.

"Allow me," Caliwave informed, "Ahem. Yamato's in need of some relief below the belt. Whoever can…MMPH!"

"No. Bad," Yamato scolded, his Eagriser wrapped around Caliwave's face.

"Gomen...but Yamato's too smart to fall for anime cliches…" Sela sighed.

"Aw...It was a trick?" Amu pouted.

"Get off…"

"Ow...ah...but I liked being carried around like a kitten…" Amu complained, "Sela is stingy…"

"Well, Sonic and Tusk both failed," Nicole noted, "But your speed astronaut training is done." her eyes flashed for a moment, "Good timing as well. Skye and I just finished confirming the location."

"Great." Yamato smiled, "Okay everyone, let's take a few to rest up and head out." he ordered, "I'm afraid we, at best, have one chance at this."

"Right!" they all nodded.

"Ah...I needed that…" Sonic sighed, stumbling back in and falling on his face.

"...May I request the Knave receives no marks on this last exercise?" Caliburn asked.

"We blew up the moon…" Cassia muttered as she walked through an open doorway, "Oh we really blew up the moon! I was fine when that's in video games, but now…" she trailed off as she looked at the Earth from the long spanning window of the observation deck she had entered, "...Whoa. The ship we're staying in never had a view like this. Just screens, screen, and more screens."

"Ah...the difference in what the humans consider ideal and what aliens consider ideal," Quval spoke, "They went and got this thick glass that can take a rocket exploding against it...just for a view…"

"Oh, Mr, Quval!" Cassia yelped before standing at attention, fumbling a bit in doing so, "Was taking a walk to try to deal with things. My hands are a bit shaky from what happened to the moon, so I can't really play games at the moment..."

"Does it scare you?" Quval asked, "What you did to the humans?"

"..." Cassia nodded meekly, her voice lost for the moment.

"That's a given…" he spoke, "Unlike me...you still have people whom you want to look at you. And you wish to show them the true you."

Cassia looked up at him in surprise before remembering what he said earlier, "...You...lost your home?"

"My entire race," he nodded, "Anyone like me...my family...If I were to use the terms organic life forms used…" he elaborated, "All of it wiped out before my eyes...by Ginis-sama."

"He bl...no, no. That...that does make sense," Cassia nodded, "But...why work for him?"

"Why did you go to Robotnik?" Quval replied.

"Be-because…"

"Because...in that desperate moment of fear...what other option was there?" he asked as she stared at him, "Fear is a scary thing...as is the point." he reached a hand out and patted her head, "But...its power can be used to drive you forward...to survive...survive longer...long enough...to find that chance."

"Chance?" Cassia repeated.

"You'll know it when it comes, Cassia," Quval replied.

"Mr. Quval…"

"If I had to use terms you'd understand...I'm in your corner…" he said, taking his hand back and walking away, "All I ask is when I say...don't get involved with what I do…" he said cryptically.

"...Yes, sir, Mr. Quval," Cassia nodded, giving a smile.

"Ah soka…" he paused and pulled out a replica of her gaming system from the binder armor attached to his left arm, "You said two people could play together...could you teach me? It might help me better understand Ginis-sama's...moments."

"...Sure!" Cassia beamed.

"Stupid! Blasted! Rotten!" Robotnik fumed, whacking a Moeba repeatedly with a mallet as Shadow stood nearby, "Grah! Oh, that insufferable alien mutt! Threatening me with being 'deleted' will he? After offering him mercy of having his SPD leave the planet?"

"Doctor…" Shadow sighed, "Doctor...oi...this will be all day." he shook his head, he then turned as a monitor displayed Ginis, "Lord Ginis…"

=Shadow...has he calmed down?=

"GAH!"

=Nevermind. How goes the preparations?=

"They'd be going better if our two brains would come back to work…" Shadow sighed.

=Oh, let them...We have all day. And I'm expecting a heck of a show, Shadow. If possible...make sure you beat the blue Hedgehog worst of all...see what effect it has on the Doctor for funsies= he laughed.

"But of course, Lord Ginis," Shadow replied.

=But I must thank you...and a parting thank you to humans, for giving the Deathgaliens such a fun new toy!= he laughed =I can't wait to see more worlds go up in wonderful lights with this cannon=

Shadow nodded, "Yes, Lord Ginis. This first world to feel its might will, hopefully, be a memorable moment to you."

=Oh, it will be, Shadow. It will= Ginis chuckled before ending communications as Lien-Da entered the Eclipse Cannon's computer room.

"Has he calmed?" Lien-Da asked before the decapitated Moeba's head went over her and into the void below following by the body, "...I'll consider that a 'yes.'"

"Report," Robotnik ordered.

"Oh well, things are only a bit better than the last time I reported." she sighed, "It would go faster if you and Quval would get back to work updating this system which is essentially falling apart."

"..." Robotnik slowly turned his head to her, his eyes glowing, "Well...surprise, surprise. Talking back like that, my dear?"

"She's right, Doctor," Shadow spoke moving forward, "I want to see this world suffer just as much as you do. The faster...the better."

"Hmm...If only because your point makes sense," Robotnik growled.

"My logic is always flawless...a point of pride," Shadow replied simply, "However...to make things smoother. The last Chaos Emerald is needed. Perhaps I can lead a team to get it as soon as possible...and relieve tension among our troops."

"Hmm...Yes, I have noticed that," Robotnik noted, "But...an issue." Lien-Da flinched at Robotnik's fist slamming down hard on the console, "WHERE IS THAT FINAL EMERALD!?"

"This paper will answer all," Shadow replied as he pulled out a newspaper, "It was on Rouge the Bat's person at the time of her capture."

"Hmm...Now let's see here," Robotnik noted as he took it, "'New local hero, Miles 'Tails' Prower, was given an award for outstanding service by SPD's Commander Doggie Kruger for his invention that allows for faster rebuilding after giants rampage and providing quick work in dealing with the aftermath of Perfect Chaos' rampage. Also given to him was a large gem, called a Chaos Emerald, as a token of gratitude from the city's mayor who found it…'" he chuckled, "The little fox...He has my last emerald? Oh, Shadow?"

"Hai?" he asked, standing at attention.

"Take as many as you feel necessary," Robotnik ordered, "Find our…'local hero'...and when you do…" he chuckled again, "I want you to take his namesakes and bring them to me on a plaque along with the Chaos Emerald. The rest of him? Put into tiny little boxes and send them to his sister piece. by. Piece."

"Understood…" Shadow replied simply while Lien-Da gave a shudder, "Lien-da...gather those who seem the most...antsy here. We're leaving for the surface at once."

"R-Right," Lien-Da replied, 'The stories the others told of Robotnik pale in comparison to the real deal…'

"Hurry up," Shadow spoke, snapping her back to reality, "I don't have all day to deal with a woman and her moods…"

"Y-Yes, sir," Lien-Da replied before quickly leaving.

"So are we there y…"

"Sonikku, I care deeply for you," Roll informed, "But if you ask that one more time, I will personally throw you out over the ocean."

"It's just for a little longer, Cube Eagle," Eagle noted, patting his controls as the others were riding atop the big Cube Eagle as it soared over the ocean to dry land, "I have to admit...I didn't know there were Pyramids in North America. I thought they were all in Mexico and Egypt."

"Guess your own world is still full of surprises!" Sonic chuckled.

"It's not like people can run all over the world in a day…" Leo groaned, "Sides, I bet you still haven't seen everything on Mobius...you're too scared of water to visit Sela's home town."

"I'm not scared. I just have a...strong dislike for big bodies of water is all," Sonic argued.

"Uh-huh…" Amu noted, sitting back to relax in the sun, "Ah...I wish we knew it'd be this long...I'd have brought a mirror and my swimsuit…"

"Did you already forget we have less than fifteen hours to find this secret base, get on a rocket to space, and deal with a planet-destroying laser?" Tusk demanded, "For that matter, what do we do if there's no fuel for that ship?"

"Hmm...I might have an idea," Tails replied as he reached into his right tail and pulled out the yellow Chaos Emerald.

"Gwah! A Chaos Emerald!" Sonic exclaimed.

"I've had this since a week after Chaos destroyed the city," Tails replied, "I've been doing a lot of studying on it lately and figured out how to make a battery with it so I could use the Tornado without needing one." he pulled out a tube holding a yellow glowing shard, "See? I call them Chaos Drives."

"That's brilliant!" Sela cheered, "Now we can use them for something instead of just always give them to Sonic to go super."

"Hey…"

"Maybe if we can keep one after all this mess, we can use it to get free power to the house!" Amu added.

"Why is no one concerned?" Tusk sighed.

"Cause if we get all nervous now...we'll just lose to The World again…" Leo spoke, "And Shadow…"

"I didn't lose!" Sonic snapped, "He ran away!"

"Knave, you must admit we were unprepared," Caliburn noted.

"I will throw out off the giant magic blocky bird that were riding on from an island to a continent with pyramids that have a secret base in one for us to find a rocket to go to a space station, you magic talking sword," Sonic warned before pausing, "...That is one sentence I thought I'd never say."

"Sounds par the course for us…" the other Mobians replied.

"Oh, the United States of America. I always wanted to see the sights here after this one guard back on Prison Island talked all about the places you could see here," Caliwave noted, "Hey! If we end up back in America once we're done up in space, who wants to go to Six Flags St. Louis?"

"I don't think weapons are allowed in amusement parks," Sonic noted.

"That and when you went to that one, you were tackled and I was stuck in a metal locker for hours!" Caliburn informed.

"Oh right…" Sonic laughed.

"Teme! You went somewhere fun without us!" Leo complained.

"Tried, but got banned for Cal," Sonic replied.

"I told you that I did not want to go!" Caliburn snapped.

"And this is why I love being made of malleable steel," Caliwave snickered before her blade retracted into a ball, "See? No sharp implement."

"I think we're almost there," Sela spoke up.

"How do you know?"

"Call it a hunch…" Sela countered as she looked over the edge of Cube Eagle.

Everyone looked over with Sela to see nothing but sands and cliffs, "Ah."

"Good, Eagle-chan," Roll patted the mech, "I'll make sure to bake you a lot of goodies once everything is over with involving this current situation."

"Cube Eagle appreciates that," Yamato's voice responded as he began descending towards the ground, "I'm gonna put us down. We'll have to make the rest of the way via ground travel."

"...Huh, did not expect a waterfall in the middle of a desert," Caliwave noted, looking out.

"Waterfall?" Amu repeated as she looked at a cliffside to see a waterfall coming from it, "Oh, it is!"

"That kind of pressure isn't normal," Sela noted as Sonic pulled out some binoculars and looked at it.

"That's an entrance to a mine," Sonic noted before yelping, "Hey! Swoop under the water! Swoop under the water!"

"Ah...that's not how flying works…" Yamato complained as he quickly turned the controls.

Cube Eagle turned and went under the 'waterfall' just moments before two figures fell out of it and landed on Tusk. The Cube Animal flew away from it, letting the others on top look at who landed on Tusk.

"Never...again…" Manic groaned, twitching while wearing a strange metal necklace along with Knuckles.

"That's another piece found," Knuckles noted.

"GET OFF ME!" Tusk snapped, throwing them off him.

"Ara...We found just the right dummy…" Amu noted.

"Wait, who?" Knuckles and Manic asked.

"The dummy who has a soulmate waiting at home to chew their ear off…" Amu smirked.

"Phew…" Manic sighed in relief.

"Soulma...Wait, Roll's already here," Knuckles replied.

"Julie-Su," Sonic stated.

"...Oh. ...Is it too late to jump into the canyon below so I don't get ranted at?" Knuckles asked.

"Yes," Tusk replied.

"And just for that, I'm telling her what you said," Amu smirked.

"What I say? Oi...What I say!?" Knuckles panicked.

"So you were with Knux this whole time, Manic?" Sonic asked, "...I wonder if I got the easier deal."

"OI!" Knuckles barked.

"So what do we do? Manic and Knuckles didn't do all the super Astronaut training we did...we can't take them up to space...can we?" Leo asked.

"You're what now?" Manic asked.

"..." Knuckles looked up at the sky, "You're going up there? Good. I'm going then."

"What?"

"I can feel the last shard up there," Knuckles replied.

"Yeah, that stupid fangirl of Eggy's tried to steal the Master Emerald after this sexy bat chick tried and-and-and-and GAH!" Manic grabbed Sonic's shoulders, "Bro! Ro-butt-nik's back! His mind's not scattered and coocoo anymore!"

"Yeah...we know…" Sonic sighed, "The guys ran into him when they busted me out of Prison Island."

"Eh...Wait, you got sent to a place called Prison Island?!" Manic gawked, "Huh...Is this pride I feel?" he taunted, putting a hand to his chest.

"...Can I punt him off?" Sonic asked.

"No," everyone deadpanned.

"So the guy in charge of those Deathgaliens fired this giant space ray powered by the Chaos Emeralds at the moon and now there's a countdown until he fired it at the planet?" Knuckles summarized as they walked along the desert sands, Tails in his Tornado in its walker mode.

"And you're on your way to this pyramid base that's got a rocket to get up there? Sweet," Manic grinned.

"It won't exactly be an easy task…" Yamato sighed, "I'm expecting some enemy resistance once we get there."

"The coordinates say that we'll be able to see it over that next dune," Tails noted, looking at the screen in his walker.

"I'm not looking forward to what's waiting for us inside…" Tusk sighed, "But if we don't hurry…" he looked at the faint view of the moon, or rather what was left.

"As long as it's not more ghost…" Manic muttered.

"What was that?" Sela asked.

"Nothing," Manic replied as they got over the dune and saw a large pyramid ahead of them, "Wow. That's a biggie."

"We're going in…" Yamato spoke sliding down the dune as he pulled out his ZyuoBuster in gun mode and began shooting, the blasts exploding and knocking down the entrance.

"Now that's my kind of entrance!" Sonic cheered, jumping after him and zooming in.

"Here we go!" Tails cheered as he followed in.

"Adventure!" Amu cheered as the girls held hands and slid down together.

"I'm sinking!" Leo cried, falling down the sand.

"Quicksand defenses? Fitting," Manic noted, "Oh, there must be some primo loot here, too." he ran into the base, "Banzai Treasure!"

"As long as I find more Master Emerald Shards in there…" Knuckles muttered as he followed.

"...So far only three…" Knuckles muttered as the group walked through a dark corridor, "...and the ghosts were not my fault, Manic!"

"It's a curse! Ever since you punched those tombstones at that Pumpkin Hill place, it's nothing but ghost!" Manic barked.

"Wait...you punched Tombstones…?" the girls asked as they scooted further away from them.

"It had a Master Emerald Shard stuck in it!" Knuckles argued, "What was I supposed to do?!"

"Cursed…" Sela spoke.

"Totally cursed." Roll added.

"Super Cursed…" Amu finished.

"D'oh…!" Knuckles growled as the group walked into a large circular room, a massive pit of sand at the bottom as sand began to pour from some small openings in the room..

"Well, the good news is we're nearing the rocket," Tails spoke, looking at something on the tornado's control panel.

"And the bad news, Tails-kun?" Yamato sighed.

"No bad news. We're in the clear," Tails assured.

"Sweet. Then let's…" Sonic began before the area rumbled, "...no bad news, huh?"

"Huh?" Tails blinked before the area rumbled once more, "...That's weird. I'm not picking anything up…."

"...Maybe that's why?" Tusk spoke as he pointed to the sandpit, something large beginning to rise out of it.

The group tensed as sand began to fall off the rising figure, revealing to by a large stone golem, possibly Egyptian in nature, as its hulking figure began to rise out of the sand pit.

"...Oh boy…" Manc sweated a bit.

=Heh heh heh...Surprised?= Robotnik's voice echoed within the room =I had a feeling you no good punks would attempt to steal one of my rockets to intercept what my lord has planned, so I left a little...gift for you...my foolish self would call it the Egg Golem, but no...I have a far better name. The Stone Guardian…=

"I guess this is what we should have expected…" Yamato sighed, taking out his changer, "Honno Kakusei!"

=Best hurry with this one...you have a party incoming, and they wish to greet the young Prower…= Robtnik chuckled =I won't say why...but I will say this to him before I leave: I hope you enjoy your tails...because they'll be my trophy as the rest will be sent to your sister...piece...by...piece…=

"Grr…" Eagle tensed on hearing that.

"Uhm...You might wanna step back a bit," Tails spoke to Sonic and Knuckles.

"Huh…" Sonic began before the EagRiser snatched Caliburn from his hand, "AH!"

"Told ya."

"Yasei Kaihou!" Eagle shouted, flying up with both swords in hand. He flew up before swinging down and spinning into a spin dash. He spun around the Golem's arm leaving a trail along it before he jumped off.

Eagle held both swords back before he began swinging. The Golem grunted as its arm suddenly exploded into perfectly sliced chunks of stone. Eagle grunted jumping off a wall as he swung and slashed at the Stone Guardian's face leaving a giant gash in it forcing it to stumble back.

"I've already figured it out…" Tails chuckled, "If you make Yamato mad...he becomes the strongest person among us."

"He's so fast...I can just see the results…" Manic muttered as Eagle dashed around the air.

"Ha!" Eagle shouted wrapping his Eagriser around the Stone guardian as he swung around it wrapping up most of its body, "Riser...Spinning...SLASH!" he shouted spinning around, cutting the golem's body to pieces, he stopped spinning as he raised Caliburn up above his head as he flew up, with a final shout he swung down cutting the entire thing in two down the middle.

"S-splendid work…" Caliburn gawked, "Can...can the world stop spinning now…?"

"Guess Ro-butt-nik should prepare a better toy next time," Sonic noted.

"Uh, Sonic? Troops coming for us? Out to get Tails to put his nicknamesakes on a trophy for Robotnik?" Sela reminded.

"Oh, right," Sonic recalled, "To the ship!"

"Let's go," Eagle nodded as he tossed Caliburn back to Sonic.

"Who's driving?" Manic asked.

"Yamato/Tails!" everyone declared.

"Aw wha-?!" Manic began.

"You crashed into a mirage the one time I let you drive anything that wasn't a skateboard," Sonic reminded, "A mirage."

"...Never gonna let that one go, are ya?" Manic deadpanned.

"You ruined my freshly made chili-dog with sand and caused Sonia to do a constant rant for three full hours about each and every single beauty product and how she got them and how your crashing broke them all."

"Alright enough is enough." Yamato sighed as he looked at their means of transport, "Time to go."

"And not a moment too soon," Tusk noted as some Moebas began to burst into the room.

"Everyone else get on board! We'll hold them off…" Yamato ordered as he pulled out his ZyuohBuster and began shooting the Moebas down.

"They always start with the grunts!" Sonic groaned, cutting down a few.

"Why so many?!" Knuckles grunted, punching several and sending them flying away.

"It's Ro-butt-nik. Of course he's gonna send so many," Sonic quipped as he jumped over one, "But let's not mind the grunts. To the ship!"

"Hai!" Roll agreed, her tails smacking a few Moebas as the group began to run.

"I...I can't get the belt to work…" Leo groaned as everyone already climbed into a seat.

"We're leaving hot!" Sonic spoke, closing the door as Yamato jumped up to the pilot seats with Tails.

"Just give it another few…" Yamato spoke, flipping activation switches.

"Huh? Why?" Tails asked.

"An idea," he smiled.

Shadow looked ahead as he saw them enter the Rocket. He moved forward and slowly closed his hands, forming his Chaos Spears. But just as he got close enough to fire, the rocket roared to life. As the smoke from its engine exhaust filled the room, it blew over the Moebas and ruined Shadow's focus. Shadow grunted as the force was too much and too sudden as the Rocket took off into the air and towards space. As it went through the layers of the planet's atmosphere, Tails kept watch of their progress.

"Solid fuel booster separation...now!" Tails called as the boosters on the rocket split off and began to fall to the surface.

"Oh, I don't feel good…" Amu and Leo whimpered.

"Leo, you better not…" Sela growled.

"Entering MECO," Yamato informed.

"Disengaging the fuel tank," Tails noted.

"This is rad!" Manic exclaimed.

"Ladies and gentlemen...and Manic and Leo…" Tails joked.

"A'ight," Manic smirked as Leo groaned.

"We are now in orbit and on our way to the cannon that blew up the moon," Tails informed.

"It shouldn't be much longer until we arrive." Yamato added scanning around with his eagle vision, "Our path is clear."

"So what do you think we'll be dealing with up there aside from the obvious?" Sonic asked, "Think they'll have one of their Players in there to mess with?"

"If we can beat the forces they sent after us to the colony...they'll have to have some form of security," Amu spoke.

"I bet Ginis left that smart guy Quval to manage the place so some of his clever players," Sela offered.

"Meaning we'll deal with a tricky enemy…" Tusk spoke, "I almost wish it was Azald. At least then we could let Knuckles and Sonic punch it all day long…"

"We're approaching it," Yamato informed as he began to fly the rocket through the debris from the lower half exploding.

"So this is the space colony where they are…" Sonic noted.

"Dude, it looks like Robuttnik's face!" Manic gawked.

"We should land near the back in order to not have to worry about the debris field when we leave," Tails offered.

"A sound plan, Tails," Yamato nodded.

"Ah! Look out!" Amu yelped as they were about to hit a large piece of debris.

"Gh!" Yamato moved the controls before cringing as everyone felt the large hit on the back of the vessel.

"Everyone alright?" Sela asked.

"The hatch on the back got forced open," Tails informed.

"What?!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"Zyuohgers…" a voice spoke, making them turn to the door as a rectangle-shaped dent formed in it.

"Oh that's not good," Roll squeaked.

At that, a familiar large sword stabbed through, making them all jump. As it was pulled back, Azald's face could be seen on the other side.

"...Okay, who tempted fate by saying Azald?" Tusk demanded.

"THAT WAS YOU!" everyone but Knuckles barked.

"Oi, oi! Did you see anything come out as you were getting in here?!" Knuckles demanded.

"Hah? Well, there were these green shiny rocks that fell out."

"Oh, that's okay," Sonic noted.

"How is that okay?! Drop me off! Drop me off here right now!-!" Knuckles barked.

"Wait…" Tusk spoke, making him stop, "Then what…?" he asked Azald.

"I ate 'em!" he laughed.

"...GET ME AND HIM OFFA HERE!" Knuckles barked.

"Baka yaro!" Sonic barked, "Are you trying to take us down with you?! No, don't touch that!"

"Ara...the space colony is getting bigger…" Azald spoke as everyone blinked.

"AH!" Yamato and Tails panicked followed by everyone but Leo starting to scream.

"I still never got my peanuts," Leo whined.

"I smell stupidity…" Quval suddenly looked up, spooking the few who remained with him.

"Does that mean Mr. Azald's coming here?" Cassia asked with a cringe.

"No. I doubt he wants to bonk Robotnik on the head to revert him to Eggman," Quval spoke, "He's probably looking for something big and shiny to do the deed...LIKE A ROCKET!" he panicked, looking at a monitor as the rocket crashed inside.

"...We didn't have anyone where they crashed, did we?"

"Eh, just Moebas trying to herd those Artificial Chaos into chambers for later study," Quval replied, "...AH! MY LATER STUDY! AZALD!-!-!"

"Why's everything covered in water?" Sonic asked as they all regained themselves from the crash; he looked to see the door ripped off the hinges and Azald...well...an Azald-shaped hole was in the front windshield.

"Ugh...Who let Knuckles drive?" Amu groaned before blinking twice, "Ah, he and Manic are missing!"

"Amu, your clothes!" Sela barked, quickly throwing a towel over her, "I told you not to wear so much white!"

"But it's legitimately my color!" she pouted.

"Sela, arigatou," Yamato thanked.

"Can the world stop spinning?" Tails groaned, somehow now seated upside down in his chair.

"Ah mou...Why did Knuckles-san have to grab the controls and do that?" Roll groaned, her eyes swirls while she had ended up lying across Sonic's lap, "I thought we were going to die…"

"I saw my life flashing before my eyes," Caliwave noted, "...Boy, was Camelot both the best, and the worst, time of my life."

"I feel I have aged several centuries thanks to the red one's stunt," Caliburn sighed, "But we should be grateful since it appears to have let us lose Azald."

"BLARG!"

"Ew, Leo!" Tails exclaimed.

"Ugh...What? My tummy got horrible from that spinning at the end," Leo groaned before the water began to move and pool up around a robotic head to form a large sphere, "...My vomit made life!" he yelped as several tentacles made of the water stabbed where he had been, "AH! My new life wants to kill me!"

"Wait...is that...CHAOS?!" Tusk exclaimed.

"What the hell?" Sonic pondered before grabbing Caliburn and stabbed into the robotic head, causing the sphere to collapse into a puddle as the green optics dimmed, "That was weird. Tails?"

"Checking," Tails replied as he pulled the robotic head off and began to look inside of it while the others got out of the ship.

"Guh…" Tusk grimaced, grabbing his trunk.

"What's wrong?" Yamato asked.

"Blood... This whole place reeks of old dried-up blood," Tusk replied.

"EH?!" Tails exclaimed as he ran out with the opened robot head, "Minna! It has one of my Chaos Drives in it!"

"Huh?" Amu looked at the head, seeing a purple glowing shard inside of the head right next to the stab hole, "But didn't you make these?"

"Yeah! I only have three made so far. One for the Tornado, one for the laundry room, and one for my lab," Tails replied, "But judging from parts of it...this was made over fifty years ago."

"So the technology was invented once before?" Yamato asked.

"Mmm…" Tails pouted as Roll looked around.

"It feels creepy in here," Roll noted, putting a hand on a blocky device before yelping as a holographic screen popped up, "Eep!"

The screen fizzled before displaying an old security recording, a timestamp having a date from fifty years ago with the words 'SPACE COLONY: ARK SECURITY CAM291 on the bottom corner. A group of scientists were at work, working over a glass cage with that liquid creature before inside of it. The doors slid open before a group of GUN soldiers ran inside, guns in arms. No audio came from the recording as one of the men were shouting at the scientists. After a few moments of it, the man put two fingers to his helmet for a few seconds before nodding and said something else, making the scientists panic. That panic was justified when the GUN soldiers aimed and the footage ended just as the triggers were pulled.

"Oh I am so glad that cut off at the end," Caliwave cringed.

"Oh my Kami…" Roll whispered, her eyes wide in horror at what she and the others just witnessed.

"That's...what…" Yamato grunted, unable to fully form the words.

"Tch...and they called Kamen Riders and Super Sentai the bad guys," Sonic noted with a scowl.

"We need to destroy this place…" Leo scowled.

"We do…" Yamato nodded, "To save the world...and erase this colony's dark history."

"Hmm…" Tails pondered as he got into his Torando and typed on the computer, "Ah, got place has been shut down over fifty years ago due to an accident. Humanity's first Bernal sphere-shaped space colony: ARK. This used to be the world's most advanced scientific research facility. But now…"

"It's an uninhabited ark floating in space," Amu filled in for him.

"And by the looks of it...GUN is the reason why…" Sela added with a growl.

"Anything else, Tails?" Yamato asked.

"Not much...just blocked out articles and a list of people who died here, including a…" Tails began before tensing.

"...Tails?"

"...including a Maria...Robotnik."

"Maria...Robotnik?" many of them blinked.

Tails typed further, "Um...Ah. One of a few children or relatives of scientists that lived on the space colony. So that means one of the scientists here was a Robotnik."

"Could that by why Robotnik knows so much about it?" Amu offered, "He heard all about if from this relative?"

"...Could it be because of what happened here, it played a part in making Robotnik who he is?" Tusk offered as well.

"Everyone has a story…" Yamato spoke, "But we don't have time for it now. We need to stop this new game."

"Yamato's right. How much time do we have anyway?" Sonic asked.

"Um…" Tails looked at the timer, "Two hours, eleven minutes."

"What do we know about this thing?" Tusk asked before a beep went off from the Tornado.

"Ah. Nicole sent a file that she got from Skye who received it from Commander Doggie Kruger," Tails informed, "It seems GUN had blueprints of the Space Colony. The Eclipse Cannon seems to be very sturdy. Destroying it from the outside would be impossible, even for Yamato if he gets really mad."

"So we'll have to break it from the inside," Leo noted, "I like that!"

"So how will we do that?" Tusk asked.

"Well, I say we do this in two parts," Tails noted, "Part A is where the Zyuohgers go wild. While everyone on the ARK is busy with you…" he pulled out a metal case and opened it, revealing the yellow Chaos Emerald...before he pulled it out of his tail, "...We will use this."

"Hah?! Two of the same Emerald?!" Amu gasped.

"Yup, but one of them is a fake I made. It's power and purity are weaker, but it has the same wavelength and properties," Tails grinned, "We put this in the Eclipse Cannon, it will short it out by absorbing the Chaos Energy from the other Emeralds...and boom. No more world ending machine for Robotnik or Ginis to use."

"Genius," Sela smiled, "Then we'll have to split up from here." she sighed.

"Sonic, take the fake Emerald," Tails ordered, tossing him the one from the case, "Out of all of us, you're the fastest."

"Okay!" he cheered catching it and spinning it on his finger.

"Roll, you keep an eye on Tails while we go fight the bad guys," Amu ordered.

"With any luck, Robotnik will go down with the ship," Sela offered words of encouragement.

"Hai," Roll nodded.

"That's good. Roll, we'll be going to find the power source for the internal defenses and destroy it," Tails informed.

"Hai."

"Okay. I'm liking this plan," Sonic smirked, "So let's do it to it!"

"Hmm...It appears that they've arrived on the ARK," Robotnik noted, looking at a screen before gasping, "Impossible!"

"What's wrong, sir?" Maw asked.

"There's two Chaos Emerald signals," Robotnik growled before he chuckled, "Oh, I see now. Clever fox indeed. He's made a fake Chaos Emerald. More than likely, it pales in terms of power and purity but makes up for it in having the same wavelength and properties. That explains the two signals because the computer can't tell the difference."

"Interesting…" Maw noted.

"Can you tell which is which?" Quval asked, "If we can tell who has the fake, we can disrupt their plans."

"Excellent idea…" Robotnik grinned darkly, "Ah, they're moving with one going far faster." sirens began to blare, "Oh what now?"

"The Zyuohgers are going on a rampage," Lien-Da informed as another screen showed a live feed from the security cameras of Lion using his Yasei Kaihou to send out bolts of lightning at everything he could.

=IMMA BLOW IT ALL UP!= Lion roared before the screen changed to Elephant stomping around, breaking the floor with his Yasei Kaihou and then to Shark and Tiger blasting away at everything they could and then to Eagle whipping and slashing at Moebas.

"Tch. Of course," Robotnik growled, "Splitting up and the Zyuohgers attacking...add in the two signals…" his eyes widened before he slammed a fist on the console, "That blasted hedgehog must have the fake and is trying to bring it to the Eclipse Cannon while our defenses are distracted with the Zyuohgers!"

"Quite the conundrum," Quval noted, "If we ignore the Zyuohers, they'll destroy the ARK before we can fire again. But if we don't, then the lack of security here will more than likely let the hedgehog come with the fake Emerald. However..." he tapped on the console and a third screen popped up, showing Tails shooting away in the Tornado as Roll zipped around, using Caliwave in the shape of a spiked bat on Moebas in their way, "...We do have a third option."

"...oh brilliant…" Robotnik grinned at that.

"..." Shadow overheard that, "I'll stop the fake." he spoke up, "It'll be far more effective if I deal with that problem head on. Send The World to stop the Zyuohgers; it'll make whatever the fox's do pointless."

"True...but I want to not only make the hedgehog suffer...but make sure his comrades fall into a pit of despair so deep...nothing can climb out of it…" Robotnik explained.

"..." Shadow heard all that as he stopped for a second, "Are you doubting me Doctor?" he asked, turning around to glare at him.

"Oh no, my dear boy. If anything...it'll show how weak Sonic is compared to you…" Robotnik assured, "He plays the hero...and like any hero…" he looked back at the screen of Roll, "They need to rescue the damsel in distress…only this time, it will be his undoing."

At another console, Rouge and Lien-Da looked at the replaying feed of the rocket hitting the ARK. It showed Azald going through the window...and then the wall. Another feed showed him going through a wall and land in a cross-section platform above one of a vat filled with molten metal. On the first screen, it showed Knuckles jumping out of the new Azald-shaped hole in the window, pulling along Manic...who was foaming at the mouth with swirls in his eyes and then through the Azald-shaped hole in the wall.

"Seems the red guy and the cute little green guy came with them," Rouge noted before smirking, "Meaning they'll have the pieces of my gem with them."

"Your gem?" Lien-Da repeated.

"My agreed payment with Maw for my services," Rouge replied, "Unfortunately...a certain chinchilla caused my poor massive gem to break. I suppose I might as well go and keep an eye on that blocky guy."

"Not without someone watching you you're not," Lien-Da scowled as she followed after the bat.

"Sure you can keep up?"

"This isn't Squishy's room…" Azald spoke, looking around, "SQUISHY!" he roared as Robotnik felt a shiver he could not explain, "Daddy's here to take you home, boy! And bring you back to normal! I found a nice big rock to bash you over the head with!"

"...rrrrr…"

"Huh? What's that?" Azald pondered, turning to the hole he had made.

"...rrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG!-!-!" Knuckles roared as he erupted from the hole and slammed a fist into Azald, sending him crashing through another wall and sent the shards of the Master Emerald into the air, "!-!" he lifted up Manic and flicked him to be stiff before bending him at the waist and threw him.

"WHOAWHOAWHOA!" Manic freaked as he spun around, hitting the shards, and went back to the echidna...who proceeded to drop him as he counted the shards.

"Phew. All of them that we found so far," Knuckles sighed in relief.

"The pain…" Manic whimpered.

"Wow. That actually hurt," Azald noted, "When he'd get stronger?"

"Compliments of Robotnik from his pyramid base," Knuckles replied as he held his fists up, showing off a pair of black, dark-blue, and red braces over them.

"...Awww! Squishy made something that would give someone a way to give me a good fight!" Azald sniffled, "I have such a good Squishy, even if he's sick and needs to be hit with a big shiny rock!"

"What's with you and hitting him with that rock!?" Manic complained as he got up.

"The sparky little rat said it'd work. Says she saw it happen in Cartoons," Azald explained.

"Spark little…" Manic repeated, 'Ugh...Thunderdolt is a pain even when she isn't in sight.'

"Besides I don't like this version," Azald added, "It just pisses me off the more it talks…" he spoke as his blue aura of bloodlust began forming, "The more this pale imitation is around...the more I want to go on a rampage…"

'So even aliens can't stand Robotnik…' Manic sweatdropped, "Wait...rampage?!"

"Ah…" he summoned his sword again, "Hora...It needs more red rust…" he grinned.

"Oh piss…" Manic cringed.

"Here he comes," Knuckles scowled, assuming a fighting stance.

"HA!" Azald roared, swinging at Knuckles who blocked with his new gauntlets.

"Oh that wasn't…" Manic began before the ground crumpled, sending him flying, "AH!"

"Nanto...you can still block this?" Azald asked.

"Such power…" Knuckles grunted, pushing back.

"You're as strong as a gorilla, red rat!" Azald pushed harder with his sword.

"I'm not a rat!" Knuckles growled, shifting his body and managing to lift up Azald, "I am…" he threw Azald into the ceiling, "AN ECHIDNA!"

"Oh, he's really strong!" Azald noted...before struggling, "...Oi...oi...I'm stuck!" he feet kicked about, "Gah! I'm stuck! Aw man…"

"You beat him?" Manic blinked.

"Ah...in a sense," Knuckles grunted, "His body is too big to get free from that."

"Ah, that's good. Now I can get the rest of my gem."

"Yep. You ca-HOLD IT!" Knuckles barked, swinging a fist and making Rouge jump back, "There you are. Give back the shard you stole!"

"Better listen to the dude," Manic advised, "It's two on one."

"Count better," Rouge replied before Manic jumped out of the way of Lien-Da's kick aimed at him, "Tag team~"

"Ah...I wanna make a sexy joke...but...talk about the wrong crowd," Manic sighed.

"Well...this is a weird situation…" Knuckles muttered.

"Oi, Lien-Da! Get me down so I can kill the red rat and the green rat!" Azald shouted, "And take me to Squishy!"

"Ah...Azald…" she sighed.

"Don't let him down...He's crazy and is likely to kill all of us!" Manic complained.

"Do not listen to the Rat with bad hair!" Azald countered.

"Oh screw you, blocky!" Manic snapped.

"Oh just for that, you're double-squashed when I get outta this!"

"...He wants the Master Emerald to hit Robotnik with, doesn't he?" Lien-Da asked.

"Not gonna get it," Knuckles snarled.

'This is just not my week,' Manic thought as the four assumed fighting stances.

Sonic stopped as he felt a familiar presence ahead of him. He looked up as Shadow walked towards him.

"So we meet again, Fake…" Shadow sighed, "I was hoping this would be easy, but you seem to do nothing but cause complications. I can see why you drove the Doctor insane."

"Yeah, I have that effect on evil psychopaths…" Sonic sighed.

"Am I to take it you imply I am evil?" Shadow asked.

"You are working to destroy the Earth and all of its people," Sonic argued.

"I work to complete the last promise I made to someone," Shadow countered, "That is all I need to move forward without hesitation. And for that promise...I need you to die."

"Wow...talk about difference in opinion," Sonic laughed.

"These swords...they refer to us as Arthur and Lancelot…" Shadow spoke, "Nonsense, but...I suppose that makes this...ironic destiny. In the stories, Lancelot strikes the greatest blow to Arthur by taking his wife and leading to the fall of all he worked for."

"Oh, so now you're after Roll?" Sonic asked slowly.

"Nonsense…" he shook his head, "I am merely warning you of how that ironic destiny intends to play out in modern times."

"Huh?" Sonic blinked, "...Gah! Robotnik is after Roll and Tails!"

"It took you long enough to piece it together, fool," Shadow sighed, "I all but said as such."

"Then why didn't you?!"

"That would imply I'm telling you for your sake...when the truth if further from that. I tire of you always annoying me with that attitude and pride that has no right challenging mine," Shadow crossed his arms, "You who are inferior to me should understand that much. No...what I want is revenge...but I detest horrors on small lives."

"Then...why destroy the Earth?" Sonic asked again.

"It is what she asked of me...nothing more...nothing less." Shadow stated, "You could try and get past me...or you could flee towards your friends."

"..."

"Knave?" Caliburn pondered.

"...Next time we meet, I'm settling this argument between us," Sonic stated before running off to find Tails and Roll.

"I see nothing that needs to be settled," Shadow turned and began walking away.

"RAH!" Lion roared as he slashed down a rusted GUN robot, "GUN even had their robots up here...bastards!" he snarled as he kicked back a Moeba and an Artificial Chaos.

"This...was one of...their bases of operations!" Elephant spoke, shooting down grunts who got in their way.

"But why so much!?" Shark groaned, slashing a Robot before cutting down an Artificial Chaos.

"Probably to keep the scientists in line!" Tiger guessed as she blasted back a Moeba.

"Yeah, and we saw how that went!" Lion argued.

"No time to complain...just go as wild as you can!" Eagle ordered, swinging his EagRiser in whip mode and taking our hordes of enemies with each swing.

"In that case...Yasei Kai…!" Lion began before the grunts around the group suddenly exploded, "?!"

"Tch...Never send grunts to do a Player's job…" the Zyuohgers tensed as they slowly turned to a nearby entrance, seeing The World standing there with his weapon in rifle mode, "Yo."

"...You…" Eagle whispered as he and the others got into a defensive stance.

"So you wanted to bring the fight up here…" The World began as he began to approach them, "Good...Least you'll have a front row seat as you watch Earth be destroyed by the Eclipse Cannon."

"That won't happen," Eagle spoke, retracting his EagRiser to sword mode.

"No matter how much you've grinded...you're still not on my level…" The World replied as he charged at them.

"He's coming!" Lion growled.

"Honno Kakusei!" Eagle shouted as he flashed into Gorilla and took The World's tackle head on, "Grr!" he growled, pushing him back.

"Yamato?" the others all asked.

"I've...figured his powers out...Rhino is defense...Wolf is speed...and Crocodile is strength…" he grunted, "He can only use all three powers in his Yasei Dai Kaihou form...but that form taxes him...so he changes back and forth first! I've learned his pattern!"

"Teme…" The World growled at that reaching for his Light only to grunt as Lion grabbed his arm, "Nani?"

"That's...amazingly simple!" Elephant shouted, grabbing the other arm.

"Hit him, Yamato!" Lion cheered.

"HA!" Gorilla roared before slamming a punch to The World, making him grunt in pain.

The World growled in anger as he swung his arms and sent both Lion and Elephant into Gorilla. He then raised his arms once Shark and Tiger began shooting him. He let the blasts hit him to little effect. He grabbed hisThe Light and slammed it on his knee while he rushed forward.

=OHHHHH~! OH~! WOLF!=

The World roared as he blurred over to attack them both only to grunt as he stopped. He looked to see the EagRiser forming a line between him and the female Zyuohgers. The bladed whip snapped around him as he was dragged back. He turned around as the whip uncurled and cried in pain as Gorilla slammed his fist into his stomach.

"Wolfs...don't have ultimate defense…" Gorilla growled as he slammed The World into the floor, "In this form...you're vulnerable to direct attacks!" he shouted, punching down and slamming The World through the floor.

"Oh! Nice idea, Yamato!" Lion shouted as they ran up to the hole they both fell through, "Kick his triple-colored ass!"

"Gh!" Gorilla grunted as he and The World fell through floors of platforms, and piping throughout the colony.

The two finally crashed down on a conveyor belt. Gorilla grunted as The World got back up. The World growled and slammed his The Light on his palm as he stood up.

=OHHHHHH~! OH~! CROCODILE!=

Gorilla grunted as he was picked up by The World who began punching him, making him stagger back. The World roared as he brought up both arms and slammed on Gorilla's shoulders with hammer fist strikes. Gorilla cried in pain as The World grabbed his helmet and kept him from falling over. The World brought back his free hand as he opened his hand and slowly closed it, cracking his knuckles in the process, he roared and swung with an uppercut that hit Gorilla's helmet and sent him flying back across the conveyor belt.

"Gh...ah…" Gorilla grunted, pushing himself back up. He looked up as The World walked over to him.

"Owari da…" The World raised his arm up to strike only to blink as he missed. He looked up as a red flash returned the Red Senshi back to his Eagle form.

"Ha…" Eagle spoke, raising his arms.

"Grr…"

The World swung as Eagle stepped back from each one. As The World swung wide, Eagle pushed his arm aside and made him lose balance. The World pulled out his rod weapon in staff mode as he began swinging, only for Eagle to step back and avoid each swing.

"Right now...in this form...my eyes can see every move you'll make…" Eagle spoke while jumping back to avoid a low swing, he then jumped forward and stopped The World's arm, "Stop this…"

"Hah?" The World asked.

"You...you're also from Earth?"

"So what if I am? I'm not anymore."

"You're wrong!" Eagle grunted, pushing back against The World, "You were born here on Earth...you have the power of Mobians running through you...no matter how hard you try...you have bonds you can't cut!"

"B-bonds?" he repeated.

"You're bonded to the Earth as one of its people… You're bonded to Mobius by the power you now have!" Eagle shouted, "The suit you now have...this bonds you to us, too. You were made to mock us...but you're still a Zyuohger."

"..."

"You don't want to do this...you don't want to hurt people. That's just Ginis' voice in your head!" Eagle spoke as he gripped The World's suit, "You're like me! A human who is carrying the power of Mobians! We shouldn't fight!"

"L-like you?" he asked, tensing up for a moment, "B-boku wa…"

"Remember…" Eagle spoke, "You're not evil...you use to be a human...you use to call Earth home. Do you really want to see it destroyed!?"

"I...I'm...w-who am I?" he asked backing away from Eagle, "Wh...ah...what am I!?" he put his hands to his helmet.

"Okay, it sounds like Yamato just triggered something," Shark noted before everyone ducked under laser fire.

"Right. Forgot about those," Lion remembered before they went back to shooting and slashing at robots and Artificial Chaos.

"We need to clear these things out of our way!" Elephant spoke.

"We have to do as much damage as possible so this thing won't work!" Tiger added, "Let's break everything on our way down to meet with Yamato!"

"YOSHA!" Lion roared in agreement.

-line break-

"That is a lot of explosions…" Tails noted, "They must be going extra wild."

"Hai…" Roll nodded as she walked beside him.

"Honestly, during those moments where Gerry was sane, he'd go on all about this place and how wonderful it was," Caliwave noted, a solemn tone in her voice, "But as I look around, it doesn't really live up to what he told me."

"Gerry?" Tails repeated.

"He was a prisoner that was forced to continue his scientific research for GUN," Caliwave explained, "You know why all those robots were still running despite being up here for fifty years? He made this neat little batteries from quartz in all sorts of colors that would let anything they're plugged into run for well over two centuries at minimum. Your little Chaos Drive doo-dad actually looks like 'em."

"I'm sorry what? ...Roll...did the magic talking sword just say it knew the man that made this place?" Tails asked blinking a few times.

"For once; Caliwave is a 'she.' And two...I think she did," Roll replied.

"Oh, I did. During one of his lucid moments, he regaled the other prisoners with tales of days on the ARK, how this one scientist Kiel would make the worst puns but still got laughs from some of the others, a time where this other scientist Kali was so tired from this one extended research experiment that she put dirt in the coffee filter instead of grounded up coffee beans. But whenever he'd start bringing up this 'Ma' person, he'd trail off and get this far away look in his eyes and then it'd be a while before he was lucid again," Caliwave explained, "And the one time the troops let me go check on him, I still don't understand what he scratched onto the walls, the floor, and even on the toilet." the blade widened as writing and numbers appeared in it, "See? Maybe you can make sense of this stuff, Tailsy."

"How do you remember all this?" Tails asked as he began to look at it.

"When you've lived as long as I have and locked up as long as I was, you end up remembering everything just to keep your head straight," Caliwave replied.

"These are formulas and equations for a lot of different forms of science," Tails spoke, "Though this one worries me."

"Eh? Which one?"

"This one," Tails replied, pointing at a line of equations and formulas near the end, "The formula is a computer virus meant to override all outside controls of something and force it to activate any devices that create propulsion on their maximum settings. But the equation...It's for the results of a 15 kilometer object weighing approximately 15,000,000 tons colliding with the planet."

"Ano...Tails...How big would you say this colony is?" Roll asked.

"Um...Give or take those 'whiskers,' I'd say fifteen kilometers," Tails replied as he looked up at Roll as she spun her hand around as if asking him to keep going mentally, "...AH!" he realized.

"What? I don't get it," Caliwave pondered as she reverted to her normal shape.

"Caliwave, 'Gerry' was allowed to continue his scientific research for GUN, right?" Tails asked.

"Yeah."

"Well who's to say that he didn't abuse that to send a virus up here meant to trigger anything that could help propel the space colony down to the planet?" Tails questioned.

"...AHH!" Caliwave screamed in realization, flipping out of Roll's hand to make herself resemble an exclamation point for a moment before being caught by her, "Oh, Gerry, why?!"

"Gerry...gerry...wait. Was his real name...Gerald?" Tails asked, earning a nod from the sword, "That's what Robotnik called his grandfather."

"Then...that would m..." Roll began before jumping back from an attempted stab, "?!"

=Ah...about time she found you…= Robotnik's voice echoed from the ship's intercom.

""Who…?!" Tails began as he turned, "?!...Sally…"

=I will admit this: my foolish other self did a rather amazing job with the Roboticized Princess…= Robotnik chuckled as Sally glared at Roll =Made her able to combat Sonic...and inadvertently in turn you, spawn of Skye Sakurai...=

"Robotnik," Roll scowled, "At least like this, I won't feel as bad as I would if you had stayed Eggman in killing you."

=DO NOT CALL ME THAT!= Robotnik snarled =That is the name of that...that...IDIOT!=

"Oh? Why shouldn't I call you what you are, Eggman? You still hide behind others like you did as Eggman," Roll noted.

=GRAH! You insufferable Hedgefox! Just as annoying as your father was when he was my student on Earth!=

"...Eh?" Tails and Roll froze at that.

"What a twist…" Caliwave gasped, 'And me without a bucket of popcorn...again!'

=Hmm? Oh...Oh hoh...You...you didn't know that, did you?= Robotnik grinned =A shame Earth won't be around when you fail...Princess...capture them, but make sure the hedgefox suffers for what she did to you…=

"With pleasure…" Sally growled, her voice not sounding robotic..but full of malice as her optics glowed a menacing red while she brought her energy blades out.

=I should also mention, I offered her to Quval to see if he'd like to provide any...improvements=

"I really don't like the team of Robotnik and Quval…" Tails cringed.

"Me nei…" Roll began before swinging Caliwave out, letting the blade change into a shield to block Sally's blades, "Gh!"

"You will pay for taking everything from me..." Sally growled.

"Yeesh! What did you do to her?!" Caliwave cringed at that.

"Blame Eggman...for messing with her after she got Roboticized and ended up poisoning her mind!" Roll grunted, "Katana please."

"Huh? Uh...Ya know I can't…"

"Please shape into a katana."

"Uh...alright?" Caliwave replied as Roll slid under Sally the moment Caliwave shifted, letting her get behind the Roboticized Mobian.

"Seiya!" Roll shouted as she swung Caliwave in her katana shape...and sliced the rockets on her left foot, causing Sally to lose control and crash into a wall.

"...Did...Did I just…?"

"Sakurai Family technique. It makes all blades we have sharp no matter their condition," Roll explained, "Why do you think I had all those rusted, chip, and blunt blades on that shelf?"

"...You are my favorite wielder. Let's slice more things up! YAHOO!"

"Grr…" Sally growled down on one knee as the rocket in her foot sparked.

She then immediately turned and stabbed forward, only for Roll to dodge as the blade stabbed right into a pipe, causing steam to pour into the room.

"...Shoot. I almost forgot how resourceful she can be…" Roll muttered as she took a defensive stance, eyeing the steam covered room, "Tails! Are you ok?"

"I am, b-WAH!" Tails yelped when something zipped by, leaving a gash in the Tornado, "Ahh! I just polished that this morning!"

"Gh!" Roll tensed as she barely brought Caliwave up in time to block the blur's slash.

"Was this...gal a princess…?!" Caliwave began each time Roll blocked a slash from the blur, "Or...a ninja?!"

"She grew up in war times and had to become a military leader at a young age!" Roll replied, "She'd always perform espionage and supply runs into Robotropolis where if you were caught, you'd end up like she is now!"

"...Yikes…" Caliwave muttered before the two entered a stalemate with their blades.

"In fact...she ended up falling into a vat once and spent an entire year pink," Roll smirked, "And she hated every moment of that time."

"...I...told you that in confidence!" Sally snapped, her eyes flashing blue for a tiny moment before she slashed at Roll once more.

"...What was that?" Tails blinked after seeing that.

"I think, for a moment, we saw the real her in there," Roll replied.

"Activating V Maximum Overdrive."

"Ah sh…" both began before Sally erupted in energy and forced them to dodge her rush.

"He installed that into her?" Tails groaned, "...No wait. Stupid question. Of course he would."

"So that was fun. What's next?" Caliwave asked excitedly.

"More dodging!" both replied, barely avoiding another attack only for Roll to yelp as one of her tails was grabbed and let Sally slam her into a wall, "Gah!"

"Ahh! Roll!" Tails gasped before Sally kicked the side of the Tornado, knocking it onto its side, "Gah!"

"I thought I taught you better, Tails…" Sally muttered, bringing her blades up to block Roll's slash from behind, "When dealing with mechs like Robitnik's, make sure they're not so easy to knock over."

"True..but there's een thing you and all the others taught me…" Tails began as he pressed something.

"Hmm? And th-GAH!" Sally gasped as she was punched into a large circular room, a view of Earth from down below as a retractable boxing glove went back into Tails' mech.

"Wait for the right opportunity to strike," Tails grinned, 'If she's still in there...I'm probably gonna get in trouble for it…' he thought as he tried to get the Tornado to stand back up, "...Uh...Roll? Some help here?"

"On it," Roll replied, grabbing the Tornado and lifting it up onto its feet, "If we can disable her, we might be able to take her back to your place to see if we can cure her."

"I hope so…" Tails whispered as the two carefully walked into the room, "Maybe I can get Nicole t..." he tensed when he and Roll felt something against the back of their heads.

"Oh...I wouldn't recommend stealing what rightfully belongs to me…" Robotnik grinned, standing behind them in his own mech while he aimed a gun at them, "Especially not after all the hard work my other self put into making her what she is...a perfect Anti-Sonic weapon."

"..."

"And don't even try and kill me, Spawn of Sakurai…" Robotnik continued, his finger inches away from a button, "You kill me, my hand will activate the Princess' self destruct sequence… Can you live with yourself knowing you went against Sonic's attempts to 'save me', but also ended up killing his former love?"

"...tch…." Roll growled, shaking a bit in anger as she held her hands up.

"You know...you just outright suck, you know that?" Caliwave asked as she glared at Robotnik.

"As if I need approval from a sword that'll just end up being turned into molten metal," Robotnik countered, "Now move!"

"Eh...That sounds like my kind of plan," a familiar voice made him pause, "What's this? Looks important. A Detonator...tsk tsk. You know, these should be made the kind where your fingers comes off and then bad things happen, especially around me! Really, it's like all those years of kicking your butt never happened."

"...Perfect timing…" Robotnik grinned as he turned, looking to see Sonic standing in the doorway, "Prince Sonic."

"Robuttnik. So...We're playing this game, huh? The ol' hostage scenario," Sonic noted, eyeing the downed Sally for a moment before glaring at him, "Even had Sal do the dirty work for ya, huh? As big of a coward as always…"

"As much as I'd like to continue this conversation...I have a busy schedule to keep. Now...The Chaos Emerald…" Robotnik began as he aimed at Roll, "Or their lives?"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it," Sonic replied, 'By handing over the Emerald and pretending that it's the real deal and not the fake, It'll be like having two Chili-Dogs for one Ring.'

"Good boy...Now place the emerald in the center," Robotnik ordered, pointing at where he wanted it with his free hand.

"Yeah yeah...You know the moment you walk out, the Zyuohgers are gonna find ya and beat you up good, right?" Sonic quipped as he walked to the center, about to place the 'Emerald' down before a glass tube encased him, "?!"

"Did you think you could fool me with such a fake?" Robotnik demanded, "I'll exile you to space for being such a fool as to try to trick me!"

"No way! How'd you know it was a fake?!" Tails gawked.

"Ha! Because you just told me, you fox brat!" Robotnik laughed.

"Ah…" Tails realized his goof.

"I redesigned that escape capsule just for you, prince," Robotnik chuckled, "Once it enters the atmosphere, it will detonate. And with that detonation, you will die."

"...Tails, Roll, I'll be leaving the rest to you two," Sonic informed before looking at Sally, "And Sal...not sure if you can hear me deep down in there, but...I'm sorry...and take care…"

"Farewell...Sonic the Hedgehog…" Robtonik grinned as he pressed a button, causing the pod to fall into space.

"Sonikku!" Roll cried out, looking out at space to see it fall to the surface.

"...Heh...So this is how I go out, huh?" Sonic asked himself, leaning against the glass before looking down at the fake Chaos Emerald, "...wait...Tails said that thing has the same wavelength and properties of a Real Chaos Emerald...Can I do it? Will I be able to do it?"

"Farewell, my lifelong rival," Robotnik noted as the capsule exploded.

"Sonic…" Tails spoke in shock as Roll collapsed to her knees, tears in her eyes.

"Gh!" Lion tensed, stopping in his attack for a moment, "I...I can't feel it…"

"Hmm?" the other Zyuohgers stopped as they turned towards him.

"Sonic...I...I don't know why but...I can't feel him anymore…"

"Nani?" Elephant pondered.

"...Leo...you're not insinuating…." Shark began as Lion began to tremble.

"...Then...that explosion we just heard…." Tiger began in horror.

"Now then...back to business," Robotnik noted, "Hand over the Chaos Emerald, and I may just let you live for a bit longer."

"Gh…" Tails grunted, fighting back tears for a moment.

"...He said…"

"Hm?" Robotnik looked down at the hedgefox, her fists clenched as she began to stand.

"Tails...Sonikku said for us to take care of things," Roll spoke as she grasped Caliwave tighter.

"...That's right…" Tails began, wiping the tears from his eyes as a look of determination grew, "This is the first time Sonic asked me to handle things for him…! That's why...I'm not gonna run away!"

"You took so much from so many…" Roll narrowed her eyes as she aimed her sword at Robotnik, "No more. There will be no more that you will take from anyone, Ivo Robotnik!"

"...Then by all means…" Robotnik began as a group of Moebas stormed into the room as Sally rose up, "Come and try…"

Roll's ears twitched as she looked up. She quickly grabbed Tails and moved back just as the ceiling above them caved in. Eagle and The World hit the ground as the later continued holding his head while screaming in pain.

"Yamato-san!" Roll gasped.

"What did he do to the The World?" Tails pondered.

"AH!" The World stood up, "Wha...what am I!? YASEI DAI KAIHOU!" he roared, transforming as he began swinging around wildly and randomly. His tail arm swung and knocked down the Moeba before he charged through them and raised his claws at Robotnik, making him stumble back, "AH!" he roared while swinging around, striking anything in range.

"Ginis's conditioning is breaking…" Eagle spoke, "I was able to get through to him...somewhat. But I can only imagine the horrible torture Ginis did to make him what he was…"

"What?! No no!" Robotnik snapped before looking at Sally, "You! Get him back under control!"

"...Grr…"

"I SAID NOW!"

"...Yes...Lord Robotnik…" Sally growled as she charged at The World, her blades dismissed as she attempted to grab him, only for a chain to wrap around her and pull her away and slam into a wall.

"Gomen, Sally-hime," Roll apologized, holding onto the Kusarigama Caliwave had turned into, "But I meant what I said. He will not take another thing!" with that, she swung the chain and threw Sally at Robotnik, knocking over his vehicle, "ORA!"

"AH!" The World roared flaring up his aura of darkness as he charged right at the downed vehicle.

"At this point, I'm just guiding him through here to do as much damage as possible, until he finally passes out…" Eagle admitted as he stumbled for a moment, "Did...Sonic finish his task?"

"...Sonic...he…" Tails began, lowering his head before shaking it, "No...I said I wouldn't run anymore...I'm gonna continue to fight...for his sake."

"Nani?" Eagle pondered.

Lien-Da, Knuckles, Rouge, and Manic panted as they stood across from one another. All over, the room they had been fighting in was littered in dents, holes, scratches, scorch marks, and bits of rubble.

"Mmm…" Azald whined, still stuck in the ceiling, "I know there was a big fight down there, but I didn't get to see any of it."

"Does that thing ever shut up!?" Knuckles complained.

"I don't know...It makes for smarter company then most…" Lien-Da countered staring right at Knuckles.

"HA! Take that, Quval! Someone called me smart!" Azald shouted.

"He must not get a lot of praise, huh?" Manic chuckled.

"JUST SHUT UP AND GIVE ME MY EMERALD!" Rouge and Knuckles barked at one another.

"What's with you two?! Aren't you two ashamed of being violent against a pair of ladies to begin with?!" Rouge demanded.

"A lady doesn't steal other people's gems!" Knuckles barked back.

"Eh, dude or gal doesn't really matter to me. I'm an equal kinda dude like that," Manic shrugged, "It'd be rude to not go all out against someone that can fight and wants ta fight."

"Listen, all gem are m…" Rouge began as she stepped forward, only for the part of the ground she was on to break off and send her down, back facing the molten metal below, "Ah!" her fall was suddenly halted, "?!" she looked up to see Manic grabbing onto the side of the path while grabbing her hand, "Eh?"

"A cha…" Lien-Da began, about to attack Manic's hand before she was struck by Knuckles, sending her through the Azald-shaped holes and hit the ship several rooms away, "GAH!"

"I really like these things," Knuckles chuckled, holding up his upgrades, as Manic pulled himself and Rouge up and standing.

"..." both stared into one another's eyes, Manic's hand still holding Rouge's.

"?" Knuckles raised a brow before Rouge pulled her hand back.

"Hey, keep your dirty hands off me!"

"Is that what you're gonna say to someone that saved your life?" Manic asked, "Yeesh...touchy."

"Huh? But...she has wings," Knuckles noted.

"Bats can't fly when their backs are facing the ground, Knux," Manic explained, "I should know since one of my pals in the thieves guild was a bat."

"Ah, but she could have just spun around…" Knuckles pointed out again, "That's kind of how being in the air works…"

"Heh-heh. You just saved me because you wanted to hold my hand, didn't you?" Rouge teased, making Manic stammer and blush.

"Majidayo!?" Knuckles complained.

"Such a creep," Rouge continued with a giggle...before giving Manic the shard she had.

"What?" Manic asked.

"I'm giving this to you," Rouge informed, "I don't need a gem that stinks like an idiot echidna and a tiny whiff of green hedgehog."

"OI!" Knuckles and Lien-Da barked at the former part, the latter managing to get back into the room in time to hear it.

"If that's what you think, you could've done that in the first place!" Knuckles snapped as he snatched the shard from Manic.

"Hey…" Manic began before Knuckles held up all the shards before the glowed bright and reformed into a complete Master Emerald.

"Yare yare da ze…" Knuckles sighed as he looked it over.

"..." Manic looked at Rouge, who turned away from him.

"What?"

"For what it's worth...I'm sorry that I treated ya so rough," Manic apologized before handing her the papers he had stashed away, "Here. Some plans for a jeweler that likes to underprice gems he buys only to sell at five times their actual worth."

"Come on!" Knuckles ordered before grabbing Manic and ran off.

"WHOA!" Manic yelped.

"Gah! Get back here!" Lien-Da snapped as she ran after them, leaving Rouge to herself.

"...I suppose it's about time I get going as well," Rouge noted as she walked off the opposite direction, but not before glancing towards where they had fled with a small smile while stashing the plans away into her cleavage.

"...I'm still stuck up here," Azald noted, "...Hey...Is anyone still there? ...I blame Quval for this."

"This way…" Eagle spoke before the hall in front of them exploded, "Not that way!"

"Will someone please put him into a padded room or something?" Caliwave demanded as The World let out another scream as he charged through another wall, "Seriously! This is that one chili night when that one Bison Orphnoch prisoner was snuck a whole ghost pepper into his bowl back in '86 all over again."

"Blast it! Stand still!" Robotnik snapped, trying to aim a sedative at The World..only for it to be shot out of his hand by Tails while one of the guns on his mech was slashed up during The World's rampage, "GAH!"

"This is almost like Roll when she did the thing…" Eagle noted, "Only…" they cringed as Robotnik screamed in pain, "More...erratic…"

"Uh, is this a good frame of reference or no?" Tails asked.

"Better left unanswered," Eagle replied.

"AH!" The World wrapped his Crocodile tail around Robotnik's leg as he dragged him around.

"No, no, no, no! GYAH!" Robotnik screamed, "Bad evil minion! Cease this at on-WHOA!"

"Ah, probably a bad time...but Roll, I thought of something." Eagle spoke, "You said Robotonik ejected Sonic outside and the capsule exploded, hai?" he asked getting a nod, "Then...wouldn't you feel if anything bad, really happened to him cause of the bond?"

"..." Roll blinked twice before closing her eyes, "..." they opened, her eyes wet with tears, "It's still there."

"Wait, you mean...?" Tails blinked.

"Yappari...Sonic is too thick headed to fall just like that!" Eagle laughed.

-linebreak-

"I feel a presence…" Knuckles noted as he and Manic walked down a hallway, having lost Lien-Da.

"It better not be another ghost!" Manic complained before a flash of yellow light shined above him, "What's h…" he was cut off by Sonic landing on him, "GAH! ...Ow...the pain..."

"Sonic?" Knuckles asked, "What the heck was that?"

"G-god...is space cold...like...Really really cold!" Sonic shivered as he got off Manic, "Thank god I landed on something warm…"

"Screw...you...Bro," Manic groaned.

"How did you get here?" Knuckles asked.

"The Knave did what he does best: attempt something so insane that it works," Caliburn replied as Sonic held up the fake Emerald.

"Isn't that a Chaos Emerald?" Knuckles asked.

"No. It's a fake Tails made," Sonic replied before chuckling, "I was really able to do it when I really tried. I managed to do Chaos Control."

"Chaos Control?" the two repeated before Manic caught Sonic as he nearly collapsed, "Bro!"

"Ugh...I'm worried about Tails and Roll," Sonic noted, "Knuckles, I hate to ask, but can you and Manic find them?"

"Ah, sure," Knuckles shrugged, "I got what I wanted."

"...Bro, what are ya plannin'?" Manic asked.

"We've got one shot at this," Sonic replied, "Before the Eclipse Cannon can fired again…" he held up the fake Emerald, "I'm going to shove this right down its barrel!"

"...Good luck, bro," Manic nodded, giving him a thumbs up as he and Knuckles ran off.

-linebreak-

"I've arrived. What is it that you wanted to talk about?" Shadow asked as he approached the pronghorn sisters and Quval in an observation deck.

"There is something that I needed to ask. You say that you are Project Shadow, yes?" Quval asked.

"I am," Shadow replied.

"Hmm...That is interesting, considering what Clove discovered," Quval replied.

"This is the latest progress report for Project Shadow, a plan to develop the ultimate lifeform capable of eternal life and producing a cure-all for all the world's diseases," Clove informed as she held up a printed paper, displaying the name 'PROJECT SHADOW' on the top of it...but the sole picture on the paper wasn't Shadow, but a lizard-like creature.

"Your point being?" he asked.

"I am a man of knowledge, my good hedgehog," Quval replied, "If what's shown on this is the picture of the true ultimate life form 'Shadow'...One cannot help but wonder this: just who is it that stands before us right now?"

"I am Shadow, the one and only," he countered simply, "That is all I need, and it is all you'll get." he spoke, slowly closing one of his hands as if preparing to attack.

Clove moved discreetly before Cassia, ready to attack...before Quval sighed while looking at a screen.

"It seems that the third option failed," Quval noted, "One Emerald is heading for where the other six are...but the other Emerald is moving at high speeds, approaching the barrel of the Eclipse Cannon. No one is close enough to intercept it..." he looked at Shadow, "Unless they're just as fast if not faster than the one holding it."

"...The fake…" Shadow frowned, turning to leave.

"And where are you off to?"

"To settle a score...and to prove who truly is the fastest thing alive."

"Works everytime…" Quval laughed to himself.

"Ah! Wait!" Cassia called, "Do you really believe you're the real Shadow? What if your memories are all just fake?!"

"Even if my memories are just fabrications, they are all that I have," Shadow replied, "Because of that...I must realize her wish."

"Wow. That is one dedicated Hedgehog," Cassia admitted.

"I think I heard Yamato down here," Shark spoke as the four Zyuohgers ran down the metal hallway, right to where Eagle and the others are.

"Guys!" Lion waved only to cringe as The World ran through the walls dragging Robotnik behind him, "Nevermind! We'll see you on the next floor!" he turned to run only for Elephant to stop him, "..."

"What happened?" Elephant sighed.

"Good news...I got through to him…" Eagle sighed, "Bad news...he's having a really bad identity crisis."

"Hmm...Do you think this is what Roll-chan did in that truck of strawberries before eating them all?" Tiger pondered.

"I'm...wait. Didn't Yamato have a theory that he's part Sakurai?" Shark asked.

"Yeah...Oh!" Tiger realized before running over to the Hedgefox, "Roll-chan, ichigo! We need a lot of it!"

"Um...Why are you asking me?" Roll asked...before Tiger reaching into one of Roll's tails and pulled out a sealed package of dried strawberries, "...Oh fine." she held up four tails, "My emergency rations are in these four."

"I love you for being so predictable on this one thing!" she cheered as she began to dig into the tails and pull out numerous strawberry-related snacks, "Sides if I'm right that makes him your other Otouto or Aniki depending on how old he is... Or Twin...given he has some of your DNA...it's all really weird, but this is the one predictable thing your family has!" she complained while holding up one bag of snacks, "Hora...The World!" she called as he stopped just before ramming into another wall.

"He stopped…" the others gawked.

"Ah?" he sniffed the air as he reverted to normal and walked closer to them.

"See…" Tiger spoke as he got closer and closer as she led him around with the snacks, "It's just like Roll when she's half asleep…or Auntie...or Haseo-kun..."

"I get it," Roll deadpanned.

"I'm not judging your family addiction…" Tiger muttered, "Sides it's proved helpful...a lot." she stopped as The World stopped, "Good...now...uh...de-henshin or something…" she ordered, "Dameda...Roll, he's your brother; you try."

"Eh? ...Ano...You can't eat them while you have that on," Roll noted, "Please? Take it off so you can eat? Pretty please?"

"Off…" he spoke, moving his hands to his helmet, "Ginis-sama never lets me remove my helmet…" he spoke slowly as if in a trance, "I am a tool...tools...don't eat."

"..." Tiger ran her hands through Roll's tails and pulled out a tray of freshly baked pink-colored cookies, "Not even for these?"

"Ah! Kaa-chan baked those for me!" Roll yelped.

"Pink cookies?" Eagle asked as Tails sniffed.

"Mmm...Auntie's Strawberry Chocolate chunk cookies," Tails drooled a little, jumping out of the Tornado to get closer.

"Ah…" The World spoke, sniffing through his helmet as he stepped closer.

"It's okay." Eagle spoke, "You don't need to be a weapon anymore...you're not their tool...you're human...and Mobian...like me!"

"Right!" Tiger cheered, "You can be part of our crazy family! Right, Roll?"

"Hai," Roll agreed.

"Family?" he asked, stopping as the dark aura from before formed...only to shatter and let The World fall to his knees. His suit flashed before vanishing leaving behind a young man with brown hair dressed in nothing but a pair of black pants and silver sneakers. He began to fall over only for Eagle and Roll to catch him.

"Easy now," Roll advised.

"He really is a human," Tails gasped.

"It really was as if he was in that berserker state," Eagle spoke, "It's how Ginis controlled him."

"How cruel," Roll scowled.

"Mmm...Seven out of ten," Tiger noted.

"What are you scaling him for?" Elephant questioned as none noticed Robotnik was missing.

"Had to see what he looked like…" she explained, "He's cute, but...eh…" she shrugged.

"You really do have a super specific type don't you?" Shark complained.

"How much time remains?" Caliburn questioned as Sonic entered a long hallway.

"Mmm…" Sonic looked at his Miles Electric, "Five minutes and forty-four seconds. ...Heh. More than enough time."

"Hmmm…" Caliburn hummed in agreement before glancing ahead, "Knave."

"I see him," Sonic replied as he walked by Shadow, who started to walk beside the blue hedgehog.

"I'm surprised. I thought that explosion turned you into space dust," Shadow noted.

"Heh, sorry. But I guess my stubborness is my best trait," Sonic teased, "Then again…" he pulled out the fake Chaos Emerald, "If it wasn't for all those times you used Chaos Control, I wouldn't have figured it out. In a way, I was saved thanks to you."

"Masaka! You were able to perform Chaos Control with an Emerald that's fake?!" Shadow asked as they began to jog.

"...Heh," Sonic grinned as they began to pick up the pace.

"I see, so it seems that your appearance isn't the only thing that's similar to me," Shadow admitted, "Who exactly are you!?"

"What you see is what you get. I'm Sonic the Hedgehog," Sonic replied as they changed from jogging to running.

"I see," Shadow smirked, "Then you must respect that I can't let you live." he added, "Your days of endless adventure end today!"

"Heh. We'll see about that!" Sonic replied as they shot out of the hallway and out onto a long stretch of road, the stars shining above them.

"Just watch, Chaos Spear!" Shadow shouted, shooting four blasts at Sonic who jumped out of their path.

"Shadow, it's time to settle this now!" Sonic declared as he charged at the black hedgehog and swung Caliburn, making Shadow backflip out of the way.

"I'll send you off to the netherworld," Shadow stated, swinging Arondight at Sonic, who quickly parried with Caliburn as they continued on down the track.

The two clashed and clashed, swinging and blocking, stab and parrie, the clang of metal rang out as the two continued to battle and run at the same time. Shadow swung low only for Sonic jump and roll in the air for a moment before landing and running once more. Sonic swung high as Shadow leaned back, letting the blade fly over his head. The two clashed as they skid to a stop for a second, the force of their momentum and their swings making them spin around one another while pushing their swords forward.

'No way...He's this strong?' Shadow thought in surprise, charging up a Chaos Spear.

Sonic pulled out the fake Emerald and clenched it tightly.

"Chaos Sp…"

"SONIC WIND!"

Shadow's eyes widened as he was blasted back by blue-tinted blades of wind, forcing him to do several backflips before skidding to a halt just before he could fall off the path, "Nani? You...You copied Chaos Spear? With a fake Chaos Emerald?!"

"Not that different from Chaos Control," Sonic smirked.

"...Heh…" Shadow smirked, "Very well...I'll take you more seriously, Sonic the Hedgehog." he spoke before grabbing his right wrist and removing the gold ring of it before doing the same with his left. As he let them fall to the floor, a sudden burst of energy formed around him, its red light seeming to tint his fur in that color, "Limiters released."

"Knave, I think each ring cut his power in half…" Caliburn muttered.

"Oh, is that all…" Sonic quipped, "Guess the real fight starts here."

"Chaos…" Shadow raised his Arondight up as the blade began to glow red as he channeled all the energy into it, "Slash!" he roared while swinging down, unleashing a large cutting wave of red energy.

"WHOA!" Sonic yelped, managing to jump over the attack, 'That energy blade…' his thoughts glashed to multiple blades shattering in a pair of slender hands, 'It's like Roll's family's sword attack.' he looked at Shadow and grinned, "Alright. Now we're getting somewhere, Shadow! Bring it on!"

"Ha!"

The two clashed swords again as they began the motions again. Their speeds picked up as the two clashed back and forth. Shadow fired another Chaos Slash as Sonic avoided it. Sonic smirked as he stabbed at Shadow who blocked by raising up Arondight and deflecting Caliburn to the side. Shadow cringed as Sonic slammed his free hand into Shadow's chest, pushing him back. Shadow shouted, unleashing a barrage of a multitude of Chaos Spears. Sonic flipped up Caliburn before catching and swinging him at rapid speeds, deflecting each and every spear aside. Sonic began moving backwards to avoid more spears as Shadow walked after him.

"I respect your strength, but that doesn't mean I plan to let you win," Shadow went on, "I will get revenge for Maria...and no one...not you, not the Zyuohgers, not even the Deathgaliens will stop me."

"Oh yeah. Then...wait...Maria…" Sonic whispered before he recalled what Nimue said, "...I see...So that's what that tricky lady was talking about…" his thoughts turned to a head of blond hair and quills before smirking, "You're not the only one who fights for a girl, Shadow."

"I suppose while idiotic, your dribble isn't wrong," Shadow spoke, "But I doubt you'd care."

"Hmm?"

"Your kind...Mobians...They hate Robotniks…" Shadow stated, "Her name...was Maria Robotnik, the grand daughter of Gerald Robotnik."

"Ah, I knew that from the report Tails found," Sonic noted, "Though...You got that wrong. Mobians hate only one Robotnik. I don't know their Gerald or Maria, but I do know that doing this? It won't bring anything but pain and just cause more hurt. That's why..." he smirked, "I'll win this fight."

"More hurt?" Shadow asked, "You say that and yet you fight for a world that goes to war with itself at the drop of a hat." he pointed out, "Humans are selfish and cruel life forms. And Dr. Robotnik told me of what your world did to humans when they arrived. So I guess that means Mobians are no different. Any race can be cruel and take the innocent for their own selfishness. If that's true then what's the point!?"

"...If Mobians and Humans are selfish and cruel...Then why do you fight for a human that died years ago?" Sonic replied.

"?! Onore…Don't you dare lump her with those other humans!" Shadow snarled.

"I didn't; that's all on you and your logic you spouted at me," Sonic replied, "The way you said it makes it sound like no one is selfless and kind, not even the one you swore revenge for."

"Ha!" Shadow roared, shooting at him.

"If you really didn't care...Then why did you tell me about Roll and Tails!?" Sonic countered as they clashed again, "You're not a bad person…"

"Silence!"

"The truth is if you had a choice you would never work with any of these psychos...but you've deluded yourself to fulfilling this insane promise!" Sonic grunted, "But the way you talk about her...I bet she'd never want you to do any of this!"

"You don't know a thing!" Shadow roared as he body glowed bright red, "Chaos…"

"Uh-oh," Sonic gulped, squeezing the fake Emerald.

"BLAST!" Shadow roared as the aura erupted off him in an explosive burst of power, "That hedgehog…" his eyes widened as a blade went through his side, "Wh-What?" he looked over his shoulder to see Sonic, "H…?"

"Chaos Control to warp to the spot behind you after that attack came through," Sonic replied, pulling out Caliburn and letting Shadow collapse, holding the wound.

"But I am...the ultimate...life form…" Shadow grunted.

"Sorry, but it's all over now," Sonic replied, "By the time your fast healing is done with that, no more Eclipse Cannon. Ja ne!"

Sonic raced off at that. Shadow remained where he was...smirking as he slowly got up and vanished with Chaos Control.

"And with this…" Robotnik sneered as he shoved the final Emerald into place, "The end is upon us! Now! It is the Earth's curtain call!" a seven-colored pulse erupted from the device before the room became tinted in a red light, "Hehehehehe...hahahahaha...AHAHAHAHAAHA!"

As Robotnik continued his mad cackled, he paid no mind to the monitors. All of them began to display a sign on them in a bright red border that read in bold white letters 'DANGER.'

"Ah mou! I can't believe we took our eyes off him!" Shark groaned in the observation room.

"We managed to break The World free of his mind control…" Tails noted before looking over at his Tornado, the propeller broken and the Emerald inside of the nose cone missing, "But we lost the last Emerald."

"We can't dwell on it," Eagle spoke, "We're going after him. There is literally only one path left."

"Hai," Roll agreed, carrying the man that was The World.

"...Ah! Minna, the Cannon!" Lion panicked as he pointed out the window, seeing it split open and charging.

"Oh no…" Eagle spoke, "Sonic, if you have a plan, please make it fast." he spoke as he began running, "We can hopefully still stop Robotnik at the controls!"

A beep came from the Tornado's radio before Sonic's voice came from it, causing Eagle to stop =Hope you two did a good job, Tails, Roll! Hurry and look outside!=

"Sonic!" Tails gasped as he looked back outside in time to see the barrel of the Eclipse Cannon began to explode.

"Ah! He did it!" Tiger cheered, hugging Shark, "It blew up! It blew up!"

"Ah…" Eagle sighed as he slowed to a stop.

"Ah we did it!" Lion cheered, "Now to blow the rest of this thing up and get out...eh...wait...why is it looking like the Earth's movin'?"

"?!" Roll, Caliwave, and Tails tensed up as they looked at the Earth...and saw that it did look bigger.

"Oh, Gerry…" Caliwave groaned.

"I thought it was just hypothetical…" Tails gulped.

"It's not over yet," Roll shivered.

"What's not over yet?" everyone turned to see Manic and Knuckles enter, "'Sup? ...Who's the dude Sis-in-Law's carrying?"

"Ah...It's a bit complicated, but remember that other Zyuohger we told you about who kicked our butts and was crazy strong!?" Lion spoke, "That's him...turns out he is crazy strong because he is made strong with Sakurai DNA!" he paused, "Thus making him...Roll's Brother!"

"...Okay, who gave Leo catnip again?" Manic demanded before the room shook, "Whoa!"

"What was that?!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"That was the Space Colony moving...towards Earth for a colony drop," Tails informed.

"...I'm sorry, but did you say the ARK is going to crash into the Earth?" Shark asked.

"An object this big hitting the Earth…" Eagle grunted, "It would be a New Extinction event…"

"Aw man…" Manic gasped.

"...Hey, who's that on the floating screen?" Lion asked as he pointed at the nearby console.

"Huh?" the others pondered as they looked at it.

"Wha…? Wh-What happened?!" Robotnik pondered, slamming the console repeatedly as Akhult, Maw, and Lien-Da stood behind him as sirens wailed, "Why is the cannon not firing?! Work you infernal contraption!"

"It is strange," Maw noted, "We have all the emeralds, it has been twenty four hours since the last shooting like Shadow said it would take. Yet it does not fire."

"What went wrong? ...What did those accursed brats called 'heroes' do!?" Robotnik snapped, hitting the console once more...only for an image to pop up on screen, "?!"

The image that appeared was an older-looking human with a bald head outside of a large, grey, bushy mustache. He was rather thin with an egg-like head, a large nose, and the same glasses Robotnik had on his face. He wore a dirtied lab coat over a pale green turtleneck sweater and brown slacks as he was tied up to a chair in a prison cell littered in formulas and equations.

"Th-That's...my grandfather…" Robotnik gasped, "Gerald Robotnik!"

=This is a death sentence that I declare on all mankind…= Gerald informed, his voice weary and tired as he was displayed on every single video screen possible across the globe =If my calculations are not wrong...then in 27 minutes and 53 seconds, the Space Colony: ARK will crash into the Earth, and you shall all die together…=

"Hoh? Now this is quite the interesting twist," Ginis noted, swirling his chalice as the recording played.

"We could destroy it with our ship's weapons," Naria offered.

"Nah...I love a good timer," Ginis replied simply, "Let's see what happens." he reclined on his throne, "To think this would happen...Well played, Shadow. Well played."

-linebreak-

=When all the Chaos Emeralds are gathered, my plan for revenge will begin. This program is irreversible. You foolish humans took everything away from me. I'll make you feel the same despair that I did= Gerald continued.

=Do you have anything else left to say?= a man behind the camera that had recorded it asked.

=I do not…=

=AIM!-!=

Everyone cringed as gunshots rang out from the screen before the video restarted from the beginning. Caliwave sniffled, getting an answer to what her old friend's fate had been.

"Ne...What is this?" Tiger asked.

"This is what happened to him…" Eagle spoke, "The loss of so much...it drove him mad with revenge."

"Who is that old dude?" Manic asked before the vent above opened and Rouge dropped down, "Huh?" Sonic soon followed, "Oh! Bro!"

"I found him outside, hugging an antenna," Rouge explained as she looked at the video, "That's playing on every single monitor on this space colony."

"That's Professor Gerald Robotnik…" everyone turned around to see their enemies walking down the other end of the hall, Robotnik leading them and speaking, "Known as the world's greatest scientific genius of the century, my Grandfather, and the creator of the ARK."

"What's that? So this is your fault after all?" Knuckles demanded, banging his fists together as Roll hid the untransformed TheWorld under her hair and tails.

"I must admit, I was not expecting this to happen," Quval noted, "If I had, I would've stayed on the ship once all the data here was gathered."

"So what? You're all good with this?" Sonic crossed his arms.

"I doubt they are valiant enough to go down with the ship," Caliburn spoke.

"How right you are," Quval spoke happily, "I'd love to get off this heap...but a certain Bat…" he looked at Rouge, "...RUINED MY SHIP!"

"Hm? Me? Oh, I did nothing at all to it," Rouge replied.

"You...played a recording of Robotnik from within...and Azald body-slammed onto it!"

"Spoiler: Squishy was not inside!" Azald spoke from the back.

"You are still in time out!" Quval barked.

"Aw…" Azald whined before the area shook harder.

"So what...you want us to help you escape?" Elephant asked.

"If you're willing to help us stop it, we won't turn you away," Tiger replied, clearly upset at their presence.

"..." Robotnik approached Tails...and pulled out a USB drive before handing it to him.

"Huh? What's this?" Tails asked.

"My grandfather's diary," Robotnik replied before looking at Sonic, "You're quite the stubborn hedgehog."

"That's a compliment compared to what you use to shout at me," Sonic shrugged, "So...about stopping this thing."

=I don't understand. Why did things turn out this way?= everyone turned to Tails as Gerald's voice played from the speakers on the Tornado =Was the idea of creating the ultimate creature wrong after all? On that day, the troops arrived at the colony...It is likely that their goal is to erase the project...My colleagues there, my beloved granddaughter Maria...Please be safe=

"Ohh, I don't like the sound of this," Cassia cringed.

=Apparently the entire colony was shut down to seal the Prototype. It seems they publicly announced the ARK shut down due to an unforeseen 'accident.' ...I found Maria's name among the accident's victims. I have lost everything. I no longer have anything. I can no longer think of anything. Nothing except revenge!= a shuddering gasp came from the audio diary =It scares me!-! What in the world is going through my mind!? Somebody...Somebody please stop me…=

"He felt nothing but revenge and despair...It swallowed him up…" Eagle spoke, "He lost himself within that darkness with no one to pull him out."

"The heavens know that I tried, but there was no hope…" Caliwave sighed, "Oh, Gerry…"

It was then the audio continued...and it only had Gerald's voice speak calmly...far too calmly =Based on the original data, I have finally completed Shadow. I also completely control his memories. If anyone yearns for life to come, awaken him. If you yearn to bring despair to the world…=

"Oi, oi, oi...What the hell?" Lion gawked.

"Energized by the out-of-control Chaos Emeralds, the Eclipse Cannon's core has converted into one giant bomb," Robotnik noted, "Like my grandfather said...if this Space Colony: ARK hits the planet, the entire surface will be nothing but dust."

"Your Family is nuts!" Lion shouted.

"Exactly! This is all your own fault for following your old man's insanity!" Knuckles agreed.

"WHO ARE YOU!" Robotnik snapped at them. "Who are you to call him insane!?" he said making them back off as tears came out of one of his eye which turned to normal human colors, "Maria was born and raised here, she had an illness that made her unable to ever EVER see the earth the whole point of my grandfather work was to cure her!"

"..." Sonic looked at Robotnik not sensing the blood lust of Robotnik or the crazy of Eggman coming from him.

"GUN took everything from my grandfather! I knew deep in my heart that he was the greatest scientist...the kindest man...and humanity betrayed him, just like Mobians betrayed me. Call him insane! You're all no better! Even you, Sakurai, so quick to perform a vow of vengeance so deep that you're burning your very life! You're selfish to your desires - you all are! Amu was my Robian slave; Sela, I turned your brother into one right in front of you while making you beg me not to; Tusk, I turned your father into my mount; and Leo, I made you fight your family when I Roboticized them, especially your mothers!" he listed his sins against the Mobians, "Do you really think you're better then the humans who are so driven by emotions they make choices like this? And you, Yamato; you're human like me! Can't you see that they're not worth it?! That this world will just keep creating monsters and one day destory itself!?"

"..." Zyuoh Eagle walked forward and, to his friends' shock, untransformed as he and Robotnik stared each other down, "Humans have made many mistakes...and it's true we have done horrible things to one another…" he went on, "But we can still have the potential for good. Everyone does...No one is born evil. We are forged by the world around us and our actions. So I hope that with my actions I can forge a world where people can live in peace. Even if it is just a dream...even if it is just lip service…" he gripped his fist as a red aura formed around him, "I'll do everything I can with the power I've been gifted… To carry on those peoples' wishes into that future!"

"..." Robotnik and Yamato glared at each other for a tense second before Robotnik spoke, "...Knuckles, if we can get you to where the Chaos Emeralds are, you can use the Master Emerald to take control of them, correct?"

"What?" Knuckles blinked.

"Of course! The Master Emerald can stop the Chaos Emeralds and thus stop the energy flow!" Tails realized.

"The defense systems are still mostly intact. Zyuohgers, you'll have to assist him. He'll need all his focus to stop the energy flow," Robotnik informed.

"Like we're gonna take orders from you!" Lion snarled.

"If you want to save the Earth, you'll let Yamato decide that," Robotnik replied before looking at Yamato.

"It's a plan," Yamato said simply, "It's better than letting this thing hit the Earth. I'm not asking you to trust him...but do what we can to save the Earth."

"We're taking help from Eggman," Elephant pointed out.

"No; you're taking help from a grandson wanting to save his grandfather's legacy! I ask you all only one request: do not destroy the ARK...and honestly, I'm surprised the Sakurai isn't taking her shot at me." he mused, before looking at Quval and the Dark Legions, "Are you gonna help or not?"

"Fuck that," Lien-da said, "I'll help. Ginis might get pissed. I'll sooner die and hope he revives me."

"Agreed." some of the others with the Dark Legion nodded.

"That's a good point." Quval spoke, "However important point to note…" he held his arm up, "I've tried teleporting us back to the SagitariArc several times now...seems the Chaos Emeralds have trapped us within an energy prison. And heh...I don't wanna get a Revive. I'm going to demolish this thing."

"What?!"

"Let me be simple: Ginis won't mind if we blow it up...and claim it was a result of a long drawn out fight…" he pointed to the Zyuohgers, "With them...In fact, knowing him? It'll make him happy. And give all of us a reward." he smirked to the Dark Legion.

"The 'god damn it' button is being pushed hard..." Lien-Da muttered.

"Believe me, I hate this on many levels...I have come to be disgusted with humans and their horrible online edicate. But...I also don't want to die to a human made trap," he pointed out, "That's just insulting, now isn't it?"

"...Find what can we do?" Lien-Da asked.

"Nothing." Eggman said, "Tails and Quval we'll navigate the Zyuohgers and Knuckles."

"What i gotta be alone with you two?" Tails panicked.

"If its any consolation, I don't want to murder you." Quval spoke simply, "If it'll make you work I promise if Robotnik tries anything I'll shoot him dead myself. Now hurry it up child."

"I'll stay with the little man, Bro," Manic told Sonic, "You back up Yamato."

"Thanks," Sonic smirked, "Let's hurry it up then."

"Roll, think you can take care of...you know who?" Yamato asked.

"The World you mean." Robotnik told them making them blink, "You don't hide him that well."

"...To be fair, I've never had to hide a body that wasn't robotic," Roll replied.

"If I was you, I'd take him to Shadow," Robotnik suggested.

"Eh? But…"

"Oh, I know where he normally is!" Cassia noted.

"Cassia," Clove hissed out.

"What? We're doing co-op right now so we don't all die," Cassia argued. "Also, I only know 'cause I asked Shadow multiple times to take you out on a date."

"Wh-what?!" Clove squeaked a bit at that, a bit of an embarrassed blush on her face for a moment..

"Hey, not my fault you keep giving interaction cues that Shadow triggers at times," the younger pronghorn shrugged, "Anyway...Follow me, Rolly!"

"Just one question: why Shadow?" Roll asked Robotnik, who went to work with his follow geniuses.

"So you can hurry up and assist Sonic and The World seems to always listen to Shadow," Robotnik said, "Now, we'll need to hurry while we got time." he said as everyone prepare to run off, "Yamato...no, Zyuoh Eagle."

"...Hai?" he asked, looking at Robotnik whose eyes were now human.

"My grandfather...the man I remember and love...Protect that memory of mine."

"Gerald-Hakase...Maria," Shadow closed his eyes, "It'll be over soo..." he started before taking Arondight and almost slashing at Roll who blocked with Caliwave in the form of a shield.

"Seriously? You're blaming us when the door made a loud noise when it opened and your currently wielder didn't notice? A bitch as always, eh Arondight?" Caliwave deadpanned.

"Omai...The Gunivere of this tale," Shadow blinked before noticing who was in her tails; he zoomed by her and place down the human she was hiding, "Did you do this to him?"

"Iie. He...well...had a breakdown," Roll replied.

"From what I saw on security feeds, Zyuoh Eagle used the Sakurai DNA used to make him to snap him out of his programmed state," Clove noted.

"These cookies are really good…" Cassia mumbled behind a cookie in her mouth.

"...You did well, The World. Soon, your pain will be over along with this world."

"His pain?" they asked.

"You probably wonder why Ginis chose this human?" Shadow mused, "It's because he's alone. No one paid him attention...let alone noticed he just vanished. You know he really had no reason to survive, but he did ...Despite it all, deep down...he's stronger than he realizes."

"A-Alone?" Cassia asked.

"No parents, no caretakers, no one to call 'friend' or 'family,'" Shadow replied, "People can be so cruel without intending to." he said, patting his head, "You'll be fine soon. I promise you."

"...You're wrong; he's not alone," Roll frowned.

"Hmm?"

"He had you," she replied.

"Nani?" he blinked, "...You're a very strange woman… I can see why the blue idiot likes you. You both speak in intelligible dribble."

"Well...you did spend all your time with The World when you didn't have to do something else," Cassia muttered aloud, "He definitely treated you with respect."

"Hmph. What business besides bringing him here brings you here?"

"...We're here to ask for your help," Clove replied.

"Soka. You're trying to stop the ARK. Impossible," Shadow smirked, "I apologize, but it's impossible. Especially if they're going...there."

"The core of the Eclipse Cannon, right?"

"Yes. This is all going exactly how I wished," Shadow continued as he looked out towards the planet, "I don't have any reason to help you."

"What? You want me to tell him? ...Okay," Caliwave shrugged from looking at Arondight, "She says 'bullshit.'"

"Hm?"

"I agree with her on that," Caliwave continued.

"Nani?"

"They're right. There is a reason," Roll spoke as she looked out to the surface, "It's true...While there are constant fights every day down there and even on Mobius...and just like Gerald-hakase's message said, people can be very selfish, egotistic, and foolish…" she motioned to the planet, "But they're all still living down there. They're doing their best to live. So that they can all live happier lives someday!"

"Maria wanted that as well! And GUN...no! Humans..." he snarled, "...murdered her! She never got to leave this place! She died here like a dog, and she begged me to destroy the world!"

"And that is fair."

"?" Shadow raised a brow.

"You believe her wish to be to destroy the world," Roll noted, "But...What did she truly mean by destroy it? Don't you think...she meant to destroy the pain and sadness in the world?"

"Stop talking like that…" Shadow snarled.

"...Shadow...san…" The World muttered suddenly.

"The World?" Shadow looked over to him.

"Even now, you have someone on the ARK like all those years ago that is your friend," Roll noted, motioning to The World, "Do you want to repeat seeing a moment like that happening again?" she brought her hands together and bowed, "Onegai, Shadow! Give a chance to all the people living on that planet! Give them a chance to be happy!"

"?!" Shadow's eyes widened.

"Please...Shadow…Someday...in my place..."

"Maria!-!"

"To all the people living on that planet...Give them a chance to be happy. Please grant everyone's wish. I know you can do this, Shadow...You were...born for that...purpose...Adios...Shadow the Hedgehog..."

"Soka...This is what Maria…" Shadow whispered, "This is what she was actually wishing for."

"Shadow?" Clove asked, seeing a tear fall from his eyes.

"I have to go now…" Shadow informed, "To fulfil her wish...and all yours." he looked to The World, "...Take care of him."

"Uhn," Roll nodded before Shadow raced off.

"Wow...Everything he does is cool, isn't it?" Cassia awed, "Now I see why ya want ta date him, Sis."

"Cassia!" Clove exclaimed, her cheeks lighting up with a blush.

"Well, you're both calm and collected, but can easily drop it with the right triggers…" Roll noted, "Very polite in tone even when using it to imply insults to others…Tell me, how much have you spent time together? Has he shown interest in any hobbies you have or have you become interested in ones he has?"

"You just had to say it in front of a member of a clan that's basically the physical embodiment of all manner of love," Clove sighed, her blush only growing as she covered her face with her hands...and didn't see Cassia give a 'V' for 'Victory' hand-sign with a big grin.

A door glowed red before it exploded, letting Sonic, Knuckles, and Gorilla carrying the Master Emerald jump through the smoke and land on an open pipe filled with a strange orange/yellow-tinted liquid.

"Whoa! This is tight!" Sonic whooped as they shot down the pipe, the top of it resembling the head of a serpent.

"Eh? A snake? What is this pipe?" Gorilla pondered, seeing the metal change to stone and mortar.

"It feels familiar," Knuckles admitted, "I think I've the pattern for this stone before...but where?"

"Ah, who cares? I'm having a bl-does anyone else hear a waterfall?" Sonic suddenly asked.

"Waterfall?"

"Uh…" Gorilla turned around first, "Maybe those with weak constitutions not look."

"...Why?" Knuckles and Sonic asked.

"That up ahead," Gorilla replied, pointing ahead to the waterfall they were about to go over.

"..." neither Sonic nor Knuckles would ever agree that they screamed while hugging one another at that point.

"Yasei Kaihou!" Gorilla called out.

The trio reached the end and Eagle flew off it, his EagRiser wrapped around the Master Emerald as Sonic and Knuckles held onto his legs. Eagle landed and the two let go on him before they shared looks.

"...We are never talking about this. Ever," Sonic ordered.

"Later," Eagle replied as he looked ahead.

A massive device in the air pumped rhythmically, sounding eerily like the beating of a heart. Beneath it on the other end of a large circular arena filled with the liquid, was a massive stone shrine. It sported a set of stairs with three levels to it, all three levels sporting a ring filled with the liquid. On seven stone pillars surrounding the shrine were the seven Chaos Emeralds, all shining bright and sparking from their power being called on.

"Could this be…! It looks like the Master Emerald's Shrine on Angel Island!" Knuckles gasped.

"It must have been built this way to draw out the power of the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic noted, "Though...How did that old man know about this?"

"Ah...Do you think...before he came up here...Gerald-Hakase went to Mobius?" Eagle asked.

"A valid question, but one we do not have the time for," Caliburn noted, "We have twelve minutes remaining to stop this. Onwards!"

"Right!" the two Mobians nodded and moved forward.

"...I do not like this…" Eagle frowned behind his helmet, "It's quiet...too quiet…"

Sonic skidded to a halt before giving Eagle a dry look, "...Really? Really? I expected that from Knux, not you, Yamato."

"He is right, Knave," Caliburn spoke, "It is too eerily calm in here…"

"..." Sonic groaned, "I'm all for a challenge, but now is not the time!"

"Huh?" the two asked before holographic screens of Gerald's recording popped up all over the area and began to move towards one another in the center of the circular area, "Oh."

"You...You two jinxed it," Knuckles groaned...before turning to Sonic after a moment, "Did you seriously say that I was supposed to jinx things for us?"

"Yep."

"...Next time we're on a floating island, I'm throwing you off it and into the water below."

"Eh, lay off the planning of fun times later, Knux. Here it comes," Sonic cringed as the screens let out a flash of light.

Within the light, a massive roar erupted from within. The light faded to reveal a massive monster before them. It was bigger than a Zyuoh Cube, roughly 85 meters in length, 30 meters in width, and 19.5 meters in height from standing on all fours. Its red scales seemed to be glowing with inner flames as they seemed to burn away in seconds and reform just as fast. Its underside was a pitch black with a texture of coal while it had a long neck and thick tail. The beast let out another roar while slamming one of its feet down, each one ending in three red claws with robotic parts on all its joints. Gill-like flaps on the sides of its body flexed and flares with each breath it took as a bulky pale-green and silver device fused to its back hummed and pulsed with each breath, the red gem on it shining each time while green pipes came from it and connected to the sides of its mouth. Its eyes, replaced with turrent-like machines, looked around before settling on the trio. It let out another roar at them, showing its mouth had no teeth and just three yellow spikes on its lower jaw.

"Well...I think we found the reason why things were so quiet," Sonic tried to joke before looking at Eagle, "...Uh...You okay there, Yamato?"

"What is that…?" he spoke slowly as the sound of horror could be heard in his voice.

"It feels as if they attempted to create a dragon only to fail horrifically," Caliburn suggested.

"It kinda looks like Chaos in his perfect form...but...made of flesh and machines…" Sonic cringed.

"This liquid...this entire section...is nothing but a giant Life-support machine," Eagle spoke, looking around in realization, "This liquid...it's blood that has lost its iron…"

"I'm sorry what?" they blinked at him.

"It's a horribly incomplete life form…" Eagle began, "Its body only survives via this giant life support...It's a twisted monster...made of Gerald's revenge and hatred."

"...And the Chaos Emeralds must've been its 'alarm clock,'" Sonic realized..

"Tch. And we gotta get past it to get to the Emeralds," Knuckles growled.

"I'll take over from here."

"?!" the trio spun around to see Shadow approach.

"Shadow, you…" Eagle began as Shadow walked past them towards the creature.

"This is Project Shadow's prototype: The BioLizard," Shadow informed as he looked up at the creature, who looked down at him and roared, "You recognize me. Good." he looked over at the trio, "Run for the Chaos Emeralds while I distract it!"

"Shadow…"

"Go," he said simply, drawing Arondight, "This is all I can do."

"...Hai," Eagle nodded before looking at Sonic and Knuckles, "Let's go…"

"Right!" Sonic spoke as they ran off.

The BioLizard roared, following them only to stop as it was pelted by Chaos Spears. It lowered its head to look at Shadow, who snapped his fingers and formed more spears.

"Don't you dare turn away from me, mistake," Shadow frowned unleashing a large barrage of Chaos Spears which pelted and kept the beast's attention solely on him.

The BioLizard screeched at the hedgehog before its throat seemed to bulge in several spots. It opened its mouth and a barrage of crackling sphere of black-colored energy shot out at the black hedgehog. Shadow swung Arondight, cleaving through the first sphere before jumping out of the way of the second, rolled under the third and fourth, and then sliced through the fifth. He let out another volley of Chaos Spears at the beast, making it screech once more.

"..." Eagle shuddered as he watched the battle while following Sonic and Knuckles up the shrine.

"What's wrong with him?" Knuckles asked under his breath to Sonic.

"Yamato...he's a zoologist and really loves animals," Sonic explained at the same volume, "Seeing this thing...it must be heartbreaking to him that such a creature could exist, let alone be made." he shuddered as he watched at how fast the BioLizard's wounds were repairing, "To me? It reminds me of this one movie I watched one day about a monster that kept mutating to survive. Only instead of becoming a two-legged creature that can fire purple beams from its split mouth, tail, and dorsal fins...it became this and couldn't mutate further."

"Okay. Earth has weird movies…" Knuckles groaned.

"This looks vital," Shadow spoke, teleporting to the BioLizard's back as he stabbed Arondight into the machine on its back; specifically, right into the red light in the center.

"?!" the BioLizard let out a pained screech as sparks came off the device.

"Oh? Have I hit something that causes you further pain than normal?" Shadow asked, "Hmph." his black quills turned red along with his blade, "Die, you ugly sample. Chaos Punishment!"

Shadow swung Arondight while it was still stabbed into the BioLizard. The beast let out an agonized wail as a sphere of red Chaos Energy engulfed its lower half while a wave of it sliced its lower half cleanly off, cauterizing the damage at the same time it was dealt. At the same time, Knuckles placed the Master Emerald onto the center of the shrine's top level.

"Wh-What must be done," Knuckles panted before speaking quickly, "The Servers are the Seven Chaos. Chaos is Power. Power that comes from the Heart. The Master of that is the one that controls the Chaos." the Master Emerald began to shine brightly while spinning in place, "I beg of you, Master Emerald! Stop the Chaos Emeralds!"

"Whoa…" Sonic and Eagle muttered as they felt the sudden stop as the Chaos Emeralds fell off of their pillars, their forms having lost their glow and luster to the point they just looked like painted carved rocks.

"Did we stop it in time?" Sonic pondered before they heard the BioLizard give out an agonized wail, "?!"

The trio looked towards the beast as it produced several spheres of magenta Chaos Energy...before the spheres blasted its cauterized half, forcing it open. It let out another pained screech before its body began to shine brightly...before vanishing and causing Shadow to miss his swing aimed for its neck. The black hedgehog landed on the top level of the shrine beside Sonic.

"It vanished!?" Knuckles gasped.

"Did that thing just use Chaos Control?!" Sonic asked.

"Ah. The BioLizard is capable of performing it due to an eternal engine and organ designed to let it use it," Shadow replied.

"How do you make an organ that...know what? I probably don't wanna know," Sonic shook his head before they nearly fell over when the ARK rumbled, "Aw come on! What now?!"

"But we stopped the Chaos Emeralds. ...Masaka! Are we too close to the planet and gravity is pulling us now?" Eagle asked before his Credentials rang, "Moshi-moshi?"

=EEK! YAMATO-KUN, A GIANT LIZARD JUST FORMED ON THE CANNON!=

"Ah! A-A-AMU?!" Eagle yelped, moving the device away from his head, "Too loud…" all four paused at what Amu just said registered, "..."

"NANI?!" Knuckles and Sonic screamed before the PA system turned on with a crackle.

=The Prototype is still alive= Clove informed =It appeared on Observation Deck D and surprised Quval and Azald enough to make them drop a Continue they both had before vanishing the way it appeared with them=

"..." Sonic, Eagle, and Knuckles looked at Shadow.

"To make sure difficulties were made known to the algorithm, I provided information on previous battles your Guinevere loaded onto the internet into the ARK's database," Shadow explained, "When the program activated, it must have been loaded into the BioLizard."

=It's become one with the Colony and intends on keeping it on its course to the planet with all of us in it= Clove continued.

=Ugh! Seriously, this reminds me way too much of this one guy in Resident Evil who just wouldn't stay dead and kept evolving!= Cassia added before they heard her gurgle =Ugh! That is really nasty out there…=

"...I guess we know what happens when you Chaos Control into an object?" Sonic tried to joke.

=...Yamato-kun, I'm giving the Credential to Roll-chan and telling her what Sonic just said= Amu informed.

"Hai. ...It's for you," Eagle handed the King's Credential to Sonic.

"...Yeah?"

=THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR JOKING!= Roll snapped as loud as she could, making Sonic fall over with a sharp ringing in his ear while Eagle caught his changer.

=We're at the five minute mark now!= Cassia panicked on the PA =Oh, I hate levels with time limits...especially when they're in real life and will result in our deaths!=

"..." Shadow pulled Sonic up to his feet.

"..." Sonic and Shadow stared at one another as Knuckles tilted his head.

'Are they talking to each other through eye contact?' Eagle pondered.

The two hedgehogs nodded before raising their right arms into the air. The seven Chaos Emeralds lit up once more and floated into the air, quickly gathering above the two. With a small pulse, they lowered and spun around the two as they lowered their hands into clenched fists, trembling as they clenched their eyes shut. The emeralds began to spin faster and faster around the two until their eyes snapped open. Eagle and Knuckles moved back as Sonic's quills turned golden while Shadow's changed from black to platinum while their eyes snapped open, revealing them both to have ruby red eyes now. Super Sonic and Super Shadow nodded before vanishing, leaving the two behind.

"Ghhhh...Yamato, let's get back to where we can see what's going on outside," Knuckles spoke.

"Got it," he spoke while summoning his wings, "Ah don't forget." he pointed to the Master Emerald.

"As if you need to remind me," the echidna snorted as he hefted it up, "I swear if that block bastard tries to grab this, I'll punch him out into space myself..."

"Hai, hai…" Eagle chuckled awkwardly.

"Oh, now this is interesting," Ginis chuckled as the screens showed the ARK's descent, "I can feel it...Two Continues used at the same time on one thing? Naria, more snacks and make sure to record the results."

"Hai, Ginis-sama," Naria bowed as she went to procure more snacks for Ginis.

"Saa...Let's see what happens now," Ginis grinned, swirling his chalice as Super Sonic and Shadow appeared before the falling ARK.

The two empowered Hedgehogs looked upon the falling ARK. Connected at the very end of the Eclipse Cannon, forcing the Space Colony on its continued collision path was the BioLizard. Its lower half was missing as multiple cables dug deep into the alloy of the cannon that emerged from its body. A large version of the Continue Medal had replaced the life support pack on its back as more green cables had grown out of it and dug into its body. The Biolizard let out a screech from its heads, formed from the original that had split into three, each with several green cables going in and out of its necks.

"It's gotten a whole lot uglier," Super Sonic noted.

"If we can destroy the BioLizard, we might be able to use Chaos Control to move the ARK back into a safe orbit," Super Shadow offered an idea, "But it is easier said than done. The beast is being empowered by residual Chaos Energy...but its imperfect body is also breaking down without its life support system."

=Hey, can you two hear me?= Quval asked over the PA =I've been scanning this creature - this FinalHazard as I call it. Do either of you see any spots starting to swell on its body? They're buildup of the Chaos Energy that its trying to release through those spots to try to keep itself stable. If you strike them, there's a good chance that the energy will force itself through its body, internally damaging it= he sighed =Honestly, if my life weren't in danger, I'd rather enjoy studying this thing more=

"Okay! Sounds like a plan!" Super Sonic smirked.

"Ikuzo," Super Shadow spoke simply, charging up energy as he rushed forward. He roared while punching one of the swelling spots, causing it to explode and force the monster to roar in pain.

"Yosha!" Super Sonic grinned as Super Shadow moved away, barely avoiding a magenta laser fired from the mouth of one of the other heads, "Seriously getting vibes from another one of those giant monster movies I watched."

-linebreak-

"The ARK is still falling," Skye noted as he was displaying several monitors around the clearing outside of the Kazakiri treehouse, "At this rate, it will be four minutes before it hits the atmosphere."

"Nani sorega?" Mario asked from inside the kitchen, "A Meteor...it's so pretty."

"Oh drat! I'm not done building the anti-meteor defense system!" Sticks exclaimed.

"Eh? I thought you did that already with the tinfoil."

"Nope. That's for the mind readers."

"Does SPD have something that can blow it up?" Amy asked, looking at another monitor showing Doggie.

=It's too close to the surface. If we blow it up, it would release a wave of intense heat that would ignite the atmosphere and that doesn't include the debris that would still fall on everything on this side of the planet= Doggie replied.

"Not good…" Miyuki whispered in worry.

"We need a miracle now more than ever…" Aphrodite noted in worry as Nicole was hugging Haseo from behind as she looked at the incoming space colony with him.

"...Ah! H-Hikari da!" Haseo exclaimed as he pointed at the falling ARK.

=Light? Swan, satellite feed!= Doggie ordered as another screen changed to a live feed of the falling ARK =?!=

"What is that affront to genetics, biology, and several fields of research?!" Skye demanded.

"Look! It's Sonic!" Amy gasped as Super Sonic struck another swollen point.

"But who's that with him?" Julie-Su pondered as she saw Super Shadow follow up on another head.

"?! It's that hedgehog I mistook for Sonic on Prison Island!" Amy gasped.

"Shadow," Bud noted.

"...Commander Doggie, Bud, are you noticing it as well?" Skye asked.

"Yeah."

=Ah...Shadow seems to be in pain= Doggie replied.

"Eh?" the Mobians asked.

"Gah…" Super Shadow panted, looking at a trembling hand, 'Looks like it's impossible for my body to maintain this super form…' he clenched it, forcing the shaking to stop before the two dodged several laser blasts, 'I can't give in. Maria...Watch me. I will fulfil your true wish!'

"Shadow?" Super Sonic spoke, noting his difficulties, "You're trying so hard all of a sudden now…" he chuckled, "I have to make up that difference!" he declared before striking another swollen point, "Come on, Shadow! That the best you can do?"

"Shut up and watch!" Super Shadow replied as he struck another swollen point before flying out of the way of another blast.

"That's it, Shadow," Super Sonic grinned, "Let's beat this monster already and return to the planet where everyone's waiting for us!"

'We both have been fighting for nearly three minutes now and my body feels like it's trying to tear itself apart from this power...But him…' Super Shadow thought before his mind went back to how fast Sonic was able to learn how to use Chaos Control to the point he could even use a fake Emerald to do it and even develop an attack with it on the spot, "...Sonic…"

"Eh?" Super Sonic looked over at the other hedgehog, 'He used my name?'

"I feel like I somehow understand this now…" Super Shadow noted as they dodged a barrage of magenta energy spheres the FinalHazard launched at them, "...The true...Ultimate Lifeform…"

"The true Ultimate Lifeform?"

"You...might just be it…"

"?!" Super Sonic's eyes widened at that declaration.

"They're doing it! They're doing it!" Tails cheered.

"But can they do it in time?" Tusk pondered.

"I believe in them! They'll do it!" Amu replied.

"Ah mou...I wanna be out there fighting the stupid lizard, too!" Leo growled, antsy and hopping in place at watching the fight.

"Shut up...For once, let someone else do the fighting," Sela complained.

"Something's wrong," Roll noted.

"Huh?" Amu pondered.

"Something's wrong with Shadow-san," Roll explained as she pointed towards Super Shadow...his form, for just a moment, flickering.

"Its power is reaching critical," Quval noted on another observation deck, "If they can hit it just once more, it should overload and go into a meltdown!"

"Tch...I wanna be out there fighting the stupid lizard, too!" Azald whined, banging his fists together in annoyance, "It looks so fun!"

"There's barely a minute left before we hit the atmosphere," Maw noted.

"You can do this! You've interfered with all my plans, so what's stopping you from doing so now?!" Robotnik roared, "End this nightmare!"

"Come on...You can do it," Cassia pleaded.

"Do not hold back...end the beast," Akhlut growled.

"...Shadow…" Clove whispered.

"Ha!" Both Super Shadow and Sonic shouted as they flew forward, avoiding a beam just before crashing into the monster's back and into its very body.

The FinalHazard roared as its own energy began to go critical and begin exploding. Its three heads let out a final screech before its body was completely destroyed by its explosion...just as the ARK hit the atmosphere. The two hedgehogs appeared before the ARK and flew towards it.

"We won't let you go any further!" Super Sonic roared as he and Super Shadow held their hands up and began unleashing their energy out as force to push back against the ARK.

"Onegai, Shadow…"

'Maria…' Super Shadow thought.

"For everyone's sake...realize our wish."

"!" Super Shadow's eyes widened before narrowing, "Boku wa Shadow…" his limiters shot off as his aura erupted in power, "SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG!" he looked over at Super Sonic, "Sonic!"

"Yeah," Super Sonic nodded as his own aura erupted in power, "I hear you, Shadow!"

The two brought their arms back as they began focusing their Chaos Energy into their hands. The two concentrated all they had, every ounce of energy and every hope entrusted to them. To those watching on the surface, two spheres of light appeared before growing larger and melding as one.

"CHAOS...!" Super Shadow began.

"...CONTROL!" Super Sonic finished.

Rather then teleport themselves, the two unleashed all their energy from their hands and at the ARK. Their energy began to slowly overtake and swallow the falling space station. The light shone brightly as the two gave it all they had. Within the light, a gloved hand grabbed another before the first threw the second forward. After what must have felt like ages to those who could only watch...in a flash of light and slowly dissipating embers of light, the ARK...was gone. Super Sonic...was gone. However...one lone figure fell through the atmosphere, his silver fading to black.

"Maria...is this...enough? Will this...do?" Shadow pondered, not feeling the intense heat and flames that began to engulf him before he knew nothing else.

=...There!= Swan exclaimed as the monitor by Doggie's showed a sphere of light appearing before dispersing, revealing the ARK in its original orbit.

"Space Colony: ARK is back in its original orbit," Skye sighed in relief.

"Oh thank Kami, Kyu…" Miyuki added with her own sigh.

=I'm sending Ban and his team up there to retrieve the kids immediately= Doggie informed.

=Hai! Minna deploy!= Ban ordered =To the DekaWing Robo!=

"They did it," Aphrodite sighed in relief.

"For a few moments, I doubted them," Nicole admitted, holding Haseo just a bit closer and making his blush grow as, due to the danger passing, he realized where his head was resting, "Then I remembered that they had Yamato and Sonic up there."

"I guess we really can trust the next Generation to clean up the world for us adults," Skye mused, "Oh. And, uh, Nicole? Haseo's passed out."

"Hmm? Ah, so he has," she blinked as she looked down at Haseo, his eyes swirly as steam came from his ears and his face bright pink, "I guess all the excitement tuckered him out."

"...Yeah. Let's go with that," the three female Mobians, one male Mobian, and one male AI replied after sharing looks with one another.

"It's done…" Quval sighed, "..." he then looked at his arm as it flashed, "Ara, Ginis-sama."

=What a wonderful show you gave me!= Ginis laughed =Two Super Hedgehogs...who knew Shadow could do such a thing...emphasis on the past tense…= he sighed =What a shame...such a perfect show at the cost of two resources…=

"?!" Clove's eyes widened at that statement before quietly stepping out, Cassia following her in time to see Clove and Sonic bump into one another.

"Ara...This feels almost nostalgic," Sonic mused with a small smile.

"Where's Shadow?" Clove asked.

"..." Sonic produced the gold band that acted as one of Shadow's limiters, "Hora...maybe someone who knew him should give this back once they find him." he explained simply, handing it to Clove, "If I was right...I saw a really edgy black blur fall towards something called America."

"?!" Clove's eyes widened for a moment as she held the band close to her chest.

"Say...I wonder if he really was...just created by Professor Gerald for revenge?" Cassia pondered.

"He was what he was," Sonic replied, patting her head as he went off to find his friends, "A hedgehog who sacrificed his life to protect that planet. Shadow the Hedgehog." he motioned to the Earth via a small observation window, "I guess he could see what I did in that blue world."

"...You're right," Clove nodded.

"You know...it's not that bad," Sela noted, looking out at the Earth, "So many places we haven't seen yet, so many places to swim in."

"So many open fields…" Leo spoke, "So many big trees I've never seen before...nice places to nap." he laughed.

"Different cultures...so much rich history and literature," Tusk added on.

"All the fun shopping to be done and clothes to be tried," Amu giggled.

"We spent so much time on Mobius going all over the world before and after Eggman…" Sela added.

"We've seen everything on our world in our short time on it…" Tusk added.

"Now we have a whole new world to explore, too…" Leo smiled.

"And a great friend to be our guide!" Amu beamed, hugging Yamato's arm.

"Ah...Oh…" he returned to his senses, "Sure...but only if you all show me Mobius after!"

"I spent the last seven years of his life in the same facility. The man was a genius and someone that, when he was lucid, would easily have others believe he'd be the ideal role model for any who wanted to become a scientist," Caliwave noted, "But...did he truly mean to kill us?"

"Who knows...But what I can say...is that we did it!" Tails noted.

"...That's true," Caliwave noted with a small smile.

"So what are ya gonna be doing now?" Manic asked as he and Rouge stood away from the others, "Still planning on chasing the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald?"

"I think I'm going to stop. I mean, I didn't get much profit at all from all the trouble they put me through," Rouge replied, "Besides...This time, I got something better then jewelry."

"Naruhodou," Manic chuckled.

"Ahh...This was a terrible week," Knuckles sighed, looking over the Master Emerald before looking out at the planet, "...Eh? Is...Is that a floating island that looks like a turtle? …" he looked between the planet and the Master Emerald, "...I know where I'm going next."

"To the doghouse when we get back because Julie-Su's back," Amu teased, making Knuckles freeze up.

"Wait...you mean that?" he asked slowly, "S-s-she doesn't know that I...you know…"

"Girls know everything, Knuckles...Everything," Sela added on to the teasing.

"...C-Can I stay here then?" Knuckles asked, a bit pale now and sweating heavily.

"No," both replied.

"Hehe…" Yamato chuckled happily, he then turned to Robotnik as he walked over to him.

"My Grandfather was always my hero," he spoke, taking his glasses off for a moment, his eyes normal still, "He was a kind man who inspired others to do their best for the sake of the greater good. He made me think one day I could be a true great scientist…" he went on as the other Mobians and his fellow villains filed into the room, "To know he was broken to such a state of despair...for some reason, that hit me worse then any loss I've suffered to the Hedgehog…"

"I can understand that…" Sonic spoke as he turned to Roll to see how she was feeling about this little moment, the Hedgefox's ears drooping as her face showed a deep sadness.

"Ivo…" Yamato spoke, "That feeling is proof...deep down, you're still a human being. Your humanity is still alive."

"Hehe...I never thought that was an option. But I guess we Robotnik men fall to such darkness easily," he went on as he looked at everyone, "I can't forgive the pain both worlds have caused me...nor can I forgive the men I've become…" Ivo went on, "I suppose it took looking into a mirror to realize the monster I became...the horrors I caused...I do not seek forgiveness." he turned to Roll, "I know most of all one of you could never do so...but let me say my piece is all I ask, Ms. Sakurai?"

"...Ok…" Roll nodded.

"Yamato...next you see of Bud...tell him that I forgive him," Ivo went on, "He did all he could...and his mistake eats his very soul alive. I failed my late students just as much...and like a fool blamed so many for my own suffering. I expect not to be forgiven for saying it. And I don't want forgiveness. Just in this lucid moment, I have where neither the evil overlord Robotnik or the mad scientist Eggman control me...I want to say that...I wish I could do anything to undo the damage I've done...but not out of redemption...just to end it." he gripped his hands, "If anything...I wish for Ms. Sakurai to save her life," he motioned to Roll with a very tired sigh, "Don't consider it mercy or pity...I...I am just so tired...Oh so tired…"

"?!" Roll blinked twice before looking over at Sonic and Yamato, a mixture of emotions in her eyes as she tried to keep her face neutral.

"Oi...I get you are kinda normal right now…" Sonic spoke, "But...there…"

"Sonic," Ivo sighed, "I am not a man with much life left. I have done so much...I know what you want is for me to be judged by humans, but I already know what judgement they'd pass on me. At the very least, let me save her." he sighed, "I don't do this for any deeper meaning other then...it probably feels like all I can offer…"

"Hmm...emotions are such an interesting thing." Quval spoke, motining for the Dark Legion to fall back, "Well...if this is what the Doctor wants…" he turned to them simply.

"...You stay back," Ivo spoke before Sally could make a move, "You...you're one of the ones I've hurt the most...I took your kingdom...I sealed your father away...I had you do such horrible things after you Roboticized yourself to protect the kingdom…I hope one day...you'll be cured of the 'poison' Eggman had programmed into you and return to normal..."

"Ivo…" Yamato spoke.

"Yamato...I have nothing to say besides...I hope you can become the true bridge between the two worlds…" Ivo sighed, "Sonic...do not feel bad. This is my choice, I decided this...let me have this...while I am still in control of myself…"

"I…" Yamato began as Sonic put a hand on his shoulder.

"Roll...can you at least...make it fast…?" was all Sonic said, turning away from them so as to not see.

"...Uhn," Roll nodded as she walked up to Ivo.

Ivo took a deep breath as he waited for what was to come. He then blinked as Roll suddenly stopped with a look of surprise on her face.

"So...if you wanted to die so badly…" Quval's voice spoke directly behind Ivo before his sword pierced through his chest, "Any of us would have been happy to oblige."

"?!" Roll tensed as Ivo coughed up blood.

"Wh-What are you…?" Ivo coughed out.

"Gomen, Doctor...but I've come to realize...it's far too soon to have another smart person on the Team Leader table…" he sighed, twisting his sword, "Daijobu...If I am right from what I read while holding her lost hand and reading that digital copy...this should fulfil the girl's conditions…as long as you suffer severe pain," he went on as he took a step back, never letting go of the handle of his weapon, "But...we do still need a team pet, so I'm interested to see if I can revive you with a Continue medal. But alas...this shall be your last time seeing the Earth with your original mind in control." he spoke, pulling his sword out suddenly and letting him fall.

"?!" Thunderbolt tensed up upon seeing it, the chinchilla panting heavily as electricity began to crackle off her trembling body, "You…!"

"Oh please. You were the one who sicced Azald on him with the goal of hitting him with a big rock," Quval huffed.

"BECAUSE I WANTED MY LORD EGGMAN BACK, YOU MURDERER!" Thunderbolt snapped.

"Well let's hope once I give him the Continue he'll return to Eggman like how all of you Dark Legion members were brought back after she went into that interesting Apex State," Quval spoke with a whimsical tone.

"?!" Thunderbolt tensed up further at that, "...DO IT!"

"Oi…" Yamato spoke with a look of shock and horror.

Many of the others were not sure how to feel at the moment really, on the one hand...it was horrible the way it happened. That much they couldn't deny. But at the same time could they feel some kind of relief from seeing the man who ruined their lives die like that? It was so hard to express properly, but their emotional whiplash could wait.

"Roll?" Amu asked in concern as she walked up to the still stunned Hedgefox.

She reached out to the Hedgefox as a small trail of Ivo's blood touched Roll's shoes. The Hedgefox let out a hiss as she grabbed herself and collapsed to her knees. The back of her shirt blew apart from a pulse from the mark on her back, letting itself be shown. The mark shined ominously before it ignited in white flames. The flames burned for a moment before they floated off her, revealing unblemished skin. The Hedgefox let out a small gasp as she collapsed, Sonic quickly catching her. After a few tense moments, he sighed in relief as he could hear her faint breathing as her body completely relaxed in a way Yamato hadn't seen from her. The floating flames remained in the air before giving out another pulse. They grew before assuming the shape of a young man with three eyes, two in the normal place and one on the center of the forehead. The figure raised a hand towards Robotnik's body before a sickly tattered black flame came out of the chest. It struggled and tried to escape only for the figure to snatch it. The figure looked down at Sonic and Roll before nodding and walked towards the door. As it walked to the door, it faded away into small motes of light as many of the Mobians and Yamato shuddered, hearing a dark, dry chuckle from them just as they vanished before reaching it.

"Subarashi!" Quval clapped, getting their attention again, "Naria...Teleport us out of this junk heap." he ordered as they all began glowing green, he picked up Ivo's body as he waved goodbye, "Ja ne~" at that, the Deathgalian and Dark Legion vanished in a green flash.

Yamato and the others all sat down as they arrived at SPD HQ once again, to debrief and relax after their journey into space. Everyone sat there, not sad but not altogether happy either, but from the losses came victories as well. In one sense and many others. Yamato smiled as he watched Aphrodite refuse to let go of Roll after seeing her back. The Hedgefox was still sleeping, a content smile on her lips.

"So to be clear, we do not wake her up and let her wake up on her own, right?" Caliwave asked.

"Yes. When the Mark of the Hunted fades, they're given a dream unlike any other," Aphrodite explained, "One that...well, helps cleanse her soul of the burdens she's had to deal with all these years." she wiped a tear, "I'm so relieved...she barely had a week left."

"Oh god...she barely survived it, kyu…" Miyuki whispered, "I'm truly relieved…demo..." her ears drooped as her tails lowered, "Shadow-san...even if he was an enemy...he died a hero to protect Earth, kyu…"

"I don't know…" Sonic mused, "I've got this really annoying feeling one day...he'll show up in front of me again."

"How do you know that?" Tails asked.

"Call it a Hedgehog thing," Sonic smiled.

"Eh, I've trusted you over less…" Tails shrugged.

"Hahaha! See?" Sonic smiled once again.

"As free willed as ever." Doggie spoke walking in, "I hadn't expected to house you kids here after a long mission...for maybe another few weeks." he turned to Aphrodite, "In regards to the boy you came back with, Swan confirmed his DNA has been rewritten using that of your daughters. In all accounts, it's like he is her Twin."

"Soka…" Aphrodite noted, "...Did you find anything about him, Doggie-san?"

"His name is Misao Mondo," he explained, "He was never even reported missing." he sighed, "I can't contact his emergency contacts either. It's like they just...left the moment he did. I can't exactly put him anywhere given his age." he smiled, "Since by all accounts he's your kid...I might as well give him to people considered his genetic family." he mused.

"I'll do my best," Aphrodite nodded, "After all, trying your best is an important part of being a mother."

"Besides...I get the feeling he'd rather be with people like him." he turned to the Zyuohgers as they relaxed to the point of falling asleep, "Also, when he woke up? He had a panic attack and ran face first into a wall...I'm not dealing with another kid...I already have six."

Aphrodite giggled, "Understandable. Will I need to do any paperwork for him?"

"No need to worry…" he pulled out a paper, "I took care of most of it, just sign. Trust me, he's a bit of a handful. You're helping me more than you know."

"AH! Why am I strong!?" a voice shouted in panic from down the hall, "AH! Why am I all muscular!? What happened to me!?"

"Ara ara...Simple enough to calm him," Aphrodite noted before pulling Sonic over and putting Roll in his lap, the Hedgefox curling up into him as she got up and reached into cleavage before pulling out a sealed container, "Now let's see…" she walked up to the door and opened the lid and pulled out a folding fan to use on the opened container.

"Ah! What's that? Why does it smell so yummy?"

"Sliced strawberries. Works every time to help calm down a panicking Sakurai," Aphrodite giggled, "...Well, that or cuddles with your Bonded."

"Eh?" he asked, "Mmm…" he sniffed the air again.

"So...are we keeping The World?" Sonic asked Yamato.

"He could make a great comrade," Yamato countered, "Sides I'm sure he'll be able to adapt to this craziness soon enough."

"AH! Oi! Ghosts...I see ghosts!" he panicked again.

"Could take a while…"

"That's...odd," Quval noted, looking at some notes, "A Continue should've woken him up...and yet, he's in a comatose state it seems."

"Perhaps you did too much internal damage?" Akhlut asked.

"Hm...maybe...I had the stun setting on the entire time…" Quval noted, "But still you all recovered from far worse...and I mean far worse...I mean...I brought some of you home in a bag or several…"

"Don't remind me…" Lien-Da muttered.

"So then what is wrong with him then?" Maw asked.

"Hm...Only Ginis-sama would know at the moment. I'll have to keep him here in the medical bay to examine him," Quval spoke, "But if I had to venture a guess...possibly since I killed him while he was a sort of third persona...or original if I read the room right. His personas are fighting for dominance in his mind." he tapped his head, "No doubt the Robotnik and Eggman personas while the good Ivo is left to rot in the background once more."

"No offense, but I'd prefer Eggman over Robotnik…" Lien-Da admitted, "But have him be less...you know? Crazy…"

"And like the Metal Virus incident wasn't?" Hood chimed in before flinching at the glares his fellow Mobians gave him.

"We agreed to NEVER speak of that incident again," Akhlut growled.

"Do I even want to know?" Quval sighed, stopping his calculations for a moment.

"Depends. You ever hear of an Earth TV show called The Walking Dead?" Lien-Da asked.

"No, but Ginis-sama has been binging it for a week straight now…" Quval sighed, "Wait let me guess...a cybernetic virus? Couldn't control it...you were all left mindless monsters for god knows how long...and when it was all over, you were all more embarrassed and mortified...cause I bet most of you, as said monsters, banded together and mauled the stupid one." he said as they all gawked at the accuracy of his guess, "It saddens me that I'm right about that."

"Can I has Squishy now?" Azald asked.

"No," Quval deadpanned, "But we have new cage for Thunderbolt."

"Let me out of here!" Thunderbolt's voice snapped from inside of a pet carrier that had glowing lines along the sides.

"This one will absorb her excess energy…" he tapped a button as a cannon turret folded out over the front, "And can weaponize it so she's useful for once."

"Hey!"

"You know...what...you...do," Quval said slowly.

"Mmmm…!"

"Still...the fact Robotnik is down...well while we can handle the Zyuohgers, the hedgehog and his group is another story," Quval admitted, "Even if he mostly focused on that blue hedgehog, he knew the most about him…in his own insane way."

"Then perhaps, I can help fill that void?" a new voice spoke

"?!" those in the room tensed in surprise as they turned around, seeing a green portal appear in the room.

Stepping out of the portal was a Mobian platypus with white fur covering most of his body, three tufts of hair combed over to the right-side of his face with a pair of orange pince-nez glasses resting before his red eyes on top of his black bill. He wore a purple and red satin tuxedo with golden cuffs with one of his hands covered in a brown glove with golden finger-tips, the back sporting a topaz-colored gem with red-lines swirling within it, and a pair of black boots with golden buckles, red soles, medium-high heels, and upward-turned pointy toes.

"Greetings…" the Mobian spoke before noticing the unconscious Robotnik, "Ahh...seems I was too late to meet him...a shame."

"Oi! Who are ya, duckbill?!" Azald snapped as he threw a punch at the Mobian...only to blink when he was suddenly behind him, "...Eh?"

"Dr. Starline," the platypus introduced himself with a bow, "A pleasure."

"...How did you bypass the security field around the ship?" Quval questioned.

"Simple really…" Dr. Starline began as he raised his gloved hand, the gem on it glowing as Azald prepared to punch him again...only to end up stepping into a portal and fell face first into the metal floor on the opposite side of the room, "The Warp Topaz. A stone that can warp space itself. Why with a modest charge, I can open 'windows' to any place within Earth, including its atmosphere with enough power applied. In a way...you can say I can create my own wormholes to get around easier, if you will…"

"RAAAH!" Azald roared as he tried tacklign Starline...and fell into another portal.

"Or to deal with brain dead idiots that would try and hit me," Dr. Starline continued.

"...Where did you put him?" Quval asked.

"Gah! How'd you get in here?!" Thunderbolt yelped.

"Eh? This is surprisingly bigger on the inside. Ah! I'm stuck in a wheel! Why can I not stop running?!"

"I know, right?! How do you make this stop?!"

"...Okay, you are currently my third favorite on this ship that came since the 100th Blood Game started," Quval stated.

"Duly noted," Dr. Starline said as he lowered his gloved hand, "As for what I said earlier...I used to study the good doctor's...ahem, adventures and his plots when dealing with Sonic the Hedgehog and his Freedom Fighters...keep in mind, I am not like that Grand Master of his that's obsessed with him…"

"HEY!"

"Rather...I take notes of his many failed plans, learning where he failed and possibly improvising it."

"Oh?" Quval spoke, "You are indeed an interesting one. I've never met someone so clever that wasn't a higher level life form."

"Thank you, but I did not come here to be praised...oh no," Dr. Starline shook his head as he folded his hands behind his back, "I wish to speak to Lord Ginis and join this little game Dr. Robotnik had joined...and make a proposition of a rather fun game for him…"

"By all means…" Everyone suddenly froze as Ginis just appeared behind Starline, there was no flash, no sound, nothing to warn them of his arrival, "I am all ears." he smiled happily, "Greetings...Dr. Starline, it is a great honor to meet you."

"...As it is with me meeting you, Lord Ginis," Dr. Starline greeted as he turned to face him, making sure to keep a calm and collected expression, "Now then...what do you know of alternate realities?"

"Oh I've dabbled," he smiled, "But...oh I'm sure you're not here to compare my notes with yours. Oh I'm sure you have something...fantastic to share" he laughed, "So...let's get to the fun part, my good Doctor."

"...What if I were to tell you that there are gems just as strong as the Chaos Emeralds, but are in their own dimension...or rather…" Dr. Starline began as he created a small wormhole, revealing an island of sorts, "Were before that little...what was it called again? ...Oh yes. Chaos Control both Sonic and Shadow did that inadvertently brought them here?"

"Oh…I'm all ears."

GT: Well, that's not happy-cheer.

SZ: Oh ho no it is not…

Z0: From one danger to another...never a moment's rest for the heroes is there?

SZ: Nope...out of the frying pan..and into the inferno once more. Now...PREVIEW TIME!

Z0: *pushes button making the floor explode beneath us* Oops! *we all fall into the basement*

SZ: BE SURE TO READ AND REVIEW!

-linebreak-

Jikai, Zyuohger: Monarchs of Mobius!

Yamato: Eh? Sol Kingdom?

Sonic: Don't look at us. First time we're hearing of it.

Leo: But...no matter how you look at it...They're Mobians!

?-?-?: Greetings. I am here to represent my kingdom, and Guardian of the Sol Emeralds.

Amu: Reow….

Leo: Hoo boy...Amu's triggered.

Chapter 19: A Kingdom from another Dimension

Caliburn: She bears her blade?

Caliwave: Huh, she reminds me of Percy.

-linebreak-

GT: Oh, next chapter is gonna be something...But before we leave, we need to continue with checking in on prisoners that were held in GUN's custody! Cue the omake!

-linebreak-

"Greetings everyone!" Adagio laughed as she opened the doors, dressed in her regular attire as she held her arms out, "Your Dazzlings have re…!"

"There's no one inside except Airi," Aria pointed out dryly.

"HAH?!" Adagio gawked as she looked around...and saw no one but the owner of the Milk Dipper Airi Nogami there.

"Oh hello girls," Airi waved, "Did something happen?"

"Wh...d…I...D-did no one notice we were gone?!" Adagio exclaimed.

"Hm?" she blinked, "But...we all saw you two days ago…" she tilted her head in adorable confusion.

"T...TWO DAYS?!"

"Hm," Airi nodded simply, "Ryo-kun got worried when you didn't show up yesterday and has been looking for you. But I guess that wasn't necessary…"

"Two days?" Adagio repeated.

"Aw~ He cares for us! Oh-oh! Airi, look! Look! I got her autograph!" Sonata beamed as she held her book up.

"Eh? Who did you get?"

"Roll! From those livestreams! I got her autograph!"

"Oh how nice," Airi smiled, she then turned her head as Kotaro walked in.

"Oh no!" he gasped, seeing them, "Teddy, start the bike!"

"Hmm?" Sonata blinked as she turned,"...EEE! KOTA!"

"AH!" he panicked as he ran out, "Teddy, save me!"

"Hai, Ko-GAH! I immediately failed you!"

"...So…!" Adagio began before Aria put a hand on her shoulder, "?"

"Just let her have it...She hasn't seen him in a while since we got taken by those GUN guys…" Aria whispered.

"...Fine…"

"KOTA, WAIT! I MISSED YOU~!" Sonata cried out as she ran after Kotaro.

"AH! She's in my bubble!" Kotaro panicked, "She is in my bubble!" a snapping noise went off, "...Oh no." he screamed as loud crashing noises went off, "Onore, Jii-san!"

"AHH! KOTA, NO! ...OH! I'll use CPR!"

"That…!" Adagio began before sighing, "No no...forget it...Aria, you deal w…" she turned to a nearby table to see Aria already reading a book while sipping a cup of coffee, "..."

"Yeah, how about no?" Aria smirked. "Is this a new book?"

"Oh yes. We got a donation," Airi smiled. "Please enjoy it. I'm sure Ryo-kun and the others will be back soon."

"Teddy, help! Her tongue is invading!"

"Wait for me, Kotaro! I...shall not fail again!"

"Ah crap, they're back!" M-Ryotaro's voice shouted, "Escape to safety while we can, Ryotaro! I know… let's ditch all these crazy women and go to Okinawa!"

"No, help!" Kotaro begged.

"Can you feel the love tonight…" Sonata started before Adigo slapped her, "OW~! DAGI~!"

"No! None of that! Shame on you!"

"You know you three made Ryotaro super worried… We ended up in jail ten times 'cause of you three!" M-Ryotaro grumbled scratching his spiky hair.

"But Airi said we were gone for two days…" Sonata blinked.

"What's your point?" he asked while cleaning his ear.

"Screw you! And that's why the three of us ate your pudding collection before we were arrested…Oh we were supposed to blame that on Pinkie…" Aria recalled.

"YOU WHAT?!" he snapped.

=SWORD FORM=

"SEIBAI!" Den-O cried hysterically as he swung his sword around and began chasing them.

"I got my man!" Sonata cheered, carrying Kotaro like a princess.

"Kill me…"

"I WILL!" Den-O shouted.

"I'm just glad they are okay…" Ryotaro's voice sighed from within his own mind as he watched his body chase them around, "I probably shouldn't tell them they got taken out of our time loop...It'll be too much difficulty to explain. For now...they are back and safe."

-end-

GT: Well, that happened to them. And Sonata got an autograph and her man. Good day for her.

O.N: tell that to her man.

SZ: Mm hmm.

Z0: Yep...oh by the way, Momotaros broke into the office.

Momotaros: YOU DID THIS! *begins swinging at the authors with his sword*

GT: Their fault; not mine. *falls over, revealing to be a cardboard cutout*

Momotaros: GET BACK TO MY STORY DAMN IT!

O.N: hey i ain't in charge of that i'm just the idea cooker whoop-whoop-whoop!

Z0: *grabs O.N. mid run and uses him as a human shield against Momotaros's sword* Good night folks!

SZ: Latah!