(Music Insert: Kevin MacLeod ~ Crypto)

Space. Cold and silent; full, still barren. It was especially easy to get crazy because of the lack of contact in the eternal void of near blackness. However, it provided the only occupant of the Egg-Mobile with a strange sense of peace. Dr. Eggman sat back and reclined lazily in his chair, grinning. He had all six Chaos Emeralds once again, as well as one Time Stone preaching the choir as well. It was like killing two rats with one stone.

"Hehehe… Soon, my new empire shall tower over all of creation! How's Metal Sonic's recovery from fighting that blue little rug rat, Orbot?" The evil doctor asked, turning his head towards his robot minions, particularly his glorious creation as well.

"Still compatible, but just on the side note, sir, he shattered through ten or fifteen battlements today," Orbot said, putting his hands on his bottom half.

"At least he's still useful for one more time until we arrive at the Death Egg. Now shut up! Besides, I'm not done with those pests yet!" Dr. Eggman said as his computer came to life and notified him that the entire space station received a message for him on the Egg-Heart.

"Display on the central monitor… Ugh," he replied out loud, sitting up and rubbing his eyes from what little sleep he had to scrape.

Everything else had taken a lot out of him, and he was still feeling the fatigue from the failures by that damned hedgehog.

"At least the Egg-Mites' help are well finished up on my creation." The large man shook his musings out of his head.

He read the transmission on the screen: {Egg-Heart has been confirmed: arranged to be integral intended for demolition in all of Mobius, over and above to the reconstruction of Robotropolis. Capital of Dr. Eggman's empire.}

"OHOHOHOHO~! Excellent!" Dr. Eggman rubbed his gloved hands together with a signature smile, just as he now hears a robotic noise.

Metal Sonic was wide-awake, noticing Cubot poking his steel-faced muzzle with a single finger. Glaring at the yellow-cubed robot as a warning, he eventually stopped in fear.

"Ah, you're awake, my murderous machine. We'll be inward on the Death Egg shortly, so be patient until we fix you back up. Unless if we ever have time for that, more so." Dr, Eggman says, focusing back at the task in hand.

The mechanized robot nodded to himself in acknowledgment and secretly sighed once more. After typing a confirmation back to the Death Egg, Dr. Eggman sets his hovercraft on auto-pilot with coordinates to the enormous space station.

{Coordinates set. Autopilot engaged.}

With that statement, the Egg-Mobile sped off into space towards its intended destination. But what it didn't know was that they were far from winning anytime soon, surveyed by where another escape pod is following shakily to where the mass-destructive space station drifts.


Beyond lengths right behind the evil doctor's hovercraft, Sonic, Sally, and Tails were soaring inside the rocket-style escape pod together, with one window implanted. Each Mobian were huddled in the corner of the little escape pod, holding onto something and resting their bodies against the walls. Tails briskly stepped over to the window next to Sally, who placed her hand on the glass.

Surpassing the corner of the sky where auroras shimmer lies an emptiness so profound that it's difficult to interpret. Beyond the moon, the sun, the other planets, lies the blackest and coldest of voids, but it's not quite empty, oh no. Outer space is more than just a vacuum. It's full of a phenomenon of cosmos. Nebulas, comets, stars, solar systems, asteroids, galaxies, and everything in the entire universe is technically in outer space.

"Oh my gosh..." Sally whispered, staring with wide, glossy, blue eyes at an infinite sea of luminous dots and cosmic animosity. The broad extent of the universe was laid bare before her sights.

Once it became apparent that Sally had stopped talking and the silence had become awkward, a smattering of light chuckles filled the young fox next to her.

"Funny how much Sonic's been up here more times than I did." Tails said, his words going nowhere except to his own ears.

The fact that Sonic once traveled into space, Tails and Sally were amazed by the scenery, although there was a newly reconstructed Death Egg built around the Little Planet. For one thing, The way it sat, with its mechanized structure from the outside of the dwarf planet, nearly prevented anyone from gaining physical clues about its appearance. They couldn't help but glare at the enormous replica of Dr. Robotnik's face planted over it.

"Yo, Tails! How is the escape pod holding up in these space conditions?" Sonic asked Tails in the cockpit of the escape pod.

Tails looked up from the controls and gave a thumbs-up to his blue friend. "Seeing how the boost engines are handling at max efficiency, we should reach the Death Egg any minute now."

Sally's mind was in a whirl of determination, focus, fear, and something else she didn't want to acknowledge about, but it's presence sickened her. Until previously that she and the Freedom Fighters were battling out against Dr. Eggman's forces, but now a rather difficult expression came across her face when she looked back at the blue speedster.

To an onlooker herself, that Sonic robot from before resembled an almost perfect figure of the blue blur, yet calmer and detached from the bustle of lively emotions. It's talkative sounds that seemed robotic in tone previously, so she thought it was unsafe to assume that she had some free will.

"Geez, doesn't that Egg-Head ever give up?" Sonic said as he crossed his arms with a tap of his foot.

"Yeah," Tails added, "For a fat guy with an IQ of 300, you'd expect he'd learn that he can't beat all three of us."

Suddenly, Nicole's hologram popped up with a teasing tone, [Don't you mean the four of us?]

The A.I. giggled as the young fox couldn't help but blush in embarrassment, nodding in approval while Sonic laughed. Though, Sally wasn't even bothering to listen to the conversation. The truth, however, is that the princess couldn't help but be frightened and probably surprised how far Robotnik would go in creating such nefarious creations. The cause of this abomination to nature itself were millions of mechanical beings slaving away on the planet's surface.

Here it all became the result of a maniacal mad genius whose goal in life is to destroy all of nature so that he can transform the world he lived in into a machine-driven paradise. The man tore down the entire natural landscape and captured the native animals to make more robotic slaves.

She watched the drifts of stars on the hanging covers of blurry colors, beyond where the Death Egg lies, heading across every extent of space.

"Hard to believe that Robotnik is going all out on us," Sally whispered to herself before Sonic zips right next to her with a smirk.

"Hey, you okay, Sal?" The blue hedgehog's voice quickly made her eyes trail towards his.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a little worried, is all." a concerned Sally says.

Of course, Sonic was always the kind of person that wouldn't leave people back in their thoughts, in which he nudges the princess' arm.

"Aww lighten up, Sal. I'm sure this is just some cliché machine where ol' Eggster appears, and I come in and kick his ass every time." Sonic spoke in a comical tone of voice as Sally rolls her eyes in aversion.

"Yeah, but Sonic…" She somehow trailed off on the words she was going to say. "…that robot from before. That was the one you fought back on Little Planet?"

Sonic repaid with a raised eyebrow-like expression after another lengthy pause, "What about him, Sal?"

The redheaded chipmunk gazes at him with concern, "When you, Bunnie, and Antoine were in White Park Zone, he almost fatally injured you with a new power that Bunnie told me. Now that I see this, I'm worried that the Chaos Emeralds Robotnik have could harm you much worse with Metal's combined force."

"Do you mean that red-purplish-thingy the doc's got for him?" The blue hedgehog received a nod from Sally.

"I mean, Metal-Head's already been detailing what happened back at White Park Zone. It was thorough, despite that he hadn't met the subject of beating me yet." Sonic answered with a laugh.

It was still hard to believe for most Mobians that their Hero of Mobius was keen on making subtle jokes whenever he found the opportunity. Despite his rather joking yet sporting character, Sally has at times seen that there was more to the speedy hedgehog than meets the eye.

Case in point, he always looks after his friends and doesn't forget about them either way. Sally normally loved Sonic for this as well, but her otherwise usual smile was now replaced by a concerned frown as she slowly looked on.

"How can you be so calm at a time like this?" Sally asked.

Sonic gave her a puzzled look, "What do you mean?"

Sally cast a quick glance at Tails before turning back to her speedy friend. "I mean regarding this!" Sally pointed her finger towards the Death Egg.

"You must've felt it as well as I do, Sonic. That robotic version of you or whatever that energy was that pretty much might cover all of Mobius somehow. I think we both realize that whatever Robotnik might trigger with Metal Sonic or the Chaos Emeralds…" She once again glanced back toward the massive space station with Robotnik's face pasted on it. "...can be something we'll somehow screw up in a portion."

Sonic regarded the theory for a moment. He didn't doubt that his robotic duplicate that got reprogrammed by Dr. Eggman was extremely powerful. Even he, Tails, and the rest of the Freedom Fighters could never witness such a great outburst of energy without unleashing nearly all power.

"Plus, I know you would've never seen this kind of power before either," said Sally.

"Nope, can't say I have, Sal." Sonic searched through his memories. "But believe me when I say it, really. After trashing Metal-Me years ago, I've seen my share of weirdness away from Butt-Nik, since he's avoided me all these months for this moment." Sally looked up at Sonic, who was still very curious about where he was going with this.

"What do you mean, Sonic?" asked Sally.

"I mean, being a hero is fun, sometimes, but living up to the expectations can be even worse, don't you think?" The blue hedgehog asked, having his eyes closed as Sally's interest got closer and closer to his words.

"Well, yeah. You've mostly saved all of our lives numerous times to come, Sonic," said Sally, who gave him a raised eyebrow. "What could be wrong about that?"

"That's the thing, Sal. I don't know, really. I can't even remember the last time I could be myself without Eggman's goons and paparazzi tailing me every step I take out into...well, EVERYWHERE! It's just been a real pain in my ass, and I had no one, besides Tails, to honestly talk about this." Sonic explained, noticing Sally's soft expression. "Because for one, I'm always expected to save the day, worrying about everyone else, and risking my life because some thick-witted, and petty scientist decides that I'm his mortal enemy, seeking out destruction just to summon me."

"But I would know how that feels like, Sonic. You know that, right?" asked Sally, looking at him with concern. "You are more than just anyone's hero, Sonic. Not just mine, but you were always up for a fight because you knew what was right and wrong. It wasn't because somebody forced you to do something, but maybe...because of you wanting the best times with the people who care about you and live a life of fun without any pressure."

Sonic remained silent after Sally said that. If only it were ever that simple to Sonic, but now, he can remember all the friends that he had helped along the way, as well as all the other foes he has faced. Sure, there were over a dozen questions and answers Sally could levy at Sonic right now, but somehow, she didn't have the heart to. By now, Sonic could do nothing but exhale out all his pressure; a granted smirk on his face and keep on moving.

"You're right about ONE thing, I AM only a little concern about what you said about Metal Sonic…" Sonic looked back at two of his friends, presenting a determined look, "…but whatever party Egg-Head's got cooking up there, it won't be too late for us to find out what else he's got up his sleeves."

Tails nodded in agreement as he looked over towards Sally, "Sonic's right. Eggman may be loaded with surprises from the creations he's built, but we can't sit around and expect for the worse to be true."

The redheaded chipmunk remained silent for a few more minutes and reflected on the words of each of her friends. She looked back at the Death Egg and realized that she was still not sure where the dynamic duo could go with it, but they all knew that the whole world was once again at stake.

Even her rather extensive knowledge as a leader, gained over years of roughing it during the training with each of her teammates, that Sally had taken was quite the contrary side. Now that Sally has found Sonic and Tails, she knew they're always on the same team together.

Sally clears her throat, and an image appears from Nicole's Holo-Generator, "Ok, let's get down to business, boys. Dr. Robotnik's central computer is in the dead center of the Death Egg, heavily guarded by the Egg-Pawns. Sonic, a diversion is needed for this mission to be successful." Sonic nodded with a thumbs-up as she continues, "Tails, I need you to carry the equipment for the bombs."

The young fox's eyes glitter as he quickly nodded, holding up the bag filled with C-4's and sets it down, "Ok, Aunt Sally, I got the explosives."

The princess nods, "We'll need you and Nicole's help to hack through one of the systems unabridged. Speaking of which, how do we enter there, Nicole?"

Nicole responded quickly, [The supercomputer for each of the Death Egg's assembly attachments should be located somewhere in the middle of the whole space station. Most importantly, where Little Planet's entrance is down below. We must all be wary about this final surge.]

Sonic was making the best of keeping what ahead of him, a look of determination melting into his face. His emotions were a mix of arrogance, and somewhat not even close to being concern about anything. Except for Metal Sonic, of course. After all, they were heading towards this new Death Egg, certified of kicking Dr. Eggman's butt once again.

"Not a problem, Nicole. Eggman's warranty is about to expire once we're through with him. After all, the good guys win in the end, like always." The blue blur said with a cocky tone.

Tails shift his gaze to his right and nodded in acknowledgment. "Yeah, you might be right on that one. But we also need to find out what Dr. Eggman's plans are with the Time Stone. Maybe it has something to do with Little Planet itself?" The young fox tried to confirm the theory.

Unfortunately for the group, they've just arrived at the entrance where the Egg-Mobile was flying the same way as the other.

"Guys," Tails said, " We've reached the perimeter of the Death Egg. Hold on tightly!"

Just then, the escape pod rocketed straight towards the Death Egg at maximum speed. The trio starred out the cockpit of their escape pod, looking at the unknown fleet of robots inside. Uneasiness came across Sally and Tails at the robotic army they spot.

The princess turned to the blue speedster with a smile, "You mind making us a pathway?"

Sonic nodded, who had a wild grin attached to his muzzle. Now this will be fun!


(Music Insert: Death Egg - Sonic the Hedgehog 4 [OST])

The battle station suddenly opened a bunch of hatches, which deposited multiple cannons that shot at the escape pod. Tails maneuvered the escape pod as best as he could, rushing past each round of gunfire through space.

Dr. Eggman shouting in surprise as the space station targeted the Egg-Mobile, "Ceasefire, it's me, you metallic blockheads!"

He then sees the Freedom Fighters in pursuit of ending the mad genius' dastardly scheme.

"And the Freedom Fighters have followed us straight up in space." He dodges another round of projectiles. "Well… I hope this will change nothing from what I've got in store for you, Sonic." He manages to avoid past the artillery as the battle was being bestowed.

In the Death Egg, the corridors eventually opened as a robotic voice spoke up, "ATTENTION OUTSIDERS OF THE UNKNOWN POD. WITHDRAWAL YOURSELVES FROM THE MOBILE UNARMED AND COME QUIETLY."

As the Egg-Mobile drifts in the air across the wide area, making a substantial U-turn to face the escape pod that came skidding across the steel floorboards. They all settled in an oval-shaped area for sheer struggle and chaos. Dr. Eggman smiled gladly, folding his tongue and whistled loudly with two of his fingers in his mouth.

Gaining each Badnik's attention, all thirty Egg-Pawns gathered to apprehend each Mobian from excluding their evil master's plan.

"YOU HAVE ONE MINUTE TO ARISE OUT, IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY, THEN WE WILL OPEN FIRE ON YOU." The robotic voice threatened as that did the trick when no-one on board the escape pod wanted to come out just yet.

Dr. Eggman groaned in irritation, "Egg-Pawns! Just get in there and destroy those pests!"

With that said, each dome-shaped robot came marching over to recklessly rip the top half off, upon hearing a quiet spinning sound.

The evil doctor was confused himself until he figured out the sounds of rotary. "HAUL BACK!-"

An explosion soon quickly interrupted him as the dynamic trio had already trampolined themselves before the discharge happened. It blew back a few egg-shaped robots and smashing against the walls or flooring. A spinning ball of destruction came in midair, shooting two other figures down to attack three of each Egg-Pawn.

"KABLOOEY!" A blurry-speeding hedgehog hollered as he unleashed a Homing Attack on three Egg-Pawns, destroying them.

Sonic revealed himself with a smirk, "You hadn't stopped us yet, Eggy!"

"Grrr...why must I always deal with you and your little gang of brats?!" The bloated dictator groaned in annoyance before pushing his flying hovercraft into another U-turn and zipping himself off to whom he knows where.

Sally spins herself right through the Egg-Pawn with her Plasma-Blades, slicing each one in half. Tails unleashed a Spin Dash onto two Egg-Pawns and then swirls around the smack the third robot with his twin-tails. The young fox wore the bag of C-4's inside, looking at the redheaded chipmunk and then back to Sonic, who was itching for a battle; a chance to bring Dr. Eggman in his place for threatening Little Planet.

Has he honestly thought he could get away with such a thing? The evil dictator had to get away as soon as he could because Sonic was the only thing left. While Sonic is still around, nobody messes with Mobius. Sally, majorly determined alongside with Sonic, checks Nicole for any signs of Egg-Pawns and gives Sonic the go-ahead for the direction.

"HALT!" From behind, an artificial voice commanded the Freedom Fighters. Sally turned and saw three more Egg-Pawns, all targeting them already.

"IN THE NAME OF THE GREAT DR. EGGMAN, WE ARE TO ELIMINATE ANY AND ALL INTRUDERS WHO DARE INTERFERE WITH HIS OPERATIONS," the middle Egg-Pawn said with a monotone voice. "PREPARE TO BE VAPORIZED."

Sonic grins and jumps forward, eyes set, ready for battle. As he landed, ten more Egg-Pawn squads were approaching and opening fire with deadly lasers.

"Well, that doesn't sound very nice," Sonic commented, darting swiftly into every view of Badnik in a second.

Before they could react accurately, the blue speedster crashed into the first robot and shredded it in half completely. The two other Egg-Pawns attempted to shoot their attacker while he was speeding away. It was all futile because the speed demon was ready to move to the side in various close misses. The Egg-Pawns kept shooting while Sonic races back, jumping in the air up above.

The second Egg-Pawn's head was pierced as the blue blur lands on top of it, causing the Egg-Pawn to tumble in a shower of sparks. The last Egg-Pawn saw what its comrades had just become and dropped the weapon as it engaged Sonic wherever he could go. However, it became short lived.

Before the Egg-Pawn reached even a few feet, there was a massive hole in its chest, through which Sonic went straight. After a few sparks, the robot finally exploded, and the explosion smoke caused Sally to cover her face with her hand. Sally coughed as she tried to wave it with her hand.

The smoke managed to settle down somewhat as she could finally see what had just happened. When the smoke was departed, she saw all the remnants of the once intact robot minions on the metal floor. Some even had pieces from the explosion lodged in the walls. She remained fortunate, as none of the parts came her way. Sally then dodges through and uses her Plasma-Blades to take out a few more Egg-Pawns one by one, slicing the egg-shaped robots to itty bitty pieces.


More Badniks march in to open fire on Sonic and company, with the blue hedgehog speeding his way through, having a cheeky grin on his face the entire time. Dr. Eggman, the large man with beady red eyes, watches as his Egg-Mobile's screens wink out one by one.

"ORBOT! WHAT IS GOING ON?! WHY ARE THE EGG-PAWNS GOING OFFLINE?!" He pounds his chair and growls.

The red robot frantically gets a visual on Sonic and Sally taking down the Egg-Pawns with determined smiles on their faces. The evil dictator pushes one of the buttons to commence a microphone inside.

"Attention, Badnik Horde!" The intercom on board the Death Egg shouted out. "The intruders were spotted heading to the main control center! More than likely, with that troubling hedgehog again, it's those blasted Freedom Fighters! Get down there and stop them for good this time on their tracks! Activate the gravity field!"

Dr. Eggman watches, learning each teammate's moves onscreen, "Metal Sonic…time to move in to finish off our little friends."

From behind the evil doctor, Orbot and Cubot were doing their very best to trump most of the deadly duplicate's injuries, until he stood up quickly with a dark tone of voice.

"YES SIR, AS YOU WISH, SIR," said Metal Sonic.

Metal Sonic's blazing red eyes glowed, awaiting the exact moment for his master's next directive. Despite having Dr. Eggman's motive in mind, Metal Sonic's processor had been calculating last time's battle against the Freedom Fighters. For a moment, he desired a way to get a hold of that Chaos Emerald Tails had barred from aboard the presently-crashed Sky Fortress.

But there wasn't the slightest hint of what might happen next in this next battle, followed by sheer hopes of Dr. Eggman's newest empire to become collaborated. Two things happen all at once. Firstly, Metal's desire to possibly devise a tactic, which involves stealing Tails' Chaos Emerald and stalling one of the Freedom Fighters. Secondly, the metallic model wanting to materialize seven Chaos Emeralds, especially a Time Stone. But how will he manage that?

TO BE CONTINUED…