Sorry for long wait but it's a long chapter. Hurrah!

Chapter 20

Elsewhere, an airborne battle was occurring above the rocky canyon known as the Gigan Rocks. Despite its rocky environment, it was rich in foreign plant life. This was weird in itself as it was at the base of a giant snowy mountain called Blizzard Peaks. As mentioned before, in the airspace above the peaks, Jet's ship could be seen shooting at the Black Comet which was returning fire itself. Both sides seemed to be in a stalemate but the comet's weapons appeared to be damaging Jet's ship slightly.

Watching this fight were Shadow, the Chaotix, Marine, Shahra and Erazor. The black hedgehog seemed caught up in this, staring intently at the Black Comet.

"There it is" said Erazor, noticing what Shadow was looking at. "Your friend should be in there." Shadow stayed quiet.

"So, it's a rescue mission?" asked Mighty.

"Ooh, I love missions!" cried Charmy, in delight. He was about to shoot upwards when Vector grabbed him.

"Slow down, Charmy" he told the hyperactive bee. "How exactly are we supposed to get up there? You can't carry all of us."

"Plus, my magic carpet isn't large enough" stated Shahra.

"I have an idea!" Marine shouted, causing everyone to look at her. "We could flap our arms really fast until we start flying!"

Everyone fell down, anime style. Erazor seemed the most irritated. "How stupid are you?!"

Marine was taken aback by the outburst and looked like she was about to cry.

"Oh well done, Erazor" Shahra scolded, going up to Marine to comfort her. "You really need to be more calm."

"More calm?!" the evil genie yelled. "How can I be calm when I'm surrounded by a group of thick headed…"

"Oh, will you just SHUT UP!!!" Shadow cried out, startling everyone. "If you're gonna be like this, I'm going up there myself. You guys can stay here and wait." Then, without a second thought, Shadow shot up the mountain.

As he got higher up, he arrived on a part of the mountain that jutted out, creating a large platform. There was still some plant life but there were traces of snow. The biggest surprise to him though was the two other figures.

One of them was a young rabbit with yellow fur and big eyes. He wore white gloves, an orange dress with a blue bow and orange and yellow shoes. She had a Chao with her which was wearing a red bow. The two seemed to be having a picnic.

"This is great, isn't it Cheese?" the rabbit asked her Chao, which chirped back gleefully as it took a bite out of an apple.

Shadow stood there slightly confused. "Cream?"

The rabbit turned and saw the black hedgehog. "Mr. Shadow? What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking that question!" replied Shadow. "Does your mother know you're here?"

Cream nodded. "Yes. Cheese and I decided to come up here to look at the view and have a picnic" she said, rather innocently.

"Well, now you have to go home" Shadow told her sternly. "It's dangerous here. Haven't you seen those neon creatures?"

"You mean those things?" Cream asked, pointing to a glowing, green bee like creature which we'll call a Killer Bee. It rammed straight forward with its stinger aimed at Shadow, who managed to flip over it. The bee then struck into the ground and got its stinger wedged. Shadow threw a Chaos Spear, instantly killing it.

"Exactly" Shadow replied, as several more of the bees appeared. "Cream, take cover!"

The rabbit quickly hid behind a rock as Shadow proceeded to attack. He jumped up towards one bee and kicked upwards, knocking it away. As he came down, another bee came at him but he flipped in mid-air, causing it to miss. He then grabbed its stinger and swung it round to hit another one of the monsters. When he landed, two of the bees both charged at him but he jumped and kicked out at the insects. He then noticed the first bee falling back down and he spun upwards into it, killing it. He then Homing Attacked the remaining two, ending the battle.

"Hah, pathetic. I thought these things would've stepped their game up" Shadow scoffed, unaware of the Nightmare that had snuck up behind him. It was about to attack when Cream came out of nowhere and stomped down on it. Shadow swiped round to see Cream bounce off, leaving the creature quite dazed. She followed this by grabbing Cheese, curling him into a ball and throwing him through the Nightmare, past Shadow and bounce back off another Killer Bee, destroying it, and returning to Cream.

The rabbit giggled slightly at Shadow's stunned expression. "Nice work, Cheese" she told her pet Chao. "So, can I stay a bit longer?"

Shadow was still not sure but then an idea came to him. "You certainly can fight. You wouldn't mind helping me out with something?"

Cream nodded. "What is it?"

Several minutes later, Cream was carrying Shadow up the mountain as she flapped her ears, allowing her to fly. As they gained altitude, they saw several of dark creatures squirming around the mountain.

"So, these things are invading the world?" Cream asked.

"Exactly. They aim to destroy it and we've got to take out whoever's leading them. But first, I need to get on that comet and save Omega!" Shadow explained.

"Well, I hope we get there soon. It's getting cold" Cream shivered, her breath now visible.

"We appear to be at the very top of the mountain. Land there and get your strength back" said Shadow.

The two landed on the icy peak which had an extra thin peak that rose upwards. Snow was covering the entire place and it was chilly for the young rabbit. Shadow didn't seem affected. He was glancing at the red sky.

"Where did the comet go?" he asked.

"I don't know" Cream answered. "Maybe it left?"

"It couldn't have just left. It was fighting another ship" Shadow told her. Meanwhile, Cheese began to chirp in delight.

"What is it, Cheese?" Cream asked but she got her answer when a puddle of water appeared in front of them. Shadow got into a fighting stance whilst Cream pulled Cheese towards her as something rose out of the puddle.

It was some sort of humanoid water creature with claws and a visible brain and large green eyes. Cream stood there terrified but Shadow seemed to recognise it.

"You're Chaos, the God of Destruction, aren't you?" he asked. The water creature nodded. "Why are you here?"

Chaos took up a fighting pose, causing Shadow to smirk. "Oh really? Fine, I'll take you on."

Cream gulped. "Be careful, Mr. Shadow."

The black hedgehog and water creature stared one another down before Shadow charged forward and threw his fist at Chaos. To his surprise, it went straight through the god's body.

"What in the…?" Shadow started to say but he was cut off when Chaos grabbed him and threw him across the icy ground and into the other peak. Shadow recovered in time to dodge Chaos' attempt to stab him with his claws. Shadow swiped his foot round but that went through Chaos' body as well.

"How the hell am I supposed to hit his thing?" he cried out as Chaos stretched his arm out and punched Shadow in the face, knocking him back. He managed to flip back up but Chaos had vanished, leaving the Ultimate Life Form startled.

"Where did he go?" he growled. With Chaos out of sight, he had no choice but to try and hear him. He concentrated for any sound as time seemed to slow down. Suddenly, Chaos jumped out behind him but Shadow already knew this and swung round with his foot, which connected with Chaos' head, reducing him to droplets.

Shadow smirked. "I've found your weak point now, Chaos. You don't stand a chance."

Suddenly, the water droplets reformed Chaos who shot forward and slammed Shadow into the air. He then threw his claws at him but Shadow twisted to avoid them and threw a Chaos Spear at Chaos' head. The water creature however rolled back to avoid the attack. Shadow then landed and shot forward, his fist pulled back but as he threw a punch, Chaos grabbed his wrist and slammed his claw into the black hedgehog's gut. Shadow recoiled from the hit and was unable to defend himself as Chaos grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the other peak.

"Any last words?" Chaos asked, slightly shocking Shadow but in the end, he had the last laugh.

"Yeah. CHAOS SPEAR!!!" Shadow yelled, firing a fully charged Chaos Spear at Chaos' head. The explosion that followed obscured Cream's vision.

"Mr. Shadow?!" she called out. As the smoke settled down, Shadow could be seen standing over Chaos who had been turned into a trophy.

"He was a good opponent" Shadow said to himself. "Maybe a good ally." Without hesitating, Shadow touched the base of the trophy, bringing Chaos back to life.

"Thank you, Shadow" said Chaos.

"It's no problem," replied Shadow, "But how are you able to talk?"

"I'm communicating to you through telepathy" Chaos explained. "But I must tell you that the world is in much greater danger than we know. If Dark Gaia is acting up like this..."

"Dark Gaia? Is he the one who's behind all this?" Shadow asked. Chaos merely nodded. "Then we'll need to hunt him down."

"Not now, first we must gain more followers. I believe one of them is on the comet" Chaos told him.

"That's right!" Shadow exclaimed, suddenly remembering. "I need to get up there quickly."

Suddenly, a huge tremor hit the mountain. "What was that?!" squealed Cream.

Chaos glanced up to see the Black Comet descend through the clouds, with Jet's airship tied up to it. It collided into the top-most peak of the mountain, causing an almighty shudder.

"Gotcha!" Shadow sneered as he jumped up the side of the ship with Chaos in pursuit. Cream attempted to follow him but pink spores were already leaking from the comet, creating all kinds of Dark Gaia spawn.

"Oh, this is bad" she gulped. The monsters were already advancing on her and in her panic; she accidentally slipped over the edge. Paralysed with fear, she did nothing as she fell down the mountain.

Back on solid ground, the remainder of Shadow's group were glancing at the destruction.

"What just happened, mates?" gasped Marine.

"It appears that the Black Comet crashed into the mountain" Erazor surmised.

"That means Shadow should've got on, right?" asked Shahra.

Erazor nodded before noticing something hurtling towards them. "What's that?"

Vector took a look and screamed. "It's Cream!" He immediately rushed forward, holding out his arms. "Don't worry, I've got you!" Unfortunately for him, Cream landed on his head.

"Oops, sorry Mr. Vector" she apologised.

"No problem" the rather dazed crocodile responded. As the two rejoined the group, an army of Nightmares came down the mountain, all prepared to fight.

"Whoa, look at all those monsters" Charmy pointed out.

"How many of them are there?" asked Mighty,

"I don't know and I don't care" Erazor stated, readying his sword. "We must stand and fight."

Everyone seemed to agree and took up fighting poses. Erazor and Shahra swiped with their swords, Marine fired her energy blasts, Cream used her ears and Cheese to keep them at bay, Charmy used his stinger and Mighty and Vector used their fists. But the Nightmares kept coming, backing our heroes up against a rocky wall.

"There's too many, mates" wailed Marine.

"We can't die here!" Shahra said. "Keep fighting!"

As the group struggled, they were unaware of the five figures standing on a rocky ledge, looking down.

"Looks like they need a helping hand" said Mina.

"Heh, these amateurs need a real warrior in their ranks" said Metal.

"Well, let's get down there and help them" said Silver.

"Right behind you" said Chip.

"Ok then," said Sonic, gearing up for the fight. "Sonic Heroes, GO!"

An awkward silence followed. Mina began to snigger as Metal turned to the blue hedgehog.

"Sonic Heroes?" he asked.

"Just get down there and fight" Sonic sighed, zooming down the hill with the other four in pursuit.

Sonic span all the way down the cliff before ramming into the group of Nightmares like bowling pins.

"Sonic!" everyone gasped. He ran back to the group as the other four joined them.

"Well, this is one interesting party" he said before noticing Erazor. "Oh, you with the good guys now?"

"I wish I wasn't but it is necessary" the genie grumbled.

"Fine by me" Sonic said, "Now let's show these freaks what we're made of!" The group split up to take on the army. Chip stayed behind however, his orb beginning to glow.

Charmy and Cream had tag teamed against the Fears. Charmy was zooming through the air, taunting the small creatures whilst Cream booted them away. A group of them made a charge for her but she threw Cheese into the group dispersing them. Another one tried to sneak up on her but Charmy dug his stinger into it.

Erazor and Shahra stood back to back, slashing with their respective swords. However, the Nightmares started to dodge their attacks. The two genies seemed to notice this and, thinking on the same wavelength, hooked their arms, and swung round, leaving the Nightmares off guard as they reduced them to pieces. Another load made a mad dash at them but Erazor summoned a wall of flames that burnt them to cinders.

Vector was punching the many monsters away as they cried to grab him. One managed to wrap its arms round him from behind but he grabbed it and swung it down in front of him before kicking it like a football. He then saw a Deep charge from behind so he swung round and uppercut it into the air. Mighty then appeared out of nowhere, jumped off of Vector's head and brought his fists together down on it. Even though it crashed into the ground, the armadillo finished it off by slamming down on it.

Mina was already summoning vines from the many plants in order to swipe at the creatures. She was in her league here. However, several Killer Bees managed to attack the plants, limiting her powers. Silver noticed this and sent some rocks at them with his telekinesis. He then grabbed the dazed bees and flung them to Mina who sent out her vines to crush them. She then used on of them to flip Silver into the air, allowing him to grab some Fears and fire them down on the other monsters in a rapid motion.

Sonic and Metal were busy ripping their way through the hoard of creatures. Sonic bounced off of them like a pinball while Metal followed up by tearing them to shreds with his claws. However, one Nightmare latched on to him, slowing him down but he grabbed its neck and electrocuted it. Two Deeps then made a charge at him but Sonic was already there to kick them upwards. The duo then went to opposite sides before jumping up diagonally and slicing past the airborne Deeps, leaving an 'X' shape in their wake.

The monsters were now half decimated but more began to appear, including several Titans and Big Mothers.

"Here comes the cavalry" said Vector as the group were backed up against the wall.

"There's no way we can take them all out" gulped Marine.

"She has a point" Erazor agreed. "There's just too many of them."

"Don't worry, guys" said Silver. "We have a plan. Chip, you ready."

"On it, Silver" the pup replied, flying in front of the group, his orb glowing more profusely. The creatures were already hesitating at the sight of it. Suddenly, Chip's orb seemed to explode in a flash of green light which expanded throughout the whole area, killing all the dark creatures. When the light died down, Erazor's group was gobsmacked.

"How did you do that?" asked Mighty.

"Chip here is Light Gaia, the brother of the Twilight Emperor" explained Metal.

"Light Gaia?!" Erazor gasped. "Impossible!"

"It's true" smirked Sonic. "He says that Dark Gaia is being controlled so we've agreed to help him get back to his senses."

"But what can control a god?" asked Shahra.

At the sound of this question, the others noticed that she was right. What kind of being has the power to brainwash a god?

"Anyway, there's nothing we can do for the moment" said Erazor.

"Why's that?" asked Mina.

"In order to get a proper advantage, we need a small army if we're to take on whoever's controlling Dark Gaia" the genie explained. "And right now, our only lead is that comet."

Everyone looked up at the giant rock in shock. "Amy and Blaze are up there!" Sonic cried.

"And so is Mr. Shadow and that Chaos creature" said Cream, her Chao chirping in agreement.

"In that case," said Metal, "We can only hope that they achieve whatever they need up there!"