Chapter Thirteen

The sky was getting stormy the next day, and rain began to pelt the roof of the lab. Amy was the first to wake up to the noise. Shadow had dozed off, and it seemed everyone else was asleep too. Moving as quietly as she could, she wove her way through the halls, down to the main lab. To her surprise, someone was already there…Metal Sonic.

"Good morning, Amy," he said as he was clicking through data files.

"Have you been up all night, Metal?"

"I'm a robot. I don't need to sleep. I've been backing up Tails' data on certain things; important things.

"Like what?" Amy asked, wondering if Metal was hiding something.

"Some things are best left untold."

Amy figured there was no way of getting the information out of him, so she walked away.

"There is…one thing Tails wants you to see…it's important that everyone knows this." Metal moved the mouse pointer and clicked on one image file. A blueprint of some sort of giant laser cannon showed up on screen.

"A weapon? Why would Tails be working on something like this?" Amy asked.

"It's the key to our victory over the World Eater. Remember the gems in the temple?"

"Yeah. What about them?"

"They fit into these slots. According to Tails' data, their energy is beyond even the Chaos Emeralds. Each one is affiliated with one of the classical elements."

"Air, Earth, Fire and Water, of course. But what's the deal?"

"Combined, their energy, if forced into an energy blast,would beequivalent to two billion tons of dynamite…enough to wipe out anything…"

Amy shook her head in mild disbelief. "This is something Eggman would build! Tails must have been insane when he made this. But still…we could use any help we can get."

Metal Sonic whirred for a minute, accessing another memory file in his hard drive. "He also mentioned to me that he had a cousin in the big city…does the name Miko Prower ring any bells?"

"No."

"Well, he says this cousin will be able to build this weapon."

"What's with the ruckus about a weapon?" Tsuko asked as he stood in the doorway, his hair all messed up.

"Good morning, Tsuko. Sleep well?" Amy asked.

"Like a log. What's for breakfast?"

"You always think about food, Tsuko." Amy joked.

"Hey, fighting through forty-five echidna guards on your own is hard work!" Tsuko responded, apparently unable to take a joke.

"There should be some decent stuff in the fridge…"

Tsuko needed no more. He dashed to the kitchen, where he screamed.

"Holy crap!" he yelled. "This stuff is ancient! It must be as old as the temple!"

"Try the pantry," Metal Sonic responded. "I'm sure there's some stuff there."

Moments later, Tsuko yelled back, "All I see are some round metal things that say 'Soup' on them. What's soup?"

"It's like stew, but more watery." Amy yelled back.

"Oh, there's also some…uh…'chips'….and some…'jelly'…where's the good stuff? The fruits! The meat! What kind of things do you civilized people eat!"

Shadow appeared in the doorway, shaking his head. "Ugh…there's no pleasing that guy. Morning, Amy… G'mornin', Metal."

Metal acknowledged Shadow. "Greetings, Shadow. Could you help Tsuko find something to eat?"

"Meh. Let him look for himself."

"Guys?" Tsuko called. "I think the moldy food is moving…"

Shadow walked in, thinking it was a joke, to see Tsuko up against the wall, and the fridge door slowly opening, and blue mold oozing out.

"Yeesh…" Shadow said with disgust. He had no choice but to shoot a small energy blast at the fridge, incinerating all the spoiled food and wrecking the fridge.

"Great…now we have a broken fridge and no cold food."

"Put a sock in it, Tsuko."

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

Ivo was sitting in his office, as always, casually leafing through the roughly three dozen letters and petitions he got every day from his staff and the citizens. But he didn't care. His ultimate goal was far too close...once he had wringed the city dry, he would clamp down and set everyone to work on his new palace. The intercom sounded all of a sudden, causing the pudgy politician to jump out of his seat.

Quickly gathering himself, he pushed the button, to answer the call.

"What?"

"Police Chief Vector is here to see you, sir."

"Let him up, then!" Ivo yelled into the intercom.

Several minutes later, Vector came up the stairs with a very sinister look on his face. Ivo, for some reason, did not sense anything amiss.

"Ah, Vector. Have you come to talk with me about something?"

Vector smiled wryly, as he always did…but this time he had something in mind.

"Yeah, boss…I do. Y'see, I've studied the way you handle things around here. And frankly, I think you don't do it well."

Ivo stood up and stared hard at the crocodile then laughed. "Oh, and you think you can do better? Hah! I was born to rule! You're just a hireling to me!"

"On the contrary, my dear Ivo…" Vector pulled out a handgun at this point and pointed it at the mayor, "I think I can do much better."

Robotnik was aghast…his own police chief…attempting to murder him! This was an act of treason, and Robotnik hated that.

"Vector! Put that thing down this instant! Don't make me call security."

"You wouldn't want to do that."

"And why not?" the mayor inquired.

Vector just chuckled. He snapped his fingers, and four security guards armed with laser rifles marched into his office and set their sights on him.

"Ivo, Ivo, Ivo…how could you not see this coming? I have command of every security guard, SWAT trooper and policeperson in this city. You don't run the city…I do."

"Eggbots! Attack!" the mayor cried in a panic. No response.

"Heh…you also gave me access to all the important files in the city network…including the code to control your robots. How could you have been so blind?"

"You…you were planning this all along, weren't you!"

Vector began cackling. "Now it hits you, Eggman! I'm the one in charge! You're obsolete! Useless!"

"Sir…shall we open fire?" one of the guards asked.

"At will." Vector rasped. He fired two shots from his pistol, hitting Ivo in his arm and his shoulder. The other guards fired as well, and one shot pierced the mayor right through the heart. He slumped over on his desk, barely alive. Vector walked over and aimed his pistol at the doctor's head.

"Time for the coup d'etat." Vector sneered. A gunshot rang through the office building.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

Miko sat in a side dorm of the rebellion's base with his comrades: Aeron, a male eagle and leader of their small group; Raiden, a black wolf with many scars from previous fights; and Yakujo, a male white hedgehog who was friends with Miko. Aeron was drinking some coffee; Raiden was practicing his unarmed defense techniques, and Miko and Yakujo were playing chess together. They were all listening to the radio when startling news came on.

"Breaking news just in! An unknown assassin had slipped into Mayor Robotnik's office, and delivered dozens of shots to him before leaving without a trace. We're here with Police Chief Vector. Chief Vector, what do you think is the cause of this?"

Aeron chuckled. "Heh…it's about time the Mayor was rubbed out. The man who did this should get a reward. A big one at that."

Vector's voice came on. "We believe it's those rebels, the remnants of G.U.N. They've been after my boss for years now…looks like they finally got him."

Miko shook his head. "No…no one here knows how to slip in. It must be someone on the inside. Do we have any insiders?"

Raiden shook his head. "No…we don't. Why?"

Vector continued. "I also have a special note in the Mayor's desk…that if anything should ever happen to him, that I, Vector T. Crocodon, become Mayor."

Miko realized the truth. "Vector! He did Robotnik in! He wanted the power!"

Yakujo shook his head. "I always knew he was a power-hungry slimeball." He then moved one of his pieces on the board. "Check and mate, Miko."

"Damn it!" Miko cursed, slamming his fist on the table when he realized he lost again.

"C'mon, Miko…it was only a game," Yakujo said with a smile.

"As my first act as Mayor, I'm going to put this city on the straight and narrow!" Vector continued. "I won't rest until every one of those rebels is either dead or under lock and key! I'm putting out a reward of 2,000 Rings for anyone who brings in a rebel, alive or dead. That's right…2,000 big ones! More will be revealed in time."

"Great…now we have a price on our heads," Raiden sighed.

"How are we going to win the trust of the people now?" Miko wondered out loud. And how am I going to get Crimsa's mom to like me…she might just turn me in!

"Man…we sure are in a lot of trouble…" Aeron said finally.

"We're always in trouble, Aeron," Raiden grumbled.

Yakujo, who was cleaning up the pieces, was shaking his head yet again. "No…Vector is even worse than Robotnik…I've heard that he's looking for some crazy relic that will unleash a horde of demons from the depths of the earth, and bring forth a creature that could destroy the world!"

"He's caught the supernatural bug, hasn't he?" Aeron said, finishing the last of his coffee.

Miko realized what Tails meant…the weapon…he decided to tell his friends. "Guys…what if I told you that we're going to meet some friends who are going to be the best allies we could ever get?"

"I'd say you're a nutty fox, Miko," Raiden guffawed.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

"Eggman!" Knuckles exclaimed when he and the others ran into the deceased doctor, or rather, his spirit. "How'd you get rubbed out?"

Ivo was infuriated. "Grah! You! Even in death my torment continues…that snake-in-the-grass Vector just waltzed into my office and with four of my own guards, blasted me into oblivion! I never should have trusted him!"

"Serves you right, you bad man!" Charmy jeered.

Ivo tried to explain. "You don't get it, do you, you stupid bee…Vector is completely insane! At least I wouldn't strive to bring about the equivalent of a nuclear holocaust! He would! If only I had my body, I'd give that crocodile such a thrashing!"

Knuckles pondered this for a moment, and then spoke. "Hmmm…maybe you can get your hand in revenge…tell me…what was that thing you were using fifteen years ago? What was the thing that made me and Sonic get all evil and stuff…and what would Vector use it for?"

Ivo sighed. "Since there is nothing any of us can do, I might as well…that relic was the Egg of Geddon the World Eater. Geddon is a creature whose origins I have no knowledge of…but his power is immense, and his ways are of the greatest evil. Any intelligent living thing that touches the egg becomes extremely possessive of it. The creature's spirit possesses the body of the owner, and warps their mind. Long term exposure, or direct possession by the egg, will warp the owner's body as well…becoming more like the creature it holds.

"But…that doesn't explain how I died…" Tails interrupted. "I felt something evil attacking my very life essence…I managed to escape before it could eat it completely."

Ivo immediately responded. "When you were killed, Knuckles, your half of the egg left your body. The egg half is searching for its other half…Sonic's. It sent its minions after Tails to devour his soul."

"So we have to keep the halves from coming together." Tails said, thinking it was all he needed..

Ivo shook his head. "But even if they come together, only one whose heart is blacker than the darkest night, one who only thinks of ultimate power…only they can awaken Geddon."

"If Vector would take you out…then he could…crud…" Knuckles replied. "This is definitely not good."

"We'll have to rely on the others," Tails said. "They're the last hope for this entire planet."

"Hasn't it always been that way?" Ivo inquired sardonically.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

Shadow, Amy, Tsuko, Espio, and Omega set out for their next mission: Find and defeat Sonic the Hedgehog…once the greatest hero in the whole world. Amy wondered what had become of him…she had been in stasis for fifteen years, so she was not around for the Angel Incident. Tsuko was only in it for the challenge…he never liked Sonic much, anyway. Shadow wanted to get revenge on him for hurting Amy, and Espio…well…one could say he was only along for the ride, as was Omega. Metal Sonic was to guard the lab and continue backing up data.

Rain had set in, so the group was a bit uncomfortable, especially Omega, who was a bit afraid of rusting. The ground had turned muddy, and everyone was a little cold. Even Shadow seemed uneasy. The travel took about three hours, since Tsuko was leading the way and knew the jungle well.

Soon enough, the group appeared at the edge of another large clearing, and standing in the center was a virtual citadel…massive walls of stone loomed over the group. Oddly, there were no guards.

"Here it is…" Tsuko said. "My home city."

"So this is where Sonic is…" Espio said, gazing in awe at the massive walls.

"So, how do we get to him?" Amy asked.

"Omega…what day is it?" Tsuko asked.

"It is the day before the end of the jungle's long wet season, or the autumnal equinox in more temperate climes."

"Perfect!" Tsuko said, elated. "We should have no trouble getting to him. At the end of the wet season, which is tomorrow, Overlord Sonic comes out of his castle and holds a grand feast, where he selects the newest members of his elite guard. He also selects his mate for the short dry season."

"A mate?" Amy said, somewhat repulsed. "Are you…"

"No…I was born a year or two before he took over." Tsuko replied. "I'm just a common soldier…my brother, Bakura, is his best guard. He also gets to pick a mate this…year…"

"Cadmus mentioned something about a pink hedgehog appearing there not too long ago," Espio said. He made her his queen, since he was so enamored with her. But she's bad to the core. I wonder if…no…it's silly." Amy wondered what Espio meant.

"Let's go. I don't think we'll be as conspicuous as last time." Shadow said, starting forward.