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A giant Metarex space station was floating in deep space. Metarex craft of all kinds were either flying around the station or were docked, including the Metarex Generals' battleships, MTRX-1s, and Metarex Fighters. Everyone turned to attention as they saw Dark Oak standing behind a lectern on a stage nearby. This meeting was important; first, Eggman was named the new Metarex General. Second, Dark Oak had found where Sonic and his team were hiding. "We have Sonic on the run. He is hiding somewhere in this area," he said, gesturing to a radar screen nearby.
"They picked an excellent refuge," said Black Narcissus. "There are intense electromagnetic waves in that region of space."
"The scanners will be useless," said Pale Bayleaf. "He and his crewmates have the opportunity to recover from their battle."
Yellow Zelkova didn't say anything at first. He was too busy eating some spicy curry. "We will find him," said Dark Oak, "and when we do, they will be completely destroyed! With your help, Dr. Eggman."
Said doctor was confused. "Once Sonic has been eliminated," Dark Oak continued, "the victory of the Metarex will be assured. Any resistance against us will be futile." With that, he walked off the stage.
"We'll stomp on those rebels like they're a bunch of ants!" yelled Yellow Zelkova. "And then we'll fulfill the destiny of the galaxy!"
The Metarex Troopers near him snapped to attention. Bayleaf chuckled. Narcissus was walking away when he saw Eggman standing there, looking perplexed. "What's the matter, Doctor?" he asked. "Don't you like the plan?"
Eggman didn't answer at first. His mind went back to the first time he met Narcissus, when he dared to hurt a couple kids just to get what he wanted. "Speak up!" the Metarex General insisted. "You do have an objection, do you?"
"All right, if you insist on knowing," said Eggman. "One thing still bothers me about you, Metarex. I can't figure out what you're trying to accomplish with all this destruction. I can understand trying to conquer planets, but if you keep up this rampage across the galaxy, there won't be anybody left to rule over. It doesn't make sense!"
He had a point. "For someone of your reputation, Doctor, you have a surprising lack of vision," said Black Narcissus.
"I'm beginning to suspect that you Metarex have completely lost your minds!" Eggman replied.
"Perhaps, Doctor," said Black Narcissus. "But the question is: What are you going to do about it? The time has come for you to choose sides. Will you join our quest to transform the galaxy? Or will you fight against us with Sonic?"
With that, he left, leaving Eggman standing alone again. "My, aren't we impatient?" he quipped.
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In another part of space, the Chaotix's detective office was somehow converted into a canteen. Aliens of all kinds were seated at various tables with drinks. Charmy was flying around serving whatever any alien ordered, Espio was washing the glasses, and Vector was playing the piano. He looked up at the reader. "I bet you didn't know I'm such a musical maestro, didn't ya?" he said. "You shouldn't be surprised. I'm more than just a pretty face. As a croc, I'm naturally swamped with talent! But you're probably wonderin' why I'm playin' the piano instead of doin' detective work. It all started after the boys and me said adios to the crew of the Blue Typhoon…"
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The spaceship flew through space. "Okay, Vector," said Espio, who was reading the directions, "make a right just before the next star system."
"Space travel sure can be boring," said Vector as they drove past a space traffic light. "Somebody oughta build a rest stop in this part of the galaxy so you can get out and stretch your legs."
"Oh boy! I wish we could stop and grab a bite to eat!" said Charmy, rubbing his stomach.
"There aren't any rest stops listed here," said Espio.
"Let's see…" said Vector, looking around. "Hm…"
Just then, he spotted a wormhole. They didn't know it, but it was the Galaxy Corridor. "Maybe we'll find one over there," he suggested.
Espio looked at the map again. "I don't see that place on the map," he said.
"Let's check it out!" suggested Charmy.
"All rightie!" Vector replied. "After all, investigating unknown mysteries is part of a detective's job!"
"Go for it, Vector!" Charmy encouraged him.
They felt the warping effects of the Galaxy Corridor's entrance. "What the…?" asked Vector, confused.
"It's some kind of gravity field," Espio realized.
"Boy, is it totally cool!" said Charmy.
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"... So we ended up crash-landing on this planet," Vector finished.
"Send me a bill and I'll pay it next month," said a voice, catching Vector's attention.
Looking up, he saw Charmy talking to a customer. "Well, I, uh…" the bee stammered.
"Somethin' wrong?" asked Vector as he approached them.
"This clown says he's gonna pay us later," said Charmy, gesturing to the blushing customer.
"Later?" said Vector.
"Next week, maybe," said the customer.
"Listen, pal," said Vector, wrapping his arm around the customer, "the policy in this establishment is when you pig out, you have to pay up!"
"What are you gonna do, Vector?" asked Charmy.
"Let's see…" said Vector, thinking. "I could try to squeeze the money out of him…"
"I know!" said the customer. "What if I pay you tomorrow?"
"No way!" said Vector. "It's cash or bash if you get my drift!"
Later, the customer finally paid Charmy. "That's everything I owe," he said as he left embarrassed.
"Come back soon!" said Charmy, waving goodbye.
"We won't be getting rich at this rate, Vector," said Espio.
"We just need to earn enough dough to pay for ship repairs," replied Vector. "Then we can be on our way."
At that, they heard the door open. "Hi!" said Charmy. "What can we get ya?"
However, the Chaotix were in for a surprise when they saw a familiar doctor and two hench-bots standing in the doorway. Said hench-bots were holding posters. "It's Eggman!" exclaimed Vector.
"Is that you, Vector?" asked Eggman.
"What are you doin' here?" asked Vector in reply.
"I'm looking for someone," answered Eggman.
"Oh yeah?" said Vector.
He pulled out a desk, a paper, a pen, and a pair of reading glasses from out of nowhere. "Now," he said, "I'll need a name or alias, so you'll have to give me a description, too."
That wasn't hard for Eggman to do. With a snap of his fingers, Cubot unrolled a poster. Vector was shocked to see that it was a wanted poster for the Blue Typhoon crew. "Huh? How come you're lookin' for Sonic?" he asked.
"The Metarex would like to ask you a few questions," said Eggman as Cubot lifted the poster.
"They want to have a friendly chat, huh?" asked Espio.
"Forget it, Eggman!" said Vector as he put away his gear. "You'd have to be a low-life to work for the Metarex!"
"Check this out!" replied Eggman, pulling out a picture.
It appeared to be a cross between a spider, a skull, and a bomb. "You wanna play cards?" asked Vector.
"This happens to be my new business card," answered Eggman. "I guess you haven't heard that the Metarex made me one of their top four commanders! What a simpleton. Hurry and get all those posters plastered up!"
"Sure thing, Doctor!" said Orbot.
He and Cubot immediately got to work putting the posters up. "Hm… This looks like a good spot!" said Cubot as he found a spot.
"Now hold on a second!" said Vector, waving his hands. "I don't want my walls covered in wanted posters! Find someplace where they ain't gonna be an eyesore!"
"If you say so," said Orbot.
Cubot crawled under one of the tables. "With all the chewing gum under this table, I do not even need tape," he commented as he plastered the poster to the table's underside.
Eggman sat down at the counter. "I'll have an ice-cold refreshing glass of water," he said.
Espio was still washing the dishes. "I said water!" Eggman repeated.
But Espio just turned off the water. "Too late, Eggman," he said. "We just ran out."
"I wish you would dry up," retorted Eggman.
At that point, Orbot and Cubot approached him. "We are done putting up the posters, Doctor," they said.
Eggman stood up. "If you do see Sonic and his friends, contact me right away," he said. "Understand."
"Sorry, Eggman," said Vector, "but I happen to be a crocodile, not a stool pigeon."
Eggman turned to Orbot and Cubot. "Let's ditch this dump," he said.
"Yes, Doctor," said Orbot.
"Where will we go next?" asked Cubot.
The Chaotix watched them go. "What are you gonna do, Vector?" asked Charmy. "Will you let Sonic know about this?"
"You betcha," answered Vector.
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Upstairs, the Chaotix meet up with the Blue Typhoon crew. Well, most of them, anyway. Tails, Cosmo, and Grace were the only ones absent. "What?! Eggman's putting up wanted posters?!" exclaimed Amy.
"He's hunting us down like we're criminals!" said Cream.
"This is bad news," said Chris. "If the Metarex finds out we're hiding on this planet, they'll send a fleet after us. We won't have a chance."
"Chao chao," Cheese agreed.
Sunset didn't say anything. She was picking at the table, unwanted memories flashing through her head. Twilight noticed her expression, but decided to not ask about it. They had more pressing matters to deal with. Besides, she highly doubted that Sunset would want to talk about it anyway; it affected her deeply. "We need to fix our ship and get out of here," said Amy.
"You guys can't go outside!" objected Vector. "One of the locals might turn you all in!"
"Then I'll make sure none of 'em see me!" said Sonic.
But he ended up getting yanked back by Creecha, who had just grabbed the tied back of his bandana via her telekinesis (she could be outside as long as she was in a wheelchair according to Starlight since she was still recovering) while he wasn't looking. "Not happening, mister," she said.
"We need parts," said Knuckles. "Tails, Cosmo, and Grace are waiting at the ship for them."
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He was right. At the Blue Typhoon, the three kids were waiting outside for their friends and family. "I wonder where Sonic and the others are," said Tails.
"What if the Metarex found them?" asked Cosmo.
"Highly doubt that'll happen," said Grace, who was leaning against the doorway. "Besides, they're pretty good at staying hidden."
Standing back up, Grace headed inside. "Come on, Cosmo," she said. "Let's get to training. Almost forgot to mention that Aunt Wallflower left us some homework to work on."
Nodding, Cosmo left and followed Grace inside, leaving Tails to keep an eye out for anything.
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"I'll just dash to the store and buy the parts we need," said Sonic.
"But when you pay at the register, they'll see your face!" objected Vector.
Creecha agreed. "I know you want to help, Sonic," she said, "but don't even think about it this time. Last thing I need is for every single one of us to get arrested. Better to be safe than sorry."
She had a point. "Okay, you're both right," he said grumpily. "I can't do any shopping."
"Now what are we gonna do?" asked Chris. "Without those parts, we'll be stuck here."
The group was in thought for a little while until Vector piped up. "Why don't ya let me buy the parts for ya?" he suggested.
Chris, Amy, and Cream looked up in surprise. "Would you really?" asked Chris.
"Sure," said Vector, pulling out a picture of himself doing different hobbies and walking a dog, "I run errands all the time when I'm doin' undercover work. As you can see, I don't just collar crooks."
"Uh… Sorry," said Sonic, "but we've only got enough cash for the parts."
"Aw, don't worry about my salary," said Vector. "I think you guys are A-okay, so I'll take an IOU."
"Then it's settled," said Charmy.
"All right then," said Amy, pulling out a paper and a money purse. "Here's your shopping list."
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Soon, Vector was shopping alone at the store. He glanced down at his list before seeing an item on the shelf. This is one of the parts I need for my ship, he said to himself.
He felt conflicted. I'm shoppin' for Sonic! he finally decided. I ain't no crooked croc!
Instead, he selected a few other items and soon arrived at the checkout with the needed parts. Unbeknownst to him, a Metarex Trooper was spying on him. "Come in, Commander."
………………………………………………………………………
"So, my instincts were correct," said Pale Bayleaf when he got the news. "Sonic is hiding on that planet. When he fixes his ship and returns to space, I'll be waiting for him!"
His right eye twinkled.
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Back upstairs, Sonic was cautiously watching as Eggman and his hench-bots stopped outside the canteen. "We've been putting up posters all around town," said Cubot.
"It was exhausting…" said Orbot. Both of them sounded tired.
But Eggman wasn't listening. He was staring intensely at the window as if he spotted something. "Is there something wrong, Doctor?" asked Cubot.
"It's none of your business," said Eggman finally. "Let's go!"
"Roger!" said Cubot.
"Whatever," said Orbot as the two left.
Eggman was about to leave, but he stopped and stared at the window for a long period of time before leaving. Then, Orbot himself had a peek at the window before leaving as well. " *Phew*," said Sonic, wiping his brow. "For a second there, I thought they saw me."
Then, they heard voices downstairs. "How'd it go, Vector?" asked Charmy.
"No problem," answered Vector.
Everyone else crawled out either from under the table or whatever hiding spot they could find. "All right," said Knuckles, "let's go help Vector unload the parts."
"Chao!" said Cheese.
Chris nodded.
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Meanwhile, the kids were still waiting. At that point, Cosmo and Grace were done with their training for the day and had joined Tails outside. "Maybe they did run into trouble," said Tails.
"It must be the Metarex," added Cosmo.
"Like I said before: I doubt it," said Grace. "If they were in trouble, I'd be feeling it right about now."
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Back at the canteen, Knuckles, Chris, and Cheese were working to get the parts upstairs. To say that they were having a little difficulty would be an understatement. "These… parts are heavy!" Knuckles strained.
"Look out!" called Chris.
"Chao!" added Cheese.
*THUMP!* All the parts were put on the floor upstairs. Chris helped to bring in the last part. "This is the last one," he said.
"Let's call Tails to pick this up in the X-Tornado," said Amy.
"Chao," said Cheese.
She was about to call Tails on her communicator when Chris stopped her. "Amy! They could be monitoring our communications," he said.
"Huh? What are you saying?" asked Amy. "You expect us to carry the parts there?"
"Bummer," said Creecha. "I was tempted to check on Tails, Cosmo, and Grace. I bet they're worried."
Vector crawled up top. "I can take you guys over," he offered.
"Oh, really?" asked Sonic.
"Sure!" replied Vector. "I'm a warm-hearted reptile!"
………………………………………………………………………
Outside, the canteen was closed. Everyone was now inside the Chaotix's spaceship. "Okay," said Vector, "hang on, everybody!"
Just then, his radio came on. "Vector, I'm in your restaurant. We need to talk."
No one had to be a genius to figure out what that was. "That figures," said Chris.
"What's Eggman doing here?" asked Amy, shaking her fist. "I'd like to give him a piece of my mind and fist!"
"Don't worry; I'll go show Dr. Egghead the exit!" said Vector. "Be right back!"
………………………………………………………………………
When Vector entered the canteen, he saw Eggman sitting alone. "I already told you I'm not gonna help ya, Eggman!" he said.
"If you're this rude to all your customers, it's no wonder this place is empty," Eggman quipped.
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"What does he want, anyway?" asked Amy.
"Eggman's a pain," said Chris.
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"We're closed up for the night!" said Vector.
"I'm not leaving this stool," replied Eggman.
"Oh really?" said Vector.
"I came here to celebrate," said Eggman, "and that's exactly what I'm going to do, Vector."
Vector was confused. "Celebrate what?" he asked.
"Before this night is over," said Eggman, "I'm going to be rid of Sonic the Hedgehog once and for all. The Metarex sent me to track down Sonic, and now I've figured out exactly where he's hiding. Sonic doesn't suspect anything, so he won't stand a chance when the Metarex attack."
He chuckled as he said that.
………………………………………………………………………
"So Eggman is setting us up!" said Knuckles.
"This is bad!" said Cream. "What do we do, Sonic?"
Sonic didn't reply. He just grinned a toothy grin, confusing the others.
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After a moment's hesitation, Vector saw that Eggman wasn't about to leave. "How about some juice?" he asked.
Eggman grinned as Vector poured it out for him.
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The others were surprised. "Huh? No way!" exclaimed Amy.
"Vector was supposed to get rid of Eggman!" said Knuckles, hands on his hips.
"Yeah, what's he letting him hang around for?" asked Chris.
"Dr. Eggman doesn't get to defeat us very often," said Sonic, "so he really deserves to enjoy it this time."
The others were astonished at Sonic's behavior. That was when Creecha realized something. "Let's keep on listening in," she said. "That way, maybe we can find out what the Metarex are planning to do to us this time."
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"Let me tell you," said Eggman as he sipped on his beverage, "those Metarex aren't kidding around. They've had enough of Sonic and his friends, and this time, they're planning to pull out all the stops to make sure he's destroyed once and for all."
Vector was surprised to hear this. "Really?" he asked. "What are they gonna do?"
"It's a secret," said Eggman. "Let's just say it'll involve a whole fleet of ships attacking the Blue Typhoon. I almost wish I could give Sonic some kind of warning. I'm sure he'd much rather be beaten by me than by those miserable Metarex."
He laughed as he finished.
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"Eggman's got some ego!" said Amy.
"I wish I could go in there and tell him off!" said Cream, shaking her fist.
"You and me both, kiddo," said Jerry.
Meanwhile, Sonic was relishing in the conservation, not able to get enough.
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Finally, Eggman stood up. "I'll be shoving off now," he said.
"I don't ever wanna see you in here again, Eggman!" Vector warned.
"That's the best news I've heard all day," Eggman quipped.
He began leaving, but as he neared the door, he received a radio call: "Come in, Doctor!"
"What now?" asked Eggman.
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"I thought you should know I just spotted Bayleaf's fleet!" said Bokkun.
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"All right. Keep me posted," said Eggman as he cut the call.
"Oh well," he said. "I guess Sonic's a goner. That fleet will stay in orbit around the planet waiting for the Blue Typhoon to take off so they can destroy it. Yes, the second the Metarex spot that ship, it will be blown into a billion bits! There won't be any escape for Sonic the Hedgehog this time!"
With that, he finally left. "Huh. He could use an acting coach," said Vector.
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The others had heard everything. "This is bad," said Starlight.
"We can't leave the planet now even if we fixed the ship!" said Chris.
"But if we stay here," Amy reasoned, "sooner or later, they'll track us down and attack us anyway."
Knuckles was conflicted. We're trapped… he said to himself, and we can't put up a fight! Our laser cannons aren't powerful enough to take on an entire fleet!
Sonic, on the other hand, was still grinning. Thanks for the tipoff, Eggman, he said to himself.
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"I'm waiting for you, Sonic!" said Pale Bayleaf.
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Later, the Chaotix's spaceship was now parked next to the Blue Typhoon. The kids were relieved to see them, Tails especially; ever since what happened to Sonic and Knuckles, he'd been super worried about them. Currently, they were at work fixing the ship "Do you know how many ships the Metarex have in their fleet?" asked Cosmo.
" 'Fraid not," said Knuckles.
"Why don't you just use the scopes?" asked Amy, waving her arms.
"They're not working," said Tails. "I just disconnected all the scopes to make repairs, and it'll take hours to reconnect them."
"What are the options?" asked Cosmo.
"If we just sit around here," said Sonic, "we won't have any chance of getting away."
"What should we do?" asked Cosmo.
"We have to repair our ship and take on their fleet," said Sonic.
He turned to the Chaotix. "You wanna join us?" he asked.
"No offense, Sonic," said Vector, all three of them waving their hands, "but we'd rather play it safe than be sorry."
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In his battleship, Pale Bayleaf was playing chess with a robot when a Metarex Trooper approached him. "Sir, a ship has just left the planet," it reported.
"Put it up on the viewscreen," said Pale Bayleaf as the robot rolled away.
"Roger," said the Metarex Trooper.
As he studied the screen, Bayleaf immediately recognized the ship. "That's the Blue Typhoon!..." he exclaimed, standing up. "Deploy cannons!"
The ship's cannons were trained on the Typhoon. At Pale Bayleaf's command, they fired at the ship. As the Chaotix's ship rolled along the moon's surface, an explosion burst above it. "I've done it!" exclaimed Pale Bayleaf joyfully. "I've defeated Sonic the Hedgehog! We must leave immediately to deliver the good news to Dark Oak in person!"
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Back at the canteen, it was business as usual. Vector was playing the piano when he heard the door open. Looking up, what he saw made him stop, sweat-dropping. There, in the doorway, was Eggman. His right arm was in a sling, and he looked beaten up. What the heck happened to him? "Play it again, Vector," he said.
"I thought I told you to never come back here," said Vector.
"Believe me," said Eggman, "I didn't want to come back, but I didn't have any place to go."
He sat down at the counter. "I'll have a prune juice and a soft-boiled egg," he said.
Espio looked up at Vector. "Well, Vector?" he asked.
Vector looked up briefly before returning to his piano playing. "Give him what he wants," he said.
"Are you sure?" asked Espio, getting out a bottle and a glass.
"Yeah," said Vector, "and it's all on the house, too."
Espio shrugged and poured Eggman's beverage, also setting a whole, uncracked egg before him. Eggman cracked the egg into the beverage. "Here's to my best enemy," he said, downing the beverage.
………………………………………………………………………
Outside, the Typhoon was damaged on the planet's surface. However, the ground opened up to reveal not the Blue Typhoon but… the Crimson Egg! The doctor's hench-bots were making repairs to the ship. "Why did we have to protect Sonic?" asked Orbot.
"Yeah, I thought Dr. Eggman wanted to see him destroyed," agreed Cubot.
"If you ask me," said Bokkun, "the doc's startin' to go soft… in the head."
………………………………………………………………………
Meanwhile, the real Blue Typhoon flew freely into space. "I thought there was supposed to be a Metarex fleet waiting for us!" said Knuckles, confused. "But there isn't even a single ship here!"
"We should have suspected all along that it was a lie," said Amy. "I guess Eggman was just trying to psych us out."
"I'm glad he lied," said Chris. "If there was a fleet here, we'd be in trouble. Wouldn't we, Sonic?"
"I guess," said Sonic.
He was confused. Same with Sunset. "But there's something I don't get," she said. "Why isn't the fleet here? They were here not too long ago."
Twilight hadn't said anything. She was standing at the window, eyes closed as if she was deep in thought, which she was. Everyone took notice of this. After a while, Twilight gasped, her eyes snapping open. "Of course!" she exclaimed. "That explains everything!"
"What explains everything?" asked Rainbow.
"It explains why there isn't a Metarex fleet here," said Twilight. "We've been saved… by Dr. Eggman himself!"
Everyone was surprised. "Saved by Eggface?" asked Knuckles, making Pinkie giggle at the nickname.
"How?" asked Sunset.
Everyone was interested at Twilight's realization. "Simple," said the smart girl. "Eggman was telling the truth about the fleet being here, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. The Chaotix may have helped us with ship repairs, but Eggman offered the real help today:
"Ever since we first saw him with the Metarex back at that vortex, I instantly knew that there was a reason why Eggman joined them in the first place. After all, he was a bad guy, sure, but he was a good person compared to the Metarex Generals; the way those generals handled stuff was awful compared to how he did things. So when he heard of their plan to destroy us, he decided to take action himself, knowing that repaired or not, our ship wouldn't stand a chance. So he deliberately told Vector what the Metarex were up to, letting us listen in on it in the process, then later disguised his own ship as a fake Blue Typhoon and sent it out, knowing that Pale Bayleaf would be waiting for it. Sure enough, Pale Bayleaf ended up taking the bait and fired at it, sending the disguised Crimson Egg back down to the planet, allowing us to get out of there safely. It means that all this time, Pale Bayleaf had fallen for a fake Blue Typhoon!
"Call me a crazy liar or not, but Eggman really did us a huge favor today."
Silence filled the ship as everyone thought about it. "You might have a point there," said Sonic as he joined Twilight at the window.
"Are you sure about this?" asked Knuckles.
"I've never been more positive about my opinion in my life," Twilight responded. "Plus, before I met you guys, I've been through two other wars back in my home galaxy. One of the things I've learned from them is that everyone has a different sense of morality. And Eggman let his own morality shine through today; he's one of those guys who, though he's a villain, has standards."
Everyone was left to think about what Twilight said.
………………………………………………………………………
Eggman smiled. So did Vector.
………………………………………………………………………
Same with Sonic as Twilight's words resonated in his head. Thanks, Doctor, he thought as they flew away. You're not such a bad egg after all.
ns 15.158.61.11da2
