Inked Puppetry: Shattered Minds (Chapter 4: Mutual Kill)

The Suppression Squad and Destructix had reconvened in the Great Hall, whith Mephiles floating above them, arms folded. The Squad had been surprised by the sight of Scourge's new body, bulkier, taller, sturdier, but otherwise, they waited for the deity to speak.

"The time has come to launch a first assault. I wish to see how this will go. Anima, I will need you to create some drones to use. Everyone else, arm yourselves." He commanded. They nodded, most of them splitting off, leaving only Miles' family and Fiona behind. "Do you not have somewhere to go?"
"No. We need no other weapons, and I want to watch over Anima."
"Fair enough."

A taller, entirely grey copy of Anima began to take form, eyes glowing purple. Another one appeared beside it, then another, and another. Hordes of Anima copies formed, organized into a large team, standing at attention with a dull look on their faces.

"Done." She said, still keeping as much distance between her and Mephiles as was possible.
"Excellent. Now prepare yourselves: I will not be joining you in battle, but I will be watching."
"Why not assist us?"
"I'm looking to see how well you perform on your own."
"I see." Miles nodded, scowling. Surely, he already knew what they were capable of. He knew far too much already, not knowing how well they did would be strange.

***

In Tails' lab, Emerl stood in the middle of the floor, while Blaze and Silver stepped back, their own auras fading. The robot's third optic closed, and he snapped his fingers, creating a small flame in his palm. Clenching his fist, the fire went out, while a teal ring illuminated on the back of his palm, and everything not bolted down took off, spiralling around the room a few times, before landing back in place.

"Nice..." He grinned at the two newcomers, before quickly crossing to Nicole and embracing her. She returned the hug, leaning on his chest, closing her eyes and smiling softly. "Missed you, Niki."
"We saw each other yesterday."
"Still missed you." He replied, kissing her. They savoured it for a moment, before Nicole tensed, and released him. "What is it?"

"Warp Ring, on the hill above the city. Lot of Anarchy Energy too..."
"Okay, Emerl, I want you to wait for my signal. Silver, Blaze, Nicole, with me." Tails took charge, already heading for the door. "Rotor, we've got a Moebian incursion, I want you to hold the for here with Em and Nicole. I'm not sure who else will be assisting, I'm going to talk to Sally about that."
"Right. Good luck."
"Thanks." Tails took off at a pace, Silver and Blaze following behind him, as he reached a finger to his com-bead, and tried Sally's channel.

"Tails?"
"Moebian incursion. Nicole detected a Warp Ring and a load of Anarchy Energy."
"Do we know how many of them are here?"
"No."
"Then I'm bringing everyone."
"Send Amy to help Rotor in the city. Emerl can't go out in public."
"Good point. See you there."
"See you there."

***

The shaky alliance between Suppression Squad and Destructix stood on a grassy hill, overlooking the city. All of them, save for Miles, Fiona, and Anima, were armed. Even Scourge had two knives in his pockets. The hedgehog strolled towards the edge, staring down at New Mobotropolis.

"This it?"
"They lack my family's taste for the overly grandiose." Alicia shrugged.
"The whole thing is made of nanites..." Anima mused. "Maybe if I can connect to it, I can control it."
"Do not worry about that." Mephiles interrupted. "Nicole is stronger than you for now."
"Oh, right."
"We're just waiting here for Blue to arrive, right?"
"Essentially."
"Why not go and trash the place?"
"They'll have picked up our signatures, and set up a lockdown." Miles replied. "Of course, if you feel like trying to body-check the shield, then go right ahead."
"Shut up, freak. So, how long's he gonna take?"
"Not long." Mephiles said.
"For the benefit of us without time powers, how long?" The hedgehog sighed.

Before Mephiles could respond, a flash of green rippled over them, as Silver appeared, surrounded by Tails, Nicole, and Blaze. A second later, another flash went off, as Sonic brought himself, Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine into the mix.

"I believe that answers your question." Mephiles 'smiled' again.

"So, that's Mephiles?" Sonic tapped his foot. "Looks kinda like Shadow and Rouge had a kid."
"Mock him all you want, he's still the one pulling all the strings. Be careful." Silver commanded.
"Who's fighting who?"
"No time for that, they're comin' already!" Bunnie shouted, as the two opposing forces approached.

In a flash, Sonic was gone, ramming his elbow into Scourge's ribs, at the same moment that the green hedgehog's fist made contact with his stomach. Both stumbled, Sonic winded, Scourge suffering a cracked rib.

"Gah, Destructix, tear him apart!" He roared. Simian nodded, and lunged for Sonic. Lightning jinked around, going for the opposite side, while Predator dropped from above. Eyes flicking upwards, the Freedom Fighter triggering a boost, shoving Scourge into a tree. He looked over his shoulder to see the mercaneries rounding on him.

"Focus on Scourge, I'll handle these three!" Blaze shouted to him, rushing forward.
"You sure?"
"Yes, n- look out!"

He whirled, a moment too late, and received his twin's boot in the stomach, knocking him down. Blaze stepped forward to assist, but her path was blocked by the mercenary trio.

"I thought you said you were going to fight us?" Predator smirked. "If you're confident enough to take us all on, then maybe this might be a decent hunt."
"Hunt?" Blaze scowled, raising an eyebrow. "You know what they say about cats and birds, right?"
"Uh..." The hawk blinked, as a devilish smile crossed Blaze's lips. She snapped her fingers, and immediately, all three were engulfed in fire, the inferno springing from beneath them. They screamed, struggling to escape the blast, until, with a second snap, the flames went out, and all three collapsed. Looking up, she spotted Sonic grabbing the collar of Scourge's jacket, throwing him to the ground, and dropping a spin attack on his torso, quills slicing into his skin. Satisfied that he could handle himself, she turned her attention to the rest of the chaos.

"Now, who else wants to try me?"

***

The hilltop had dissolved into Chaos. Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine squared off against their counterparts. Both squirrels held highly unconventional blades- Sally's was double-ended, forming an odd curve, blue energy flowing along the sharp edge, while an odd, spring-loaded hinge sat at the base of each blade. Bunnie brought her cybernetic parts to bear against her counterpart's full mech, though she also had a personal shield generator attached to her organic arm's gauntlet. As per usual, Antoine dueled Patch with his sword, holding an advantage due to his having both of his eyes. Nicole, meanwhile, stood opposing Fiona, both staring apprehensively at the other. Suddenly, Fiona broke, hurling two energy bolts at her former friend, only for them to rebound off of her shield.

"That's new..." The lynx mused, reaching out and skimming her mind. Flashes of memories, fears, and nightmares reached her, and she dropped the barrier. "You're afraid. You don't know who you should be fighting for... Don't worry about it, your beams can't hurt me."
"They can't?"
"They're light, and so is my body."
"Oh yeah, hologram."
"Indeed... Hold on, I'm just running a check on the others." She said, as Fiona continued to pitch bolts at her, each disappearing harmlessly off of her barrier. "Good news, everyone, Fiona seems to be mostly free of Mephiles' influence at the moment. She wouldn't commit to attacking me until she was assured that I can't be hurt by light-based attacks."
"Miles is being pretty non-commital too... " Tails replied. "I'll see if I can talk to him."

Above their heads, Miles dodged past everything Tails threw at him, flying away to maintain some distance.

"Mind telling me what's going on?" The Prime fox demanded. He paused, folding his arms as he watched his counterpart carefully. "Fiona's acting more like herself, and you're not even trying to fight me... I want answers."
"Very well." He replied, mimicking Tails' posture unconsciously. "You're evidently aware of who Mephiles is, and I presume you've become aware of what he's done with Fiona's mind."
"He brainwashed her, or did something. Whatever happened, he messed with her head, and made her act differently. He's why she went with Scourge."
"Exactly." He nodded. "Mephiles appeared to me, and asked Alicia and I to shelter Fiona, since Scourge has become... disenchanted... with her."
"Meaning he's turning violent?"
"Yes. However, I'm certain that Mephiles is playing both sides. He's working with Scourge too, and I'm not sure who he's in favour of, but I'd imagine that it's Scourge, given his antagonism towards you. I think killing her will suit that."
"We kinda worked that out on our own." Tails shrugged. "Why did you agree to work with Mephiles?"
"I didn't. I agreed to help Fiona, and I'm going to help her by leaving her with you." Miles replied. "I accepted the deal because he made thinly veiled threats against Ally and Anima, and before we came here, he transformed Anima into an organic, and she had... issues with that. I'm trying to protect my family, so I'm having to play rules lawyer a bit."
"Family?"
"Oh, yes. I married Ally not long ago. We felt a real spark when we created Anima together. As for her, Ally copied Nicole's code when we were in Freedom HQ. She's rather nice most of the time... I was hoping that, were she to meet you, it would be on better terms, but alas..."
"Oh, we've been destroying those drones... Blaze is melting them, won' t that hurt her?"
"Fortunately, she doesn't feel their pain."
"Phew... Well, we know Fiona was brainwashed, so she should be free from persecution... Although it doesn't seem to be much of an excuse for some of them. Nicole's getting a lot of stick for getting enslaved, even though Sally accepted responsibility for the gaps in her defences."
"Better to deal with them than get killed by that brute."
"True... I'll get Nicole to tell Fiona about this." He said. "Nicole, I need you to tell Fiona that Miles and I discussed her situation, and the current plan is to just leave her here with us."

On the ground, Nicole suddenly dashed forward, fading from view, before reappearing with her hands on Fiona's head.

"What are you-!?"
"Sshhh, I'm setting up a mind-link so that we can communicate privately.
"Oh, this is weird..."
"You'll get used to it. Anyway, Tails and Miles have compared notes, and the plan appears to be to have you stay here with us. We know what happened to you, that Mephiles has been messing with your mind, so we can make sure you don't face jail time for what he made you do."
"So what do I do?"
"Throw the fight. We're in such a position where I can convincingly catch you. You won't be able to help us with the Squad, but when we end this, you'll be coming home with us."
"Thank you."

The link broke, and Fiona slumped to her knees, feigning a mental attack, and allowed Nicole to form a light barrier around her body.

***

Nearby, Sonic crashed into the ground, Scourge bombing towards him, only for the blue hedgehog to vanish in a cloud of dust. Scourge landed, turning as he tried to catch sight of his double. A foot cracked against the back of his skull, knocking him forward. Two hands snagged his jacket, dragging him backwards, as Sonic twisted, turning the hold into a throw. He grinned, jumping into the air and curling up. He shot forward, slamming into his head, rebounding away and landing neatly. Scourge rolled back to his feet, and turned, ramming into him again. Sonic allowed the hit to launch him, then dropped straight back to the ground, driving his foot into him.

"You're really slipping, green bean." He smirked. "Ever since you first turned green, you've gotten weaker. The first time, you took both me and Faker on, and beat us. Now? Shadow would've beaten you by now, 'cause he hits harder than me."

Scourge swung a hammer blow at Sonic, catching him off-guard. Stunned for a moment, he was unable to block the second blow, the knife lashing out and jabbing into his knee. Snarling in pain, he dropped to the ground, his opponent tearing the blade out.

"Mock me all you want, but you're still going to die." He grinned, raising the knife again.
"Yeah, about that..."

A small bolt of lightning stabbed into the green hedgehog's back, sending him into a fit of pain, as Nicole grabbed Sonic and carried him back, putting him in another forcefield, as he grabbed his injured knee and charged energy into it, flesh knitting back together slowly. The current stopped, and Scourge slumped slightly, his clothes smouldering. He turned, looking up as Tails descended, smoke rising from his right gauntlet.

"Really?" He groaned, as the fox touched down, namesakes arcing behind him. "You're gonna take me on?"
"If you don't think you can handle me, then by all means, you're welcome to give up."
"Well, what do ya know, the kid actually grew a pair..."

Pocketing the knife again, Scourge broke into a run, only to receive another prolonged shock. Knocked off his feet, Tails' hand closed around his neck, and he took off, soaring up above the treeline. The electric gauntlet sparked up again, and slammed into his stomach, releasing him at the same moment, sending him wheeling away. He began to fall, body still wracked with pain, unable to reorient himself. Before he could hit the groumd, though, Tails snagged him, shocking him again and hurling him upwards. Pointing his hands at the rising hedgehog, he unleashed another lightning bolt, striking him in the back before letting him fall again.

This time, when Tails caught up to him, he stopped his namesakes for a moment, then flipped himself over, as it starting a mid-air spin attack, brought both of them, hardened and sharpened, down onto his head, smashing him into the ground.

"You might be tough, Scourge, but you can't fight when you've got no footing, and yourmuscles are spasming due to electrocution." The fox smiled, slowly bringing himself back down to land. "You okay, Sonic?"

"Yeah, healing's a bit slow, but I'll be fine."
"Good..." He grinned, stepping past Scourge as he aimed to engage one of Anima's drones. The other Freedom Fighters turned back to their respective tasks at hand, leaving only Fiona to notice Scourge recovering all too quickly for someone who had recently suffered multiple electrocutions. His head was bleeding now, and he rubbed his back, as if questioning why his spine hadn't snapped. Then he turned to face the fox, currently blasting another drone, and pulled out one his knives, rushing him.

"Tails, watch ou-!" Fiona cried, banging her fist on the wall of her shield bubble, a little too late, as the blade slid between his backbone and his shoulder-blade. He screamed, staggering, as Scourge caught him by the loose material of his shirt. The whole clearing stopped, and immediately, the Freedom Fighters had bigger concerns. Even Miles just stared from his vantage point, struggling to comprehend what was happening.

The shields collapsed, and Sonic rushed forward, only to stumble on his damaged leg, as Scourge plunged the knife into his victim's stomach. He tore it out, sideways, and then jabbed it into he chest. Drawing back for another strike, he was forced to change tact when a steel toecap collided with his temple. Wobbling backwards, he looked up to see Sally landing in between himself and Tails, tears streaming down her face, pure malice radiating from her expression, as the closest thing she had to a son of her own fell into Nicole's grip, and part of his gauntlet began to blink frantically. She charged him, only to receive the same response, and with his blinding speed, he quickly snagged her by the throat. He squeezed, lifting her off the ground, as he grinned at Sonic.

"So, after I've snuffed Queenie here, and finished off the mutant, you wanna be next?" He crowed. Sonic didn't respond, pushing himself upright, he hobbled as quickly he could muster, not slow by any means, but not fast enough to challenge his double. Scourge's foot snapped out, cracking into Sonic's skull, and knocking him down again, before turning back to Sally, still kicking and clawing at him as she struggled to breathe. He lifted the knife, turning it over in his fingers, as he prepared to jab it into her.

Then, with a soft click, the hand he was holding it in exploded.

At first, it had felt like a trio of needles piercing straight through his palm. Then, the hand itself had liquified, exploding into a mess of gore and twisted fingers. Scourge screamed, dropping Sally as he moved to clutch his injured limb. She scooted back, as all heads turned to see the source of the shot.

Lingering in one of the lengthening shadows, a Mobian shape with a three-pronged crest stood, holding its right arm outwards. A trio of gleaming blue lights activated on his face, as Emerl stepped into the light. The gizoid emblem on his right forearm was glowing, smoke rising from it. His mouthplate was shut, his optics blank.

"Leave, now." He hissed. He turned his hand over, clenching his fist as the teal, circular markings on Silver's hands appeared on his own, and he released a telekinetic wave, throwing all of the Moebians backwards. He walked slowly forward, watching Scourge's hand recover far faster than it should've. A warning flashed up on his HUD, Temporal energy detected.

As he approached Scourge, his left arm split open, armour pieces spreading out, as more parts filled the gaps. A rocket motor popped out of his elbow, the plate on his hand lifting up to allow two barbed spikes to extend from his knuckles. His right hand folded away into his wrist,the underside of the arm opening up to allow a gleaming, golden energy blade to extend from it.

The Gizoid broke into a run, boosters on his back firing up, the elbow rocket exploded into life. Scourge responded in kind, boosting forward. Pointing the sword forward, the outstretched blade forcing his foe to divert. Jinking to his right, that proved to be a mistake, as he ran right into the range of his left arm. The rocket-powered fist slammed into his right pectoral, spikes stabbing into his flesh. He dragged the spurs through his body, shredding muscle, rupturing blood vessels, tearing out two sizeable wads of flesh. Howling with pain once more, Scourge clutched his chest, teal light surrounding him again. He lifted into the air, turning over, and crashing back down. Sweeping his arm aside,, Scourge scraped over the ground, digging into the dirt. He was pulled free, thrown into the air, as Emerl's left arm returned to its normal configuration. The wrist gun fired, three shots stabbing his his shoulders, an another set into his gut, leaving him to crash down. His hand changed again, replacing itself with a large hammer, which he smashed down on Scourge's head, before switching back to his hand once more. He grabbed the hedgehog's throat, hoisting him into the air as he raised his blade, a ring of fire exploding around them both.

"I'm going to gut you."
"Fuck off!" Scourge roared, jabbing his foot into the robot's gut. He flinched for a moment, then brought the blade down slicing the leg off at the knee. Ignoring the screams, he continued the motion, cutting through the other one as well.

Mephiles, watching from above, sighed, and pitched a small orb at tbe Gizoid, blasting him apart from Scourge. He dove into the fire, grabbing the hedgehog by the shoulder, and jumping back to the rest of the remaining Squad.

"I have seen enough..." He said. "We will return." He snapped his fingers, and the whole area was plunged into blackness., obscuring everyone from each other's view. When the light faded, everyone who had arrived from Moebius was gone, Fiona included.

"Just when it couldn't get worse, he took Fiona..." Nicole groaned. Emerl turned to face the others, crowded around Tails' body. Sally cradled him, tightly holding onto his barely-breathing form, Sonic by her side, Antoine and Bunnie huddling around, trying to dress the wounds, all of them sobbing.
"What about Tails?" He asked "Is he-?"
"A-alive..." The fox wheezed. "Silver is helping me breathe... But it won't help for long..."
"I can see that... Niki, I can get him to the hospital before he dies." The golden robot announced, stooping to take Tails from his surrogate aunt. "I need you to go on ahead and set things up."
"Right..."

Emerl scooped Tails into his arms, and fired all four of his engines, blasting into the sky. He aimed for the city, soaring towards it, as Nicole vanished into the ether again. The others began to stand, Bunnie and Antoine supporting their friends.

"Silver..." Sonic snarled. "You came back here to help us... You said we all had a role to play! Was this what Tails' was? Stabbed to death by Scourge as some kind of sick motivator?! Some object to make Fiona feel guilty enough to shrug off the brainwashing!?"
"No..." Silver said. "I can save him. There's a way to do it, though it's risky. Blaze and I will get the object needed, you guys go back. By the time you get there, we'll be back already, time-travel and all."
"Silver, are you talking about..."
"Yes."
"We can't do that to him."
"Do what?" Bunnie demanded.
"You're not going to like it, but it's how Tails survived a similar event in my timeline, and we have the tech to make it almost a non-issue."
"What are you talking about?"
"We have to use Hyperion's core."