Well, here we go again. This round, I'm doing another 2 act deal. Act 1 will serve as a continuation to last chapter, and a spiritual successor to the fluff moment in chapter 2, more or less. The second half? Let's just say something HUGE occurs. Get ready for that.

The second attack begins NOW! Brace yourselves!

I don't own Sonic - is this needed anymore?

Golden Prevalence

Chapter 7: The Second Attack

Act I: Separate From Reality

"I love you too."

"I know."

Nothing mattered from then on - only her. It had been about an hour, but we had barely moved. I felt her head nestled in my chest, her slow breaths caressing my fur. It was... utterly amazing. She was so beautiful... so kind, so gentle... I couldn't take my mind off of her anymore. I had no thoughts - she had become them.

"Cream?"

She had fallen asleep in my arms. I rubbed her head softly, the fur in her ears conforming to my hand's movement. The situation invoked what I can only describe as the most remarkable feeling I'll ever hope to experience. I couldn't help but smiling a bit, and I kissed her softly on her forehead. She dug her head further in my chest, her legs sprawled along her bed, mine crossed to support her.

I heard them talking downstairs... I heard Amy crying... I wanted to go down there to see what was wrong...

But Cream was more important.

I had talked to Sonic about the entire thing, and he just told me to do what I thought was right, so I did before, and I continued to do so at that time...

I love her.

But I wanted to move. I moved slowly, letting her head drop with the general movement of my hand. And finally, she was resting on her pillow. However, of course, as I was walking out of her room...

"Tails?"

She woke up. I looked back and she looked at me with a sort of longing in her eyes.

"Hmm?"

"W... was I asleep?"

I smiled. "Yeah, you fell asleep on my chest."

She turned a bright red. "Oh! Uh... sorry Tails!"

"Heh heh! It's okay Cream... I would've stayed, but I'm getting pretty tired..."

"Oh..." she frowned, "but now I can't sleep..." She then looked up at me and flashed her eyes... she was using herself against me... and God did it work.

"Aw... alright, I'll stay."

She grinned, and I sat down on her bed again. She embraced me and kissed me on the cheek, and I kissed her back.

"I love you, Tails."

"I love you too, Cream."

She laid back on her pillow and slowly but surely drifted on to sleep. Meanwhile, I had promised her I would stay in her room for the night... so I couldn't sleep.

I presumed. I found myself unable to stay awake... so I fell onto the other side of her pillow, and slept next to her.

I woke up later in the night to find I had put my arm around her and she had come much closer against me, but I ignored it and went back to sleep.

Act 2: The Gate


South Island was long ago corporatized by humans who found the island to be only inhabited by animals. The result was the United Federations, a country that has become the world's superpower. In it, there are no real states, but Federal Zones such as Station County, Central County, and the newest county, the County of Worlds, as named by its figurehead "princess," Elise. The people of the County of Worlds follow a different life then those in the more corporate Station and Central counties. They believe in old customs and try to keep their land as pristine as Westside Island. Each County has its own semi-capital, Station County's being Station Square, Central County's being Central City, and Worlds' being Soleanna, the "City of Water."

May I suggest attacking Central County next, Master Robotnik? Central City is the capital of the UF, after all.

Eggman, Third Person POV.

"No, GOPHEr, not just yet - that is also GUN headquarters, after all. Thank you for the information lookup, however."

"Yes, Master Robotnik."

"In fact, for your cooperation, I have a reward!"

"Master?"

"I'm uploading an AI upgrade into the system - you will become one of my most advanced AI constructs, besides maybe Metal Sonic, of course."

"Download system active."

"Good GOPHEr! Now then, open wide."

A slot on the Mark II's dashboard opened, and Eggman inserted what looked like an SD card into the slot.

"GOPHEr... upgrading... voice profile upgraded... core system upgraded... AI system upgraded..."

Within 30 seconds, the upgrade was complete. A normal male's voice came out of the speaker.

"Thank you for the upgrade, Master Robotnik."

"My pleasure, GOPHEr - now I have someone to discuss my conquests with."

"A shame you can no longer rub it in the hedgehog's face, Master."

"Yes, well, the price of victory, I suppose."

The doctor looked up. The sunset in Soleanna was invert. It was dawn, yet looked like a morning's twilight. The windshield of the beast was like its eyes. It truly looked like what it was named.

"When are we activating the extent of Project VENOM, Master?"

"Tomorrow, I suppose - after I take down the County of Worlds, I think I'm going to unleash VENOM's full power on the Capital County. GUN has much more strength now then they used to."

"Yes, Master, completely logical. After you unleashed Project Chaos, GUN was formed, correct?"

"Yes, precisely."

"So logically they strengthened themselves after you unleashed the Flames of Disaster?"

"Correct. Well, I'm surprised they took notice - to this day, the County of Worlds considers themselves to still be a territory of the United Federations and not a Federal Zone."

"That explains the figurehead Princess Elise."

"Precisely! You see, I tried to get the government on my side by ridding them of the figurehead so they could truly take control in the County of Worlds, and for a while, they were on my side."

"Explaining their robots and not your badniks attacking the hedgehog, am I correct?"

"That upgrade has done you a world of good, GOPHEr."

"Yes. My logic board was incredibly incapable before you upgraded it, Master."

The doctor smirked at his brilliant creation. Everything was going uphill for him after his defeat at Soleanna 7 years ago. He looked upon Soleanna now - how beautiful it was. 7 years since they had last encountered him.

No one knew what he was planning. He had been charging the ship overnight since he issued the alert.

And yet, even so, the government had gathered the biggest army it was able to and put them all into the eastern Kingdom Valley.

He had his sights aimed at the west, the area he called Crisis City. The economic center of the County of Worlds, and the place where the government had ordered the citizens to evacuate to.

Yes, he was going to kill a lot of people today. The military was on high alert, but they thought he was attacking Kingdom Valley, not the city. His meticulous planning going swimmingly. He had checked his cameras - everything was in place.

Except for him.

"Doctor, it would seem that the gate has been unlocked."

"NOT YET!"

"It was only a matter of time, Eggman."

Sanity? What was sanity? Did sanity exist anymore? What was his classification? What has his world turned into? What has he turned into? Images. Images from his past. Murder. He wanted that taste in his mouth...

One. More. Time.

One. More. Time.

What was beyond the gate? What was beyond the gate? W.h.a.t.w.a.s.b.e...y.o.n.d... the...ga.te...?

Was there even a gate? Was there anything?

ONE MORE TIME. YOU KNOW YOU WANT...

No... I am more than that...

NO...

"You know, Robotnik... there is nothing you can do anymore. Unless you find a personal requiem, like I have..."

The GOPHEr saw his master. The GOPHEr felt his pain. Was there a gate? Had he reached it?

The doctor, shaking furiously around the cockpit, tears falling from his eyes, shook his hands and balled them into fists, and screamed loud into the air, screamed at nothing...

"STRIKE NOW! STRIKE SO I CAN SEE!"

Nothing.

"VENOM! STRIKE! MAKE THE STRIKE, DAMN YOU! SCORPION!"

He screamed, louder than he ever had, pounding his rock-like appendages down onto the control panel. And the SCORPION... it leaped. It powerfully vaulted its gigantic hull into the air, lunging toward Crisis City.

But then... a video transmission appeared on screen. Robotnik didn't pay attention to any of this. The SCORPION crashed onto the city, killing several people upon landing, already making its mark. The crash echoed throughout the County of Worlds.

"Dr. Robotnik... it has been a long time."

"YOU! WHY HAVE YOU -"

The figure on the screen looked menacingly at his once master, once partner. His now-robotic eye zoomed in on the mass of red that was now Eggman.

"Hmph. I figured you, of all people, should know. We have base in the Jungle, you know."

"Yes, but my matters are my own."

"You threaten to destroy the world this time, Robotnik! You killed the hedgehog! It's not like the kitsune will be held back!"

"HE'LL BE TAKEN CARE OF."

"Yes, well... take care of your business, Eggman. We'll take care of the kitsune as was agreed 12 years ago on Westside."

"NO! THE KITSUNE IS MY BOTHER! YOU ARE NOTHING - YOUR ARMY IS NOTHING!"

"Doctor, I let you test your damn machines on me to prove my loyalty, and now you're throwing me and one of the world's most powerful armies out the door. If you do not let me do what I will with the kitsune... all of Cocoa will be Hellbent on your total annihilation."

"I AM GOD!"

"There is no God, Robotnik."

"KUKKU!"

The SCORPION latched its claws onto the two of the Four Ecos - an economic center spanning 4 of the tallest skyscrapers in the world, let alone Crisis City. It climbed up and down them, spewing its venom across the streets. The government began to pack in.

"THERE IS NO GOD, ROBOTNIK. THERE IS NO GATE!"

"KUKKU!"

"LISTEN TO ME, YOU GOD DAMNED FOOL! I AM NOT ONE OF YOUR BADNIKS! THE BATTLE KUKKU ARMY CAN ASSIST YOU ONCE AGAIN, IF YOU JUST STOP DELUDING YOURSELF! YOU ARE NOT GOD!"

"I AM GOD! I AM GOD! BOW DOWN TO ME, FOR I AM GOD!"

"ROBOTNIK!"

The menacing looking bird snapped his frail wings and a powerful machine behind him took flight.

"DO YOU WANT WAR, ROBOTNIK? IS THIS WHAT YOU'RE COMING TO?"

Robotnik's hand slammed onto a button. The transmission ended, and Robotnik started another.

"Hell- DOCTOR EGGMAN!"

"Hello again, Mr. President. I am here not to threaten you, but to inform you of the identity of the recent attackers."

"What?"

"Yes Mr. President. It seems the SCORPIONs are being controlled by the Battle Kukku Army."

"You mean the group of renegades who took over Cocoa Island 13 years ago?"

"The very same."

The President furrowed his brow.

"That could cause a problem. Their presence in the jungle in the County of Worlds and on Cocoa Island matches the strength of my GUN army."

"Exactly, which is why I think we should stop them now. I had intercepted a transmission which stated that they would be attacking Kingdom Valley, so I requested an alert in that area."

"Which is why our civilians are dying in Crisis City right now, correct?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. President - everyone makes mistakes."

"Yes, but those are the kind of mistakes no one can afford, Eggman!"

"It's not like the government is perfect either, Mr. President."

"Hmm - quite. Everyone makes mistakes!"

"Yes. Heh heh."

"Well then... why should I trust you?"

"I've been neutral for the last 7 years."

"But the reports say that the machine has your name all over it."

"You think the Battle Kukku would tell you they did something like this? They forged my logo, and they named the beast the Egg SCORPION. That proves nothing."

"Point indeed. So... what next?"

"Knowing the dictator personally, I'd say round up an attack upon the jungle, now, before they get a chance to launch another one."

"Right."

The president pushed a button on the table beneath him.

"General - get all the available forces we have and send them to the jungle in Worlds. We found our culprit."

"YES SIR, MR. PRESIDENT, SIR!"

"Robotnik - what about Cocoa?"

"Once the attack on Crisis stops, extract the soldiers from Soleanna and send them to Cocoa. Oh, and again, I am sorry for causing the death of those citizens in Crisis - they must have detected the interference."

"I understand... it's not like..."

"It hasn't happened before? Oh yes, definitely. But let's forget about that now. I shall help your efforts on the Kukku from the sidelines."

"Right... what do your ships look like nowadays?"

The doctor thought back.

"Birds! Yes, this year's theme is birds!"

"Just like the Project Chaos days, Eggman?"

"Yes! Precisely the feeling I was going for!"

"What is the color scheme I can use as an identifier then?"

He thought back to the video transmission.

"Green and black, sometimes blue and yellow, or all those colors with red!"

"Oh, so Mexican themed?"

"Kind of."

"Very well then! I'll tell the GUN Commander the specifications of the ships."

"Right. They are inspired by Kukku's old ships, ironically enough."

"Oh are they now? Right then! And the Kukku will be in the SCORPIONs, I suppose?"

"As far as I presume."

"Agreed. I'll see you on the battleground."

"Indeed."

"However- this is only a temporary truce. You are still considered a neutral threat."

"I understand completely. I'm surprised you're even considering what I say as fact."

"We don't have much time. We have to go with whatever we can, and we do know that Kukku has been planning another resistance for some time now. We should have considered this earlier."

"Quite."

"Thank you, Eggman."

"My pleasure."

He pressed the button on the dashboard. Things couldn't be going any better. He had even regained himself.

"SCORPION, finish Crisis off. GOPHEr..."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about that. I want you to prep Mark III."

"Would you like me to recolor one of them to help with the charade you've pulled over the government?"

"Yes! Recolor Mark I and have that one ready for me as well! I'll use that as my traveling one! Make sure it's in Eggmobile form for me!"

"Of course, Master Robotnik. You may have gone a little off board there, however, your brilliance never sceses to amaze - that was one of the most brilliant moves you've ever made."

"Hmm - if Kukku wants to threaten me, let him - I'll just take care of him and the government in one fell swoop."

"Indeed, Master."

He looked out the window to see his progress, and mused to himself...

The City of Water...

Now the City of Flame.

-END CHAPTER-

Well... whew. That was a quick one, wasn't it? 4 days only - that's it. Shortest wait ever, right? Yeah, quick wait. And what's awesome about this one is that its less than 3000 words long! Right on! But I've got a lot more ground to cover yet - story's nowhere near over.

As for the chapter itself... God that was fun to write. I can't wait until you see what Eggman turns out to be at the end.

As for next chapter... review and you'll know more... 2x more Tails in it than the other chapters! REVIEW PLEASE, I WORK REALLY HARD FOR YOU READERS! XD