x
Sonic and several colored spaceships were flying around in a colored area of space, shooting down several Metarex Fighter ships. "I'll destroy all of you!" said Amy, getting several with her hammer.
But there were a lot of them. Not to mention that the heroes were in a bit of a pickle at the moment. "We're in big trouble, Tails," said Cosmo.
"We'll be fine," said Tails reassuringly. "Just have faith in Sonic."
His mind drifted back to when this whole mess started. This battle just started about 3 hours ago, Tails thought to himself. We detected the presence of a Chaos Emerald on a fleeing ship…
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Earlier, the Typhoon had emerged from hyperspace to see a spaceship being pursued by Metarex Fighters.
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"More Metarex!" announced Cream.
"Chao chao!" Cheese added.
"Somebody's in trouble!" said Sonic.
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They watched the screen as the spaceship nimbly dodged the fighters. "We're getting a signal," said Chris. "There's a Chaos Emerald somewhere on board that craft."
"They're in great danger!" said Cosmo. "If what Chris says is true, then those Metarex will stop at nothing to get what they want. We must help them!"
Tails looked up. "She's right!" said Sonic. "What do you and Rainbow say, Chris?"
"OK," Chris nodded.
"Deal," said Rainbow, giving him a thumbs-up.
"As captain, I hereby veto that plan," he said. "We have our safety to think about."
But the three were already gone. "Later, kids!" Sonic called.
"Looks like we're too late, Tails," said Cream.
"Chao!" agreed Cheese.
Tails looked up in surprise before sighing. "Why do they even bother having a captain anyway?" he muttered.
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Outside, Chris took off in his spaceship, Sonic and Rainbow riding on the wings. "We'll be on that mystery ship in no time," said Sonic.
"Hope they're okay out there," said Chris.
Just then, Rainbow spotted something. "There it is!" she said, pointing ahead.
Sure enough, they could see the other spaceship dodging bullets in a wild manner. "Man, they really got that thing surrounded!" said Sonic.
"Yeah," said Chris. "You're right. Looks pretty bad."
"Well then, let's take care of that problem," said Rainbow, already cracking her knuckles.
The other spaceship's robot pilot wiped its brow. Sonic and Rainbow launched themselves at the Metarex Fighters, destroying one each, before chasing the blue spaceship. "Missile launch!" said Chris, firing a rocket at the last Metarex Fighter.
It was destroyed in one shot. "Woo-hoo!" cheered Rainbow.
"Good shot!" said Sonic.
To their surprise, however, the other spaceship left via hyperspace. "Hey. Where'd that spaceship go?" asked Rainbow.
"It warped," said Chris.
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When they got back to the ship, Chris immediately went to work while Sonic and Rainbow explained what happened. "Hold on," said Amy. "Let me get this straight: You're telling us you don't know where that ship warped to?"
"Not in the slightest," said Rainbow. "It just disappeared. Vanished. *Poof*."
"Ooooooohhhhhhh…" said Lightning, pretending he was a ghost.
That is, until an annoyed Butch poked him in the eyeballs. "OW!" yelled Lightning, blinking rapidly.
"Knock it off, man," said Butch. "You're not a ghost."
Tails looked up from where he was doing some maintenance work. "Well, judging by the ship's engine capabilities," he said, "it couldn't have traveled that far. So we'll be able to catch it in time."
"To the Metarex, it's seemingly the universe's unique static and space distortions," said Chris. "It's hard to search where the ship may have gone to while warping. But we'll figure it out."
"Chris! Tails!" Knuckles said through the radio. "Come to the engine room quickly! There seems to be something wrong with the Master Emerald!"
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In the engine room, said Emerald was somehow shaped a little funny. "And I didn't even touch it," said Sunset as she told what happened.
"You need to tell us what's wrong with it," said Knuckles. "Explain."
"Well…" said Tails, scratching his head, "this could have something to do with us being in the Metarex Universe."
"If that's the case, what'll happen to the Master Emerald?" asked Knuckles.
"Honestly Knuckles, I really don't know," said Tails. "I never thought that something like this could happen to the Emerald."
"Tails, this ship will plummet if the Master Emerald isn't powering it," insisted Knuckles.
"I know that!" Tails yelled frustratedly. "That's why I'm trying to come up with a solution to this mess!"
Sunset was worried that it would escalate to something violent. Luckily, Chris was able to step in and calm them down. "Tails, Knuckles, that's enough," he said. "He'll find a way to fix this problem."
Chris then looked at Knuckles. "Knuckles, you have to trust Tails on this," he said. "He's helping us in battle."
"Okay," said Knuckles, nodding.
He then looked at Tails, who was taking deep breaths to calm himself thanks to Sunset coaching him through it. "Do your best, Tails," he said, patting him on the back.
Tails looked at him, feeling a lot better than previously. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm the captain, and I really shouldn't have lost my head."
"It's okay, buddy," said Sunset, ruffling his bangs. "Both me and Creecha have been in that kind of position ourselves. It's not easy being a captain or a leader."
"Wait a minute," said Knuckles, his mind going back to what Tails said shortly ago. "Was that a pun you made, Tails? Because it must've been."
The friends laughed, Knuckles pulling Tails into a firm but gentle headlock so he could give him a noogie.
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Later, Tails was trying to restore the Master Emerald's shape when Cosmo appeared, carrying a tray that had a teapot and a teacup on it. "Hiya, Tails," she said.
Tails turned around smiling, his twin tails swishing behind him. "Hey, how you doing, Cosmo?" he said.
"You hungry?" asked Cosmo.
"I'm sorry," said Tails, "but I just don't have time. This modification job's a real pain. I told Chris I'd modify the energy sequencer and reconnect it to the Master Emerald with a stronger magnetic field. But if I do that, the frequencies will get out of whack. I suppose I could bypass them by going directly through the…"
He trailed off, noticing that Cosmo looked confused. "Sorry about that," he said. "I didn't mean to get all geeky on you again." He still remembered that underground cave.
"Aw, don't apologize," said Cosmo. "After all, you can't help it if you're the smartest guy around."
Tails laughed, his twin namesakes swishing behind him again, only to quickly get serious when Chris contacted him through the radio: "Tails! Come up here right away! You have to see this!"
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The Blue Typhoon emerged from hyperspace. There was a whirlpool of colorful plasma energy near them. They flew towards the whirlpool.
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"Nice colors," said Grace, looking out the window.
Creecha pulled her away from it. "I'd rather not have you get hurt," she said.
"Look at all that energy swirling around," said Chris.
"I don't like this," said Tails. "I have a feeling if we go any further, we might never come out!"
Cream was scared. "I'm with Tails," she said.
"Chao chao…" Cheese agreed.
A screen appeared, showing the blue ship inside the whirlpool. "But we can't just give up on them now!" said Cosmo.
"Okay," said Tails. "I'm gonna chance it. We're goin' in."
The Typhoon flew forward. Suddenly, it was struck by a plasma burst. Luckily, its shields protected it. "I may be able to drag it out of there," said Tails. "Activate Typhoon claw nice and slow."
"Roger!" said Chris, pressing a couple buttons.
A claw reached for the blue spaceship, only for a claw to extend from the ship and snip the Typhoon's claw off like a pair of scissors cutting paper. The pilot was Cubot in a robot costume. "That was easier than I thought," he said, taking off his helmet.
He flashed a V sign at the Typhoon crew. "Sorry to have to cut you off, kids!" he said.
"It's Cubot!" said Chris.
Cubot flew away, back in the direction the Typhoon came from. "Correction: that was Cubot," said Amy, hands on her hips.
"Maybe he doesn't want our help after all," said Cream.
Grace looked out the window. "Uh, guys?" she said. "We got trouble."
"Where?" asked Creecha.
"Everywhere," said Grace. "It's surrounding us."
Sure enough, a whole fleet of Metarex Fighters emerged from out of the sides of the whirlpool. "The Metarex!" exclaimed Tails. "It's a trap! Hang on, everybody; I'm gonna do a fast 180°!"
The Typhoon turned completely around. "Be careful, Tails," said Chris.
They were even more surprised to see a battleship floating among the Metarex ships, a familiar logo visible. Sonic immediately recognized it. "Eggman!" he said. "I should've known he'd join forces with them!"
"I don't know about that," said Twilight, scratching her head. "Something tells me that there's a reason Eggman joined forces with the Metarex. I just know that he didn't do it willingly."
She would have to wait til later to figure it out. But the question remained: why did Eggman join the Metarex?
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Eggman slowly floated out of a lit background into the command center in his Eggmobile. Bokkun was with him, saluting. "All hail his honorary Metarex, Dr. Eggman!" he proclaimed as the door closed behind them.
"Well, Black Narcissus?" said Eggman. "What have you got to say? Don't I at least get a thank you? After all, it was I who lured Team Sonic into your galactic web."
"Not the most difficult of achievements," said Black Narcissus, who had repaired his armor. "You will learn, Eggman, that I am not given to displays of gratitude."
"Well, just so you know," said Eggman, "they wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my finely-honed genius for deception! And there are more tricks where that came from, just so long as I'm compensated."
"Don't worry, Doctor," said Black Narcissus. "You will be."
Eggman looked at his watch, which read 6:09. "It's past 1800 hours," he said. "Let's do it, boys! Launch Operation Swarm immediately!"
Yellow Zelkova, who was also repaired, was most annoyed. "Who does that rotund wretch think he is?" he asked.
"Now calm down, Zelkova," said Pale Bayleaf. "Remember it was thanks to Eggman's technical know-how that we were able to plan this operation in the first place. In addition, the master had ordered us to go along with anything the doctor says."
"What?!" exclaimed Yellow Zelkova. "You can't be serious! He's nothing but a fool!"
Hilariously enough, meanwhile, the Eggmobile was zipping around the room, Eggman and Bokkun cheering together: "🎶We're gonna conquer Son-ic! We're gonna conquer Son-ic!🎶!"
"Attention Metarex fighter squad!" said Pale Bayleaf, also repaired. "The great doctor has spoken!"
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In the Crimson Egg, Orbot and Cubot were most annoyed. Well, Orbot was mostly. "You know? You would think the doctor would show just an ounce of decorum, wouldn't you?" he said.
"What do you mean?" asked Cubot. "He is the picture of calm."
"How can you call that calm?" said Orbot. "Just look at him!"
They continued to watch Eggman excitedly bounce around the room: "Go Eggman! Go Eggman! Go! Go! Go Eggman! Yeah!"
"I suppose you're right," agreed Cubot. "He could chill out a bit."
"Goooo Metarex!" Bokkun cheered.
The two hench-bots just looked sadly at each other, the white Chaos Emerald resting on the console.
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The Metarex fleet bore down upon the Blue Typhoon.
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"They're closin' in, Tails!" said Sonic.
"What do we do?" asked Cream, horrified. "We can't turn around, and if we don't, we'll head straight into that black hole! Either way, we're in danger!"
"Okay," said Tails, "I say we forge ahead and fight as hard as we can. Typhoon Tornadoes, let's move out!"
A confused Amy stood up and turned around. "Typhoon Tornadoes?" she asked.
"It's our new team name," Tails explained.
"You really couldn't think of anything better than Typhoon Tornadoes?" asked Amy. "If you ask me, the whole 'Tornado' thing is so cliche in my opinion."
"Think maybe we could argue about that later, Amy?" asked Tails, frustrated.
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Chris flew his fighter out into battle, Sonic riding on the wing of Chris' fighter. "Let's go get 'em!" said Sonic.
Amy and the EGs followed along behind them in their spaceships. Same with Cream, who had a spaceship of her own.
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Cosmo was nervous. "Tails, I think we're in big trouble," she said.
"We'll be fine," said Tails reassuringly. "Just have faith in Sonic, Cosmo."
He prayed that they would make it through. "I hope," he said softly. "If we're able to deploy our fighters, their fleet won't have the advantage. We'll have our chance. I just know."
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"Ready to launch nitro blasters!" said Chris.
He fired a new pair of shoes onto Sonic. A ball of pure energy appeared on one of the shoes. "Let's kick it!" said Sonic.
He kicked the energy ball like it was a soccer ball at the Metarex ships, getting three of them. Sonic smirked. "That's three points for three ships!" he said as another energy ball appeared.
Meanwhile, the EGs were flying into the battle in their spaceships, lasers blazing and lightsabers whirling.
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"Well, that's inconvenient," said Eggman as he watched everything unfold. "Now onto Plan B. Of course, I haven't exactly formulated a Plan B…"
"Have no fear, Doctor," said Pale Bayleaf. "You see, I have a Plan B of my own." His eyes glowed yellow as he pressed a button.
"As do I," said Black Narcissus, also pressing a button.
"What?!" exclaimed Yellow Zelkova. "... Uh… Well, so do I!" With that, he proceeded to smash a console in frustration.
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All the spaceships fired at once. Fluttershy was the first to notice this. "Tons of lasers coming at us 12:00!" she said. "Everyone get out of the way!"
Everyone did so. Amy and the rest of the EGs dodged the lasers skillfully. Sonic and Chris set up the Metarex fighters to shoot down some of the other Metarex ships. Cream dodged a Metarex ship which accidentally hit another Metarex ship, whose particles crashed into some of the other ships. As they regrouped and headed back to the Typhoon per Sunset's orders, Chris realized something. "They're blasting their own fighter planes, Sonic!" he said.
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Eggman and Bokkun watched the proceedings. And they were shocked. "Can you believe it, Doctor?" said Bokkun.
"And I thought I was a meanie…" Eggman remarked.
Sure, Eggman beat his hench-bots around, but he never really went so far as to actually destroy them. Same with his creations; that was Sonic's job.
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Several lasers struck the gradually weakening shield of the Typhoon. "The shield's not going to work for much longer; it's at 12%," said Cosmo. "They're too strong for us!"
Knuckles appeared on the screen. "They're firing at anything they can!" he said. "I think we should retreat fast!"
Cream appeared on another screen. "But we can't turn back!" she said. "We've come too far!"
"What do you say, Tails?" asked Knuckles. "Do we stay and fight?"
The ship continued to shake from the impacts. "We'll use the Power Cannon," said Tails. "The best thing to do is aim directly at the mothership."
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The Sonic Power Cannon was activated as Chris flew towards it. "Okay, Tails!" he said.
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"Ready, Cream?" said Tails. "Let's give 'em all we got!"
The targeting computers locked onto the Metarex mothership. "Target lock… on!" said Tails.
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"Okay, Sonic, get ready!"
Sonic started to spin as the lasers continued to pummel the Typhoon.
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"Prepare Power Cannon!" said Tails. "Okay, fire!"
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The Sonic Cannon charged energy and fired Sonic at the Metarex Mothership.
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"Let's have some fun," said Eggman. "Star shield up!"
He pressed a button, having a plan of his own up his sleeve.
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Seven spaceships flew out of the sides of the tunnel and connected energy beams to form a rainbow-colored energy net in the shape of a star. Curious, Rainbow went over in her ship to check it out. Digging out a small piece of asteroid from her sweatshirt pocket, she tossed it at the net in order to test it out, which caused a small electrocution to form and get the asteroid piece pretty good. Realizing what would happen next, Rainbow jumped into her ship and flew off to warn everyone when she saw Sonic pass her from the opposite direction and, to her horror, fly directly into it. "Sonic!" she heard Chris call.
Turning around, Rainbow instantly went to get Sonic, who was knocked out and badly electrocuted from that net. Who knew that rainbow colors could be so deadly? she thought.
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In the engine room, it was worse. The energy from the net was channeled into the Master Emerald. "Hang on!" called Knuckles.
He tried to touch the controls, but he ended up also getting electrocuted. The console exploded.
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Outside in her ship, Sunset felt what happened and quickly turned around. "Tails!" she exclaimed into her radio. "I'm going back for Knuckles! He and Sonic were both badly electrocuted from a rainbow-colored net Eggman and the Metarex set up! Now, your brothers are knocked out and injured badly! Me and Rainbow are bringing them to the medbay now!"
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Tails was shocked at what he heard and witnessed. "Oh no!" he cried. "Sonic got zapped out there! So did Knuckles?"
"I'm afraid so," said Sunset. "Only difference for Knuckles was that it happened in the engine room. Somehow, the energy from that net was transferred to the Master Emerald."
Tails was overwhelmed with guilt and sadness. "... What have I done…?" he said, his eyes misting.
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In the medbay, Starlight and Amy got to work tending to their comrades' injuries.
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At the bridge, everyone else was informed of what happened. "Now what are we gonna do?" asked Grace. "We're practically sitting ducks at this point."
"That blast sure did some damage to the main engine," said Chris, "but I think we'll be okay just as long as we can keep it under a certain speed. We have to conserve whatever energy we've got until we can recharge that Master Emerald, okay Tails?"
But Tails didn't respond. Chris found him on his hands and knees staring at the floor. He was in a state of shock after what happened to his brothers. "Tails?" said Chris, snapping him to attention. "You doin' okay?"
"Uh… yeah," said Tails. "I'm okay, Chris."
But he wasn't. Cosmo could tell that something was wrong.
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The three generals watched the Typhoon as it approached the energy net. "That floating playground of theirs is still chugging along," said Black Narcissus. "Quite impressive."
"Perhaps," said Pale Bayleaf, "but not for long. The star shield will deactivate within five minutes. We will then launch a full-scale attack against them."
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Outside, all cannons locked onto the Blue Typhoon.
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"DANGER" appeared on Cream's screen. "Oh no!" said Cream. "We're getting a danger signal! What now?"
"The Metarex are going to attack us again as soon as that shield of theirs is down," said Sunset. "And it won't take long. This is bad. We're not just sitting ducks. We're dead sitting ducks."
"I'm not so sure the Typhoon can make it through another attack, Tails!" said Chris.
Everyone looked at each other worriedly. What were they going to do now? Tails was more upset than ever; tears were filling his eyes, and the guilt that he felt for his brothers' injuries was overcoming him more and more. "I… I'm not worthy to be captain!" he finally cried. "I'm just not!"
In a fit of anger, frustration, and sadness, Tails fled the bridge, crying his eyes out. "Tails, come back!" called Cosmo.
But Tails didn't hear her. All he wanted was to get away from all those problems. As he continued running, he quickly began to run out of breath. He tripped over himself and landed on the floor, his breathing coming out fast and unevenly; any smart person would know he was hyperventilating. The fox felt dizzy and weak. He tried calming himself down, but it was no use.
Just then, a pair of hands took his own, the touch gentle and soothing. "Breathe, Tails," said a gentle voice. "Breathe with me. In and out."
Trying hard to listen to that voice, Tails obeyed, slowly but surely calming down. By the time he got his breathing under control, he finally looked up at who it was, and recognized teal eyes filled with kindness and comfort looking down at him. No longer able to hide it, Tails burst into sobs, collapsing in front of her on the floor as tears trailed down his face.
Not saying anything, Fluttershy just scooped up Tails into her arms and scooted backwards so she could lean against the wall nearby, placing Tails into her lap. Tails curled up into her, burying his face into her chest and wrapping his twin tails around her, along with his arms. Fluttershy didn't say anything; she just hugged him back, just being there for him in his time of need.
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Eggman and Bokkun returned to the Crimson Egg. "I'm back–!" he said.
"Doctor!" said Orbot and Cubot in usion. "Thank goodness you're okay!"
"We were beginning to worry that something had happened," said Cubot.
Orbot agreed. "After all, those Metarex guys are pretty tough cookies," he said.
"Well, they may be tough," said Bokkun, "but they got nothing on the big boss man!"
"Oh, stifle that idiotic chattering, will you?!" snapped Eggman as he looked up. "This is serious…"
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Meanwhile, Wallflower, Grace, and Cosmo were running down the hall looking for Tails and Fluttershy. After waiting for some time (much to Grace's frustration), they had gotten a signal from Fluttershy that they could go to him. Having gotten their location on Wallflower's GPS, they hurried off. "I hope Tails is okay," said Cosmo.
"Trust me," said Wallflower. "This isn't the first time I've seen this feeling of hopelessness. We've all felt that feeling from time to time. Only difference is that none of us were captains."
After a while, Wallflower suddenly stopped at a corner, motioning the other two girls to do the same. Peeking around it, she saw a cute scene: Tails was curled up in Fluttershy's lap crying into her chest, his tears soaking through her dress. Fluttershy just continued hugging him back, not moving a mussel. And Twilight was sitting next to her, scratching Tails behind his ear in hopes that it would help. Catching sight of Wallflower, she placed a finger to her lips as a sign to be quiet and pointed to Tails. This meant that Twilight didn't want Tails to be more upset than he already was.
Nodding, Wallflower made a motion for Grace and Cosmo to follow her, then slowly and quietly came up to them, not wanting to startle anyone. Stopping next to Fluttershy, she knelt down in front of her. "Tails?" she asked, her voice soft.
Tails froze at it. He wanted to run, but Cosmo's voice made him freeze once more. "Tails, please wait," she said. "If you run away, it will only make things worse."
"I promise we're not mad at you, little buddy," said Grace.
Upon feeling Wallflower's hand touch his shoulder, Tails finally turned his head to see his friends there, looking at him with compassionate expressions on their faces. A pause took over for a while until Tails broke it. "... How could I do something so stupid?" he asked, looking back down.
"Tails, you can't blame yourself for what happened," said Cosmo, remembering what Wallflower told her back on Planet Marmolim.
"This wasn't your fault, Tails," said Grace. "You made the right call. You just didn't know that the Metarex were gonna pull that net trick off. None of us knew that."
"But it's because of me," said Tails. "My brothers are hurt. Might as well face it; I don't have the right to call myself captain of anything."
"Tails, don't say that," said Wallflower. "You're being too hard on yourself. Like I told Cosmo: you can't blame yourself for stuff that's beyond your control."
"And besides," added Cosmo, "how can you say that, Tails? Nobody but you could be captain and you know it."
"But… but I'm just a big failure," said Tails, not understanding why his friends were not yelling at him.
Cosmo walked in front of the crestfallen Tails and climbed into Twilight's lap so she could face him. "Not in my eyes, you're not," she said. "Just think of the hundreds of times you've helped your friends when they were in trouble. I've never known anyone as brave as you."
Hearing this, Tails finally looked up. "Really?" he asked.
Cosmo nodded, taking Tails' hands into her own. "Just think of all the times you've saved your friends from danger," she said. "I'm proud to be under the command of such a noble captain."
"Same here," said Grace, reaching over to ruffle his bangs. "You're an awesome little fella."
"The universe needs you, Tails," said Wallflower. "We need you. Because at the end of the day, it's heroes like you that give people hope."
Fluttershy and Twilight agreed. Hearing these encouraging words from his crush and his friends brought new hope to Tails. His expression brightened, and for the first time since Marmolim, he smiled. "Hey, thanks, guys!" he said.
Everyone smiled back and headed for the bridge, Wallflower giving Cosmo a look that said one thing: I'm so proud of you.
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At the bridge, Eggman appeared on the viewscreen. "Howdy, kid," he said to Chris. "You and your pals getting ready for the big bad showdown?"
"We're ready for anything you and those Metarex dish out," said Chris. "Just try us!"
"... Who'd have thought such big talk could come from such a small fry?" asked Eggman teasingly. "Where's our boy Sonic by the way? Nursing an aching knock, I presume? Well, while nurse Amy is bandaging that blockhead of his, here's a little bit of news for you. You have five minutes 'til that Typhoon's toast! Now if I were in your place, kid, I'd say farewell to my little friends… cause this is gonna be a blast!"
He laughed heartily as the message ended. "Yup," said Sunset. "We are definitely dead, sitting ducks this time."
"Now what do we do?" asked Cream.
Now Chris was depressed. "I don't know…" he said.
"It's okay, gang!" said a voice. "I got it under control!"
It was Tails! "We've got five minutes left, and that's five minutes to win!" he said as he, Cosmo, and their friends re-entered the bridge.
"Tails!" said Chris happily. "You're back!"
Everyone was glad to see him. "Now Twilight," said Tails, "you and Sunset reanalyze the data so we can take a look at it and see how we can beat 'em."
"Aye aye, Captain!" said Twilight, saluting him before she and Sunset raced off to do so.
"That sounds great, Tails!" agreed Cream.
"Chao chao chao chao!" Cheese added.
Soon, as the timer counted down, Twilight and Sunset had gotten the data reanalyzed. And Tails had come up with an idea: "If we can somehow reverse the direction of the spin, then it's possible to create a new magnetic field, one that's a direct opposite of the first one."
"Good plan," said Sunset.
"But what if we get sucked inside of there?" asked Cream.
"It may be tough," said Chris, "but it's the only chance we've got. We'll just have to give every ounce of energy we possibly can."
"But there's just one problem we haven't thought about," said Tails. "In order to reverse the magnetic field, we have to use Ring Tunnel. With Sonic knocked out, there's just no way!"
Rainbow was about to volunteer as a substitute when another voice rang out. "Who you calling 'knocked out'?"
Everyone turned to the source. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" asked Trixie.
Tails smiled. "Sonic!" he exclaimed, running over to him.
And sure enough, there he was, supported by Amy. Being careful of his older brother's injuries, Tails hugged him. And despite his current state, Sonic didn't hesitate to return the embrace. "I'm not exactly down for the count yet, Tails," he said. "When my captain and brother needs me, nothin' is gonna stop me from givin' it all I got!"
Tails laughed happily, full of new hope. "Then let's do it, you guys!" he said.
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The Typhoon turned away from the wall. Chris' ship took off once again, with Sonic riding on the wing.
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"Sonic is plotting something," said Cubot.
"I'll give them this: they sure don't give up so easily," said Orbot.
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Pale Bayleaf looked on with interest.
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"I checked the Master Emerald, Tails," said Cream. "It's stable!"
"Great! Keep your eye on it," said Tails. "Emerald stabilized! Chris, we're ready when you are. Go ahead and activate Ring Tunnel!"
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"Aye-aye!" said Chris. "... Ring Tunnel!"
Chris fired a tunnel of energy at the energy wall. Sonic used his jet shoes to spiral through the tunnel.
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"Star-shield deactivating," said Cubot, "in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…"
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Sonic was launched into the opposing wall of energy as the first one faded away, revealing the Metarex fleet. Suddenly, the other energy wall unleashed a powerful wave of energy at the Metarex ships.
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"... Nothing's happening, Tails!" cried Amy.
"Now I'm scared…" said Cream.
"Chao…" Cheese agreed.
Tails was concerned, but a hand touched his own. When he looked up, it took one encouraging look from Cosmo to shove his fears aside. Staying calm, he closed his eyes. This is gonna work… he said to himself. After all, I'm a captain.
Outside, Sonic got electrocuted by the energy wall before getting ejected out. "Sonic, no!" Chris exclaimed.
He flew out to retrieve the unconscious Sonic. Opening the cockpit, he was ready to catch him. "Sonic, I'm here!" he called.
In his head, he was thinking, Not again!
This was officially the third time that Sonic had gotten electrocuted in a Metarex fight.
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"What are you waiting for, you imbeciles?" demanded Pale Bayleaf. "The enemy has broken through! Fire! Fire!"
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All Metarex ships opened fire on the Blue Typhoon.
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"The fire bombs are heading right for us!" exclaimed Cream. "Thousands of them!"
The missiles bore down on the ship. "Less than thirty seconds 'til they hit!" cried Cream.
Cosmo looked depressed. Wallflower got her attention by grabbing her hand, giving her an encouraging smile. Feeling better, the two prayed. "Tails, what now?" wailed Amy in despair.
Tails didn't respond for a little while. His eyes still closed, he remembered the encouraging words his friends and crush had given him. A good captain always believes in himself, he said to himself. They're counting on you, Tails!
Then, his eyes snapped open, sky-blue filled with determination. Stick it, Tails, he finished. Concentrate.
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The Metarex generals wondered what Tails and his crew would do now.
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Chris landed back on the ship with an injured Sonic, racing him to the medbay.
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"Okay," said Tails, "let's bring her in slow and steady, gang! Now hang on real tight!"
Then, there was trouble. The sparking plasma energy in the tunnel affected the Master Emerald. "We're losing engine power, Tails!" said Amy.
"It's the Master Emerald!" said Tails.
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As the alarms went off, Knuckles hobbled towards the engine room, having dropped his crutch determined to help his team ans his younger brother. "I… gotta get… to the Master Emerald!" he panted.
Sunset wordlessly helped him, knowing that they had to hurry; they were running out of time.
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"Let this work PLEASE!" Tails begged.
The missiles were dangerously close to the ship now. Amy screamed as the energy wall fired a massive burst of energy. This is the end! she thought. We're done for!
Suddenly, Creecha flew in between the Typhoon and the Metarex ships, taking all the shots from them and absorbing them. "Mom!" cried Grace, horrified.
Everyone else was scared too. They'd expected to get destroyed, not for Creecha to fly in like that. "Creecha! Get inside now!" Tails ordered.
"And let you all... die in the process?!" Creecha replied, hissing in pain at the heat clawing through her. "No way! Not on my watch!"
She was determined to save her family and friends, no matter what the cost was.
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Finally, with Sunset's help, Knuckles was able to reach the Master Emerald. "The seven Chaos Emeralds are the servers…" he chanted. "Chaos is the power… Chaos is the power enriched by the heart!"
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Thanks to Knuckles, the Typhoon was restored to full power. It flew into the energy field, quickly getting enveloped by the field's raw power, which was projected right towards the Metarex ships. At the same time, Creecha let out a painful war cry as she fully absorbed the shots, her cross necklace glowing brightly, and directed said shots right back at the ships.
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The Metarex generals were surprised. "How can this happen?!" exclaimed Pale Bayleaf. "Unacceptable!"
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"Let's vamoose behind the mothership!" said Eggman. "That baby's about to blow!"
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The energy wave, along with Creecha's redirected shots, destroyed all the Metarex ships except for the Metarex Mothership and the Crimson Egg. The energy field and the vortex both vanished, and the Typhoon was now flying into open space once more.
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"We did iiiit!" Tails cheered, happy tears streaming down his face.
Everyone smiled broadly. Most were cheering and hugging each other. "We did it, guys!" Robyn cried happily. "We survived a nightmare!"
Dorothy and Shanti both hugged Robyn happily. Amy was crying out of fear and relief. Twilight didn't hesitate to hug her while Fluttershy picked up Tails and spun him around in her arms. Cosmo and Wallflower hugged as well. "I'm so proud of you, Cosmo," said Wallflower. "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be here."
Cosmo didn't say anything. A smile on her face said it all for her. Seeing Tails leaving the bridge while everyone was celebrating, she followed him into the hall. "Where are you going?" she asked.
"Thought I'd check on my brothers and apologize," Tails replied. "I know what happened today isn't my fault, but still..."
Cosmo smiled. "I understand," she said. "And I'm sure that Sonic and Knuckles understand to. But just remember that it wasn't your fault; none of us knew what was going to happen. I don't want you to blame yourself further than you already have, alright?"
Tails was touched. "I won't, Cosmo," he said. "I promise. Thank you."
Cosmo smiled in reply. "Your welcome," she said.
Happily, the two leaned forward and kissed each other as they embraced, much to the happiness of Grace, who was peeking around the corner at that moment. No one knew she was there.
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In the engine room, Sunset was also smiling as she felt the victory and success they had achieved. She headed over to Knuckles, who was unconscious again, and sat down next to him. "We did it, Knuckles," she said, grabbing his limp hand. "We did it."
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Meanwhile, the Veggie boys were racing to the hangar; Sunset had earlier sensed that, by some miracle, Creecha was still alive, and the three were tasked with getting her back to the ship. Arriving at their own ship, a small purple-blue one, they climbed in after Bob used a shrinking tractor beam that was in the ship to get them in. "Alright, sis," said Junior. "We're comin' to get you."
Trying to start the ship (it hadn't been used in a while), Bob was soon able to get it flying. "How long has it been since we've used this thing?" asked Larry.
Bob shrugged. "Not sure," he said. "I've lost track of time. Remind me to get Sunset to update this thing after this war's over."
The two nodded. In not too long, Junior looked out the windscreen- and his eyes widened. "I see her!" he exclaimed. "Right there!"
Looking at where Junior was pointing, Bob and Larry could indeed see that it was Creecha, limply floating through space. Larry used the shrinking tractor beam to pull her into the ship and onto the floor. She looked pretty bad; she was burned all over, and her clothes were scorched up. As Bob got the rest of the group contacted on the situation, Junior knelt down next to his sister, concerned. Gingerly touching her cheek with his fingertips, he was rewarded with Creecha hissing painfully, barely opening her eyes. "Hey there... little bro," she managed to say. "I'm glad... you and everyone... else are still alive. I hope... Sonic and Knuckles... get better soon."
With that, she went limp again. Junior was concerned, but Larry just put a reassuring hand on Junior's shoulder before looking down at the unconscious Creecha. "We'll take care of that," he said. "You rest now, sis."
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Grace was really concerned when she heard the news. The moment the ship landed and the Veggie boys climbed out of the ship (growing back to normal size in the process thanks to the tractor beam), Matt immediately raced her to the medbay, Tom and Grace watching in shock and horror. Grace was near tears as she turned and hugged her father. "Oh Dad, she's gone!" she sobbed. "Mom's gone!"
Tom just hugged her back. "Don't worry, Grace," he said. "Your mother's not dead. She's alive; she's a tough woman. She'll get through this."
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Soon, Sonic and Knuckles were back in the infirmary and patched up. Creecha was in a different infirmary room and was patched up like a mummy; Starlight said she would have to stay like that for a while and was going to be in a baca tank Starlight made herself for sometime so her wounds would heal better. Tails went over to see his brothers, but hesitated when he got to the door. He had just sat down against the wall when there was a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong, Tails?" said a voice.
It was Junior. Tails sighed. "My brothers hate me, Junior. I just know it," he said as Junior sat down next to him. "I've always helped them out in a lot of previous situations in the past. And now this happens."
It was clear that what happened earlier severely shook his confidence as a captain. "I doubt they're mad at you," said Junior. "They never blamed you for what happened as far as I'm concerned. Take it from someone who's had to deal with this before. Only difference: I wasn't really a captain."
Tails looked up at him in surprise. He hadn't realized that. "And two things," said Junior before the fix could say anything else. "First, do you really think that Sonic and Knuckles are mad at you?"
Tails thought about it for a while. "Well… no," he said.
"Second," said Junior, "do you love Sonic and Knuckles?"
"Of course I do," said Tails. "I love them more than anything. They're my bros. I'd do anything for them."
"Then they'll forgive you," said Junior with an encouraging smile. "They will. Trust me."
Feeling better thanks to Junior's words, Tails thanked him before entering the medbay. Sonic and Knuckles were still recovering when they saw him enter. "Hey, guys," said Tails. "I just… wanted to tell you how sorry I am."
"Sorry?" said Knuckles. "If it weren't for you, none of us would be here."
Saying this, he reached down, picked up Tails, and hugged him close. "Thanks, buddy," he said.
"Yeah," Sonic agreed as he pushed his medic bed close to Knuckles' so that he could also hug his brother, "thanks, pal! I mean, 'captain'!"
Tails smiled happily and returned the embrace, also wrapping his tails around his brothers. "Thanks, you guys," he said, crying happily. "You're the best!"
As Sonic and Knuckles comforted him (he's still a kid, after all), the Blue Typhoon cruised onwards.
ns 15.158.61.6da2
