-Chapter 191-

Emerl Goes Crazy and Stuff

In Orbit

Robotnik had just put the last, finishing touches on his project. He wiped his brow, grinning from ear to ear.

"Not long now…" he remarked.

Suddenly, something on his wrist began to beep. He lifted his mechanical arm, a holographic screen popping up. It showed a strange graph, one that was rising steadily.

"Energy spike…" His grin grew wider. "He's awakened... It's time."

Knothole

Emerl's chestplate closed, the seventh and final Emerald joining the six he'd already collected. He stood stock still, the others watching as a panel on his forehead opened up, revealing it to be a blue eye with a black pupil.

"Emerl…?" Cream let out nervously.

"Show me your power," Emerl ordered, his voice deeper and more foreboding. "Or I shall not obey. I represent all things, and shall become Gizoid, the conqueror of all…"

"Uh-oh…" Sonic let out.

Everyone began backing away from the robot, Kat grabbing Cream and holding her close.

"Damn it, I knew it," Knuckles cursed. "I knew something was gonna happen!"

"So did we!"

All eyes turned to see Team Dark at the door.

"Lucky for you, we found a way around this," Shadow approached Emerl, who glared at him. "Gizoid, ancient weapon of legend. I, as your new master, command you: Bring hope to humanity!"

Emerl froze, the eye twitching before slowly closing.

"I- what happened?" He rubbed his faceplate, then turned to Cream. "Cream? What's going on? I feel... strange."

At their looks, Shadow sat down.

"Professor Gerald foresaw this very situation. He inserted a failsafe to be activated once Emerl's original programming resurfaced with all seven Emeralds."

"Basically, he has a soul now," Hope added. "And a good one to boot."

Cream wiggled out of Kat's grasp, approaching Emerl. "Then… we're still friends?"

"Of course," Emerl assured.

The two hugged, Cream laughing happily as everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Sadly, the relief was short lived when a massive shadow began to darken the sky outside. Chris went over to the window to take a look and he gasped in shock.

"GUYS?!"

Everyone rushed outside, all the Freedom Fighter members from all parts of Knothole. They all stared up at the sky to see a massive space station, one that almost looked like a massive jack. At the center of this "jack" was a distinctive Death Egg, with similar structures on the end of each leg jutting from it. Each structure was a different color, and had four, silver balls jutting from them. The entire thing was massive, complex, and looked ten times as dangerous than any of the previous Death Eggs.

"I... think we found Eggman…" Hope whimpered.

"Why can't the Death Egg just stay in the scrapyard where it belongs?" Sonic groaned.

"That's not a Death Egg," Shadow insisted. "That's a Massacre Egg."

Keith was holding Kat close.

"Hey, Emerl," Sonic called as he turned to the robot. "You copied all my abilities, right? How about Chaos Control?"

Getting what Sonic intended, Emerl gently pushed Cream away.

"What's going on?" the bunny asked.

"Eggman's about to regret ever letting this little guy go," Sonic replied. "And his Massacre Egg is about to go down."

Emerl focused, warping away. As they watched, the Death Egg retreated into orbit.

Death Egg Mark III

Robotnik was seated casually on his throne when Emerl appeared.

"Ah, Gizoid," Robotnik remarked. "Welcome to the Death Egg Mark III."

"My name is Emerl," Emerl shot back. "And I've come to put an end to your Massacre Egg."

"Is that what you call it?" Robotnik remarked as he stood up, holding up his hands when Emerl grew defensive. "Let's not be too hasty, my friend."

"I am not your friend," Emerl snapped.

"Not yet," Robotnik insisted. "But wait til you see what I can do."

"You expect me to just indulge your little game?"

"You forget. If it wasn't for me, you'd still be laying on the ARK and collecting dust."

Emerl was silent for a moment.

"I'll give you that much. Thanks to you, I've learned the true meaning of friendship. I'm not just a weapon... I'm a living being with a heart and free will."

"Precisely. So just grant me this little request."

Outside the wall, Eggatha watched. She immediately ran off, typing on a com.

Knothole

Omochao perked, his eyes flashing as he vibrated.

"Incoming call from Eggatha," he reported.

"Huh," Hope let out. "Patch it through."

Omochao's eyes turned blue, projecting a hologram of a frantic Eggatha.

"What were you thinking sending the Gizoid up here alone?!" she demanded.

"Relax, we fixed the issue with him," Hope assured. "Great Grandpa had a fail safe, and we activated it."

"Nothing can stop its Link function! I ran tests and everything!"

"Why are you wigging out like this?" Sonic questioned.

"Don't you get it?! Uncle Ivo's plan all along was to leave the Gizoid with you guys and make him as strong as possible! He's gonna forge a new Link with him any minute now!"

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "What could he possibly have on that crate that's more powerful and unique than the Mystic Melody?"

"Oh, I dunno," Eggatha said sarcastically. "How about an onboard superlaser powerful enough to ONESHOT ENTIRE CLUSTERS OF STARS?!"

There was a collective silence from the entire group as the ramifications of what Eggatha had said sunk in.

"SHIT!" Shadow screamed.

"He calls it the Final Egg Blaster. And I don't need to tell you what's gonna happen from here."

"Damn it…" Sonic realized. "Everything that happened, what led up to this... was to lure Emerl in so he could shoot off that cannon and break his Link with Cream!"

"Everyone, to the Sky Patrol!" Tails shouted. "We need to get up to the Massacre Egg before Eggman gets the chance to break that Link!"

"Not to nitpick, but the official name is the Death Egg Mark III."

Death Egg Mark III

"What exactly is your plan here, doctor?" Emerl asked. "Know that whatever you do, I will not turn my back on my true friends."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that. After all, you haven't even seen what I can do yet."

"Is that so? Enlighten me."

Robotnik smirked. "Gladly. Launch the Final Egg Blaster!"

As those on board the Sky Patrol and Death Egg alike watched, each sphere on the "jack" portions of the Death Egg began radiating energy, connecting to form a net before firing a massive energy beam at a far-off star system, which detonated in a massive supernova-like explosion. Emerl began twitching and sparking at the sight.

"H-how many lives did you just take?!" he stammered.

"None," Robotnik promised. "That system was entirely uninhabited, I made sure. Are you ready to start serving me, your new master?"

Emerl collapsed, his third eye rapidly blinking as he twitched.

"Power... Overflowing…" he stammered. Can't hold it in... Can't hold it in... Sonic... Shadow... Help... In such pain... Cream... It hurts... The pain…"

Robotnik's cackle of victory filled the Death Egg.

Sky Patrol

On board the Sky Patrol, the Chaotix came in with the Master Emerald, just in time to see Shadow reading Sonic and the Freedom Fighters the riot act.

"I warned you!" he ranted. "I told you all again and again the Gizoid was too dangerous, that he needed to be dealt with! But you didn't listen! Well, look at where we are now! YOU'VE KILLED US ALL!"

"I know, I know!" Sonic shouted. "I screwed up, I get it! But we had to try! I had to believe that we could do something good with Emerl!"

Shadow shook his head in disdain. "I blame myself. I was a complete fool to let this go on. I should have just destroyed the Gizoid where he stood the minute I saw him in Knothole."

"No!" Cream objected. "Emerl is good! He's my friend, and he's in trouble!"

"Cream, in case you haven't noticed, your 'friend' has all of our powers and weapons, four thousand years worth of combat knowledge, the combined energy from several destroyed stars and seven Chaos Emeralds... and is now Dr. Robotnik's puppet!" Shadow snapped. "You all put your faith in the idea a robotic WMD had good in him, and now all of Mobius is going to pay the price for your softheartedness!"

Cream winced, tears coming to her eyes. That set Sonic off.

"Shut up!" he shouted. "You don't get to talk to Cream like that, EVER!"

They were about to come to blows when Sally stepped between them.

"Enough!" she ordered. "Both of you! Arguing is pointless. All we can do now is stop this situation from escalating further."

Shadow took a deep breath, composing himself. "You're right. What's the plan?"

The Chaotix set the Master Emerald down before them.

"The Chaos Emeralds are what's driving him crazy," Sonic explained. "If we can get close enough, we can use the Master Emerald to neutralize them and hopefully change him back to his old self."

"And if that doesn't work?" Shadow asked.

Tails looked up from the Miles Electric.

"I've run scans. He's absorbed too much energy and has surpassed his limits. He's highly unstable right now. Inflicting enough damage might snap him out of it, but…"

"But what?" Cream asked.

Tails sighed. "He might be destroyed in the process. He won't be able to contain the energy that he's absorbed within his body."

"No…" Cream looked away. "Emerl…"

"That's all dependent on whether or not we can touch him," Keith pointed out. "He knows all our moves."

"For now, let's focus on the Master Emerald plan," Sonic decided. "No need to worry about what-ifs."

Death Egg Mark III

Emerl rose to his feet, his central eye open once more. Robotnik grinned, only to be confused as Emerl headed for the controls.

"Engaging Final Egg Blaster," he declared. "Target... Mobius."

"Wait, what?" Robotnik gaped. "No, no! We're going to conquer Mobius, not destroy it!" He grabbed Emerl. "Stop! As your master, I command you-!"

Emerl grabbed Robotnik's cyber-arm, prying it off and squeezing. Robotnik cringed as it sparked and groaned.

"I couldn't care less what you want," he spat before throwing Robotnik through the wall.

As he advanced toward the controls again, a green flash appeared.

"Emerl, no!"

Emerl turned to face Sonic, standing atop the Master Emerald.

"Stop," Sonic pleaded, hopping down. "You know this isn't right."

"I am beyond your definitions of right and wrong, Sonic," Emerl retorted.

Sonic placed his hands on the Master Emerald, focusing his Chaos energy. It began to glow and Emerl flinched, raising a hand to his optics.

"That light…"

He scowled before charging forward. Sonic was knocked back as Emerl punched the Master Emerald, shattering it. He had just enough time to register that before Emerl grabbed him by the throat, bodily lifting him up.

"What's wrong, Sonic?" the Gizoid taunted. "You came here expecting to face a simple robot, your friend... and instead you found A GOD?!"

"And I thought Eggman was over the top." Sonic wheezed.

"What have I done…" Robotnik let out from his position on the floor.

Emerl bodily threw Sonic across the room.

"That weak Emerl is gone," he said. "Now you face the true Gizoid. Legacy of the Nocturnus Clan."

Sonic stood up, shaking out the cobwebs before getting into a fighting stance.

"You don't stand a chance against me as I am now, Sonic," Emerl spat. "If you have any sense, you'll run for your life!"

"I won't let you destroy this world," Sonic said firmly.

"You have no say in the matter."

Sonic charged forward, rapidly punching and kicking. Emerl casually dodged each one while barely even moving his feet.

"Your efforts are futile, Sonic," Emerl taunted before slamming his palm into his chest, knocking him back. He rebounded off the wall hard, the air getting knocked out of him as he fell to his knees. He wheezed, and Emerl charged forward, summoning a bat to his hand as he swung it at Sonic's chest.

"Before I rip you to pieces, I should thank you," he remarked, resting the bat on his shoulder as Sonic coughed, blood staining the floor beneath him. "If it weren't for you and your friends going out of your way to train me, I would never have unlocked my full potential."

"You…" Sonic let out. "Cream trusted you. Even now... she's scared for you."

"That was her mistake."

Sonic narrowly dodged another bat swing.

"I know you're still in there somewhere, Emerl," he insisted. "Fight it, man!"

"Oh, he's in here alright," Emerl punched Sonic in the face. "And he's gonna feel the snap of your bones." He landed a punch to the gut. "Every single one. We're gonna take our time!"

Sonic stumbled back, clenching his chest in pain before Spin Dashing towards Emerl. As he did so, Emerl summoned spikes on his fist like Knuckles' and punched him, sending him crashing towards the ground. Sonic barely had a chance to recover before Emerl dashed towards him, kicking him in the back of the head. Sonic fell to the ground, feeling the worst he'd ever felt. Several bones were broken, and his breathing was labored. Despite this, he pulled himself to his feet, fists at the ready.

"Will you just come to your senses and stay down already?!" Emerl demanded.

"I'm afraid... I can't do that…"

He coughed up blood before sparking, focusing it into his fists before charging Emerl. After one electrified punch, Sonic let loose, raining punches on the Gizoid with such speed that he seemed to grow two extra pairs. Emerl met him head on, matching him blow for blow.

"Anything you can do, Sonic, I can do better!" Emerl declared. "You lost this fight the minute I started trying!"

He caught Sonic's hand, throwing him to the ground before stomping down hard on his leg. There was a sickening crack, and Sonic screamed in agony.

"Heed my warning, hedgehog. Stay down."

Sonic tried to get up on his good leg, only to be kicked in the gut and sent flying across the room to land heavily.

"I think I've humored you long enough," Emerl sneered. "Just lay there and quietly go into shock and bleed to death while I blow up Mobius, if you please."

He turned, preparing the Final Egg Blaster. Before he could initiate the firing sequence, a watery three-digit hand grabbed his wrist. Emerl turned to see Chaos emerging from his puddle form, glaring at him. He gurgled, ejecting the Super Emeralds from his body, as well as Knuckles and Kat. Cream was the last to emerge from Chaos, the watery god gurgling before fully facing Emerl.

"Help Sonic?" Cream asked.

"By Aurora…" Kat let out. "LOOK!"

They turned, Cream gasping at Sonic laying on the floor, bruised, broken, and bleeding in at least a dozen places. Even then, he was trying in vain to stand up. Emerl rolled his eyes.

"Stupid hedgehog," he remarked. "I've broken half the bones in your body, beaten you into a bloody smear on the ground, and you still won't give up?"

"Damn you!" Knuckles shouted.

Chaos gurgled loudly.

"Focus on Sonic," Cream translated. "He's got Emerl."

Chaos and Emerl faced off as they hurried to Sonic's side, the Blue Blur coughing weakly.

"Maybe somebody should remind him that I'm the hero here." he let out.

"Damn…" Kat winced. "I haven't seen you this bad since…"

She trailed off, not wanting to bring it up. Knuckles saw the Emerald shards scattered about, realizing what happened.

"The Master Emerald! He shattered it!"

"Yeah…" Sonic confirmed. "He was a bit too fast for me."

"Damn it…" Kat laid eyes on the Super Emeralds. "Seems Super Sonic won't cut it this time…"

She picked up Sonic as carefully as she could, placing him in the middle of the seven Super Emeralds. "We need Hyper Sonic for this."

Sonic closed his eyes, focusing with all his might as the Super Emeralds began to glow. Slowly, his mangled body began to heal, his broken bones snapping back into place as his wounds closed. Emerl, still fighting with Chaos, took notice real quick.

"No!" he screamed.

He tried to charge, but Chaos intercepted him, slamming the robot into the ground. He gurgled indignantly, which Emerl seemed to understand.

"Coward, am I? No, it's called pragmatism. Super, Hyper, it makes no difference. Sonic can't beat me no matter what he does. But why take any chances?"

He then managed to get out from under Chaos, delivering a powerful blow right to the deity's brain. As Chaos collapsed into a puddle, Emerl turned to the others, but it was too late. Sonic floated into the air, the Super Emeralds spinning around him and turning him into Hyper Sonic. Emerl scowled.

"This only proves my superiority!" he yelled. "You can't beat me without gimmicky shit like that! I'm the better man!"

"We made you what you are now, Emerl!" Knuckles shot back. "You copied our moves, our power! You're nothing but a leech!"

"Everything I took was willingly given," Emerl retorted. "Your skills, your strengths. All of you were more than happy to hand them over! Now, watch what I can do with your abilities at their full potential!"

He charged, spikes protruding from his fist just like Knuckles, only for Sonic to catch the punch before it ever impacted. Sparking, Sonic landed his own punch, sending Emerl flying through multiple walls.

"All of you, take the Master Emerald shards and get out of here." he ordered.

Knuckles nodded, he and Kat gathering the shards. Cream remained where she was standing as Emerl came shooting back.

"Emerl, please!" she cried. "Stop this! This isn't you!"

"Oh, Cream…" Emerl sighed. "So young and naïve. This is me. The real me."

Cream stood firm, shaking her head.

"If it wasn't for your insistence that I had good in me and that you could tame me, I never would have lasted long enough to reawaken my true self and purpose as the Nocturnus Clan's ultimate weapon," Emerl went on mockingly. "For that, kid, I truly thank you."

Tears began streaming down Cream's face. "Emerl… please…"

Something seemed to stir in Emerl at that. At Cream's crying, something in Sonic snapped.

"That's it, Buster!" he screamed. "THAT! IS! IT!"

He charged Emerl, tackling him right out of the Death Egg and into orbit.

"You can break every bone in my body! You can shatter as many emeralds as you want! But don't EVER make Cream cry!"

They clashed violently, matching one another blow for blow.

"It's her own fault for getting close to me," Emerl shot back. "She should have listened to Shadow."

"She trusted you! You were her friend!"

Emerl grabbed Sonic by the throat, throwing him so hard that he crashed into the Egg Moon's stone side, creating a new crater.

"Shut up!" he roared. "Just shut up!"

He tucked into a Spin Dash and came rocketing down. Sonic reeled back, punting him like a football. He tore through one of the many structures jutting from the station. Sonic gave chase after, tackling him into the Death Egg itself.

"What's the matter?" he taunted. "Did I strike a nerve?!"

"She means nothing to me!"

But even as he said that, memories were playing over in Emerl's head. The dance battle, playing with her, seeing the Chao.

"This is what I wanted! What I was built to do!"

Sonic charged at him, a blur of multicolored light that struck Emerl over and over. Their battle was sending them both throughout the entire space station, ripping apart machinery like it was nothing. Seeing all of the destruction, and hearing the many alarms that were beginning to go off, Knuckles quickly got to his feet, arms full of Master Emerald Shards.

"Kat, dump the shards into Chaos' body! We need to get out of here!"

Both he and Kat dropped the shards into the puddle that was Chaos, watching them disappear from sight. Once the last was in, Robotnik came over, dropping a few large buckets.

"I'm assuming you have a way to return to Mobius," he declared. "Do so quickly. I'll take Agatha in the escape pod."

"Don't think this is over, Eggman," Kat warned, already scooping up a bucket of unconscious Chao God.

"Believe me, I know."

Back with Sonic and Emerl, the bot blocked each blow dealt, but it was clear that something was making him hesitate. This allowed Sonic to gain the upper hand, spin dashing at him several times at lightspeed.

"What's wrong? Lost your fighting spirit, buddy?!"

Emerl didn't answer, his eyes drifting to the escape pods launching from the Death Egg Mark III, where he could see Cream watching from a window, those tears still in her eyes before she was pulled through a Warp Ring to escape.

"This is what I… this... this is not... what I wanted…"

Sonic stopped at that. "So you do care."

Emerl turned to Sonic, and the hedgehog was shocked to see oily tears coming from the robot.

"Sonic… destroy me."

"What?!" Sonic exclaimed. "Emerl!"

"My soul is intact, but my original programming is still fighting to take control. I can't hold it back much longer. "

"No!" Sonic shook his head. "Emerl, you're our friend! My friend!"

"Then as my friend, take me out!" Emerl pleaded. "I don't want to be a monster!"

Sonic hesitated, but soon steeled himself. "Any last words?"

"Yes. Tell Cream I'm sorry. And I'm glad we got to be friends."

Green Hill

With a heavy heart, Sonic flew at Emerl, tackling him and flying for Mobius. The two ignited as they reentered the atmosphere, appearing to be a flaming meteor as Sonic plowed Emerl deep into the grassy ground of Green Hill. The sheer force of the impact created a massive crater, ripped trees from the ground, and cracked rocks for acres. When the smoke cleared, Sonic was back in his base form, and Emerl was damaged and near-inoperative. Taking a breath, Sonic knelt down by his side.

"I'm sorry…" he said softly.

"It's... been fun…" Emerl let out. "Thank you... Sonic…"

With that, the light in his optics flickered out. Sonic rested a hand on the bot's forehead, closing his eyes mournfully.

Knothole

At Freedom HQ, the others regrouped, Sonic telling them of Emerl's fate. Cream was understandably heartbroken at the reveal.

"It's how he wanted it," Sonic sighed. "I'm sorry, Cream. There was no other way."

She curled up, crying as Bunnie scooped her up, gently petting her ears.

"Where's his body?" Sally asked.

"I buried it in Green Hill. With luck, he can rest."

Sonic went over to Cream, placing a hand on her back comfortingly.

"I know it hurts, Cream," he said soothingly. "But he's still here, with us. Emerl was made of metal, but he was like Shard and Omega. He had a soul. And souls don't die."

Cream looked up, sniffing slightly. "You mean it?"

"With every fiber of my being."

Robotropolis

Meanwhile, at Citadel Robotnik, Robotnik overlooked the Phis and data on the Eggnet, Eggatha by his side.

"Well, another day, another failed scheme," the doctor sighed. "Still, at least it wasn't a total loss. We still have the Gizoid's data and design specs."

"The Massacre Egg is under repair," At her uncle's look, Eggatha sighed. "Sorry, that's easier to say. But frankly, with all the damage from the battle, I doubt it'll be operational anytime soon."

"I see," Robotnik nodded. "Well, I suppose it's back to the old drawing board."

Author's Note:

Yes, I know a lot of you wanted Emerl to live. But this is how it was supposed to be; those of you who have played or heard of Sonic Advance 3 know what will happen to him now.

The design of the Death Egg Mark III was inspired by the Death Egg II in Sonic the Fighters.

Next chapter is a small breather, and a lead-in to an arc I've been looking forward to: adapting the first Sonic Riders!

Please R&R. Until next time!