Chapter 32
Loss
RaGiff clicked away at his keyboard back in Kay, a small town in Jihad, one of the countries of the planet Morphos. This was not the way he wanted to run this project. It seemed like everything that could possibly alter the plan in any way did, in fact, happen. When Blade told him Sonic was a real wild guy, he was really making an understatement. When he said Tails was a bit insecure, he didn't know he could break down or steam ahead without any control. And Blade probably didn't even know what to make of that pink hedgehog. And who could have guessed Knuckles was alive? And that Eggman guy…it was going to be interesting to see who would win in this battle of wits.
But first, he needed to get everyone there. That meant Sonic, the Chaotix guys, Knuckles, everyone. At once.
He hadn't heard from Rouge in a while, so he gave her a buzz.
"What's up?" the bat asked.
"Just wanted to see what you were doing, where you are…"
"I'm right in the middle of nowhere, right next to that big black whatever that the other guy drives, waiting for something to do because YOU told me to stay here." "Good, just wanted to make sure." He cut her off. Having complete communications control could be very entertaining, in an incredibly strange way. Then, he counted.
"Three, two, one…" Buzz.
"Rouge, you there?" "No, I'm actually in France flying around the Eiffel Tower now." "Really? They surrendered to you yet?" "Blade was right. You are a real wiseass." "It's my job. Now, I need you to do something." "Finally, about bloody time." "Just follow Blade. He's goin' pretty fast, so it'll be a bit interesting." "Sounds like a lot of fun. Let me try to hold back my enthusiasm."
Brief pause. Then, RaGiff broke the silence.
"So far, so good." "God, do you know when to shut up?" "Nope, but I know how to get you to." He cut her off again.
Wait, he hadn't heard from Sonic in a while, not since he was flying to Red Mountain. Almost an hour. A lot could happen in an hour, which meant everything had happened in that hour.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
Why won't he pick up? "Yello," answered the hedgehog.
RaGiff faked a sniffle. "You…you never call me no more."
"Shut up, I've been a bit busy with trying to avoid certain death." "From who?" "Metal Sonic, the Chaotix guys, Knuckles…" "Oh yeah, forgot to tell ya that, Knux is still kickin'."
"No duh, I just got done fighting him." "Well Blade and the crew you back in the woods, so you need to be "kickin'" it back there." "Uh uh, I'm already in-" THUMP.
The sound of the communicator falling off. Muffled sounds of yelling and collisions. Crunch. No more readout from the communicator.
RaGiff wasn't sure what happened, but he could make a solid guess.
Buzz. Buzz.
"Yeah?" Blade asked.
"Think the two rodents found each other," answered RaGiff.
"Which ones?" "Well, think for a sec. Which two rodents want to beat the crap out of each other?" "Alright, alright…" "Good."
"And you want me to do what about it?" "Get to the mountain before they kill each other. If we're going to shut down this Eggman guy, we're going to need both of them."
"So basically, you want me to bail you and your plan out again?" "Hey man, you all our part of my plans. This is your part of it, k?" Blade was about to answer when…a sharp beeping sound on his dashboard. It was the map. A bright red exclamation point blinked in the lower right hand corner. He tapped it and brought up an aerial map, showing a flashing yellow block representing a "hostile unit" hovering just fifty yards away.
"There's someone chasing me," Blade muttered. "They're following at a solid pace." "Oh, oh, that's probably just the batgirl," RaGiff explained. "We need all you guys in one place, so I told her to follow ya."
"Okay." Now Blade remembered. To the machine's hardware, a "hostile unit" was anything he hadn't identified for it. "So it's not something that's planning to kill me?" "I ain't promisin' nothing from that broad, but yeah, from what I know, she ain't gonna lay a finger on ya. 'less, of course, she lakka ya business." "Shaddup, 'Giff. You've already run up your 'Blade beating the crap out of RaGiff' tab too far on this little endeavor." "But without me, this little endeavor would have landed you in the slammer." "You're never gonna lay off on that, are you?" "Never, my man. Never."
"You never stop, do you?" Sonic asked Knuckles as the echidna threw his bruised and tired fists around Sonic's head and body. "I have to admire your tenacity, and pity your stupidity." "I…am not through with you…yet…" Knuckles growled back, continuing his relentless barrage of missed punches.
"Oh, sorry, I think I might have used too many big words in that last sentence for you to understand," joked the blue hedgehog. "Would you like me to slow down so you know what I'm saying?" Normally, Knuckles would be infuriated by these comments, but he was too exhausted to respond. Plus, he had a plan of his own. If what he speculated about the "other dimension," that last dimension before heaven, was true…he'd make that rodent pay. He just needed to clear some space between them. Just land one hard punch, then he'd have a shot. But Sonic was too fast, and he didn't even look like he had broken a sweat yet. Just one punch, though…
"You know how many times I could have finished you by now, Knuckles?" said Sonic, getting cockier by the second. "Let's just say it's higher than you can count. Of course, that's not too high, so that might not be a good estimate."
An opening! WHAM!
Sonic had slowed down just enough for Knuckles to get one hard shot to his gut. The hedgehog gasped as he was knocked out of the cave's exit, air rushing out of his body. Knuckles watched groggily as Sonic's body skipped across the rocky floor and fell off the edge of the mountain's path.
That wasn't exactly what he had planned, but it'd have to work. Sonic would most likely have survived in some odd fashion, and would probably have run off deeper into the mountain range to Eggman's base. But no matter. If this worked, he'd be able to catch up to even that smug little hedgehog.
Think, think, think… A faint green glow surrounded his vision. More, more! Would this work on Earth?
His vision was now almost completely emerald green, darker, thicker…
More, he needed more power, power from the Master Emerald.
He could not see anything more than a thick, forest green. Just a little more, he could feel the power surge through him. One more push!
Flash!
Where was Sonic? Eggman was setting as many technological roadblocks as possible. Until that hedgehog got here, he needed to contain the problem as much as possible. But what was that he had said about his "backstabbing fox friend?" Sonic was a great fighter, but he was no technological whiz like that fox Tails was. If he was going to get out of this fix, he'd need that fox.
Bing! Bing! Bing! His door. Who could be coming for him here? Was Sonic here? His sensors, sonar, radar, nothing had picked him up on the way in. Were they failing too? Or was it something else…
"Doctor…"
A metallic, monotone voice. "Sonic, Tails, is that you? Shadow, Rouge, Sonic?" "No, doctor…"
A red and gray robot with a yellow head walked in. It was Gamma Chaos Gamma, to be sure-Eggman had been experimenting with the effects of Chaos Emeralds on his machine's performance and A.I., and this was his first test subject. Chaos Gamma and his other "guinea pig", Chaos Omega, had both fared incredibly well in all tests and examinations. Eggman hoped to create a defense system of robots powered entirely by Emerald shards, and he had used this as a point for his political campaign. This was a definite sign he had reformed, especially for himself. "Gamma," Eggman greeted. "How have you been doing? Are you here for your scan?" Eggman always ran a hardware scan on Gamma and Omega daily to see more direct effects of the Chaos Emeralds.
"No doctor…" "Then…why are you here?" "I am here…to stop your clock…" "What? Gamma, is something wrong with you? I think I should scan you now just in case."
"I am functioning perfectly fine doctor…"
"Good. Then we'll just plug this in here…" Eggman reached for the plug that connected Gamma to the computer when the robot slapped his hand away. "Ack!…Gamma, what is wrong with you?!? We've done this a thousand times, it's not any different now!" "But it is, doctor…Much different…" "Gamma?" Omega now walked into the room. He looked very similar to Gamma, except he was larger with an overall bulkier frame. A dozen other robots followed Chaos Omega into the lab.
"What is going on?" "I have already explained it to you doctor…" Gamma beeped.
"Gamma…?"
The robots surrounded him, all with guns jutting from their arms. Omega opened two compartments on its chest, revealing twin sets of rocket launchers. Gamma simply walked forward, red eyes narrowed. "I'm afraid the time where we were in need of your services has passed. And that makes you obsolete." Gamma raised a finger and wagged it towards Eggman.
"Stop his clock."
Loss
RaGiff clicked away at his keyboard back in Kay, a small town in Jihad, one of the countries of the planet Morphos. This was not the way he wanted to run this project. It seemed like everything that could possibly alter the plan in any way did, in fact, happen. When Blade told him Sonic was a real wild guy, he was really making an understatement. When he said Tails was a bit insecure, he didn't know he could break down or steam ahead without any control. And Blade probably didn't even know what to make of that pink hedgehog. And who could have guessed Knuckles was alive? And that Eggman guy…it was going to be interesting to see who would win in this battle of wits.
But first, he needed to get everyone there. That meant Sonic, the Chaotix guys, Knuckles, everyone. At once.
He hadn't heard from Rouge in a while, so he gave her a buzz.
"What's up?" the bat asked.
"Just wanted to see what you were doing, where you are…"
"I'm right in the middle of nowhere, right next to that big black whatever that the other guy drives, waiting for something to do because YOU told me to stay here." "Good, just wanted to make sure." He cut her off. Having complete communications control could be very entertaining, in an incredibly strange way. Then, he counted.
"Three, two, one…" Buzz.
"Rouge, you there?" "No, I'm actually in France flying around the Eiffel Tower now." "Really? They surrendered to you yet?" "Blade was right. You are a real wiseass." "It's my job. Now, I need you to do something." "Finally, about bloody time." "Just follow Blade. He's goin' pretty fast, so it'll be a bit interesting." "Sounds like a lot of fun. Let me try to hold back my enthusiasm."
Brief pause. Then, RaGiff broke the silence.
"So far, so good." "God, do you know when to shut up?" "Nope, but I know how to get you to." He cut her off again.
Wait, he hadn't heard from Sonic in a while, not since he was flying to Red Mountain. Almost an hour. A lot could happen in an hour, which meant everything had happened in that hour.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
Why won't he pick up? "Yello," answered the hedgehog.
RaGiff faked a sniffle. "You…you never call me no more."
"Shut up, I've been a bit busy with trying to avoid certain death." "From who?" "Metal Sonic, the Chaotix guys, Knuckles…" "Oh yeah, forgot to tell ya that, Knux is still kickin'."
"No duh, I just got done fighting him." "Well Blade and the crew you back in the woods, so you need to be "kickin'" it back there." "Uh uh, I'm already in-" THUMP.
The sound of the communicator falling off. Muffled sounds of yelling and collisions. Crunch. No more readout from the communicator.
RaGiff wasn't sure what happened, but he could make a solid guess.
Buzz. Buzz.
"Yeah?" Blade asked.
"Think the two rodents found each other," answered RaGiff.
"Which ones?" "Well, think for a sec. Which two rodents want to beat the crap out of each other?" "Alright, alright…" "Good."
"And you want me to do what about it?" "Get to the mountain before they kill each other. If we're going to shut down this Eggman guy, we're going to need both of them."
"So basically, you want me to bail you and your plan out again?" "Hey man, you all our part of my plans. This is your part of it, k?" Blade was about to answer when…a sharp beeping sound on his dashboard. It was the map. A bright red exclamation point blinked in the lower right hand corner. He tapped it and brought up an aerial map, showing a flashing yellow block representing a "hostile unit" hovering just fifty yards away.
"There's someone chasing me," Blade muttered. "They're following at a solid pace." "Oh, oh, that's probably just the batgirl," RaGiff explained. "We need all you guys in one place, so I told her to follow ya."
"Okay." Now Blade remembered. To the machine's hardware, a "hostile unit" was anything he hadn't identified for it. "So it's not something that's planning to kill me?" "I ain't promisin' nothing from that broad, but yeah, from what I know, she ain't gonna lay a finger on ya. 'less, of course, she lakka ya business." "Shaddup, 'Giff. You've already run up your 'Blade beating the crap out of RaGiff' tab too far on this little endeavor." "But without me, this little endeavor would have landed you in the slammer." "You're never gonna lay off on that, are you?" "Never, my man. Never."
"You never stop, do you?" Sonic asked Knuckles as the echidna threw his bruised and tired fists around Sonic's head and body. "I have to admire your tenacity, and pity your stupidity." "I…am not through with you…yet…" Knuckles growled back, continuing his relentless barrage of missed punches.
"Oh, sorry, I think I might have used too many big words in that last sentence for you to understand," joked the blue hedgehog. "Would you like me to slow down so you know what I'm saying?" Normally, Knuckles would be infuriated by these comments, but he was too exhausted to respond. Plus, he had a plan of his own. If what he speculated about the "other dimension," that last dimension before heaven, was true…he'd make that rodent pay. He just needed to clear some space between them. Just land one hard punch, then he'd have a shot. But Sonic was too fast, and he didn't even look like he had broken a sweat yet. Just one punch, though…
"You know how many times I could have finished you by now, Knuckles?" said Sonic, getting cockier by the second. "Let's just say it's higher than you can count. Of course, that's not too high, so that might not be a good estimate."
An opening! WHAM!
Sonic had slowed down just enough for Knuckles to get one hard shot to his gut. The hedgehog gasped as he was knocked out of the cave's exit, air rushing out of his body. Knuckles watched groggily as Sonic's body skipped across the rocky floor and fell off the edge of the mountain's path.
That wasn't exactly what he had planned, but it'd have to work. Sonic would most likely have survived in some odd fashion, and would probably have run off deeper into the mountain range to Eggman's base. But no matter. If this worked, he'd be able to catch up to even that smug little hedgehog.
Think, think, think… A faint green glow surrounded his vision. More, more! Would this work on Earth?
His vision was now almost completely emerald green, darker, thicker…
More, he needed more power, power from the Master Emerald.
He could not see anything more than a thick, forest green. Just a little more, he could feel the power surge through him. One more push!
Flash!
Where was Sonic? Eggman was setting as many technological roadblocks as possible. Until that hedgehog got here, he needed to contain the problem as much as possible. But what was that he had said about his "backstabbing fox friend?" Sonic was a great fighter, but he was no technological whiz like that fox Tails was. If he was going to get out of this fix, he'd need that fox.
Bing! Bing! Bing! His door. Who could be coming for him here? Was Sonic here? His sensors, sonar, radar, nothing had picked him up on the way in. Were they failing too? Or was it something else…
"Doctor…"
A metallic, monotone voice. "Sonic, Tails, is that you? Shadow, Rouge, Sonic?" "No, doctor…"
A red and gray robot with a yellow head walked in. It was Gamma Chaos Gamma, to be sure-Eggman had been experimenting with the effects of Chaos Emeralds on his machine's performance and A.I., and this was his first test subject. Chaos Gamma and his other "guinea pig", Chaos Omega, had both fared incredibly well in all tests and examinations. Eggman hoped to create a defense system of robots powered entirely by Emerald shards, and he had used this as a point for his political campaign. This was a definite sign he had reformed, especially for himself. "Gamma," Eggman greeted. "How have you been doing? Are you here for your scan?" Eggman always ran a hardware scan on Gamma and Omega daily to see more direct effects of the Chaos Emeralds.
"No doctor…" "Then…why are you here?" "I am here…to stop your clock…" "What? Gamma, is something wrong with you? I think I should scan you now just in case."
"I am functioning perfectly fine doctor…"
"Good. Then we'll just plug this in here…" Eggman reached for the plug that connected Gamma to the computer when the robot slapped his hand away. "Ack!…Gamma, what is wrong with you?!? We've done this a thousand times, it's not any different now!" "But it is, doctor…Much different…" "Gamma?" Omega now walked into the room. He looked very similar to Gamma, except he was larger with an overall bulkier frame. A dozen other robots followed Chaos Omega into the lab.
"What is going on?" "I have already explained it to you doctor…" Gamma beeped.
"Gamma…?"
The robots surrounded him, all with guns jutting from their arms. Omega opened two compartments on its chest, revealing twin sets of rocket launchers. Gamma simply walked forward, red eyes narrowed. "I'm afraid the time where we were in need of your services has passed. And that makes you obsolete." Gamma raised a finger and wagged it towards Eggman.
"Stop his clock."