A while later, Alice wakes up and notices that Tails carried her at the Morning Star Lookout.
Alice: Tails?
Tails: You're awake!
Alice: You flew me all the way up here?
Tails: Yeah. Kirito and Sonic held onto Knuckles.
Knuckles: Finally! We don't have to worry about altitude sickness anymore! No more climbing for a while!
Sonic: Good thing too! Climbing up the outside wall was a big hassle.
Kirito: At least there was a resting area by those statues.
Alice: Speaking of. Where are your comrades?
Sonic: You mean Eugeo, Mighty, and Ray? We're not sure.
Alice: If they took the stairs from the Cloudtop Garden, then they might have run into the most powerful opponent before reaching this floor.
Kirito: Most powerful opponent?
Alice: Uncle. That would be His eminence, Knight Commander Bercouli.
Knuckles: Do you think they already beat him?
Kirito: I have an idea. System Call. Generate Umbra Element. Adhere Possession. Object ID, WLSS703. Discharge.
Kirito makes a small dark sphere and it discharges down into the floor.
Tails: What's that?
Kirito: I'm trying to locate Eugeo's Blue Rose Sword. Looks like it's below us.
Sonic: Then we better get going. Mighty and Ray should be there as well.
Alice: Wait. Did you treat my wound?
Kirito: Yeah. I did it. I managed to stop the bleeding, but my sacred art skills can only do so much. Can your right eye be healed?
Alice: At this time, there aren't sufficient spatial resources, so it won't be possible to treat it until Solus rises. I still feel some pain. And the vision in my right eye is somewhat limited, but that won't stop me from fighting. And besides, I want to feel this a bit longer. This pain is proof that I've decided to fight the Axiom Church.
Sonic: Great. When we fight Administrator, we'll keep your right side safe.
Alice: I would appreciate that. Thank you.
They all head down to the floor below them and when they open the door, they notice that it's all ice.
Sonic: Woah!
Knuckles: What happened here?
Tails: It's all ice!
Alice: Did Eugeo cause this?
Kirito: No doubt he did. This is his Blue Rose Sword under the perfect weapon control art.
Tails: Perfect weapon control art?
Kirito: It's some technique you can use with swords in the Divine Object class that lets them unleash their true power. I never knew it would be this devastating.
Alice: Uncle!
Sonic: Mighty! Ray!
Alice runs up to Bercouli who is now stone, and Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles run up to Mighty and Ray, who are unconscious.
Tails: Mighty! Ray! Get up!
They both wake up.
Mighty: That short guy is gonna get a reckoning.
Ray: Yeah. Oh! Sonic! You're here!
Sonic: Yeah. We made it back up. And look who decided to join us.
Knuckles: Hey guys.
Tails: What's up?
Mighty: Tails? Knuckles? Is that you?
Ray: You're here!
Mighty: How did you guys find us?!
Tails: It's not like we would leave our best friends behind.
Alice: Uncle!
Sonic and the others look and see Alice and Kirito up at Bercouli.
Knuckles: That guy is all stone.
Mighty: No way Eugeo could have done that. Could it be that short guy who crashed into our fight? But where is Eugeo anyway?
Sonic: Short guy?
Alice: Long ago, Uncle has told me that Prime Senator Chudelkin has been given the authority to turn anyone into stone. I believe the name of the command is deep freeze.
Tails: So this prime senator cast the spell on the knight commander? But why?
Alice: Uncle seemed to have had secret doubts about the orders issued by the senate. But he told himself that the Human Empire could never know peace without the Axiom Church's rule, and spent countless days battling. The senate may have all the authority in the world, but there is no reason for him to receive treatment like this!
Alice starts shedding tears.
Alice: Uncle!
She starts hugging Bercouli, and then he tries to move, but his body starts cracking.
Alice: Uncle! No! Stop! Your body will break!
He opens his eyes.
Bercouli: Little one. Don't cry so much. It'll ruin your good looks.
Alice: Uncle...
Bercouli: You've finally broken that seal at last. I couldn't even break it, even after 300 years.
Tails: Wait! 300 years?!
Knuckles: He's been alive for over 300 years?
Sonic: Long story guys.
Alice: Uncle... I... I...
Bercouli: Don't worry. I'm happy. There's nothing left for me to teach you now.
Alice: That's not true at all! There is still so much I want to learn from you!
Bercouli: I know you can do it. Guide this twisted world to its proper state.
Alice: I will! I will!
Bercouli: You six. Look after her for me.
Kirito: Right.
Sonic: We're gonna stop Administrator, and then take the fight to the Dark Territory. We still need one more Chaos Emerald.
Bercouli: Your partner was taken away by Prime Senator Chudelkin. Most likely to the pontifex's chambers. Hurry, before that boy is deceived by the labyrinth of his memories.
Bercouli closes his eyes and Alice hugs him again.
Alice: Uncle...
Then, Kirito finds the Blue Rose sword in ice. He uses his black sword to break it out, and then he picks it up, holding both swords in his hands.
Alice: Usually, the only person mad enough to wield two swords is a pretentious high-ranking nobleman, but for some reason it suits you.
Tails: Yeah. Well you should see what he can do. He can use the dual wielding skill.
Alice: He can?
Mighty: Just watch.
Kirito: Hmm. Can I use the dual wielding skill here? I wonder.
Kirito walks over to an open spot and prepares to use the two swords. They both glow as he uses the two hit sword skill, Gale Slicer.
Kirito: Looks like I can do it.
Alice: What was then name of that skill?
Kirito: That was the dual wielding two hit strike skill, Gale Slicer.
Alice: I see.
Mighty: He can do more than that.
Kirito sheathes both swords.
Alice: It looks like Eugeo has been captured by the pontifex. We better hurry, because her actions aren't bound by human logic.
Kirito: Have you spoken to her before?
Alice: Only once. It was six years ago. I awoke, having lost all my memories, and faced by a summoner, the pontifex said to be ruling the Human Empire on behalf of the gods. Those mirror-like silver eyes that reflected all light. I was deeply afraid of her at that time. "I can never defy her. I am to accept her every word without question, and offer her my everything." I know it was an overwhelming terror that made me feel that way.
Sonic: Alice?
Alice: I'll be fine. I've already made up my mind. For the sake of my younger sister residing in the north. For the family I've never seen yet, and for all the people, I'll do what I believe is right. We must hurry.
Then, a giant ring appears before them.
Sonic: Another special stage ring.
Tails: Go for it, Sonic.
Sonic: Right.
Sonic jumps in, collects all of the blue spheres inside the special stage, and gets the last Chaos Emerald. He returns to everyone.
Sonic: That's all of the emeralds.
Alice: We might have to battle the prime senator before we confront the pontifex.
Ray: But what about Bercouli? We can't just leave him like this, can we?
Alice: We can either force Chudelkin to reverse the art, or slay him.
They start heading up, and as they do, they talk to each other.
Sonic: Ok Tails. What's up with our home?
Tails: Robotnik took complete control over South Island. The Chaotix and a group of huntsman and huntresses were able to get everyone out, but it seems like they're still no match for Robotnik's numbers.
Mighty: Huntsman and huntresses?
Knuckles: There are four of them helping the Chaotix, and Dr. Kojirou, and four more huntresses helped us, and Asuna look for you guys.
Kirito: Asuna came with you guys?
Tails: She wanted to look for you too. We also had help from Dr. Kojirou. You've met her before, right Kirito?
Kirito: Yeah. I have. But why did you guys get a group of huntresses to help you guys look for us.
Knuckles: They wanted to help protect South Island, and we asked four of them to help set up a livestream at Rath where Sonic beats up Kikuoka.
Ray: Wait! Really?!
Tails: Yup! It's gonna be awesome!
Sonic: I can't wait to spin that dude so hard.
Alice: Umm...
Sonic: Oh, uh. Don't worry about us, Alice.
Mighty: Yeah. We're just making some plans when we get back to our world.
Alice: Ok.
Kirito: Hey Alice. About Prime Senator Chudelkin, just who are these senators anyway?
Alice: That's honestly never been explained clearly, even to us Integrity Knights. I heard they are on floors 96 and above, and the knights are forbidden from going up there.
Kirito: What kind of stuff do they do?
Alice: The Taboo Index. They confirm and monitor whether civilians of the empire are obeying the Taboo Index. That's the senate's job.
Tails: The Taboo Index. That's the set of rules for this world, right?
Alice: Whenever someone runs afoul of the Taboo Index, they send an Integrity Knight to take them away.
Knuckles: So the senate's like a proxy for the pontifex. But how can someone as cautious as Administrator give that much authority?
They arrive at what looks to be some kind of door.
Mighty: This must be the senate.
Alice: I believe so.
Kirito opens the door and everyone notices that the room they look at is technology like.
Alice: Is this sacred arts?
Sonic: Let's go.
They head inside and notice there are heads inside capsules all around them.
Tails: Woah!
Knuckles: What is this?!
Ray: Severed heads?
Alice: No. They seem to have bodies attached.
Sonic: Wait a second! We've seen these before!
Kirito: You're right.
Tails: You guys know what they are?
Sonic: After we fought against Raios and Humbert, one of these things appeared just after the battle. No doubt about it.
Mighty: That's right.
They notice that some kind of tube appeared in each of their pods, and they all start eating some kind of food.
Alice: So these are the senators of the Axiom Church.
Senators: System Call. Display Rebelling Index.
Knuckles: You think Administrator made this?
Kirito: Probably. She must have taken away people skilled in the sacred arts from all over the Human Empire, and turned them into surveillance devices called senators.
Ray: This is just cruel!
Alice: Completely unforgivable!
Mighty: If only she could have a second chance. But now she's gone too far.
?: Oh no! This won't do! This won't do!
Tails: What's that voice?
Ray: Looks like it's coming from down the corridor.
Alice: That's Prime Senator Chudelkin.
They head down the corridor and find themselves in what looks to be a child's room.
Chudelkin: This just simply won't do!
They head up behind Chudelkin, and he looks up at them. Alice picks him up by his shirt and points the Fragrant Olive Sword at her, making him drop the globe. Sonic and Kirito see Administrator and Eugeo inside the globe for a split second.
Sonic: Did I just see Eugeo for a moment?
Alice: If you try to activate a sacred art, I will cut out your tongue at the root.
Chudelkin: Number 30! What are you doing here?! By rights you should be perished along with these rebels!
Alice: Don't you dare call me by a number! My name is Alice. I am no longer Number 30.
Chudelkin looks at the other six.
Chudelkin: You! And there are two more rebels with you too! Knight Alice! Why aren't you slashing them?! They're rebels against the church! Pawns from Dark Territory, don't you remember?
Sonic: So this is the clown you guys were talking about that crashed into your battle with Bercouli.
Mighty: Yup.
Tails: Really? Since when does a prime senator live in a child's room?
Alice: It's true that they are rebels. But they are not from the realm of darkness. They are just like me now.
Chudelkin: You're planning to betray us, you miserable knight?! You Integrity Knights are nothing but puppets! Mere dolls who do exactly what I order you to do!
Knuckles: How about that? He admits it. You're pretty ugly for a clown.
Alice: It was the Axiom Church who turned us into puppets. You sealed away our memories through the Synthesis Ritual and inflicted fealty to us by force, after which you made us believe the myth that we were knights summoned from the heavens.
Chudelkin makes an evil smile.
Chudelkin: Yes. That's exactly right. I still remember it clearly. The sight of you, so young, innocent and sweet, with tears streaming down your face as you begged! "Please! Don't let me forget! Don't let me forget the people I love!"
Alice becomes more infuriated.
Chudelkin: Even now, I can just enjoy thinking about it all night long! You were brought here from some rural area, and for the first two years, you were raised as a sister-in-training. You really were a tomboy. You would always find a way around rules to sneak out into the Centoria summer solstice festival. But still, you believed that if you studied hard, you would go home some day, right? But that was never gonna happen! Because once you raised your sacred art authority level high enough, it was time for forced synthesis! That tear-stained face when you realized you were never gonna go home again... I really wanted to turn you to stone and display it in my room for all eternity!
Alice becomes even more infuriated.
Alice: Did you just say forced synthesis? If I didn't know correctly, there must have been a Synthesis Ritual that wasn't forced.
Chudelkin: Your ears are as sharper than I thought. That's exactly right. Six years ago, you stubbornly refused to recite the secret commands required for normal Synthesis Rituals. Really, you were the most insolent brat imaginable! So we had no choice but to pause the automated senators, and have them perform a ritual to pry open the door of what you hold so dear. I did get to see the rarest of shows. It was a feast for the eyes. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Kirito: He's waiting for something. Is he planning to keep us in this room?
Sonic: You're just as cruel as I thought. You stupid clown.
Alice: Prime Senator Chudelkin. I can see that you have enjoyed your own show. If so, you must have no regrets.
Alice stabs him with her sword.
Alice: I am tired of hearing your stories.
Chudelkin: Hehehe!
Suddenly, Chudelkin inflates and his body explodes into a huge puff of pink smoke.
Chudelkin: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It's not all about commands! Idiot!
Sonic: You sly dog!
Alice: Up the stairs!
They head out of the child room and up the stairs.
Chudelkin: System Call! Generate Lu...
Mighty: Careful guys! He might do a surprise attack!
Everyone: Right!
They arrive at the top of the stairs on the 99th floor.
Tails: No sign of him anywhere.
Kirito: He must have escaped to the hundredth floor. But where are the stairs leading up there?
They see what looks to be a hole in the ceiling. They see what looks to be an Integrity Knight coming down.
Sonic: What?! I thought we got all of the Integrity Knights!
Suddenly, Sonic, Mighty, Ray, and Kirito recognized who the knight was.
Kirito: Is that, Eugeo?!
Sonic: No way!
Ray: It can't be!
Mighty: He already went through the Synthesis Ritual?!
Tails: So that's Eugeo? Alice's childhood friend?
Alice: How? It's too soon.
Knuckles: Too soon for what?
Alice: For the ritual to be completed. Your friend Eugeo has already been synthesized.
Kirito: No way. But he's...
Alice: Even though it hasn't been an hour since Eugeo, Mighty, and Ray fought Bercouli.
Kirito: There's no way that's possible, Eugeo can't.
Sonic: Kirito. Don't worry. I'm sure we'll get him out of this.
Alice: You said before that there is a way to restore an Integrity Knights memories. We should be able to bring Eugeo back to the way he was. And to achieve that, we must overcome this delemma, no matter what.
Tails: Alice is right. We gotta fight.
Kirito: Everyone. Leave this to me.
Alice: Don't let your guard down.
Knuckles: Wait. Are you sure about this Kirito?
Kirito: I was the one who taught him my sword skills. I gotta jog his memory somehow.
Kirito steps forward.
Kirito: Eugeo. Do you know who I am? I'm your friend, Kirito. Ever since we left Rulid two years ago with Sonic, Mighty, and Ray, we've been together for a long time, remember?
Eugeo: Sorry. I don't know who you are. But I would like to thank you.
Kirito: Thank me for what?
Eugeo: For returning my sword to me.
Suddenly, the Blue Rose Sword flies away from Kirito and over to Eugeo.
Sonic: What?!
Knuckles: His sword just flew to him!
Mighty: It's just like when we fought Bercouli! Bercouli's sword flew right to him just before the battle!
Alice: That's Incarnate Arms.
Kirito: What's that?
Alice: A secret art used by Integrity Knights in ancient times. It's neither a sacred art, nor a perfect weapon control art, and you can move objects solely with your own willpower. I've heard that only a handful of knights, including Uncle can use it. It's not a ritual that a newly created knight like Eugeo could have mastered.
Eugeo takes his sword.
Kirito: What do you plan on doing with that sword?
Eugeo: I will fight you. Because that's what she wishes.
Kirito: So just because you've been ordered to, you're just going to fight without understanding why?
Eugeo: I don't need a reason to fight. She gives me what I want. That's enough for me.
Kirito: What you want? Is it more important than Alice?
Eugeo: I don't know. I don't want to know. About you, or who you are. I've had enough.
Kirito: Eugeo...
Eugeo unsheathes his sword.
Eugeo: I have nothing more to say to you.
He points his sword at Kirito.
Kirito: Eugeo. You probably don't remember, but you learned your sword skills from me.
Kirito unsheathes his sword too.
Kirito: As the master, I'm not ready to lose to my student just yet!
The two swordsmen get into their fighting stances.
Sonic: Come on Kirito. Jog his memory for us.
Tails: Show him what you're made of.
Kirito: Right.
Then, both their swords ignite and they rush toward each other as the battle begins.
To be continued.