Author's Note: Here it is, the final story in my Sonic Dimensions trilogy. I had planned to novelize Sonic Mania's Encore Mode, but I changed my mind. Besides, after this, I want to do a few Smash Bros stories for the release of Ultimate. Now it's imperative that you have read both Sonic Mania: The Novelization and Sonic Forces: Prelude to War, otherwise some of the plot points in this story will be a bit confusing. So as I said last time, my sincere hope is that whether or not you enjoyed the game, I hope you enjoy this story. Please read, review, and enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Sonic Forces: Join The Uprising!
Deep underground, within his Arsenal Pyramid in Green Hill, The nefarious Dr. Eggman entered his laboratory. This plan has been three months in the making, and the test tubes containing failed experiments testified to the effort and determination put into it. Of course, Eggman has hatched many schemes for world domination. And all of them ruined by a certain supersonic pest. But not this time. Oh no. This time, he would be the victor. This time, the world would be his. This time... he would see Sonic lying broken at his feet like the filthy animal he is.
As Eggman walked through the laboratory, the doctor was deep in thought. "Sonic. How I hate you." he thought. "I've hated you from the moment we met. Hated you with all that I am." His mind flashed back to the day he first came to South Island in search of the fabled Chaos Emeralds. The day he first laid eyes on the one who would become his eternal adversary. From there, his photographic memory went through every encounter with Sonic. Every battle and every defeat played through his mind like a photo slideshow.
"You've been nothing but a cruel joke played on me by fate." Eggman continued. "A genius of my caliber forced to endure an endless stream of humiliations at the hands of a pathetic, hyperactive rodent! Every glorious scheme for world domination thrown to the wayside by you and your pathetic friends!" He made it to the computer terminal, which was monitoring the vital signs of his newest creation.
"But that's all about to change." he spoke aloud. "I've loathed you with every fiber of my being. And all of that loathing has been focused into this invincible instrument of destruction!" Eggman turned to Cubot, who was cleaning a test tube containing his newest creation. This one wasn't a robot like his other creations, but organic. A masked animal with a gemstone on its chest. In a past life, this creature was a lowly mercenary. Now, it has been transformed into a being of pure power, a force of total destruction. His greatest triumph.
"Every defeat, every embarrassment, every humiliation at the hedgehog's hands will be repaid a thousandfold. No, a millionfold, by my unstoppable creation!" Eggman knocked Cubot aside and placed his hand on the glass. "This is my dream come true and soon it will be your nightmare, Sonic!" He dragged his nails along the glass, leaving noticeable scratch marks.
"With this invention, not only will I be able to expand the Eggman Empire across the globe, but I will finally see the end of the world's so-called Greatest Hero. Get ready to face my wrath, Sonic the Hedgehog! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Eggman's deranged laughter filled the laboratory. Orbot and Cubot cowered behind the computer terminal. The doctor was always a bit too absorbed in his plots, but this time, he seemed to have truly gone off the deep end.
"The boss means business this time!" Orbot said.
"Uh-huh." Cubot nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, in the test tube, the gemstone on the creature's chest gave off a faint glow and the creature's fingers twitched before its hands clenched themselves into a pair of fists. The being opened its eye, revealing a demonic gold pupil set against the backdrop of a blood-red sclera.
In Sunset Heights...
Pandemonium. That was the only word one could use to describe the carnage taking place.
Since Eggman's last attack on the city, everyone knew it would only be a matter of time before Eggman struck again. The good doctor wasn't one to throw in the towel. But no one was prepared for the swiftness and the ferocity of the attack. Everything started off peaceful at first, with the civilian militia watching the sky's for Eggman's battleships. But instead of battleships, they were greeted by the sight of strange portals opening in the sky. From those portals came dozens of titanic Death Egg Robots as well as legions of Egg Pawns and Egg Fighters.
Despite being caught off guard by the sudden attack, the militia swiftly fought back to repel the robotic hordes while the noncombatants were quickly evacuated out of the city. However, the endless stream of robots quickly turned it into a battle of attrition. But hope would soon arrive for the beleaguered troops. Hope in the form of the world-famous Sonic the Hedgehog.
Sonic was in the Green Hill Zone when Tails informed him of Eggman's attack. Overlooking the destruction from the roof of a building, Sonic watched as the Death Egg Robots ravaged the once beautiful town. Anger and determination were sewn into the Blue Blur's features. "Eggman's really brought his A-Game." Sonic said. "Guess I'll just have to up my game."
Tapping the communicator on his wrist, Sonic contacted Tails. "Tails, I'm in the city." he said. "What's your position?"
"I'm in the park." Tails replied. "Some of the civilians didn't evacuate in time. I tried leading them out of the city, but I'm pinned down by Eggman's robots! I could use some help!"
"Hang tight, I'm on my way!" Sonic jumped down from the building and took off running. As he ran down the road, his path was soon obstructed by a Death Egg Robot. The robot's single red eye began glowing and it fired a powerful laser at Sonic. The blue hedgehog easily dodged the laser using Quick Step. The robot raised its mighty fist and attempted to crush Sonic, but Sonic leapt onto its claw and ran up its arm.
Sonic leapt at the robot's face and performed a Spin Dash right through the eye, toppling the colossus. "All too easy." Sonic said. "Now to get to Tails." While still in midair, Sonic performed his Boost technique, rocketing through the air and straight to the park.
At the park, Tails was busy fighting off Eggman's robots. The young fox was armed with a Lightning Wispon in one hand and his personal arm cannon on the other hand. A crowd of frightened civilians, human and animal alike, watched as Tails fought off the relentless army of Egg Fighters. Tails wielded his Lightning Wispon with surprising grace, using the lightning whip in tandem with his twin tails to strike down the malevolent machines. Those that didn't meet their end by his whip were shot with his arm cannon.
"My, look how much you've grown, Tails." Eggman sneered, looking down on him and the crowd from his Egg-Mobile. Floating next to him were Metal Sonic, Orbot, and Cubot.
"If you want to hurt these people, you'll have to get through me!" Tails declared.
"I'm sure I will." Eggman replied. "But truthfully, I'm just passing the time."
"Passing the time?" Tails asked, head tilted end eyebrow raised in confusion.
"You'll see." Eggman said. The doctor snapped his fingers and more Egg Pawns appeared through portals. The robots marched towards Tails and the crowd of civilians, lined up like a firing squad preparing for an execution. Tails dropped into a fighting stance, but inside, he was nervous. "I can't take all of these guys by myself." he thought. "Come on, Sonic, where the heck are you?!"
His answer soon came in the form of a gentle breeze which quickly picked up speed until it became a raging blue whirlwind that surrounded the Egg Pawns and carried them into the air. Everyone covered their eyes to protect themselves from the dust being kicked up by the wind. Everyone except Eggman, who just smiled.
When the wind died down, everyone looked to see Sonic the Hedgehog standing in front of them, arms folded and glaring daggers at Eggman. The crowd broke into wild cheers at the arrival of the world famous hero. "Everybody okay?" Sonic asked, turning to the crowd.
"We are thanks to you." Tails replied. "Cutting it a bit close there, pal."
"Yeah, that's pretty much how I roll." Sonic replied. He turned to face Eggman again. "It's been a while, Egghead. You never call and you never write. I was almost beginning to think I'd never see you again."
"Well, I certainly didn't want to miss your inevitable demise now, did I?" Eggman remarked, calmly taking off his glasses and wiping the dust off them with his handkerchief. As Tails led the civilians away, he couldn't help but notice Eggman's reactions. Ot rather, his lack of reaction. He wasn't angry that Sonic arrived. He was calm. Too calm. It was like he was expecting Sonic to show up. A chill ran down Tails' spine and his fur stood on end. He had a bad feeling about this.
"Eggman, we've been doing this dance for years and you haven't won yet." Sonic said. "And Metal, how many times have I kicked your shiny metal ass?" Electric sparks radiated from Metal Sonic at that question. "Here's the cold hard facts: You're never gonna beat me, much less conquer the world. So why don't you just take your toys, go home, and save me the trouble of having to humiliate you again?"
Eggman just sat in his Egg-Mobile with his arms folded across his chest, seemingly unfazed by his nemesis' taunts. "There it is, that trademark confidence." he said. "Just one of the many, many, many things I've come to loathe about you. But you're right. You've humiliated me so many times, ruined so many of my schemes, torn down everything I sought to build! And for that, I want you to suffer until your last breath, to die broken in disgrace FOR ALL THE WORLD TO SEE! And with my ultimate weapon, I'll finally achieve my ambitions!"
Sonic sighed and rolled his eyes. "Alright, Eggman, bring out your giant robot so I can trash it and we can all go home."
"No giant robot this time." Eggman replied. Sonic stared at in confusion, but soon sensed something heading towards him. Sonic jumped out of the way as several Chaos Spears descended on him. Shadow then teleported in next to Eggman, only he looked a little different. He was glitching out as if he was in a computer program.
"Shadow?! The hell are you doing?!" Sonic asked angrily.
"Isn't it obvious?" Eggman asked with a knowing smirk. "Shadow has finally joined the winning team. And he's not the only one." The lid on a nearby sewer manhole began rattling and water erupted out of the sewer. Moving with a mind of its own, the water lunged at Sonic, who narrowly dodged out of the way. The water thorn moved next to Eggman and reformed itself into a humanoid shape with green eyes and an exposed brain.
"Chaos?! But how?!" Sonic didn't have time to ponder on it when he noticed a shadow growing underneath him. Sonic got out of the way as what appeared to be a large red demon with spiked bracelets on its wrists punched the ground, catering it. Sonic knew who this was. It was Zavok, leader of the Deadly Six. Only thing was that last time Sonic saw him, he fell into a pool of lava.
"Miss me, hedgehog?" The Zeti snarled.
"Like a bad skin rash." Sonic replied.
"Isn't this great, Sonic?" Eggman mockingly asked. "It's like a reunion where everyone wants you dead! But these guys are just the supporting cast. My real star... is right up there." Eggman gestured up towards the sky, where strange cracks began to form. The sky thorn shattered like the glass of a window, revealing another dark portal.
From the portal descended a strange creature. The being had its arms folded as it descended to the ground like a demigod. The creature had black fur and wore matching black gloves and boots. It had a bushy tail like a fox and wore a fox-shaped mask that concealed its face save for a glowing left eye that had a gold pupil and red sclera. However, the dreadlocks made it hard to pin down exactly what species it was. The creature's most noticeable feature was the ruby gemstone on its chest. It was surrounded in an aura of dark crimson flames and red glitching particles.
"So you're the famous Sonic the Hedgehog." the being spoke, it's voice carrying a demonic echo. "It's an honor to meet you in person."
Next Chapter Preview: A Hero Falls. Next time on Sonic Forces! Sonic finds himself in the fight of his life against old enemies, a friend-turned-foe, and a mysterious new opponent. However, their combined might may end up being too much for him to handle. Has the Blue Blur finally met his match? Find out on the next exciting chapter of Sonic Forces!