Author's note. Hello, again I am back once more with a new chapter for you guys and girls to enjoy.
I want to give both a shout out and a thank you to TelethoASupreme, and singsong182 for leaving a favorite on this story thank you both so much.
So, then like usual a big thank you to TGN, SD321, bajy, Turquoise Triangle, YamiChaos 27, AlexrandriaPrime, KeybladeWriter of the Dawn, SharpDragonKlaw, and Mr. SwitchBoy and thank you all so much for sticking with this story, and I genuinely appreciate both your feedback and support.
Disclaimer I do not own anything in Sonic the Hedgehog. It is the intellectual property of Sega. The only aspects I can claim are the plot of this story and my Original characters.
Well without any further delay let's head into chapter 25.
Countdown to Eggman's plan 32 hours remaining.
The early evening sun shone overhead on Park Avenue when the Resistance's fleet landed in the fields north of the site where Eggman had begun his conquest of Mobius a little over six months ago. The surviving Resistance members departed the ship carrying ten bodies they'd been able to recover from the battlefield.
In silence, they had set a few hastily made tables up decorated with several lit candles along with any photos of the deceased members handed to the Resistance by grieving friends and family members. Gadget risked a glance at the table the lump forming in his throat. The wolf noticed most of the survivors sobbed raising their hands to wipe away the tears running down their faces in mourning for the deaths of their loved ones.
Most of the Resistance members stood in two lines bowed in grief. Sonic, Shadow, Vector, Rouge, Espio, Chaser and Sahara walked in between the two rows carrying the bodies wrapped in white blankets. The bright red giant stars stood out against the white sheets with a small gold medal pinned tightly to the blankets. Everyone in the Resistance agreed that they should bury the deceased with the highest honors.
Kaito, Mikhail, Tails, Gadget, and Amy wept openly with the other survivors of the Resistance mourning the deaths of their comrades. Knuckles walked to the small platform hastily set up only for Silver reaching out to the echidna speaking to him in low tones. Knuckles opened his mouth to protest but stood off to the side reluctantly.
Most of the Resistance members leveled venomous glares bristling at the sight of the echinda, the one who sent so many of their comrades to die a horrible death all because of a poorly thought out plan.
"Silver, it was my fault they died," Knuckles protested weakly. "The least I can do is to give them a send-off."
"They're still angry with you, Commander," Silver replied in a firm tone. "It will take time for them to forgive you."
Silver stood on a small platform taking in the sight of the open graves the bodies lowered into the graves. Silver silently looked down at his hands gripping the podium inhaling to calm himself. The combined stress and grief of the moment crashed down on the telekinetic hedgehog. So many Mobians looked back at him. The G.U.N forces headed back to their new headquarters situated somewhere in Empire City to host their funeral for the men and women lost in today's mission.
"There is no doubt that the men and women who lost their lives in Operation Big wave today, fought with courage," Silver raised his voice reverberating around the clearing making sure that everyone in the area heard his words. "We've fought alongside them for the last six months, and, we will never forget them for their courage, and they will be buried with the Golden hedgehog, the highest medal of honor the Resistance gives out for acts of true bravery."
Silver raised his hand. At his signal, the Resistance members raised their Wispons into the air firing of a salute. Then the first clod of soil was thrown into the pit. The sound of the dirt clod hitting the white cloth was sobering. The process of burying the dead took an hour as the last of bodies were lowered into the graves. The small photos embedded into the soil as makeshift tombstones. The Resistance made their way back as Gadget and Mikhail hurried over to five more graves the two half-brothers stood in silence.
"I can't believe Aria, Tyson, Russell, Mary, and Ian are dead," Mikhail spoke his eyes watering with tears. The young hybrid kneeled down placing a small flower on the soft soil of Russell's grave. "How can we even forgive Zerinn for what's he done?"
Gadget hesitated to answer opting to fiddle with the rough leather on his glove. All Gadget could do was swallow nervously remembering all the good times he'd had with Zerinn, but those times were gone, and Gadget closed his eyes fighting past the lump in his throat. Zerinn was dead and gone. Nothing would ever be the same again, and the wolf let out a low breath before he turned to face Mikhail with a cold look in his eyes.
"The next time we meet, I'll kill Infinite," Gadget said wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. "He used the image of Russell and everyone else to hurt me when he trapped me in Null Space. Infinite is a cruel, sadistic monster."
The wolf wanted nothing more than to reach out for the Phantom Ruby on Infinite's chest and rip it off him, and even then it still wouldn't be enough. Gadget and Mikhail walked back along with several more members in silence. Gadget saw Kaito standing at the entrance to the ship waiting for them with a tense frown on his face. Gadget wondered if the jackal had overheard any part of their conversation.
The three of them headed to a corner of the ship away from anyone else who might want to hear what the jackal had to say. Gadget placed an arm around Kaito helping him sit down with Mikhail sitting on his left side. For a few minutes, the three of them sat together in an uncomfortable silence.
"I'll tell you how I lost my fragment of the Phantom Ruby," Kaito replied. "When Infinite captured me back in Mystic Jungle, Eggman decided that I wasn't worthy of the power of the Phantom Ruby and Metal Sonic ripped it out of my chest."
"That's awful Kaito, and I'm sure we'll win this war," Mikhail spoke patting Kaito on the shoulder. "If we fail then Eggman's truly best thing we can do right now is to hold on to what little hope we have left."
Kaito chose not to respond as the three of them watched the last few Resistance members trudging up the ramp of the ship entering it. The hum of the giant hatch to the back of the ship closed behind them. The Resistance's fleet continued their journey back to Angel Island with a resistance that lost all hope of winning this war.
Countdown to Eggman's plan 31 hours remaining.
The ship landed on Angel Island. Most of the Resistance shot glares at muttering in low tones. Knuckles ignored them making his way towards the Hidden Palace Zone entering it leading down the same pathway he took Sonic and Rouge down heading into the Hidden Palace Zone. The echinda paused hearing a pair of footsteps on the smooth steps. Most of the Resistance ventured out to reclaim their spare blankets and pillows opting to sleep in the large ship tonight not wanting to sleep in Mushroom Hill Zone.
"You don't mind if we join you Knuckles?"
Knuckles sighed turning around on his heel noticing Rouge and Sonic following him down the stairs. A pregnant pause filled the air before the guardian huffed in annoyance.
"Fine if you must, but I'm watching you Batgirl," Knuckles replied. "I'm not in a talking mood at the moment."
Knuckles resumed his walk down the stairs aware of Sonic and Rouge following him in silence until the three of them entered Hidden Palace. The echidna opened the way the trio walked into as Knuckles made his way towards a small brown sack resting on the ground picking it up holding on it the rough material in the palm of his hand.
"Look Knux, you can't beat yourself up for what happened with Operation Big Wave," Sonic spoke softly holding a hand up in a peaceful gesture. "I know that no one could have foreseen Infinite coming, and you needed to have a little m-"
Before the hedgehog could finish his sentence Rouge elbowed him sharply in the side ignoring the glare sent in her direction with Sonic forcing his quills to lie flat.
"Look honey, so I will admit that you blew it, but you shouldn't put yourself down like this," Rouge mumbled walking over to the echidna placing an arm around his shoulders. "Besides you hid two of the Chaos Emeralds away down here and can I see them?"
"No, you can't steal them Batgirl," Knuckles replied seeing the giant green Emerald still in its bed of crystals. The echidna walked up to the Master Emerald placing a hand on the cold surface seeing a flash of blue with blank green eyes staring back at him. The echidna felt reassured that at least Chaos was never on Eggman's side in the first place.
"Please I know that you're in there and we could use your help," Knuckles said with a heavy sigh. "Eggman has taken over the world. I have failed as a leader, and I have protected you for as long as I can remember after my parents passed from way doing their duty. Please, I need your help and guidance."
The silence hung over in the Master Emerald Chamber the single sound was the gentle hum of the giant emerald. For a few minutes, nothing happened, and a small pink light above the green emerald was taking the shape of a young echidna girl surrounded by a pink glow. The echinda girl wore the ancient tribal clothing from what appeared to be from the era of the ancient echidna tribe. White rings adorned her dreadlocks. Her deep blue gazed kindly at Sonic, Rouge, and Knuckles. Several ghostly Chao ran around her feet making a gentle cooing sound.
"Hello Sonic and Knuckles, it has been a long time since we last met," Tikal said softly hovering in the surveying the trio. "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to offer my help in this time of death and destruction. Chaos has become enraged that he a fake of him is being used to nothing, but despair, pain, and fear into the hearts of the people of Mobius."
"Well then, that's new," Rouge spoke up the small coy smile on her face. "That Master Emerald is full of surprises. I'd never imagined that it was the seal for an echidna girl."
"That's Tikal, she is a young girl who lived around four thousand years ago, and sacrificed herself to seal Chaos away," Sonic explained. "When Eggman freed Chaos, she helped us calm him down, and I went super to stop Chaos. Station Square almost ended up being wiped off the face of Mobius."
Tikal turned her head towards the source of the voice a small frown of confusion on her face looking down at the bat meeting her gaze the bat colly making eye contact with Tikal with a slight sly smile on her face.
"Ignore her Tikal," Knuckles broke the tense silence his voice heavy with emotion. "She's just an arrogant thief and not a lady as she claims to be."
The Guardian heard Rouge's irritated huff. Rouge folded her arms tapping her heel impatiently against the smooth cold tiles.
"Tikal we're facing a crisis," Knuckles spoke keeping his tone urgent and low. "Eggman somehow got a hold a gem called the Phantom Ruby. It's able to create a virtual reality that feels like it's real, but it's not. We attempted to storm Eggman's main base of operations, but it went wrong, and many people died because of me."
"Do not give up on what little hope that you have left Knuckles," Tikal said smiling a small soft smile. "It will take time for you to regain the trust of the Resistance and if you give up on hope, it is gone."
For a few moments, Knuckles hung his head low as Sonic and Rouge exchanged a look. A low thud caught their attention noticing the Master Emerald shook violently as though a considerable force slammed into it the emerald shifted violently on the bed of emerald green crystals.
A sudden force appeared to yank Tikal down forcefully. A gasp of shock escaped the echidna's lips. Something continued to tug her down. Sonic raced forwards along with Knuckles.
"I'm sorry if my advice wasn't much," Tikal cried out. "Chaos is becoming enraged once more. You have to stop the darkness. Remember always to hold on to hope even in the darkest of times."
With a bright flash, Tika vanished into the Master Emerald the bright green eyes stared out maliciously at the Resistance members before Chaos was tugged back by an unseen force as the giant green emerald came to a rest on the bed of crystals.
"Hey, Knux is Chaos trying to escape?"
Knuckles pressed a hand to the surface of the Master Emerald seeing Chaos writhing before the pink light floating closer to Chaos the gentle warmth from the light appeared to soothe the God of Destruction vanishing from sight. The guardian heaved out a sigh of relief the small smile never leaving his face.
Thank you, Tikal, for your advice.
"Tikal is right," Sonic said gently. "I know that things are bad right now, but we can't lose sight of hope. These things take time, and I'm sure that you'll be able to prove that can lead the Resistance. Besides, you'll have my support Knux, no matter what happens from this moment on."
"You have my support as well handsome," Rouge added in. "Sonic's right. You have been a good leader, and I will be with you until you regain the Resistance's trust."
Knuckles inhaled claiming himself turning around to face both Sonic and Rouge. The blue hedgehog flashed him a smile and a thumbs up in reassurance, and the gesture caused a small smile to appear on Knuckles' face. Rouge smiled softly at him. It was far different from her usual coy smiles as it seemed to be more genuine.
The bat cast her eyes towards the Master Emerald a small frown on her face shifting to worry at the giant green emerald.
"Is there any chance that the real Chaos could break out of the Master Emerald?"
Knuckles frowned looking back at the giant Emerald. At the moment the echidna couldn't explain the sense of dread at the moment. For now, it appeared that Tikal soothed Chaos for now, but a knot of worry formed in the echidna's stomach that sooner or later Chaos was going to escape the giant green Emerald. Knuckles blinked a couple of times that he thought he saw a tiny crack running along the surface of the Master Emerald.
"Rouge, Sonic I hope not," Knuckles replied trying to keep his voice calm. "We still need to stop Eggman's plan, and the last thing we need is the real Chaos causing problems. Form now on I promise to try at least to regain the Resistance's trust."
Knuckles saw the small, confident smile on Sonic's face seeing Rouge nod in agreement with Sonic's statement.
"Like I've said I would stand by you no matter what happens," Rouge said taking Knuckles' hands in her own. "No matter how valuable some gems are. It's a promise Knuckles."
Knuckles blushed slightly by the bat's touch. The two of them broke away from each other noticing Sonic standing there with a knowing smile on his face.
"Right uh, let's head back," Rouge said leading the way. Sonic walked by Knuckles the grin on her face.
"Admit it Knuckles you like her," Sonic said with a small grin on his face.
"No, I don't!" Knuckles growled in frustration. "Besides she's a reluctant friend that's all there is to it."
"If you say so Knuckles," Sonic said stifling a yawn. "We should get some rest before you know we save the world from whatever it is that Eggman's planning."
Knuckles nodded in agreement allowing Sonic to go ahead of him. The Guardian cast one last look back at the Master Emerald in silence before he followed both Sonic and Rouge up the stairs heading back to the ship hopefully to be able to get a good night's sleep.
As the doors closed behind them, no one noticed the small crack starting to grow along the surface of the green emerald. It was a bad omen for an event which would soon occur in the future at a time where no one would expect it.
Countdown to Eggman's plan remaining. 28 hours remaining.
Infinite stormed down the corridors leading to the meeting room his tail swishing back and forth. On the way back the jackal seethed with repressed fury. He'd been so close to wiping out the Resistance. Infinite spied the doctors' two helper robots scurrying out of his way raising a fist banging it on the heavy metallic door.
"Open this door at once Doctor!" Infinite bellowed in pure anger. "We need to discuss what happened today."
The door hissed open allowing Infinite stalked into the room, The first thing he noticed was that the room was pitch black and the rotund figure of Eggman stood there at the window his hands folded behind his back looking down over at Mortar Canyon the small frown never leaving his face.
"Ah Infinite, what brings you to my lair at this time of night?" There was a quiet menace to the question. Eggman turned around adjusting his glasses with his finger as he snapped his fingers the bright lights illuminated the room the jackal winced raising a hand to shield his single eye. "You should be resting since tomorrow is a big day, and three of my other volunteers are busy making preparations to make our conquest of Mobius official."
"We should have finished the Resistance in Metropolis," Infinite lashed out in anger his tail bristling. "They were at our mercy, and we should've finished them off!"
"It would've been no fun if the Resistance was eliminated before the climax of my plan," Eggman replied. "No, I want to see them squirm. Oh, right I remember you squirming seeing that weak squad of yours getting eliminated by Shadow. Oh, my condolences for the loss of your half-brother, come to think of it he was too weak to handle the power of the Phantom Ruby."
Infinite growled at Eggman's false sentiment the anger growing. The jackal's fingers were reaching for the Phantom Ruby Prototype. The tips of his claws were brushing against the surface of the gem. All Infinite could feel was the unbridled fury building up inside him.
"Oh, and by the way, I still remember the time you bled over my expensive floor," Eggman goaded Infinite. "Your weak blood soiled my floor, and I spent several days to cleaning it out of my expensive floor tiles."
Infinite screamed in rage at the word weak, raising his fingers brushing against the surface of the gem. What followed next was a sharp excruciating pain ripping right through his body. The red wave came from the Phantom Ruby slammed into Infinite. Infinite sank to the ground writhing in agony from the pain. The jackal saw a pair of black and silver boots, and he didn't have to look up to see the sneer on Kaito's face.
"Look at this my weak older half-brother lying on the ground like a kicked jackal child," Kaito sneered gleefully taking in the jackal's predicament.
Infinite stiffened Kaito wasn't alone, Images of Gadget and Shadow appeared alongside him. The wolf bore a smirk on his face looking down at Infinite with contempt.
"Look, at this the Ultimate Mercenary who can't even fight on his own," The illusion of Gadget spoke with a sneer in his voice. "You summoned up false illusions of my friends, and I still was able to beat you. You are the weakest being in all of Mobius."
In response, Infinite let out a scream of rage lunging for the illusion only for Shadow to tackle him to the ground kicking him several times.
"That was pathetic, just like your squad," Shadow sneered the small condescending smirk on his face. "No wonder half of them fell to me so easily. "You're not the Ultimate Mercenary. No, I believe that you are the weakest mercenary in Mobius."
The hedgehog darted forward lashing out at the jackal's wrists and ankles feeling the heat of the hover shoes raking away at his fur causing the jackal to throw back his head screaming in agony. Infinite curled up protecting his head. The masked jackal lay on the ground unable to stop the combined attack from the illusions. Infinite closed his eye in vain to drown out the word weak repeatedly uttered, and it made him want to scream.
Eggman watched the scene in silence before he removed his finger from the button. The illusions vanished leaving Infinite slumped to the ground. The heat from the hover jets burned away the fur on his wrists and ankles leaving bald spots. Infinite lay in the same position panting heavily. Infinite didn't move from his position trembling slightly.
"You traitor," Infinite wheezed trembling from the shock coming under attack from the false illusions of Kaito, Gadget, and Shadow. "How dare you'd be this disobedient."
A burst of maniacal laughter ripped from Eggman's throat. Infinite saw the genius bend over in a fit of insane giggles holding his hands over his stomach.
"Now that's funny that you were talking about disobedience when I told you to bring Shadow to the Death Egg," Eggman said all traces of good humor gone. "And then you left Sonic alive even though it caused us to lose the Arsenal Pyramid. The switch you see on my wrist can turn the Phantom Ruby's powers against you bringing your own worst fears to life."
Infinite made no response looking up at Eggman at a loss for words his eye narrowed slightly, clenching one of his fists in anger. The jackal ignored the stinging cuts all over his body, the small trickles of blood ran down his ebony fur.
"That was just a warning Infinite, and if you go against me again, the next time it will be worse," Eggman snarled. "Have I made myself clear?"
Eggman allowed Infinite to get to his feet. Infinite turned his head to glare at Eggman his fists clenched taking a step forward as Eggman raised a finger over the button. Infinite flinched not wanting to experience the searing pain again.
"Yes, you have Eggman," Infinite felt sick to his stomach. The jackal heard the hiss of the doors open seeing Eggman jerk his head silently towards a waiting Eggpawn gesturing for the robot to pick up Infinite. The cold metal of the robots' arms pressed up against his steel mask, the cold touch against his fur made Infinite uneasy.
The Eggpawn carried the jackal out of the room. The robot walked in silence down the hallway back towards Infinite's room. Infinite slumped in the robot's arms still in a state of shock. Infinite couldn't believe how easy it had been for Eggman to turn the power of the Phantom Ruby on him. The door slid open with a hiss the robot entered the room depositing the jackal on the bed; then it walked out of in silence leaving a brooding jackal simmering with fury lying on the bed.
"Someday, that fat man will pay for what he did to me," Infinite snarled his claws digging into the bed sheets. "I'll make that fat bastard pay for what he said about Kaito and the rest of my squad. Moreover, then this world will be mine to turn into a ravaged wasteland."
Infinite was determined to keep his promise of achieving his dream no matter who stood in his way. The jackal suddenly rolled over onto his side breaking into a violent coughing fit. Infinite covered a hand over his mouth, his lungs almost begging for relief. Mercifully the coughing fit ended leaving the jackal gasping for breath.
"Ugh, not another coughing fit," Infinite lifted his hand spying the small red drops of blood on the palms of his hands. "How is this happening? I can't be getting sick now, not when I'm so close to achieving my dream of that wasteland."
Infinite chose to get up pulling back the blankets settling in for an uneasy night's sleep. For now, a tense quiet filled Eggman's lair for it was clear that the battle to decide the fate of the planet would soon arrive.
Author's note
This chapter was a tough one to write since I chose to have Tikal make an appearance here because well I feel she's been forgotten by Sonic team and well since she is a part of Chaos' origin well you can't have Chaos make an appearance without her. I do have a plan for the real Chaos, but you'll have to wait and see what those plans are. I do have a post-war arc planned once the war to take back the planet arc concludes and that's all I'll be saying for now.
I had to slip in one more Knuxouge moment because Knuckles is slowly coming to terms with the fact it was his lack of planning that led to how Operation Big Wave turned out badly as it did. I wanted to put in a moment where Knuckles slowly starts to regain his confidence, and it's going to take time for the echidna to prove that he can make up for his mistake when it came to Operation Big Wave.
The central scene was the tension between Eggman and Infinite. Another thing I liked Forces for was how it handled Eggman. It was satisfying to see Eggman as a competent villain, and he had a plan in mind in case Infinite tried to betray him, also with having a backup generator in case, the first one got destroyed. Also having him be several steps ahead of the heroes is a change to his character I wouldn't mind seeing in any future games in the series.
To clear up any confusion for a couple of points in this chapter. As for why Infinite attempted to attack Eggman he was angry with the doctor for fleeing the battle in Metropolis because he saw it as a wasted opportunity to wipe out the Resistance, but Eggman refused to do so. In return, Eggman decided on purpose to goad Infinite for a couple of reasons. The first reason it was to show that he wouldn't allow Infinite to intimidate him and to remind the jackal who was really in charge.
The second reason Eggman goaded Infinite is that he wanted an excuse to test out his Phantom Ruby countering device that can redirect the effects of the Phantom Ruby back on its user. Eggman built it shortly after he infused Infinite with the finalized Phantom Ruby Prototype in case Infinite turned on him and the partnership between Eggman and Infinite will continue to get worse, in the next few chapters.
A question of the day for you all. Are you guys excited for Sonic Mania plus' release in a little under two weeks?
As per usual Constructive Criticism/thoughts and reviews are welcomed and appreciated. I will see you guys with the next update over the weekend.