Chapter 5- The Advance

Fresh sunlight came through the trees. It was the first hour of the chilly dawn. Assembled within the forest, less than two miles east from Robotropolis, was the mightiest force of Freedom Fighters that Mobius had seen for decades. All manner of furry and scaly creature was there: from the inhabitants of the forest to amphibians that resided near to the sea. Freedom Fighters from hundreds of different factions scattered across the Great Forest and the surrounding country were united there and then to have the (final?) battle between good and evil.

The army was not a single attack force. Their leaders were too intelligent to allow such a mistake. The first, major unit, led by Princess Sally, comprised of a ground attack force backed up by a modified Tornado (Tails had been tinkering with some weapon schematics) flown by a capable pilot, Fawkes, who was the canine leader of a Freedom Fighter base. The second assault, led by King Acorn and Elias, would give backup if the first wave faltered. They would have helicopters (supplied by the Freedom Fighter city) to aid them. The last, smallest division of the army was the key to victory: an Infiltration Unit, its members carefully chosen for their respective abilities. Sonic, of course, would lead this unit, his second in command being Mina. Tails, with his electronic expertise, could shut down the army when they invaded the tower. The fourth component of this unit was Lazer, who would cover them.

They were all preparing themselves for the showdown. While the army led the attack, and kept the robotic forces busy, the infiltrators would invade the tower and stop Robotnik at the source. It was a clear-cut plan.

Sonic met with Sally alone; behind several supply trucks.

"Well, all hell's gonna break loose in a few minutes."

"There isn't much to say, is there?"

He looked her up and down. She looked cute in body armour.

"Well, Sal, I'll see you in a few hours, after we win."

"Good luck, Sonic, you know I'll be thinking of you. By the way, nice gloves."

"They're gauntlets," he grinned, displaying his silver hands.

They kissed, briefly, and went their separate ways. Sonic pulled on a warm jacket. He favoured black; it made him look professional. It also kept him warm as winter was approaching. He met with the members of the unit that he was to lead. Tails wore a fur coat; it was dark blue. Mina was wrapping a purple scarf around her neck. It was a much darker shade than her hair. Lazer, for some reason, did not wish to wear clothing.

"Dude, aren't you cold?"

In response, Lazer began to glow red. The leaves beneath his spiked shoes began to crackle and smoke.

"Okay, okay, I see your point."

"Hey, Sonic, when do we get to do the job? I hope we ain't gonna sit around here and wait for a signal!" said Mina.

"Nah. we get to be in the battle until Sal gives us the green. We get to have fun, at least."

"Yeah," said Tails. He removed two guns from within his jacket. Sonic eyed them warily.

"Guns? And since when do you carry guns?"

"Not guns; long range EMP pulse devices. I doubt that Robotnik has any other force than robots, so these will do a lot more good than normal guns."

"I. see," breathed Sonic, running a hand through his hair and wondering when Tails had grown up. Mina giggled again. She understood Sonic's concern. He did not want Tails to become a bloodthirsty maniac like some Freedom Fighters had turned out.

"When is the battle going to start?" asked Lazer, looking around the trees at the armoured ground forces. The city had supplied the body armour and food rations, and the castle had provided some primitive weaponry, such as machetes and broadswords (their handles were insulated from electricity). As usual, there were the common blaster rifles and laser knives. All in all the army was not lacking, except the taste of victory.

Thus, at thirty minutes past six on a cold morning, the assault upon Robotropolis was commenced.

"Come on people, let's go, go, GO!" yelled Sally, running ahead of them all. A roar went up, a swell of voices mixed with the cries of triumph, and hatred for Robotnik and all his machines. The ground thundered with their feet, the air rippled with their cries. Never, never again would Robotnik repress them!

"Death to Robotnik! Death to robots!" someone yelled, waving their weapon about.

"Hey, half of me resents that last statement, y'all," said Bunnie, but she was also wishing doom for the tyrant. They all were.

As you might expect, the robots met with them. Robotnik had been more cautious than usual. Instead of programming them to shoot only when they had a 100% chance of killing, he changed it for 50% accuracy. This way, the shots that missed had a chance of hitting others. It was with dismay that the Freedom Fighters realized this. Their spirit was unabated despite, and they fought with intense vigor.

None fought with more hatred than Lazer. He concealed his anger around others, but during battle he was vicious. His was a hatred fueled by the loss of millions of souls, his countrymen that were wiped out by Robotnik. If you could have visited that battle scene hours afterward, the large craters that still gave off smoke would have been his mark.

Sonic and Mina fought together, both using their impossible speed to bewilder the robots and easily destroy them. Sonic used his quills while Mina used a laser knife. It felt right for them to be in the struggle together, both gifted with supersonic swiftness.

Tails was flying quickly, dodging even if the robots weren't aiming at him. He helped a Freedom Fighter here and there with the EMP guns, and each time a robot suddenly malfunctioned and crashed into the ground, its circuits smoldering. He gave a peace sign whenever on of his allies looked up at him, and then continued the fight.

Sally was using a blaster rifle, setting it on the highest power level to show the robots that she meant business. Entire body frames were destroyed each time she found her target, and every now and then she paused to shout orders to her troops. She sniffed the air; it smelt of crude oil, and not of blood. It was a good sign.

In the heat of battle, as they say, the signal was given at last. Sonic, Mina, Tails and Lazer heard the beep of their communicators, followed by three loud drum rhythms. They converged at a pre-determined spot: a low hill that was I view of the tower. Lazer immediately formed a shield around the hill, and the robots' fire was useless.

"Okay, calm down, everyone," Sonic said, and all of them gave him a sarcastic glance. "The tower is there, and we're here. I suppose we all know what to do. GO!"

Removing the shield, Lazer flew with Tails while streaks of blue and yellow flashed through the two armies. The unit had little problems to enter Robotropolis itself, with their speed. Within the city, they did meet defenses, which Lazer hastily destroyed. Impatient with their rate of progress, he grabbed Tails (who was rather surprised), flew down to meet Sonic, and placed Tails' arm in his gauntlet-covered hand.

"Follow me," he said, and blasted off. A red aura surrounded him and those who followed, deflecting enemy fire. By this means of travel, they made it to the tower's gates within seconds.

"Good one," noted Sonic

"Yeah," said Tails, who was somewhat annoyed that Lazer had thought him too slow.

"How do we get in?" asked Mina. Then, red light blasted in her face, and a heat wave washed over her. A large hole had been melted into the gates.

"Never mind. Geez, Sonic, that guy is ticked off today. Where did you find him?"

She watched Lazer stand next to the entrance he had made, his face upturned to the sky. His gaze was transfixed on the clouds passing by, as if not a care in the world bothered him.

"He found us," replied Sonic. He shrugged: "He's always ticked off during fights. Thank Destiny he's on our side."

They ran up to him.

"Well, thanks a lot for blowing our cover, Lazer. Now what do we do?"

He looked down at them, mortal as they were.

"I did my part. Now it's up to you."

"What?"

"You go ahead. It won't make sense if I'm in front and destroy the walls and floor so you can't get across."

"Point taken. Tails, Mina, let's go."

Mina stopped to talk to him before she entered the tower.

"Why don't you just blow up the whole tower?"

"I would like to, but I can't kill anyone," he said with a solemn face. She stared at him incredulously, and then heard Sonic calling them. Moments later they were gone, as the cries of battle grew nearer.



The battle was starting to shift in the robots' favour. Casualties appeared to be low but morale was falling. To their advantage, the robots had no emotion and continued to fight mercilessly. Sally was thinking of this as she charged the opposing forces.

"Wonder how Sonic's doing," she thought to herself, and demolished another ComBot with a blaster charge. Her communicator beeped and she heard her father's voice.

"Sally! Your army is falling back! I should bring my unit into the fray now!"

"No, Dad! Give me three more minutes!"

She changed the frequency as her body armour absorbed a laser shot. Ducking and rolling to avoid any more hits, she contacted Fawkes, who was about two hundred meters in the air and shooting down HoverBots.

"Fawkes, use the EMP charge NOW!" she yelled. A robot loomed up near to her, pointing its weapon at her face. She held up her rifle and it was shot from her hands, falling useless to the ground. While it recharged for another shot, a searing blast came from the right and its head and upper body were blasted into nothing. Sally turned to see Bunnie pulling back her arm cannon.

"I always look out for you, Sally-girl. Be careful next time, okay?"

She tossed the princess another rifle. Then realization paid another call to Sally.

"Oh, Goddess! Bunnie, an EMP charge is going to be dropped soon!"

"An EMP what?"

Sally knew what EMP did to electronics, and Bunnie was half robot.

"Just run away from me as fast as you can!" she cried, shooting down more robots.

"Oh, alright, Sally-girl! See y'all later then."

Bunnie's robotic legs extended to their maximum length and she took gigantic strides to another part of the battlefield, while removing robots in her way. It was not too late, as blue light illuminated the battlefield. Hundreds of robots were falling lifeless as the air became electrified. A raucous cheer rose from the Freedom Fighters, as they saw their enemy losing ground. The army surged onward to Robotropolis.

"Now THAT is what I call a morale boost!" Sally cried exultantly, running with her allies.

From the forest, King Acorn smiled and said proudly,

"That's my princess."



With the speed of Sonic and Mina, the unit made it up the tower with very little difficulty. Guns and robots frequently emerged from the walls but just as quickly the two supersonic fighters sheared them to pieces. Lazer and Tails simply followed behind, flying to keep up pace.

"Do you think Sonic will let Robotnik live? He's really angry at him."

"I met Robotnik face to face several times and I never killed him. However," Lazer continued, pausing to pick up a power pack from a fallen robot, "I learned to control my anger. Sonic's a loose gun. If Robotnik ticks him off any further, blood might spill."

"What's so bad about killing Robotnik? He's the most evil person that Destiny allowed to enter this world."

"Yes. Robotnik is something that creation vomited forth while the gods weren't looking. But," he said matter-of-factly, "The Ancient Walkers reminded me that only Fate has the right to end life. I would enjoy killing him very much, but I would never forgive myself for taking life. The Ancient Walkers wouldn't forgive me, either."

"Since when did you talk to the Walkers?" Tails asked in a sarcastic voice.

Lazer gripped the power pack and drained its energy, then tossed it behind him. New sparks of electricity emitted from his quills.

"Four years, two months, sixteen days ago, when Adrax was destroyed."

Tails remained silent, knowing that Lazer never made jokes about the Powers That Be. They continued to fly upward, hearing the commotion made by the rampaging hedgehog and mongoose.

The battle waxed and waned in the favour of the Freedom Fighters but Sonic and Mina were unaware when they finally entered the room adjoining the command center. It was pitch black; the darkness was complete.

"We definitely need some light. Lazer! Get up here, man."

The red hedgehog shortly arrived.

"This place feels evil," he commented, and created a ball of Chaos energy in his hand. The room was revealed in ruby-red light.

"That's bright!" said a female voice. A chair in the room swiveled to face the group. A black feline, her golden brown hair in a ponytail, was caressing a large black emerald on her lap.

"Huh? Who're you?" asked Sonic. Two windows appeared in the walls, allowing the gray light from outside to enter. Lazer dissipated the energy ball, and considered the possible threat. There was something about that emerald.

"It's good that we meet, Sonic. I see that you brought your friends along," she said, her eyes flicking across the group of four. "I recognize Lazer and Tails, but who is that girl?"

Mina stepped forward.

"My name's Mina, whoever you are!"

"How rude of me. My name is Hannah Nyress, the sorceress of the Black Emerald, or the Dark Jewel if you prefer. I am here to rid Mobius of the Freedom Fighters."

"Definitely a threat," thought Lazer.

Sonic grinned. She was a particularly attractive black cat, with sleek form, especially with that revealing clothing.

"So, you want to get rid of us. Now, why would a good-looking kitty, such as yourself, want to kill us?" he asked, already dismissing her as another pretty face that was all talk and no muscle.

"Rather simple reason, really. because I can. Now, pardon me while I chant."

She began to chant foreign words over the emerald, and the room became darker. Sonic and Mina attacked at once, but bounced off an invisible barrier. Hannah laughed at them.

"Really, you are comical. Robotnik exaggerated his description of you a hundredfold. He said that you made the earth tremble and stone shatter.

"Well, I can when I'm ready," retorted Sonic, smoothing back his hair and adjusting his jacket in order to retain some pride. He disliked being laughed at by a girl.

"Sonic! She has a shield around her. What do we do to break it?"

"I heard that, little girl! Nothing short of the emeralds themselves can break the Shield of Darkness."

"Little girl!? Take that back!" Mina cried, leaping toward the cat and her jewel with her knife slashing. Again, she rebounded off the shield, the knife skidding across the floor. She lay there, rubbing her shoulder, her eyes glinting with fury.

"Pfft. Come now, you don't expect that needle to penetrate my defense."

Tails tried next, using his EMP guns. The pulses struck the barrier and fizzled out.

"My, my, how futile."

Tails shook his head.

"Our weapons are useless!"

Hannah turned to Lazer, a smile playing on her lips.

"Well? You won't give it a try? Don't disappoint me; Robotnik said that nature's elements obey your commands," she said, as if it were a joke.

"Fire and lightning, yes, but not water, yet. Nyress, why are you protecting Robotnik?"

He was talking to her conversationally, and his voice held no anger.

"Protecting? Yes, that overweight blob does need someone to protect him. I came here two years ago, and found him in a very sorry state."

"That's fine, but where did you come from?"

"Ah, you may want to know my past. Very well. I came from an island, if you can imagine such a thing, but not that Floating Isle. I came from one that sits in the middle of the ocean, somewhere to the west of this continent. I never knew my parents," she said, her voice turning bitter with those last words. She stayed quiet for a moment the carried on:

"I was an apprentice, and my Master taught me how to control the Black Emerald's power. One day I overheard that, across the sea, a great force of evil had nuked an entire civilization from the face of Mobius. So that sparked my curiosity. I became bored with my Master, so I killed him and used the Emerald to come here."

"What, you killed him?" Lazer interrupted in a calm voice. She paused to look at him. Their eyes met across the room, his coal black and hers glowing green. She was curious: why did he not display his anger? She could plainly sense the rage within him, but it had been restrained.

"You killed, like Robotnik. Now I know why you came here. Birds of a feather flock together. Be afraid of me, Hannah Nyress. My anger has fallen upon you also."

He spoke like someone delivering the news: cool, calm and collected. What his allies did not notice was the flame growing within his eyes.

Sonic, Tails and Mina retreated as a fierce blast of light emanated from Lazer. The Five Emeralds were aroused, and the air began to sizzle with their ferocity. Pointing his fists at the form of the black feline, whose eyes were shining with the spectacle, a tremendous explosion of red laser energy crashed against the shield. Lazer held his ground, the spikes on his shoes scraping against the floor, forcing even more power into the concentrated beam. The air became molten around the shield, and slowly a glow of red spread around the point of impact. Massive amounts of energy were being slammed into Hannah's defenses, energy that outmatched the Mobian sun in its intensity.

"Oooh, such hatred, such anger, you finally brought it out. It's almost erotic. but you can't do it!" she purred, holding up the emerald for all to see.

It was true. The power of five Chaos Emeralds could not break the shield! Lazer was defeated!

"Damn!" Lazer gasped, dropping his arms and sinking to the floor that had liquefied beneath him, utterly spent of his strength. No amount of meditation could have prepared him for the surge of shame that he felt for losing so quickly.

"You, the mighty bearer of Five Emeralds, cannot match the power of the One Black Emerald!" she laughed, gloating over her victory.

"Ho-lee crap," Sonic said, mesmerized by the display of power and Lazer's defeat. He now respected the black feline as having muscle as well as looks.

"You have entertained me Lazer, I will say that much. I actually thought that you would break my defense and end my life. I am glad that I was wrong!"

She placed the emerald to float before her and began another chant. Lazer raised his head and looked with more than his eyes. He sensed the overpowering evil that was being brought out from the Dark Jewel.

"Sonic, Tails, Mina," he grunted, trying to stand, "Get out of here! Tell the army to retreat! She is a foe beyond any of you!"

"Dude, I believe you. Tails, contact Sally!"

"Alright," Tails complied, depressed by the loss. The group began to run down the tower once more, but Lazer remained behind.

"You are strong in sorcery, but I will win the next battle," he said, but she was ignoring him, the arcane words pouring from her mouth and over the emerald. He hovered off the ground and flew, soaring down the tower, retreating from the dark room.



Sally was in a state of disbelief as the words came from her communicator. She turned to fire upon several SwatBots. The second wave of Freedom Fighters had joined the struggle, and as expected, Robotnik's forces were falling back.

"What! We can't retreat! We're winning! What happened over there?"

"Sally! Please retreat now!"

"But Tails, we're."

A new voice came over the radio.

"Sally, you heard the guy, RETREAT!"

She sighed. It was Sonic that had spoken.

"Roger."

She switched the frequency to encompass the entire army. With reluctance, she spoke:

"This is an order! Retreat!"

She repeated the command to retreat several times over as she ran. Freedom Fighters turned to look at their princess, questioning the surprise retreat, but they obeyed. It was a sad time for giving up the fight as thousands of Fighters thundered across the ground, to return to the sanctuary of the forest.



Far above the ground, Hannah completed her spell. She raised her arms once, and then brought them down to strike the emerald with both fists. An infinitesimal silence followed.



"She has completed the spell. Get down!" called out Lazer, who stopped flying to crouch upon the ground and form an aura of Chaos energy around him. The others halted to join him under the protective dome.



"What in the name of Destiny? She ordered a retreat!" sputtered Sir John, his blade lashing out to dispatch robots that came near to his king. The King, in his armour, was also surprised and dismayed at the news.

"It must be for good reason. The infiltration unit has perhaps seen something that would have cause for retreat. I trust my daughter!"

The two were still dashing toward safety.



The front of the army had barely reached the forest, when the sky became dark, and an ominous shadow flowed from the tower. Terror filled the hearts of many as the shadow blotted out light and enveloped the ground and sky with its darkness. Then, to the shock of many, their physical strength began to fail. They felt immensely weary and fatigued, as if they had not slept for several months. Many stumbled and fell. White, ethereal wisps of light emerged from each individual, whether or not they had fallen, and these wisps took to the air and flew toward the tower, disappearing inside of it. Cries of pain and death were heard, as those who fell were overtaken by the robots and executed. Only those of very strong will, or those who were nearest to the forest, managed to escape this deadly wave of darkness that ate away their strength.

"I'm. so. tired!" panted Sally. She faltered in her step, and fell to the ground, welcoming sleep. Death would not claim her then, because an arm lifted her. It was Bunnie, who was also feeling the draining effects of the spell. Her robotic legs and arms were unaffected, however, and it was with determination that she carried Sally to safety, away from the blood stained battlegrounds.

"Y'all shouldn't worry, Sally-girl, I never let you out of mah sights!"

She forged onward, and thought of Sonic with the others who were actually inside the tower itself, closest to the deadening wave. She wondered what kind of fate they had met.