A/N: Although it's been a while since I updated this story properly (and again, I apologize), I have decided to take down the poll question for this story because it hasn't gotten much traction since I posted Ch. 19. However, I am going to reveal the big secret in Ch. 22. Yes, we are that close.
To start off this one, we are going through another 'Classic Sonic' stage. Except, the characters from this part of the game are replaced by Amy and Raff, just like the Ghost Town level. And as a warning, more violence will be included.
*EDIT: I forgot to mention that I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing since I last uploaded an actual chapter. Thanks for over 10,000 views and 180 reviews!
Disclaimer: Sonic and Sega are not owned by me. I only take credit for this rewrite.
Chapter 20: The Deadline
Location: Death Egg
5:30 a.m. was what he read on the clock in the bottom right of the computer screen. It's not like time mattered in space though. But down below, the sun hasn't risen over the horizon of Red Gate City or any other of the nearby regions of the zone. Time was of the essence for the Revengeful Resistance as they were unknowingly losing precious seconds before the entire fate of Mobius was in Dr. Eggman's hands.
Speaking of the doctor, he was sitting in his main control room. Except, he wasn't focused on time or his future plans. Instead, he was fuming about something else. His mustache sagged. Arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were squinted behind his pince-nez glasses while he stared at the computer screen. What he was doing was trying to find Infinite's current location.
Ever since the jackal left the Death Egg, Infinite had not reported back about his status or the fate of any of the Resistance members. His last known location was in the Mystic Jungle. Eggman suspected that Sonic would've fallen for the bait, and Infinite would take care of the rest. That was not the case considering there hasn't been any recent activity. Infinite didn't say a word, and Sonic was not back in his prison. Eggman had a feeling something odd was up, considering the tracker he put on Infinite's mask was apparently disabled. He created a tracking device for Infinite to give him a proper answer of where he was in the case that he wasn't with his boss in nearby range. Because there was no signal, the scientist grumbled, thinking that not only had he found a way to disable it, he did it on purpose.
Fingers curled into fists as he slammed the keys in front of him. The action caused him to accidentally shut down the browser as the crackling sound of static blasted out of the speakers. Turning off his computer, he stood up from his chair and stomped out of the room. It took a couple of minutes to finally find his robot henchmen. After they finally cleaned up the spoiled mess from earlier, Orbot and Cubot were resting in their room. Eggman turned on the lights and screamed at them.
"ORBOT! CUBOT!"
"Wah! What's that?! Are my cookies done?!" Cubot started panicking in his bed.
"Ugh... What is it, Dr. Eggman?" Orbot groaned while he placed a hand on his head.
"Where is Infinite?!"
The red robot blinked, struggling to stay awake. "Infinite? I thought you sent him down to Mobius to continue wreaking more havoc."
"I did... Yesterday..." Eggman scowled. "And he hasn't reported anything back to me, nor has he returned here with Sonic! So where is he?!"
"How are we supposed to know?" Cubot shrugged before yawning. "Maybe he decided to torture Sonic first before bringing him back."
"Bah!" Eggman threw his hands in the air. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted that one-eyed freak in the first place!"
"Well technically, his eyes were normal before you gave him that scar."
The doctor made a beeline towards Cubot as he reached out and grabbed him by his square noggin. "Listen here, you yellow blabbermouth! I couldn't care less if I scarred both of his eye sockets and replaced them with robotic pupils! All I want to know is where he is!"
"Doctor, I understand how frustrated you are, but Cubot and I sincerely have no clue."
"Grr... You two are useless!" He threw Cubot back onto his mattress. If it was anything that wasn't soft, his head could've toppled off his yellow-cubed chest. "That's it! I'm going to Mobius to find the little runt. And by the time we get back, he's getting another round with the shock collar!"
As the sound of his loud footsteps against the metal floor dissipated, Orbot and Cubot gave each other blank stares before turning back to the open door.
"Geez, he's still way too obsessed with his plan that he doesn't have time to think about anything else. It's always the same thing every day," Orbot complained.
"I know what you mean," Cubot scratched the back of his head. "It's like he's gone completely psycho for no reason at all. He didn't use to be this evil. In fact, he's turned into this malicious monster, especially when death and torture are added into the equation."
"Sigh, I really hope it isn't too late to say that he's lost his marbles."
"I think it's been that way since he started coming up with this plan."
"You're probably right."
Cubot was about to say something else, but another yawn out of his mouth told him otherwise. "Man, I don't know if I can go back to sleep now."
"Just try. I'm just as exhausted as you are."
Orbot slid off the edge of his bed and hovered over to the far wall, flipping the light switch off. He made himself comfortable before the robots went back to sleep... for only a solid twenty minutes after Eggman left. The sirens in the Death Egg blared loudly, startling both Cubot and Orbot. Despite how tired they were, they rushed out of the room and stopped in front of a guardrail. Peeking over, they saw the lower levels of the space fortress. Somewhere near the bottom, they heard several sounds of clashing as if someone was banging metal. But it wasn't like construction. It sounded like robots were being crushed.
"What's going on down there?" Cubot looked at his partner.
"I don't know. Do you think one of the prisoners has escaped?"
"If so, they must have found a way out of their prison. But that's nearly impossible if Eggman had assigned some guards to look after them."
"Knowing Eggman, however, he must have forgotten once again."
More smashes were heard as the sounds of something hitting the floor echoed inside the Death Egg. Then, to their surprise, they witnessed a few Egg Pawns fly across the area below, crashing into one of the walls. As several Buzz Bombers, Crabmeat, and Moto Bugs spawned close to the cause of destruction, something whitewashed the entire army in the blink of an eye. It happened so fast that Cubot and Orbot didn't know what to make of it.
"Do you think we should head down there and check the problem?"
"I think we should. This seems too urgent."
The robots floated to a nearby elevator and anxiously waited until they reached the scene of the crime. Random scraps of metal were scattered all over the place. It was almost as bad as the massacre of the Death Egg prisoners. But they were grateful that there wasn't any blood, to clean or even look at.
"Shoot, who managed to get this batch of Badniks?"
Orbot didn't answer, but he turned to a hallway where he saw more broken bits of the fallen robots. He inaudibly hovered over in that direction. Cubot, who noticed him, was curious as well, so he followed his red-sphered friend. The trail continued down the corridors as they turned the ninety-degree corners, seeing more fragments along the way. Then, they came to a specific room in the Death Egg, a location that they particularly recognized.
"Cubot, do you see what I see?"
It took him several seconds to take in the revelation of what was in front of him and Orbot. In a dark, enclosed room, there was a capsule that was laid on top of a large, rectangular table. What made it conspicuous was the broken glass on the floor. That glass happened to be part of the capsule's shield. It was as if someone from inside managed to break their way out of their cramped prison.
The yellow minion finally spoke to Orbot. "The doctor's not going to be happy about this..."
"Do you think he escaped already?"
"How would he manage to escape? I don't think we have any more of those emergency pods, do we?"
"That's what you think, but I'm almost certain that Eggman has a prototype shuttle in one of his labs. If we could get there, maybe we can stop-"
"Emergency shuttle activated. Ten seconds until departure."
As soon as the two heard the announcement over the speakers, they glanced at one another before simultaneously mumbling, "Oh, crap." The sound of the shuttle's rockets blasted loud enough for them to hear it through the thick walls of the space station. If robots could sweat, Orbot and Cubot would have bullets dripping down their bodies until their batteries become as dead as a doornail.
Location: Resistance HQ
Despite all the smoke from the buildings on fire, the sun crept behind the polluted atmosphere. The fire departments were doing everything in their power to keep the city from crumbling even more while evading any of Eggman's intruding Badniks. The Commander woke up early to send several teams to their previously assigned locations and to reclaim the lost territories. Over the past hour, he was receiving updates from the base's radio station. As Knuckles received a concerning report from one of the troop members, Savage, Raff, and Amy walked into the HQ after checking up on their friends in the infirmary.
"Morning, Knuckles," Amy waved at him. The echidna waved back without saying anything to them.
"So, what's the game plan?" asked the red wolf.
"I'm busy at the moment," he said before hearing something from the receiver. "What? Oh no, Spot, I was speaking to someone at the base. What was that?"
"I wonder what's going on," Savage whispered to the others as they heard Knuckles talking.
"If it's a lead on Eggman, it's another start for us to get into the action," Amy mumbled. "We just have to hope that none of us will get mildly or severely injured like the others. I can't stop thinking about poor Sonic..."
"What about the others?"
"I'm concerned for them as well. I understand that Silver and Blaze are both trying to recover from their trauma. And then Rouge and Omega are not the best in shape after their incident with Shadow. But I'm more worried about him, you know? He's been the most affected out of anyone in the room."
"Well, you're not wrong. I can't be complaining too much since I never had any actual beef with Infinite. But of course, he's part of the reason why my life felt miserable. First, he caused me and Raff to be separate from each other. Then, he belittled me for my incompetence. I'm just more pissed at Eggman even if he doesn't know me that well. Someday I hope I can teach those two a lesson when they mess with the wrong wolf."
"Or hedgehog," muttered Amy.
"Or anyone, in general," added Raff.
"What?!" Knuckles yelled into his microphone, catching the others' attention. "Are you sure about this? You don't know for sure? Ugh... Just great. Listen, I don't want you guys to go near him. Chaos only knows what horrible fate would bestow upon you. I'll send someone out to check instead. Keep holding the weaker enemies down though. Okay? Alright, good. Thanks for the update." He took off his headphones and turned off the radio as he faced his comrades. "I just got a call from Spot down in Green Hill. We just got a major breakthrough."
"What is it about?" the pink hedgehog inquired.
"Spot suspected that he and his team have a reported sighting of Eggman."
"Are you serious?" Savage wanted confirmation.
"I mean, it was a report. They said they could've sworn they saw him down there. Spot and the others highly doubt that it's a false alarm. But if we want to confirm their suspicions, someone's gotta check."
"So, who's going on this mission?"
"Savage, even though you and I traveled with Sonic to the Arsenal Pyramid and you may have a good idea of what Green Hill looks like, I think I'll give Amy and Raff the green light here. After all, they already had a turn looking over the headquarters yesterday."
"I'll be willing to go," Raff sounded determined. "How about you, Amy?"
"I'm happy to hop aboard with you!"
The teenage wolf was both a bit disappointed and concerned at the same time. He was hoping to get some revenge on Eggman, but his younger brother was put up on the spot to take on the challenge instead. However, Knuckles was the Commander, and he had to respect his decisions. Plus, Amy trusted Raff after the two first met in the streets of Red Gate, so they were already a decent team.
"It looks like I'll stay here with you at home turf, huh?"
"Sorry, Savage," he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe we'll settle for another mission later. If that's the case, then the Chaotix can look after the headquarters."
"I guess that's fair." Savage looked over at his brother and Amy. "Good luck to you guys."
"Thanks, Savage. We'll do our best!" Amy gave the rookie a confident thumbs-up and a wink, imitating Sonic's usual gesture.
"I promise I'll be okay out there. I can look after myself, and Amy's got my back when I need it!"
"Alright, Raff," Savage kneeled down and playfully ruffled the fur on the red wolf's head. He smiled when he made Raff chuckle. "I trust you. And Amy as well. You got this."
"You can count on us," he smiled.
Location: Green Hill Zone
Prior to their departure, Knuckles warned Amy and Raff about the updated landscape where the waterfalls and lakes were replaced with layers of sand due to Eggman's production of the former Arsenal Pyramid and the rest of the bases he built during his reign. The fertile land of green grass fell apart from the desertification, making it tough for people to run across the soft, yet uncomfortable, surface. They couldn't imagine how Sonic managed to get through this terrain. But if he, Savage, and Knuckles were able to prevail, the two believed they could do it as well.
"To think, this place used to have the best scenery. Or at least, it's one of those locations that is just breathtaking to stare at when there isn't any danger involved," Amy sighed as she stared at the massive amount of sand in front of her.
"I just hope we can restore this zone and the rest of the world, too. But that means we have to defeat Eggman first. Once that transpires, we can finally end this godforsaken war," Raff mumbled.
"It all started when that strange Infinite guy came into the scene. Without him, Eggman was powerful, but not this powerful. We're just grateful he hasn't killed Sonic, but I'll never forgive any of those... jerks for afflicting him during his imprisonment in the Death Egg."
"You know, if you want to say something vulgar, go ahead. I hear it all the time from Savage."
"But wouldn't that be inappropriate? Especially in front of young people like yourself? I mean, no offense."
"None taken. But at this day and age, I couldn't care less. I don't think it really makes a major impact unless they utilize it in a very immature way."
"I mean, I guess Sonic sometimes swears in front of Tails, but only on rare occasions when he can't help it. And it's not like Tails uses such language frequently in his daily vocabulary." Amy shook her head when she realized she was going in a different direction. "Sorry, where was I?"
"You said you weren't going to apologize to Eggman, Infinite, or the others in their league of bad guys for torturing Sonic."
"Oh, right. Going back to Infinite, that creature was the reason for Eggman gaining all that control. I wish we knew more about his origin so we might have a clue about why he has helped him. And maybe we could actually know where he came from."
Raff pulled out his trusty nunchucks, swirling them with his right hand. "I'm all set, Amy."
In turn, she carried her signature hammer. "Let's do some damage." (1)
The pink hedgehog and the red wolf dashed down the green hill that they stood on. They saw a couple of enemies in front of them, and they managed to wipe them out with their weapons. Before they could move on, a pair of Buzz Bombers and a trio of Moto Bugs came straight at them. Raff whipped one of the nunchucks as he held the chain, slashing hits through the cores of the large ladybug-like foes. Amy reached out with her hammer and slammed one of the Buzz Bombers into the other. The robotic bees laid on the grass, but not for long as Amy added a couple more hits to ensure they wouldn't come back to life.
Two of their next obstacles were the infamous pits and the spike beds that were found several feet below. If anyone failed to make a jump, they had to try to recover by wall jumping in between the pieces of land. But nothing hurt as much as those metal prongs. It was a recurring theme and a pain in the ass whenever Sonic or anyone felt the sharp points and lost all their rings. Amy and Raff took it easy by timing their jumps over the large gaps. Thankfully, it wasn't a hassle for either of them.
"There's so much damage here that we can't afford to spend any time to repair this zone. Eggman and his forces are too big of a distraction," Amy huffed.
"We still have to be attentive in case Eggman comes out of nowhere. And speaking of coming out of nowhere..." Raff crossed a wooden bridge as several piranha-themed fish known as Choppers hopped from below. He spin dashed into the first one before taking out the second with his nunchucks.
Amy ran ahead to take down another set of Moto Bugs on the other side of the bridge. She almost got hit by an incoming Buzz Bomber, but Raff was there to protect her in time. He took out the bee with a spin dash and earned a 'thanks' from his ally. Raff flashed a grin and a thumbs-up of his own before they ran over to the next section. Jumping off a spring platform, Raff and Amy reached higher ground and rushed through more enemies in their way. Some of the platforms they sprinted on fell apart. That wasn't their biggest issue since they didn't hurt themselves from falling. They have yet to see any sign of Eggman.
"Nothing but sand," Raff complained. "Green Hill is seriously starting to look like an actual desert. And it feels like one, too. The hot air is making me sweat so much."
"I feel the same way, Raff. But all of us had to deal with tough conditions. We don't always fight in ideal weather or a perfect zone."
"Can't say you're wrong about that. I don't have that much experience on my belt, but I'm doing my best."
"That's something to look forward to! Use that as motivation to distract you from this heat."
Raff listened to Amy's words and took them to his advantage. He carried on across a long strip of grass with three Egg Pawns. He avoided their blasters and destroyed them with his nunchucks. He faced a Moto Bug and a Buzz Bomber – only this time, he misguided the bee to aim at the Moto Bug. After it exploded, he took care of the Badnik with a homing attack.
Amy followed Raff and rolled into a tunnel that led them to lower ground in Green Hill. They maintained top speed while exiting the underground sections. Amy hopped onto a moving platform and pulled Raff up to avoid the bottomless pit. Afterward, they jumped to a grassy ledge where more Badniks surrounded them. The two glanced with smirks on their muzzles, eagerly determined to vanquish the line of robots. Amy whacked her mallet on an Egg Pawn, sending it into a Crabmeat and a Caterkiller. She also got rid of some Nebulas with her feet as she was busy whacking Buzz Bombers around her. Raff whipped out the end of his nunchucks in a horizontal fashion, slicing several Crabmeat, Caterkillers, and Motobugs.
They treaded past the fallen enemies before stopping at a long bridge of wooden planks. Amy had a feeling they would fall apart as soon as they stepped on it, so she told Raff to book it across. The wolf nodded at her. Amy and Raff moved their legs without hesitating or looking back behind them as the bridge collapsed one piece at a time. They also managed to evade an army of Choppers leaping at them. The heroes crossed their bridge safely and took a moment to catch their breath, but not before they shared a high five. Amy was about to say something, but the sound of her communicator beeping paused her thoughts.
"Amy, Raff, any news to report?"
"Nothing yet, Knuckles."
"Well, Savage and I just received another message from Spot saying that he has definitely seen Eggman."
"Really? No kidding?" Raff questioned.
"Unfortunately, Spot and his crew had to retreat because there's apparently another dangerous entity nearby," his older brother responded.
"Who's that?"
A small gulp was heard from the speaker before Knuckles answered. "Infinite." Amy and Raff's hearts skipped a beat at that name. "I'm not sure exactly where they are, but I'm going to guess that they could be close to each other, probably discussing secrets for their own matters."
"Is it possible to detect their locations, Knuckles?"
"We're still trying to get any sort of reading, Amy. Maybe-"
"Amy, look!" Raff got her attention, tapping her shoulder. He pointed over to something in the distance, hovering a few inches above the ground.
She gasped. "It's Infinite!" Amy pulled Raff away and hid behind a rock. They snuck over to glimpse at the jackal who was observing the sandy environment.
"What was that? Did you find him?" Savage was curious.
"Shh!" she hissed softly.
Suddenly, the masked figure stopped and turned his head in the direction of where he heard something. When he looked over, there was nothing. He was motionless, not to mention confused. After he returned his gaze to the deserted expanse, Amy and Raff poked their heads above the rock again, relieved that he didn't spot them.
"Come on," the young wolf stood up.
"Wait a second, Raff!" Amy grasped his arm. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"I want to get closer to him."
"Don't even think about it, Raff!"
Amy covered the receiver with her hand. "Savage, don't yell. Do you want him to hear us?"
"Listen, I'm not going to attack him. I know how dangerous that jackal is. I just want to get close to see if we can eavesdrop on him and get any sort of information," explained Raff.
"How is that going to work?" Amy raised an eyebrow.
"He may be powerful, but he may also be ignorant enough that he could talk to himself without anyone noticing."
"I don't know about that, Raff," Knuckles wasn't so keen.
"Oh, come on, Commander. This could be a rare chance that we may have a lead on Infinite's power. If we can get anything out of it, this could be beneficial to come up with a future plan to take him down!"
"I guess I sort of see your point," confessed Amy.
"Well, only if you don't get caught, I'll allow it."
"I sure as hell hope you two won't get caught by that bastard or Eggman," said Savage.
"Don't worry. We'll be careful," Raff reassured everyone.
"I'll keep my communicator on speaker and at a low volume. Just don't say anything loud."
"Gotcha," replied Knuckles. He and Savage kept their mouths shut as they listened carefully.
Meanwhile, Amy and Raff silently crept closer behind another set of rocks until they were about twenty feet away which was still far away to see him, yet it was decently close to listen. They heard the antagonist mutter, but it was hard to perceive his words. Just then, a loud voice startled everyone, including the jackal.
"INFINITE!"
The masked figure felt his shoulders jump and turned around to see one pissed-off scientist, floating in his Egg Mobile.
"D-Dr. Eggman!"
"It's about TIME I found you! Where were you?!"
"I-I... I was-"
"Don't st-st-stammer in front of me!" mocked Eggman. He couldn't tell because of his mask, but Infinite was offended at his derision. "Answer my question now! Where the hell were you since I sent you to Mobius last night?!"
Raff and Amy had never expected Infinite to act like this before. He seemed like a heartless, unforgiving individual with a thirst of power and domination. What they were seeing was a frightened animal, like he was being cornered by some bullies in a dark alleyway.
"Do you want me to bring out the shock collar?" As Eggman mentioned said device, he pulled it from his Egg Mobile. Infinite stopped floating and took a step back in the grass. "Don't even think about running away," he threatened with a low growl.
The masked villain gave up. He sighed and let his head down. "You told me to find anyone of the Resistance and make them suffer from my powers. I was in Mystic Jungle last night when I found the futuristic hedgehog and his purple feline friend."
"Ah, yes... Silver and Blaze," Eggman acknowledged.
"I fought them near the lab that was locked down. I gave them a prescription of Virtual Reality to haunt their minds as they fell into unconsciousness. Before I could even get a chance to harm them even more, the blue pest got in my way."
"You mean you saw Sonic?"
"Yes..." Infinite felt agitated when he told the truth.
Eggman perceived this, raising an eyebrow while narrowing his eyes at him. "And?"
"...I let him get away."
"WHAT?!" Not only was Eggman shocked, but he was also furious (if that wasn't obvious). Raff, Amy, Knuckles, and Savage felt the former when they all heard the discussion from afar. "What do you mean you let him get away?!"
"I... I only-"
"Tell me exactly what you did to make him go away."
Infinite let out another deep sigh. "I challenged him to a fight. Except, I wasn't the one who physically fought him."
"What does that supposed to mean?"
"Let's just say I... made another clone to fight him." The tips of his index fingers repeatedly tapped with each other.
"A clone of who, might I ask?"
"Uh... It was... Metal Sonic," he fibbed.
"Metal? Why would you make a copy of him?"
"Just to torment him by showing that there can be only one Sonic. I mean, isn't that the overall purpose?"
"I mean, that is correct. But I don't understand the premise of your decision."
"It doesn't matter anyway. The point is, I thought he would be too powerless against me, so I got cocky and made a Metal Sonic duplicate. It turns out that I made the wrong decision. Sonic bested the fake duplicate, I gave him a few injuries, and I escaped without fulfilling your request. The reason why I didn't go back to the Death Egg was that I had a feeling you would deride me."
Infinite was expecting an immediate response from his leader, but he didn't get one. When he reluctantly looked up to see Eggman, his face was unreadable. Maybe he wasn't so mad at him.
"You bet your deformed soul I will deride you."
Well, shit. That's out the window.
"You let that blue pest live for another day, which is a massive source of concern for me!"
"Just be grateful you managed to get a victory out of this, but only because you took me in," he countered back indignantly. "He's beaten you for so many damn years, yet it only took until six months ago for you to finally achieve your lifelong desire. And again, you didn't do it single-handedly."
Eggman grunted before pressing a red button on his control panel. Soon, a robotic arm projected from the front compartment of his Egg Mobile, clutching Infinite's neck as the metal fingers gripped over his trachea as he desperately breathed for air. Amy and Raff were stunned. They never saw Eggman being sadistic to anyone, especially when the victim was a vital member of his army.
"You meddlesome know-it-all... What did I tell you about talking back at me?! Huh?!"
Infinite didn't want to answer his question. Even if he tried, he couldn't get a word out in edgewise since he was choking. At least for him, Eggman had enough and let the hand throw him to the ground.
"At least answer this question. Did you dispose of all the Phantom Ruby prototypes?"
"Phantom Ruby prototypes?" Amy reiterated quietly.
"What the heck is that?" asked Knuckles.
"I don't know."
After Infinite stopped coughing and recomposed himself, he glared through the eyehole of his mask. "I can assure you that they are all gone."
"Hmph. Finally, some good news came out of your rotten mouth."
"You do know that they were only defective models, right? They can only record the DNA of the one who triggered it."
"Of course I know that. I found the original Phantom Ruby and tested upon myself to understand its true potential. During my experiments, I found out that I can use it for control. That's where I had you as my test subject to see if my initial thoughts were correct. And I was right!"
"Use for control?" Savage's voice muffled through the communicator.
"Amy, what is he talking about?" Raff looked at her.
"I'm as clueless as you are. I don't even know what a Phantom Ruby is."
"Still," Infinite murmured, "only a being with my strength of will could ever activate the prototypes, even if they aren't the real thing. So, do we move forward with your plan?"
"Of course! When it's complete, the Resistance will be entirely erased with the rest of the innocent civilians throughout Mobius. The world will be nothing but ashes, from which a glorious Eggman Empire will rise!"
"The power of the Phantom Ruby will be no match for the Resistance. They will be forced to capitulate under our control."
"Exactly. Those simpletons think they can keep up with us by dancing with death. But little do they know that in just three days from now, my master plan will eradicate every single, bothersome being on this planet! You know what they say, the anticipation of the end is worse than the end itself. Maybe not in this case though."
"And who came up with that quote?"
"Was that a rhetorical question? I came up with it!"
"Of course you did," Infinite rolled his eye.
"Regardless, I'm still going to rule this pathetic world for all eternity."
"We'll see about that," the jackal groused in his head.
Eggman frowned. "Don't give me that expression. And don't think I forgot about your wretched, little mistake where you let Sonic stay alive. Expect another punishment when you come back to the Death Egg."
Infinite didn't say anything. He didn't want to throw a tantrum, or worse, make Eggman have another episode.
"Just continue doing your job by finding any Resistance members, and let them fall under your control. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir," he nodded.
"Good. Now get lost."
The thunderbolt insignia on the right side of Infinite's mask lit up in red as he flew in the air. He made his departure and left the doctor alone as he disappeared behind the tall mountains of Green Hill.
"Urgh, that could've been a lot worse. But no matter. I will get what I want: my Eggman utopia and Sonic's official elimination." Eggman pulled some levers and took off into the sky, making a return to his space fortress. (2)
Amy and Raff emerged from their cover after taking in the vital information that heard from their conversation. Their hearts couldn't stop beating rapidly.
"Did you hear all of that?" Amy spoke.
"We sure did," replied Knuckles. "If what Eggman said was true, we only have seventy-two hours before he commits his so-called plan."
"If only we knew more about it though," said Savage.
"True, but did you hear their discussion about the Phantom Ruby? That sounded important to me," Raff scratched his chin.
"It seemed like that's the reason why Infinite was so powerful and why he took down Sonic in Red Gate. If I recall, isn't that the strange, red object on his chest?"
"You may be right, Savage."
"But what is the origin of that ruby? How did Eggman find it? And what I don't understand, why did he give it to Infinite?" Amy tilted her head, feeling baffled.
"We need to find answers about this soon. But for now, Amy, Raff, go find Spot and the rest of his crew in the south side of Green Hill. They could use some reinforcements to take down the Badniks," ordered Knuckles.
"Alright, Commander. We'll get right onto it," Raff told him.
After Amy hung up, she ran a hand through the three bangs on her forehead. "This war just got more intense than before."
"Yeah, but we can't stop right now. Even if we have to stay up for the next three days, we cannot let Eggman win."
Amy understood the situation, regardless of how gruesome and strenuous the task will be. Three days was their deadline. If they don't stop Eggman and his army by then, the result was inevitable. Goodbye Mobius... Hello Eggman Empire.
END OF CHAPTER
Obviously, there are some missing elements from the game that did not make it into this story. That is explained in the PCN section below. But we do get the notice that Eggman has something up his sleeves that'll occur in three days' time. For those who did play Sonic Forces, it's sort of obvious, but I'll try to twist the plot a little while keeping some of the original content like other rewrites out there. But this is something I'll work on later in the future. Eventually, we'll get to see what happens next time.
Speaking of which, Knuckles and Savage will go out on another mission, only with some unexpected help. From there, they will come across a strange discovery. And following that, the big secret will be revealed to you all. Leave a review and let me know how this one went. Don't hesitate to offer any suggestions to make it better or what I need to fix. Follow and favorite this story for more chapters. Anyway, I'll see you next time for Ch. 21 of Revengeful Resistance! This is TGN, signing off.
Post-Chapter Notes:
(1): Obviously, the background for why I included the Green Hill level at this part of the plot has been reconstructed because of the characters I've included and how I wanted to transition to the conclusion of this chapter.
(2): Speaking of the conclusion, I decided not to include the Egg Dragoon fight in this scene. I feel like I would drag the chapter even longer, and I didn't feel like adding it in. So if you expected an Eggman fight between Raff and Amy, I'm sorry to crush your dreams.