Ch 21: Chilling Feet
By sunset, the Thunder Trail pulled into the snowy mountains of the White Acropolises. The frozen hills were absolutely freezing. The gentle bliss of snow fell from the sky as the sun disappeared behind the mountains. Luckily, the repairs to the train were made from the fight, but it still didn't help with the cold weather.
"Well, it took longer than expected," Kera was saying, polishing her Dragon Sword, "But we made it."
"Brrr…." Athena shuddered as she tried to use her flames to keep warm. "I really don't like cold environments. I should have brought a jacket."
"I suppose this is a bad time to say 'chill out,'" Jewels quipped as she rubbed her arms together, white puffs coming from her mouth as she spoke. "But it's just the cold, right? The soon we find that Chaos Emerald, the sooner we can leave."
"She's right," Marisa added as she too used her flames to keep warm, "Just think about a day at the beach. It's what I do."
"In the meantime, I managed to make some hot coco for everyone," Cream smiled as she came with a tray of smoking mugs. "This should keep as warm while we're in White Acropolises."
"I'll have some!" Eli piped pleasantly as she took a mug.
"Whatever," Zed shrugged as took another.
"Thank you kindly, ma'm," Radian smiled as he, Jewels, Sunseed and Larcen took their mugs and had a sip.
"Ubber bonzer, mate!" Marine added before enjoying her cup.
"No worries," Cream said cheerfully as several other hands took more mugs, "It's what I do best."
Charmy took a gulp of his coco before sighing with a flush on his cheeks. "Wow, you never disappoint," he smiled at her.
"You got that right, hun," she smiled back as she went over to him and placed a kiss on his cheek.
"Man, you guys don't know how lucky you are," Emerl chuckled. "Omega and I can't eat or drink. Kinda sucks to be a robot sometimes."
"Sure, cause its bad luck to have circuits in your body," Shade joked humorously.
Cream smiled at her friends' conversation, and then noticed Maria leaning on the window, looking at the snow. Shrugging, she walked over.
"Hot chocolate?" she offered one of two last mugs with her usual sweet smile.
"Oh my," Maria blinked as she turned to her. Smiling back, she took one of the cups. "Thank you," she smiled as they clanked both cups together and drank.
"So," Cream began after she licked the chocolate liquid from her lips, "What on your mind?"
"Well…" Maria looked down as she shuffled her boot, "For the past several days, we have done nothing but fighting. Is this what's going to happen from here on? Is this a dawn of a war?"
Cream could see exactly were she was coming from. "That's right. You don't approve of violence, correct?"
Maria nodded.
"Let me let you in on a little secret." Cream closed her eyes as she looked back into her memories. "A few days after Sonic found Emerl in Emerald Coast, Eggman kidnapped me and him to be used as leverage over Sonic, again. While we were looking for a way out of Eggman's base, we encounter some unfriendly robots that the doctor instructed to watch over us. While Emerl eagerly welcomed the challenge, I didn't want any part of it. When Emerl asked why I didn't fight back, I told him about my philosophy of pacifism. He didn't understand at first, but when he saw me crying, he realized that the violence really upset me.
Her eyes opened as she turned to Maria again. "We then came across a robot called Chaos Gamma, who was almost like Omega. Chaos Gamma began to attack Emerl brutally, who did nothing to defend himself. That was when I realized that Emerl wasn't fighting back because he didn't want to make me cry again. Mustering up the valor I had, I managed to fend of Chaos Gamma and I beat him too! And Emerl and I escaped the base. So you see Maria, sometimes we have to fight, even if we don't want to, in order to protect the ones we love. Hate the war, but not the battle. Do you understand what I am saying?"
Maria thought for a moment. She knew that Cream was a peace keeper like she was. But she didn't know that she became more resolved with fighting when it called for it. She didn't realize it, but she too became more resolved with fighting as the days went by, especially when her friends were being threatened.
"I suppose you're right," Maria said finally.
"Good girl," Cream smiled as she patted her on the back.
"Alright folks," Violet said on the intercom, "We'll be stopping shortly. Some of us we'll take a look around while the rest of you will stay and follow us. But don't get too close, we need to stay vigilant."
"And thanks for the hot chocolate again, Aunt Cream!" Daisy exclaimed. "It was delicious!"
Once the train came to a complete stop, the team composing of Breezy, Gadget, Maria, Athena, Omega, Larcen, Marisa, Kera, Samson, Jewels, Radian and Emerl hopped into knee deep snow. Radian and Omega scouted the area before giving the green light.
"No hostel lifeforms detected," Omega said callously.
"For now," Radian said as he placed his shades on, "I'm sure we have company waiting for us."
Breezy stretched her long leg behind her back to get the stiffness out, "Then we'd better get a move on. We don't want to get beaten to the sixth Emerald."
"Hey, hold up," Cream called as she, her two chao, Shade, Marine and the twins jumped out of the train and sank into the snow.
"So you guys want in, too?" Larcen smiled.
"You betcha!" Daisy smiled as she adjusted her brown backpack. Violet was wearing another backpack that was different from her sister's, "It's been kinda boring staying in doors…."
"We're just coming with you," Violet said, stopping her sister from rambling off again by slapping a hand on her mouth. "And don't worry; we're armed."
"Alright then," Jewels nodded laconically. "Come on."
Jewels and the others trudged towards the mountains, but hiking through the knee-deep snow made them going slow, and the cold winds didn't help either. "Why couldn't their have been a Chaos Emerald in a nice warm place? Like Sydney?" Samson grumbled.
"Alright, alright, so it's not a winter wonderland," Kera grunted to him. "Sheesh... suck it up!"
Suddenly, Samson stumbled and fell, catching Maria in the back and taking her down into the snow with him. "Ow, ow, ow..." he groaned as he got up. "I'm sorry, Senorita Maria... are you alright?" he asked.
Maria pulled herself up; her face was covered with heavy amounts of snow. "...Ho, ho, ho," she chuckled humorously.
About half an hour later, the team of friends reached a huge iron gate. From the looks of it, it was never opened, and it was quite aged too. The one thing they noticed most of all was that there was a very familiar symbol on the gate.
"Well, what do you know?" Emerl remarked. "Look's like Eggman never found any use for this base."
"Man, that guy was so prepared for anything," Athena stated. "I wonder what he wanted to use this for?... Alright. Dumb question."
"So how do we get in?" Gadget asked.
"Knock maybe?" Marisa asked, feeling a little foolish for saying that.
"Why not?" Shade shrugged. "Ready, Jewels?"
The younger echidna nodded. Both walked up to the metal gate, side by side, before stopping in front of either doors. Like mirrors, both echidnas reared their fists back before throwing them at the gate. The doors smashed opened from the impact, the grinding, groaning and clashing of metal filling everyone's ears.
"I love doing that," Jewels smirked as she shook her hand.
"We're crossing forbidden territory now," Radian said as he pulled out his gun, "Stay frosty."
"A bad time to say that, don't you think?" Shade said, activating the helmet of her cybernetic armor.
As the group walked into the abandoned base, they failed to notice two pair of eyes watching. Standing on a metal tower were Rothion and Darcy, who have also come looking for the sixth Emerald.
"So they refuse to give up," Darcy uttered as she looked down at them like ants. "And they have new friends. I do wonder how things will turn out this time."
"The new allies of the heroes shall not be a problem!" Rothion snickered. "Besides… I have just the thing to end them once and for all. And then, Lord Mephiles shall take what is rightfully his and he will give what is rightfully ours." Rothion grinned as he clenched his fist. "Soon we will finally-"
"Quiet! They'll hear you!"
"The heroes?"
"No. Them."
"Them who?"
Darcy pointed to a certain direction. After Rothion looked at that direction, he grinned in a silly manner at…. you.
"Ah, yes… I forgot about them. Now, shall we be off?"
"Just don't spoil anything."
The evil duo turned around and jumped off the tower.
The team of heroes walked deeper into the base. It was such a surprise that nothing had change there. The courtyard was big and wide, the deactivated searchlights seemed almost out of date, and there was no sign of any life. The wind was pretty much gone due to the mountain walls blocking the wind.
Emerl couldn't help but make an electronic whistle. "Seems no one stepped foot in here for a very long time."
Shade scanned the area with her visor lens, getting no traces of life. "I suppose since the Flames of Disaster was erased, Eggman didn't use this place at all. But…"
"But?" Kera asked her.
She was about to continue when she noticed Breezy walking forward, looking around. Her eyes widened behind her helmet as she saw the teenaged purple hedgehog's feet just inches away from an inferred red beam. "Wait!"
"Wha?" Breezy blinked as she stopped. But that was in vain since she crossed the beams.
Sirens began to blare as various robots appeared from different areas of the courtyard. All of them were white and black in color and the varied in shapes and sizes. The team huddled up together as they found themselves surrounded.
"I've never seen these kinds of robots before!" Cream exclaimed.
"But what happened? I though this place was abandoned!" Maria said.
"Eggman had basic security systems that were prepared to ambush any intruder that came without clearance," Omega elaborated. "Even to this day, the security systems were still active."
"So this place is still alive?" Athena grimaced. "That's peachy."
"They're going to fire!" Larcen shouted as the guns aimed at them. "Everyone scatter!"
And they did just that as all of the robots opened fire.
With astounding grace, Shade flipped in the air before landing in front of four robots. She pulled out her purple blade and set it to Attack Mode. She slashed at the incoming robots, cutting them cleanly. She then charge forward right for the other approaching robots. She landed a few kicks and punches before slicing their heads off. Some of the robots had already begun to shoot at her with their laser guns. Shade jumped backwards and land some feet away to avoid getting holes in her body. Then she rushed back in with her sword defecting the shots. A microsecond later, she rushed in and sliced all the robots in two. "Ha! There's no strength in numbers!"
Breezy, Gadget and Larcen dashed all around the courtyard in blurs of purple, green and jungle green, smashing into the robots like wacky pinballs. After coming to a stop, Breezy began to twist around with the freezing wind surrounding her. "Turbo Tornado!" she called as she tuned into a purple cyclone. She dashed into several robots and picked them up with her storm. Clanks and clashing noises could be heard in the winds. When she stopped into turned back into a hedgehog; the robots crashed around her into scrapheap.
"I got ten in one shot!" Breezy boasted at Larcen. "Beat that!"
Larcen smirked as the aura around him grew brighter, taking up her challenge. He rushed around some robots in a bright blur, taking them in his wind speed. He halted and the robots still came at him. Pivoting his foot he jumped at them and made a shout. He spun his leg around with the winds appearing around him. Each robot met its end in Larcen's powerful kick.
"Terminate!" Omega roared soullessly as he slashed his claws and fists at the enemy robots. He jumped into the air and fired missiles at the other robots below him. All were destroyed completely by the deadly attack wave. Once Omega landed, he found more robots confronting him. "Though they aged as I and yet have no will, they are resilient," he stated.
"I'll handle this, amigo!" Samson shouted as he jumped over them and fired red kinetic shots at all robots. All the blasts erupted in huge explosions. As Samson landed and the smoke cleared, no robot was left standing.
"Peace of cake," the Mexican swallow smirked.
"Focus at the task at hand," Omega said as he walked to meet the next wave of robots.
"Yeah, yeah," Samson shrugged, loading fresh shot pellets into his guns.
More of the robots were suddenly through into the searchlight towers and were crushed underneath as they fell. Athena lowered her arms as her palms dimmed, having been the one to throw them into the towers. "Hey, Aunt Cream!" she called at the rabbit, "How are you holding out?"
Cream managed to kick another robot out of her face before calling back. "It's been a long time since I did this! I forgot how hard this was!" Cream noticed another robot coming at her from behind. She turned as her boots suddenly sparked with yellow electricity and sent a sparkling roundhouse kick. The robot staggered backwards as if spark, shutting down moments later. "Cheese! Chocola! I need you!" her two Chao flew next to her as she pointed her palms at both of them. Cream used her electric power to make both of them shine in electricity (Cheese in white electricity and Chocola in black). "Here we go!" Cream proclaimed as her long ears started to flap and pick her up from the snowy ground. She and her two Chao flew forward in sparks of yellow, white and black. They dashed into the robots, destroying each one of them. The momentarily stopped their rampage as they hovered into the air and looked at their damage.
"That's better," the rabbit nodded. "Now for the rest."
More robots moved in and began firing at Emerl, whom didn't hold anything back as he ran at them with Sonic's speed. He curled into a spinball and smashed into the first droid in his path, crushing it in like tin. Bouncing up on the rebound, he uncoiled and coiled his right hand as it shined with yellow Chaos Energy. "Take this!" he yelled as he fired blasts of Shadow's Chaos Spear like a storm. None of them stood any chance. He curled up into a ball again and smashed into more robots that came his way. He uncoiled again and skid to a stop. "Ready for the junkyard," he "smirked" as he stood up.
As the team moved deeper into the base, more robots came closer. Several glowing rings flew at them and explode in flashes of light. As it cleared, several robots were shown to be turned to scrap.
"Good thing we got the Dummy Ring Bombs with us," Violet smiled as she trilled the ring around her finger.
"Don't relax just yet!" Jewels shouted as she threw flame punches out of her fist. More robots were destroyed from the attack.
"Right!" Maria nodded as she added her Chaos Blooms while Marisa joined her with lighting shots. Another wave was gone.
"Hah!" Kera yelled as she added a fire blast of her own from her sword, making the smoldering pile wider.
"Phoenix Blade!" Radian yelled as his arms engulfed in fire as he charged in. He slammed his arms down, creating a huge firestorm. Everyone shielded themselves from the sudden heat, but it was quite good to get a small break from the cold. Once the heat died down, not a drone was left. Most of the snow melted as well.
"Nothing but net," Marisa chirped as the electricity fuzzed out from her hands.
"The Emerald should be somewhere within the base," Maria explained.
"Good, that makes six down and one more to go," Athena nodded.
"But what about the other Emeralds that Mephiles has?" Kera asked.
"We'll figure out a way," Breezy shrugged.
"We'll think of it when the time comes," Radian agreed.
With all said and done, they walked to the entrance of the base. Unfortunately, they were stopped by blasts of dark energy. Jumping backwards, the attackers landed in front of them. This turned out to be Rothion and Darcy.
"So you've come," Kera frowned as she raised her sword.
"It has been a long time," Darcy smiled. "I see you all still haven't made any progress."
"No thanks to your boss!" Breezy hissed.
"Hnn," Rothion smirked. 'Why don't you all give up while you are still alive? Resistance is futile."
"Not happening!" Larcen shouted as clenched his fist.
"Too bad for you then," Darcy shrugged. Then she snapped her fingers. Out of the glow of dark matter, came a huge, hulking giant. It was made up of, with the head being nothing more than a round pillar with a single glowing green eye. It had no hands though and the limbs looked sharp. It was a big as Atlas too.
"Meet the Freeze Cyclops," Darcy introduced. "He will show you the true meaning of chill factor!"
"Chill factor, huh? Well, I'm blazing inside, long ears," Athena growled as a red aura appeared around her, "Are you ready for some heat in the third degree?"
Suddenly, out of nowhere, there came the loudest snarl that any of them has heard. Everyone, Rothion and Darcy included, looked around in surprise to find where it came from. They didn't wait long, for a large red and white robot bounded over the side gates and let out a wolf like snarl. It looked like a dog with three eyes. Fifty diamond hard fangs appeared from its mouth. Several "fins" were seen on its back and it even had a search light on its nose.
"What is that?" Daisy gaped.
Omega recognized it. "That is the E-2500. Codename: Egg Cerberus."
"Egg Cerberus?" Violet questioned. "Last time I checked, a Cerberus composed of three heads. Not one."
"Look on its head!" Marisa pointed.
Everyone looked at Marisa's direction and looked on in shock. There on the Egg Cerberus' forehead, the yellow Chaos Emerald shined.
"Humph," Rothion snorted. "We did not expect this… but this will not change anything! Freeze Cyclops, destroy that junkyard mutt and take the Chaos Emerald!"
The Freeze Cyclops obeyed, roaring as it charged. The Egg Cerberus spotted him and charged at full speed. Both giants collided. The Egg Fenrir managed to pounce on the Freeze Cyclops, but the latter tossed it off and stomped back onto its feet. It ran forward and collided into the robo-dog again. Only now, the Egg Cerberus slipped out of the Freeze Cyclops' grasp.
After watching the giant death match for a short while, Maria gasped as she realized something. "We can't let them get the Chaos Emerald!"
"Way ahead of you!" Jewels nodded. "You, Breezy and Athena take care of that giant dog and the rest of us will handle the not-so-jolly-blue-giant. Gadget, you and your sisters get to a safe distance."
"Good luck!" The Prower Siblings nodded as they ran out of the danger zone and back to the waiting train.
"Juice n' jam time!" Breezy cheered as she curled and speed into the giant battle. Athena and Maria were close behind. Breezy jumped up high and knocked both away from each other with her Homing Spin. As the Egg Cerberus landed on its side, the trio landed in front of it.
"Ready?" Amethyst Cyclone smiled at her friends.
"Ready!" the New Ultimate Lifeform and the Psycho Solider smiled back.
"Let's go!" she said as the three went for the Egg Cerberus.
"Alright, good job!" Marisa cheered as the others went for the recovering Freeze Cyclops. A sudden blade attack went in front of Larcen and Marisa, cutting them off from the others. Looking to their right, they saw Rothion and Darcy approach.
"You two are not going to get away," Darcy frowned as her eyes flashed for a moment.
Larcen and Marisa tensed. "You ready?"
"Always am," Marisa smirked cheekily.
Thus the three fights began.
Athena flew at the Egg Cerberus in a summersault, unrolling herself and fired blasts of flames at the robotic dog, but it didn't do much good as the armor withstood, although charred. Maria rushed up next, focusing her geokinesis to throw frozen stones at the Egg Cerberus' face. The armor withstood, and Maria couldn't get the eye as the Egg Cerberus wouldn't hold still long enough to get a good shot. As it slightly retreated, Egg Cerberus jumped off a wall and charged at the girls in full force.
"Uh oh!" Breezy gulped. "Twist and shout, people!"
The three daughters of legends scattered like cockroaches in a lighted room, just as the Fenrir pounced on where they were. They flew across the arena and skidded to a halt in a crouch. All three looked up to see the approaching Egg Cerberus.
"What shall we do now?" Maria frowned.
"Maybe there's some kind of weak spot that this thing has," Athena said, not taking her eyes off the robot. "But where do we look?"
As Breezy watched the robot, she noticed a strange horn coming out of its head. After think quickly, she dashed up to the Egg Cerberus, surprising Maria and Athena. Avoiding the robot's jaws, she threw a hardened snowball at the face to distract it. Reaching the tail, she found the rails that made up its tail. Not thinking twice, she dashed onto it and grinded between the shoulders and at the last second grabbed the horn. Just like before, the Egg Cerberus went berserk, and it stampeded around the room, making sharp turns at random. Breezy held firm, using the heels of her sneakers and anchors on the horn to keep from falling. As a wall approached with alarming speeds, she jumped off and did a black flip to show off. The Egg Cerberus rammed into the wall with a deafening crash. It rose sluggishly and proceeded around, shaken but still out to complete its objective to stop the invaders.
"Guys!" Breezy shouted as she landed. "That horn is the weak spot. Let's give it all we've got!"
"You got it!" Maria nodded as she and Athena joined in.
Meanwhile, Jewels, Neo, Kera, Samson, Omega, Cream, Marine and Shade were dealing with the Freeze Cyclops. The monster was as tough as it looked, and fire attacks didn't even seem to do much against it. Shade lunged at the monster with her blade set on Leech Mode. She slashed furiously at it, hoping to drain its power. However, the Freeze Cyclops slammed its arm into her, making her crash into the snow. Shade clenched her fangs painfully behind her mask as she struggled to get back up.
Marine tried to get some clear shots by shooting green energy blasts from her hands, but that didn't do anything either. A blue glow erupted from the Freeze Cyclops' chest and twisted into a swirl. Soon, huge icicles came flying toward Marine. She managed to back up quickly to avoid getting hit. The Cyclops continued the assault by slamming its fist at her. All that got crushed were the icicles as Marine jumped to the arm and began to go for the head. Unfortunately, the Cyclops shook her too and she rolled over to the side.
"Blimey!" Marine exclaimed as she stood up, "Is that ice made a steel or somethin'? We con't do anythin'!"
"Phoenix Blade!" Radian called as he flew at the Freeze Cyclops as a burning missile. The attack collided, but like before, it did nothing. Radian landed among the heroes, infuriated.
"Dang! Even my fire attacks don't work!" Kera snarled through her teeth. "What are we suppose to do now?"
"Wait! I remember something!" Cream realized as she snapped her fingers, creating a short fuse, "Back in the old days, the stronger enemies had a type of weak spot that was either hidden or stuck out. Maybe that's what we need to do. We need to find a weak spot!"
"Thanks for the pep talk, auntie!" Jewels nodded. "Omega! If you will?"
"Affirmative," Omega's optics shifted to Analyze Mode as he scanned the Freeze Cyclopes. Finally, his optics returned to red as he reported what he found. "There is a purple orb on the back of the Freeze Cyclopes. Too much damage will break it apart."
"Let me try," Jewels said as she flew up into the air. She began to fly around the fly around the Cyclopes, avoiding its huge arms. As she managed to get to the back, she saw a purple orb sticking out of the back.
"Here I come!" Jewels yelled as she aimed her fist at the orb. It started to blaze with heat as she got closer. The moment she struck it, it cracked. The Freeze Cyclopes roared in pain as it felt it. Satisfied, she flew back to the others.
"That'd be weak spot alright," Jewels said as she landed. "Thanks, Omega!"
"I am here to assist."
"Now we know where to strike it," Shade nodded. "We have to proceed with caution, thought. That thing will try to not let it happen again."
"Roger that!" Emerl nodded.
Larcen rushed at Rothion with his dagger out and ready. Dagger met ax in a loud clashing sound. As Larcen went to kick him, the owl shifted left and aimed to cut the navy hedgehog in two. Larcen quickly put up his barrier to block it.
"I've had enough of you guessing games!" Larcen demanded. "What is Mephiles after?"
"You'd like to know, wouldn't you?" Rothion grinned as he raised his ax and slammed it against the barrier in a powerful shockwave. This broke the barrier and sent Larcen flying on his back. Before Rothion could finish the job, Marisa sided into her friend's defense and sent a fire wave from the ground up. Caught off guard, Rothion made a haste retreat. As the owl stopped himself, Darcy arrived next to him and snapped her fingers. At that moment, a bolt of darkness came from the sky and right at Marisa and Larcen. Both got out of the way in time and watched as the bolt struck the area where they stood, sending more snow in their faces. After they managed to wipe the white powder away, Larcen dashed at Rothion and Darcy without a word. Marisa assisted him by creating a tornado to launch him up. Larcen flew high up and came down in a max spinning kick. The attack power increased with his speed. Rothion and Darcy warped out of the way just as Larcen landed, sending snow flying from the impact.
As he slowly stood up, he saw that there was a lot more snow around him, making it difficult to see. He let his hearing guide him to try and find where the two of them may have ended up. He closed his eyes and began to focus. He needed to be very careful; he knew what he was up against. Just then, his senses snapped. Turning to his left, he charged at area where he heard some shuffling. Taking his dagger out again, he jumped in for a spinning strike.
"TERIAAAAAA!" Larcen yelled as he spun in a tornado like spin and slammed into the target. He made his impact, but the targets where not there.
"What-?" he gaped just before he was blasted on to his back. Before him, Darcy levitated downward.
"Larcen!" Marisa shouted as he ran to aid him. Unfortunately, she was blocked by an axe.
"You're friend is as good as dead," Rothion taunted. "Do not fret- you will join him soon enough."
"Get out of my way!" Marisa snapped as she reared her boot backwards.
KA-POW!
Rothion's beak was suddenly connected to Marisa foot as she sent a painful kick at his face. He was sent flying sky high, and crashed into the snow pile that was some feet away.
"It's too late for you're boyfriend now!" Darcy shouted as she held Larcen by the scruff of his neck. Her other hand had growing dark matter inside, "You should have yielded when you had the chance. Now he'll be the first to pay the price!"
"You… don't you dare…!" Marisa churned as her red eyes glowed and a magic aura formed around her dangerously.
"From the land of water and flames…
"Screw the introduction!"
A familiar set of blue rose flew down from the air and around Darcy and Larcen. A bright flash occurred, blowing Darcy and Larcen clear away from one another. As Darcy gained second wind, she saw the mysterious man standing in the recovering Larcen's defense. "I am the Blue Phantom!"
"You again?" Darcy frowned. "Well, this time I have something especially for you!" And she snapped her fingers.
In front of the Phantom, a strange puppet creature appeared. It was pure white with red glowing eyes. It looked very much like a manikin, but without the joints. It acknowledged him and took a fighter stance.
"What is this?" the Phantom questioned.
"I've taken note of your skills, and I'll admit that you are a strong fighter," Darcy said, "But even you will have some trouble with this puppet!"
"Heh heh, I doubt it," he said as he brushed his cape and took a stance. "Larcen, you and Marisa have unfinished business, don't you?"
Larcen was still slightly unsure of this man's motives, but he did have some trust in him. Slightly nodding, he took some steps back and joined Marisa.
The Phantom turned his attention back to the puppet and took a Horse Stance. "Come then, snow white. Show me your stuff!"
Taking the challenge, the puppet charge and began throwing fists at the Phantom. The Phantom managed to block each blow that was handed to him, but one of the blows got his gut. Taking advantage, the puppet kneed his chest, making him stagger back.
"Hmm, it's rather strong," he mused as he rubbed his stomach. "Alright, time to get serious."
Pulling out his roses, he threw them at the puppet. The puppet sidestepped out of range, making the roses sink in the snow. The Phantom continued to throw the infinite amount of roses, forcing the puppet to retreat farther. Suddenly, the Phantom stopped, and that was when the puppet realized that it was surrounded by a field of blue roses. In a chain reaction, the roses exploded, making the puppet shield itself. Amidst the snow and smoke, the Phantom appeared and kicked the puppet across the chest. Leaping back, he sent another rain of roses that exploded on contact. The puppet was wise enough to leap out of the way. Flying toward the Phantom, it sent a barrage of punches and kicks. As both landed away from each other, the puppet continued the attack by stretching its arm at the Phantom for a punch. Phantom quickly leaped up to avoid the attack as it slammed into the snow.
"Dang it! He's like Necro! And without the electricity!" he panted as he looked down. Looking upward, the puppet used its still locked arm to spring up and confront the Phantom with a double-leg kick. He managed to drive out of the way and land back down. The puppet landed after him and continued to throw out more attacks. The Phantom had to admit, it was very powerful. But then after moments of blocking, he spotted an opening. Clenching his fist, he sent a strong blow at the face. The puppet staggered, looking dazed. The Phantom smirked underneath his mask. Time to finish this.
"ORAH! ORAH! ORAH! ORAH! ORAH! ORAH! ORAH! ORAH!" The Phantom called as he sent a series of rapid kicks all over the puppet. The puppet started to spin after the kicks ceased, but he wasn't down. With his arm going ablaze, he reared it back, and sent a burning uppercut on the chin, a geyser of fire appearing around them.
"Shinryuken!"
The puppet slowly burned up and disintegrated as the attack took full effect. After there was nothing left of it, the Phantom halted the attack, landing in the area of melted snow.
"You bastard!" The Phantom turned around and saw an angry Rothion behind him. "You always interfere with us! I shall teach you the true meaning of pain!" With his green eyes flashing, Rothion swung his axe and created and energy blade. The Phantom shield himself with his cape, as it was made up of metal. But the blade pushed him back and threw him backwards, making him utter a painful grunt. Consequently, the cupid mask and the fedora flew into the air before landing with a soft pat. A pair a feet slowly walked up to it and two hands picked up. Kera the Hedgehog looked at the mask and fedora curiously.
"Phantom!" Marisa gasped as she ran up to him. He was kneeling behind her and had his head down. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," he said quickly. His voice sounded very different without the mask. He sounded almost… no way! "Just stop them from getting the Emerald!"
Turning around, she saw Darcy flying toward them with her hands glowing bright. She was aiming to finish the job. Quickly, she cupped her hands on her side as she produced a ball of light. After gaining enough energy, she threw the ball out. Darcy flew over it, but was soon struck by a blast of darkness.
"Even though we still don't know who you are," Marisa said, her hands still sparking from dark matter, "The least we can do is help you."
"Th-thanks," the Phantom uttered, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Breezy had witnessed what had happened to the Phantom and was seething mad. She hated seeing people get hurt, another trait inherited from her parents. "Girls, let's end this!"
Athena and Maria nodded. Before them, the Egg Cerberus was more battered than normal, due to the attacks the trio sent out. With one last effort, the machine charged. The girls jumped to avoid the charge and grabbed hold of the jaws. With their strength increased by pure adrenaline, the three miraculously flipped the Egg Cerberus on its back.
"Now Maria!" Athena shouted. The cat and echidna leaped into the air and changed up their attacks over their heads.
"Scorch Toss!"
"Chaos Bloom!"
The two attacks homed in at the stomach of the machine, causing a powerful burst that ripped right through. The Egg Cerberus let out one last howl before shutting down completely. A huge, smoking hole was seen there after. Satisfied, Breezy removed the Chaos Emerald from the head of the dead beast. Spotting Kera, she raced over to her.
"Kera!" she shouted as she reached her. "We got the Emerald! How are you guys holding out? And how's the Phantom Dude?"
"The Cyclops is almost down, but it's becoming more cunning," Kera told her. "Don't worry about the Phantom though. He doesn't seem hurt, but he won't be leaving. Not without these anyway," she continued as she showed the mask and fedora.
Blinking, she ran up to the Phantom and began to aid him. "Hey you, are you al-?" she began to say as she lifted his shoulders up to help him. But then she saw a clear view of his face. Breezy's eyes widened and her jaws dropped. She couldn't believe who she was seeing right in front of her.
"Y…you?"