A/N: So, my current status at the moment is that I am on Spring Break. So, I should be able to write out more chapters of this story. Currently, Chapters 33 and 34 are complete and I am slowly working on the remainder of the story. So far, I'm having a blast writing out the climax of the story. I won't spoil what it is, but let me just say, buckle up because you're in for a surprise. I also wanted to wish everyone a safe venture through our current situation. Even though it spreads like a normal flu, wash our hands, don't touch your face with dirty hands, and stay hydrated. Also, don't be a jerk and steal toilet paper from people. What is that about?
Back on topic, Awakened has now reached over 11,000 views! Just last week, it was 10,000 views, now it's 1,000 views more. I never thought it'd be this story that would get me this far, but I want to thank every single person for reading this story. From every reviewer to every follower, thank you all so much. And special thanks to my best friend, Infinite's Ruby for helping out so much. Without her, Awakened wouldn't be where it is today. Go check out her stories if you haven't already.
Suggested Music:
(1) Death Egg Robot - Sonic Generations OST
(2) Lava Mountain Act 3 - Sonic Lost World OST
(3) Silent Sparrow - Big Hero 6 OST
(4) Full Speed Ahead - Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity OST
Without further ado, enjoy the show!
The Truth Hurts, Doesn't It?
The sun fell against the Mystic Ruins, and the Resistance couldn't stop running. Chasing Dr. Eggman and Dr. Starline, the heroes were more than determined to rescue Synergy and thwart the villains' plans for good.
Everyone was split into groups: Amy, Big, Whisper, and Tangle rode with Tails in the Tornado, Charmy carried Espio and Vector via magic rings called the Sling Rings, Ray carried Mighty across the sky, Silver and Blaze flew beside the Tornado, Shadow drove the G.U.N. assault truck with Knuckles, Shade, and Rouge as his passengers, the Hooligans rode around in the Marvelous Queen, and lastly, Sonic ran alongside G-merl and Cream.
"How're you doing up there, Tails?" Sonic asked through his communicator.
"Not so good," Tails replied. "None of the Tornado's defenses can penetrate the ship."
"Keep moving," Shadow replied through his radio. "We'll catch up eventually."
The truck ran over a bump in the road. The passengers shook.
"Sheesh, Shadow," Knuckles grunted. "Where'd you learn to drive?"
"I don't like driving trucks," the ebony hedgehog answered coldly. "I prefer motorcycles."
"That's no excuse to drive like a moron!"
"Well, I'm sorry. Do you want to take the wheel?"
"I'd be glad to," Knuckles replied, as he and Shadow switched places. The echidna sat down and turned the wheel.
"If Eggman's smart," Shade said. "He'd be careful with Synergy's programming. One wrong move and the entire world could be at risk."
"Dear," Rouge smiled. "I know you've been gone for a while now, but you should know the words Eggman and smart don't mix in the same sentence."
"We'll save Synergy before Eggman touches him, Shade," Knuckles replied. "I can promise you that."
"Don't make promises you can't keep, Knuckie," Rouge smirked.
"Shut up, Rouge."
G-merl and Cream flew next to Sonic. In the process, they had a conversation.
"G-merl?" the rabbit asked softly.
"What's up, Kiddo?" the Gizoid answered.
"After we save Mr. Synergy and we turn him in to the police, what's going to happen to him when he's free? Where will he go? Who will take care of him?"
G-merl thought about his response. Where would Synergy go once he's free from jail? He squinted his eyes, formulating his answer. "Well, part of me says he'll live happily with Big, but I think he'll be like Sonic. In other words, he'll go where his heart takes him. We only showed him part of the world, he didn't see everything. So, I think once he gets out, he'll go where his soul guides him. That's my opinion at least."
Cream smiled and so did Cheese. "That would be really nice. Maybe he can come to visit Mother and us sometimes," Cheese nodded in agreement.
G-merl chuckled. "Yeah… that would be nice."
Tails spoke to everyone through his communicator. "Heads up, guys. Eggman's stopping."
Bypassing the bushes, Sonic, G-merl, and Cream stopped near the edge of a cliff. The G.U.N. truck drove behind them.
Rouge repeatedly slapped Knuckles' arm. "Hit the brakes, hit the brakes, hit the brakes!"
Slamming his foot on the brake, Knuckles made the vehicle stop. He nearly hit the trio in front.
"Easy there, Knux," G-merl snarked. "Where'd you learn to drive!?"
Shadow, Shade, and Rouge glared at the echidna, who nervously smiled.
The Chaotix, Hooligans, Mighty, and Ray landed on the same cliff.
"There's some kind of building up ahead," Espio pointed.
Mighty squinted, noticing the building. "Over there!"
"Wait a minute," Knuckles said. "I recognize that place."
"It's the Final Egg!" Sonic whined. "Egghead built this place during the Chaos Incident! Man, Tails, Knuckles, and I were just here looking for Synergy before we met Rough and Tumble! How did we not think Eggman would be hiding here this whole time!?"
"Now's not the time for complaining, Sonic," Tails said. "I saw Eggman and Starline enter the building. Synergy must be inside. Let's get in before… wait, what is that?"
As the Tornado circled the Final Egg, Tails noticed something strange occurring at the entrance; the ground was shaking. (1)
Beating like a drum, multiple piles of dirt rose from the ground, revealing a machine. It was Rough and Tumble, who operated the exact same mechanism that destroyed Resistance HQ. Flying next to them was Metal Sonic.
"Here we go again," Tumble smirked.
"The Resistance wants to rumble," Rough continued.
Both skunk brothers finished their rhyme. "But they don't stand a chance against Rough and Tumble!"
Everyone cringed.
"Will they ever stop that?" Sonic grumbled, facepalming.
"I have a plan," Tails said. "You guys take care of Metal, Rough, and Tumble. Silver, Blaze, Big, Whisper, Tangle, Amy, and I will infiltrate the base and rescue Synergy. Got that?"
"No worries, Tails," Sonic grinned. "They're filled with persistence, but they're no match for the Resistance!"
Everyone cringed at Sonic.
"Oh, come on. That was pretty good."
Knuckles clapped his fists in anger. "They're gonna regret destroying Resistance HQ! Let's do this, everyone! Charge!"
Everyone ran down the mountain.
Nack loaded his popgun. "Let's go be heroes, boys… I'm gonna throw up after saying that."
With the Resistance hastening into the woods, they commenced their battle with Rough and Tumble. They drove their mech to the right and boosted towards the team; Metal Sonic and his furry counterpart homing attacked into one another. Knuckles and Shade climbed on top of the mech from the left whereas Espio, Charmy, Mighty, Ray, and Vector jumped onto the right.
Sonic bounced off of Metal's head and spin dashed into both Rough and Tumble's cockpits.
"Hey!" Rough growled. "Quit bashing the Skunk Buster!"
"Skunk Buster?" Tumble raised an eyebrow. "That's not the name we agreed on! It's called the Tumbler!"
"That sounds too basic! Skunk Buster!"
"Tumbler!"
"Skunk Buster!"
"Tumbler!"
"Skunk Buster!"
"Tumbler!"
"I got an idea," Charmy flew up to both cockpits. "Why not the Skunk Tumbler?"
Both skunks shared a curious glance.
"Say, that's not a bad idea," Rough smiled.
"Thanks, kid," Tumble gave the bee a thumbs up before he started shooting at him with large projectiles. Charmy squealed with fear, as he flew out of the way. Shadow and Rouge helped Knuckles and Shade get closer to the cockpits, but it was hard for them to maneuver because the mech kept moving and shaking.
Sonic and Metal continued their battle.
"What's the matter, Metal? No more Neo?" Sonic smirked. "Gotta say, even when you had the power of several Chaos Emeralds, you still couldn't beat me!"
"Technically, I was not defeated by you," Metal snarled, slashing at the hedgehog. "I was defeated by that inferior robot, G-merl!"
"Did somebody say my name?" G-merl said, as he and Cream came out of nowhere and attacked Metal with a double spin dash. "Good evening, Metal. You look angry as usual."
Cream kicked Metal's face, as G-merl shot him in the chest at point-blank distance.
Metal tumbled across the floor.
"Well, well, well, look who decided to show up," the metallic hedgehog taunted. "You made a mistake coming here, G-merl. You'll meet the same fate as Synergy once I'm through with you!"
"Stay away from my brother, you meanie!" Cream yelled.
"You're still hanging around with a spoiled brat like her, G-merl?" Metal asked with a chuckle. "I'm surprised someone as strong as you keeps hanging out with a weakling like Cream."
"I'm not afraid of you, Metal Sonic!" Cream said again.
"You should be, little girl."
"And yet here we are."
Metal's eyes widened once he heard that. So did Sonic and G-merl's eyes. It was at that moment where Cream and Cheese charged headfirst into battle. Metal swatted at them with his claws, but the rabbit commanded the Chao; Cheese landed five to six good shots around Metal's body. Cream kicked the robot three times before she curled into a ball and spun into his chest. Cheese screamed at the top of his tiny lungs, as he rapidly punched and kicked Metal's face, arms, legs, and shoulders. Cream untucked from her ball form and used both of her feet to propel Metal against a large tree.
Both the rabbit and the Chao landed on the ground, breathing angrily.
Sonic and G-merl were starstruck.
"Did you teach her that?" the hedgehog asked the Gizoid.
As the battle resumed, the Tornado landed in the middle of the woods. Tails, Silver, Blaze, Tangle, Amy, Whisper, and Big jumped off and snuck away from the Skunk Tumbler. Whisper managed to land a few hits on the robot's back before she joined her friends inside the base.
The Hooligans circled around the robot on Nack's bike; the weasel kept shooting tiny corks at the Skunk Tumbler. Bark cracked his knuckles and landed multiple blows against the robot, making dents that barely went through the mech's armor. Bark grunted and punched the mech one more time, shoving it to the right. Rough and Tumble gasped in fear, as they looked down at the three mercenaries on the bike. Bean noticed the skunks and stuck his tongue out.
"Why you little!" Rough and Tumble grumbled, as they turned the Skunk Tumbler around and chased the Marvelous Queen, shooting at it with missiles.
"Yeah, that's right, suckers!" Bean taunted, shaking his rear. "Come and get us!"
Nack gulped. "Bean, shut up! You're just gonna make them mad!"
Bark grabbed Bean and sat him down, looking back at the fast-moving mech.
Knuckles, Shade, Shadow, Rouge, Mighty, Ray, and the Chaotix were riding on top of it. Sonic, G-merl, Cream, and Metal chased it from behind. (1s)
Inside the Final Egg, Dr. Eggman, Dr. Starline, Orbot, and Cubot watched as Synergy struggled to escape from his chamber. He sat inside the experimental container attached to a soft bed. He was held down by metallic straps and wires. Attempting to unleash his Chaos claws, none of his attempts helped him escape. All he could do was snap at the villains.
"Let me go!" he demanded. "I need to get back to my family!"
"Your family?" Dr. Eggman chuckled. "You mean Sonic and the others? Bah! They're not your family!"
"Yes, they are!" Synergy retorted. "But you wouldn't not that since you have no family!"
"Mama Robotnik would take offense to that."
"Let me out of here at once, Eggman! Or I'll break out of here and deal with you myself!"
Dr. Starline nudged his boss. "Excuse me, Doctor. May I voice a concern?"
"Make it quick, Starline," Dr. Eggman replied, typing on his computer.
"I've been reading some of Dr. Robotnik's old files on Project: Emerl. He talked about how Emerl had destructive programming in his system. Apparently, when the government discovered Project: Shadow, Gerald gave Emerl to the government as a way of distracting them from Project: Shadow. He warned them not to experiment with Emerl, but they didn't listen. Emerl was able to absorb all of their weapons, which caused a massive explosion. It was the sole reason why the government raided Space Colony Ark in the first place."
"Your point?"
"How will we activate Synergy to his default state without meeting the same fate as the government?"
"Don't worry, Starline… I have a solution."
Pressing a button on the console, Dr. Eggman watched a monitor appear right behind Synergy. He then used a mechanism to make the bed turn around, so Synergy could watch the screen. At first, nothing but static was onscreen, but it turned to a black screen with this as the title: "The Nocturnus Clan Strikes" A True Story Collection by Dr. Eggman.
Synergy stopped struggling because he was fascinated by the title.
The screen loaded and showed us a first-person perspective labeled, "The Eggman Cam", the doctor stood alongside Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Big, Rouge, and Shadow. Together, they were face to face with Shade, who was wearing her Nocturnus Clan uniform, in Blue Ridge Zone. She stood next to two Marauders.
"Abandon your quest and back away now," Shade demanded. "This is the last warning before we exterminate you!"
"S-Shade?" Synergy inquired. "Shade knows Sonic?... how can that be?"
"Don't worry, the Chaos Emeralds are safe," Shade spoke again, taking off her helmet. "We're returning them to our true masters."
"W-what!?" Knuckles shouted, flabbergasted.
"She's an echidna!" Tails exclaimed.
"But I thought Knuckles was the last of his kind!" Amy added.
"This is… not possible," Knuckles said. "Only my bloodline survived the wrath of Perfect Chaos. You can't be the Nocturnus Clan, this must be a trick!"
"Your clan paid for its arrogance," Shade clenched her fist. "But the Nocturnus Clan was wrongly punished for our success. And now, we will return to this world!"
"Let's see you try!" Sonic cracked his fingers.
Synergy then watched his new friends fight his old friends.
"Doctor," Dr. Starline gulped. "What is this?"
"I may have recorded some footage from the time I helped Sonic destroy the Nocturnus Clan," Dr. Eggman replied with a smile. "I was going through some files when I found these. I saved them thinking they could be of good use one day."
"This isn't… possible," Synergy said, worried. "Big… Sonic… Knuckles… fighting Shade? This has to be a trick!"
Dr. Eggman spoke to Synergy through a megaphone. "This isn't a trick, my green, and blue friend. This is real. 4,000 years ago, the Nocturnus Clan were banished to an alternate dimension called the Twilight Cage. Many years later, they found a way to come back to Mobius in hopes of restoring their people. But mean ol' Sonic the Hedgehog and his dingus friends decided otherwise."
"This… this can't be true."
Synergy's eyes widened, as he watched Knuckles punch Shade in the jaw.
"There's no way this is true!" (2)
Outside the base, The Hooligans were in a heap of panic. They've been running from the Skunk Tumbler for what felt like forever. They were getting tired of this interminable battle. Nack, with his foot slammed on the gas pedal, drove as fast as he could. Bean kept chucking bombs at the mech, and Bark kept tossing boulders and other objects he found from the ground. Shooting corks at the mech, Nack wiped a bowl of sweat from his forehead. He then looked down at the Marvelous Queen's back compartment; he snapped his fingers, thinking of an idea.
"Bark, you drive!" he ordered.
Without question, the polar bear sat in the driver's seat and kept the bike's momentum going.
Nack opened up the storage box and found two pieces of a sniper rifle sitting in there.
"All righty then," Nack smiled, as he assembled his weapon and aimed it at Rough's cockpit. "Say g'night, ya filthy raccoons!"
"Hey! We're skunks!" Rough shoot his fist.
KABLAM!
Nack shot one laser bullet and made a crack in Rough's cockpit. Tumble raised both eyebrows.
"Wait a minute," the white skunk rubbed his head. "Rough, pull over!"
"What!?" his brother shouted. "Why!?"
"Just pull over!"
The blue skunk reluctantly obeyed and stopped the vehicle. The Hooligans stopped their bike and looked up at the skunks, who opened their cockpits and looked down at the mercenaries.
"Yo, are you Fang the Sniper?" Tumble inquired. "And are you two Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Polar Bear?"
The trio shared the same confused glance before nodding.
Tumble suddenly gasped with excitement. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Rough, these the guys I keep telling you about! The Hooligans! They're the best bounty hunters in the business!"
"R-really!?" Rough gasped, looking down at the three hunters. "Oh, my god, it is them! Hi, I'm Rough!"
"And I'm Tumble!"
"We're your biggest fans!" both skunks cheered at the same time.
Nack was confused. "What the what?"
"I own that one fighting game you guys are in!" Tumble said with an excited tone. "You guys are my favorite characters!"
"We even have your faces sculpted on these plates!" Rough held up three plates with each of the Hooligans' faces on them.
Bean was awestruck… for the wrong reasons. "Okay, this is a little creepy."
Shade climbed on top of the Skunk Tumbler, ready to strike. But she was noticed by Tumble, who nudged his brother.
"Hey, bro! Look out!"
Rough turned around, smirked, and raised his tail. "Stink Bomber!"
A puff of green smoke escaped from the skunk's tail. Before it could hit the echidna, the red guardian pushed her out of the way and took the blow. He coughed, hacked, and rubbed his red puffy eyes. Rough kicked him over the side, as Shade watched him fall to the ground.
"Knuckles!" she shouted.
Shadow and Rouge helped the guardian up.
"Are you all right?" the former asked.
"I'm fine," Knuckles coughed, holding his neck. "Not the first time he got me."
The Chaotix, Mighty, and Ray jumped onto the top and were ambushed by missiles fired by Tumble. The three detectives dispersed to the right whereas Mighty tucked into his shell, shielding himself from heavy fire. Ray hid beside his best friend, as he extended his wings and followed the detectives. Espio chucked a kunai forward and it penetrated through Tumble's door. He grabbed onto the rope at the end of the weapon and pulled himself up. Vector followed behind, clapped his fists together, and slammed the glass door wide open. He grabbed Tumble by the tuff of his chest fur.
"That's enough from you, buddy!" Vector grunted.
"Get off of me, you brute!" Tumble punched the crocodile in the face but was later met with an unexpected surprise: Charmy stung him right in his rear. "YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAOWWWWWWWWWWWW!"
The skunk yanked the bee off of him. "You little ru-"
Mighty and Espio kicked the skunk into his seat.
"Tumble! I'm coming, brother!" Rough opened his door and ran upward. But he was suddenly stopped by Shade, who grasped her Leech Blades. "Outta the way, girly! I ain't scared of you!"
"That's fine," Shade said calmly, as she blocked some of Rough's attacks. "I'm not scared of you either."
The orange echidna kicked the skunk off the mech, and he fell on his back. From there, he was body-slammed by Knuckles and Rouge.
Then, Sonic came running out with G-merl and Cream. The three of them were still fighting Metal Sonic.
As the three stood together, they looked up and gave the Chaotix a thumbs up. Metal Sonic wasn't sure what they were doing until he heard the white skunk grunt. Looking up in a split second, he realized he fell right into a trap. In other words, Tumble fell right on top of him.
The Chaotix jumped down with Mighty and Ray.
Shade leaped down, grabbed Rough's tail, and chucked him into the dogpile. Metal Sonic struggled to get back up. (2s)
The Hooligans stood confused.
"Nice shot, Nack," Sonic said with a thumbs up and a wink. "And thanks for the distraction."
"Um… you're welcome?" Nack shrugged his shoulders.
"Tails, how are you doing inside the base?" Rouge said through her communicator.
Meanwhile, inside the Final Egg, Tails' team was being bombarded with Super Badniks and lasers coming out of the walls.
Tangle and Whisper fought through hordes of Badniks.
Big helped Amy seal the door, preventing robots from entering.
Silver and Blaze assisted the lemur and the wolf.
And Tails flew around, firing yellow projectiles from his Arm Cannon. "We're doing all right, Rouge. We're almost there!"
Suddenly, the team heard a scream.
"That sounded like Synergy!" Big shouted. "He's in trouble!"
"Don't worry, Big," Tails replied. "We'll get him. I just hope we're not too late!"
"No… n-no! This can't be happening!"
Synergy spent a good amount of time watching all of the footage Dr. Eggman captured from the Nocturnus Clan's attack. He watched everything from Sonic and the others meeting Shade for the first time to the battle on Angel Island and even footage captured by Metal Sonic, where the heroes allied themselves with aliens from the Twilight Cage to destroy Nocturne.
Speaking of which, he was watching the final battle between Super Sonic and Imperator Ix occur at Nocturne's citadel.
"Your plan ends here, old man!" Super Sonic hollered, as he shot the white echidna with an energy blast. "Victory's ours for the taking!"
The camera panned down to showcase Knuckles, Shade, Tails, Shadow, Big, and other heroes banding together to fight the rest of Nocturne's army. From Marauders, random robots…
…to Gizoids.
Synergy was appalled by all of the events he was seeing, but he was astonished by one scene in the entire movie: a scene where Big was fighting against an army of Gizoids.
"Why are all so mean to my friends!?" Big asked in a grumpy tone, as he picked up a Gizoid and tossed it aside. "I hope I never meet someone like you!"
Synergy's green eyes widened when he heard that.
That cursed chant replayed in his head.
"I hope I never meet someone like you!"
"I hope I never meet someone like you!"
"I hope I never meet someone like you!"
After all this time, after spending three days exploring the world accompanied by the cat, Synergy couldn't believe that Big neglected to tell him about this incident. He'd been fighting alongside people that wanted to prevent the Nocturnus Clan from returning to Mobius. He didn't know why, nor did he care. His hands began to shake, and his feet started to twitch. He grasped both of his fists, as green electric sparks rained down his whole body.
He felt enraged.
He felt disgusted.
He felt betrayed.
"They lied to me!" he whispered loudly. "THEY LIED TO ME! All this time, they were playing me for a fool! Tricking me into thinking they were the good guys! They kept my people in the Twilight Cage! All they wanted to do was return to their home… but those guys sent them away!" The electric sparks got bigger and the noises they made got louder. "How could they do this to me!?"
Dr. Starline was nervous. "D-Doctor. Maybe it's time we shut him down and reboot him. I-I don't want to know what's going to happen if he stays like this."
"Good idea," Dr. Eggman replied. "I've had enough fun for one night."
Pressing a button on the console, Dr. Eggman watched as two robotic hands came down with tools in their clutches. These were machines that were going to reprogram Synergy. But before they could even touch the Gizoid, he effortlessly broke out of his trap.
Both doctors' eyes lit up.
Synergy grabbed one of the claws and yanked it down from the ceiling. Roaring like a lion, he extended his Chaos claw and destroyed the other machine.
"Shut it down! Shut it down!" Dr. Starline gasped with worry.
"I'm trying!" Dr. Eggman typed rapidly on his computer. "But he's not-"
"Eggman!" Amy shouted. She and the others entered the room. "Let Synergy go!"
"Starline, stop them!"
Just as Dr. Starline created a portal, Whisper shot him in the chest with a cyan laser. Tangle then performed a front clip and punched Dr. Eggman with her tail. Both Orbot and Cubot dropped their cleaning utensils and held up their hands. Tails' team approached the villains.
"You're coming with us, Egg-"
CRASH!
Synergy bashed himself through the chamber's glass window, watching a blanket of fragments cover the ground. He skidded across the floor until he landed in front of Big. He looked at him with anger in his eyes.
"Big…"
"Synergy!" Big smiled happily, opening his arms. "You're ok-"
Before he could hug him, Big's arms were grabbed by the Gizoid. Synergy twisted both of the cat's arms before he kicked him against the wall. He then grabbed the cat again and flung him towards Tails and the others.
Blaze ignited her fists with fire. "Synergy, what's wrong with you!?"
"You all lied to me," Synergy stomped towards them. "You kept my people in that place!... You took away my world… Now, I take away yours."
With no time left to lose, the rest of the Resistance ran back to the Final Egg's entrance.
But they were halted by a random portal. Coming to a stop, they gazed into the portal before familiar faces popped out: Tails' team and Dr. Eggman's crew. Everyone tumbled across the ground, landing on their sides.
Metal Sonic, Rough, and Tumble entered the scene with hopes of taking down the heroes, but they stopped for the same reason.
Then, one last figure emerged from the light.
It was Synergy, who was wearing the Warp Topaz on his right hand.
The rest of the Resistance helped up their friends, amazed by what was happening.
"Synergy!?" Sonic enquired. "What are you doing?"
"You all lied to me," Synergy snarled. "You all fought the Nocturnus Clan years ago! All they wanted to do was bring back their people, but you just had to keep them in the Twilight Cage! You left them in that place… where they were hurt by all of those alien creatures… how could you all do such a thing!?"
"What?" Knuckles asked.
"Synergy, that's not true," Shade stepped forward.
"You betrayed your own people, Shade," Synergy continued. "Imperator Ix raised you like his own daughter, and yet you defy him?"
"I defied him for the right reasons! He wasn't abused by aliens in the Twilight Cage, he abused them! He ruled that dimension as a dictator, and he wanted to do the same thing for Mobius. He couldn't care less about the people of Nocturne, all he wanted was world domination!"
"Liar! You betrayed my people and all of you tried to convince me to do the same!"
"Synergy" G-merl gently walked forward. "I don't know what Egghead did to you in there, but-"
"I'm amazed you have the gall to peace talk me, Emerl," Synergy groused. "You're just as guilty of betrayal as Shade is. Instead of going back to your people, you chose to stay with these no-good liars."
"They're not liars! They're my family!"
"They've completely changed you. They made you soft."
"No, they turned me from a robot with no personality into a robot who's loved and appreciated. We wanted the same for you!"
"So, to get me to change, you had to hide the fact that you kept the Nocturnus Clan banished in another dimension?" Synergy scoffed. "And I thought pickpocketing was diabolical. I've had enough of this nonsense! I'm going to do what I should've done since Sonic awakened me: fulfill the wishes of my master and bring my people back! With the power of this Warp Topaz, I can go into the Twilight Cage and-"
G-merl boosted forward and pinned Synergy against the wall of the base.
"NO!" The black/yellow Gizoid hollered. "I'm not going to let you do that!"
"Oh, Emerl," Synergy chuckled evilly, as he pressed a button on G-merl's chest. It revealed his data chips, including the one with Emerl's good personality. "How I wish you saw things my way."
Removing the green chip from G-merl's systems, Synergy kicked the Gizoid off of him. G-merl swept across the ground, landing on his knees. When he looked up at the other robot, his eyes were completely red.
"G-merl?" Cream asked.
The Gizoid completely ignored her.
"Now, then," Synergy said. He suddenly extended his claw and punched Rouge in the chest, revealing the box with all seven Chaos Emeralds. He grabbed it and yanked it towards him.
Dr. Eggman, Dr. Starline, Orbot, and Cubot woke up just in time.
"What's happening?" the fat doctor inquired demandingly, as he gazed to his right and saw Synergy with the Warp Topaz and all seven emeralds. "Oh, my gears and starters." He started to sweat.
Synergy opened the box and the Chaos Emeralds floated around him; each of them was glowing with their respective color. Clenching his fist, the Warp Topaz was also glowing. "Emerl," he declared. "I shall show you my power and you shall obey."
Suddenly, E-123 Omega appeared from the sky and aimed his missiles at Synergy and G-merl.
"PROJECT: SYNERGY," the robot ordered. "YOU ARE TO STAND DOWN IMMEDIATELY OR I WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO OPEN FIRE! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!"
"G-merl, no!" Everyone in the Resistance shouted as they all raced forward.
"Chaos…" Synergy began. "BLAST!"
The area was covered in a flash of orange and yellow lights. (3)
"…onic?"
He didn't know what just happened nor did he know how It happened.
"…onic? Sonic?... are you all right?"
He heard nothing but voices of a female calling his name. He saw nothing but darkness, but he heard voices and the sound of wood burning. He slowly opened his eyes; his vision was blurry. All he saw was the color orange. Orange flames circled around him, causing him to question what happened before.
"Sonic!? Wake up!"
Sonic the Hedgehog opened his eyes and his eyesight returned to normal. He could finally see more colors than just orange. But sadly, what he was looking at wasn't a sight for sore eyes.
Other than flames, he saw trees that looked like they were chopped down by a violent lumberjack and piles of wood and debris all over the ground. Sonic noticed that he was sitting on the ground, laying on his side. He shook his head and stood up, rubbing his head and moaning.
Amy Rose was sitting right in front of him. She gasped once she saw him move. She then gave him a small hug.
"Sonic, thank goodness," she said with relief, as she released him from the hug. "Are you all right?"
Sonic coughed, "I'm fine… what happened?"
As Sonic coughed again, he tripped on his own feet and collapsed on the ground. Amy gently grabbed Sonic's arm and wrapped it around her. She lifted him off the ground and helped him walk a few feet forward.
As they walked, they saw the bodies of their friends on the ground. They weren't dead, thankfully, but they were wounded and unconscious. Team Chaotix got up and groaned, looking at each other to see if they were okay. Shadow and Rouge got up as well; they both scanned their environment for E-123 Omega. The giant robot was laying on his back.
Tangle and Whisper helped each other up on their feet; they were covered in bruises and scratch marks.
Mighty helped Ray up on his feet. The latter coughed and clenched his stomach.
Silver and Blaze awoke from their state of unconsciousness, unaware of what was going to happen next.
Cream the Rabbit coughed and helped three people who just wanted to earn their pay. They were Nack the Weasel, Bean the Dynamite Duck, and Bark the Polar Bear. All of them coughed and looked at each other with worry.
Knuckles was the last one to wake up. He rubbed his head and saw the Resistance gather together.
"Is everyone all right?" he asked.
Everyone responded, "Yeah,"
"I think I broke my arm," Bean said. "And my leg… and my beak… basically, my everything."
"Where's Eggman?" Shadow snarled, clenching his fist.
Suddenly, Shadow's inquiry was answered when the Resistance turned and saw the shadow of Dr. Eggman in the distance. He looked to be running away from another shadow. The shadow picked him up and chucked him across the area. He landed right beside the Resistance.
Before anyone could do anything, Dr. Starline, Metal Sonic, Rough, and Tumble flew through the smoke and landed against the dirt. All of them were wounded by whatever was on the other side of the smoke.
Cream gasped and cupped her hands together. Nack took out his gun, Bean twirled several bombs, and Bark clapped his fists together.
Everyone looked at each other and readied themselves for another round.
Sonic cracked his fingers and got into a fighting position. "Ready for round two?"
Omega awoke from his slumber and scanned the object coming towards them. "OBJECT IDENTIFIED AS…"
The shadowy figure stopped, revealing himself to be…
…G-merl.
The Resistance kept their battle stance.
"G-merl?" Cream asked with concern, as she walked forward and stopped, frightened of her friend's red eyes. "G-merl, it's me, Cream! Say something!"
"Mwa-hahahahahaha…. Hahaha… hahahahahahahahaha!" Synergy came from the smoke and stood next to G-merl, patting him on the shoulder. "He can't listen to your orders anymore, little girl."
"What have you done to him!?" Amy howled.
"Emerl told me that a man named Gerald Robotnik showed him great power and that made him establish a Link with him," Synergy explained. "So, I showed G-merl my power… and he is now mine to control."
"G-merl, if you're in there," Cream pleaded. "Please, don't do this! We're your family! And we know you wouldn't hurt your family!"
"Please, don't do this, G-merl," Big added.
"Quiet, Cat!" Synergy huffed. "I should have killed you the moment I met you, Big. You're nothing but a useless pawn whose only ability is to waste peoples' time."
Big frowned heavily at that backlash.
"I'm done talking," Synergy nodded, patting G-merl on the shoulder again. "Emerl… kill them."
The black/yellow Gizoid obeyed and charged at his former teammates like a rampaging bull. Tails stepped in front of Cream, spreading his arms out.
"Stop, G-merl!" he cried.
But G-merl socked Tails across the jaw.
Sonic and Amy ran forward and grabbed both of G-merl's arms, holding him back. But G-merl launched himself into the air, grabbed Sonic and Amy's arms, and slammed them onto the ground. Mighty and Ray entered the ring, but G-merl grabbed the squirrel and chucked him into the armadillo's stomach.
Tails jumped on G-merl's back while Knuckles and Team Chaotix tackled him, pinning him down. The Gizoid sneered at his friends, as he yanked Tails off of his back and curled into a ball. Spin dashing into Knuckles and the Chaotix, he teleported behind them and kicked them all near Sonic and Amy. Shadow launched a Chaos Spear, but G-merl caught it. He teleported behind Shadow and Rouge and fired a missile at the ground behind them, blowing them back.
Landing on the ground, G-merl felt something ricochet off of his head, a cork.
Glaring to his right, he saw that Nack, who as nervous as a cat, shot a set of corks at the robot. Bean cowered behind him, as Bark rushed forward. The polar bear managed to sneak a few good hits on the Gizoid's head, but G-merl grabbed Bark's arm, spun him around, and flipped him over his shoulder.
He flew over and kicked both Nack and Bean.
"Stop it, G-merl!" Tails shouted. He, Sonic, and Amy charged forward again, but G-merl fought them off effortlessly.
"This isn't you, G-merl! Stop!" Shade grabbed the Gizoid's right arm, attempting to reach for his back, where she hoped to reboot his system. But the Gizoid teleported, breaking free of the echidna's control. He reappeared behind her and kicked her in the back.
Then, G-merl was caught in a psychic bubble.
A bubble created by Silver.
"I got him!" he exclaimed. "Blaze, now!"
Blaze ran forward with hopes of rebooting the android's systems, but G-merl was suddenly sucked into a portal beneath his feet. Silver and Blaze wondered where he went before they turned to Synergy, who used the Warp Topaz to help his ally. G-merl suddenly appeared behind the duo and bashed their heads into the ground.
Tangle wrapped her tail around G-merl's left arm, as Whisper held the other. Both of them failed in their attempts, as G-merl spun around and yanked them off his body.
Sonic, Tails, Amy, Mighty, Ray, and the Chaotix all tackled the Gizoid.
Synergy turned to Dr. Eggman and Dr. Starline, who were both unconscious. He glared upward at Metal Sonic, Orbot, Cubot, Rough, and Tumble. From there, he opened a portal and grabbed both doctors, chucking them through.
"If you're smart, you'd obey me," Synergy snarled.
Without question, Rough and Tumble jumped through the portal with Orbot and Cubot.
Metal Sonic stayed behind.
"I'm not taking orders from you!" Metal grunted, barreling towards the Gizoid. But Synergy redirected the portal and sucked the metal doppelganger inside. Turning over his shoulder, he watched as G-merl pummeled his friends into the dirt.
With one last chuckle, Synergy jumped into the portal and it evaporated out of thin air.
G-merl punched Knuckles and Rouge, as he rolled over and kicked Tangle and Whisper. He blasted Silver, Blaze, Mighty, and Ray. Then, he jumped over Shadow, kicking him in the back. He ducked below Vector's punch and shoved him right on top of Espio and Charmy. The Hooligans came at him like a stampede, but G-merl grabbed Tangle's tail, tossing her into the trio. Amy swung her hammer and slammed it on G-merl's head, but he caught it at the last second. He smacked the pink hedgehog across the face. Shade swung her fists, but she was too slow to avoid a kick to the chest and a punch to the face.
Tails and Sonic, forming a Rolling Combo, double dashed into G-merl. He instantly blocked their attack and bashed them against the dirt. The two of them broke away from their ball forms and skidded across the dirt.
Sonic fell on his side and Tails was on his stomach. To the fox's left, he saw a familiar sight…
…Emerl's data chip.
Cream, Big, and Omega had enough of watching the fight. They decided to do something.
Omega opened fire with a bombardment of missiles and other weapons. "NEW PRIMARY TARGET: G-MERL. OPEN FIRE!"
G-merl evaded the missiles as quick as a ninja and blasted Omega with his own missile.
"G-merl, please stop!" Big wrapped his arms around the Gizoid, trapping him in a bear hug.
"G-merl, stop!" Cream yelled. "This isn't who you are! You're better than this!... please, stop hurting everyone. These are your friends!"
G-merl froze for a quick second before he escaped Big's grasp and blasted the cat. Suddenly, he grabbed the rabbit by the neck and pinned her against a tree.
Tails grabbed the data chip and glanced at G-merl.
Cheese released a battle cry before rushing for the Gizoid. G-merl nonchalantly smacked Cheese out of the air. He tightened his grip around Cream's neck.
"G-G-merl," Cream coughed, struggling to breathe. "S-stop t-t-this!"
G-merl's red eyes stared down into the rabbit's soul, as he pulled his fist back.
Everyone was ready to save Cream.
The Gizoid delivered one final punch…
…but he was thwarted at the last second. (3s)
Below him, Tails placed the data chip back into his chest compartment. The Gizoid froze, as his eyes went from red to blue. The fox was heavily panting, as he took a few steps back.
SYSTEM CHECK. CHIP LABEL: EMERL RESTORED.
A screen inside G-merl's system spoke to him, as he found himself looking down at a dirt-covered fox. Wondering what happened, he looked to his left and saw that everyone was in the same condition; dirty, bruised, exhausted.
"Guys?" G-merl queried. "What happ… oh, no."
Turning his eyes to face Cream, he realized what he was doing. He was still holding onto her in a choking position. He found himself gazing into the tear brown eyes of his little sister, who puckered her lips and coughed for dear life.
"N-no… what have I…"
Tenderly putting the rabbit down, G-merl backed away, frightened. He watched as everyone else surrounded him.
"What have I done?"
"Are you okay, Cream?" Amy asked.
"Y-yeah," Cream coughed. "I'm fine."
G-merl kept backing away.
"G-merl, are you all right?" Sonic inquired.
"What have I done?" the Gizoid whispered. "What have I done?"
"It's okay, G-merl," Tails said with a soft smile. "Synergy just corrupted your system, that's all. It's gonna be okay."
"I hurt you guys… I hurt everyone… I hurt my little sister."
Everyone was silent. Cream looked at her caretaker with teared-up eyes.
"G-merl?" she softly peeped.
"I… I… I…" the Gizoid replied, taking three steps back. "I'm sorry!"
Not wanting to be in the same area with the people he hurt, G-merl activated his jet boosters and took to the skies.
"G-merl!?" Tails hollered. "Hey, where are you going!?"
"G-merl!?" Cream ran forward. "G-merl, come back! It wasn't your fault!"
The Gizoid was too far away to hear her, he was boosting across the night sky.
"G-merl!?... G-merl!?"
It was too late.
G-merl took off as fast as a cannonball shooting out of a cannon.
Eventually, he was gone.
And everyone was silent.
Team Chaotix shared a sorrowful glance with Mighty and Ray, Tangle wrapped her arm around Whisper, Knuckles and Shade shook their heads, Shadow and Rouge folded their arms beside Omega, The Hooligans brushed themselves off, Silver and Blaze sat down on a rock, Amy comforted both Cream and Big, and Sonic approached a guilt-filled Tails. The two-tailed fox sat down on his knees and looked at a devastated Cream.
Sonic sat down next to him, wrapping his arm around him.
Nack, Bean, and Bark finished cleaning themselves.
"Well," Bean sighed. "At least it can't get any worse."
The sound of helicopters fluttering in the distance distracted the Resistance. Each of them looked up and saw multiple black G.U.N. helicopters surrounded the nearby area. Everyone stayed where they were. Nack, Bean, and Bark widened their eyes.
The duck gulped. "I was wrong!"
FLASH!
Spotlights rained on the heroes like a hurricane, blinding their eyes.
Commander Abraham Tower's voice came through a megaphone. "Resistance, this is the Guardian Units of the Nation! We have the place surrounded! Stay there and put your hands up!"
Ropes draped from above and crashed against the dirt. Several soldiers with tranquilizer guns cornered the heroes along with assault drones that had the same weapons. A few soldiers landed near Shadow, Rouge, and Omega. They stood in front of them and aimed their weapons at the others. Team Dark unshielded their eyes only to see that the rest of their team was held at gunpoint.
"What the?" Rouge inquired. "Hey! Why are you not gunning at us! Not that I want to be gunned at, but we were helping them too!"
"YOU WERE JUST LOOKING FOR THE RESISTANCE," Omega replied. "YOU WERE NOT AIDING THEM IN HOUSING SYNERGY."
Commander Tower dropped down from the rope and approached the cornered heroes. His soldiers were ready to fire.
The heroes looked at him, still shielding their eyes from the light.
Bean approached the commander. "Hey, Abbie! How's it going? I haven't seen you in a while? Did you get a haircut?"
POP! (4)
Without hesitation, Bean was shot by a tranquilizer dart. It hit him on the shoulder.
"Ow!" he said, feeling drowsy. His eyes were partly closed, and his knees began to buckle. "My cupcakes are in the oven, Grandma."
The duck fell down unconscious.
"Hey!" Nack grunted. "What the-!?"
Two tranquilizers shot him and Bark.
Commander Tower snapped his fingers. "Fire!"
A tsunami of darts shot out of the guns and latched themselves onto the Resistance. Tangle and Whisper fell beside one another. Mighty and Ray fell next to the Chaotix. Silver tried to save Blaze, but she took the hit for him. He took a hit as well. Shade, Amy, Cream, and Big went down together. The only ones left standing were Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Tails was the first to go down, then Sonic…
…then Knuckles.
The echidna's vision was clouded, and slobber came out of his mouth.
"N-no…"
He had one last look at his team before everything went black. (4s)
END OF CHAPTER 32
Wow, that was some ending, huh? Just when the Resistance thought he'd rescue their friend in peace, Synergy ends up reverting back to his old self. And it's all thanks to Dr. Eggman. He just couldn't listen to Starline, could he? Anyways, the Resistance has finally been captured by G.U.N. and G-merl has gone AWOL. Who knows what will happen to the poor Gizoid? Will G-merl come back? What will happen to the Resistance? Where did Synergy take Team Eggman? I guess we'll have to find out in the next chapter. Tune in next time for...
"Chapter 33: Resistance Locked Up!"
POST-A/N:
G-merl going berserk was inspired by the one scene from Big Hero 6 where Hiro activates Baymax's kill chip once he finds out that Dr. Callaghan killed Tadashi and stole his microbots. Even though the whole twist villain in Disney schtick has gotten old in my opinion, I really enjoyed that specific reveal from Big Hero 6. That's one of my favorite Disney movies and it's totally not because it was co-created by Marvel. That's why I used that one piece of music for that G-merl scene. It's a scene I had drafted for a while.
Speaking of which, that G-merl scene was foreshadowed way back in "Chapter 18: Clash of the Villains: Part 1". It also foreshadowed the appearance of The Hooligans.
Originally, the scenes where Synergy watches the video were supposed to be told through his point of view, but I decided against it since I think it would drag out the chapter.
As always, thank you all so much for taking the time to read. Don't forget to R&R! I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see you next time!
~SD321 (SpiderDom321)
