Crisis of Ivory

Chapter 26: More than Machine

Sonic, Tails, Blaze, and Tain walked down another roadway across the city, moving their way through the streets on the way to the main factory. They did not take their approach as Gemini did, robot parts falling in their wake as the heroes destroyed robots at every turn. The blue hedgehog smirked slightly as he destroyed the robots, but Amy noticed his attitude was not in full swing as it usually was-something was bothering him, and she had a good feeling what it was about. A large machine fell in front of the group but Sonic's body flickered into an afterimage before a massive spheric burst of azure destruction known as the Sonic Storm tore it apart in instants, the pieces falling to the ground.

The group then marched on, not walking but not exactly running either, as they had to preserve energy. The mist seemed to thin slightly as they moved forward, revealing more factories and workings of pipes, along with the main factory looming overhead, it's upper levels disappearing through the clouds. More robots came at the heroes, but this time Blaze came to the rescue, unleashing a Fireball from each hand which destroyed the rest in the radius of their explosions. A wide flying mech shot at the heroes but Tails unleashed an Energy Sphere just in time, the remains of the robot flying around the group.

"I really don't think this is a good tactic," Blaze argued. "We should stay hidden. We're going to use up too much energy and if Xi could kidnap Knuckles, Luxi, Silver, and Shade with ease then we're going to need as much energy as we can get."

"I'm prepared," Tails said, pulling out a few multicolored Chaos Drives. "I bought a lot of these from the GUN with the rest of the ransom money we got from killing Eggman. One or two of these could completely fill your energy in no time. I think it heals you a bit, too!"

"That was good thinking, kid," Tain said, rubbing his head. "I like that. If it wasn't for the fact you're one of those...hero types and all, you would make an awesome mercenary."

"Technically, you're a hero now too anyway. You are working towards the better good, with heroes, and without official bounties or pay silly," Blaze chuckled, causing the wolf's cheeks to turn red.

"Say what you will. Maybe I'll make you guys pay me eventually, so don't give me any ideas," Tain retorted. "So blue kid, wanna tell us why you're so down?"

"I-I'm not down at all!" Sonic denied hopelessly. "I'm still up to my hero business, doing my thing!"

"Please, your ego would be much worse if you were really in the mood," Tain scoffed. "It's about that Emerl kid."

"I don't know, it's just that I really trusted him. I don't even know how he came back, but he's definitely not being controlled in any way and he seems normal...save for the stuff he's helping this Xi do," Sonic said, dropping his joyous demeanor. "I just want to know why...I want to know what happened so I can help him."

"I have no doubt you can help him, Sonic," Blaze stated. "You helped Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Chaos, Shadow, me, Marine, Shahra, Chip, Merlina, and now Ray. You have a power that's not just your speeds and the wind it makes, you have the power to understand and help people. You're already helped Emerl once, you can do it again. I believe you can."

"Thanks Blaze," Sonic smiled. "I really needed that. All I know is that I'm not leaving him here. When I settle this with Xi, I'm settling things with Emerl too. Anyhow Tails, you got a plan?"

"I do actually," Tails smiled, excited to show his creation. The fox pressed a button before orange codes of data began wrapping around the barrel rapidly, forming a miniature cyclone. "I gave my new Energy Cannon a data mode which converts my energy into the data codes for the anti virus and puts it into an Energy Arrow technique. If I can get a good hit on Xi-the physical body of this whole virus, I can kill the whole corruption with one blow and stop his plan. You'll have to give me an opening, which will be hard by itself because these shots take a real long time to charge and he can guard against it otherwise, but if you do then we're good."

"I gotta say, that's real good. With four of us working to distract him and Tails having another anti virus ready, there's no way we can fail this time," Blaze nodded. "We'll have to see how Xi plans to use our friends he took, but otherwise it sounds good."

"In a way, it sounds too good though," Tain said, thinking deeply. "This Xi is a real, breathing virus, who set up a massive army in seconds, took over half of the cities of the world, and set up this insane labyrinth which is the last place GUN would look. Honestly, I don't think someone who did all of that would be ready to lose to a few heroes who want to get their friends back."

"We'll just take this slowly," Tails said. "We've handled much worse. Yes, he has our friends, but he has no reason to kill them yet since his machines have only been looking to take over networks. I just wonder how much longer he'll stick to that."

The group continued to walk on through the roadway, ducking into a group of pipes at Blaze's suggestion. The heroes walked on it before emerging at the top of a very small factory that laid in the middle of an intersection, a group of factories being connected by the intersection. The heroes climbed out at the top of it as Blaze quickly snapped the head of a mech patrolling at the top before hiding in the shadows.

But as they waited, Sonic was suddenly on alert. There were mechs all around, including a few Gizoids who should have sensed their presence, but none of them even paid attention to them. Either Xi decided to let them come to him without a fight, or another threat was coming to take them on alone. In that instant the blue hedgehog had his comrades leap down to another pipe on the roof of the factory, and with good reason. The Gizoid's blue cape flowed out behind him as his arm change into an Energy Cannon and fired a large Energy Sphere down at the pipe, smashing it to pieces as the fragments fell back down to earth.

"An Energy Sphere? When did a Gizoid get to copy that from me?" Tails asked.

"They could only do that back at MeteoTech," Sonic deduced. "Which means its not just an ordinary Gizoid!"

As the heroes jumped down onto the actual steel roof, their footsteps clanging against the surface the smoking barrel of the beige Energy Cannon formed back into a robotic black hand which led to a gold arm. Emerl looked at Sonic with his sapphire eyes, a white aura of energy surrounding him. Sonic and Blaze quickly stepped forward, their own auras flaring as the fighters stared each other down. The other heroes quickly got at the ready in the back, prepared to back up the two if necessary. Emerl hid his emotions as kinetic force rippled around him, adding to the energy present.

"Kinetic energy...so you had to fight that jackal that attacked us in Empire City one month ago!" Tails realized. "He's in the city?"

"You the Ragnarok agent? Well, yes. He wasn't much of a challenge, but then again he was trying to test me, treating me a mere puppet," Emerl hissed.

"Why, Emerl? Why are you doing this?" Sonic pleaded. "You don't have to become Xi's pawn!"

"I am not a pawn of Xi...he is all I have left," Emerl said, a depressed feeling washing over his voice. "I know what I was...one of the Nocturnus. I was created for destruction, and so I have to serve my purpose by following what is left of the Nocturnus in this dimension."

"So Xi is a Nocturnus?" Sonic asked. "That would explain at least slightly why he looks like Ix."

"No...Xi looks like an Ix for an entirely different reason. He is not one of the Nocturnus," Emerl stated. "But that doesn't matter. I have been charged to destroy you and now that I know what I truly am, not just a weapon of destruction but an extension of the will of the Nocturnus, I have to follow it."

"But when you thought you were a weapon of destruction you didn't follow that! You had your own decisions, and you followed them," Sonic countered. "You still do!"

"But this is different. Though it will be hard to let go of everything that I've learned from you guys, I have a noble purpose. I've assimilated enough abilities that I hope to be a challenge for Ix, and then I can help lead and free my people since I would be the only one alive who is old enough to know the intentions of the Nocturnus from before the Argus Event. I don't know what Xi plans to do, but he was able to rip me from Nocturne and save me so his plan can only help me," Emerl explained.

"What happened to you?" was all Sonic had to say, small tears appearing in the corners of his eyes.

"En garde!" Emerl shouted, suddenly rushing forward at supersonic speeds.

The blue hedgehog was too shocked at the moment, and Blaze saw that, pushing him to the side and holding out her palm before unleashing a massive Fireball. The Gizoid quickly reacted by punching his fist out, unleashing a massive burst of a pressure which suffocated the flames instantly, and continued his charge, launching down at Blaze in a shell of pressure. The cat cartwheeled and pushed off into the air to narrowly avoid the descending Emerl who smashed through the roof. Blaze quickly panted and tried to follow the rising heat of Emerl as he maneuvered along the ceiling pipes below.

In an instant Emerl burst through the roof behind Blaze, clapping his hands together before unleashing a powerful flamethrower. The cat simply smirked as the flames washed over her body-it was like a soothing coating of warmth to her. But as the flames released smoke the cat realized it was a distraction, but by the time she could do anything Emerl zipped in front of her in a blue streak, dropping to the ground before smashing a high kick into the center of Blaze's chest. The cat was sent sailing up into the air before falling back and crashing into the side of a massive sewage pipe on the side of the factory.

The cat was drenched in sewage, the flames around her body weak from the liquid around her. The cat tried to wipe herself off before leaping back across to the roof until she saw the drop back below to them to the street, and though she had seen worse it was enough that she couldn't jump across immediately. Emerl leaped onto his feet, staring down Sonic as he finished charging up a violent Sonic Storm in his right hand's grasp.

"You really think you're going to be able to take on Ix anyhow? I couldn't take him on by myself without Super Sonic!" Sonic reasoned. "Yes, Xi did save you from getting killed in the Twilight Cage, as I bet the reception for being the reason Argus sucked Nocturne into the Twilight Cage was not met well by Ix, but you don't owe him anything. He can't convince you of any fate. Isn't that what I taught you?"

"It wasn't just Xi, Sonic!" Emerl shouted. "That girl, Umbra...that Nocturnus scientist was told to bring me back to life to help break back into Earth, but she broke me out, took me to that Nocturnus hermit Nestor, and the two made me so happy...they taught me how to be my own person, and with the protection of the Kron I felt just as I did when I was with you, if not better because I could pretend that now that I knew who I was there would be no conflict."

"Looks like those other tribes are still free from Nocturne," Sonic said. "But it doesn't end there."

"No, it doesn't," Emerl continued. "Ix was mad at Umbra, Nestor, and me, and he decided that he would take some Gizoids and take the fight to me even through the Kron to vent his rage for you defeating him. He was alive and well. He made me watch while he killed Umbra, and though Nestor fought he wasn't nearly on the same level. Then Ix wiped all of my powers that I copied when I tried to fight him myself, and he was about to kill me when he showed up."

"Xi," Sonic hissed.

"He grabbed me and somehow separated even the dimensional barrier with some weird contraption he had and took me with him," Emerl concluded. "He left me to fend for myself and then let me come back to him after he met with that blue robot that looks like you."

"Metal Sonic's with Xi?" Amy questioned.

"No way!" Tails shouted; no one could believe it. "That's what he's been up to! But what could he gain by all of this?"

"I don't know what Metal Sonic or Xi wants!" Emerl shouted before launching at Sonic. "I just know what I need to do in the memories of Umbra and Nestor!"

The Gizoid's opal flashed before he held out his hand, silky white winds forming into a violent sphere of rotating energy while wind like blades surrounded it. The two summoned upon their speed and zipped at each other, the two Sonic Storms colliding against each other as blue and gray winds blasted outwards in all directions. The two shot past each other before spinning around, th Gizoid attempting to kick him only for the blue hedgehog to block. The blue hedgehog suddenly switched up his grasp to throw the Gizoid over him but Emerl held out his hand and unleashed another burst of pressure, shooting blue hedgehog into the roof.

"I'm not going to stop until I knock some sense into you!" Sonic vowed, stepping out of the corner before spinning into a ball and launching at the Gizoid who simply sidestepped his attack and sent a Fireball at the spinning form only Sonic to arc around it. "You're not just a machine with a purpose, you're so much more than that."

"You don't understand! I owe this to Umbra, and if that meas I have to fall into darkness to make it back into the Twilight Cage to avenge her, then that's what I have to do," Emerl yelled, holding out his Energy Cannon as it unleashed a powerful Energy Bolt that knocked Sonic out of his ball form and tossed him across the ground. "I am doing what I need to do, to serve the Nocturnus."

"But is that what you want to do?" Sonic asked, kicking off of the ground and shooting at Emerl, smashing him in the fact with a powerful fist at supersonic speeds. The Gizoid staggered back as Sonic leaped behind him and grabbed his cape, spinning him around before the cape ripped from his back and tossed him through the side of a pipe sticking up from the roof, the entire pipe falling on top of him. "Is that what you really want?"

"Do you know what I want, huh?" Emerl responded, emerging from the roof, white energy spiraling around him. "I want to look away from all of these horrors that make up my past and never look back. I want to pretend that everything will be okay and that I can live in peace with Umbra and Nestor, here, away from our enemies in the Twilight Cage."

"So, why can't you?" Sonic said, reeling back before zooming around the pipe Emerl was on, forming a massive azure tornado. "You can leave this place and never look back. I don't know about Umbra and Nestor, but you don't owe the Nocturnus anything. I'm sure Umbra would want you to leave them, after all she did take you to Nestor, away from them, right?"

"But I can't just leave the Nocturnus behind," Emerl said, unleashing a blast of pressurized energy before unleashing a powerful jet of flames. The jet of flames unleashed a powerful explosion as it made contact with the pressurized energy, the explosion tearing apart the blue tornado as Sonic flew up into the air, the Gizoid rushing to meet him by levitating. "I can't just leave them to Ix."

The two reeled back their fists as they collided in the air, unleashing a massive ring of energy. The Gizoid tried to unleash his other fist, but Sonic grabbed that and pushed it off to the side. The two let go of each other before unleashing a barrage of blows as they fell back down to the earth before pushing off from each other with two Sonic Winds. The flames and blue winds died down as the two fighters stared each other down, panting from the intense fighting they participated in Blaze finally gained the courage to pull herself back onto the roof, but she was drenched with sewage-she couldn't help Sonic now.

"Think about it, Emerl," Sonic said. "If people like Umbra and Nestor could see the light, then so could the rest of the Nocturnus. Ix may be reigning still for now, but eventually, if you three could rebel, then so could the others. No one has to decide your fate, I learned that a long time ago."

"You...you're right Sonic," Emerl said. "Thank you. Umbra would want me to move on and I have to live in her memory."

"Exactly dude, just come with us," Sonic smiled, holding out his hand as the fighters ceased their tension. "Once we're done we can leave this place and never look back. You can start over."

"I wish...I wish that could be true," Emerl said, a tear impossibly dropping from his robotic eye. "Thank you Sonic, Nestor, and Umbra. I'm going to set things right now."

"Wait!" Sonic shouted.

But it was too late. In that instant the Gizoid spread out his arms, uttering the words that Sonic had known too well. The ripples of the Chaos Control were powerful enough to tear through the fog and the roof the factory, everything captured in it floating in the air around the Gizoid. Emerl then tightened his fists as the world around them began to warp, hurtling the heroes through space while the torn debris spun around the robot as he launched directly through the warp of time, heading for Xi, ready to annihilate him with all of the chaos energy he could muster that shot through the ripples of space, and as the attack emerged from the ripple protecting Emerl and launched at Xi he could see victory nearing.

"Nice try kid, but we were ready for this," Metal said.

Then Emerl's sacrifice was all in vain. Electricity rippled through Metal's claw as it impaled his body in a Volt Strike, the two suddenly thrust back into the real world as the electricity completely ripped through Emerl's systems, smashing his programming to shreds and destroying his chaos servers. As the ancient machine was ripped off of Metal's claw, falling to the ground as Knuckles and Shade cried out to him and the light faded from his mechanical sapphire eyes.

The robot was not paying any attention to the main factory however, instead staring up as he became very light, his back platings breaking as massive flaming angel wings emerged from them and the feelings of the real world vanished from his body. The Gizoid felt a soul, a heart beating as he looked up into the glistening golden clouds, and finally saw Nestor and Umbra staring at him, angel wings emerging from their backs as well.

You did a great job, Emerl.

"Whoa!" Gemini shouted, his group suddenly falling from a ripple above them.

The hedgehog quickly puked as the other heroes looked on sickeningly, while Amy looked up to the massive Central Factory in front of them that penetrated the fog. Above them the sky took on an eerie turquoise shade, but for what reason Amy did not know as of yet. They had faced so many Gizoids and other mechs of all sizes and kinds, but for some reason in the heat of battle they were whisked away to the central roadway in front of the massive factory.

"I can feel Sonic; his signature is suddenly nearby," Amy reported. "I think this is it. Xi must be inside."

"If they're here then we'll find them inside, no need to wait! Captain Marine says we voyage on!" Marine called out, much to the other's dismay.

"Yeah, yeah, we're going," Alice muttered, the group of four rushing forward as they ascended the pipes that led to the main structure, ready to face the obstacles that laid ahead.

To Be Continued...

A/N: The two parter that concludes this arc is up next. Now we know that Xi's plan is on the horizon with Emerl's death and that he really did come from the Twilight Cage. But why does he look like Ix, and what does all of this have to do with Metal and gaining hearts? All of the answers will be revealed in the next two chapters, so review and hang tight for all of that!