Chapter 13- The War Begins

Great Dessert, Day 7/7

700 hours

Slowly inching across the desert, the mechanical monstrosities of the WRU and Robotnik's creation crawled. Tanks and missles, robots of all shape and size, it was a truly a sight to see. Slowly but surely, the two armies game to meet one another. In the front was General K and a floating messenger drone, this one depicting the words of Robotnik.

"Doctor, we beseech you to surrender. This is the finest force of weaponry and soldiers the world has. Just make this easier on yourself and give up." General K was a replacement for the fallen General J (yes they have code letters. Get over it.) who had recently been killed from an accidently discharged gun. Pompous and young, he had just been promoted to general weeks ago. Pride was his joy, especially in those who would do the job for him.

"I see General," Eggman chuckled from his base. "May I ask why you want to attack my fine fortress?"

"You are currently in possession of at least four Chaos Emeralds, correct? Your exploits with them in the past has never been in the best interests of the planet. So you can understand our concern at you keeping them in your fortress," General K replied smugly. Of course, the army and Sonic have always stopped you before you've done anything. I myself doubt you even know what to do with those.

"So you honestly don't know what I plan to do with these, hmmm? Well let me give you a small preview.

The smile vanished from General K's face. "Y-you mean that you're ready to use it?"

"Oh-ho, not so cocky now. Well, if you don't want all of your men, weaponry, and entire power to be annihilated, I suggest you just leave. Because if you fire upon my mechanical army, then you will be in for quite a surprise. Go on, I will make no move to stop you." On the screen, the Doctor sat back, and smiled at General K.

He's not bluffing! Maybe his army is bullet proof? Or has a shield? But I've got to make sure! "Men, ready your strongest arms! Well, he'll be in for a surprise! That blonde chick will see it was the right thing to do, promoting me early on! Aim your rifles, but don't use scopes! We only want to test his army. And only 1 round of each weapon!

General K glanced at the Doctor and smiled. "Last warning pal. This barrage alone will take out your first line of defenses."

The Doctor merely smiled, and placed his hand in the obvious "go-ahead" motion.

Why is he so smug? Darnit, no time to change my mind. "Fire men, fire!

The volley of bullets, bombs, missiles, everything imaginable was astounding. Never before had such an attack been attempted by any army. This was total war. Shells fell, clankng against one another, the boom of explosives in the distance. But something was missing. The sound of bullets on metal, the sight of flying gears, and the smell of burning metal. None were there.

General K frowned and called for the attack to end. Shimmering and static crunching out in the army, the hologram was easily seen now.

The Doctor screeched with laughter. "Ahahahahahhahaha!!! Oh my god, that was great. The look on your face is even better than Sonic's when he actually thought there was a real army."

General K stood dumbfounded. But he soon regained his composure. "I should be laughing Doctor! You have no line of defenses to protect your fortress! You lose!

But still Robotnik sat and smiled. He cleared his throat, and looked directly at General K. "Yes, you are correct. I have no army to protect myself. But, you see, I don't even need to do anything do defeat the likes of you. All I need is for you to stand within 10 kilometers of my base, and you will be dispatched in due time."

"What the heck are you talking about? We already scanned this area; there aren't any land mines, or hidden weapons of any style. Just tons of empty space and then your base." But the General was faltering against Eggman. Sweat was forming on his forehead, and his hands began to twitch.

"You are correct. But I believe you wanted to know what I wanted to use the supposed 4 chaos emeralds in my possession for. Well, you will witness their purpose soon."

./././././././././././.

Robotnik's Base, Day 7/7

7:34 a.m.

Slowly moving through the halls, Shadow had covered as much as a third of the base in his night, without the avail of finding Amy. Fatigue was about to take him.

Dangit, how freakin' hard is it to find that pink chick? Hedgehog. Seriously I've gone through every prison chamber in this place.

Finally, Shadow came upon an odd room, filled only with a single transparent cylinder. Odd, I feel like there something familiar in here.

He approached it, and saw her curled up on the floor.

"Amy! Hold on I'll get you out!" He raised his hand to break the glass.

"Incorrect Shadow."

The Ultimate Life Form turned to face…Amy. Strutting along in a tighter than normal dress, her voluptuous form was complimented greatly. She smacked her lips seductively. "I'm Amy, and that is nothing more than a false replica." She caressed Shadow across his face, inching down to his shoulders. She pushed out her mystifying form towards him. "Now how about we start up where we left off?"

"Where's Amy you Faker?" Shadow replied calmly.

The "Amy" blushed and drew breath. "How could you tell?"

"Do I have to spell it out? A: You had your body enhanced to be more seductive than Amy's, and even though these were minor changes, it's easy to see against that dress. B: Your voice is several pitches huskier than hers. And C: Your smell is completely different. Any questions?"

"…Fine, I'm a copy of Amy sort of, a very realistic Metallic Version of her. Good job noticing the difference, Sonic couldn't even figure it out."

"So Faker got here…Look, I don't care about any of that, just let Amy go and I'll be on my way to your creator. I'm in a bad mood, so just let me get by and you won't be destroyed." He said this calmly, and folded his arms as he waited for the answer.

She paused. And then smiled. "Fine. I may be a machine, but I don't want to die." She walked over to the machine and opened the container. "But I think you have a small misconception on my creation."

Shadow was next to Amy quickly. "So you weren't made by Robotnik?"

"No, I was. But someone else was in the mind of the doctor when it took place."

Shadow stood slowly. "Who?"

"Mephiles." And she walked away quickly.

"Oh, and by the way. Your friend is in the lower deck. But I've been with Mephiles for some time now. I know you can't use Chaos Control. So if you want to leave this place, and touch ground in one piece, I suggest you find him."

Shadow stood next to Amy, staggering from the news she had just shared. But still one thing raced through his mind. What does she mean 'touch ground'?

Great Desert

800 hours

The ground began to quake beneath the armies' feet. General K saw cracks forming in the earth, and fell to the floor of his tank, as a realization hit him.

"Retreat! Retreat now!" But it was too late. Spires of metal began to poke out of the ground, slicing through tanks. The soil parted for the thousands of tons of metal to rise into the air.

Eggman's voice boomed across the remaining desert. "More powerful than the Egg Carrier, more agile than the Death Egg, I GIVE YOU, THE EGG A.R.K."

What was left of the ground forces that had been able to retreat looked up at the monstrosity. A dome center, with a small cannon pointing out from it, resembling the face of Robtnik. 4 wings came from its sides, making its shape from above resemble a giant spiked top. But the Egg A.R.K. was also close to 10 kilometers squared.

Slowly floating towards the four wings, and inserting themselves into small compartments, the chaos emeralds began to glow fiercly.

"Well then General, as you can see, I am more than a match for your army. If you can hear me in hell, then get ready for a couple million more people. But once again, I will do nothing to stop your army from attacking me."

What a cruel joke he had made. Even the remaining forces had been killed by the sudden collapse of hundreds of soil beneath them.