x
After what happened back in the underground caves, Wallflower and Grace began teaching Cosmo self-defense, wanting to make sure that she was better prepared the next time there was a fight going on. But they made sure not to make it too hard on her; she was still a kid after all. Though she was learning fast, she was still struggling with some stuff, which Wallflower understood the most; she knew what it was like, having spent years fighting for what's right back at her home galaxy. But what happened not too long after finding the last two Chaos Emeralds really had the gang on edge. The Metarex were a much tougher enemy than any of them had thought…
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It all started somewhere out in deep space. In the Crimson Egg, two alternating blips appeared on Eggman's radar. "Haha!" Eggman laughed triumphantly. "Looks like I hit the jewel jackpot. I found 2 Chaos Emeralds!"
"Hmm, let me think…" said Cubot, counting on his fingers. "We already have 2 Emeralds, and Sonic has 3 more…"
"Plus these two equal 7," added Orbot. "All the Chaos Emeralds have been found! You are brilliant, Doctor!"
"Yes, I know," said Eggman, getting a little prideful.
"Don't pat yourself on your back yet," said Rouge suddenly, appearing from behind him.
Eggman immediately covered the radar screen, startled. "Rouge!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"Just having a little look-see around," Rouge answered casually.
"Hold on!" said Eggman desperately as Rouge slowly moved Eggman's hands, revealing the radar.
"Doctor," she said, "have you found some Emeralds?"
How did she find out? Simple answer: Bokkun, who was shivering in fright. "I hope she doesn't tell Dr. Eggman my secret…" he said quietly, scared as he hid next to the command chair.
"I wasn't planning to keep my discovery from you," Eggman lied. "I meant to call you up to the bridge. It's just that in all the excitement, I forgot that you were interested in the Chaos Emeralds too. You know how absent-minded we geniuses can be."
Shadow just looked on impassively, not saying anything. "So… where are they?" asked Rouge.
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A giant asteroid-shaped Metarex space station was floating in the midst of an asteroid field. The Crimson Egg was hiding behind an asteroid nearby. "There are 2 Chaos Emeralds inside that Space fortress," said Eggman. "We've got to seize them! Once I have everything, the fate of the whole world will change."
"But how, Doctor?" asked Cubot.
"That is a Metarex base," added Orbot. "It will have a heavy-duty security system!"
"How do you plan to get in there?" asked Rouge. "It's not like you can go up and knock on the door. If they spot us, we'll be space toast."
Looking out the window, Eggman happened to notice a familiar-looking spaceship also hiding behind an asteroid not too far from where they were. "What's the Blue Typhoon doing here?" he asked. "They must have come looking for the Chaos Emeralds."
"You slowpoke!" said Rouge. "Sonic's gonna beat ya to them."
Eggman just glared out the window. Rouge drives me bats, especially when she's right, he thought to himself. What'll I do?
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At the Blue Typhoon, everyone was faced with the same delima, but for a different reason: they had come across the exact same location earlier. Rainbow was eager to sneak inside and get the Emeralds immediately, but Lightning decided to test the security strength of the base first. To that end, he had pushed a nearby meteorite towards the base. Within seconds, it was destroyed upon firing impact, scaring Lightning enough to have him run back to the ship, shaking all over. Currently, Dorothy was busy with calming him down while the others talked it over. "How do you know you can't break in unless you try?" Knuckles was asking.
"You saw what happened to that meteorite!" answered Tails. "It's too dangerous!"
Luckily, Sonic was able to calm them down before things escalated into an argument. "Hey, guys," he said. "We need to come up with a plan here."
"Don't worry about that, Sonic," said an all too familiar voice. "I've got it all figured out."
On cue, Eggman appeared on the viewscreen via video-call, causing everyone to look up. "I have a proposal for you," he said.
"I've gotta hear this," said Sonic.
"Why don't we join our forces and work together?" Eggman suggested.
"What's that?" Sonic asked, confused.
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"I see," said Rouge. "You're planning to double-cross them, aren't you?"
"Don't go with the plan, Doctor!" Bokkun pleaded. "I just know that somehow, at some point, it'll fail like the other previous times!"
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In the Typhoon, the crew (minus Cosmo and the other two girls) were standing in a circle, discussing Eggman's message. "We shouldn't work with Dr. Eggman!" said Cream. "He's trying to trick us!"
"Chao chao!" Cheese agreed.
"I also agree with Cream," said Sunset, siding with the little rabbit. "Eggman's up to something, and I'm guessing it's not good."
"Yeah, don't even think about it, Knuckles!" Amy threatened.
"I didn't say anything," Knuckles objected.
Creecha sighed irritably, face-palming. "Don't even think about arguing over it, you two," she said. "Just… don't."
There was silence for a while as they thought about it. "I think we should work with Eggman," Sonic said finally. "Our chances are better that way."
"I agree," Tails replied.
The others nodded.
Sonic then looked over at Eggman. "Alright," he said. "Let's go for it, Eggman."
"I'll go get Wallflower and the other two girls notified about this," said Creecha as she headed off to the training room.
"So, how are we gonna get to the base?" asked Chris.
"We can sneak in without getting caught by using Chaos Control," Eggman replied.
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"Of course!" said Cubot. "How brilliant!"
"This is your most ingenious plan ever, Doctor!" added Orbot.
Only Rouge disagreed. "This plan is the pits," she said. "Why do we need Sonic's help with this scheme? We have Shadow on our side!"
Our side? Eggman thought to himself. Don't make me laugh! If you ever get a hold of those Emeralds, you'll skip ship in a flash!
He tried not to let it bother him, however. "Here's what we'll do: The first group that goes in will head for the computer that controls the security system. They're responsible for shutting it down. Then the rest of us can sneak into the base undetected!"
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"Sounds cool!" said Sonic.
"What'll we do when we find the Emeralds, though?" asked Knuckles. "Will we share them 50-50?" It was clear that he didn't want to get tricked like last time.
"Whoever gets to them first can keep them," answered Eggman.
Sonic was quick to jump on the plan. "It's a deal!" he said.
"To make sure it's a fair contest," Eggman continued, "both sides will supply members for the entry team. I've selected Shadow and Rouge to represent our side."
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Rouge was surprised. "Wait, why should I go?" she asked.
"Because when it comes to break-ins, you're a real smash," answered Eggman. "You're not afraid to go in there, are you?"
"Of course I'm not afraid!" said Rouge, offended. "Ugh…"
He's putting me on the entry team because then I can't get to the Emeralds first… she thought. Or so he thinks.
With a smirk, she said, "I'd be thrilled to join the team!"
"I knew that I could count on you, Rouge," said Eggman. "Thank you."
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Meanwhile, the crew was having a discussion on who to send from their team. Wallflower, Grace, and Cosmo were now at the bridge with them after they were done with their training, having been reviewed on their current situation and Eggman's plan. "Count me out," said Amy. "I refuse to join any team with Shadow and Rouge because I don't like them."
Tom rolled his eyes. "Why are we not surprised?" he said.
"Come on, Amy," said Tails. "I mean, it's not like you're going on a picnic with them or anything."
"I'm not goin' either," said Knuckles. "I won't work with that burglaring bat anymore!"
"Maybe we should pick names out of a hat," suggested Cream.
"Nah," said Matt. "Too simple."
"How about rock-paper-scissors?" asked Lightning.
Butch was quick to disagree. "No way, dude," he said. "Last thing I need is to lose every single round."
While they were still wondering who to send, Chris stepped forward. "Me and Grace volunteer," he said.
"Are you sure?" asked Amy.
"Yes," Chris nodded.
He looked over to Sonic. "Do you approve?" he asked.
"Sure Chris," said Sonic.
Grace looked up at Creecha. "Can I go with him, Mom?" she asked. She knew that she was going with Chris, but she wanted her mother's permission first.
Creecha sighed, clearly worried. "It may be a little risky," she said, "but since Chris is going on this sneak attack of Eggman's, then yes, you can go. Just please be careful, alright?"
"I will Mom," said Grace, nodding. "I promise. And thank you."
Creecha just smiled, hoping that her kid could make it through in one piece. It was clear that she was right to be worried. "Please promise us you'll be very careful and stay close to the others," said Cosmo, also worried.
Chris nodded. "We will," he said.
Grace knelt down to Cosmo's level and hugged her closer. "We'll be alright," she said. "I can guarantee it."
She and Chris looked back up at the viewscreen– and Shadow. This should be an interesting mission, they thought.
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Soon, the two ships were pulled next to each other. And Chris had something for Shadow. "Here Shadow," he said, handing him two gold bracelets.
"What are those?" asked Shadow.
"Don't you recognize them?" asked Grace. "They're your limiter bracelets."
Chris nodded. "It's true," he said. "Plus, I made an extra one of these to go with the one you had back on Space Colony ARK."
Shadow felt as if his memory was jogging a little. "One of those… was mine…" he said.
Chris and Grace nodded, remembering back to when the young boy was crying over Shadow's limiter when the black hedgehog was thought to be dead. "Take them," said Chris. "If you wear them, you won't lose energy when you're in the middle of a fight."
"I see," said Shadow. "Alright. I will wear them."
As Chris watched, Shadow slipped on his limiters. Grace was placing her Christian Guard necklace around her neck when her parents arrived to see her off. "Just… be careful out there," said Tom. "We just don't want any of you getting hurt. That includes you, sweetheart."
"And if you need any help, don't hesitate to contact us," added Creecha.
"I will," Grace nodded, showing them her communicator.
After sharing a hug, Grace joined the others. "Ready, team?" asked Shadow.
Upon receiving a nod, he held up the red Chaos Emerald. "Chaos Control!" he said.
With that, the team was teleported out of the ship by a red light.
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In the hangar, Sonic and Knuckles were doing some work on the X-Tornado when Tails approached them. "I've got somethin' to help us increase our speed!" he said, pulling out three Chaos Emeralds from his namesakes.
Sonic and Knuckles were given the blue one while Amy, Wallflower, and Cosmo were given the green one. "Thanks, Tails!" said Amy. "We have a real advantage over Eggman now."
Tails nodded and tossed the white Emerald to Sunset, who just reached out a hand and caught it without taking her eyes off the engine of her own spaceship, which was red and orange with her signature sun design on the wing. "Thanks kid," she said without looking up.
"You'll need all the help you can get," said a voice.
The group turned to see Eggman and his hench-bots approaching, said hench-bots saying "Hup! Two!" repeatedly like they were in boot camp. "Why have you come to our ship?" asked Cream suspiciously.
"Now now, Cream," said Eggman as he headed to Amy's brand new, personal spaceship. "Remember, we're on the same team. From here on, what's mine is yours and what's yours is all mine."
"Back off!" Amy snapped. "I'm not sharing my stuff with you!"
"I'm just looking," said Eggman.
As he was inspecting the ship, Orbot and Cubot secretly attached a device to the belly of the X-Tornado and Amy and Sunset's respective spaceships. Then, they darted off before anyone took notice. Eggman turned to the group. "Very impressive," he said. "Your machines are well-maintained, and clean, too."
Unbeknownst to Eggman's hench-bots, Sunset took notice of what they were doing, but kept quiet. However, she couldn't shake that bad feeling away from her. Soon, Eggman's inspection was done. "Thumbs-up, gang!" he said. "Goodbye!"
With that, he and his hench-bots left, the metal robots saying "Hup! Two!" again. "That certainly was a strange visit," said Amy.
"At least it was short," Sonic replied.
While everyone agreed, Sunset took Eggman's device off her ship and climbed into the pilot's seat to inspect it. When she saw how it worked, she was ticked. "So, Eggman thinks he can cheat his way to the Emeralds by using this," she growled. "What a hypocrite. I'm so gonna make him pay."
She had just sliced it up with her lightsaber when Chris called: "Chris to Blue Typhoon. Chaos Control successful.
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"We're inside the base. We're gonna start looking for the security system controls."
"We copy," said Sonic. "You and Grace be careful, Chris."
"We will," Chris promised.
Later on, the four were watching as a giant Metarex Pinchershead stomped past them down a hallway. "All clear," said Rouge.
She, Chris, and Grace broke cover and ran to the other side of the hall. All Shadow did was teleport himself in front of them, startling Chris and Grace; Grace to the point where she slipped and fell. "Oof!" she grunted, feeling her backside hit the floor.
"Are you okay?" asked Chris, offering her a hand.
"Yeah. I'm good," Grace answered, accepting Chris' help. "No injuries."
What they didn't know was that Rouge was coming up with a plan of her own. I have to think up some excuse to ditch these two so I can look for the Chaos Emeralds, she thought.
But she had to make herself not suspicious about it. "Say, why don't we split up to look for that control room?" she suggested.
Shadow's answer was brief but blunt: "No."
"Why not?" asked Rouge.
"The doctor wants us to stay together," Shadow replied.
"I'm with Shadow on this," said Grace. "Last time there was a gang split up, I ended up getting lost. Of course, it was in a new location at the time, so I really didn't know my way around."
"Oh, really?" said Rouge.
Inside, she wasn't pleased to see it fail. Looks like Eggman was one step ahead of me, she thought. … He knows I'm up to something. My only chance is to let his guard down. I'll have to turn on the charm.
"Remember the last time the four of us used Chaos Control?" she asked Chris. "As I recall, the circumstances were rather explosive."
"Yeah," Chris realized. "You mean Prison Island!"
Shadow looked up in realization. Grace quickly realized what was going on. "Guys, can we please not do this now?" she asked. "We've got a job to do."
"I was afraid Shadow would leave me there," Rouge continued. "And do you remember what happened next?"
"Of course I do," Chris replied. "Shadow transported us to Space Colony ARK."
"That's right," Rouge agreed. "Shadow, wasn't that the home of your friend, Maria?"
At the mention of the late girl's name, it was like a trigger went off in Shadow's head. Maria! Maria! he thought.
Covering his head in agony, he dropped to his knees. "Shadow!" Chris exclaimed, kneeling next to him.
Grace quickly checked him over to see if he was okay. "No injuries," she said, "but I guess the mention he heard that name, it was like his past memories were coming at him like a tidal wave."
She looked up, only to see that Rouge, her ruse having worked, had run off. "Sorry, boys," she said as she left. "I have to go find those Chaos Emeralds!"
"Dagnabit!" Grace growled. "Should've known that would happen at any given point! Rouge, get back here!" With that, she ran off after her.
They both rounded the corner, only to see two Metarex Pinchersheads in their way. "Move it, creeps!" said Rouge, Screw Kicking the head to destroy one of them.
Grace just threw a thorn at the other one, also destroying it. But six more stood in their way. They tried to dodge them, but two of them scooped one of each up in their mouths. Luckily, Shadow came to the rescue, spinning through the Pinchersheads. As the base's alarm sounded, Grace landed on her feet while Rouge collapsed on her knees just as Shadow landed in front of them. "Don't run off," he said bluntly.
"She started it!" said Grace, pointing at Rouge before walking off.
"Since you put it that way…" said Rouge, standing up.
Just then, Chris noticed a room on the other side of one of the destroyed walls. "Hey look!" he said as he entered it. "We may have found the control room!"
"Wait up!" Shadow called as he, Rouge, and Grace ran to the entrance of the control room.
Upon arrival, they saw Chris at work with one of the computers. "We're in luck," he said. "This computer runs the security system."
At Grace's suggestion, she, Shadow, and Rouge attacked several canisters to create lots of explosions. Pushing a few buttons, Chris turned off the defense mechanism. "Do you read me?" he spoke into his communicator. "The computer's shut down!"
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"Good work, Chris!" said Sonic, climbing into the X-Tornado. "Ready, everyone?"
Knuckles, who was sitting behind him, nodded. Bob, Larry, and Junior (riding on the wings) showed that they were ready too. Amy, Cosmo, and Wallflower, in the former's spaceship, also nodded. Same with Sunset, who was ready and raring to go (mostly because she couldn't wait to try out her new spaceship). Before takeoff, Sonic noticed that Tails was looking worried about something. Smiling, Sonic held out his arms towards him. Getting the message, Tails climbed onto the plane and hugged his older brother. "Please be careful out there," he said. "Me and Creecha both know that something bad's about to happen, but we don't know what it is. Just thinking about it makes me worried."
Sonic just gently squeezed him closer, planting a kiss on his forehead. "Don't worry, Tails," he said. "We'll be alright. Trust me."
Creecha agreed. "Besides," she added, "if something does happen (whatever it is), we'll be ready for it. Right, gang?"
Everyone else nodded. Tails felt a lot better then. "In that case," he said as he and Sonic squeezed each other one more time before separating, "good luck, guys."
He was about to land when Knuckles tugged him by the arm so he could hug him as well. "You too, buddy," he said.
Always the physical type, Tails didn't hesitate to return the embrace. When he finally landed on the ground next to Creecha, the ships prepared for takeoff. "Let's gooo!" said Sonic.
With that, the catapult launched the three ships off the Typhoon. Tails, Cream, and everyone else waved goodbye as they left. "Good luck!" said Tails.
"We know you can do it!" said Cream.
"Chao!" said Cheese.
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Meanwhile, the Eggmobile, with Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot aboard, also departed. Bokkun, who was holding the purple Chaos Emerald, waved goodbye from the Egg Crimson. "Go get 'em, Doctor!" he called. "Bring back those Emeralds!"
But he couldn't help but worry. "He doesn't stand a chance," he said.
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Eggman was wearing a space helmet as he pursued the X-Tornado and Amy's spaceship. "You'd better step on it, Doctor," said Orbot. "Sonic and the others are way ahead of us."
"There's no need to be nervous," said Eggman. "Our competitors have fast machines, but my brain moves even faster. … I can't wait to spring my surprise on Sonic."
The three pilots maneuvered the treacherous architecture of the Metarex station. In the X-Tornado, Knuckles was looking at the blue Chaos Emerald (Sonic was the one doing the driving). The Emerald's reacting! he thought.
"Try going right!" he said to Sonic.
"Roger!" replied the blue hedgehog.
They flew deeper into the station. Soon, Knuckles spotted an opening they could land at. "Now, through there!" he said.
The three pilots flew inside, dodging overhanging, underhanging, and other protrusions. "Whoa! You're going too fast!" exclaimed Knuckles, unable to tolerate Sonic's flying. "This isn't an amusement park ride, you know! Slow down! Aahh! Are you crazy?"
"This isn't fast!" Sonic replied. "Hang on!"
With that, he flew even more erratically, causing Knuckles to get spirals in his eyes from dizziness. Bob, Larry, and Junior just hung on to the front edges of the wings as best as they could, tense and hoping that they wouldn't get flown off. Amy also had tight maneuvers to make. "I'll keep up no matter how fast you go, Sonic!" she vowed.
"Amy, please," said Cosmo, "I'm starting to feel dizzy."
One look at her was enough to get Wallflower concerned. "Slow down Amy," she said. "Cosmo doesn't like going fast; it makes her feel a little nauseous."
Amy looked behind her in the passenger seat. "I'm sorry, Cosmo!" she said, slowing down to a more tolerable speed. "... Do you see Eggman?"
Cosmo looked behind her. "He's still behind us," she said.
Sure enough, Eggman was chasing after them, also tightly maneuvering the machinery jetting out in their path. "OK," said Amy. "Keep an eye on him just in case."
Eggman just laughed, holding a controller. Sonic saw a door ahead with a sigh above it that said: "DO NOT ENTER." "How much farther do we have to go?" he asked.
Knuckles' Emerald glowed. "Almost there!" he said.
"Alright," said Sonic.
As the X-Tornado flew through the security checkpoint, an alarm sounded over the door, which was beginning to close. "Hurry!" said Cosmo, worried.
"Don't worry!" said Amy, determined. "I'll catch up!"
Wallflower looked a little uncertain. "I don't know, Amy," she said. "I have a bad feeling about this; because I can tell that Eggman's got a trick up his sleeve."
Wallflower's fears were confirmed when Eggman pulled a lever on his controller. "It's showtime!" he said.
Suddenly, Amy's spaceship began flying around erratically, throwing off a surprised Wallflower. Luckily, Wallflower was able to catch herself by shooting out a vine, which latched onto a piece of machinery that was jutting from the ceiling. She hung there and watched all that went on, while in Amy's spaceship, the dials were all over the place. "What's the matter?" asked Cosmo, trying not to get dizzy again.
"I don't know!" said Amy, confused. "I've lost control of my plane!"
The X-Tornado, meanwhile, managed to clear the closing door. "Maybe this will fix it!" said Amy, pulling out her hammer.
But everyone knows that banging on something that's not working doesn't really fix it. Amy's hammer really didn't do much in the way of fixing. The Eggmobile then pulled up alongside her, Cubot knocking on the canopy. "What do you want?" Amy grumbled while opening it.
"Grab it!" Eggman ordered, gesturing to the Emerald in Cosmo's lap.
And that's what Cubot did: by using a fishing rod. "Bye-bye, girls!" taunted Eggman as he flew through the doors just as they finished closing.
"We have to get that Emerald back, Amy!" said Cosmo.
"The controls aren't working!" Amy exclaimed.
As Amy's ship hovered in place, the doors closed. "We may be shut out," said a voice, "but Eggman hasn't gotten the best of us yet."
The two girls turned to see Wallflower swinging on her vines towards them with such mastery that Cosmo was watching in awe. With a final vine, Wallflower swung towards the door and, using it for momentum, pushed on it with a jump, sending her flying towards them. Flipping in a ball through the air, she landed skillfully on the wing of the ship. Show-off, thought Amy, rolling her eyes.
But one could tell that she was impressed with Wallflower's moves just by a small smile on her face. "That was amazing!" said Cosmo, wide-eyed. "How did you learn to do that?"
"Thank you," said Wallflower, dusting herself off. "And for your answer, Cosmo, it's easy: the more adventures you go on as a hero, the more stuff you learn along the way."
She looked around at their current situation. "I knew this would happen," she sighed, shaking her head. "But I'm positive that Eggman isn't going to enjoy his victory for long."
"Why?" asked Cosmo.
"Simple," Wallflower replied. "No matter who you are or what you do, just remember that cheating never gets anyone anywhere."
Just then, her communicator buzzed. When Wallflower saw who was contacting her, she couldn't help but chuckle at who it was. "Well, what do you know?" she said. "Sunset must've figured out that Eggman was gonna pull off that dirty stunt of his long before I did."
Sure enough, in Wallflower's communicator was a message from Sunset:
"Wallflower,
If you're reading this, a few members of our gang had already fallen victim to that trap that Eggman set up for them. I had a hunch that he was going to pull a stunt like this for sometime so that he can get those final Emeralds for himself. If there's anything wrong with a spaceship (if it was doing "not working" stuff), you'll know that it was Eggman's doing.
Sunset.
P.S.: Might want to look under the ship for a small white device. That will be the one that's causing all the trouble because Eggman had his hench-bots place them there on the underside."
Wallflower now knew where to look. "Why didn't we notice that before?" she muttered as she tied a vine around her waist and, going to the other side of the spaceship, tied the other end to the wing.
"What are you doing?" asked Cosmo.
"Finding the source of your spaceship problems," replied Wallflower. "I'll be right back."
With that, she jumped off the wing and, now hanging from it, inspected the underside of the ship. Sure enough, it didn't take her long to find a small white device attached to it. Taking it off, she inspected it closely. When she saw a certain logo on it and realized what Eggman had done, she was both vexed and extremely ticked off. "Why that… that… THAT LITTLE HYPOCRITE!" she yelled, making Amy and Cosmo jump in surprise.
Swinging back up to the ship, she jumped off it and landed on the door. "So, that Eggman thinks that he can win this by cheating, can he?" she growled. "Well, he'll learn the hard way that cheaters never win! Next time I see him, I'm punching him in the face!"
She took out her lightsabers. "He says he'll make it fair, but he's actually doing it on his own terms!" she growled, activating them. "He's so gonna regret this!"
With that, she plunged her lightsabers into the door and, by running in a circle, cut them through the metal. Once that was done, she jumped back to Amy's spaceship and used her Force powers to push the cut part out, creating a hole. "Let's go," she said after she had calmed down. "We'll be able to catch up now."
As Amy got the ship started up again, Wallflower took the device and sliced it in half with one of her lightsaber. "Sorry for startling you girls," she said.
"It's okay," said Amy. "I'm just glad my ship's working again."
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Meanwhile, the X-Tornado had emerged out the other side of the door into a tall vertical shaft. "It looks like we lost the girls!" said Knuckles, looking behind him.
"We'll get 'em on the way back," said Sonic. "Tell me how the Chaos Emerald's reacting."
"You should go up!" Knuckles replied.
Sonic did so, followed by Eggman. Suddenly, a flock of Metarex Pteranos flew down from above. "We've got company!" said Knuckles.
"No problem!" said Sonic.
He already has a plan: by sending the plane into a spin, he was able to destroy their opponents. The three boys on the wings were able to dodge any of them that got in their way. Eggman and his hench-bots watched the Metarex Pteranos fall. "It sure is a long way down," said Orbot.
"If we lose power, we will take quite a tumble," Cubot agreed.
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With Chris' team, Shadow spun through a Metarex Pinchershead, then took off, with Rouge, Chris, and Grace following him.
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With Sonic's team, Knuckles was now out of the plane punching his fist through several Metarex Pteranos. "Take that!" he yelled while punching them.
Eggman pulled up alongside them. "The Chaos Emerald must be up there!" he said, pointing upwards.
Sure enough, directly at the top of the shaft was a soft glow. "You're right, Eggman," said Sonic. "Now let's see which one of us can get to 'em first!"
He sped up, causing Knuckles to dangle from the canopy. "Hang on, Knuckles!" called Junior, concerned.
"Sonic!" Knuckles yelled, irritated. "Haven't you ever heard of passenger safety?"
Eggman looked on. "Sonic, you've tried your best," he said, pushing another button on his controller, "but you're out of control."
As he said that, the X-Tornado was suddenly thrown out of control. First, it was losing speed. "Why are you slowing down, Sonic?" asked Knuckles.
"It's not me!" Sonic objected. "The controls aren't working!"
Hearing this, Junior immediately suspected that it was Eggman's doing. Holding on tight to the wing with one hand, he now used his other one to dig through a pack on his back. While this was happening, the X-Tornado began to plummet. "Now we're heading the wrong way!" said Knuckles. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Sonic isn't that stupid, Knuckles," said Junior, still digging through his pack. "He wouldn't control a ship like this. Ever!"
"Junior's got a point! It's not my fault, I swear!" Sonic insisted.
Junior briefly looked up at Sonic. "Don't worry Sonic," he said. "Me, Bob, and Larry aren't blaming you."
Sonic felt a little better after hearing this. "Now stop," said Eggman, now using a lever on the controller to freeze the X-Tornado's altitude and tilt it from side to side.
At that point, Junior finally got out what he was looking for: a pair of binoculars. After blowing the dust from the lenses, he looked through them. Thanks to the binoculars, he saw a controller in Eggman's hands. "It's that controller!" he said. "Eggman's somehow using that thing to control the Tornado!"
Eggman chuckled. "Isn't this an interesting twist!" he said.
"Junior's right!" said Sonic. "Eggman really is using a controller!"
Standing up, he said, "Quit goofing sound!"
"That's cheating!" Knuckles agreed, landing next to Sonic.
"I prefer to think of it as bending the rules until they break!" laughed Eggman.
Orbot and Cubot used fishing lines to unplug and extract the blue Chaos Emerald while Eggman pulled out a mechanical hammer from his Eggmobile. "Hey! Give that back!" said Knuckles.
Eggman just laughed triumphantly. "Not happening. And besides, I guess you also won't need that clown anymore!" he said, swinging it forward.
A quick look told Junior that Eggman was aiming that hammer– right at Larry! The kid had to think of something before it was too late! "Larry! Look out!" he yelled as he took action.
In time, he shoved Larry out of the way and took the hit himself. It wasn't too hard, but it was enough to knock him out cold and send him tumbling down the shaft. When Larry recovered from the shock, he and Bob were horrified to see what had become of their youngest friend. "JUNIOR!!!" they yelled.
Without hesitating, they dove down after him. "Later, losers!" Eggman said laughing.
"Thanks for the… uh… pets!" said Orbot.
Cubot chucked. "I think you need to work on your pickup lines, Orbot," he said.
Orbot didn't find that comment funny, because the next thing Cubot knew, he was rubbing the back of his head where Orbot had hit him. "Owww," he grumbled.
As the Eggmobile rose up towards the last two Chaos Emeralds, Eggman used his controller to send the X-Tornado back into a nosedive. "Soon, all the Chaos Emeralds will belong to yours truly," he laughed.
Meanwhile, Bob and Larry were still falling down after Junior, who was unconscious. With great effort, Bob managed to grab Junior's arm and pull him close when suddenly, his feet hit something. "Larry, did you feel that?" he asked, looking around for his friend and brother. "Larry? Larry!"
He couldn't see him anywhere. Just then, a loud *THUD!* answered his question. "I'll take that as a yes," he mumbled.
Standing up, he has just adjusted his hold on Junior when he heard Larry call out to him: "Bob! Bob! You have to see this!"
Confused, Bob looked over and saw Larry waving to him. He headed over to him and saw what he was looking at. They had landed on a spaceship. And not just any spaceship either; the sun design on the wing was easily familiar to those who knew who it belonged to. As realization dawned on them, the canopy opened and the pilot looked out at them. It was none other than Sunset! "Hey guys," she waved. "Come on board. Lucky we came along."
"Sunset!" Larry said happily as he jumped in. "Aw, perfect timing! You're a lifesaver!"
"Hold on. 'We'?" asked Bob, confused as he followed Larry into the ship.
"Yep," Twilight giggled, looking from behind another seat. "I'm Sunset's copilot for the time being."
Sunset had just closed the canopy when Twilight noticed a limp Junior. "What happened to him?" she asked, worried.
Bob explained everything while laying Junior on the floor, his head on his lap. "Honestly," said Sunset, "it's a miracle that he didn't get his nose broken."
"No kidding," Twilight mumbled as she took an ice pack from her first-aid kit and placed it on Junior's face.
The feeling of the cold on his face seemed to rouse Junior a little. Soon, his eyes were opening to see his friends around him. "Are you okay?" asked Bob, gently stroking his face. "You took quite a hit out there."
Junior just moaned painfully, wincing a little. "Where am I?" he asked, looking around.
"In Sunset's spaceship," Twilight answered, handing him a water bottle. "You three had a pretty long fall down here. Sunset had sensed that something was wrong earlier at the station so she came flying in. And the next thing we knew, there were a couple thumps from above and there you guys were."
As Junior gulped down his water bottle and listened, everything came rushing back to him. He sat up fast and gasped in fright, but that only resulted in him accidentally choking a little on his water. He coughed as Bob just patted his back. "Take it easy, buddy," he said.
"But Larry!" said Junior, now knowing why they were in this situation. "Is he okay? Where is he?"
"It's alright, kiddo," said Larry as he arrived next to him. "I'm right here. If it weren't for you, I would be the one in your shoes."
He then smiled and pulled him into an one-armed hug. "Thanks for the save," he said. "I owe you one."
Junior smiled and returned the embrace. "You're welcome," he said. "Anything for friends like you."
Sunset smiled at the scene. "So if we're done here," she said, "are we ready to go?"
"You bet we are," said Bob. "Let's get back up there and get those Emeralds."
"But what about the white one?" asked Junior.
"Don't worry," Sunset assured him. "I have it right here." Opening a compartment, she showed them the Emerald, safe and secure.
As soon as the boys were strapped in (Sunset's ship came with seatbelts, which was very fortunate), Sunset got ready for takeoff. "Hang on, guys," she said. "This could get a little tense."
Soon, they were flying back upwards. "But what about Sonic and Knuckles?" asked Junior. "Eggman outright cheated."
"I know," Sunset answered. "I knew right from the beginning that Eggman was up to no good. There's a reason why my ship isn't being controlled by him."
That was when Junior realized. "Oh yeah, that's right!" he said. "That device thing under the X-Tornado must be linked to the controller somehow."
"Exactly," Sunset nodded. "I took that device off my ship beforehand. Plus, I wouldn't worry about Sonic and Knuckles. They'll find a way out of their current predicament."
And she was right. As the X-Tornado continued to plummet, Knuckles had an idea. "Sonic, wanna go for a spin?" he asked.
Sonic grinned. "OK!" he said, holding out his hand.
Knuckles took it and, swinging him around, threw him towards the Eggmobile. Too wrapped up in his achievement to take notice, Eggman was holding up the two Emeralds in his hands. "Victory!" he cheered.
Suddenly, the Emeralds got snatched away. "Hey!" exclaimed Eggman, surprised. "Where did they go?"
He got an answer when Sonic rebounded off the wall and landed on the Eggmobile, Emeralds in hand. "Looks like my side won 2 to nothing!" he said with a victorious grin.
Just then, Sunset's spaceship appeared. "Make that 3 to nothing!" Sunset laughed. "Eggman totally forgot about the White Chaos Emerald! It's still safe with us on my ship!"
Satisfied, Sonic proceeded to kick the Eggmobile downwards. Eggman and his hench-bots were only saved thanks to an arm extending out of it to catch a metal pole, thankfully stopping them instantly. "... Don't move…" said Eggman nervously. "... We're hanging by a thread here."
Looking down, he saw that the X-Tornado had also stopped. "I'd be happy to help you down, Eggman," said Knuckles, obviously feeling amused by the situation above him.
Eggman panicked. "... Thanks anyway…" he said, "... we're fine."
Sunset hovered her ship alongside him. "That's what you get for cheating and for almost sending my friends to their deaths," she said. "Maybe hanging on a pole might teach you a lesson."
"You okay down there, Knuckles?" Junior called.
"I'm good," Knuckles answered, giving him a thumbs-up. "And so's Sonic. No injuries and no damage to the X-Tornado. What about you three?"
"We're okay," Bob replied. "Had a bit of a long fall, but luckily, Sunset and Twilight came along on the scene."
Junior smiled, happy that Sonic and Knuckles were okay. He blew a raspberry at Eggman as Twilight noticed something from the bottom of the X-Tornado. Using her telekinesis, she got it off and got it into the ship just as Sunset closed the canopy and took off. "Hey Sunset?" asked Larry.
Sunset looked behind her at him. "Yeah, Larry?" she said. "What is it?"
"Thanks for the save," said Larry. "The three of us owe you one."
Sunset smiled. "You're welcome," she said as the ship flew off.
Meanwhile, Sonic leapt out of the shaft and onto solid ground. Suddenly, the wall was destroyed behind him, startling him. "What the heck was that?" he asked.
Turning around, he saw that Amy's spaceship had knocked it down thanks to a giant hammer protruding from the side. Wallflower just chuckled as she hopped off. "I'm not even gonna ask how Amy managed to install a hammer like that onto her ship," she said.
Amy leapt out of the ship. "Oh, Sonic!" she exclaimed, running towards him to hug him.
Panicked, Sonic tried holding her back. "I can't wrestle right now!" he said.
But he ended up getting bear-hugged by her anyway. "I just realized that there is an upside to getting separated from you," she said, " 'cause it's so great when we're reunited!"
A panting Sonic sweat-dropped. Just then, as Cosmo was getting out, Sunset's spaceship arrived and landed alongside Amy's. The canopy opened and Sunset was the first to exit. "Glad we all made it here in one piece," she said. "And don't worry about Eggman; that cheater got what was coming to him."
Wallflower looked down the hole at where Eggman was. "Serves him right for sabotaging our spaceships," she said. "Is everyone alright?"
Junior gave a thumbs-up in response. "That's good to hear," said Wallflower in reply.
"Still wondering why those ships went absolutely haywire," said Larry. "I know it was because of Eggman, but I'm still wondering how he was able to pull it off."
"You and me both," said Wallflower.
"Same with the rest of us," agreed Bob.
Sunset smirked. "Glad that got mentioned," she said. "Because me and Twilight have the answer."
She put up a hologram of Eggman's controller and the devices that had formerly been attached to the ships' undersides. "Me and Twilight had done some research on them," she said. "And as it turns out, Eggman created these devices so that it's be easier for someone's ship to be under his control. On their own, the pilot has perfect control of his or her vehicle. But once these things get attached to them, they're under the user's control by use of this lever here."
"Seriously?" asked Junior.
"Yep," said Twilight. "For example: have you ever played with one of those remote-controlled toys like a car or a plane or something? Imagine it like that."
Junior thought for a moment. "Yeah," he answered, "but not much. Depending on what they are, they can get pretty expensive."
"Well, in this case, the same applied for earlier," said Twilight. "I'm glad that's over and done with. After today, I don't think Eggman should need these anymore."
With that, she took out the device that had been under the X-Tornado and, like the other before it, sliced it with her lightsaber. Junior told Wallflower what had happened earlier (she saw him rubbing his, thankfully, not-broken nose and asked about it) while Sonic and Any approached Cosmo, who was looking at a glass case containing the yellow Chaos Emerald. "So," said Sonic, "we finally tracked down all the Chaos Emeralds."
Cosmo smiled. "Isn't it wonderful?" she asked.
Twilight nodded. "Yes. Yes it is," she said.
However, Amy spotted something unusual. "Uh, what's that thing, Sonic?" she asked, pointing her thumb at it.
In a giant glass case was a Planet Egg connected by tubes. But it wasn't an ordinary one like the previous ones; this one looked crystallized. "It looks like… a Planet Egg!" gasped Cosmo. "But it's growing out of control!"
………………………………………………………………………
Back at the Blue Typhoon, Cream and Tails were looking at a live image of the Planet Egg. "I've never seen a Planet Egg that big before," said Cream.
"Chao!" Cheese replied in agreement.
"The meterax have been gathering Planet Eggs from around the galaxy," said Tails. "It looks like they're using the power of the Chaos Emeralds to force the Eggs into evolving."
………………………………………………………………………
"Seriously?!" asked Wallflower.
"Are. You. KIDDING ME?!" added Twilight.
"Not cool, man! Not cool!" agreed Sunset.
All three Equestria-Jedi Girls couldn't believe what they heard. "Really? But why, Tails?" asked Sonic.
"That is our secret," said a familiar voice.
Everyone turned around to see a familiar face and a whole army of Meterax Troopers. "So… we meet each other again, Sonic the Hedgehog," he said.
Sonic was shocked. He instantly recognized who it was as his mind flashed back to their first fight. "No way!" he exclaimed. "You're the guy who tried to take the Chaos Emeralds from me. I'll never forget that fight. Because of you, I had to throw the Emeralds away!"
"Huh. So that's how this whole mess started," said Sunset, hands over her lightsabers.
"You know him?" asked Amy.
"Unfortunately, I do," answered Sonic with gritted teeth.
Twilight stepped forward. "Who are you?" she asked. "And why have you come here?"
"Allow me to introduce myself," the villain replied. "I am Dark Oak, ruler of the Metarex. And now, Sonic, you and I are going to have a rematch."
Meanwhile, Shadow, Chris, Rouge, and Grace all raced through the Metarex station, unaware of the upcoming fight between Sonic and Dark Oak, the Metarex leader.
To be continued…
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