CHAPTER ELEVEN: REUNION OF THE CHAOTIX
Mighty continued to smile back at the heroes without saying a word. Vector stepped forward in anger. "WELL AREN'T YOU GOING TO SAY ANYTHING?!" Mighty stumbled back in fear. "V-Vector! Hold on-" The raging crocodile grabbed him by the arms. "YOU DISAPPEAR FOR 4 YEARS AND THEN COME BACK WITH SAYING A WORD?!" Vector took Mighty in with a huge hug. "WHAT MAKES IT WORSE IS THAT YOU DIDN'T EVEN CALL OR WRITE OR VISIT US! WEREN'T WE FRIENDS? DON'T YOU CARE ABOU-"
Espio quickly hit Vector on the top of his head, causing the sulking crocodile to release his hold on Mighty and fall onto his back. "Ouch! What was that for, Espio?" Espio turned away to face Mighty. "We don't have time for you to finish your tantrum, Vector!" Vector stood back up, rubbing the top of his head. "Hey, I'm a sensitive guy!" Espio went over to Mighty. "Where have you been all these years?" Mighty scratched his head. "I'm sorry guys, I should have made more of an effort to keep in contact with you guys, but I was having so much fun traveling the world!"
Silver walked over to Mighty. "I'm sorry, but who are you? I've never met or heard of you before." Charmy flew over and landed on Mighty's head. "This is our friend Mighty!" The armadillo laughed. "I see you haven't changed Charmy!" Espio jumped into the conversion. "We first met 4 years ago when we all teamed up with Knuckles to defeat Dr. Eggman and Metal Sonic on Newtrogic High Zone. After that, Mighty left to travel the world while Charmy, Vector, and I stuck together." Charmy flew off of Mighty's head and appeared in front of him. "So what places have you gone to?" Mighty smiled. "All over the world! From Westside Island to Spagonia, even Chun-nan and Future City. I also met one of Knuckles' friends on her travels too!" Vector folded his arms. "A friend of Knuckles? Oh, you must mean that girl…" Silver went to introduce himself. "My name is Silver the Hedgehog, time traveler and future Knight of Kronos." Mighty shook his hand. "Wow, a time traveler! I never met someone like that before!" Silver nodded his head. "Well, this is all interesting. I wonder why I know nothing of you?"
"It doesn't matter why because soon all of you will cease to exist."
The heroes turned to see Bass hovering above the street, glowing with black energy. Mighty lowered his eyes in exhaustion and let out a sigh. "Oh, I forgot about him. We better deal with him first and talk later. Hopefully later, I can apologize to the owners of the cars I threw!"
Silver's forehead began to glow again as he raised his right index and middle fingers to touch it. He closed his eyes and focused his energies. Even though his eyes were closed, Silver saw four white globes in place of the Chaotix. "Head Cage! Extend!" The four mobians foreheads briefly flickered with cyan light. Silver opened his eyes. "You're all good to go!"
Dozens of shuriken appeared around the cloaked robot. He grinned sinisterly. "Fire Style: Burning Shuriken Shower!" The ninja stars ignited with huge flames. Bass launched the burning stars at the 5 mobians. Espio reacted first. The ninja chameleon jumped back up the lamppost on the other side of the street. He formed a hand sign. "Ninja Art: Kunai Ninja Storm!" Espio threw a kunai down at Bass. The blade multiplied into 50 more. Espio's attack intercepted Bass', with the kunai pinning the burning shuriken to the ground.
Vector leaned back on his tail. "Vector Breath #1" Vector inhaled a large amount of air. He then released a concentrated, burst of sound waves from his mouth. The attack took shape as a stream of various musical notes. Bass protected himself with the Black Shield technique. The sound waves blasted Bass' shield, causing it to crack. While Vector struggled with Bass, Silver and Charmy (with Mighty in tow) took flight. Silver flew above Bass and raised his left arm. "Psychic Knife!" The white hedgehog swung his arm in an arc as cyan energy shaped like a knife shot from it. The Psychic Knife joined in on the struggle against Bass' Black Shield alongside the Vector Breath #1. The shield continued to crack under the pressure.
However, Bass was not giving up. He managed to grin even in his predicament. "If you think this is enough to defeat me, then you are gravely mistaken!"
Charmy hovered above Bass alongside Silver with Mighty holding on to the hyperactive bee. "Here we go, Mighty!" Mighty agreed. "Okay Charmy, let's join the party!" Electricity emitted from Charmy's wings and trailed its way down to Mighty. "Thunder Shoot!" Charmy threw Mighty into Bass' direction, and the armadillo activate his Spin Dash. Mighty's electrically charged Spin Dash proceeded to strike Bass' shield. The heroes quickly gained ground against the cloaked menace.
The Black Shield cracked more and more. Charmy cheered Silver, Mighty, and Vector on. "Go! Go! Go! Guys! WHOO!" Espio watched from the lamppost. "It seemed your skills aren't enough to defeat all of us working together. Teamwork is key when fighting a strong opponent. A key that you lack. There is always strength in numbers." The diamond shaped shield was slowly breaking apart.
A psychotic grin appeared on Bass' face. "Teamwork? Strength in numbers!? Ha! How pointless!" Black energy blanketed over him.
"Darkness Overload"
Bass created a massive dome-shaped black shockwave from his body. The blast broke through his Black Shield and completely erased Vector, Silver, and Mighty's attacks. The 5 heroes blown away by the dome's force. The dome's diameter expanded further and further before it stopped progressing. It flickered for a few seconds. The dome glowed with a bright white light. A pillar of destructive white light pierced the sky and created an explosion that leveled the surrounding area of Station Square that the heroes were fighting in.
The heroes were render unconscious by the blast. Vector awakened to the destruction. His eyes widened in shock, and voice trembled. "Wh-Wha- WHAT HAPPENED!?" The crocodile fell to his knees. He turned his head to the right and saw Espio, Charmy, and Mighty lying unconscious in the ruins. "GUYS!" Vector ran over to his teammates. He grabbed Espio. "Come on guys! Wake up!" Espio slowly opened his eyes. "V-Vector? What happened?" Vector let his head down in shame. "Bass…He destroyed this entire area of Station Square…" Espio looked around. "We're fine, but the civilians..!"
"They're all fine"
Vector and Espio turned around. Much to their surprise, they saw Silver kneeling on the ground. He was severely injured, but was glowing with his cyan energy. Vector ran over to the injured hedgehog. "YO Silver! You look awful!" Espio began walking over to the two. "Yes you do, why did you take so much damage?" The chameleon stopped before he could reach them. "Wait, you said the civilians were fine…."
He looked at his hands and then back at the unconscious Mighty and Charmy. He noticed nearby wreckage was starting to shift as well as commotion going on a short distance away. Humans began climbing out of destroyed buildings and cars. Espio looked back at Silver and Vector in shock. "Everyone in the area is relatively fine! Except for Silver!" Espio quickly ran over to them and knelt down next to Silver. "Silver, did you save us?"
The white hedgehog smiled, though he was in great pain. "There was a delay between the dome's expansion and the explosion itself. I managed to…locate every living being that would be caught in the blast radius with my telekinetic powers. When I did that, I-I pulled all of my power and encased everyone in a shield….."
Espio was at a loss of words. Vector spoke in his place. "But, you sacrificed yourself in the process!" Silver glanced at Espio before he gave a small chuckle. "A-a ninja is one who must make difficult decisions for the sake of the innocent, right?" Silver grinned as he lost consciousness and collapsed onto the ground. Espio was taken aback by his words. He closed his eyes. "That's right, comrade." Espio stood up. Determination filled his eyes. "You did all of us a favor, now we'll do you a favor, friend." He tilted his head back. "For whatever reason you are here, Silver…" Espio's gaze locked onto a particular building in the distance. The ninja chameleon clinched his fists.
"I vow that the Chaotix will get you past here!"
Sitting on the edge of the building was the evil Bass. His legs were crossed, and his head was leaning on his fist. Bass was completely unfazed by Espio's will. "Oh? You'll get that almost dead hedgehog away from me?" Bass stood up on the edge. "I'd like to see you try!"
Vector joined Espio in facing Bass. "Espio, are you sure about taking him on? You saw his power." Espio remained determined. "The Chaotix never go back their word, right Vector? Didn't you make up that policy?" Vector laughed. "Haha, you're right, Espio, I did!" He quickly became serious. "This is going to be more difficult, you know. You noticed it too right?" Espio nodded. "Yes…..the Head Cage is gone. I noticed it disappeared after I woke up." Vector nodded. "So, we're in quite a bind, heh" He took a battle stance. "Let's go…..Espio."
As Vector and Espio prepared to engage Bass in battle, Mighty and Charmy appeared next to them. Mighty cracked his knuckles. "Don't think you're going to leave us out of this." Charmy fixed his helmet. "Yeah! We're going to fight too!" Vector grinned. "Alright guys, I think it's time to show this creep what Team Chaotix can really do!" The rest of the team shouted in unison. "RIGHT!"
Bass scoffed in annoyance. "How do you always remain so positive and upbeat? It's very irritating." He leapt off the building and landed on the ground. "Fine, just come at me!"
Espio faced Vector. "Vector, I need you and the others to distract him while I focus my Chakra." Vector grabbed Espio's shoulder. "Wait what!? Are you going to use that jutsu?" Espio nodded. "Yes, it will be an attack that I will not allow him to copy."
Mighty knelt on the ground. "You got it, Espio! I'll go first!" Mighty curled up into a ball and began spinning. "Spin Dash!" Mighty launched himself toward Bass at high speeds. Bass was surrounded with light blue energy. "Keh, Sonic Boost!" Bass charged at the incoming armadillo. Their two attack clashed and they instantly repelled each other. After sliding a few feet away, Mighty quickly recovered and attempted another attack on Bass. The dark robot recovered as well.
"Stone Fist!"
A giant fist of rock erupted from the ground and headed toward Mighty. Instead of dodging the attack, Mighty proceeded to punch the stone fist. Upon contact, the rock shattered into pieces. Bass appeared to be surprised by this. "What?! Could his physical strength exceed that echidna?" Mighty dashed toward him and brought his fist back. "Well, I may be just a little bit stronger." Mighty landed a decisive blow on Bass' stomach.
"Seismic Punch!"
The strike shook the earth as well as producing a shockwave that blew away all the debris close by. Bass fell to his knees, completely stunned by the attack. Mighty moved in for another strike. However, his fist was caught by Bass. The robot grinned as he pulled Mighty forward and struck him in the chest. "Seismic PUNCH!" His attack produced another earthquake. Bass then drove Mighty into the ground with his fist, forming a small crater. Bass looked down at Mighty as he struggled to get up. Bass stomped on his chest, driving him into the ground more.
"Hmph, Déjà vu…."Bass grabbed Mighty by the throat and lifted him up. "Ahh, it doesn't matter. I'm just going to finish you off now." Before he could finish him off, Vector appeared and slammed his tail on his face, pushing him back. Charmy also charged in and head-butted him in the chest. Bass released his hold on Mighty. Vector grabbed him and jumped back, creating distance between them and Bass. Charmy rejoined them as Vector helped Mighty up.
"Yo, are you okay Mighty?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine"
"You sure? He did hit you pretty hard"
"Yeah, just a little roughed up, but nothing I can't handle."
"Okay well, prepare yourself. I'm pretty sure I made him mad."
Bass wiped his face in disgust. "I guess this doesn't surprise me that you'd pull a move like that." Vector stepped forward. "What is that supposed to mean?!" Bass pointed at him. "It means idiots like you only fight with cheap shots! Now, burn away by your own attack! Flame Breath!" Bass unleashed a large stream of intense flames from his mouth at Vector and Mighty. The crocodile chuckled. "Heh, if you think that's all I got, then you are in for a surprise!" He inhaled a large amount of air.
"Vector Breath #2!"
Vector exhaled and released a small surge of brilliant flames. The two streams of fire collided. The Flame Breath dwarfed the Vector Breath #2 in size. However, the flames of Vector Breath #2 quickly consumed it, catching Bass with its fire. A burst of flames erupted on impact. Bass escaped from the flames encased in the Black Shield. "How? How did your flames overcome mine? Whenever I absorb an ability, the strength of that ability is doubled when I use it!" Vector sported a smug grin. "Vector Breath #2 burns at a temperature higher than anything on this planet. It has the power to ignite everything even other flames. So I'm glad I used Flame Breath first!"
Mighty tapped Vector's shoulder. He turned in response. "Huh, what is it Mighty?" The armadillo scratched his head. "Uhh, didn't I hear Espio say the Head Cage was gone?" Everything dawned on Vector at that moment. He hunched down in shame. Charmy patted him on the head. "
It's okay, Vector. No one will be surprised by your mistake!"
"Thanks Charmy…"
Bass levitated off the ground and advanced toward the two heroes. "Now that annoying Head Cage is gone, I can absorb your powers."
Suddenly, Espio landed before Bass, surprising everyone. "This is where we depart, Bass"
"Leaf Ninja Lotus Strike"
