Chapter 10
Rob greatly hugged the blue hedgehog that tackled him. He could feel himself crying now, his tears hot and his heart racing faster than Sonic himself. His sister let go of him and looked into his eyes with tears streaming down her dirt covered face. Rob remembered the last time he saw her was during the invasion on Maynosha, he was holding Nega Sonic off while she ran into the deep catacombs of the palace to who knows where, his mind kept telling him after the battle that she was dead, that she was lost, that she was gone. But he was wrong and he had never in his life been so happy to be wrong.
Rob's sister was a blue hedgehog with the same yellow eyes as his; she had black streaks on her ends of her hair spikes. Her clothes were ripped and torn. Rob could imagine that she has been struggling to survive since she escaped the Maynoshan palace. But he didn't care about that he was just happy to be reunited with his family again, the only thing that he had left from the battle of Maynosha.
"Okay can we get a little bit of an explanation please?" Zeke stood jaw askew now. Probably as surprised as DC was, for once they could agree on something, they both did not see this coming at all.
Rob turned to him and nodded. "Let's get under way first then I'll explain everything."
The Spin Dash rocketed into warp space in a flash of light headed back towards Garland. Rob sat down with the others around the small lounge area on the Spin Dash. He and his sister sat on one side in joy of seeing each other while the others sat on the other side of the table waiting in anticipation for whatever was going on.
"For proper introductions, everyone this is my sister Manakai." Rob went around the table. "Sis, this is Dash, Zeke, Chris, and DC." Dash gave a small nod of acknowledgement, while Chris and DC gave a small hello; Zeke on the other hand flashed her one of his smooth cool guy smirks and nodded looking her up and down. Manakai turned her head a little blushing. Rob didn't notice this. He was too focused on the situation and how he was going to explain this to his team.
Though Rob did have something curious to ask his sister, the question of what happened after she left him during the battle. "So sis what happened when I told you to run?"
Manakai lowered her head a little bit; she could recall images flashing in her mind, the constant rush of the battle around her, the helplessness she felt as she ran away from her brother, leaving him alone to fight Nega Sonic.
"It's a long story but, basically when I left you to fight Nega Sonic, I ran through the catacombs as fast as I could. I ran and ran and ran until I heard a huge explosion, followed by 10 more. I barreled down farther into the catacombs but the explosions started getting louder and the tunnels rumbled with great force as they crumbled around me. I finally reached the exit of the catacombs and came out into the Meron forest. But there was no forest anymore. It was burned flat to the ground. After that I just kept running, running away from the Pandorian Army, from Nega Sonic, from everything that I came in contact with."
She paused for a moment and glanced at Zeke. "After months of this I gave up, I was cornered by the Giziods and I knew it was over. But then out of nowhere he showed up." She motioned to Zeke. "He destroyed the Giziods but I still ran away. He chased after me and I attacked him in my werehog form.
Zeke stood and craned his neck out grunting. "Yea I got the teeth marks to prove it." The bleeding from his neck had stopped a while ago but the whiles still showed clearly on the side of his neck. DC and Chris stared at it startled, but Dash rolled his eyes acting like he's seen worse injuries than that. Rob was neutral, he knew of his sister's werehog form. She was the only of the two that could do that. He found it a little funny; he had hero and she had the werehog form.
Manakai lowered her head again still sorry for what she did to Zeke. She didn't mean to hurt him she really didn't but the werehog form was something that wasn't very controllable by anyone, well anyone but Sonic, but that's another story for another time.
"Sorry, after that I was knocked unconscious and he brought me to you and well now I'm here." She gave an awkward smile. "But what have you been doing bro? What happened in the fight with Nega Sonic? Did you win? Where have you been in the past months?" Rob sat down beside DC and looked up. "Heh it's a long story sis."
Rob sensed Manakai run into the catacombs of the palace away from his position. Her survival was all he cared about at this point, as long as she got into the catacombs he knew she would be safe and that he would still have something to fight for. His friends lay at his feat dead. Manakai had seen it all, Zack first, then Alana, Chase, Crept, and finally Saysha, all of them dead, at the hand of Nega Sonic. Rob rage fueled his attacks now as he charged Nega Sonic laying blow after blow not once giving him a chance to counter. Rob was ready to end get revenge on the heartless monster that stand before him. "You will pay!" He shouted as he landed his knee into Nega Sonics gut.
Rob came out of his flashback and looked to his sister. "There isn't much to tell, I continued to fight Nega Sonic now to my full power. But that wasn't enough to beat him; the roof came down on top of us caused by the continuous aerial bombardment from the Pandorian fleet." Rob turned to his team. "After that Team Chaos found me and took me to Garland. Now we are on a mission to find proof that the Pandorians attacked Maynosha so that we can plead our case to the Council of Neutral Systems." Rob leaned back in his chair sighing knowing that it was going to be a hell of an adventure when it's all said and down.
Manakai shot her brother a weird look. "But if you're alive so why don't you just go to the council now?" Rob shook his head. "It's not that simple sister. The attack on Maynosha was reported by the Pandorians as a civil war and we are reported dead. Going there now would only complicate things." Rob looked up to the ceiling wary of the situation. There is only one reason the council would believe the Pandorians and how the Pandorians were able to completely decimate the Maynoshan forces without even trying. A traitor, someone on the council who was in league with the Pandorian Empire. It was the only reason that Rob could think of and due to the situation it was the only thing they could really go off of.
The rest of the conversation between the siblings and team chaos was just getting to know each other as they traveled through the swirling vortex of warp space.
Mark the hedgehog strode into one of the lounging rooms in the academy where Team Chaos was located. He spotted Team Chaos, with Dash watching holo-net news; he had a blank stare on his face as he listened to the constant chatter from the holographic reporter talking about the usual nonsense that just irritated Mark. He scanned the room further and found Zeke sitting at a table with Manakai. He noticed Zeke was doing his usual thing and flirting with her. Mark quickly rolled his eyes and noticed Rob and DC; they were sitting outside on the veranda of the lounge talking. He quickly strode towards the two with the flick of his cape.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." He said as he stopped in front of the two. DC quickly drew her hand back from Rob's and blushed. Rob folded his hands trying to hide the shade of pink on his face. "No not at all Mark" There was sarcasm in his voice. He could never get some real time alone with DC. Ever since his sister arrived with them on Garland he had been more cheerful and had opened up to his team and DC. He had to admit he liked her quite a bit, maybe even to the point where he could move on from the death of his friends and ask her out. But he would never say anything during the war; he wouldn't make that mistake twice.
"I have another mission for you my friend." At that moment Rob sprung out of his seat. "Where! When?" Mark jumped back a little at his reaction that he wasn't expecting. But he then found it natural for Rob to be like this. "I'm sending you on a little expedition to Nimbus. Sources tell us that there is a hidden Giziod factory there."
Rob's excitement faded. "So why send me?" Mark expected that question from him. He knew Rob only wanted missions that were crucial to solving the puzzle on the attack on his home world.
"Oh I think you will be quite interested in this factory. Our sources tell us that this Giziod factory was the creation place of the Giziods for Nega Sonic's personal army." Rob still looked at him with a grimace face. "So you want me to take down Nega Sonic's hand?"
"No Rob." DC jumped in. "I think I know why Mark wants us to do this. If these Giziods are for Nega Sonic's personal army then this factory would have produced the Giziods that were in the battle of Maynosha!" Rob's face lit up at that moment. "If the giziods that attacked Maynosha came from that factory, then the shipment, creation, and orders would be on record there!"
Rob was ready to jump for joy now, his heart raced as the thought of the factory in flames and he with the information he needed in his hands raced through his mind. The Pandorian Empire had Giziod factories all over, including on own controlled planets. The main factory was located on Pandorian Central. Rob guessed it would probably be where the bulk of the Pandorian Armada is coming from. To take something down of that magnitude would take at least half the Sonic Hero fleet. Though that would only be if they had a clear shot at it with no other distractions. To just get into Pandorian Central would take the power of Sonic and Shadow using the Chaos Emeralds. But that battle would be for another time.
What Rob was focused on now was the factory Nimbus, but he had a bad feeling about it as well. What if it was a trap? He ran this question through his mind over and over, he wondered where Mark received some of his intelligence. Sometimes it was accurate and others it was not. Another though crossed his mind, should he be on the mission? With Nega Sonic hot on his trail and appearing anywhere Rob went, it would seem apparent that he would find himself face to face with Sonic's doppelganger once more. Rob pushed these feelings aside and came back to reality.
"But how can we take down an entire factory?" Though the factory would be nothing like the one at Pandorian Central, Rob figured there would still be a tight defense, one that only an all attack could take down.
Mark waved his hand as if he were motioning to someone next to him. "Don't worry, this is not a sabotage mission. You'll be taking down the factory in preparation for our invasion force to land." So that's his game, Rob concluded. Mark wanted him to take down the factory to give him an opening for an all out attack. It made sense to him actually. In war the sabotage only works for a certain amount of time, gaining more territory would give the Sonic Heroes what they needed to press forward in stopping the Pandorians Galactic domination.
Rob then recalled the star maps he had memorized in his mind during his classes in the Maynoshan palace. Nimbus was located at the edge of the mid rim asteroid clusters, giving in a perfect launching point for an assault on the outer rim systems. With an asteroid defense surrounding the planet it's the perfect location for a sonic hero military base.
"Your briefing will be held on the way there. But what you must know is that you will not be alone on this mission. Team Rush, the group we deployed to Nimbus will aid you in this mission, on landing you will meet up with them." With that said Mark strode away.
The air was moist and humid as smells of the forest waved across Rob's nose. The sounds of various swamp and forest creatures echoed throughout the area. The sounds were in harmony as if they were singing to the guests that landed in their swamp. Rob closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the forest, nature was a wonderful thing to him. Growing up on Maynosha he had always gone into the forests to explore. Of course he was sent with a troop of guards, but they were never able to keep up with him. The rush of jumping through the trees and moving with the sounds of the forest was something Rob loved. Not to call himself a nature boy but he sort of felt at home here.
He opened his eyes to see Chris vigorously swatting at mosquitoes, Zeke was doing the same as Rob and taking in the atmosphere from the forest, DC just stood close to Rob, and Dash well, he stood looking up at the moss roof above their heads that was shaped by the various trees that towered over the Spin Dash. It seemed to him that Dash didn't really didn't have anything he liked about the galaxy. He was always serious and focused about the mission or really any situation. The only time he saw Dash smile was in the heat of battle as he obliterated Giziod after Giziod. He also seemed a little lonely, Rob thought, maybe he needs a girlfriend.
Rob's thoughts were interrupted by the crunching of bark and grass that lay on the ground as four girls walked towards them. Lead by them was a red cat with blond hair, she looked harmless but Rob knew from experience never judge by someone's looks. She stopped in front of Rob and looked him over, and then she spoke. "You must be the Sonic Heroes Mark told us about, I'm Amarena, and this is team Rush. She motioned her head towards the three others behind her. A wolf known as Agatha, a lion called Elsa, and another hedgehog by the name of Sarah. There wasn't much Rob knew about them though.
Rob nodded at them. "Right then nice to meet all of you, okay now time to get down to business. Where is the factory?" Amarena turned and pointed in the opposite direction. "About 5 clicks' from our current position. There is a heave layer of ground defense and an energy shield preventing any aerial strikes. Mark put you in charge of this mission so what's our objective beside the obvious."
Dash stepped forward and pulled out his data pad with a map of the area surrounding the facility. "There are three objectives, take down the shield generator, shut down the Giziod production lines, and get the information we need." The feline's ears perked up, "Wait? I thought our mission was just to blow this place up?"
Dash shook his head in response. "The reactor would be to heavily guarded for us to get into it quietly. If an alert is triggered to soon we'll have Nega Sonic himself down here before we have time to blink. Plus if we blow the place up we won't be able to get the information we need." Dash looked toward the factory. "All we need to do is take down the shield generator and shut the factory down so that no more Giziods can be created when the factory the Sonic Heroes begin their assault.
Amarena had a blank look on her face. True blowing the factory up would be much more convenient than going to all the trouble to shut the shield and factory down. "But this is Nega Sonic's personal factory, once the factory is shut down an wouldn't he be alerted? He would still show up and as far as I know none of us can even stand a chance at winning against him!"
"Nega Sonic is already taken care of." Chris jumped in. "Mark had already considered that factor. That's why he commissioned Team Hero to lead the planetary assault." It all made sense now to Amarena, Team Hero was lead by the one and only true blue hero himself, Sonic. Next to Rob, Sonic and Shadow are the only Sonic Heroes capable of fighting Nega Sonic with a chance of winning.
"Well then let's be careful not to trigger any alarms before they-" A high pitched screech blasted all over the forest. "-get here!" Everyone from Team Chaos and Rush jumped to their feet and located the two Giziod scouts that sounded the alarm. "Take them! Before they can report are position!" Dash was already in the air before Rob could finish. He summoned multiple Chaos Spears and hurled them toward the Giziods. The two Giziods were fast; they jumped back into the trees before the spears got them. Dash landed on the ground with Amarena and her team charging past him. Amarena and Sarah jumped into the trees, while Agatha went on all fours into the brush. Rob was quick to respond, he jumped into the trees with DC and Dash, while Chris and Zeke stayed below following Agatha.
Amarena was a blur of movement as she leapt from branch to branch, somersaulting over the fines in quick bursts of speed. Dash had to admit for a girl she had skill. He was never one to be impressed with anyone he worked with aside from Rob. But he was an exception; Rob's hero made him the only exception. But Dash noticed she wasn't using any powers or special abilities, just her natural skill. Dash noted her in his mind and decided to charge after her using multiple chaos controls to keep up with the red cat.
Rob leapt higher with DC into the upper canopies formed by the trees. The grove around them was thick and congested. Vines lay in all directions and tree branches stuck out at the most unexpected places. Rob still loved the thrill and the rush of the chase; it was something that brought back so many good memories to him. He pushed the memories back in his mind and focused on the Giziods. They were swerving and dodging trees as they tried to fly faster away from the group.
Dash and Amarena were the closets to them and coming up fast. One of the Giziods turned and shot a rocket out of its left arm. The rocket hurled at Amarena who was helpless to do anything to stop it in time. She was thrown up by an invisible energy force as the rocket flew under her. The rocket exploded on impact of a tree. The enormous plant toppled from its own weight and fell dragging fines and other plants with it. Rob was behind DC and Elsa. He noticed the tree plummeting in their direction. With a burst of speed he leapt ahead of them. In a quick swipe he severed the tree in two to stop it from crashing upon DC and Elsa. Rob looked back up and jumped to another branch with the two.
Amarena regained her balance in the air and landed on a branch perturbing from a near tree. She looked back and saw that Dash had used Chaos control to throw her above the rocket. She quickly nodded a thank you and resumed the pursuit of the Giziods. They were already far ahead of the Sonic Heroes' and gaining more distance. Dash and Amarena locked eyes and smirked at each other. Dash jumped ahead of her and formed a Chaos field around his body; he was expecting Amarena to throw a punch or grab him and swing him. What he received instead was a powerful blast of fire hitting the field and sending him at great speeds toward the Giziods. Dash for a second was surprised that she had the ability to summon fire, but he decided he'd ask about it later.
Dash dived at the two Giziods and dropped his fist down into the back of one of them and the Giziod went down with a clunk. He didn't take a second to look up and fire a group of Chaos Spears at the other. The Giziods toppled upon impact. Dash stood up cautiously as the others arrived at his position.
"We'll they know were here now." Rob said summer saluting of a tree branch and landing near Dash, along with Sarah, Elsa, and DC. Amarena ran up to Dash and smiled. "Thanks for the save back there." Dash noticed how nice her smile was and turned hiding a little blush. "Er no problem." He shook his head to get rid of the blush. Dash turned to Rob. "So what now fearless leader?"
Rob looked up and pondered for a moment. "Well the best thing to do is charge them head on!" Zeke could've sworn he lost his hearing at that moment. "I'm sorry but did you say charge them head on?" Rob smirked; the best plan was the charge the factory head on. Time was running short and since the factory is aware of their presence it would take twice as long as it normally would to sneak into the factory. The fleet was going to be arriving soon and without the shield down, the troops would be sitting ducks without any heavy aerial support. The shield and anti-air turrets were the primary target. Splitting up into three teams would be the best approach. He turned to the rest of the groups.
"Ok here's the plan. We'll split up into three teams. From what I have read about Team Rush's profile Elsa you come with DC and I to the central control systems where we can shut down the Giziod production lines and get the information we need. Agatha you go with Zeke and Chris to shut down the anti-air defense. Finally Sarah and Amarena you go with Dash to shut down the planetary shield."
Amarena stepped in. "And what if this Nega Sonic shows up?" Nega Sonic was drawing closer to the planet and it would only be a matter of time before he would attack. "That's easy; he will come after me as always. I'm his objective, and once the Sonic Heroes get here Sonic will take care of Nega sonic."
The three teams charged out of the brushing into the sight of the Giziods. There was not much cover aside from some trees but it would have to do. Rob had his sword drawn and already in movement as blaster fire started raining down on them. The teams split in the directions of their targets toward the facility. Giziods drew their lines in the ground but were blown away as the teams quickly advanced. Robots were no match for organic skill. Dash leapt above the battle and carried Amarena and Sarah over with the flick of his wrist. Chaos control was a very useful tool in battle.
Rob darted down the path of the Giziods and split his single blade into two separate blades, he jumped toward the factory entrance with Elsa and DC covering him. He tore through the factory entrance and landed being met with another stream of blaster fire. Giziods surrounded them but met a quick end with the spinning of his two blades. DC and Elsa followed in. DC jumped over Rob and tore down two Giziods to her left while Elsa jumped up and flipped over the railing to the upper level of room. She came up landing her foot square on the face plating of a Giziod sending it over the railing. Her skill and technique Rob found impressive. The team cleared out the room and started towards the factory. Rob felt shivers go down his spine.
"He's here… " Rob commented as he ran.
DC looked at Rob with a worried look. She felt the dark presence too. The overlord's ship entered the planet's atmosphere and began its landing sequence towards the factory. "Nega Sonic…"
To Be Continued