Credits to Ian Flynn and Sonic Universe Issue #15 for certain dialogue in this chapter, and for certain plot points inspired by Sonic Universe's "Journey to the East."

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37: "If You Can't Beat 'Em…"

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Robotropolis Zone.

Finitevus had not been back in Robotnik's lair for some time, and wasn't expecting the human to be so pleasant with his return, but it seemed like their bout regarding Metal-Stryker had been put behind them.

While walking down the hallway to Robotnik's main computer room, the white echidna couldn't help but stop and stare at a stature standing on a small pedestal. The statue was of a short, thin human with very little strands of hair on his oval head, and with a long pointy nose. Under its feet lay a label marked, "Colin 'Snively' Kintobor Junior." Finitevus paused, bemused.

"Is that you, Finitevus?" called out the voice of Robotnik.

"Here I am, sire!" Fin called back, now hurrying himself to the computer room.

There, he noticed that part of the room's lights were switched off as though something was hiding in the shadows. But the albino echidna paid the corner no mind and walked up to Robotnik on his throne. The oversized mad doctor had his pet robo-chicken on a chair arm, stroking its head as though it were a cat.

"It's disgusting, isn't it?" purred the madman. "How easily those vermin have taken out our conquered kingdoms just like that. It really makes the oil in my blood boil."

"I concur," nodded Fin. "I'm not that crazy about having to leave Canus, but it seems our heroes have met their match in the Aquatic Islands, haven't they?"

"Yesss," smiled Robotnik, "and we owe it all thanks to you and your patient."

"My… patient?" blinked a confused Fin.

Robotnik's chair hovered over to a computer screen and he tapped in a code to bring up the image of a woman laid out on a slab. Finitevus recognized the creature onscreen immediately. "Is that?"

"It is, indeed. What was your pet name for her again? Was it Number 22?"

"Yes," nodded Fin. "She was my twenty-second test subject for a new mind-control crown I had invented. All of the other subjects went mad; I had to give them up to the Roboticizer before their violent nature became uncontrollable."

"Well," explained Robotnik, "it seems that this one took to her crown very well. Hee-hee-hee. She seems to think she is The Iron Queen of the Dragon Empire."

Fin mused, "Aah, I see. I remember that story: Before the cat folk took over, the land was known as the Dragon Kingdom, with an evil sorceress as its warlord. But she was defeated by the ancestors of the present queen and princess, renaming it Felidae."

"I was going to Roboticize her, but then I thought it would be much more entertaining if she gave our 'friends' the run-around."

"An excellent choice, Master! Now she can help us lay claim of Aquatic and Avian. I shall send the message to my Captain in Avian right now, to let him know of our new ally."

"Wait, Finitevus, there's more."

Fin curiously followed the mad scientist in his hovering throne over to the darkened corner of the room. Robotnik twiddled his fingers excitedly as he said, "Ever since my explorations of the Other World, where I've met Sonic and his friends, I was also greeted by a likeness of myself named Dr. Eggman. He had built robotic copies of his enemies to keep them at bay while he staked his claim on the planet."

"Interesting."

"I knew it was only a matter of time before that blue rodent would show up here again, so I decided to copy Eggman's designs, and now at long last, they are complete!"

As Robotnik announced each robotic doppelganger, a spotlight switched on over them: "Behold, the dark metal copies of… Super Speed!" (Dark Metal-Sonic.) "Super Strength!" (Dark Metal-Knuckles.) "Super-Stealth!" (Black Metal-Shadow.) "And finally, Supreme Flight!"

The spotlight switched on, but nothing was there but a flat pedestal.

Robotnik dropped his smile and turned his hover throne over to the main computer in the room. "A.D.A.M.?" he groaned, pronouncing the computer's name as "Adam."

"Yes, Father?" said the main computer in a soft, masculine voice.

"I TOLD YOU SEVERAL TIMES NOT TO CALL ME THAT!" During this fit, the robo-chicken flew off Robotnik's chair arm.

"Error. Forgive me, Master."

"Hmph… Well, where is Dark Metal-Tails?"

"Dark Metal-Tails is still in the process of being rebuilt, after a team of Acorn rebels raided and destroyed our main factory two months ago."

"Well, you seemed to have finished the other three. What's taking so long?" roared Robotnik as he slammed his fist onto his chair's arm.

"Master. All four doppelganger robots were destroyed in said explosion. I had rebuilt each one as quickly as I could, while trying to stay within their original designs of supreme speed, power, stealth or flight skills. I had saved the Flight Copy for last, thinking that he was the least concerning of your project."

"Hmm… Well I've got news for you, A.D.A.M. The Freedom Fighters are halfway through the Aquatic Kingdom. I want my robots- ALL FOUR ROBOTS- on their way to Conquering Storm's island as fast as possible! Do you understand?"

"Yes, Fa-Master, I comply. I will finish Dark Metal-Tails immediately."

"Good."

"…Bear in mind, Master, his design won't be anywhere as impressive as it was before."

"I don't care what it looks like, I just want it to out-fly that freakish fox!"

"Understood, Master."

Robotnik then turned back to Fin who smiled, "Aww, he called you 'Father.'"

Embarrassed, Robotnik palmed his brow. "Meh. It's some kind of programming error I need to fix… No matter, these robots should give us a chance to put those meddlesome pests in their place, and if they fail, the Iron Queen will finish the job."

Fin smiled, "I must say, sire, I am very impressed with your foresight. And to take a page out of someone else's book of evil is just…"

"I know," grinned Robotnik as he licked his lips. "It's delicious."

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Nocturne Island Zone, formerly Pirate Island.

In the garden area outside of the Rich Nights palace, the lord of the Yagyu ninja clan stood by Princess Blaze and her friend Monkey Khan.

"We're both very honored by your decision to talk with us," said Blaze politely.

The bat lord made a face. "Before we start, I must ask this: What is she doing here?"

"Who?" asked a curious Blaze. She looked left and right and saw nothing, until Fiona Fox seemed to fade into the scene with her ninja abilities. "Fiona?"

The red vixen replied, "I represent the Gossamer clan; whatever you have to say here will effect them as well."

"Very well," nodded the Lord of Rich Nights. He then turned to Blaze. "So you know that we've settled onto this island; you should also know that we have no intentions on leaving it. After one humiliating defeat after another back in Felidae, we've decided to go out into the world and make a new home for ourselves."

"I understand," Blaze frowned. "But that still doesn't explain why you've joined forces with someone impersonating the Iron Queen."

The bat lord couldn't help but crack a smile. "Someone? …Someone, she says! HA! Hahahahaha!" He paused, realizing the puzzled looks on Blaze and Ken's faces. "…You mean, you really don't know? …Hmm, a pity."

"What are you talking about?" asked Ken with narrowed eyes.

The purple bat king smiled, "I am not in liberty to say. However, I will say this: the Queen has promised us more than just a home the clan, but also to recover the riches of Felidae that we were forced to leave behind, due to those defeats I've mentioned earlier."

"So she bribed you," replied Blaze.

"That makes sense," added Ken coldly.

Blaze elbowed Ken before saying, "What if I turned that bribe around, and offered you both your old territory and a hefty amount of riches on behalf of my kingdom, and in return you denounce your loyalty to the Iron Queen?"

"What?" Ken gasped. "P-princess, you can't just give up your family's wealth, especially to these plunderers."

"Ken, relax!"

"Hold on," interrupted the bat lord. "As amusing it is to see you two banter like this, I must say that your offer, Princess, is most tempting. But as you can see, we have no intentions of returning to Felidae anytime soon. All I ask for, on behalf of my clan, are the riches we've left behind in our former mountain lair. Including the Fan of Fen Xing you stole back from us."

Ken argued, "That fan is a treasure for the royal family, you filthy…!" Again, Blaze stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"You have a deal," Blaze told the ninja king, much to Ken's discomfort.

"Good, then! The deal is settled," smiled the bat lord, shaking Blaze's hand. And, does the Gossamer's pet fox agree to this deal as well?"

Making a face at him, Fiona put her fist to her open palm. "The Gossamer clan will accept this deal… for now."

"I will alert the clan at once," smiled the bat lord. "…Oh, and Princess?"

"Yes?" hummed Blaze.

"Do have fun taking on the Raiju clan; I doubt they'll give you as easy a time as we have."

As the bat lord proudly walked away, Ken said to Blaze, "This isn't good, you know. Those bats will get enough courage now to challenge us back in Felidae again."

"We'll deal with that when it happens," said Blaze sternly. "Right now, what really matters is weakening the Iron Queen's defenses."

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Meanwhile, in a wooded area not far from the palace, Sonic and friends were relaxing after a long day's adventuring. Shadow, Knuckles and Julie-Su were walking along a path, when they found Rouge sitting on a fallen tree log by herself, with her back turned to them. It looked like she was moping in light of her recent defeat.

"You know," mused Julie, "I don't usually kick a man when he's down, but she did insult me back there."

"She's not as bad as she looks… Not mostly," replied Shadow. He walked over to Rouge's area, with the echidnas in tow. He called out, "You fought well back there, Rouge."

"Hmph," she sighed, glancing up at the trio. "Did you come here to gloat?"

Knuckles then said, "Aw come on, Rouge, you know us better than that."

"I meant what I said," added Shadow, looking much less aggressive than usual. "I just don't understand what's come over you lately. Why risk everything you had back in our world for these ninja goons?"

Rouge turned around and stood up to face her would-be friends. "Because," she replied, "I wasn't exactly happy back there, at G.U.N. I mean sure, it was fun at first, and it kept me from going back to my old habits as a jewel thief… But lately, I've been feeling like they haven't been respecting m skills. All me and Shadow do anymore is chase down lowly scum like Fang, or the idiot twins Bean and Bark. There's just no excitement anymore, like in the old days."

"So in other words," guessed Julie, "you've gotten bored."

Rouge gave her a pair of narrowed eyes. "Is it so wrong of me to want a little more action in my life? I was born and raised by expert thieves, just so you know. And while I'll admit I made some mistakes along the way, but it was a good life. A fun life! …I guess I've just felt like I was losing my edge lately. That's why I teamed up with Fang and try to get that old excitement again."

Shadow cracked a small smile, "You could've just told me. We could've ditched G.U.N. altogether and travel the world together."

"Or at the very least," smiled Knuckles, "you could've chased after other Master Emerald thieves."

Rouge then smiled, and even giggled a little. "…So, do you guys forgive me for being such a pain lately?"

"Just one question," said Knuckles, dropping his humorous tone. "Do you still have that Chaos Emerald you took from the Special Stage?"

"Of course," nodded Rouge. She then held out her hand and let the blue gem materialize from her chest and held it out to them. "I wasn't dumb enough to share this with those mangy bats back there."

Shadow looked puzzled. "You could have bribed them with it, you know."

Rouge grinned slyly, "It's my emerald. I've won it fair and square." Then, to their surprise, she rose from her seat and tossed the gem to Knuckles. "Here. Give this to Sonic."

Knuckles gasped. "But… Why? You just said…"

"I've won it fair and square… But then I lost it, fair and square."

Knuckles gave her a solemn nod. "You're alright, Rouge."

The she-bat then stretched out her wings, as though she was ready to fly. "Wait," said Shadow, "where are you going now? Won't you join us?"

"Sorry Shadow," she replied, "I still got a few things to straighten out with myself. But when I'm ready to join you guys, you'll know. Ciao." Her wings fluttered, and off she flew, leaving a trio of bewildered adventurers.

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"It was risky to let those bats take your mystical Fan of Fen Xing," said Fiona Fox to her new allies Blaze and Ken. "They might try to use it against my clan, since they don't get along well with us."

"You're right," said Blaze. "But I can promise my kingdom's support for your clan, if they would humbly swear loyalty to us."

"I'm sure my Master can work around that sort of deal."

"Hold on," said Ken. "You've only been with the Gossamer for what, three weeks? Four?"

"Something like that."

"Just how well do you know the Bride of Endless Reach? How can we be sure she won't turn on us?"

Fiona insisted, "My clan's honor is sacred. If we go against our word, then we are no longer worthy of life."

"Hmm... spoken like a true ninja," mused Blaze. "I'm impressed."

"But there's one other mystery we need to uncover," said Ken. "The Lord of Rich Nights mentioned the Iron Queen as though he had seen her once before."

"Yes," frowned Blaze worriedly. She then turned to Fiona and asked, "Have you seen the Iron Queen in person?"

Fiona gulped, lowering her head slightly. "I… I've seen her. Once."

"Do you know who she is?"

"I… I'm not sure if you want to hear this, Blaze."

"Come on, out with it. Whoever she is, I can take her on."

"No. You won't want to do that."

"Why not?" Blaze was starting to show impatience, and so Fiona paused to prepare herself before she came out with an answer.

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Back in their wooded area, the rest of the hero team was still relaxing and talking about what plans to make for their next attack. But Sonic had something far more important to say…

"Sal?" he purred as the red-haired princess looked on curiously. "I'm sorry I was a jerk earlier. I usually get carried away with competition."

Sally smiled, "It's okay, Sonic. I figured you were just being all macho to try and impress me. But I was really just curious about Ken's power of flight. Sometimes I wish I had my own type of elemental strength."

"Well, you've got a lightning staff."

"Yes, but it's my Sol Emerald that charges it; without the emerald, it's just another staff."

Sonic brushed back his quills. "I need to go apologize to Amy too; she thinks I'm a jerk for…" Before he could finish, he noticed Amy running up to him. "Ams, speak of the devil."

"Shh!" she hushed, looking paranoid. "I thought I heard something like footsteps."

"It's probably just the others," Sonic assured her.

"But," Amy replied worriedly, "didn't the spider queen say that the Shinobi clan was on this island too?"

"Indeed, we are," said a voice. The team looked around both curiously and cautiously, but no other animal seemed to be present.

"Show yourself, stranger!" Sally called out.

"As you wish," said the voice. A blue chameleon with a red belly appeared in front of the heroes by switching off his invisibility skin-change. As he did so, the heroes soon found themselves surrounded by fourteen multi-colored chameleons.

As the heroes braced themselves for battle, the blue chameleon said, "Have no fear, we do not want a fight."

"What do you want then?" asked Sonic.

"To talk… My name is Valdez. I speak on behalf of my kin here; we are members of the Shinobi clan, Sonic the Hedgehog."

"You know me?" asked a bewildered Sonic.

Valdez nodded, "Indeed, your reputation as an adventurer has crossed the four corners of our world."

"You mean to tell me… Your from my world?" gasped the blue hedgehog.

Valdez nodded, "Yes, the very same."

"Then how…?"

"Allow me to explain. Some time ago, our Bride of Constant Vigil had received messages from what she thought was the spirit world. As it turned out, those calls were brought on by a mystical cat from this alternate world. I believe her name was Blaze."

"Yes," nodded Sonic. "She called out to me too. That's why I came here."

"And that is why we are here; our clan leader sent the fifteen of us to scout for Warp Rings that would take us to the source of these cries of help. But when we cam here, we were soon overwhelmed by the Gossamer, Raiju and Yagyu clans, led by a mage of sorts calling herself the Iron Queen. Normally we would stand and fight, but we knew it would have been a losing battle. So we had no choice but to surrender and bow before this Queen."

"Man, I'm sorry to hear that," frowned the blue hedgehog.

Valdez added, "We had hoped that you or someone like you may come to challenge the Iron Queen, so that we would be free of her tyranny. And since we now know that there is hope, my kin and I would like to aid you in taking out the last of her ninja strongholds."

"Wow, that'd be a huge help!" smiled Sonic. "And I promise, after we take out this queen, me and my friends will open up a Warp Ring that'll take you home."

Valdez and the other chameleons bowed before him. "We are honored and humbled to fight alongside the greatest hero of two worlds."

"LIES!" the voice of Blaze the Cat exploded in the distance, prompting Sonic and friends to follow after her scream.

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"LIES!" screamed Blaze, as her body started to catch on fire in reaction to what Fiona had just told her. While Fiona was dropped to one knee in fear of being burned, Blaze pointed at her accursedly. "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF SUCH THINGS, YOU WRETCHED BEAST?"

Even Ken was shocked to see Blaze in such an enraged state. "Princess," he pleaded, "please. T-try to calm down, or you'll burn down the whole island."

Sonic was the first to dash into the scene, naturally. "Woah! What'd I miss? Not another girl fight, I hope."

"Stay out of this Sonic!" growled the burning she-cat.

Then Tails flew in. "Woah, what happened? Fiona, are you okay?"

Fiona, still on her knees, replied, "I've just told her the truth about the Iron Queen."

Again, Blaze's fire power poured from her paws. "NO! You saw a white face, and that was all!"

As the rest of the heroes came running into the scene, Sonic was at a loss. "Okay, okay, start over please, before the 'LIES' part when we came in."

Fiona rose to her feet and said, "Blaze asked me if I knew anything about the Iron Queen. I told her that I saw the Queen once, and I knew right away who she really was."

"What?" gasped Sally. "You didn't tell us that."

Fiona shook her head, "It wasn't your business to know… But since you'll try to get it out of me anyway, I might as well just say it: The Iron Queen is a white cat, who looks exactly like-"

"Don't say it," Blaze hissed through her fangs. "Don't you dare make such a bold assumption like that again!"

Fiona stated, "But Queen Hathor has been missing for nearly a month now…. Look, Blaze, I know it's hard to accept, but I speak the truth."

Amy whispered to Sonic, "Who's Queen Hathor again?"

"My mother!" growled Blaze, hearing her. "She would NEVER surrender to Robotnik! She would DIE first!"

Fiona sighed, feeling at a loss, when she noticed Tails nearby. She smiled at him and purred, "You can talk some sense into them for me, right big man?"

Tails nervously replied with, "M-me?"

"Sure," cooed Fiona as she knelt down in front of Tails to scratch his chin. "You know me better than anyone else, right? You said yourself that you trust me. It would mean so much to me if you could step in and-Oof!" Before she could finish, Sally stepped in while Fiona wasn't looking, and slammed her fist into Fiona's gut. Fiona fell back, winded.

"…Woah," gasped Sonic softly. "…That was kinda hot."

"I agree," smiled Ken, and the two of them gave each other a fist-bump.

Meanwhile, Sally looked down on Fiona and growled, "Don't bring him into this. And DON'T tell any lies regarding the Iron Queen unless you want another throw-down with mew and Bunnie."

Fiona weakly got back up on her feet while cupping her stomach. "Ehh… I… would never do a thing like that. You know me, Sally."

"I thought I knew you back in Acorn." Sally marched off, with Blaze marching behind her.

Tails ran up to Fiona and promised, "Don't worry, they'll see you're a good person. Cause I know you are."

Fiona smiled while still feeling rather dizzy. "Thanks, kiddo… You've always got my back, don't you?"

"To a fault," said Sonic as he scratched Tail's head. Then the blue hedgehog glared at the red vixen and frowned, "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, Fiona, but don't make me regret it."

Fiona doubled over, perhaps to bow but also to give in to her pain. "On my honor… What I've said about The Iron Queen is true, and Blaze… Blaze is going to have to accept it, sooner or later."

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-BONUS SCENE!-

The team took to their motorboats and took off for Iron Dome Zone, Machine Labyrinth Isle. They were informed that the Raiju clan and possibly the Iron Queen herself would be found there. Right behind the two main boats was a larger green one, being ridden by the Shinobi chameleons.

Blaze denied Fiona to be in her boat, so the vixen stayed with Sonic and his team in the blue boat. She was crouched down at the boat's rear, with Tails and Amy looking on in wonder.

Meanwhile, Shadow handed Sonic the blue Chaos Emerald. "Here you go, Faker, courtesy of Rouge the Bat."

"Hey, thanks!" Sonic took it and let it absorb itself into him. "Speaking of Rouge, how's she doing?"

"She said she had a few things to take care of, but I have a strong feeling we'll see her again soon."

"Is she gonna join us in the adventure?"

"It's up to her. We'll see…"

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Further away, in open water, Rouge was making waves on a ski boat in pursuit of the heroes. She was careful not to make her presence known to them. She wanted her arrival on the next island to be a special surprise.

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-CONGRATULATIONS!-

THE FOLLOWING CHARACTER HAS BEEN ADDED

TO YOUR ROSTER OF WARRIORS:

ROUGE THE BAT (Flight-Type)

Number of Warriors: 14

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SELECT YOUR NEXT TEAM(S)*:

Team Fireworks (Blaze and Sally)- NEW!

Team Glory Hounds (Shadow and Antoine)- NEW!

Team Knuckledusters (Knuckles and Rotor)-NEW!

Team Rosy Rascals (Amy and Julie-Su)

Team Southern Comfort (Tails and Bunnie)- NEW!

Team Toriyama (Sonic and Ken)- NEW!

*The Team or Teams with the most votes will run the next Zone; there may be unlockable Songs for certain Teams, so choose wisely!

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LOADING ZONE…

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