x
On August 21st, the Metarex attacked us for 12 hours. It was scary. We didn't know if we'd make it out alive…
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Things were getting pretty heated as the team traveled through Metarex territory. They had to be on their guard at all times. Luckily, Tails had since recovered and was back on his duties as captain. And Sunset was well-prepared for something like this; not only had she built her own spaceship, but months before this Metarex mess happened, she had built spaceships for each of the other EGs, each with their own unique capabilities, in case something like this would happen. Now, said girls were flying alongside the Typhoon in their new ships, keeping an eye out for any Metarex ships they saw. Mostly, it was the Metarex fighters they were watching out for. Inside the ship, the rest of the team were pretty busy themselves. "Metarex ship approaching," said Chris. "35° right."
"They're on a 135 yellow cord at a speed of 1.5 so.," said Amy.
" 'So.'?" asked Grace, confused. "What the heck does that measurement even mean?"
Creecha shrugged; she was just as confused as her daughter was. "That's a space of 25,000 kilometers," said Chris, looking down at the dashboard. "Now 26,000… 27,000… 20,000… 30… they calculated over to that green area. Why though?"
"What did I tell you all?" said Knuckles. "They're afraid of us."
"Weird," said Tails. "They always have a plan up their sleeve, so we don't know when they'll attack. You may want to stay with the Master Emerald this time, Knuckles, just in case."
"I don't want to," said Knuckles. "It doesn't matter where I am to keep running."
"He's right," said Chris. "We've been out here for 5 hours now. Is this… really what the Metarex are up to?"
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Sunset thought about it for a moment. "I don't know, really," she said. "It's quite unusual for them not to come up with a plan to get at us."
"Well, they're up to something," said Twilight, "and I'm guessing it's not good. So I recommend we keep our guard up until we figure out what sort of plans they got up their sleeves."
"All right," said Rainbow. "I say we blow 'em up later!"
"I say that's the best idea I've heard all week!" agreed AJ.
The two laughed over their radios, much to Twilight's chagrin. "Girls, come on," said Sunset. "Stay focused. We've been over this: we don't shoot first and ask questions later."
"Well duh," said Rainbow. "That's the thing: some of us never ask questions."
Sunset sighed. "Well, in the meantime, we have to take Twilight's advice and continue keeping an eye out for them," she said. "If it's apparent the Metarex are planning something bad, then–"
"We blow 'em up?" Rainbow interrupted eagerly.
An irritated Sunset was just about a second closer from banging her head on the counsel.
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Inside the Typhoon, Sonic was sitting in a chair petting Cheese, who was taking a nap on his lap. "Hey, Tails," he said. "Why don't you try steerin' the ship on a different course now?"
"I guess I can," said Tails. "But where exactly do you want me to go, Sonic?"
"Wherever," Sonic answered. "It doesn't matter. It's just we've been going in this direction since the Metarex began chasing us 12 hours ago, and I've been wondering why they haven't fired a shot at us."
"Are you suggesting that the Metarex tricked us into going this way?" asked Cosmo.
"Is it a trap, Sonic?" asked Tails.
"Why don't we find out?" replied Sonic.
"OK!" said Tails, determinedly. "And while we're at it, we can test out how accurate their tracking sensors are. Let's push our speed to the max! Chris, increase auxiliary engines to maximum power!"
Chris nodded. "Roger," he said. "Increasing power now."
"Turn to Mark 3.1!" said Tails.
Amy spotted something. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" she said. "They're turning too!"
"It's a laser blast," said Chris. "The Metarex are firing at us."
"All shields up!" said Cream.
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An energy beam struck the Typhoon. Thankfully, its shields prevented any damage.
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"Guess they don't want us going this way," said Knuckles.
"Change course to Mark 0.8!" said Tails. "Maintain speed!"
The Typhoon turned 10° to the left. "But there are three ships approaching at Mark 370," said Amy, "and they're coming at us full speed!"
Sure enough, three small round Metarex spaceships were approaching the Typhoon. "Quick!" said Tails. "Target those ships now!"
"You got it!" said Chris, typing on his keypad.
"Amy!" Tails continued. "Load six missiles and prepare to fire at my command!"
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"Target set," said Chris.
"Missiles are loaded," said Amy.
"Fire!" said Tails.
Several ships were launched, destroying all three ships in the distance. "All three ships have been destroyed!" said Chris. "Five more are on the way."
"Return to original coordinates!" said Tails.
"Roger," said Chris.
"Now it's their move!" said Tails.
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"Cream! Keep all the shields up!"
"Roger!" said Cream.
"Sunset," said Tails, "you and the others with you head back to the Typhoon. If the Metarex are planning something, I don't want you girls to get caught in the crossfire unexpectedly."
"Roger that, Tails," said Sunset. "We're coming in now. See you at the bridge."
If the Metarex back off now, it's because they want us to head this way, Tails thought to himself.
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Sure enough, the five Metarex fighters flew away from the Typhoon. "The Metarex ships turned around," said Chris. "They aren't chasing us anymore."
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"The Metarex are up to something," Tails concluded as the EGs arrived at the bridge.
Sonic nodded. "Looks that way," he agreed.
"Chris, are there any Metarex ahead of us?" asked Knuckles.
"I've been trying to search the area with our scanners," Chris answered while typing, "but so far I haven't detected anything at all. It's possible that somebody's jamming our scanners."
An image of the space in front of them was projected. "Then it is a trap," Knuckles realized. "We should turn around."
"No way," Sonic objected. "I'm really curious to know what the Metarex are scheming."
Knuckles was surprised. "You want us to stay on course?" he asked in disbelief. "That doesn't make any sense, Sonic! We're bound to get attacked!"
"That's what I'm hoping for," Sonic clarified.
Grace sighed. "Sonic, has anyone ever mentioned how reckless you are sometimes?" she quipped.
"Eh, on more than one occasion," Sonic shrugged.
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Meanwhile, Black Narcissus was sitting in his command chair, speaking to Dark Oak via radio. "Send a fleet of battleships to destroy Sonic now!" urged the leader.
"No, I want to confront him face-to-face!" replied Black Narcissus. "It's much more challenging, and amusing!"
"Do not underestimate that hedgehog and his friends," Dark Oak warned. "Remember what happened to your fellow commander Red Pine."
Black Narcissus laughed. "Red Pine was a weak fool," he said. "He did not have the right skills to defeat Sonic. But I do. It's all a matter of brainpower. You see, it's impossible to vanquish a powerful opponent, unless you understand him. I have built two prototype robots to test the hedgehog's abilities. Perhaps they can defeat Sonic. If not, I'll use the data from their stack to construct a robot that will destroy him."
He laughed, leaving as the lights died down.
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Up ahead was a crater-filled planet. "The scanners picked up a dead planet ahead," said Chris.
"But I thought the Metarex were jamming our sensors," said Amy. She was confused.
"Well, I guess they changed their mind and decided to stop jamming them for some reason, Amy," said Tails.
"Thanks for straightening that out for us, little buddy," said Knuckles.
Chris was busy with typing. "I'll bring a magnified view up on the main screen," he said.
The results appeared onscreen. "What the hay?" said AJ.
"That's magnified?" asked Knuckles, confused.
"We can hardly see anything!" added Amy.
"I can make the image bigger," said Chris. "I'll just have to zoom in digitally."
Greatly zooming in on the planet, they could see that it was pockmarked with craters everywhere. "What a crater-y mess," said Dorothy. "If it wasn't for the color, I'd mistake it for the moon."
"Not exactly a prime piece of real estate, is it?" quipped Knuckles.
Tails then spotted something. "Huh? Hold on!" he said. "Look at those readings! Computer analysis shows that all those craters were made recently!"
Sure enough, a shot of various glows destroying the planet was shown, shocking everyone, but none more than Fluttershy and Wallflower, who both cared for nature in their own way. Poor Fluttershy was immediately near tears as she saw this. "The Metarex probably kept attacking this planet until it was totally lifeless," said Tails.
"Tails is right…" said Cosmo woefully.
Fluttershy instantly burst into tears, sobbing into her hands. Quietly crying herself, Wallflower just pulled her friend into a much-needed hug, not saying anything. But she didn't have to. Even Sonic was speechless. "I thought it was a bad idea to come here," said Knuckles, "but I've changed my mind. If these Metarex want a challenge, then I say bring 'em on! The scanners have located their base. Let's go there and make 'em pay for what they did to this planet!"
A certain area, which appeared to be a Metarex base, was highlighted. "They think they've fooled us, which'll make it even sweeter when we beat those Metarex!" said Amy.
"OK!" said Tails. "Let's go for it!"
Everyone agreed. "Turning off all shields to increase power!" said Cream. "Now we're ready to go!"
The Typhoon traveled at full speed towards the Metarex outpost. Just then, Chris' scanner detected something. "Wait a minute… This can't be right…" said Chris.
"What's going on?" asked Cosmo.
"The ship's sensors have detected a bunch of Chaos Emeralds," Chris answered.
"Um, didn't you adjust the sensors so you wouldn't pick up any more fake Emeralds?" Cream asked, recalling the Planet Breezy incident.
"What makes you think these Emeralds might be fake?" asked Sonic curiosity. "They could be real."
"There is no way this many Chaos Emeralds exist!" answered Cream.
"How many of 'em are there?" asked Sonic.
The answer he got from Tails was shocking: "About 500!"
Larry spit out his water. "WHAT?!" he exclaimed. "500 EMERALDS?!"
Everyone else was shocked at the number too. 500 Chaos Emeralds?! That was impossible! "Whoa," said Sonic, covering his stomach, "that's a big rock collection."
"And it looks like these fake Chaos Emeralds are a lot more advanced than the others we've seen," added Chris.
"Those Metarex are definitely clever," said Knuckles.
"But they're also devious and dangerous," added Cosmo.
Everyone agreed. Just then, Amy saw something on the holo-screen. "Speaking of the Metarex, you guys…" she said, pointing up at it, "... it looks like they're sending us a message."
"Well. This is the first time they've ever sent us a text message," said Knuckles.
"I'll turn on the translator," said Tails.
"You don't have to bother; I can read it," said Cosmo.
This was what the message said:
"Greetings, space voyagers. It was I who sent the Metarex to attack your ship and chase you down. You were being tested, and you have passed with honor. I admire your great courage, and I invite you to visit my base. I am Black Narcissus, a commander of the Metarex."
"So he's inviting us to visit his base?" said Knuckles. "Let's send him an RSVP on a missile!"
"If we do go to that base," said Amy wisely, "you should stay on the ship, Knuckles. You're much too hot-headed for this mission."
"What?!" Knuckles exclaimed, offended. "I am not a hothead!"
"You were saying?" said Amy, her point having been proven.
Chris laughed. "She got ya," he said, causing everyone else to laugh as well.
"There's more," said Cosmo softly.
Chris hears what she said, however. "Uh… really?" he said. "What else does it say, Cosmo?"
"I'm all mixed up!" Cosmo quickly corrected herself with a nervous smile. "I meant to say there isn't anything more to the message!"
"Huh?" said Chris, confused.
"Okay!" said Sonic. "Let's go and say hello!"
"I doubt the Metarex will invite us back after we wreck the place," said Tails.
The crew laughed while Cosmo abruptly left the room, something that Chris took notice of. Wallflower noticed it too, because summoning Grace, Chris, and Sunset, she whispered something to the three, causing them to nod in agreement. Unaware of this, Cosmo descended the elevator and entered the hangar with a sad expression. She turned the ignition of Amy's ship, climbed inside, and buckled herself in, closing her eyes depressingly. I hope they'll forgive me for deceiving them… she thought.
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Outside, several giant missiles were launched from the Metarex base.
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Inside the Typhoon, the warning sirens went off. "The Metarex just fired missiles at us!" said Tails.
"That isn't a very warm welcome!" said Amy.
"Chao chao chao!" Cheese agreed.
"Sending more power to the front shields!" said Cream as Amy ran back to her seat.
"These Metarex are playing games with us!" said Knuckles. "I knew they were sneaky, but this is a new low!"
That was when Sonic noticed that someone was missing. "Cosmo?" he asked, looking around.
The missiles flew towards the Typhoon. "They're coming fast!" cried Cream.
"There's too many of them to shoot down!" exclaimed Knuckles.
"Hey Sonic!" called Amy, getting his attention.
She and Twilight had been studying the make-up of the missiles and had found something interesting. "According to the sensors, those missiles are packed with potassium nitrate and aluminum!" she said. "That's weird."
"That's what I thought," Twilight agreed. "Normally, missiles aren't really packed with that sort of stuff. Usually, they're more explosive than that. But in a destructive kind of way."
"Well, those chemicals are used in fireworks," Tails pointed out.
Sure enough, the missiles burst around them, bathing them in an intensely bright light. "Augh! My eyes!" yelled Jerry, covering his eyes with his hands.
"I had a feeling this trip was gonna blow up in our faces!" said Knuckles.
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Meanwhile, Cosmo flew Amy's spaceship towards the Metarex base. A hatch opened, allowing her to pass through. Now under the planet's surface, she landed the craft and climbed out. "You may proceed through the tunnel," she heard a voice say. "I am waiting for you."
Walking through the tunnel, Cosmo entered another, much larger room. "So you came alone," said the voice. "You are braver than I thought. I rather suspected that you would lose your nerve."
"Where are you?" asked Cosmo, looking around. "Is there some reason why you're hiding from me?"
"Calm yourself," said the voice. "You have nothing to fear… so far."
A chair rose out of the floor in the center of the room. Sitting in it was Black Narcissus himself. "Welcome to my base!" he said, laughing.
"You promised to tell me everything," said Cosmo. "I want to know the truth about my ancestors and the Metarex. You tell me now, or I'm leaving!"
"Foolish girl," said Black Narcissus. "You aren't going anywhere. You're incredibly naive. Don't you realize you've been tricked?"
Cosmo realized her mistake too late. "The only reason I brought you here," continued Black Narcissus, "was to make you my prisoner."
"Prisoner?" asked a frightened Cosmo.
Now she really wished she hadn't gone here on her own.
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Back at the Typhoon, everyone else was now aware of Cosmo's disappearance. His thoughts wandering back to a part of the message that Cosmo hadn't read to them, Tails was able to use the translator and translate it with Twilight's help. It said:
"Answers I have about your clan that you seek… To my base you will come in 5 minutes when I launch the missiles at your ship."
"That message doesn't make any sense," said Amy. "Are you sure the translator is working properly?"
"I think so," answered Tails.
"Well, at least we now know why Cosmo disappeared on us like that," said Twilight.
"Cosmo is the only one who understands the Metarex's writing," said Cream. "Has Sonic figured out where she went?"
"Not yet," said Tails, "but I'm sure he'll find her and send her to the bridge."
"I wouldn't count on that if I were you," said Sonic over the radio.
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"Amy's ship is missing."
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"Huh? How could she leave the Blue Typhoon without the sensors spotting her?" asked Tails while he was typing.
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"She must have had help…" answered Sonic, removing a chip from the sensor, "from a hacker."
"But the only one who could hack into the system other than me is Chris!" Tails objected over the radio.
"He's gone too," Sonic replied.
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As everyone processed this information, Creecha suddenly burst into the bridge, startling them. "Have any of you seen Grace?" she panted. "I can't find her anywhere on the ship! And Sunset, Chris, and Cosmo are gone too!"
"We just got the news about Chris and Cosmo disappearing," said Starlight. "I'm guessing all three of them snuck off."
"To where?!" asked Creecha desperately. "For all I know, she could be getting hurt somewhere!"
It was clear that she was worried sick about her daughter's whereabouts. Any parent would be smart enough to know this feeling. "I know where they are," said Wallflower.
She gestured towards the Metarex base as the Typhoon headed towards the planet.
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Sure enough, Chris, Grace, and Sunset had secretly followed Cosmo while no one else was looking. Now there they were, standing beside her. Chris was next to her, having removed his helmet. "Listen to us," he said. "There must be a way to work this out peacefully. Can we just try–?"
"Silence!" interrupted Black Narcissus. "I have no intention of negotiating with you. You were not invited here. Return to your ship at once, or you will be destroyed."
Sunset didn't say anything, but a soft but silent growl came out of her as she glared up at him. Cosmo just looked at Chris. "I'm sorry I got you, Grace, and Sunset involved in this mess, Chris," she apologized.
"Forget it, OK?" said Chris. "It's not like you forced us to come along. We wanted to help you. We don't understand why you wanted to come here, but we're sure you had a good reason."
The older girls nodded in agreement. Cosmo was upset. "I did!" she exclaimed desperately. "Please understand! I had to come! I had to! Really!"
Chris laughed. "I'm sorry to laugh, Cosmo," he said, bending down to her level. "It's just that you remind me of myself when I was younger."
"When you were younger?" asked Cosmo, confused.
"Well, when we make it back to the Blue Typhoon, I'll try to explain," said Chris, standing up. "Let's get going."
They began to leave, but Black Narcissus' voice stopped them. "Hold it," he said. "Your friend Cosmo stays here."
"Sorry…" said Chris, reaching into his pocket, "but we don't think so!"
He threw a flash bomb in front of Black Narcissus and grabbed Cosmo's arm. "Come on, guys!" he said as they ran off.
Black Narcissus reacted too late. "This is the most dismal escape attempt I've ever seen," he said. "I'll give them a head start to try and add some excitement."
Sunset and the kids ran towards Amy's spaceship, but the hangar door closed right in front of them. "Don't worry; I've got everything under control," said Chris.
He fished out a device and pressed a button. A laser fired out of the spaceship and destroyed the door. Chris protected Cosmo from the blast while Sunset did the same for Grace. "Now let's go!" said Chris, putting his helmet back on.
Sunset jumped through the hole, but before she could make it to the spaceship, she heard an awful sound. Looking behind her, she saw, to her horror, Chris injured and unconscious on the ground; Black Narcissus had, in one deft move, struck at him, slashing him in the stomach and cracking his helmet. "Chris!" exclaimed Cosmo, kneeling down next to him. "Are you alright?!"
Grace had jumped out of the way in time and was now looking right at Sunset. "Go!" she urged. "Get help!"
"No!" said Sunset. "I can't leave you here!"
"There's no time!" Grace insisted. "You have to get out of here!"
Knowing that Sunset would try regardless, Grace shot a thorn at an emergency button, which caused the backup doors to quickly close, separating Sunset from the kids. Tears springing in her eyes, Sunset knew she had no choice. Turning around, she unleashed her phoenix wings and took off, but not before looking back and making a promise: "I'll come back for you."
Glad that her aunt was safe, Grace got down and hurried over to Chris, immediately tending to his injuries. "Your friend is not hurt… for now," said Black Narcissus. "I must say, I'm rather pleased he tried to flee. It's been too long since I've felt the thrill of taking down a foe with my own hands. I must try it more often."
Grace didn't look up at him, but what she said to him let him know that she wasn't scared: "Just wait 'til Sonic and Mom get here. They're gonna kick your butt."
Black Narcissus parrots no attention to Grace's threat. He just turned on a radio. "My robot minions," he said. "Prepare my testing room for Sonic and the prisoners. The rest of you, guard the bridge leading to it."
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Those who got the message were shocked at the assignment they were given. "We're… defending the bridge… alone?!" exclaimed one.
"Against the crew of that Typhoon ship?!" added another one. "I hate this job."
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At the Typhoon, Sunset burst into the bridge and fell on her knees, in tears and panting. Creecha immediately went to her. "Sunset, what's wrong?" she asked urgently.
Sunset looked up at her. "The kids are in trouble!" she said. "Chris and Cosmo: they've been captured by Black Narcissus! Grace is among them!"
The instant she heard about her daughter, Creecha snapped into action. "You five," she said, pointing to Matt, Shari, Bob, Larry, and Junior, "you're coming with me. And you too, Tom and Sunset. We're confronting Black Narcissus head on about the kids' whereabouts. Wallflower, find them and get them out of there."
The group nodded and headed off. Sunset stayed behind so she could fire the cannon again; Tails was going with Sonic on this one.
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Outside, the Blue Typhoon aimed the Sonic Driver at the Metarex base. Inside the cannon, Sonic and Tails stood ready. "Okay, this is it," said Sunset over the intercom. "Target coordinates for base are set. Prepare to load the Sonic Power Cannon!"
"I hope Sonic and Tails bring Chris, Grace, and Cosmo back here safely, so I can pound some sense into 'em!" said Amy.
"I can't believe Chris, Grace, and Sunset were so reckless!" said Cream. "Who do they think they are? Knuckles?!"
"Cut me some slack, guys!" said Sunset. "I'm not that reckless!"
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"Cut the chatter and let's get on with the attack!" said Knuckles, who was in the engine room.
"Take it easy!" said Amy. "We're ready!"
"Then let's go!" said Knuckles. "Sunset, let's fire up the cannon to full power!"
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"Yeah!" agreed Sunset. "If we can get Sonic and Tails in there fast, we may catch Black Narcissus by surprise!"
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Sonic and Tails leapt around a bit before landing on the platform, hand in hand. "You and Tails all set, Sonic?" asked Sunset.
"Sure are!" answered Sonic. "That Metarex won't know what hit 'im!"
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"Okay!" said Knuckles. "Then I'll get the cannon ready to fire!"
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"Increase the power level to maximum energy now!" said Sunset.
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"Sonic, Tails, prepare for launch! I'm locking on target!"
The two started spinning.
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"Get ready…" said Sunset. "We're blasting you at that base full speed!"
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Then… "Sonic Power Cannon, fire!"
The Cannon launched Sonic and Tails at the Metarex base.
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After what was done, Sunset got up and went to catch up with the others. Shanti's voice stopped her. "You're going with them?" she asked.
Sunset nodded. "Yes, I am," she said. "Besides, I owe Grace a favor: if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here."
With that, she left. Dorothy and Shanti looked at each other, their faces full of a combination of pride and worry. "I'm worried about Grace," said Dorothy.
"We all are," said Shanti. "But I'm positive she'll be alright. We raised her the right way, after all."
Dorothy nodded. "You're right," she said. "We've raised her to do the right thing for years, no matter how hard things get."
"And that's exactly what she's doing," said Shanti, looking out the window.
This one thought lingered in her head: Oh Grace, if we were there, we'd be so proud of you for what you did.
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Meanwhile, Sonic and Tails crashed through the Metarex base, crashing through floor after floor until they finally landed in a room full of Chaos Emeralds. When the smoke cleared, they took a look around. "Whoa," said Tails breathlessly.
"The scanner was right," said Sonic. "There are a lot of fake Emeralds here."
He choked, causing Tails to get worried. "You okay?" he asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Sonic shook his head. "Not really," he said. "Suddenly, I don't feel so great."
Tails picked up an Emerald and examined it. "Looks like the energy coming from these kinds of Emeralds is different from the energy that comes out of the real ones," he observed. "I don't know what kind of energy it is, but I'm not liking it."
Just then, they heard a voice. "Sonic the Hedgehog, how kind of you to drop in," it said.
Sonic and Tails looked up to see no one. "I've been looking forward to meeting you," said the voice. "Won't you join me in my command center?"
Sonic looked over at Tails. "You can come with me, but you better stay hidden," he said. "Last thing I need is you being used as a hostage."
Tails nodded and walked off to find another way into the command room. Sonic, in the meantime, leapt up through the floor and saw Black Narcissus seated in his throne. "You're not at all what I expected," he said, sounding a little surprised. "I didn't think you'd be so scrawny. It's hard to believe you're a great fighter."
"Well, maybe laterI can prove to you how tough I am," said Sonic smugly. "But right now, I wanna see my friends. Now, are you gonna show me where they are?"
"Of course I will," said Black Narcissus. "Your friends have not been harmed. In fact, the only reason I took them prisoner was to lure you here. You see, I've heard so many stories about your powers that I decided to bring you here for an experiment."
From his hiding place behind the doorway, Tails watched the whole thing with baited breath and a shocked look. His brother being used as a lab rat? When did Black Narcissus come up with that kind of a plan? And were his friends okay? He hoped deep down that they were. "Sorry, pal," said Sonic, "but I'm a hedgehog, not a guinea pig. Now where are my friends?"
"You will cooperate with my experiment," Black Narcissus insisted. "We will start by collecting data on your strength and speed."
"I already told you there's no way I'm gonna help ya," said Sonic, more firmly. "Now show me where my friends are!"
"Since you refuse," said Black Narcissus, pressing a button, "then I will experiment on your friends. Though I will say, they make a pathetic pair."
A glass bubble containing Chris, Grace, and Cosmo rose from the floor. Sonic was shocked at what he saw. All three were scratched up, but Chris was more injured and unconscious than the girls. Grace was continually working on getting his injuries taken care of while Cosmo was in tears, banging on the bubble. "Chris! Grace! Cosmo!" he exclaimed, rushing over to them.
"This is a trap, Sonic!" cried Cosmo. "Save yourself!"
Grace just looked up at Sonic, never once stopping her healing on Chris. She didn't say anything, but the look in her eyes seemed to say it all as the glass bubble was sunk back into the ground. Watching from his hiding spot via a pair of Junior's binoculars, Tails was just as shocked as his brother was and made a mental note to get Starlight notified about it so that she'd get it taken care of later. "The fate of your friends rests entirely in your hands," said Black Narcissus. "If you choose to oppose me, then I assure you they will pay a painful price."
Sonic didn't say anything. He could feel his anger rising. "It should be quite entertaining!" said Black Narcissus, laughing. "Well, Sonic? What is your decision? Are you ready to proceed with the experiment?"
"I've never seen Cosmo so scared…" said Sonic, trembling.
"She should be," said Black Narcissus.
"Chris… was passed out…" said Sonic. "What did you do to him?"
"He attempted to escape, and was taught a painful lesson," answered Black Narcissus.
Two other Metarex entered the room. "It is time for the experiment," said Black Narcissus. "These two Metarex were designed by me especially for this occasion. Gold will test your strength, and Silver your speed. I've based my Metarex designs on data that was collected during previous battles against you. I'm eager to see if they're powerful enough to defeat you." Black Narcissus thought he had the upper hand, but what he didn't know was that he pushed the wrong buttons…
Tails was frightened at what he witnessed next. Remember whenever Sonic would get pretty overprotective of his friends since he feared they'd get hurt from battle, particularly his younger brother? Well, when a villain took it too far and actually hurt said friends, you know that you've passed a line that you never knew existed. But in Sonic's case, it was a lot more frightening. And Tails had seen this side of him before…
During this whole exchange, Sonic's fur had darkened in intense anger, a black aura surrounding him. This was Dark Sonic, a form that would come out whenever his friends were hurt and helpless. Now Dark Sonic stared at Black Narcissus, with a malicious grin on his face. "Alright then…" he said, chuckling darkly. "Let's test 'em out!"
He immediately demolished Silver, and several hits finished off Gold. In the smoke, Tails watched scared as his older brother's form showed up. His fur was completely black and his eyes were a solid white. This was Dark Sonic in full form. "You think you can intimidate me with just your size?" he challenged. "Come on, let's have some fun!"
Quite honestly, Sonic would've come close to destroying Black Narcissus if it hadn't been for Tails. Knowing what had to be done and despite his fear and the possibility of getting caught, he ran towards Dark Sonic as he was about to make a deadly blow. This can't happen! That energy from the fake Emeralds has made Sonic go dark! Tails thought fearfully. Either way, he's falling into Black Narcissus' trap by giving him what he wants! I have to stop this before it's too late!
Timing it right, he ran in front of his brother and hugged him hard, arms wrapping around him tightly. "Sonic! Sonic, calm down! This isn't you!" he begged. "Either way, you're unknowingly giving Black Narcissus exactly what he wants! If you do this, you'll be just like the monster he is!"
"Tails is right, Sonic: you need to settle down!" said another voice. "I don't think I've ever seen you this worked up before."
Turning to the source of the voice, Tails and Dark Sonic saw that it was, who else but, Eggman standing there, his hench-bots beside him as always. "Eggman!" exclaimed Tails. "What're you guys doing here?"
"Well, you are not the only ones having a bad day, you know," replied Cubot.
"Yeah, our trip was a real space odyssey," agreed Orbot.
Then, Tails couldn't help but eye Eggman's spacecraft. "What the heck happened to your ship?" he asked. "It's a complete wreck."
Sure enough, the Crimson Egg had somehow crashed into the base. "Well, we had some mechanical difficulties," said Eggman. "For some reason, the Egg Drive got scrambled up. Space travel is tricky. I've warped past so many planets I'm starting to see stars."
Sonic didn't say anything. He just has an evil look, but at least his dark form was now wearing off. Noticing this, Tails continued to hug him, encouraging him to not let his bad side get the better of him as Eggman approached the duo. "Listen, Sonic," he said. "I'm really disappointed in you. From now on, be careful not to let your temper get out of control, or one of these days, you'll find that you're always angry, just like another hedgehog we know."
This, along with Tails' encouraging words, helped Sonic calm down, his fur turning back to its cobalt blue color. Ashamed, he looked down at Tails. "Sorry you had to see that, bro," he said.
Tails just smiled. "It's okay, Sonic," he said. "I'm just glad you're back to normal."
Enraged that his plan failed, Black Narcissus stood up and made a grab at Tails, holding him by the throat and pulling at his appendages. "You will agree to do my experiments, Sonic," he said, "or else I'll–!" He didn't get to finish his threat, however, as a big chunk of earth suddenly flew at him, hitting him in the chest.
It caused him to let go of Tails, tossing him into the air. Luckily Sonic leapt up and caught him, landing on the ground with his precious cargo now in his arms. "Are you OK, Tails?" he asked.
Tails shook his head, tears smarting in his eyes. "I hate it when people pull on my tails like that," he said. "It hurts."
Sonic just hugged him close, wondering how that earth chunk got at Black Narcissus like that. His question was answered when someone knocked on the door "shave and a haircut" style. On the last two beats, Creecha brought down the door with her metalbending, looking downright furious as she stormed into the room, some of the others following her. One look at Black Narcissus, and Sunset gasped. "What's wrong?" asked Shari.
"That's him," Sunset whispered to the group, pointing to Black Narcissus. "That's the Metarex General that captured Chris, Grace, and Cosmo."
"You sure?" asked Matt.
"I've never been more sure in my life," Sunset replied.
Thinking he knew what to do, Black Narcissus pulled out a controller and was about to press the button so he could hurt his kid prisoners when Creecha shot out a hand, yanking the controller away from the General and crushing it with her telekinesis, never once losing her stride. "You and your friends were clearly not invited here!" he yelled. "Now you get out of here or else I'll–!"
Again, he was interrupted. This time, by Creecha picking him up with her metalbending powers and violently hitting him against the ceiling and the floor. "Cut the chit-chat, Narcissus!" she said. "I know you have Grace! Where is she? What have you done with her?"
Black Narcissus glared at her. "None of your business!" he said, losing his cool composure.
He tried to lunge at Sonic and Tails again, only for Creecha to do the same thing again. This time, she slammed him against the walls before hitting him against the floor once more. "Where's my daughter?" she asked, voice dripping with hate and venom.
Tails shivered in fright, huddling close to Sonic. "She's pretty scary like that," he said.
Sonic hugged him closer, protecting him as Tom knelt down beside the duo, gently petting Tails' head. "That's a parent for ya," he said. "When a kid's in a kind of danger like this, a parent stops at nothing to get his or her kid back. In Creecha's case, it's pretty personal."
Black Narcissus didn't reply to Creecha's question, angering her further. "You tell me where she is NOW!" she exclaimed, throwing him against his throne.
The whole time, she had done some pretty good damage on him. "What did you do?" asked Eggman.
"I didn't do anything!" answered Black Narcissus desperately.
"Yeah right!" called Tails. "You said that if Sonic didn't agree to do your experiments, you were going to make Chris, Grace, and Cosmo pay a painful price– likely, you were going to experiment on them instead!"
Everyone gasped at what they heard. Even Eggman was appalled; sure he captures Sonic and his friends and threatens from time to time, but he never went so far as to actually hurt them, let alone experiment on them.
But Creecha was beyond appalled; she was so furious, she was actually trembling with rage. "You were going to experiment on my friends?" she said, her voice rising in righteous fury.
"AND MY OWN DAUGHTER?!"
At that moment, she snapped. Her eyes turned white with fury, and with one earthbending move, she hit Black Narcissus so hard, she damaged him even further. Now the Metarex General was frightened at what he saw before him. "I'm sorry!" he said desperately. "I didn't know she was your daughter!"
"TELL ME WHERE GRACE IS!!" yelled Creecha, her voice coming out as if there was a legion of troops inside her.
"I have her and her friends in my testing room," said Black Narcissus. "They're probably hurt by now. I was going to experiment on them when all else failed."
Creecha was furious. What kind of sick psycho would hurt a child like that? Her white eyes narrowing, she grabbed Black Narcissus with her powers and, hoisting him up into the air, began choking him Darth Vader style. "Wh– What are you doing?" he coughed out.
"HURTING YOU THE WAY YOU THREATENED TO HURT MY DAUGHTER AND MY FRIENDS!!" was Creecha's answer, smoking and dust swirling around her.
"Guys…" said Tails fearfully, he and Sonic hugging each other. This was the first time they saw their friend ticked off like this.
But Tom and the others had seen this before. "Just get outta here!" yelled Tom, already grabbing Junior's hand. "RUN!!!"
Everyone ran for cover, Sonic hiding behind a chunk of rock and keeping Tails safe and protected against him in his arms. Matt could only stand there and watch as he was enveloped by smoke and dust. The stuff swirled around them, getting thicker and thicker. Black Narcissus got more and more damaged as Creecha rose into the air, prepared to take down the monster who dared hurt her daughter. She raised an arm for the final fatal blow– which she never delivered.
At that moment, a hand grabbed her wrist, making her snap her head in that direction. And there, looking up at her with a sad, understandable look, was her dear brother. He didn't say anything, but his eyes said what he wanted to say: "I know he was going to hurt our girl, but getting revenge on him won't make you feel better. If you take him down like this, you'll be worse off than he ever was. Don't let yourself sink into revenge."
Seeing that look caused Creecha to calm down a little, allowing Matt to pull her down so he could give her a much-needed cooldown hug. As the smoke and dust lessened, everyone was able to finally see what had happened during the blowup. Eventually, Creecha finally calmed down, letting go of Black Narcissus, causing him to crash to the ground, gasping and coughing. Tears streamed down her face as she realized she had almost become a monster. But she couldn't say anything. All that came out was a whimper. Matt had just picked her up when Eggman spoke up. "You guys should get out of here," he said. "And don't worry about your daughter and crewmates respectively; Wallflower and Shadow are working together to rescue them."
………………………………………………………………………
Sure enough, robots were getting destroyed left and right as the two fought their way through them to rescue the kids. Wallflower swung her lightsabers with grace and precision as she mowed them down, swinging on a vine every now and then. Shadow skated alongside her, throwing energy at them and busting them apart. With their combined teamwork, there were soon two robots left. "Wait! Wait! Don't shoot! I'm not the commander!" said one of them desperately. "He-He's the commander!"
The one he pointed to instantly got cut down. "Guess I'm the commander now," said the robot hopelessly before also being cut down.
"That's done," said Wallflower, dusting off her hands. "Now to find that testing room and get them outta there."
Shadow went over to a computer and, with a little typing, soon saw what they were looking for. "Found it," he said. "It's a couple hallways down from here. But we have to be on guard. A lot of Metarex robots are guarding it."
"Well, those Metarex are gonna regret that they messed around with us," Wallflower replied, twirling her lightsabers.
Busting out of the room, they ran through the hallways until finally arriving at what appeared to be the testing room. Checking with her binoculars, Wallflower saw that it was indeed the testing room. Also that there were a ton of robots guarding it. "They've clearly heard about how dangerous we are to their plans," said Wallflower to Shadow. "Now it's time they were shown that."
Nodding, they rounded the corner and headed for their target, readying themselves. The robots were frightened at what was approaching them. "You said we'd be safe here!" accused one of them as Wallflower activated her lightsabers.
"Come on!" said the accused one. "There's a ton of us and only two of them!"
"It won't matter," said a third woefully.
One Metarex robot who was going to lead the experiment on the kids on behalf of his general heard his radio turn on. The first robot was calling him. "Sir," it said. "A young girl and a hedgehog are coming. They look very unhappy!"
Sure enough, the sounds of screaming robots, lightsabers, and energy could be heard as they were all destroyed. Then, a lightsaber poked through the door and cut a circle through the metal. It then disappeared, and the cut part was suddenly shoved out of the way. Wallflower and Shadow raced in, taking out the robots inside. The lead robot tried to torture the kids with a controller, but it couldn't press it; Shadow had cut off the arm holding it prior to their entrance, giving a smirking Wallflower the opportunity to cut it down.
With that done, they soon approached the glass bubble. Cosmo was the first to notice them. "You came!" she said, never having felt so happy in her life.
Grace looked up. "Shadow! Aunt Wallflower!" she said. "I always knew help would come!"
"Looks like your faith paid off," said Wallflower. "Now let's get you kids outta there."
With a combined Chaos energy and lightsaber strike, Shadow and Wallflower broke the glass bubble, freeing the victims. Cosmo immediately ran over to Wallflower and jumped into her arms. "I'm so sorry, Wallflower!" she sobbed, burying her face in her big sister's chest. "I had a reason to come here! I just didn't know it would end like this!"
"We already know why you did that, Cosmo," said Wallflower, hugging her back. "We read the second part of his message while you were gone."
"Let's go," said Shadow, carefully throwing Chris over his shoulder. "About time you guys left this place."
"Couldn't agree with you more," agreed Grace. "I'd rather be back at the Typhoon than here any day."
Cosmo just continued crying, not wanting to leave Wallflower's comfort. Understanding, Wallflower picked her up and gestured for the others to follow him. After a bit, they had just arrived at Amy's spaceship when they heard a voice. "Grace! Guys! You're okay!"
And there was Junior, rushing out to meet them. Grace smiled and ran over to Junior, the two hugging each other as soon as they were in reach. "Are you guys hurt?" asked Shari as she and the others caught up to them.
"Just a bunch of scratches and stuff, but other than that, we're fine," said Grace. "Might want to check Chris, though. He got slashed in the stomach pretty good while we were trying to escape the first time. I've done the best I could for him, but I think Aunt Starlight's more skilled in that field."
She then got concerned when she saw Matt step out with her mother in his arms. "What happened to Mom?" she asked.
"Your mother had a pretty frightening blow up when Tails told us what was going to happen to you kids," Matt replied. "To say that she didn't take it well is an understatement."
"More than that," said Shari. "She would've killed Black Narcissus on the spot right there if Matthew hadn't calmed her down."
Sunset nodded before she turned and headed back to the throne room, where Black Narcissus was struggling to stand from his spot on the floor. "You're lucky that Creecha let you live, you monster," she hissed, glaring down at him. "Only because she isn't the monstrous freak that you are. But I warn you: you better NOT lay a hand on any of my friends and family again. Because even a single step out of line will result in your PERMANENT. END."
With that, she turned and walked out. By the time she got back to the others, Shadow had gotten Chris inside Amy's spaceship. "The kid will be alright," he said to Cosmo. "I hope you learned your lesson. "Next time, I won't be able to save you."
He turned to leave. At that point, Sonic finally arrived, carrying a still-hugging Tails. "Let's go, everyone," he said, climbing onto the wing. "Our job here's done."
They agreed. "I'll drive," said Sunset, hopping into the pilot's seat.
The spaceship took off and headed back to the Typhoon, everyone else following it. Meanwhile, a loud crash was heard. "Rouge is wrecking the machine that makes the fake Chaos Emeralds," said Cubot.
"She seemed to be getting a kick out of it," said Orbot.
Sure enough, Rouge came swooping in through a hole she made in the wall. With a well-placed Screw Kick, she destroyed the machine. She then flew back up into the room, scowling and spitting on the ground. "That felt great," she said angrily. "If there's one thing I hate, it's imitation jewelry. You Metarex have bad taste. From now on, stick to genuine gems."
"You did a great job, Rouge," said Eggman nervously.
"That was awesome!" Orbot and Cubot added, bowing and waving at her.
"Yes I know," said Rouge as she left. "They don't call me a knockout for nothing."
Then Eggman turned his attention to Black Narcissus, who had managed to get back on his throne. "I don't like the way you attacked Chris, Cosmo, and Grace," he said. "It's one thing to take them prisoner and threaten them, but when you actually hurt somebody, that's taking it too far."
"You said it, Doctor!" said Cubot.
"Even we have some principles!" agreed Orbot.
"And I also don't like you making counterfeit Chaos Emeralds."
"Yeah, that's phony-baloney."
"And another thing…"
"Silence!" Black Narcissus ordered, leaning forward in his chair.
However, this led to Orbot and Cubot suddenly taking him on, much to his surprise. "Back off, Buster!" yelled a high-pitched voice.
Before Black Narcissus knew what happened, Bokkun flew in and, with one mighty kick, got him back into his seat. "Are you ready for round 2?" the little guy challenged.
Eggman laughed. "My robots are tougher than they look," he bragged proudly. "They could beat a whole army of Metarex with their bare hands."
Black Narcissus was sparking from all the damage he sustained. "Why did you interfere, Eggman?" he asked.
"Because I want to send you and your Meta-pals a warning," Eggman answered.
"What warning?" asked Black Narcissus. "Are you teaming up with Sonic and his friends against us?"
Eggman laughed again. "Well now, that all depends…" he said, "on whether you want me to be your most dangerous foe or most valuable friend. It's clear that your battle against Sonic has just begun.
"Black Narcissus, you'd better tell your fellow commanders not to underestimate me again. Today, I came to that hedgehog's defense, but that doesn't mean we're on the same side. I could still be persuaded to join your team… for the right price!"
………………………………………………………………………
Meanwhile, as the Blue Typhoon flew onwards, everyone was glad to see that their missing comrades were alright. Starlight had taken them to the medbay thanks to Tails filling her in on what happened to them. Creecha was sitting outside the ship under a fake palm tree, looking up at the stars. She was feeling troubled over what she just did. "You know, I'm sure it was for a reason," said a voice.
Creecha turned to see Grace standing there. "Oh. Hi, sweetie," she said, looking back up at the sky.
Grace was concerned. "What was going on with you today, Mom?" she asked as she approached her. "While I was in that glass bubble earlier, the ground above me was shaking, like there was some kind of struggle going on. Then, I saw Black Narcissus badly damaged while we were leaving."
Creecha sighed as her daughter went and sat next to her. "You're lucky that you didn't get to see the whole thing," she said glumly. "When Tails mentioned what he was going to do to you, Chris, and Cosmo, I was just… furious. The thought of seeing you guys, mostly you, hurt because of that monster made me so mad, I outright lost control of myself. I would've killed him on the spot if it hadn't been for your Uncle Matt stepping in to stop me. I hate feeling like this."
"We'll be alright eventually, Mom," said Grace. "True, today has been rather scary, but in the end, we made it out in one piece. And no matter how many other challenges we'll no doubt face during this war, we'll pull through them. Because in the end, we're a whole lot better than those Metarex guys anyday."
Creecha looked down at her daughter, smiling at her. "Since when did you become that encouraging?" she asked, pinching her cheek gently. "Usually, it's somewhere up my alley."
Grace giggled. "I learned from the best," she said, gesturing to her mother.
Creecha just ruffled her daughter's hair in response, earning a laugh from her. "Thanks a lot," she said as she stood up, picking Grace up with her. "What did I ever do to deserve a daughter like you?"
Grace just hugged her in reply. As they headed back inside the Typhoon, Creecha remembered something. "How are Chris and Cosmo?" she asked. "Did Starlight say?"
"They'll be okay," said Grace. "Aunt Starlight says that Chris will have to stay in the medbay for the next few days; those slashes on his stomach aren't too bad, but they're pretty deep. Aunt Twilight's gonna substitute for him until he's fully healed. Shouldn't be too long since I've done a lot of healing on him. And Cosmo just has some scratches and bruises. Same with me. Right now, she's bunking with Aunt Wallflower for tonight."
"I don't blame her," said Creecha. "Considering what she's been through previously. Now let's go get some rest; it's late, and we've got ourselves a big day tomorrow."
………………………………………………………………………
In his room, Sonic looked out the window, concerned and worried about what had transpired. He never imagined that he'd go all dark side one of these days, but that's just what happened today. Plus, he didn't know how his little brother reacted to that form of this, but he was more than thankful for him snapping him out of it before he did something he'd probably regret because of fear. As he stood there, lost in his thoughts, he heard the door open and close behind him. He didn't know it was, and he didn't bother looking until he felt a pair of arms wrap around him and a body press up to him, a head nuzzling him. "You okay, big brother?" asked a voice.
Turning his attention to the source of the voice, that's when he saw it: two fluffy ears in his line of vision. Looking down, he saw that it was Tails, who was looking up at him with big blue eyes filled with so much trust and love that it caused Sonic's eyes to water. "No I'm not," he said. "Today was awful. I was just so angry at what happened."
"I know. I saw it all," said Tails. "So you really don't need to give me a recap of it. I know why you did that."
Sonic looked away, his eyes trembling as they filled with tears. "But…" he started to say.
He couldn't say any more than that. Tails hugged him tighter, standing on his toes so he could kiss his cheek as a way to comfort him. "What's done is done," he said. "There's nothing we can do now. But I can promise that I'll always be there to help you, no matter what happens."
This made Sonic look back down at his beaming little brother, who looked back up at him with a face so full of hope and love, he let his tears fall. "Thanks, little bro," he said as he returned the embrace, crying silently.
Tails responded with a nuzzle to the chest and a mewl, happy to have helped him. After a while of silence, Sonic finally broke it as he started to calm down. "This may sound a little ridiculous," he said, "but I was wondering if you'd like to stay with me for the next few nights. You know, chase away any nightmares that might come my direction."
Tails smiled. "Sure," he said. "Now I finally get to be the big brother."
Sonic just laughed as he scooped up Tails and carried him to bed. Tails also laughed and kissed Sonic's face all over, always enjoying being in his older brother's arms. Arriving in bed, Sonic laid down and plopped Tails on top of him, causing him to giggle. As he tucked them both in, Tails curled closer, his tails wagging happily behind him before they wrapped around the brothers like an extra blanket. "I love you, Tails," Sonic whispered.
Tails gave him an Eskimo kiss. "I love you too, Sonic," he said.
Sonic smiled and kissed Tails all over his face in reply, making him giggle childishly, before they finally got comfortable. Purring against each other, they fell asleep in each other's warm embrace.
ns 15.158.61.16da2
