"It's a pleasure..."
Not a breath could be heard as their leader addressed them, hanging on to every word.
"... To stand before you today, to mark the end of my third year as Emperor, and begin the fourth."
His smile could not have been more wide.
"I remember how it all began - in a run-down shack, picking up the metal scraps and the research papers left behind by my grandfather, and using those fragments to build the greatest creations known to man. With that same ingenuity, same pair of hands - I seized the world, picking up the fragments of that broken planet... and transforming it into what it is today."
He pointed at the crowd.
"I TOLD YOU ALL THAT THE WORLD WAS GOING TO CHANGE!" He roared. "THAT UNDER ME, THE PLANET WOULD BE AT MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY! THE INTELLIGENT AND THE INNOVATORS HAVE TAKEN THEIR RIGHTFUL SEATS AS THE RULERS OF THE LAND - AND HAVE USED THOSE MINDS OF THEIRS TO CREATE PARADISE! I HAVE BUILT PARADISE!"
The crowd of starving withering people gazing up at Robotnik erupted into a deafening cheer.
"MAKE NO MISTAKE! I AM YOUR DICTATOR! ONLY I KNOW HOW TO LEAD THIS WORLD TO GREATNESS! ONLY I KNOW HOW TO SALVAGE YOUR PATHETIC LIVES AND GRANT THEM PURPOSE! ONLY I AM CAPABLE OF LEADING YOU TO GREATNESS. I'M NOT STOPPING AT THIS MEASLY PLANET, NO, I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL THE WHOLE UNIVERSE IS MINE!"
He let out a dark chuckle.
"All I want for you, citizens, is to reach your full potential. I have perfected society in a way that means that everyone contributes, that everyone is giving it their all to keep everything running like a well-oiled machine. In many ways, you are the cogs of this glorious Empire - playing a part in the most meaningful endeavour of your lives. This coming year, I want everyone operating at perfection - taking on the jobs they are gifted with pride. "There are gross rumours beginning to circle... of people trying to tear down what I have worked towards... but I assure you, it is of no concern. They will learn to see the value in what I've built... or they will simply cease to be."
It almost felt directed at him. Sonic folded his arms, listening and feeling a hot rage bubble and burn underneath his skin. Eggman couldn't see him, but Sonic had a view of the doctor clear as day on the several screens that displayed the speech. The old man looked the same for the most part, but with some royal flair. Golden armour plates sat upon his shoulders as a long cape draped behind him. All he needed was a crown to complete the look, Sonic was frankly surprised he didn't have one already.
The hedgehog's eyes drifted off to the high stage in the far distance, where Eggman's body was nothing more than a speck. It took a significant amount of resistance to not give into his urge to sprint ahead and beat him to a pulp-
Damn it, since when did he get so violent?
Once, he had morals - he had always told himself he didn't need to stoop to killing to defeat Eggman, otherwise he'd be no better than the evil doctor himself. Yet, here he was - participating in a plot to end his life for good.
What had exactly changed? Was it desperation?
He didn't really want to linger on these feelings, so instead he'd turn his attention to his team. He noticed Rouge's body tremble - and he couldn't tell whether it was nerves or anger as she listened to the doctor. Tangle's nerves were much more obvious with her worried eyes and the way she fidgeted with her hands. On the other hand, Knuckles seemed to be the only one not paying attention to the words - rather everything surrounding him. The echidna looked so shocked and horrified to a degree with his wide eyes and open mouth. He was taking in every detail of this ruined world for the first time, and what a far cry it was from Angel Island. Knuckles probably couldn't even fathom a place like this.
"After the parade and performances, you'll hear from some of my Egg Bosses about our plans for the future." Eggman was concluding. "Do enjoy tonight. You have no reason not to."
The crowd roared and clapped. How brainwashed did you have to be to give a man like that applause? Sonic wanted nothing more to free them from his grip, to give them their freedom back. They didn't deserve any of this, nothing could tell him otherwise.
"Speech is over, so the parade is starting up." Rouge informed them. "When all the floats have left except for the last, that's when we strike."
The first was already departing from the parking area, and frankly Sonic was grateful that Rouge had found them a perfect spot behind a factory - keeping them out of sight of the crowd but close enough to peer over and observe the goings on.
"Tangle?" Rouge spoke up. "I think you'd be the best to take care of them."
"Hm?" The lemur seemed startled before her cheeks flushed pink and she corrected herself. "I-I mean of course, yeah!"
"Ssssssh." The bat quickly put a finger up to her lips. "Not so loud."
"S-sorry-!" Tangle whispered back, it was evident that she wasn't much of an infiltrator.
"Is this seriously what it looks like now...?" Knuckles said quietly. "Is every place on the planet like this?" He asked them all in disbelief.
"This apocalyptic? Pretty much. There are a few exceptions with some nature but... not exactly easy to get to those places." Rouge replied to him, keeping her eyes on the floats that were leaving. "Goes to show all the damage one man is capable of causing."
"I... can't believe anything like this was allowed to happen in the first place." Knuckles admitted honestly. "I thought, there were people watching over the world... that wouldn't allow this sort of thing."
Although he didn't specify, Sonic knew that Knuckles must be referring to his ancestors - the ones who guided him. Still, it seemed a little weird, Knuckles had never really gave off the impression that he believed his ancestors would protect him or something.
"Well if their are divine spirits supposed to be protecting us they're doing a shit job." Rouge remarked dryly. "That or they just don't care, one of the two."
Knuckles opened his mouth to retort but was beaten by Tangle. "Whatever the case may be - it's clear the power is in our own hands to bring an end to this." She gave a small smile. "We've gotta have faith in ourselves to do this."
Her optimism was greatly appreciated in that moment, a drop of sunlight amidst the dark cruelty masked as a 'festival'. Sonic did wonder where exactly Tangle was in his own timeline, she'd make a splendid hero - she had already proven herself as more than enough in his eyes.
"Mhm." Rouge acknowledged, but was mostly dismissive as she focused at the parking lot. There was no one left there now but the last four remaining workers and the remaining float. "There's your cue, Tangle."
"Oh, right!" Tangle quickly exclaimed. The lemur didn't need to move an inch to attack, her tail did all the hard work as it stretched out and battered four of the unfortunate workers in one fell swoop - slamming them against the harsh outer walls of the factory. There was no way they wouldn't be unconscious after that. "S-sorry!" She called out to them with worry, despite the fact they couldn't hear her now.
Rouge already began to walk ahead, but Tangle called out to her. "Uh- what do I do with them-?"
The bat pointed to the far corner. "Trash can over there - large enough for them all."
The lemur stared at her for a moment, before sighing quietly - scooping up the unconscious bodies into the fluffy end of her tail and somehow managing to reach over and open the trash can at the same time. The more time he spent with Tangle, the more he realised her tail wasn't just a weapon, but a third arm with many tufts of fur to act as 'fingers.' It was just a superior arm in many ways.
She placed them all within the trash can. It was hardly a dignified or respectful option, but Sonic knew they didn't want anyone finding them - otherwise people would know that there were imposters upon the float, and not the actual performers.
They all made their way to the float, Rouge ahead of the pack. Sonic watched her smirk as she bent down to pick up something on the floor. "Well boys, I did warn you."
"Yeah you were right, they are ugly!" Sonic exclaimed in agreement, grimacing. Knuckles didn't look all that impressed either.
You couldn't even make it up if you wanted to, the costume was quite literally the shape of an egg - just with an embroidered design of his outfit and face on it. The large shape of the costume would keep your whole body concealed aside from your spindly arms and legs. So... not all that different from the real Eggman, he supposed. "See? Even he knows he's egg shaped!" Sonic added.
"Yeah, yeah we get it - your nickname for him is fitting." Rouge didn't seem all too interested in the banter now, handing Sonic and Knuckles their outfits. The echidna eyed it with disgust, took a hesitant sniff of it, and immediately regretted it as his face scrunched up.
Tangle meanwhile seemed quite pleased with herself. "Sucks to be you guys, I'm out of sight behind a wheel baby." She grinned. "No stupid costumes for me!" She gloated, but not without good humour.
Sonic smiled in response. "Anymore teasing and I'll be swapping places with you Tangle." He joked, and Tangle stuck her tongue at him playfully.
"Oh, this is a fashion crime..." Rouge groaned miserably, popping the costume over her head. "Hurry it up boys, we don't have all night."
Being reminded of that, Sonic scrambled to put his on, and Knuckles slowly followed.
...
"Haha... HAHAHAHAHHAA!" It was a bit hard to make out, but Tangle's laughter was loud and clear, and he could just about see her bending over due to the force of her chuckles. "You look so ugly and stupid!" She wiped away a tear that was forming in her eyes.
"Thanks for your insight, Tangle." Rouges voice spoke from within the costume in a monotone, but she already began to head up the stairs to the top of the float.
Honestly, the float itself wasn't all that impressive. The ones in the front of the parade had been in extravagant red and golds - even with statues of the man itself. In comparison, the float they had been stuck with was a dull silver metal with the Eggman's face on the front, in an odd way it reminded him of the Death Egg. It was as though the idea of a festival of parade floats had excited the doctor at first when he had been designing them, but then got bored towards the end and just started recycling old ideas.
However, a bland design meant that all eyes were more likely to be on those dancing on top of it.
Sonic and Knuckles trudged up the stairs behind.
"Why are there so many controls in this thing?" He heard Tangle briefly say in confusion before she was out of earshot, and Sonic couldn't help but smile.
Now, the dancers were upon their stage, and their driver as in their seat. All pieces were in play now, and Sonic didn't know about the rest of them - but he himself was ready. The float began to slowly drive forward.
"The doctor always rambled on and on about achieving perfection, always performing at your best no matter the circumstance-" Rouge began.
"Those would be some inspirational words only if they came out of any other mouth." Sonic said.
"I agree. But the point I'm getting at is - you don't need to be good at dancing, just give it all you have, with all the fucking enthusiasm you can muster."
Alright, he could do that. It was but one small step towards trying to end the tyranny once and for all.
Surprisingly, there hadn't been a single disaster.
Everything was going smoothly, Tangle seemed to know what she was doing in the driving department - and the trio of dancers were, maybe he was a little biased, but the thought they were absolutely killing it.
Knuckles had said he wasn't a good dancer but he was proving himself wrong - even when it was hard to see anything out of the eye slits, he could tell Knuckles understood rhythm and the timing to the music. He moved his legs and arms and was giving the performance a lot of energy, and while his footwork may not be as impressive as his own, Knuckles was quite good at it.
Rouge on the other hand, was extraordinary. She possesses a fiery stage presence with all of her movements, making plenty of gestures to hype the crowd. Her footwork was putting his shame with how fast she could move.
Had Rouge always been this good? She often did say she was a woman of many talents - he supposed these kind of surprises were what she meant.
The three of them were in sync, perfect harmony - and even with their limited field of vision, they had managed to not bump into each other.
For a moment as he let his body be moved by the music, he felt like he was having a good time. One look at the crowd brought him back to his senses though - their vigorous dancing, their laughs that were too loud and smiles that were too wide - all the celebration going on that the man simply did not deserve.
Yet he was getting it anyway.
Having lost himself in his thoughts, he didn't even realise the float had stopped and that they were now in a new parking lot - he only became aware when Rouge shoved his arm slightly. "Impressive work, Blue." She complimented him. "But we've gotta get moving."
They were now parked up with the rest of the floats, but the workers had left them before their float had arrived. They had one last breath of solitude before the rest of their plan would commence.
Hopping down and removing their costumes, the three were relieved to no longer be trapped in a stuffy egg suit.
"You guys were awesome!" Tangle cheered as she shot out of the driver's seat and went out to greet them. "The crowd seemed to be loving you!"
"Aren't they just pretending to be having a good time anyway?" Knuckles grunted.
"Well- yeah-" Tangle admitted, not really have a good response to that.
"You were better at dancing than you tried to claim, Knux." Sonic smirked.
"I still hated every second of that-"
"Good thing that part is over then. We got what we wanted - we're in the festival." Rouge dumped her costume to the side and the others followed suit. "Sonic, Tangle, Knuckles - get going, the Babylon Rogue's performance starts in a few minutes and I need you all in position. Knuckles, you'll find me on the left wings of the stage." She pointed in the direction, Sonic almost jumped when he realised just how much closer they were.
Now, he could see that Eggman wasn't alone - Amy was with him too, standing right by his side. There were others adorning similar uniforms to her, other Egg Bosses if he had to guess - except one platypus guy that was standing on the other side of Eggman who was wearing a luxurious purple coat.
"Good luck, Rouge." Sonic said.
She gave him one last glance. "You too." And then she flew off.
Sonic let out a long breath.
"Remember - it's important we look just as happy as the rest of the crowd, otherwise we're gonna draw suspicion." Tangle reminded them.
The two guys nodded.
"Alright, let's go then." Sonic said.
She just didn't know.
Tangle wanted to have faith in Rouge, faith in the plan, faith in a bright future that lie ahead of them. She did not have that though, not fully anyway. Eggman seemed so untouchable, she remembered how easily he had risen to power, how effortless it was for him to turn the world upside down.
Were four misfits really enough?
One look in the eyes of Sonic and Knuckles abruptly swept her worries away. Seeing their fierceness and passion, she could practically feel the strength radiating off of them. They were both so cool... with them, she felt like she did stand a chance after all.
She'd keep smiling for them.
"We're not heading to the stage, we wanna go to the centre arena where the rogues are performing. You know I'm glad there was a map of the place in that float otherwise I would not have remembered where I was supposed to go- Oh! Crowd incoming- be happy- OH WOW," She called out loudly. "ISN'T ROBOTNIK SO GREAT FOR LETTING US HAVE THIS WONDERFUL CELEBRATION?"
"HE IS SO GENEROUS, AND HE THROWS SUCH GREAT PARTIES TOO!" Sonic understood the assignment.
"WE DON'T DESERVE HIS KINDNESS!" Knuckles, a little surprisingly, did too. His smile was rather noticeably forced though.
Yet again, everyone's was.
They shoved and danced their way through the crowd to make their way closer to the centre square. She could at least appreciate the fact that the festival did have some rather good music, reminding her of traditional samba. The streets were decorated with lights like it was Christmas morning, and the smell of freshly made goods wafted in the air - causing her stomach to growl. Several people had dived to those food stands, desperate to actually have full stomachs for once.
As hungry as Tangle was, who knew what was in that food? She'd only touch it if she had to.
She laid her eyes upon a large area blocked off with white tape. "This is it, we just need to be around here so we can easily attack them- Knuckles, you know what to do." She smiled at him encouragingly.
"Be careful." The echidna told them both, watching them carefully before pushing his way back through the crowd - going off to find Rouge and tell them that they were in position.
"This'd be so much easier if we just had phones, huh?" She told Sonic lightly.
"Yeah..." Sonic blinked. "It would. Why... aren't we using them? Or like- not even radio communicators?"
"The Empire tracks all frequencies. It's definitely not safe or secure." Tangle explained. "So-"
"Hello, everyone!"
The crowd fell silent and turned in unison to either watch a nearby screen, or the stage itself. It was Egg Boss Rose, making a speech probably to introduce to the performance.
"It is a great honour for this city to be hosting this year's Annual Empire Festival!" The pink hedgehog beamed. "I have been working tirelessly to enforce the rule of our saviour onto the people of my land, and it has produced excellent results! To celebrate the progress made on robotics and scientific production this year, it is my pleasure to announce that we are about to witness a performance of the one and only BABYLON ROGUES!"
Tangle yelled and fist pumped along with the crowd. Sonic had previously been good at acting to blend in, but now he stood perfectly still with a stony expression. She didn't know whether to say anything or not... maybe this was just how he focused.
"They're ready." Knuckles said from behind her. "It took a while for me to find you..."
"Means I've hidden myself well." Rouge smiled. "Now do be quiet, we don't want anyone hearing us."
The bat's heart pounded in her chest rapidly as she removed the glove off of her metal hand, staring at the shiny blue circle on her palm. She hadn't had that much experience with the laser function, but it was surprisingly similar to firing a gun. She knew how to aim well with those.
She had a clear shot from here. His lackeys had their backs turned and Eggman himself had his back turned, oblivious to the fate that lied ahead of him.
A lot of her effort was being used up as she fought to keep herself from laughing in ecstasy, adrenaline coursed through her veins and was making her shake from head to toe. After all this time, she could finally slaughter that old man, and make him pay for what he did.
Sonic's distraction couldn't come sooner.
The Babylon Rogues' skills were impressive, the way they dashed and weaved among each other - leaving colourful trails of smoke behind them and forming shapes in the sky - the latest? The Empire logo - Eggman's stupid face.
The crowd loved it, apparently.
Several times, Sonic could have sworn they were about to crash into each other - but they knew their way with a board, and were able to manoeuvre themselves at tremendous speeds.
That was quite enough sitting around though.
"Tangle, everything looking alright?"
"Nothing seems off." The lemur confirmed.
"Alright. I'm going in."
"You can do this."
Sonic gave her a thumbs up.
Turning to look up at the sky, he awakened the energy deeply rooted inside of him - his green eyes glowed blue, and pale blue sparks began to shoot off from his body.
He was the distraction, he needed to be flashy.
What was more distracting than a tornado?
He leapt over the tape and began to run. At blinding speeds, he circled the rogues again and again - wind pulling against his face and fur but Sonic was stronger - much, much stronger.
Wave and Storm huddled together to avoid getting swept up by the vigorously twirling air - Jet distanced himself from them, making him a perfect target, easy to hit.
Sonic leapt towards the hawk, energy swirling around his fist.
Had Rouge already fired the shot? He had no way of knowing.
Sonic yelled at the top of his lungs.
His muscles abruptly became numb as he froze in place, right in the middle of the air. All he could see before him was a purple haze.
"Nothing seems off." The lemur confirmed.
Sonic wanted to faint.
How-? What-?
Time had reversed again... yes, it had! The Babylon Rogues were just finishing up making the logo again! Tangle was saying the same thing as before!
Yet how? Sonic had done nothing to prompt it.
"Sonic..." Tangle's voice was filled with concern. "You look very pale and ghostly right now... you okay?"
No, he wasn't. Why did time reset again? What would happen if Sonic tried again? The same thing?
Or did time reset... so something different could happen?
Had Rouge already used his distraction to her advantage? Had she taken his life?
Did the timeline reset in response to that?
No, surely not. That would mean time itself was protecting Eggman...
Sonic began to deeply and rapidly breathe, searching around him desperately. The screens were all showcasing the performance... until they switched to show Eggman.
Those not scanning every inch of the TV screen wouldn't spot it, but Sonic caught sight of his hand. He used his index finger to make a beckoning gesture.
"Sonic... can you hear me?" Tangle's voice was a muffle.
No... surely not.
"Tangle..." His voice was hoarse. "I'm calling off this plan-"
"Huh?" She rose a brow, her face looking a little anguished as she placed her hands on Sonic's shoulder. "No, no Sonic - you can do this! Don't let your nerves get to you-!"
"No, Tangle. I don't need a pep talk!" He said desperately. "This plan... its not going to work!"
And he was powerless to explain why.
"Sonic, is this fear... or something you genuinely believe?" Sonic's worry seemed to spread to Tangle.
"This plan is going to fail, Tangle. If we go through with it, we all risk getting ourselves killed. We risk other people getting killed!"
"I-" She was speechless. "We've gotten so far... who knows when we'll have this opportunity again! Are you sure this is what's right-?"
Sonic nodded as firmly as he could.
"O-okay..." She finally yielded with a quivering sigh. "What are you gonna do now then?"
"I'm gonna tell you to get back to the float, we'll meet you there."
"Convincing Rouge to back down is gonna be-"
"Hard? Yeah. Already figured. I'll drag her with me if I have to." Sonic was getting a little impatient, but he was mostly concerned for his friends' safeties. "I'll see you in a bit Tangle."
He made his way as fast as he could through the crowd.
"What's taking him so long...?" Rouge muttered under her breath. "The performance is about to end..."
Knuckles could do nothing but linger behind her, he had no answer for her question.
"Rouge! Knux!" Sonic called out to them in a tone that was loud enough for them to hear, but quiet enough so that he didn't alert any of the villains.
"Sonic?" The bat turned to face him and so did the echidna. "What are you doing here? You're out of position-"
"We can't go through with this! We have to get out of here!"
"Are you kidding me right now?! Just because you're getting cold feet I'm supposed to call this whole thing off?!" Rouge's face was flushed with anger.
"Please Rouge," He was practically begging her. "This isn't going to work! You're endangering everyone by continuing with this!"
"I-!" Rouge began to protest before being cut off.
"Knuckles, do you agree to back down?"
He bit his lip. "Okay first, keep your voices down, they're starting to get loud. Second, I'm here to make sure you succeed, Sonic. I'm... I'm standing by your wishes." He sounded uncertain about his own stance.
"See?" Sonic turned back to Rouge. "Knuckles agrees and so does Tangle, she's currently waiting back at the float- Tangle?!"
The lemur was now behind the group, rushing towards them. "Yeah so I was supposed to be there, but then I realised Rouge is unlikely to listen to you but maybe she'll listen to me- Rouge, please, we need to go-"
...
Everything seemed to fall silent and become slower as all their eyes turned a bright blue beam that was being fired from the opposite end of the stage, heading right towards the Emperor.
They watched helplessly as Amy swiftly turned around, holding out her hammer to deflect it and swing the energy away.
"Get back here!" Amy called out, dashing to find the perpetrator whom had jumped on top of a rooftop.
It was a masked wolf, nothing Sonic could recognise. She held a complicated and large gun in her hands but was quickly running from the scene.
They hadn't been the only ones lining up to kill Eggman.
"How adorable." Eggman spoke with a smile.
All the action in the celebration had stopped, the Babylon Rogues' show had ended and the people below were dead silent and still. They had been able to see clear as day the moment that their leader was almost killed.
The cameras all cut off their feed and staff began to usher and yell at people to go back indoors. The party had finished abruptly early.
"It's funny how... there are still some people that think they can outsmart me."
All four of them felt shivers down their spine as they felt the presence of someone behind them.
"But I assure you, I'm always a step ahead."
They all turned to face them
"The Station Square rebels, we were wondering if you were going to show up." A very recognisable yellow fox stood and smiled, seemingly nonchalant about the whole ordeal.
"N-no..." Sonic gasped out.
"Bravery or stupidity? Or is there any point to ask, for both are the same?" His smugness.. it wasn't like him. It couldn't be him!
"Tails?"
Miles rose a brow. "Yes, I have two tails. How observant of you. You know, for a man trying to ignite a revolution, those aren't very impressive words coming out of your mouth."
Sonic didn't feel like he could stand.
"Like lambs to the slaughter." Eggman spoke with amusement on the opposite end of the four. They were surrounded.
Sonic couldn't take his eyes off of his buddy. His little buddy...
"How misguided you souls are..." Miles sighed.
"T-Tails? Come on dude, snap out of it!" Sonic stepped towards the fox with his begging plea.
The fox narrowed his eyes. "Are you... trying to call me Tails? My name is Miles! Miles Robotnik!"
No no no!
"Tails, please! Listen to me! I-I'm your friend-!"
"Ugh, I'll save you the embarrassment shall I?" Eggman cut in, snapping his fingers.
Purple smoke filled the area around him, the only thing still being visible to the hedgehog now was the doctor himself. It was all becoming fat too much, he found himself on his knees, hands on the ground as he fought to keep his breath in check.
"Long time no see, Sonic the Hedgehog."
"You... you know everything." Sonic's head hung low and he spoke with a rasp. "The old timeline..."
"Finally figuring it out, are you?" Eggman began to walk in a slow circle around him, hands behind his back. "Of course I remember the old timeline, I'm the one who rewrote it!" He pointed out. "And what use would rewriting it be if I didn't learn from my old mistakes?"
"And you... you made time reset just now, didn't you? Rouge shot you, didn't she?"
"She fired a shot, she might have killed me, if the Time Eater didn't protect me. It does that, you know."
Sonic gritted his teeth.
"You ignorant... spiky blue-haired fur ball, I'm the commander of time now! It bends to my will! MWAHAHAHAHA!" He cackled. "I will always be protected, no matter what! You thought you stood a chance at killing me? Bah!"
The hedgehog was seething. "What did you do to Tails?"
"I recognised his value, and I didn't let it go to waste." He explained simply. "And I must say it was worth the reaction! I have never seen you so livid!" He went on. "I have lived two lifetimes. As far as I'm concerned, that timeline you emerged from was merely the test run. Here, my victories are absolute! Set in stone in the passage of time and there's nothing you can do to-!"
Sonic stood up and sprinted forward, pulling his arm to deliver a punch-
Everything became purple.
"How misguided you souls are..." Miles sighed.
There was nothing he could do, nothing he could say to get the fox to listen.
Sonic wanted to scream.
"Perfect opportunity for a test run, isn't it, Emperor?"
"Absolutely! Retrieve the Ultimate Life Form!" Eggman commanded.
Surely not...
"You four are a rather troublesome bunch... aren't you?"
Rouge suddenly pulled out a dagger from her belt, the same one she had tried to stab him with. Eggman was surprisingly nimble, able to dodge and weave her attempts to cut him down with her blade.
Or it was less Eggman's skill, and more Rouge's blind rage that was the problem. She was seeing nothing but red as she yelled in her attempts to inflict any sort of injury. "You'll pay, damnit! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!" She screeched.
Sonic only just now noticed that all of the other Egg Bosses were gone, how odd. Tangle's tail extended behind her, ready to give Rouge backup while Knuckles balled up his fists.
"Will you now?" Eggman smirked. "We'll see about that." He clicked his fingers yet again, but yielded much different results.
With a ferocious snarl, something slammed itself into Rouge and pinned her to the ground. She gasped in fear, helplessly squirming under the creature's strength, doing everything she could in an attempt to pull him off.
Sonic knew the spines and colours... but everything else was unrecognisable.
"What happened to you...?" Sonic whispered.
Shadow, barely comparable to a hedgehog, was now a beast - scales had replaced fur, his pupils were narrowed like a lizard, his teeth dangerously long and sharp. His eyes glowed and his eyes were black where they should have been white. His long tail swished behind him, and he couldn't help but notice how the pointed tip would make an effective cutting edge.
Sonic was so stunned at the sight that he stood rooted to the spot as Shadow impaled her through the stomach with her own dagger.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Tangle shot her tail out in attempt to restraint Shadow.
"Be careful! He has chaos energy-!" Knuckles called out to her.
Before she could process what that really meant, her tail made contact with the creature - and in response the hedgehog shot crackling chaos energy from his body that shot through the lemur's tail. She yelped as she was shocked all throughout her body, feeling like she was being stung over and over. She immediately let go of him.
Shadow seemed to forget about Rouge as he stood up, glaring with fury at Tangle. Sonic could see Knuckles was ready to step in but Sonic, now finding himself able to move, was much faster. He landed a punch to Shadow's chest.
"You guys go!" He called out to them. "I'll hold him off!"
In response, Shadow grabbed hold of Sonic's arm before he could pull it away, and dug his sharp claws right through the hedgehog's skin and immediately drawing blood. Sonic cried in agony.
"We aren't leaving you-!"
"Of course you aren't." Miles interjected. "In what world would I let any of you escape?" He asked.
Eggman placed a hand on Miles' shoulder. "It doesn't matter, Miles. Do not waste your effort, either they die here or escape to live another day - and that's fine by me."
"But-" The fox gazed at him questioningly.
"Trust me, Miles."
Sonic kneed the creature in the stomach and managed to create a distance between them. He then tried to launch several kicks, but he warped behind him and dug his claws straight down Sonic's back. His cries were loud - shit, this fight was going so awfully. It didn't help that Sonic could barely think straight right now, all of this... all of it was becoming too much.
"I'm helping you whether you like it or not!" Knuckles suddenly announced angrily, charging forward before bending down and punching the ground. The ground shook furiously and Shadow let go of Sonic as he tried to remain balanced. Knuckles was quick to take advantage of this - landing a hard hitting right hook to his face and sending the creature flying.
Knuckles was panting. "Sonic, take Rouge and Tangle and get out of here! This guy has far too much chaos energy!"
"N-no!" Sonic grunted out, still in agony. "You don't know... what you're getting into!"
"And you're in no condition to solo this guy so don't even try it! Save the girls, and I'll catch up with you!"
Sonic looked down at the unconscious Rouge with her horrific stomach wound, and the distraught lemur sat on the floor - quivering and wincing as every movement of her body made her muscles ache.
"I-!"
"Stop being an idiot and just go!"
Shadow had recovered, warping behind Knuckles - somehow the echidna was fast enough to head bump Shadow aggressively, an attack that caused both of them a but of pain.
Sonic recognised he had no choice, the girls needed to get out of here. Hell, he needed to get out of here, he could feel blood dripping down his back. "Tangle, get Rouge in your tail, I'll carry you." Sonic told the lemur. She obliged, wrapping Rouge up with her tail and allowing Sonic to pick her up.
They dashed away, and Miles couldn't believe that Eggman was happy to let them go.
There had to be a reason, right?
Miles fiddled with the dials on the frequency box in his hands to make sure everything was in order. Eggman grinned widely. "I do love a good celebration all about me... but, I think I prefer this type of thing. Blood sports, if you will."
The echidna and hybrid had been exchanging blows, but none had a stronger advantage. Shadow hit faster, but Knuckles hit harder. Shadow struck with his claws and managed to deeply cut the echidna's cheek. Knuckles retaliated by upper-cutting Shadow, grazing the beast's chin with the spikes on his hands and sending the hedgehog flying up in the air.
Shadow allowed himself to land gracefully by warping back down on the stage, and then summoning a chaos spear - he tossed it at the echidna.
Knuckles ducked. "Enough of this!" He announced, and his eyes glowed green.
He held his arm up, and the Master Emerald's energy sparked through the sky like lightning.
"The Servers are the Seven Chaos! Chaos is Power! Power enriched by the Heart! The Heart is the controller! The Controller exists to UNIFY THE CHAOS!" Thunder began to rumble. "Spirits of my ancestors - take the chaos energy away from this beast - AND ALLOW ME TO BE ITS HOST!"
Just a little cliffhanger, just a little ;)
This was the first real big event in this story's runtime and I really hoped it was to everyone's liking! Please, let me know what you think! It would be a big help :)
So to recap - Eggman is aware of the old timelines, the assassination plot failed, Amy is chasing our mysterious masked assassin who totally isn't Whisper, Sonic and Miles have met, Shadow has been revealed, and... Knuckles is taking away Shadow's chaos energy? He can do that?
Shocking events have ensued and I hope you'll enjoy everything that is coming next! This was a blast to write!
