Chapter 26 - Final Preparations

Several hours had passed since the group returned from Koopa's palace. Knuckles had moved the
Floating Island to a location just outside the Great Forest for ease of travel between the
portal locations, and by this time the various rulers from the kingdoms of the worlds of
Arcadia had gathered in Knothole.

There was a general buzz of excitement, partially from the worlds being reunited, but also from
the fact that they were united for one goal: Mobius's freedom. Even the Koopa Klan had sworn
into this goal, something Anthony, Mario, Luigi, or anyone else from Gardenia for that matter
would never have suspected. After a round of introductions that would have rivaled a Ratliff
fanfic, King Acorn addressed the entire group.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome one and all to Knothole, the primary base of operations for the
Freedom Fight. We gather today for two reasons. One, to celebrate the reunion of the worlds
of Arcadia, thanks in part to the efforts of Mr. Anthony Bault. Two, to unite in a joint
effort to free Mobius from Robotnik's grasp once and for all. I for one feel confident that
Mobius will be free due to our joint efforts. In fact, after speaking with the rulers of the
various worlds, it is my belief that we have the manpower now to bring down Robotnik.
Tomorrow, we shall begin plans to stage a final assault on Robotropolis and reclaim our lost
lands and our freedom. But for now, it is a time of celebration and a time for all of us to
get to know each other, for it has been more than a thousand years since our worlds joined in
peace. Let the celebration commence!"

The celebration that commenced was like nothing Anthony had ever seen. Peoples of various
races, worlds, and beliefs were talking with one another as if they were old friends reunited.
He could see certain "cliques" form amongst the groups of people. Princesses Zelda, Sonia,
Toadstool, and Sally were talking over in one area, possibly about Arcadia's future, but the
giggles he heard made him think that they were talking more about Link, David, Mario, and Sonic
(their respective boyfriends). Koopa's seven children had joined the other Mobian children
that were there and were playing with Rush and Treble. Luigi was talking with Bunnie, Antoine,
and Geoffery St. John in what Anthony could only describe as a "clash of accents". Mario,
Sonic, Megaman, and Link were all sharing old stories of their past adventures. Everyone else
seemed to be talking with one group or another.

Anthony, however, stayed out of the chaos and was just watching. He was overwhelmed with what
he was seeing, individuals who he had previously believed were just characters from a game
talking to one another, and they were REAL! What was even more amazing was the fact that they
all knew who he was, and treated him like an equal even though he felt he could never hold a
candle to Mario, Sonic, or any of the other heroes there. His emotions were a mix of pride and
disbelief...he had helped bring this together and yet, he still couldn't believe it was really
happening.

"Yo, wallflower!" Sonic said, shaking Anthony out of his thoughts. "You awake? C'mon and
join the party!"

Anthony walked over to the other heroes to join them in their conversation. "Sorry guys...just
taking in all that's happening! It's a bit of a rush, and I'm not talking Mega's dog!"

"That's understandable!" Link said. "It is very exciting what's happening here, what with
Arcadia finally reunited...and we have you to thank for that, Anthony!"

"Geez..." Anthony said, starting to blush a bit. "Enough guys! I'm nervous enough as it is!"

"Nervous?!?" Sonic said, surprised. "This coming from the guy that trashed
Packbell...TWICE?!?"

"Well, it's just...I've never HAD this much attention aimed towards me before. Especially from
those who, before now, I thought were fictional characters from games. To make things more
unbelievable, I never expected to be treated like an equal to some of the greatest heroes of
those games!"

"Hey, there's a always a first time for everything!" Mario said. "You getta used to the
attention after a while."

"I hope you're right, Mario..." Anthony said. "Still, although it feels great actually doing
something for others, I'm still somewhat worried..."

"About the final battle with Robotnik?" Megaman asked. "That's understandable, considering
the danger involved..."

"Yeah, there's THAT, and something else...my family. They're worried sick over what's going to
happen to me, whether I may end up killed...or worse. I wish I didn't have to put them through
this..."

The group could see the worry in Anthony's eyes over that part, and Sonic said, "I know where
you're coming from, Anth. Sally feels the same way whenever I go out on a mission, and Max has
got to feel the same way when she goes out on one. Still, when the cause is great enough, they
understand the reasons why you do it."

"Yeah," Link said. "your family probably knows what's happening, but despite their fears, they
probably know what's at stake and are still rooting for you!"

"I hope you're right, Link," Anthony said, starting to calm down. "I'd hate to come home the
conquering hero, only to be chewed out for risking my neck like this. Not exactly the hero's
welcome I'd want!"

They all laughed at this, knowing how fickle parents could be sometimes. Anthony started
feeling a little better and decided to mingle with the rest of the crowd.

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That night, after the festivities had died down, Anthony fell victim to a nightmare as he
slept. He was in the final battle going one on one with every swatbot that came his way,
turning them into scrap with every lightsaber slash. Suddenly, he found himself overwhelmed by
them, and was unable to fight back. He then witnessed a horrible sight as his friends were
roboticized before his eyes. He could hear their voices scream in terror, and then, as they
all left the tubes, he could hear them speak in monotone unison, "you failed
us...Gamemaster..."

He awoke in cold sweat and was gasping for air as he sat up in his cot. Luckily, no one woke
up when he did. He was thankful for that, after all many of them looked up to him as a hero,
and to see him in this condition would drop morale overall, something he didn't want to happen.

Needing to clear his head, he quietly walked out of the building he was in and headed towards
the power ring lake. He passed by Amy's hut en route, pausing to take a large breath of night
air, and then continued on.

Upon reaching the lake, he found a log to sit down on and looked up at the night sky. He was
afraid...more afraid than what he told the others at that party. Mostly because of the role he
was in...

"Gamemaster..." Anthony thought to himself. "Why the HELL did I introduce myself as that? I'm
not anywhere near the hero these people expect me to be! Maybe I wanted to believe I could
take the role...or maybe I just used that title to ensure they would accept my help. Hell, the
only humans they knew of before Davey, Chris, Ryan, Kain, or I came were Buttnik and Snivley,
not exactly the best role models for our race. Chris even faced the brunt of their hatred for
humans, and was lucky to change into the raccoon he did to avoid that hatred. I don't have
that luxury...so I used the title of my ancestor, a title which I really don't think I
deserve..."

He then started whispering a silent prayer to the sky, "God, I hope you can hear me even though
I'm not on Earth. I'm not cut out for this, and I don't think I can live up to their
expectations. If you can find a way, give me the courage I need so I CAN help them. I don't
want to disappoint them..."

"Are you alright?"

Anthony nearly jumped at that voice, since his powers seemed to have left him temporarily
because of his fear. He turned towards the source and found Amy walking towards him.

"Amy, what are you doing up so late?"

"I heard you walking near my hut and wondered what was wrong," Amy said, taking a seat next to
him. "I could ask you the same thing, but that look on your face tells me enough, even though I
don't have your psionic gifts."

Anthony was silent for a minute, looking down at the lake, then began to speak. "I had a
nightmare...I fell during the final battle, saw everyone get roboticized before my eyes, and
heard them say I failed them." He turned towards the young hedgehog and continued. "I'm
scared, Amy, more scared than I have ever been in my entire life. Mostly because of this
'title' I hold. Everyone seems to be counting on me to ensure their victory, and I don't know
if I can do it. They say 'uneasy is the head that wears the crown', something Max and Aleena
probably know because of the responsibility involved with being royalty. But, with me it's
different...I have the eyes of five entire worlds looking at me, and I don't know..."

"Anthony, wait," Amy said, interrupting Anthony. "Nobody expects you to fight the whole war
for us. Even though Sonic is hailed as our greatest hero, even we don't expect him to bring
down Robotnik by himself. We're all in this together, and all we expect from each other is
just to give our best." She laid a paw on Anthony's hand and then continued. "Besides, it
wasn't the Gamemaster who opened the portals, it wasn't the Gamemaster who helped bring down
Wily (I heard about that from Protoman), it wasn't the Gamemaster who rescued us from the
roboticizer, and...it certainly wasn't the Gamemaster who I grew to love almost like a father."
Anthony was shocked by that last part, but Amy continued anyway. "It was a brave man named
Anthony Bault, one who earned our respect regardless of the title he held. No matter what
happens, Anthony, we're still not going to think any less of you."

"I don't know, Ames, I actually introduced myself as the new Gamemaster, probably to make sure
you guys would accept my help. Do you really think I can get away with not living up to what
my ancestor did?"

"Of course! Last time I checked, the Gamemaster died 1000 years ago, so he shouldn't figure
into anything that happens now. All you need to do is your best, and not base how you perform
on how your ancestor did."

Anthony sighed a breath of relief. "You're right...I guess all the attention as of late just
overwhelmed me. Thanks, Amy!"

"It was nothing," Amy said, after planting a light kiss on Anthony's cheek. "It was the least
I could do for all the times you comforted me. C'mon, we'd better get back. Something tells
me we're going to be busy tomorrow."

"Indeed. In fact, I've been neglecting one duty since I arrived on Mobius and need to get
cracking on it now that all the portals are open."

"What duty is that?"

"Finding something that might actually ensure our victory: the Descendancy Powers."

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Anthony awoke later than usual, his mind still reeling from the events of last night, both with
the nightmare and with what Amy said at the power ring lake. Many who saw him thought he was
just recovering from the festivities of last night and didn't notice his fatigue. Of course,
unless you're psychic, it's hard to notice mental and emotional fatigue.

Anthony got dressed and rummaged amongst his belongings to find the book he bought in Minoc.
He hoped to find some clue as to what happened 1000 years ago with the Decendancy Powers and
the book was his best source. Near the end of the book, he found a passage, which seemed to be
a snippet of one of the Companions' own words (most likely Magi Prower's), that hinted at how
the powers would return...

~As the Traveler made our friend's medallion disappear, we noticed our medallions faded as
well. We asked about this and all he said was, "Your strength comes from your unity, and you
seemed to have lost that when he died." It was true, we had lost a great friend, and in the
process we saw no reason to continue our travels. In fact, we had discussed returning to our
own worlds now that Sir Eric was gone.~

~"The powers will return," the Traveler continued, "but only when the doors reopen and all
becomes whole. All that's needed is time...and it will be time that will restore the powers."~

~I did not know what he meant by that. He looked towards the small planet that orbited my
world and continued. "In fact...the key to one door will be needed to open another door. This
is all I can tell you..."~

~After that...he disappeared, leaving us with many questions. But there was plenty of time to
find answers. For now, we had the sad duty of taking care of the burial of our friend, and
informing his family...~

Anthony began to feel bad again upon reading the word "family". He knew his family would be
worried about his fate, and wished he knew of some way to ensure they wouldn't have to worry.
"Too bad a GameShark doesn't work in real life," Anthony mused to himself.

Getting back to the task at hand, he pondered the Traveler's words..."time will restore the
powers", "the key to one door will open another", what did these mean, and why was he looking
towards a small planet...?

Small planet? The Little Planet, home of the Time Stones? "Time will restore the powers"...no
way this is coincidence. But what was the "key to one door"? A time key? Too bad Doctor Who
isn't here... Maybe the key is on one of the other worlds of Arcadia, one that opens another
door of time...

The Ocarina of Time...originally opened the door of time on Hylas! The Link of that era was
even called the Hero of Time!!

"THAT'S IT!!!" Anthony cried out loud, and then ran out to find the others.

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"Based on these intelligence reports Mr. Kintobor got us," Major Sharpe said, addressing the
others who joined him which included King Acorn, Princess Zelda, Doctor Light, King Arbolet,
and others of Arcadia's leaders, "Robotnik appears to be increasing his production of swatbots,
stealthbots, and other soldiers. Apparently the opening of the portals caught his attention
and he's getting ready for us. We won't have much time to prepare, and we'll need to strike as
soon as possible in order to make sure we'll be able to take him down. Otherwise, we'll be
overwhelmed by his forces before we can get in a strategic position."

"We shouldn't have too much trouble," King Nimbus said. "With four armies from Gardenia, five
armies from Hylas, three armies from Neo-Earth, your army from Earth, and every freedom fighter
unit getting involved, we should be able to hold off any opposition."

"True," King Acorn said, "but Robotnik might also decide to include the workerbots as his
fighting unit. Since he knows we cannot destroy this world's citizens, no matter what form
they're in, he might use them to create a blockade, preventing us from mounting a good
defense."

Major Sharpe nodded at this last comment. "Too bad we don't have an edge...this opposition is
like nothing I've ever encountered before, so I'm at a loss to..."

"Then we'll just have to get that edge," Anthony announced, walking up to the group. "I think
I know where the Descendancy Powers are, and those could give us the edge you are looking for,
Major!"

Nearly everyone there looked towards Anthony with a look of surprise. Zelda was the first to
speak. "Really? Where can they be found?"

"The Little Planet."

Sally gasped. "Where Sonic and I got the Time Stones a while back? How do you know?"

"Reynard Prower's own words in this book," Anthony said, holding up the book he got in Minoc.
"He said the Traveler said 'time will restore the powers' and was looking at the Little Planet
when he mentioned a 'key to one door that will open another'. I'm willing to bet he set it up
so the powers will be restored when the worlds are reunited, by creating a time door in this
world that can only be opened by the artifact of another."

"Which artifact?" Zelda asked.

"The Ocarina of Time, which was used to open a Door of Time on your world many years ago,
Zelda."

"I remember that...and I think Link told me he played a game in your world called 'Legend of
Zelda - Ocarina of Time'."

"Yeah...that was priceless! Wish I had a camera at the time...Anyway, I'll need to take an
excursion up there to find out if I'm right. Major, think you can convince T-Bone to do
another run?"

"That should be no problem, Mr. Bault. I'll go inform him..."

"Wait a minute, Major. Um...Anthony," Sally said, "the Little Planet doesn't, EXACTLY, have a
place for the Wildcat to land. How are you supposed to disembark?"

"Oops...hmmm..." Anthony thought to himself about this. "Can the Wildcat open it's doors while
still in flight?"

"No...but," Sally said, pointing towards a back area, "we have a bi-plane called the Tornado at
our disposal that we can use. With T-Bone piloting it, you can open the bay doors and exit
that way. Of course, you'll need a way to exit the plane without dying from impact."

"In that case, I'll need to borrow Rush and Treble. I'm sure Megaman and Bass won't mind..."

"Who are you planning on bringing?"

"You, since you've been there before, and you might want to bring Nicole just in case we need
to translate some information. I also plan on bringing Princesses Toadstool and Zelda,"
Anthony said, nodding in those two ladies' directions since they were there, "as well as
Protoman and Tails. If we do find the Powers, I want the other descendants there to receive
them as well."

"Alright, then," Princess Toadstool said. "Zelda and I will find Tails, Protoman, and the
robodogs. Sally, can you and Major Sharpe go tell T-Bone the plan?"

"Yes," Sally said. "Hopefully he won't mind flying the Tornado."

"...and if he does," Sharpe adlibbed, "I'll make sure he DOESN'T mind one bit!"

As the individuals went to look for their respective people, a lone figure, namely Amy,
watched. She had overheard the plan and decided to make sure it would go smoothly, knowing
what Anthony's condition was last night. When Zelda and Peach came back with Tails, Protoman,
and the robodogs and Sally and Sharpe came back with T-Bone, she flagged down the group.

"Amy," Sally said, "what is it? We're kind of busy..."

"I know," Amy said, "but it's important. Something you should know."

"About what?"

"About Anthony..."