x
Rainbow caught Pinkie and brought her back to the Blue Typhoon while Rouge caught Amy, who thrashed around in her grip. "No! I have to go after them!" she cried.
"No way," Rouge disagreed.
"But they could be hurt!" Amy insisted.
"Acting crazy isn't gonna help anyone," said Rouge. "Try to stay calm, Amy."
As she landed them both on Cream's spaceship, Amy teared up. "But you don't understand!" she cried. "Sonic needs me!"
"Oh Amy…" said Cream sympathetically, tears forming in her eyes as well. "What if Sonic and Rarity really are hurt this time? We have to get them out of there somehow!"
But how? There was a pause as Amy watched the three heads of Final Mova. "Oh Sonic…" she said.
………………………………………………………………………
When Chris and Knuckles entered the bridge, everyone else was already there. Sunset also showed up, wordlessly giving Pinkie a purple object she found– which just so happened to be Rarity's geode, which had been snapped off during the fight. Distraught, Pinkie soon started crying, hugging Sunset, who returned the embrace while AJ rubbed her shoulder.
Tails was also distraught at what happened to his friends, mostly his brother. Hearing him cry as well, Knuckles didn't hesitate to scoop up his little brother into his arms and hug him close. Tails curled into a ball in the embrace, his head on Knuckles' chest. "Now what are we gonna do?" asked Grace.
"I don't know, guys," said Creecha, "but this doesn't look good."
"Yeah, Creecha," Chris agreed. "I just don't know what to do."
Cosmo smiled. "Don't worry," she said. "They're going to be okay."
This made everyone look at her, surprised. "How do you know this?" Tails sniffed brokenly.
Cosmo gestured to her amulet. "This amulet is a very special one," she explained. "It belonged to my mother long ago. Sometimes it shows me things that others cannot see. They'll be all right."
That made them all smile. "Really?" asked Tails hopefully.
"Well, sure," said Knuckles, kissing Tails' forehead. "Those two can survive anything."
"And if Sonic and Rarity can survive, then we can too," said Chris. "Isn't that right, Cosmo?"
Cosmo didn't say anything. Wallflower took notice and instantly knew sonething was wrong. "You OK there, Cosmo?" she asked.
Before Cosmo could answer, the ship suddenly shook. "Whoa!" exclaimed Creecha, lurching forward. "What the heck was that?!"
"Eggman here," said a familiar voice. "Do you read me? You won't believe what's just happened!"
………………………………………………………………………
The Crimson Egg had docked with the Blue Typhoon. "It appears my Egg Crimson has rather conveniently collided with your Typhoon!" he said.
The heads of Narcissus and Bayleaf suddenly lunged at the Typhoon. "Uh-oh," said Eggman.
Luckily, the Typhoon pulled back.
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"That was close," said Rouge.
"You kids okay?" said a voice.
Rouge, Amy, and Cream turned to see the Chaotix approaching. "Looks like Eggman's up to something," said Espio.
"A cowardly trick," added Vector. "Ol' Egghead landed his ship on yours so he wouldn't have to fight alone!"
Fluttershy showed up at that point. "Good thing he did," she said. "At this point, we're gonna need all the help we can get. Even Eggman has standards."
"We don't want that Egghead on our ship!" protested Amy.
"What else would you suggest?" asked Eggman over the intercom. "That creepy colossus is greening up the whole galaxy! I should think you'd be happy to team up against these botanical beasties.
………………………………………………………………………
"If this forestation farce continues, my genius will no longer flourish," he continued as Shadow watched Final Mova from atop the Crimson Egg.
………………………………………………………………………
"What a terrible loss for evil science!" added Cubot.
"How could they be so selfish?" added Orbot.
"Come on, everybody!" exclaimed Bokkun angrily. "Let's [unintelligible] some really big [unintelligible] and show 'em who's boss!"
………………………………………………………………………
Butch and Lightning were both surprised and confused. "What the heck did Bokkun say, exactly?" asked Butch.
"I don't know," Lightning shrugged. "Some of it sounded like gibberish to me."
………………………………………………………………………
The Crimson Egg fired many missiles at Dark Oak's dragon head. As usual, they either missed or did no damage.
………………………………………………………………………
Cosmo placed her hand on the amulet. "Cosmo," said a voice.
Cosmo looked up. "Mother?" she asked.
In her mind, she saw her: an image of her dear mother Earthia. "Cosmo, do not fear," she said. "I am always with you. Through this amulet, I am watching and guiding you to your destiny."
Flashbacks of the past went through Cosmo's mind. "Our planet may have been destroyed long ago," Earthia continued, "but through you, my daughter, the spirit of our people will live on. Look for the light at the end of the darkness. It is there in your heart."
………………………………………………………………………
Cosmo smiled as her mother's image disappeared. "What are we all standing around for?" Knuckles was asking, catching her attention. "Shouldn't we be out there fighting?"
"That thing's a hundred feet tall," said Rouge. "What do you suggest, champ?"
"Well, we have to do something!" Amy insisted.
She had a point. There had to be a way to stop Final Mova. But how were they going to do that? "There's got to be some way we can break them," said Chris, "something we haven't thought of."
"Like what?" asked Grace. "I don't have any ideas."
"We got your secret weapon right here!" Charmy spoke up. "Sure, I may be small, but I'm–"
"Put a cork in it, Charmy," Espio interrupted, covering Charmy's mouth.
Robyn chuckled. "Finding a weak spot in that gargantuan green meanie out there isn't going to be easy," said Eggman over the video. "With the combined power of the Chaos Emeralds, not to mention the Planet Eggs, that three-headed dino boy's a mighty powerful monster."
"Hmmm. He's got a point there," said Twilight, scratching her head in thought. "Does anyone have any other ideas?"
That was when Knuckles spoke up. "What about the Master Emerald?" he suggested.
Sunset nearly choked on her water. "WHAT?!" she exclaimed.
"Hey," said Amy, "why didn't we think of that before?"
"If we charge up the Master Emerald enough," said Knuckles, "we might be able to cause some kind of Chaos reaction."
Everyone thought it over. "Well, it's worth a try," Chris said.
"This just might be the idea we're looking for," said Tails, taking Knuckles' hands into his own. "I gotta hand it to you, Knuckles. Let's get to work on this right away!"
"Thank you, Knuckles!" said Cream.
"Chao!" Cheese added.
Knuckles smiled at the support he was receiving. "Aw, it was no big deal," he said.
But then, Eggman spoke up. "Not so fast, my little spaceketeers," he said. "What if Knuckles' brilliant idea lays an egg?"
"What do you mean?" asked Knuckles.
"Well, we are going up against a whole lot of concentrated energy," Chris stated.
"Scientifically speaking," added Tails, "even if we charge the Master Emerald capacity, it still might not work."
"So what then?" asked Knuckles.
"Guess you'll find out soon enough, tiger," said Rouge, slapping Knuckles on the back.
"And don't forget," put in Vector, "you got the teamin' Chaotix Detective Agency on your side."
"Yeah, in case the whole thing goes bust!" added Charmy.
At that point, Knuckles panicked. "Hey, wait a minute!" he exclaimed. "What if it does go bust? What if the Master Emerald needs more energy than we've got?!"
"I have an idea," said Eggman. "You can use the Crimson Egg for backup just in case you need a little more... shall we say... juice."
"Eheheh... Good idea, Eggy," Knuckles chuckled nervously, sweat-dropping.
"You know," said Espio, "this is almost heartwarming, everybody working together like this."
"Don't get carried away," warned Knuckles.
Cosmo laughed. "Your time is up, my friends!" said Dark Oak.
Frightened, Cosmo looked up to see…
………………………………………………………………………
… all three heads of Final Mova speeding directly towards the two ships! Shadow spun towards Dark Oak's head, but he flipped him away and lunged for him. Shadow held his head at bay.
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"What do we do?" asked Chris.
………………………………………………………………………
While Shadow held Dark Oak's head at bay, Bayleaf and Narcissus also closed in. The Crimson Egg fired all its weapons. "Missile those monsters!" yelled Orbot.
"I'll hit them with a laser attack!" said Cubot as Shadow started to make some headway.
"Take this, you three-headed freak!" cried Bokkun.
………………………………………………………………………
Everyone nodded to each other.
………………………………………………………………………
As Knuckles headed for the engine room, Sunset ran up to him. "Knuckles, wait!" she called.
Knuckles glanced at her. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Sunset hesitated for a moment. "I know you're doing the right thing," she said, "but I'm scared of the fact that whether or not it works, you'll lose one of the reminders of your people. You know how much that Emerald means to you; you've been guarding it for as long as I can remember. And all we've been doing is treating it like a power source for the ship. I'm sorry."
Knuckles gently patted her shoulder. "I understand, Sunset," he said, "but times like this, you have to sacrifice stuff like this for the cause. I know the price I have to pay, but if it means that the galaxy will be saved in the end, it's worth it."
He continued on to the engine room, leaving Sunset alone in the hall. Knowing that Knuckles knew what he was doing, she stood up and raced outside to the fight.
………………………………………………………………………
The EGs, Cream, Amy, and Rouge took off; Cream in her own spaceship, and Amy and Rouge in two of Eggman's. Most of the main Christian Guard went to; Spike, Buzzsaw, Topsy, Dorothy, Shanti, and Robyn were the only ones staying behind. Narcissus fired several spikes out of his hide at the spaceships, which dodged them. "Give it your best shot, fang-face!" Amy challenged, Pinkie riding on the wing.
"You're gonna pay for what you did to Rarity!" swore Pinkie.
Meanwhile, the Chaotix were clinging to Bayleaf's head. "Hang on tight, Espio!" warned Vector. "He's a slippery one!"
"Yeah. Cranky, too," added Charmy.
Shadow launched a Chaos Spear, which went just wide of Dark Oak. He swatted Shadow away with his head, but Shadow barreled into him. The Crimson Egg continued firing its weapons until finally, Dark Oak was forced back.
………………………………………………………………………
Cosmo was saddened by how everything turned out; how different it all was now than it was back then. "Thousands of years ago, when Planet Green Gate first came into being," she recalled, her eyes shimmering in sadness, "they believed in peace and harmony. Why did it have to all come to this, Tails? Why?"
Tails placed a comforting hand on Cosmo's hand, which she returned in kind.
………………………………………………………………………
In the Crimson Egg, Chris was finishing up a job. "Okay, you guys," he said. "The power cannon is all set up and ready to go. We hooked it up to the Crimson Egg for backup."
"Way to go, Chris," said Grace.
"Glad we could be of assistance, kid," said Eggman. "But, uh, there may be one slight problem."
Chris was surprised. "What would that problem be?" asked Grace curiously.
"How is it that you found yourself in this dimension, Chris?" asked Eggman.
"Well, I... I used the Master Emerald's energy as a connector to synchronize my world with this one," Chris answered, "and then I teleported."
"And then, he somehow came looking like this," said Grace, gesturing to his 12-year old form.
"Sure you did," said Eggman. "You used the Master Emerald as a connector all right… but when you teleported, you lost six years because of an interdimensional warp strain. Hence that inconvenient, not to mention embarrassing, shift from strapping young man back to annoying squirt. Those lost years were stored as particle data inside the Master Emerald's energy centers for safekeeping."
"Well, that explains why you turned into an 18-year old in a 12-year old body," said Grace. "We've been wondering how that happened for sometime."
"Isn't it astonishing how the doctor knows absolutely everything?" said Cubot.
"He is a genius with a capital G," praised Orbot.
"So you're really eighteen, huh?" quipped Bokkun. "Too bad you're a total shrimpy wimp!"
Chris was fed up with Eggman's hench-bots. "Hey! Who are you calling shrimp?!" he challenged.
"I'm not done~!" said Eggman, who was typing something. "The bad news is that if we use up a large portion of the Master Emerald's energy, you just may be stuck here junior. Your particle data may dissipate within moments of charging. In turn, I'm afraid it may take years to renew its current structure. Which means that you may never be able to return to your world, and even if you do, your molecular structure could possibly be permanently damaged."
Grace gasped. "Chris…" she said, tears in her eyes.
"Oh no…" said Chris, realizing what this would mean.
He thought of everyone he loved back home– his parents, Ella and Tanaka, Grandpa Chuck, Danny, Frances, Uncle Sam Speed, and even Helen. He couldn't bear to go without seeing them again. But at the same time, he knew what the right thing to do was. "Sonic Power Cannon," he said, "backup to Crimson Egg, and... Connect. If it means saving my friends from danger, I'm willing to take the chance!"
Grace was shocked. So was Eggman. "You're really going through with this, aren't you?" he asked.
"I'll just have to believe I'll see my folks again one day," said Chris, "and when I do, I want them to be proud of me!"
Eggman grinned. Grace was smiling through her tears. "Oh Chris," she said, hugging him tight. "You've changed so much! I'm so proud of you!"
Chris smiled as he hugged her back. "I have to admit," said Cubot, "you are not so bad after all, kid."
"Yeah," agreed Orbot, "and here we thought you were just this sniveling little brat. But you are not sniveling at all!"
"Sure he ain't!" said Bokkun. "You know, deep down, I always knew you were an okay kid, but these two bozos wouldn't believe me."
"Hey, who are you calling bozos?" asked Cubot.
Grace laughed happily while Chris was amused to tears. "Hey, thanks a lot, you guys," he said. "I don't know what to say."
Everyone looked at Chris, amazed at his bravery. "I'm not gonna let the Metarex win this!" Chris vowed.
"You're pretty tough, kid," said Eggman.
………………………………………………………………………
"All right, Tails," said Cosmo, "it looks like the backup with the Crimson Egg has been completed."
Tails was determined to make the plan work. "I reprogrammed the Power Cannon so it'll receive a sustained charge from all sources," he said. "We're ready."
………………………………………………………………………
Knuckles stood in the engine room, reciting the chant. "The seven Chaos Emeralds are the servers. Chaos is the power enriched by the heart. Chaos is the power enriched by the heart!"
The Master Emerald glowed.
………………………………………………………………………
Outside, the fighters weren't doing so well. "Man, this dragon's tougher than I thought," said Junior, rubbing his fist after he'd punched Narcissus.
"Miracle that your hand's not broken!" called Lightning.
"Hey, back off!" said Cream, dodging some spikes.
Rouge's console was sparking. "Terrific," she said sarcastically, getting out. "Thanks for the hunk of junk."
She kicked the discarded ship at Narcissus. Meanwhile, the Chaotix were climbing up Bayleaf. Espio threw several exploding shurikens at Bayleaf. They exploded, but Bayleaf appeared out of the cloud and lunged for Espio, who became invisible to dodge the attack. Vector breathed fire at Bayleaf, which seems to have some effect. Espio reappeared. "It's time!" Tails called, catching their attention.
"Get back, everyone!" said Creecha. "This one's gonna be big!"
………………………………………………………………………
"The controller serves to unify the Chaos!" Knuckles continued. "Come on, Master Emerald! Come through! You're our last chance! If this does not work, the Metarex will win, and I will not let that happen!"
The Master Emerald emitted so much power that it began to crack. "Come on, Master Emerald, you can do this," Knuckles urged. "I know you can. You're strong enough. Don't let us down!"
More cracks formed. "Master Emerald, give us all your power!!" cried Knuckles.
………………………………………………………………………
"It's almost at full power," said Chris. "We'll wait a couple more seconds and then we'll reroute the energy."
Grace nodded.
………………………………………………………………………
Dark Oak wrapped several tendrils around Shadow, who ran around the Crimson Egg trying to break free.
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"Buzz-saw! Pump the Master Emerald's energy to the main cannon!" said Tails over the intercom. "Hurry!"
"Roger that!" said Buzz-saw, who proceeded to do so.
………………………………………………………………………
"Okay, Chris. Deactivating trigger safety. Set target for 12:00."
………………………………………………………………………
The galactic tug-of-war was on.
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"Start tilt function!" said Eggman.
………………………………………………………………………
The Crimson Egg and, in essence, the Blue Typhoon, tilted to the side. The Sonic Power Cannon rose out of the Typhoon. Narcissus and Bayleaf lunged towards the ships.
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"Get ready, Master Emerald!" said Knuckles. "Full power!"
Even more cracks formed in the Master Emerald. Then… it was finally time. "Sonic Power Cannon, full force!"
………………………………………………………………………
The Sonic Power Cannon fired a big energy blast at Final Mova, damaging the three heads, freeing Shadow, and striking the base of the tree. The entire planet was soon enveloped in a giant light. So was everything and everyone.
………………………………………………………………………
In a completely white void, Sonic and Rarity were running through a vast emptiness. Well, Sonic was the one running; Rarity was flying beside him on her diamond hoverboard. Around them, they could hear Dark Oak's voice. "From the past to the future, from one end of the universe to the other, the same thing awaits all planets and creatures. Beats find and devour each other, the plants wither, and the world ends. Eventually, a new species will appear, but the same thing will eventually repeat."
Suddenly, random sand monsters appeared in front of them. Sonic and Rarity cut through them with ease. "These are the memories of the planets that were unworthy to be a part of us," said Dark Oak. "Their lives were all gotten rid of, thereby quenching rebellion. I will fix the universe. There will be no more destruction. The beauty of Sonic's world will last for eternity."
Now the two found themselves suspended in midair in a forestated world. In slow motion, they leapt down to the forest below. "You fly inside the galaxy that will be," said Dark Oak. "All life still and silent, great and glorious."
Sonic and Rarity landed on a branch and ran back up the tree. They then leapt to the top of another tree. After a pause, they leapt from treetop to treetop. "You two think you are free," said Dark Oak, "but you and those like you will never be free. There will always be violence. There will always be waste. There will always be destruction."
"Destruction?" quipped Sonic. "You wouldn't know about that, would ya?"
"And so what?" added Rarity. "It doesn't matter what you say. In the end, we will win, because there's a thing called second chances. You'd never understand it, because you were too far gone years ago."
They ran faster, Sonic picking up Rarity so she wouldn't be left behind. Suddenly, large green tentacles swayed around them. Working together, Sonic and Rarity dodged and cut through them. "And you, Equestrian-Jedi Girl and hedgehog," said Dark Oak. "You two are the same as all beasts and humans! None can coexist with nature, so you must all be destroyed!"
"Think so?" asked Sonic.
"Because that's where you're wrong!" finished Rarity as they continued to cut through the tentacles.
"You and your friend run in vain, hedgehog," said Dark Oak. "There is no hope left for you. Why don't you give up?"
"Sorry to disappoint ya," said Sonic. "See, we got friends waitin' for us."
The tentacles stopped attacking, and as he and Rarity tightened their grip on each other, Sonic ran even faster. "Friends, hedgehog?" scoffed Dark Oak. "They have forgotten you and your Equestrian-Jedi friend. But then, that's the way of such fickle creatures."
Sonic ignored Dark Oak and broke the sound barrier. "Go ahead. You and Rarity keep running, Sonic the Hedgehog," said the villain. "Soon your freedom to run wild and free will be gone. Soon you will be still and silent... forever!"
But Sonic and Rarity weren't deterred. "We'd love to see you try!" challenged Rarity.
"Do your best, buddy!" Sonic called as they broke free.
………………………………………………………………………
Back in reality, Dark Oak laughed as he absorbed the Planet Eggs. Everyone looked on. Suddenly, he roared and stopped.
………………………………………………………………………
"Hey, look," said Chris.
Grace, having covered her eyes, slowly peeked through between her fingers. "What happened?" she asked, a little unsure.
"I have to hand it to you kids," said Eggman. "It looks like your Master Emerald master plan worked like a charm."
………………………………………………………………………
"Wow!" said Tails as he looked on.
………………………………………………………………………
Suddenly remembering, Sunset returned to the ship and ran to the engine room as fast as she could. "Knuckles!" she called as she burst in. "How's the Master Emerald? Everything suddenly came back to me and I–"
Her words died in her mouth as she interrupted herself with a gasp. A saddening sight was in front of her: the Master Emerald was broken up into a pile of useless, shattered pieces. Knuckles picked up one of the pieces, holding it close and closing his eyes. Slowly, Sunset approached Knuckles and sat down beside him. "Sorry about the Emerald, Knuckles," she said, placing a hand onto his shoulder.
Knuckles didn't reply, but he acknowledged the gesture.
………………………………………………………………………
The minute they saw Rarity and Sonic, Pinkie and Amy flew towards Aqurius. In Amy's case, this time it wasn't because of her love for Sonic, but because it was the right thing to do. "Sonic! Rarity!" they called.
Sonic and Rarity were unconscious under Aqurius' waters. They opened their eyes as Amy and Pinkie continued their descent. "Sonic! Rarity!" they called again.
But several vines grabbed the ship. Sonic and Rarity saw this. "Amy! Pinkie!" they exclaimed.
Luckily, Pinkie jumped and Amy ejected as the ship exploded. They landed unconscious under the surface of Aqurius. Sonic and Rarity swam up and caught them as they sank together. Pinkie woke up with Rarity looking at her. "You came for us?" she asked.
"Of course we did," said Pinkie. "Why wouldn't we?"
Sonic… Amy thought happily. It's you... You saved me... I knew you would…
They continued to sink down. "There's a possibility that we're not gonna make it, are we?" said Pinkie, looking upwards.
"I guess so," said Rarity.
"So… what're we gonna do?" asked Pinkie.
Rarity looked at her. "What can we do?" she asked in reply.
Pinkie didn't know how to answer that question verbally, but taking Rarity's hands into her own was all she needed to do to wordlessly reassure her that whatever happened next, at least they'd be together. Suddenly, all four of them were enveloped in a white light. When it faded, they found themselves surrounded in a couple of bubbles being floated back towards the surface, two in each one. "Sonic, something out there's protecting us," said Amy.
"Amazing," was all Sonic could say.
Rarity and Pinkie looked on in amazement as their wounds were soon healed. At that point, Jesus appeared in front of the girls, shocking them. They had no words to say, but their eyes seemed to say it all. Jesus smiled at them as he disappeared. Soon, all four of them floated out of Aqurius, where the bubbles popped. "There they are!" exclaimed Twilight happily.
"Hey, Sonic and Rarity!" said Chris and Knuckles.
Everyone looked on as Sonic, Amy, Rarity, and Pinkie floated safely away from Aquarius and Final Mova, happy that their friends were alive. Chris headed out in his ship to collect Sonic and Amy as Knuckles entered the second bridge. "Sonic!" called someone. "You're okay!"
And there was Tails, flying out to him. Sonic smiled and accepted the hug Tails gave him, the little fox crying the whole time. "I was so scared, Sonic!" he cried. "I thought I'd lose you, big bro!"
"Same here, little bro," replied Sonic, hugging him back and kissing his forehead. "But I'm here now. It's okay. Everything's gonna start getting better from now on. We're gonna win this."
Amy rubbed Tails' shoulder lovingly, happy that the little fox who was like a little brother was happy. Meanwhile, as she and Rarity landed back on the Typhoon, Pinkie remembered something. "Oh, hey Rarity," she said, digging into her hair. "Something tells me you're still gonna need this."
With that, she pulled out a dark purple object. Rarity recognized it. "My geode!" she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. "Where did you find it?"
"Sunset found it and gave it to me," explained Pinkie as Rarity put it back on, "so I figured I'd hold on to it in case you were still alive. It was a good thing that Cosmo was able to encourage us, otherwise, we wouldn't have gone after you two."
Rarity smiled as she regained her "pony-up" form. "Thank you so much, darling sister," she said, taking Pinkie's hands into her own. "It was so sweet of Cosmo. Would you give her a kiss for me when you see her?"
"Sure," said Pinkie, receiving a kiss to the cheek in response.
Just then, Robyn's voice came over the intercom. "Hey everybody, check it out!" she said. "Something really weird is happening now. Look!"
Everyone looked over to see the waters rising around Final Mova. The heads of Bayleaf and Narcissus were missing. "You tried to destroy us," said Final Mova, "but we are more powerful than you will ever know! The Chaos eternal seed! We shall become as one with Chaos forevermore!"
The water rose above the three dragons. Dark Oak dissolved. "He's gone," said Chris.
"And now the birth of a new galaxy– a galaxy of tranquility, of emptiness!" Final Mova proclaimed. "I call you!"
………………………………………………………………………
"What do you think's happening, Tails?" asked Robyn.
"He's merged with the energy of the Master Emerald," said Tails. "Somehow he's more powerful than ever now."
Cosmo's amulet started to glow. "I'm here," said Cosmo.
Final Nova and Aqurius hardened into a pulsating seed-like object. Phase Two had begun.
To be continued…
ns 15.158.61.46da2
