(I do not own Sonic X etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO, LET'S GO!

Episode 9: The Decent.

With the signal transmitted, the largest full scale attack in Earth's entire history began. Mech Walkers had been gathering in great numbers in the countries surrounding Britain, all awaiting the one signal they needed to begin. Early in the morning that signal was given and the invasion began.

The main force came from the south, advancing across the channel in gigantic battleships, the large Mech's already standing on the decks ready for action. To their delight, the infiltration mission had been successful. The artillery that had kept them from attacking did not show itself. The skies remained free of the deadly metal rain.

Believing themselves invincible with their advanced technology, the Elite were taken completely by surprise as Mech's were storming past their coastal defences meeting with little resistance, decimating any robot force they tried to muster.

Meeting with Major Okida's group already fighting the occupying forces on the south west coast, the army of G.U.N began the systematic process of evicting the Eggman Empire. It was difficult but took far less time than they fought it would. By the time they were outside the gates of London, the Elite had turned and fled for their lives. Not that that had done them any good, they had run north, directly into the teeth of the second force heading down from Scotland.

"This is completely unacceptable." One of the Elite murmured as they all boarded the excavation plane, a technologically enhanced jet that would take them all safely out of the country. The G.U.N invasion force was already a few miles from London. Some scouts were already trying to penetrate the city defences. The Dreadnaughts holding the city would not be able to keep them from liberating it but they would be enough to by them time to escape.

"Eggman's lost his campaign." Another agreed, but with a near satisfied smirk on his face. "We should never have supported him." That was the mutual feeling held by all of them, a shared feeling of disaffection. Before Eggman turned up their influence was far reaching. As long as they kept the cash following they had entire governments in their pockets. With time, they would control the entire world. But then Eggman arrived and everything changed. They had been forced to change their plans and they, unfortunately included siding with him.

"Too late to cry over spilt milk now." Their current leader announced with a sigh as they sat down, the final safety checks for take off already underway. "Doesn't matter, we go back to the big banks and start influencing G.U.N. We'll get our way in the end people don't worry." Time had always been on their side. Most people were content to let him handle the money. What they didn't realize was of course that whoever controlled the cash controlled the world. Even Presidents had to bend their policies to satisfy those who funded their campaigns.

Just as the plane was beginning to edge its way towards the runway, the ground shook violently as a small company of Mech's marched straight over the airport perimeter, a large Raptor Walker leading them, striding over the tanks and robots that flew up to meet them.

"We're well aware of what your group's been doing for the past hundred years." Okida told them over the com, a deep scowl over his face as he made a direct beeline for the plane. "Your reign of machinations is over." He slammed the foot of his Mech directly down in the path of the plane, forcing it to stop still. "I'm placing every last one of you bastards under arrest." All of them stared out the windows in dismay and disbelief as the large barrels of a mounted machine gun swerved around to meet them.

For the past century their group had been hiding in the shadows, affecting the course of the world's evolution with their misdirection's and not once had they been discovered, let alone defeated. This simply wasn't possible. Their ages old arrogance refused to accept the possibility that they lost.

They tried to evacuate the plane, but by then of course it was already too late. The other Mechs had surrounded them, cutting them off. Already now, their allies were marching through the city, clearing away anything with Eggman's symbol on it, the cheering from the freed British civilians spurring them on.

"You can't do this to us!" One of them screamed as G.U.N soldiers rushed on board with Topaz in the lead, hand cuffs suddenly becoming the latest fashion.

"We just did." Okida stated from still inside his Mech, keeping his guns on them. He was going to make sure these scum wasn't going to do the world any more damage then they already had.

"I don't suppose we'll be getting any credit for this." Hare remarked dryly as the three of them watched the action from nearly the smouldering ruins of the Four points artillery on the banks of the Thames River. "I don't care if this is the second D-Day. Our names won't be on the credits, and we just made it all possible." He added, reading Bean and Bark's sideways glances. The three of them had nearly drowned to bring that tower down and he doubted very much their names would be on the medals list.

"Hey who cares?" Bean stated with a smug grin. "We know it right? We're the real heroes here." That did little to comfort Hare who wanted, even for a few minutes, to bask in the glory that heroes like Sonic enjoyed nearly every day of the week. With the ground shaking under its footsteps, a large Yahger Mech marched out from the city, one large metal foot sinking into the Thames. From here, the pilot could see around over the roof tops. There was a lot of smoke and dust in the air and most of the buildings were crumbling but at least it was all free.

With the Elite now firmly under lock and key, Okida flipped on the com device so he could check in to see exactly how things were going on Operation: D-Day 2. It took a moment to get through the static but eventually he was tuned to the right frequency.

He smiled as he heard the reports coming in one by one, all saying nearly the same thing. Eggman Empire forces either destroyed or in full retreat.

Within moments, the President would be arriving at the liberated Heathrow airport to officially announce to the world on live TV that England had been re-taken. His political career had been counting on this.

0

Chuck didn't even knock. Too annoyed, he simply kicked the door in. Inside the flat, Andre was busy packing a suitcase, hurriedly stuffing a dirty collection of clothes and papers into it. The man whirled around when he heard his door knocked open, his eyes wide and ragged from lack of sleep.

"You shouldn't be here." He told them both, turning back to his work ."They know Toriyama talked, they killed him because of it. They'll come for me next, you'll have lead them right to me!"

"Why?" chuck demanded stepping forward, grabbing Andre by his shirt. "Why would they come after you. What's your connection to Toriyama?"

"I can't talk! Toriyama paid with his life for talking!" Andre argued back, sweat running down his face, eyes wide with fear.

"You'll talk to me." Chuck assured him, narrowing his eyes menacingly. "How, who exactly are 'they'?" Andre refused to speak, standing there paralysed with fear. Chris had never seen anyone so afraid, but his grandfather could make anyone talk if he needed to. Despite his old age, he had the gift of intimidation.

"Alright, alright." Andre began after a moment. "Toriyama was an honest man, whenever he wanted funds for hid digs he went to respectable museums or historical organisations. But on this one he was broke and had to turn to some other people to fund his work."

"Who?" Chuck asked.

"Hexagon." The terrified Italian replied. Chuck paused. Hexagon was a very large multi-national business organisation that filled the gap in the economy left by the collapse of the Foundation.

"But they're a new Technologies-company…" Chuck began looked puzzled. "Why would they take an interest in archaeology?"

"That's what Toriyama wondered, until he came across his first finds." Andre replied, backing away towards the sofa. He knelt down and a pulled a silver case out from under it. "What he discovered there was way beyond his expectations." He opened the second case and inside was an artefact the likes of which Chuck had never seen before. It was made completely of metal, rectangular shaped and about thick as a video tape. The edges of it were encrusted with rust, but Chuck could just make out several rune like images running vertically down the side. All highlighted red, but not by a paint like covering, but by the metal itself. Holes ran down the spine, obviously built to add wires and other attachments. This artefact was a machine. This must be the strange pieces Artimus had been talking about. "He unearthed this a few weeks ago, had it sent directly to me so they didn't know he'd excavated it."

"What is it?" Chris asked as his grandfather lifted it free of the container.

"I don't know." Andre admitted. "The metal itself doesn't match up to anything current on record, I can't tell you how old it is exactly but since it was found with the other artefacts Toriyama dug up at a rough guess I'd say over it's over two thousand years, maybe more." The artefact certainly didn't look at old, in fact it looked like something that should belong to the future then the past. "We guess this was why Hexagon funded the trip. All the other stuff and stacked up in crates and shipped off before it could be looked over."

"Yes we saw them." Chuck stated, remembering the large crates they saw at the site when they first arrived and how puzzled he'd been by them.

At his best guess, whoever created this strange artefact had access to a technology far in advance of anything that was currently available. This machine was the single most sophisticated piece of hardware he'd ever seen.

"Take it." Andre told them. "As long as Hexagon wants whatever this thing is, it's a curse." He turned back to his packing. "I'm out of here. The longer I wait, the more likely it is they'll find that Toriyama managed to a save a little piece of their treasure."

"So now what Grandpa?" Chris asked Chuck quietly. The old man shrugged.

"This is getting too dangerous. I say we take it and head home." By now, Andre had packed all off his stuff into his case and was hurriedly pulling on his jacket. "Wait…" Chuck called after him, but by then it was too late, the man had gone, a thin trail of underpants and socks leaking from a hole in his case.

-

A fiery red glow engulfed the Icarus as it began falling down towards the blue planet, the blue of the sea becoming wide and wider. Shadow could instantly see what was happening. If the Icarus even survived the decent, it would be going to fast for an ordinary landed. The ship was going to crash, and nothing Tails could do at the controls would stop it.

A Chaos Control warp was the only thing that was going to help them now. Shadow had moved objects larger than this before. This should be no problem .

"Hold on tight." He told the others, taking hold of one of the pipes lining the wall and closing his eyes, humming to keep up his concentration. He tried to engulf the falling vessel in a warp, but found that every attempt he made was thrown off again and again.

"It's going too fast." Shadow told them, angry at his own failing. He could not teleport the ship, not while it was going through the atmosphere at this speed. Parts of the Icarus were already beginning to flake away. "I need more energy for something like this…" He turned and slapped the unconscious Sonic on the face. "Wake up Idiot. I need help here!" Sonic only lay there limply, beaten unconscious by his battle with the invading Metal Sonic. Shadow looked even more infuriated.

The earth below got bigger and bigger, highlighted by the atmospheric friction. The planets gravity had them now. There wasn't nearly enough fuel left in the engines to slow them down. The Icarus was on a free fall and gathering speed. As this rate, they'd collide with the Earth and end up a smouldering wreck in little under ten minutes. Plus there was the added danger the ship would come down somewhere populated. The Icarus itself wasn't big, but travelling at these speeds the crash would be lethal to anything within at least a mile of it.

"It's no good." Tails announced, flicking through the controls, finding that everything excepting minimal life support was offline. "She's going down. I can't stop her." Knuckles looked out the window. By now the Earth had eclipsed the entire line of sight. He could see patches of blue sky began to form around them as they fell. They were passing through the stratosphere now. The Echidna had wanted to return to the planet, but this wasn't actually what he had in mind.

"Sonic, now is an extraordinarily bad time for a nap!" Rouge snapped at the blue hedgehog that refused to even budge. He even began snoring. Whatever number had been done on him was a high one.

Shadow snarled and tried again; focusing whatever energy he had left over from his fight with Equinox into a Chaos Control. It still wasn't enough. The ship was falling too rapidly to allow then a teleport away from the ship. They were stuck here. Metal Sonic had put them in the perfect trap.

Amy stood there over Sonic's limp form, memories passing before her eyes. She remembered how lonely she'd been when he'd been put in a coma after the fight with the Biolizard. She couldn't face that again.

Perhaps Sonic had been right in his statement before. Perhaps she had changed over time. The Amy she had been a year ago would have freaked out, broken down crying. But she was not that Amy anymore. Participating in the blue hedgehog's adventures over the years had slowly but surly toughened her up, forcing her to keep a clear in the midst of chaos.

"Wake up you idiot!" She said with a mixture of frustration and intense worry and without another word, kissed him passionately on the lips. Something she had always wanted to do, but admittedly not under these circumstances. It was a trademark fairy tale trick, but it worked. Perhaps it was the fact that Sonic had been cut off from oxygen that made it work, she didn't care. Whatever the reason, the blue hedgehog's eyes shot open and he sat up, nearly head butting her as if thousands of volts of electricity had been passed through his body.

"Yeoow!" He exclaimed, almost on his feet in an instant. Shadow, who was not in the mood for a run around, grabbed Sonic by the shoulder and tugged him violently towards the cockpit before the blue hedgehog could start asking any questions.

"You see that?" He demanded, gesturing towards the surface of the rapidly approaching planet. "They're going to be peeling us off it for years to come unless you help me!" Sonic got the gist at once.

"Helping, right." He stammered in a blurred sentence, understanding what Shadow wanted of him at once.

"Tails, I'm going to try to teleport her above the Ocean. Has the Icarus enough shielding to survive a sea landing?"

"Should do." He replied, but his tone lacked the confident Shadow was looking for.

"Everyone back in the seats!" He yelled to the others, who were more than happy to oblige. This was going to be one hell of a bumpy ride. Sonic and Shadow each laid a hand against the walls, using the entire ship as a conduit through which their energy joined; a buzzing that past through their bodies, giving the Icarus a soft green glow in the process.

Encountering air, the ship shook violently as it fell. Half of the back breaking off, nearly leaving Omega stranded inside it, if he hadn't woken up in time and advanced into the next chamber, blocking it off to prevent the ship from burning up.

"Ready?" Shadow asked. Sonic gritted his teeth, pouring as much energy in the reserve of power he needed to pull this combined stunt off. Shadow was doing the same.

"Yeah." He replied once he was complete. Once again the techniques merged into one whole, the intense ripple of the dimension fabric tearing as Chaos Control took effect. The Icarus was bathed in white fire as it fell, a light that flared brightly for an instant before it disappeared. A faint trail of star like lights left behind it.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

Metal Sonic was not at all surprised as he watched the falling ship disappear in a Warp. He knew Sonic would not be finished that easily. It simply wasn't his style not to go out with a bang. He looked down at the grey Chaos Emerald in his left hand. Today hadn't been about killing Sonic. All he really wanted from them at the present had been this. The first Chaos Emerald was his and soon all seven would be in his clutches, allowing him access to the strength he would need to destroy Sonic and start the age of the machine was he had originally set out to do. The Behemoth, his own battleship created using Doctor Eggman's own technology hovered in orbit. A gigantic creation, based of the design of the galleons of the 17th century. A design far superior to those often clumsy ships Eggman used. Not to mention twice was powerful as anything he could conceive.

Standing behind him on a level just below the platform that housed his metal throne were his four Generals. Four robots had had created one by one himself. Eggman had his Elite, why shouldn't he?

He called them Metal X. They were second only to him. He gave them orders and they in turn passed them onto the other robots. That was the chain of command on his ship, which required a certain amount of trust on Metal Sonic's part. He made it known to each them however, that if he so much as suspected them of betrayal he would tear them apart.

"My lord." Lancelot, the third made of his Generals began approaching his side. "We could have killed them then and there. We had the Chaos Emerald. Why didn't we just destroy them?" Each of his generals and their robot underlings were each suited to different types of combat. The robot clans served as a different division.

Lancelot's division specialised in space combat. It was this forces that lead the attack to retrieve the Chaos Emerald from the Icarus. Lancelot himself was sufficiently larger than his those of his clan, with a bulky torso and arms hiding a deadly arsenal of machine guns and missile rockets. Concealing this was knight like armour.

Inspired by the suits of armour that shielded the knights of the previous age, Metal Sonic created his Generals based on the simple, yet brilliant design.

"Are you questioning my orders General?" He asked, giving the large robot a glare over his shoulder; the glow from his eyes intensifying. Lancelot hesitated before backing down. "Sonic is my concern, not yours. You do what I tell you. Do not presume you are my advisors." He turned back to look at the planet below. "How and when I kill him and his friends will my decision and mine alone."

"Of course my lord." Lancelot added with a respectful bow.

Apart from Equinox, leader of the ground forces Clan; his other two generals Leviathan and their leader, the first made of Metal X: The Dark Oak stood waiting.

Dark Oak was not as bulky as the theirs, but far taller, with samurai type armour and one large green eye placed directly in the centre of his face, two straight horns lancing out either side. A long black torn cape flowed out from behind a pair of large sharp shoulder pads. Clad in a sheath at his side was a curved golden scimitar type blade. He was the deadliest of Metal Sonic's generals, with powers close to rivalling that of Metal Sonic himself. Leader of the Air force clan, he the most respected leader in the robotic hedgehog's new empire; the Machine Federation.

"The second Emerald will soon be within my grasp, my Lord." He began. "And the third I have already located." Of all his Generals. Dark oak was the most competent and loyal. Like Metal Sonic, he hated organic life forms with a passion.

"You do fine work Dark Oak." The large machine lowered his head in respect. The three other generals glared at him jealously. "Equinox, your clan is to retrieve that second Emerald. As for the third, Dark Oak and myself shall take it tomorrow morning at 0800 hours..." Metal Sonic folded his arms, his half eclipsed eyes narrowing. "Now leave me." Pausing only long enough to bow, they all left the chamber.Sonic had best enjoy this reprieve. It would not last long. Once all seven Chaos Emeralds belonged to the Machine Federation, their power would unlock the artefacts required to ensure it's victory. Machines would take their rightful place, as rulers of the world and perhaps in time; the entire universe.

"Stop hiding the Shadows." Metal Sonic stated, turning to back at the darkness behind him over his shoulder. There was silence for another second, before a figure clad in a robe concealing his body advanced into the faded light emanating from the windows.

"Enjoying yourself are you?" The figure asked, the annoying hint of amusement setting Metal Sonic on edge. "I was watching your fight with the Hedgehog." He added. "Strange that you did not kill him when you had the chance. Why was that?"

"As I told my generals, when and how I kill him with be my choice." The robotic hedgehog told him, turning around to face the mysterious intruder. "Now, what do you want?" Metal could almost feel the robed figure smiling, the kind of smile one gained from being on the richer end of a business transaction.

"I'm just here to remind you of your fragile time limit Metal Sonic." He began slowly. "Keep in mind that there are others searching for the treasure you seek and they will include Sonic before too long I'm sure." He stepped closer, gesturing with a long shrivelled white arm towards the robot. "If you want your Federation to be a success, then I strongly suggest you quicken your pace." Metal Sonic laughed.

"The power I need to activate it can only come from the seven Chaos Emeralds. See the beginnings of my labours." He left the grey Emerald aloft for his guest to see. "Even if they find it, without the emeralds it is worse than useless." The figure grunted loudly.

"Don't be so sure Metal Sonic. It may surprise you." The robotic hedgehog's blood red eyes regarded him suspiciously.

"What game are you playing?" He asked, gesturing towards him threateningly with one metal talon. "Why even help me at all?"

"My motives are my own. As are yours." Was the flat, almost hostile reply. Metal Sonic was instantly suspicious. Not that had hadn't been from the very moment he laid eyes on his benefactor. Metal did not like being manipulated, let alone controlled. If this fool sought to use him, he was in for a very rude shock. "You know should better than to ask."

"You're are beginning to try my patience."

"Oh I'm shaking in my boots." His tone was dripping with sarcasm. "Threats do not work with me Metal Sonic. I'm not someone you can control through intimidation."

"Get out of my sight." Metal snapped, firing a bolt of chaos energy across the room, impacting near his enemies feet; a large scorch mark left stained on the floor.

"As you wish." The visitor began with a mocking bow. "But remember, wherever you go; I will not be too far behind." With that, he disappeared back into the darkness.

Flip card 1:

Name: Behemoth

Description: Metal Sonic's battleship, the great vessel belonging to The Machine Federation.