Spyke, with Jeckres' weapon in a baseball stance, stood behind Sonic, who had begun a second spinball. He floated a foot in the air and was causing a vacuum that forced the Yajus to dig his spiked feet into the steel floor. He glanced over at the Kemao with a half-apologetic smile on his face. "Jeckres, just letting you know, but K'Natata may break..."

Jeckres, who remained sitting with his back in a corner, shrugged and sighed. "Whatever, Spyke. Just do it. You'll make me a new one."

The Yajus chuckled, looking back at the rapidly spinning blue sphere in front of him. "Like I know how to do that... Blue boy, you ready!" Sonic didn't, or rather couldn't, answer, as a full-forced swing of the paddle smashed into him.

The lone force of Sonic's spinball held strength, but was unable to damage the door before. However, Spyke held as much muscle as Sonic did speed. The combined potential energy with the force of Spyke's swing released the hedgehog faster than any known machine could possibly record. His motion created a whirlwind through the room for a brief moment that pushed everyone back into the walls they were closest to. However, it lasted for only a moment, as Sonic seemed to have completely disappeared from the room.

Spyke pushed himself off the back wall and looked upon the result of his work. Where the darkened door once stood was now a large hole, the high-pitch sound of an object traveling beyond the sound barrier pouring through it. The Yajus casually stepped through, the rest of the group following at spontaneous moments. As he glanced around the corner, Spyke couldn't help but have a quick laugh. He had found Sonic. He attempted to force his eyes to follow the blue sphere, which at this point had lost much momentum, as it ricocheted back and forth between the same two walls, and dug his feet into the floor, reaching both arms into Sonic's pointless path. He caught the hedgehog, but the remaining momentum smashed him into the wall with the last movement.

After a brief moment, the two pulled themselves off the floor, Sonic still stumbling with a hand over his face. "I...don't..." He braced himself against the wall with his other hand. "...How fast was I going?"

Cloudy stepped by them, searching his brain for a suitable analogy. "...Like greased lightning striking a speeding bullet stuck in a bat out of hell."

"Oh...wow..."

The crushing pressure against her forehead had long left, but the touch was far more than enough. Cosmo lay curled on the floor with her head cradled in her hands, shrieking in agony. With a single touch from Dareth's black hand, a maelstrom of agony coursed through her mind, as if tearing apart her very sanity. The feel of lightning coursing through her brain was unbearable, and as she managed to pry her eyes open all she could see was the cold, dark palette in which no other image may surface. She closed her eyes again, concentrating, willing the pain away. However, the harder she fought, the worse it became.

The pain grew and spread, now encompassing her entire body like an inferno engulfing a meek sprout. She writhed, clutching at her arms and legs as the feeling slowly reached such a macabre epitome that she could almost feel as her skin tearing back. Then, as if she had received mercy, the fire and the lightning, the figurative blades against her skin, and the murderous, unending panic lifted, as if they were a thin blanket pulled away. Breathing heavily and with tears streaming down her face, Cosmo slowly pulled herself to her feet, steadying herself against the wall. She had kept her eyes shut, fearing what she may see, but now opened them. Just as moments before, there was nothing but the cold blackness. However, across the room, standing out with a somehow depressing light, was the familiar kitsune, still motionless on the floor. The sight of his sprawled figure filled her with sorrow. Cosmo took uneasy steps toward him, the same words repeating through her head: Be alive, be alive, be alive...

"Kind of painful to look at, isn't it?" Cosmo stopped and spun around to see the menacing creature from before. Dareth, surprisingly, did not wear his unsettling grin, but rather a solemn, serious look. Although he didn't glow in the same way as Tails, he still seemed to stand out against the sheer darkness. "Makes you wonder, doesn't it? Does he still live?" He snorted as Cosmo glanced back at the kitsune before resting her gaze on him. "Forget him. I would be far more worried about you right now." He began taking strides toward the Seedrian, who naturally began taking steps back. "I was wrong. Ahea was far more correct than I had realized. The two of you can connect. Perhaps even more than I..."

Cosmo jumped as she suddenly felt herself against what had to be a wall. The murky ebon disguised all objects, even the wall to her back. She glanced over at the motionless kitsune, the light around him beginning to dim. "...Please..." Cosmo looked back at the still approaching creature. "...I don't know what you want, or why you're doing this... Do what you want with me! I don't care! Use me however you please! Just help Tails!"

Dareth looked over at the subject, actually considering the Seedrian's offer. Eventually he shook his head, focusing his attention back on the girl. "Too much trouble. Besides, it's not as if I'm asking your permission." He held his arm out in front of him and the sudden crash of glass breaking filled the room. Hundreds of shards of jagged glass flew over to and formed a circle around his wrist, the sharpest edges pointed directly at Cosmo. "If I want you to do something, if I want something from you, if I want you...then I'll take what I want. I don't need your permission." He closed his hand into a fist and each shard shed away fragments of themselves until they resembled small darts. "Now hold still..."

Cosmo squeezed her eyes shut as the first dart began its movement, sticking into the wall less than an inch from her face. Each dart followed suit, shooting off toward the Seedrian. A few seconds passed, the only sound being the rain of glass arrows into the wall. The near silence was broken as Cosmo screamed out, the darts now purposely landing closer, nicking across her skin in various places. The blade rain suddenly stopped as Dareth spent the last of his ammo, Cosmo now bringing herself to open her eyes. Wildson balanced one last dart on his finger, larger than the others.

"I must say, I'm jealous..." Dareth shook his head, the glass still perfectly balanced. "And here I thought I would be the one choice of Ahea." He sighed and suddenly disappeared, a horribly enraged expression flashing upon his face in his last moment of visibility. The sharpened glass floated in the same position as before, but seemed to be slowly increasing in size. Cosmo took this moment to attempt to pull herself off the wall, but remained stuck, her clothes pinned to it. She looked back up at the glass, which had now grown to the size of a full-length mirror.

However, instead of reflecting her own body, a foreign image filled the glass that was most certainly not Cosmo. It's body was thin and wrapped in a black cloak. From its left sleeve emerged a skeletal arm, the hand disembodied and floating inches away. The right sleeve hanged loosely without an arm to occupy it. From the skeletal collarbone was a large feline-shaped head, pointed ears erecting from the top.

Cosmo stared in horror at the reflection, one single detail being pulled from her memory and placed directly in front of her. The entity wore no face on its head, but rather a single large, pulsing, horribly bloodshot eye, its gaze sharper than the cut glass. The eye gave off the same sick, hopeless feeling that radiated from Wildson, but coupled with it was such terror that she could do nothing else but stand, the feeling of ice pouring through her body. The entity's reflection stared into her silently for several moments. Finally, the eye flashed, shattering both glass and darkness at once, leaving her back in the empty room.

She looked around in a panic. Wildson had disappeared, along with the horrid image. Tails was still motionless on the floor. At last, her gaze rested on the room's entrance, which housed Sonic. He was looking straight down the stairs at the kitsune, slowly shaking his head. He quietly whispered his friend's name before slowly making his way down the steps.

"Sonic!" Cosmo attempted to move her arm, which remained pinned to the wall. Her call didn't seem to affect the trance-like state he was in. "Dareth's still here! Wake up!"

The hedgehog stopped halfway between the steps and Tails, staring down silently at the fox. "Dareth's still here..." He whispered the words quietly to himself, then hung his head back. "DARETH! STOP HIDING! WHERE ARE YOU!" His sudden rage filled both Cosmo and even himself with ice.

The familiar voice came from the top of the stairs. "Jeez, calm down. No need to yell." Wildson leaned back in the captain's chair, in Tails' chair, with his feet propped against the control panel. "After all, I'm in the same room. It's not like I couldn't hear you."

Sonic stared with as much rage as he could give off, Dareth's radiated sickness seeming to not even faze him. He clenched both fists tightly, shaking all over. "...What have you done to him...?"

He shrugged, chuckling under his breath. "Technically speaking, it was the fox that attacked me. I warned him what would happen. This is what happens when someone doesn't heed such warnings." He gave a mock frown. "It saddens me to say that he probably only has minutes left. His heart should be slowing to the point of stopping by now."

Minutes left... Sonic though. So there's still time...

Dareth instantly disappeared, reemerging at the opposite wall. "Sonic...the 'Approaching Nightmare', as the Letangs have called you."

Sonic turned around to face him again, but he had once again vanished. He, instead, looked at the pinned Seedrian. "And Cosmo? What have you done to her?"

His voice continued from somewhere in the room. "I have long awaited this day. I can now honestly say that I have met the manipulator of the Chaos Emeralds. Now, what if I can do better?" Now from somewhere else. "What if I can honestly say that I have defeated the manipulator? Such respect that will earn..."

The others will be here soon, Sonic told himself before looking back up. Dareth had now appeared next to Cosmo, the girl staring wide-eyed in terror. "Dareth!" Sonic bent slightly at the knees, ready to run. "You've caused enough damage already! You aren't going to just walk away from this, I swear!" He growled loudly before continuing. "Everything you've done to Tails I'll make sure is done to you!"

Wildson smiled from across the room. "Excellent." Again, he vanished, but this time reappeared a few yards away from the hedgehog. Upon his reappearance, he had suddenly pulled out his choice weapons: a short blade in each hand. However, instead of gripping the hilts as one would with a sword, he had run a finger through a ring carved in the back of each and was leisurely swinging them back and forth like pendulums.

Sonic glanced behind him at Cosmo. "Hold on, kid. I'll take care of him quickly."

"Let us see," Wildson responded.


I should have known this would happen... Spyke thought as he sprinted down the hall toward the bridge. The rest of the group followed closely behind him, besides, of course, Sonic, who had run on ahead. Leave a group alone with no means of defending itself and it will become the prime target...

"So you still think Dareth was behind that door and those lights?" Knuckles panted along beside the Yajus.

"Without a doubt! I know him. He only likes to pick fights that he thinks he can win. With all of us out of the picture he would have no problem picking on those two! If we were all against him at once, he would struggle..."

"We've fought him a few times before," Clames added, her eyes strictly to the front. "His tactics are awkward, but we've figured them out. If we pay attention it's a relatively easy fight. I'm worried about Sonic, though." The entire group slowed down to turn a corner, then continue straight ahead. "He's never dealt with him before! I hope he's a quick learner..."

"Sometimes," Knuckles remarked.

"Hold on a moment," Clames suddenly blurted, skidding to a stop. The rest of the group followed the action. She looked back down the corridor to find it expectantly empty. "Where's Jeckres? Wasn't he with us?"

"Probably lagging behind on purpose," Spyke growled, shaking his head. "After all, this is Cosmo we're trying to help. Just leave him." He once again picked up the run, everyone following behind once again.


Sonic and Dareth stared each other down in silence for several moments, each awaiting a move from the other. Cosmo remained pinned to the wall, no longer bothering to free herself. Tails, however, was still sprawled across the ground, now demonstrating slight motion from occasional twitching.

Dareth was the first to move, suddenly disappearing from sight. Sonic took a step forward, fists clenched tight. "Dareth! Get down here and fight!"

As an answer, a loud swish of air roared at him from behind. Sonic turned around in time to see one of Wildson's blades spinning through the air at him at high speed. He leaped to the side, barely avoiding the sharpened steel as it ricocheted off the floor, launching back up into the air. As the hedgehog took a brief moment to watch the airborne weapon, another swish of air roared from across the room, Dareth's second blade now rushing at him. With even less time to spare than previously, Sonic quickly ducked into a ball, the weapon bouncing off the wall behind him. Sonic had enough time to unroll and realize that the first blade had disappeared from the air and was now held by the homicidal creature hanging from the corner of the far wall. With a quick spin that shook the air in the room, Wildson released the weapon once again, the speed giving Sonic less than a second to dodge to the side, which he proved possible.

I think I see it, Sonic thought, rolling away from and ducking a total of four spinning blades that Dareth continued to warp with and catch out of the air, flinging them back a moment later. He throws both, warps to one, catches and throws it, warps to the other, does the same thing, and repeats. He found himself ducking and dodging several pieces of sharpened metal as the thoughts played through his head. I can't even do anything but dodge! If I stop for even a moment, I'll be sliced to ribbons! I can't even get enough time to start a run!

Dareth's strategy continued exactly as Sonic had predicted, warping and throwing, warping and throwing, never staying in a single place for more than a half-second. The blades didn't seem to slow down: in fact, they seemed to be gaining speed, taking less and less time to fly at the slowly wearying hedgehog. Eventually, Dareth's constant, versatile attack took a great increase in speed as he ceased the catch-and-throw technique, now barely tapping on the ringed handles of the blades to send them in a different direction. The attack became less direct, each blade ricocheting off of multiple walls before launching at the hedgehog. The extra movements in the air, however, did little to slow the blades as their constantly increasing speed compensated for the extra airtime.

Sonic yelled out as one of the blades nicked across his rib, cutting with a noticeable depth. He was too slow to dodge. Each blade that fell at him met their mark, nicking into his arms, legs, and ribs. The blades continued to ricochet off every surface, but seemed to avoid Cosmo, who had long since squeezed her eyes shut in fear.

Through the whirlwind of blades and metallic clanging came Dareth's voice from multiple places in the room, as he seemed to occupy them all. "What's this? Is the 'Approaching Nightmare' slowing down? HA! You're no nightmare at all! How could the Letangs ever fear you?"

Sonic found the blades gradually launching from his right, now having to turn the same way in order to, however briefly before being forced to dodge to the side, witness their approach. Eventually he found himself having to rotate in a slow circle, along with the occasional jump to the side. Turn, jump, still get cut, turn, jump, get cut, turn, jump, get cut...

Fatigue began setting in faster than he believed as he quickly received more and more minor cuts. The room seemed to be spinning faster and faster between the flashes of metal bouncing all around him. Almost as if to provide relief, the blades suddenly disappeared, the repeated clanging and cuts ceasing with them. Sonic braced himself against the wall behind him, attempting to blink the sense back into his eyes.

A dark blurred figure, certainly Dareth, appeared directly in front of him, the two pieces of sharpened metal hanging from each hand. There was a sharpened swing of black and steel and a single impact, so much like a sledgehammer, lifted his entire frame off the ground and through the air, flinging him head over heels and into the wall beside the pinned Seedrian. He collapsed on the floor, barely conscious enough to make out the Cosmo's and Dareth's blurred images...

"Well, thus ends that little moment, wouldn't you say?" Wildson marched over to the barely-conscious hedgehog and gave him a swift kick in the jaw, knocking him clean out. "Some 'Nightmare' this one turned out to be. I've had worse dreams about other woodland mammals."

Cosmo built up the courage to open her eyes and glance down at the beaten-down hedgehog, quickly looking away at the depressing sight. She turned her gaze on the stoic wolverine in front of her. "You...didn't..."

"He lives. I must admit, I didn't exactly give him the fairest fight. I'm sure I would have had a bit of a problem if he had gotten moving. I heard he's fast...and I'm sure I would have been given a chance to find out for myself if I didn't take care of things." He glanced back at the kitsune. "One's enough for now, wouldn't you say?"

"Then...please...not even one! Just help Tails! He's hurt!"

Wildson looked away from her, staring at the wall for a long moment. Suddenly, before one's eye could blink, he spun quickly, his blades concocting what could be considered a small whirlwind around him. He released the swords at the climax, planting them into the wall on either side of the Seedrian's head, inches away from the extent of her hair. She squeezed her eyes shut for a brief moment with a gasp, slowly opening them after. "Listen to you," the wolverine continued, staring hatefully through squinted eyes. "So selective. He's not the only one, you know. Sonic lives, but I didn't say for how long, did I?"

"...But...you said..."

"'Save Tails, save Tails.' That's all I hear from you. Do you only care for him? Sonic lay here next to you. He is moving little more than that fox. Does that not bother you?"

"...I...of course! Why..."

"I can't call it selfish," he continued, twirling a sword around on his finger. "I think 'biased' would be the word. It's rather clear where your loyalty lies..." He suddenly stopped the sword and pointed both at the two unconscious Mobians. "Quick, Cosmo! Tell me! Of these two, who shall get to live? I have a feeling I already know the answer!"

She looked on, her expression unchanging. "You can't... No..." She shook her head violently, squeezing her eyes shut. "You can't do this! Both of them! Let them live!"

He suddenly appeared inches from the Seedrian's face, whispering with a sharp tongue that convinced her to look again. "I already know good and well... If I kill the hedgehog, you will be angry. You will cry, you will yell, you will curse my name... But the fox..." He looked back at the subject, then again at the girl. "I can see it in your eyes. You don't have to say anything. You would be broken. Your favorite little person, the light leaving his eyes..." He instantly disappeared, materializing near the kitsune. "I must admit that I'm jealous, though. I don't think I've met a girl who would be so badly hurt to see me die. But I'm sure that, given time, you and I will become the best of friends..."

Cosmo continued to stare, her eyes carrying more rage and confusion than she could muster. "Why are you doing this to us! To Tails, to Sonic, to me? We haven't done anything to you!"

"Ah, but it was your intention to, eventually. Why else would GMF take you along for the ride? Besides, I've already explained this. Although I'll admit this started as 'just business...'" He smiled widely, revealing his sharpened teeth. "it has grown to be the most enjoyable type of 'personal.' Like I said, there is something about your latent structure, your features so full of pain and tears, your misery, your anger..." He disappeared yet again, reappearing with an arm across Cosmo's shoulders. "Somehow, there is something in all of it that I can find...refreshing."

Cosmo attempted to lurch herself away from him, but remained pinned. Her struggling came to an abrupt end as she heard the sound of fabric suddenly tearing.

Wildson laughed loudly at the ceiling for a moment before settling his attention on her again. "Go ahead, run. Get away! You know you can. Of course..." He glanced down at the skin visible between the torn fabric at her hip. "That might get even worse."

She squeezed her eyes shut again, attempting to curl up as best as possible at the moment, tears now pouring down her face. "You're sick... You're disgusting! Why would you even think..."

He circled around in front of her and grabbed a lock of her hair, yanking her head toward him. "Oh, if you think things are bad now, just you wait..."

He lifted his other arm and slowly moved it toward her. However, he stopped and yanked back as a new voice filled the room. "WILDSON! GET BACK!"

The wolverine looked over his shoulder to the entrance, growling at the sight of a certain copper-plated figure. "Spyke. You know, I should have figured to seal you all back in the moment that hedgehog showed up..."

"Let her go, Dareth! She's no threat to you. However I wouldn't say the same about us!"

"Heh... Then where is everyone else?" He spun around, giving his black cloak an overly-dramatic flick through the air. "I seriously doubt you would come in here on your own. Should I be expecting some kind of surprise?"

The Yajus smiled, (over)confident in himself. He nodded slightly at the hall behind him. "Clames, surprise."

There was a loud crash, followed by a sudden metallic screeching as a blurred figure, the only thing evident being a large set of butterfly wings filling the entrance. The swishing wings obscured the long, metallic object held in her hands, which was swung like a blade down toward Wildson. A loud, high-pitch screech echoed from the pole at the middle of the swing, ending with a large crash and splintered ground where Dareth had stood. Once again, he disappeared from sight, but had removed his weapons from the wall. Where the shot had landed was now a large crater in the steel, the borders of which were now lined with flames.

Clames folded her wings into a cloak around her and aimed the spear(which apparently doubled as a rifle of sorts) down the steps, staring down its shaft. Spyke motioned toward the room's interior and the slender, wire-furred Zhagohst leapt in, landing on and digging his claws into the far wall across the room, his eyes scanning over the area in anticipation. In the corner, Tails' body suddenly disappeared from sight and reappeared at the top of the steps, Cloudy setting him gently on the floor as he emerged from some form of personal cloaking. By Sonic's side stood the dreadlocked echidna, fists raised in a defensive stance.

"Come out, Dareth!" Spyke bent at the knees, ready to make a leap. As if answering his call, the wolverine materialized in the center of the room, floating many feet off the ground. The Yajus kicked off the ground, speeding at him like a rocket with one fist readied behind him for a punch. Just as he neared and threw his arm forward, Dareth, of course, vanished yet again and his bronze fist smashed into the wall, cracking the metal around it and leaving him immobile. However, this did not seem to worry him as he looked to the mongoose positioned beside him. "Ready, Zhag?"

Zhagohst answered with a quick nod and a grunt, staring at the corner near the entrance. The wolverine appeared directly in his line of sight and spun, hurling a single sword at the immobile Yajus. "Clames!" He roared out the name and leapt off the wall, swinging a clawed arm at the weapon and sending it directly at the Kemao. Upon his landing he extended his claws to their full length, his headband unfolding into the lens once again, and readied himself on all fours.

Clames waited for a long moment with the scope of her rifle aimed directly at the blade, the sharpened metal spinning directly toward her. Only feet away from her, she noticed the spin suddenly stop. Taking it as a signal, she squeezed an obscure trigger and the high-pitch screech returned. However, it did not hit solid ground as before, but rather flesh. The blade disappeared and Wildson materialized in the center of the room once again. However, this time, his entire frame was engulfed in flames. He roared loudly in agony, thrashing around and waving his weapons midair.

Zhagohst leapt once again, corkscrewing with his claws spread outward. He collided into Dareth's flaming figure and knocked him forward, smashing him against the wall ahead. The wolverine fell straight downward toward the only one in the room who hadn't received a piece of the action: Knuckles.

The echidna clenched both fists tightly and reared a fist back, watching as Wildson quickly descended. He continued to scream even as he fell within feet of him, his eyes portraying both madness and pain. Knuckles growled deeply. "Lights out, freak!" He threw his arm forward with a full swing, his fist crashing against the skull of the beast. Wildson arced upwards once again and smashed against the ceiling, disappearing yet again after the impact.

He appeared once more in the center of the room, but this time panting on the floor, his frame still engulfed in flames. The group of currently able-bodied fighters stood, surrounding him, Cloudy excusing himself to go pull the glass out of Cosmo's clothes. He hanged his head back and bellowed loudly, "AHEA!" Strangely, a large bubble surrounded him for a brief moment, then popped, leaving a large puddle around him and putting out the fire. He was now even more a mess than before, charred fur, multiple deep cuts pouring blood, and a large gash in his head.

Spyke managed to free his arm from the wall and joined the group around the wolverine. "Dareth, how long are you going to keep playing us for fools?"

The creature only roared loudly in protest.

"I have had to fight you so many times that I should know by now. Warp, throw, warp, throw. That's all you ever do! You're pathetic!" He raised both arms in a combat position. "You're weak! You led us away, just so you could pick on some kids? How low a level will you bring yourself to?" He looked to the other side of the circle at Knuckles. "Knuckles, you said I can't win in a fair fight? Look at this man! This sad excuse of a man! He knows he can't win so he fights with trickery and attacks defenseless children!"

"SHUT UP!" Dareth screeched at an ear-splitting volume, rising to his feet while cradling his head in his hands. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UUUUUP! YOU!" He spun and pointed his weapon at Cosmo, his madness-filled voice petrifying her on the spot, despite having now been unpinned from the wall. "FORGET THE SALVATOR! AHEA WAS WRONG! YOU, JUST LIKE THE REST OF THEM, WILL BURN!" He looked around at the people surrounding him, his voice now quieter, but no calmer or less chilling. "None of you have seen hell...Not yet! But by the power and the purpose given to me, I will see each of you there, one by one. Ahea's infinite void will smother you all, he will drown out your light, your hope I'll see vanish...You will all know despair, you will know the terror, I will see you all...burn." And, with his last warning, the wolverine wrapped himself in his cloak and disappeared for good.


"CHANGE OF PLAN!"

Itera jumped, rising quickly from her partner's seat. "M-Dareth! Are you back already?"

The wolverine stumbled through the wall, tripping and falling face-first on the floor. Within the darkness, Itera could easily see him, and more importantly, his wounds. He was already pouring blood.

"Dareth!" She ran over and knelt down next to him, taking his clawed hand into her arms. "Dareth, you need a surgeon! I'll find one with haste!"

"NO!" He grabbed, squeezing her wrist with a single hand, his claws digging into her flesh. "I'll see him myself. There is a change of plans! Forget the second Salvator! Burn their ship! Tear them apart! Spyke must not be allowed to leave!"

She nodded, lifting her arm. On it rested a modified version of GMF's TSCA, which she hastily tapped the screen of. "Gunners! Cancel the Dissipators! Divert all energy to Nanomanipulators! Tear them up before they reach that Star Lane!"

Dareth pulled himself up, slowly limping toward the door. "That Lane is to Serverei, isn't it?"

She gave the TSCA a second tap, terminating the link. "Um, yes. It is."

He shook his head, grimacing from a particularly painful step. "Nanomanipulators are short range. I don't think we'll reach. And it will take too long to swap the main cannons out. Send Sagittarius to Veni Serverei."

She raised an eyebrow, slightly confused. "Veni? Are you sure they'll even land there?"

He roared loudly in response, slashing the steel door in front of him in. He took a moment to calm himself, panting heavily. "I'll make them land..." And without another word he phased silently through the door.


"Alright! We're not out of the woods just yet!" Spyke rushed over to the collapsed hedgehog and lifted his arm up, placing two fingers on his wrist. After a moment he scowled, noticing a very standard heartbeat. "Alright, wake up!" He threw the arm to the ground and reared his arm back, smashing his spiked fist against the side of his head. Sonic flipped completely over but opened his eyes, rubbing a hand over the lump just made. The Yajus shook his head at him. "Get your lazy rear up! We're not done!"

"You do realize," Cloudy remarked, closely studying the sharpened glass in his hand, "that, although you just woke him up, you could have killed him?"

"Either way, it's an improvement."

Cosmo, ignoring both the argument and the glass-made cuts she had received, ran up the steps and knelt down next to the motionless kitsune, running a hand over his face. She looked back down the steps, anger marking her expression. "Cloudy! Help him!"

The feline glanced at her, then exchanged glances with the Yajus. "Can you fly this thing?" Spyke nodded silently in response and quickly climbed into the control seat, Cloudy climbing the stairs and kneeling with the Seedrian.

Spyke thrust both levers forward, rocketing the hull with it. "No worries yet! There's no point in them firing more Dissipators if they don't plan on boarding." His steeled expression was suddenly melted as Clames answered from a window.

"Yajus?" She stared directly out the glass at the gargantuan ship flanking them. Her voice was filled with a chilling panic.

"What is it?"

"Yajus, we need to go! NOW!"

"What's wrong!"

"The flank cannons..." She pointed out the window, not that she would be able to specify much. Along the Bolt were multiple square tiles, each covered with a large cloth that attached to a hinge. The hinges were slowly lifting up, unveiling the tiles, a large gun barrel protruding from each one. "Yajus! I think those are the Nanomanipulators!"

"DAMN!" He suddenly slammed the throttles even harder, pushing them farther through their crevices in the panel than they were normally meant to go. His cocky attitude had suddenly swapped to one of fear, sweat beginning to pour down his face.

Sonic was beginning to stumble to his feet, slowly shaking his head. "Nano... nanomanipu... nanonanonanonano... What?"

He kept his gaze on the front window at a particular pocket of space, which he was apparently aiming toward. "There isn't a thing around that can survive one of those! It will corrode this ship faster than you'd believe! All we can do now is run! Cloudy, are the Lane Destabilizers ready?"

Cloudy was inspecting Tails' pulse before, much to Cosmo's dismay, he turned his attention. "I time released them, no thanks to a certain two individuals tumbling my pods around." He shot a quick glare at the 'two individuals'. "They're primed, they just await my command."

Cosmo put a trembling hand on the feline's shoulder. "Cloudy, please hurry!"

He blinked twice, having momentarily forgot Tails' situation. "What...oh, right!" He hopped to his feet and began rummaging through the equipment on a nearby desk. "His pulse is slow, which means his heart has slowed. It'll stop any moment, and at that point we should be able to resuscitate him with a strong jolt...but I don't have any defibrillators. Is there anything around here..." His gaze fell under the desk at a small box with many colored wires hanging from the top. On the box was a small dial labeled with numbers from one to one hundred, the higher numbers painted a deeper and deeper red. "Please tell me this is some strange way of his to measure voltage," he whispered as he dragged the box out and onto the table. Feeling the need to take the risk himself, he placed two fingers on one of the bare wires and turned the dial to ten with his free hand, immediately pulling both arms back as a series of sparks jumped from the wires. He stared down at his fingers, the tips now charred black. "Alright, I think this will work!"

Cosmo stared with worry at the box as Cloudy dragged it over to the downed fox, her eyes following the path of the wires as the feline placed them on his chest. "Wait, you said you were going to let his heart stop first?"

He nodded quickly, placing a hand on the dial. "Correct, then we use this."

"You're going to save him by letting him DIE?"

"He won't actually be dead, though, will he?" Sonic stumbled up the steps to the two with Knuckles' help, crouching down with them. "If you can get his heart working quickly?"

"Exactly." He placed his head sideways on Tails' chest, cupping an ear over the location of his heart. After this, he took his hand and placed two finger on his wrist. "Alright, no beat and no pulse! You guys get back!"

"Come on." Sonic pulled Cosmo to her feet and the three took a few steps back. Cloudy placed his hand back on the dial, rhythmically tapping a finger on it. Despite his calm demeanor, his heart was racing at full speed inside.

"Alright, Tails. Don't let us down. Wake up!" He cranked the dial up to thirty and sparks flew from the tips of the wires, effectively charring the fur on the kitsune's chest. He growled loudly as Tails made no response and cranked the dial up to fifty. The sparks, much larger now, continued to dance, and now Tails' frame shook violently in response, however ceasing at the end.

"Tails..." Cosmo stared miserably at the motionless fox, her arms drooping to her side. Sonic placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her."

"Come on, kid! You can't just let it all go like this..." Cloudy pulled what seemed to be a small rubber plate from one of his various pockets and pressed it down on the kitsune's chest, pressing the wires into him. With his free hand he cranked the dial to eighty. A few sparks flew from under the rubber device, but the compressed wires transferred a greater shock into him. His body shook one last time, ending with his stilled movement. Cloudy sat, staring at the motionless fox. He seemed devoid of emotion. "Considering how he measured the voltage, forty should have been enough. If that didn't work, no higher voltage should have had much more affect..."

"...No..." Cosmo slowly shook her head, stepping away from the other two toward Tails. "You can't... Cloudy! Try again!"

The feline slowly rose to his feet, eyes cast downward. "...There's no point. He's gone."

Spyke yelled across the room, slamming the throttles again. "I think they're loading the Dissipators. They're going to stun us, then shoot." He glanced back at the group, then returned his attention to the controls. "We'll all be gone in a minute..."

Cosmo sank to her knees, tears streaming down her face. "No...he can't be... Cloudy, please, try again! He can't just die like this! Please!"

"Yajus, I'll ready the Destabilizers." Cloudy slowly turned and began pressing small keys on his TSCA, his back to the sorrowful Seedrian.

She looked up at the back of his head. He's doing this on purpose. He doesn't want to look at me. She looked behind her at both Sonic and Knuckles, who were both silently staring at the fox. Sonic seemed to hold no expression, but Knuckles' fists were clenched tightly and he was violently shaking. "Sonic, please!" Cosmo covered her face with both hands, slightly smothering her words. "Tell him! We're not done! We can still help him! Can't we?"

Sonic stalled for a long moment before looking up at the feline. "...Cloudy, could you try again?"

"There's no point, and if I don't ready the Destabilizers we'll never make it out of here alive."

Cosmo threw her arms down and shook her head angrily. "No! You can't just walk away from this! If you won't help him...I will!" With sudden inspiration Cosmo crawled over to the wired box and put a hand on the dial, the other on the rubber pad.

Cosmo's sudden action pulled Cloudy away from his device, his eyes widening as he glanced at her hand on the dial. "Cosmo, get away from that-"

He was cut off as she spun the dial to one hundred and immediately threw both hands on the pad, pushing with all her weight. Tails' body began a violent spasm, mainly around the chest, as sparks occasionally jumped from the pad. The sparks were gradually increasing in size and began forming around the box as well as the wires. The smell of singed fur began to weigh heavily in the air and, for several moments, the spasm continued with no evident results. Then, apparently having run the machine dry, the charge seemed to calm and quietly buzz into a painful silence. Cosmo pulled her weight off the pad and sat back. An unrelenting sting remained in her eyes, the tears unable to stop. "...Tails..."

"Cosmo, I'm sorry." Cloudy placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know it must hurt. At least any pain he may have felt is over..."

The four remained, staring at the machine that had now failed to do its part. It sat with a dull silence, yielding no more charge. Then, with no warning(but expected by the others) Cosmo screamed out and swung a fist at it, glancing it slightly to the side. A small whir emitted from inside, but it soon faded. "...Why did Dareth have to pick on him?" Cosmo asked, not expecting an answer. After a brief pause she swung at the machine again, knocking it over. She continued, beating her fist again and again into its metal frame, stoic to the pain in her hand. "He...never...hurt...anybody!" Each word was accompanied with a smack of her hand. She ended the sentence with a loud scream as she gave the machine one last blow, the sound of something snapping in her wrist not seeming to bother her.

She jumped as the machine suddenly sparked once again, a loud whirring emitting from it. The box erupted in a cloud of sparks, which quickly raced down the wires and under the pad. The kitsune lurched as smoke emerged from it, ending with one last jump from his chest. His back hit the floor and, louder than any sound the machine had made, Tails...coughed. A single cough at first, but quickly erupted into a fit, hacking up small amounts of blood.

The three non-GMFs stared in shock at their now-conscious friend, Cloudy, on the other hand, inspecting the machine in confusion. "All it took was a quick beating?" The feline lifted the thing up with one hand, viewing it at all angles. "A few light smacks and then you give us the charge we need? That really figures."

"Tails!" Cosmo threw herself at the kitsune, wrapping both arms around his head and squeezing tightly. The sound of his muffled wheezing reminded her of his condition and she quickly sat back upright.

Sonic seemed the most calm, breathing a heavy sigh of relief. Knuckles, on the other hand, was wide eyed and looked obviously frustrated. The echidna reached down and pulled the fox up by the scruff of his neck. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT, TAILS?" Tails had now stopped coughing and simply stared, unblinking. "YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK! DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!"

"Calm down, Knuckles!" Sonic grabbed him by the shoulders, Knuckles, in turn, dropping his unlucky victim. "Give him a break!"

"Oh, I'm gonna' break something!"

The argument was cut short as the interior of the ship flashed a deep red, all eyes turning toward the piloting Yajus. "I knew it!" Spyke attempted to ram the throttles even farther. "They're firing the Dissipators again!"

"I'm afraid it's even worse than that," Cloudy added, returning his attention to the TSCA. "I'm detecting an object, smaller than before, boarding us at this very moment..."

Spyke suddenly ceased all movement of the throttles, slowly turning to the feline. "Smaller than before...Jaynu, does that TSCA measure ionic fields?"

He nodded grimly. "Yes, it does."

"...And?"

"It is skyrocketing."

"Iono," Zhagohst and Clames simultaneously answered.

Cloudy glanced back down at the device. "It's boarded. Tails, where's the highest concentration of heat or electrical energy on this ship?"

Tails, still panting from the trauma, managed to squeeze out a few words. "In...the engine room. The main power source is there, too."

"Ionos are always attracted to heat and electricity," Spyke noted, stepping out of the control seat. "Cloudy, I assume you can take the controls from here?" The feline nodded in response, replacing him in the seat. "Knuckles, Sonic, you two still have some fight left in you?"

Knuckles silently beat both fists together while Sonic scratched the back of his head. "I never lost mine, you know. If that Dareth guy had actually put up a fair fight I would have had him!"

"I'll take that as a yes. You two," he turned to the mongoose, "and you, Zhagohst. Come with me. Clames, can I trust you to stay behind and look after Cosmo and Tails? I don't want another incident like last time." The two nodded, accepting their respective jobs. The Yajus took a quick sprint to the door, stopping to wave the hedgehog and echidna along. "Come on, we've got a big fight ahead of us!"


Spyke, Knuckles, Sonic, and Zhagohst kept a brisk run down the corridor, Sonic forcing himself to slow down to the others' speed. "So what exactly is an Iono?"

Spyke growled as they took a turn around a corner. "I'm not really sure. Some sort of life form that Wildson created. We managed to get our hands on some mission directives a while back. Apparently, an Iono is a mix of biological tissue, a computer mainframe, and electrical energy."

Knuckles stopped for a brief moment before catching up. "Hold on, what?"

"It's living and it isn't. Good enough?"

The group eventually stopped at the torn entrance to the engine room, the pieces of the door scattered across the floor. Much to the group's surprise(and slightly to Spyke's relief), Jeckres stood in the center of the room with his paddle at full potential. The spikes vibrated in their slot, their screech echoing through the room.

"Jeckres, I was beginning to wonder!" Spyke, noticing the battle position the Kemao had taken, held both fists in front of him. "Have you been here this whole time?"

"Yajus, you may want to stay back." Jeckres glanced over at the two non-GMFs before returning his attention to the complicated machinery against the far wall. "There's an Iono rolling around here somewhere..."

"That's what we're here for... Ah!" The Yajus took a step back as what seemed to be a tiny diamond tumbled out from behind a hunk of machinery. It stopped in clear sight of the group before, almost timidly, it rolled behind another piece of equipment. "I think we've found our target..."

"That little thing?" Sonic took an inquisitive step forward, but was stopped by Spyke's outstretched arm.

"Don't get any closer. It's small now, but that shouldn't take long. Jeckres, your aim still as good as I remember?"

With one last flip of a switch, the tip of Jeckres' paddle unfolded outward as if it were simple clockwork. A gun barrel, previously hidden within the steel of the weapon, now protruded the exterior. "Not as sharp as Clames, but I think I'll manage."

The machine the small gem hid behind suddenly crackled with bright sparks and slowly quieted its continuous drone. Moments later the Iono tumbled from behind it, almost scurrying across the floor. With a quick movement of his arm, Jeckres swung the paddle, a large reddish mass crashing against the floor where it had been a moment before, leaving a small crater and flames in the impact zone. Apparently having missed, another machine along the wall ceased its action, quickly followed by more and more as the Iono sucked each one dry. The room's light began to dim, likely absorbed by the same jewel.

"Get ready, boys," Spyke warned, readying himself once again in his combat position. Knuckles, Sonic, and Zhagohst readied themselves beside him. "Five against one. I think we'll be able to handle this one..."

The Iono reappeared, now hovering above the machines surrounding it. It began spinning slowly, bolts of lightning crackling from its core and stretching to ever nearby surface. The light show continued for several moments before the gem suddenly froze in place. Tiny particles of multiple colors, similar to static on a screen, began to swirl around it, slowly forming a full frame. The swarming particles took the shape of a body with four arms encircling around the torso, each ending with a hand with large, flattened fingers. Where legs would normally be on such a model grew a collection of large tentacles, the cluster and quantity resembling a skirt around its waist. In the direct middle of the whip-like appendages pointed a single spike toward the ground, giving the entire entity the appearance of a spinning top.

The four arms clenched into fists, their lengths capable of stretching halfway across the room. "Beginning Objective A," a computerized voice emitted from the tiny crystal floating somewhere within its body. "Removal of immediate obstacles. Beginning Objective A, removal of immediate obstacles. Beginning Objective A, removal of immediate obstacles. Beginning Objective A..."